Debated in Parliament on 11 Mar 2014.
Resumption of Debate on Question [10 March 2014],
"That the total sum to be allocated for Head L of the Estimates be reduced by $100". – [Er Dr Lee Bee Wah]
Question again proposed.
Mdm Chair, my colleagues in NEA, PUB and MEWR have had a very busy year. In the space of 12 months, we have had to confront the worst haze episode ever; the worst dengue outbreak ever; we even had a couple of localised flash floods to deal with, and now we have the most prolonged dry spell ever. February has been the driest month on record and also the windiest month on record. We seem to be bent on breaking new records all the time.
We have had to deal with these multiple challenges, sometimes simultaneously. Often, these have occurred concurrently, and my staff and I have learnt to multi-task in stressful times. Let me begin by thanking all my staff who have laboured tirelessly under sometimes very stressful conditions. I would also thank all Members of Parliament and members of the public who have supported us with suggestions, affirmation and, most important of all, action on the ground.
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I was struck yesterday that even the comments from the Opposition Members of Parliament – Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Yee Jenn Jong and Mr Low Thia Khiang – were also supportive. At least, I am glad to say that on the environment front, we seem to have bipartisan consensus.
All these immediate crises remind us of our fundamental vulnerabilities. They remind us of the need to stay vigilant and also of the need for us to stay united and to remain cohesive. We have seen how resilient Singaporeans have been during the crises. For instance, during the haze last year, volunteers on their own organised themselves to distribute masks and make herbal tea. Some people even opened their homes to provide air-conditioned places of refuge for people who may not have had such facilities.
We also have had many others – thousands of people – who helped us convey dengue messages as well as helped keep our neighbourhoods clean.
Apart from these immediate crises, we also have had to plan long term. This was something that came across in many of the speeches which Members made yesterday. In fact, our immediate crises are a bellwether of our future challenges in an increasingly dynamic, complex and interconnected world.
Let me share three key principles that underpin my Ministry's approach. First, we need to take a long-term perspective in the way we plan and approach our challenges. Singapore is already a very dense, very built-up highly urbanised environment. This makes it particularly challenging for us. We have to bear in mind both the current and the future risks that may arise from decisions that we make today. The decisions and the trade-offs we make today will lock us in for decades to come. We also have to prepare well in advance, to future-proof our environment and to upgrade our infrastructure.
For example, we are now in the midst of our longest prolonged dry spell; this is likely to be an El Nino year, which means it can even go on into a full scale drought. Yet, in the midst of all this, we have a buffer of safety. This did not come about by accident. It came about because of 50 years of detailed planning, meticulous implementation and the support of our people and the willingness of this House to provide the funding to invest in our infrastructure for the long term.
Similarly, at this point in time, we also have to plan for the next 50 years and beyond. I do not need to remind Members of this House that our Water
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Agreement with Malaysia will expire in 2061.
The second principle is that we need to manage our scarce resources carefully and to assiduously avoid pollution. As a society, we need to learn or relearn the traditional values of not wasting, of re-using, of recycling, of being careful with the way we consume and we also have to avoid locking ourselves into an unsustainable trajectory. We cannot afford to squander our precious resources that we can never recover. Because we are so small, your backyard is my front yard. We cannot afford to pollute any corner or any part of Singapore.
Third, we are all in this together. We breathe the same air; we drink the same water; we eat the same food at the same hawker centres; and we enjoy the same parks. All of us have a collective responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for our own sake, our families' sake and that of our grandchildren.
I will cover four main areas: first, on water; second, on our air quality; third, on the dengue outbreak; and fourth, on pursuing resource efficiency – both water and energy.
First, let me touch on the current dry spell. We have been able to meet our water needs confidently throughout the dry spell so far. That is because PUB has been running our desalination and NEWater plants at almost full capacity. Most of our NEWater is used by industries that need a very pure source of water. In addition to that, we have been able to put about 35 million gallons per day of NEWater to top up and maintain our current reservoir stocks. This NEWater mixed with the raw water in the reservoir ultimately enters PUB's portable water supply.
Nearly all water authorities that use recycled water for human consumption do something like this – I am answering a Member's question from yesterday. They first use the recycled water to top up the reservoirs or to top up the aquifers, and then, this is mixed with raw water and re-treated a second time using conventional treatment methods. This is what we call "indirect potable use".
We can also think of this as creating an environmental buffer. The water from reverse osmosis, which is very pure, contains hardly any minerals at all. This water is mixed with raw water in the reservoir, and it is subject to the usual ecological processes that occur in a reservoir, and then it undergoes
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conventional treatment all over again.
I note Er Dr Lee Bee Wah's query yesterday – her question was if we need to double handle the water. Let me spend a little time going through this in detail.
So far in the world, I only know of one water authority which since 1968 has been piping recycled directly to the potable water supply. This is the water authority in Namibia from a place called Windhoek. They have been doing this since 1968.
We all know NEWater is safe to drink. All of us in this House have drunk it. At a National Day Parade, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong raised a toast to Singapore and we all drank it. As a doctor, I know it is safe to drink. But to dispense with the environmental buffer and to make it routine is a big step. It is not one which I want to rush into. First, we have to make sure that Singaporeans understand that it is safe and accepted. Secondly, we have to be doubly, triply, quadruply sure that all the fail-safe mechanisms are in place. My paramount concern must be the safety and health of our people. Therefore, I accept that there is some merit in Er Dr Lee Bee Wah's suggestion, but this is something which I will study very, very carefully. I want to give Members this assurance that our top and paramount concern is public hygiene, safety, security and the peace of mind of our people. Let us not rush into this.
We owe a great debt to our founding leaders and the Pioneer Generation in PUB for their vision, foresight and their hard work that led to the development of the Four National Taps for Singapore. Just bear in mind that the most recent desalination plant with a capacity of 70 million gallons per day was only completed six months ago. We commenced building this plant in 2011. In 2011, PUB was being heavily criticised for floods and not for droughts. This is a good reminder that flash floods come and go but droughts can be prolonged and are of much greater strategic threat to our well-being.
We are reasonably secure for now but we should not be complacent. As I have said earlier, we do not know whether this will turn out to be an El Nino year and, if so, how severe, and the implications that it will have for droughts not only in Singapore but for the region and, even worse, for agricultural producers. This would have a knock-on impact on food prices and other related issues.
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The point is we cannot afford to waste water. We need to be very careful to emphasise conservation and to insist on an efficient use of water across all sectors. That is why PUB has sent advisories to 25,000 non-household users at this point in time, in order to promote water-saving measures. We are also visiting households with high water usage to promote good water-saving habits, remind them to check on taps, look for leakage, and look for any bad habits. Sometimes, people may not even be aware of it. That is why Members would notice that when you receive the water bills, we also let you compare your bill as benchmarked against comparable homes. I would urge all members of the public, if you notice that your bills are somewhat larger than your neighbours', check and see whether you can improve your water usage at home.
There are many aspects in our daily life both big and small. One example of a scheme we launched is the Minimum Water Efficiency Standards Scheme (MWES). We will state that only washing machines with at least one tick of efficiency will be allowed for sale in Singapore from 1 April 2014. We intend to raise the minimum standards to at least two ticks in 2015. The general point here is that we are trying to save both water and money for Singaporeans.
The non-domestic sector currently consumes 55% of Singapore's total water demand. This 55% will grow to 70% by 2016. PUB has started by encouraging the voluntary submission of Water Efficiency Management Plans (WEMPs) by companies since 2010. We believe that these plans will help companies become more aware of their water usage patterns, that they will identify ways to reduce consumption and raise their efficiency. To date, about 35% of large water users submitted their water management plans to PUB on a voluntary basis. We will have to go further. We will mandate the submission of these plans by all large water users with effect from June 2015.
Companies which are consuming 5,000 or more cubic metres of water each month will have to install a private water meter within their premises and to submit their WEMPs annually to PUB.
This requirement will apply to all large water users initially. We will progressively expand the category of companies and premises which will be included in this plan. To support these large users, PUB has enhanced the Water Efficiency Fund in March 2013, in which up to 90% of the cost for water audits and meter installation, subject to a maximum cap of $30,000, can now be co-funded by the Water Efficiency Fund.
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With these mandatory submissions, PUB will also be enhancing the Water Efficiency Fund to better support companies on efforts such as recycling or the alternative uses or re-use of water. Every drop of water saved through these measures will enable our limited water resources to go further and to strengthen our long-term water security.
Let me now turn to the issue of flash floods. Mr Seah Kian Peng asked for an update on PUB's efforts. PUB has adopted a comprehensive "Source-Pathway-Receptor" approach to managing storm water and we have been actively upgrading our entire drainage system. In 2012 and 2013, drainage improvement projects at 105 locations were completed. With your permission, Mdm Chair, I would like to display some slides on the LED screens.
Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]
These drainage improvement works involve constructing new drains, upgrading existing drains to meet the higher design standards. The Geylang River is one example. It is one where we have increased the flow capacity. There are also on-going projects at 165 other locations across the island, most of which will be completed within the next three years. In addition, projects at 32 more locations will commence later this year. This is a massive distributed upgrading programme across our drainage network. Just bear in mind that we have over 7,000 km worth of drains to work on.
Construction of the Stamford Detention Tank, which is located at Tyersall Avenue, next to the Botanic Gardens, has started and it will complete by 2016. You will recall that this tank, together with the Stamford Diversion Canal, will raise the level of flood protection for the entire Stamford Canal catchment, which includes the Orchard Road area which was previously affected by flash floods. I acknowledge that there will be some inconvenience; you will see many obstacles and construction work at many places across Singapore. I appeal for tolerance and support from members of the public in order to let us get these projects done quickly.
Let me also state that we cannot totally eliminate all floods. Despite our best efforts, flash floods may still occur in certain locations during intense storms. We have seen some evidence of a rising trend over the past 30 years towards higher rainfall intensities and more frequent intense rains. Anecdotally, Members would also have observed that in their daily lives. PUB will do its best
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to provide timely alerts on rising water levels and flash floods to the public through our various channels, for instance on radio, Twitter, Facebook, various mobile apps both on the Apple and as well as the Android platforms. You will see data being made available in real time. You will even see "live" video feeds from PUB available in real time.
The purpose of all these is, first, to demonstrate transparency; secondly, to allow people to take adequate precautions to react to dynamic situations; and, third, to allow everyone to generate collective solutions. Be part of the solution, do not just complain about the problem.
Let me move on to air quality. We suffered our worst episode of transboundary haze in June last year. This year, unfortunately, the haze situation has begun even earlier. The slash and burn activities have led to a resurgence of hotspots in Sumatra. It is worrying that the current levels of haze experienced in Sumatra, in particular Riau, even today, is worse than it was in June last year.
Right now, we are just lucky that the winds are not blowing the haze from Sumatra to us. Right now, there are about 86 hotspots in Peninsular Malaysia, so the northeast wind is bringing some of that smoke to Singapore.
On top of that, you may recall I posted a photo of a fire in MacRitchie Reservoir last week, probably due to someone carelessly throwing a cigarette butt, and that leading to the dry underbrush and the grass catching fire.
That is why even now our air quality has gone into the moderate range and many Singaporeans tell me they can smell a burning smell in the air. This indicates that haze pollution is a recurrent problem that will continue to plague us in Singapore and, indeed, in the region.
Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Mr Charles Chong asked for updates. Let me state right at the onset that given the transboundary nature of it, this is not something we can solve in Singapore on our own. It requires a bilateral and multilateral approach. Most importantly, we need effective investigation and enforcement on the ground at the source of these fires. If that is not done, all the efforts that we make at international fora, as well as the precautions that we take here, will not be sufficient. We need to emphasise this point: that we need effective investigation and enforcement on the ground, at the source. To be honest with you, progress on this front is not as good as we would hope for it to be. The fact that the situation in Riau and Sumatra is worse
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this year than last year is a warning sign.
At the 23rd ASEAN Summit last October, our ASEAN leaders agreed to adopt the ASEAN Sub-Regional Haze Monitoring System (AHMS) which would help us pinpoint companies that practise illegal land clearing activities. However, let me also be brutally frank with Members in this House, we have not yet received the concession maps from the Indonesian authorities. Without these official concession maps, the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System will not be able to achieve its intended purpose.
We have made formal requests to Indonesia to share evidence and name the companies involved in illegal land clearing practices. So far, deafening silence. They give hazy media interviews, but when we ask for clarity, that is not available. We have stated the Singapore Government's position that regardless of who those companies are, regardless of who owns those companies; give us the evidence, we can use that evidence to take action, we will. And we will prosecute them to the maximum extent of the law.
We still need to work with our neighbours. We need to work with them because we need maps, we need evidence, we need investigation, we need enforcement on the ground. We hope to sign a Memorandum of Understanding later this year which will enable us to renew our bilateral collaborations with Jambi Province in Indonesia. We have previously collaborated with them; we focused on capacity building programmes and on joint projects that could reduce forest and land fires by also teaching the local farmers more sustainable methods of land clearing and of agriculture.
We need to continue to encourage the Indonesian Parliament to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Indonesia is the last member of ASEAN which has signed but not ratified the agreement. We believe that ratifying it will be a strong signal of the Indonesian government's commitment. But that said, ratifying an agreement on its own will be insufficient if ground measures at the source remain weak.
We agree with Assoc Prof Faishal's view: the root cause of haze is commercial. Simply put, it is cheaper for companies to clear land by illegal burning than to do so with any other method. Therefore, last month, Members will recall that we announced plans to enact a new law on transboundary haze pollution. We have published this; we have asked for public feedback; in due time after considering the feedback, I will bring it to this House.
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This law, if approved by the House, will allow us to take to task, not only local companies, but foreign companies that cause transboundary haze in Singapore. As Mr Yee Jenn Jong has pointed out, there will be challenges even if we pass this law because we still the need the cooperation of authorities elsewhere to gather sufficient evidence to enable conviction in court.
Nevertheless, despite the difficulties, I would encourage Members of this House to support the Bill when we do bring it to this House because we need to send a clear and unequivocal signal that we will not condone irresponsible commercial actions that put the health of Singaporeans at risk. I invite all you to peruse the draft version of the Bill which is on the REACH website and please send me your considered opinions directly.
The haze episode also underlies a wider global concern about the transboundary environmental impact of actions of other countries. At the International Conference on Transboundary Pollution that was organised recently – two weeks ago – by the NUS Centre for International Law, the legal experts agreed that clearer international rules are necessary and we also need effective institutions on the ground. We also need strong regional cooperation mechanisms. As such, the Government has decided to appoint an International Advisory Panel on Transboundary Pollution. Let me just share the Terms of Reference of this panel. This panel is to study and advise the Government on the following:
(a) on the trends and developments in international law relating to transboundary pollution;
(b) on the issues arising under international law from the impact of transboundary pollution; and
(c) on the related solutions and practical steps which Singapore can adopt.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has asked Prof Jayakumar and Prof Tommy Koh to co-chair this international panel. It will consist of distinguished legal experts both locally as well as from abroad and we look forward to receiving their recommendations, including the options available to Singapore under International Law, later in this year.
Few of us think about air quality until the haze comes and affects our daily activities. Indeed, air quality is an essential part of our quality of life. It is the reason many companies or the executives of many companies prefer to relocate
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and bring their families here rather than in other cities.
In August 2012, even before the onset of last year's haze, we announced stricter air quality standards for 2020 and beyond and we benchmarked our targets against the WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG). We also started reporting PM2.5 concentrations – the exact raw concentrations – alongside the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) because the PSI already reflected five other pollutants, including PM10 and sulphur dioxide. This was, in fact, our first step in the journey towards integrating, improving and simplifying our air quality reporting system. That is why Members will have noticed that since August 2012, when you look at our air quality reports, you will see two sets of figures. There is the PSI and there is the PM2.5.
Well, we have decided to simplify the system further, and we will incorporate the PM2.5 into the PSI. This revised single index will reflect whichever of the six pollutant parameters is the worst. In reality, in our current context, we expect therefore that the PSI will actually be determined almost all the time by the levels of PM2.5. And as a doctor, I think this is reasonable because, in fact, it is PM2.5 that we are most concerned with as far as its impact on health is concerned.
In addition to revising the PSI, I have also asked NEA to publish the raw one-hour PM2.5 concentrations every hour. In summary, we will simplify the reporting system, but we will also publish far more raw data. I believe this raw data will be useful to academics and scientists who are studying this problem, and it also demonstrates complete transparency on our part. These changes will be made in May 2014. My Ministry will publish more details in a press release later today.
To improve our air quality, we also need to reduce our own local emissions. My Ministry and MTI have worked with the major emitters to reduce their sulphur dioxide emissions in Singapore. For instance, the refineries and power plants – the generating companies that generate our electricity – have been very cooperative and they understand that it is in their own self-interest to also ensure that their operations in Singapore are "best-in-class". For example, our power plants have increasingly switched to using cleaner natural gas. I believe over 90% of electricity is produced using natural gas, and this is the cleanest fossil fuel available. We will continue to work with these major emitters to
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further reduce and improve our sulphur dioxide profiles.
For the transport sector, diesel vehicles are major contributors to PM2.5. Tighter emission standards for diesel vehicles as well as for petrol vehicles and motorcycles are being mandated in the course of this year. We are also considering tightening the standard for petrol vehicles to Euro V or perhaps even Euro VI by 2017.
To answer Mr Charles Chong, these emission standards will apply to new and locally-registered vehicles. For foreign-registered diesel vehicles, we make sure that they comply with a strict smoke opacity limit test and this is imposed on all diesel vehicles. We pay special attention at the Causeway and the Second Link, and turn away pollutive foreign vehicles. We believe this is needed in order to safeguard the air quality in Singapore.
My Ministry and MOT implemented the Early Turnover Scheme last April to encourage the early replacement of old diesel commercial vehicles and we wanted them to replace these old vehicles with the newer and less pollutive Euro V diesel models. The Finance Minister announced in his Budget Statement that we will enhance the scheme to improve the take-up rates.
Let me share some details at this point. With effect from tomorrow, the COE bonus for light commercial diesel vehicles will be doubled from 10% to 20% of the remainder of the vehicle's 20-year lifespan. For heavy commercial diesel vehicles, the COE bonus will be increased from 30% to the maximum 100%. In other words, one full year's worth of bonus COE for every year of the vehicle lifespan remaining.
Let me simplify and give you an example. Based on the last Category C Prevailing Quota Premium which I think was about $50,000, an owner of a heavy goods vehicle that has, say, about five years of lifespan and a remaining COE life of three years, would only have to pay $10,000 to get a brand new full 10-year COE if he upgrades to a more environmentally friendly Euro V vehicle. We will also extend the duration of this Early Turnover Scheme by one year, until 30 April 2016. NEA and LTA will release more details on the enhancements later this afternoon.
Pollution from vehicles is also affected by the fuel that they burn. Currently, we only regulate the content of sulphur and lead in petrol and vehicle. But we know that other parameters also affect vehicle emissions. For instance, benzene is carcinogenic and there are other elements like polyaromatics and olefins and
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other contaminants and pollution within petrol and diesel which also impact human health. Therefore, we have decided to regulate the other parameters of petrol and diesel, and we would impose these new changes by 2017 in order to further improve the tailpipe emissions of all vehicles in Singapore.
With all these initiatives and the measures that we will put in place, I am optimistic that we will achieve our 2020 targets and then continue to make improvements beyond that.
Let me now turn to dengue. Last year, we saw a historic high, 22,170 cases, or 50% more than the previous peak in 2005. From the beginning of 2014 until last Friday, we have an additional 3,075 cases. Unfortunately, eight persons died last year. Each one is one too many, and we extend our condolences to the families of these eight. Let me put the situation in context.
We are in a dengue endemic region. The threat of dengue cannot be eliminated totally. Even if we were to at one point eliminate it totally, it would continue to come in because this is in the region. When we are dealing with dengue, there are three parameters: the virus, the mosquito and human immunity. In this particular outbreak, this is due to a switch in the virus that is infecting us, in particular, a new DENV-1 virus has emerged and swept through Singapore like wild fire. Because we have very low immunity against it, right now, if you take 100 patients with dengue, 85 of them will be infected with this new Dengue Type 1 virus.
Mr Charles Chong, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Ms Faizah Jamal and Ms Sylvia Lim also asked about the actions that we have taken or need to take. Let me deal first with the point of vaccine – Ms Lim brought that up. The problem with dengue is that there are at least four different serotypes. Right now, what is infecting us is DENV-1. The problem is that your vaccine has to be equally effective against all four. Otherwise, if you have partial immunity, you might put the patient at higher risk. What we do know from a medical point of view; if you have been infected by one serotype, you have immunity against that. But you can be infected by the second, third or fourth serotype. In fact, it is your second or third infection where you already have partial immunity to another serotype which may put you at higher clinical risk of dengue shock syndrome or dengue hemorrhagic fever.
The point I am trying to make is that I agree with you the long-term solution is the vaccine. But in the short term, no safe vaccine is available yet, and I cannot in good conscience promote vaccination at this point in time. Nevertheless, it is
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something which we have to keep an eye out for. That is the ultimate long-term solution.
So, if we cannot affect immunity on one hand and we have got this new DENV-1 sweeping through us, on the other hand, what can we do about it? There is still one more parameter which we can do something about and that is source eradication – breeding of mosquitoes in our homes and our neighbourhoods.
One question I asked NEA, is this outbreak because we are suddenly having a lot more Aedes aegypti breeding spots? I looked at all the figures. Our NEA officers have conducted 5 million inspections and identified 20,000 breeding spots last year. These are not small numbers. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for the hard and thankless job which they do. But, after 5 million inspections, we discovered that in fact the increase in breeding was not that significant. It was an increase of about 10% only. But this 10% increase in breeding, superimposed with the new virus which we have very low immunity against, led to this explosive situation which we have now, which comes to my point.
At this point in time, the main area where we have any leverage on is source eradication. That is why we have been pushing so hard to eliminate breeding sites. Even if NEA continues to do 5 million, or 10 million inspections in a year, we know that the mosquitoes only need one week to breed. It is not possible for NEA officers to inspect every single premise in every single home and site every single week of the year. Therefore, it still means we as home owners, as premises managers, as Town Councils, have to do our part. We cannot leave it entirely to the NEA officers alone.
Let me also state that construction sites have been one area of particular concern. In 2013, 10% of the 12,000 inspections conducted in construction sites were found to be breeding mosquitoes. That is an unacceptably high number. Because of that, we had to take strong enforcement actions. We have levied fines: I think the total fines levied on contractors exceeded $3.5 million in 2013.
We have had to impose tougher penalties. We issued 55 stop-work orders and we took 26 contractors to Court. The message we were trying to send to the contractors was that we need to strengthen our housekeeping and our environmental management onsite and that we will not hesitate to take strong and tough action because 10% is an unacceptably high rate of breeding. I am glad to say that the most recent figures for breeding at construction sites have
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dropped to about 4%. But I think we can still continue to make improvements.
I would also like to assure Ms Faizah Jamal that there have been concerted efforts to improve coordination amongst different Government Ministries. I totally agree with her. We have an Inter-agency Task Force set up in 2005, which comprises 27 different Government agencies as well as private associations like the Singapore Contractors Association. This Task Force meets regularly to review the dengue data as well as to roll out best practices in each agency's area of responsibility. NEA typically would inspect the premises of other Government agencies every three months – the longest gap we would accept is up to six months.
If breeding is found, we take action, we levy fines on them. Yesterday, I told my Permanent Secretary that maybe we should consider adding mosquito breeding into the KPIs of the individual officers concerned. Maybe if it impacts their bonuses rather than just the fines, it would get even more personal attention and accountability. Anyway, we would not absolve Government departments of their responsibility to protect the environment.
The dengue outbreak is not over yet, although the numbers have come down significantly. For now, we are hovering at about 200 cases or so a week. We will continue to deploy new tools to enhance our operations. One example is Gravitraps. These are containers with water to attract gravid, or pregnant mosquitoes to come and lay eggs; and when they lay the eggs, they are then trapped by these contraptions.
The purpose of this is two-fold: one is that it acts as a trap, so we are also trying to reduce the population; secondly, it gives us early surveillance of where the mosquitoes are, the type of mosquitoes and just as important, the type of viruses that the mosquitoes are carrying. These Gravitraps have both an eradication function as well as a surveillance function. We are rolling them out on a pilot basis. We started first in Bukit Panjang because Dr Teo Ho Pin has been championing this, and in Clementi. I appeal to the other Town Councils that as and when you feel that there is a need in your area, please cooperate with the NEA officers and allow the deployment of these Gravitraps in your areas.
Members will also be glad to know – and I think Ms Sylvia Lim brought it up – that there is an active local research scene on dengue immunology, on vaccines and on anti-viral drugs. The institutions involved in this include the Singapore Immunology Network of A*STAR, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, NUS,
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Duke-NUS and Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases. NEA will fully support all these research efforts; we share all our data, epidemiologic data as well as our biological samples with them. We hope that the breakthroughs would arise from this work in Singapore.
Mdm Chair, let me quickly move on now to the issue of self-reliance in an uncertain world. And I agree with Miss Penny Low on the importance of engaging and educating the community in building resilience. If you have seen what has happened in haze, dengue and flash foods, we have to inform and educate the public and provide real-time information.
We also need to have more efficient use of resources, such as energy, to enhance our resilience. Since 2008, we have progressively introduced labelling, standards and outreach programmes to encourage the adoption of energy-efficient appliances, which have helped households save money. Both consumers and suppliers have responded positively. In fact, energy-efficient appliances are also becoming more affordable. In 2012, a four-tick fridge cost about the same as a two-tick model, on average. In order to protect consumers from being locked into the high operating cost of inefficient appliances, we have tightened efficiency standards further. We will also be enhancing energy labels to give more information so that consumers can make informed choices.
In industries, we want to promote energy-efficiency. We enacted the Energy Conservation Act. It came into effect in April last year. One hundred and sixty-six of the most energy-intensive companies are now registered with NEA under this Act.
Mr Seah Kian Peng asked for the efforts in the public sector to improve energy efficiency. We also have to lead by example. Since 2006, public agencies have been actively carrying out energy efficiency improvements to their buildings under the Public Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) initiative. Nineteen large public sector buildings have retrofitted, or are in the process of retrofitting, their chiller plants for greater efficiency. Such retrofits typically reduce the building energy consumption by 16% and the retrofitting of these 19 buildings will lead to at least $7.3 million in annual savings.
I am now going to take a break and ask Second Minister Grace Fu to share with you our efforts in food safety and affordability, and a clean and sustainable
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environment.
Mdm Chair, may I start my speech in Mandarin? Also, may I have your permission to show some visuals?
Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Let me begin with a topic that Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Low Thia Khiang care about – hawker centres.
As the saying goes, "We eat to live and live to eat". Having meals at hawker centres is an integral part of Singaporeans' lifestyle. It is where a good variety of food is available, prices are affordable and the environment is hygienic. In fact, some tourists also choose to patronise hawker centres, to sample authentic local food.
Madam, I refer to the slides on the LED screen. From these photographs, we can see that hawker centres of today offer a clean and comfortable environment for us to have a meal. I am sure that we all have our favourite local dish, and stalls that we like to frequent. From time to time, we exchange information on where to find good food. So, I would say that a hawker centre is not just a place where we can have a meal. It is also a place where families, friends and colleagues bond with one another. Hence, hawker centres play a unique and important role in our lives. Through our love for local food, we become closer to one another and we also create many shared memories. All these help to strengthen our identity as a Singaporean.
The history of hawker centres dates back to the 1970s. Back then, we started building hawker centres to re-house roadside hawkers so that they can continue their business in a clean and hygienic environment. However, due to economic development and demographic changes, the social role of hawker centres is also evolving.
Today, there are more dual-income families. In order to save time, many of these families choose to eat out. Furthermore, working hours have become more flexible and diverse, and Singaporeans' needs with regard to food are also changing. Due to work arrangements, many Singaporeans would like hawker
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centres to extend their operating hours, or to operate for the whole day.
However, due to an ageing population, our hawker centres also face some challenges. Many first generation hawkers cannot find successors to continue their trade. Many cleaners at hawker centres today are also getting old.
In 2011, we announced plans to build 10 new hawker centres. Since then, my colleagues at MEWR have been thinking deep and hard about the kind of new generation hawker centres that should be built, and whether or not we should continue with the current operating model.
We have also asked Singaporeans for ideas and suggestions, and the public has been generous with their feedback, giving us valuable suggestions. Some of them hope that hawker centres can extend their operating hours, some hope that hawker centres can be more vibrant while others hope that it can provide job opportunities for the disadvantaged. And some also suggested that we enhance the design of tray return collection points and also centralise dishwashing facilities.
Mr Yeo, Mr Liang and Mr Low asked about the management model of hawker centres. In our consideration, new generation hawker centres should be vibrant and viable, and be able to meet the changing needs of our population. We considered carefully all the suggestions, including suggestions on the management model. We hope that some of these new ideas will benefit all Singaporeans, especially residents who live near the hawker centres. We have already taken the first step by allowing NTUC Foodfare to try out their non-profit operating model at Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre, which is due for completion next year.
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang and Mr Low Thia Khiang referred to the closure of Kampung@Simpang Bedok. This is a privately-run food centre, which closed down recently. We should understand that for privately-run food establishments, some may succeed while others may not. More importantly, when considering the different operating models, we look for models that will benefit both the stall-holders and the residents. We are still in the process of considering the suggestions received. But as I said, the interests of residents and stall-holders will be at the core of our decision.
At the same time, we are also looking at other suggestions to improve the operation of hawker centres. For example, NEA is now working with NTUC's e2i, to look into how we can centralise dishwashing. As for Mr Yeo, I think he will
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be happy to know that Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre will be having centralised dishwashing facilities. However, due to space constraints, we are unable to do so for all the hawker centres, especially for some existing hawker centres. We are also looking at how to segregate food waste, so that recycling can be effectively performed within the hawker centres. Some of these ideas will be piloted at selected hawker centres later on.
Whichever the model chosen, the availability of affordable hawker food is our main objective. While it is the hawkers that determine the prices, my Ministry can help to control their business costs through fair and sensible policies, ensuring that the public can continue to enjoy affordable food.
First of all, we will build 10 new hawker centres in the next few years. This will add several hundred stalls to the market in the next few years, keeping a lid on rental pressure. The centres at Bukit Panjang and Hougang started construction last year, and will be completed next year. The centre at Tampines also began construction at the beginning of this year. Another five centres, including the centre at Yishun that Er Lee Bee Wah had talked about, will begin construction this year.
Secondly, since March 2012, we have removed the reserve rents in our tender exercises for hawker centre stalls. Since then, NEA has awarded 417 stalls or 57% of all awarded stalls at bids lower than what would have been the reserve rents. That means we have rented these stalls out at prices below the reserve rents. We have also allowed the award of stalls to single bidders after consecutive tenders where there were no competitive bids. Since April 2012, we have awarded 89 stalls to single bids. These lower tendered bids also influence the valuers' assessment of market rentals which are used when tenancies are renewed. Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about this rental policy. I hope that I have clarified this issue.
Thirdly, we have also disallowed the sub-letting and assignment of stalls. This will eliminate the use of hawker stalls as an investment. This will ensure that prices of these rental stalls continue to remain affordable so that those who have genuine interest will join this trade/profession.
Ms Lim and Mr Yeo have also asked about specific issues related to the cleaning of hawker centres. Out of 107 hawker centres that we have today, close to 80% of them are owned by HDB. The remaining 20% are owned by MEWR.
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HDB hawker centres are located within the common areas of an HDB estate. Therefore, the Town Councils undertake the general cleaning of these hawker centres because they fall under the common areas. Hawkers will take care of the general cleaning of the tables. Currently, this table-cleaning function is usually outsourced collective through the hawker associations. How did this division of duties come about?
Under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) regulations, stall-holders are individually responsible for ensuring that tables are cleaned, and their used crockery and utensils are cleared away. In fact, in the early days, hawkers used to handle these tasks on their own. They collected their own crockery and cleaned the tables. But times have changed. Hawkers now outsource table-cleaning duties to contractors through hawker associations.
Most Town Councils and Hawker Associations have been managing the responsibilities of these centres very well. However, there are cases where improvements can be made. We think that if Town Councils integrate general cleaning and table-cleaning contracts, they would achieve better results. Town Councils should consider doing so to enjoy the economies of scale.
NEA's role is to regulate and also ensure the high standards of public hygiene and food safety at all eating establishments including restaurants, coffeeshops and hawker centres. NEA conducts regular inspections of eating establishments and takes enforcement action where there are hygiene lapses. However, as there are many food establishments, over 34,000 of them, which are regulated by NEA, it cannot possibly step in and take over the cleaning of food establishments whenever hygiene conditions are less than satisfactory.
(In English): I now turn to the topic of public cleanliness. NEA formed the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) on 1 April 2012 to better integrate and manage the cleaning of public functions that fall under the responsibility of different Government agencies. DPC is in the process of rolling out seven new integrated public cleaning contracts. This way, we aim to achieve a coordinated and effective cleaning regime so that Singaporeans can enjoy clean public spaces.
To address Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Ms Sylvia Lim's queries, private estates are cleaned at least three times a week and DPC checks the levels of cleanliness in these areas at least once every three weeks. Hotspot areas are inspected daily.
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Where there are accessibility issues for mechanised equipment as a result of vehicle parking, we deploy cleaners to manually clean affected areas. Cleaners are also deployed to clean the pavements and grass verges. NEA will explore with other agencies, such as LTA, measures, including those suggested by Ms Sylvia Lim, to improve the accessibility of such areas for cleaning.
Residents can also play a part. One such example is in New York City where, to facilitate street cleaning, residents park at stipulated sides of the road during certain time periods. We will explore suggestions and we welcome suggestions on how we can improve cleaning in these areas.
NEA monitors the performance of cleaning companies. If any cleaning lapses are observed, we will issue demerit points which are translated into financial penalties. Cleaning contractors were fined a total of $1.3 million in penalties in 2013.
NEA is also the regulator of the cleaning industry in Singapore. The Environmental Public Health Act was revised to put in place a licensing regime for the cleaning industry. Licensing conditions include a progressive wage requirement and training. By offering better wages and training, we believe that this will uplift the professionalism and productivity of the industry.
The training requirements under the regime are not onerous. Each worker only needs to undergo at least one module under the EC WSQ Framework to meet the requirement. A module can be as short as eight hours, yet this training can be very effective. I would like to show a visual of this. The top photo shows the e2i conducting courses at hawker centres during the off-peak timing so as to allow cleaners the opportunity to get proper training. The picture at the bottom actually shows the cleaners being trained to use different detergents on different surfaces to effectively clean different types of stains.
The Government is walking the talk on the Progressive Wage Model. NEA currently employs 270 Environmental and Higher Environmental Support Assistants (ESA/HESAs) to keep the streets in private estates clean. Their jobs have been redesigned – both horizontally by expanding their job scope and introducing mechanisation processes, and vertically by giving some the opportunity to handle more complex equipment or by giving them supervisory roles. One of our Environmental Support Assistants is Mr Suaidi. He has been in his job for about 20 years. Before the introduction of mechanisation, he carried out his routine cleaning works – such as the sweeping of dry leaves – using a broom and pan, the conventional method of cleaning. This could be
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physically taxing and was usually a slow process, especially when there was heavy shedding of leaves. We have introduced machines such as the Billygoat, which is an industrial outdoor vacuum that will help make such cleaning works easier.
For those with additional skill sets, such as the ability to handle more complex equipment, they will be trained for supervisory roles. One such example is Mr Mohd Noor. He has been helping to keep Singapore clean for over 40 years. Even though he did not receive formal education, he is now a Higher Environmental Support Assistant. And he is showing me in a photo here how he is using the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to manage the performance of his team of 10 ESAs. He does so by sending pictures of the site situation to NEA's self-reporting system using the device. In general, with the job re-design scheme, Environmental and Higher Environmental Support Assistants now have a starting salary range of $1,300 to $1,400, up from the previous salary range by about 4%-5%. This was commensurate with the increases in productivity.
Questions have been raised by Members in the earlier discussions on the effectiveness of this training requirement. We would like to stress that the training has proven to be very effective and we hope that the Members will give us their support. Our cleaners deserve to be paid better and be given the opportunity to do so through training and productivity uplift. The cleaning industry needs to uplift productivity through these processes.
In regulating the industry, we adopt several approaches to maintain high levels of public cleanliness. We enforce against litterbugs, we encourage ground-up initiatives and we establish values and norms.
First, we are expanding our use of video surveillance to better apprehend litterbugs, and here are some pictures. Since September 2012, we have deployed cameras at more than 700 locations. Footages from these cameras helped us to enforce against 95 litterbugs last year, up from the average of five a year previously before cameras were used. I was asking about this photo and I was trying very hard to identity the litter. But actually when the staff explained to me, it becomes very apparent. This person in the picture here is actually putting a dust pan over the window and pouring out all the dust and litter that she has collected over the window.
We have taken a very strong view on this matter. Killer litter, or litter that injures any person, will be investigated by the Police and can result in the
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litterbug being sent to jail. We are also working out a pilot scheme to leverage on equipment of other agencies so that we can use the footages from their video cameras to identify and enforce against litterbugs.
We will now show a short video clip of this in action. You can see that this motorcyclist parked his vehicle at the side. The CCTV was there actually for enforcement of traffic but, as you can see, by identifying the number plate of the motorcycle, we could also nab him for other offences such as littering.
We have stepped up our enforcement hours by almost 50% since April 2013. Over 9,300 smokers were fined and almost 9,400 tickets were issued for littering in 2013.
We have tightened our rules. We doubled the court fines for littering for the first and second convictions. For third and subsequent convictions, the litterbug can be fined up to $10,000.
Second, we need to go beyond employing cleaners and enforcement if we truly want to have a more sustainable solution to uphold public cleanliness. A recent survey showed that the majority of Singaporeans – 60% – would not litter because they know that it is inherently wrong to do so. But there are the other 40% who indicated that they would litter if they are not being watched. We need to convert this 40%. We need to engender social graciousness and encourage everyone to play their part in keeping Singapore clean.
For a more long-term solution, we must start by establishing positive norms from young. And I agree with Mr Gan Thiam Poh that schools in Japan and Taiwan offer us very, very good examples and we should learn from these systems. Dr Teo will also be pleased to note that we have a "green education programme" with the schools, though not by that name. NEA has partnered MOE to pilot new cleaning routines for students as part of the new Character and Citizenship Education curriculum. However, if our children see rampant littering as they step out of the school compound – that is, if the social norm is out of line with what is being taught in school – the teaching will not be effective. Thus, we need the family and the community to reinforce the positive messages of a socially gracious Singapore.
Our volunteers in the Community Volunteer Scheme do this by approaching and educating people against littering. We have trained 127 volunteers who have since approached 483 litterbugs.
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I will like to reiterate my thanks to the many cleaners, NEA enforcement officers, NGOs and volunteers. They make a discernible impact on the quality of our everyday lives.
Let me move on to smoking. Our long-term goal is to prohibit smoking in public areas except at designated smoking points. We are considering extending the smoking prohibition in more areas and further developing and expanding the use of designated smoking points. We hope that both smokers and non-smokers can work together with us to reduce the effect of second-hand smoke in our environment.
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang's example of his residents' feedback of their neighbours' smoking habits highlights another area where we hope smokers can be more mindful of the effects of their smoking habit. We encourage residents who are affected by smoke or cigarette butts to discuss and resolve this issue amicably with their neighbours.
We worked with Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and her Nee Soon South constituency to pilot a community-led smoke-free zone. Six designated smoking points have been set up in the trial period of one year and we encourage smokers to only smoke in these areas. We hope that by providing smokers with such smoking points, smokers are encouraged to act responsibly in the interest of non-smokers.
On noise – noise is another "pollutant" of concern these days. We tried to address this with a "no-work rule" on Sundays and Public Holidays for construction sites. I am pleased to note that since the phasing in of this rule in late 2011, noise-related complaints on Sundays and Public Holidays have fallen significantly by 30%.
Last month, NEA announced that the Government has put $10 million into a Quieter Construction Fund to promote the use of quieter construction machines, noise control equipment and the adoption of innovative solutions. I would like to encourage construction firms to tap this fund. I also appeal for tolerance towards construction work noise if it is within limits, especially for ongoing critical infrastructure work such as MRT lines or hospitals, so that the welfare of Singaporeans can be better served.
On the Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters Programme, we have completed 23 ABC Waters projects island-wide. We have recently completed projects at Sungei Ulu Pandan, Sungei Pandan and the Geylang River. The
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project at Rochor Canal is expected to be completed by the end of this year. I am glad to announce that work on seven additional projects will commence this year. These include the Pang Sua Pond, a section of Kallang River from Upper Boon Keng Road to Sims Avenue, and a subsidiary drain of Alexandra Canal between Tiong Bahru Road and Outram Road. PUB is reviewing future projects for this programme. Mr Heng Chee How will be glad to know that one of these projects is located at Sungei Whampoa, between Whampoa Drive and Kim Keat Road. This is to tie in with the public housing development and the upgrading work for Whampoa Community Centre in the vicinity. Through greater access to our waterways, we can better appreciate the centrality of water and this very precious resource every day.
For an ABC project to work, the involvement of community partners is important. And one of my favourite visuals of this is actually a picture of Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. I would like to show the visual now. This picture of a family enjoying the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, nicely encapsulates the work of my Ministry. We are determined to do our best to create a liveable and sustainable Singapore for our present and future generations. A Singapore that is free of litter, one where our children can play with the water and not fear catching diseases, a home with clear skies and fresh air. And, hopefully, not a whole lot of enforcement officers running around.
We have made progress on many fronts, but we cannot accomplish this alone. We call on everyone to play his or her part for a cleaner and greener Singapore. We need to draw on traits found within each of us – of kindness, graciousness, tolerance and care for others in our community. I will now leave it to Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to conclude our remarks for our Ministry.
Minister Vivian.
Thank you, Mdm Chair. In the interest of time, let me quickly address the questions by Dr Teo Ho Pin and Miss Penny Low on Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB). First, let me state that this is not a purely environmental project. The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint requires the whole-of-Singapore approach. It involves MEWR, MND, MTI, MOT and a whole lot of agencies. I just want to highlight the excellent speech by Mr Desmond Lee yesterday on the work that is being done by NParks on the Central Catchment Area, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Pulau Ubin. Recall the work that PUB has done; Ms Grace Fu has just showed Members the ABC Waters projects in which we now have 959 hectares of water bodies and 93 km of waterways open to the public for recreation. We intend to progressively open more of that. We have also seen progress in skyrise greenery, green space, and the expansion of
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park connectors.
We have worked with MTI and MOT on reducing pollution. We are also working with industries to upgrade their energy efficiency and reduce smoke stack emissions. With NEA, we have various schemes in place to promote better conservation of resources and also to incentivise recycling. Our overall recycling rate is around 60%, but at the domestic level, it is only around 20%. Members would have noticed that we have recycling bins progressively placed in every single block in HDB estates. To promote recycling, certain new precincts even have double chutes – one chute for general waste and another chute for recycling.
Talking about park connectors, I was very glad that on Saturday, I cycled with another 1,000 cyclists. We covered 44 km. We went to East Coast, Changi, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Bedok, Tampines, Bedok and back to East Coast. All 44 km on park connectors; only a few places where we had to dismount to cross roads. The point is our park connectors and cycling networks will continue to expand and, of course, there are plans for the railway corridors.
The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint has to be forward looking. We have to generate practical and ambitious targets, and pragmatic plans. This will flesh out over the next few months as we embark on the public consultation exercise, and I hope Members will support us on this.
Let me just conclude, Madam. Today's Singapore is a thriving, liveable, clean, green and beautiful city, but it did not come about by chance. Singapore has been very fortunate because our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a pragmatic environmentalist even before going green became fashionable. He understood and pursued a philosophy of growing our economy whilst protecting the environment. He saw these two pillars as mutually reinforcing; not a zero sum game. It was Mr Lee who oversaw the launch of the "Keep Singapore Clean" campaign in 1968. I was struck by the obituary for Mr Chua Sian Chin, the former Health Minister. He was asked about his most significant contribution to Singapore and replied that it was to start the "Keep Singapore Clean" campaign.
What we have now is a legacy built over many decades. I thank all Members of the House and the public for their support over these decades, and I look
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forward to your continued support and commitment in the decades to come.
We have a bit of time for clarifications. Er Lee Bee Wah.
Thank you, Madam. I have one clarification. Did Minister mention that for the third-time offenders for littering, the fine can be $10,000? Is that correct? Was there anyone being fined that amount?
That is correct. That has just been put through Parliament, so we have not had the experience of fining a person a third time.
Thank you, Madam. Two clarifications for the Second Minister. First, regarding the cleaning of private estates, she mentioned in her reply where the constraints do not allow mechanised cleaning, manual cleaners are deployed to sweep up. That is not what my residents observed. Some of them are retirees, so they are able to observe this during the day. They find that there is an absence of such sweepers to do the work, so I do not know whether there is a problem in manpower or whatever it is.
The second clarification concerns hawker centres in HDB estates. I understand that for such hawker centres, NEA is the managing agent for HDB to manage the hawker centres. As such, if there are any issues concerning table-top cleaning, I would imagine that NEA should be interested in it, as there may be public health concerns. I would like the Minister to clarify whether NEA should take a proactive stance to try to work with the relevant agencies, including Town Councils and so on, to try to resolve the problem.
Thank you, Mdm Chair, for this opportunity to clarify. I think that we are very interested to hear the feedback on NEA's public cleansing. If there are areas indeed where the sweepers are not there or has not been there for an extended period of time, we will definitely look into it. As I mentioned earlier on, we have a regime to supervise the cleaners and we do have processes in place.
I must appeal to the members of public that we are in an extraordinary period of time. Because of the dry spell, the litter from our trees has been much higher than before. In fact, we have just spoken to the cleaners, and they reported that they are now doing probably three times what they used to have to do. In other words, in the past, they bagged 10 bags of fallen leaves, but right
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now they have to bag 30 bags.
The time taken obviously has been longer than usual, and therefore we appeal for understanding. We will do our very best, particularly if that area is also a hotspot area. In other words, if there is a threat of dengue or mosquito breeding, we will prioritise. But prioritising means that we are taking the resources from somewhere. We will do our best to manage it, but there will be areas where perhaps you will not see the sweepers as often as you have seen them before.
This is an extraordinary period. It is not something that we expect to have seen in the past, nor expect to see going into the future. We hope to get the understanding of all the residents. If we do find that the cleaners have not been performing their duties, as I mentioned in my speech, we will take enforcement action. We will also take action against the cleaning contractors.
On hawker centres in HDB towns, NEA is the management agent as far as the tenancy is concerned. Yes, we are helping HDB to manage matters relating to the tenants. Obviously, as a public health regulator, we have a lot of concerns over the cleanliness and hygiene of our hawker centres. We do have concerns over other F&B outlets as well. If you look at the number of hawker centres in HDB estates, there are far more centres in HDB estates than NEA-managed centres. The synergy is much better with Town Councils, because they are all located within the common areas in our HDB estates.
We urge Town Councils to step in, if you find that indeed the cleaning of a certain area, or table-cleaning is lacking. We hope that you are able to help your hawkers to find amiable solutions. Ultimately, we are all in this together to maintain a high level of public hygiene for our residents, and for our patrons.
My question is on the haze. I thank the Minister for outlining the measures that have been taken. Just two points. One, I understand that ASEAN countries are cooperating on dealing with this issue. I am wondering if it would be possible under the auspices of cooperation to persuade Indonesia to enact domestic legislation that might hold concession holders strictly liable for damage caused by the haze.
The second suggestion is, if all other measures fail, whether we might even consider action against Indonesia, say in international arbitration. The Trail Smeltercase might be useful for establishing liability for transboundary harm
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from pollution.
I thank the Member for those comments. First, there is domestic legislation in Indonesia that makes it a criminal offence to burn the forests. So, it is not for lack of legislation. My sense is, it is the lack of political will to investigate and to enforce.
On the second point about international law: that is precisely the reason why we decided to appoint an international panel to advise us. We will await their deliberations and their recommendations. We will keep our options open.
I want to ask the Second Minister this: so far, how many people have been caught by the mobile surveillance cameras moving around the housing estate to catch high-rise littering, and also how effective are these surveillance cameras, and whether the Ministry will increase the number and also the frequency?
I have explained in my speech that we have caught several hundreds for high-rise littering. As to the use of mobile cameras at hotspots and the use of cameras of other agencies, we are at the start of a trial process. So, this is still an initial period of our trial and we will keep Members updated in the future.
For the centralised cleaning arrangement, most of the hawker centres will not have space for NEA to arrange for centralised washing to be possible. If that is the case, will the Ministry consider off-site centralised cleaning arrangements? Or may be coming up with a hybrid system?
Madam, I would like to clarify that I did not mention that it will not be available at most hawker centres. What I said was that in some of the hawker centres, we may not be able to find space for it, especially for existing centres. But these are ideas that are worth exploring. We will be very keen to pilot some of these ideas that the Member has suggested in selected centres.
Thank you, Mdm Chair. I just want to ask Minister Grace Fu. I found the video on the throwing of cigarette butt quite interesting. May I ask the Minister whether NEA would be relying on CCTVs installed along lamp posts in private estates to take enforcement actions
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against litterbugs?
Madam, if I may clarify on the remarks to Mr Gan Thiam Poh first. I think earlier on, I mentioned that the number of high-rise litterbugs that have been caught was 95 last year.
As to the point mentioned by Mr Lim Biow Chuan on the use of CCTVs, as I mentioned, we are at the pilot process of using CCTVs of other agencies. We have been able to effectively use LTA CCTVs, for example, in helping us to monitor the flooding situation. We will be using CCTVs that are available and installed by other public agencies, such as LTA and SPF, for enforcement and also for monitoring purposes.
As for the CCTVs at private estates, I suppose once we are clear about the effectiveness of the use of CCTVs, we will consider using all available resources within the Government agencies. Having the CCTVs is one thing, we need to also have the analytics to pick up actions that we would like to enforce. It is not possible for someone to be constantly watching all the CCTV footages available.
Secondly, as I mentioned earlier on, it is because the motorcyclist was sitting at the motorcycle and the licence number was visible that we were able to trace the person. In private estates, unless we are pretty clear who the person is, we may not otherwise be able to find the right person that matches the images.
There are some enforcement issues, but we are very keen to leverage on all existing resources within the Government agencies. We are particularly interested in what MHA has announced about the CCTVs that they are going to install at our void decks. That is a lot of CCTVs for us to consider. Also, all existing and future technologies that will help us put in place a more effective enforcement regime.
Mdm Chair, at the COS last year, I suggested that NEA also looked at tapping on the video captured by in-car cameras of littering from moving vehicles. That way, you can definitely get the number plate. I hope that that can also complement MEWR and NEA, as they tap into the CCTV network of the Government agencies and make use of the public's spiritedness as well.
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I wanted to thank the Member for the suggestion.
Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Thank you, Madam. I would like to thank the Ministers for the effort in terms of keeping the public areas clean. I just want to ask, apart from fines, will be the Ministry consider releasing the names of high-rise litterbugs so that public pressure can be exerted on them because some of them are rather recalcitrant despite the fines. I was wondering if the Ministry will consider releasing their identity so that their neighbours, the community, can also play a role in being vigilant towards this kind of actions.
Madam, we will treat all offenders in an even-handed way as we are doing right now. Some of these charges are made public if they go to court and they could be reported publicly. This is the kind of regime that we have in place right now.
There are no further clarifications. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, do you wish to withdraw your amendment?
On behalf of my GPC members, I would like to thank the Minister and his team for working tirelessly in overcoming the whole range of environmental challenges. Whether flash flood or dry spell, act of God or otherwise, we look upon your Ministry to solve the problems.
I would like to take this opportunity to share an email from my young resident, Clarence Lee, which I feel aptly sums up the work of our Ministry: "Dr Lee, hope you are doing well recently. Thanks to PAP, it is a miracle that we still have no water issues despite the long dry spell. A lot of my friends from other countries have been dropping me messages praising our Government. I am so proud to be Singaporean." With that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
The sum of $1,033,389,600 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.
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The sum of $415,667,900 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.
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