Ahmad Khalis Bin Abdul Ghani
Singapore
“Besides observing, may I ask the Minister whether there is a role for the non-Muslim public to support the efforts of the Muslim community? Sir, we have seen that events which have a religious dimension which may happen in one part of the globe can influence inter-community sentiments elsewhere.”
“Sir, I wish to seek clarifications on two points. Firstly, on the extent of the involvement of businesses during Exercise Northstar V, I reckon that their involvement was rather minimal because it was held on a very early Sunday morning.”
“Sir, statistics show that there were significant increases in the crimes of cheating, including offences related to it, and housebreaking and snatch theft in 2005 over 2004. Is this the trend for such cases over the last 10 years? May I also ask the Minister to what extent are the victims themselves to blame for these offences?”
“May I ask the Minister whether he can assure this House that such extra resources shall be funded by the revenue from the IR and not result in the net depletion of our resources elsewhere?”
“This information can be shared with other agencies and help them design schemes to make illegal moneylending irrelevant. Sir, I urge everyone to support the fight against illegal moneylending. As a character in Shakespeare said, "neither a borrower nor a lender be".”
“Sir, I wonder whether the Deputy Prime Minister can tell us whether or not there is at present a code or protocol which investigation officers can follow at investigation stage so as to enable them to be alert of the presence of low intelligence persons who are being suspected of criminal offences and how to deal with them and, if there i…”
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“To enhance the Singapore International brand, the Government may also wish to introduce international affairs as a module in schools and upwards. This can be done in appropriate doses at suitable levels. The admirable work ethic of Singaporeans is already well known worldwide. It is useful to augment this with sufficient knowledge of issues relevant to foreign lands and good inter-cultural skills. Inclusive society Sir, now on the theme of inclusiveness and, in particular, schemes to assist the needy. I wish to raise some issues as regards implementation of these schemes. There is a need for us to reach the "unreached". The "unreached" are people who do not know of the assistance schemes verily intended for them. Many of them do not read newspapers, or find the printed reports on assistance schemes too complex to comprehend. They do not get much from the brief visual bites of parliamentary proceedings on TV. Even if they get alerted, they do not know where to proceed to find more information. I say this because, every week, I meet a handful of residents who till today are not aware of schemes such as HOPE, or job fairs, and these are residents of 4-room flats and above. Yesterday, Dr Lily Neo reported to this House that only three out of 10 households living in 1- or 2-room flats are aware of financial assistance schemes. I fear, Sir, that good schemes such as RESS and REAP, recently announced, may also suffer similar setbacks. There should be much more effort at outreach. There is no need to drop millions of paper birds from the sky containing information on these assistance schemes. Outreach efforts can be more targeted, but more intensive. This task is quite tedious and requires much manpower. But I believe it is worth the while.”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to join in the debate. I would also like to thank my hon. friends for kindly being present. Sir, I fully agree with the thrust of the Budget Statement. It encourages entrepreneurship, creates more opportunities and promotes an inclusive society. I wish to touch on two issues - Singapore International and inclusive society. Singapore International Being small and open, Singapore feels the effects of globalisation more than most countries. The average Singaporean is affected by events overseas more than the average person in a much larger country, and most countries are much larger than Singapore. Therefore, it is important that we enhance the capacity to influence events overseas as they are very likely to have an impact on us. I think it is useful to significantly enhance and strengthen our foreign service. It is not that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is not doing a good job now. On the contrary, it is doing excellent work, and is ranked among the best in the world. However, in view of the fast growing impact of foreign affairs in the everyday lives of Singaporeans, we need to raise our international relations capabilities even more. Besides enlarging the foreign service corps, this effort may include training officers in other departments and the private sector as well on international matters. Sir, foreign affairs is no longer just about inter-governmental relations, the exclusive domain of diplomats, things which the average citizens only read about in the newspapers. More ordinary people today are effectively players in international relations than ever before. Maybe it is helpful to have an overall review of the whole concept of foreign affairs, as we understand it presently.”
“Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, in agreeing with an ancient historian wrote, and I quote: "A nation's history has three stages. Success. Then, as a consequence of this, arrogance and injustice. And then, as a consequence of these, downfall." We have to be alert to anything that could contribute to decline. At the same time, we have to nurture our human spirit in the unending quest to improve our lives through education and social upliftment. We have to continue to seek collective happiness, even though our own individual definitions of happiness may differ, through sound political processes and mutual respect. Then, I believe, we have a fighting chance to keep on rising or at least not fall.”
“With the advent of a knowledge-based economy, when the financial crisis struck, we sharpened our focus on the more fundamental issues. We have since identified four key areas: family, education, youth and employability. The emphasis is to change the mindset, empower and build capacities. And, we do so as dignified members of the larger Singapore society. Sir, throughout history, great nations and states have come and gone. Some lasted hundreds of years, some less than 50. The Prime Minister yesterday mentioned Valparaiso and Bahrain. Maybe I could just add Petra to this list. I visited this historical site in Jordan, two years ago as a member of the delegation led by Senior Minister Goh. The relics from Petra showed that it was a flourishing trade centre, straddling Egypt and Rome, about 2,000 years ago. They had a sophisticated defence and water distribution system. The Romans then built a highway, completely bypassing Petra. The leaders of Petra did not react sufficiently well to this challenge, and after a hundred years or so of glory, it disappeared. Members might have had a glimpse of Petra in the scene from Indiana Jones' "Temple of Doom". Today, archaeologists are still digging the area and finding astounding relics as deep as 20 feet underground. Maybe our friends there have learned a lesson from the past. They are now excavating gradually so that there is something new to announce every now and then to show to the tourists and the rest of the world. The point here is that states must stay relevant or risk perishing. To stay relevant, we have to continue learning and keep improving. To do so, we have to be honest in assessing ourselves, especially our shortcomings.”
“This combination of poverty growth and widening social divide partly accounted for the huge demonstrations against the territory's administration in 2003 and 2004. In Singapore, Sir, we probably have not reached breaking-point yet. But the factors that so stretch our society do exist. We have to manage very closely the increasing social divide arising from the widening income divide. We must ensure that the less well-off do not feel alienated or left behind. This is another aspect of the structural unemployment issue. A majority of the structurally unemployed have low education and are relatively poorer. It is imperative that we incentivise the high-flyers and industry captains. They fuel the economy, which in turn is supposed to create jobs for everyone, including the poor. But as we have seen in many instances, economic improvement does not always reach down to those who need it most. Dr Tan Cheng Bock yesterday added yet another dimension to this problem. He observed that most of those affected, in this regard, are the Malays. If the racial element is added to poverty and social divide, it makes for a lethal cocktail. So Dr Tan quickly added that this is a national problem and not a Malay one. I agree. This point is not lost on the national and community leaders who are close to the Malay community. The Malay community had started to tackle the socio-economic challenges of the Malays head-on since the formation of Mendaki in 1981. Some may argue, even earlier. With leadership provided by the Malay Members of this House, this herculean task receives strong support from the Government, Malay-Muslim community leaders and Singaporeans from all races.”
“We had our eighth million visitor. One success story was that of PSA. Their existing terminal port operations, as PM noted, handled an unprecedented 20.6 million containers. This is a jump of 14.1% over 2003. PSA International, meanwhile, managed 12.5 million containers, up 17.6% over the preceding year. According to the report in the Straits Times on 12th January, the factors were: (1) a rebounding regional economy led by China, and (2) measures implemented to sharpen the competitive edge, including slashing of handling fees and close cooperation with shipping lines. We could reasonably assume that "slashing of handling fees" was made possible partly by retrenchments. Retrenchments have the intended effect of increasing, or at least securing, the income of those who are not retrenched, those who have remained. For those who have gone, who were retrenched, they would not partake of any joy in this rebound, although they were the ones, who arguably made the greatest sacrifice. I believe this same story could be repeated in other companies and industries which saw better growth or better profit after implementing cost-cutting measures. I think companies who perform better have a duty to repay the workers who had to leave. They could also set aside more funds to support skills upgrading schemes for all those who are still unemployed or for their own existing workers. Those who do well would have to show their empathy to those who do not. They must show that they care. The possibility of an economic divide is real. I agree with Members who spoke before me on this. A report in the Straits Times, also on 12th January, said that even Hong Kong is facing a growing poverty problem and that social divide there is widening.”
“The result was a general consensus on five core values - strong families; equal opportunities for all; every Singaporean matters; active citizenry and the Singapore heartbeat. It is noteworthy, Sir, that some years after the S21 Committee closed these books, these five themes were present in this year's Presidential Address, although said in different terms. As we go along, we would have to continue to forge more common values, maybe through more creative ways. The next issue is how do we implement these values, but perhaps the issue of implementation is better discussed in another debate. The President further notes Singapore's growing role in the international scene. Social graces feature even more prominently there. We recall how a Chinese diplomat called on Singaporeans not to look down on their China counterparts, in other words, do not be arrogant. If we wish to play a more meaningful role internationally, we have to improve on this. We may not be able to make all Singaporeans gracious, but there must be enough of us. As things are, there is not enough. Reports on Singaporeans helping in the tsunami-stricken areas give me cause for optimism. There was a report recently of Singaporeans helping with minimal fuss. Our soldiers worked closely, and I suspect, with much courtesy, with TNI soldiers, as alluded to by the Minister for Defence yesterday. We surely are on the way. But back home, caring for others is something that deserves a serious relook. One area in this respect is making sure that no one is left behind. Immediately what comes to mind is the plight of the structurally unemployed and their families and dependants. Sir, the Prime Minister said yesterday that in 2004, we had economic growth that substantially exceeded earlier forecast.”
“More important than that, social graces such as care, courtesy and compassion reflect the values which we want for our society. I, therefore, welcome the President's reminder that we balance our material pursuits with personal fulfilment and family life and, if I may add, with other less tangible matters such as values and ethics. For a long time, Sir, we have used fiscal tools to shape human behaviour. If a person spits, he pays a fine. If he uses the Internet, he pays less fees. But not all matters could be so managed. Yes, as the Prime Minister said yesterday that many decided to have babies because of the baby bonus, yet others are still not convinced, in spite of the slew of monetary handouts. At the crux, our people have to decide based on our values about family, and our Government realises that. What is the role in forging values for its people? We could not say that this Government does not play a role since it is secular. A secular government is not value-free. It may not be tied to any particular dogma or ideology, but it has to proceed on agreed values. The question is how should our Government decide on what values to uphold. Our national history is short, and our traditional values are as varied as the lands from which our forefathers come. This is a challenge. One way for us to agree on common values is through sheer trial and error. We have now embraced as imperative values integrity and clean government. Some decades ago, these values were not so obvious to many people. We also tried to forge common values through widespread community dialogues, such as Singapore 21. Several thousand people participated in various discussions over a period of about two years.”
“Sir, I stand in support of the motion. Much has been said about the tsunami disaster. One question which was not asked often enough, I think, is: why did we help in the way we did? Some said that we acted out of hard-headed realism. We help our friends so that they would help us later. We want our neighbours to be strong so that we prosper in turn. We show earnestness and leadership as a means to gain international mileage. We could not deny that elements of self-interest exist, but that is not all. There are other factors of equal, if not, greater significance. It is the right thing to do - to help when we see our friends in trouble - as noted by our Prime Minister in an interview. It is about good values. Whether or not our help would really bring in tangible returns is something yet to be seen, but it is a done fact that we helped, and we did so with gusto. People comment that while economically Singapore is First World, but in terms of social graces we are not. Maybe true. But the tsunami disaster relief efforts show that we are on the way, and we want to get there. However, Mr Speaker, we could not wait for disasters to happen to show social graces. It has to be consciously inculcated and practised daily. Inculcation of social values is not a one-off campaign. It does not come under any one Ministry exclusively. It has to be done everytime, everywhere. There should be policies that promote social graces and values in all Ministries and agencies, regardless whether they specifically deal with research or recreation. I know many do have them already, but let these be expanded and deepened. Some may see courtesy and compassion as management skills, or may even enhance productivity.”
“The review of Malay and Tamil Language learning should also be carried out with an open mind. Although there are many common issues shared with the learning of Chinese Language, I am sure there are also many differences. So we must not make the assumption that the conclusions of the Review Committees on the Tamil and Malay Languages must be the same as those of the Chinese Language Review Committee. Mr Speaker, I also note that the Tamil Language faces additional impediments, among them, the small number of Tamil students in certain schools which often force them to attend classes in another school. This is unsatisfactory. Will the Ministry of Education ensure that there are Tamil classes in any school, no matter how small the number of students? And what about other non-Tamil Indian languages, such as Punjabi, Gujarati and Hindi? Is a similar review necessary for these languages? Will the marks scored for these languages be taken into account in qualifying examinations and for awards and scholarships? I hope all these questions will be reviewed as well. As the Malay saying goes, if you are going to dip into a jar of pickles, dip in all the way. There should not be half measures in this effort. I support the motion to adopt this report, and urge the Ministry of Education to give the same emphasis on the learning of other mother tongue languages as well.”
“Of late, Mr Speaker, Malaysian leaders have called for wider use of English as a medium of instruction in school, with certain subjects to be taught in the language. This proposal is to ensure that school leavers will be better able to keep up with the developments of the world today, even though they live in a country where the majority are Malay speakers and ethnic Malays. Is there a similar thinking in Indonesia? What are the implications of such changes to the learning of Malay Language in Singapore? There are so many questions. As such, the Malay speaking community welcomes the statement by the Minister for Education that he will set up a committee to study the issue of Malay Language and Tamil Language learning. I hope that the questions I have raised can be answered quickly. The review efforts will also give us the opportunity to update the syllabus, the teaching materials and teaching staff, as well as the role of the media in relation to language learning. The approach used by the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee is sound. It takes into account the views of thousands of users, activists and scholars of the language. So in regard to the Review Committees for the Malay and Tamil Languages, the composition of the respective committees is an important point. It must reflect the objectives of language review which must take into account the present situation, the everyday socio-economic needs of the community as well as be wide-ranging and forward-looking. The Chinese Language Review Committee also benefitted from the vital viewpoints gained from a professionally-conducted survey. These are among the features of the report which should also be found in the efforts of the Review Committees for the Malay and Tamil Languages.”
“When our young people go to Malaysia or Indonesia, it is easy to pick them out. Just listen to how they speak. Even when speaking Malay with the local people, their speech is halting. If it is smooth, you can be sure they will be using English phrases and sometimes even Cantonese or Hokkien phrases. What our poets call the beauty of language seems to be lost to them, blown far, far away by the winds of change. What measures can we take to overcome this situation? I am not saying that Malay should not import words from other languages. Even the English word "import" is now an accepted term in Malay. Indeed, the development of knowledge in the world and globalisation mean that the Malay Language has to open its doors to all kinds of foreign words. Otherwise, Malay Language users would be sidelined from the mainstream of the world, especially in knowledge, socio-political and economic fields. What is a matter of concern to Malay Language experts is when foreign words are borrowed wholesale and not modified to suit Malay pronunciation, grammar and syntax. Such linguistic misuse can degrade the structure of the language, and must be avoided. As one expert of the language, Ong Swee Tin, said, and he is a Chinese, this leaves the language activists suffocating and gasping for air. What about the development of the language in Malay-speaking countries in this region, where Malay is more widely used, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei? Besides ensuring their identity and functioning as a medium for dissemination of values, has the Malay Language any role in international relations, particularly, in the South East Asian region, and in the economy? How important is this role? What are the long-term trends of Malay Language in the Malay Archipelago?”
“A system for language learning has to take into account this process. The third point is the position of the language in the current world. Language can be influenced by information technology, for instance. In addition, politics, religion, economics, science, and other elements also influence how a language is used, its status and user attitudes to it. These three points are also relevant in the learning of languages other than Chinese, including Malay and Tamil. However, we have to admit that, in addition, Malay Language learning in Singapore also faces specific challenges. Generally, Malay is not considered to be a difficult language to learn. There is still widespread usage of Malay among the Malay families. However, as was mentioned by Mdm Halimah yesterday, we have begun to see the trend now of less Malay being used at home in comparison with English. Will this trend continue? Will it result in Malay students, at some point in future, having to struggle with the difficulties now faced by Chinese Language students? We have to take prompt measures before this becomes a more serious problem. Better safe than sorry. Although many students and parents complain that sometimes the Malay Language examination paper is too difficult for them to score, generally, students have a rather positive attitude towards the Malay Language. Nevertheless, we often hear comments that the language that they use, whether in writing or in the spoken language, is lacking in quality. The situation appears to be more critical among the post-independence generation and among teenagers. In casual situations, the language used can sometimes be considered crude and does not reflect Malay civilities. In formal situations, we find them sometimes stumbling and getting stumped for words.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in line with the current mood of the House, I shall speak in Malay. (In Malay): Mr Speaker, generally speaking, Chinese Language is required in Singapore for ethnic Chinese students only. However, it is not an issue for the Chinese community alone. If the Chinese community were to be concerned only with Mandarin, their ability to communicate with other communities in Singapore will be affected. On the other hand, if the Chinese community were to disregard the Chinese Language, this would change the face of Singapore as an Asian country. Such a move will also have implications on the status of the Malay, Tamil and other mother tongue languages. The people support our bilingual policy. It is an important policy that ensures the stability of our multi-racial country. Besides, it makes it possible for Singapore to continue to be part of the economic mainstream of the world through the English Language. Many of the Chinese residents in my constituency want to continue to be competent in Chinese, in order to preserve their culture and identity. They also acknowledge the potential for Chinese to bring economic benefits. But, as reported, many feel that the learning of the Chinese Language today is so onerous as to result in a negative attitude towards the subject. They feel that this White Paper is most welcome. It proposes a number of new ideas relating to matters which might have so far been taken for a fact. Among these is the view that our children will never be able to be completely and equally proficient in two languages, except for a small group. Secondly is the discovery that language-learning goes through a natural, gradual process. It begins with listening, followed by speaking, reading and writing.”
“Sir, would the Minister of State not agree with me that the main aim of this scheme is, as stated just now, to help families with difficulties to get out of the poverty trap? In that sense, would the Minister of State not agree with me that the low income level and low education level are but guidelines for us to administer this scheme? Therefore, if there are families which exceed these criteria by a little bit, perhaps three children instead of two, or three "O" level passes instead of two, and if they are still having difficulties, shouldthey also qualify for this scheme, bearing in mind that the aim of this scheme is to get them out of the poverty trap?”
“I was wondering whether the expected % take-up rate from the 3,400 families that should be eligible isa little too low and that more efforts should be made to reach out to the remaining 70% who should be coming in.”
“Sir, I am pleased to note that many of our children have benefited from and do excel in the use of IT. But I am sure the Minister would agree with me that a large number of children, maybe due to financial reasons, do not have an IT-friendly atmosphere at home and therefore may be left behind, compared to their classmates who have computers at home and attend computer enrichment classes. Does the Minister observe that there is a widening IT divide among our children? And if there is such a growing divide, what is the Ministry's policy on this? Whatactions does the Ministry intend to take?”
“To ask the Minister for Education with the investments and effort to introduce IT, eLearning and early exposure of our students to computers and software in schools (a) what are the improvements in education and learning; (b) what are the key progresses of these initiatives; and (c) whether his Ministry allows students to leverage on their IT skills for the key examinations like the GCE 'N', GCE 'O' and GCE 'A'.”
“Question No. 3, Sir. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, any traffic offender who fails to pay a composition fine by the expiry date, as reflected in the Notice of Traffic Offence, will be issued a notice to attend court to answer to the charge preferred against him. If he fails to show up in court, a warrant of arrest will then be issued against him. The records of these outstanding fines and warrants are kept by the Traffic Police until they are dealt with. When a traffic offender surrenders himself to the Traffic Police, the Traffic Police will ensure that all his other outstanding traffic offences are dealt with concurrently. This is so that he will not be unduly inconvenienced. Nonetheless, it is possible that an offender who has paid up his fine for a traffic offence can still be issued a warrant of arrest subsequently. Let me explain. Take the case of a traffic offender who fails to pay the composition fine by the expiry date and also fails to attend court to answer the charge. The court will then issue a warrant of arrest against him. He subsequently surrenders himself to the Traffic Police and submits an appeal. The Traffic Police, in consultation with the Attorney General's Chambers, decides to re-offer him the option of compounding his traffic offence by paying a fine, which he does. In this case, even though the offender has already paid the composition fine for his traffic offence, he will still be required to attend court to show cause as to why he failed to attend court in the first place. If he fails again to turn up in court, another warrant of arrest will be issued against him. IT EDUCATION The following Question stood in the name of Mr Zainudin Nordin - 4.”
“The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, may I seek a clarification as to whether the Minister would consider perhaps in the near future absolving landlords from further searches if their attorneys or their agents have done so. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: It is an important point. Sir, we have always taken the approach that the landlords should be responsible for whom they admit into the premises. It is also for their own safety because, after all, they are the landlords. They may have an intermediary dealing with the tenant. But I am sure they will want to know who they are dealing with. Therefore, even now, as we also make housing agents liable, we should not therefore absolve the landlords. Let us keep the primary responsibility with the landlords so that you have more people doing the checks. I think that is the basic point I make, whether it is a housing agent or somebody else, the more who are responsible for checking, I think the greater the likelihood that any immigration offender will be found out. The point is, if the housing agent does carry out a careful check, that will already put off the immigration offender. That is the key point. So if a landlord engages a housing agent to rent out his premises, the key point really is that the housing agent must be responsible and because he is a professional, he does it as his business, he will know what to do. If he does it, he will be able to fob off the illegal offender. But, as a landlord, I think he should also take it upon himself to do the check, to satisfy himself that the housing agent has not been careless. So that is the position I think we should take, and we will see how the new situation works out. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.”
“I would suggest that once the defendant has proven the three checks, the burden of proof shifts back to the prosecution to show lack of due diligence. This would make the duty of the landlord more certain. I have a similar view as regards the intermediate offence, where the defendant proves two out of three checks. While I welcome the concept of this intermediate offence, I thought that the shifting of proof back to the prosecution mechanism would establish greater certainty. Sir, I also welcome the new section 57B. The main practical effect of this is that housing agents can be liable if the landlords commit the offence of giving shelter to immigration offenders. It is only fair that as people who are in the business, and who are likely to have much more knowledge than landlords about the ramifications of procuring tenants, they should share the responsibility. Sir, with the inclusion of this new responsibility, I wonder whether bona fide checks done by agents or attorneys are sufficient to absolve landlords from having to personally conduct similar checks. Perhaps, where there are statements made under oath by agents or attorneys to the effect that two checks have been made in compliance with section 57(d) - there are three checks - if such statements are made, should these be regarded as sufficient to absolve landlords from their duty to check further? This, I suggest, makes more sense and is better for business efficacy. While I support the amendments, Sir, I hope the Senior Minister of State could address the concerns raised.”
“The PP is to inspect the pass and permit, VAP is to check it against the passport and the V is to check for validity - something simple like this for landlords to remember. Sir, the creation of a minor offence with no mandatory imprisonment term or minimum fine is a welcomed move. The court could exercise flexibility to mete out symbolic punishments in truly deserving cases, instead of being bound to send offenders to jail whatever their circumstances. In this regard, I sincerely hope that the courts do not fetter this flexibility with its own internal tariffs. I understand the need for consistency. I appreciate the need for lower courts to be bound by decisions of higher courts and to accord deference to its own previous decisions. These legal maxims must be strictly applied to principles of law. When it comes to sentencing, I think it is not doing justice to legislative intent if, in the name of consistency, the court, in effect, imposes its own mandatory minimum. Next, Sir, I am also concerned that the new section 57(7C) does not state that in doing the three checks, it is sufficient. It states that a defendant, who is charged, shall not be deemed to have exercised due diligence, unless he has discharged the three checks. To prove due diligence, he must prove that he has done the three checks. But the question is: if he has done the three checks, is that enough? It seems not so. Looking at the new section 57(1)(v), under this section, he may still be liable for the new minor offence. This seems to place a heavy burden on potential landlords. They are told what to do and yet, they do not know whether what they do is enough.”
“Sir, new section 18B makes it a duty for every driver coming into Singapore to stop his vehicle for inspection at authorised places. There is a need to educate the public further on this. Presently, large signboards giving clear instructions and located at strategic points do help. In addition, perhaps it is useful to distribute pamphlets at relevant points along the immigration passageway. Such information is to avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary alarm both to the public and to the enforcement officers. Sir, recently, a relative of mine drove back from Malaysia to Singapore together with members of his family. He had his wife and four young daughters with him. He had cleared the immigration customs and even the security. After which, he entered into a lane to get out of the immigration checkpoint. But half of the lane was barricaded. He was not sure where to go. He played safe and stopped behind the barricade, which actually was not what he was supposed to do, he was supposed to go through. But because he parked the car at a place where he was not supposed to park, suddenly, about six Gurkha officers surrounded the car and there came along immigration officers as well. Can you imagine the "excitement" - if I may use a positive word - that happened in the car and outside. This is just to illustrate the point that instructional points and directions are necessary in order to avoid alarm. Some amendments to section 57 are welcomed. It is important that landlords must know their duties. New section 57(7D) clarifies the minimum that landlords must do and I urge the Ministry, in conjunction with the HDB, to educate the public further on the duties of landlords on the three checks. I call it the PP, VAP and the V.”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to speak. I generally support this Bill. Many of the amendments are indeed very welcomed. Before I continue, Sir, may I declare my interest as a lawyer. In the course of my work, I do deal with immigration offences. New sections 10 and 11A reflect Singapore's recognition that globalisation changes our attitudes towards citizenship. We still do not accept dual citizenship - that has not changed. But these provisions facilitate ex-Singaporeans a more convenient access back to Singapore than previously allowed. We recognise that those who emigrate nowadays and decide to give up our citizenship do not always do so in utter disagreement with our norms and values. More so now than before, the pressures and opportunities arising from globalisation are more important reasons. And this amendment is a significant gesture, more in tune with the times. However, Sir, I feel that the 24-hour grace period given to ex-Singaporeans upon cessation of citizenship either to leave or to apply for a permit to stay is quite short. Cessation of citizenship could be made on the eve of a public holiday which gives the applicant literally only a few hours to get his paperwork done, otherwise, his extended stay will not be in the house but maybe in jail. Not all people are Internet-savvy and have immediate access to the relevant authorities. Perhaps, a 72-hour grace period is more reasonable. A longer grace period also reflects our current mood that we are not in a hurry to ask people to leave even if they no longer wish to be Singaporeans. Alternatively, I would urge the immigration authorities to enforce this provision with a human touch. So long as security is not compromised, some leniency is not out of place.”
“Sir, under the new section 254A(9), the court may issue a warrant authorising a police officer to enter and search the premises for articles and documents specified in the warrant. As we know, such searches or raids can cause severe damage to the business run at the premises. In civil cases, in order to obtain documents in a similar way, the applicant is usually required to furnish security for the damages and costs, but not so under new section 254A(9). But this is not a totally new concept. The police are known to make raids upon being issued warrants to do so in other cases. However, it is always useful to remember the way enforcement action against potential damage to otherwise innocent or legitimate enterprise. The Bill further enables customs officers to investigate suspicious ship- ments of copyright works. I seek clarification as to how this would be done. I believe we do not have sniffer dogs for this. I reckon customs officers therefore must be trained for this purpose. Shippers too should be educated on how to protect themselves against dealing with copyright contraband and risk being prosecuted. I understand, Sir, that much of the Bill is to enable us to comply with the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. But as the Minister has mentioned, the Bill also goes beyond such provisions. I wish to ask whether there are any provisions in the Bill which are Singapore's own initiatives. And if there are, why do we want to enact them and what is the basis for the Ministry's belief that these would work? Subject to my concerns above, Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Sir, one of the most important aspects of this Bill is that it enhances our only national asset - human resources. It does so by enhancing the rights due to those who have exercised their human faculties to create or produce better things that benefit and are enjoyed by others. May I now touch on a couple of specific aspects of this Bill? One aspect relates to the shifting of the burden of proof. In ordinary cases, it is for the plaintiff or claimant that first has to prove his course of action and substantiate the amount of his claims. Some provisions in this Bill, called deeming provisions, make this job easier for the claimant. We see this in sections 16(6), 119 and 130. Deeming provisions, perhaps in copyright law, are quite necessary to enhance the legal rights of claimants in a meaningful way. However, Sir, the use of this enhanced sword, now like a sabre, must be carefully monitored. We do not wish to see over zealous prosecution or abuse of process. The Hon. Deputy Prime Minister earlier alluded to the need to balance between the interest of copyright users and copyright owners. If I may add, there is also a need to balance between the need to protect present intellectual property against the need to develop intellectual property via research on present technology. I concede, Sir, that the Bill also provides for numerous specific defences against copyright claims. This helps much to clarify the rights of the user. Nonetheless, I urge the Ministry, by itself or through IPOS, to continue to work closely with Copyright Tribunal, the Law Society of Singapore and CASE to monitor our progress in this regard.”
“But, no, Sir, the public does not lose out in the sense that the user public has the defence of fair use or fair dealing. Students in educational institutions can still photocopy pages of red spot books so long as the unauthorised use is not "significant" or for "commercial advantage". My learned friend has commented on the need to clarify the ambiguity arising from these two terms. But I do know that "commercial advantage" does not mean mere savings alone but directly related to the user's business. Some guidelines are found in the Bill. More importantly, the public's gain, I believe, is in the long run. If we accord adequate rights and reward to composers, programmers, designers and innovators, in time, the public will benefit from better products and more useful innovations and thus an improved quality of life. This is the philosophical thrust of the Bill. It is worth reminding ourselves and the public of it. Will the public suffer higher cost? This is inevitable especially in the short term. However, like the COE, I believe that the market will adjust itself. Copyright owners cannot demand too high a price for their work without the risk of pricing themselves out of the market. It is important that the general public be educated in this regard. I understand that IPOS had conducted useful publicity work in this regard in the last few months. In addition to educating on the rights and wrongs, I think we should also educate the public and bring them on board in this new venture. It is a venture where we accord the highest value to human creativity and contributions. If the public, especially our young, is with us on this, I believe enforcement will be much less painful.”
“Sir, I support the Bill. The proposed amendments are indeed extensive. They are so wide-ranging and extensive, as we have heard that one wonders whether the current Act ought to be repealed and replaced by this new digital era version to reflect its significance. A new Act may make it easier for the public and all parties interested in copyright matters. Sir, first, I need to declare my interest as a lawyer and practitioner. The amendments are not just about enhancing the rights of computer software programmers or commercial products. It also enhances the rights of literary, dramatic and artistic works of composers, authors and performers. In this regard, I need to declare my second interest and this time as independent director of COMPASS - not Community and Parents in Support of Schools but Composers and Authors' Society of Singapore. This Society collects royalty from users of artistic publications like musical performances and redistributes them to copyright owners such as performers, recording companies and composers. Therefore, Sir, I feel that such provisions are in line with the vision to make Singapore a culturally creative and vibrant society. While copyright owners ought to be happy with these amendments, what about the public? Would the public lose out? I think yes and no. Yes, in the sense that one can no longer download music from the Internet, as alluded by the Hon. DPM earlier, and disseminate it by mass mail to, say, 100 friends without running foul of the new section 254A. Yes, they lose out in the sense that the user public can no longer rely on the likelihood that ownership of copyright is difficult to prove or that the amount of damages is difficult to quantify. There are deeming provisions in the Bill that get rid of such obstacles.”
“Sir, looking at the progress made, either specifically in the Steering Committee of the coming June 2005 conference or in general, how does the Minister assess the acceptance rate among Southeast Asian countries of AMED?”
“I do not have the impression that we have rushed through this Bill. But for avoidance of doubt, may I ask the Minister whether he could say whether he is satisfied that ample consultations have taken place, bearing in mind that it touches on religious and ethical positions, and that sufficient efforts have been made to consult the different respective segments of our society? Nonetheless, it appears to me that the policies enunciated in the Bill adequately reflect the concerns and interests of our society in general. This Bill is not a lengthy one. It spells outin broad and yet clear terms what is allowed and what is not. I think it is a correct first step. We are very new in this area, perhaps still in its embryonic stage. Much still needs to be done and learnt. I urge the Hon. Minister to monitor developments, subsequent to this Bill, very closely and make adjustments as they appear. I would like to ask the Minister whether he would delegate this task to a specific department or committee. Lastly, I would like to thank the Minister and all those involved in the proceedings that culminated in this very short but very significant Bill.”
“I understand that the 14-day point was recommended because it is at this time thatthe primitive streak appears. Many groups believe that human life begins to exist only later. Thus, clauses 7 and 8, read together, address our objections against experimenting with human life forms while allowing stem cell research. Some groups believe that human life commences upon the creation of the embryo on the first day. I respect this view as much as we have to consider other views as well. One such other view is that if we take the route of this first-day view, then any stem cell research seems impossible. All its attendant good would be lost. Further, the difference really between the first-day group and the 14-day group is not one of principle. Both agree with the principle that we should stay away from work on human life forms, in the process of which life is experimented upon or even terminated at the sole discretion of a researcher. The difference lies in our different understanding or belief as to what constitutes the beginning of human life. And, moreover, the difference occurs not in clear and obvious areas but in fine abstract ones. The Muslims in Singapore, on the other hand, after serious deliberations, find the 14-day cut-off point acceptable, but they do not make a firm position as to when human life is deemed to have commenced. Sir, it is not possible to find an absolute solution to this. According to a Straits Times' report two days ago, even in the USA, they have yet to decide on this issue. Ironically, this indecision means that, at present, even reproductive cloning has not been banned yet. I think our approach has been a balanced and sensitive one. The public was notified of the issues years ago. The Bioethics Advisory Committee was appointed in December 2000.”
“Sir, I rise in support of this Bill. Not many countries are able to venture into stem cell research in spite of the good that we all know it can bring. However, Singapore is well positioned to go into stem cell research. We have the infrastructure, international connections, legal framework and the human resource pool which is well-educated and of good quality. So we did the right thing to seriously look into this area. Having done so, we have to decide on important issues. Many societies, including ours, are not comfortable with the cloning of humans. In fact, we find it abhorrent. As such, there is a need to distinguish legitimate stem cell research acceptable by society from development of human clones which is not acceptable. Prior to this Bill, the line has not been drawn. This Bill, therefore, serves the very important function of clarifying what is acceptable and what is not in Singapore. Just having this Bill passed into law, to my mind, is in itself a major significant step in the right direction. Clause 5 of the Bill bans the implantation of any human clone in the body of a human or animal. Since reproductive cloning, as we know it today, requires implantantion of the embryo into a womb, this effectively prohibits the development of a human clone. Clause 7 prohibits against developing human embryo created other than by fertilisation of human egg by human sperm for a period of more than 14 days. In addition, clause 8 prohibits against developing any human embryo outside the body of a woman for a period of more than 14 days. I undersand that embryos less than 14 days old compose of undifferentiated cells. So the Bill allows for stem cell research to be done on these cells for as long as it takes and so long as the embryo is not further developed.”
“In 2003, School Advisory Committees provided $3 million worth of financial assistance and bursaries to needy students in Government schools. Taken together, these financial assistance schemes from the Ministry of Education and the wider community ensure that no child is denied an education on account of financial difficulties. STATE OF DISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS 15. Dr Warren Lee asked the Acting Minister for Education (a) if there is an increasing trend in discipline and truancy problems in schools; and (b) whether these cases involve more boys than girls or vice versa. 16. Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Acting Minister for Education in the last two years, 2002 and 2003, (a) what is the number of complaints of teachers being abused by (i) parents and (ii) students; (b) how many of these cases were successfully resolved in favour of the teachers; (c) what is the number of complaints against teachers for abusing their students; (d) how many of these complaints eventually led to these teachers resigning or being dismissed; and (e) what is the support the Ministry gives to teachers who have been wrongfully complained against.”
“Question No. 14, Sir. The Acting Minister for Education (Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam): Mr Speaker, Sir, Dr Warren Lee has asked whether financial hardship is a significant factor in cases of persistent absence from school. The reasons why students are persistently absent from school vary. These include personal and family problems, and the lack of motivation on the part of the student, and often the family to take his studies seriously. Financial hardship has not been a significant factor. There is a wide range of schemes providing financial assistance to needy students. They can apply for the Ministry of Education Financial Assistance Scheme, which grants waiver of school fees, and part of the miscellaneous fees, and provides free textbooks to students. In year 2003, a total of 11,417 students received help from the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme, compared to 7,387 students in year 2002. The numbers have gone up further this year. As at May this year, schools have processed and approved over 13,000 applications for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme. This number effectively covers 10% of students who stay in HDB 1-3 room flats and 2% of those staying in HDB 4-5 room flats. The total amount disbursed for financial assistance is estimated at about $1.5 million this year. In addition, schools help to source for support for needy students from other sources, such as financial assistance schemes administered by the School Advisory Committee or the School Management Committee and community organisations like the CDCs and voluntary welfare organisations. Under these schemes, assistance can take the form of subsidies for enrichment programmes, pocket money, transport vouchers, free meals, stationery and uniforms.”
“67 million workforce have secondary or below education - to take up existing jobs or upgrade with the relevant skills to get better jobs, especially the half million without secondary education, then structural unemployment will go higher. The ERC recommended and the Government set up the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) last September, specifically to help unemployed Singaporeans gain employment, and to upgrade the skills of workers in employment. To do this, we will have to revamp our Adult Continuing Education and Training System. The old system cannot address our needs and help surmount our challenges. Which groups to focus on - some Members, like Dr Tan Boon Wan, have identified the older workers and the less skilled - and how to help them are crucial questions. But I would like to break here to allow Members to field further cuts and I will respond together with the issues on the Workforce Development Agency. Upgrading of Workforce”
“I want to correct the misimpression that services jobs mean lower skills or lower pay. If I can give a simple example, an engineer who is a CEO in the financial industry is considered to be in the services sector. "Service skills" are best seen as an additional layer on top of technical skills. Our challenge, therefore, is to maintain the premium for our Singapore workforce by adding skills and mindsets to achieve a thriving services sector. Singapore workers will have to provide customised solutions, handle simultaneous and varied requests. There will be less routine work, and characteristics such as inter-personal relationship, EQ, rapport-building and mentoring will be given emphasis. And this is part of the problem with our HR management systems and employers. Because employers, at the same time, will have to find new ways of measuring workers' productivity given the significant intangibles in the services sector. The challenge is to build a workforce that drives our reconfigured economy. How do we help workers acquire these new skills that Singapore needs? Which groups will fall through the gap and are vulnerable to be structurally unemployed, because our job landscape has changed? These were questions asked during the Economic Review Committee, and I will take some time later to explain what our strategy is. Structural Unemployment Mr Heng Chee How asked what the structural unemployment will be like? Will it rise? From 1993 to 2003 - he rightly pointed out the figure - the resident long-term unemployment rate rose from 0.4% to 1.2%. This is about 22,000 people. Presently, 60% of our local workforce have secondary or lower education. If we cannot get Singaporeans - in other words, 60% out of 1.”
“Jobs will increase in areas such as hotels and restaurants, in education, healthcare, transport and logistics, communications and media. There are jobs available at all levels. Over the past few years, when you look at our figures, some of the fastest growing occupations in the sector were university lecturers and other education professionals, management consultants and financial analysts on the one hand, and bell boys, cleaners, and security services on the other. Service skills required Members have asked what this new job landscape means for workers. Will they have the right skills? The shift from manufacturing to services will have implications on our competitive edge. Very few doubt the technical capability of our workforce. Our workers have consistently ranked well globally in terms of productivity and efficiency, according to the BERI reports. They are efficient, diligent and rational to problem solving, and these have served us well. But my point is, in terms of employment, when we are a service driven economy, we will do less well. What is the reason? One of the reasons is that unlike manufacturing where your supply chain is your production line, your products move past you. In the services sector, you have to get used to talking to your production line, because the quality of service lies primarily with the person delivering it, as one interacts with the customers and responds to their needs, be it in the retail, finance, consultancy or healthcare sectors. A large component of value-add is from intangibles, such as service edge, performance, ideas and concepts, which is why I think our changes in the education system are correct. This is for pre-employment training. What do we do for adults? That is the key question.”
“There are two reasons why modern Singapore has a workforce with 500,000 workers with less than secondary education and another 500,000 with secondary education. I know we have just finished the education debate, but this is my educational pitch. I was listening to Members who were harkening to the good old days of how the system was less stressful and how everybody succeeded - an evaluation seen through rose tinted glasses. We have the structure today because many left the education system in the 1970s and 80s - some out of economic necessity. But let us face it, many could not succeed in a less efficient and more wasteful education system. The second reason why we have this structure is complacency. We had 8% to 10% of GDP growth from 1987 to 1997. Workers found jobs easily because the labour market was tight and did not upgrade then. They did not see the need to. While we help our workers upgrade, we must allow companies now to have the skilled workers they need. Therefore, I have decided to introduce the S Pass, but I will speak on this later. A service economy As I have said, the majority of jobs will be in the services sector. Manufacturing jobs have dropped from about 30% to about 20% now. Like many developed countries, two-thirds of our jobs are in the services sector. DPM Lee showed this Chart during the Budget debate. It bears reiterating. In the last 10 years, 500,000 jobs were created. The net number of jobs in manufacturing was nil. It was almost predominantly in the services sector. The services sector will be the main driver of employment, but that does mean that we do not need manufacturing, because they generate a lot of indirect impact.”
“Put succinctly, as our industries move up the value chain, we will need more specialised skills. The blue bars recognise what are present in our workforce. The orange bars represent the gap between what we have and the number of workers we need with those skills that our economy will need. So, if we take education as a proxy for skills, Members will note that Singapore is going to need more workers with post-secondary qualifications and above - NITEC, polytechnic diplomas, degrees and PhDs. One of the Members mentioned that we have 500,000 Singapore workers with less than secondary education. He is right. We have another 500,000 workers with secondary education and below. In other words, we have about a million Singaporeans with secondary and below education. And if we look at the number of jobs projected for this group, there is still an excess, but many Singaporeans do not like these jobs either because the pay is too low or the jobs are unappetising. We will try to redesign the jobs. I will address this later. But if we move up, combining the post-secondary, diploma, degree and post-graduate together, our projections show a job shortage of about 350,000 positions until 2009. The greatest shortage is in the post-secondary, those with diplomas. If you ask the businesses why, they will tell you that Singaporeans have great aspirations. They come out of ITE or the polytechnics, you can hold them two to three years, but they want to go and have degrees, and they do not stay long. So, the greatest shortage is in these positions. Workers with secondary or less qualifications face the greatest challenge. Mdm Halimah asked, during the Budget debate, why this gap exists for skilled workers, even when we have been increasing the intakes in our polytechnics and universities.”
“In other words, beyond 2010, due to lower fertility and our ageing population, our local resident workforce will start shrinking. Today, the gap is largely filled by foreign workers, coming in at all levels. We will continue to need them to help our economy meet its manpower needs in future. Changed Job Landscape Mdm Halimah Yacob, Mr Heng Chee How and Mr Ahmad Khalis have asked whether we can paint for them the job landscape. While we are confident that the economy will grow and jobs will be created, there is one thing that this Government cannot promise, and that is, to provide only jobs of the type that are appealing and attractive to Singaporeans. No government can promise this. What types of jobs exist in our economy cannot be mandated by the wishes and wants of Singaporeans or the Government, but by market place realities. As Members have understood and expressed, the job market has fundamentally changed. And even though we have more jobs than Singaporeans, groups of workers are at risk due to structural unemployment. I will talk about this later. 5.00 pm But even despite growth, unemployment will hover at around 3% to 4%. There is a mismatch of job seekers against the jobs that exist in expectations and skills. If this is not addressed, unemployment will go higher. The Government understands this. It is committed to help Singaporeans stay employable. This is a challenge that involves us all. We will work with NTUC, our social partners, the Mayors of CDCs and Members of this House to overcome this challenge. What type of Jobs? Members have asked for more information of the job market. Please refer to Chart 3. This Chart, using educational qualifications as a proxy - it is not a perfect proxy - but it will do for purposes of this illustration.”
“From 2003 onwards, they are projections. Some of us might be asking whether our projections are accurate. We have adjusted for the reduced number of jobs that growth brings compared to the past. In other words, when we projected this, each percentage of growth, we factor in less jobs that it brings in because of the higher value add. Yes, globalisation, outsourcing, technological changes can have consequences, but this picture should be representative for the near term - five years. Beyond that, it is hard to say. But for five years, it will serve as a reliable model to plan our strategic efforts. This is, if you like, the battle plan to answer many of the questions - what can Government do? With an efficient and responsive labour market, and competitive workforce, we are well placed to achieve the medium term growth forecast of 3-5% projected by MTI. And, as the economy grows, new jobs will be created. Looking forward, this gap between how many jobs the economy creates and the number of workers in our workforce will persist. Our workforce grew annually by about 1.8% over the past five years from 1998. From this year onwards, it is expected to grow by 2.5%. There is a reason for this. Many of us remember 1988. I remember well because my dragon daughter was born then. But let me tell you that in terms of demographics, everything else from then went downhill. That was the biggest peak - 50,000 births and the number of births per year after that went down. I think Members remember well the charts. This is a demographic echo. From 1988, in 2013, they will be 25 years old. If we note, our workforce will shrink in terms of rate of growth. It shrinks down to almost half, 1.2% per annum.”
“Secondly, systems OK: Excellent systems and infrastructure - whether it is transport, utilities, judicial, banking, education. Words like "dependable", "predictable", "transparent" and "efficient" epitomise the Singapore system. What we now need, of course, is another layer with descriptions like "unexpected", "quirky", "innovative", "creative", "entertaining", "reversed" and, yes, "Surprising" Singapore. Thirdly, a best workforce - an effective and efficient labour market, highly trained local workers and, I would say, access to foreign workers - not deprivation - is a critical element both to allow diversity in skill base and help businesses average their costs. Fourthly, many Members have alluded to this - Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Mr Heng Chee How - a harmonious labour- management environment through tripartite consensus. I fully agree with Mdm Halimah - not a single day lost last year - which was a wrenching year. It is a fourth pillar. With this strategy, we have created growth in the past and we will continue to do so. Singaporeans need not lose heart. I want to show a second chart which helps us focus on jobs as a larger factor. I have said that our policies have created more jobs than there are Singaporeans even within the last five difficult years. It is a busy slide but I want you to focus on the top line above the orange bar, which says "Total Jobs". This is the line that our economy creates - the number of jobs that it creates. You will note that it is larger than the line over the blue bar, which is our local workforce. This is as many workers that we have. The number of jobs our economy created is always larger than our local resident workforce. The excess of jobs will continue in the long-term. From 2003 backwards - those are facts.”
“I have gone into some length on this issue because this is a fundamental point which under-girds the principles upon which we craft our labour policies. All these examples show that excess rigidity, instead of protecting workers, leads to economic stagnation and loss of jobs. Let us come back to Singapore. In the area of outsourcing, some Members have asked what the impact is. We could lose some jobs overseas because others can do it better or at a lower cost. This is a global phenomenon and there is not much that we can do about it. But we can also benefit from offshoring. In fact, our manufacturing sector first started as MNCs offshored production, design, support and headquarter functions. We were among the first beneficiaries of outsourcing. As more higher valued and higher technology content manufacturing investments came, labour intensive manufacturing then shifted to cheaper locations. That freed up local manpower to go into the growing services sector. If we had blocked that then in 1970s and 1980s, the consequences today would have been devastating, as more workers would lose their jobs. Meeting competition head-on: the way to growth and jobs How then do we protect ourselves and jobs for Singaporeans? I come back to the key question - not by shutting out competition, but meeting it head-on. MTI Minister, BG George Yeo mentioned this in his speech. Let me reiterate. We can compete on four aspects: Firstly, value plus. We can never be cheap but we can moderate the costs to do business here by keeping statutory burdens low and adding value - whether it is CPF, taxes, utilities, land and wages. We need to give companies the flexibility to respond and the wage restructuring efforts that we have been talking about recently should be seen in this light.”
“Denmark is the third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals per capita and among the world leaders in biotechnology patents. Even in USA, this simple fact that more protection does not necessarily afford more job security is being borne out. The California State under the Democrat Governor enacted or expanded half-a-dozen laws dealing with labour market regulations. Especially onerous on businesses were the three laws on: (1) paid six weeks family-leave act; (2) a mandated increase in workers' compensation amounting to more than twice the US national average; and, (3) increasing overtime pay which was mandated for anyone who works more than eight hours a day. This makes it expensive for businesses that operated four 10-hour days or those call centres which operated 12-hour days. Companies in California responded and since 2001, the state has lost about 300,000 jobs. Even in developing economies, the leaders have realised the same point. In the post-Raj era of India, it was very difficult to hire and fire. In fact, it needed a bureaucracy to administer all those rigidities that were there by fear. But in the early 90s, the Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh began the process of liberalising the system and allowing businesses to respond without the onerous stipulations imposed by government. As a result of that enlightened move, all countries including Singapore are experiencing this extraordinary rise in the productivity growth of Indian industries. Yes, India was lucky and took advantage of the IT boom and bust. But we should recognise that while India had the educated masses, previously rigid conditions stifled their productivity.”
“But I presume, in an election year in the US, workers are doubtful and, even if politicians believe the academics, they would be reluctant to say so. But what about the supposedly more secure environments in continental European countries which seek to protect workers' jobs with more rigid labour, wage and other benefits? It is spurious protection, as their companies are less able to change in an increasing volatile environment. The result? Job growth slows, and descriptions like "Eurosclerosis" or "arthritic economies" emerge. For years, economists and business leaders have lamented that Germany's restrictive labour laws did little to stem their high unemployment rate of 10%. On average, unemployed people in Germany remain out of work longer than in other countries. The process of job placement is lengthy and complicated. And the unemployment and social security benefits in the systems are expensive solutions that literally tax the system. So, Chancellor Schroder plans to implement a series of reforms to modernise the labour market and to create jobs. All these reforms are part of the Agenda 2010 package of social and economic reforms to boost the economy. They plan to limit the jobless benefits to one year instead of 32 months to free up regulations to enable firms to hire and fire temporary or permanent workers. Denmark too liberalised the labour market in the early 1990s. They experienced an employment boom and improved their unemployment rate to 6%. Denmark's economy has averaged 2.6% annual growth since 1994. They cut entitlements, including social security transfers, and raised indirect taxes. That gave them the ability to shift resources into higher education and research and development.”
“A Business Week article, contributed by a US professor of economics, Russell Roberts, highlights and examines what happened to the manufacturing sector in the US, because US manufacturing only accounts for about 12% of jobs. They have had to go through wrenching times as well. He said that the sector had to shed jobs due to productivity gains or plant relocations. But it freed up workers so that they could move into new industries and new jobs, eg, in telecommunications, software and biotech. New goods and services became available to consumers. The improvements in productivity kept wages, raised the standard of living for all. So despite the churn with retrenchments and re-hiring, unemployment rates, wages and standard of living held and were better than others with rigid labour markets. In other words, this market flexibility which at face value appears harsh, in fact accords more job and income security not only for the more employable but indeed for all. Some Members have asked about the impact of outsourcing. McKinsey, the global consultancy firm, estimates that every US$1 spent in the US on offshore services generates a total benefit of about US$1.45. What about jobs? Again, the report says that even if two million jobs are outsourced, moved out of the US, this frees up 22 million jobs that the US Bureau of Labour Statistics estimates will be created over the next 10 years. How certain these forecasts are, only time will tell. The academics are convinced, including the Presidential advisor, that these spurts of technological discontinuity we see now have had the same effect in the past, and the outcome will be repeated.”
“And if by introducing laws that make it harder for companies to right-size, keep wages up, and keep foreign workers out can ensure jobs for Singaporeans, then the solutions would be obvious and, in fact, easier to do. We pass the laws, Singaporeans are pleased, and they will find their jobs secure and livelihoods preserved. But will they? Other countries have gone that way and have not succeeded. Indeed, it has worsened unemployment. I want to show Members some charts, and I have asked the Clerk to circulate them. This is the first chart that I will show. On average, over the period 1997-2001 - and I have particularly chosen the last few years which were difficult years for us - continental European countries, such as France, Germany and Spain, had employment rates of above 10%. I would like to remind Members that they did not suffer SARS, they did not have the Bali bombing, and there was no Asian financial crisis that afflicted them. This was compared to 4.5% for the US, 5.9% for the UK and 3.0% for Singapore. Why this sharp difference? One answer is the extent to which these countries regulate their labour market. The Anglo-Saxon model of the UK and US, in particular, believes in flexible labour markets. They regulate, as all countries do, on safety and health matters. But they allow firms flexibility in right sizing, in hiring and firing. Compared to other countries, they are not overly generous in their statutory leave and benefit provisions, or have overly restrictive working hours. These flexibilities allow US companies to respond quickly to external changes, to seize new business opportunities and to move out of unprofitable areas.”
“And during those turbulent times, some form of protection or other had been asked in a variety of ways, whether it was in legislation to promote hiring or making it more difficult to retrench Singaporeans, special rights for anti-discrimination of the elderly, minorities, parents, part-time workers - like some of you have mentioned today. Others have asked for more predictable and assured terms in wages and benefits or working hours, so that workers' remuneration was better protected. And, of course, we have the perennial requests, as we have this afternoon, to restrict access to foreign workers, so that Singaporeans are favoured for these jobs. Members of the House, we are not alone in asking for these seeming forms of protection. Indeed, all over the world, this is an issue which countries are grappling with. US presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry, wants to get tough on companies which outsource operations outside the US. The Dutch government recently decided that local employers must make sure that no Dutch person is available for a job before attempting to recruit workers from the 10 new Central and Eastern European countries joining the European Union. In the meantime, of course, businesses are concerned with competition and costs. They are deciding if they can survive and stay, or uproot, or change industries. 4.45 pm How can we help Singaporeans get jobs and earn a livelihood? Mr Low Thia Khiang said this is the Government's responsibility, otherwise, we have no moral right to start the stayers-and-quitters debate. I agree fully with him. I accept that it is the Government's responsibility to do this.”
“MOM estimates that unemployment could fall to around 4% to 4.5% by the end of the year. The industries where jobs are likely to grow in the near term are in education, healthcare and social services. The retail and wholesale sectors are also expected to add jobs. For manufacturing, direct job creation will increase, but at a much slower rate compared to the service industries. But there will be jobs created in the electronics, biomedical and chemical sectors, transport engineering and general manufacturing engineering industries. Long-term Challenges Persist So, while it appears that we have turned the corner, I think it would be useful now, especially now, to take stock and look at the overall picture. We certainly do not want to be complacent and relaxed, but instead press on. And I agree with Members that we need to address long-term structural issues. On manpower issues, DPM Lee said that the last five or six years were wrenching, and had more changes than even the preceding 20-odd years. From 1997 to 2002, the impact of the Asian financial crisis, September 11, SARS and the Bali bombing may have abated, but long-term structural changes for jobs for Singaporeans will persist for the next decade, and many Members have alluded to that - Dr Ong Seh Hong and Mr Heng Chee How. While we have some breathing space and nerves are not so frayed, let me address these issues pointedly. "Protection" versus Flexibility Of all the manpower issues that surfaced in the last few months and the last two years that my cohort of Members of Parliament came into this House and were faced with, the one that had the most significant impact on how we protect jobs and livelihoods for Singaporeans was a fundamentally important question.”