Parliament to discuss recent MRT train disruptions, drug reoffending rate and terrorism threats

SINGAPORE: The MRT train service disruptions this month affecting three different rail lines, the continued rise in drug reoffending rates and the threat of terrorism on the back of an assault case at a church are expected to be raised when parliament next sits on Wednesday (Feb 26) for the Budget debate.

Members of Parliament (MPs) have also filed questions regarding the possibility of further cooling measures by the public housing authority, ways to improve aviation safety and the benefits arising from Singapore being the filming location for British band Coldplay's music video.

In an order paper released on Tuesday, MPs asked what actions will be taken to prevent similar incidents on the MRT network following three disruptions in less than a week on the North-South Line, North-East Line and Circle Line. 

The service disruptions occurred on Feb 7, 10 and 11, affecting peak-hour journeys.

The Land Transport Authority said on Feb 13 that it was working closely with train operators SMRT and SBS Transit to identify the root causes.

Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai from the Progress Singapore Party asked for an update on the lessons learnt from the disruptions and what actions will be taken to prevent further train breakdowns.

Similarly, Hougang MP Dennis Tan from the Workers' Party (WP) asked about steps to minimise or avoid similar incidents in future. He also wanted to know if any of the service disruptions were caused by maintenance issues.

On the threat of terrorism, MPs filed questions in light of the recent assault case at Church of the Holy Spirit and various overseas attacks.

MP Christopher de Souza from Holland-Bukit Timah GRC noted that the incident at the church was the second one in less than half a year. The first was at the Church of St Joseph in Bukit Timah last November.

Mr de Souza asked how the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) intends to strengthen collaboration among religious institutions, their surrounding communities and security agencies to be able to better detect potential security threats early and prevent them.

He also wanted to know whether the ministry has plans to give further assurance to the public regarding their personal safety at places of worship.

West Coast GRC MP Rachel Ong asked whether schools, places of worship, hospitals and public institutions are being prepared to respond to potential terrorist attacks, in view of the rise of extremist threats.

Similarly, WP MP Gerald Giam from Aljunied GRC asked about measures being taken to prevent and mitigate deliberate vehicular ramming attacks in areas with high human traffic, including at nightlife districts and public events.

He also asked whether MHA has conducted risk assessments on the likelihood of such attacks in Singapore and if so, what were the key findings and action plans.

Recently in other countries, there have been various incidents of cars ramming into pedestrians, including in Germany earlier this month when an attack in the southern city of Munich wounded 30 people. 

On the matter of Singapore's rising drug reoffending rate, Yio Chu Kang MP Yip Hon Weng asked what were the contributing factors to the increase and whether MHA is reviewing the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes within the drug rehabilitation centres.

He also wanted to know where drug abusers obtain their supplies and if the increased accessibility to drugs was a factor for rising recidivism rate.

OTHER QUESTIONS

1. PROPERTY COOLING MEASURES

Noting that resale flat prices have been rising for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats despite cooling measures, Mr Yip asked what factors are driving the demand for these housing units, other than the scarcity of flats reaching their minimum occupation period (MOP) and are thus available for resale.

The Yio Chu Kang MP also asked whether there will be more cooling measures for the HDB resale market.

In addition, he wanted to know how many private property owners also own HDB flats and whether they will be mandated to release these flats.

2. AVIATION SAFETY

On aviation safety, Mr de Souza asked Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat whether the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore will be reviewing current flight safety and ground control procedures at Changi Airport and Seletar Airport given the recent aviation incidents overseas involving passenger planes. These include the Jeju Air collision in South Korea and one in Washington in the US that killed more than 60 people.

He also asked what extra measures are being considered to further improve aviation safety in Singapore.

3. COLDPLAY'S MUSIC VIDEO

In relation to Singapore serving as the filming location for Coldplay's music video titled Man in the Moon, this was a collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board.

Nominated MP Usha Chandradas asked about the economic and non-economic benefits that Singapore can expect to gain from being featured in the video, and whether there are similar collaborations with international musical acts planned in the near future.