Parliament Questions for November 2024 Sitting

Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa have submitted 29 questions for the November 2024 parliamentary session.

Leong Mun Wai

1. To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth why is another study by the National Heritage Board (NHB) needed to assess whether 38 Oxley Road has national historical, heritage, and architectural significance as to be worthy of preservation, in view that the Ministerial Committee on 38 Oxley Road had assessed in 2018 that it has “architectural, heritage and historical significance” based on a research report by NHB.
   
2. To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether there are any plans for a mosque to be built in Tengah New Town; (b) if not, why not; (c) if so, where is the planned location of the mosque; and (d) when will the mosque be completed.
   
3. To ask the Minister for Health what is the rationale for excluding policyholders aged below 40 years old from qualifying to redeem MediShield Life premium discounts using Health points that are earned through the Healthy 365 app.
   
4. To ask the Minister for Health whether MediShield Life coverage can be extended to include maternity charges to reduce financial burdens on expecting parents.
   
5. To ask the Minister for National Development over the last five years (a) how many coffee shop operators received warnings or instructions to find replacement halal food stallholders within the same tenancy period; and (b) how many coffee shop operators did not have their tenancy agreement with HDB renewed as a result of not providing at least one halal food stall.
   
6. To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether he can provide further details about the process through which Income Insurance Ltd sought an exemption from section 88 of the Co-operative Societies Act as part of its corporatisation; and (b) whether any safeguards were put in place to ensure that Income Insurance Ltd will comply with its representations to the Ministry during the corporatisation exercise that it was aiming to build up capital resources and enhance its financial strength.
   
7. To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether MAS will be investigating the role of Income Insurance Ltd.’s financial advisor in the Income-Allianz transaction, particularly whether the advisor had provided competent independent advice on the capital reduction plan.
   
8. To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Ministry knew of Income Insurance Ltd’s one-off capital reduction exercise of approximately S$43 million in 2023; (b) whether this one-off capital reduction benefits the co-operative movement as a whole or can be reconciled with Income Insurance Ltd’s representations to the Ministry when it sought an exemption from section 88 of the Co-operative Societies Act as part of its corporatisation; and (c) if not, whether any action will be taken against Income Insurance Ltd.
   
9. To ask the Minister for Digital Development and Information whether the National Library Board has plans for a public library in Tengah New Town and, if so, where is the planned location and when will it be completed.
   
10. To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry has made efforts to identify and reach out to elderly men who have allegedly been eating leftovers in the hawker centre at People’s Park Centre and, if so, what assistance has been rendered to these elderly men.
    
11. To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the dollar value of the projected investment and interest income over the remaining lifetime of the Pioneer Generation Fund and Merdeka Generation Fund, respectively; (b) whether the sum total of the projected investment and interest income and current fund balances are currently projected to exceed the estimated liabilities of both funds; and (c) whether these figures can be published in the Government Financial Statements annually and, if not, why not.
    
12. To ask the Minister for National Development in 2023 and 2024 (a) what is the number of appeals related to the Ethnic Integration Policy received by HDB; (b) how many appeals were acceded to; (c) of the appeals acceded to, how many were assisted through the buyback assistance measure; and (d) what is the breakdown of the above figures by ethnicity.
    
13. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is HDB’s policy regarding the disposal of flats that have been compulsorily acquired or bought back via the Ethnic Integration Policy buyback assistance measure; (b) how many of such flats currently remain under HDB ownership; and (c) whether HDB has any plans to sell or rent these flats to the public and, if so, how.
    
14. To ask the Minister for National Development why was a warning issued to the contractor for using non-compliant paint which resulted in algae-stained walls on HDB blocks in Sengkang and Punggol instead of imposing financial penalties on the contractor.

Hazel Poa

1. To ask the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) what is the outcome of the investigation into the disruption of calls to emergency services hotlines that occurred on 8 October 2024; and (b) what actions will be taken to prevent such disruptions from happening again.
   
2. To ask the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) what is the estimated number of calls to 995 and 999 that have been impacted by the Singtel landline outage on 8 October 2024; and (b) what penalties, if any, have been imposed by IMDA on Singtel for this outage.
   
3. To ask the Minister for Manpower whether he can provide an update on investigations into an incident involving several migrant workers holding placards at a worksite on 24 October 2024.
   
4. To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Government will be checking the structural integrity of all oil pipelines in Singapore’s waters; (b) what other measures can be taken to prevent the occurrence of future oil spills in Singapore’s waters; and (c) whether any penalties will be imposed on the company responsible for the oil leak on 20 October 2024
   
5. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether the Ministry has received any representations from the United States relating to the case of an American citizen who was sentenced to nine weeks’ imprisonment on 7 October 2024 for National Service defaulting offences; and (b) if so, what has been the Government’s response.
   
6. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the basis for setting the number of HDB 2-room Flexi flats reserved for seniors in each BTO project at 40%, subject to a minimum of 100 units; and (b) what is the total percentage of HDB 2-room Flexi flat supply that is set aside for seniors at the October 2024 BTO exercise.
   
7. To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has conducted a study into the pros and cons of the use of personal learning devices in schools, incorporating feedback from educators, parents and students; and (b) if not, whether such a study can be conducted.
   
8. To ask the Minister for Health whether MediSave withdrawal limits can be adjusted every year in line with any inflation of healthcare costs, similar to the way the CPF Basic Retirement Sum and Full Retirement Sum are adjusted every year to take into account inflation.
   
9. To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the estimated percentage of inpatient bills that will be impacted by the proposed increase in MediShield Life inpatient deductible by up to $1,500; (b) what is the estimated number of Singaporeans who are likely to face higher inpatient bills each year as a result; (c) what is the estimated percentage of outpatient bills that will be impacted by the new outpatient deductible of $500 per year; and (d) what is the estimated number of Singaporeans who are likely to face higher outpatient bills each year as a result.
   
10. To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether URA, STB and LTA have studied the need for a centralised bus terminal for inter-city bus services between Singapore and West Malaysia since the previous joint study in 2010; (b) whether the Government will consider constructing such a terminal given recent concerns over disamenities caused by tourists using such bus services at Tuas Link 2; and (c) whether the current licensing regime, which requires inter-city bus operators to identify suitable locations for passenger boarding and alighting, remains appropriate.
    
11. To ask the Minister for Transport whether he can provide an update on the status of the investigation by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau into the collision of the Singapore-registered container vessel, the Dali, onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, United States on 26 March 2024.
    
12. To ask the Minister for National Development whether he can provide an update on the outcome of the investigation into the partial collapse of the two shophouses along Syed Alwi Road.
    
13. To ask the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) why it is the established practice for the Government to approach mainstream media outlets to correct inaccurate information instead of issuing a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehood and Manipulation Act 2019 (POFMA); and (b) why does the Government not provide non-mainstream media outlets or other persons with the opportunity to correct inaccurate information before issuing a correction direction under POFMA.
    
14. To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many children are currently under the care of Child Protection Services; (b) how many of them are being taken care of by (i) Government agencies and (ii) non-Government agencies; (c) whether the current capacity is sufficient; and (d) how many of these children are not eligible for fostering, and what are the reasons for their ineligibility.
    
15. To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how many extremist websites or Internet domains are banned in Singapore to prevent extremist narratives from taking root.