Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Plans to Incorporate Compulsory Anti-Terrorism and CPR/AED Training for Existing and Newly Recruited Public Transport Workers as Part of the SGSecure Movement by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs

Question:

Mr. Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs that as part of the SGSecure movement, (a) whether there are plans to incorporate compulsory anti-terrorism and CPR/AED training for existing and newly recruited public transport workers; and (b) if so, how often will refresher course be conducted for these workers so that their knowledge and skills remain current.

Answer:

1. Since the launch of the SGSecure movement, MHA has been working closely with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Public Transport Operators (PTO) to raise public transport workers' awareness of the terrorism threat and to equip them with knowledge and skills to respond to an attack.

2. The PTOs currently train some of their staff in first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of the automated external defibrillator (AED).

3. MHA has worked with LTA to incorporate the SGSecure messages of vigilance, cohesion and resilience into the training curriculum for bus captains at the new Singapore Bus Academy. These messages have been included in the taxi driver vocational licence and refresher courses at the Singapore Taxi Academy. These knowledge and skills are also reinforced by the PTOs during their staff in-service or in-house training. We will continue to work with LTA and PTOs to incorporate emergency response skills into their training programmes.

4. We are encouraged by the ground-up SGSecure initiatives by the transport industry community. For example, the National Transport Workers' Union organised a counter-terrorism seminar in December 2016 where 200 public transport workers learned how to prepare themselves for a terror attack. The National Taxi Association also organised a number of workshops in November and December last year which trained more than 100 taxi drivers in CPR, AED and first aid skills.

5. MHA will continue to work with LTA and the PTOs to enhance the current training and outreach initiatives, including exercises that hone their preparedness in the event of a terror attack. One such example was Exercise Heartbeat which involved one of the PTOs conducted in September 2016 at Bishan Bus Interchange and Junction 8.