HIDDEN_HEAD Q – MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Head Q – Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts

The Chairman: Head Q – Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Miss Penny Low.

KPIs and Concrete Results from Arts Events

Miss Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates be reduced by $100.

Sir, what is a place with production lines but no arts and culture? It is called a plain vanilla factory. Sir, what is a nation without arts and culture? It will be without a soul and imagination. Would this be a place to attract the top talents? Obviously not. In the race for top talents, a strong arts and culture sector turns a high-skill, high-innovation economy into a great, liveable place. I applaud MICA’s effort to promote the Renaissance City plan. In 2006, MICA spent $31.2 million to support hundreds of artists and events. Revenue generated amounted to $3.45 billion in 2006 and $3.67 billion in 2007 – a tremendous value-add to our economy. However, I fear the efforts at promoting arts and culture could be shortchanged by the narrow criteria set as definitions of success and KPIs.

MICA prides itself on supporting hundreds of arts-related activities with thousands of attendees. Funding criteria are very much numbers-focused. However, quantity is not always quality. Arts and culture take time to evolve and be integrated into everyday life. A more sustainable way of nurturing the arts is to identify key stakeholders and focus on building the Renaissance City eco-system. To this end, why not have yearly awards to glam up and focus the sectors on measurements that build the eco-system? Awards can be open to all arts-related events, including artistic productions, fashion shows, corporate and grassroots events, indoor and outdoor performances, and so on. Some suggestions are:

(1) "The most experiential and creative arts production of the year Award", judged based on the innovative idea, impact an event has on its audience, audience participation strategy, inspiration quotient, and so on.
(2) "The arts or event organiser of the year Award", judged based on the evidence of clear strategic thinking, marketing effectiveness, cost per audience, return on investment and audience interaction.

(3) We could also have "The best backroom support provider of the year Award", given to the props or audio visual technical experts that enhance the artists’ works. Criteria include how innovative solutions to a client’s brief were arrived at and executed, cost effectiveness and audience endorsement.

(4) We could also have "The most buzz event of the year Award", judged based on its media hit rates.

The list goes on, but it suffices to show that arts and culture can be measured with a more liberal set of KPIs than mere audience numbers. Otherwise, events that offer goodie bags and lucky draws may overwhelm the funding pie. KPIs should aim at nurturing the critical paths and stakeholders, involving the private, public and people sectors to produce a multiplier effect. Nurture the stakeholders, provide a favourable tax and open environment and allow the arts and culture eco-system to flourish.

Finally, can the Minister provide an update on:

(1) The excellent Renaissance City Plan, 3.0?
(2) The School of the Arts?
(3) National Arts Gallery?

Renaissance City Plan

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Sir, I applaud MICA for its bold step to turn Singapore into a globalised city through its Renaissance City plan. Amidst the flurry of the infrastructure built and the tickets sold, I would like to pause and ask: Are we a creative city or a karaoke city?

A creative city is marked by innovation, ideas and an authentic cultural vibrancy. A karaoke city is one which excels at stylish imitation, taking a well-sung song and putting its own rendition on it. The Integrated Resorts, the Singapore Flyer and the F1 race, these add to our buzz, but I would argue they do little to project Singapore as a creative city. They may be good ideas, but they are not ours. We have the Arts Festival, the Biennale and many arts events. But we should take stock. How have we invested in creating something unique which builds on our strong traditions and heritage and which will leave a cultural legacy not only for Singapore but for the rest of the world? How are we tapping our indigenous cultural capital to recreate our city to turn public spaces into aesthetic experiences that move our spirit? How generously and actively do we commission artistic and musical works to Singaporeans, take risks with them and pioneer their work in Singapore and other parts of the world?

We need to devote more funds to our Singapore arts groups. The budget for our National Arts Council seems puny, compared to that of the arts councils in major cultural cities. This year, I see that it receives 2.6% more over last year's budget. This will hardly keep up with inflation. What progress has been made to inculcate an appreciation of our heritage and to strengthen the Singapore heartbeat to the creation and sharing of Singapore stories, be it film, theatre, dance, music, literature or the visual arts?

Sir, cities need stories of cultural narratives about themselves, to both anchor and drive identity as well as to galvanise residents. A city which describes itself as we do, as a global city of opportunity with its economic undertones fosters different behavioural patterns in citizens than a city that projects itself as a city of culture, a creative city or a city of ideas. Adelaide, which started the Festival of Ideas in 1999, explicitly conceives of itself as a thinking city. It invites thinkers from all over the world to assist South Australia to build on its climate of creativity. The ideas festival has since been copied by other cities, such as Bristol and Aspen. We have the Renaissance City plan. But my sense is that we do not see or project ourselves as a renaissance city as such. "Renaissance" is French for rebirth. It implies a flowering of ideas, an openness to novel and even strange ones. It implies a period in which artistic, social, scientific and political thought turn in new directions.

If we are serious about becoming a Renaissance City, we should take a more relaxed approach to some of our old policies which may be too cautious for this great task before us. The incident involving the Complaints Choir highlights the historical mindset against foreigners that seems out of place in our arts scene today. Collaborations between different arts groups from different parts of the world are part of the creative process in this globalised world. With the better educated and more cosmopolitan population, should we not allow our citizens to listen to different views, wherever they come from, and make their own judgment? Beyond the two subjects which we should stay off-limits, ie, race and religion, why should we fear foreign talents working with our arts groups to produce something that may touch on life and politics in Singapore?

To be honest, I was not too exercised about the Complaints Choir incident because:

(1) I do not understand what we need to learn from two Finns on how to complain. We are very good at that already; and

(2) I do not see what is so creative about singing complaints that Singaporeans are already mouthing to themselves every day, ie, karaoke.

But I thought that MICA's decision to clamp down on the foreigners in this group jarred like a chalk screeching across the board. The notion of a creative city, as opposed to a karaoke city, implies a level of openness that might potentially be unsettling to some. We should be ready for that and be more relaxed if we are serious about our quest to be a global arts city.

Another event we should prepare for is the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. We should treat this major event not only as a sporting event but also as a major cultural festival with effects lasting long after the Games are gone. I would urge MICA to start planning for this and to involve our creative and cultural sector. We should use this opportunity to regenerate the cultural life of our cityscape, reposition Singapore and project ourselves a truly Renaissance City – A New City Reborn.

The Chairman: Mr Chan Soo Sen. Take your two cuts together, please. Total of nine minutes.

Fusion Arts

Mr Chan Soo Sen (Joo Chiat): Sir, I must say that Singapore has a better "cooling" spell now culturally. We have been successful in organising the Youth Olympics Games. That makes us cool. Last year, I was in China and I had the opportunity to be at the Singapore Seasons in Shanghai as well as in Beijing. I remember telling the Minister at the end of the show that I felt very good as a Singaporean because we were demonstrating to the Chinese that we were there not only for economic mutual benefits but also for cultural exchange. And that was cool.

For the two Singapore Season events, there are two things that made the events very cool. One is our fusion food which I thought everybody enjoyed – Chinese, Singaporeans, everybody. There was also this thing called the fusion arts which I saw – big cultural items, multi-racial artistes going up, putting on each other's costumes, dancing, and I think the opinion for that one is a little more mixed. Some said it was neither here nor there, it was a weird mixture. Some of my Chinese guests who were there told me that actually they did not know what it was all about but that it was interesting. I suppose "interesting" is a very polite way of saying that, yes, it is something that I cannot understand, but thanks for the effort anyway.

I think fusion art is something that we can have a unique opportunity to be innovative about, because Singapore is really a place where a lot of cultures meet – East and East, East and West, North East vs South East, South East vs South West – everybody seems to meet here because the monsoon meets here and brought our own forefathers together. So we have the opportunity to appreciate each other's arts, and a lot of our traditional artists come here with the immigrants and they meet, make friends, exchange and create unique brands of arts. Fusion art is not, as what I have said earlier, people of different ethnic groups putting on each other's costume and dancing, performing western dance. That is, in a sense, a kind of fusion art. But then we remember chemistry. I remember when we studied, one of the first experiments that we did was to mix iron powder with sulphur and, after mixing it, that is called a mixture. A mixture can be separated through physical method. You use a magnet and you can remove all the iron dusts. Or you use – was it called carbon disulphide? – you can dissolve all the sulphur, let it evaporate and you separate the sulphur from the iron. But if you heat it up, it becomes some kind of iron ferric type of compound. It can never be separated again.

I think, for our fusion arts, we have achieved the mixture stage. The challenge is whether we can achieve some kind of a chemical reaction compound stage so that we will create something that is really unique. As I have said, this has already happened in the past. We have this very famous style of painting called the Nanyang style. This is basically the Chinese artists who came from China to Southeast Asia and who were influenced by the Malay way of painting as well as the Western way of painting. They looked at the Southeast Asian subjects and then they evolved into some unique way of painting. We have people like, for example, Liu Kang and Chen Wen Hsi. These are very, very famous world-class, or at least regional class, fusion artists. In the case of writing, we also have a group called the Malayan Chinese literature. Frankly, Malayan Chinese literature, in large part, means Singapore Chinese literature, because a lot of them actually worked in Singapore. It is just that, at that time, this place was called Malaya. So Malayan Chinese literary style. Again, Chinese writers coming to this part of the world influenced by each other's way of creativity and looking at the local subject matters and issues and evolved into a unique style of writing.

If this has happened in the past, I am sure it can happen in the future so long as we get the compound right. The correct compound consists of people who are steep in multi-cultural creativity, in the sense that you have somebody who is equally good in Chinese arts as well as Western arts, there is a chance that he would evolve into a kind of unique fusion art. If you have somebody who is very good in Chinese arts as well as Malay arts, eg, Chen Wen Hsi and Liu Kang, it evolved into a Nanyang style of painting. What we need are multi-cultural types of artists. We now have an opportunity. We are going to have an Arts School. Part of the objectives for our education is to be multi-cultural. I would like to urge that the Arts School pay much attention in the multi-cultural approach to arts education so that we may have a chance to evolve our unique style of fusion arts that we can truly call Singaporean. Of course, this is for the future. If this happens, then we will have something that we can truly be proud of and feel very, very cool about – our unique fusion art. It is not only East-West. It is also East-East. It can also be North East-South East, South East-North East, South East-South West. In case you do not know what I mean, we can have many, many styles of fusion arts for the future.

12.15 pm

As for the past, we already have all the masters that I mentioned earlier.

I do not know where their works are. I think it is worthwhile to bring their works together to have our proposed Pioneer Artists' Museum, to deliberately collect all these arts and lay them out in proper manner, introduce them, firstly, to be fair to our history of innovation. This is a souvenir shop to keep, but, more importantly, to also inspire our future generation of fusion artists. This has happened in the past. It has got to happen in the future. These are the people who have made it. How about you finding yourself in our Pioneer Artists' Museum sometime in the future?

Recognition and Rewards for Artists

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, Megan Zheng, the child actress of local move, "Home Run", won Best Newcomer at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, Oscars of the Chinese movie industry, in 2003. Another Jack Neo movie, "Just Follow Law", was nominated for Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Visual Effects at the same Awards last year. Another local movie, "881", was also accepted as Singapore's selection for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2007. These are news that many people would have learnt about in the media.

The National Arts Council has a target of 25 international awards by Singapore artists as a performance indicator. The number achieved was 20 in 2007. I doubt many people would have heard or knew about any of these 20 award winners last year, or of the 25 international award winners to be known this year, assuming that we hit the target set. I think if things do not change, this would be the scenario.

Many artists and arts groups have given feedback that when they received international awards overseas for their works and achievements, they often do not get attention in Singapore. Here, we have a Singapore son or daughter coming home doing the country proud, but there is no pat on the shoulder. The trophy is left on the shelf in the child's bedroom, collecting dust.

Let us look at and learn from another sector, the sports sector. The Singapore National Olympic Council initiated the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme in 1991 as an incentive for athletes to win medals at four major international and regional games. The Singapore Totalisator Board and Asia Pacific Breweries are sponsors for these awards. According to the answer by MCYS to my Parliamentary Question (PQ) last month, I quote, "The purpose of the MAP award is to recognise our athletes' individual and team efforts and sacrifices in training intensively at the elite level and attaining medal honour for the country." The answer also reminded that the award should be viewed as part of a comprehensive support and recognition framework for our athletes.

I totally agree. Just like we have the School of the Arts now to develop young arts talents and there are the Cultural Medallion and Young Artists Awards to honour artists, there are similarities in the Sports School and the National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards.

I would like MICA to consider initiating some kind of official reward system for our artists when they win a prestigious international award. The quantum of the award is not important. However, the gesture will be very significant in terms of recognising the dedication, hard work and achievement of our artists. A simple awards ceremony will also create the opportunity and interest for the media to report on, hence raising greater awareness in the public. It will also serve as a motivation for aspiring artists to persevere in the artistic journey. Just like the Multi-Million Dollar Award programme, it only recognises medals in the Southeast Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games, and maybe the Youth Olympic Games in the future. The National Arts Council should also identify selected established international awards for the various arts disciplines. We can start with a limited range, with an award each for dance, theatre, music, literary and visual arts. I am sure, with this enhancement, the artists will feel very much encouraged and this will give a lot more meaning to the 20 international award winners last year, beyond just a statistical entry to a key performance indicator for public agencies.

Exporting World-class Local Arts Talents and Productions

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah): Sir, over the last few years, we have made significant progress in our plans to turn Singapore into a creative hub. We have already established the infrastructure, but what is needed is how to expand our creative talent, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Although we have done many promotions from Beijing to London, the perception from industry is that our programmes have not created enough world-class talents and productions. Those who have made it in the global arena seem to have stumbled upon their own success and we should think of more programmes to groom more such talents within a good framework.

Promotions do not necessarily translate into sustainable creative arts business. There is a need for MICA to look at arts as serious business, not just about developing artistic talents, but putting in solid investments to get our fundamentals right.

We should develop more of our local talents, and the bigger challenge is how to make the industry an attractive career alternative, to draw more people with the potential to excel.

One way to make it more attractive is to invest in our creative products and equip them not only as world-class products, but ones that are commercially viable. Not only can we get immediate attention, but it can inspire younger local talents.

Would MICA or the MDA consider investing to redevelop our local productions, using world-class talents in scripting and production, making them commercially relevant in the global arts sector? For example, can we have people like leading British producer of musicals, Cameron Mackintosh to redevelop or rewrite local productions, for example, Forbidden City or Fried Rice Paradise, for global export?

I think this can be also applied to works by local Cultural Medallion winners or promising arts production houses whose works can be transformed with the help of world-class brand-name producers, designers, artists, etc.

Given the millions that we spend on promoting our arts overseas, can MICA tweak its internationalisation programme to invest in young artists and production talents to be mentored by world-class artists, production houses, producers, directors, etc? This will enable us to set our fundamentals right locally to create quality, commercially viable productions for the global arts stage.

Allow me to continue in Malay.

( In Malay ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] A long time ago, Singapore was renowned as the centre for the Malay film industry. Many still remember the studios at Jalan Ampas and Cathay Keris – brand names that we can be proud of.

But all these have faded and only memories remain. Instead, we, in turn, buy foreign programmes like those from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Our market size is too small for us to develop this industry in order to bring any substantial commercial benefits. Maybe our talent pool is also too small to compete with Malaysia and Indonesia.

But one way to expand our Malay film industry is through higher cooperation, like the co-productions that involve two countries, where the final product can be marketed together.

I think Singapore can resurrect its reputation as the centre of the film industry because basically we have good infrastructure in terms of facilities and foundation.

I hope MICA will be able to play its role to facilitate this effort and give support, like incentives and so on.

*Cols. 1577-1578.

Singapore in UNESCO

Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Following Singapore joining the UNESCO in October 2007, MICA has been assigned to lead the sub-committee on culture and information. What will be MICA's strategies and also how will we showcase and highlight our culture, communications and information sectors to the world, bearing in mind countries in the regions and around the world are also developing their creative industries, and competition as well as acknowledgement at all levels will also certainly be high? How will we showcase Singapore in the context of the evolution of an exciting, vibrant and transformed global nation positioned at the crossroads of Asia and, most importantly, our multi-racial and multi-cultural characteristics?

Arts Outreach

The arts community, MICA, the National Arts Council and specific arts groups are doing a lot in making Singapore a more vibrant global arts and culture city. In FY2006 alone, there were 158 free arts events to reach out to the populace and over 300 events in total. However, these only still attract those who are more interested and have an artistic flair.

For the coming years, will the Ministry be planning more community outreach for the heartlander crowd? By this, I mean the lower-income, the average aunties and uncles who do not read the newspapers or do not speak English very well, so that they, too, can enhance their awareness of the arts and do not miss out on the finer things in life.

Will there be centralised programmes to promote active enhancement and engagement as well as ownership of arts and culture by the community at large? These arts and heritage events will certainly help to put our innovative developments to foster an inclusive society, especially with the influx of new citizens as well as foreign talents amongst us.

Cultural Heritage

Dr Ong Seh Hong (Marine Parade): (In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Sir, the UNESCO World Cultural Diversity Declaration 2001 states: "Cultural diversity is one of the original sources of development. It is important to mankind, just as biological diversity is important to mother nature." UNESCO also pointed out that cultural heritage includes not only the materialistic historical sites or relics, but also covers the various communities and customs that are left behind by our ancestors, that include the various languages and dialects as well as the performing arts.

Singapore was founded in 1819, less than 200 years ago. We do not have awesome relics, such as the Pyramids or the Great Wall but we have something that is bestowed to us by our ancestors – the cultural heritage passed on to us by our forefathers. In fact, we have the various customs and traditions from the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities, as well as our native Peranakan culture.

Unfortunately, we do not cherish and preserve them. Many of these have diminished, such as our roadside dialect wayang, and the Malay Gamelan music. Since they are not supported by us, many of these have diminished.

As far as language is concerned, many of our younger generation people could not speak their own dialect and the Eurasians are also beginning to lose their unique Kristan language. Many people have forgotten the real meaning of their traditional festivals. Many Chinese families go overseas during the Chinese New Year festival period instead of staying at home for reunion and new-year visitations to their relatives and friends. Many of our roadside crafts and delicacies have also diminished.

During a recent Chinese New Year gathering, I had the pleasure to taste the " Gi-ah kueh " made by the 75-year-old mother of my friend. This is a traditional food from Ann Kway county of Hokkien province. I have not tasted this delicacy for more than 30 years in Singapore. This food brought back memories of my childhood days, and it reminded me of the urgency of preserving our cultural heritage.

This morning, in the Lianhe Zaobao , a reader wrote that the Korean people felt extremely guilty when they were not able to preserve the Nan An Men, a national treasure which was lost in a recent fire. The author asked if such a thing were to happen in Singapore, would we have the same kind of feeling?

While developing ourselves into an international commercial metropolis, we must also do our best to preserve our cultural heritage. We have to preserve the very precious heritage and pass it on to our children and grandchildren. This is what I call, "Seek the root while the root is still here, but do not pass the lantern only after the light has been put out."

*Cols. 1579-1580.

Developing of Geylang Area as a Civic District

Dr Fatimah Lateef: Sir, the Geylang area offers a wide range of arts, culture and heritage, what with its numerous small galleries and studios, temples, religious associations, the Buddhist Library, and so on. It has a great potential to form another civic district in Singapore.

Currently, many of the facilities are rundown and they pose serious challenges of congestion as well as vice. Can the Ministry consider improving and enhancing these facilities and helping in their preservation? Next, increasing the public's awareness of these places through some form of publicity programmes which sustain. Thirdly, medium term tie-ups with the STB to add and highlight these places in some of their packages, especially those pertaining to culture and heritage tours.

As Singapore becomes more vibrant with all the exciting and stimulating developments around, certainly, the richness of Geylang cannot and should not be left out, left undeveloped and left unharnessed.

Patrons of Art

12.30 pm

Mr Chan Soo Sen: ( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Sir, I remember, every year, when I visit my father-in-law's house, I would do one thing, ie, to browse his collection of old books. Every time, I would take one of these out-of-print books home. Over the years, I must have taken more than 30 of his old books and these books are not available at the shops anymore. They were printed in the 1950s.

In the 1950s and 60s, these books were priced at $1 to $2 each. At that time, $1 or $2 was a lot of money. I asked my father-in-law, “As a Chinese teacher, your salary then was just $100-$200. So, every month, you would spend about 1% of your salary on books. But you did not have the time to read them, you just kept them at home, and eventually got stolen by your son-in-law. Why did you persist in doing that? Is there any meaning in it?”

My father-in-law said something which I will remember for life. He said, "If I don't buy the books, who is going to support the authors?"

Recently, some 40 years after my father-in-law’s supportive efforts for the authors, one of my former classmates wanted to publish a book on his collection of poems. He solicited for donations from all his classmates to meet the publication cost. He needed about $4,000-$5,000 to print the book. I asked him, "Why don't you just publish it and you can earn your money back when the books are sold?" He replied, "Nobody would buy the book. I have to pay for the printing cost. Once the book is published, I would give a copy to each of the students of my alma mater, and I would have accomplished my mission. Even if nobody buys it, I do not mind."

Compared to my father-in-law 40 years ago, I feel that we are moving backwards in the support of our culture. If each of us can donate 1% of our income to set up a National Cultural Fund, and ask the Government to match us dollar for dollar, I think we would have a very big endowment fund to support our cultural activities in Singapore, particularly the traditional arts.

Why am I talking about "traditional arts"? Because events like concerts by Michael Jackson – I am not running him down – can easily find people who are willing and eager to support him and to buy tickets for his concerts. But for traditional arts, such as traditional roadside dialect wayangs , whether it is Cantonese or Hokkien operas, the troupes are finding it difficult to survive, as they are always having difficulties raising the money to keep their activities going. I have spoken to some of the volunteers who are organising these activities. They said, "Every year, when we present a show, we have to put in a lot of money. There is a certain cost. The tickets cannot be sold. Nobody would buy the tickets. So we have to look for a few big sponsors or patrons for donations. Even with the donations, we have problems selling the tickets because nobody is interested to buy the tickets, and the theatre would be empty. What do we do? We have to go to the homes and invite the old folks to come to the shows, free of charge. We have done our best."

Do not forget that most, if not all, the existing sponsors and patrons are quite elderly now. In 10 years' time, they may not be around or too old to continue supporting these voluntary organisations. I observe that the new sponsors are not forthcoming. There are no new patrons to take over. What is going to happen to our traditional arts? In the past, during the Seventh Month Festival or occasions to give thanks to the gods, we would still have the Hokkien wayangs . Some of the temples, like the Taoist temple at Koo Chai Ba , would put up some traditional dialect wayangs . But, nowadays, they use getai singing instead. The organisers do not even ask whether the gods would enjoy this type of performance. They simply go for the modern getai . And with getai , the traditional dramas would have no place in these festivals.

So, if our traditional culture were to become extinct, who shall we blame? But, if we were to have a National Cultural Fund, and everyone donates maybe 1% of their salary – that is not asking too much – and we ask the Government to match it dollar for dollar, then we can invite some of those “national treasure” exponents of these traditional arts from China to come and promote this traditional culture. There is hope that we may preserve the rich cultural heritage left behind by our ancestors to us. Would this not be a good thing?

*Cols. 1581-1584.

Recognition and Rewards for Artists

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sir, what people thought was a huge Christmas tree turned out to be Singapore's tallest public sculpture at Finlayson Green. Everyday, on my way to work, I see this 18.35-metre tall sculpture by Israeli sculptor, David Gerstein. It depicts an upward spiral of progress capturing the energy and momentum of the district, and this gives me a sense of purpose at the start of my working day.

The public sculpture donation scheme was established in 1988, to provide tax incentives to corporations and individuals who donate a sculpture to the nation. It used to be a tax exemption up to 100% of the value of the sculpture. From 2002, the exemption was increased to 200%, and I applaud that. However, the incentive requires the company or individual to give up ownership of the sculpture. On the other hand, there are tax incentives for owners who want to retain ownership of the public sculpture but the tax exemption is limited to expenses for the installation and maintenance of the sculpture. To encourage more public sculpture on the streets of Singapore for the enjoyment of the public, I would like to suggest that this lesser incentive scheme be enhanced to cover up to 100% of the value of the art work. I think that as long as there are conditions to require public access to the art work and the owner is not allowed to remove or change the sculpture, the ownership issue should not be critical. What is important is that the public can access and appreciate good art works. At the same time, the Government could also save on maintaining the sculpture.

The Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Lee Boon Yang): Mr Chairman, I thank the hon. Members for their many comments and suggestions on promoting the arts and supporting culture and heritage in Singapore. In responding to the Members, I will provide this House with an overview of how the arts is transforming Singapore into a more distinctive global city, as well as strengthening our sense of community, belonging and national identity.

Mr Chairman, internationally recognised global cities are defined not only by their economic and financial achievements, but also by the diversity and depth of their arts and culture.

Time magazine recently named London, New York and Hong Kong as cities which drive the global economy. The article pointed out that, "Great cities, of course, are more than money and finance. They are messy agglomerations of talent and culture. That is how they attract men and women in the financial sector who could choose to live anywhere."

In a ranking of the world's 20 most liveable cities by Monocle magazine, Singapore was ranked 17th. Arts and culture were key factors in the assessment. While we were not placed at the top, Monocle noted the changes taking place in Singapore, and I quote, "Today's Singapore bears little resemblance to the city of just 10 years ago. The arts scene has seen a flowering of museums, performing arts venues and galleries."

Sir, less than 10 years ago, in 2000, the Renaissance City Plan (RCP) was launched to transform Singapore into a creative and vibrant global city. A city where arts and culture thrive, bringing Singaporeans closer together, strengthening our sense of national identity and attracting talents to our city.

We knew that we had a long way to go. In the first phase, or RCP1 as we referred to it, we focused on building up an audience for arts and increasing the pool of artistic talents. This was followed by the second phase, or RCP2, in 2004, when we initiated support for artists and arts companies to venture onto the international stage.

This brief recap provides the backdrop for my response to Miss Penny Low and Ms Irene Ng who asked how we measure our success, whether or not the targets of RCP have been met, and how far we have strengthened the Singapore heartbeat through the creation and sharing of our artistic and cultural heritage.

Sir, the progress in our arts and cultural development is evident. Apart from Monocle's and many other media observations, the vibrancy of our arts and culture scene is almost palpable. Today, we have a list of 700 registered arts companies and societies, almost double the 400 barely 10 years ago. They actively create and produce a growing host of arts activities throughout Singapore.

Last year, we had about 7,400 arts events, providing a total of 21,000 performances and exhibition days. On average, Singaporeans had a choice of over 50 arts performances and exhibitions on any one day. That is a lot to choose from, and nearly 40% can be enjoyed for free by the general public.

Miss Penny Low asked for MICA's share of these events. MICA and our agencies were responsible for approximately 15% of all the arts activities each year. This is a good balance. It shows that the arts community is taking ownership and developing followings and supporters.

Miss Penny Low also asked about the objectives of these activities and whether they are embraced by stakeholders in the wider community.

Sir, the increasing number of arts activities is a good reflection of the vibrancy of our arts scene and the creativity of our artists. Arts events, whether it is an exhibition or a performance, are necessary for artists to communicate with their audience and to share their artistic thoughts and inspiration.

I agree with Miss Penny Low that quantity does not equate quality. In the case of the arts, quality is as important, if not more important, than quantity. What is significant is that along with increasing arts events and participation, there is also better appreciation of the arts. For instance, every weekend and public holiday, we can find many Singaporeans of all ages attending public performances at the Esplanade. The National Heritage Board's (NHB) Explore Singapore and Singapore HeritageFest attract people from all walks of life to our museums and heritage institutions around the island.

In our HDB heartlands, the arts are now a regular part of community life through the lessons, performances and activities that are organised by the CDCs, the community clubs and supported by the National Arts Council (NAC). These community arts events feature art forms as diverse as hip hop dance and traditional musical instruments.

Over the last 10 years, the National Arts Council surveys showed that the number of Singaporeans who participated in at least one arts and cultural event a year had increased threefold, from one in 10 in 1996, to one in three today.

Today, more Singaporeans are attending arts and cultural events. Ticketed attendances passed the one million mark in 2002 and reached 1.3 million attendances last year. The annual number of visitors to all museums in 2007 was over four million, with about 1.7 million visitors visiting the National Heritage Board museums. These numbers indicate that the arts performances and exhibitions were of high quality and were succeeding to connect with the audience. If not, I think we would be hard put to attract a growing audience.

This increase in arts groups and arts activities naturally leads to calls for more Government support for the arts. For instance, Mr Chan Soo Sen's very eloquent call for a National Arts Fund for Government to support the arts through co-funding of events. Let me say that MICA adopts a variety of support measures, including financial support for the developing arts sector.

Sir, the RCP funded 50% of the grants given out by the National Arts Council. For example, in the year 2007, over 550 recipients benefited from the disbursement of $7.85 million in grants, scholarships and training bursaries. This is an increase of 20% from the amount disbursed to 468 recipients in the year 2004.

Equally important is the commissioning of new works. For instance, NAC regularly commissions new works for the Singapore Arts Festival. Some of these are subsequently performed overseas to international audiences. One example is a work called Optical Identity. This is a performance featuring the T'ang Quartet and the UK's Theatre Cryptic. This work premiered at the Singapore Arts Festival last year, after which it went on to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Alicante International Music Festival, and a tour in Scotland for even more performances.

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Sir, NAC’s arts housing scheme also provides workspace to over 96 artists and arts groups for their operational, studio and rehearsal needs. The scheme currently provides arts housing with rental subsidy of over $3 million per year.

Sir, we are always sympathetic to the needs of artists and the arts community. We will work within our resources to ensure support for deserving initiatives.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad commented that despite all these programmes, the perception from the industry is that we have not created world-class talents and productions, nor generated sufficient demand for them.

While it is true that we have yet to witness the emergence of sustainable creative arts businesses, we should not despair. It is a long journey and we are making good progress. We can take pride in our flagship companies and artists who fly the Singapore flag on the international stage.

During last year’s Singapore Season in China, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Dance Theatre, the presence and the participation of Dramabox, a theatre company, as well as showcasing of prominent visual and literary artists such as You Jin, Isa Kamari, Wong Keen, Goh Beng Kwan and the late Chen Wen Hsi – all these works and performances were very warmly received by the Chinese audience.

Another example I want to give about Singaporeans who have made it to the international stage is young musician Darrell Ang. Darrell received an NAC’s Arts Bursary to pursue his postgraduate diploma at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. Darrell went on to achieve the top prize at the prestigious 2006 Antonio Pedrotti International Competition for Conductors. Today, he is the co-founder and associate conductor of the St Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic.

Sir, we are also seeing more invitations to Singapore artists from overseas. Last year, Jason Wee, Jason Lim, Heman Chong and Matthew Quek won residency stints and competitions in Germany, China, Korea, and Italy.

Musicians such as Cultural Medallion recipient Jeremy Monteiro, The Observatory and the T’ang Quartet performed in venues and festivals in New York, Seoul and Edinburgh.

Similarly, in theatre, groups such as The Theatre Practice, Theatreworks and The Finger Players staged successful performances in Australia, Japan, China, Spain and Italy.

In areas where there is strong commercial potential, partnerships with private sectors such as galleries, music producers and publishers have also borne fruit.

For example, NAC collaborated with the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) to promote our music talents and products at MIDEM (the Marché international de l'édition musicale), which is the world’s largest music trade fair, held in Cannes, France. Arising from this, Singapore music company Ocean Butterflies International will be collaborating with London-based Ricall, a leading online music distributor.

Sir, Singapore has also become a desirable performance and exhibition stop in Asia. Whether it is a major orchestra or a world-class museum collection’s Asian tour, Singapore is today a sought after destination.

The current exhibition of Greek sculptures at the National Museum is one example. That the Louvre is prepared to lend to our National Museum such exquisite and precious works from their collection, is a testament to the quality, capability and professionalism of our National Museum.

Sir, these are healthy signs that our arts institutions and artists are achieving some success and recognition from the international arts circle. We hope that in the years ahead more will achieve international acclaim. So at the same time when the world comes to Singapore as during the F1 this year and the Youth Olympic in 2010, we will also be showcasing Singapore art and artist to provide our visitors with a more engaging and a more memorable experience.

Do these milestones mean that we have succeeded in realising our vision of Singapore as a global city for the arts? The answer is that while we have made significant progress, there is still much to do before Singapore reaches the top tier of the global cities.

Our continued efforts under the Renaissance City Plan is a must in order to transform Singapore into a successful global city for the arts.

Sir, I am pleased to inform this House that MICA will allocate $115 million over the next five years, or $23 million per year, to implement the next phase of the Renaissance City Plan in partnership with the private and the people sectors. This is 50% or $7 million more each year compared to the current allocation for RCP2.

RCP3 will continue the work of broadening our audience base and talent pool, and internationalising our artists and arts companies. In addition, RCP3 will focus additional funding on three key areas – content creation, sustainable arts ecosystem and community engagement.

Sir, I will elaborate on these strategies in my response to Members.

Mr Chan Soo Sen spoke about the need for Singapore to evolve works of art that will reflect our multicultural heritage and society. I agree with him completely. We must draw on our diversity of arts talents to create new and inspiring works which truly reflect our multicultural roots.

This year, the National Arts Council will introduce a Commissioning Fund with about $700,000 to build up a body of scripts, stories, poetry, musical and dance compositions that reflect our distinctive multicultural identity as well as our Asian and contemporary context.

NAC will also set aside more than $1 million each year to introduce new capability development and residency programmes for artists and arts companies to participate in exchanges with overseas arts institutions and organisations. This will enable our artists and our arts companies to gain exposure and to also establish valuable network.

At the same time, NAC will continue to support artists and arts groups to draw on the deep artistic traditions of our cultural heritage by tapping on its Traditional Arts Fund which stands at about half a million dollars per year.

Similarly, in the area of heritage, NHB will expand collaborations with regional and international museums to research and curate exhibitions that showcase both Singapore and the wider Asia to the world. NHB will open the Peranakan Museum in April this year and this museum will showcase the Peranakan culture and how our Peranakan culture has established links with the regional culture of similar origins.

Sir, Mr Chan Soo Sen suggested that the Government build up a collection of artworks of our pioneer artists in order to inspire future generation of artists.

Sir, over the years, we have collected and also received donations of important Singapore art works, including those by our pioneer artists. Among the current collection of about 7,500 art works, some 4,000 are by our Singapore’s pioneer artists, including those by Chen Wen Hsi, Liu Kang, Georgette Chen, and Chen Chong Swee. The National Art Gallery, which is a project under development, will be the future home to proudly showcase these great works and many others.

Sir, I should also add that besides showcasing our national or our pioneer artists, the National Art Gallery (NAG) will also focus on researching and presenting important art works from Southeast Asia, and hosting major exhibitions from Asia and beyond.

On the NAG, I am happy to update this House that MICA’s evaluation of the three winning designs selected by the International Jury is close to completion. MICA will soon appoint the successful architectural team for the project. However, we will time the construction to ensure that it does not aggravate the already high demand for construction works. We expect that the Gallery will open its doors to the public around 2013.

Sir, next, I will touch on the second strategy under the RCP3, which is to develop a vibrant ecosystem for supporting professions, enterprises and activities to ensure the sustainability of our arts and cultural sector.

As Mr Zaqy Mohamed has highlighted, our artists and arts groups need to have viable careers and sustainable practices.

This is possible only if we have a vibrant eco-system with many supporting industries, professionals and private intermediaries producing, presenting, distributing and marketing our artistic and cultural content, services and talents. We need this complete value chain to transform an inspiring artistic idea into an appreciated and valuable product for audiences and patrons at home and abroad.

NAC will establish an Arts Business Framework comprising start-ups and co-investment schemes targeted at commercial art galleries, artist management, festival management, arts tourism, books and music publishing, arts education services and arts consultancies. NAC will put in more than $700,000 a year for this Framework.

NAC will also expand its support for the participation of Singapore arts businesses at major regional and international markets such as MIDEM, which I have mentioned earlier, and the Frankfurt Book Fair and regional art fairs.

At this juncture, I would like to respond to Mr Zaqy's comment on Malay films and co-production. I agree with his approach. MICA and MDA are already encouraging our film-makers and production houses such as Raintree Pictures to explore co-production with companies in Malaysia and Indonesia. We believe this is the way forward to develop and to grow our Malay film production sector. Because through such partnership and co-production, we can revive the Malay film industry and also reach out to new markets.

Sir, last year, NHB piloted an assistance scheme called the Heritage Industry Incentive Programme. One example of how it works is NHB’s assistance to U1 Tours to develop their Chinese and English guidebooks on heritage for tourist guides, tour operators, taxi drivers and hotel concierges to promote our heritage and museums to both foreign visitors and also to Singaporeans.

Sir, under RCP3, NHB will set aside $2 million a year to expand this Heritage Industry Incentive Programme. It will provide assistance in two broad areas. First, NHB will develop capabilities and professionals for important aspects of heritage work – such as research, conservation and curation. Next, it will support the development of new cultural tourism services, resources, exhibitions and programmes to reach out to a wider market.

Sir, Mr Baey Yam Keng called for monetary incentives for artists who had won regional or international awards as we do for sports talent. Miss Penny Low suggested awards to recognise the diverse achievements and the vibrancy of the arts scene.

I agree with the spirit of both suggestions. Recognising the achievements of our artists has been an integral component of NAC’s talent development strategy. Outstanding arts practitioners should receive recognition and respect for their work.

Sir, currently, we do so through the Cultural Medallion which is conferred by the President, and the Young Artist Award. The recipients of the Cultural Medallion and the Young Artist Award are entitled to apply for grants. In the case of the Cultural Medallion recipients, they can apply for grant of up to $80,000. For the Young Artist Award, the grant is about $10,000.

But these grants should not be seen as strict monetary rewards for their achievements. The work of an artist is a labour of love and passion carried out over an entire lifetime. Our aim is to support artists to build up sustainable artistic careers throughout their lives. The Cultural Medallion and the Young Artist Award grants are an important part of NAC’s larger talent development framework, including scholarships, bursaries, and the many other arts grant schemes. Nevertheless, I will ask NAC to consider new ways of publicising and applauding our artists who have won international recognition or awards that are of high standing.

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On Miss Penny Low's suggestion to expand recognition for the arts, we should remember that the Government is not the only source of such recognition. The annual Straits Times Life! Theatre Award is a commendable initiative by the corporate sector to honour successful artists. This Award recognises not just actors and actresses but also includes directors, script writers and set designers. We will encourage SPH to grow the scope of this Award and also invite more private sector initiatives for similar recognition to our artists.

Miss Penny Low asked for an update on the School of the Arts, or SOTA. Sir, I am pleased to inform the House that the School of the Arts opened in January this year at the interim site at Goodman Road with 138 Year 1 students and 99 Year 2 students.

SOTA had received an overwhelming response from more than 1,000 students who had auditioned for places. The Ngee Ann Kongsi had generously donated $12 million over six years to support scholarship and bursaries for deserving students at SOTA. This will ensure that every deserving student can get to study at SOTA regardless of his or her family circumstances. Meanwhile, the construction of the permanent school campus at Kirk Terrace is going on. Despite the initial delays, we now expect the permanent campus to be ready by late 2009.

Sir, in response to Mr Chan Soo Sen, I would like to assure him that SOTA is indeed offering a multi-cultural arts education to our young talent.

Sir, MICA and our agencies will also continue to identify opportunities for Singapore's arts and cultural ecosystem to be plugged into international arts network. UNESCO is one such international network. Following Singapore's rejoining of UNESCO in October 2007, MICA has taken leadership of Singapore's Sub-commission on Culture and Information.

In response to Dr Fatimah Lateef's question, MICA will explore how UNESCO can be an additional avenue for our arts practitioners to learn from the world's best. Singapore will also be able to share our experiences in promoting our multi-cultural heritage to the world with programmes such as NHB's annual International Museum Day and our community heritage trails.

At this juncture, I would like to respond to Ms Irene Ng's remarks on the Complaint Choir. I note that Ms Irene Ng was not too exercised about the rejection of foreigners' involvement in the Complaint Choir. As I had explained to this House at the previous sitting, the objection in this case was on account of the nature of the performances, namely, we objected to the idea of foreigners coming here to organise and lead Singaporeans to complain about our domestic issues. This is something best left to Singaporeans to do. Although in this particular application, the lyrics themselves were not objectionable, we have to look at the application in totality. We did not think it was desirable or good precedent for foreigners to take such lead. They had also applied to perform at the Speakers' Corner which was clearly not permitted.

Nevertheless, I would like to assure Ms Irene Ng and the House that MICA encourages our artists to collaborate with foreign artists and arts companies. Hence, we support our artists for overseas residency programme. We support co-productions in traditional art, drama, dance, musical, operas and many, many other arts events.

We are open to international artistic influences and recognise the benefits of working with international artists. The Complaint Choir was an exception to the rule and not a precedent for foreigners' participation in the arts in Singapore. In general, we consider such applications favourably.

Sir, Dr Fatimah Lateef's question on connecting the arts to the community is addressed by the third strategy in the RCP3 which focuses on the important role of arts and culture in connecting Singaporeans, strengthening community bonding and instilling a sense of national pride.

In recent years, MICA and our agencies have initiated many new community outreach projects. In fact, NAC and NHB are currently allocating about $4.5 million per year for such activities. For example, NAC partnered the People's Association and the CDCs to stage six District Arts Festivals in 2006 and 2007. These District Arts Festivals provided enjoyment and entertainment for our heartlanders – our aunties and uncles in our HDB estates. More importantly, such Festivals help to bring people together to celebrate and embrace the arts as an essential part of our community life and contribute to social bonding. Going forward, we aim to bring about more active, community initiated events as well as deeper engagement and ownership of the arts and culture among Singaporeans.

Sir, NAC will dedicate additional support of almost $1 million each year to launch Arts For All under the Community Arts Engagement Plan with CDCs to enhance arts outreach in the heartlands. NAC will also introduce a new Community Participation Grant to encourage more community-initiated arts projects and participation. It will also work with homes for the elderly, hospitals and prisons to connect these people with the arts.

At the same time, the National Library Board will continue to reach out to needy children from low-income families and work with more schools and special needs groups through the KidsREAD and Library2010 Active Citizenry Programmes.

Sir, our heritage is also an important aspect of community life and identity. Dr Ong Seh Hong asked about our efforts to preserve and promote our diverse cultural heritage. I would like to assure Dr Ong that NHB would do more with community groups and citizens to preserve and promote our heritage through heritage and community trails, tours and publications. In fact, in areas like traditional practices and food items, these have always featured in our annual heritage festival, attracting lots of Singaporeans to such events.

Sir, NHB's approach to enabling community involvement has been well received. For example, there was a remarkable grassroots support for the Ten Stories : Queenstown through the Years project to document the transformation of Queenstown into Singapore's first highrise housing estate. Many residents came forward on their own to provide stories, photographs and memories of their neighbourhood which subsequently went into the book.

Similarly, students from the National Junior College displayed a keen interest in heritage when they worked with NHB on the Bukit Timah Community Trail.

I note Dr Fatimah Lateef's request for more publicity for Geylang. I thought Geylang is one part of Singapore that requires the least publicity by Government. It is already quite well known. Nevertheless, I support her suggestion to look at the heritage potential of Geylang. One possibility is to explore how community-led heritage trail could be created to promote the district's unique cultural mix. In fact, one of the tours organised as part of the NHB's HeritageFest last year successfully showcased Geylang's galleries and artist studios, good food and temples. I think we can build on this experience and develop more of this heritage trail and focus more attention on the cultural aspects of Geylang.

Sir, last but not least, the arts and heritage offer us valuable platforms to build up a sense of shared responsibility and ownership in Singapore's culture. Mr Chan Soo Sen spoke of encouraging more participation in supporting the arts and Mr Baey Yam Keng also spoke about encouraging private sector to donate or to contribute to public art works.

I support their calls and would like to inform the House that there is a growing trend of corporate and individuals coming to support the arts and culture. ExxonMobile supported the Concert in the Park series. HSBC funded the Youth Excellence Initiative. Business Times initiated the Budding Artists Fund. The Asia-Pacific Breweries Foundation launched its Signature Art Prize series and Arts Inspire Programme. These and many others are fine examples of the corporate sector's growing support for the arts.

In financial year 2006, about $37 million in sponsorship was received for the arts and culture. Arts collectors who have invested their time and resources to build up the collection of artworks and artefacts have also stepped forward to share their collections with the public. Between 2004 and 2006, NHB reported the total value of $118 million in loans and donations of artefacts and artworks to the National Museums.

More recently, the Oei Hong Leong Foundation announced its plans to build a multi-million dollar private museum to showcase rare and historical Buddhist artefacts from around the world. NHB is providing assistance to the Foundation in this important act of cultural philanthropy.

To promote public art, NHB and NAC have introduced Public Art Tax Incentive Scheme, or PATIS, which is a double tax deduction scheme to encourage private and people sectors to donate, commission, display and maintain sculptures and other forms of public art. The "Reed Sculpture" by City Development Pte Ltd and the artworks by Ascendas (Tuas) Pte Ltd at Biopolis are two examples of artworks supported under the scheme. We can look forward to more public artworks at the upcoming Circle Line at the Marina Barrage. We will continue to look at this incentive scheme to see how we can improve and refine on it to attract even more contributors and donors to this public artwork scheme.

In conclusion, Sir, Renaissance City's Plan, with its focus on content, sustainability and community, will provide much needed boost to artists and arts companies as well as to the arts and heritage-related business sector. I have given a brief overview of the key programme under RCP3. Over the next few months, MICA, together with its agencies, will be providing more details on these new schemes and programmes as they are launched.

Sir, we will build a strong partnership with the people and the private sectors to enrich the lives of Singaporeans to foster an inclusive and resilient society, and strengthen our community bonds and rootedness. There is much to do to bring Singapore to the top tier of the world's global cities and we will press on.

Information Communication Technology (ICT)

Miss Penny Low: Sir, it is laudable that since 1981, Singapore has implemented successive infocomm technology (ICT) national masterplans to keep our economy competitive and the community connected. Our e-Government was once the most advanced system in the world, but fell behind others in the last few years. Can the Minister provide an update of our efforts to upgrade our e-Government platform, and the recently awarded $1.3 billion SOEasy – I suppose it is complex – what the system seeks to do, as well as the status of our iN2015 plan?

Sir, the ICT super highway without road users would be a white elephant. It has been repeatedly noted that our SMEs have not been smitten by the ICT bug. The lack of knowledge, inertia, manpower and costs are reasons for the low adoption rate. As such, SMEs are fast losing its local market share.

Can the Minister enlighten us on the measures to promote ICT to SMEs? Will there be innovative low cost utility models to help SMEs experiment with business packages that directly enhance their business profitability?

Sir, we need also to move up the value creation chain of ICT business activities, instead of racing ourselves down the ICT value ladder with installation of servicing or marketing works which are easily replicable and compete mainly on price. We need to track a steady progress in year-on-year growth of any particular sector that does not measure the J-curve required in "getting to the next level" and "sell" Singapore to the next generation of value-add businesses. It is noteworthy that although we have some of the largest ICT companies in the world, most are just sales offices with little or no R&D services. Perhaps we need to relook at our business strategy and distinguish high-end activities from easily replicable ones.

Last, but most pressing, ICT is more affordable and accessible than ever before. Yet the income and technological gaps are getting wider. Can MICA assure Singaporeans that it will spare no effort at leveraging on ICT to help all segments of our population to level up? Can the Minister give us concrete examples of its effort in ensuring that the disabled, the elderly, the less advantaged and homemakers are being integrated into the ICT world, so that they too can enjoy the progress and become a contributing element in the society? In short, does MICA have any concrete plan or strategy to leverage on ICT to help build a resilient, self-reliant and inclusive society?

The War for Talent and Quality of Jobs Created in the ICT Sector

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Sir, I promise to try to give the translators an easier time this time. Today, the ICT sector in Singapore faces increased competition from multi-service Asian firms and low-cost talents. We need to up our gear to develop a high-value industry that is able to leverage on high-skilled local and global talents, because competition at the low end will hamper the development of our local workforce.

I would like to know, from MICA's view, after years of trying to develop the ICT sector, have we developed the sector sufficiently in the right areas and what are some of these indicators? Despite many years of IDA's efforts to develop the ICT industry, it seems that most of our ICT companies are not providing high-value add to the economy, with many in the maintenance and low-margin service segments.

If we benchmarked our top ICT businesses, they are nowhere near world-class icons such as Singapore Airlines, NOL or Capitaland in the other sectors. What are the Government's plans to create more high-value technology firms or software companies?

The Government has been generous to support our ICT companies to co-own the intellectual property for systems built for the Government sector. In theory, these intellectual properties produced are some of the most commercially viable, as our e-Government infrastructure is among the most advanced in the world. Does MICA have a point of view about why our local businesses have not been able to exploit this concession?

Today, local ICT professionals face competition from low-end to high-end jobs. As industries develop and rely on IT, more skilled ICT professionals are needed than the current 140,000 and we need to ensure that top talents stay here. How does MICA rate our success today, in terms of R&D and performance in the ICT sector, in order to attract investments and world-class talents?

In terms of talent, there is certainly a lot of feedback from the ICT industry that the quality of local talents is declining.

We seem to be losing our engineering capability because our best and brightest are going to "softer" sectors, such as banking, finance, business and sales. It does not take the best and brightest much to realise where the money is, given the regular publicity the media gives on high salaries and bonuses elsewhere. What is the Government doing to address this to ensure that Singapore continues to have a strong engineering talent pool to support our ICT and high technology sectors?

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Innovation and R&D capabilities are often built in economies with strong engineering cultures, and I believe we need to do more to promote engineering as a choice career and promote more attractive salary compensation packages.

My final questions relate to the SOEasy tender that was awarded yesterday. Miss Penny Low covered some of this. With the award of the SOE tender, what is MICA's latest projection of savings as a result of this tender and have there been changes to the budget estimates since the tender was first released last year? Where does MICA expect the savings to come from? With $1.3 billion worth of services and infrastructure being outsourced, what is the impact on civil servants currently performing the roles being outsourced? I understand that one of the objectives for this outsourcing is for them to move to higher value-added roles. So what are MICA's plans for them?

Finally, what are the potential risks that MICA sees the Government facing with this $1.3 billion undertaking? Does MICA have a plan if the outsourcing project does not meet the objectives, either due to internal or external factors?

The Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Sir, I thank Miss Penny Low and Mr Zaqy Mohamad for some very relevant and apt comments and advice.

Let me first start by saying that the infocomm sector has seen good growth. For 2007, our preliminary estimates indicate growth of between 6% and 8% in value-add was achieved and, in terms of total revenues, we saw growth of between 7% and 10%. These are reasonable indices of progress.

Let me update the House on the status of the iN2015 master plan.

Infrastructure-wise, we have completed the roll-out of the Wireless@SG programme. Members will remember that this is a pervasive public wireless network consisting of 6,900 hotspots distributed island-wide in public areas. As far as the Next Generation National Broadband Network project is concerned, the Request for Proposal (RFP) is underway and we target to award the first RFP by the third quarter of this year.

The various cluster development programmes under the master plan include things such as FutureSchools@Singapore , iGov2010, TradeXchange and Integrated Clinic Management System. All these cluster development programmes are underway and making good progress.

Specifically, on the e-Government programme, we are achieving a greater integration of Government e-services under the iGov2010 plan. Members will also remember that last week we announced 150 Government services will be available online through the mobile phone. The main Government website www.gov.sg will be transformed in order to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of our people. So you will see improvements in this package of services and products at the interface between Government and people.

I agree with Miss Penny Low and Mr Zaqy Mohamad that for our local infocomm industry to flourish, the key ingredient is talent. The IDA’s 2007 Annual Infocomm Manpower Survey showed that the infocomm manpower pool grew by 8.9% between 2006 and 2007. We now have approximately 130,400 people in this sector. More than 80% of these people are tertiary-educated.

But we really need to develop a full complement of infocomm manpower that stretches the entire spectrum from maintenance all the way to high-end cutting-edge research and development. To achieve this, the key is to attract and retain top talent in this sector and to make sure that this talent continues to have up-to-date and relevant skills, because this is such a quickly progressing sector.

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IDA will be increasing the pool of scholars in this sector through the National Infocomm Scholarships Programme. These scholarships are offered in partnership with companies from the private sector, and these include companies in diverse range of sectors, including banking, finance, telecoms, media, etc. Scholars of the National Infocomm Scholarship Programme are assured of a wide selection of exciting job prospects when they graduate. Since the launch of this programme in 2004, we have attracted a total of 107 top students. In the next few years, we will increase the number of scholarships available.

IDA is also working with local universities as well as companies to roll out the Enhanced Learning in Infocomm Technology Programme. This is a programme which targets the top 20% of students in NUS, NTU and SMU. They will have an opportunity to be mentored by key industry leaders, they will be exposed to project work as well as internships, both locally and overseas, and they will also receive training in new technology areas. This is to make sure that top talent is excited, stimulated and sees that there are real prospects for interesting challenges in the years ahead. And that addresses the Member's point about keeping top talent within this sector.

The National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) was initiated last year. This is a framework which will help professionals upgrade and equip themselves with relevant skill sets which we anticipate will be in high demand in the future. A new NICF portal will be launched by the end of this month. The portal will enable users to assess manpower capability gaps, develop career development plans, as well as to identify relevant training programmes.

Complementing this framework is the Techno-Strategist Programme, which aims to equip some 1,000 middle-tier infocomm professionals with deeper domain knowledge specifically in the following three sectors:

(1) Healthcare;

(2) Finance; and

(3) Banking.

Why did we choose these three sectors? Because we believe these are sectors with significant growth prospects in the years ahead. Obviously, as we identify other sectors, we will also expand this programme accordingly. Over the next five years, IDA will be investing a further $70 million into these infocomm manpower development programmes. So the resources are available.

Besides addressing talent, IDA and MDA will work with other Government agencies, including the EDB, to continue to attract high-value ICT activities and research and development to Singapore. We will also be increasing our assistance to local start-ups so that they will be able to both create and market their IP both locally and internationally.

Miss Penny Low also asked how we are helping SMEs adopt infocomm technology. Let me just highlight three programmes.

The first is the SME Infocomm Resource Centre@Singapore Polytechnic. This provides SMEs with consultancy services at very low rates. I understand that the lowest charge is $5 for consultancy service.

The second example is the SME Domain-Name Reservation service. When a local company registers its name with ACRA, it is also given an option for free reservation of its domain name. It has three months to decide. If it wishes to, register that domain name and, if it wishes to, we offer it at a subsidised rate initially.

The third example is the SME Infocomm Package which, by May this year, will offer infocomm service and support packages from a list of pre-qualified suppliers. This is a scheme which will enable SMEs to reap cost savings or, as Miss Penny Low referred to, as almost a utility model when they invest in basic infocomm equipment and services. To add a further sweetener, the IDA will also co-fund the first 5,000 SMEs which take advantage of these packages. So, again, the point is, resources are available, we can bring the horse to the water, but we cannot force it to drink.

Miss Penny Low was also quite rightly concerned about a potential digital divide. The good news is that we are aware of this and we do not intend to let a digital divide exist in Singapore. In the next five years, we will invest $43 million into these efforts. Let me give you a few examples.

The IDA will accelerate its enhanced NEU-PC Plus programme. This is a programme which was launched in 2006 which provides highly-subsidised personal computers and Internet access to low-income families. If I may add, it is broadband Internet access for these low-income families. To date, some 4,200 families have already taken advantage of this programme. In total, we are aiming for 38,000 families to benefit from this programme by 2015. Last year, the IDA also set up the iNSPIRE Fund which will allow needy students to perform community service in lieu of co-payment. So, in theory, some families can get this for a princely sum of $0.

I launched the first Silver Infocomm Junction last year in November. This is a centre targeted at senior citizens so that they will get exposure and access to personal computers and the Internet. The IDA will be setting up another seven centres in the heartlands by 2010. IDA will also work with MCYS and the Society for the Physically Disabled to launch the Infocomm Accessibility Centre in the middle of this year, and this will provide infocomm skills training to the disabled so that they can enhance their employability and stay connected.

To ensure that there is convenient online access to Government services, there are also 28 CitizenConnect Centres around Singapore with trained officers on hand to render assistance to those who currently do not have computer access or need someone to hold their hand as they click on the mouse.

Yesterday, we announced the results of the tender for the Government Standard Operating Environment. This is a $1.3 billion project over eight years and we estimate that it will save the Government around $500 million over the next eight years. These savings are derived principally from economies of scale, standardisation, the ease of deployment and the ease of maintenance that results from the standardised operating environment.

I take the point that we are also aware of risks. We are outsourcing such a large chunk of Government IT infrastructure to the private sector. We have taken adequate precautions. For example, we will ensure that for every essential component of this project, there are at least two suppliers within that consortium who can provide the essential component.

Operationally, we also intend to make sure that at least 30% of the people involved with this project are civil servants or people within our statutory boards. They will be integrated, embedded into the manpower manning this project so that we are never held hostage to any company or consortia or sub-consortia within this project.

We will also have internal audit teams to maintain security and resiliency of the system. It also gives us an opportunity therefore to upskill and retask our existing IT manpower into higher-value and more significant jobs.

So, all in all, our infocomm sector is doing well and growing. We are making resources available. There are great opportunities. Both in the private sector and in the Government sector, there are greater efficiencies and, we will also make sure, no digital divides emerge.

Design and Creative Singapore

Miss Penny Low: Sir, from San Francisco to Shanghai, cities across the world are competing to be creative hubs. Where is Singapore in this race and where do we see ourselves in three years' time? Could the Minister also give an update on:

(1) The value-add per creative worker vis-a-vis the national average;

(2) Creative industries development strategy which includes the MediaFusion2015, the Creative Community 2.0 and the Design Strategy 2.0;

(3) Its plan on attracting top creative talents to be based in Singapore. Talents attract talents and the best attracts the best. Have we identified such talents or successfully gotten them to move to Singapore, as the bio-tech sector did? If yes, how did we do it and, if not, why not?

(4) Last but not least, the ability to identify industry needs and matching them is a critical linking pin in the creative industry. Currently, while our designer and creative sector tend to work in silos, the product and service engineering sectors are also not leveraging on design to move up the value chain. Perhaps, the right and left brains do not share the same language or focus. But we all know a whole-of-brain approach will create the highest value and most enjoyable product. The story of MP3 players vs Apple ipods is a case in point. Lack of a Steve Job, I am wondering if MICA has set up any specific agency whose function is purely to scout for industry needs to be matched with suitable designers, and vice versa, to ensure greater value creation per product and service?

Promoting Good Design and Quality of Jobs Created in the ICT Sector

1.30 pm

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sir, to promote a culture of design, the public must appreciate good design. One of the ways is to expose the public to good design. The most effective way is to have good design in our public areas. As the largest investor in public amenities, the Government can make the greatest impact on public design quotient.

While MICA promotes enterprises to leverage on design as a competitive edge, does the Ministry also advocate that basic aesthetical standards are met during the Government procurement processes and how so?

Besides functionality and ease of use, aesthetics should also be considered. For example, public amenities, such as our taxi stands, post boxes, litter bins, ERP gantries and even the humble tables and benches in the HDB void deck, can literally be works of art.

Good design does not necessarily mean higher costs or come at the expense of usability. Sometimes, it is just a matter of choice with an eye for aesthetics. For example, the facade of the old Hill Street police station, now the MICA Building, was immediately transformed with the choice of rainbow colours for its many windows. Another good design I have noticed are the street lamps along Esplanade Bridge. I would like to encourage people to pay special attention and enjoy the beauty.

As Singapore becomes more international with big events and we welcome more tourists to Singapore, good designs will also showcase our urban landscape.

Media

Miss Penny Low: Sir, the existence of a strong innovative and diversified media content can drive creativity and adoption of ICT in schools, at work, at home and at play. With Wireless@SG, the promise of being connected "anytime, anywhere" is fast becoming a reality.

Currently, while e-Government content is strong, the rest are not. Locally produced content, e-learning, e-entertainment and, in particular, e-retail and e-businesses, lag far behind that of our US or even Korea and Japan counterparts.

As such, our youths are turning to foreign sites to get information and shape their mindset. My niece, Nowell Quah, for example, is a "spree organiser". That is a term used by e-networks to represent a product aggregator who does it not for profit. In short, she surfs the web for products which are of interest to her, sets up a post with product link, invites surfers to place orders through the web link, while she merely aggregates the demand to place a bulk purchase order which results in lower freight cost and product cost. She has been doing so for a couple of years and, in fact, does most of her shopping this way. The local retailers are losing out on her business. She is a seasoned spree organiser at only 17 years old. What will happen to our local retail businesses? Will our expensive ICT infrastructure, void of local content, become exploited by foreign content and under-utilised to grow our economic pie?

Can MICA provide an update on the achievements of its Media21 blueprint and its efforts to develop the media sector? Also, which aspects of media industry has MICA focused its efforts on, ie, is it content distribution, media services, such as digital IP management, etc? Has there been a significant growth in creation and sales of local media content? Do we have the right quantity and quality of manpower to grow? What are our strengths and where are the employment opportunities?

Finally, can MICA also provide an update on the progress of its Interactive Digital Media (IDM) initiatives?

The Chairman: Dr Fatimah, take your two cuts together. 1.5 minutes.

National Book Development Council and Literary Arts

Dr Fatimah Lateef: The literary arts appear to have less visibility compared to some other areas of the arts. The National Book Development Council of Singapore has received grants under the MICA budget. It has utilised part of its funds to set up the Singapore Writers Centre and publish the resource kit for writers. I would like to enquire what are the opportunities and options this can offer to the budding writers in Singapore. How many publications do we get annually? What is the language breakdown for the publications? What are the plans that the Ministry has to uplift this area of the literary arts to give it enhanced recognition?

Creative Entrepreneur Development Programme

The Creative Entrepreneur Development programme will be introduced to develop the entrepreneurial capacity in Singapore. I hope to see more creative collaborations and unique tie-ups between companies in various sectors to maintain the industry's presence. What will its programme comprise of and what targets and impact can we expect from it? I would also like to suggest that they work with Creative Community Singapore to help nurture and harness the creative potential here as well as work together in areas, such as branding and co-branding, marketing and co-funding.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Sir, for 2005, which unfortunately is the most recent year for which we have official statistics, the value-add of the creative industries in Singapore grew by 8%. It reached a total value of $7.6 billion and therefore contributed about 3.9% to Singapore's GDP. From 2002 to 2005, the value-add per worker in the creative industries grew by 4.8% to reach approximately $75,000 in 2005. Unfortunately, this is lower than the Singapore average of $86,000 in that same year. So this shows that there is still much progress that needs to be achieved in this sector, as far as the creative capacity and the value-add of each worker is concerned. But having said that, the employment in the creative industries now amounts to slightly in excess of 100,000. That is 4.4% of total employment in Singapore. So, that is not an insignificant sector that we need to pay attention to.

Let me move on to the issue of design which several Members have referred to. The Design Competitiveness Report, which is based on data supplied by the World Economic Forum, showed that Singapore has improved from No. 22 in the year 2002 to No. 16 in 2005 – not yet in the top 10, but we are making progress. Singapore designers are also winning more international awards. For example, the NUS Industrial Design graduate, Mr Donn Koh, became the first Singaporean, indeed the first designer trained in Asia to win one of the world's most coveted design prizes – the International Braun Prize.

Mr Baey Yam Keng asked how the Government promotes good design in public amenities. I totally agree with him. I think we do need to pay attention to this element because, after all, that is what we see every day. I was just sharing a private joke with the Minister for Transport and I think he agrees with the Member that if we can make ERP gantries even more impactful from a design perspective, maybe people will be less angry with the Ministry. That may be wishful thinking.

I will give you another example. DesignSingapore has launched a nationwide programme called the "10TouchPoints" in which we were looking for public suggestions on how to redesign public amenities. I did not check whether any suggestions came in for ERP gantries but there were many other suggestions, including recycling bins, bus-stops and other examples. In fact, I believe the winning design was a creative redesign for recycling bins and you will soon see these at our Changi Airport.

Miss Penny Low asked a relevant question. She asked: have we set up any agencies specifically to match companies with designers? DesignSingapore's initial focus was, first, to assemble a critical mass of talent in the design sector. And we sought to do that by developing both Singaporean designers as well as leading international designers. This was done through the DesignSingapore studio series which so far has seen Singapore designers working with international designers, such as Toshiyuki Kita, and exhibiting their products and networks at the Milan Fair. But I totally agree with the Member that our next step must be to encourage Singapore companies to integrate design into their products and to therefore work with our designers in order to create more compelling products. I think the example which she cited of MP3 players is the most apt example. Therefore, building both design capacity and embedding that design ability into our major industries will be our key priority as we move into the new DesignSingapore 2.0 blueprint, details of which we will release later this year.

Miss Penny Low also asked for an update on our media development efforts. MDA has spent time and resources in developing capabilities, grooming enterprises and cultivating demand. For example, last year, more than 5,000 media professionals and students received MDA-supported training in order to upgrade their skills. We will continue to attract experienced international media talents to Singapore as well.

I must also tell this House that Singapore companies are actually quite successfully co-producing TV programmes, animations and feature films with leading overseas partners. In fact, some 100 local media companies have participated in six key trade events, such as MIPTV, MIPCOM and the Cannes Film market last year, and they secured an estimated US$600 million in deals – not a bad start.

In the area of interactive and digital media, we are also attracting both international and local companies to engage in media R&D. As Members have pointed out, we need to go beyond just marketing, sales and distribution, but move up the value chain. And R&D represents the cutting edge of that value chain. In 2007, under a multi-agency initiative, 23 IDM R&D projects with an estimated business spending of $126 million were awarded. But these are long-term projects. It will take time for us to see whether they bear fruit.

Miss Low has also rightly pointed out that Singapore is a newcomer to this field and that there is a lot more that needs to be done. Details of our Singapore MediaFusion 2015 blueprint will be released later this year.

Dr Fatimah Lateef's question about the National Book Development Council (NBDC) and nurturing writers in Singapore is very timely. Under the Singapore Writers Centre initiative, the NBDC organises year-round activities, including courses, workshops featuring international writers, networking opportunities and the supporting resources. All these, together with festivals, such as the Singapore Writers Festival, have helped to boost the number of local titles published in Singapore by 6% in 2006 and that represents a total of more than 23,300 publications. I do not have the language breakdown. I will get my staff to give the Member that later on.

I just want to end by re-emphasising the point that this is still all about talent. Just last month, I visited Google. I found 26 Singaporeans working for Google – engineers – and they said, "We have joined this company where engineers are number one", and they think they are going to change the world by working in that company. And we need to do the same in Singapore – to give our top talent opportunities to change the world by fully utilising their potential and talent.

And the other point about this space in IDM and media is that it is such a quickly-changing field. The opportunities change from year to year. And the real opportunities lie at the interface of arts, business and technology. So it is no longer about right brain or left brain. It is no longer about artists and engineers. But our students need to have the capacity to transact and look for value and opportunities at these interstices. And, therefore, what we are doing now in our education system, in our support for the eco-system and for enterprises, I believe, will create many, many opportunities for our students and top talent in the future. So I am optimistic that this sector is set to lift off.

The Chairman: Prof. Thio, you have two cuts. Take them together, please. 4.5 minutes.

Regulation of New Media: Compliance with Internet Code of Practice

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Prof. Thio Li-ann (Nominated Member): Sir, as Media Development Authority licencees, all Internet service and content providers must use best efforts to ensure prohibited material under the Internet Code of Practice is not broadcast to Singapore consumers. As licensor and industry regulator, MDA is indirectly responsible for its licencees' online content. MDA advocates industry self-regulation, or not a hands-on monitor, MDA's light-touch approach cannot mean it is hands-off. If MDA's policy is to react to complaints about suspect content, are there well-known complaints channels individuals can use? What action is taken concerning code violations? Is the complainant kept informed? With MDA's assistance, the police deals with online statements which cause public harm and violate criminal law, like sedition. Conversely, online defamation may be considered a private matter although MDA, as gate-keeper, may bear complicity as licensor, owing a duty of care to protect individual reputation.

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While applicable Singapore law is violated, will MDA assist defamed persons by helping to identify the relevant ISP to research registry? There is a grey area or twilight zone between public and private law where online speech, not being criminal or recognise tort, wants legal regulation. Let us say a blogger angered by a controversial newspaper article written by an academic blog about this, calling the academic an idiot. Such name calling is just crass rude opinion. However, what if that blogger starts a website campaign urging others to flood the academic with abusive emails, and to write to the academic's employers calling for that person's dismissal? Is this not a conspiracy to incite harassment against an individual, a form of intentional cyber-nuisance? As regulator and licensor of the Internet communications space within its borders, should the state facilitate such online harassment?

The Internet can promote robust political debate. However, free speech is but the means to serve the ends of truth and democracy, rights entail responsibilities. If private parties misuse the Internet to destroy people whose views they dislike, this will kill free speech. Our shared commitment to democracy will be eroded if abusive online content goes unregulated. Such online views lacking social content or value may incite hatred or violence against the speaker. Such intimidation thwarts democratic debate. This is the Internet's dark side. I hope the Minister will consider the need to deter such anti-social attacks to prevent harassing malicious public online speech from undermining the Internet as a free and fair communications medium.

Regulating Old Media: TV

My next cut, Sir. The Government has an interest in upholding public morality and decency in broadcasting, which shapes social values for good or ill. Old media, like free-to-air TV, attract more stringent safeguards to ensure programmes do not stray from accepted community norms given its broad reach into almost all homes. MDA's free-to-air TV programme code manifests concern with safeguarding community morality. Social resilience and democracy depends on this. With globalisation, correct common norms of decency are needed to ensure we remain discerning and not blindly embrace libertine values in the name of being cosmopolitan. How are breaches of TV programme codes handled? How does this differ from the light-touch approach to regulating new media? Does MDA actively monitor the content of TV programmes or merely react to third party complaints? Are there well-known formal avenues for citizens to raise concerns?

Last month, the Straits Times published an online letter by Mr Benny Cheok who expressed concern about a Channel 5 TV show screened at 8.00 am on Sunday and said, "depicted a gay married couple with their young adopted son as a family nucleus." This screening breaches the code's guideline on public morals and social values. It undermines the family's importance as a basic social unit, signalling that same sex parenting is acceptable. This contradicts our family values and conception of family where a man and woman marrying and having children is normative. Further, the code requires that themes concerning lifestyles like homosexuality be cautiously treated and not glamourised or endorsed.

The show was screened during prime viewing time, breaching guidelines on family viewing. Mr Cheok noted that young viewers would be left eroded by the absence of the opposite gender in the family nucleus. What steps has MDA taken to investigate and remedy Mr Cheok's complaint? Could the Minister elaborate on how to prevent similar future breaches and how to ensure industry players make greater use of consumer advice in airing sensitive content?

Dialects on TV and Radio

Mr Baey Yam Keng: ( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Sir, the movie "881" received overwhelming support by the people, because people liked the very strong local flavour and could find resonance with the Hokkien songs and dialect composition. In fact, dialect is not just the language for scolding or abusing each other; in fact, it is also an art, a culture, a heritage. "881" has represented Singapore in the Oscars award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it cannot be aired over our Channel 8 or Channel U. And even the popular Hokkien song, "Half for you, half for me" cannot be heard over our radio.

In 2003, the Programme Advisory Committee recommended for the restriction on dialect programmes on our mass media to be relaxed but MICA turned down the recommendation saying that it would affect the usage of Mandarin. In fact, in 2005, less than 3% of our Chinese population aged between five and 20 cited dialect as the most frequently used language at home. And even for those aged between 20-30, the figure was less than 14%. Honestly speaking, dialects cannot be resurrected as it was before in Singapore. It has very little impact on our learning of Mandarin. So, should we kill dialects and eradicate them? I think we should give them some breathing space.

Many of my elderly residents in Queenstown do not know Mandarin. Fortunately, I can speak Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese. So, I can communicate with our older residents. Many of them cannot understand Government schemes, especially those designed to help them. They cannot understand because it was not explained to them in their own dialects or languages. Currently, we only allow short news bulletins in dialects on 95.8FM and Chinese opera programmes on TV. If we allow some informative or even entertainment programmes to use dialects, our senior citizens could have a better understanding of what is happening in Singapore. Now that our people are ageing and many of them are living longer, I think we should also provide for their enjoyment besides financial adequacy. With today’s technology, we could even broadcast Hong Kong drama serials in dual sound.

When the Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched in 1979, the slogan was “Speak More Mandarin, Use Less Dialects” but with the changing environment, the slogan is now “Mandarin Cool”. I think Mandarin will continue to be cool, but dialects need not be frozen!

*Cols. 1585-1586.

TV and Radio Licences

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Sir, in today's pervasive multi-media communication channels and Internet, it has become impossible for the Government to control all television and radio installations and broadcasting. Thus, the purpose of TV and radio licensing is obsolete and redundant. We should abolish the need to apply for radio and TV licence in Singapore. I understand the standard answer from the Ministry is that the proceeds from the licence fee is necessary to fund news reporting and community-based programmes. Sir, I do not agree that TV and radio users should pay for such public programmes. These programmes should instead be funded by the Government or through advertisements.

The collection of $12 TV and radio licence is tedious and not cost effective. Lots of public resources were used to recover the $12 arrears, and many court hours were used for prosecution. Sir, I urge the Government to abolish the licensing scheme for TV and radio.

Official Information

Mr Siew Kum Hong (Nominated Member): Sir, the Government collects and holds a lot of information. Yet, much, if not most, of that is unavailable, even to researchers for research purposes. The Government controls how much data to release, and how and when. Available data is sometimes presented differently at different times, making comparison difficult. Even MPs, it seems, are not able to obtain certain data. I know because I have asked for citizenship and PR figures in Parliament, but I have been told by MHA that it is "unable to provide this specific data requested." No reasons were cited. And it seems parliamentary convention permits this.

Meanwhile, we simply do not record some types of data. Most notably, when MOM tracks resident employment data, it does not differentiate between citizens and resident foreigners. I think most Singaporeans would consider that essential information if only to better understand how their country is changing. This Government fiercely prides itself on its transparency and accountability. I therefore ask the Government to be more proactive in collecting and publishing official statistics. Any official data that does not invoke national security or similar concerns should be made available. Indeed, I urge the Government to enact a Freedom of Information Act to set the rules under which Government information is made available to the public as of right.

In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution describing freedom of information as a fundamental human right. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which forms part of customary international law, explicitly provides for the right to seek and receive information. The right to information is therefore a fundamental human right. It is timely for Singapore to have its own Freedom of Information Act. Such legislation promotes transparency and accountability. It allows citizens to understand their governments better. It facilitates independent research. It enriches the history of the nation. Today, over 70 countries around the world have such legislation. Even China, a Communist state, is implementing a statute on access to government information. It will come into force on 1st May 2008. It is time for Singapore, as a developed country, to take its rightful place within that group of countries.

National Branding

Miss Penny Low: Sir, the importance of a country's brand or reputation has emerged as an important economic competitive edge. Brands are not just a physical icon. They represent a country's value system, its reputation at home and overseas. Singapore is a good brand. The fact that we can travel visa-free to many countries, the fact that businesses welcome Singapore organisations, the fact that Singaporeans are in high demand in the corporate world, are testimony to our brand value. One may ask: What is Singapore's brand value worth? Stephen Anholt, a leading national brand specialist, put the value of the Singapore brand at US$106 billion, or 100% of 2004 GDP. Perhaps, in hindsight, it was our brand value that attracted the success bids of F1 Grand Prix, YOG, Volvo Yatch Race and other international events to Singapore.

I would like to ask the Minister for an update of our national branding strategy as well as how we are leveraging on our brand to promote our industries, artists and cultural heritage overseas? Equally important, a national brand must be supported by its citizens, beyond dollars and cents. A strong brand will have emotional attachment and, in this case, brand loyalty is extremely important to build national identity and commitment to make Singapore our home. For too long, our brand has been seen to be too clinical and dry, and void of a common heritage or destiny, as old heritage gives way to new artifacts. The current brain drain is in part due to the lack of a strong sense of common identity. Can the Minister enlighten us on how MICA intends to rebuild or strengthen our national brand, and ensure buy-ins from not just foreigners, but also our citizens?

The Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Balaji Sadasivan): Sir, the hon. Members have raised questions on the regulation of Singapore's media industry. Let me share with the House MICA's role in fostering a vibrant media industry to provide diverse and informed media content choices for the people, while safeguarding our social values and national interests.

First, I will address Prof. Thio Li-ann's question on the regulation of new media. We have adopted a pragmatic approach which emphasises public education, individual responsibility and industry self-regulation to complement a light touch regulatory framework. Under the MDA class licence scheme, Internet service and content providers are required to exercise discretion to ensure that their content complies with the class licence conditions and the Internet code of practice.

Prof. Thio wished to know if a person can make a complaint. The answer is yes. Anyone who comes across offensive content on the Internet can call or lodge a complaint via the MDA website. On average, MDA receives one to two such feedback each month.

As for matters relating to libel and personal defamation, these lay outside the scope of MDA class licence. However, existing laws that protect an individual's rights still apply. So these issues are best dealt with the existing legal and civil channels.

While everyone is free to express their views on their personal blogs, they should be mindful that they are still subjected to the laws of the land, such as the Penal Code and the Religious Harmony Act. Singapore's key vulnerabilities - the four kinds of race and religion remain and, in fact, are even more exposed to foreign influences in the form of religious extremism and terrorism reaching us through the new media. Hence, any individual in Singapore who uses websites for religious purposes has to register with MDA. This promotes accountability and also ensures personal responsibility for comments made on the Internet. We have had cases in the previous years where the law was breached, such as when racist bloggers blogged incendiary racist remarks, and we have not hesitated to prosecute them in court. Our controls have enabled the maintenance of our racial harmony in the face of sensitive material, such as the Danish cartoons. We will continue to be vigilant and to manage the risks brought about by new media, so as to ensure racial harmony amongst our people. However, with regard to the rest of the content in the Internet, we will continue to have a light-touch approach.

Let me now turn to the traditional media where we have adopted a differentiated approach based on reach and impact.

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Free-to-air TV, for example, has more stringent guidelines as it is a mainstream media that has wider reach and impact on the general public. By comparison, subscription TV, including cable and IPTV services, is given more leeway because its accessibility is restricted by subscription.

With regard to the enforcement of TV programme codes, I want to assure the House that television, especially free-to air channels, will uphold certain norms and standards consistent with traditional family values. I would like to address Prof. Thio Li-ann’s query on the steps taken to deal with channels that air programmes contrary to these values. Our current system is based largely on self-regulation by the broadcasters who are to comply with a set of programme codes. Hence, programmes are not pre-censored. If there is a complaint, an investigation is launched which includes consultations with the MDA's broadcast advisory committees.

With regard to the Straits Times' Forum page letter regarding a TV show, which Prof. Thio mentioned, which apparently showed a supposedly married gay couple who supposedly had an adopted child, we need to take a balanced view. The TV programme was a programme about home decoration and design. It featured a game room being converted into a nursery. There was no objection to the skills and talent of the designers or to the general entertainment value of the programme. The objection raised does not relate to the main features of the programme but to an incidental feature found in this one episode. The concern was that in the programme the people who were going to live in the redesigned home were two men and a child, not the usual man, woman and child. The viewer can extrapolate what the relationship of the two men may be and then from the extrapolation conclude that family values are not being upheld. As there is a complaint about the programme, MDA is investigating the matter in its usual manner. It will consult the Programme Advisory Committee for English programmes, or PACE, before making a decision if any guideline was breached.

In regulating the media, MICA adopts a flexible approach wherever possible. Take, for instance, our dialect policy. We do not ban the use of dialects on broadcast media outright. Where practical, we allow some dialect programming to serve the needs of older Singaporeans and the arts community.

In response to Mr Baey Yam Keng’s request for MICA to permit airing dialect content on TV and radio, I would like to point out that some dialect programmes are already available on radio, free-to-air TV and cable TV. For instance, on free-to-air TV, Channel 8 broadcasts dialect operas and Arts Central enjoys leeway to show arthouse movies with some dialect, if the films have artistic merit. On radio, FM 95.8 broadcasts dialect news daily. For more dialect programmes, viewers can choose from subscription TV services, including those offered by SCV and SingTel. In addition, dialect movies and dramas are readily available on DVDs, VCDs and videotapes.

When the Speak Mandarin Campaign was first launched, only 13% of Chinese Singaporeans could speak Mandarin. Today, with the bilingual policy of schools and continued promotion by the Promote Mandarin Council, half of Chinese Singaporeans can speak Mandarin easily. This puts Singaporeans in an advantageous position to benefit from the rapid growth of China. As reported by My Paper , Singaporean managers are highly sought after in China and Hong Kong and one reason is our ability to speak English and Mandarin. An excellent example is Mr Harry Tan who upgraded "Days Inn", a motel chain originating from the US, to a 5-star "Days Hotel and Suites" chain in many provinces in China. He strongly believes that only Singaporeans can do this because of our bilingual policy.

That we have achieved some success after almost 30 years of Speak Mandarin Campaign is not an outcome that is not irreversible. We should not inadvertently reverse this progress, the progress that we have made through an uncontrolled liberalisation of our dialect policy. So, Sir, while dialect is not frozen, while it may be cool, we still want Mandarin to be cooler.

Apart from content regulation, MICA also seeks to foster social cohesion and bonding. This is achieved through Public Service Broadcast (PSB) programmes, which play a critical role in communicating national and social messages. Such PSB programmes are funded by Radio and TV licence fees. Dr Teo Ho Pin had requested for the abolition of RTV licence fees and for Government to fund PSB programmes instead. This question has been raised twice in this House before. The collection of RTV licence fees is not unique to Singapore. If these fees are abolished, taxes will have to be increased to fund these PSB programmes. We should view the payment of RTV fees as a partnership between the Government, broadcasters and people for the public good.

The funded PSB programmes cover genres like minority language programmes, culture, information, current affairs, quality drama, local sports and children's programmes, many of which are not commercially viable otherwise. These programmes inform and educate the general public about important social, community and economic issues and policies. They also serve our national interests by strengthening our identity and culture, and promoting social cohesion and racial harmony.

On this note, I would like to touch on the Indian language free-to-air channel – Vasantham. Mr Chairman, Sir, I shall proceed in Tamil.

(In Tamil) : [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Sir, Vasantham , the Indian TV service station, plays an important part in the life of Singapore Indian community. Today, Vasantham has only about 29 hours of programmes a week. The Vasantham programmes are telecast between Kids Central and Arts Central, both of which are in the English language. We have received much feedback from the Indian community asking for the improvement of Vasantham programmes. We have therefore decided to make Vasantham a separate or a stand-alone channel for Tamil and other Indian programmes. In other words, Sir, it would be like Suria programmes. The number of hours of programmes will increase from 29 hours to 65 hours a week. Indians in Singapore therefore can look forward to a much more improved Vasantham channel.

(In English) : Let me now turn to Mr Siew Kum Hong’s concern about freedom of information, which was a subject of discussion in this House at least twice before. Sir, Singapore is plugged into the globalised world and thrives on a free flow of information. The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) in its Asian Intelligence Report’s assessment of economic statistics noted that for Singapore, "a wide range of topics are quickly compiled and made available to researchers on a regular basis". The range, coverage and availability of our economic and social statistics compare very favourably to those compiled and disseminated by more statistically developed countries, for example, US, UK, Australia and Hong Kong. The IMF, in its annual Article IV consultations, has also consistently assessed Singapore’s economic statistics to be timely, credible and reliable.

Mr Siew also asked about the availability of information such as employment data differentiating between citizens and non-citizens. In line with national statistical practice, MOM regularly publishes employment figures by residents (Singapore citizens and PRs) and non-residents (foreigners). MOM has also released two papers today retrievable on their website – the first on the employment of Singapore citizens, PRs and foreigners, a subject that Mr Siew showed interest in, and the second on the quality of employment creation for Singapore citizens.

Similarly, the Department of Statistics publishes regular demographic statistics according to this breakdown, in addition to other economic and social statistics. In fact, all Government agencies regularly provide updated information on matters of public interest, such as health, education, and finance through the media, publicity campaigns as well as the Internet.

The National Archives of Singapore is also a rich repository of historical data that is invaluable to researchers. As stipulated by the National Heritage Board Act 1993, most archived public records are made available for public consultation after a 25-year period.

The lack of legislation on Freedom of Information has not prevented Singapore from doing well in international studies of transparency. In 2007, Transparency International ranked Singapore fourth in an international survey, above the United States, which does have a Freedom of Information Act.

That Singapore is a financial, information and economic hub, and that the people’s trust in our Government remains high, is proof that the system we have today is working well.

Finally, I fully agree with Miss Penny Low that a country’s brand or reputation has emerged as an important competitive factor. A national branding strategy is therefore important. MICA is committed to improving the overall brand equity of Singapore through coordination among agencies when marketing Singapore. MICA, together with MTI, co-chairs the National Marketing Action Committee, or NMAC.

NMAC’s main purpose is to develop a whole-of-government effort to market and promote Singapore internationally for a more consistent Singapore brand. As Singapore continues to evolve, so will our brand, and our marketing efforts must reflect this progression. This does not mean that tomorrow, you are going to see a single logo or tagline proclaiming to the world what the "new" Singapore is about. Instead, it is more about coordinating our messaging, as Government agencies, so that we speak a common language about what Singapore stands for.

Branding only seeks to emphasise the reality. Therefore, the reality of what Singapore is, will be what ultimately brands Singapore. With the numerous international events coming to our sunny shores, such as the Youth Olympic Games and the F1 races, there are opportunities for us to showcase and brand Singapore. I have no doubt we would organise and host these events efficiently as we are well-known for efficiency. But we also need to showcase our "softer" aspects – graciousness, civic consciousness and politeness.

This will depend on each and every Singaporean – how we present ourselves to the world. We are the brand ambassadors of Singapore and, through our actions, we will provide the reality of what Brand Singapore is – a gracious society living in a vibrant global city.

Sir, in conclusion, MICA will continue its efforts to make Singapore a vibrant global city, giving greater choice to all who live and work here.

*Cols. 1587-1588.

The Chairman: We have about until 2.40 pm. Any clarifications? Yes, Mr Baey.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sir, I refer to SMS's response about national branding. I think branding is not just about a marketing or PR exercise. Many times, we have valid reasons to stand firm on our positions on certain matters, for example, the conditions that foreigners are not allowed in the Complaints Choir performance. We are upholding the principle that foreigners should not interfere in our domestic policies but the public outcry and negative international visibility seem to do us more discredit. So how does the Ministry strike a balance between these matters and the potential negative impact on Singapore's national branding?

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Sir, our branding is what we are and part of our branding is the law and order that we have and the safety that we have in our city and the fact that everybody has to comply with the law. This is part of our reputation and part of our branding, and it is not a bad part of our brand value.

The Chairman: Ms Irene Ng, can you make your clarification short, please, so that we can take in as many clarifications as we can?

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, the SMS mentioned about graciousness and politeness. There has been some concern among Singaporeans that this seems to have been going downhill. There are always a lot of rush at MRT stations, seats are not given up for the elderly

and pregnant women. Can I ask SMS what is the progress of the Small Kindness Movement because it has been very quiet and whether we are still mounting, not campaigns but promotions, in education programmes to ensure that our citizens continue to be a more gracious society?

2.15 pm

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Yes, we shall continue with those efforts. In fact, with the Youth Olympics and the F1, it is a great opportunity for all Singaporeans to think about their behaviour and whether they can improve it – whether they can be more polite and more gracious. If we take these events as an opportunity to improve our behaviour and, as Ms Irene Ng says, not rush for the train, to give up our seats to older people, then we will be a more gracious society. Branding cannot be about PR, as has been pointed out. Branding has to be about reality. So what we need to do is to ensure that the reality of Singaporean behaviour improves, and we shall continue with that effort. But it depends on each and everyone of us.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Sir, I have a question for the Minister. I think in my cut, I mentioned a point about the ability of our local ICT businesses to commercialise the IP that they get. Despite concessions by the Government, many of our local ICT businesses are not able to commercialise their IP. Just a small comment on the ERP. I think that basically substantiates Mr Baey's point that even if you design our ERP very nicely, people are going to say, "This is very expensive and you are charging me more to improve the design." I think it is still a point where the design is still very expensive.

The Chairman: What is your question or clarification?

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: My question is, why our local ICT businesses are not able to commercialise their IP? And do we need more measures to enable them to do so?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Government actually has a very generous IP regime. For private sector companies, including our local companies who work on Government ICT projects, after the completion of the project, we let them own the IP and the hope is that they will then commercialise it and use the fact that this IP was utilised in the Government successfully as part of their branding and part of their marketing. I think he is right that so far progress on the utilisation of this IP has not been as good as we would hope for it to be. But there is a limit again to what the Government can do. We have made the first step. We let them own the IP. We will help market it. But I think we also have to be realistic. We all know about the world being flat. The infocomm sector is the flatest sector in the world. Any product which you intend to market is immediately available worldwide but it is also exposed to competition worldwide. So this is not a sector where a Government subsidy will suddenly make you competitive. You have got to go out there quickly and show the world that this idea works.

I think the fact that we now have an SOE is also another great opportunity for our companies, because this is one of the largest outsourcing projects for the front end, the desktop, the messaging and the networking behind Government infrastructure. I hope that our companies will capitalise on this project to also gain greater market share overseas. And if this project is successful, and I expect it to be successful, I think there will be other governments and other large organisations in the world that will also embark on this course that the Singapore Government has set.

Miss Penny Low: Sir, a question to the Minister. He mentioned that we do track some of the successful Singaporean artists overseas and we do bring them back, give them platforms and highlight them. But many industry players have also fed back that we expect our own artists and industry players to perform for free, or for a very small fee, while we splurge on foreign talents. Can the Minister clarify its talent engagement policy and whether we do have a different policy for talents from Singapore and overseas?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, I do not think it is quite correct to say that we always expect our own artists to perform for free or do public service. There are, of course, occasions where we do seek Singapore artists and arts companies to contribute to the national causes. For instance, when we went international for Singapore Season in China. Many of the artists who participated, including the chefs who took part in the two Singapore evening dinners, volunteered their services and they were quite proud to be part of this effort to promote and market Singapore's capability in the culinary art. In many other instances where we actually commission works by Singapore artists, we pay for those commission works. And, in fact, I said earlier on in my reply, that this year, under RCP3, the National Arts Council will set aside $700,000 to start up a commissioning fund which will be used to commission works by Singapore artists which will be performed in Singapore in the first instance. So, we do pay our artists for their work to help to make Singapore a more vibrant arts city.

Mr Siew Kum Hong: Sir, clarification for the Minister. The Minister touched on the Complaints Choir and spoke about foreigners leading and organising Singaporeans and complaining about local politics. I attended the private performance of the Complaints Choir and my understanding is that the project was organised by a local arts group, The Necessary Stage, not by foreigners, and The Necessary Stage invited the founders here. The foreigners were really the composer of the music and were also the conductor and some singers in the choir. Can the Minister please clarify how that constituted interference in Singapore politics when the lyrics were all done by Singaporean members of the choir as a whole?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, as I explained in my response to Ms Irene Ng, our objection in this case of the Complaints Choir was not so much with the lyrics. We objected to the idea of foreigners coming here to lead the Choir, to encourage them or to support them in voicing out their complaints. As I said, and I repeat here again, that this complaining about issues and matters that irritate Singaporeans is something that Singaporeans are more than capable of doing on their own without having to have foreigners come to lead the performance. So the question is whether in fact we should set a precedent where foreigners can come in and organise Singaporeans in this manner. We did not think it was desirable. Yes, the performance was under the ambit of the M1 Festival, and the principal organiser was The Necessary Stage. But in this particular instance, we understood it as an event that would be led or directed by the two foreigners. So we had decided that the public performance by these two foreigners should not take place, since they involved foreigners working together with Singaporeans on this project. But as I had also said in my earlier response, it does not set a precedent. It does not mean that we have an objection to foreigners working with our artists in Singapore to put up arts performances. In fact, we constantly encourage such interaction. We welcome international artists and performers to participate in Singapore on their own or working in collaboration with Singapore artists and arts companies, and we will continue to do so.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Can I ask the Minister whether, going forward, the Ministry can take a lighter touch on such issues? The Minister said that it would not set a precedent and it is an exceptional case. I take assurance from that. But can the Minister also assure there are groups out there, that the Ministry will take a lighter touch and it will assess each case on a case-by-case basis and will not clamp down just because foreigners are involved? Because it has been noted before that if it is a positive piece, then it is okay. But if it is a negative piece, then it is not okay.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, I certainly will be happy to assure Ms Irene Ng that we will take each case on its own merits. We will study the circumstances of the performance and the presentation. And we will take a light touch to regulating such arts performances.

The Chairman: I will take one last clarification. Mr Lim Biow Chuan.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade): Sir, I have a number of Indians speaking Hindi in my constituency. I just like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the Tamil Channel would also have some Hindi language programmes in that channel. I apologise that I cannot ask the question in Hindi.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Sir, currently, the guideline for the Vasantham Channel is that a minimum of 75% of the programming must be in Tamil and 25% can be in other non-Tamil Indian languages. The number of hours is increasing, from 29 hours per week to 65 hours per week. But the guideline will still remain the same.

Miss Penny Low: The Minister mentioned Google having attracted some 26 Singaporeans to work for them and they are amongst the top talents. May I ask the Minister how many of these 26 Singaporeans are indeed working in Singapore itself, instead of Google elsewhere? And one reason Google was able to attract top talent, as it received millions of applications every year, is because they allow their staff to apportion 20% of their time to develop their own projects which are very much associated with social or community developments. How can we then transform or adapt this strategy to our local context and encourage either our companies or even our civil service to adopt the same concept so that we can also attract top talents?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The 26 Singaporeans I met last month are all working in San Francisco, Shanghai or Beijing. Google obviously has other employees in Singapore and in fact they do want to expand in Singapore, not just the sales marketing office, but the research and development laboratory. But the key limiting factor again is talent, making sure that they have top talent who can do top-class work because in this sector, it is very, very competitive. But the lesson which I learned there was that we can attract top talent if, firstly, we recognise top talent; secondly, they must give opportunities for these talents to express themselves and, in their own words, to change the world; and, thirdly, it has got to be connected into a global network.

My point is that if you look at what we are trying to do in Singapore, we are trying to attract top talent into the infocomm sector. We are trying to get scholarships. We are trying to give opportunities. We are trying to network them. And we are also trying to make sure both local startups, local enterprises and top-class global enterprises establish their presence in Singapore in the full spectrum of jobs, so that the key point is that there will be opportunities. And we believe we can do that. We will be able to attract and retain our own top talent who currently may be attracted overseas. But we can attract them back here and, when they are back here, to actually embark on a process of creation of new intellectual property, new products and new services which can change the world.

This is a very difficult challenge, but I believe it is one that we have to do. Because if we do not do that, we will lose the very essence that keeps Singapore at the forefront of technology and what our future hopes are about. That is why, in a sense, we are investing in a broader sense in research and development. It is not really about laboratories. Laboratories are easy to build. It is about attracting top brains and then giving them opportunities, the network and bring about the creation of new ideas, new products and new services. Arts and design come into it also. Because top talents want to live in a place that also has cultural relevance and resilience, also a place in which arts and culture are expressed and expressed at the highest level.

So what MICA is doing, working with the rest of Government, is creating a Singapore of the future which will be conducive to attracting top talent and getting these top talents to express ideas and products. As what I said just now, we need both the right brain and the left brain. And if we can successfully do that in our next phase of Singapore's development, there will be many, many opportunities for people who today consider themselves artists, but really also need a grounding in science and technology, opportunities for our engineers and technicians who will also understand that you need to appreciate design, culture and language. Even our multi-culturalism is both, not just an economic good, but also an expression of ourselves. So when we talk about branding, I come back to SMS Balaji's point, that it must be authentic. And what we have in Singapore is that we do have talent, we do have some advantages, some branding differentiators. We need to pull it all together into a coherent whole and if we succeed in doing that, we will be all right.

Miss Penny Low: I think the Minister has not quite answered my question on whether there are ways to adapt the Google model of allowing 20% of the employee's time into social investment so that they have a chance to really fulfil what they want to do and, so to speak, –

The Chairman: Give the Minister a chance to reply, Miss Low.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Government cannot mandate every enterprise and say, "You must give 20% free time to all of you to think and create and to express yourself." But having said that, as we move into a knowledge-based economy, into a talent resource economy, I cannot mandate when and where you think of new radical ideas. I do not dictate how many hours you should spend ruminating about the future and how many hours you should spend on your job at hand. Sir, I think let us be less prescriptive and less uptight about this. Just understand that you get good people, you give them opportunities, you educate them, you retool them, reskill them and make sure they are current and opaque with what new progress in science and technology offers. At the same time, they also have a connection to their heart and linguistic and cultural heritage. I think you will see real fruits from that kind of environment. So I do not want to be overly prescriptive on this. But I think every employer will know that the race today is to attract talent and you will have to structure your own workplace, your own employment package so that top talent feels fulfilled and challenged working for you. On the Government side, in the civil service, we will of course make our own efforts to do that. But I think each company and enterprise will also have to do so.

Miss Penny Low: Sir, I thank the Ministers and Minister of State for giving us a very comprehensive reply to all our queries and patience as well. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn .

The sum of $452,360,700 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $321,771,600 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

The Chairman: Order. I shall take the break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair again at 3.00 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 2.35 pm until 3.00 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.00 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]:

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]: Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]