The Workers' Party

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party


"AHPETC has been consistent in its attitude and is always prepared to cooperate with government agencies for the benefit of the residents it serves. However, the Minister should not mistake this to mean that AHPETC can be bullied or is an easy target to be used by the government to score political points.

As this episode wore on and even earlier in April 2013, the Minister visited the hawker centres at various markets in Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East (AHPE) town. In doing so, the Minister could have used his not insignificant powers as Minister overseeing the NEA and exercised his leadership to reach out to all parties, including both the Hawkers Association and AHPETC, to resolve any matter amicably. We expected that as Minister, he would use his office to play a positive and constructive role in this episode, but this was apparently not to be."



Media Release - 10 June 2013 | AHPETC
www.ahpetc.sg
I have been truthful in communicating the Town Council’s position on the facts of the matter concerned. Equally, there is no reason to doubt the honesty of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (“AHPETC”) staff in this matter. If the Minister has any proof to the contrary, he

Time for WP-run town councils and NEA to move on: Low Thia Khiang



Mr Low Thia Khiang struck a conciliatory note, saying that the hawkers need peace to do business. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE


By Andrea Ong


WORKERS' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang sought to draw a line under the long-running dispute over the cleaning of hawker centres in Aljunied GRC yesterday, calling on all parties involved to move on.


Weighing in for the first time on the saga, Mr Low struck a conciliatory note, saying the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) will continue to work with the National Environment Agency (NEA) "to solve problems on the ground and to address the issues".


"We should move on from the current issue," he told The Straits Times at his Meet-the-People Session in Aljunied GRC last night.
"I would expect the town council to continue to work with NEA for environmental issues on the ground, be it market hygiene, cleanliness, be it littering, be it the dengue fever issue, be it midges at Bedok Reservoir issues," said the MP for Bedok Reservoir-Punggol division.

 

[Huatchye]

i like the way WP has done well in the elections, but please dont become such a snob. someone sent me this and I thought is funny, but it reflects the thinking of some. I hope LTK can win us back some respect of the old.

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)[/h]
This is a step in the right direction. Next, it will be useful to have more of such centres available for bidding under the new rules so this change will have a meaningful effect across the industry. Existing void deck centres whose current rents are excessive (compared to industry norms) could also have their rents revised downwards at the next available review by HDB subject to operators committing to lower childcare fees. Support mechanisms in exchange for lower fees and commitment to quality under the Anchor Operator scheme should also be reviewed to extend to more in the industry, including to private operators and those with religious and racial affiliations.






Tender evaluation process for commercial childcare centres revised - Channel NewsAsia
[url]www.channelnewsasia.com
Future tenders for commercial childcare centres located in HDB premises will be based not just on the bid price, but also


[/URL]

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Daniel PS Goh[/h]
Thank you!

On Saturday, 15th June, MP Lee Li Lian sponsored a lunch to honour the cleaners working in the northern part of Punggol East. The lunch was held outside the Town Council office at Blk 156A, Rivervale Crescent. The twenty-plus cleaners, made up of both locals and foreigners, have been working very hard to keep the estate clean since the handover of Punggol East to AHPETC on 1st May. The lunch was not planned to commemorate International Cleaners Day, but it was a happy coincidence that lunch fell on the Day. Thank you to all our cleaners for keeping our neighbourhood spick and span! Another lunch is planned for the cleaners working in the other parts of the town.

(Photographs by Jacky Koh)

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Daniel PS Goh[/h]PSI crossed into hazardous territory, 321 at 10pm (but announced almost an hour later). Is this equivalent to an environmental disaster? Should some type of emergency be declared? Should masks be handed out to low income households who cannot hide indoors with air-conditioners? Should high-risk groups (those with lung condition) be moved into shelters with medical aid? Should the Government make an official announcement (instead of FB postings by individual ministers) to tell the people what to do, even if it is just to reassure, immediately?

 

[sengkang]

Daniel PS Goh

I think Minister Vivian Balakrishnan just said that the haze is not serious enough to warrant crisis action by the G and it is all wait and see. Or did he? I am still unsure what he is trying to communicate exactly. Why can't just say it as it is?

Two things are sure. One, a task force is now only being formed to deal with this. Late.

And he said to not get fixated on numbers and to focus on improving the situation first. But what other information do we have? Powerless against the haze, at this juncture, what else can we do but choke and look at the PSI reading with hope it will come down? Minister, you are the one with the power, you are the leader, you focus on improving the situation, don't mind us mortals gazing at the numbers.

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)[/h]
We should also have the ability to take action on agricultural companies listed or registered in Singapore if they are found to be the culprits of burning in a foreign land. Our laws currently do not have this provision. So even if we do know that a Singapore-listed company or a company controlled by Singaporeans is burning to clear land in a neighbouring country, we will need the foreign government to impose action. That will impact our ability to deal swiftly with the culprits. I believe we can do more.



Doing more to fight haze
yeejj.wordpress.com
The PSI has been at unbearably unhealthy levels again. One of the things that we can do is to support companies with proven good land clearing practices and boycott those found to be burning.

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)[/h]
A ministry official, Hadi Daryanto, also attempted to shift some of the blame onto Malaysia and Singapore, saying their palm oil companies that had invested in Indonesia were also responsible.

"The slash-and-burn technique being used is the cheapest land-clearing method and it is not only used by local farmers, but also employees of palm oil investors including Singaporean and Malaysian companies," he said.

"We hope the governments of Malaysia and Singapore will tell their investors to adopt proper measures so we can solve this problem together."

- Can someone just name these companies? Kinda vague to say the investors include Singaporean and Malaysian companies. I like to boycott their products and I am sure most Singaporeans would.






Singapore and Indonesia clash over regional haze - Telegraph
[url]www.telegraph.co.uk
Smog from forest fires in Indonesia stayed at unhealthy levels in Singapore on Tuesday as the two neighbours


[/URL]

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Chen Show Mao[/h]
In Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East, we have discussed with our contractors about protecting the health of their workers. Meanwhile, in your own immediate communities, try and do your part by sharing additional face masks or liquids for rehydration with those in need.

Dear Eunos residents: Walked about the Eunos neighbourhood market at Blk 630 to see how the haze was affecting day-to-day living. It is certainly getting to some residents, especially the elderly and I advised them to stay indoors, and avoid streneous activity.

The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) should get N95 masks to its cleaners by today/tomorrow and will advise them to use the masks for their own safety. I thank my Eunos community volunteers who purchased N95 masks without anyone's prompting for our cleaners yesterday. I also thank residents who have bought masks for their elderly neighbours out of goodwill - God bless you.

Contractors for the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council conservancy cleaning and projects, such as NRP and R&R (painting etc.), have also been advised that their workers should wear masks when outdoors, and Town Council will grant them the an extension of time should the project works need to be stopped or delayed due to the haze situation.

No one AHPE Town Council cleaner etc. should be doing work when the PSI hits 400 - all work should stop. Can I please request any Eunos resident to drop me a note with the time and location, if they see our cleaners working when the PSI is above 400.

Contact me at [email protected] if you have any queries/concerns. Thank you.

 

[sengkang]

Daniel PS Goh


I know some of you are disappointed with WP's "positive" statement on the haze, even upset. Perhaps it has failed to articulate the frustrations many of us had with the G's response. This is my personal take on it.

This is no time to gain political mileage from the crisis we collectively face. In such situations, we need to support the Government in its efforts. We should offer constructive suggestions to improve its efforts if needed, even to apply some moral pressure if warranted.

The party has not disallowed individual members like me and my other fellow members to do criticize and make public calls on the G to act in our own personal capacity as citizens. Yes, G's action was late by the standards we expect it to uphold, and some are still somewhat tentative, but we need to support the G even as we offer suggestions.

I am not privy to inner circle actions and decision-making, but I do know through glimpses on many occasions that the WP leaders deliberate very carefully between releasing public statements, quiet feedback to the G, and keeping the questions for Parliament, which is the right place to debate politics and policy if one has access to it.

We are frustrated, no doubt, but try to understand the spirit of WP's statement. Let's channel our frustrations to helping each other as much as possible. Right now, I am off to meet fellow Punggol East volunteers to call residents to explain to them the cancellation of our Muar trip and to check if they are okay, and to plan to do what we can for lower income household residents in the area. I wish I can do more.

I am sure the hard, biting questions, reflections, and conversations of what we could have done better will come after we have pulled through this crisis.



Statement on Haze (22 June 2013)
wp.sg
The Workers' Party is concerned with the haze situation that is affecting everyone in Singapore. We note that the Government has convened a task

 

[sengkang]

Join us for YouthQuake 12: Is the Stage Big Enough for Young Artists in Singapore?

Date: 29 June 2013 (Saturday)
Time: 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

To find out more, click on the link below for more information:


YouthQuake 12: Is the Stage Big Enough for Young Artists in Singapore? | The WP Youth Wing
wpyouth.sg
The arts scene in Singapore is said to be vibrant. Our tiny island has many art galleries, exhibition spaces, arts groups,

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]The Workers' Party Youth Wing (WPYW)[/h]In view of the haze situation, YouthQuake 12 has been postponed to a date to be decided.

We'll like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)[/h]
Has been 29 years since my first SAF Day Parade at the old National Stadium. Happy SAF Day to all our armed forces personnel. Let us all work together to keep the peace in our country.


SAF Day Parade 2013 - History of SAF Day Parade
[url]www.mindef.gov.sg
The concept of an Armed Forces Day was finalised in early 1969. The objective of marking this special day was for the members of the armed forces to


[/URL]

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Chen Show Mao[/h]
Free MRT ride to town before 7:45 am: not so crowded this morning

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Pritam Singh[/h]
"Singapore's pro-business and foreign-talent-friendly policies must not come at the cost of capable and deserving Singaporeans facing lacklustre career and job opportunities in their own country."


'S'porean-first' not about rejecting meritocracy
[url]www.straitstimes.com
MR MICHAEL Dee ("Nationality-based hiring goes against meritocracy"; Wednesday) should know that Mr


[/URL]

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

We welcome the ruling of the Court of Appeal that the Prime Minister must call an election to fill a seat vacated by an elected Member of Parliament, instead of granting him the discretion to decide whether or not to call an election. This is an important matter concerning the discretionary power of the Prime Minister in our democratic system. We believe it is reasonable that a by-election be called as soon as practicable when a seat in an SMC is vacated to ensure that constituents are adequately represented in Parliament.


Hougang resident's appeal dismissed: AGC highlights 3 main points


The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has highlighted three main points that led to Singapore's highest court dismissing an appeal by Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu.

• PHOTOS

SINGAPORE: The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has highlighted three main points that led to Singapore's highest court dismissing an appeal by Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu concerning the Prime Minister's discretion about whether and when to call an election.

The AGC is also studying the judgment of the Court of Appeal carefully and will advise the Prime Minister on it in due course.
Madam Vellama had appealed against the High Court's decision to dismiss her application for declarations concerning the Prime Minister's discretion about whether and when to call an election.

She had initiated the case in March 2012, after former Hougang Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong vacated his post.
In a statement, the AGC highlighted three main points that led to Madam Vellama's appeal being dismissed.

First, that Madam Vellama's application was "clearly premature" at the time it was filed - barely two weeks after the seat in Hougang SMC was vacated.

At the time, the Prime Minister had yet to make his stand on the matter, and there was no factual basis for her to make the application. AGC said this was their position from the outset of the proceedings.

Second, that the Appeals Court had pointed out that leave to proceed with the application should not have been given, as at that time the Prime Minister had already declared that a by-election would be held to fill the vacancy in Hougang SMC.

Third, that Madam Vellama did not have the standing to proceed with her substantive application for declaratory relief as the by-election in Hougang SMC was held on 26 May 2012.The AGC said that while the last point would be enough to disp
ose of the appeal, the Judges of Appeal had made some observations on Article 49 of the Constitution.

These are:
that the Prime Minister has to call a by-election to fill casual vacancies of elected MPs within a reasonable time;
that the Prime Minister is entitled to take into account all relevant circumstances in deciding what is a reasonable time within which to call a by-election;

that the timing for the calling of a by-election can involve considerations that go well beyond mere practicability;
that it is impossible to lay down the specific consideration or factors which would have a bearing on the question whether the Prime Minister has acted reasonably in the exercise of his discretion under Article 49 of the Constitution;

and that the Prime Minister's exercise of discretion as to the timing of a by-election can only be challenged in exceptional cases.
The AGC also responded to media queries about a statement made by Madam Vellama's lawyer, M Ravi, who said that the Constitution "in a way has circumscribed the Prime Minister's executive authority".

It noted that the Court of Appeal has in fact said that the Prime Minister has broad discretion to decide when to call a by-election, and that in deciding when to call a by-election, he is entitled to take into account matters relating to policy including the physical well-being of the country.

"The Court of Appeal also recognised that it is only in exceptional cases that the Court may intervene in the exercise of the Prime Minister's discretion under Article 49 of the Constitution. In our system of constitutional government, all executive authority has to be derived from either the Constitution or some legislation. The Executive branch does not have any authority independent of the Constitution or legislation," said the AGC.

- CNA/ir
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hougang-resident-s-appeal/735496.html

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party


These are the Parliamentary Questions that Workers' Party MPs have filed for the Parliament sitting on Monday, 8 July 2013.

Questions for Oral Answer

Haze

*10. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether there was a national haze action plan in force during the week of 17 June 2013 and, if so, (i) what actions were taken under the plan; and (ii) what are the substantive differences between the plan and the Haze Action Plan drawn up in 1994 by the inter-ministry Haze Task Force; and (b) what steps have been taken to ensure that the general public is aware of and has easy access to the national haze action plan currently in force, including through websites, posters and broadcasting messages through the media.

*19. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether Singapore is working towards having agricultural companies that frequently use burning to clear land to be independently certified for responsible land clearing practices in order to sell their products here; and (b) what is the progress made since the 14th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution in October 2012 on the sharing of digital geo-referenced concession maps to allow easier identification of companies with hotspots in their concessions.

*20. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what long-term strategies and response plans has the Government put in place since our ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and adoption of ASEAN's Regional Haze Action Plan; (b) how effective has the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre been in giving early warnings on the timing and severity of this year's haze that affected Singapore; and (c) what is the status with regard to establishing a national task force/committee to develop strategies and response plans to deal with fires and smoke haze as mandated in ASEAN's Regional Haze Action Plan.

*21. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what effort has been made to make parents more aware of the advice that N95 masks are not designed for children; and (b) whether the Government intends to make available masks that are certified for children in public health emergencies

*23. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the increase in the weekly number of respiratory, heart, eye and skin problems reported at polyclinics, private clinics and hospitals since the onset of the current haze situation compared to the weekly average in the month before; (b) how many private clinics have signed up for the Government scheme which offers subsidised treatment for haze-related illnesses; (c) what is the Ministry doing to ensure that more private clinics participate in this scheme so that more Singaporeans can benefit from it; and (d) what are the details of the Ministry's contingency plans to cope with the expected surge of patients with illnesses caused by the haze.

*27. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development during this haze period, whether BCA is taking any steps to inspect the air-conditioning and mechanical systems of commercial and industrial buildings to ensure that the indoor air in these buildings does not contain an unhealthy level of contaminants.

Regulations on online news websites

*35. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) how will the new licensing regulations for online news websites affect blog sites that persistently report on Singapore news and exceed the readership threshold set by these regulations; and (b) how will these regulations be applied against the owners/administrators of stand-alone Facebook pages that persistently report on Singapore news and exceed the readership threshold of the regulations.

*36. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is MDA's rationale for excluding the 10 news websites from the Internet Class Licence Scheme and requiring them to be individually licensed and to post a $50,000 performance bond; (b) how have existing laws and regulations proven inadequate in regulating these 10 news websites; and (c) whether MDA has plans to require other websites that provide Singapore news programmes to be individually licensed.

*37. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to MDA's new regulations requiring certain news websites to be individually licensed in addition to posting a S$50,000 performance bond (a) whether MDA has deliberated on the efficacy of implementing guidelines originally established for the mainstream media to online news sources and, if so, what is the nature of these deliberations; (b) whether MDA has considered seeking feedback from stakeholders given the potentially widespread application of the new regulations and, if not, what are the reasons; (c) whether MDA will consider seeking feedback and consultation from the public before the future introduction of new laws or regulations that affect the local online community; and (d) whether there will be a public consultation exercise on the proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Act.

*38. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether the broad definition of websites that require individual licensing under the new licensing framework by the MDA will introduce uncertainty that may adversely affect (i) the development of healthy and vibrant online discourse about matters of public interest; (ii) the promotion of a more active and engaged citizenry; (iii) the promotion of local content; and (iv) the provision of on-line news reports and commentary on which the business and investor communities in a financial centre depend; and, if so, how does the Ministry plan to counter such effects.

*39. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) how many times in the past has MDA directed Internet Content Providers to remove content from, or prohibit access to, websites because of objectionable material in violation of the Internet Code of Practice; (b) what are the content of these materials; and (c) whether the Internet Content Providers have complied with MDA's directive and, if not, what action has MDA taken against them for non-compliance.

MRT breakdowns

*58. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Transport regarding the service disruption between Woodleigh and Punggol MRT stations of the North-East Line on 19 June 2013 (a) whether the response to the incident by the public transport operator, SBS Transit, and Government agencies is adequate and meets the standards expected; and (b) whether the Government can be more proactive in assisting public transport operators to put in place effective incident management plans.

*59. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Transport what is the number of breakdown incidents caused by mechanical, electrical and electronic infrastructure failures registered by each of the four main MRT lines from 2010 to 2013.

Others

*42. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the existing framework is insufficient to prevent the rigging of financial benchmarks by the 133 traders or to prosecute them; (b) how many of the cases are referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers and Criminal Investigation Department; (c) what inappropriate practices are uncovered; (d) what have the affected banks done to correct their deficiencies; and (e) what is the impact of the traders' actions on the market and consumers.

*51. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information what is the justification for the change in policy, arising from the Code of Practice for Info-Communication Facilities in Buildings 2013, requiring Town Councils to henceforth provide use of common property such as rooftops of HDB blocks to telecommunication companies without charging for use or access.

*62. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Education for each of the last two years (a) what is the number of Primary 1 places given to children of community leaders; (b) what is the average years of service which these community leaders have served; and (c) what is the breakdown of these community leaders belonging to People's Association, religious groups or clans, and voluntary welfare organisations respectively.

*65. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in view of the NYU@NUS dual graduate law programme which began in 2007 and is to be discontinued in 2014, (a) what is the total amount of funding disbursed to the programme, excluding scholarships; (b) what is the total number of Singaporean and non-Singaporean graduates respectively; and (c) what is the total number and financial value of scholarships given out by the Government to Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans.

*67. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Law with regard to the investigations into claims by former SMRT bus drivers of police brutality (a) whether there is an attempted retention or confiscation of a laptop, desktop computer and mobile phone belonging to a film maker at her residence by Singapore Police Force officers; and (b) if so, whether it is in conformity with proper procedures and requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code and what is the legal basis for the attempted retention or confiscation.

*73. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether there is a flaw in the financing arrangements for the Changi Motorsports Hub vis-à-vis the Sports Hub in light of repeated difficulties faced by investors since the commencement of the proposed motorsports hub project in 2009; (b) how much costs have been incurred by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) as a result of the varied developments from March 2009 to June 2013; and (c) how can the Government together with the SSC prevent such a saga from occurring again.

*77. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Government takes into consideration that dengue victims may be bitten at areas outside of their place of residence when classifying an area as a dengue cluster.

*82. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the expected implications regarding the schedule and cost of works of the Downtown Line arising from the insolvency of Alpine Bau GmbH who is the main contractor for three upcoming stations on that MRT line.

*89. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) if he can provide details on the annual amount of Government funding received by the Community Leaders Forum (CLF) from 2010-2012; and (b) whether the inclusion of Malay members from a political party as resource persons has infused in this community initiative a partisan element.

*100. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether there will be plans to have food centres in the upcoming BTO project 'Rivervale Delta'; and (b) whether the Ministry consider doing so if there are no such plans.

Questions for Written Answer

5. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what avenues are there for the public to report profiteering by retailers or individuals from the sale of N95 masks and what action will the Government take against retailers or individuals who are profiteering from such sales.

7. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how does Singapore compare with developed economies in terms of median monthly wages and wage shares; (b) how do the biomedical sector, general manufacturing sector, and the accommodation and food services sector in Singapore compare with their counterpart sectors in developed economies in terms of sectoral average monthly wages and sectoral wage shares; and (c) how does Singapore compare with developed economies in terms of productivity growth and median wage growth.

9. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what are the principles and criteria that are used to accredit media organisations and personnel; (b) whether there are different criteria to accredit online and traditional media; (c) if so, what are the differences and why; and (d) whether online news websites that have to be individually licensed under the new licensing framework meet the criteria of a "news organisation" under the Press Accreditation Card system.

14. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are plans to identify potential sites in Punggol East for more food centres.

16. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the review of the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) for HDB rental flats has been completed and, if not, when will it be completed by.

17. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the guidelines for the utilisation of the Community Improvement Projects Committee (CPIC) funding will be made available in the public domain and furnished to all Town Councils.

20. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether the Ministry can provide more advice to parents with young children (including newborns) and pregnant women on how to reduce indoor air pollution levels; and (b) what advice can the Ministry provide to households, childcare centres, kindergartens and schools on the appropriate types of air cleaning devices that may be needed to reduce the level of indoor air pollutants during the haze period.

24. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Health (a) if he can provide a breakdown of cases of HFMD, chicken pox and dengue from 2010-2012 according to children of (i) less than 2 years old (ii) 2 years old (iii) 3 years old (iv) 4 years old (v) 5 years old and (vi) 6 years old; (b) how many of these cases involve children who are (i) in full-day childcare and (ii) infected by their siblings; and (c) how many days on average does a child have to stay away from childcare if he/she contracts (i) HFMD, (ii) chicken pox and (iii) dengue.

25. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Health in the past five years(a) what is the average waiting time at the Accident and Emergency Department of each of our public hospitals; and (b) what are the measures taken to improve the waiting time given the current dengue situation.

33. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether all Government-funded universities are required to follow the guidelines on the percentage of Singaporeans in their intake; (b) whether there are Government-funded universities with significantly higher percentage of international students than that specified by the guidelines; and (c) whether these guidelines also apply to specialty colleges like Yale-NUS College.

34. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) which two current undergraduate programmes (major) at NUS, NTU and SMU respectively have the highest percentage of international students; and (b) what is the percentage of international students in each of these programmes.

35. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Acting Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for the past two years, how many childcare centres have had to be mandatorily closed due to an outbreak of the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) and how many children were enrolled in each of these affected childcare centres; (b) whether the Ministry collects data on the types of alternative childcare arrangements that parents have had to make when their children were unable to go to childcare centres either due to an outbreak of HFMD or the closure of such centres; and (c) what are the other types of communicable disease outbreaks which may require a childcare centre or kindergarten to be mandatorily closed.

37. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in 2013 (a) how many workplaces are inspected by the Ministry to assess whether employers had taken appropriate measures to ensure the health and safety of their employees exposed to higher levels of risks due to the haze; (b) how many stop work orders are issued to workplaces where employers are found to have not provided for adequate protective measures from the harmful effects of the haze; (c) how many persons are found in breach of stop work orders issued; and (d) whether persons found to be in breach of stop work orders will be prosecuted.

38. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) how many resident workers drew a basic monthly salary of $1,000 or less in 2011 and 2012; (b) what were the average and median basic monthly salaries of these workers in 2011 and 2012; (c) what percentage of these workers received the full pay raise of $50 that was recommended by the NWC in 2012; (d) what percentage of these workers received part of the recommended pay raise in 2012; and (e) what is the breakdown by percentage and occupational categories of workers who received the full or part of the recommended pay raise.

 

[sengkang]

[h=1]Low Thia Khiang stands by Sylvia and Pritam, says Vivian's attack was not good politics[/h]


Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang (above) has dismissed talk that he did not defend party comrades Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh in Parliament on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. -- ST FILE PHOTO: TERENCE TAN


By Elgin Toh







Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang has dismissed talk that he did not defend party comrades Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh in Parliament on Tuesday.


He said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who made that observation in a Facebook post on Tuesday night, may not have heard him well, because his opening words in Parliament were that he "agreed" with Ms Lim.
Speaking to reporters before his weekly Meet-the-People session on Wednesday night, Mr Low said he stood by the party's earlier investigation , which showed that the claims that the WP town council had asked for additional money to clean the high areas of two hawker centres in Bedok North were "baseless".


He added that no further investigations would be carried out, despite calls from the Minister for them.

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party


Response to PMO Statement dated 12 July 2013

1. I refer to para 8 of the statement where it was stated, “Mr Singh plagiarised an article from the Internet, passing it off word for word as his own speech.” I ask for your forbearance as I put this sentence into context, something that the PMO statement did not do.

2. I sought the blogger’s (Groundnotes) permission to use his post on the proposal for an Ombudsman for Singapore for a “cut” during the Supply Debate in March 2012. This fact is corroborated by the blogger (Groundnotes) himself: http://groundnotes.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/i-note-that-the/.

3. However, I did not caveat my Supply Debate cut on the Ombudsman to say that my speech was an abridged version of Groundnotes’ blogpost on the Ombudsman and more importantly, that I had secured Groudnotes’ permission to do so before delivering it. I should have done so to avoid any prospect of doubt or for aspersions to be cast over the matter. Even though the 2011 Supply Debate was my first experience of a Supply debate and took place about five months after I was sworn into parliament, I should have expected any oversight to be politically exploited for all it was worth. While my conscience has always been clear on the matter, I leave the public to judge why the PAP officially raised this issue some 16 months after it took place, that too in the context of a completely separate matter.

4. I continue to look forward to serving the people of Singapore, improving our lives, and to make my little contribution in bringing checks and balances to our parliamentary democracy through the Workers’ Party. That critical mission remains until a robust and broadly representative multi-party democracy takes root in Singapore.



groundnotes
groundnotes.wordpress.com
keeping it real.....

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party


"This matter has been in the public headlines since late May. We have made our position known both inside and outside Parliament and the relevant documents are already in the public domain, so the public can make its own judgment on the matter. We do not find it productive to continue debating and arguing with the ruling party over this issue."


Our MPs’ consciences are clear
wp.sg
We refer to the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on 12 July 2013. The various allegations against the integrity of Workers’ Party’s Member