Government Technology Agency Bill

Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to speak on this Bill which, I believe, will have a significant impact on governance in Singapore.

The new GovTech aims to harness and deploy ICT services that benefit Singapore and Singaporeans. It aims to deliver citizen-centric services to support Singapore's Smart Nation vision by pushing the boundaries in the use of applied technology and levelling up the ICT standards in Government.

Replacing the Government Chief Information Office (GCIO) wing of the current IDA, it will build on its traditional strength of enterprise IT to take on new functions, as the Minister described earlier on, the digital transformation of the public sector, growing deep technical capabilities, seeing to governance and standards, looking into cybersecurity and managing the Smart Nation platform, solutions and applications. In this expansion of its mandate alone, the very establishment of GovTech is designed to innovate governance here in Singapore. And we are probably the first government in the world that announced an agency focusing on Government technology. This focus should enable GovTech to lead the Singapore Government's innovation of its processes, offerings, functions, infrastructure and citizen engagement. But we must not forget that the ultimate goal is to improve citizens' lives and make governance more productive for their benefit.

Firstly, I hope that GovTech will look at simplifying Government-citizen interaction by putting in place the technology and infrastructure to operate smart applications for our young, our seniors and also those with special needs. We can do more to make Government technology inclusive for all. Some of the applications that IDA currently deploys show promise. Like the Minister described earlier, MyInfo service allows citizens, who have given their personal details before, to have their transaction forms online pre-filled upon their consent.

Secondly, I hope that we also see more interactive Government digital services to citizens that can improve citizens' lives. The MyResponder app by the Singapore Civil Defence Force is one example, which links cardiac arrest patients to nearby volunteers to help save lives.

Third, I hope that GovTech can bring the whole of Government with it to unlock the value of information to solve everyday problems affecting citizens. The Beeline is one such example, which analyses user-suggested route data with existing transport data smartly to identify popular routes. GovTech will aid this effort also by setting up the Smart Nation platform, which will collect data that can then be analysed by policy-makers in various fields, including urban planning.

Besides the development of efficiency and innovation within society, I hope that GovTech will also continue to play an important role in protecting our Government systems and citizen data which are stored in these systems.

With all these functions, GovTech will be the core technology agency within the Government. However, this role will also require it to work closely with other agencies in areas that are, at present, cross-cutting or overlapping. It is less clear how this will be done and if any of the functions will be reassigned to GovTech instead or what permutations may exist.

As GovTech develops expertise in a broad range of technology areas, including cybersecurity, how will it aim to create synergies with other agencies, such as the Smart Nation Programme Office (SNPO), Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and Cyber Security Agency (CSA), and minimise duplication of work and harness the synergies? The Minister covered several restrictions in the Bill, outlining GovTech's ability to work with other agencies or advise the private sector, for example, the oil industry.

With GovTech developing expertise and experience handling complex ICT projects for the public sector, it has a lot of potential to also help the private sector and the industries. Should the work of GovTech extend beyond the current scope of mainly operating within the public sector? For example, can GovTech share expertise and Government experience in cybersecurity and analytics and help the SMEs, for example?

Conversely, there is a lot that GovTech can learn from and collaborate with the private sector. I am not sure if the Minister plays Pokemon Go!, but I know many Singaporeans who have. I am not at a very high level, but I keep up with my kids and to understand the phenomenon. But what this app has achieved, as several Members have spoken before me, it is through innovation of what agencies like the National Parks Board and the National Heritage Board would have benefited. For example, today, you have more Singaporeans going on heritage trails and going to our parks, for example, which we have difficulty getting people to do before this. And today, the Health Promotion Board should also thank Pokemon Go! for the many kilometres our digital-natives are walking through just to hatch Pokemon eggs. There is a symbiosis that we can tap and much potential that can be synergised through the exchange of ideas, research and collaboration.

Whether or not GovtTech's scope extends beyond the public sector, it is also important to put in place various indicators to determine if GovTech is heading the nation in the right direction as many of its functions can be difficult to evaluate. As the building of Singapore into a Smart Nation is an important exercise that we cannot get wrong, how do we know if we are in the right direction? So, what will be GovTech's measure of success?

Do we measure it based on how many citizen-centric apps are created to improve engagement with society? Or do we measure its success based on how efficient or productive the Government becomes in offering its services to the people? These are just two possible yardsticks. But based on how wide GovTech's mandate is, there are certainly many other possible measures and these will have to be decided upon. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, my speech in Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The establishment of GovTech is a welcome move in view of the many changes that have occurred in the global technology landscape.

GovTech was established to enhance Singapore's effort to fulfil its Smart Nation aspirations. It is hoped that this new agency will achieve the objective of leading the public sector and the Government in terms of improving the application of technology in order to provide a more effective service to the people and corporate organisations.

The establishment of GovTech is timely. It will definitely approach the application of technology in a way that will further benefit our citizens and our nation, operating under the concept and implementation of a Smart Nation vision.

Technology is now widely used but education and upskilling will be required from time to time. What is also important is that, hopefully, as many people as possible will be comfortable using technology in their dealings with the Government, including in terms of cybersecurity. For instance, websites, apps, electronic transactions and others should be easy and safe to use, including in terms of data security.

With all these functions, GovTech will be the Government's main agency in the usage of technology and there is room for it to operate outside the public sector.

Just like the infocomm media sector, GovTech will also require investments and planning to develop expertise and manpower capabilities in order to successfully develop those sectors.

(In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the creation of GovTech marks the turning of a page in the evolution of Singapore's IT infrastructure.

The new GovTech will and I quote, from the Bill, "undertake the procurement of ICT and related engineering goods for the public sector…" It will have powers and I quote, "to issue directives, codes, standards and guidelines for the public sector in relation to the architecture or use of ICT or related engineering systems or services in the public sector."

The new agency recalls one of the core functions of the National Computer Board, formed in 1981, which was to implement the computerisation of the Civil Service. However, GovTech will do so in a very different context, one where ICT has become pervasive and is, in many cases, mission-critical in the Civil Service.

GovTech looks set to take the lead in enabling the public sector to optimally use big data analytics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and other disruptive technologies. It will probably take the lead in the procurement of IT systems for the public sector. It is also likely to play a leading role in setting and enforcing best practice standards as well as levelling up the standards of public sector agencies in terms of their use of ICT to fulfil their missions. As such, the role of GovTech is potentially very impactful.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to make several points and pose several suggestions for the goals, functioning and processes of GovTech.

Firstly, in relation to the development of local SMEs in the ICT space. In other developed countries, SMEs have the advantage of good access to their domestic market, an advantage that some of our SMEs and local enterprises lack due to the small size of our domestic market. This is compounded by the fact that many public sector agencies may tend to prefer established global brands in procuring ICT systems and services.

I would like to suggest GovTech find ways to work with local enterprises and SMEs to enable them to benefit from its work. These local champions should be our economy's strong third pillar of job creation and value creation, a pillar that will hopefully be more resilient and rooted to Singapore whichever way global economic winds blow, as compared to multinational corporations.

No doubt Singapore needs to observe its obligations under the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which requires non-discrimination against foreign firms. However, there could be ways to work with local firms while remaining consistent with the GPA. For example, GovTech could work with certain local firms with niche technologies on R&D partnerships which are not procurement tenders per se. Such local firms could also receive targeted SME incentives from economic promotion agencies like SPRING Singapore or the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Another possibility is to issue certain procurement tenders that provide preferential consideration for SMEs, both local and foreign. This may, in certain context, be GPA-compliant, if the same preference is given to both local and foreign SMEs. But practically speaking, of course, there will not be as much foreign SME competition as there would be foreign MNC competition. Some global government agencies, I am given to understand, do implement SME preferences in their tender evaluation criteria to some degree in this way. I hope that the Ministry of Communications and Information and GovTech will consider such approaches.

Secondly on privacy protection. The new GovTech will have access to a great deal of personal and corporate data. As a best practice, will GovTech conduct and encourage other public sector agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments? I would urge GovTech to give serious thought to this because not only would it result in greater privacy protection, such regular private investment assessments (PIAs) would also help strengthen public confidence in sharing information with Government agencies. PIAs are conducted by first world government agencies such as the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security in the United States and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the United Kingdom (UK), for example.

Thirdly, the Civil Service, including all Statutory Boards and agencies, is a vast organisation. Across the ranks of all state employees, there could exist a digital divide, with some employees being much more IT-literate in their skills and habits than others, particularly including some of those who are older. I suggest that GovTech take the lead in identifying IT literacy gaps within the broader Civil Service and use its considerable procurement power to develop and push out ICT literacy training on a whole-of-Government basis. This would enable those state employees who are lagging in comfort level in ICT skills to level up and thus gain access to productivity-enhancing opportunities which would improve their career prospects.

Lastly, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask why the Cyber Security Agency (CSA), formed in April 2015, is located within the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). With the creation of GovTech, would not GovTech offer the best location for the lead agency for public sector cyber security? Are there plans for the CSA to thus eventually be subsumed under GovTech? This would facilitate cybersecurity becoming better embedded in public sector ICT systems, processes and cultures.

If the answer to that question is that CSA is tasked with national level cybersecurity going beyond just the public sector, should it not then be located under the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) which would allow better integration with other modalities of Total Defence?

I thank the Minister for sharing his thinking behind the setting up of GovTech.

GovTech has a huge task at hand, not only because of the scale of supporting 90-plus Government agencies, but also because it ventures into the unknown with technology and needs constantly evolving. What then will be GovTech's measure of success?

I would like to suggest putting effort into building enablers which could benefit a broad base of users and also make possible more efficient business processes and upgrading the capabilities of the industry as a whole.

For instance, our current landscape for electronic payments seems to be playing catch-up to developments in some other major cities. We had started out quite strongly when the Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) was launched in 1985 but NETS has not evolved to be more inter-operable, being only available to consumers of one of the associated banks in Singapore and not interoperable with international card schemes. Consumers now find themselves faced with a dazzling array of card payment terminals with proprietary standards when they want to make payments. And credit card payments are already graduating towards mobile-enabled payments.

We are thus in need of a platform that enables a seamless payment experience for consumers. This not only provides greater convenience to consumers but can also increase productivity and cut down costs for businesses. For instance, the man-hours and costs of processing cheques and handling cash are far higher than those of processing digital payments.

However, a corollary of progressing mobile and digital payments is the ability to authenticate one's digital identity. While we are moving towards two-factor authentication for Singpass, huge advances are already being made in biometric authentication for financial services. Biometric automated teller machines have been deployed in several parts of the world including the UK, Japan, China, Brazil and Poland.

The development of an efficient digital payment system with common infrastructure at the base level, a central addressing system where citizens can transact with one another safely and effectively and a unified point-of-sale solution for consumers is probably the way to go. Such an overhaul will require a multi-agency effort and I would like to suggest that this be one of the key priorities for GovTech.

The second area of focus I would like to suggest to GovTech to look at is to use technology and solutions to better harness resources in the society and also unleash the potential in traditionally underserved or special needs communities in Singapore.

Given Singapore's limited resources, the general economic climate and evolving trends in business models, there is an increasing need for us to embrace a "sharing model" to deploy resources more effectively. There are many latent resources in our society and community. This could be in the form of physical assets, labour and capital, for instance, under-utilised community spaces, stay-at-home mums who could act as volunteers. If GovTech is able to co-create solutions with citizens to enable better use of latent resources in our society, we could have win-win solutions for owners of resources and society as a whole.

Separately, for special needs communities or the elderly, technology can be used to enable the elderly and less physically abled to access Government services from home, work from home and be more productive. This would help build a more inclusive society as more segments of the population can be actively participating in societal developments. Those with disabilities can also potentially use their abilities to support themselves, enabled by smart devices to help them operate equipment, read and also enter data.

GovTech could thus be a key enabler in society, using technology to build platforms and creating convenience and increasing convenience for consumers as well as raise productivity for industries. GovTech could also be a key mobiliser in society, using technology to access segments of the population that are underserved and unleash the potentials in them. I hope the Ministry is able to prioritise the work of GovTech to maximise its role and make a critical difference to the lives of citizens. With that, I support the Bill.

Sir, this Bill will catapult Singapore to worldwide leadership in applied technology and I stand in full support of it.

It will pave the way for Singapore to go full speed ahead as a Smart Nation, providing top-class infrastructure for people and businesses to thrive. Minister Yaacob shared that this will encourage citizens to participate in the co-creation of public digital services, in line with our Smart Nation initiative to solicit participation from non-government stakeholders to contribute innovative ideas and solutions.

I especially welcome this move towards co-creation with the community, as I believe the Government does not hold the monopoly on good ideas and innovations, especially not with the growing pool of exceptional talent among the youths. Furthermore, as interactions with Government services move increasingly to the digital realm, the move to streamline IT-related transactions can only serve Singaporeans better.

Many of my older and less tech-savvy residents in Nee Soon East face challenges navigating the complex web of Government red tape when trying to apply for licences, grants, social welfare services, and so on. As such, I thank the Minister for the new whole-of-Government approach to cut down on administrative burdens in Government transactions.

Sir, allow me to raise just one recommendation in this Bill in clause 36 on the Appointment of Committees to provide advice to the authority. This committee will further strengthen our move towards co-creation with the community.

Based on my experience as part of the Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee, which led to improvements in animal welfare policies and legislation, I have found great value in setting up committees which include parties with differing views. For example, the Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee comprised of Members of Parliament, animal welfare groups, Town Council staff, veterinarians and the pet industry. This was a group of stakeholders with diverse views, who are not like-minded at times, but came together to argue, debate and find common ground.

Sir, I reiterate my comments from my maiden speech in Parliament, calling for the setting up of more of such committees to enable robust consultations with a wider spectrum of people from society. I strongly believe that it is committees like these, with more devil's advocates, where we will get the best policies drafted and, in this case, the best technology created.

In this regard, I would like to ask the Minister if the setting up of the new agencies, such as GovTech and also previously, IMDA, can be accompanied with committees comprising more people on the ground, from more diverse backgrounds.

The robust debates among people with dissenting views will ensure that we truly understand what the ground concerns and the various ideas out there are, and the different solutions available. Because ultimately, I believe we do not have all the answers. These comments notwithstanding, Sir, I stand in support of the Bill.

Sir, let me thank the hon Members for their questions and comments.

First, Ms Sun Xueling and Mr Zaqy Mohamad both asked about what success would look like for GovTech. I had earlier spoken about GovTech's role in driving the digital transformation of the public sector and in partnering Government agencies to deliver next-generation digital services to the public.

Citizens desire the same level of efficiency and personalisation from public services that they receive from digital services they use in other spheres of their life. GovTech is cognisant of this rising public expectation. For example, GovTech is reviewing how technology can better enable public services to be more personalised and anticipatory when individuals and businesses interact with the Government, such as registering a marriage, buying a flat or applying for licences.

I also agree with the broader points that Ms Sun Xueling and Mr Louis Ng have made, which is that GovTech should consult more widely and, as far as possible, co-create with and crowd source from the community in the implementation. GovTech will work closely with the respective lead Government agencies to do so, with a view towards designing and delivering more citizen-centric digital services.

The Beeline and MyResponder applications are examples of how digital services can be designed to enable citizens to play a more active role in achieving more impactful outcomes for the larger community. At the same time, GovTech will continually benchmark ourselves against international best practices to ensure that we remain a leading digital government in the world.

On this note, I would like to thank Ms Sun Xueling for her suggestion that GovTech should look into the development of more efficient electronic payments in Singapore, in light of developments in this area abroad. IDA is already working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and key industry players to effect the shift towards digital payments. Initiatives that are being developed include unified point-of-sale terminals and a central mobile addressing system that allows payers to make near-instant interbank fund transfers as long as they know the payee's mobile number. IDA is also exploring the possibility of a common and secure mobile digital identity to enable convenient and secure digital transactions. I would like to assure Ms Sun Xueling that GovTech will continue to work with MAS and MOF to enhance our electronic payments systems.

While GovTech harnesses technological advances in ICT to drive innovation and the digital transformation of Government services, it is also critical that there is adequate focus on its core work, which is to keep the public sector ICT systems stable, secure and resilient. I echo Mr Darryl David's concern that it is an area which we cannot take for granted, given the increased risk of cybersecurity breaches and rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape.

At the end of the day, we are cognisant that GovTech's goal must be to improve the lives of Singapore Citizens. I agree with Ms Sun Xueling that technology can be a key enabler in our society. The Government is committed to ensuring that all groups have access to and can benefit from technology.

Today, IDA and MDA have a wide range of programmes that support vulnerable groups in society, such as the elderly, disabled persons and school-going children from low-income households, through initiatives, such as the Silver Infocomm Initiative. We aim to build a culture of co-creation between citizens and businesses through open data and application programming interfaces or APIs, which can unleash the untapped potential in the population. So, we welcome citizens from all backgrounds to provide ideas and develop applications using these APIs.

Sir, Mr Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Darryl David have asked about how GovTech will create synergies with other agencies that also have a strong technology remit. The overarching principle is that GovTech will coordinate closely with these agencies and tap on one another's expertise and experience. In some cases, like DSTA, the scope of its work is quite distinctly different from GovTech's, whereas, with other agencies, we can expect more collaboration.

In the area of cybersecurity, CSA is the authority at the national level spanning 11 sectors to ensure that critical information infrastructures are resilient and protected from cyber threats. GovTech will oversee cybersecurity for one of these sectors – the Government sector. As GovTech and CSA both require cybersecurity expertise, they will jointly set up a capability centre in cybersecurity to deepen the Government's capabilities in protecting against cyber threats.

Mr Leon Perera has a specific question on why CSA is sited in PMO instead of MINDEF. It is to give CSA the ability to oversee cybersecurity at the national level because there are 11 critical sectors in which cybersecurity measures have to be put in place to protect the critical ICT systems. For the Government sector, the responsibility rests on GovTech, which will work closely with CSA to ensure that we put in place the necessary measures, as stipulated by CSA.

Sir, GovTech's focus will be to apply available technology and its intimate domain knowledge of public sector needs to relentlessly innovate with a view to addressing real world problems and meeting user needs. It should benefit from the pipeline of research from the research institutes in Singapore. Hence, it will collaborate with agencies in this domain, such as the NRF and A*STAR.

Members also asked about GovTech's role in the Smart Nation initiative vis-a-vis SNPO. Like many other agencies that contribute to the Smart Nation vision, GovTech will work closely with SNPO, which will coordinate agencies' efforts towards the Smart Nation vision.

GovTech plays a key role in implementing the Digital Government strategy, which is a key plank in the Smart Nation vision. GovTech will lead the public sector effort to design and implement Government ICT infrastructure and digital services, including the Smart Nation platform, in order to deliver innovative citizen-centric solutions.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Darryl David have asked if GovTech's work should extend beyond the current scope of mainly operating within the public sector. I would, first of all, like to thank both Members for their votes of confidence, but GovTech cannot and should not do everything. It should focus on the digital transformation efforts in the public sector and support the development of Smart Nation, which is already a very significant task.

GovTech will work closely with the newly-formed IMDA on its industry-development efforts. For example, GovTech will support IMDA's accreditation programme to accredit promising Singapore-based ICT startups and bring innovative products to Government agencies.

Mr Leon Perera has some suggestions on how we can work with SMEs. I would like to inform him that we are already working with SMEs to help them to gain accreditation. In fact, we have accredited 15 companies, and 35 projects have been awarded to startups and SMEs accredited by IDA. This effort will be continued by IMDA, working together with GovTech.

I would also like to emphasise that even as GovTech builds deeper technical capabilities, it will not be able to design, develop and maintain ICT systems and applications by itself. Public sector projects and solutions are often co-created with private sector partners in ways that are mutually beneficial. The private sector has skills and strengths that can complement what GovTech does well, which GovTech does not intend to compete or displace.

At the same time, GovTech's work will definitely have an impact on both the wider ICT industry, due to the scale and variety of the Government's technology needs. GovTech can spur the industry by acting as a catalyst for progressive and interesting public sector ICT initiatives and projects. By uplifting ICT technology standards in the Government, GovTech can also ensure high standards in industry and influence the direction of investment and growth in our ICT sector.

It is in GovTech's interest that there is a vibrant ICT industry ecosystem, comprising both smaller and large firms as partners in achieving its goals. In response to Mr Leon Perera's question, the majority of the ICT tenders are awarded to our SMEs.

On Mr Leon Perera's point about privacy impact assessment, the public sector has in place a robust set of data protection rules, which are similar to those under the PDPA. In fact, we have statutory provisions in several of our Acts, including the Official Secrets Act, which regulate the collection, use and disclosure of information by the public sector.

As I understand it, privacy impact assessment is just one specific model of ensuring an appropriate balance between individual's expectations of privacy and protection of personal data and public interest. Ultimately, the public sector is subject to responsibilities that maintain confidentiality and limit the disclosure of personal information, while allowing them to carry out their duties. All public officials are aware that they have to abide by these rules and we will work with agencies to ensure that they continue to be implemented.

On the other point that Mr Leon Perera made about how we ensure that there is no digital divide within the Civil Service, we will work with the Civil Service College to conduct a variety of programmes to ensure that civil servants who need the training will be given training opportunities. There is a whole range of efforts within the Government to ensure that no officers are left behind and that they have the necessary skills to navigate the digital world.

Sir, I would like to thank the Members for their questions. The keen interest in GovTech's work shows that digital Government transformation is an important piece of work and is one that a dedicated agency would be better suited to accomplish. The use of ICT provides immense opportunities for improving the delivery of Government services. GovTech understands these expectations and I am confident that it will be able to deliver on them to the lives of Singaporeans.

*Question put, and agreed to.*

*Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.*

*The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim].*

*Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.*