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TWELFTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE

FIRST SESSION

ORDER PAPER

MONDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2012

No. 31 1.30 p.m.

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER*

258

*1. Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what

is the Ministry's assessment of the HDB Resale Price Index reaching a record

level of 197.9 in the third quarter of 2012 in spite of cooling measures and

new releases of BTO flats; (b) whether the cooling measures are effective in

managing property prices and curbing property speculation; and (c) what are

the Ministry's plans to assure the public that HDB and private properties will

continue to remain affordable to Singapore citizens and that the Ministry has

a good handle on the property market.

*2. Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National Development in view of

the recent record property transactions including a one million dollar

Queenstown flat, whether the anticipated fresh flood of liquidity into the U.S.

financial system with QE3 announced by the U.S. Federal Reserve will have

an impact on property prices and affordability.

*3. Mr Laurence Lien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for

Home Affairs if he can provide an update on the Government's stance on

what it means to keep religion and politics separate.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 259

*4. Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister for Home Affairs what are the considerations and reasons for the

Government's pre-emptive measure of requesting Google to block online

access in Singapore to the trailer for the "Innocence of Muslims" film

especially when Singaporeans of all faiths and persuasions had responded

calmly and admirably to the foreign-origin provocation and where no

disharmony or feelings of ill-will among Singaporeans of different groups

were evident.

*5. Ms Tan Su Shan: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the

recent August non-oil domestic exports (NODX) figure which saw a decline

of 10.6% year-on-year (a) whether this raises the risk of a technical recession

in Singapore in Q3; and (b) whether this decline is exacerbated by having a

monetary policy that is too tight and economic restructuring policies

implemented at too rapid a pace and, if so, whether his Ministry will review

the pace of policy tightening or consider any off-budget measures to help

Singaporeans or SMEs tide over in the event of a recession.

*6. Ms Tan Su Shan: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) in view of

the decline in Singapore's current account surplus from $35 billion in the first

half of 2011 to $27 billion in the first half of 2012, how much of this can be

attributed to the decline in the deteriorating global environment and how

much is attributable to a decline in our relative competitiveness; and (b) if our

international competitiveness is declining, will MAS consider recalibrating its

strong Singapore dollar policy and allow the Singapore dollar nominal

effective exchange rate (NEER) to appreciate at a slower pace.

*7. Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what plans

are being considered to reverse the productivity decline seen this year; and

(b) whether he can provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the slew of

productivity measures rolled out by the government to boost productivity.

*8. Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the

slower economic growth and rising labour costs as a result of tightening the

rules on employment of foreign workers contributed to the decline in our

national productivity this year and, if not, what are the major factors

contributing to this decline.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 260

*9. Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether he can

provide an update on how SMEs have benefited from the broad range of

productivity improvement initiatives by the Government, in terms of their

participation rate and the amount disbursed to date.

*10. Ms Mary Liew: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the

causes for the lower national productivity this year; (b) what can be done to

reverse this trend; and (c) what is his Ministry's assessment of the pace of

innovation and investment in productivity improvements that are currently

undertaken by enterprises.

*11. Mr Alvin Yeo: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance

how successful the Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme has been in

spurring productivity improvement, particularly in the industries that suffer

the lowest productivity.

*12. Mr David Ong Kim Huat: To ask the Minister for Information,

Communications and the Arts (a) whether the Next Generation Nationwide

Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) project has achieved the milestone for

nationwide rollout coverage of 95% by mid-2012; (b) when will the

remaining homes be covered; and (c) how have consumers benefited from the

rollout thus far in terms of pricing and options.

*13. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water

Resources (a) as chair of the sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on

Transboundary Haze Pollution from 2010 to 2012, what has the Committee

achieved; (b) what is the progress of the establishment of the Regional Haze

Training Network; (c) how much progress has been made in haze reduction

over the past five years; (d) what are the problems faced in implementing

measures that are agreed among the partners; (e) what new initiatives will be

adopted to solve the transboundary haze problem; and (f) when can a

permanent solution be expected.

*14. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water

Resources if the Ministry will consider (i) publishing the identity of errant

companies which it is aware of that have been found to be conducting illegal

burning activities in neighbouring ASEAN countries; and (ii) taking action

against any of the companies identified if the company or its subsidiaries are

registered, listed or operating in Singapore and, if so, by what legal means.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 261

*15. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether

he can provide an update on the nuclear energy pre-feasibility study in

Singapore; and (b) whether there are plans to engage countries in the region

to prevent or respond to nuclear incidents.

*16. Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications

and the Arts and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) how does MUIS

plan to address the shortage of Haj pilgrimage places in view of the much

lower quota allocated to Singapore recently; (b) how many Muslim

Singaporeans were affected by this recent quota change and suffered losses

as a result of early bookings; and (c) how does MUIS plan to handle the

backlog and expected waiting list should the lower quotas continue over the

next few years.

*17. Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Education whether the

Ministry will (i) review streaming at the secondary school level and consider

removing the current academic streams (express, normal academic and

normal technical); and (ii) put in place the flexibility for students to do either

academic or vocational subjects, or a combination of both, similar to that at

the primary school level where students do either standard or foundation

subjects, or a combination of both.

*18. Ms Mary Liew: To ask the Acting Minister for Community Development,

Youth and Sports in light of the Government's plan for 105 eldercare facilities

to be built in four years (a) what will be the plan to upskill and build up the

manpower resources and capability to meet this requirement; and (b) what

more can be done to address the increase in the elderly population beyond

2015.

*19. Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister

for Finance how much the Government has given, in terms of Government

financial transfers, to Singaporeans earning less than $1,500 per month for

the years of 2010, 2011 and year-to-date of 2012 respectively.

*20. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are

the specific causes of the property damage suffered by properties in Watten

Estate as a result of the Downtown MRT Line construction works; (b) what

are the steps that could have been taken to prevent this damage from

occurring in the first place; and (c) what is the expected cost of recovering

from this situation including the rectification cost of the affected properties.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 262

*21. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what additional

steps are taken to assess the suitability of the surrounding areas for the

construction of underground MRT lines in the wake of the Watten Estate

incident; (b) what information and assistance will be given to residents living

along MRT construction lines to assuage their concerns about underground

tunnelling given that the new Thomson line will be entirely underground.

*22. Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower with

regard to the National Wages Council's recommendation for a $50 increment

in the salaries of workers with basic monthly salaries below $1,000 (a) what

is the current implementation rate by the public and private sectors; (b) what

are the main reasons given for non-implementation; and (c) whether the

contracts for such workers in the public sector are in compliance with

International Labour Organisation Convention No 94 which was ratified by

Singapore in 1965.

*23. Ms Mary Liew: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Government has done any study on the types of jobs available for PMEs in

the next 10 years; and (b) what are the plans in place to equip our PMEs and mature workers with the relevant skills required.

*24. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether medical

benefits for civil servants will be adjusted in view of the rising cost of

medical treatments; (b) whether the cap of $70 for dental subsidy that was

set in 1980 will be raised; and (c) whether the annual cap of $350 on medical

subsidy for outpatient treatment will be enhanced.

*25. Mr Laurence Lien: To ask the Minister for Education how he intends to

engage the more discordant voices in our society in the National

Conversation and to allow genuine dialogue on differences and the

challenging of existing norms.

*26. Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water

Resources (a) if he will provide an update on NEA's plans to install

surveillance cameras to monitor high-rise littering hot spots in HDB estates;

(b) whether NEA has performed any studies on the extent of high-rise

littering in the estates; (c) whether surveillance cameras will be a sufficient

deterrent against high-rise littering; (d) how can NEA assure the public that

their privacies are protected; and (e) how are the recordings handled to

ensure that there is no leak or unauthorised viewing.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 263

*27. Mr Baey Yam Keng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) for each of the last

five years, what is the percentage of patients at polyclinics who have to wait

more than (i) 14 days (ii) 21 days and (ii) 30 days respectively to obtain an

appointment slot for general medical services and for dental services

respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry has measures to reduce these

times.

*28. Mr David Ong Kim Huat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister

for Home Affairs (a) what is the likelihood of the mounting tension over

competing territorial claims in the South China Sea affecting the different

foreign nationals residing here in Singapore; (b) what is the possibility of

external tension leading to violence between the different nationals here; and

(c) what can and has been done to avert such foreign nationals from taking

things into their own hands.

*29. Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of recent

reports of taxi drivers who set their own taxi fares above the metered rate

based on demand (a) whether LTA will take action against such taxi drivers;

and (b) whether the Government will consider regulating taxi fares as a

possible solution.

*30. Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what forms of

data are used by LTA for deciding the allocation of public transport routes;

(b) whether there are any gaps in the data; and (c) whether more funding is

required to improve the available data, especially with regard to user-needs

analysis.

*31. Mr Baey Yam Keng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how

the bases of computation for HDB flat valuation compare across flats for

resale, SERS and compulsory acquisition; (b) how the Ministry views the

increasing cash over valuation (COV) figures; and (c) how can the system be

fine-tuned to make resale flats more affordable.

*32. Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development

whether HDB will consider waiving the income ceiling for buying a HDB flat

so that all Singapore citizens will have at least one opportunity to buy a

subsidised flat from HDB.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 264

*33. Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how does

the Ministry use technology as a tool to level the playing field for students

who may not have access to good quality teachers and resources; and

(b) whether the Ministry will consider producing and distributing online

learning curriculum materials to support our mainstream and special schools,

learning from examples such as Khan Academy and Open Lectures.

*34. Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) of the 634,098

resident graduates aged 15 years and above in 2010, how many are graduates

from local publicly funded universities in the age group of (i) 25-29 years;

and (ii) 30 years and above; (b) what are the social and economic implications

of having an unequal gender proportion (43% male and 57% female) of

resident university graduates in the age group of 25-29 years; and (c) how

will the 5th and 6th publicly funded universities change the profile of young

graduates.

*35. Mr Nicholas Fang: To ask the Acting Minister for Community

Development, Youth and Sports (a) how much funds have been given out

under the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme since its inception as a

programme for rewarding medals won at major sporting games; and (b) what

is the breakdown of the medals won.

*36. Mr Teo Siong Seng: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for

Finance (a) what is the proportion of Government contracts that are secured

by Singapore companies, excluding foreign companies based in Singapore;

and (b) whether the Government will consider granting more Government

contracts to Singapore SMEs in view of the overall slowdown in the

economy.

*37. Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Acting Minister for Community

Development, Youth and Sports whether the Ministry will consider playing a

capacity building role to attract and build a pool of qualified early childhood

professionals by supplementing the course fees payable by job seekers

interested to join the profession and by providing training allowances during

their course of training before they are employed by pre-school operators.

*38. Ms Low Yen Ling: To ask the Acting Minister for Community

Development, Youth and Sports whether the Ministry will consider providing

direct allowances to early childhood teachers to raise their pay without

increasing operators' costs and also as one of the ways to retain them in the

sector.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 265

*39. Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry

will consider allowing Medisave to be used for the treatment of prostate

illness under the Chronic Disease Management Programme as such illness is

getting common among male Singaporeans.

*40. Mr R Dhinakaran: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower what is the

number of workers who have been offered re-employment contracts in the

private sector in Singapore since the Retirement and Re-employment Act

came into force on 1 January 2012.

*41. Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower

(a) whether foreign despatch riders using foreign-registered vehicles to make

deliveries require work permits under the Employment Act; and (b) whether

the Ministry plans to put in place greater regulatory measures for such

despatch riders.

*42. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister in light of our current

population of 5.31 million and his view that Singapore can accommodate 6

million people in the future (a) how many of the 690,000 additional arrivals

are envisaged to comprise new citizens, permanent residents and non-

residents respectively; (b) whether the Government has made any social

assessment of the impact of these additional arrivals; and (c) what is the

projected impact of these new arrivals on prices of public and private houses.

*43. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the existing

infrastructures, such as those for public transport, healthcare and housing,

discounting those that are under construction, are adequately designed to

support the current population of 5.31 million; (b) what is the target

population density in 5, 10 and 15 years' time; and (c) whether the

Government has conducted a survey on the quality of life vis-à-vis the

increase in population density.

*44. Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: To ask the Minister for Information,

Communications and the Arts whether the Government had exercised any

control or influence over the media during the Hougang by-election campaign

in May 2012.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 266

*45. Ms Janice Koh: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications and

the Arts what is being done to develop and build an international market and

audience for Singapore-produced film and television projects or

co-productions and what kinds of resources and financial support are being

set aside for this each year.

*46. Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for the Environment and

Water Resources if he will provide an update on the canal deepening exercise

along Bukit Timah Road and whether the exercise is progressing on schedule.

*47. Mrs Lina Chiam: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry if he will

consider revising and tightening the assessment criteria for EDB's Global

Investor Programme to ensure foreigners accepted into this scheme are not

involved in criminal embezzlement.

*48. Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will

provide an update on the progress of works on the MRT Downtown Line 2

especially along the Bukit Timah corridor (namely Bukit Panjang, Cashew,

Hillview, Beauty World, King Albert Park, Sixth Avenue and Tan Kah Kee

Stations) and whether the works are progressing on schedule.

*49. Ms Faizah Jamal: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water

Resources what are the Government's future plans for the Sungei Road

Market and what will be done to support the livelihoods of affected vendors

with the construction of the Jalan Besar MRT Station.

*50. Mr R Dhinakaran: To ask the Minister for Education if the Ministry will

consider awarding the Edusave Awards for Achievement, Good Leadership

and Service (EAGLES) to students who are PRs so as to promote their active

participation beyond academics in a bid to better integrate them into society

here.

*51. Mr Zainudin Nordin: To ask the Minister for Education how is the objective

of holistic development of students being achieved in the ITEs and

polytechnics.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 267

*52. Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications

and the Arts and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether he can

provide the rationale and intent of setting up an independent committee to

engage the Malay community; (b) what is the selection process and

composition of the committee members to ensure independence and

objectivity of the committee; and (c) what approach will be adopted by the

committee to ensure a wide outreach in their engagement.

*53. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether

the ethnic limit of 25% for the Malay ethnic group at the block level in all

HDB rental flats has been reached and, if so, when; (b) whether HDB has

plans to increase this limit for the Malay ethnic group at the block level; and

(c) whether HDB will consider allocating rental flats on a strict needs basis

only to avoid rejection or delay as a result of the applicants' preference of

rental zone.

*54. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what due

diligence does the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) exercise before

granting approval for condominium developers to use tempered glass in panels

used as safety barriers at balconies despite the associated risk of spontaneous breakage; (b) what led the BCA to require the use of laminated glass instead in

such panels with effect from July 2011; and (c) what is BCA's

recommendation to resolve the safety issues for condominium developments

which were constructed before application of the July 2011 ruling.

*55. Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for the Environment and

Water Resources (a) how is the performance of the Department of Public

Cleanliness since its setup in April this year; and (b) what is the workload of

the department and what proportions of this workload are diversions or

redirections from other agencies.

*56. Ms Low Yen Ling: To ask the Acting Minister for Community Development,

Youth and Sports (a) whether he will provide an update on the new

Development Support Programme (DSP) for preschool children with mild

speech, language and learning delays; (b) how and when is the DSP to be

rolled out; (c) how many learning support educators need to be recruited for

this programme; and (d) whether the budget for this programme will be

expanded in the next two to five years for national coverage.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 268

*57. Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Acting Minister for Community

Development, Youth and Sports (a) what are the future plans for The

Float@Marina Bay upon the completion of the Sports Hub in 2014;

(b) whether The Float will continue as a public facility at Marina Bay beyond

2014; and (c) whether The Float can serve as a public space and open to the

public when there are no events.

*58. Mr R Dhinakaran: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower what is the

current rate of youth unemployment in Singapore.

*59. Ms Faizah Jamal: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower with

Singapore's recent ratification of International Labour Organisation's

Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention,

what steps will be taken to ensure that health and safety measures in

workplaces include those relating to psychosocial risks such as violence,

bullying and sexual harassment.

*60. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to

EDB's Global Schoolhouse initiative (a) how far has the 2015 target of

Singapore having 150,000 full-fee paying international students and 100,000

international corporate executives on training here been met; (b) what is the

distribution of these full-fee paying international students between pre-tertiary

and tertiary institutions and between private and public institutions;

(c) whether the dwindling number of private schools has affected the figures;

(d) how far has the target of increasing the education sector's contribution to

GDP to 5% been met; and (e) how many jobs have been created by the

initiative.

*61. Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the

Government has plans for island-wide underground piping of natural gas as an

alternate source of green and cheaper energy for all industrial and household

users.

*62. Mr Zainudin Nordin: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many ITE

students are currently receiving financial assistance; (b) beyond the financial

assistance, how are these students assisted to ensure that they continue to

remain in their course of study; and (c) whether these students who come from

humble backgrounds are faced with challenges to participate in local and

overseas enrichment programmes that are offered for their holistic

development.

mailto:Float@Marina

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 269

*63. Mr Alvin Yeo: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Direct School

Admission (DSA) programme for Primary 6 and Secondary 4 students to be guaranteed a place in a secondary school or junior college respectively has

achieved its purpose and whether the criteria for DSA will be reviewed.

*64. Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for National Development whether

HDB can consider installing window grilles for all HDB rental units as a

standard feature for safety reasons.

*65. Mr David Ong Kim Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development

what is the rationale for erecting fire rated doors (FRD) at the front of HDB

flats at three residential blocks in Bukit Batok that are undergoing the Lift

Upgrading Programme; and (b) given the emphasis on barrier-free access and

ageing in place, whether the Ministry can look at alternative solutions for

such blocks.

*66. Mr Teo Siong Seng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what

plans does the Ministry have to redress the loss of revenue to retail/ food and

beverage outlets in the vicinity of Marina Bay during the period of the F1

night race in Singapore; and (b) what is the percentage of contracts being

awarded to Singapore companies for the build-up of the F1 event since the F1

contract has now been renewed for another five years till 2017.

*67. Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: To ask the Minister for Education

(a) what is the relative performance of Primary 6 boys and girls who sat for

the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) between 2001 and 2011,

broken down into quintile performance bands; and (b) whether the results

demonstrate that girls had an academic advantage over boys at the PSLE.

*68. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) in each of the past

three years, what is the number of foreign students who have applied to study

in our autonomous universities; (b) whether there are plans to reduce the

number of scholarships and tuition grants given to foreign students in our

autonomous universities; and (c) what impact will a reduction in such

scholarships and tuition grants have on the universities' ranking and number

of students they will attract.

*69. Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development

(a) whether HDB can consider increasing the percentage and/or the absolute

cap of the discount off the purchase prices of new replacement flats in SERS

projects such as that in Rochor Centre and other recently announced estates

affected by SERS; and (b) when this discount formula was last reviewed.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 270

*70. Ms Low Yen Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how

many members of the public participated in online survey and face-to-face

interviews during the public consultation on the Building Maintenance and

Strata Management Act (BMSMA) held in April-May 2012; (b) since 2005,

what is the percentage increase in (i) the number of managing agents of strata

properties; and (ii) the number of strata title developments; and (c) whether

the Ministry will consider an education campaign to increase awareness of

the BMSMA amongst dwellers of strata title developments.

*71. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development

whether HDB will consider building flats ahead of demand so that first-time

buyers, especially young couples, can obtain the keys to their new flats earlier

than what is possible under the current Build-to-Order system whereby a

construction tender is called only when about 70% of the units are booked.

*72. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether

the $1 billion cost in constructing the Gardens by the Bay includes the cost of

land; and (b) whether the $1 billion was within the original budget slated for

the project and, if not, what is the difference.

*73. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is

the annual maintenance cost for the Gardens by the Bay ; and (b) whether the

Ministry intends to recover the maintenance cost entirely from the revenue

generated by ticket sales and the sale of items at the venue.

*74. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development whether

the Ministry will consider (i) waiving entrance charges for the conservatories

in the Gardens by the Bay for National Servicemen and senior citizens; and

(ii) applying a special discount for Singaporean families with two or more

children.

*75. Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development whether

HDB will consider installing rain shielding devices or structures free of

charge for HDB units and blocks affected by heavy rains after HDB

upgrading works.

*76. Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development

whether HDB is able to install rain shelters at HDB flats so to prevent rain

water from entering HDB flats during heavy downpours.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 271

*77. Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development

(a) how other non-public housing buildings provide for bomb shelters; and

(b) whether HDB can consider other alternatives to the construction of bomb

shelters in new HDB flats.

*78. Mr Baey Yam Keng: To ask the Minister for National Development how are

Town Councils required to regulate and enforce the way in which HDB lift

lobbies are used by residents, including the placing of objects such as

bicycles and flower pots where they do not pose safety and evacuation

concerns according to SCDF guidelines.

*79. Ms Faizah Jamal: To ask the Minister for National Development whether he

can provide an update on the dialogue between URA and residents over the

preservation of the Pasir Ris greenbelt.

* Members may signify to the Clerk their desire to postpone their Questions to a later

sitting day, if their Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time. The forms for

postponement of Questions are available at the Chamber entrances. Members are advised

to give their notices to the Clerk by 4.30 pm.

AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS

Introduction of Government Bills

1. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs:

Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill.

2. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs:

Casino Control (Amendment) Bill.

3. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance:

(President’s recommendation to be signified).

Income Tax (Amendment) Bill.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 272


Goods and Services Tax Voucher Fund Bill.


Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill.


Financial Advisers (Amendment) Bill.

7. Minister for Law:

Penal Code (Amendment) Bill.

8. Minister for Law:

Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill.

9. Minister for Transport:

(President’s recommendation to be signified).

Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

1. Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill [Bill No. 23/2012]

– (Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts) – Second

Reading.

2. Personal Data Protection Bill [Bill No. 24/2012] – (Minister for

Information, Communications and the Arts) – Second Reading.

[For amendments to the Bill, see Supplement No. 5 dated 15 October 2012.]

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 273

3. Civil Law (Amendment) Bill [Bill No. 25/2012] – (Minister for Law) –

Second Reading.

4. Voluntary Sterilization (Amendment) Bill [Bill No. 26/2012] – (Minister

for Health) – Second Reading.

MEMORANDUM

Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (Standing Order

No. 2(8)(b)):

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah : Standard of Cleanliness in Singapore

(Nee Soon)

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

1. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister with reference to NPTD's

Issues Paper "Our Population, Our Future" (a) what is the optimum old-age

support ratio that is required to keep the Singapore economy vibrant up to

2030; and (b) how many additional non-residents, PRs and/or Singaporeans

are projected to be required for a reasonably sustainable old-age support

ratio and what is the basis of this calculation.

2. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister what scenarios has NPTD

deliberated upon to address the prospect of new immigrants unwittingly

creating an even larger elderly population for future generations of

Singaporeans to look after in light of trends towards marriage and

singlehood in developed countries and the data from Census 2010 which

show a downward trend in the average number of children born to ever-

married female PRs between 2000 and 2010.

3. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister from 2004 to 2012 (a) how

many foreigners secured permanent residence in Singapore under the

Financial Investor Scheme; (b) which non-Asian and Asian countries did

they originate from; and (c) how many applications were rejected.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 274

4. Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: To ask the Prime Minister in light

of the rapid increase in the cost of living in the last five years, whether the

Government will make regular and more substantive ex-gratia payments to

Government pensioners especially those with low pensions.

5. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what

is the annual number of Singapore permanent residents who gave up their

permanent residency status between 2006 and 2011; and (b) what are the

common reasons cited.

6. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for

Home Affairs from January to September 2012 (a) what is the number of

reports of unlicensed moneylending and harrassment activities; and

(b) what is the number of persons arrested in connection with such

activities.

7. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for

Home Affairs in each of the years from 2009 to 2011 and from January to

September 2012 (a) what is the number of persons arrested in connection

with unlicensed moneylending, harrassment activities or assisting in

unlicensed moneylending who are (i) debtors or (ii) persons below the age

of 21; and (b) what percentage of the total number of persons so arrested

did such numbers represent in the respective periods.

8. Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister for Finance whether the recent review of procurement policies by

the public sector will affect the public sector's drive towards Best Sourcing

initiatives as tenders/quotations may not then be awarded to the

lower/lowest bidder(s).

9. Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for

Finance (a) in the last five years, how many residents in Singapore have

been declared as property traders; and (b) whether they were informed in

advance that they had been declared as property traders before they were

taxed on their income.

10. Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry how

many companies have benefited from the National Productivity Fund so

far.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 275

11. Ms Janice Koh: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications

and the Arts (a) what is the current number of people working in the

media industry in Singapore; (b) what percentage of these are from the

film, television and broadcast sector; and (c) within the film, television

and broadcast sector, how many are fully employed and how many are

freelancers.

12. Ms Janice Koh: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications

and the Arts (a) what is the current number of independent media

production houses that are actively operating in Singapore; (b) what is the

number of production houses that receive Government grants each year for

film and television projects over the last five years; and (c) what is the

total amount of grants received by these production houses each year for

such projects over the last five years.

13. Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development

(a) what is the number of completed HDB flats that were issued with

temporary occupation permits in each of the last two years and how many

are projected to be completed in the current FY and in each of the next

three years; (b) what is the number of completed landed and non-landed

private housing units that were issued with temporary occupation permits

in each of the last two years and how many are projected to be completed

in the current FY and in each of the next two years; (c) what is the number

of unsold public and private housing units to date; and (d) what is the

projected number of new private housing units that will be released into

the market in the next one year.

14. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development on how

HDB aims to stabilise the pricing of public housing given the substantial

rise in the open market prices of HDB flats in recent times.

15. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Defence

(a) in each of the years from 2006 to 2011 what is the number of

National Service defaulters; and (b) of these, how many are (i) resident

Singaporeans (ii) overseas Singaporeans and (iii) permanent residents.

16. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Law what is the number of

licensed moneylenders as at 30 September 2012 and 31 December 2011

respectively.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 276

17. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Law in each of the years

from 2009 to 2011 and from January to September 2012 (a) what is the

number of fines imposed on licensed moneylenders as a result of

enforcement actions; and (b) what is the average amount of such fines for

the respective periods.

18. Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Health in light of

findings on the effects of shisha smoking on lung functions published

recently by the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (a) whether the

Government will consider a review of its policies on shisha smoking;

(b) how many licensed shisha businesses are there currently; and (c) how

are the regulations on indoor shisha smoking being enforced.

19. Mr David Ong Kim Huat: To ask the Minister for Health whether the

Ministry will consider the lifting of the current cap of $600 that can be

used from Medisave funds by cancer patients requiring follow-up

diagnostics scans.

20. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what impacts do

our anti-smoking programmes have on dissuading the younger generation

from taking up smoking; and (b) whether there is an inter-agency work

group that tackles the smoking problems of young people below the age of

18.

21. Mr Laurence Lien: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the steady

rise in the number of attempted suicides over the past five years, whether

there is a need for a more concerted effort to tackle rising levels of

emotional distress and depression among Singaporeans.

22. Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) from 2011 to

date, how many cases of motor vehicles which caught fire on the roads

involve taxis; (b) whether the Ministry has established the cause of such

incidents; and (c) what are the measures put in place to ensure the safety

of drivers and passengers.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 277

23. Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: To ask the Minister for Transport

(a) what is the likely impact of the Qantas-Emirates 10-year alliance on

Singapore's plan as an international aviation hub; and (b) what is

Singapore's strategic response to improvements in air transport including

the possibility of passenger aircraft being able to cover greater distances

and thereby not requiring transit stops in Singapore for refuelling.

24. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many

building, architecture and engineering graduates did our local universities

produce in the last 3 years; (b) how many of these graduates entered the

construction industry; and (c) in view of the increasing problem faced by

the construction industry in recruiting locally trained personnel and the

tightening of foreign worker employment rules, whether our local

universities will increase their annual student intake for these courses.

25. Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Education (a) if he

can provide an update on the mental wellness programmes implemented in

primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges; (b) what is the

pickup rate for mental illnesses at these different levels; and (c) how are

the treatment interventions for these students planned.

26. Ms Mary Liew: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the non-

academic assessments used for the technical programmes in secondary

schools; and (b) whether the existing skills-based assessments for these

technical programmes are adequate to prepare early school leavers for

entry-level jobs in the workforce.

27. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education over the past three

years (a) what is the failure rate at Year One promotion examinations in

our junior colleges (JCs); and (b) of the two JCs with the highest failure

rate at Year One promotion examinations (i) what are their failure rates

and (ii) what percentage of their Year One students are retained or quit JC

after failing the exams.

28. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education in each year over

the past three years how many students taking the GCE 'A' Level and

International Baccalaurate progress into (i) our autonomous universities;

(ii) other universities in Singapore; and (iii) universities overseas.

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 278

29. Mr David Ong Kim Huat: To ask the Acting Minister for Community

Development, Youth and Sports (a) what is the current number of children

from low-income families who are not receiving pre-school education; and

(b) what can be done to ensure that these children be given such education.

30. Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower

whether there is an under-employment of fresh graduates from our local

polytechnics, universities and private schools/universities and, if so,

whether he will elaborate on the size of the under-employment.

PAPERS PRESENTED

2012 Date Presented

S. 71 JTC Corporation Annual Report 2011 ..... 7 September 2012

S. 72 Annual Report and Financial

Statements of the Civil Service

College 2011/2012 ..... 11 September 2012

S. 73 Advice of the Council of Presidential

Advisers on the Appointments to the

Housing and Development Board

(HDB) ..... 11 September 2012

S. L. 114 Central Provident Fund (Public

Sector Employees) (Amendment)

Regulations 2012 ..... 11 September 2012

S. L. 115 Central Provident Fund (Self-

Employed Persons) (Amendment

No. 3) Regulations 2012 ..... 11 September 2012

S. L. 116 Diplomatic and Consular Relations

(ICPO-INTERPOL) Order 2012 ..... 12 September 2012

S. 74 Annual Report of the National

Library Board 2011/2012 ..... 13 September 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 279

PAPERS PRESENTED - continued

2012 Date Presented

S. 75 Annual Report of Home Affairs

Uniformed Services (INVEST Fund)

2011/2012 ..... 13 September 2012

S. 76 The Education Endowment &

Savings Schemes Annual Report

2011/2012 ..... 13 September 2012

S. 77 Annual Report of the National Arts

Council 2011/2012 ..... 14 September 2012

S. 78 Inland Revenue Authority of

Singapore Annual Report 2011/2012 ..... 14 September 2012

S. 79 Intellectual Property Office of


S. 80 Singapore Land Authority Annual

Report 2011/2012 ..... 17 September 2012

S. 81 National Environment Agency

Annual Report 2011/2012 ..... 17 September 2012

S. 82 Public Utilities Board Annual Report

2011/2012 ..... 17 September 2012

S. L. 117 Public Utilities (Composition of

Offences) (Amendment) Regulations

2012 ..... 17 September 2012

S. L. 118 Sewerage and Drainage (Composition of

Offences) (Amendment) Regulations

2012 ..... 17 September 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 280


2012 Date Presented

S. L. 119 Housing Developers (Amendment)

Rules 2012 ..... 17 September 2012

S. L. 120 Planning (Development Charges)

(Amendment No. 2) Rules 2012 17 September 2012

S. 83 Public Transport Council Annual


S. L. 121 Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles,

Registration and Licensing)

(Amendment No. 6) Rules 2012 ..... 18 September 2012




S. L. 123 Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota

System) (Amendment No. 3) Rules

2012 ..... 18 September 2012

S. L. 124 Road Traffic (Fees for Vehicle

Recalls) Rules 2012 ..... 18 September 2012

Pres. Co. 16 Report of the Presidential Council for

Minority Rights on the Building

Control (Amendment) Bill [Bill No

20/2012] ..... 20 September 2012


Minority Rights on the Central

Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill

[Bill No 21/2012] ..... 20 September 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 281


2012 Date Presented


Minority Rights on the Employment

of Foreign Manpower (Amendment)

[Bill No 22/2012] ..... 20 September 2012

S. 84 Competition Commission of


S. 85 Land Transport Authority Annual


S. 86 Health Sciences Authority Annual


S. 87 A* Star Annual Report 2011/2012 ..... 20 September 2012

S. 88 Singapore Workforce Development

Agency Annual Report 2011/2012 ..... 20 September 2012

S. 89 Annual Report of the National

Heritage Board 2011/2012 ..... 24 September 2012

S. 90 Singapore Sports Council Annual


S. 91 Community Mediation Centre


S. 92 Singapore Labour Foundation


S. 93 Broadcasting Act (Chapter 28,

Revised Edition 2012) ..... 25 September 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 282


2012 Date Presented

S. 94 Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter

68, Revised Edition 2012) ..... 25 September 2012

S. 95 Annual Report of the Media

Development Authority 2011/2012 ..... 26 September 2012

S. L. 125 Goods and Services Tax (General)

(Amendment) Regulations 2012 ..... 26 September 2012




S. 96 International Enterprise Singapore

Annual Report & Financial

Statements 2011/2012 ..... 27 September 2012

S. 97 Civil Aviation Authority of


S. 98 Accounting & Corporate Regulatory

Authority Annual Report and

Audited Financial Statements

2011/2012 ..... 27 September 2012

S. 99 Singapore Totalisator Board Annual

Report 2012 ..... 27 September 2012

S. 100 Spring Singapore Annual Report and

Audited Financial Statements

2011/2012 ..... 27 September 2012

S. 101 Energy Market Authority Annual


No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 283


2012 Date Presented

S. 102 Productivity Fund Administration

Board Annual Report 2011 ..... 27 September 2012

S. 103 EDB Annual Report 2011 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 104 Ang Mo Kio Town Council's

Audited Financial Statements,

Auditors' Reports and Annual Report

for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 105 Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council's



for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 106 Chua Chu Kang Town Council's



for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 107 East Coast Town Council's Audited

Financial Statements, Auditors'

Reports and Annual Report for

FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 108 Holland - Bukit Panjang Town

Council's Audited Financial

Statements, Auditors' Reports and

Annual Report for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 109 Jurong Town Council's Audited



FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 284


2012 Date Presented

S. 110 Marine Parade Town Council's



for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 111 Moulmein - Kallang Town Council's



for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 112 Pasir Ris - Punggol Town Council's



for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 113 Potong Pasir Town Council's Audited



FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 114 Sembawang - Nee Soon Town

Council's Audited Financial

Statements, Auditors' Reports and

Annual Report for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 115 Tampines Town Council's Audited



FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 116 Tanjong Pagar Town Council's



for FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 285


2012 Date Presented

S. 117 West Coast Town Council's Audited



FY2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 118 Annual Report and Audited Financial

Statements of Casino Regulatory

Authority for 2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 119 Sentosa Development Corporation

(SDC) Annual Report 2011 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 120 Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority


S. 121 Building and Construction Authority


S. 122 Housing and Development Board


S. 123 National Parks Board Annual Report

2011/2012 ..... 28 September 2012

S. 124 Urban Redevelopment Authority


S. 125 Singapore Tourism Board Annual

Report and Audited Financial

Statements 2011/2012 ..... 1 October 2012

S. 126 People's Association Annual Report

(Audited Financial Statements)

2011/2012 ..... 3 October 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 286


2012 Date Presented

S. L. 127 Civil Aviation Authority of

Singapore (Licensing of Airport

Operators) (Amendment)

Regulations 2012 ..... 3 October 2012

S. 127 Council for Estate Agencies Annual

Report 2010/2012 ..... 4 October 2012

S. 128 Health Promotion Board Annual

Report 2011/2012 ..... 5 October 2012

S. L. 128 Charities (Designation of Sectors)

Notification 2012 ..... 9 October 2012

S. 129 Community Care Endowment Fund

Annual Report for Financial Year

2011 ..... 9 October 2012

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 287

TWELFTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE

FIRST SESSION

ORDER PAPER SUPPLEMENT

Sup. No. 5 MONDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2012 36

NOTICE OF AMENDMENTS TO BILL

IN COMMITTEE

1. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL

[Bill No. 24/2012]

Second Schedule:

Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts:

(1) In page 57, line 20: before "the", to insert "subject to paragraph 2,".

New Paragraph (A):

(2) In page 58: after line 27, to insert ___

"2. In this paragraph and paragraph 1(h) ___

"broadcasting service" has the same meaning as in section 2 of

the Broadcasting Act (Cap. 28);

"news activity" means ___

(a) the gathering of news, or the preparation or compilation of

articles or programmes of or concerning news,

observations on news, or current affairs, for the purposes

of dissemination to the public or any section of the public;

or

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 288

(b) the dissemination, to the public or any section of the

public, of any article or programme of or concerning ___

(i) news;

(ii) observations on news; or

(iii) current affairs;

"news organisation" means ___

(a) any organisation ___

(i) the business of which consists, in whole or in part, of

news activity carried out in relation to a relevant

broadcasting service, a newswire service or the

publication of a newspaper; and

(ii) which, if the organisation publishes a newspaper in

Singapore within the meaning of section 8(1) of the

Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (Cap. 206), is

required to be a newspaper company within the

meaning of Part III of that Act; or

(b) any organisation which provides a broadcasting service in

or from Singapore and holds a broadcasting licence

granted under section 8 of the Broadcasting Act;

"newspaper" has the same meaning as in section 2 of the

Newspaper and Printing Presses Act;

"relevant broadcasting service" means any of the following

licensable broadcasting services within the meaning of the

Broadcasting Act:

(a) Free-to-air nationwide television services;

(b) Free-to-air localised television services;

(c) Free-to-air international television services;

(d) Subscription nationwide television services;

(e) Subscription localised television services;

Sup. No. 5 15 OCTOBER 2012 37

No. 31 15 OCTOBER 2012 289

(f) Subscription international television services;

(g) Special interest television services;

(h) Free-to-air nationwide radio services;

(i) Free-to-air localised radio services;

(j) Free-to-air international radio services;

(k) Subscription nationwide radio services;

(l) Subscription localised radio services;

(m) Subscription international radio

services;

(n) Special interest radio services.".

Note: It is intended that this New Paragraph (A) be inserted immediately

after paragraph 1.

Consequential Amendments:

(1) In page 58, line 13: to renumber paragraph 2 as paragraph 3.

(2) In pages 58 and 59: to renumber paragraphs 2 and 3 as paragraphs 3

and 4, respectively.

Sup. No. 5 15 OCTOBER 2012 38

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