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SINGAPORE – Parliament concluded its week-long session on Friday (September 4) with eight MPs speaking during the debate on the president’s speech.
Here are some highlights from the 6 hour session.
1. A day in the life of an Ah Ma with digital skills
In a speech in Mandarin, the Minister of State for Communications and Information, Sim Ann, imagined a day in the life of an older person with digital skills, who said it could be “any Ah Ma in the neighborhood.”
In the morning, check the Transport.SG app to find out when your bus will arrive. Send a selfie to your WhatsApp family chat group, use PayNow to shop for groceries, and pick up prescription drugs from a package locker.
Ah Ma doesn’t stop there: watch YouTube videos, report standing water in the OneService app, track your daily step count with the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy365 app, read e-newspapers in the app National Library Board and use SingPass mobile to register at a mall with SafeEntry.
More seniors will be able to enjoy these conveniences with the help of the Seniors Go Digital movement, Ms Sim said.
2. Give delivery passengers a grace period for parking
First-time MP Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) revealed that she had visited Mr. Abdul Rahman, a Foodpanda deliveryman who went viral after he was filmed waving to passersby from his motorcycle from the back of a moving column during the National Day Parade last month.
He said Rahman, a resident of his Woodgrove neighborhood, told him about some of the difficulties that delivery passengers like him face, including the occasional fine imposed by the Ground Transportation Authority or the mall management for parking offenses.
Ms. Soh suggested that a 15-minute “transitional parking” grace period be implemented for food delivery passengers and that shopping malls provide designated food collection points.
“This will provide a win-win situation that reduces the risk of fines and charges for illegal parking, allowing for a smoother food collection and delivery process.”
3. The deputies face new processes
The first session of Question Time in the new legislature saw MPs get used to the old and new processes.
New MP Ng Ling Ling (Ang Mo Kio GRC) read out her parliamentary question to Human Resources Minister Josephine Teo in its entirety, prompting President Tan Chuan-Jin to remind MPs to simply indicate your question number.
When Mr. Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) took the podium to ask Ms. Teo a question, he stood directly in front of her, separated only by the transparent methacrylate screen placed as a security measure against Covid-19. MPs often speak into microphones near their seats, but now they have to speak from the podium as their rows of seats do not have clear screens.
Mr. Tan joked that their conversation “seems very intimate with you standing there,” prompting laughter in the Chamber.
In her response, Ms. Teo said that she feels “very close to Mr. Louis Ng” in terms of thought and values, which was met with more laughter.
The Spokesperson also reminded MPs to keep their supplementary questions short and “cut the preamble.”
4. Tan See Leng exchange with Gerald Giam from WP
A speech by Workers’ Party deputy Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) on protecting the interests of foreign workers elicited a response from Second Labor Minister Tan See Leng.
There are multiple mechanisms to protect the well-being of workers, said Dr. Tan, who is also the Second Minister of Commerce and Industry. But he pointed out that the government does not have jurisdiction over the employment agencies in the workers’ countries of origin.
Dr. Tan also thanked Mr. Giam for suggesting a portal for employers to list available jobs so workers don’t have to go through intermediaries to find a new job once their contracts end. He said, “If you have more ideas, this is constructive feedback, we would appreciate them too.”
Mr. Giam said he appreciated the attention being paid to the issue and noted that he was asking for more transparency from employers, not the government.
5. Ministers discuss with NCMP statements about DBS CEO
Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran said he was concerned by the expression of disappointment from non-electorate MP Leong Mun Wai that Singapore did not have a local CEO at DBS Bank.
The bank’s chief executive, Piyush Gupta, was born in India and became a Singaporean in 2009.
Mr Leong had made the comment in his keynote address on Tuesday.
On Friday, the minister urged him to consider what message he was sending, especially to naturalized Singaporeans and the world.
“We have painstakingly built an open and inclusive economy that is capable of creating opportunity for Singaporeans by welcoming competitive companies and talents. It is a precious asset that we must not waste,” said Mr. Iswaran.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said it would be wrong to set a quota or rule that “there must be a Singaporean CEO, born here, before we declare success.”
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