Volume 94 Tuesday No 49 1 August 2017 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SINGAPORE OFFICIAL REPORT CONTENTS Written Answers to Questions Page 1. Guidelines and Avenues for Political Appointees to Address Allegations Publicly (Mr Chen Show Mao) 1 2. Increase in Total Number of Electors for Coming Presidential Election (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 1 3. Efforts to Catalyse Reverse Mortgages for Private Housing (Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry) 1 4. Expected Run-in Period of New Signalling System on North-South Line (Mr Murali Pillai) 2 5. Minimum Age Requirement for Private Hire Car Drivers (Mr Sitoh Yih Pin) 3 6. Roadworthiness of CNG Vehicles (Miss Cheng Li Hui) 4 7. Vehicle Inspection Regime for CNG Taxis and Private Cars (Mr Ang Hin Kee) 4 8. Loss of Earnings by Taxi Drivers from Violent or Drunken Passengers (Assoc Prof Randolph Tan) 5 9. Applicants Granted PR Status under EDB's Global Investor Programme (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 6 10. Publication of Information Forecasting Major Supply-Demand Mismatch in Specific Job Categories (Mr Pritam Singh) 6 11. Decline in Average Weekly Paid Overtime Hours Worked Per Employee (Assoc Prof Randolph Tan) 7 12. Errors in Tamil Translations on National Day Parade 2017 Rehearsal Collaterals (Mr Murali Pillai) 8 13. Plans for ASEAN to Execute Multilateral Approach on China's One Belt One Road Initiative (Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong) 8 14. Recidivism of Local Inmates of Drug Rehabilitation Centres and Long-Term Imprisonment Regimes (Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang) 9 15. Number of Local SMEs Owning Intellectual Property Rights (Mr Leon Perera) 10 16. Couples with Unsuccessful Pregnancy after Three Cycles of Subsidised Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatment (Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang) 11 17. Shortage of Local Doctors in Singapore (Ms Foo Mee Har) 13 18. Day Care Centres for Persons with Special Needs (Mr Desmond Choo) 13 19. Review of Family-related Laws Governing Legal Rights and Responsibilities between Step- parents and Step-children (Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong) 14 20. Successful Applicants for Additional CPF Housing Grant (Mr Desmond Choo) 16 21. Conditions Governing Permits for Construction Works on Terrace Houses (Ms Sylvia Lim) 16 22. Number of HDB Flats Built Specifically for Senior Citizens Yearly since 2002 (Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry) 17 23. Frequency of Sweeping and Cleaning of Public Areas under NEA (Ms Tin Pei Ling) 18 24, 25. Food Waste Management Strategies (Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong and Mr Seah Kian Peng) 19 26. Students Suffering from Domestic Abuse (Mr Christopher de Souza) 20 27. Class Sizes in Primary and Secondary Schools (Mr Leon Perera) 21 28. Time Spent by Teachers on Marking Assignments and Administrative Work (Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong) 22 29. Review of Cut-off Points for Undergraduate Courses (Mr Zainal Sapari) 22 30. Affordability of Degree Courses for Mature Students at Autonomous Universities (Mr Pritam Singh) 23 GUIDELINES AND AVENUES FOR POLITICAL APPOINTEES TO ADDRESS ALLEGATIONS PUBLICLY 1 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Prime Minister what are the rules, directives, practices, understandings, standards and norms governing the circumstances under which a Minister or political appointee should defend his reputation in his official capacity in the courts or refrain from such court action and address allegations publicly, such as in Parliament. Mr Lee Hsien Loong: I have addressed this in my Ministerial Statement on 3 July 2017. Any Minister who is accused of improper conduct must clear his name publicly. He should not allow the allegations to fester and affect the reputation of the Government. If it is a serious allegation, I would expect the Minister to take court action for defamation, unless there are other special considerations. He may also need to render account in Parliament, particularly if the matter concerns his discharge of public duties and is of public interest. These are not mutually exclusive options. In all cases, there must be public accounting. Back to Contents INCREASE IN TOTAL NUMBER OF ELECTORS FOR COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the increase in the total number of electors for the coming presidential election since the last General Election; and (b) which electoral divisions have a significant increase in the number of electors. Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): Based on the latest revised registers of electors as at 31 July 2017, there are 2,515,322 electors. This is an increase of 52,396 electors (or 2.1%) compared to the number of electors at General Election 2015. The electoral divisions with a large increase in number of electors are Sengkang West and Pasir Ris-Punggol. Back to Contents EFFORTS TO CATALYSE REVERSE MORTGAGES FOR PRIVATE HOUSING 3 Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry asked the Prime Minister (a) whether there are any 2 efforts to catalyse reverse mortgages for private housing; and (b) whether there are any guidelines and laws that govern reverse mortgages for private housing including the level of interest charged for reserve mortgages. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (for the Prime Minister): Financial institutions (FIs) are allowed to offer reverse mortgages. In fact, some FIs did offer reverse mortgages in the past but ceased doing so when they found a lack of demand. The terms for reverse mortgages, including applicable interest rates, are set on a commercial basis, taking into account factors such as cost of funding and credit risk. The Government has been looking at options to help Singaporeans better monetise their housing assets. For example, MAS announced in March 2017 that mortgage equity withdrawal loans need not be subject to the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework if the loan amount is less than 50% of the market value of the property. This will help retirees – many of whom would have paid up most of their outstanding housing loan – monetise part of the value of their property. There are alternatives to reverse mortgages or mortgage equity withdrawal loans. For instance, a property owner can choose to let out his property or a room for rental income. Eligible HDB flat owners may also monetise or right-size their flats through HDB's Lease Buyback Scheme or Silver Housing Bonus respectively. The Government will continue to review its policies to facilitate monetisation options that are relevant to meet the retirement needs of Singaporeans. Back to Contents EXPECTED RUN-IN PERIOD OF NEW SIGNALLING SYSTEM ON NORTH- SOUTH LINE 4 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Transport (a) how long is the run-in period of the new signalling system on the North-South Line expected to be; (b) what steps are taken to minimise the inconvenience to commuters caused by the delays; and (c) when is the signalling system expected to start delivering a higher level of service reliability and shorter waiting times for commuters. Mr Khaw Boon Wan: We expect to stabilise the new signalling system on the North- 3 South Line soon. The current version of the software installed on July 14 is promising and has addressed the glitches encountered earlier. We still have some concerns over train-borne signalling equipment which the engineers are attending to. If there are no new surprises, we will be able to move to the next phase of testing as we inject more trains with shorter headways during peak hours. This will reduce waiting times and offer less crowded rides for commuters. Stabilisation of the North-South Line will also allow us to start testing for the East-West Line. We hope to catch the December holiday period to begin full-scale testing of the East-West Line. This assumes that the North-South Line will have stabilised before December. This is our current project timeline. Meanwhile, SMRT, LTA and Thales have over 1,600 frontline staff and engineers on stand-by to respond to any problems that may surface with the new signalling system. SMRT and LTA also have contingency plans to respond to service disruptions. These include the activation of free bus services, deployment of additional staff to affected stations, and the widespread dissemination of information on alternative transport options. The two organisations are reviewing these plans to further enhance them. But realistically, buses cannot fully cope with the dislodged passengers from affected trains during peak hour. Our objective remains to avoid delays and disruptions altogether, and to resume normal train service speedily. Back to Contents MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT FOR PRIVATE HIRE CAR DRIVERS 5 Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Minister for Transport in view of the recent fatal accident involving a young driver of a private hire car, whether LTA will consider reviewing its current policy position and impose a minimum age requirement for private hire car drivers to bring it in line with that of taxi drivers. Mr Khaw Boon Wan: LTA has imposed a minimum of two years’ driving experience, rather than a minimum age, on applicants for the Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence. Traffic accident data does not show that there is a higher incidence of accidents among younger drivers. LTA also rejects applicants with a poor driving record, such as conviction for drunk driving and those who have had their driving licence revoked. These conditions are reviewed regularly. 4 Back to Contents ROADWORTHINESS OF CNG VEHICLES 6 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many CNG vehicles did not meet the testing guideline; (b) why are there so many CNG vehicles with leakages that have gone undetected for so long; and (c) what measures are in place to ensure the safety of CNG vehicles when they ply our roads. Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Almost all of the 2,385 registered CNG vehicles have been inspected.