NLB, dengue & MH 17 at Parliamentary session today

The Parliament will be in session today and it will discuss the following topics, which are Issues related to National Library Board (NLB), recently gunned down passenger flight of Malaysian Airlines (MH 17), high number of dengue cases and Transparency of the Auditor-General’s Report listed in Order Paper of session on Today (Monday).

During the oral answer session, members have raised questions about a gay series books on the NLB’s book selection, acquisition and withdrawal processes, stemming from the recent incident in which three books were pulled from the shelves in its children’s section. The question tabled will query whether the external reviewer will give the assurance that NLB will remain secular in all its procurement of library materials and in its policies and decisions. Another member will query whether NLB can publish a quarterly list of challenged, withdrawn and reclassified books in the NL and whether MDA can publish a quarterly list of publications that have been prohibited from sale by booksellers.

Next item will be on related to MH 17, questions include which SQ flights had flight paths that used Ukrainian air space, why SQ was flying over eastern Ukraine given Ukraine’s heightened conflict with Russia especially when Ukraine had closed its airspace between ground level and 32,000 feet. Parliamentarians will be briefed about new precautionary measures to ensure the safety of passengers flying in and out of Singapore especially on routes flying over areas of conflict.

The sharp increase in the number of dengue cases in recent months is also a hot topic, with questions filed on causes and preventive measures, including the possibility of making available the Sanofi dengue vaccine. In addition, a member asks about that whether the Ministry will consider heftier fines and action for dengue-breeding culprits that pose a high risk of causing dengue outbreaks to large population people, including the reimbursement of medical bills.

And with a series of lapses unearthed in the Auditor-General’s Report a fortnight ago, some MPs asked about steps being taken to address the issues.

On agenda, government will be introduced the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, and there will be a second reading of the Family Justice Bill, the Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill, the Attorney-General (Additional Functions) Bill and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill.

In Oder Paper, a total of 83 questions; 60 questions for oral answer and 23 for written answer.