home parliament 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 2009 PAGE B4

tions were to enforce such orders when from travelling overseas. She added that

Defaulting ex-spouses the ex-spouses failed to pay up.

The plight of library assistant Kalsom
Bee Mahmood, 40, is a case in point. Her
seven-year-old daughter missed school
for weeks earlier this year as she could
not afford the school bus fare.
women should be allowed to receive main-
tenance payments directly from an
ex-spouse’s salary.
Dr Balakrishnan said a woman could
currently apply for an order that enables
maintenance to be paid directly from an

may face stiff penalties
Easier legal process to
compel maintenance
payments also under study
BY THERESA TAN
THE Government is considering imposing
stiff penalties to deter former spouses
from defaulting on maintenance pay-
ments to support their families.
It is also studying ways to simplify the
process of getting the courts’ assistance
to compel the men to pay up.
Experience has shown that a woman
has to go to court at least three times to
get an enforcement order – which com-
pels an ex-spouse to pay the maintenance
owed – sorted out.
Community Development, Youth and
Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan
made these points yesterday in response
to questions from Madam Cynthia Phua
(Aljunied GRC) and Madam Halimah Ya-
cob (Jurong GRC). Both had cited difficul-
ties faced by wives in collecting money
owed to them by their ex-husbands.
Dr Balakrishnan, in February this year,
disclosed that his ministry was exploring
ways to get recalcitrant ex-spouses to
cough up maintenance payments.
At the time, he floated the idea of mak-
ing public the maintenance payments of
divorcees to their former families.
This was, in part, to enable those who
want to marry the divorcees to check on
how responsible their partners had been.
And they would also know what sort of
men they were marrying.
But in Parliament yesterday, he said
his ministry was still studying various op-
tions and proposals and would finish its
review in “a few months’ time”.
The problem of ex-spouses neglecting
their financial responsibilities is a perenni-
al one, social workers say, and it causes
much distress to families.
Last year, there were 2,860 applica-
tions for maintenance orders made by
ex-spouses, slightly down from the 3,021
applications filed in 2007.
Close to nine in 10 of these applica-
The mother of two earns about $1,200
a month, and half goes towards paying
rent on the room she occupies.
She told The Straits Times her ex-hus-
band has not paid the $700 monthly main-
tenance since the middle of last year and
she has no idea of his whereabouts.
She has almost given up hope of get-
ting the money and said it is inconvenient
for her to repeatedly take leave to go to
court to seek an enforcement order.
To ease the burden of women like Mad-
am Kalsom, Madam Phua suggested allow-
ing applications for the enforcement of
maintenance orders to be heard by the
Night Court.
However, Dr Balakrishnan said the
courts have explained that this is not prac-
tical, given that the hearings for such ap-
plications tend to be lengthy.
But applications for maintenance and
other family matters could now be lodged
at lunchtime, he said, adding that the
Family Court also sits on Saturdays.
Madam Phua yesterday also suggested
barring men who do not pay maintenance
ex-husband’s salary. But this was not a
popular option.
“It tags that person as a person com-
ing with legal complications and some-
times, that may actually reduce his likeli-
hood of getting employment...We have to
be careful that the cure does not make
things worse,” he explained.
Similarly, a travel ban would affect an
ex-spouse whose job may require him to
go abroad.
Ms Azita Abdul Aziz, centre director of
the As-Salaam PPIS Family Support Cen-
tre, which counsels divorcees and their
children, said stiffer penalties may not
work in getting some men to pay their
dues.
This is because many of those who
failed to pay maintenance were low-wage
workers who have barely enough to make
ends meet or are unemployed.
But harsher penalties may do the trick
for a group of men who withhold the mon-
ey from their wives just to get back at
them, she said.
theresat@sph.com.sg

Copyright
Tribunal gets
more power
BY SERENE LUO
CHANGES have been made to the Copyright
Act to keep the laws abreast of developments
in digital technology and to give the legislation
more teeth.
Among the amendments: Giving more pow-
er to the Copyright Tribunal, the quasi-judici-
ary body which hears disputes between copy-
right owners and users, so they do not have to
go to court.
The tribunal’s jurisdiction is being expand-
ed beyond its current range of specific works,
such as books, videos of films or tapes of mu-
sic recordings.
With the changes that Parliament approved
yesterday, the tribunal will also be able to deal
with issues arising from all types of works,
such as the reproduction and storage of digital
sound recordings on hard disk drives.
Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Af-
fairs) Ho Peng Kee told Parliament: “Changes
in technology have given rise to new ways of
accessing and using copyright works.”
He explained that the changes to the Act
would update the scope of the tribunal’s juris-
diction and “ensure that it remains relevant in
the face of these technological advances”.
In another change, the tribunal will, from
now on, oversee only licensing entities which
are in the business of administering large
groups of copyright licences.
The tribunal will thus make sure these enti-
ties do not use their relatively strong bargain-
ing position to impose unreasonable licensing
fees or terms, Associate Professor Ho said.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singa-
pore will enact regulations to develop this area
in due course, he said.
But individual copyright owners, who are
less likely to amass such a wide repertoire and
be in a position to abuse their bargaining posi-
tions, will be excluded from the tribunal’s
reach.
This is similar to what is practised in Aus-
tralia and Britain.
Other changes include the appointment of
more officials to the tribunal so as to provide a
larger pool of members needed to convene a
hearing.
Eldercare leave
won’t be mandatory
THE Government will continue to encourage
bosses to put flexible work arrangements in
place, but it will not make it mandatory for
companies to provide eldercare leave.
Companies which can afford to do so can of-
fer such leave as part of their staff benefits, Com-
munity Development, Youth and Sports Minis-
ter Vivian Balakrishnan said in a written reply.
He was responding to Ms Ellen Lee (Sem-
bawang GRC), who asked if the Government
would consider introducing and funding elder-
care leave for working adults who had to look
after their aged parents.
Dr Balakrishnan agreed that as the popula-
tion aged, the number of senior citizens requir-
ing care would grow. But he noted that a
number of initiatives had been taken to help car-
egivers cope, including training grants and
building more day-care centres for the elderly.
Companies would also be encouraged to
have flexible arrangements so that employees
could balance demands at work and in their per-
sonal lives, he said, before adding that eldercare
leave would not be made mandatory.
Ms Lee also asked Finance Minister Thar-
man Shanmugaratnam if a higher amount of
tax relief or incentive could be given to those
who cared for their elderly parents.
Responding, he said the tax reliefs given for
supporting parents were not conceived to help
Singaporeans defray the cost of looking after
their parents or to give them incentive to do so.
“The Government’s tax policies, like its so-
cial policies, are premised on preserving a socie-
ty where children care for their parents regard-
less of the tax reliefs that the Government of-
fers,” he said. “The parent relief is a gesture to-
wards recognising taxpayers who put effort and
resources into supporting their aged parents.”
But he said his ministry would continue to
review the parent relief as part of the periodic
holistic review of the personal income tax sys-
tem.
Ministry to
relook how
it funds
public service
TV shows
BY JERMYN CHOW
THE Media Development Authority
(MDA), which was rapped by the Audi-
tor-General’s Office this year for failing
to monitor the quality of public service
broadcast programmes, will relook the
way it funds such programmes.
Acting Minister for Information, Com-
munications and the Arts, Rear-Admiral
(NS) Lui Tuck Yew, told Parliament that
MDA will carry out an independent re-
view of the Public Service Broadcast
(PSB) funding.
He said the findings will help to devel-
The skyline over Singapore’s Central Business District was obscured by the haze yesterday. According to the National Environment op new ways to measure the quality of
Agency’s website, the average PSI reading yesterday was 55. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN PSB programmes.
Currently, MDA carries out quarterly
surveys to gauge, for example, how in-
Joint efforts with fire-prone formative, relevant, enjoyable and effec-
tive such programmes are in promoting
social values, culture and heritage.
The recent results, which he described
provinces help to ease haze as positive and encouraging, showed that
eight in 10 of the most appreciated pro-
grammes were PSB-funded.
He was responding to questions posed
by Nominated MP Calvin Cheng yester-
BY AMRESH GUNASINGHAM Dr Yaacob are slow or not is something we have day about how the MDA would tighten its
said to continue to monitor,” Dr Yaacob approval process for future funding appli-
ALTHOUGH Indonesia has yet to Singapore added. cations and improve the quality of the
ratify a 2002 agreement between has Under a national action plan
committed enacted two years ago, Indonesia com-
Asean members to tackle the haze Mr Lui said
$1 million mitted itself to reducing hot spots by
problem, joint efforts with individual outsourcing of
to help the 50 per cent by this year.
provinces are showing results.
The acrid pall arising from fires set
production has
Jambi
Two collaborations with fire- to clear fields and forests have blown led to greater
prone regions in Indonesia – one provincial creativity.
this way for much of the past decade,
involving Singapore and another government. PHOTO:
bringing economic, health and tour-
Malaysia – have managed to reduce ism costs. SHIN MIN
the number of hot spots. ry Haze will include officials from oth- Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim
Singapore has committed $1 mil- er fire-prone provinces. While here, asked if it was necessary for Indonesia
lion to help the Jambi provincial gov- they will hear about the experiences to ratify the Asean Agreement on
ernment implement programmes to of Jambi and Riau, and best practices Transboundary Haze Pollution before
prevent or mitigate the outbreak of can be shared. the haze problem could be tackled ef-
fires. And according to National Envi-
ronment Agency data, the number of
“I think one of the better ways to
achieve the desired outcome is to get
fectively. She also asked why slash
and burn farming continued to be
programmes for which it has paid mil-
lions of dollars.
local regional heads to decide (that) if
hot spots in Jambi went down 23 per
cent in the past two years – from a Jambi can do it with Singapore... per-
haps they can also do it,” he said.
practised despite the environmental
hazard it posed.
Dr Yaacob said the challenge lay in
About 2,000 hours of local TV content
was funded by MDA in the last financial
peak of 2,150 hot spots in 2006 when year, about 10 per cent more than the
the haze last hit hard here. Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) providing farmers with alternative
year before. They included popular series
had asked him about what was being methods for clearing land. such as The Little Nyonya and My World
Malaysia has similarly been collabo-
done regionally to address the worsen- But with predictions of a stronger My Blog, which won two awards at this
rating with Riau’s provincial authori- ing haze situation. She also wanted to El Nino pattern this year – bringing year’s New York Festivals.
ties. know if Indonesia had been “too slow hotter and drier weather – the haze Mr Lui said The Little Nyonya did not
Minister for the Environment and in taking action to combat the haze is- took on added significance, he said.
Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim, come cheap due to expensive costumes,
sue”. The region should be open to inter-
who made these points yesterday dur- sets and comprehensive research. But
Dr Yaacob said his Indonesian coun- national assistance where it lacks ex- MDA also profited from DVD sales and
ing a debate on the hot button issue of terpart Rachmat Witoelar assured fel- pertise and resources, he said. overseas broadcasters buying the show.
the haze, indicated that such coopera- low Asean members at last month’s “It will take strong political resolve More importantly, Mr Lui said it
tion could be replicated if the authori- meeting of the Steering Committee by Indonesia to enforce their laws to “brought Peranakan culture to the fore-
ties in other provinces found it useful. that Jakarta was doing its best to tack- prevent forest fires, and support from front over the past 18 months or so”.
Which is why next month’s meeting le the fires. “We are playing our part. Asean as well as resources from the The Auditor–General’s Office, in its
here of the Sub-regional Ministerial They (Indonesia) have promised they international community to successful- annual report released in July, criticised
Steering Committee on Transbounda- will meet their targets. Whether they ly battle the haze problem.” MDA’s management of the PSB funding,
saying that a more rigorous process was
needed to ensure publicly funded pro-
grammes clearly had public service char-
No pact to stop issue being discussed at global forums: Yaacob acteristics identified by MDA.
To improve the quality of local pro-
grammes, the minister said MDA requires
ASEAN member states do not have an agreement that Instead, he noted that regional countries had, in fact,
prevents countries from discussing the haze issue at benefited from international support to tackle the haze. local broadcaster MediaCorp to out-
source the production of a minimum
international forums, Minister for the Environment and Ms Lee asked if he thought Indonesia was too slow in
Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday. combating the haze and added: “Do you think we have to number of local programmes.
Currently, about 35 per cent of local
He was responding to Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio protest before they start taking any action?”
GRC) who asked whether Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, There were no such plans, he said. “I don’t think we production hours are outsourced to inde-
pendent production houses, up from 26
the Philippines and Indonesia – members of the have to protest because we have already protested.”
Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on He added: “But despite the best efforts of Asean, haze per cent in 2005. “This has resulted in a
more competitive and creative environ-
Transboundary Haze – had agreed not to take the issue continues to plague our region, and this is especially due
beyond the regional setting. to the limited resources available in the region to prevent ment, and helped ensure a constant flow
of fresh programme ideas,” said Mr Lui.
In comments in The Jakarta Post last month, and mitigate the fires.”
Indonesia’s Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim asked whether On its part, MDA has also set aside 10
per cent of its PSB funds for independent
claimed the five members agreed at an earlier meeting in illegal logging in Indonesia would also be addressed.
production houses to pitch their own ide-
Singapore not to discuss the haze issue at international Recent Indonesian media reports suggested the issue
as, without MediaCorp.
forums, such as the United Nations General Assembly. was a potential stumbling block to Jakarta ratifying the
But Mr Lui did not agree with Mr
He alluded, in the same article, that Singapore’s Asean haze agreement later this month.
Cheng’s suggestion that MDA should
raising of the issue at the UN General Assembly in 2006 To this, Dr Yaacob said Singapore’s position was that
help defray the local broadcaster’s costs
had resulted in several countries cancelling their anyone guilty of illegal logging should be prosecuted
to acquire better quality foreign produc-
financial aid meant for protection of Indonesian forests. based on Indonesia’s laws: “There is nothing preventing
tions.
Responding yesterday when Ms Lee raised the issue, Indonesia from taking necessary action to deal with
whoever is responsible for the illegal logging.” Instead, the minister said it should
Dr Yaacob denied that any agreement was in place: “work with MediaCorp on the best ideas
“The simple answer is no.” AMRESH GUNASINGHAM and to determine which are the ones that
deserve funding”.