Parliament Questions for April 2024 Sitting

NCMPs Leong Min Wai and Hazel Poa have filed 25 parliamentary questions for April’s sitting of Parliament in 2024.

Leong Mun Wai

1. To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether primary school students are being taught about the Israel-Hamas conflict, either in the Character and Citizenship Education curriculum or otherwise; (b) if so, at which levels are students taught about the conflict; and (c) how are the contents differentiated among the different levels to take into account the different maturity levels of the students.
2. To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether Official Foreign Reserves and Reserves Management Government Securities assets are fully counted as net assets that are part of Past Reserves for the purposes of calculating the Net Investment Returns Contribution, in view that section 22 of the Currency Act 1967 which provides that the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s assets must not be less than the face value of currency in circulation, is still in force.
3. To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) as of 1 March 2024, how many Singapore citizens have declared their membership in foreign legislatures and political organisations respectively under section 79 of the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021; and (b) whether the Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority screens applicants for permanent residency and Singapore citizenship for participation in foreign legislatures and political organisations.
4. To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the average daily ridership of Bus Service 405 during the current Qing Ming period; and (b) whether Bus Service 405 can be re-routed to provide commuters with direct access to Choa Chu Kang Columbarium.
5. To ask the Prime Minister in view of Seatrium’s announcement that it has reached in-principle settlement agreements with the Brazilian authorities, whether an update can be provided on the CPIB investigations into Seatrium and individuals of the company for alleged corruption offences that occurred in Brazil.
6. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the availability of cat breeding locations for rent from the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS); and (b) how does AVS deal with the cats seized from illegal breeders.
7. To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is the projected cost of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games by Singapore; (b) whether Singapore will consider hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games if it does not host the 2026 edition; and (c) whether the results of the feasibility study to host the 2026 Games will be made public.
8. To ask the Minister for Manpower since 1 September 2023, what is the percentage of successful new Employment Pass applicants who received (i) an exemption from the COMPASS eligibility criteria (ii) zero points for having over 25% of the candidate’s nationality among the organisation’s PMETs (iii) zero points for having no degree-equivalent qualifications and (iv) 10 points automatically because the company has less than 25 employees, respectively.
9. To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether an update can be provided on the investigation into the individuals involved in falsely inflating circulation numbers at Singapore Press Holdings.
10. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the breakdown by race of the 8,300 families in public rental flats who became HDB flat owners from 2014 to 2023; and (b) what is the number of Malay households living in one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental flats in 2023, and how does this number compare with the number in 2020.

Hazel Poa

1. To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether he can make public the content and materials of the Character and Citizenship Education lesson on the Israel-Hamas conflict; and (b) whether any teacher has declined to deliver a lesson and, if so, how is such a situation dealt with.
2. To ask the Minister for National Development whether it remains a policy goal to achieve a House Price-to-Income ratio of four for HDB BTO flat buyers since the Ministry’s announcement of this goal in 2013.
3. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the different stages of planning for the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) that will be needed prior to the full details of VERS being made available to the public; (b) at which stage of planning is VERS currently at; (c) whether studies and consultations have commenced; and (d) if not, whether there are plans to do so.
4. To ask the Minister for Transport whether he will consider imposing licensing conditions on companies with a significant market share of the taxi and private hire transport sectors to offer telephone booking and cash payment options so as to cater to passengers who are not technology-savvy.
5. To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) for how long will the livestreams of parliamentary sittings be retained on MCI’s YouTube channel; and (b) whether MCI will consider permanently retaining all livestreams of parliamentary sittings on its YouTube channel and, if not, where will they be archived.
6. To ask the Minister for Education for students studying all types of degrees at our local universities in 2023 (a) what are the total fees paid by local and international students respectively; and (b) what are the total subsidies including allowances and stipends given to local and international students respectively.
7. To ask the Minister for Transport (a) with more Singapore and Malaysia cross-border travellers allowed to use e-gates, whether LTA has observed an increase in median waiting times for cross-border bus services in line with the increased speed at which travellers are clearing immigration checks; and (b) whether LTA will consider increasing the frequency of cross-border bus services during peak hours (including weekends) to reduce congestion caused by travellers waiting for buses at the checkpoints.
8. To ask the Minister for Health for each year from 2021 to 2023, what percentage of patients’ healthcare expenditure was paid by (i) the Government (ii) employers (iii) MediSave (iv) MediShield and (v) individuals, with a breakdown by citizens, permanent residents and foreigners.
9. To ask the Minister for Health in the last three years, what is the breakdown of expenditure on the key components of public healthcare such as drugs, manpower, medical technology, research, administration and real estate.
10. To ask the Minister for Health in the last three years, what is the total expenditure by the Government on subsidised medical care for (i) Singapore citizens (ii) permanent residents and (ii) foreigners.
11. To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether he has any information on the reasons for the increase in suicides among persons aged 60 and above; and (b) how many of these suicides are linked to debt from gambling, medical fees or living expenses.
12. To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) why has the Censorship Review Committee (CRC) that is to be formed once every decade not been convened since 2009; (b) whether the Government intends to reconvene the CRC in view of rapid changes in Singapore’s media and social landscape; and (c) if so, when.
13. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the fixed and recurring costs of each major component of the HDB Green Towns Programme including rooftop solar panels and electric vehicle chargers; and (b) whether residents of these towns bear the costs through higher service and conservancy charges.
14. To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether SPH Media Trust has raised funding from sources other than the Government and, if so, how much.
15. To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the maximum number of concurrent users that the NEA ePortal can accommodate; (b) whether the number of users has frequently exceeded this maximum capacity when the e-appointment booking for visitors parking at Choa Chu Kang Columbarium and Mandai Columbarium is opened during the Qing Ming period; and (c) whether there are plans to upgrade the NEA ePortal to improve the e-appointment booking process.

With this, it brings the total number of parliamentary questions filled by the NCMPs to 500! We will continue to ensure that Accountability and Transparency are values upheld in Parliament. Support Progress, Support PSP.