COMPOSITION OF SG ENABLE MANAGEMENT TEAM
Dennis Tan asked how many persons with disabilities and/or special needs are there on the SG Enable’s management team and what percentage of the management team do they comprise.
Tan Chuan-Jin said that currently there are two of the 13 board members who are persons with disabilities and he further revealed that 6% of SG Enable’s workforce comprise persons with disabilities.
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NUMBER OF QUALIFIED ARBORISTS IN SINGAPORE
Dennis Tan asked how many qualified arborists are there in Singapore and how many of them are under the employment of NParks. He also asked whether the Ministry regards this number to be sufficient.
Lawrence Wong said that there are currently 500 qualified arborists and NParks employs 200 of them. He also answered that the 200 employed by NParks are adequate and the Ministry will make reviews continually to ensure there are sufficient arborists to handle the work requirements.
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BREAKDOWN OF ONLINE DRUG PEDDLING OFFENDERS BY GENDER, ETHNICITY AND FAMILY INCOME FROM 2014
Dennis Tan asked for the breakdown of those arrested for online drug income since 2014 and whether the Ministry has identified the factors that have led to a spike in the number of online drug peddling cases between 2014 and 2015.
K Shanmugam said that the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested 201 persons for buying drugs and drug-related paraphernalia online, a significant increase from the 30 persons arrested in 2015 and the 6 arrested in 2014. He explained that the increase in online drug trade is a direct result of the increasing use of the Internet.
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SINGAPORE’S EXPOSURE TO CHINA’S ONE BELT, ONE ROAD INITIATIVE
Dennis Tan asked what has been Singapore’s exposure to the China’s One Belt, One Road initiative and what does the Ministry intend to do to mitigate the downside risks given the continued and likely persistent slowdowns in Chinese capital outflow.
Ong Ye Kung said that Singapore welcomes China’s One Belt, One Road initiative and he described it as a mutually beneficial initiative. He believes Singapore companies’ engagement will grow even though their direct engagements are “not large”. He also said that capital outflow from China is a “separate matter” and the slowdown does not pose any material risk for us.
In a supplementary question, he further asked what is the Government’s assessment and consideration of risk and externalities in light of the problems reported world on the One Belt, One Road investments from around the world and how will Singapore be affected if such problems leads to mass protest and even abandonment of projects.
Ong Ye Kung said the investments will not be made by the Government but by private entities and they would have to do their own calculations on the viability of the projects.
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EX-OFFENDERS HIRED IN CIVIL SERVICE
Leon Perera asked how many ex-offenders have Ministries and statutory boards hired in the past five years.
Teo Chee Hean stated that the Public Service “does not track the number of ex-offenders employed” and said recruitments are based on individual merits.
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HEAT-NOT-BURN TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND RISK TO HEALTH
Leon Perera if heated tobacco products will reduce overall risk to both smoking and non-smoking populations and what is HAS’s assessment on this issue.
Amy Khor informed that heat-not-burn tobacco products pose similar risks, nicotine content and emissions as traditional cigarettes.
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