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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“One set of ECA activities encourages one type of attitudes and values rather than another type of attitudes and values as embodied in another set of ECA activities. You will notice that the uniformed groups and the sports and games emphasize character training and discipline but at the same time they emphasize discipline and conformity. What do we want? Do we want to encourage creativity or conformity? Do you not think it is time that the Ministry should encourage and guide students more into cultural activities which, I submit, can equally train a student's moral character and institute self-discipline? Playing a piano, for example, needs as much self-discipline and drilling as you go for your field exercises and your sports. So could the Ministry kindly think about these few points?”
“The third point I want to bring up is that obviously under the tremendous examination pressure that our students are facing now, there is very little room for them to be able to think on their own, to criticize, to question and to experiment. One thing that strikes me is that there is no reason why students should be made to go through so many examinations, especially all together at the end of the year, year after year. Some schools encourage the students to take even eight, nine or 10 subjects for the GCE 'O' levels when all that is required to pass the GCE 'O' levels is five subjects for pre-university admission. I feel that the Ministry of Education should really try to restrain this practice, because, in encouraging the best and brightest students to take more subjects we may be actually killing the initiative and creativity among our very best and brightest students. Finally, I would like to touch on the question of extra-curricular activities. The extra-curricular activities are meant to cultivate certain values and attitudes in our students and to provide recreation. With the new guidelines on the ECA, there are three types of core activities students should choose from. One is sports and games. The other is uniformed organizations and the third is cultural activities. I understand the majority of the students take sports and games or uniformed organizations rather than cultural activities. Students, it would appear, like adults, are quite pragmatic. Among them, they feel that it is easier to score points in sports and games and in uniformed organizations than in cultural activities. Besides, they are told that the grades they earn would help them in being considered for pre-university and scholarships and bursaries.”
“Under such a situation you cannot expect the teacher to give each individual student due attention. I suppose one can suggest that the situation can further be improved and I do not think the Minister can disagree with that. The second point I want to bring up is that creativity goes with curiosity and initiative. Our students are very sadly lacking in both these qualities, all the way from primary school to the university level. Curiosity and initiative can be encouraged to a certain extent if you bring the students more often out on field trips and allow them to do projects of their own choice. They should be given a certain amount of recognition in terms of grades which count towards examination results. In connection with this, it is very sad to hear the argument often repeated, again all the way from primary school to university level, that the very strictly invigilated examination hall is the best way to ensure student's honesty whereas, if you allow them to do projects and do field work, the students may cheat on you and ask somebody else's help. The question in my mind is, if you do not really have even this basic faith in students' integrity, how are we ever going to let them mature into students or people who can be responsible for their own action? In this kind of matter, there is need for us to be more understanding and to be more relaxed about letting students do things of their own choice and not just during the vacations but regularly throughout the year. I should think the full-day sessions that we are going into would allow teachers and students more time to be embarking on this kind of self-initiated projects.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to speak very briefly on the issue of creativity. Creativity has become an important issue because we are now wanting to nurture and develop every individual to his fullest potential, and especially since the report of the Economic Committee has mentioned the central importance of creativity even to matters like economic development. Creativity obviously cannot be achieved simply through pumping more funds into building more schools, junior colleges or institutes of higher learning. It has much more to do with the quality of our educational services. Neither is creativity confined to the arts and culture only. It is a quality that does well in both the arts and the sciences, in business and in industry, in fact, in all spheres of life. So I would like to talk about creativity as a generalized quality. Some of the points I would touch on are not new, and I am sure teachers and principals must have raised them often in the past. But if we are serious about encouraging creativity, I think some of these ideas deserve serious consideration and immediate implementation. The first thing we can think of in order to nurture every individual to his fullest potential is obviously class-size. I do not need to belabour this point. The other day an hon. Member of the House distributed a Table on student-teacher ratios at various levels of our educational institutions. It was abstracted from the Yearbook on Statistics. On paper, these ratios look very good and I think the situation has improved tremendously over the years. But as the Minister well knows, statistics sometimes do not tell the entire story. In some primary schools and secondary schools, the class size is very often up to 35 students and sometimes it even exceeds 40.”
“With the great deal of help we are giving to the poor families now to own flats, it would seem to me that anyone who is willing to own a flat would be able to do so. In my mind, the number of rental flats should not be further reduced. There is always a demand for rental flats, apart from the needs of those groups that I have mentioned. In fact, I would even argue for the re-opening of the 3-room rental register on a limited basis so that the housing needs of particular sections of the population would also be catered to by the HDB.”
“But for those people who remain single for a great part of their life well past the age of 27 or 29, it is most probably because they cannot find a suitable life partner. Should these people not be allowed to own a home of their own? If their parents are already being taken care of by the other siblings, I see no compelling reason why the HDB should not let these people apply for a home of their own. This calls for a relaxation of the rules, and I would even submit that the number of cases of non-consummate marriages would decline if the rules are relaxed. A fourth reason why the HDB should continue to build smaller flats, in spite of the current pattern of demand which is heavily weighted towards the 5-room and executive flats, is that many families are sinking in a huge proportion of their savings into housing consumption. They are buying flats which are far larger than what the small family needs, and probably more than what they can afford if they encounter periods of unemployment. I think it is time that our population's expectation with regard to flat size and space requirement should be brought to a more realistic level, especially in view of our land scarcity problem. The HDB on its own part could try to come out with innovative and cosy designs, better finishes and better locational layouts that could in some way meet the housing aspirations of the population. Finally, the rental flats are smaller flats and they should be so. In pursuing the 100% homeownership policy, would the Minister not think it is reasonable to encourage 100% homeownership mainly among those who desire to own their own home? In a society where more than 70% of the flat dwellers are owners already, it is seldom a case where a person would not want to have a home of his own.”
“A third point regarding the aged arises from a point raised by the Member for Fengshan. He pointed to the recommendation in the Howe Yoon Chong Report on the Aged: that the HDB is to consider giving the aged an option to buy an annuity through the HDB from an exchange of the flat or selling the flat back to the HDB. I would like to ask the Minister whether the HDB is seriously giving consideration to this very good recommendation. The second group of people who need smaller flats are the divorcees. Whether we like it or not, the trend of divorce is increasing and you are going to have increasing numbers of divorcees. At the moment, the divorcees can apply for purchase flats once they can produce separation documents. But the divorce proceedings as well as the process of selling the previous flat and recovering their CPF moneys before they can use them to pay for the new flat takes a long time. Meanwhile, they are facing tremendous difficulty in getting temporary accommodation, be it with their relatives or friends who are prepared to put them up. The problem is especially serious for divorced women because very often the women are given the custody of the children. So my question for the Minister is, whether he will consider relaxing the rules on rental flats so that the divorcees can at least find some temporary accommodation on an urgent basis before their turn for allocation of a purchase flat comes about. A third group of people in need of smaller flats are those people who for one reason or another cannot succeed in finding a life partner - call them confirmed singles if you like. We can reasonably assume that the desire to marry and to have a family is almost universal.”
“The aging couples living by themselves need smaller flats which are not only cheaper but also easier to maintain in terms of performing household chores. In the future, HDB will have to build proportionately more small-sized flats to provide for the rising number of the aged in our population. Although our national policy is to encourage married children to live with their aged parents, the fact is that young couples truly desire privacy and autonomy on their own. Thus, you find that the three-tier family priority scheme is not as successful as the joint balloting scheme or the joint selection scheme, because the joint balloting scheme allows the younger couples to still lead a life of their own while staying close enough to their parents in order to take care of them. Neither is the three-year headstart given under this three-tier priority scheme very much of an incentive because the average waiting period now is rather short. Therefore, the HDB should from now on further promote, over and above the other schemes, the joint balloting scheme and also the joint selection scheme where the aged couples can stay in smaller flats close to their married children who may opt for the larger flats. The three-tier family priority scheme has already produced some problems. At our meet-the-people sessions we have aging parents who come to us asking for a waiver of this 8-year requirement because they are experiencing tremendous problems of family conflicts with their married children. Is the HDB prepared to give genuine cases of this kind its very sympathetic consideration? Apart from giving incentives for people to opt for the joint balloting scheme and such like, the HDB should also start to think about special flat designs which are catered to the needs of the aged.”
“Sir, I would like to speak on the HDB. Yesterday, the Minister answered an Oral Question as to whether there is a possibility that HDB may overbuild. He pointed out the fact that since HDB reviews its building programme once every six months, there is therefore very little chance for HDB to overbuild. Here I would like to raise two points. First of all, the HDB should gear its building programme not just to the length of its current waiting list but it should plan according to the projected demand based on long-term demographic trends and also the rate of household formation. And these trends indicate that in the future (and not too far off a future at that) the HDB may have to slow down its building programme. The second point is that there is still a possibility of oversupply if the types of flats built do not closely match the types of flats demanded. Could the Minister inform us as to whether the demand and supply situation is well in balance for the different types of flats at the moment, and if there is some kind of oversupply with regard to certain types of flats, what does the HDB propose to do about the situation? A Member of the House has suggested that additional incentives should be given to people to purchase the smaller-sized flats. Incentives can be given both by way of giving easier loan terms or by other kinds of incentives which need not be monetary consideration. I think this idea is worth pursuing not for the simple reason of clearing the backlog if there is an oversupply in certain types of flats but for a more important reason, which is, to cater to the housing needs of certain segments of the population. First, the aged.”
“Sir, I do not think the Minister has answered the second part of my question. It has been announced that HDB will build 160,000 units by the end of the decade. My question was: based on the projection of the required housing need of 45,000 plus the existing waiting list of 52,000, has this total number of units been taken into consideration in the building programme of HDB of 160,000 units?”
“Sir, could the Minister please clarify these figures for me? Does the projected number of new applicants of 45,000 for 1986 plus the figure of 52,000 applicants on the present waiting list constitute the total waiting list? The HDB has announced that to cater to this wasiting list, it intends to build 160,000 new units by the end of the decade. How did the HDB come to this figure? Has this total waiting list been taken into consideration in HDB's building programme of 160,000 units?”
“Supplementary question, Sir. Will the Minister, even at this stage, inform the House a little as to what would be the areas of responsibility of the Town Council? Secondly, what would be the financial basis or the kinds of finances it commands in order to carry out these areas of responsibility? And thirdly, who would be represented on the Town Councils?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Minister consider allowing these families which are affected by recession to stay in the rental flats, as a stop-gap measure, before they are allocated a new flat but of a smaller size?”
“In my humble opinion, Sir, the challenge to the young generation of leadership now, which is also a very urgent one, is to steer our nation towards the common goals and galvanize our total efforts towards our future recovery and development. It remains for me, Sir, to thank you and the rest of the Members of this House for this great opportunity to have started off this debate, and I thank you all for your very valuable contributions. [Applause]. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:- "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the Second Session of this Parliament."”
“Sir, now that the civil servants are charged with the responsibility of taking down the edifices which they have built in the past and from which they derive a considerable measure of pride, we must extend to them our moral support. Their task is not going to be easy. In fact, it is going to be painful because they have to go step by step and to carefully balance the interests of the public with the possibility of people by-passing the rules in the future. We must not forget that they have also sacrificed for the recession. So let us lend them our fullest moral support. Let me conclude, Sir, by offering another intriguing topic which I promise to be divulging to the House. I seem to be reading in between the lines a lot of times. We are talking about moral obligations and moral lessons. Do I perceive a perception gap somewhere? Sir, the man-in-the-street insists that we talk about moral obligations, obligations of the Government, to take care of the daily needs, obligations of employers towards employees, and the obligations of the Government to nurture local businesses. The Government's response is yes, we are taking care of your interests and needs but, at the same time, you should learn a moral lesson. We have become soft and expect too much and too unrealistically. The hard fact of life is that no one owes us a living. So we must all stand up on our own feet. This perception gap must not be allowed to widen. We have a tremendous selling job indeed to do, as the Member for Chong Boon so aptly described it. And the Member for Ayer Rajah called on the Government to work closely with the people and always extend to them a listening ear.”
“The Economic Committee's recommendations also focus on our future path. In fact, the very reason why we are debating the measures and the changes in strategies is with a view to restructuring the economy for future growth. While the Acting Minister for Trade and Industry pointed out and drew our attention to the four major strategies for sustaining and increasing economic growth in the future, my question is: is this future simply planned for economic growth? The thrust of the future development should not just be in the rising standard of living but if I may quote from the President's Address: 'Our society [in future] should be a lively, challenging, and fulfilling place to work and live in.' I was trying to talk a little bit about the issue of creativity. I lost count, in fact, of the number of times the word "creativity" was mentioned in the Economic Committee's Report. But unfortunately it seems that no one in this House has picked up this issue. Obviously, everyone was preoccupied with the economic recession, and rightly so. Now, we have to examine the rules and regulations very carefully in order to provide a conducive business environment. The civil servants will have to work very hard from now on. They must be geared up for the impending changes. The Civil Service, including the statutory boards, has received a fair amount of criticism from Members of this House. Bureaucracy, it seems, has a way of multiplying itself. In their eagerness to implement Government policies, civil servants come up with rules and regulations which proliferate to such an extent until the original purpose is completely lost.”
“The Economic Committee's recommendations for a quick recovery were debated at length, and the Government has made announcements about the measures that it would take immediately to relieve the recession. The common man in the street should now see clearly that the Government is truly concerned with his interest. The home owners, whether of HDB flats or private homes, should now have their fears allayed. They should find little difficulty in meeting the mortgage payments. The businessmen have also received a substantial dosage of help in terms of cutting costs. And the message to the nation is loud and clear - steel up and face the problem squarely like a man. There is no painless solution, Sir. So let us pull ourselves together and get on with it. What remains to be seen now is whether the announced measures will be adequate to restore business confidence. The measures will definitely help the ailing firms to survive. Will those with ability, not just to survive but also expand, will they plan on ahead now, reinvest, raise overall business efficiency and strive for export markets? As the Acting Minister for Trade and Industry told us this morning, his answer to that lady's question about guarantee is that there is no possibility of guarantee. But if businesses do not act now, during this brief respite, we may face even bigger problems after these two years, as the Member for Whampoa has so dramatically pointed out to us yesterday. The third type of issues discussed pertains to the long term future. Much of our discussion in the past 4(r) days has centred on the current recession. But the fact is we should put a greater emphasis on the future directions. Sir, the thrust of the President's Address is on the future.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this morning before the suspension, I was trying to sum up the debate in this House. I said that, instead of going over the points raised by hon. Members, one by one, I would rather attempt a short conceptual summary of the issues raised. The first type of issue discussed concerns the causes of the recession. In this connection we noted that the Opposition tried to put the blame squarely on the Government. But they were taken apart entirely and, in fact, this type of approach was proven to be totally futile. It is clear that both external and internal factors are involved in causing the recession, and that we would be blind not to take heed of global and regional trends in demand. What we can do internally, we must do quickly and decisively. Here, the Government should take heed of the Member for Alexandra's call to take quick note of early warning signals, especially those sounded by the PAP Backbenchers. We were also urged to assess the current recession in the right historical, economic and political perspectives. Members, including the Members for Leng Kee, Clementi, Queenstown, Serangoon Gardens and Changi, all spoke on the right historical, economic and political perspectives in which we should be viewing this recession. Sir, we have faced far greater problems in the past and we have overcome them with great ability. The current recession, with historical hindsight in future, may prove just to be a rough patch in our path, if we quickly prepare ourselves now for the changes in the future economic trends. The second type of issues discussed are the remedies.”
“But here the Government should take heed of the Member for Alexandra's call for it to take note of some early warning signs, especially from the PAP Backbenchers. We were urged to assess the current recession in the right perspective, including the past history of greater difficulties, whether economic or political. With historical hindsight in future the current recession may prove yet to be just another rough patch on our path. So if we quickly prepare ourselves for changes in future trends, I think this may turn out to be just a little bump on the road.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it now remains for me to sum up this debate but, without the skills of our previous speakers, I do not think I can manage in the remaining three minutes. Having heard more than 40 Members in this House who participated in the debate, my job of summing up is not an easy one. The Government has also made its policy announcements and only just now the architect of the Economic Committee's Report has also made his defence. What remains for me to do now is to beg your patience by asking you to come back after lunch, so that I could conceptualize the whole debate in a way in which I think we can leave this sitting with something to ponder about. I cannot really go over the points made by the Members individually, one by one, and if I fail to mention them by name and to thank them for their individual contribution, I beg their forgiveness. If I may just tantalize you with this point about conceptualization. I have something rather intriguing again to talk about. The debate can be roughly analysed in terms of three different sections. The first one, of course, is about the causes of the recession. The Opposition tried to place the blame squarely on the Government but their arguments were fully demolished and this is seen by all as to be, that is, to point an accusing finger at anyone, a futile exercise. It is clear that both external and internal factors are responsible for our present economic difficulties and we would be blind not to take heed of global and regional trends in demand. What we can do internally is that we must strengthen ourselves, correct our weaknesses and, in fact, steer a new course towards a new path. This we must do now quickly and decisively.”
“Point of clarification, Sir. The point I made about the BEST classes was with specific reference to the age group of the 40s: It was because of their age, and because of the present economic problem, and because their children have not yet grown up to be able to help the family finances, that I found the BEST classes not really the best for this age group. I am aware of the fact that about 60% of the workforce have below primary education even since the 1970s. And I made the point that this proportion will slowly decline with opening educational opportunities as well as with the reduction in our educational wastage. In fact, even though I came in 1984, I spotted this trend in 1975.”
“Tomorrow, Sir. Mr Speaker: So be it. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." - [BG Lee Hsien Loong]. Adjourned accordingly at Twenty-nine minutes past Four o'clock pm.”
“The Member for Potong Pasir has called for a 15% reduction in the employees' CPF contribution. Has he done any proper calculations as to how this, together with the 15% cut in employers' contribution, would affect workers' ability to pay for housing, medical expenses, as well as for old age? The way the Government is proposing to deal with the whole CPF question is to ensure that the worker can keep both his job and his home and having enough for Medisave and old age. Again, the Member for Potong Pasir asked for a lowering of the prices of HDB flats. Does he not realize that HDB flats are already very cheap as compared to private flats? And what about those years when private property prices were rocketing, and our workers' flats also rose in property value? Still, there is a case for the Government to consider the workers' plea for a cut of their side of the CPF contribution. The Government is concerned over how the workers would spend the extra cash. For the low-income families they need this for food and transport. All the more so if more become unemployed. People have to eat and children have to go to school. It would be most ironical indeed if people were driven to desperate acts because their own savings are locked up in CPF funds! Sir, I have taken up much of your time. In the ensuing debate, more issues are bound to be brought up. We thank the President for laying down the directions for the next few years and the long-term future. We must strive to become an international business centre and a nation of excellence. Once business confidence is restored, we will move forward again. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 11.41 am”
“They would cut down on food because they cannot cut down on housing. Nor on clothing, which is a very small item in any case. And they cannot cut down on transport. People must work. Children must go to school. The poor cannot cut down on public transport expenses. Transport takes up 10% or slightly more of the household expenses for the lower expenditure groups. It is the most non-variable item until you come to the higher groups above $1,500 per month. Sir, this worry will still continue to haunt them even after the recession is over, and MRT is coming in 1988. Our land transport problem must be solved. There is no easy answer. But people are asking questions. Would the falling oil prices give the low income families some ground for hope? So, what is the workers' side of the bargain? Sir, the hottest topic in the coffee shops and the hawker centres is not entrepreneurship or creativity, education or training. Nor is it over a future standard of living matching the OECD countries! The hottest topic in town is the CPF cut! The Economic Committee's recommendations are pro-business; and rightly so, because economic recovery is at stake. But to the workers, the CPF cut is a cut in wages. Their most pressing concern is over ability to pay for housing. As reported in the Straits Times on the 18th February, 1986, the Member for Anson accused the Government for not doing anything to make it easier for workers to meet the instalment payments. He has conveniently forgotten that HDB housing loans are being re-scheduled over a longer repayment period. Retrenched workers having difficulty in paying instalments are allowed deferment; and with the drop in CPF interest rate, the interest rate on HDB loans has also come down.”
“He has had some job offers since retrenchment, but he said they were offering him $500-600 only. He did not think the offers were fair; so he is still unemployed after six months. I asked him, "Is his wife working?" The answer was, "Yes, she earns about $400." They have no children yet. So it is not a question of his not being able to accept the job offers because they would still not enable him to feed his family. It is a matter of his being used to a high standard of living. Did he use this period to upgrade his skills, so that when the recession ends as it must, he would stand a much better chance of finding a good job again? No, he did not; and he is sitting at home. Were the job offers given to this young man fair? How can we be sure that employers are not taking this opportunity to exploit the workers? In what ways can workers be assured that employers would be fair to them? A peaceful industrial climate we must preserve, but employers should not take the workers' sacrifice for granted. Meanwhile, there is bound to be a lowering of the standard of living for almost everyone. According to the 1982-83 household expenditure survey, food constitutes the highest expenditure item for the average household, some 38% of the average monthly expenditure. Out of this, 16% goes to cooked food. Another item is miscellaneous, 21%, which includes recreation, health and medical expenses, beverages and tobacco. A lower standard of living would mean less eating out, less designer jeans, less beer or soft drinks, less cigarettes. Our average workers have got used to these luxuries. But such habits must go or be greatly restrained, and perhaps all the better for our health and nutrition. But we should be worried if the poorer families start cutting down on food and other essentials.”
“The handful who are in the 30's and 40's are struggling with obvious pain on their faces over a language which is foreign to their daily living, over Mathematics which has little to do with what they are doing and will be doing. It is not just age which is against them, but the seeming irrelevance of learning English and Mathematics when they worry about feeding their families. This, even in the best of times. What now? The Government's goal of raising the median educational standard of the workforce to the equivalent of Secondary 4N level by 1990 will never touch them. What can be done to help these age groups? In the past, they worked as semi-skilled or manual workers. The greatest proportion are production and related workers, transport equipment operators and labourers. Now, we are pushing for mechanization, automation and high-technology industries. It is as if we are leaving behind a whole generation who grew up during the war. For these people, what is the solution? Job training and re-training must take a more direct, tangible form for this middle-age group. This recession is going to teach all of us a very good lesson. We have lost much of our flexibility. The good years have given us unrealistic expectations. Our young people no longer want to work with their hands; they prefer soft jobs; they shun the third-shift. But the hard fact of life is that no one owes us a living. Over the next couple of years, unemployment may still rise. We all have to tighten our belts and adjust. We have to lower our expectations and adapt to a lower standard of living. There is no other choice. Sir, I was talking to a young man on one of my rounds in the constituency. He was retrenched six months ago. He told me he was earning a four-figure salary as a technician.”
“In questioning the economic wisdom of encouraging so many people to sink in so much of their life-long savings into housing consumption, the group of economists at the National University who wrote the Report of the Study Group on the CPF in 1985 may have touched the tip of an iceberg. More research on the economics of housing must now be embarked upon. The Government must release fuller information. Government officials, financial experts and academics must get together and deliberate on this very important issue. It came as a surprise to many people, Mr Speaker, Sir, when they read in the papers that as high as 53% of our present workforce have only primary education or less. With the opening opportunities in education, with reduction in educational wastage, our young people will have little problem. In due course, this high percentage will come down at a faster rate than before. But there is one whole generation in the workforce that we have forgotten about the middle-age group. Sir, in 1984, there were 131,000 men and 53,000 women between 40-49 years old in the workforce. 184,000 of them, or 15% of the workforce. Some 51% of them had primary education or less. This generation was born in the 1930's and the 1940's. They bore children in the 1950's and the 1960's. By now, some of their children have not yet started working and contribute to family expenses. These few years are going to be very tough for them indeed. You tell them, "Go for more training, take BEST classes." You go to the BEST classes and make some observations. Mostly young students in their 20's.”
“The active building programme has greatly reduced average waiting time, and since the minimum eligibility requirement is a couple who need not even be registered to marry at the time of application, our average age of home-ownership must be one of the earliest, if not the earliest in the world! In the eyes of the young Singaporeans who have hardly worked long enough to earn the right to home-ownership, home-ownership has already become a right, not a privilege. This alone has far-reaching social and political implications. Sir, I agree that home-ownership is very important for defence and political stability. However, its other implications have begun to emerge. But let me come back to economics. Interestingly, home-ownership has something to do with entrepreneurship. Because payment for housing, both public and private, is made painless through the CPF, an ordinary person would prefer a well-paying job where the employer contributes to his CPF, to striking out on his own. And because public housing is tied to the use of CPF funds, it has already contributed to the problem of over-saving on the national level. HDB has done a terrific job in providing housing for our people. There is no disputing that. However, having provided for 82% of the population already, it would seem to me that public housing has more or less accomplished its social objectives. Its economic implications must now be carefully examined. Strangely enough, I have not seen analyses of the economics of public housing for a long time until recently.”
“We must pay close attention to these long-term trends, not just population growth rate, but more importantly, the rate of household formation which is more significant for determining the future demand for new homes. There is also a limit to how many more resettled cases that can be added to demand. Between 1980 and 1984-85, the pace of resettlement was unprecedented, with a total of 67,346 cases having been resettled. There are approximately 35,000 squatters left. A side question is: during this recession, should the resettlement programme continue at its previous rate? Poorer families would do better if they are allowed to stay in the kampungs for a little longer, if they so wish. And the annual resettlement compensation of over $200 million could be put to another use. You may argue that the clearance of squatters is necessary to make way for new development projects which in turn will stimulate economic recovery. But what about your land bank? It is time to draw on your land bank especially since population growth and household formation rates have gone down more rapidly than was previously projected. Young people now are in a hurry to own a flat, not just any flat, but a bigger, better, flat. I do not have the exact figure. But it seems that lots of Singaporeans are not buying flats because they need a roof over their heads. You see the phenomenon of people being allocated flats which are not occupied for up to six months, and even cases where the couple hardly lives in its new flat.”
“The construction slump has been identified as one of the major causes of the recession. As the Economic Committee points out, the problems are not just a matter of over-supply. This will be sorted out by the market in due course; meanwhile, the Government is holding back further land sales. More serious is the contraction of aggregate domestic demand due to the lower tempo of construction activities. Here, there is also a limit to what the Government can do by way of pump-priming the economy through more infrastructural projects. Most of the important projects have already been or are being completed. So we must look towards the world as our market. It is good that the HDB continues to build more flats: more homes for the people, more jobs for the local contractors. This would help to stimulate domestic demand. What about the long-term future? If we aim to provide public housing ultimately to 90-95% of the population, it follows that private housing construction will only cater to 5-10% of the population, unless we have a sizable influx of foreign residents again. The present glut in the property market is unlikely to disappear before the end of the decade. By 1990, the HDB would have built another 160,000 units of flats. Beyond 1990, the population would still continue to grow, of course, and additional demand for housing will be generated by the splitting of families when married children move out on their own. But we should not forget that our population growth rate has been declining faster than we expected. In fact, we have been below replacement level since 1975. Unless you can maintain the two-child family, the rate of household replacement will go down too.”
“There is no question that the local businesses must adapt and modernize. If there is a will, there is a way. After all, there are all these textbooks and precepts that one can read and follow. But ultimately you need entrepreneurs. The spirit of capitalism is not born out of black print! Otherwise, why is it that more degree holders did not give us more entrepreneurs? Entrepreneurs are visionaries of new horizons. They may even be "rebels" and school dropouts. Do we understand the full implications of encouraging creativity for our educational system and for the society as a whole? Creativity cannot be compartmentalized into creativity for business, creativity for technical innovation, creativity for this and that. Creativity is of the whole person! If you are creative, you will tinker and experiment with whatever you do, a term borrowed from the Economic Committee Report. You may fall and stumble, but you try again. That is the essence of entrepreneurship too. Sir, when I began to read in between the lines of the Report, I began to see a very intriguing subject unfolding. How to plan educational resources for manpower training, yet at the same time allow students to fail and try again? How to produce more scientists and engineers, while a broad-based education is the very foundation of a well-rounded person? Where have the humanities gone from our education? How to encourage creativity and all the questioning attitudes this entails, while we are still searching for a way to handle social criticisms comfortably? Sir, the challenge for the Ministry of Education is very great indeed, and I would beg them to think thoroughly about the interconnections of these things. Lest I get carried away, let me come back to the economic recession.”
“Now private property prices and commercial rentals have gone down significantly. Just three years back in 1983, the HDB had raised shop rentals on the ground that the previous low rentals based on tenders made a long time ago did not reflect the market during the boom years. What is the reason then for HDB not to revise rentals now, since the high rentals no longer reflect the prevailing market rate? And then, many of these shops and factories have been relocated because of public housing development and urban renewal schemes. No doubt they have chosen to remain in their lines of business after relocation. This is the best way they know of to make an honest living. In spite of the odds against business success in a much more competitive environment, they hang on to the hope that they can survive. Are we to tell them that if they do not have the business acumen, they have no business to be in business in the first place? To these people who have sacrificed and cooperated with our clearance and resettlement programmes, we owe them a moral obligation, not an economics lesson indeed. The five-year rental concession for resettled cases is one form of appreciation. They should realize this. And they should also realize that change is inevitable. They too must adjust. Sir, many of these provision shops, coffee shops, kway teow and mee factories depend on family labour. Very often, it is the case that the old man wants his sons and daughters to continue working for him. But given the changed circumstnces, the young men and women should change with the times and take up new occupations. If they do not have the skills, they can learn. They can still contribute financially to their parents. So the older generation must accept the change and let go.”
“But what about rentals? These small shops and factories are still paying the high rentals which the tender system in the boom years have bestowed on them. Since overall business efficiency cannot be improved overnight, the high rentals can kill them immediately. Before the latest revision in the HDB's tendering rules, there were two courses open to them. One was to close shop and lay off their workers. The other was to surrender the premises back by clearing out every fixture, every equipment they have invested in, and re-submit a new tender for a lower rental. If they succeed, they may get back their shop or factory even in the same location, with the same clientele. Some have done this and succeeded. But now, even with the relaxation of this rule, many still dare not risk everything they have invested. Why has it taken the HDB this recession to realize that this kind of rule has been causing hardship to these cases? Some hon. Members: Hear, hear!”
“If a company fails to obtain long-term financing from a private bank which does not think it has the growth potential, it can still try another bank. But the story is different when it comes to a government agency such as the Small Enterprises Bureau. There simply is no other SEB a company can approach! Should the Government not content itself with providing up-to-date statistics, identifying growth areas, give broad-based assistance and let private companies prove themselves in the market? Are you not stifling private initiative if you were to concentrate programme assistance on specific target groups? In the same way, I am uneasy about the identification by Government agencies of specific growth industries in high-technology, research and development, international services and the like. At the very least, there should be careful consultation with private firms, professional associations and academics who are specialists in these areas. But this is detracting from my point about the local and small enterprises. Suffice it to say that the petrochemicals project is still fresh in people's memory. Let me then come back to the small businesses. Sir, when I think of the small local businesses, I cannot help but see the plight of the retail shops and the small industrial workshops in HDB estates. There are thousands of them. Many are struggling or dying. In the past, we have always argued that the Government should not be subsidizing uneconomic enterprises. Fair enough. Small businesses must learn to improve their overall business efficiency through investment in equipment and machinery, worker training, modern management and export expansion. With the cuts in wage costs, cuts in corporate tax and personal income taxes, their viability should improve.”
“Indeed, as the Economic Committee points out, it would not be wise for us to depend totally on foreign investors and overseas entrepreneurs. Just think how much persuasion can we have over the buyers of our export services, if our local businesses have little track record of their own in their own country? Just think how much pride can we truly derive, when we point to our children in the future, that this is such and such a building, such and such a bridge, such and such a stadium, that foreigners have helped us build? Does this mean that we should adopt protectionist policies? Of course not. We must abide by our faith in free trade and free competition, not only because these are the most efficient ways to allocate resources but also because we have been imploring the world not to go into protectionism against the developing countries. But I understand, and I was told, that even the words "free trade" and "free competition" have different shades of meaning, and that in fact it might be possible to help the local firms to carve out a niche in our domestic market. But in the end, our local enteprises must learn to stand on their own feet and they can be helped to stand up sooner. Then, we will become more self-reliant. Local businesses feel they have been neglected in the past. Every assistance must be given to help them to become more competitive. There are two types of strategies proposed: one is broad-based assistance through the investment allowance, expansion of the Small Industries Financing Scheme and establishment of a second-tier stock market. The other type is special assistance to those companies with the best potential for growth. Sir, I feel uneasy about the second type of assistance. Who is to determine which companies have the best potential for growth?”
“This is a far more positive approach. Henceforth, the Government would play a role mainly in providing a conducive business environment and creating investment opportunities. It will be left to the private sector to exploit these opportunities. With the Government proposing to take a backseat, the question now is: who in the private sector should take the lead? Foreign firms or local firms? Big firms or small firms? What lines of business should grow and what lines of business should be allowed to die a natural death? Since most of the proposals to provide a conducive business environment and create investment opportunities are across-the-board fiscal policies, theoretically both foreign and local firms will benefit; small business and big business will also benefit. In practice, some will benefit more than others. It is only logical that the local firms, many of which are small, should be given more assistance than the big firms and the MNCs. Sir, the role of local businesses has been debated at length in this House, on a motion on the State of the Economy moved by the Member for Leng Kee, on 30 August last year. In the past, we have placed a great deal of emphasis on attracting foreign investors to Singapore. And the MNCs have helped us grow. They brought in capital, technology, management expertise and markets, and they provided well-paying jobs to our workers. They will still play an important role in our future development. But we must not neglect the local firms, which are our very own people and the source of our own strength. There are over 70,000 of them; they contribute 30% to our exports. And they are committed to Singapore.”
“This open-style must be maintained, even after the crisis is over. The people have tasted of participation, they will hold on to the leaders' promise. If you close the doors to consultation now, once you think the job is done, you would deal a very heavy blow to people's faith and trust. Even now, they are wondering why there is no private representation on the Business Enterprise Committee which is charged with the very important responsibility of looking into the rules and regulations which may inadvertently stifle private initiative. It is not just the existing regulations that must be looked into, but also the new regulations which will come up, because the various schemes have to be implemented. The best-intentioned schemes in the world may still flounder if the guidelines and procedures are too cumbersome or restrictive. The past experience with the Skills Development Fund taught us a very useful lesson. Thus, by requesting representation on the Business Enterprise Committee, the private sector is seeking assurance that the incentives and promotion schemes would become truly effective. The Economic Committee, Sir, has endorsed the Government's plan to reduce the role of the public sector. In the past, Government enterprises have played a key role in our economic development. They were necessary in earlier days when there was a lack of private entrepreneurship or a lack of private capital in certain activities. The circumstances have now changed. The private sector has grown; the Government is ready to divest and deregulate. If these moves are made quickly, they will also put an end to allegations from the private sector of unfair competition from Government-owned enterprises in the past. Whatever the grounds for these allegations, we must now look forward.”
“To those critics who said that the previous government measures were "too little, too late", the recommendations of the Economic Committee are a complete rebuttal. The young leaders have demonstrated that they are not afraid to take bold measures, reversing courses if necessary, and are guided always by what is good for Singapore. Sir, I must admit that I was a little awed by the length and breadth of the Economic Committee's 400-page Report. Even though it has been condensed to some 200 pages in printed form, it is still very impressive. The incisiveness of its diagnosis, the coherent thinking, the measured recommendations, the lucid language and the frank statements; all these, make it a very monumental document. But the greatest joy I felt, as I was reading it page after page, was the realization that its analysis and recommendations reflect so closely the opinions of the people who poured their hearts out to the Government. Of course, not every suggestion of the public could be accepted. It was only natural for some to lobby for sectional interests. The Government must carefully balance their demands. The nation's interests must come first. This is a great documentation of consultation and consensus-building indeed. With eight sub-committees and numerous working groups, the Report has directly involved more than 1,000 private individuals in its consultation process. Added to this are the many forums and dialogue sessions held between Government leaders, MPs, union leaders and the population. Sir, it is as if the whole nation was involved in one big participatory debate. The people saw that the Government was listening, taking note. The people felt they were contributing, and the leaders were delivering their promise to have an open-style government.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am greatly honoured to be given this opportunity to move a Motion of Thanks to the President. I beg to move, That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:- "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the Second Session of this Parliament.". For the first time since 20 years of continuous and what seemed to be irresistible growth, we are hit by a recession so deep that business confidence is shaken and workers are wondering whether they would be next on the retrenchment list. As a nation, we choose to take the recession head-on. We prefer to tighten our belts and change our economic strategies to cowering under the present difficulties and bemoaning the loss of the "golden age". It is only with determination, self-reliance, a bold forward-looking orientation, that we can emerge from the recession a stronger and healthier nation set on a new path. Future growth will be slower. It is projected at 4-6% per annum over the next 10 years. But if this rate of growth is sustained by will and effort, it will still lead us to rank among the developed nations. It is this long-term target that we must bear in sight. It will give us a sense of direction. Without a sense of direction, we will be lost as a nation. We have responded quickly. First, the series of government measures cutting taxes, the giving of rental and property tax rebates, the lowering of statutory board charges; the unions' ready cooperation with wage restraint; and the appointment of the Economic Committee to examine the full range of problems and long-term prospects of the economy.”
“So I want to bring the Government's attention to this point: in future when the Singapore Pools revolutionizes the techniques of gambling by computerization, then, when they consider the need to increase the number of outlets (and some of them would be in the housing estates), I do plead with the Government to give due consideration to the opinions of the residents as to the location of all these outlets and to the manner under which these outlets should be regulated. Because the right to a clean, good living environment belongs to the Housing Board residents as much as it belongs to the private housing estate residents, I therefore beg the Government to carefully consider the opinions of the public and the residents in future when this programme of computerized gambling is put into operation. The Town Councils, which might be instituted, should also consider the regulation of the social environment as one of its areas of concern, rather than just the physical environment as such. 4.35 pm”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with due respect to the Member for Queenstown, I beg to differ from the way he presented the issue before the House, especially at the beginning of his speech. What is discussed here is not the question of the small-time operators versus the big operators. The issue is really one of what advantages or, put another way, what practical considerations can be made with regard to the stamping out of illegal gambling. Many of us here do not condone gambling and I think we are not discussing the right and wrong of gambling here. Many of us would teach our children not to gamble. We would not condone these activities. But given the fact that every nation seems to have its own game of gambling, as the Member for Queenstown has put it, and given the fact that it is extremely difficult to wipe it out, I think we have to think of some practical requirements to contain the problem. The proposed amendments to the Bill would really give the Police the enhanced power to contain the problem. But we should note that the circumstances surrounding the introduction of the amendments were not only because the Police needed more power but also because members of the public have been complaining about this problem and have been repeatedly voicing their dissatisfaction. I am very glad to hear that the quality of the living environment is given so much due emphasis here, and this has not only to do with the nuisance, the littering, the gathering of crowds, the disturbance, and that our children who grow up in this environment might somehow obtain a very tainted picture of society, but also the fact that members of the public have been voicing their opinion about the care of their own environment which is significant to me.”
“Suppose unemployment becomes widespread. The first to go would be the foreign workers. Women will be next, It happened in 1974-75. I think it will happen again. It is probably because many people in society believe women are secondary income earners and therefore if they lose their jobs the impact on the family is not so serious. But I tell you that this is not so. Women's income may be supplementary but they are not secondary earners. For the lower income group, the income is necessary to help ends meet. Women also pay CPF, contribute towards paying for the flat; they need money for their old age, they also need money for their medical expenses. Are we going to leave them out in the restructuring process? Are we going to leave them out from the training courses? Has the Government taken real care of this particular segment of the workforce in helping them to come along while we restructure? This House has only debated the question of child care centres. But what about the issue of training? If women want to take up training, take time off to study and upgrade, are there adequate child care centres and other facilities for them to take up these courses so that they can be free in the meanwhile from child care burden? There are lots of things I can talk about women but perhaps the first step is to raise the awareness of this House that women need to be a concern even in the restructuring process. 3.27 pm”
“But what is the next step to encourage workers who have gone through this BEST programme to go on to the elementary level of vocational and then further to technical training? I think we need to emphasize that we should continually encourage them to take up the whole process of training. I would like to say something about the small-time contractor. I have quite a few of these in my constituency and I know there are many more in neighbouring Tampines. These small contractors have not been able to get jobs for quite a while now. Is it simply because they lack the economies of scale or lack the management capability? I think there might be an institutional factor at play. For example, in awarding contracts, are we giving out just big contracts and forget that there is also a role for small contractors? In laying down the conditions for awarding contracts, such as in the proportion of a certain technological component, like pre-fab and pre-cast, or the requirement for certain mechanization levels, or the requirement for certain kinds of management expertise, are we not then excluding the smaller contractors? So how are they going to benefit from the $4 billion of new investment commitments that the Government has promised to make over 200 new public sector projects? Finally, I want to say something for the ordinary woman workers. Yesterday, I raised the question: why was the woman singled out for mention in the Constitution? But today I think they must be singled out for mention in connection with the economy. In the past, we have encouraged the woman workers to come out to work to help ease our labour shortage. They con- tributed significantly to our economy. They constituted in 1984 36% of our total workforce. What happens in a recession?”
“But I think there may be a case for differentiating between the large and the smaller ones in giving out these concessions because it is quite clear that, for example, the suspension of the payroll tax, the halving of the SDF, may not really mean very much to the small firms because essentially they employ small numbers of employees. Rental reductions, of course, could be a big help. But in the case of the resettlement shops, the rental reduction of 15% may very well be eaten up during the next round of rental increase under the present rental concession arrangement. So my point is: in devising strategies to help the local businesses, the Government probably needs to differentiate between the large and small firms in devising the package of measures. Much hope is now placed on the Small Industries Finance scheme. We have read in the press that there is a call among the private sector for this scheme to really act fast and now, otherwise the help to the small industries may come a little bit too late. In the last analysis, the small firms must also catch up with the restructuring process. There is no qualms about this. We have heard arguments inside this House and outside this House which actually re- emphasize this point and the message should really get across to our population. The workers' part in it is to help the business and themselves to upgrade their skills. In the past, the SDF has come under a bit of criticism for the fact that a large proportion of the grants seems to have gone to the larger firms and to the middle-level managerial and technical staff. I know that the SDF is trying its best to do it the other way round. Make sure really that your training opportunities can filter down to the ordinary worker. BEST may be a very important step.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. In times like this, when everybody realizes that it is important for Government and people to rally together to pull through the recession, I found it particularly disturbing to hear that the Opposition was about to introduce an amendment which probably only serves to confuse the people and divide the nation by trying to find a scapegoat. It is only right and good that we defeated the amendment and carry on with the business of debating on the original motion. I would like to contribute several ideas, or reflect the opinions of the public, espe- cially with regard to the issue of the local businesses, many of which are small firms. The small firms are hit the hardest in the recession. We must not belittle their role in the economy though, because in terms of numbers there are 60,000 of them, in terms of employment, there are 350,000 workers working for small firms, if you define those as employing less than 50 people as small firms. Thirdly, in terms of social significance, the small firms represent a very important avenue for outward social mobility. It is a dream for the average Singaporean to become his own boss. You can call it the Singaporean dream. It is there and it is your entrepreneurial spirit. Sir, I think every effort must be made to create a conducive environment for this entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. In giving out this package of concessions, ie, in cutting charges, taxes, property tax rebates, and all that, the Government should be applauded for its concern for local businesses.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the amendment Bill. But I would like to ask the Minister one question. Why is the woman singled out for mention in Article 134(b) and not the man? Why should the woman be considered a separate case where she has acquired citizenship by registration and may lose it if she acquires another kind of citizenship?”
“Two supplementary questions, Sir. Arising from the Member for Whampoa's inquiry about acceptance of the views of Members of Parliament, would the Minister not think that it is time also to review the exemption given to Singapore Pools from having to ask permission from the Government to embark on games of this nature? Secondly, would the Minister not also think that if the Government earmarks revenue that it would gather from Singapore Pools from this operation for specific social welfare projects, then the public at least should see some direct benefits to be derived from having a Government-owned company run this operation?”
“Of course, we will keep trying. But I want to tell the Opposition Members in the House that the PAP Backbenchers do not necessarily have a much easier time and therefore they should also learn to do their job. Some hon. Members: Hear, hear! 12.03 pm”
“We ourselves sometimes get frustrated, to be frank with you. Our appeals have to be repeated time and again and very often, the Ministers would say, "We would look into the matter", and that is the end of the issue. An hon. Member: Keep trying.”
“Like a child growing up, you cannot just cry for special attention and not learn to assume real responsibilities. Why must they gain special attention simply because they are the Opposition? The third point is that I want to correct the wrong impression which may probably lead the public to have wrong ideas about the PAP Backbenchers. The way the Opposition Members have put it to the public is that we, the PAP Backbenchers, have a very easy time because we get the cooperation from everybody else. I want to tell them that PAP Backbenchers also face great challenges in the constituency, in getting things done, in getting through the bureaucracy, in trying to pull the constituents together in working for the interests of the country. Some hon. Members: Hear, hear!”