SINGAPORE — The Little India riot and its implications for foreign worker policies will be on the agenda when Parliament sits on Monday.

The Order Paper released yesterday showed that 36 questions on the issue were tabled by Members of Parliament (MPs). Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean and Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin will also deliver ministerial statements. Mr Teo will speak on the Dec 8 riot, while Mr Tan will speak on foreign worker management.

Also, a Bill on additional measures for public order will be introduced. The Public Order (Preservation) Act had been invoked after the riot to declare Little India a proclaimed area, in which consumption of alcohol in public spaces in the area would be prohibited on weekends, public holidays and the eve of public holidays for six months.

Questions from MPs ranged from how law enforcement agencies handled the riot, to the sale of alcohol and its implications for public order, to the treatment of foreign workers in Singapore.

Moulmein-Kallang GRC MP Denise Phua asked if the Government would consider developing measures beyond the proposed restrictions on alcohol sale and consumption in areas with high potential risk of disamenities and public disorder caused by consumers.

Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng asked whether the Manpower Ministry could conduct a review on the recruitment, employment terms and living conditions of foreign workers, so that potential problems could be better anticipated.

Nominated MP Laurence Lien wanted to know if the Government would consider putting in place a more “transparent and objective process in deeming immigrants undesirable and cancelling their entry permit”. Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher De Souza asked what evidence was relied on when the authorities issued the workers involved with police advisories and repatriation orders.