Olympic and Paralympic Achievements

12.34 pm

Mr Speaker: Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai): Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "that this House congratulates our Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians, in particular Ms Yip Pin Xiu, our five-time Paralympic Gold Medalist, for their achievements at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games." [Applause.]

Mr Speaker, Sir, we welcome our Team SG athletes who are seated in Chamber today.

After a year of uncertainty and delays, we fielded our Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians in Tokyo 2020 to compete with the world's best, to represent Singapore at the highest sporting showcase.

We sent a total of 23 athletes across 12 sports to the Olympics; 10 athletes across six sports to the Paralympics. Our athletes came home victorious with two gold medals and five national records, alongside numerous personal bests and many other personal inspiring stories.

But beyond these tangible achievements, our athletes returned to a Singapore uplifted by their sportsmanship, touched by their own moments of vulnerability, and, above all, inspired by their dogged pursuit of excellence as they fought tooth and nail, to put Singapore on the international sporting arena.

Together with President of the Singapore National Olympic Council and Speaker Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, and Chairperson of the Singapore National Paralympic Council, Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, and our Chefs de Mission, I had the privilege of supporting and cheering on our Olympians and Paralympians from the sidelines and stands in Tokyo.

So, I wish to take this opportunity to share some snippets with this House – not just of the Games itself, but also of the challenges which our athletes faced in the lead-up, the run-up that was disrupted by the global pandemic.

Sir, I will also re-affirm our Government’s commitment to supporting and enhancing sports in Singapore and to support Singaporeans at every level from grassroots participation through to the very pinnacle of elite sporting achievement.

Let me start with the Olympics. Our Olympians competed on the world’s biggest sporting stage against the very best athletes in the world, competing for the highest honours.

To compete at this level requires years, if not decades, of dedication and discipline, hard work and sacrifice, and meticulous, thoughtful, careful planning. Even then, there are no guarantees of success. Often, uncontrollable factors, like injuries, strokes of luck, misfortune come into play.

And, as we witnessed, a pandemic intervened at the cruellest of times, just as our athletes began their work on the final lap to peak for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The pandemic had severely curtailed our athletes’ training plans, decimated opportunities to travel, either for qualification, or to hone their sporting instincts at other competitions, to keep them primed and match sharp. But our athletes adjusted, adapted, they fought hard to reach their peaks again, after the postponement of the Games in July 2020.

We all heard how Joan Poh went from sculling back to nursing, serving in the front line in the battle against COVID-19, before taking time out again, to trial and then qualify for the Olympics.

Many of our athletes made adjustments themselves: Caroline Chew, Amita Berthier and Tan Sze En trained overseas, and went directly to Tokyo. Some others, like Cecilia, Kimberly and Ryan, in Sailing, chose to leave home comforts months before Tokyo 2020, stayed on the road so as to continue training in suitable conditions with the winds and the waves, without having the down time of quarantine or isolation.

Despite these challenges, Team Singapore made history at these Games. For the first time, we had athletes represented in Equestrian, Marathon Swimming and Diving. Of our 23-athlete strong contingent, 17 were Olympic debutants. These are very encouraging figures and a testament to the growth and potential of High Performance Sports (HPS) in Singapore.

Beyond representation at the Olympics, the results that our 23 Team Singapore athletes also made us proud. I am sure that many in the House would have caught a glimpse of Team Singapore in action on screen, on meWATCH, but allow me to share some highlights as an observer in the stands.

We had two Olympic badminton debutants who did us very proud. Yeo Jia Min was a match away from the knock-out rounds. She was up against a much higher-ranked Korean opponent. She lost that match. I know she was disappointed, but the pain of defeat will spur her on even more.

Loh Kean Yew came up against the reigning Asian Games champion and world number seven, Jonatan Christie, for a place in the knock-out round. Kean Yew rose to the occasion and pushed his much-favoured opponent right to the brink. There was really nothing to choose in the end between Kean Yew and the Asian Games champion and I am sure Kean Yew will be back on court much stronger.

In fact, when I spoke with him shortly after he lost that match and asked him about his plans, he gave me his customary wide cherubic grin and said – of course, Paris 2024! And true to form, he came home after Tokyo, dusted down and went back straightaway on the road to train. He is not here today because he is training in Europe. And I was just told a moment ago that Jia Min would be joining him shortly. Kean Yew sent me a message over the weekend and asked me to thank Parliament on his behalf for the honour of the recognition today and assures us all that he is training hard for his next goal.

In table tennis, many would have seen Mengyu battle hard, fought hard despite having an old injury flare up at the most unfortunate of times. Mengyu had about the toughest draw possible. In her inspired run to fourth place at the Olympics, she was drawn against four of the world’s top 10 ranked table tennis players, she beat two of them along the way. Mengyu may have missed a medal, but I think we all saw for ourselves her dedication, her grit and her fighting spirit against the world’s best players. The women’s team, along with Feng Tianwei and Lin Ye, had a tough draw, meeting world number one, China, along the way before losing out.

Our sailors too had a very good outing. Kimberly and Cecilia made history as the first Singaporeans to ever compete in an Olympics Medal Race for sailing and they overcame great odds in all 12 of their races for the Women’s 49er FX, navigating not just unpredictable weather but also racing against much more experienced well-seasoned teams. They emerged as the top Asian team. In fact, no other Asian team even made it to the top 10 medal race.

Our fencers, Amita and Kiria, had a hard but exciting debut. They were pitted against higher ranked, more experienced opponents. But their agility, their speed and precision came through. Amita held her own in the opening round against the eventual gold medalist, whilst Kiria showed skill and poise well beyond her years. You could not tell that they were Olympic debutants.

Our experienced trio of Joseph, Ting Wen and Zheng Wen put up a strong fight against a very strong field in swimming. It has been a difficult season for them and they know that they are judged on very high standards and would be the first to admit that they are capable of much better. But they have mettle. And they will bounce back, I am sure, in the next competition.

Let me turn now to speak about our Paralympians. They have been an inspiration to all of us. Many of you would have watched them on the channels. They showed us what it means to defy the odds and not be defined or constrained by physical limitations. I spoke earlier about how the pandemic was disruptive to training and competition plans. But the impact of the pandemic to our Paralympians was perhaps far greater. Whilst some could go online for training and instruction, this was not as easy for those who are visually impaired when they were confronted with new modalities to get instruction and to do training. Despite these challenges, I heard no excuses from them when I dropped in from time to time over the last few months on their training. They just had an unwavering desire to get on with it, put their shoulders to the grind, and focus on doing Singapore and Singaporeans proud at the Paralympics.

Let me share a few stories from our Paralympic contingent.

Our debutant tandem cyclist Steve and his competition partner Kee Meng, they clocked two personal bests in the Men’s B 1,000-metre Time Trial and the Men’s B 4,000-metre Individual Pursuit. But what is even more amazing is that both had suffered a crash just days before their event. Their front tire had burst and they collapsed on the road at great speed. Bruised, battered, but not beaten; thereafter, turned in superb timings and achieved those two personal bests.

Steve is here in the House today in his distinctive bright red hair. If he looks familiar to all of you, it is because in 2015, Steve was the captain of the five-a-side football team in the ASEAN Para Games. He is truly an inspiring sportsman.

Our contingent flag-bearer, Diroy Noordin, he left his mark on the field, quite literally. He threw a 9.85-metre and then 9.92-metre in the men’s F40 shot put final – he shattered the national record on both occasions. It is tough enough to break one national record. He did it twice, same event and he broke his own national record!

Our Equestrian team – Max, Gemma and Laurentia – put in some stirring performances. It really warmed me up to see them compete with a smile, writ large across their faces.

Laurentia and her horse, Banestro, came in fifth in the Individual Freestyle Test Finals. This is despite Laurentia being stuck in Britain in the lead-up to the Olympics for a year due to travel restrictions, separated from her coach and her horse, after what was really meant to be just a two-week break.

Our swimmers: Wei Soong, he came, oh so close, just 0.16 seconds away from a podium finish. He also broke two national records, both his own. Sophie Soon held off her competitors and finished fourth in the Women’s SB12 100-metre Breaststroke. A very impressive debut, all round, for both of them and I am sure at this rate, we will see them on the podium in no time.

Last, but certainly not least, Yip Pin Xiu. We warmly welcome Pin Xiu back to this Chamber. Familiar ground for you.

It is hard to find words to describe Pin Xiu, our most decorated Paralympian. At the age of 29, Pin Xiu blazed her own path both in and out the pool.

At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, Pin Xiu brought home her and Singapore’s first ever Paralympic gold and silver medals. Pin Xiu went on to clinch two more gold medals and also set two world records at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. These records continue to be unmatched, unbroken today.

This year, she dominated the pool yet again, defending her title in the women’s S2 50-metre and 100-metre backstroke events, with some rather devastating performances. She won the 100-metre with a margin of more than nine seconds.

That is a total of six medals, of which five are gold medals, across 13 years, over four Paralympic Games.

It shows that Pin Xiu, or PX, as she is sometimes more affectionately known, has tremendous longevity and staying power. Each time her rivals try and make a move on her, to close down on her, to catch up with her, she has found that something extra, whether it is more power in her strokes, greater rotation of her shoulders or just the sheer courage of conviction and determination to reach the wall first.

Many Singaporeans will remember vividly the two gold medal ceremonies in Tokyo – I did – the moment as our national anthem reverberated through the Tokyo Aquatics Centre and broadcast around the world. I am sure we all celebrated her victory, took pride in her triumph, savoured the moment as our flag rose high, and rose first.

How many of us had wet eyes as we watched Pin Xiu herself fight back her own tears of pride and elation as her achievements, she knew, brought the nation together? I also felt such an immense sense of pride and even now as I remember and relate the event, I feel goosebumps just thinking about it.

And I thank Pin Xiu very much for gifting us such precious moments of national pride and inspiring Singaporeans over so many years.

Outside of the pool, Pin Xiu has made extensive contributions to our nation. As a former Nominated Member of Parliament, Pin Xiu was the voice of her generation. She was a passionate advocate on issues such as sports and inclusion, and spoke out articulately against campus sexual violence and workplace harassment.

Today, she continues to impact the lives of many through her service and contributions on the Purple Parade’s Working Committee, Singapore Disability Sports Council Executive Committee, the World Para Swimming High Support Needs Group, the National Youth Council and the Safe Sport task group.

These are not just names of committees that we rattle off to Pin Xiu. She herself uses each as an opportunity and a platform to make positive and enduring changes to our society.

In 2008, Pin Xiu was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her accomplishments at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Pin Xiu, your trophy cabinet must be packed by now. But I hope and I think you can find space for one more way in which we can honour and recognise you.

Your innate quality to inspire Singaporeans, your consistency in sporting achievement at the absolute highest level, your contributions in so many areas away from sport and your own quiet, unassuming personality, which I know hides a deep personal conviction to be a positive change-maker, each already amazing in its own right. And I am sure Members will agree with me. But taken together, you and your achievements have really served to unite us as Singaporeans and inspire us deeply.

My Cabinet colleagues and I discussed how we could appropriately recognise Pin Xiu’s achievements. I am very happy to announce that we intend to create a new President’s Award for Inspiring Achievement, and to make the inaugural presentation of this award to Pin Xiu. President Halimah Yacob has agreed to this proposal. [Applause.]

Mr Speaker, this new award will sit alongside the other awards which are presented by the President for outstanding accomplishments. This award will recognise Singaporeans who have overcome personal adversity and led inspiring lives. Through their outstanding and wide-ranging achievements and contributions to society, they are role models who instil a sense of national pride in fellow Singaporeans.

This prestigious award will be conferred by the President to deserving recipients who meet its highest qualifying criteria. It will be presented to Singaporeans with fitting achievements and may not be given out every year.

Pin Xiu has demonstrated these exceptional qualities. She has stared adversity in its face, time and time again, overcame it. She is truly an inspiration to Singaporeans and it is only appropriate that she will now become the inaugural recipient of this award.

I am certain that she will trailblaze a path for many more to follow in her footsteps. And I believe this is precisely what will give Pin Xiu her biggest satisfaction: to see other Singaporeans rise above adversity, take on challenges and be themselves, the positive change-makers.

So, on behalf of this House, let me offer my warmest and deepest congratulations to Pin Xiu, as well as to all our Olympians and Paralympians. [Applause.]

Sir, at this juncture, I would like to take some time to acknowledge and thank the many others who have stood tall and stood behind our Team Singapore athletes. You have given your unstinting, selfless support to our athletes. We know it takes a village. And each one of you is a valued member of that village.

First, I thank the families, caregivers and friends of Team Singapore athletes. They are the unseen and often unsung heroes whose enduring love, sacrifice, belief give our athletes the courage, strength and the platform to turn aspiration into reality.

Second, I am very grateful to the coaches of our athletes, the various National Sports Associations (NSAs), National Disability Sports Associations (NDSAs), as well as the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) for believing in the power of the possible in our athletes and being there for them every step of the way, supporting them on their journey in every training and at every competition.

We recognise their collective efforts in grooming our sportspersons into the world-class athletes that they are today, from the tangible work of providing the best training environment, the best training instruction, to the intangible value of being mentors and role models that our athletes can look up to.

Third, I would also like to extend our thanks to the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC), as well as our Chefs de Mission for the Olympics and Paralympics, Dr Ben Tan and Ms Shirley Low, who are both here, for leading our contingent of athletes to Tokyo and bringing them home safely and soundly. Both of them were completely invested in our team, and their presence and leadership made a significant difference.

Finally, my appreciation goes out to the Singapore Sport Institute (SSI) and the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI). Their work is often unseen and under-rated as well. But it has been a key ingredient in our High Performance Sports ecosystem and a real value-add when milliseconds or mere millimetres can make all the difference.

Working alongside other partners in the sports ecosystem, SSI and NYSI put the athlete at the centre of what they do, supporting them in a variety of ways. This includes sports medicine, sports science, physiotherapy, nutrition and also psychological support before, during and after the Games, so that our athletes can be single-minded and focused on giving of their best in dealing with the competition.

Take for example SSI’s bio-mechanist Marcel Rossi. Marcel supported our para swimmers in Tokyo. He would take a video of them at each race and analyse their every motion, every stroke, and then on that basis, guide them to make real time adjustments between the heats in the morning and the finals in the evening to optimise performance for the next race.

Our sports scientists studied para-archer Syahidah, studied her gait and posture, built a seat, customised fully to fit her body structure, weight and shooting position, so that she would have stability and comfort, with each arrow she dispatches.

A specially designed year-long nutrition programme was also made for Nur Aini, so that she could get into competition weight while building up sufficient strength at the same time. This paid off when she attained her personal best lift in her qualification event leading up to Tokyo. It was a very credible performance of 77 kilogrammes. And I know that because I tried it at about 50 kilogrammes, and I struggled.

To ensure the mental well-being of our athletes, SSI also sent sport psychologists to support our team on the ground in Tokyo.

Our sailors, Kim and Cecilia, were accompanied by their team psychologist, Joyce, whose task was to keep them focused and positive throughout the Games. It was a long, enduring race, several races.

I saw for myself how critical this was. Kim and Cecilia, if you meet them, they have an intuitive bond between them, an outstanding chemistry. When you are out at sea, battling the winds, the waves and your opponents, for a few hours, this can make all the difference.

So, Mr Speaker, at this juncture, let me reiterate the Government’s commitment to supporting and enhancing sports for all, both in growing the base, so that we can have more active participants and more athletes at the grassroots, and in supporting our elite athletes as they chase success on the podium at the world's best international events.

The Government invests about $70 million annually into the HPS system. But it is not just about financial commitment. At the heart of it all, MCCY’s commitment in both active grassroots sports participation and also HPS is rooted in our fundamental belief that we must give every aspiration the best possible chance of being turned into a reality; for every individual, the opportunity to harness their own talents and chase their own dreams. And I stress the word "individual", because no two athletes are alike, even on team sports. The smallest detail and differentiating factor can matter a lot.

And our athlete support structure needs to be personalised and adaptable as such. Members could see from some of the examples I outlined earlier how we approach each elite athlete uniquely, differently and how we support them with differentiated, curated support.

We will also continue to work with our sports stakeholders in our ecosystem, from our schools to NSAs, SNOC, SNPC, ActiveSG as well as the private academies and clubs, working together to build a strong, cohesive, vibrant sporting culture in Singapore.

For us to achieve sporting success on the international stage, we will need a single-minded desire and pursuit to excel, and a unity of purpose amongst all our stakeholders coming on board, pulling together in the same direction and making sure that we produce the best that we can at many more of these international elite events.

Mr Speaker, allow me to speak now on disability sports: its significance, its tremendous value to society, its growth over the years and the efforts which MCCY and our partners will continue to take to nurture its development in Singapore.

Sir, sports have the unique ability to transcend some of the everyday barriers that we might come across in daily living, be it linguistic, cultural and, perhaps, even in social acceptance. This applies to many of us, I am sure, but, perhaps, more so for persons with disabilities.

Sport can help reduce the stigma and discrimination which are sometimes associated with disability because, through sport, community attitudes can be transformed. In sports, we see more of the skills and achievement, and correspondingly, see each individual more for their abilities instead.

In turn, sports can also transform the person with disability in an equally profound way by empowering persons with disabilities, filling them with self-belief and confidence, to level their playing field, to help them gain a higher degree of independence and help them realise their full potential.

Through participation in sports, they are empowered to improve their own quality of life, stay healthy, be strong, be confident, independent contributing members of society.

It also promotes inclusivity. I found that the pool, the tandem bike or the horse, can really be such a great leveller.

For Wei Soong and Sophie, being in the pool meant that they are like any other swimmer. Their disabilities are no longer an obstacle to sports participation. That was how they started on their journey. And today, they are full-fledged Paralympians, just a whisker away from being on the podium in Tokyo.

Gemma, who is also here today, took up horse riding when she was just eight, as a form of hippotherapy to help her with her balance and coordination. She enjoyed it tremendously. Gemma has said before that whilst she is unable to run, being on her horse gives her an opportunity to ride while it trots, to feel like she is running. It gives her the freedom of movement which she would otherwise not be able to experience. Sir, just being in the sport alone has helped her and others look past their disability. In fact, it has given Gemma an added ability to do great things, feel self-confident, build and boost her own self-esteem.

Wei Soong, Sophie and Gemma’s stories, and the stories of so many others who have journeyed on a similar path, are a testament to the value which disability sports has in Singapore, playing such a pivotal part to building inclusivity in society. It is not just about elite sport performance, but really about the difference that mere participation can make. We must, therefore, do all we can to make disability sports more accessible and encourage even more participation.

Mr Speaker, the Government knows the value that sport can bring, and will continue to put our resources into promoting disability sports. We have stepped up on the support and funding of the entire disability sports ecosystem, including through SportSG’s SportCares. The Disability Sport Master Plan places emphasis on grassroots development, encouraging more to take part in sport, lowering the barriers to entry and enhancing the resources to facilitate participation.

We now have eight inclusive ActiveSG Gyms and six inclusive swimming complexes across the island. These facilities have been retrofitted with equipment like inclusive gym machines and pool wheelchairs to make it far more accessible. We are on track to making every single ActiveSG Gym an inclusive one by 2026.

Beyond financial support and physical infrastructure, the people skills are also important. We must have more who can administer, conduct and coach disability sports because these are the natural multipliers for the sport.

To date, 2,800 coaches, educators, volunteers, staff and students are trained to support disability sports in one way or another.

We have also established links with the International Paralympic Committee, Special Olympics, educational institutions like Republic Polytechnic and other partners like KK Hospital and social service agencies like SG Enable and the Society for the Physically Disabled to deliver training courses, hold workshops and outreach programmes, so that even more will feel confident that they can lead and teach in disability sports.

The SDSC and Special Olympics Singapore have also been a major driving force for disability sports in Singapore.

The SDSC has extended its reach to manage and support disability sports programmes in 18 sports across the community and we want to grow this, both in terms of development and also at high-performance elite levels. SDSC has also further diversified and tailored its programmes for different disability groups.

The Special Olympics Singapore, in addition, offers nine sports and five athlete-centred initiatives for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Both organisations continue to play an active role in the development of coaches and technical officials as well as efforts to raise awareness and the standards of and participation in disability sports, and strengthen Singaporeans' affinity with Team Singapore athletes with disabilities.

SDSC also works closely with SSI to promote inclusion at a higher level with our NSAs to integrate disability sports into their mainstream offerings alongside able-bodied sporting programmes.

SDSC, Special Olympics Singapore and SNPC have also an established system of identifying talent from the pool of grassroots, developing a pathway for these elite athletes to progress through to major games representation for Singapore.

Mr Speaker, all these steps have been positive. Since we hosted the ASEAN Para Games in 2015, we have seen a marked growth in interest and participation. In 2016, one in three persons with disabilities participated in a sport at least once a week. Today, that number is one in two. But we can still do more to push this further and we will.

A few Members of this House have asked if we can do more to reduce the disparity in cash awards between the Major Games Award Programme (MAP) for able-bodied athletes and the Athletes' Achievement Awards (AAA) for para-athletes.

The MAP and AAA are private award schemes that are managed by SNOC and SNPC respectively. They were started in 1990 and 2002 respectively. Since their inception, these awards have been funded entirely by private sponsors.

The award amounts offered under both schemes are raised and determined by SNOC and SNPC respectively, along with their sponsors. Individually, the awards under each of the schemes are tiered based on the standard, the size and the field of competition for each major games; in other words, Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asian (SEA) Games

The difference in cash quantum does not reflect how the Government values our para-athletes vis-à-vis our able-bodied athletes. In our eyes, they are all Team Singapore athletes and each athlete, abled or disabled, has his or her own intrinsic value, which we value, recognise and appreciate.

SNPC is working on enhancing the cash awards for para-athletes in major games. They have already had discussions with a few entities to do so. I have also discussed these efforts with the President of SNPC, Prof Teo-Koh, on several occasions and will continue to support their engagement with corporate entities and private funders towards this objective. SNPC will announce the outcome of their efforts in due course.

Sir, I would add that besides focusing on the cash awards for medal finishes by our athletes, it is important, if not more so, for resources to be put into growing the base and uplifting the entire disability sporting ecosystem.

I have said previously, lowering the barriers to entry, opening up more facilities and programmes, enhancing the coaching and training framework, bringing on board more disability sports into the field and realm of SNPC and SDSC, and driving integration between disability sports and mainstream sports in the NSAs. More athletes will benefit from this and more pathways to success and to elite representation will open up.

If we can do this, take these steps, opportunities such as those which Wei Soong, Sophie or Gemma had, can be even more accessible; opportunities across a whole spectrum of participants at different levels and not just at the elite sports levels, because we believe that participation in disability sports alone can bring about such value.

So, Mr Speaker, we will continue to work hard to foster an inclusive society through sports where people of all abilities can come together to experience, play, socialise and if they are able to, to excel at the highest level in sports, and through this, to help Singapore and Singaporeans build deep social connections.

Mr Speaker, I have spoken at length about many things this afternoon that are important and central to MCCY's mission and values when it comes to sports. But allow me to circle back to my original Motion for this House – to thank Team Singapore athletes for flying our flag so high and with such distinction at Tokyo 2020.

All of you in this Chamber today have put Singapore amongst the world's best. We congratulate you for your exceptional performances, for your indomitable fighting spirit on the world stage. You gave everything and left nothing behind in Tokyo.

Your accomplishments brought cheer and joy to our nation and lifted our spirits in, perhaps, one of the most trying and difficult periods in Singapore's history. More importantly, your efforts inspired and united Singaporeans from all walks of life as they tuned in to support your Paralympic and Olympic journey.

Just as the greats who have come before you, these men and women, our athletes, have made many personal sacrifices to carry our country's hopes, our flag and our aspirations to the very pinnacle of sports. These are also the same men and women who have and will continue to inspire generations of athletes to come after them, to rise up, stand on their shoulders, reach higher and bring even more honour and glory to our nation. Mr Speaker, I beg to move. [Applause.]

Question proposed.

Mr Speaker: Mr Seah Kian Peng.

1.07 pm

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Mr Speaker, let me first declare my interest as a board member of the Singapore Olympic Foundation and the group CEO of NTUC FairPrice.

Mr Speaker, Sir, what does it mean to celebrate a victory? Today, I congratulate and celebrate the achievements of all our sporting talents at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Paralympic Games.

Many of us in this House will have special ties to the athletes. For me, my celebration is especially loud for Ms Yip Pin Xiu, a gold medalist five times over and a former Nominated Member of this House.

I have known Pin Xiu and her parents for some time because they are residents at Braddell Heights and valued members of the community. When Pin Xiu won her Paralympic gold medals in 2016, there was a motorcade parade to celebrate her victory and that of other Paralympians. The motorcade passed by our constituency and we had a big contingent of residents and supporters there to cheer her on.

Pin Xiu had also featured in NTUC FairPrice's SG50 campaign – this was 2015, six years ago – where we did the campaign to recognise the heroes in our life.

Pin Xiu calls her mom as her heroine, both because of the time and energy her mom has given to the family and for her mom's strong spirit. When she was bullied as a child, her mother taught her to stand up. Let me quote what her mom said to her: "When people stare at you, there is no need to look away, just stare back. My mother is gangster that way!"

So, we celebrate our "gang", that one of our own has stood tall on the world stage and done us all and Singapore proud. We celebrate especially hard when the victory is hard won.

I am a firm advocate of the value that sports have in galvanising people of different backgrounds towards community bonding. It serves as a powerful platform that develops social harmony and contributes to nation building.

Today, with the ongoing pandemic, we have shifted focus towards more pressing needs to help and address topics on bread and butter issues such as employment, training and the protection of the elderly.

Supporting these areas and supporting sports need not be mutually exclusive.

The common denominator is about celebrating the indomitable human spirit in overcoming adversities and challenges and collectively encouraging one another to better ourselves.

For athletes with disabilities, the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) provides support and deserves our help too. Corporations can and should make meaningful monetary contributions and in this regard, I am pleased to say that NTUC FairPrice has and will continue to support this cause. In fact, since 2008, we have contributed over $4.3 million on various sports-related initiatives to help Singapore become a sporting nation.

We also call out the different identities of the athletes. Pin Xiu is a role model on so many fronts. She and our other national sporting talents, they have all brought our country together and she is an inspiration to all – in her sport, her role as a community leader – and a tribute to her family, especially her mom whom she considers as her hero.

How apt that this year, MSF has dedicated 2021 as the Year of Celebrating SG Women. Pin Xiu is a fantastic role model for young women and that so much is possible, and this itself is a cause for much celebration.

So, congratulations, Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians for your dedication, your hard work and your achievements at this year's Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games. I salute you, I think we in this House certainly salute you and Singapore salutes all of you. [Applause.]

Mr Speaker: Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.

1.13 pm

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak in this in support of this Motion of thanks.

Let me begin like others in this House by expressing my appreciation and congratulations to all our national athletes, regardless of whether they may have medalled in these most recent games and, of course, to Yip Pin Xiu, our country's most decorated sports personality.

Following the unexpected losses of some of our athletes in the recent games, criticism arose in some quarters about their disappointing performances. But as any sportsman or sportswoman will tell you – I used to be one, albeit never a particularly distinguished one – even with the best preparation, one's performance is subject to a host of extrinsic influences.

Despite exercising extreme care with one's diet, breakfast may simply not agree with one that morning. One could lose concentration for even a split second and that could make all the difference. The wind may not blow in your favour at the critical moment or your opponent could simply be having the best performance of their life.

I am certain that all our Olympians and Paralympians gave their best shot during their time in Tokyo. Even in instances where they may have not won, some achieved personal bests, others set national records. Sport is as much about overcoming personal barriers as it is about beating the competition. That many of our athletes were able to rise to the occasion and establish new individual records is likewise laudable, even if medals were not involved.

More generally, we need to understand as a nation that our support for our sportsmen and sportswomen should not be dependent on them having won medals or tournaments. Our nation's sporting culture will only be elevated when we do not view their accomplishments as transactional, and as such we only celebrate the wins, but, rather, as unconditional.

Having been blessed with the talent, ability and desire, subsequently, these individuals chose to sacrifice their time, energy and finances toward climbing the pinnacles of their sport.

In representing us, they afford us the enormous privilege of being able to live vicariously through their accomplishments and successes. For that, the Workers' Party, as well as, I am sure, everyone in this House, are thankful. Once again, congratulations. [Applause.]

Mr Speaker: Ms Denise Phua.

1.16 pm

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I join Minister Edwin Tong in congratulating our Olympians and Paralympians here. I thought the Minister would have made a very good sports commentator, because he was so excited when he shared the journey and their feats. So, thank you, Minister, for being so enthusiastic.

As the Minister has mentioned, behind every successful sportsman is that village behind them. I, therefore, also join the Government in commending all the wonderful families, caregivers, coaches, educators, volunteers, national sports agencies, SNOC, SNPC, SDSC, Chefs de Mission, SportsSG’s SSI, NYSI and so forth – as you can see, we are a country of abbreviated institutions. Many others, many institutions were involved in this journey to the Tokyo Games.

As an advisor to The Purple Parade organising committee, I am really delighted that our Vice Chair Pin Xiu and member Maximillian had set foot again on the world stage, proudly representing Singapore and doing Singapore so proud. In the WhatsApp message that we are having, many of the Purple Parade guys are rooting for you and congratulating you. So, read that later.

Watching the Games reminded me of the time when I was a young girl – that was a long time ago – chasing the Malaysia Cup even when I was studying for exams. Holding my books and watching the game on TV, admiring heroes such as the late Mohamed Noh. The national team did not always bring home the Malaysia Cup but I remember we were always proud of our then "Team Singapore".

Sir, this is the month of The Purple Parade in Singapore when many supporters of the disability community visibly show their support for inclusion and celebrate the abilities of people with disabilities.

I thought it opportune to bring up the topic of a debate, or a controversy that some people have mentioned before on the difference between cash awards for medalled Olympians versus medalled Paralympians. Persons in the sector, in fact, quipped that this conversation, this debate over prize, always occurs every four years, often after the Games. The last was in 2016 after the Rio Games.

Proponents calling for equality, or parity, in cash awards for medalists at the Paralympics and Olympic Games, often cite a few reasons: first, that the efforts put in by our sportsmen and women to prepare for the Paralympics are equal to, if not more intense than, the Olympics; two, that Singapore ought to emulate the spirit shown by countries that have equalised the awards, countries such as Japan, United States, Malaysia and the like.

Others defending the current difference in awards cited that there is a difference in scope and depth and, sometimes, appeal of the two Games. I do not know about that, but there is a difference in scope, they say. And that private donors, and not the Government, are the ones footing the bill for the awards and, therefore, it is they who traditionally felt that the awareness and appeal of sponsoring disability sports is lower than that of mainstream sports, leading to a lower prize for medalled disabled athletes. So, those are the reasons.

When I dug deeper into the issue to decide where I stand on this controversial issue, I found that there is more than meets the eye.

For this happy occasion, I will just state some very brief background findings.

First up, Government, as the Minister has mentioned, the Singapore Government has always maintained its position to invest upstream in overall sports participation and then, in grooming sports talents to get to the podium at national, regional, global games under its High Performance Sports system. The Government has hitherto been reluctant to use public funds for what it calls post-podium awards, especially cash awards. So, that is one thing I found out.

The second is this. The two cash awards schemes for medalists are the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP) for the Olympians and then, the Athlete Achievement Award (AAA) for the Paralympians. They are administered by different NGOs or non-governmental bodies, SNOC and SNPC. They have different genesis, they started at different times and they have different scopes and features.

The AAA for the Paralympians is managed by the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) for the para-athletes. Chairman is the ever-passionate Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang. I think she is there. Dr Teo-Koh. The Olympians are governed by Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) chaired by none other than our also very enthusiastic Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin.

Both NGOs separately negotiated for the prize awards at different times, much later for the para-athletes and managed to get quite different sponsorships. There are some features. For instance, under the MAP, a gold-winning Olympian may win $1 million but will not get more if he scores another gold medal. For the Paralympians, a gold-winning Paralympian, on the other hand, will earn a $200,000 award each time he or she wins a gold. The whole system is not quite neat at all and bears a review.

Now, I have a call for action. As Singapore strives to become more inclusive and as Singaporeans ask for more parity, they speak up more articulately about inclusion and they want more equality amongst differently abled sports talents, it is time to bite the bullet, to change the game.

Do not wait for the Paris Games in 2024, in a few years' time, to revive this conversation and debate again. Let us start to rewrite the headline of the past decades, always comparing inequality in prize money for Olympians versus Paralympians; making it sound like the Government is heartless, Singapore is so heartless and not supportive of inclusion. As one of the advocates for the disabled, I know this to be far from true.

In this regard, I call for the Government to weigh in, to facilitate the process to reimagine, to review and to resource not only the High Performance Disability Sports system but also to widen the sports participation, to widen the talent pipeline through greater sports participation. This is a happy occasion, but at another occasion, I shall ask for an update from the Minister to the Disability Sports Master Plan including the need for developing a dashboard and review of the structure and the system, so that there is parity in both form and substance.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the time indeed has come. Singapore has adopted and ratified the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to grant equal rights to the disabled. Our country has moved decisively in the last decade or more to narrow the gap between persons of different abilities in the important realms of life, in education, healthcare, transport, employment. We are still doing that, we still have not arrived, but we are doing that. So, let us make a statement in sports. Make sports accessible, inclusive and prevalent for all persons with disabilities in Singapore and change the headline from what we always debate about after every major game, about disparity, to equality and to something more positive and exciting.

In conclusion, Sir, let me return to Minister Edwin’s Motion of congratulating our beloved Team Singapore.

Today, this House formally honour and thank the Olympians and Paralympians who did us so proud at the Tokyo Games. Medalled or not, you have accomplished a feat that many of us can only dream of achieving. We, who mostly merely cheered you in the comforts of our homes, watching our phone or TV screens, owe you, your families, coaches and support teams, we owe you much. So, take heart, whether you are medalled or not.

As the former US President Roosevelt famously said in his speech "Citizenship in a Republic", he said this, it is one of my favourite quotes and I know that it is repeated by some coaches before they go for games, and part of the extract says this: "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."

Indeed, the credit belongs to you, our dear Olympians and Paralympians, who in your journey to sports excellence, must have tried, fallen, rose, tried again and again; and not many could have done that, not many could have seen that. So, take heart, whether you are medalled or not. Of course, Pin Xiu is our pride and joy. But also all the others who have just made such a difference. I hope like what Jamus has said, let us take heed, take heart, the rest of Singapore, that we have this culture that is also supportive, whether our representatives are medalled or make it to the podium or not. As long as they have tried their best, I think that is part of our Team Singapore family.

So, thank you. You have placed a small nation like ours on the world stage, you have helped our country punch way above our weight in this space. For that, we honour and salute you. Congratulations. [Applause.]

Mr Speaker: Mr Mark Chay.

Mr Mark Chay (Nominated Member): Dear Speaker, on the onset, I would like to declare that I am a member of SNOC, Chair of SNOC Athletes' Commission, Honorary Secretary of Olympians Singapore and Singapore Disability Sports Council coach for Yip Pin Xiu.

Making it to the Olympics and the Paralympic Games is an incredible achievement that few can claim. Every Olympian and Paralympian must undergo the very same rite of passage: years of dedication and sacrifice, which amounts to tens of thousands of deliberate practice and hard work. It means qualifying and proving to the world to be among the best of the best. And I am so excited to congratulate you – our Olympians and Paralympians – on your achievements today!

You did not just do it for yourselves. You did it for our nation, our people, our future champions, which is why I wholeheartedly support this Motion.

As an Olympian myself, the chance to earn that invitation to compete for the glory of our flag, our nation Singapore, is something that can never be taken away. You are now Olympians and Paralympians forever as you have stood head-to-head and toe-to-toe amongst the worlds’ elite at the greatest show of excellence.

For over a month, hon Members here, like most Singaporeans, eagerly followed your progress through the Games and you did not disappoint. You brought us through a multitude of emotions. We felt your joy when you did well; your passion when you fought; and your disappointment when things did not go as you hoped. Thank you for inspiring us during these challenging times, for stepping up and enabling us to look forward to you representing us, for showing the best of us as a people and for connecting us with the rest of the world!

Any Olympic and Paralympic campaign is hard. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly made this one tougher. Training was disrupted, competition travel plans were terminated and the postponement of the Games meant that all of you had to put your lives on hold for an additional year. As an Olympian, I recognise the sacrifices you had to make. Some of you had to spend large amounts of time away from your loved ones to train and compete; others put their careers on hold; and others took time off school. All of this to reach the pinnacle of sport.

Yet, it cannot be argued that the amazing achievements by our home-grown athletes would be impossible without the support of the Government and NGOs.

As Members may know, I am Yip Pin Xiu’s coach, and it was indeed a privilege to be part of her journey. She is an amazing athlete and champion, who is professional, talented and not afraid of hard work. She would be the first to tell you that her success is not hers alone; and we have indeed benefitted greatly from the support from the Government as well as NGOs.

Through our Tokyo campaign, I witnessed the grit and resilience of athletes like Pin Xiu mustered. Plans that brought athletes like Pin Xiu to success in 2016 had to completely be rewritten because of COVID-19. Limited training time, limited exposure to elite competition and relearning how to compete under new protocols, changed our approach entirely.

I am very thankful that we had a great team in the MCCY, SportSG, Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC), Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), the National Training Centre (NTC) and the Sports Hub who provided invaluable support, advice and action during this campaign.

The circuit breaker was a very hard time, like many of the athletes here did not have access to training facility time and resources. For athletes like Pin Xiu, who are more efficient in the water, adapting to a land-based training programme was a challenge. We had daily conference calls with SSI's Sport Scientists to make sure that all aspects of her training were covered, and together with Mick Massey from SDSC, we planned for a smooth transition post-circuit breaker. Never once did we lose sight of the target, and in the end, Pin Xiu won two golds. Two times, we, as a nation sang the Majulah Singapura at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre as we joined the world to watch our flag fly high.

So, today, I would like to mention the amazing team that SportSG has assembled to be able to deliver a truly world-class programme. Pin Xiu’s gold medals are proof that we have the capability and resources to produce world beaters in Singapore. I hope that SportSG continues building on its capabilities and programmes to support our athletes.

Pin Xiu is also a beneficiary of the spexScholarship, which many of our athletes here today are on. The spexScholarship provides an enhanced level of financial and programme support for Singapore’s elite athletes, enabling talented athletes to pursue their sporting careers longer.

Other athletes like Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen have also been supported in their athletic ambitions by deferments granted by MINDEF. Because of these deferments, Singapore was able to realise its first Olympic gold, care of Joseph Schooling. These performances made the world sit up and take notice of Singapore. They redefined what is possible and inspired a new generation of athletes to take on their mantle for many Olympics to come. I hope MINDEF continues to work together with MCCY to recognise talented athletes with extraordinary potential to inspire and unite our nation for future deferments.

There is no doubt that Pin Xiu’s wins have motivated many. Her achievements in and out of the pool will leave a legacy on Singapore and Singaporeans. She has shed light on various groups of persons in society and inspired many to do their part to build a better and inclusive Singapore.

Mr Speaker, I am overjoyed to hear that a special award has been created to acknowledge Pin Xiu's achievements and captures the spirit of her accomplishments.

It is my hope that her success has inspired generations of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to redefine their capabilities. Para-athletes like Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh have realigned my perceptions and taught me never to put limitations on their abilities. In turn, I hope that their accolades encourage other PWDs to look beyond their physical abilities and reimagine their own capabilities. Get active, take on a sport, pursue your passions. Hopefully, they will reach the heights of our para trailblazers and beyond. One day, we will be recognising their feats here in Parliament as well.

The conversation around support and the disparity between parasports and sports in general happens every four years. Perhaps this time, we can ride this wave and work with the existing system, which needs more assistance.

Hon Members, we recognise sport has the power to motivate, transform and unite. Sport is a great way to impart values. Our Olympians and Paralympians here today are an embodiment of values such as equality, respect and excellence. At the Tokyo Games, we saw these values in action.

Pierre de Coubertin, the Founder of the Modern Day Olympic Movement said, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well. The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete. All sports for all people. All sports must be treated on the basis of equality. The important thing in life is not victory but combat. It is not to have vanquished but to have fought well."

In the spirit of equality, I would like to encourage MCCY to work closely with SDSC and SNPC to develop the ecosystem and programmes to enable PWDs to pursue sports participation. Even if Singapore has built world-class sports facilities, we have a ways to go in making these facilities accessible for PWDs. By making facilities accessible, we thereby enable our fellow Singaporeans the ability to participate and experience sports and everything wonderful it brings.

As the sports ecosystem relies heavily on donations, sponsorships and volunteers at all levels, I encourage MCCY and SportSG to engage Government-linked companies and MNCs to adopt our national sports associations by financially supporting their activities. I would also like to urge more volunteers to step forward, be trained and make an impact through sport. I would like to encourage Coach SG and various national sporting bodies to develop para-coaching courses, to equip coaches with necessary knowledge and skills to provide appropriate programmes for PWDs at all levels across various sports. By doing so, I believe we can bridge the disparities between parasports and sports by creating opportunities for all and developing a more inclusive society, something deeply rooted in the values as a nation.

Finally, my fellow Olympians and Paralympians, we are very proud of you. Please allow me to leave you with this.

Whilst training for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, my coach Mr Kee Soon Bee passed away. Mr Kee could not see me compete in Sydney, nor was he able to realise his own individual Olympic ambitions because of World War II. When we trained, Mr Kee told me that it is a privilege to go to the Olympics and if I were given an opportunity, I should not take being an Olympian for granted. He would say that "It’s hard to ascend Mount Olympus, but it is even harder to stay at its peak."

As Olympians and Paralympians, we have been given this privilege and opportunity. We have gained knowledge and experienced what it is like to be amongst the world's best. Your journey as Olympians and Paralympians does not stop here, so keep going, keep pushing, keep defying the odds and proving what is possible with hard work and dedication!

Mr Speaker, for all of us here in Parliament today, we know with great opportunities we are offered, comes certain great responsibilities. I would like to encourage each and every one of you to continue your journey in sports and contribute your knowledge, experience and time to the ecosystem in Singapore. "Once an Olympian, always an Olympian. In service to Olympians and in service to society". If we work together, there is nothing beyond our reach and we will be able to stand together on the podium for many national anthems to come! "Majulah Singapura! Majulah Singapura!" [Applause.]

Mr Speaker: Ms Poh Li San.

1.38 pm

Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang): Thank you, Minister Edwin, for moving this Motion to recognise and congratulate our Team Singapore athletes.

Mr Speaker, I would like to mention that as Deputy President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, there might be some personal association on the subject that I will be speaking on.

Tokyo Games would be remembered as an extraordinary pandemic Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Tokyo International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee defied the multitude of obstacles, protests, delays and criticisms to have successfully hosted the event. For bringing the world together to compete and to celebrate the spirit of humanity in the midst of a global crisis, the organising committee certainly deserves the accolades.

With sports, humanity triumphs.

With sports, people all over the world can unite.

With sports, we can overcome adversity.

Singaporeans are worn out by the mental, economic and social impact from COVID-19. Over the past two years, we have witnessed and are reminded of darkness of mental wellness issues.

Sports can strengthen our bodies and minds, toughen our fighting spirit and uplift our spirits during difficult times.

Sports can bring Singaporeans of different races and religions, socio-economic backgrounds together and be the unifying force that bonds and builds Singapore.

In this speech, I am calling for this House to do better and more for our national athletes as well as for all community sports participants, and to affirm the greater purpose of sports to bond Singaporeans.

Singaporeans can easily recall the historic Joseph Schooling’s win against the swimming legend Michael Phelps during the 2016 Rio Olympics. That victory electrified Singapore and brought cheers and celebration across the entire nation. His victory was an inspiration to budding young athletes and his win re-energised the entire local sporting fraternity with renewed ambitions and possibilities.

Our athletes may not have won any medal in the recent Tokyo Olympics but there were some debutants who delivered commendable performances in their maiden Olympic games, namely, shuttlers Kean Yew and Jasmine, fencers Kiria and Amita and sailors Kimberly and Cecilia. In the Tokyo Paralympics, our athletes delivered better than expected. Our athletes came home with two Gold medals and broke five National Records. Our heartiest congratulations to our swimmer and also former Nominated Member of Parliament, Ms Yip Pin Xiu, for winning two Golds at Tokyo Paralympic Games and a total of five Paralympic Gold medals for Singapore since Beijing Paralympics in 2008. And congratulations as well to Pin Xiu’s coach, Mr Mark Chay, who is also an hon Member of the House.

Our Olympians and Paralympians remind us that with grit, determination and passion, we can overcome life challenges. With public expectations, every athlete is expected to perform well even though there will only be one winner.

The thing about competitive sports is that it trains you to be resilient, instills discipline and to embrace failure and pick yourself up again to be better.

When Joseph Schooling did not advance beyond the heats, there were many nasty comments hurled at him on the social media. At the same time, many Singaporeans including President Halimah, Minister Edwin Tong and yourself, Mr Speaker, came forward to support him. Minister Edwin reminded Singaporeans that we should not be fair-weather fans and we must be consistent in our support of our athletes, whether they win or lose. We must embrace failure, give constructive and not destructive comments.

Beyond winning medals, we must remember the greater meaning of sports and of the Olympic Games. As summed up by Tokyo Olympics Chef de Mission, Dr Ben Tan, and I quote him, "Team Singapore showed professionalism, fearlessness and tenacity at the Olympics". It is already an immense achievement for an athlete to qualify for the Olympics. In the midst of this raging pandemic, it takes an even greater amount of determination and courage to compete. We must all support Team Singapore!

Mr Speaker, now that the Tokyo Games is over, it is time to review our national sports strategy. Prof Tommy Koh mentioned in his opinion piece that small countries could win medals as well. I agree. Now that it is evident to us that being small and unable to perform is just an excuse, we need to look into why Singapore cannot win more Olympic medals when countries that are less well-endowed and with similar or smaller populations can do so. Countries such as Hong Kong, Luxembourg, San Marino, Jamaica, Bahamas and Grenada have each won several Olympic medals. What else must Singapore do more and do differently?

In preparation for this Motion, I have consulted several senior members of SportSG, Singapore Sports School, national coaches and several national athletes. I thank them for their candour and I would also like to put on record the commendable work and contribution in the development of the local sports ecosystem by MCCY, SportSG, SNOC, SNPC, many National Sports Associations and local sports clubs over the years.

Here is a chronology of what was done so far for sports in Singapore. In 1993, the Sports Excellence programme, or SPEX in short, was introduced. In 2004, Singapore Sports School was launched and in 2011, the Singapore Sport Institute to support Team Singapore athletes and coaches in high performance sports started. In 2013, SPEX Scholarships for top national athletes was launched and other athlete-centric programmes were introduced. In 2014, the $1.3 billion Sports Hub with its state-of-the-art integrated facilities opened. By 2015, National Youth Sports Institute was operational.

Annually, the Government invests some $400 million towards sports and sports development in Singapore, including $70 million on the High Performance Sports system to support the development of national athletes and national sports associations.

Clearly, these are significant investments by a country to ensure their high performance athletes have a conducive training environment and some financial support for them to train and compete full-time for major competitions.

However, despite these investments to the sports ecosystem, Olympic medals still elude Singapore. Clearly, there are still gaps that we need to address to help our national athletes excel on the world stage.

It is time for us to make a clear commitment whether we want to provide the best possible support to our sporting talents and excel on the world stage or are we just satisfied with participating in some major international events. If we want Singapore to shine and to show the world that our sporting talents are world-class, we will need a better plan with a clearer strategy.

I would like to suggest the following recommendation basing on the following four points.

First, focus. We need to be very clear about the sports that we intend to develop to create multiple structured development pathways. Basing on past performances and future potential, we will have to carefully identify three or four sports to focus on, basing on performance outcome and not social community participation.

Second, search. To excel in anything you do, one will require the time to train. If you wish to be an Olympics Champion, you need to start training from an early age. We have to build a broad-based pyramid that includes the community sports academies, clubs and National Sports Associations to identify young sports talents. Upon selection and training, expose these talents to high-level international competitions in order to sharpen their skills and build up their experience. It is possible to find our gems if we search hard and early enough.

Third, nurture. We have to do way more if we wish to develop a conducive environment for our talents, starting with MOE schools and the Institutes of Higher Learning to be more supportive in accommodating sports talents. Athletes will have to miss lessons or even examinations when they are representing Singapore at the regional and international sporting events. Such students should be provided with flexibility if they have to take a longer time to complete their academic studies, diploma or degree programmes. It is not easy for anyone to focus 100% if they have to choose between achieving excellence in their interest and their academic commitments. Most parents would want their children to focus on academics because that is the mainstream approach when it comes to securing a good future. This common mindset about no future for professional sports in Singapore must change. Academics may not work for everyone and sports can, in fact, be a good alternative for those who are less academic.

We can be talking about our strategies and problems till the cows come home but the fact is, "No money, no talk." So, on the financial aspects of nurturing a sports talent, we have to ensure that all talented athletes from humble family backgrounds are not denied a chance to excel due to the lack of resources. As of now, most of our national athletes are amateur athletes with no professional sponsorships. Most will have to juggle full-time studies or a full-time job with daily training. Nearer to major competitions, some may have to decide if they wish to take a year or two off from school or work at their own expense. Understandably, not all athletes can afford to do so.

The SPEX Scholarship was launched in 2013 to address this issue. SportSG sponsors about 70 top-tiered national athletes with a monthly stipend so that they can train full-time. SportSG also provide various training grants to those athletes who decide to take time off to train full-time. Separately, SpexBusiness is a network of companies from diverse industries which offers our national athletes various career development support, such as employment opportunities and workplace flexibilities.

All these grants sound good but it is just not good enough to attract talented athletes to go professional. To groom an Olympic medalist from a young age, it can easily cost millions. Instead of having to constantly justify why more state funds should be used to groom a handful of athletes when these resources could well be channelled into social services, we could relinquish total management control of our national athletes.

With professional management, successful professional athletes can be very influential, just like big stars. When athletes win medals and excel at the global stage, they not only bring pride to Singapore, but also goodwill and publicity to their corporate sponsors. We could look into working with bigger commercial corporations that require endorsements and branding and in return, have them support the cost of training and provide financial assistance. A strong partnership with big corporate sponsors should be considered. Recently, there are some fast-growing multinational technology companies setting up shop in Singapore. We ought to move fast.

A career in sports can be short-lived. I would now like to touch on the matter of professional athletes retiring. In March 2015, the Singapore Coach Excellence Programme was established to provide enhanced training and development pathway for all coaches from the grassroots and community to high performance sports. However, a career in coaching may not work for all athletes. One possibility could be a continuation of partnership with the corporations that supported these athletes or for Government-linked companies or Temasek-linked companies or even the Public Service to assist and support our national athletes to transit into second careers. A viable second career opportunity would certainly provide an additional assurance to athletes and their parents when considering if they should turn professional. All professional athletes' safety net must be addressed.

On this note, I would like to recommend that MCCY and MTI work together to start a Sports Representation programme, to recognise the participation of big corporations in the support of our top-tier national athletes who are keen to turn professional.

Fourth, persevere. The reality is that there is no short cut. A lot of hard work, resources and systematic development have to be invested in order to groom that one winner. Developing a talent to be able to compete at a high level competition and able to have a continuous pipeline of talents will require time.

These four pointers are necessary to ensure a strong pipeline of athletes. The next Olympics Games is only three years away and we look forward to more local athletes shining brighter in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Mr Speaker, I would also like to discuss how community sports bond our nation.

The People's Association (PA), Health Promotion Board (HPB) and ActiveSG actively promote sports and active living. The annual National Sports Participation Survey reports that regular participation of at least once weekly in sports and physical activity grew from 42% in 2011 to an all-time high rate of 69% in 2020. Since the launch of ActiveSG in 2014, they have garnered a membership base of two million and a visitorship of over 17 million every year to ActiveSG sport facilities and programmes before the pandemic. Community sports, such as zumba and brisk walking, have also garnered a huge following. In Northwest CDC, the brisk walking club has membership of more than 60,000 walkers!

These sporting activities are simple, widely accessible and affordable. They are suitable for people of all ages and, more importantly, these community sports activities bring people together, regardless of their race, language and religion, gender and age. In addition, community sports and fitness activities play a very important role to keep our residents, especially the seniors, active physically and engaged psychologically, so that they can continue to age actively into their golden years. To add, instead of staying home to play online games, our younger residents are reminded to exercise several times a week through these community events.

Unfortunately, the pandemic caused a severe impact on our community events. The strong momentum gathered over the past decade declined. A recent study by marketing research company Ipsos showed that 30% of 500 respondents experienced an average increase of around five kilogrammes during the pandemic. The main reasons were due to the more sedentary lifestyles and the closure of and capacity restrictions in gyms and fitness studios. Fortunately, 40% of the respondents reported that they are exercising more often due to the absence of work commutes which made it easier to carve out time to exercise.

Going forward in a COVID-endemic world, if some of the safe management measures were to remain for a prolonged period, PA, HPB, ActiveSG and schools must look into what can be done to encourage people to partake in community sports. There are several challenges that will require creative solutions. I hope we can consider the following.

Firstly, different measures for the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Access to enclosed and air-conditioned gyms and fitness studios will not be accessible to the unvaccinated individuals. Unvaccinated individuals will have to exercise in the open spaces instead. In fact, some fitness centres, including those operated by ActiveSG, have started outdoor gyms so that members can still do their free weights and circuit training in an open space.

Secondly, I recommend that ActiveSG rent out fitness studios at a special rate to fitness instructors who wish to coach their students online. This will allow some fitness instructors to leverage technology to amplify their outreach. They could even take a step further by using these facilities to create digital content and produce fitness workout videos.

Sports will prepare our youths to be physically and mentally prepared for the challenges of the real world and my biggest concern is actually the unvaccinated young children below 12 years old. At the moment, physical education lessons for Primary schools are very controlled or suspended. In fact, most national school sports meet and games have also been halted for almost two years now. This stoppage of physical activities has an unhealthy and negative effect on young children and youths. Not only are they not able to exercise, they are not able to interact with their friends and are also unable to develop their physical and mental strengths through sports and games.

It is important for MOE to take a risk-based approach to gradually open up sports activities and CCAs in Primary schools and restart the national school sports meet and games in the Secondary schools and Junior Colleges.

Mr Speaker: Ms Poh Li San, you have half a minute left.

Ms Poh Li San: As the pandemic situation wanes, sports that are played in the outdoors, such as track and field, and those with minimal contact and played indoors, such as table tennis and badminton, should restart. Hopefully, team sports with less contact like volleyball and netball can also restart. Understandably, contact sports like soccer and rugby will take some time but the game could be reorganised into smaller teams so that children can resume playing again in a safe manner.

Mr Speaker, be it competitive or community sports, sports should be an integral part of our daily lives, with a purpose to bond Singaporeans.

Singapore is still very much a young nation and our sporting culture is still evolving. Sports can be a viable professional career in Singapore. What is important is that we search, focus, nurture and persevere to build a solid and strong foundation for our sporting ecosystem.

Mr Speaker, Sir, through sports, we will bond and build Singapore. I support the Motion. [Applause.]

2.00 pm

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir): Mr Speaker, I rise in full support of the Motion.

I believe that I speak for all Members of this House when I say that we are extremely proud of all our athletes who represented and continue to represent Singapore, be it at the Olympics, Paralympics or any other sporting event.

We have seen for ourselves how sports have the capacity to rally a nation and inspire generations. Sports, therefore, play a crucial and important role in forging a strong Singapore spirit. Sportsmen and sportswomen also serve as good role models for our youths, with their passion, perseverance, drive and values in sportsmanship. Athletes like Yip Pin Xiu and Joseph Schooling are good examples.

But as we celebrate and recognise the successes of our athletes, we should also cast our minds towards the equally important task of improving the support system for all our committed elite athletes who are striving hard every day in their respective sporting disciplines regardless of the eventual outcomes in competitions.

If we succeed in establishing a strong, multifaceted support system for our athletes, a strong national sporting culture can evolve where our athletes can train and aspire to be the best that they can be, while having the peace of mind that they have the financial support during and institutional support after their sporting careers.

In order to achieve this, the Government can consider working further with the private sector by creating an official platform and invite like-minded private sector organisations to come on board to spearhead these efforts. At the moment, we do have various existing programmes by the Government and the private sector in support of the sporting community. Examples include funding from SportsSG, the One Team Singapore Fund, spexScholarship and also spexBusiness which tap on private sector support. I am also aware, for instance, that Deloitte has its own specially-curated programme, "Deloitte Ignite" which offers internship and employment opportunities for elite athletes, current and retired.

These existing programmes have certainly assisted our athletes over the years but, Sir, I think we can do more. We can invite senior executives from the private sector to sit in a committee, together with MCCY, to look at how we can better support our athletes holistically. Working closely with the private sector, we will be able to access a wider range of resources and utilise these resources flexibly to benefit a wider spectrum of athletes in more sporting disciplines. We will also be able to better tailor the support given to each athlete as requirements may differ from athlete to athlete and from sport to sport.

Separately, a perennial worry for elite athletes is their livelihoods after their sporting careers are over. The spexBusiness network has done well in this area for many of our athletes but such a committee can look to leveraging the existing network to do even more.

Japan, for example, has a culture of "corporate athletes", where Japanese corporations have sometimes hired elite athletes as full-time employees with a flexible work-training schedule that is tailored to meet the athlete concerned. While we may not be able to adopt a similar model, the committee can look at other innovative arrangements, suited to our local context, for our Singapore athletes.

My sincere hope is that successes such as those of Pin Xiu and Joseph and the many athletes that have come before them, can inspire a whole new generation of Singaporean athletes to pursue their sporting aspirations. We, as Members of this House and the Government, must certainly try our very best to support this endeavour.

My heartiest congratulations once again to all our Olympic and Paralympic athletes for their best efforts in representing Singapore. We are all so very proud of you. [Applause.]

Mr Speaker: Minister Edwin Tong.

2.05 pm

Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: Mr Speaker, I thank the various Members who have spoken in support of the Motion so wholeheartedly. And even as we celebrate the successes today, I thank them for their vision and suggestions in looking forward, looking ahead on what else we can do.

I thank Mr Seah for his pledge to continue to support sports and, in particular, for him, in his capacity in FairPrice, to lead the initiatives to contribute towards sports. I thank Assoc Prof Jamus Lim and Ms Denise Phua's suggestions and also, their reiteration that sports, like many other situations in life, we have to cater to the vicissitudes of the circumstances and that that itself ought not to diminish the achievements of our sporting talents.

As usual, Ms Phua has also set me a task – and also, thank you for acknowledging my alternative career as a sports commentator. I will take on board the suggestions and, of course, be accountable to the various initiatives that she has set out. I have no doubt she will ask me to explain the dashboard to her, in her words, on a different occasion.

I thank Mr Mark Chay for sharing his own experience, unique as it is, once an Olympian and now coach of a Paralympian champion. Your insights being in the system, showing us your view from the inside, understanding the different moving parts between Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC), Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), all the acronyms, coming together, really say a lot about the village and the support that we have as a village to ensure the successes of our athletes.

I thank Ms Poh for the very thoughtful and considerate suggestions. There were many of them. We will take them on board and review them closely with SportSG. And finally, I thank Mr Sitoh for his suggestions. The reiteration that we will work with the private sector and that there is a lot of good that will come out of this partnership, as I have mentioned earlier in my opening speech.

I underscore the point that we will reimagine our spots framework to ensure that all levels of participation from the grassroots through to the elite sporting talents will be given opportunities through programmes like the spexScholarship and others to allow athletes to realise their full potential.

On this, let me come back to the Motion and reiterate our gratitude, our thanks and our deepest, warmest congratulations to all of our TeamSG athletes, Olympians, Paralympians and, in particular, our Gold Medalist champion from Tokyo 2020 and now five-time Gold Medal winner Paralympian, Ms Yip Pin Xiu on her award today. Thank you very much, Sir, I beg to move. [Applause.]

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved, "That this House congratulates our Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians, in particular Ms Yip Pin Xiu, our five-time Paralympic Gold Medalist, for their achievements at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Thereupon, hon Members stood to their feet and applauded.

Mr Speaker: Thank you. Order.