Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan has set a bold target for MRT network reliability this year: for trains to travel about 50 per cent further without a disruption taking place.

He told Parliament yesterday the goal is for MRT trains to travel an average of 200,000km between delays of more than five minutes.

Last year, the “mean kilometre before failure” figure was an average of 133,000 train-km travelled between delays, itself an improvement of about 40 per cent from 2014’s 93,000km.

Still, Mr Khaw acknowledged that Singapore’s MRT is “way below” Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway in terms of reliability, which registered 300,000 train-km before a delay.

“We want to catch up with Hong Kong, and we will,” he said during the parliamentary debate on the Transport Ministry’s budget.

Addressing concerns raised by MP Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir) and Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan over MRT reliability, Mr Khaw spelt out several strategies to tackle this.

Among them, more “condition- monitoring” sensors will be deployed on MRT trains and tracks this year, he said.

Some of these devices – used to monitor train wheels and the power-supplying third rail – are already installed, but more will be added.

“We are moving towards preventive maintenance – that is, we monitor the condition of the assets and do the necessary maintenance before any issues arise,” he said.

This year, infra-red sensors will be fitted on the North-East Line to monitor the line’s overhead catenary power system, while on the North-South and East-West Line (NSEWL), condition-monitoring tools will be used to collect information on train systems.

“These are all very costly investments, but they are necessary,” he said.

New and better MRT trains will cut down disruptions

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

AsiaOne, The Straits Times, Khaw Boon Wan’s Facebook page

About a billion dollars is also being invested in hardware replacement and upgrading, Mr Khaw said.

Within the next two years, the sleepers and third rail on the NSEWL will be replaced, and the signalling system upgraded, which will allow trains to run at shorter intervals.

The skills of rail engineers and maintenance crew are also being beefed up, Mr Khaw said.

“We need a quantum leap both in the numbers and in the capabilities of our rail industry, both to up our existing maintenance standards, and to cope with a rapidly expanding network.”

While there are currently 6,000 workers in rail operations and maintenance, it is estimated that another 5,000 more will be needed as the rail network doubles in length to 360km by 2030.

Central to this is the setting up of a Singapore Rail Academy, which will work with operators in areas of training and the accreditation of courses.

The academy will also conduct research and development into the design of new MRT systems which are easier to build, maintain and operate.

Professor Cham Tao Soon, the former president of Nanyang Technological University and former Chairman of SIM University, will lead the setting up of this academy.

To give engineers more time to perform maintenance and upgrading, Mr Khaw also called for commuters to allow operators to open some of the MRT lines a bit later in the morning, or to close them earlier at night, though he did not elaborate further.

In closing, Mr Khaw said Singapore’s future cannot be car-dominant, and public transport must make a “quantum leap” – through improving the rail system and bus services, and creating a conducive environment to facilitate point-to-point mobility solutions.

He hoped Singaporeans would also be able to feel proud of the MRT system one day.

“We can’t achieve this overnight. We need some more time but we will get there, during this term of Government. Of this, I am confident,” he said.

adrianl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 13, 2016.
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Unwed mothers will soon get the same 16-week maternity leave that is given to married mothers.

Their children will also get a Child Development Account (CDA), which helps pay for their childcare and healthcare needs.

Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin announced the extension of these benefits yesterday, in a move to avoid discriminating against these children. These benefits are now given only to married mothers and their children.

The maternity leave benefits will kick in early next year as Parliament will need to change the law first. But the children of unwed mothers will likely be given the CDAs by September this year, Mr Tan added.

“We can do more to support their efforts to care for their children and reduce the disadvantages that their children may face at birth,” he said, adding that he has met such mothers, including at his Meet-the-People Sessions.

“They are usually vulnerable because they are younger and lower-educated. Some may have been rejected by their own families,” he said.

“It can be difficult enough to bring up children but to do so single-handedly, without family support, is really tough. Some may have hoped to have a child within marriage, but due to circumstances ended up as unwed parents.”

Currently, unwed mothers get eight weeks of paid maternity leave. And their children do not qualify for a CDA, a savings account wherein the Government matches the deposits parents make by up to $6,000.

Last month, it said it would deposit $3,000 into the accounts of children born from March 24, even before parents make a deposit.

Mr Tan said the reason for extending the benefits is to support unwed mothers’ efforts to provide for their children. At the same time, the move should not “undermine parenthood within marriage”, which is “still the prevalent social norm”.

After the changes, unwed mothers will still not get the Baby Bonus cash gift and parenthood tax rebates. They also have to wait till they turn 35 to buy a Housing Board flat under the singles scheme.

Unwed mother Bibiana Neo, 33, who had her daughter a year ago, wishes the benefits had come sooner: “The CDA would have helped with infant care.”

The Association of Women for Action and Research said the move was “in the right direction”. “We hope the Government can go further and look at areas like housing,” it added.

kxinghui@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 13, 2016.
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The Government will buy only printing paper products that carry the Singapore Green Label come September.

Public agencies will also procure only electrical products certified with “high energy efficiency”, starting with air-conditioners, refrigerators, televisions and lamps. For example, only air-conditioners rated at least three-ticks will be allowed.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli made this commitment to signal the public sector’s efforts to take the lead in encouraging sustainable practices. A Green Label indicates that suppliers practise sustainable forestry management, which helps tackle the root cause of transboundary haze pollution.

Mr Masagos also announced a key measure to tackle local air pollution: All new motorcycles above 200cc will need to comply with the Euro 4 emission standard from Jan 1, 2018. For new motorcycles under or equal to 200cc, the rules apply from Jan 1, 2020.

Motorcycles are significant contributors to carbon monoxide and ozone, Mr Masagos said.

The Euro 4 standard will reduce emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, which form ozone, by an estimated 50 per cent in new motorcycles, compared to Euro 3.

A study of the pollution caused by diesel vehicles in Singapore is also being done, to analyse the impact on public health and the environment. The results will be used to review vehicle emission policies.

MPs Faishal Ibrahim (Nee Soon GRC) and Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) asked about ongoing efforts by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to take to task companies responsible for illegal forest fires that caused last year’s haze.

Mr Masagos said the NEA has sent Preventive Measures Notices under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to six Indonesia-based companies, asking them to take immediate steps to mitigate fires and prevent a repeat.

Two – PT Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa and PT Wachyuni Mandira – have responded, and NEA is in touch with them to verify their information.

NEA is also reviewing information from Asia Pulp and Paper on its subsidiaries and steps taken by its Indonesian suppliers to put out fires in their concessions.

A foreign director from one of the four firms that have yet to respond was also recently served with a notice when he was in Singapore, asking him to give information and attend an interview related to the ongoing investigations

This article was first published on April 13, 2016.
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Parliament debated the budgets for the ministries of Transport, the Environment and Water Resources, and Social and Family Development yesterday. Here are the highlights.

Smokers have to stub out in more public places from June.

Reservoirs and more than 400 parks, including those in private and public housing estates, have been added to the list of smoke-free areas.

The parks include those managed by JTC Corporation and town councils, as well as neighbourhood parks managed by the National Parks Board (NParks) in private estates, like Yunnan Park in Jurong West.

The new move comes three years after the smoking ban was extended to common areas, such as void decks, sheltered walkways and linkways, and any area within a 5m radius of a bus stop.

Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor, in announcing the change yesterday, said the Government’s long-term goal is to snuff out smoking in all public areas.

This is to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, she said during the parliamentary debate on the budget of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

Smokers caught lighting up in reservoirs and parks in the first three months will get a warning.

“This is to give members of the public time to adjust to the extension of the smoking prohibition,” said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

But smokers who repeatedly flout the law “in spite of prior warnings” can be fined, NEA added.

The fine for smoking in NParks’ neighbourhood parks in private housing estates is up to $2,000, while in other prohibited places it is at most $1,000.

Currently, smoking is prohibited in 32,000 places such as shopping malls, cinemas and hospitals. Last year, about 17,000 fines were handed out to smokers.

NEA also said owners of premises affected by the latest extension can set up designated smoking areas in their premises.

It added that it has been working with them to put up “No Smoking” signs, and to re-locate bins with ashtrays or replace them with bins without them.

Separately, premises managed by the Singapore Armed Forces and Ministry of Home Affairs will come under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act.

The NEA said the new rules will not change how both agencies punish their personnel for smoking on their premises. But civilians caught doing so will have their personal particulars handed to the two organisations for enforcement action.

samboh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 13, 2016.
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An initiative to give a leg-up to young children from disadvantaged families will be rolled out in five areas in the second half of this year.

The areas are Bukit Merah, Kreta Ayer, Boon Lay, Taman Jurong and Geylang Serai.

Some 1,000 children up to six years old will be “proactively identified” by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and organisations such as family service centres, hospitals and pre-schools, for the trial of the KidStart scheme.

They could include those who come from families with poor, young or unwed parents, or with parents who are in jail.

The Government has set aside more than $20 million for the three-year trial.

The scheme will coordinate the existing support services provided by different agencies for such children. In addition, it will extend support in areas such as health and learning, and will also monitor the children’s progress.

For instance, the children may get basic immunisations and placement in pre-schools.

Their parents will also get help, such as through home visits or parent support groups, so that they can better support the children during their pre-school years and transition to primary school.

These details of the KidStart scheme, first announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in his Budget speech last month, were revealed by Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday.

Said Mr Tan during the debate on his ministry’s budget: “Some children, possibly because of complex family circumstances, already lag behind developmentally even in their early years… In order to help (them), we have to go upstream and provide additional support.”

MP Lily Neo (Jalan Besar GRC) asked Mr Tan if children older than six years can still be helped on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Tan said KidStart is but one programme and the older children could still be eligible for other aid schemes.

He said his ministry would look at the cases if Dr Neo flagged them.

The ECDA said starting small and being focused will allow it to refine how services are delivered before evaluating if, and how, the scheme can be offered in more areas.

Mr Tan said: “I want this model to work. I want to be able to ramp up and help more children.”

While the cost of KidStart works out to an average of $20,000 per child, the ECDA said the actual cost per child will depend on the child’s needs and the services required, so this could range “from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each year”.

It has set up a programme office to work with government agencies, social service offices, hospitals and community partners to implement KidStart. Suitable families will be contacted and asked if they want to take part.

Ms Nur Zalina Ismail, executive principal at a My First Skool childcare centre, said it was important for organisations, such as pre-schools, to work with parents to help their children.

She said: “We should do whatever we can to make sure that no child gets left behind.”

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 13, 2016.
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A pilot programme is to be rolled out for children of abusive or negligent parents to let them continue to stay at home with their loved ones instead of being sent to a children’s home or put up for foster care.

In announcing the move in Parliament yesterday, Minister of Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said it is conventional wisdom that the most ideal environment for children to grow up is in their own homes with their families.

Under the programme, to be launched by December this year, social workers will visit the families every week to understand their strengths and needs.

They will then counsel them, coach the caregivers on parenting skills and connect them to relevant resources in the community.

This “family preservation” service offered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and voluntary welfare organisations will last for six months to ensure the family is back on an even keel.

For children already in foster care, the ministry will offer a “family reunification” service to pave the way for them to return home to their family. It will last 12 months.

Both services come under the pilot programme, to be called Safe and Strong Families.

It is expected to help 400 families and children in the next three years.

Mr Tan, speaking during the debate on his ministry’s budget, said that in the coming years, the ministry will continue to strengthen “these fundamental family relationships”.

“Where relationships have problems, we try to help repair and preserve them. Where they have broken down, we try to minimise the negative impact,” he said.

“Central to our work here is the interest of the children and their development,” he added.

Currently, about 800 children and young people are living in 23 children’s homes, and 350 with foster families.

Also, several agencies provide some form of family preservation or reunification support for such vulnerable families. These include Big Love Child Protection Specialist Centre, Gracehaven children’s home run by The Salvation Army, and Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home.

But the pilot programme will be a more intensive and targeted home-based service.

Ms Serene Tan, senior social worker at Big Love welcomes it: “Children grow up best with their parents as there is natural bonding and innate attachment.”

Also, research in the United States shows more such support reduces the risk of the child being physically or psychologically harmed in the family and increases the likelihood of the child continuing to live with the family.

Her centre has handled about 500 child protection cases in the last three years.

It provides counselling and other home-based services to families torn by financial, addiction, housing and employment problems as well as marital discord or mental health.

Ms Lakshmi Alagappan, deputy head of Gracehaven, said it is vital to have staff whose main task is to help the families, especially the children.

“If the children go back to unstable homes, the issues may escalate and they may have to return to children’s homes again.”

jantai@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 13, 2016.
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