EMERGENCIES (Preparedness of Singaporeans)

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EMERGENCIES:

(Preparedness of Singaporeans): 6.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Home Affairs, given the public confusion that arose as a result of the recent power blackout, (a) whether Singaporeans can be taught how to handle such emergencies, including lift rescue, as part of Total Defence; and (b) whether the police should improve its hotlines to provide timely information to the public during such emergencies.

7.

Dr Ong Seh Hong asked the Minister for Home Affairs in light of the recent power failures (a) how adequately prepared are our households to meet the challenge with the emergency kits prescribed by SCDF; (b) has his Ministry any plans to issue all households in Singapore with these kits, for instance torchlight, transistor radio and first-aid box, or at least to encourage households to be equipped with them.

8.

Dr Ong Seh Hong asked the Minister for Home Affairs in the event of future power failures what contingency plans his Ministry has (i) to ensure that proper law and order is maintained although the recent failures have been crime-free and (ii) for the Traffic Police to ensure that our roads are flowing freely and accident-free.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 6, 7 and 8 together as they are related, please?

Mr Deputy Speaker: Yes.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, emergency preparedness is the joint

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responsibility of the Government and Singaporeans. The Government has undertaken many outreach programmes, as part of Total Defence, to educate and train the public on how to cope with various emergencies, including blackouts. These include the island-wide distribution of the Civil Defence Emergency Handbook, Exercise Community Spirit and Emergency Preparedness Day events, and the Community Emergency Preparedness Programme.

To ensure community emergency preparedness, the SCDF has strongly advised all households in Singapore to stock up essential household items, such as portable battery-operated radios, torchlights, candles, matches and first-aid kits. As we all know, these items will come in useful in any emergency, including blackouts. As they can be easily bought in neighbourhood shops, there is no need for the Government to issue them to all households. Sir, I take this opportunity to remind Singaporeans who have yet to do so, to stock up on these common and essential items, as they should take emergency preparedness seriously. Having these items in hand will enable them to cope with emergencies.

Sir, today, all public housing lifts are equipped with an Automatic Rescue Device (ARD) that will bring the lift car to the next lift landing and open its door in the event of a power cut-off. Proper maintenance is essential to ensure that the ARD works as designed, so that there is no lift entrapment. This is the responsibility of Town Councils and management corporations.

However, if members of the public come across persons trapped in lifts, it is not advisable for them to attempt any lift rescue on their own. As they are not familiar with the lift systems and do not have the proper equipment, they may

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pose a threat to the safety of the trapped persons and, indeed, to themselves. Instead, anyone who knows of persons being trapped in lifts should call the Emergency Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU) that is engaged by the Town Councils or management corporations to attend to such situations. Those who are trapped should not try to force open the lift door or the ceiling hatch, as such escape attempts may result in fatal accidents. Instead, they should remain calm and wait for the arrival of response crews.

Sir, as for the police and SCDF hotlines, as Dr Balakrishnan has said, these are not public information hotlines. They are meant for the public to call when they are facing life-threatening situations or are in real need of emergency ambulance assistance. When a blackout occurs, the public should turn on their battery-operated or car radios for information, as radio broadcasts will be the most effective means for the public to obtain up-to-date information on the blackout. Hence, really, one key lesson from the recent blackout is for all Singaporean households to have ready for use, battery-operated radios, as part of emergency preparedness efforts.

Sir, let me assure Dr Ong that the police has sound contingency plans in place to maintain law and order and to ensure smooth flow of traffic during a blackout. In essence, resources are redeployed to enhance police presence in affected locations. In a prolonged and extensive island-wide power failure, additional resources will be mobilised from off-duty teams. Police operations will not be compromised in a prolonged power failure, as its critical installations and facilities have backup power supply for operational continuity. Police officers are also equipped with torchlights and searchlights in their vehicles, so that they can carry out their duties even during a power failure.

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As for traffic control at major junctions during a power failure, what police does is to deploy its officers to direct and manage traffic. Our public radio stations will also be given prompt and regular traffic updates to keep the motoring public informed of the road situation. These measures, including the release of public advisories through the media, were carried out in the recent incidents of power failure. Nonetheless, motorists should take special care to drive or ride safely and be considerate to other road users during blackouts. Pedestrians should also exercise more caution when crossing roads, as they may be less visible to the motorists.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether he can clarify why there is a rejection of the idea for a hotline if only it is to record a message to inform residents who are affected by a blackout, because it could be a terrorist attack, it could be some catastrophic incident and they need the information quickly, and radio broadcasting may not be the most effective means for direct and immediate communication?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, I think Dr Balakrishnan has alluded to the answer, which is essentially that if you have a hotline like this, people want to know what

is happening, and they call the hotline. As has been shown during the recent incident when everybody called in, Police hotline was jammed. So there will be even greater anxiety. The clear demarcation should be that if they want information, the information would be put out, and this has proven to be the best way. People who turned on the radio - and I have heard friends who said that when they turned on the radio, they knew exactly what happened and what to do, and waited for the lights to come on - helped to clear the emergency lines for situations where, for example, there may be a fire, theft or other situations where

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Police or SCDF's response is immediately needed.

In any case, I understand that there is a Power Grid hotline, which is 24 hours, which can be used if you want information. But I would say that we should not have a dedicated hotline just for a situation like that.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: With the earlier announced higher operational standards to maintain the equipment to make sure that hot switches work and with the extra measures taken also to make sure that the public is prepared, I would just like to ask whether the cost will be passed on to the consumers in terms of increased electricity charges.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: I think the Member has crossed the lines.