Forest and peatland fires in Indonesia, intensified by a super El Niño, have brought another wave of transboundary haze, affecting the lives and work of many people in Singapore.
When Parliament resumes, several Members of Parliament (MPs) will ask how the authorities plan to pursue legal accountability, financial oversight and regional cooperation, and protect public health.
Parliament will resume at noon on Tuesday (3 November). According to the agenda released by the Clerk of Parliament’s Office on Monday (2 November), MPs have filed 133 oral questions, more than 50 of which concern the haze.
The ministries selected to respond include the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
The questions cover legal liability, enforcement action and review efforts under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, financial oversight and corporate governance of the businesses concerned, bilateral cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia to prevent and tackle haze, as well as ASEAN’s response, and how the authorities monitor air quality and protect public health.
Among them, East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Hazlina Abdul Halim and Workers’ Party (WP) MP for Aljunied GRC Fadli Fawzi want the authorities to explain why investigations into companies linked to the 2015 haze remain unresolved after 11 years.
Other MPs also want to know whether the forthcoming review of the legislation will consider raising the maximum fine and introducing a statutory civil penalty framework.
Regarding measures to protect the public, Bukit Panjang MP Liang Eng Hwa asked how many Singapore citizens have received assistance since the Haze Subsidy Scheme (HSS) was activated on 12 October.
Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Nadia Samdin wants the authorities to explain whether there are enough indoor air filters in preschools, shopping malls, healthcare premises and community care facilities, and what measures are in place to help affected personnel continue providing essential services.
WP MP for Sengkang GRC He Ting Ru will also raise an adjournment motion on transboundary haze, titled “Strengthening Singapore’s Role in Regional Clean Air Amid Transboundary Haze.” He announced in a Facebook post on 16 October that she had filed the adjournment motion and invited the public to share their views.
Last Wednesday (28 October), the government summoned senior executives from ten Singapore-registered companies that had earlier received statutory notices over their alleged possible involvement in the current haze episode.
The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment also said then that it would table amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act when Parliament resumes this week, making any failure to cooperate with haze-related investigation procedures an offence.
Questions filed by MPs on other issues include the review of the Certificate of Entitlement system, preparations for the roll-out of the next-generation Electronic Road Pricing system (ERP 2.0), and the causes of and follow-up action after the major disruption to the public healthcare system on 13 October.
This week’s parliamentary sitting is expected to last two days. According to the agenda, Parliament will hold the second readings of three bills on Tuesday: the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill and the Administration of Muslim Law (Amendment) Bill.
Two bills will be introduced for their first readings: the Sentencing (Scams) Bill and the Fisheries (Amendment) Bill.
