HEAD Q - MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 2007 TO 31ST MARCH, 2008:

(Paper Cmd. 2 of 2007): **** Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [2nd Allotted Day].

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]: **** Head Q - Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts

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

Talents in the Creative Sector

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, in the year since the cultural, capital and Renaissance City Plans were introduced, much buzz has been added to the creative sector. More recently, other initiatives like the Creative Community Singapore, Design Singapore, Media 21, Renaissance City 2.0 and even the iN2015 plans collectively contributed to the making of the creative ecosystem. MICA deserves praise in this respect. In fact, the value-add per worker is amongst the highest and its economic pie has been growing exponentially. To attract, groom and retain creative talents, generate innovation and stimulate economic growth, there must be substantial attention paid to providing a holistic and conducive environment for creative juices.

I list four essential elements for the Minister's consideration.

One, environment. Be they artists or technologists, film makers or fashion designers, creative talents need centres of creativity in the places that they work, play and live in. Diversity adds colour and vigour to the process. Talent favours open-minded and connected environment where they can fit in easily. Cities that offer places where talents can share and exchange ideas and even places such as cafes, artists markets, cultural belts will help to integrate newcomers into a community and strengthen the existing community. Would the Minister consider upgrading current arts housing schemes, especially those at Telok Kurau and the Performing Arts Centre at Telok Ayer, which are rather run down currently. What about supporting even a dance centre or the likes of a centre like in Paris. I mean the quality of place counts?

Two, innovation. We need to support new ideas and put a premium on innovation. The emphasis on a high trust economy and patents should be extended to the creative and artistic works and not only be focused on traditional hi-tech industries. This will spell greater growth in original works and entrepreneurial activities.

Three, recognition. The need to be recognised. They need to be recognised by what they do more than who they work for. Due to the nature of their work and the industry, many may fall out of the traditional definitions of formal employment or full-time job. They have little or no CPF or employment benefits or protection, even Medisave, and some move out of the creative sector after some years. I think that is quite a waste. To retain them, we need to find ways to help them get ahead and retain them effectively. Our ability to recognise individuals for their unique contribution rather than their company will help create an environment that attracts and retains talents from across the world and give us the competitive edge.

Four, demand and supply. On the demand side, creative talents need a hand up, not a handout. Demand spurs supply. Perhaps the Government, not just MICA but all across the Government bodies, can purchase local creative works, visual performance or design and collectively provide a demand floor to support the creative industry. On the supply side, each year, MOM projects the manpower needs and NMC translated them into intake quotas which affect the number of tuition grants given. Last year, for NAFA and LaSalle, the quota was 903 and 102 for visual arts and performing arts respectively, including the arts administrators. Is this way too conservative? In addition, perhaps the tuition grant should also be extended to degree level to recognise it as a full profession. Perhaps the Minister can also explain what are some of the KPIs used in measuring the success of talent cultivation in Singapore and KPIs in measuring the effectiveness of nurturing ground that we have provided.

I would also suggest considering the criteria used in Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class, and I think the four criteria outlined are quite useful. They are, one, innovation measurements such as the number of businesses created, patent applications, national share of hi-tech output and the concentration of hi-tech output versus non hi-tech output. Two, talent measurements such as the number of Bachelors degrees or better, per capita and number of creative sector occupations per capita. Three, diversity measurements such as number of foreign bond per capita, a Bohemian index of artists, musicians, etc, a percentage of people and colour and integration index because diversity is key. And, four, workforce measurements such as occupational clusters, industry clusters and creative senses. Would the Minister please consider the above suggestions?

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Mr Teo Ser Luck): Singapore produced Stephanie Sun and Lin Jun Jie. They were famous overseas before becoming popular in Singapore, and Singapore Idols and other programmes have also produced many talented artistes but they seem to fade away just focusing on the local markets. We need Stefanie Sun and Jun Jie. But if we are a hub for many other services and sectors, are there any plans to grow the local market into a hub to attract talents as well as help the local talents provide opportunity and reverse the process to fame for these local artists?

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, talent for the creative sector can be quite different from other sectors. These are people who may not do well in the mainstream education system but just have a unique creative streak in them. For example, local song-writer Dick Lee did not even have a full certificate for his 'O' levels, yet he has written many great songs for local and international singers, and for many years, was the winner of the COMPASS Composer of the Year Award for having received the most in music royalties. On the other hand, creative talent can also be high academic achievers who finally decided to pursue something that they are really passionate about. For example, theatre director Ong Keng Sen, playwright Eleanor Wong and actress Selena Tan are all law graduates. It seems like besides becoming politicians, lawyers are also quite versatile and multi-talented.

However, if I may stereotype, creative people do not want to be tied down to a fixed routine or job. Coupled with the fact that the nature of the work opportunities in the creative industries is more on a project basis, many creative practitioners are freelancers.

I am hence happy to note that the Creative Industries Scholarships offered under MICA and its statutory boards are mostly without a bond. Therein lies the challenge of how the Ministry is able to be accountable to the public on whether the money is well spent, and how the Ministry is tapping on the returning scholars to further develop the creative industries in Singapore. As with the high performing Government scholars who are given the exposure to be groomed for leadership positions, is there also a concerted effort to help the scholars scale greater heights in their creative or artistic fields? Many creative people are waiting for their big break. The Government could look at appropriate platforms to help showcase the talents of the people whom we have invested the scholarship in.

In the creative sector, not many disciplines can be substantiated solely with a piece of paper. In most cases, having worked on a great project is far more valuable than having graduated from a top university. The network is also very important. Landing a project in the creative sphere is usually dependent on who you know or who knows you. For example, in my theatre practice, we seldom audition for the cast. It is usually through our own contacts, referrals or who we have seen acting in other productions. Our scholarship system may need to be tailored so that they can also help talents gain relevant work experience, track records and networks.

In our pursuit to develop the creative sector as an industry, we need to also develop talent in business, management and marketing. I find that currently much focus is on the artistic or creative development. For example, in the performing arts, most arts groups, be it in theatre or dance, the key person is typically the artistic director. He or she is usually the choreographer, director, actor or playwright, someone usually heavily involved in the creative process.

In today's Life! section, Mrs Tina Leo-Tan, owner of The Link boutique who has helped local fashion designer Sven Tan break into international market, said, "[Local designers] have to multi-task and play other roles integral to the business, like marketing, overseeing manufacturing, operations and pricing for merchandise." In the same article, fashion and lifestyle publicist Lionel Lim added that, however, "They stubbornly believe the product will speak for itself."

12.15 pm

I believe in the science that each of us has the left sensible and the right central brain, and usually one side is more developed than the other. Hence, a creative person is typically not too at home with numbers, dollars and cents and, in general, organisation and administration work, at least, from what I know of my wife! Hence, it may not be realistic to find many people with a creative talent who can also run a business well.

But let us look at the technology sector for comparison. When we mention a company like Motorola, it is the CEO Edward Zander that comes to mind. Not many people will be able to name the CTO, Padmasree Warrior, who, while in the top management team, is usually listed after the CEO, the CFO and the CIO. Zander would also learn a lot more than the CTO, I assume.

But, however, in the arts scene, the administrator, or typically called the GM, who takes care of the company's accounts, records, writes the proposal, usually plays a supporting role and gets paid a lot less as well and, also, less profiled.

I am not saying that we should pay more attention to the GM at the expense of the Artistic Director (AD). However, people with the CEO calibre usually can apply their strengths in other industries and with much better financial rewards as well. Sir, I believe in order for arts companies to grow further, we have to pay special attention to develop, train and retain the GM or CEO. This could be in the form of scholarships, training grants or operating budget for our major grant recipients. I believe we could explore having the arts company model of a CEO and a Chief Artistic Officer (CAO).

Progress in the Creative Industries

Now, for progress in creative industries, it has been more than four years since the Economic Review Committee identified creative industries as a key sector to grow for Singapore's future economic development. This is a sector that is different from the more traditional industries in manufacturing, which Singapore is familiar with. To develop this area, I would like to ask the Ministry what are the new mindsets and approaches that we have adopted so that we are not just replicating another industry model that may not be relevant for the creative industries. And what is the overall progress of the creative industries during the past year?

Promoting Music and Design Talents

Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen (Nominated Member): Sir, let me, first, declare my interest as a keyboardist of a local rock band. The arts scene is finally beginning to take root in Singapore and this is good because it gives Singapore a dimension it needs to be a global city. But that is at the first level. More importantly, the arts can give a nation a stronger identity. Local music, too, can play an integral part in nurturing the Singapore identity. The songs and music created can speak to the experiences and zeitgeist of Singaporeans. Local music can give us a shared experience.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of the state, popular music is one of the poorer cousin in the nurturing of the arts scene, especially at an international level. While you have exceptions like Stefanie Sun, we should not just rely on one or two individuals who may not on their own reflect the rise of local music. We need to find a way to provide for the ground up growth of local music and local bands. While all this must start from the ground up, I believe the National Arts Council and other agencies must play a role. Not doing anything can also stifle the growth of local music. This also applies to local designers, although I think they have it just a little bit better than musicians.

So what can be done? The NAC should open up more platforms on the national level first, and then on an international stage for local musicians to work towards and build upon. If we think big, we can project Singapore on a larger platform, for example, the Singapore Showcase in London and next in New York. This is a positive step even if the objective is marketing driven. However, if you think of exporting the Singapore brand, why not make Singapore music a part of that brand? If we want to make the Singapore image, why not use Singapore music as part of that remaking?

Recently, two local bands, Electrico and the Great Spy Experiment, were two out of 400 international acts that were handpicked to perform at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Texas, where some of the world's great bands were discovered. We need to help local acts to aim for such opportunities. We are now talking about diverse paths of success and so, it is good to provide opportunities for musicians to strive for the heights of their passion.

Festivals, like the one in Texas, require monetary support though. Besides organising events like this at the national level, the state should consider helping to fund local musicians and designers to participate in these internationally. The NAC helped the Great Spy Experiment with funding, but I think it was only one quarter of the funding needed. So perhaps a more dual process of funding could be shared between the corporate and the Government. The NAC can also play the role of matchmaker between corporations and local musicians and designers. MCYS, for example, plays the same role in sourcing for funding in sports.

Sir, by taking a more active role than it does now, the Government will send a clear message - one that goes beyond just words - that local music is an important part of the arts scene and a valuable aspect of enriching our identity as a nation. It is better for our youths to grow up listening to their own song writers than Snoop Doggy Dog.

Creative Intellectual Property

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sir, the creative sector is not one that depends on high capital investments or a large labour force. It only takes the talent of one person like JK Rowling to write the Harry Potter series, and now she is a millionaire, or probably a billionaire. But the application of the copyright in the form of the manuscript into books, movies, computer games and merchandise has created jobs and profits in the publishing, printing, film, gaming and manufacturing industries, not to mention hours of enjoyment for many end consumers.

The creative sector is, hence, one heavy on intellectual property (IP). Besides stories, these could also include scripts, songs, TV formats, design patents, etc. We should do more to support the development of new original IP. In design, the idea can be easily copied and replicated. A few years ago, I was shopping for a new home and discovered that there are many copycat furniture and lighting designs over Singapore. Two items very similar in design may look identical, but the original, usually an European design, can easily cost 10-20 times more than a similar piece manufactured somewhere in Asia. Not only must we have the talent to create the designs, we must have the legal infrastructure to protect the IP. What are Singapore's plans to increase design IP?

In the performing arts, I have observed that there have been a number of restaging of productions, both local and classic, eg, Forbidden City, Titoudao , Lei Yu. While re-runs could ride on past successful performances, I understand that each re-staged production does bring along with it new elements in direction, acting, design and treatment. However, we should also give more encouragement for local talents to create new IP. A piece of new work, as it is untested, is usually more difficult to attract sponsors and audience. Like in pop music, Singaporeans began to take notice of Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin after they made it big in Taiwan and China. Our audiences also prefer to pay for tickets to established names, like Phantom of the Opera and Mama Mia. The new works hence tend to be less commercially popular.

So I would like to call on the Ministry to provide greater incentives for creative practitioners to invest in and to take a greater risk in creating untested new works.

The Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Lee Boon Yang): Sir, I thank the hon. Members for speaking on the creative industries and for raising many relevant comments and suggestions.

Let me begin by sharing with the House a brief overview of what the industry represents. In our context in Singapore, we describe the creative industries as encompassing the arts, design and media.

Globally, the creative industries were estimated to be worth over US$1 trillion in 2005, accounting for about 7% of the world's GDP. It has a projected growth of about 10% annually. It is obviously a big and rapidly growing sector of the global economy. In Singapore, between 1995 and 2004, the creative industries grew by about 7% annually, which is very healthy, better perhaps compared to 4% for the general economy's growth.

The impact of the creative industries goes far beyond their direct economic contributions to the economy. The indirect contributions are equally, if not more, important. For example, the creative industries can contribute to even more innovative and desirable products and services in manufacturing, healthcare and tourism sectors. The strong multiplier effect of the creative industries on other sectors was, in fact, something which the United Kingdom's Creative Economy Programme singled out for mention. In Singapore's context, we note through anecdotal evidence that the performing arts, for example, have much higher multipliers than many other economic activities.

So the creative industries also improve our quality of life and make Singapore more vibrant by stimulating awareness and demand for the arts, design and media products. It opens up new opportunities for Singaporeans to turn their creative ideas into businesses.

By coincidence, The Straits Times today, mentioned by Mr Baey Yam Keng, carried several pages featuring fashion designers and other designers' works as well as pointing out the ups and downs of the design industry. I think it is natural, like many other industries, they will have their successes and failures. The article makes for interesting reading about the state of the design sector in Singapore.

Sir, our investment in the creative industries is a long-term effort. It would be a long journey. The good news is that we are making encouraging progress. The latest economic figures indicated that, in 2004, Singapore’s creative industries contributed about 3.6% to the GDP, total value add was $6.7 billion, which was an increase of 8% over the previous year. Total creative employment increased by more than 1,000 to over 93,000 workers in the creative sector, accounting for about 4.3% of total employment.

Many countries are aggressively investing in their creative industries. Countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, China, including Hong Kong, have all launched national strategies to develop their creative industries. Singapore cannot lag behind. We must seize the opportunities and be responsive to changes in the global environment. We must update our strategy and effort to promote our creative enterprises. In response to Mr Baey Yam Keng on what are we planning to do for the creative industries, let me inform the House that MICA will review and refine our creative industries development strategy which we adopt about three years ago and we will update the strategy so that we will be able to develop new initiatives to further support and nurture this very important sector of the economy.

But not everything has to change when we review and refine. One key component which remains unchanged is developing human capital. After all, it is the breakthrough ideas by the talented individual that lead to innovative products and services. We will continue to adopt a holistic approach through education, capability development, awareness-building, showcasing and recognising creative talents and achievements. If we take this approach, we will be able to make a greater impact to catalyse and stimulate our creative industries.

Miss Penny Low asked whether our artists and arts groups are doing well, and how we measure ourselves in this area. There is no simple measure of such achievements. Some of it may well be intangible. One rough measure though is the number of international awards and engagements that are secured by our local talents. It is an indication of recognition. The numbers are not large, but the National Arts Council (NAC) reported a 50% increase in 2005 over the year before for such recognition and international engagements. I would say more about the increasing demand for the arts and internationalisation of our artists and arts groups later on.

On Miss Low's question about the intake quotas for our arts institutions, each year, the National Manpower Council establishes the intakes of subsidised students in the post-secondary education institutions. This is done in consultation with various Ministries, economic agencies and the education institutions themselves in order to be able to channel resources to areas with the highest economic demand. I am glad to inform this House that to support the growing demand for creative manpower in the creative sector, the local arts institution has overall increased the art intakes of subsidised students by 10% between 2004 and 2006. We will continue to review and monitor the demand for talent in the creative sector. As the need manifests itself, we would certainly be working with the post-secondary education institutions to increase their intake so that we will be able to supply the required number of talents to take on these jobs in the creative sector.

12.30 pm

Mr Chairman, Sir, Mr Baey Yam Keng has noted that talent for the creative sector needs to be developed differently. I agree with him. He also asked about the scholarships and the informal training opportunities that are equally important in nurturing talent for the creative industry. Last year, 30 scholarships were awarded by the arts, design and media sector. Since 2003, MDA has also supported an additional 76 aspiring media talents under the Media Education Scheme at both local and overseas institutions. I would strongly encourage students who are interested in a career in the creative industry to apply for these scholarships.

Our scholarships and bursaries have enlarged our pool of creative manpower. Some of them joined Singapore’s creative workforce immediately after graduation, while others opted to work overseas to gain international exposure and establish invaluable networks before returning home. Our established artists are also helping to mentor and to develop the next generation of artists. For instance, seven out of 10 recipients of music and dance scholarships given in the early 1990s have remained active musicians or dancers as well as teaching aspiring young musicians and dancers. A good example is Ms Cheah Mei Sing, a scholar who used to dance with the Singapore Dance Theatre. She has now joined the School of the Arts to help groom younger talents.

Sir, Mr Baey Yam Keng pointed out that formal education alone is not sufficient. MICA’s agencies offer various programmes beyond formal training to help creative practitioners to build up their creative skills, arts management and business capabilities, as well as gain international exposure. I agree with him. Trying to help and grow these arts companies is not just a matter of the artistic side. There is also the business side, and we are aware of it. That is why we help them to develop arts management and business capabilities. This assistance also includes local and overseas attachments, grants for them to conduct studies, as well as master classes and seminars.

We are also partnering the Workforce Development Agency to develop a Creative Industries Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework, which includes the development of skills standards, assessment strategies and training curriculum for the creative sector. We believe that having a creative industry Workforce Skills Qualifications framework will certainly help many workers in this sector to improve their employment prospects.

Miss Penny Low asked about freelancers, workers in the creative sector who are not employees in the usual sense and who will move between projects. I agree with her that the creative sector has a large proportion of such people, and that freelancers are in fact an essential part of the talent pool for Singapore’s creative industries. It is also the same in many other creative cities. They have a pool of freelancers who will move around from project to project and sometimes doing different things. I agree that it is important for freelancers to also upgrade their skills and capabilities. MICA’s agencies offer capability development programmes for creative workers, including freelancers. Last year, nearly 5,000 employees and freelancers took advantage of these programmes. Freelancers can also benefit from our Workforce Skills Qualification framework, which I have just mentioned.

Freelance creative workers are also no different from other freelance or casual workers in other economic sectors. This is to address the point that Miss Penny Low mentioned about the savings for old age pension, retirement, healthcare, and so on. So I would like to encourage all freelance workers in the creative sector to better plan for their retirement and old age by voluntarily contributing to their CPF accounts. The Workfare Income Supplement Scheme announced by the Second Minister for Finance is also available and will benefit the lower-income and older group of workers in the creative sector.

Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about developing the local market to support and promote local musicians. Ms Eunice Olsen also enquired about the Government’s efforts to promote local music and design talent internationally. Both comments are relevant and deserve support. MICA’s approach is to develop our talents to succeed not just in Singapore but beyond our shores, to be able to go onto the international stage, so to speak. It will not be easy. But we must try. We have three key strategies to underpin this effort to promote and to internationalise our creative sector.

Firstly, MICA actively promotes and showcases Singapore’s creative talents around the world. Last year, The Art House at Old Parliament launched the Spotlight Singapore series in Hong Kong and Tokyo featuring our top musicians, including popular musician and composer, Iskandar Ismail, and also a certain number of popular DJs from Singapore. The Singapore Season series, which we piloted in London in 2005, successfully introduced Singapore’s arts and cultural talents to the London audience. Since then, the Tang Quartet was invited back to perform in 2006 and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra had also been invited to perform in Gateshead, Newcastle, UK, in 2008, and maybe another invitation for 2009. Arising from that exposure through the Singapore Season in London, we are beginning to see Singapore arts company being invited back for further performances. This year, we will present a month-long Singapore Season in Beijing and Shanghai in China which, we hope, will lead to even more invitations for Singapore artists and arts companies to perform in China. In our Singapore Season's programme for China, we will incorporate a popular music segment to provide a complete picture of the diversified art and culture developments in Singapore. This invitation to our arts company to perform internationally is also another indicator of the arts sector's achievement, which also addresses Miss Penny Low's question on how well they are doing.

Secondly, MICA's agencies work closely with industry partners to market Singapore’s creative products at key international events. In the music sector - to address Ms Olsen's point - NAC and MDA supported Singapore talents and companies at international markets, such as MIDEM, the world’s largest music trade fair. Last year, 11 Singapore music companies participated in the Singapore Pavilion at MIDEM and secured collectively S$9.5 million worth of contracts, which is almost nine times more than what they did in the year before in 2005. So we are making progress. In film and content for TV, MDA led 15 Singapore media companies, including ST Electronics (Digital Media), Lights and Shadow, Oak 3 and Scrawl Studio, to the 2006 MIPCOM in Cannes. This is the world's foremost TV content market in France. These companies collectively secured co-production contracts worth US$50 million. These are good indicators of Singapore's music and media companies’ ability to enter the growing global market for media content. MICA will continue to help more Singapore companies to venture into the international market.

In the design sector, the DesignSingapore Council presented Singapore designers at premier international platforms, such as the Milan Fair 2006. We showcased designs by four home-grown companies - Lee Hwa (a jewellery company), Stikfas (a toy company), Air Division and Enzer (consumer electronics) in collaboration with renowned industrial designer Toshiyuki Kita. Similarly, in the 2006 London Design Festival, we featured 20 award-winning Singapore-based designers. I would also like to take this opportunity to mention the inspiring story of two Singaporean designers, namely, Ms Wendy Chua and Mr Gabriel Tan. As students at the NUS Design School, they won the prestigious Electrolux Design Lab International Competition. I think they have already graduated and established a design group with two other designers from Argentina and Spain. The group is called "Out of Stock". They will present their furniture and product design at the Milan Fair this April, with the support of DesignSingapore Council. This example shows that our designers are innovative and they are ready to venture onto the global market.

Thirdly, MICA supports the internationalisation of artistes and designers through various grant and assistance schemes. These include overseas scholarships and internships, and funding assistance to participate in international events, awards and competitions. Going forward, we will continue to explore more avenues to help our creative sector enter the global market.

At home, of course, we will continue to give recognition to successful designers through our President Design Award scheme which was inaugurated last year. In fact, the call for nomination for 2007 President Design Award is out now and I would like to invite people to put in their nominations for recipients of this award.

Mr Baey asked about the support for the development of intellectual property. Let me assure Mr Baey that we are making strong efforts to ensure that our creative professionals are well equipped to develop and exploit IP. The DesignSingapore Council is planning a new initiative to support designers and design entrepreneurs by establishing a Materials Library and a Prototyping Resource Centre. This initiative will be a great help to many designers, especially the young and up-and-coming designers, who may lack access or have difficulty gaining access to such a resource which they would need in their design work.

I would also like to mention that we already have a number of design companies in Singapore which are well positioned to develop and exploit their own design intellectual properties. For example, Kingsmen Exhibits, which designed the Mini Habitat Showroom for BMW Asia, is now applying the concept to various MINI showrooms overseas. Likewise, WOHA Designs, a President Design Award winning architectural firm, has spun off a company to turn original furniture designs for their one-off architectural projects into design IP which can be licensed for royalties.

Sir, in response to Mr Baey's request for more resources to stimulate the creation of intellectual property, I would like to say that, last year, NAC invested more than $1.3 million to commission new artworks that will enlarge our repertoire. NAC will increase financial support for the creation and presentation of new works, including launching a Co-Publishing initiative to co-invest in the publication of new works. NAC will also commission artists and arts companies to create new creative works. For example, a new dance development platform, Forward Moves, was commissioned for the Singapore Arts Festival to stimulate development of new choreography by Singapore’s emerging choreographers.

Sir, in conclusion, the creative industries offer tremendous opportunities for Singapore. The results so far have been very encouraging. We will continue to support capability development, whether it is through formal scholarships or through informal networking, seminars, master classes and other sharing opportunities, and help creative Singaporeans to gain skills in important areas, such as content creation, growing intellectual property, as well as accessing new markets. The direct and indirect contributions to our economy will be significant. Equally importantly, the creative industries also contribute to making Singapore a more vibrant and exciting city for our citizens as well as visitors. MICA will continue to take a holistic approach to developing the creative industries and the creative potential of Singaporeans.

Creative and Cultural District

Miss Penny Low: Sir, listening to the Minister for MICA, it seems that the creative sector is set to grow and grow even faster. But I think there has been reflection from the ground that there is a lack of cohesive and permanent public space available for both the visual and performing arts. What is available currently is rather scattered and ad hoc. For the creative talents, this means wasted resources in scouting for venues while, for the consumers and business, which is the demand side, there is no clear place where they can go to embrace the arts.

In many great cosmopolitan cities, there are exclusive cultural districts and creative belts for exhibiting and transacting artistic works. For example, London has Covent Garden, Paris has Centre Pompidou and more, and New York has the Green Village where both the public and the tourists can have access to appreciate art for free or for a fee. Over time, these places can develop into a major tourist attraction for showcasing Singapore's creative talents' work and an iconic place that embodies a distinctive Singapore culture and a global interaction point for the top-tier creative talents to meet and exchange ideas.

12.45 pm

Moving on, with regard to MICA's objective to grooming our local talents and reaching out to our fellow Singaporeans to appreciate arts, what plans are there to bring arts and artists to the people especially in areas where there is already a natural crowd? For example, on the busy Orchard Road, underpass of CityLink, the underpass linking City Hall MRT and Suntec City, is it possible to turn some of these spaces into permanent living art gallery, or at least blend in some artworks or features as part of the architect? Could we allocate some prime areas as creative space and permanent space for our artists? And in lieu of the space constraint, I suggest that on weekends, we can even turn the lifeless Raffles CBD area into a live street arts performing centre just like Harajuku in Japan which has become a popular iconic place in and outside of Japan.

In conclusion, we have definitely scored well in providing the initial sparks for the creative mind to venture. Now is the time to move on to allow space for these sparks to ignite other sparks.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): The plans to convert City Hall into the National Arts Gallery and the redevelopment of Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall underscore the Government's seriousness in turning Singapore into a global city of the arts. These are monuments of great historic and symbolic significance.

To maximise our huge investments, we need big-bang ideas and blockbuster events which pull together all the arts venues in these precincts, from the Esplanade, the ACM, the City Hall to the National Museum. We can link all these venues together by bumboat rides along the Singapore River as well as an underpass which is air-conditioned. The new National Arts Gallery opens in five years, in 2012. We should start planning now for a world-class mega month-long festival involving all the arts venues around that area and link them up.

We should bring together our festivals, which are the Arts Festival, the Jazz Festival, the Book Festival, the Drama Festival, the Film Festival, the Fringe Festival, during a designated month and market them aggressively to Singaporeans and to the world. A major Book Festival could be held on our historic Padang, in the light of the International Book Festival in Edinburgh which takes place in a historic Charlotte Square Gardens.

Sir, by 2012, for example, you can visit the National Gallery at City Hall to view a collection on the whole history of Asian paintings. Then, walk across to the Padang for the Book Festival to listen to our best thinkers and writers. Then, stroll to the Victoria Theatre to catch a world-class concert, synthesising the best of East and West. Or pop into the ACM to catch a blockbuster exhibition of rare artefacts of the great civilisations of the East. Then, you can take a bumboat ride from Raffles' Landing Point at Empress Place, the spot where Raffles landed in 1819, to the Esplanade to catch a late-night jazz concert, as part of the Jazz Festival which jams till the early hours of the morning. Or you can take a bumboat ride down to Clarke Quay or Robertson Quay where venues, which involve pubs and open squares, can be converted into performance spaces for buskers and stand-up comedians from all over the world - maybe as part of the Fringe Festival. Or you can catch a late-night film at the Arts House at Old Parliament as part of the Film Festival. If the weather is too hot for bumboat rides, then use the underpass, which is air-conditioned, linking the Esplanade to the City Hall MRT, and even maybe to the National Museum.

Sir, we need to think big and I know the Ministry has big plans ahead, and I would ask the Minister to share it with us. Sir, we need to make an impact on the world, and to do that, we need to ratchet up our festivals and package them and coordinate them to make a big impact. The WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Singapore among the top 10 travel destinations in the world, but said that it was dragged down because it lacked cultural attractions. This is a pity when we have so much to offer.

Can I ask the Minister for his vision for these precincts and his plans to market these precincts as a cultural jewel to the world?

The Chairman: Dr Ong Seh Hong is not here. Dr Teo Ho Pin.

Arts Outreach

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Sir, to build an active and gracious society, we need to have more effective arts and cultural outreach programmes in the community. Today, many arts and cultural activities have limited outreach to Singaporeans and there is a lack of arts and culture in Singapore. Sir, even the energetic and artistic Crazy Horse cannot live in our sterile environment.

Sir, many Singaporeans are still not into arts appreciation and also not willing to pay for arts and cultural activities. That is why many arts and cultural groups find it a struggle to sustain their operations in Singapore. Sir, as we progress to be a first-world nation, we must provide more opportunities for Singaporeans to appreciate arts and culture. We must tap on the creative talent of our people and nurture them to excel in the creative industries.

Arts and culture will also enhance our quality of life and strengthen the bonds of our people, but it will be a challenge to match the interest and aspirations of our people with the different types of arts and cultural activities in a multi-racial and cosmopolitan society. The market for arts and cultural activities is fragmented and small. Therefore, we must be focused to select sustainable arts and cultural activities in our community outreach. Otherwise, too much wastages will occur, thus hampering our outreach efforts.

Sir, besides community outreach, I would like to propose the setting up of a national arts gallery in Singapore. We can make Orchard Road our national arts gallery and encourage building owners, businesses and arts groups to display their works along Orchard Road. In this way, we can also provide more arts outreach to Singaporeans and also further enhance the tourism attractiveness of Orchard Road.

Sir, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions:

First, how effective are the arts outreach programmes and initiatives by the Ministry? Two, are there plans to develop an arts culture in the heartlands? And, three, how does the Ministry encourage more corporate sponsorships to support its arts outreach efforts?

The Arts School

Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Sir, the proposed Arts School will be a place where we nurture our pre-tertiary students to achieve and develop their creative and artistic potential. It hopes to diversify our educational landscape just as the Sports School and the NUS School for Science and Mathematics have done. Indeed, the arts scene in Singapore is expanding and getting more vibrant, but running a whole new school dedicated entirely to the arts at the pre-tertiary level will be a relatively new venture for Singapore.

There will be challenges but we can learn from the experts from collaborations and visitations to world-renowned arts schools. I believe a committee has already been set up to do this and I applaud that. I would like to ask the Ministry what would be the cost to Singapore in terms of capital as well as operating cost. Which discipline of arts will be available, namely, the visual, the performing as well as the design arts? And, also, will there be an emphasis given to the ethnic arts? Will foreign students be enrolled as well? Will it be able to sustain attendances after the initial novelty period wears off, bearing in mind that currently, we also already have the arts and music education programme offered in several schools?

'Cool' Singapore

Mr Chan Soo Sen (Joo Chiat): Mr Chairman, the Singaporean brand name is known to be good but it is very rarely known to be "cool". And yet, in the next day's career development, being "cool" is important in justifying greater returns for our goods and services.

If we were to go to any Southeast Asian country and we buy a leather wallet, if it costs $2, we want to bargain until it is 50 cents. But if you go to Milan and the same leather wallet costs 200 Euro, we happily pay the 200 Euro and say how wonderful that particular wallet is. Why is that so? Because the Italians are seen to be "cool" and the Southeast Asian is seen to be not as "cool", not because the Italian bull is anything better in producing leather that is Southeast Asian variety. The same goes for McDonald's and Starbucks, vis-a-vis the equivalent of paus and coffee produced in our local coffeeshop. It is all a matter of being "cool".

If we look at certain other countries, for example, like Korea, if you look at Korean films 30 years ago - I have looked at some - it had only two themes. It was either Korean war or some sad stories in a family that everybody dies. But today, Korean films are very different. It has created a very "cool" image of Korean culture and the Chinese here call it " han liu ". I think it must have facilitated the value of Korean brands. So I think it is more "cool" to own a Korean-branded car or Korean-branded handphone.

Sir, the point is this. In order to make the Singapore economy continue to grow, we need to create a "cool" Singapore image. But to create a "cool" Singapore image, we need to do quite a bit of homework. We need to reinvent ourselves, we need to change, we need to be able to come to terms with our own feelings and able to express it confidently. We must be able to accept other people's viewpoints and values even if we do not quite agree with them. We must accept that there must be a certain amount of untidiness even chaos because, like what the Asian sage says, "pure water will produce no fish", ie, " qing shui wu yu ". And we must also be willing to be patronage of arts, willing to buy books, to pay good money to see good performances of the local variety. I know if Pavarotti comes, we can pay $200 for one ticket because he is "cool". But for local traditional operas, we have to give tickets away and plead with the people to come. If that continues, we are going to kill our own culture.

So, I feel that we have to develop a "cool" Singapore image, but I think I am not that pessimistic, because if we look at our younger generation, ie, my children's generation, they are more expressive, willing to share, willing to scream more and they really are charming and charismatic. We are also going into Arts School and various varieties to give values to arts, both visual and performing. But like what my parliamentary colleagues have also shared, we need a more coordinated effort in order to make Singapore really "cool" in the next generation.

So could I propose that MICA lead an effort, maybe with participation from other Ministries and agencies like MTI, MOE, MCYS, to look into how we can create an environment to facilitate a "cool" Singapore, perhaps in the next five to 10 years. This is not something that can be created overnight but I think the society is already changing in that direction. All we need is for us to work together, to search our soul, to discover our soul, to discover other people's soul, and be really "cool" about it. It is about environmental change.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Chairman, Sir, I thank all the Members who had spoken on MICA’s programmes for arts and culture. I believe that most of them have observed that Singapore is now a much more vibrant place when it comes to arts and culture. Before I respond to their specific queries, allow me to provide this House with an overview of MICA’s strategy for promoting the arts, culture and heritage in order to achieve our vision of Singapore as a Global City for the Arts.

Sir, six years ago, we launched the Renaissance City Plan (RCP) to develop the people side of the arts and culture as a necessary complement of our investments in the hardware side, ie, the arts and cultural institutions, the performing space, the museums, the galleries, etc. We set out to build a strong and creative cluster of arts and cultural practitioners and also to grow audiences. We have invested in many new facilities. But if we do not have growing audience, then the investments would have gone to waste.

Have we succeeded? The answer is yes. We have made progress, but like many other things, there is still a lot more work to be done. Today, Singapore has a much more lively arts and cultural scene as observed by many Members. While it is not easy to measure the level of success or the actual level of the vibrancy, let me just mention three areas for illustration.

Last year, there were over 6,000 art performances and exhibitions. That is nearly 16 events a day. So, in fact, many people have said they have a great difficulty deciding which one to go to. There were so many things happening on the same day, particularly in major festival months like in June where we have the Singapore Arts Festival. So many events are happening, almost 300 events during the SAF. There is a lot of vibrancy and a lot of activity. This number of arts events was, in fact, more than double that in 1999 before we launched the RCP.

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A second indicator is the number of registered arts companies and societies which has now reached 670. This is an increase of 45% over the same period. It is not just the numbers which matter, but the quality as well. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra and Singapore Dance Theatre have all acquired international reputation. They performed overseas and they have got a good standing among the international performing arts circle. Our theatre groups, such as TheatreWorks, Wild Rice, Finger Player, Drama Box and Toy Factory have also received acclaim both at home and when they perform internationally. So we have developed a growing number of quality arts companies that do us proud.

Our local arts audience has also grown significantly. A recent NAC survey showed that one out of three Singaporeans participated in at least one arts and cultural activity a year. Ten years ago, it was one Singaporean out of 10. We can say that the increase in arts audience is almost three-fold over the past 10 years. Since 2002, ticketed arts attendances have crossed the one million mark. In 2005, museum visitorship crossed the two million mark. These indicators suggest that the Renaissance City Plan's effort to grow the arts audience has certainly yielded good results.

Even more encouraging, we see strong audience growth among younger Singaporeans, and this is something which is very important. Because many visitors whom I have interacted with in the arts and culture area, when I bring them around to some of our performances, often, they observed that among our audience, there were a lot of young people. They say that back in their home countries, whether it is somewhere in Europe or Australia, most of the audience are actually older people. This is a significant difference. It augurs well for the arts scene in Singapore that we have a growing number of young people who are interested in the arts.

NAC’s Arts Education Initiative has resulted in more than 60% of the student population participating in activities such as attending arts performances, attending workshops on the arts or visiting arts institutions. These programmes will continue. We will continue to reach out to our students to ensure that they get a good grounding in the arts and gain interest in the arts.

Sir, we can be proud of our vibrant arts scene. The provision of special funding amounting to $10 million per year between 2000 and 2003, and the funding which was increased to $12 million between 2004 and 2006 under the Renaissance City Plan actually enabled MICA to achieve these results. But this is only the beginning and, as I said, the mission is far from accomplished. We have to chart new strategies and initiatives to maintain the momentum. For this, I am pleased to inform this House that MICA will allocate $15.5 million a year for the next phase of the Renaissance City Plan.

Sir, the new phase of the Renaissance City Plan is not just about additional funding, although obviously funding is very important for the arts. There is always a question of money not enough and funding is always uppermost in the mind of the arts groups and the companies. More importantly, we will now focus on a 3P or public-people-private partnership approach in implementing arts programmes. We will build on the strong foundation already in place to galvanise the many stakeholders in Singapore. These include artists, arts companies, community and grassroots organisations, corporate sponsors, cultural entrepreneurs, the creative industries, private museums and collectors, to name a few. We will leverage on the diverse pool of expertise, networks and resources to enrich and charge up the arts. Our aim is to cultivate a greater sense of interest and, more importantly, ownership among all Singaporeans for what happens in the arts and culture. Allow me to elaborate, Sir.

Firstly, the National Arts Council will engage more industry partners to champion and support the creation of new content. This is an important area. We must continue to expand our repertoire, as I said earlier. The NAC is already commissioning new work and encouraging our artists and arts companies to venture, to experiment and we will continue to support them.

The National Heritage Board (NHB) will also explore collaborations with private museums, heritage organisations and private collectors. Over the years, we have seen the emergence of private museums which enrich our network of heritage institutions. I do not know how many Members have visited this incredible museum called the Nei Xue Tang , along Cantonment Road. Nei Xue Tang is an excellent museum showcasing Buddhist artefacts. It is a private museum belonging to a private collector who has generously opened up the museum for public viewing, to share his collection with the general public. If you have not visited it, it is well worth a visit.

There is also an excellent museum called the MINT Museum of Toys. It is a whimsical and nostalgic collection of toys. So we have diversity in our museum landscape. In fact, our museum roundtable has 43 members. There are 43 museums, both public and private, in Singapore offering a great deal of diversity in cultural and heritage collections.

In the next phase of the Renaissance City Plan, the National Heritage Board will pilot a programme called Heritage Development Assistance Scheme with selected partners, to promote greater diversity and inclusiveness in showcasing our rich multi-cultural heritage. This is to work with the private museums to help them to grow and develop, so that they can contribute to enriching our cultural landscape.

Secondly, we will now aim for a more dynamic and diverse ecosystem to support our artists and arts companies in their internationalisation efforts. For example, last year, we organised the inaugural Singapore Biennale. The event attracted more than 800,000 local and international visitors. The local and international media gave many positive comments on Singapore's visual arts scene and the new artistic buzz in Singapore as a result of the Singapore Biennale. The exposure had resulted in several Singaporean artists, who participated in the Biennale, being invited to participate in overseas art shows. The next Singapore Biennale will be staged in 2008. But this year, we will organise the Singapore Art Show to promote and celebrate the works of our local artists.

Finally, MICA will step up our efforts to build a strong sense of community and personal engagement in the arts and culture. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked about the involvement of the heartland community and corporate sector in arts outreach. These are important issues. Last year, NAC organised more than 100 free arts events under the ArtReach banner. Also, NAC signed an MOU on Arts Cooperation with the People’s Association to support community art. This year, NAC will organise more District Arts Festivals in collaboration with the Community Development Councils. This is part of our arts outreach programme. We will bring the arts to our heartlands' aunties and uncles and our youths, so that nobody needs to miss out on the vibrant arts scene.

NAC and the Republic Polytechnic will also jointly develop a regional arts centre in Woodlands, to allow both students and the local community to enjoy, participate in and take ownership of major arts activities in their community.

On the corporate support side, MICA has also worked closely with the corporate sector to reach out to the community through popular arts activities. Over the years, sponsorship for the arts has averaged $30 million or more annually. We have encouraged private philanthropy and corporate sponsorship through a variety of financial and tax incentives. In the next phase of the Renaissance City Plan, MICA and our agencies will continue to explore ways of promoting people and private sector cooperation to support the arts.

Miss Penny Low and Ms Irene Ng enquired if Government had considered developing a more vibrant arts and cultural district. One of the ideas of Dr Teo Ho Pin was whether we could have a national gallery, about making Orchard Road a place to display artworks. I would like to say that, today, we already have the foundations of an Arts and Heritage district. The foundations are already well established and in place. In fact, if you look at the city, within an area of about three square kilometers, we have the iconic Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay - we have the Empress Place cluster comprising the Asian Civilisations Museum, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall. At the nearby Bras Basah area, you will find the recently reopened National Museum, the Singapore Art Museum, the National Library and Drama Centre, and soon-to-be re-opened Peranakan Museum at the old Tao Nan school along Armenian Street.

The Montemarte in Paris and Covent Garden in London, mentioned by Miss Penny Low, are great examples of world-class arts districts. Everybody knows about them. Every tourist makes a bee line for these places when they are visiting these cities. But we must remember that these famous places were developed over many decades, if not, hundred years or more. It takes time to establish such reputation, recognition and also to accumulate the critical mass of activities that will attract people on a permanent basis.

Our Arts and Heritage District is still in the early stage of development. But it is already a showcase for our creative talents and rich heritage as well as a focal point for Singaporeans and international visitors to learn about Singapore's arts and Singapore's creative works. For a start, MICA has recently spearheaded a multi-agency national branding effort to promote and raise awareness of the Arts and Heritage District. Hon. Members may have noticed, when they drive to Parliament, the colourful buntings on lamp posts along the streets which advertise the arts and cultural district.

Ms Irene Ng spoke about the project to convert the former Supreme Court building and City Hall into a National Art Gallery. Let me say that the National Art Gallery will certainly add another iconic attraction to our Arts and Heritage District. The project is under way. An international architectural design competition has already been launched, to seek out the best ideas and design for the Gallery.

Ms Irene Ng asked if MICA would consider developing underground linkages to link up the various cultural institutions in the District, and she painted a very exciting and engaging scenario of what it can be when the whole place is connected up, and many activities are happening and flourishing at the same time. I support that vision and I agree that this is something that we should be striving for. In developing the National Art Gallery, MICA will explore with URA and potential private sector partners on the feasibility of such linkages, both underground and at street level, in order to facilitate access to the National Art Gallery, linking to the Esplanade and the Empress Place cluster.

Let me now turn to another aspect, which I think would complement our whole development for arts and culture, although Members have not actually touched on it, and this is really on the provision of library service which is a very important part of MICA's mission. Since the launch of the Library 2000 Plan, we have built one of the best public library systems in the world to cater to the reading and learning needs of Singaporeans.

I am pleased to take this opportunity to inform this House that MICA will invest $100 million to further improve library services and support life-long learning under our Library 2010 Masterplan. This is a 5-year plan to build-up digital content and capabilities of our libraries to deliver real time information and knowledge services to Singaporeans at all stages of life. It will also serve the research needs of businesses and organisations in creating new products and services to help drive our economy forward.

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Let me turn to Dr Fatimah Lateef's question about the development of the Arts School. We had earlier estimated the total development cost to be about $100 million.

However, with the upsurge in construction activities and cost and some changes to the design of the Arts School, we expect the development cost to rise. We are in the process of seeking funding approval to cover the additional cost and we expect to be able to launch the construction soon. In the meantime, for this financial year, we have set aside about $16 million or 3% of MICA’s total budget to be used for the pre-operating expenses. We are in the process of recruiting faculty members. We have already recruited the principals and heads of some of the departments. We are in the process of building up a team, developing the curriculum, so the pre-operating expenses are already mounting up. We have set aside about $16 million of MICA's budget to finance these pre-operating expenses. MICA’s budget for the project will also be supplemented by generous contributions from the Tote Board towards the capital cost for the project. We have actually completed the piling work for the project and we will be launching the construction of the school building itself and expect the construction to be completed towards the end of 2009.

In the interim, the School will open as planned in January 2008 at a temporary campus at Goodman Road. This site will soon be vacated by LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. MICA will embark on the necessary renovations and improvements to ensure that the interim campus is well equipped and conducive for the students’ needs.

Dr Lateef also enquired about the disciplines offered by the School. When the School opens in January 2008, it will offer a six-year curriculum, equivalent to through-train Secondary and Junior College education. Students will be able to develop a strong inter-disciplinary foundation in the arts, together with other academic subjects such as English, Mother Tongue languages, Literature, the Humanities, Mathematics, Science and IT. They will also develop a specialisation in music, dance, theatre or the visual arts, and they will graduate with the widely-recognised International Baccalaureate Diploma which will enable them to enter universities and other tertiary institutions in Singapore and overseas.

The School will admit up to about 300 Year 1 and Year 2 students in the first group in 2008. I am pleased that the School has received positive response from parents and interested students. 403 students signed up for its first Talent Academy in November last year, and, to date, another 390 students have already signed up for auditions in March and June this year. To attract the best young talents and to provide adequate support for all deserving students who require financial assistance, the School will launch a bursary and scholarship fund this year.

Sir, the progress we have made in the arts, culture and library services underscores our emphasis to promote arts and culture in Singapore and to develop our ”soft-power”, which Mr Chan Soo Sen has pointed out is an important aspect of our overall national development. "Soft power" will certainly contribute to a Singapore brand.

So MICA, in fact, has launched cultural diplomacy programmes, such as the Singapore Season in London in 2005, and, as I mentioned earlier, this year, we will do so in China (October to November). We will launch the Singapore Season in China - in Beijing and Shanghai - to promote cultural relations and also reinforce awareness of the arts and creativity in Singapore. Major international events involving the creative industries, such as the Asia Media Festival and the Singapore Design Festival also enhance mindshare of Singapore among our global partners. International publications such as the IHT , Newsweek , Time magazine have all reported on the changing arts scene in Singapore. Many have noticed the new buzz in Singapore. Last year's inaugural Singapore Biennale alone attracted more than 400 media reports, mostly with favourable remarks on the arts in Singapore.

MICA is also working with the Ministry of Trade and Industry on the National Marketing Action Committee to develop a whole-of-government effort to market and promote Singapore internationally. This will address Mr Chan Soo Sen's suggestion that we should have an inter-ministerial group, to better promote Singapore, particularly to promote the 'cool' image of Singapore. The National Marketing Action Committee will be working on this.

I believe that our arts and creative programmes will change the way we look at ourselves and how others perceive us. But will we be perceived as "cool" - that is something we should leave to others to judge. Based on the Country Brand Index released by global branding consultants FutureBrand, which I believe the Second Minister for Finance mentioned in his round-up speech to the Budget Debate, in November 2006, Singapore was second on the Nightlife/Eating and the Shopping categories and ranked ahead of USA, which is a country that people generally perceive as being ‘cool’. Incidentally, yesterday, the Today newspaper reported on the launch of the Singapore Edition of the World's Best known arts and culture magazine called "Time Out". With this launch, Singapore joined 17 other cities, including London, Paris, Barcelona, New York, Beijing, Shanghai and many others, to have a local edition of "Time Out" magazine. The Singapore editor of "Time Out" magazine, Miss Billie Cohen, who was the "Time Out" New York editor for nine years, was reported to have said - this is the report [ indicating ] - and I quote: "Singapore is such a city on the edge with a vibrant, creative community. Your city is such an international city that is now making its mark on the world map." So maybe we are 'cool', but I think there is still a lot of work to do. To gain recognition, acceptance and also perhaps even a premium for designed-in-Singapore products, for created-in-Singapore cultural content, and media content, these are areas that we have to continue to work on and we have to ensure that whatever we do, we will receive greater acceptance and be even more welcomed in the global market.

To sum up, Sir, let me assure the House that MICA will not spare any effort in our plans and strategy to transform Singapore into an even more vibrant, exciting and attractive global arts city.

Intelligent Nation 2015

Miss Penny Low: Sir, a sophisticated IT infrastructure has helped Singapore to stay on the cutting-edge of information and knowledge acquisition. It has also increased transparency and productivity. However, while our e-Government is still lauded, our ICT infrastructure has begun to lag behind countries like Korea. The iN2015 plan therefore is laudable. Laying the hardware, however, is only useful if this infrastructure can also serve as collaborative platforms for the people, public and private sectors. The iN2015 should target to be a web 2.0, a truly integrated and collaborative platform where individual, businesses and the Government can interact to exchange ideas, transact and even work on projects together. In other words, it has to be useful, appealing and also relatively cheap to adopt.

Driving adoption rate will also be paramount to ensuring that the iN2015 does not become a white elephant, as in the case of the Singapore One Project. Currently, the adoption rate observed amongst our local SMEs is less than ideal. The key focus of MICA and IDA should be to review and look at developments of adequate and attractive software applications that fit the needs of MNCs, SMEs and the people sector, meaning the NGOs as well, so that what is needed to drive the broadband adoption is put on top of just building another ultra high-speed broadband infrastructure where we already have one today. In fact, as we replace our ICT expressway with a superhighway, how can we make it accessible, attractive and ERP-free - I mean, affordable. So to drive broadband adoption, I think we need to understand a few factors.

(1) What are the killer applications that help SMEs and NGOs to drive business productivity, lower their costs and help them reach out to other markets at regional and global levels? How do we make these applications affordable for them and also ensure that they can be supported if they run into issues? How can we also enhance the horizontal and vertical integration of these applications?

(2) Are there e-communities that businesses can already integrate to help them provide better interactions with their customers, suppliers and partners? An example of this would be a web portal that links manufacturing companies to logistics firms to finance companies in a secured and private network such that these businesses can transact more efficiently. We can perhaps take a leaf out of the European umbrella strategy for developing information and community technology called the I2010 plan. Applications include provision of financial incentives like consultancies, vouchers, creation of neutral one-stop shops to provide information on the benefits of ICT usage in case studies, encourage higher adoption rate by the European ICT SMEs by simplifying public procurement requirements, and so on and so forth.

On the people sector, how could iN2015 be served as a platform to meet the needs of this sector and cultivate a more inclusive society? On visiting the iN2015 website, all have been talks about the benefits and wonderful experiences that ICT can bring, but none on education and engaging all sectors to participate in the development. I think we have to talk more than just about the innovation - the 3Is, which is the innovation, integration and internalisation - but also talks about the 3Es, which is educating the SMEs and individuals, empowering all to use ICT in their daily life and enhancing the experience of using ICT.

To conclude, a customer-centric mindset could do wonders for us. Specifically for iN2015, more efforts in fostering higher ICT adoption rate amongst the micro, especially the smaller SMEs, and infusing an innovative ICT culture for the entire SMEs and people sector would be essential.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah): Sir, I support the Ministry's investments in the interactive and digital media sector and its iN2015 masterplan. However, building an industry that is supported by a resilient, creative workforce needs more than just hardware, business transplants and talent imports. Based on industry feedback, I would like to raise two main concerns with regard to how we implement this masterplan to achieve the desired results and more in the next eight years.

First concern: what kinds of returns on investments can we expect from the large expenditure for iN2015? Can we expect quantum leaps in productivity, innovation, growth or differentiation of our end-user industries such as banking, manufacturing, logistics, retail and communications. The iN2015 has to be more than just higher speeds and more wireless broadband access across the county. Singapore has ready access to the top technology providers of the world. However, one main issue we continue to face is the differences between the rate at which the Government introduces them and the rate at which our industries and consumers adopt them as well as the rate at which these technologies actually mature and when they go obsolete. For example, the introduction of 3G licences in the telecommunications sector a few years ago, till today, we have not seen a quantum leap in subscriber adoption nor compelling sets of services that drive usage. Yet, we have already moved on to 3.5G and Ymax.

I certainly hope that we are not merely investing to keep pace with our performance ranking on the global index and get too far ahead of the demand curve. Perhaps it is not a lack of technology that is an issue, it is a lack of adoption by our consumers as well as our businesses. Many fail to capitalise on technology to optimise their businesses, innovate and differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Thus, MICA should then put much more efforts and investments to ensure that if we invest in this and other iN2015 initiatives, we need to put in more to drive adoption. To boost adoption for local businesses, perhaps the Government could invest in more shared services platforms for various industries with subsidised low-cost subscriptions to bring world-class capabilities and innovation that local businesses would have otherwise had difficulty developing on their own. For example, today, IDA promotes the radio frequency identification or RFID type adoption. I think we can accelerate this through shared services. Imagine if we created a shared service platform for logistics businesses with RFID tracking capabilities, then through the platform, you can provide data mining capability that enables SMEs to track the movement of its shipments, analyse the data, and optimise its processes and inventory.

So what is the impact? Now you can enable our local businesses to leverage on technology innovation

the same capabilities. Top-class companies, like DHL, already have today with such infrastructure. It uplifts the general capability of your industry, even the smaller players. On their own, they may not have had the expertise or funds to do this with the same desired outcomes.

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As a concerted measure, the Government can subsidise the shared services cost upfront. Let us not penalise the early adopters simply to show for quick ROIs for the infrastructure. Imagine if we did the same in the retail sector to provide shared services application, such as in store touch screen catalogues and artificial intelligence, same as those seen in Japan and other shopping capitals, the possibility is endless. But this is not a new concept. The Government has done it quite successfully itself and leads the e-Government space. However, I suggest that shared services for the industries should be run by private sector expertise that understand the industry better and anticipate and drive demand.

The second area of concern is boosting talents and creating a more resilient workforce. Now, most infocomm workers fall in the PMET category which I spoke about in the Budget debate and face low cost competition as barriers to entry for professionals and technicians are low. Technology management and development can be performed anywhere in the world. Because technology also becomes obsolete quickly. The industry often finds it cheaper to outsource or employ foreign talents with the latest certifications.

The challenge for MICA is to move our professionals up the value chain from the sales persons, management to the technicians. Today, much of our efforts are focused on certification and project management skills. If necessary as a foundation, these skills are no longer differentiators for our professionals. The Second Minister Dr Vivian spoke at the SITF forum recently about the need for more business strategies and technologists in the infocomm sector. I think this is a move in the right direction. However, I believe this can only happen by driving a mindset change across the industry.

Today, the industry is very much driven by activities in system integration, maintenance contracts or reselling of commodity hardware and software. We need to make our infocomm professionals more attuned to the industry, identify how growth or productivity can be derived from technology. We need to help our professionals change from a cost-centred mindset to one that brings strategic value to their companies. To achieve this, MICA has to encourage or even incentivise companies to invest in high-value training for the infocomm professionals, such as business strategy, industry solution and branding, privatisation, intellectual property protection, marketing and even management.

On the other side of the coin, MICA also needs to engage our business leaders better, particularly, the SMEs on getting the best value out of technology and how to exploit the talents of the IT professionals. As DPM Wong pointed out yesterday, it is increasingly difficult to find middle-management for our economy. And this is also true for the infocomm sector based on feedback. Hence, even more so, the time is right for us to groom our own infocomm PMETs to fill these gaps.

Infocomm Sector

Sir, I move on to my second cut with regard to SME development in the infocomm sector.

Sir, the Government has put in place sound policies and rational approaches to develop the infocomm industry. However, based on feedback from local SMEs and industry service providers in the sector, the ground reality leaves much more to be desired. I cite some areas I hope we can improve as we develop our local infocomm businesses.

We often see two thrusts in the development of the enterprise eco-system, that is, (a) enterprise attraction; and (b) local enterprise development. Our success in enterprise attraction has been excellent. Even, recently, Google, as DPM Wong pointed out yesterday, has set up its base here. But local infocomm SMEs have it tougher, given little room for business development, limited access to local venture capital where it almost seems certain that they are likely to succeed overseas than in Singapore. Almost from an outsider's point of view, we seem to suffer what we have been talking quite a bit lately about the Singapore Girl effect. We embrace the big ang mo companies, while locals get the second class treatment. I think what we need is to transplant our enterprise attraction, pro-business, risk-taking culture, through the local enterprise development efforts across Government agencies. Agencies like EDB and JTC are often seen to be ahead of the curve in the way they embrace businesses and help develop ventures. Perhaps, more departments and other agencies should be given the same empowerment and higher risk tolerance.

Earlier, I mentioned that many local infocomm businesses feel as though opportunities are limited here, that they are more likely to get capital and business opportunities elsewhere, such as Korea, Taiwan, or even Europe, which companies, such as the former System Access, had done before it was acquired. Then perhaps, if this were the case, would it be better for the Government to move in this direction with the same enthusiasm and support as how we attract global enterprises here? MICA then should do more than just showcase our talents overseas, but create a system of matching agents, specifically at targeted infocomm venture capitalists in key cities. When I said, "agents", I do not mean Government agencies. Employ private sector expertise to drive this. How would one know which business model to pick if one has not had any experience as an entrepreneur or venture capitalist? How can one develop programmes for SMEs to generate a million dollars a year or a hundred million dollars a year, if one has not done it himself? Employ top local business development agents to match enterprises overseas - people who truly know the ground and are very well connected. For this to work, we need a civil service that is able to manage its risks better and as a result, be more confident or be more risk tolerant.

Many companies I have spoken to often cited the lack of opportunities to innovate back home. For example, while Singapore ranks top in the world for its e-Government infrastructure, many of our SMEs have difficulty in citing e-Government experiences or projects that they have done in Singapore when they are exported overseas. Are they not having enough opportunities back home, even in areas where we are supposedly strong in? If I took e-Government, again, as an example, perhaps we should then put a cap on the minimum size of projects large companies can bid for to allow SMEs, the middle sized ones, a chance to grow, say, projects of about $500,000 and below. The big boys, including the local ones, should then focus to value add and drive innovation in our high value projects. Of course, the Government may reply that if the SMEs fulfil their requirements, today, they will be given the advantage. The truth of the matter is, would the civil servant on the ground dare to take such a risk? It would certainly be safer for them to choose a large MNC, or even one of the GLCs, to serve these smaller or even medium sized projects. Thus, there is likely a gap between policy stand and what happens on the ground.

So I echo Mr Teo Ser Luck's call during his Budget debate for the civil service to be more risk tolerant. Let us give our SMEs and mid-sized companies, even the global ones that we are trying to attract, a chance to grow. With more local experience, they too would have a better chance in the marketplace and overseas and, hopefully, this risk tolerant culture will spread to the other industries.

Interactive Digital Media

Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, recently, the National Research Foundation has announced the disbursement of $500 million for R&D for the interactive digital media industry. This is good news. May I know what is the intent of such a funding? Could MICA elaborate on the strategy to further enhance this sector?

Traditionally, Sir, resources are channelled into developing cutting edge infrastructure and expanded bandwidth. Presently, what is lacking in the market are relevant content and friendly useful applications. Could resources be strategically allocated to research and development, useful content for both the private and people sectors to accelerate the adoption of ICT?

Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Sir, as the question that I was about to ask is relatively similar to what the previous speaker has just said, I will just go ahead to my question. In the area of interactive digital media, could the Ministry please share with us the progress and disbursement of the fund that has been mentioned earlier thus far? What has the take-up rate been and which are the areas of focus? And, also, finally, how many IPs that have been created are online for this?

The Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Sir, let me first thank hon. Members for their very pointed queries which give us a chance to set the record straight or to take their ideas on board.

First, let us talk about the the Intelligent Nation 2015. This is our infocomm masterplan. This was announced by IDA in June last year. We intend to invest $4 billion into this sector, not a small sum. Over the next 10 years, we believe this investment will transform the way we live, the way we work, the way we play, the way we make a living.

Miss Penny Low has asked quite rightly about the state of our infrastructure relative to other countries. Today, we have a pervasive, good broadband infrastructure in Singapore. For instance, if you look at home broadband penetration rate, today, it stands at 63%. We expect that this would go up to 75% by the end of the year. And we target that, by 2015, 90% of homes would have broadband access. This did not come about by accident, but because of foresight and plans which were laid more than a decade ago. But this investment puts Singapore, as far as our infrastructure is concerned, in the forefront of the development of a knowledge economy, which we reap today. But I will be blunt with all of you and say that this is a dynamic moving situation and other cities have not stood still. We are all aware of the developments in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Hangzhou, which have already started to implement their own ambitious ultra high-speed broadband networks. Therefore, we cannot afford to sit still.

In this day and age, broadband infrastructure is not a luxury. In fact, it is probably in the same order of magnitude as the pipes and the sewers that run under our ground in order to support our economy and our lives. Against this backdrop of keen competition, we therefore have to plan for the future but, because the Ministry of Finance always overlooks and oversees us, we have to promise to do so, and, in fact, all of you promise to do so, in a cost-effective and efficient way.

We have already started on this. Let me give you some examples. In December last year, you may be aware that we launched the first component of our Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure, and this first component is what we call Wireless@SG. With this infrastructure, we provide free access to some 1,300 hotspots across Singapore today, and the number of hotspots will increase to 5,000 by September this year. But Wireless@SG is not just to gain headlines. It has to benefit both the individuals who use it and, perhaps, just as importantly, to businesses and SMEs that Mr Zaqy spoke about. Many of you will recall the Straits Times' article just before the New Year in which even a bak kua seller in Chinatown is making use of Wireless@SG to run his wireless point-of-sale terminals so that he can conduct sales literally on the five-foot way, on the pavement, or even outside the shop.

Complementing the wireless component, of course, is now the next enhancement of the wired component of broadband infrastructure. We envisage that the next generation broadband infrastructure will provide symmetrical 1 Gbps access for all businesses and homes that subscribe to it. We also intend to ensure that this will be an open access architecture, so that we will have the same competitiveness which you currently see in the mobile telephone market in order to keep prices as low and as affordable as possible. Because, as many of you have already observed, it is pricing which also determines uptake. This, we believe, will lead to the development of diverse new services for both businesses and individuals. We conducted a Request-For-Concept exercise last year and 33 big and small companies responded.

Later today, IDA will announce the shortlist of pre-qualified applicants who will participate in our upcoming Competitive Dialogue in order to take this project on to its next phase.

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But I agree entirely with Members that pipes, broadband and hardware are just one part of the equation. Ultimately, we need to fill those pipes with applications, services and to develop platforms for the people, private and public sectors to interact and transact on a day-to-day basis, because that is where value gets created. Let me cite some examples.

The Government has taken the lead on this. We know that mobile telephony has a penetration rate of 103% in Singapore, ie, many people have more than one handphone account. What we have done is to transfer as many e-Government applications as possible onto these mobile platforms and today we have counted that we have about 150 Government services available for mobile transactions. By 2008, we expect that there will be 300 mobile Government services. This will include whether you want to discover where is the next big event, pay taxes or fines, and hopefully other more pleasant interactions with the Government. The Government has to use this, again not to gain headlines but because we believe that, when the Government takes a lead in this, we can set standards, develop platforms and help private-sector companies, to whom we outsourced these applications, to develop IP. This then becomes available to benefit the individuals who transact these services and the businesses which will use these services. So I agree entirely with the suggestions by Mr Zaqy Mohamad that the Government outsources. This is another source of business for our SMEs.

Having said all this, it is also important to remember that, as a Government, we must ensure that we build an inclusive digital society, which means nobody gets left behind in the digital space too. Whether you are rich or poor, young or old, able or disabled, we must make sure that you have the hardware, connectivity, education and options to tap the many, many opportunities that this sector will generate in the future. I will give you some examples.

IDA has the New PC scheme which is basically a subsidised computer ownership programme. Between April and December last year, close to 1,900 households benefited through this scheme by getting the subsidised computer. But, today, we realise it is not just about a computer. You need broadband access. So we launched the programme in November last year to provide subsidised broadband access to some 10,000 needy households, focusing especially on those with school-going children, because we believe that, in these specific instances, this is not a luxury or entertainment but essential for education. By 2015, our goal is to see that 100% of households with school children will have both computers and broadband access.

For those who are perhaps older or, for whatever reason, less comfortable with computers, we have launched a series of CitizenConnect Centres. Some of you may have seen that in your own Community Clubs. This is basically a sort of a kiosk in which an elderly person or a person who does not have a computer or connectivity at home can use. If he needs help, someone will hold his hand, show him or her how to use it to transact with the Government. But the larger objective is educational, that they will use the computer and that they will know that it makes a difference to their daily lives.

Let me now focus a little bit more on the SME point. I want to assure this House that we give equal opportunities for all suppliers who are bidding for Singapore Government contracts. And local SMEs have a fair shot at winning Government contracts in open competition. Let me cite some statistics.

In FY2005, 116 out of 196 contracts were awarded to local SMEs for Government ICT tenders of value less half a million dollars. So there is no need to create artificial insulation or protection. Our SMEs are well capable of competing and winning contracts. Have a little bit more faith in their ability. Since 1st July 2004, the Government has also taken the position - and this is significant - that all Intellectual Property (IP) developed by our outsourced agencies and by SMEs, when they are participating in any Government ICT contract, this IP will belong to that company, unless there are very clear strategic reasons for Government to retain ownership of that IP. Why do we do this? Because, having given you an opportunity to participate in this, you have developed an application, an idea, we now want you to be able to take this idea, service and product to the local market and, better still, the global market beyond. Again, we are putting our money where our mouth is, and we are saying, take this IP, which you have worked with us, to develop, and exploit it fully. IDA and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) are still engaged in further discussions on how we can make other improvements to our contract terms and conditions for SMEs and the other companies participating in Government ICT contracts.

But the Member has also quite rightly said that we do want our SMEs to grow globally. The Singapore market, on its own, is too small. We have several schemes to support our SMEs, eg, the infocomm Enterprise Programme (iEP) which enables smaller companies to develop reference sites and to build their IP. We also have the Overseas Development Programme, the infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme (iLIUP). All these, as Mr Zaqy has said, help to promote and facilitate partnerships between MNCs and our local infocomm enterprises and help them to acquire technology, gain access to markets and also gain track record. For instance, Friartuck, a local company, partnered with Fujitsu to successfully out-compete international players to snag a very significant deal recently with the National University Hospital. Since 2002, infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme (iLIUP) has helped to develop 400 products or solutions and train more than 1,000 IT professionals.

I also want to spend a little bit of time talking about IT professionals. The Member is quite right. If our IT professionals stay still, ie, just on the basis of their qualifications which they obtained five or 10 years ago, they are in very great danger of being crushed by the forces of globalisation, eg, the PMETs, which many Members have spoken of over the past few days. So we need to make sure that our IT professionals are able to upgrade themselves. And this is a significant number because, today, we have 111,400 IT professionals in Singapore. In fact, our target is to expand this number by a further 80,000 people. We need to make sure that these almost 200,000 people will continue to be globally competitive and be able to get good jobs and have a good livelihood in the decades to come. How will we do this?

IDA has set up the Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP). This is basically a way in which local professionals will be able to obtain financial assistance in order to upgrade themselves, and we have committed $53 million since 1996 to fund some 35,000 training places. And I will give this House the assurance that we will continue to fund this programme to ensure that upgrading opportunities will exist for our IT professionals. But it is not just for the Government to do so because, as the Member has also quite rightly said, this is a fast-moving field. The developments occur in the industry itself. So it is better that the IT professionals themselves take charge of their own professional upgrading.

We therefore helped to establish a National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) and a National Infocomm Competency Academy (NICA) will basically build a consortia, consisting of the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and industry experts, to make sure that there are industrially relevant courses and upgrading opportunities. So we will work on this.

We will also continue to invest in our youth. Last year, MICA unveiled a $120 million Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap with a particular emphasis on Student Outreach, to help develop infocomm appreciation in the first instance but to encourage innovation and capability amongst young people who ultimately can become infocomm professionals. For example, we have 110 Infocomm Clubs established in both primary and secondary schools, with more than 5,000 students currently enrolled as members.

We have also expanded the National Infocomm Scholarship. It is now supported by 20 leading employers who offer these scholars global industrial attachment opportunities as well as taking them on as employees subsequent to their training.

Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) must continue to attract their fair share of the brightest and the best into this industry, and we will continue to encourage them to do so and to also have, for example, integrated Masters programmes which will feature tie-ups between local universities and reputable foreign universities, such as Carnegie Mellon University and Georgia Institute of Technology. We currently have ongoing joint programmes with our local institutions.

Sir, let me sum up by saying that we have had encouraging results so far, as far as iN2015 is concerned. We have made global headlines. In the last few months, we have seen a string of CEOs from many MNCs coming here, people like John Thompson, Michael Dell, John Chambers from CISCO, just to name a few. They have come here to look for opportunities, because they know that whatever Singapore says it will do, it is serious about it. Non-IT companies, such as Credit Suisse from banking and DaimlerChrysler, have moved their IT nerve centres to Singapore because they understand that with First World infrastructure, a stable government, a stable regulatory regime and with IP protection, this is the place to be to develop and have their disaster recovery sites, back-up sites, business contingency and continuity sites going. So there is buzz in the sector and there will be many, many opportunities.

It has also benefited the man-in-the-street. For example, Members must be aware by now that broadband prices are falling. In fact, broadband prices have fallen by as much as 37%, just in 2006 alone. Speeds have also been increasing. Some households already have access of 100 Mbps. But the significant drop in broadband prices has fuelled further adoption of services. And 3G subscriptions, which Mr Zaqy enquired about, has increased from 174,000 in December 2005 to close to 884,000 in December 2006. It now comprises about 19% of our subscriber base. Three out of four households have access to at least one computer at home, and it is the norm for our youths to use the Internet and this connectivity as their primary means of communication, gaming, entertainment, gathering information and interaction. So I remain optimistic that these investments that we are putting in place will be used and we will be able to exploit the fruits of these investments.

Let me quickly move on to the two questions on the interactive and digital media (IDM) scene. The Member has quite correctly pointed out that the National Research Foundation has set aside $500 million to invest into this sector. We aim to use this money to increase Singapore's R&D capacity in the IDM space and more than that. It is not just research for research's sake, but so that we can help develop breakthrough products and services which can make Singapore and Singapore businesses more competitive.

We intend to increase the value-added contributions of the interactive digital media space to $10 billion. That will be up from the $3.8 billion in 2003 and to create 10,000 new jobs. At the end of the day, everything which we do here is still about jobs and money, livelihood. I am also acutely aware that there is a need to focus, because Singapore is very small. So at this point, we have decided to focus on four areas.

(1) Animation, games and special effects;

(2) Media intermediary services;

(3) Mobile services; and

(4) Educational services and the use of IDM to further educational opportunities.

So these are four areas which we have decided to focus on.

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How will we make progress in these four areas? First, we have decided that we need to form a global network of research institutions,

both local and overseas, in order for them to focus on these four areas and to see how Singapore can be a useful site to develop ideas and research potential in these areas. Last October, the MDA and Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the Singapore-MIT International Game Lab which will further global research and develop world-class academic programmes in games technology. We all know that this is a huge growth area. In fact, the market potential for games probably exceeds the potential for Hollywood blockbuster films. This is a big area.

The second way we are doing this is to develop online platforms. We call it i.JAM for short in which people from both research and industry sectors can come together, exchange breakthrough ideas and suggestions and look for opportunities to collaborate to bring these ideas to reality. This is, in a sense, what the Member was suggesting just now that there is a need for constructive and useful engagement and dialogue to occur between the experts, on one hand, the venture capitalist, on the other, Government, on the third hand, and potential users on the fourth hand. We are creating these platforms for dialogue and collaboration.

The third way we are doing this is to position Singapore as the preferred testbed for innovative and commercially-viable IDM R&D applications. We may be a small market, but we are a reference market. And if an application works in Singapore, it has got applicability in other areas in Asia and in the Middle East and, ultimately, at the global level.

The fourth initiative is to encourage further investments by key industry players in the development of new open access platforms. This, we believe, will stimulate the development of applications, products and services on these open access platforms.

These initiatives have received tremendous support so far. We have had 30 IDM stakeholders who have come on board. Our educational institutions have ramped up their R&D efforts. Local institutes have offered a slew of their breakthrough technologies or their IP for further development. But it has only been six months, so I can assure that we have not spent $500 million yet. But we are targeted, we have sorted out our strategies and we have identified our partners. So I would advise Members of the House to just watch this space. This is a place in which I think a lot is going to happen and we will give you a further update next year.

Values and Norms in the e-Arena

Miss Penny Low: The Internet and mobile phones have empowered individuals in unprecedented ways. But it has also brought a lot of abuses and problems - the MRT suicide broadcast, the rise of cyber sex predators, racial blogs, etc, have become quite prevalent.

The OECD estimated that the IPR violations cost the world a whopping $770 billion in 2004. Local surveys by the Fei Yue Community Services have also revealed weak knowledge especially knowledge of the cyber ethics.

The Straits Times also reported that many netizens were not aware of the do's and don'ts and the rights and wrongs in the cyber world. As such, I would like to propose two schemes. One, a cyber literacy programme, something like the financial literacy programme under the MAS where a fund is set aside to improve the cyber literacy of Singaporeans. This can be carried out via PPP efforts at community centres, schools, lunch-time breaks in the companies, etc. Perhaps, the infocomm clubs, mentioned by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, can also play a key role here.

Two, a code of cyber ethics. Obviously, any voluntary code of ethics could appear ineffective on the surface. However, like the code of racial harmony, it serves as a beacon for behaviour norms and foster the treasured values and ethos of the society. Code of cyber ethics is an inclusive measure to provide strong social acceptance, acceptable norms and behaviours among the netizens beyond the educationist school.

Sir, cyber crimes are not bound easily by any jurisdiction system and neither can the law catch up with it very easily. However, if ethical behaviour could be enshrined in generic principles and further guided by examples and even illustrations via cartoons for easy understanding, then in the long run, the Net community could identify and weave themselves out of ethical predicament and troubles with the law.

The Chairman: Dr Ong Seh Hong is not here. Mr Siew Kum Hong.

Control and Regulation of New and Old Media

Mr Siew Kum Hong (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, the Government has repeatedly stated that it regulates the Internet with a light touch. That is commendable and I think also a pragmatic recognition of the difficulties in regulating the online world. But what is a light touch? Can regulation truly be light touch if behind it is the threat of a criminal offence, punishable by a fine not exceeding $200,000, or jail of up to three years or both, with additional fines of $100,000 per day for committing offences?

Sir, that is exactly what our light touch regulation is. The Media Development Authority regulates the Internet through the Class Licence and a breach of the Class Licence will potentially attract the penalties that I have described.

Sir, the MDA's website describes the Class Licence as setting minimum standards for the responsible use of the Internet. I think it goes much further than that. Read in conjunction with the Internet Code of Practice, the Class Licence prohibits, and I quote, "material that is objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public order, public security, national harmony or is otherwise prohibited by applicable Singapore laws" .

Sir, I would submit that this language is unnecessarily broad and that the Class Licence, in its present form, is no longer relevant or appropriate. When the Government wanted to take action against certain racist bloggers, it chose to charge them under the Sedition Act. That decision surprised many, including lawyers. I myself wondered why the racist bloggers were not charged for breaching the Class Licence. After all, they had posted objectionable online content that would have breached the Class Licence which was specifically created to regulate online content.

Sir, the Government can and will use traditional statutes like the Sedition Act to regulate the Internet and the Penal Code is being updated for the digital age. So I think that the time is right to review the Class Licence 10 years after it was issued, so as to limit the prohibitions to match its existing practice of enforcing the Class Licence against sexual contents. This will avoid ---

The Chairman: Your time is up, Mr Siew.

Regulation of Advertisement Standards

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sir, the arrival of Crazy Horse in 2005 was a milestone in the level of liberalisation in Singapore's entertainment scene. It signals an openness of the authorities in allowing an alternative form of entertainment for paying audiences.

It is unfortunate that the show did not enjoy satisfactory ticket sales and has had its last curtain call on 31st January this year. Various factors have led to the closure of Crazy Horse and one reason quoted was the restrictions on its advertisements. The show was allowed to run its advertisements in selected magazines and in the movie pages of newspapers. The revue could also place only black and white advertisements in the cinema pages of the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, with coloured ones only in The Business Times .

Over the last two years, I note that the mass media, especially the newspapers, has given great coverage on the show with extensive colourful images. Based on a rough count, I believe all the local papers published a total of about 70 pictures of the Crazy Horse performers. I would imagine that the total page area taken by these pictures is far bigger than the total advertisement space that the operator had placed in the newspapers. The media reports, at many times, do achieve the same impact as advertisements. I do not remember that there were adverse reactions from the public on the count of indecency.

I have not seen the show myself, but from what I understand, the Crazy Horse is more a show of colourful lighting than a flesh parade. It was reported that some audience even left disappointed because there was not much to see! Sir, I wonder if the authorities had allowed coloured pictures in the advertisements in the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao , how different would they be from those widely used in the articles appearing in the same papers? As the Chinese saying goes, " hao ma bu chi hui tou cao ", relaxing the guidelines now is too late to turn back the Crazy Horse, nor am I suggesting that the business will be viable just by lifting the advertising restrictions. I understand that the operator was well aware of the advertising regulations even before it decided to launch the show, and that this was not a case of new or additional restrictions being imposed on the operator after the show was launched.

Having said that, I hope that the Ministry does not then turn the wheel backwards to introduce more stringent rules for pictures in the mass media. I would like to make a point that, in view of more exciting programmes and entertainment advertisements that will come to Singapore as we continue to develop our night life, including the Integrated Resorts, I hope that we can adopt a lighter touch in advertisement regulations, so that Singapore does not end up being too conservative compared with other global cities, and our rules do not become a convenient punching bag for any business failure.

Subtitles for TV News

Mr Chan Soo Sen: ( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Mr Speaker, Sir, when I was young, I learnt English by reading the subtitles on the TV screen. After watching the Chinese News, I would follow up to catch the English News so as to train my listening skills. Many of my friends who are English educated Chinese Singaporeans told me that they learn their mother tongue by reading the Chinese subtitles appearing on the karaoke TV screen. As they sing along, they will be able to follow the Chinese lyrics and have since learnt many Chinese characters. If we consider both scenarios, ie, if we can have Chinese subtitles on our TV programmes, it will play an important role in promoting the learning of the mother tongue and helping our people in the use of the language.

Therefore, I am most happy to know that our Channel 8 News has already inserted the Chinese subtitles. In this regard, I would like to request if MICA could encourage our Chinese media to display Chinese subtitles and captions during the telecast of all Chinese News bulletin slots. This will help to increase the probability of our TV audience being exposed to the Chinese characters and in turn promote the learning of our mother tongue.

Having said that, I believe one important consideration will be the costs involved. However, I would like to share my experience in China. It is a very common practice for their programmes to display Chinese subtitles and captions during the Chinese dialogue. In China, the people in different cities/provinces have a different Chinese accent. During a TV interview, if a Beijingese speaks with a Beijing accent, the Fujian people may not understand what the Beijingese is talking about. Similarly, the Hunanese will speak with a Hunan accent, and the Shandong people will have difficulty understanding. As such, it is very common for them to display Chinese subtitles. I do believe that there are plenty of subtitle experts in China. If cost is the main concern, maybe we can consider outsourcing the typewriting of subtitles and captions to the China experts.

Besides Chinese News, I would like to further extend this idea to include literature and history documentaries, etc. While watching the Chinese documentary, and as we discuss our traditions and culture, the narration of the history can be put down into words using the Chinese subtitles. And I hope that the Malay and Tamil community can also consider putting subtitles in their Malay and Tamil News, if they think that it is a good way to learn their mother tongue. After all, most of the reading materials, such as newspapers, books and signboards, are written in English. To ensure that our younger generation continues to master both Chinese and the English language, we can help by exposing them to Chinese subtitles through educational programmes, and I believe it will be very useful to the learning of the mother tongue.

*Cols. 2625-2626.

2.15 pm

The Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Balaji Sadasivan): Mr Chairman, Sir, you are TIME magazine’s person of the year for 2006. So are Miss Penny Low, Mr Siew Kum Hong and anyone who sits in front of a computer and interacts with it. TIME magazine’s selection of you as person of the year was meant to highlight the millions of individuals who, through their interaction in cyberspace, have created new channels and types of communication. Two hon. Members of Parliament have pointed out the problems related to the new media and I shall answer their cuts together. These are wild and exciting times in cyberspace.

Blogs, YouTube, MySpace, Secondlife and Wikipedia are impacting the lives of millions. Many among the younger generation socialise in cyberspace. Some have termed this revolution in cyberspace as Web2.0, likening it to an updated version of software. While this revolution has brought the wisdom of millions together to create Wikipedia, there is stuff in cyberspace that can make you fear for the future of the next generation. There is a large supply of obscenity and stupidity, dishonesty and danger. So how does my Ministry deal with this brave new world?

We have a three-pronged approach in managing the new media: (1) a light-touch regulatory framework; (2) industry self-regulation; and, (3) public education.

Let me start with light-touch regulatory framework. Internet content providers are regulated under the Media Development Authority’s Class Licence Scheme. There is an Internet Code of Practice, which stipulates the type of content prohibited in cyberspace. The Class Licence requires Internet content providers and service providers to take down or deny access to such harmful content. This light-touch regulatory approach has served us well in regulating online content, helping to facilitate the growth of the industry while allowing us to act if we find harmful content that threatens our social values and racial and religious harmony.

Mr Siew asked whether we should review our light-touch regulatory framework. Last year, the National Internet Advisory Committee (NIAC), a people-private sector body set up to advise MDA, reviewed the Class Licence Scheme. It found the light-touch scheme still relevant and appropriate in dealing with emerging media trends.

The Member was also concerned about the use of the Sedition Act recently. The Sedition Act reinforces MDA’s light-touch regulation on new media. The proposed expansion of the Penal Code to cover electronic transmissions now will provide an alternative to the Sedition Act for charging offenders purveying inflammatory content that stirs up public mischief.

Besides legislative action, another important limb in managing the new media is industry self-regulation. The MDA and NIAC work closely with the industry to promote industry self-regulation. For example, last year, the mobile service operators - MobileOne, SingTel and StarHub - developed and adopted a voluntary industry content code for mobile services which aims to protect users, especially the young, from undesirable and objectionable mobile content.

The third prong, public education, is vital. Public education is vital and I totally agree with Miss Penny Low on the importance of public education.

Our youths readily embrace the Internet, freely uploading personal pictures and videos on their blogs, MySpace and YouTube. Some are intimate self-exposures. But few seem to realise that everything sent over or posted on the Internet is likely to be stored somewhere and could be easily retrieved, even long into the future, and could be misused by someone else to their detriment.

Given the perceived anonymity of the Internet, there are also netters who feel empowered to “blog any thing, any how”. Racist sites can be found on the Internet. Netters may not realise that they may be breaching the law when they post racist content. Many too are probably unaware that they could be sued for cyberspace defamation.

MDA recognises the dangers of the Internet. Over the last few years, it has worked closely with NIAC and various partners to inculcate responsible Internet habits through Cyber Wellness programmes, which educate users and parents on the proper use and dangers of the Internet. Starting this year, the Ministry of Education has incorporated Cyber Wellness values and programmes into the school curriculum for younger primary and secondary school students. In fact, Cyber Wellness is for everyone - grassroots, community centres, businesses should start Cyber Wellness programmes to encourage and teach people about the dangers as well as the value of the Internet.

With this three-pronged approach to managing the new media, there is currently no need for a separate Internet Code of Ethics. Furthermore, responsible websites do lay down terms and conditions which users have to abide by. Recently, a racially offensive video posted on YouTube was removed after it was flagged out by netters themselves. Such self-regulation is a positive and encouraging sign.

The Government recognises that Singaporeans are tech-savvy and take very well to the Internet. It also recognises that it is important to study the long-term social, ethical, legal and regulatory implications of the new media. Thus, a high-level advisory committee will be set up for this purpose. More details will be available at a later date.

Mr Baey Yam Keng had spoken about the Crazy Horse. It was a milestone to him, but he may be too young to remember that before Crazy Horse, we had Tropicana, and after that we had Neptune.

Sir, we do want to be a global city. But the hallmark of a global city is its diversity and not its homogeneity. If we were a homogenous society, regulating what is acceptable and what is not acceptable would be simpler. But a diverse society will have a wide spectrum of views and interests as to what should be the norm. So MDA has to strike a delicate balance between the concerns, wants and needs of different groups.

Let me now deal with the specific issue of the Crazy Horse. The Crazy Horse, as Members know, is a topless dance revue meant for a mature audience. Many parents will be pleased if their young daughters came home and said they wanted to take dance lessons because they saw an advertisement for a performance by the Singapore Dance Theatre. I do not believe these same parents will feel the same way if their daughters came home and said the same thing after seeing an advertisement for Crazy Horse. So there is a need for some regulatory control for advertisements of adult entertainment.

I met the owner of Crazy Horse in Paris who told me that they have advertising rules in the European Union too. So we are not unusual in having advertising rules. Advertisements in Singapore must not be offensive to the public and should adhere to the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS). Eng Wah, the operator of Crazy Horse, was well aware of the advertising guidelines, even before it decided to launch the show, and had at its disposal, various channels to promote the show before the launch. And as Mr Baey himself has pointed out, besides the advertisements, there was so much write-ups and free advertisement in the newspapers as there were so many articles about the show. So it may not be fair to say that the show failed because of lack of advertising opportunity.

Sir, while we open up more, we must continue to be sensitive to our societal norms and values. The norms and values differ from country to country.

Let me cite a recent article in Straits Times Life!, which pointed out that a person in Shenzhen had watched the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower" and wanted restrictions for the movie. Why? Apparently, “the abundant cleavage was too much for the 32-year-old electronics worker”. Interestingly, the article pointed out that "by contrast, in the United States - a place many Chinese consider as wildly permissive - the movie is rated R". This means that children younger than 17 must be accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian to see it. The Americans were not concerned by the cleavage, but they were concerned by the violence. So society norms and sensitivities are different, and regulatory authorities have to be conscious and sensitive to these differences.

Next, Mr Chan Soo Sen asked about more subtitles in programmes. MDA supports it. It is a good way for people to learn a second language, particularly the mother tongue. MDA has always been supportive of providing subtitling services for programmes. It not only helps the younger generation but it also helps the hearing impaired and the elderly, particularly if the elderly are conversant only in the dialects and the programme is in Mandarin. By reading the subtitles, they can follow the programme.

As news is one of the most-watched programmes on free-to-air channels, MDA has worked closely with MediaCorp to introduce real-time subtitling for English, Chinese and Malay TV news. Subtitling for the 9.30 pm English news on Channel 5 was launched in October last year. In December, the service was extended to the Chinese news at 10 pm on Channel 8 and the Malay news at 8 pm on Suria, both of which are the highest rated time slots for Chinese and Malay news bulletins.

There is a technical problem in finding a programme that does Tamil subtitling. So subtitling for the Tamil news will be implemented when there is a viable system in the market that can produce real-time subtitles in Tamil.

Besides news, major national programmes such as National Day Rally and National Day Message are also subtitled. But I agree with Mr Chan that we should subtitle more and more programmes so that viewers will have an opportunity of learning a language better.

The Chairman: We have some time left. Yes, Mr Siew.

Mr Siew Kum Hong: Sir, the Senior Minister of State has pointed out that the NIAC had endorsed the light-touch approach under the Class Licence. He has also mentioned that the Sedition Act supplements the regulations, and the Penal Code provides an alternative mechanism for enforcement. What this means is that a single action can technically contravene three different laws with very serious consequences for each contravention. There is overlapping liability under multiple statutes for one single action. That creates uncertainty and a potential chilling effect on Internet speech. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether this is healthy and leaves too much discretion to the authorities when taking enforcement action.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Sir, let me begin with the real world before I go into the cyber world. Even in the real world, there is much overlap between laws, and a particular wrongdoing can come under several sections of the Penal Code, and it is for the Attorney-General to study the various laws and decide which one is applicable in a particular case.

In cyberspace, the same is true. A law applies in cyberspace and so the same law and the same overlap that is found in the real world will be found in cyber space. The difference is that in cyberspace, it is a particular medium that is being used when compared to print, but the laws apply equally whether in cyberspace or in the real world. In cyberspace, what we do not do is that we do not go after every action that breaks the law, because it is impractical and impossible to police cyberspace. So, by and large, cyberspace is left alone and that is what we mean by regulating with a light touch. But where wrongdoing or bad action in cyberspace can have an impact on the real world, like the racist blogs, then we act.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, the Esplanade-Empress Place arts and heritage precinct can well qualify as a world heritage site under UNESCO. This destination is known to be an important driver not only for conservation but for tourism too. I would like to ask the Minister: Singapore left UNESCO in 1985 following the US and the UK which had also left the UN organisation. But following reforms in UNESCO, UK and the US had since rejoined UNESCO, but Singapore has yet to do so. Can I ask the Minister whether Singapore plans to rejoin as part of Singapore's strategy to promote Singapore to the world stage as a global arts city with a unique heritage?

In relation to this, I just want to highlight that the WEF travel and tourism competitiveness report used the number of world heritage sites as a criterion in its ranking. Singapore has none. Singapore has not ratified the World Heritage Convention under UNESCO when 183 states have done so. Can I ask the Minister whether there are plans to ratify that Convention?

2.30 pm

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, it is correct that Singapore left UNESCO in 1985. But the circumstances were very different when we left UNESCO.

We understand that over the past 20 years or so there has been much changes within UNESCO. We have also kept ourselves informed about what is happening in UNESCO and participated in selected UNESCO activities even though we are not a member. In fact, since 2004 we have become an observer at UNESCO activities or meetings and events. We take our observer status seriously because we want to learn more about how the organisation functions, how we can contribute to its mission and how we can also derive benefits from our participation in future as a member.

We have also been selected by UNESCO for heritage recognition despite the fact that we are not a member. We do not have a World Heritage site. But I understand that in 2001, UNESCO awarded the Thiam Hock Keng, in Telok Ayer Street, the Asia Pacific Heritage Award, and this was followed in 2002 with an award with the CHIJMES Project for Asia Pacific Heritage Award. We have two UNESCO-recognised Asia Pacific Heritage sites here in Singapore. We are now an observer and, as I have said, we participate in their meetings. We will learn more about what they are doing, what are their programmes, how we can contribute, what are the benefits we can derive. We look forward to rejoining the organisation in the near future.

The Chairman: I would like to remind Members to make their interventions brief.

Dr Fatimah Lateef: Sir, I would like to find out if there are any plans to actually coordinate activities, basically cultural and heritage activities, organised by the many clan associations that we have in Singapore to come under some kind of umbrella so that they can contribute towards the future that we look forward to in the area of arts and culture.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Chairman, Sir, certainly this is a desirable effort and, in fact, this is something that the National Arts Council does regularly to coordinate with the various cultural groups, artists, collectives and practitioners in order to ensure that our arts and cultural activities receive the prominence that they deserve. So when we organise events like, for instance, the Singapore Arts Festival, we involve many Singapore arts groups to participate in the various events that contributed to the Arts Festival. Later this year in October/November when we organise the Singapore Art Show, we will be involving all the artists and arts collective. The visual arts community will be part of this effort to showcase and recognise the works of Singapore artists. Sir, we will continue to work with all the arts groups to ensure that we have coordination and that support is given to the groups when they are making major production and presentation in order to liven up our arts and cultural scene.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: With response to SMS' reply, I would like to clarify that I do not think that the failure of Crazy Horse was solely due to the restriction on advertising materials. But my question is, if the operator would like to use the same coloured picture that is published in the Straits Times as part of its advertisement, what would be the concern of the Ministry here? To the scenario that SMS referred to about the undesired impact of young girls who wanted to audition for Crazy Horse because of the advertisement, I think the operator would be more interested to place advertisement to publicise the event rather than to recruit dancers.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: There is a code of practice that all advertisers have to follow. Periodically, that is reviewed. This code is drawn so that there is a balance between the needs of the artistic creators who create advertisements and the needs of the general society; sometimes, their requirement not to be offended, particularly parents who do not want their children to see rather racy pictures. So a balance has to be struck and in every particular case, the advertisement has to be looked at and seen in the context of the code. With regard to the particular colour picture that he is talking about - it is a picture and it is hard for you to describe it - if there was a similar situation and there was a photograph, then the regulator would look at the photograph and determine whether or not it can be on the advertisement based on the code that covers advertisements.

Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen: Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for his support and recognition of the fact that even though it is not easy, we should try to do more for the local music scene. I would like to ask if the Minister can look at the NAC playing the role of a matchmaker specifically between corporations and local musicians, like how MCYS does for sourcing for funding for sports.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Chairman, Sir, I would certainly ask NAC to explore this possibility and see how we can further support the local musical groups or musical talents.

Mr Gautam Banerjee (Nominated Member): With the various initiatives and investments we are making to promote arts in Singapore, I would just like to ask the Minister whether he thinks we are doing enough to promote the arts as a mainstream career for Singaporeans - it tends to be an alternative career because of things like critical mass and so on - and with the art schools being set up and other investments and infrastructure, whether in time to come we should increase the amount of communication and encouragement to get talented Singaporeans to take up arts as a mainstream career.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Chairman, Sir, I think the time has come where the arts is now very much a part and parcel of life in Singapore. More and more Singaporeans are participating in the arts either as creator or content contributors, whether it is visual performing arts or as arts consumers. So there is a lively market for arts and cultural activities, which means that making the arts a mainstream career is becoming an increasing possibility but whether people would want to take on this challenge depends very much on individuals. It is not a question of saying that there is a demand and therefore I want to do this as my career or profession. There is a question of artistic capability, and I think this is an area where we cannot assume that everyone would have this ability. So it would be left very much to the individual. And that is why in our effort to promote the arts, you look at how we approach the arts school - it is to encourage the talented youngsters to come forward and they have to go through a process of audition. We have to look at them, assess whether they indeed have the passion and the talent for the arts. Are they committed to it? Will they really benefit from a dedicated arts education and if they do, then we are prepared to help them, groom their talent, nurture their talent to the fullest potential so that, perhaps, some from among those who come to the arts school will indeed make the arts as a mainstream career for themselves or as a chosen profession. But, like many other careers, there are challenges and a lot of competition. So whether one could succeed in this area or not depends very much on one's own innate artistic talent, capability and commitment to the passion.

Miss Penny Low: Short intervention. Will the Minister agree that the marketplace would indeed be the best place to spur demand and supply? Whether or not there would be more people joining the arts or creative industry as the mainstream career would also depend on the sort of demand for their services and their creative output. So would the Government consider supporting them by becoming a purchaser of their creative outputs? This, obviously, should not be restricted to just MICA alone but also across the board. Give them a hand out, not a handout.

My second question is this. Earlier on, I spoke about the need for quality housing for the arts. So would the Minister also reply to whether we would be upgrading Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre and Telok Kurau Arts Centre?

And my final question is on the Cyber Code of Ethics. I think SMS replied that there is a Cyber Wellness Programme that is ongoing, but I think a Cyber Wellness Programme is very different from a Code of Cyber Ethics. Perhaps the Code of Cyber Ethics could also be incorporated into the Cyber Wellness Programme itself.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Chairman, I will respond to the first three points and then the Senior Minister of State will take up the other point about Cyber Code of Ethics.

On whether supply and demand will make an impact on the people choosing the arts as a mainstream career, I entirely agree. At the end of the day, Singaporeans must be prepared to pay going rate for whatever art or cultural activities that they consume. You cannot expect everything to be for free, and the arts cannot be all for free too. You must be prepared to pay the price of a ticket which will then allow performers and art companies to survive in this very competitive marketplace. And I would agree with her that supply and demand play an important role there.

As for Government becoming an arts consumer, Government is indeed already an arts consumer through various programmes. We have an arts acquisition programme within National Heritage Board where we purchase works of art to form part of our national arts collection. As it stands today, many of the Government Ministries are operating under block budget and they are already empowered within their budget to dedicate maybe a part of their budget, a small part, where it is necessary to acquire works of art for their premises, buildings or whatever. So if a Ministry has a new building and they want to have some works of art, they are already empowered to do so. I would imagine that if a Government agency wants to purchase a work of art to be displayed in the offices or in their premises, the priority or the natural inclination would be to purchase Singapore art. I think that would be something that we can take as a given. I would think it would be unusual if they were to go beyond Singapore to look for some other artworks. But certainly the Government is already contributing. Besides that, the Government is also contributing by commissioning works of art and we have done this. NAC has regularly commissioned arts companies to produce works of art. For instance, the celebrated Forbidden City was one of the most successful and most lavish musicals created locally by Dick Lee with local artistes and supplemented by international artistes. It has performed three seasons. The work was a commissioned work for the opening of the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay in 2002. We will continue to commission works by Singapore arts companies in order to support them and also to increase the repertoire of the Singapore arts companies.

On the Member's last point about the quality of arts housing, we already have quite an extensive range of arts housing - Telok Kurau, as she mentioned; Chinatown, we have some; and we also have some in Little India. We will continue to look at how we can improve the quality of arts housing. The NAC is looking at a new project for art housing which is, in fact, the former NAFA premises in Waterloo Street. I think this was also the old St Anthony Convent. It is quite a sizeable facility and a lot of space there. We are looking at designing a new model of arts housing where arts and arts businesses can co-exist to make it a more vibrant arts hub. So artists can work there in their studios. There will be galleries with food and beverage outlets that would bring people to the premises so that there will be a lot more interaction between arts consumer and the arts community. This is one of NAC's projects which they are looking at in the coming years. So we will certainly continue to look at our arts housing and where we can, we will try to improve them.

2.45 pm

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: The cyber wellness programmes do not use the words "code of practice" or "code of ethics". Perhaps, when you are dealing with young people, the word "code" sounds rather authoritative. But instead, they use core values. And there are four core values that are promoted in the cyber wellness programme. The first is balanced lifestyle, that is, the users should embrace the Internet and integrate it into their daily lives and, at the same time, a balance has to be maintained between their physical lives and their virtual world lives. The second core value is embracing the Net and inspiring others, that is, users should harness the positive powers of the Internet to be proactive contributors who can inspire and benefit others. The third core value is astuteness, users need to be astute and street-smart when navigating the Internet, including disseminating information online and defending strangers on social sites, that is, they have to be aware of the dangers of the Internet. The fourth core value is respect and responsibility, users need to have a sense of respect for the Internet and other individuals, and that they should not abuse the power of the Internet nor condone subversive content.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: I have a question for the Minister. On the return investment of $4 billion spent on iN2015, on the one hand, we always see traditionally we have got KPIs based on adoption. I think with the infrastructure today, we need to look more into innovation. Would the Ministry be looking at how we measure value add, in terms of the IT knock-on effect on end user industries, such as banking, manufacturing, and the other sectors?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The short answer is yes.

Mr Teo Ser Luck: It is about the Arts School. I had the chance to visit the Philippines' Arts School and the curriculum is the academic curriculum, which revolves around the arts curriculum. So the arts take centre stage. Is that the direction that the Arts School will take in Singapore as well? The second question is: what is the entry requirement for the Arts School? Are we going to focus on the academic results which means that they have to be from the Express stream? If they are from the Normal stream and if they are not doing too well academically, would they have a chance to enter the Arts School, even if they have the passion for the arts?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, we would take the same approach as Arts Schools elsewhere, which is that the arts will take centre stage in the education of our students in the Arts School. But, at the same time, as I have said earlier, we would offer a comprehensive academic programme to supplement the arts. But the arts would be used in many other ways to teach the students. The arts would feature in as many different ways as possible so that the students would be totally immersed in the arts in the Arts School.

As for entry requirements, we have said before that the key requirement is that the students must have a talent for the arts and also passion for the arts. Those are overriding requirements. Then, of course, since the school is geared towards preparing the students to take the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, we need to assess the academic ability of the students so that they can complete the programme and successfully gain an IB Diploma. The students obviously must also show a certain level of academic excellence. But at the end of the day, academic excellence will not get you into the Arts School per se . You will need to demonstrate, through audition, your artistic ability in order to qualify. For those whose artistic ability is of such a high level, compared to their academic abilities, we would certainly make exception and the Arts School is prepared to give extra support to such students so that they will continue to be able to keep up with the demand or the rigours of the academic side of the Arts School programmes. We will try not to miss out on any talented youngsters. We will try to ensure that those who are indeed artistically talented will be given the chance in many ways, including those who come from families which may not have the financial resources to support their children. We will give them scholarships or bursaries, as the case may be, to ensure that they are not deprived of the opportunity to undergo such an excellent arts education programme.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, the City Hall is a building of huge historical significance. It was where Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten accepted the surrender of the Japanese Forces in 1945 and it was where our first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was sworn in in 1959. Can I ask the Minister, given that they are going to convert the City Hall into our new National Gallery with the international architecture competition, for his assurance that it will maintain its historical significance and preserve nooks and corners which may reflect the richness of our history? Another question is that I also want to thank the Minister for considering underpasses to link the important buildings in the precincts which include Empress Place and City Hall -

The Chairman: Ms Ng, we do not have time.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Can I ask the Minister whether he could consider including a heritage trail in the underpasses as well?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, in developing the City Hall and the old Supreme Court building into the National Art Gallery, we will pay particular attention to the historical values and qualities of both buildings. They are national monuments. They are not just ordinary buildings. So in refurbishing them, we will have to pay great respect to the history of both buildings and, certainly, we will be preserving certain parts of the building in order to tell future generations of Singaporeans who may not be aware of this historical aspect. We will keep alive the memories of what went on in this building and the part they played in Singapore's development in our history. Let me assure this House that, in calling for international architectural competition to suggest ideas and proposals on how we can refurbish the building, we will not in any way remove the historical details of the importance of both buildings to Singapore. We will in fact preserve and enhance those historical aspects.

As to the heritage trail, certainly, we will be including this nucleus of wonderful heritage institutions in our arts and heritage district as part of our heritage trail. As and when the underground links are created, they will certainly form part of our heritage trail to bring people from one point to another in the most convenient manner.

The Chairman: Dr Fatimah, one final question. Please make it brief.

Dr Fatimah Lateef: I know we like all the developments in the arts. But I would like to get some assurance from the Minister that we will always integrate the elderly, the disabled, as well as the sick, because arts can also be used as a form of therapy.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, yes, we will do that. We will bear that in mind. We will always ensure that the arts reach out to as wide a spectrum of our society as possible - the aged, the disabled. We will include them. Interestingly enough, towards the end of last year, I went for an arts outreach programme, conducted by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. It was held in the Singapore General Hospital. Being end of the year festive occasion, the Chinese Orchestra decided to hold an outreach programme where the group went there for free performance to all the in-patients of the hospital. I was there. I thought the patients had a great time and they enjoyed themselves listening to all the cheerful festive music. I hope that it had contributed to uplifting their spirit and speeded up their recovery.

The Chairman: Miss Penny Low, are you withdrawing your amendment?

Miss Penny Low: Sir, just to continue on what my colleague Dr Fatimah said, I think it is not just the arts but also the ICT that has to be an inclusive platform for everybody in Singapore - able or disabled, high income or low income. I think the Ministers and Minister of State have given us a very comprehensive answer to the questions posed on the creative, media and IT sectors and also painted many exciting plans in these sectors. MICA can be assured that we will be watching this phase very, very closely.

With that, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn .

The sum of $393,584,080 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $147,582,900 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.