Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Whether MHA can Reconsider Reinstating a Parent’s Dialect Group in a Child’s Birth Certificate

Question:

Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry can consider reinstating a parent’s dialect group in a child’s birth certificate to assist future generations of Singaporeans to check or verify such information.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   ICA has included parents' dialect in the digital birth certificate of a child from 1 September 2022. For digital birth certificates issued between 29 May and 31 August 2022, parents may re-download their child's digital birth certificate with the inclusion of the parents' dialect at no additional cost.

2.   Besides the child's digital birth certificate, information relating to a person's dialect is available in SingPass. Singaporeans who have a SingPass account can access their dialect information under the Personal tab. For those below the age of 21, their dialect information can be found in their parents' SingPass profile, under the Family tab.

3.   Those who wish to check the dialect of an individual can do so via the individual's SingPass, which is the authoritative source of the latest registered dialect information.