ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1999 TO 31ST MARCH, 2000

Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [3rd Allotted Day].

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head W (cont.) -

Resumption of Debate on Question [11th March, 1999],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head W of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100." - [Mr Lim Swee Say].

Question again proposed.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock (Ayer Rajah): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak. I was not in the House when the Minister questioned my message on foreign talent. In fact, I was surprised that the Minister chose to misinterpret my call for the toning down of the foreign talent message, as a call against foreign talent. I think this is not fair.

I have always subscribed to the open system of recruiting the best into our service. And where there are gaps in our recruitment exercise, we should allow foreign talent to come and fill those gaps. But I said that in this crisis, charity begins at home. Did I ask that we should stop them from coming? No. Did I ask that we sack them and replace the vacancies with Singaporeans? No. All that I asked is for the Government to play down this message in this crisis. Is that wrong?

Is it wrong, Sir, for me to ask that Singaporeans should take priority in the Government's plans to tackle the economic crisis? Is it wrong?

The Chairman: Dr Tan, I have allowed you to make a brief clarification. Could you round up quickly?

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Yes. The Minister is worried that I may send the wrong message to foreigners. I think we should be worried that we might be sending the wrong message to Singaporeans. I was only sending a message of assurance to Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Dr Tan, you have made the point. I think you are embarking on a new speech. Please resume your seat. The point has been made.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock resumed his seat.

The Chairman: General George Yeo, you may continue with your speech.

The Second Minister for Trade and Industry (BG George Yong-Boon Yeo): Thank you, Sir. Yesterday, a number of MPs spoke about the importance of the knowledge economy to Singapore in the next century. This is a crucial area and we should be clear about what we are referring to. We are not talking about particular industries or particular companies. The knowledge economy is not an add-on. What we are talking about is a total national orientation towards brain work, as opposed to manual labour.

You take the example of Internet and e-commerce. A few nights ago, the US Ambassador in Singapore invited me to dinner to meet Raymond Lane, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Oracle. Oracle is a software company whose capitalisation has now overtaken General Motors, the world's biggest auto company. Raymond Lane said that in the next five years, e-commerce will cause a major change in global manufacturing, distribution and consumption. He thinks that the changes in the next five years will be as great as the changes that have taken place in the last 60 years. I do not know whether he is right or he is wrong, but even if he is out by five years, I think the point is very clear. Unless we gear ourselves for that new world, we will be left behind.

At the same dinner, the US Ambassador cited some statistics which I thought were very interesting. America On-Line has also surpassed General Motors in capitalisation. Amazon.com already has a capitalisation greater than that of Boeing Aircraft. One produces 777s and the most advanced aeroplanes in the world and the other sells books, which he does not own. Microsoft, a giant, has a capitalisation greater than that of all the stock markets of the South East Asian countries combined. And little Yahoo has a capitalisation greater than that of the Jakarta stock exchange.

I do not know whether some of these valuations are exaggerated or whether they reflect underlying realities, but these are facts. And we have got to ask ourselves what is happening in the world. Why is it, when we study Fortune 500 companies, there is such a drastic shift, away from those who dig things from the ground, who bend metals, who do repetitive work, to those which produce creative outputs from the human brain.

If you look at the balance sheets of AOL or Microsoft, we are hard put to figure out what their assets are, because it is no longer machines, factories or land. It is human knowledge, human network, the culture of a company. When you acquire such a company, you ascribe the difference to goodwill. So even general accounting principles have not quite caught up with the knowledge economy.

It is therefore crucial that despite the Asian crisis, we keep our eyes on what is coming on the horizon. Internet and e-commerce will shake every industry to its foundations, and it affects all sectors. Dr Wang Kai Yuen was absolutely right. It is not just computers and IT. He talked about Viagra, and asked rather mischievously whether it is part of the knowledge economy. Well, Viagra is a very interesting drug. It works the same way that nitroglycerine works when you put it under the tongue for heart patients. Recently, Nobel prizes were awarded to the scientists who discovered the biochemistry of these drugs. These are extremely knowledge-intensive industries, which we should become a part of. What Zantac, which is an anti-ulcer drug, has done for Glaxo, Viagra will do for Pfizer.

The terms of trade have changed. If we are just drawers of water and hewers of wood, machines will take over our work and we will draw only a pittance. The key is working with the human brain, which means educating the young, teaching them to network, not just within Singapore but in the whole world, understanding where the value added is the greatest, and then getting the maximum return from the effort that we put in.

Of course, not everyone can be a high-tech hot shot, but we must have a significant high-tech sector in Singapore to pull us along. And a knowledge economy applies as much to mundane things like clothing and food. When I go jogging, I wear Chinese singlets which cost me $3. If you buy Calvin Klein, it may cost you 10-20 times the amount, but it is real value Calvin Klein has added, which the Chinese have not quite understood. Singapore's Bodyknits understands this with their range of products and they are now trying to break into the American market. Our poh piah king has recently launched frozen roti prata, and I am told by Singaporeans in Germany that if you put them in a toaster, they come out as good as Jalan Kayu roti prata. Maybe Germany is cold and it is far away, but that really caught my attention. This is part of the knowledge economy, how you turn an existing product and add value to it, enlarge your market and make profits from it, creating jobs and employment for Singaporeans. The key for us is a new kind of entrepreneurship in Singapore.

Yesterday, Mr Rai talked about the Marwaris in India. The Marwaris are a small tribe from Rajasthan who are incredibly entrepreneurial. If you look at the Indian stock market, they own many of the companies there. In Calcutta, the Bengalis are great poets, writers, musicians, but the industrialists are almost all Marwaris.

Entrepreneurship is in the culture of a people. I do not believe that you can easily teach it. I think you either have it as a culture or you do not have it as a culture. And I believe that we have it as a people, because without entrepreneurship in Singapore, the entrepreneurship of our forefathers, the entrepreneurship in the public and private sectors in Singapore, there would not be the Singapore of today. What we need to do is to learn a new kind of entrepreneurship, which is an entrepreneurship which is not evident on the balance sheet, not things you can see and touch, not real estate - and our people are big real estate entrepreneurs - not just in Singapore, but all over South East Asia, Australia, even in Europe and America - but in high-tech, where we are dealing with intangibles, and that requires a new set of skills, a new set of rules and regulations, maybe new laws, new kinds of financing. And this is precisely what the Technopreneurship Committee, chaired by Dr Tony Tan, is trying to do. We have entrepreneurship, but we must migrate it progressively so that our younger people will be able to deal and have skills and knowledge in different industries and products.

We talk about venture capital. The issue is not money. That are lots of money in Singapore. Venture money is not stupid money, which you throw at things or projects. Venture money is some of the smartest money around. They are making bets on individuals, on companies, on market trends. To build up a venture capital financial market in Singapore will take us many years. We are getting consultants to help us. We have many advisers from Silicon Valley and from elsewhere, but this is a new area for us. Our banks have got to get used to it, credit officers have got to get used to it. Eventually, we will get there.

We must show to high-tech players in the world that we are fully committed to this area and we also intend to be a player in this area. We will do everything which is necessary, building up the science park, incubator units, one-stop centres, the whole list which many MPs have talked about and which we will seriously consider. But in the end, what we need is a solid national commitment involving both the public and private sectors, the school system, the universities, a keen determination, a strong will power, to get there, to transfer our value added increasingly from repetitive work to brain work, whether this be in the life sciences, in computers, in fashion, in food, in trade, in logistics, in whatever. It is not something which is abstract for Singaporeans. It is something which all of us can do in our own little circle. And if we can achieve that, change the culture of Singapore, then we will succeed. We have no choice.

As Mr Inderjit Singh said yesterday, he thought of migrating to America, and many of his friends have done so, because they have this glint in their eyes that there is a prospect of becoming wealthy in a short period of time, and they have left. If we do not have this sector in Singapore and develop technopreneurship in Singapore, and show commitment to it in the way we adjust our rules and regulations, my fear is our own best and brightest will leave, not to talk about the foreigners that we would not be able to attract into Singapore, and our most enterprising and creative may find greener pastures elsewhere.

As time is short, I think I should end here and give the rest of the time to my colleague, Mr Tang Guan Seng. 12.45 pm

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Tang Guan Seng): Sir, I will reply to some of the points raised by MPs yesterday. Mr Inderjit Singh and Dr Toh See Kiat made some comments on our attractions on Sentosa. Dr Toh said that the Merlion Tower is fiction. But I think there is nothing wrong in it. The Merlion symbol was created more than 30 years ago by the Tourism Promotion Board. It has become a globally recognised tourist icon for Singapore. When tourists come to Singapore, they like to take photographs with the Merlion. Because of this, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) built the Merlion Tower. Since its completion in 1996, about half a million tourists visited this Merlion every year. We must thank the Merlion which has contributed to the tourism industry.

Sentosa is our top attraction. Despite the economic downturn and the drop in tourist arrivals, last year it attracted 3.3 million tourists. So credit must go to SDC. There are many attractions on Sentosa. Some are privately owned and some are owned by SDC. SDC is constantly reviewing and renewing its attractions on Sentosa. For example, Siloso Beach has become a major attraction now. The Musical Foundation, which changes its shows regularly to attract visitors, and the Images of Singapore are also popular with tourists.

As for the private attractions on Sentosa, they have their own product life cycle. SDC is encouraging them to renew the attractions and put in new investments by offering incentives. If they apply, SDC will consider them favourably.

Apart from providing incentives, SDC is also implementing various measures to attract visitors to Sentosa. For example, the Mega Savers Scheme is quite successful. As stated by the Minister yesterday, we are going to do a strategic review of Sentosa to reposition it as a world class tourist attraction.

Mr Inderjit Singh also commented on the performance of our tourism sector. Last year, there was a decline in tourist arrivals by 12%. Because of this, STB has stepped up their promotion efforts. There is a $30 million marketing campaign called "Once in a Millennium Offer". This will run from June this year to August next year and there will be a series of activities and events to attract visitors to Singapore.

As far as visa procedures are concerned, STB is working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs. In fact, leisure groups from China can now apply for double-entry visas. As for group tourists from China, it is easier now for them to apply for visas. For tourists from India, Myanmar and Blangadesh, they can now apply for a 2-year or 5-year multiple journey visas if they are businessmen or staff of the tourism-related companies.

STB is also considering the possibility of developing sports tourism. STB is trying to anchor strategic world-class sporting events in Singapore. It will explore financial and fiscal incentives to achieve this.

I agree with Mr Rai that we should capitalise on our multi-cultural richness. One example is the Chinatown project. We will do more in this area so that we can attract tourists to stay in Singapore a little longer.

For companies in the tourism industry which want to upgrade and improve their services, they can, in fact, apply for incentives under the Tourism Development Assistance Scheme. This year STB has projected that tourist arrivals to Singapore will increase by 1% to 3%. We have to put in more efforts in order to achieve this.

Mr Chng Hee Kok and Dr Toh See Kiat brought up cases involving trading of soft commodities.

Sir, currently only rubber and coffee futures are gazetted under the Commodity Futures Act (CFA). My Ministry is considering whether extending the CFA to cover futures trading in other commodities will help to deal with the "bucket-shop" problem. We are also examining the regulatory regimes of other countries such as the US and UK to see if they work and are appropriate for us. We will be discussing with the relevant Ministries and agencies on possible approaches to deal with this problem.

I must say this is a very complicated subject. An important principle is that we should not over-regulate. When we regulate, the regulations must be effective.

No regulatory system can protect investors from fraud if they make foolish decisions or enter into one-sided contracts without due diligence. They should be discerning when responding to advertising claims and stay away from dubious investment schemes that promise unrealistically high returns. They must be more vigilant when contemplating unfamiliar and risky new investments.

Sir, Dr Toh See Kiat also raised the issue of retail price maintenance. My Ministry replied to a similar question some time ago and the position remains unchanged. The best way to prevent price fixing behaviour is to promote competition in the market place, and to maintain a free and open economy so that there are no barriers to the flow of goods in and out of Singapore. This allows retailers, producers and consumers to buy from all sources at the most competitive prices, even from abroad. Retailers who face pressure from their usual suppliers to sell their goods at set prices can, and should, source for alternative suppliers.

My Ministry administers the Price Control Act. If necessary, we can use this Act to deal with the problem. Meanwhile, we are monitoring the situation closely. We are also studying the experiences of other countries in this respect.

Dr Lily Neo is concerned over the presence of toxic chemicals in toys. There were also reports in the newspapers expressing similar concerns. In view of this, the Ministry of the Environment recently has made analysis on some samples of Teletubby toys and infant feeding devices and found the results to be satisfactory. There were no phthalates detected. The Ministry of the Environment said that they would continue to make checks whenever they receive reports of toxic substances in toys.

I would like to assure Members that we are monitoring this closely. Should there be an assessment that there are substances in toys or other products that render them unsafe for the public, the Government would take necessary actions. It is not necessary to set up another regulatory body just for this purpose.

Mr Ong Kian Min has commented on our efforts to attract world class exhibitions and conferences to Singapore. We have managed to achieve quite a lot in this area. For example, mega exhibitions like Asian Aerospace, Food and Hotel Asia and Communic Asia have come to Singapore.

In terms of infrastructure and exhibition space, we have enough to cater to our needs. With the completion of the Singapore Expo which provides 60,000 sq metres of space, we are able to accommodate world-class events. If there is a need, we can add another 40,000 sq metres to a site nearer to the Singapore Expo.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen has urged the Government to use more recycled water and sea water. We are doing this. For example, we work closely with industries and encourage them to use recycled water. Industries like electronics and electroplating use recycled water. For example, wafer fabrication plants recycle their water up to 50% per day, which is equivalent to the size of 11 swimming pools.

As for sea water, I can inform the Member that those industries located near the seafront such as power stations and refineries are using sea water. In fact, the volume of sea water they use everyday can fill five MacRitchie reservoirs. So we have achieved a lot in this area and we are trying to encourage industries to use more sea water.

Mr Simon Tay and Mr Chuang Shaw Peng touched on the subject of energy efficiency. I must inform the House that the Government has implemented various incentive schemes to encourage our companies and industries to use energy more efficiently. On the part of PUB, it conducts regular energy audits and it also organises seminars and workshops so that the latest information can be disseminated to the industries and companies. Singapore Power, in fact, is also very keen to promote energy efficiency. For example, it receives students from schools to their power plants so that they know how important it is to use energy efficiently.

The Chairman: Mr Lim, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Lim Swee Say: Sir, I thank both the Minister and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for their very comprehensive replies. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head W of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code WB 1500.

Sir, I understand that the Department of Statistics has used administrative data from various Government agencies to set up a household registration database. A national database on dwellings has also been set up. With this detailed data available to the Government, it would be very convenient for the Government to know the details of individual households or even individual citizens just by a few strokes on the keyboard.

I would like to know whether the Government has plans to expand the database further by including also, for instance, income expenditure and other personal information available from Government agencies, such as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, CID, MINDEF, Immigration, LTA, CPF, Elections Department or even the commercial banks.

Sir, in the electronic world today, and especially in Singapore, where the Government advocates the use of electronic transactions in almost every aspect of payment and transaction, every citizen is fast losing his privacy without even realising it. Instead of having a more transparent Government, what we will have in Singapore will be a transparent population with every citizen like a sotong in the sea. Singaporeans must be aware of what all these databases mean for them.

The Chairman: Mr Low, are you expecting a reply? Or you want to continue?

Mr Low Thia Khiang: What I would like to know from the Government is how would the Government protect the privacy of individual citizens in view of the databases available now?

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Lee Yock Suan): I can assure Members that the data collected under the household registration database are strictly confidential and they are prohibited from release to anybody other than for official statistical purposes.

As to the actual details of the data, I cannot give him the information now. But I take his point that it is important that the data should not be wrongly made use of. Basically, it is to facilitate our planning purposes to know what is happening to the population. For example, there is no way that we can find out from this data how people have voted in the elections.

Under the Statistics Act, no particulars or information pertaining to any individual person shall be disclosed to any other person or agency. Only aggregated statistics can be compiled and released for statistical and analytical purposes. 1.00 pm

The Chairman: Order. It is l.00 pm. "Guillotine" time. Mr Low, can you withdraw your amendment?

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I am not satisfied with the answer and the time allocated. So I am not withdrawing the amendment.

Question on the amendment put, and negatived.

The sum of $333,986,040 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $3,772,694,400 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Head Q -

The Chairman: Head Q - Ministry of Home Affairs. Amendment No. (1), Mr Chng Hee Kok.

Mr Chng Hee Kok (East Coast): Sir, I beg to move,

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

Sir, the recent report of the rise in crime by 5.2% to 48,260 cases in 1998 is cause for concern. Another worrying trend is that juvenile crime is also on the rise. Although the Commissioner for Police has taken pains to explain that the rise in crime is no cause for alarm, rising crime is always a cause for concern.

Rising crime statistics, especially when Singapore is perceived to be relatively crime free, always unsettle people. Our crime free and disciplined society is very often touted as a very strong plus point for foreign investors and visitors. It is not likely that we shall lose this overnight, but over an extended period, if the trend continues, we may just lose this competitive edge. We just cannot afford to lose this plus factor, especially one that I feel is within our control.

Several reasons were advanced for the increase in crime rates ranging from the economic slowdown to the presence of foreign workers and illegal immigrants. The increase in crime coincided with the advent of the economic crisis. It appears to be a given that during tough economic conditions, more resort to crime. I wonder if this is true of disciplined societies like South Korea. Will an ordinarily law abiding citizen resort to crime when that person loses a job? If these offenders resort to crime because they cannot make ends meet and not because they are greedy or bad per se, this is indeed a sign of desperate times. Perhaps we must do more to help these people cope with their hardships, which is a perfectly good crime preventive measure. With retrenchments on the rise this year, it must mean that our crime rate will worsen. Something has to be done to arrest the situation. Perhaps the Minister will like to highlight to the House how the Home Team is planning to cope with the worsening situation.

Sir, besides the reasons advanced for the declining crime situation, a rise in crime rate may indicate that insufficient focus was placed on policing activities due to declining manpower or manpower cuts. As part of our restructuring in making our police officers more effective and justifying reducing our manpower needs, one must wonder if the setting up of the NPCs has resulted in the lower presence of our neighbourhood policemen. It could be due to the change in policing that has given criminals a wrong signal and encouraged them to try their luck now that less policemen are patrolling by foot or on bicycles. It is an undeniable fact that the presence of the police does deter crime just as the presence of a traffic police officer would deter speeding. I raised this concern two years ago on the structural changes in our policing methods and a drop in police presence. Could the Minister please enlighten us on whether the crime rates in areas that previously have neighbourhood police posts have increased after the NPPs were closed, and is there any drop in the number of crime reports in areas after the NPCs were set up?

Sir, I am also worried by the apparent increase in crimes being committed by teenagers and youths, especially those that resulted in injury during robbery attempts. We have just been confronted by the most recent case of murder allegedly committed by three young children. Our young criminals appear to be much younger, more fearless and increasingly more violent. What could possibly have happened that have caused them to be beyond parental control? Will the Minister highlight to this House the efficacy of his Ministry's efforts in working with other Ministries on crime prevention work amongst students and the youths that have dropped out of schools?

Currently, youth offenders under 16 cannot be named to protect their identity. With widespread public education and access to media anti-crime messages, I am not sure if this should be changed. Are these youths or the masterminds behind them making use of this legal loophole to persuade our young to commit crimes because even if they should be caught or apprehended, they can hide behind the mask given to them by the law. It is indeed a contradiction in terms to want to protect them after they have committed hideous crimes that children of their age should not have done. Moreover, parents of these offenders may not realise or feel the seriousness of their children's criminal acts because they have not been publicly shamed by the disclosure of their children's names or photographs. As such, it will be a better deterrent if this law of not naming offenders under 16 years old be repealed and parents be made responsible as well for their children's crimes. I seek the Minister's views on whether he will consider a repeal of this law.

Mr Peh Chin Hua (Jalan Besar): (In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct open-house sessions for teenagers in Singapore to visit the prisons and feel for themselves the misery of lives behind bars, to serve as a deterrent to teenage crime.

The problem of teenage crime is something which is of great concern to our people. According to a survey on the psychological qualities of our teenagers today, in 1996, teenagers nowadays are generally very emotional. They live in a materialistically rich environment, and they lack a sense of responsibility to society. This is unlike their older generations where they worked very hard for the society. Our young people are more egoistic. They are asking for more from the nation, from society and from the family. They do not understand what they can do for the nation, for the society and for the family. They only ask what can the nation and society do for them.

This type of mentality is wrong. More importantly, they do not have the courage and confidence to deal with failures. With just a little setback, they will become very upset and start to blame others. They blame the family members, society and the Government, but never themselves. They even harbour the feeling that everybody has failed them, and they want to get back on them. Thus, they begin to develop an anti-social behaviour.

Many parents nowadays do not know how to discipline their children. They allow them all the liberty to do as they wish. As a result, they are not properly guided. They do not have the will power to resist what is wrong and would often yield to temptation.

Therefore, I urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to carry out more educational activities for the benefit of our teenagers and steer them away from crime. Therefore, I ask MHA to consider opening the prisons, the drug rehabilitation centres and the detention homes for visits by young Singaporeans. Let the secondary and primary students visit these places so that they could understand what would be the consequences if they were to do something wrong or to commit a crime, with the hope that these visits would have some deterrent effects on them. At the same time, we would also let our students know how effective our Police is in solving all the crimes, to drive home the message that "Crime does not pay"!

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, despite heavy penalties that have been meted out by the courts on road bullies, recent reports of the recurrence of road bullying tactics indicate that the problem is still a very real and difficult one.

Road bullying seems to come in different forms, that of finger gestures interpreted to be demeaning and degrading and an insult to outright violence. A finger gesture may result in lost honour and pride and the insulted motorist must avenge himself and a road chase begins. We have read of a taxi driver dying from a weak heart whilst pursuing the motorist who had shown him a finger gesture. I have also been told of one unreported incident, which I wish to relate to the House. A driver of a Mercedes Benz car was driving leisurely on the road. Along came a driver in an old Toyota who beamed his headlights and then overtook him. The Mercedes Benz driver then picked up speed to chase the latter and caused the driver of the Toyota and his family to fear for their lives when the Mercedes Benz overtook the Toyota and the driver made deliberate stops intermittently. He stopped his car when signalled by the Toyota driver to do so. He sat quietly and refused to respond to the other driver's angry questions. He let the Toyota driver take off and then drove dangerously close to him, used his right side mirror to tear off the left outer mirror of the Toyota and then sped off. This incident was not reported to the Police because the driver of the Toyota feared retaliation. One wonders how many such incidents go unreported.

The existing legislation is insufficient to deal with these varying forms of road bullying. The penalties prescribed for causing hurt or grievous hurt are not deterrent enough. I propose that separate and specific sections be created in the Road Traffic Act with enhanced penalties to punish road bullying in various forms. In the more aggravated instance of road bullying where injury of life or property is caused to other road users, the vehicle should be confiscated. We must strike where it hurts most. If confiscation of lorries for illegal dumping of waste is permitted under the law, there are stronger reasons to confiscate vehicles involved in frightening, jeopardising or injuring road users. Just like sections in the Road Traffic Act on drunken driving and use of handphones, a clearly defined section on road bullying will give the Police a more effective law to deal with this problem. A proper schedule of offences and the corresponding penalties will be more effective. Stiffer penalties for illegal parking at zig-zag lines, speeding in excess of defined limits, use of handphones while driving and drunken driving have yielded much desired results in arresting the rise of these menaces. It is a worthwhile and timely effort to consider amending the Road Traffic Act to incorporate these stiffer penalties to make our roads safer for our users. I urge the Minister to consider a review of the law to stamp out road bully offences.

Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap (Hong Kah): Sir, the fact that Singapore is considered one of the safest cities to live does not happen by chance. It is through the hard work and vision of the Home Team, especially our Police Force, who constantly upgrade themselves and implement new initiatives to fight crime and ensure that our citizens are well protected and our homes and properties secure.

One of the major successes in the philosophy of our police work is community policing. The Ministry has scored a great success in the introduction of Neighbourhood Police Post and the Neighbourhood Watch programme. The introduction of the Community Focus Plan (CFP) has brought community policing to yet another dimension. The primary objective of the CFP initiative is to mobilise the community to play an active part in ensuring their own safety and security. The CFP has been initiated for slightly more than a year ago and already it has enjoyed some successes. One example is the problem Little India faced with the weekend congregation of foreign workers which had been resolved with the combined effort of the Tanglin Police Division, the Moulmein/Teck Kah Committee and the Moulmein/Teck Kah CCC.

Last month, a seminar was organised by the Singapore Police Force and the People's Association on Community Focus Plan in which the Police and the various grassroots leaders examine the progress of the Community Focus Plan and see what is the next step to make the plan more effective. Many aspects of the plan have been discussed in detail. Some examples are the care and support programme for offenders' families, schemes extended to victims of serious and fatal traffic accidents, juvenile delinquency, drug prevention, civil defence, reintegrating of offenders and mediation of disputes, etc. I understand that the seminar was a great success and many grassroots organisations in the various constituencies have actually implemented some of these plans. I would therefore like the Minister to give us a brief account of the progress of the CFP and what is going to be its future direction. 1.15 pm

One of the concerns from some of the grassroots leaders, ironically, is because of the success of this plan, they are worried that some of the responsibilities of the Police Force will be transferred to the CDC or the grassroots organisations. I hope the Minister would give an assurance that this is never the intention and will never be so.

One other point is that although the CFP is well understood and received by the grassroots organisations, the public at large may not be so well informed. For the plan to work, we need every Singaporean to work together towards this objective. Therefore, I request that the Police should conduct more public talks and publicity so that the intention and objectives of the plan can reach out to every one. May I have the Minister's comments?

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Sembawang): Sir, since the implementation of the Community Focus Plan, many residents and grassroots leaders have come to realise that everyone has a role in making our neighbourhood safer and more secure. The partnership between the Home Team and residents has also helped to revitalise the "kampung spirit" of our community.

Sir, let me quote two examples illustrating the exemplary partnership between the residents and police to effectively tackle community-based safety and security problems. Between 1996 and June last year, there was a spate of vandalism to over 50 vehicles at a multi-storey carpark in Chua Chu Kang. Recognising the need to address the problem and preserve the community's trust, the Yew Tee Neighbourhood Police Post and Yew Tee RC proposed to set up a Vehicles Watch Group compromising 50 volunteer vehicle owners to look after their vehicles. The plan was a resounding success and the spree of vandalism was effectively curbed.

Another project was that undertaken by the Bukit Panjang South NPP and Bukit Panjang grassroots leaders. They together with the Police decided to curb the problem of teen gangs prevalent in the area. Hence, they organised visits to the Jurong Police Station for problematic students where the students were shown the Police lock-up and viewed video shows on the grave consequences of joining teen gangs. This was followed by visits to the homes of these students by the grassroots leaders, Police and their teachers so as to understand their home background and get their family support to prevent the youths from going wayward. Favourable feedback revealed that the programme had benefited both the students and their families.

The above examples clearly demonstrate a stronger sense of community involvement, belonging and care. It is this internal resilience that will see us through in good and bad times together.

Sir, I would like to make a few suggestions to the Home Team on how we can build on a good start made by CFP and bring it to the next level.

(1) Publicity. More articles or success stories of community safety and security programmes could be featured in the newspapers and media so as to further increase participation by residents in CFP activities.

(2) Training. The Home Team can provide more support to train volunteers so as to instil confidence in them to conduct CFP activities.

(3) Funding. More funding and resources should be given to the Home Team and CDC to support CFP activities.

(4) Recognition. CFP should be recognised as a grassroots organisation and its members should be given due recognition.

Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines): Sir, in my constituency visits, I have come across requests from many of my residents asking for more police presence in the estate to ensure the safety and security of the residents. The sight of men in blue uniform has always given residents the assurance that all is well, knowing that there is somebody to watch over them. This is especially true in the new estates where residents have either not moved in or where strangers are not easily identified because residents have yet to know one another. In some cases, the design of HDB flats is such that it makes these flats more prone to break-in by burglars either because the windows provide easy access or because the apartment blocks face an open space opposite it. Whatever it is, these apartment blocks are very prone to break-ins as indeed is the case of Neighbourhood 7 in my constituency.

Sir, I am very concerned about the break-ins and have on many occasions asked the police to see what further measures can be taken to help crime prevention in the estate. I know that Police resources are limited and I have often told my residents that policemen are not jagas for the estate. The residents are being told that crime prevention is as much their duty as it is the responsibility of the state.

I have requested for a Neighbourhood Police Post and I hope that it will be granted in the near future. At the same time, I am aware that the Police are constrained by limited resources and are constantly looking at more effective ways to improve its monitoring system of the estates.

Sir, my grassroots leaders have suggested the use of camera surveillance as a means of crime prevention. I thought it was a good suggestion principally for two reasons. First, it cuts down the demand for more manpower requirements if 24-hour camera surveillance can be deployed at strategic locations in the housing estates. This will not only serve to deter crime but also serve to record the necessary evidence for prosecution.

Secondly, as part of the Community Focus Plan, residents can be roped in together to raise funds to build a camera surveillance system to help play a part in ensuring the safety and security in the estate. I have instructed my grassroots leaders to look into this possibility because, as I have said, it is a good plan.

I would like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry would consider supporting both financially or otherwise the use of camera surveillance in housing estates as a means to combat crimes in Singapore.

Mdm Claire Chiang See Ngoh (Nominated Member): Sir, Lianhe Zaobao earlier this month reported that the first two months of 1999, compared to the similar period in 1998, showed an overall decline in crimes, such as theft, car theft, robbery and housebreaking. The police must be commended for making Singapore a safe place to live despite this difficult period.

However, the police can do more if grassroots leaders, residents in housing estates as well as social service centres cooperate with the police and find new ways to combat neighbourhood crimes. This capability in maintaining "law and order" in the neighbourhood by different community agencies working together to support the police is what I mean by "community policing". I believe the Community Focus Plan (CFP) is set up with this objective in mind.

I would like to suggest a few working ideas to add to this Police effort in enhancing community policing.

(1) Mindsetting frontline junior police officers the significance of their role as a lead collaborative agent.

(2) Offer joint training programmes with other community leaders to enhance cross-boundary learning capability and cross pollination of ideas and reflections. We need to remove institutional turfs and promote on-our-feet solutions to community problems. This way it will address the lower awareness in the community about CFP that was mentioned earlier by Mr Kenneth Chen.

(3) Set clear ethos of cooperation between groups to avoid this "passing the buck" when a crisis situation arises.

(4) Establish clear guidelines and protocols for all concerned on how to go about tackling a crime in combined effort. Let us say a neighbour spotted a burglar breaking in a house, what action must follow? Or an alcoholic neighbour is heard beating up the wife, what can the witness do? The guidelines and protocols must be made simple.

(5) Furnish residents in the neighbourhood with the relevant key telephone numbers for assistance and information on what actions to adopt. The language in the brochures must be made simple.

(6) Establish a recognition scheme of "Friend of the Police" for residents who have done something that is effective in combating crime in the neighbourhood. If we highlight this publicity event, as suggested by Dr Teo Ho Pin, it will help to reap awareness and participation.

(7) Carry out neighbourhood focus groups from youth to elderly ones to make "alive" this spirit of CFP. Working with National Youth Council or forming local volunteer youth "vigilante groups" can be one possible initiative. This will absorb the excessive restless energy of teenagers and direct them away from crime and self-indulgent activities that were highlighted earlier by Mr Peh Chin Hua and Mr Chng Hee Kok.

Sir, one may think that all these are simple enough suggestions to propose, the difficulty we all know is in implementing even such a simple plan of inter-agency cooperation and action. A significant amount of time and energy and resources have to be spent on collaborative formation. It is in my view a worthwhile investment for the police to commit to a training process in a continuous annual cycle with other agencies. People do not become self-organising networks without spending time together to learn and do things together. I hope my preliminary reflections are helpful to the Police Force to seriously look into ways of linking people to carry out policing responsibility. Otherwise, cooperation will only be conceptual on paper.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, last year, it was reported that some 23,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended. This is a very high number and works out to no less than 60 illegal immigrants apprehended every day. One must wonder at the numbers roaming in our midst. The worsening economic situation in our neighbouring countries could well be a contributing factor and the driving force behind the waves of illegal entries. Will the Minister highlight to the House the number of illegal immigrants from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and other countries? If they are attracted to Singapore by the hope of a better living here, have they come here knowing full well that we are very strict in enforcing the law against them? Perhaps it is worthwhile being arrested and imprisoned here because then, the illegal immigrants would be assured of good food, shelter and medical care in our prisons.

Sir, around this time last year, there was frequent publicity of reports of police raids and arrests of big numbers of illegal immigrants. Since then such media publicity appears to have been muted. If the publicity drops, does it signal a decrease in the number of raids or does it mean that the problem is under control? The danger of doing less and less publicity is that it may send a wrong signal that the Government is now less vigilant or strict in its enforcement. Alternatively, did the publicity force the illegal immigrants to go into hiding at less well-known places such that the police have become less successful in their raids?

Sir, despite the occasional arrests and the attendant media publicity, there are still people willing to risk being caught by hiding illegal immigrants in the car boots or lorries carrying goods coming into Singapore through the Causeway. Their reward is usually just a few hundred dollars. For them to take the risk means that it is lucrative business if they are not caught and that is why there are still people who want to take the chance of being caught. Perhaps, the Government has still not done enough publicity in countries from where these illegal immigrants come from to let them know that our laws are very tough and the efforts of our law enforcement officers are relentless and thorough. All airlines announce to their passengers before they alight that Singapore has the death penalty for drug traffickers. Can we also not let them know that our immigration laws are equally unrelenting for illegal immigrants? I therefore suggest that the Government consider taking up more publicity or in certain cases, if possible, advertisements in these foreign countries periodically to drive home this message.

I understand, Sir, that publicity of our efforts has in fact reduced the number of illegal immigrants coming from Batam. Illegal immigrants should not be locked up for long periods of time because that would be a drain of taxpayers' money. We should publicise how we deal with illegal immigrants who are caught. 1.30 pm

With the region's economic problems far from being over, we must be prepared for further influx of illegal immigrants. Our rising crime rate has also been partially blamed on illegal immigrants. Will the Minister assure Singaporeans that we have the problem under control?

Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap: Sir, the turmoil in neighbouring countries resulting from the economic crisis, especially the deteriorating situation in Indonesia, has given rise to Singaporeans worrying whether there would be a great influx of illegal immigrants coming to Singapore. These illegal immigrants not only disrupt our social stability, but also threaten the security of our country. From time to time, we learn from the newspapers that the Police have managed to detect and repatriate these illegal immigrants coming into our shores. But how many have successfully slipped through despite our tight security? As these illegal immigrants and their syndicates will come up with more and more ingenious methods to get into our country, perhaps it is time to deal with these syndicates caught in the act more severely. There is a Chinese saying that "without the head, the snake cannot move". So I think it is only right to disable the head of this syndicate so that these illegal immigrants would not have an avenue to come into Singapore.

I would appreciate it if the Minister can give us an update of the situation. Firstly, where is the bulk of these illegal immigrants from? Secondly, which are the most vulnerable points of entry? Thirdly, which are the likely places where these illegal immigrants hide when they enter Singapore, and what plans have been formulated to ensure that our borders be closed to these intrusions?

Mr Shriniwas Rai (Nominated Member): Sir, the figure quoted by Mr Chng Hee Kok is really alarming. We must not welcome these unwelcomed visitors. The point, as pointed out earlier by speakers, is to tackle the problem at source. I would like to ask the Minister's response as to what steps have been taken to prevent these illegal immigrants from coming. Can we launch advertisements in newspapers and the media in these countries to warn them of the consequences that if illegal immigrants are arrested, they face severe punishment. It would appear that despite a very stringent law, these illegal immigrants still come to Singapore. The reason could be the economic situation in this country.

There are two aspects which I want the Minister to consider. Firstly, Singaporeans have a duty to see that they do not in any way help these illegal immigrants. The moment that they know that somebody is a suspected illegal immigrant, they should report to the authority. And if every Singaporean takes this as a national concern, I think we can succeed. Secondly, I have another suggestion for the Minister. For those national servicemen who serve the Singapore Police Force, can we authorise them to act as Special Police? We could train them and they could be empowered to arrest. I think this is another aspect of community policing which the Minister may want to consider

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): Sir, an English woman, Miss Leigton, took two half tablets of Ecstasy, in a London night club, over an interval of three hours and when she woke up later that day, she collapsed because she had suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. How many of our Singaporean youths know about the hazards of Ecstasy?

Ecstasy is an illegal synthetic so-called designer drug. A designer drug mimics an already illegal drug by slightly altering the chemical composition. Ecstasy is also called MDMA (methylene-dioxy-meth-amphetamine). The amount of MDMA needed to get "high" is close to the toxic dose. Ecstasy acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system. Immediate effects include feelings of detachment, feelings of euphoria and increase in heart rate. Immediate side-effects are nausea, fainting and even death. Long-term effects are high blood pressure, psychotic episodes, kidney failure, stroke and death.

There are now "killer drugs" which may have 33 times the potency of Ecstasy flooding night clubs in Britain. Those buying them have no idea of their strength and often find out too late. We in Singapore have to be extra vigilant in preventing their entry into our market. New variations in the pharmacological make-up of these drugs may allow drug pushers to escape detection and punishment. One of these drugs, so-called "Flatliners", has killed several people, while another, known as "DOB", makes Ecstasy seem like aspirin. Dealers and manufacturers are pushing any substance that they are able to sell in a buyer's market. The market has been greedy both for new drugs and for the vast sums of money that can be made from these drugs.

I would like to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to be vigilant and to be mindful of the variants of Ecstasy in the local scene. May I also ask for redoubled efforts in combating the drug abuse from all angles, including increased public education, concerning the risks of drug use, targeted at children and parents?

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Sir, Mr Chng Hee Kok is concerned about the rising crime rate and asked for an assurance that the Police would do something to ensure that it does not go up. We must put the 1998 crime data in perspective. Although crime rate went up by 5.2% last year, if we compare that with 1997, excluding the immigration offenders, crime rate only went up by 4.4%, There is still no comfort that crime rate has gone up. If we take into account the population growth and we measure crime rate by, say, per 100,000 population, the crime rate actually only went up by 1%, because there was a population growth in 1998. Despite that, an increase in crime rate is still a cause for concern.

When we look at the 1998 data, we are actually going back to the situation in 1995 or 1996 and that is about the same rate of crime that happened during the two years that I mentioned. This is against a backdrop of nine consecutive years of decrease in crime. From the measures that the Police have taken plus the publicity and crime preventive programmes, we seem to see a slight decline in the last few months of 1998 and the first two months of 1999. We hope this trend will continue and we hope to be able to return to the normal low crime rate.

The Police will continue to step up anti-crime patrols and enforcement actions in crime-prone areas. With the new Neighbourhood Police Centre concept, residents in the community can be assured of faster Police response and more frequent patrols and better quality on-the-scene investigations. We will set up 32 Neighbourhood Police Centres in the whole of Singapore and, so far, four NPCs have been set up in Jurong East, Queenstown, Clementi and Bukit Merah West. Feedback so far from the residents is that these NPCs are doing well in ensuring the safety and the security of our residents. 28 more NPCs will be implemented over the next three years, with six coming on stream this year.

Although crime has increased, when we look at the figures, we know that the increase in crime mainly related to property crime and a lot of these crimes can be prevented had precautions been taken. For example, the number of thefts from vehicles increased sharply from 3,470 cases in 1997 to 5,620 cases in 1998, and that is a very sharp increase of 62%. In most cases, it is because the Cashcards and the handphones were left in the car, exposed, unattended, and therefore, inviting opportunists and criminals to take advantage of breaking into the car and stealing the item. If vehicle owners take precaution, they would save themselves a lot of trouble in having to go through the process of reporting the crime and suffering losses and damage to the car.

To address this, the Police will focus on public education on crime prevention measures and also through crime prevention exhibitions and public media such as the Crime Watch series. It will highlight the common modus operandi used by the criminals and give advice on how to prevent the crime.

Let me just give some examples of these measures that the Police would take. For example, to deter motor vehicle thefts, crime prevention signboards will be put up in multi-storey carparks. A notice of advice will also be placed on the windscreen to remind owners not to leave valuables unattended and exposed. In addition, the motor vehicle importers will be approached to install security features in the vehicles at the point of sale such as vehicle number engraving, installation of burglar alarms, etc. Insurance companies are also encouraged to reduce the insurance premium to vehicle owners who take steps to secure their own vehicles. The Police will also work closely with the Manpower Ministry, URA, the developers, town councils, the Singapore Retailers' Association and various grassroots bodies in the implementation of neighbourhood watch zone schemes. These coordinated efforts have proven to be effective in curtailing the rise of crime in the last quarter of 1998.

As regards illegal immigrants who come to Singapore to seek employment and can pose a danger to our social security, Police have also stepped up their patrols in our territorial waters to detect their entries. On land, the Police have conducted many major operations against immigration offenders, including against the employers and harbourers of these people.

Members are right that it is important that Singaporeans should play a proactive role in ensuring a safe and secure Singapore. The Community Focus Plan (CFP) was crafted to enable local community organisations and the residents to tackle these security and safety issues in their own areas. The Police are confident that with the shared ownership of these programmes, the sense of safety and security in the community will be enhanced.

Mr Chng also asked how we can educate our people, particularly the youths, on crime and the consequences of committing crime. MHA has several programmes involving the youths, to educate them that they should not commit crime. For example, we have got a formal crime prevention programme in the school curriculum. This is being taught as part of social studies. The programme seeks to impart crime prevention measures and to impress upon the students the importance of respecting the law. A set of textbooks called "Mr Policeman is my friend" for kindergartens and "Mr Policeman" for upper primary and lower secondary students are now being used by schools. The Police and CNB officers also conduct joint school talks on the consequences of being involved in juvenile delinquency, secret societies and drug abuse. These talks are given to small groups of high risk students comprising not more than 50 students a group. This will enable officers to counsel the students more effectively.

There is a programme called the Caution and Visit Programme which is part of the rehabilitative programme for youths. They are either students or out-of-school youths who have been identified as gang members or were involved in gangs. These youths are first cautioned by the officers of the Secret Societies Branch of the CID against future gang involvement. Besides attending talks conducted by the CID, these youths will also take part in the prison visit programme so as to let them experience the harsh realities of prison life. This tour includes a live mock caning session.

On drug rehabilitation or preventive-drug education, we also have a Drug Rehabilitation Centre Visit Programme which is a joint effort in preventive drug education by CNB and the Prisons Department. This programme was initiated in 1990, and up to now more than 50,000 students and youths have taken part in the programme. Anti-drug lectures and tours of the DRCs are conducted for these students or youths during each DRC visit. 1.45 pm

Mr Peh Chin Hua's concern about sending youths to visit these institutions is already being carried out. We have an Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime which coordinates the efforts of the various agencies to tackle the problem of juvenile delinquency.

Mr Chng is concerned about road bully incidents reported in the press where motorists resorted to violence over the use of the road, and he suggested enhanced punishment for road bullies. The Police take a very serious view of road bullies and have taken very tough measures against them. Over the years, tough police enforcement action plus deterrent sentence handed down by the courts have helped to keep the problem in check. Road bullying incidents have actually declined from 14 in 1994 to only 3 in 1998. Mr Chng said that many cases were unreported. I would advise these people to report them so that the Police can look into their problem. If they do not report, then what Police have in hand are reported cases, and it shows that there is a decline.

To maintain the deterrent effect, in fact, I amended the Road Traffic Act just recently to empower the courts to disqualify road bullies from driving. With effect from 1st March this year, the court can disqualify drivers who are road bullies from holding licences if they are convicted of certain Penal Code offences, including voluntarily causing hurt and voluntarily causing grievous hurt to other drivers or the passengers arising from road accidents or disputes. Motorists who therefore resort to violence on the road will risk losing their right to drive, in addition to being charged for the act of road bullying. I do not see a need right now to enhance the penalties, as suggested by Mr Chng. But we will continue to monitor this and if there is a real cause for concern that we have to do something more than what we are now doing, we will certainly look into it.

Several Members talked about the Community Focus Plan (CFP) that the Home Team agencies, not just the Police, and the People's Association have implemented. The Community Focus Plan is indeed a new initiative launched by the CDCs in partnership with MHA agencies. Each CFP is simply a series of action plans drawn up jointly by the CDC, the grassroots organisations, the residents and the Home Team agencies to tackle the specific safety and security issues in a particular community. This approach draws on the residents' own knowledge of their own community's safety and security issues to work out solutions to the problems that they face. Each CFP is therefore tailor made to address the unique needs of each community. This targeted approach would therefore yield better results than one-size-fits-all approach.

I want to assure Members that this CFP is not a disguised attempt by the Ministry of Home Affairs to transfer its responsibilities to residents or to the grassroots organisations. MHA will continue to be responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all Singaporeans, but the CFP initiative will promote self-help and mutual support to build up a more cohesive and caring community. This is something which the MHA cannot do without the community's involvement.

I thank several Members for citing examples of the CFP initiative and how they have succeeded in their own constituencies, and we ought to do more.

Mr Sin Boon Ann asked about getting residents work with the Home Team and have a CFP programme to install cameras within certain places. Let me give an example where this has already been done. Vagrants and displaced workers were found sleeping in the food court in Chander Road at night. After some discussion with the Tek Kah RC Chairman and the Police, the owner of the food court actually installed and managed six CCTVs in the food court. He also lit up the place. The situation has since improved. So the proposal to install security cameras or CCTVs in strategic locations is not new, and has been found to be effective. The Police will encourage the grassroots organisations and the community to install these cameras in crime-prone areas to supplement the Police presence and deter crime. We are happy to work with the community organisations to implement this local initiative if they find the need to do so.

Several Members also asked about how the CFP initiative has progressed so far. As I said, quite a few of our CDCs have already implemented the CFP programme, eg, Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Timah, Sembawang and Hong Kah CDCs have implemented the CFP programme since 1998. By the end of this year or so, all the CDCs would have implemented the CFP.

I agree with some Members that this term "CFP" may not be easily understood, and we need to do a bit more publicity. I have asked the People's Association and the Police to look into how we can find a new term to better explain what CFP really means to the residents, and they are now brainstorming for a new term, and this will be announced later when they have found a new word or term.

There is a need indeed to communicate the CFP initiative to the public, so that we can raise the awareness of this programme. The PA and the Home Team agencies will mount a sustained publicity programme to educate the public on the benefits of taking part in the CFP.

Madam Claire Chiang talked about changing mindsets and training the people. Indeed, that is the case. CFP involves a shift in mindset, not just of the officers taking part or doing the CFP, but mindset of the people in general, that safety and security is the concern of only the Government. It is not. Safety and security is the concern of everyone who lives in Singapore. Like Mr Rai said, every citizen should be concerned about their own security, when they deal with illegal immigrants, for example. So we want everyone to share in this responsibility. But, of course, MHA would not run away from its main responsibility of ensuring safety and security. The PA and MHA have conducted a number of courses/programmes for the grassroots leaders and the Home Team officers to change the mindsets of these people who are involved in the CFP. If there are other organisations that need to be involved in the CFP, eg, the voluntary social workers and the voluntary organisations, we will also involve them. It is not just CDCs, grassroots organisations and the Home Team, but if there are others who need to be involved, we will certainly include them in this project.

Training of officers therefore is important in changing the mindset of the people, and the various suggestions put forth by Mdm Chiang, such as the joint training with the staff, with the community leaders and so on, are already being done. We will consider the other suggestions and implement them if they are practicable.

As for funding, the PA and the MHA are committed in providing the necessary resources to ensure that the CFP implementation is effective and successful. In general, we will adopt the principle of co-funding in the implementation of the CFP activities. Then there is ownership and there is also shared responsibility.

Members have asked how we can recognise the grassroots leaders and organisations and others taking part in the CFP. For those organisations under the PA, we will take into account their participation in CFP by awarding them points when we consider awards for PA organisations like the CCC, RC and the CCMC. There could be a new category like Friends of the Police, as Mdm Claire Chiang has suggested, and indeed if there are such other categories which will contribute to the CFP, we will think of new ways of recognising them.

Sir, Members also spoke on the illegal immigrant situation which I briefly touched earlier on. Let me now elaborate a bit more on the illegal immigration offender situation. I said that in 1998, about 23,000 immigration offenders were arrested, and immigration offenders include illegal immigrants and overstayers. Mr Chng earlier on gave the figure of 23,000 illegal immigrants. That is not correct. We only had 14,000 illegal immigrants arrested last year. But the total number of immigration offenders arrested last year was 23,000. In other words, 9,000 of them were overstayers. This is a very significant increase over the figure that we had in 1997. Where do they come from? These immigration offenders come mainly from the region, ie, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. These are the major contributors to our immigration offender problem.

How do they come? They came through our checkpoints or they smuggled themselves in by boats, cars, lorries, motorcycles and other means. 9,000 of them came in legally with proper social visit pass, but they overstayed in Singapore, and they became overstayers and therefore also fall into the category of immigration offender.

What do we do? We stepped up enforcement action since March last year against all these immigration offenders. The Police have raided the various immigration offenders' haunts, including construction sites, workplaces, forested areas. The Police have also targeted the harbourers and the employers of these immigration offenders at their residential premises, such as HDB flats and lodging houses.

The Police also conduct routine checks on the roads, set up road blocks, at MRT stations and open areas to check on people whom they suspect to be an immigration offender. So the Police have stepped up their efforts in this area.

On enforcement at sea, we have deployed our patrol boats to check on motorised sampans which smuggle in illegal immigrants. And we have also used our radar system to detect any boats that come to our shore and which are suspected to be boats bringing in illegal immigrants. We have also set up border patrols and observation points and ambushes along the coastline, where illegal immigrants tend to land in Singapore.

At the checkpoints, the Singapore Immigration and Registration (SIR) has also intensified the checks of people who come by air, sea or land, and those who are suspected to be illegal workers will not be allowed to come in. Last year, SIR turned away 23,000 such people who were suspected to be illegal workers.

We have also mobilised other Home Team agencies' resources to deal with this problem. For example, we have deployed the Civil Defence dogs to sniff out the illegal immigrants who hide in car boots or in secret compartments of coaches, buses and so on. And those buses or vehicles which convey such illegal immigrants will be confiscated, and those who smuggle illegal immigrants into Singapore will be heavily punished. For instance, one person who smuggled in 15 illegal immigrants a few months ago, was given a 10-year jail term and 24 strokes of the cane by the court. 2.00 pm

The law was amended last year to impose stiffer penalties on the abetment of immigration offences. We have also built in a presumption clause and introduced the onus on the suspected illegal immigrant to satisfy the court that he was not attempting to enter Singapore illegally. We will review our legislation from time to time to make sure that it serves the need to protect our shores as well as to deter immigration offenders.

On publicity and the suggestion on advertising in TV and newspapers in other countries, we have thought about that. We are not sure how effective that will be because to advertise in China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and to make sure that the advertisements reach every of their citizens is not easy. So what SIR does is that for every one of these illegal immigrant or overstayers who is repatriated, he will be given a set of press cuttings, a set of newspaper reports, on what happens to these people, the police raids and the sentences that they get. On the ferry boats that ply between Singapore and Indonesia, we also have video shows on them to show the stiff penalties that illegal immigrants will face if they come into Singapore.

So we try as much as we can to deter people by telling them not to come illegally. The main message to all these people is: do not even think about coming in illegally. Singaporeans can certainly help us to deal with this problem. For example, if they suspect anybody to be an illegal immigrant or overstayer, they can report them to the police and action will be taken. For those who harbour or employ them, they will also be dealt with accordingly.

Let me assure Members that although there is a large number of arrests of immigration offenders, the situation is under control. The Police, the SIR, and the various Home Team agencies have got the situation under control and they will continue to raid the various places to flush out such people. All we need also is the cooperation of the press to publicise it so that every Singaporean is aware of it. But they get tired of reporting on the raids from time to time. Because when there are too many raids, the press say it is the same old thing again.

Dr Lily Neo is concerned about Ecstasy and other kinds of psychotropic drugs. Let me assure Dr Neo that the problem of Ecstasy and its variants are also well under control. We anticipated this problem in 1996 and have taken prompt action to nip the problem in the bud. Ecstasy only emerged on our local scene in 1996. CNB arrested 661 abusers and seized more than 39,000 Ecstasy pills in 1996. The number of abusers fell from 661 in 1996 to 403 in 1997 and only to 180 last year. The number of Ecstasy pills seized also fell from 54,000 in 1997 to about 2,200 in 1998. In any case, most of these pills that are seized were actually intended for other countries rather than to be sold in Singapore. Abuse of Ecstasy was controlled by the unrelenting enforcement, deterrent custodial sentences and intensive preventive educational efforts plus the tighter laws targeting at Ecstasy traffickers. Like other countries, ecstasy abuse is closely associated with night clubbing scenes and, in particular, with rave dance parties. Most of our abusers were arrested in discos or night entertainment outlets.

Since 1996, CNB has been working very closely with the night entertainment operators and owners to prevent Ecstasy abuse in their premises. CNB conducts regular raids at these places to flush the abusers and the pushers. Those found not to have taken enough measures, their operating hours will also be curtailed. The courts have also meted out very severe imprisonment terms of between 12 and 18 months to an Ecstasy abuser. To deter smugglers and traffickers, the Misuse of Drugs Act was amended last year to introduce a presumption clause, which means that anyone arrested in possession of 10 grammes or more of Ecstasy would be deemed to be trafficking in that drug.

Dr Neo was concerned about the variants of the Ecstasy. So far we have not detected any abuse or presence of DOB or flatliners, but CNB remains vigilant and will not hesitate to take action to stamp out the problem.

Mr Peh Chin Hua (Jalan Besar): (In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to exercise more control on discotheques and lounges. Many parents and teachers are expressing regrets that the Government has relaxed the control over discotheques and lounges. In particular, they are greatly concerned and unhappy with the "Foam Party" at Sentosa and the ladies-only discotheques.

In August last year, a novel "Foam Party" at Sentosa attracted about 500 participants, mainly teenagers. Scantily dressed boys and girls squeezed into a pool of thick foam and were in bodily contact with one another. Many openly embraced members of the opposite sex, even when they did not even know each other. Some brought their own liquor, and some were under-aged. According to a newspaper report, a 16 year-old student was seen wearing only brassiere and short skirts and fooling around with her boy friend in the foam. Many elderly Singaporeans were really surprised by the degree of openness of these young people.

There was also one discotheque in Singapore which catered only for teenage girls. Among the patrons in the discotheque, half of them were dressed as girls and the other half were dressed as boys. Those who played the part of boys wore T-shirt and trousers with men's shoes. They spotted short and heavily gelled hair. At a glance, they looked like boys. If they do not open their mouth and talk, it is very difficult to tell that they were actually girls. Worse still, they were kissing each other. Girls and girls were hugging each other. Some even sat on the laps of the others. It is very hard to believe that such things can actually happen in this decent island of Singapore.

These happenings have caused great concern among parents and teachers. If this phenomenon is allowed to carry on in Singapore, I believe the Minister for Education, the principals and teachers will all lament the wasted efforts they have put in over the years, and what have become of our young people. In order to prevent our young boys and girls from going astray, I hope the Ministry of Home Affairs will exercise stricter control over discotheques and lounges, especially those which allow hanky-panky business to be conducted within their premises, so that the parents and teachers can feel at ease.

Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, Members have been listening to speeches about keeping the community safe from the offenders in our midst. May I make a plea for the offenders, those who are arrested by the police. Fortunately, it is still the cornerstone of our legal system that everyone is presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty. Was it last year that I gave the instance of three persons who were completely innocent but were arrested on a murder charge and only to be acquitted some 39 months later? I spoke about the long, long hours of questioning and denial of food to them. It is not just them. It is their families who also suffer. At the moment, the police rule is that members of families may not visit persons who are arrested until the police have carried out their investigations. This may stretch to several days, if not weeks. This shows a complete lack of empathy for the families of those who have been arrested.

May I ask whether any steps are being considered by the Ministry to lay down guidelines for the questioning and treatment of offenders in police custody and, particularly, on the question of allowing visits from members of families to see these persons who have been arrested. They suffer very much when they are not told even on what charge a member of the family has been arrested and they are not allowed to see the member. I asked this last year after I mentioned the case of the three men. They are not the only ones who confessed to crimes which were never committed. So may we know whether the Ministry is contemplating laying down guidelines for the treatment, particularly questioning of and visits by family members to persons under police custody.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, I was not able to catch your eye when the Minister has replied. May I take this opportunity of seeking your indulgence just to question the Minister on two points he has not answered.

The first point relates to my asking the Minister to review whether he will repeal the Act against naming offenders who are below 16 years old. The second point I raised was a sentiment shared by Mr Sin Boon Ann, ie, we would like to see more police presence. It is granted that the NPC would allow for better quality investigation, but my question is: are we getting more police presence and has NPC resulted in less crime cases than in the old Neighbourhood Police Post system?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, before we continue, maybe I just respond to these two points. Right now, we do not see a need to reveal the names of under 16 offenders. If there is a need to, we will do so. We will have to consult the various agencies, including the Attorney-General's Chambers.

On the presence of police with the new Neighbourhood Police Centre system, there is a greater number of patrols on the road than in the previous system where NPP officers sit in their centre at certain times and wait for the public to see them for services or to receive complaints from them. Sir, actually we do see slightly more police on the roads on vehicles than in the past. But it will take a while for this NPC system to be implemented throughout the whole of Singapore. It will be done by the year 2001.

The Chairman: Can I just remind hon. Members that we are running out of time on this amendment and they should be as brief as possible?

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, in the last two years I have been asking for the Ministry to look into privatising some of the services. I think the Minister did indicate last year that something will be done about it. I am referring to our declining workforce and manpower problems and we should not deploy well-trained police officers to do the work of looking after car parking offences and so on. Private individuals or corporations can be empowered to issue summonses to vehicle owners who flout public parking rules and I wonder whether the Minister will implement, if and when he implements, the privatisation of such services.

Mr Sin Boon Ann: Sir, Singapore has advanced as a country over the last 30 years. Our Government has given our people a quality of life that is unsurpassed in Asia. We live in a clean environment. Our children go to good schools. There is law and order in this country. And the sky is the limit if you are good. Quite naturally there are many more Singaporeans who would like to make Singapore their home. However, it is still not possible for us to take in the huddled masses because Singapore is just simply too small a country to do that. I am sure the immigration authority is inundated with applications from non-Singaporeans to be Singapore permanent residents. Up until recently, the process of granting permanent residence has been shrouded in secrecy. Not everyone knows how decisions are arrived at, although everyone can understand that age, educational level, family background, are some of the main factors taken into consideration when granting such requests. 2.15 pm

The present process has resulted in much frustration in some applicants who sometimes are at a loss when in one case the application was successful, but in another similar case the application was not. Therefore, I was pleased to learn recently that the immigration authority in its bid to have greater transparency within the bureaucracy has decided to publicise those criteria on which applications for permanent residence would be considered. However, the announcement fell short of telling members of the public what weightage would be given to the various criteria listed and how many points one must accumulate before the applicant can succeed in its application or have a reasonable chance to be considered in relation to his application. I know that immigration authorities in other countries, such as Canada, for example, are very open about the point system that is used to assess the applicant's chance of success in applying for permanent residence.

Sir, the advantage of disclosing the weightage in advance is that it would let the applicants know first whether they are even qualified to apply and, secondly, it would encourage those who qualify for permanent residence to apply and in turn can then contribute to this country.

I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry will reconsider disclosing the weightage to be given to the various criteria in a foreigner's application for permanent residence in Singapore so as to make the application process more transparent.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I am just as concerned about the new criteria as Mr Sin Boon Ann. I believe the new point system is in line with the Government's policy of attracting foreign talent. While I understand the need, in principle, to attract foreign talent, I am concerned whether our citizens will be disadvantaged by the policy or, worse, suffer because of the policy.

Sir, I think priority for approval of PR should be given to those whose spouses or parents are Singapore citizens. I came across a case where a Singapore citizen mother, applying for her two children to become PRs since 1987, was rejected. I am also of the view that the criteria for this category of applicants should be made more transparent so that the applicants know what are expected of them. Otherwise, they would be just guessing why their applications are rejected while others are approved.

I also would like to know whether there is a quota system under which applications are approved based on the number of quotas for each category. If so, how does the quota system work?

The Chairman: Mr Rai is not here. Mr Chng.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, until more recently, civil defence shelters were built in the void decks of HDB flats. The latest developments are in Woodlands and Sengkang. CD shelters are now located in all flats, that means, every flat will have its own individual civil defence shelter. However, Sir, these civil defence shelters take up some 10% of the space in the flats. Moreover, the CD shelters are also made of reinforced concrete and the owner of the flat is not allowed to puncture or drill a hole into the wall. Therefore, these CD shelters are in fact very hot and humid and no air-conditioners can be installed in these shelters. Also, in the case of a major mishap, we will have a whole stack of CD shelters, one sitting on top of the other, and I think the rescue efforts will be very difficult.

I would like to ask the Minister why there is a need for the design of CD shelters to be located in each individual flat, and whether they will go back to the older design which the owners of flats find more favourable.

Second question for the Minister is: are these design criteria also applicable to the private apartments and condominiums?

Dr Wang Kai Yuen (Bukit Timah): Sir, my question is also similar to Mr Chng's. At the beginning when we developed our CD shelters programme, we started with the CD shelters at the void deck. The Government bore those costs and continues to bear those costs whereas, as at today, there is a requirement to build a CD shelter in every new HDB flat. When this matter was debated in the House, the Minister indicated that Government, and not the purchasers of the new HDB flats, would bear the costs of those shelters. I understand that for new private condominiums and landed property, it is also a requirement to build CD shelters in those dwelling units. But in the latter cases, the individual owners are required to bear those costs. May I ask the Minister why is there a discrepancy in funding CD shelters?

The Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee): Sir, let me first address Mr Peh's question. The Ministry has not relaxed its control over discos and lounges. Discos and lounges are still subject to licensing conditions which aim to prevent law and order problems such as fights, overcrowding and social problems, like immoral and indecent activities and under-aged drinking. There is no change to the licensing conditions. In enforcing the licensing conditions, Police conducts regular and random spot checks at discos and lounges. If the operator is found to have violated the licensing conditions, his licence can be suspended or even forfeited, or his operating hours curtailed. His security deposit can also be forfeited. For serious cases, the Police would prosecute the licensee in court who then faces a fine of up to $5,000.

Mr Peh mentioned foam parties. Police has advised the organisers of such foam parties against violating the law or allowing immoral or offensive activities on their premises. Police will closely monitor any of them organising such events. These parties, in fact, have toned down.

Sir, as for 'all-girls' night parties, Police has been monitoring the entertainment joints organising such parties since 1997, to ensure that immoral or offensive activities do not take place. There was only one disco that organised such events. The operator was found to have infringed the licensing conditions by staging a dance performance by transvestites. He was charged in court and fined $2,000. His operating hours were also curtailed from 3.00 am to 1.00 am. The disco ceased operation in October 1998.

Sir, let me assure Mr Peh that Police will continue to monitor these activities and will not hesitate to take tough action to preserve public law and order and public morals.

Mr Chng Hee Kok's point is on privatisation of police services. Police has hitherto been the sole agency taking action against illegal parking on public roads. This is not an efficient use of limited police resources, as Mr Chng has said. Issuing illegal parking summons is a fairly straightforward task which does not require a fully trained police officer to perform. Police will look into getting suitable companies in the private sector to enforce illegal parking. This will free up scarce manpower to concentrate on critical functions such as attending to crime cases. Police will call for tender in the middle of this year inviting private sector companies to apply. For a start, the successful private agency will be tried out at certain locations where illegal parking is rampant. The company's performance will be evaluated and reviewed regularly both to ensure that it meets standards set by Traffic Police before privatising this task of enforcing illegal parking island wide.

Sir, Mr Chng also asked about CD shelters, together with Dr Wang Kai Yuen. I will take the points together. Communal residential shelters were first built in HDB void decks or basements in 1987. A 1994 review found that household shelters had significant advantages. Household shelters would offer immediate protection to each household whereas it may take too long a time for everyone in the home to make their way to a void deck or basement shelter. Household shelters would be especially vital to families with young children, senior citizens or infirm members. Household shelters would also allow the daily living routine to continue as normally as possible during an emergency.

Sir, because its feasibility has to be tested, Government initially bore the construction cost. With the enactment of the Civil Defence Shelter Act requiring all new HDB and private dwellings to provide shelters in 1997, HDB and private dwellings will now bear the construction cost of their household shelters. So it is now borne by the owners, which I think makes sense because after all, it concerns their own safety. This ruling applies to all HDB flats open for public selection from 1st April last year.

Both Mr Chng and Dr Wang Kai Yuen have made comments about the construction, the technical specifications and design of these shelters. Let me assure them that from the beginning, my Ministry was mindful of home owners' concerns about the space taken up by the shelter, its uses and its aesthetic value. In order to optimise the space and functionality of the HDB flats, the storeroom in a HDB unit was chosen and fortified so that it could double up as a shelter. HDB owners can also use the shelter for other purposes such as a study. Of course, certain restrictions will be necessary, for example, non-hacking of doors, thickness of the walls, and so on.

Indeed, SCDF has helped house owners by issuing a list of do's and dont's guidelines on shelter renovation. Members of the public can approach SCDF with their queries, including any innovative proposals to use the shelters. SCDF continues to work with the respective agencies to ensure that the design of the shelter remains cost-effective and meets the public needs, functionality and aesthetics. Improvements made include surface wiring of earlier design to concealed wiring and the introduction of a lighter design protective shelter door. So whatever suggestions Mr Chng and Dr Wang would like to make on the design of the shelters will be welcome, and they can make them to SCDF.

Sir, certain Members have asked about PR. We have got Mr Sin Boon Ann. His point is why do we not make it more transparent by letting the public know the weightage. Our PR policies are intended to attract foreigners who can contribute to Singapore. As the needs of our economy and society change from time to time, we will have to adjust our PR criteria and the relative weightage accordingly. Hence, the criteria and weightage would also have to be changed, depending on the number of foreigners we attract. Apart from avoiding possible abuse, letting applicants know what the broad criteria are is sufficient, and gives Government the flexibility to fine-tune policies promptly and effectively in response to changes. Mr Sin can rest assured that Singapore Immigration and Registration would consider PR applications objectively in the best interest of all Singaporeans. So I think it is best not to let them know also of the weightage.

Mr Low Thia Khiang made a point and asked whether or not the requirement where a Singaporean sponsors his foreign spouse is too stringent. I think we all know that marriage to a Singaporean does not automatically qualify a foreigner for PR status. The Singaporean sponsoring his foreign spouse would need to show that he is able to support his spouse financially; in other words, the level of his income as well as the fact that he must have a steady income. The foreign spouse would also have to fulfil a residential requirement after marriage before the PR is granted. So these two are the basic conditions which are known to Singaporeans. Here again, the cut-off should not be known because otherwise they will find ways to overcome the cut-off.

Sir, let me assure Mr Low that all applications are again considered carefully and in the interest of Singaporeans and Singapore at heart. It could be that the case that he mentioned, ie, since 1987, could be a matter of whether or not his income has been steady all this while. His other point is whether we have quotas. The answer is no. We have no fixed quotas to the categories of PRs coming in.

Finally, Mr Jeyaretnam once again brings up this issue of rights of accused persons. He wants to speak up for the offenders. Let me once again assure him that Police is very diligent in doing its job. It must be so. That is why we have got a high reputation not only in Singapore but world-wide. And Police will not do anything that will jeopardise this reputation. The Commissioner of Police, as the man in charge, has sent a strong message down to the ground. Indeed the fact that some Police Officers, the numbers are very small, have been prosecuted in court for abusing their powers, shows that this is taken very seriously.

He asked this point about when and whether offenders can inform and contact family members. The principle is that the offender will be allowed to contact family members, or indeed have the family members visit him, when it does not hinder or undermine police investigation. It must be so. Otherwise if there is hard evidence outside, not all cases, but in some cases, some family members when contacted too early, before police investigations have completed or reached a stage when they feel comfortable in allowing such contact, such evidence can be dealt with by the family members. 2.30 pm

His other point about whether there are guidelines, Police monitors all court judgements carefully. Judges have given very good guidelines over the years as to what is permissible behaviour when police interviews offenders. So these are looked at very carefully and complied. Recently, the police has put together an interview doctrine, putting together all these points which the courts have made.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The Chairman: Amendment No. (2), Mr Kenneth Chen. You may take your two cuts together.

Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code QC 1500.

Sir, first of all, on juvenile delinquency, I want to bring up the issue of shoplifting. What is worrying is that it is not so much the increased number in shoplifting offences, but that when they are caught, they are quite defiant and do not seem to realise that this is a serious offence. In fact, what is worse is that when the parents were asked to go to the police station to take their son away, they became very defiant and scolded the police for troubling them for a mere few dollars of goods that had been stolen. This is not really good. It creates a great social problem and has to be checked in time.

I would also suggest that the police encourages at least the major retail outlets to install a security system, such as bar-coding of goods, that will deter the would-be youth from committing shoplifting offence.

On traffic offences, none of us have seen heavy vehicles travelling within the 50 km speed limit and heavy vehicles always cause fatal accidents. I would like to suggest that, instead of just the driver being suspended and given demerit points, the vehicle should also carry demerit points. They can be suspended for a period of time because the owner of the vehicle is affected by encouraging his driver to drive fast so that he can make more money.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: First, on traffic offences. Traffic Police has been working closely with the owners of heavy vehicles, I am told that these owners have been responsive to efforts to inculcate good driving behaviour in their drivers. Hence, it is not necessary at this stage to penalise the employers by suspending their vehicles because of the misconduct of their drivers.

Sir, indeed, a long-term solution would be to prevent heavy vehicles from being able to exceed specified speed limits in the first place. LTA and Traffic Police are currently studying the feasibility of putting speed limiting devices to heavy vehicles. The speed limiter will prevent the vehicle from going beyond a specified speed no matter how hard the driver steps on the accelerator and this will be introduced, if found feasible.

On the other point, Sir, I thank Mr Kenneth Chen for his suggestion of requiring retailers to install electronic tags for their sale items. This is a good and useful suggestion. I will ask Police and the National Crime Prevention Council to study this proposal further with SRA.

Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap: Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,194,222,970 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $936,672,800 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Head P -

The Chairman: Head P - Ministry of Health. Amendment No. (1), Mr Bernard Chen.

Mr Bernard Chen (West Coast): Sir, I beg to move,

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

Sir, may I have your permission to move all the three cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes.

Mr Bernard Chen: Sir, the Ministry of Health's budget for the coming financial year shows just a marginal decline of about 2.6% over the previous years. It underlines the importance the Government is placing on health in Singapore. The current year has seen the completion of two major hospitals, the KK Women and Children Hospital and the New Changi Hospital. The new Tan Tock Seng Hospital will be commissioned sometime this year. These three new hospitals were built at a cost of almost $1.5 billion.

The other development projects are also on track. It would seem that the development programmes outlined in the White Paper on healthcare, presented in 1993 by the Minister, have largely been implemented. With continued Government support on health expenditures, the Ministry is well poised to meet the health challenges in the coming millennium.

I would like to request the Minister to comment on the extent to which the targets set out in the White Paper have been met, whether there are any shortfalls and how does his Ministry propose to resolve them.

On the matter of Casemix, Casemix is a system employed to estimate patient bills based on trends and patterns of certain diseases. When properly implemented, patients can get a better idea of how much hospital treatment will cost them. I understand that the Ministry has embarked on a study of Casemix several years ago and now two pilot projects are being carried out in the restructured hospitals. I would like to ask the Minister what are the results of these pilot projects and when does he propose to extend this Casemix system to the other Government and restructured hospitals in the near future. Of interest also is whether the system will be applied to private hospitals where the billing systems could be different from those in the restructured hospitals. What would be the Ministry's policy on the use of Casemix for private hospitals?

On healthcare for the elderly, the Report on Healthcare for the Elderly has just been issued by the Inter-Ministerial Committee and the Minister at his press conference has commented on all the major recommendations. I want to comment on one issue which is of some interest and, that is, the financing of medical costs by way of insurance. There are existing insurance packages which cater to various aspects of the healthcare needs of the elderly. However, it would very much depend on the private sector support because, ultimately, the insurance scheme must be profitable for the private sector to take them on. I would like to ask the Minister in what ways can the Ministry help, through various measures, to make it possible for the private insurers to implement the programmes to support this very important programme on healthcare for the elderly.

Mr Goh Choon Kang (Marine Parade): (In Mandarin): Sir, there are about 220,000 elderly people who are aged 65 and above now in Singapore. In 30 years' time, the number will be tripled to about 800,000, accounting for about 20% of our population. This figure does not appear out of the blue. It is the result of the baby boom just after World War II.

According to my rough estimate, for the period of 20 years from 1950 to 1969, more than 1 million people were born. From 1956 to 1960, the birth rate was more than 60,000 per year, and the total population of Singapore was only 1.4 million around that time. This generation of people are now middle-aged. In 20 or 30 years' time, they will enter old age. Whether it is on a national, social, family or individual point of view, this is a matter of great concern, because an ageing population is a great problem to us, socially and economically. In 20 to 30 years' time, these post-war babies will not only face the problem of an ageing population, but also a problem of less children to support them, because they are the people who have lived through the age of very successful family planning, ie, "boy or girl, two is enough" generation.

With an ageing population, the demand on health care will be heavy, and that means medical cost will go up. So if we do not handle this problem carefully, 20 to 30 years later, the working population will have a greater burden on them.

To the ordinary folks, the greatest concern is medical cost, especially after their retirement and as they enter old age, more medical and health care will be needed, and hence bigger medical cost. The question is whether or not they could afford it. Will the younger generation be able to support them? This will become an emotional problem in due course. I think it will do us well to start preparing for measures to tackle this problem. The Government should ensure medicine and health care remain affordable to the general public. Can we have an assurance from the Minister?

The report from the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Healthcare for the Elderly was released recently. This is a very comprehensive report and a very important document. One of the recommendations is to provide for a long-term health insurance scheme. There is a great advantage in this scheme in that the insurance premium can be deducted from the CPF accounts of the workers. However, the report does not spell out the details of this long-term health insurance. Members of the public may have doubts. For example, what can the authority do to help those who have retired or will be retiring soon, but have not taken up this kind of health insurance? I hope the Minister can give us more details on this proposed health insurance scheme.

Encik Ibrahim bin Othman (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, the population in Singapore is ageing. One in five Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above in the year 2030. Medical care and other welfare problems of the elderly will become a heavy burden to us. As such, all Singaporeans must give some thought to this future problem.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Healthcare for the Elderly has come out with a long list of recommendations for Singaporeans to take note of. One important recommendation urges the Ministry of Health to develop a geriatric screening protocol to detect medical problems such as hypertension and diabetes very early. This, I believe, can prevent complications and disability among the elderly. The MOH should therefore quickly draw up a comprehensive screening programme for citizens who are 55 years and above. This programme, I believe, must be made compulsory and should involve all doctors at our polyclinics and private GPs all over Singapore. The frequency of screening can be carried out once a year, and for those above 65, perhaps they should go for screening twice a year. 2.45 pm

An important consideration in this programme is the cost of the screening process. It should be reasonable enough to enable our senior citizens to afford it. I am sure with a standardised health screening, the cost could be as low as possible so they could reach out to all our senior citizens. MOH could cooperate with all our Community Development Councils to share the burden of the cost. I hope that MOH will consider the above points and I wish to ask the Minister how soon can MOH start the screening programme for the elderly.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Cheng San): (In Mandarin): During this time of economic crisis and unstable market conditions, it is very difficult for voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) to carry out fund-raising activities. In fact, these organisations are constantly worrying about how to get the funds needed for their activities. I am concerned that activities of these voluntary organisations may be paralysed for lack of funding.

At present, VWOs which provide convalescence, chronic care services or day-care services for the aged enjoy 50% subsidy from the Government. I would like to urge the Government to increase the subsidies for VWOs, particularly those which provide health services for the elderly, to, say, 60% of their cost. In addition, I hope that the Government can also provide land to these VWOs to build their own hospitals or hospices, at concessionary prices. I understand that in Hong Kong, the government gives the land, free of charge, to voluntary organisations to build facilities for the aged.

There is a saying in Chinese, "Open up resources and save on their outflow." If you can give them more subsidies, that is, more resources, I hope that the Government can also consider other measures, such as the setting up of a task force to provide guidance to these VWOs on how to be more cost-effective in order to save cost. Perhaps, the Government could provide them with cheaper supplies of medicine so as to help them to cut costs. These voluntary organizations are doing a great job in providing medical care and support services selflessly for the chronic sick and aged persons in our society. They deserve better support from the Government.

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): Sir, may I have your permission to take my two cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes.

Dr Lily Neo: Thank you. I would like to declare that I am a medical practitioner. Preventive healthcare is all-important in ensuring a population of healthier people. It should be promoted vigorously and it should be targetted at everyone. Today, I would like to emphasise preventive healthcare for the elderly. Sir, this needs urgent attention because we face a fast-aging population in Singapore. It is crucial that the Ministry of Health facilitates the various efforts at helping the elderly to stay as healthy as possible and for as long as possible within the community. This is the way to reduce the nation's otherwise colossal burden in financing the healthcare for its people. Sir, I would like the Ministry of Health to strengthen the following areas:

a) support should be given more readily to community centres, voluntary group organisations, and grassroots organisations caring for the elderly in the community. The support need not be financial all the time. Logistics advice, deployment of available personnel, loan of resources or even simple endorsements of support may be all that is needed. Giving advice on setting up of Centres of Activity for Retired and Elderly (CARE), providing paramedics for health screening checks and conducting of educational talks at the community level are some examples of such help. The Ministry of Health, acting as a centre and facilitator to coordinate volunteer doctors, medical students and nurses, will be able to reach out to more people in more constituencies;

b) the expansion of home-care facilities could be looked into more comprehensively within the Singapore context. This can be achieved by training more personnel that are relevant and interested home-caregivers who look after the sick and elderly at home. The training of more general practitioners in geriatrics would be a welcome path to take. More training should also be offered to nurses and physiotherapists in geriatrics medicine. And even if it is scant, recognition and encouragement should be given to volunteers trained in home nursing. They can certainly lessen the load of home-caregivers and medical personnel; and

c) the Ministry of Health should look into forming a permanent team specialising in the early detection of chronic illnesses and in the provision of better care of those chronic illnesses. Any morbidity and mortality from any disease can be dramatically reduced when the diseases are treated in their earlier stages. It is essential that the team be geared to reach the masses at the local community level.

Sir, the Ministry of Health influences the health matters of the whole population. Making the right plans and taking the right measures can make all the difference in whether our people will be even healthier and happier.

I would like now to go on to my next cut. I am very glad that some headway has been made in establishing the basic tenets of "long term healthcare" for this country. There is an urgent need for us to look into "long term healthcare" from this moment in time because neglect in this area could have devastating effects for us in the future. I think the report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Healthcare for the Elderly has given us a very comprehensive overview of what work is in store for us.

I have raised in this House, more than once, the issue concerning the inadequacy of the present "medi-plans" for elderly Singaporeans at financing their "long term healthcare". I have also suggested that perhaps another insurance scheme, "Medicare" - a patient/Government co-payment scheme, may fill this inadequacy. I am delighted therefore that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Healthcare for the Elderly has recommended an insurance scheme to solve this problem. However, I would like to ascertain if the scheme, though applicable for those with disability, would be applicable for those patients who are relatively well, and in fact, only need some help to pay for outpatient long term expenses on chronic diseases. This will constitute a very important proportion of long term healthcare. Sir, chronic illnesses will be a big financial burden to the afflicted and it would pose substantial recurring expenditure for them, for instance, to control diabetics and hypertension. Long term medication and regular follow up are necessary to prevent complications from these diseases. It has been noted that in times of economic crisis like this, patients have been self-reducing intake of medications and missing follow ups so as to save costs. This is a hazard from the lack of means and if this part of long term healthcare is not eligible for claim, you will defeat the tenet of your plans on healthcare for the elderly. I hope the Ministry of Health will clarify on this area.

I am very glad indeed that all the various issues and their remedies on the elderly, which I have raised in this House previously, have been addressed in the Inter-Ministerial Committee Report. I am also very pleased that there is perfect conformity between my ideas and remedies with this report. I beseech the MOH and the MCD to hasten and to effectively implement all the recommendations.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang: Sir, surveys in America have shown how critical it is to have a healthy workforce. According to these surveys, more than 60% of all diseases are caused by lifestyle risks. Poor dieting habit is associated with leading causes of death. In general, overweight workers have 30% more hospital days and 48% more health-care claims.

In Singapore, we are also facing a shift in disease profile from the infectious diseases to lifestyle diseases. The major causes of death in recent years are cancers, stroke and heart diseases. These are related to our lifestyle and what we eat. Moreover, an aging workforce is emerging. The percentage of workers in the 40 to 59 years age group has increased from about 24% to 35% of the workforce. Although an older worker need not necessarily be physically less fit or has negative implication on productivity, we must accept that older workers are more prone to illnesses. So, the challenge is to keep the aging workforce healthy through all kinds of disease preventions and health promotion.

As at June 1997, the annual average days of hospitalisation leave is 10 days per employee and it has been estimated that more than $400 is spent on healthcare for each employee in Singapore every year. This works out to a total of $500 million for the Singapore workforce. The unrestrained, rising health costs can adversely affect the competitiveness of our economy. It is, therefore, in the interest of every company to take an active interest in the health of its employees. NTUC has taken the initiative to launch the Workplace Health Programme in August last year with the support from the Ministry of Health, Singapore Sports Council and the NTUC co-operatives.

I hope that the Ministry of Health would allocate more resources to encourage and facilitate private sector management to take a preventive approach in dealing with employees' health. Instead of just providing healthcare benefits, companies should invest money in programmes that will help improve their workers' health, and thus cut healthcare costs.

Mr Roger Smith, the retired CEO of General Motors, as quoted in a publication, said that, "For every $1 we have spent on wellness programme, $3 are returned in increased productivity over a 3-year period. And of course there are dramatic reductions in absenteeism and on-the-job accidents." I suggest the Ministry conduct a cost and benefit study at our workplaces and devise some form of incentives such as tax incentives for companies with structured Workplace Health Programmes.

Mr Gerard Ee (Nominated Member): Sir, on 1st April 1993, the Government set up Medifund with an initial contribution of $200 million from the consolidated revenue account. As at 31st March 1998, the capital sum of the funds stood at $600 million. The number of Medifund applications approved in FY97 was over 56,000, amounting to more than $13 million. Medifund is a safety net for qualifying individuals who cannot afford their healthcare cost. The individual Medisave and those of their immediate family members will be called on first and Medifund is applied to the shortfall. Medifund has provided relief to many needy people in dealing with their health cost. I am raising the following as a matter of principle.

I notice that there are cases where family members object to contributing their share, be it cash contribution or the use of their Medisave. Very often, they cite that they have been estranged from the sick member. I have no doubt that in some cases, a parent may have neglected the child, and, therefore, the child begrudged being called upon for assistance. Perhaps, there has been a serious family fall out. Whatever the reasons given, I am questioning whether it is then right to leave the burden to the other taxpayers to carry. It is my premise that it cannot be right. In times of need, family members should rally round and forget the past. If one cannot forgive one's own family member, who else can one forgive? In some cases, a family member who refuses to help out is also the wealthiest in the family. 3.00 pm

It would not be a practical solution to suggest that family members bring the matter to the Family Tribunal. The process can be protracted and painful. I suggest that at the very least, the contribution from the Medisave accounts of the immediate family members should be made an automatic process through legislation. This way, the burden of family members who chip in with the cash payments would be lessened, and where taxpayers' money is used, at least we know that all immediate family members of the individual to be helped had made a contribution.

Mdm Claire Chiang See Ngoh: Sir, I am specifically requesting for help in providing dental care and treatment for children with cerebral palsy. The main concerns are that most public and private dentists and oral surgeons are not equipped to handle difficult cerebral palsy clients who are unable to control their involuntary movements, or drooling. And getting them to sit still is the greatest challenge.

There is also no awareness among graduates about the needs of dental care for the cerebral palsy, because their courses do not include this area of treatment. There is a need for a designated dental service in the community which the cerebral palsy can visit as part of our healthcare benefit for all Singaporeans. And there is a need to expose dental students to handling, in practice, more difficult cases of treatment for the disabled in a designated hospital facility, so that eventually when they set up their own clinics, they will accept and treat such clients. There is a greater need to provide free or subsidised dental treatment to clients who are severely disabled, like the cerebral palsy. Currently, only clients from MINDS benefit from free dental treatment.

The Spastic Children's Association of Singapore is the primary advocate for more help to be extended to the disabled. It has 240 schoolers, 60 adult trainees and workshops, and 55 adult members. If the Association sets up a dental clinic of its own, it needs resources and a pool of volunteers like dental personnel. The critical factor here, however, is where can they even get to start a programme with volunteer dental personnel who know how to treat the spastics.

The hospital is still the most practical venue to cater to the needs of the disabled. I propose that we start by identifying dental graduates who are interested in this area of treatment to run a Government-sponsored programme in NUH or SGH.

Since we are merely reinforcing one additional aspect of care within the existing medical infrastructure, very little capital and operating costs are needed. I feel that this is the most cost-effective measure. As it is only a small number of people who will need the service, it will not be an excessive burden over the current case load of dental personnel. What we may have to reinforce is a group of paramedics or trained dental assistants who can prepare patients beforehand, and administer sedation, if necessary, before the doctor attends to the patient. What we need more is to promote a positive attitude towards the medical needs of the disabled.

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, Singapore has a growing reputation as a hub of medical excellence in the region. This did not come about through chance. This came about through the high professional standards maintained and provided by a pool of well-trained doctors and healthcare workers. We will need a continuous stream of junior doctors coming on in succession. To get top notch doctors, we need training for these juniors. Conversely, these juniors need the training to move on career wise. They are usually bonded. They are often over worked, and they are perhaps underpaid. Most of all, they have little or no choice but simply to get through with their stint in public service. This may cause loss of morale among the junior doctors. I feel strongly that for the junior doctors to give of their best, the Ministry of Health must first have their welfare at heart.

Today, I would like to highlight the unhappiness of many junior doctors concerning their employment benefits, especially their basic medical benefits. Sir, a medical officer was admitted to hospital in March 1997, suspected of foreign body ingestion. He was found to have pulmonary tuberculosis. He stayed for a total of seven days in B2 Class and had to pay $1,496.08. It would have been $4,539.50 if he had chosen an unsubsidised ward. He had to pay the entire bill like any other patient, and only the surgeon's fees were waived, but not the anesthetist's fees. During this period, he was working as a medical officer in the same hospital. It is possible that he contracted tuberculosis from his patients. The point here is that he felt that some form of professional courtesy, like what the surgeon had, would have been extended to him for being a staff of the hospital.

Another medical officer was admitted in November 1997 for gastro-enteritis which he had apparently contracted during his night duty. He had to pay $1,233.67 for four days of stay. Again, no professional courtesy was exercised by the hospital he was working in.

The aforesaid were two cases of many more similar situations faced by junior doctors. Employers are morally law bound to medically cover occupational mishaps and disabilities arising from work. It is imperative that the healthcare sector should not be an exception. In many other industries, the employees receive services from within the industry they work in, often as part of the benefits. Doctors and healthcare workers should be given the same privilege.

Sir, doctors are exposed to a vast array of health hazards, such as infectious diseases, in the course of their duties. Medical benefits for medical practioners in the civil service have been pegged to the level of other civil servants that are not similarly at risk. Many doctors feel that as they are more at risk, they should be better covered for these risks. Many doctors also felt that the mechanism for their medical benefits was not apparent to them.

I am sure the Ministry of Health intends to have the welfare of junior doctors adequately looked after. Sir, this is one area requiring some adjustments by the Ministry. The perpetuation of the aforementioned incidents and the negative publicity it received is unhealthy. It is detrimental for the morale of junior doctors and deleterious to public opinion upon the hospital and the Ministry. The Ministry should set the pace and show itself as a responsible and caring employer. Sir, it is reasonable and appropriate that they provide medical coverage to healthcare workers more susceptible to contacting diseases while working.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Sir, the Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Healthcare for the Elderly has made many recommendations. However, I notice that there was no mention of an institution to spearhead these recommendations. So I am asking the Minister to consider whether the Home Nursing Foundation could be used as the institution to spearhead all these recommendations. Of course, we need to upgrade the institution. We need to give it higher stature, responsibility, function, to oversee and initiate the many health programmes and services, not only for the elderly but also for other modalities of healthcare.

What are the services that the Home Nursing Foundation could embark on? I would include rehabilitation programmes, chronic illness management, health maintenance, home care, health education at community level. And what are the target groups? The target groups are the recently discharged hospital patients for continual rehabilitation programmes complementing the hospitals, chronic disease patient management like diabetes, strokes, some spinal problems, hypertension, asthmatics, etc. And the other area they should take care, of course, is the senior citizens on the health maintenance programmes.

How do we do it? I would like to make a suggestion. I think to get it better organised and spearhead all the recommendations the Committee has made, we could set up what I call a community health services centre. We could set up these centres between the Home Nursing Foundation and CDCs. These community health services centres would provide the following modalities of care - home care services, community care services which include coordinating the many health service providers like the community hospitals, outpatient clinics, general practitioners and a group of what I call the allied health care organisations like the diabetic society, the renal society, cardiac society and so on. It could also serve as an information and advisory centre on health problems. And, of course, it should be involved in the health maintenance programmes and also health screening. We have to determine the number of such centres. I think they should preferably be distributed evenly throughout the island, perhaps around eight centres. I am only just mentioning this number. It could be more. A few CDCs may be involved in one centre together with the Home Nursing Foundation.

A proper study, of course, needs to be made on the location of such centres and whether it will be a stand-alone building or whether we could tie up with some very well equipped community centres like mine. To do all these, I suggest that the Home Nursing Foundation be considered seriously as the institution to organise and manage the care of the elderly. Of course, we need proper funding and manpower should be provided. It is only a suggestion. I do hope that the Minister will take into consideration what I have just said.

Mdm Claire Chiang See Ngoh: Sir, the Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Healthcare for the Elderly is comprehensive and promising.

Acute help is offered by our hospitals and I am glad to learn that the Ministry is incrementally creating more beds to cope with rising numbers of our aging population. By the early years of the new millennium, our forecast needs will be met. We already have a number of homes for the aged. The Home Nursing Foundation alone operates 12 centres to offer a range of services to the community.

I am more concerned, however, by what follows after the patients are discharged from institutional care. In fact, hospitals are facing resistance in discharging elderly patients who are not too ambulant but not sick enough to stay in hospital, as the families do not know how to take care of them at home.

In view of the growing demographic trends, this deserves serious consideration. I would like to focus on two aspects: first, in training home-carers on how to care for the frail elderly more effectively and, second, developing nursing and para-nursing services that can be sold to private homes on principles of affordability.

First, focus on homecare. What are the critical challenges? First, we may ask by asking: who takes care? Primarily the wife, daughter and mother, with lower and declining participation, from the husband, daughter-in-law and the son, according to a Singapore Survey in 1995. Conversely, daughters, as carers, have increased.

Second, care-giving role is adversely affecting care-givers who feel the physical and psychological strain caused by the necessity of constant engagement, thus restricting personal life and increasing financial burdens. The situation is obviously worse if care-givers also have to work to support the rest of the household needs. 3.15 pm

The third challenge is home-care is evidently the cheapest way of solving the problems of long term care, but this may mean depriving carers, in particular daughters, the chance to re-enter the labour force or take over extra-familial roles in the community. Some longitudinal research has shown that "family centred" women deteriorate earlier and actually experience a lower degree of quality of life in old age. We lose out both at the labour front and the home front.

The fourth challenge is what if the elderly has no children to do the caring? Or what if the elderly prefer to live alone? Or live in a home for the aged? The trend towards independent living is increasingly apparent in a more educated greying population.

The last challenge is that there are real problems when old parents are often angry, bad-tempered, grumbling and difficult to manage.

Given these challenges, what services, skills package and information are available now to provide support networks to help these carers cope? Are they adequate in offering a differentiated support system for the elderly?

I propose that instead of looking for more buildings and day care centres, we may want to creatively look deeper into the community and tap its embedded resources to help.

Here is where I think CDCs, Women's Wing, Women's Executive Committees and NTUC cooperative movement, Family Service Centres, hospitals and medical consultants, volunteer medical teams and neighbourhood clinics could work out a Nursing Focus Plan to identify the needs of each neighbourhood and develop small scale, efficient and effective programmes at the local level to promote collaborative, self-organising networks. I think the spirit and orientation of such a service is very similar to what Dr Tan Cheng Bock earlier mentioned.

My second focus is on developing nursing and para-nursing services. I feel we have not sufficiently utilised the skills and capabilities of the Nursing Association network and retired nurses as well as homemakers, who may be like part-time paid jobs, be trained as para-nurses to care for the frail elderly. Their paid service will be a positive relief for carers who can then leave the homes and do their own thing for a few hours.

We can use CDC or a neighbourhood polyclinic as a base. We then identify the medical skills level in the constituency through the Nursing Association. Trained nurses and consultants can serve as leaders to train a network of para-nurses to respond to home calls. It is like the insurance business which has a lead agent with a network of understudying trainees. The Ministry will then set guidelines on payment schemes.

Sir, it is becoming increasingly problematic to rely on family care as the only and best solution for caring for an aged person. We have to complement this initiative by strengthening home care and nursing service as a para-professional service which can be offered by paid agents who are not family members. While this is already happening in a small segment of the community which can afford such service from private-run operations, I am calling for a community-based initiative at each constituency to make healthcare a localised and affordable community service, with appropriate level of regulation and quality control from the Ministry.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen: Sir, several Members have indicated their interest in what I have to say on this amendment. I hope they are not disappointed.

A Mr Tham who runs a hair clinic came to my meet-the-people session several times relating the problems he has encountered in conducting his hair transplant business. His hair transplant process involves re-inserting hair follicles removed elsewhere one at a time. His clinic employs medical doctors and specialists who were trained in the specialty clinics in the United States. I do not know about the effect of his operation, but he has a long list of clients from Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. His business seems like a sun-rise industry with good demand, and good return on investment. It also has a "feel-good" effect on the customers. Not everyone can handle hair loss with the grace and dignity as some notable Members of this House.

Because of the risk of infections and complications, hair transplant operation of this nature should be regulated. However, this Mr Tham seems to run into regulatory entanglements with the Ministry of Health, such as the suitability and certification of doctors involved. Furthermore, when he tried to put up an advertisement, he could not use the words "hair transplant" in the advertisement, but the words "hair services" which could mean anything actually.

Sir, let me hasten to add that that I am not bringing this matter up on behalf of Mr Tham. But through the interaction, I became interested to find out how the Ministry of Health views hair transplant as an economic activity. Is it a medical operation, cosmetic service or plastic surgery? Furthermore, are the doctors involved subject to the regulation of the Medical Registration Act?

The Chairman: Order. I think I need a break now!

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

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair again at 3.40 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended at 3.22 pm until 3.40 pm. Sitting resumed at 3.40 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head P (cont.) -

The Minister for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): First, let me thank the Members, who have spoken, for their comments and suggestions. Let me first reply to the points made by Mr Bernard Chen.

Sir, the White Paper on Affordable Healthcare identified four strategies to ensure that healthcare remains affordable:

(1) to maintain a basic medical care package which all Singaporeans can have access to;

(2) to regulate the supply and type of doctors and hospitals;

(3) support for medical R&D, education and training; and

(4) have sound healthcare financing policies to support the objectives laid out in the White Paper.

Last year, my Ministry took stock of the implementation of the White Paper recommendations. I am happy to inform Members that at the time of the stock take, most of the targets, as set out in the White Paper, have already been met. Let me elaborate.

While MOH has maintained the basic medical care package, we also regularly review the package to take into account new technologies and treatment procedures. We have also taken steps to strengthen the regulatory role of the Ministry and reviewed our legislation and policies to ensure that we continue to maintain a high standard of medical care and medical practice in Singapore. The White Paper had recommended the setting up of key national medical centres. I am happy to report the National Centres for Skin, Eye and Heart are already operational, while the remaining two, the National Cancer Centre and the National Neuroscience Institute, will begin operations this year.

In the area of research, MOH established the National Medical Research Council in December 1993, and we have allocated $280 million to fund medical research for the period FY94 to FY2001. So far the research interest and results have been very encouraging.

The remaining key recommendation that has yet to be fully implemented is Casemix which is an important tool to help contain future increases in healthcare costs and at the same time enhance quality of care. MOH will introduce the Casemix system in all public hospitals by the end of this year. We will, within the next three to five years, expand the Casemix system to private sector hospitals to control charges by private doctors and hospitals to patients who use Medisave to help pay part of their medical bills. So with the introduction of Casemix, all the key elements contained in the White Paper would have been implemented.

Next, let me move on to the points raised by Mr Chen on Casemix itself. Sir, let me take this opportunity to first briefly explain to Members what is Casemix. Casemix is a system that allows hospitals to group patients according to their medical conditions and the level of resources needed to treat them. Casemix offers two important benefits: firstly, it will enable the hospitals to better understand and better manage the resources needed for a particular medical condition; secondly, it will encourage performance monitoring, benchmarking and best practices, leading to better quality of care of our patients.

Implementation of Casemix, as mentioned by Mr Chen, was piloted at two sites in May last year. This was extended to cover the remaining Government-owned acute hospitals six months later in October 1998. All the hospitals now have systems to capture information required under Casemix. By the end of this year, these hospitals will receive subvention based on Casemix. And the Government will fund the public sector hospitals according to the number of patients treated in each Casemix category or the technical term which is used is Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG).

In the Government White Paper on Affordable Health Care, Casemix was mentioned as one mechanism that can be used to control balance billing in private hospitals. Casemix information will enable us to set the limit on the total amount a private hospital can bill a patient for a particular DRG if he is using Medisave to pay for part of his hospital bill. This limit will be regardless of the length of stay, the type of tests or medications ordered. The control of balance billing will be implemented in three to five years' time.

My Ministry has already started to engage the private sector in discussions. We will encourage and help the private sector to actively pursue the use of Casemix.

Sir, many Members have spoken on issues related to the elderly and the Report that was released by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the healthcare needs of the elderly. I will take them altogether and address them according to the issues. First, let me thank Members who have expressed their views and concerns on the Report of the IMC and also for their strong support. As many have stated, Singapore faces a very serious challenge in the 21st century as a result of the rapid ageing of our population.

As Mr Goh Choon Kang mentioned, the number of elderly persons above the age of 65 will climb from 225,000 today to over 800,000 by the Year 2030. Clearly, a four-fold increase in the number of elderly persons in our society over the next 30 years will impose immense pressures on the healthcare system. We must, as a nation, start preparing now for the transition. We must be proactive and anticipate, plan and phase in the critical national health infrastructure and services over time.

The IMC has recommended a two-pronged approach to look after the healthcare needs of the elderly. Firstly, health promotion and disease prevention to enhance the health of the elderly. Secondly, the provision of adequate, appropriate and affordable services for the elderly who require long-term care. The main strategy to meet the healthcare needs of the elderly obviously is to avoid disease and disabilities through life long health promotion and disease prevention. Healthy elderly persons will then remain happy, active and productive members of the community. This approach will also shorten the period of ill health and reduce the need to institutionalise the elderly whenever they fall ill.

Dr Lily Neo has suggested that my Ministry should work closely with and support voluntary and grassroots organisations that are interested in conducting educational talks and health screenings for the community. Sir, I can assure her that we are indeed doing so in the area of educational talks but, nonetheless, I shall ask my officials to look into her suggestion.

In terms of healthcare screening, Mr Ibrahim Othman and Dr Lily Neo touched on that. Let me reply to them now. Mr Ibrahim Othman stated that MOH should draw up quickly a screening programme for the elderly and should make it compulsory and have it done yearly. When they get a little bit older, it should be done twice yearly and it should be cost effective. The cost should be reasonable and affordable.

Sir, the IMC has recommended that the elderly should undergo regular medical screening that allows medical problems to be detected and treated early. This would then improve patient care and reduce the risk of serious complications and disabilities. To achieve this objective, my Ministry has developed a simple 10-minute geriatric health screening protocol. This protocol is meant to pick up early symptoms and signs of common diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, visual and hearing impairment, other functional and mental problems in the elderly.

The screening protocol is being validated currently and, once it is validated, we will give it to the GPs and polyclinic doctors to administer to elderly patients. Mr Ibrahim Othman said that this should be made compulsory. Sir, we should not make health screening compulsory. It should be a voluntary programme because this is in line with the Government's philosophy of individual responsibility. We will educate the individuals through the mass media and the community organisations about the importance of health screening. We hope that, through the organisations at the grassroots level and the VWOs, we will have a pretty good outreach. We expect the cost to be affordable because the screening would be simple, low cost and it takes 10 minutes. My officials are now in the process of identifying and training service providers to administer the screening and to decide on the appropriate frequency.

Dr Neo raised the question of MOH supporting community health screenings. Sir, I feel it will be better for the organisers to rely not just on MOH, but to reach out and involve GPs and other healthcare providers and workers that are working in the area. This is because there are a lot more GPs and healthcare workers in the private sector than in the public sector and many of them would be happy, I am sure, to strengthen their links with the community in which they serve.

Next, let me touch on home care. Mdm Claire Chiang stressed the need for us to tap on the community and that there is a need for us to provide greater support to home carers. Sir, I totally agree with her. We do indeed ensure that there is an adequate support for home carers because the burden on the family members who are providing the care is actually quite great. In keeping with our societal values and norms, our philosophy is that the elderly, even the disabled ones, should as far as possible remain with their families and stay within the community, and the institutionalisation of the elderly should only be the measure of last resort and not the first resort. We are therefore taking various steps to enhance home care and to alleviate the burden being borne by family care givers.

Let me first touch on the type of home care services that we are providing to support the home carers. The first is home nursing care. The nurses from the VWOs, who provide this home nursing care, visit the elderly at home to provide such nursing care, like wound dressing and teaching the elderly sick and the care givers simple exercises to improve their health and fitness levels. The second is home medical care where doctors visit the elderly sick at home to provide treatment and follow-up care. The third is home-help where home helpers make visits to deliver meals and provide respite care.

Sir, these three categories of home care services will be an important support for family care givers. My Ministry will work closely with MCD to identify and encourage more VWOs to get involved and to assist and nurture them. We will also work with the grassroots organisations and the professional organisations, like the nursing association and others, to identify people who are interested in such a service and identify who can be the key leaders in each area and help them drive the process. This is a nation-wide requirement and the more helping hands we can get, the more effectively we can help the home care givers. Sir, I totally agree with Mdm Chiang and we would definitely be working in that direction.

Let me move on to healthcare financing. Mr Bernard Chen asked how we are going to get the private insurers to get involved in the provision of long-term care insurance. And Mr Goh Choon Kang, on the other hand, asked in view of the likelihood that healthcare costs will continue to go up, how we would help the elderly to pay for their healthcare needs in the future, how do we help those who presently need such care and who may not be able to have access to the long-term care insurance and how do we help them to pay for such services. Sir, because our population is relatively young now, this is the right time to put in place a proper framework for financing healthcare. That is why we have come up with this solution of long-term care insurance because this would enable individuals to start paying the premiums now in anticipation of 20 or 30 years' time when they get old and may need long-term care.

We are also aware that the cost of long-term care, especially institutionalised long-term care for the elderly who are severely disabled and will require extensive support, can be quite expensive. At present, some of you may know that the patients or the elderly with household income of $2,000 and below qualify for subsidies in the VWO homes. Those families with household income above that level are unable to get subsidies. We have had quite a fair bit of feedback that many families in the lower middle income groups do find it very difficult to bear the full fees. Arising from the recommendations of the LTC, the Government has agreed to extend such subsidies to families in the lower middle income groups. We will need to have a means test to identify who will qualify for such subsidies and my Ministry is now working out the details on where is the cut-off income level. In reply to Mr Goh Choon Kang, those families who are in the lower middle income groups today will be able to have access to some subsidies once my officials have finalised their studies.

Sir, in terms of getting the private sector to be involved, our aim is that the Government, through CPF and MOH, will only launch one basic long-term care insurance plan. For this plan, the premium will be kept low and affordable and the benefits, although they will not be very large, will still be adequate for the lower middle income and lower income families. Because, in addition, to the cash benefits from the insurance payment, they will also have access to, firstly, Government subsidies, and secondly, financial support from the VWOs. With these three components, the cash outlay required from those families will be affordable. This means that since we are only providing the basic insurance, we will need the private insurers to come in to provide enhanced plans. This is very similar to the MediShield approach where CPF provides a fairly basic MediShield package and the private insurers provide the enhanced package. To make it possible for the private insurers to participate, we will also be prepared to extend the use of Medisave to pay for the premiums. The details are now being worked out between my Ministry and the CPF Board. 4.00 pm

Dr Lily Neo asked whether the long-term care insurance will also pay for the treatment of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. The long-term care insurance would only cover the care provided by the elderly with serious disabilities and would therefore require extensive care from care-givers, whether it is at home or in institutions. These severe disabilities are usually fairly long-lasting or prolonged, if not permanent, and can therefore be very costly for the family to manage, whether they are living at home or in the institution. The costs of medication for chronic conditions like diabetics and hypertension are generally affordable and I think most families are able to pay for them out of pocket. For those who cannot afford the medications from the private sector, they have access to the polyclinics where heavily subsidised services are available. The normal subsidy is 50% at the polyclinic and for the elderly above the age of 65, they get another 50% discount. Sir, in actual fact, for the elderly, the subsidy is more, in the range of 75%.

I think the key thing is to remember that the aim is to keep the premiums for the long-term care insurance as low as possible and that means having as tight a coverage as possible, rather than as wide a coverage, because the wider the coverage, the greater the coverage, the higher would be the premiums required and this would be contrary to what we are trying to achieve, which is to keep the premiums low and affordable.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang talked about the role of the VWOs and asked for a review of the subsidies. I agree with Mr Yeo about the role of the VWOs. We too value their role because they are able to perform a very difficult job with great compassion and with great commitment and, therefore, we should try to make it as easy as possible for them, without getting them involved, in just doing fund-raising full-time, which I think, some of them are doing. But at the same time, we have to make sure that they are being run efficiently, so that with the subsidies we give them, they are able to operate without having to raise too extensive the amount of funds.

He said that in Hong Kong the land is given to them for free. Sir, I want to let him know that in Singapore, this is also the case. We charge them a Temporary Occupation Licence or TOL. But this is a paper transaction because the TOL is fully subsidised by the Ministry. So, in effect, they get the land for free. Not only that, we provide them with a grant that pays for 90% of the cost of the building, so the amount they have to actually raise is quite low.

But I think what is a burden on them is the need to raise funds for the recurring expenses since we only subsidise 50%. And I am happy to inform Mr Yeo that we are actually reviewing that too. The aim is that we should make sure that, firstly, the subsidies are increased, so that their burden is lessened, and secondly, to widen the coverage. And as I mentioned just now, we are going to increase the coverage from just the lower income groups to the lower middle income groups, and I think it would make the burden on the VWOs a lot lighter. We are reviewing it together with MCD and we hope to finish the review within the next six months.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock suggested that for the implementation of the LTC report, we have an institution to drive the recommendations and that we should expand the role of the HNF and utilise the CDCs and other community organisations and grassroots organisations to help drive the implementation. The recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee cover a very wide spectrum of areas from preventive healthcare, health education, health screening, community-based services, including home nursing to the setting up of physical structures - nursing homes, community hospitals, the whole lot. It really is the work of a Ministry.

So, my Ministry will continue to drive the implementation of the recommendations but we will do that in close collaboration with the VWOs because we are not the ones who are actually implementing. The VWOs will have to come in and provide the services and provide some of the training and we will be at the back helping them, but making sure that where there are gaps, we are able to quickly identify new VWOs or maybe encourage existing VWOs to fill the gaps. And we may, later on, set up, in certain areas, coordinating groups or ensure that there is a leader for some of those programmes. So, it is mid-way between what you have proposed and what we are actually doing. He has asked for us to make use of the CDCs. Sir, indeed, we are looking into that and would like to work as closely as possible with the CDCs down the road.

Sir, I think I have replied to most of the points which I am supposed to have replied to. I will now ask Dr Aline Wong to answer the rest.

The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Aline Wong): Sir, I would like to address the points raised by Mr Yeo Guat Kwang. I think he made a case for the Ministry to encourage more workplace health promotion programmes. Indeed, we put quite a bit of emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyle programmes at the workplace. As early as 1988, we already formed a Workplace Health Promotion Unit within the Ministry and we went out to various organisations and ministries to help them organise comprehensive workplace health promotion programmes. We also train facilitators at the workplace so that they can carry on those programmes after we have done the initial kick-off for them. Come September this year, in order to highlight the importance of our emphasis on workplace health promotion programmes, we are going to present a special award, the acronym of which is HEALTH, which stands for "Helping Employees Achieve Lifetime Health", to those employers who have commendable workplace health promotion programmes.

I would like to show our appreciation here to NTUC for launching the NTUC Workplace Health Promotion Programme in August last year which had quite a widespread participation rate among the various organisations.

Mr Yeo asked what kind of incentives we should provide to employers to promote health at the workplace. But as he himself said, increase in productivity, decrease in absenteeism, increase in worker's morale, all these will reward the organisation many times over the amount that they spent on health promotion activities. So I think there is really no need for additional incentives, such as tax incentives to be given to these organisations. But I applaud and agree with him that it is important to promote health at the workplace.

Mr Gerard Ee advocates compulsory deduction from Medisave of family members if a patient is unable to pay for his medical expenses, particularly if the family can afford to do so. From our experience, there are actually very few cases where the immediate family members refuse to pay for the healthcare cost of a patient, particularly the parent, who is unable to pay for himself. This shows that family links or relationships in Singapore are still very strong, and in matters of the heart, like family relationships, filial piety, I think the Government should not interfere as much as possible. We already have the Maintenance of Parents Act which allows an elderly person to claim maintenance from the children who are able to contribute but refuse to do so. We should not press for the medical maintenance of parents further. At least the problem is not significant enough to warrant legislation.

As for dental care for the disabled, Mdm Claire Chiang raised the special case of the spastics. Let me inform her that MOH provides dental service to the pupils of all the special education schools, including the spastics. We do it either by sending a mobile dental clinic to the school grounds, park there for a couple of months, and let the children have a regular check-up and be treated. Or we give them access to the school's dental clinics at nearby schools so that the volunteers or teachers can bring the children over for their regular dental check-ups and treatment. The children from these special schools, as well as children from MOH approved welfare homes, get free treatment. The other disabled children, if they visit our polyclinics, our dental clinics, are charged at the same concessionary rate as children without disabilities, that is, 50% of the adult rate.

I think she recognises that children with certain types of disabilities, such as spastic children, are difficult to manage at times, because there are uncontrollable movements and they are not able to function as normal children in terms of bodily control. It is a complex problem. For children who need sedation for their dental treatment, they are presently being catered to by the National Dental Centre. Those who are spastic, children who are particularly fidgety, can seek treatment there.

Mdm Chiang spoke about the need for specially trained dentists who are willing and able to handle the spastic children. The stand of the Dental Faculty at NUH is that the Dental Centre at NUH provides dental care to disabled persons, including the spastic children or children with cerebral palsy. In fact, the dental students now are given exposure under the supervision of their academic staff to treat these children. But it is not possible for every dental student to be trained well enough to be able to handle these children on their own. It requires some further special training. I think the best solution for the spastic children is for the Spastic Children Association to run a dental clinic on its own, which, in fact, I hear they have plans to do so, when they move to the new premises. Then they can gather a group of dentists, whether they are paid or volunteers, who would be helped by their own paramedics who would prepare the children for dental treatment. By and by, they would accumulate some expertise in this area.

There is another association, the Margaret Drive Special School which will be running a dental clinic at its premises, and it will be manned completely by volunteers from the Dental Health Foundation. So, I think the Spastic Association can learn from the experience of the Margaret Drive Special School on how they can run this kind of dental clinic for spastic children.

Dr Lily Neo made a very emotional appeal for the medical benefits of junior doctors. I must say that I was taken aback by her description of the Ministry of Health as almost a heartless organisation. I take strong objection to that. My Ministry is concerned about the welfare and the morale of our staff. In fact, only recently, we have revised the medical scheme of service and implemented several measures to improve the working conditions of medical doctors, including the junior doctors, and these measures have been described in the House. I would not dwell on them.

Dr Lily Neo talked more specifically about the medical benefits for the junior doctors. Medical benefits have all along been provided for doctors in the civil service, which include our junior doctors. These were revised when changes were made to the civil service medical benefit in 1994, in line with our national objective of encouraging personal responsibility for one's own healthcare.

4.15 pm

When the Deputy Prime Minister introduced this scheme in the House at the end of 1993, he gave a very full explanation of why we made a switch over from the old scheme to the new Medisave-cum-subsidised outpatient (MSO) scheme. Under the 1994 MSO Scheme, the Government contributes an additional 1% of the officer's total monthly salary into his Medisave account. This additional Medisave contribution is meant to cover hospitalisation expenses should they be incurred or to buy approved medical insurance, including MediShield, MediShield Plus, for costly serious illness. So this additional Medisave that is paid into the salary of the doctors, including the junior doctors on MSO, is meant to cover his medical expenses through insurance or through out-of-pocket payments. In addition, the doctors or the civil servants in general on MSO are subsidised up to $350 a year for outpatient expenses.

In the Ministry of Health, all the new junior doctors are briefed on their eligibility for medical benefits and are advised to purchase medical insurance coverage, using the 1% additional Medisave contribution. However, I agree with Dr Neo that the hospitals where the doctors work should look after the junior doctors well, especially those who require medical treatment either as inpatient or outpatient, and extend appropriate courtesy to them. This has been emphasised by my Ministry to the hospitals from time to time. Where the junior doctors contract illnesses which arise out of their work and require medical treatment, the Ministry is prepared to bear the cost if it can be shown that the illness is related to the work. I would therefore request Dr Neo to let me have the details of the two cases cited by her. If my officers ascertain that their illnesses were work related, we will ask the hospitals concerned to look into bearing the cost of the medical treatment.

Finally, on the subject of hair transplant, hair loss is one of those things in life associated with the aging process or otherwise, which I think we all have to take a bit philosophically, although this seems to afflict one sex more than the other. For those who would like to seek treatment, the way is open to them. Singapore does not ban hair transplant at all.

Dr Wang's question to MOH is: what is our stand? Do we encourage or not encourage it? We allow it to be practised. But because of the technical expertise required and the potential danger of infection, the procedure must be performed by a registered medical practitioner with recognised specialties in a licensed healthcare establishment. For live hair transplant, it can only be performed by specialists certified in the fields of plastic surgery, general surgery or dermatology. I do not have the time to describe to the House how this is done. But I understand, in Singapore, there are currently 13 plastic surgeons, 76 general surgeons and 33 dermatologists who are accredited under the Specialist Accreditation Board who can perform this procedure in Singapore.

On the case he mentioned, about why Mr Tham's clinic was not allowed to advertise hair transplant services, it is because we have established the specialist register and hair transplant is not listed or considered by a panel of experts as a specialty. Therefore, they were not allowed to advertise themselves as "a licensed medical clinic providing specialised services in hair transplant". They can only use the term "hair services".

Mr Bernard Chen: Sir, I must compliment the Minister for their concise and very refreshing response we got over the last two hours. I must also congratulate my fellow colleagues for daring to speak up on this hair-raising subject. I do not think they would get much of a chance to speak any more.

Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $934,944,670 for Head P ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $261,483,800 for Head P ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Head R -

The Chairman: Head R, Ministry of Information and the Arts. Amendment No. (1), Mr Chew Heng Ching.

Mr Chew Heng Ching (East Coast): Sir, I beg to move,

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

Sir, thanks to the National Arts Council (NAC), we have been fairly successful in promoting the arts, and bringing culture to the mainstream, as part of our greater efforts to develop a more gracious society. The NAC has recently unveiled a master plan for an intensive Arts Outreach Programme which aims at making the arts accessible to all Singaporeans. It will try to bring music, dance and theatre performances to HDB new towns, HDB town centres, MRT stations and shopping centres. It is indeed a good move. Thanks also to Shell, the sponsor, for this new Arts Outreach Programme for this year, 1999, without which the arts would not be able to reach our HDB heartland. At the same time, Sir, the NAC has called for more private sector companies to come forward to sponsor and to help bring the arts to the doorstep of every Singaporean.

My concern is that our arts groups have been affected by the economic slowdown. The amount of sponsorship has not been as forthcoming as before, as many companies have been affected by the recession. And unless the Government comes in to help fund the arts groups during this economic slowdown to make up for the shortfall in sponsorship, I am afraid some of our arts programmes may suffer.

Sir, the operating grant given to the NAC in this year's budget is $16.3 million, and this amount shows a decrease of 7.2% over last year. The decrease is attributed mainly to a lower EOM provision because of a cut in employer's CPF contributions. The savings in manpower costs here could have been given to our arts groups by way of greater grants to the NAC to enable them to develop their talents and to carry out their activities.

I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether he would convince the Ministry of Finance to provide more grants through the NAC to assist these arts groups. Unless this is done soon, some of our arts groups may not survive this recession, and many may not see daylight when the economy recovers.

Sir, the NAC in the last 1-2 years has been promoting our arts abroad, and this is also a wise move. This includes promoting Singapore's arts and artists at international markets to secure performance and exhibitions. I wish to ask the Minister what is the objective of regionalising our arts, and how successful have they been so far.

Mr Peh Chin Hua: (In Mandarin): Sir, I notice that in many Government departments and private companies, art works exhibited which are reproductions and not authentic works. This may have something to do with their budget on the purchase of art works. Of course, in this present financial crisis, it may not be a practical suggestion to Government departments and private companies to spend more money in buying authentic art works of our local artists. We all know that art works are priceless. The artistic value cannot be measured in monetary terms. However, to many of the artists in Singapore, most of whom are amateur artists, with steady incomes of their own, their aspiration is that their art works can be exhibited in the reception area of some important buildings and private companies. Therefore, many of the local artists are willing to donate their works, free of charge to MITA. Of course, they do not wish to see the art works they donated being tucked away in the storeroom.

Sir, I have the privilege of visiting the Arts Museum of Stanford University.

I noticed that the university had openly encouraged private companies to donate precious art works and antiques to them, and received very enthusiastic response. From what I know, the art works were permanently displayed in the arts museum, and were given dedicated protection. It is not a case of just exhibiting for a short while and then tucked away in the cellar.

For this reason, I hope that MITA could set up a Local Arts Committee, and with the help of the NAC, to help arrange for these art works to be rotated and displayed in Government departments and private companies for open exhibition and display. In this way, we can help to encourage our local artists to continue with the arts creation, and at the same time allow Singaporeans and visitors to view these authentic works of our local talents.

In addition, arrangement should be made for masterpieces previously donated by our older generation of artists and local collectors to be exhibited openly on a permanent basis, like the arts museum at Stanford University. This would have certain encouraging effects on private companies and individuals who wish to donate their art works in future. It would also help to prevent some precious collections from being lost to other countries.

Dr Ho Tat Kin (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, the promotion of arts needs, amongst other things, strong financial support. The economic slowdown has affected many sectors. Many charitable organisations have reported significant drop in their donations, some as much as 40%. I am sure our arts groups must have been similarly affected. Corporate funding would dry up if the economy does not improve.

[Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair]

4.25 pm

Dr Ho Tat Kin (Bishan-Toa Payoh): May I ask how badly has the National Arts Council's special account scheme been affected? While I can understand private sector funding will be drastically reduced, I hope the Government will not slow down or cut back public sector funding for the arts. In fact, if the Government cannot increase the funding to make up for the shortfall in donations from the private sector, the minimum the Government can do is to sustain the existing level of funding for NAC grants. I urge the Government to seriously consider more Government funding for the arts so as to help strengthen the role and relevance of the arts in Singapore in the next century.

Sir, efforts should be made to bring the arts to the masses. There should be more outreach programmes for the young and old, as well as families and the working public to enjoy and have fun. This can include more outdoor concerts in the parks, neighbourhoods and shopping centres as well as arts activities organised for residents at the constituencies. MITA should work closely with the Community Development Councils to promote arts on a shoestring budget and try to reach out to the HDB heartland on a wider scale. Community clubs could be encouraged to join with some arts groups and to excel in at least one of the art forms. The community clubs management committees could be made patrons to these arts groups, which can then be adopted by the community clubs who can also help to support the arts groups financially, besides providing a convenient venue to house the arts groups. 4.30 pm

Mr Seng Han Thong (Ang Mo Kio): (In Mandarin): Sir, Chinese operas in Singapore are mainly dialect-based in Teochew, Cantonese, Hokkien and Hainanese. The general impression given is that the majority of people in the audience are the senior citizens and these operas are performed mainly during the 7th Moon Festival. However, the fact is, over the past 20 to 30 years, Chinese opera in Singapore has evolved from an outdoor wayang-type of performances to indoor theatres and school auditoriums.

According to records kept by the Singapore Chinese Opera Institute, there were a total of some 2,500 performances of Chinese operas in Singapore in 1998. Out of these, some 1,500 performances took place during the 7th Moon Festival. The other 1,000 performances were in the schools, community centres and theatres. A good number of these performances took place at the Victoria Theatre, next door to our Parliament House.

Apart from the senior citizens and middle-aged people, more and more young people are attending such performances nowadays. Some even take part in the performances.

The recent rise in support level for Chinese operas in Singapore can be attributed to two reasons. First, the establishment of the Singapore Chinese Opera Institute in 1995 to promote Chinese opera in the schools and the community centres. Secondly, we have a group of enthusiasts who, while keeping a low profile, have been contributing money, time and efforts to support these theatre groups in their performances, not only locally, but overseas as well. The Singapore Federation of Clan Associations and other community groups have been inviting well-known artistes from China to perform in Singapore.

Although a lot of problems exist in the Chinese opera theatres, the people are continuing to help out in their own way. I believe that many of our Members here have seen the street wayangs in the past. I myself have enjoyed tremendously watching street wayangs and have learnt a lot of lessons from there. These Chinese operas have not only enriched our festivals but also our childhood. It is also a good way to inculcate in our people the traditional Chinese values. There are a lot of stories that teach loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and justice, and to show us how we could deal with problems in times of crisis. This is the type of spirit we need, especially in the present crisis.

I believe that we should accord due recognition to these enthusiasts who have contributed greatly to the development of traditional Chinese operas in Singapore so as to encourage more people to come forward and lend their support in this field.

Mr Chuang Shaw Peng (Nominated Member): (In Mandarin): In recent years, the Government's main economic policy is to encourage Singaporeans to come forward and venture into business, become entrepreneurs to create more wealth for our people and our nation. Like many people I know, I am quite intrigued by this call by the Government. Singapore is a market economy. Do our entrepreneurs need to be encouraged before they come out and make big money? Have our people not enjoyed excellent track records in their business ventures all this while?

Sir, please allow me to take this House on a tour outside Singapore. First, we go to the famous Silicon Valley. Many people call this the "IC Valley". IC, of course, refers to Integrated Circuit. But many people say it could jolly well stand for Indians and Chinese. Why? Because many of the scientists and businessmen who study, work and start enterprises there are of Chinese and Indian origins. In Silicon Valley, 23% of the people were born outside the United States of America. The culture they were exposed to during their early years was not American culture, but the various cultures from their native countries. When they were young, the education they received could well be very traditional, and not what we call "creative" nowadays.

Next, we go to Vancouver, Canada. You will notice that 5% to 10% of the businesses there are being run by the Chinese. Like the Silicon Valley, most of the Chinese there came from Hong Kong and Taiwan. They publish their own newspapers, have their own shopping centres, television station, etc. In a short span of 10 to 20 years, they actually emerged from a society of white people, and opened up a whole new world of their own.

Now, let us come back to Asia. There is no lack of entrepreneurs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and Southeast Asia. In the area of high-tech industry, Taiwan is particularly outstanding, having performed remarkably well. In a short period of 20-odd years after the cultural revolution, a good number of new enterprises have sprouted in mainland China. Their entrepreneurs are enthusiastic, far-sighted, daring to venture, and hardworking. When our businessmen went to China to have dealings with them, we often have the feeling that we are inferior to them.

Singapore has a population of 4 million. Hong Kong's population is twice that of ours, while Taiwan is five times. However, among the successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, the number of those who originated from Hong Kong and Taiwan is far, far more than ours.

Let us not talk about Chinese for the time being. In America's Silicon Valley or business sector, there are a lot of outstanding Indian scientists and management experts. Most of them are first or second-generation immigrants from India. With sharp foresight and high education, they are able to seize the opportunities, catch on with the fast moving economic trend, and eventually outshine others in various fields.

Many philosophers and social scientists hold the view that China's Confucian teachings and India's Hinduism are not positive enough. They resist science and technology, regard themselves as infallible, and thus resulted in their societies not progressing with the times.

I am not a sociologist, and I have no wish to challenge this argument here. However, the examples I cited above have already proven that there are errors in their macroscopic conclusion. What they have seen are the results of historical evolution over the thousands of years in China and India. But they have neglected the fact that these were the effects caused by the monarchy and government officials. Whether it was the monarchy who used the Confucian ideology to rule the nation or it was the Confucian ideology that brought about the monarchy is an issue which has been debated over and over since time immemorial without any conclusive outcome.

However, looking at it from various angles, this ancient cultural ideology does have its merits. For example, the Confucian teachings advocate honouring the old and respecting the wise; always ready to help in a worthy cause; good neighbourliness and friendliness, spirit of magnanimity and resoluteness, honesty and faithfulness, etc.

In the early days, Chinese immigrants to the various parts of the world were mostly illiterate, but they all came from families of Confucian background. From young, they were imperceptibly influenced by the traditional consciousness of Confucianism which was deeply embedded in their youthful minds. So when they went overseas to earn a living, they would spontaneously follow the moral standards and ethics set down by the Confucian teachings, and stick to them judiciously for the rest of their lives. This situation includes the Straits Chinese or Baba which have settled down overseas since many generations ago.

If Confucianism has so much negative effects, then how do you explain the success stories of the Hong Kong and Taiwan people in the United States. The amount of Confucianism in them is certainly more than that in us. It cannot be less.

Take our most successful entrepreneurs in the high-tech field, Mr Sim Wong Hoo, for example. Those days, with the Confucian teachings in him, he started off with $200 a month, suffered hardship and persevered in toil, knowledge-oriented, learned from his mistakes, and brought up his Creative Technology from nothing to today's glamorous high-tech empire.

Apart from Mr Sim, Singapore has no other more outstanding example. Personally, I feel that apart from the education system and the size of our domestic market, other factors are gradually causing Singapore to be lacking in entrepreneurs. One of the factors is the diluting of our culture. Many youngsters today can be said to be half-eastern and half-western. They have not learnt the excellent oriental culture, nor the essence of the Western culture. On the one hand, they do not have their ancestors' virtues of being plain and simple, hardworking and thrifty, honouring the old and respecting the wise, keeping one's word and having good faith. On the other hand, they are unable to emulate the creative and independent spirit of the westerners.

I therefore hope that the Minister would seriously consider this problem. If necessary, engage the services of experts to study and find out the respective merits and strong points of the oriental and western cultures to educate the people through our institutions of learning, community organisations and social activities.

Finally, I hope that the Minister would study our kiasu culture, and transform it into a "win-win" culture.

Mr Chew Heng Ching: Sir, there has been some talk or opinion that the next millennium in the 21st century will start only in the year 2001, and not the year 2000. May I ask the Minister what is the official view on this, and what is the basis for this view?

I understand that MITA is coordinating the millennium celebration this year to try to bring Singaporeans together to celebrate this occasion to usher in the new millennium. May I ask the Minister to unveil the celebration plan to this House, and also let the House know what amount of money is estimated to be spent on these celebrations? What proportion will come from the Government coffer?

On the next subject matter on heritage projects, I do not propose to speak, as I understand Mr Hawazi Daipi will be speaking on this.

Mr Hawazi Daipi (Sembawang): Sir, six budget sittings ago, the Minister for Information and the Arts announced in this House the formation of a working group to look into the establishment of a Malay Heritage Centre. I believe MITA has examined the working group's recommendations, and would like to ask the Minister whether the Government has made a decision on the matter.

I personally think there is a need to set up a Malay Heritage Centre which can be a centre of reference for Malay culture. The Malay community in Singapore originates from many different parts of the region. In the past, living in their own enclaves, they showed distinct characteristics. However, in the past two decades or so, with inter-marriages and lesser use of their own dialects or rather languages, the young Singaporeans from these Malay sub-ethnic background may not be aware of their own cultural heritage. The Malay Heritage Centre, if and when established, could therefore be a reference centre for those who want to learn about and contribute to the understanding of the Malays in general and the Malay sub-ethnic groups - their history of migration, languages and dialects as well as their business and trade links.

I would like to ask the Minster a few basic questions. If MITA supports the establishment of a Malay Heritage Centre, where will it be located, who will run it, and what kind of support will the Government give to the Centre?

Mr Shriniwas Rai: Sir, first of all, I must thank MITA and the National Heritage Board for the fine work it has done in Singapore. Our museums are today better housed. There are more exhibits. It is not only the local people who are visiting them but also the foreigners.

What I would like to touch on today is another issue. This is trying to locate our buildings of historical interest, both commercial as well as residential buildings, where our pioneers had lived and many of our shophouses which used to house schools in Amoy Street and Tanjong Pagar. I would urge MITA to explore this. Whether it is school or clan association, it may have started off as a small shophouse and today a high-rise building may be there. What I want the Minister to consider is a plaque, which in fact they have already started doing. It is important for our children to know our history and this process could be easily attained if we follow some of the suggestions which I have told the House. 4.45 pm

Another aspect which I would like the Minister to consider is this. Some years back, the National Museum joined force with the Hindu Endowments Board to have the Deepavali celebrations on a Sunday with food and paintings, etc. Because it was not well publicised very few tourists came. But the tourists who came were really impressed. I think it would be something for not only our own students to see, but also the visitors at large could see for themselves what Singapore has to offer. May I urge the Minister to consider this, even if it may require financial expenditure, but I think it is worthy of support.

Mr Goh Choon Kang (Marine Parade): (In Mandarin): Sir, not long ago, the well-known Chinese calligrapher and poet, Mr Pan Shou, passed away. This is a great loss to the arts community in Singapore. His death has left an irreparable gap in the field of calligraphy in Singapore. We have also lost a "National Treasure" in the arts. The works of a "National Treasure" like Pan Shou should be treasured by the State.

Pan Shou cannot be resurrected or born again. Whatever he has left behind, his calligraphy and poems should be treasured by us very dearly. Many of us, especially the lovers of Chinese calligraphy, have expressed the hope that the representative works of Pan Shou should be systematically kept and preserved by the State as our arts assets for posterity.

Sir, I am thinking not only of Pan Shou but also other "National Treasure" class artists in Singapore. Their representative works should be collected and carefully kept in a systematic manner. May I suggest that our National Museum or Arts Museum set up a special exhibition room or hall for the display of the representative works of these "National Treasures". Since they are national treasures, their works of art should be regarded as part and parcel of our arts assets of the State. By having this sort of special display or exhibition hall, we can avoid having our artists' treasured works being lost to other countries. It would also provide the opportunity for young Singaporeans and tourists to view the representative works of our masters in arts. By so doing, it will also gradually and eventually enrich the collection of our museum. If we have such a plan in place, I am quite sure will get the support from our local collectors to donate their collections to the museum.

Dr Toh See Kiat: Sir, I wish to speak on this National Red Lion head that we have. This Red Lion icon that we have is a National Day symbol and I wish to ask for it to be made as a national symbol protected by the law, just as the State crest or the State flag and so on.

One of the reasons for this is that the icon has become a very familiar sight among the public in Singapore and it has in fact become associated in a large part with what we do whenever we have a national event. It is in fact even more well known than the Merlion icon, which in the early days had been used to represent Singapore. It was, as I said yesterday in this House, a very recent invention and, in fact, very much related to the tourism industry, so that now it is more an icon of Singapore tourism than an icon of nation itself.

We are a lion city and the Red Lion head has done well. It has done so well, in fact, that CASE actually went after one unscrupulous renovation contractor. We found that their letterhead had the Red Lion icon and a logo that looks somewhat like the HDB logo. And they were telling people in that estate and several estates in Singapore that they were implying that they were HDB renovation contractors engaged by HDB to do an upgrading programme, and they said, "Please sign up by today, or else you are forever out of the upgrading programme." We realise that a lot of people were taken in because when they saw the Red Lion icon and thought it was really a Government agency, they therefore had to respond.

So this is one of the reasons why I think a national icon like this should be protected. And I think it has done a very good job in identifying Singapore and Singapore's national events.

Mr Chew Heng Ching: Sir, following calls by Members of this House in the past to develop the film industry in Singapore, the Government last year set up the Singapore Film Commission. I understand the Commission's task is to nurture, support and promote Singapore talent in film-making, the production of Singapore movies and films and the development of our film industry in Singapore. With the recent success of locally produced movies like Liang Po Po, Money No Enough and Forever Fever, the demand for local movies has increased markedly.

I think we should now accelerate and step up the development of our local movie and film industry. I therefore wish to ask the Minister what plans the Singapore Film Commission has to meet its challenges ahead and how soon can our local movies reach a standard comparable to the better ones in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even the PRC.

Mr Shriniwas Rai: Sir, before I speak on the issue, I share the sentiments of Dr Toh See Kiat on the Red Lion and I hope that the Minister would give consideration. After all, we are a Lion City, Singa.

Sir, I move on to films. The Singapore Film Commission has come into existence. It is good. It is just not enough for us to nurture the film industry here. Recently I was in Australia and I was surprised how the Australians were trying to set up their own film industry and the Americans were interested in setting up a studio there. In fact, Indian film producers are sending their crew to Australia. Then I found to my surprise that they had also been to Singapore. And for Hindi and Tamil films, they sometimes come here for shooting.

Let me share with the House an anecdote which somebody told me. They saw a Hindi picture with a Singapore scene, and they were so attracted that they sent a crew to visit some of the spots. This, of course, is a good selling point for us. But what would be more interesting is if we could develop the facilities as one-shop facilities where we offer tax incentives and what-nots. I think Singapore, being located strategically, has advantages. Because even Mauritius, which is far away, the Indian film crew are going in. Bear in mind that the Indian film industry is one of the biggest in the world. I think we should look at it not just artistically but also its commercial viability.

In fact, two weeks back, somebody told me that there was a shooting done here by an Indian film company. But I think more must be done. Probably our High Commission and other agencies there could work it out.

Mr Peh Chin Hua: (In Mandarin): Sir, in the past one year, our newspapers, television and radio, and even senior Government officers, have openly supported the development of a film industry in Singapore. As a matter of fact, the local film industry has enjoyed great results during the past one year. It is true that we do have excellent local talents in the film industry but, more importantly, there is enthusiastic support from various quarters. Singaporeans find a strong sense of identity with the local films. I think this is the most important factor contributing to the recent locally-produced films.

I am glad to note that TCS has done a lot to help the development of our local film industry. When I went to watch Jack Neo's Money No Enough and Liang Po Po - The Movie, I noticed that some famous artistes from TCS, like Zoe Tay and Kym Ng, had made guest appearances in the films. This illustrates TCS' sense of identity with our local productions and its support for the local film industry. It is heartening to note that TCS has acted pro-actively to promote the development of the film industry in Singapore.

Five years ago, many people would have thought that it was impossible. In the past, TCS was only concerned with protecting itself and would try its best to avoid its competitors. But now TCS has changed for the better. I notice that TCS has used some photographs taken from Liang Po Po - The Movie on the cover of its Radio and TV weekly, and was giving away some 250 complimentary tickets to its readers. Inside the magazine there were 11 pages of coloured photographs to introduce this film. This shows that TCS has given great publicity and support to the local films, and by doing so it will help the local films to grow steadily and rapidly in Singapore. Without the support of the newspapers, TV and the people, I do not think they would have achieved such a marvellous box office record.

I would like to commend MITA and TCS for being so open-minded in helping the development of our local film industry. With its own financial resources, skills and technology, TCS is well capable of producing its own local movies and even gung fu films. I believe there is a steady market for these productions. Of course, when TCS wants to produce its own movies, it should select some themes or subject matters which are different from those of other local films. Then there will be some very healthy competition. By doing so, it will open up a new phase of development of the film industry in Singapore.

I feel that the number of locally produced movies is still very limited. If TCS can participate in this field and can satisfy the demands of our local audiences, it will go a long way to promote the growth of our local film industry. I hope that, very soon, films produced by TCS can have an important place in the international film arena, and perhaps win an Oscar one day. I hope that MITA will encourage TCS to take on this challenge.

The Chairman: Mr Seng Han Thong.

Mr Seng Han Thong: I am not speaking, Sir.

Mr Chew Heng Ching: Sir, the face of Singapore TV has changed tremendously over the years. In the early days, our TV producers in the then SBC, or Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, concentrated on producing local documentaries, news and current affairs programmes. Entertainment programmes were largely imported. Today, our local TV stations have been corporatised. Thus, they are largely accountable for their own resources and the need to remain commercially viable. I do not envy the management of these local TV stations. Their jobs are onerous. This is made worse by the increased competition posed by some 30 channels from Singapore Cable Vision. And the easiest way out for our local TV stations is to acquire programmes from abroad and to repeat these programmes.

Sir, this is not to say that our local TV stations have not been producing local programmes. Indeed, they have been. Since corporatisation, local productions from TCS have grown markedly. However, as a commercial organisation and with its focus on the bottomline, TCS may sacrifice quality for quantity. Moreover, with intense competition to be posed by SCV, when the cable TV project linking up the whole island is completed by end of this year, our local TV station may be forced to change strategies to remain viable and forget about its nation building role.

Sir, as a national objective, our local TVs have to carry or produce local programmes to promote our culture, arts, value system, current affairs, local politics, info-education and even programmes to reflect our multi-racial society. They have to manage the requirements and sensitivities across the age groups catering for children's television as well as the needs of our retirees. I wish to ask the Minister how are our local TV stations coping with the challenges ahead and if he would reassure this House that there will be more quality local programmes on our local TV stations, ie, Channel 5, Channel 8, Prime 12, Premiere 12 and now Channel News Asia.

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More importantly, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister if our local media could stay relevant in the light of increased proliferations of foreign media in Singapore and easy access by Singaporeans. It is undoubted that, for Singapore to succeed as a knowledge-based economy, access to information is critical. The impact of foreign media reporting on current affairs and news on our underlying societal values and political systems could be anathema to the values that we uphold. This is because the foreign media, unlike our local media or TV stations, have no obligations to support or reflect the national objectives highlighted earlier.

Sir, the playing field is therefore not level. My concern specifically is whilst our local news network presently upholds the principle of giving election air-time to political parties in proportion to the strength of their participation, the foreign media has no such constraint. Indeed, we have witnessed many interviews from CNBC and BBC with some populist politicians in Singapore of late for frivolous causes. This principle of fair election air-time will no doubt come under pressure since foreign networks with different sympathies could simply air interviews and programmes which our local citizens have free access to. In order to compete, our local network, media and TV stations may be under pressure to abandon this long-held principle of fairness.

We would also like to avoid the situation in Malaysia where the circulation of Utusan Malaysia actually fell dramatically during the early days when Mr Anwar was arrested, as distrust for local media in Malaysia had led to a lot of Malaysians going to the Internet and foreign media. I would like to ask the Minister if he has any comments or plans to ensure that national objectives and long held values by Singaporeans can continue to be reflected in our broadcasters' selection of programmes in the face of uneven competition posed by the foreign media.

Mr Shriniwas Rai: Sir, I must, at the outset, declare my interest. I am a member of the Indian Programmes Committee.

Sir, I will confine my remarks to the Indian programmes, namely, Tamil. It would be dishonest not to say that the Indian programmes have improved considerably. But there is room for improvement, especially in view of the competition that is faced by cable television from both SUN and ZEE. I know some people are saying that this should be closed. I would ask the Minister not to do so because there is no other Hindi programme other than film. We should continue. In fact, we should have more, so that people have more choices.

But there is one danger. Many older viewers tend to identify with politics in India and they watch Indian programmes because our Tamil programmes are very limited. So many viewers have the opportunity of tuning to these channels. May I urge the Minister to consider, first of all, increasing the air-time of the Tamil programmes and also to have more current affairs programme. It is very important for the Indians in Singapore, Singapore Indians I would say, to have a programme that is tailored to their needs and not depend too much on the Indian programmes because their values are quite different.

We are trying to build a multi-racial society and it is very important that the Tamil programmes should cover not just the Indian programmes but the Chinese and Malay programmes as well. It is very important for the Indian community to get a feel of the other communities as well if we have to build a national consciousness. I feel strongly on this issue and urge the Minister to give some thought to it. I know that finance is limited and the figure he is going to cite is, "We have only 7% and so we cannot give you more." But I think we must not think just in terms of digits, but in terms of the national consciousness. I hope the Minister will consider my proposal.

Dr Ho Tat Kin: Sir, TCS launched a new free air channel on 1st March to provide news when you want and where you want it. With this new channel providing different market views from TCS, CNN and others, there is a potential to develop a regional audience for regional news. Reliable information for informed business decision is important. During this economic crisis, there is an urgent need for more accurate news and different news perspective. For example, the western media reports on China are always on the viewpoint of human rights and unrest in Tibet. But news in China is more than just Tibet. Businessmen will be more interested in matters such as possible devaluation of the Renminbi, economic changes in China or new investment regulations from Beijing. Channel News Asia is therefore a much welcome change. This channel also has the potential to develop into a much sought after channel by the international business community. Currently, a number of areas still have difficulties in receiving Channel News Asia. Right within my own division of Toa Payoh East, 22 blocks of HDB apartments are not able to receive this channel. It is not just HDB estates but private estates are also affected. What measures would be taken to rectify this problem?

Sir, with the glut of satellite transponders that are now readily available, TCS should consider expanding Channel News Asia to satellite transmission and really establish Singapore as a regional news broadcasting centre. It will also allow Singaporeans based overseas to keep in touch with reliable news reports of events happening back home. Can I ask the Minister for his views on the future development of Channel News Asia and whether establishing Channel News Asia requires more grants from the Government?

There is also a need to provide certain product differentiation between regional news and local news. The question then is the quality of newscaster that is available. Is there a sufficient number and, if not, what measures will the Government take to improve this?

Sir, currently, Channel News Asia is broadcast only in English. Has TCS studied the feasibility of setting up a similar Mandarin channel? The information available will be of great significance to the Chinese-speaking business community as well.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, a while ago, I heard Mr Chew Heng Ching expressing his concern and worry that Singaporeans may be exposed to too much opposition opinions from external television channels that are now accessible to Singaporeans who are connected to the cable network. I wish to assure him that there is no need for him to worry about such influence because this Government, the PAP Government, will know how to control such influence directly or indirectly and to ensure that at least it is not easy for Mr Chew, because of the influence, that he might lose his seat.

Sir, there are various ways that the Government could influence the stations although they might be plugged into the cable network. There is the granting of licence and the question of whether or not they will be accessible to the cable network. Similarly, the same goes to foreign publications in Singapore. The Government deals with foreign publications by influencing them on how to report or what to report. Otherwise, they may be banned or their circulation will be curtailed. Anyway, I do not think that there is a cause for Mr Chew to worry.

Sir, I understand that, although Singapore Cable Vision is a private firm, some of the major shareholders are Government-linked companies and I also understand that the Government intends to use the cable system for the Singapore ONE national IT project. With this backdrop in mind, I wonder whether it is the Government's intention to force all Singaporeans to use the cable network.

There is a concern among those who do not intend to connect to the cable network that the television stations may one day decide not to transmit signals via the air wave. Thereby the traditional mode of receiving TV programmes via the antenna system will become obsolete and indirectly force everyone in Singapore who wishes to watch television to connect to the cable network. I would therefore like the Government to state its position on the matter.

I also understand that those who live in landed property will have to pay a yearly maintenance fee to Singapore Cable Vision under the connection agreement. If one wishes to continue to use the cable network to receive those non-paying channels, like the HDB flat dwellers, after they have paid for the laying of the cable infrastructure, I would like to know what is the rationale for imposing such a fee which is subject to revision by SCV. I would also like to know whether the Minister thinks it is fair for SCV to impose such a fee for maintaining the cable infrastructure after asking the residents to pay for the laying of the cable infrastructure in the first place. I understand people who live in HDB flats need not pay the maintenance fee.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan (Nominated Member): Sir, I would like to continue my focus on regulation in the examination of whether deregulation could result in lower cost. Singapore ONE is an exciting new infrastructure which, when fully operational, will thrust Singapore into the information age. There are two ways to access Singapore ONE, either through SingTel ADSL network or through Singapore Cable Vision cable network. SCV's $500 million nation-wide cable network is expected to be completed by September this year, three months ahead of schedule. All these are commendable achievements.

I would like to seek clarification with regard to four aspects. First, this is the first time in Singapore's history that a nation-wide infrastructure has been installed by a private company and not by a Government agency. I would like to ask the Minister to elaborate on why this is the case. What aspects of the company, that is, the Government and presumably SBA regulate, and how much subsidy is involved in developing the cable network, if at all?

Second, what I find uncomfortable is that SCV is the monopoly provider of access to TV channels, such as CNN, CNBC, Discovery Channel, and so on. Singaporeans do not have a choice in this matter because satellite dishes are not allowed in Singapore. I have no alternative but to subscribe to SCV if I want to watch CNN or Discovery Channel. The question I have is: would the price be reduced and service improved if indeed there was an alternative provider to cable television than just SCV? For example, could not SingTel ADSL network provide the same TV quality services so that consumers have a choice whether they wish to subscribe to Magix or to SCV? 5.15 pm

Third, there is also the issue of the hook-up fee. I understand that the hook-up fee is based on the cost for service principles. Since it costs more to roll out the cable to landed homes, landed homes pay more. I subscribe to this principle. What I find difficult in understanding is, however, how the rates are arrived at and why there is such a large differential between HDB flats on the one hand which pay nothing for the hook-up, and landed properties which pay up to about $6,000 for the hook-up fee? My question here is: is there also the principle of the ability to pay used in terms of charging? In other words, in terms of charging $6,000 for landed properties, is there a sense that because landed property owners can afford it, so therefore they should pay more? Or is it merely based on the issue of cost for service? Does it cost that much more to roll out a cable to a landed property home compared to a HDB flat, private condominiums and so on? I would like to ask whether it is true indeed that there was a Government grant to SCV to wire about 7,000 HDB blocks but no grant for private flats and I presume no grants for landed properties. This was a point which was mentioned during last year's debate. And if this is indeed true, what is the size of the grant and why is it this grant was not granted across the board to all households, and why only to HDB flats?

Lastly, the take-up rate for cable television as at end January 1999 was 18.5%. After having made the entire nation cable ready, it would be a pity if only one in five homes were actually hooked up and it will be worthwhile to find out why the other four homes have not subscribed up to this point. The aim should be a 100% take-up rate either by cable or ADSL in the near future. Then, only then will Singapore ONE become a reality.

The Minister for Information and the Arts (BG George Yong-Boon Yeo): Sir, Mr Chew Heng Ching spoke of the competition posed by SCV and the foreign broadcasters to our local TV stations. I notice that Mr Low Thia Khiang took a diferring position. Our local broadcasters are keenly aware of the competition. In fact, we saw it coming, which was why we forced the corporatisation of SBC, preparing it for long-term future privatisation. We knew we have to compete in a fierce environment. So TCS and STV 12 gave emphasis to local programming and I am glad to report to this House that so far, Channels 5, 8 and Prime 12 have been able to maintain their dominant anchor positions in the minds of Singaporeans. Many Singaporeans who are cabled up tell me that even though they have 30 or 40 channels, somehow they still find most attracted to our English, Chinese, Malay programming, and to a lesser extent, our Indian programming. I think that is a good sign. They are, by no means, there yet. They have got to keep plugging away and make sure that they maintain those anchor positions because that is crucial to the preservation of our identity as Singaporeans.

Unfortunately, Malay and Tamil broadcastings clash and compete for prime time on Prime 12. And because of this, MITA has decided that by the end of this year, we will separate Malay programming out to a separate channel. STV 12 will set up a separate Malay channel so that Malay and Indian programming will no longer have to compete for prime slots as they now do. Malay programming will remain on Prime 12, and its hours will increase from 36.5 hours per week to 43.5 hours. We would then move Indian programming to a new channel which will enjoy an additional 5.5 hours per week of prime time. This will go some way towards answering some of Mr Rai's concerns. As to whether we can pump more public monies, which are licence fees plus the 15% grant from the Finance Ministry to Indian programming, I do not think we can justify it because this is really a zero sum game. More money for Indian programming means less money for Malay programming or Chinese programming and already Indian programming on television and radio receives a disaproportionate share of public funds.

Our TV stations have also gone into new multimedia platforms like Internet and exploring the early introduction of digital television. Their websites are very popular and accessed by Singaporeans and foreigners all over the world. TCS and STV 12 are committed to recruiting the best broadcasting professionals from around the world. Our TV networks will continue with these strategies to remain competitive. Singapore International Media, which is a holding company, is now reviewing its organisational structure to see how it can better position our TV stations for an even more competitive environment.

In answer to Mr Chew Heng Ching, on the concerns which Mr Low said should not exist, I agree with Mr Chew that we must be watchful that the proliferation of foreign channels does not prevent us from developing our own identity. When we look at the way the foreign channels have become part of the domestic politics in Malaysia and Indonesia, I think we should worry for ourselves. If we are not careful, foreign broadcasters, like foreign newspapers, can undermine some of our social and other policies, for example, our advertising standards, our anti-smoking campaign and even our censorship norms. A few may even be tempted to interfere in Singapore's domestic politics, especially before a general election.

This is why we have always insisted on the Government's right of reply for newspapers and broadcasters which target Singaporeans. But we are a media and broadcasting hub and we are marketing ourselves to be such a hub, and in recent years, many international broadcasters have located here. Therefore, we should impose minimal conditions on transmissions out of Singapore because it is not for us to impose our standards on other people.

However, for transmissions which are relayed to Singapore households, such as those channels which are now carried by SCV, and later by many other service providers as well, we should require of them the same standards as we impose on local broadcasters. For example, if you cannot advertise cigarettes on Channel 5 and 8, you should not be allowed to do so either on a foreign channel carried by SCV or on Magix. Those foreign channels which have few local viewers should not interest us. Thus, SBA takes little notice of the occasional nude scenes that you find on French Channel 5 which is on SCV. But channels with significant local audiences must be put on the same level playing field and, during election time, the rule of campaigning must apply to these channels as they apply to TCS and STV 12. Otherwise, some candidates may be tempted to lobby foreign channels or even to buy air-time from them.

The regulatory framework for local broadcasters is, of course, not static. With digitisation and the availability of bandwidth, we have to adjust our position all the time, which we have done. We have to flow with the tide in order to retain some freedom for ourselves. We have to maintain a certain degree of autonomy and find our own separate identity in the world, which we must if we are to remain competitive and be of service to others. Some people think that IT will eventually make all of us Americans one day. I doubt it. Yes, others also face the same challenge, like the French, the Germans, the Japanese and the Chinese. But they are determined they will be themselves and retain their own separate identities and I think we should do so too. But we can only do so by skilfully moving with the technology, not by being reactionary. And those Asian countries which cling to old positions rigidly will be undermined and will be swept aside. But we have got to play this game in a smarter way.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan today and Mr Low Thia Khiang and many others during the MND debate asked many questions about SCV and why is it HDB flat owners are cabled up for free while others have to pay some money. Dr Lee Tsao Yuan asked why it was SCV and not the Government who laid our cable network. She asked what aspects of SCV SBA regulates and how much subsidies are involved in laying the cable network. She also asked whether there will be an alternative provider to SCV. She also asked why SCV imposes different connection charges for HDB flats and private property owners. Because of the great interest shown in this House at this Budget debate on SCV, I would like to make a detailed clarification of the issues raised.

In 1995, the Government agreed to let SCV lay an advanced island-wide cable network by 1st January 2000, in return for a limited 7-year monopoly on cable TV which will end in June 2002. This network is an important national infrastructure that could be used not only for cable TV but also for interactive multimedia services. Because of technological and market risks, the Government decided that Singapore's interests are best served by having the project commercially driven. Because we will not know how the technologies will change, how the policies will change, what new trends and new products will come to be, it was better from the start to make it a commercial undertaking than to develop it as a national infrastructure project.

The alternative of managing it as public infrastructure would have made it much less responsive to technological and market changes. So, a private company was chosen to lay the infrastructure and provide services on a commercial basis. The shareholders are SIM, SPH, Singapore Technologies and Media One International, which is the third largest cable operator in the US.

SBA regulates SCV on its cable roll-out plan, programming standards, customer service and inter-connection issues but not the details of SCV subscription rates and cabling charges, which are quite complex. While SCV has been given exclusive franchise in the provision of subscription TV, this exclusivity is limited both in scope and in duration. Let me explain. As a TV distributor, SCV faces strong competition from the terrestrial channels provided by the SIM group of companies. SBA requires it to carry most of the terrestrial channels for free, which is an unusual practice in the cable TV business. SBA has also allowed SingTel to offer video on demand and other broadband services like Magix. SCV's monopoly position is therefore a limited one. SCV's exclusive franchise is for 7 years, in exchange for which it is required to wire up the entire island, regardless of take-up by Singaporeans. In some countries, such as in the US, cable operators may be given up to 15 years exclusive franchise for cabling up households above the ground. SCV is required to lay all cables underground which makes the undertaking much more costly.

SCV is aware from the very outset that its financial outlay will be considerable while its monopoly position is short. It knows that when its franchise ends in June 2002, the Government will be allowing other subscription TV services, both wired and wireless, including satellite, to operate here. SCV therefore cannot be complacent and its strategy is therefore to attract subscribers for the long term. Only if there are many long-term subscribers can SCV hope to recover its investment and make a decent return on shareholders' capital. SCV must therefore charge cable TV in a way which could win it a large base of loyal long-term customers.

The cost of cabling varies with the dwelling type. Hence, HDB flats are cheaper to cable up than private highrise which are in turn cheaper than landed properties. For landed properties, again it varies, whether it is a terrace or bungalow. SCV's cost of cabling up all HDB flats amounted to $242 million. They receive $60 million from HDB, being the amount HDB would have to pay itself had it continued maintaining and upgrading its existing central antenna system in HDB estates. This comes with the flat, and HDB has an obligation to provide and maintain it and upgrade it from time to time when new channels become available. What HDB has done is to pass this buck to SCV and to pay SCV the amount it calculates it has to pay anyway if it undertook the responsibility for itself. 5.30 pm

Neither HDB nor the Government subsidises SCV for cabling the estates. SCV decided that the difference of $182 million was worth incurring because of the advantage the large HDB customer base would give it over future competitors after its monopoly ends.

Condominium dwellers pay a rate of $150 for the first cable point or $240 for the first two cable points. The cost of external wiring amounting to some $25 million is absorbed fully by SCV.

For the cabling of landed properties, SCV decided to divide them into two groups. There are some 55,000 units, mostly terraces, semi-detached houses and small bungalows, which are located in or near mixed neighbourhoods, and they are near the main cable tap off points, so that they are easier to wire up. SCV's cost, on average, of cabling each of these homes, regardless of take-up, is about $2,300. This means that if one out of two homes subscribes to SCV, the cost of laying the cable per subscriber is $4,600, compared to the $2,300 which SCV charges per household.

There is another group of some 5,000 bungalows located in low-density areas further away from the main cable tap off points. The cost of cabling such homes on average is $8,000 per unit, again regardless of the take-up. And if one in two bungalows subscribes, the cost to cable each bungalow subscriber is in fact $16,000, because you have to go a long way to reach one home. But in order to make it more attractive for these households to subscribe, SCV decided to charge each of these households about $6,000 in 2- or 3-year instalments.

The cost to SCV of cabling up all landed properties is $177 million. Hence, at a 50% take-up rate, SCV would have to bear some $97 million in cabling costs for landed properties in Singapore. It is therefore completely untrue that landed property owners are subsidising condominium or HDB flat owners. SCV has decided to absorb a higher loss per household for landed properties as it believes that the take-up rate will be higher among such households. And this in fact has been borne out by their experience. According to SCV, the actual subscription rate is about 18% for HDB homes, less for 2- and 3-rooms, more for 4- and 5-rooms and Executive flats; 35% for private high-rise homes and about 40% for landed estates. This is actually an encouraging figure, given that our cable TV service started only in 1995. As a comparison, Hong Kong, which started its cable service in 1993 has a take-up rate of 24%. In the US, it took 50 years to reach a 70% take-up rate.

It would not have been desirable for SBA to regulate the prices charged by SCV. Too many factors were involved, too many assumptions would have to be made. SBA could at best have set ceiling rates based on infrastructural cost recovery, but as I have explained, SCV's charges are well below infrastructural cost recovery.

By September this year, SCV would have cabled up every home in Singapore. For landed property, this means a cable to the curbside. SCV would then position itself to take advantage of the broadband network SCV has laid, which is a valuable asset to SCV. Hence, in addition to subscription TV, SCV is working towards the commercial launch this year of a high-speed data service on cable modems, sometime at the end of this year. It is also working towards the provision of broadband services including integrated Internet telephony, video e-mail and video conferencing, and all these will help to make Singapore an IT hub in this part of the world. This is from the Government and the public perspective.

From SCV's perspective, however, it is still not clear at all whether or not it will make money. When it negotiated the terms of the deal with the Government, Internet was not yet a big factor. Now it is, and all the calculations would have been quite different had they known of Internet coming.

In the future, all kinds of digital services provided by different companies will be in fierce competition, and SCV will be one of many such competitors. I would also like to assure Mr Low Thia Khiang that even after Singapore has been wired up, free-to-air broadcast will continue because many of us are on the move, in trains, cars, buses. There will be wristwatch television sets or we may be in a boat. We may be in Johor or Batam.

Dr Ho Tat Kin welcomed the launch of Channel News Asia, but mentioned the reception problem faced by some of his residents in Toa Payoh East. The vast majority of Singapore homes are connected to the cable network and can already receive Channel News Asia on Channel 6. There are, however, about 800 HDB blocks which are unable to get Channel News Asia for up to three months, because they are either at the tail-end of cabling or undergoing HDB upgrading works. SCV and HDB are working very hard to complete all the necessary work as soon as possible. TCS is also working with the management of private high-rise homes on facilitating reception of Channel News Asia. Residents of landed homes can seek assistance from TCS if they encounter difficulties in receiving the new channel.

Dr Ho also asked whether CNA intends to go regional. CNA hopes to go up on satellite within a year if there is a regional market, which I think there should be. The Singapore International Foundation is also interested in folding all or part of Singapore international TV into Channel News Asia if it goes regional.

As for setting up a similar channel in Mandarin, TCS will consider it at a later stage if the commercial case for such a channel is strong. Channel News Asia does not receive additional funding from SBA for establishing this news service. So it is a commercial undertaking by TCS and the Government will not bail it out if it turns out to be a failure.

Mr Hawazi asked about the plan to establish the Malay Heritage Centre at Kampong Glam. I have on a number of occasions in this House mentioned that the Government would like to see the Istana at Kampong Glam converted into a Malay Heritage Centre. In May 1993 during the Budget debate, I informed the House that Mr Ridzwan Dzafir was chairing a working group to look into this. The working group subsequently made its recommendations and since then, we have had discussions with various Government agencies. And I am glad to now announce to the House that we are able to take concrete steps towards establishing this Centre. It has taken us some time but it has been worth the wait.

MITA will soon establish a Foundation to develop the Malay Heritage Centre. We will invite leaders from the Malay community and others who are able to contribute to take part. Mr Ridzwan Dzafir has kindly agreed to be the Chairman of the Foundation, and I do not think that we could have found a better man for the job. He is a Boyanese himself. He told me once that the island where his ancestors came from, Pulau Bawaen, in the Java Sea, has a little kampong called Sangapura, named after Singapore, because of the large number of Boyanese who migrated to Singapore.

The Foundation should aim to deepen our awareness of the history and culture of the Malays, and this heritage belongs not only to the Malay community but to all Singaporeans, to all of us. In this effort, we should take a wider view of the history of the Malays in the region and how the Malay community in Singapore has come to be.

The Government will provide two buildings in Kampong Glam for the Foundation to house the Centre, the Istana Kampong Glam as well as the building next to it, which is known as the Bendahara House. The Government has just gazetted Bendahara House today for acquisition for this purpose. The Istana Kampong Glam, on the other hand, is State property, and has been so since 1897. The Government will first restore and conserve these two historic buildings. MITA will bear the renovation costs. After restoration in about 2-3 years' time, the buildings will be handed over to the Foundation to run.

As I have announced to this House some years ago, the Government will provide a dollar-for-dollar matching grant of up to $2 million for the establishment of a Heritage Centre Endowment Fund. The Foundation will be encouraged to generate revenue of its own and to raise funds from corporate sponsors and from individuals. Support for the Foundation from the Malay community will be crucial to its success. And we hope that this Centre, when it is completed, will be a vibrant place which will engage Singaporeans and show the diversity of our heritage to the world. It should become one of our cultural anchor points, and it should also bring back life and activity to Kampong Glam.

The development of the Centre should reflect the history of Kampong Glam. Being the seat of Malay royalty, it existed before Raffles arrived. After 1819, the Malay community in Singapore grew rapidly and included Arabs, Indians, Indian Muslims, Javanese, Buginese, Banjaris, Boyanese and others. And indeed the sense of a mixed community with diverse heritage is still evident in Kampong Glam today, names like Arab Street and Bussorah Street. Separate sections in Kampong Glam accommodated different groups like Kampong Melaka, Kampong Java, Kampong Bugis. Till today, some of our best Padang restaurants by Minang people are still to be found there.

There are also Chinese stone masons and ironmongers, shopkeepers, making Kampong Glam a truly cosmopolitan district with its own distinct character. And nearby is the Sultan Mosque, which was planned for by Raffles, and it is interesting that till today, the trustees of the Mosque must include two North Indians, two South Indians, two Malays, two Javanese, two Buginese and two Arabs. So very early, the community decided that it must ensure wide representation. The Centre that we are establishing should somehow capture that old spirit, and through that old spirit, continue to link the Malay community in Singapore to all four corners of the Archipelago.

Kampong Glam is to the Malay Muslim community in Singapore what Chinatown is to the Chinese community. Just as many Chinese in Singapore can trace part of their ancestry back to Chinatown, many Malay Muslims in Singapore can trace part of their ancestry back to Kampong Glam. Recently, there was a bit of public commotion over STB's plan to redevelop Chinatown. It created some inconveniences to STB, but it was a very good debate, because it showed that Singaporeans have strong emotional bonds to the land, and are concerned about what for them is sacred ground should be treated. In fact, if Singaporeans had showed no interest to the way Chinatown was being redeveloped, then we should worry, because it would then mean that we are just a hotel for Singaporeans, and Singaporeans are themselves rootless citizens with no sense of where they come from and who they are. So, I hope that the establishment of the Malay Heritage Centre at the old Istana will anchor the living heritage of the Malay Muslim community in Singapore.

Mr Chew Heng Ching and Dr Ho Tat Kin have urged MITA to give more money to the arts, or to maintain the level of funding, because of the economic downturn. I was very worried last year that funding would dry up from the private sector, and some of our arts groups would suffer great pain. But, in fact, even though companies could afford less, many made a great effort to maintain the level of funding. Every year, I write letters to many corporations in Singapore, begging for money to support the annual festivals. Usually, whenever they can, whether in money or in kind, they would make the effort. What this shows is that the support for the arts in Singapore is no longer only by the Government but by a wide section of a community. But what the National Arts Council should do is to broaden this base further, and bring the arts to all housing estates, so that the arts are also local and indigenous in character, and in the process also widen the sponsorship base, the support base.

I have therefore asked the National Arts Council to seek out smaller donors and smaller sponsors, and which is why I was delighted by the proposal made by Mr Seng Han Thong and others that we should make the effort to win over local businessmen. Chinese operas, for a long time, back to colonial days, were supported by local temples, clan associations, small businessmen and, of course, seventh moon groups, which is why it is at the seventh moon that the most Chinese operas have traditionally been shown. So we should now find a way to build upon this fine tradition in the HDB setting; modernise it, build upon it so that our seventh moon groups, our local businessmen, our clan associations, will continue to support the arts in its various forms. But to do that, we must reciprocate and give national recognition. So the National Arts Council is now working out a system of award for community sponsors and donors who give money to the arts. Right now, arts patrons have to give a minimum of $50,000 in any one year. That is a little bit too much for community supporters. We need maybe a new category of awards for our community leaders so that every year those who have contributed and those who have made big bids at seventh moon auctions can then dress up and receive proper awards from maybe the Chairman of the National Arts Council or the Minister. I think this is a very good idea. I thank Mr Seng Han Thong for it. We will certainly work towards implementing it in the near future.

5.45 pm

Mr Goh Choon Kang said that the works of Pan Shou and other artists should be displayed in our museums and public places. This is a point also raised by Mr Peh Chin Hua. It is not always possible to have these works on permanent display because nowadays, and this is a worldwide trend, museums are like shopping centres. Each visit should be a different experience. When you enter the main hall, the main hall should look different after a few months. It should not be like in the old days when years after, people asked, "Did you see the whale bones up in the ceiling?" The artifacts were as permanent as they could be. We do not have many square metres of good museum spaces. So we have got to keep grabbing the attention of audiences so that they will come back again and again. They pass by, they have got a bit of spare time, it is raining outside, they say, "Let us go in and take a look. Maybe there is something on, something different." This is the way our museums will have to be, using multi-media, using modern marketing techniques in order to stay attractive and to stay relevant. So it is not easy for us to have a permanent display. Of course, if we have the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo, yes, I am sure there will be a permanent space for these things. But we have got to do it in a judicious way without boring Singaporeans or at the same time showing respect to those who have made very important contributions to the local arts scene.

But the proposal that we should try and rotate our exhibits around to the different Ministries and statutory boards is a good one. In fact, this has already been done. The museums run an arts bank and they rent out the exhibits, to MITA, to MTI or to some statutory boards, in return for which they curate, they do the wordings, they come and change the exhibits once every year or two for a fee. If private corporations are interested, I am quite sure the museums would be able to work out an attractive deal and an attractive package for them.

Pan Shou was not only a calligrapher. He was also a great poet. It is important that some of his poems are remembered by young Singaporeans. So the National Arts Council is working on a collection of his better poems which will be in the long Chinese form and in jianbizi with hanyu pinyin, with word by word translations, so that if you are a secondary school student, or if you are like me, trying to appreciate his poems, you do not have to take up a dictionary and check the meaning of words. Then it becomes too much of an effort. You sit down, you will be able to read, learn and enjoy the meaning and the spirit of the poem, in either English or Chinese. This is something which should be done this year.

Mr Shriniwas Rai urged MITA to preserve buildings and to have more plaques for historically important buildings. This is an on-going programme. What the Heritage Board together with the Heritage Society tries to do, every year, is to mark more sites in Singapore so that Singapore is an island littered with memories, our finger prints and the finger prints of our ancestors all over. A park is not just a park. A park was also the setting for some important events in the past. Then every place becomes an interesting place, otherwise we build something, we clear it, we build something else, we are no better than a theme park or a hotel. If we keep on doing that, without leaving behind memories, without planting our roots, Singapore will never become a home for Singaporeans. This is a work of generations. Every year we must do some and I thank Mr Rai for his excellent suggestion.

Of course, what we do for Singaporeans we are proud to show to tourists. If we can make some money for the tourism industry, that is wonderful. Which is why the Singapore Tourism Board supports many heritage projects. In many countries, heritage tourism is important. You read a brochure, it says, "Second World War fortification, the Percival Headquarters for Southeast Asia, come take a look." A tourist may be attracted to spend an additional half-a-day or a day in order to explore the fortification. That is good business for hotels, for shopkeepers, for restaurants, for businessmen who sell souvenirs.

Mr Chuang Shaw Peng gave a very thoughtful contribution on the relationship between culture and entrepreneurship. He was very unhappy with the fact that sometimes we look down on our own values, that anything associated with Confucianism must be bad. We have many western friends who also tell us that we have inherited bad values and bad habits from our own past, which we should shed quickly, and perhaps become more like them. That is not a very historical view of things. Of course, there were things in our Confucianist past for Chinese Singaporeans which held us back, like the treatment of women, foot binding, the emplacement of businessmen at the bottom of the social totem pole. All that kept back the development of enterprise and the development of a free business spirit. But there were other aspects of our ancestral culture which are valuable to us and which account for a lot of the success of Singapore today, our high savings rate, our emphasis, almost obsession, with education, strong family unit, hard work, thrift, in fact, values which we cling on even more dearly in a crisis. Those things we should not lightly weaken.

Mr Chuang talked about how Chinese and Indian groups perform differently in different settings. There is a cultural impulse which is a potential and in certain political settings, the potential flowers, blooms, like in Silicon Valley, like in Hong Kong, like in Taiwan, like in Singapore. In other settings, like under socialism in India, or communism in China, it was suppressed. So before the war, Shanghai, when it was mostly foreign concessions, was the greatest city in all of Asia. Under communism, it became gray and dark. With reform and opening up, it is blossoming again. This shows that the underlying cultural potential was always there, which is why I am not particularly concerned that we have no entrepreneurial spirit in Singapore. It is in our history, it is in our culture, it is in our blood. But what we must do is to ensure that our rules and regulations better enable this entrepreneurial spirit to come forth in the new high-tech knowledge economic setting. This is, of course, what the Technopreneurship 21 Committee is about, and about which I spoke a bit this morning during the debate on MTI.

The Chairman: Order. General Yeo, we are running short of time.

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: I will now ask Mr Yatiman to answer some of the other questions on the Red Lion symbol and the film industry.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Mr Chairman, do I have your permission to seek just one clarification?

The Chairman: Make it very short because we are really very short of time.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: I would like to ask the Minister: was controlling what should be transmitted to the homes and be viewed by Singaporeans uppermost in the Government's mind when deciding to wire up the whole nation by cable rather than allowing Singaporeans to have direct access to international channels freely via the satellite dish?

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Sir, satellite dishes are not as convenient as Mr Low may think. Satellite dishes require line of sight, which means you cannot have it if you live in a high-rise apartment block. If you have one satellite dish, you access one satellite, you may not get all the channels that you want. Furthermore, even after you have got the satellite dish, you have still to cable it to your home. So it is not as if satellite represents a cheap alternative. It is far better for us, economically speaking, to see the whole of Singapore as one large condominium satellite with big satellite dishes pulling down channels from all over the world and then feeding it through a cable system and through wireless systems to different households, office blocks, schools and so on. This was the model that we adopted.

Would we allow the free use of satellite one day? We already allow it for banks and companies. We have decided to hold back on households in order to buy ourselves more time for local programming to take root. We also wanted to make sure that extreme broadcasts which are pornographic or inflammatory in a racial or religious sense are kept out. Of course, a cable system, if there is a national emergency, or if there is an SAF mobilisation, is very useful for these purposes.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Information and the Arts (Encik Yatiman Yusof): On the millennium celebrations, I think Mr Chew is right in saying that, strictly speaking, the new millennium is not in the Year 2000, but in the Year 2001. Even a person like Arthur C. Clarke, the famous science fiction writer, feels so strongly about people calling next year a new millennium that he issued a public statement to correct it because the Gregorian calendar starts with Year 1 and not Year 0. The 21st century does not actually begin until 1st January 2001. Nonetheless, the year 2000 has a profound psychological effect on many of us and our sense of time. Most countries have indicated that they would celebrate the millennium. Do we intend to do so? Yes. Together with the rest of the world, Singapore will welcome the new year with a host of events. MITA is coordinating these events, which are organised by both public and private sectors. Starting this month, they will span 18 months. These events will mostly ride on existing programmes such as the Arts Festival, the National Day Parade and the usual year-end light-ups and countdown shows. The incremental expenditure should not be significant.

President Ong will launch the Singapore Millennium 2000 Logo on 20th March 1999 together with Singapore's Millennium website. The logo will serve as a visual unifier for the whole range of nation wide celebrations, with its accompanying slogan "A Shared Heritage, A Common Vision". Some of the other activities include commemorative markers, such as time capsule, sculpture and a Millennium clock. Millennium coins and stamps and a new series of currency notes will also be issued. A number of countdown shows at various parts of the island are also being planned. These bashes will set the mood for Singaporeans to ring in the new century as one people. Details of the festivities have been announced and reported in both local and foreign media. Time magazine, Sir, for instance, carried a positive report on our proposed festivities. This is the report [indicating] that appeared in the Time magazine. And may I ask the Clerk of Parliament to distribute them to hon. Members? [Copies of report distributed to hon. Members.] More information will be found in the Millennium website and released to the media in the course of the year. 6.00 pm

On the promotion of film industry, Mr Chew Heng Ching and Mr Shriniwas Rai spoke of promising prospects of the local film industry and called for more incentives to help film makers. Mr Peh Chin Hua said that TCS should produce more local films and show them in cinemas.

With the success of Money No Enough last year, things are looking good for our local film industry. Liang Po Po made quite a successful debut recently, and it is reported that 12 other films will be released this year. Incentives such as the Pioneer Incentive Scheme and the Development and Expansion Incentive, which allow tax holiday of 5% to 10%, or a reduced tax rate, have been offered. A few companies were awarded these incentives in the early 1990s but there were not enough films being made then. Today, there is greater optimism. People are seeking for new ideas, looking for new locations, trying to angle into the new growing industry.

On our part, the Singapore Film Commission has set up committees to help film makers. A Funding Committee will invest up to $1 million on four feature films and $200,000 on 40 short films every year. It recently awarded some $300,000 to two local film-makers, quite a big amount for our standard. The Film Commission will also support the development of good scripts. Noted script doctors have been invited to run script seminars and script laboratories in Singapore to encourage the growth or the production of better script writers.

A Facilitation Committee will help film-makers by making it easier for them to obtain permits for location shooting and other necessary requirements from Government and statutory boards. This Committee will also help run courses to educate film-makers on the legal and business aspects of film-making. They are also looking to develop and widen the pool of technicians, such as lighting and camera people.

Mr Rai said that he was impressed by what he saw and what the Australians are doing. In actual fact, we have sent a study group to places outside Singapore, including Australia. So the Film Commission, from the experience of the visits that were made, will work with the Economic Development Board and the relevant agencies to help the industry such as in the setting up of post-production facilities and granting of further tax incentives.

We must remember that world-wide, film-making is a risky business as no one can predict whether a film will succeed or fail at the box office. But I am hopeful that with proper planning and encouragement, Singapore can become a regional centre for the film industry.

With regard to Mr Peh's comment on TCS' film-making venture, we welcome the move. TCS' Raintree company, which has widely advertised in our local TV, has produced its first movie Liang Po Po, which was a success at the box office. There is certainly synergy between the TV and film industries, not just in terms of the common pool of talent and actors that they all share, but also in terms of the supporting industries. TCS' move will therefore result in a more vibrant media scene. MITA, of course, will continue giving its support wherever it can.

On the Red Lion National icon, Dr Toh See Kiat feels that there is a need to regulate the use of the Lion icon, which is our national icon. The Singapore Lion symbol, introduced in 1986, has been widely publicised, used and accepted as our national symbol. It is included in MITA's National Symbols kit where guidelines on its use are given. The symbol is already protected under Rule 14 of our Trade Marks Rules and internationally under Article 6 of the Paris Convention. Only Government organisations are allowed to use the symbol. Other organisations wishing to use the symbol must seek MITA's permission. We are constantly looking at ways to promote its usage in keeping with its image as our national symbol.

Dr Ho Tat Kin: Sir, I want to talk on dialect broadcasting. With news being broadcast in dialect, our senior citizens are now kept well informed of local international developments. What is more important is that the senior citizens are able to understand Government policies from news which they can hear for themselves rather than having to listen to third party translations, which very often are not the exact. Dialect news broadcast has been well received. Currently, with cable TV, there is sufficient bandwidth to provide more dialect programmes for old people. MITA could encourage more dialect programmes to be broadcast, especially in the day time, for senior citizens, as it is the time when their children are at work and senior citizens need entertainment. Dialect opera and classic movies will be welcome.

With the current widespread use of Mandarin among the younger generation, the problem of dialect diluting Mandarin will be non-existent. I hope the Minister can consider this suggestion.

Sir, I go on to digital broadcasting. To position at the forefront of technology, we are committed to embrace new technology and continue to improve all forms of services for Singaporeans. This is the same for broadcasting. Digital audio broadcast (DBA) is the latest buzzword in the radio industry and has been labelled the sound of the future offering interference-free, CD quality sound, graphic pictures and text information in addition to audio signals. This means useful information like traffic and weather reports, headline news, including leisure and financial information, can be transmitted via DBA for listeners' benefit.

SBA has announced Singapore's commitment to implement digital radio and digital TV. These are key technologies which will propel the local broadcasting industry into the digital age. This will give consumers more programming choices, offer newsreels for broadcast and enhance Singapore's position as a broadcasting hub. Digital audio broadcast has been launched on a limited scale. I believe we have offered Asia's first digital audio broadcast service.

May I ask the Minister what is the result of this launch and when will the full launch be implemented? I would also like to ask the Minister the results of the digital television test to study the three technical standards currently available. Has a conclusion been reached as to which standard is most suitable for Singapore? When will digital television be rolled out eventually and how long will it be before analogue TV is phased out totally?

Mr Chew Heng Ching: Sir, the importance of Internet has been recognised by the Government for some time now. And I am proud to say that Singapore is widely recognised by the international community as being at the forefront of developing an intelligent island, with the various initiatives such as Singapore One project.

Sir, our current approach to tackling the Internet problem is a multi-agency one. We have progressed thus far with various initiatives by the universities to promote the teaching and usage of Internet, Ministry of Education on the teaching of Internet among students in schools, EDB working with business community to promote e-commerce and to develop web-related businesses, NCB on developing an Internet culture, and the Singapore Broadcasting Authority on the regulation of Internet, and so on. Like it or not, Internet has become part and parcel of our life, be it at work, at home, or in dealing with the Government. This current multi-agency approach to tackling the Internet problem may not be a good one. I feel a need for an overall body to coordinate the regulation, promotion, development, teaching and the usage of Internet in Singapore. This will help ensure that our limited resources are not duplicated and that there is a more coordinated approach to achieve Internet development, instead of just leaving it to individual agencies to chart up individual road maps which may not have the same benefits as a more systematic coordinated plan in place for the whole country.

Sir, I am glad that the Minister for Finance had two days ago announced the possibility of forming an IT coordinating body comprising NCB, TAS and SBA. I would like to propose that this body take on the task of promoting, regulating and developing the Internet industry. I would venture to suggest that this body comes under the purview of MITA, the Ministry in charge of information. I would like the Minister's comment on this.

Dr Toh See Kiat: Sir, since I entered this House in 1997, I have been calling for the establishment of a Ministry to deal with the multifarious aspects of information technology policy planning and development in Singapore. Recently I was fortified in my stand by the discovery that the outgoing Chief Executive of the National Computer Board, Mr Stephen Yeo, shared my view. I was equally encouraged by Mrs Yu-Foo's call in this House on Monday for a Ministry of IT Power. I am thus no longer a lone voice in the wilderness. To top it all, the Minister for Finance's reply to her was the most encouraging piece of news I have had this year. Yes, even though the Government is not convinced that a Ministry for IT (by whatever name it is called) is needed, it has acknowledged that some streamlining of the regulatory agencies is possible.

The difficulties of pigeon-holing different aspects of IT policy to different agencies and Ministries is exemplified by my recent call in this House for the regulation of Internet Relay Chat facilities. I had been alarmed to hear that two girls had been raped and/or molested.

I want to move on to say that when I asked the question on the Internet Relay Chat facilities, I had asked for clarification from at least two Ministries. Actually I had even thought of filing a Question for the third Ministry because this had to do with communication infrastructure. I do remember that last year when the APEC Ministers discussed electronic commerce, we were represented by Mr Mah Bow Tan, who is the Minister for Communications, even though electronic commerce is more an issue which is governed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the National Computer Board which is an agency under MTI.

By the way, even though I do disagree somewhat with the Minister's reply earlier in this House that IRCs cannot be regulated, I think more education can be given to get parents to know that uncontrolled Internet use by their children can lead to problems and they must actually not use the excuse that they know nothing about Internet and ignore what the children do.

I can also suggest that perhaps we have this special service which currently is only operated by SingNet but we can open it, maybe even on a mandatory basis, to all the Internet Service Providers, and this Family Safe Internet Service would not only screen off pornography for children but also other things like Internet Relay Chat facilities that parents can switch off if they do not consider it wholesome for their children.

Like all technology, the Internet can be used for good as well as for bad. We need to avoid what Dr Lee Tsao Yuan has called "kiasu" regulation yesterday in this House.

The Chairman: Order. There are only two or three minutes left. BG Yeo, do you want to reply or you want the Member to carry on speaking with no reply?

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Sir, perhaps I can seize the opportunity of the 2 minutes left to give quick replies to the questions raised so far, rather than have all the questions with none of the answers.

The Chairman: Yes. I think it is better that way.

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Dr Ho Tat Kin's question on dialect programming on SCV, I think SBA will consider having more daylight dialect programmes for elderly Singaporeans. That we will do.

On digital audio broadcasting, it is already available. The trade launch has been done, and the commercial launch should be in July this year. We will see how the market develops. Digital television will commence as early as next year or the year after. Analogue TV will continue for a long, long time to come.

Mr Chew Heng Ching asked whether, whatever this new agency we are creating on information technology, it should be located in MITA. I do not think MITA will be a good place to locate such an agency, because regulating the technical aspects of telecommunication and information technology is a big job which is best given to a technical Ministry rather than to MITA. MITA will continue to be interested in social and cultural content, both its regulation and its promotion, in conformance with our policies on censorship, language or whatever.

The Chairman: Order. It is 6.15 pm.

Mr Chew Heng Ching: It was a lively debate. I have one cut which I have no chance to talk. I will raise it as a Question for Oral Answer at a subsequent sitting. With that, I withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $195,007,210 for Head R ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $174,697,300 for Head R ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

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

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1999/2000, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 15th March, 1999.

Mr Deputy Speaker: So be it.