Head X – Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth

Head X (cont.) –

Resumption of Debate on Question [11 March 2015].

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head X of the Estimates be reduced by $100." – [Mr Baey Yam Keng].

Question again proposed.

Management of Zakat

Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Madam, in Malay, please.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The increase in zakat contributions among our community is a heartening development. It is a reflection of income growth and an increasing awareness about the obligation to pay zakat among the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore.

Can the Minister share about the efforts on zakat collection for 2014 and MUIS' plans to disburse this zakat money? I would also like to know MUIS' plans to encourage Muslims to perform their obligation to give zakat , so that we can have a higher zakat collection to benefit the community.

Enhancing Social Assistance Delivery

Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Madam, in Malay.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Chair, in all religions, the places of worship have always been useful focal points for communities. These places can be used for community outreach initiatives too. Given the faith and trust people have in them, these places of worship are suitable places to rally for and gather resources and donations. I hope that we can get more mosques involved in providing support for the less well-off Malay/Muslim families.

Last year, the Minister announced details for the Nadi Khidmat@Mosques programme which seeks to improve accessibility to social services for Malay/Muslim families through the help of the participating mosques. I thought it was a good move as it not only encourages community involvement and the mosques, it also encourages shared responsibilities to help the Malay community progress further.

Mdm Chair, I would like to ask if Mendaki and MUIS have been able to draw more partners and other organisations to participate in this good initiative. What other measures are being taken and what other resources are being used to expand the Nadi Khidmat@Mosques initiative?

Nurturing a Progressive Muslim Community

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Minister for Manpower (Mr Hawazi Daipi): Madam, in Malay.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Last Saturday, I attended the ground-breaking event for the Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands Drive 17. I was very happy to be there together with a few other Members of this House, as well as Puan Noor Aishah, wife of our late President Yusof Ishak. Residents in Woodlands are of course very happy that the construction of this second modern mosque in Woodlands will be completed in two years.

Mosques have a special place in the hearts of the Malay/Muslim community and play a central role in their lives. Mosques are not just places of worship; they are also institutions that fulfil the community's needs. Mosques are also centres of information, learning, personal improvement and also an agent for social cohesion.

Yusof Ishak Mosque is a very special mosque. It bears the name of Singapore's founding President Mr Yusof Ishak, a national icon and a pride of our Malay/Muslim community. I was happy to learn that the Yusof Ishak Mosque will have a heritage corner to honour the contributions of our pioneers.

President Yusof Ishak was loved by Muslims and non-Muslims alike – a President for all Singaporeans. He was very active in the community and was an all-rounder, a journalist, a respected statesman, a sportsman and also a bright scholar. In our continuing efforts to build a progressive Malay/Muslim community in Singapore, it is fitting that the mosque is named after a luminary like President Yusof Ishak, and that we promote the values of excellence, and racial and religious harmony, which he held.

The construction plans for Yusof Ishak Mosque was off to a very good start. The Mosque Building Committee led by Haji Ayub Johari is working hard to collect funds. At the ground-breaking event, a number of non-Muslim grassroots leaders asked me how they can also support the construction of this community institution in Woodlands. I am heartened by such a supportive spirit, and inter-racial and inter-religious cooperation.

The Yusof Ishak Mosque, scheduled to be ready at the end of 2016, will be able to accommodate 4,500 worshippers. It will ease overcrowding at the An-Nur Mosque, which is currently the only mosque in the North. Likewise, I am also happy that the Maarof Mosque in Jurong West, which can accommodate 4,500 people, will also relieve overcrowding at Assyakirin Mosque and Al-Mukminin Mosque.

There are also other areas that need new mosques and I would like to ask the Minister what are MUIS' plans to build new mosques in other areas that also need additional space for Muslims, especially in the East, where I live.

Thank you.

Joint Madrasah System (JMS) and Part-time Madrasahs

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio): Madam, in Malay.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Chair, 2014 was an important year for the pioneer cohort of students in the Joint Madrasah System (JMS) who sat for the PSLE. I am proud of the excellent performance of many of our full-time madrasah students in last year's PSLE.

Once they enter the secondary school level of the full-time madrasahs , what are the support and programmes available to help them to continue their excellent performance in both secular and religious education?

In addition, what are the plans to promote part-time religious education, so that as many people as possible from all ages, within the Malay/Muslim community, can enrol and take part in it?

At the same time, will the Government consider a suggestion that I made in the recent Budget debate - on the waiver of the examination fees for all Singaporean students who are taking the GCE "O", "N" and "A" levels examinations, at least for the first time, regardless whether they are students from mainstream schools, private schools or are home-schooled?

Thank you.

Embracing Diversity and Differences

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang): Madam, in Malay.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Chair, as Singapore celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is the perfect time for us to not only reflect and think about our future direction as a community and a nation, but also to discuss it.

One key pillar in building our success and prosperity is the cohesion between different religions and races that was nurtured over a long time. This harmonious relationship will continue even though, from time to time, it will be tested by many developments, including incidents that happen around the world.

Differences will not only exist between races and religions, in fact, it can also exist within the same race and religion. Whether it is due to opposing views or beliefs, different interpretations, lifestyle and others, differences will occur. These diversity and differences will shape a particular race or religion.

We cannot deny that these things happen, but it would be wise for us to give and take and mutually understand these diversities and differences, and ensure that it will not lead to quarrels that can polarise the community and destroy our solidarity in Singapore.

We have seen for ourselves several issues that can result in fragmentation, emotional discussions, and actions that, at times, invite controversy.

Such matters clearly can affect the unity and harmony in society, which is something that we have fostered for 50 years, and if it is not managed well, it will cause a split in the community.

I would like to ask the Minister what are the efforts and the position taken in terms of the developments that occur from time to time that can affect our solidarity, and create misunderstanding and discontent amongst certain segments of society?

Have the measures taken, for instance, to undertake efforts to increase understanding and hold dialogues or discussions, been able to manage such differences?

Thank you.

The Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Madam, with your permission, I would display some slides on the LED slides.

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: And I would also like to inform Members that I would be taking clarifications immediately after my reply. Madam, Singapore's Golden Jubilee is an opportunity for us to celebrate and pay tribute to Singaporeans for their role in nation-building. Starting with the sheer determination of our pioneers, to the continued dynamism of the generations after them, we have made Singapore a nation of opportunity for all.

The Malay/Muslim community is part of Singapore's success story. Over the years we have seen successful individuals in diverse areas such as the arts, sports, business, life sciences, creative media and social entrepreneurship. Each successive generation has continued to excel and do better. The percentage of our Primary 1 cohort admitted to post-Secondary institutions has increased from under 80% to about 90% in the last 10 years, a good reflection of the hard work put in by parents and students, as well as the support provided by Government and the community. Recipients of the Mendaki Awards, which celebrate excellence in both academic and non-academic disciplines, have increased steadily, with 683 receiving awards in 2014, up from 507 in 2012. With steady improvement in our educational qualification, it is no surprise that median income and proportion of PMETs in our community has also been on a steady rise.

The emerging talent base of our community reflects both the depth and potential of talent within our community. Our perseverance and ability to adapt to the needs and demands of a modern city state have put us to where we are today. Guided by these values, I am confident that we shall overcome whatever challenges come our way, and do even better in the years ahead.

Madam, the foundation of our community's progress is in education and it should continue to be our focus going forward. Many national schemes over the years have supported our students' educational journey. These include MOE's financial assistance schemes for students from low-income families, enhanced bursaries for studies at Institutes of Higher Learning, and top-ups to Edusave and Post-Secondary Education accounts for learning opportunities beyond the classroom. I am happy that the recent Budget 2015 announcements have further strengthened many of these schemes to benefit our students.

Mendaki has been a key community partner in ensuring that our children receive the best educational support at all levels. I am happy to share that over 14,200 students benefitted from the Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) scheme in 2014, up from about 12,000 in 2013. This is largely due to two factors. First, we obtained the Government's approval to revise the eligibility criteria in 2012: as a result, more students now qualify. Second, in the past two years, with the Government's permission, we have extended TTFS to students pursuing studies at LASALLE College of the Arts, NAFA, Yale-NUS College, NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and SIM University. Any remaining funds are channelled to the Education Development Fund, for further education-based financial assistance and scholarships.

Mendaki has recently completed a holistic review of its education initiatives. The findings by the Mendaki Education Review Committee will guide Mendaki's multi-pronged efforts for the next few years, including enhancing tutor development and improving parent education programmes. Indeed, the Committee's recommendations have inspired and will help shape some of the educational initiatives that I will be touching on next.

Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim asked about Mendaki's flagship Tuition Scheme (MTS). Student participation in the Scheme has grown steadily, from under 6,500 students in 2005 to close to 10,000 students in 2014, spread across 50 centres. To ensure effectiveness, Mendaki conducts regular reviews and feedback sessions, all of which have led to improvements in areas like student-teacher ratio, tutor training and student motivation. For instance, the latest review last year saw the student-teacher ratio reduced for students in Primary 6, Secondary 4 and 5, from 1:16 to 1:8, and even lower to 1:4 during their critical national examination periods. Following students' feedback, MENDAKI also organised a "Study Skills" workshop for Secondary 3, 4 and 5 students, to share tips on effective study habits.

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For the year ahead, Mendaki will increase accessibility for its students, by expanding its MTS centres to six mosques. Mendaki is also looking to pilot Mentoring@MTS for 150 lower Secondary students at four centres, where they will be exposed to learning and character development activities. Other Secondary school students will also stand to benefit, with more Mendaki Homework Cafes for supervised homework sessions and peer tutoring. Started in 2013 with only two centres, there are now 15 "cafes" spread across the island.

Beyond the school setting, this year's Budget highlighted life-long learning as a central theme to invest in our future – from pre-school all the way to working life. Dr Intan asked if there were more initiatives in the works to help parents in their children's development, particularly their Primary 1 readiness. Currently, at the pre-school level, we already have successful programmes like Cahaya M for experiential learning, Maju Minda Matematika for strengthening numeracy skills, and Keluarga Baca Bersama for reading. Mendaki also collaborates with the National Library Board on its popular reading programmes like KidsREAD, and Jiggle and Rhyme.

This year, Mendaki has a number of new initiatives to provide more help to our parents. First, an "easy-to-read" toolkit for parents will be launched, containing tips – especially for first-time parents – on appropriate activities for their children at each key developmental stage. Second, Mendaki will also start Literacy@Home, a programme to provide parents with guidance on encouraging and improving literacy at home.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked about our mosque kindergartens. We have 18 such kindergartens, with an enrolment of about 2,600 children. MUIS and the mosques continuously improve the quality of pre-school education through teacher training and utilising various national support schemes provided by ECDA. For example, some mosque kindergartens have tapped on the Pre-school Opportunity Fund, which supports programmes benefiting children from low-income families. This year, MUIS, together with Mendaki, will also study on how to further strengthen our mosque kindergartens, so that our children will receive more support and resources.

Assoc Prof Fatimah also asked about training for working adults. SENSE, the training arm of Mendaki, has empowered over 30,000 individuals in the last few years through its range of training, job matching and referral services. Given its reach to the community, SENSE will work closely with WDA to facilitate the community's adoption of WDA's upcoming Individual Learning Portfolio, which can help plan one's training and learning needs. With greater support through the SkillsFuture initiative, I am confident that we can better equip ourselves to compete in the dynamic economic environment. To guide us in this endeavour, Mendaki is designing some programmes to tap on the schemes under SkillsFuture. So, I urge our community to participate whole-heartedly when these opportunities are ready.

Madam, as we nurture our young for the future, we have also been strengthening the core of our community – our families. We have seen good progress. For instance, divorce rates and minor marriages have been on a steady decline.

Through the Cinta Abadi Marriage Preparation Programme, soon-to-wed couples are guided on how to build marriages for the long term, such as in developing a consultative and collaborative approach, and in managing conflict and differences. To ensure that it continues to meet the needs of couples, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will work with marriage educators to enhance the programme, including in course facilitation and delivery.

Support for marriages should not stop at the pre-marriage stage. I shared last year that MSF's Inspirasi Hubs piloted a marriage enrichment programme for minor couples called "Keluarga GEMS" (Growing Every Marriage towards Success), to provide guidance and support to those who have been married for more than five years. With valuable feedback gathered from the pilot, we rolled out the programme proper in November 2014. Topics range from rejuvenating the marital relationship, to successful parenting. This year, MSF will develop a structured Cinta Abadi enrichment framework, targeted at Malay/Muslim couples in their first 10 years of marriage. PPIS Vista Sakinah will also be enhancing their step-parenting and marriage enrichment framework for remarriages. Our goal is for all couples to be better prepared as they go through various phases of their marriage, including being a parent.

While we do our best to strengthen marriages and families, not all marriages last the distance. But many can be saved and we want to be there to help. In this regard, I am heartened that the Syariah Court's Marriage Counselling Programme (MCP) has been doing good work at facilitating reconciliation between couples.

The MCP is, in fact, over and beyond what the Syariah Court (SYC) is set out to do – to settle divorces amicably and deliver just outcomes. Yet, it reflects the commitment of the SYC, like the rest of our Malay/Muslim Organisations (MMOs), to improve constantly to serve the needs of our community. Under this programme, SYC has been working with 15 agencies, such as MMOs and Family Service Centres (FSCs), to provide counselling to over 27,000 couples since 2004. More than 40% of these decided to remain married.

The central pillar of the MCP is its committed counsellors, who seek to provide a safe space for couples to discuss marital issues. So, one pioneering counsellor that we see on the screen is Mdm Zaleha Ahmad. She started out as a marriage counsellor to minor couples in 1997, and later joined the MCP when it was launched in 2004. What keeps her high-spirited even after 18 years of counselling is to see couples reconcile and, more importantly, to protect the interests of their children.

Indeed, children were topmost on our minds last year when we announced plans to strengthen protection for children in the divorce process. This was because close to 65% of divorces each year involved couples with children aged 18 years and below. Starting this year, couples with children under 14 years are required to discuss, and subsequently submit, a post-divorce co-parenting and care arrangement plan. This requirement will be extended to couples with children up to 18 years from 2017 onwards. Going forward, SYC will be collaborating with various agencies to provide more social support services and resources for our couples. For example, starting April this year, PPIS As-Salaam Family Support Centre will be conducting briefings at the SYC to help parents understand the impact of divorce on their children, learn cooperative co-parenting skills, and inform them of the national resources available.

One crucial factor for strong, resilient families is prudent financial planning, as highlighted by Mr Zainudin Nordin. This is something that all families must pay careful attention to, because poor budget management can affect everyone in the family. Our marriage preparatory and enrichment courses do cover the importance of financial planning. Mendaki's Programme Bijak Belanja, introduced in 2008, has helped close to 3,000 participants annually on budget management. On downstream measures, AMP's Debt Advisory Centre has been active in providing advice for those in debt. We want to help families more, and we want to start early.

In this regard, Mendaki will be working with our national financial education programme, MoneySENSE, on more upstream measures. This includes expanding Mendaki's Financial Toolkit for Young Couples, to cover more comprehensively topics, such as CPF LIFE and retirement planning, MediShield Life, housing loans and vigilance against scams. They will also provide the MMOs with relevant money management know-how and skills training, so that these organisations can, in turn, better guide their own clients.

Madam, we remain committed to help those who are in need. We will strengthen our social safety nets to help the lower income and vulnerable groups.

Our MMOs are key partners in this endeavour. Many have been tirelessly serving the community for decades and continue to work together with us to ensure that no one gets left behind. Other than the MMOs, our institutions have also grown in their capacity to serve the evolving needs of our community. We have MUIS, which started out as a humble outfit of only seven persons. Today, MUIS has grown to an organisation of over 150 persons, overseeing a range of matters from mosques and wakafs , to pilgrimage, halal certification services, religious education and financial assistance. Members may also recall how Mendaki expanded its scope in 1989 to go beyond helping the community in education to include tackling socio-economic issues. SENSE was thus established to serve the community's up-skilling and employment needs.

Madam, the Community Leaders Forum (CLF) was envisioned to rally partners to design and drive innovative programmes to help our community. Recognising the good work of our partners, we launched the $1.2 million Capability Development Fund in April 2014 to better support our MMOs in strengthening governance, enhancing capabilities, and grooming talent. Mr Zainal Sapari asked for examples of the utilisation of this grant. Apart from the two Capability Building Seminars held for our MMOs, five MMOs participated in the CLF's Training Needs Analysis programme to identify areas of improvement. Some have also come forward with their own development plans. Let me cite two examples.

One is PPIS' Project Aura, a research project on issues affecting Muslim women. The aim of this study is to research and develop evidence-based support systems and frameworks to enhance the respective expertise of PPIS' welfare counsellors. PPIS has engaged over 120 female participants from various sectors for their views. In another example, PERGAS is working with the CLF to identify suitable leadership training courses to enhance their organisational capabilities, including in areas, such as strategic planning and governance.

MMOs have also been able to tap on the Malay/Muslim Community Development Fund (MMCDF) to fund their community initiatives. In 2014, we disbursed $4 million for various projects, including AMP's one-stop Debt Advisory Centre, Ain Society's Serenity Family Care programme to help cancer patients, and the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Protégé Kita mentorship programme for young Malay/Muslim entrepreneurs. So, I look forward to more MMOs tapping on these funds so that the community can be better served.

Mr Zainal Sapari asked about zakat management. Madam, the culture of giving is what makes us strong, and what brings us together as a community. More have started donating electronically, through eNets, AXS, OCBC and CIMB direct credit, and soon they will also be able to give through DBS' ATMs and iBanking. I am proud to share that zakat collection increased from almost $22.8 million in 2010 to about $32 million at the end of 2014.

This healthy collection allowed MUIS to not only extend zakat support to more than 5,432 zakat recipients in 2014, but to also enhance our eligibility criteria. As a result, from this year on, the community will be able to help 1,000 more recipients through zakat. As the trusted guardian of community funds, MUIS must be a responsible institution, and must cater for a reasonable reserve to buffer against shortfalls and unforeseen situations. If it does not do so, the needs and well-being of the community would be placed at risk, in particular, in tough times when spare funds are in short supply all around.

Madam, our mosques are our partners in zakat disbursement, and it is through their efforts that we can offer assistance to the needy effectively. Last year, we saw the launch of Nadi Khidmat by Mendaki, MUIS and six mosques, to bring social assistance to the community and to connect them to the wider eco-system of national programmes and agencies, like the FSCs and Social Service Offices. We have received positive feedback from the community, as the centres help streamline the referral process, and also make information on the various community and national assistance schemes more easily available.

I am happy to share with Mr Zainudin Nordin that the centres have been active in building their community networks and bringing on board more partners. For example, at Jamiyah Ar-Rabitah Mosque, the officers work with Syariah Court to ensure that eligible families undergoing divorce proceedings continue to receive Mendaki's social assistance schemes. Meanwhile, at Al Mutaqqin Mosque in Ang Mo Kio, Mendaki worked with Toa Payoh East Citizens' Consultative Committee and Mindchamps Singapore to nominate students for the Mrs Carmee Lim Scholarship, where recipients will be able to attend a range of enrichment programmes under MindChamps.

So, we will continue to enhance the effectiveness of these centres, with a view to expand the service to more locations if necessary. In the meantime, to better reflect the coordinating role of Mendaki, and in recognition of the "pioneer" centres in both Pasir Ris and Woodlands, all Nadi Khidmat centres will, henceforth, adopt the "Mendaki@Heartlands" brand name.

It is worth noting that other agencies are also leveraging on our mosques to bring their programmes to the ground. This year, NTUC's U Care Centre will pilot an initiative with Al-Mukminin Mosque in Jurong East to reach out to low-wage workers in the neighbourhood on workfare, training schemes and their employment rights. We thank Mr Zainal Sapari for this collaboration.

Madam, our key institutions and partners have done well and we will continue to strengthen partnerships and enhance our service delivery to ensure that deserving individuals get the help they need.

Next, Madam, let me touch on our efforts to nurture a progressive Muslim community. Our mosques are a central focal point in our community's religious life. We are committed to ensure that our mosques provide a safe and nurturing space conducive to worship and religious education.

Mr Hawazi requested an update on the progress of our mosque-building. With the strong support of the community, especially with the inception of the Mosque Building Fund in 1975, MUIS has built 23 new generation mosques and upgraded 39. In just the past six years, nine mosques were upgraded. Five more are in line later this year. With just the MBF alone, we would have added 87,300 prayer spaces by the end of this year. So, I am glad our plans are on track.

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Al-Islah mosque in Punggol will be opened in time for residents to celebrate Ramadan and Hari Raya this year. In recent months, we witnessed the ground breaking ceremonies of Maarof mosque in Jurong West and, of course, the Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands as mentioned by Mr Hawazi. I applaud the mosque building committees of Maarof Mosque and Yusof Ishak Mosque for raising approximately $2 million each, and commend the community for their strong support in a very short time. These three mosques will add close to 13,000 prayer spaces nationwide when completed.

But we recognise that some mosques still face overcrowding issues on Fridays. So, to meet strong localised demand in the East, more prayer spaces will be made available from 2015 and beyond. The Al-Ansar Mosque in Bedok is due to be re-opened in April, with a capacity of 4,500 spaces – 1,000 more from the original mosque. We can also look forward to the major upgrading of Darul Ghufran Mosque in Tampines in 2016, with 1,000 more prayer spaces and expanded Islamic learning facilities. At the Al-Istighfar Mosque in Pasir Ris, we will work with our agencies to firm out technical details and intensify what available space that we have. More will be shared in due course. But, meanwhile, with Tampines North being built up as a major residential town, I am pleased to announce that we will also be building a new mosque there. This mosque will also be able to serve new residents in Tampines North and the neighbouring Pasir Ris, as well as industrial estates in both areas. The timing for the mosque's development will be planned to meet both the growth in resident population there and prayer spaces in the area.

Madam, as we enhance the "hardware" or the physical infrastructures of our mosques, we also need to ensure that the "software" of our religious life is strengthened.

Dr Intan asked for an update and future plans for the madrasahs. We have come a long way since 2007 when we first mooted the idea of a single madrasah system for all six madrasahs to consolidate resources, offer an integrated curriculum, and provide educational pathways for our madrasah students. MUIS' commitment to support our madrasahs has been unwavering – for example, MUIS disbursed $194,000 to the six madrasahs from Wakaf Ilmu in 2014, and provided $2.3 million in grants to needy madrasah students through PROMAS between 2010 and 2014. MUIS also supports the madrasahs so that its students can benefit from the Edusave disbursements. The Minister for Education had recently announced that MOE will waive fees for national examinations for Singapore Citizen students in Government-funded schools starting this year, and that the specific respective agencies will consider the treatment for other schools, where necessary. Hence, I would like to share that the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) will assist MUIS so that madrasah students will also not need to pay these fees.

Currently three madrasahs – Irsyad, Aljunied, Arabiah – have come together under a single system. 2015 a key milestone for these three madrasahs, as the first batch of students who have undergone six years of primary education under this system have been posted to Madrasah Aljunied and Madrasah Al-Arabiah following the release of the PSLE results last year. One such student is Sukainah Bte Sulaiman, who scored an aggregate score of 264 for her PSLE and scored straight A*s for the Islamic Studies Placement Examination. Despite being eligible for top national schools, she has chosen to pursue her studies in Madrasah Aljunied. Sukainah is keen to deepen her knowledge in Islamic studies, as she hopes to contribute to the intellectual and spiritual development of the community in the future. Madam, this is a good example of how our consolidated madrasah system nurtures our young and enables them to pursue areas where they have a strong interest.

Apart from full-time madrasah education, MUIS has also been working hard to strengthen the part-time Islamic education system. The aLIVE programme, targeted at children aged 7 to 16 years old, has grown from an enrolment of 1,800 students in 2005 to over 16,000 in 2014. Plans are in place to cater for a 12% increase in enrolment spaces within the next year. MUIS has been regularly reviewing the aLIVE format and curriculum to make it more attractive and relevant. The latest update to the programme will be rolled out in the first half of this year. In addition, MUIS disbursed about $1 million under its Islamic Education Fund to help 2,800 students from low income families attend religious classes in 2014.

In light of the increasing demand for Adult Islamic Learning classes, or ADIL, MUIS has increased the number of participating mosques to 13. MUIS has also expanded ADIL's programmes, with three new intermediate modules, and eight more later this year. As of November 2014, I am happy to note that about 2,300 participants have signed up for the ADIL classes. Madam, the Office of the Mufti is committed to developing more modules that help put current issues into perspective, while at the same time, shedding light on common misperceptions or misinterpretations of Islam.

Madam, as we reflect upon our efforts in nation building over the past 50 years, we recognise that the world and society we live in is becoming more complex and diverse. How we deal with differences will determine the resilience of the community and the social fabric of our nation.

I agree with Mr Zaqy that our young play a very important role in this regard. So, I am therefore very heartened to see many of our young stepping forward, and spreading the ethos of Rahmatan Lil Alamin, or blessings for all, through acts of kindness and graciousness.

We hear the story of Mr Mokhsin Rashid and Mr Khairu Rejal, who with their Majulah Community rallied several organisations and individuals to collect food items and basic medical supplies for flood victims in the East Coast of Malaysia. Together, they delivered 16 tonnes of food relief to flood victims, and helped with the post-disaster clean-up, including the setting up of relief shelters as well as energy and clean water supplies.

Another example is Mr Mohamad Saiful Mohamad Anuar. Starting out as a docent in the Harmony Centre, he recently organised Singapore's first interfaith youth leadership training called "Ignite Faiths". Ignite Faiths provides a platform to connect young community activists and faith-based leaders, as well as to encourage them to organise their own interfaith projects with funding and mentoring support. Saiful hopes that his efforts could become a springboard for greater interfaith engagement and interaction, and in so doing build our social cohesion.

Madam, such ground-up social movements to galvanise the community towards worthwhile causes show the desire of our young to serve and to help, regardless of race or religion. This energy and passion among our youths gives me confidence in our community's future.

The SG50Kita Committee has also been hard at work in planning for the SG50 celebrations, with the theme of Caring, Sharing and Giving. The Committee seeks to strengthen the spirit of togetherness in our society, and to be of service to all. This weekend, the Committee will be holding the first SG50Kita X workshop. Over the next few months, about 150 youths from all races will take part in a series of futures envisioning, with the aim of developing programmes with a long-term impact. Another key SG50KITA initiative is the Service to the Nation Week in the month of Ramadan (this is June), to help and spread goodwill among all Singaporeans. Later in August, the Committee together with community organisations will also host a National Day Observance Ceremony for Singaporeans from all races and faiths to join in the festivities. So, one National Day Observance by the community. We can look forward to a good time amidst a carnival atmosphere with good food and fun-filled kampong games.

Madam, as a community, our aspirations, hopes and dreams are no different from all our fellow Singaporeans. We must take pride in what we have achieved in the past 50 years. Singapore is where we belong. Singapore is where we have our roots and where we call home. Singapore is where our future will be. So, let us continue to work with our fellow Singaporeans to forge a greater future together. Allow me now to conclude my speech in Malay.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In my English speech earlier, I have outlined the various initiatives that form the strategies of our institutions to continue to enhance the support for the Malay/Muslim community in line with our current and future needs.

In education, Mendaki will play an even greater role to provide solid support and provide educational opportunities for all ages. These include pre-school students as well as upgrading opportunities for workers, particularly through the SkillsFuture initiative.

We will also enhance efforts to strengthen the institution of family in the Malay/Muslim community. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), for instance, will be multiplying its support programmes for couples including those in the first 10 years of marriage.

In our effort to form a progressive and gracious Malay/Muslim community, MUIS is also actively continuing the implementation of development plans of new mosques as well as upgrading programmes for old mosques. Recently, we witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Maarof Mosque and the Yusof Ishak Mosque. Soon, the Al-Islah Mosque in Punggol and the Al-Ansar Mosque in Bedok will be ready. As for next year, the redevelopment works on the Darul Ghufran Mosque will begin. This means that the areas for prayers and Islamic education will be increased. And to cater to the needs of a growing population of worshippers in the east, I am pleased to announce that a new mosque will be built in the new housing estate, Tampines North.

Mosques, institutions such as MUIS, Mendaki, the Syariah Court and the Registry of Muslim Marriages as well as Malay/Muslim organisations have been playing an important role to prepare our community to face new challenges. These efforts will mutually complement national programmes to provide all kinds of opportunities to hone the talents and potential of all Singaporeans, including our madrasah students.

Recently, the Ministry of Education announced that Singaporean students in government schools will no longer need to pay fees for the national examinations. I am pleased to announce the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) is prepared to assist MUIS, so that our madrasah students too will no longer need to pay those fees.

Madam, the call for MUIS to disburse or spend all the zakat funds each year is not the right move for the community. MUIS is responsible for ensuring that the needs of all the zakat categories for the present and the future are met. We need to be prepared to face all kinds of possibilities and it is not right to carry out planning based on a hand-to-mouth concept. The zakat funds can be set aside for future use of the zakat categories, by taking into consideration the religious development needs of the community, as approved by eminent clerics in the Islamic world. This principle is also applied by a number of local clerics, who are members of the Zakat and Fitrah Committee that assists MUIS in carrying out zakat management as best as possible.

Madam, for the past five decades, our community has experienced and witnessed a number of great leaps and progress in many areas. This achievement is currently ongoing. The positive development of the Malay/Muslim community, which I have just shared, gives us the confidence that, clearly, the Malay/Muslim pioneers made the right choice to remain in Singapore 50 years ago. This is a strong foundation based on the principle of showing your loyalty to the place where you live.

Our progress today is a result of the loyalty and love for the nation, and the strong fighting spirit of the Malay/Muslim families. We are fortunate because our pioneers have worked hard together with other Singaporeans and the Government. They were not easily shaken by the promises and rumours that tried to intimidate them about the future of Singapore.

Although we are a minority, we are fully supportive of the national aspirations. We adapted when Singapore was undergoing urbanisation. We also strengthened our religious institutions, so that it is in line with the development of the modern world. We use English as our language of communication while preserving the beauty of our mother tongue, the Malay language. We spurred our children's educational achievements by work and bringing our resources together. And the outcome is that we improved the lives of our community. We fully believe in a government which is committed to develop the potential of every citizen, regardless of their talent or interest. As the saying goes:

Consensus creates blessings

Conflict brings harm

Together,

Through thick and thin

As we celebrate SG50, and appreciate the contributions of our pioneers, it is important for the community, particularly the young, not to forget the values and the journey that we took before achieving success.

Like our own parents, we must persevere and should not be influenced by voices that say that our future is apparently gloomy. This is said by those who only want to create chaos and belittle our community's progress under the present Government. If we think that way, then our future and our children's future, indeed, will be bleak.

The reality is that the choice made by our pioneers 50 years ago has brought gratitude and a life to be proud of today. So let us stay on this path. Let us work hard to seize the new opportunities provided by the Government. Let us work in concert with other communities in our beloved country in order to build the future that we aspire for ourselves, for our families, for our community, and for all Singaporeans, in line with our belief that:

Identity is culture

Family is treasure

Community is heritage

The nation will survive.

Thank you.

12.15 pm

Mr Zainal Sapari: Mdm Chair, I have two clarifications in Malay.

( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Whether the waiver of examination fees for madrasah students will be funded by the Government through the Ministry of Community and Youth. Secondly, will this examination fee waiver be provided to every madrasah student even though the madrasah is not part of the JMS network?

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: ( In Malay ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] For the second question, it will be given to all madrasah students whether it is part of the JMS or not a part of the JMS. For the first question, it is being discussed by MUIS and MCCY. What is important for us is that approval has been given so that we can work together to find funds outside our community to help our madrasah students.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Madam, I have one clarification. I would like to ask Minister what measures have been put in place to ensure that the issue of not using fully the Malay/Muslim Community Development Fund (MMCDF), as pointed out by Prime Minister, does not recur.

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, as I have mentioned in my reply, we have been working with the Malay/Muslim Organisations to ensure that these funds which are meant for them, they can utilise it effectively. So, therefore, last year, we re-allocate a lot more to the capability and development fund to help the Malay/Muslim Organisations (MMOs) in the areas of governance. As I reported in my reply, several Malay/Muslim Organisations have stepped forward to take advantage of the fund. More importantly, I felt we should be encouraged that two of them have come up with their own programmes to strengthen themselves. The point is that we need to continue to incentivise the Malay/Muslim Organisations and, where possible, as I mentioned before, Mendaki stands ready to assist them in ensuring that they can put up good projects that will benefit our community. We will continue to make sure, because the money is there for them to use.

Mr Zainudin Nordin: ust a supplementary question. I would just like to clarify on to what Minister said. What else can be done to the Malay/Muslim Organisations to further improve their leadership and governance and, also, at the same time, strengthen the way they do things and make them more productive through technology and whatever capabilities and capacity that we can assist them?

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Well, I suppose we can continue to have a conversation with the Malay/Muslim Organisations, which Mendaki does all the time. Clearly, they have their own needs but, at the same time, we understand that the work that they do is important for the community. Therefore, I mentioned in my earlier reply that governance was an area that we thought was very, very, important, and I am glad that they have come forward.

I said in my reply that one of the areas that we are really looking into is the grooming of talent because leadership is an important issue to ensure that our Malay/Muslim Organisations are well governed.

I will continue to encourage the Malay/Muslim Organisations to discuss with Mendaki, as the custodian of the funds, on how best we can utilise them for their own improvement internally. Because if they can improve themselves internally, then their service delivery standards will improve. The Member mentioned the use of IT; certainly we should explore that, not only using funds within MMCDF but also tap national funds which are being provided by IDA.

The Chairman: End of clarification time. We will now proceed to Miss Penny Low.

Leveraging on the Impact of SG50

Miss Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Madam, Singapore is a well admired nation, grew out of the vision of a small population – lovingly known as the Pioneer Generation. At age 50, it is time to leverage on our jubilee, to reflect and inflect. Our economy grew steadily, and ran ahead of the growth in civic consciousness and social capital. Trust in general fell, as social tensions rose. Productivity fell while expectations rose.

Given the many do-good projects that SG50 has generated, how could we leverage on our legacy and the celebrations to invest in the Singapore Soul, to ignite behavioural change, to raise civic consciousness and shape Singaporeans into a compassionate, caring and innovative society?

Is there a strategy to pick, partner and make permanent projects that can generate mindset or cultural change in Singapore, and increase social capital or the innovation quotient of Singaporeans?

Apart from financial resources, the skills of civil servants or mentors could help expand SG50 projects into national initiatives, social movements, social enterprises or commercial businesses. Does the Minister have a plan to leverage on them and facilitate and grow do-gooders as well as do-good projects?

If the SG50 celebrations are to mean anything, they should be used as a platform, a springboard, from which we can shape and transform Singapore, into the home we want, for many generations to come, and the Singapore we are proud of.

Heritage Impact Assessment

Prof Tan Tai Yong (Nominated Member): Madam, currently there appears to be gaps in the level of information sharing and coordination across ministries for management of heritage issues, such as impact assessment studies, both heritage and environmental, and archaeological excavations.

Part of the problem lies in the complex links between different Ministries. The Ministries and agencies relevant to heritage issues include the Ministry of National Development (MND) with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), NParks, and NEA; the Ministry of Transport with LTA overseeing major infrastructural development; Ministry of Law with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) as the land owner of sites with heritage value; Ministry of Trade and Industry with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in-charge of precinct management of Chinatown, Little India; Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth with the National Heritage Board (NHB); Ministry of Communications and Information with the National Library Board (NLB) and National Archives of Singapore (NAS); and finally the Ministry of Finance allocating the budget to the above agencies for heritage work. And that is just what I know from public sources. I am sure the actual implementation is far more complex.

Such a large number of stakeholders would undoubtedly pose difficulties for effective management of heritage issues such as the implementation of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA). HIAs are established processes that seek to evaluate the heritage, historical and cultural value of sites and buildings. They are useful for urban planners, commercial developers, property owners and the state because they involve different stakeholders in the assessment process. In countries such as Hong Kong and the UK, HIAs are mandatory.

In the case of Singapore, we should learn from other countries and adopt best practices. I understand that HIA is not an accurate science and there are still questions regarding methods and processes. But by familiarising ourselves with an evaluation process, we can develop a framework unique to our circumstances and needs. By doing so, we can pave the way for a possible roadmap towards making HIA a legal requirement, if necessary.

Madam, allow me to elaborate on what a HIA is – it is a process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and communicating the probable effects of a current or proposed development policy or action on the cultural life, institutions and resources of communities, and then integrating the findings and conclusions into the planning and decision-making process, with a view to mitigating adverse effects and enhancing positive outcomes.

By identifying the threats to heritage values, one can recommend solutions to safeguard the integrity of heritage resources in the face of threats from development, disaster or other scenarios of external change.

There can also be solutions to negotiate a sustainable balance between the forces of change, progress and conservation in ways that maintain the authenticity of the threatened heritage, preserving its significance, meaning, and function in the life of the community.

In carrying out a HIA, there are many areas to consider, including methodology, legislation, guidelines and standards. There should also be mitigation recommendations and monitoring recommendations. Finally, there should be an evaluation synthesis and advisory that gives a summary of the findings, a statement of effects on the Outstanding Universal Values, Integrity and Authenticity and focused significance, and a statement of the acceptability of the proposed project or change in terms of its potential impacts on heritage.

In view of the this, then, I would like to ask to what extent is the current level of information sharing and coordination across Ministries sufficient for effective management of heritage issues, such as the impact assessments and archaeological excavations? The NHB has an Impact Assessment and Mitigation unit. May I ask if HIA is in the works, and what plans there are along the lines I have given above?

Mr Chen Show Mao (Aljunied): Mdm Chairman, this year, being the 50th since the founding of the Republic of Singapore, it is a time for reflection on our history and our heritage.

The Government has expended efforts over the years to preserve our country's built heritage. For example, the establishment of the National Heritage Board in 1993, and the policy of preserving the facades of historical buildings. The Urban Redevelopment Authority has also published a set of conservation guidelines for our built heritage.

At the same time, members of civil society, such as the Singapore Heritage Society, have played an important educational and advocacy role in the conservation of our country's history and heritage.

In 2013, the National Heritage Board set up a new division called the Impact Assessment and Mitigation Division. As reported in the press, Mr Alvin Tan, group director of policy, said that the job of the new division was to conduct impact assessments of redevelopment works on heritage sites and structures and work with the necessary stakeholders to establish mitigation measures.

Given the increasing importance of conserving our heritage, I wish to ask the Minister for an update on the work of this Division, and whether more specifics of its work can be made publicly available, perhaps periodically in an annual report. I would also like to ask what the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are for the Division. For example, will the Division be leading the way to formalise and publicise a heritage impact assessment framework across different agencies?

A number of countries have heritage impact assessment frameworks in place, such as Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. I hope that the Government can study the heritage frameworks that other countries employ, and share with Singaporeans their best practices, so that we may learn from others and hopefully have our own framework in place.

I believe there are lessons to be learnt when Singaporeans raised significant concerns regarding heritage issues such as with the demolition of the former National Library or the redevelopment of parts of the Bukit Brown Cemetery. I believe that implementing a heritage impact assessment framework will mitigate such concerns in the future, and should be the next step forward to conserve our country's heritage and history.

Reimagine Old Neighbourhoods/Communities

Ms Tin Pei Ling (Marine Parade): Madam, Singapore is now in its 50th year of independence. As our nation developed, we built housing estates and communities all over the island. Some estates, like MacPherson, were built early on, and are now quite mature and risk looking worn-out. HDB runs various upgrading programmes to repair and rejuvenate old housing estates, and this has benefitted many residents. For instance, a few days ago, we heard in this House about the Remaking Our Heartlands Programme.

Another example is the current Neighbourhood Renewal Programme which does not adopt a cookie-cutter approach. It does take into account local characteristics and inputs from local (reps). There are also other funds such as CIPC, EUP and WeCare Arts Fund which can be used for community art murals, art installations and others.

However, these are piecemeal schemes each with their respective, separate objectives. Moreover, these are schemes with a prescribed and typically conventional list of improvement items. These are undoubtedly important must-haves, but I think we can go further, especially in this year of SG50.

12.30 pm

I believe we can reimagine entire neighbourhoods, while still preserving their defining characteristics and heritage, which remains important as our heritage and our sense of identity are inextricably linked. Such re-imagination should allow for creativity, new energy, co-creation and ownership with residents. Designs should be created in consultation with residents. Old buildings or infrastructure can be re-purposed with a creative twist. Common infrastructure, such as overhead bridges, can be reimagined for new look and use (without having to tear down and be rebuilt). Arts and culture programmes can also be introduced. We could have art installations co-created with the community or organise regular performances, perhaps even have speakers installed along Park Connectors, ABC waterways, to play music to lift the overall feel of the environment. Take for example, those who have walked along the bridge connecting Harbourfront to Sentosa at night can observe and feel the difference. On a normal day, having a place like this provides a temporary escape from the daily grind of working and living in a highly dense and highly urbanised environment. Over weekends, the stretch can be conducive for buskers or live music performances by local talents for youths to gather and enjoy.

Such a wholesale reinvention of a district has been done in other cities, with great success. Take the High Line, for example, in New York City. This park was built on a historic freight rail line. One of the key features is that it is a platform for showcasing artworks. Artists are regularly engaged to think of creative ways to engage with the uniqueness of the architecture, history and design of the High Line and to foster a productive dialogue with the surrounding neighbourhood and urban landscape.

In MacPherson too, we had a project spearheaded by a group of NUS students reading architecture, design and environment, in collaboration with local grassroots organisations. They held mass consultation exercises and design workshops with residents and came up with many interesting and functional designs for existing structures or new ones. Residents were engaged and excited, and were forthcoming with their feedback and suggestions. The works were then compiled into a book titled "MacPherson: 21st Century Estate", published in 2011, and many of the works were also put up as mock-ups in a community exhibition. This allowed residents to appreciate the product of their hard work as well as appreciate new possibilities. The entire exercise not only engendered a greater sense of participation amongst residents but also introduced new energy and excitement to an otherwise old neighbourhood.

However, despite the wonderful ideas generated, many could not become reality due to the lack of funding support. Some ideas also straddle the work of many agencies, each with its own funding support rules and designers. We do what we can, for example, by working with community partners to paint wall murals and set up community art galleries to promote community art and beautify the estate. But it is a piecemeal approach, and only for the less costly enhancements.

Hence, I propose to set up a special fund to allow communities of old neighbourhoods to reimagine themselves, and implement these ideas. We can include safeguards on the use of funds, but should encourage the local communities to play an active role and decide what will work for them. In addition to funding support, it is also important that various agencies such as the HDB and LTA are supportive of the effort. This is because some of the works may impact structures under their charge.

I believe reimagining our neighbourhoods is important. It will enable us to redefine how Singaporean neighbourhoods might look and feel like, to the limits of our imagination. A reimagination exercise allows stakeholders, specifically the residents, to have a say in the kind of environment their homes should be like. It also uplifts the spirit of the neighbourhood with a new look, new energy, ownership and pride. It will encourage Singaporeans to help in the upkeep of the neighbourhood, and promote a strong sense of home, community, and ultimately nationhood.

Protect Hawker Cultural Heritage

Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin (Nominated Member): Madam, finding good, old-school hawker food has become surprisingly difficult over the last 10 years. It is not that the majority of our hawker food tastes terrible. It is that it tastes so average. Most hawkers have already gone down the road of generic pre-made factory food in the name of cost efficiency and productivity. It is an economically understandable but culturally unsatisfying answer to our rising cost and manpower issues. The difference you taste between a hand-crafted curry puff from a hawker stall and a generic one bought in the mall is not just sentiment. It is the difference between mastery and mediocrity. Preserve our hawker heritage and you preserve a cultural touchstone of all our pioneering values – a shared reminder that we are all capable of creating greatness even through simple things and simple circumstances.

I want to focus on three practical things we could do to help protect our hawker heritage. First, provide appropriate representation at state level that specifically looks at protecting heritage and documenting hawker craft. Historically, the main reason why hawker centres fall under the NEA and HDB is because they were just a solution to health and environmental issues or street hawking. But these agencies, by default, will prioritise issues of food safety, environmental health and affordability rather than cultural preservation. Safeguarding our hawker heritage requires cultural, historical and aesthetic distinctions. So would this task fall more appropriately under an agency that already oversees culture and heritage, like the National Heritage Board?

Second, do not make affordability the most significant KPI of hawker centres. Authenticity and excellence of offering have to count too. If we focus on just serving up $2 options, we will inspire more race-to-the-bottom market tactics that you already see happening now: inferior techniques, inferior ingredients, and the prevailing use of pre-mixes. We must not lose the plot of what our hawker centres could be – a showcase to the world, and to ourselves, of our culture at its very best. It is unrealistic to request hawkers to depress their prices to serve customers who can range from low-income to upper-middle class. Those of us who can and already happily paying $6 for sub-standard western seafood pasta in a mall, must learn not to begrudge paying $5 for hand-made fish-ball noodles. Allowing our hawkers to charge realistic prices for their food gives them due honour for their craft and better mitigate rising cost. Affordability of food for the poor may be better solved through a system of food vouchers.

Third, let us accord our master heritage hawkers with national level recognition, tied to both rewards and responsibilities that help solve existing continuity issues. What if we rewarded our selected master hawkers with a kind of Culinary Cultural Medallion? Perhaps, they could have access to a Culinary Cultural Medallion Fund that gives practical support for their continuation of culinary pursuits and compensates them time taken to pass on distinctions of their craft to younger chefs and hawkers. This compliments SkillsFuture's focus on encouraging mastery and mentorship.

How we honour our food artisans matters. The reason why the world reveres Japan's sushi masters as master craftsmen is because Japan respects them so. Japan submitted their food culture for UNESCO's 2013 Intangible Cultural Heritage List. That same year, Turkey did the same for its own Turkish coffeehouse culture. Who is to say our kopi and kopitiams do not stand an equal chance? Submitting our Botanic Gardens for UNESCO to recognise as a World Heritage Centre demonstrates our belief that we have local cultural heritage worthy of international protection. Can we seek that same honour for our hawker heritage foods as well?

Heritage and Cultural Institutions

Mr Arthur Fong (West Coast): Mdm Chair, when Singaporeans travel and chance upon people who had visited our sunny island, a likely remark aside from the interesting food we have is that Singapore is a melting pot of culture and traditions. The Singaporean Chinese, whose ancestors who are mainly from Fujian, Hainan, Swatow or Guangzhou, will have different traditional practices or rituals. Indians whose parents came from many parts of India and Malays whose roots reach beyond the archipelago may be from many parts of Indonesia as well. Eurasians, like the Peranakans, have a rich history and culture.

I have a former Indian classmate whose father is Gujarati and his maternal grandmother is Tamil. They communicate in Malay. This is Singapore. Multiracialism is our feature.

So we are a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural small island in the sun! Each race, culture and religion respecting one another; each race, culture and religion preserving its practices. Even as we integrate new citizens from many parts of the world to our unique brand of multiculturalism, we add to our diversity.

Our national cultural heritage of respect and tolerance for each other's religious and racial practices may be eroded if future generations are disconnected from the rich cultures, traditions and practices of others around them. We take our multiracialism for granted and in time erode our national cohesion.

As our population mix and demographic evolve, we do expect some challenges to our accepted cultural heritage and hence our national identity.

What more can our cultural institutions contribute towards multiracialism? What can these institutions do to further promote and showcase the rich heritage of our people? I look forward to hearing from the Minister.

Mr David Ong (Jurong): Mdm Chair, it is not uncommon for Singaporeans, who had returned after several years away, lament that Singapore has changed, with some of the old familiar buildings gone and that they cannot help but feel a sense of loss of their roots.

During our growing years, many of us would have fond memories of family outings spent at some of these iconic places with tremendous heritage significance. Take a look at our photo albums and it will show up black and white or colour-faded photos of our younger-selves in places like Botanic Gardens, Singapore National Theatre, Van Kleef Aquarium or Haw Par Villa, and, of course, the National Museum.

For many countries, museums formed part of their cultural heritage but museums are not the end all and be all of a country's cultural identity. Apart from the tangibles such as physical structures, the intangibles include tradition, culture, cuisines and customs are important and need preserving.

Haw Par Villa is one such example. In its heydays, Haw Par Villa is a sprawling iconic theme park. All of us can easily recall the infamous 10 courts of hell as parents would make this a must-stop place to expose their children to a quick graphic lesson on morality.

Haw Par Villa is divided into several sections with thousands of figurines portraying stories and events on famous Chinese mythology, Confucius stories, folklore and legends. Today, the place is a little run down and low in visitorship. But Haw Par Villa has its own historical and cultural charm and is definitely worth preserving. I would like to ask the Ministry what plans it has to preserve and to re-make Haw Par Villa. Also, in light of SG 50, I would like to ask the Ministry what is being done to preserve and celebrate our heritage throughout Singapore, such as our heritage sites and national monuments.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Madam, the Esplanade has come a long way since April 2002, when there were concerns over its sustainability. Over the years, it has won a place in the hearts of many with its vibrancy and its iconic durian shape. It has also become an important incubator for home-grown artists and content.

The pace of its artistic growth has outstripped its infrastructure. Two mid-sized theatres were in the original Esplanade plan. It is critical to build them soon.

With the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall just refurbished, and the National Gallery opening this year, it is also important to ensure that the Esplanade does not lose its lustre and preeminence. Can the Minister update us on the plans to refurbish Esplanade, and beyond that, to keep the Esplanade ahead of the pack as a world-class arts venue?

Aside from the arts infrastructure, there is a need to also develop the arts software. In the face of the homogenising forces of globalisation, it is critical that we build up our heritage resources which differentiate us from other global arts cities.

I urge the Ministry to take a bolder approach to identifying what counts as our national heritage. In Japan, it has a tradition of recognising National Treasures – the highest honour in the folk and traditional arts. Japan also honours masters of traditional art forms such as paper-making and pottery, and a select few are named Living National Treasures. Their mandate is to pass on their craft to the next generation. In this way, Japan ensures that the best of its traditions are preserved and with that, its national identity.

Given Singapore's shift towards a mastery of skills, it would be timely to adopt a similar approach, and identify our own Living National Treasures before it is too late. This will help to sustain the practice and tradition and increase appreciation of their artistry within the community and beyond. We should also conserve the unique tools of traditional art forms, such as the last remaining dragon kiln in Singapore, and protect it as part of our heritage.

I would like to ask the Minister on the efforts to support our artists, arts groups and to preserve our heritage for posterity.

The Chairman: Mr Baey Yam Keng, you have two cuts. Please take them together.

Wider Choice of Performing Venues

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines): Mdm Chair, the refurbished Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall are welcomed by artists, arts groups and audiences. Its significance as the premiere performing venue in Singapore is unsurpassed by other newer and more modern purpose-built venues. Personally, I like the preservation of the old seats in the form of an art installation, the new atrium area and the heritage gallery. However, I am disappointed that the capacity of Victoria Theatre has been reduced from 904 to 614.

I understand that this adjustment was necessary for better acoustics. However, this means that we now have a high concentration of venues with capacity of up to about 600. We have the small spaces like The Substation Theatre, Arts House Play Den, SOTA Studio Theatre, Esplanade Recital Studio and Drama Centre Blackbox with about 100-200 seats. Next, Raffles Hotel Jubilee Hall, most theatres in the educational institutes like University Cultural Centre, LaSalle, NAFA and SOTA all have about 300-400 seats each. After that, it is the 600-seaters of Drama Centre Theatre and Victoria Theatre. Beyond that, there is a big jump to the 1,600 at RWS Theatre, which is a commercial and producing, not receiving, theatre; and then to the 2,000 seats at the Esplanade Theatre and MBS Theatre. Of course, the biggest of all is the Star Theatre with 5,000 seats. There is a glaring gap between 600 and 1,600.

This is the range of capacity our local arts groups are most interested in, especially if it is located in the central area. This is because they offer the right combination of scale and intimacy for many productions. When it is too small, the production cost per seat is usually disproportionately much higher, and when it is too big, most local groups do not have the audience to fill the hall. A capacity of about 1,000 to 1,200 will be a good balance.

12.45 pm

I would like to ask the Minister if there are any updates on the development of two mid-sized theatres as part of the next phase for development for Esplanade. Since the 2012 report by the Arts and Culture Strategic Review in which the call to build these theatres was made, how much progress has been made in the evaluation? Can the Ministry expedite the plan or are there plans to build additional mid-sized theatres elsewhere?

Shared Services for Arts Groups

Next cut. Late last year, MCCY launched "The A List", a new guide to our arts and cultural scene. The website (a-list.sg) provides details of arts and cultural events and activities island-wide and has features to facilitate online discussions and awareness building. There are also fortnightly issues of The A List magazine which are distributed free-of-charge island-wide at various locations. This is an excellent way to promote and support the myriad of arts and cultural groups, each of which is too small to publicise on such a scale on their own.

Similarly, I would like to ask the Ministry to consider setting up and funding a framework to provide subsidised common shared facilities for our arts and cultural groups. This could be a panel of professional service providers which are familiar with and passionate about the arts.

Services required could include financial management, accounting, sponsorship, human resources, publicity, marketing, IT, just to name a few. This consolidation of such operations and the pooling of resources will enable our arts and cultural groups to benefit from lower costs and economies of scale. Having access to such professional services will also enable our artists to focus on what they do best, just honing their crafts and delivering the works of inspiration to the public.

I know NAC grants already support expenditure in such areas. However, not all artists and arts groups know where to find good service providers. By ring-fencing specific funds to support the engagement of such services, it would also encourage arts community to pay attention in keeping their finances in order, and raising awareness of their artistic works, in addition to their primary focus on arts creation. This will help Singapore arts to flourish further.

Profiling Singapore Arts Abroad

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Madam, I first raised the issue of Singapore's international arts engagement in 2006, under MFA. I had argued then that cultural diplomacy should be an integral part of foreign policy. The upshot of Minister's reply was that the then MICA was leading our international cultural cooperation. Hence, since then I have been directing my efforts at MICA, and now MCCY.

I recognise the progress made in this area. Singapore's participation in the Venice Biennale late this year – after skipping the last one last year – is a step forward, as is the Singapore festivals held overseas.

But occasional forays are insufficient. I feel that there is a need to strategise Singapore's global arts engagement and cultural cooperation. As we mark SG50 this year, let us seize the opportunity to re-imagine our national branding to the world.

Our global arts engagement should evolve beyond scattered projects that do not add up to a larger and more strategic and coherent whole. If done well, it should present to the world a more nuanced and multi-faceted view of Singapore and its authentic values.

Singapore is gloriously culturally diverse. It irks me that in some parts of the world today, people still mistake Singapore for being a part of China, or think it is a "Chinese" city given its Chinese majority. Perhaps more worrying is the underlying presumption by some Chinese nationals in China that Singapore, especially its own Chinese, should more readily identify with China's national interest as it rises on the global stage. All over the world, China has been quite aggressive in its charm offensive deploying the tools of cultural diplomacy.

Given the changing landscape, Singapore should strengthen its image as a modern multicultural nation in a quest to build a uniquely Singaporean Singapore – but with a twist: It is creative, forward-looking and edgy. It is also colourful – it has the most diverse people living in HDB blocks. The HDB block can well be a cultural icon. Our multicultural project can provide a platform for exchange and debate in international circles and act as a beacon and a magnet to others.

Much of cultural diplomacy involves building relationships and influencing people in other parts of the world over the longer term; there is no quick return. To be effective, there needs to be more focused leadership and a stronger infrastructure with staff well-versed in foreign policy strategy, in culture and, ideally, also history,

We should go beyond just signing cultural agreements with various countries, and think more strategically on how to leverage on them to achieve our foreign policy objectives. An MOU is worthless if no follow-up action is taken and no resources allocated to maximise the opportunities. How is the new $20 million cultural diplomacy fund being used so far?

I would like to ask how MCCY is developing Singapore's strength in cultural diplomacy, especially since this is our golden jubilee year and also our 50th year of diplomatic relations with many countries. Also what are its plans to further project and sustain Singapore's image and reputation as a global arts city?

The Chairman: Mr Arthur Fong, you have two cuts. Please take them together.

Arts Accessibility

Mr Arthur Fong: Thank you Madam. Mdm Chair, the year 2014 was an exciting year for those in the arts community. Last year, during the COS debate, MCCY announced the establishment of a $10 million arts trust seed funding sited at the National Arts Council (NAC).

Hot on the heels of this announcement at COS, NAC made further good news of approving additional seed grants to eight new groups on top of those already receiving funds. Some of these groups include Tamil and Language, Traditional Arts Centre working with traditional Chinese opera amongst others. Apart from these eight groups, what other new artworks, productions or groups have been added? Tamil and Chinese opera goes down to the heart of our local community. For instance, interest in Chinese opera is waning and it would be good to know how does the funding to these groups benefit and help our local community and draw new interests to these arts?

In addition, arts' dynamism and significance is interpreted differently amongst the arts crowd. Chamber music for example, has been around for more than 200 years and is described as "music amongst friends" because it is played in small groups. This would appeal to different segments in our community; some more so than others. Given that the grants handed out through the NAC are public funds, we need to ensure that the production and groups supported need to reflect our national goal. How would the support of some of these art groups reflect our National Heritage?

Racial and Religious Harmony

My next cut. Mdm Chair, we have come a long way since the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA) was in force in 1992. I do remember the inter-religious and intra-religious tensions caused by insensitive proselytisation in the late 1980s. Although that was far from what our Pioneer Generation experienced in the 1960s, my generation caught a glimpse of what tensions brought about by religious sensitivities or insensitivities rippling quickly to racial sensitivities in multi-racial Singapore. We should never take race and religious harmony for granted.

In recent times, the "Cook a Pot of Curry", Amy Cheong comments and Anton Casey incidents come to mind. The reaction towards racial and religious intolerance and insensitivity by Singaporeans were resounding. We rallied against the behaviour and will have nothing of it. It is heartening to note how far we have come. It is reassuring that Singaporeans stand up for racial and religious harmony.

Mdm Chair, foremost in our minds we must recognise the fragility of racial and religious harmony. While we have the Sedition Act and Racial Harmony and MRHA to ensure peace and order, we must constantly look out for new trends that could tear this fabric of our nation.

What has the Government done to support community efforts aimed at fostering better communal understanding? Is more dialogue the way forward as some had suggested?

Social Integration and Discrimination

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: Mdm Chair, perceptions on discrimination by the minority races, particularly in terms of employment of opportunities and job promotion, are still rife. This is despite provisions for fair employment practices such as TAFEP, MOM's Fair Consideration Framework and non-discriminatory hiring policies as well as assurance by the Government that equal opportunities based on merit are provided for all Singaporeans regardless of ethnicity, background or religion.

Short of pushing for affirmative action for the minority races or explicit policies to specifically protect the interests of the minority races, our society also needs to evolve in how we perceive and treat fellow Singaporeans of different races, faith and backgrounds. We have to be able to look beyond physical appearance or religious symbolisms to see the person inside.

To be fair and clear, I wish to state that the Government does not endorse or tolerate discriminatory employment or job promotion practices and this is evident in all its laws and policies. Even here in this House, we see a good representation of Parliamentarians of different races, physical appearance and backgrounds.

Nonetheless, we still hear from some of our residents about the experience of being denied a job or a job promotion and, particularly, being made to feel it is because of their race, faith, background or physical appearance. One resident who sought my help to appeal for a job lamented that after many failed appeals, he believes that his appeals have been rejected because of his skin colour and race. It was not easy for me to convince him otherwise.

It is even more difficult for me to convince those whose physical appearance may be somewhat different from many here such as being physically disabled or wearing a religious headgear. On their behalf, and as someone who dons a religious headgear myself, I say, "See us for what's in here and up here" and not what is covering our heads or what you see on the outside.

For those among us who are in a position of influence or power, let us not allow our personal biases or misperceptions to cloud our judgement of who to hire or promote at work or who to groom for leadership positions. Let us be fair and objective always. For each one of us who may look different, we still want to be treated the same with dignity and to be given the same opportunity as anyone else. It is not too much to ask because the very strength of our society over the past 50 years is our diversity, be it cultural, racial or religious. The fact that we can have different faith, ethnicity, background or physical appearance yet still be treated the same and given equal opportunities to excel and realise our potential.

As we carry on the journey of nation building the next 50 years and more, let us continue to embrace and celebrate our diversity. This is what Singapore is founded on.

Volunteerism and Philanthropy

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Mdm Chair, last year, I spoke on this and brought up the dip in volunteering when youths leave school and enter the workforce. The Minister pointed out then that a key barrier to volunteering occurs when individuals enter the workforce.

Although there are more Singaporeans engaged in volunteer work today as compared to the past, we have yet to be able to engage companies in a sustainable way. Corporates have the financial and professional capabilities to do more in Singapore, and I believe employees have the skills and the heart to contribute more in terms of volunteering. How can we urge more companies, including their top leadership, to drive more giving efforts?

Early this year, the SG Care and Share Day was launched as the inaugural volunteering event for SG50. It is a good initiative to have an annual event that engages the public and promotes the awareness of volunteering. In October last year, there was also a "Redefining Community Giving" conference that looked at other ways of giving to society and also skills-based volunteering. Skills-based volunteering is win-win for both companies and society - skills-based volunteers have been shown to have higher employee morale than non-volunteers, and social organisations benefit from the volunteers' skills and knowledge for capacity-building.

Minister Wong had spoken of his Ministry's plans to do more to engage companies, and one way was by working with partners like NVPC and like-minded companies to promote a corporate giving culture. May I ask about the progress of efforts in this area? Has there been a greater involvement of companies so far?

Youth Volunteerism and Social Enterprise

Miss Penny Low: Mdm Chair, what do billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, swimmer Joseph Schooling, golfer Lydia Ko, youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai who is only 17 years old, pop stars Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have in common? They are all teenagers or below age 30. They are formidable young achievers. They used much less time than their predecessors to top the charts.

Today, over 50% of the world, or about 3.5 billion people are under the age of 30. It is the largest generation of young people the world has ever known, and also the most connected generation ever. In fact, young people around the world are transforming our lives in powerful ways!

Just as we honour and uphold our Pioneer Generation, to ignore the influences of the young and what they are impacting on our socio-economic and political fabric would be perilous. Many are energetic and not happy with status quo. They want to play a part in shaping our common destiny, they want to contribute to a better future and some may want to do this as a volunteer, others want to start a social business. Hence, we must build platforms that can facilitate their aspirations, and guide them to become net contributors to the world.

In the field of volunteerism, Youth Corp Singapore (YCS) is a step in the right direction. Can the Minister give an update on YCS and also the state of youth volunteerism in Singapore? What else is being done to engage youths in volunteerism?

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Given the need to educate, train and review volunteer development, few Not-for-Profit Organisations (NPOs) would have the resource or time to truly develop all their volunteers. As a result, drop-out rates and one-timers are high. To reverse this trend, I advocate that the Ministry funds a high tech, high touch system, comprising volunteer CRM, training and scheduled apps, as well as real trainers and volunteer relationship managers to help NPOs better understand and manage their volunteers. Further, it could inject celebrity young achievers as motivators and initiators of projects, thereby energising volunteerism.

In Singapore and the world over, young people are also taking to the field of social entrepreneurship by storm, either as founders, workers, or volunteers. Perhaps the Government can design volunteer through-train systems where youths can continue to participate in VWOs or social enterprises beyond their formal school years.

This could take many forms. An example is where school-going youths can identify the causes they care and serve as volunteers. Meanwhile, they can also learn the ropes of how to set up such social enterprises and hone their entrepreneurial skills along the way.

Sufficient resourcing could enable youths to continue to pursue their social enterprises initiatives or school projects when they graduate, thereby helping them to do good and do well. This is not just in life, but also for life.

Madam, to make the world a better place, we need people to be committed to voluntarily help each other. There needs to be closer collaboration amongst schools, social impact organisations, private sector and the Government. We need all hands to be on deck, committed to groom a generation of change-makers for good. I would be happy to work with the Ministry to look into ways to increase volunteerism and youth social enterprises. I hope that together, we can seriously groom a generation that will be looking to using their connected network to make a much more positive impact in the world.

Youth Aspirations

Mr Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang): Mdm Chair, I have spoken on youths and their aspirations for the last few years, and I am glad to see the progress that has been made to better engage and give opportunities to them. This year, as we mark 50 years of Singapore's Independence, it is equally important that we look ahead to the next 50, perhaps even 100 years. The people best placed to imagine and create this future for Singapore are our youths. A new generation of Singaporeans bring with them new creative visions for the Singapore of the future.

How then is the Ministry making full use of the opportunities of SG50 to showcase the talents of our youths? Will national youth spaces such as *SCAPE be enhanced to support the aspirations of young Singaporeans?

How does the Ministry plan to have youths help co-create their aspirations for an even better Singapore? The past was shaped by our pioneers, let our youths be the pioneers of their own future.

Reviewing the Role of CDCs

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Nee Soon): Mdm Chair, under the People's Association Act (CDC Rules and Regulations) 1997, the CDCs were established to build tightly-knit, compassionate and self-reliant community in Singapore. The CDC's mission is to build a caring and cohesive community, where we assist the needy, bond the people and connect the community.

Now that the national social assistance schemes have been returned to the MSF and the Ministry has formed the Social Service Offices to administer the national ComCare schemes, will the CDCs still continue to assist the needy and vulnerable, run social and community programmes and help and fund local assistance schemes in the Constituency level? What is the plan on the community building and connecting roles? With this new set-up and structure, is there a need to re-examine CDCs' role and its key strategic thrusts? Will there be a continued focus in developing the community and partnering our grassroots organisations?

I submit that CDC should review its role and sharpen its focus to continue to stay relevant in light of the changing demographic profile in Singapore and diversity of aspirations and needs of Singaporeans.

Update on Sports Facilities Master Plan

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Chairman, convenient accessibility to a healthy lifestyle is paramount to good quality of life. The Minister has, in recent years, achieved great success in encouraging Singaporeans to be more proactive about keeping fit through the provision of sports facilities within the housing estates.

In Yishun, it is a common sight to see entire families spending their weekends at the Yishun Swimming Complex, Yishun Indoor Sports Hall and Stadium. Energetic youths and adults show off their vigour at the street soccer courts and the various hard courts in the estates. Their demonstration of sportsmanship is good inspiration for children and other youths. However, as the population at Yishun grows, the demand for sports facilities has been on the rise. Yishun is a large estate to begin with. Already, applicants are finding it difficult to have access to their favourite venues and sports on a regular basis. Yishun needs more sports facilities, and in greater variety.

During last year's COS, the Minister announced that $1.5 billion will be set aside to ensure Singaporeans have easier access to sports facilities, under the first phase of the sports facilities master plan. Are there any updates on the progress of these facilities? I am very interested to hear what plans the Minister has for Yishun when it comes to community-based sporting-based facilities.

Last year, I also raised the issue about the swimming pool at Yishun Swimming Complex being very rundown. Until today, I have not heard of any plans. Perhaps, the Minister could look at my request for a new generation swimming pool to replace what we currently have.

Very often, when my residents go swimming with their friends, with their relatives in other parts of Singapore, they come back and tell me how envious they are of the facilities in other part of Singapore.

There is only one swimming complex to serve the entire Yishun town, and I would appreciate if the Minister can give my request a sympathetic ear so that my residents can have new swimming complex and they do not feel left out. In fact, Yishun is one of the faster growing towns, and many of the families living in Yishun are younger families with kids. Therefore, they would like to have kids water-play areas between the swimming complex. So, I hope to hear good news from the Minister.

Sports Facilities Master Plan

Mr Arthur Fong: Mdm Chair, the Sports Master Plan of 2011 is bearing fruit. Since the inaugural Marathon Race in 1982, our sports calendar is now filled with several marathon runs, catering to a variety of running enthusiasts, from novices to Olympic champions. On top of that, many get-fit programmes have mushroomed: yoga, pilates joined by zuma, MMA, aqua cycling and so on. We have been steadily building sports facilities and upgrading old ones. This has seen an increase in usage of sports facilities over the years. Can the Minister update the House on the usage numbers for some of our more popular sports facilities like the public pools, tracks, indoor stadiums and gyms, so far?

The Ministry announced setting aside $1.5 billion to ensure Singaporeans have better access to sports facilities. Can we have an update? Are there plans to encourage more to take up a sporting lifestyle and to use many facilities that we have built or plan to build?

Dual-Use Scheme

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Mdm Chair, presently, under the Dual-Use Scheme, the Ministry, in cooperation with MOE, has opened up sports facilities in schools for public use after school hours. This is a solution to the problem of our limited land supply. It is a productive and intensive use of a limited property resource.

The Minister had shared with the House just two months ago that about half of our existing schools are already operating on this dual use model and that eventually, all school sports facilities will be opened up to the public. In this year alone, 15 more indoor sports halls and 10 more school fields will join this scheme.

Both Ministries have taken this approach even further by designing and building new schools with dual use in mind. I would imagine that appropriate segmentation will enable both convenient access by the public and enhanced security for the students.

Besides the need to plan and redesign facilities for segregation, may I ask what are the other challenges faced in expanding the Dual-Use Scheme, with more schools on board?

Mdm Chair, I would like to ask the Minister if the Dual-Use Scheme can be extended to include school auditoriums, dance studios and theatres for artists and arts groups. Finding venues for rehearsals is a challenge for many performing groups. Besides community centres, which are already so well-utilised, where else can arts groups go to? Theatre, dance, and musical groups have to compete for limited venues to practise and hone their crafts. As a supplement to arts housing, I urge the Ministry to consider this request to support our fledging amateur arts community. In return, the arts groups and artists can give back to the school by involving the students in their art making and creation process or provide a sneak preview into their art works and productions.

The Chairman: Mr David Ong, you have three cuts. Please take them together.

ActiveSG

Mr David Ong: Thank you, Madam. There are many benefits in an active sports culture. This is particular so among our children as we not only start them early to have a healthy body and mind; but more significantly picking up important life-skills such as sportsmanship, discipline, respect, tolerance and team work.

MOE had implemented programme for active learning that expose children in Primary 1 and Primary 2 to sports and outdoor education. Our children must be given every opportunity to try out various sports and experience the fun and joy doing it.

The benefits of physical activity are universal for all children, including those with disabilities. What is ActiveSG plan to encourage children with disabilities to embrace sports?

The National Schools Competition is now underway and increasingly, we are seeing not just active participation from students in a wide variety of sports, but also parents who are growing in numbers, actively supporting their children and school. Indeed, parents form an important part of the school sports ecosystem and I look forward to Active SG doing more to outreach and engage parents and their children in sports. It is an excellent platform for family bonding.

To achieve the goal of cultivating Singapore as a nation active in sports we need to begin with our younger Singaporeans. We need to encourage our kids to embrace sports as a lifestyle habit and foster a lifelong interest in sport. What will ActiveSG be doing to complement the school sports ecosystem to achieve this?

Sports School Review

Madam, my next cut. The Singapore Sports School was opened in 2004 with a vision to make Singapore a sporting nation. However, changing sporting landscape and growing competiton in the region prompted a timely call for a strategic review of the Singapore Sports School last year.

We are delighted to see several of our Sports School graduands doing well in their sporting career. One such graduand is table-tennis star, Ms Isabelle Li, who caught our attention during Youth Olympics Games and has now fast becoming a world class athlete in her own right. However, issues remain as students in the Sports School have to do a tough balancing act between studies and intense sporting regime.

Now that the Sports School has been in operation for more than 10 years, I am interested to know of the outcome of the strategic review announced last year and the plans for the Sports School in the years ahead.

Nurturing Exceptional Sports Talent

Madam, my final cut on nurturing sports talent. Singapore is a small country. While it would help to have a large talent pool to choose from, national success in sports is not just about numbers. There were many examples of smaller countries achieving sports glory on the world stage.

One key finding of such successes is what happens throughout the sports men's journey towards the top of their sport. This includes sound coaching knowledge, sports science, nutrition, sustain motivation, quality training pathways and appropriate competition opportunities.

According to a study by the Institute of Biomedical Research and Sports Epidemiology in France, the peak age or "best" age of performance for athletes in track and field, swimming and even chess is 26.1. Thus, the years leading up to their peak are critical. Thus, for elite athletes competing at the top of their game, 18-26 years of age is often consider as the prime age.

In Korea, every South Korean man between the ages of 18-35 must serve in the military for about two years. This window of service allows their elite athletes to have no disruption to intensive training at their prime physical and mental condition. They believe that if their male athletes were to be drafted into Military Service, they could not catch up with their male counterparts from the rest of the world where there is no compulsory military service.

Can MCCY work with Mindef to further enable our elite male athletes to wholeheartedly invest and develop their athletic potential at their prime?

Can MCCY share with us the framework for grooming our budding talented athletes in both individual and team sports? Will the Ministry be looking at increasing collaboration with major sporting clubs around the world with opportunities for our younger budding athletes to develop and hone their skills on a bigger stage?

Can MCCY update us on their engagement with various stakeholders in areas of high performance training, education and career development so that our athletes can wholeheartedly devote themselves to become exceptional sportsmen and sportswomen and bring glory to Singapore?

Youths in Professional Sports

Mr Alex Yam: Mdm Chair, the SEA Games are just 85 days away, and it will be a major high point as we celebrate SG50. It is a moment for Singaporeans to be proud of that a small nation like ours can pull off a major games like the SEA Games and the inaugural Youth Olympic Games previously.

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What is perhaps even more important are our athletes. Each generation finds its own champions and I am certain we will have many at the SEA Games. But someone made a comment to me recently that many of our young athletes from the Youth Olympic Games are no longer in professional sports. From my own experience and observations in the NSAs, the retention of good young sportsmen and women is difficult considering the pressures of studies and parental concerns. The Sports School has gone some way to provide good support and I look forward to the results of the review.

What plans does the Ministry have in better encouraging young Singaporeans to take up sports as a career? How do we sustain and support them and also convince parents that it is a viable option? What can we do as a society to give opportunities for our future champions?

The theme for this year's SEA Games is "Celebrate the Extraordinary". I hope we can sustain the extraordinary beyond the Games itself.

Singapore Soccer

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): In 1998, former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong laid out his vision for Singapore football. Goal 2010 was born. It provided a concrete and tangible indicator for the Singapore national men's football team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. This goal however was not attained.

We need to move forward and work towards achieving future success for Singapore football. I would like the Minister to update the House on FAS' goal for Singapore football and whether at present there is any master plan or roadmap being drawn up. I would also like to have further updates on FAS' three main initiatives, namely, the National Football Academy and Centres of Excellence; the Foreign Talent Scheme; and FAS' Youth Development programme.

In paving the way ahead for Singapore football for future and sustained excellence, I would like to suggest placing more emphasis on the ongoing efforts in grooming young Singaporean footballers. A fresh injection of passion and enthusiasm in the management of our inter-school football tournament, especially the "A" and "B" divisions, would be timely at this stage. I would like to propose that greater public attention be paid to the annual inter-school football tournament. This can take the form of a TV programme covering the entire tournament with an eye to televising some of the crucial matches. This would most certainly create interest, enhance the motivation of our young players and increase followers to local youth football.

Indeed, such a practice is not new. College sports such as American football and basketball are widely televised in the States and these institutions have been a rich source and pipeline for the production of many of the household names in American sports. I hope Singapore can do the same and bring our footballing standards to greater heights in the years ahead.

SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games

Miss Penny Low: Madam, the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games are coming to town. Competing on home ground means higher expectations and this would inadvertently put more pressure on our athletes. Many of them have competitive skills and good physique, but in competition where all eyes are on you, the killer app often lies in the mental toughness of the athlete. Some may call this the "killer instinct". Hence, during the preparation and during the games itself, what forms of support are we giving to our athletes and National Sporting Associations to ensure a good showing at the Games? Would free passes be given to the athletes' family so they, too, can witness and support their family members in the competition?

The ASEAN Para Games will be a chance for our para athletes to do Singapore proud. Yet there remain significant barriers to sports participation for the physically challenged. How can we build on the Games to reduce these barriers and expand opportunities for more persons with disabilities to participate in sports? Going forward, how can we improve the infrastructure for people with disabilities on every Singapore street?

Lastly, the Games is an excellent opportunity to showcase the humane, caring side of Singapore. Could the Ministry consider working with social enterprises, charities and not-for-profit organisations to create collaterals, memorabilia, products and services to meet the demands of the Games? I think we all have to try and work together to build an inclusive society whether it is in sports or in the provision of goods and services for our nation.

Mr Arthur Fong: Mdm Chair, in just under three months we will host the 28th South East Asian (SEA) Games and in nine months we have the honour of hosting some 1,300 to 1,500 para-athletes from ASEAN countries. We hosted the SEA Games some 12 years ago and we are hosting the ASEAN Para Games for the first time. Needless to say, we are expected to be efficient organisers and gracious hosts for both Games.

I understand that there are about 8,000 volunteers to help stage the Games. This is a great response from the Singapore community. What is the status of preparation to-date? How do we ensure that the volunteers are ready? What is the state of readiness of our Sports Hub? Are the necessary games logistics well provided for?

How is the Government going to ensure support from the greater community in terms of ticket sales? What are the learning points from YOG that we can draw on to run a successful Games while keeping a close watch on costs and budgets?

Mr Seah Kian Peng: Mdm Chair, first let me declare my interest in that NTUC FairPrice is a major sponsor of the SEA Games this year.

The 28th SEA Games and 8th ASEAN Para Games are key events on our SG50 calendar. At the last SEA Games in Myanmar, Singapore achieved many historic firsts and Singaporeans were understandably elated at the excellent performance of our athletes, and I believe expectations would be high for the coming SEA Games to be held here.

Finally, it is our turn to host this important regional sporting event. Singapore is also hosting the ASEAN Para Games for the first time in history and it is our country's golden jubilee year.

The level of anticipation and excitement is high within the sporting arena, but is it also the same for the general public? How can we get Singaporeans excited about the Games? The countdown to the 8th ASEAN Para Games began late last year with a carnival that allowed the public to try sports such as javelin, shooting and bowling, and also to meet our para-athletes. The 28th SEA Games organising committee has also been running weekly articles on its website, sharing stories on the various countries and their athletes.

Mdm Chair, may I ask what other events can the public look forward to participate in, both in the lead up to the Games and during the Games? This is after all a special year for Singapore and surely Singaporeans would be hoping to join in the spirit of the Games as a nation.

The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Lawrence Wong): Mdm Chair, I thank Members for their interest in MCCY's work.

Our Ministry has been very busy with SG50 celebrations. "SG50" is now a buzzword all over Singapore. I believe many Singaporeans are excited about what is in store for the year ahead. But SG50 is more than just a once-off celebration. Our objective goes beyond that. It is like a family holding a party. You spend time and effort to decorate your home, and when the day arrives, you have a wonderful celebration. When the party is over, you wake up in the morning and you are still the same family living in the same home, with the same responsibilities, the same hopes and anxieties about the future. But because you have spent time together, you have grown closer. You have reconnected with one another and talked about your plans for the future. And that is what SG50 is about. It is a time to reflect on what makes us Singapore – Singaporeans; it is a time to bond as a people and to build confidence for our future.

So, three themes shine out in our celebrations: our heritage, our culture and our future. And I will share a little bit more on each one of them.

First, we embrace our heritage as Singaporeans. It forms the core of our national identity. One way to strengthen this is to build up spaces where people can be immersed in history; where they can explore and develop an emotional connection to the city.

For Singapore, one important area is our Civic District – the birthplace of modern Singapore, containing many institutions that have witnessed important turning points in history. We have been doing a lot to preserve this sense of heritage and identity in the Civic District. We recently restored the iconic Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall (VTVCH). And just next door, the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) is undergoing a major revamp. There will be new museum galleries and a new entrance opening onto the Singapore River.

Madam, with your permission, I would like to show some slides on the screen.

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, what we are doing is not just piecemeal but really an overall transformation of the Civic District. We have been working closely with URA and NParks to make this happen.

By July, the portion of Empress Place between the Asian Civilisations Museum and Victoria Theatre-Victoria Concert Hall will be paved over to connect these buildings seamlessly – so it will be pedestrianised. A spacious lawn will be created that can be used for concerts and events. The whole area will be made more pedestrian-friendly. Buildings will connect more smoothly to the waterfront. And we will spruce up everything with beautiful public artworks, like the ones you see on the screen which are commissioned specially for the Jubilee Walk.

The new jewel of the Civic District will be the National Gallery Singapore, housed in the former Supreme Court and City Hall, and this will be the largest visual arts centre in the region. In fact, the art extends beyond the gallery because we are having local artists and architects design a new Art Connector to link the Gallery with City Hall MRT Station. So the Connector will include a community mural of self-portraits by Singaporeans. So even walking to the Gallery will be an experience in the arts from the moment you exit the MRT.

The Gallery buildings themselves are national icons. City Hall Chambers witnessed the World War II surrender of the Japanese, and it is also where the first Singapore Cabinet was sworn into office in 1959. The Gallery team has been carefully restoring the buildings and all the items found in the buildings.

One company that worked on this is a family business run by one of our pioneer craftsmen, Mr Cheng. He started as an apprentice in his line of work at the age of 13 years. In 1963, as a young man of only about 22 years old, he opened his own furniture factory and he specialises in the repair and restoration of antiques. For this project, Mr Cheng and his workers had to dismantle the buildings' furniture into smaller parts, transport them out, and then carefully work on the furniture with traditional tools. They worked on many interesting pieces, including a table that was specially designed in the 1920s for the former Supreme Court building, which has been used by seven Chief Justices throughout Singapore's history.

This is hard work, painstaking work that requires great patience and dedication. It is a skill that Mr Cheng has spent a lifetime honing. And he can now take pride in having spent a key role in restoring our national treasures to their former glory.

The Gallery's artworks are not yet ready, but we will have special sneak previews in April and May. And this will allow Singaporeans to appreciate the Gallery's architectural and historical significance. And when the Gallery opens in November this year, we will all get a chance to see some of the best visual art from Singaporean and Southeast Asian masters.

We are not just building new cultural institutions in the Civic District, but also updating existing ones. Ms Irene Ng asked for an update on the Esplanade's refurbishment which is on track for 2015. The Esplanade will be upgrading its Forecourt, which will re-open in August this year. It will be a garden landscape with shaded areas and seating for families and friends to gather, and to enjoy performances throughout the year. And it will provide better connections to the Esplanade MRT Station, Esplanade Park and the new Jubilee Bridge. Beyond 2015, we are exploring the possibility of developing mid-sized theatres at the Esplanade to better support the needs of our arts scene, and we will consult the public on these plans in due course.

Near to the Civic District is the Bras Basah precinct, where we also have exciting plans. We have medium-term plans to enhance the Singapore Art Museum so that it is properly conserved and, at the same time, a fitting showcase for contemporary art in Singapore and Southeast Asia, and this will complements the National Gallery which focuses on 19th century to modern art.

More immediately, by September, we will complete the updates to the National Museum of Singapore. And this is the first major revamp of the Museum since it re-opened in 2006. The Museum will be transformed by multimedia experiences, public art and interactive spaces. And the slide shows you a glimpse – a sneak preview – of what you can expect in the National Museum when it re-opens in its full glory in August this year. The displays will be refreshed to include artefacts spanning 700-odd years of history, and especially from our post-1965 years.

The refreshed displays will also celebrate our "everyday" heritage, for example, you see on screen the iconic Setron TV, which was the first TV set to be locally assembled. We also have what you see on the right of the screen the National Service (NS) uniform which is the earliest version of the SAF uniform. This was donated by Mr William Oh, who was among the first cohorts of Singaporeans enlisted into NS. In fact, he was so proud of his uniform that he tells us that he made sure to wash and iron it himself. And he did it with a charcoal iron, old iron, not the electric iron.

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Mr Oh was motivated by his passion to serve the nation, and he learned this from his father, who would take turns with his fellow villagers to patrol the kampong during the days of Konfrontasi . This instilled in Mr Oh a deep desire to defend Singapore.

His uniform will now join other artefacts to tell the Singapore Story in a more personal way. We hope that this will help to keep our National Museum appealing and accessible to all Singaporeans. And not to forget that it will be free of charge for all Singaporeans as well.

By the end of the year, we will have a vibrant network of cultural icons within and around the Civic District. Winding through these nodes will be a new 8-km commemorative trail called the Jubilee Walk. It is something which we will launch in November this year. There will be clear markers to mark out the historic points along the trail, and I hope this can be one of the lasting physical legacies of our Jubilee Year.

All of these are significant investments. Including the National Gallery, we are putting a total of $740 million into our cultural institutions and SG50 landmarks in the Civic District alone. It is an important investment in our heritage, in our history to remind us of the common history that unites us as a nation.

Our heritage extends across other parts of Singapore as well. NHB has been working closely with the community to uncover these rich pockets of history.

We created quite a buzz last year, when we uncovered a forgotten reservoir in Mount Faber. We are also supporting an ongoing archaeological dig at Empress Place, which has yielded some interesting artefacts. All these need to be done more systematically to build up a rigorous assessment of Singapore's heritage across the entire island. And that is why we have indeed steadily investing into heritage research and assessment. Prof Tan Tai Yong and Mr Chen Show Mao spoke about this, and I would like to assure them and Members we have been stepping up our investments in heritage research and assessments and we plan to do more.

If you look at what is done for the environment today, we have a systematic process to consider environmental impact in the planning and implementation of new infrastructure projects. We believe that a similar approach can and should be applied to heritage. So we will be initiating a nation-wide survey of our heritage. The aim is to get a more complete understanding of historical sites and their heritage value across the island.

We will consider factors like the age of the buildings; the places where significant historical events took place; architectural merits; and the social and cultural value of certain landmarks to the community. We will pull information from the archives and conduct field visits and research. We will work closely with the community and stakeholders to pool our collective knowledge and expertise, and put up key findings and share them with the public.

In addition, we will set up a Heritage Research Grant which will fund research from institutes of higher learning and NGOs. This research will complement the national survey and it will be incorporated into the overall survey. With these findings, NHB will work with URA to enhance heritage considerations at each stage of the planning process, be it in the 10-year Concept Plan or the five-year Master plan.

We will also find creative ways to remember our heritage. Ms Tin Pei Ling talked about allowing old neighbourhoods to re-imagine themselves while preserving their defining heritage. There are already upgrading programmes by MND that deal with the infrastructure. And we can certainly look at how these can be enhanced. What we would like to focus on in MCCY is to enhance the software – to bring arts and heritage programmes to more estates, including old estates.

We will do more to link professional artist and curators with the different communities, and support programmes that bring out the distinct heritage and identity of our neighbourhoods.

To help oversee all of this work, we will form a Heritage Advisory Panel which will include participation from the NGOs and experts across different disciplines. They will guide us in the upcoming heritage survey, research initiatives I talked about and advise us on best practices, including the best practices from other countries and how they can be adapted to our local context.

While the work is on-going, there are certain gems of national heritage that we already know about. And here I would like to update on our national monuments which testify to our diverse communities and our national development.

We have set up the National Monuments Fund to provide funding support to non-profit monument owners for restoration and repair. This Fund has been well received. We will more than double our existing support to about $12 million over the next five years. This includes a new maintenance grant for non-profit monument owners that will alleviate some costs of upkeep, and prevent deterioration to the monuments.

Among our monuments and cherished historic sites and one of the most important is the Singapore Botanic Gardens which we have nominated for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is not easy to qualify for the UNESCO mark. Nominated sites must prove themselves to be of "outstanding universal value", which means they must occupy a unique position not only in the history of the local communities, but of the entire world.

We believe that the Gardens have a solid case. They were instrumental in transforming Southeast Asian history. The most significant example is how research and experimentation conducted at the Gardens introduced rubber to the region, where none had been grown before. And in so doing transform the entire region and indeed the world.

More importantly, our nomination signals our commitment to heritage conservation. We are making a collective stand as a nation to preserve this green oasis in the heart of our city. This will forever be a special place for all Singaporeans, and indeed, for all of humanity. The process for the UNESCO bid is on its way. We will not know the outcome till June or early July. And I will be going to Bonn where the World Heritage Committee meeting will be held and the decision will be made at the Committee. I hope to return after that meeting with Jubilee presents for Singapore and for all Singaporeans.

Besides celebrating our heritage, our Jubilee Year is also a year to celebrate our culture, our distinctly Singaporean culture. As a young multi-cultural nation, this idea of a distinctive Singaporean culture is still relatively new and it is still evolving. Theatre pioneer, Kuo Pao Kun, once said that Singaporeans have the mentality of "cultural orphans" – we have a sense of anxiety in the search for self. But he said that many years ago. But over the years, I believe we have strengthened our Singaporean identity. We have forged bonds that bring us together.

Mr Baey Yam Keng and Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin spoke about this. They also spoke about food as an example. We all have fond memories of home-cooked meals and eating out at hawker centres with friends and family. When we go overseas, we miss the food at home. It is an integral part of our identity. I agree with Members that it is important to preserve our food and hawker heritage and we are doing this in various ways.

We are giving more spotlight and recognition to our master hawkers. For many of them, cooking is second nature. They might not have written it down. But it is in their head and they have the skill and craft to cook some of the best food. Take the example of Hainanese chicken rice. If you look at the recipe online or wherever you find it, you will often find the recipe saying: cook the chicken, then soak it in ice water to get the meat tender. That is the common recipe. But in fact the real Hainanese do not soak chicken in ice water. The real Hainanese do not soak the chicken in cold water. It is more difficult to cook that way. It takes more skill. It takes more experience to ensure that you cook it without soaking the chicken in ice water and to ensure that the meat is tender and good to eat.

How do I know this? Because I am a Hainanese, number one. Number two, my grandfather came from Hainan Island many years ago, and he worked as a chef and a steward in a British club. And he was reputedly one of the best cooks there. Unfortunately, the recipe did not pass down to my father who relied mostly on my mum to cook and he certainly did not pass it down to me; which is why we must continue to do more to preserve our food heritage.

We are commissioning research and documentaries for Singaporeans to learn about signature dishes from our master chefs, our master hawkers, and to practise the recipes at home. We will recognise many of these hawkers at the World Street Food Congress that Singapore will host next month.

We are also increasing community outreach on our food heritage. We are incorporating food into the Singapore Heritage Festival and our community trails. In the year ahead, we can look forward to programmes like community cook-out sessions, travelling demonstrations and food carnivals.

Besides food, we are also seeing clearer expressions of what Singapore culture and identity is all about, through the different art forms. For example, when the Singapore Chinese Orchestra performs, they sound very different from a China-based orchestra. You can immediately hear the difference. They have a unique sound, blending traditional Chinese music with Southeast Asian influences.

Likewise in visual art, we have the pioneers of the Nanyang Style, and a younger generation of contemporary artists who are experimenting with different mediums and traditions to bring distinctively Singaporean characteristics to their art. That is why it is so meaningful to celebrate the arts in our Jubilee year. It is about providing meaningful outlets for self-expression and discovery. It is about discovering who we are, and who we want to be.

We will celebrate across different genres of the arts. In the area of dance, for example, NAC will be launching a new nationwide dance carnival in October. It will encompass dance from all our cultural traditions – Chinese, Malay and Indian – as well as newer forms of contemporary dance.

Another example is the Sing50 concert which will be held just before National Day. It will celebrate the rich tapestry of Singapore music, from Pop Yeh Yeh in the 1960s to the xīnyáo movement in the 1980s. We will hear from veterans like Vernon Cornelius from The Quests. Incidentally, they were the only Singapore band that topped the Charts such that they kicked out the Beatles. They were in the Bill Boards and ranked higher than the Beatles in the 1960s. You will hear veterans like Ramli Sarip, Dick Lee, and hopefully we will be able to find Anita Sarawak, whom the organisers have been trying to locate, and have her joined in the concert too.

Our artists not only help us to express our identity, values and beliefs, they also fly our flag overseas. We are supporting them with the $20 million Cultural Diplomacy Fund which we set up last year. This provides our artists with overseas exposure, and also strengthens cultural engagement with other countries.

There are several international highlights on the horizon this year. We will soon launch a Singapore Festival in France – three months' worth of visual arts, theatre and other cultural forms. We are also returning to the Venice Biennale, the pinnacle platform for contemporary visual art. In June, we will participate in the City of London Festival – one of the most highly regarded festivals in the UK. Singapore will be in the spotlight as the featured country at the Festival.

These are not just ad-hoc events or engagements. I agree with Ms Irene Ng that our cultural engagement needs to be done in a systematic manner. As part of our cultural diplomacy efforts, we are working closely with other agencies – including MFA – to build meaningful, strategic and sustained cultural partnerships with these nations. Events like Venice Biennale or SingFrance are part of this larger strategy.

Mdm Chair, the Government is committed to supporting our artists. We will continue to invest in them and the cultural sector. I should say that this is something we should not take for granted. Resources will always be limited and from time to time difficult trade-offs have to be made. You see these in the most advanced economies where budgets for the arts and culture have been cut back sharply in order to meet more pressing demand. We are in a different position fortunately. Our public finances allow us to invest in the art and culture. I am glad that in this House there is strong support for such investments. I am also glad to say that this support is shared by many Singaporeans.

We recently set up a Cultural Matching Fund for the government to match private donations to the arts on a dollar for dollar basis. And in just over a year, we have seen very good response from the public, and the Fund has already disbursed over $30 million to about 60 arts and heritage groups.

Beyond funding, we will continue to support our arts practitioners in other ways. One way suggested by Mr Baey Yam Keng is through the provision of centralised services. And as he noted, NAC already provides some of these services, like shared publicity and marketing. There are also outreach programmes that bring together tenants at our art centres, in Aliwal Art Centre and Goodman Arts Centre.

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Going forward, NAC will open its consultancy programmes to more arts organisations. This includes coaching on organisational capabilities, like board management and arts marketing. We will see what else can be done, including the possibility of shared professional services. I also support Mr Baey's suggestion to extend the Dual-Use Scheme to arts groups. And MCCY will work with MOE to see how this can best be implemented.

All in all, we can expect a year-long calendar of very meaningful SG50 activities. It is worth highlighting that many of these activities are driven from the ground-up – they are initiated by ordinary Singaporeans, from all walks of life. So far, through the SG50 Celebration Fund, we have supported around 260 ground-up initiatives; and the number is still rising.

The diverse projects show the strong sense of ownership that our people have in leading the SG50 celebrations, which will strengthen our national identity and community cohesion.

This brings me to what I think is the most important theme for this Jubilee Year, which is our future. We must preserve our heritage, and remember the past. We must celebrate our arts and culture, and strengthen our sense of identity as a people. But most importantly, we must look forward to consider what kind of future we want for Singapore and for the next generation.

Minister of State Sam Tan and Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling will say more about this in their speeches – about how we want to strengthen our spirit of giving, our sense of harmony and our engagement with our youths. And then I will close by talking about sports.

But I would say we particularly recognise that our young people today play a crucial role in shaping our future. We will do everything we can to support them in their aspirations, and to provide opportunities for them to contribute to the community. This is why we started the Youth Corps last year, and we have scaled up programmes at OBS. We are also investing in spaces for youths, for example, by upgrading *SCAPE, and offering more programmes for youth development.

SG50 is naturally a good opportunity for young people to get involved in causes that they care about, and help shape a better society. I am glad that we are already seeing many young people getting involved in SG50 projects.

One example is a young lady named Janet Ng, who is a recent graduate of ITE College West. She is also an active volunteer, who teaches ukulele to the elderly. She was inspired by the Prime Minister's National Day Rally last year, where he spoke about honouring our pioneers. And so a seed of an idea was planted, and it grew bigger over time.

Janet asked herself, "Why is it that when National Day comes around, some Singaporeans like to go abroad?" Maybe this question would be asked again this year because it is a long weekend. She thought, "That's not quite right. I would like to remind people about their identity as Singaporeans, about their roots and their culture. I would like to inspire students to be the pioneers of the next generation." She linked up with her schoolmate Sherwin, and they applied for the SG50 Celebration Fund. This July, their team will hold a carnival called "Evolution to 50". They hope to re-create Singapore life in the 1970s and 1980s. And they will curate panels that showcase Singapore's development over time. They will invite participants to pen down their aspirations for Singapore's future, and pledge to be the "Pioneers of the Next Generation."

We asked Janet, "What does that phrase ‘pioneers of the next generation' mean to you?" And she replied, "Our pioneers today helped to build up Singapore. So it's our turn to make the change."

And there are many young people like Janet who are excited about SG50, and galvanised by that same sense of ownership and possibility. The projects that they are undertaking show that they have got heart and drive for the community. We will continue to engage young people on SG50 throughout this year. We will hear from them directly on their hopes, dreams and ideas for Singapore's future.

This year, the National Youth Council will host a series of youth engagement sessions and conversations. We will invite youths to shape – to share their ideas for a better Singapore – how we can create opportunities for everyone, build a fair and inclusive society, and secure the future of our choice. We will showcase their aspirations at the futuretogether.SG exhibition, which will round off our SG50 celebrations. This will be held at Gardens by the Bay from November, and will continue on through early next year.

I hope many will be inspired by this collective imagining of how we might one day live, work and play in Singapore. I hope that all Singaporeans will be moved to act on these aspirations and build a better future for Singapore.

Mdm Chair, earlier on, I compared what we are doing in SG50 to a family gathering for a celebration. And I think it is appropriate for me to end, for now, by quoting Janet, the ITE graduate I mentioned just now. When we spoke to her about her project, we also asked her, "What is your wish for SG50?" She replied, "That more people will come together and celebrate – not just as individual families, but as one family." That is the spirit of SG50.

In our Jubilee Year, I hope we can celebrate our heritage and culture, build a brighter future for all of us to share, and grow closer together as one Singapore family.

The Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong): Mdm Chair, Minister spoke about his vision for our arts and heritage and the future that we want to build for our youth. Indeed, our shared heritage and values are the common threads that binds us, even as Singapore becomes more diverse. We want multicultural understanding, not ignorance. Inclusion, not exclusion. Harmony, not hatred.

To achieve this, we will continue to work on three areas. First, to connect Singaporeans to our roots. Second, to build an inclusive society. And third, to foster a harmonious society.

Let me start with connecting Singaporeans to our roots. Mdm Chair, the foundation of a society lies in its roots. Mr Ang Hao Sai reminds us of this. As one of Singapore's last movie canvas painters, he was inspired to preserve the memories of our past through 50 paintings to commemorate this SG50. Mdm Chair, with your permission, I would like to display some photos on the screens.

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong: Thank you. These paintings were exhibited on Orchard Road during the recent Chingay Night Festival, and many Singaporeans had witnessed the stories of our past through these paintings.

Mr Ang Hao Sai's work is a nostalgic walk down memory lane, taking us to the days when ding ding tang and beh leh koh uncles plied their trades on the streets, delighting young customers with their candy treats. He reminds us that before the modern cinema was built, people used to watch movies through peepholes built into a box carried on bicycles or tricycles.

Mdm Chair, heritage is also about memories, and memories connect us to our past and also to our roots. Mr Ang's paintings recall the memories of yester-years and preserve the Singapore Story, so that it can be told to future generations.

Mr Arthur Fong has also spoken about the need to preserve our heritage. That is why we will present the stories of our past through our heritage and cultural centres, to better connect Singaporeans to our rich and diverse heritage. This is a reflection of our unique multi-racial and multi-cultural social fabric.

The new Indian Heritage Centre will open in May this year. With its colourful facade, the Centre will be a bright jewel of Little India that tells us the stories of our Indian community.

Within its walls, the history of Singapore's Indian community comes alive. You will trace our Indian pioneers' journey to Singapore. You will see how they helped build our nation through their hard work and grit.

We will also be refreshing the Malay Heritage Centre's permanent galleries, to better tell the stories of our Malay community in Singapore. This includes the Singapore's age-old ties to the Malay world through trade within the Nusantara, or Malay Archipelago.

In addition to the Indian and the Malay Heritage Centres, we can also look forward to the opening of the new Chinese Cultural Centre by the end of next year. The Centre will actively promote both traditional Chinese culture and our modern, uniquely Singaporean version of Chinese culture.

All these heritage and cultural centres are open to Singaporeans of all races, so as to connect us to our roots of our multi-racial multi-cultural society. If we want to know who we are and where we are going to as a people, then we must start with our past, with stories of our separate origins, but also how we came together to build the Singapore of today.

Just as we lived together in the past despite, or because of our diversity, so we need to see how we can continue to make Singapore a welcoming place for people of different cultures and abilities. The second thing we will do in MCCY is to foster an inclusive society through the arts and sports. Mdm Chair, please allow to me to speak in Mandarin for this segment of my speech.

( In Mandarin ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Chair, a harmonious society needs communication and mutual understanding. Just now Minister talked about how we can promote understanding between different communities through sports and arts. Promoting traditional arts is also an important communication avenue. Traditional arts will not only allow Singaporeans to understand their own background and culture, but also build bridges across cultures, helping to build an inclusive and harmonious society.

There are many cross-culture examples in our life. Take Tan Qinglun from Ding Yi Music Company, for example. Qinglun has been studying the dizi, or Chinese flute, since the age of 12. Three years ago, he challenged himself to learn the Indian flute to increase his understanding of music and traditional Asian culture. He became so good at it that he won second prize in the flute open category of the 2014 National Indian Music Competition. Since then, he has gone on to perform in a sold-out fusion concert, which paired him with an Indian drum player and dancer at the Esplanade last year. The tickets were much sought after.

Qinglun's story is just one example of how different cultures can come together to make art that honours our traditions, while allowing new and beautiful forms to emerge from the cross-pollination of cultures. There are many similar examples like Qinglun in the arts circle.

The Government understands the positive effects brought about by traditional arts, hence we will continue to invest in and support the traditional arts. Mr Baey Yam Keng spoke passionately about this last year. I fully agree with him, and I thank him for continuing to champion the traditional arts. This is also one of the MCCY's main focuses in the future.

In 2010, NAC launched a five-year National Traditional Arts Plan. As a result, NAC's direct funding to traditional arts groups has almost quadrupled, from $1.1 million in 2010 to $4.25 million in 2014. In the next five years, we plan to invest a further $25 million in the traditional arts.

But we will not stop there. In my consultations with traditional arts groups over the last year, one theme has emerged repeatedly, and that is the need for a centre for the traditional arts.

We have heard them. To help traditional arts groups develop further, I am pleased to announce that we will look into developing Stamford Arts Centre at Waterloo Street as a centre with a focus on the Traditional Arts. This is in addition to the new investments MCCY is making in our Heritage Institutions and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

The Government and traditional arts groups need to work together to promote traditional arts. This is because traditional arts is not only our ‘roots' , but also forms a bridge of understanding that connects one culture to the next, uniting us as one people.

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( In English ): Mdm Chair, I would like to continue my speech in English. We will continue also foster inclusiveness through sport. As a legacy of the ASEAN Para Games this year, I agree with Miss Penny Low that we need to ensure that persons with disabilities can participate in sports. And sport is not just meant to be the exclusive domain of the able-bodied. Everyone should be able to participate in sports and have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that sport brings to them.

I have seen this first-hand, by simulating what it is like to be disabled. If you thought it is hard enough to be disabled, try playing a sport when you cannot walk. I recently played table-tennis sitting down against Dr William Tan. It was much harder than I thought it would be! So, the result was unsurprising – I was beaten flatly and soundly by Dr Tan. After the game, I thought to myself: actually, who is the real disabled one? Certainly, it is not Dr William Tan.

This experience was a humbling reminder that our para athletes are heroes in many ways. Not only do they have to overcome their personal disabilities, they also have to master a difficult game or sport in order to bring glory to Singapore – to our country.

I therefore feel privileged and honoured to have the opportunity of chairing the Committee for Disability Sports, to ensure that we include, not exclude, anyone who wishes to play a sport in Singapore. This means breaking down barriers where they exist, as Miss Penny Low also noted just now in her speech. There could be barriers to information, access to facilities, or even social acceptance.

For example, we will ensure that more of our public sports facilities are disabled-friendly. One such facility that we have set up is the para table tennis training centre at Yishun Sports Centre. We will also look at how we can improve physical access to our facilities, for example, by building more ramps for swimming pools and holding a central stock of specialised equipment that may be required for disability sports. We will continue to work with other disability organisations to see how we can expand disability sports programmes for the wider community of persons with disabilities, so that they have more opportunities to participate in sports, including from a young age, as Mr David Ong has suggested just now.

Inclusiveness also means making Singapore a welcoming home for different faiths and races, as Mr Arthur Fong and Dr Intan have noted. Thus, the third area we will work on is to foster a harmonious society for all. To do this, we have continuous efforts to promote and maintain social harmony. We seek to enhance the common spaces where all Singaporeans can come together.

Members would have been very familiar with our Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, which promote dialogue and foster friendships across faiths and ethnicities. Mr Arthur Fong asked what the Government has done to support community efforts aimed at fostering communal understanding.

Mdm Chair, we should continue with all the efforts to maintain racial and religious harmony. However, Government should not and cannot be doing this alone. Everyone has a part to play in building Singapore's harmony. But the Government can take the lead in this effort.

This is why we started the Harmony Fund in 2013, to support projects that promote racial and religious harmony in Singapore. Two years later, we have supported 55 projects, and committed a total funding of close to $1.8 million.

One on-going project is Paths, started by four passionate NTU students. They realised that most young people in Singapore know very little about the different religions here, even though we are so religiously diverse. They felt it was important to go beyond what they call the "three Fs" which are often regarded as our common heritage. The three Fs are food, fashion and festival.

The students started to research, and compile the stories of Singaporeans who belong to different faith and religion. For example, through the efforts of these four students, we learn the Taoist talismans have to be written within one breath – you cannot stop. The moment you stop, the magical power is gone. You have to write Taoist talismans in one breath. We also learn that Muslims deliver the Salam – a greeting of peace – at the end of each prayer set. We also learn that Hindu devotees spend 48 days preparing to bear the kavadi , by praying, fasting, and even sleeping on the floor instead of a bed.

Specific rituals aside, the stories all point to the oneness and interconnectedness of our diverse belief systems – that at the heart of each faith is the search to be a better person.

Mdm Chair, MCCY recognises that we are a nation of diverse people, each with our own cultures and stories. That we are different is a fact. That we stay united is a choice.

In 2015, as our nation turns 50, our mission is simple – to build a strong, diverse communities of friends and families, rooted in our Singaporean-ness. I would liken this to our hands that without any of our fingers, it will be difficult to perform its tasks. We will work, play and live together like the fingers on our hands, because to do otherwise is to disown a part of ourselves.

And that is the future we will work towards – a nation united by things that bind us, and a keen appreciation of what makes us uniquely different.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Ms Low Yen Ling): Mdm Chair, with your permission, I would like to show some slides on the screens, please.

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Ms Low Yen Ling: Minister Lawrence Wong shared that our Jubilee Year should also be a year of reflection, about who we are as a society, and what we want to be. Minister of State Sam Tan just earlier spoke about an inclusive Singapore that celebrates our multi-cultural, multi-racial diversity.

In the next 10 minutes, I will be sharing about our desire for Singapore to be a Giving Nation, where every Singaporean participates in a culture of giving and giving becomes a part of us, part of our lives, part of our DNA. And, like what Mr Seah Kian Peng has mentioned earlier, giving is not just about making donation. It is also about giving our time, our efforts and also our skills and our competency. Giving enriches our lives with purpose and perspective. As a Chinese saying goes, “施比受更有福”. Generally it means it is most blessed to give than to receive.

For giving to become part of Singapore's DNA, we should start with our young, like what Members have mentioned earlier. I thank Miss Penny Low for her thoughtful comments on youth volunteerism. Youth Corps Singapore, which we launched last year, is a major new platform to amplify and support the desire and energies of our youth to contribute to building a better Singapore together.

Please allow me to update the House on what has been happening with regards to Youth Corps Singapore. Over the past year, we provided over 200 aspiring Youth Corps members received mentorship and training, and they have launched various projects in a wide range of areas, such as education, special needs, and environment sustainability.

Each and every aspiring Youth Corps member has a unique story to tell. I have met them in action, and they never failed to inspire me with their passion, with their boundless energy and also creative ideas.

Hui Yee is one such volunteer whom I had the pleasure of meeting on two separate occasions. Hui Yee is a full-time Special Education teacher at Eden School. Her passion for helping those with learning difficulties motivated her to volunteer with Youth Corps Singapore. As a teacher of students with ASD, Hui Yee is in a job that is both rewarding and challenging. Yet, Hui Yee has also chosen to devote her free time to help out at an adult day activity centre for the intellectually challenged.

Hui Yee and her fellow aspiring Youth Corps members noticed that the clients at the centre and the centre staff communicated through very vague hand gestures. Her team set up to improve their communications by using symbols on a specially designed board. And, over a couple of months, this mechanism helped everyone, the clients as well as the centre staff, better understand each other and communicate better, such that the client has enough courage to venture out of the centre and interact with the community.

Youth Corps Singapore is about bringing together passionate individuals like Hui Yee to benefit the community. Even though each aspiring Youth Corps member has many commitments to juggle, be it work, study, family and even marriage, what unites and motivates each and every one of them is their desire to be part of the change they wish to see in our nation. At MCCY, we are very heartened by their passion and the way they are impacting our society, our Singapore.

Indeed, with this new platform to do good, The Youth Corps Singapore is sowing seeds of service doing the most formative years of life. These seeds could germinate into a lifelong journey of service and giving sets us apart as a giving nation.

Mr Alex Yam earlier asked how we intend to enhance youth space to better support our youth's aspirations. Through a consultation exercise that stretched from October to December 2014 that involved more than 1,000 youths, the youths indicated most interest in music and dance. To better support youth interest in this area, we shall be revamping SCAPE in the coming year. The physical space at SCAPE will be refreshed. There will be more space and better equipment for our young Singaporeans to hone and display their talent. For example, we envisage an alfresco bandstand where young musicians can regularly perform in front of their peers.

Programmes at the SCAPE will be organised by our youth for the youth. SCAPE will further spotlight our youth talents by hosting events like the inaugural National Youth Film Awards, the YouTube FanFest, and the 10th edition of the Shine Festival. SCAPE will connect young musicians like "The Sam Willows" and the Gentle Bones" to the wider youth audience through school performances with the SCAPE Invasion tour.

To inspire our youth to help the less fortunate in their backyard, *SCAPE will expand its community specific programmes and community trails at different neighbourhood.

Next, our young working adults are also getting into the spirit of giving. I will give an example. Take the "50 for 50" ground-up initiative – it is one good example. In fact, I was just at their closing ceremony in early February where I witnessed for myself the positive energy that the 50 young working adults generated alongside their corporate donors, the VWOs as well as the beneficiaries.

This initiative brought together 50 young adults to partner with companies like UOB, the Banyan Tree to fund raise for 50 worthy community and social causes. One of the"50 for 50" participant is this gentleman, Mr Jesher Loi, who is a Board Member of *SCAPE and also the Director of Branding and Market Development at Ya Kun International. Not only did he rally many business owners to contribute to his cause, he also got his company Ya Kun to pitch in by donating 50 cents to charity for every Christmas Frostyz drink that is sold during the Christmas season.

Companies like Ya Kun see themselves as part of a building nation. They recognise the role businesses can play in building the community with their contributions. Corporate giving strengthens our society. Companies in Singapore have indeed been responding to the evolving community needs. For the past 10 years, gross donations by companies to Institutions of Public Character have doubled between 2004 and 2013.

To step up corporate giving, we hope to see many more companies not only donating, but also rallying and also enabling their staff to contribute their time, their skills, their talent, their competencies. Like what Mr Seah Kian Peng has mentioned, companies have an enormous influence in nurturing the culture of giving in our working adults.

Mr Seah spoke passionately about urging the top leadership of companies to drive giving efforts, and we agree with him. This is indeed what our partner, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre or NVPC, aims to do. NVPC is engaging C-Suite executives so as to broker partnerships amongst like-minded corporate leaders and match the companies to charitable causes. It is also developing a Singapore Roadmap for Corporate Giving, which will guide companies in their journey of giving back and as well as recognising some of the best practices.

I talked to the NVPC colleagues and they shared with me what they aspire to do is for each and every company in Singapore, over time, to make "goodness the business of every organisation". That is the aspiration. An example of one such company is Changi Airport Group (CAG) that is trying to make goodness part of its business.

CAG had partnered Northlight School through SportCares, a SportSG programme that links those in need with volunteers and donors through sports programmes and life-skills workshops. CAG fully funded Northlight School's participation in a football programme called Saturday Night Lights. In addition, its employees volunteer as trainers and mentors in the programme. Every Saturday Night is a time where the CAG staff and the Northlight students look forward to. SportCares has touched the lives of more than 5,000 students and youths over the past three years through such corporate partnership.

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One such youth whose life was touched and changed is 13-year-old Zul. Last year, Zul thought that his dream of becoming a competitive runner was really over when his school changed its focus from running to football. He took out his frustrations on his parents and back then, fell in with bad company. His father, an ambulance driver was really at his wits' end. Then he read about SportCares, CareRunners, he put Zul under the SportCares programme and soon, Zul was training with CareRunners under the guidance of national coach, Elangovan.

Elangovan immediately recognised Zul's running potential and begin developing Zul in sprints and middle distances. In less than three months, Zul won his first ever race in 800 m event of the Akira Swift Championship with the time of 2 minutes and 19 seconds.

Zul caught the attention of the Singapore Sports School and in January this year, he earned a coveted place there. We are all very happy for him. The story does not end there. Zul is now a volunteer at the 28th SEA Games. Just last Saturday, Zul and his sister helped out at our 90-day countdown to the Sea Games. As you can see, it is really wonderful how Zul is giving back to society because he has experienced first-hand how SportsCare has made a difference in his life over the course of one year.

Besides NVPC and SportCares, the Community Development Council (CDCs), are also actively promoting a culture of giving back. Earlier, Mr Patrick Tay had asked about the role of the CDCs.

In 2014, the CDCs worked with more than 500 companies that gave back to their communities. For example, the Southwest CDC has joined hands with many civic-minded companies in partnership with the VWO in the district to help the less fortunate.

One example is Amos International, a logistic firm in Southwest. They volunteered in food deliveries and outings for less privileged children. Since 2010, it has reached out to more than six hundred people. Now, switching attention back to individual, one is never too old to volunteer. And I can give Members a very interesting example.

Let me share very briefly the story of Mr and Mrs Pang – our Pioneer Generation. Mr and Mrs Pang have been married for 50 years. Yes – they got married in 1965. They ran a provision shop together. And now, their partnership at work has evolved into a partnership of volunteerism at O'Joy Care Services, an Eldercare Service Centre.

Mr and Mrs Pang head to this centre four days a week, for three hours each time and help out in exercise and drama activities for the elderly. They also manage the logistics of these activities with the managerial skills that they have gained from running their provision shop. At MCCY, we hope that there will be more volunteers like Mr and Mrs Pang as we create volunteer opportunities that are attuned to our seniors' motivations, our seniors' strengthens and also our seniors' interest.

Our seniors have a lifetime of skills. In Mandarin we say, “人生经验”. They have a lifetime of skills and experience to contribute to our society. Our seniors, they can also benefit from volunteering. In fact, studies have shown a positive association between volunteering and both mental and physical well-being.

To find out how to better encouraged and support our seniors in their interest to volunteer, we have sought the feedback and views of over 100 senior volunteers. The key motivating factors, we realised, of volunteering, were related to: (i) desire to learn new skills; (ii) their desire to set a positive example for the younger generation; and (iii) to escape from boredom at home.

Some of the challenges that they face were getting a good match between the skills that they have and the volunteer host organisations that is needed. Family and personal commitments as well as health, and the ease of accessibility to the locations where their help was needed were also factors that also influence their volunteering decisions. We can well understand that.

The feedback helped MCCY and Southwest CDC to pilot the design of a pipeline of initiatives to engage senior volunteers in Southwest District. These include matching volunteers with the needs of the local community, and a training grant for senior volunteers.

Now, on this note, let me wrap up with a very interesting story of an 87-year-old volunteer, Mr Wee Char Lee. Mr Wee is a father of three and a grandfather of six. He was a cash register technician for forty years before retiring in 1987. As a youth during World War II, he was an air observer volunteer. His job back then was to patrol the streets at night and look out for bombers. Whenever he saw any bombers, his job was to run and warn everyone else to shut off the lights to avoid detection. A very important job.

More than 70 years later, Mr Wee is still volunteering. Kudos to him! Two or three times a week, Mr Wee lends a listening ear to seniors at the Presbyterian Community Services. As Members can see, giving back is really part of Mr Wee's DNA. We asked him and he said that, "I find it satisfying to be able to help others in need, and to see other people happy. If I do not do this work, I would be bored."

Like what Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister of State Sam Tan have mentioned, this year, as we celebrate SG50, many Singaporeans have expressed the hope that giving will increasingly be part of our national identity. Giving will become our way of life. If we continue to nurture a culture of giving from the young to the old at every stage of our lives with every opportunity, we can certainly make giving part of Singapore's DNA. On this note, we hope everyone in the House will join us all in realising this vision of Singapore as a Giving Nation.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Mdm Chair, let me wrap up by turning to sports as an important part of our culture and social fabric, and with your permission, Madam, I would like to show some slides on the screen.

The Chairman: Yes, please proceed.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Over the years, we have continuously invested in sports. We have worked hard to increase accessibility and opportunities for Singaporeans to participate in sports. This is because there is nothing like sports that can excite people, and bring us together. Our efforts have yielded results. The weekly sports participation rate has increased from 42% in 2011 to above 60%.

The opening of the Sports Hub last year has been an additional catalyst to developing our sporting scene. Our athletes now have world-class facilities to train and compete in. Singaporeans too benefit from these facilities. Every day, the indoor halls at the Sports Hub would be packed with people playing badminton, basketball, netball, volleyball and table tennis. Some community groups have also become a regular sight at the Sports Hub, such as the Shin Zhong Taiji Quan Association, which organises its weekly Taiji sessions at the Sports Hub.

Last year, there were more than 60 sports events held at the Sports Hub, with attendances of nearly a quarter million across all the sports venues. This year, we will see an even more vibrant calendar of sporting events.

But the key highlights of the year will be the 28th SEA Games in June and the 8th ASEAN Para Games in December. This is the first time we are hosting the SEA Games after 22 long years, and the very first time ever that we are hosting the ASEAN Para Games. These are two excellent opportunities for all of us to rally together, to put up a good show, and to cheer for our athletes.

We will field the largest ever Team Singapore contingent in the history of both Games. We are looking at close to 700 athletes for the SEA Games and 100 para athletes for the ASEAN Para Games. Our athletes are not new to major competitions, but this year, the competition will be something special for all of them, because they are competing in front of home crowd and they are bringing glory to Singapore, right here in Singapore.

This is why they are going all out, making tremendous sacrifices, and putting extra effort into their training. Amongst them is 28-year-old cyclist, Dinah Chan. She participated in the last SEA Games in Myanmar and three months before her race, her plans were thrown into disarray because of a car accident. But Dinah bounced back into training within four days of the accident, and she eventually won Singapore's first cycling SEA Games Gold Medal in over 16 years. Till today, whenever she hears the national anthem being played out during her school's assembly session, because she is a teacher, she said that she would always remember what it was like to be able to stand on the podium in Myanmar and she hopes to do so again in Singapore.

The same can be said of our para athletes, whose stories truly reflect the triumph of the human spirit. Some of you may be familiar with para sailor Jovin Tan, who is a three-time paralympian. Born with cerebral palsy, he picked up sailing at the age of 15. Even though he cannot swim; he picked up sailing. He used to require assistance to get in and out of his boat. But during the training session, with the help of his coach, he learnt how to crawl from his wheelchair onto his boat all by himself, so that he can be fully independent and he would not need to rely on volunteers. It may seem like a very small thing. This is not about the race; it is really about getting from the wheelchair to the boat. But it shows the tremendous resilience and spirit that our athletes have, and wanting to be able to excel at what they do. That is why Jovin is also training very hard for the upcoming ASEAN Para Games in December.

Just as athletes are raising their games, Sport Singapore is also doing everything it can to support them. Take archer Tan Si Lie, for example. He's a student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), but has taken time off to train full-time for the SEA Games. We are providing him with enhanced training assistance grants to support his full-time training load, and also additional programme support for his overseas competitions.

This has allowed him to train freely without worrying about the cost of these overseas trips and also his archery equipment. He is not the only one enjoying such support. Altogether, we have close to 400 athletes on what we call the Final Push Programme – to provide additional resources and support to our athletes, so that they can focus on their preparations for the Games.

The Government is doing its utmost to support our athletes. In fact, if you speak to some of our veteran sport administrators, they will tell you that this is the most comprehensive preparations that we have done so far for a major Games. But the biggest support and motivation that our athletes can get is from Singaporeans directly. I join Members like Mr Seah Kian Peng and Mr Arthur Fong in calling on Singaporeans to rally together and get behind our athletes.

There are many ways to show support. The first of course is to come for the Games. Make sure you attend and cheer for our athletes during the competitions. This is why we have ensured that half of the events at the SEA Games are free, and the prices for the ticketed events are kept affordable – as low as $5, with additional concession for students, senior citizens and full-time National Servicemen.

We have also reached out to friends and family members of Team Singapore athletes, who will also be able to purchase discounted tickets through their respective National Sports Associations. I am happy to report that the tickets sales so far have been progressing well and I would urge everyone to get their tickets soon because they may well be sold out before too long. I also want to call on employers, be it in the public or private sectors. Employers, please grant your staff time-off to attend the Games, so that you can show your support too.

In the words of our national sprinter Calvin Kang, "Support from Singaporeans is important, because this is home, and home is where the heart belongs." So the Games will be a rare opportunity for Singaporeans to come together and show that we are part of one team Singapore. And I would call on everyone to show their support wholeheartedly.

We had a glimpse of what it means to have such strong home ground support last weekend when 40,000 people came together to mark the 90-day countdown to the SEA Games and we unfurled the largest ever team Singapore flag on Orchard Road.

Our SEA Games merchandise store has also been well received. It is very popular. The items, more importantly – have been created with a social cause as was suggested by Miss Penny Low. Amongst them are acrylic paintings and tote bags produced and packaged by trainees from the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) and the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) respectively. And there also Braille gel bracelets produced to help raise awareness for the visually-impaired. And I am glad to say that part of the sale proceeds will go to the SportCares Foundation and The Straits Times Pocket Money Fund. So, they will be supporting a good cause.

Over the coming weeks, we will be stepping up our engagement activities all over Singapore. We will dress up our housing estates and key buildings with Team Singapore banners. The Games torch will be travelling to the communities and schools as part of our engagement effort to create even more awareness and excitement.

One activity which has proven to be quite popular is the Make-a-NILA initiative. NILA is the mascot for the Games and in every Games, there will be a mascot and the podium finishers will get a stuffed toy representing the mascot.

Usually they are factory produced in all the Games that we have seen. But in the SEA Games, we decided to do something special because these mascots are personally sewn by Singaporeans and these hand-made NILAs, together with personalised messages of well wishes, will then be presented to the winning athletes. That is the activity that you can engage in the community and it has been very popular.

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In all our engagements, we also aim to link our athletes closer with the schools and communities they come from, in order to strengthen that sense of connection with our athletes. When Singaporeans cheer for a Team Singapore athlete, it is not someone distant that they read about in the newspapers or watch on TV, but it will be a person they can all connect with – someone who has gone to the same school as us, or someone who lives with us in our neighbourhoods.

In short, we are celebrating our own hometown sporting heroes. Let us say you are living in Marine Parade, you may soon see billboards like this, the one you see on screen here showing support, basically saying "Marine Parade Cheers for our Hometown Sporting Heroes" and showing support for Team Singapore athletes in the same estate, like swimmer Joseph Schooling and sailor Jodie Lai. We are doing this in all our HDB estates and HDB towns.

We hope Singaporeans will join us in all of these activities. Some may wish to do more, and have done so. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of our volunteers, whom we call Team Nila. We started this call for volunteers two years ago, and the response has been overwhelming. It has far exceeded our targets. We now have about 17,000 volunteers for the SEA Games and 6,000 performers for the Opening Ceremony of the Games. They come from all walks of life, and they are committed to giving their time, energy and passion for a successful Games.

One of the volunteers is Mr Tang Chun Tuck. In fact, you know, he is one of the rare volunteers who has been involved in all the editions of the Games hosted in Singapore – 1973, 1983, 1993 and now this year. He was a first-aider at the 1973 and 1983 Games. He helped to coordinate the work of the Red Cross in 1993. And this year, instead of donning his Red Cross uniform, he has decided to take on the role of a media relations officer, putting the skills he has honed in over 30 years with the civil service to good use. And I can attest to the skills that he has because in fact I met him when I was a very young officer working in the Ministry of Finance. He was my colleague and I think he would certainly make a lot of contributions to the Games. With the dedication and passion of volunteers like him, I am confident that we can ensure a positive experience for all Singaporeans and for our friends from the region.

Mdm Chair, the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games will no doubt be the highlight of our sporting calendar this year. But at the end of the day, when the crowds leave and when we bid farewell to our regional neighbours, it is what we leave behind that matters more.

What is the legacy that we want to leave behind? One important legacy is to further strengthen the culture of sports among Singaporeans. I am sure the SEA Games will spark interest in sports – we will have more people coming to cheer for Team Singapore, more students and volunteers getting involved, and more people participating in sports.

But all this should not just be a short-lived temporary phenomenon. How do we sustain the momentum? I think the best way is to step up our initiatives and programmes under ActiveSG.

We started ActiveSG as our national movement for sports. We provided a $100 credit to all new members. So far, more than 700,000 have signed up for ActiveSG. About three in five members have used their free credits to book facilities and join sports programmes.

Through ActiveSG, we have enhanced our sports facilities and introduced new and innovative programmes at our sports centres. Utilisation rates at our gyms, our pools and our sports halls have increased by about 30%. It is encouraging to see not just existing members but also new converts to sports.

Take the example of Mr Sujimy Mohd and his family. Like many Singaporeans, their typical weekends would be spent on watching movies, going out to eat, or shopping in a mall. That is before ActiveSG. As he puts it, "In Singapore, it's very easy to just go out and 'makan', or check out the latest mall. You need to consciously tell yourself that you need to do something different".

Now, with the improvements we have made through ActiveSG, Mr Sujimy and his wife bring their children to the Jurong West swimming complex every weekend, and they are enjoying a more active, healthier and, may I say, happier, lifestyle.

Mr David Ong asked how ActiveSG can complement the school sports ecosystem to nurture the sporting habit from young. This is indeed a key area of focus for us in the coming year.

ActiveSG's partnership with schools involves programming at several levels. First, we will continue to ramp up our School Holiday Sports Programme. These holiday sessions expose students to a variety of new sports, like archery, floorball, futsal, inline skating and ultimate frisbee. When we first piloted this programme, we were not sure about the response, especially for sessions in the September holidays when it was close to the year-end examinations. But we were pleasantly surprised because many of these programmes ended up being over-subscribed, not just by children, but also by their parents who participated alongside their kids. We will build on this, and also the strong interest among the schools that are partnering us for the SEA Games, to roll out even more programmes in the coming year.

ActiveSG also works closely with some schools to broaden the opportunities for their students to participate in sports. You hear feedback from time to time that students do not get a chance to play sports in school unless they make it to the school team. I should say that this is not new because even when I was in Primary school in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I remember I wanted to play football, but I was not good enough to make it to the school team, so I could not join the CCA, or then they call it the ECA.

Our schools are better equipped today, but I can appreciate that it is not always easy for them to accommodate every request for involvement in sports. What we are doing in ActiveSG is to complement the school offerings and provide even more opportunities for young people to get involved in sports. For example, in Serangoon Secondary School, with the support of ActiveSG, students now have a chance to play floorball, even though it is not offered as a CCA.

At Cedar Girls' Secondary, the athletics team now uses the training facility at the Kallang Practice Track. So with the support of ActiveSG, we provide coaching expertise and programming assistance to the school and in such a way that students who are not part of the school athletics team can now also participate in track and field activities.

ActiveSG will also look at starting more competitive leagues among the schools. For example, we recently partnered the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS) to organise a developmental league. This was for the teams that did not qualify for the National Round of the B Division Inter-School Basketball Championships. Each team could also field more players than usual. They can field up to 15 instead of 12. So again those who do not make it to the school team now get a chance to play and they can compete with one another at about the same skill level.

That is what we are trying to achieve through ActiveSG – to provide maximum opportunities for our youths to participate in sports, and so that we start this from young and they can develop a lifelong interest in sports.

Besides better programming, we are also improving our infrastructure under the Sports Facilities Master Plan and several Members, like Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Mr Arthur Fong asked about this. As Members are aware, we have started work on several major projects in the Master Plan – the Regional Sports Centre in Tampines and Punggol, as well as the new sports centre in Sembawang, and the redevelopment of the Ang Mo Kio Swimming Complex.

There are other developments in the pipeline. These will be done at a later phase, probably after 2020. This is part of a broader phasing of public sector infrastructure projects due to the constraints we face, especially in terms of foreign workers. But in the interim, before the new centres are ready, we will step up our programming efforts in these areas and we will do that in Yishun and other estates as well.

Our investments in new sports facilities are also necessary for another important goal, which is to break down the barriers that often prevent people with disabilities from participating in sports. Minister of State Sam Tan spoke about this just now. And as highlighted by Miss Penny Low, the ASEAN Para Games offers us a very good opportunity for us to leave behind a real legacy for participation in disability sport in Singapore.

That is why we formed the Committee for Disability Sports which is chaired by Minister of State Sam Tan, which will tackle the longer term issues needed to raise participation in disability sports and for more people to get involved. We want sports to be inclusive, so that all Singaporeans can experience the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.

Another legacy for the Games is to have a robust High Performance Sports (HPS) system to support the aspirations of our sporting talents, and several Members spoke about this as well. We are doing a lot to prepare our athletes for this year's Games. But again it should not be once-off and it is not just because we are the host this year. Our investments in High Performance Sports also will be sustained – they are part of a broader plan to systematically build up and strengthen our sporting system.

For example, we have a spexScholarship scheme where athletes with the potential to excel at the Asian Games, World Championships or Olympic Games level can enjoy significant financial and programming support.

Fencer Lim Wei Wen is one such athlete who is now benefiting from the scheme. He had difficult family circumstances and was raised by his grandparents. He took to fencing in ITE, but almost had to give it up when he needed to find a job to support the family. But when the Singapore Fencing Association heard about the new scholarship scheme, they put his name up, and he qualified and received the award in 2013. Since then, he has gone on to win Singapore's first ever fencing medal at the recent Incheon Asian Games. This is not just South East Asia, it is at the Asian level he has medalled and he is aiming even higher.

We now have 70 top athletes who are focusing on full-time training with support under the spexScholarship. After the SEA Games and Para Games, if there are more athletes who demonstrate excellent performance and wish to go on to higher levels, the support will be there for them.

Our high performance sports system will also support male athletes with National Service obligations. We will help them secure time-off to train and represent Singapore at major games. We will support and track those with exceptional talent. And if they meet the performance benchmarks, which means having the potential to medal at top-level international sports competitions like the Olympic Games, we will support them in their application for deferment from full-time National Service.

Besides supporting our top performing athletes, we are also engaging our various stakeholders, including the National Sports Associations (NSAs), employers and schools. We have moved our NSAs to a baseline block funding approach, so that they can have more certainty to plan for multi-years. This fiscal year, almost all NSAs will get a higher baseline funding. NSAs can tap on flexible programme funding to develop new initiatives and focus areas. These could include training and competitions locally and abroad with sporting clubs. Overall, funding for NSAs will increase by close to 10% in Fiscal Year 2015 compared to the previous year.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is one such NSA that would benefit from all the investments that we are putting in. I think Mr Faisal Manap asked about this. There is a task force that is looking at setting out the goals and the strategic directions for the Singapore Football in the coming years. They are hard at work and I would say that their initial thinking is very much in line with what some of the suggestions that were raised by the Member which is to focus on youth development. They will be sharing the task force's recommendations very soon in the coming months.

To help athletes balance their pursuit of High Performance Sports with their career aspirations, we have also introduced a new spexCareer Scheme.

Under this scheme, we have 21 partner companies. They are committed to emplacing athletes on internships, apprenticeships, part-time or full-time employment and that is because they see the value of employing an athlete. They feel that an athlete embodies the winning spirit, embodies the right values of teamwork and resilience and they want to employ and recruit athletes.

For example, part-time Judo coach and athlete Ang Xuan Yi is one who has benefited because through the matching and through this new scheme, we have helped her to land a full-time position with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG). And this insurance company has agreed to hold the place for her so that she can train for the SEA Games, and have even offered an opportunity for her to head to their Japan head office's Judo Training Centre for an exchange programme. These are companies we have in our network and we will grow the network so that we can offer more such opportunities for our athletes.

Madam, the Government alone cannot ensure the viability of a career in sports. This remains a personal decision and commitment that an individual has to make. But what we have done and will continue to do is to put in place a support system for those with sporting aspirations and the desire to fully realise their potential.

To further strengthen this ecosystem, we have also set up a committee to review the Singapore Sports School. The Committee has been seeking inputs from various groups and studying the approaches and models in other countries. One area that they are studying is how to extend the development pathway for student athletes, so that they can continue to benefit from a supportive environment that would enable them to study, train and develop as an athlete, beyond their Secondary school years. These post-Secondary years are particularly crucial because athlete development often spans late adolescence and early adulthood.

One idea is for the Sports School to offer predominantly six plus years through-train programmes within the school, and also with stronger linkages with Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), including local and overseas universities so that there will be a wider range of athlete-friendly post-Secondary pathways. The Committee will be finalising its report after further consultation and the full report will be released later this year.

Mdm Chair, in conclusion, there are few things in life that rally our emotions and fire up the Singapore spirit like sports. And there has never been a better opportunity for Singaporeans to come together. As I have said, it is the first time in 22 years that we are hosting the SEA Games, but this is the only time that you will have the SEA Games together with the 50th Birthday of Singapore. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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The last time we hosted the SEA Games in 1993, we saw sporting heroes like Joscelin Yeo, Fandi Ahmad in action. We saw bowler Grace Young who, some of you may remember, was the one who lit the cauldron during the Games. Grace also won a gold medal in the women's bowling doubles event, and we met her recently and she said, "That medal – that gold medal – was not just for me, my team or my federation. That medal was also for the retired uncle who bowled just a few lanes away when I was training; it was for the cleaning lady who stood behind smiling every time I looked up from my routine; it was for the taxi driver who asked me for tips on what wrist guard was best for him. That medal was for every Singaporean."

When the SEA Games comes in June and the ASEAN Para Games in December, the spotlight is not just on our athletes; it will be on all of us coming together as One Team Singapore. So, let us all do our part to celebrate this sporting milestone, and make our Golden Jubilee a truly meaningful and exciting one.

The Chairman: We have a few minutes for clarifications. Anyone? Mr Baey Yam Keng.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Thank you, Madam. In Mandarin, please.

( In Mandarin ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The Minister of State mentioned that the Government will set aside $25 million to support traditional arts activities in the next five years. I am pleased to know that.

I would like to ask the Minister of State what the Government is doing specifically to support local traditional arts.

The Minister of State also mentioned that the Stamford Arts Centre will become a traditional arts centre. I know there are also non-traditional arts groups over there, for example, The Theatre Practice and Singapore Broadway Playhouse. Will these groups be relocated? Thank you.

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong: Mdm Chair, I would like to respond in Mandarin.

( In Mandarin ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to thank Mr Baey Yam Keng for his question. It is an important and crucial question, and I may need a few minutes to explain the Government's policy as well as the development of our traditional arts scene.

Firstly, we recognise that the traditional arts groups need space for their performances, practices and administration purpose, so we will support them in terms of hardware. Besides providing grants to the arts groups to defray rental cost, we also help them to relocate to Goodman Arts Centre and Aliwal Arts Centre. We will explore ways to develop the Stamford Art Centre into a centre with a focus on the traditional arts.

The Member asked about the fate of groups currently located at the Stamford Arts Centre. NAC is in discussion with these groups and will be making arrangements for them. After the redevelopment, existing tenants can apply to come back to the centre. So they already have arrangements in place.

Secondly, in terms of software, we will also help the groups become professionalised, help them develop their capabilities, so that they can create new content and productions.

Thirdly, we will continue to provide funding for these traditional art groups to promote traditional arts through different platforms. For example, we strongly encourage and support them in organising national competitions like the National Chinese Music Competition and Indian Music Competition.

Fourthly, through NAC's Artist-in-School Scheme, we also promote traditional arts in schools, so that students are exposed to traditional arts from young; they may become interested and eventually become part of the traditional arts scene or an audience member.

Lastly, in order to better develop our traditional arts scene, we will focus on training and preserving traditional art forms. In the next few years, NAC will launch a scheme to encourage the traditional arts groups to document their history, knowledge and stories, so that their traditional art form can be preserved through text, images and records.

This is our multi-pronged approach. If our traditional arts groups can be fully involved and support these initiatives, I believe that the future of our traditional arts will be bright.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Thank you, Madam. I have three questions. The first two is on cycling. At last year's COS, I proposed building a velodrome for cycling. In fact, in the Minister's speech just now he mentioned our national cyclist Dinah Chan who was involved in a road accident while training for the SEA Games, we need to protect them and make sure they have a safe environment for training. Can I ask the Minister what is the outcome of the study because the last time he said that he would study the proposal of building a velodrome seriously? That is first.

Second is in Parliament several times, I have asked for a replacement site for the world-class BMX track with the demolishing of the Tampines Bike Park. Last year, the Minister said that the replacement site will be provided by the end of last year. That timeline has passed; can I ask the Minister when will he be ready to announce the venue of the replacement site and plans for it?

And, finally, it is about traditional arts. I mentioned in my speech, the Japan's tradition of honouring national treasures and also individuals who have mastered their craft and calling them "living national treasures". Several countries have adopted that scheme, the United States, South Korea, France and Australia. I would urge the Minister to explore whether Singapore should also adopt a similar scheme to make sure that the best of our local traditions are preserved and passed on to the next generation.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, on the cycling and the velodrome, we are indeed studying it very seriously. It is not a trivial matter because the land take is going to be quite significant and there will be trade-offs to manage because once you put something like that in a particular location it means a certain opportunity cost for other sports facilities as well.

As I have mentioned in my reply to the Member previously, in the meantime, we have been supporting our athletes to train in different locations, not just in Singapore but also overseas, and we are studying seriously this issue of the possibility of a velodrome within Singapore. We are not ready yet but the study is still underway and we are looking at possible locations and the feasibility of it.

On the BMX track, that is something that is certainly more immediate in our horizon. We are looking at a particular site within the Old Airport square and the plans are being finalised. Sports Singapore will likely announce this in due course.

On traditional arts, I agree that we should indeed find ways to remember and to hold up our "living national treasures" as the Member mentioned. These are our master craftsmen, our master artists, people who help us to celebrate our intangible heritage and culture. We already have many schemes that do that in Singapore today through the NAC schemes where we honour our master craftsmen and our master artists, and we will see what more we can do to enhance these recognition of such individuals.

Mr David Ong: Thank you, Madam. I spoke quite passionately about Haw Par Villa a while ago and I know that it has got a very strong historical as well as cultural merit, and is worth preserving. So I am going ask the Ministry what plans the Ministry has in preserving this place and, of course, to remake Haw Par Villa to make it an exciting destination for the young and for all – not only the young but for the population at large.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, with regard to Haw Par Villa, there is already an effort which the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is leading. We are involved in the overall discussion, and they are looking at what to do with the place, what more it can be done and they are consulting various stakeholders. I would say that this example also highlights the need for us in many of these things, when we talk about heritage, to take an overall approach. It indeed cuts across many agencies as Prof Tan Tai Yong mentioned just now. He talked about all the different agencies that are involved in heritage. And that is to be expected because no single agency can own heritage. It is part of all of us. The National Heritage Board will be the champion for heritage and they will promote heritage in all the different aspects, including in Haw Par Villa, but there may be different lead agencies in charge of some of these projects because they fall under different ambits and there are different agencies pushing them.

With regard to Haw Par Villa, there is a lead agency in STB, they are driving this, we are involved in it and I am sure they will be putting out some updates in due course as well.

Dr Benedict Tan (Nominated Member): Mdm Chair, I commend the Minister for the comprehensive suite of support of services for our athletes. In particular, I am heartened to hear that ActiveSG has a defined role of complementing the schools' sport CCA system. Can I ask the Minister if he will work with MOE to take it a step further to recognise students' participation in ActiveSG sports activities, to allow them to get CCA points for that?

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, we are indeed hoping to progress on this particular matter with the Ministry of Education. We have been in discussion with them. There are some considerations, of course, in terms of thinking about the quality of the programmes. It is not just about sports from the MOE's point of view, there is a certain pedagogy that is involved that is important. Teaching of values is important. This is an important consideration which we recognise. It is part of the whole education system.

As a first step, as I have mentioned, we are complementing what they are doing. What we would like to do certainly is to go beyond just complementing what they are doing to even potentially offering programmes under ActiveSG which may, indeed, earn CCA points as the Member has suggested. This is something we are talking to MOE and schools about. It may take time to evolve. As I have said, it is much more complex and there are different stakeholders involved. It becomes more than just sport participation. It is education and the values to impart through that programme become relevant and therefore that conversation is happening with MOE now.

The Chairman: Mr Baey Yam Keng, do you wish to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Thank you, Madam. I would like to thank Minister Yaacob, Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister of State Sam Tan, Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling for sharing the Ministry's plans for the year and ahead, and also taking time to clarify Members' queries. We are heartened to note that MCCY is not only investing in the "hardware" but also the "software" and "heartware" for Singapore and Singaporeans. I hope the Ministry will also continue to consider the various suggestions made by Members during this debate and incorporate them in your future plans and future budgets.

I would like to also thank the Permanent Secretary and the staff of MCCY and its family for their hard work with the SG50 celebrations and the impending SEA Game and ASEAN Para Games. The staff must be very busy. I would also like to take this opportunity to urge Singaporeans and the public to support the Ministry's efforts in these arenas. Let us be good hosts for SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games –

The Chairman: Mr Baey, not another speech, please. Just withdraw the amendment.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sure. Thank you. We wish Team Singapore athletes all the best. Last but not least, to wish our Minister Lawrence Wong a very fruitful trip to Bonn and, hopefully, he will bring us back a nice present for Singapore Golden Jubilee. With that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,779,933,200 for Head X ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $930,705,100 for Head X ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.