SINGAPORE, Nov 3 — The government will face questions in Parliament today on its response to transboundary haze, plans to revamp the car ownership system and the resilience of public healthcare services following a major IT disruption.

The sitting will also cover child-protection measures following the death of an eight-month-old baby who was repeatedly abused by his parents, with MPs submitting questions across these issues, CNA reported.

Haze response under scrutiny

The haze, which has affected Singapore’s air quality since September, has prompted questions about whether existing legislation can effectively address pollution originating from forest fires in Indonesia and whether companies linked to the fires can be held responsible.

Authorities have since formed a joint task force with Indonesia to investigate companies suspected of involvement, issued notices to Singapore-based firms under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) for the first time, and indicated that existing laws could be amended or new legislation introduced.

MP Tin Pei Ling (PAP-Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC) wants to know what action has been taken against companies with direct or indirect responsibility for the fires, while MP Sylvia Lim (WP-Aljunied GRC) is seeking an explanation for why investigations into four companies over possible THPA breaches, opened in 2015, have yet to be concluded.

MP Sharael Taha (PAP-Pasir Ris-Changi GRC) has proposed a coordinated approach involving relevant agencies to investigate companies, identify their ultimate owners and financial links, and establish accountability, while MP Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang GRC) is asking how many licensed preschools lack air-conditioned indoor areas and how their preparedness for haze conditions is checked.

MP He Ting Ru (WP-Sengkang GRC) will also use an adjournment motion to discuss how Singapore can strengthen its part in addressing transboundary haze.

COE reform and car affordability

The Land Transport Authority’s proposal to combine car COE Categories A and B into a single category, with surcharges and rebates linked to a vehicle’s open market value, has prompted MPs to question how the changes would affect buyers.

MP Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang SMC) is seeking details on the market distortion the proposed arrangement is meant to address and how its effectiveness in distinguishing mass-market cars from higher-value models will be measured, while MP Jessica Tan (PAP-East Coast GRC) wants the review to account for the needs of families and small and medium-sized enterprises that depend on cars or commercial vehicles, including those unable to afford ownership under market-driven COE prices.

MP Edward Chia (PAP-Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) has also asked why the proposed fees and rebates are calculated as a proportion of the COE price rather than set at fixed amounts, and how buyers will be protected from dealers incorporating rebates into their selling prices.

Public healthcare system outage

The nine-hour interruption to services across Singapore’s three public healthcare clusters on October 13 has also drawn questions about the reliability of shared IT infrastructure and the arrangements for restoring services when systems fail.

The outage resulted from a technical problem affecting network connectivity, although national health technology agency Synapxe said there was no indication that it involved a cyber incident.

Nominated MP Haresh Singaraju is asking whether the system has an independent backup, how quickly it is supposed to be restored and whether that recovery target was achieved, while MP Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar GRC) wants figures on the number of patients affected and an explanation of why backup infrastructure did not prevent the disruption; MP Cassandra Lee (PAP-West Coast-Jurong West GRC) is seeking an update on the investigation and possible measures to reduce the risk of similar interruptions.

Child-protection safeguards

The case of an eight-month-old infant who died in September 2024 after repeated abuse by his parents, both jailed on October 21, has prompted three MPs to question how warning signs involving very young children are detected before cases escalate.

Nominated MP Kenneth Poon is asking how suspected abuse involving children aged three and below who are not already known to social services can be identified, and how the Ministry of Social and Family Development connects separate concerns raised by caregivers and professionals to ensure timely intervention.

Nominated MP Neo Kok Beng wants to know whether the Sensemaking Alerts for Frontline Engagement and Response (SAFER) system could have identified cases of this nature and what additional measures would be considered if it could not, while MP Choo Pei Ling (PAP-Chua Chu Kang GRC) is asking whether information from young children’s healthcare visits could be included in SAFER’s cross-agency risk assessments and how repeated medical visits or suspected non-accidental injuries are followed up.