Committee of Supply – Head L (Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources)

Madam, many of us cheered when the Ministry set up the Department of Public Cleanliness, DPC in short, to integrate the cleaning functions of all the agencies. I would like to ask the Minister to update the House on the progress of the integration. Has the Ministry tracked the level of cleanliness of the areas under the purview of the DPC pre and post its formation? Specifically, has it resulted in improved service quality and cleaning standards of the areas under its care? How do the DPC engage the public in keeping the areas clean? Finally, how is the one-stop call centre coping with the public engagements?

Thank you, Mdm Chair. Living in a clean environment is what every Singaporean yearns to have and, in fact, are accustomed to. Before the setting up of the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC), cleaning of the public areas, including drains, pavements, roads and parks, were undertaken by the various agencies, such as NEA, PUB, HDB, NParks, JTC and the list goes on. In addition, if the public wants to feedback on the cleanliness of a certain area, they must ascertain which agency is in charge of the area before they can provide the feedback. In April last year, DPC was set up to integrate the cleaning of public areas in stages and to ensure that all of us have a clean environment to live in. I also understand that DPC has set up a one-stop contact centre to handle and coordinate all public feedback

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on the cleanliness of public areas and I want to applaud these efforts by MEWR.

It has been almost a year since DPC was set up; I would like to seek the Minister's update on the progress of the integration.

Keeping Singapore clean is a long-term effort that requires everyone to do their part. Under the refreshed Keep Singapore Clean efforts launched by the Public Hygiene Council (PHC), PHC will be working with the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to step up to promote greater civic mindedness amongst Singaporeans and pilot a conversation to forge a new norm in public cleanliness and hygiene. It also intends to change the mindsets of our residents from a cleaned city to a clean city led by community initiatives.

Over the years, Singapore has earned the title of Garden City and achieved world-class infrastructure but our social etiquette, there is still further room to improve. Often, high rise littering in lift areas is one of the top issues brought up by residents during my house visits. I hope that the refreshed Keep Singapore Clean effort can motivate the community, NGOs and individuals to play our citizenry part to continue to uphold Singapore as a clean and green Garden City.

I would like to ask the Minister what progress has been made so far and what are the plans going forward?

Madam, in Mountbatten constituency, more than half of my residents live in private estates. There has been feedback from several residents that the cleanliness of the roads and public areas around the estates is not satisfactory. Sometimes, bottles, plastic bags and other kinds of rubbish were left along the roads or by the side of the roads and some were also found in the drain.

The rubbish has not been cleared for many days, and residents have to make calls to the Department of Public Hygiene before action was taken by the cleaning companies to clear the rubbish and to clean up the public areas. When I visit the residents, they all complain that they do not see the cleaners for many days.

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Last year, I had asked MEWR about the accreditation of cleaning companies. May I ask the Minister for an update? I understand that there has been an enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme launched in November last year. Has this enhanced scheme improved the quality and reliability of the cleaning companies? I would like to know whether this enhanced accreditation scheme would bring about better standards of cleanliness for the private estates, and whether the private estates would be cleaned on a more regular basis?

Other than this enhanced accreditation scheme, is MEWR taking any other steps to improve the quality and standards of the cleaning industry? Would any of these measures improve the salaries and working conditions of the cleaners working in these cleaning companies? In the Marine Parade Town Council which I chair, we employ conservancy cleaning contractors to clean the common areas of HDB estates. In support of NTUC's Progressive Wage Model for cleaners, we will impose conditions in these conservancy cleaning contracts that cleaners employed in these companies be paid fair and progressive wages. However, I ask MEWR what else can be done to persuade the cleaning companies to improve their professionalism, quality and productivity, so that the fees paid by the Town Council to the cleaning companies will represent good value to our residents.

Madam, Singapore is currently subject to another onslaught of the dengue virus. It seems that the current dengue outbreak has peaked at an unusual time of the year at end of 2012 and the start of 2013, rather than the usual July-August periods in the past. The affected areas appear to be mostly in the eastern and north-eastern sectors of Singapore, including residential estates, and the Yio Chu Kang and Serangoon areas.

I would first like to acknowledge the tireless efforts by the teams at NEA in their outreach and enforcement efforts – going door to door in their inspections and public education. NEA has also collaborated with the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council and our Members regularly in responding to the dengue situation. NEA's work and surveillance, public education and enforcement are well-known.

However, according to the NEA's dengue website, one of the key thrusts of its approach to dengue includes research. I understand that NEA has been active in research under the auspices of its Environmental Health Institute (EHI). In 2011, EHI has been recognised by the World Health Organization as the global centre for reference and research. Research is critical to improve the current treatment responses as there is no drug to treat or prevent dengue yet. Sufferers have to wait for the disease to play out and be treated via fluid replacement.

It was reported that last year, a team of researchers from our university medical schools and the Defence Science Organisation laboratories manage to discover a human antibody which may have the potential of limiting the damage caused by the dengue virus Serotype 1 while inside the human body. Does NEA collaborate with such external agencies to synergise its research efforts, especially regarding prevention and treatment responses? What are its current research priorities concerning dengue generally? A breakthrough in research may finally remove the impotence with which those affected by dengue meet their fates.

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Mdm Chairperson, in 1999, the then Ministry of Environment set up a Rodent Eradication and Control Committee after identifying 11 areas in Singapore, which included HDB estates overrun with rats. In 2004, a Straits Times report noted that about 8,631 rat holes had been identified across the island, where separately noting that the Ministry has spent $280,000 to address the problem that year in five estates, with NEA footing 75% of the bill and Town Councils paying the other 25%.

In 2009, a Sunday Times report observed that the rat problem in the Orchard Road shopping belt had worsened. In 2010, NEA found 1,687 areas in Singapore populated by rats – three times more than the 443 that were found in 2009. More recently, in November last year, Ang Mo Kio Hub was also hit by the rat problem.

With the increased construction activities all over Singapore, there is a growing perception that the rat problem requires greater attention from the Ministry.

The Minister only last month noted that 900 mosquito breeding offences were detected in construction sites in 2012, with 626 being first-time offenders. These suggest that there is scope for greater public scrutiny of construction sites in general, especially those located in or close to HDB housing estates. With larger numbers of people on the island anticipated in the years to come and more food sources inevitably available, there is a concern that the number of rats will be on the rise in future.

I would like to request the Ministry to step up its anti-rodent enforcement and education efforts, and to consider raising the profile of these efforts to the level of anti-dengue efforts, so as to work towards a cleaner Singapore going forward. It will also be helpful if the Minister could update us on the number of annual cases of leptospirosis and murine typhus infections – both being rat transmitted diseases which were reported in 2008 as between 10 and 30.

In addition, as many anti-rodent education efforts centre on the proper disposal of waste, there are likely to be other positive public health spinoffs that can buttress the effort to keep Singapore clean.

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Thank you, Mdm Chair. At the start of this year, the operation of a Chinese restaurant in the central part of Singapore was suspended for more than a month over a suspected food poisoning outbreak involving more than 453 people. It later emerged that the cause of the outbreak was norovirus gastro enterovirus or stomach flu. This was not a small restaurant nor was it situated in a location where one might question its cleanliness. Rather, it was one of Singapore's most well-known Chinese restaurants in a five-star hotel.

Mdm Chair, if food safety standards cannot be observed even in such a setting, then I think it is something which we need to be very concerned about. The results of the NEA investigations which followed were very disturbing. Food handlers going to work even though they had displayed symptoms of norovirus, improper cleaning of work surfaces, and inadequate hand washing by chefs and food handlers, to name just a few of the findings.

I would like to ask the Minister if we could consider shortening the period within which refresher food hygiene certification must be obtained, which is currently three years. Three years is indeed a very long time between certifications. If these ideas are not ingrained into food handlers, it is easy for them to set aside best practices in the stressful environment of a kitchen.

Having a shorter food hygiene certification shelf life will emphasise the importance we place on cleanliness in our F&B industry. It will also help boost confidence in our F&B outlets from hawker centres to five-star restaurants. It will certainly drive home the point to food handlers that food hygiene can literally be a matter of life and death. It is not something to be taken lightly.

Mdm Chair, on the air quality. We are very fortunate that on the whole, we enjoy very good air quality in Singapore. Partly because of our geographic location, the biggest visible concern is transboundary smoke haze which sometimes blows into Singapore.

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This is an issue which has been going on for many years now, and it is one which does not seem to have any visible end in sight. It will continue for as long as "slash and burn" agriculture is practised in our neighbouring country. Could the Minister provide an update on what is being done by NEA to address the issue of transboundary haze? In particular, is the NEA providing any sort of assistance to our neighbouring countries to help educate farmers on the consequences of "slash and burn" agriculture?

Also, on the topic of air pollution, would the Minister please provide us an update on the number of Euro V compliant vehicles on the road today, as a proportion of the total number of diesel-powered vehicles? While Euro V diesel emission standards are intended to come into effect only in January next year, it will certainly be relevant for us to understand the positive environmental impact we would benefit from for having the new emission standards adhered to.

Finally, sulphur dioxide is one of the major pollutants in Singapore, and the main source of sulphur dioxide emissions here, according to information publicly available from NEA, is oil refineries, power plants and shipping. These three contribute a staggering 96% of total sulphur dioxide emissions in 2007. Three power stations and three refineries alone produce approximately 118,000 tonnes of the 151,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide emitted in Singapore that year. This is very worrying that such a small number of sources contribute to such a high proportion of sulphur dioxide pollution.

In contrast, sulphur dioxide contribution of all motor vehicles was less than 1% of the total. Sulphur dioxide emissions inventory figures on the NEA website now appear to be outdated based on data obtained in 2007. Now, I would like to ask the Minister if he is able to provide an updated set of figures, which hopefully would show that our efforts to get industries to use fuel of lower sulphur content have paid off over the last few years.

Madam, the Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme by PUB has been successful in making our water bodies more attractive for recreational and community bonding activities. To date, there are more than 20 ABC projects around our island and many Singaporeans are beginning to use these facilities more frequently. But there are certain barriers which deter Singaporeans from visiting these ABC Waters projects: (i) limited and paid carparks; (ii) lack of toilet facilities; and (iii) lack of

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repeat visitor's attractions.

Madam, we need to make our ABC Waters projects more user-friendly and attractive so as to attract more Singaporeans to appreciate its beauty. We must provide features that will draw repeat visits of users especially for residents living near ABC Waters projects. There are three groups of users ABC projects should attract, namely, elderly who exercise in the morning, families and children who wish to play at the amenities, or individuals or groups doing regular physical exercises. Thus, PUB should consider building multi-purpose hard courts for seniors, children playground for juniors, and park connector for brisk walkers, joggers and cyclists in the ABC Waters projects.

To further encourage seniors to use the facilities, PUB should install self-cleansing toilets at their ABC Waters projects. Ample free parking should also be provided so that families and users can spend more quality time at the ABC Waters projects.

Madam, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions: (a) how many ABC Waters projects will be implemented by 2030; (b) are there new attractions of ABC Waters projects that will encourage frequent visits and promote healthy lifestyle among Singaporeans; (c) will there be any ABC Waters projects in Bukit Panjang?

Mdm Chair, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Chair, MEWR announced a series of hawker centre policies last year, such as the removal of reserve rent, subletting and stall assignment policies to help moderate rental costs.

Can the Minister of Environment and Water Resources give an update on how we have fared so far? I read that social enterprise NTUC Foodfare was appointed in June to run the first of the new hawker centres. Kampung@Simpang Bedok, also operated by a social enterprise, was also recently launched.

I understand that 10 hawker centres will be ready within the next five years. Will the Ministry directly operate some of the new hawker centres and apply same social enterprise practices to them or will social enterprises run all the 10 hawker centres?

In 2014, the lease of many hawker centres will expire and the land of these hawker centres will go back to the Government. There have been concerns raised by these hawkers as to what will happen to them when the time comes.

Given that these hawkers have depended on their stalls for their livelihood these last 20 years, an end to their lease, if not renewed, will cause much distress and disruption to their lives. Furthermore, they would have to pay new rental rates to the Government then, which may in turn affect food prices. So, I would like to ask the Ministry what the plans are for these affected hawkers.

In addition, since the pilot project in 2010 where Kopitiam opened the first privatised wet market in Sengkang, what has the situation been like?

Wet markets are part and parcel of our Singapore heritage, and they are great for community bonding and building a local identity. However, there have been concerns that with the privatisation of these wet markets, the corresponding increase in rent has also affected the livelihood of not only the stallowners, but also the customers who buy from them. My fear is that if care is not taken to help these stallholders to maintain their competitiveness, both their businesses and consumers will stand to lose out eventually.

So, I would appreciate if the Ministry can give an update of the privatisation of wet markets, and an assessment of whether such a scheme has met its objectives.

Madam, the White Paper and the Land Use Plan envisage a very substantial increase in population size in the coming years. As both documents are silent on two areas of concern, I would, with respect, like to seek the Minister's clarification.

Firstly, I note that most of the new developments will occur at Singapore's northern shores as well as Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. These areas lie at the mouth of the massive Johor River. Missing in the Land Use Plan, unfortunately, is any mention of planning for climate change and rising sea levels.

I would like to ask if MEWR has plans to take into account the possibility of more rainfall and storms and how these may change water flows down the Johor River which in turn may adversely affect Singapore.

Secondly, in the wake of the projected increase in population, there will be a strain on at least three major areas of concern: first, water needs and supply; second, waste management; and thirdly, energy conservation or energy consumption.

Water. According to the MEWR website, water demand is expected to double over the next 50 years. Would the Minister clarify if this number has taken into account the projected increase in population as set out in the recent White Paper? If not, what would the new demand look like? Also, with the heavy dependence on large scale expensive technology in making water available for our future needs, would this translate into even higher costs to the consumer?

Waste management. At the rate that we send 200,000 tonnes of solid waste and ash to the Semakau Landfill a year, there will be no more space left there in 40 years. Even if everyone becomes responsible citizens and minimise waste right away, with the increase in population happening already and with more to come, will this not cause an even bigger strain on Semakau and would we, in fact, run out of space earlier than projected? How will this also impact on our capacity of the existing incineration plant as well?

Lastly, energy consumption. Of the many issues I am concerned with under energy, I will focus on just one. With our residential buildings getting even higher to maximise space with some in the range of 40 storeys or more requiring high-speed elevators, will this require more energy to provide and maintain and how will this impact on our demand and cost of energy consumption?

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Madam, promoting energy conservation and efficiency among households requires consistent outreach, education and ownership. Due to the wide range of domestic electrical appliances available in the market, it is challenging to provide adequate information to guide consumers into making environmentally friendly appliances purchases. Furthermore, consumers are usually influenced by pricing and budget constraints when purchasing domestic electrical appliances.

Thus, over the years, many residential units were installed with inefficient home electrical appliances which consume lots of energy. These appliances add on to the cost of living of Singaporeans and increase our carbon footprint in Singapore.

Madam, air-conditioners, refrigerators and heaters consume the most amount of electricity in the households. Many of these appliances have relatively long life spans. Thus, it will take many years for all our households to go "green" if we were to rely solely on the Minimum Energy Performance Standards and mandatory energy labelling schemes of the Ministry. The replacement cycles of home appliances are long and replacement may not be the most energy-efficient due to price considerations.

Madam, one way we can expedite the greening of our homes is to incentivise home owners to replace their inefficient electrical appliances as soon as possible. The Ministry can consider giving green grants or green tax rebates for households which install four ticks air-conditioners, refrigerators or heaters.

Madam, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions:

(a) What is the Ministry doing to promote energy conservation and efficiency in households?

(b) Will the Ministry consider implementing a Green Mark Scheme for households?

(c) Can the Ministry update the progress of the Energy Conservation Act in promoting energy conservation in the industrial, domestic and transportation sectors?

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Mdm Chair, Singapore has built up its water self-sufficiency through our four national taps – desalinated, recycled, rain and imported water.

I would like to ask the Ministry whether our current programme to be self-sufficient before our water agreement with Malaysia expires is on track. With increased demand and changing external factors, I would propose that the roadmap towards our self-sufficiency be reviewed to ensure adequate water for all of us.

Madam, an adequate water supply must also be matched by water conservation. I am pleased that our households have done well to meet the goal that we have set. It has already now come down to 152-litres per capita, down from 165-litres 10 years ago. This shows that we are really on track to achieve the goal of 140-litres per capita in the long run.

I hope the Minister could review water pricing system to incentivise households to do more to save water. Our water pricing tariffs currently are on a more punitive way – with higher tariffs even for households that have actually already been consuming less than the average. Can we move the pricing mechanism to one that would reward those who actually use less than the average?

I also want to urge the Ministry to review its water prices for industry. It is estimated that the industry is expected to account for about 70% of our water demand in the long run. What is being done to meet this demand and how can water prices be adjusted to ensure that conservation is practised all in the companies?

Thank you, Mdm Chair. I would like to thank the Members for their questions and suggestions. My Ministry is determined to steadily lift standards of cleanliness and to make Singapore a liveable environment. Last year, we outlined three key objectives – to build an inclusive society, enhance our quality of life and ensure a sustainable future. We have made progress on these fronts.

One key aspect of our living environment is public cleanliness. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah was concerned enough about this to move a Motion in Parliament last

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year. Many Singaporeans share her call for a cleaner Singapore. I agree with her that we are not as clean as we would like to be. I have heard many said that we are not as clean as before. Members Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Mr Heng Chee How have also made their comments. I agree and I feel we can certainly do better. All of us should play a part, not just the cleaners. We should not just be a "cleaned" city that depends on our army of cleaners. We want to be a clean city because our people care enough to keep it clean.

Dr Faishal and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about the progress of the integration of cleaning functions amongst agencies. Since its formation in April last year, the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) has taken over the role of taking public feedback on cleaning issues for the Government agencies. It has since received close to 21,000 pieces of feedback as of February 2013. This is an increase of 30% over the year before, about one-third of which were related to areas under the charge of other agencies like Town Councils, NParks, LTA and HDB. The DPC has worked with these agencies to resolve the cases expeditiously, about 62 cases per day, mostly within two working days.

DPC has taken over the cleaning functions of areas like footpaths and roads from LTA, JTC and HDB, and will be taking over areas like drains and car parks from PUB and URA this year. The first integrated contract for cleaning of expressways will be called in April this year. Integrated cleaning contracts for cleaning of public areas, including roads, footpaths, drains, vacant lands and parks within a defined area will be awarded from 2014 onwards, and the level of cleanliness of these areas will be tracked by DPC as part of the performance measurement of contracts.

We are also transforming the cleaning industry. By improving the productivity and development on standards of the industry, we hope to uplift the jobs of 50,000 resident cleaners that we have.

Last November, we introduced the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme (EAS) to encourage cleaning companies to provide better training and employment conditions for their cleaners. To hasten the pace of change, we announced last year that the Government will take the lead as a major cleaning service buyer in engaging only accredited cleaning companies for new contracts with effect from 1 April 2013. And I am happy to hear from Member Mr Lim Biow Chuan that his Town Council has already started doing the same.

Since the launch of the enhanced scheme, 55 cleaning companies have submitted their applications. Ten cleaning companies have been accredited.

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These are early days but we are beginning to see some heartening results for the cleaners. With your permission, Madam, may I display a series of slides on the LED screens? [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

This is Mr Rosli bin Abdul Majed. He joined M/s Veolia ES Singapore Industrial Pte Ltd, a recipient of the enhanced Clean Mark Gold Award, as a cleaner in 2007. A father of three, Mr Rosli has been given opportunities to upgrade his skills through Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) modules for Environmental Cleaning. With systematic training, he was promoted to be a team leader after he completed the certified cleansing crew level training. The training and development roadmap has given him steady progress in his job scope and salary. The lives of his family members have improved. I hope to see this example replicated many times so that many more Singaporean cleaners can benefit.

Mrs Josephine Teo mentioned yesterday that it was essential to encourage private sector service buyers to come on board. We are very happy to hear that. I am pleased to inform that my Ministry is ready to table a Bill later this year to introduce the mandatory licensing of all cleaning companies in 2014. Mr Zainal Sapari and Minister Lim Swee Say have called for licensing to hasten the pace of change during the Budget debate. This will set the standards that all cleaning companies must meet before they can operate. The key licensing requirements include mandatory training courses and progressive wage model for the cleaners. With better training and employment conditions, our cleaners can look forward to better lives.

However, an integrated and revamped cleaning industry is only one part of the solution. No matter how productive or hardworking our cleaners are, there will never be enough of them if we think nothing of throwing things out of the window or discarding car park coupons and cigarette butts from our car when no one is looking. Should we tolerate such inconsiderate behaviour? Should we have harsher penalties for the recalcitrant minority who persistently litter?

We need everyone in the community to take personal responsibility and set high standards for our social behaviour. I believe the majority of us want a clean living environment for our families. We are proud to call this place our home and we want to keep it clean for all to enjoy. We feel bad when our home is defaced and dirtied by littering. To keep Singapore clean, and not just a "cleaned" country, we need to harness the energy of the community to first act responsibly; do not litter, and two, to build a strong sense of societal norm.

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I would like to show a photo of Facebook page on "A Litter At a Time".

Ms Elisa Ng and her children have been regularly picking up litter in their neighbourhood in Bishan East. They have also started a Facebook campaign called "A Litter At A Time" to encourage residents to go the extra mile and pick up just one piece of litter a day. This is a great example of an effort on an individual basis.

What about on the community basis? There are many groups that are harnessing the strengths and energies of the community to encourage residents to keep their neighbourhood clean. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah has mentioned this HABIT or Hold on And Bin IT or, in short, "HABIT @ Nee Soon South". It is an excellent example of how the community come together and Er Dr Lee has earlier described what they do to remind residents to keep the place clean. And another one, "ACTION @ Bedok" initiative. This is a sustained initiative jointly run by the East Coast Town Council, grassroots leaders in Bedok Constituency, NEA and the Public Hygiene Council – another good example of local community effort.

But many in the wider society also feel strongly enough to want to help us enforce against litterbugs. NEA has just completed the training of the first batch of 28 volunteers from groups, such as the Public Hygiene Council, Waterways Watch Singapore and Singapore Kindness Movement, Singapore Environment Council and Cat Welfare Society. These volunteers will be empowered to act on behalf of NEA to educate litterbugs to pick up their own litter and record offenders' particulars for enforcement when offenders refuse to do so.

To support our anti-littering efforts, the Public Hygiene Council launched the refreshed Keep Singapore Clean Movement, together with the Singapore Kindness Movement, and the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement. We thank Mr Liang for mentioning this and also paying attention to this important community effort. He asked about the progress of the movement and I am happy to update that it has so far involved close to 15,000 volunteers including students, NGOs volunteers, grassroots leaders and residents who are relentless in their efforts to keep Singapore clean and green.

The Public Hygiene Council will soon hold the first Keep Singapore Clean Conference in May to engage the public in dialogue and build public support to turn Singapore into a cleaner city. It has been working with the schools, businesses and community organisations to turn community spaces into "Bright Spots". There are 44 "Bright Spots" so far and I wish the Council the very

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best in reaching its goal of achieving 100 Bright Spots this year. And I thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for mentioning Naval Base School. Indeed, our schools are really energised in keeping our environment clean and we are really encouraged by the enthusiasm that our younger Singaporeans have displayed.

Despite the many efforts, the number of feedback on littering has been increasing. To more effectively deter littering, we will enhance our enforcement regime to penalise those who defy our littering laws.

We will enhance our surveillance and enforcement efforts. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah has asked that we empower all our NEA field officers. They are already empowered to do so and we will accord greater priority to enforcement against littering. NEA will increase its enforcement hours by about 50%. We will be deploying more plain-clothes officers and increasing the enforcement rounds at littering hotspots. In addition, we will leverage on technology for better surveillance. We are currently piloting the use of surveillance cameras with video analytic capabilities to monitor littering at hotspots. We will also work with the Police to tap on their surveillance cameras, including those that will be installed at all 10,000 HDB blocks and multi-storey car parks as mentioned by Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Iswaran, last week.

Mr Heng Chee How has suggested that we enlist the help of the public in our enforcement in combating road side littering. Over the past three years, 336 offenders have been successfully convicted for littering from vehicles. Some of these cases were helped by the submission of photographic evidence by the public. In one case, a member of the public reported to us that a litterbug was throwing tissue onto the road while driving and provided a photo of the vehicle. We took the litterbug successfully to Court and he was issued a Corrective Work Order. We will further facilitate the use of public-generated evidence so as to encourage more members of the public to report littering, spitting, pet defecating and other anti-social behaviour.

Besides greater enforcement efforts, we are considering increasing the penalties against the recalcitrant minority. Currently, on top of the composition fines, recalcitrant offenders can be sent to court where, either a fine of up to $1,000 for the first conviction in court or a Corrective Work Order requiring them to clean public areas for up to a maximum of 12 hours, or both, may be imposed. We are considering increasing the maximum court fine for recalcitrant offenders to $2,000 for the first court conviction, $4,000 for the second

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conviction and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions.

We need the public's support for more effective surveillance, enforcement and deterrence. Through greater community involvement, we can build a strong sense of social pressure against littering. Through effective and enhanced enforcement, we can send a strong signal that it is better to dispose of your litter properly. In short, we will not tolerate littering and cannot rely solely on cleaners to keep Singapore clean. We need everyone to help us make the transition from being a "cleaned" city to a "clean" one.

Next, I would like to address the public health issues of second-hand cigarette smoke, dengue, rodent and food hygiene.

We have just extended the smoking ban on 15 January 2013 to more areas to protect non-smokers from the effects of second-hand smoke. The ban now includes common areas within residential buildings, sheltered linkways and walkways, overhead pedestrian bridges, outdoor hospital compounds, and a five-metre radius around all public bus shelters. Our officers and ambassadors are going around to the new prohibited areas to educate smokers about the new rules. To give smokers time to understand and adjust to the new law, we have been issuing advisories, instead of summons, to smokers caught smoking at these newly prohibited areas. Over 3,000 advisories have been issued since 15 January.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah also asked about our next steps on smoking in public places. My Ministry will explore further extensions of the smoking ban and clearer designation of smoking areas as she has suggested.

On dengue, as shared by Minister Balakrishnan last month, we have observed an increase in the less common Dengue Type 1 (DEN-1) and Dengue Type 3 (DEN-3) viruses against which the community has lower immunity. This contributed to the latest spike in dengue cases.

We agree with Member Ms Sylvia Lim that research is important to improve prevention and management of dengue cases. Our Environmental Health Institute (EHI) has actively collaborated with dengue research and control communities locally and internationally. Its designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre is a recognition of its quality and extensive collaborative network.

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As part of the local dengue consortium comprising universities and hospitals, the EHI has worked on STOP Dengue, a Translation and Clinical Research programme funded by the National Medical Research Council. Ms Sylvia Lim mentioned the human antibody which could potentially limit the effects of Dengue 1 – this is one of the many projects the consortium is working on.

Until we find a vaccine against dengue viruses, the most effective strategy remains source eradication. Our officers are deployed to carry out daily operations particularly in areas where dengue is currently transmitting.

NEA's inspections show that 70% of dengue breeding sites detected are in homes. I urge everyone to conscientiously check potential dengue breeding spots, such as flower pots and roof gutters, at least once a week. Please also protect yourselves and your families against mosquito bites so that we can break the chain of transmission. We need to work together to manage dengue.

Rodents thrive where there are sources of food like uncovered food waste or improper storage of food. The root cause of rodent infestation is poor refuse management and housekeeping. As such, maintaining good sanitation and housekeeping is our key rodent control strategy. Member Mr Pritam Singh asked what the Ministry would do to help curb the rodent population.

Rodent infestation is a more serious problem in town centres and areas with high concentration of food premises. Eighty-one percent of rodent burrows found were in HDB estates. To address this problem, NEA has worked with the Town Councils since 2011 under the Rat Attack Programme to mitigate rat problems in their estates. The Rat Attack Programme resulted in a significant 40% decrease in the number of burrows. At the same time, residents and food shops operators should also play their part in proper refuse management and housekeeping practices to reduce the food sources available to the rodent population.

Last year, the Rat Attack Programme was carried out in 13 public areas with high number of food retail establishments, also with high human traffic and frequent observation of rodent activities. The programme led to a significant 93% reduction in the number of rodent burrows, from 348 at the start of last year to 26 by December 2012.

NEA has also carried out outreach efforts to engage the stakeholders. A rodent control seminar was jointly organised by NEA and the Singapore Pest

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Management Association (SPMA) in August last year with participants comprising building managing agents, food court operators and pest control operators.

Good housekeeping can also prevent the public health threat of food poisoning that Member Mr Charles Chong talked about. We have seen food poisoning incidents occur in a range of establishments from hotels – that Mr Charles Chong mentioned – to childcare centres. In particular, food catering tended to be of high risk. Caterers typically prepare a wide variety of food, in large quantities, store the food for some time before it is consumed by the customers. In 2012, food caterers had the highest food poisoning incidence rate amongst all types of food outlets. In addition, the average number of people affected per food poisoning incident was the highest for food caterers.

Mr Charles Chong suggested shortening the period within which refresher food hygiene certification must be obtained. Currently, food operators whose licences are suspended for hygiene lapses will have to send their food handlers for retraining before they are allowed to resume work. Aside from training, we need to do more to maintain high food hygiene standards at all times.

In February last year, NEA introduced the food time-stamping system where catering companies are required to indicate the time by which the food should be consumed. NEA and SPRING have also been working with the industry to develop a Singapore Standard on Food Safety Management. The Singapore Standard will guide the industry on the design and implementation of a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) which will include Standard Operating Procedures on food hygiene and risk control measures. One such risk factor is human. Under the FSMS, operators have to ensure that food handlers practise good food and personal hygiene at all times and that they do not work when they are ill.

With effect from 1 June 2014, new applicants for catering licences are required to submit an FSMS plan to NEA within the first three months of the licence issuance date. Existing caterer licensees will be required to submit a plan three months before the renewal of their licence. With this new measure, we aim to improve the standard of food hygiene in Singapore so as to better protect the well being of Singaporeans.

Madam, many of the things that we do in NEA and MEWR are not considered exciting or glamorous in the eyes of the public. They are nevertheless executed with determination and commitment as we are deeply

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aware of their impact on the well being of Singaporeans. From keeping the environment clean, maintaining a high standard of public and food hygiene, curtailing rodent and insect infestation, our officers take pride in our work knowing that we help keep Singapore clean and give Singaporeans a good living environment.

I would also like to pay tribute to the many thousands of cleaners that we have in Singapore who tirelessly work to keep the environment clean. We call on all Singaporeans to help us, help ourselves in keeping Singapore clean and free of publicly transmitted diseases. Let us be gracious and considerate to one another, to our cleaners, to our enforcement officers as we aspire to be a truly gracious society with a big heart.

Thank you, Mdm Chair. The Ministry's mission is to secure public health, to upgrade the quality of life for all Singaporeans, to foster an inclusive society and to ensure Singapore's resilience in the long term – the very long term.

As a doctor, I am always reminded that, actually, it is the engineers and the staff of PUB and NEA that have saved far more lives through the provision of clean water, modern sanitation, clean air, safe food and public hygiene.

These staff save far more lives than doctors like me curing patients in a hospital. This is something which we should not take for granted and I hope Members of the House and, in fact, members of the public will also give due recognition to all these engineers, all these staff, all these cleaners, who work so assiduously to protect our environment and, ultimately, protect our welfare.

I believe it is worthwhile spending a few moments contemplating the key principles behind all the work of the Ministry. First, our primary concern is really the welfare of human beings. I know many people talk about protecting Mother Earth, protecting the environment. But let me be quite frank – the Earth will survive human beings no matter what we do to it. What is at greater risk are human beings and the welfare of human beings. So, really, human beings are both responsible for protecting the environment as well as being exquisitely vulnerable to the damage that we cause to the environment. The point I am making is that we do all these for the sake of ourselves. When we protect the environment, we are protecting ourselves and our children.

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The second key principle is that we are all in this together. This is ultimate democracy. We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat the same food, and are susceptible to the same dengue, leptospirosis or all the other diseases. So the point is that we are all equal before the environment and, in fact, one very gratifying point is that I am glad that in this House there has been bipartisan support for the work of this Ministry.

The third principle is that we have to think long term. For water and for waste, and in fact, for all the major infrastructural projects of our Ministry, we think 50 years and beyond. We have to make long-term investments and we cannot just kick the can down the road.

Allow me now to address some of the specific issues which Members have highlighted.

We set very high environmental standards for Singapore, not because this is an ideological obsession or because it is fashionable, but because this is an obligation in the governance of a dense city-state. Paying attention to the environment is an investment in our future and our health. Even our economic viability depends on it. For instance, our high quality environment is a key competitive strength, and it is the reason why companies and people decide to base their families and situate their headquarters in this safe, secure, liveable and lovable city called Singapore. It is not a trade-off between the economy and the environment. In fact, it is a virtuous cycle.

A clean environment starts with the air we breathe. I know we often take this for granted but we have not experienced scenes like these [Slides were shown to hon Members]. The first is from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. I remember that because I got stuck in London; I could not fly for a few days as a result of that. The other scene you will recognise is the smog in Beijing. We quibble here about the PSI being 10 or 20; but over there, we talk about a PSI of 500. You will appreciate it when you miss it.

Mr Charles Chong and Mr Nicholas Fang asked about measures to improve air quality. Last August, we announced that Singapore would adopt new air quality targets pegged to the more stringent WHO Air Quality Guidelines by 2020.

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You will notice from this slide that we have not yet reached those targets. That is why we need to step up our game and enhance standards. So, for instance, in order to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, MTI and MEWR are jointly working with the major emitters – and as Mr Nicholas Fang has said – there are only six suspects in the room as far as sulphur dioxide is concerned.

We are working directly with the power generators as well as the oil refineries to improve their processes and to invest in appropriate technology. Quite frankly, technological solutions are available. It is a matter of cost and viability. In the case of the electricity-generating companies, the switch to natural gas has been a big benefit for the environment.

We are also concerned about Fine Particulate Matter, in particular what we call PM2.5, smaller than 2.5 microns. The paradox here is, in fact, it is the stuff that you do not see that is more dangerous, because PM2.5 is inhaled deeply into the lungs, embedded in those tissues and often never leaves our bodies.

Vehicles account for 57% of all PM2.5 that we have in Singapore. We have progressively tightened standards for diesel vehicles for the past six years, and we will next impose Euro V standards for all new diesel vehicles with effect from 1 January 2014. I think Mr Charles Chong asked for the percentage of Euro V-compliant diesel vehicles that are currently on the roads. It is very small – there are only about 3,400 such vehicles on the road. Over the years to come, we hope that with these new standards in place, the fleet will gradually be replaced.

Speaking of replacement of the fleet, we currently have 38,000 very old diesel commercial vehicles of pre-Euro or Euro I emission standards. Commercial diesel vehicles have a statutory life span of 20 years, so that means they actually have a very long tail. MOT and my Ministry will be implementing an Early Turnover Scheme which will incentivise the owners of these old commercial diesel vehicles to retire them early and to upgrade them to vehicles that meet the Euro V emission standards. We will provide more details of this scheme within the next two months.

We also need to deal with motorcycles. There are more than 143,000 motorcycles in Singapore, and most of them are of the Euro I standard. We will be raising the emission standards for all new motorcycles to the Euro III standards with effect from 1 October 2014. These new motorcycles will emit less than a fifth of the pollutants compared to the current fleet.

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Finally, we also need to address air pollution from beyond our shores, as Mr Nicholas Fang and Mr Charles Chong have emphasised. This is a chronic recurrent problem, and as I have said before, in fact, this is a commercial problem. It is cheaper, unfortunately, for oil plantation owners to clear land by burning forests and, unfortunately, a lot of these lands are peatland which continue to burn subterraneanly for weeks or months thereafter.

Working with our fellow Ministers and Ministries in ASEAN, we are trying to put pressure on these companies by the use of technologies such as digital geo-referenced concession maps, satellite and other mapping technologies so that, ultimately, we can name and shame the culprits who are engaging in such anti-environmental and anti-social activities.

Let me now turn to the ABC Waters Programme. I totally agree with Dr Teo Ho Pin. This has been a programme which has been very welcomed by members of the public. They have gained access to our reservoirs. We have converted canals into riverine attractions in their own right. I will take his suggestions about improving car parking, toilets and facilities, and catering facilities specifically to different segments of our population – the seniors, the children as well as the long-distance joggers. We will make sure that we will interconnect these blue ribbons of water with the national green Park Connector Network, so that you will be able to have access throughout the island. You can run many marathons along these routes.

We have completed 20 projects so far, but the good news is that we have identified about 100 sites that could potentially be developed over the next 15 to 20 years. I am not saying we can do all 100, but I am saying that there is potential to do many more sites.

The ABC Waters Programme has encouraged new lifestyle activities in many of our waterways and the surrounding lands, such as the Sengkang Floating Wetland Project at the Punggol Reservoir and the urban wetlands at the Alexandra Canal. PUB will work with NParks to do more of such projects including mega projects like the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

I am pleased to update Mr Heng Chee How, who has asked obviously for his own constituency, that PUB will explore another ABC project along the stretch between Whampoa Drive and Kim Keat Road, taking into account the opportunities that will open up when there are new developments, such as the new HDB project opposite the Whampoa Community Club.

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There are three more ABC projects which are due for completion later this year – Sungei Pandan, Sungei Ulu Pandan and the Geylang River. Construction will begin at another five projects later this year at Sungei Tampines, Sungei Api Api, the Kallang River next to St Andrew's School and Siglap Canal.

Between 2014 and 2017, construction will commence on new projects at the Kallang Riverside and the Jurong Lake.

Let me now move to a topic which Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and indeed many Members of this House have focused on. This is something close to our hearts. Actually, more accurately, it is closer to our stomachs – hawker centres. They are a source of livelihood for hawkers and a space where all Singaporeans have access to delicious, freshly cooked food at affordable prices.

We started off as a hygiene project to move mobile hawkers with no running water and questionable sanitation into centres where they will have running water in order to improve public hygiene. But over the years, hawker centres have become part of our uniquely Singapore identity. The fact that we can go there in slippers, shorts and T-shirts, it reflects the informality of life in Singapore. The fact that all of us, including politicians on both sides of the House, go to hawker centres to meet people also reflects that multi-cultural cohesion and that uniqueness of Singapore life the way it is today. So, hawker centres are an essential part of social infrastructure.

More than half or 53% of our cooked food hawkers today currently pay subsidised rents. What this means is that these are the original hawkers, or their immediate family members who have inherited the practice from them. They were, as I said earlier, re-settled from the original mobile stalls.

For the more recent hawkers, that means the other 47% of people who have come in later in the decades since then, one question then is: on what basis do you allocate these stalls? The newcomers have been allocated stalls on the basis of open tenders in the interest of fairness. Their rents, therefore, vary according to location. So, for instance, if you are going to bid for a stall in Newton Hawker Centre or Maxwell Food Centre, it is going to be much higher than a stall, say, in Taman Jurong or elsewhere. It varies according to location, food type, traffic, size, frontage and business conditions overall.

In 2011, we announced that, after a hiatus of 26 years, we would re-start our Hawker Centre Building Programme, and I announced where the new

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hawker centres will be. In case you ask me on what basis we chose those locations, those were areas which are relatively under-served with respect to cooked food.

My objective of re-starting this programme and injecting supply was to put downward pressure on rentals. In addition to the fact that there is new supply coming on, we also changed policies. For instance, we removed reserve rents and this has led to falling tender prices. Fifty-five percent of the stalls awarded in the past one year were awarded at below the previous reserve rents. Successful tenders, as low as $21 for cooked food stall at Taman Jurong and $5 for a market stall at Changi Village, have emerged.

That said, I want to make this point, that rent is only one component of a hawker's operating costs. In fact, raw materials and cost of labour are higher component costs of a hawker centre. Rents are important but not the key determinant. In fact, I went to check on the vegetarian bee hoon that Mr Png Eng Huat highly recommended. I went there yesterday; unfortunately, it was closed at 2 pm. I then did research. I identified nine other vegetarian bee hoon stalls along Jalan Bukit Merah; and guess what? The two stalls selling at $1.50 are paying market rates; the three stalls who are enjoying subsidised rents are charging more than that. I think it makes the point that rental is important but not the key determinant of prices. Ultimately, hawkers will charge what they think the market will bear and to reach out to the volume of work that they are aiming for.

Besides the rent policy, we also changed the rules on subletting and assignments because we wanted hawkers to personally operate their stalls. We will uphold this principle even as we pilot new not-for-profit management models. I think Mr Seah Kian Peng in his Budget speech gave a very eloquent explanation for the special role of cooperatives like the NTUC FoodFare and I cannot add to what he has already said. Having said that, I want to say that FoodFare will not have a monopoly on the new hawker centres. And, in fact, I hope to see several different not-for-profit operators enter this space.

NEA will continue to be the regulator, the developer and exercise oversight over all hawker centres in Singapore. I am pleased to inform Er Dr Lee that the planning works have begun on the 10 new hawker centres – five will be completed between 2015 and 2016 or thereabouts, including the one at Yishun. It will be on time, do not worry.

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Mr Seah has also asked for an update on wet markets. That was in his earlier speech. The new hawker centres like the one at Bukit Panjang will have wet markets selling fresh produce. But I want to sound a caution here that whilst I am very confident that there is a demand for cooked food, the demand pattern for wet markets is not so clear cut. So, this is something which will evolve as time goes on and we will respond according to demand.

Let me now just touch on another point which, I think, Er Dr Lee brought up. The nearly 2,000 hawkers who bought their sold stalls about 20 years ago, their leases are coming to an end over the next few years. All of these centres will continue to operate after the leases expire. There may need to be a short period where we do refurbishments, renovations, or redevelopment, but I will ensure that there will be centres thereafter.

All stallholders who are interested to continue their businesses will have the option to do so. Stallholders who were previously on the subsidised scheme, I intend to emplace them back on the subsidised scheme and they will only pay the current subsidised rental rates. For those who were not previously subsidised stallholders, I will give them the option to continue but they will pay the prevailing market rate. In other words, I am doing my best to ensure that we are fair to everyone concerned and that these centres will continue on a not-for-profit basis, and hopefully, the residents will continue to patronise them and enjoy the food options that they provide.

Let me quickly move on to water. Water is an existential issue for us. That is why the two water agreements were part of the Separation Agreement that marks our Independence as a nation. We have obsessed about water for five decades. Our water story is one of political will, meticulous planning, long-term planning, technology innovation and sound economics. Finally, today, we have the four national taps and we are in a secure position. I can give assurance to this House that we will certainly be water independent well before the expiry of the last agreement with Malaysia. I can even go further than that and assure Ms Faizah Jamal that, in fact, water is not going to be the limiting factor. You can produce as many babies as you like, you can build as many houses as you like, water will not be the limiting factor. We can continue to produce more than enough water for Singapore for the long-term future.

The second big desalination plant in Tuas will be ready in July this year and that will add another 70 million gallons of water per day to our capacity. In the

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long run, desalination will meet about 25% of our water demand.

We are also commencing on Phase 2 of our Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS). This is a superhighway for used water that will drain water from the western part of the island to a new water reclamation plant in Tuas which will also produce NEWater in the future.

I will also just quickly address this point on the cost of water and the need for water conservation. I agree that water needs to be correctly priced to reflect its scarcity value. It needs to facilitate long-term investments in this sector. There is a need, therefore, to constantly invest and the key variable in the future for the cost of water is the cost of energy. I cannot predict what the future cost of water will be without knowing what the cost of energy will be. But what I can say is that, on our current trajectory and with the hard work that is being done by PUB, there is no need to raise water prices this year.

Let me move on to waste which Ms Faizah Jamal has raised. We have made some changes. We have reduced the number of Public Waste Collection sectors from nine to six in order to improve economies of scale. Again, I am trying to bring the cost of waste collection down, whilst recognising that the cost of energy, cost of transport, trucks and all that is going up.

We are also building a new Waste-to-Energy incineration plant in order to maximise resource recovery and to reduce the landfill space.

If I could show the picture of Pulau Semakau, Members would see that we already got that area marked out for Phase 2. Again, I can give this House the assurance that we are good to go until 2035. We are not going to run out of space. But, in fact, the beauty of Pulau Semakau is that it is probably the only landfill in the world that is a tourist attraction. Just last December, Prime Minister himself went there. If you go to his Facebook page, you will find some beautiful pictures of that site. The point is that it can be done. It will be there for the long term and it can be beautiful at the same time.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked about water and energy efficiency, and for an update on the Energy Conservation Act (ECA). This Act requires large energy users to implement energy management practices. It will come into effect in April this year for the industry sector and it will be rolled out to the transport sector subsequently. We will continue to work with companies, incentivise them and provide schemes like the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET) as well as extend the Singapore Certified Energy Manager training grant. All these

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will enhance capability and technology.

PUB will also continue to encourage non-domestic users to develop and submit Water Efficiency Management Plans to help them analyse usage and potentially save water.

Let me quickly move on to households – energy and water usage. The Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) have been effective in expanding the range of energy-efficient appliances on the market, making them more affordable. Quite frankly, people will save money in the medium to long run if they buy more energy-efficient appliances, whether it is air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines or the like. We need to encourage people to look beyond just the initial sticker price to the total cost of ownership.

Let me move on to reducing household waste. Our recycling rate in households, to be honest, is still not good enough. In fact, in survey after survey, people have said they want to recycle but for some reason, this is not translated into practice. We will continue to try to make recycling facilities more convenient for households by enhancing recycling infrastructure in neighbourhoods. In some new HDB flats, we have even tried to pilot projects with dual-refuse chutes or recycling chutes in order to make it more convenient. There is some early data which shows that this perhaps may increase our recycling rates.

I want to agree with Miss Penny Low's suggestion about trying to promote a less wasteful culture, and a more sharing culture. This concept about "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle" – it used to be in our values system. All of us can remember our parents saying "Don't waste." But somehow, perhaps as we became more prosperous, we have forgotten that imperative.

In the future, the era of cheap energy, cheap resources, cheap food is going to come to an end and we will have to rediscover the wisdom of our grandmothers of not wasting. Having said that, I also support her idea that we can promote more community-generated solutions for this. I will give you one example. NEA is organising a "Clean & Green Hackathon" next month. Basically, we will be setting aside a time, and we award prizes to people who come together and devise apps which can be used on smartphones. It basically creates a platform for people to share ideas and to use these ideas to improve the environment.

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Let me quickly touch, in the last few minutes, on a Sustainable Singapore. There is just one point I want to make which is counter-intuitive. A very dense well-planned city is actually the most sustainable way of life for human beings. Many people think being green means living in a rural area. But if you stop to think about it, living in a dense city is the cheapest way of providing food, water, healthcare, education, jobs, entertainment, ideas, cultural exchange simply because you have to move around less.

We now have seven billion people around the world. More than half of the people live in cities. By the turn of the century, 80% of us will live in cities. A dense well-planned connected city is the greenest and most sustainable way of life for our future. And Singapore can take the lead.

One key unique feature about Singapore is if you fly over Singapore, you will see a lot of it is green. Almost 47% of Singapore is green. But why is it green? It is green paradoxically because we are so high-rise, because nearly 90% of us live in apartments. The point I am trying to make is that if you really think about sustainability in the long run, the answer lies here. And in Singapore, we are building a working model of the future.

Of course, this working model of the future has to take into account long-term threats like climate change. The Member asked about whether we are worried about rising sea levels. Yes, we are. We are anticipating that they could go up anything from between 24 and 65 centimetres or more. That is why in 2011, we changed our platform levels for all reclaimed land, and added another metre. All reclaimed land now will be at least 2.25 metres above the highest recorded tide level. This is buying insurance for the future. If it does not happen, treat it as a sandbank. If it does happen, we are prepared and we must be prepared to adapt faster and to be aware of what is going on in Science.

That is also why the Meteorological Services Singapore (MSS) has established the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) which will officially open later this month. This Centre will collaborate with researchers from all over the world in order to spearhead studies, and their academic output and scientific output will be the basis on which we make plans for the future.

We initiated the first Climate Change Vulnerability Study in 2007 to give us a better sense of what is going on. This study, conducted over two phases, has just been completed and we will be embarking on the next study soon. This will be a joint project between the CCRS and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre.

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Let me conclude by reiterating our core principles – that this is about human beings, our responsibility and our vulnerability, that we are all in this together and that we have to plan for the very long term.

I want to thank Members of this House and all Singaporeans for sharing ideas and for working so passionately with us to ensure that this beautiful, precious and fragile home of ours is sustainable and will be protected for the long run.

Mdm Chair, I would like to seek a clarification in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]  Regarding my question on the lease problems faced by the 2,000 hawkers, I am happy with the answers from the Minister, and I am glad that the Minister will do his best to assist them.

I would like to ask the Minister, when will the National Environment Agency contact the hawkers to discuss the lease issue, so that they can continue their business with a peace of mind?

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]  I thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for her question. Allow me to clarify on this matter. Dr Balakrishnan mentioned that aside from the new hawker centres, we are also concerned about the operations of existing hawker centres. Between 2014 and 2017, there will be almost 2,000 hawkers from 15 hawker centres, whose 20-year leases will expire. They will have the opportunity to continue their business.

The leases at these 15 hawker centres will expire in four phases. The first batch of expiring leases are located at hawker centres in Bedok, West Coast, Aljunied and Ghim Moh. These hawker centres may need to undergo renovations, refurbishment or redevelopment, depending on the needs of the vicinity. After works have been completed, they can continue with their operations. Current stallowners will be able to decide if they want to continue with their business.

For stallowners who enjoyed subsidised rental rates before buying the stalls 20 years ago, if they choose to continue, they will be reinstated on the subsidised rent scheme. If they do not wish to continue with their business, they

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can return the stall to us, and receive an ex-gratia payment. They can also choose to assign their stall to another hawker at market rates.

For stallowners who do not come under the subsidised rental scheme, we will allow them to continue their business if they choose to do so. They will bid for the stalls according to market rates. We will treat all affected stallowners fairly. We will soon begin close consultations with various hawker stall-owners and Hawkers' Associations, and we hope to announce more details by 2014, before the leases at the first four centres expire.

I would like to thank the Second Minister Ms Grace Fu for supporting and working with NTUC to push for the Progressive Wage Model to be embedded in the future licensing scheme for cleaning companies. Could the Second Minister share specifically the expected quarter in 2014 when the new licensing requirement for the cleaning companies will be made mandatory?

Mdm Chair, I thank the Member for his question. I think we will announce the details shortly.

Thank you, Mdm Chair. I would like to seek further clarification from the Minister about the management of the new hawker centres. I would like to know the basis of which the first centre was awarded to NTUC Foodfare and the second one to the other social enterprise in Bedok. I would like to know what sort of rents these social enterprises are expected to pay to the Ministry and how are they in turn expected to select the hawkers and to pass the rent cost down to the hawkers, and how the prices will be kept affordable.

Let me first deal with the very interesting social enterprise model which has been developed in Simpang Bedok. First, this is a purely private initiative. It is not a NEA hawker centre. Nevertheless, a group of people, good-hearted, business-minded, passionate people got together and said, "We want to operate a hawker centre." They negotiated with the private

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landlord for the space which had not been very well utilised and they started it. I had the honour of opening it. I was very impressed with what I saw. What impressed me most is not the physical infrastructure but the attitude and the cohesiveness of the hawkers there − people who were given a second chance to start life anew, to start a business, to explore some new concepts, new ideas. And the fact that this started in a private area completely without subsidies, or, indeed, without even any urging or pushing from me, is to me something to be celebrated. So, that is for the centre at Simpang Bedok.

For the one at Bukit Panjang, Dr Teo will know that − he has been campaigning for a new hawker centre in Bukit Panjang for, I think, well over a decade. When we announced that we would re-start the building programme, to me, it was an obvious choice that I should accede to a longstanding request. Having said that, the next point was the choice − I could either operate it directly as another NEA centre or, I said, "I want to try out new models and give social enterprises an opportunity." Because it was the first one, at that point in time, in fact, Foodfare was the only game in town. The people who started Simpang Bedok were not yet available. The role, however, is that it is NEA that is developing the centre. It is NEA that is paying for the cost of construction of the centre. In fact, it is NEA that has to pay the Government on the basis of what the Chief Valuer assesses is the rate for it. Foodfare's role is that of a managing agent. They do not own the place. They will not decide the policies of the place. But I want them to inject social responsibility, I want them to inject new ideas, I want them to try out new experiments and I want them to be able to manage the hawkers but still maintain the personal operation − the personal to holder nature of our hawker centres. So, it is a pilot and we will see how that has gone.

We have had extensive negotiations at arm's length on what, in effect, NEA has to pay them to perform this managing agent's role. I now look forward that we have got at least another nine in the pipeline, to see who else put up their hands and enter this field. I would stress, however, that all these are pilots and just because we award a contract for three years does not mean this will go on ad infinitum. So, it is my standing invitation to anyone here or if you know of people, both with a good heart, business experience and want to enter this field, please send us your proposal and we will look at it favourably.

Mdm Chair, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]  The Minister mentioned that the new hawker centres will be completed on schedule. I would like to ask if the new hawker centre at Yishun can be completed ahead of schedule. While the scheduled completion date is 2015, yet three new BTO projects will be completed in 2014 in Yishun and a lot of residents will be moving in.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to thank Er Dr Lee for her question. We fully understand how the Member of Parliament feels about this issue. We know she sincerely hopes that the new hawker centre will be completed as soon as possible. The National Environment Agency feels the same way too, and we are working day and night to complete its construction as soon as possible for the residents. Evidently, we are also aware that the construction industry is facing manpower constraints, and the entire industry is under a lot of pressure. Of course, we will try, where possible, to bring hawker food that is delicious and value-for-money to residents of Yishun as soon as we can.

I would like to ask the same question on behalf of the Punggol New Town residents. It is the fastest growing town and we have got many, many BTOs coming on-stream, and I think one of the biggest issues in Punggol New Town is the lack of the choices of food that is available. There are coffee shops and there are very few restaurants but there is no hawker centre at all in the entire new town. So, that is the first question. The second question is on "recycling, reuse and reduce". One of the biggest issues that the residents face is the lack of such facilities. There are some mega bins that are put in between a few blocks but they are too far and few. What happens is that, at most times, these bins are overflowing and they are not being collected on time

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as well. So, my question is whether the Minister has some plans to upgrade and increase the number of such bins and collection times as well.

I totally agree with the Member that as Punggol continues to grow, the demand for cooked food will grow and we have to address this shortfall. I cannot give her specific numbers and dates yet, but I hear the Member and we will certainly look into meeting this need. On recycling, I agree with her that the design of the bins, the frequency of collection, the convenience and the overall infrastructure need to be looked at, and we are trying to improve that. We are working together with the public waste collectors to do so. Even for some of the demonstration projects in Punggol, you will be aware that we have tried having separate chutes and all that – one for disposable waste and another one for recycling waste. But it is really trying to persuade people one at a time, households at a time, to adopt recycling as a way of life. We will continue to work on public education and improve infrastructure.

Like Miss Penny Low, I am equally concerned for my ward, Punggol East. May I ask the Minister whether there will be any potential plans for hawker centres in Punggol East?

I am just trying to recall the last time I walked there. I guess it was the eve of the election. I could not find any space but I will look at it again.

Yes, thank you, Madam. I want to ask a different question, not on hawker centre but on public cleanliness. I want to find out from the Minister whether there is any plan to resolve the issue of feeding of stray dogs, stray cats or birds in a public place by residents. Will there be any measures taken by the Ministry to tackle this issue, because it has caused some public hygiene and public cleanliness issue?

Mdm Speaker, as Members of Parliament who are hard at work on the ground, we know that these are not easy issues to tackle. There are always two sides to a story. There are always people who feel that they need to take care of the strays or feed the birds. On the other hand, if they do not clean up the food waste, it causes public hygiene problems. So, on this particular issue, I think we really need all parties to come together. First of all, residents need to be considerate, understand the impact of their actions on

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public hygiene and on the possibility of disease transmission. On the other hand, Town Councils, if it is within a Town Council's permit, need to also look at how we should enforce some of the local rules and what are the actions that can be carried out. I think that is where local decisions can be made. Where the situations are serious, as in where there is a total disregard of public hygiene and we really need to take strong enforcement action, NEA will step in and take the necessary enforcement actions.