Date Published: 12 Mar 2013

Speech by Ms , Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources & Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Committee of Supply Debate, 12 Mar 2013

1 Thank you, Mdm Chair. I would like to thank the Members for their questions and suggestions. My Ministry is determined to steadily lift standards of cleanliness and to make a liveable environment. Last year, we outlined three key objectives –to build an inclusive society, enhance our quality of life, and ensure a sustainable future. We have made progress on these fronts.

Enhancing Standards of Cleanliness

2 One key aspect of our living environment is public cleanliness. Er was concerned enough about this to move a Motion in Parliament last year. Many Singaporeans share her call for a cleaner Singapore. I agree with her that we are not as clean as we would like to be. I have heard many said that we are not as clean as before. Members –Mr and Mr have also made their comments. I agree and I feel we can certainly do better. All of us should play a part, not just the cleaners. We should not just be a ‘cleaned’ city that depends on our army of cleaners. We want to be a clean city because our people care enough to keep it clean.

3 Dr Faishal and Mr asked about the progress of the integration of cleaning functions amongst agencies. Since its formation in April last year, the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) has taken over the role of taking public feedback on cleaning issues for the Government agencies. It has since received close to 21,000 pieces of feedback as of February 2013. This is an increase of 30% over the year before, about one-third of which were related to areas under the charge of other agencies like Town Councils, NParks, LTA and HDB. The DPC has worked with these agencies to resolve the cases expeditiously, about 62 cases per day, mostly within two working days.

4 DPC has taken over the cleaning functions of areas like footpaths and roads from LTA, JTC and HDB, and will be taking over areas like drains and car parks from PUB and URA this year. The first integrated contract for cleaning of expressways will be called in April this year. Integrated cleaning contracts for cleaning of public areas, including roads, footpaths, drains, vacant lands and parks within a defined area will be awarded from 2014 onwards, and the level of cleanliness of these areas will be tracked by DPC as part of the performance measurement of contracts.

5 We are also transforming the cleaning industry. By improving the productivity and development on standards of the industry, we hope to uplift the jobs of 50,000 resident cleaners that we have.

6 Last November, we introduced the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme (EAS) to encourage cleaning companies to provide better training and employment conditions for their cleaners. To hasten the pace of change, we announced last year that the Government will take the lead as a major cleaning service buyer in engaging only accredited cleaning companies for new contracts with effect from 1 April 2013. And I am happy to hear from Member Mr Lim Biow Chuan that his Town Council has already started doing the same.

7 Since the launch of the enhanced scheme, 55 cleaning companies have submitted their applications. 10 cleaning companies have been accredited. These are early days but we are beginning to see some heartening results for the cleaners. With your permission, Madam, may I display a series of slides on the LED screens? [Hon Members were shown a slide].

8 This is Mr Rosli bin Abdul Majed. He joined M/s Veolia ES Singapore Industrial Pte Ltd, a recipient of the enhanced Clean Mark Gold Award, as a cleaner in 2007. A father of three, Mr Rosli has been given opportunities to upgrade his skills through Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) modules for Environmental Cleaning. With systematic training, he was promoted to be a team leader after he completed the certified cleansing crew level training. The training and development roadmap has given him steady progress in his job scope and salary. The lives of his family members have improved. I hope to see this example replicated many times so that many more Singaporean cleaners can benefit.

9 Mrs mentioned yesterday that it was essential to encourage private sector service buyers to come on board. We are very happy to hear that. I am pleased to inform that my Ministry is ready to table a Bill later this year to introduce the mandatory licensing of all cleaning companies in 2014. Mr and Minister have called for licensing to hasten the pace of change during the Budget debate. This will set the standards that all cleaning companies must meet before they can operate. The key licensing requirements include mandatory training courses and progressive wage model for the cleaners. With better training and employment conditions, our cleaners can look forward to better lives.

Fostering Social Graciousness

10 However, an integrated and revamped cleaning industry is only one part of the solution. No matter how productive or hardworking our cleaners are, there will never be enough of them if we think nothing of throwing things out of the window or discarding carpark coupons and cigarette butts from our car when no one is looking. Should we tolerate such inconsiderate behaviour? Should we have harsher penalties for the recalcitrant minority who persistently litter?

11 We need everyone in the community to take personal responsibility and set high standards for our social behaviour. I believe the majority of us want a clean living environment for our families. We are proud to call this place our home and we want to keep it clean for all to enjoy. We feel bad when our home is defaced and dirtied by littering. To keep Singapore clean, and not just a ‘cleaned’ country, we need to harness the energy of the community to first act responsibly; do not litter, and two, to build a strong sense of societal norm.

Community Involvement

Act Responsibly

12 I would like to show a photo of Facebook page on “A Litter At a Time” [Hon Members were shown a slide].

13 Ms Elisa Ng and her children have been regularly picking up litter in their neighbourhood in Bishan East. They have also started a Facebook campaign called “A Litter At A Time” to encourage residents to go the extra mile and pick up just one piece of litter a day. This is a great example of an effort on an individual basis.

14 What about on the community basis? There are many groups that are harnessing the strengths and energies of the community to encourage residents to keep their neighbourhood clean. Er Lee Bee Wah has mentioned this HABIT or Hold on And Bin IT or in short “HABIT @ Nee Soon South”. It is an excellent example of how the community come together and Er Lee has earlier described what they do to remind residents to keep the place clean. And another one, “ACTION @ Bedok” initiative. This is a sustained initiative jointly run by the East Coast Town Council, grassroots leaders in Bedok Constituency, NEA and the Public Hygiene Council - another good example of local community effort.

Social Norms

15 But many in the wider society also feel strongly enough to want to help us enforce against litter-bugs. NEA has just completed the training of the first batch of 28 volunteers from groups such as the Public Hygiene Council, Waterways Watch Singapore and Singapore Kindness Movement, Singapore Environment Council and Cat Welfare Society. These volunteers will be empowered to act on behalf of NEA to educate litterbugs to pick up their own litter and record offenders’ particulars for enforcement when offenders refuse to do so.

16 To support our anti-littering efforts, the Public Hygiene Council launched the refreshed Keep Singapore Clean Movement, together with the Singapore Kindness Movement, and the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement. We thank Mr Liang for mentioning this and also paying attention to this important community effort. He asked about the progress of the movement and I am happy to update that it has so far involved close to 15,000 volunteers including students, NGOs volunteers, grassroots leaders and residents who are relentless in their efforts to keep Singapore clean and green.

17 The Public Hygiene Council will soon hold the first Keep Singapore Clean conference in May to engage the public in dialogue and build public support to turn Singapore into a cleaner city. It has been working with the schools, businesses and community organisations to turn community spaces into “Bright Spots”. There are 44 “Bright Spots” so far and I wish the Council the very best in reaching its goal of achieving 100 Bright Spots this year. And I thank Er Lee Bee Wah for mentioning Naval Base School. Indeed, our schools are really energised in keeping our environment clean and we are really encouraged by the enthusiasm that our younger Singaporeans have displayed.

Enforcement

18 Despite the many efforts, the number of feedback on littering has been increasing. To more effectively deter littering, we will enhance our enforcement regime to penalise those who defy our littering laws.

19 We will enhance our surveillance and enforcement efforts. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah has asked that we empower all our NEA field officers. They are already empowered to do so and we will accord greater priority to enforcement against littering. NEA will increase its enforcement hours by about 50%. We will be deploying more plain-clothes officers and increasing the enforcement rounds at littering hotspots. In addition, we will leverage on technology for better surveillance. We are currently piloting the use of surveillance cameras with video analytic capabilities to monitor littering at hotspots. We will also work with the Police to tap on their surveillance cameras, including those that will be installed at all 10,000 HDB blocks and multi-storey car parks as mentioned by Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Iswaran last week.

20 Mr Heng Chee How has suggested that we enlist the help of the public in our enforcement in combating road side littering. Over the past three years, 336 offenders have been successfully convicted for littering from vehicles. Some of these cases were helped by the submission of photographic evidence by the public. In one case, a member of the public reported to us that a litterbug was throwing tissue on to the road while driving and provided a photo of the vehicle. We took the litterbug successfully to court and he was issued a Corrective Work Order. We will further facilitate the use of public- generated evidence so as to encourage more members of the public to report littering, spitting, pet defecating and other anti-social behaviour.

21 Besides greater enforcement efforts, we are considering increasing the penalties against the recalcitrant minority. Currently, on top of the composition fines, recalcitrant offenders can be sent to court where, either a fine of up to $1,000 for the first conviction in court or a Corrective Work Order requiring them to clean public areas for up to a maximum of 12 hours, or both, may be imposed. We are considering increasing the maximum court fine for recalcitrant offenders to $2,000 for the first court conviction, $4,000 for the second conviction and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions.

22 We need the public’s support for more effective surveillance, enforcement and deterrence. Through greater community involvement, we can build a strong sense of social pressure against littering. Through effective and enhanced enforcement, we can send a strong signal that it is better to dispose of your litter properly. In short, we will not tolerate littering and cannot rely solely on cleaners to keep Singapore clean. We need everyone to help us make the transition from being a “cleaned” city to a “clean” one.

Promoting a smoke-free lifestyle

23 Next, I would like to address the public health issues of second-hand cigarette smoke, dengue, rodent and food hygiene.

24 We have just extended the smoking ban on 15 January 2013 to more areas to protect non-smokers from the effects of second-hand smoke. The ban now includes common areas within residential buildings, sheltered linkways and walkways, overhead pedestrian bridges, outdoor hospital compounds, and a five-metre radius around all public bus shelters. Our officers and ambassadors are going around to the new prohibited areas to educate smokers about the new rules. To give smokers time to understand and adjust to the new law, we have been issuing advisories, instead of summons, to smokers caught smoking at these newly prohibited areas. Over 3,000 advisories have been issued since 15 January.

25 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah also asked about our next steps on smoking in public places. My Ministry will explore further extensions of the smoking ban and clearer designation of smoking areas as she has suggested.

Dengue Situation

26 On dengue, as shared by Minister Balakrishnan last month, we have observed an increase in the less common Dengue Type 1 (DEN-1) and Dengue Type 3 (DEN-3) viruses against which the community has lower immunity. This contributed to the latest spike in dengue cases.

27 We agree with Member Ms that research is important to improve prevention and management of dengue cases. Our Environmental Health Institute (EHI) has actively collaborated with dengue research and control communities locally and internationally. Its designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre is a recognition of its quality and extensive collaborative network.

28 As part of the local dengue consortium comprising universities and hospitals, the EHI has worked on STOP Dengue, a Translation and Clinical Research programme funded by the National Medical Research Council. Ms Sylvia Lim mentioned the human antibody which could potentially limit the effects of Dengue 1 –this is one of the many projects the consortium is working on.

29 Until we find a vaccine against dengue viruses, the most effective strategy remains source eradication. Our officers are deployed to carry out daily operations particularly in areas where dengue is currently transmitting. 30 NEA’s inspections show that 70% of dengue breeding sites detected are in homes. I urge everyone to conscientiously check potential dengue breeding spots, such as flowerpots and roof gutters, at least once a week. Please also protect yourselves and your families against mosquito bites so that we can break the chain of transmission. We need to work together to manage dengue.

Rodents in HDB Estates

31 Rodents thrive where there are sources of food like uncovered food waste or improper storage of food. The root cause of rodent infestation is poor refuse management and housekeeping. As such, maintaining good sanitation and housekeeping is our key rodent control strategy. Member Mr Pritam Singh asked what the Ministry would do to help curb the rodent population.

32 Rodent infestation is a more serious problem in town centres and areas with high concentration of food premises. Eighty-one percent of rodent burrows found were in HDB estates. To address this problem, NEA has worked with the Town Councils since 2011 under the Rat Attack Programme to mitigate rat problems in their estates. The Rat Attack Programme resulted in a significant 40% decrease in the number of burrows. At the same time, residents and food shops operators should also play their part in proper refuse management and housekeeping practices to reduce the food sources available to the rodent population.

33 Last year, the Rat Attack Programme was carried out in 13 public areas with high number of food retail establishments, also with high human traffic and frequent observation of rodent activities. The programme led to a significant 93% reduction in the number of rodent burrows, from 348 at the start of last year to 26 by December 2012.

34 NEA has also carried out outreach efforts to engage the stakeholders. A rodent control seminar was jointly organised by NEA and the Singapore Pest Management Association (SPMA) in August last year with participants comprising building managing agents, food court operators and pest control operators.

Stringent Food Hygiene Regime

35 Good housekeeping can also prevent the public health threat of food poisoning that Member Mr talked about. We have seen food poisoning incidents occur in a range of establishments from hotels –that Mr Charles Chong mentioned –to childcare centres. In particular, food catering tended to be of high risk. Caterers typically prepare a wide variety of food, in large quantities, store the food for some time before it is consumed by the customers. In 2012, food caterers had the highest food poisoning incidence rate amongst all types of food outlets. In addition, the average number of people affected per food poisoning incident was the highest for food caterer.

36 Mr Charles Chong suggested shortening the period within which refresher food hygiene certification must be obtained. Currently, food operators whose licences are suspended for hygiene lapses will have to send their food handlers for retraining before they are allowed to resume work. Aside from training, we need to do more to maintain high food hygiene standards at all times.

37 In February last year, NEA introduced the food time-stamping system where catering companies are required to indicate the time by which the food should be consumed. NEA and SPRING have also been working with the industry to develop a Singapore Standard on Food Safety Management. The Singapore Standard will guide the industry on the design and implementation of a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) which will include Standard Operating Procedures on food hygiene and risk control measures. One such risk factor is human. Under the FSMS, operators have to ensure that food handlers practise good food and personal hygiene at all times and that they do not work when they are ill.

38 With effect from 1 June 2014, new applicants for catering licences are required to submit an FSMS plan to NEA within the first three months of the licence issuance date. Existing caterer licensees will be required to submit a plan three months before the renewal of their licence. With this new measure, we aim to improve the standard of food hygiene in Singapore so as to better protect the well being of Singaporeans.

39 Madam, many of the things that we do in NEA and MEWR are not considered exciting or glamorous in the eyes of the public. They are nevertheless executed with determination and commitment as we are deeply aware of their impact on the well being of Singaporeans. From keeping the environment clean, maintaining a high standard of public and food hygiene, curtailing rodent and insect infestation, our officers take pride in our work knowing that we help keep Singapore clean and give Singaporeans a good living environment.

40 I would also like to pay tribute to the many thousands of cleaners that we have in Singapore who tirelessly work to keep the environment clean. We call on all Singaporeans to help us, help ourselves in keeping Singapore clean and free of publicly transmitted diseases. Let us be gracious and considerate to one another, to our cleaners, to our enforcement officers as we aspire to be a truly gracious society with a big heart.