HIDDEN_HEAD I - MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SPORTS

Column: 1935

Head I - Ministry of Community Development and Sports

Mr Charles Chong (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, I beg to move,

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

Social Assistance

Sir, the last few years had been challenging for many Singaporeans affected by the economic downtown and restructuring of the economy. The Government, in response, had initiated numerous social assistance programmes such as the Rent and Utilities Assistance Scheme, the Centre-Based Financial Assistance Scheme, the Student-Care Fee Assistance Scheme, Interim Financial Assistance Scheme, and the CCC Assistance Scheme. More recently, it introduced the Work Assistance Programme, the Home Ownership Plus Education Scheme and the Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme.

Could the Minister provide the House with an update on the number of Singaporeans who have benefited from such social assistance schemes, and how much money had already been disbursed? Sir, several of these social assistance schemes appear to be interim handouts to enable needy families to tide over a difficult period of economic downturn. However, there are early signs of economic recovery and some companies are starting to hire again. Would the Minister consider rationalising the many social assistance schemes that were

Column: 1936

mentioned earlier to better help needy families attain self-reliance? The focus must be on mutual obligation with financial assistance tied to active job search and skills upgrading for employability.

However, there may be families who may not be able to seek immediate employment or undergo skills training for various reasons, such as having to take care of young children at home while the main breadwinner is incarcerated or incapacitated. These families may require longer term social assistance. Could the Minister tell us if there are any avenues for assistance available for such families and whether his Ministry would review if there are gaps in the social safety net?

Disabled

Could the Minister update the House on what new support programmes and initiatives his Ministry will be providing for the disabled Singaporeans, especially to children with special needs? Could the Minister also tell us what is being done to better support and advise parents and families who have disabled family members? Sir, it is the stated objectives of this Government to make mainstream public transportation progressively more accessible to the disabled. Could the Minister tell us if any progress has been made in this area?

Mdm Cynthia Phua (Aljunied): The Government’s policy on people with disabilities is that they should have the opportunities to achieve their potential and be independent, where possible, and should be integrated in society, where feasible and practical. They are also encouraged to live within the community, and admissions to institutions should be the last resort. Their care and welfare should also be everyone’s concern - the family, community and the Government. In providing services for them, the Government has adopted a many-helping-

Column: 1937

hands approach, involving the citizenry, the Government and the voluntary sector. The Government also works closely with the National Council of Social Services. My main two concerns are basically the disability of the children. Many of them have to wait in long queues for the special needs, for detection, as well as for intervention. I would like the Minister to tell us how long is the queue for these special schools and, at the same time, because of the medical advancement, it is easy to detect conditions such as dyslexia and autism. I would like to know the Ministry’s direction on these two children’s conditions and their early detection.

11.45 am

Mr S Iswaran (West Coast): Sir, I believe that in the area of services to support the disabled, there is considerable scope for intermediation. What do I mean by that? On the demand side, as it were, there are people with disabilities in a wide range of categories. These are physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities and, often, a combination of these. The parents and the family members of these individuals need to be able to diagnose their needs, and to be able to come up with some kind of customised response to their educational development and, ultimately, some kind of social integration needs of these individuals.

On the supply side, we have a whole range of voluntary welfare organisations who have come up with various programmes with the support of MCDS in many instances. The Ministry has also come up with various programmes of its own to support the disabled. The clear need here is for the parents and care givers of the disabled to be fully informed first on what resources are available in the general community in Singapore to help them in their efforts to help their own

Column: 1938

disabled member of the family. At the same time, the earlier that they are able to access such resources in order to diagnose or assess the needs and involve that individual in an appropriate programme, I think the better the chances that that individual will be able to realise his or her full potential.

Sir, I would like to ask what programme or plan the Ministry has to provide such an intermediation service, so that it serves as a national or central information and referral resource, not just for individual families but also for agencies that are involved in helping the disabled.

Mrs Fang Ai Lian (Nominated Member): Sir, I would also like to speak for people, kids as well as adults with disabilities. I would like to touch on autism, as an example.

Earlier this year, a new school was opened for kids with autism. I think it is very commendable because it marks a recognition that we do have a problem in our midst and also that we have reached a stage in terms of our national development to be able to commit resources for minority groups with disabilities.

Sir, this school will provide some new 400 places. It will cut the queue somewhat. It should be noted that this is not an isolated effort. In fact, it is part of a bigger effort to cater more to the needs of people affected with autism and other disabilities. But despite the fact that we are creating more places, the demand is still there because the incidence has gone up by a great deal. Two decades ago, we were talking about one in 2,000. But now, given the fact that awareness is on the high side, we are talking about one in 250.

I wonder whether we could approach the problem with a little bit of innovation

Column: 1939

and creativity, and whether we could integrate children with special needs with the regular kids. This means that our schools can cater for both, have special classes with specially trained teachers to look after the special kids and for the less intellectually demanding subjects, they could be integrated. Social workers believe that this could be a better approach, because for one thing, on the cost side, it is cheaperthan to build new schools to cater for this need and also less expensive for affected families to be ferrying their kids around. But more importantly, it will foster a spirit of having this mingling between special kids and regular kids, and for the regular kids to accept that this is part and parcel of society. So, I would like to ask both agencies, the MCDS as well as MOE, to think of more creative ways to cater for the needs of our special people, not only the kids but also adults. And it is really the adults perhaps. We could also think of new ways of approaching the issue because there is certainly a bigger gap there too.

Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, this is a follow up to the issues my parliamentary colleagues and I had raised last year on affordable public transport scheme for the disabled. This is just a follow-up question and, hopefully, the response from the Minister will be more hopeful this time round.

What is the progress made to provide affordable public transport services for people with disabilities as well as for older persons?

Integrated Childcare

Mr Iswaran: Sir, the integrated childcare centre programme provides childcare options for parents who have young children with special needs. There are two aspects to this in terms of how it benefits the family. One is for the

Column: 1940

parents. It gives them some relief and enables, in most cases, the mother to also find productive employment if she so desires. On the other hand, for the children, it provides a conducive developmental environment in which to realise his or her potential.

I would like to find out from the Minister how many such integrated childcare centres we have today, and what the take-up rate has been. And, importantly, I would also like to like to know how these integrated childcare centres dovetail into the mainstream education system, especially in schools, since the intentmust be for these children to be part of integrated childcare centres with a view to entering into mainstream schools. I would like to know how that connectivity has been established and how it is working in practice.

Family Support

Mr Gan Kim Yong (Holland-Bukit Panjang): (In Mandarin) : Sir, from statistics, we notice that there is a decline in family cohesion in society, problems like divorce, problem children and family violence are on the increase. These are matters of great concern to us.

In my constituency, many residents came to see me at the meet-the-people session with all kinds of family problems. Some are separated, some are divorced, and they have other related problems coming their way. Because of these family problems, many suffer from financial hardship, children find themselves lagging behind in their studies. If we do not nip the problem in the bud, I think such problems will be aggravated.

We should conduct a survey on the status of our voluntary organisations, Family Service Centres and counselling centres to see if they have enough facilities and resources to give them the

Column: 1941

necessary capacity to help those who need counselling. In Chinese, counselling is fu dao . Literally, fu means to assist and complement, while dao means to direct and guide. If counselling is conducted properly and professionally, then it would become fu dao , meaning helping to collapse.

We need to have professional and proper Family Service Centres manned by variousdifferent models with different targets.

Sir, of course, they have different levels of resources. We must also review the kind of services that can achieve the objectives set out. I would like to ask the Minister whether he has new models to help the critical families in crisis by offering them better services. With all the changes in this world, the nature of family problems is also changing. So it is time for us to conduct a review.

Apart from official family centres, we also encourage registered societies and religious organisations to promote family cohesion. I think this is very important. Families normally would not go and seek help until they are already in deep trouble. Then, it may beto remedy the situation. So if we can take preventive measures to prevent the problems from being aggravated, then we would have better chances of success in dealing with them. We must have channels for them to approach for help. Community organisations and religious bodies are the best channels. I hope that we can look into the possibility of engaging these organisations in the effort to improve our services to the families in trouble.

Thirdly, we can also go to the schools to conduct seminars and talks for the parents. Normally, when such seminars are conducted by the schools, the parents would be more enthusiastic in attending.

Column: 1942

So, this is one possibility which we can look into. By enhancing family cohesion, the environment would be more conducive for the children's education.

Fourthly, we can make it mandatory for divorce petitioners to go for counselling so that they know what the consequences of his or her intended divorce would be, and in the process see if something could be done to salvage the marriage.

No doubt, no matter how hard we try, it is just not possible for us to solve all the problems of the families. But, we should at least try and minimise the problems and lighten the grievances of the members of the family in such family crisis.

Assistance Schemes

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam (Nominated Member): Sir, it is commendable that there are many financial schemes available to help people in need. I have spoken on this issue before and I will reiterate the points made perhaps in the last discussion.

The various assistance schemes use many indicators, which is good. But could the Ministry please explain why indicators on income too need to vary across the schemes? For instance, fee assistance for student care and in others, such as the centre-based financial assistance scheme for childcare, in one instance, it is household income of $1,500 per month, and the other, it is gross monthly income. My concern is how then does the Ministry get a real picture of who is the person in need and how to identify the real poor person. Would it not be a better prospect to standardise at least on the common indicator of income?

Secondly, certain schemes such as HOPE and the Work Assistance Programme are conditional in that the family or the individual needs to attend

Column: 1943

training. This is good and it is a good demand made on the individual or the family. However, in spite of all the cooperation given by the individual or the family and still things do not move for the family, I need to know how does the scheme apply to them.

Thirdly, how are these schemes managed at the agency level? What kind of quality control measures are there in place across the CDCs and VWOs to ensure that families do not hop across the financial schemes, and also thatthis assistance is managed holistically? For these various schemes, is there a confidential database on applicants and their progress?

Lastly, there are plenty of schemes, which is well and good, and websites too are up. However, sometimes the person in need needs to know what these are and how to access them in a more fundamental way beyond the website.

Could the Minister please enlighten?

Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Sir, I would just like to reinforce the points made by hon. Members, Mr Charles Chong and Ms Braema, and to say that whilst we have a lot of these schemes which help the traditional poor, the new poor and those with temporary hardships, the existence of all these separate schemes makes it difficult for the public to actually understand and to utilise them in a holistic manner. My understanding is that whilst there are computerised data systems existing among the CDCs - the NCSS is also having one for the VWOs - these systems are not common. They cannot talk to each other. So, we have issuesof checking and monitoring usage and how do we extend the help given to more people in a more efficient manner. I would like to ask the Minister whether he could enlighten uson what his Ministry is doing toovercome the information gap.

Column: 1944

Mr A Nithiah Nandan (Nominated Member): Sir, in the past couple of years, Singapore had gone through a number of economic downturns. These downturns have resulted in misplacing many workers from their jobs. Not only workers have been retrenched but their families have also been affected. Globalisation and the emergence of very aggressive new entrants in the economic arena add quite an impact on the type of investments and jobs Singapore could attract. This has greatly affected especially those who are in jobs in the lower end of the employment market. In a way, it has created a further problem to two main groups: one is those who have been incapacitated for one reason or another - the aged, the very poor and the under-employed. The other group belongs to the very low income and who are unable to make ends meet due to the income they could command in a depressed job market, besides having to support a larger family.

12.00 noon

Sir, when we talk about a strong society, we should not only be focusing on our ability to increase material wealth but, equally, we should have the will and care for the underprivileged and less fortunate amongst our society. Hence, we should ethically help these Singaporeans.

The Government recently announced a 2% cut in the budgets of the Ministries this year, and a further 2% cut next year. In view of this cut, I wish to ask the Minister whether his Ministry would be more stringent in providing public assistance to the first group I mentioned, and financial or other assistance schemes to the second group. I wish to also ask the Minister whether the 2% cut will have an impact in further enhancing the public assistance scheme or other schemes in place. Will there be any improvements to the public assistance scheme this year?

Column: 1945

Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Project

Mr Ahmad Khalis Bin Abdul Ghani (Hong Kah): Sir, the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) project was launched last year, sometime in August. The HOPE project has been around for several months. Since then, I would like to know how many people have applied and how many of them were granted assistance under this scheme. Could the Minister also give us some figures and profiles of the kind of people that have been successful? It might be a bit too early now, but could the Minister also give us a sense of how the project has changed the lives of these successful applicants? What about those who were rejected? What has happened to them now? Are they referred to some other schemes or were they just rejected and left to seek their own means elsewhere?

I would also like to ask whether HOPE can be extended to families with three children. Presently, it is only restricted to families with two children or less. I understand that there is a concern of us not giving wrong signals to the low income families. But if the number is not too large and if the difference that we can make to them, on the good side, is much greater and far outweighs the disadvantage of giving some wrong signals to a small number of families, could we not extend the HOPE project and give hope to these families as well?

The Minister for Community Development and Sports (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Sir, let me begin by thanking the hon. Member Mr Charles Chong, GPC Chairman for MCDS, and other hon. Members for speaking in support of what we do at MCDS. I know they have some queries. But before I address these queries, with your

Column: 1946

permission, Sir, may I make a few preliminary comments.

Sir, what we do at MCDS is that side of the work of Government – and of our many like-minded partners – that may not look flashy or fashionable. The work that our social workers and many thousands of volunteers do to bring cheer to the lives of their fellow Singaporeans, in fact, rarely makes the headlines, especially in an era where news means shocks and scandals. So we do not see the man who helps out regularly at an old age home near his flat, being splashed on the front page of our local newspapers. Nor do we see the social worker who goes out of her way to help a family to become independent, making the top news item on TV. And what about the concerned executive who takes it upon himself to play matchmaker for his colleagues, and the couple eventually got married and today are proud parents of a young child? Sir, he, too, did not make the headlines. But these individuals are real and they bring about positive change, and they are the nurturers of our society. They are the kind of people who in their own quiet way make Singapore a better place for all of us.

Sir, our work is about people and how we can work with ordinary Singaporeans to make Singaporeans feel at home – where people of all ages and abilities work, live and play as healthy and constructive citizens, where family life is warm and loving, and where the sense of community is compassionate and dynamic. Sir, what we do is to re-ignite in the hearts of Singaporeans their natural desire to help others to do well in their own lives.

2003 was, indeed, a very challenging year. It was the "best of times and the worst of times". When I stood before this House last year, the war on Iraq had just started. Just as we were pondering about how that would affect our economy and

Column: 1947

our lives, an unseen enemy appeared in the form of SARS. SARS not only disrupted our economy; but it made us fear for our very own lives. It was already a time when many Singaporeans were struggling to cope with pay-cuts and retrenchments. Indeed, 2003 jolted us out of our comfort zones and forced us to confront a volatile future. From this perspective, Sir, it was, indeed, the "worst of times".

But far from succumbing, we rose to the occasion. Many selfless individuals came forward to help the Government and healthcare professionals in our fight against SARS. That deep sense of unity was reflected in the overwhelming response that we got from the Fabric of the Nation project that was launched soon after. The patchwork project was an indication of the hope our people of all walks of life – young and old, living here and abroad - have for Singapore.

Despite the fact that we also had to tighten our belts last year, Singaporeans gave generously from their hearts to those who were more in need. The President's Challenge, which is an annual fundraiser for several charities, raised $9.2 million in 2003, much higher than the $6.3 million in 2002. To the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, Singaporeans contributed $3.4 million which helps over 7,000 school-going children. The Community Chest raised $40 million, in line with the past years. So, 2003, Sir, was, indeed, the "best of times". It proved that we stick together in both good and bad times, and that the human spirit can, indeed, triumph in adversity.

Sir, as a Singaporean, I am very proud to say we came through the many challenges a more cohesive and resilient society. We may have all different strengths and aptitudes and, indeed, different individual interests. But we acted in the common interest, we responded as one people, as "Team Singapore".

Column: 1948

But we need not wait, and we cannot afford to wait, for another crisis to rally Singaporeans. The economic prospects may have brightened. But we know that the economy will continue to be volatile, and jobs no longer as secure as they were in the past. To thrive in an uncertain future, Singaporeans must be even more self-reliant and resilient. So, even as we try to catch our breath after an eventful 2003, my Ministry will continue to devote ourselves to nurturing this spirit of unity and resilience, and strengthen Team Singapore.

Teamwork shows up most clearly in sports. Sir, yourself being a sports person, you will understand this. Sports plays an important role in a resilient and cohesive society. Participation in sports, even for amateurs such as myself, helps develop focus, discipline and a fighting spirit. Furthermore, sports bring people together and foster national pride, as I saw in the recent SEA Games. Indeed, it builds character - both among individuals and for the nation. Since the adoption of Committee on Sporting Singapore's report in 2001, we have made encouraging progress. For example, we have set up the Sports School to nurture our young sports talent. It is now a good 10 weeks for the students and parents and they are, indeed, very happy. Mr Yap Koon Hong, Straits Times' sports editor and the father of a netballer, commented recently that the Sports School, and I quote, "is re-shaping young hearts and minds about winning; not as a statistic, but as a personal journey towards excellence." I will be happy to share more on the Sports School and other key developments with Members later.

Indeed, ensuring that all young Singaporeans have the determination and opportunity to reach their potential is crucial. To succeed, our young must have hope for a brighter future, and the tenacity to get up and move on should

Column: 1949

they fall. In fact, one perspective is that even the act of walking from one point to another is actually a series of arrested falls. Above all, our youth must be engaged with the community and rooted to our nation. Without them, there will be no future Singapore. At last year's Committee of Supply, I said that my Ministry would lead an inter-ministry review to better co-ordinate youth programmes. Sir, I will elaborate later on some of these efforts.

Sir, in the Budget debate, and in fact today, several MPs had raised concerns about the impact of Government budget cuts on social assistance. I am warmed by the concern many Members of this House have expressed for the needy. Indeed, ours is a caring society. Those who need help are neither ignored nor forgotten.

Let me assure this House that all Singaporeans – individuals and families – who are genuinely in need will receive assistance. No one will be turned away on grounds of limited funds. Over the past three years, our expenditure on social assistance has doubled – from $15 million in FY2001 to $30 million in FY2003. For the coming financial year, we have set aside $36 million.

Likewise, my Ministry will continue to support and sustain funding to voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) this year. We did not reduce our funding to VWOs when the employer's CPF rate was cut in October last year. On the contrary, our funding for VWOs' operations has increased by 60% from $35 million in 2001 to $56 million in 2003. For 2004, we will be setting aside $64 million.

Sir, as we navigate the less certain waters ahead, we are mindful of those who will be affected by economic

Column: 1950

restructuring or other unfortunate surprises. They may need to find new jobs, acquire new skills or even rebuild their lives. Those who are able to help themselves should certainly do so. But there will be some who need a helping hand to get up and be back on course. To help them, the Ministry works with VWOs that operate Family Service Centres. These VWOs are a dedicated lot. Some like Beyond Social Services have taken a client-centred approach and implemented initiatives that help lower income families solve issues and work towards independence. My Ministry's aim is a targeted and effective social safety net that helps them become self-reliant again. In other words, ours will be a safety net that gets the needy out of trouble, but not have them entangled in the net.

My Ministry will continue to refine our social safety net. We will do so in line with a few key principles. Allow me toelaborate on these principles, Sir.

First, social assistance must continue to uphold the work ethic. Our schemes must help Singaporeans who are fit to work achieve self-sufficiency again. Second, there should be an element of mutual obligation and personal responsibility. Those who receive assistance must help themselves and play their part in making the necessary adjustments. Third, we will continue to invest in preventive programmes. We will help low-income families build up their capacity and ensure that they help their children take advantage of available educational opportunities.

Sir, in line with these policy thrusts, MCDS introduced three new social assistance programmes last year. Mr Charles Chong and other Members have asked for an update on these programmes. Allow me to give anupdateontheseprogrammes.

Column: 1951

Work Assistance Programme

The first is the Work Assistance Programme (or WAP) introduced last October to help low-income Singaporeans tide over periods of unemployment and return to the workforce. The Community Development Councils (CDCs) have been very busy – all the five Mayors - helping applicants since the scheme was launched. We have received over 4,000 applications. By February this year, about 2,100 Singaporeans have benefited from the scheme. Some of the remaining applications are still being processed. Of the approved applications, over 40% of the beneficiaries have been successfully placed in employment.

One of the beneficiaries is a 40-year-old man by the name of Mr Tan Chor Nam. I just want to cite an example. He lost his job last year because the company closed down. He was working in the food industry as an operations personnel staff. But he did not give up. He approached South West CDC, got assistance, got onto WAP. He got some money in order to help his family tide over as he went for retraining. And he was placed as a trainee baker in November last year. Today, I understand Mr Tan is very happy with his current job. He is an example of an older worker who is prepared to make a career switch and moderate his expectations. I wish him well, Sir.

_HOPE & KiFAS _

Sir, the second programme is the Home Ownership Plus Education scheme, or HOPE for short, announced by the Prime Minister last August. HOPE, as you know, Sir, aims to help young, low income families become independent by providing them with a package of assistance including education, housing and training grants. The couples have to play their part in keeping their marriage strong and family size small. Mr Ahmad Khalis has asked for an update on the scheme.

Column: 1952

I am pleased to say that applications for HOPE opened in January this year. The response has been encouraging. For the first two months, the CDCs have received 370 applications, of which over 65% are assessed to be eligible. It is still too early to assess how these families are doing, but I would like to assure Mr Ahmad Khalis that for every HOPE family, they will be mentored by a social service agency. In other words, there will be guidance for the family on how they can

take advantage of the scheme, benefit from the training grants so that they will continue to upgrade their skills. For the unsuccessful applicants, they will be considered for other appropriate forms of assistance based on their needs. So they will not be turned away. The CDC officer will make an assessment and see where best and which scheme we can place them in order to meet their needs.

Sir, Mr Ahmad Khalis also asked whether the scheme could be extended to families with three children. Let me reiterate that the objective of HOPE is to encourage young low income couples to keep their families small and stable, so that they can provide the best opportunities for their children to succeed in life later on. In fact, during our focus group discussions with potential beneficiaries before we revamped the scheme, the majority said, that given their limited resources, they could at best provide for two children. So theaim is to help the family to become more independent,and more self-reliant, because given the fact that they are low income families, they probably would need a lot more help in order to stretch whatever that they have among the two children.

Sir, the third programme is the Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS). Preschool education, as you know, is the key to allow children to prepare for formal education. We want all our children to attend at least two years

Column: 1953

of preschool education. Since applications opened last October, we have received over 7,300 applications and more than 95% of these had been approved.

Mr Charles Chong has also asked for the amount we have spent on social assistance. Earlier in my speech, I have already mentioned that we expect to spend about $30 million this financial year.

Self-Reliance Programme

Sir, let me move on tothe point raised by Mr Gan Kim Yong. I agree with Mr Gan that we need to provide holistic help to families and family problems are sometimes complex and deep rooted that require a more holistic approach, and addressing financial issues will not be enough. There are usually deeper problems, and unless we address these problems, we may not be able to help the families to uplift themselves out of this crisis that they are facing.

There is currently a group of needy Singaporeans who cannot be assisted under the Work Assistance Programme. As Mr Charles Chong has rightly mentioned, they are families whose adult members are not able to work in the short-term, either due to ill-health, or incarceration, or because of care-giving responsibilities, or other barriers that would not allow them to quickly transit to employment. So if not given appropriate help, these families run the risk of sliding into long-term dependence.

To better support this group of families, my Ministry is introducing the Self-Reliance Programme. This will replace two existing schemes, namely, the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme (IFAS) and the Rent and Utilities Assistance Scheme (RUAS). The Self-

Column: 1954

Reliance Programme will provide more relevant and holistic help for these families. Beneficiaries will receive a package of assistance tailored to their needs. This would include a cash allowance to subsidise their rental and their day-to-day expenses, utilities subsidies, educational allowance and medical subsidy. So the package does not change substantially from the two schemes.

Beneficiaries of the programme have a mutual obligation to help themselves. Some of the families, not all, particularly those with young children, will be given case management support from a social service agency. They will have an intervention roadmap drawn up for them. Beneficiaries must demonstrate the effort to work at their problems by attending regular casework or counselling sessions and following their intervention roadmap. They may be required to attend budgeting courses, undergo retraining or attend family education programmes. This element of mutual obligation is important, as the families have to understand that they have a crucial role to play in lifting themselves out of their situation.

Under the Self-Reliance Programme, assistance will be given from three to six months. Extension will be conditional on whether the families demonstrate concrete efforts to fulfil their obligations and keep to the roadmap that we have drawn up for them. My Ministry is expected to spend about $4.3 million a year on this programme. It will be launched in January next year.

However, Sir, Government's efforts alone are not enough. I agree with Mr Gan that we need many other agencies to come on board and that is why MCDS has adopted the €˜many helping hands' approach. So we need individuals, we need the community to play a role in uplifting the less fortunate within our society. One example is Ms Ng Bee Leng,

Column: 1955

a senior social worker and Deputy Executive Director of Beyond Social Services. She shared her team's experience in working with low-income families with young children. To motivate the parents, her team requires them to undertake certain obligations in return for financial assistance. This is with the aim of empowering the families to help themselves and to better manage the broader and deeper issues that they face. During the period of financial assistance, the beneficiaries are engaged in a variety of programmes designed to give them skills, such as financial budgeting, parenting, and to address the various circumstances that continue to trap them in their poverty cycle. So it is exactly what I mentioned earlier. The Self-Reliance Programme willhave an intervention roadmap. Bee Leng and her team's efforts have paid off. They have seen some of the families empowered and improved and moved out of the poverty cycle. And if I can quote her in her own words, "The most effective way of motivating parents to work towards self-reliance is to help them to see how their efforts would ultimately benefit the children and the family."

Mr Gan also spoke about expanding the services provided by the Family Service Centres (FSCs). Currently, he is aware FSCs provide a whole range of services from preventive and developmental programmes to casework, counselling, marriage preparation and enrichment workshops, parenting programmes, school social work and financial management programmes. So it is quite a variety of programmes that clients can avail of. As Mr Gan has rightly pointed out, families are indeed under greater stress today and the FSCs will be proactive and responsive to changing needs of the families.

As such, Sir, my Ministry has initiated an FSC review to enhance the effectiveness of FSCs in their service delivery. The review aims to enable FSCs

Column: 1956

to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the community, ensure greater professionalism through training and optimisation of resources, and achieve greater accountability of FSCs. It will cover a review of the current FSC service delivery model -Mr Gan spoke extensively about this -including identifying specialised services, funding mechanism, staffing needs as well as customer-centric practices. We expect to complete the review by December this year and to implement the recommendations in FY05. I hope Mr Gan can wait.

Standardisation of Eligibility Criteria

Sir, let me now move on to the issue of financial assistance scheme and the criteria. Ms Braema Mathi has expressed concern about the lack of standardised criteria for distribution of financial aid to the needy. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang also raised the issue of the public's confusion over too many schemes. I would like to assure the Member that our assistance schemes are designed to target low-income families who need help. Where possible, we have streamlined the criteria among similar schemes, for example, our subsidy schemes for childcare and kindergartens are available to families with household income of $1,500 or below. So where possible, I agree with the Member that we will try to streamline it to make it much easier. The Self-Reliance Programme which I spoke earlier is, in fact, an outcome of this effort to streamline and rationalise the many schemes that we have.

But I think Prof. Ngiam and Ms Braema Mathi will recognise that family circumstances differ as does the nature of the help they require. So we may not be able to take a one-shoe-fit-all kind of approach. We have different schemes catering to families with different needs – some require long term help, others short-term relief to tide over a period of unemployment and still others would need

Column: 1957

help to put their children in childcare, so they can go back to work. While I agree with the Member that there is merit in standardising the eligibility criteria, this may have the unintended consequences of being too rigid.

But we will continue to review our schemes regularly so that we are in line and in step with the changing needs and income trends. The criteria will serve as guidelines for the CDCs who are all helping us to administer the schemes. Singaporeans seeking assistance will not be disadvantaged if they are not familiar with the criteria of the many parts of the schemes. They can approach the CDCs and the Social Assistance Officer will carefully work with them, assess their needs, and render them the appropriate package of assistance for them and their family. Rather than the standard criteria, a needs-based approach will allow a certain measure of flexibility and will ensure that everyone that comes to the CDCs will receive the appropriate help.

Sir, Prof. Ngiam also suggested having an integrated computerised information sharing system between the CDCs, voluntary welfare organisations and grassroots organisations to facilitate service coordination. And Ms Braema Mathi also raised the concern that the clients may be hopping from one scheme to another without us having a centralised system. I am glad to inform him and Ms Braema that we are already looking into the feasibility of this. My Ministry is working with the People's Association and the National Council of Social Service to explore ways of improving the current workflow processes and developing a system for better service delivery and co-ordination, without compromising the confidentiality information of our clients. So we will work together to better integrate some of the services so that we have a workflow which is more

Column: 1958

integrated. Prof. Ngiam who has been in this field for a long time will know that this will take some time for us to achieve.

Public Assistance

Sir, next, I will move on to address Mr Nithiah Nandan's concern on whether the provision for public assistance will become more stringent because of budget cuts. I have earlier assured the House that this will not be the case. The eligibility criteria for public assistance will remain unchanged and deserving cases will be helped.

Over the past two years, our expenditure on public assistance has increased by 28% from $6.7 million in FY01 to $8.6 million in FY03. This is due to the increase in the proportion of successful applicants as well as the upward revision of the allowance rates. The proportion of successful applicants has increased from 52% in FY02 to 68% in FY03. In FY04, we have set aside a higher budget ($9.1 million) for public assistance payments to take care of the existing beneficiaries and new applicants.

The Public Assistance Scheme is meant for those who are permanently unable to work and have no means of support. The unemployed should not require long term assistance. Rather, they need some short-term help to tide over the difficult period and, more importantly, help in finding employment. In this regard, the Work Assistance Programme (WAP), and the Self-Reliance Programme would address their needs better.

Update of Disability Programme

Sir, let me now move on tothe issue of disability. I would like to thank Members who have spoken on behalf of the disabled community. It is my Ministry's belief that people with disabilities, like able-bodied people, want to be independent, to contribute and be

Column: 1959

part of mainstream life. We have many examples of such individuals and allow me just to quote one. I read a recent media report on Mr Melvin Lek, who has cerebral palsy since birth. In spite of his condition, Melvin taught himself how to repair wheelchairs from books and started his own wheelchair business. Just last week, the Straits Times reported that 17 members from the Society for the Physically Disabled helped a group of taxi drivers to e-file their tax returns. It was a 'thank you' gesture to the drivers who have ferried them regularly from home to work. As one of them has put it, and I quote, €˜I am paying back to society for the accessibility that the taxi driver uncles have provided me.'

Sir, last year, I announced a number of initiatives to support the disabled, focusing in particular on early intervention and upstream programmes for children. Both Mdm Cynthia Phua and Mr Iswaran have asked for an update. I am pleased to report that we have made good progress in this area.

In April last year, MCDS took over from the Ministry of Education the early intervention programme for children with disabilities, from infants to those agedsix years. In the last one year, more than 400 children have benefited from the programme. Centres, such as Rainbow Centre and the Autism Children Centre, work with these children to improve their socio-emotional, cognitive and physical development.

I was told of a touching experience of one mother, Mrs Goh, whose 4-year old boy, Givens, had been attending the programme at the Autism Children Centre for the past year. When Givens first started, he could not verbalise his needs and had problems socialising with his peers. Now, Givens is able to express himself through pictorial aids and enjoys interacting with family and friends. Mrs Goh is pleased and optimistic that Givens

Column: 1960

will continue to progress under this programme.

My Ministry will work with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) to streamline the standards of the programme. We are planning to set up another five centres around the island. Mrs Fang Ai Lian will be glad to know that two of these centres will cater to children with autism, while the other centres will be equipped to cater to children with other developmental disabilities, including autism.

12.30 pm

Mr Iswaran also asked on the status of the Integrated Childcare Programme for children with special needs. This programme enables children who have mild

or moderate disabilities to attend existing childcare centres. They learn alongside their peers and interact with them in the natural setting of the centre. In doing so, the child will be better able to make a smooth transition to primary school. Six childcare centres offered the programme last year, benefiting over 40 children.

Although the intake numbers are small, the programme is bearing fruit. I was told that there were seven K2 children in the programme last year, and all seven are now in Primary One. We have also received encouraging support from the parents, through emails and through a Parent Satisfaction Survey. 90% of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the programme and would recommend it to friends. Earlier this year, six additional childcare centres came on board the programme, bringing the total number of places to 120. The new centres are currently gearing themselves up by sending their teachers for training and expanding their premises. We will consider increasing the number of centres, if there is a demand.

Column: 1961

Sir, another area that helps persons with disability become more independent and lead normal lives is that of a ssistive technology. Last October, MCDS launched the Assistive Technology Fund. This is a $2 million fund set aside for three years to provide means-tested grants for needy individuals to purchase assistive devices. These devices will enable them to pursue an education or gain employment. So far, close to $10,000 has been disbursed. Let me give an example of one beneficiary of this Fund. Ms Salimah bte Ishak is a tetraplegic who works as a web designer with the Society for the Physically Disabled. She applied for a subsidy to purchase a Cherry Compact Keyboard and an ErgoRest Forearm Support. Both pieces of equipment have made it easier for Salimah to use her computer and be more efficient in her work.

Mrs Fang Ai Lian spoke on the need to better integrate children with disabilities in mainstream schools. We need to consider what is in the best interest of the child and what education settings will best cater to their developmental needs. Those who can cope in a mainstream school, including pupils with autism, will be given a place in mainstream schools, and those who need specialised programmes are best catered through special education schools.

The Ministry of Education collaborates with partners to support children with developmental disabilities. For example, it collaborates with the Dyslexia Association of Singapore in setting up learning centres in three schools to provide additional support to pupils with dyslexia. Pupils with autism are referred to the Autism Resource Centre for additional support. Children with more severe disabilities are catered to in 20 special education schools. These schools will have specially trained teachers and

Column: 1962

para-medical personnel to support them both in their academic and developmental needs. The lessons are specially designed to cater to their pace of learning and to bring about their full potential. So, rather than having one uniform approach, we have to look at the interest of the child and find what is the best way to cater to the needs of the child.

Sir, for youths and adults with disabilities, a range of community-based care and support services are already available

.: **** Mr Charles Chong and Mdm Cynthia Phua asked what more is being done to support and advise families with disabled members, in particular for children with special needs and to provide more information and raise awareness on services and programmes. Mr Iswaran has also lent his support to this idea. I agree that this is an area of urgent need. Currently, the information on disability services is not coordinated and it resides within different organisations. Families looking for the appropriate care options for their loved ones are sometimes referred from one agency to another, and this can be a traumatic and sometimes futile experience.

Sir, to address this, I am pleased to report that we are setting up a Disability Information and Referral Centre, a one-stop centre for disability services. The centre will integrate various information sources on disability and provide more convenience to caregivers. We will develop this in two stages. In the first stage, we will be launching Singapore's first Disability Portal, to be ready within the next couple of months. The portal will offer information online about disability and the available services. It will comply with the Universal Web Accessibility guidelines so as to enable persons with disability, especially those with visual or physical disability, to access the content. In the second stage,

Column: 1963

early next year, we will set up the physical information and referral centre. The centre will offer information materials, a hotline service and face-to-face consultation services. My Ministry is expected to spend about $640,000 on the development cost of the centre and its first year of operation.

To raise awareness, we are working with our stakeholders to develop more parent support and public education programmes. To encourage voluntary organisations to come up with good initiatives, we have in place a co-funding scheme for Public Education and Caregivers' Programmes on Disability. Last year, 15 public education projects were supported. These included seminars for the public and parents, and materials on how to interact with persons with disabilities.

My Ministry is developing new services to support older children with special needs. Parents of school-going children can soon have the option of enrolling their children in Special Student Care Centres. Most mainstream student care centres today are unable to take in these children due to staff or facilities' constraints. We will work with voluntary organisations to set up centres that will provide before and after school care for students with disabilities. This will enable parents and caregivers to continue working, with the assurance that their children are receiving proper supervision before and after school hours. The Government is expected to spend about $1.6 million to provide 300 special student care places over the next five years.

Sir, let me now move on to the question of t ransport for the disabled. Both Mr Charles Chong and Prof. Ngiam have raised the issue of improving the public transport system, to make it accessible for the disabled. This is a growing concern, especially in the context

Column: 1964

of our ageing population. Efforts are being taken by the Land Transport Authority to make the public transport system more friendly and accessible to the less mobile commuters, where practical. For example, older MRT stations are being progressively upgraded, and we can expect all stations to be accessible to the physically disabled as well as the visually handicapped by the end of 2005.

We recognise that there is a small group of less mobile Singaporeans who, for one reason or another, are unable to use public transport. But there are schemes which are in place to help this group. Those who need to drive can apply for waiver of the Certificate of Entitlement and the Additional Registration Fee, to make it affordable for them to own a car. NCSS provides transport subsidies to those who are needy and disabled to attend approved programmes. Voluntary welfare organisations operate the contract bus and adapted vehicle services to ferry their children to school, to work or for services.

Sir, last year, I informed the House that MCDS and MOT would review the cost effectiveness of having a centralised and dedicated transport service for the wheelchair user. This proposal was put forth by a workgroup led by NCSS with representatives from various agencies. However, the cost of setting up such a service from scratch would be high, and may not justify the benefits. It would also involve having to scale back on some of the existing transport services run by VWOs which are serving our clients' needs well. As an alternative, we are working, with MOT's support, to explore how we can help existing VWO transport operators optimise and expand their dedicated services to a wider group of clientele.

Sir, we acknowledge that more can and should be done to address the

Column: 1965

concerns on transportation for the disabled. This is not just the responsibility of MCDS or the NCSS, but of all relevant agencies. To make further headway, we need agencies with expertise to develop transport solutions for the elderly and the disabled. Only then can we make Singapore a barrier-free society for people with disabilities.

Sir, I think I have addressed most of the concerns.

The Chairman: Yes, Mdm Cynthia Phua.

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Sir, the Minister has not answered my query. Can the Minister give us an indication of the queue for admission to the special schools fordyslexic and autistic children?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, is Mdm Phua talking about before school-going age or school-going age?

Mdm Cynthia Phua: For both.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: For those in the school-going age, special schools are being managed by MOE. I am not sure what the queue is, but I will be able to get theinformation. As far as childcare centres are concerned, we have opened up spaces for children with disability, but if there are specific concerns that the Member would like us to address, we will look into them.

Youth

Mr Charles Chong: Sir, youth crime is on the rise. Although there are many rehabilitation programmes and even an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Youth Crime, emphasis should really be on youth development and youth programmes to address this problem further upstream

Column: 1966

before rather than after youths have committed crimes.

Last year, the Minister informed us that a multi-agency committee had been set up to look into youth development. Could the Minister provide an update on the progress of this committee, and also what new initiatives have been introduced in the area of youth development?

Sir, currently, Family Service Centres (FSCs) also provide social work in schools to help students who are at risk of dropping out of school or falling into delinquency. However, many Family Service Centres are stretched because there is no funding for this programme. There is a risk that FSCs may be delivering such a service at the expense of their core functions. Could the Minister tell us what is being done to ensure that school social work is adequately funded, and how does MCDS ensure that the quality of service and capability of FSCs in delivering their core services will not be compromised?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir,I would like to thank Mr Charles Chong for his persistent interest in youth development. Indeed, inculcating a strong sense of self-reliance and resilience in our youth is the best way, ifwe can equip them to face the future. As he rightly pointed out, last year, I informed the House that we had set upan inter-agency committee chaired by my Permanent Secretary to look into youth development issues. This Committee has reviewed existing youth development policies and programmes to ensure that they are relevant and effective, and sought to close some of the existing gaps.

Sir, let me elaborate on what the Committee has done and what are the programmes that we will implement this year. The Committee had looked at thebroad age range of 10 to 29years, toensure that the review would be

Column: 1967

comprehensive.One of the Committee's core tasks was to identify desired outcomes for our youths applicable to the different youth segments. These outcomes set the policy direction for youth development and establish a common goal for our youth programmes.The first key outcome is youths who are able to realise their potential. The second desired outcome is for youths tohave a strong sense of self-reliance and social responsibility to their families and to the community. The third desired outcome is for youths who feel rooted to Singapore.

The Committee's assessment is that existing youth programmes targeted at achieving these desired outcomes are fairly comprehensive and effective. Nevertheless, there are a few areas of concern that require additional resources to enhance some of the current efforts. These areas include: undertaking more upstream and preventive measures for youths at-risk, as well as addressing the needs of out-of-school youths, and youths who are at risk of dropping out of school. This needis clear. Mr Charles Chong has also pointed out this, and Members would have read that the number of young offenders has risen in recent years since 2002. And while the total number of premature school leaversis small, less than 1% of the total school enrolment drops out every year, we are concerned that these out-of-school youths do not waste their lives and become the unemployable of tomorrow.

Even as we focus on youths at-risk, we must ensure that we develop the potential of the broad base of our youths. Therefore, two additional areas we will focus on are:

(1) Building up the self-esteem and leadership qualities of youths at all levels; and

(2) Addressing the lower levels of community involvement, especially among working and better-educated youths.

Column: 1968

Sir, the 2002 National Survey on Youth showed that youths with higher self-esteem were socially more well-adjusted and had better academic performance. The same survey found that social participation by our youths tended to fall off sharply after they have left school, particularly for working and better-educated youths. Other studies have also found that young people tended to be less socially engaged and rooted to Singapore than older cohorts.

Sir, with this backdrop, allow me now to explain the programmes.

The first initiative is the STEP-UP programme, which is essentially a school-based social work programme that Mr Charles Chong spoke about. Today, to supplement their pastoral care programme, a number of schools are already tying up with various VWOs, such as Family Service Centresand youth agencies to run different types of programmes, including counselling, family education and life-skills training. These programmes are all relevant for our students. Through STEP-UP, we willenhance the capacity and capability of VWOs in their delivery of school-based social work. As Mr Charles Chong pointed out, some FSCs were already providing such school-based social work.

Under STEP-UP, additional resources, including funding and training will be provided to the VWOs to raise the standards of the school social work and to ensure that other existing services of the participating VWOs, including FSCs, will not be compromised. We are giving them additional resources so that they can take on the additional work without compromising their existing work. To help more youths, STEP-UP will provide the resources to expand the school social work to more schools. Our target is to reach out to 200 schools by FY 2007.

12.45 pm

The second initiative relates specifically to out-of-school youths.

Column: 1969

Currently, there are a number of programmes catering to the 1,200 students who drop out of school each year. Let me give you a few examples. We have the PAL Programme by the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association, Project Bridge by the YMCA and Project 180 by Fei Yue Community Services. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Youth Crime, chaired by Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee, has given much support to these programmes.

To enhance efforts in this area, my Ministry will set up a secretariat to coordinate the network of existing and new service providers catering to such youths, facilitate access to funding, build up and disseminate research data on them, and track the progress of out-of-school youth programmes. It will also look into enhancing the capabilities of social workers and other professionals who work with such youths.

Helping youths who are out of school is indeed a resource incentive process as it requires personal outreach, counselling and other services. The new Secretariat in my Ministry will work closely with the various partners to ensure that out-of-school youths are offered opportunities to learn, grow and become responsible and productive citizens.

The third initiative is the setting up of a Youth Leaders and Mentors Programme in partnership with the National Youth Council to groom youth leaders and mentors at all levels.While there are many youth leadership programmes in schools, most are not linked directly to community involvement. Based on feedback from youth organisations and voluntary welfare organisations, there is also a lack of youth mentors and service-learning facilitators. The Youth Leaders and Mentors Programme is meant to address this gap by providing youth

Column: 1970

leadership training coupled with placement in community service.

Mentoring can be an empowering and life-changing process for both mentors and mentees. The Youth Helping Youth Programme was started by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and the CIP Network, a voluntary group. It trains older youths to become mentors to guide younger teens to generate and sustain unique volunteering opportunities for the Community Involvement Programme. As a result of this mentoring programme, students from North Vista Secondary School said that they not only had found a good friend in their mentors but also gained in terms of self-confidence and problem-solving skills.

Mentoring also inspires the mentors themselves to want to do more, and to become more active citizens. Take, for example, Bryan Tong, a second-year business student at SMU. He was a Youth Helping Youth mentor who was so inspired by the positive character changes in his mentees that he has decided to further his involvement in the community. The idea is to get them bitten by the bug so that they continue volunteering. Bryan is now leading a group of NPCC boys from Victoria Secondary School in yet another Park Safety project with Skateline and the National Parks Board.

Sir, the National Youth Council has agreed to be the lead agency for this programme, as it is in line with their mandate to develop leadership qualities and abilities across a broad spectrum of youths. Training subsidies will be provided to ensure that all youths have equal access to the training programmes. Over the next few months the NYC will work very closely with training providers, schools, youths and community organisations to launch the initiative.

The last initiative is that we will be launching a Community Involvement

Column: 1971

Programme Kit together with the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre. Currently, as we are aware, all students from secondary schools to junior colleges are required to fulfil six hours of community service annually. This kit would provide supplemental resources and guidelines to teachers and students, so as to help them plan, source and execute community projects more meaningfully.

By enhancing the Community Involvement Programme, we hope to nurture socially responsible youths who are keen to be involved in their community. The idea is to get them involved in the community early, help them to make their experience meaningful so that they can continue in their experience as they transit from secondary schools and beyond.

The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre will develop and manage the content of the web-based kit. In order to ensure that organisations have the capacity to host a large number of students, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre will work closely with MOE to roll out the kit progressively to schools in stages.

In total, about $10.24 million would be set aside to fund the four initiatives, which are the STEP-UP programme, the Secretariat to handle out-of-school youth issues, the Youth Leaders and Mentors Programme and the Community Involvement Programme Kit,over the next three years.

In conclusion, Sir, our youths are our future. We need to ensure there is enough space and time for them to dream their dreams and to make them into a reality. Our Sports School has opened up an avenue to nurture promising sports talent. Over time, MCDS hopes that more avenues will be opened so that all young Singaporeans can develop their diverse talents and abilities and enjoy the personal

Column: 1972

satisfaction of reaching their potential. We applaud the move by MITA to open up an Arts School. At the same time, our youths must also stay engaged in the community and rooted to the nation. These new initiatives are geared towards realising these goals.

The Chairman: Dr Warren Lee is not here. Mdm Ho Geok Choo is also not here.

Mandatory Counselling for Underaged Girls

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: Sir, we are living in a world where our young girls and boys have access to dating via chat-rooms and take on personas while being in these virtual social gatherings.

In the last few years, there have been two cases of underaged girls, who reportedly, had sexual experience. In today's Straits Times , we read about a survey of 104 students under the care of a VWO, with33 of them making claims that they have had sex, and 10 had had multiplesexual partners. What I gather also from social workers and school-based counsellors is that it is difficult to get the teenagers to attend counselling sessions as there is very little hold over them to keep them on track with the counselling. Research shows that counselling and child sexuality cases need proper diagnosis of root causes to minimise the emotional mental disorder and prevent further sexual deviancy. As such, I would like to suggest a form of mandatory counselling, which I leave it to the Ministry whether it is by law or by other means. There is a good model in the earlier discussion that the Minister made about the self-reliant programmes where we bundle a few things to get people on track. Perhaps, such a model could be used for teenagers where we bundle both the good parts and not so palatable parts of counselling such that teenagers remain on course with the counselling sessions and, hopefully, we

Column: 1973

can save them from further harm to themselves. Today's article in the papers stated one example of the case of a girl in the home who has since learned that what she did previously was not quite right. I hope that the Ministry will look into this seriously.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I agree with the Member. My Ministry is also concerned for young girls who engage in sexual liaisons with men they meet over the Internet and other avenues. There were several media reports recently of underaged girls who engage in promiscuous sexual behaviour with multiple partners. Ms Braema Mathi suggested mandatory counselling for these girls.

Sir, mandatory counselling is available. If parents find that they are unable to moderate their child's behaviour despite their best efforts, and they feel that the child's behaviour is a risk to her own safety, they may lodge a complaint of beyond parental control at the Juvenile Court. Depending on the risks and needs of the child, the Court will issue a supervision or residential order. The Court can also mandate the girl and/or her parents to attend counselling.

However, lodging a complaint at the Juvenile Court should be the last resort. Parents need to understand that such an action will often adversely impact the parent-child relationship. Instead, my colleagues and I at MCDS would like to emphasise other approaches to deal with this issue.

For parents who are aware of their daughter's promiscuous behaviour, it is important to maintain an open line of communication. Rather than just confronting and condemning her, parents can try to talk with their child to help her examine the impetus for such behaviour

Column: 1974

and to understand the consequences. Parents can also approach the Family Service Centres for counselling services to help both parents and child address the issue.

Members of the House may be aware that we have a voluntary organisation called PAGi or the Parents Advisory Group for the Internet. They organise many activities and provide support for parents to guide their children to use the Internet positively and safely. Recently, PAGi and the National Crime Prevention Council launched a booklet for parents on safe Internet usage and cyber crime.

There are many programmes by Government and non-Government agencies to educate Singapore youths about positive values, sexuality issues, the consequences of promiscuous behaviour, and the importance of responsible sexual behaviour. Again, I want to stress the importance of parental supervision and open parent-child communication. Community resources and information are widely available to help parents work with their teenagers on sexuality issues.

Ms Braema suggested that we should think out of the box and look at creative ways to help. We will be most happy to listen to any suggestions that she may have. Ultimately, our emphasis must be for parents to take it upon themselves to understand the changes which are taking place and help their daughter to take responsible actions.

Aging Population

Mr Charles Chong: Sir, it is common knowledge that Singapore’s population is aging rapidly as a result of our falling birth rate and increasing life expectancy. An Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Aging Population was set up in 1998 and the Committee subsequently made 78 recommendations. Could the Minister

Column: 1975

give us an update on the implementation of these recommendations?

Sir, the profile of our elderly is changing, with higher educational attainment and changing lifestyles. If our fertility rate continues to decline and more and more Singaporeans choose to remain single or are unable to find compatible spouses, new policy concerns and challenges would arise. We would have a significantly higher proportion of aged who are better educated and probably, more affluent but with no spouse or no children to rely on for care and support. This would impact on the quality and the range of eldercare services and the need for more elderly-friendly built environment and transportation systems. Employment, financial security and healthcare for the elderly are some of the other emerging challenges that need to be addressed. Could the Minister tell us what measures are being taken to address these new emerging challenges?

1.00 pm

Retirees

Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines): As was expressed by my colleagues earlier, Sir, Singapore is a maturing and aging society. Increasingly, and with our present birth rate, we will have more Singaporeans who are retirees than we have those who are working adults. With better healthcare and consequently, better life expectancy, we are expecting Singaporeans to enjoy many good years on retirement.

Sir, retirement is always a frightening prospect for many. The common question that confronts almost all people who are at the crossroads of retirement is how they are going to spend the retirement years. At my meet-the-people sessions, I have many elderly citizens coming to see me for work, even though they do not

Column: 1976

need to work and could well do with a well-earned rest. However, the idea of sitting around and not doing very much at home other than look after their grandchildren is a prospect that frightens many, especially when for them, sitting around in the final phase of their life is not something they want to think about.

This is really a pity because many of the retirees retire with a wealth of experience and health to go on. There is, at least, for many a good10 more years that they can contribute to society. The problem is that the culture of spending their time fruitfully by contributing something meaningful to society does not come naturally to the elderly. Today, only about 11% of seniors, aged 65 and above, are volunteers.

The NCSS has established a local chapter of retired volunteer programme. There are many retired Singaporeans who have a wealth of experience and skills that they can pass on to the next generation. However, it is unfortunate there are very few well-established programmes which provide the opportunity for the sharing to take place. It is my understanding that in other countries, the elderly citizens are actively encouraged to share their experiences either in relation to life or work experience with the next generation in order that the wisdom and knowledge that was accumulated is not lost in that generation. The need to pass on the cumulated wisdom and experience becomes even more acute as a greater number of well-educated and highly skilled Singaporeans retire. These Singaporeans would not only have worked locally but have also widened their experience through regional engagements. There is much that succeeding generations of Singaporeans can learn from.

I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether more can be done, and on a systematic basis, to harness the wisdom and experience of Singaporean

Column: 1977

retirees for the benefit of younger Singaporeans.

Elderly Programmes and Services

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Sir, I would like to point out two worrying trends. First, the trend of the elderly being left at home by their children, or the elderly living alone because their children have moved out to their own homes. Indeed, during my walkabouts I sometimes come across an old man or old woman living alone and left alone by their working children. They often look depressed and often are lonely, especially if they are not mobile. They feel that they are a burden to their families. When I asked them if they would like to go to an eldercare centre, which would offer them interesting activities during the day, provide rehabilitation services so that they can get better and where they have people to talk to and friends to make, they would say yes. Because in such centres they would also have nurses to look out for them and, as I said, they can make new friends. But when you ask their children, their children would be reluctant to spend their $500-600 a month to send their parents to such a day facility which would improve the quality of life for their parents.

Sir, I know that the elderly, most of them, would be happier being in an eldercare centre than being alone at home because I have two such eldercare centres in Tampines Changkat and the elderly there tell me that they prefer to spend their morning and day at the centres and return home in the evenings than to be at home alone the whole day. I would like to ask the Minister how we can encourage more children to send their elderly father or mother to eldercare centres during the day. I would also like to ask the Minister how he intends to

Column: 1978

improve the outreach to the elderly living alone.

The second trend I would like to point out is that it is increasingly difficult for VWOs caring for the elderly to raise funds for their programmes and services and to expand them despite the increasing need to do so. Such centres have to compete with all the other VWOs to raise funds and they are all fishing from the same small pond. The funding from MCDS and CDCsis insufficient to meet the growing needs. I would urge the Ministry to review the present funding arrangements and levels and to consider raising it. At the same time, I would also like to ask the Minister what he can do to help VWOs to improve their fund raising capabilities and to help them to identify new donor pools.

My last question I would like to ask the Minister is: what is being done to raise the professionalism of the eldercare centres and to give recognition to our eldercare workers?

Elderly

I am concerned about reports of the elderly being abused by their children. Every year about 100 elderly people who are battered or neglected in their own homes surfaced in hospitals and welfare agencies and for half of them, their children are the culprits. This trend is worrying as it points to society in which the elderly are increasingly marginalised or seen as a burden rather than human beings to be valued and to be cared for with dignity. I am particularly worried for the elderly who has no regular pocket money from their working children. Not many will file claims with the Maintenance of Parents Tribunal as they do not want to bring shame to the family, but some children, itseems to me, are getting increasingly shameless themselves. They would come with their parents to see me in the meet-the-people session to ask the MP to help to maintain

Column: 1979

their parents for them. The children are not hard off, but their priorities are on their own young family. And, so the children would put forward the procreation message, "If you want us to have more children, you must help us to maintain our parents." I think this is a very worrying attitude and I would say that it is not wrong to put emphasis on their own young family, but I think it is sad when there is no sense of responsibility towards their own parents,and if they have no qualms about making their parents feel like a burden.

Sir, I read a letter recently in the Straits Times on 10th March, headlined, "Mother of three basks in Mum's unconditional love." It said, "I do nothing for my parents. As a housewife I draw no salary and so I do not give them any money. In fact, many would say I have wasted my expensive university education. All I do is to take my children out to see them every Sunday." The writer gave thanks for their unconditional love. This is supposed to be a positive letter about the parent's unconditional love, but reading it I cannot help but feel a bit worried and sad because in our drive to encourage more women to have more babies and bigger families we will see a trend of more women quitting their jobs to stay at home to raise a family. So what would it mean for the maintenance of their parents, especially if the parents have only one or two daughters and may not have a son to help to upkeep them? Sir, I hope that in such situations, the husband of the housewife will also help to maintain the parents. The sense of being secured financially is very important to the well-being of the elderly. They can no longer work to make a living and they should not be made to feel by their children as if they have to depend on charity or on the MP's good graces for the rest of their life.

I would like to ask the Minister for an update of the maintenance claims made

Column: 1980

by parents at the Tribunal as a signal of how the trend is, and also for his sense of the situation, and also what can be done to check this emerging problem of children not taking responsibility of the maintenance of their parents, especially when they can afford to.

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Over the past 10 years, 1990-2000, the population of those aged 65 and above has grown annually by about 3.7%. By year 2030 this will rise to 19%. Therefore, the population here is ageing very fast. In the meantime, there have been structural changes in the economy and even in the wage system. Many of our younger elderly are out of a job much earlier than at 62 years of age. In view of this economic downturn, rather than waste this potential workforce who comes with years of experience, the Government could do more to help them to be relevant to society so that they could not only contribute economically but also feel a sense of respect and responsibility. With flexi-wage the older people can be employable, especially those who are still very healthy. Many companies have directors who are above 65 and still contributing. So why not tap those who have the qualification and experience to continue to give them part-time work, and surely many more can be done than just serving at fast food restaurants?

My questions are: has MCDS conducted studies on the elderly or solicited their feedback to look at their experience, qualifications and feedback and work with MOM to assist them to continue to lead an active life and continue to contribute to society? What is the MCDS' focus in promoting the active ageing message? Besides being active in social and community services, there should also be a wide range of voluntary services, which I support Mr Sin Boon Ann’s call on voluntary services.

Column: 1981

There should also be a wide range of voluntary services that they can continue to contribute to society. Can the Ministry target and promote such voluntary services including taking care of their grandchildren as part of them? Once they are able to contribute to the family and society, they would feel wanted, be active and stay young and healthy.

Family, Procreation, Ageing and Population

Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Sir,the many issues raised by my parliamentary colleagues actually point to the need for sustained research in this area. In view of the complexity of national issues dealing with the family, population, ageing, procreation matters and thebaby bonus, there is a need for a systematic and on-going policy and programme research to understand the various dynamics involved and how different segments of Singaporeans perceive and respond to the issues and to policy efforts and also the effectiveness of solutions implemented.

National Authority on Family and Ageing

As family, fertilityand anageing populationare long-term issues for our nation, there should be a national statutory board or organisation set up to plan and coordinate efforts to deal with this long-term problem, much like we have organisations such as WDA to tackle our manpower issues. So I would just like to ask the Minister what is the thinking of the Ministry along those directions.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank Mr Charles Chong and Mdm Cynthia Phua who rightly spoke on the need to understand and address the concerns and issues facing our elderly today. Sir, the ageing issue is indeed a very complex one. The concerns cover

Column: 1982

many fields and require a holistic and coordinated approach across many Ministries and agencies. For that reason, the Government set up the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Ageing Population, chaired by Minister Mah Bow Tan in 1998, to study these issues. Mr Charles Chong asked for the progress of this committee and its new directions. I am pleased to report that almost 90% of the 78 recommendations made by the IMC in 1998 have already been implemented or are progressing well by the various agencies, such as the introduction of Eldershield and the Lift Upgrading Programme. Sir, five years on, the reconstituted committee, under the new leadership of Minister Lim Hng Kiang, is taking a fresh lookat the concerns of the elderly today. I will leave it to Minister Lim to provide more details on the progress of the recommendations and the future plans and direction of the committee in due course.

But let me just share the feedback that we have received that suggests that the key concerns of older Singaporeans today revolve around the issues of employability and financial security. There is much greater concern today than five years ago, as the uncertainty of income and employment security has become more apparent in globalisation and economic restructuring. Consequently, older Singaporeans are generally concerned over the cost of living issues, particularly healthcare cost. It is important to keep the feedback channels open for concerns and views to be voiced, and I am sure the committee, led by Minister Lim, would be actively seeking views through various platforms and forums this year and, when ready, will update the public what it plans to do to address the concerns of the elderly.

Let me now take some of the specific concerns raised by Members. Mr Sin Boon Ann, Ms Irene Ng and Mdm Cynthia Phua spoke on the need to tap the

Column: 1983

potential of our retirees and the baby boomers who will soon join their ranks and to create an environment that encourages active ageing. Ms Ng also spoke on educating the young to better appreciate the old. I agree wholeheartedly. Active ageing is the key thrust of my Ministry's work to engage the elderly as integral members of society. As more examples of the elderly contributing to their families and society are seen, perceptions about them will improve. We have seen a significant improvement in volunteerism rate in the elderly. According to a NVPC survey, the volunteerism rate among seniors aged 60 years and above rose from 11% in 2000 to 15% in 2002. So my Ministry will continue its efforts to promote active ageing. In the coming years, $3.7 million would be spent to fund both programmes and public education to help the elderly remain actively engaged in the community. My Ministry works with many partners to promote active ageing. The People's Association, for example, has a PA Senior Citizens Club and a mutual help scheme. As mentioned by Mr Sin Boon Ann, the Retired and Senior Volunteers Programme (RSVP) encourages volunteerism by seniors.

Sir, my Ministry's Active Seniors Programme seeks partnerships with all sectors of society to develop new and innovative initiatives for seniors to volunteer and be involved in the community. The activities can be as wide as sports, arts, student outreach. Five new Active Seniors Programme were added in FY 2003. Let me elaborate on two of them.One is the Active Seniors Green Workshop by Kampong Senang Activity Centre, where seniors do eco-recycling and organic farming. They deliver their produce while visiting cancer patients. Second, the Singapore Professional and Executives Cooperative Programme taps retired professionals that Mr Sin spoke about to provide management advice and consultancy to

Column: 1984

new SMEs and VWOs. These examples illustrate how our seniors can remain active and actively engage in society. They are helping to shape positive attitudes towards the elderly amongst both the young and the old.

Public education helps both young and old value the contributions of the elderly. My Ministry's year-round public education programme calls on the elderly to stay active and to be involved in the community and their family. The Annual Citizen's Award and Senior Citizens Week recognise their contribution and hold out role models of active ageing. For the first time, the public voted for the winners and many voters were children. Members will no doubt recall the outstanding example of voluntary work by Ms Theresa Hsu, and of grand-parenting by Mr Lim Soo Tsu, the grand winner of last year's award. Sir, good family support and active involvement in their families are vital for our elderly and help further shape the positive attitudes among the young. The Family Matters Singapore Committee co-funds good and innovative initiatives to foster

grand-parenting and inter-generational bonding in an active and fun way. Last year, more than 26,000 people participated in 50 activities.

1.15 pm

Sir, Mdm Cynthia Phua and Ms Irene Ng noted the need to ensure the adequacy and the quality of eldercare services. Under my Ministry's 5-year Eldercare Master Plan, we are setting aside $26 million in the coming two years for the development of eldercare services to enable older Singaporeans to age in place in the community.

The challenge is to keep the elderly connected to appropriate support and services as they age. Both Mdm Cynthia Phua and Ms Irene Ng have expressed concerns over elderly living alone without help. Several services are in place to

Column: 1985

reach out to them. Volunteers from the Befrienders Service provide friendship and emotional support to over 3,800 lonely elderly, linking them with appropriate help as needed. Community-based services like Home Help Services, Community Case Management, Day Care Centres, Home Medical and Home Nursing help the frail or homebound elderly. The elderly in 1-room rental flats have the Alert Alarm System.Twenty Senior Activity Centres and 11 Neighbourhood Links support elderly residents, particularly those in rental flats, linking them to the necessary services and paying them regular visits.

Neighbourhood Links also provide information on social services, and engage our elderly residents in volunteer work and mutual help groups. Indeed, they have received good support. To-date, they have over 1,000 volunteers. They have also registered over 1,200 vulnerable residents, who include the frail elderly, those living on their own, at-risk families and residents with disabilities. Most have been matched to a volunteer or a service provider.

Sir, despite these efforts, there are still older Singaporeans whom we have yet to reach. We need everyone in the community to help close these gaps. We have seen good examples of the community involvement spirit on a local level. Let me cite two examples - both of them are from this House. Dr Lily Neo and her grassroots leaders organised visits to 200 flats in the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng precinct under the precinct's Gas Safe campaign last October. They helped many vulnerable elderly residents in the rental flats with safety measures. Ms Indranee Rajah has gathered a team to make a comprehensive needs assessment of all rental and 3-room flat dwellers in the Bukit Merah View area. Those at risk, including the elderly living alone or frail are being linked to local social service

Column: 1986

agencies. I commend these efforts. I hope many more Members in this House will follow the example of these two fine ladies!

An hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, my Ministry will meanwhile increase the public's awareness of the need to reach out to the elderly in their midst. We will also work with community agencies such as the Senior Activity Centres, Family Service Centres and grassroots organisations to form a community network that will keep a database of lone elderly and tie them to a regular visitation programme. The agencies will coordinate the help for them. Those in the network will be given a resource kit and training to be more effective in order to sustain the effort. My Ministry will pilot this network this year with interested partners before replicating it nationwide. I would urge my fellow MPs and Advisers to support this initiative.

Ms Ng has expressed the concern that children are reluctant to send their parents to eldercare facilities. We recognise that children of the elderly may not be fully aware of the benefits of community-based eldercare programmes, like Day Care services. So, my Ministry will step up our efforts with the community as well as healthcare partners to educate the public. The Government's means tested subsidies allow more low-income families to access the eldercare facilities and services. We review our funding and subsidy levels regularly and will continue to do so.

Caregivers also need support. The Touch Caregivers Centre has a wide range of programmes to enable caregivers to cope with the care of their elders. Besides a national helpline service, the centre provides information and referral, online support and advice on home modifications.

Column: 1987

Ms Irene Ng has also asked about the trends of cases in the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents (TMP). Over the last four years, the number of applications for maintenance order has, in fact, fallen from 120 in 2001 to only 88 in 2003. This is due partly to our efforts to encourage the family to resolve their problems through mediation and other channels. We have not observed any significant change in the profile of those coming for help at the TMP.

Sir, as the Eldercare Masterplan is now past its mid-term for implementation, it is timely to review its effectiveness, adequacy and relevance. This review will be undertaken in partnership with key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, the National Council of Social Service and the VWOs.

My Ministry also recognises that manpower development is a key strategy to upgrade the quality of eldercare and services. Proper training programmes will equip eldercare staff with relevant competencies. To this end, my Ministry has collaborated with Nanyang Polytechnic to run foundational certificate courses on ageing and eldercare, for both centre administrators and front-line staff. Also, all skills-based eldercare training will be certified under the National Skills Recognition System. This is a first for the social services sector.Fourteen skills standards have been developed for the pilot phase and currently a free skills audit for the industry is being conducted. At least 100 out of a total of 450 eldercare service staff are planned to be certified in FY04, and the rest within the next 2-3 years.

Sir, apart from training, my Ministry monitors the effectiveness of VWO-run eldercare services through the Programme Evaluation System. My Ministry will continue to strengthen efforts to ensure appropriate standards of service in the eldercare sector.

Column: 1988

Research and national authority

Sir, I agree with Assoc.Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang and Mdm Cynthia Phua on the need for systematic, ongoing research and a coordinated policy effort. Family, procreation and ageing are complex and inter-related issues and indeed will impact on Singapore's future. They are important in my Ministry's research and policy agenda. For example, this year, the National Survey of Senior Citizens will survey Singapore residents aged 55 years and above to help identify critical issues of older persons in areas such as health, social support and financial status andother concerns. A Needs Assessment Survey will also be conducted to identify the developmental and care needs of the elderly. I would like to assure Assoc. Prof. Ngiam that I will address his concerns on research and surveys on the procreation issue later.

Sir, as population-related issues cut across different fields, these policy reviews and research are usually undertaken in partnership with other Government agencies. The research and review on ageing issues, for example, involves agencies such as the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Statistics. This provides a more holistic approach to the policy questions, so that related issues and concerns are adequately captured.

Beyond these working arrangements, various inter-Ministry committees provide strategic oversight on the issues and help ensure a coordinated effort. Minister Lim Hng Kiang, who oversees population matters, will ensure that the policy on ageing is coherent with the broader population policy.

Sir, the short answer to Prof. Ngiam is thatwe do not need a statutory board because we have in place a coordinated effort which cuts across various Ministries

Column: 1989

to identify the concerns and the issues and how they are inter-related and what are the best solutions going forward.

Ms Ng also addressed the issue of elderly abuse.We share her concern and how we can prevent this. I have answered in this House in one of the parliamentary sessions that this has to be a joint effort involving all partners, both in the community and the Government.

Finally, if neighbours and the community can help out to educate families and how they can deal with the problems, especially with the elderly, I think we can help to overcome the incidence of abuse among the elderly.

Procreation

Mr Sin Boon Ann: Sir, as much has been said in this House in the last few days on procreation, I do not think I can procreate any more new ideas to this discussion. I therefore would like to pass on this cut.

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Balancing Work and Family

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Sir, in 1977, the US Families and Work Institute conducted a national study on the changing workforce. It found that employees with more supportive workplaces as well as better quality jobs are more likely than others to have higher levels of job satisfaction, more commitment to their companies' success, greater loyalty to their companies and the stronger intention to remain with their companies.

The same 1997 survey also found that employees with more demanding jobs and less supportive workplace experience suffer from more stress, poorer coping, worse moods and less energy off the job,

Column: 1990

all of which jeopardise their personal and family well-being.

Sir, to me, this study clearly explains why weneed an effective national strategy to promote work-life balance in Singapore. A company that provides a supportive work environment that meets the needs of families not only helps these employees and their families but also benefits his own bottom-line. I am not sure whether there is a similar study in Singapore. If so, I hope the Minister can share his findings with this House. Overall, the situation in Singapore has improved with measures such as the family-friendly companies awards. However, indications are that many companies still do not share this belief, and a lot more needs to be done. The number ofdual income families is increasing and as families struggle with job insecurity and rapid changes at the workplace, they do need programmes to help them balance work and family. Otherwise, I fear that all our efforts at encouraging Singaporeans to procreate will have no results, as insecure, unstable and stressed out families are not likely to produce more offsprings.

Sir, in this regard, I would like to ask the Minister to give us an update on the initiatives to balance work and family. Specifically, I would like to ask to what extent do companies in Singapore provide work-life balance programmes and policies and supportive workplace environments. What are the characteristics of companies most likely to provide work-life programmes and policies and supportive workplace environments? What are some of the common benefits provided at the workplace, and whether the Ministry has received any feedback on the refinements needed and other enhancements?

Finally, there have been comments that some countries with good work-life practices have not really been successful in getting their people to procreate. I

Column: 1991

hope the Minister can share with us examples, positive ones, of the more successful countries.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Aljunied): Sir, I share the same view with Mdm Halimah.

More and more Singaporeans find it difficult to balance work and family. The intense competition has caused companies to reduce costs by maintaining a leaner workforce and thus increase the workload of the existing employees. At home, as we are facing an aging population, many now have to take care of elderly people whilst still struggling with raising young children.

The number of dual income familieshas actually risen to 45% in the year 2001. In absolute terms, the number of dual-earner couples doubled from 190,000 in 1989 to 382,000 in 2001. I want to ask the Ministry what plans they have to help the working parents to actually balance work and family. More importantly, the Ministry should consider innovative ways to provide incentives for companies to not only implement pro-family work practices but also consider setting up childcare facilities at the workplace.

The fact that we have more than 140,000 foreign domestic maids in Singapore shows that our childcare facilities are not sufficient, and the Ministry needs to do more to help the working mothers. The Ministry should take bold steps to do a thorough review of our policy on subsidies and development and provision of childcare and family support facilities.

The Chairman: Mr Iswaran is not here. Ms Braema.

Role of Singles in Families

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: Sir, this is about the role of singles in families. I have looked through the website as well

Column: 1992

as the literature of the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, primarily the attitude on family. Throughout the documents, both on the website as well as the book itself, there is very little mention of the role that singles play within the family. In this respect, I would like to appeal to the Ministry to make it more inclusive of the role that singles play.

What then is the role that singles play? Many of them do look after their elderly parents, their handicapped sisters or brothers. They child mind their nephews and nieces. They fit in whenever married siblings have to drop and run, and they pick up the pieces for the family. They are there by the side of ill relatives as well as the children of their siblings. In a nutshell, the singles are there by the side of their families. And as the Ministry is the key mover of family values, I think it is also appropriate that in its literature and its messages to the public, the role of the singles is given a place and accounted for, so that the singles do not feel that they are on the fringe.

1.30 pm

Infant and Child Care

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, there is a demand for affordable infant care which also offers quality service. Parents would not want to entrust their babies to low quality care. But good quality infant care which offers a low staff-child ratio is expensive and is beyond the means of most households here. It can cost more than $1,000 a month for each baby.

In my constituency, I have done a survey among residents and found that there is a demand for infant care services. But the concern was mainly over cost. Last year, in this House, I had asked for a review of the subsidy for infant care so

Column: 1993

that we could offer good, yet affordable, infant care services to our residents. At that time, I was told that it was being reviewed. It has been a year. Could I ask the Minister why it takes so long to review the subsidy? We are keen to offer the service but it all hinges on the amount of the subsidy. So, we have to hold back, even though there is a need for such services now.

Sir, parents in most European countries can easily find publicly-funded programmes offering good to excellent care. Presently, there are only 20 infant care centres in Singapore and they tend to be expensive. It is important to invest in the development of quality infant care services. I would also like to ask the Minister how can the Ministry ensure quality control among the infant care service providers and increase their professionalism.

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon (Jurong): Sir, childcare is a key cost to working parents, with fees ranging from $330 to about $1,700 per month. At an average of $550 per month for full day childcare services, a family with two children will need to spend an average of $1,100 every month on childcare. With the average household income in Singapore at about $3,200, childcare fees take up 35% of the household income for a family with two children.

The Government subsidies are aimed at making childcare an affordable necessity to families. However, the current childcare subsidy of up to $150 per month for working mothers has been in effect since 1995 and has not changed since then.

The main cost of operating childcare centre is manpower. I am sure, Sir, wages go up every year. As childcare costs and fees increase, Government subsidies

Column: 1994

should also increase in order for Government to continue to provide a similar level of financial support to parents. As the average monthly fee for full-day childcare services is about $550, I propose that the subsidy be increased to $250 per month to make it more affordable for parents.

Sir, how to care for infants is a key concern for working parents. Infant care provided at childcare centres is currently not accessible to many parents. Out of 650 childcare centres in Singapore, only 24 of them provide infant care services. This number should be increased.

The cost of providing care for infants is about five times that for older children. I would like to appeal to the Minister to increase the subsidy for infants. I understand that it costs the childcare centre about $900 per month per infant. So, I would like to appeal to the Minister to increase the subsidy to about $400-$500 per month for the infant child.

I am glad that MCDS has put in place the Family Day Care Services, which is an affordable home-based infant care service by trained caregivers for infants and toddlers aged two to 18 months. It extends the spectrum of care services to meet the varied childcare needs of families. The fees for Family Day Care Services range from about $500 to $625 per month. I would like to ask the Minister whether MCDS would also consider giving subsidies to parents who use the home-based nanny programme.

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Sir, childcare concerns are a top worry for many couples. Working parents need more support in childcare arrangements. There are less than 24 childcare facilities that offer infant care for babies younger than 18 months. May I ask the Minister on the progress of such childcare centres? Could the Minister encourage more efforts in setting up such centres to expedite their

Column: 1995

availability to working mothers who cannot find other alternatives in childcare? Could the Minister also pay heed to the psychological aspect of such young children in these centres, such as the necessity for a constant mother-figure to prevent distressed children and other developmental problems and for periodic checks by child psychologists?

Presently, fees at such centres are about $700 to $1,200 per month. These fees are beyond the affordability of many working parents. In view of our declining TFR, we should try to improve on childcare facilities, making them conveniently available and subsidising fees at 75%.

The ideal caregivers for infants are, of course, the parents themselves. However, in the context of Singapore, immediate family members, relatives, neighbours and even friends can be reasonably good parent-substitutes. Therefore, childcare incentives should also be extended to grandparents, nannies and relatives who are supervised and certified by MCDS. This will give working couples the choice of homecare for their children and will provide the elderly or housewives with some income while they stay home.

Better childcare centres staffed with certified professionals and dedicated caregivers will give peace of mind to parents who now want professional care for their children. There should be more childcare centres conveniently located in relation to either the home or the workplace. This, in effect, calls for employers to consider providing childcare centres at the workplace. In this respect, I hope more generous grants can be given to companies to set up childcare centres at workplaces. The present $26,000 is too small an amount for set-up costs, especially for those providing childcare centres in accordance with MCDS guidelines.

Column: 1996

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan (Hong Kah): Sir, the Government's recent announcement that it will add another 3,000 infant care places in the next five years, representing a 10-fold increase over the present number of places available, as well as initiatives like the home-based nanny matching services, are indeed welcomed. Presumably to accommodate the additional places, the number of infant care centres will also be increased. I would like to urge the Ministry to not only look into the setting up of infant care centres in residential areas but also encourage the setting up of child and infant care centres in areas with high concentration of workers, such as in the CBD, business parks and non-pollutive light industrial areas. This would make these centres more accessible to working mothers and, as gender roles harmonise even further, fathers as well could also visit their children over their lunch breaks.

MCDS could work with MND to give developers and building owners incentives to set aside space for such use, for instance, by excluding such space from the gross floor area computation up to a pre-determined amount. Further, the subsidy, particularly for infant care, should be raised as the cost of infant care can be up to $1,000 or even more per infant.

Also, I would like to urge the Minister to aggressively promote the home-based nanny matching service which appears to have been very well received. This benefits both the parents as well as the nannies. The scheme could be administered jointly by MCDS and grassroots organisations whose members have personal knowledge of their families in any particular precinct. However, I would like to ask that the prospective caregivers be interviewed, their homes be inspected, and it be made compulsory for all potential caregivers to attend a properly conducted course on infant and childcare to ensure that they are well

Column: 1997

qualified for the task. As an additional step, some kind of registry of nannies should be kept by, say, the CDCs and any misdemeanour reported would count against the registration. This would also help to give assurance to parents who entrust their infants to these nannies.

Currently, many childcare centres only open till 6.00 pm. I would like to ask the Minister to encourage more centres to open till later as many parents have to rush home from work to fetch their children. Additional subsidy could, for instance, be given to child/infant care centres that extend their operating hours.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, in line with our efforts to help couples cope with the difficulties in raising children, we should improve our infant and childcare system, so that they can benefit from it. In this regard, I would like to make three proposals.

Firstly, in terms of cost and subsidy. Today, the costs of such services are very high. The subsidy of up to $150 a month is helpful but may not be enough. This is also low compared with Government’s subsidy of $300 per month for students in the primary school. In fact, for childcare and infant care centres, the operating costs are higher because of the lower teacher to student ratio. Although lower income families can apply for centre-based financial assistance schemes, the income ceiling of $1,500 is also too low, especially if the family has more than two children. Perhaps a per capita income ceiling would be more equitable.

Secondly, in terms of convenience, some parents prefer childcare centres nearer to their workplace of work so that they can reach their children easily and quickly when an emergency arises, and they can also visit them during lunch breaks. We should perhaps consciously

Column: 1998

promote childcare centres at industrial and commercial centres. We should encourage larger companies to join hands and operate their own childcare services. Some incentives could also be provided to them.

Thirdly, informal care services. Some parents would prefer to seek help from their relatives to look after their babies. In fact, grandparents play a crucial role in providing childcare and encouraging our young people to have children. We should therefore consider extending the childcare subsidy to such cases, perhaps with some safeguards to prevent abuse and maybe with a lower amount, since the cost of homecare is likely to be lower than professionally run childcare centres.

Sir, I hope the Minister can consider these three suggestions.

Mr Andy Gan Lai Chiang (Marine Parade): Sir, I would like to speak on the proliferation of childcare centres in private residential areas.

Providing childcare centres is now a necessity and a priority as the Government explores ways to encourage procreation. As more calls are made to provide infant care and childcare centres, it is timely that we assess the location of childcare centres in private residential areas. Existing MCDS guidelines state that "permanent permission is granted to service providers of childcare centres, student care centres and kindergartens meeting the requirements of MCDS and MOE to operate in civic and community institutional buildings, educational institutions, commercial buildings, HDB void decks and non-landed residential developments. Temporary permission is granted for such centres to operate from landed housing estates, including semi-detached houses and corner terrace houses."

Column: 1999

Locating childcare centres in private residential landed property should not be encouraged for long-term use. There is a real need to have appropriate guidelines established to ensure that childcare centres complement the existing environment and do not adversely affect the peace and quiet of the private estates. Within private landed properties in Mountbatten alone, there are about 20 childcare centres, some of which are located close to each other. While I support the need for more childcare centres, and I am ready to work with MCDS to find suitable alternate sites for these centres, urban planners and approval authorities should keep in mind residents' needs on how such a proliferation of childcare centres would affect the residential landscape. Guidelines requiring neighhours' support should be made. And I find that most residents in private estates are supportive once such guidelines are known and the centre operators observe them.

Service providers should be made to provide for adequate vehicular drop-off and pick-up points, smooth traffic flows for the residents and pay attention to general road safety requirements. Even as we relish having more of such services, we should refrain from compromising the standards of proper urban planning and the privacy of private residential owners.

Before and After School Care

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, I wish to raise two issues pertaining to the before-and-after-school care services. The first one is the lack of before-and-after-school care facilities to cater to the needs of working parents with primary school going children. The other issue which parents have raised is insufficient funding for such services which makes it costly for parents to put their children in the before-and-after-school care services.

Column: 2000

1.45 pm

Sir, currently, MCDS only subsidises before-and-after-school care services run by VWOs and for low income families. However, the subsidy does not apply to non-VWO-run centres and the fees can be quite costly for parents. This is quite limited and restrictive, considering that there are only a few VWOs operating before-and-after-school care centres.

Sir, we do not want to see more latch-key children left to their own devices, watching TV programmes the whole day or, worse still, undesirable VCDs, or falling into bad company. Before-and-after-school care services, if properly run, serve an important need by filling thevoid with meaningful activities for primary school children when parents are not around. Hence, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether he will consider extending the subsidy to commercial before-and-after-school care centres as well so that more parents can have access to them. Secondly, what more can be done to help expand the establishment of more before-and-after-school care services?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank Members who have spoken on the issue of procreation and balancing worklife. Sir, as you know, DPM Lee has stated in the Budget Statement that many of the suggestions on marriage and procreation, which Members have raised last week, will be referred to the Working Committee on Population for consideration. I thought I should share with Members the background work that my Ministry has been doing in the past one year.

Sir, my Ministry has spearheaded two study trips to five countries. We have also obtained the views of more than 10,000 people through two national surveys, 10 focus group discussions, and various topics posted on the Feedback Unit's

Column: 2001

Consultation Portal. In addition, we have received more than 300 phone calls and 1,200 emails from members of the public. I would like to thank all of them for their kind contribution and the time they spent on a very important issue.

Let me share some of our key findings. From our survey of 3,000 married persons on the underlying motivations for marriage and procreation, nearly four out of five felt that the three-child family norm was "just nice". However, at the individual level, the overall intended and actual family size was two children, on average, largely because of constraints. These were lack of time and energy for children, as well as concerns about financial support. This means that families can and should be helped to achieve the ideal family size they desire. Financial measures alone might not work,but they should remain as part of our package of measures.

Sir, may I just alert Members to the handouts that I have given to them on the various findings that were made on the study trips. I would like now to share withMembers onsome of the findings.

Sir, handout 1 is on female labour force and TFR for 1975 and 2001. Mdm Halimah Yacob would be interested to know that from our study trips, we learnt that some developed countries with very high rates of female employment now also have high birth rates. This was not the case some 30 years ago when high female employment correlated with low birth rates.

Sir, this is indeed encouraging. If you look at handout 2, it shows that labour market and social adjustments can take place to address work-life concerns. The result is that women can both have career and family, and need not choose. However, different countries achieve the

Column: 2002

balance in different ways. In the Netherlands, about 60% of females and 15% of males work part-time. As opposed to the dual income or single breadwinner model, the one-and-a-half income model is fairly popular there, despite the costs of living there. Young couples are also moving towards the "combination scenario" of three-quarters work and incomes for both mothers and fathers.

Sir, on the other hand, if you look out at handout3, Norway, France and Sweden provide strong childcare support to parents who work full-time. Furthermore, in all three countries, for parents who prefer more time with their children, they have both part-time and flexi-time schemes. Thus, a variety of options are available for couples to choose how they wish to achieve their work-life balance.

Sir, in terms of maternity leave, and this is handout4, Netherlands has 16 weeks of paid leave while France also has the same length of leave for the first two children, but this shoots up to 26 weeks for the third. Both Norway and Sweden have wage-compensated, job-protected parental leave which can be for up to 18 months or so, of which specific periods are separately reserved for the women and men. These leave schemes allow mothers and fathers to enjoy their children and family life.

Now, if I ask you to turn your attention to handout5, this is where the reality begins to sink in. These generous measures come with a hefty price tag. Norway and Sweden spend about 3.5% of their GDP on family-related benefits. In both these countries as well as the Netherlands and France, income tax rates are high going up to 40%-50%, and the value added tax (which is equivalent to our GST) is double-digit, and there are also social security contributions. Our philosophy here has been different. We

Column: 2003

prefer to leave more disposable income with the citizens so they can choose how they wish to spend it on what they need.

In Singapore, like in these other developed countries, women, especially those who have undergone years of education, want to work. While we do not want to go towards an expensive family support system, and must take into account business concerns, we still need to do more. If we do not help our women, they will have to choose between a mummy or career track. And this is a lose-lose situation, as Singapore will then end up with fewer mothers and babies, as well as a smaller workforce.

Sir, the idea of having children is important to every society. The United Nationsdid a study a couple of years ago to identify what were the factors responsible for the growth of some of the countries in the NIEs. And they discovered that when you havea highratio of young people to older people and, with the right policies of education, healthcare and development programmes, the country will grow. They have termed this opportunity or this trend the demographic bonus. By all accounts, we are now experiencing our demographic bonus. It would appear that this bonus is only a one-time thing. So in view of this trend, I think there is a concern from all of us to reflect on how best we can try and help out to prop up the TFR for Singapore.

Having or not having enough children in the next generation affects everyone. Its impact reverberates across society, whether we are married or single, male or female. Children rejuvenate society; and we all need them.

Sir, let me now turn to the issues raised by various Members on work-life strategies. Mdm Halimah and Mr Yeo Guat Kwang have stressed the importance of work-life strategies to enable individuals to balance work and family

Column: 2004

responsibilities. I fully agree with them. I also agree with Ms Braema that every person, male or female, single or married, has multiple roles and responsibilities at work and at home. Indeed, singles are members of the family and have legitimate work-life concerns as well. Work-life harmony concerns all of us and is not just the exclusive prerogative of parents or married persons.

Sir, my Ministry has proactively addressed the need to balance work and life by setting up the Work-Life Unit three years ago, under your leadership then, Sir. The Unit helps employers implement work-life strategies that align their business goals with their employees' personal and family needs, which apply to married people as well as singles. The most common and useful practices in the workplace are naturally those that address the main concerns of employees. Work-life practices can be broadly classified into flexible work arrangements, leave benefits and employee support schemes. Flexible work arrangements include flexi-time, part-time work and a compressed work week. Examples of leave benefits are family care leave and parental leave while employee support schemes cover health and wellness programmes and social activities.

Sir, our approach to this issue is a three-pronged one. We promote work-life strategy, we build local capability and we facilitate funding for consultancy and training. We have taken the "tripartite approach" of Government, employers and unions working hand in hand. Our partners are the Ministry of Manpower, SNEF and NTUC. Together, we adopt a holistic concept of work-life harmony based on the 'whole person'. We also partner business associations, training agencies, Health Promotion Board, SPRING Singapore, voluntary welfare organisations and other Government and statutory bodies to organise promotional and training events. So far, we have

Column: 2005

organised more than 140 such events that have reached about 10,000 CEOs and HR practitioners.

Sir, in response to feedback from employers, we have produced resource materials to guide employers on how to implement work-life programmes. We have trained a pool of about 20 work-life consultants to assist companies implement work-life programmes. In addition, the Work-life Unit has obtained SPRING Singapore's agreement to extend the Local Enterprise Technical Assistance Scheme (LETAS) grant to SMEs wishing to engage work-life consultants. All organisations can also tap on the enhanced Skills Development Fund to send their staff for work-life training.

Sir, recently my Ministry commissioned a bottom-line study on the impact of work-life programmes on 11 local family friendly organisations. The findings show that these programmes reaped positive returns from implementing work-life programmes. Our tripartite partners have also developed a set of guidelines on Best Work-Life Practices. Mooted by Mdm Halimah Yacob herself, the guidelines will serve as a roadmap for organisations to adopt work-life strategies. MCDS will be releasing the detailed findings of this study and the guidelines soon.

Although we may be in the infant stage of promoting work-life compared to countries like the US and Australia who are 20 years ahead of us, our efforts have shown results. Many organisations are now showing interest in work-life and recognise the benefits of being family friendly. This is evident from the increasing response to the upcoming Singapore Family-Friendly Employer Award – a biennial award that recognises family-friendly organisations. A total of 456 organisations applied for the Award

Column: 2006

this year as compared to 342 in 2000. There was also a quantum leap in the number of organisations which meet the shortlisting criteria. The number vying for this biennial Award has increased from 16 in year 2000 to 110 this year.

The past winners of the Award have formed the Employer Alliance on Work and Family, chaired by Dr Jennifer Lee. Being convinced of the importance of work-life balance and the long-term business case, the Alliance has been sharing the companies' experiences and the benefits they reaped from being family friendly.

Sir, we have just placed Singapore on the international work-life map despite the fact that we only started this programme three years ago. The Head of the Work-Life Unit was recently invited to a work-life conference organised by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress held in the United States. The presentation was well received and many international work-life experts applauded our efforts and our tripartite approach as €˜innovative' and holistic.

Sir, adopting a work-life friendly culture requires a paradigm shift in the mindset of both the employers and employees. It has to be based on the principle of reciprocity. Employees must be responsive, responsible, adaptable and accountable in the usage of work-life programmes. After all, at the end of the day they have a job to perform! The challenge lies in helping both single and married individuals shape their own work-life harmony by setting realistic life and career goals. My Ministry will focus on helping the individual achieve personal work-life effectiveness through providing resource materials as well as sharing success work-life stories.

Let me just share with the House one example of how work-life arrangements have benefited our women. MsKaren

Column: 2007

Phua, previously worked part time and job shared in MINDEF. Her previous job at MINDEF allowed her to job share. She worked from Monday to Wednesday and her colleagues worked other days. The Mil-Com CEO, Dr Diana Young, readily agreed to her proposal for the same flexible work arrangement. Now a HR and training manager at Mil-Com, she said that she was blessed to have had supportive employers that allow her to work three days a week. This allows her to spend more time with her two primary school children and back to working full time now as the children are older. So it provides an opportunity for her to transit and change her lifestyle while the kids are young and when the kids are older, she can go back to full time work.

Sir, let me now move on to the issue of childcare and infant care. Many Members have spoken on this issue and I really thank them as this is a very important issue. Strong childcare infrastructure, as pointed out by many Members, is certainly another critical factor, and this is important if we are to help our families to have more children. As at end February 2004, there are more than 650 centres providing almost 55,000 places. MCDS is working towards a target of providing 58,000 childcare places by FY 2005. This will meet the needs of 25% of children below seven years of age. Nevertheless, we take into account the enrolment at existing centres, and review this target annually to ensure that there is no over-supply. While many of these centres would be in HDB void decks, some would be in residential landed estates. Let me assure Mr Andy Gan that we will continue to work closely with the URA and childcare operators to minimise inconveniences to other residents.

Several Members have also spoken about the need for us to work with employers to provide childcare centres at workplaces.I would like to report that

Column: 2008

we already have many places which are available, both at Government agencies and non-Government agencies. A good example would be Creative Technology in Jurong, where they have an inhouse childcare centre. We will work with every employer who is prepared to open up childcare centres in their workplaces, and see how best we can facilitate that. I understand Dr Lily Neo's concern about the subsidy level of $26,000, but we have to be mindful that we do not want childcare centres to proliferate. As it is now, there is already some excess capacity in our childcare centres. So, we will continue to work with employers on how best we can open up childcare centres at workplaces, because that is a very good move. My own Ministry has a childcare centre that has benefited a lot of my staff who have young children.

Sir, let me now move on to infant care. Singapore, like Italy, does not yet have good infrastructure for infant care. Less than 1% of our infants here are enrolled in infant care centres. Given the much higher staff-child ratios required of infant care centres, we must consider implementing an infant care subsidy rate that is different and higher than the current childcare subsidy. But I assure the Member that the matter is part of the holistic review of marriage and procreation measures which will be completed by August this year.

My Ministry values our partnership with childcare operators, and my officers meet them regularly to review and improve our procedures. The procedures for setting up childcare or infant care centres are clearly set out on our website, www.childcarelink.gov.sg. My officers also actively provide consultation to interested operators to enable them to meet licensing requirements which ensure proper standards of care. If Members or potential operators have specific feedback or suggestions on how to improve the process, my officers would be happy to

Column: 2009

discuss the matter with them. We encourage more operators to provide infant care services, either in their current childcare centres or through setting up new centres. We will continue to offer capital grants to VWOs to defray the start-up costs. As mentioned earlier, capital grants are also extended to employers, if they set up workplace centres. These measures will help to keep fees affordable. But we are mindful that the infant care industry must be financially self-sustainable. It is a new industry.

Sir, at the same time, parents can also use the Baby Bonus scheme to pay for the cost of centre-based care. As at February this year, $104.5 million has been paid out in Baby Bonus. The Government has also paid out $27.9 million under the Third Child Paid Maternity Leave scheme, of which $1.6 million was paid to self-employed mothers. Ultimately, it is not more subsidies or financial support that would keep prices down, but more competition from having more centre places.

Apart from affordability, let me assure Members that my Ministry will also ensure quality, through both the Child Care Centres' Act and Regulations and through licensing. We focus on dimensions, such as safety, hygiene, nutrition, programme and curriculum and, of course, staff and training. I am proud to say that, today, over 90% of childcare centre supervisors and teachers have either been trained or are undergoing training at the required level. In addition, MCDS has developed a dedicated training programme for infant care personnel in consultation with childcare experts, healthcare professionals from the Ministry of Health, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and the Ministry of the Environment.

Sir, to provide more options to parents, we announced in January this

Column: 2010

year a new home-based care option for infants, known as Family Day Care. Childcare centres will match interested parents with trained caregivers who will care for the infants in a home. I am happy to say that even before the service was fully operational on 1st March this year, close to 1,000 parents and caregivers had indicated interest. Of these, 230 parents and 270 caregivers have registered for the service.

Sir, Dr Amy Khor has suggested that we should be aggressive in pushing this scheme. I support her. At the same time, we have to allow the industry to develop because, as she rightly pointed out, we have to have the right people to become nannies and babysitters. On her suggestion as to whether or not we could administer this together with MCDS and a grassroots organisation, at the moment, the scheme is being handled by the CDCs together with the Family Service Centres. Let us evolve, as we are dealing with young children and the level of expertise that is needed to manage such a scheme, which the Member must agree with me, should be very high, especially given the fact they are young and their needs may be different from toddlers and other children.

She also suggested a registry of nannies to be placed at the CDCs. I think that is a good idea. I will put it up to the five Mayors as to whether or not they may consider that. Dr Amy Khor has also suggested that we should open more childcare centres later to allow parents who work late to come back. As it is now, there are some centres which have done so, in consultation with the parents. Some of them do keep their lights open up to 7.00 pm to allow parents who are working late to come back. But this is something that is mutually agreed between the parents and the childcare operators.

Sir, I think I have addressed most of the concerns on childcare. The last point

Column: 2011

is about accessibility, in terms of childcare centres in workplaces. DrAmy Khor suggests that wecollaborate with MND on the gross floor space. Sir, I am notquite familiar with that. But let us look into how we can help more employers who are prepared to open up childcare centres at their workplaces.I agree with her and Dr Lily Neo and others that having childcare centres near the workplace will help parents, both fathers and mothers, to have peace of mind to know that their child is being taken care of professionally and being well taken care of.

Sir, finally, I would now like to address Mdm Halimah's query on before-and-after-school care, which is also known as student care. As pointed out by her, this service is provided by both commercial and VWO operators, and has grown to be fairly popular among parents as an alternative care arrangement for their older children. With student care being less manpower-intensive than childcare, the operating cost is, of course, much lower. The fees for student care without subsidy are similar to, if not lower than, childcare fees payable after subsidy.

Children enrolled in VWO centres may apply for fee assistance if the parents' combined income is less than $2,500. The fee assistance offsets up to 75% of the fees, with a cap of $150. We will seriously consider Mdm Halimah's suggestion to extend the fee assistance scheme to commercial centres as well. We will have to study this carefully but, meanwhile, families may also apply for further assistance from the CDCs and VWOs.

Sir, I think I have addressed most of the concerns.

Family Values

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Our Government hopes to enable Singaporeans to make informed life choices and support the

Column: 2012

family in its roles and functions. The four key thrusts are:

(1) Imbue Singaporeans with pro-family values and encourage family formation and bonding;

(2) Equip families with knowledge and skills to create and manage quality family life;

(3) Create a pro-family environment with strong community support for families; and

(4) Encourage women's participation and contribution to family and community.

My main concerns in this area are the parent educationalist and the community's effort on the thrustof instilling family values on the young;secondly, the limited time our children spend with their parents and grandparents for the informal teaching of family and moral values. I always believe that whatever values we want to instill in our young, we must start when they are young. Childcare and student care are important support facilities for the parents to bring up their children when the parents are working. Their children spend at least five to about 10 hours in these centres, and these facilities are under the supervision of MCDS which licenses them. The standard and quality of these centres also vary.

Can the Minister consider putting in moral education as a compulsory programme for these centres? Our children read widely, and most of the books that these centres have provided are mainly knowledge-acquiring books. Can the Minister recommend and encourage these centres to provide some standard moral education materials? Children need to be exposed to moral value teaching constantly, as this role is traditionally done by their parents and grandparents. However, at these centres,

Column: 2013

an added dosage would be good for the children. Most parents, after work, have limited time with their children, and such values are also difficult to be taught and must relate to values through life experiences.

In addition, I would also like to urge the Pro-Family Committee to encourage grassroots leaders, organisations, cultural and family support agencies, such as the Family Service Centres and neighbourhood links, to put more emphasis in the thrust of promoting family values in their activities.

Parenting

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, there is a need for a change of the attitude of parenting towards "Happy Parenting". There had been too many negative reports and negative emphasis of parenthood. We need to start an aggressive campaign to correct this negative mindset. The emphasis on such campaigning should be on the joy that family brings.

There is a general tendency for the younger people in our workforce to put off courtship, marriage and childbearing to very much later on in their lives. Parents and young people should abandon the mindset that students should not court until they have graduated and are established in their careers because, by then, it becomes increasingly difficult to interact and to start courting. Young people would be well advised to be responsible adults who are accountable in their relationship, responsible towards others, and sensible in pursuing studies simultaneously with a relationship without jeopardising one or the other.

In Singapore, women assume the main responsibility of housework and childcare, regardless of whether they are employed. Working women are often stressed from

Column: 2014

the multiple responsibilities. Research into marital satisfaction among Singaporean women showed a direct correlation between stress levels in women and the amount of help they get at home. Traditionally, the father had been the sole breadwinner and the distant disciplinarian while the mother had been the nurturer and homemaker. In the present dual-income family, there should be a shift away from this perception of the roles of fathers and mothers. Parenting and homemaker tasks should be shared between spouses. More effort should be spent in this area, perhaps through campaigning and promoting a change in the stereo mindset of many men regarding parenting and household responsibility, and to be equal partners in raising families.

Value of Children

Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Sir, I am concerned about some of the feedback given by members of the public recently when asked to comment on the new proposed measures to boost our fertility rate. Some of these views seem to suggest a preoccupation with the material benefits rather than the intangibles, such as the values and attitudes of having children.

In this connection, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister if there is going to be a balanced emphasis in the various proposed measures, that we actually emphasise the value of having children and not so much just the fiscal rewards that we will get from the Government's proposed measures.

The Minister of State for Community Development and Sports (Mr Chan Soo Sen): Sir, it is very easy to answer these three questions. We agree to all of them. In fact, quite a lot of these answers are contained in the ealierspeeches that my Minister has given. Perhaps, I will just share with the House some of the surveys

Column: 2015

that we have done, to indicate that our family values are basically on the right track as of now.

In 2003, MCDS conducted a survey of about 3,000 married Singaporeans, and it showed very clearly that people wanted children simply because they loved them, notbecause they wanted financial or fiscal incentives. When asked what it meant to have children, they concurred with statements, such as "I always enjoy having children near me"; "I can feel happiness and I feel at ease at home with my children"; and "I believe that the closest relationship I can have is with my child." In the hearts and minds of Singaporeans, the intrinsic value of children outweighs the

utilitarian value of children as insurance for old age. That isthe mindset of most Singaporean married couples. Therefore, I hope that Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang could be assured that our studies suggest that Singaporeans do not have children merely because of financial incentives.

2.15 pm

Our survey also showed that although most parents said achievements did not matter so long as their children were happy,they did have high hopes and aspirations for their children. I think this also gives rise to the kind of stress level that Dr Lily Neo talked about. We ought to be happy having children. For Singaporeans -wemay bethinking a little bit too faror too much - almost 70% of the parents surveyed wanted at least one child to go to university, and almost half wanted all their children to be university graduates. That makes the whole thing very arduous. It is only natural that each generation wishes that the nextto do better. However,our definition of success is a little bit too narrow. When asked about their fears and concerns about being parents, these centre on their children's academic success. This has been another big issue

Column: 2016

that would bedealt with in the Ministry of Education.

Another top concern of parents was not being able to spend enough time with their children and not having effective parenting skills. Do we expect too much of ourselves as parents? That is the question. And because we expecttoo much of ourselves as parents, have we taken the joy of parenthood out of this very relationship that all of us said we wanted in the first place? Because the expectation on ourselves as parents is so high, many of usfeel it is vital to focus our time, energy and resources on one, at most, two children.As a result, we are unable to have bigger families, because we want to do such a good job,we over-emphasise on quality, and quality is defined based on such a narrow band. I certainly agree with Dr Lily Neo thata more balanced role between the father and mother at home would definitely help but there are also other stress factors to consider. In the case of education,you willhear fromthe statements thatwe aregoing to make in the COS debate on the Education Ministry, we dowant to get the parents to see success in a much broader front, rather than just academic results, such as how many straights "As" one has.

We must also understandthat our time and energy need not rise proportionately with the number of children we have. For example, if we spend three hours per day after work with one child, we do not need to spend six hours when we have two, and then nine hours when we have three, and 12 hours when we have four! In larger families – in fact, if we remember, many of our families, when we were young, have three or four siblings - we find that parents share their time among their children quite effectively. In fact, we can argue that they parent less intensively, and leave a lot to the

Column: 2017

brothers and sistersto interact with each other. And to have brothers and sistersinteracting with each other,helping each other, to taking care of each other, and givingsupport to each other, is also a very important aspect of life skills that all of us benefit from. This also contributes tothe very happy memories of our childhood.

I would say, therefore, that we have all the values very much in our head, but we also have another set of values that has worked and generated stress in ourselves. If we can let go a little, we should be able to do much better balancing both work as well as life. I would certainly agree that this is the direction that we ought to be moving towards.

As I have said, I very much agree with all the points that have been raised. Mdm Cynthia Phua is not around. As far as moral education and moral values are concerned, I would like to assure her that these are very much inculcated in many of the activities in the kindergartens and childcare centres. By teaching them social skills, teaching the children to interact with each other, asking them to make Christmas cards, Father's or Mother's Day cards for their parents, we are teaching them vital values.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: Sir, I would like to first commend the Ministry for setting upa women desk as well as the type ofchanges made, eg,even the medical quota against women has crumpled.

However, I am raising this issue of our compliance withthe UN Charter on the complete elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. I would like to ask the Ministry for an update of

Column: 2018

our level of compliance, primarily on two articles.

On Article 2, which refers to a constitutional mandate on gender equity, the reservation placed was that we have observed customary differences based on religion. I would like to ask the Ministry whether this reservation cannot be parked under Article 16 which then allows the Women's Charter, as well as the Syariah law, to be used to cover the sensitive observations that we need to comply with anyway.

The other article is that of Article 5 which deals with sexual stereotyping, prejudice and family life agenda. I would like to ask the Ministry whether there is any move to look into laws on sexual harassment asbrought up by MsIndranee Rajah earlier on, and also on issues of marital rape. Would the Ministry give an update on this?

Lastly, there are concerns on Article 11, but I think that can wait till August for greater discussion.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank Ms Braema Mathi for commending us for setting up a women desk. I think she must acknowledge that that is a step in the right direction.

Sir, we currently hold some reservations to a few Articles under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). We agree with the general intentions of CEDAW for general equity but uncompromising blanketadherence to CEDAW without due regardto oursocial norms might not be accepted nor desirable for Singapore.

She has raised her concerns on two Articles. Let me first talk about Article 2. We have tendered our reservations and there are important reasons why we have done so. For example, Articles 2 and 16 of

Column: 2019

CEDAW require us to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. This is quite a mouthful but it is something whichis there in the Article.

Singapore, asyou know, Sir, is a multi-racial and multi-religious society. Islam allows a man to marry four wives if certain conditions are met, but not vice versa. Islam also sets out complementary but different roles, responsibilities and obligations for men and women. For this reason, we have to tender the reservations to address provisions under Singapore's Administration of Muslim Law Act, which are not strictly consistent with the full gender parity definition under CEDAW. So I can understand Ms Braema's concern. But because of our local context, we have to be sensitive to the needs of the various communities here.

As my opening statement says, while we agree with the general intentions of CEDAW, a blanket agreement may not be in the best interest on how we continue to maintain our racial, religious and social harmony. Sir, I am not familiar with Article 5 specifically, but the Member did mention about whether or not we are going to look into the issue of harassment and discriminationof women. As I have mentioned earlier, with regard to gender discrimination, we are mindful that some of the practices like family-friendly work practices could lead to general discrimination of women in the labour market. Here, I am not talking about married women but also of single women as they tend to shoulder the eldercare responsibilities.

General discrimination at the workplace goes against our fundamental principles of meritocracy. This is where, as a society, we must forge a consensus and not be divided. I agree with her that we should

Column: 2020

try and find a way to try and overcome this at the workplace. I think I have addressed her two concerns, Sir.

Social Cohesion

Mr Charles Chong: Sir, social cohesion, including racial and religious harmony, forms the cornerstone of Singapore’s survival as a nation. A lot of resources have been expended by the Government, Community Development Councils and IRCCs to strengthen social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore.

Could the Minister provide an update of the various efforts to foster racial and religious harmony in Singapore? Could the Minister also explain why, despite these efforts,there appears to be a slight drop in the percentage of people surveyed who are satisfied with the state of race relations in Singapore – from 90% in 2001 to 89% in 2002?

A more significant drop is noted in the Malay community from 94% who were satisfied in 2001 to 91% in 2002. The ethnic Chinese population appears to be the least satisfied at 88% while the ethnic Indians are the most satisfied at 93%. Does the Minister have an explanation for these differences in perception by the various ethnic communities?

Another community development feedback group’s survey indicated that approximately, 41% of those surveyed felt that IRCCs would help promote ethnic integration. Presumably, 59% of those surveyed did not think so. Could the Minister tell us what measures are being taken to raise the profile and increase the effectiveness of IRCCs in order to enhance social cohesion among Singaporeans?

Mr Sin Boon Ann: Sir, Singapore has never been a melting pot of races, but a salad bowl of cultures and religious beliefs. Likethe salad, we do not merge our identities, but co-exist in an

Column: 2021

atmosphere of respect and tolerance for each other. This atmosphere of respect and tolerance has been tested at various times in the past and recently, it has been stretched yet again, following the arrest of some members of the militant Muslim group, the Jemaah Islamiyah.

For Singapore, we have always prided ourselves in social stability. It is this stability that has given us the premium that we are able to command with foreign investors. Yet, we cannot take this stability for granted. We have to remind ourselves, time and again, that the foundation to social stability has been relative cohesiveness of our society.

Our bonding as a society, Sir, would have been a lot stronger and thus, leading to a more stable society, if our people were a melting pot of raceand cultures. However, we have never been one and should never pretend to be one. There is, therefore, a greater onus placed on us to ensure that Singaporeans continue to hang on asone and to treat our future as one collective destinydespite our differences.

It would not be wrong for us to say that after close to 40 years as an independent nation, we are not anywhere nearer to the point where our people can safely say that they have deep knowledgeand understanding of each other's religious and cultural practices,where we can say that our closest and trusted friends whom we may go out with sociallyare those from the other ethnic groups. Instead, what is probably true is that for the majority of Singaporeans, interaction with those from the other ethnic groups is confined to the marketplace or workplace. It is highly unlikely that interaction with the other ethnic groups extends to social settings, where there are frequent social exchanges in the context of home visits and outings.

Column: 2022

It is also highly unlikely that we have over the years gained a better understanding of each other's religious and cultural practices.

Yet, in Singapore, because of our firm belief and affirmation that we are a nation founded on multi-racial and multi-religious principles,we are concerned tosay anddo things that are correct in appearance. In other words, we make every effort to ensure that our presentation of images of Singapore must necessarily portraythe major races here. After a while, such presentations appear rather contrived as the form seems more important than the substance.

The question is how much of the other races have Singaporeans really come to understand. This question becomes even more pressing after the September 11 incident. Indeed, our Government thought it important enough thata new initiative to start the IRCC began to take root with the grassroots organisations. The idea was to actively promote inter-racial understanding.

Various programmes to promote the objective of IRCC were, therefore, put in place.

However, it soon became apparent to many that the grassroots organisations were just going about organising the IRCC events in an almost mechanistic way. There are the usual visits to the places of worship, the token Malay dance at a Lunar New Year function, and the perfunctory participation of all ethnic groups at each major ethnic group's event. I am not saying that these are necessarily wrong. The problem is how much understanding have we really fostered within the society by doing these things. In the one year since we started the IRCC, we have not got anywhere nearer to our objectives, or have these been captured by the concerns for formality rather than substance.

Column: 2023

I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether he thought the IRCC, while well-conceived, is really working out the way in which it is intended, or is it one of those programmes that got more attention to its form rather than its substance. I would also like to ask the Minister one more question, whether more can be done to improve the level of social cohesion in our society today.

Volunteerism

Mr Charles Chong: **** Thank you, Sir, I will keep it short. Sir, it was reported some years ago that the national volunteerism rate in Singapore was very low, compared to other countries. In fact, the percentage of Singaporeans involved in volunteerism was only 9% in 2000. Could the Minister provide an update on the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre's efforts and programmes to promote philanthropy and volunteerism? Have we managed to increase the national volunteerism rate over the last few years? And, during this period of economic downturn, have Singaporeans become less charitable and cut back on their donations to charitable organisations? And, if so, what is being done about this?

Inter-racial Confidence Circle

Mr Ahmad Khalis Bin Abdul Ghani: (In Malay)

Sir, the Inter-racial Confidence Circle (IRCC) was launched two years ago. It is to strengthen the multi-racial relationship among Singaporeans, as Mr Chong had said. Could the Minister explain what is the progress of the IRCC so far?

Up to the present, there are criticisms that IRCC activities do not really have deep impact. It is only superficial. IRCC often says that warmer ties usually begin with the normal introduction. The question is: after two years, are the IRCC activities still at the introduction level? Is the IRCC scheme able to achieve deep and widespread inter-racial ties? Or has

Column: 2024

the IRCC spirit been somewhat diminished, seeing that many of us feel that security is becoming more stable?

Last year, the Religious Harmony Committee launched the Religious Harmony Code. This was well received by a large number of the religious leaders in Singapore. Are there further developments in this matter?

With our open and multi-racial society, are we able to make Singapore a centre for inter-religious dialogue, be it at the regional or international level? This is in line with Singapore's reputation as an international centre in fields such as international arbitration, conferences, exhibitions, trade and tourism. This is also in line with the Prime Minister's call that Singapore establishes an Asia-Middle East dialogue, which was announced recently.

I hope the Minister could give his comments.

The Chairman: Order, I propose to take the break now.

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

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

Sitting accordingly suspended
at 2.35 pm until 3.00 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.00 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head I (cont.) -

The Chairman: Mr Chandra Mohan is not here. Dr Yaacob.

Column: 2025

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I agree with hon. Members Mr Charles Chong, Mr Sin Boon Ann, Mr Ahmad Khalis and Mr Chandra Mohan on the need to continue building social cohesion. With greater diversity in the unfolding social and economic landscape, we must not let up in our efforts to build a caring and cohesive society.

I am glad to see many such efforts taking place. Allow me to cite a few examples. Jamalbi Bte Abdul Hameed who volunteers with Mendaki's "Read with Me" programme is such an example. She signed up with Mendaki because she wanted to do something meaningful with children. I am also told of Dr Leong Lee San and his daughter, Dr Angela Leong, who have been volunteering with the Society for the Physically Disabled since 1997. They have not only provided free medical consultation but also a listening ear. In January this year, the Straits Times reported how a clan which was started by a group of amahs (" Ma Jie " in Cantonese) donated $½ million to ComChest, from the sale of their apartment.

Singaporeans are warm-hearted and generous in supporting worthy causes and have contributed greatly and generously despite the poor economic conditions in the last few years. The responses to the Fabric of the Nation project, the Courage Fund and President's Challenge last year were overwhelming. The Fabric of the Nation project, for example, attracted around 15,000 pieces of patchwork from many Singaporeans last year.

The challenge going forward is to provide more avenues for Singaporeans from all walks of life to come together to support one another and experience community giving as a meaningful way of life, just as it is for Madam Jamalbi, Dr Leong Lee San and Angela Leong, and the amahs.

Column: 2026

Volunteerism and Philanthropy

Mr Charles Chong has asked about our volunteerism rates and the new measures to increase volunteerism. The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), will expand its efforts in promoting volunteerism. Our national volunteerism rate has risen from 9% in 2000 to 15% in 2002, but I agree with Mr Chong that more can be done. NVPC will now take a targeted approach, focusing on sectors such as sports and target groups such as youth, and work with "multiplier agencies" such as business groups to extend its reach to the wider community.

Besides promoting volunteerism, NVPC will also work on ways to promote philanthropy as another important and complementary avenue to bridge communities and nurture a sense of responsibility to society. For example, NVPC will nurture new sources of giving. We appreciate the important roles that several established family foundations have played in our community - Lee Foundation, Tan Kah Kee Foundation, and so on. NVPC will study how it can support the growth of new family, individual and corporate foundations. Such institutions encourage the more successful to extend a helping hand, and promote sustained and informed giving, with accountability to donors and to beneficiaries.

NVPC will also work with companies to grow a culture of corporate social responsibility, beyond just giving money. NVPC will set up a Corporate Givers Network to support decision-makers with shared perspectives, tools and best practices to promote community involvement programmes which benefit their businesses and society.

Sir, let me just cite one good example of corporate giving- Citibank's Youth For Causes, which was carried out in

Column: 2027

partnership with YMCA Singapore last year. 25 groups of youths, guided by mentors from both organisations, were given seed money to come up with innovative ideas to raise funds. They managed to raise $170,000 for 23 charities. In the process, they learned useful skills and mobilised more than 1,400 volunteers. Raising funds, garnering volunteers, involving employees and encouraging innovation amongst youth – all these objectives were met through just one programme. This reflects the value that corporations can bring into the social sector through their strengths in project management, leadership and entrepreneurship.

Every Singaporean has a part to play in helping the less fortunate amongst us. NVPC will strengthen its public education programmes to encourage the spirit of giving amongst all Singaporeans, not just the well-to-do. Last month, for example, more than 200 Singaporeans donated their Economic Restructuring Shares to various charities through the on-line donation portal. NVPC will encourage more of such giving from Singaporeans by providing useful information, educating donors on informed giving and by making it easier for them to give. NVPC will also raise the professionalism of our local fund-raising scene through training and helping fund-raisers explore innovative and cost-effective fund-raising approaches.

Update on Social Enterprises

Sir, apart from working with NVPC on strategies to promote volunteerism and philanthropy, my Ministry is also nurturing social enterprises as another avenue for the more able within the community to help the less privileged ones. Simply put, a social enterprise is a business with a social mission. Profits in social enterprises are principally reinvested for a social cause, rather than to maximise profit for the owners. Last year, I announced that MCDS would set up a

Column: 2028

Social Enterprise Fund to seed and nurture social enterprises.

I am pleased to report that we have made encouraging progress with the Social Enterprise Fund. To-date, about $1.65 million of funding has been approved to support 16 projects. This will help generate revenue to help sustain various social causes. At the same time, some 100 jobs would be created in the process, many of which are for needy groups such as lower skilled unemployed Singaporeans. For FY 2004, my Ministry will set aside another $2 million for the fund.

Sir, allow me to share with Membersa couple of examples from this because, being new, the examples will help us to concretise the concept better.One of the projects supported is Khun Bun, a food outlet set up by the Centre for Fathering. Offering Thai-style bread with interesting dips and other innovative Thai dishes is an example of a non-profit agency setting up a business arm to generate revenue for its core programmes. The Centre for Fathering will tap on Khun Bun's revenue to support its marriage and family education programmes. A businessman, who is a veteran in the food business, is volunteering his expertise to help Khun Bun.

UFUK, a co-operative of Mendaki, also received funding from the Social Enterprise Fund to start a cleaning business. The business will generate revenue for the co-operative and create employment for unemployed people who had approached Mendaki for job assistance.

Finally, Sir, another project that we have supported is a mobile car polishing business by HighPoint Community Services Association. HighPoint operates a half-way house for ex-drug addicts, and helps them integrate into society.

Column: 2029

HighPoint's new social enterprise will help finance the operations of its half-way house and create transitional employment for the former drug addicts.

Promoting a Harmonious Multi-racial Society

Sir, I agree with Mr Charles Chong, Mr Ahmad Khalis and Mr Chandra Mohan on the importance of promoting a harmonious multi-racial society. With regard to Mr Charles Chong's comment on MCDS' Social Attitudes of Singaporeans survey in 2002, its differences from the 2001 results are not significant enough for us to conclude that the satisfaction with race relations has changed somewhat. But, perhaps, let us look at the half full glass rather than the half empty glass. What is clear though is that the large majority of Singaporeans, aboutnine in 10, were still satisfied with race relations in 2002. This, I must say, is the result of efforts by various stakeholders such as the People's Association, schools, as well as community and religious organisations towards strengthening community bonding over the years, and I do not think that we should take this for granted.

Allow me to elaborate a bit on some of the efforts on the ground, because I think we have to understand the extent some of these efforts have taken place over the last few years. For example, the five CDCs have been very crucial in their mission to bond the various communities in which they are responsible. They ran some 1,000 community bonding programmes in 2003. One such programme is the South East CDC's Racial Harmony Youth Ambassador programme which reached out to youths from schools. Another successful programme is the 92 North West CDC's Brisk Walking Clubs. The Brisk Walking Clubs have attracted over 20,000 members, cutting across age, racial and

Column: 2030

religious barriers. In addition, by delivering social assistance and related programmes to the needy, the CDCs have brought residents of all walks of life that much closer.

Sir, besides the CDCs, I am sure Members would be familiar with the role that grassroots organisations play in this important aspect of social cohesion. Let me just elaborate briefly. There are many interest groups at the Community Clubs and Residents' Committees which bring people of similar interests together, regardless of their racial or religious background. There is also greater cross-racial participation in traditional ethnic-based activities organised by the grassroots organisations such as celebrations of Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali. The grassroots organisations will work even harder this year to increase multi-racial participation. One good platform is sports. For example, brisk walking and the inter-constituency sports games attract a good ethnic mix of residents. The People's Association is considering introducing within the community little leagues for children's street soccer and basketball, involving parents as organisers, coaches and officials.

In the schools, for example, they have learning journeys such as heritage tours which enable students to develop a greater appreciation of our multi-cultural heritage. The messages of racial and religious harmony are also conveyed through the teaching of subjects such as History, Social Studies, Civics and Moral Education.

Sir, my Ministry also welcomes ground-up projects that promote interaction or understanding between the different communities. Since January last year, we have spent $0.5 million to fund projects under the Community Harmony Grants Scheme. Six projects have been awarded to-date, and MCDS will continue

Column: 2031

to support projects which build up resources to strengthen community bonding. Let me cite just one good example, and that is the training resources provided by the Joint Social Service Centre (JSSC) for front-line staff to help them better appreciate ethnic differences, overcome stereotypes and prejudices, and identify strategies to improve service quality to different races. JSSC also organised a HarmonyWorks! Video Competition on the racial harmony theme, which drew entries from schools and other participants. I must thank Mr Zainudin Nordin, Chairman of the JSSC,for coming up with such innovative ideas.

IRCCs

Let me now address the comments from Mr Charles Chong, Mr Sin Boon Ann and Mr Ahmad Khalis on the effectiveness and progress of the IRCCs. The IRCCs provide an avenue for community leaders to build networks, develop mutual trust and confidence, and tap on these relationships to defuse tensions. As for views on IRCCs, I would rather give more weight to what IRCC members themselves say. We can do surveys but, at the end of the day, how do the members themselves feel about the structures that we have created and the role that we want them to play.

Sir, in short, they have found the IRCCs to be valuable. For instance, in Kampong Chai Chee, the formation of the IRCC has enabled grassroots members to interact with the church, temple and mosque management committees, and even organise joint activities with these religious organisations. In the words of another IRCC Chairman, the interaction and fellowship amongst the leaders have provided an important safety net for racial and religious understanding.

Sir, public education activities such as visits to places of worship have provided the opening for various communities to

Column: 2032

break the ice and open doors for friendships to develop.

Our conclusion is that the efforts of the past two years are bearing fruit. I know several IRCCs have been called upon to mediate neighbourly quarrels involving residents from different races. For example, in the Sembawang area, IRCC members helped to mediate and resolve a quarrel between an Indian and his Chinese neighbour during the Hungry Ghost period, which arose out of a lack of understanding of one another's religious practices.

Such developments demonstrate the relevance of the IRCCs. To enable the IRCC members to become more effective mediators and develop a better appreciation of our cultural and religious diversity, some of them have also attended relevant courses on mediation and facilitation skills by the People's Association.

Whilst the IRCCs have made some progress, we agree that more can be done to improve IRCCs as an important component in building social cohesion. The IRCCs are taking stock of their progress and identifying areas for development. In fact, in January this year, the IRCC Chairmen and youth leaders met to brainstorm the future directions for IRCCs. They agreed that one important area would be engaging youth in confidence-building across races. More details will be released during the IRCC Forum to be held next month.

3.15 pm

Mr Ahmad Khalis has also suggested that we encourage religious leaders to have deeper inter-religious dialogues and understanding. In fact, there are many on-going inter-religious dialogues and fellowship and these will continue to play an important role in building a strong community. For instance, just less than two weeks ago, the Islamic Fellowship Association organised a mass prayer session

Column: 2033

to pray for peace and stability for Singapore and the world. The event also included a talk on inter-faith harmony, and was attended by representatives from 15 religious and spiritual groups.

The Islamic Fellowship Association and the Catholic Canossian Mission have also engaged in an inter-faith dialogue for the past four years. Groups of some 20 to 30 people meet regularly to discuss how to collaborate in helping the poor and needy. When Christmas and Hari Raya fell on very close dates in 2001 and 2002, for instance, the two groups held joint celebrations in both years, attended by around 300 people each year.

Sir, Mr Ahmad Khalis also asked what is the update on the Code on Religious Harmony. We have finalised the Code and we have given the Code to all the various IRCCs and the grassroots organisations for them to continue to use the Code as a guide. But beyond that, out of the group, that was led by MOS Chan Soo Sen, we have formed an Inter-Religious Harmony Circle and this Circle, which comprised all the various religious leaders that were responsible for helping us to draft the Code, providesa platform for representatives from various religious groups to meet regularly to discuss common issues. So out of the effort, we have created a new platform. The Inter-Religious Organisation, or IRO, is another organisation that is active in promoting inter-faith understanding across different religious communities, through events such as seminars and talks, and inter-faith fellowship. The IRO could also be another focal point for inter-religious dialogue.

Just as an example, Sir, on New Year's eve last year, 2,000 Bahais, Buddhists, Catholics, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs prayed for world peace at Kallang Theatre. The IRO event also included an exhibition on nine religions to promote

Column: 2034

better understanding and appreciation of one another's beliefs and customs. IRO could continue to facilitate such events to enhance inter-faith dialogue and understanding.

Sir, let meaddress some of the specific concerns by Mr Ahmad Khalis on developing Singapore into a hub for dialogue as we are also moving towards developing all sorts of hub for other types of activities. My reply to that is that we should allow this to develop naturally. There is already enough interest at the local level among the various religious groups to come together. If tomorrow we want to organise a dialogue among various religious groups with participation from abroad, I think this is something we should examine closely. If we know that those discussions will be helpful to create a greater understanding, I think it is worth supporting.

Sir, ultimately, it has to be led by the people involved in the process and if we see the need, I think we should encourage it as long as it will meet the needs and promote the aims that we want for Singapore, which is a more cohesive and resilient society.

Mr Sin Boon Ann has mentioned at length about how IRCC may appear to be a token. I hope that I have addressed that issue. You would agree with me that we have to start somewhere. Visiting places of worship has been the thing to do for the last two years. But going forward, the IRCCs are now looking into more indepth programmes that can create greater understanding. But I would like the support of MPs, such as Mr Sin, who is an advisor at the ground, to assist us in this process, asthe IRCC structure is a new structure. Even though it is two years old, I think there will be a lot of discussionsamong the leaders to sort out what directions to take. I would like to assure him and other Members of the House that the IRCC is here to stay. It is

Column: 2035

an important institution and we will develop as we go along.

Sports

Mr Charles Chong: Sir, the Committee on Sporting Singapore, when it released its report in July 2001, had made a number of recommendations and also set certain targets for sports in Singapore to achieve. For example, in its report for "Sports for Everyone" the target of getting one out of every two Singaporeans to participate in a sport related activity by 2005 was set, and targets were also set for sporting excellence. Could the Minister provide an update on the implementation of these recommendations and whether we are closer to achieving the targets that have been set?

Sir, the Prime Minister had also set a target year for the Singapore Football Team to qualify for the World Cup finals. Could the Minister advise if we are on track to achieving the Prime Minister's target, or should he be advising the Prime Minister on a more realistic date?

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Sir, Sports for All, a cornerstone of Singapore sports policy, is an important means of enabling one to keep fit and healthy, especially in a rapidly ageing society. Sports is an effective way of bonding the family and community by encouraging human interaction. Yet, the manner in which sports is being promoted in schools leaves much room for improvement. This is despite what the Minister has just said, sports would instill our children with the fighting spirit. Can the Minister inform the House how is his Ministry supporting the promotion of sports in school?

Presently, not many of the children are given the opportunity to take up the relevant sports that they wish to learn and play with their friends in school. And I stress, just learn to play, and not even in

Column: 2036

competitive games at all. Many of the schools are stating that there are not enough resources in terms of teachers and facilities. I give an actual example. My daughter, who is now in Primary 4, is looking for a CCA to take. She wanted to play netball. After one whole year in Primary 3, she still could not play the game and play with her friends because she was not selected. I remember playing netball when I was young on a school field and not on a court. And the answer given to her was that there were not enough netball courts in the school. If we do not encourage the children to take up a sport to enjoy the teamwork and the pure joy of playing a game, then it is more difficult for them when they are adults to find the time and courage to take up the sport and find the company to enjoy the game.

I know the Member, Mr Zainudin,makes it a point, together with his colleagues, to play soccer regularly, and I am very sure that he learned it when he was a young boy, and he learned to play and enjoy the game with his friends. We should not allow the lack of resources to prevent our children to learn and play games when they are young. Can the Minister seek the assistance and cooperation of MOE to put strong thrust on the importance of playing sports by our children in school? And can the Minister consider helping the schools in providing the resources to encourage sports in school,eg, sports personnel in schools or a cluster of schools, and not only in the Sports School,but alsopossibly installing more sports facilities within the vicinity of a cluster of schools? Please, again, do not tell me that I should plead with the Minister for Education. I would definitely do so in mycut on CCA.

If MCDS is not encouraging or is not successful in encouraging children in school to take up sports, then how can the Minister and the Ministry encourage

Column: 2037

Sports for All and Sports Excellence? I know the Ministerand the Ministry ---

The Chairman: Mdm Phua, your time is almost up.

Mdm Cynthia Phua: I know the Minister and the Ministry are very proud of the Sports School. But what happens to all the children in schools, just wanting to learn a sport? Before I rest my case, Sir, I just want to show a newspaper article, "World Cup – How Norway did it". I know the budget of $65 million ---

The Chairman: Mdm Phua, case rested. Ms Irene Ng.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, we have various initiatives to promote Sports Excellence and it has shown some results. A major sporting achievement has been the performance of Ronald Susilo who put up a good fight at the semi-finals of the All-England Open last week. We are all very proud of him and we hope that he can also make it to the Olympics and continue to do us proud. Sir, we have also improved our performance in the last SEA Games where we won 113 medals, including 30 golds. But I note with concern that, over the years, the SEA Games has been introducing some obscure sports, like shuttlecock kicking andfin swimming and some odd things like that. The SEA Games need to change the way events are selected or we will not see the end of such esoteric sports introduced by the host to boost their own chances to get more medals at the Games. As my colleague, Mr Tan Soo Khoon said, they are now getting more and more like kampung games rather than SEA Games.

Sir, there are now news that football and badminton may be excluded in next year's Games hosted by the Philippines. Imagine football and badminton- this is

Column: 2038

like your staples in major tournaments.And, perhaps, worse, the traditional Filipino martial arts, arnis, might be included by the host.

Our regional athletes need the regular competition and the high level of competition provided by SEA Games to benchmark themselves and to improve so that they can make it to the international level. The SEA Games should not be a game amongst the ASEAN game officials themselves, but it should be a game produced for the athletes to better themselves,or it will not be taken seriously by the international sports community or by the public.

Sir, the SEA Games should reform the way it is structured and should offer largely Olympic events. I would like to ask the Minister what is his position on this and what can be done to restructure the SEA Games. And I would also want to ask the Minister whether we are on track to reach our target of becoming the top 10 sporting nations in Asia by 2010.

Mr Tan Soo Khoon (East Coast): I know that we are now in these days of belt-tightening, cutting down budgets everywhere across the board. But it seems to me that funding for sports has taken a big chunk of the beating. In 2002, we allocated a sum of $47 million to fund the Singapore Sports Council and its programmes. In 2003, we had a reduction of 11% and the amount allocated was down to $41 million. And this year, in 2004, we are down by another 7% to only $39 million. In last year's Budget book, the reason given for the decrease was that it was due to a reallocation of resources for the Sporting Singapore programme. This year, when I checked the Budget book, exact words were again used to account for the reduction in expenditure. I am quite puzzled as to what is meant by the decrease is due to a reallocation of resources. All I can see is that if we

Column: 2039

continue to cut down the budget for sports funding year after year, I just wonder how we are going to achieve the aims of the Committee on Sporting Singapore Report which was chaired by you, Sir. How are we going to achieve our vision of promoting participation in sports at both recreational and competitive levels? And how are we going to foster a fit and cohesive people in Singapore? So I hope that the Minister will look at this and, perhaps, plead with the Finance Minister to ensure that we do not continue to cut down the expenditure allocated to sportsby such large amounts year after year.

I just want to follow up on the point that Mdm Cynthia Phua has raised about encouraging school children to be more active in sports. Here, I want to refer to the question of facilities which are available in our schools. I know the schools have running tracks andthey have football fields. And this point has been raised time and time again -why can these facilities not be opened to members of the public? It seems such a waste that the sports facilities in schools are only confined to the use of school children. And as Mdm Phua has pointed out, not all school children, in fact, many school children, are denied the use of the facilities. So during non-school hours, especially on weekends, why can we not allow members of the public to use such facilities? I know the answer given by the principals is that there is a cost to maintaining such facilities and they cannot allow these facilities to be used by the public. But I am just, once again, urging the Minister to come to some working arrangements with the Ministry of Education, so that our people can have better access to the sports facilities in our schools.

3.30 pm

The Chairman: Mr Ng Ser Miang. You have two cuts. Take them together, please.

Column: 2040

Mr Ng Ser Miang (Nominated Member): Sir, when sports was added to MCDS' portfolio, there were both cheers and, at the same time, some trepidation. Cheers because there is a Ministry to fight for sports, and trepidation because it adds another layer of bureaucracy. The concern proves to be largely unfounded. The first Minister is a sportsman himself. He loves sports and understands sports. And our current Minister has boundless energy and is very supportive of sports. I understand he has taken up golf now. It is good news, as I am sure he will understand the sufferings and pains of sportsmen even better.

The appointment of Ms Mah Li Lian, 4-time Asian squash champion and 3-time Sports Woman of the Year, as Assistant Director, Sports and Youth, is indeed a welcome move. She has a strong sports background and good understanding of the passion and motivation of those running our National Sports Association and the needs of our athletes. Sports is not just a matter of the body but a matter of the heart. It is about passion, dedication, commitment, perseverance and loyalty. The never-say-die attitude, taking winning and losing in their stride,andthe strong sense of team spirit, are all trademarks of a sportsman. These are also the same or similar traits of those of an entrepreneur. Perhaps, there is a role for sports in the development of our entrepreneurs.

Sir, I would like to thank the Prime Minister and his Cabinet for their strong support forsports. The many outstanding achievements and rapid developments would not have been possible without their intervention. PM is a good sportsman and a great fan of our athletes. He follows their performances closely. When Jing Junhong and Li Jia Wei won our first Commonwealth gold medals in 40 years, he watched them live on television. In his email, he asked me to convey his congratulations to the athletes

Column: 2041

and officials. He said: "Our sportsmen and women have done us proud. They carry themselves well. Keep up the spirit of the Singapore Lion." Our athletes did keep up the spirit of the Singapore Lion. The team came back with a total of three goals, two silvers and seven bronzes, a bumper harvest. Sports unify our people, and the spirit of the Singapore Lion will see us through the many challenges to come. I support MCDS' effort to build a strong sports culture, one in which Singaporeans love sports, enjoy sports, understand the value of sports, and are proud of our athletes' endeavours.

Committee on Sporting Singapore

Sir, it has been three years since the publication of the COSS report. It would be useful to take stock on the progress that we have made on the implementation of the 40 recommendations, eg, how much of the $500 million has been disbursed, and into which area, and how the balance will be allocated. More importantly, as several Members have mentioned earlier, how much progress are we making towards the three pillars of Sports Excellence, Sportsfor All and Sports Industry. In particular, how far are we from reaching the targets of developing Singapore to be the top 10 sporting nations in Asia by 2010, doubling our sports industry from $680 million to $1.4 billion by 2010, and achieving a 50% sports participation rate by 2005? I would suggest that the review be carried out with stakeholders to finetune and make adjustments and reallocate resources, where necessary, so that we would be able to achieve these lofty goals.

The additional funding of $500 million for sports will end in 2006, and the 2% cut in the Ministry's budget, as announced by the DPM, has raised concerns whether sports will continue to

Column: 2042

receive the very necessary funding from the Ministry. I hope the Minister can give the assurance that sports will continue to be a priority and be funded accordingly.

Sports Excellence

Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, we recently visited the Sports School. For myself, I am very pleased with what I saw. There are many more new specialised schools coming our way, such as the NUS High School focusing on Mathematics and Science, the Arts School that was recently announced in the House by MITA. These are all positive steps that call for celebration.The educational landscape is changing quickly, perhaps too quickly to yield any immediate results. The infrastructure can be built overnight. On the other hand, building passion and changing mindsets will take a longer time. But I am delighted that what can be done now has been done, and that it is anattempt to create a conducive environment for sports talents.

Support provided by the Government in terms of resources, facilities and training would most certainly help in harnessing Singaporean talents in our bid to create champions for Singapore. Thus, I am a bit concerned, as Mr Tan Soo Khoon has said, aboutthe cuts in the sports budget. Following what Mr Ng Ser Miang has said, I would also like to have an update in the House on the progress of some of the initiatives that were proposed in the COSS report. Whatnew plans and concepts, if any,are weexploring to achieve the vision of sports excellence, grow the local sports industry and nurture a sports culture in the community and the society?

The Chairman: Mr Ng Ser Miang. Please take both cuts together.

National Sports Associations

Mr Ng Ser Miang: Sir, the COSS has called NSA the most important link to the

Column: 2043

three pillars of a Sporting Singapore. NSAs have been encouraged to move towards professional management, put up strategic plans, complete with multi-year targets and multi-year budgets. NSAs have spent a lot of time and efforts working towards these goals. They are, however, disheartened that while MCDS has agreed and accepted their strategic plans and multi-year targets, there has been no commitment on multi-year funding to support the implementation of the plans. To attract the services of professional managers, high quality coaches and technical staff requires commitment and contracts. NSAs are unable to do so, when funding beyond one year is uncertain.

NSAs set targets for their sportsmen and women for major sports events, such as the Asian Games and Olympic Games, which come in a 4-year cycle. Some of our athletes are prepared to make exceptional sacrifices, like stopping school or work, or defer NS, to train and compete and bring glory to Singapore. Yet, NSAs cannot ask them to make commitments or ask them to quit their jobs, stop school, defer NS, because of the uncertainty in long-term funding. Ministries can now plan their budgets on a multi-year basis. I would, therefore, urge MCDS to similarly make multi-year funding available to support NSAs and make our dream of a Sporting Singapore a reality.

Foreign Talents

Sir, foreign talents like Jing Junhong, Li Jia Wei, Ronald Susilo and Li Li bring glory to Singapore and add depth and help raise the standard of sports, and inspire many young Singaporeans to take up sports. In fact, Jing Junhong has done more than bringing more medals to Singapore. She has a 5-year-old son and, last night, she told me she and her husband would like to have another baby. Good news forthe more Singapore babies policy!

Column: 2044

In December last year, the Minister announced the continuation of the foreign talent scheme and requires NSAs to bring foreign talents to help meet the high performance operational plan. I support the Ministry's move for a clear and consistent policy on foreign talents. So far, NSAs that have brought in foreign talents have shown responsibility and discretion in their decisions. The Singapore Table Tennis Association and the Singapore Badminton Association are good examples. They have well-thought-out plans and have painstakingly sought out young teenage talents and bring them to Singapore, train and develop them into champions, care for them, educate them, and make sure that they have no problem fitting into our society, whichsuggests that no two NSAs and no two sports are the same, and there should not be a one-size-fits-all requirement on their foreign talent plan. For example, table tennis and badminton will require a steady flow of young foreign talents to continue to build a strong base and maintain the high standards that we have achieved. These two NSAs have strong youth development programmes, and we have seen tremendous improvements in the standard of our young players, but they are not there yet.

Similarly, it will be many years before our Sports School can produce champions like Jing Junhong, Li Jia Wei, Ronald Susilo and Li Li. In the meantime, any disruption to the foreign talent scheme and any arbitrary cut on the number of foreign talents required would definitely be a big setback. All previous investments and efforts would have been wasted.

In addition to providing our foreign talents with basic education, I would urge the Ministry to explore with our institutions of higher learning on the possibility of admitting these sports

Column: 2045

talents at the appropriate time, so that they too can further their studies. Beijing, Tsinghuaand several top Chinese universities have special admission schemes for their sports champions. In fact, this special scheme should be supported and implemented for all our Singapore sports champions.

I would also like to suggest that the Ministry look into a scheme where qualified Singapore families each adopt a foreign talent and give him or her an adopted home in Singapore, providing parental guidance, inviting them for weekend family outings, take part in festive activities, and do many things that Singaporeans do. I believe this is the best and surest way to help them integrate into our society.

The Chairman: Mr Tan Soo Khoon.

Mr Tan Soo Khoon: I am not speaking.

The Chairman: Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank Members who have stood up to speak on our behalf on our effort to push sports in Singapore. It has been almost three years since the launch of Sporting Singapore. Of the $500 million Sporting Singapore Fund set up with the help of both the Government andSingapore Pools in July 2001, we have thus far utilised about $280 million.Out of the $280 million over the last three years, about $224 million went to sports excellence, largely for the building of the Sports School, and increased grants to National Sports Association athletes. Another $35 million went to new programmes under Sports for All and, finally, $21 million went to the development of Sports Industry, which includes the staging of marqueeevents, such as the Rugby 7s, Singapore Marathon, Caltex Golf Masters, and so

Column: 2046

on. Members may wish to note that this ison top ofthe grants-in-aid that the Singapore Sports Council receives, which largely went to Sports for All and the operations of sports complexes and swimming pools. Many Members of Parliament have asked for a progress report. I would just like to highlight some of the milestones that we have accomplished last year.

Sir, let me, first, touch on theprogress in the Sports Excellence pillar. As rightly pointed out by Members, our aim is to be one of the top 10 sporting nations in Asia by 2010. The last two years have seen great achievements by our athletes. We achieved our best results ever in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in 2002, reaching 14th and 13th positions on the medal tally respectively. In the 2003 SEA Games, we obtained 30 Golds, 35 Silvers and 51 Bronzes, one of our best results ever.

Besides the major Games, our athletes have also done well in other competitions. In 2002, Mr Ronald Susilo made it to the finals of the Yonex-Sunrise Badminton Open here in Singapore, and reached a ranking of World No. 9. And, as pointed out by Ms Irene Ng, just a few days ago, he became the first Singaporean in 37 years to make it to the semi-finals of the All-England Championships since 1967.

Sir, our disabled athletes havealso done well. At the Second ASEAN Para Games in Vietnam in December last year,eight athletes from Singapore performed admirably to win 19 medals – 10 Golds, eight Silvers and one Bronze.

Mr Charles Chong asked about Goal 2010 for our football team to reach the World Cup finals. The Football Association of Singapore has clarified that it is still working towards this vision. My Ministry encourages all NSAs to set long-term targets for themselves. This will set

Column: 2047

the direction and guide them in their plans. The Goal 2010, set by the Football Association, is a very challenging one. If it can be achieved, it will be a great boost to local sport. If not, it would still have helped to guide the development of football in Singapore.

Ms Irene Ng asked if the performance of the Singapore contingent during the SEA Games 2003 in Vietnam was up to par. The short answer is yes. The total haul of 30 gold medals surpassed our own expectation of22 gold medals. It was also much better than our performance in SEA Games 2001, when a larger contingent was sent. In 2003, we won 18 more medals, comprising eight Gold,one Silver, and nine Bronze medals. But if we look behind the statistics, these numbers alone do not show the greater depth and breadth of our sports scene. We now have more athletes from a wider range of sports achieving glory in the international arena. More importantly, some 30% of our recent SEA Games medallists were below 18 years of age, which points to the fact that we have built up a pool of athletes not only for the present but also for the future.

3.45 pm

Let me citesome examples. In gymnastics, our team which won the

women's team event comprised young women from 15 to 18 years old. In chess, 15-year-old Jason Goh beat our very own Grandmaster before he went on to win a Silver medal. In shooting, another young team comprising 16-year-olds beat more seasoned competitors to win the Air Rifle team bronze. We are able to develop a certain breadth and a certain depth in athlete base.

Ms Ng also enquired if there was a need to reform the way SEA Games events are selected. The selection of the events in the SEA Games is guided by the

Column: 2048

statutes of the SEA Games Federation. There are three categories of sports. Category 1 comprises athletics and swimming, which are compulsory events. Category 2 comprises sports events in the Olympicand Asian Games. Category 3 comprises the regional sports which the SEA Games Federation has identified. Host countries for the Games are allowed to select events from categories 2 and 3. This gives the hosts some autonomy on the events to be featured.

However, it was decided at the last SEA Games Federation Council Meeting that starting from SEA Games 2007, hosts would be required to ensure that 80% of all events are from categories 1 and 2. Only 20% of the events can be selected from regional sports. This will ensure that more internationally recognised sports are included in the SEA Games.

The host country will always have some advantages because of its right to choose some events over others and because of the home ground support. This is a peculiarity of sports that we accept. What is more important is that we are continuously improving ourselves.

Our recent achievements in sports excellence show that our strategies have paid off and our programmes have rightly addressed the gaps in the system.

Sir, let me now turn to National Sports Associations (NSAs) which was raised by Mr Ng Ser Miang. He has asked about multi-year funding to NSAs. We recognise that NSAs would like to have assurance of funding on a long-term basis and agree that this is a good approach. As far as possible, SSC gives the NSAs an indication of the amount of grants they are likely to receive. However, the actual NSA funding depends on the plans and achievements of the NSAs, and that will

Column: 2049

have to vary from year to year. Since last year, SSC has required all core and merit NSAs to develop long-term strategic plans. To-date, almost all the NSAs have completed their strategic plans.

This year, the core and merit NSAs will have to go a step further by completing a High Performance Operational Plan (HPOP). This is a complete sports excellence plan for the NSAs, with details such as the number and profile of athletes, the youth development programmes, training, competition and sports medicine and sports science programmes, athlete support and team selection processes. SSC will work with selected NSAs to develop their respective High Performance Operational Plans.

The amount of funding available to each NSA also depends on the number of NSAs that deserve funding support. For instance, some NSAs may be upgraded to core or merit status because they have developed sound plans and achieved what they planned. They would then be provided with greater support. Therefore, while we can give an indication of the likely funding that the NSAs will get, it is not a guarantee. It is something that we can help to guide the NSAs but NSAs, which continue to improve, will receive more funding. If they are able to perform according to the plan they have put forward to SSC, then more funding will come their way.

Sir, Mr Ng has also mentioned about our foreign sports talent policy. Let me just reiterate the policy that we had clarified last year. Our stand on foreign sports talent is clear. Any import of foreign sports talent must be to complement our own local athlete development. Foreign sports talents are not a substitute for local talents.

Column: 2050

To emphasise this point, the Foreign Sports Talent scheme was finetuned in December 2003 after consultation with the sporting fraternity and the general public. Under the revised scheme, all NSAs that wish to import foreign talents must first develop its High Performance Operational Plan and have it approved before they can apply for the import of the foreigners. I think that is only logical. If they tell us that they want to achieve so many medals in so many years and they need so many athletes, they should be able to tell the SSC how many athletes they have in their plan, how many foreign athletes they will need and what is the total combination. However, this does not imply that we are cutting back on ourforeign sports talent. It only means that NSAs need to plan carefully before they would be allowed to bring in the sports talent. The policy has not changed. The process is being made more transparent and clearer. We have consulted the NSAs and they are very happy with the revised work processes that we have put in place.

Sir, in our recent review of the foreign sports talent policy, MCDS has stipulated that NSAs which wish to bring in foreign talents must comply with certain conditions regarding the well-being of such athletes. These include having a proper education plan for the younger foreign talents and post-sports career planning for the other athletes. This is on top of the need to have a well-planned High Performance Operational Plan.

Mr Ng had made some valuable suggestions on the possible education and integration plans for our foreign sports talent. These are useful suggestions that we will take into consideration.

Sir, let me address the issue of sportsin schools by Mdm Cynthia Phua and Mr Tan Soo Khoon. Mdm Cynthia Phua has earlier asked how the Ministry is supporting the promotion of sports in schools. The Sports Council is now

Column: 2051

putting more focus on the young because we believe that good psycho-motor skills need to be developed from young.

Three programmes, namely, Catch Them Young, Sporty U and Primary School Development Scheme targeted at students and aimed to complement the physical education programmes in school were launched last year. Altogether, some 88 schools (36 secondary and 52 primary schools) as well as five private industry partners have been involved. In all these programmes, the aim is to help the students develop competency in basic sport skills and to cultivate a sporting habit among them.

The Sporty U programme, for example, targets mainly students who are not school athletes, maybe like Mdm Cynthia's daughter. Under the programme, the students are first oriented to the sport before instructors from the respective NSAs teach them the basic skills. They are then encouraged to play regularly and finally compete in competitions within the schools.

Sir, Mr Tan has also spoken about the sharing of facilities which are available in the schools. I just like to inform the House that SSC has worked with seven schools to build changing rooms, toilets and even floodlights so that the schools are able to open up their school fields for public use. Six of them are already opening their school fields to the public. The last school, Bedok View Secondary School, will be ready for co-sharing when its upgrading is completed in January 2005.

Sir, let me now address the point raised by Mr Tan Soo Khoon on the funding towards sports. First, I would like to assure him that there is no cut-back as reported in the Budget because the overall funding is from $500 million that has been given to us to manage for the next five years. There is some reallocation. I

Column: 2052

am not quite familiar with how the reallocation is taking place, but I would like to assure him and the Members of the House that the money that has been given to us will be used to achieve the three pillars that we have set up to achieve, whichare Sports Excellence, Sports Industry and Sports for All. I will not be able to give him the details. I will be most happy to supply him the details after this debate. But I would like to assure him that the resources needed to achieve our goals are there.

Mr Ng made the point that when dealing with NSAs, we should not take a one-size-fits-all approach, which I agree with him, and that will be reflected in the HPOP plan. Sir, the HPOP will differ from NSA to NSA. I think each NSA will understand its sports better and if it can come up with a plan that makes sense, that shows a clear path, that is something which SCC and MCDS will look forward to. We have met and worked with some of the NSAs. They have developed their HPOP plan to address the needs of their sports in order to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. The components of the plan have been spelt out by SSC and MCDS. But the components, the various weightages and combinations are best left to NSAs to alert SSC on why they need more of this or more of that.

Sports School

Mr Sin Boon Ann: Sir, in our debate last year, the issue of conflicting demand of the Sports School was raised by several Members in this House. Essentially, the idea is for the Sports School to groom our next generation of sportsmen who are of suitable calibre and who can help us break out of this long medals famine in the world sporting arena.

Not all sportsmen are necessarily academically inclined. There are many

Column: 2053

who are well-talented in sports, but who do not come across academically. So when it was announced that the Sports School requires minimum academic standards as a pre-requisite for admission, it does seem a little bit conflicting with its original intention, as that by itself would deprive many capable boys and girls with sporting talent from qualifying for school. The Minister, in his reply, said that the criteria for admission are that the students must first have talent in sports and that sports are a primary consideration for admission. However, Sir, unfortunately, the general perception still persists that academic requirements still prevail and that those who go in on pure sporting talent alone are few.

I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether the school still accepts students with ability in sports but without strong academic ability and, if so, how many have the school accepted so far.

Mr Chew Heng Ching: Sir, after much debate in this House in the past and up to last year, the Sports School at Woodlands is now ready. I understand that the school has started operation this year. While it may be too early to talk about its performance and effectiveness, I would like to ask the Minister to give this House an update on the school and its plan, going forward, and whether the plan is being affected by a cut in budgetary allocation for the Ministry.

Mr Iswaran: Sir, may I first congratulate the Minister, his officials and all those involved in setting up the school. Recently, several of us had the privilege of visiting the Sports School. It strikes me as a very impressive institution, not just because of the hardware, which is self-evident, but also the software – the "soft" culture that pervades there. Let me illustrate that.

Column: 2054

One of the examples is that the principal told me that one of the problems he has is that the students are reluctant to go home during weekends because they enjoy their school environment so much and they find the whole experience very enriching. Another example is the case of some of the students who are actively involved in sailing. Their feedback was that whenever they go sailing, they find their mind more at ease because they do not have to worry about what they are missing out in school, what their friends might be doing but, instead, concentrate on their sailing and then go back and do their studies later.

4.00 pm

Sir, it would appear that the Ministry has succeeded in creating a rare breed – Singapore students who are actually totally at ease and happy in the school environment. I must commend them for that. My only question then is: how can this experience be extended and generalised to the broader school environment in Singapore? Whilst we cannot be replicating the Sports School all over Singapore and it may not even be desirable to do so, I would like to know how can the elements that pervade this school environment, which allow for a better balance between sports and co-curriculum activities with the core academic curriculum, and the lessons be generalised to most schools in Singapore?

I know that the Minister of State straddles two Ministries, MCDS and MOE, but I presume the burden does not fall on his shoulders alone. So I would like to know whether there are institutional arrangements or other means for the lessons to be shared.

I would also like to reiterate the question raised by Mr Sin Boon Ann on the admission criteria for the Sports School itself. I think it is important that we allow for a largercatchment of students to benefit from this facility that

Column: 2055

we have created, not just because we want to create champion sports people. But, also, I think we want to send a signal out there in terms of having a place for all and of realising the potential through our educational system.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: Sir, the opening of the multi-million dollar Sports School with the state-of-the-art facilities is a testimony of the Government's commitment to nurturing and developing our sporting talent and thus should be applauded. However, I read with dismay the Sports School's initial announcement that only Primary 6 students who had PSLE results that qualified them for the Express Stream in secondary schools can be admitted, while those who do not can only be admitted on a case-by-case basis. While I appreciate the Sports School's flexibility in eventually admitting some 30-odd students whose PSLE results did not meet the minimum academic criteria, I feel that this minimum set of academic criteria for the school goes against the grain of what ought to be the objectives of setting up the Sports School in the first place, which is to nurture children with sporting talent and maximise their potential in the field of sports, instead of being constrained by conventional norms of what constitutes success.

Sir, I disagree that the school should be primarily for students who are both talented in sports and studies. If so, as one writer to the Straits Times Forum page noted, "We are then settling for mediocrity in sporting talent by not wanting to nurture children with outstanding sporting talent but who may fall short of the academic standards set". Furthermore, the very act of only allowing Normal stream students admission on a case-by-case basis is a signal that academic performance is still the yardstick for measuring success. At the same time, it is an indictment of Normal stream students and it seems to indicate that these students are not considered for the

Column: 2056

Sports School, despite their proven talent. Applying NTU's approach inits revised admission standards for the discretionary 10%, proven sporting talent should form the first criterion for selection of the Sports School students. Then those with acceptable academic results, down to Normal Technical should form the next set of criteria for admission into the programme, subject to the number of places available.

Sir, having invested millions in the Sports School, with more to be invested, it will indeed be a shame if the School has to settle for mediocrity in sports, and perhaps miss out on our future local Olympic gold medalist due to our fixation on academic achievement as our measure of success.

Mr Ang Mong Seng: (In Mandarin) : Sir, recently I visited the new Sports School in Singapore. I was deeply impressed by the magnificent building and the state-of-the-art equipment they have. I had the opportunity to visit some of the sports schools in our neighbouring countries, and I must say our sports school is among the best in Asia, in terms of scale and facilities. May I ask the Minister how much have we spent on the school building and what is its operating cost? How much has been spent every year in the cultivating of our budding athletes?

Apart from the hardware facilities, good training environment should also include the ideal environment for the development of endurance and determination. With such an excellent and comfortable environment, can we produce some national sportsmen and sportswomen who are physically and mentally fit, rugged and strong?

The Sports School is the training centre for our national athletes and sporting elites. At present, training is provided foreight sports which are also

Column: 2057

the core sports supported by the Singapore Sports Council under the Sports Excellence programme. Yet, there are as many as 30 items in the SEA Games alone. I hope that the Minister would seriously consider adding more sports for training in the school, such as volleyball, martial art, taekwondo, basketball, etc, so that the training could be more diversified, and all these excellent facilities could be put to optimum use, thereby raising Singapore's position in the world sports arena.

I feel that the Sports School has already possessed the conditions to be a training ground of international standards. What we need now are good coaches and trainers. We may also need professional counsellors to mould our athletes so that they have the right attitude and spirit to excel themselves.

With all that, could the Minister consider putting all our national athletes in the Sports School for centralised training and integrated management, so as to prepare them for international competitions? Give them the proper training under the proper coaches, provide them with the appropriate nutrition to build them up as "world beaters", so that they could win more medals for Singapore in the SEA Games, the Asian Games and even the Olympics. Only then, can we realise our dream of becoming one of the best sporting nations in Asia by 2010.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: Sir, I really enjoyed the visit to the Sports School and I am really excited for the children, the teachers and the coaches. Nevertheless, I have two points of view on this subject. Firstly, I would like to ask the Ministry what isthe rationale behind naming the road leading up to the school as "ChampionsWay ". I just feel that we are putting a little too much of pressure on the children and also leaving them

Column: 2058

quite open and vulnerable to ridicule. Ironically, I do not know about the rest, but when I first saw the word "Champions", the instant recall I had was Milo, which is testimony to the successful branding of that product. So, I think this can even open itself to more ridicule if we perhaps are not watchful. I would perhaps like to suggest this.There are quite a number of local sporting heroes whom we can use to name that road.We have, for instance, Mr Wong Peng Soon, who was crowned as Singapore's greatest athlete,he took the All-England titles in 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1955. We also have Mr Tan Howe Liang, an Olympic silver medalist. So when we have good history, good exemplary characters, why the anonymous "Champions Way" ? It is left a little bit too open.

Secondly, I share Mr Iswaran's view. There is an exciting model going on in the Sports School, a balance between sports and academia and personalised mentoring. How can we use that model and replicate it across the other schools? This cannot be left isolated in some corner of Woodlands but it has to spread across to the other schools. I would like to ask the Ministry what are the longer term plans,what is the timeline, and how can these wonderful andexciting programmes be brought into the other schools. And I agree with Dr Amy Khor's arguments on the criteriafor bringing our sporting characters into the schools. If we spread it across, maybe in the long run, these academic criteria will not be a problem too.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Sir, I join Mr Iswaran and Dr Amy Khor to applaud the Ministry for setting up the Sports School . I have three points to make in respect of the Sports School. Firstly,

Column: 2059

the aim of the Sports School; secondly, the issue of foreign talent; and thirdly, the establishment of a sports culture in Singapore.

The aim of the Sports School must be specifically to produce champions to win medals at international meets, in particular the Olympic Games, for Singapore. Singapore, it may be noted, as mentioned by Ms Braema Mathi, did win an Olympic medal when Mr Tan Howe Liang won a silver medal in the 1948 Olympic Game in London. But that was the only Olympic Games medal we have won up to today. With the establishment of the Sports School, I hope that in the not too distant a future, we shall be winning Olympic medals. This is not an impossible task, because table-tennis and badminton are now included in the list of competitive sports. We have seen Ronald Susilo reached the semi-finals of the All-England and it is indicated in today's papers, that he intends to try fora gold in the Athens Olympics this year in August. I wish him well.

My second point is foreign talent. Singapore has gone out of its way to recruit foreign talent. Many Singaporeans have expressed their unhappiness about this. I hope that since we have a Sports School now, we should trawl our schools and select our young local talents and nurture these talents to be sports champions at a later date. Now we should not take the easy way out by only selecting school champions. We have to go beyond them. We must leave no stones unturned, so to say, to spot young talents and nurture them to be champions. Instead of going all over the world, we should recruit our own talent. We have been giving, in fact, foreign talents a lot of incentives, like PR, citizenship, scholarship and other incentives. I think we should not forget our local talents. We should also go all out to look for local talents and train them in our Sports School and, hopefully, one day, not relying so much on foreign talents.

With regard to sports culture, sports champions do not emerge in isolation. In

Column: 2060

countries which have produced many sports champions, it is noted that there is a prevalent sports culture in those countries. Our Sports School can also help to build up a sports culture in Singapore . I would like to ask the Minister what is the target of our Sports School in respect of winning, say, at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, I take this opportunity to thank the Minister for inviting us to visit and view the recently completed Sports School . It is really impressive considering the amount of money that was spent to build and subsidise it. I believe it has an excellent model for training our future athletes.

From that visit, I was informed that the total cost to train per student is around $25,000 per year. The students are required to pay school fees of $500 per month, amounting to $6,000 per year. When the School is running in full capacity in a few years' time, it is expected to have about 600 students and the total subsidy for the whole school to keep it as a going-concern will be around $11.4 million per year. Sir, we can see that the Government subsidises around $19,000 per student per year. That is a lot of money, a lot of subsidy per student. It is a lot higher than subsidies for students from other secondary schools or even university students.

I am wondering if this huge amount of yearly subsidy is justified. Are we subsidising too much per student at the expense of other schools and welfare programmes? The Government is willing to subsidise so much per student for its pet project, but when it comes to welfare and other community care programmes, it is always more stingy and tight with subsidies and expenses. I think there should be a rethinking on the

Column: 2061

Government's role and it should be more willing to subsidise and finance other equally worthwhile community care and welfare programmes.

Sir, the reason why I raise this matter under Sports School is not because I am against the idea of subsidising the Sports School here. I think it is great. With a disciplined programme and care that the students go through, we will soon produce remarkable athletes and fine youths for our society. What I am asking here is for the Government and MCDS to be half as willing to subsidise more for the other programmes that care for the weaker, poorer and less hopeful members of our society, especially the aged, the infirm and the frail, as we cough up more money to promote sports.

Mr Ng Ser Miang: Sir, I too was very happy to have visited the Sports School . I would like to congratulate MCDS for its efficiency in building it and starting the Sports School in a short period of two years. I was heartened to see the pioneer group of students happy and enthusiastic and I would like to wish them the very best.

The Sports School represents substantial investments from the Sporting Singapore Fund and a large percentage of the $500 million. There are high expectations on what the Sports School should deliver. It would, therefore, be of great interest to the public to know the KPI and specific targets in terms of achievement at major competitions such as the SEA Games and Asian Games over the next eight years, and how the Sports School could contribute to the three targets of a Sporting Singapore.

Athletes peak at different age, depending on the type of sports. The Sports School could only provide for four years of support. I would, therefore, like

Column: 2062

to find out what plans MCDS has for these students after four years, taking into account higher education and, for the boys, National Service. We have to ensure that there are opportunities for the students to continue their sports, or else the investment in and efforts of the Sports School will be wasted.

I would also like to recommend to the Sports School to work hand-in-glove with the National Sports Associations to maximise the potential of the students. NSAs are the governing bodies and specialists of their sports and are the ones who select athletes to represent Singapore . NSAs are also affiliated to the respective international federation and would be in the position to provide the School with the latest development of their sports. As the School has admitted some of the top talents, it is also stirring competition from other schools. The School will become a good target to beat and a benchmark to surpass. I believe this is natural and healthy and hope that there will be serious competitions and many records to be broken. I would like to see that all schools compete against one another at national competitions, but all athletes should work together as a team and support one another when going out for international competitions representing Singapore . We all have a common goal to bring sports to a higher level and win for Singapore.

And I see a need to inculcate a strong Team Singapore spiritat the very start and for the School to become an important and integral part of the team.

4.15 pm

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir,I would like to thank all Members who stood up to speak on behalf of the Sports School. I think the person to thank is not me nor the former Minister, but the Prime Minister himself for giving us the money to set up the Sports School.

Column: 2063

Sir, a significant milestone last year was the completion of the Singapore Sports School. I am glad to report that the Sports School has received very encouraging response and feedback since it started recruiting students and operations.

Our target was to recruit between 100 and 150 students. When the Sports School opened for trials last year, it met with overwhelming response. More than 1,200 students signed up for the trials. Eventually, we accepted 140 students who started with the Sports School in January this year. This includes eight Secondary 2 students who were willing to repeat their Secondary 2 at the Sports School so that they have a chance of realising their sporting dreams.

Some Members of Parliament have again questioned the Sports School admission criteria, which included an academic component that requires students to qualify for the Express Stream. There was a concern that talented young athletes may be excluded from the School because of their academic results. I hope to adequately address these concerns this time round.

Sports Excellence Policy

First, I think it is important for us to understand the sports excellence policy that formed the basis for setting up the Sports School.

When Singaporeans think about elite sports, we instantly make references to the world of professional sports, such as the English Premier League, PGA Golf Tour, or NBA. The names of David Beckham, Tiger Woods and, more recently, Yao Ming, are invariably at the tip of our tongues. The professional sports world is commercially-driven and centres around clubs and entire leagues striving to increase fan-base and revenues.

Column: 2064

Our sports excellence policy is not to encourage our young to drop everything and commit only to elite sports full-time because, in reality, there are only very few in the world who can make it as top-class professional sportsmen or women. Instead, we want to nurture a pool of athletes who can help Singapore gain honour and glory at major international sporting events. Well and good if amongst these athletes, some can later go on to become top-class professional athletes. Therefore, for many of our athletes, they would need to be equipped to be employable in future, like any other Singaporean.

Even world-class athletes also need education. For example, Ms Hilary Lunke, was only 24 years old when she won the 2003 Ladies' US Open Golf Championships. She was already holding a Masters Degree in Sociology from Stanford University at that time. Ms Lee Lai Shan from Hong Kong won a Gold medal in wind-surfing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, while she was pursuing her degree. Or, Mr Peter Anthony from Australia, while he was holding a full-time job in banking, also pursued his sporting dreams and won a Gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in rowing.

The aim of the Sports School is to help our young athletes who are still in school balance both their studies and sport commitments. Our experience has shown that the students who are likely to need this support are those who have the potential to excel in both sports and studies. Because they know they have the potential in both and yet have only limited time in the mainstream school system to realise them, they and their parents often have to make the painful decision to sacrifice one. Sadly, it is often sports that loses out. This is a great loss to Singapore if we want to build ourselves up as a Sporting Nation.

Column: 2065

Dr Benedict Tan is a very rare find for us. An Asian Games Gold medallist in sailing in 1994, Dr Tan is currently a medical doctor working as a Consultant Sports Physician at the Changi General Hospital. Luckily for Singapore, he did not have to make that painful decision to drop sailing or his studies but Ben has had to work very, very hard to achieve both academic and sporting excellence. We would like to help our young talented athletes who have similar dreams as people like Dr Ben Tan to achieve them. Sir, this is why we set up the Sports School and we should not deviate from this primary objective.

Sports School Admission Criteria

Sir, notwithstanding our stated objective of the Sports School, we have been flexible in our admission criteria. I would beg to differ with Dr Amy Khor that we are settling for mediocrity. Let me first clarify that the first and most important criterion for admission is sports talent and potential. Students would have to go through selection trials jointly conducted by coaches from the Sports School and the National Sports Associations. Apart from this, the students would also have to go through fitness assessment, psychological profiling, and a personal interview with Sports School staff. Only after the student has crossed these hurdles would his or her academic results be taken into consideration. However, the Sports School is also clear that talented young athletes who could not meet the academic criteria will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and accepted into the School if they are deemed to be able to cope with the curriculum. This was proven in the first batch of students.

The first batch of 140 students includes 26 students who, based on their

Column: 2066

PSLE results, were streamed into the Normal (Academic) course, and another two streamed into the Normal (Technical) course. I am glad to inform the House that the School has accepted all these students. For the 26 Normal (Academic) students, the School has made an assessment that they would be able to complete the €˜O' level course in five years' time.

For the other two Normal (Technical) students, they will be undergoing basic education in English, Mathematics and Mother Tongue so that they will have the basic educational requirements to allow them to pursue upgrading courses in future.

[Mdm Deputy Speaker (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua) in the Chair]

4.22 pm

Why not offer Normal courses?

Madam, it is quite clear that the majority of our student athletes can qualify for the Express Stream. It is therefore better for the Sports School to remain focused and targeted in its approach. As a relatively small school, it is not cost-effective for the Sports School to offer too many different courses. At the moment, there is not enough critical mass of elite student athletes within the Normal (Technical) cohort, and thus it is not practical to provide such a course for a small handful. As far as possible, the Sports School will take in the talented student athletes and customise the educational paths for them. Alternatively, talented student athletes can continue with their Normal (Technical) education in a mainstream school while continuing with elite sports training with the NSAs. I would like to also add that the Sports School would not be the only school to produce athletes for Singapore. Other schools in Singapore, as pointed out by Mr Ng Ser Miang, will raise their level of performance in order to match the Sports

Column: 2067

School, and they have been producing athletes for Singapore.

Costs and Subsidies

Madam, let me now move on to costs and subsidies. Mr Ang Mong Seng, Mr Steve Chia and Mr Ng Ser Miang have questioned about the costs, subsidies and the targets of the Sports School. The Sports School was constructed at a cost of $75 million. When the school reaches its full enrolment of 600 students, the projected operating cost is about $15 million per year. This translates to a cost of about $25,000 per student per year. The breakdown per student is $9,000 for academic education, $10,000 for sports training, and $6,000 for board and lodging.

This relatively high level of funding is needed because the Sports School not only provides for education, but also high performance sports training and hostel accommodation for 5-6 days a week with all meals being provided for.

The Sports School gets a grant per student per year from the Ministry of Education, just as any other independent schools in Singapore, no more no less. The remainder of the subsidies comes from the Sporting Singapore Fund. Therefore, I would like to assure Mr Steve Chia that the subsidy to the Sports School is not at the expense of other schools. Mr Chia has also taken a political shot at theGovernment by charging that the Government hasselected fancy projects to support, instead of putting money in helping the poor and the needy. I think he is totally wrong.As I have announced earlier in Parliament, funding towards social assistance programmes will not be cut;in fact,they will be increased. And every Singaporean who is in need will not be turned away. We will find ways and means to help all Singaporeans who are in

Column: 2068

need. But, at the same time, the Sports School is an important component of our Sports Excellence programme. The funding is available and we will continue with the programme that we have set out for ourselves.

Targets of Sports School

Madam, next is on the targets of the Sports School. The Sports School is not just a school. It is also an incubator for our young athletes. To serve this national agenda, we have given it much support. Naturally, we also have higher expectations. As rightly pointed out, the Sports School must aim high. Although the Sports School is taking part in the inter-school competitions, these are mainly to provide the students with the necessary exposure in competitions. The aim is international achievements, not winning in domestic competitions.

The Sports School aims to produce athletes who can compete against the best juniors in the region, which means to consistently come in among the top three in regional age-group competitions. The specific targets for each sport are currently being worked out between the Sports School and the respective National Sports Associations. In the short term, the Sports School aims to have 10 to 15 students representing Singapore at the 2007 SEA Games in their respective sports. In the long term, the Sports School graduates should form a significant part of our contingent to major Games in future. Madam, Members must remember that our current batch of students is mostly 13 years old and the Sports School is now but only three months old.

Besides sporting achievements, the Sports School also aims to become a value-added school in terms of academic results, and help their students achieve the best possible results when they sit for the €˜O' levels.

Column: 2069

Sports in the Sports School

Let me now turn to the sports offered in the Sports School. Mr Ang Mong Seng has also asked about the sports in the School. The Sports School has started with eight sports – swimming, athletics, badminton, table-tennis, bowling, sailing, netball and soccer. The sports chosen are those identified as major sports in Singapore. Nonetheless, the Sports School is prepared to work with other NSAs on a case-by-case basis. Madam, we have a young golfer - probably he is playing better that I can - who studies at the Sports School but trains under a programme drawn up by the Singapore Golf Association. So, he attends the Sports School but his specific training for golf is undertaken by the NSA.

In all these sports, the Sports School works closely with the respective NSAs to map out the overall strategies. We agree with Mr Ng Ser Miang that it is important that the Sports School works closely with the NSAs.

Post-secondary options

Mr Ng Ser Miang has also asked about the plans for graduates from the Sports School. This is indeed an important issue not onlyfor the Sports School but also among the parents. We need to ensure that graduates from the Sports School who have potential to excel in sports be given the opportunity to benefit from a flexible academic curriculum to support their intensive sports training. We have explored this with other Government agencies and educational institutions. We will be finalising the post-secondary options for the students shortly.

Champions Way

Madam, let me move on to the renaming of the road. Ms Braema has asked why the road outside the Sports

Column: 2070

School is named Champions Way. The change in the road name helps to reinforce the identity of the Sports School as a place that nurtures the future sports champions of Singapore. We also want to emphasise to the students that they would go on to become champions in life, whether in sport or other aspects. So I can understand her concern about the pressure, but let us take a bigger perspective.

Champions are exemplified by qualities such as discipline, determination, commitment, courage, honour and patriotism. These are the values that we hope to instill in the students through sports. The name "Champions Way" will constantly remind the students of the certain high standards of conduct and character expected of them. Thus far, we have not received any adverse reaction to the name, except for Ms Braema.

Madam, I would like to address the issue raised both by Mr Iswaran and Ms Braema on how do we share what Mr Iswaran called the "software" that wehave beenable to develop in the Sports School with other schools in Singapore. I would like to assure both Mr Iswaran and Ms Braema that we are open to collaboration in the sharing of best practices with other secondary schools. As you know, our own principal, Mr Moo, came from another secondary school. So, he is very familiar. He is in contact with his colleagues, especially with the schools in the north region, but we are open to schools which are prepared to come and study what we have achieved. We are only three months old. I do not think we have achieved a lot.

But we have been able to put in a system that we are now trying to test and prove that it is working for us. And we aremost happy to share that with other secondary schools.

4.30 pm

Having said that, Madam, I think the best way to help other schools adopt

Column: 2071

some of the best practices is actually in the competition ring when the Sports School competes with other secondary schools and we are able to produce results. I think other secondary schools will take notice and perhaps they may also want to modify their programme. That is best left to all the secondary schools to decide.

Mr Chiam raised a couple of points which I would like to address. First of all, I agree with him thatthe aim of the Sports School is to help us to produce champions and win medals for Singapore. There is no disagreement on that. Mr Chiam, I thank you for your support for the Sports School. We invited you but you did not turn up.

On the foreign sports talents, I have alerted the House earlier that I agree with Mr Chiam that we have to have a balance. Each NSA will have to put up a proposal to us. Will the number decrease? That is only a question of time. As we are able to produce talents from the schools, or talents from a younger base, I am sure the NSAs will take note of this and realise that there are local talents. And we are supporting local talents in youth development programmes and many other programmes that NSAs have undertaken. So the Sports School is just one pillar in their effort to produce local talents.

Meanwhile, the NSAs will have to submit a proposal to SSC and MCDS on the mix and combination of foreign and local talents that they need for their sports. I am confident that if we are able to achieve a larger youth base from our local talent, I think the demand or the need for foreign talent will reduce with time. But that is best left for us to evolve as we go along. What is important is, let us focus on our efforts to build up Sports Excellence at the younger base.

Mr Chiam's final point about sports culture, I do not disagree with that. The

Column: 2072

Sports School will be working with partners in the north region, and we are planning to also open up some of our facilities to allow people to benefit from the facilities that we have in the Sports School.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Madam, may I clarify that I did not on purpose fail to visit the Sports School. I had another very important function. I remember it was a town council meeting, a very important meeting. I have indicated to the Minister that I shall certainly go the next time, if I am invited.

Mr Ang Mong Seng: Madam, I think the Minister did not respond to my point on whether the Sports School will undertake to train a national team.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, my apologies to Mr Ang. The training of the national team is done by the NSAs, together with the Sports Council. The Sports School will not be a place where we train national athletes, but the national athletes who are in the Sports School will undergo training under the Sports School. The important thing is that they will be part of the NSAs and when SNOC puts up the athletes for competition at the international level, the SNOC will consult the NSAs, and some of the students will probably come from our Sports School. So the training that they will receive, if they are national athletes, will prepare them for the regional competition. But the Sports School is not a place to train national athletes. There are other places to train national athletes.

Sports Hub

Mr Chew Heng Ching (East Coast): Madam, for many years, Singaporeans have identified with the Kallang National Stadium and its vicinity as a venue for various sporting activities. The Kallang area has historical heritage value for Singapore and it is used for a wide variety

Column: 2073

of sporting activities for the participation of both the young and the old. It is indeed an area where Singaporeans could use and develop their sports talent and, yet,be a good venue for healthy lifestyle pursuits and family recreation.

Madam, the House was pleased when the Minister announced in March 2002 that the Government had agreed, in principle, to replace the National Stadium with a multi-purpose Sports Hub. Subsequently, in this House, last year, the Minister further added that a feasibility study had been completed and the exact mix of facilities at the Sports Hub would be decided after a master planning of the Kallang area is ready, and the construction for the Sports Hub is scheduled to start next year, and to be completed by 2009. We have not heard from the Minister since then. I would, therefore, like to ask the Minister about the progress in the development of the Sports Hub. Are we still proceeding? Is the masterplan for Kallang area ready? Are we still sticking to the original concept plan? Has tender been called and will construction commence soon? Perhaps, the Minister would like to give the House an update on the project.

The Chairman: Mr Ng Ser Miang, you can take both the cuts together.

Mr Ng Ser Miang: Madam, building the Singapore's new Sports Hub is one of the very important national projects, not just about building a new facility but creating an icon and focal point for vibrant sports activities and lifestyle. It is also about the creation of an outstanding venue to host our National Day Parade, marking international sports and cultural events.

Beijing won the bid to host 2008 Olympic Games in 2001, the same year when our new Sports Hub was announced. Beijing will have 30

Column: 2074

competition venues, of which 15 will be new. There will be a new 100,000-seat Olympic Stadium with80,000 permanent seats and 20,000 temporary seats to be built at an estimated cost of S$830 million. All facilities will be ready by 2006, in time for test events in 2007.

Madam, 30 sports facilities and stadiums will be completed within five years. We are building one Sports Hub and the Minister has asked us to wait for nine years. Beijing called international tenders for planning, design and construction ofits stadium. The city also exhibited plans and design for public feedback and comments. By doing so, they would have both a spectacular and practical world-class sports stadium at the best price. I think we can learn from this.

MCDS has done two studies, spent considerable time and consultation on the concept of the new Sports Hub. I agree with the Minister that there must be careful planning and development of a good business model. I would like to recommend to the Minister to publish the studies and concept so that the public, in particular, athletes, NSAs, event organisers can give their feedback. I would also recommend that a firm timetable be set for the construction of the Sports Hubas athletes and NSAswould like to know when Singapore will host the next SEA Games so that they will be well prepared. We want to win for Singapore in Singapore.

NSAs are doing their very best to build a vibrant sports industry, part of which is to bring international sporting events to Singapore. For example, SAAA is looking into bringing the track and field World Cup to Singapore. They will need to know exactly when the Sports Hub will be ready so that they can work and lobby for it.

Next year, the International Olympic Committee will hold its annual session in Singapore. It presents a great opportunity

Column: 2075

to showcase Singapore as an ideal place with the best facilities to hold marquee sports events. IOC members, top leaders of more than 30 international sports federations and between 1,000and 2,000 journalists and television personnel would be here. There will also be dignitaries from up to nine of the world's most important cities in Singapore bidding for the 2012 Summer Games. We must not miss this opportunity to showcase and market our Sports Hub.

Sports Facilities

Madam, recommendation 18 of the COSS Report pointed to the need to maximise the limited land and facilities for sports and suggested initiatives, such as co-sharing of facilities, using temporary vacant land, and so on. The Minister had previously informed this House on the efforts of MCDS, and I am happy to see progress made on the number of initiatives, in particular, the co-sharing of school fields and facilities, as was mentioned by the Minister just now.

This brings to mind the excellent sports facilities of the Sports School. I understand that the Sports School has also acquired cutting-edge sports and sports size equipment that NSAs would die for. The School now has a population of 140 this year and it would take four years for them to reach a steady stage of 600 students. There will therefore be excess capacity for at least the next four years. I believe the Sports School should look into maximising the use of the facilities and equipment by co-sharing with the NSAs and perhaps even neighbourhood schools. Many NSAs do not have their own facilities and cutting-edge equipment and machinery, so that their high-level athletes could probably derive a lot of benefit from this arrangement. Students from the Sports School could also benefit by training with them.

Column: 2076

Madam, I also hope that the Sports Ministry will continue to ensure that there will be sufficient sports facilities for the public and that the admission fees to these facilities should remain affordable in order to attract the maximum number of Singaporeans to play sports, enjoy sports and stay fit.

The Chairman: Dr Warren Lee andMr Ravindran arenot here. Dr Yaacob.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, I would like to thank Mr Ng Ser Miang for raising a very important issue and for Mr Chew Heng Ching to ask for an update on the Sports Hub. Madam, the Sports Hub is intended to be a national landmark that brings Singaporeans together to watch and participate in sports and, at the same time, cater to major local and international sports and entertainment events.

In 2003, the site for the proposed Sports Hub was confirmed and a site plan was done to ascertain the area required and establish a possible configuration of the facilities. A preliminary list of events that could potentially be held in the National Stadium was drawn up to estimate the number of days that the stadium could be occupied.

Madam, let me giveMembers a breakdown of what sort of facilitiesthey can expect. As I mentioned in this House last year, the recommended Sports Hub is estimated to cost about $650 million. The recommended new facilities in the Sports Hub area 45,000 to 55,000-seat national stadium, possibly with a fully retractable roof, a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena and a commercial sports cluster, comprising sports business offices, retail outlets and a recreation centre. The existing Singapore Indoor Stadiumat a capacity of 11,000 will also form part of the Sports Hub.

Column: 2077

Madam, my Ministry has decided to take a different approach in the development of the Sports Hub. Instead of the Government taking a lead and building it, we believe that the Sports Hub should be driven with private sector involvement. This is a significant departure from our past practices in the development of sports facilities. But we believe by subjecting this project to the discipline of the free market, we are laying the foundation for a commercially viable, customer-oriented Sports Hub that will be vibrant and abuzz with activities.

Madam, we have formulated a preliminary business model and are discussing with other agencies and potential operators on their interest to participate in a Design, Build, Finance and Operate model for the Sports Hub. This is a large project. It will take time for the potential private sector partners to assess its commercial attractiveness and for us to finalise the business model that is mutually beneficial. Once we have finalised some of these arrangements, we will inform the public.ButI would justmention that our target is to start construction by 2006 and get the Sports Hub completed by 2009 or 2010.

Madam, let me move on to sports facilities. As you know, SSC is responsible for the planning, provision and operation of public sports facilities, such as stadia, swimming complexes and indoor halls in its effort to promote sports for all. Today, the Sports Council manages 22 swimming complexes, 18 stadia, 14 sports halls and various other sports facilities.

Mr Ng Ser Miang has asked about facilities in the Sports School. Before I move on to that, I think it is important for me to also alert the House that we should rethink our strategies on how we develop sports facilities and stretch the dollar.

Column: 2078

Sometimes, instead of building a full-fledged stadium, perhaps an open field may suffice. Instead of the Government building sports complexes, perhaps a partnership with the community may be more effective. Allow me to cite one example which I was glad to be associated with. The Ayer Rajah-Japanese Association Sports Centre which was openedlast Saturday is a good example of a collaboration between the Government, the people sector and the private sector, or, in this case, an association. So, through that collaboration, and

of course, the skillful guidance of Dr Tan Cheng Bock, we have been able to secure a large piece of land that will allow people to play football, baseball or softball, and have a running track. I think that is a good model for us to consider.

4.45 pm

Let me now return to the question of the Sports School.The Sports School has started discussion with community groups to make full use of the facilities within the campus. For example, the Sports School has linked up with several primary schools to organise sports camps, and the YMCA will also be organising swimming lessons at the Sports School. Meanwhile, the SSC is also working with the land agencies to source for more open spaces which can be used to play sports. For example, the vacant land at Marina South was converted to six soccer pitches for public use. However, we wish to seek the public's understanding that not all vacant lands are suitable for sporting use. Mr Ng Ser Miang also suggested thatthe Sports Schoolopen up itsfacilities to NSAs. I think this is something that we can consider on a case-by-case basis. As it is, we already have close collaboration with some of the NSAs which are helping us out in the coaching of our students. That collaboration can be further strengthened through some form of joint project, as suggested by Mr Ng.

Column: 2079

Madam, I think I have addressed most of it. Before I end, may I make a few remarks.

The sports scene has seen a lot of changes and initiatives in the last three years. The investments that we have made to achieve the Sporting Singapore vision is starting to show results. But this is just the beginning. We have laid a strong foundation, and we will have to continue to build upon what we have done in the years ahead. We welcome Mr Ng Ser Miang's suggestion to take stock and invite feedback from all the stakeholders. That isimportant. As he rightly pointed out, sports is about passion, and there are many passionate people out there for us to tap on. We will consider doing a review at an appropriate time.

The Chairman: Mr Steve Chia. You can take both cuts together.

Appointment of Grassroots Advisors

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Madam, at lastyear's COS debate, we were told by the Government that Opposition MPs will not be appointed as advisors to grassroots organisations because doing so will politicise the grassroots. Yet, the Government went ahead to politicise the grassroots with the appointment of a PAP candidate as the Advisor.

How can a politically-linked person of the governing party be appointed as a grassroots advisor in an Opposition ward and expect the grassroots not to be politicised? Is this not political manipulation? If Opposition MPs are not allowed to be appointed as grassroots advisors, then the governing party's candidates who contested and lost in the elections should similarly not be allowed to be appointed as grassroots advisors. I would propose that the Government ensure that, other than the elected MP, no politically-linked person could be

Column: 2080

appointed as a grassroots advisor in an Opposition ward.

The Government could consider appointing a civil servant from the People's Association to be an advisor instead. Otherwise, there will be lots of politicking and the residents will not be well served. To quote the Minister of State in his reply previously: "We owe it to the residents to ensure that politics stays out." So, please act on it.

Powers of Grassroots Advisors

I turn now to my next cut, Powers of Grassroots Advisors.

The grassroots advisor has great influence over the CCC and has the power to persuade the CCC to reject projects and funding requests for upgrading projects and estate maintenance by the town council. This is not right, especially when the MP is elected to represent the people in matters of the constituency, whereas the grassroots advisor is a clear reject of the people's choice, as explained in the earlier cut.

How can a reject of the people's choice still have the ability to hang around and exercise influential powers over the financial decision of the grassroots CCC in an Opposition ward? Can the Government respect the residents' wishes and curb the powers of the grassroots advisors? Otherwise, this is seen as another case of manipulative politicking at the local level, and the residents will not be well served.

I would also like to take this opportunity to propose that the People's Association allow the RC and CCC chairmen and members to beelected by the residents, instead of being appointed by the Government. This is in line with DPM Lee's vision of opening up our society more, and allowing our citizens to have more participatory stakes in the

Column: 2081

issues that affect us. I hope that the Goverment will walk the talk, instead of just talk the talk.

Mr Chan Soo Sen: Madam Chair, this is a set-piece question always asked of the People's Association byOpposition Members. So, I shall also give a set-piece answer. I do not really think Mr Steve Chia will be surprised by the answer.

The People's Association is a statutory board which was set up to promote racial harmony, social cohesion and Government-people communication. Being a statutory board, the People's Association, like any Government agency, is not a party political organisation. It is certainly not the political arm of the People's Action Party. The People's Association appoints and works with members of the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs), the other grassroots organisations, such as the Community Centre Management Committees (CCMCs) and the Residents' Committees (RCs), to serve Singaporeans from all walks of life, regardless of race, language, religion and political affiliation. Because it is a Government agency, it is up to the Government to decide who should be appointed as Advisors. Naturally, when deciding who to appoint as an Advisor, the Government considers whether that particular person will serve the aims of the People's Association in promoting the three objectives just stated.

Just because the Opposition MPs are not appointed does not mean that Government MPs should not be appointed. On the contrary, Government MPs are appointed as grassroots advisors because they help to carry out the People's Association's objectives. Almost by definition, Opposition MPs do not share the objectives and visions of the Government and the People's Association. Therefore, it serves no purpose to appoint Opposition MPs as grassroots advisors.

Column: 2082

I would also like to emphasise that the People's Association is very clear in ensuring that the grassroots organisations are not party political organisations. No political party, including the PAP, can organise party political activities using PA facilities, for example, the community centres.The PAP never politicised the People's Association. From the way Mr Steve Chia asked the question, he is the one who keeps on looking at the issue from a political angle. So, he risks politicising the People's Association.

On civil servants to be appointed as advisors, I would not rule that out entirely. But bear in mind that all the staff in the constituency secretariats as well as community centres arepublic officers. So, is there any point, generally, in appointing another civil servant to be a grassroots advisor?

As for the powers of grassroots advisors, I would like to point out that advisors to grassroots organisations can propose projects for the Main Upgrading Programme, Interim Upgrading Programme and Lift Upgrading Programme to the relevant authorities. The relevant authorities will decide how the resources for such projects should be allocated. And when a project isproposed, it is up to the residents to vote on it. The CCC cannot reject projects. But the Government does enlist the help of the CCCs, together with the advisors, to explain what the project involves, how much it benefits the residents, how much it would cost them, should there be cost sharing so that residents can make an informed decision when they vote on it. It is the residents, not the grassroots advisors or the CCCs, who ultimately decide. The CCCs and the grassroots advisors merely facilitate the process.

Maintenance of public housing estates is the responsibility of the town councils. Again, while CCCs and advisors serve as

Column: 2083

channels of communication, they are not responsible for estate maintenance. Of course, because of the role in facilitating Government-people communication, they do act as conduits for communication with the town councils.

An election system for grassroots leaders will run counter to the objectives of the CCCs and the RCs, which areto promote social cohesion and racial harmony for all. Webelieve that having an election process for grassroots leaders will politicise the grassroots organisations and, in fact, lead to divisions on the ground. This will create tension and disharmony, which is contrary to the People's Association's objective of community bonding. However, we do involve the residents in selecting some grassroots leaders. Last year, the People's Association introduced the RC Nomination Scheme to enable residents to nominate their neighbours as RC members, if they feel they are suitable. Through this scheme, residents are able to nominate people who might otherwise not be known to the RCs to serve in the RCs. This is another channel for RCs to recruit their members, and it has been quite successful. As of now, 129 grassroots leaders have been appointed through this channel, serving 49 RCs.

The Chairman: Yes, Mr Steve Chia.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Madam, I would just like to clarify that I am not saying that MPs should not be appointed as grassroots advisors. I never said that. What I said was that candidates from the governing party whocontested in the Opposition wards andwere not elected should not be appointed as grassroots advisors. That was mypoint.

Mr Chan Soo Sen: Madam, as I have mentioned, grassroots advisors are people whom the Executive Board of the People's Association considers to be people who are in support of the People's

Column: 2084

Association's objectives and who can facilitate its objectives. Whether the person is a candidate, or whether he is elected or not, is not really an issue.

Islamic Education

Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed (Aljunied): Madam, please allow me to speak in Bahasa Melayu.

(In Malay) : Islamic religious education, in particular madrasah education, has been in the spotlight since the tragic September 11 attacks. What was revealed in many madrasahs in Afghanistan during the Taliban period and later with the influence of Al-Qaeda elements, and also in some regions in Pakistan, has raised the concern of many quarters, including those in Malaysia and Indonesia. Has the Islamic religious education system in some madrasahs been tarnished by extremism, or even terrorism? Such concern has apparently spread to the entire world, such that Islamic religious education, especially that conducted in madrasahs , is often misinterpreted. I hope it will not lead to a situation where because of a few black sheep, the whole flock is affected.

Madam, our religious education system and madrasah are clearly not as such. My question relating to Islamic education is: what is being taught through our Islamic education system here, be it through the madrasah or informal education? Islamic religious education has grown rapidly recently. I am sure it takes into account the needs of society in the context of a multi-racial Singapore. I hope the Minister could give us an update on the religious education plans of MUIS.

Will it also emphasise that Islam is not a religion of terror? Besides teaching the fundamentals of Islam, does Islamic education also emphasise that it is a religion of grace for everyone, for Muslims

Column: 2085

as well as non-Muslims? Is the philosophy of Islam which underlines elements of tolerance, understanding and inclusivenessincluded? Will it also explain the true concept of Jihad and focus more on knowledge, education, and the well-being and prosperity of the nation?

5.00 pm

Mr Ahmad Khalis Bin Abdul Ghani: Madam, during the debate on the White Paper on the threat of terrorism last year, a number of Members spoke on the need for the Muslim community in Singapore to monitor the religious education system. May I ask the Hon. Minister what measures have been taken? How effective are they? How have these measures been received by the community?

During this same debate, Madam, a few Members also suggested that the Muslim community do some self-reflection and introspection. Have any measures been taken in this regard, in particular with respect to Islamic education in Singapore? We live in a highly cosmopolitan Singapore amidst fast-changing surroundings. While the Muslim community is willing to embrace change and to contribute, they also wish to be true to their religious beliefs. What are the major challenges faced by Islamic religious education in this regard and how does MUIS, the Muslim Religious Council of Singapore, intend to overcome them?

Looking to the future, what is the long-term plan of MUIS to develop Islamic education in Singapore, whether among the six full-time madrasahs or among the hundreds of part-time classes in mosques, private schools and homes? What are the main characteristics of this plan and what are the main issues that the plan seeks to address?

Column: 2086

Support for Students' Islamic Education Overseas

Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed: (In Malay) : Madam, our students overseas are facing many challenges. Perhaps, the challenges are even greater after September 11, especially when there is concern that they might come under the influence of negative elements while studying overseas, particularly in the Middle East.

I am confident that our students will be fully responsible and will return to their family, society and country as they are fully aware of the important role that they will be undertaking later.

We welcome our Minister's initiative in meeting the students during his visit to the Middle East recently. I hope the Minister could explain how MUIS is going to assist our students who intend to further their religious education overseas.

Student Resource Development Secretariat

Mr Zainudin Nordin: (In Malay) : Madam, I am happy with the efforts and the initiatives that are drawn by MUIS to enhance and improve the system and quality of religious education in Singapore. In my view, the changes and developments that are carried out by MUIS must be given support. I believe that this will bring positive rewards in the long run.

Madam, we are also aware that more Malay students are going to institutions of higher learning and universities overseas, such as Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia and other places. In this rapidly changing and challenging environment that we are facing at present, we must understand that our students will be facing many challenges and issues in their lives as students. It is good if we can determine that these students are given the assistance and necessary guidance.

Column: 2087

I think MUIS can assist in setting up an association and a range of assistance for these students. Our students must be within this network so that it will be easy for them to get in touch with each other and MUIS. With this system, it will be easier for them to refer their problems and obtain assistance.

I would like to ask the Minister what are the efforts and programmes that will be initiated by MUIS for Singapore students going overseas for their Islamic religiouseducation. If these efforts have been started, such as a secretariat for the development of students' resources, perhaps the Minister could explain the development and further efforts taken.

Zakat

Mdm Halimah Yacob: (In Malay) : Madam, every year, MUIS extends financial assistance from the zakat to Muslim families who need them. Zakat has been playing an important role in assisting the poor families but it is nota long-term solution. The long-term and a more effective solution to assist the poor families is to assist them to be independent financially and also in other aspects so that they can withstand the times of rapid change that challenge every family.

This is not an easy task, Madam, because families who need assistance often face other social problems. This means that a more comprehensive approach has to be taken to assist these families which are currently receiving assistance through the zakat. In this regard, I have been informed that MUIS has a plan to assist families who are receiving zakat assistance to be independent through the skill training programme, counselling and religious education programme. This is a comprehensive approach and is a positive move. It is also in line with the Islamic teaching which commands us to be

Column: 2088

hardworking. When the families are more independent, they will be less reliant on financial assistance. Could the Minister give further details on MUIS' plan? How can MUIS cooperate with other social bodies and agencies and when will this programme be implemented?

Madam, I would also like to touch on how we can further strengthen marriages within the Muslim community. The rate of divorce in the Muslim community, which is still high, is a matter of concern. We need to determine why this is happening. More importantly, we also need to enhance efforts to assist the married couples so that they can stay together. In this regard, we need to practise a comprehensive approach. I would like to ask the Minister on how the Syariah Court can cooperate with the Muslim bodies, Family Service Centres and the network of mosques, the Mendaki's family sector network and whether all aspects have been considered in its effort to assist our families to be stronger.

The Chairman: Dr Mohamad Maliki is not here. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, MUIS has always played an important role in presenting Islam in the right perspective and helping to strengthen bonding across communities. I would like to assure Mayor Zainul Abidin Rasheed and Mr Ahmad Khalis that MUIS will continue to place emphasis on religious education for the Muslim community and lead the community in evolving the practice of the faith which is true to Islam, and appropriate for multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore.

Madam, as early as 1992, MUIS developed the first common Islamic education syllabus for primary level. This is now widely used by mosques and many private centres in their part-time religious

Column: 2089

education classes and is reviewed regularly to meet changing needs.

Madam, last year I had informed the House of the formation of the Religious Education Advisory Panel (REAP), chaired by President ofMUIS to advise MUIS on improvements to religious education, covering areas such as curriculum development, training for our asatizah , or religious teachers, and the role of mosques and private providers.

The discussions of the Religious Education Advisory Panel have led to the formation of an Islamic Education Strategic Unit in January this year in MUIS. This Unit is tasked with developing a comprehensive Islamic education system for all age groups. MUIS will work with partners, such as mosques and private institutions, to drive improvements to ensure that Islamic education continues to be relevant to the lives of Muslims in Singapore. Religious education here will focus on the application of Islamic values to daily life, rather than just the knowledge of rituals and forms. It will be delivered in an interactive, age-appropriate and learner-centred way. Religious education and life skills will be integrated. There will not be any examinations, as the focus is not book knowledge. Religious education here will be progressive - appealing to good sense, challenging the mind and soul, and motivating the person to contribute to the community at large. I share Mayor Zainul's concern about how Islam should be presented in a way that is consistent with our multi-religious setting.

Madam, for example, the Early Islamic Education Curriculum, which caters to children of pre-school age, will teach them how to relate to others, Muslims and non-Muslims, explore aspects of friendship, and appreciate the school, community and family as a source of warmth and love.

Column: 2090

The Curriculum for Teens, on the other hand, will cater to youth in schools. The emphasis will be on being responsible students, and appreciating the richness and diversity of cultures and traditions in Singapore which they will experience in their classrooms. The students will also learn to communicate and get along with others in a respectful and honourable manner, and be guided to face the challenges of their teen years.

Across all age groups, the programmes will guide Muslims to be caring and responsible citizens of a multi-racial Singapore, willing to offer a helping hand and contribute to the wider community.

Madam, as this is a wide-ranging and comprehensive plan, its implementation will be in phases. MUIS plans to pilot the Early Islamic Education Programme and the Islamic Education Programme for Teens in four mosques in October this year. To do this, MUIS will work in partnership with private providers, mosques and our asatizah .

Mr Ahmad Khalis has also raised several questions about the direction of religious education in Singapore. As I mentioned in my reply, there will be a comprehensive programme to ensure that all our students that go through the programme not only have the knowledge to be able to practise Islam, but at the same time understand how Islam should be practised in the context of a multi-religious society. The education content will not be divorced from the reality of beingin Singapore. We will work with partners, including private providers, and our long-term goal is to encourage private providers to use the curriculum that we have developed, as we think this is best so that parents will have a choice in order to achieve the same and consistent Islamic education. They can either go to the mosque or they can go to the private providers to receive Islamic education.

Column: 2091

As regards the full-time madrasah system, Mr Ahmad Khalis has asked for an update. As we are aware,we are now updating the curriculum,and ata good time we will inform the public of what the curriculum content will be all about and the long-term direction of the full-time madrasah programme in Singapore.

Madam, allow me now to turn to the points raisedagain by Mayor Zainul and Mr Zainudin Nordin on the importance of providing our students studying abroad with close support, helping them feel connected to one another and to Singapore when they are overseas. It is for this very reason that MUIS has formed the Student Resource and Development Secretariat.

Many students who complete their secondary education in our local madrasahs proceed for further religious studies in Malaysia and countries in the Middle East. Given the diversity in educational institutions and course of study, students and their parents need relevant information to make an informed decision. The Student Resource and Development Secretariat will help provide relevant information on course and countries of studies and support the students from pre-departure through their studies and to their return to Singapore.

Madam, to support our overseas students more effectively, I am pleased to inform the House that MUIS will appoint a Student Liaison Officer (SLO) specifically to focus on the needs of Singaporean students in the Middle East, North Africa as well as the Indo-Pakistan regions. The Student Liaison Officer will be a contact point for interaction and advice to Singaporeans pursuing an Islamic religious education abroad.

He will work closely with MUIS to help co-ordinate pre-departure and holiday programmes for our students in Singapore. For example, the SLO could organise seminars and talks periodically for the overseas student

Column: 2092

bodies to keep our students updated on the developments in Singapore. He could also facilitate students to take up internships back home during their school holidays, or visit community organisations so that they can better appreciate the needs of our community.

The Student Liaison Officer will also build up relationships with Islamic universities and institutions in the Middle East and Africa, and will explore new opportunities for our students to study in the more progressive universities in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Madam, before I address Mdm Halimah's question on the use of zakat , let me first briefly explain what zakat is, for the benefit of the House. All Muslims are obliged to contribute a percentage of their wealth annually. This contribution, or zakat , is used for the benefit ofeight groups of beneficiaries, including the poor and the needy. Currently, there are some 1,900 recipients who receive zakat through MUIS. Some 700 of them, such as the frail, elderly and the disabled, will require long term assistance. However, the rest can potentially be helped to get back on their feet and become more self-reliant, and this is consistent with the visionof MCDS.

MUIS has therefore initiated the Empowerment Programme for a pilot group of families receiving zakat . MUIS will assess the needs of these families and address them holistically. For example, breadwinners will get training to become more employable, pick up life skills and get help with job matching. The children will receive support in their education and be encouraged to take up religious education in the mosques. While undergoing programmes, the families will receive 12 months of financial assistance. The Empowerment Programme brings together the important contributions of many community partners, including the

Column: 2093

mosques, Malay/Muslim community organisations and family service centres. MUIS will coordinate with the Community Development Councils to ensure that the MUIS' programme complements, rather than duplicates, existing national schemes.

Madam, we have reason to be optimistic that the families can make improvements to their lives, given the experience of MUIS, which had in the past provided such assistance on an ad-hoc basis. Allow me to share an example. MUIS, together with Al-Muttaqin Mosque Management Board, which is located in Ang Mo Kio, and the Kebun Baru Community Centre, organised a tailoring course several years ago to promote self-reliance among zakat recipients. One former zakat recipient who had benefited from this assistance was Mdm Fatimah.That is not her real name, Madam. As a widow, living in a 3-room flat with her mother andthree school-going children, Mdm Fatimah needed to acquire new skills to better her life. This course provided such an opportunity.

Apart from acquiring tailoring skills, Mdm Fatimah also attended a single-parent support group and took up a basic reading and writing course. Her children received free tuition and participated in many enrichment programmes. Mdm Fatimah continues to earn an income from home-based sewing and is able to fend for herself and her family.

Madam, being employed is fundamental to self-reliance and well-being. Hence, social assistance programmes, such as the MUIS programme which I have described, must be supported by a concerted effort to enhance employability and tackle unemployment. To this end, Mendaki, together with other Malay/Muslim organisations, will embark on a vigorous

Column: 2094

effort to do so, led by Mr Othman Haron Eusofe, Dr Ahmad Magad and Mdm Halimah Yacob herself.

We need to address two key groups of unemployed people in the Malay/Muslim community. The first group are those who have given up hopes looking for jobs after many unsuccessful attempts. Mendaki and its partners will reach out to this group of people and point them to specific areas where jobs can be found. This will be done through a public campaign to be launched in June this year. The second group are those who are somewhat dependent on short-term financial assistance and, therefore, not actively seeking a job. Some zakat recipients may fall into this category.

Mendaki will designate €˜Job Pals' to these people forsix weeks to guide them through the process of getting into the job market. The Job Pals will systematically motivate and coach their wards to successfully land a job and to keep it. The Job Pals will give friendly yet firm advice to their wards to set expectations right and also encourage them to stick to a job during the first few weeks of adjustment. The Job Pals programme will be piloted with 150 families.

Let me give an example of how a Job Pal can help. Ms Rosianah Bte Isman had been looking for a job for the past two years without any success. Finally, a counsellor at Mendaki referred her to a job as a waitress in a restaurant. Although Ms Rosianah was not keen on the job, the counsellor encouraged her to give it a try and continue giving her support in the initial period of the job. Now,four months later, she is happy and doing well in her job. We hope to see Job Pals repeating this success story with other job seekers.

Madam, Mdm Halimah has also raised a very important issueof strengthening Malay families and reducing the number of

Column: 2095

divorces within the Malay/Muslim community. Studies have shown that Malays value their families and a picture of family togetherness is easily associated with Malay family outings at the parks and the beaches. Unfortunately, an analysis of the trends of Muslim marriages raises some concerns.

In 2002, 15% of all Muslim brides were below 21 years of age, compared to 3% of non-Muslim brides. Such early marriages have a strong correlation with divorces. Of the 1,500 Muslim divorces registered in 2002, one-fifth involved at least one party who was below 20 years of age at the point of marriage. Muslim marriages also lasted for a relatively shorter time, with divorces among Muslim couples who were married for less than five years accounting for one-third of all divorces, compared to 16% for non-Muslims. Madam, such trends in Malay/Muslim divorces will affect the progress of the Muslim community if we do not arrest them now. The Malay/Muslim community leaders have had extensive discussions and they, together with the Syariah Court, are resolved to tackle the matter in a concerted and comprehensive way.

First, we will enhance the current family education efforts. In addition to pre-marriage courses, family education providers will extend and tailor courses to the needs of individuals and couples at critical stages of life. For example, courses for teenagers will inculcate positive values about marriage and family and highlight the need for responsible sexual behaviour and the need to prepare oneself for marriage. At the same time, we also need to consider immediate measures to check the high divorce rates. In this regard, the Syariah Court tells me that because it requires couples to attend counselling by its officers before divorce applications are made, more than half of the cases who turn up, intending to apply for divorces, do not proceed to do so.

Column: 2096

This is then an obvious area that should be leveraged upon.

There was a time when married couples experiencing friction would seek advice from a local community leader, such as the imam of a mosque, who would counsel and mediate between the couple. Although this practice still exists, we have not developed the full potential of such community structures. As a result, couples facing problems tend to go straight to the Syariah Court. Madam, we have, therefore, decided to put in place a Marriage Counselling Programme, in Malay, "Program Kaunselling Perkahwinan", which will provide the platform for family mediation and counselling to be carried out within the community. This should be positioned as the place a couple would turn to when they encounter difficulties in their marriages, rather than the Syariah Court.

The Syariah Court and Mendaki will work with relevant community organisations to build up a network of para-counsellors and counsellors who may be asatizah or other Malay-Muslim volunteers that will be made available to Family Service Centres and other social service agencies. This network can gradually be extended to enable Malay-Muslim couples to seek help from social service agencies for marital counselling or other assistance that they may need. Eventually, the Syariah Court will be able to accept cases that have undergone counselling or relevant programmes in those centres instead of only in the Syariah Court. The Syariah Court, social service agencies and the community leaders will be working through the implementation details of the scheme. My Ministry will provide funding support to help grow this initiative over the next few years.

Madam, allow me to illustrate by way of an example of how the approach would be useful. Both Mr Aman, 34, and

Column: 2097

Madam Aminah, 27, not their real names, wanted their marriage to work. However, Madam Aminah was under stress as her husband was not regularly employed. Not knowing other alternatives, they sought assistance from the Syariah Court, which recommended that they take part in the Syariah Court's pilot groupwork which gives an opportunity for couples, like Mr Aman and Mdm Aminah, to sort out their differences. At the end of the three sessions, the couple acknowledged their own shortcomings and agreed to work together to save their marriage. They also agreed to further counselling at another Family Service Centre to strengthen their marriage.

While it is good that Syariah Court is assisting this couple and others, the Marriage Counselling Programme that I mentioned earlier should allow similar structures to be made more readily available within the community to help couples, so that they need not come to Syariah Court directly when they encounter marital problems.

Madam, in conclusion, Islam teaches that while divorce is not unlawful, it is most detested by the religion. Divorces weaken the community. Everyone in the community must play his role to strengthen marriages and the family and we will, in particular, require strong support from Malay-Muslim organisations, mosques and the asatizah . It is the strength of our families that enables us to be a strong community contributing to the well-being and vibrancy of our nation.

Mr Charles Chong: Madam, I would like to thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their replies, and beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The Chairman: Item (2), Dr Warren Lee is not here. Item (3), Mr Wee Siew Kim.

Column: 2098

Child Abuse Prevention

Mr Wee Siew Kim (Ang Mo Kio): Madam Chairman, I beg to move,

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

I applaud the measures put in place by MCDS to detect and prevent child abuse by working closely with MOE, teachers, PCFs and other kindergartens, as well as MOH, doctors and nurses. These inter-ministerial cooperative measures ensure that a very high percentage of children will be observed and help early detection of physical and emotional abuses. However, what about the children who are not yet in pre-school? In the last two years, we lost five of them. Criminal though these cases are, I think that there must be something we can do. More must be done to help other toddlers at risk. A multi-agency approach is required. Can I ask the Minister to consider a multi-agency approach to tackle this problem? In view of our declining population, each child is even more precious.

5.30 pm

Mr Chan Soo Sen: Madam, MCDS agrees with Mr Wee that early prevention is the key strategy to protect children from abuse and that a multi-agency approach isthe wayto proceed. In fact, my Ministry has always been advocating the "many helping hands" approach involving various agencies, and that applies to children, whether it is pre-school, before pre-school orschool age. When it comes to protecting children, everyone can play a part, including parents, neighbours, teachers, medical professionals, social service providers, as well as Government agencies. MCDS has established a partnership with childcare and kindergarten operators for early detection of abuse. We conduct quarterly pre-operational briefings to childcare

Column: 2099

centres on the management of child abuse. All childcare and pre-school professionals in both childcare centres and kindergartens are to attend a compulsory training module on recognising signs and symptoms of child abuse. Childcare professionals can also get access to information on child abuse via the Childcare Link. Operators of childcare centres who have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse are obliged by law to report them.

On a regular basis, my Ministry also works with the Ministry of Education's pre-school unit to create awareness among the kindergarten professionals on childcare protection or vulnerable children.

For early detection of abuse among babies and toddlers, my Ministry works with medical professionals who come into contact with very young children. General practitioners and doctors who give immunisation shots to babies have been alerted to our guidelines for detection and referral of childcare cases.

Parents or family members who require assistance in parenting or child behaviour management must seek help early. They can approach any Family Service Centre or call the Family Service Centre's hotline at 1800-8380100. Alternatively, members of the public can call the Child Protection and Welfare Section toll-free line at 1800-2586378. We recognise that there are many areas that we can still improve upon and, in fact, we welcome Mr Wee Siew Kim if he hasany other ideas that we can work on.

The Chairman: Mr Wee, are you withdrawing the amendment?

Mr Wee Siew Kim: Madam, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Family Bonding

Dr Lily Neo: Madam, I beg to move,

Column: 2100

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

Madam, there is a need to inspire more people, especially the young, with a deeper sense of individual responsibility towards the family. Presently, the trend in Singapore is towards smaller and smaller families; extended families will not be the norm soon. And since the majority of Singaporeans are all working, many will become too busy for interaction with families and friends. Such a trend is bad and must be addressed. Strengthening family ties, better bonding with extended families and neighbourliness are areas worth cultivating. Community-based organisations should organise more activities in grassroots programmes to promote these virtues. Our CCCs, CCMCs, CDCs and Town Councils can be active partners too. Would MCDS promote and facilitate such family bonding?

Basic social etiquette and interpersonal skills should be taught and promoted. This will lead to our young being better equipped with skills in handling boy-girl relationship, marriage and parental responsibility, and so on. Such "values" transmission can be done through teachers in schools, through parent-school-community partnerships, through religious and community groups, and through the media. Would MCDS promote such "values" transmission? Facilitating and providing avenues for young people to come together in the schools, polytechnics, universities and community centres, and so on, will give them the opportunity to intermingle with peers within their cohorts. This opportunity may not be there once they start working life. MCDS could facilitate more grassroots organisations to organise the various activities in the respective constituencies to provide such avenues.

Work-Life

My next topic is on work-life. Our Government has set up a Work-Life Unit

Column: 2101

under the MCDS to promote family-friendly practices among employers. Are there any targets set out for this Unit? Should there be an increase in efforts in terms of tangible incentives, such as grants and tax relief for companies to adopt family-friendly practices for their employees? Some employers expect their employees to attach greater priority to the company and demand that their employees spend as much time as needed at work even beyond office hours. Complaints have been heard that employers are not happy when their employees take time off for family and personal needs. Would MCDS redouble its efforts to do a lot more in facilitating family-friendly working environment?

Young people in Singapore have been heard to lament on the job demands and the lack of time. One in three Singapore adults in their early 30s is still single. Trend researchers have found that modern lifestyle and job demands are killing traditional courtship.

One in five single British men and women is turning to dating agencies and personal advertisements to start relationships. Credible websites run by Government agencies or reputable private organisations that ensure correct and certified data of individuals will be useful. I believe that in the IT era, this channel will prove to be the preferred choice for many IT savvy and busy young people to acquaint and befriend each other. Would MCDS look into more of such websites?

The Chairman: Mdm Cynthia Phua is not here. Mr Chan Soo Sen.

Mr Chan Soo Sen: Madam, once again, I would say that I find it very difficult to disagree with Dr Lily Neo. What she says is exactly what we have been doing.

Every year, we have a Family Week. The aimof the Family Week is to promote

Column: 2102

family cohesion and family integration. We realise that in the society, all of us individually are just like sand.But if we get together toform afamily, we are likebricks. We know that if we want to build a wall usingsand, it would not be a solid block of wall. But if we use bricks, then things will be very different.

When it comes to work-life and family values, my Minister has illustrated quite a bit in the last few hours. I do not propose to repeat what he has said. But I would emphasisethat we want to inculcate in Singaporeans, especially the young, a belief that setting up a family is one of the important life goals. At the moment, if we look at the various surveys, we find that the interest is there but somehow the will is not as strong. As a result, we findmany of our younger Singaporeans devotinga lot of time to work, not quite enough to setting up families.

We cannot just blame the employers. Sometimes it is the employees who really want to work and, as a result, they have forgotten to set uptheir families. In the new economy era,everythingchanges. Work will change, technology will change, job will change, and workplace will change. We do need something that will not change, a kind of space that wecan feel safe in. Our family isone such institution.

As I have said, I agree wholeheartedlywith Dr Lily Neo's statement that we should promote family values and redouble our efforts to achieve better work-life balance. As I have said, we can have a discussion onthe specific ideas that she may have. Maybe we can invite her to participate in the many task forces that we have.

The Chairman: Dr Lily Neo, are you withdrawing the amendment?

Dr Lily Neo: I appreciate that the Minister of State agreed with me,but I would like to see more action being done.

Column: 2103

The Minister of State did not answer my question on the possible credible websites that young people can acquaint with each other. Could he please make some comments on that?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: I think getting to know people through the websites, in itself, can be acontroversial idea. There are people who got to know other peoplethrough the website but later got into trouble. So, I would advocate some caution on this. But I do agree that there is a need for us to encourage the setting up of credible establishments, both the people sector as well as the private sector, to provide this kind of services to help to connect people. This part, I would agree. Whether website is an answer, I think we need to explorefurther.

I would also disagree this time with Dr Lily Neo who appeared to implythat we are all talk and no action. I think we have done quite a bit. But I would agree that, yes, we shoulddo more.

Dr Lily Neo: Madam, Iwould object that the Minister of State put words into my mouth. That was not what I meant. I just said that I would like to see more to be done.

I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

People's Association

Mr Charles Chong: Madam, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IH 3100.

Madam, on page 89 of this year's Budget book, under the heading of People's Association (PA) Programme, I note that the operating expenditure for

Column: 2104

PA's programmes for FY 2004 has been increased by $42.64 million or 17% over FY 2003 expenditure. It is further stated that, "The increase is mainly due to the implementation of more grassroots activities and new initiatives to widen the PA's outreach and increase multi-racial participation among the residents."

Could the Minister inform the House what are these new initiatives to widen PA's outreach and increase multi-racial participation among the residents? Have any targets been set? Could the Minister also inform the House when will PA release its FY 2002 Annual Report? FY 2003 is almost over and yet the previous year's annual report has yet to be presented to Parliament. What is the reason for this delay?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: Madam, of the $42.6 million or 17% increase over FY 2003 expenditure, $6.65 million isprovision for GST. $2.72 million is for subvention for land cost. Another $4.58 million is set aside for increase in thesocial assistance budget under the various schemes, such as the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme, Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS), which are administered by the five CDCs. PA is holding the budget for these schemes.

The remaining $28.69 million will go into improving our outreach and increasing multi-participation among residents through improvement of infrastructure, training for grassroots leaders and staff as well as new programmes. Of this amount, about $6.45 million is to be spent on maintenance, upgrading and building of community facilities. In addition, PA will invest another $3.37 million on IT systems and infrastructure which will support the work of grassroots organisations. About $2.5 million is for the youth expedition programme administered by the Singapore Inter

Column: 2105

national Foundation. The rest of the $16.37 million will fund grassroots leadership and staff training, new programmes such as gearing up the emergency preparedness capabilities of the grassroots network as well as manpower costs for administering these courses.

All these, we believe, will build up the capabilities and capacity of the People's Association and its grassroots network so that they can undertake more new challenges ahead. All PA operating units are targeted to improve results in FY 2004. Each has been given specific growth targets, typically ranging up to 10%.

As for the Annual Report, we would like to apologise to the House that FY 2002 Annual Report indeed has been delayed. However, it will be ready in late March this year, just after this sitting. The PA's management will ensure that in future, annual reports will be published within the norm of six months after the end of the financial year. We would like to thank Mr Charles Chong for reminding us.

Mr Charles Chong: I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

5.45 pm

Singapore Sports Council

Mr Charles Chong: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I of the Development Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code II 5200.

On page 117 of the Budget book, under the heading "Singapore Sports Council Programme", the figures indicated

Column: 2106

a steady decline in the number of sports and recreation facilities from 130 in FY 2001 to 129 in FY 2002 and, last year, it was down to 126. The number of attendance at sports facilities has also shown a steady decline from 10.3 million in FY 2001 to 9.7 million in FY 2003. Could the Minister tell us what does the Singapore Sports Council intend to do in order to arrest the declining numbers in both sports facilities as well as attendance at these facilities? And could the Minister also tell us when the Council will release its FY 2002 Annual Report to Parliament and the reason for the delay?

The Chairman: Dr Warren Lee is not here. Mr Wee Siew Kim.

Sengkang Sports Stadium

Mr Wee Siew Kim: Madam, the residents of Sengkang look forward eagerly to the day when they have their Sports Stadium. We have a fairly young population in this new town. This is certainly the place where healthy lifestyle must be promoted. This is certainly the place where they would produce many of the key actors that will make the dreams of COSS come to life.

The Sengkang Sports Stadium, I understand, is unable to proceed quickly because of budgetary constraints. Can I ask the Minister to free up this logjam so that, come 2006, the residents of Sengkang can look forward to swimming pools and other sporting facilities?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, Mr Charles Chong has asked about the number of sports facilities and attendance at these facilities. The SSC managesmany sports facilities. The falling attendance at sports facilities may reflect a few possibilities. It may be due to demographic changes. It may be that sports, such as squash, have somehow declined in popularity and therefore squash courts are no longer necessary.

Column: 2107

Or it may be that the neigbourhood layout has changed, leading to less traffic to the sports facilities. Whatever the reason, I do not think we should jump to the conclusion that it means thatfewer people are participating in sports. In fact, we can show numbers to prove that more people are participating in sports, especially people using facilities provided by other agencies, such as neighbourhood links provided by NParks and the various green spaces that we have opened up. But whatever it is, it points to the need for us to constantly review our facilities and ask if these still address the needs of our people. So this is another reason why we need to rethink our strategies to promote Sports for All.Building and maintaining sports complexes is only one way to promote sports. It is a costly way and may not even be the best way to cater to the sporting needs of our residents.

It is in this light that we had started a review of all our facilities masterplan last year, and we will be completing this review soon. Under this review, we will explore new creative ways of providing for the sporting needs of residents. We hope that we can better address the needs at a lower cost.

Mr Charles Chong also asked about the submission of the SSC Annual Report. SSC will be submitting its FY 2002 Annual Report this month to Parliament. It is late in the submission because it was preoccupied with the SEA Games preparation last year, and we did well in the SEA Games.

Madam, Mr Wee has asked about the Sengkang Sports Complex. As I have explained earlier, we need to find new ways to stretch the dollar. I do not think we can expect that each constituency will have a full-fledged sports complex. It may not be possible for each constituency to have swimming pools, sports hall,

Column: 2108

football stadium, or even other facilities. For instance, an open field may sometimes suffice, instead of a stadium. I have cited the example of the Ayer Rajah Japanese Association Sports Centre which was opened last Saturday. I think we need to explore other ways. So MCDS and SSC will be exploring with Mr Wee on how we can cater to the sporting needs of his residents within an acceptable budget.

Mr Charles Chong: Madam, winning medals is a poor excuse for delaying the submission of its Annual Report. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The Chairman: Item No. (7), Mr Wee Siew Kim.

Sports Talents

Mr Wee Siew Kim: Madam, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IN 2100.

Two of the pillars emphasised in the COSS Report are Sports Excellence and mass participation. I say that one follows readily from the other. Win a couple of golds in table tennis, sailing, and you get youngsters jumping in to learn the sport. We have a dearth of national sports icons. FSTs are good for a start, but we want eventually to have home-bred sports talent and icons. NSAs lament that National Service takes away 2 to 2 ½ years of grooming for the athletes in their prime of their sporting development. Although all of us understand that defence is important, I would like to ask the Minister to consider working with MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs to come up with some criteria for the potential staff to continue to train while in National Service.

Column: 2109

Sports excellence is long term. I believe that through winning a sport and having sports stars would increase the pride of the nation immensely,certainly a cornerstone of our nation building that we should not downplay. With the Dragon babies of 1988 entering NS soon, the bumper crop of NSmen can afford us some luxury to exercise some flexibility to achieve the goals of Sports Excellence in Singapore.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, I agree with the hon. Member that if we are able to encourage more people to achieve excellence, that will inspire other people, especially the young, to come and play sports. We would like to build up our home-grown talent and that is why we have the various sports pillars in place.

Mr Wee has suggested that we should work closely with MINDEF andMHA to ensure that our elite athletes inNational Service will not lose two years of sports talent development. This is, indeed, an important issue for sports. Currently, I would like to assure him that MCDS and the Sports Council will work closely with MINDEF and the other agencies and SAF to ensure that those identified as having the potential to represent Singapore in major games, or who will be representing in major games, have the time to train and compete adequately during their National Service while fulfilling their National Service obligation.

Mr Wee Siew Kim: I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $712,577,340 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $114,786,900 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Column: 2110