Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Evening,

I am delighted to be here today for the Yellow Ribbon Project Appreciation Dinner. Happy to see so many familiar faces here.

The Yellow Ribbon Project – Giving a Second Chance

2       The Yellow Ribbon Project was started last

year as a nation-wide drive to raise the awareness

of the Singapore community towards the needs of

ex-offenders in their difficult journey towards

integrating back into society and leading normal

lives.   Ex-offenders who show a strong desire to

change should be given a second chance to turn

over a new leaf. 

3.                Going by the active participation of the activities organised and the feedback received, the Yellow Ribbon Project in its second year has generated an even greater awareness of the challenges facing ex-offenders and their families.  It has also rallied Singaporeans  towards being more accepting towards ex-offenders. For example, about 14,000 Singaporeans participated in the Tie-A-Yellow-Ribbon Walk, walking alongside ex-offenders and their families. 

4.                Indeed, it was heartening to see many Singaporeans wearing the yellow ribbon during the two weeks of the campaign as a symbolic show of their acceptance and support for the ex-offenders. Some 90,000 students and teachers were involved in the Wear-A-Yellow-Ribbon initiative.  This participation is particularly important as it allows our young to learn the need to give others a second chance.  The highlight must be the Yellow Ribbon Job Fair where 17 employers from various industries set up booths in the Changi Prison to offer jobs to more than 220 soon-to-be-released inmates.  Of these, 150 were successful in their interviews. 

5.                 The enthusiastic participation in the various Yellow Ribbon Project activities and the strong support from the community conveyed a comforting message to ex-offenders that they do not walk alone as they strive towards reintegrating with society. I am sure they are all greatly encouraged by the strong support.

6.                All these would not have been possible without your help. I thank the organisers of the Yellow-Ribbon Project – the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-offenders (CARE) Network – for working tirelessly behind the scenes.  You have brought the Yellow Ribbon Project to life so that we have a reason to celebrate this evening. To our partners who have contributed to the Yellow Ribbon Project, thank you for sacrificing your personal time. I believe that you have found this to be a very meaningful campaign and look forward to your continued support. I hope that you will also encourage your friends to join in the activities as the community takes greater ownership in the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders.

Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Act 2005

7.                The Government is also doing its part to ensure that Singapore is a land of opportunity for everyone, even those who have made mistakes but have demonstrated that they are committed to turning over a new leaf.  Thus, we are amending the Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Act to render “spent”  the criminal record of a person convicted of a minor crime as long as certain criteria are satisfied. The amendments will come into effect on 17 October 2005.

8.                What does it mean when a person’s criminal record is rendered spent?  What it means is that the person is deemed to have no record of that conviction in the Register of Criminals. Therefore, if asked whether he has a “criminal record”, the person can lawfully answer “no”.  Those who qualify will automatically have their criminal records rendered spent. There is no need for a person to apply to the Police for his record to be rendered spent.

9.                During the Second Reading of the Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Bill in May 2005, I said that we were considering sending notification letters to those whose records would be spent. Since then, we have received feedback that information on criminal records is highly sensitive and confidential.  To minimise the risk of such information leaking out to unintended parties, we have decided not to send out such letters. To enable those who think they may benefit from this regime to check on their status, an e-Portal will be set up in the first quarter of next year to allow them to verify whether they have a criminal record that has been rendered spent for job application purpose.

10.           We urge those who have no urgent need for the information to wait for the e-Portal to be ready next year. In the meantime, those who have an urgent need for the information for job application purposes can call or write in to the Criminal Records Office in the Singapore Police Force.  We will also be making available information pamphlets to increase the awareness of this legislative change. 

11.           While legislation changes can be put in place, the Government cannot legislate companies or businesses to employ ex-offenders.  We recognise that recruitment must be done with full knowledge and be left to the judgement of the hiring party. We however strongly encourage employers to do their part in helping those who are trying to help themselves.  This can be done as simply as changing how your employment application form is phrased. 

12.           Public feedback on the Yellow Ribbon Project, media articles and letters to the various forum pages of our newspapers show that  we are making some headway in raising public awareness.  Nonetheless, more needs to be done to change the mindset of employers.  A recent survey conducted by the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises, or SCORE, shows that while 34 per cent of the companies surveyed are open to the idea of hiring ex-offenders, the actual percentage of employers who are hiring ex-offenders made up just 4 percent of those surveyed.   While we are encouraged by the positive attitude of those surveyed, the survey shows that there is still much work to be done, for example, by engaging more employers in dialogues sessions to let them know what type of training is provided in in the various work schemes under the Singapore Prisons Department.  

Unlocking the Second Prison - A Community Effort

13.           Rehabilitation efforts by the authorities can only go so far in helping ex-offenders. In the long run, ex-offenders need the support of their families and the community for them to reintegrate into society successfully. Ex-offenders themselves can also play a more active role in the path to re-integration as their own attitude, character and skill-set are important factors in their “employ-ability”.  On this, an interesting finding in the survey by SCORE was that employers who are willing to employ ex-offenders look, first and foremost, at the attitude of the person.  In this sense, an ex-offender is no different from any other persons being interviewed for the job.

14.    Only with the close partnership and commitment between the Government, community partners, companies and individual members of the public will we succeed in giving genuine ex-offenders who have reformed a second chance. The Yellow Ribbon Project is the public face, a focus, for this very important partnership.  

15.    Please join me in applauding the various community partners for their support and contributions towards this year’s Yellow Ribbon Project. I hope to see an even more successful Yellow Ribbon Project next year as we further this meaningful cause.

16.    Thank you and do enjoy the evening ahead.

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