The Workers' Party

[sengkang]

[h=1]MND’s observations on auditors' report will “mislead public”: Sylvia Lim[/h]The Workers' Party-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) has responded to a report by its independent auditors that raised concerns over the town council's latest financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2013.

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) has responded to a report by its independent auditors that raised concerns over the town council's latest financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2013.


In a media statement on Friday, town council chairman Sylvia Lim said that the Ministry of National Development’s (MND) observations on the auditors' report on Thursday were incomplete and would "mislead the public".


The town council also sought assistance from the MND to resolve the issues raised by the auditors, and welcomed an audit by MND if deemed necessary.


The independent auditors, from Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton, had said in a report that they are issuing a "disclaimer of opinion" with regard to the town council's financial statements, as they had not been able to obtain sufficient evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion.


The auditors had been unable to verify various items in the accounts amounting to over S$22 million, and had flagged 13 areas where they said insufficient information had been provided.


Those areas included the town council's opening balances, lift repair and lift upgrading expenses, as well as related party transactions.


In the AHPETC statement on Friday, Ms Lim said that the auditors had in fact given the town council a "qualified report", and that it was not an "adverse "report.


She said the auditors had stated that, apart from specific observations, the town council's books, accounts and records had been kept in accordance with the Town Councils Act.


She attributed the auditors' inability to verify certain figures to information gaps that existed at the time of the handover of the town council, following the 2011 General Election.


At that time, the auditors had not managed to obtain information from the former auditors. Ms Lim said that repeated attempts to obtain information from the former managing agent and government authorities were also unsuccessful.


This persisted in Financial Year 2012, and Ms Lim said that the information gaps would remain unless the required information is provided to the town council.


She also said that the MND could be the best party to assist the town council to resolve some of the key information gaps.


The auditors had also pointed out that the town council had not transferred any monies into its Sinking Funds as is required by the Town Councils Financial Rules.


Ms Lim acknowledged that the town council had committed an oversight in its practice of transferring monies to the Sinking Funds after deducting Sinking Funds expenses, and she said this has been rectified.


She said that the oversight had not resulted in any loss of monies nor unauthorized spending.




- CNA/nd

 

[sengkang]

Wah, hammer next to my name on chopsticks!

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

Parliament Questions for 17th Feb 2014 Sitting

February 16, 2014 at 11:33pm
In this month's parliamentary sitting, WP raises 32 questions on issues pertaining to housing, defence, education, SMEs, foreign affairs, transport, communications, healthcare, and National Service.

QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER*
*3. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the type of alert raised by the immigration authorities to the police and security forces upon finding out that a vehicle has illegally entered Singapore on 17 January 2014; (b) whether it is a high-priority warning and, if not, why not; and (c) what are the specific actions taken after such an alert is out.

*4. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past three years, how many cases of attempted immigration checkpoint evasions occurred; (b) how long did the authorities take to solve these cases; (c) what are the penalties meted out to these perpetrators; (d) whether there are any new procedures introduced to prevent recurrences; and (e) whether the current number of immigration officers is enough to deal with the surge in travellers during peak seasons.

*5. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs with regard to immigration and security functions at our checkpoints (a) what percentage of the work is outsourced to auxiliary police or private entities and for what types of job functions; (b) what percentage of the officers in charge of checkpoint clearances are outsourced personnel; (c) what training and supervision are given to outsourced staff to ensure compliance with checkpoint procedures; and (d) whether outsourced functions are being reviewed in light of the alleged security breach at the Woodlands Checkpoint on 17 January 2014.

*13. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education in 2013 (a) how much funding for secondary level education is given, on average, by the Ministry to (i) independent schools (ii) autonomous schools and (iii) schools which are neither independent nor autonomous; and (b) how will this funding level change with the recent revision to the funding formula for schools.

*18. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the new non-citizen quota on subletting of HDB flats (a) how many neighbourhoods and blocks have reached this quota; and (b) which neighbourhoods have reached this quota.

*34. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower over the past three years (a) how much monies are contributed yearly by employers to the Skills Development Levy (SDL); (b) how much monies are disbursed yearly from the Skills Development Fund (SDF) as subsidies for training; and (c) how much of the disbursements are made to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and, of these, how much are made to SMEs with less than 10 employees.

*38. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the amount of the total financial penalties imposed on each of the two public transport operators (PTOs) in each of the last three years; and (b) whether the PTOs are allowed to factor these penalties in their operational expenses and, if not, how does the Public Transport Council ensure that these penalties are not included as part of the PTOs' operational expenses.

*42. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the current total number of international students in the polytechnics and publicly-funded universities who have deferred their tuition grant bond; (b) what is the average number of years of deferment; and (c) what is the number of international students who have deferred for more than six years and ten years respectively and what are the reasons for allowing such long deferments.

*43. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Education from 2010 to 2013 (a) what is the total amount of tuition grants given to international students in the polytechnics and publicly-funded universities who defaulted on their agreement to work in a Singapore-based company for three years upon graduation; and (b) what actions are taken to recover the tuition grants.

*45. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry can provide the specific list of justifications submitted by each of the two public transport operators for their recent application to the Public Transport Council for fare adjustments.

*53. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether Singapore's interests are affected by China's declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea in November 2013; and (b) what is the Ministry's interim assessment of the prospects of China establishing a similar ADIZ over the disputed Spratly Islands.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
5. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the current total strength of the auxiliary police forces; and (b) what proportion of the total strength (in percentages and in absolute numbers) comprise Singapore citizens, permanent residents (PR) and non-PR Malaysians respectively.

6. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in respect of cases of voluntarily causing hurt that are reported to the police (a) what is the total number of cases recorded by the police in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively; (b) what is the incidence of such cases per 100,000 population for 2011, 2012 and 2013; and (c) what proportion of these cases are charged by the police in court for each of the years.

7. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs with regard to police investigations into reports of serious sexual crimes handled by the Criminal Investigation Department in the last three years (a) of the cases charged in court, what is the median time which elapsed between the making of the police report and the completion of investigations such that the prosecution is ready to proceed; and (b) what percentage of reports is not prosecuted in court and for what offence types.

8. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information in comparison with the nationwide outdoor signal service coverage survey conducted by IDA in September 2012 that is performed with an average of 524,875 signal strength sample readings for each cellular network (a) how many sample readings are taken for the latest coverage survey in 2013; and (b) what is the time interval between each sample reading.

9. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what is the surplus amount from the non-disbursement of Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) for 2012; and (b) how many more students have benefited from the scheme in 2012 after the introduction of the revised criteria, compared to 2010 and 2011.

10. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what types of independent tests does IDA carry out to verify the accuracy and correctness of the network traffic logs of our local mobile network operators; and (b) whether there are any inconsistencies between mobile network coverage which is tested independently and call drop rates which are based on mobile operators' network traffic logs and, if so, what are the reasons for these inconsistencies.

14. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Defence what are the factors or criteria that are used to determine the full-time National Service placement of individuals, whether serving in the police force, armed forces or civil defence force.

15. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Law how many Magistrate's Complaints lodged in 2011, 2012 and 2013 relate to the criminal offence of voluntarily causing hurt.

16. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) if he will give an update on the review of the Termination of Pregnancy guidelines which commenced in March 2013, particularly with regard to the criteria for mandatory pre-abortion counselling and the contents of the counselling; and (b) when will this review be completed.

17. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) in each of the last 10 years (i) how many women have sought to terminate their pregnancy in Singapore; (ii) how many women are referred to a trained counsellor for pre-abortion counselling; (iii) how many women decided not to terminate their pregnancy after undergoing counselling; and (b) what are the names of the organisations that patients are currently referred to for mandatory pre-abortion counselling.

18. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Health what is the number of Singaporeans who are no longer insurable under MediShield or Medisave-approved integrated shield plans due to exhausted benefits and claim limits upon diagnosis of major illnesses since 2000.

19. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the proposed ElderShield reform that is reported in 2011, including plans to increase payouts to $800-$1,000 per month.

25. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the current number of school-based student care centres (SSCs); (b) what is the total enrolment capacity of SSCs in aggregate; (c) what is the average enrolment across SSCs over the past 12 months; (d) what is the percentage of SSCs with students on a waitlist; and (e) what is the number of new SSCs that will be opened over the next two years.

26. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider re-introducing Religious Knowledge (RK) as part of the secondary education curriculum.

27. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the additional time allocated for Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) and Physical Education (PE) has resulted in longer school hours; (b) whether there is sufficient time for the completion of curriculum for the other subjects; and (c) whether schools are using time after the official curriculum hours to complete the syllabus for examinable subjects.

28. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current number of student care centres which operate outside of the school premises; (b) how has the number of such centres changed over the past five years; and (c) what is the number of such centres that have ceased operations over the past five years.

29. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to the medium-term to short-term ComCare schemes for each year from 2009-2013 (a) how many recipients are there on these schemes at year end; (b) how many applicants are assessed for these schemes; (c) how many have been successful; and (d) how many applicants in each of the above categories from (a) to (c) are aged 55 years and above.

30. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in respect of the Work Support Scheme (a) at year-end of 2012 and 2013, how many on the scheme are aged (i) 45 to 55 years (ii) 56 to 65 years and (iii) above 65 years; (b) how long do the participants spend on the scheme on average in each of the years of 2012 and 2013; and (c) how does the Ministry measure the success of the scheme, eg with reference to job retention rates.

31. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development since the widening of the eligibility criteria for the Public Assistance Scheme in 2012 and 2013 (a) how many applications are received for the scheme in 2013; (b) how many such applicants have been successful; and (c) for each of the groups in (a) and (b), how many are aged 55 years and above.

32. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development since the introduction of the secondary and discretionary tiers in the Public Assistance scheme in 2013 (a) how many applicants have been assessed for each tier; (b) how many have been successful; (c) for each tier, what is the average payout or estimated value of items paid out to each successful applicant; and (d) what are the most common expenses for which assistance was paid out under these tiers.

35. Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number and percentage of Singapore citizens born in 1950 and before who are not currently on the CPF LIFE scheme; and (b) how many of these citizens are not in the scheme because they cannot afford to join the scheme.


In this month's parliamentary sitting, WP raises 32 questions on issues pertaining to housing, defence, education, SMEs, foreign affairs, transport, communications, healthcare, and National Service.

 

[sengkang]

[URL="https://www.facebook.com/workersparty"]The Workers' Party

[/URL]"The Government has said that this is not the beginning of a national minimum wage policy, but a targeted sectorial approach to upgrading skills, quality and wages. However, by introducing this Bill which targets the cleaning industry, it has swung from a laissez-faire free market approach of letting companies determine their workers’ wages, to one featuring a high degree of micro-management of cleaning businesses by civil servants.

This is in fact a more intrusive and interventionist approach than a national minimum wage. A national minimum wage approach leaves it to companies to adapt and respond to the minimum wage levels set by the government, and the methodologies used are transparent, taking into account cost of living, economic conditions and labour market factors. The PWM leaves most of the adaptation and response to government bureaucrats, most of whom have little industry experience.

Are we sure that civil servants can do a better job at improving the productivity of the cleaning industry than the cleaning company bosses?

The Government has announced that it will soon extend the PWM to the security industry. Will it also become a template for some other industries employing low-wage workers? If so, it is important that we embark on the correct approach to raising wages, and not go overboard in introducing bureaucratic micro-management of businesses and industries, which might end up hurting both the businesses and the workers they employ." - NCMP Gerald Giam






Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill – NCMP Gerald Giam
wp.sg

By Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam [Delivered in Parliament on 17 Feb 2014] Madam Speaker, This Bill enhances the powers of the...

 

[sengkang]

[URL="https://www.facebook.com/workersparty"]The Workers' Party

[/URL]"In its current state, without the new licensing regime, almost 82 per cent of the population is enjoying a clean environment as reported by the last Town Council Management Report (TCMR). All town councils received a green mark in the area of cleanliness. Even without a 100 per cent trained workforce today, the cleaning companies servicing a large part of Singapore are doing a decent job according to the TCMR.

Is there any study done or proof that by imposing a 100 per cent training compliance licensing requirement in the cleaning industry, standard and productivity will improve?

I am thus concern that the government may be adding a lot more administrative burden on an industry which is already known for cheap-sourcing practices, low wages, limited productivity gain, and high turnover. The focus on getting all workers trained at each licence renewal cycle may take centre stage at the expense of further wage increase and productivity gain." - MP PNG ENG HUAT






Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill – MP Png Eng Huat
wp.sg

By MP for Hougang SMC, Png Eng Huat [Delivered in Parliament on 17 Feb 2014] I support the bill but I have some concerns I hope the ministry can address.

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

"Furthermore, financial penalties are imposed on the company and do not directly impact the people who are in a position to improve service quality and reliability – that is, the top management of the public transport operators (PTOs). There is nothing in the RTS Act that stipulates that bonuses or salaries must be cut, or heads must roll if senior managers fail to meet their KPIs and major disruptions occur too frequently.

The most the regulator can do, under this Bill, is to direct the licensee under section 18A(2) to remove a CEO from his or her position, but it appears that this can only be done if LTA never approved of the appointment of that CEO in the first place. Could the Minister clarify: If LTA had approved of the appointment of a CEO, and that CEO subsequently fails to perform, can the LTA direct the licensee to dismiss him or her?

Besides influencing the appointment of the CEO and directors on the board, would the Government consider introducing other regulations to make senior managers of PTOs more personally accountable for the quality and reliability of their MRT services?

For example, the LTA could require licensee to name the individual who is assigned crucial responsibilities like rail and train maintenance, so that when regulatory action is taken against the company, the LTA will know which senior people should be held responsible, and, if necessary, censured. I believe this approach could be more effective in keeping the PTOs on their toes than imposing large fines on the company." - NCMP Gerald Giam






Rapid Transit Systems (Amendment) Bill – NCMP Gerald Giam
wp.sg

By Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam [Delivered in Parliament on 17 Feb 2014] Sir, This Bill seeks to amend the Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) Act by enhancin

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)[/h]
Finally, I will end with the continuation of the story of Lawrence, the banker whom I spoke about earlier. He did not have good academic results earlier in life and just barely made it through to the then-new 3rd university, SMU through an alternative admission pathway. He shared that he now feels he is as good as the graduates of the other established universities and had been able to prove that in his career. SIT will certainly face a lot of challenge competing with our other local universities in order to establish itself. I look forward to a ‘can-do’ spirit in its pioneers to define the Institute of Technology brand in their own way to make it one that will be as desired as the rest of our universities.






Singapore Institute of Technology Bill
yeejj.wordpress.com

The following is my speech delivered in parliament on 17 Feb 2014: Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise in support of this Bill. The Prime Minister has announced last year the creation of two new local univer...

 

[sengkang]

Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the bill.

As the Minister has stated, the issue of illegal tour guides is a growing problem, rising with the tourism boom in Singapore in recent years. Tour guides in Singapore need to undergo recognised courses and examinations in order to be licensed. The over 2,300 licensed tour guides here are made up mostly of Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents. Illegal tour guides not only affect the livelihood of local guides but they may provide wrong information about Singapore and damage our efforts to promote Singapore as a tourist destination.

Hence, I support the measures in this bill that will provide greater powers for the authorities to act against illegal guides such as fines for both the illegal guides and the tour agencies that knowingly engage their services and will provide greater clarity on what constitutes as illegal guiding.

I have two areas which I wish to highlight for operational considerations.

The first is about the Taxi Tourist Guide scheme, launched in 2004, ten years ago. The scheme is to train and license taxi drivers to allow them to act as tour guides for small groups of tourists. Section 19C of this Act defines a tour guide as someone who ‘provides any guiding services to 8 or more tourists.’ A taxi can never take 8 or more passengers. Hence there seem to be some discrepancies here. Does this mean that taxi drivers who wish to act as tour guides do not need any licensing and the Taxi Tourist Guide scheme is now redundant? And on this topic of Taxi Tourist Guides, I like to understand from the Minister if this scheme has been popular. If not, what are the reasons?

The second is that this Act provides the power for the inspecting officer to detain and arrest any suspected illegal tour guide if the officer reasonably believes that he or she has committed an offence as defined by the Act. The arrested person can be brought to a police station for questioning.

The tour guide may be in the midst of leading a busload of foreign visitors. The arrest would leave these visitors stranded in the middle of a tour destination. For practical considerations, inspecting officers must handle the situation carefully or it may leave a bad impression of Singapore with the visitors. Procedures on how to inform the tour agency involved and getting an immediate replacement tour guide from the agency or other arrangements to allow the suspect to settle the visitors first will be important. This is to minimise disruption to the innocent visitors who are just out here to enjoy Singapore.





Singapore Tourism Board (Amendment) Bill
yeejj.wordpress.com

The following is my speech delivered in parliament on 17 Feb 2014: Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. As the Minister has stated, the issue of illegal tour guides is a growing problem, r...

 

[sengkang]

[h=1]14.1.31 Serangoon Division Free Lunch Pack (1st Anniversary)[/h]Updated <abbr title="Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 10:39pm" data-utime="1392734388" class="timestamp">about an hour ago</abbr> · Taken at Serangoon Avenue 4




Serangoon Division first started a Free Lunch Pack programme on the 2nd day of 2013 Lunar New Year. The free lunch packs are prepared and delivered by Willing Hearts to Block 224 Serangoon Avenue 4. The Free Lunch Pack programme is targeted at lower income families and senior citizens. The free lunch packs are available every day, including all public holidays.

Over the past year, the number of families receiving lunch packs under this programme have grown. The distribution of the lunch packs is managed by resident volunteers living in Serangoon Avenue 4. The volunteers celebrated the 1st Anniversary of the Free Lunch Pack programme on 31 Jan 2014, which is the first day of this Lunar New Year. Willing Hearts provided a buffet lunch and distributed Hong Bao to the beneficiaries on that day.

 

[sengkang]

[h=1]14.1.31 Serangoon Division Free Lunch Pack (1st Anniversary)[/h]Updated <abbr title="Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 10:39pm" data-utime="1392734388" class="timestamp">about an hour ago</abbr> · Taken at Serangoon Avenue 4




Serangoon Division first started a Free Lunch Pack programme on the 2nd day of 2013 Lunar New Year. The free lunch packs are prepared and delivered by Willing Hearts to Block 224 Serangoon Avenue 4. The Free Lunch Pack programme is targeted at lower income families and senior citizens. The free lunch packs are available every day, including all public holidays.

Over the past year, the number of families receiving lunch packs under this programme have grown. The distribution of the lunch packs is managed by resident volunteers living in Serangoon Avenue 4. The volunteers celebrated the 1st Anniversary of the Free Lunch Pack programme on 31 Jan 2014, which is the first day of this Lunar New Year. Willing Hearts provided a buffet lunch and distributed Hong Bao to the beneficiaries on that day.

 

[sengkang]

[h=1]14.1.31 Serangoon Division Free Lunch Pack (1st Anniversary)[/h]Updated <abbr title="Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 10:39pm" data-utime="1392734388" class="timestamp">about an hour ago</abbr> · Taken at Serangoon Avenue 4




Serangoon Division first started a Free Lunch Pack programme on the 2nd day of 2013 Lunar New Year. The free lunch packs are prepared and delivered by Willing Hearts to Block 224 Serangoon Avenue 4. The Free Lunch Pack programme is targeted at lower income families and senior citizens. The free lunch packs are available every day, including all public holidays.

Over the past year, the number of families receiving lunch packs under this programme have grown. The distribution of the lunch packs is managed by resident volunteers living in Serangoon Avenue 4. The volunteers celebrated the 1st Anniversary of the Free Lunch Pack programme on 31 Jan 2014, which is the first day of this Lunar New Year. Willing Hearts provided a buffet lunch and distributed Hong Bao to the beneficiaries on that day.

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]The Workers' Party[/h]
"I have two areas which I wish to highlight for operational considerations.

The first is about the Taxi Tourist Guide scheme, launched in 2004, ten years ago. The scheme is to train and license taxi drivers to allow them to act as tour guides for small groups of tourists. Section 19C of this Act defines a tour guide as someone who ‘provides any guiding services to 8 or more tourists.’ A taxi can never take 8 or more passengers. Hence there seem to be some discrepancies here. Does this mean that taxi drivers who wish to act as tour guides do not need any licensing and the Taxi Tourist Guide scheme is now redundant? And on this topic of Taxi Tourist Guides, I like to understand from the Minister if this scheme has been popular. If not, what are the reasons?

The second is that this Act provides the power for the inspecting officer to detain and arrest any suspected illegal tour guide if the officer reasonably believes that he or she has committed an offence as defined by the Act. The arrested person can be brought to a police station for questioning." - NCMP Yee Jenn Jong






Singapore Tourism Board (Amendment) Bill – NCMP Yee Jenn Jong
wp.sg

By Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong [Delivered in Parliament on 17 Feb 2014] Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. As the

 

[sengkang]

Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)

It wasn't only The WP that opposed. It was good to see that all the 5 NMPs who spoke also expressed great concerns on this bill, with the majority of them explicitly stating that they did NOT support the bill.

Workers' Party opposes temporary public order law in Little India
[url]www.straitstimes.com

THE Workers' Party (WP) opposes a new law meant to give law enforcement officers powers to maintain public order in Little India, said party chairman Sylvia Lim in Parliament on Monday calling it...


[/URL]

 

[sengkang]

Chen Show Mao

Speech on Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill.

"We must ... ensure that our responses remain proportionate and balanced, that any proposed [police] powers and their limitations on our constitutional rights are strictly necessitated and fully justified by the clear requirements of maintaining public order and security."

Madam speaker,

In Singapore, we have enjoyed many years of relative order and stability. The Race Course Road riot in December last year came as a shock to most of us, and the news also rippled beyond our island. Some worry about how the riot affected Singapore’s reputation and our standing in the world.

We must not forget that how we respond to the riot, the measures that we take after the disturbance, including passing this bill into law, also say a great deal about the kind of people we are.

We must resist the urge to come up with a reflexive reaction and should try to ensure that our responses remain proportionate and balanced, that any proposed powers and their limitations on our constitutional rights are strictly necessitated and fully justified by the clear requirements of maintaining public order and security.

The Bill before us has as its stated intention to “provide Police with powers to continue to take calibrated measures to maintain public order and calm in Little India post-riot.”

By all accounts from the Government to date, we understand that following the riot, measures have been taken by the Government pursuant to powers they have under existing laws, to restore and maintain public order and calm. Second Minister Iswaran suggested that existing laws may be among other things too blunt an instrument for our current needs, But by all Government accounts to date, measures taken have been calibrated and effective for the last two months.

Please could the Minister clarify: how many instances have there been where the security forces have found that they do not have adequate tools to deal with threats to public order and calm within Little India, the proposed special zone. If any, what were the nature of the threats to public order? Could he please explain how existing powers have proved lacking in the time from the riot to today, so that this new set of powers to the security forces must be rushed into law before the Committee of Inquiry completes its work?

We are told that the powers contained in this Bill are of a temporary nature, to be in force for only 12 months. But, as was said earlier, If not strictly necessary and fully justified, even 12 months would be too long.

Even compared to the Public Order (Preservation) Act mentioned by Second Minister Iswaran, the scope of government powers in this Bill is “extensive” in several ways. For example, under the Public Order (Preservation) Act, each proclamation of a state of danger to public order in an area in Singapore expires after one month, requiring the Minister to renew it for up to one month at a time , if he is of the opinion that “public order in [that] area in Singapore is seriously disturbed or is seriously threatened”.

This Bill in contrast expires after one year, during which the Minister may declare an area part of the special zone if he is satisfied that it is “needed for the well being of the communities ... or ...otherwise in the public interest”.

Also, this Bill confers powers not just on police officers, but also approved persons who are auxiliary police officers. These include powers to inspect personal belongings and garments, conduct strip search and car search, refuse someone entry to the special zone for up to 24 hours, and remove someone from the special zone, all if the approved person reasonably considers it necessary to do so. Just to put things in context, in response to a question filed by Miss Sylvia Lim, Member for Aljunied, the Minister for Home Affairs replied, “The current total strength of the auxiliary police forces is about 6000 officers. The majority of the officers are Singaporeans, while the others are Malaysians.”

Also, this Bill confers powers that extend beyond the Special Zone, such as powers of search outside the special zone.

Also, this Bill contains an immunity clause. It states that the Government will be protected from liability for anything which is intended to be done in good faith and with reasonable care, in exercising the powers under the Bill.

Given the wide-ranging nature of the powers being proposed in this Bill, along with the effects on residents and businesses in Little India, and in view of the fact that powers under existing laws have proved effective in maintaining law and order, and that the committee of inquiry has yet to complete its work, Madam, I oppose the Bill.

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]The Workers' Party

AHPETC WELCOMES AGO AUDIT FOR FY 12

The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council welcomes the government’s decision to have the Town Council’s accounts for Financial Year 2012 audited by the Auditor-General’s Office.

We assure the Auditor-General’s Office of our full co-operation in this matter.

SYLVIA LIM
CHAIRMAN
ALJUNIED-HOUGANG-PUNGGOL EAST TOWN COUNCIL




Media Release - 19 Feb 2014 | AHPETC
ahpetc.sg

The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council welcomes the government’s decision to have the Town Council’s accounts for Financial Year 2012 audited by the Auditor-General’s Office.





[/h]

 

[sengkang]

Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)

Good to see this taking shape. I had spoken several times on this issue in parliament on revisions to our laws to enable taking firmer actions against companies polluting our air, even if the pollution had originated outside of Singapore. Many of the major plantation companies have assets in and/or are public listed in Singapore. I hope this will lead to more responsible land clearing by all companies in this industry.

Singapore widens battle against toxic haze from forest fires - FT.com
[url]www.ft.com

Singapore is proposing a new law that would allow it to fine foreign companies for causing cross-border toxic haze, eight months after Indonesian forest fires blanketed the city-state in a hazardous pall of...


[/URL]

 

[sengkang]

[URL="https://www.facebook.com/workersparty"]The Workers' Party

[/URL]"It is difficult to understand the rush to introduce this Bill, which is directed at alcohol consumption by foreign workers in Little India, when the problem is not unique to Little India and the post-riot situation in Little India has been stable under existing legislation. The absence of period of public consultation on this Bill is also a glaring omission. In this Bill’s place, Singaporeans would have been better served by a piece legislation that addresses liquor sale and alcohol consumption throughout the island, and not just Little India.

Mdm Speaker, I oppose this Bill." - MP Pritam Singh



Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill – MP Pritam Singh
wp.sg

By MP for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh [Delivered in Parliament on 18 Feb 2014] For many years now, South Asian foreign workers, the same ones responsible for

 

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

"I have spoken of my concerns about the hasty manner in which this Bill is presented and the wisdom of jumping the gun when the COI is to complete its work by June. I have also elaborated on why I believe the existing legal and administrative framework can be used in the interim to manage the situation until the COI findings can be dealt with. My colleagues will further elaborate on the reasons why the Workers’ Party has grave reservations about the need, and the wisdom of this Bill.

As I said at the beginning of my speech, we are aware of the plight of the long-suffering residents in the area, who have put up with social disamenities for decades. The incident of 8 December suggests that the authorities will need to make some changes. However, the current holding measures should suffice until the COI findings are out.

For these and other reasons my colleagues will elaborate on, the Workers’ Party opposes the Bill." - MP Sylvia Lim



Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill – MP Sylvia Lim
wp.sg

by Sylvia Lim, MP for Aljunied GRC [Delivered in Parliament on 18 Feb 2014] Little India is a very special place. Many Singaporeans are proud to have suc

 

[sengkang]

Mr JBJ - the man of steel

 

[sengkang]

[h=5]Daniel PS Goh
[/h]Lo hei with Li Lian objectives achieved: record for largest Chinese word broken, residents enjoyed yusheng with MPs, volunteers had maximum fun!