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AGC studying ways to speed up cases involving abused foreign workers

August 4, 2014, 12:14 am
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Working group will also look at how to help abused maids get compensation. 
By Radha Basu, The Sunday Times, 3 Aug 2014

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) is looking at ways to speed up court cases involving abused foreign workers, including maids, as some wait several months or even years before their complaints are dealt with in court.

It is also exploring how to help more foreign maids get compensation for the losses they incur after they stop work because of abuse.

Chief Prosecutor Tai Wei Shyong told The Sunday Times that Attorney-General V.K. Rajah has formed an internal working group to focus on improving court processes involving abused foreign workers.

It will work closely with enforcement agencies and others involved, such as embassies and hospitals, to secure medical reports and witness statements more quickly. Where appropriate, it will try to persuade the courts to fix early hearing dates.

"Expediting these processes would be particularly relevant to foreign workers who are unable to secure alternative employment while awaiting the outcome of the criminal justice process," said Mr Tai.

He was responding to questions from The Sunday Times about maids who report abuse, then end up waiting for the cases to be investigated and dealt with. They stay in shelters while waiting, but some give up, drop their complaints and go home.

Mr Tai said the time needed for each complaint to be concluded varies, depending on the complexity of the case and factors such as the availability of witnesses and the need for medical reports and other evidence.

If a person is charged with a criminal offence, the trial process takes time too, and the accused person must be allowed to consider his position and prepare to defend himself if he denies doing wrong.

It also takes time to obtain and share relevant documents, and to get the cooperation of willing witnesses. Defence lawyers often make representations and when these are not acceded to, finding convenient trial dates for everyone involved can prove problematic sometimes.

"That said, the AGC accepts that like other processes, these can be further improved," said Mr Tai, adding that the new working group will look into these issues with a view to dealing with all cases expeditiously so justice can be served.

"If there are specific cases where there has been a delay in bringing the matter to court, the victim or any other person affected should bring this to the attention of the relevant authorities," he said.

On compensation for abused maids whose tormentors are convicted, Mr Tai explained that the compensation regime under the criminal justice process is usually used only when a victim claims out-of-pocket expenses which the accused person does not dispute were caused by his offence, and the accused person does not dispute the amount.

But Mr Tai said the AGC is studying how to expand the use of compensation orders, to help more maids obtain compensation for losses resulting from a criminal offence committed against them.





Maids claiming abuse face long wait for justice
Maids who complain of physical or sexual abuse face months - sometimes years - of uncertainty waiting in shelters as the police investigate cases and, where possible, take the accused to court. Often, they are in no shape to continue working as maids. With no income and with restrictions on their freedom, most just want to go home or be allowed greater flexibility to work as they pursue their cases
By Radha Basu, The Sunday Times, 3 Aug 2014

Filipino maid Analyn Rinonos, 30, spent two years, three months and two days in a Singapore shelter before she finally returned home to her two young children in March.

That was how long she waited while her complaint of being abused by her employer was investigated and taken through the legal system.

In the end, her employer pleaded guilty and was jailed for a year.

Ms Rinonos received justice, but little else. "I came to Singapore with a dream, but it quickly turned into a nightmare," she told The Sunday Times.

There are maids who are beaten, denied food, locked up and deprived of sleep. Many of their tormentors - their employers - eventually go to jail.

But those who complain of physical or sexual abuse face months, sometimes years, of uncertainty waiting in shelters as the police investigate cases and, where possible, take the accused to court.

There are no official figures on the number of complaints, how many reach the courts or how long each case takes to be resolved.

But figures collated by migrant help group Home and the Indonesian and Philippine embassies, all of which run shelters for maids in distress, show that at least one report of physical or sexual abuse is lodged with the police every other day.

The Sunday Times found nearly a dozen cases of women who returned home a year to 18 months after making a report.

One waited four years.

Once a maid makes a police report, she needs the approval of the authorities to leave Singapore.

She is allowed to find a new job, but only as a maid. Many do not want to work as maids again, given what they say they have suffered.

Some cannot work because their employers do not cancel their work permits out of spite. Others need psychiatric help and are in no shape to work.

With no income and with restrictions on their freedom, most just want to go home or be allowed greater flexibility to work as they pursue their cases. There is no guarantee of compensation even if their employers are eventually convicted and fined or jailed.

Ms Rinonos' employer, for example, was jailed for a year for crimes inflicted on her and another Indonesian maid.

Ms Rinonos sought compensation but she was turned down.

Spokesmen for the Indonesian and Philippine embassies and Home told The Sunday Times that the authorities could look at ways to speed up investigations and consider mandating compensation for victims whose abusers are convicted.

Third Secretary and Vice-Consul Oliver C. Delfin from the Philippine Embassy said what would help is a timeline in police investigations, as the women do not have a support system here aside from their embassies.

Their families are also anxious for them to return home.

While some women persevere and wait for the cases against their employers to be resolved, many others give up, said Home executive director Jolovan Wham. Women with pending cases stay at his shelter for 15 to 18 months.

He said up to four out of five withdraw their complaints and go home. Others leave when their claims cannot be substantiated - sometimes even after they pass lie detector tests conducted by the police - and their employers cannot be charged in court.

One such case involved a 36-year-old Indonesian who alleged in March last year that her employer and his family members punched her in the stomach, put a hot spoon on her eyes, beat her with a hanger and jabbed her with needles.

She gave up and went home in February. The police issued a written warning to the employer, but there was apparently not enough evidence to pursue the case.

Two other women told The Sunday Times they went home after being told their claims could not be substantiated.

One claimed her employer had threatened her with her policeman husband's gun and hit her with tongs and a plastic bottle used to water plants.

She left Singapore in June - 10 months after lodging her complaint. Her employer was given a warning letter.

Home has also seen an increase in the number of women from

Myanmar, Bangladesh and Cambodia seeking help. Indonesians and Filipinas are generally more aware of their rights and have social and embassy support networks, unlike women from some of the newer source countries for maids.

Bangladeshi maids, for instance, are relatively new in Singapore. Most do not speak English and have no idea whom to turn to for help.

Madam M. Aklima, 33, a Bangladeshi mother of two, came to work in Singapore in January, hoping to save for an eye operation for her three-year-old daughter back home.

She claimed her female employer called her lazy and would slap and abuse her every time she did not "clean the flat well".

In one incident, she said, her employer tore her blouse, then called the police to say the maid had gone mad and torn her own clothes.

Initial investigations could not substantiate her charges. Unable to afford being jobless for months on end, she returned home late last month.

Lawyer June Lim from Fortis Law, who has helped maids in abuse cases, said the criminal justice system has "little or no sensitivity" for such cases.

She said she appreciates that once charged in court, the accused person has the right to find a lawyer, make representations, raise the necessary defences or get psychiatric reports prepared.

"But I think the police investigations can and should be speeded up. The authorities should also establish protocols to keep the victim's lawyers and the shelter personnel informed of the status of the case, as it is the uncertainty that is unsettling for the FDW (foreign domestic worker)," she said.

Lawyers such as Mr Quek Mong Hua from Lee & Lee, who have represented employers in maid abuse cases, say every accused is entitled to the due process of law.

Cases may drag on because of three main reasons, Mr Quek said. In some cases, the accused protests his innocence and wants the "fairness of due process".

In others, the accused may admit to the act but has a defence, like a claim to mental illness, that needs to be proved. Then there are those who simply do not admit they are guilty and the prosecution must prove the charge.

The hardest predicament lies with the majority of cases which are minor but still have to be put through the due process.

"As a defence counsel, I would like to suggest that there should perhaps be more room for composition of offences, especially when it is in the interests of the victim, not just the accused," said Mr Quek.

Composition or compounding of an offence - sometimes allowed for minor crimes - does not amount to a conviction but enables the victim to settle with the accused in return for remuneration or an apology.

Mr Wham and some lawyers would like compensation to be made compulsory when the employer is convicted.

Mr Wham also suggested that the women be allowed to get jobs other than as maids, such as kitchen helpers. Funding for counselling and psychiatric care for those who need it would also help.

Although some of the women who allege abuse are witnesses of the state, the Government does not pay for their upkeep while they wait. That too, he hopes, will change. He said his shelter spends $400 per month on each woman.

These suggestions, if taken up, could ease the burden on distressed maids while deterring would-be abusers.

Meanwhile, those who have returned home are learning to rebuild their lives. In a recent Facebook post, Ms Rinonos wrote: "If they disrespect you, (you must) still respect them. Do not allow the actions of others to decrease your good manners, because you represent yourself, not others."

She may never forget, but she is clearly trying to forgive - and move on.





AGC: BETTER IF MAIDS STAY TILL CASES END

Maids involved in abuse cases have alleged that they cannot leave Singapore while investigations are on, but the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) told The Sunday Times that a victim of crime cannot be forced to remain here against his or her will.

However, the victim plays a critical role in the prosecution against the perpetrator, and it is generally better if she can remain in Singapore until the case is concluded, said Chief Prosecutor Tai Wei Shyong.

"If a victim decides to return to her country of origin, the deputy public prosecutor in charge of her case will seek her cooperation to return to Singapore to testify," he said. "The case will not be able to proceed without her evidence."



POLICE: WHY SOME CASES TAKE SO LONG

Asked why investigations of maid abuse sometimes take more than a year to be completed, a police spokesman told The Sunday Times that the role of the police is to uncover the facts without prejudicing the rights of any party involved.

The length of the investigation depends on the facts, circumstances and complexity of each case.

"Police investigations are founded on the principles of interview, intelligence and forensics, and we certainly do not rely on any one aspect to the exclusion of other evidence," the spokesman said. "Each case is assessed based on its facts and circumstances and, in consultation with the public prosecutor, a decision will be made on the action, if any, to be taken on the case."



4 YEARS

Lilis Sriyatun, 29: The Indonesian maid was abused with a bamboo pole and hot spoon and poked with a sewing needle after being forced to strip in 2009. Her female employer was sentenced to 16 months' jail in December 2012. She appealed. In June last year, the employer was diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and her medical records were admitted as evidence in January this year. In April, the sentence was reduced to a $15,000 fine. Ms Sriyatun went home in November last year - more than four years after lodging her police report.


2 YEARS, 8 MONTHS

Juwarti, 25: The Indonesian accused her employer of punching and kicking her body and private parts repeatedly in December 2010. Her employer, a 32-year-old mother of two, also pushed Ms Juwarti's head against a door frame. She was sentenced to 21 months' jail last August.


2 YEARS, 4 MONTHS

Nuryanti, 29: The Indonesian claimed she was so badly abused by her employer that it left her suffering from psychological problems. She was slapped, had her hair pulled and her head hit against a wall, was attacked with a metal bar and hit with a wooden back scratcher with such force that it broke. She ran away and her employer made a police report on Dec 3, 2011. Two years and four months later, on April 24 this year, the woman sales associate was jailed for seven weeks.


2 YEARS, 3 MONTHS

Analyn Rinonos, 30: The Filipino mother of two was hit with a cane and a plastic tub, and splashed with cooking oil. She also had a plastic chair thrown at her, had her hair cut forcibly and her shorts and panties pulled down by her employer's daughter, a 32-year-old single mother of three. The former property agent pleaded guilty and was jailed for a year in April for torturing Ms Rinonos and another maid.


1 YEAR, 9 MONTHS ... and counting

Moe Moe Than, 26: Her employers, an IT manager and a sales manager, face 42 charges of abusing and mistreating Ms Than, a Myanmar national, and Indonesian maid Fitriyah, who filed a police report in November 2012. The employers are accused of forcing Ms Than to remove her blouse while doing her chores and restricting her use of the toilet. The woman employer allegedly used a funnel to force sugar down Ms Than's mouth and made her swallow her vomit. Some of the alleged abuse of the Indonesian helper dates back to February 2011. The case is before the courts.





Beaten, bruised - but not broken
By Radha Basu, The Sunday Times, 3 Aug 2014

The way she tells it, Indonesian maid Khanifah, 34, duelled with depravity and lived to tell the tale.

She claimed her female employer broke her two front teeth with a hammer, stabbed her on the shoulders with a pair of scissors and hit her on the head with a pestle used to make sambal chilli. She said this was because she did not mop the floor cleanly enough, or left a few wrinkles while ironing a shirt.

The mother of two said she was given only one meal a day and could not run away as her employers locked her indoors day and night. Eventually, they decided to send her back to Indonesia without telling her agent.

"I became very weak," she told The Sunday Times. "Perhaps they were scared I would die."

She said that they told her one day that her daughter had died and she had to return immediately.

She was made to wear a headscarf and dark glasses to conceal her head and facial injuries from the abuse.

It was only when she arrived in Bandung and called her husband that she realised her daughter was well.

She was sent to hospital later and her Indonesian agent took photographs of her injuries and sent them to the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore.

Embassy officials arranged for her to be brought back to Singapore and make a police report. "She was lucky that she had a good agent who promptly reported the case to us," said embassy counsellor Sukmo Yuwono, who helped lodge the police report. Investigations are ongoing.

More than a year after returning to make the report, Ms Khanifah went home recently for Ramadan and Hari Raya.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General's Chambers told The Sunday Times that as her assistance is not required at this stage of the investigations, the AGC agreed to her request to return home. She will be back when needed.

The police report, filed on April 4 last year, reads like a cold catalogue of clinical abuse. The ring finger on her left hand was broken as her employer forced her finger back.

The "grinding stone ladle" - presumably a pestle - was used to hit her on the eyes and she had detergent poured into her eyes, causing her vision to blur. She was hit on the chest with a hammer and both wrists had "laceration marks" caused by a knife.

She worked more than a year for the family of four with two children aged 14 and 20.

She claimed the abuse began after the family moved to Woodlands from Pasir Ris, around six months into her contract. "They would hammer me at the slightest excuse, like if I did not hear them call me. And they locked me up," she said.

She claimed she was deprived of sleep and told that the flat had closed-circuit television cameras that could catch her if she slept too much. "I had to hide and sleep," she said.

With no phone and no days off, she was cut off from the outside world. "There was no one to complain to. Sometimes, I feared I would die."

She told The Sunday Times she will return when needed for her case to proceed.

"I hope not just my employer but others who do this to maids get justice too," she said.


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Wanted: A new CPF vision

August 4, 2014, 12:46 am
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Tweaks over the years got in the way of original aim of providing for old age
By Han Fook Kwang, Editor At Large, The Sunday Times, 3 Aug 2014

What is it about the Central Provident Fund (CPF) that has attracted so much public discussion lately?

You would have thought that one of Singapore's most enduring social policies with an almost 60-year history would be well understood and accepted by now.

But debate and misunderstanding persist about its core purpose, how it works and how it affects different people, growing louder and more pronounced in recent months.

The Government has had to give repeated assurances that CPF money belongs to the people even if there are rules about how much can be withdrawn after retirement.

There are advertisements in the newspapers daily explaining how and why the scheme works the way it does.

Yet, talk to people and many don't seem able to grasp what it all means.

There is now an air of anticipation that changes are afoot, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expected to address the issue in his National Day Rally later this month.

I hope it won't mean yet more tinkering of a scheme that has been tweaked to death over the years.

It makes you wonder if the CPF as a policy tool has become too easy for policymakers to use.

It isn't like health care, where any change might involve building expensive and complex hospitals. Or training specialist doctors and nurses and anticipating new diseases.

Or like education, with so many different types of schools and universities, and curriculum to decide on, and teachers to train.

In contrast, changing the CPF scheme seems so simple, it appears that you or I could do it in the blink of an eye.

That's one reason so many people have so many ideas about how to improve it.

Change the contribution rate? Check.

Adjust the withdrawal age? Check.

Increase the interest rates? Check.

Increase the Minimum Sum? Check.

Do all four?

Check!

It's a policy wonk's dream, being able to adjust the numbers here and there to achieve whatever social, economic or political objective you care to set.

Over the years, housing, healthcare and education goals have been grafted onto the scheme.

As have economic considerations, when employers' contribution rates were cut in 1985 and 1999 to improve Singapore's wage competitiveness.

Because the CPF affects every working person and company here, these policy changes had considerable impact whenever they were implemented.

It's a powerful lever of change.

When CPF money was allowed for private property purchases in 1981, for example, the housing market exploded, fuelling a boom that lasted decades.

That happened to the healthcare industry too, when Medisave was started in 1984 to help Singaporeans save for their hospitalisation expenses.

And when the contribution rate was reduced in 1985 and 1999 following economic downturns, it was credited with turning the economy around.

Not so often mentioned though was how these withdrawals and cuts affected the future retirement savings of so many workers, the consequences of which are beginning to be felt today.

So are further tweaks in the pipeline?

Some changes might indeed be needed, given the demographic and social changes that have taken place since the CPF scheme was started.

But more important than any change is a clearer vision of the CPF's place in ensuring the financial security of every Singaporean retiree.

Arriving at and articulating such a vision involves answering many large questions about the scheme's objective and how it can be met.

Is the CPF in its present form adequate in meeting the financial needs of the majority of retirees?

It clearly isn't now, with so many members unable to meet the Minimum Sum.

What will it take to make it so?

What's the Government's policy regarding those with inadequate savings?

This last question needs to be addressed because part of the growing dissatisfaction with the CPF is how poorly it is meeting the needs of a large pool of low-income workers.

Because it is a fully funded scheme, meaning you get exactly what you put in plus interest, the CPF exposes the population to the full, often brutal, force of the marketplace.

If you didn't do well when you worked - your income didn't go up much, you were retrenched or unemployed - you suffer the full consequences later of low retirement savings.

Perhaps that's a hard fact of life and the only way to make the scheme self-sustaining without ending up like many national pension schemes elsewhere which are running out of money.

Or is it?

Are there ways to make the CPF a more dependable source of old-age savings, even within a fully funded system?

Some of the answers to these questions involve even larger issues about what sort of society Singapore is or wants to become.

Is it one which will always largely be about every man for himself, even in retirement, or is there a place for a greater sharing of the financial burden?

Looking at the history of the CPF, I think the early architects of the scheme did have a bold vision.

They had to - otherwise, how do you explain so brave a move as to decree, in 1984, that the combined contribution of employees and employers should add up to 50 per cent of wages.

I can imagine the excitement and hope this must have generated to the people then - half their wages set aside for their future use!

What a mouth-watering prospect of a nest egg that must have seemed then, especially with the economy taking off and incomes increasing every year.

Alas, too many tweaks and other considerations got in the way of that grand vision.

For most people now, their CPF funds at retirement seem barely enough for subsistence living.

Small wonder the scheme no longer inspires the same confidence that all will be taken care of in old age.

I should add that the CPF has benefited many people, especially those who have been able to buy their first homes with the fund's help. But I fear that the changing economic circumstances, with stagnating incomes and property appreciation no longer assured, will lead to inadequate savings down the road.

Can a new vision be found, one that will make Singaporeans hopeful again about their future well-being post-retirement?

It will require much imagination and political courage.

And less tweaking at the edges.



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Government is open to everyone's views: Wong Kan Seng

August 4, 2014, 12:56 am
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Channel NewsAsia, 2 Aug 2014

Former deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng said the government is open to the views of everyone. He was speaking at the Bishan East National Day Dinner Celebrations on Saturday evening (Aug 2).

“Our MPs and ministers are available in face to face meetings each week at MPS or when they attend constituency events,” he said. “Citizens are able to express their views and gain access to policy-makers through online feedback mechanisms such as REACH and the government's various citizen and industry consultations.”

Mr Wong said the rise of civil societies and lobby groups in any maturing and mature society is expected. But at the same time, he said "we should guard against any one lobby group from hijacking the public discourse and pressure policymaking against the interests of wider community."

He was referring to the National Library Board's recent decision to remove three children's books due to a public complaint. Mr Wong commented that it was a topic that captivated the public. It triggered vigorous responses from different groups, following which the library took a middle stance by moving two of the books to the adult's section instead of pulping them.

Mr Wong also said that the government "acts as a referee when conflicts arise between different quarters of society", and as societal values and attitudes change, the government will "rebalance and adjust its policies."

“This openness of our government and policy makers is a valuable asset that needs looking after,” he said. “It must not be exploited to advance narrow self-interests. No lobby group should be allowed to jeopardise the interests of the majority."

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Learning to talk through our differences

August 4, 2014, 1:23 am
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The early identity issues are settled. But today, we have new identity concerns and new fault-lines.
By Chan Heng Chee, Published The Straits Times, 2 Aug 2014

WITH National Day around the corner, it is a good time to reflect on Singapore's national identity. Writers, columnists, politicians, intellectuals, artists, and the man and woman in the street have their own take on identity.

I see identity as never static. It evolves, expands, changes and may revert, responding to domestic developments and global changes.

In Britain, after hundreds of years of historical and constitutional evolution, because of the move for Scottish independence and the influx of new immigrants, Prime Minister David Cameron recently called on the British people to promote "British values" and to bring back "Britishness" into the curriculum in the schools.

For countries gaining independence with decolonisation, "nation-building" was seen to be the main game.

"Nation-building" came with its twin, "identity creation". And there is an ongoing debate on whether identities are created top down or evolve bottom up.

The process is both. At the birth of the nation, the initiative comes from the founding leaders, expressing the values of the people and reflecting the historical process. Over time, these values are burnished and reinterpreted. But identity is also organically reshaped by the way people interact and live.

On the cusp of our 49th National Day, I thought it might be appropriate to reflect on the seminal struggles Singapore went through before Independence in 1965 and as it built its identity in the first decades. Who we are has been shaped by the outcomes of these episodes of history.

I would say Singapore went through three seminal struggles in its young history. The first struggle was over our political-economic identity - communist or non-communist. The second was political - our territorial identity - interpreted as whether to go for merger with Malaya or not.

The third was over cultural identity shaped by the language policy.

Communist or non-communist

SINGAPORE'S eventual triumph against the communists was not preordained. This fight was over the ideological direction and the geopolitical orientation of Singapore. It was the time of the Cold War. The establishment of a communist government in China in 1949 committed to exporting revolution overseas reset the politics in Asia. There were communist parties in every South-east Asian country, operating underground and in the jungles.

The Malayan Communist Party operated in Malaya and Singapore. After the war, conservative parties and radical parties popped up on the Singapore political scene.

What was unusual in Singapore was that a group of moderate leaders were prepared to form a united front with the communists to fight colonialism. The People's Action Party led by Mr Lee Kuan Yew collaborated with the communists, but internally there was an intense fight between the two factions.

This struggle led to the split of the PAP and the emergence of the Barisan Sosialis. These developments pushed Malaysia's then Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman, hitherto cool to merger, to unexpectedly propose the formation of Malaysia - an entity comprising Singapore, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak - in May 1961.

He could not have been more frank: "We can see the threat of the communists. If I did not see this danger, I would not be bothered with the other territories like Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo."

Once Singapore got into Malaysia in 1963, subsequent developments proved to be game-changing. The consuming issue of politics for Singapore shifted to communalism and racial politics. The formation of Malaysia resulted in the sidelining of the communists and pro-communists.

The legacy of this struggle was the PAP's adherence to democratic socialism to counter communism. I believe Mr Lee's dedication to zero tolerance for corruption began with his determination to fight the communists and to provide a model of good governance.

As democratic socialists, the PAP supported public housing and public investment in education and health. Once in government, however, it drifted right, seeing the abuses and excesses of the welfare state in the West. Reaganomics and Thatcherite ideas cutting back Big Government and promoting market forces found resonance here.

In the last few years, there has been a shift to the left in the social policies of the PAP, responding to growing inequalities in society exacerbated by globalisation.

Singaporeans socialised for decades by the philosophy of democratic socialism share an egalitarian outlook and believe in the state's provision of social safety nets. There is wide support for the Government's moves to increase assistance for the poor and disabled. In the United States and Britain, such policies are a matter of fierce debate.

Merger with Malaya or Singapore alone

THE second formative struggle was over territorial identity.

Under the British, Singapore was administered along with Penang and Malacca as part of the Straits Settlements. The Malayan Union, formed in 1946 after the war, left Singapore out.

Conventional political wisdom from that moment argued that Singapore should one day merge with Malaya if it were to attain independence. Very few believed Singapore could exist without its peninsular hinterland. Every political party subscribed to this mantra.

But when it happened, merger with Malaysia lasted all of 23 months, from September 1963 to August 1965.

The relationship did not work in spite of careful delineation of the financial arrangements and powers over tax and education. Left ambiguous was the fundamental question which sooner or later would have to be addressed - who should control political power in Malaysia? Was it going to be a "Malaysian Malaysia" as Singapore advocated or would race-based politics play a bigger role?

The PAP's "precipitous" entry in the peninsular Malayan elections in 1964 was highlighted across the Causeway as the reason for the deterioration of relations. At heart, it was about the challenge to Malay power - and specifically to the power of the Malay-based party Umno (United Malays National Organisation). This short period exposed Singapore to racial politics and rhetoric at its most rancorous and vicious.

With hindsight, if the PAP did not force the issue early, it would have come later. The May 13 riots in 1969 were about the challenge to Malay power. It was made constitutionally clear in 1971 that Malaysia was to be at its core a Malay polity with Malay symbols of power. That has been the identity of Malaysia since.

Separation on Aug 9, 1965, sent Singapore into a different orbit. Singapore set out to create an identity of a city state, a nation state with its own unique model of race relations.

A language policy for a multilingual nation

CHOICE of language is the third issue where Singapore's choice shaped its identity.

New states with heterogeneous populations face the difficult choice of adopting a language policy without accompanying conflict and bloodshed. In 1955, the reorganisation of the linguistic states in India was accompanied by deadly riots. In Ceylon, savage riots followed the introduction of the Sinhala Only Act in 1958, which is considered the root of the Sri Lankan civil war.

In contrast, Singapore's handling of the language policy for a multiracial, multilingual population without violence and bloodshed must be considered one of our country's most significant achievements.

What then Prime Minister Lee succeeded in doing was to convince the majority 75 per cent Chinese in an independent Singapore to accept Malay as the national language and the principle of four official languages.

There are not many majoritarian populations in the world who have given up the claim to majority status for their language. Mr Lee reminded Singaporeans of the new state's location in a Malay archipelago and the strategic necessity of not being mistaken for a "third China".

It was not an easy sell. The politics of language in Singapore was taken up in the 1950s by the communists in Chinese middle schools. Language simmered under the surface and erupted in the open in the politics of the 70s and 80s.

The decision to retain English as the language of the civil service and the courts suggested to parents that if their children were to secure a job in the civil service, they should be enrolled in English schools.

The watershed came in 1972 when Mr Lee argued that every Singaporean should be bilingual. They should learn English as a language of communication among the multi-ethnic population, and to gain access to science, technology and the world. At the same time, each person was asked to study his mother tongue for cultural retention.

This policy was generally accepted as English was perceived by most to be a neutral language for all ethnic groups. In any case, by then, the numbers of students enrolled in the English schools far surpassed those enrolled in Chinese, Malay and Tamil schools. The universities converted to teaching in English to avoid producing two classes of graduates based on language differences - English and Chinese.

That language policy has largely shaped our cultural identity. Singaporeans are united by speaking English, Singlish and our mother tongues. We are "diluted" Chinese, Malays, Indians or Eurasians - we are Westernised up to a point, and our ethnic identities show in varying degrees.

We are Singaporeans.

We have learnt to live with one another's differences. We have other shared cultural bonds in food, music, national service and the school experience, and National Day parades.

Most regard the early identity issues as settled, and they are right. But today, we have new identity concerns and new fault-lines.

Singapore will be arguing for some time over how much "foreign" should be accommodated in the population and identity, and how to deal with the new "culture wars" - I prefer to use "cultural divide" - over family values.

Conservationists and civil society organisations will become more active in the coming years. Many of our young citizens are championing a variety of social causes.

All this is reflective of a nation growing more diverse as it matures and evolves. There is an urgent need for us to talk to one another with civility and learn to negotiate our way through differences.

Our founding values of equality of all races, multiculturalism, multilingualism and multi-religions are a tolerant and inclusive vision. We should burnish and reinterpret the spirit of these values as we deal with new diversity issues.

The writer chairs the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.


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Whose 'community norms' are policies based on?

August 4, 2014, 11:35 pm
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Surveys show that younger Singaporeans have more liberal views on sexuality and family. When policies are based on 'community norms', then policymakers must prepare for generational shifts in attitudes.
By Mathew Mathews, Published The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2014

PREVAILING community norms have often played a part in defining morality in Singapore and other traditional societies. Even those who may not subscribe to such norms privately may strive for consensus in issues of morality in the public domain. They may value community ties and accept that community norms should prescribe appropriate and publicly acceptable behaviour.

But traditional notions of sexuality and marriage are shifting on a much larger scale, if we go by the outcome of public opinion surveys routinely conducted in many developed societies. What impact will these changes have on community norms in Singapore?

World Values Survey

THE World Values Survey (WVS), which is conducted in nearly 100 countries, provides one such platform to analyse these attitudinal shifts. Two waves of the survey have been done in Singapore - once in 2002 with about 1,500 respondents and the second, a decade later in 2012 with nearly 2,000 respondents.

In each survey, Singaporean respondents were asked, among others, a series of questions about morality, ranging from bribery to homosexuality. Respondents had to choose a number on the scale of one to 10, with one denoting that an act was never justifiable and 10, that it was always justifiable.

Over the course of a decade, scores for several questions both internationally and locally have shifted away from the "never justifiable" spectrum of the scale. For instance, the mean score for divorce in the Singaporean waves of the WVS has moved from 3.4 to 4.4. In the case of homosexuality, the score shifted from 2.4 to 3.6.

This shift might be the result of an increasingly better-educated population uncomfortable with choosing the "never justifiable" stance for issues related to sexual morality. Education broadens perspectives and leads to a preference for positions which are more nuanced. This was evident in the 2012 wave of the WVS where those who had more education were more likely to justify abortion, divorce, sex before marriage and homosexuality compared to those with less education.

However, the great majority of Singaporean respondents still choose options close to the "never justifiable" position on matters of traditional morality such as divorce, homosexuality and premarital sex when compared to Western societies such as Australia, the United States and the Netherlands.

Among Australians, in the most recent wave of the study, the mean score for the item on whether premarital sex was justifiable was 7.7. It was 6.9 for homosexuality and 7.1 for divorce. These scores are much closer to the end of the spectrum, indicating that these actions could be "always justified" compared to the Singaporean scores of 3.8 for premarital sex, 3.5 for homosexuality and 4.3 for divorce.

It is fair to say then that Singapore society is still rather conservative compared to many Western societies and in fact, also more conservative compared to a number of developed Asian societies such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Respondents from these East Asia societies were more likely to choose positions closer to the middle of the spectrum. Malaysians were however substantially more conservative than Singaporean respondents.

One question to ask is whether any shift in public attitudes in Singapore about sexual and familial norms is the result of changing attitudes of the younger generation.

A look at the WVS data for Singapore suggests so. The mean scores for those who were younger were clearly closer to the middle of the spectrum - between never justifiable and always justifiable.

For instance the mean scores for those between 18 and 25 years when it came to the justifiability of homosexuality was 4.3, compared to 3.9 for those between 26 and 35 years, 3.4 in the case of those between 46 and 55 years and 3.1 for those above 65 years.

The more liberal views of younger cohorts extend to other areas of sexual and family norms.

IPS survey

IN ADDITION, the findings of an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Survey on Race, Religion and Language, which was conducted from December 2012 to April last year, bear out this generational shift.

In the IPS survey, the questions examining morality were patterned after the much-referenced American General Social Survey and the British Social Attitudes Survey, where respondents are asked along a continuum how wrong certain actions were. They were not a checklist of wrongdoings but were aimed at testing moral beliefs, which are often framed in terms of whether an action is "wrong".

Fewer of those between 18 and 25 years of age stated that a particular act was "always wrong" or "almost always wrong" compared to the middle-aged and older.

For instance, 48 per cent of those between 18 and 25 years stated that sexual relations before marriage was always or almost always wrong. This compared with 65 per cent of those between 46 and 55 years and 73 per cent of those above 65 years of age.

On sexual relations between two adults of the same sex, it was 65 per cent for the youngest group, 85 per cent for the middle-aged and 89 per cent of seniors who said it was always or almost always wrong.

Only 28 per cent of those between 18 to 25 years seemed to believe that living with their partner before marriage was always or almost always wrong compared with 53 per cent of those who are middle-aged and 63 per cent of seniors. In a number of other areas such as the morality of extramarital sex and pregnancies outside marriage, consensus was high across age groups.

It would appear that more among the youngest group are liberal - at least when polled. But longitudinal studies of this cohort are necessary before one can draw conclusions on whether their views will remain stable as they marry and parent.

Public opinion surveys have their detractors. Critics note the hypocrisy of respondents who voice their disapproval of various behaviours but do not live up to these standards in private.

But these surveys must be taken as a reflection of popular opinion, not a detailed study of individuals' moral consistency. When rigorously conducted, these studies reveal attitudes and moral beliefs of a society that are useful to policymakers, especially when comparisons are made over time and between those of different demographic profiles.

How much Singapore intends to stick to a more conservative morality in the face of massive cultural change globally is yet to be seen. Whether such change is positive or not for our society to function well will require a careful observation of other societies over time.

Whose norms?

BUT already, surveys suggest there is an emerging generational difference in receptiveness towards premarital sex, divorce, homosexuality and cohabiting before marriage.

In such a situation, when "community norms" are referenced as the arbiter of public morality, it is worth considering what set of community norms are being referred to: those of the young, the middle-aged, the seniors? Or an aggregate? And if the latter, will evolving moral attitudes also result in a change in community norms?

It is possible that some among the young will change their views as they progress to middle age - something we need better longitudinal studies to establish, but there is a suggestion from the surveys discussed, that there is a growing tolerance for different models of sexuality and family.

What is clear however is that it is imperative that local public institutions adapt to the reality of cultural change and complexity - they cannot operate as if there is one set of "community norms".

What is needed is a process by which specific institutions engage what they consider are the relevant stakeholders and segments of the public if the notion of community norms impinge on their day to day decisions and operations. To deny this reality and therefore not engage in sufficient dialogue or tweaks to social policy might leave Singapore unprepared to deal with the possibility that younger cohorts are prepared to countenance non-traditional options of sexuality and family.

Those who do not subscribe to conservative values should also be mindful of the current climate of opinion. Pushing hard against them, something common in many Western societies, may not be appropriate in a society which is still largely conservative. This may polarise society and make constructive dialogue difficult.

The writer is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, and led the IPS Survey on Race, Language and Religion.


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New push to give security guards a big pay hike

August 5, 2014, 12:00 am
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NTUC's proposal is part of scheme to raise income of low-wage workers
By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2014

SECURITY guards can expect a big pay bump if a plan by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to raise their basic monthly wages by $300 receives the green light from employers.

The Straits Times understands that NTUC representatives met security firms two weeks ago and tabled a new wage ladder.

The proposal includes raising the minimum basic monthly pay for guards to $1,100 per month - a substantial increase from the current $817 stated in the last Manpower Ministry salary data report released in June.

If the new minimum wage is pushed through, security guards can earn about $2,100 each month with overtime, up from just $1,678 now, say industry players.

Security guards typically work 12 hours each day, six days a week. The bulk of their pay comes from overtime work.

There are about 70,000 licensed security guards in Singapore. But the low basic pay and long hours have kept about 30,000 of them away from work, adding to the manpower crunch in the sector.

The NTUC confirmed that a committee of unionists, employers and government officials have indeed met security agencies but declined to elaborate further.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Zainal Sapari, who is also a member of the NTUC-led security tripartite cluster, said while the wage ladder is under discussion, "no decision has been made".

The latest push comes nearly a year after a similar move by NTUC to raise the pay of security guards in September last year was rebuffed by the Security Association of Singapore, mainly due to concerns of rising wage costs.

Industry insiders, however, believe that unlike last year, this renewed push has the backing of the Government.

In January, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced the Government will implement a "progressive wage model" in the security industry, after a wage ladder kicks in for the cleaning sector next month, which sets the basic monthly pay of cleaners at $1,000.

Apart from those in the cleaning sector and security industry, the Government has also targeted workers in the landscape sector for pay hikes as part of a broad push to raise the income of low-wage workers.

Under the wage ladder drawn up by the NTUC, security guards can be trained to become senior security supervisors in six years, earning a basic pay of $1,700 a month, up from $1,100.

The latest move drew support from industry players like Mr Robert Wiener, president of the Association of Certified Security Agencies. He said the latest NTUC proposal is something the association can "reasonably support". "But the industry will need time to adjust, over a couple of years."

Security Association of Singapore president T. Mogan, however, said firms are still facing cost pressures. "At the end of the day, we are running businesses and we are worried about costs like Central Provident Fund rates and foreign worker levies, both of which are also going up," he said.

At least one security guard The Straits Times spoke to, however, felt the pay rise was long overdue.

"At $1,100 a month, it is only a bit higher than the $1,000 basic pay that cleaners are already getting," said 59-year old Edmund Chua, a guard of more than 10 years. "This shows how little we value the work of security officers."


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The push 
for better service

August 5, 2014, 12:01 am
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By Jochen Wirtz, Published TODAY, 4 Aug 2014

In recent months, media reports have focused the spotlight of good service on customers in Singapore, with labour chief Lim Swee Say calling for greater respect for service staff and the Singapore Kindness Movement launching a pop-up cafe that rewards kindness with discounts.

While customers are encouraged to be kind to front-line staff, it takes two hands to clap. There is one other factor that needs to be addressed — service organisations themselves, some of which may be setting up their front-line staff for the fall.

The front line is, perhaps, one of the most critical groups of staff that either makes or breaks service organisations. However, these functions are often regarded as the “lowest” rung of an organisational hierarchy.

Employers run the risk of sabotaging their own businesses when they hire staff with minimum qualifications and rock-bottom wages. Coupled with narrow functional definitions and rigid rules, front-liners can suffer from low self-esteem, which is an instant motivation and initiative killer.

Worse, some front-liners may have to enforce rules that they themselves do not agree with, such as charging for plain water in restaurants.

Perhaps the current labour crunch in the service industry will provide the “systemic” shock that is much needed to remedy the situation, for organisations to realise that the start point of great service is not a set of rules that dictates forced smiles and scripted greetings.

In an employees’ market, jobseekers call the shots. If they feel that the scope of work and the flexibility with which they can delight their customers is curtailed, employees would soon move on.

As employers struggle to retain front-line staff, companies will have to re-examine how they view these roles and get behind front-line staff to empower them, as opposed to just managing staff. Firms will have to work hard at rewarding employee performance that strengthens the reputation of the company and not only enforce the rules.

RE-EVALUATING ROLE 
OF FRONT-LINE STAFF

From a customer’s perspective, the encounter with service staff is probably the most definitive and visible aspect of a company.

Service staff deliver the service and affect the service encounter greatly. Front-line employees also represent the firm and are a core part of the brand. As organisations regard their customers highly, they should also highly regard employees who are responsible for this most critical interaction.

Yet, a recent Channel NewsAsia report showed there is a rising trend of employers offering short-term contracts to plug urgent manpower gaps. In an attempt to resolve the manpower crunch in organisations quickly, some may resort to hiring employees who can take up the positions at the shortest notice or are willing to accept the lowest offer.

Then, in an attempt to ensure that these staff can perform and to enhance productivity, these businesses simplify work processes and narrowly define job scopes.

Without sight of a bigger picture and not seeing the context of their work and its value to the organisation, the employees simply clock in, follow the rules, then clock out, potentially leaving a stream of dissatisfied customers in their wake. What can organisations do about this?

KEY STRATEGIES FOR 
SUCCESSFUL INTERACTIONS

Start by devoting great care and time to attracting the right people. Counter-intuitive, perhaps, when there is a dearth of candidates, but an effective strategy in the long run.

Thailand, the “land of smiles” has long earned praise for excellent service. This is in part due to the welcome that the warmth and friendliness of the people naturally exude. It is this same warmth that the Ritz-Carlton Hotels Group identifies through personal profiling tools for recruitment. This is an indication that the applicant is the one with the right attitude towards service.

If organisations manage to identify the right people, they are likely to stay for longer periods with the company, given the right rewards, and more importantly, recognition and motivators. This brings me to my next point.

After selecting the right candidates, we need to empower them. Training is especially important in empowering front-line staff. The subject area should not be limited to product knowledge, but also to emphasise the company culture.

Empowered staff can provide the information that customers need more effectively. And in unique situations or when faced with a customer who makes unusual demands contrary to policy, the employee can effectively share the organisation’s perspective, and even decide how best to continue to meet that customer’s needs in a way that is consistent with the company’s culture.

Such training can be enhanced with conflict management skills. For instance, if restaurants choose to charge customers for water, they should have equipped front-line staff with the skills to manage the very obvious situations that should follow.

Good customer-facing policymaking should always start with front-line staff. As these staff are the primary contact for customers, they would be in the best position to identify gaps in policies, service chains or products. For instance, none of us would want a burger with a thumbprint. At McDonald’s, this would never happen, thanks to the staff at an outlet that developed a way to wrap burgers without unsightly thumbprint marks.

Employees will feel more involved in the organisation, and share the successes of the company when issues are resolved as a result of their input. Even when the company chooses to be top down in policy-setting, the responsibility lies with management to ensure that these policies do not automatically doom the service encounter.

Again, an understanding of what the front-line is faced with will have to come into play. At the very least, management should walk the ground and put themselves in the shoes of the customer when faced with these decisions. Disney World’s management spends two weeks every year in front-line staff jobs. They can be seen sweeping streets, selling ice cream or working as ride attendants.

So, perhaps before making a group discount that deals with multiple disclaimers or upsells a product or service, heads of companies could run trial promotions and man the front line before rolling it out.

As Mr Lim shared: “Good services beget good customers and good customers beget good services.” Excellent service is not some impossible quest. Like every relationship, kindness in service is a self-sustaining cycle.

When organisations value their service staff, make careful hiring decisions, train, empower and motivate their front-line employees, they in turn will value their customers, and customers in turn will value what the service organisation has to offer.

Jochen Wirtz is Professor of Marketing at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore.


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$31 million to transform Woodlands: From sleepy suburb...to high-traffic hub

August 5, 2014, 12:21 am
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Woodlands Central to have its own retail and food complex
By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2014

WOODLANDS Central, one of four regional centres that will serve as business hubs outside the city, will have its own retail and food complex by 2017.

The $31.1 million project has been earmarked to be built in the open space next to Woodlands Sports Hall and bounded by Woodlands Street 12, The Straits Times understands.

Facilities planned for the hub, which is a joint development by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Housing Board, include a hawker centre with 80 cooked food stalls, 60 retail shops, five commercial schools, a supermarket and some 200 parking spaces.

To support future traffic to the area, Woodlands Street 12 will be widened and a new slip road added from the street to Woodlands Avenue 3.

Plans to develop the new hub in Woodlands Central comes after a relocation exercise announced by HDB in 2012, which will affect many households, businesses and hawker stalls at Woodlands Centre Road.

The Housing Board said then that six blocks in the area will have to be relocated under the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme to replacement flats in Woodlands Drive 70 by 2016.

The move, said HDB at the time, would affect some 147 households, 200 businesses in rental shops and 78 hawker stalls.

The new hub is partly meant to ensure that there are enough cooked food stalls in the area, NEA told The Straits Times last week.

Currently, there is only one NEA-managed hawker centre in Woodlands, located at Block 20 Marsiling Lane.

There will be an urgent need for more food options once the crowd comes in with the upcoming development of the Woodlands Regional Centre, said residents The Straits Times spoke to.

There are plans for one part of the regional centre to be a retail hub called Woodlands Central, occupying a 30ha area around Woodlands MRT and Causeway Point.

The Woodlands MRT station is also likely to be busier when it becomes an interchange linking the North-South Line with the new Thomson Line in 2019.

"Woodlands is getting very crowded, so the new facility would help the sports users who frequent the stadium, swimming complex or sports hall to have hawker stalls on the doorstep," said Woodlands resident Elle Lim, 26, a freelance music teacher.

Ms Rachel Ong, 54, who works at the nearby Woodlands Civic Centre, agreed.

"The new hub will ease some pressure from the potentially crowded central area by directing footfall to its food stalls and shops," said the administrator.

"I just hope that the new road created will ease the traffic congestion that arises whenever there are events like night markets or bazaars in the area."


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New help centre for carers of mentally ill

August 5, 2014, 12:45 am
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Staff and volunteers of IMH facility to reach out to distressed caregivers
By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2014

CAREGIVERS of people with mental illness can look forward to more help and support with the opening of a new centre at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Staff and volunteers from the Caregivers Support Centre, located at the entrance of IMH, will be on hand to reach out to and befriend distressed caregivers who may be there with their loved ones, to offer counselling or just a listening ear.

The centre was established in December last year with funding from the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). Much more can be done here to support those with mental illness and the people around them, said the council.

That is why the NCSS, which is the national coordinating body for voluntary welfare organisations, plans to make mental health a key area of focus this year.

It said it is setting aside $5.5 million to support 22 mental health programmes this financial year, almost 50 per cent more than the $3.7 million disbursed in the previous year.

According to the Singapore Mental Health Study released three years ago, more than one in 10 people in Singapore will be stricken by mental illness in their lifetime. In the study, depression emerged as the most pervasive mental illness here, projected to affect 170,000 adults at some stage of their life.

The funding from the NCSS will be used to help those recovering from mental illness to find jobs, and start support groups for those with depression and bipolar disorders, among other things.

The support centre at IMH is run by the Caregivers Alliance, the only organisation here whose sole aim is to help caregivers of mentally ill persons.

"Signs of distress may not be easily visible sometimes, so our approach is to start a conversation with caregivers, provide a listening ear and help after assessing their needs," said Caregivers Alliance executive director Sally Thio.

Other programmes in the pipeline include Project Hire (Help Integrate Recovering Persons With Mental Illness Through Employment) and Project Resilienz.

Project Hire hopes to get 100 employers to offer 200 recovering mental patients job opportunities in the next five years. Project Resilienz involves training students with disabilities in mainstream schools to be mentally resilient by equipping them with better social and communication skills.

Studies overseas have shown that students with disabilities who are in mainstream schools have a high chance of developing mental health issues because they find it challenging to fit in with their classmates.

Project Resilienz will be piloted later this year, starting with students who are visually impaired.

A 55-year-old woman who received help from the new Caregivers Support Centre recently said she is glad that there is now more attention placed on those affected by mental illnesses.

The housewife, who asked not to be named, has a teenage son who suffers from depression.

"Mental illness can be a tiring and lonely journey for both the patient and the caregiver," she said. "But with enough support, it can be a time that bonds people together more strongly."


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PM to give assurance on retirement funds at Rally speech

August 5, 2014, 1:16 am
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By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2014

GIVING Singaporeans assurance that they have enough to retire on will be one of the main themes of the National Day Rally speech later this month, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Sharing details of the speech on Aug 17, he said it will also focus on how the Government plans to create more opportunities for Singaporeans to pursue their dreams, improve the living environment in Singapore, and build a "better and brighter future".

"You don't have to worry about very difficult things in life, such as medical care," Mr Lee said last night at a National Day dinner in his Teck Ghee ward in Ang Mo Kio GRC. "But you can have the assurance in order to reach for the stars, to work to improve your lives."

Retirement adequacy has been the focus of late with the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme coming under much debate, and the new MediShield Life being introduced. Earlier this year when Parliament was re-opened after a break, PM Lee had said that he hoped to share details on changes to CPF and CPF Life in his National Day Rally speech.

Last night, he spoke in Malay, Mandarin and English at the dinner with a boisterous crowd of 2,500 Teck Ghee residents which included 500 from the pioneer generation.

Last Friday, Mr Lee gave out the first 100 of 450,000 pioneer generation cards, which are expected to reach all pioneers by the end of the month.

Referring to this, he said: "It is our gesture to you, and thank you very much for all your contributions to Singapore."

Pioneers have taught Singaporeans the importance of looking out for one another, he said, and in this same spirit within his ward "we do all we can to take care of one another".

He cited the Teck Ghee Active Ageing Club, which has over 4,000 members, and efforts by young people to help the elderly and underprivileged.

Mr Lee also said eight blocks of flats in Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 have been selected for the Home Improvement Programme, an upgrading scheme for older flats. This will benefit close to 1,200 homes.

In Malay, Mr Lee said that he was heartened to see Muslims and non-Muslims coming together to support government efforts and pray for peace in areas like the Middle East. The support for fund-raising and community activities for victims of the crisis in Gaza is also heartening, he said, referring to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

"This shows we are concerned with the situation of those who are less fortunate... regardless of race, religion or beliefs. This is the spirit we want to foster in our citizens," he said.

In the morning, Mr Lee also attended a National Day observance ceremony with over 3,500 residents and students at Yio Chu Kang stadium.


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Parliament Highlights - 4 Aug 2014

August 5, 2014, 7:52 am
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New Family Justice Courts to better resolve family conflicts
Judge-led approach aims to ease the pain and protect the vulnerable
By Radha Basu, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

A NEW court will be set up to deal with family disputes in less acrimonious ways under a law passed in Parliament yesterday. The aim is to ease the pain, better protect the vulnerable and cut costs and delays in cases of family conflict.

The Family Justice Courts will oversee divorce and other cases relating to painful and personal matters such as family violence, disputes over wills, adoption and guardianship, and custody and other family issues involving children.

The new system seeks to replace the old adversarial approach - dominated by duelling lawyers - with a judge-led one, where judges specialising in family matters will lead and control the pace and direction of cases.

Among measures being introduced: Parents who plan to divorce must attend a "pre-filing" consultation with state-appointed officials unless they are able to agree on all matters concerning the divorce. Newly appointed "court friends" will assist those not represented by lawyers. And the court will appoint a representative where necessary to protect the interests of the child in bitter divorce disputes.

The Family Justice Act also provides for a new Central Registry that receives, assigns and manages all cases for hearing. Urgent cases where a person's safety is at risk, for instance, will be fast-tracked. Complex cases requiring more rigorous and specialist attention will also be put on a separate track.

In any proceedings involving the welfare or custody of a child, the court may, where necessary, appoint a doctor, counsellor, social worker or mental health professional to examine and assess the child for the purpose of preparing expert evidence for use in court. Judges will also be empowered to order parties to undergo mediation or counselling.

Court processes are also being streamlined to reduce unnecessary legal costs and delays. Forms, for instance, are being simplified and affidavits must be filed according to standard templates.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Law Minister K. Shanmugam stressed that the changes are not aimed at making it easier for couples to divorce. "Families should be saved as far as possible, and disputes... brought before the court only as a last resort," he said. "But if the marriage has irretrievably broken down and the family ends up in the court system, the court process should not worsen the anguish of the family."

The 71-page law is based on comprehensive recommendations of a Committee for Family Justice comprising representatives from the Government, the courts, the social services and the legal fraternity. Chaired by Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah and then Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah, the committee was set up last year in the wake of rising divorce rates. There were 7,525 divorce and annulment cases last year, up 4 per cent from the year before.

Cutting across party lines, all eight MPs who spoke during the two-hour debate yesterday broadly supported the Bill. Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan lauded the Bill as one that championed a "major and much- needed revamp of our family justice system".

Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) supported indications that the process would be "less adversarial, enabling the judge to probe beyond the symptoms to the root cause of the problems". And Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC), Ms Ellen Lee (Sembawang GRC) and Dr Lily Neo (Tanjong Pagar GRC) lauded the judge-led approach to protect the best interests of the child.

Mr Shanmugam said the law represents the Government's and the court's commitment to transform the system to help troubled families resolve disputes with as little emotional trauma as possible. "What we can do is help families resolve their issues, either by mending the relationship or, if that is not possible, by helping them move on with their lives."





Cases to be heard in private to protect kids: Shanmugam
By Radha Basu, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

THERE is a difference between public interest and what the public is interested in, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday while explaining why cases heard by the new Family Justice Courts will largely remain private.

He was responding to Workers' Party chairman and Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim's questions on why the proceedings of this court will be private by default.

The interests of the children must also be protected, the minister added.

Ms Lim contended that the clause stipulating "in-camera" or private hearings unless otherwise stated would be "a significant departure from the open justice concept applicable to the other courts, maintaining the courts as open and public and to which the public shall generally have access".

Having a closed court was also a change from the current situation pertaining to family cases, where many family-related proceedings are heard in open court, such as divorces, contested maintenance applications and protection orders, and contested inheritance cases.

Even in the current Juvenile Court that handles cases of youth in trouble, the Children and Young Persons Act permits the presence of bona fide representatives of news agencies, she pointed out.

While acknowledging the need for private hearings in some cases - such as those involving children - she wondered whether it was clear that the media should not report on family cases at all.

While sensational, intrusive stories were justifiably disliked, she argued that an accurate media report could increase public awareness of family law, rights and obligations. "It is in the public interest that the layman has some understanding of family law principles and how the Family Court works, since it is an area of law touching all our lives directly," she said.

The former law lecturer added that one of the hallmarks of an open justice system was that the general public was able to observe and scrutinise how the courts function. "There is a risk that the secrecy surrounding the Family Justice Courts may undermine public confidence in it."

The recommendation for private hearings was made by the Family Justice Committee, comprising expert representatives from the Government, law and social service fraternities.

Responding to her concerns, Mr Shanmugam, who has been a top legal eagle himself, said that after extensive consultations, the committee felt that the "full entrails of the family disputes should not be laid out in public to protect the children".

He added that judges were being given the discretion to order public hearings, or make public judgments when necessary.

"Precisely what details, what cases are published, whether it's published in the media, those are things that I would rather not do by diktat," he said. Judges were best placed to make those decisions. "And they must have the discretion to do what is right in the appropriate cases."





S'pore carriers told to review flight path risk assessments
By Karamjit Kaur, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

A SINGAPORE Airlines plane was about 90km, or some 10 minutes away, when a Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down last month over eastern Ukraine where rebels are fighting government forces.

While there were no flight restrictions over the airspace at the time, the July 17 crash of MH17 has prompted the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to ask Singapore carriers to review their risk assessment of flight operations over conflict zones, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew told Parliament yesterday.

The authority is also looking at how to enhance the sharing of safety and security information among national aviation authorities and airlines so that carriers can better assess risks.

Mr Lui said: "International civil aviation requires an aircraft to traverse multiple countries, but no single authority would be able to provide all the information on the situation outside its jurisdiction. Countries need to rely on one another, and need to work together in order to ensure the continued safety of civil aviation."

Leading the global drive for more information sharing is the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) - a United Nations arm that oversees commercial aviation - which has set up a high-level task force on this.

MPs had expressed concern over SIA flights that overfly conflict zones, but Mr Lui told them that while steps are being taken, there were no flight restrictions above 32,000 feet for the particular airspace before the MH17 crash.

"No national aviation authorities, no regional aviation bodies, nor ICAO, had provided any advisories to avoid that part of Ukrainian airspace," he said.

Cutting through Ukrainian skies is the most optimal route for flights between Europe and the Middle East, South Asia and South-east Asia, he said.

"It was therefore being regularly and heavily utilised by many airlines" including Qatar Airways, Emirates, Air India, Lufthansa, Thai Airways and SIA.

As for carriers plying between Europe and North Asia, there is usually no need to fly over Ukraine, he said. Following the MH17 crash, Australia's Qantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong and carriers from South Korea said they did not operate flights over Ukraine.

Responding to Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) who asked whether SIA could have tightened its risk assessment given that other carriers had decided to avoid flying over Ukraine even before the crash, Mr Lui said that with the exception of British Airways, there was really no need for the rest to use Ukrainian airspace.

Mr Lui said: "British Airways indeed avoided Ukrainian airspace on their flights to our part of the world but British Airways had also decided and very recently affirmed the decision that it will continue to fly over Iraq which is an airspace that many airlines have decided not to fly over.

"So I think there is no one example that we can follow and each airline will have to make its own best judgment taking all factors into consideration."

This includes advisories from governments, as well as regional and international bodies, he said.

Even as SIA had continued to fly over Ukraine pre-MH17, it had proactively avoided other conflict zones, he said. Syria was one example, industry insiders said.

Following MH17, SIA and other airlines have stopped flying over Ukraine.





NLB to keep review and buying teams separate
Move will boost public confidence in the review process, says Yaacob
By Pearl Lee, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

THE National Library Board (NLB), embroiled in a recent controversy over books with homosexual content, has taken steps to improve the way it reviews its books.

One major move is that the team selecting books for its 25 public libraries and the team reviewing them will be different.

This is not clearly spelt out now, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said in Parliament yesterday. He believes segregating these responsibilities will "lead to greater public confidence in the review process".

He also highlighted two other changes the NLB is looking into.

One is the setting up of an external advisory panel to evaluate potentially controversial titles and the other is to consider options other than just destroying books deemed unsuitable.

The upcoming panel, he said, should represent a cross-section of society and include members from the literary community.

But the final decision of keeping or withdrawing a title should still lie with the NLB, he added.

As for books withdrawn owing to controversial content, he said NLB will consider other options such as placing them in another section, or putting them up for sale or donation. NLB's current practice is to pulp books withdrawn for being worn and torn.

Last month, its decision to remove three children's titles with homosexual content, after it received some public complaints, and pulp them caused a major uproar. It subsequently reinstated two titles - And Tango Makes Three and The White Swan Express - but in the adult collection.

The saga led to a string of questions in Parliament from MPs.

In his 15-page reply, Dr Yaacob explained, among other things, how NLB selects and reviews books. Special care is taken for the children's section as many browse the shelves unsupervised, he added. He also said And Tango Makes Three, which features two male penguins raising a chick, was acquired in 2005. It went through an internal review in 2009 and was retained in the children's section. NLB was then under the leadership of Dr N. Varaprasad.

In making the 2009 decision, Dr Yaacob said "(NLB) was looking at perhaps the discussion at that point in time. Things have changed, a fresh pair of eyes took a look at the book again, there was feedback from the public, and (NLB) decided maybe it was not appropriate for us to have the book in the children's section".

Making such assessments is "not an exact science" and those doing so may have their own opinions, he added. In reviewing books, NLB takes into account community norms, he said. "It is not NLB's mandate to challenge or seek to change these norms."

Nominated MP Janice Koh asked if there was only one standard set of community norms NLB bases its policies on.

Dr Yaacob replied: "The norms will change over time and therefore we rely on government polls and feedback channels... and 'Meet the Customer' sessions NLB has held from time to time."

He also cited a 2013 Our Singapore Conversation study which shows 55 per cent of 4,000 people surveyed rejected same-sex marriage; 24 per cent were neutral and 21 per cent accepted it. Also, a government survey shows 52 per cent of 843 people polled feel books not in line with traditional family values should not be in public libraries' children's sections.

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines GRC) noted that an Archie comic issue, banned from bookstores by the Media Development Authority (MDA) for depicting same-sex marriage, is available in Singapore's public libraries.

Dr Yaacob said the MDA's decision should not automatically determine NLB's position. The reason, he added, is that bookshops here "are open to all patrons and there are no age restrictions at the point of sale".

Public libraries, however, have different collections, and this gives it some flexibility to place some materials deemed unsuitable for one age group in another section, he said.





Three lessons to navigate minefield of clashing values
By Robin Chan, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

WE CANNOT get it right all the time. That was the frank admission from Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, repeated several times over, during the debate on the removal of three books by the National Library Board (NLB) that touched on homosexuality.

Over a half hour, Dr Yaacob sought to assure the seven MPs who had asked questions on this issue that NLB would be strengthening its processes of reviewing books and building in more mechanisms to take in wider public feedback such as having an advisory panel.

But Dr Yaacob also made it clear that when dealing with such issues, it is often an art more than a science.

"Will (NLB) get it right all the time? I will not give you that assurance, but I think we will try our very best to draw as much input as possible for us to make a decision," he said.

The debate highlighted three issues in the area of evolving norms and values.

First, decision-makers need to be much more aware of the changing social norms and potential clashes of values. This raises the question if they are being adequately prepared to do so.

Having the proposed advisory panel to give more input on where the community is, will help in this regard and hopefully improve the decision-making process.

In this particular case, And Tango Makes Three - one of the books under scrutiny - was acquired in 2005 and reviewed internally in 2009, and at the time NLB had decided to retain it.

But five years later, with feedback calling for the book to be removed, it was reviewed "with a fresh pair of eyes" and then the decision to withdraw it was made.

While Dr Yaacob said that the process was "adhered to (in) letter and spirit", what was lacking appears to have been adequate red flags to ask why a book that was approved earlier was now being removed, and whether this feedback was reflective of the wider community.

It is hoped that the advisory panel would have stepped in to say, let us think more deeply about this decision and the consequences it may have, before proceeding to pulp the books.

As clashes over values between liberals and conservatives are expected to become more common, it is worth asking how other government agencies and decision-makers can be better prepared to have an astute understanding of where things could go awry, what issues are flammable and which need to be handled deftly.

The second lesson is the need for government agencies to be savvier in an environment where different groups are better organised and able to mobilise to lobby for their interests.

This particular incident has raised the prospect of astro-turfing, or orchestrated feedback from an interest group, a point raised by Workers' Party MP Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC).

While Dr Yaacob said it was not clear that this was indeed the case, he added that government agencies would have to take it into account.

But, as Mr Singh pointed out, perhaps there is a need for clearer guidelines on how to respond to such concerted feedback in the future.

A third lesson is with regard to how the public should engage government agencies. As the Government takes on board more public feedback, it also behooves the public to provide their views constructively and not resort to personal and vicious attacks should disagreements arise, as they sometimes will. This in turn can build trust and credibility between both sides which will help the debate move forward.

In this case, Dr Yaacob pointed out that while many did not agree with what was a professional decision by the NLB, the personal attacks were not warranted.

In the end, this episode will hopefully strengthen not just NLB's book review process, but also Singapore's capacity and preparedness in handling such future clashes, as our evolving society gives rise to more diversity and differences of views, and "getting it right" becomes much harder to do.





Too soon to ease property curbs, says Khaw
By Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

NATIONAL Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday turned down an MP's call to relax some of the property cooling measures, saying such a move could raise demand and, in turn, housing prices.

Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast GRC) wanted the Government to consider easing some rules like the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) so that Singaporeans can upgrade their properties while staying financially prudent.

But Mr Khaw believes it is too early to loosen the rules.

"Such a move could lead to an upswing in demand, which would increase the number of transactions and raise housing prices," he told Parliament as he restated the Government's position.

"This would not be welcome to Singaporean home buyers, particularly those with aspirations to upgrade."

Singaporeans who buy a second property, without selling their first home, have to pay 7 per cent ABSD on their new purchase and 10 per cent on subsequent ones.

Foreigners pay 15 per cent ABSD on any residential purchase, while permanent residents pay 5 per cent on the first property and 10 per cent on subsequent ones.

But home prices have yet to budge significantly.

As a result, the Government stated twice in the last two months that the cooling measures will stay: the National Development Ministry at the end of June, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore's managing director Ravi Menon last month.

Mr Menon said prices remain high, having risen 60 per cent in the last four years and fallen by just 3.3 per cent in the last three quarters.

Latest figures show that in the second quarter of this year, private property prices fell 1 per cent while public housing resale prices fell 1.4 per cent.

In his reply, Mr Khaw also said the cooling measures are to keep the housing market stable and sustainable. "They aim to encourage financial prudence among home buyers and to moderate property prices."

The measures include lowering the proportion of income that can be used to pay a home loan.

He also said there are concessions to benefit upgraders. For example, Singaporean married couples can get an ABSD refund if they sell their existing home within a stipulated period after buying their second home.

Similarly, an upgrader, who provides documents to his bank to show he will be selling his existing home, will be treated as a borrower with no outstanding home loans. This lets him qualify for the maximum loan-to-value ratio of 80 per cent. In other words, his new loan can cover 80 per cent of the value of the purchase.

"The existing concessions are reasonable and sufficient," concluded Mr Khaw.

"Any move to relax the cooling measures, including by broadening these concessions, is premature under current market conditions."








Govt 'did not draw down past reserves to pay CPF interest'
By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

THE Government has relied on the country's reserves as a buffer so it could meet its obligations to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board in years when investment returns were lower than the guaranteed CPF interest rates.

But that is not the same as drawing down Singapore's past reserves.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam set out the difference yesterday, in a reply to Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam's parliamentary question.

Mr Giam wanted to know if the Government had tapped its past reserves to pay the CPF Board the interest due on its investment in the Special Singapore Government Securities (SSGS), in the years when the Government's investment returns had fallen short of the amount due. Use of past reserves is governed by the Constitution, and requires approval from the President.

Yesterday, Mr Tharman said the Government's net assets - which it relies on to guarantee CPF interest rates - is made up of Singapore's reserves. And the bulk of this, he said, consists of past reserves accumulated during previous terms of government.

In eight of the past 20 years, the Government has had to rely on this buffer of net assets to meet its CPF interest obligations. In those eight years, GIC's investment returns had fallen below the interest rates guaranteed by the SSGS. These in turn match those on CPF savings, of a minimum of 4-5 per cent interest on Special, Medisave and Retirement Account balances, and 2.5-3.5 per cent interest on Ordinary Account balances.

Said Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister: "That by definition would have meant that net assets would have been reduced, because the Government has got fixed obligations on its liabilities and because of the fluctuation in returns on its assets."

But what goes into determining whether there is a likely draw on past reserves, said Mr Tharman, is whether the Government has entered into liabilities that are sustainable, and which will not result in a systematic erosion of the reserves. Giving an example of a scenario of erosion, he said that would have happened if the Government set interest rates on the SSGS at "artificially high levels". If these levels were "above what can reasonably be expected to be earned in investment returns on the Government's funds over the long term", it would result in the reserves being run down "systematically and deliberately".

The Constitution, said Mr Tharman, allows the President to state and gazette his opinion if he considers that the Government has entered into liabilities that will likely draw down past reserves.

"The President has not been put in a position where he has had to state such an opinion," said Mr Tharman, adding that "CPF interest rates are set with reference to returns on similar market instruments, and are both fair and sustainable".

He also made clear that the President and the Council of Presidential Advisers have full information on the size of the reserves and all of the Government's financial assets and liabilities. And he explained that a fall in the value of Singapore's reserves in the course of investing it for long-term returns is not considered a draw on past reserves that the Constitution seeks to safeguard against.

He noted that any strategy of long-term investing will mean taking investment risks, and involve ups and downs in the market value of the portfolio. "The scenario of entering into liabilities that will lead to a systematic and deliberate drawdown of reserves should not be confused with the fluctuation in the value of the reserves due to market volatility and cycles that happen all the time," he said.

"The only way to avoid fluctuations in the value of our reserves is to avoid taking investment risk," he said, but that would mean "accepting low returns over the long term" that would likely fall below the interest rates on the SSGS and even Singapore Government Securities.





Financial lapses dealt with at highest level: Tharman
Permanent secretaries, CEOs responsible for ensuring slip-ups are rectified, he says
By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

FINANCIAL lapses highlighted by the Auditor-General are dealt with at the highest level, with the ministry's permanent secretary or agency's chief executive held responsible for ensuring the slip-ups are rectified.

That was the assurance given by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in a written parliamentary reply yesterday to Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC), who had asked how such lapses are addressed.

Every year, the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) presents a report that shows how government bodies have been less than prudent in their spending. The latest report released last month named the Defence Ministry as one of them.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, also in a written parliamentary reply yesterday, gave details on what has been done to correct its undercharging of rent to one of its contractors.

Mindef had sublet land to a contractor in 1995 at a nominal rate of $45 a year, to provide services solely to it. The rented plot was part of a bigger plot leased from the PUB in 1971, at $68 a year.

But even after the contractor was privatised in 2000 and started using the land for commercial activities, Mindef did not raise the rent, the AGO found.

Dr Ng said that even after privatisation, most of the contractor's business was still with Mindef. So, the land it leased was not solely for commercial use.

This made it difficult to compute the amount the company had saved over the years from paying nominal rent, he said.

Even so, Mindef had intended to bring the rent in line with the market value and had asked the PUB in 2001 to update its lease, Dr Ng said.

The PUB had finalised the main lease agreement only in June this year, he added.

Mindef now charges the contractor $830,000 a year in rent. It is also paying the PUB a revised annual rent of $5.43 million for 127ha.

Other lapses in the report include the administration of grants, government schemes and programmes, as well as government procurement.

Mr Tharman said the AGO's findings are "carefully reviewed and acted upon".

Disciplinary action is also taken, where appropriate, against those responsible and their supervisors, he added.

Any suggestion of corruption or fraud is also investigated promptly and thoroughly, Mr Tharman said, adding that those found guilty will "face the full measure of the law".

"As is the case in any large organisation with a high number of transactions, it is not possible to achieve zero lapses.

"The Government relies on audits that are regularly and properly carried out to identify shortcomings and areas for improvements, while heads of agencies have clear responsibilities to see through follow-up actions," he said.





Local companies not losing competitive edge: Lim Hng Kiang
By Azhar Khalid, Channel NewsAsia, 4 Aug 2014

Local companies are not losing their competitiveness despite recent weakness seen in key economic data such as non-oil domestic exports (NODX).

In a written response to a parliamentary question by Nominated Member of Parliament Teo Siong Seng, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang says there are other sectors that show positive growth in the first half of this year. These include sectors like precision engineering and general manufacturing activities such as furniture manufacturing.

Mr Teo had asked if local enterprises are challenged by a loss of competitiveness after key data such as NODX had shown a decline in June. Mr Lim said the declines in NODX in June as well as tourist spending on shopping and food service in the first quarter this year, are due to "external factors."

He said Indonesian visitors, who are one of Singapore's top spenders, had contributed to the bulk of the decline in shopping expenditure.

"This was likely due to their weaker purchasing power as a result of the depreciation of the rupiah against major currencies, including the Singapore dollar," adds Mr Lim

Still, Mr Lim said the Government recognises that tighter labour constraints and rising business costs may have adversely affected some local companies.

"The key to companies coping with higher costs, without affecting their competitiveness, is to raise their productivity," said Mr Lim.

He encourages more companies to step forward to tap on the various productivity schemes that the Government has in place.





Why household wealth not measured: Minister
By Robin Chan, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

INFORMATION on household wealth in Singapore is not readily available and for this reason, the Government is not able to measure it, said Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang yesterday.

Household wealth is made of several parts. These include the value of residential properties after subtracting their outstanding mortgage, shares and securities, Central Provident Fund savings, life insurance and bank deposits.

"Many of these data are not readily available for statistical compilation," he said in a written parliamentary reply to Non-constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong.

Mr Yee had asked if household wealth is measured and, if not, whether the Government plans to do so.

His question comes amid a growing debate over widening inequality in Singapore and other countries not just in terms of income but in wealth.

Mr Lim, in elaborating, cited how information on bank deposits and mortgage loans are sensitive personal data protected by the Banking Act.

It is also challenging to collect such data through surveys as personal wealth is a sensitive topic, he added.

The experience of wealth data collection in other countries, through surveys, shows individuals tend to under-report their wealth.

But Singapore's Department of Statistics will continue to monitor international developments in the compilation of wealth statistics, Mr Lim said.

It will review the feasibility of doing so in Singapore if it is found to be necessary, he added.





New dengue vaccine 'not effective enough for S'pore'
Treatment derived from plant seeds also no better than placebo: Vivian
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

A NEW dengue vaccine to be marketed by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi next year is "not good enough" for Singapore, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Parliament yesterday.

He was responding to queries from Members of Parliament on when the vaccine and other new drugs would hit the shelves here.

Dr Balakrishnan, a medical doctor, said the vaccine was not effective enough against the two most common types of the dengue virus here, types 1 and 2. The vaccinated group's risk of developing dengue is reduced by 50 per cent and 35 per cent respectively for types 1 and 2, compared with an unvaccinated group.

"Until further clinical data is available for us to be sure that the benefits outweigh the risks, I don't think the Ministry of Health or Health Sciences Authority will rush into approving the vaccine," he said.

Meanwhile, celgosivir, an anti-viral treatment derived from plant seeds, has not been proven to be more effective than a placebo though it has been found to be safe, Dr Balakrishnan added.

MPs also asked if the fines for mosquito breeding could be scaled based on the risks that the breeding posed to the public. For instance, Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC) wanted heftier fines for construction companies found to have mosquitoes breeding on their worksites. Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) suggested that pest control firms that fail to control mosquito breeding at worksites be blacklisted.

Dr Balakrishnan said the ministry would study the suggestions on raising penalties but warned that pinning a case of dengue on a specific incidence of mosquito breeding would be hard.

To date, 62 stop-work orders have been issued and 14 contractors prosecuted this year for allowing mosquito breeding on their premises. The number of weekly dengue cases for July 20-26 was 640, down from a record high of 891 cases at the end of June and start of July.





Haze Bill penalties not large enough, say MPs
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

PENALTIES in the proposed Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill may not be large enough to deter big firms, and should be made more severe for repeat offenders, said the first two MPs who debated the new Bill before Parliament was adjourned yesterday.

The Bill - an earlier version of which was up for public consultation earlier this year - was introduced in Parliament in July and holds entities liable for activities inside or outside Singapore that cause unhealthy haze here.

Its aim is to help combat the haze that blankets Singapore from time to time, especially during the dry season, due to illegal land clearing by burning in Indonesia.

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) pointed out that the financial penalties, which are up to $100,000 a day and go up to a maximum of $2 million, may represent only a small sum to large agroforestry firms.

Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) said the fines should be doubled or even tripled.

"The fines in the Bill may not be sufficient deterrent against offenders who will weigh the cost of the fine if they are caught, against the profits they will gain."

Monitoring and locating hot spots takes up government resources, while haze also incurs economic and personal health losses here, she added.

In addition, the new law should contain a provision for whistleblowers, she said.

Mr de Souza said errant companies' use of illegal slash-and-burn land clearing methods should be exposed, and urged consumers to pressure them economically.

"Until and unless consumers are made aware that certain products they purchase are the product of these actions... companies will continue undeterred," he said.

At least seven more MPs are scheduled to debate the Bill, and it is expected to be passed today.

Separately, the Government said it had offered the Indonesian government the use of a helicopter with a specialised heli-bucket to help fight fires there.

This adds to its earlier offer in June, of satellite pictures, Singapore Civil Defence Force assistance, and other aircraft for cloud-seeding.





More households to benefit from programme to enhance seniors' safety
By Sara Grosse, Channel NewsAsia, 4 Aug 2014

An additional 100,000 households will benefit from the changes in age criterion for the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme. The programme was launched in 2012 to enhance the safety and comfort of seniors living in HDB flats.

As of Aug 1, the age criterion for EASE has been lowered from 70 years old to 65 years old. For those who require assistance in daily living, the age criterion has been further lowered to 60 to 64 years old.

In addition, the scope of works has been extended to cover a second toilet within the flat. So if seniors opt for it, HDB will carry out slip-resistant treatment to the floor tiles and install grab bars for their second toilet.

Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan shared this in a written reply to Dr Lee Bee Wah, who asked about the status of the review of the EASE programme. Mr Khaw said the review has been completed. He added that for families with special needs members who do not meet the age criterion, HDB will consider their requests and approve them if the needs are justified.





"Steady progress" in helping students better learn Mother Tongue: Heng
Channel NewsAsia, 4 Aug 2014

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat says there has been "steady progress" in implementing measures to strengthen students' motivation and proficiency in learning their Mother Tongue, after the Mother Tongue Language (MTL) Review Committee gave its recommendations in 2010.

Mr Heng was responding on Monday (Aug 4) in a written reply to Nominated Member of Parliament Teo Siong Seng, who had asked if the Ministry of Education planned to further improve on the teaching of the Chinese language in schools and work with partners to motivate students' interest.

Mr Heng said the ministry has re-designed instructional materials and improved teaching approaches to focus more strongly on interactive skills. Beyond the school premises, MOE has also been been working with parents and community partners to provide an environment that is conducive to the learning of Mother Tongue.

Three MTL Promotion Committees, which reached out to more than 100,000 people each year, have since been established. "MOE will continue to review and improve approaches to the teaching and learning of Mother Tongue to ensure that our students remain motivated and proficient in learning the language," said Mr Heng.





MHA proposes tighter laws on mobile phone use while driving
By Tan Shi Wei, TODAY, 5 Aug 2014

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) wants to widen the dragnet on the worsening problem of motorists using their mobile phones while behind the wheel.

In proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act tabled yesterday, motorists who hold and operate any function of mobile communication devices, including tablet computers, will be committing an offence. This means checking of e-mails or flicking through one’s Facebook account will be disallowed, if the legislative changes are passed.



Existing laws only prohibit motorists from holding their mobile phones and communicating with another person, such as sending text messages or taking a phone call, while they are driving.

The proposed amendments, however, do not extend to the use of mobile communication devices that are mounted on a holder. In response to queries, an MHA spokesperson said: “Under the proposed amendments, the offence would apply if the person is holding a mobile communication device, which would include mobile telephones and tablet devices, in at least one hand and operates any function of the device while driving.”

Traffic Police figures showed that the number of summonses issued to motorists using their mobile phones while driving has increased over the years, from 2,817 in 2011 to 2,938 in 2012 and 3,572 last year.

In the first six months of this year, 1,761 summonses were issued, slightly higher than the 1,700 issued in the same period last year.

Other changes proposed in the Bill include making motorists more responsible road users. For instance, drivers who knock into parked vehicles or structures will be expected to provide their particulars to the owners even if no one had witnessed the accident. The vehicle owner who fails to provide the Traffic Police with the particulars of the driver who committed certain traffic offences will also be presumed to be responsible.

Alongside these enhancements to enforcement powers, the Traffic Police is also asking to be allowed to direct poor drivers to go for a new safe driving course — a move that will be especially significant for new drivers.

Motorists who have accumulated half or more of their maximum allowable demerit points will be eligible for the corrective training course, should they choose to sign up for it. Those who pass will have three demerit points removed from their records.

This means that rookie drivers on probation who incur six or more demerit points in their first year of driving — the maximum they can incur is 12 points — will receive a lifeline if they pass the course.

Another proposed amendment involves requiring work pass holders who need to drive as part of their job to obtain a local driving licence within six months from the date their work passes were issued.

These are part of efforts to ensure both local and foreign motorists are familiar with Singapore’s traffic rules and conditions, and are sufficiently competent to drive on our roads, said the MHA.





More taxis available during peak periods: Transport Minister
By Faris Mokhtar, Channel NewsAsia, 4 Aug 2014

More than 1,300 additional taxis were available during peak hours this year, said Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew.

Since the introduction of the Taxi Availability standards in January 2013, the percentage of taxis on the roads during peak periods has increased from 82 per cent in 2012 to 87 per cent in the first five months of this year.

In a written response to Parliament on Monday (Aug 4), Mr Lui said the percentage of taxis plying at least 250km daily has risen from 75 to 78 per cent over the same period.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will also conduct a taxi information trial at five selected taxi stands later this year. It allows LTA to monitor real-time commuter demand and provide this information to taxi companies, alerting their drivers to locations with high demand.





Faisal apologises after making allegation against HDB
By Ng Jing Yng, TODAY, 5 Aug 2014

There was a sharp exchange yesterday between Minister of State (National Development) Maliki Osman and Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, which even saw Parliament Speaker Halimah Yacob stepping in to remind MPs of the importance of providing details when they cite incidents involving government agencies and public servants.

During the debate on the Family Justice Bill, Mr Faisal had alleged that when he was a counsellor, he came across a couple who were having housing issues and advised to file for a divorce by the Housing and Development Board — so that the wife would be eligible to buy a house under the Singles Scheme and she could subsequently remarry her husband. Mr Faisal, however, could not provide the details.

Here are excerpts of the exchange:

Dr Maliki: It is very important for Members of the House to understand that if we highlight cases in this House, we have to be prepared to disclose all information ... Because I don’t think allegations of such a nature can be allowed to go past without verification. I hope Mr Faisal will be able to get back to the (client) and ask ... for permission for us to clarify this situation. If not, I hope the case that was highlighted here should not be considered seriously in this Chamber.

Mr Faisal: I don’t have (the) contacts since I am no longer a counsellor. But again, I used that as one example of many cases I have encountered of such difficulties ... I don’t have the details of my client.

Mdm Halimah: It is quite different to say that HDB rejected the appeal (compared) to saying that it is because of the advice of the HDB officer that the couple should divorce ... So since you cited the person and you said you got her approval to raise the issue, the question asked by the Minister of State is whether you can provide particulars so he can verify and prevent (the situation) from repeating if (it) is indeed ... as you have said.

Dr Maliki: These are very serious statements that are being made against our civil servants ... If such allegations are made, we must give them a chance to clarify ...

Mr Faisal: I have no intention of disregarding the good work that has been done by civil servants in our public services. I just wanted to feedback the experiences that I had encountered …

Dr Maliki: It is very important for us to uphold the integrity of this Chamber and ... that of our Civil Service. The Member highlighted a case and made very serious allegations that a HDB officer actually asked the couple to divorce ... For such allegations to be made in this Chamber, it is very serious.

Mdm Halimah: Although Members are covered by parliamentary privilege, it is important when incidents are cited, particularly involving government agencies and public servants, the particulars can be provided … to verify ... the facts. That will really help to improve the debate in the House, it adds credibility to the whole process ... as well.

(After Law and Foreign Minister K Shanmugam had wrapped up the debate)

Mr Faisal: It is not my intention to give a negative impression of any of the public services or government offices. I will be more careful in future and I apologise.


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DPM Tharman: Assets as investment buffer not a reserves drawdown

August 5, 2014, 9:08 pm
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By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2014

The Government's net assets, that it relies on to back the interest rates paid on CPF savings, are Singapore's reserves, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday.

And the bulk of it is made up of past reserves, accumulated during previous terms of government.

But this does not mean that the Government has drawn down on past reserves as defined by the Constitution when it relies on its buffer of net assets to meet the obligations on its liabilities, including its commitments on Special Singapore Government Securities(SSGS), in years when investment returns had been weak.



CPF savings are invested by the CPF Board in SSGS, and that is the link between SSGS and CPF interest rates.

Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, said this in response to a question from non-constituency MP Gerald Giam, who wanted to know if the Government had tapped into past reserves to pay the guaranteed interest on Central Provident Fund savings. Approval from the President is required to use these funds.

In eight of the past 20 years, said Mr Tharman, the GIC's investment returns had fallen below the interest guaranteed on CPF savings, and the Government has had to rely on its net assets to make up for the shortfall.

The Government's net assets, and Singapore's reserves, had therefore reduced in these years.

But what goes into determining whether there is a likely draw on past reserves, is whether the Government has entered into liabilities that are sustainable, and will not result in a systematic erosion of the reserves, said Mr Tharman.

Giving an example of such a scenario erosion, he said that this would have happened if the Government had set interest rates on the Special Singapore Government Securities (SSGS), issued to the CPF Board to back CPF interest rates, at "artificially high levels".

If these levels were "above what can reasonably be expected to be earned in investment returns on the Government's funds over the long-term", it would result in the reserves being run down "systematically and deliberately".

But a fall in the value of Singapore's reserves in the course of investing it for long-term returns, should not be mistaken for the same thing.

Said Mr Tharman: "The scenario of entering into liabilities that will lead to a systematic and deliberate drawdown of reserves should not be confused with the fluctuation in the value of the reserves due to market volatility and cycles that happen all the time."

He noted that any strategy of long-term investing will mean taking investment risks, and will therefore involve ups and downs in the market value of the portfolio.

The only way to avoid such fluctuations, said Mr Tharman, is to avoid taking investment risk by choosing safer instruments.

But this will mean accepting low returns over the long-term, which would "likely fall below" the interest rates on SSGS and even Singapore Government Securities over the long-term, he said.

He also noted that what the Constitution guards against is "profligate spending".

The Constitution, said Mr Tharman, allows the President to state and gazette his opinion if he considers that the Government had entered into liabilities that will likely draw down Past Reserves.

"The President has not been put in a position where he has had to state such an opinion," said Mr Tharman, adding that CPF interest rates are pegged to market rates.


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Silver zones to make roads safer for the elderly

August 5, 2014, 11:44 pm
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They include additional measures like speed humps, 2-stage crossings
By Lee Jian Xuan, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2014

SAFETY zones will be introduced by the end of the year in two residential estates to make it safer for elderly pedestrians.

Bukit Merah View and Jurong West Street 52 have been designated as "silver zones" under a pilot project by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Works in both areas begin this month and will be completed by October and December respectively.

The roads in these areas will be modified to include additional safety measures like speed humps to reduce vehicle speeds, centre dividers to create two-stage crossings and ramp-downs for barrier-free access.

Speed limits will also be lowered to 40kmh where possible, said the LTA in a statement yesterday.

These safety features will also be implemented along sections of Yishun Ring Road, Bedok North Street 3, Bedok North Avenue 1, Bedok North Avenue 2, Marine Terrace and Marine Crescent.

These estates were chosen as they have a high elderly population and relatively high accident rates involving senior citizens.

When the zones were first announced earlier this year, Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim noted that while elderly pedestrians make up 16 per cent of all pedestrian accidents, they constitute 40 per cent of all pedestrian fatalities.

The elderly population in Singapore has also grown on average by 32,000 annually.

The LTA noted that the measures should slow down motorised traffic and enable motorists to "keep a better look-out for pedestrians".

Housewife May Au, 53, who lives at Bukit Merah View, said that the measures will benefit the older folk living in her area.

"There's a hawker centre here, so a lot of old people cross the road to go there to eat. It's good that more is being done to keep them safe."


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Putting a halt to using mobile devices while driving

August 6, 2014, 4:37 am
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Proposed Bill would apply to tablet computers, includes surfing the Net and downloading material
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

ANYONE caught using any function of his mobile device and holding it while driving could be found guilty of committing an offence, under proposed changes to improve road safety.

This includes not just communicating with someone else via calls or texts, which are offences under existing law, but also surfing the Internet, visiting social media platforms and downloading videos.



The new rules would apply not just to phones but also all mobile communication devices, such as iPads, under the broadened Road Traffic Act. The proposed amendments to the Act, tabled in Parliament on Monday, come amid a rise in phone-and-drive offences.

There were 3,572 summonses issued for such offences last year, up 21.6 per cent from 2,938 in 2012, according to Traffic Police figures.

In the first half of this year, 1,761 summonses were issued, compared with 1,700 issued in the same period last year. First-time offenders can be fined up to $1,000 and/or jailed for up to six months. Repeat offenders get up to double the penalty.

The new Bill "will strengthen (the) Traffic Police's enforcement powers, enhance competency of drivers, as well as clarify the expected behaviour of vehicle owners and motorists on responsible road use", the Ministry of Home Affairs said. The changes are expected to be debated at the next Parliamentary sitting.

Associate Professor Gopinath Menon, who teaches transportation engineering at Nanyang Technological University, welcomed the proposed changes.

"Some drivers use their tablet devices for checking e-mail because of the bigger screen, and they may even perform multiple tasks with their tablets," he said. "Any type of distraction won't be good for drivers."

Last year, a street poll of 140 motorists by The Sunday Times found that about seven in 10 admitted to using their phones while driving. This is even though most knew it was against the law.

Most respondents said they took calls and read text messages while driving, but there were also those who played games and used social media like Facebook.

While it is an offence when a driver holds a phone and uses it to communicate with someone else, it is not against the law to use the phone if it is mounted on a holder. This will apply to other mobile devices as well, under the new Bill.

Other amendments in the new Bill include a requirement for work pass holders who need to drive as part of their jobs to obtain a local driving licence within six months after their work passes had been issued.

This could affect some industries, such as construction.

BD CraneTech director Jeffrey Lim said more details will be needed as this could affect work pass holders differently, depending on their country of origin.

For example, those from India can convert their international driving licences to local ones. "This should not take too long, and they would still be able to meet the (proposed) requirement within six months," said Mr Lim.

But others from places like Myanmar or Bangladesh cannot do so and have to take theory and practical tests in Singapore, he added.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the amendment is to ensure that "motorists, local and foreign, are familiar with Singapore's traffic rules and conditions, and are sufficiently competent to drive on our roads". It last amended the Road Traffic Act in 2010.







Details on corrective Safe Driving Course
By Ng Lian Cheong and Livia Yap, Channel NewsAsia, 5 Aug 2014

Drivers with 12 or more demerit points can soon take a refresher course in road safety in exchange for removing three demerit points. Traffic Police are expected to implement the voluntary corrective training Safe Driving Course (SDC) next year, as part of the amendments to the Road Traffic Bill proposed in Parliament on Monday (Aug 4).

The course requires drivers to attend five hours of lectures and two hours of practical lessons at assigned driving centres. They must then pass a one-hour test in order to have the points removed from their records.

Driving centres are currently upgrading their systems to allow online registration for courses. They said it will take just one month to complete the course upon registration. It is expected to cost more than a hundred dollars, and every driver only has two chances to take the course.

"It is a healthy reminder to them, that you have reached that point, you should go for the refresher course and I give you three points back, but I think it should (only) serve as a healthy reminder, that please change your driving habits and be a good driver," said Mr Seng Han Thong, Deputy Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport. 





5 things you should know about proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act
By Marissa Lee, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

On Monday, proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Act were tabled in Parliament. The new rules will give more teeth to authorities to deal with errant drivers who use mobile devices while driving. These proposed changes come amid a surge in phone-and-drive offences. Last year, 3,572 summonses were issued to motorists for using their mobile devices while driving. In 2012, that number was 2,938.

1. Anyone caught using and holding a mobile device while driving can be found guilty of committing an offence under proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act. 

2. Mobile devices covered under this Act include mobile phones and tablets, among other devices.

3. Proposed new rules prohibit drivers from surfing the web, visiting social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and downloading material, in addition to current rules which prohibit drivers from making calls and sending text messages.

4. It is not an offence to use the mobile device if it is mounted on a holder.

5. First-time offenders can be fined up to $1,000 and/or jailed for up to six months. Repeat offenders face up to double the penalty.


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Parliament Highlights - 5 Aug 2014

August 6, 2014, 5:42 am
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Israel, Hamas must act to end conflict: Singapore
By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

BOTH Israel and Hamas are responsible for the escalating conflict in Gaza that has claimed more than a thousand lives so far. But Israel can and should do more to minimise civilian casualties that have shot up in the past month.

Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam made clear Singapore's position on the conflict yesterday, amid calls by some Members of Parliament and Singaporeans for the Government to take a stand.

He said both Israel and Hamas were in the wrong, and had a part to play in ending the violence.

"While we understand the legitimate right of Israel to self-defence, the rising Palestinian death toll... is tragic and extremely distressing. It raises the question of whether Israel's response to the threat is proportionate. Whether or not this response is justified, we believe that Israel can and should do more to ensure that civilian casualties are minimised," he added.

Post by K Shanmugam Sc.


The death toll in Gaza has topped 1,700 as a 72-hour ceasefire came into effect yesterday. Most of those killed in the month-long violence were said to be civilians. More than 60 have also been killed on the Israeli side.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC), Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) asked if Singapore could denounce Israel's actions more strongly.

Responding, Mr Shanmugam urged a careful examination of the conflict's facts. Hamas fired over 2,000 rockets into Israel, inviting retaliation and putting Palestinians in the line of fire. The rockets have been intentionally launched from densely populated areas, and a Hamas spokesman spoke on national TV about the strategy's effectiveness.

"Hamas in Gaza should also take maximum precautions to ensure that civilians are not put in harm's way. Unfortunately, Hamas' cynical approach has been the very opposite - to deliberately use civilians as shield... Hamas knows that its cause is helped when Gazans die," he said.

Singapore has equally made clear that Israel's response is disproportionate. It would be "completely unacceptable" if innocent civilians have been targeted, and Singapore will support prosecution of those responsible under international law, said Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister.

But the rights and wrongs will have to be determined by a new United Nations commission investigating violations of humanitarian laws in Gaza, he added.

Israel should show more commitment to the two-state solution, and comply with its international law obligations. Hamas should cease attacks and change its intention to destroy Israel.

He said Singapore supported the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and has voted for all Palestinian-related resolutions at the UN. Singapore also maintained good ties with the Palestinian National Authority and provided it with financial support in the form of an enhanced technical assistance programme.

"Both politically and materially and philosophically, we have been supportive of the Palestine cause and have made that very public," he said to Mr Zaqy, who said there was a perception that Singapore was siding with Israel.

Mr Shanmugam said there was a limit to what Singapore could do to solve the crisis, but the Government, people and aid groups have been raising funds to help.





Haze law passed; fines may go up if necessary
Polluters can be fined up to $100,000 per day, capped at total of $2 million
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

A NEW law to punish polluters who cause the haze was passed by Parliament yesterday, with Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan promising to stiffen the penalties further if necessary.

Dr Balakrishnan gave the assurance after listening to MPs insisting that the fines were too low compared with the size of the errant companies' profits and the harm caused by the haze.

The fines are up to $100,000 a day, capped at a total of $2 million, for causing unhealthy haze, defined as a Pollutant Standards Index value of 101 or greater for 24 hours or more.

The culprits who often cause, contribute to and condone activities that raise the haze level are mainly large palm-oil companies based in Indonesia.

As a result, several MPs said the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act could be hard to implement as it would be difficult to nab firms based outside Singapore, without infringing on the sovereignty of another country.

Singapore is regularly plagued by haze, the result of deforestation by burning in Indonesia. The worst haze occurred last year when the three-hour PSI hit a record 401, in the "hazardous" range. This year, the dry season threatens to bring on the haze any time until next month.

All nine MPs who spoke on the Bill, including opposition Non- Constituency MPs, gave their support to Singapore's first legal move against polluters.

But most felt the penalties were not stiff enough.

Said Nominated MP Eugene Tan, a law don: "There must be sufficient deterrence in this Bill. How was $2 million arrived at when one considers the profits to be made and the market value of the oil-palm business?"

Replying, Dr Balakrishnan said: "This is a new legislation... We want to be very careful that we don't overreach or have unrealistic penalties. So we'll start now at this level."

The penalties had, in fact, been raised after public consultation over the draft law earlier this year. The cap on fines was initially set at $300,000.

Beyond fines, Dr Balakrishnan said the new law lets people or companies sue the haze culprits, with no limit set on the amount of damages they can ask for.

On enforcing the law, the minister said legal notice can be served on the companies' representatives when they are in Singapore. The National Environment Agency will work with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority on it.

"Where necessary, the public prosecutor could apply for a court order to require the person to remain in Singapore to assist in investigations," he said.

He also urged consumer interest groups and non-governmental organisations to help the cause, by tracking agricultural supply chains and monitoring the fire situation on the ground.

One such group is the home- grown People's Movement to Stop Haze, a youth group founded by 29-year-old Tan Yi Han, who felt the new law is a good step. "It will put companies under the spotlight to encourage them to continue zero-burning practices."





MPs concerned over how to implement haze law
Nabbing culprits hard given complex land laws in Indonesia
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

WITH the threat of haze looming over Singapore until next month, MPs debating a new law yesterday to nab and punish the polluters were especially concerned with the practicality of implementing it.

Uppermost on their minds was the difficulty of pinpointing the culprits responsible for setting fires to clear agricultural land, amid Indonesia's complex, often overlapping land ownership and usage rights.

Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) asked how Singapore would obtain objective data on land ownership, as "the owners of the land may subcontract it out to others to manage and run".

The Transboundary Haze Pollution Act targets those responsible for causing or condoning such fires if burning results in unhealthy levels of haze, defined as a PSI level of 101 or more for at least a day.

Replying, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan acknowledged that the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, which Parliament passed yesterday, had several presumptions.

"We had to have presumptions on the validity of maps, we have to have presumptions on control, we have to have presumptions on indirect control... Because this depends on circumstantial evidence at best, we needed to get the balance right between presumptions and at the same time providing adequate defences and providing opportunities for the companies to rebut it," he said.

Circumstantial evidence that can be used includes satellite data and weather information about where winds are blowing from and how strong they are.

As well, databases of land concessions cobbled together by non-government groups like environmental research organisation World Resources Institute.

Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong wanted to know how the Government came up with the initial total fine of up to $300,000 for a polluter, an amount that was raised to $2 million after public consultation.

Dr Balakrishnan, however, did not address the question.

The law also lets companies and individuals sue and claim damages from the polluters.

But Nominated MPs Eugene Tan and Faizah Jamal, both trained in law, said an average person may find it too onerous to file a civil suit against the errant companies which have deep pockets.

They asked if there could be government support for class-action suits to allow groups to sue.

Dr Balakrishnan was non-committal, saying Singapore's court rules allow a form of group litigation called representative action, in which one person may represent all in a group.

MPs also made several suggestions, including offering incentives for companies to behave well, helping consumers choose sustainable palm oil and other products, using the fines collected to control fires, and expanding the scope of the new law to include haze from other sources such as oil rigs at sea or factories.

Dr Balakrishnan said the law was deliberately kept narrow as it already breaks new ground.

He also feels consumer groups, not the Government, should push companies to be more transparent about their supply chains. "Not everything is best done through legislation or through government action alone."

But going palm-oil-free is a wild goose chase, he added. "I asked my colleague in my ministry, please go to the supermarket and identify all the products with palm oil. He came back and said: 'I can't give you that list because more than half the products on the shelves have palm oil, including - you'd be surprised - Swiss chocolates of the highest quality."

As for the fines collected by government agencies, they all go into the Government's consolidated fund as a matter of public policy and are not earmarked for specific purposes.

Still, "if we need money to safeguard our population's interest, money to embark on cooperative action, money to work with civil society and other consumer groups in pursuit of these objectives, we will do so", said Dr Balakrishnan.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), however, feels "the greater long-term concern is not the haze but the large amount of carbon released into the earth's atmosphere".

He said: "The fires are the single largest contributor to Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions."

When contacted, Dr Nigel Sizer of World Resources Institute said: "The law sends a very strong signal to companies that Singapore is going to do its best to hold them accountable."

The maximum $2 million fine is "not a significant deterrent" to large firms, he added. "The deterrent to them is damage to their reputation" if they are found guilty under the Act.





Call to remove cap on CPF Life top-ups
MP Foo Mee Har hopes members can get bigger payouts from scheme
By Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

A MEMBER of Parliament wants Central Provident Fund (CPF) members to be given an option to pay more into their retirement accounts, so they can receive bigger payouts from their CPF Life annuity scheme.

Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast GRC) was speaking up for CPF members who are concerned that the CPF Life payouts of around $1,200 a month will not be enough as retirement income.

The current cap on how much people can put into CPF Life is equivalent to their Minimum Sum. Ms Foo suggested that the cap be removed.

"Given that the Government has acknowledged the current Minimum Sum only provides monthly payouts to cover basic living expenses, I would like to ask the minister, why is there a need to set a cap on the sum of money that CPF members wish to set aside in CPF Life?"



Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, in his reply, said that while the CPF Life scheme is designed to help Singaporeans meet their basic needs in retirement, its priority is to provide for those at lower income levels.

In doing so, it allows the Government "to target our resources on those Singaporeans who need it most", he added.

Mr Tan also pointed out that middle- and higher-income Singaporeans, who have retirement savings in excess of the Minimum Sum, have other investment options outside the CPF system to meet their retirement needs.

Persisting, Ms Foo expressed the hope that the Government would look into her suggestion.

Mr Tan, noting that the four-year-old CPF Life scheme is relatively new, said the Government will "continue to look at it and see how best to improve it".

Earlier, he told the House that CPF members can put aside more than the specified Minimum Sum for their cohort - up to the current cohort's limit.

The Minimum Sum is lower for older cohorts. For instance, it was $148,000 for those who turned 55 from July 1 last year until June 30 this year. This is lower than the $155,000 for people who turn 55 from July 1 this year until June 30 next year.

But these older workers can put in up to the $155,000 Minimum Sum of the current cohort. This bigger amount would give them monthly payouts of $1,200 under the CPF Life scheme.

Ms Foo also asked for an explanation of how the CPF Life scheme can guarantee a payout for life, even after the initial quantum had been exhausted.

Mr Tan said this was because CPF Life involves risk pooling.

The Minimum Sum is used to buy a CPF Life annuity.

The premium from the annuity is not pooled. But the interest earned on the annuity is shared among surviving members, allowing payouts to continue.





MOM to look into possible loophole in foreign worker pay
By Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will look into a potential loophole that allows employers to lower the basic wages of foreign workers, making them "cheaper" than Singaporean hires, said Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday.

The move follows a point raised in Parliament yesterday by Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), who asked about the increase in the monthly qualifying salary of S Pass holders.

It was raised from a minimum of $2,000 to $2,200 last month.

This increase, however, need not be in the form of a rise in the worker's basic pay. It could be made up of fixed allowances that do not vary from month to month, said Mr Tan.

The flexibility worries Mr Zainal, who said employers could just increase their foreign workers' allowances but keep basic pay low.

A low basic pay means a lower overtime rate and lower bonus, making these foreign workers relatively cheaper than local hires, he added.

"Would MOM consider plugging this loophole to ensure the cost of hiring a foreigner has parity to hiring a local worker... to ensure a more level playing field?" he asked.

Mr Zainal, an assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, also said union members have given feedback that some employers deliberately lower basic pay to contain the cost of hiring foreigners.

He later told The Straits Times that an S Pass worker in a building material firm had his basic pay cut from above $1,900 to $1,000. His allowance was raised from under $200 to $1,300. Other S Pass holders in the firm were similarly affected.

Mr Tan said there is no stated requirement on how much of the qualifying salary must be met by basic pay, and how much by allowances. "But I think this is something we can take a look at to see whether it's a loophole that is exploited on a consistent basis," said Mr Tan, adding: "We will explore that further."

Recruiters interviewed yesterday said the practice exists but is not common.

The managing director of RecruitPlus Consulting, Mr Adrian Tan, said he had noticed that employers who use high fixed allowances - of up to 30 per cent, for instance - to meet the new qualifying pay usually fail to get their S Pass applications approved.

PrimeStaff Management Services managing director Ronald Lee said his firm's practice is to ensure that the basic salary meets the $2,200 minimum.

With employers who want to use a fixed allowance to meet the minimum, "our advice to them is not to do so", he added. "It is not such an enlightened practice."





1.32m foreign workers in Singapore; the bulk in construction and marine sectors
By Amelia Tan, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

There are 1.32 million foreign workers in Singapore and the bulk of them work in the construction and marine sectors.

Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said this in a written reply yesterday to a parliamentary question filed by Nominated Member of Parliament Mary Liew.

She wanted to know the total number of foreign workers and which countries they came from.

The minister said that data on the breakdown of nationalities of foreign workers is not publicly available but gave the top 10 sectors that employed foreign workers.

Apart from construction and marine, the other eight sectors were:
- Wholesale trade;
- Food and beverage services;
- Professional services;
- Transportation and storage;
- Fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment;
- Petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical products;
- Administrative and support services;
- Electronic, computer and optical products.
He added that excluding foreign domestic workers, there were about 1,107,100 foreigners working in Singapore as of December last year.

But while the total number of foreign workers has grown, the pace of growth has slowed significantly.

Between 2010 and 2011, excluding foreign domestic workers, the pool of foreign workers grew by 8.75 per cent from 911,800 to 991,600.

This same pool expanded at nearly half the pace, or about 4.57 per cent, from 1,058,700 workers in 2012 to 1,107,100 workers last year.

The Government has been on a major drive to slow the inflow of foreign workers as part of a broader move to raise productivity in the economy.

Among other things, it has sought to do this through a series of foreign worker levy hikes and stricter quotas.

These measures were aimed at weaning companies off cheap foreign labour and urging them to boost productivity.

The large numbers of foreign workers have also raised social tensions and have led to complaints over overcrowding in public areas such as on trains and buses.

But while the Government has moved to reduce the flow of foreign workers, it has also maintained that Singapore needs to remain open to talent.





CPF Board recovered S$420m in wrong contributions last year: Tan Chuan-Jin
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 5 Aug 2014

The Central Provident Fund Board recovered S$420 million in 2013 for late, under- and non-payment of CPF contributions for more than 250,000 workers, said Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 5).

He was responding to a question about a recent report by the Auditor-General, which stated that the ministry had failed to detect underpayment of CPF contributions by a company over a 10-year period for employees who performed National Service (NS).

Mr Tan said the CPF Board has several measures in place to ensure the timely and accurate payment of CPF contributions. This includes an automated system to detect late payments, as well as proactive audits on employers.

He added that the Board cannot carry out its audit on each and every one of the 140,000 employers on a yearly basis. Instead, it takes a risk-based approach, targeting enforcement effort at higher-risk industries and firms, and complementing it with investigations on complaints lodged by employees or whistleblowers.

The Board's audit checks include CPF contributions for NSmen make-up pay. Mr Tan said errors made on NSmen make-up pay are relatively small, but his ministry takes the AGO's findings very seriously.

He added the CPF Board has strengthened its audit process to better detect employer CPF liabilities arising from NS make-up pay. It now further requires employers to declare which of their employees have gone for reservist training and provide supporting documents, including an acknowledgement from MINDEF on the NS make-up pay amount. CPF Board also works with MINDEF to educate and remind employers that they are required to make CPF contributions for the period that their employees are on NS training.





Incorrect MOH pay-outs: IT vendor was at fault, says Gan
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 5 Aug 2014

The Ministry of Health is seeking full reimbursement from its IT vendor over funds that had been wrongly paid to beneficiaries of a disability assistant programme, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Tuesday (Aug 5).

The Auditor-General had earlier pointed to a lapse in which the ministry continued to pay S$64,000 in financial assistance to 99 people, even after their deaths. These 99 were beneficiaries of the Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE), and their pay-outs should have ended upon their deaths.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Gan said the mistake was made by a vendor, which the ministry had engaged in 2002 to administer IDAPE. He said the errors arose due to migrations in the vendor's IT processing system, which resulted in the demised list not being updated in specific months.

Mr Gan said this has since been rectified, and his ministry has required the vendor to make improvements in data processing to prevent errors from recurring. This includes system enhancements to trigger alerts when there are errors in data uploading and processing.

He added that under the terms of the IDAPE tender, the vendor is obliged to reimburse MOH the full amount for such over-payments.

"MOH views all AGO findings seriously and institutes measures either through changes in operating procedures or establishing new standard operating procedures to ensure similar mistakes are prevented in the future," said Mr Gan.





PRs who fail to serve National Service face serious consequences
Channel NewsAsia, 5 Aug 2014

Permanent Residents (PRs) who fail to register or enlist for National Service (NS) face serious consequences. In a written Parliamentary reply, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that these PRs have committed an offence under the Enlistment Act.

He said they are NS defaulters and must answer for their NS offences. Upon conviction, they face a fine or a jail term. Dr Ng was responding to a question by Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan. He said those who renounce their PR status before serving their NS liability face serious consequences when they apply for work and study.

Dr Ng said that according to records, no such persons have been granted re-instatement of PR or citizenship. He added that the policy has been progressively tightened such that no NS-liable PR who renounced his PR status in the last decade has been granted approval for work or study.

For former PRs who fail to serve NS, any immediate or future applications for renewal of their parents' and immediate family members' Re-Entry Permits may be adversely affected, including curtailment of the Re-Entry Permit.





Plans to minimise impact of new business regulations
By Mok Fei Fei, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

THE Government says it realises some new regulations are making life tougher for businesses just as economic restructuring is hurting too - but it is working to minimise the impact of such moves.

Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said in Parliament yesterday that the Government is aware of the challenges that these new regulations may cause.

"We do recognise that this is imposing high compliance costs on businesses and we're also concerned about it."

He noted that different regulatory agencies have put out new rules and guidelines based on their objectives.

Such changes could add to a firm's operational costs in an already difficult environment of a tight labour market as businesses grapple with the pressures of economic restructuring.

But Mr Lim said a whole-of-government approach is being adopted to first ensure that the various regulations do not run counter to one another.

He added that the Government is looking into how the pace of changes can be better managed.

Mr Lim was responding to Ms Foo Mee Har's (West Coast GRC) questions on the raft of new regulations facing businesses.

Ms Foo cited the examples of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's new rules to combat money laundering and terror funding as well as regulations to improve construction safety.

She also asked if the Government would look into helping workers who lose their jobs because of economic restructuring.

Mr Lim replied that the Government is working with the labour movement to help upgrade the skills of workers whose jobs may be at risk in the restructuring.

"This is something that is very important to us because the key to all this is to make sure that... the skills of the job levels are raised so that we can justify higher wages and, commensurate with this, the skill level of the workers has to be improved."





Guidelines for home care providers by year end
By Linette Lai, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

NEW guidelines for home care providers are being drawn up to set standards across the industry and will be finalised by the year end, said Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor yesterday.

These developmental guidelines will help "enhance and align the quality of services, and articulate the level of care expected", she added.

She was responding to a question in Parliament from Mr David Ong (Jurong GRC) on whether the Health Ministry (MOH) had plans to standardise quality and prices in the home care sector.

People who need home care are typically too frail to leave their homes for medical treatment, and need help with daily activities like eating or bathing.

In March, MOH announced that it plans to have 10,000 home medical and nursing care spaces by 2020, and 7,500 for home personal care.

There are now 13 voluntary welfare organisations and four private home care providers receiving ministry funding to provide subsidised home care services.

These supported about 5,000 people last year.

However, there are as yet no specific guidelines dealing with home care.

MOH will start a quality improvement programme next year to help home care providers adopt the new guidelines, Dr Khor said.






Land acquisition: Owners to get better compensation
No 'betterment levy', so owners will be compensated at full market value
By Mok Fei Fei, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

A NEW law passed yesterday will give better compensation for owners who have part of their land acquired by the Government.

The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill has removed what is known as the "betterment levy", among other reforms.

The levy required that any increase in the value of the owner's remaining land be deducted from the compensation he is given for the acquired land.

It was imposed because the value of the land remaining in the owner's hands could increase due to the improvement works undertaken on the acquired land.

Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah told Parliament that removing the levy means owners will receive compensation equivalent to the full market value of the acquired land.

"The amendment continues in the spirit of the previous set of amendments to the Land Acquisition Act in 2007, which pegged compensation for acquired land to the market value which a bona fide purchaser would reasonably be willing to pay for the property," said Ms Indranee during the second reading of the Bill.

Non-Constituency MP Lina Chiam, the only MP to speak during the debate on the Bill, asked if removing the levy will hit government coffers.

"If we are to now increase the compensation for land owners, taking into consideration the benefits of the public developments, we will be losing taxpayers' money to enrich the land owners on an 'after the fact' basis," she said.

Ms Indranee reiterated that the ultimate aim is to ensure that land owners receive a fair market value for the part of their assets that is compulsorily acquired.

"With respect to the betterment levy, it is not the case that one is unjustly or unfairly enriching the owner," Ms Indranee added.

Other amendments of the Bill include improving the efficiency of the land acquisition process.

One change will enable the management corporation of a strata-titled development to act on behalf of individual unit owners in the acquisition of common property.

Another amendment has removed the need to paste physical notices for site possession.

SLP International research head Nicholas Mak thinks that while removing the betterment levy is good for land owners, it will not have much impact on the market.

"A lot of the part-lot acquisitions that took place in the past was because of MRT construction work or the building of expressways," he noted.

"But these days, much of such work appears to be winding down or the Government would use state land where possible instead."

Part-lot acquisitions of the kind cited by Mr Mak were employed to get land for the North-East Line MRT construction.





Attorney-General can now represent statutory boards
By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

THE Attorney-General will now be able to represent public agencies in judicial review and other court cases, after Parliament passed a Bill giving it the powers to act for statutory boards.

For a start, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Land Authority will be the only two statutory boards it can represent, but more will gradually be added to the list. Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah said yesterday this will "ensure that the conduct of litigation is aligned across the public sector, and promote the coherent and systematic development of public law principles".

Under the new Attorney-General (Additional Functions) Act, the AG can act for statutory boards when four requirements are met - the board must ask the AG to represent it, the minister overseeing the board has to agree, there must be no conflicting interests between the Government and the board in the legal matter, and the AG's involvement must not be contrary to the public interest.

Currently, the AG, as the Government's lawyer, may only provide views and comments to the parent ministries of statutory boards in cases that involve public law or interest. Statutory boards are considered separate legal entities from the Government.

On why only MAS and SLA are included for now, Ms Indranee said this was to give the Attorney-General's Chambers time to develop its protocols so it can meet the projected workload.

MAS was included first because the financial sector is an important part of Singapore's economy, she said during the debate on the Bill, and financial regulations were also becoming increasingly complex. And SLA cases involving state land could have important ramifications for Singapore, the Government and even individuals.

Ms Indranee added that the AG should be involved in cases of public importance. These include cases in which there could be novel legal issues with an impact on the whole public sector, she said.

"Such matters have the potential to affect Singapore as a whole, and could involve issues of public law and the public interest. As such, they require closer oversight," she said.





MDA does not expect everyone to agree with its decisions: Yaacob
By Alice Chia, Channel NewsAsia, 5 Aug 2014

Due to the nature of their work in classifying content, Media Development Authority (MDA) officers do not expect everyone to agree with their decisions. Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, said this in a written Parliamentary reply to a question by Member of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang GRC Zaqy Mohamad.

Dr Yaacob said if the decision attracts disagreement from the public at either end of a spectrum of views, it is a good indication that MDA has managed to strike a judicious balance between competing interests. He pointed out that the current approach, which ensures that content regulatory standards and policies are in line with social norms and keep pace with their evolution, has worked well.

MDA classifies and regulates content across different platforms, and publishes various Content Codes outlining the classification standards for film, videos, video games, broadcast media, publications and arts performances. The formulation of the Content Codes, as well as the decision of MDA classifiers in specific cases, involves seeking input from the community. MDA conducts regular surveys of the population to gain important insights into community views.

Dr Yaacob reiterated that later this year, MDA will be launching a Content Standards Study to assess whether its existing content standards and policies remain in line with community expectations, and whether there is a need to further harmonise the ratings system across different mediums. The last such major study was conducted in 2010 to support the work of the Censorship Review Committee.

One key finding of the survey was the broad-based support for the content regulatory standards, with 7 in 10 respondents supporting current levels of content regulation for TV, magazines, films, videos and arts performances. In addition, MDA regularly seeks the views of its advisory committees, which comprise members representing a wide cross-section of the society.

Dr Yaacob said that clearly, the public does not expect agencies to seek consultation on every single classification decision they have to make. When Content Codes are being reviewed, they are open to public consultation.

However, he says between such periods of review, it should be left to the classifiers, with input and advice from the consultative panels, to get on with the job of providing the public with sufficient information to allow them to make their own informed choices.





At the end of the day, NMPs make the House better
By Robin Chan Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

YESTERDAY was the last time most of the nine Nominated MPs will set foot in the House, with their term coming to an end this month.

The nostalgia was already sinking in for Ms Mary Liew, who was seen passing some printed photos to the other NMPs seated near her.

Some, like Ms Janice Koh, took the chance to tour the chambers one last time, posing for a picture next to a painting by artist Chua Mia Tee, which she later posted on Facebook.

The NMPs also continued to question and debate, like it was any other day of business.

During yesterday's sitting, Ms Faizah Jamal and Ms Liew asked questions on fish farm waste and on the placement fees that foreign domestic workers pay, respectively.

Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan and private banker Tan Su Shan also joined in the debate on the new Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. The law will give Singapore authority to target companies and other entities which either cause or condone fires that lead to haze.

From the seemingly minute and mundane to issues of national importance, the nine NMPs have demonstrated their ability to contribute to the discourse in Parliament. Now, after they have served for 21/2 years, there will be a new slate of NMPs selected come next month. Of the nine, only businessman R. Dhinakaran and Prof Tan have opted to be considered for another term.

Coming after the hotly contested 2011 General Election, they joined the House in debating contentious issues such as the White Paper on Population and the Little India riot.

They have witnessed the Government making significant shifts in social policy such as health care and social security.

And they also celebrated former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's 90th birthday, in a poignant moment in the House.

Having sat in the press gallery and observed them during many of these occasions in Parliament, I think it's fitting to recognise them and their speeches which have left an impression on me.

With tongue-slightly-in- cheek, here are three awards:

The Super Passion Award goes to Ms Faizah.

Since the very first day in Parliament, she was single-minded in her focus on environmental issues.

From marine life to parks to trees, the environmentalist argued impassionedly for more attention to be paid to green issues, and was able to turn any matter in Singapore into one, inevitably, about our environment.

In the opening debate after the President's Address this May, she said: "All members of this House should raise environment issues in this House because it is the right thing to do, it is the mature and wise thing to do. It is time to take back personal responsibility."

As someone who is not so environmentally conscious, I was often left feeling rather guilty about leaving the light on too long, or the many plastic bags I used, after hearing her speak.

Yesterday, on the debate over the haze Bill, she continued to strike at our collective conscience. Quoting from a billboard she saw in London, she said: "You are not stuck in traffic. You are traffic."

The next honour is the Range Far And Wide Award.

It goes to Prof Tan, the law don, for having something to say on almost everything - even the attendance of MPs.

An expert on constitutional law and administrative law, just in the last two days, he again displayed that knack, by speaking on the National Library Board's saga over homosexuality-themed children's books, the crash of MH17 in Ukraine, the haze Bill, and a more obscure Bill on additional functions of the Attorney-General.

Prof Tan also made his mark in Parliament by unfailingly calling out his fellow MPs for not being present in the House for a quorum.

Under the Constitution, a quorum of one-quarter of the total number of 87 MPs, excluding the Speaker, is needed for a Bill to be passed.

Last month, in one sitting he pointed out not once, but twice, the fact that a quorum was not reached, forcing the Speaker to ring the bells summoning the MPs into the chamber.

My last award is the Mirror Award. It goes to Mr Laurence Lien.

The mild-mannered Mr Lien surprised with his hard-hitting speeches that would often ask members of the House and the Government to look in the mirror, and focus on the bigger question of "what kind of country do we want to be?"

Many of his speeches urged the remaking of the social compact between the Government and citizens, and improving trust between the two.

In his first Parliament speech, he charged that Singapore was in a social recession, and proposed a Social Review Committee "to create a new shared vision and new social compact" for Singapore.

In one of his last speeches this May, referring to an ancient Judaic tradition to celebrate a Jubilee year with rest, he said to the House ahead of Singapore's own Jubilee year: "There is something worthwhile about resting, in the sense of taking a step back to reflect and ponder: What do we wish to become? How do we want to get there?"

In all seriousness, all nine NMPs have made meaningful contributions this term.

Now in its 24th year, the NMP scheme has attracted debate over its continued relevancy.

But this batch of NMPs has proven that, despite the criticisms, with them around, the House has certainly been the better for it.


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Honour Singapore: New non-profit group to promote culture of honour

August 7, 2014, 12:33 am
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By Laura Elizabeth Philomin, TODAY, 6 Aug 2014

A group of prominent Singa­poreans — including a former top civil servant and a former judge — have come together to launch a new non-profit organisation (NPO) to promote a culture of “honour and honouring” here.

Called Honour (Singapore), the NPO will embark on engagement programmes — such as talks and conferences — involving schools and youth groups, for example. It is also in discussion with the Ministry of Education to develop initiatives for schools.

A websitewas launched yesterday to encourage the public to send in stories that 
demonstrate “honour in action”.

The group is chaired by Mr Lim Siong Guan, group president of GIC and former head of the Civil Service. Its board members include Mr Richard Magnus, a retired Senior Judge who heads the Public Transport Council, and Mr Jason Wong, chairman of Focus on the Family.

It will also be advised by a high-powered panel consisting of Far East Organization CEO Philip Ng, Lien Foundation chairman Laurence Lien, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore president Alami Musa and National University of Singapore emeritus professor Edwin Thumboo, among others.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the group’s fund-raising dinner at Fullerton Hotel — which was attended by 400 potential donors, businessmen, civil servants and school representatives, among others — Mr Lim said he got the inspiration to set up the group from conversations with his friends reflecting on Singapore’s success, in the context of the country’s golden jubilee next year.

Mr Lim noted that Singapore’s success goes beyond government policies and schemes. It came about fundamentally because “we are a people and country whose word is our honour”.

Honour and trust will also be the virtues underpinning the Republic’s success in the years to come, 
he added.

Asked whether he felt honour is increasingly scarce in society here, Mr Lim said it was not the case. The group was set up to get more people talking about the virtue for the benefit of current and future generations of Singaporeans, he added.

In a speech at the dinner, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who was guest of honour, said for Singaporeans to honour one another, it entails acknowledging, accepting and respecting differences.

“How we manage differences — to ensure these do not become new fault lines that polarise our society — this will be our critical challenge in the coming years,” he added.





Heng: Critical to manage new differences in attitudes
They could become fault lines causing splits if not handled well, says minister
By Lee Jian Xuan, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

NEW differences in attitudes towards issues such as sexual orientation and the distribution of wealth are emerging and managing them will be a critical challenge for Singapore, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.

If Singaporeans work together, such differences can be a source of strength that benefits society. But if not managed well, they could become new fault lines that polarise Singapore, he warned.

Speaking at the launch of a new non-profit organisation called Honour (Singapore), which is aimed at promoting a culture of honour in Singapore, Mr Heng said it took Singapore decades of hard work to bridge racial and religious differences.

He noted that matters of race, religion and language "are deeply visceral, and require constant vigilance". "But even as we forged deeper understanding of these issues, new differences are emerging - be it in attitudes towards sexual orientation, new migrants, social status or the distribution of wealth," he said.

"How we manage differences - to ensure that these do not become new fault lines which polarise our society - this will be our critical challenge in the coming years."

And while it is natural for Singaporeans to have diverse opinions, the challenge ahead is how to create a society that gives maximum space for people to develop different ideas.

"At some point, after we air our different perspectives, we have to bring everyone together to move forward in a fair and just way, in a way that protects the vulnerable, and that grows the opportunities and welfare of everyone," he said. "This cannot be a matter of one side winning and the other side losing."

One suggestion Mr Heng had to avoid this problem was for people to advocate solutions rather than to simply state a position.

This could turn divisions into a source of new ideas that could benefit the nation.

For issues on which differences cannot be easily bridged, Mr Heng hopes Singapore can build a culture where it will be normal to say: "I may not share your view but I want to understand it and I will try my utmost to honour it."

He also spoke about the need to honour the spirit of the pioneer generation, which the Government is doing through the Pioneer Generation Package. Singapore should also maintain the tradition of a country that is known for keeping to its promises, he said.

Honour (Singapore) will engage a broad swathe of society from schools to businesses in a series of talks to promote these values, said former head of civil service Lim Siong Guan, who founded the organisation.





Honouring the word behind Singapore's enduring success
By Lee Jian Xuan, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014

WHILE people are looking to celebrate Singapore's 50 years of success next year, former civil service head Lim Siong Guan feels that not enough attention has been given to asking why the nation has managed to succeed for so long.

For him, the key ingredient is simply one word: honour.

"When you think about our success, the real reason for it is that we honour our word. Nothing else can explain why so many foreign investors place their money here," he said.

Mr Lim and his friends, like family organisation Focus on the Family's chairman Jason Wong, felt so strongly about this that they set up a new non-profit organisation called Honour (Singapore), launched last night at the Fullerton Hotel, to promote to people here the value of keeping to one's word.

"I don't think the virtue has deteriorated, but we don't talk much about it. It's not always in the consciousness of our people," said Mr Lim, who is group president of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The new group intends to reach out to groups such as schools, families, businesses and community groups through a series of talks and conferences, which will be on an invitational basis, he said.

It has also appointed a panel of 10 community advisers to give guidance on how best to reach out to these groups. The members include Lien Foundation chairman and Nominated MP Laurence Lien, and businessman Chua Thian Poh.

"I was happy to support this cause. Honour is something my grandfather believed in, and I think everyone should find a way to infuse it into daily life," said Mr Lien.

Honour (Singapore) has also developed a series of programmes to engage Singaporeans on how to lead, live and learn with honour, said Mr Lim, who added that more details will be given later.


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Winning designs chosen for benches made from old National Stadium wooden planks

August 7, 2014, 8:32 pm
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By Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 7 Aug 2014

WOODEN plank seats from the former National Stadium are getting a new lease of life around the island - and Singaporeans have chosen the form that their reincarnation will take.

Ten bench designs using these old planks, ranging from an undulating "Kallang Wave" to the letters of the word "Dream", emerged as the public's pick in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Pick a bench, Pick a place initiative. Over 6,000 votes were received from Feb 27 to March 31.

By early next year, 42 benches in the winning designs will be installed at 15 locations around the island, from Marina Bay and Sentosa to heartland spots such as Punggol Promenade.

"When the former National Stadium was demolished to give way to the new Sports Hub, we salvaged the seating planks,"National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan wrote in a blog post yesterday. "We have an idea that if the planks can be recycled into well-designed benches, it would be a meaningful way to commemorate the grand old dame of Kallang," he added.

The public had a choice of 24 bench designs and 24 locations. The designs were by local designers, artists, architects and winners of the bench design competition held in 2012. Since last year, 26 benches have already been installed at six locations.

This project is part of the PubliCity initiative, which aims to involving the community in celebrating and livening up public spaces.

Other PubliCity projects include benches and garden swings at Kampong Glam and moveable chairs at the Asian Civilisations Museum Green and Marina Bay.



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Smart Mobility 2030 -LTA unveils master plan to build an intelligent transport network

August 7, 2014, 8:52 pm
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By Neo Chai Chin, Channel NewsAsia, 7 Aug 2014

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Aug 6) launched its master plan to improve Singapore’s transport systems and enhance commuters’ travel experience with the latest technologies.

The master plan, named Smart Mobility 2030, outlines how the country will develop its Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) over the next 15 years, LTA said.

The plan, launched jointly with the Intelligent Transportation Society Singapore (ITSS), has three key strategies: Implementing smart mobility solutions to facilitate better travel for commuters and transport management; developing and adopting ITS standards for the sharing of accurate transport data and the provision of reliable, timely and relevant information services; and establishing close partnerships and fostering co-creation between the public and private sectors.

Said Mr Chew Hock Yong, Chief Executive of LTA: “In the past, ITS were often infrastructure-reliant. Today, greater emphasis is placed on data collection, analytics and the availability of relevant, useful information on the move.

“It is crucial to ensure that Singapore can effectively tap on technological advancements and map out the overall direction for ITS developments in the next 15 years."

INFORMATION MUST BE SIMPLE, RELEVANT, ACCURATE

The blueprint published on Wednesday, a 44-page document, highlights ways in which high-quality information can be provided for diverse users, with interactive elements, to create a safer and better travel experience: For example, accurate information on crowd levels in buses and trains, warnings delivered to drivers via in-vehicle devices so some accidents can be avoided, and perhaps even driverless buses to ferry commuters within certain areas.

Information provided to users has to be simple, relevant and accurate, the master plan noted. While on-site signs, websites and radio broadcasts would continue to be the main channels to disseminate advisories, platforms for targeted and localised information — such as through smartphones, personal navigation devices and in-vehicle systems — will become more common.

In future, vehicles will be more connected with one another, and possibly with the authorities’ back-end operations for faster response to incidents. Alternative modes of transport can be deployed during a train breakdown, for instance, and motorists nearby can be alerted. But for vehicles to communicate with one another, open in-vehicle standards have to be adopted, with standard interfaces and connection protocols between smart devices required.

Experts speaking to TODAY noted the benefits — for example, congestion management — that can be reaped with new technologies such as the future satellite-based Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system.

The Intelligent Transportation Society Singapore was formed in 2001 to provide a forum for academics, public and private organisations, among others, to exchange ideas and information on intelligent transportation systems.

National University of Singapore professor Lee Der Horng, who is a council member of the society, felt the next-generation ERP system would be a game-changer, enabling distance-based pricing of road usage. This, in turn, could allow the authorities to be “a bit more lenient with ownership control”, he said. Other benefits offered by satellite-based ERP lie in parking enforcement, and the potential to guide drivers on routes to take between places, Prof Lee added.

Dr Alexander Erath of the Future Cities Laboratory at the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability said measures to improve public transport should be the priority. Data from travel smartcards is a “wonderful source to get insights” for researchers, and Dr Erath suggested other forms of data could also be collected and shared with commuters through smartphone applications.

Existing and new technologies could also be exploited to improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists, and in ticketing — such as removing the need to swipe travel cards on buses and at gantries, he suggested.

The plans laid out are fairly ambitious, he said. Commuters “shouldn’t expect less-crowded trains or roads because of intelligent transport systems, but more abilities to know how to avoid (congestion)”, he added.

More extensive and reliable data can, nonetheless, allow the public to better utilise their time, said Prof Lee. Smartphones today can provide information on bus arrivals, but not how crowded they are, for instance. With the extra information, “if peak hour is not over and I’m flexible, I may choose to stay home to do other work before leaving to take public transport”, he said. “The same applies when driving.”


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MOM takes action against 174 companies for Workplace Safety Violations

August 7, 2014, 9:27 pm
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174 firms hauled up for safety breaches
Surprise checks on worksites find rise in lapses despite tougher rules
By Janice Heng. The Straits Times, 7 Aug 2014

THE authorities took 174 companies to task after a month-long sting operation by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) uncovered hundreds of safety breaches at dozens of worksites.

Work was ordered to be stopped at four sites, and more than 100 fines were meted out after the MOM's latest round of surprise checks to tackle work-at-height safety lapses.

Inspections of 250 worksites in a month-long period during June and July found 353 violations.

Common problems included work-at-height platforms which lacked barriers to prevent falls, and the lack of a safe way to access such work areas. A similar round of 300 checks in July last year unearthed 107 lapses.

The rise in lapses comes even after safety regulations were tightened in May this year, requiring factories to have a site-specific Fall Prevention Plan to lower the risk of falls.

The Permit to Work system was also introduced then. This is a system of formalised checks in which risks are analysed and safety measures are put in place before work involving heights of more than 3m is allowed to start.

Of the worksites inspected in the latest operation, 84 per cent had a Fall Prevention Plan in place, while 77 per cent had Permit to Work systems.

Action was taken against 174 companies, with 108 fines ranging from $1,000 to $13,000 slapped on firms at 60 sites. Serious violations resulted in four worksites being given stop-work orders.

The inspections focused on high-risk industries such as construction and marine.

Most of the lapses could have been avoided if the new regulations had been followed properly, said the MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate director Chan Yew Kwong.

Urging contractors to do so, he added: "Falls from heights are still the leading cause of workplace deaths, so this is an area we will continue to focus on."

Falls from heights caused 14 of the 59 workplace deaths last year, including that of a Bangladeshi worker who fell from the 20th floor of the Silversea condominium construction site in September after scaffolding collapsed. At least four fatal workplace falls from heights have occurred so far this year.

Singapore Contractors Association (SCAL) president Ho Nyok Yong said his organisation was doing its part to raise awareness. Scal holds safety courses almost every month, including those focusing on the two new work-at-height rules.

MP Zainudin Nordin, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, hopes workers will speak up for their own safety.

"They should know their rights and, if the situation is not safe, they should be able to voice this," he said.

Companies which fail to ensure workplace safety and health may be fined up to $500,000 for the first offence. Individuals can also be fined up to $200,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.


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Too much screen time can harm children

August 7, 2014, 11:52 pm
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Turn off that tech toy
Screen time may be unavoidable today but parents have the power to manage their children's exposure to tablets, TVs and computers
By Joyce Teo, The Straits Times, Mind Your Body, 7 Aug 2014

Five-year-old Kristy gets to watch TV for an hour or so during lunchtime and for about two hours during dinner.

"After dinner, her 'reward' is at least 11/2 hours of time on an Apple iPad before she washes up for bed. Then, we take her through some educational apps or games before she sleeps," said her mother, Mrs D Lee, 39, who holds an office job.

"It is effective as a babysitting tool as long as we set the rules. We will warn her before we take back the iPad. She knows that if she doesn't cooperate, it will be confiscated for a couple of days."

Mrs Lee said she first allowed Kristy to play with the tablet when she was around two, but the time spent on it was a lot shorter.

"It's really a case of bo pian (Hokkien for no choice) now as I have a three-month-old baby. Otherwise, I will go mad. She'll keep bugging me and I have to express milk most of the time."

Mrs Lee is aware of the possible dangers of too much "screen time" but is not overly worried.

Screen time is the time spent on any media device with a screen, such as television, computers, video game consoles and handheld screen devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

She is among the many parents today who whip out their smart devices to entertain their children.

Indeed, a recent study by students from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) called Project iBaby found that nine out of 10 children in the 18 to 24 months age group are exposed to screen devices.

As part of a community health project, the fourth-year students interviewed parents of 800 children in February to find out how often young children use screen devices and the attitudes, practices and beliefs of their caregivers towards such use.

SCREEN TIME OVERLOAD

What is of concern is the amount of screen exposure young children are experiencing. The Project iBaby study discovered that almost half of these children under the age of two spend an hour or more on screen devices a day.

The study also found that there was a lack of parental knowledge when it came to the subject matter of screen time exposure. Eight in 10 parents were unaware of any guidelines put forth by professionals regarding screen time for young children while four in 10 parents failed to supervise their child's screen usage all the time.

"This is the first time in Singapore that screen viewing behaviour of very young children has been investigated comprehensively," said Dr Falk Mueller-Riemenschneider from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, who is the supervisor of Project iBaby.

"Our findings highlight that exposure to screen devices is highly prevalent and that awareness about the detrimental health effects is limited."

The excessive use of screen devices can be harmful.

It can cause speech delays and behavioural issues in young children, and attention problems in school-going children, apart from the possible weight gain that can accompany sedentary behaviour.

Mr Readon Teh, 23, the student-in-charge of Project iBaby's results, said: "We also found out that kids below the age of two, who are exposed to screen time, are more likely to have less than the recommended 13 hours of sleep a day."

IMPACT CAN DEEPEN

Early and heavy screen-time exposure can result in a higher rate of attention deficit when a child is of school-going age and result in language delays if parent-child interactions are compromised as a result of screen time, said Dr Jennifer Kiing, consultant, division of neurodevelopmental and behavioural paediatrics at the department of paediatrics, National University Hospital.

"There is also a link between screen violence and aggressive behaviour in children," she said.

In older children and adults, those who show addiction-like behaviour on their smartphone use can exhibit social effects such as declined performance in work or study and neglect of family or important relationships or social engagements, said Dr Tan Hwee Sim, a specialist in psychiatry and consultant at Raffles Counselling Centre.

They can also be affected psychologically. For instance, they may feel anxious when they are unable to access their devices, or depressed when they read negative remarks on social network sites.

Furthermore, their health may be affected as they could suffer from sleep disturbances, eye strain and neck pain, said Dr Tan.

Problematic use can even cause long-standing issues such as family break-ups and poor academic results, she added.

One reason why the parents of Angeline (not her real name), 16, took her to see Dr Tan recently was because her academic results had deteriorated. She was also highly irritable and her relationship with her parents was strained. "It turned out that she had been spending increasing amounts of time on her smartphone: watching videos, following updates on various social media sites and playing games," said Dr Tan.

Her anxiety about her poor results had led her to use her smartphone even more to escape from her problems.

Dr Tan assessed Angeline and ruled out any underlying mood or anxiety disorders. She then counselled her and roped in her parents when she devised a plan to help the student gradually reduce her smartphone use.

Problematic smartphone use often occurs in the context of other underlying conditions, such as anxiety and depression, said Dr Tan.

That is why it is still not clear whether "smartphone addiction" is truly a separate disease entity or a manifestation of other issues, she said.

She added that there is currently no consensus among psychiatrists, although some want it to be formally recognised as a disorder here.

Those who are vulnerable to addiction-like behaviour are people with poor social skills, low self-esteem, or are suffering from negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression and anger, and who have limited coping skills, she said.

MONITOR USAGE

The students who took part in Project iBaby have developed educational materials, such as brochures and posters, as well as held baby fairs at KK Women's and Children's Hospital and National University Hospital to raise awareness of harmful effects of too much screen time.

But more needs to be done. Dr Mueller-Riemenschneider said more widespread and comprehensive approaches, involving childcare centres and teachers, the health-care sector and other institutions, will be needed to raise awareness on a larger population level, as well as to overcome misperceptions about the beneficial effects of screen viewing in the very young.

Some parents believe that certain TV programmes or apps will benefit their children cognitively but, in fact, there is no evidence to show that these are beneficial for very young children below two, he said.

"There also remains a need to better understand why so many children engage in excessive amounts of screen viewing behaviour and what the barriers to reducing such behaviour in children are," said Dr Mueller-Riemenschneider, whose area of speciality is in public health.

There are currently no official guidelines on the length of screen time children should be exposed to in Singapore, but several health-care organisations in the United States have discouraged media use by children up to the age of two.

For years, the American Academy Of Paediatricians (AAP) has been recommending that TV and other entertainment media be avoided for infants and children under the age of two, and that older children and teens should engage with entertainment media for no more than one or two hours per day.


Experts say children under the age of two learn best through real-life interactions and not through videos.

In general, children under the age of two are more likely to have speech delays and behavioural issues if they are exposed to excessive media screen exposure before they turn two, said Dr Tan Kuanyang from Thomson Paediatric Centre.

That is why the general stand of paediatricians is to discourage the use of media devices below the age of two, he said.

The recommendation also applies to educational apps. "An app speaks to you and does not require you to interact, resulting in speech and behavioural issues," said Dr Tan.

Mrs Lee said she will monitor Kristy's behaviour. If there are any issues, she will "moderate Kristy's time with the iPad".





How to manage screen time

Screen time should not compromise parent-child interactions, say doctors.

Here is some advice from paediatricians and Project iBaby researchers on how parents can manage their children's screen time.

1. Discourage children below the age of two from using screen devices.

2. For children above two years old, limit the time spent on screen devices to no more than one or two hours a day.

3. Review the content that your child is watching and watch it with him.

4. Make and enforce rules to limit screen time.

5. Encourage other interactive activities which promote proper brain development, such as playing and reading.

6. Watch TV or use other devices in the living room only and not in the children's bedroom.





Warning signs

It is not only young children who are at risk of becoming too attached to smart devices. Older children and adults can become hooked on such devices too.

The main difference between a heavy smartphone user and a problematic smartphone user is that for the former, the use does not interfere with his work, relationships or life, said Dr Tan Hwee Sim, a specialist in psychiatry and consultant at Raffles Counselling Centre, who has clinical interests in addictions.

"There is no universal agreement as to the specific criteria for 'smartphone addiction', whether it is a mental disorder or, indeed, whether it is a disorder at all," she said.

As smartphone addiction is not an established mental disorder, the criteria for substance use disorder can usually be applied to problematic smartphone use, she said.

These include:
- The person using the device more than he intended to. For instance, he would tell himself that he would spend only an hour on the device but ends up spending the whole night on it.
- Showing a desire to cut down on or control how much he uses the device but is unable to.
- Craving the use of the device.
- Continuing to use the device despite negative consequences, such as deteriorating academic results.
- Neglecting important activities, such as schoolwork or housework, because of time spent using the device.
- Using the device in situations in which it is physically hazardous, for example, when driving or crossing the road.
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety or irritability, when withdrawing from the use of the device.

NIP IT IN THE BUD

Dr Tan suggested the following ways to help parents stem problematic use of smartphones.

1. Recognise that the usage is out of control

"Some people are able to modify their behaviour once they have an insight into the negative consequences that their behaviour causes," said Dr Tan.

"If there is any underlying issue that may cause or support the problematic usage, it needs to be addressed. Examples include depression, anxiety, stress or self-esteem and social skills issues."

A formal consultation may be needed to assess what issues are involved, she said.

2. Modify usage

By keeping a log on how much time is spent using a device for non-essential activities, a person can set goals to reduce such usage.

3. Set rules

Lay down some guidelines for not using the smartphone in certain situations. For example, when driving, eating, spending time with the family or when in the bedroom.

4. Eliminate data plan

If a person is still unable to control his usage despite these efforts, he should consider using a device with no data plan, so he cannot surf the Internet on it, in order to break the habit.


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