Inflation, COVID-19 vaccines and drug misuse by athletes to be discussed in Parliament

Dr Wan Rizal asked Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong if there were measures implemented to protect Singapore’s carded athletes from the misuse of drugs.

MP Darryl David (PAP-Ang Mo Kio) asked if the Government or National Sports Associations (NSAs) have any programmes to educate national and elite athletes about the dangers and pitfalls of using recreational and performance-enhancing drugs.

Additionally, he asked if there were any programmes to regularly test athletes for use of such drugs.

Two MPs submitted questions to Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam relating to the mental health of Home Team officers, after an officer was found dead with a gunshot wound at Bayfront Avenue on Sep 19.

MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (PAP-Chua Chu Kang) asked if there were precautionary measures to continually assess the mental health and well-being of police and auxiliary police officers who bear arms in the course of their duties, particularly those who have front-facing duties with members of the public.

MP Melvin Yong (PAP-Radin Mas) asked about the number of Home Team officers who died during active service, and how many of these were suicide cases.

Several MPs submitted questions on employment issues.

These included one from MP Jessica Tan (PAP-East Coast) on initiatives to bring top overseas Singaporean talent back to Singapore.

She asked if there was support to help them and their families relocate and transition back to Singapore.

Meanwhile, MP Gerald Giam (Workers’ Party-Aljunied) asked Manpower Minister Tan See Leng if there were plans to review the Employment Pass scheme to introduce a new dependency ratio ceiling for the bottom half of income earners.

This would encourage employers to enhance their Singaporean workforce by hiring and training more Singaporean talent and transferring skills from foreign employees to the local workforce, he said.

Monday’s sitting will also see the introduction of four Government Bills.

These are the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, the Accountancy Functions (Consolidation) Bill, the International Development Association (Amendment) Bill and the Carbon Pricing (Amendment) Bill.

There will also be a second reading for four other bills – the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, the Business Trusts (Amendment) Bill and the Accountants (Amendments) Bill.