预算辩论 · 2019-02-28 · 第 13 届国会

公共服务数字化转型

Committee of Supply − Head U (Prime Minister's Office)

AI 经济与产业AI 与就业AI 与公共部门 争议度 2 · 温和质询

质询聚焦公共服务如何利用AI和数据分析提升效率，整合服务，满足市民需求。强调技术应以市民为中心，避免机械执法。政府需推动公共部门高科技、高触感和高适应性转型，提升生产力和服务质量。

关键要点

  • • 公共服务需数字化转型
  • • 技术应以市民需求为本
  • • AI助力提升服务效率
质询立场

推动公共服务智能化转型

政策信号

推动公共部门智能化升级

"Technology is a potential game changer that can allow us to overcome our resource constraints and embark on a new S curve in our growth trajectory."

参与人员（36）

完整译文（中文）

Hansard 英文原文译文 · 翻译日期：2026-05-02

公共部门转型

郑德源先生（西海岸选区）：主席先生，我提议将预算中U项的总拨款减少100元。

全球运营环境正在迅速变化。亚洲有许多增长机会，但经济竞争也在加剧，技术变革正在重塑各经济体的竞争优势。在国内，我们面临着本地劳动力老龄化的问题，这可能限制我们的增长。但如果我们能够让人民学会学习、忘记旧知并重新学习，以保持更长职业生涯的就业能力，这就不会成为障碍。事实上，技术是一个潜在的变革者，可以帮助我们克服资源限制，开启新的增长曲线。为了保持竞争力，我们需要能够创新并利用技术，以更少的资源做更多的事，聪明地工作。

公共服务部门同样如此。公共服务必须具备能力、敏捷性和适应性。能够站在技术进步的前沿，灵活地与私营部门和民间团体合作，建设有竞争力的经济；并且适应性强，拥抱成为智慧国的旅程。这意味着公共服务必须能够利用技术提高运营效率，包括利用技术转变服务交付方式。

如今，公民习惯了像FoodPanda或Grab这样的服务，这些服务通过众包方式将不同供应商聚合，以高科技方式触手可及。许多公司，如零售业，也在使用人工智能（AI）和数据分析来分析甚至预测客户需求。公共部门如何利用技术类似地转变其职能——从执行监管职能到执法，再到向公民提供服务？如何将相关服务整合，帮助公民或企业，而不是让他们跑不同政府机构去获取所需？公共服务如何利用技术提高服务效率，节省公民和企业与公共部门交易时的时间和精力？

实际上，公共服务如何利用人工智能和数据分析更好地预测公民需求，并利用机器人技术补充其劳动力？当然，这不仅仅是技术推动。最终，公共服务的交付必须以公民需求为核心。除了高效、公正地提供服务外，公共服务还必须建立系统和流程，确保公务员不仅机械地执行规则，而是始终将公民置于公共服务交付的核心。

他们必须能够识别公民需求的变化，并及时更新政策、项目和服务。简言之，三高：不仅是高科技，还要高触感；不仅高触感，还要高信任。因此，转变公共服务需要公务员掌握新技能，以便以不同且有效的方式履行职责。在可以自动化的工作中，公务员也应掌握新技能，承担新工作。

简而言之，技能未来（SkillsFuture）应同样适用于公共服务。公共服务在提升公务员数字技能方面取得了哪些进展？公共服务是否设立了再培训项目，帮助公务员随着技术改变工作方式，在公共部门内部转岗？公共服务应与公共部门工会及劳工运动密切合作，鼓励所有公务员不断再技能化和再装备，以保持相关性和就业能力。

一个良好的开端是与公共部门工会及工会领导共同成立专门的培训委员会。除了技能，公共服务精神是公共服务的核心。虽然工作和技能会变化，但服务、诚信和卓越的价值观应始终保持。公共服务如何培养公务员，确保他们保持脚踏实地，紧密联系而非脱离公民和企业的需求、愿望及关切？如何培养能够用心服务、与公民建立联系并与民间及私营部门共同创造新解决方案的公务员？

[（程序文本）提案已提出。（程序文本）]

公共服务的颠覆

法蒂玛·拉蒂夫教授（海洋坊选区）：主席先生，新加坡拥有全球最具活力和高效的公共服务部门之一。公务员从年轻到资深经验丰富，服务于各部委、文官机构、法定机构及其他众多组织，为新加坡人服务。

随着全球化和世界日益互联，我们的公共服务必须富有资源、富有创造力且反应迅速。他们必须保持灵活，紧跟当今及未来世界的变化和颠覆。他们必须与最先进技术保持一致，在政策制定和治理的某些方面保持适应性和灵活性，同时坚持新加坡所代表的原则。信息技术（IT）及其他技术驱动的流程、通讯和监控必须一流且稳健。同时，安全和保障必须得到维护。新加坡公共服务如何协助公务员提供充分培训、能力建设、必要软件获取、技术采用以及培养和管理公务员心态，确保适应、对齐和认同？这也是学习、忘记和重新学习过程的一部分。

公共服务的另一个非常重要的关键词是协调。面对今天的诸多颠覆和干预，公共服务如何确保信息、数据和细节在服务内部安全协调和整合，同时保持机密性？

以公民为中心的政府服务

傅志坚先生（先锋选区）：主席先生，我今天的削减是讨论我们的公共服务是否能采用以公民为中心的方法来提供政府服务。向公民提供服务是政府机构的核心工作。

[副议长（林标泉先生）主持]

不幸的是，许多服务基于多年来已存在的流程和技术，且许多设计基于各机构的个别需求和要求。因此，这些服务并非以提升公民与政府互动或交易的便利性和满意度为目标设计。

公民可能需要亲自访问不同机构，电话联系多个部门，或浏览多个政府机构的网站来查询或完成交易。公民常常需要填写许多表格，并重复提供之前已向其他政府部门提供过的信息。政府机构则面临公民满意度下降及因跨机构多次接触而增加的成本。

以公民为中心的政府应作为一个整体单位，采用整体政府方法向公民提供服务。这需要一个跨越部委、法定机构和部门等壁垒的协调单位，并在后台自由共享所有机构的数据。

如今，随着技术和连接性的进步，政府可以满足不断提升的公民期望。通过人工智能、机器学习和数据分析的数字化转型，政府甚至可以预测和预见公民需求。排队和填写表格可能成为过去。我想请教部长，公共服务如何组织自身，确保服务以公民为中心交付？

公共服务与公民福祉

黄丽明女士（提名议员）：信任如同水滴积累，却可能一泻千里。近期一系列服务失误加剧了公众对公共服务稳健性的担忧。

黄循财部长回应《联合早报》有关自满指控时表示，“每当出现失误，我们都会毫不退缩地严肃审视自己，采取一切必要措施纠正问题。”

我对黄部长的信念和承诺感到欣慰。事实上，如此重大事件接连发生，暴露了系统内可能存在的裂痕，不仅限于个别部委或公务员。开放讨论这些裂痕是否有助于恢复信任？政府采取了哪些具体措施恢复公众信心？

此外，公共服务部（PSD）如何确保问责、透明和同理心的文化？面对日益严格的公众监督和期望，公务员学院（CSC）如何培训公务员理解超越物质的主观福祉，并如何培训他们制定更好政策，既提升公民福祉，也增强公众对公共机构的信任？

最后，2019年预算中宣布的“公共服务关怀”如何不仅仅是公务员的志愿服务项目，而是成为一种精神？

尽管我有上述澄清，我仍借此机会感谢每一位真诚全心服务的公共服务人员。

主席：李毅贤先生不在。林秀仪女士。

下午1时30分

宪制机关任命

林秀仪女士（亚历山大选区）：先生，宪法下设有某些公务员，肩负维护公共利益的职能和职责。这些任命由总理推荐，并须经总统酌情批准。

例如，检察总长。根据宪法第35条，检察总长有权自行决定提起、进行或终止任何刑事诉讼。

另一个例子是审计总长，根据宪法第148(F)条，审计总长负有审计并报告政府所有部门和办公室、公共服务委员会、法律服务委员会、最高法院或下级法院及议会账目的宪制职责。

先生，我们都熟悉审计总长办公室（AGO）的年度审计报告。报告中常含令人尴尬的发现，可能揭露不当行为。AGO报告是政府问责和谨慎使用公共资金的重要衡量标准。

主席，今天我想请教总理，关于选拔审计总长的程序和标准。

宪法未明确规定审计总长的资格标准。

近年，我们的审计总长多来自资深公务员，今年也任命了新的审计总长。我不认识现任审计总长，亦无理由怀疑她的廉正。事实上，我愿意相信她会尽职尽责。

但总理能否确认现任审计总长是否为一位资深国务部长的配偶？如果是，总理是否考虑过任命资深国务部长配偶会如何影响公众对审计总长办公室独立性的看法？

MediShield Life下的退休人员

黄永发先生（后港选区）：先生，我曾在2014年和2015年本院辩论强制医疗保险计划MediShield Life引入时，谈及其对退休人员的影响。

据我了解，一些退休人员继续享有原有的医疗福利，正如本院所保证，虽然不是通过MediShield Life，而是通过他们原有的退休医疗计划。实际上，这些退休人员名义上被纳入MediShield Life，但并不需要该保障。我了解到他们的MediShield Life保费由政府支付，并通过MediSave补贴过渡。

MediShield Life计划已近五年。虽然退休人员的医疗福利没有变差，我想问政府是否有研究或调查，评估这项冗余的MediShield Life保障对退休人员的财政影响？扣除各种MediSave补贴后，这些补贴是否帮助退休人员全额支付了自己及配偶的MediShield Life保费，无需自掏腰包？这很重要，因为政府曾在本院保证退休人员在MediShield Life下不会变得更差。这也应意味着他们不会因被纳入强制但未使用的医疗计划而增加经济负担。

其次，副总理张志贤表示，退休人员在MediShield Life下有一项重要福利是之前没有的。他说退休人员去世后，其配偶将不再享有医疗福利，但在MediShield Life下，配偶将继续被覆盖。

先生，这项重要福利令人安心，但它本质上是默认的，因为MediShield Life对所有人强制执行。每个人依法必须支付医疗保障费，无论身份如何。因此，部长提到的这项重要福利，只有在政府继续为退休人员去世后其配偶支付保费时才更有意义。否则，配偶依法必须加入MediShield Life，没有选择余地。

先生，我想请政府澄清，是否会继续为退休人员去世后其配偶支付MediShield Life保费，作为福利？

提升公务员技能

张浩斌医生（武吉班让选区）：主席先生，李显龙总理2014年在伦敦发表的“两个城市的故事”演讲中，阐述了新加坡的全球城市抱负。去年，我们在全球城市展望榜单中排名第五。为了维持这一地位，必须有世界级的文官支持我们的世界级城市。

我想了解政府采取了哪些措施，确保并提升公共服务人员的服务交付技能。

先生，正如政府呼吁私营部门提高生产力和服务质量，也应督促公共部门主动树立榜样，带动新加坡其他部门跟进。

此外，我建议政府以服务交付速度和公共服务质量作为衡量打造世界级文官进展的指标。

然而，必须指出，采用一刀切的方式服务公众是不够的。我们的文官机构应更深刻反思。我们往往过于关注数字，忽视治理的人文方面。

虽然自动化提升了生产力，但导航预录语音菜单或在线填写严格格式的表格，可能无法满足公众需求。

先生，我相信如果文官机构提供更多考虑自动化限制的公共服务渠道，将更好地服务新加坡人。

在追求人员数量和生产力关键绩效指标（KPI）时，公共部门采用外包，影响了公共服务质量。先生，外包不利于文官人力资本发展，可能导致公务员失去提供优质服务的学习机会。

我建议采用设计思维方法转变公共服务交付，同时重新聚焦培训和深化公共服务人员技能。

先生，我们的全球城市应拥有一支有心服务公众的世界级文官队伍。

公务员准备情况

洪兴基先生（宏茂桥选区）：主席先生，政府积极创新，改善政府与公众之间的交易便利性。

随着技术颠覆加快转型步伐，我想了解公共部门员工如何准备以保持相关性。同时，公共部门的工作如何转变，未来还会有哪些变化？

在这些变化中，我希望政府带头确保所有公共部门员工都能获得相关培训、再技能培训和重新部署机会。

各部委和机构是否了解那些在培训中可能遇到困难的员工，尤其是较年长员工，他们可能更难掌握新技能？我们是否能够将这些员工重新部署到不同部门、机构或部委？

最近，我会见了来自多个法定机构的约80名工会成员，他们与我分享了他们的经历以及为帮助我们的公共部门工作人员做好未来准备、适应转型工作场所所提供的援助。

公共服务部（PSD）是否了解各机构在这条转型道路上的进展情况，以及各自的努力是否有效，特别是在帮助年长员工适应新岗位或升级岗位甚至重新部署岗位所需的培训节奏方面？

去年，公共服务委员会（CSC）宣布与12所高等院校（IHLs）合作，支持公共部门的转型以及部门内学习的转型。公务员将可以访问一个数字学习平台。请问有关部门能否更新一下新学习门户上这些课程的参与率？

主席：Louis Ng先生，您有两个发言点，可以一起发言吗？

学术资格与职业脱钩

Louis Ng Kok Kwang先生（义顺）：主席先生，去年我曾谈到需要更好地认可公务员的贡献和技能，而不仅仅是他们的正式学术资格。

翁业强部长分享了一个举措，即合并现有的文凭和学位持有者方案。在招聘之后，公务员的晋升更多地依据其在职表现，而非教育资格。这一做法已在教育部（MOE）、公务员通用管理执行方案以及空中交通管制员方案中实施。

翁业强部长表示，公共服务部将与其他公共机构合作，识别更多可实施此举的领域。

[议长主持]

部长能否更新哪些其他公共机构已取消文凭和学位持有者的不同薪酬等级和晋升结构？我们是否也可以将此扩展到工艺教育学院（ITE）毕业生，而不仅限于文凭和学位持有者？

公共机构内部质量服务经理（QSM）

主席先生，去年我还提出需要为公务员提供向高层管理反馈的平台。此外，我们需要闭合反馈环，让公务员知道他们的意见被重视，并能在强化公共服务方面产生影响。

我建议在各部委和法定机构内部设立质量服务经理。翁业强部长回应说，所有公共机构都会定期进行员工参与调查。

但我仍遇到一些公务员表示，他们提供了反馈，却不知道是否有人关注，也未收到关于反馈的回复。

部长是否考虑在公共服务中采用统一的原则和指导方针来开展员工参与调查？是否也考虑要求公共机构跟踪收到的反馈及其对应采取的行动？

主席：陈振声部长。

贸易与工业部长（陈振声先生）：主席先生，首先感谢所有发言支持维护一支有能力且敬业的公共服务队伍的重要性的议员们。

我同意各位议员的观点。我们公共服务的同事和我决心建设一支令新加坡和新加坡人引以为傲的公共服务。我们的公共服务一直是新加坡生存和成功的坚强支柱，过去如此，未来也将如此。

我们的运营环境正在迅速变化。内部来看，新一代新加坡人在不同环境中成长，拥有不同的抱负和期望。新加坡人期望服务围绕他们组织，并以整合和及时的方式提供。他们期望系统和组织适应他们的需求，而非相反。新加坡人也期望随时随地获取服务和信息，对复杂官僚体系的耐心大大减少。

外部来看，我们的地缘政治形势变得更加不确定和充满挑战。包括网络空间在内的新安全威胁出现，威胁国家安全。大国竞争和地区国家的国内政治相结合，可能会挤压我们，缩小我们的经济和外交政策选择空间。但情况并非全然悲观。

连接性和技术为我们克服地理和劳动力限制提供了机会。如果善加利用，它们能带领我们达到更高水平。我们的劳动力也更加受教育和技能更高。我们可以更好地以质量而非数量竞争。

为了继续建设一个充满活力和成功的未来新加坡，我们的公共服务必须不断挑战自我，提出新想法，采用新的工作方法，重新组织自身，发展新技能。

我们的公共服务通常能高效提供服务，但这还不够。除了全政府协作外，我们的公共服务必须实现全民族成果。与新加坡人和私营部门合作交付成果必须成为我们的第二天性，而非事后考虑。这不仅是为公众提供良好服务，更是与公众共同提供更好的服务。

然而，公共服务和私营部门必须在这一新伙伴关系中各司其职，共同推动新加坡迈向更高峰。双方都必须成熟，理解考虑多方反馈、利益冲突和不同期望的复杂性。如果经过共同努力后个人建议未被采纳，并不意味着意见未被考虑，而是构成了达成最终方案的过程一部分。

下午1时45分

我同意张浩斌博士关于以设计思维方法提供公共服务的观点。公共服务将逐步围绕人和问题设计许多服务，而非仅仅期望人们适应现有结构和工作方式。

去年6月推出的“人生时刻”应用是公共服务与公民及私营部门合作，创新服务公民的一个小例子。团队希望简化新生儿父母的生活，减少行政繁琐，让父母专注于迎接和照顾宝宝。他们首先采访了许多新父母，了解出生时需要做什么，什么让他们感到沮丧，并收集父母对如何更好更快提供公共服务的好建议。结果是一个应用程序，允许父母一次性完成孩子出生登记、申请婴儿奖金和儿童图书馆会员资格，无需多次前往多个机构反复提交相同的纸质文件。该应用不到一年下载量超过2万次，我很高兴地说，除了公立医院，我们今年初已开始在私立医院（从汤申医疗中心开始）提供此服务，未来几个月其他私立医院也将陆续加入。

公共服务将扩大这一努力。此后已启动更多项目，围绕孕期、学龄儿童养育、国民服役和进入银发年华等关键时刻重新设计服务。我们还将针对不同公民群体设计服务，特别是那些通过常规渠道难以获得服务的人。例如，新加坡税务局（IRAS）在报税季为老人和行动不便者设立优先登记队列，安排他们坐席并快速服务。建屋发展局（HDB）在销售启动时也设立优先队列，协助老人、残疾人士和孕妇。中央公积金局（CPF）服务中心有退休公民担任流动CPF大使，帮助55岁以上的公积金成员。

公共服务正与各界人士及私营组织紧密合作，扩大围绕公民重新设计服务的努力。未来几个月我们将分享更多进展。

在公共服务内部，我们也需要跨部委和机构以不同方式组织工作。我们当前的结构是为解决过去问题而优化的。随着问题演变和目标变化，我们也必须大胆调整结构和组织，以服务未来目标，正如议员Cedric Foo所建议。气候变化、网络威胁、无人系统等新挑战都要求我们发展新的组织结构来应对。

Cedric Foo议员还问如何持续确保服务以公民为中心。确实，公共服务必须重组自身，做到以公民而非机构为中心地工作。

位于Our Tampines Hub的公共服务中心就是一个例子。它通过将不同机构共址，方便公民在一个地点获得服务。今年，六个机构将联合交叉培训柜台员工，每位员工将能提供六个政府机构约70项服务。公民可以向任何柜台求助，无需等待“正确”的柜台开放。

社会服务办公室（SSO）是另一个将不同服务整合以帮助有需要公民的例子。例如，Taman Jurong、Kreta Ayer、义顺、蔡厝港和惹兰勿刹的SSO正在试点同一名SSO官员既提供失业居民的经济援助，也帮助他们找工作。银发世代办公室（SGO）也与Taman Jurong和芽笼实莱的SSO共址，工作人员紧密合作，更综合地满足老年人的社会和健康需求。

正如多位议员所建议，公共服务要以不同方式组织和运作以更好服务公民，离不开新技能。翁安达女士、张浩斌博士和洪兴基先生说得对，我们必须帮助公务员以新思维看待工作，赋予他们新技能。

首先，我们需要公务员改变思维。他们必须超越当前任务，与其他部委或机构同事协作，更好地服务公民。这不仅靠课堂培训。公共服务部将扩大岗位轮换制度，覆盖更广泛的公务员群体，使他们获得更广视野，培养跨机构及与私营和民间部门合作的本能。

其次，公务员不仅要制定好政策，还必须能有效执行。为此，公务员必须更好理解公民和企业需求，了解政策执行中的限制和挑战，洞察实施细节。

公共服务部与文化、社区及青年部（MCCY）去年推出了领导者参与沉浸计划。主任级及以上领导被派往不同一线工作环境服务公民，获得如何更好实施政策和项目的新见解。今年，我们将推行“公共服务关怀”计划，鼓励所有公务员志愿服务社区，借此学习更好地与公民沟通，培养更强的服务精神和文化。包括高级公务员在内的官员定期轮换参与人民协会（PA）、社会服务办公室（SSO）及反馈单位“全民参与@家”（REACH）的外展活动，亲身体验服务新加坡人的工作。

第三，我们需要公务员与民间和私营部门建立良好人际联系。公共服务将努力实现公务员与民间及私营部门人才的更大流动性和双向流动。一个方式是派遣公务员到私营部门实习。例如，去年通过首届服务交付人才实习计划，我们派遣10名公务员到星展银行（DBS）、新电信（Singtel）和Grab等公司实习。他们带回新知识和见解，提升公共服务交付。我们将扩大此类机会，加强公共服务及其外部联系。

第四，公务员需更好了解本地区，与区域同行建立更紧密联系。为持续拓展新加坡的经济和国际空间，公务员必须融入各类国际网络，了解区域及主要市场国家的经济、政治和社会体系。公共服务领导层必须能随时与同行通话，讨论问题并开展新合作。因此，我们将继续鼓励公共服务委员会（PSC）奖学金获得者及中年公务员赴不同国家培训。我们还将创造更多机会，让不同国家官员通过联合课程、论坛和讨论分享最佳实践并建立网络。正如私营部门一样，我们应期待未来公共服务领导者拥有国际工作经验。

最后，所有级别的公务员——从领导到基层员工——必须精通技术，利用技术提升公共服务质量和公共服务效率。公共服务目标是实现100%数字素养。每位公务员都必须懂得在数字世界中操作并茁壮成长。公共服务委员会已推出LEARN移动平台，使公务员随时随地学习。自平台上线三个月内，已激活超过34,000个账户，完成近10,000门课程。智慧国与数字政府办公室（SNDGO）将随后详细介绍其他智慧国计划。

我同意多位议员关于打造更具多样性的公共服务领导层的观点。我们需要一支拥有不同才能、能展现多元视角的领导团队。未来，公共服务在选拔领导团队时，将更加注重运营、沟通、动员和国际经验的结合，而不仅仅是纯粹的政策制定能力。更具多样性的公共服务将更具韧性，应对未来不确定性。

我们必须系统地选拔、招聘和培养公务员，实现这种多样性。教育资格仍是评估候选人某些技能和能力的有效指标，我们不会忽视这一点。但仅凭教育资格水平是不够的。公共服务在招聘新公务员时，也将关注其他技能、能力和特质。除了智力，我们还希望公务员具备主动性和创造性思维，以及良好的人际交往能力和团队合作精神。在信息与通信技术（ICT）领域，公共服务将根据技术技能而非仅凭教育资格选拔人才。

Louis Ng先生询问关于工艺教育学院毕业生、文凭和学位持有者的统一结构。自2015年以来，公共服务已合并薪酬方案，使ITE毕业生、文凭和学位持有者在同一结构下招聘和晋升。对于需要特定资格的岗位，如医生、会计师和工程师，我们会明确要求。如今，几乎所有公共机构都采用单一结构方案。

我已详细阐述公共服务需要变革的方面，但同样重要的是那些不会改变的东西：我们的价值观、对新加坡的期望以及对自身的高标准。

我们的卓越价值观意味着我们不会自满。公共服务将继续为新加坡设定高远目标。这意味着始终未雨绸缪，采取行动扩大新加坡的机会，或预防未来问题。例如，为保持竞争力，新加坡必须成为创新枢纽。因此，教育部、企业新加坡（ESG）和经济发展局（EDB）共同开发了全球创新联盟（GIA）计划，连接新加坡与全球主要创新生态系统。GIA扩展了本地高等院校现有的海外实习项目，将学生派往初创企业或有创新精神的公司实习。公共服务也利用这些实习机会，供奖学金获得者和在职公务员拓宽培训和视野。GIA将为学生、创业者和企业主创造更多机会，与海外同行交流合作。

同样地，我们积极推动更多自由贸易协定（FTA），以帮助我们的企业拓展海外市场，并降低国内消费者进口商品和服务的价格。这些自由贸易协定必须提前规划，因为它们涉及与外国对手的长期谈判。最近达成的欧盟-新加坡自由贸易协定（EUSFTA）几乎是在十年前开始规划的，并通过包括贸易与工业部（MTI）、总检察长办公室（AGC）、法律部（MinLaw）、新加坡知识产权局（IPOS）、人力部（MOM）和环境与水资源部（MEWR）在内的多个机构的密切协调实现。他们共同努力，并通过不同的官员团队持续推动谈判进程。我们现在正在提前规划我们的自由贸易协定，以涵盖新经济中的数字贸易。

在城市发展方面，我们也着眼长远。近十年前，经济策略委员会提出了长期将集装箱港口活动整合到大士的构想。这将使我们的港口实现更大的规模经济，同时释放出优质的南部滨水区，用于改造成为一个比滨海湾更令人兴奋的新滨水城市。如今，拟建的大士码头已初具规模，预计将在2040年代逐步完工。大士码头的面积将是宏茂桥镇的两倍，预计将成为世界上最大的集装箱码头。我们的大士码头将帮助新加坡巩固在海事领域的地位。

这并非我们唯一规划的长期跨数十年的项目。我们还在推进其他雄心勃勃的项目，这些项目历时多年，甚至数十年，无论是开发新加坡最深的电缆隧道系统用于电力传输，还是规划包括新航站楼5号航站楼的樟宜东部，或是规划裕廊创新区和榜鹅数字区。这些项目有助于打造一个更加充满活力的新加坡，为未来几代新加坡人创造更好的家园。我们的公共服务不能仅仅采取防御态度来维护现有体系。我们期望公共服务不断思考如何开创新局面，推动国家前进，面对激烈的竞争。

尽管我们提前规划，但有时事情不会按计划进行。当出现问题时，公共服务将努力纠正错误，寻求改进。公务员局局长最近提醒所有高级公共领导人，要将近期的事件和失误视为重要的学习时刻，思考如何做得更好。

下午2时

我支持他的呼吁，并感谢公共服务认真对待其使命。然而，诚信意味着我们需要在每个层面对出现的问题承担责任和问责。如果我们不在相应层面正面解决错误，而是每次出现问题时不加区分地解雇员工和领导，那么随着时间推移，我们的体系将变得更弱。我们也会阻碍公共服务尝试新事物，因为避免犯错的最可靠方法就是不做任何新尝试。这将是对国家最大的错误和不公。

诚信和卓越的价值观同样适用于任命程序。林秀雅女士询问了总理在确定关键宪法任命人选时所采用的选拔程序和标准。任何宪法任命的人员任命程序均载于宪法中。宪法还规定了某些职位候选人的资格要求，以及应当被咨询或建议的职务持有人。一般而言，确定候选人的关键考虑因素包括其胜任工作的能力、资格和经验、业绩记录、诚信以及公共服务意识。

林秀雅女士询问我们是否知晓新任审计长吴顺宝女士是资政恒志豪高级部长的妻子。是的，我们知道。审计长由总统根据总理的建议任命。候选人在咨询公共服务委员会主席后被提请总统同意。总统还将咨询总统顾问委员会，提供额外的审查和建议。吴顺宝女士拥有超过30年的公共部门经验，曾在多个政府部委工作。她以卓越的表现、极高的诚信和对卓越的承诺服务。她曾担任教育部和内政部两个最大部委的副秘书长职位，也曾在财政部和公共服务部等两个中央部委工作，熟悉与财政、采购和人力资源相关的治理事务。吴顺宝女士的公共部门经验对审计长职位非常有用。

审计长的职责是审计并向总统和议会报告公共资源的适当会计和使用情况，以增强公共问责。审计署的审计意见传达给高级公务员，即各部委的常任秘书，他们是各自部委的会计官，负责管理相关事务。这些高级公务员负责处理审计发现并向审计署报告。审计过程通常不涉及政治职务持有人。审计署与其审计的部委之间通常不存在利益冲突。如存在潜在利益冲突，有专门程序加以管理，正如任何专业机构一样。

我们的公共服务关心人民。黄振辉先生询问员工参与情况。公共服务部目前与公共部门机构合作，在各公共机构中实施统一的员工参与调查。该调查使机构领导更好地了解机构表现良好的领域以及可以改进的方面。领导者应对反馈作出回应并采取适当行动。

方荣发先生询问退休人员的医疗保险（MediShield Life）情况。与所有新加坡公民和永久居民一样，政府退休人员自2015年11月1日起已纳入医疗保险覆盖范围。医疗保险为他们享有的退休医疗福利提供额外帮助。尤其当有人不幸患上重病并产生巨额医疗费用时，这非常有用。例如，一位参加综合共付计划（CCS）的退休人员患肺炎，账单金额为29,000新元。她的退休后医疗福利覆盖了85%的费用，医疗保险帮助支付了剩余的15%，她无需自掏腰包。另一位参加CCS的退休人员患淋巴瘤，账单约为14,000新元，扣除退休后医疗福利和医疗保险后，他仅需自付300新元。

主席先生，尊敬的主席，我们的公务员加入公共服务是出于使命感，即为所有新加坡人建设更好的家园、更好的国家和更好的未来。我们的未来掌握在这一代领导人手中——来自公共、私营和人民部门。正如近54年前一样，我们必须再次且永远成为开拓者。如果我们齐心协力，作为一个新加坡团队，我相信我们能够克服挑战，新加坡将保持充满活力和成功。我们的公共服务将领导并支持新加坡人实现这一目标。

可持续人口策略

林伟杰博士（森巴旺）：主席先生，尽管我们有全面的策略鼓励新加坡人结婚生子，但我们的出生率依然偏低，人口持续老龄化。事实上，这是全球发达和发展中经济体的普遍趋势，找到可持续的解决方案以缓解这一状况肯定需要时间。

我们的现有观念是什么？女性应当既有事业又是好母亲；男性应当既有事业又是好父亲。我们为他们提供了良好的支持，如产假、陪产假、育儿假、婴儿奖金及一整套激励措施。但情况并不理想。为什么？因为难以兼顾办公室工作和照顾孩子，从照顾生病的孩子到辅导他们成长。我们是否考虑过一种更激进或新的制度，让有孩子的女性可以离开职场三到六年专心抚养孩子？这也将促进家庭纽带的牢固，并为我们的孩子奠定坚实基础。我们可以制定法律，保障这些男女在离开职场期间不受歧视。

作为回报，我们可以允许更多合格的年长者留在劳动力市场，暂时填补他们留下的空缺。

在继续实施有利于生育和家庭的政策时，我们必须继续识别和管理人口老龄化带来的其他问题。我们已经实施了许多策略，鼓励老年人保持健康并积极参与工作。或许我们可以激励老年人照顾孙辈。类似于拟议中的老年照顾者津贴，我们是否可以考虑为照顾孙辈的老年人提供孙辈照顾者津贴？

我们面临着有限人力资源池以维持充满活力经济的更大挑战。政府如何指导其人口策略以支持持续增长的经济？根据《商业内幕》2018年的报告，我们在吸引、培养和留住人才方面排名第13位。如果我们无法通过新加坡人的自然出生维持人口，那么补充人口的唯一途径就是通过移民。届时，我们将面临融合问题以及塑造国家认同和凝聚力的挑战。我们为移民设定的上限是多少，以免影响我们的社会契约？

作为一个年轻国家，我们仍在努力寻求国家认同。我们没有共同的奋斗历史将我们紧密联系在一起。我们的总统和总理可以分享他们的经验，成为激励下一代的宝贵资源。或许，政府可以分享其计划，如何在新加坡人中培养强烈的国家认同感，同时保持健康的人口结构。

主席：颜添宝先生，请将两段发言合并。

人口策略

颜添宝先生（宏茂桥）：人口快速老龄化和持续低生育率（TFR），是全球最低之一，给我们的未来带来严重挑战。这对我们的社会结构、民族遗产、经济和国防等方面都有深远影响。我们必须优先且紧急地审视我们的人口策略。

我们需要一支核心的年轻新加坡人群体，确保国家保持凝聚力、活力和生机。政府有哪些措施振兴人口策略，保持本地人与移民的平衡？政府如何看待新家庭结构态度及其对家庭和生育的影响？此外，我们如何防止照顾老龄人口的财政负担落到未来几代人身上？

总生育率

在黄循财部长的预算演讲中，他敦促我们发扬新加坡人的DNA继续进步。不幸的是，我们的总生育率仅为1.16，是全球最低之一，我们的DNA未来面临风险。

现代新加坡始于移民国家，未来仍将接受并融合移民。但重要的是，我们必须拥有一支土生土长的新加坡人核心群体。

政府已实施多项措施和激励支持婚姻和生育。我们需要紧急审视为何这些措施未见成效。无论是措施不足还是需加强，我们必须解决问题根源。请问部委是否会分享扭转总生育率的计划？

新公民——任命与融合

法蒂玛·拉蒂夫教授：各国移民法因国情、人口因素及国家发展需求而异。

没有一刀切的政策。新加坡因国土面积小且人口快速老龄化，面临更大挑战。我们的指导方针和政策必须承认多样性，维护团结，并且务实可行。新公民能为国家建设和社会融合作出积极贡献。

招募新公民的指导方针必须稳健且动态，同时符合我们的目标。我们如何审视移民政策？

我们是否能实施更有结构的社区参与机制，让潜在新公民候选人更好地融入本地社区和活动？或许可以引入资深社区领袖的意见，作为认可者，提供宝贵建议。

年轻人面临的挑战

维克拉姆·奈尔先生（森巴旺）：主席，2015年新加坡迎来了婴儿高峰期，总生育率有所上升。但自那以后，2018年新加坡总生育率降至历史最低1.16。尽管政府推出了多种激励措施鼓励结婚生子，情况依然如此。

根据新加坡人口数据局，我们有大量育龄及将育龄人口，但越来越多人选择不结婚生子。是否有研究探讨原因？

我从以往的财政预算辩论中了解到，许多年轻人有结婚生子的愿望，但似乎未付诸行动。年轻人在婚姻和育儿方面面临哪些挑战？我们能做些什么来应对这些挑战？

家庭——重申我们的价值观

任耀明先生（马西岭-裕廊西）：主席先生，作为一个国家，我们力求卓越。但有时，我们必须冷静审视自己，进行反思。

我们是花园城市，但我们真的绿色吗？我们正快速迈向智慧国，但这个国家能否继续拥有一颗有温度的心？我们拥有高效的劳动力，但我们真正生产的是什么？我们可以在许多方面名列前茅，但如果我们最基本的构建单元开始崩解和弱化，我们还能坚持多久？

主席，随着新加坡经济持续发展，我们似乎像其他发达国家一样，开始面临一个日益后家庭主义的未来，家庭这一基本构建单元正被边缘化和威胁。

单身、无子女和家庭制度的不稳定在许多国家日益增长，新加坡也未能幸免。虽然情况尚未极端，但一些反生育宣传最近也出现在我们这里。

2017年，我们的总生育率仅为1.16，创七年新低，是历史第二低。尽管我们多年来投入数十亿资金促进婚姻和生育，情况依然如此。

调查显示，超过80%的年轻新加坡人有结婚生子的意愿，但这一意愿似乎未反映在实际结婚和生育人数上。或许我们应再次自问，我们在哪些方面做得还不够？

我认为叙事中缺失的是对文化缓慢且不幸变化及其对家庭威胁的关注。

如今，我们生活在一个压力巨大的世界。我们必须承认这一点——节奏快得惊人。我们都想努力工作，取得更好成绩，争取职业晋升。这本身无可厚非。但不幸的是，这已成为我们新文化的关键部分。

这让年轻新加坡人喘不过气来。这种工作伦理潜意识里让我们在办公室待得更久，甚至常常无实际理由。对公司有利，但对社会代价如何？我们最终没有时间约会、没有时间外出、没有时间照顾自己、没有时间结婚、没有时间生育。

作为社会，我们不能对这一问题漠不关心。国家的基本结构依赖于家庭核心。家庭在决定儿童福利、满足我们对意义和团结的深层需求以及塑造国家经济和政治命运方面发挥着关键作用。当家庭不再繁荣，不再作为社会的核心组织特征时，国家便开始失去其基本单元。

下午2时15分

所以，这不仅仅是关于金钱的问题。我们投入的问题资金越多，这个最自然的构建基石就变得越货币化和商业化，强化了家庭是商品的日益增长的刻板印象。我们今天需要做的是强化以家庭为中心的文化。从我们童年时期起，就应该向年轻人灌输家庭的重要性，鼓励他们与自己的家庭共度高质量的时光。让这一代的父母重新调整我们文化的节奏和步调。

部分原因是由技术引起的我们自我崇敬的文化。我们许多人都能证明，当我们在家时，虽然可能在一起，但实际上并不真正陪伴彼此，而是在陪伴手机。我们假装彼此交流，但实际上忽视了对方。我们以为自己与许多人交谈，但实际上只是自言自语。

在工作方面，这种情况也存在。旨在让工作更轻松的技术，实际上把我们绑在办公桌前，即使我们不在办公室。因此，雇主也必须越来越重视家庭在拥有幸福劳动力中的作用。纯粹的交易关系只会产生压力，父母甚至害怕为家庭请假。我们需要做更多工作来鼓励工作文化的改变，而不仅仅是通过增强工作与生活平衡补助等激励措施。文化层面还可以做更多。

尽管我们的婚姻与生育礼包非常慷慨，但也必须解决全社会层面的问题，如生活成本和期望。我们如何确保作为一个社会，继续重视家庭，并愿意帮助家庭实现他们的期望？这不仅仅需要政策、项目或补助，而是需要整个社会和对我们文化的重新审视。

我们必须尽力避免一些人所称的对家庭角色的“系统性羞辱、引发冷漠的忽视和扼杀灵魂的残酷”。

提升家庭友好文化

Saktiandi Supaat议员（碧山-大巴窑）：如今，夫妇在计划生育时有许多合理的担忧。事实上，某些个人牺牲是必要的。但更广泛的社会，包括社区团体、雇主和家庭，可以做更多妥协，拥抱一个家庭友好的新加坡。有些夫妇非常乐意同时抚养四个孩子。这些人通常得到社区、大家庭和工作场所的良好支持。他们可能也做出了一些个人牺牲以优先考虑家庭。其他人仅有一个孩子就感到压力重重。

今天的祖父母与上世纪60、70年代的祖父母不同。今天的祖父母规划退休并频繁度假，我对此不持批评态度。他们应当享受休息。那么，我们如何平衡祖父母的需求与正在组建家庭的年轻孩子的需求？新加坡正在做些什么来帮助灌输支持婚姻和生育的家庭友好文化？我们需要在应对这一环境问题时转变思维方式。

我和妻子都是职场人士，有三个孩子，经常会遇到学校紧急通知或孩子生病等情况，需要我们一方或双方照顾孩子。我们可以进一步改善家庭文化环境的一个例子是，看看是否能在企业或私营及公共机构中提供综合的后备照护服务，配合国家级的软件匹配平台，帮助员工在常规安排失效时找到临时的儿童或老人照护。在英国，有类似的公司，如My FamilyCare。但我们可以做更多，创建这些私营机构，帮助这类公司成长，打造更好、更丰富的支持网络，营造家庭友好环境。

家庭友好工作场所

Rahayu Mahzam议员（裕廊）：有人曾与我分享一个故事。一名男子回家时看到他的帮佣带着孩子在游乐场玩耍。他们玩得很开心，他感到嫉妒。那天工作很累，他当时觉得自己这么努力工作，只是为了付钱给帮佣，让帮佣过上他想要的生活。虽然这只是转瞬即逝的想法，但反映了他多么希望能多陪陪孩子。

我们都有期望，希望为家人创造更好的生活。我们也有很多可以为经济贡献的地方，有意义的工作给我们带来目标感和动力。然而，许多人也渴望工作与生活的平衡，以便能陪伴家人。雇主在支持新加坡人管理工作与生活平衡方面扮演重要角色，包括提供灵活工作安排（FWA）或支持在家中扮演更积极角色的在职父亲。

政府将如何鼓励雇主发挥作用？我注意到有一些计划，如增强工作与生活平衡补助。这些措施有效吗？还能做些什么来鼓励雇主营造更家庭友好的工作场所文化？

支持在职父母

Desmond Choo议员（淡滨尼）：我们的年轻新加坡人夹在照顾幼儿和年迈父母之间。政府一直在为这些家庭提供支持。部长能否更新最新进展以及部委将采取哪些进一步措施？

人口趋势要求改变对年轻家庭在职场的支持方式。首先，随着家庭规模缩小，年轻新加坡人需要同时照顾子女和父母。带年迈父母去体检很容易就要请超过一天假，孩子生病也是如此。

因此，家庭照顾假对我们的员工尤其重要，特别是那些孩子超过七岁的员工。假期的灵活使用为员工提供了更多弹性。政府能否考虑让公共服务部门率先为所有公务员提供家庭照顾假？

其次，我们需要帮助年轻新加坡父母更好地管理婴幼儿照护和全天托儿的费用。夫妇平均每月在全天婴幼儿照护上花费1,495新元。即使符合600新元补贴资格，仍需自付约900新元。这负担相当沉重。同样，新加坡公民每月可获得最高300新元的托儿基本补贴，该补贴自2008年实施。自2001年以来，托儿机构的中位数费用上涨了22%。

最后，灵活工作安排对支持家庭至关重要。虽然许多公司如今提供FWA，但它尚未像北欧国家那样成为社会规范。我们需要采取果断行动，使FWA普及。能否引入FWA权利？这将使员工更容易开启FWA对话。我们可以从大型企业开始。这将为推广FWA和更好支持家庭，尤其是女性员工，提供真正动力。

主席：Louis Ng议员，您可以将您的两次发言合并。

延长托儿假

Louis Ng Kok Kwang议员：先生，年轻夫妇理所当然地担心是否有能力抚养孩子。现在不仅是“钱不够”，还有“时间和假期不够”。目前六天的托儿假和无薪婴儿照护假是不够的。孩子越多，假期不增加是不合理的。四个孩子的父母显然比一个孩子的父母需要更多假期。手足口病（HFMD）现在很常见，六天托儿假根本不够。我去年经历过，我的三个孩子连续得了手足口病。我的四岁孩子不得不缺课两周。

我甚至不确定有两个或以上孩子的父母在用完托儿假后是否还有足够的年假。能否考虑按孩子数量发放托儿假？对于有两个或以上孩子的父母，部长是否也考虑允许父母在孩子生病时使用病假？父母可提供孩子的医疗证明（MC）作为请假的凭证。

延长育儿假

先生，距离我提交关于为多胞胎或早产婴儿父母争取更多育儿假的休会动议已近两年。转眼间，我的双胞胎Katie和Poppy已经两岁了。从与死神搏斗，到现在争抢玩具。打嗝变成了放屁，哭泣变成了微笑和美妙的笑声。这段育儿旅程无价，我很高兴我们有三个健康快乐的女孩。

休会动议的发言让我回忆起Katie和Poppy早产、几乎失去生命的痛苦经历。我希望没有父母必须经历这种事，也希望通过我的分享，我们的政策会改变，且确实在改变。去年宣布将推出三方标准，鼓励雇主为多胞胎或早产婴儿的父母提供四周无薪假。

部长能否更新有多少雇主提供此假期？我了解到教育部也提供此假。部长能否确认整个公共服务部门是否已提供此无薪假？

议长：秩序。我建议现在休息。我宣布休会，下午2点45分继续主持会议。

会议于下午2点25分休会，至下午2点45分。

会议于下午2点45分恢复。

[议长主持]

[（程序文本）供应委员会辩论继续。]

[议长主持]

U项（续）–

人力部兼内政部第二部长（Josephine Teo女士）：主席先生，感谢发言的议员们。他们的观点和建议非常宝贵。在我的回应中，我将更新我们的人口策略和支持婚姻与生育的措施。

Lim Wee Kiak博士问我们如何在面对人口挑战时建设一个可持续且充满活力的全民新加坡。我们通过三大战略来实现。

我们管理人口的首要策略是确保始终有新一代新加坡人传承我们的遗产。我们希望新加坡成为“家庭的美好乐土”，让年轻夫妇感受到社会和国家对婚姻与生育的强力支持。

我们在这方面的表现如何？回答这个问题时，回顾较长时间的发展趋势是有益的。

过去五年公民出生的平均数高于之前的五年期。2014年至2018年，公民出生平均每年33,000人。2009年至2013年，平均每年31,400人。再往前看，2004年至2008年，平均每年32,000人。因此，最近五年平均每年33,000公民出生，之前五年31,400，再之前五年32,000，明显更高。

此外，许多新加坡人居住海外，过去五年我们每年约欢迎1,500名海外出生的公民婴儿。这个平均数也高于之前的五年期。2009年至2013年，海外公民出生平均约1,400人。2004年至2008年，平均约1,000人。

近期结婚人数也保持高位。事实上，过去五年结婚平均数显著高于过去十年。

与这些发展并列的是另一组力量。大多数年轻新加坡人仍希望结婚生子，Vikram Nair先生会很高兴知道这一点。根据2016年婚姻与生育调查，超过八成单身千禧一代表示有结婚意愿，超过九成已婚夫妇希望有两个或以上孩子。然而，他们也花更长时间寻找合适伴侣，晚些开始组建家庭。年轻新加坡人进入生育黄金期人数激增，可能会带来出生率激增，但在较晚阶段。我们认为这解释了新加坡总和生育率（TFR）2017年降至1.16，去年降至1.14的现象。但鉴于积极的婚姻趋势，我仍然乐观，认为当婴儿潮一代的子女开始生育时，TFR可能会回升。

为了让家庭继续成为社会基石，正如Alex Yam先生热情表达的，我们必须积极逆风而行，使婚姻和生育变得可实现、愉快且受庆祝。

新加坡仍有许多有利于养育孩子的条件。去年，新加坡在世界银行首届人力资本指数中排名第一。这意味着在世界银行调查的157个国家中，新加坡是孩子人力资本潜力最有可能得到优化的地方。同年，国际非政府组织“救助儿童会”也将新加坡评为儿童成长的最佳国家。

政府也逐步加强了我们的婚姻与生育礼包。Gan Thiam Poh先生和Desmond Choo先生询问了当前措施的进展和充分性。

主席先生，能否允许我分发一张表格，展示年轻夫妇今天可获得的主要婚姻与生育福利，与五年前相比的变化？

主席：可以。[向尊敬的议员们分发了资料。]

Josephine Teo女士：谢谢您，主席。首先，夫妇现在可以更早拥有第一套住房。等待时间较短的组屋——约两到三年，相较于典型的建屋发展局（BTO）组屋的三到四年——现已向他们开放。首批于2018年11月推出。那些有紧急住房需求或地点偏好的人，可以选择购买转售组屋，并获得最高12万新元的住房补贴，比2014年多4万新元。首次购房者购买非成熟区新组屋时，住房贷款月供通常不到他们合并月收入的四分之一，且因动用公积金储蓄，往往几乎无需现金支付。

第二，父母现在在育儿费用方面获得更多支持。第一胎出生时，他们通过新生儿医疗储蓄补助、婴儿奖金现金礼和儿童发展账户（CDA）可获得最高1.8万新元，比2014年多3,000新元。政府还会直接存入3,000新元的CDA首笔款项，无需父母先存款，减轻他们育儿初期的负担。

第三，在孩子学前阶段，夫妇更容易让孩子入读价格合理且质量良好的学前班。自2014年以来，早期儿童发展局（ECDA）已将全日制学前班名额增加超过50%。目前有17万个全日制学前名额。到2023年，将增至约20万个，三分之二的学前儿童将入读政府支持的学前班。

第四，在整个育儿过程中，随着家庭责任增加，夫妇现在有更强的支持来平衡工作与家庭责任。他们享有更优的育儿假规定，使父亲能更积极参与。父亲在孩子第一年可享有最多八周假期，是五年前的两倍。陪产假使用率令人鼓舞，从2014年的37%升至最近一批的53%。

我们也逐年增加带薪托儿假。目前，每位有七岁以下子女的父母每年有六天托儿假，子女在小学期间还有两天托儿假。

Louis Ng先生提出了进一步增加父母照顾子女假期的建议，Desmond Choo先生建议立法保障灵活工作安排。我们将持续审视扩大假期范围的可能性，但正如Douglas Foo先生提醒的，我们应谨慎强制企业承担更多责任，以免影响企业生存和就业。鉴于近期的改进，我希望议员们同意给予企业一些调整时间，再做进一步措施。

与此同时，推广工作应继续。这就是为什么我们去年推出三方标准，鼓励雇主在员工有突发照护需求时提供无薪假，包括多胞胎或早产婴儿，或家庭成员或子女住院。我必须感谢Louis Ng先生给我们这个想法。约450家雇主，合计超过224,000名员工，已采纳该标准。这包括拥有70多个机构的公共服务部门。我们将继续鼓励采纳该标准。

我还应该补充一点，父母更有可能从灵活工作安排（FWA）中受益。我们于2017年10月推出了三方灵活工作安排标准，并于去年7月推出了增强版工作与生活补贴，以更好地支持灵活工作安排的采用。该补贴在短短五个月内已收到超过340份申请。现在越来越多的工作场所支持灵活工作安排。大约53%的雇主现在至少提供一种正式的灵活工作安排，这可以是弹性工作时间、弹性工作地点或弹性工作量，而2014年这一比例为47%。事实上，这是我一直期待的一个重要转折点。潮流正在转变，我希望灵活工作安排今后会变得更加普遍。

然而，我也意识到年轻的新加坡人仍然有一些担忧，正如朱德明先生也提到的。

父母们提出了关于经济负担的担忧，比如学前教育费用。早期儿童发展局（ECDA）正在审查学前补贴框架，以使优质学前教育对父母更负担得起。社会及家庭发展部（MSF）将在其预算辩论中对此进行更新。

父母们可能还觉得需要跟上其他父母在教育上的高强度努力。例如，教育部（MOE）也对此表示关注。为了帮助我们的学生发现更多学习的乐趣并培养更强的内在学习动力，教育部正在减少校本评估的频率和重要性。学生的班级和年级排名将不会反映在成绩报告册中，以减少学生之间基于学业表现的不健康比较。

社会及家庭发展部还启动了“婴儿奖金育儿资源门户”，通过专家分享养育快乐健康孩子的技巧，增强育儿信心。

接下来，正如拉哈尤·马哈赞女士指出的，职场环境至关重要。人力部高级议会秘书刘燕玲将在人力部预算辩论中分享更多内容。

下午3点

总体而言，我感到鼓舞的是，越来越多的公司正在采取积极措施支持员工的照顾需求。一个例子是M Tech，这是一家专注于网络安全和网络性能解决方案的中小企业（SME）。我本周访问了M Tech。由于他们的许多员工是年轻父母，可能还需要照顾家中的长辈，M Tech决定为需要的员工提供灵活工作安排。这得益于信息技术工具，使员工能够远程工作且仍然高效。我见到了产品经理佩特琳，她在孩子患水痘和母亲住院期间能够远程办公。M Tech最初担心实现移动办公所需的投资，但后来发现收益非常值得。例如，它更能吸引和留住像佩特琳这样既高效又敬业的员工，佩特琳已在M Tech工作了11年。

除了工作灵活性之外，职场文化还有更深层次的问题。一些新加坡人确实工作时间很长，几乎没有时间约会或陪伴家人。休息和充电时间减少不仅影响员工的健康和福祉，也影响他们与亲人相处的时间。

随着工作的性质演变，组织采用新的工作方式以实现良好的业务成果，同时给予员工足够的休息时间充电，是有价值的。

例如，M Tech的员工可能会提前下班，去参加课程或接孩子放学。但他们会在晚上重新连接，完成一些时间敏感的任务，比如确认其他时区的销售订单，他们对此毫不介意，因为所需时间不长。

因此，我们希望更多雇主努力推广更可持续的工作实践，为了员工的利益，也为了企业的长期生存能力。

最后，随着晚婚晚育趋势，政府将审视对面临生育困难并希望接受辅助生殖技术治疗的夫妇的援助。

包括王廷坤先生、萨克提安迪·苏帕特先生和维克拉姆·奈尔先生在内的议员提出了加强婚姻和育儿支持的进一步措施建议。

我同意我们可以做得更多。然而，完全照搬其他国家的做法可能不会达到预期效果。例如，韩国投入大量资源模仿北欧国家，但其总和生育率并未改善，去年降至0.98。我认为这是韩国有记录以来的最低水平。

过去五年的努力虽显著，但可能需要更长时间才能见效。我们还需要更深层次的观念转变，以减轻育儿压力。

归根结底，婚姻和育儿是个人决定，受个人珍视的价值观影响，但也在很大程度上受社会规范、家庭、雇主和更广泛社会的影响。文化和社会因素起着重要作用。正如萨克提安迪·苏帕特先生和亚历克斯·严先生指出的，没有任何单一利益相关者能独自完全解决这些问题。

在这方面，我很高兴看到各社区利益相关者积极参与。

例如，“家庭为生活理事会”在工作场所和社区接触点提供一系列教育项目，还组织活动鼓励新加坡人将家庭生活置于优先位置。

在文礼选区，一群年轻父母在人民协会举办的“拥抱父母身份”社区庆典上相识后，成立了家长支持小组。该小组每季度聚会一次，分享儿童发展、婴儿营养及其他育儿技巧。

这些大小不一的努力在让育儿变得愉快和受欢迎方面发挥了重要作用。我们欢迎更多此类举措。

未来几个月，国家人口与人才司（NPTD）将启动咨询程序，倾听新加坡人关于组建家庭的需求和关切，以及政府和社区如何更好地支持他们的愿望。我也感谢议员们的建议，其中有许多很好的例子。萨克提安迪·苏帕特先生建议设立备用照护服务。因此，我邀请所有利益相关者加入我们，共同创造和塑造政策。我们将很快公布咨询程序的更多细节。

主席先生，我花了一些时间重申我们支持婚姻和育儿的承诺。我们管理人口的第二大战略是保持移民流动的谨慎平衡。我们的移民政策核心目标是维持稳定的公民人口，保持经济活力和社会凝聚力。

与过去几年类似，2018年我们授予了约22,600个新加坡公民身份，其中1,600个是海外出生的新加坡公民子女。去年授予了32,700个永久居民身份，永久居民人口保持在约52万人左右。

正如林伟杰博士和颜添宝先生提到的，公民应有强烈的身份认同感和归属感。我们也同意法蒂玛·拉蒂夫教授的观点，选择新公民的标准很重要。

为此，我们定期审查移民框架。我们在授予永久居民和公民身份时保持高度选择性。在所有情况下，我们都会考虑申请人的年龄、家庭状况、经济贡献以及融入能力等因素。我们寻找与新加坡生活方式、价值观和规范的根植性和认同感的标志。

家庭关系和居住时间是强有力的指标。因此，近年来获得公民身份的成年人中，有四分之一与新加坡人有家庭关系；六成以上在新加坡居住至少10年；每年大多数新公民处于年轻和黄金工作年龄。我们将继续谨慎管理移民。

主席先生，我们建设可持续人口的第三大战略同样重要，即让新加坡人优雅且有意义地老去。

联合国（UN）将人口老龄化描述为我们时代的一个决定性特征。在亚洲，日本是首个快速老龄化的国家。新加坡与韩国、香港和台湾不相上下。如今，我们的预期寿命位居世界第三。幸运的是，更多的寿命是在健康状态下度过的。

我们并非对这一发展无动于衷，而是采取多种方式帮助新加坡人享受有成效的长寿。这始于能够保持活跃，有机会工作（如果长者愿意），并加强退休保障支持。

自20世纪80年代以来，我们已采取措施为老龄社会做准备。公积金（CPF）多年来不断完善。除了住房拥有权外，它现在还帮助新加坡人储蓄医疗需求，并在退休时获得终身支付。

除了CPF终身计划，政府还推出了社区健康援助计划（CHAS）、银发支持计划、医疗保险终身计划（MediShield Life）以及现在的护理终身计划（CareShield Life），帮助家庭更好照顾长者。对于医疗储蓄较少的年长新加坡人，我们提供了先驱和独立世代计划，重点是保持优质医疗服务的可负担性。此外，还有定期补充以增强退休储蓄。

正如最近关于有意义老龄化的议会动议所确认的，我们应继续完善政策以支持长者不断变化的需求。例如，越来越多长者希望延长工作时间。55至64岁年龄段的就业率已是全球最高之一，且仍在上升。作为人力部长，我成立了三方老年员工工作组。稍后辩论中，我将更新工作组的讨论情况，以回应颜添宝先生关于支持长者就业的关切。

在社区层面，我们也在更新照顾长者的方式，例如通过创新且获奖的解决方案如“甘榜阿德米拉蒂”。我的卫生部同事将在其预算辩论中分享更多内容。主席先生，若获允许，我想用中文结束发言。

（中文发言）：[请参阅方言发言稿。] 主席先生，我们将继续加强努力，使新加坡成为家庭的理想之地。

过去五年，婚姻和公民出生趋势令人鼓舞。2014年至2018年间，公民出生平均每年约33,000例。此前两个五年期的年均数较低，2009年至2013年为31,400，2004年至2008年为32,000。结婚人数也在上升。

近年来，我们在住房、育儿成本、学前教育以及平衡工作与家庭责任等方面显著加强了对婚姻和育儿的支持。与五年前相比，年轻父母获得的支持大大提升。

政府加强支持的同时，我们也需要全社会共同努力，使新加坡成为家庭的理想之地。例如，雇主和同事可以通过满足父母对灵活工作安排的需求来提供帮助。社区组织也可以庆祝育儿并在同伴间建立支持网络。

未来几个月，我们将启动咨询程序，倾听新加坡人关于组建家庭的需求和关切。我们希望各利益相关者继续反馈意见，并加入我们，共同打造真正的家庭理想之地。

主席：达里尔·大卫先生。

数字国家惠及新加坡人

达里尔·大卫先生（宏茂桥）：主席先生，智慧国计划于2014年底启动，旨在应用数字和智能解决方案，为居民和企业提供更优质的服务。

自启动以来，智慧国计划开展了众多试点项目和试验，其中一些，如公共交通的非接触式支付和远程医疗，已开始见效。尽管如此，这些举措似乎多为独立项目，政府机构和法定机构各自推出自己的计划。

请问总理办公室能否详细说明指导智慧国计划的更大国家叙事，以及该计划如何为公民和企业带来切实利益？

此外，是否有意开展公私合作，将现有举措商业化，以便私营部门为终端用户带来更多利益？

以人为本的智慧国

田佩玲女士（麦波申）：以人为本是智慧国努力的核心。解决方案应针对现代问题，使城市生活更便捷。这些问题可能包括交通、能源效率、公共安全、公共卫生、公民参与、隐私和网络安全。智慧国必须成功。我们需要争取公民和企业的支持。利益必须真实，才能让他们信服。因此，设计以公民或用户为中心的解决方案至关重要。

在爱沙尼亚，政府使用X-Road为公民带来了诸多便利，使生活在各个层面更轻松，并促进了对智慧政府的支持和信任。据估计，X-Road每年为国家和公民节省超过820年工作时间。安全的数字身份（ID）还使爱沙尼亚人能够高效且安全地完成交易。例如，孩子出生时，医院将信息录入与国家人口登记处相连的数据库。信息自动共享给各政府系统，确保孩子获得医疗和教育等社会福利。

鉴于我们的愿景和其他国家的经验，政府将如何确保服务以公民为中心？虽然政府计划使服务更加数据驱动和前瞻性，公民和企业还能期待从智慧国努力中获得哪些更多利益？

下午3点15分

公共机构的个人数据

林秀玉女士：数字防御现已成为全面防御的第六支柱，所有人包括政府都承担责任。

今年2月12日，通讯及资讯部长向议会表示，政府科技局（GovTech）全面负责数据的安全和保障系统，负责进行多项审查，确保政府机构遵守操作手册及其他规定。

我想问，GovTech是否具体监督公共机构内公民个人数据的保护，防止滥用、黑客攻击或泄露。例如，GovTech是否审计公共机构的数据和隐私保护措施？鉴于已发生的风险和泄露事件，政府是否考虑发布公共机构网络安全准备情况的年度报告，以向公民提供一定的保障，并鼓励达到高标准？

其次，虽然有法规惩罚不遵守保密义务的公务员，但对于数据被泄露的无辜者，政府的立场如何？例如，最近有报道称一名站长非法访问警方计算机系统，查看一名男子的电话记录，怀疑其与其妻子有外遇。在此类情况下，是否有指导方针规定是否应告知受影响者及告知的时间框架？此类信息对受害者保护自身和及时寻求救济至关重要。

最后，在最近关于艾滋病毒（HIV）登记册泄露的辩论中，政府告诉议会，数据泄露者可起诉卫生部。除了对政府提起昂贵诉讼外，受害者还能通过何种方式获得赔偿？

智慧国计划

傅志庆先生：主席先生，我的发言聚焦于我们的智慧国愿景和计划。我们的智慧国愿景很好。数字政府将实现政府一体化和无缝运作，带来更好的政策和运营。数字经济将提升企业生产力，创造未来的新工作和机会。数字社会将让人民享受更大便利、更多机会和更高生活质量。

自2014年底智慧国计划启动以来，在应用数字和智能解决方案为公民和企业提供更好服务方面取得了良好进展。

推出的几个优秀项目值得称赞。“生命时刻”计划就是一个好例子——一个一站式应用，帮助新加坡人迎接新生儿并养育幼儿。新父母可以通过单一申请注册新生儿出生并申请婴儿奖金激励。对于学龄前儿童，家长可以搜索幼儿园，查看孩子的医疗数据。对于许多进入激动人心且忙碌育儿旅程的父母来说，一站式应用的便利性相比需要浏览多个机构和网站，带来了切实利益。

另一个好项目是推出了MyInfo Business，允许中小企业访问129项政府电子服务和143项私营部门电子服务。

然而，这些举措只是实现智慧国目标的一小步。技术发展迅速，过去不可能的事情现在已成为可能。

我想请部长提供一个关于我们未来几年将实施的项目的最新情况，以便我们实现智慧国愿景。

为未来做准备

主席先生，我接下来的发言是关于为未来做准备。尽管缺乏传统的生产要素，如土地、劳动力和资本，新加坡仍然能够在从第三世界国家转变为今天的第一世界国家的过程中战胜困难。我们的成功归功于强有力且诚实的领导、包容的多种族社会以及自力更生和相互支持的文化。

今天，我们面临一系列新的挑战——人口老龄化、更加严峻的基础设施和人力资源限制，仅举几例。

在全球数字革命的背景下，新加坡必须加快社会和经济的转型，以保持竞争力，否则将面临被淘汰的风险。数字经济带来了许多好处：更高的生产力、更好的生活质量、更好的就业机会、降低企业运营成本，等等。由于这些对公民和企业的显著益处，世界上许多城市和国家也在开展类似的数字化努力。让我举一个例子。

2018年10月，阿联酋在迪拜国际机场启动了全球首个生物识别通道试点。这允许通过智能移民通道使用生物识别技术，旅客无需在柜台停留即可通过移民检查。通过采用这些技术，阿联酋计划在2020年前逐步取消机场移民官员。

随着其他国家开展类似的数字化努力，政府在智慧国方面做了哪些工作，以确保我们保持相关性和全球竞争力？

主席：张世乐先生。您可以将您的两段发言合并。

智慧国中的企业

智慧国合作伙伴关系

张世乐先生（巴西立-榜鹅）：我们已经分享了成为智慧国的愿景，并且已经有相关的公告和项目实施。通过智慧国，我们有许多机会帮助活跃所有初创企业和本地企业。智慧国项目被寄予厚望，希望为企业带来效率、效能以及商业机会，特别是在科技商业社区中。

然而，到目前为止，兴趣似乎有所减弱，许多人认为他们预期的机会并未出现。那么，我想知道，相关部委或总理办公室（PMO）能否更新智慧国项目迄今为止对企业在机会和经营方面的影响？

私营部门，尤其是科技企业，已经启动了许多项目。我们应该能够利用这些初创企业或开发这些技术的公司，特别是当他们在人工智能、机器学习或自动化方面开发了先进的尖端技术时。GovTech无需再设立另一个小组或委员会来重新开发或重新发明轮子。它可以与这些公司合作，进行试点和测试过程。许多技术已经经过市场验证。在GovTech或政府内部设立另一个重大项目之前，请考虑这些公司。他们可以提供良好且更有效的帮助。

请总理办公室向商业界更新智慧国项目中有哪些可用的举措，以及未来将有哪些机会。

主席：翁丁坤先生不在。维克拉姆·奈尔先生。

智慧国

维克拉姆·奈尔先生：主席先生，新加坡政府在推动新加坡成为智慧国方面走在前列。GovTech确保越来越多的政府服务可以在线提供，并且易于在线使用。这值得称赞。

然而，智慧国虽然由智慧政府领导，但也需要“智慧”的私营部门充分利用这些进展。

在这方面，政府如何让私营部门和科技社区参与智慧国的推动？我们在来年可以期待哪些新举措？

智慧国与数字包容

拉哈尤·马哈赞女士：智慧国的努力值得称赞。我们必须跟上全球变化的发展，确保公民能够受益于最新技术，从而享有更好的生活质量。智慧技术也可以用来使社会更加包容。例如，陆路交通管理局（LTA）正在试用一款新的移动应用，使有特殊需要的人士出行更便捷。

不过，有些人担心我们变革过快，社区中存在一些弱势群体可能无法跟上变化。有些人担心老年人数字技能不足，难以适应变化。还有人担心低收入家庭可能无法获得新设备甚至互联网。我们需要确保这些群体不会被排除在外，实际上能够从智慧国举措中受益。

请问相关部委能否更新迄今为止所采取的努力，并详细说明智慧国如何惠及上述弱势群体？

主席：外交部长维文·巴拉克里希南。

外交部长（维文·巴拉克里希南博士）：主席先生，我代表政府的首席极客——李显龙总理发言。

我们在利用最新数字技术方面取得了重大进展，首先是创造新就业岗位；其次是为工人提供新岗位的再培训；第三是重组经济以提升竞争力；第四是改善日常生活质量；第五，当然是提升以公民为中心的政府服务整合交付。

我要感谢傅建业先生、陈佩玲女士和维克拉姆·奈尔先生，他们正确地强调了关键不在于技术本身，而在于我们如何利用技术以及技术如何惠及我们的日常生活。

主席先生，允许我展示一张信息图，介绍我们的智慧国项目及其里程碑，并请书记员分发打印件。

主席：请展示。[向尊敬的议员们分发了资料。]

维文·巴拉克里希南博士：谢谢。首先，我们专注于提升日常生活的便利性。MyInfo项目允许您在线开设银行账户或申请信用卡，并通过安全共享数据几乎即时获得批准。SingPass Mobile是一款应用，允许公民通过生物识别认证登录政府服务，无需密码。我很高兴地报告，自四个月前推出以来，已有20万人使用该系统。PayNow注册用户达到230万。事实上，鲜为人知的是，您如果将身份证号码绑定到PayNow，可以快速甚至几乎即时收到新加坡奖金、教育储蓄奖，甚至更具政治意义的公积金一次性付款，而无需等待支票邮寄。

Moments of Life应用帮助家长管理孩子的早期成长阶段。迄今已有2000个出生通过一份自动填写的电子表格完成注册。我忘了确认陈佩玲女士是否使用了该应用。还没有。那下次吧。这是陈振声部长刚才描述的服务交付方式的一部分。经过我和张玉清女士的呼吁，陈佩玲女士应该会使用下一次。我们相信这些改进将帮助我们节省时间、降低交易成本并提高效率。

第二，智慧国还努力营造更安全的生活环境。我们正在试用一款新的个人警报按钮，供老年人在跌倒后呼救，尤其是在他们无法动弹时。卡文温部长最近描述他跌倒并骨折手臂时的剧痛让我深刻体会到这一点。正如您昨天在他的Facebook帖子中看到的，这种情况并非个例。许多老年人在家中遇到紧急情况时无法动弹，需要呼救。这是一个直接改善个人生活的例子。

另一个例子是溺水检测系统帮助我们的救生员保障社区游泳池安全。国家环境局（NEA）已安装5万个智能Gravitrap陷阱，用于监测和消灭传播登革热的埃及伊蚊繁殖地。

MyResponder应用迄今已帮助至少13名心脏病发作患者获救。但比应用和技术更重要的是，这体现了技术使我们能够表达彼此关怀的能力。

第三，我们的举措使做生意更容易。我们持续提供更多选择和更好的电子支付互操作性。去年，智慧国与数字政府集团（SNDGG）、新加坡金融管理局（MAS）和信息通信媒体发展局（IMDA）共同推出了统一的新加坡二维码（SGQR）标准，电子转账网络（NETS）已在全国部署了5万个统一销售点终端。这些举措帮助商户为消费者提供更大便利，减少现金使用。在智慧国，我们必须始终以数据为驱动。因此，我询问后获悉，电子支付金额已增至自动柜员机（ATM）现金取款的三倍以上。我们正朝着正确方向前进。

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NETS还被指定统一小贩中心和咖啡店的电子支付环境。这将整合不同的电子支付方式，更重要的是加快小贩的结算速度，使他们能在次日收到款项。

自去年8月推出以来，已有超过8万家企业注册使用PayNow企业版。与个人一样，企业现在可以即时发送和接收付款。PayNow举措促使支票使用量降至银行间转账量的20%。这也是朝着正确方向的进展。

MyInfo Business允许多达22万家中小企业轻松快速地开设银行账户和申请贷款。税务局（IRAS）已试点通过国家数字身份（API）实现从企业会计软件直接提交商品及服务税（GST）申报，并计划推广至所有注册GST企业。网络贸易平台缩短了贸易许可证申请时间，从几天缩短至一小时。这减轻了行政负担，使创业者能专注于业务增长，而非应对繁琐手续。

张世乐先生和维克拉姆·奈尔先生询问了我们的未来举措。我们将继续提升数字服务的可访问性和整合性。我们将增强SingPass Mobile，使其可用于安全登录部分私营部门应用。安全当然是我们的核心关注。高级国务部长贾尼尔·普图切里将回答林淑仪女士关于安全的问题，因为没有安全，许多智慧国举措将面临风险。

我们将扩展Moments of Life服务，帮助公民应对人生重大转折点，如出生、入学、结婚，甚至包括生命终结事宜。我们将赋能老年人过更积极的生活。卫生部将在其环节中分享更多。我们将继续提升日常生活便利性。

Parking.SG已被超过60%的车主使用，我们希望不仅让支付停车费更便捷，还能帮助他们更容易找到停车位。今年，GovTech、城市重建局（URA）和市政服务办公室（MSO）将试点安装智能传感器，实时向寻找车位的人提供路边停车位的可用信息。

建屋发展局（HDB）正致力于打造更智能的城镇，以优化土地、基础设施和公用设施，并利用数字工具促进居民互动和社区形成。这将使我们的心脏地带更宜居、高效、可持续且安全。

企业可以期待更多数字工具，提升新加坡境内及跨境的连接性。信息通信媒体发展局（IMDA）推出新的国家电子发票标准，将加快企业开票和付款速度。做生意的人都知道，现金流速度对企业至关重要。

我们正在简化政府交易。财政部长提到一个试点门户网站，帮助多达1.8万家餐饮服务公司简化许可证申请流程。任何尝试开餐厅的人都知道需要提交许多申请。我们将努力简化流程，消除重复申请，减少繁文缛节，加快审批速度。未来我们希望将此举推广至其他行业。

我们的目标是整合所有这些服务，帮助企业开拓与消费者及其他企业的新连接方式，并与政府进行交易。SNDGG并非独自完成此任务。我们不是一个部委，而是视自己为整个政府的共享平台。数字政府蓝图要求政府在2023年前实现数字化核心。许多机构已实施或正在实施新的数字举措，以实现这一目标。

让我再举一个例子。卫生部推出了Healthy 365，过去四年保持了170万用户的活跃度。许多人告诉我他们喜欢国家步数挑战赛，我尤其感兴趣地看到许多非技术人员佩戴活动追踪器。这不仅因为健康促进局（HPB）免费赠送，更因为社区活动和健康积分及折扣的结合。当然，新加坡人对健康的追求也起了作用。重点是我们利用技术每天改善健康。

文化、社区及青年部（MCCY）最近推出了中央志愿者管理系统，以深化志愿者参与和招募。六个公共机构现使用volunteer.sg管理超过2万名活跃志愿者。MCCY将在其环节中分享更多。

我已经描述了智慧国为公民带来的一系列现有和即将到来的好处。但我也同意陈佩玲女士的观点，我们必须继续以公民为中心，提供整合的服务。在未来几年，随着我们数字基础设施的扩展产生的数据，我们可以期待服务变得更加个性化，更加贴合公民的个人需求，更加响应迅速。当人们在线购物、在线互动，尤其是与私营部门互动时，期望值提高，他们也期望政府能够以同样个性化、响应迅速的方式回应。

我们将通过更好地利用人工智能来实现这一目标，我们相信这将极大改善我们的生活和经济。让我花些时间与议员们分享我们在人工智能领域的工作。人工智能，特别是深度机器学习，近年来彻底改变了局面。人工智能已经开始影响我们的日常生活。如果我们停下来想想，手机中的语音助手、语言翻译、全球定位系统（GPS）优化、信用卡欺诈警报，所有这些都在过去两年内受益于人工智能的进步。

我刚才提到政府已在游泳池溺水检测中使用人工智能。我们还将其用于SkillsFuture的欺诈检测和本地语音识别。事实上，今年人工智能语音识别已用于辅助转录内阁部长演讲稿，因此准确度应有所提高。即使您指出错误，也将帮助我们改进系统。

傅建业先生问智慧国如何保持我们的相关性。人工智能、数据分析、机器人技术和自动化是我们重组经济的关键要素。我们需要通过创造新的增长引擎实现生产力的飞跃。政府需要升级我们的技术架构，以更好地响应公民需求和日益激烈的市场竞争。我们相信新加坡在人工智能方面有良好基础，这得益于SNDGG、通信及信息部（MCI）和经济机构的多机构合作。

国家研究基金会（NRF）成立了AI Singapore，将所有相关研究机构和人工智能初创企业聚集在一起。GovTech将设立数据科学和人工智能卓越中心，帮助其他机构部署这些人工智能解决方案和技术。最后，通信及信息部正在制定指导方针，鼓励负责任和安全地使用人工智能，例如伊斯瓦兰部长最近宣布的《人工智能治理模型框架》。

我们需要加倍努力。今年，一个跨部门工作组将研究新加坡如何将人工智能（AI）发展为战略能力，并成为一个值得信赖的全球测试平台，特别是在像我们这样高度城市化的城市环境中，推动和扩大AI解决方案的应用。对市民来说，这意味着无论是政府还是私营部门，都将提供新的、更好的服务。前景非常乐观。麦肯锡已经确定了160个可以利用AI实现社会公益的用例。例如，AI可以“根据学生过去的成功和对材料的参与情况推荐内容”，并且“及早发现学生的困扰”。基本上，这意味着我们谈论的分流和学科分组仍然相关。但要真正为个体定制教育旅程，有时甚至将其游戏化，将为我们的学生提供更有帮助的教育体验。

我们还预见AI将在城市场景中实现优化，例如优化我们的交通信号灯网络和预测性维护公共基础设施。换句话说，就是确保设施不发生故障，或在潜在问题导致故障之前识别出来。我们预见AI将在金融、物流和网络安全领域的应用。事实上，已经有许多本地公司活跃在这些及其他领域。这是回应张世乐议员的提问。我们希望与这些公司共同开发新的AI解决方案。

为了扩大AI的发展规模，我们正致力于普及数据和AI工具的访问，使每个人都能学习和尝试AI解决方案。我们希望支持中小企业采用AI，并与政府合作开展相关用例。我们将扩大政府与私营部门的合作。一个例子是AI新加坡的“100个实验”计划，帮助企业与AI专家一起解决自身的实际业务问题。该计划还将引入AI学徒与业界共同培训。换句话说，我们正在将企业与主要专家以及希望学习并进入该行业的人才连接起来。

最后，我们将培养本地AI专业知识，并装备每个人以受益于AI能力。这意味着在学校教授计算思维和数据素养，并培训成人掌握数据科学和AI技能。在这听起来太吓人之前，我想说，我们并不期望每个人都成为AI专家。但请将未来的AI视为你今天看待文字处理的方式。它是一种通用技术，我们希望我们的劳动力能够使用AI工具，有意义地参与未来由AI驱动的经济，确保获得好工作，提高生产力并增加工资。

所以，让我以重申显而易见的事实来结束。智慧国最终是为了改善生活和生计。到目前为止，我们做得相当不错。新加坡在2018年巴塞罗那世界智慧城市奖中获得城市奖，这证明了智慧国为新加坡人带来的切实利益以及我们获得的国际认可。尽管如此，我们不能自满，因为技术变革的速度极其迅猛。政府将继续通过“Scale-Up SG”、“企业融资计划”和“中小企业数字化”等举措支持本地企业，正如许文强部长在预算演讲中提到的。我也认同拉哈尤·马哈赞女士关于数字准备和包容性的关切，资深国务部长贾尼尔·普图切里将详细介绍我们将开展的特殊包容性举措，确保没有公民被落下。

但这些挑战和所有这些变革也为新加坡带来了许多机遇，尤其是对于一个拥有勤奋、有纪律、高学历人口的城市国家来说。在这样的世界中，我们拥有不成比例的机会。我们呼吁公民和企业与我们同行，充分利用我们的比较优势，利用我们已建立的资源和基础设施，共同创造未来的解决方案。如果我们这样做，主席先生，我们都能在未来数年乃至数十年中共享智慧国的成果。

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主席：资深国务部长贾尼尔·普图切里。

通讯及资讯部和交通部资深国务部长（贾尼尔·普图切里博士）：主席先生，如果我可以接着范文芳部长的号召，呼吁我们所有人参与新加坡的智慧国愿景。政府无法单独实现这一目标，不能仅凭意志力、愿望或演讲来实现。我们需要人民和企业的创意与能力。作为一个国家，每个人都需要成为智慧国旅程的一部分。

我们并不垄断最佳创意和人才。我们需要为公民、社区伙伴和企业创造机会，让他们有意义地参与智慧国。

张世乐议员和维克拉姆·奈尔议员询问了政府、企业和科技社区之间的合作。我们促进企业更大参与的方式之一是建立名为CODEX的系统，即核心运营、开发环境和交换平台，这是一个共享的数字骨干，其中一部分是新加坡政府技术堆栈。该平台可用于构建应用程序和数字服务。CODEX将是模块化、可互操作的，未来将允许与政府外部各方接口。

作为CODEX的一部分，我们正与公共机构合作，将其信息通信技术系统迁移至商业云。也就是说，政府及公共机构的系统将运行在商业云上，这将使我们能够利用领先的私营部门能力，更好地为市民构建产品和服务。

我们也积极吸纳科技社区参与。一个例子是名为“Kill The Queue”的手机应用，允许购物者通过手机扫描并支付商品，从而节省排队时间。该应用由GovTech工程师团队构思，随后与淡马锡理工学院学生合作，作为学生的毕业设计项目开发原型。这种合作也让学生通过解决现实挑战提升技能。因此，通过企业合作，政府构建的平台和产品实现互操作性，为企业创造机会，与学生和学术界分享创意，推动他们开发现实解决方案。

议员们可能听说过“开发者大会”或DevCon。这些通常由苹果、谷歌或脸书等科技公司举办，旨在吸引工程师和科技商业社区利用该公司拥有的产品或平台。例如，苹果iPhone操作系统（iOS）开发者大会或脸书开发者大会，软件开发者和企业利用这些时间思考如何更好地利用产品服务自身业务，并通过反馈改进产品。

为了促进与社区的更大合作，并展望私营部门如何构建叠加或接口于智慧国平台的产品，我们举办了首届开发者大会——GovTech STACK DevCon 2018。据我所知（尚未完全核实），这是迄今为止唯一由政府主导的开发者大会。该活动吸引了来自私营部门、政府、公共部门和科技社区的1200多名参与者。

此外，我们还支持黑客马拉松。议员们可能听说过黑客马拉松。那么，开发者大会和黑客马拉松有什么区别？开发者大会由拥有产品、解决方案或平台的组织者举办，目的是询问社区如何利用该产品更好地完成任务，如何改进产品。而黑客马拉松则是参与者提出创意，解决他们关心的问题，政府也支持此类活动。这为科技社区提供了聚集、相互学习、构思和构建产品的平台。我们支持的黑客马拉松包括“Startup Weekend Singapore Mega 2018”和由星展银行、GovTech及新加坡科技设计大学（SUTD）联合举办的“智慧城市挑战赛”。

我们的推广工作也超越了科技社区，因为我们需要一个惠及各行各业公民的智慧国。

我们通过名为“与人民共创智慧国”（SCOPE）的项目积极与公民互动。SCOPE是一个平台，让我们向市民展示数字产品或创意的早期原型。例如，范文芳部长提到的警报按钮，在设计和构思的早期阶段，只要有实体产品，我们就鼓励参与者试用、测试，并利用他们的反馈改进产品开发流程。这在私营部门很常见，但现在我们开始在公共部门的智慧国解决方案开发中采用这些方法。

我们在四个月内在长者活动中心、基层活动和全国职工总会（NTUC）活动中开展了一系列互动，覆盖了3500多名公民，收集了许多有用的见解和建议。

其中一个例子是长者对“生命时刻”应用中积极老龄化服务的接受度。初步调查显示，大多数60岁及以上长者拥有智能手机，并愿意使用数字服务。他们还反馈了如何设计易用的应用，以及如何为长者提供支持和辅导，使他们能够使用这些应用并受益。这些都将帮助我们开发和提供更好的产品、服务和体验。

我们将继续扩大这些努力。为了让更多来自不同背景的新加坡人参与智慧国，我们将与全国职工总会签署谅解备忘录，进一步吸引工人及其家庭，帮助他们充分利用新工作和机会。

我同意拉哈尤·马哈赞女士的观点，即在推进智慧国建设的同时，我们必须确保智慧国包容并惠及所有新加坡人。

我们致力于数字包容和数字准备，确保每个人都能获得技术带来的机会。我将在通讯及资讯部部长的答问环节中详细介绍更广泛的数字准备工作。但智慧国与数字政府集团将确保政府的数字服务设计惠及所有人。

作为政府改善网站可用性努力的一部分，我们制定了一套政府机构的数字服务标准（DSS）。

例如，建屋发展局（HDB）的“MyNiceHome”网站是一个为首次置业者提供购房和装修信息的门户网站，已全面重新设计。该网站实现了移动响应式设计，增加了多种搜索和辅助功能，内容也对残障人士更为友好。结果，网站流量显著增加。

西尔维娅·林议员询问了公共部门的数据保护。政府确实应对其收集的数据承担高标准保护责任。在智慧国与数字政府集团，我们的职责不仅是交付优质产品，还包括为公共部门制定和维护高标准的数据保护。

政府逐步加强了安全措施以保护敏感数据。2016年推出了互联网冲浪隔离政策，2017年禁止未经授权设备访问USB端口。我们还增加了内部IT审计的数量和类型，以检查机构的数据访问和保护措施。作为惯例，机构仅在必要时使用可识别数据，例如提供个性化服务。

我们将持续审查标准和措施，吸取经验教训并采纳行业最佳实践。例如，我们将逐步实现用户账户管理自动化，确保严格且稳健的访问控制。

如果市民怀疑其数据被滥用或遭黑客攻击，可以向相关机构投诉，如有犯罪嫌疑，也可向警方报案。他们也可以直接联系GovTech。我们有数据处理指南和应有的协议。投诉将被彻底调查并采取适当行动。除此之外，还有其他相关问题和后果，我们愿意探讨如何帮助和支持他们。

为了构建智慧国平台和产品，吸引科技社区和企业参与，制定并执行公共部门的严格标准，以及为新加坡人创造就业和机会，我们需要培养强大的工程技术核心。我们一直在寻找工程人才加入。我们寻找头脑聪明、具备计算设计眼光并有志为社会贡献的人才。政府为工程师提供了令人兴奋的机会。

我想举一个具体例子，劳拉·李女士。议员们可能熟悉或不熟悉李女士的第一任雇主King.com，这是一家软件开发商。我猜有些议员可能更熟悉他们的产品之一——《糖果传奇》。李女士在King.com工作期间，帮助《糖果传奇》成为史上最畅销游戏之一。她读到GovTech工程师如何利用数据解决2016年环线地铁神秘故障的报道。看到数据科学家解决现实问题的努力，李女士受到启发，回国加入我们。她目前是GovTech的数据科学家，致力于改善政府数字服务，如交通路线规划和就业匹配。像许多工程师一样，她还参与团队内的其他项目，作为个人职业发展的一部分。目前，她参与一个团队，尝试利用技术、机器学习和智慧国平台鼓励更多回收。这是她在参加黑客马拉松时发起的项目，利用技能追求她关心的事。

李女士并非计算机科学专业毕业。她的专业是数学、经济学和统计学。在大学期间，为了修读某门课程，她学习了R语言（一种专注于统计的编程语言），她利用R解决问题并将解决方案应用于工作，激发了她对编码和数据科学的兴趣。如今，她熟悉多种编程语言——Python、CSS、Javascript和HTML——这些都是她工作后自学的。最近，她作为内部黑客马拉松项目开发了一个全栈网页应用。

我要强调的是：李女士的故事，以及许多类似她的人的经历，证明智慧国创造的机会不仅仅属于少数人，而是希望尽可能广泛，包括创造的就业机会。这不仅仅是为目前攻读计算机科学课程或参与机器人课外活动的学生准备的。顺便说一句，李女士的课外活动是曲棍球和学生会。离校前不必掌握所有编程技能，重要的是拥有动力、好奇心和终身学习新技能的意愿。

智慧国是全国性的努力，我们智慧国与数字政府集团将尽力与公民和企业紧密合作，为新一代新加坡人创造就业、机会以及转型和乐观的氛围。

主席：普里塔姆·辛格先生。

改进选举流程

普里坦·辛格议员（阿裕尼选区）：主席先生，2015年，工人党非选区议员易仁忠指出，选举区划审查委员会（EBRC）报告的完整性多年来一直在缩减，并要求公布委员会报告的会议记录。对此，首相回应说，关于报告和会议记录的完整性，“我把这个交给委员会决定”。尽管首相表示他不赞成公布会议记录中反映的每一个细节变化，但对于是否发布更完整的报告，首相并未明确表态。看来，如果政府决定，这种情况是可以改变的，因为EBRC的职权范围是由首相本人确定的。我希望我们能摆脱这些循环往复的辩解，未来能向公众提供一份详细说明为何在每个选区中，组屋代表选区（GRC）和单一选区（SMC）的特定选区被移动或交换的报告。

此外，政府为何不将EBRC的成立作为惯例进行宣布？如果议员在选举即将来临的传闻中不得不向首相提出同样的国会质询，这不仅浪费国会时间，甚至有近乎滥用程序之嫌。借此机会，我想询问EBRC是否已经成立？

2013年，副总理张志贤表示，首相肯定会保持开放态度，并在必要时考虑对程序进行改进。我希望关于委员会报告更详尽内容以及成立委员会时的公告建议能被采纳。

下午4时

最后，宣布选举部将举办巡回讲座，教育选民了解议会选举制度的变更，特别是选民的电子登记。首相能否向议会更新此事，以及将为此举办多少场巡回讲座，地点和时间安排如何？

主席：陈振声部长。

陈振声部长：主席先生，我代表首相发言。首相历来惯例是在大选前任命EBRC，审查选区的数量、名称和边界。委员会由熟悉人口变动和统计的高级公务员组成。审查报告作为白皮书提交国会，并在政府接受后向公众发布。

在制定建议时，委员会遵循首相制定的职权范围。委员会独立考虑和决定选区的划分、规模和配置，以及议员总数。审查选区边界时，委员会会考虑技术因素，如人口增长和迁移及其他相关参数。

作为惯例，我们应让委员会专注于其专业工作，避免不必要的媒体关注或公众压力。与以往选举一样，从委员会审查报告公开到选举举行之间有充足时间，供候选人和政党做准备。

关于普里坦·辛格议员的第二个问题，EBRC是否已成立，答案是否定的。至于巡回讲座的数量，我们在上次总统选举前已举办过，并将在下一次大选前继续举办。

主席：吴佩孝副教授。

补贴股市

吴佩孝副教授（非选区议员）：主席先生，新加坡金融管理局（MAS）最近宣布了一项7500万新元计划，以促进股票研究和股票上市。新加坡股票市场资助计划（GEMS）将共同承担公司上市费用和股票研究人员薪资的50%至70%。

批评者认为这只是向问题投入资金，却未解决股市低迷的根本问题。

对于中小市值股，主要问题似乎是缺乏企业治理的专业知识和经验。在谈论投资者热情之前，我们应先解决散户对中小市值股的信心问题。首次上市时常有热情，往往受到分析师积极报道的鼓励，但这种热情很容易因企业治理问题导致股价崩溃。

近期例子包括电商初创公司Y Ventures和餐饮公司Kimly，这些事件影响了散户信心。诺博集团的重组未获允许重新上市，海峡集团（Hyflux）目前的重组以避免清盘，也进一步影响了信心。

对于诺博和海峡集团，分析师报告对教育散户了解其现金流问题影响甚微。股东维权和学术审查更能揭示潜在问题，但往往对散户来说为时已晚。新加坡股票市场资助计划（GEMS）是否更适合资助项目，指导中小市值公司改善企业治理和提升表现？

企业治理问题

陈立丰议员（非选区议员）：主席先生，去年国会讨论了吉宝海洋与海事集团的贪腐案。许多人疑惑为何如此巨额的贿赂支付未受到最高管理层或董事会的监督。与Swiber案类似，我们仍在等待吉宝案的结果。

海峡集团持续出现的问题提醒我们，企业治理问题依然复杂且根深蒂固，可能影响整个市场。这反过来会影响股东价值和投资者信心。

此类问题的影响波及许多小规模散户投资者。60岁的吴女士向《亚洲新闻台》表达了对无法收回海峡集团投资的担忧。这种担忧并非无的放矢，因为海峡集团近期公告显示，如果重组方案通过，像她这样的投资者将不得不承受投资损失。

在许多其他案例中，少数股东往往缺乏保护，当多数股东和董事利用法规漏洞进行交易时，监管机构和法律未能提供帮助。

此类企业不当行为还可能影响公司声誉，进而影响新加坡的声誉。一些国际评论者对新加坡监管制度和执法的健全性提出了不利评价。

我注意到MAS已成立企业治理咨询委员会（CGAC），这是2018年成立的企业治理理事会的建议之一，理事会负责审查企业治理守则。

尽管有这些努力，我们或许应承认，企业治理的自我监管和内部驱动流程不能单靠依赖。现有的监督流程和制度显然不足。在某些案例中，报告的问题似乎未被审计师发现，或审计师未对此发表评论。

当公司执行管理层或董事会知晓严重不当行为或应知而不知时，责任绝不应止于执行管理层以下。

监管机构应更积极追究失职或疏忽的董事责任。

新加坡交易所监管公司（SGX RegCo）或会计与企业监管局（ACRA）难道不能做得更多吗？

政府应加强企业治理制度。我建议成立独立工作组，评估是否需要政府机构监督企业治理标准并提升审计质量。此类审查及时且必要，以确保保护股东价值，维护新加坡企业声誉不受失职者影响。

金融作为善的力量

黄安妮议员：主席先生，我欣慰2019年预算案承认气候变化是新加坡的战略挑战。金融部门在为跨代气候安全未来配置资本方面扮演重要角色，我们必须将其纳入气候行动战略规划。

作为领先金融中心，新加坡的银行和资产管理业必须迎接这一挑战。我们的贷款方式反映我们的价值观和原则。例如，民间社会最近批评我们的银行继续资助燃煤电厂。截至2018年9月，已有17家银行承诺停止资助燃煤电厂。英格兰银行行长据报愿意加强对“棕色”投资的监管要求。

新加坡正在开发哪些监管和监督机制，使银行能够：

（a）积极将新加坡银行公会（ABS）的《雾霾诊断工具包》等现有绿色标准纳入贷款政策框架；

（b）主动与民间社会和专家合作，识别其他关键行业（如能源），制定并实施绿色标准？

我们的资产管理业目前管理着2.4万亿美元资金。我们能否拨款支持资产管理业制定更强的托管原则，并利用市场工具帮助保障气候安全的未来？

例如，日本政府养老投资基金将近10%的投资配置于使用可持续发展指数的基金。韩国两家养老基金更进一步，停止未来的煤炭投资。

主席：王乙康部长。

教育部长（王乙康先生）：主席先生，首先回应吴佩孝副教授关于GEMS的问题。让我先解释一下。

GEMS计划由金融业发展基金（FSDF）资助，该基金于1999年新加坡交易所（SGX）改制上市后设立。因此，资金并非来自纳税人。该计划是根据业界反馈设计的，业界认为一个充满活力的股票市场不仅需要新上市公司，还需要上市后的持续投资者兴趣。因此，GEMS是业界为回应业界反馈而设立的基金。其主要目标是加强成长型企业，特别是中小企业的公共融资渠道。正如吴副教授所提，GEMS通过分担上市相关费用和促进更好的行业研究覆盖及商业模式研究来实现这一目标。

某些行业的上市吸引力有待提升，高成长行业即为例子。GEMS旨在促进这些行业发展。中小市值上市企业和新商业模式的投资覆盖存在空白，因此该计划包括上市补助和研究相关补助，以改善股票研究生态系统。

上市补助金额分层，优先支持高成长领域，如科技行业。成熟行业如房地产投资信托和商业信托不符合补助资格。研究补助申请者需覆盖中小市值上市企业。该计划尚处于起步阶段，我相信相关机构会监测效果，吸纳反馈并不断改进，以实现目标。

陈立丰议员问及企业治理是否应仅靠内部驱动流程，以及SGX RegCo和ACRA能否做更多。他建议成立独立工作组审查企业治理框架，并设立政府机构监督企业治理标准和提升审计质量。

实际上，许多此类机制已存在。MAS作为新加坡资本市场法定监管机构，SGX作为证券市场前线监管机构，监督上市公司企业治理标准，载于《企业治理守则》。SGX上市规则要求公司披露其做法如何符合守则原则。ACRA负责维护财务报告和审计质量，检查公共会计师执行的法定审计。

关于独立工作组审查企业治理框架，正如陈议员所提，MAS于2017年召集了业界主导的企业治理理事会。该理事会为临时机构，提出多项建议。MAS于去年8月接受了所有建议，随后对守则和SGX上市规则进行了修订以落实建议。

根据理事会的关键建议之一，MAS本月初成立了常设的企业治理咨询委员会（CGAC）。CGAC由业界资深领导组成，倡导良好企业治理实践，识别当前及潜在风险，并向监管机构提供建议。

高标准企业治理有助于维持长期良好企业绩效，确保评估投资、风险管理、保护股东利益、领导层继任等关键流程的良好制度和结构。

然而，投资本身存在风险。监管的主要目标之一是确保投资者获得最新的重要信息，如上市公司的财务状况和前景，以做出明智投资决策。投资者也需关注披露内容，超越潜在回报，评估是否能接受相关风险。

监管机构包括ACRA、MAS、SGX RegCo将继续调整规则，与CGAC等利益相关者合作，加强新加坡企业治理标准和实践。同时，我们将通过MoneySENSE计划继续教育投资公众，了解风险与回报的权衡。

最后，黄安妮议员问及可持续融资。MAS致力推动可持续金融议程。作为绿色金融系统网络成员，MAS与国际同行紧密合作，制定金融机构管理气候风险和机遇的最佳实践。让我简述MAS在三大领域的努力。

首先，本地银行已实施符合新加坡银行公会发布的《负责任融资指南》的政策，评估借款人的环境、社会和治理（ESG）风险，协助借款人提升可持续发展表现。为此，本地银行承诺停止为效率低下的燃煤电厂提供新融资。MAS也要求保险公司在风险评估中考虑环境风险，并在行业压力测试中引入气候情景。

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其次，金融业推动绿色融资，如绿色债券。自MAS绿色债券补助计划推出以来，已发行超过20亿新元绿色债券。该计划最近扩展至涵盖社会和可持续债券。

事实上，在资产管理领域，新加坡80%的大型资产管理公司已签署联合国负责任投资原则，将环境、社会和治理风险纳入投资流程。MAS自身投资组合也积极与基金经理合作，确保纳入ESG考量。

最后，为增强区域金融抗灾能力并弥补保障缺口，东南亚灾害风险保险基金今年将在新加坡成立，作为东盟首个区域灾害风险池，更好覆盖灾害后的紧急响应费用。MAS将继续与金融业关键利益相关者合作，推动可持续发展议程。

主席：请澄清，维克拉姆·奈尔先生。

维克拉姆·奈尔先生：问题请教张玉娟部长。部长对国家人口与人才组的各项举措做了详尽介绍，但我好奇，尽管有这些举措，过去三年总生育率下降的根本原因是什么？

张玉娟女士：主席先生，感谢维克拉姆·奈尔先生的问题。这是一个重要问题。我忍不住听到同事们的轻笑。事实上，我研究这个问题已有数年，如果议员们允许，我愿分享我的一些思考。

当我们想到出生率时，我们会想到总和生育率（TFR）。我的观察和反思是，实际上有两组关键的驱动力。一组关键的驱动力是长期性质的。从长期角度看，出生率实际上与价值观和社会规范有关。这包括对单身与婚姻、夫妻关系与为人父母的态度。在为人父母方面，还涉及父亲与母亲所扮演的角色。这还包括社会对理想子女数量的规范，以及人们如何在为人父母与其他追求之间进行优先排序，比如事业、照顾长辈、社区服务，当然还有个人生活方式的兴趣。

育儿规范也非常重要，比如在斯堪的纳维亚国家，育儿态度较为宽松；而在东亚背景下，通常是非常密集的育儿方式。这些影响成本——人们在孩子身上的花费，以及由此产生的可负担性认知。进而影响父母最终会有多少孩子，因为他们会根据自己认为能负担多少来决定。因此，这些是长期的驱动力，一整套作用力。也就是根本原因。

但从短期来看，出生率也会受到其他因素影响。例如，经济不确定性。如果就业形势不明朗，人们会感到焦虑。你会看到这会导致出生率下降，正如韩国在过去几年经历的那样。事实上，常被称为高出生率“明星”的芬兰，自2010年以来也出现了出生率下降。2010年前，芬兰的出生率约为1.9，现在已降至1.5以下。如果我们看农村与城市地区的TFR，实际上是普遍下降。芬兰的农村和城市地区出生率均下降。我认为这与人们的萎靡感和缺乏信心有关。

所以，这是一种短期效应，如果可以这么说的话。

还有另一种短期因素会导致TFR波动，那是数学上的。因为TFR是一个比率，取决于分子和分母的数值。我这里不详细展开。但我认为这些是短期因素，因为当信心恢复时，推迟生育的人可能会决定现在是时候了。好吧，我们一直在推迟。然后你可能会看到TFR的回升。所以，长期因素与短期因素。

对我们来说，重要的是不要过分被TFR的年度波动所分心。我们会关注它们，观察它们，问自己为什么会这样。但不要过于专注。我们真正应该关注的是价值观和社会规范，许多议员都谈到了这一点。

首先，我们必须记住要加强基础。基础是你需要有经济活力，需要有社会凝聚力。这些是基础。在这些基础之上，我们必须尽最大努力支持婚姻和为人父母的愿望，意味着我们必须尽力使婚姻和为人父母变得可实现、愉快且受到庆祝。这些是我们必须关注的。我们应该坚持方向。

主席：Patrick Tay先生。

Patrick Tay Teck Guan先生：在我关于公共部门转型的发言中，我问部长，在我们推动公共服务的技能提升和再培训过程中，公共服务是否可以与劳工运动以及公共部门工会合作，成立培训委员会，推动跨部委和法定机构的培训工作。我希望陈部长能回应。

陈振声部长：主席先生，这是一个很好的建议。作为前任全国职工总会（NTUC）秘书长，我会特别注意这点。事实上，我已指示公共服务部（PSD）在转型过程中，特别关注那些需要更多帮助以转岗的人。我想说，我们不会设立一个大型的总体委员会与公共雇员联合工会（AUPE）整合，但重要的是，我们从各个岗位层面开始。例如，环境与水资源部（MEWR）中有一些低技能工人需要新的技能，我们优先关注他们，优先在转型工作中支持他们。

同样，公共服务委员会（CSC）也会联系并与劳工运动密切合作，确保模块化培训系统能惠及尽可能多的公务员。我们都知道，公务员和其他全职工作者一样，很难抽出一两周时间进行培训。因此，我们需要与劳工运动合作，设计模块化、可叠加的课程，让公务员能够获得新技能，尤其是数字素养方面。我们欢迎劳工运动的这一举措和提议，并将与AUPE密切合作推动落实。

主席：Sylvia Lim女士。

Sylvia Lim女士：主席先生，我想就我关于公共机构个人数据保护的发言向高级国务部长Janil Puthucheary求证。我想确认政府是否明确政策规定，个人数据在公共机构管理期间被泄露时，相关人员有权知晓数据泄露事件，并有权及时获知。

Janil Puthucheary博士：主席先生，我们在上次会议中已讨论过相关内容。关于公共部门官员如何处理涉及公民个人资料的数据泄露，有相关指导方针。没有绝对的强制要求。我们需要逐案审视，考虑访问了哪些信息、具体情况以及对公民可能产生的影响。我们也听到了本议院中关于最近泄露事件后续的例子。简短回答是，没有统一明确的立场。处理方式有指导方针，如何接触公民也有指导方针，情况需要逐案分析，考虑所有相关因素。

主席：Anthea Ong女士。

Anthea Ong女士：主席先生，我能否请陈部长进一步阐述政府采取了哪些具体措施或步骤来恢复公众对公共服务的信心？

陈振声部长：主席先生，每当公共服务出现问题，无论哪个机构，第一步是由相关机构彻底调查，找出教训，确保内部整改。

第二步是确保这些教训在所有其他机构间共享，因为一个机构发生的问题对其他机构也有重要借鉴意义。

第三步，我总是要求公共服务在事后反思，是否可以在事件初期预防或预见到问题。因此，我常与同事分享，纠正错误是必要但不够，我们更重要的是建立系统，预防问题发生。

当然，公共服务很难说我做了这些就完全避免了问题，因为问题根本没有显现出来。但这是我们的挑战，也是我们作为新加坡公共服务应设定的高标准，如果我们希望成为新加坡和新加坡人引以为傲的公共服务。

事实上，正如我所说，我们已经做了许多值得骄傲的事情，这使新加坡在许多方面处于领先地位，预防和避免了许多问题。但无论如何，我们绝不能自满。

恢复公众信心的方法是，第一，彻底调查问题；如果有人负责，我们会确保纠正；同时，我们也会反思是否可以更好地培训相关人员，或调整流程，考虑人为因素，防止错误发生。

这些是我们作为公共服务必须做到的，确保事情做对，防止问题发生。我们不以快速从错误中恢复为荣，而是希望根本不犯错。

主席：Louis Ng Kok Kwang先生。

Louis Ng Kok Kwang先生：我认为陈振声部长已回应我关于几乎所有公共机构现在都有统一的公务员职业晋升结构的发言。我想问还有多少百分比的机构没有这种统一结构？我们如何弥补这一差距？

其次，部长也回应了我的发言，提到领导者应回应反馈。但我真正关心的是如何确保他们真的这么做，是否可以设立内部的质量服务管理（QSM）机构来承担此角色，确保反馈被认真处理并闭环？

对于张玉娟部长，我很感谢部长宣布已有450家雇主提供无薪假期，我记得您提到有70个公共机构。请问整个公共服务是否可以为多胞胎或早产婴儿的父母提供无薪假期，以便我们言行一致，带头解决这个问题？

最后，关于育儿假，我想请部长再考虑是否允许员工使用现有的病假，不仅限于自己生病，也可用于照顾生病的孩子。为防止滥用，员工需提供孩子的医疗证明作为请假凭证。

陈振声部长：主席先生，首先澄清，我们的目标不是合并所有可能的方案。因为有些方案是针对专业人士的，比如医生、工程师、会计师。公共服务的目标不是合并所有方案，而是合并那些可以合并的方案。根据我最后的了解，50多个机构中，几乎有50个已经合并了；剩下未合并的，是因为有合理的专业原因。

即使是已经合并的，我们也会不断自我挑战。是否能更早合并方案，更早阶段考虑个人表现，而不仅仅是学术成绩？

未来，我们会看到以下趋势。学术成绩仍作为能力的一个指标，但正如我提到的，我们会考虑更多技能，进行全面评估。除了专业方案如工程师和医生，我们会尽可能合并其他方案。这回答了第一个问题。

第二个问题是领导如何跟进反馈？有几种方式。首先，收到反馈后，我期望他们自行采取行动。当然，所有机构的反馈都会传到我这里，必要时我会与相关常任秘书或机构首席执行官讨论。他们知道我们对此非常重视，也知道我期望他们认真对待，必要时我会直接告知。

主席：张玉娟部长。

张玉娟部长：主席先生，关于第一个问题，原则上所有公共机构都应如此。如果议员知道有任何机构不在那70个名单中，请告诉我，我们会核查。

关于父母假是否可用于照顾子女，我想提醒一下。几年前我还在劳工运动时，国家职工培训局（NPTD）曾就是否应提高产假福利进行咨询。令我惊讶的是，在与女性工会成员交流时，她们非常明智地告诉我，“姐姐，要小心我们要求什么，因为每次提高假期福利，雇主对我们的看法都会改变，他们开始把我们看作负担和义务。”因此，并非所有人都热衷于扩大假期福利。这是一次非常有益的经历，我一直记在心里。

议员的建议实际上是扩大父母的假期福利。不是说不能做，但我们必须考虑雇主的看法。从对个人员工的义务，变成对整个家庭的义务，福利扩展到整个家庭，这非常广泛。我对此会非常谨慎，因为假期福利主要是为保护个人在生病时设计的。如果我们认为社会可以承担更多针对父母的假期福利，我们必须公开、透明地进行，并诚实告知雇主，这样他们在招聘时不会猜测是否有额外的隐性义务。

主席：洪兴基先生。

洪兴基先生：给陈振声部长一个澄清和一个建议。部长之前提到公共部门转型时，会让官员与AUPE合作，确保公务员得到培训和辅导。我认为部长也提到法定机构工会和其他非AUPE的工会，为了澄清，避免其他工会领导和成员觉得他们的领域被忽视。

其次，建议。我与许多工会成员交谈，他们提到很多培训集中在工人本人，尤其是低技能或年长者。但他们发现主管可能更年轻，30多岁或20多岁，有时主管不了解工人面临的转型情况，需要同理心、帮助、指导和辅导。因此建议，主管也应接受培训，学习如何辅导和引导员工，使转型和适应能力成为员工和主管共同承担的责任，从而营造更具包容性的工作环境。

陈振声部长：主席先生，感谢洪兴基先生提醒我澄清。是的，正如我提到的，公共服务转型和技能获取不仅限于AUPE层面，而是在各机构层面与各自工会合作。这包括法定机构雇员联合工会（AUSBE）、新加坡城市重建局工会（SURAWU）等。因为我们经验发现，最有效的培训是针对具体机构的，而非泛泛的技能培训。泛泛的技能培训有其位置，但针对机构的定向干预也很重要。

关于第二点培训，确实，公共服务部（PSD）与公共服务委员会（CSC）已制定不同层级的培训框架，针对不同层级的公务员提供培训。所有人都会接受基础数字技能培训，低薪和低技能工人会获得特定技能培训以帮助提升。但议员说得对，我们也为中层和高层管理者提供不同的培训，因为不同层级的管理者需要不同的技能。

例如，在该议员的具体情况下，确实，对于中层管理人员来说，他们必须知道如何利用一些这些技术；不仅仅是使用它，还要懂得如何开发这项技术，如何使用，如何帮助他们的同事采用并适应这些技术。然而，在更高层次，即更高级管理层，我们期望他们不仅要亲自操作，还要了解利用一些新技术的潜力，以重组和改变他们当前工作中的流程。

因此，议员们可以看到，在整体数字总体规划或数字技能总体规划中，我们针对不同层级的不同管理人员，关注不同的技能组合。这确实是我们将在公务员委员会培训中实施的内容，随着培训在整个公务员系统的推广。

主席：澄清环节结束。我想鼓励各位议员，你们在时间控制方面做得很好。我们能比预期更早结束，这也可能有助于我们的议事效率。我们将在明年的预算中再做检查。Patrick Tay议员，您是否愿意撤回您的修正案？

Patrick Tay Teck Guan议员：主席先生，我感谢陈振声部长关于建设卓越公共服务的回应；张玉娟部长分享我们如何支持家庭、育儿和婚姻；维文·巴拉克里希南博士部长和资深国务部长詹尼尔·普图切里博士不仅致力于建设更智能的国家，更致力于改善生活和生计；王乙康部长关于加强我们的金融市场和监管体系的发言；公务员委员会主任及公共服务部团队，以及所有公务员，他们把我们放在工作核心，努力确保我们是顶尖和一流的。基于此，我请求撤回我的修正案。

[(程序文本) 修正案，经许可，撤回。 (程序文本)]

[(程序文本) 头U项下827,594,400元被列为主要预算的一部分。 (程序文本)]

[(程序文本) 头U项下196,666,600元被列为发展预算的一部分。 (程序文本)]

英文原文

SPRS Hansard 原始记录 · 抓取日期：2026-05-02

Public Sector Transformation

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (West Coast) : Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head U of the Estimates be reduced by $100."

The global operating environment is evolving rapidly. There are many growth opportunities in Asia, but economic competition is also intensifying and technological changes are reshaping competitive advantages across economies. Domestically, we are faced with an ageing local workforce which can pose constraints on our growth. But not if we can enable our people to learn, unlearn and relearn to stay employable over a longer career span. Indeed, technology is a potential game changer that can allow us to overcome our resource constraints and embark on a new S curve in our growth trajectory. To stay competitive, we need to be able to innovate and leverage on technology, to do more with less, and to work smart.

The same applies to the Public Service. The Public Service must be able, agile and adaptable. Able to stay at the forefront of technological advancement, agile to be able to work with the private and people sectors to build a competitive economy; and adaptable, as we embrace the journey towards being a Smart Nation. This means that the Public Service must be able to use technology to become more productive in its operations. This includes using technology to transform the way it delivers services.

Citizens today are used to services like FoodPanda or Grab that crowdsource and bring different providers together to be accessible at the fingertips of customers in a high-tech way. Many companies, such as those in the retail sector, are also using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to analyse and, in fact, anticipate customers' needs. How is the public sector using technology to similarly transform the way it functions – from performing regulatory functions to enforcement, to delivering services to citizens? How can it bring related services together to help citizens or businesses, rather than have citizens or businesses go to different Government agencies to get what they need? How is the Public Service using technology to make service delivery more efficient and save time and effort on the part of citizens and businesses in transacting with the public sector?

In fact, how is the Public Service using AI and data analytics to better anticipate citizens' needs and using robotics to complement its workforce? Of course, it is not and must not be just a tech push. Ultimately, Public Service delivery must be anchored on citizens' needs. Beyond delivering services efficiently and impartially, the Public Service must be able to put in place systems and processes to ensure that public officers do not just apply rules mechanically but always put citizens at the heart of Public Service delivery.

They must be able to identify changes in the needs of citizens and be able to update policies, programmes and services in a timely manner. In short, the three "highs": not just high-tech but also high touch; and not just high touch but also high trust. To transform public services, therefore, requires public officers to take on new skills so that they can perform their jobs differently and effectively. Where work can be automated, it is also important for public officers to be able to take on new skills to perform new jobs.

In short, SkillsFuture should apply equally to the Public Service. What is the progress of the Public Service in upgrading the digital skills of our public officers? Does the Public Service put in place reskilling programmes to help retrain officers to move from one job to another within the public sector as technology changes the way work is done? The Public Service should work closely with our public sector unions and the Labour Movement to encourage all officers to constantly reskill and retool in order to keep themselves relevant and employable.

A good start will be forming dedicated training committees jointly with our public sector unions and union leaders. Beyond skills, the Public Service ethos lies at the heart of Public Service. While jobs and skills will change, the values of service, integrity and excellence should always remain. How is the Public Service developing its officers to ensure that they continue to remain grounded, that they are in touch rather than lose touch with the needs, aspirations and concerns of citizens and businesses? How do we develop public officers who are able to serve with heart, be able to connect with citizens and co-create new solutions with both the people and private sectors?

[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]

Disruption in the Public Service

Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade) : Mr Chairman, Singapore has one of the most dynamic and high performance public service sector globally. With a spectrum of younger officers to the very senior and experienced ones, they serve Singaporeans through our Ministries, Civil Service, Statutory Boards and many other organisations.

With globalisation and a more connected world, our Public Service must be resourceful, creative and rapid thinking. They must remain nimble and keep abreast of the changes and disruption in the world of today and tomorrow. They must align with the state of the art, be adaptable and flexible in certain aspects of policymaking and governance, but yet uphold the principles that Singapore stands for. The adoption of information technology (IT) and other technology-driven processes, communications as well as surveillance must be top-notch and robust. Yet at the same time, maintenance of safety and security must be upheld. How is the Singapore Public Service assisting the officers in providing adequate training, building of capabilities, acquisition of the necessary software, technology adoption as well as nurturing and managing the mindsets of officers to ensure adaptation, alignment and buy-in? And this is also part of the learn, unlearn and relearn process.

Another very important tagline with the Public Service must be coordination. With the amount of disruptions and interventions that we face today, how will the Public Service ensure safe coordination and integration of information, data and details across the service whilst, at the same time, maintaining confidentiality?

Citizen-centric Government Services

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer) : Mr Chairman, my cut today is to discuss whether our Public Service can adopt a citizen-centric approach to delivering Government services. Delivering services to citizens is at the core of what Government agencies do.

[Deputy Speaker (Mr Lim Biow Chuan) in the Chair]

Unfortunately, many of these services are based on processes and technologies that have been in place for many years and many of these were designed based on each agency's individual needs and requirements. Therefore, such services were not designed with the objective of improving the ease and satisfaction when a citizen interacts or transacts with the Government.

To make an enquiry or to complete a transaction, citizens may have to physically visit different agencies, speak on the phone with multiple parties or browse the websites of various Government agencies. Often times, citizens have to fill up many forms and repeat information that were previously provided albeit to a different Government department. Government agencies, in turn, face both declining citizen satisfaction and also incur higher costs from repeated touchpoints across agencies.

A citizen-centric Government should function as an integral unit adopting a whole-of-Government approach when delivering services to citizens. This calls for a coordinating unit that cuts across silos like, Ministries, Statutory Boards and departments, and sharing data freely at the backend across all agencies.

Today, with advances in technology and connectivity, Governments can meet these rising citizen expectations. Digital transformation with AI, machine-learning and data analytics, a Government could even predict and anticipate what a citizen needs. Queuing at counters and filling up forms could be a thing of the past. I would like to ask the Minister about how the Public Service is organising itself to ensure that services are delivered in a citizen-centric manner.

Public Service and Citizen Well-being

Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member) : Trust, as they say, is built in drops and lost in buckets. The recent spate of service lapses has contributed to an increasing sense of uncertainty about the robustness of the Public Service.

Minister Heng Swee Keat, in response to the Zaobao commentary that alleged complacency, said "We would not flinch from taking a hard look at ourselves each time there is a failure and doing whatever is necessary to put things right."

I am heartened by Minister Heng's conviction and commitment. Indeed, a string of events of such significance happening so fast and furiously offers more than a glimpse of possible fault lines within the system, not just in isolated Ministries or with certain officers. Might having an open conversation on these fault lines restore trust? What specific steps are being taken by the Government to restore public confidence?

Additionally, how does the Public Service Division (PSD) ensure a culture of accountability, transparency and empathy? With increased public scrutiny and expectations, how is the Civil Service College (CSC) training public officers to understand subjective well-being beyond material well-being and how are they trained to formulate better policies that address citizens' well-being in ways that also increase public trust in public institutions?

Lastly, how can Public Service Cares, announced in Budget 2019, be more than just a volunteering programme for public officers, but be embodied as an ethos?

Notwithstanding my clarifications, I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for every Public Service officer in the service who serves sincerely and wholeheartedly.

The Chairman : Mr Lee Yi Shyan; not here. Ms Sylvia Lim.

1.30 pm

Appointments to Constitutional Office

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied) : Sir, there are certain public officers created under the Constitution with functions and duties to safeguard the public interest. These appointments are recommended by the Prime Minister and subject to the discretionary approval of the President.

One example is the Attorney-General. Under Article 35, the Attorney-General shall have power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence.

Another example is the Auditor-General, who, under Article 148(F) is entrusted with the constitutional duty to audit and report on the accounts of all departments and offices of the Government, the Public Service Commission, the Legal Service Commission, the Supreme Court or Subordinate Courts and Parliament.

Sir, we are all familiar with the annual audit reports of the Auditor-General's Office (AGO). It often contains embarrassing findings and may uncover misconduct. The AGO reports are a key measure by the Government towards accountability and the prudent use of public funds.

Chairman, today, I would like to ask for clarification about the selection process and criteria used by the Prime Minister in selecting the Auditor-General.

The Constitution does not spell out any qualifying criteria for being the Auditor-General.

In recent history, our Auditor-Generals have been drawn from senior civil servants and there has been an appointment of a new Auditor-General this year. I do not know the current appointee personally and I have no reason to doubt her integrity. Indeed, I am prepared to assume that she will do her best to do her work honourably.

However, can the Prime Minister confirm that the current appointee is the spouse of a Senior Minister of State? And if this is so, did the Prime Minister consider how appointing the spouse of a Senior Minister of State would affect the public perception of the independence of the AGO?

Pensioners under MediShield Life

Mr Png Eng Huat (Hougang) : Sir, I had spoken on the impact of MediShield Life on pensioners when the compulsory health insurance scheme was introduced and debated in this House in 2014 and 2015.

As I understood from some pensioners, they have continued to receive the same medical benefit as before, as assured in this House, although not under MediShield Life but under their original pension medical scheme. As it is, these pensioners are insured under MediShield Life in name only even though they do not need the coverage. I understand their MediShield Life premiums are paid for by the Government and transitional subsidies through MediSave top-ups.

The MediShield Life scheme is almost five years now. While pensioners are not worse off, in terms of their medical benefits, I wish to ask the Government if there is any study or survey done to ascertain the financial impact of the redundant MediShield Life coverage on pensioners. After factoring in the various MediSave top-ups, did the subsidies help pensioners pay for their MediShield Life premiums as well as for their spouses' premium in full without the need to incur any out-of-pocket expenses? This is important because this Government has assured pensioners in this House that they would not be worse off under MediShield Life. By that, it should also mean that they would not be financially burdened when they are put under the compulsory but never used medical scheme.

Next, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said that pensioners have one important benefit with MediShield Life that they did not have previously. He said that the spouse of a pensioner will cease to have medical benefits when the pensioner passes away. But under MediShield Life, the spouse will be covered by MediShield when the pensioner is no longer around.

Sir, this important benefit is assuring but it is also a benefit by default to begin with, since MediShield Life is made compulsory for all. Everyone has to pay for medical coverage by law, regardless of who you are. So, this important MediShield Life benefit, as mentioned by the Minister, only makes more sense for pensioners if the Government continues to pay the premium for their spouses when they are no longer around. Otherwise, the spouses will have to come under MediShield Life by law as they do not have a choice.

Sir, I would like to ask the Government to clarify if it would continue to pay the MediShield Life premiums for the spouse of pensioners as a benefit when the old medical coverage ceases with the passing of a pensioner.

Deepening Skills of Officers

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang) : Mr Chairman, Sir, in Prime Minister Lee's "A Tale of Two Cities" speech in London in 2014, he espoused Singapore's global city aspirations. To this end, we achieved 5th place in the Global Cities Outlook List last year. To sustain this, it is imperative that our world-class city is supported by a world-class Civil Service.

I would like to know the measures which the Government has undertaken to ensure and upgrade the service delivery skills of our Public Service officers.

Sir, just as the Government has called upon the private sector to increase productivity and the quality of their services, it should urge the public sector to take the initiative in setting an example for the rest of Singapore to follow.

In addition, I would like to suggest that the Government use the speed of delivery and the quality of Public Services as metrics by which it assesses the progress of its push to build a world-class Civil Service.

However, it should be noted that the employment of a one-size-fits-all approach in serving the public will not suffice. There must be greater introspection on the part of our Civil Service. Far too often, we focus too much on the numbers and neglect the human aspect of governance.

While automation has allowed for gains in productivity, navigating a pre-recorded voice menu or filling up a form adhering to a strict format online, may not satisfy the needs of the public.

Sir, I believe that if the Civil Service provides more channels of access to public services which take into consideration the limitations of automated processes, it can serve Singaporeans better.

In the pursuit of headcount and productivity key performance indicators (KPIs), the public sector has resorted to outsourcing, which has affected the quality of public services. Sir, outsourcing does not contribute to the development of human capital in the civil service and may result in public officers losing out on learning opportunities in providing quality services.

I would like to propose that we adopt a design-thinking approach to transforming the delivery of public services. At the same time, we should refocus our efforts to train and deepen the skills of our Public Service officers.

Sir, our global city deserves a world-class Civil Service with the heart to serve the public.

Readiness of Public Officers

Mr Ang Hin Kee (Ang Mo Kio) : Mr Chairman, Sir, the Government has been active in its efforts to innovate and improve the ease of transactions between the Government and the public.

As the pace of transformation quickens with technological disruptions, I would like to know how well public sector workers are being prepared to stay relevant. At the same time, how have jobs in the public sector been transformed and what other changes will be coming soon?

In the midst of such changes, I hope the Government can take the lead in ensuring that all public sector workers have access to relevant training, reskilling and redeployment opportunities.

Are the various Ministries and agencies aware of the challenges faced by those who may struggle in their training efforts, especially the older workers, who may find it more challenging to acquire new skillsets? Have we been able to redeploy these workers across different departments, agencies or Ministries?

Recently, I met about 80 unionised staff from various Statutory Boards and they shared with me their experiences and the assistance given to help our public sector workers to be future-ready and to be prepared for a transformed workplace.

Is PSD aware of how each agency is progressing in this journey and whether their respective efforts have been effective, especially to help the older ones adjust to the pace of training required for their new or enhanced job roles or even redeployed roles?

Last year, the CSC announced that it is partnering the 12 Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to support public sector transformation, as well as the transformation of learning within the sector. Public officers will have access to one digital learning platform. Would the Ministry have an update on the take-up rate of these courses on the new learning portal?

The Chairman : Mr Louis Ng, you have two cuts. Can you take both together?

Delinking Academics and Careers

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon) : Sir, last year, I spoke about the need to better recognise public servants' contributions and skills beyond their formal academic qualifications.

Minister Ong Ye Kung shared that one initiative was to merge existing schemes for diploma and degree holders. Beyond the point of recruitment, an officer's progression is pegged to their on-the-job performance rather than their educational qualification. This has been done for the Ministry of Education (MOE), the generic Management Executive Scheme in the Civil Service, and the Air Traffic Control Officer Scheme.

Minister Ong Ye Kung indicated that PSD will work with other public agencies to identify more areas where this can be implemented.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Can the Minister provide an update on which other public agencies no longer have different salary scales and progression structures for diploma and degree holders? Can we also extend this to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates and not just diploma and degree holders?

Internal Quality Service Managers (QSMs) for Public Agencies

Sir, last year, I also spoke up about the need to provide platforms for public servants to provide feedback to upper management. Further, we need to close the feedback loop so that public servants know that their views are valued and can make a difference in strengthening the Public Service.

I suggested implementing internal QSMs within Ministries and Statutory Boards. Minister Ong Ye Kung responded that all public agencies do conduct staff engagement surveys periodically.

I still meet some public servants who say that they have provided feedback but have no idea if anyone is looking into it and have not received the reply with regard to the feedback that was provided.

Will the Minister consider adopting common principles and guidelines for the conduct of staff engagement surveys across the Public Service? Will the Minister also consider requiring public agencies to track the feedback received and actions taken in response to the feedback?

The Chairman : Minister Chan Chun Sing.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Chan Chun Sing) : Mr Chairman, Sir, let me first thank all Members who have spoken up in support of the importance of maintaining an able and committed Public Service.

I agree with all Members. Our Public Service colleagues and I are determined to build a Public Service that is the pride of Singapore and Singaporeans. Our Public Service has been a pillar of strength for Singapore's survival and success. It has been so, and it will continue to be so.

Our operating environment is changing rapidly. Internally, new generations of Singaporeans are growing up in different circumstances, with different aspirations and expectations. Singaporeans expect services to be organised around them and delivered in an integrated and timely manner. They expect systems and organisations to fit their needs and not the other way round. Singaporeans also expect services and information at their fingertips and have much less patience to navigate complex bureaucracies.

Externally, our geopolitical situation has become more uncertain and challenging. New security threats, including the cyberspace, have emerged and which threaten our national security. The contest of big powers and the domestic politics of regional players combined, can potentially squeeze us and shrink our economic and foreign policy options. But all is not gloom and doom.

Connectivity and technology allow us the opportunities to overcome our geographical and labour constraints. If used well, they can bring us to greater heights. Our workforce is also more educated and more skilled. We can better compete on quality rather than quantity.

To continue to build a vibrant and successful Singapore for the future, our Public Service must constantly challenge ourselves to come up with new ideas, adopt fresh approaches to working, organise ourselves differently and develop new skills.

Our Public Service generally delivers services efficiently, but this is not enough. Beyond working the whole-of-Government, our Public Service must achieve whole-of-Nation outcomes. Partnering Singaporeans and the private sector to deliver results must become second nature to our Public Service, and not as an afterthought. It is not just about delivering good service for the public but also delivering better services with the public.

However, the Public Service and private sector must play our respective parts well in this new partnership to take Singapore to greater heights. Both must be mature to know the complexities of taking into account many sources of feedback, competing interests and differing aspirations. And if our individual suggestion is not accepted after working the process together, it does not mean that the ideas and inputs are not considered. Instead, it has formed part of the process to arrive at the final solution.

1.45 pm

I agree with Dr Teo Ho Pin on a design-thinking approach to the delivery of public services. The Public Service will progressively approach the design of many of our services around people and issues, rather than just expect people to adjust to our existing structures and ways of working.

The Moments of Life app for families, launched last June, is a small example of how the Public Service can come up with new ways of serving citizens better, by working with citizens and the private sector, as partners. The team wanted to make life easier for parents of newborn babies. They want to reduce the administrative hassle so that mums and dads can focus on welcoming baby and caring for baby. So, they started by interviewing many new parents to understand what needs to be done at the point of baby’s birth, what frustrates them and to get good ideas from parents how public services can be delivered better and faster services for them. The outcome was an app that allows parents to register their child’s birth, apply for Baby Bonus and child library membership, all at one go. They do not need to approach multiple agencies and produce the same physical documents for verification again and again. This app has been downloaded over 20,000 times in less than a year and I am happy to say that, beyond public hospitals, we have begun offering this service at private hospitals, starting with Thomson Medical Centre earlier this year. Other private hospitals will progressively come on board in the coming months.

The Public Service will expand this effort. It has since started more projects to redesign services around more key moments, including pregnancy, parenting a school-going child, National Service, and entering one's silver years. We will also design services with different segments of citizens in mind, especially those who may not find it easy to access our services through the usual channels. For instance, at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), a priority registration queue is created for the elderly and those with mobility constraints during the tax filing season. They will be ushered to a sitting area and attended to quickly. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) also sets up a priority queue during sales launches to assist the elderly, persons with disabilities and expectant mothers. At the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board's service centres, there are retired citizens who serve as roving CPF Ambassadors to help post-55 CPF members.

The Public Service is working closely with various people and private sector organisations in this expanded effort to redesign services around citizens. We will share more about these developments in the coming months.

Within the Public Service, we also need to organise work differently across Ministries and agencies. Our current structures were optimised to solve previous problems. When problems evolved and goals changed, we must similarly be bold to evolve our structures and organisations to serve the objectives of tomorrow, as Member Mr Cedric Foo suggested. Climate change, cyber threats, unmanned systems are but some new challenges that require us to evolve new organisational structures to manage them.

Mr Cedric Foo also asked how we can continue to ensure that our services are citizen-centric. Indeed, the Public Service must reorganise itself to be citizen-centric, not agency-centric, in the way we work.

The Public Service Centre at Our Tampines Hub is one example. It started by co-locating different agencies together to serve citizens in one physical location. This year, the six agencies are coming together to cross-train counter staff, and each staff will be able to provide a range of some 70 services across the six Government agencies. Citizens will be able to approach any counter for help, instead of having to wait for the "right" counter to become available.

The Social Service Office (SSO) is yet another example of how we are bringing different services together to help citizens in need. For instance, the SSOs at Taman Jurong, Kreta Ayer, Yishun, Chua Chu Kang and Jalan Besar are piloting an effort for the same SSO officer who provides financial assistance to unemployed residents to also help them find jobs. The Silver Generation Office (SGO) is also co-located with the SSOs in Taman Jurong and Geylang Serai, and the officers work closely to address the social and health needs of seniors in a more integrated manner.

As many have suggested, it is not easy for the Public Service to organise itself differently and operate differently to serve citizens better without new skills. Ms Anthea Ong, Dr Teo Ho Pin and Mr Ang Hin Kee are right that we have to help our public officers approach their work with new mindsets and give them new skills.

First, we need our public officers to think differently. They must be able to see beyond the current task that they are doing, and work with their colleagues in other Ministries or agencies to serve citizens better. This does not come from classroom training alone. PSD will expand the system of job postings to apply to a wider group of officers, so that our officers will gain wider perspectives, and grow a stronger instinct to work across agencies and with the private and people sectors.

Second, our public officers cannot just develop good policies but must be able to execute them well. To do this, public officers must be able to understand the needs of citizens and businesses better, know what are the constraints and challenges on the ground in implementing policies, and be able to see through the implementation details.

PSD and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) launched a new Engagement Immersion for Leaders programme last year. Leaders at Director-level and above were attached to different frontline work environments to serve citizens so that they can gain new insights on how policies and programmes can be implemented better on the ground. This year, we will implement Public Service Cares. This is a new initiative to encourage all officers to volunteer and serve the community and, in the process, learn how to better communicate with citizens. It seeks to develop a stronger service ethos and a culture among public servants to walk and know the ground needs even better. Officers, senior ones including, are regularly rotated to join the People's Association (PA), SSOs and the feedback unit Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home (REACH) outreach efforts on the ground for them to get a first-hand feel of serving Singaporeans.

Third, we need our public officers to have good interpersonal linkages with the people and private sectors. In particular, the Public Service will work towards achieving greater porosity and two-way flow of talents between the public and the people and private sectors. One way is through sending officers to work attachments in the private sector. For example, we sent 10 officers for attachments to various companies, such as the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), Singtel and Grab, through the inaugural Service Delivery Talent Attachment Programme last year. They are bringing back new knowledge and insights to improve the delivery of public services. We will expand such opportunities to strengthen our Public Service and our links beyond the Public Service.

Fourth, public officers need to understand our region much better and develop stronger ties with their peers in the region. To continue to expand the economic and international space for Singapore, our officers must be able to be plugged into various international networks and understand the economic, political and social systems of countries in the region and in our key markets. Our Public Service leadership must be able to pick up a phone and call their peers to discuss issues and to engage in new collaboration. Therefore, we will continue to encourage both Public Service Commission (PSC) scholars as well as mid-career officers to be trained in different countries. We will also create many more opportunities for officials across different countries to come together in joint courses, forums and discussions to share best practices and network together. Just as in the private sector, we should expect future Public Service leaders to have experiences working beyond the domestic context.

Finally, our public officers at all levels – leaders to officers – must be savvy in using technology, so that we can use technology to make public services better and make the Public Service more productive. The Public Service is aiming for 100% digital literacy. Every public officer, from leaders to counter staff, must know how to operate in a digital world and to thrive in it. The CSC has launched LEARN, a mobile platform to enable officers to learn anytime, anywhere. In the last three months since the launch, over 34,000 accounts have been activated and almost 10,000 courses have been completed on this platform. The Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) will elaborate more on other Smart Nation Initiatives subsequently.

I agree with several Members who spoke on the need to create a more diverse Public Service leadership. We need a Public Service leadership team that has different talents and is able to surface different perspectives. Going forward, when our Public Service selects future leadership teams, we will increasingly look for a combination of operations, communications, mobilisation and international exposure, beyond pure policymaking skills. A more diverse Public Service is a more resilient Public Service for the uncertainties ahead.

We must systematically select, recruit and develop officers to achieve this diversity. Educational qualifications remain a valid proxy for certain skills and capabilities of candidates we recruit into the Public Service, and we will not disregard that. But the level of educational qualification alone is necessary but not sufficient. The Public Service will also have to look out for other skills, competencies and traits when we recruit new officers. Beyond intellect, we also want officers who have initiative and creative ideas, and those who have strong interpersonal skills and work well with others. In the areas of information and communications technology (ICT), the Public Service will be selecting recruits based on the technical skills they possess, beyond educational qualifications.

Mr Louis Ng asked about single structures for ITE graduates, diploma and degree holders. Since 2015, the Public Service has been merging salary schemes such that the ITE graduates, diploma and degree holders are recruited and progressed on the same structure. Where schemes require particular qualifications, for example, doctors, accountants and engineers, we will specify these. Today, almost all public agencies have single structure schemes.

I have spoken at length about how the Public Service needs to change. But just as important are things that will not change: our values, our aspirations for Singapore and the high standards for ourselves.

Our values of excellence mean that we will not rest on our laurels. Our Public Service continues to work towards high aspirations for Singapore. This means always thinking ahead and acting to expand opportunities for Singapore or pre-empting problems in future. For instance, for Singapore to remain competitive, we must be a hub for innovation. So, MOE, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) came together to develop the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) initiative to connect Singapore to major innovation ecosystems around the world. The GIA expands on existing overseas internship programmes offered by our local institutes of higher education that place students on overseas internships in startups or enterprising and innovative companies. The Public Service is leveraging these internships for scholarship holders and in-service officers as well for them to broaden their training and exposure. GIA will create more opportunities for students, entrepreneurs and business owners to gain experience, connect and collaborate with their overseas counterparts.

Similarly, we have proactively pushed for more Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to help our businesses expand overseas and lower prices of imported goods and services for domestic consumers. Such FTAs have to be planned way ahead, as they entail long negotiations with foreign counterparts. The recently concluded European Union (EU)-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) was planned almost a decade ago and was achieved through close coordination among many agencies, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). They worked together and sustained the momentum of the negotiations through time across different teams of officers. We are now planning ahead for our FTAs to embrace digital trade in the new economy.

We also think long term when it comes to developing our city. Almost 10 years ago, the Economic Strategies Committee mooted the idea of consolidating our container port activities at Tuas in the long term. This will allow our port to achieve greater economies of scale while freeing up the prime Southern Waterfront for redevelopment into a new waterfront city that will be even more exciting than Marina Bay. Today, the proposed new Tuas Terminal is already taking shape and will be progressively completed by the 2040s. The Tuas Terminal, which will be twice the size of Ang Mo Kio town, is expected to be the largest container terminal in the world. Our Tuas Terminal will help Singapore strengthen our position in the maritime sector.

This is not the only long-term multi-decade projects we have planned for. We are pursuing other ambitious projects that span many years, in fact, decades, whether it is developing Singapore's deepest cable tunnel system for electricity transmission or planning for Changi East which includes the new Terminal 5, or planning for the Jurong Innovation District or Punggol Digital District. These projects help to create an even more vibrant Singapore and a better home for future generations of Singaporeans. Our Public Service cannot just try to play defensive to uphold the existing system. We expect more from our Public Service constantly thinking of breaking new ground to take the country forward amidst the stiff competition.

Even though we plan ahead, sometimes things will not go as planned. When things do go wrong, the Public Service will work hard to fix the mistakes and seek to do better. Head (Civil Service) recently reminded all senior public leaders to use the recent incidents and lapses as an important learning moment to see how we can do better.

2.00 pm

I support his call and appreciate that the Public Service is taking its mission very seriously. However, integrity means that we need to take responsibility and be accountable at every level for what went wrong. If we do not address the mistake head-on at the respective levels, but instead choose to indiscriminately sack staff and leaders every time something went wrong, then we will have a weaker system over time. We will also discourage the Public Service from trying new things because the surest way not to make a mistake, is not to do anything novel. That will be the biggest mistake and disservice to our nation.

The values of integrity and excellence apply equally to the appointment processes. Ms Sylvia Lim asked for clarification on the selection process and criteria used by the Prime Minister in identifying persons to fill key constitutional appointments. The process to appoint individuals to any constitutional appointments is set out in the Constitution. The Constitution also sets out the requirements of candidates for certain roles, as well as the officeholders who should be advised or to be consulted on the appointment. In general, the key considerations when identifying candidates include their ability to do the job well, their qualifications and experience, track record, integrity and sense of Public Service.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked if we are aware that Ms Goh Soon Poh, the new Auditor-General, is the wife of Senior Minister of State Mr Heng Chee How. Yes, we are aware. The Auditor-General is appointed by the President in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. The candidate was proposed to the President for his concurrence after consulting the Chairman of the Public Service Commission. The President will consult the Council of Presidential Advisors which provides an additional level of scrutiny and advice. Ms Goh Soon Poh has more than 30 years of public sector experience and worked in a range of Government Ministries. She has served with distinction, with utmost integrity and commitment to excellence. She has helmed Deputy Secretary roles in two of the largest Ministries, MOE and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and also spent time in two central Ministries, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and PSD, and will be familiar with governance matters related to finance, procurement and human resources. Ms Goh Soon Poh also has public sector experience that will be useful for the Auditor-General role.

The role of the Auditor-General is to audit and report to the President and Parliament on the proper accounting and use of public resources to enhance public accountability. AGO's audit observations are conveyed to senior public officers, namely, Permanent Secretaries of Ministries who are Accounting Officers for their respective Ministries and, hence, responsible for managing that. These senior public officers are responsible for addressing the findings and reporting back to the AGO. The audit process generally does not involve political officeholders. There is no conflict of interest generally between AGO and the Ministries it audits. Where there is a potential conflict of interest, there are specific processes to manage these, just as in any professional organisation.

Our Public Service cares for our people. Mr Louis Ng asked about staff engagement. PSD currently works with Public Sector agencies to administer a common staff engagement survey across public agencies. The survey enables agency leaders to better understand the areas that the agency is doing well in and what it can do better to help officers. Leaders are expected to respond to the feedback and take appropriate action.

Mr Png Eng Huat asked about MediShield Life for pensioners. Like all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, Government pensioners have been covered under MediShield Life from 1 November 2015. MediShield Life provides additional help on top of the retirement medical benefits that they enjoy as Government pensioners. This is very useful, especially if someone is unfortunate enough to get a severe illness with a huge medical bill. For example, one pensioner on the Comprehensive Co-payment Scheme (CCS) had pneumonia with a bill size of $29,000. She had 85% of the bill covered by her post-retirement medical benefits. MediShield Life helped to pay for the remaining 15%. She did not have to pay anything out of pocket. Another pensioner on the CCS had lymphoma with a bill size of about $14,000. He only had to pay out-of-pocket expenses of $300, after taking into account his post-retirement medical benefits and MediShield Life.

Mr Chairman, Sir, our public officers joined our Public Service because of a calling. And that is to build a better home, a better nation and a better future for all Singaporeans. Our future is in the hands of this generation of leaders – from the public, private and the people sectors. Like it was almost 54 years ago, we must all be pioneers once more and always. If we put our hearts, minds and hands together as one Singapore team, I am confident that we can prevail against the challenges and Singapore will remain vibrant and successful. Our Public Service will lead and support fellow Singaporeans in achieving this.

Sustainable Population Strategies

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang) : Mr Chairman, despite a comprehensive strategy to encourage Singaporeans to marry and have children, our birth rates remain low as our population continues to age. In fact, this is a global trend among developed and developing economies around the world, and it will certainly take time to find sustainable solutions to alleviate the situation.

What is our current concept? That a woman should have a career and also be a good mother; that a man should have a career and also be a good father. We give them good support with maternity leave, paternity leave, childcare leave, Baby Bonus and a whole suite of incentives. But things are not quite working out. Why? Difficulty in juggling office work and care for children, from tending to them when they are sick, to coaching them as they grow up. Have we looked into a more radical or new system whereby women with children may take three to six years off the workforce to bring up their children? This will also foster strong family ties and give our children a strong foundation, too. We can make laws where these women and men would not be discriminated against for the years out of the job market.

In return, we can allow more qualified older people in our workforce to stay on to fill the vacant slots temporarily left behind by them.

As we continue to implement baby-friendly policies as well as family-friendly policies, we must continue to identify and manage other problems stemming from an ageing population. We already have in place many strategies. We are encouraging senior citizens to stay healthy and active in the workforce through a lot of initiatives. Perhaps we can incentivise our senior citizens to look after their grandchildren. Similar to the proposed caregiver allowance for seniors, can we look into a grandchildren caregiver allowance for seniors looking after their grandchildren?

We face greater challenges with our limited pool of human resources to maintain a vibrant economy. How has the Government directed its population strategies to support an economy that will continue to grow? We rank 13 among countries best at attracting, developing and retaining talent in 2018, according to a report by Business Insider. If we cannot sustain our population by Singaporeans' natural births, then the only way to top up our population is through immigration. We will then face the issue of integration and challenges in forging a national identity and cohesion. What is the upper limit we set for immigration so as not to affect our social compact ?

As a young nation, we continue to grapple with seeking our national identity. We do not have a shared history of struggles that binds us together. Our PG and MG can share their experience and be a valued resource to inspire the next. Perhaps, the Government can share its plans to foster a strong sense of national identity among Singaporeans, and yet maintain a healthy population profile.

The Chairman : Mr Gan Thiam Poh, take the two cuts together.

Population Strategy

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio) : A rapidly ageing population and a persistently low Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which is among the lowest in the world, pose serious challenges for our future. There are severe implications for our social fabric, national heritage, economy and defence, just to name a few. We must make it a matter of priority and urgency to review our population strategies.

We need a core group of young Singaporeans to ensure that our country remains cohesive, dynamic and vibrant. What measures does the Government have to invigorate our population strategies and keep a balanced mix of locals and immigrants? What is the Ministry’s view on the effect of new attitudes to family structures and their impact on families and procreation? In addition, how would we prevent the financial burden of caring for our ageing population from falling on our future generations?

Total Fertility Rate

In Minister Heng Swee Keat's Budget speech, he urged us to draw on our Singaporean DNA to continue to progress. Unfortunately, with our low TFR at 1.16, one of the lowest rates in the world, the future of our DNA is at risk.

Modern Singapore had started as an immigrant country and will continue to accept and integrate immigrants in the future. However, it is important that we have a core group of Singaporeans born and bred here.

The Government had implemented various measures and incentives to support marriage and procreation. We need an urgent review to understand why they have not been effective. Whether these are inadequate or require enhancements, we must address the roots of the problems. Will the Ministry share its plans to reverse our TFR?

New Citizens – Appointment and Integration

Prof Fatimah Lateef : Immigration laws vary from country to country and change according to the needs, factors affecting population as well as growth and development of the nation.

There is really no one-rule-fits-all policy. Singapore is challenged even further due to our sheer small size, and more so due to our rapidly ageing populace. Our guidelines and policies must acknowledge our diversity, uphold unity and be realistic and practical. New citizens can have a positive contribution towards nation-building and social integration.

The guidelines for recruiting new citizens must be robust and dynamic and at the same time meet our objectives. How are we reviewing our immigration policies?

Are we able to implement a more structured community involvement of potential new citizen candidates, perhaps even with the provision of inputs from senior and experienced community leaders? This is with a view to having them immersed and better integrated in the local community and activities. The community leaders can act as assenters and provide valuable inputs in this respect.

Challenges Faced by Young Adults

Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang) : Chairman, in 2015, we had a bumper year in terms of babies in Singapore and a rise in our TFR. However, since then, Singapore's TFR seems to have dropped to an all-time low of 1.16 in 2018. This is despite the fact that the Government has put in place a wide variety of incentives for people to marry and have children.

According to Singapore's population data bureau, we have a large number of people of childbearing age and coming to childbearing age, yet more are choosing not to get married and have children. Have any studies been done on why this is so?

I understand from previous COS debates that many young people have a desire to settle down and get married. Yet, it appears they are not doing so. What are the challenges faced, particularly by young adults, in marriage and parenthood? Is there anything that may be done to address these challenges?

Family – Reaffirming our Values

Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee) : Mr Chairman, as a nation, we strive to be the best. But, sometimes, we have to take a cold hard look at ourselves to take stock.

We are a city in a garden, but are we truly green? We are fast becoming a Smart Nation, but can this nation also continue to grow a heart? We have a highly productive workforce, but what are we truly producing? We can be No 1 on many fronts, but if we allow our most basic of building blocks to start to crumble and weaken, how long more can we keep it up?

Chairman, as Singapore continues to progress economically, it also seems that, like the rest of the developed world, we are beginning to face what is an increasingly post-familist future, one where that basic building block, the family, is becoming more sidelined and threatened.

Singlehood, childlessness and instability of the institution of the family are growing in many countries around the world and Singapore has not been spared. And while not in the extreme, some anti-natalist propaganda has also recently appeared on our shores.

In 2017, our TFR was a dismal 1.16. It was a seven-year low and the second lowest on record. This is despite the billions that we have committed to promoting marriage and parenthood over the years.

Surveys tell us that over 80% of young Singaporeans intend to get married and have children, but that intention seems not to be reflected in the actual numbers getting married and also having children. Perhaps it is opportune for us to ask ourselves again what is it that we are not doing enough of?

What I feel is missing from the narrative is addressing the slow unfortunate change in culture and its threat to the family.

Today, we live in a stressful world. We can always admit that – one whose pace is breakneck. We all want to work hard, produce better results and aim for the next rung up in our careers. That is not inherently wrong. But it has unfortunately become a key part of our new culture today.

This leaves young Singaporeans breathless. This work ethic subconsciously makes us stay longer in the office and often even when there is no real reason to do so. Great for the companies, but at what cost to society? We end up having no time to date, no time to go out, no time for ourselves, no time to get married, no time to have children.

We cannot be indifferent to this problem as a society. Our very fabric as a nation depends of the family nucleus. Families play a vital role in determining the welfare of children, in meeting our deepest needs for meaning and solidarity with one another, and in shaping the economic and political fortunes of nations. When the family is not flourishing and no longer serves as the central organising feature of society, the nation begins to lose its basic unit.

2.15 pm

So, it is not just about the money. The more money we throw at the problem, the more monetised and mercantile this most natural of building blocks becomes, reinforcing the growing stereotype that families are commodities. What we need to do today is to reinforce a culture that is centred around the family. From our very childhood, we should imbue in our young the importance of family, encouraging them to have quality time with their own families. For parents of this generation to reset the pace and reset the tempo of our culture.

Part of it is our auto-reverential culture caused by technology. Many of us can attest to the fact that when we are at home, we may be with one another but we are really not with one another, we are with your phones. We pretend to engage with one another, but actually we ignore one another. We think we speak to many people but, actually, we are just talking to ourselves.

On the work front, this happens as well. Technology meant to make work easier, literally ties us to our desk, even if we are away from the office. So, employers must also see more and more the importance that family plays in having a happy workforce. A purely transactional relationship only engenders stress, where parents fear even taking time off for family. We need to do more to encourage a change in work culture and not just through incentives like the Enhanced Work-Life Grant. More can be done at the cultural level.

For all the generosity of our Marriage and Parenthood Package, there must also be whole-of-society issues that need to be addressed like cost of living and aspirations. How can we ensure that, as a society, we continue to value the family and will be willing to help families achieve their aspirations? These take more than just policy, programmes or grants, but the whole society and a relook of our culture.

We must do what we can to avoid what some called the "systematic humiliation, apathy-inducing neglect and soul-killing cruelty" against the role of families in our society.

Enhancing Family-friendly Culture

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) : Couples these days have many valid concerns when planning to embark on parenthood. In truth, some personal sacrifices are necessary. But the broader society, encompassing community groups, employers and families, can do more to compromise and embrace a family-friendly Singapore. There are couples who are perfectly happy juggling four children. These are the ones with good support from the community, their extended families and their workplace. They probably made some personal sacrifices to prioritise their family as well. Others are stressed out just with one.

Today's grandparents are not like those of the 1960s and 1970s. Today's grandparents plan their retirement and go on frequent holidays, and I do not fault them. They deserve the break. So, how do we balance between the needs of the grandparents and their young children who are setting up families? What is being done to help instil a family-friendly culture in Singapore which is supportive of marriage and parenthood? We need a mindset shift in our approach to address the issues in this environment.

Many a time, my wife and I, who are both working and have three kids, will face emergency calls from the school or kids falling ill, among other things, requiring one or both of us to attend to a child. One example of how we can further improve a family culture environment is to see if we can offer some comprehensive back-up care in corporates or private and public agencies with a national software matching platform to help employees find last-minute childcare or eldercare when the usual arrangements breakdown. In the United Kingdom (UK), there are such companies doing it, such as My FamilyCare. But more can be done to create these private set-ups and help these types of companies grow to create a better and more diverse support network in a family-friendly environment.

Family-friendly Workplace

Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong) : Someone shared a story with me once. A man came home and saw his helper at the playground with his children. They were having so much fun and he was jealous. It had been a long day at work and, at that moment, he felt like he was working so hard so that he could pay his domestic helper to have the life that he wants. It was a fleeting thought, but it reflected on how much he wished he could spend more time with his children.

We all have aspirations and we want a better life for our families. We also have much to contribute to the economy and a meaningful job gives us a sense of purpose and drive. However, many of us also yearn for a work-life balance so we can spend time with our families. Employers play an important role in supporting Singaporeans in managing their work-life balance, including providing flexible work arrangements (FWAs) or supporting working fathers in playing more active roles at home.

How will the Government encourage employers to play their part? I note there are schemes, such as the Enhanced Work-Life Grant. Have the measures been effective and what more could be done to encourage employers to foster a more family-friendly workplace culture?

Supporting Working Parents

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines) : Our young Singaporeans are sandwiched in caring for young children and elderly parents. The Government has been providing support to such families. Can the Minister update on further progress and what more will the Ministry be doing?

Demographic trends necessitate changes to how young families are supported at the workplaces. One, with smaller family sizes, our younger Singaporeans need to care for both their children and parents. It is common to easily spend more than a day away from work to bring an older parent for medical check-up. The same applies for an ill child.

Thus, Family Care Leave is important to our workers, especially those whose children are older than seven. The fungibility in using the leave provides more flexibility for workers. Can the Government consider having the Public Service to take the lead in providing family care leave for all public servants as a start?

Second, we need to help our young Singaporean parents better manage the cost of infant care and full-day childcare. Couples are spending, on average, $1,495 on full-day infant care monthly. Those who qualify for $600 subsidy still need to fork out about $900 a month for infant care. This can be quite taxing. Similarly, Singapore Citizens are eligible for a basic subsidy of up to $300 for childcare per month. This was implemented in 2008. Since 2001, the childcare operators have raised their median fees by 22%.

Lastly, FWAs are crucial to support families. While many companies today offer FWAs, it has not been socialised into a societal norm like the Nordic countries. We need to take decisive action to make FWA pervasive. Can we introduce the right to FWA? This makes starting FWA conversations easier for workers. We can start with the larger companies. This can provide real impetus in socialising FWA and better support our families, especially our women workers.

The Chairman : Mr Louis Ng, you can take your two cuts together.

Extending Childcare Leave

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang : Sir, young couples are rightly concerned about whether they have the means to bring up a child. It is now not just "money not enough", but also "time and leave not enough". The current six days of childcare leave and unpaid infant care leave are insufficient. It does not make sense that the amount of leave does not increase as well when you have more kids. Parents with four kids clearly need more leave than parents with one child. With Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) so common now, six days of childcare leave are just not enough. I experienced this last year when all three of my kids had HFMD consecutively. My four-year-old had to be out of school for two weeks.

I am not even sure if parents who have two or more kids will have sufficient annual leave once their childcare leave has been used. Can we consider giving childcare leave on a per child basis? For parents with two or more kids, can the Minister also consider allowing parents to use their sick leave entitlements also when their child is sick? Parents can provide their child's medical certificate (MC) as proof when using this leave.

Extending Parental Leave

Sir, it has been almost two years since I delivered my Adjournment Motion calling for more parental leave for parents of multiples or preterm babies. In the blink of an eye, my twins, Katie and Poppy, are now two years old. From fighting for their lives, they are now fighting for their toys. The burps have been replaced by farts. Their crying has been replaced by smiles and the beautiful sound of laughter. This parenthood journey has been priceless, and I am so happy we have three healthy, happy girls.

The Adjournment Motion speech brought back many painful memories of Katie and Poppy being born premature and almost losing their lives. It is an experience that I hope no parent has to go through and I hope that, through my sharing, our policies will change and they are changing. It was announced last year that we will introduce a Tripartite Standard to encourage employers to provide four weeks of unpaid leave for parents of multiples or preterm babies.

Can the Minister provide an update on how many employers are providing this leave? I understand that MOE is providing this. Can the Minister confirm if the entire Public Service is now providing this unpaid leave?

Mr Speaker : Order. I propose to take a break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 2.45 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 2.25 pm until 2.45 pm.

Sitting resumed at 2.45 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

[(proc text) Debate in Committee of Supply resumed. (proc text)]

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head U (cont) –

The Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mrs Josephine Teo) : Mr Chairman, I thank the Members who have spoken. Their views and suggestions are well appreciated. In my response, I will provide an update of our population strategies and measures to support Marriage and Parenthood.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked how we will build a sustainable and vibrant Singapore for all ages in light of our demographic challenges. We are doing so through three broad strategies.

Our first and foremost strategy in managing the population is to ensure that there is always a new generation of Singaporeans to carry our legacy forward. We want Singapore to be a Great Place for Families, where young couples sense the strong support for marriage and parenthood from society and the state.

How are we doing on this front? In addressing this question, it is useful to take a step back. When we consider developments over longer time periods, there are some reasons to be optimistic.

The average number of citizen births in the last five years is higher than the previous five-year periods. From 2014 to 2018, the average was 33,000 citizen births annually. From 2009 to 2013, the average was lower at 31,400 citizen births annually. If we go back to an even earlier period, between 2004 and 2008, the annual average was 32,000 births. So, for the most recent five-year period, we are talking about 33,000 citizen births on average annually. The five years before that, it was 31,400; and the five years before that, it was 32,000. So, it is clearly higher.

On top of this, many Singaporeans are living overseas, so we welcomed about 1,500 citizen babies born overseas annually over the past five years. This average is also higher than that of the previous five-year periods. From 2009 to 2013, there was an average of about 1,400 overseas citizen births annually. And between 2004 and 2008, this average was 1,000 overseas citizen births.

Recent marriage numbers have also remained high. In fact, the average number of marriages in the past five years was significantly higher than the past decade.

Juxtaposed against these developments is another set of forces at play. Most young Singaporeans still want to marry and have children, which Mr Vikram Nair would be glad to know. From our 2016 Marriage and Parenthood Survey, more than eight in 10 single millennials indicated they intended to marry, and more than nine in 10 married couples said they wanted two or more children. However, they are also taking longer to find the right partner and starting families later. The surge in the number of young Singaporeans entering the prime child-bearing age may be followed by a surge in births, but at a later stage. We believe this explains recent drops in Singapore's TFR to 1.16 in 2017 and 1.14 last year. But, given the positive marriage trends, I remain hopeful that there could be an uptick in TFR when the children of the Baby Boomers start having babies themselves.

For family to remain the bedrock of society, which Mr Alex Yam spoke passionately about, we must actively lean against the wind to make marriage and parenthood achievable, enjoyable and celebrated.

There are still many things in Singapore that are favourable to child-raising. Last year, Singapore was ranked first in the World Bank's inaugural Human Capital Index. And what that means is that as far as the World Bank is concerned, for a child born in any of the 157 countries that they surveyed, Singapore would be where their human capital potential is most likely to be optimised. In the same year, an international non-governmental organisation, "Save The Children", also ranked Singapore as the best country for children to grow up in.

The Government has also progressively enhanced our Marriage and Parenthood Package. Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Desmond Choo had asked about the progress and adequacy of our current measures.

Mr Chairman, Sir, may I have your permission to distribute a table showing the key marriage and parenthood benefits that a young couple can receive today, compared to five years ago?

The Chairman : Yes, please. [ A handout was distributed to hon Members. ]

Mrs Josephine Teo : Thank you. Mr Chairman, firstly, a couple can now own their first home sooner. Flats with shorter waiting times – about two to three years, compared to three to four years for typical Build-To-Order flats – are now available to them. The first batch was launched in November 2018. Those who may have urgent housing needs or location preferences, can choose to buy a resale flat and receive up to $120,000 in housing grants, which is $40,000 more than what a couple would have received in 2014. First-timers buying a new flat in non-mature estates can service their housing loans using less than a quarter of their combined monthly incomes, often with little or no cash because they draw on their CPF savings instead.

Second, parents now benefit from greater support for child-raising costs. When their first child is born, they receive up to $18,000 through the MediSave Grant for Newborns, Baby Bonus Cash Gift, and the Child Development Account (CDA). This is $3,000 more than the maximum a couple would get in 2014. They will also receive a CDA First Step of $3,000 deposited by the Government, without having to save into the CDA first, which helps to lighten their load at the start of their parenthood journey.

Third, in their child's preschool years, the couple would find it easier to enrol their child in an affordable and good quality preschool. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has increased the number of full-day preschool places nationwide by over 50% since 2014. There are 170,000 full-day preschool places today. By 2023, this will increase to about 200,000, and two-thirds of preschoolers will be enrolled in Government-supported preschools.

Fourth, throughout their parenthood journey and as their family commitments increase, the couple now has stronger support to manage their work and family responsibilities today. They enjoy enhanced parental leave provisions, which enable fathers to play a more active role. With up to eight weeks of leave, a father now has access to double the amount of leave in his child’s first year, compared to just five years ago. The take-up of Paternity Leave has been encouraging, increasing from 37% in 2014 to 53% for recent cohorts.

We have also increased paid childcare leave over the years. Today, each parent with children below age seven has six days of childcare leave per year, and two days of childcare leave per year while their children are still in primary school.

Mr Louis Ng gave suggestions on further increasing leave for parents to care for their children, while Mr Desmond Choo suggested legislating FWAs. We will keep reviewing the scope to expand leave provisions but, as Mr Douglas Foo reminded us, we should be careful about mandating businesses to do more as it would impact business viability and put jobs at risk. Given the recent enhancements, I hope Members will agree to give companies some time to adjust before further moves.

In the meantime, promotional efforts should continue. That is why we introduced a Tripartite Standard last year to encourage employers to provide unpaid leave when their employees have unexpected care needs, including multiple or preterm births, or family members or children who are hospitalised. I must thank Mr Louis Ng for giving us the idea. About 450 employers with over 224,000 staff combined, have adopted this Standard. This includes the Public Service with over 70 agencies. We will continue to encourage adoption of the Standard.

I should also add that parents would be more likely to benefit from FWAs. We introduced the Tripartite Standard on FWAs in October 2017, and also launched the enhanced Work-Life Grant last July, to better support the adoption of FWAs. The grant has received more than 340 applications in just five months. More workplaces are now supportive of FWAs. Around 53% of employers now offer at least one formal FWA. This could be flexi-time, flexi-place, flexi-load, and this is up from 47% in 2014. This is, in fact, a significant turning point I have been waiting for. The tide is shifting and I am hopeful FWAs will become much more commonplace henceforth.

Nevertheless, I am aware that young Singaporeans still have concerns, which Mr Desmond Choo also raised.

Parents have raised concerns about financial costs, such as preschool fees. ECDA is reviewing the preschool subsidy framework, to make quality preschool more affordable for parents. The Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF) will provide an update on this during its COS debate.

Parents may also feel the need to keep up with other parents’ intensive efforts in education, for example. MOE, too, is concerned. To help our students discover more joy and develop stronger intrinsic motivation to learn, MOE is reducing the frequency and stakes of school-based assessments. Students' class and level positions will not be reflected in report books to minimise unhealthy comparisons among students based on their academic performance.

MSF has also started the Baby Bonus Parenting Resources Portal to boost confidence in parenting through sharing of tips by experts on raising happy and healthy children.

Next, as Ms Rahayu Mahzam pointed out, the workplace environment is critical. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling will share more at MOM's COS debate.

3.00 pm

But overall, I am encouraged that more companies are taking progressive steps to support their employees' caregiving needs. One such example is M Tech, a small and medium enterprise (SME) which specialises in cybersecurity and network performance solutions. I visited M Tech this week. As many of their employees are young parents who may also be caring for elders in the family, M Tech decided to offer FWAs to staff who need them. This was made possible by IT tools which enable staff to work remotely and still be effective. I met Petrine, a product manager who was able to telecommute when her children were down with chickenpox, and when her mother was hospitalised. M Tech was initially concerned about the investment needed to enable mobile working but later found that the benefits were well worth it. For example, it is better able to attract and retain employees who are productive and committed to their work, such as Petrine, who has been with M Tech for 11 years.

Beyond workplace flexibility, there are deeper issues of workplace culture. Some Singaporeans, indeed, work very long hours, leaving little time for dating or family life. Having fewer hours to rest and recharge not only affects employees' health and well-being, but also the time that they have with their loved ones.

As the nature of work evolves, there is value for organisations to adopt new ways of working that achieve good business outcomes while giving staff enough downtime to recharge.

M Tech employees, for example, may get off work early, whether to attend courses or to pick up their children from childcare. But they would reconnect later in the evening to complete time-sensitive tasks, such as confirming sales orders taken in other time zones, and they do not mind doing it at all because it does not take very long.

So, we hope many more employers will make the effort to promote more sustainable work practices, for the sake of their employees and for their own business viability in the longer run.

Finally, with the trend of later marriages and births, the Government will be reviewing our assistance to couples who face difficulties conceiving and who wish to undergo assisted reproduction technology treatments.

Members, including Mr Ong Teng Koon, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Vikram Nair, have given suggestions on further measures to strengthen support for marriage and parenthood.

I agree we can do more. However, porting over practices in other countries wholesale may not yield the desired results. South Korea, for example, poured much resources to emulate the Nordic countries. But its TFR has not improved and fell to 0.98 last year. I think for South Korea, this is the lowest they have on record.

Our efforts over the last five years are significant, even if they may take more time to bear fruit. We also need deeper changes of mindsets to reduce stresses in parenting.

Ultimately, marriage and parenthood are personal decisions, shaped by the values that each person holds dear, but they are also influenced in no small part by social norms, our families, employers and the wider society. There are strong cultural and societal factors at play. Like Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Alex Yam have pointed out, no single stakeholder can fully address these on its own.

In this regard, I am encouraged to see how various community stakeholders have stepped up.

The Families for Life Council, for example, offers a suite of education programmes at workplaces and community touchpoints. It also organises events to encourage Singaporeans to make family life a priority.

In Boon Lay Constituency, a Parents' Support Group was formed after a group of young parents met at the PA's Embracing PArenthood community celebrations. The group meets quarterly to share tips about child development, infant nutrition, and other parenting pointers.

Such efforts, big or small, go a long way in making parenthood enjoyable and celebrated. We welcome more of them.

In the coming months, the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) will embark on a consultation process to listen to the needs and concerns of Singaporeans around forming families, and how the Government and the community can better support their aspirations. I also appreciate the Members' suggestions and there are many good examples. Mr Saktiandi Supaat suggested Back-Up care. So, I would like to invite all stakeholders to join us in co-creating and shaping policies. We will give more details about the consultation process soon.

Mr Chairman, I have taken some time to reaffirm our commitment to supporting marriage and parenthood. Our second strategy in managing the population is to maintain a careful balance in immigrant flows. At its heart, the aim of our immigration policy is to sustain a stable citizen population that keeps our economy vibrant and our society cohesive.

Similar to the past few years, we granted around 22,600 Singapore Citizenships in 2018, of which 1,600 were to children born overseas to Singaporean parents. With 32,700 Permanent Residencies granted last year, the Permanent Resident (PR) population remains stable at around 520,000.

As Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Mr Gan Thiam Poh mentioned, it is important that citizens share a strong sense of identity and belonging to Singapore. We also agree with Prof Fatimah Lateef that it matters how we select new citizens.

To this end, we conduct regular reviews of our immigration framework. We remain highly selective in granting permanent residencies and citizenships. In all cases, we consider the applicants' age, family profile, economic contributions, as well as their ability to integrate, among other factors. We look for markers of rootedness and identification with Singapore's way of life, values and norms.

Family ties and length of stay provide a strong indication of this. As a result, one in four adults granted citizenship in recent years have family ties with Singaporeans; three in five have lived in Singapore for at least 10 years; and the majority of our new citizens each year are in their younger and prime working ages. We will continue to maintain a careful balance in managing immigration.

Mr Chairman, our third and equally important strategy in building a sustainable population is to enable Singaporeans to age with grace and purpose.

The United Nations (UN) has described population ageing as one of the defining features of our time. In Asia, Japan was the first country to age rapidly. Singapore, together with South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, is not far behind. Today, our life expectancy is the third highest in the world. Fortunately, more of these years are enjoyed in good health than before.

Far from being resigned to this development, our approach is to help Singaporeans enjoy productive longevity, in many varied ways. It starts with being able to stay active, having the opportunity to work if seniors wish to, and strengthening support for retirement adequacy.

Since the 1980s, we have been putting in place measures to prepare for an ageing society. CPF has been enhanced over the years. Besides home ownership, it now helps Singaporeans save for healthcare needs and receive payouts for life in their retirement.

Beyond CPF Life, the Government also introduced the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), Silver Support, MediShield Life and now, CareShield Life, to help families take better care of their seniors. For older Singaporeans who may have less in MediSave, we have provided the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation Packages with a focus on keeping quality healthcare affordable to seniors. This is in addition to regular top-ups to boost retirement savings.

As the recent Parliamentary Motion on Ageing with Purpose affirmed, we should continue to improve our policies to support the changing profile of seniors. For example, more seniors wish to work longer. Our employment rate of those aged 55 to 64 is already among the highest in the world and still going up. In my capacity as Manpower Minister, I set up a Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers. Later in the debate, I will provide an update on the Workgroup's deliberations that will address Mr Gan Thiam Poh's concerns about supporting senior employment.

Within our communities, we are also updating the way we care for seniors, for example, through innovative, award-winning solutions like Kampung Admiralty. My colleagues at the Ministry of Health (MOH) will share more during their COS debate. With your permission, Mr Chairman, I would like to conclude in Mandarin.

( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Mr Chairman, we will continue to strengthen our efforts to make Singapore a Great Place for Families.

In the last five years, trends in marriages and citizen births are encouraging. There were on average 33,000 citizen births each year between 2014 and 2018. In the earlier five-year periods, the annual average was lower, at 31,400 from 2009 to 2013 and 32,000 from 2004 to 2008. Marriages are also on the rise.

We have significantly strengthened support for marriage and parenthood in recent years, for example, in the areas of housing, child-raising costs, preschool, and managing their work and family responsibilities. Compared to even five years ago, young parents are much better supported.

While the Government strengthens its support, we also need the whole of society to make Singapore a Great Place for Families. For example, employers and co-workers can help by accommodating parents’ needs for FWAs. Community organisations can also celebrate parenthood and build networks of support among peers.

We will embark on a consultation process in the coming months to listen to the needs and concerns of Singaporeans over forming families. We hope that various stakeholders will continue giving feedback and join us in making Singapore a truly Great Place for Families.

The Chairman : Mr Darryl David.

Digital Nation Benefits for Singaporeans

Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio) : Mr Chairman, the Smart Nation initiative was launched in late 2014 with the aim of applying digital and smart solutions to provide better services to our residents and businesses.

Since its inception, the Smart Nation Initiative has gone on to embark on numerous pilot projects and trials, some of which, like contactless payment for public transport and TeleHealth, are starting to bear fruit. That said, some of these initiatives seem to have been started as standalone programmes, with Government agencies and Statutory Boards launching their own initiatives.

Can the Prime Minister's Office elaborate more on the larger national narrative guiding the Smart Nation Initiative and how it has delivered tangible benefits to citizens and businesses?

Also, are there intentions to embark on a public-private partnership to commercialise current initiatives so that more benefits can be delivered to end users by private sector players?

People at the Heart of Smart Nation

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) : People must be at the heart of our Smart Nation efforts. Solution should deal with only modern problems to make urban living easier for our people. These could include transportation, energy efficiency, public safety, public health, citizen engagement, privacy and cybersecurity. A Smart Nation needs to succeed. We need to solicit citizens' and businesses' buy-in. Benefits have to be real for them to believe in it. Hence, designing solutions to be citizen- or user-centric is imperative.

In Estonia, the use of X-Road by its government offered much benefit to its citizens making life easier at every level and at engendering support for and trust towards its smart government. It is estimated that X-Road saves more than 820 years of working time for the state and its citizens annually. Secure digital identity (ID) also enables Estonians to complete transactions efficiently and securely. When a child is born, for example, the hospital enters the information in its database that is linked to the National Population Register. The information is shared automatically with various government systems that then ensure the child receives social benefits, such as healthcare and education.

Given our aspirations and the experiences of other countries, how would the Government ensure that services are citizen-centric? While it is the Government's plan to make its services more data-driven and anticipatory, what more can citizens and businesses expect to benefit from our Smart Nation efforts?

3.15 pm

Personal Data with Public Agencies

Ms Sylvia Lim : Digital Defence is now our sixth pillar of Total Defence, and all, including the Government, play a role in this.

On 12 February this year, the Minister for Communications and Information told the House that GovTech is overall in charge of the security and safeguards systems for data and that Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is the agency that does many of the reviews, ensures the Government agencies are in compliance with the Instruction Manuals and other provisions.

I would like to ask whether GovTech specifically oversees that citizens' personal data stored within public agencies is safeguarded from misuse, hacking or leak. For instance, does GovTech audit the data and privacy protection practices of public agencies? In view of the risks and breaches that had occurred, would the Government look into publishing an annual report on the cybersecurity readiness of public agencies to give some reassurance to citizens and to encourage the achievement of high standards?

Next, while there are regulations to punish public officers who do not comply with confidentiality obligations, what is the position of the innocent persons whose data has been compromised? For instance, it was recently reported that a station inspector had illegally accessed the Police's computer system to screen the telephone records of a man he suspected of having an affair with his wife. In such a case, are there guidelines about whether the affected person should be told and within a certain timeframe? Such information is crucial for victims to protect themselves and to seek recourse in a timely manner.

Finally, during the recent debate on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) registry leak, the Government told the House that a person whose data had been leaked, had the recourse of suing MOH. Besides commencing an expensive lawsuit against the Government, how else can an aggrieved person get compensation?

Smart Nation Programmes

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng : Mr Chairman, my cut is on our Smart Nation vision and programmes. Our Smart Nation vision is a good one. A digital Government will allow for an integrated and seamless Government, resulting in better policies and operations. A digital economy will increase productivity for businesses, will create new jobs and opportunities right into the future. A digital society will allow our people to enjoy greater conveniences, increased opportunities and a higher quality of life.

Since the inception of the Smart Nation initiative in late 2014, good progress has been made in applying digital and smart solutions to provide better services for our citizens and businesses.

Several good programmes that have been introduced should be applauded. The Moments of Life initiative is a good example – a one-stop application to help Singaporeans navigate the journey of welcoming a newborn and raise a young child. New parents can register the birth of their newborn and apply for Baby Bonus incentives at one go, through a single application. For preschoolers, parents can search for preschools, retrieve and view medical data of their child on the Moments of Life application. For many parents entering the exciting and busy journey of parenthood, the conveniences of a one-stop application versus a need to navigate various agencies and websites provide a real and tangible benefit.

Another good programme is the launch of MyInfo Business, which allows SMEs to interact and access 129 Government e-services and 143 private sector e-services.

However, these initiatives are but a small step towards our Smart Nation goals. The technology curve has moved very rapidly and what was not possible is now possible.

I would like to ask the Minister to provide an update on the programmes that we are implementing over the next few years so as to allow us to achieve our Smart Nation vision.

Preparing for the Future

Chairman, my next cut is on preparing for the future. Despite lacking in traditional factors of production like land, labour and capital, Singapore was able to beat the odds in our transformation from a Third-World country to a First-World country today. Our success can be attributed to strong and honest leadership, a tolerant multiracial society and a culture of self-reliance and mutual support.

Today, we face a fresh set of challenges – an ageing society, sharper infrastructure and manpower constraints, just to name a few.

Amidst a global digital revolution, Singapore has to accelerate the transformation of our society and economy in order to remain competitive or risk being left behind. There are many benefits to a digital economy. Higher productivity, better quality of life, better jobs, reduced business operating costs and the list goes on. Because of the significant benefits to citizens and businesses, other cities and nations around the world are also embarking on similar digitalisation efforts. Let me give just one example.

In October 2018, Emirates launched trials of the world's first biometric pathways at Dubai International Airport. This allows the use of biometric technology through Smart immigration tunnels, with passengers walking through immigration without a need to stop at a counter. Through adoption of these technologies, the United Arab Emirates has plans to gradually phase out airport immigration officers by 2020.

As other countries embark on similar digitalisation efforts, what is the Government doing on the Smart Nation front to ensure that we remain relevant and globally competitive?

The Chairman : Mr Teo Ser Luck. You can take your two cuts together.

Businesses in Smart Nation

Partnership on Smart Nation

Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol) : We have shared our vision to become a Smart Nation and there have been announcements and programmes implemented. And through Smart Nation, there are many opportunities we can help to liven all the startups and also local businesses. There is a high expectation for a Smart Nation project to bring to businesses efficiency, effectiveness as well as business opportunities, especially in the tech business community.

However, instead of a growing interest thus far, there seems to be a lesser anticipation and excitement now about the projects and many have seen that the opportunities that they anticipated were not coming through. So, may I know whether the Ministry or the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) could update on what is the impact on the businesses so far in terms of opportunities as well as in doing business within the Smart Nation project?

There are many projects that the private sector has embarked on, especially the tech businesses. We should be able to tap on these startups or companies that develop these technologies, and especially when they have developed advanced state-of-the-art developments in AI, machine learning or automation. GovTech does not need to set up another group or another committee to redevelop or reinvent the wheel. It could partner these companies to go into a trial and test process. And many of these technologies have been tested by the market. Do consider them before setting up another major project within GovTech or within the Government. Work with these companies out there. They can offer good help and better help.

Could PMO update the business community what are the initiatives available through the Smart Nation project and what are the opportunities that will be available in future.

The Chairman : Mr Ong Teng Koon; not here. Mr Vikram Nair.

Smart Nation

Mr Vikram Nair : Mr Chairman, the Singapore Government is leading the way in making Singapore a Smart Nation. GovTech is ensuring that more and more Government services are available online and are easy to use online. This is commendable.

However, a Smart Nation may be led by a smart Government, but it will also need a "smart" private sector to take full advantage of the progress.

In this respect, how is the Government involving the private sector and the tech community in this Smart Nation drive? What new initiatives can we expect in the coming year?

Smart Nation and Digital Inclusion

Ms Rahayu Mahzam : The Smart Nation effort is a commendable one. It is necessary to keep up with the changing global developments and ensure that our citizens can benefit from updated technology, so that we can all enjoy a better quality of life. Smart technology can also be used to make society more inclusive. For example, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is now trialing a new mobile app that makes it easier for people with special needs to travel.

Still, some have expressed concern that we may be changing too fast and that there are vulnerable groups in our community who may not be able to keep up with the change. Some are concerned that the elderly may not be digitally savvy and will have difficulties adjusting to the changes. Others are concerned that low-income families may have limited access to new devices or even the Internet. We need to ensure that these groups are not left out and can, in fact, benefit from the Smart Nation initiatives.

Could the Ministry give an update on the efforts taken so far and elaborate on how the Smart Nation can benefit the vulnerable groups mentioned above?

The Chairman : Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan) : Mr Chairman, on behalf of the prime geek in Government, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

We have made significant strides in our use of the latest digital technologies, first, to generate new jobs; second, to reskill our workers for these new jobs; third, to restructure our economy in order to sharpen our competitiveness; fourth, to improve the quality of life on a daily basis; and, fifth, of course, to enhance the integrated delivery of Government services on a citizen-centric level.

I want to thank Mr Cedric Foo, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Mr Vikram Nair who have quite rightly emphasised that what matters is not technology for its own sake, but people, that is, what we do with the technology and how it benefits us in our daily lives.

With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I display an infographic to show our Smart Nation projects and their milestones, and also request that the Clerks to distribute the printout.

The Chairman : Please do so. [ A handout was distributed to hon Members. ]

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan : Thank you. First, we have focused on increasing convenience in our daily lives. The MyInfo project allows you to open a bank account or apply for credit cards online and get approval almost instantly through carefully secured shared data. SingPass Mobile is an app that allows citizens to log in to Government services using biometric authentication instead of passwords. I am glad to report that 200,000 people have used the system since we launched it four months ago. PayNow has seen 2.3 million registrations. And, in fact, a lesser known fact that those of you who have linked your National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) number to PayNow can receive your SG Bonus, Edusave awards and, even more pertinent politically, can even receive your CPF lump-sum payments quickly, almost instantly, instead of waiting for cheques to arrive in the mail.

The Moments of Life app helps parents manage their child's early years. So far, 2,000 births have been electronically registered through a single auto-filled form. I forgot to check whether Ms Tin Pei Ling used the app. Not yet. For the next one, then. This is part of the service delivery approach that Minister Chan Chun Sing described just now. After my appeal and Mrs Josephine Teo's appeal, Ms Tin Pei Ling should have the next one. Together, we believe that these improvements will allow all of us to save time, reduce transaction costs and increase efficiency.

Second, Smart Nation has also tried to facilitate a safer living environment. We are trialing a new Personal Alert Button for the elderly to call for help, especially after a fall, when they may be immobilised. This was brought home to me even more starkly recently when Minister Khaw Boon Wan described when he had his fall and he fractured his arm and the intense agony that immobilised him. And as you would have seen in his Facebook post yesterday, this is not unique to him. Many elderly people have faced emergencies at home alone, immobilised and they need to call for help. So, this is one example in trying to make a difference at a direct personal level.

Another example, drowning detection systems have helped our lifeguards keep community swimming pools safer. The National Environment Agency (NEA) has installed 50,000 Smart Gravitraps to help monitor and destroy breeding sites for dengue-spreading Aedes mosquitoes.

The MyResponder app has helped to save the lives of at least 13 heart attack victims so far. But more important than the apps and the technology is the fact that this is an example where technology has enabled us to express our mutual care for one another.

Third, our initiatives have helped made it easier to do business. We are continuing to provide more choice and better interoperability in e-payments. Last year, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) together launched the common Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) standard, and the Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) has rolled out 50,000 Unified Point-of-Sales terminals across the country. These initiatives have helped merchants to offer greater convenience for consumers and reduced cash usage. In Smart Nation, we must always be data-driven. So, I asked and I have been informed that e-payment values have increased to more than three times that of automated teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawals. So, we are moving in the right direction.

3.30 pm

NETS was also appointed to unify the e-payment landscape at hawker centres and coffee shops. This will allow the consolidation of different e-payment methods and, more importantly, faster settlement for hawkers. So, they receive their money the next day.

More than 80,000 businesses have registered for PayNow Corporate since its launch last August. Like individuals, businesses can now send and receive payments instantly. The PayNow initiative has contributed to cheque usage falling to 20% of inter-bank transfer volumes. Again, making progress in the right direction.

MyInfo Business allows up to 220,000 SMEs to open bank accounts and apply for loans easily and quickly. IRAS has piloted direct submission of Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns from businesses’ accounting software, enabled by National Digital Identity (APIs), and will look to extend this to all GST-registered businesses. The Networked Trade Platform has reduced application time for trade permits. It used to take several days, now it takes one hour. This reduces the burden of administrative processes and enables our entrepreneurs to focus on growing their businesses instead of navigating red tape.

Mr Teo Ser Luck and Mr Vikram Nair asked about our upcoming initiatives. We will continue to make our digital services more accessible, more integrated. We will enhance the SingPass Mobile so that it can be used for secure logins to selected private sector applications as well. Security will, of course, remain our central preoccupation. Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will address Ms Sylvia Lim's question on security, because without security at the core of our Smart Nation, many of these initiatives will be at risk.

We will expand the slew of services under Moments of Life to help citizens deal with all the significant turning points in our life, birth, school, marriage, even including end-of-life matters. And we will empower seniors to lead more active lives. MOH will share more of this in their session. We will continue to enhance convenience in daily life.

Parking.SG is already used by over 60% of car owners, and we want to make it even easier not just to pay for parking but to find their parking lots. This year, GovTech, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Municipal Services Office (MSO) will be trialing the installation of smart sensors so that we can provide real-time availability of kerbside parking lots to people who are looking for a lot.

HDB is looking to create smarter towns so that we can optimise land, infrastructure and utilities, and allow people to engage and form communities using these digital tools. This will make our heartlands more liveable, efficient, sustainable and safe.

Businesses can look forward to more digital tools to increase connectivity both within Singapore and beyond our borders. IMDA's new national e-invoicing standard will speed up corporate invoicing and payments. And those of you in business will know that the velocity of cash flow is crucial in business.

We are streamlining Government transactions. The Minister for Finance mentioned a pilot portal to help up to 18,000 food service companies cut red tape in their licence applications. Anyone who has tried to open a restaurant would have known it takes many applications. We will try to streamline all these in the process, remove duplicate applications, reduce red tape and to give approvals faster. We hope to expand this effort to other industries in future.

Our goal is to integrate all these services to help firms unlock new ways of connecting with consumers and other businesses and transacting with the Government. SNDGG is not doing this on our own. We are not a Ministry but we view ourselves as a shared platform for the whole of Government. The Digital Government Blueprint calls for the Government to be digital to the core by 2023. Many agencies have, therefore, implemented or are in the process of implementing new digital initiatives in order for us to achieve this.

Let me give Members another example. MOH launched Healthy 365, which has kept 1.7 million users active over the past four years. Many people have told me that they enjoy the National Steps Challenge and I am especially intrigued to see so many non-techy people wearing activity trackers. It is not just because the Health Promotion Board (HPB) is giving it away free, but the combination of community and activity and, of course, the usual Singapore pursuit of health points and discounts helps. But the point is that we have used technology to make a difference and to improve health on a daily basis.

MCCY recently launched a central volunteer management system to deepen volunteer engagement and recruitment. Six public agencies now use volunteer.sg to manage over 20,000 active volunteers. MCCY will share more during their session.

I have described a whole slew of existing and upcoming benefits to citizens from the Smart Nation. But I also agree with Ms Tin Pei Ling that we must continue to our citizen-centric focused and delivering services in an integrated way. In the coming years, with the data generated from our expanding digital infrastructure, we can expect the services to become more personalised, more tailor-made to the individual needs of citizens and be more responsive. When people shop online, when people engage online, especially with the private sector, expectations are raised and they expect the Government to also be able to respond in such a personalised, responsive manner.

One way which we are going to do this is also to make better use of AI which, we believe, will greatly improve our lives and our economy. Let me spend some time then to share with Members what we are doing in this AI space. AI and, in particular, deep machine learning, have revolutionised the scene in recent years. AI has already begun to make an impact in our daily lives. If we just stop to think about it, the voice assistants in our handphone, the language translations, the global positioning system (GPS) optimisation, the credit card fraud alerts, all these have benefited from advances in AI just within the last two years.

I have mentioned just now that the Government has been using AI for drowning detection in our swimming pools. We have also used it for SkillsFuture's fraud detection, and for local speech recognition. In fact, AI speech recognition has been used to augment the transcription of COS speeches this year. So, it should make it more accurate. And even if you point out mistakes, you will help us improve the system.

Mr Cedric Foo asked how Smart Nation will keep us relevant. AI, data analytics, robotics and automation are crucial ingredients for us to restructure of our economy. We need to achieve a quantum leap in productivity by creating new engines of growth. The Government needs to upgrade our technology stack so that we can be more responsive to citizens’ needs and to the demands of an increasingly competitive marketplace. We believe that Singapore has a good foundation for AI, through a multi-agency effort from SNDGG, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and our economic agencies.

The National Research Foundation (NRF) set up AI Singapore to bring all relevant research institutions and AI startups together. GovTech will set up a centre of excellence in data science and AI to help other agencies deploy these AI solutions and technologies. Finally, MCI is developing guidelines to encourage responsible and safe use of AI, such as the Model AI Governance Framework which Minister Iswaran announced recently.

We need to double down on these efforts. This year, an interagency taskforce will study how Singapore will develop AI as a strategic capability and become a trusted global hub for test-bedding, for deploying and scaling up AI solutions, especially in the context of a highly urbanised city like ours. For citizens, this means new and better services, whether from the Government or private sector. The possibilities are promising. McKinsey has identified 160 use cases where AI can be used for social good. For example, AI can "recommend content to students based on past successes and engagement with the material" and "detect student distress early". Basically, what it means is that we talk about streams and subject banding. All that is still relevant. But to really be able to customise that educational journey for that individual, sometimes maybe even to gamify it, will provide a more helpful educational experience for our students.

We also foresee AI optimising urban scenarios, for instance, in optimising our traffic light networks and to predictively maintain public infrastructure. In other words, make sure things do not break down or to identify potential problems, before they lead to a breakdown. We foresee AI applications in finance, in logistics and cybersecurity. In fact, there are already many local companies in these and other domains. This is to answer Mr Teo Ser Luck. We hope to co-create with these companies the development of these new AI solutions.

To scale up AI development, we are looking to democratise access to data and AI tools so that everyone can learn and experiment with AI solutions. We want to support SMEs to adopt AI and to work with the Government on relevant use cases. We will expand Government and private sector collaboration. One example is AI Singapore's 100 Experiments programme for companies to solve their own real-world business problems, together with AI experts. This programme will also bring AI apprentices to co-train with industry. So, in other words, we are linking businesses to main experts and people who want to learn and enter this industry.

Lastly, we will build up local know-how in AI, and we will equip everyone to benefit from AI capabilities. This means teaching computational thinking and data literacy in schools, and training adults in data science and AI skills. Before that sounds too scary, I want to say that we do not expect everyone to become an AI expert. But think of AI in the future in the same way which you think of word processing today. It is a general-purpose technology, and we want our workforce to be able to use AI tools to participate meaningfully in the future AI-driven economy to secure good jobs, improve productivity and raise wages.

So, let me conclude by restating the obvious. Smart Nation is ultimately about improving lives and livelihoods. We have done reasonably well so far. Singapore won the City Award at the 2018 World Smart City Awards in Barcelona, which testifies to the concrete benefits that Smart Nation brings to Singaporeans and the recognition which we have from the rest of the world. Still, we cannot be complacent because the pace of technological change is so unrelentingly quick. The Government will continue supporting our local firms in this mercurial environment through initiatives, such as Scale-Up SG, the Enterprise Financing Scheme and SMEs Go Digital, which Members have heard about from Minister Heng Swee Keat in the Budget speech. And I share Ms Rahayu Mahzam's concerns on digital readiness and inclusion, and Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will elaborate on the special inclusion initiatives that we will embark on to make sure no citizen is left behind.

But these challenges and all these disruptions also bring many opportunities for Singapore, especially a city-state with hardworking, disciplined, highly educated people. We have disproportionate opportunities in such a world. We call on citizens and businesses to journey with us, to fully exploit our comparative advantage, take advantage of the resources and the infrastructure that we have put in place, and to co-create solutions for the future. If we do this, Mr Chairman, we can all reap the benefits of our Smart Nation for years and decades to come.

3.45 pm

The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary.

The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Transport (Dr Janil Puthucheary) : Mr Chairman, if I may follow on from Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's rallying cry for all of us to become involved in Singapore's Smart Nation ambition. The Government cannot make this happen alone, cannot make this happen through force of will, by wishing it, by making speeches. We need the ideas and capabilities of our people and our businesses. As a nation, everyone needs to be part of our Smart Nation journey.

We do not have a monopoly on the best ideas and talent. We will need to create opportunities for citizens, community partners and businesses to contribute meaningfully to Smart Nation.

Members Mr Teo Ser Luck and Mr Vikram Nair have asked about partnerships between the Government, businesses and the tech community. One of the ways we are facilitating greater participation from businesses is through building something we call CODEX which stands for Core Operations, Development Environment and Exchange, which is a shared digital backbone, part of which is the Singapore Government Tech Stack. This can be used to build applications and digital services. CODEX will be modular, interoperable and will, in future, allow an interface to parties outside the Government.

As part of CODEX, we are working with public agencies to shift their ICT systems towards the commercial cloud. So, Government, systems, public agency systems on the commercial cloud, and this will allow us to benefit from leading edge private sector capabilities to build products and services better for our citizens.

We are also actively involving the tech community. One example is a mobile application called “Kill The Queue”, which allows shoppers to save time by scanning and paying for items through their mobile phones as they shop. The app was conceptualised by a team of GovTech engineers. They then partnered students from Temasek Polytechnic to build a prototype, as part of the students' final year project. This partnership also allows students to improve their skills through solving real-world challenges. So, partnerships through businesses by looking at how Government build platforms and products can be interoperable and can create opportunities for businesses to interface with ideas that we can seed out into the students and the academic community so that they can run with and try to develop real-world solutions.

Members may have heard of "Developers Conferences" or DevCons. These are usually organised by tech companies, such as Apple, Google or Facebook, and they are done to engage engineers and the tech business communities to leverage upon the product or the platform owned by that company. So, we might have an Apple on iPhone operating system (iOS) Developers Conference, for example, or Facebook Developers Conference, where the time is given for software developers and businesses to think how they can utilise that product better for their own business purposes and how their feedback then improves the product of the person running the Developers Conference.

To facilitate greater collaboration with the community, and to look ahead to how the private sector can build products that layer onto or interface with our Smart Nation platforms, we organised our first ever Developers Conference, GovTech STACK DevCon 2018. I have yet to comprehensively verify this. So, a bit of a caveat that I have not received evidence to the contrary, but I believe so far, this is the first and only Government-driven Developer's Conference. And this event attracted over 1,200 attendees from the private sector, the Government, public sector and tech community.

Separately, we also support hackathons. Members may have heard about hackathons. So, what is the difference between a Developers Conference and a hackathon? A Developers Conference, the person organising it has a product, has a solution, has a platform and wants to ask the community how to do things better using this product, how to make the product better for you. In a hackathon, the participants are generating ideas to solve the problems that they are concerned about and the Government also supports this. This provides platforms for the tech community to come together, learn from one another, ideate and build products. We support the hackathons, such as the Startup Weekend Singapore Mega 2018 and the "Smart City Challenge", which was jointly organised by DBS, GovTech and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

We are extending our outreach efforts beyond the tech community because we need a Smart Nation which benefits all citizens from all walks of life.

We are actively engaging citizens on Smart Nation initiatives through a project called Smart Nation Co-Creating with our People Everywhere (SCOPE). SCOPE is a platform for us to bring out early prototypes of our digital products or ideas to citizens. So, one example that Minister Vivian Balakrishnan quoted was the alert button. Very earlier on in its design phase and its conceptualisation phase, just as soon as we have something physical, we encourage participants to play with these products, to try them out, to test them and their feedback then is used to improve our product development process. This is something very common in the private sector. But now we are starting to use these techniques in developing our public sector's Smart Nation solutions.

We have had a series of engagements over four months, at Senior Activity Centres, grassroots events and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) events, reaching in this way to over 3,500 citizens. We have collected many useful insights and suggestions.

One example of these insights is how receptive seniors are to active ageing services within the Moments of Life application. On our preliminary findings, the majority of seniors aged 60 and above have smartphones, and are open to the idea of using digital services. They also gave feedback about how to design the application in an easy-to-use manner, and how to provide support and coaching to seniors so that they can use these apps and benefit from these services. All of this will help us to develop and deliver a better product, better services and better experience.

We will continue to scale up these efforts. To enable more Singaporeans from different walks of life to contribute to Smart Nation, we will be signing a memorandum of understanding with NTUC to further engage workers and their families to help them make the most of new jobs and opportunities.

I agree with Mdm Rahayu Mahzam that even as we move ahead in building Smart Nation, we need to ensure that this Smart Nation includes and benefits all Singaporeans.

We are committed to Digital Inclusion and Digital Readiness, so that everyone is able to access the opportunities that technology creates. I will speak more about these broader Digital Readiness efforts in the MCI COS. But SNDGG will play our part by ensuring that the Government's digital services are designed to benefit all.

As part of these efforts by the Government to improve the useability of our websites, we have developed a set of Digital Service Standards (DSS) for Government agencies.

For example, HDB's website MyNiceHome is a portal that provides first-time home owners with useful information about buying and renovating a flat and this has been completely redesigned. The site was made mobile-responsive, different forms of search and assistance had been added, and the content had been made accessible to people with disabilities. And as a result, the site traffic has increased significantly.

Ms Sylvia Lim has asked about data protection within the public sector. The Government should, indeed, be held to high standards for the protection of the data it collects. In SNDGG, our role is not just about delivering good products, but also in setting and maintaining high standards of data protection for the public sector.

The Government has progressively enhanced security measures to safeguard sensitive data. We introduced the Internet Surfing Separation policy in 2016 and the disabling of Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports from being accessed by unauthorised devices in 2017. We have also increased the number and types of internal IT audits to check on agencies’ data access and data protection measures. As a matter of practice, agencies will use identifiable data only when necessary, such as for providing personalised services.

We will continuously review our standards and measures and incorporate lessons learnt and industry best practices. For example, we will be progressively automating user account management to ensure tight and robust access control.

Where citizens suspect that their data have been misused or hacked, they can lodge a complaint with the agency and, if there is any suspicion of a crime, they can make a report to the Police. They can contact GovTech directly. We have guidelines for the handling of data and protocols that should be in place. Complaints will be thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken. On top of that, there are other issues and consequences as a result of that, and we would like to discuss the ways we can help and support them.

To build our Smart Nation platforms and products, to engage the tech community and businesses, to develop and enforce rigorous standards across the public sector, and to create jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans, we will need to build up a strong core of engineering skills. We have been searching for engineering talent to join us. We are looking for people with bright minds, an eye for computational design and the drive to contribute to society. There are exciting opportunities for engineers in the Government.

And I would like to cite a particular example, Ms Laura Lee. Members may or may not be familiar with Ms Lee's first employer King.com which is a software developer. I suspect some Members may be more familiar with one of their products which is Candy Crush. While Ms Lee was working at King.com, helping Candy Crush to become one of the bestselling games of all time, she read about how data was used by GovTech engineers to resolve the spate of mysterious disruptions to the Circle Line in 2016. So, reading about that effort by our data scientists to solve these real-world problems, Ms Lee was inspired to come back home to Singapore and join us. And now she is currently a Data Scientist with GovTech working to improve the Government’s digital services, such as transport route planning and jobs matching. Like many of our engineers, she also pursues other projects as part of her personal professional development within the team. Currently, she is part of a team that is trying to find ways to use technology, machine learning and our Smart Nation platforms to encourage more recycling. This is something that she initiated as part of a hackathon she participated in, using her skills to pursue something that matters to her.

Ms Lee did not graduate with a computer science degree. Her training was in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics. While at university, in order to pursue one of the courses that she had, she had to learn R which is a programming language focused on Statistics and her ability to use R to solve the problems and apply those solutions to what she was working on sparked her interest in coding and data science. So, today, she is familiar with a variety of coding languages – Python, CSS, Javascript and HTML – and all of these she picked up after starting work. Recently, she had developed a full-stack web application as part of an internal hackathon project.

And the point I want to make with this: what Ms Lee’s story demonstrates, and there are many others like her, the experience that they have, this demonstrates that the opportunities that are created in Smart Nation are not just for a handful of people, not just for a few. We are hoping to make them as widespread as possible, including the jobs that are created. It is not just for those students who are currently pursuing a Computer Science course or participating in Robotics as a co-curricular activity (CCA). Ms Lee's CCAs, by the way, were hockey and Student Council. It is not necessary to have picked up all the programming skills before leaving school. What is important is to have the drive, curiosity and willingness to pick up new skills throughout our lives.

Smart Nation is a national effort, and we in the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group will do our part to work closely with citizens and businesses to create jobs, opportunities and a sense of transformation and optimism for the next generation of Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Mr Pritam Singh.

Improving Election Processes

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied) : Sir, in 2015, Workers' Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Yee Jenn Jong noted that the completeness of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report had been shrinking over the years and asked for the meeting minutes of the Committee's report to be released. In response, the Prime Minister replied that on the completeness of the report and the minutes, "I leave that to the Committee". Even though the Prime Minister said that he was not in favour of publishing every twist and turn that would be reflected in the minutes, the Prime Minister was noncommittal on the prospect of a more complete report. It would appear that this can change should the Government decide to do so since the EBRC's Terms of Reference are determined by the Prime Minister himself. I hope we can move from the circular nature of these justifications and provide a report for the public that details why specific precincts in Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) are moved or swapped for each and every constituency in future.

In addition, why does the Government not announce the formation of the EBRC as a matter of practice? It would be a waste of Parliament's time and even bordering on an abuse of process if a Member of Parliament had to file the same Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister when rumours of an imminent election are in the air. In making the point, can I enquire if the EBRC has been formed?

In 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean stated that the Prime Minister will certainly remain open to and consider making refinements to its procedures when necessary. I hope these suggestions on greater detail in the Committee’s report and announcing when the Committee is formed will be taken on board.

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Finally, it was announced that the Elections Department will conduct roadshows to educate voters on changes to the Parliamentary elections system, specifically, the electronic registration for voters. Can the Prime Minister update the House on this matter and the number of roadshows that will be organised for this purpose, where and when they will be held in the months to come?

The Chairman : Minister Chan Chun Sing.

Mr Chan Chun Sing : Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Prime Minister. It has been the practice for the Prime Minister to appoint an EBRC to review the number, names and boundaries of electoral divisions ahead of a General Election. The Committee is made up of senior civil servants who are knowledgeable in demographic shifts and population statistics. The review report is presented as a White Paper to Parliament and released to the public once it is accepted by the Government.

In drawing up its recommendations, the Committee is guided by the terms of reference laid out by the Prime Minister. The Committee independently considers and determines how the constituencies are delineated, the size and configuration of the constituencies, as well as the total number of Members of Parliament to be returned. When reviewing the electoral boundaries, the Committee takes into account technical factors, such as population growth and shifts and other relevant parameters.

As a matter of practice, we should allow the Committee to focus on its work professionally, away from unnecessary media attention or public pressures. As with past elections, there will be sufficient time, from when the Committee’s review report is made public to the time of the election, for candidates and political parties to make their preparations.

On Mr Pritam Singh's second question as to whether the EBRC has been formed yet, the answer is no. And for the number of roadshows, we have done that in preparation for the last Presidential Election and will continue to do that as we move towards the next General Election.

The Chairman : Assoc Prof Daniel Goh.

Subsidising the Stock Market

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member) : Mr Chairman, MAS recently announced a $75 million plan to boost equities research and equity listings. The Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) will co-fund listing costs of companies and the salaries of equity research hires by 50% to 70%.

Critics have argued that this is throwing money at the problem without addressing the fundamental issues of stock market malaise.

For small to mid-size caps, the main problem seems to be the lack of expertise and experience on corporate governance. Even before we can talk about investor excitement, we should address the confidence of retail investors in small and mid-caps. There is often excitement in initial listings, many times encouraged by enthusiastic analyst coverage, but this excitement very easily gives way to collapsing stock prices due to corporate governance issues.

Recent examples include e-commerce startup Y Ventures and food and beverage (F&B) company Kimly. These have affected retail investor confidence. The restructuring of Noble Group, which has not been allowed to relist, and the current restructuring of Hyflux to save it from liquidation, have further affected confidence.

For both Noble and Hyflux, analyst reports have had little impact in educating retail investors about their cash flow problems. Shareholder activism and academic scrutiny have done more to highlight potential issues, but often too late for retail investors. Would not the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) do better to fund programmes to advise small and mid-caps on corporate governance and improve their performance in this aspect?

Corporate Governance in Companies

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member) : Mr Chairman, last year, the Keppel Offshore and Marine corruption case was discussed in this House. Many people have wondered how sizeable bribe payments were made without oversight from the highest level of management or its Board. Like the Swiber case, we are still waiting for the outcome of the Keppel case.

The ongoing problems plaguing Hyflux that have since surfaced remind us that corporate governance issues remain complex and entrenched, with potential market-wide implications. This, in turn, can affect shareholder value and investor confidence.

The repercussions of such problems affect many small-scale retail investors. Sixty-year-old Mrs Goh shared with Channel NewsAsia her worries of not being able to recoup her investment in Hyflux. Such worries are not unfounded as recent announcements by Hyflux have indicated that investors like her will have to suffer losses on their investments if a proposed restructuring plan proceeds.

In many other cases, it is often the minority investors that lack protection and do not get any help from the regulators or the law when majority shareholders and directors make use of loopholes in regulations to effect transactions at the expense of minority shareholders.

Another worry arising from such corporate malfeasance is the impact such incidents can have on the companies' reputation and, by extension, on Singapore’s. Some international commentators have made unflattering remarks on the robustness of Singapore’s regulatory regime and enforcement.

I note that MAS has set up a Corporate Governance Advisory Committee (CGAC) as part of the recommendations by the Corporate Governance Council, itself set up in 2018 to review the Code of Corporate Governance.

Despite such efforts, it may be time for us to acknowledge that self-regulation and internally-driven processes on corporate governance cannot be relied upon solely. The present oversight processes and regime are surely not adequate. In some of these cases, the problems reported seemed to have escaped the attention of their auditors or the problems have not been commented upon by their auditors.

In cases where the executive management of a company or its board is aware of serious malfeasance or malpractices or is not aware of such malfeasance but ought to be aware, the buck should never stop anywhere below executive management and its Board.

Regulators should be more proactive in taking errant or neglectful directors to account when they fail in their duties and obligations.

Can Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) or the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) not do more?

The Government should do more to improve the corporate governance regime of our companies. I would like to propose that an independent task force be convened to evaluate the need for a Government agency to provide oversight on corporate governance standards and to improve audit quality. Such a review is timely and necessary to ensure that safeguards are in place to protect shareholder value and to ensure that the reputation of Singapore companies is not adversely affected by those who have fallen short.

Finance as a Force for Good

Ms Anthea Ong : Mr Chairman, I am heartened that Budget 2019 acknowledges climate change as a strategic challenge for Singapore. The financial sector’s role in allocating capital for a climate-safe future across generations is a significant one that we must include in our strategic plan for climate change action.

As a leading financial hub, Singapore’s banking and asset management industry must rise to this challenge. How we lend is a reflection of our values and principles. For example, civil society recently called out our banks for continuing to fund coal-fired power. As of September 2018, 17 banks have committed to stop financing coal-fired power. The Governor of the Bank of England is reported to be open to increased regulatory requirements for "brown" investments.

What regulatory and supervisory mechanisms are being developed so that banks in Singapore will:

(a) actively implement existing green standards, like the Association of Banks in Singapore's (ABS’) Haze Diagnostic Kit, into their lending policy frameworks; and

(b) proactively work with civil society and experts to identify other critical industries, like energy, where green standards should be developed and implemented?

Our asset management industry currently manages US$2.4 trillion. Can we allocate funds to support our asset management industry to develop stronger stewardship principles and use the tools available in the market to help us safeguard our future, one that is climate-safe?

For example, the Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan allocates close to 10% of its investments into funds using sustainability indices. Two pension funds in Korea have gone even further and stepped away from future coal investments.

The Chairman : Minister Ong Ye Kung.

The Minister for Education (Mr Ong Ye Kung) : Mr Chairman, let me first start by addressing Assoc Prof Daniel Goh's question on GEMS. Let me first explain.

GEMS, as a scheme, is funded by the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) which was set up in 1999 following the demutualisation and listing of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). So, it is not funded from taxpayers' money. The scheme was then designed in response to feedback from the industry that a vibrant equity market requires not only new listings but also sustained investor interest post-listing. So, it is really a fund started from the industry to address feedback from the industry and you design GEMS. And the primary aim is to strengthen public financing channels for growth enterprises, in particular, SMEs. So, GEMS does so, as Assoc Prof Goh mentioned, by defraying listing-related expenses and promoting better research coverage of the sectors they are in, as well as their business models.

There are certain sectors that we can do better in attracting listings; high growth sectors being one example. And GEMS is designed to promote those sectors. There are also gaps in investment coverage for small and mid-cap listed enterprises and new business models. This is why the scheme comprises a listing grant and research-related grants to improve the equity research ecosystem.

The quantum of listing grant has thus been also tiered to favour high growth areas, such as the technology sectors. Well-developed sectors, such as Real Estate Investment Trusts and Business Trusts, do not qualify for the grant. Applicants for the research grant are also required to provide coverage for small and mid-cap listed enterprises. It is a young scheme. I am sure different agencies will monitor the effectiveness, take in further feedback and inputs and try to improve the scheme over time in order to serve its objectives.

Mr Dennis Tan asked about corporate governance and whether it should just be left as an internally driven process, and whether SGX RegCo, ACRA can do more. He called for an independent task force to review the corporate governance framework and a Government agency to provide oversight on corporate governance standards and improve audit quality.

Actually, many of these features already exist within our current system. MAS, as the statutory regulator of Singapore's capital markets, and SGX, as the frontline securities market regulator, oversee the corporate governance standards of listed companies, set out in the Code of Corporate Governance. The SGX Listing Rules, in turn, require companies to disclose how the companies' practices conform to the principles in the Code. ACRA is responsible for upholding financial reporting and audit quality by inspecting the statutory audits performed by public accountants.

As for an independent task force to review the corporate governance framework, as Mr Dennis Tan has alluded to, MAS has convened an industry-led Corporate Governance Council in 2017. That was an ad hoc Council. It had a list of recommendations. MAS accepted all the recommendations that the Council submitted last year in August. Consequently, changes were made to the Code and the SGX Listing Rules to implement the recommendations.

In line with one of the key recommendations of the Council, MAS established now a permanent CGAC earlier this month. The CGAC comprises prominent industry leaders with stature and corporate experience to advocate good corporate governance practices. It will identify current and potential risks to the quality of corporate governance in Singapore and advise the regulators on corporate governance issues.

High standards of corporate governance do help sustain good corporate performance for the long term. It ensures good systems and structures to evaluate investments, manage risks, safeguard all shareholders’ interests, conduct leadership succession and other key processes in the company.

However, risks are inherent in investment. One of the key aims of regulation is to require that investors have access to up-to-date material information, such as a listed company’s financial condition and prospects, in order to make informed investment decisions. Investors, on their part, also need to pay close attention to what is disclosed, look beyond potential returns and assess if they can also accept the risks that come with specific investments.

The regulators, namely, ACRA, MAS, SGX RegCo, will continue to calibrate rules and work with stakeholders, such as the new CGAC, to strengthen the corporate governance standards and practices in Singapore. At the same time, we will continue to educate the investing public on the tradeoffs between risks and returns, through the MoneySENSE programme.

Lastly, Ms Anthea Ong asked about sustainable financing. MAS is committed to advance the agenda for sustainable finance. As a member of the Network for Greening the Financial System, MAS works closely with our international counterparts to develop best practices for financial institutions to manage climate risks and opportunities. Let me outline MAS' efforts in three key areas.

First, our local banks have implemented policies aligned with the Guidelines on Responsible Financing issued by the Association of Banks in Singapore, to evaluate their borrowers’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, and help borrowers improve their sustainability profiles. In this regard, the local banks have also committed to stop new financing of inefficient coal plants. MAS also expects insurers to consider environmental risks in their risk assessments and has introduced a climate scenario in our industry-wide stress tests.

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Second, the financial industry is promoting green financing, such as green bonds. Over $2 billion of green bonds have been issued to date, following the introduction of the MAS Green Bond Grant Scheme. Recently, the Scheme was expanded to cover social and sustainability bonds.

Indeed, within the asset management sector, the large majority or 80% of sizeable asset managers in Singapore are signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, and take on board environmental, social and governance risks considerations in their investment processes. In MAS’ own investment portfolio, we have been actively working with our fund managers to ensure that ESG considerations are incorporated.

Finally, to strengthen the region’s financial resilience to disaster risks and address protection gaps, the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility will be set up in Singapore this year as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN’s) first regional catastrophe risk pool. It will better cover emergency response costs in the aftermath of catastrophes. MAS will continue to work with key stakeholders in the financial industry to promote the sustainability agenda.

The Chairman : Clarifications, please. Mr Vikram Nair.

Mr Vikram Nair : The question is for Minister Josephine Teo. The Minister has prepared a good discussion on all the different initiatives by the National Population and Talent Division. But I am just curious. What is the root cause of the fall in TFR over the last three years despite all these initiatives?

Mrs Josephine Teo : Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Vikram Nair for his question. This is an important question. I could not help but overhear my colleagues' chuckle. In fact, I have been studying this for some years and perhaps, if Members allow, I could share my own reflection on this.

When we think of births, we think of TFR. My observation and my reflection would be that there are really two key sets of driving forces. One key set of driving forces is longer term in nature. Births, when looked at from a longer-term perspective, really have to do with values and social norms. And these would include attitudes towards singlehood versus marriage, couplehood versus parenthood. And then within parenthood, the role played by fathers versus mothers. It would also include norms as to how many children is considered ideal in any society. And also how people prioritise parenthood versus other pursuits, such as career, caring for elders, service to the community and, very importantly of course, personal lifestyle interests.

Parenting norms also matter a great deal, such as whether, like in the Scandinavian countries, it tends to be quite a relaxed attitude; or whether in an East Asian context, generally a very intensive form of parenting. These impact costs – how much people spend on children and, of course, as a result the perception of affordability. And then, as a result, for the parents, how many children they will eventually actually have because of how much they think they can afford. So, these are the longer-term driving forces, a whole set of forces at play. So, root causes.

But in the shorter term, births can also be affected by other things. For example, economic uncertainty. So, if the job situation is not clear, people are anxious. Then, you could see that translates into a dip, as what Korea experienced in the last couple of years. And in fact, one of the "stars", if we could put it that way, of high births, Finland, often touted. In fact, since 2010, Finland has also seen a decline in the birth rates. So, before 2010, Finland's birth rate was around 1.9. By now, it has gone to below 1.5. And if we look at the TFR by rural areas versus city areas, actually it is quite across the board. In Finland's rural as well as city areas, births have declined. I think it has something to do with the sense of malaise and people feeling not confident.

So, that is one type of short-term effects, if you could put it that way.

There is also another factor in the short term how TFR could fluctuate. It is mathematical. Because TFR is a ratio, so it depends on what you have in the numerator and what you have in the denominator. So, I will not go too much into that. But I would say that these are short-term factors because when confidence returns, it is entirely possible that people who have put off parenthood in Finland could then decide that this is the time. Okay, we have been putting it off. And then you might see an uptick in their TFR. So, the long-term factors versus the shorter-term factors.

What would be important for us is really not to be overly distracted by the year-to-year ups and downs in TFR. We pay attention to them, we look at them, and we ask ourselves why it is happening this way. But do not be overly focused on it. What we should really focus on would be the values and our societal norms, which many Members spoke about.

It is important for us to firstly remember we have to strengthen the fundamentals. And the fundamentals are that you need to have economic vibrancy, you need to have societal cohesion. These are fundamentals. And then, on top of these fundamentals, we must do our utmost to support marriage and parenthood aspirations, meaning we have to try as best as we can to make marriage and parenthood achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. Those are the things we have to focus on. We should stay the course.

The Chairman: Mr Patrick Tay.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan : In one of my cuts on public sector transformation, I asked the Minister, in our drive towards upskilling and reskilling in the Public Service, whether the Public Service can partner the Labour Movement as well as the public sector unions in forming training committees to drive some of these training efforts that cross our Ministries and Statutory Boards. I wanted a response from Minister Chan.

Mr Chan Chun Sing : Mr Chairman, that is definitely a good suggestion. As the former immediate past Secretary-General of NTUC, I would certainly take note of that. Indeed, I have instructed PSD, in our transformation, to pay extra attention to those who require a bit more assistance to transit to new jobs. And I would say that we are not setting up a big overall committee to integrate with the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) at that level, but importantly, we are starting at the respective job levels. So, for example, there are lower-skilled workers in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) who require new skillsets and we are focusing our attention on them, prioritising them in our transformation effort first.

Likewise, the CSC will also contact and work closely with the Labour Movement to make sure that the modular system of training is made available to as many of the public servants as possible. We all know public servants, just like any other people, who are in full-time jobs, it is always difficult for them to take time out from their jobs to do training for one or two weeks. So, we need to work together with the Labour Movement to design modular courses, stackable modules, to be accessible to our public servants in order for them to acquire the new skills, especially in the area of digital literacy. We welcome this move by the Labour Movement and the offer by the Labour Movement and will certainly work closely with AUPE to bring this about.

The Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim.

Ms Sylvia Lim : Mr Chairman, I have a clarification for Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary on my cut on personal data protection in the public agencies. I would like a clarification from him as to whether it is the expressed Government policy that persons whose data has been compromised, while in the care of public agencies, that such persons have a right to know that there has been a breach and that they have the right to know in a timely manner.

Dr Janil Puthucheary : Mr Chairman, we addressed some of these in the discussion recently in the previous Sitting. There are guidelines about how public sector officials should handle the matter of a data breach involving citizens' particulars. There is no absolute requirement. We do need to look at every case, and we do need to look at the issue at hand as to what has been accessed, what are the circumstances, what the potential impact would be on the citizen to be involved in that process thereafter. We have heard about the examples cited in this Chamber about what has happened after the recent breach. So, the short answer to Ms Sylvia Lim's question is no. There is no single expressed position on this. There are guidelines about how the matter should be handled. There are guidelines about how citizens should be approached. The situation needs to be taken on a case-by-case basis and all the factors that are relevant need to be taken into account.

The Chairman: Ms Anthea Ong.

Ms Anthea Ong : Mr Chairman, can I kindly request for Minister Chan to further expand on my question on how or what specific measures or steps is the Government taking to restore confidence in the Public Service?

Mr Chan Chun Sing : Mr Chairman, every time when something goes wrong in the Public Service, regardless of which agency, the first thing to do is to get to the bottom of it by the respective agency to see what are the lessons learnt that the agencies must do internally to make sure that they get to the bottom of it and put things right.

The second step that we always will do is to make sure that these lessons are shared across all the other agencies because things that happen in one agency can offer important lessons to other agencies.

There is a third step that I would always ask the Public Service to do, which is that when we do our debrief, to ask ourselves if we could have prevented or pre-empted this incident right at the beginning. And that is why I always discuss and share with my fellow colleagues in the Public Service that it is necessary but not sufficient just to put things right. Actually, more important than playing defensive, we need to make sure that our systems are in place to pre-empt problems from arising in the first place.

Of course, it is very difficult for the Public Service to say that I have done this and, therefore, I have prevented these problems because the problems never even manifest themselves. But that is our challenge. That is the high benchmark that we need to set for ourselves as the Singapore Public Service if we aspire to be a Public Service that Singapore and Singaporeans can be proud of.

And, indeed, as I shared, we have done many things that I think we can be proud of because that has put Singapore at the forefront of many of these views so that we have prevented and pre-empted many of these issues. Be that as it may, we should never be complacent.

So, the way to restore public confidence is to make sure, one, we get to the bottom of the issue; and if there are people who are responsible, we will make sure that we rectify that; even as we take the responsibility at that level, we would ask ourselves could we have trained that person better, could we have changed our process to take into account the human factors to prevent those mistakes from happening in the first place?

So, these are things that we owe it to ourselves in the Public Service to get things right and to prevent things from going wrong in the first place because it gives us no joy to say that we are able to recover from our mistakes fast. In fact, I would like to see ourselves not getting into those mistakes in the first place.

The Chairman : Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang : I think Minister Chan Chun Sing has responded to my cut in saying that almost all public agencies have now a single structure scheme in terms of career progressions for a public servant. Could I just ask what percentage do not have this single structure scheme and what are we doing to close this gap?

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Secondly, I think in response to my cut as well, the Minister said that leaders should respond to that feedback provided. But my cut really was about how are we going to ensure that they do and whether we can have internal QSMs to take that role instead, to take that feedback given, it is actually looked into and the loop is closed?

For Minister Josephine Teo, I am very thankful that the Minister has announced that 450 employers are now offering unpaid leave and I think you mentioned 70 public agencies. Could I ask whether the entire Public Service can offer this unpaid leave for parents with multiple or preterm babies so that we can walk the talk and we can take the lead on this issue?

Lastly, with regard to childcare leave, could I ask the Minister to consider again whether we can allow people to use their current sick leave entitlements, not just when they are sick, but again when their children are sick and, to avoid people from misusing this, they have to provide the child's MC as proof when they take this kind of sick leave?

Mr Chan Chun Sing : Mr Chairman, let me first clarify that our aim is not to merge every scheme possible. You cannot do that because there are schemes that are for professionals – doctors, engineers, accountants. So, our aim in the Public Service is not to merge every scheme. Our aim is to merge the schemes where it is possible to do so. And the last I checked, for the 50 over agencies, I would say almost 50 of them have done so; and the rest who are not able to do so, it was because they have good professional reasons.

Now, even for those who have done so, we will constantly challenge ourselves. Are we able to merge those schemes even earlier, at an earlier stage whereby we take into account an individual's performance rather than just the academic grades?

So, going forward, we will see the following things. Yes, academic grades will be taken into account as one of the signs as a proxy of what the person is capable of, but increasingly, as I mentioned, there will be other skillsets that we are required to take into account for a holistic assessment of the individual. To what extent we can, I think beyond those professional schemes and engineers, qualified engineers and doctors, we will try to that extent possible. So, that answers the first question.

The Member's second question is about how do the leaders follow up on their respective agencies when they get the feedback? Well, there are few ways. First, when they get the feedback, I expect them to take actions on their own. And, of course, all the respective agencies' feedback comes to me and, if necessary, I will have a discussion with the respective Permanent Secretaries or the Chief Executives of the various agencies. They know that we take this seriously, they know that I expect them to take this seriously and, if need be, I will let them know.

The Chairman : Minister Josephine Teo.

Mrs Josephine Teo : Mr Chairman, to the first question as to whether all public agencies, in principle, yes. But if the Member knows of any which somehow is not in that list of 70, feel free to let me know. We will check up on it.

On the question on whether parents' leave entitlements can be used for their children, here I want to just have a word of caution. I remember some years ago when I was still in the Labour Movement, NPTD at that time was doing consultation on whether we should raise the Maternity Leave benefits. So, it surprised me, but when we did the engagement with our women unionists, they were very wise and they said to me, "Sister, be careful about what we ask for because whenever we increase these leave benefits, we look different to the employers. They start seeing us differently, because they start seeing us in terms of the liability and obligations that they have towards us." So, not all of them were so keen to expand the leave benefits. So, that was a very useful exercise and I keep bearing it in mind.

What the Member has asked for, I think amounts to that; you are really going to expand the leave provisions for people who are parents. Not that you cannot do that, but, by doing so, we have to ask ourselves what the employers will think of it. From having obligations to the individual as an employee, now they have obligations to the entire family. The same benefits can extend to the whole family. I think that is very expansive. And I will be very careful about this because, primarily, the leave provisions were designed to protect the individual in the event of illness. If we think that society can bear more leave provisions for those who are going to be parents, I think we do it openly, we do it in a transparent fashion, we do it in a way that is honest with the employers so that they do not have to second-guess when they take on an employee whether there are these other hidden obligations that they have to fulfil.

The Chairman : Mr Ang Hin Kee.

Mr Ang Hin Kee : For Minister Chan Chun Sing, just one clarification and one suggestion. When the Minister earlier mentioned about public sector transformation, he will have his officer work with AUPE to ensure that public sector servants are assisted and well-coached as far as training is concerned. I think the Minister also referred to the Statutory Board unions and those who are House unions, not just those that are belonging to AUPE, just for clarification, so that the other union leaders and members will not feel left out that their areas are not looked after.

Secondly, a suggestion. I had a conversation with many of them and they have mentioned that a lot of the trainings are centred on the workers themselves – on the lower-skilled or the older ones. Then, they realised that their supervisor could be much younger, could be somebody who is in their 30s or 20s. And they realised that, sometimes, the supervisors do not quite understand that this transition, this situation that they face, require some level of empathy, some assistance and some mentoring and coaching from the supervisors. So, the suggestion is that, can supervisors that oversee some of these workers also go through a system of training whereby they are able to coach and guide these officers along so that the entire transformation and the ability to adapt will be something that is owned by both the staff as well as the supervisors and, therefore, make the workplace more inclusive?

Mr Chan Chun Sing : Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Ang Hin Kee for reminding me to clarify this. Yes, indeed, that is why I mentioned that when we talk about the Public Service transformation, when we talk about acquiring new skills, it is not just at the AUPE level, it is beyond that, actually at every of the agencies' level with the respective unions. This would include the Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees (AUSBE) for the Statutory Boards, it would also include agencies like the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority Workers' Union (SURAWU) and so forth. So, that it is at the respective agencies' level because we find through our experience that the most impactful training is when it is focused on the respective agencies rather than the generic skillsets. There is a place for generic skillsets. But there is also a place for very focused, targeted intervention at the respective agencies' level. So, that is the first thing.

On the second point about the training, indeed, PSD, together with CSC, has worked out a framework for different levels of training to be given to different levels of our Public Service officers. There are basic levels of skills that are given to everybody, the basic digital skills, and there are specific skillsets given to the workers at the lower-wage level and the lower-skill level to help them upgrade. But the Member is right that we also have other forms of training that include the intermediate managers and even the higher managers because different levels of managers require different skillsets.

For example, in the Member's particular situation, indeed, for the middle managers, they must know how to make use of some of these technologies; besides using it, how to exploit this technology, how to use, how to help their fellow workers to adopt and adapt to such technologies. Yet, at the higher level, at the more senior management level, we expect them not to just be hands on, but also to know the potential to use some of these new technologies to restructure and change the processes which they are doing at their job at the current point in time.

So, Members can see that in this overall digital masterplan or the digital skills masterplan, we are looking at different skillsets for different managers at different levels. So, that is, indeed, what we are going to do at the training at CSC as they roll out across the Civil Service.

The Chairman : End of clarifications. I would just like to encourage Members, you have been doing well in time-keeping. We get to go home earlier than expected, it might help our TFR as well. We will check back on next year's Budget. Mr Patrick Tay, do you wish to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan : Mr Chairman, I would like to thank the responses from Minister Chan Chun Sing on building a great Public Service; Minister Josephine Teo for sharing on how we are going to support families, parenthood and marriage; Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary on not just building a smarter nation, but really one on improving lives and livelihoods; Minister Ong Ye Kung on strengthening our financial markets and our regulatory system; Head (Civil Service) and the PSD team, as well as all our public servants, for putting us all at the heart of what they do and working hard to ensure we are top-notch and first-class. On that note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The sum of $827,594,400 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The sum of $196,666,600 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]

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