Committee of Supply – Head X (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth)

The Chairman: Head X, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin.

11.01 am

Building a Home for the Future

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir): Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head X of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

Sir, last year, at the start of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY)'s Committee of Supply (COS), I had raised the issue of the need to safeguard and refresh the social compact that we have assiduously built in Singapore over the years.

I believe that our core values of building a caring and inclusive, multiracial, multicultural and multi-religious society remain sacrosanct among Singaporeans. However, it is undeniable that, as each new generation of Singaporeans come to the fore, we will have to continue to evolve as a society and refresh our social compact.

This House will recollect that, emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic last year, we observed a series of highly emotive discourse on issues of race, social economic status and nationality.

We know that views on issues of social importance are progressively becoming more diverse across a wider spectrum of Singaporeans. Our youths, who form the bedrock of our future, are decidedly more seized with such issues and are inclined to speak their minds, even on sensitive issues of race and religion.

Our demographics are also fast changing. The proliferation of inter-racial and intercultural marriages in Singapore will lead to a new generation of Singaporeans that will hold a fresh perspective on racial and cultural identity. An ageing population will require us to review our national policies to address the issues arising, but also to consider how Singaporean families fundamentally function as a foundational unit that is entrusted with bringing up the next generation and caring for our seniors.

Sir, even as we grapple with the changing trends and needs in our society, we must be mindful that discourses on highly emotive issues of social importance can serve to deepen fault lines in our social fabric, if not carefully calibrated. We must never take for granted the social harmony that was painstakingly built over successive generations of Singaporeans since our Independence.

Having said that, I remain optimistic, that discourse that is constructive and respectful can allow us to better reflect upon how we could refresh our social compact and strengthen our sense of national unity and identity. As we have shown to have done in our history, we can harness diversity as an agent for unity, rather than divisiveness.

Sir, the launch of the Forward Singapore exercise by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in June last year presents, in my view, an excellent platform where we can gather the diverse voices of Singaporeans, encourage a constructive exchange of views and work towards refreshing our social compact. The Unite Pillar led by Minister Edwin Tong, in particular, is well placed to tackle these issues head on.

I, therefore, invite the Minister to update us on his experience so far as a lead for the Unite Pillar in the Forward Singapore exercise, as well as to share with us MCCY's strategies to ensure that we can create a Singapore, where every citizen belong, is able to maintain strong bonds with one another and is able to contribute collectively to build a strong, inclusive and cohesive society in a country where all of us can proudly call our home.

Question proposed.

The Chairman: Mr Saktiandi Supaat. Please take your two cuts together.

Expanding the Community's Contributions

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Thank you. Mr Chairman, in Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our Malay/Muslim community, with the support of all Singaporeans, has become more successful. 8.5% of the Malay population have a monthly household income of $15,000 or more in 2020, compared to 2.6% in 2010, and I am confident that figure will continue to rise.

We must therefore think of how we can contribute to the larger society. The Malay/Muslim community, like any other group in Singapore, does not exist in isolation.

(In English): Mr Chairman, in English. I have some suggestions on how the Malay/Muslim community can expand its contributions to the nation as it does better for itself.

First, we can enlarge the beneficiaries under the existing initiatives led by Malay/Muslim organisations like M³, by extending the mentorship programmes and uplifting workshops to other less-privileged Singaporeans, they could provide valuable inter-community touchpoints.

Second, the sharing of cultural heritage should not be limited to Racial Harmony Day and major festivals. Post-COVID-19, I look forward to the resumption of mosque open houses and other events at which Singaporeans can gain an understanding of our diverse cultural fabric.

We should also learn from the best practices of Muslim minority communities in other countries. Are there any takeaways from the International Conference on Communities of Success (ICCOS) held in September 2022?

How can we encourage individuals, organisations and our religious institutions to step forward, and play their part in fostering social harmony and in building a better Singapore? How can we share stories of successful Singaporean Malay/Muslims abroad even more? They carry our Singapore flag in other countries in various fields. Can we scour more globally those that have ventured abroad and have contributed to Singapore's Gross national product versus Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Malay/Muslim Professionals

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Statistics from 2010 to 2020 show that our Malay Singaporeans are able to secure better jobs and give their families a better standard of life today.

Just like how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted lives and livelihoods, our exit from the pandemic will similarly bring about new economic uncertainties and challenges. China has just reopened its economy to the world earlier this year. Increased geopolitical tensions have worsened the uncertain outlook.

In the same way that the Government and self-help organisations such as the AMP had supported the Malay/Muslim community throughout the pandemic, in the form of skills upgrading and re-skilling opportunities, I am sure our Mala/Muslim professionals will not be left to navigate today’s uncertain waters alone.

Can the Minister provide an update on the extent of the ongoing and upcoming global and domestic challenges, and how are we preparing the Malay/Muslim community for the possible opportunities? What are the plans to better support our Malay/Muslim professionals to ensure that they remain employable and can progress in their chosen careers?

I have a few suggestions.

First, as the world has re-opened, we should encourage our Malay/Muslim professionals and workers to be adaptable and experience new challenges. Perhaps the Ministry can look into the statistics of, and opportunities for, our Malay/Muslim professionals to go abroad for overseas secondments and training opportunities. Can we form partnerships with a few Temasek-linked companies to meet specific targets?

Second, perhaps we can think about how to further utilise the SkillsFuture Credit scheme between 2015 and 2020.

Finally, we can look at ways to further enlarge emerging and growth sectors and increase the number of professionals in those sectors. Thank you.

Malay Community's Contribution to the Nation

Ms Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, in Malay please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Who is the Malay Singaporean and what are his contributions to the nation? The truth is, the Malay community is a diverse community, with many talents. The Malay Singaporean is a CIO at the IMF. The Malay Singaporean is Singapore's favourite footballing son. The Malay Singaporean is a top trade negotiator. The Malay Singaporean is the Asian idol. The Malay Singaporean is a navy officer, an army officer, a police officer, an SCDF officer, a healthcare worker. The Malay Singaporean is the champion of the side hustle, from gifted photographers to thriving home based business that bring joy to customers.

To be sure, the Malay community faces challenges, and there are niggling issues including deep rooted prejudices that we still find troubling. But rather than crippling us, we have become a role model in managing challenges and diversity as a community and other communities learn and can learn a lot from us, whether it is in setting up self-help groups to improve education outcomes or bringing down drug abuse.

In an increasingly noisy and uncertain world, by practicing the values of our culture including humility, respect, moral and ethical living and family, we can continue to set an example. How do we best harness the talents of the Malay community and inspire and motivate ourselves to build a community of success, and to be recognized for our contributions to the nation?

Progress of Malay/Muslim Community

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Mr Chairman, in Malay please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Chairman, I would like to seek clarification as well as share a suggestion on some matters related to the Malay-Muslim community. The first is about the Community Leaders Forum (CLF). The CLF was formed in October 2003.

The objective of the CLF is to provide a platform for Malay/Muslim social agencies to further strengthen and enhance the coordination and collaboration between these agencies so that the Malay/Muslim community can better benefit from their programs and initiatives.

I would like to ask the following questions about the CLF. First, what is the status of the CLF? Second, is the function of CLF still relevant after the establishment of M3? Third, what is the difference between these two platforms and whether, there is duplication between them?

The second point, Mr. Chairman, is about the Malay-Muslim Community Development Fund or MMCDF which was established in 1991 to assist Malay/Muslim organisations in their efforts to empower the community. The questions that I would like to ask the Minister is, first, when was the last review conducted for the MMCDF and when is the next review? Second, what is the amount of funds that distributed and also the number of organisations that received these funds in the past five years, that is, from 2018 to 2022?

Next, I would like to touch on efforts to help the Muslim community understand, embrace and deal with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues in Singapore.

At the beginning of 2022, PERGAS formed a special task force team for LGBT issues. Among the efforts held by PERGAS are dialogue sessions with Muslim individuals from the LGBT community and also provide guidance to the Muslim community in Singapore on facing and managing this issue. As I said in my Committee of Supply speech last year, I welcome PERGAS's initiative.

Mr Chairman, in November last year, this House passed an amendment bill to repeal section 377A. I would like to make a recommendation for MUIS to support as well as collaborate with PERGAS to enhance the effectiveness of their initiatives on the LGBT issue.

The fourth and last point is about the efforts on the part of the Minister and the ruling party Malay/Muslim MPs regarding the use of tudung for uniformed groups in the public service.

Mr Chairman, there have been several times when the tudung issue was raised in this House, the Minister in-charge of Muslim Affairs, either the current or the previous one, has said that such matters should be discussed in a closed session or behind closed doors. The last time this was said was two years ago during the 2021 Committee of Supply debates when it was recommended that nurses in the public health sector be given permission to don the tudung.

I would like to seek clarification from the Minister whether, even after the Government had allowed nurses in the public health sector to wear the tudung, are this often-mentioned closed door sessions still ongoing, perhaps discussing with the Government to consider the wearing of the tudung for other uniformed groups in both ministries of Home Affairs and Defence? If there is, how many sessions have been held and, if no, why? That is all, Mr Chairman.

11.15 am

Developing Malay/Muslim Community Leaders

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio): (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, Malay/Muslim organisations (MMOs) play a vital role in providing support for the community and are valuable Government partners.

Veteran MMO leaders have contributed a lot to the community's development. We are greatly indebted to their contributions. However, to ensure MMOs' continued relevance and success, leadership renewal must become a key focus area for any organisation.

One example of leadership renewal is the Tunas Bersama M³ programme. This programme was established to nurture the next generation of MMO leaders, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and networks to lead the Malay/Muslim community and their organizations.

May I ask how can the Government enable the next generation of community leaders to make more impactful contributions to the community and country, including for example driving evidence-based interventions, equipping MMOs with relevant skills to ensure corporate governance and financial sustainability within MMOs?

How can the Government support the MMOs' planning so that their efforts and programmes continue to be relevant for this generation and the next?

How can MMOs play a greater role in nation and community building, and are there plans to support synergised efforts among MMOs as well as encourage collaboration with non-MMOs?

Strengthening Foundation of Families

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (Chua Chu Kang): (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr. Chairman, a strong and resilient family is a cornerstone in the development of highly confident individuals and children, and a successful society. Apart from the efforts and initiatives at the national level to help various groups in our community, including strengthening families and marriages, programs carried out by M³ also complement the efforts within the Malay/Muslim community.

Presently, more than 100,000 individuals have participated in more than 250 programs organized by M³ in 11 neighborhoods, involving around 700 volunteers. As the former chairman of M³@Towns, I have witnessed the development and approaches of M3 which are now more extensive and has a greater impact on the families within our community who participated in M³ programs and initiatives. Presently, each M³@ Town has its own characteristic and creates programs customized to the town's demographics. This was evident during the exhibition and sharing session at the recent M³ Forum.

For example the initiatives at M³@Chua Chu Kang, are based on a strategy to build current and future leaders of families. This strategy is called Nakhoda Bahtera (Captain of the Ship), in which family leaders steers the future of their families in navigating the ocean of life containing waves of challenges. However, in order to build strong family leaders and resilient families, we need all hands on deck.

Can the Minister share the initiatives that can enable our partners and community organisations to better support married couples in building strong marriages and families?

The Chairman: Dr Shahira Abdullah, please take your three cuts together.

Bersamamu Programme

Dr Shahira Abdullah (Nominated Member): (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The Bersamamu Programme is a great initiative by the Naib Kadis that aims to guide and support a newlywed couple for the first two years of marriage.

While the program has been successful in providing much-needed guidance and assistance to couples, I believe that there is a need for a female perspective to be included in the program. This can be particularly important in situations such as in conflicts where couples may feel more comfortable speaking to a woman or may have concerns related to women’s issues.

Therefore, can I suggest having a female marriage counsellor in the partnership to provide a different perspective and set of experiences that can be valuable in helping couples navigate the challenges of marriage? Second cut.

Wakaf Masyarakat

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Wakaf Masyarakat is a noble initiative which is a form of endowment that is dedicated to social and community projects. Can the Ministry explain how donors can be encouraged to donate to this fund?

Another concern is whether the establishment of Wakaf Masyarakat will increase competition and create donation fatigue or affect donation streams for other social service MMOs. It is imperative to strike a balance to ensure that other social service MMOs are not adversely affected. I do understand that a certain portion of the Wakaf funds is allocated to MMOs. However, how is the Ministry exploring ways to ensure that the Wakaf Masyarakat does not detract from other charitable efforts but instead complements them? Next cut.

Differing Career Pathways for Asatizahs

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] As asatizahs shift to secular careers, can I ask the Ministry how we can encourage their continued contribution to the religious development of the community?

I would like to suggest building a network of asatizahs which could possibly be a scale up of the Asatizah Youth Network (AYN). This group can have regular meetings, conferences, or other events that bring them together and enable them to share their knowledge and experiences. It can provide mentorship opportunities and help asatizahs stay engaged with the community and give back through their knowledge and expertise. Asatizahs who have shifted to secular careers may be interested in mentoring younger members of the community who are pursuing religious education or careers. The network can also provide opportunities for asatizahs who have shifted to secular careers to teach or lead Islamic programs on a part time basis.

Updates on International Conference on Communities of Success

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] History has taught us how many Muslim minority communities all over the world are not only able to adapt in non-Muslim countries but also enjoy success that makes their country proud and benefits its plural society in general. In fact, there is a specific jurisprudence in Islam to deal with the contemporary realities experienced by Muslim minority communities. Muslim minority communities in countries like Singapore face many unique challenges that differ from the Muslim majority communities.

Now with many ideologies that are more divisive, the challenges we face are becoming more critical and it is important that we address these issues together with all Muslim minority communities globally.

Thus, the International Conference on Communities of Success (ICCOS) held last year aims to enable sharing within a scientific framework for Muslim minority communities when facing the challenges of today. We need to continue this effort to learn from the experiences of other Muslim minority communities to drive and support the development of the Muslim Community of Success in Singapore.

Therefore, can the Minister provide an update on how MUIS plans to develop a body of religious knowledge in Singapore following the ICCOS Conference last year?

The Chairman: Dr Wan Rizal, please take your two cuts together.

Nurturing Future Religious Leaders

Dr Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar): (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Singapore is a multicultural and multireligious country, where people of different ethnicities and faith can coexist peacefully. Our asatizahs play a significant role in the Muslim community.

They are a key pillar who serve as guides to enable Malay/Muslims to practice our faith confidently while being integral members of the larger Singapore nation.

They provide contextualised religious guidance for our community and offer sound religious advice on contemporary issues. This was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they navigated and rallied our community with calmness and compassion.

They provided much-needed support and guidance during an extremely challenging time. However, I believe, beyond the pandemic, our asatizah have the potential to significantly impact society as a whole. We have seen how the many mosques in Singapore, driven by our asatizah, work closely with the community at large. One example is Masjid Mohd Salleh. Recently, asatizah from the mosque has collaborated with Geylang Market Traders Association and Wisma Geylang to organize public motivational talks related to mental health.

Could the Minister share how our asatizah can make more meaningful contributions beyond the Muslim community to benefit the larger Singapore society?

Progress of Project DIAN

(In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, some segments of our community still need more assistance than others. One particular group is those who live in public rental flats. Project Dian@M³ is an initiative launched in December 2021 to support Malay/Muslim families living in public rental flats across M³@Towns to achieve stability, self-reliance, and social mobility.

The initiative was launched in three public rental blocks, one each in M³@Bedok, M³@Geylang Serai, and M³@Jalan Besar. Currently, the pilot run covers only three rental blocks. At M³@Jalan Besar, I have seen the positive impact of well-organised and highly synergised efforts from the volunteers and the multi-agency task force.

I am encouraged when residents shared that they are getting support in terms of employment advice, children's education and they are working towards owning their own flats. I hope we can do more, but I also understand its challenges.

We may need to recruit more volunteers and at the same time ensure that inter-agency task force is not stretched until its operations on the ground becomes affected.

Nonetheless, I would like to ask the Minister, what is the outreach and progress for Project DIAN so far, and are there plans to further scale up the pilot run to include more blocks in other M³@Towns?

The Chairman: Mr Mohd Fahmi bin Aliman, please take your two cuts together.

Update on DIAN Ambassadors Programme

Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman (Marine Parade): (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, to support and encourage the spirit of volunteerism, it is important that incumbent efforts are coordinated between public agencies and community organisations.

Project DIAN is an M³ initiative to showcase the community’s Determination to support households in public rental flats through the integration of assets within the community and the instilling of values. The DIAN Ambassadors Program was launched to support families residing in rental flats by understanding their needs and aspirations to help uplift their situation.

How do Project DIAN Ambassadors support their target families? Are there resources that Project DIAN Ambassadors can tap on, so that they can better engage these families, and are these resources sufficient? If not, could more support be provided to ensure that our ambassadors can run this program better?

Network of Community Partners through M³

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, in building a Malay/Muslim Community of Success, it would be important for us to further strengthen our social compact. One way to do this would be for the Government to work closely together with the community partners.

Last year, at AMP 4th National Convention, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong noted that Malay/Muslim organisations need to collaborate strongly with one another, as well as the Government, to address social issues that are increasingly becoming complex. With the formation of M³, it seeks to harness strengths from the three agencies, mobilise community assets & resources as well as collaborate with Government agencies & Malay/Muslim organisations to address the community's challenges, particularly in the area of last mile service delivery. The establishment of M³ is step in the right direction as coordination and resources are amalgamated to better serve our community.

Therefore, how can we expand the network of community partners to better serve the needs of the M³ beneficiaries?

The Chairman: Mr Sharael Taha, please take your two cuts together.

Education for Our Young

Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Thank you, Chairman. In Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, a good education remains fundamental to helping both individuals and families achieve success and social mobility. Therefore, it is important for the youth to have access to education. While the more affluent have access to supplementary classes like private tuition, the lower income families may not be able to afford it.

Hence, MENDAKI has played an important role in helping lower income Malay/Muslim children and youths in this regard. Good education begins from young and I am pleased that in 2018, MENDAKI launched the KelasMateMatika@CC to help parents guide their preschool children aged four to six years old on the basic numeracy concepts to prepare their children for primary school.

For school-going children, students have MENDAKI Tuition Scheme which provides affordable tuition for as low as $10 a year for students who meet the eligibility criteria.

How have MENDAKI programmes such as KelasMateMatika and the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme been successful in enabling our children and youths to fulfil their educational potential?

Youth Volunteerism

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] At the M³ Forum held in February, we saw how the 11 M³ towns rolled out many initiatives to uplift the Malay/Muslim community.

As each town has different demographics and is unique, M³ volunteers have tweaked and designed programmes around the four Focus Areas to meet the needs of our community in the towns.

M³@Pasir Ris-Punggol for example, have launched 12 new programmes last year such as HashTech and Learning journey where youths were mentored by professionals in the technology and engineering industry to expose our youths so that they develop skills required in the growth industries.

M³@Pasir Ris-Punggol also launched BTS (Back To School) programme where kids from lower income families were provided with schooling essentials, textbook and connected to Mendaki Tuition Scheme. We will continue to monitor their academic performance over the year.

All these initiatives to uplift the community is only possible through the efforts of its volunteers, who come from all walks of life. Some of them have benefitted from MENDAKI initiatives and programmes, such as scholarships, bursaries, awards presented to students for their achievements.

How can we encourage more youth to join as volunteers and contribute back to the community?

MENDAKI Educational Programmes for Youths

Ms Mariam Jaafar: (In Malay) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, flagship programs such as the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme and KelasMatematika are now well known in the community, serving students across all levels from preschool to university. A hallmark of the MENDAKI programs has been the mobilization of volunteers and the community, to bring up the community. In other words, it instills the spirit of cooperation and sense of ownership in the effort to achieve progress for our Malay-Muslim community.

While progress is being made, we must keep pushing ourselves to achieve even more. How can we do more to reduce the barriers that prevent students and parents from enrolling in the programs and getting the most out of it. How can we further improve the quality and consistency of our community engagement? How can we do more to support our children even earlier in their educational journey? How can we continue to work with our community, and also cooperate with other communities to pool resources and do joint projects for our mutual benefit? How do we respond to the shifts that the education system will go through moving forward?

Malay/Muslim Youth Mentoring Efforts

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, mentoring programmes provide emotional support and career guidance to mentees so that they can achieve their aspirations.

Last year I was quite happy when my younger sibiling who was studying at university told me about signing up to be a peer mentor with MENDAKI. Mentors can help their mentees to overcome life challenges and give career guidance to assist them in their professional lives.

One youth mentoring programme is the #amPowered Programme. In 2022, there were plans for #amPowered to be gradually introduced in the ITE colleges and M³@Towns.

May I ask how has MENDAKI's overall mentoring approach, model and plans evolved over the past two years and what are the targets and KPIs which MENDAKI hopes to achieve through these programs?

What are the timeline and plans for the #amPowered Programme to be expanded to all M³@Towns and ITEs, to make it more accessible to the community?

The Chairman: Minister Masagos Zulkifli.

The Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Chairman, our Malay/Muslim community has played an integral part in our nation-building. Generations of community and religious leaders toiled alongside our fellow countrymen to build Singapore. It is this spirit of citizenry that has carried us far as a society, where everyone steps forward and contributes.

We strive to build a Community of Success based on "three Cs": Character, Competency and Citizenry. I shared how we strengthened our character and developed our competency in previous Committee of Supply debates. This year, I will share about the third "C", Citizenry.

Citizenry comes from a sense of belonging and responsibility to Singapore – our country and its people. It is about coming together to build a better future, being confident in our abilities to make positive changes and showing care for one another. By all and for all. Regardless of race, language or religion. By being active citizens, we become a vibrant and contributing community who uplift those around us, forging a stronger Singapore. Chairman, in Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our theme this year is "Contributing Citizens, Stronger Nation". It reflects our roles and obligations to one another as citizens of Singapore. This theme exemplifies the spirit of the Forward Singapore movement where the Government rallies Singaporeans to come together to strengthen our social compact.

A core pillar of our social compact is the role of the family. It is through the family that we learn how to take care and fulfil our obligations to one another. Hence, the family provides the foundation to nurture and develop a sincere sense of collective responsibility, one that binds us as our fellow citizens. This sense of collective responsibility drives us to be contributing members of the community and society. This, in turn, strengthens trust between one another.

During MSF's COS Debate, I spoke about the three “S” for all families – Stability, Self-Reliance, and Social Mobility. Within the span of just one generation, many Malay/Muslim families have been able to achieve these three Ss largely because we emphasised education. This is also because of the efforts of our community leaders, who had set up MENDAKI forty years ago. They understood the importance of education in uplifting our community. Today, the education levels in our community are higher. More families have been able to achieve stability, self-reliance and social mobility. In the journey towards success, our community does not leave behind our cultural and religious values. This is because MUIS continues to develop our asatizah's talents and strengthen our religious infrastructure to nurture our character.

I am proud of the success of our Malay/Muslim community, who are also actively contributing to Singapore. Let me share how we will continue building this strong sense of citizenry.

First, strengthening the foundation of the family.

Second, nurturing future religious and community leaders.

Third, expanding the community’s contributions to the nation

We are committed to building stable, strong and resilient families. Mr Zhulkarnain asked about initiatives that support the building of strong marriages and families. As the saying goes, we need to go upstream if there's an issue downstream. The Bersamamu programme led by Minister of State Faishal has helped to strengthen the relationships of more than 20,500 couples. This is due to the strong guidance and support from our Kadis and Naib Kadis (Muslim marriage solemnisers). They undertook learning journeys to INSPIRASI Hubs (AMP and PPIS) and PPIS Vista Sakinah last year to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by young couples and those who remarry. The lessons learnt helped our Kadi and Naib Kadi to provide proactive and effective support to couples.

Dr Shahira suggested including female perspectives in the Bersamamu programme. All religious leaders, including Kadi and Naib Kadi, are trained to provide guidance that addresses the different needs of brides and grooms. Should couples require specialised support from specialists, they are referred to other relevant agencies and services such as PPIS, AMP and Temasek Foundation Project ARIF. We acknowledge that women would also like specialised support from female religious teachers for some matters that they face. We will endeavour to provide this support services for them.

The delivery of the Bersamamu programme is further strengthened by the Marital First Responder Training Programme. This programme empowers members of the community to support couples with marital issues. More than 300 members from the Malay/Muslim community, comprising community and religious leaders as well as volunteers, have been trained to support couples and encourage them to seek professional help if required.

Mr Faisal Manap asked how we can support individuals struggling with issues of gender identity. In matters relating to religion and morality, we should refer to the Mufti and our asatizah. They have guided us to extend our kindness to one another, including to these individuals. Muis will continue to enhance the capabilities of asatizah to better support these individuals and their families with sensitivity. This is on top of the training for asatizah who serve in the education and counselling sectors so that they can provide effective support to these individuals and their families.

All these community efforts will further strengthen our national programmes that seek to support the building of strong families. Senior Minister of State Zaqy will elaborate how we can further contribute to society by developing our competencies.

The spirit of self-help and gotong-royong has always been deeply rooted in our community. As the Malay saying goes, "We carry the burden together regardless of its weight". This spirit of collaboration was the driving force that established the M³ network and various Malay/Muslim organisation (MMOs). The MMOs provide programmes that not only benefit the Malay/Muslim community, but also the broader society. Minister Maliki will elaborate on the contributions of our MMOs in his speech.

To empower our MMOs, among others, we must continue to support and strengthen their leadership core. Ms Nadia asked about efforts to develop our future community leaders. The "Tunas Bersama M³" programme grooms future MMO leaders and equips them with critical skills. This includes building networks and synergy with others, which will help the community more effectively and systematically. I have personally heard the ideas from these leaders which are not only refreshing, but also emphasise synergy in collaboration.

Our religious leaders also play an important role in guiding the community. Last September, MUIS organised the International Conference on Communities of Success (ICCOS) to empower not only Muslims in Singapore, but also Muslims in other minority communities, to lead their lives as good Muslims and good citizens in a plural society. ICCOS offers a construct of how we, as a minority Muslim community, can contribute to the peace and prosperity of our nation. To Mr. Zhulkarnain's and Mr. Saktiandi's queries, MUIS is developing a body of religious knowledge to empower our asatizah to guide the community confidently and contribute to the nation.

Our efforts to develop this body of religious knowledge has attracted interest from religious institutions overseas. During my recent visit to Egypt, the Al-Azhar University and Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta expressed their support to Singapore's efforts. They also expressed interest to work with MUIS to develop this body of knowledge. MUIS had set up the Research Programme in the Study of Muslim Communities of Success (RPCS) to expand this body of religious knowledge for minority Muslims. One of the pioneer research fellows of the RPCS is Ustaz Fathurrahman Dawoed. He studied the factors that contributed to an observed over-reliance on halal certification. His research findings help our asatizah to guide the community to preserve our common spaces. This will facilitate social mixing and forge trust between different religious groups, while upholding our religious principles.

MUIS will provide greater support to the RCPS research fellows to develop Singapore's future religious leaders and thinkers. They will be given training opportunities in research methodologies and data visualisation, along with mentorship with esteemed local and international experts. Muis will also establish a digital repository later this year. It will contain resources on Islamic and social sciences covering emerging issues related to Governance, Society, Science and Technology. This repository will help our asatizah provide religious guidance with conviction and able to address contemporary issues in society.

On matters related to religion, Mr Faisal Manap asked for an update on the wearing of the tudung in the uniformed services. As Prime Minister had explained in his National Day Rally speech in 2021, the SAF, Home Team and other uniformed services will remain status quo. These officers wield armed force and enforce the laws of Singapore, and are secular arms of the State. Therefore, they must always be seen to be fair and impartial and performing their duty without fear or favour. This is especially important when responding to incidents that have racial or religious undertones.

Dr Shahira asked how our madrasah graduates can continue serving as asatizah and contribute to the religious development of the community. There are currently over 600 undergraduates pursuing degrees in Islamic Studies and related programmes overseas. After undergoing the Postgraduate Certificate in Islam in Contemporary Societies (PCICS) programme and certified under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS), they can teach or work at religious institutions such as MUIS, Syariah Court, madrasah and mosques. MUIS is also studying how to connect these graduates to the relevant institutions. To attract asatizah to continue serving in the Muslim religious sector, MUIS is developing the Common Salary Guidelines to review the salaries of asatizah, and ensure competitive remuneration that is commensurate with their qualification and job functions. MUIS will share more details later this year.

To Dr Shahira’s query on the Singapore Community Wakaf (WMS), the WMS will support the long-term needs of the Muslim community, including our religious institutions and the development of our asatizah. The WMS will garner funds mainly from legacy planning and planned giving by the community, hence does not compete with MMOs who mainly fundraise for ad-hoc donations.

Mr Chairman, in English please.

(In English): Dr Wan Rizal asked how our religious leaders can extend their contributions to benefit wider society. Besides guiding the community, they play an important role in providing solutions to current issues in society and rallying the community for the common good. Their efforts have been recognised internationally.

The Fatwa Committee led by the Mufti Dr Nazirudin was conferred the Al-Qarafi Award last year by the General Secretariat for Fatwa Authorities Worldwide from Dar Al-Ifta, the prestigious religious authority in Egypt. This was in recognition of the Mufti and the Fatwa Committee's strong leadership and outstanding contributions in guiding the community on various contemporary issues during the pandemic. The emphasis on peaceful co-existence in their religious guidance was also recognised by international religious scholars.

Thus far, I have shared how we build strong families and strong leaders. These two pillars strengthen each other and provide an enabling environment for our community to thrive and contribute to the nation. In this regard, I agree with Mr Saktiandi and Ms Mariam that we must not only thrive as a community, but actively give back to the larger society. Many professional bodies, such as lawyers, doctors and educators, are helping to uplift the community.

Captain Jaffar Hassan and his team of Malay/Muslim pilots from the Airline Pilots' Association Singapore are the latest group of professionals who have stepped forward to contribute. They partnered MENDAKI to guide our Malay/Muslim students on career pathways in the aviation industry and have since extended their programme to Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) to benefit other communities.

Many Malay/Muslims, having done well for themselves, are also contributing at the national level. For example, Dr Nadjad Abdul Rahim is an operations and product development director of Cellbae Private Limited, whose team developed Singapore's first antigen rapid test for COVID-19. He also mentors youths pursuing careers in science and conducts outreach to vulnerable families.

Ustazah Kalthom Muhammad Isa is the Registrar of Muslim Converts Association and contributes to the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) by providing counselling to affected family members of those detained under the Internal Security Act. Her efforts help to address our national concern of combatting extremism.

Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor is Chairman of M Kapital Holdings. He was previously Chairman of M³@Tampines but has since widened his contributions by serving at the national level as Chairman of the Tampines Central Citizen Consultative Committee.

These individuals do not just inspire us with their success, but also their deep commitment to uplifting others. Our community's contributions across various sectors in society, is something we should celebrate and be proud of.

Indeed, we are a community that live by the ethos of Rahmatan Lil Alamin, or "Blessings to All", actively seeking to build bridges to reach out to those beyond our own. During Ramadan last year, the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF) raised more than $180,000 to support close to 7,000 disadvantaged families from different ethnic and religious groups. They worked with various partners, such as temples, churches, mosques and the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped to pack and distribute essential items for families. RLAF not only reached out to the vulnerable but cultivated stronger bonds among Singaporeans.

Mr Chairman, the Malay/Muslim community has made significant strides over the decades, achieving stability, self-reliance and social mobility. Many have become successful and progressed in life. I encourage them to give back to the community and keep the spirit of care and citizenry. Through M³, professionals and volunteers from all walks of lives lend their expertise and skills to help the community. While we pursue our aspirations, let us remain connected with those around us, like our neighbours and the wider community.

All of us have a role to play in uplifting the community. It is when each of us become active citizens that we become a community where we are each other's keeper – looking out for one another, extending a helping hand. So, I urge everyone to step forward to uplift others. We can only build a stronger Singapore, together. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Minister Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman.

The Minister, Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman): Mr Chairman, as our Malay/Muslim community continues to progress forward, we strive to capitalise our assets and facilitate active citizenry within the community, to look beyond our own needs and contribute to greater causes.

To do this, we will nurture a strong ecosystem of giving back in the Malay/Muslim community.

First, we will improve coordination across public agencies and community organisations. Second, we will develop a strong volunteer corps with the right knowledge and skillset. And third, we will build a strong network of community partners for broader and deeper impact in the community. Mr Chairman, in Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our community is united in supporting the vulnerable group and are constantly finding better ways to uplift them. Often times these families face complex issues that require support from many different government and non-Government agencies. We will improve coordination across public agencies and community organisations, to provide more integrated wrap-around support for this vulnerable group.

For instance, Project DIAN@M³. We launched Project Dian in December 2021 to strengthen support for Malay/Muslim families who stay in HDB rental flats. Through Project DIAN, we focus on three groups of families who stay in HDB rental flats. First, the elderly who live alone; second, middle-aged parents with adult children, or multi-generational families; and third, and young families with young children.

The third group of young families is our key priority. They have an average of three children or more, with the mean age of the oldest and youngest children at 11 and four years old respectively. Some even have children who are even younger. During our house visits, we further observed that some children demonstrate developmental delays. Some also, did not attend preschool or missed school regularly.

To provide more targeted assistance to this group, we launched the DIAN Ambassador programme last October, to provide home-based support to Project DIAN families with children between 3 and 6 years old, over a six-month period. Mr Fahmi asked how the DIAN Ambassadors support the target families and are equipped to engage this group. The DIAN Ambassadors will visit the families fortnightly to read with the child and engage them in activities that allows the child to play while learning which assists in the child’s cognitive and social skills development. The DIAN Ambassadors will also involve the young parents, to empower them to support their children in early childhood education.

We work closely with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to plan the curriculum and educational materials for the children, as well as to implement a robust programme evaluation approach. To measure the progress of each family, SUSS systematically evaluates the case notes recorded by our DIAN Ambassadors at every visit, and will conduct interviews with family members to better understand their situation. Additionally, KidSTART helps to train our DIAN Ambassadors on early childhood development to enable them to effectively interact with these children and provide appropriate intervention. Since the DIAN Ambassador programme was piloted, 30 volunteers have been trained and we look forward to developing subsequent batches of volunteers.

Dr Wan Rizal asked for an update on Project DIAN. I am happy to share that Project DIAN has reached out to over 70% of Malay households in its pilot phase, and has identified young families that could be channelled to our DIAN Ambassadors programme. However, the journey for our DIAN ambassadors has not been easy. Some face challenges in fostering trust with the families. Nevertheless, they persevere and give their best effort for the young children in these families. I thank all our ambassadors for their passion and dedication.

Having said that, Chairman, we do have some early success and are confident that this programme brings about tangible impact on the lives of some of these Project DIAN families. For example, through Project DIAN, Siti (not her real name), a housewife, was referred to the e2i and NTUC to improve her employment opportunity and support her family. Siti's youngest son, aged six, benefited from our DIAN Ambassador programme through the developmental intervention. Her child has shown progress and interest in learning new things. Siti’s 8-year-old daughter also receives weekly tuition coordinated by the M³ Engagement Coordination Office (M³ ECO) and this 8-year old is now much more focused and confident in her schoolwork.

Given the early success of Project DIAN, we will expand the programme to three more M³@Towns, that is, M³@Chua Chu Kang, M³@Jurong and M³@Tampines. Through the expansion of Project DIAN, over 500 more Malay/Muslim public rental household will be engaged, up from approximately 250 households today.

Chairman, the volunteers' passion is the bedrock of an active and vibrant community. To support the growth of our M³ programmes, such as Project DIAN, we will not only increase our pool of volunteers, but also ensure that each volunteer is well-supported with the knowledge and skills so that they can contribute effectively.

M³ ECO was set up for this very purpose. M³ ECO has put in place a robust Volunteers' Capability Building Framework, to equip M³ volunteers with the right skillsets to engage its target group of families. Since its inception in September 2021, over 150 volunteers have gone through the training programmes. They became more confident in engaging and building rapport with the residents. They provide useful information to these families based on their needs. Besides basic skills training, we also organise specialised trainings with certain Government agencies, where our volunteers are equipped with specific knowledge about Government policies and schemes that could benefit the families. For example, training programmes conducted by HDB focus on the Government’s housing schemes which the volunteers could share with these families.

I am heartened that the number of volunteers across the 11 M³@Towns have increased from 700 to 800 this year, and they have reached out to close to 7,000 Malay/Muslim households across those towns. Our volunteers come from all walks of life, each bringing their unique experience and expertise to serve those in need. We hope they will continue to be an inspiration to many more to step forward and join us in these programmes.

Mr Chairman, in English please.

12.00 pm

(In English): Mr Chairman, for the impact on our community to be further broadened and deepened, it is critical that we expand and strengthen the network of community partners that give back. Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman and Ms Nadia Samdin asked how we broaden our web of partners, including supporting synergies among existing organisations, as well as with new groups.

Today, our network of established Malay/Muslim Organisations (MMOs) and Indian/Muslim Organisations (IMOs) support many vulnerable segments of the community and we thank them for all their efforts. They play an important role of corralling resources and implementing programmes to meet the diverse needs of our community and fellow Singaporeans.

To Ms Nadia Samdin’s question, beyond the individual contributions that each MMO and IMO makes, they can play a greater role in community building through collaborative partnerships. For instance, last December, the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association, or PPIS, collaborated with the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday Memorial Scholarship Fund Board (LBKM) to launch a new postgraduate scholarship to support women in achieving their aspirations. The scholarship is open to women pursuing further studies in STEM, community work and gerontology, among other relevant options. The $15,000 scholarship is co-funded by the organisations and will be given to one recipient a year for 10 years, starting this year. This collaboration is an example of community efforts to grow more female role models within the community and we do encourage many more MMOs and IMOs to come together in partnership to offer more scholarships and programmes for the community.

Beyond existing community organisations, we must also cultivate new partners to harness their influence and capabilities. This is why the other Malay/Muslim leaders and I have been actively engaging different groups to listen to their views and share avenues within the M³ framework where they can contribute. Last year, we engaged close to 30 different groups, including youth organisations, social service agencies, union leaders and groups from different occupations.

I met close to 30 financial advisors to discuss how the Government can partner the community of financial advisers to improve the community’s financial literacy. I was very heartened that many of them were keen to share their knowledge with residents on the ground and we invited them to conduct financial literacy talks at out M³ Towns. Similarly, the volunteer lawyers under M³ organised legal sharing sessions for residents and guide them in applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney. On the medical front, the doctors and healthcare professionals from the community also stepped forward. For example, Dr Fadzil Hamzah works closely with M³@Tampines and asatizahs at Ghufran Mosque to conduct talks on prenatal health.

Such collaborative partnerships between the Government and various community nodes often have a multiplier effect on the community. To strengthen and deepen synergy, we actively look into creating platforms to share ideas and strengthen ties across our network of partners. This is why we started the M³ Forum – to serve as a platform for M³ partners and volunteers to come together to take stock and reflect on past work done, while forging new insights and partnerships for the road ahead.

Last month, our second M³ Forum saw over 400 participants from more than 25 public agencies and community organisations, of which, 15 were new partners borne out of fresh collaborations over the years. For example, through this year’s M³ Forum, the Malay Youth Literary Association (4PM) and M³@Jalan Besar are coming together to promote youth empowerment, by providing youths with resources for personal and professional growth. I urge more Muslim community groups to come forward to be part of the M³ family to reinforce a network of care for our community.

Mr Chairman, I have shared our efforts in nurturing a culture of active citizenry within the Malay/Muslim community. However, this cannot be achieved overnight, nor by the Government’s efforts alone. Building a contributing community requires close partnerships between volunteers, public agencies and community organisations. And, at the heart of it, the dedication and passion of this coalition of partners towards a common goal of creating a better future for our fellow Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad.

The Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower (Mr Zaqy Mohamad): Mr Chairman, our Malay community can be proud of the significant progress that we have made over the years. As more achieve success, we must continue mobilising and rallying one another to contribute back, inspire others and help those in need. With this spirit of togetherness, we can overcome challenges, achieve our aspirations and lead meaningful lives. To empower a capable and contributing community, we will provide a strong educational foundation for our young; nurture a strong community spirit through youth volunteerism and mentoring; and help Malay/Muslim professionals fulfil their potential and enable them to inspire others to pursue their dreams. Chairman, in Malay please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Education remains a cornerstone for success as it opens doors to opportunities that help us reach our aspirations. MENDAKI will help our children and youth fulfil their potential by regularly improving our education and developmental programmes. Mr Sharael Taha and Ms Mariam Jaafar asked about the effectiveness of MENDAKI's programmes.

A key programme run by MENDAKI under the auspices of M³ is KelasMateMatika or KMM.

This programme has supported close to 4,000 children, aged four to six, since 2018. It also builds parents' confidence in assisting their children in Mathematics. In the last three years, about eight in 10 students who joined KMM were prepared for Primary 1 Mathematics and did not need to enroll in the Learning Support Programme for Mathematics (LSM). This is encouraging because a joint study by MENDAKI and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) showed that a strong educational foundation in Primary 1 has a long-lasting impact and correlates to how well our students do at PSLE.

Besides early exposure to Math, KMM students will join specially curated coding camps and learning journeys to inculcate Mathematics into their everyday lives.

KMM classes are conducted both physically and online to make them more assessable to children and their parents. This year, we are targeting to enrol 2,500 students into the programme. Special sessions will be organised at targeted preschool centres including all 15 mosque-based kindergartens.

Another programme that has become synonymous to MENDAKI's academic efforts is the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme or MTS.

Last year, MTS supported more than 7,600 students across Singapore. I am happy to update that we have launched the 100th MTS centre at Greendale Primary School last February. Since last year, we have also reduced the MTS fees to just $10 per year from $210 previously. With the opening of MTS centres in the neighbourhood and more affordable fees, I hope more will join and benefit from the programme.

Besides academic achievements, it is important for our youth to have a good social support system. Besides their families, mentors can guide and help our youth expand their world view. As they become more aware of available education and career pathways, we hope that they will set higher goals and work hard towards achieving their aspirations.

In my COS speech last year, I announced that the #amPowered mentoring programme will be launched in all Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) and M³ towns progressively. To Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin's query, the #amPowered programme are currently available at the three ITE Colleges and across three M³ towns in Jurong, Chua Chu Kang and Marsiling-Yew Tee.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to shift our mentoring sessions online. This made it challenging for our youth to build strong connections with their mentors. Fortunately, from this year, the mentoring sessions can be conducted physically. We have also infused experiential learning and community building activities into our mentoring programme so that our youth can be exposed to more educational and career opportunities and be more cognisant of current issues.

Throughout this year, MENDAKI will organise at least one youth mentoring programme in each M³ town. So, all these will be provided. This will make it easier for our youths to sign up for the programme, no matter where they reside in. MENDAKI is currently evaluating our mentoring programmes to understand how far our youth have benefited from them.

Through these education and mentoring programmes, we hope our youth will excel in school and build strong foundations and network to set themselves for greater achievements in the future.

Mr Chairman, in English please.

12.15 pm

(In English): Uplifting a community requires each of us to play a part. At the centre of our education and mentoring programmes is a strong, dedicated team of volunteers who understand the needs of the community. In the past three years, more than 1,000 volunteers were deployed across MENDAKI programmes to engage beneficiaries at different life stages. Therefore, our volunteers need to be equipped with the necessary skillsets and expertise to engage the beneficiaries effectively. One of our volunteers is Ms Nur Alwany.

Ms Alwany was a recipient of the Tertiary Tuition Fees Subsidy (TTFS) when she undertook her studies in polytechnic and then the university. She wanted to give back and first volunteered with MENDAKI in 2016 for the KidsRead programme and, subsequently, with KMM.

As a KMM facilitator, Ms Alwany builds her students' interest and capability in basic numeracy though fun and engaging ways. She also encourages her students to actively participate in her class to build their self-confidence.

For her dedication, MENDAKI encouraged Ms Alwany to attend a family conference by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) last year. Through the conference, Ms Alwany gained better insights into the needs of her students and was able to apply the lessons she learnt to her role as a KMM facilitator.

I have met many like Ms Alwany, who had benefited from MENDAKI's programmes, and now feels a sense of duty to help others. I am heartened by their generosity and spirit of gotong-royong. This virtuous cycle of support will be the engine of our community's progress.

Mr Sharael Taha asked how we can encourage more youths to come forward as volunteers. Last year, as we celebrated the achievements of our students, we made a call for them to step up and make positive contributions to the community. MENDAKI has established the YOUth@M3 platform to engage TTFS and Anugerah recipients at the respective M3 Towns to encourage them to befriend and help their peers. I am heartened that over 130 youths have so far indicated their interest to be volunteers across our M3 towns.

We will continue to support the passion and energy of our youths to make positive changes they want to see within their community. It is through these volunteering opportunities that our youths develop skills, discover interests, build relationships and guide others to success.

While we create strong foundations for our young, we must also focus on supporting our Malay/Muslim workforce. As a community, we must continue supporting one another to improve employment and upskilling opportunities so that more can have good jobs and achieve their career goals.

I thank Mr Saktiandi Supaat for his suggestions and would like to update him that we have strengthened the partnerships across the M3 network and the Malay/Muslim Organisations (MMO) to support our workers. We established our employability networks involving agencies, such as NTUC e2i, NTUC Learning Hub, Workforce Singapore (WSG) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), to better assist our Malay/Muslim workers with their employment needs, and this covers from training to upskilling to landing job placements. Since establishing this referral process, we have reached out to close to 2,000 Malay/Muslim workers to advise and guide them on their careers.

MENDAKI has formed the Professional Networks programme for Malay/Muslim professionals to know others in their field, exchange ideas and help younger workers entering growing industries. Last year, MENDAKI connected with more than 400 Malay/Muslim professionals in the care, green and digital sectors.

This year, MENDAKI plans to expand its Professional Networks to include other in-demand industries, such as finance, sustainability and engineering. This will create more opportunities to connect our youths with professionals who can inspire and guide them to pursue a wide range of career pathways. I would like to encourage early- and mid-career professionals in these sectors to join our efforts to build this community network of success.

MENDAKI also shares best practices with other MMOs through the Community Leaders' Forum (CLF) to help them deliver more effective programmes. Mr Faisal Manap asked for an update on the CLF and the Malay/Muslim Community Development Fund (MMCDF).

The CLF serves as a platform to ensure efficient and effective management of resources by the various MMOs to avoid duplication of programmes and services. In 2022, more than 170 participants attended sharing sessions on programme evaluation, volunteer management and governance. This provided an opportunity for CLF partners to come together to contribute to the learning and development of best practices.

Since 2013, the MMCDF has been expanded to support project implementation and organisational development efforts of our MMOs. Through the MMCDF, CLF provides funding support for our MMOs to develop and implement programmes that uplift the community.

To the Member's question, our last review was in 2021, and, last year, we disbursed $900,000 in support of 47 such community projects. One such project supported by CLF was AMP's Micro Business Programme. The programme empowers individuals from less-privileged households by equipping them with trade and business skills to start or enhance their home-based business as an additional source of income. Beyond projects, MMCDF also supports initiatives to groom the next generation of leaders of our MMOs through the Tunas Bersama M3 programme. This is our way to build capacity because these are leaders who will be at the helm of the MMOs in charting the community's way forward in the near future.

MENDAKI will continue to work with the Government, fellow Malay/Muslim organisations, sector leaders and employees to ramp up efforts to empower the community, whether through M3 or through CLF, to gain good employment and, together, support all our community members who are in need.

Mr Chairman, Minister Masagos, Minister Maliki and I have spoken on the theme of Contributing Citizens, Stronger Nation, and how we intend to strengthen the foundation of the family, nurture future religious and community leaders, and expand the community's contributions to the nation.

As new challenges emerge, we must continue to build up and leverage our community support, knowledge and resources to become a Community of Success. As the saying goes, alone we can do so little, together we can do so much more. I am confident that our Malay/Muslim community will continue to forge forward as one and contribute towards the prosperity of the nation.

The Chairman: We will take clarifications on this topic now – about 10 to 15 minutes of clarification time – because the other MCCY political office holders (POHs) also have to respond to the cuts. So, could I invite Members, if there are any clarifications? Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Minister. I have two questions.

One, on the International Conference on Communities of Success (ICCOS). Moving forward, we also need to look at the online spaces, be it social media or online gaming platforms, which are the new frontier in the jostle for influence and ideologies. So, perhaps MUIS and its foreign counterparts can consider strategies to occupy this space and perhaps have a permanent ICCOS online platform for this.

Second, on strengthening the foundation of families, I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. Lately, we read about a family violence case against a young child. Family units are complex. There are blended families – single parents, unwed mothers, grandparents or elder siblings – playing the parenting role. Are there any focus areas, perhaps consolidated focus areas, on this group of our community so that we do not forget them, perhaps focusing on parenting skills and working together with organisations like PPIS, AMP or BAPA?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Thank you. On ICCOS, I certainly agree. If we look at the population of Muslims living as minorities, their number is about 400 million. Many of them live in similar conditions like ourselves – as minorities in secular, progressive countries and protected by law, bound by the Constitution. This is one area where we can find synergy and work with similar communities. In fact, in the last ICCOS conference, many of them applauded our initiative to start the conversation going, including religious teachers. Therefore, one of the areas, this is a real concern for others, too, the online space, we certainly would develop that, specifically for Muslim minority communities.

Secondly, on families, as I mentioned in my Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) speech, we want to build fundamentally strong families and, therefore, we have to support the whole journey from the time even before they get married, to the time they have children and the time they grow up. And the Families for Life Council (FFL) is on the ground and going to expand national programmes, and I hope that whatever background we come from – from whatever communities – we tap on these national initiatives. At the same time, we will support those that have special needs, whether it is about family violence or relationship issues, FAM@FSC or Strengthening Families Programme@Family Service Centre, will provide them.

And then at the third layer, we also want and have been engaging Malay/Muslim organisations to provide culturally-nuanced and even religiously effective ways of addressing the issues, in addition to those that are given at the national level.

12.30 pm

The Chairman: Ms Nadia Samdin.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: Thank you, Chair. Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad earlier mentioned that the #amPowered programme will be progressively rolled out across all the ITEs and M³@Towns. May I ask if there are plans to involve companies in the private sector to partner the #amPowered programme to expose our youths to jobs in growth sectors like tech and finance, as well as entrepreneurship and other professional roles, please.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Sir, I thank the Member for her question. Certainly, we are always on the lookout for partners to help us expand the breadth and width of our programmes, especially to help our young be exposed to what is out there in the market so that they have some sense of what is needed, guided to pursue such careers, as well as being able to see the companies in action.

Last month, we announced our first private sector mentorship collaboration with MSD Pharma, some of you may know them as Merck, under the #amPowered@ITE programme. MSD Pharma is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Singapore and rated one of the best employers in the country since 2020. Through these programmes, our ITE students will receive guidance on how they can prepare themselves and be given a chance at maybe interning or visiting some of their factories or manufacturing plants.

Beyond ITE, last year we also announced the GIC MENDAKI scholarships, for example, even partnership with MiRXES so that we can have meaningful careers in finance and biotech, for example, as areas in which we want our Malay/Muslim kids to also pursue.

Moving forward, we look forward to more partnerships where we can expose our kids through various platforms. If any of you know of anyone who is interested, you can always refer corporates and partners to us, especially entrepreneurs and even SMEs to give our kids a chance to be exposed. So, yes, this is one way in which we want our kids to fulfil their potential.

The Chairman: Mr Sharael Taha.

Mr Sharael Taha: I would like to thank Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad for sharing on the GIC scholarships. Is MENDAKI looking at more scholarships with the private sector, in order to create more stronger mentorship programmes for our Malay/Muslim youths?

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: The short answer is yes, we take what we can get. But I hope that we can certainly garner more who are interested to help uplift members of the community. And especially those that can give them wide range of exposures too, including internships, career guidance. I like the Merck one, because they are also committed to having professionals, up to 100 staff, who will come down and coach our ITE kids.

These are ways in which corporates can give back and I hope that we can get more on board.

We also got entrepreneurs too, like, Ismail Gafoor, who has also put in funds to support our young kids who need additional coaching in Maths, for example. So, there are ways in which corporates, large and small, who are doing their part to help uplift the community.

The Chairman: Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap. Did you put up your hand? You do not have a clarification? No? Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I have two clarification questions. One to Minister, with regard to the gedung-gedung ilmu, the repository for information resource for the asatizahs. I think it is a wonderful initiative and programme to step up our asatizahs.

Can Minister share a bit more about how we can extend it even further, beyond the subject matter and also beyond this year into next year? And related to that, what does it mean for the asatizahs' wages going forward? Does it help enhance their professionalism and does it also encourage more young people to go into that area as well, moving forward?

My second question is with regard to what Minister mentioned just now, the example of professionals like Malay/Muslim pilots coming forward to help as a body. Can Minister share a bit more on the efforts to gather more professional groups to help the community? And like he mentioned, helping even SINDA, going forward as well. He shared individuals and those are mostly locals, but the other element is also scouring more for overseas Malay/Muslims who have done very well abroad, brought Singapore's brand name to greater heights and —

The Chairman: Mr Saktiandi, could I ask you to ask your clarifications. Thank you, Mr Saktiandi. Minister Masagos.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Thank you, Chairman. The body of knowledge on Muslim communities, or those living as minorities, is very relevant to us, and also for societies that live in similar circumstances. When I broached this idea with the Mufti of Egypt, the scholars from Morocco, the vice dean of al-Qarawiyyin University, which is the oldest university of the Muslim world, as well as the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, they were very supportive and think that this is one area that we must develop more.

There is already a basic foundational knowledge on these issues on how to approach them. However, it has never been formalised and this initiative we now have undertaken is something that they want to support and they want to develop more of and contribute to.

We are starting on our own first, through the ICCOS. We have gathered religious leaders now who have interest to contribute to this body of knowledge, through their research. We now have really interesting books that they have contributed and never found applications for, and they now say, "wow, this is exactly what I wrote these books for".

At the same time, our own religious scholars are now undertaking post-graduate studies as well as contributing to this body of knowledge, through the RPCS.

So, we hope that putting this together as a repository, one day, as soon as possible, to have a body of knowledge which we can reference for future leaders, religious leaders, so that we can contribute meaningfully as a minority Muslim community in nation building.

Secondly, on the pilots. It was not a single person. I mentioned one person, but he was leading a group of pilots who were interested to motivate, mentor ITE students, to inspire them to go beyond whatever they are studying, to be able to fly, even if they are starting with a simulator. This was an initiative that was broached by them, and I never even thought about it and I thought it was a wonderful way of the pilots, dressed in their uniform, motivating our students. I see many of them, eyes really light up when they sit in the cockpit simulator.

Yes, I agree with the Member that there are many more professionals, even entrepreneurs, people who have gone overseas. Please come back. You have great ideas that can motivate and inspire our community, but as I mentioned in my speech, let us also contribute beyond. Let us also use these ideas, the expertise to also contribute to those who need it and they may not necessarily come from our community – like the pilots have done for SINDA.

The Chairman: Dr Wan Rizal. Then, I will take a final one or two clarifications on this topic.

Dr Wan Rizal: Thank you, Sir, for your indulgence. I have a question for Minister Maliki. I am grateful that we are now expanding to more M³@Towns for Project Dian. I have seen the efforts, I think it is fantastic. In my cut, I mentioned some potential challenges in terms of manpower and coordination. Perhaps Minister can share what are the plans to mitigate this.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Chairman, I thank Dr Wan Rizal for his question. Indeed, it is not an easy effort to bring about the coordination to help groups of families which are living in very difficult circumstances.

Let me just recap. Project Dian is to help families living in our rental flats. We wanted to reach out to them. The first thing is we set out to understand the structures and process that need to be put in place. For structures, it is essentially what Dr Wan Rizal is speaking of. We created a steering committee made up of agency representatives. At the central level, we set up the ECO office, the engagement and coordination office of M³ and we established the steering committee made up of representatives from MSF, SSO, HDB, MOE's UPLIFT programme and the M³ agencies.

With this coordination effort, we brought it down to all the pilot towns and each pilot town has similar steering committees that has been established. This is so that the staffers at the local level coordinate, understand each other, understand each case that needs to be supported.

Within Project Dian, we have a group of volunteers. Dr Wan Rizal is absolutely right. The challenge is to get as many volunteers as we can because we literally were looking at knocking on every door of our Malay/Muslim households to understand their circumstances and the way they live.

Through the early efforts in the three pilot towns, we have been able to reach out to 70% of our Malay/Muslim residents there. We found three groups of residents.

The older folks who have been there for many years, the children who have moved out and from there, we look at the welfare and well-being of this group. The coordination happens between SSO and MUIS to ensure that they are supported.

The middle group are the ones who are middle aged with young adult children with potential for home ownership. For that we work with agencies like e2i, MENDAKI, to create opportunities for us to upskill and upgrade the adults, so that they can possibly find good jobs, increase their economic potential to be able to be home owners.

The third group is the one that I mentioned earlier, that requires a lot more attention. These are the young families, young families who are married and did not have the means to purchase their homes yet. So, HDB offers them rental housing. Within that space, we also want to make sure that we support the children. These young families have got a number of children, three to five children. That is really where the volunteers, the Dian ambassadors, come in actively, and they have been trained to help these families.

Dr Wan Rizal is right, we need a lot of manpower and that is why in my speech, I spoke about the call for more of Singaporeans out there, regardless whether you are Malay, Muslim or not, if you have the heart to want to help families in rental flats, help the children, uplift them, work together with us and join us.

The Chairman: A short clarification. Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman.

Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman: Thank you, Chair. Still on Dian and my question to Minister Maliki. When I really look at it, it is a great success. We have a very strong network in terms of using KidSTART and MENDAKI assets to help the preschool and children in early education. But in terms of madrasah education, I think there is a gap. Just wondering if there are any plans to get assistance to help our youths or our students in madrasahs to keep up in their own studies.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: I think we support all the children in our Project Dian families, regardless of which school they are attending.

The key to it is to access the resources available and through our network of agencies, MENDAKI, MUIS and MESRA, we have a pool of volunteers, so any students in the rental flat families, whether they go to madrasahs or whether they go to our national schools, if they need educational support, if they need socio-emotional support, we will certainly assess the resources available to them and channel resources available to them.

We refer them to MENDAKI's weekend tuition programmes. We also have got volunteers who are prepared to do home-based tutoring and we have done that. We have a group of mentors from the IHLs who have already been recruited. Usually, what we do is when there is a request and we realise that there is a student in one of the rental flat homes, we will assess their need for educational support and we will look for the most suitable way of supporting them, even if it is home-based tuition. That is where we then tap on the pool of volunteers that we have. If it is centre-based weekend support, we then refer them to MENDAKI tuition programmes.

So, this help is available regardless of where they go to school.

Of more concern to us, really, is the very young children, for us to make sure that the resources are spent on them, to be able to enhance their ability for early childhood education so that their cognitive and social emotional development get supported right at a very early age.

The Chairman: I do not see any more clarifications. None? Then, we will carry on with the Committee of Supply for Head X. The next cut, Mr Baey Yam Keng.

Citizenship Partnership and Engagement

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines): Chairman, since 2011, I have been holding monthly KopiTalk sessions in a food court in Tampines North. For two hours each time, residents and members of the public can join and participate in the conversation. I would like to thank the venue operator, Koufu, for allowing us to use its space all these years, and even sponsoring coffee, tea and cakes.

The refreshments offered do attract some interest, but I believe that the discussion also gave us a lot of food for thought. Participants can raise any topics on top of their mind, and I will give my take and share what I know. Anyone present can also chip in to add to the discussion. I find it very useful to know what people are thinking of, worried about and concerned with, as well as their views and opinions on estate matters, current topics and national issues.

Last month's session was held a few days after Budget Day. I used the opportunity to share the key parts of the Budget and what residents can look forward to. In fact, when one retired resident was unsure of the benefits he could enjoy, I used the Support for You Calculator and showed him that he could expect $2,800 this year. He was very pleasantly surprised.

Besides such topical matters, what I found most useful is when we discuss community issues like corridor clutter, cat and bird feeding, noise pollution and so on where the community needs to come together to solve problems.

On a much larger level and wider platform, we have initiatives like Forward Singapore exercise and Singapore Together movement over the past few years. They aim to strengthen Government-citizen bonds and partnerships for citizen participation.

So, I would like to ask MCCY to share the effectiveness of these initiatives and the key outcomes that have emerged from these exercises.

The Chairman: Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, please take your two cuts together.

Singapore's Art and Heritage Plans 2.0

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: Thank you, Chairman. Mr Chairman, I had raised at last year’s MCCY COS, about the Arts and Heritage Plans, which identified the priorities for Singapore’s arts and heritage development for 2018 to 2022. As 2022 marked the end of the first phase of the plans, I had sought an update from the Ministry on the next iteration of the plans.

Minister of State Low Yen Ling had shared at the time, that the National Arts Council (NAC) was in deep consultation with stakeholders on the Arts Plan 2.0 and that a public consultation will be conducted in the second half of 2022.

She also shared that MCCY’s objectives for the Arts Plan 2.0 were three-fold: first, to strengthen the role of arts in the wider local and global creative economy; second, to develop further ways for the arts to contribute to deepening our national identity, social cohesion and inclusivity; and third, to make the arts a distinctive factor that adds to Singapore’s attractiveness as a global city.

For MCCY’s Heritage Plan 2.0, I recall the direction was to enhance the heritage sector’s digital capabilities, showcase Singapore’s rich multicultural heritage beyond our shores to grow new audiences and markets for the sector and to work closely with our local communities and heritage enthusiasts and partners in the tech and creative industries to celebrate our unique local histories.

I therefore invite MCCY to update us on its refreshed Arts and Heritage Plans 2.0 for the next lap, show how the public and stakeholder consultations have shaped these plans, and also expand on MCCY’s efforts to increase arts access to various demographics in Singapore.

Preserving National Monuments

Mr Chairman, our National Monuments in Singapore form an indelible and integral part of our built heritage. These are monuments that are of such historic, cultural, traditional, archaeological, architectural, artistic or symbolic significance and national importance that the Preservation of Monuments Act allows the Government to preserve and gazette them as National Monuments. We currently have a total of 75 buildings and structures that have been gazetted as National Monuments.

These National Monuments preserve not only our history but a quick look at the list of National Monuments shows that quite clearly it also represents in many ways the unique social compact that we have built as a society. The Padang, the latest addition to the list needs no introduction as to the historical significance it holds for pre and post independent Singapore. Sultan Mosque, Sri Mariamman Temple, St Andrews Cathedral and Tian Hock Keng (天福宫) represent a short list of the many National Monuments that showcase the collective conscience of our Nation, as a multiracial, multicultural and multireligious society where Singaporeans of diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs live harmoniously together as fellow citizens.

It is, therefore, imperative that we continue to ensure that we do our utmost to protect and to promote our collective heritage as we build on our social compact. I, therefore, invite the Minister to share more about MCCY’s plans to safeguard and preserve our built heritage, particularly our National Monuments.

The Chairman: Mr Xie Yao Quan, both cuts, please.

Vision for Arts and Heritage Sector

Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong): Sir, as the Arts and Heritage Sector emerges from a very tough three years due to COVID-19, it is an opportune time for the Ministry to work with the sector and looks ahead to the next three to five years and envisage exciting new possibilities for the sector. Is the Ministry co-creating a vision in the medium term with the sector?

A Thriving Arts and Heritage Sector

Sir, there are exciting plans such as the University of the Arts to strengthen the talent development ecosystem in Singapore for the Arts and Heritage Sector in the years ahead. It is, therefore, critical that the sector also grows and develops new capabilities in order to provide and create exciting new opportunities for our future talent. Can the Ministry share its plans in this regard to support the sector?

SG Arts and Heritage

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): (In Mandarin) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Chairman, globally, the ongoing China-US rivalry and the Ukraine war, as well as global economic slowdown and uncertainty will affect Singapore negatively. Even if the Government works out a strategy, we may not be able to turn the tide. Hence, global uncertainty will inevitably have a negative impact on Singapore. What people are most concerned about is: if lives are affected, what will happened to our social harmony and cohesion built over the years under this immense pressure?

Hence, promoting local arts and culture is important in strengthening our sense of belonging and identity, as arts and culture carry our history and shared values, and serve as a bridge across different generations and languages.

During last year's debate, the Government announced that it would actively engage the community to promote arts and culture in Singapore. Today, a year later, what are the new developments in the Government's plans? How does the Government ensure that Singaporeans, young and old, can access and appreciate arts?

Developing Singapore Heritage and Arts

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas (Nominated Member): Sir, heritage and the arts play an important role in our national identity and help build unity and social resilience. We have always had a diverse societyand shared heritage provides that common space for all of us, regardless of race, language or religion. For new citizens, heritage, culture and the arts can help to anchor them to Singapore and to adopt our national identity.

Could the Minister elaborate on MCCY's vision and plans over the next five years for the development of Singapore arts and culture? What are MCCY's plans to build on its current arts and culture programmes to develop even more vibrant and inclusive spaces in which people from diverse backgrounds, including new citizens and permanent residents can interact? Could the Minister elaborate on MCCY programmes that leverage on these spaces to, on the one hand, encourage interaction between our diverse communities and new citizens and PRs to build understanding amongst each other and social harmony; and on the other hand, to build a sense of rootedness to Singapore?

Use of Chinese Dialects

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Hougang): Mr Chairman, I use dialects routinely when I communicate with many of my residents every day and many of them are middle-aged to elderly residents. But I have also observed that in many families, most young children do not understand dialects. At best, a small number may understand dialects as they hear their grandparents communicate with them in dialects. But many may not speak or speak competently. I am concerned at this rate there may hardly be some any Singaporeans below 50 who will be conversant in our Chinese dialects in another 20 or 30 years.

The MCCY has previously affirmed that Chinese dialects are part of the Singapore Chinese culture and heritage. As part of the different Chinese migrant groups coming to Singapore in the early years of Singapore, our forefathers come from different parts of Southern China and brought their different dialects to Singapore, together with the dialect group culture. Our dialect group heritage is part of our Singaporean Chinese cultural heritage.

Beyond the speaking of dialect, it is important to preserve knowledge among all Singaporean Chinese of the cultural heritage of our dialect groups, which may include culture, customs and food.

How many of our young Singaporeans have good knowledge of the cultural practices of their dialect group? Recently, I asked a 13-year-old student, what is his dialect group. He shrugged his shoulders and said that he did not know.

With an ageing population and a younger generation who have a limited exposure to dialect, we are reaching a tipping point. Transferring culture and heritage does not happen overnight and the runway to do so is growing ever shorter. Once this culture and heritage dies off, there is no way of re-building it. We should ask ourselves whether we can do more to preserve this intangible heritage.

I applaud the existing efforts of many of our clan associations in the promotion of the use of dialects as well as the customs, practices and culture of our dialect groups despite the modern cultural challenges.

While our clan associations do offer dialect classes, offering dialects as a third language option at the MOE Language Centre and our Institutes of Higher Learning can be an option to instill interest and promote knowledge. NUS saw a great demand when they offered dialect modules in 2020.

Can the Government do more to enhance the learning and speaking of dialects as well as promoting the knowledge of our customs, practices and culture of our various dialect groups among younger Singaporeans?

Will the Government consider lifting the general ban on TV and radio dialect programmes which is in place since 1981 which can signal to many Singaporeans who take the cue from the Government?

The Chairman: Mr Darryl David, please take both your cuts together.

Arts Spaces

Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio): Chairman, over the past years, numerous art spaces have been added to our cityscape. Today, we can see street art at Haji Lane, Far East Square and Joo Chiat. We have also been more experimental with different formats of art presentation, for example, iLight and Night Festival. Various interest groups have also organised their own independent art events. Each of these have added vibrancy and flavour to our cityscape, creating additional opportunities for Singaporeans to come together and enjoy art and culture. Not only that, but they also have given our art practitioners additional spaces and opportunities to explore their diverse talents and be more experimental with their art forms.

Art spaces will continue to grow in importance especially in an increasingly pluralistic society where pursuits of interest can be very diverse and when our fellow Singaporeans seek different ways to express themselves creatively and artistically.

Can MCCY share their intentions to provide more art spaces for our practitioners to experiment with different forms of art and art presentation? And how does the Ministry intend to inject more vibrancy into the cultural landscape by making art more accessible to Singaporeans?

Most art spaces and art presentations today tend to congregate in the downtown area, with relatively fewer art spaces or experimental art presentations in the heartlands. Apart from Passion Art events, are there plans for MCCY to create permanent art spaces in the heartlands or to bring experimental art forms to the neighbourhoods so that Singaporeans can immerse in art closer to where they live?

Sports Hub

The Kallang Alive Precinct was first announced in 2019 as part of URA’s masterplan to rejuvenate the Kallang River. The precinct has been envisaged as a one-stop destination for Singaporeans to enjoy community sports, as well as world class entertainment and events.

Sports Hub is an important centrepiece in the development of the precinct and has been envisaged to serve as a focal point for international sports and entertainment events, as well as a social sporting venue for Singaporeans. The recent decision by the Government to terminate the public-private partnership with Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL) is driven primarily by the need to integrate the operations of Sports Hub more closely with those of other sporting venues within the precinct so that we can achieve the sports and entertainment vibrancy that we have envisioned. I believe that Minister Edwin Tong had shared this in Parliament last year.

Chairman, Singapore SG has taken over the management of Sports Hub since last year and can MCCY thus share what are the developments that have occurred since last December and also the future plans of Sports Hub, and how it will feature as part of the Kallang Alive Precinct?

There have also been some concerns regarding how Sports Hub will balance the needs of different communities while operating the Sports Hub. Could the Government please share how SportsSG would balance the desire to host international sports and entertainment events at Sports Hub, while ensuring that it is still accessible to Singaporeans for community sports and also for community events as well?

The Chairman: Mr Xie Yao Quan, please take both your cuts together.

1.00 pm

Unlocking Sports Hub's Full Potential

Mr Xie Yao Quan: Sir, the Government has completed its takeover of the Sports Hub. What are the Ministry's plans for the Sports Hub this year, in the year ahead, in terms of both programming and infrastructural development as part of its roadmap to unlock the Sports Hub's full potential for Singapore and Singaporeans?

Community Sports Facilities

Sir, Minister had previously laid out the Government's significant efforts over the years in building up and maintaining community sports facilities and infrastructure. Minister has also affirmed the Government's commitment to continue doing so.

Can the Ministry share what are its plans to build new community sports facilities and to refurbish, upgrade and maintain existing ones so that Singaporeans can look forward to enjoying sports in the community even more conveniently?

The Chairman: Mr Mark Chay, please take both your cuts together.

Kallang Alive

Mr Mark Chay (Nominated Member): Sir, in December 2022, the Government took over the management of the Singapore Sports Hub under a new entity, Kallang Alive Sports Management (KASM).

I will be the first to state that as a tenant of Kallang Wave Mall, there have been visible improvements in some areas. But, overall, I feel that there is a change in the vibrancy and energy of the precinct.

Not long ago, the Sports Hub felt like a ghost town, unless Jay Chou was performing. Today, programmes are organised for participants of all interests every day of the week. The public can access sports and fitness classes, rent equipment and use world-class facilities to pursue their sporting ambitions.

The events calendar looks vibrant, and many community events, local and international sports competitions and concerts are planned in the coming months.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

KSAM is already delivering on its promise of more opportunities for locals to compete in and use its facilities. Just last month, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that the National School Games track and field finals would return to the National Stadium. It has been four years since that has happened.

With so much optimism and potential linked with the Sports Hub and KASM, I would like to raise the following points.

One, many of the facilities are used by the National Sports Associations (NSAs) for national team training. The anticipated increase in events at the Sports Hub will inevitably disrupt national training and national teams could potentially be displaced for several days if the facility is used for an event. Therefore, it would be good to enable more communication between NSAs, SportSG, KASM and event promoters to identify critical dates when national training should be protected, for instance, the period right before a national games or competition.

Two, I would like to encourage event organisers to, as far as possible, organise events after office hours or on the weekends for the very simple reason of making it easy for parents, who are their children's biggest fans, to watch their kids compete and perform. It would go a long way in growing Singapore's sporting culture.

Three, Sir, I spend a lot of time at the Sports Hub. I also spent a lot of time in SportsSG. An observation I would like to share is that people enjoy going to the Sports Hub simply because it is a lovely open venue to play.

However, I feel that the KASM can better beat its chest and let people know what is available. For example, how many members know they can rent a kayak from the water sports centre and go tubing on the Lazy River at Spash-N-Surf? I believe KASM's can and should do more to promote the ease of use of its facilities and it should explore collaboration with private vendors to increase the reach to the public. Instead of trying to deliver all programmes, I would encourage KASM to work with the existing tenants and NSAs to provide community programmes.

Sports Facilities Masterplan

As a National Sports Association President, access to facilities for development and high-performance programmes is always at the forefront of my considerations. Therefore, I am encouraged by recent announcements of new sporting projects, such as Punggol Recreational Sports Centre and Toa Payoh Integrated Development that are part of the Singapore Sports Facilities Masterplan.

First, I would like to ask MCCY to provide an update on sports facilities planned for upgrading as part of the Masterplan. Second, as our society matures, can MCCY share how it plans to make these facilities accessible for persons with disabilities (PwDs) and the elderly? And third, can MCCY share its plans to collaborate with NSAs to use the facilities for training and competition during off-peak hours?

Progress and Measure of Success for Unleash The Roar

Mr Sharael Taha: Chairman, currently, we have many pathways for our young football talents, such as ActiveSG Football Academy Development Centre, Unleash The Roar, Singapore Sports School, S-League Youth Teams under 12, under 14, under 16 national development squads and private clubs like Lion City Sailors.

How will all these pathways fit to ensure that we have enough young talents playing together at the right level and standard? What is the progress of the teams from Unleash The Roar? Are they performing well in the national schools game?

To support all the different talent development pipelines, there needs to be sufficient and proficient training, staff and coaches. How are we developing our coaching staff? Do we have the right quantity and quality of training staff and coaches? Are there enough development opportunities for our local coaches, such as training and overseas development?

Singapore Football

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: Sir, in the 2021 COS debate, the Unleash The Roar project meant to rejuvenate Singapore football was announced. Since that time, I understand that the initiatives. such as sending youth teams to overseas training, establishment of partnerships with foreign clubs and other measures are being considered and/or pursued.

Since that time, however, the performance of our men's national football team has been inconsistent. They went from winning hearts for their never-say-die performance in 2021 ASEAN Football Federation Championship to crushing disappointment that followed their dismal exit from the 2022 tournament. I appreciate that it will take time to grow the ecosystem that will foster young talents and develop the skills of our local coaches and footballers, more than the two years since Unleash The Roar was announced.

In a recent podcast posted by Berita Harian, a former national player called for greater involvement of former players in developing the programmes for our local football scene. He also called for, amongst other things, a dialogue session among all stakeholders, setting achievable milestones for our youth teams and creating an environment for local coaches so that they can focus on coaching and not need to moonlight.

I believe that these are all sensible recommendations. While I understand the reasons behind recruiting foreign bond players to play for Singapore in the longer term, we need to focus on developing our local players, coaches and clubs. Local players who have dedicated their time playing for Singapore could be employed in various role where their experience could be relevant towards improving our system.

Therefore, I propose that the Football Association of Singapore and other relevant stakeholders engage in an open conversation, maybe a national conversation with our local players and coaches, both current and former.

Enhancing Participation to Sports

Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman: Sir, regular sports participation is important in achieving positive health outcomes. Notably, in London, Oakland and Singapore, Active Citizens Worldwide (ACW)'s 2018 report indicated that sports and physical activity generate an estimated $454 million in savings annually and results in 19,800 additional years of healthy life and 575 fewer deaths in Singapore. This implies that a healthy lifestyle driven by the active lifestyle is essential in improving longevity and minimising healthcare causes. The study also noted that although people in Singapore tended to be less active as compared to other groups.

Therefore, can MCCY share its plans to enhance sports participation, especially amongst groups, which may have a lower rate of participation. Would MCCY also elaborate on how it aims to encourage groups, such as seniors and young children who may be less active in sports, to participate regularly in sports?

Community Sports

Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Over the years, Woodlands Sports Complex has become indispensable community spaces where Marsiling and Woodgrove residents who often go to. Its facilities cater to the needs of all age groups, playing an important part in bonding the family and community closer together. We often see parents bringing their little ones to the swimming pool for waterplay. Many friendships have been forged amongst the seniors too in these venues, be it through sports or by participating in the Active Green Harvest at the community garden located right next to the swimming pool.

I must credit ActiveSG for being a strong community partner of Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC with whom we regularly collaborate to organise a series of community events that keep our residents active. Take the Sporting Wednesday at Woodland Stadium, for example, which encourages our Marsiling and Woodgrove residents to visit the stadium every Wednesday, from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm to participate in a series of sports, such as walking football and so on, along with fitness programmes, such as zumba, entirely free-of-charge.

In recent years, residents have feedback to meet that several of the facilities are often under maintenance and express their desire for the sports complex, stadium and sports centre to be rejuvenated.

How can the Ministry, ensure that community sports are more accessible to all especially for our senior citizens and to create more opportunities for family bonding as well as fostering a shared community spirit? Could SportsSG also work closely with MOE to explore opening up more school sports facilities to the public?

One example is the former Innova JC School site in Woodgrove Champion Way which some residents have expressed their interest in using the running tracks for their evening exercise. This space has great potential to be another community sporting venue, allowing residents to have more options without the need to travel all the way to the Woodlands Sports Complex.

Youth Leadership Development

Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Our youths are our country's young sprouts who will grow up to be tall oak trees to provide shelter to our communities and nation. Our youths have demonstrated amazing resilience and adaptability, amidst the challenges and pressures of COVID-19. They have demonstrated tenacity and a strong passion to act on issues that they care about.

In Punggol, our youths have used their own pocket money to 3D Print face shields for the community during COVID-19 and our youth networks have gone door-to-door to encourage residents to recycle well. This is not unique! In fact, data from the National Youth Survey shows that 90% of youths view contributing to society as an important life goal.

Let us work together to give our youths opportunities to become leaders who are confident and committed to Singapore and who have the heart to serve. Can MCCY share on the opportunities for youths to further develop their leadership skills, build strong networks and be involved in civic participation?

Youths in Policy Formulation

Ms Tin Pei Ling: Sir, as our society progresses, our youths are also increasingly sophisticated and desirous of participating in Singapore's development. As an integral part of our population, youths should certainly have a say in how Singapore charts our future.

To do so, it is critical that our youths understand the key issues affecting Singapore, how different groups of fellow Singaporeans could have very different but no less important needs, how policies and legislations are formulated and the difficult trade-offs involved in such formulations. Such understanding will enable them to think more critically, be less susceptible to potentially biased opinions perpetuated by how social media algorithms are designed and make informed decisions for themselves.

At present, we have a range of youth dialogues organised by various Government and private entities. These are useful. But I believe that it is important to offer our youths a structured and more hands-on programme that facilitates deeper understanding of how policy makers think, how legislations are formulated, how other countries deal with similar issues, how is Singapore unique or maybe not so unique and what do we need to give up if we choose one priority over the other.

In this vein, would the Government consider reinstating the National Youth Forum or create the likes of it?

The Chairman: Mr Abdul Samad, not here. Mr Don Wee.

Engagement with Self-help Groups

Mr Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang): Chairman, the four self-help groups, namely, the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Yayasan Mendaki (MENDAKI), Singapore Indian Association (SINDA) and the Eurasian Association (EA), have been playing an important role in uplifting their respective communities through programmes and services for vulnerable families. Their support for youths and education is especially noteworthy. They also build mutual understanding and strengthen bonds across different ethnic groups while preserving their own cultural practices and traditions which make Singapore's heritage so rich, diverse and interesting.

What are MCCY's plans to engage our self-help groups and deepen collaborative efforts so as to strengthen cohesion among our communities?

1.15 pm

Community Dispute Management Framework

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Chairman, most Singaporeans live together in harmony. Neighbours are generally considerate and look out for one another. However, there is an increase in the number of disputes in recent years, with the common causes being noise disruptions, smoking, littering, hoarding, just to name a few.

At our COS debate last year, Minister Tong shared that the Community Dispute Management Framework (CDMF) was in the process of being enhanced. I support this as it is better for neighbours to first discuss their problems in the presence of a trained mediator early instead of allowing the situation to escalate.

At the MinLaw COS debate on 27 February, it was announced that disputes over noise issues, disputes that have resurfaced after mediation at the Community Mediation Centre (CMC), and disputes in which parties want to file a claim with the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal (CDRT) must first go through mandatory mediation or the parties involved will be penalised.

Under the enhanced CDMF, how will MCCY proceed to assist in the other types of dispute cases not in the above three categories? What about cases involving religious practices that might cause racial or religious tensions, persons with mental health or suspected mental health issues? Some of the disputes have not been resolved for a long time, to the distress of neighbours. Can MCCY try to expedite the processing of these cases?

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Chairman, harmonious neighbourhoods are what we all hope for and work towards. However, having some disputes is unavoidable. While we work towards minimising such disputes, we must also pay attention to improving the ways we manage disputes such as the CDMF. In the Committee of Supply 2022, MCCY announced that the CDMF was being enhanced. Can MCCY provide updates on the outcomes and ongoing efforts since then?

In addition to establishing guidance to encourage self-management of the disputes, the availability of legislative levers to the Government is also important, especially for cases where self-management is unsuccessful.

Perhaps to enhance CDMF, we should not only focus on efficacy and efficiency of managing disputes but also be sensitive to the fact that, neighbours in dispute more often than not will remain as neighbours. The mending and improving of relationships post-CDMF should also be one of the framework's key considerations.

Can MCCY shares its plans for managing disputes under the proposed CDMF?

The Chairman: Mr Xie Yao Quan, you can take both cuts, please.

Managing Community Disputes

Mr Xie Yao Quan: Sir, the need for a stronger framework to manage community disputes and frictions in neighbourly relationships has grown over the years. We need clear principles to resolve disputes in a fair and balanced way, resolve these as early as possible, and yet preserve the agency and central role of residents themselves to manage the affairs within the community, while also supporting them with processes, resources and rules of the road that are more fit for purpose today.

Under the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) Committee of Supply (COS), announcements have been made about updates to the framework for Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) and the Community Mediation Centre (CMC). Can MCCY update on its work on the Community Dispute Management Framework?

Culture of Care and Active Citizenry

Sir, we are a democracy of deeds and must continue to be so. Our social compact going forward must be anchored on active citizenry, volunteerism and ever broader and deeper actions to help lift up one another. Can the Ministry update on its progress and plans to rally both individuals and corporates to care and to give through the SG Cares Movement and National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) and other platforms.

Expand Capacity of SG Cares Volunteer Centres

Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman: Sir, the capabilities of our volunteers and the SG Cares Volunteer Centres are important to ensure effective service delivery. Thus, I would like to ask what MCCY is doing to expand and deepen the capabilities of our SG Cares Community networks.

Since they were set up in 2018, the SG Cares Volunteer Centres in their respective towns have been engaging and coordinating with community partners including schools, businesses and Social Service Agencies (SSAs) to better support beneficiaries in need but harnessing community resources and growing the pool of volunteers.

Therefore, could MCCY share its existing efforts to deeper in the capabilities of our SG Cares community networks to enable greater and lasting impact to be created.

SG Cares

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Chairman, SG Cares Volunteer Centres are the coordinating hubs of all volunteers in their respective towns. Many good-hearted people are willing to step forward and offer their time and expertise to help. But it is not enough to just increase the number of volunteers. The challenge is sustaining their interest and engaging them meaningfully. Sometimes, the centres may not have the resources to engage them at the level which they are willing to serve. I would like to focus on an area that has very high need.

I understand from most of the SSAs in my constituency that there is a high demand for medical escorts, especially among the elderly, to help vulnerable patients keep their medical appointments at polyclinics and Government hospitals. Volunteers in this area are few, and in most instances, the staff in the SSAs have to handle this work, on top of their own work. They are stretched and tired.

The other challenge is matching the volunteers and the patients. We need coordinating personnel and a good IT system to draw up the schedules and match with those of the volunteers, including reserve medical escorts, in case a volunteer, who has been assigned to the senior, is suddenly unable to make it. We can imagine the coordination, administrative and IT support that this group needs. Without these resources, the matching process will be less efficient, the volunteers may not be activated as often as they would like to, to sustain their interest. Meanwhile, we have so many patients who need their help.

This is just one of a few examples of how the volunteer centres can be better supported. Different volunteer centres will have varying resource support requirements. How would MCCY work towards understanding the situational requirements and facilitate these volunteer operations? Our volunteers are a huge resource who should be valued and engaged meaningfully.

SG Cares Community Networks

Mr Mark Chay: Chairman, established in 2018, the SG Cares Volunteer Centres has actively connected with local partners, such as schools, businesses and National Sports Associations (NSAs), to support people in need through community resources and volunteers. Therefore, I am asking MCCY to share their policies regarding enhancing our SG Cares Community Networks to create a more powerful and lasting impact.

The Chairman: Minister Edwin Tong. And we will take the clarifications at the end, after all the speeches.

The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai): Good afternoon, Mr Chairperson. First, I want to thank all the Members for their continued support for MCCY's work. Sir, unity lies at the heart of what we do at MCCY. Our work spans many sectors: arts, heritage, sports, youth, our community, volunteerism. And these are all threads which bind us to one another and give us a shared stake in building Singapore together. This unity has enabled us to achieve success as a country and also to be able to bounce back from crises.

As Mr Sitoh Yoh Pin pointed out, Singapore's social compact is based on building a diverse yet cohesive Singapore. Mr Baey Yam Keng also spoke about citizens coming together to solve problems at a community and also at a national level.

It was precisely to strengthen our civic bonds that we launched Singapore Together in 2019. It marked a shift towards deeper partnerships between the Government and Singaporeans and also amongst Singaporeans themselves. We engaged Singaporeans on national issues like women's development and also on our long-term land use plan, and partnered them to develop solutions on complex issues through citizens' panels and Alliances for Action.

Forward Singapore extends this collaborative style of governance to further the shifts needed to strengthen our social compact, because a sustainable social compact requires the investment and also the co-ownership of all of us in society.

Since the launch of the Forward Singapore exercise, over 14,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life have come together to discuss what we want to see for Singapore's future. And perhaps, more importantly, what each of us is willing to do, to get us there.

The contributions of Singaporeans will shape and strengthen the eventual recommendations and the outcomes of Forward Singapore. Under the Unite Pillar, our focus is to deepen our sense of belonging, strengthen our bonds and also entrench our sense of mutual responsibility and care towards each other.

One thing that came through strongly from all these conversations was that unity in Singapore's context entails embracing diversity. It is not about being the same but being able to engage across all our differences. And it is also about being stronger than the sum of our parts.

Participants spoke about deepening our shared culture, heritage and experiences. They spoke of creating opportunities for all of us to interact and connect with one another, and of how the arts and sports are integral in this respect. They spoke of bringing people across racial, religious and generational lines together, to work on issues that matter to them. My colleagues and I will address the various cuts raised by Members speak MCCY's work to strengthen our core identity.

Let me start with our arts and heritage which connect us across communities and across generations. They help us deepen our sense of a shared identity.

Sir, today, we have an established and vibrant arts and heritage scene. Our national cultural institutions, museums, galleries, as well as arts and culture groups offer diverse programmes throughout the year. In fact, recently, the Peranakan Museum and also the Children's Museum in Singapore reopened and opened their doors with refreshed and interactive exhibits to tell of our Singapore story.

We also continue to celebrate Singapore's intangible cultural heritage and traditional art forms. These include activities organised by clan associations or arts practitioners which feature dialects as suggested by Mr Dennis Tan. And as Mr Tan knows, that is already being done.

We have performances such as Nanyin and Teochew Opera by Siong Leng Musical Association and Nam Hwa Opera respectively. This is in recognising that Chinese dialects are part of the Singapore Chinese culture and heritage, even as the Government maintains its existing language policy of promoting the use of Mandarin as one of our four official languages.

The Government is committed to growing the arts and heritage sectors. Government funding has held steady in these sectors. Over the last 10 years or so, MCCY has committed public spending on arts and heritage at about $450 million every year.

In addition, during COVID-19, we rolled out the $75 million Arts and Culture and Resilience Package to support our practitioners during the pandemic and injected an additional $12 million to help ensure that our talent is preserved and support the continued transformation of the arts and heritage sectors.

Our arts spaces have also grown over the years. Just taking arts gross floor area (GFA) managed by the National Arts Council (NAC), this has increased by 35% over the period 2010 to 2020, and this excludes other arts spaces which exists in the private and commercial spaces.

We also continue to support arts and heritage organisations to diversify their income streams via fundraising, with the Cultural Matching Fund and the Sustain the Arts (stART) Fund.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Mr Raj Joshua Thomas and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about our plans for the arts and heritage sectors.

Sir, the first edition of Our SG Arts and Heritage plans gave us a strong foundation, gave us a firm footing on which to launch the next chapter of the arts and heritage plans. Even during the pandemic, the sectors responded with resolve and enhanced their capabilities. As we emerge from the pandemic, we do want to consolidate the gains that we have made and unlock new opportunities that have come our way.

It is thus timely to embark on a journey together with the sectors to envision the future.

1.30 pm

Over the past 20 months, NAC and the National Heritage Board (NHB) have consulted over 2,000 stakeholders on the next edition of Our SG Arts and Heritage Plans. Many more provided their feedback online and also during roadshows across the island. These engagements are important, as we want these two plans to be co-created and co-owned with the arts and heritage communities.

Through the process, I met many arts and heritage practitioners. They shared with me how the arts and heritage sectors in Singapore have, indeed, come a long way, as many Members here have appreciated, and how we can take these sectors, building on the strengths that we have, standing on the shoulders of the giants that have come before us, to take us to the next phase. Let me share some of the key shifts that we will be making.

For our SG Arts Plan 2023 to 2027, we will place greater focus on the Creative Economy. Mr Xie Yao Quan spoke about helping the arts sector grow and develop these new capabilities. We agree. We have heard from arts practitioners and observed during the pandemic that increasing collaborations between the arts and adjacent industries present many opportunities for Singapore artists.

They can cultivate new audiences and markets and develop new revenue streams. NAC will, thus, be looking at new focus areas, such as intellectual property rights, new business models and digital adoption. These measures will help artists and arts groups achieve greater growth and success. It will help them to deepen their reach to existing audiences and broaden their exposure to new ones.

In addition, with the upcoming University of the Arts, students will benefit from existing programmes offered by LASALLE and NAFA, as well as new programmes, to meet the needs of the creative economy. Our plans to grow the creative economy through our arts plan will, in turn, create better job prospects and pathways for our future graduates.

In the next bound, there will be greater focus on increasing access to the arts, creating more occasions for people to share meaningful experiences through the arts. And we will do this by adopting a data-driven approach to better understand the needs and preferences of audiences and also by expanding partnerships to increase touchpoints.

We will also leverage technology and innovation to expand the playing field for the arts. My colleague, Minister of State Low Yen Ling, will elaborate further on Our SG Arts Plan when she speaks.

On arts spaces, we agree with Mr Darryl David that spaces for the arts are crucial in the arts ecosystem. The Government has, in fact, been very deliberate in developing spaces for the arts, ensuring that they are used optimally and efficiently; that there is also fair access and inclusive opportunities, especially for new groups and younger practitioners.

We now have a diverse range of arts spaces. Artists can collaborate with one another at multi-tenanted arts housing spaces managed by NAC. MCCY and NAC also facilitate arts groups to take up direct leases on state properties and in commercial developments.

In developing arts spaces, we engage closely with the arts community and also work to co-create spaces and think of ideas on how to use these spaces with members of the community. We have been working closely with the arts community, for example, to develop 45 Armenian Street.

We set up a resource panel, and the resource panel comprises private arts practitioners: an actor, an independent music producer, arts academics and also a former chair of the Substation, to give their views, discuss ideas, think about what the 45 Armenian Street might look like.

Our shared goal, to ensure that the space will remain an inclusive one that supports artistic experimentation and development of young practitioners. We have received the Resource Panel's recommendations, and NAC will build upon these recommendations to guide the development and design for 45 Armenian Street. And this is one example. Another example is Kampong Java, another space that I have spoken about previously.

Sir, let me turn now to Our SG Heritage plan. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked about our plans to safeguard our National Monuments. Sir, we regularly restore our National Monuments to preserve the buildings for posterity and for our future generations.

I had announced in 2021 that we will be restoring the Istana main building and the former Istana Kampong Gelam. Restoration works for the main Istana building are expected to commence early next year.

The Istana has featured prominently in Singapore's transition from colony to sovereign state, and the upcoming restoration works will ensure that it will remain well-preserved and functional for its historical importance and as a venue for important state functions and community events.

The former Istana Kampong Gelam, which houses the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC), has also closed for restoration and a gallery revamp, following the MHC Closing Fest last year.

Two other National Monuments housing the National Museum of Singapore, and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, are also scheduled for restoration.

In addition to preserving our places, we have enriched the Singapore story also with treasures in our National Collection. Beyond physical objects and buildings, we have safeguarded and showcased our intangible cultural heritage.

We have also deepened our collaboration with Singaporeans through co-created exhibitions and programmes. Mr Hazmi Zin from Rumah Makan Minang, for instance, was one of 45 business owners who participated in the Kampong Gelam Citizen Engagement Project and his participation, along with others, has enriched our understanding of the precinct's cultural heritage.

For the second edition of Our SG Heritage Plan, we will make a bigger push to reflect a more layered understanding of the Singapore identity.

Design, such as fashion, craft and architecture, is an important expression of our cultural identity and a catalyst for creativity and innovation. We have some top-class designers in Singapore among us, and we want Singaporeans to see their works and be proud of their achievements. We will, therefore, expand the National Collection to include designs. We also hope to strengthen the ties between our museums and the design community and industry.

Sir, Singaporeans have shared with us their strong desire to be more involved in heritage. NHB will, therefore, explore new ways for Singaporeans to get involved in presenting and sharing our heritage with others. We will also support the heritage sector by using technology, and Minister of State Low Yen Ling will elaborate on this plan when she speaks.

Sir, like arts and heritage, sport brings people together. And we want to optimise our sporting facilities and spaces to encourage more people to come together, socialise, play together. In this spirit, we took over the ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub, to unlock its full potential, to make Sports Hub more accessible to all Singaporeans, and to achieve a deeper integration with the rest of the Kallang Alive Precinct.

We set up Kallang Alive Sport Management Company, or as Mr Mark Chay calls them, in short – and we all love our acronyms – KASM, which operates under the ambit of Sport Singapore. This will ensure a stronger alignment between what the Government aims to achieve and the key performance indicators (KPIs) that KASM will have to aspire towards.

Sir, this project has shown early signs of success. Mr Darryl David and Mr Xie Yao Quan also asked about the developments following the takeover and our plans ahead. Let me share some brief highlights with Members.

Under the new management team, we have had many activities in the past three months alone. And we took over on 9 December last year, so, just about three months. These events and activities include performances by live bands and dance groups as well as community events, such as the FunFam SportFest, a Big Walk event to usher in the New Year, and a Chinese New Year Stadium Waterfront Carnival.

Last weekend, I just at the Sports Hub, and I saw many casual joggers, kids with their families playing football and playing basketball. It rained a lot, but we could use the promenade – an area around the 100Plus track – to great effect.

Student-athletes have also been participating in the National School Games at the Sports Hub, competing hard, both at the National Stadium, as well as at the covered courts in the Sports Hub. In the coming months, members of the public can look forward to more of such activities, including some National School Games finals, the National Stadium Open Houses, as well as grassroots events.

Let me assure Mr Mark Chay that KASM is, indeed, working closely with all its partners, and that include the NSAs, to deliver more community programmes, but also to ensure that there is more synergy across the board. I thank Mr Chay for his efforts to market the Sports Hub's programmes. I want to assure him that we will also be stepping up on our communication efforts by leveraging social media, word-of-mouth, engaging our partners, work with more broadcasters to bring more Singaporeans to the Sports Hub, by raising awareness of the events and activities that we will have at the Sports Hub.

At the same time, concerts and marquee sports events have also experienced an upswing also in the same period of time. A few weeks ago, we hosted Westlife, which sold out for three consecutive nights. This was notwithstanding that, on one of the nights, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' were competing for eyeballs just across the road at the National Stadium. Both were sold out, both happened on a weekday night, no less. The two concerts welcomed more than 50,000 people to the Sports Hub.

In the coming months, Singaporeans can also look forward to world-renowned entertainment events, such as for those Members who are interested, Harry Styles, Blackpink as well as marquee sports events, such as the World Table Tennis Singapore Smash, happening this week and next, and the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, happening next month. We also have FIBA, which is the International Basketball Association, which will be having its Intercontinental Cup in Singapore for the very first time.

Sir, there is a whole suite of activities for everyone, from community and sporting events for children, youths, families and seniors, to international marquee events. And we, certainly, hope that Mr Mark Chay would not find that it will remain a ghost town for much longer.

The developments in the larger Kallang Alive Precinct, in other words, the areas outside of Sports Hub that can be used to synergise with Sports Hub is also on track, with the Kallang Football Hub, with four sheltered and three unsheltered pitches, and the Kallang Tennis Centre, comprising seven indoor and twelve outdoor courts, due to be completed later this year.

With these developments, we will move towards using more of the whole Kallang Alive Precinct in synergy, to offer a greater array of international sporting events, alongside local programming. For instance, we can combine the facilities at the OCBC Arena, Singapore Indoor Stadium and the new Kallang Tennis Centre, and be able to confidently bring in marquee sporting events, such as, for example, an ATP1000 sporting event.

In parallel, Singaporeans in the community can try out the sport at the community level, at community tennis sessions, for example, or tennis clinics for social competitive players and aspiring athletes, youth competitions and so on, activating the entire precinct, not just the Sports Hub, but the broader precinct that is Kallang Alive. So we will have a whole ecosystem of sports across a diverse range of sporting levels, all integrated with the other upcoming lifestyle and entertainment offerings.

For our national teams, let me assure Mr Mark Chay that the NSAs continue to be prioritised in the booking of Sports Hub and ActiveSG facilities for national team trainings. In fact, with the Government now taking charge of the Sports Hub facilities, we can better optimise the use of these facilities across various uses.

So, to give Mr Mark Chay one example, SportSG worked with Singapore Gymnastics to ensure that our gymnasts could train at Sengkang Sports Hall, while their usual training venue at OCBC Arena Hall was activated to host the Singapore International Rhythmic Gymnastics Cup. So, we have one international gymnastics event at the usual training centre but, at the same time, we could use other spaces within our facilities across the island to continue the tempo of national training unabated.

Our plans for the Sports Hub and Kallang Alive Precinct are part of a larger Sports Facilities Master Plan (SFMP) to develop and refresh National Training Centres (NTCs) for elite athlete training and sports facilities across Singapore for all Singaporeans to enjoy.

Sir, Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman asked about our plans to enhance sports participation, Ms Hany Soh asked how we can ensure accessibility of community sports. Sir, we have seen more people participating in sports and exercise regularly. Let me just give Members a sense, based on our numbers. Based on our National Sport Participation Survey, residents who participate in sports and exercise regularly at least once a week has risen from 54% in 2015 to 66% in 2019.

Even during, or perhaps, in particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic period, this continued to rise to 74% in 2022, which are all very encouraging signs. These indicators show that more Singaporeans are keen to get more active.

1.45 pm

In addition to the sport events at the Sports Hub that I shared earlier, the public also enjoy sporting activities across Singapore.

In 2022, 148 community leagues and competitions were organised across 19 ActiveSG Sport Centres and bear in mind that for 2022, or part of that period at least, we were not able to come out and do these events. But once we were able to, we had more than a hundred of such events and leagues going on at the 19 ActiveSG Centres across Singapore. This involved more than 13,000 participants, including young children and seniors.

Last year, we introduced the ActiveSG Cup which saw more than 1,300 participants across two sports – Basketball and Football. This year, we plan to introduce two more – Floorball and Volleyball.

Sir, we see the value in life-long learning, even in sports and active participation and exercise, and we want to cultivate this interest and this good habit from when we are much younger. Therefore, all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents aged four to 12 years old will receive a top-up of $100 worth of ActiveSG credits. This will apply to all who are ActiveSG members or sign up as new members between 1 May and 31 October this year.

Parents may use these credits to offset the cost of their children's ActiveSG programmes and cover their entry fees into ActiveSG facilities, such as our swimming pools. This, I hope, will encourage more children to play together with their peers, with their neighbours and their families outside of structured school sport participation.

We are working hard to build more and better sporting facilities throughout Singapore. We will enhance access and also step up on having a greater variety of programming at these facilities. Our hope is that every Singaporean will have ample opportunity to enjoy, engage and excel in sports.

To Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap's questions on developing Singapore football, and I get this every year at every Committee of Supply, we launched Unleash the Roar! (UTR) in 2021 to develop a strong local pipeline of football talents.

This was intended to be and it is a long-term plan that we have put in place to grow the base of participation, to identify talented players from a young age and provide these talented players with rigorous training and structured opportunities to be coached well, to compete regularly and to have a clear pathway to the national team.

Let me elaborate on the next few steps that we have for our young talents.

Since 2021, we established 12 School Football Academies (SFAs), of which two, have dedicated programmes for girls. We will expand the number of SFAs and also increase the programme intake over the year.

These SFAs, together with the Singapore Sports School, the ActiveSG Football Academy as well as all private clubs and academies in Singapore, provide a broad base of participation for us to identify suitable talents. And this will be our foundational base.

We will put in place a national framework to systematically select and develop the best players from this broad base.

We will take the following steps. First, we will set up a national football development centre as the main training centre for all our national youth squads. Our best young footballers aged 13 to 17 will be drawn from all our available pipelines that I described earlier to these squads. This centre will be our primary pathway for selection to our national team. One central, cohesive path. Within this centre, players will be selected into core and also reserve teams, and we will review them periodically. Why? Because we do not want anyone to be too comfortable or too complacent and we want to ensure that throughout the squads, across the different age groups, there will be competitive tension.

These boys and girls will train and compete regularly as a team. We are looking at setting up a youth league that will give our players regular opportunities to be competing at high levels. They will also, from time to time, come together, to train as a squad, so that they can get to know each other, train and play together, and on occasion, also compete overseas for even further exposure.

These players will also be supported with a comprehensive suite of sport science, nutrition and sports medicine.

Second, I think Mr Faisal Manap and Mr Sharael Taha, raised these points on talent identification and scouting. They are important to us. We have a small population with a small base and we need to ensure that we have our eyes on all available talent all the time.

We will progressively roll out training on talent identification for coaches and strengthen our scouts' capabilities in identifying the best of our young footballers. We also want to tap on the experience of our ex-national players, our ex-national coaches, who already have an eye for talent, having taken part at the highest level of the game. We will invite them to be trained and to be part of our scouting network.

Third, on coaching. To ensure consistency in our training and development ecosystem, a common coaching syllabus is already being used, across all the SFAs and the national youth squads. More than 500 coaches and teachers have already been trained with this curriculum to date.

We will also introduce coaching licensing and renewal after coaches have acquired the necessary Continuing Coach Education hours. We will also find suitable opportunities for our coaches to learn from the best, to be immersed in the environment, so that they can have an experience of what it is like to be coaching at the highest levels.

For example, our partnership with Spanish LaLiga has allowed us to bring in experienced youth coaches from Spain to augment our local coaches, as well as provide overseas learning opportunities for them.

Last but certainly not least, we will launch the inaugural UTR scholarship later this year. Our best young footballers will be sent to overseas academies that offer good quality education alongside the best football training and competitive environment.

Sir, we know that receiving a good quality education is important for our young boys and girls. Therefore, through this stint, they will come back with academic qualifications that will allow them to continue future studies at the tertiary level in Singapore or overseas, even as they train and compete with the best amongst the overseas talents. We will start this programme later this year and we are considering a good academy in Europe to kick off this programme with.

At the same time, similar local scholarships will also be available for suitable footballers who choose to enrol in the Singapore Sports School. Through this, we hope to prepare them for future overseas scholarship programmes and opportunities, and also spur more footballers to be enrolled in a full-time programme for their football development. More details of the scholarship will be shared when ready.

For footballers with NS obligations, in other words, after they return, after they finish their stint, early enlistment is a possibility and one we have explored, quite successfully with several other footballers, for example, with Irfan Fandi. Eligible footballers can tap on existing support avenues to continue training and competing, whilst at the same time, fulfilling NS obligations.

Developing talent takes time and our focus is really on laying a strong foundation for long-term growth and learning. We are putting in place a systematic infrastructure to expand, to nurture and to develop this pool of young players at the base level, starting from when they are 13. The best will be identified and put into a national development centre, as I have outlined. They will play and compete and train regularly, both locally as well as overseas. Over time, this initiative will provide us with a steady pipeline of players to choose from. It will take time, and much as I know, all of us are invested in the outcome of Singapore football and I have heard the emotional, passionate speeches made by Members earlier. I would ask for our continued and all your continued support for this system to ensure that our younger players have a chance to progress and become the pool for future national team selection.

Sir, let me turn now to the management of community disputes. Many Members have spoken about this. The strength of our cohesive society, in my view, is not found only in what we have in common but also manifests in how we negotiate our differences and deal with conflicts that inevitably arise. Ms Joan Pereira, Miss Cheng Li Hui and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about enhancements to the Community Dispute Management Framework (CDMF).

An inter-agency workgroup, led by MCCY, together with MinLaw and the Ministry of National Development (MND), have been conducting a review of the CDMF. Senior Minister of State Sim Ann and I have already spoken about the enhancements in different areas relevant to MND and MinLaw's COS debates respectively.

To pull it all together, let me reiterate how we are enhancing this framework. First, we want to promote community norms as our first line of defence. I think Senior Minister of State Sim Ann made that very clear and I too, reiterated that when I spoke in my MinLaw capacity.

Clearer social norms encourage the self-management of behaviours. As Senior Minister of State Sim Ann said, Municipal Services Office (MSO) has been working with partners to promote community norms for noise management recommended by the Community Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise.

Second, we are looking at allowing dedicated personnel to leverage stronger laws and help these neighbours resolve their issues upstream. In other words, before it gets to the stage where it becomes intransigent or intractable, and they have to go to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) or other adjudicatory tribunals to resolve their differences. For instance, this team will be able to conduct investigations, or direct residents to attend mandatory mediation or to stop the actions that are causing the nuisance pending the mediation or the adjudication.

As Senior Minister of State Sim Ann shared last week, MSO will be piloting this with disputes arising from serious noise disturbances between neighbours. We will also explore consequences for recalcitrant offenders who fail to stop the actions as required.

Third, we will increase access to community mediation and mandate mediation for certain types of disputes between neighbours.

Let me explain why we start with noise and we also pilot this project with noise. In 2022, noise-related disputes made up about 65% of all neighbour-related disputes registered for mediation at MinLaw's Community Mediation Centre. This trend, by and large, has been consistently the case over the past few years. In other words, they form the bulk of all cases registered for mediation.

In many cases, clear expectations on acceptable community behaviours as well as a mutual appreciation of what the parties are facing would go a long way towards improving the situation. Hence, we want to encourage disputing neighbours to find an amicable, mediated settlement of their disputes as far as possible. To support mediation services, we will expand the pool of mediators as well as forward deploy them as far as possible, into the community so, it is not just all centralised at the CMC.

We will also be giving mediation settlement agreements more teeth and standing, to encourage greater compliance with the mediated outcomes.

Finally, we will also enhance the processes and the powers of the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT), as an avenue of last resort, to give affected residents faster and more effective relief. This we have to do, because with all these steps that we take, by the time a case ends up at the CDRT, there would have been numerous attempts at mediation, at reconciliation, and these probably represent the most intractable and intransigent of cases. We want an effective and efficient, speedy framework to deal with these problems. Those steps are what I had elaborated upon when I spoke at the MinLaw Commitee of Supply.

Sir, we have a comprehensive set of enhancements but they do not operate in silos, they work together to drive the right behaviour, and also actively facilitate the resolution of disputes at an early stage in a way that best preserves the relations between neighbours. Even strengthen the teeth on mediation and CDRT, and we mandate mediation, let me emphasise: even as we are looking at leveraging stronger laws, these should not be used as a first recourse.

We interact with our neighbours on a daily basis. Most of us want to live peacefully side by side with our neighbours. When disputes arise and intervention is needed, we encourage disputing neighbours to go through mediation as far as possible, allowing parties to talk to each other about the issues that vex them and through the assistance of trained and oftentimes, very effective mediators, find a common path. It helps to preserve, and in some cases, even mend and make better the relations between neighbours.

We will invite residents to share their views on this when we conduct the public consultation on the proposed CDMF enhancements later this year.

2.00 pm

Sir, our diversity, which I have spoken about, and many Members of this House have spoken about on various occasions, must be harnessed for the common good. We need the diverse strengths and talents from the community to tackle the challenges we face as a nation and build Singapore's future together.

Our youths play a crucial role in this regard. Youths today are well informed, more prepared, more ready and they want to engage with us to discuss policies.

Ms Tin Pei Ling spoke about engaging youths. MCCY and the National Youth Council (NYC) have continued to engage and partner with youths on national issues in different ways. Let me elaborate.

These include policy co-creation platforms such as the Youth Circles and programmes such as the Youth Action Challenge that supports them, not just in talking about these ideas or listening to the suggestions, but in working with them actively to turn their ideas into action.

From our ForwardSG engagements, we continue to see a very healthy, sustained youth interest in policy-making and want to create more opportunities to meet these aspirations.

So, MCCY and NYC, are exploring ways to create more policy space, and also work on how to institutionalise involvement of more youths in policy-making and elevate their proposals for consideration onto a national platform. We will share more details when this is ready.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked about our plans to expand our youth leadership programmes to provide younger student leaders the opportunity to engage on national issues and build strong networks. NYC and the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI), in partnership with MOE, piloted the inaugural Our Singapore Leadership Programme (OSLP) last year. This was a programme, as a pilot, for about 50 Secondary 4 students from MOE schools and madrasahs. It took place in December 2022. All the student leaders who participated in the inaugural OSLP came from different shools. In other words, we had about 53 students from 53 different schools.

"Leader" is defined broadly. Some were head of student councils; some were participants in their dance groups, and others, captains of their sports teams or members of the uniformed groups.

We brought them together. They came together to reflect on and discuss issues which confront Singapore. They talked about and grappled with trade-offs and the complexities of policy-designs; and they expanded their network of friends, people they can talk to, connections that they can make and forge new friendships.

We found this programme very successful, and we want to give more youths an opportunity to take part in this programme. From 2023, we will expand the programme to nominated Secondary 4 students from all MOE schools and madrasahs in Singapore.

For students from the institutes of higher learning, NYC will develop a new leadership programme. More details will be shared when ready.

Mr Xie Yao Quan has pointed out, and I agree with him, that there is value in having and promoting active citizenry, volunteerism and collaboration. And these traits must continue to underpin our society and our social compact.

Beyond youths, we are encouraging individuals and corporates to play an even more active role to come together, work for the social good, leverage on corporate purpose and uplift our communities.

We will therefore expand and deepen the capabilities of our SG Cares Volunteer Centres. We will resource them better, so that they in turn can support the various social service agencies that are under their watch and they are working with, so they can better channel volunteers and donations-in-kind to meet unmet needs.

We will also support businesses in their efforts to be a force for good for society as they design their business practices and operations in ways that benefit their employees, their stakeholders, and, of course, the wider community that they serve. Minister of State Alvin Tan will share more details when he speaks.

Mr Don Wee asked how our Self-help Groups (SHGs) are collaborating to enhance outcomes across ethnic communities. While the SHGs were set up to provide customised support for their respective ethnic communities, they also work together and strengthen mutual support across the different ethnic communities.

For example, the SHGs will launch a series of inter-SHG Youth Dialogues centring around themes emerging from the ongoing Forward Singapore exercise. This will happen in mid-2023. These dialogues will bring together young people from different backgrounds and different ethnicities and empower them to develop and lead ground-up solutions.

The SHGs will also create more opportunities for volunteers to interact, to serve with one another across the different SHGs. We do not have volunteers from an SHG that come from only a particular group that the SHG serves. It is open and we encourage all volunteers to come, from a broad spectrum of different ethnic groups to serve the broader spectrum of society through the SHGs.

These efforts by our SHGs embody the Singapore Together spirit – Singaporeans, diverse as we may be, stepping forward, working together and building a better nation.

Mr Chairman, to conclude, I have spoken about our various MCCY initiatives – and my colleagues that follow will elaborate on many of these and speak of various other measures as well.

But our principal focus is to deepen our roots and expand the reach of our arts and heritage. We do not do that just as an end in itself, but as a means to an end, to promote arts, culture and heritage, sporting participation and excellence, both at the community and at a professional level. We do this to foster neighbourliness, care and active citizenry, as part of the unique our Singaporean DNA.

These efforts speak to what it means to call Singapore our home. Our home is not just a physical space. It is also how we see ourselves, all of us, as connected and bound to others in Singapore through arts, heritage, culture, sports and religion.

It is about who we are as a people, our shared experiences, what we do to care for each other and look out for one another and the values we hold dear and live by.

These are the threads that bind us and hold our social compact together. These are the threads that run through each of us as Singaporeans.

Growing these aspects of Singapore is delicate work, but it is important and it requires the commitment of all of us, regardless of language, race, religion and social-economic background. On our part, MCCY will continue to work with all Singaporeans, join our strengths and inspire a collective action to build an enduring social compact where we stand and act as one united people, and we are proud to call Singapore our home. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Minister, I would like to extend my condolences. I know it is not easy after last night's development to talk about football. But you have been calm and uplifting. We very much appreciate that. Ms Hany Soh.

Arts and Heritage through Learn and Play

Ms Hany Soh: The Children's Museum Singapore, being the first ever Museum dedicated to children in Singapore was opened last year, aspiring to be a place of Wonder and joy for our little ones.

Last month, I joined 80 of our will Woodgrove residents and their children to visit the museum where we spent an enjoyable afternoon together partaking in activities, such as travelling back in time to the olden Singapore to experience life as our forefathers had and learning how various communities in Singapore celebrate birthdays.

Apart from Children's Museum, what other initiatives is MCCY looking into, to create additional opportunities for our young ones to understand our arts and heritage through play and learning experience.

Is MCCY working with MOE and PMO's Made for Families to explore more collaborations with a view to inspire more of our children to pursue arts as their passion, as well as deepen their knowledge of Singapore's tradition, traditional heritage and culture, and at the same time, encourage more family-bonding opportunities?

Sector Capability Building in Arts

Ms Tin Pei Ling: (In Mandarin) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Chairman, to promote local arts and culture, arts and cultural practitioners are indispensable. During the pandemic, they have faced severe challenges. Most of them are self-employed, without the support of an organisation. They would inevitably be hit hard by the economic downturn. In addition, technologies have been advancing fast. If we can better use technologies, we will be able to expand our reach and grasp new opportunities.

Hence, I would like to ask how the Government has helped arts and cultural practitioners continue to make a living or even make breakthroughs in the past year. How would the Government revitalise and develop the local arts and culture ecosystem, and empower our arts and cultural practitioners?

Art Spaces and Sector Capability Building

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: In addition to our plans to build a thriving arts and heritage sector in Singapore, there are essentially two ingredients that will go a long way to help achieve the objectives set out in the plans.

First, it is to ensure that there is adequate infrastructure or arts spaces which will not only add much vibrancy to the sector, but more importantly, support both our arts and heritage practitioners and create opportunities for Singaporeans to come together.

Sir, the Minister shared at last year's MCCY COS debate that one of the focus areas for the sector is to "develop vibrant and inclusive arts and culture spaces to keep up with the emerging trends and better meet practitioners' needs". The Minister gave the example of 45 Armenian Street. Minister of State Low Yen Ling also shared about the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark and the developing arts and culture sandboxes at Kampong Java.

Such art spaces are important as they are key enablers in the overall ecosystem and support a diverse set of multi-disciplinary practitioners in their respective areas of practice.

I therefore invite the Minister to share more about MCCY's plans to add, update and diversify our arts spaces in order to support the arts and heritage sector.

Next, investments in the arts and heritage sector's capabilities are crucial in developing a globally relevant and resilient ecosystem and workforce, which will drive our creative economy.

At the last MCCY COS debate, it was shared that there will be a strong drive towards digitalisation and the harnessing of digital technologies in order to create new opportunities for the sector. The Arts and Culture Digital Roadmap was launched early last year to support arts and culture stakeholders and practitioners in assessing their own digital readiness and learn of possible solutions and opportunities available to support their work.

Self-employed persons (SEPs) form a core segment of the talent in our arts and culture landscape. However, in order for them to thrive in and contribute to the sector, there is a need to ensure that they have adequate support in order to continually build on their skills and also improve their working conditions.

Minister of State Low Yen Ling announced at the COS debate last year that the National Arts Council (NAC) would increase opportunities for capacity development of SEPs, work with industry partners to better ensure protection and working conditions for SEPs and pilot new ways for SEPs to create new value in the arts sector and beyond.

I therefore invite the Minister to share MCCY's plans to build on the capabilities of our arts and heritage practitioners, as well as its efforts to strengthen the entire ecosystem; and further, to also share what kind of further assistance will be offered to SEPs to support employability and help them build a sustainable career in the arts.

The Chairman: Minister of State Low Yen Ling.

The Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth (Ms Low Yen Ling): Mr Chairman, our arts and heritage are central to our Singapore identity and bring us together as one people.

The resumption of various physical events and large-scale gatherings will allow MCCY to make further strides towards shaping a bold and resilient arts and culture sector. We seek to achieve this in close partnership with the arts community and fellow Singaporeans.

In the past year, I have engaged with our practitioners and fellow Singaporeans to hear and learn more about their aspirations for Singapore's arts and heritage scene. One of the common themes to emerge is the wish for an inclusive and forward-looking landscape where our arts and culture can continue to grow and flourish.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, Mr Xie Yao Quan, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas – they have all asked about our plans for the arts and heritage sector moving forward. Let me begin by sharing about the next iteration of Our SG Arts Plan and Our SG Heritage Plan.

2.15 pm

Our SG Arts Plan, which was first launched in year 2018, has since inspired Singaporeans from all walks of life, connected communities and reflected our unique Singapore identity to the rest of the world.

We launched the Sustain the Arts Fund, in short called stART, to encourage giving to small arts organisations. The fund has benefited 22 small art organisations just in the last financial year, including Reverberance, which is a Chinese wind-percussion ensemble that seeks to inspire the community through traditional arts. The stART Fund also supported Legend: The Beginnings (传说之 人之初), which brought the art of Chinese orchestra to our audiences by retelling Chinese folklore through an immersive experience that combines music with story narration and animation.

To grow our audiences, we supported and delivered a range of programmes like Arts in Your Neighbourhood and Silver Arts, which brought arts experience to neighbourhoods and older Singaporeans, as mentioned passionately by many Members earlier during their speeches.

We also launched initiatives like the Arts x Tech Lab in 2021. This has fostered, especially during COVID-19, vibrant collaboration between the arts and tech sectors for innovative experimentation, and also deepened the arts industry’s digital capabilities in art-making and presentation of arts.

Five years on, our arts master plan is being refreshed to respond to the challenges of a post-COVID-19 environment. We will better leverage technology and the use of data to catalyse new possibilities for our practitioners, for our arts organisations and fellow Singaporeans. We will widen our base of partners as MCCY works closely with the arts and culture sector to shape a bright and exciting arts and culture scene. Let me elaborate on what the updated master plan will seek to do.

Firstly, NAC will aim to develop a connected society through the arts. We envision the arts linking our society across all key aspects of our life. Mr Raj Joshua Thomas asked about our plans to develop spaces for communities to connect with one another. I want to assure him we will expand touchpoints for the arts by offering more arts activities in parks, in community and lifestyle spaces which are readily accessible. To complement this, NAC will support research efforts to grow evidence on the social impact of the arts.

Ms Hany Soh spoke about the importance of creating opportunities for our young to learn and pursue their passion for the arts, and we agree with her. NAC, National Heritage Board (NHB) and our cultural institutions currently offer a wide range of arts and heritage events and programmes for families with young children. These include National Gallery Singapore (NGS)'s Children's Biennale, NHB's Children's Season, as well as initiatives via NAC’s arts and culture nodes.

NAC's funding towards major art companies also supports outreach efforts to children, such as the Singapore Repertory Theatre's division called The Little Company.

We encourage parents to enrich their family life by supporting and by participating in all these initiatives. We will also deepen our collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) on the Museum-Based Learning and Arts Education Programme, to provide our students with hands-on experiences as they learn about Singapore's arts and heritage.

Secondly, we will further enhance access to the arts. We aim to develop Singapore into a distinctive city with accessible spaces and precincts for our people to enjoy the arts where they live, work and play.

To this end, NAC has embarked on a study to map out existing arts infrastructure in Singapore. This ongoing effort will bring Government agencies and private stakeholders together to grow vibrant precincts.

NAC, too, will aim to grow a flourishing and globally-connected creative economy for the arts, as mentioned by Minister Edwin Tong, through new business models, development pathways and internationalisation opportunities. It will also continue to support local arts practitioners so that they can reach international audiences and gain recognition overseas. I will elaborate on some of these initiatives later in my speech.

Mr Chairman, our Singapore heritage is a unique one that we are proud of. We will launch Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0 this year and build upon the progress we have achieved so far. Let me recap the key milestones.

Today, our Hawker Culture is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity. We have established The Stewards of ICH Awards to recognise excellent practitioners.

Besides three new community galleries, we also piloted the Street Corner Heritage Galleries in Balestier, Kampong Gelam, Little India and Chinatown. In recent years, the Padang, Fort Siloso and three Singapore River bridges were gazetted as National Monuments to preserve locations of significant history.

Looking ahead, I am happy to announce that our Heritage Plan for year 2023 to 2027 will focus on enhancing our Singapore legacy in four key areas – identity, community, industry and innovation.

Under identity, we will find new ways to reflect the many layers of our Singapore story and its connections with the rest of the world. Apart from efforts, in the area of archaeology, we will encourage content-based and object contributions from the public and offer more opportunities for Singaporeans to co-create exhibitions. In addition, we will expand the National Collection to cover the realm of design, as mentioned by Minister Edwin Tong.

Moving forward, NHB will work with other agencies, including Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and National Library Board (NLB), to collect works of contemporary Singaporean designers and architects and, potentially, from the region. We can all look forward to an upcoming exhibition on the works of Andrew Gn. He is one of Singapore's most prolific fashion designers – at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) later this year.

At the community level, we will work with Singaporeans from all walks of life to co-create more heritage touchpoints, like holding festivals and organising cultural programmes. In particular, we hope to have more youths join us, like volunteer Mr Ng Wee Liang, who helped to document heritage businesses as part of NHB’s Kampong Gelam Citizen Engagement Project.

To grow our heritage industry, we will share our rich Singapore story with a wider regional and global audience through a range of initiatives, like forming new platforms to showcase our traditional crafts and highlighting our culture and heritage overseas. We will also continue to strengthen the sustainability of our heritage sector through the ongoing Organisation Transformation Grant (OTG), which encourages heritage businesses to adopt innovative projects.

As part of Our SG Arts and Heritage Plans, we will continue to bring arts and heritage closer to fellow Singaporeans and in our everyday environment. We will work with citizens and agencies to introduce public artworks and co-develop heritage programmes.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and Mr Darryl David had asked about our plans to update our arts spaces to better support our practitioners. We remain committed to developing user-centric and inclusive arts spaces, particularly for emerging arts groups and practitioners.

Last year I shared about NAC and Singapore Land Authority (SLA)'s plans to refurbish and pilot arts and culture sandboxes at Kampong Java. After NAC's focus group discussions with key stakeholders, it was agreed that Kampong Java should be a sandbox and multidisciplinary venue for artists to experience and incubate works of different art forms. It should also remain an accessible and affordable space for artists. I am happy to share that renovations of the five double-storied units will start soon with the target for completion by year 2024 – that is, next year.

Let me now turn to innovation efforts to transform our heritage platforms and services.

The pandemic has spurred digital innovations which have brought new opportunities and wider audiences to the sector. As part of Our SG Arts and Heritage Plans, NAC and NHB will introduce various digital initiatives to transform the way we enjoy and learn about our arts and heritage.

Later this month, NAC will launch a beta version of a one-stop digital platform for audiences to discover, to share and to book arts and culture events. This platform will also help cultivate and deepen interest in the arts amongst Singaporeans. As a start, it will feature arts and culture events in the museums under NHB, the National Gallery Singapore and Esplanade, and offer users personalised recommendations. More features will be rolled out progressively over the year.

Further, we will work closely with our practitioners as well as private stakeholders to further drive the adoption of digital technologies and solutions across the arts and heritage sector. For example, NAC will work with UOB on the UOBNAC Acceleration Programme for the Arts, which seeks to help artists and organisations build on their business and financial competencies. NAC will continue to organise the next edition of "Arts Matters" this year, which aims to facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-sector learning with technology and commercial partners, such as Branded.

As technology continues to permeate our lives and artistic expressions, the rise of the metaverse will open up new doors of opportunities for our arts and culture sector. I am glad to announce that NAC will establish the Alliance for Action for Project Arts Metaverse this year to partner and co-create digital solutions with our stakeholders for this new world of possibilities. NAC will leverage the Metaverse to showcase Singapore as a distinctive city for the arts. As more opportunities in the metaverse are unlocked, there is new potential for audience development, for monetisation and for the growth of innovative technologies for the arts.

In addition, NHB will partner the private sector to explore the development of new digital strategies for the heritage sector. This will include ways to digitally preserve and document our heritage assets, and how to augment visitor experiences at the museums through Virtual Reality experiences, 3D displays and artificial intelligence. We are looking forward to harnessing technology to create new experiences and enhance our appreciation of arts and culture.

Apart from leveraging new platforms, MCCY will deepen investments in our people. I agree with Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Sitoh Yih Pin that we must develop the capabilities of our workforce and the resources needed for a thriving creative economy. Allow me to quickly outline our strategy.

Firstly, we will not let up on our efforts to professionalise the arts sector and support the growth and development of our practitioners in their career pathways. Since last year, NAC has been working closely with the sector on the competencies needed for the arts practitioners to grow in their career. I am glad to share that NAC is developing Competency Frameworks to help practitioners hone their skills, starting with one for those in arts education, technical theatre and production. This framework, which will be launched later this year, will be accompanied by roadshows to guide practitioners on the recommended skillsets.

NAC will also be collaborating with our Institutes of Higher Learning and continuing education and training centres to strengthen career pathways in the arts and culture sector. This includes embedding digital skills as part of the students’ Pre-Employment Training (PET), and curating resources to support the organisational processes and transformation of our arts groups.

Secondly, we will boost our support for arts SEPs, many of whom were affected by the pandemic. The Arts Resource Hub (ARH), which was formed in 2019 to support the SEP community, has since gained over 2,500 subscribers and held close to 76 talks and workshops. It currently oversees three co-working and performance spaces.

NAC is currently reviewing the ARH to better support the needs of SEPs. It will embark on a series of deep dive sessions with various arts SEPs to gain insights and their feedback on the development of the ARH and aim to enhance the hub progressively this year. This follows my meeting last month with a group of more than 30 arts SEPs during which we discussed how we can better support them and co-create solutions together.

Chairman, I would like to extend my gratitude to every one who came forward to share their hopes for our arts and culture.

Together, we have carved a vision of an inclusive, accessible and vibrant arts and heritage sector that will anchor and inspire Singaporeans for years to come. MCCY is committed to partner our practitioners and Singaporeans to realise this collective vision for a distinctive, connected and creative Singapore.

The Chairman: Mr Baey Yam Keng.

Refreshing our Youth Spaces

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Sir, the plan to develop Somerset Belt was first announced in May 2020. It aims to be a vibrant youth precinct to build youth identity and to support their aspirations. I had the privilege to co-lead the Somerset Belt Working Panel and the team worked with various stakeholders and held many engagement sessions to put up a Somerset Belt Masterplan in 2020. I, and I am sure that other Singapore youth as well, will be very interested to hear from the Ministry on what are the upcoming developments of Somerset Belt and the programmes that we can look forward to.

2.30 pm

The Chairman: Xie Yao Quan, you can take both cuts together. Not here. Ms Hany Soh.

Ms Hany Soh: Mr Chairman, he is back.

The Chairman: You can proceed. I will call him again.

Racial and Religious Harmony Circles

Ms Hany Soh: Okay. During the COVID-19 period, we saw many religious organisations come together and partnering with the local community with a common purpose of serve the helpless and the vulnerable in the neighbourhood.

Post-COVID, this community spirit continues to strengthen. Take, for example, the Church of St Anthony (CSA) in Woodgrove. For the past two years, CSA has been partnering with Woodgrove Division through the People's Association (PA) to organise Harvest of Love events at least twice a year where the parishers and our grassroots volunteers would distribute care packs to low-income residents. Recently, the Harvest of Love initiative took place within the Church where low-income families of all races and religions were invited to have lunch at the Church with choir performances and presented with festive rations, care packs thereafter.

Since the Racial and Religious Harmony was renamed in 2022, with the vision to create networks of trust that unite people regardless of race or religion, what has been the progress thus far in establishing cooperation, harmony, respect and trust in the community? What role can the Harmony Circle play to encourage more of such ground-up initiatives —

The Chairman: You can wrap up, please.

Ms Hany Soh: — within each local Division across Singapore.

The Chairman: Mr Xie Yao Quan, both cuts.

Outward Bound School

Mr Xie Yao Quan: Apologies, Chairman. Chairman, Outward Bound School (OBS) has been a significant and memorable experience for many Singaporeans growing up. It teaches great resilience and courage to step out of one's comfort zone and it brings students from different schools together. I am glad that OBS programmes have resumed, post-COVID-19. Can the Ministry share its plans for OBS programming, going forward, as well as plans for the new OBS campus on Coney Island?

Harmony Circles

Sir, MCCY has refreshed the Inter-racial and Religious Confidence Circles or IRCCs for short, into Racial and Religious Harmony Circles to strengthen racial and religious harmony in every community. Can the Ministry provide an update on its progress and share its plans for how many circles in the year ahead?

The Chairman: Miss Cheng Li Hui, you can take both cuts together, please.

Harmony Circle

Miss Cheng Li Hui: Thank you. Chairman, Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious society. Our unity in such diversity is something we have worked hard to achieve and have been working hard to improve. Racial and religious harmony is the lynchpin of our vibrant and rich Singapore culture.

Last year, MCCY announced that that the IRCC would be renamed as the Racial and Religious Harmony Circles. The new Harmony Circles will serve as a platform to promote racial and religious harmony here, with presence in every Constituency. Can MCCY provide an update on its plans for the Harmony Circles and how it would ensure that it would be able to expand its outreach to reach more communities?

Mental Health Network

Mental health conditions at times manifest themselves less than physical ones. For this reason, they are harder to detect and can be difficult to treat. Mental health patients have traditionally also suffered more stigma.

While we have seen increasing support for mental health, we should also strive towards its equability. We have all known, seen or heard of people hard labouring under mental health conditions. However, there perhaps remains some whose conditions are not known to themselves or others.

Chairman, no one should ever have to suffer alone. Can MCCY share what initiatives there have been and will be rolled out the SG Mental Well-Being Network?

Support SG Well-being – Company of Good

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mr Chairman, the Budget has provided assurance, especially to lower-income Singaporeans who are already living close to the edge of their financial capabilities.

While we ensure that Singaporeans' physical well-being is taken care of, we must not neglect their mental well-being. As physical and mental health are intertwined, there can still be targeted support measures and platforms to prioritise mental well-being.

As such, there are three questions I would like to raise to MCCY.

First, the launch of SG Mental Well-Being Network in July 2022 is a testament of ongoing efforts in increasing mental health literacy, awareness and serves as a platform for others seeking appropriate resources. Could MCCY provide an update on the progress of the SG Mental Well-Being Network? On the focus of community and peer support, what are the programmes that have been consistently run to cater to the needs of the community?

Second, in the recent update of National Voluntary and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)'s framework with an emphasis now on corporate purpose instead of corporate giving, what are MCCY's priorities and resourcing of this programme? Also, with greater complexity in our business environment today, there is an impetus for companies to contribute more actively in doing good and this begins with the employees. Is well-being of employees a key developmental factor in a Company of Good programme?

Lastly, EnterpriseSG Scale-up SG scheme has been promising in supporting local companies with high-growth potential. As these companies grow, is NVPC also working closely with EnterpriseSG to help ensure that the Scale-up SG scheme does not only assist companies in profit-making potential but also their triple "P" bottom line?

Encouraging Businesses to Give Back

Mr Mark Chay: Mr Chairman, as a business owner and entrepreneur, I believe in giving back to the community.

In many sport-forward countries, businesses adopt sports organisations or teams. In return, the companies increase their brand awareness and get access to athletes and coaches for their organisation and staff development.

The Business and Institution of a Public Character Partnership Scheme (BIPS) was introduced in 2016 to encourage tax deductions on qualifying expenditures for businesses that give back through volunteerism and service provision. Therefore, I request that MCCY provide information on how it motivates enterprises to participate in charitable causes, such as volunteering or donating to our community and charities.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: Sir, can I take my two cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Extension of Business and IPC Partnership Scheme

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: Caring for our vulnerable is a whole-of-society effort and I am encouraged to see many corporates do their part in this area. In 2016, BIPS was introduced to further encourage employee volunteerism and to foster a culture where businesses and employees support social needs and build a caring and cohesive society.

Majority of the towkays and SMEs I speak with, are unfamiliar with the programme, even though they have extensive corporate responsibility programmes. In addition, those who know of the programme, shared that the application process can be tedious, causing both the SSA and the company to give up on the application halfway. Another towkay shared that given the manpower crunch faced by many SMEs now, volunteering time could be something that is challenging.

Can the Ministry provide an update on how the BIPS uptake has been and how the Ministry may promote and share the programme better. Can the scheme also be expanded to include other forms of support that a corporation can make?

Alliance for Action on Corporate Purpose for Business

The Alliance for Action (Afa) on Corporate Purpose rallies Singapore's business leaders and corporations to combine their resources and to serve community needs and realise our vision of a caring and inclusive society.

The corporate sector is a critical force for good. It can uplift the communities that they operate in, protect employee well-being, promote ethical supplier partnerships and ensure environmental sustainability. For example, in Punggol, our local supermarkets sell at cost, organic vegetables from our volunteer farms, work with the NTUC on fair workplaces practices, promote plastic recycling with our cleaning vendors and contribute essentials to our vulnerable families.

Indeed, we need more purpose-driven businesses in our communities. They can anchor much goodness in our neighbourhoods. I ask the Ministry to give an update to the Afa. What are the Ministry's plans to encourage the growth of purpose driven business entities and how will the Ministry support our businesses to better give back to the communities they serve?

The Chairman: Minister of State Mr Alvin Tan.

The Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Alvin Tan): Chairman, we are building ecosystems for impact together with our community, our corporates and our youths. Please let me start with mental health and mental well-being.

We launched our Singapore (SG) Mental Well-being Network in July, to destigmatise, raise awareness of and drive partnerships on mental health and mental well-being. It is doing so in the following ways.

First, it is helping remove the stigma for individuals to seek help. Last year, some members of this House and I shared our past struggles in a YouTube video called "99 Singaporeans sharing their darkest moments". This was one of the Network's contributions to a series of initiatives for World Mental Health Day 2022, which aimed to rally people to build a caring society for everyone, particularly those who are struggling.

Second, the Network has started regular Partners' Networking Sessions to share ideas and aspirations.

Third, the Network is working with our Health Promotion Board (HPB) and National Youth Council (NYC) to fund and mentor 20 youth teams to tackle mental health issues in Season 4 of our NYC's Youth Action Challenge.

Fourth, the Network has set up six Mental Well-being Circles across Singapore. These Circles strengthen community and peer support by equipping volunteers with the skills to care for themselves and also for others.

Last week, I met Mr Kenny Sng, who is leading efforts to ensure grassroot volunteers can recognise and support those with mental health conditions in Bukit Batok East. He shared that his Well-being Circle is a key platform for his volunteers and leaders to collaborate with partners, such as the Singapore Anglican Community Services, Club Heal and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).

Over the next year, Kenny, along with 400 other trained volunteers and around 30 partners from other Mental Well-Being Circles, will continue to serve their communities. We will learn from these Circles and then scale up our efforts in other locations.

Similarly, our Racial and Religious Harmony Circles, previously known as IRCCs, have strengthened ties and built trust among our ethnic and religious communities.

Miss Cheng Li Hui, Ms Hany Soh and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about the progress and plans of our Harmony Circles.

We are just getting started. A key part of our refresh is to help Harmony Circles digitalise and diversify their composition, so they continue to be relevant and effective at fostering harmony within our communities and we have a few encouraging examples.

Encik Fazlur Rahman leads Kembangan-Chai Chee's Harmony Circle. He was actively involved in our IRCC Refresh Workgroup last year and he is working to make his Harmony Circle more digital and more diverse.

Eunos Harmony Circle leaders, Nazath Faheema and Benjamin Tan, are recruiting youths and equipping digital skills into their Harmony Circle. They recently used social media to urge their communities and the public to stay united following reports that several youths had been radicalised online. We hope more Harmony Circles will follow in their footsteps.

Next month, more youths, females and representatives from other religious and community organisations will start their new term as Harmony Circle leaders. They will receive training on mediation, interfaith and digital media. If you are a religious organisation or an individual passionate about interfaith and inter-racial work, please join our Harmony Circles.

We will also dedicate July as our Racial and Religious Harmony Month from this year. Apart from celebrating Racial Harmony Day on 21 July, our Harmony Circles and other community partners will organise activities throughout July to celebrate and promote racial and religious harmony.

Community initiatives, like our Mental Well-Being and Harmony Circles, need volunteers and coordination. Mr Mark Chay, Ms Joan Pereira, Mr Mohamad Fahmi and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked how our SG Cares movement can make volunteering more sustainable and effective.

SG Cares Volunteer Centres coordinate efforts to channel volunteers and donations-in-kind to unmet local needs. In the past year, the total number of volunteers and beneficiaries grew by 67% and 50% respectively. This means our Volunteer Centres have engaged 45,000 volunteers and served 340,000 beneficiaries in the past year.

We are working with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to strengthen our Volunteer Centres, to help them better equip their community partners with capabilities in volunteer management, training, partnerships, digitalisation and communications.

We are also encouraging more professionals to contribute their skills and expertise, by engaging SG Cares National Intermediaries, across the legal, accounting, engineering and chartered secretaries sectors.

Individuals, schools, and corporates who wish to volunteer your time and talents, please find out more at nearest Volunteer Centre on our SG Cares website.

Just as our communities are coming together for impact, our corporates are also stepping up. Corporate volunteering is on the rise. The median percentage of employee volunteering has increased from 25% in 2017 to 50% in 2021. Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked about the take-up and plans of the Corporate Volunteer Scheme. From 2016 to 2021, businesses made 164 claims and took up about 4,700 volunteering opportunities under this scheme.

2.45 pm

When I met Q&M Dental CEO Dr Ng Chin Siau two weeks ago, he shared how his Cares Committee has launched multiple community projects, including working closely with People’s Association to set up free dental clinics for the underprivileged. And he plans to do more.

Mr Edward Chia, Mr Mark Chay, Mr Xie Yao Quan and Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked how we are encouraging more businesses to get involved. This January, National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) and the Singapore Business Federation Foundation launched the Corporate Purpose Framework and Blueprint.

This blueprint serves as a common guide for businesses to implement and track their progress in becoming a force for good in society. Thus far, 47 organisations have committed to our blueprint. In line with this blueprint, NVPC has also refreshed its Company of Good programme for companies. Mr Edward Chia will be pleased to know that the programme will include aspects of employee well-being and that we are exploring how more businesses can adopt our blueprint’s goals with partners such as Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation.

We have also enhanced the Corporate Volunteer Scheme, including expanding the scope of the scheme's qualifying volunteering activities. We hope that this improves adoption of the scheme and strengthens partnerships between corporates and Institutions of a Public Character.

Businesses can also contribute through mentoring. Last December, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and I launched the Mentoring SG movement, which builds upon our Mentoring Alliance for Action (AfA). Mentoring SG has gathered more than 1,000 mentors and 13 corporate partners, like Micron and DBS, to create over 4,000 mentoring opportunities.

We are setting up the Mentoring SG Office to drive this work by growing expertise, resources, and mentoring opportunities at the national level. If you are a company leader, you can one, offer job tasters through the National Youth Council; encourage your employees to sign up as mentors on mentoringsg.com, and partner our Mentoring SG Office to contribute to our mentoring community, offer your venue spaces, amplification channels, and also other expertise. Chairman, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] As the saying goes, what is taken from the community is given back to the society. While pursuing business interests, businesses should also proactively undertake social responsibility to co-create a harmonious sustainable society.

Businesses can benefit from adopting more purpose-driven models and establishing the culture of mentoring.

For example, more consumers are choosing to support businesses that generate value for the wider community, including their suppliers and workers. Staff, on the other hand, become more motivated, productive and stay longer with their companies when they know that their company is making an impact on society and investing in their growth. This is especially when senior staff care and look out for their younger colleagues as part of the company's mentoring culture.

We recognise that it is not always easy to shift existing business practices. But we have seen how many different businesses have risen to the occasion to become purpose-driven and contribute back to society.

More importantly, businesses do not have to do it alone. We encourage more companies, including SMEs, to convene, to discuss how to contribute more, collaborate with the Mentoring SG Office or work with the trade and clan associations in developing your initiatives.

(In English): In addition to efforts by our community and corporates, our youths are also playing their part. Please let me elaborate how we are helping them to do so, in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Throughout the pandemic, our youths were confined to their homes during key life stages such as their schooling years, or when they first joined the workforce. It also caused many to lose opportunities to gather in person and experience the outdoors.

As such, we will renew our urban and natural spaces such as Somerset Belt and OBS@Coney to provide youths with more opportunities to gain important experiences, grow their networks and take on leadership roles.

This also complements our youth leadership programmes organised by NYC, such as the Our Singapore Leadership Programme which has been expanded to include younger youth leaders from MOE schools and Madrasahs, that Minister Edwin Tong spoke about.

(In English): Our youths need space and programmes to do their thing. At last year's COS, I shared how we have been gathering ideas from youths to transform our Somerset Belt to support their ground-up initiatives.

Through our Realise Your Somerset Project (RYSP), we have supported 24 projects and reached out to more than 18,000 youths across different causes in 2022. Recently, I caught up with Arthur Choo, whose RYSP project, Green Arena, promotes sustainable arts by building drums with repurposed materials. Green Arena has held virtual sessions and physical art installations and workshops at the Somerset Belt. Participants from Season 1 of the RYSP also returned as facilitators and co-creators at the workshops, sharing their experiences with latter cohorts.

Mr Baey Yam Keng asked for an update on the physical development of our Somerset Belt. This year, our youths will take greater ownership of the precinct and get to decide how it would look like, operate and also develop future programmes. Youths keen to shape this space and programmes, at our Somerset Belt can check out our Youth Action Plan website for more details soon.

Moving beyond urban spaces, we are also creating opportunities for our youths to experience the outdoors together again.

Many of us have been through an Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) programme many, many years ago. These outdoor adventure education, OAE programmes, build confidence and resilience. It also brings people of diverse backgrounds together, forging friendships while overcoming challenging outdoor activities.

Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about our plans for OBS. We have resumed the five-day residential format of the MOE-OBS Challenge (MOC) programme for Secondary 3 students since January this year.

Last month, I visited our OBS campus and joined students from Dunearn Secondary School, School of the Arts and Westwood Secondary School in their land and sea activities. The students were tanned, sunburned, exhausted but had great attitude! They enjoyed making new friends and overcoming challenges together as a team.

We expect current construction works for our new OBS campus on Coney Island to be completed by 2024. This new eco-friendly campus will provide enhanced outdoor activities for our youths, particularly through the MOC programme, which aims to serve our entire cohort of 40,000 Secondary 3 students annually.

As we resume OAE for our youths in their formative years, these spaces must provide a safe and enabling environment. That is why we set up the Outdoor Adventure Education Council in September. This Council will strengthen our OAE sector and support the development of safe outdoor activities.

Since its inception, the Council has started work in three key areas: Standards and Certification, Professional Development, and Safety and Compliance. This year, it will start developing a national OAE standards and certification scheme. It will also institute a risk assessment and management system to strengthen safety culture across the sector.

Mr Chairman, during my recent visit to OBS, I climbed the 20 meter Inverse Tower. It is taller than the 20 meters suggests. While I appeared confident on the outside, in fact, I was, very nervous! Fortunately, I had two impressive youths. My climbing buddy and belayers, Xara and Nadia. Their support and encouragement enabled me to climb the tower.

Leaving Pulau Ubin inspired by our youths, I hope our community partners and purpose-driven businesses will also inspire our youths to become community and corporate leaders and make their mark in our renewed youth spaces. Like how Xara, Nadia and I conquered the Inverse Tower as a team, I believe that when different groups of our society join our unique strengths together, we can play our part to move Singapore forward, and upward together.

The Chairman: Mr Mark Chay, you can take your four cuts together.

Onward to Paris 2024

Mr Mark Chay: Singapore is gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, but what plans has MCCY made to ensure that our athletes are well-prepared for qualifying events or other events such as the Southeast Asian Games, ASEAN Para Games, Asian Games and Asian Para Games this year?

Additionally, mental health and resilience are essential factors in success in sports. What provisions have been made to ensure that aspiring national athletes have been given adequate emotional and psychological support?

Lastly, we must recognise the critical role of National Sports Associations and Sports Scientists in continuing to nurture future generations of Olympic hopefuls. What resources is MCCY providing to these groups to allow them to do their best work?

TeamSG Gives Back

It cannot be gainsaid that sports can bring about positive change. It unites, empowers and motivate us. The Olympic spirit has long been associated with camaraderie, excellence and altruism. And many athletes have used their privilege and status as a platform for lasting social change.

Our athletes strive to be the best on the field, on the court, in the pool, and use their platforms to do good in society.

Last year at the COS, TeamSG Cares was unveiled – a project which allows present and former athletes to give back to those in need or start charitable initiatives for causes close to their hearts. I would like to ask MCCY for an assessment of how successful this initiative has been and what further initiatives MCCY is taking to promote philanthropy within our sports culture.

Disability Sports Masterplan

Accessing sports facilities is vital in advancing the health and well-being of society and providing an avenue for social interaction through team sports. Therefore, I am requesting MCCY to give updates on how PwDs and the elderly feature in considerations pertaining to the construction of new sports centres and plans to restore existing ones. I am also asking MCCY to share how coaches and trainers can be better prepared to coach individuals with disabilities.

Singapore Sports Hall of Fame

The Singapore Sports Hall of Fame was set up to recognise and honour outstanding sports personalities who have succeeded in their respective disciplines. These sports icons are celebrated for their dedication, determination and passion for excelling and reaching the pinnacle of competitive sports. In addition, they serve as beacons of inspiration for current and future generations of athletes in Singapore.

Many Hall of Famers reached the pinnacle of sports with scarce resources. Today, our athletes are better funded and resourced, and the expectations have shifted. It may be time to consider a revision of admission criteria. In addition, Singapore has also produced its fair share of sports administrators and world-class coaches and judges who have contributed globally. Would MCCY consider including coaches and administrators in the Hall of Fame? Can MCCY share its plans for the Sports Hall of Fame and how it intends to activate its inductees?

In conclusion, I would like to thank MCCY, its statutory boards and agencies for inspiring Singaporeans through the arts and sports, building a confident and resilient society and making Singapore the best home for everyone.

The Chairman: Mr Darryl David. Take both cuts together.

Sports Hall of Fame

Mr Darryl David: Thank you, Mr Chairman. The Singapore Sports Hall of Fame was set up in 1985 with 24 inductees to honour our top sportsmen and sportswomen. The first Hall of Fame ceremony was held in 1999, and by 2003, 50 athletes have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A review of the induction criteria was conducted in 2003 and a critical change was made – except for Olympics and Paralympics medallists, all other athletes must have served another eight years in any sporting capacity on a national level from the time of them winning a qualifying medal to the time of their induction.

The change in induction criterion resulted in a 12-year gap between the last inductee in 2003 and the next inductee in 2015. To date, based on the data provided by teamsingapore.sg, there are 57 inductees in the Singapore Sports Hall of Fame.

While one could argue that a Hall of Fame inductee must be an exemplary individual, who has not only demonstrated outstanding sporting performance but also a track record of service, imposing eight years is somewhat arbitrary and rather excessive. With this criterion, an outstanding athlete, who for whatever reason, is unable to complete eight years of service will not be given the recognition he or she deserves in the Hall of Fame. Not being able to complete the mandatory eight years of service does not reduce the fact that the athlete has contributed to the local sporting scene, or the international sporting scene, for that matter.

Would MCCY consider a review of the induction criteria given that the last review was almost 20 years ago?

3.00 pm

Greater Inclusivity through Sport

Access to sports for Persons with Disability (PwDs) has always been an important feature in Singapore. Back in 1973, several Ministries and eight other organisations came together to jointly found the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) to encourage PwDs to take up sports as a form of rehabilitative therapy and as a means to realise their potential. Since then, various initiatives have been implemented to further encourage PwDs’ access to sports and to encourage PwDs to take up sports at a competitive level.

In 2016, in conjunction with Enabling Masterplan 2, the Disability Sports Masterplan (DSMP) was launched by the Committee of Disability Sports to promote an inclusive society through sports. The DSMP had three thrusts: (a) to expand access and opportunities for participation; (b) to develop organisational and professional capabilities and (c) to build awareness and strengthen affinity. Each of these thrusts, in turn, has specific recommendations that underpin them.

It has been some years since DSMP has been introduced. Can MCCY share with us the progress of these initiatives under these thrusts and the take-up rate of the various programmes? What are MCCY’s plans to further these initiatives? Are there gaps that exist in the current programmes and how does the Ministry intend to plug these gaps?

Finally, one of the sub-committees of the Committee of Disability Sports is chaired by Ministry of Education (MOE). The sub-committee’s mandate is to explore how to increase participation opportunities in sports amongst students with disabilities in mainstream schools and in special education (SPED) schools. Can MCCY share perhaps how it has been working with MOE to integrate these programmes into schools, especially mainstream schools, when the needs of students are more diverse?

Miss Cheng Li Hui: Chairman, in 2016, the Disability Sports Master Plan (DSMP) was launched to further improve Persons with Disabilities' access to sports. PwDs deserve the same level of access to the sports that they wish to pursue as non-PwDs. This is regardless of whether the objective is for leisure or to compete at national, regional or international level. What is MCCY doing to support and provide more opportunities for aspiring para-athletes, especially for those who wish to pursue sports at a competitive level?

Can MCCY also elaborate on its strategies to provide more inclusive opportunities through sports in the next phase of the Master Plan?

The Chairman: Mr Xie Yao Quan, you can take both cuts together.

Inclusive Sports

Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong): Thank you, Chairman. Chairman, we must work at keeping our sports landscape ever more inclusive. Can the Ministry provide an update on its progress and plans for disability sports as part of the Enabling Master Plan 3.0, both in terms of the uptake and participation in community sports by Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) as well as the growth of and support for high-performance disability sports?

Sports and Fitness Professionals

Sir, sports and fitness professionals, including coaches, instructors and personal trainers, are a vital part of our community sports and fitness ecosystem in Singapore and will play an even more significant role under the Healthier SG movement. What are the Ministry's plans to help these professionals refresh and update their skills and build new capabilities?

The Chairman: Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Eric Chua): Sir, sports help us unwind and stay healthy. It helps us keep fit physically and mentally and encourages social interactions. This is why sport should continue to be a part of our Singaporean way of life.

Ms Hany Soh, Mr Xie Yao Quan and Mr Mark Chay asked about sports facilities that will be constructed and upgraded, as well as plans to make these facilities accessible to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and seniors.

Easy access to sporting facilities will help us adopt sports as our way of life and we have been pursuing this through the Sports Facilities Master Plan (SFMP). The master plan is a multi-year effort to refresh infrastructure, increase residents’ accessibility to sports facilities and encourage social mixing.

We will ensure that our rejuvenated and new facilities cater to seniors and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). To date, SportSG has retrofitted swimming pools in six ActiveSG centres with ramps for wheelchairs and has set up eight inclusive ActiveSG gyms. We are on track to make all 27 gyms inclusive by 2026.

Through SFMP, residents in Jurong will have greater access to sporting facilities when the ActiveSG Sport Village @ Jurong Town opens in the first half of 2023. Residents in Sembawang and Punggol East will also enjoy Sport-in-Precinct (SIP) facilities, with further projects expected to open in Nee Soon Central, Woodlands and Gek Poh in the coming months.

The rejuvenation works at Delta and Choa Chu Kang Sport Centres are also in their final stages. Both centres are due to open in the first half of this year. We will also bring more integrated sport and community hubs to residents. One such example launched last year is Bukit Canberra, which will feature facilities, such as an indoor sports hall, swimming pools, gym, fitness studios, a hawker centre and a polyclinic.

We also launched the roadshow for the Toa Payoh Integrated Development last month. This would be an exciting lifestyle destination comprising event spaces, sporting facilities, such as a gymnasium, badminton courts, a revamped swimming complex as well as a new library. These will be ready by 2030.

Sport Singapore has also been working closely with MOE to expand the Dual-Use Scheme (DUS) to provide Singaporeans with convenient access to schools’ sports facilities. To date, these include around 230 school fields and indoor sports halls.

Mr Xie Yao Quan asked what the Ministry’s plans are to help exercise professionals refresh and update their skills. Indeed, certified exercise professionals with relevant accreditations play an important role, especially as more Singaporeans adopt sport as a way of life. To help professionalise the sector, we will launch the National Registry of Exercise Professionals (NREP) in three phases.

From April this year to March next year, we will support our exercise professionals to upskill by providing free membership to the National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA). This provides them with access to training support and grants, amongst other benefits.

To register, exercise professionals need to produce the following: (a) Standard First Aid with AED and CPR certification; (b) code of ethics acknowledgment; and (c) relevant fitness or exercise accreditations, such as personal trainer, yoga, zumba or general ones like group fitness instructors.

From April next year, Government agencies which hire a sizeable number of exercise professionals, including Sport Singapore (SportSG), People’s Association (PA), Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), will only hire exercise professionals registered under NREP. This will ensure a certain level and consistency of qualifications amongst all exercise professionals who conduct programmes that are run by Government agencies for the public.

A later phase will see NREP strengthening the accreditation framework. Further details of the requirement for a Basic Exercise Science certification and continuous education framework will be released by SportSG in due course. Through NREP, we hope that exercise professionals will be equipped with the relevant accreditations to raise the overall quality and safety standards of the fitness industry.

Sir, sport ignites national pride. Mr Mark Chay asked about our plans to ensure that our athletes are well-supported in 2023; a packed year where our athletes will represent Singapore at the Cambodia 2023 SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games, as well as the deferred Hangzhou 2022 Asian and Asian Para Games. Behind the scenes, our preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 are also in full swing.

Grooming a champion is a multi-year effort and journey that requires holistic support as the athlete progresses. We work closely with the National Sports Associations (NSAs) and design this support on a multi-year basis so that we can continually identify, develop youths and prepare a pipeline of athletes who can excel at the major Games.

With this in mind, we will send around 570 athletes to the 2023 SEA Games. For many sports, we are sending more athletes than in previous overseas SEA Games. This speaks to our aspirations to provide more opportunities to our athletes, especially our young ones, to achieve their full potential.

A lot is asked of our athletes. In terms of psychological support, Singapore Sport Institute (SSI) and National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) proactively monitor our athletes’ mental health. Ahead of major competitions, dedicated teams of sport psychologists and Athlete Life personnel provide one-on-one consults and impart skills to athletes so that they can cope with the mental and emotional issues that they may face. I call upon all Singaporeans to rally together and give TeamSG athletes our fullest support.

Today’s sporting heroes are often legends of tomorrow. Mr Darryl David and Mr Mark Chay asked whether MCCY intends to review the criteria for athletes to be inducted into the Singapore Sports Hall of Fame and whether MCCY would consider the inclusion of coaches and administrators.

Chairman, the Singapore Sport Hall of Fame was set up in 1985 to honour our top sportsmen and sportswomen, instill a sense of pride among Singaporeans and inspire our budding athletes to emulate the outstanding performances of its inductees.

However, it is not only strong medal performances that we wish to recognise. First, several of our top athletes make sustained contributions to their sport and the community after they retire from active competition. We appreciate and recognise these contributions on top of their achievements as active athletes.

Second, the success of our athletes and the overall development of Singapore sports owe much also to the contributions of sports administrators, coaches and scientists, amongst others. To honour such individuals who have made extraordinary contributions over a significant period of time, we will include a new category for Sport Leaders in the Singapore Sport Hall of Fame. And to elevate the Singapore Sport Hall of Fame as the sporting-equivalent of our Cultural Medallion, I am also pleased to announce that our President will give out the awards starting from this year.

Finally, Chairman, sport can be a force for good. As Singapore evolves to be an even more inclusive society, sport must continue to play a key role in our community and our way of life.

Mr Mark Chay asked how MCCY promotes philanthropy within our sports culture, including through TeamSG Cares that was set up in April last year. Through TeamSG Cares, former and present athletes can participate in various giving initiatives or start their own charity or social pursuit for causes close to their hearts.

Since the launch of TeamSG Cares, our athletes have been involved in weekly initiatives. These include sport clinics, such as boxing, bowling and football, weekly food distribution activities, school engagements, talks to underprivileged youths and fund-raising activities for the President’s Challenge.

SportSG’s SportCares initiative also uplifts underserved and underprivileged communities, and I would now like to share how the programme has helped this young man, Abdul Thaslim.

Thaslim is the eldest of three siblings. His parents are both blue-collar workers and he has a younger sister with disabilities. Thaslim started out in SportCares in 2013 with the Saturday Night Lights football programme and later moved to the SportCares’ CareRunners Programme when he discovered his passion for running.

Growing up, finances often weighed on Thaslim’s family. At one point, Thaslim even contemplated discontinuing his studies so that he can help support the family financially. With encouragement from his mentors in the SportCares programme, Thaslim pressed on. He, subsequently, enrolled into the Youth Coaching Development Programme to fulfil his aspirations of becoming a coach. Inspired by those who had modelled the values of volunteering to him, Thaslim is now an active youth coach at SportCares and even volunteers with his local Youth Network. I am extremely proud of Thaslim and wanted to share this story with every one to showcase how sport can actually be a force for good.

Miss Cheng Li Hui, Mr Darryl David, Mr Mark Chay and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about efforts to improve accessibility and inclusion in sports and how the Disability Sport Master Plan (DSMP) can spur greater sport participation amongst persons with disabilities (PwDs).

Launched in 2016, DSMP has contributed to increased sport participation rate among Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), with the participation rate rising from 28% in 2015 to 50% in 2019.

3.15 pm

Together with partners such as the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) and Special Olympics Singapore, SportSG has done so by introducing a whole range of programmes, including learn to-play programmes and the annual Play Inclusive campaign, reaching out to more than 18,000 PwDs to date.

The Play Inclusive Campaign, supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE), promotes inclusion through shared sporting experiences. Through Play Inclusive, both persons with and without disabilities from the Special Education and mainstream schools train together before participating in unified sports such as goalball.

To better prepare coaches and trainers to coach individuals with disabilities, the DSMP has further developed professional coaching and technical expertise in disability sports. In partnership with the International Paralympic Committee, SportSG has facilitated training in coaching and technical courses and grown the pool of disability sports coaches in Singapore. CoachSG has incorporated modules on disability sports, such as inclusive coaching practices, in its Community Coaching curriculum. Sport Singapore has also worked with the Republic Polytechnic on Continuing Education and Training courses to upskill more than 200 coaches in disability sports coaching since June 2020.

Sir, I spoke about our young Boccia athlete Aloysius Gan's indomitable human spirit in my MSF speech last week. Today, I would like to talk about this young man again, but this time from a sporting perspective.

Aloysius was introduced to Boccia when he was just seven years old, when his teacher noticed his cognitive abilities and recommended that he take up Boccia as his CCA, even though Primary 1 students typically could not join.

In 2021, Aloysius made his international debut at the Asian Youth Para Games.

Aloysius went up against the top ranked South Korean player – who was actually selected out of a few hundred under-21 players – in the pool stage and lost to him. But they had a rematch in the finals and Aloysius managed to beat him and grabbed his first gold medal in an international competition.

During the Boccia World Cup in November last year, Aloysius also beat more experienced players who were ranked fifth and eighth in the world to advance to the quarter finals. So, merely over a year after his international debut, Aloysius ranks 18 in the world now. And that is a 16-year-old we are talking about. Truly an extraordinary achievement, truly inspiring.

With the recent launch of the Enabling Masterplan 2030, it is timely that we review the outcomes of our DSMP initiatives and update our strategies to better support PwDs in sports participation.

This year, we will hold focus group discussions with partners and stakeholders to harvest more ideas of how we can do so.

By updating the DSMP and with the support of all our stakeholders, we will work towards our 70% target for sport participation amongst PwDs under the Enabling Masterplan 2030.

Sir, last weekend I was at the National Para Swimming Championships held at the OCBC Aquatics Centre. World class venues. World beating para swimmers. And I met many of them, both current and retired: Sophie Soon, her brother Colin, Paralympic bronze medallist, Theresa Goh, Darren Chan, Wong Zhi Wei and many proud parents, and family members who were all there, rooting for the para swimmers.

But in an ideal world that I envision, there would be many, many more spectating and cheering on our para swimmers. Allies of the disability community, whether or not they have a person with disability in their families or otherwise.

In an ideal world, we should see persons with and without disabilities, enjoying a game of basketball together, able-bodied individuals enjoying goalball with visually impaired players, without curious stares, without the awkward moments of being overly polite.

In fact, in an ideal world, a "para-athlete" should perhaps simply be called an "athlete"! Sir, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sports can raise the fitness level of our citizens and bring people from different races, ages, occupations and family backgrounds together as they exercise or participate in sports together. Every Singaporean including people with disabilities (PwDs) can live fulfilling lives through sports.

The Disabilities Sports Master Plan (DSMP) launched in 2016 has given many PwDs more opportunities to participate in sports and cultivate an active lifestyle.

In the past few years, we have also achieved some success in promoting sports for PwDs. The proportion of sports in which people with and without disabilities participating together has gradually increased, promoting mutual understanding and social inclusion. However, there is much more we can do.

The Para Sports Academy will continue to cooperate with partners to create more opportunities for PwDs to participate in sports events, develop ways for them to participate in competitive sports to comprehensively showcase their competitive abilities, and nurture more athletes with disabilities.

We will continue to hold focus group discussions to gather feedback, promote barrier-free environment to support the needs of different PwD groups and provide them with more opportunities to participate in sports.

Last Saturday, I was at the National Para Swimming Championships held at the OCBC Aquatics Centre. World-class venue, world-class swimmers. I met many great para swimmers, both current and retired athletes as well as parents and family members who were there to cheer on our para swimmers.

Participating in this activity has moved me a lot. In an ideal world I envision, there would be more spectators cheering on our PwD swimmers. Even though they may not have a PwD in the family, they could still be allies of the PwDs.

In an ideal world, we should see people with and without disabilities enjoying sports together without curious stares or awkward moments of being overly polite.

In an ideal world, a para-athlete should simply be called an athlete!

(In English): Sir, to conclude, there is a saying that goes "staying active starts with me". However, if you allow me to be grammatically incorrect, I would like to say that sport being a Singaporean way of life starts with "I", three "I"s for that matter. "I" for Invigorating – where sport can help us to unwind and stay healthy; "I" for Inspiring – where sport can inspire a nation; and "I" for Inclusive – where sport can truly be a force for good.

The Chairman: Clarifications. Ms Joan Pereira.

Ms Joan Pereira: Thank you, Chairman. I have a clarification for Minister of State Tan. He shared about how our SG Volunteer Centres (VCs) coordinate efforts to match the volunteers and the beneficiaries, and this has grown.

On the medical escort initiative that I spoke about just now in my speech, can Minister of State share how the VCs are working to match the patients with the volunteers and how is MCCY strengthening the VCs to help them in this job to do well?

Mr Alvin Tan: Sir, volunteers are the core of the SG Cares Volunteer Networks and also the SG Cares Volunteer Centre (VC).

So, in this regard, the SG Cares VCs, I mentioned earlier on, they work very closely with a multitude of partners, including the social service agencies, social service officers, Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), nursing homes and so on to help to match volunteers with patients, for example.

What the SG Volunteer Centres do then is to coordinate both the training and deployment of relevant volunteers with the requisite skillsets and then match them with the beneficiaries that are also registered with the SG Cares Volunteer Centres.

I also wanted to say that we will then provide the SG Cares Volunteer Centres with digital tools, such as the Volunteer Management System so that they can better match volunteers as well as beneficiaries. There is an upcoming SG Cares Digital Kampong to help to improve the deployment of volunteers through ground needs.

This Digital Kampong will filter volunteer opportunities and better match the needs and interests or preferences of beneficiaries and volunteers, and also provide voluntary welfare organisations, non-profit organisations with the tools to better manage their volunteers, including on medical escorts.

The Chairman: Ms Tin Pei Ling.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: (In Mandarin) [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I thank the Ministers for the replies earlier. I would like to ask, first, arts and culture can carry our history and values, and serve as a bridge across different generations and languages. I would like to ask what communities the Government has engagement and collaboration with to promote the development of local arts and culture, and ensure that Singaporeans, young and old, can access and appreciate arts.

Second, to some arts practitioners, new technologies such as metaverse are rather new concepts. How can the Government help them master these new skills and grasp new opportunities? How can the Government revitalise and develop our diverse local arts and culture, and empower our arts practitioners and the entire ecosystem?

Ms Low Yen Ling: Mr Chairman, in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Chairman, I would like to thank Ms Tin Pei Ling for her two questions. I agree with her that arts and culture are a valuable asset that can bring people together. All of us would remember that during the COVID-19 pandemic, various creative artistic expressions form a positive energy that supports us as we unite to overcome the pandemic.

Building on this foundation, MCCY will partner Singaporeans and arts and cultural practitioners based on the upgraded Our SG Arts Plan and Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0 to shape a more resilient, inclusive and forward looking future.

Her second question is about digitalisation. MCCY will continue to invest in our arts and cultural practitioners in two ways as they are important in developing our creative economy. Firstly, we will ramp up efforts to professionalise the arts sector. Secondly, we will look to strengthening support for arts self-employed practitioners.

I agree with Ms Tin Pei Ling's two speeches just now. Arts come from life. We hope that arts can be closer to everyday life. Hence, we will cooperate with different institutions to provide arts practitioners more space for artistic creation, so that arts can be showcased in everyday life. Preserving our heritage and innovation in arts requires continuous efforts of the individual, society and the Government.

The Chairman: Mr Sharael Taha.

Mr Sharael Taha: Thank you, Chairman. I would like to thank Minister Edwin Tong for clarifying the players from the SFAs, Sports School, Active SG, FA Football Academy and private clubs would be scouted and channelled to the National Development Centre and this would be the national framework to choose the best players for the national development centre.

I have a few clarifications for Minister Tong.

Are the scouted talents then taken out of their current academy or schools and placed into the National Development Centre or would they concurrently train in their current clubs and also the development centre?

And given that the National Football Development Centre would comprise of youths aged between 13 to 17, will this cannablise the talent for Singapore Sports School and will they be playing in the National School Games (NSGs)? If not, will it dilute them, the quality of football in our National School Games? And when will we launch this development centre?

Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: I thank the Member Mr Sharael Taha. We intend to have a broad number of pipelines, all feeding into the National Development Centre (NDC). The intention is for the players to play with their clubs, so if you are with the JSSL, one of the private clubs, or ActiveSG Football Academy (AFA), you continue playing predominantly with the clubs.

3.30 pm

But on occasion, we bring the squads together, I mentioned that earlier, so that they get to know one another, their playing styles, how they work together as a team, be further developed and enhanced, play competitive matches during the international FIFA seasons, so that they can have the ability to experience competitive matches as a cohort.

And over time, this will become our national age group international teams – so under 13, under 15 and so on.

To answer Mr Sharael Taha's question, they remain with the clubs where there will be primary training, or they remain with the SFA at which they compete on a regular basis. And I mentioned earlier also in my speech that we intend to set up the youth leagues, perhaps in the coming year or two, so that on a regular basis, the clubs will have a regular active competition at a high level so that they can play at that level, week in, week out, then on occasion, come together with the NDC.

In terms of the cannibalisation, the intention is ultimately as I said, to have multiple pathways, so you can stay with the clubs, you can stay with the academies, but you have to converge. And the best chance of succeeding to build a strong pipeline for the national team is to have this convergence, because we are too small as a country and too small as a pool to have different district pipelines and pools which do not converge.

So, the structure and the framework that we have in mind is one where all these clubs and academies converge. It is not just if you play in the SFA that you will be recognised. If you are in a private club, you could also be scouted and picked up and put into the NDC. But the idea is to have a full convergence of this into one structure, one framework, one cohesive path and for that team to come together on a regular basis to play.

I also mentioned just now in my speech that this is not something that will be static. If you make it in one season or one year, it does not mean that you make it in the subsequent years. You have got to continually earn your place. There has to be competitive tension so that you can come in, you can be dropped out from year to year.

The Chairman: Mr Sitoh Yih Pin.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: Thank you, Chairman. I have one question for Minister of State Low Yen Ling, because she spoke about the arts masterplan. Can the Minister of State share how our SG Arts Plan for 2023 to 2027, differs from the previous one?

Ms Low Yen Ling: Mr Chairman, I want to thank the Member, Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, for his clarification. Minister Edwin Tong had earlier briefly outlines some key differences in the next iteration of our SG Plan, the difference between the 2023 vis a vis the 2018. Broadly speaking: number one, there is greater focus on a creative economy; two, greater audience centricity; and the third is the emphasis on technology and innovation.

Very quickly, allow me to elaborate to Members. Firstly, in the area of creative economy, we will over the next five years, work very closely with the sector and the adjacent sector to encourage cross-pollination between the arts sector and the adjacent creative sectors like media, design and so on, to drive more employment and also career progression opportunities for our artists and practitioners. We will also work closely with the arts community to help develop competencies needed to tap on all these opportunities, such as IP management skills, thT was briefly touched on by Minister Edwin Tong earlier as well.

The next one, audience centricity, is very important because in the last three years, we have seen how technology really helped the works of our arts and culture scene to travel beyond Singapore. Other than enjoying a musical performance now, if it is also curated like a production, the audience in other areas in the regional countries and global market can also enjoy it.

That is why, in the next five years, we will also focus on greater audience centricity, helping our artists and practitioners and arts organisations to reach audiences in a wider scope. So, we will support the arts sector in developing that area, for example, in order to do so, NAC will look at training and capability development for marketing and data analytics, because it is important for us to know our audience and to also know what our audience want to read and enjoy and view. This can be also organised in collaboration with training providers and industry partners. NAC will also cultivate partnerships with other creatives in the adjacent sectors that I talked about earlier, to create new arts experiences in a hybrid form and even through gamification.

The third one is technology and innovation. Earlier on in my speech, I talked about the beta version of the one-stop portal for us and I hope all the Members and your residents will try this portal when we roll this out.

We will expand possibilities to create and present art through technology. And again, that is helping our practitioners reach more audiences. These include one, art making using digital tools, online art businesses, audience development through the metaverse that I talked about, and place-making. We will also encourage the use of digital spaces to expand possibilities for presentation and incorporating arts into the everyday lives of Singaporeans so that we can enjoy arts and for arts to remain accessible in our space and precincts where we live, work and play.

The Chairman: Mr Mark Chay.

Mr Mark Chay: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I would like to thank Minister Edwin Tong, Minister of State Low Yen Ling and Minister of State Alvin Tan and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua for their responses. I have the following clarifications.

What will be the focus for the disability sports landscape?

Second, with the upgrading of Toa Payoh Sports Development and Queenstown, are we able to capture some of the heritage that are a part of these precincts in the upgrading of these facilities?

Third, with respect to the registration of fitness professionals, are private gyms and enterprises also impacted? With respect to this registration, how will SafeSport be part of this?

The last point is on Unleash the Roar! It is great to see that some of the coaches will be going away to see some of the best practices. So, maybe some of the other sports that will also be part of this going overseas to find best practices. But also, as we look outward, we should also look inward. Perhaps some of our best sports or NSAs that have been world beaters, like in table tennis, sailing and aquatics, could also lend its part to Unleash the Roar! and help to share some of these best practices with soccer academies.

Mr Eric Chua: Chairman, I thank the Member for his clarifications. I think I will take the first three clarifications that he has made.

Regarding focus, the Member was also himself a para coach, so I am certain he would know that, in the landscape now, what is probably the utmost priority is to make sure that what is available in the mainstream or able-bodied space of talent ID is popularised in the disability space. By that, I mean the concept of sport matching. Disability occurs on a very wide spectrum and across different disability types. So, what you want the person with disability to realise is that there is a sports that suits me, not just in terms of my temperament and also abilities, but also one that suits my condition. We want to make that concept availed to all persons with disabilities and their caregivers. And from there, we can then see how we can look at who are the talents, who is showing promise, and then pick up the next generation of para-athletes from there. That is the first clarification.

On heritage, definitely, because the locations we are talking about are Toa Payoh, Queenstown. Queenstown is the first satelite HDB town in Singapore. As the local Member of Parliament in Queenstown, when I was having conversations with Sports Singapore, I was also making requests on how we can weave in some of these heritage components into the new make-up of the stadium. Things like for instance, activities or events that were held in the 1960s and 1970s that were really high point events, that marked what Queenstown really was. For instance, water polo. It was very much a part of Queenstown Swimming Complex in its earlier days. So, I think these will be considered for sure.

On the professionalisation of exercise professionals, I think our intent is to make sure that there is a broad standardisation and there is a broad sense of accreditation across all exercise professionals in the industry. So, yes, some of the private gyms might be impacted. But I think the intent, if you stick to our original mission, it is really to make sure that there is some quality assurance, some basic standards that are being enforced in this industry.

The Chairman: Minister Edwin Tong; I think he wants to respond as well.

Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: I was going to respond to Mr Mark Chay's last question. Yes, the intention is to make this available. In fact, it is already in place. Mr Chay, as an ex-professional athlete and also top notch coach, would know that we regularly send our coaches, players, athletes, overseas to gain best practices, learn and to be immersed in an environment at the very highest levels and bring back that learning back to Singapore.

We will have that and we will continue to do that. Certainly, the learning and thinking behind how we professionalise sport, which is common across all different sports, whether it is in football, aquatics or sailing as you mentioned, we will harness that learning. That is why Singapore Sport Institute (SSI) is there, that is why Sport SG is there, to centralise that learning and to deploy as far as possible to other sports so that other sports can also gain from this know-how and the learning.

I did not manage to answer one of Mr Sharael Taha's questions, which was when the NDCs would commence. We intend to start the NDCs by this year and the indicative date is July this year. So, all the different strands and pieces that I spoke about earlier in my speech, the scholarship, sending players overseas on foreign scholarships, local scholarships, sports school, centralising the training with the SFAs, the coaching syllabus, pushing everyone through a centralised, cohesive pipeline, which is the NDC, all of these pieces will commence this year.

The Chairman: Ms Hany Soh.

Ms Hany Soh: Thank you, Minister, Ministers of State and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for through your sharing, very heartening to hear that there are many wonderful initiative that are being rolled out, especially creating more opportunities for our little ones to embrace sports, arts and culture.

This question is posed to Minister of State Alvin Tan, it is with relation to OBS. So, in our effort to promote SG Made for Families as a nationwide movement, I wonder if OBS can explore expanding its programmes to also include family adventure camps to strengthen bonding amongst family members, reignite the quality family time together especially between the youths, their parents and their younger siblings.

Mr Alvin Tan: The focus of OBS currently is on the MOE Outdoor Adventure Programme, which is targeted at the 40,000 annual cohort of secondary 3 students. So, we try to leave the parents out of it, even though I think many parents want to be there with their 15-year-olds, but I think the point is really to get them to be out there on their own to experience the outdoors, the challenges.

That said, there are also many other kinds of activities by private and other providers that are available. Last week, while wearing my MTI hat, I talked about Lazarus Island, today I talked about Pulau Ubin and Coney Island. Lazarus Island, of course, we are going to do a light touch activation there as well, so there are many different activities for families to enjoy the great outdoors together and bond.

The Chairman: Mr Darryl David.

Mr Darryl David: Thank you, Chair. Two clarifications for Minister Edwin Tong. First clarification is on the Sports Hub. I think Minister, you talked about how we are going to have a lot more community events at the Sports Hub. I would like to ask if the Government will consider having perhaps the biggest community event of the year there, which is the National Day Parade. It was held there before. And now that the Government has taken it back, I would hope that the Government could consider holding it there on a more regular basis, perhaps, Minister.

The second question has to do with the plans for the growth and development of our young footballers. It is really heartening to hear the plans that the Minister has shared. Minister, you spoke earlier about the possibility of early enlistment for some of these players. I would like to ask for consideration of going to the other end of the spectrum, which is delayed enlistment for National Service. Let me be clear, I believe very strongly that every eligible Singapore male should serve National Service, what I am suggesting, however, is, if there are talented boys in this squad and I know we have done delayed enlistment for swimmers before, whereas swimming uses an absolute standard, the question is, if we have boys who are good enough, if let us say for example, Liverpool Youth would like to sign one of our players or two of our players, and they have the chance to go on and play in the Premier League, would this be a consideration for us to allow them to pursue that path, that career, put Singapore on the map as it were? But of course, never forgetting that they have to serve their National Service liabilities, eventually in the future.

I believe South Korea does this for some of their players. They let them play first, then they always have to come back. Would Minister shed some light if that is an option for some of our talented boys to go out there and carve a name for themselves and for the country as well?

Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: I think I answered the first question when I delivered the Ministerial Statement on the Sports Hub. So, the answer is yes, it will be considered. But you also have to bear in mind that when the National Day Parade goes to the Sports Hub, or indeed, any venue, there is a long lead time and there is also a long time in which you need to then spend to remove the staging area, the performance area, holding areas and so on. And that in turn then leads to an amount of time that is lost before as well as after the event. In a situation where we are trying to activate the Sports Hub with events like what I have mentioned, then this downtime will be a problem.

Bearing these questions in mind and also balancing the different needs, we will, of course, welcome the National Day Parade at the Sports Hub. But we need to think of how best to deploy the asset.

3.45 pm

On the Member's second question, this is again not new. You can consider early enlistment. That is within our control and within most of the athletes' control. In terms of deferring National Service or going in later, these are broader questions that need to also engage other considerations.

The fact of the matter is that National Service is for everyone who is eligible and obliged to serve. That is a paramount obligation and we have to ensure that we work within this framework to ensure that, at the same time, we look at the National Service as a framework but how do we navigate within that system.

We have found actually, in our own experience and we have collected several data points, it is not just for footballers but athletes as a whole, that typically, an early enlistment where available, is preferable to the athletes' development. If you enlist early, sometimes at the age of seventeen-and-a-half, close to 18, about 21 months. By the time someone is 19 plus, before 20, he would likely be out there competing and the runway can then be uninterrupted.

We had many athletes, in table tennis, Loh Kean Yew was one example as well. He did it early and then he put his energies into training, competing overseas, getting qualification for Olympics which he was successfully doing.

So, obviously, you got to look at the different athletes in the sport they are in and also whether you are taking part in a sport that is individual or one which requires the whole team to be present. Because if you are talking about a team event, then it may make less sense for just one or two individuals to enlist at a different time as opposed to the rest of the team. All these are factors that we take into consideration.

The Chairman: Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, would you like to withdraw your amendment, please.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I cannot help but notice the broad smile on your face when Liverpool was being mentioned. But on a more serious note, Sir, I like to thank all Members who contributed their cuts and the MCCY team for their responses and speeches. Mr Chairman, with that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

The Chairman: Is the hon Member given leave to withdraw his amendment?

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,924,977,500 for Head X ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $440,834,500 for Head X ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.