Aline K. Wong
Singapore
“The ENABLE (Encouraging Achievement and Better Learning) programme gives additional support to those who are not achieving their potential. Our curriculum has given more emphasis to critical and creative thinking skills.”
“Can I just take one more second on the waiting list because Mr Ahmad Magad mentioned that the waiting list is long? There are 18 SPED schools now which cater to about 4,000 children. Of the 18 SPED schools, eight have waiting lists.”
“Sir, I am sure the Member in his meet-the-people sessions has also encountered cases where some families pleaded for priority to be admitted on grounds of, say, the child's sickness, or that the mother is working and is unable to bring the child to school, or that the grandparent cannot manage to take care of so many grandchildren.”
“I think he did not hear what I say. For both of these families, someone who lives within one kilometre or next door and someone who lives right on the border of this one kilometre, or of any delineation you choose to draw, my point is that for both of them, this is their nearest school.”
“Principals, as part of their duties, are always alert to what is happening in the school. They have also been given guidelines, in the Principals' Handbook, on discipline and the code of conduct which is expected of the teachers and staff members. But having said that, all these things are not foolproof.”
“It will continue to stagger the rental increase to market levels for assignment of tenancies, subletting cases and for tenants who are renewing their tenancies for the third time. Shop lessees can also apply to convert to shorter leases to reduce the cost of servicing their mortgage loans.”
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“The reason is that there are circumstances under which it may not be quite possible for the taxpayer to live together especially with a disabled sibling. Such a case actually came to me recently at a Meet-the-People session. A young lady has been the sole earner of the family supporting of her aged parents who take care of a mentally disabled son, ie, her younger brother. She recently got married. She moved out and she found that she could no longer be entitled to this tax relief for supporting her disabled sibling. Cases like this deserve flexibility of consideration giving income tax relief. As far as the procreation incentives are concerned, the raising of the normal child relief for the first, second and third child and extension of this to the fourth child reflects more realistically the cost of rearing children and will certainly help towards encouraging bigger family size. The enhanced child relief for the second, third and fourth child continues to be given to working mothers only. While this may be a positive factor in encouraging working women to have more children as well as ensuring working mothers would remain in the workforce, I think the emphasis on working women is to the disadvantage of women who drop out of the labour force in order to take care of the young children. Theoretically, this woman can still benefit from the special tax rebate for the third or the fourth child. But the families which are most likely to benefit from the full rebate are those in the higher income groups, ie, women who do not work but whose husbands earn high incomes are likely to benefit most, to the fullest, from this special tax rebate.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to participate in the debate on the budget statement. A lot has been said already about two peculiar features of this budget. One is that it is painless and, second, that it is a family budget. Incomparison with the 1987 budget which could be described or nicknamed as a procreation budget, this year's budget could be called a family budget, because it highlights the responsibility of the family towards the young and the old, the well and the disabled, and it also addresses some of the problems faced by working mothers. In joining my colleagues in this House, I too welcome the tax incentives for the building modifications for the disabled. These incentives are long overdue and perhaps still not quite enough in some environments where a lot needs to be injected in order to make those environments barrier-free for the disabled. One obvious example that comes to my mind is the Kent Ridge Campus of the National University of Singapore. I think the amount of tax incentives will not really be adequate at all to help change that environment to be barrier-free for the diabled. Nevertheless, the fact that we begin to recognize the need, is timely and, as I said, to some probably a bit overdue. I also welcome the raising of the income tax relief for the handicapped dependants who are the siblings or the children of the taxpayer, and also for the aged parents. Like the Member for Siglap, may I urge the Minister for Finance to consider a little more flexibility in varying the condition that the aged parents and the disabled sibling must be living together in the same household as the taxpayer.”
“I find it also very difficult for us as a country, when we claim we want to be cultured, when we want to go onto a higher plane of social development, that we should be doing this to foreign workers. No doubt they breach the law but I really find that mandatory caning a bit too much. And I would urge the Minister to reconsider this and perhaps make it possible for the judges to look at it in a discretionary manner.”
“Sir, I wish to join the Member for Paya Lebar in urging the Minister to consider making it possible for judges to consider the caning of illegal immigrants, not on a mandatory basis but on a discretionary basis. I find it very difficult to accept this mandatory provision. While I realize that the problem of illegal workers is getting out of hand and that something must be done to provide more teeth to our immigration officials to enforce the law more effectively, I wish to reiterate two points. First, as the Senior Minister of State himself has said, the root of the problem lies with the employers who employ these illegal workers. And because there is a demand, there is also this supply leading to the formation and organization of syndicates. So the crux of the problem lies with the organized nature of this trade and therefore the severity of the law, I think, should be directed at the people who are the employers and also the traffickers in the trade who profit from this traffic. The second point I want to bring up is that many of these illegal workers come from among the poor families, the poor rural urban migrants from our neighbouring countries. Many of them would have sold everything they have, bought a ticket or enter into heavy debt in order to come to work here. These people are actually the victims of the trade. And now they come here to make a living and when they are caught, of course, they are jailed because they have breached the law. But to cane them in such a severe manner, I am afraid it will cause us to stand very poorly in the eyes of the community of nations. I think Singaporeans would not really benefit in terms of international standing with this kind of a law.”
“My point is: how stringent are the criteria for application? If people go and ask, say, the medical social worker for consideration of waiver, the first piece of information that the social worker will inquire is how much is their household income and if they do not qualify they cannot apply. In other words, for those who applied, ie, the 1.8% who applied, of course they get the waiver because they meet the eligibility criteria. But does this mean that hospital services, even the C class beds in Government hospitals, have now become or have remained affordable to the lower income groups? So in the ensuing Budget debate I think the GPC members may very well take this matter up with the Minister again and hopefully he will give us a better answer this time.”
“Another fact is that many people actually do not realize that the difference between a B2 ward bed and a C-class ward bed is more than just a difference in the ward charges and the meal charges per day. Everything else adds up. Everything else, that is, the daily professional prescription fees, the X-ray charges, the laboratory fees, operations fees, and miscellaneous specialized investigation fees. The least the Ministry can do to help people from the lower income groups who are also likely to be less educated is to explain to them at the time of admission to hospital that there would be this kind of difference in the scale of fees if they opt for B2 beds. Then they can make the rational decision. Then I think the Government will have discharged its duty of explaining to these people before they choose the B2 beds. Once they receive the bill the shock comes but it will be too late. If this has not actually happened to many of the lower income families who were recently hospitalized, then why did the Minister for Labour find it necessary sometime back to call attention and to give a warning to the people that the Medisave accounts are running very low and that they should exercise more care in using them in future? I think there must be something there. The statistics may not show it but I think the reason is there and the Ministry should very well take a closer look into this matter - the use of Medisave and how, in fact, the lower income families have been using Medisave unwisely for B2, apart from the question that the rise in the charges, ie, the differential between C and B2 beds has now been quite steep in the recent 1988 exercise. The Acting Minister for Health also quoted the figure of only 1.8% of the C class ward patients applying for and were given waivers.”
“The concern for the lower income groups is a very major concern as expressed in the President's Address, and as the Minister of State for Community Development and Education in her maiden speech expressed over the impact of the rising health care cost on the lower income groups. This is also one of the major issues which my GPC has in the last two years taken up with the Acting Minister for Health and his Ministry. We have repeatedly called upon the Government to pay special consideration to the lower income families since they would be the most affected by the restructuring of the Government hospitals. The answer given by the Acting Minister for Health on this question has always been in the following manner. In fact,he gave the same answer to the Minister of State for Community Development and Education two days ago. He pointed out that the occupancy rate of C-class beds has gone down from 73% in 1980 to 65% today. This, he said, shows that even the lower income groups can afford the B2 wards. We know that in fact, parallel to the decrease in the number of C-class beds in Government hospitals, there has been an increase in the number of B2 ward beds. But does he not think that the reason, at least a very important reason for this drop in the demand for C-class beds may very well be on account of Medisave? A large proportion of Medisave members actually have balances of less than $1,000 and this amount is not going to last them very long, especially if they fall seriously ill. Since Medisave is money locked away unless it is used, people who can actually ill afford B2 beds are tempted to use it.”
“They fear the children's future will be affected if they cannot cope. Thus one hears very frequently that professionals are leaving or intending to leave Singapore because of the Government's second language policy. If this is the main reason for the emigration of professionals, actually I personally doubt whether this is indeed the main reason, but I have no evidence to show, but even if it is the main reason, perhaps something can still be done about the method of teaching the second language. But I would not agree with any further lowering of the standard required because here we are talking not just about a minimum standard of proficiency as a means of communication or as a communicative skill. Here we are talking about a minimum standard of proficiency for the transmission of cultural values. Yesterday the Member for Braddell Heights gave a very interesting table to the House which showed the L2 results at both the 'AO' level for GCE 'A' level students as well as the L2 results for GCE 'O' level examinations for the last three years. It is abundantly clear from these statistics that the percentage of people passing CL2 at both the 'AO' level and the 'O' level has been more than 90%, in fact around 95-96% throughout these recent years. So I think again the anxiety of the English educated parents who give the problem that their children have with CL2 as a reason for intending to migrate must be allayed again. Based on these figures it is clear that the children would not have a problem in coping with CL2, particularly now that the Government has given clear indications that we are not changing the list of vocabulary or raising the standard of the language course required. Let me move very quickly to a different theme in our debate.”
“But he seemed to be saying, "Yes, we do not know really what to do about these conflicting demands but the best solution is probably the medium or the golden rule of the mean." I hope he would not feel upset if I misinterpreted him. But my point is that this is a second issue that many people would hope to be resolved when we debate Confucian values and family ideology. As far as the question of the second language policy is concerned, I think some people still think that the teaching of traditional values need not be done through the mother tongue. This happens mainly among the group of Chinese who were English educated. It is not their fault that they did not have the opportunity to receive an education or receive some language skills in the second language when they went to school. They may not even use dialects at home but they cannot help feeling that the Government's policy on language and culture has left them in a peculiar, if not uncomfortable, position. So they examine their own lives. They have done well. They have moved up in society and they have made contributions. So, like the Member for Potong Pasir, they ask, "What is wrong with westernization?" I think to address the anxieties of this group of English educated people we need to reiterate the message that the return to cultural values, the teaching of traditional values through the second language policy is really meant for the next generation. It is really directed at the younger people. Nobody need feel hurt or need feel uncomfortable. If he or she does not speak Mandarin or the mother tongue it does not matter. It is directed at the second generation. Granted, the greater concern of the English educated is over the problems faced by the children in coping with the study of CL2.”
“Tu Wei Ming who in his earlier lectures given in Singapore was of the view that Confucian values were compatible with democracy has, of late, in his more recent lectures conceded that perhaps Confucian values would not lead a system which is the mere image of western democracy. He specifically mentioned that Confucian tradition places a premium on a Government which is based on moral authority, leaders who lead by moral example and acting in accordance with what wisdom and morality would dictate as a public good in the interest of the people. In other words, a model quite different from the mechanistic or simplistic model of western democracy. So that is one issue I think we have to thoroughly thrash out because many of the Chinese do not agree necessarily with the view that Confucianism is conducive to democracy. A second issue that also has to be thrashed out is the role of the family. The ideology of the family or family values occupy a very central position in Confucianism. But how are we going to reconcile this with the fact that, again, the lives of the people have changed much, aspirations of the people have changed much and we have witnessed in the last few days a raging debate on child care centres, on the foreign maids levy, on the participation of women in the labour force. So in other words, there are really some contradictions in the way we look at the role of the family and the role of women in the kind of society that we want. The Minister for Labour did not admit as much. He gave a very clever answer. He said no policy (unless I heard him mistakenly), no policy should be pushed to the extreme.”
“I think this kind of clarification, this kind of reassurance to all communities concerned must be made, otherwise I think the Chinese community, in particular, would feel that they do not really know what the Government is driving at. The above aside, it is still necessary for us to take a closer look at what most of the Chinese want out of a policy on cultural preservation in the present-day context. Whether they speak Mandarin well or none at all, few of them would still identify themselves with the Chinese in China. What they want out of a policy on cultural preservation is based on what they see as a vacuum in the lives of their children, in the lives of their younger generation. They see it happening. So they yearn for some ways to give back to their children a cultural identity that will help them to face the vicissitudes of life with greater confidence and a sense of purpose. And that is all. Parents who think this way are not likely to be those who write to the Straits Times or speak up at forums. I do not know how many there are of these parents. I suspect there are a large number of them and they may even constitute the silent majority. So I think some ways must be found to reach them and to seek out their views. One should also note that among the Chinese not all embrace Confucianism in its totality. In fact, many among the Chinese think that Confucian values need to be modified to suit today's modern circumstances. One issue involved is the relationship, or how Confucianism is reconcilable with modern democratic values. There has been some debate in this House on the question of democracy and I note with interest that even Prof.”
“They are actually quite confused by the Government's call for the preservation of traditional values on the one hand, and the repeated warnings against cultural chauvinism on the other. Among the Chinese educated especially, many feel that the Government has been giving out quite conflicting signals. Their hopes for a return to cultural traditions have been raised because of the Government's emphasis on preservation of traditional values. But whenever the warning against chauvinism is sounded, I think they feel that their hopes are also dashed to the ground again. The older Chinese population, in particular, feel that the word "chauvinism" conjures up very unpleasant memories. The term is linked to the Communist and communalist threats of the 1950's and 1960's. Of course,we have learnt a very bitter lesson from that turbulent period in our history and the mistake must not be repeated again. But when the term "chauvinism" is used within the present-day context, one wonders if it is still appropriate. There are some people who are even cynical enough to ask: "Is it not possible for other communities to develop their own kinds of chauvinism as well?" And "What about other people who think that everything from the west is best? Would it not constitute some form of western chauvinism also?" So it is in this light that, when I heard the Second Deputy Prime Minister's remarks and his clarification on the meaning of chauvinism, to quote him, "When we talk of learning Chinese culture and values through the use of Chinese for the Chinese, it is not chauvinism, and that when other races think about acquiring or learning their traditional cultures and values through their own mother tongues, it is also not chauvinism", I find that very very timely and very good indeed.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for giving me the chance to participate in this debate. I find the clarifications made by the Second Deputy Prime Minister in yesterday's debate on the meaning of "chauvinism" to be very significant indeed. And therefore I would like to begin my speech on one aspect which was touched on during our current debate on the National Ideology. When we are deliberating on something as important an issue as the National Ideology which is meant to be a common set of core values for all the communities in Singapore, we are bound to encounter, as indeed we have already encountered, very different viewpoints from the various racial communities. And these reactions, I think, indicate that racial sensitivities are involved in many of our discussions and that we have to be very careful in trying to handle these public discussions throughout the country. The minority communities, when they are asked to express their opinion on the National Ideology, are justifiably concerned. They are wondering whether the Chinese values might be imposed on all the minority communities. Specifically they ask whether Confucianism is actually meant for all Singaporeans. Now that the Government has made it abundantly clear that the purpose of the National Ideology exercise is to search for values which are common to all the communities and that consensus is the method by which this set of common values would be arrived at, I hope such anxieties on the part of the minority groups will be sufficiently allayed. Interestingly, the Chinese community is also asking some similar questions on the National Ideology. Does the National Ideology mean that they also have to adjust their values?”
“Sir, will the Minister discuss with the Minister for Labour and together try to persuade the Minister for Finance to release the revenue collected from the foreign maids levy and target it specifically for building more child care centres and the training of child care staff? Some hon. Members: Hear, hear!”
“They have taken their CPF cut in great stride and supported wage restraint. Now that the economy is doing well again, they expect a fair share of the rewards. Small and medium-sized local enterprises still look to the Government for assistance and workers, young and old, depend on the Government to provide training and retraining. Beyond these bread and butter issues, the population also aspires for more social and cultural opportunities, for more meaningful family and community life. All these needs have been given proper recognition in the Agenda for Action. It is undeniable that such needs can only be met if the fundamentals are kept intact. Thus, it is instructive to remind the population occasionally that it should not be complacent. To my mind, the debates generated by the Herzog visit, the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of executive interference into the judiciary, the Commission of Inquiry into Mr Teh Cheang Wan, the Marxist plot and the Hendrickson affair, have reminded our people of the importance of fundamentals. But these have also cost much precious time during the last two eventful years. Now, we must press on with our work of leading the country onto a higher plane of development. We have very important legislation still to be considered. We have the work of Town Councils to be implemented and we still look forward to the recommendations of the six Advisory Councils. I would appreciate the First Deputy Prime Minister's re-assurance that he will put the full weight of the Government's machinery behind the implementation of their recommendations.”
“On the one hand, the open-style is evidenced in the work of the Economic Committee in 1985; the formation of the Feedback Unit, March 1985; formation of the nine Government Parliamentary Committees, February 1987; and the National Agenda forums throughout 1987. But on the other hand, there were the controversial Newspaper and Printing Presses (Amendment) Act, September 1986; Legal Profession (Amendment) Act, October 1986; gazetting of Time magazine, October 1986; Asian Wall Street Journal, February 1987; Asiaweek, October 1987; Far Eastern Economic Review, December 1987; and the arrest of the Marxists in May and June last year. These seem to indicate the Government has little tolerance for criticism. The Government's actions on each of those controversial issues during 1986 and 1987 were based on reasons specific to the circumstances of each case. The issues concerned were different, separate issues, but some members of the public see a connecting line between them. They see a design, a fitting together of a pattern. They doubt the sincerity of the Government. They feel disenchanted, discouraged and some even feel intimidated. This kind of perception, if left unchecked, will eat into the confidence of the people in the younger generation leaders. To win back the critics and the skeptics, we require patience and gentleness; firmness, yes, but not what may be construed as heavy-handedness. Meanwhile, we must turn back immediately to our task of meeting the needs and aspirations of the majority of the population. The majority of Singaporeans are more concerned over jobs, housing, and education for their children. They fully appreciate the success with which the Government has revived the economy within two years of the 1985 recession.”
“When a group of ex-detainees issued a joint statement denying their involvement in the Marxist plot and alleging mistreatment at the hands of the Internal Security Department's officers, the Government had to investigate into their allegations. When the Hendrickson affair was discovered, the Government had to protest. When Mr Devan Nair denied his medical condition at the time of his resignation, the Government had to clarify. However, it was very difficult for the general public to absorb the huge amount of information that suddenly flooded the mass media, in the form of published statutory declarations, press conferences, news reports, columns in the Forum pages, and what have you. There was hardly any time to digest the full significance of one issue before another would emerge. And in spite of the time, energy and resources that we spent on explaining and clarifying, some people are still not convinced; others feel the Government has over-reacted. In the case of the White Paper, nobody is delighted by it. In fact, we are all saddened and embarrassed by it. Perhaps, Sir, the most unfortunate thing that has emerged from all these events is the widespread perception, particularly among the professionals and intellectuals, and even among some grassroots, that the Government has used these events to sound a warning to its critics, or worse still, to crack down on dissent. This perception threatens to counter all the worthwhile efforts we have made towards an open-style government which is the very essence of the consultation process that gave birth to the Agenda for Action in the first place. In retrospect, the perception has developed over a couple of years out of what seem to be conflicting signals from the Government itself.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Green Paper on the Agenda for Action was adopted by Parliament in February this year as the guideline for Government policy that would lead Singapore into the 21st century. It was the culmination of more than one year's effort in involving large numbers of people from all walks of life in consensus building. As such, the document belongs to the whole nation. It is an agreement between the people and the Government on what our national objectives are, and how we should achieve them. At the tabling of the Green Paper, the First Deputy Prime Minister promised to commit the full weight of the Government machinery to the implementation of the Agenda. But the events of the last few months - beginning with the re-arrest of the eight ex-detainees in April, followed by the detention of Patrick Seong, to the disclosure of the Hendrickson affair, the detention of Francis Seow, and lately, the White Paper on Devan Nair - have taken up so much of the Government's and the public's attention that they threaten to distract our efforts from putting the Agenda into action. In addition, these events have caused a lot of bewilderment, confusion and sadness to the nation. Now that these issues have been adequately dealt with, I feel it is the duty of someone from the Backbenches to call upon the Government to quickly put them behind us and to concentrate on the tasks that lie ahead. In all of these events, it was necessary for the Government to take action. The Government did not cause these events to happen. It was only reacting to them, as they unfolded, one by one.”
“In Singapore, we are already on the road to becoming one nation, as a senior citizen, Mr C C Tan, has said. In fact, he gave compliments to the PAP. The PAP has done a good job in nation building. We are on our way. We have got one education system now. Our children are going to the same school. We are all striving for one nation, in particular, the majority community, the Chinese. When the communists took over China, the Chinese in Singapore got nowhere to go. They cannot return to China, like in the early days. They are cut off. Their bridges are burned behind them. They have to make Singapore their home and we are making Singapore our home. I think we have done a good job of it since 1964. When was it that we last heard of a racial riot in Singapore? When? I cannot think of one. An hon. Member: 1969. Another hon. Member: 1964.”
“If they had started off like Singapore, just let the population mix and do not compartmentalize, perhaps the situation could have been better. But in 1974, the situation got so bad that there was an invasion from Turkey, and in the end the country had to be divided. So one part comprised mainly of Turkish people and the other part the Greeks. Of course, in Singapore, we are too small to have two parts. I do not think the Malays can be confined to Geylang Serai or to Kampong Ubi. But the lesson is that if we have got laws based on communal lines, it does not solve the problem. Perhaps the model we should try to follow, or at least try to learn our lessons from, is America. America is the melting pot. I am not saying that we should be like America but we can take lessons from America. They have been successful in creating not only a nation but a very dynamic nation to become a world power, to be a super-power. The First Deputy Prime Minister has said that countries like Japan are homogeneous. There are no cleavages. I think we cannot use that as an excuse. I think we should look at other countries where there are communal problems. What about Switzerland? They also have got communal problems, and they are getting on just fine because the important thing is not to protect the rights of each individual community but, in fact, the idea of nation building should be inculcated in the whole population. That is the important thing. That is why Switzerland succeeded. The people are taught from young to work and to strive for one nation. They do not think themselves as French or Germans or Italians - those countries are adjacent to their country. But they think as one people - Swiss.”
“I think that kind of information and persuasion should have been done much earlier to avoid some of the misunderstandings already generated. Another example was that again we cannot help but recall that the GRC concept was originally coupled with the Town Council concept, giving rise to much confusion. But, Sir, the GRC, as proposed, can absolutely stand on its own. It will become an important foundation for our political stability. Once the electorate has had a chance to see how the system works, I am sure it will appreciate much more the foresight of our Government in institutionalizing this system. Mr Chiam See Tong: Much obliged to you, Mr Deputy Speaker. With the introduction of the GRC, we are actually institutionalizing race as an issue in every election. I think the Government has set a precedent which in the long term may have great problems for Singapore. I think the Government should look closely at what has happened in Cyprus. As you all know, Cyprus comprises two major racial groups - the Greeks and the Turks. The Greek portion comprises about 70% of the population and the Turkish population is about 30%. When they were given independence to become the Republic of Cyprus, the British gave them a constitution which provided for communal considerations. In other words, in the legislature, they have got 70% Greek representation and 30% Turkish representation and, in fact,this is also represented in every area of official life in Cyprus - the army, the police, government departments, and down the line the division is set at 70:30 for intakes into those organizations. What happened to Cyprus? Did this communal division create harmony? Far from it. In fact, the situation got even worse.”
“Moreover, if GRCs were to be extended to the whole of Singapore, then independent candidates will have to team up among themselves also. That issue has also got to be carefully sorted out. One cannot help noticing the slight shift in the Select Committee's acceptance of some principle of proportional representation, as in the recommendation that three -fifths of the total number of GRCS should be GRCs with Malay candidates. Also, in the Select Committee's apparent agreement with the view that if the GRC is extended to the whole of Singapore and if each GRC returns four MPs, at least one of which is a minority candidate, then there will be at least 20 Minority MPs reflecting the population proportion of minorities. As I recall, proportional representation was not favoured at the very beginning because of the tendency of this type of system to appeal to communalist sentiments. Fortunately, the teaming-up of MPs under the GRC format will blunt such tendencies. I really agree that the GRC concept is the most innovative one, a highly ingenious idea. Finally, Sir, the GRC concept has come a long way since it was mooted more than a year ago. The reasons behind the proposal are now much, much clearer. Perhaps in retrospect, the reasons should have been made much clearer to the people so that some of the uneasy feelings and cynicisms regarding the Government's intention would have been avoided. For example, the way Singaporeans have been voting during the last series of general elections all the way from as early as 1955 showed that race was a consideration in the way we voted, and this was shown in Tables 2, 3 and 4 during the Select Committee hearings.”
“An example is related to our official classification of the population into four races for many administrative and statistical purposes. The official classifications of our population to Chinese, Malay, Indian and Other categories are clearly indicated on our personal identity cards. A very difficult and sensitive situation will arise if a person whose identity card indicates he or she is a member of a minority group yet finds himself or herself unacceptable to the Minorities Committee concerned for the purposes of standing for election. Sir, the revised Bill provides for a minimum number of minority representatives to be returned at each general election. At least one-quarter of the MPs should be returned through the GRCs. This means the number of Minority MPs in the House will be at least seven out of 79, or roughly 10%, if only one out of three in each team is a Minority candidate. This proportion will be higher if some of the teams have more than one Minority candidate or if some Minority candidates are returned from the single-member constituencies. As for the upper limit, under the proposed system where up to one-half of the total number of MPs can be returned through GRCs, the upper limit for Minority MPs can theoretically, although in practice highly unlikely, be as high as 50% or more. There is one suggestion among the representations to the Select Committee that the GRC system should be extended to the whole of Singapore. But bearing in mind the theoretical upper limit, I think it is advisable to restrict the coverage of GRCs to only half of Singapore at the moment until the system has been tested, and this is also recommended by the Select Committee.”
“During the discussions on Team MPs in conjunction with the National Agenda Debate throughout last year, some quarters of the Chinese population were vocalizing their concern that the Malays in Singapore had already enjoyed some exclusive privileges and that, with the Team MP system, the minorities would, in fact, be given a special leverage over political parties. On the part of the Indian community, expectations were also raised. In fact, some quarters among the Indian community felt they had been relatively neglected. Thus it is very prudent of the Select Committee to recognize such feelings among the Indian community and to recommend that it be specifically mentioned whenever reference to the Other Minorities is made in the Bills. As for the Malay community, there was considerable effort to persuade the Select Committee to include Islam in the definition of Malayness. This is understandable because Islam is an integral part of Malay culture and social life. But I strongly agree with the view of the Select Committee that, since Singapore is a secular state, it is not appropriate to include religious affiliation as a criterion for any of its legislations. Besides, this will create a dangerous precedent, for other religions may also clamour for equal treatment and for exclusive affiliation with this or that particular ethnic community. It is thus wise to let the community of the Malays and the Indians to define the members of their own groups by themselves. However, it is noted that the definition of ethnic group membership for the purposes of the Bills is actually entrusted to the Malay and Indian and Other Minorities Committees and the decisions of these Committees will be final. While this is a practical necessity, I am afraid some problems may arise in practice.”
“Sir, I rise to support the recommendations made by the Select Committee on the two proposed Bills. I am sure many Singaporeans would also like to thank the Select Committee for its work as well as the 99 individuals and organizations which took the time and trouble to present their views on the two Bills. Sir, the Bills are of extreme significance to our system of Parliamentary democracy and surely deserve the closest scrutiny by the nation. The greatest majority of the representations, in fact, 78 out of 96, support the concept of a multi-racial Parliament and the need to take immediate steps to ensure representation of the minority communities. So the question is, what form of multi-racial representation would best serve our long-term interests? It is significant that 50 out of the 78 who support multi-racial representation also support the GRC format. Apart from the fact that the GRC format is the best among the alternatives, I think an additional and very compelling reason why this concept should be adopted is its unique ability to allow, indeed encourage, negotiation, bargaining and compromises among the different ethnic groups before the representatives are elected to Parliament. In fact, when I heard this exposition of the unique advantage of this system, my eyes really opened. The GRC will help to avert extremist pressures from the different communities on the respective representatives. Sir, extremist pressures can emerge again any time. Racial attitudes and ethnic community interests can never be wiped out, no matter how well we succeed in building a Singaporean identity among our people.”
“We would like to thank the Minister for his replies. Maybe I would like to take just one or two seconds to make a few comments on his response on the catastrophic illness insurance scheme. Sir, the Acting Minister told the House that his Ministry has actually started to look at this matter about two years back and he is going to send some people from his Ministry to the United States to make a thorough study of how health insurance schemes work in the United States, partly to avoid the kind of pitfalls the schemes have fallen into and partly to learn from their experience. I would like to remind the Acting Minister that apart from seeking overseas' opinion, seeking to learn from the experience of the United States, there are also some people here in Singapore who have that kind of knowledge and capacity to be able to offer some advice, apart from those who sit on the Health Advisory Council. These include the academics at the NUS as well as other medical professionals who have been trained overseas and have come back with first-hand knowledge of the problem. While his team is making a study on the health insurance system of the United States, may I also ask him to bear in mind to study the health maintenance organization scheme which seems to be gaining increasing acceptance in the United States among the private sector. It seems to be a rather effective way of keeping down health costs and keeping down health costs is a very important concern in the minds of my GPC members, as the Member for Kaki Bukit also just pointed out. With that, may I thank the Minister and I beg to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“In the process, the health cost for the nation will be raised and people may be using up their Medisave funds prematurely. So I wonder if the Ministry is trying its best to discourage any unnecessary demand for high quality services. In connection with the community hospitals, may I urge the Minister to consider allowing a higher proportion of Class C beds at the community hospitals than is available at present for the Government hospitals on the average. The reason is, except for terminally ill cases, I suspect the kind of patients who would use the community hospitals will be staying in the community hospitals for a relatively long period for chronic illness, and even though the cost per bed at the community hospitals may be lower than at the acute hospitals, in the end the bill to the patient may still be quite large. Therefore, I urge the Minister to consider allocating a larger proportion of C Class beds in community hospitals than is presently available in the Government hospitals.”
“Again, we are told that GPs, volunteers and other members of the community, will be invited to participate in the board of management of the community hospitals. May I ask if it is also the plan of the Ministry to let community hospitals be run autonomously, in the same way as Government hospitals will be run autonomously through the process of restructuring? If so, then an additional question in the minds of the public would be whether the rates charged at community hospitals will also be subject to the same rate of decreasing subsidy as we have now in the restructured Government hospitals? At this point, allow me to touch on the question of subsidies in general before I relate this to the community hospitals in particular. Whatever the Government may say or in whatever way they may explain to the population that the present policy of restructuring of Government hospitals is not the same as privatization, the fear still remains in the minds of the people over the rising charges at Government hospitals. The widespread perception of the public is that the Government is not only cutting the rate of subsidies but it is at the same time reducing the number of Class C beds. The Government argues that nowadays people want and can afford to have higher quality services, as seen in the increasing demand for B1 and B2 beds on the one hand and the less than 100% occupancy rate of C Class beds on the other. My GPC members, however, feel that the increasing demand for B1 and B2 beds is at least partially due to the introduction of Medisave. People think that Medisave is their money locked up by the Government and they are therefore tempted to draw on it liberally for better quality services.”
“We have some feedback from the GPs that they feel that, once they refer their patients to the general hospitals, they lose touch with them, and they feel that this is not conducive to maintaining a close relationship with the patients and their families. By allowing the GPs to make rounds in the community hospitals will also yield another kind of benefit to the country, ie, the Ministry or the Government will be making use of the resources available in the private sector. Specifically, the private doctors in their own practice are a kind of resource upon which the community hospitals can draw on in order to reduce the heavy workload among the medical officers in Government hospitals at present. But we have a question on the Ministry's plan to tender out some office space in the community hospital. Is it really a good idea? Has the Ministry thought carefully about the impact of this kind of scheme for the GPs in general? Since the private doctors who will be invited to tender for the office space may keep in mind the captive clientele, so to speak, which is available at the community hospitals, they may tender for the office space at a high price. But in the end this means that the patients in the community hospitals may have to pay more for medical services at the hospital, although they enjoy the convenience. And what about the impact on the other GPs who maintain clinics in and around the area of the community hospitals? So my question for the Minister is whether his Ministry has carefully considered the implications of this kind of plan on doctors in general practice as well as the patients in the hospital. The third question is on management and finance.”
“Allow me to move on to the subject of community hospitals. The FY 88 estimates have just committed a capital grant of $30 million to building our first community hospital in Ang Mo Kio. On the whole, we like the concept of the community hospital. The idea is to provide a lower cost alternative for intermediate level of hospital care, particularly for the elderly sick, the terminally ill, and patients convalescing from operations or serious illnesses. However, we would like to urge the Minister to think about certain points, ie about the financing and management of the community hospitals, before the final plan is implemented. I have here three major sets of questions. One is the location of community hospitals. Sir, since a significant proportion of the patients to be catered to will be the elderly sick, it would seem that community hospitals should be located in those HDB estates with an ageing population already, such as the HDB estate in Queenstown or Toa Payoh; whereas Ang Mo Kio is still a relatively new town. So what are the reasons behind the Ministry's decision to locate the first community hospital in Ang Mo Kio, and in future, what are the considerations that the Minister will have in building additional community hospitals and in which parts of Singapore? The second question is with regard to the participation by the private doctors, or GPs. Again, we welcome the idea of participation by GPs in taking care of the patients. If the GPs can make the rounds of patients at the community hospitals, then it would certainly help them establish the family-doctor type of relationship with the patients and their family members.”
“The Government could require that everyone must carry an insurance policy, allowing Medisave to pay for premiums up to a limit but leaving the individual to choose whichever company he prefers. Alternatively, the Government can settle on a scheme which would meet the needs of the greatest majority of people and whose premiums could be kept low through a system of public tender, which could be called once every few years. In this way, insurance companies can compete for the contract, thus raising efficiency as well as providing some choice in the hands of Government on behalf of the people. I hope the Acting Minister will give some thought to the above points I have raised. These points are not only reactions from Members of my GPC but they are also comments gathered from the medical professionals, health economists as well as private insurance companies whom we have talked to.”
“Our present system of auditing, our present mechanism for containing any possibility of overcharging, over-investigation, must be further strengthened. The Acting Minister has assured us in an answer to an oral question that, in fact, so far the Ministry has discovered no case of medisave abuse through the hospital auditing system. But apart from this mechanism, I think there should be other ways also instituted to safeguard against the possibility of Medisave abuse, and in connection with this question of deductibles it is also an additional reason for strengthening these mechanisms. The second question pertains to the question of renewability. Because any commercial insurer will adopt the principle of risk aversion in order to stay financially viable, there is the danger that those who need the insurance coverage most would not be included in the scheme. A recent report in the Straits Times on 13th March, 1988, that the Insurance Corporation of Singapore has had to revise its hospital and surgical policy for retirees is a good example of insurance companies having to avoid risks and raise premiums or cut benefits because of its financial loss. So if a universal catastrophic health insurance scheme were to be implemented, the Acting Minister would have to inform the public very clearly whether everybody would be allowed to join at the same premium or would there be differential rates according to age or other risk factors and would the premiums be revised periodically. The third point is about the role of private companies. As far as possible, some competition among insurance companies will raise efficiency and provide some choice to the people.”
“We have received some suggestions from members of the medical profession that perhaps the Acting Minister might like to consider. They suggest that perhaps we should allow for an opting out clause, much in the same way as we have an opting out clause in the Kidney Transplant provision. My own guesses are that although there are some people who are already covered by medical insurance or for medical benefits in other ways, the number who may want to opt out from this scheme would be small, especially if the premium is low enough. Apart from this question of whether the scheme should be made compulsory or not, there are three other questions which I would like the Acting Minister to pay some close attention to. These are the question of deductibles; secondly, of renewability, and thirdly, the role of private companies. Whether Medisave can be allowed to pay for the deductibles as well as the premium has to be considered carefully in the light of the small balance of most Medisave accounts at present. If deductibles are allowed through Medisave, the payment will be made convenient and painless. But there is the possibility of abuse of Medisave funds, and again the concern is over the possibility of overcharging and over-investigation by both the consumers and the suppliers of medical services. However, since people are already allowed to pay for hospitalization through Medisave for any kind of illness at present, I think the case for not allowing Medisave for deductibles under a catastrophic health insurance scheme is not very strong. So what I would suggest to the Acting Minister is that instead we must find every way and means to control Medisave abuse.”
“Sir, I would like to speak on the use of Medisave for the catastrophic health insurance scheme. Sir, Medisave scheme by now is very well accepted by the people and I think many people also feel that it is a very good scheme as it enables them to pay for their hospitalization. However, the $15,000 limit may not be sufficient to meet more than a few times of hospitalization, especially if the person falls sick seriously. Some of these illnesses are catastrophic in nature which can hit anybody, whether one is young or old. At present Medisave can be used for family members, including parents. What this means is that there is a certain amount of pooling of funds and therefore pooling of risks. But the pool formed by the family members is very limited. It would therefore be better to introduce a catastrophic health insurance scheme so that the pool becomes much, much bigger. Also some catastrophic illnesses hit older people more often than younger people. But I notice from the information supplied to us by the Ministry that the amount of Medisave balances held by the older age groups is smaller than that held by the younger age groups. In view of these facts we feel that the catastrophic health insurance scheme should be started as soon as possible as a supplement to Medisave. Ideally, the scheme should be made com- pulsory for everybody and the premium should be paid through Medisave. With the entire population forming the pool, the premium per person can be brought down to as low a level as possible. However, there are also some people who have already been covered for medical benefits by their employers. So if we make the whole scheme compulsory for everybody, there might be a small number of people who might be made unhappy because of this.”
“But I believe the situation is not as serious as that of the nurses. A quick look at the black volume (estimates) suggested to me that perhaps the vacancies could be as much as about 12%, but I stand to be corrected by the Minister. I think this situation should be put right as soon as possible. In my view, the shortage of therapists is likely to continue unless the Ministry reviews the salary scale for the therapists also. According to my understanding, and some group of therapists had seen me informally on this, part of the problem is that local training opportunities for therapists are grossly inadequate. As a result, those who are interested in pursuing this career have to go overseas. When they come back with a university degree or diploma, they find the local salaries very unattractive indeed. In my opinion, since we are going to face an ageing population soon, our need for more therapists will certainly rise. Furthermore, the Government has just made a commitment to do more for the handicapped and the disabled and an advisory council has been announced to focus on this group of unfortunate people. But without the required number of trained therapists, I do not think it is possible for us to provide the necessary support services for the elderly or the handicapped. Thus, I would urge the Minister to review the situation of therapists alongside his review of nurses' salaries. Otherwise, the quality of our medical services as a whole is going to be compromised and we shall not be able to realize our goal of medical excellence.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head P of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, my GPC benefited a great deal from the meetings we had with the Ministry officials over the last year, from our visits to the various health institutions as well as from the dialogue sessions with the medical professionals during the debate on the National Agenda throughout last year. Most recently, in late February, a Seminar on Economic Issues in Health Care was conducted by the Faculty members at the NUS, in response to a suggestion made by the GPC. From all these discussions, it is clear to us that primary health care should be the cornerstone of our health policy and that health education and preventive medicine are effective ways to contain health costs. Since other Members of my GPC would be speaking on such aspects of our health policy, let me start the debate by calling on the Minister to review the manpower policy with regard especially to the current shortage of nurses and therapists. Sir, the shortage of nurses has recently received much public attention. The Minister has already assured the House that he is working with the Minister for Finance on an active and favourable review of the nurses' salaries. Again, since a couple of my GPC Members will be speaking on the problem of nurses, I should like to say a few words regarding therapists. It seems to me that, by comparison with the nurses, the current shortage of therapists has been relatively neglected. According to the FY 88 estimates, there are 72 established posts for health therapists and three for speech therapists. I am not really sure about the exact rate of vacancies in the past, ie, the number and the proportion of vacancies which have been left unfilled by therapists.”
“The way he implies it, the word "popular", almost means a rather forbidden word. In my opinion, we should consider every proposal to see whether it is reasonable or not, and not whether it is popular or not. I am sure some Members of this House, if not all, actually will find the proposals contained in this draft paper are most reasonable. Whether they are popular or not, is a separate issue. And in any case, the word "popular" is not a forbidden word.”
“The Government has hitherto defended its Approved Investments Scheme on the ground that it is no different from the CPF Board making investments on behalf of the contributors and giving them a return. Only in this case the individual is taking his own risk. According to his view then, education is a very different kettle of fish. It is considered as a form of consumption. But, I submit, this kind of definition is a very fine-line technocratic argument which does not square with the popular definition of education, which is a form of investment, especially when the expenses are used for upgrading one's own skills. Where the money is used on one's own children, parents do not even consider this as an investment in the sense that they do not expect monetary returns. Parents nowadays are sanguine about the so-called "returns" from their children. It is out of love and out of a sense of duty, parental duty, to give their children the best education to start life with. They only hope their sons and daughters will likewise do for their own sons and daughters. And so one generation is repaying for the previous generation. I know the Government is worried over whether liberalization of CPF for education may create undue pressure for the parents who may find it hard to refuse the demands from their children to take out the funds. This is one of the Government's worries. Again, I believe the parents should be trusted to make their own decisions. Besides, the proposal contains a safeguard - the fund must be put back into the CPF balance upon completion of the study, hence, the parents' old age security would still be protected. I find the several references to the word "popular" used by the Member for Kebun Baru to be very strange or unacceptable to me.”
“Not all of them, yes. But some of them want to invest in their own education this way. If we do not allow the use of CPF for education, I am afraid more and more young people and their parents will feel frustrated. It is correct that the well-off will have enough funds to go overseas on their own. They do not need to use the CPF funds. But what this proposal suggests is to enable actually those less well-off to use CPF for supplementing their other sources of funding. This is not going to be enough, like releasing this CPF amount up to 40% of the investible savings is not going to be enough for overseas education for its entire financing. This proposal only calls for the release of that fund for supplementing their other sources of funding for those who cannot afford, for those who have not enough funds for their children or themselves to go overseas otherwise. Before I read the proposal, actually I had some misgivings and I must be frank with you. I do understand that the CPF, after all, is meant for purposes of old age security, housing and medical care. I had also feared that parents and students would become vulnerable to some institutions which would adopt aggressive and even unscrupulous tactics in attracting a share of our students. Even with the safeguards, the releasing of the CPF funds for approved courses or accredited institutions, there is still that dubious glamour - I emphasize "dubious glamour" - of obtaining an overseas degree. But, finally, I concluded that the choice must be left with the individuals. They should be trusted to make such major decisions as investing in a university education for themselves or in their children. Nobody can guarantee the returned graduates a well-paid job, just as we cannot guarantee the NUS graduates a well-paid job.”
“Sir, I rise in support of the draft proposal on the CPF for Education as drawn up by the GPC on Education. I find that its recommendations do not disturb the present CPF contribution rate and I do not think it is necessarily true that the rate of future contribution to the CPF may be raised because of this demand, as put forth by the Member for Kebun Baru. If he reads the proposal carefully, I am sure he will find that, in fact,this proposal does not disturb the present rate of contribution to CPF. I support the view that education should be considered as an investment in human resources rather than as a form of consumption. The proposal has some safeguards and no doubt these safeguards still require some further refinement. But I feel that if the Minister and his officials put their minds to it, these safeguards can still be further fine-tuned and therefore I think the option should not be closed. Sir, the root of the demand lies in the high premium which both our population and our Government put on educational qualifications. By educational qualifications, again, I do not agree with the Member for Kebun Baru that people take that to mean that their children must get primary education first or secondary school education first. To many of us, educational qualifications in today's society mean getting a university degree. Since NUS cannot --”
“Does the Finance Minister not agree that private companies should have some responsibility in providing medical benefits to their female employees also?”
“He conceded that "the most cogent reason for extending medical benefits to children of female officers is the principle of equal treatment for the sexes which is especially important in our meritocratic system", I quote him. However, he also viewed the economic situation then as not being conducive and he was also concerned about the possible repercussions on the private sector. It is true we have just recovered from a recession. But I would like to impress upon the Minister that one of the reasons for people choosing a civil service career is the spirit of service, because private sector employment can be financially lucrative. Let us therefore reward the civil servants for their dedication and sacrifice, men and women alike. Actually, the total cost to the Government may not be as huge as it seems. For those whose husbands are also in the civil service, the problem of double benefits for wife and children can be easily controlled in today's computer-age. For those whose husbands work in the private sector and whose families have medical coverage already, you can very well ask the officers to sign an undertaking or make a declaration to make a choice as to which scheme they prefer their spouse and children to come under. If the Government was weighing the economic cost at the lower end of the salary scales where there were large numbers of Division 3 and Division 4 women officers in the past, then I submit that this factor is no longer applicable because there are almost as many women in Division 3 and Division 4 levels now as there are men. And officers at the lower end of the salary scales are precisely those whose families need medical coverage the most. As for the repercussions for the private sector, I say I cannot speak for them, neither can the Government.”
“Here, I would like to offer some fresh evidence to the Minister for Finance. The 1980 Census Report Release No. 6 on Households and Houses, page 58, Table 35 shows that among household heads who are married, ie not single, not widowed or divorced, as many as 31,287 are women. It is significant to note that the definition of head of household used in the Census is the realistic self-definition. In other words, in these 31,000 households, women are considered by their own family members as head of the households. As to the question of true dependency, the definition rests on the assumption of sole support. But I think we need to re-conceptualize the question as one of joint support. For even where the woman may be a second income earner in a family, her income contributes susbtantially to the family expenditure. Sir, the 1986 Labour Force Survey Report shows the median gross monthly income of a male worker to be $750, after CPF it is only $560. Is this amount sufficient to maintain a family's needs in today's high standard of living? Even back in 1982, according to the Household Expenditure Survey, the average monthly expenditure per household of two to four persons was $1,230 while that for a household of five to seven persons, the average was $1,653. So if the women had not been contributing towards family finances, how could the average wage of an average male worker in Singapore be sufficient to meet the needs of the family? The only possible reason for the Government not to grant equal medical benefits is financial or economic. In his reply to a question for written answer from the Member for Bo Wen in 1986, the Minister indicated that his Ministry had made a review of the question in mid-1985.”
“Sir, while the Government was building for comfort and luxury for its civil servants, I would like to remind the Finance Minister about medical benefits for the female officers. The subject of equal medical benefits for female Government officers is a policy issue that affects some 37,000 female civil servants or 53% of the total number in Government service. The subject has been raised time and again by Members in this House. I, in fact, looked up past records of the Hansard for as far back as 12 years and, to my pleasant surprise, found that the former Member for Kim Seng, Dr Ong Leong Boon, actually raised the question in 1976. There might have been other Members before him. And since then, more recent speakers on the same subject include the Members for Yuhua, Bo Wen and Telok Blangah. The answer from the Government has always been based on the same two reasons. The first is that it is assumed that men are the heads of household, and the second is the principle of true dependency. It is said that the principle is equally applied to men and women where their children are concerned. Therefore, medical benefits are also given to the children of a woman who is a widow or divorcee or who has been granted a decree of judicial separation and therefore is a sole supporter of her children. Sir, 12 years is a long time. Many social and economic changes have taken place over this period. In 1975, only 35% of women were in the labour force; today 47% are the sex ratio among students at NUS is already 50:50 and women constitute 49% of the Division 1 officers in Government and 64% of the Division 2 officers are also women. The Members who spoke previously on the subject had raised doubt on the assumption that men are necessarily the head of the household.”
“Sir, if it were not because there are quite a number of speakers asking for cuts, I would have liked to join my colleague, especially the Member for Ayer Rajah, to press home this point: why are there two separate authorities actually running the control over hawkers? Members of this House may rest assured that the GPC is going to take this matter up with the Ministry further in the year to come. In view of our strong interest in hawker matters, because you see the whole House jumps up whenever hawkers become a subject of discussion, I think there is a need for the Ministry to look into it and I would like to urge the Minister to think about the long-term hawker policy again. With this, may I withdraw my amendment, Sir. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“No, I am not speaking on the next subject.”
“I would like to ask him what kind of alternatives are there for private households if they want to dispose of unwanted bulky items and do not want to engage the contractors who will, after all, pass the cost of dumping fees on to them. The past method of exempting small loads from payment has given rise to an anomalous situation. When I read the FY 86 annual report for the Ministry, I was so surprised to find that as much as 70% of the total number of trips made annually to the disposal facilities involve loads of less than 1 tonne. In other words, all of these trips, totalling a quarter of a million times a year, were free of charge. In my view, it is not possible that all these trips were made by private households. The greatest majority of them must have been made by commercial operators who have been profiting from the Ministry's generosity. In fact, I was told that private collectors have been breaking down their loads either at the point of collection or near the dumping grounds in order to benefit from the fee exemption. May I ask if the Ministry has been keeping tab of the situation, such as carrying out spot checks on the situation? Another consequence of this fee exemption is that small lorries cause long queues and traffic congestion at dumping grounds. If the queues at the dumping grounds are indeed long, maybe one way to solve the situation is to encourage the operators to use the Kim Chuan Transfer Station. If so, would the Minister be prepared to waive the haulage fee charged presently at the Transfer Station? If not, may we hear his reason for charging this fee at all?”
“Therefore, in drawing up the regulations for the licensing of these private waste collectors, I believe some norms on the types of vehicles and methods used should be set. Under the Environmental Public Health Act, if these operators have infringed on the law their licences could also be revoked. But since licences are a matter of means of livelihood, I think it is only fair if the Ministry comes up with a clear set of norms and requirements, as well as clearly indicate the conditions under which licences may be withdrawn, be understood by all the people involved. When the new licensing scheme is implemented, I think all the existing operators should be registered at the beginning, so as not to affect their present means of livelihood. However, as time goes on, they should be encouraged to upgrade through mechanization and greater efficiency. Perhaps the Minister may even wish to consider providing some form of financial assistance such as low-interest loans to the small- and medium-sized operators to help them upgrade. Sir, since the licensing of private waste collectors means the recognition of such operators as commercial concerns, it is only fair that they pay the appropriate disposal fees. In the past, the Ministry's practice has been to exempt payment of the fees for loads under 1 tonne, so as to encourage the proper disposal of refuse by small contractors or private households. It was felt that if such small loads were not exempted, then there might be even more instances of illegal dumping. But with the licensing of private collectors, I strongly feel that they should all be charged, irrespective of small or big loads. On the other hand, I would urge the Minister not to forget about the private households.”
“Sir, the Environmental Public Health Act was passed in July last year. It provides for the licensing of private waste collectors. I would like to urge the Minister that his Ministry draw up a set of guidelines or regulations for implementation as soon as possible. As far as the toxic industrial wastes are concerned, I understand that a comprehensive set of guidelines has already been drafted, and feedback from trade and industry organizations being gathered. The GPC welcome this consultative approach adopted by the Ministry. By its very nature, toxic wastes have to be handled very carefully and special types of equipment are required, and licensed operators need to abide by a very strict safety code. But in my view, it may not be possible to expect all of the existing collectors to upgrade their physical equipment overnight in order to meet the high standards set by the Ministry. Therefore, may I suggest that a reasonable time-frame be set so as to enable them to comply with the standards eventually? As far as the removal of non-toxic wastes is concerned, I think the same kind of approach can also be adopted. The majority of the private collectors, I understand, are small-scale contractors using open lorries. According to an estimate by the Environmental Management Association of Singapore, out of an approximate total of 400 private vehicles involved in waste handling, only about 15% are specialized refuse vehicles. Even though the kinds of waste carried by the open lorries comprise mainly dry and inorganic waste, it is still possible for such methods of conveying waste to cause hazards to environmental health, such as through spilling of dust, littering the roads and, of course, the possibility of illegal dumping.”
“He asked whether the Ministry had done studies on the changing composition of the refuse content, identify the sources of variation and make projections into the future, to see if our existing dumping ground facilities and incineration plants would be able to carry the increasing load. We know that a third incineration plant is being built at Senoko, and the dumping ground at Lorong Halus is being extended. With these projects, it is said that incineration capacity will be increased to some 80-85% of refuse disposal, with the rest, the 15%, for disposal by dumping and that these developments will carry us right up to year 2000. But the year 2000 is not too far away, we need to look at requirements beyond the end of the century. I would therefore like to ask the Minister what future plans does his Ministry have with regard to waste management beyond the year 2000. And if I may offer a couple of observations here. We are a small country. So we may not have much choice as to where these future developments might be located. But it is important, even so, for us to look at the environmental impact of these future developments precisely because we are a small country. And secondly, if in future some offshore island has to be used for the purpose, then it could be expected that operational cost of hauling the refuse to these future developments might be raised. Therefore, I would urge the Ministry to carry out cost-effectiveness studies before they commit any expenditure which would be huge to the development of these future capacities.”