Committee of Supply - Head Q (Ministry of Communications and Information)

The Chairman: Head Q, Ministry of Communications and Information. Mr Cedric Foo.

Digital Economy – For Businesses

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer): Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

One of the basic building blocks of a strong nation is a vibrant economy. An economy that is driven by competitive companies with skilled and creative employees, and underpinned by an efficient infrastructure. Strong business and productivity growth are pre-conditions for higher wages for our workers. Hence, it is critically important that our businesses, both Large Enterprises as well as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) receive the Government’s support to stay relevant, to innovate and to build deep capabilities to sustain growth right into the future.

Digitalisation is transforming companies, economies and our very way of life. A digital economy has many benefits for businesses. Increased productivity, reduced operating costs and higher asset utilisation are but some of these apparent benefits. In addition, technology can help us tackle issues, like an ageing population and manpower constraints in Singapore. Today, one in four of our workforce is aged 55 and above. With declining birth rates, higher life expectancy and more senior citizens opting to remain in the workforce, this ratio is poised to increase over time. Our ageing workforce compels our Large Local Enterprises (LLEs) and SMEs to embrace digitalisation to reap opportunities of the digital economy or risk falling behind.

Across many industries, new technologies are disrupting existing business models. Leveraging on digital platforms, innovative companies have been eroding the market share or even replacing established companies by improving the quality, speed or price at which value is delivered. There are numerous examples of such disruptions, ranging from companies disrupted by ride sharing, brick and mortar retail stores disrupted by online 24/7 stores, traditional print media disrupted by social media platforms and so on.

Singapore has done well as we have fast and reliable broadband access and also a high penetration rate for active mobile users. However, we do have some challenges.

Even as our businesses aspire to adopt technologies, many companies, especially our SMEs find it difficult to do so. They do need help. To begin with, SME shareholders and managers often have such questions: "How do I start the digital journey? Which areas of digitalisation will produce the best returns on investment? Who can assist me to help fund these investments? Can my employees adapt to these changes? Will it result in near-term losses?" These are but some of the many questions that our SMEs have prior to embarking on the digitalisation journey.

Some key success factors for Business Digitalisation is scale, large data-sets, financial stamina to win market share and to create network effects. By definition, SMEs in Singapore are small and our local market is also small. Therefore, the challenges for SMEs to embark on the Digitalisation Journey are formidable.

Our lead enterprises (LLEs) also need assistance. Being larger and operating in more markets, their challenges are less daunting. To accelerate the pace of digitalisation, the Government can set inter-operability standards so that a local ecosystem of digital infrastructure that is reliable, resilient, accessible and secure can take root and thrive. Our LLEs can then leverage on such shared infrastructure to transform their businesses and stay on top of rapid advances in digital technologies. Our LLEs can then be the receptacle to innovate and be our global champions, leading the way for our SMEs and start-ups to venture overseas.

Could the Minister lay out for this House his plans to assist our businesses, both large and small, to adopt technology and to innovate in this digital economy?

Question proposed.

The Chairman: Mr Cedric Foo, you can take your next two cuts together.

Digital Economy – For Workers

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng: Thank you, Mr Chairman. Following on my earlier cut on the need for businesses to adopt digital technologies, my next cut is on our workers and measures taken to ensure that we have sufficient talent to support a growing digital economy.

Support for our business can be seen as a means to enable our citizens to have good jobs and good wages, thereby improving living standards in Singapore. At the same time, in order for businesses to thrive, they need sufficient workers with digital skills, knowledge and the right attitudes to embrace the constantly evolving digital environment. This symbiotic relationship is key for a successful digital economy.

However, many countries including Singapore are facing a shortage of workers who are equipped with digital skills necessary for the digital workplace. To prepare our youth, basic digital skills and technology literacy have to be introduced at an earlier age. They must also be encouraged to challenge the status quo rather than accepting conventional norms, always re-looking at how everything is done, thinking expansively on innovative products and solutions. More importantly, our workers have to accept that continuous learning is now a norm and new capabilities and skillsets will have to be acquired many, many times throughout their career life, as the job market would be anything but static.

Over the last few years, the Government has put in place a range of support measures for our workers. The SkillsFuture and Adapt and Grow programmes are some good examples.

Businesses, too, must step up on the training and job redesign through professional conversion programmes for employees. Typically, the affected employees, requiring skills retooling, have been loyal employees for years. Upskilling and reskilling these employees will allow the company to retain the organisational values and culture. Such workers would also have, often times, deep customer relationships that is worth retaining. It has always been the case that technological innovation destroys some jobs and replaces them with new ones. For many of our workers, especially the older ones, buzz words like "Smart Nation", "digitalisation", "machine learning", "AI" and "Robotics" can be very dis-concerting and intimidating. We have to do more to encourage our workers to embrace such change and reap the tangible benefits of upskilling.

I am thinking that maybe "Natural Language Programming" for oral commands for certain robots, like in the cleaning industry, could be programmed in "Singlish".

Investments in digital talent will be critical to ensuring Singapore remains competitive. Society will be better off as we invest in our People.

I would like to ask the Minister to provide an update on the programmes and initiatives that we are implementing over the next few years so as to ensure that we have sufficient talent to support a digital economy?

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Regulations and Infrastructure

Mr Chairman, my next cut is on regulations and infrastructure. According to research by Bain & Co, harnessing the collective power potential of the region's digital economies could accelerate intra-regional trade and result in a GDP uplift of US$1 trillion across ASEAN by 2025. If ASEAN countries can come together and grow as a single integrated regional digital economy, ASEAN citizens could enjoy significant benefits and improve living standards.

For example, a common e-payment platform would facilitate the ASEAN digital economy, to ensure inter-operability across state boundaries and leverage on the large ASEAN market for e-commerce. However, developing a common e-payment system require close coordination and data flows across boundaries.

But there is a growing number of countries that are enacting laws and barriers that make it more expensive, time consuming or even illegal to transfer data overseas. Governments are citing privacy and cybersecurity concerns as they are reluctant to allow a company in another country to have access to their citizens' data. This is despite the significant economic benefits that we talked about.

To minimise the risks of cyber threats, ASEAN needs to develop a secure cyberspace through building and reinforcing the framework for online security. Sharing critical information, establishing protocols to deal with hacking, coordinating cyber agencies for ASEAN members and creating a regional dispute settlement resolution are some ways to developing a secure cyberspace.

I would like to ask the Minister to share his views on how we may facilitate greater cross-border data flows.

The Chairman: Mr Teo Ser Luck, you have two cuts. Please take them together.

Local Enterprises in the Digital Economy

Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Many companies are still unprepared to go digital in the new world and in the future. And the Government has been making tremendous effort and focused effort to help them go digital, coming out with several schemes and major schemes.

But, for many companies, due to their business nature and the length of time they have been in business, they are still trying to figure out which part of the process can be digitised. So, it is not just knowing when to start and where to start, there are a couple of scenarios, in my sense, that these businesses cannot see the need to change. They have been entrenched in the business for too long and they possibly have a winning formula in their business; and they have built such depth in their domain knowledge that they did not see the need to change. Some things are best relied on manual labour, not because it is more cost-effective but because it could possibly give them the efficiency and the margins that they are looking for. So, they do not find the need to change and no motivation to go digital at all.

The business nature and the eco-system around the business itself creates certain margins that they had for many years. So, status quo helps them to survive and going digital is a form of risk.

Thirdly, it is the lack of the skill and knowledge within the company – the bosses, entrepreneurs, the founders, the staff, the workers. There is a lot of unwillingness and real intent to change. But at the same time, they are reluctant to hire talents or change-makers into a company because that means giving up some of the ownership for those decisions that they have to make. So, how do we get them to digitise? In a sense, are we prepared to allow some of them to consolidate or even fade away if they do not go digital?

There are many schemes and programmes rolled out for these local enterprises to help them in this new wave of the digital economy. But how effective have they been? And are we really seeing more and more companies coming forward? There are almost 200,000 SMEs around in Singapore but how many have taken up and gone digital?

Singaporeans in the Digital Economy

Over several weekends, at the grassroots and the community levels, I organised several small gatherings in different locations for residents. And over time, more and more residents would join such gatherings and we find that it is getting harder and harder to do things in a manual approach, including signing up for some activities or even knowing whether they are going to come or not, as well as conducting surveys with these residents.

We figured that we should digitise the process and then make it a little bit more online that will be more accessible for them and, at the same time, easier to collect the data. Inclusive of my volunteers and the residents, not everyone is receptive to it. Of course, there are some elderly persons who find it very hard and so we will have to keep the manual process going.

But it is an important process to prepare Singaporeans in this digital world because it is not just affecting their daily lives and everything that they do in the near future, but also in finding new jobs or new opportunities in their careers as well as acquire new skills.

My sense in this process of change is that in preparing Singaporeans to be able to adapt to this new digital world, we certainly still have a distance to go. So, how can Singaporeans be more prepared and what can the Government do to help prepare Singaporeans for this digital age in their daily lives, in finding new jobs, acquiring new skills, so that they could better adapt to this new world?

Developing our People for Digital Future

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Automation, digitalisation and artificial intelligence are disrupting how we live and how work is organised. As old jobs get displaced, new jobs are created that require the right attitude and new competencies. We need to unlearn and relearn if our people are to exploit the new opportunities and capture value in the new economy.

According to an October 2018 McKinsey report on the future of work in Switzerland, it is estimated that the demand for tasks requiring basic cognitive or physical and manual skills could decline by 20%. Conversely, the need for social and emotional and technological skills is to rise by about 20% and up to 50%, respectively. The skill shift is also expected to exceed the regular rate at which labour and skills drop out of the market.

These findings can well apply to Singapore. Hence, it is imperative that we continue to invest in our human capital and help our people transition. We will also need to accelerate the speed at which we do so. Government must work with businesses to ensure relevant training content and hands-on practice, culminating in real job opportunities.

I am aware of IMDA's effort in running human capital programmes. I would like to know what outcomes have we achieved so far and how does the Ministry measure the immediate and long-term success of the programmes? Do the new jobs and skills trained match well?

For individuals with no Infocomm technology (ICT) background, are there programmes in place to help them make the career switch? If there are, what is the success rate so far?

The Chairman: Mr Douglas Foo, you can take your two next cuts together.

SMEs Go Digital

Mr Douglas Foo (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, on SMEs Go Digital, since the launch of the SMEs Go Digital programme during Budget 2017, the programme has helped and has developed many initiatives with the aim of helping local SMEs use digital technologies, build capabilities and participate in the digital economy.

Through partnerships with TACs, such as the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), the programme provides SMEs with consultancy advice, from specialist digital project managers, to help them implement pre-approved digital solutions to transform their businesses.

As announced by Finance Minister Heng in Budget 2019, the programme has seen some 4,000 SMEs adopt pre-approved digital solutions offered under the programme. While this number is indeed encouraging, it is a drop in an ocean of nearly 200,000 SMEs in Singapore.

Therefore, can the Ministry provide a progress update on the SMEs Go Digital programme, particularly with respect to the minimum number of SMEs the programme is intended to reach and how the Ministry intends to get SMEs to accelerate the adoption of digital solutions?

Talent Development

As the manufacturing sector advances towards Industry 4.0, the sector will increasingly require the skills set of Infocomm Media (ICM) professionals to harness frontier technologies to help the sector reach Industry 4.0's standards sooner. The Info-communications Media Industry Transformation Map was launched in November 2017 with the goal of employing more than 210,000 ICM workers and create more than 13,000 PMET jobs by 2020.

Can the Ministry provide an update on ITM's employment goals so far? Also, what are MCI's long-term plans to attract talents to become ICM professionals?

The Chairman: Mr Ong Teng Koon, you can take your next two cuts together.

Digital Infrastructure

Mr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Sir, one of the challenges of being an infrastructure provider is that you tend to be taken for granted. People assume that your services will always be available whenever they want it. They give no thought to the effort and planning that goes into providing such services.

However, the moment there is any disruption, everybody is instantly up in arms. For example, consumers were outraged by a 3.5 hours' outage in Singtel's broadband services in July last year, or another similar disruption in November.

The digital economy – streaming services, e-commerce, cloud computing – is built on the assumption of uninterrupted access to the Internet. But no matter how much service providers invest to ensure 99.999% uptime, it can be undone by failure at the infrastructure level. Loss of connectivity can have potentially catastrophic business consequences as businesses are unable to access customers or essential services such as banking, payments, and so on.

Sir, what are our plans to ensure that our digital infrastructure is able to support our growing digital economy?

Frontier Technology

Sir, the rapid pace of technology advancement shows no signs of slowing. Concepts that seemed like science fiction just a few years ago, are starting to impact our daily lives.

Autonomous vehicles, intelligent home automation, bots powered by natural language processing that can hold an almost human-like conversation – these things are already here. The impact that they will have on our daily lives is still not fully understood, but will surely be profound. It will shape how we live, work and play.

Singapore has invested billions of dollars to support research into such areas. The current Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE 2020) plan has allocated $19 billion to key areas, such as advanced manufacturing and urban solutions.

Sir, looking forward to the next decade, what is the Ministry doing to further invest in frontier technology and sharpen Singapore's competitive edge?

Personal Data Protection Commission

Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, the SingHealth's cyber attack was the largest breach in Singapore to date. On 15 January 2019, the Personal Data Protection Commission fined SingHealth S$250,000 and fined the Integrated Health Information Systems Pte Ltd (IHiS) S$750,000.

These punitive fines underscore the large scale of the breach and the sensitive and confidential nature of the patients' data that was lost and it is a signal to other organisations to take the necessary steps to safeguard personal data.

However, there does not appear to be any remedy or compensation available to the actual victims of the data breach. There is no obvious recourse for the ones who had their personal data stolen.

In addition to fines, can we provide a way for victims of data breach to claim compensation for the loss of personal data?

In December 2017, Uber delayed in reporting that personal information of 380,000 users in Singapore had been compromised in a breach the year before. After the breach had occurred and before Uber's admission of the said breach, it was reported that victims of the data breach were preyed upon by the hackers who used the stolen personal data to cause even more harm to the victims. It is unclear how many of those victims suffered further losses as a result of the actions of the hackers.

Is it possible to have a tribunal to allow the victims to seek compensation for any losses they might have suffered as a result of the data breach?

Personal Data Protection Regime

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Chairman, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) was set up in 2013 as the implementing agency for the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Act. According to the PDPC's website, the number of enquiries and complaints received by it in the last four years ranged from between 2,200 and 3,300 annually. I have a few enquiries about this.

First, were the major classes of complaints related to the "Do Not Call" Registry or were they complaints about organisations not exercising reasonable care to protect personal data from unauthorised disclosure?

Secondly, what the resource and staffing level of the PDPC to enable it to look into the kinds of cases it is facing? The Minister recently pointed out that in the SingHealth's data breach, the PDPC had leveraged on the findings of a Committee of Inquiry (COI) called by the Government. If another major breach were to occur and a COI is not formed, does PDPC have the resources to investigate a major case on its own?

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Next, I would like to ask about outcomes achieved for complainants. The PDPC has usefully published its decisions online. Where the PDPC found that organisations were in breach of their obligations to safeguard personal data, it was usual that the PDPC will impose financial penalties and also give directions on how the organisations should improve its data security arrangements. Has the PDPC ever assisted a victim of a data breach to obtain redress, for example, mediating a financial settlement with the organisation?

Finally, the coverage of the PDP Act still includes what is defined as public agencies. This exclusion seems artificial when data is collected by entities under PDPA obligations and then transmitted to the Government. While I accept that Government agencies have many laws and regulations concerning data obligations, is there a convincing reason to exclude public agencies from the PDPA?

Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, during the Committee of Supply debate last week on the Smart Nation topic, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned that Singapore was going to "double down" on artificial intelligence (AI). He pointed out that AI, and in particular, deep machine learning has revolutionised many services, including providing voice assistants, language translations, GPS optimisation and helping to detect fraud.

These are revolutionary developments and I think Singapore must continue down this path. However, there are concerns about AI being used improperly. Machines, like humans, need to be taught and trained, and this requires access to data. I have some concerns that people may not aware of the full extent to which their personal data is being gathered and used.

The second, of course, is after this data is gathered and technology is developed, the same information in the wrong hands can lead to trouble, including in the hands of foreign actors, hackers and scammers. Has the Government considered societal concerns surrounding the use of AI, and if so, how are we addressing them?

Proposed Model AI Governance Framework

Prof Lim Sun Sun (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, as we make definitive strides in realising our Smart Nation ambitions, I greatly welcome the announcement of the Proposed Model Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework. While big data, deep learning and neural networks may sound abstract, their growing deployment has real consequences for society. AI-driven automated decision making is increasingly being used for systems and processes that determine product prices, insurance premiums and job recruitment, just to name a few. These are areas where alarms about algorithmic bias have indeed been raised. Issues relating to data justice, algorithmic fairness, and explainable AI must thus be closely monitored to ensure that we reap the best of technology while effectively managing unintended adverse consequences. The Proposed Model AI Governance Framework is therefore especially timely. It will help to warrant that our drive for innovation does not leave ethicality in the dust.

By enunciating a common AI governance approach and offering a set of consistent definitions and principles relating to the responsible use of AI, we provide greater certainty to industry players. Can MCI therefore share its plans for ensuring that this framework is effectively disseminated across all relevant industries? How will it raise awareness of the guidelines governing the responsible use of AI and encourage their application? Are there also plans to have this framework introduced into the curriculum of students taking AI-related courses in our institutes of higher learning?

Critical Information Infrastructure

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Mr Chairman, Sir, I understand that the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) sectors have been established with the express aim of improving the cybersecurity so as to ensure the continuous delivery of essential services in Singapore.

I applaud the Government’s efforts at safeguarding our digital sphere. This is of paramount importance as we make the transition into a Smart Nation. Recent events both domestically and internationally, such as the cyber attacks on SingHealth, and the recent hack into the Australian parliament’s computer network underscore the threats that we face, and the necessity for swift, decisive action to mitigate or neutralise these threats.

Having said this, I would like to seek some clarification in three areas: first, what are the essential public services that have been identified under the CII? Second, how will the infrastructure pertaining to these sectors be set up, or otherwise modified, to ensure robust cybersecurity? Third, what are the contingencies that the Government will employ in the event of a cyber attack, or disruption of essential services?

Cybersecurity for Businesses

Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Recently, I had a chat at the work space in my constituency. The work space is occupied by many entrepreneurs and many of them build their business using the Internet or social media as a platform. So, I had a chat with this user. He runs a e-commerce company and he told me that one day, he woke up and he realised that there was no sale within his system. He was wondering why and actually his system was hacked. His customer database was hacked and as well as the entire website was hacked. What happened was he had to close the business for a few days and he almost had to close the entire business.

Many businesses probably take cybersecurity for granted. If we could we should educate more and more businesses, especially the smaller businesses and the start-ups who are building their businesses over the Internet, about cybersecurity. I would like to know whether the Government has any plans to help instill greater knowledge on cybersecurity and the importance of it in the near future.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, Budget 2019 has focused our attention on cybersecurity by adding the digital defence pillar to our total defence strategy. This is appropriate coming after the SingHealth attack and the HIV Registry leak. There is one critical vulnerability that now needs addressing. In Singapore, the extensive interface between the private and public sectors means cybersecurity for businesses is a critical vulnerability. MINDEF has also been relying on private companies to drive technological innovation and adaptations.

Will the Government thus consider implementing targeted initiatives to bolster the cybersecurity capabilities of businesses, especially our local SMEs urgently? It has been suggested that the Government should provide grants for SMEs to train employees and improve cyber defences. Yes, it has also been suggested that a Government hotline be established for businesses to obtain advice and report cybersecurity breaches without adversarial treatment from Government.

Cybersecurity

Mr Vikram Nair: Mr Chairman, as more and more of our systems go online, cybersecurity becomes a particular concern. The two high profile incidents this year highlight our vulnerability.

The first was the unauthorised access of SingHealth records by a foreign state actor. This highlighted that there are well funded organisations and countries out there that may deliberately try and break into our systems.

The second involved the improper leak of MOH’s registry of AIDS patients. This highlighted that a human lapse by one of the individuals entrusted with access to the system coupled with malicious intent by another can lead to disastrous consequences.

These incidents show two aspects of the vulnerability of our Government systems, and it is foreseeable that both of these, external threats as well as human error by trusted individuals, are timeless issues that are almost impossible to eradicate. Against this backdrop, are there ways to assess the cybersecurity of our Government systems and better improve it?

Mr Douglas Foo: Mr Chairman, Sir, according to the Global Cybersecurity Index 2017, Singapore topped the list as the country that was prepared against cyber attacks, surpassing the US. However, despite the robustness of our cybersecurity strategy, attacks such as the one on MOH demands such that we continue to be vigilant and steadfast in our defence against cyber attacks. Just like the other pillars of total defence, digital defence involves everyone, from individuals to businesses to the Government. Therefore, can the Ministry explain how it tends to encourage collaboration amongst industry partners to harness local cybersecurity expertise to develop secure, high quality products that contribute towards a safe and trusted cyber space for Singapore.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong): The advent of technology has brought with it new eco-systems and new methods of engagement. Technology and in particular, the Internet has changed the way we socialise, work and do business. These changes have brought about massive improvements by connecting people as well as increasing efficiency and productivity. However, there are people who have sought to misuse and cause harm to others on these new platforms.

Last year, Singapore’s overall crime rate went up by 1.4%, propped up mainly by a surge in online-related scams. There was also a 40.3% increase in the number of crimes under the Computer Misuse Act. We have also seen several instances of cyber attacks in public domains, like the recent high-profile SingHealth cyber attack which affected 1.5 million patients. Private entities are also prime targets for digital attacks. In 2017, Uber announced that the personal information of over 57 million Uber users and 600,000 drivers were exposed by hackers. In November 2018, Marriot International also announced that cyber criminals stole data of approximately 500 million customers.

As the Government boosts the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure and strengthens the legal framework to deal with digital crime, it is important for the community to be equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to protect themselves from online harm. Individual users, businesses and organisations need to be prepared.

As we introduce digital defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence in Singapore, we must remember that in most cases, humans or computer users are the weakest link in cybersecurity. The most robust cyber defences are susceptible to breaches even by the act of that one single user, whether it is because of lax passwords, unknowingly leaking confidential data or falling prey to phishing attacks that trick users into giving up sensitive data.

In this regard, how can we improve cybersecurity awareness among citizens and businesses so that we can continue to leverage the opportunities that technology brings, while minimising the threats online?

Cyber Security Agency

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Mr Chairman, Sir, the Committee of Inquiry investigating the SingHealth cyber attack recommended to significantly improve the competency of cyber security personnel.

Manpower planning and talent development strategy is critical in the national strategy to strengthen cyber security. In 2012, EDB reported that there were 1,200 cyber security specialists although there are 140,000 IT professionals. After seven years, where do we stand today in terms of number and percentage of cyber security specialists among IT professionals? How many more is needed and being targeted?

One of the key thrusts of the National Cyber Security Masterplan 2018 is to grow Singapore’s expertise in cyber security. IDA has been working with Institutes of Higher Learning to expand cyber security programmes. Polytechnics and industry have collaborated to establish cyber security centres. IDA is also collaborating with FireEye to upskill cyber security professionals. EDB and NEC corporation are collaborating to develop capabilities in strategic areas through overseas attachment. ST Engineering established the DigiSAFE Cyber Security Centre to reskill those interested in a mid-career switch.

With the establishment of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and MINDEF’s Defence Cyber Organisation, and also the public sector Cybersecurity Professional Programme and MINDEF’s Cyber NSF Vocation, we now have a varied landscape for manpower and talent development in cybersecurity.

Are these different efforts being coordinated by the CSA and IDA in accordance with the national strategy? Are these efforts competing with each other for a small pool of talents or complementing each other for synergies?

Deliberate Online Falsehoods

Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio): Mr Chairman, the anonymous nature of the Internet has led to a “disinhibition effect” where people take on an online persona that is different from their persona in real life. The disinhibition effect has been studied extensively by researchers to understand cyberbullying behaviour and other forms of undesirable online behaviour such as trolling and fishing. While such online behaviour is objectionable, its effect is relatively contained.

What is worrying is the emergence of deliberate online falsehoods, where the reach and potential impact of such falsehoods are widespread. The internet has provided the perpetrators of falsehoods with a veil of anonymity and the disinhibition effect has emboldened the perpetrators to craft messages that are patently false, with the malicious intentions to obfuscate the truth. The malice of online falsehood can lead to communal and racial violence, distrust in the establishment and sway public opinions on important social issues.

Singapore is not immune to the malice of deliberate online falsehoods. Some state actors and individuals have mounted falsehood campaigns to discredit our institutions, to cast aspersions on our Government and systems. These orchestrated campaigns need to be dealt with swiftly and decisively before they gain momentum.

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Yet, dealing with deliberate online falsehoods require a multi-agency approach that includes combating falsehoods with facts, educating Singaporeans to discern between truth and untruth, and for media companies to play their part to weed out fake posts and misinformation campaigns.

What are some concrete steps that Government is taking to help Singaporeans guard against deliberate online falsehoods in an increasingly complex digital and media environment?

Mr Vikram Nair: Chairman, this House set up a Select Committee to look into the matter of Deliberate Online Falsehoods. I should declare that I participated in the public consultation by the Select Committee as part of the PAP Policy Forum.

Some of the key issues raised included that: first, fake news is often plausible and interesting, which makes it likely to circulate very far; second, the truth is rarely as interesting so corrections and rectifications do not get the same attention; third, social media and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp have allowed fake news to go very far; fourth, there is evidence that foreign actors have used fake news to interfere in elections such as the US Presidential election and even the UK's vote on Brexit; fifth, private organisations often profit from fake news, and these include not only those who deliberately create it such as Temasek Review, but many of those who benefit from its dissemination including platform like Facebook which get monies from advertising revenues.

The Chairman: Mr Vikram, kindly wrap up.

Mr Vikram Nair: Yes. After the Select Committee's deliberation, are there any plans to introduce new measures to counter the threat of deliberate online falsehoods as recommended by the Select Committee?

Digital Readiness Blueprint

Prof Lim Sun Sun: Mr Chairman, I commend the establishment of the Digital Readiness blueprint but would like to ask how it caters to varying skills sets of Internet users.

While we fortunately do not have a digital access divide in Singapore, research around the world has shown that the "second level digital divide" pertaining to online skills can significantly influence how much people can benefit from their online experience. Furthermore, with our high smartphone penetration rates, we need to pay particular attention to Internet use via mobile phones.

Because the mobile Internet is centred around apps, mobile-only users who rely exclusively on mobile devices are quite distinct from mobile-first users who use mobile devices predominantly but in combination with other devices. These differing usage patterns can translate into different online experiences that reflect variances in online competencies and breadth of exposure to content. These can in turn shape individual worldviews and understanding of key societal issues that impact their personal lives.

How do we then map the skills covered by the Basic Digital Skills Curriculum against prevailing internet usage trends in Singapore? Also, what plans are in place to have the curriculum be regularly refreshed to take into account (a) shifting technological trends and (b) changing needs in schools and workplaces?

Digital Readiness

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng: Mr Chairman, my next cut is on digital readiness. There are several reasons for the digital divide.The primary one is a lack of ready access to computers, smart phones and the Internet. To be applauded are initiatives, such as Home Access programmes for low-income families and Enable IT for persons with disabilities. Both these programmes have done well to provide affordable and inclusive digital access for all Singaporeans.

Another reason for the digital divide is the lack of skills, as Prof Lim pointed out just now, to use digital technologies safely and confidently. Besides being able to operate a device, it is also important for good cyber hygiene habits including awareness of the negative impact of technology, such as fake news, cyberbullying and social isolation.

Yet another reason for the digital divide is the lack of willingness of some of our citizens to participate in a digital economy. High-profile cyber attacks, including the SingHealth's data breach last year have some of our citizens fearing the use of digital technologies. Yet others have been deterred when they hear of people falling victim to online scams.

Given the numerous impediments to digital inclusion, I would like to ask the Minister to share his strategies and plans to bridge the digital divide. So that everyone can benefit from the digital economy.

Affordable Digital Connectivity

Mr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Chairman, digital services have become an increasingly central part of our lives. We all use mobile apps multiple times each day. From games to health tracking to stock market information, we hardly even notice them anymore. They have become so fundamental to our lives that the UN has even spoken of protecting Internet access as a key element of protecting an individual’s rights.

However, there is also increasing concern about a “digital divide”. Lower income groups are going to be disadvantaged if they lack exposure to the digital world due to affordability concerns. Apart from lack of access to more affordable substitutes for physical services, they may also fail to acquire essential skills needed to work productively in the digital age. If children from lower income households miss out on digital experiences, we risk creating a permanent underclass.

Significant steps have already been made to address this issue such as the Home Access Programme which provides eligible households with two years of subsidised fibre broadband. Free WiFi hotspots are also becoming increasingly common.

What more can we do to ensure that digital connectivity is affordable for the vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of our society?

Smart Seniors for Smart Nation

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Chairman, as we gear up for a digital economy, we must make sure that our people are able to benefit from this transformation and not be left behind. We must not inadvertently create a new inequality or widen an existing gap, between those who can access and exploit the new digital technologies, and those who cannot.

Whilst future generations of elderly will be better educated and tech-savvy, we must not neglect our current generation of seniors. We need Smart Seniors for a Smart Nation. We need to harness technology to supplement our shortage of eldercare manpower and help more seniors live independently in the comfort of their own homes and community. We need to harness technology to help them stay connected to news and information, to support networks, to friends and families. To do all these, it is important to ensure that they are digitally ready. Digital readiness is the very first step and a critical enabler for our elderly to fully exploit the benefits of technology.

In MacPherson, we conducted a simple survey of 315 public rental residents last year and identified that the largest barriers with going digital are know-how, possession of smart phones and data plans. Hence, my grassroots team and I actively seek out partners with the resources to help our seniors and digitally vulnerable residents to overcome these barriers. I would like to thank IMDA and MCI for the support.

With the ability of oversight and access to a much larger network of resources, I would like to ask the Ministry what has been done to target efforts at helping seniors and the digitally vulnerable to learn, access and use digital technologies to enhance their quality of life?

SkillsFuture @ Libraries

Dr Teo Ho Pin: Mr Chairman, Sir, our libraries are a wonderful resource to instill knowledge in our people. I understand that there have been collaborative efforts between the NLB and SkillsFuture Singapore to upgrade the skills of Singaporeans. This is done mainly through SkillsFuture @ Libraries workshops held in our libraries.

I would like to seek some clarifications on how our libraries can play a more proactive role in supporting SkillsFuture and lifelong learning. Also, I would like to seek an update as to how the Ministry has encouraged adult learners to use library resources.

Sir, with the advent of digitisation, we can explore the use of technology to support lifelong learning. I would like to suggest that this be facilitated through two channels. First, the NLB mobile app. Second, NLB’s Learning Pods.

Sir, the NLB mobile app can be improved to collect user preferences and user data with the consent of users. This information can be subsequently used in the recommendation of library resources such as books, e-books, audio-books, and videos to users, to aid in their self-development and learning.

In fact, we can go one step further and create a data-sharing platform between SkillsFuture Singapore and NLB. This data-sharing platform will collate information such as the career aspirations, sector of work, or interests, of users who have registered with SkillsFuture. Subsequently, knowledge, resources, and skills which are of interest, or are beneficial, to the respective users can be identified. The relevant resources can then be recommended to users through the NLB mobile app. This will allow users to identify the materials which will best aid in their self-improvement, and learning, and encourage self-learning. In essence, this approach will allow for the customisation of tailor-made learning programmes suited to the individual learning needs of Singaporeans.

Sir, I understand that the libraries at Yishun North Point and Harbourfront have seven learning pods each. These learning pods contain video tutorials on various subjects ranging from coding to business. Sir, the learning pods with their interactive screens present tremendous potential to support self-learning. We should encourage the proliferation of these learning pods throughout libraries across Singapore.

Sir, the opportunities for lifelong learning which our libraries can provide, are many. I urge the Ministry to expedite the development of our libraries into self-learning hubs for Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Mr Darryl David, can you take one cut? We are going for tea break after this.

Libraries

Mr Darryl David: Thank you, Mr Chairman. Libraries today face critical challenges from many counts: from the Internet, modern cafes and even homes with book repositories. The question is not whether print and digital media can exist side by side in libraries. It is how the library can be a third space, for diverse social groups to exchange ideas, inclusively.

Libraries can be physical or virtual social spaces with social media applications. How we can transform our libraries into community hubs for people to interact, interconnect, learn, produce, share, meet informally, hold discussions or organise social events, special shows and exhibitions?

Libraries can also be “living rooms” for sharing of ideas via book clubs and forums, a safe space and meeting place for all. How does the Government ensure that our libraries continue to serve as an inclusive social space for Singaporeans of all ages?

The Chairman: Order. I propose to take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.20 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 2.57 pm until 3.20 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.20 pm.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head Q (cont) –

Encouraging Plurality of Views

Mr Darryl David: Thank you, Mr Chairman, I would like to speak on civic discussion and diversity of views. Global cities across the world are often characterised by openness and tolerance of divergent views. One significant trait of such vibrant societies is the people's ability to "talk" through multiple, conflicting perspectives without hysteria and harm. While psychologists argue that it is social survival depends on conformity, recent research also suggests that divergence fosters creativity.

Stanford Professor Carol Dweck has done extensive work on the concept of "Growth Mindset." Individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and input from others have this growth mind set. I believe that respect for divergent views can be fostered in our schools to help students engage calmly in rational exchange to develop a growth mindset. I would like the Government to consider how we can we improve civic discussion in our schools and beyond to encourage the plurality of views among Singaporeans.

Government Public Opinion Surveys

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, before I begin, I declare my interest as the CEO of a research consultancy that undertakes surveys.

Sir, many Singaporeans nowadays have the experience of being interviewed by opinion polling agencies conducting surveys on behalf of the Government. In a reply to my previous Parliamentary Question (PQ), then Minister Yacoob Ibrahim responded that "The Government does not compile statistics on the surveys conducted by various agencies, or which among them are published."

The results of opinion surveys, if published, would be valuable to many stake-holders in society.

For example, charities could design better fund-raising programs to help their beneficiaries by understanding the climate of public opinion around the issues and beneficiaries they are addressing. Academics could mine such surveys for research purposes. Civil society groups could use survey data to develop better programs to raise awareness around their focused issues. Citizens could use that knowledge to better shape and calibrate their actions as citizens, for example in writing letters to the media, expressing views on social media and making representations to consultative committees.

Sir, I understand that the results of some surveys are published, for example by REACH. I would like to call for the adoption of a rule that all Ministries and government agencies conducting opinion surveys publish the reports arising from those surveys for the use and benefit of society at large, where they do not impinge on national security or sensitive matters.

I would like to ask if there are currently mechanisms to enable all government agencies or Ministries to access data from non-published surveys conducted by other agencies or Ministries. If not, the publication of such surveys could even improve governmental efficiency and spending by reducing survey overlaps.

Government surveys are conducted using public funds. The results of those surveys should be available for all to use, not only the Government and Government leaders.

Effective Policy Communications

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Well-meaning policies can become ineffective and rile people, if communications are not done well. Worse, in the absence of effective policy communications, those who wish us ill could exploit the opportunity to distort facts or spread fake news. It would be tragic if policies designed with Singapore's and Singaporeans' best interest in mind are misunderstood and fail to receive public support.

Conversely, policies that are effectively communicated can receive widespread public support, thereby ensuring their successful implementation. Mother tongue and National Service policies are excellent examples. We can observe the robust public support these policies receive till this day because people understood the rationale, despite the personal sacrifices they may have to make. Effective policy communications therefore strengthen our national solidarity.

Given the imperative of effective policy communications, I would like to ask the Ministry how it intends to improve the communication of government policies across different age groups and communities to maximise policy impact and benefit the intended audience?

The Chairman: Mr Darryl David, please take the next two cuts.

Public Service Broadcasting

Mr Darryl David: Mr Chairman, my first cut is on public service broadcasting of PSB. Over the years, the IMDA has supported the production of Public Service Broadcast (PSB) programmes, which have several national and social objectives. PSB programmes promote Singapore, the Singapore identity and values such as family, community, social inclusiveness and cohesiveness. At the same time, they cater to special interest groups, for example, the elderly and youth. They are also help to increase cultural awareness in a plural society and foster religious harmony.

Over the years such programmes have also helped to educate viewers, for example, through current affairs exposure so that we can be plugged into the world as global citizens to understand the cross currents that affect us.

Today, a revolution called cord cutting is spreading throughout the world, freeing people from the ties to cable even. With over-the-top (OTT) services offered by Netflix, Amazon Prime and even Viu for fans who want to binge-watch Korean content. Can the Government share how Public Service Broadcasting is changing in this ever-evolving media landscape? Next cut.

Developing the Media Industry

In the last five years, efforts to grow the media industry has rapidly accelerated. Big players like Lucasfilm; RGM Holdings, a well-known talent management company; BKN Media, an acclaimed animation studio; and DLM Digital Studios, a major Indian film production company have set up shop in Singapore, increasing the international profile of the media industry.

In the area of media education, NTU's School of Arts Design and Media have launched programmes to nurture creative media professionals. South Seas Film & Television School from New Zealand is also setting up a campus here. This will provide many opportunities for classrooms to become media hubs for media talent in the making.

However, it has been observed that the local market for made-in-Singapore media content is small, making it imperative to create an enabling media environment. What are our general plans to develop/grow the media industry domestically and are there plans to support local media firms overseas?

The Chairman: Minister Iswaran.

The Minister for Communications and Information (Mr S Iswaran): Thank you, Mr Chairman. May I first seek your permission to display some slides in the course of my speech?

Mr Speaker: Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

Mr S Iswaran: Sir, this is my first Committee of Supply since joining MCI last May. I would like to thank all Members for their support of the work of the Ministry of Communications and Information and also for the diverse plurality of use that Members have shared with us on the work of the Ministry.

In my response, I would outline MCI's plans to secure Singapore's future in a digital age, as part of the Ministry's broader mission to connect to our people to opportunities, communities and the Government. Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will address cybersecurity and digital readiness, while Senior Minister of State Sim Ann will do so for the media sector and Government communications. And I will conclude with our plans for the libraries and archives.

Sir, our vision is for Singapore to have a thriving Digital Economy where: every business is digitally-empowered, every worker is digitally-skilled, and every citizen is digitally-connected. Every enterprise, regardless of size or stage of development, can use technology to innovate and grow. Every worker, regardless of industry or education level, can use technology to be more effective and productive. And every citizen, regardless of age or background, can use technology confidently and enrich their lives.

This vision is already being realised, sometimes in quite unlikely quarters of our economy and society. Small enterprises in traditional sectors are harnessing technologies to grow. I recently met Mr Selvam, he was a former commando, who now owns Anushia Flower Shop in Little India. A testament to the diverse capabilities of our SAF officers. He has used e-commerce to reach corporate clients and new customers, to increase his revenue by 50%.

Young and old are embracing technology. At the opening of library@harbourfront in January, I saw seniors effortlessly reading e-newspapers, and learning enthusiastically to use the different apps on their smart phones. Children were enjoying themselves in the Immersive Storytelling Room and adults were using the NLB Mobile App.

3.30 pm

We want to build on this momentum by nurturing a vibrant infocomm media industry, comprising businesses with deep capabilities, workers who are highly skilled and a world-class digital infrastructure.

We start with efforts to raise the digital capabilities of our broad base of enterprises, especially our SMEs. Mr Cedric Foo and Mr Douglas Foo have asked how we are helping businesses benefit from digital technologies, and Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about the outcomes of our efforts. Two years ago, we launched the SMEs Go Digital programme and the results have been encouraging. To date, about 4,000 SMEs have benefited from this programme, which provides access to step-by-step guides to go digital. Proven digital solutions are provided and consultancy and project management services are also available.

We have been adapting the SMEs Go Digital programme to the changing needs of business. For instance, working with banks and telco partners, we launched the Start Digital Pack in January this year, so that digital solutions can be adopted by companies from the moment they are established. This way, businesses benefit from the very beginning, and they can also build on these digital foundations as they scale.

We are also expanding the SMEs Go Digital to meet the more complex needs of businesses as they scale. UNAG Logistics is an example. Rhyce and Gary Chng are brothers who own this local logistics and transportation company. They use a pre-approved cloud-based, AI solution to optimise delivery routes and dynamically re-assign drivers to new routes based on the capacity and locations of available vehicles. This has enabled them to increase their deliveries by 20% and revenue by 15%. And, they are now extending the platform to fellow SMEs as well. By 2020, we will roll out AI and cloud-based solutions to every sector so that more businesses can benefit.

Beyond the enterprise, we have also embarked on digital initiatives at the system-level so that we can derive broader benefits.

The nationwide e-invoicing network is one such initiative which IMDA launched in January this year. Invoicing is a key business function but manual processes can be tedious and error-prone. With e-invoicing, businesses can streamline processes, increase accuracy and improve cash flow. The Government, on its part, is fully committed to this initiative and will prepare our system to receive e-invoices by this year. And I want to encourage all our businesses to use this nationwide network to improve their efficiency and to reduce their costs.

Another example is a system-level initiative is TradeTrust which aims to streamline and digitalise our trade processes. A common challenge in the trade and logistics sectors is the inefficiency of manual cross-border trade processes. TradeTrust is an initiative to develop a set of standards to help businesses securely exchange digital trade documents. It will enhance our attractiveness as a business hub and improve the efficiency of our trading and logistics sectors. IMDA and other Government agencies are now working with industry partners to conduct proof-of-concept trials and we will provide more details later.

The digitalisation of our businesses can succeed only if our workers too are equipped to effectively use digital technology. Many Members – Mr Cedric Foo, Mr Teo Ser Luck , Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Douglas Foo – have asked how we are preparing workers and growing our talent for the digital economy. And I agree with Mr Teo Ser Luck it is a challenge, it is a challenge, both of changing mindsets and developing the will to make the change happen.

In 2016, we launched the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) programme to meet the growing demand for digitally-skilled professionals. Since then, over 61,000 training places have been taken up or committed, which accounts for about a third, slightly more, of our total ICT workforce. These courses provide opportunities for non-ICT workers to switch into a tech career, as well as for current ICT workers to take on deeper tech roles.

Mr Xie Zhaoyan is one of our graduates from TeSA's Tech Immersion and Placement Programme, which helps non-ICT workers move into the field. Through the programme, he acquired software development skills which helped him make the transition from being an engineer in the oil and gas industry, to a data engineer at Amaris AI where he develops applications for clients.

TeSA also has a Company Led Training (CLT) programme where, as the name suggests, companies take the lead to train ICT workers.

I recently visited Tunity Technologies, a local radio frequency ID (RFID) solutions provider. The SME has helped train and hire six workers through the programme including Ms Yeo Wan Ru. Through the programme, Wan Ru learnt skills in the Internet-of Things (or IoT) domain and is now an IoT Engineer.

So, we have seen good results from these programmes and I would like to inform Ms Tin Pei Ling that 90% of the beneficiaries continue to be in ICT roles. Many of them also stay with the same company they were placed in. We also conduct periodic reviews and work closely with key hirers of ICT professionals to assess the outcomes of our programmes.

Tech companies, like Tunity, play an important role in the training and growth of our ICT workers. Through our local partners, Kaplan and Trent Global, we will also create more upskilling opportunities for our workers by bringing in renowned training curriculum by METIS for data science from the USA, and Code Institute for software development from Ireland. These will help more workers and companies seize opportunities arising from the digital economy.

And as every worker has different digital training needs, we will also roll out the Digital Learning Guide. It will enable employers to plan for their workers' digital training needs using a step-by-step guide. We will start with the retail and logistics sectors, and progressively extend it to others.

We also want to harness the talent of the many Singaporeans who are working overseas in key tech areas and who are eager to contribute to Singapore's digital transformation. To encourage such tech talent flows, I am pleased to inform Members of the launch of the Overseas Singaporeans in Tech (OST)-LinkedIn community, which is a partnership between the industry and key Government agencies. It will connect overseas Singaporean tech talent with our local tech community, and keep them informed of the latest developments back home. Since the group was formed in January this year, it has managed to get in touch with over 500 Singaporeans.

Investment in research and development is also an essential part of our efforts to help industries innovate and stay competitive, even as the technology landscape is rapidly evolving.

Our R&D investments in the Services and Digital Economy (SDE) domain of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 Plan (RIE 2020) have helped us build capabilities in frontier tech areas and address our national priorities. For example, through AI Singapore's Grand Challenges, we are working with academia and industry to solve major problems faced in the key sectors such as healthcare. We must sustain this research and innovation momentum that underpins our Digital Economy strategies. I am therefore pleased to announce and share with Members that we will allocate a further $300 million for research in the SDE domain, almost doubling it from the current budget. This increase is part of the next phase of the National Research Foundation's RIE 2020 plan, which will be announced soon.

We are also establishing Digital Services Labs to unlock value from our R&D investments. This programme will work with technology providers, research and industry partners to co-develop cutting-edge technology to address business challenges.

Effective regulations that keep abreast of change and innovation, and world-class digital infrastructure, underpins our Digital Economy vision.

In that regard, we are reviewing our Electronic Transactions Act to cater for new business models, new technologies and national projects. We are also reviewing our Personal Data Protection Act (or PDPA) so that it continues to safeguard consumer interests while enabling the innovative use of data.

To Ms Sylvia Lim's query, in 2018, the Personal Data Protection Commission processed 1,669 complaints on data protection issues and 1,236 on Do Not Call issues. The PDPC has the expertise and resources to investigate different types of data protection breaches, and where necessary, works with external parties on investigations. Because it is cited within IMDA, the agency is also able to write on IMDA's broader infrastructure and overheads, and focus its resources on investigations and some of the core areas of work. We will continue to ensure that PDPC is adequately resourced and fit-for-purpose.

I had also explained in Parliament on 12 February why public agencies are not covered by the PDPA. I want to inform Ms Sylvia Lim that the reasons have not changed in the next past weeks. The data protection standards in the PDPA and the Public Sector Governance Act (PSGA) are broadly aligned. Public agencies are subject to the same, if not higher standards than the private sector. They are covered not only by PSGA but also other specific legislation and the Government Instruction Manual, which Ms Lim has also acknowledged. When necessary, PDPC helps to link individuals with the organisation and its data protection officers to address specific data protection concerns that have been raised. PDPC can also refer parties to mediation.

Mr Mohamed Irshad asked about recourse available for individuals affected by data breaches. Individuals who suffer loss can seek legal advice on available recourse including seeking compensation directly from the organisation or by taking private action against the organisation. Individuals may also resolve data protection disputes through mediation by the Consumer Association of Singapore or the Singapore Mediation Centre.

We are also preparing for new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). Mr Vikram Nair asked about AI ethics, which is an area we are focused on, given the pervasive potential of AI technology. And to this end, I recently launched Singapore's Model AI Governance Framework, to guide private organisations in particular to deploy AI solutions safely and ethically. We have also established an Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data, and launched a Research Programme to advance discourse on legal and ethical AI issues. Ms Lim Sun Sun will be happy to note that we are engaging partners like the Advisory Council, sector regulators, Trade Associations and Chambers to promote the adoption of the Framework. Our efforts in AI governance and ethics have also received international recognition as a World Summit on the Information Society Prizes 2019 Champion. So, this is an acknowledgment at an international fora of the work that we are doing, but we are pressing ahead because the landscape is evolving.

To Mr Ong Teng Koon's query on infrastructure, we aim to ensure that we have future-ready and globally competitive digital infrastructure, which is the bedrock of our digital economy.

So, we plan to commence the roll out of fifth generation mobile networks, or what is more commonly known as 5G, by 2020 to maintain Singapore's competitive edge in connectivity. With 5G, businesses and citizens can experience peak data rates of up to 100 times faster than 4G, with up to 25 times lower latency, and the ability to support up to 1,000 times more devices per square kilometre. 5G has a potentially to fundamentally transform our businesses and the way they operate, given its capacity to handle many high-demand applications simultaneously, such as the connectivity of autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, the deployment of IoT and nationwide sensor networks. IMDA will launch a public consultation shortly, to help us develop the right regulatory framework and policies for 5G including the allocation of spectrum.

On Mr Cedric Foo's point, we are strong advocates for open cross-border data flows, which is essential if we are to fully harness the potential of technologies like AI.

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At the regional level, we have helped set baseline data protection principles in the region by contributing to the ASEAN Framework on Digital Data Governance. We also participate in multilateral certification mechanisms like the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules and Privacy Recognition for Processors systems. We have included commitments to promote data flows in Free Trade Agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Treatment for Trans-Pacific Partnership. And, collectively, these initiatives will enable businesses to transfer data across borders seamlessly and securely, and seize new digital opportunities.

But these opportunities can only be meaningfully realised within a safe and secure cyberspace. I agree with Mr Teo Ser Luck and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh that besides helping SMEs benefit from digitalisation, we must help them protect their businesses from cyber threats. So CSA and IMDA will expand the range of pre-approved solutions to include cybersecurity solutions later this year. This will give SMEs some guidance into the kind of solutions they can adopt and strengthen their cybersecurity measures.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how we are protecting our Critical Information Infrastructure (CII). Last year, we passed the Cybersecurity Act. It empowers CSA to effectively combat cyber-attacks and investigate cyber incidents. All CIIs have been designated by the end of 2018. Our 11 CII sectors provide essential services, such as transport, energy and water supply, and all CII owners must adhere to the Cybersecurity Code of Practice. Regular penetration tests are also conducted to identify and rectify vulnerabilities. In addition, we have in place measures to enhance resilience, including contingency and incident response plans in the event that a cyber-attack causes the disruption of essential services.

We launched Digital Defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence last month. It was in recognition of the fact that each and every citizen, business and organisation, has a role to play in helping us develop robust defences against threats from cyberspace. To paraphrase the old saying, we are only as strong as the weakest cyber-link. Senior Minister of Stage Janil will be sharing more details on our cybersecurity efforts.

Finally, we believe that every Singaporean can be a digitally connected and engaged citizen. Building digital readiness is a national effort, involving the Government, businesses, communities and individuals. This is why we are launching the Digital Participation Pledge which allows organisations to commit to one or more actionable items that help Singaporeans acquire skills and adopt technology. So far, more than 270 organisations have pledged to do their part and we hope to see more organisations sign up, so that together we can build a more digitally ready Singapore.

I am heartened by the many volunteers and corporate partners who have come forward to volunteer at our Digital Clinics to assist citizens in using mobile devices. Standard Chartered Bank is a corporate partner with more than 200 of their staff members volunteering. One of the volunteers, Ms Audrey Poh, shared with me that she was inspired by the participants' enthusiasm to learn as she taught them to use different apps. Our Digital Clinics have reached more than 4,000 individuals since 2017. And this was only possible with the support of 20 corporate partners and 1,000 volunteers like Ms Poh.

To support many more Singaporeans like Ms Poh who are passionate about helping others, We will launch Our Singapore Fund, which will support community efforts that promote digital readiness. This is in collaboration with MCCY and Senior Minister of State Janil will be elaborating on these initiatives.

Mr Chairman, I have spoken at length on our broad range of efforts to help our enterprises and people benefit from the opportunities presented by the digital economy. This is not an easy task nor is it the sole responsibility of Government. Indeed, ultimately, every business, every worker and every citizen has to step up, overcome the challenges, and take ownership of their learning and digital transformation. Chairman, if I may have your permission to show this video which aptly captures the challenge that we are dealing with?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Mr S Iswaran: Thank you. [A video was shown to hon Members.]

This is what my younger colleagues in the Ministry called a "bold" or "edgy" video. Mr Chairman, if I may conclude. The building of a vibrant digital economy in Singapore is a shared endeavour. And the video we have just seen highlights that there are challenges, whether we are individuals, workers or smaller enterprises – in different ways, we are dealing with these challenges. And it also shows how we can collaborate and succeed. So, let us work together, as digitally-empowered businesses, digitally-skilled workers and digitally-connected citizens to realise that vision.

The Chairman: Senior Ministe of State Dr Janil Puthucheary.

The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Dr Janil Puthucheary): Mr Chairman, as technology becomes part of our lives, we need to strengthen our digital readiness and our cybersecurity. We must ensure that all Singaporeans have access to the tools and knowledge to benefit from technology, and that workers and businesses will thrive in a cyber-secure environment.

Several Members have expressed concerns about segments of our society that may be slower or less likely to benefit from the digital transformation journey that Singapore is undergoing.

We must ensure that the benefits of digitalisation are enjoyed by all. Digital readiness is a whole-of-nation effort. It requires the combined effort of Government, businesses and the community.

Last year, we launched the Digital Readiness Blueprint and set up a Digital Readiness Council. This Council will provide strategic direction, guide the implementation of our digital readiness initiatives, and examine the needs of the community in terms of digital inclusion, literacy and participation. Importantly, and very hearteningly, as Minister noted, we have received significant support from the wider community and businesses to serve on the Council and its working committees.

Our efforts can be categorised into these three areas: digital participation, digital inclusion and digital literacy.

For Digital Participation, we will launch two new initiatives, to mobilise organisations from the private, people and public sectors to drive our digital readiness efforts, and bring more citizens on board the digital readiness movement.

The Digital Participation Pledge, which the Minister announced, is a voluntary, online pledge, to encourage organisations to promote digital participation and inclusion. The primary focus is businesses. And already, 270 organisations from a wide range of industries – not just the tech industry, not just the online industry, but any industry that can make use of these digital technologies – have done so and pledged their commitment to expand their digital readiness efforts. Our target is to have 3,000 organisations on board this Pledge by 2021.

In another realm – also for digital participation, but focusing on the community – we have partnered with MCCY to create Our Singapore Fund for Digital Readiness. This encourages community efforts to promote digital readiness, and enlarge the social commons – the non-profit sector around digital readiness. Projects can receive up to $20,000 of funding, to support up to 80% of project costs.

Moving on to Digital Inclusion, and to answer Mr Cedric Foo, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Ms Rahayu Mahzam about how we are helping everyone benefit from technology. Digital inclusion requires access to technology, as well as the skills and knowledge to use it safely and confidently.

We have organised over 90 Digital Clinics since 2017. Those Digital Clinics were by appointment, or irregular, ad-hoc and often organised together with events. To provide this as a permanent service to residents, we launched the Tech Connect service, starting at eight community centres last November. This service provides residents with personal assistance, in a language they are comfortable with, on how to use digital devices and applications like Facebook and WhatsApp, so that they can connect with friends and family, build stronger social networks, and use technology in everyday aspects of their lives. They can also seek help for very practical issues, like how to reset a password. This service will be rolled out to all community centres progressively, as a permanent service.

We are encouraged by the large number of seniors who have picked up basic digital skills through our Silver Infocomm Initiatives. Collectively, our Silver Infocomm Initiatives have reached over 270,000 seniors.

To Mr Ong Teng Koon's query on how we are ensuring that that digital connectivity remains affordable, the Home Access Programme and the NEU PC Plus programme provide subsidised infocomm devices and Internet access to low-income households. To date, more than 70,000 households have benefitted from these programmes. This type of effort is not new. These sort of programmes have existed as public sector programmes since 1999 – more than 20 years – trying to find ways to make sure that vulnerable, lower-income households that will benefit from that type of connectivity, will have access to connectivity, as well as the devices to make use of that connectivity. We have different programmes depending on whether there are school-going children in the household.

In addition, MCI is working with IMDA and PA to run a pilot programme for elderly residents in MacPherson and Radin Mas constituencies. We plan to provide 200 residents who do not have mobile devices or Internet connectivity with data-equipped smartphones. Grassroots volunteers will provide guidance, to help residents build skills and confidence in using this technology. This is part of a study – an experiment, a pilot – to find out how we can encourage and support the adoption of digital technology, among the digitally less ready.

Prof Lim Sun Sun has asked how we can help individuals acquire the necessary skills, and ascertain what competencies are needed to function effectively in the digital economy. Her questions address the third component of digital readiness, after Participation and Inclusion, which is Digital Literacy. IMDA has developed a Basic Digital Skills Curriculum to ensure that citizens can pick up these skills in a structured manner.

The skills identified in the curriculum correspond to everyday activities, with an emphasis on prevailing technology trends, such as the use of e-payments and mobile applications. The curriculum is being offered as a one-day course. Those who are keen to pick up Basic Digital Skills at their own pace can also do so online at the IM Silver portal. We will periodically refresh the curriculum and curate relevant content for seniors, taking into account emerging trends, and feedback from stakeholders.

In the longer term, we are also developing an information and media literacy framework that pulls together relevant information, media and cyber literacy skills that Singaporeans need to use social media and digital technology responsibly and safely. This framework will spell out a set of desired outcomes, and include content guidelines for programme owners to reference. We aim to roll it out later this year, and to refresh it regularly.

Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Darryl David and Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked how Singaporeans can navigate an increasingly complex cyberspace, and given the threat of deliberate online falsehoods (DOFs), cybercrime, and cyber-attacks. Technology offers us greater convenience and greater connectivity. But it can be stressful to navigate the complex web of websites, applications and services. Online threats worsen anxiety, reduce trust and undermine public confidence in institutions. This threatens national security. We have seen this happen in other countries, and Singapore is not immune.

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A well-informed and discerning public is Singapore’s first, and most important line of defence against online threats. The Government is improving public education to tackle the serious and pervasive problem of deliberate online falsehoods. For example, the National Library Board’s "Source. Understand. Research. Evaluate" (or S.U.R.E) programme, raises awareness of the dangers, and how to discern fake news. MOE’s New Media Literacies toolkit supports teachers’ efforts to help students navigate the digital environment. This includes learning how to detect falsehoods on social media, and how to interact responsibly with others online. Over the past two years, organisations like the Media Literacy Council has also supported ground-up projects to help the public become better informed consumers through its Better Internet x Youth Call-for-Proposals.

To educate citizens and businesses on good cyber hygiene, CSA launched a cybersecurity awareness campaign in May 2018, called “Cyber Tips 4 You”. It reaches out to businesses on good cybersecurity practices through a variety of channels, such as talks, conferences, and an online portal called “GoSafeOnline”. CSA and IMDA are also working with schools, to help students pick up essential cybersecurity knowledge, and learn to effectively protect themselves from an early age.

We have launched Digital Defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence. Like our battle against terrorism, we need everyone to play their part. This means being secure, alert and responsible online.

There are five things we can all do, including Members of this House, to make vigilance against DOFs and good cyber hygiene a matter of personal responsibility. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all: Please don’t post or forward dubious information, without checking; secondly, use a strong password and two-factor authentication; third, install, use and update your antivirus software; fourth, update all your software as soon as possible; and fifth, watch out for signs of phishing.

These five practices go a long way to help all of us guard against fake news, and stay safe online.

Mr Vikram Nair asked how we assess the cybersecurity of our Government systems. A safe and trusted cyberspace is essential for Smart Nation. This includes strengthening partnerships between the Government and industry, to achieve a higher level of collective cybersecurity. We will need the combined efforts of our stakeholders – industry, academia, and the community – to achieve this.

One of the many ways that we do this is through the Government Bug Bounty Programme. From December last year to January, 400 "white hat" hackers – "white hat" hackers are people who have hacking skills and use them for good, as compared to "black hat" hackers who do so for criminal reasons – took part in the Government Bug Bounty Programme, organised by GovTech and CSA. They have “stress-tested” the defences of five Internet-facing Government systems, and identified 26 vulnerabilities – all of which have been remediated.

This process raised our cybersecurity standards. We gained insights into potential attack vectors, better secured our web applications, and improved our mechanisms for patching vulnerabilities effectively and comprehensively. Seven out of the top ten awarded bounty participants were from Singapore. I am happy to see our local cybersecurity community contribute to improving the security of our systems. We will conduct more of such programmes in the future. I hope some of the participants apply for jobs at CSA.

Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about our targeted efforts to seize new opportunities in the digital economy. Cybersecurity is an area of economic opportunity that complements Singapore’s existing strengths – strong connectivity, a digitally savvy workforce, and a reputation for trust and transparency. A strong cybersecurity ecosystem will provide expertise and solutions that contribute to a more resilient digital infrastructure.

We are helping cybersecurity start-ups scale, and establish their credentials through the Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at Block71 (ICE71), which brings together a community of entrepreneurs, investors and corporate partners. The community has done well since its launch last year, reaching out to more than 50,000 people through various events. We are starting to see a growth of local cybersecurity start-ups.

One such company is The Cyber Assembly, a home-grown start-up that connects people to cyber skills through an active learning cyber range, bootcamp programmes, and even a mobile game called “What the Hack”. ICE71’s Scale programme provided opportunities for Mr Ng Pan Yong, the company’s founder, to connect with the right audience and grow his business.

In September 2018, CSA launched an Industry Call for Innovation to catalyse the development and adoption of innovative cybersecurity solutions. CSA received more than 70 proposals to develop solutions for 10 cybersecurity challenge statements. In 2019, the Government will expand the Call for Innovation into the Cyber Security Innovation and Growth Programme to support local cybersecurity companies to create innovative and relevant cybersecurity solutions and to meet the changing needs of industry.

Mr Low Thia Kiang asked how we are meeting Singapore’s cybersecurity manpower needs. Building a strong cybersecurity workforce is important – not only for the development of our cybersecurity industry, but also for our national security.

As our world becomes more connected and new cyber threats emerge, demand for cybersecurity talent has grown exponentially. Across the public and private sectors, the total number of jobs for cybersecurity professionals tripled from 2012 to 2017, to 5,300 . At the same time, the actual number of cybersecurity professionals in employment quadrupled, to 4,900, which is about 3% of the ICT workforce. We expect the strong demand for cybersecurity professionals to continue.

Our agencies are working closely with each other, and the cybersecurity ecosystem, to strengthen the pipeline of cybersecurity professionals; deepen their skills and technical expertise; and improve the career progression and recognition for the profession.

To meet industry needs, IMDA and CSA drive targeted efforts under the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative. This includes the Cyber Security Associates and Technologists Programme, which develops and upskills fresh and mid-career professionals for cybersecurity jobs through on-the-job training. Eight companies have committed to develop more than 900 professionals by 2021. In addition, over 3,000 individuals have benefitted from 50 cybersecurity courses supported under TeSA’s Critical Information Technology Resource Programme.

To attract, develop and retain cybersecurity practitioners in the public sector, CSA works closely with GovTech and other agencies to build a core of cybersecurity specialists who will be deployed across agencies to support the Government’s cybersecurity needs.

Mr Douglas Foo asked how we are developing products that contribute toward a safe and trusted cyberspace for Singapore. As part of MCI’s work to ensure our standards and regulations support the growth of the digital economy, we have made progress in building a strong cybersecurity standards regime in Singapore.

I am pleased to announce that this has resulted in Singapore attaining the status of a Common Criteria Certificate Authorising Nation as of January 2019. This Common Criteria is the de facto standard for cybersecurity product certification around the world. Today, 30 nations, including Singapore, are part of the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) for the mutual recognition of certifications. But not all the countries are Authorising Nations where you can produce the product. There is an ecosystem of 30 countries that recognise this, but we have now attained the status of an Authorising Nation, to produce the products and extend it globally. This will allow local companies to develop globally recognised products within Singapore, with estimated cost and time savings – because you do not have to send your product overseas for evaluation, nor bring the testers and evaluators here to Singapore. we can do it all within our economy. It is a step towards becoming a regional hub for product evaluation and certification. We are attracting global evaluation laboratories to anchor their operations in Singapore. These developments will accelerate Singapore’s exports of world-class cybersecurity products, and create good jobs for Singaporeans.

To encourage SMEs to build more secure products and adopt this Common Criteria certification, we have a new SecureTech track under the Accreditation@SG Digital programme. The Accreditation@SG Digital programme helps local SMEs to improve their business practices, engage with the local community, and be considered by Government agencies for the procurement of their products. So, this new SecureTech Track will apply the same thinking towards cybersecurity SMEs and cybersecurity products for their growth, for their scale, and for their consideration by Government agencies for the procurement of cybersecurity products.

Mr Chairman, digital transformation is not only about hardware or software. It is about our citizens, workers and businesses who innovate, utilise, and benefit from these technologies.

Our efforts span digital readiness and cybersecurity and will help these important stakeholders, so that we can embrace the potential of a common digital future together.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Sim Ann.

The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Ms Sim Ann): Mr Chairman, Minister Iswaran and Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary have shared the exciting opportunities in a digital future and what we are doing to help every Singaporean reap the digital dividend.

Digital transformation is also the key theme of enhancements to our libraries, media and Government communications, where our focus is in supporting Singaporeans in reading and learning, and in being well-informed.

Let me start with our libraries. As Members would know, the transformation of our libraries is among the most thorough and dramatic ever experienced by our public sector agencies, in their drive to serve Singaporeans better.

We remain committed to this transformation journey. Beyond better collections, more comfortable surroundings and more efficient customer service, we continue to site, design and refresh libraries in a manner that keeps pace with Singaporeans’ urban lifestyles. Our goal is to stay ahead of changing preferences, and to continually delight library users. We site where footfall is high, and we put extra effort into space and programme design. Let me illustrate this with library@harbourfront, which opened in January this year.

During my visit, I was heartened by the scene of students, children, working adults and grandparents reading and learning under the same roof. Parents were guiding their children through hands-on activities based on STEAM or Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics concepts at the childrens’ makerspace. Just a few steps away, the programme zone was bustling with seniors chatting and enjoying each other’s company while picking up tips on cybersecurity. Offerings like these, combined with the library’s innovative design and panoramic view of Sentosa and our port, make for a delightful visit and all-round experience for every user.

Our libraries of the future have been well-received by Singaporeans. They have generated 50% higher loans and an increase of around 65% in visitorship compared with their non-revamped counterparts. This is in spite of the downward trend in visitorship and loans observed in the libraries of many other countries.

Over the years, we have also transformed our library collections – going beyond providing purely "books" to a vast array of learning resources. A major push on this front has been going digital, which has redefined convenience and the reading experience for all library users.

Members of the public have written in to express their appreciation of the NLB Mobile App, launched in 2016. Mr Jeffery Sung discovered that within minutes of downloading the app, he was able to read newspapers from around the world and browse the bestselling books in town. Essentially, the App has placed the library within our pockets. Our eBook loans have more than doubled since 2017. To meet the rising demand for eBooks, NLB had raised the eBook loan quota from eight to 16. Singaporeans who have yet to try eBooks and audiobooks can sample them outside the library at our eReads kiosks. NLB will roll out eight to 10 more of these kiosks across the island this year.

For many years, NLB has doubled the loan quota of physical items to coincide with the school holidays. Each time we run this, we consistently get great feedback from our users, who take advantage of the promotion to read and borrow more. I am pleased to announce that users need no longer wait for the school holidays; from 1 April, we will be doubling the physical loan quota from eight to 16 items permanently. In effect, library users will be able to borrow 32 physical and electronic items at any one time.

Another branch in the evolution of the libraries’ collections has been expanding our local content. Reading is a great way to deepen our love for our mother tongues and ethnic cultures. NLB will grow its collection of localised children’s books in Chinese, Malay and Tamil. It is currently shortlisting titles that Singaporean children up to the age of 12 years can enjoy and relate to, for translation into vernacular languages.

As Members are aware, we face a fast-changing future. In this fluctuating environment, our libraries can serve as every Singaporean’s personal learning retreat, where you can re-tool and enhance your personal and work life.

I recently met Ms Noorjahan bte Kamaruddin, an avid learner and volunteer who inspired me in more ways than one. To achieve her lifelong dream of publishing a recipe book, Ms Noorjahan set out to acquire skills on electronic publishing, copyright, privacy and cybersecurity matters at the "Silver Digital Creators" Workshop organised by NLB and IMDA. She continued working on the project after the course, and is now the proud author of the eBook “Noor’s Just Right Recipes”. But Ms Noorjahan did not stop there. With the knowledge she gained, she has begun training others. Noor's story demonstrates how collaborative learning has enriched her life and the lives of others. It also shows how technology can be harnessed by Singaporeans to achieve great things.

4.15 pm

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how our libraries can play a more proactive role in supporting SkillsFuture and lifelong learning. The answer is that NLB champions continuous, self-directed learning in many ways. We are making it easy for adults to take advantage of the library’s learning resources. For example, NLB’s Digital Business Library offers more than 4,000 e-book titles condensed into 10-minute, bite-sized reads for busy adults. I would also like to thank Dr Teo for his suggestion on how NLB could work more closely with SkillsFuture Singapore.

NLB is actively partnering industries, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore and the Council for Third Age to deliver a comprehensive slate of job and skills-related programmes for Singaporeans. For instance, “SkillsFuture Advice” helps Singaporeans understand the importance of career planning and skills upgrading. Learning today is no longer confined to information gathering, but also actively practising in a guided environment, under the tutelage of mentors. Singaporeans who are keen to tap the brains and insights of industry game-changers, such as the founders of Carousell and ShopBack, can do so through the “Breakthrough: Conversations with Entrepreneurs and Innovators” series. NLB will do even more. Over the next five years, we target to run 1,500 workshops benefiting more than 50,000 participants.

Mr Darryl David asked how libraries can continue to serve as inclusive social spaces for Singaporeans of all ages. I am pleased to say that for all the transformation our libraries have undergone, certain principles remain constant. Libraries bring people of diverse backgrounds together. In the words of 29-year-old Karimah Samsudin, "The library allows you to expose yourself to different ideas, so you do not just stay in your own box or cocoon, and get to know different kinds of people". Another regular patron, Ms Leo Yih Nah, shared that book clubs were good social events that would help to lower the risk of dementia for seniors like her in the long run.

NLB goes one step further in its aim to cultivate inclusive social spaces. It is committed to extending the multitude of opportunities I have elaborated on to all, especially learners amongst us who could use an added boost. One of our hallmark nationwide programmes is KidsREAD, which promotes early reading for less privileged children, and which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. To bring the library even closer to them, WondeRead was launched in 2018. Similar to a subscription box delivery service, WondeRead delivers pre-loved library books quarterly to children who are not able to visit libraries on their own. WondeRead is accomplished with partner organisations, who either sponsored items in the box, or whose staff personally selected and packed books for each child. Many of the WondeRead beneficiaries look forward eagerly to their next box delivery.

To enable job creation for persons with special needs, NLB will be extending its employment partnership with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) in 2019. ARC clients were trained on collection arrangement work in late 2018 and since January 2019, they have been employed by NLB to support the operations of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library.

Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: Our libraries are favourite go-to places for Singaporeans. They love to read books and newspapers in the library and nourish their mind in a cool and quiet environment. This is a delightful activity to complement our fast-paced urban lifestyles. Moving into the digital era, the NLB will strive to provide better services for our readers, who have been very supportive of our libraries.

In the digital era, the definition of books has changed and has expanded from physical and paper books to include e-books. People can read countless books on a small mobile phone or tablet PC.

In 2018, NLB increased the loan quota for e-books from 8 to 16, and this was well-received by the public. From April this year, NLB will increase the loan quota for physical books to 16 as well. So, avid readers need not fret about not being able to borrow as many books as they want. The question is whether they can finish reading them all.

Secondly, NLB and Government departments in charge of promoting CET and IT literacy will collaborate to develop libraries as entry level classrooms for Singaporeans to learn new skills. Some of these courses are suitable for seniors and will be conducted in their mother tongue. For example, the Bedok Library, Toa Payoh Library and the new Harbourfront Library at Vivo City will provide these classes. I hope members of the public will give them a try.

Thirdly, to encourage children to learn their mother tongue and increase their MTL reading materials, NLB will select good quality children’s books in English featuring local content, and translate them into Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

(In English): Our media have an important role in helping Singaporeans stay well-informed; and, through shared discourse, fostering a sense of togetherness and identity. Most Singaporeans would be able to recall growing up with their favourite local drama series, or tuning into news and current affairs programmes to follow the unfolding of national events.

Mr Darryl David asked how Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) is evolving in response to increasing competition for eyeballs from online and foreign platforms. Indeed, PSB must keep pace with changing consumption habits so that it is integral to the lives of viewers. Our national broadcaster is engaging Singaporeans across a wide range of platforms so viewers can easily discover and enjoy local content. Let me illustrate with the example of Channel 8’s “SPOP Sing!” – a nationwide competition which discovers and celebrates young singing talents. Instead of the traditional approach of airing the show exclusively on TV, Mediacorp released content on an array of platforms. Its efforts had borne fruit. On top of the 1.7 million viewers who tuned in on Free-to-Air TV, more than 850,000 watched it on Toggle. Performance tracks were streamed more than 150,000 times on major digital music platforms such as Spotify, and social media and on-ground outreach events extended engagement further still.

Another important priority of ours is to strengthen the reach of local vernacular content.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: In order to help the public access more information in Chinese and expand their audience base in the digital era, MediaCorp has pooled resources in TV and radio to create a new portal that includes news, entertainment and lifestyle information, and this is set to be launched in the middle of the year.

(In English): Suria will continue to partner with community organisations in large-scale events, such as the opening of Wisma Geylang Serai. In the same vein, Vasantham is partnering the Tamil Language Council and Tamil Language Learning & Promotion Committee for community events like the annual Tamil Language Festival. Through ground events and engagement, Suria and Vasantham are able to connect with their communities and celebrate culture and values, while increasing social media outreach and the visibility of their content and artistes.

From listening to citizens’ views and concerns, to explaining Government policies and schemes, the Ministry builds clear channels for communication that foster a well-informed and engaged nation.

Ms Tin Pei Ling asked how we can improve communications of Government policies across age groups and communities. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, we customise the content, platforms and languages for different groups of Singaporeans. For our millennials, we produced a web series Ah Boys – Hidden Warfare, that covered topics of concern to them, like jobs and economy, and marriage and parenthood. For older audiences, there was the Getai Challenge, where we adapted the skits and music performances of a familiar local tradition to share useful information with our seniors, such as housing, social support measures and diabetes awareness.

Age is not the only diversity we cater for; our communications are also tailored for various communities. For example, we rode on the festive cheer of the Deepavali and Chinese New Year seasons to share timely and informative content with our Indian and Chinese communities. Topics included financial planning and healthy eating. Similarly, we customised programmes such as Abang Teksi, which highlighted different forms of Government assistance to help Singaporeans tide through disruptions, including Adapt & Grow initiatives. Our post-campaign research showed about eight in 10 respondents were more keen to sign up for Adapt and Grow initiatives after watching the programme, suggesting its effectiveness.

Mr Leon Perera asked about public opinion surveys conducted by the Government. Government agencies use a variety of means to better understand ground issues and concerns. These include outreach activities conducted by REACH, house visits and surveys which help our agencies assess public sentiment on issues, and public awareness of, and response to, Government policies and programmes.

For example, after the Pioneer Generation Package was introduced in 2014, we conducted surveys to ascertain how well understood the package was by the target audience – the pioneers themselves. As a result of these studies, we decided to use Chinese dialects to communicate the package to our pioneers who are less comfortable with English or Mandarin. We will undertake a similar process in planning our communications on the Merdeka Generation Package. Most surveys that MCI and other agencies conduct are for internal reference, like the ones I have described.

The Government does not compile statistics on the surveys conducted by various agencies, or which among them are published. In MCI, REACH periodically releases survey data on a range of issues. In recent years, REACH has released surveys of public perceptions on the annual Budget and the National Day Rally Speech, CPF changes, public transport, and the public's awareness of financial assistance schemes, among other subjects. These survey findings may also be found on REACH’s website.

The Government does not make policy decisions or decide communication strategies solely on the basis of surveys. But they help ensure that service delivery and policy implementation are satisfactory. The Government releases surveys that may be of interest to the public. For example, REACH has released surveys of public perception on the Annual Budget and the National Day Rally speech, fake news and public transport. Another example would be the study of social capital commissioned by MCCY. Other surveys released include studies of youth, national security awareness as well as attitudes towards water conservation.

As for coordination, agencies need the operational flexibility to conduct their own surveys on issues of concern within their purview. Some questions may be common across different surveys because they are cross-cutting in nature. Our agencies coordinate such efforts when it is operationally feasible to do so.

Mr Darryl David asked how we can improve civic discussion in schools and beyond to encourage the plurality of views among Singaporeans. Through public consultations, Singaporeans have a say in shaping public policies. More than 36,000 Singaporeans have provided feedback on issues like cost of living, jobs, transport and fake news, at more than 250 REACH Listening Points and dialogues between 2017 and 2018. REACH regularly engages students on national issues at dedicated Listening Points and dialogues held at Institutes of Higher Learning as well. Among them was University student, Mr Alif Mohammad Hafidz, who gave his suggestions to this year’s Budget and shared that the session motivated him to find out more about the Budget process. We will continue to consult the public on issues of importance to our nation’s future, and invite Singaporeans to lend their voices to the on-going dialogue.

Mr Chairman, I have described how my Ministry plans to help Singaporeans stay connected and engaged, through reading, learning and being well-informed and how digital transformation will play a key role in these plans.

The Chairman: Minister Iswaran.

Mr S Iswaran: Thank you, Mr Chairman. Sir, many Members have spoken in this COS debate about the need to bring Singaporeans closer together as we take Singapore forward. We agree wholeheartedly with them.

Let me now share with Members how MCI is fulfilling our vision of an engaged and connected Singapore. Through the media sector, we will engage Singaporeans with shared stories of our home and nation. Through our National Library and Archives, we will cultivate a shared appreciation of our past, so that we can move into the future with confidence and a strong sense of our identity.

Let me begin with the media. The digital age offers great promise for our media sector to grow. The global entertainment and media industry is expected to grow by 4.4% from 2017 to 2022. Within Southeast Asia, the media sector is likely to grow by more than 7%. There is a discernible shift towards Asia, and towards Asian content.

We are well positioned to seize these opportunities. We are at the confluence of the East and the West. We have talented storytellers and world-class digital infrastructure. We must leverage these strengths to develop promising young talent, deepen the skills of our media workforce and prime our industry to ride the wave of growth in the global media eco-system.

4.30 pm

Mr Darryl David has asked about our plans to develop the local media industry. We are doing so through manpower development plans like our Skills Framework for Media, which maps out career pathways and skills to help media professionals stay ahead of the competition. We will enhance this Framework to meet the industry’s needs for writing and storytelling skills, as well as the demand for professionals with digital skills like data analytics and social media management.

First, we will extend the iPrep scheme to media students in tertiary schools so that they can be better prepared for the rigours of the media industry when they graduate. iPrep will provide up to $8,500 per student to cover the costs of attending industry courses, overseas internships or immersion programmes.

Next, we will strengthen on-the-job training to familiarise fresh media professionals with the latest trends and tools of the trade. IMDA will launch a Story Lab Apprenticeship this year to help young media professionals gain customised training and experience in key media companies. I am glad that companies like Mediacorp, mm2 Entertainment, HBO Asia and Turner Asia Pacific have already expressed interest to come on board. IMDA will announce more details by the third quarter of this year.

We will also help media professionals master digital skills to compete and thrive in today’s landscape. Our Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses have been very useful to media professionals like 37-year-old Ms Nusaibah Abdul Rahim, who is creative director of a media production company. Last December, Ms Nusaibah attended a data-driven content development workshop organised by the Singapore Media Academy, and learned how to analyse data from audience insights to drive creative decision making. IMDA will curate more of such CET courses.

Mr Darryl David asked about our plans to help local media companies go global. I will like give two examples. Firstly, IMDA’s Public Service Media Digital Partnership Fund will help local media companies partner international players to co-produce digital-first public service content for our audiences. In other words, content but it is digital first. IMDA’s funding call for proposals will close by the end of this month, and I strongly encourage local companies to make use of this resource.

Secondly, the Singapore Media Festival will continue to be our main platform to showcase our most promising talent and companies to the world. Last December, the Festival attracted over 23,000 media professionals and industry thought-leaders, and facilitated more than US$313 million worth of deals. We will expand the Singapore Media Festival to seize the opportunities created by the growing convergence of the tech and media industries, and strengthen Singapore's thought leadership in the region. IMDA will share more details in the second quarter of this year.

Our efforts to develop the media industry will help us tell our stories better – to our fellow Singaporeans, and to the rest of the world. And there is indeed no better story one could argue than the story of Singapore. This year’s Bicentennial commemoration will help us to understand our early history, how Raffles’ landing in 1819 set us on a path to where we are today, and reflect on the attributes we will need to succeed in the future.

The National Library and Archives will play an important and meaningful role in this Bicentennial commemoration.

The National Library Board (NLB) will roll out a series of activities to increase engagement with Singaporeans. For example, NLB’s librarians will play host and present the National Library’s rare materials collection with 25 specially produced videos. Some highlights of this valuable treasure trove of Singapore’s early history include Munajathu Thiratuu, the oldest Tamil book on Islamic religious poetry held by the National Library, or Hikayat Abdullah, one of the most important records of the socio-political landscape in Singapore, Malacca and the southern Malay kingdoms at the turn of the 19th century.

These videos will be released every fortnight from April, on NLB’s social media channels. We have also brought a special preview of the NLB’s archives to Parliament. I invite all Members to visit the Reception Hall of Parliament House to view exhibits that showcase our multicultural roots and life in early Singapore.

NLB has also worked with community groups to digitise valuable historical content. Last month, SMS Sim Ann launched the Singapore Biographical Database of Chinese Personalities to remember pioneers who contributed significantly to Singapore in its early days. The NLB and the Tamil Digital Heritage Group are already hard at work collecting historical materials on Indian dance in Singapore for a new Digital Archive of Singapore's Tamil Dance. Theatre practitioners from the Malay community will partner the NLB to create a Digital Archive of Singapore Malay Theatre. These new databases will be a rich resource of our arts and cultural heritage, and they will be publicly available from December this year.

Our National Archives also have much to offer. The National Archives Singapore (NAS) celebrated their Golden Jubilee last year, and their birthday wish is to encourage every Singaporean to play a part in preserving our collective memories. Our Community Oral History Committees, representing the Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian communities in Singapore, have had more than 100 volunteers document over 160 hours of interviews for our national oral history collection. One such volunteer interviewer is 31-year-old Ms Sushma Somasekharan, an auditor and classical Indian vocalist who recently interviewed her first music teacher – the accomplished Carnatic singer Dr Bhagya Murthy. Thanks to Ms Sushma’s interview, we gained valuable insight into the Indian classical music scene in the 1980s, and how it evolved with a uniquely Singaporean twist – because in those days, Dr Murthy apparently to learn to sing in Malay and Mandarin to cater to a multi-racial audience as well.

When the revamped National Archives building at Canning Rise opens next month, I hope Ms Sushma and many other potential archivists will make good use of its new facilities, such as the three new oral history recording studios in the building. The Oldham Theatre in the NAS building will become accessible to members of the public, featuring regular screenings of curated films by the Asian Films Archive. NAS will also launch an online system that allows members of the public to request digital images of Singapore in its early days.

I hope these commemorative events will ignite the interest and passion among Singaporeans to discover more about our past, and ourselves.

Mr Chairman, the NLB and NAS have done tremendous work as custodian of Singapore’s heritage and memories. With your permission, I would like to play a video to showcase their good work.

The Chairman: Yes, please. [A video was shown to hon Members.]

Mr S Iswaran: I hope that Members felt more than a tinge of nostalgia watching those images. Mr Chairman, My Ministry will continue to create opportunities for all Singaporeans in a digital economy, and help Singaporeans of all ages embrace technology. We will endeavour to keep our cyberspace safe and secure, and enhance Government communications to foster an engaged Singapore. Through the efforts of the National Library and Archives, we will foster a deep understanding of our shared journey from the past to the present and aspire to build a better Singapore, our home, in the next 200 years and beyond. We look forward to working closely with all Singaporeans as MCI perseveres in its mission to connect Singaporeans to each other and to a better and brighter future.

The Chairman: Clarifications please. Ms Tin Pei Ling.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: I would like to thank the Minister for the reply. I would like to ask two questions.

First, Singapore is determined to realise the vision of a Smart Nation. However, amongst Singaporeans, there is still a generation of senior citizens who need our help to pick up digital technology. I would like to ask the Government if a targeted strategy can be implemented, whereby assistance rendered is customised according to the challenges and difficulties faced by the target community, so as to help them embrace the digital era. This is my first question.

My second question is that communicating policies is an art, and the Minister had earlier shared with us that policies are being communicated to our people through multimedia and television programmes. For senior citizens, television programmes may just be a one-off event, and they may miss out on some of the important explanations and information. I suggest that we repeat these important messages and spread them to all corners of the community so that our citizens, particularly our senior citizens, will understand the policy-making process and considerations behind these policies. In this way, Singaporeans will have a better understanding of the thought process behind the Government’s decisions and may give stronger support to our policies. I hope the Minister can elaborate on that.

Ms Sim Ann: (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: I thank the Member for her clarification. She asked about how we can help senior citizens embrace digital technology. Indeed, it is our hope that all senior citizens in Singapore will be able to ride the wave of the digital era and become savvy in digital technology. In terms of courses and training, there are two important points to note for seniors. Firstly, we noticed that many of them are still more comfortable learning in their mother tongue, so many of our courses are conducted in Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. Another point is that the programmes must be tailored for beginners and the pace must not be too fast. We take note of these two important points.

Here, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce a few specific training courses and programmes, such as IMDA's Silver Info-comm Junction.

These have been set up at more than 30 locations, many of them are in our community centres and some are in the libraries. They offer opportunities for our senior citizens to learn digital and info-comm technology in a relaxing and comfortable environment.

At the same time, IMDA also provides a Basic Digital Skills Curriculum working with partners. We have also set up mobile digital clinics to provide one-on-one instruction for senior citizens at different locations and time slots. This takes into account the fact that many of our senior citizens prefer to learn from instructors on a one-to-one basis.

In addition, there are technology touchpoints available at eight community clubs, where our PA counter staff provide one-to-one assistance to residents and help them learn to use electronic devices and services. The libraries have also introduced a new Seniors Tech and Read programme to teach senior citizens to borrow electronic books and access the Internet. So, we hope that our senior citizens will also be able to enjoy the convenience of e-books.

We have been working hard on the communication of our policies and engagement of the public. We would like to take this opportunity to encourage parliamentary colleagues to make good use of all the budget-related information provided by MOF. Nowadays, there are more and more information available in the four official languages, with richer content. We hope that beyond textual information, powerpoint slide shows with voice-over explanations made available by MOF will help people better understand various policies. This is an example of how ongoing communication efforts can complement one-off television or radio programmes to reinforce Singaporeans’ impression of important policies.

4.45 pm

The Chairman: Mr Darryl David.

Mr Darryl David: Mr Chairman, I have two points of clarification. First point, I believe, should be for Senior Minister of State Sim Ann because it pertains to the library and digital books. I just wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State if she could update on some trends on e-books or digital book borrowing. And does she see a trend in e-book or digital book perhaps even outstripping conventional publications of books in the long run?

Second point of clarification is for, I believe, could be for the Minister. I did attend the National Archive Exhibition. And I really have to commend the National Archives team on the wonderful job that was done. I was wondering if the National Archives could perhaps engage other Government agencies, say, MOE, for example, to ensure that all the excellent work that has been work could also be shared with our students in Primary school and Secondary school. In the past, I believe this this would involve an excursion to the National Archives building and I believe that might be the case for some materials. But I believe much of what I saw as digitalised and can be brought onto screens and brought into the schools. So, is that something that perhaps the Minister could consider, in terms of exposing more of our younger Singaporeans to all of these rich history?

Ms Sim Ann: I thank Mr Darryl David, for his questions on e-books. Indeed, we have seen very rapid growth in the use of e-books amongst our library users. From 2017 to 2018, the digital loans have almost quadrupled – from 1.5 million such loans to 5.8 million loans in 2018. However, this remains a fraction when compared to the physical loans, which in 2018, stood at about 33 million. So, I think it is a situation in which e-books and e-loans are growing rapidly. But I would say that physical books are still very dominant. Now, as to whether one will outstrip the other, I think that remains to be seen. But I think what is clear is that NLB very much should be with the e-books trend to ensure that while they take care of readers who prefer physical books, at the same time, we have to ensure that our collections of e-books and newspapers and magazines continue to be enriched.

The Chairman: Minister.

Mr S Iswaran: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I think it is a very useful insight from Senior Minister of State Sim Ann's earlier reply. In fact, the digital platforms are very effective in reaching certain demographics. And the growth in e-books and the borrowings is largely being driven by a younger demographic. But I think, in general, as Senior Minister of State Sim Ann says, borrowings in physical books, also continues to hold its own. So, I think we are in a good situation and we want to encourage the reading habit through whichever channels in order to broaden the reach.

And in that vein, the Member's second question about National Archives, we agree with him fully. In fact, the Archives have a very rich treasure trove of information. And one of the things that we are doing in the course of this year, as I highlighted, is digitalising the content and then finding ways to propagate it with the larger population. So, videos, which will put out by NLB through its platforms, is going to be one important channel. In fact, much of the Archives material is already available digitally. I think we will certainly pursue the option of seeing how we can go in a more targeted way, for example, to schools. But at the same time, I would just urge all Members to also propagate the message. I am sure all of you have download the NLB app and are using it actively. And I hope then that you will also continue share that experience with all your constituents and others such as you are attracting with.

The Chairman: Mr Leon Perera.

Mr Leon Perera: Thank you, Sir. Just one point of clarification for the Senior Minister of State Ms Sim Ann, and I thank the Senior Minister of State for her detailed response to my speech on publishing opinion polls. From the Senior Minister of State's reply, she cited some examples of opinion polls that had been released. I assume that some of these Government opinion pools are for internal reference and are not released. So, my point of clarification would be what would be the concern or impediment or issue with making it a more general rule to release the results of all such surveys, unless there are strong reasons not to, such as national security, such as sensitive issues of sorts, to release that information to the public domain for stakeholders to use?

Ms Sim Ann: I thank Mr Leon Perera for his question. As I have mentioned just now the speech, the Government releases results of surveys that may be of interest to the public. As for the kind of reasons that he has shared earlier, indeed these are some concerns because some of the surveys may touch on issues with regard to security or it may affect market sentiments on specific sectors. So, these would be some of the reasons, for instance, why not all survey results would be released to the public.

The Chairman: Ms Rahayu Mahzam.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: Thank you, Chairman. I have a question for Senior Minister of State Janil. He had earlier given a very descriptive plan of the cybersecurity state of affairs in Singapore and I wanted to just understand a little bit more about how we are assessing or measuring the savviness of our people in dealings in cyber space because it would be useful to actually understand where are some of the weak points. You have mentioned earlier about issues with regard to using lax passwords, phishing and all that. Clearly, there are some areas where we could improve on and I appreciate the efforts by the Media Literacy Council as well as with NLB with SURE. But are there some areas that we could look at and how we can measure and assess and target some of the efforts so that we can improve cybersecurity in Singapore?

Dr Janil Puthucheary: Mr Chairman, I thank Ms Rahayu Mahzam for the question. She asked about how we assess the savviness with respect to cybersecurity. It is very difficult thing to measure because the technology is moving quite rapidly and the kind of products and services that are being developed are also not thought of today. People are imaging new business models. You do not really know what would catch fire.

In a way, we try to by looking to see when things go wrong, such as scams, cyber breaches or theft of information, so on and so forth. So we can measure when things go wrong. But that is not necessarily a good example of how savvy we are, which is the word that the Member used.

Internationally, people have tried to develop these measures around knowledge. So how if you take a poll, for example, whether it is Secondary school students or early adults or across the population segment, what do people know about it. Then, you can perhaps also look and see, for example, what are the products and services that businesses would use, either knowledge within the business community or the use of protective technologies within the various community. And people have tried to come up with these types of measures. And on these types of measures, we come up very well but that is not something to pat ourselves on the back and assume that there will be no problem. Actually, we do have to keep reminding ourselves.

The key issue is really human behaviour and the social factors. In a way, technology is the easier thing to measure so we can do, for example, penetration testing, we can do audits of the use of technology, audits about processes with respect to, for example, thumb drives and locking down systems and Internet surfing separation. But the much harder thing to measure is assess and change is human behaviour – do not share your passwords, do not download suspicious materials, which is why I took the opportunity to remind Members of these few things that we should do. It is something where, like crime, like real world safety, like road safety, it is sometimes useful to remind and repeat, and remind and repeat, and use learning opportunities to reinforce good behaviour. And I think we have to just keep going down that path.

The Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim.

Ms Sylvia Lim: Thank you, Chairman, I have one clarification for Minister on the issue of personal data protection. One of the points which I raised was about the work of the PDPC in helping to achieve outcomes for complainants. And I believe that in his response, the Minister did say that cases could be referred to mediation. We know that is provided under the Act. It is also provided that the PDPC could direct resolution of a complaint in a way that it considers fit. So, I would like to ask the Minister if he can confirm, if there have been any cases where these alternate dispute resolution methods have actually resulted in compensation or in a payment of some settlement sum to the complainants; whether he is aware if there have been such cases.

Mr S Iswaran: Mr Chairman. I am not aware of such cases.

The Chairman: Dr Teo Ho Pin.

Dr Teo Ho Pin: Sir, I am pleased to learn from Senior Minister of State Sim Ann that the library is planning to building eight to 10 learning pods. I am just wondering whether is there plan to build a learning pod in Bukit Panjang library?

Ms Sim Ann: I thank Dr Teo Ho Pin for being such a strong supporter of learning ports. We will consider putting one in the Bukit Panjang Library.

The Chairman: Mr Cedric Foo, would you like to withdraw the amendment?

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng: Chairman, Sir, whilst there are many challenges as this House discussed, as Singapore embarks on our digital transformation, the potential benefits are massive and all of us, as the Minister pointed out, would like every stakeholder, Government agencies, businesses, workers and our citizens to join this very exciting journey. With that, Chairman, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $987,540,000 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $54,080,000 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.