Amy Khor Lean Suan
Singapore
“Sir, NEA does conduct inspections of these premises from time to time. For this particular premises, they actually did six inspections since 2021.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducts enforcement actions against drivers who are found to have provided illegal car-pooling services. An individual who provides an illegal car-pooling service may face a fine of up to $3,000, up to six months' imprisonment, or both.”
“We will also provide the first 500 private heavy vehicle chargers co-funding of up to 50% of the charger installation cost, capped at $30,000 per charger. These measures will narrow the lifecycle cost gap between an electric and internal combustion engine heavy vehicle and spur adoption of electric heavy vehicles.”
“With regard to the extension of the lower speed limit to school zones for full day, we will work with the relevant agencies on the enhanced enforcements.”
“They will provide a certain amount of protection to the pedestrians because, as I have said, the bollards will absorb the impact of the collision from the vehicles. So, there is a protection. But ultimately, of course, road safety really depends on a multitude of factors, including road user behaviour.”
“The bollards installed at pedestrian crossings by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are not of the K4, K8 or K12 standards stated by the Member. Bollards of these standards are typically security bollards. They are installed to protect critical infrastructure or at high security areas, such as Changi Airport, to be unyielding.”
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“Sir, I would like to thank the Minister and Minister of State for their comprehensive answers and, in particular, for the announcement of more involvement of the private sector in the development of public housing as well as relaxation of rules in the sale and subletting of HDB flats. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $332,743,270 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $4,024,171,900 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head V - Ministry of Trade and Industry”
“Sir, I would like to seek some clarification. Firstly, for the LUP for low-rise blocks, would we be informed as to which are the low-rise blocks where it is not possible to do lift upgrading for various reasons? Because we would probably have residents enquiring, especially those who had previously missed out on the LUP programme. My second point relates to HDB retailers as regards the sold shops. The point I was trying to make is this. If there is already a study done, and the decision or prognosis is that that whole area is really not viable for HDB shops and, for some reasons, some of the shops were already sold or a particular cluster was sold, for such cases, you could actually use it for alternative uses which would probably be more economical or efficient. Then, would the Ministry consider the Buy Back Scheme for such shops, which is quite similar to the JTC factories' Buy Back Scheme, where they actually have higher use for the factory sites? My third point, again, relates to HDB retailers, and this is about rental shops. As regards the fact that HDB is not really an expert in retail and, therefore, would not be unable to undertake (a) and (b), and so on - I understand that - but HDB actually imposes market practice in determining the rent and charging rentals. So, if rental is collected on a commercial basis, then surely HDB can look into either appointing a consultant or a marketing retail expert to look into how to revitalise that area if that area is actually not to be taken over.”
“Low entry barrier of the industry, since there is no licensing required of contractors in terms of the qualifications of the key personnel, may be one of the reasons for the persistence in the proliferation of industry players. Perhaps the licensing of contractors should be considered as this would help to reduce the proliferation of many inexperienced contractors and, hence, raise the level of professionalism that is sorely needed in the industry. Third, safety standards must definitely improve because each fatality, whether it is in a spectacular fashion like Nicoll Highway or an unknown project, is one too many. While it is possible to resort to more rules and regulations, this raises the cost of compliance. But I urge the Government not to compromise on safety. A safety culture must be imbued in all workers, from the managing director right down to the site workers. Hence, many of the accidents were simply waiting to happen because if one were to look at the recent worksite accidents, it has revealed the appalling lack of safety culture and disregard for safety by supervisors and workers alike, as many safety requirements were not implemented.”
“Sir, our construction sector has been an economic perpetual under-achiever. It has been shrinking continuously since 1999 and its safety record has been dismal. The blemishes are plentiful and include low productivity, high dependence on foreign labour, bad payment records, and a public image exemplified by Phua Chu Kang. To paraphrase his famous marketing tagline, our construction industry is certainly not the best in Singapore, best in JB and, everyone would say, best in Batam. While construction is not a strategic sector, accounting for only about 5% of our GDP, it is a means of livelihood for larger numbers of people. A vibrant and resilient construction sector also helps to support our infrastructural development that underpins our national economy. Sir, how could we adequately deal with the industry's afflictions? I have a few suggestions. First, set up an industry taskforce to look at how construction standards could be raised, without raising the need for more foreign workers upon which the industry already has an inordinate reliance. This could be done through encouraging even greater use of mechanism, labour-saving devices, pre-fab components, etc. More tangible incentives could be considered to motivate all parties in the construction value chain to adopt practices which raise industry standards. MOM would also need to raise skills standards for foreign construction workers, for instance, by allowing contractors to retain the skilled foreign workers for a longer period. Second, despite the Government's numerous efforts over the years to consolidate the large number of small and fragmented players in the industry, such as through tightening the contractors' registration system, the number of contractors has hovered at around 5,000.”
“Allowable cost included consultancy and related travel expenses, whereas costs such as equipment and material costs were excluded from support. I understand that LETAS has been totally removed now. In its place is the Domestic Sector Productivity Fund (DSPF), which links its funding closely with key performance indicators. Retailers would be able to draw from this fund provided they submit a detailed proposal that lists projects, cost breakdowns and ROI before they could embark on upgrading. However, while the HDB retailer may be genuinely committed to upgrading his business, he may not be able to record the level of improvement expected. Take, for example, a retailer selling children's clothings. With the declining fertility rates, his business could not be expected to grow by leaps and bounds. Instead, upgrading will allow him to remain competitive and maintain his level of performance. Thus, the criteria set out under DSPF may not be applicable. Would it thus mean that such a retailer would not be able to benefit from the fund? Sir, while it is important to tie funding of upgrading projects to the expected impact, I ask for the Minister's assurance that the process of obtaining assistance in itself does not become a hurdle for retailers who genuinely wish to upgrade themselves.”
“Both these suggestions, use of non-tender methods of allocation and picking tenants for their trades, are somewhat anathema to a Government that espouses free market principles, and letting the market, rather the Government agency, to decide. But, perhaps, new operating structures should be devised and experimented with, to balance all these areas of concern. Sir, much of what I have said is not new. The issue now is to move beyond the plans to concrete action. Sir, I sincerely hope that the package to help shopkeepers restructure, relocate or retire, which is to be announced by the Minister shortly, would be comprehensive and aggressive enough to try to resolve this very endemic problem. Mr Arthur Fong (West Coast): Sir, I rise to speak on assistance schemes to help HDB retailers upgrade to remain relevant. A large proportion of the domestic retail sector is made up of HDB retailers. There are about 15,000 retailers in our HDB estates, of which almost 90% are located in neighbourhood centres and precincts. Many of these retailers located in the older estates fight a daily battle to make ends meet. As Prime Minister and Minister for Finance stated in his Budget speech, these retailers need to be given a means to exit their business if they are non-viable or otherwise they should be encouraged to upgrade to remain relevant. I applaud the Government's effort to help these retailers who make a meaningful contribution to our economy. Mr Chairman, in the past, retailers who wished to upgrade themselves relied on the LETAS grants which funded up to 70% initially, then subsequently reduced to 50% of the allowable cost involved in upgrading.”
“The town councils, SPRING and the merchant associations could help shopkeepers get together to promote the area, provide assistance to upgrade employees, improve marketing skills, etc. 4.00 pm I do not advocate keeping unsustainable retail shops afloat. But there has got to be a mutually acceptable exit strategy for their owners. This could comprise reasonable compensation for rental shops or a buy-back scheme for shops sold, similar to the JTC buy-back scheme for factories, if the tenants decide to exit from the businesses or the tenants could be offered some resettlement scheme in more viable HDB retail precincts. HDB could, like any experienced shopping centre landlord, use a small portion of the substantial amount of rental it collects every year from the 6,000 rental shops, to promote the shops via advertising and promotional programmes. After all, HDB does set aside an A&P budget for its neighbourhood shopping centres. So, why not for the shop clusters? It is well recognised in privately-owned and run shopping centres that there must be some degree of control over the tenant-mix in order to make the entire centre mutually reinforcing rather than competitively damaging from having too many of the same shops all over. Also needing some review is the tender system for allocating space. The tender system leads to maximum revenue but also possibly to unsustainable businesses from aggressive overbidding. It is time to explore other modes of allocation as Sentosa Cove has recently done with its private treaty method for selling bungalow plots. This could help to ensure the right mix of retail trade and activities. Studies of shopping centres have often found tenant-mix to be the key for the success of a shopping centre or precinct.”
“Sir, it was recognised, as early as 1992, more than a decade ago, when the retail sector development plan was prepared, that the retail sector, particularly HDB shop retailers, would face a very difficult business environment. Except for HDB rental shops located near MRT stations and within town centres, many of the HDB shops in the neighbourhood precincts are not doing well. In fact, I would say that some are "terminally ill". In my own constituency, there are shops in some precincts which are perpetually vacant whilst the turnover of tenants in other shops is high. Past ad-hoc measures to restructure the HDB retail sub-sector and alleviate the misery of many shopkeepers have proven to be ineffective. Indeed, while well-intentioned, some might have added to their woes. The HDB's Sale of Shops Scheme, for instance, has unwittingly saddled many shopkeepers with high mortgage loans that they are now struggling to repay. MND must therefore tackle this persistent problem in a comprehensive manner and not in a piecemeal fashion. I would like to suggest to the Minister that a special taskforce be set up for the entire HDB retail sub-sector with representation from town councils, SPRING, grassroots leaders and a panel of retail experts, if this has not been done already. This taskforce can map out the broad directions that each HDB estate can take. At the local level, HDB can work with the respective town councils and merchant groups to identify for each HDB shop cluster or precinct what improvements can be made, the appropriate retail needs, etc, and then develop specific plans to revitalise these shops, including physical improvements and alternative uses for spaces which are clearly not viable.”
“I believe it will continue to dominate the housing market. It may go down to 75% or whatever but I think for the foreseeable future, we are going to have HDB flats as part and parcel of the landscape. But will it be dominated by HDB statutory board? Will it be built by the HDB? The answer is not necessarily because we are embarking on an exercise to allow the private sector to do more of this. But will it retain the character of an HDB estate? Yes, it will.”
“But even when we did so, we were very careful to make sure that the locations of the ECs were close to and contiguous to HDB estates. To that extent, while they are different from HDB flats, at the same time, they also enjoy the advantages of proximity to a HDB estate - the shops, schools, markets, hawker centres and so on. And their residents are also able to mix with those in the HDB estates. For example, when we organise activities in HDB estates through the RCs, if there is an EC located nearby, we invite them and, in many cases, they do respond. I do not believe that Executive Condominiums are entirely private in that respect. There is a difference in giving a housing grant of $40,000 for a person to buy an Executive Condominium in Simei, Jurong, Woodlands or Tampines and giving a person $40,000 to buy a bungalow in Queen Astrid Park, because his father happens to be a multi-millionaire. There is a difference, and this is where the eligibility criteria that we have for housing grant at the moment are actually so generous at $8,000 that it allows almost 85% of Singaporeans to be eligible. So if we were to take that line of argument, most Singaporeans would actually be eligible for the grant and they would then be buying different types of property - private property and HDB property. And it comes back to the point that I made earlier, that we would not be able to have as many Singaporeans as possible living in HDB flats. Is the HDB experience special? Yes, I believe it is. It is special because it is an environment that, as I said earlier, is like a mini Singapore - different races, different smells, different flavours, different kinds of practices. It is quite different from a private estate. Will HDB continue to dominate?”
“Sir, a point of clarification. The Minister said that he does not agree to consider the extension of the housing grant for the purchase of any property, which includes private property. He said that one of the reasons is because we do not want to deprive them of the HDB experience. I would like to inform the Minister that first-time owners who purchase Executive Condominiums receive a housing grant. The Executive Condominiums are, in all intents and purposes, private property because they will be privatised in five years' time, and first-time owners receive a housing grant. These first-time owners never had HDB experience, in any case. So what really is the difference? What I am saying is that we could allow them to receive the housing grant but subject to the same conditions for purchase of HDB flats, ie, subject to the income ceiling cap as well as possibly not able to sell the property within a certain timeframe. My next clarification is that I appreciate the Minister espousing on the benefit of living in HDB flats - the benefit of community bonding and so on and so forth. But surely we are not saying that this is the only possible way to have such an experience and that it is not possible if you do not live in HDB estates. Surely this does not mean that only HDB can provide such an experience of community bonding. If this were to be the case, does it mean that HDB will continue to dominate the housing market? Is this really an ideal and healthy situation for Singapore in the long term? Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, the Executive Condominium scheme is straddling between full private housing and HDB. It is a hybrid scheme. It was started at a time when housing prices were high.”
“In fact, most recently, I have come across a financially-strapped family who has no choice but to sell their flat as they are deep in debt. The husband was unsuccessful in his application for renting a flat from HDB. He was informed by HDB that he is debarred permanently from renting a flat as he had purchased two flats directly from HDB and had resold them in the open market. No concessions were made despite his dire financial consequence. Where then does HDB expect him and his family to stay other than out in the streets? Sir, I would like to argue that there is a case for the Ministry to relook at our own versus rental mix in public housing, since our home ownership rate has already attained 95%, believed to be the highest in the world, whilst the percentage of rental flats is less than 10% of the total stock. The existing HDB rental policy appears too restrictive and contradicts the Government's current pro-ownership and pro-family stance. Sir, the rules for requiring elderly singles to pair up and the permanent debarment of families who have already bought two flats direct from the HDB should also be re-examined.”
“Sir, on the rental of HDB flats, I would urge the Minister to enlarge the pool of rental housing, to allow Singaporeans more options. This should not be construed as a deviation from our long cherished and highly successful home ownership policy since it is but an interim housing solution. There are clearly many couples who have household income above the $1,500 per month cut-off for renting flats but may earn below the estimated 50th monthly income percentile of $3,000. They may wish to have time to build their nest-egg before they purchase a flat and therefore wish to rent, but find rentals of HDB flats in the secondary market unattractive or unaffordable. These couples are caught between a rock and a hard place. Three other groups of Singaporeans have also come to our meet-the-people sessions to appeal for rental housing as temporary relief for their woes. Such requests have continued despite the economy having shown sterling performance last year. These are the elderly singles, the financially strapped, downgraders and the elderly whose children are unable or unwilling to live with them. Sir, the experience of the past few years of economic downturn, the tightening of CPF rules, the requirement of larger downpayments, etc, are likely to make the phenomenon of downgrading a permanent feature of economic down cycles and increase the demand for rental flats. The financially strapped HDB flat owners who wish to sell their flats in order to repay their debts also find themselves at their wits' end since they are debarred from renting a flat for 2 1/2 years. Occasionally, through successive and passionate appeals, this requirement may be waived, but this is the exception rather than the rule.”
“The recent economic downturn has increased the popularity of smaller size 3-room and 4-room HDB flats compared to 5-room flats. Demand for 5-room and larger flats has dwindled to a trickle. Even as the Government continues to preach against over-consumption in housing, it is better for HDB to focus its attention on the lower end of the mass housing market where the needs are more acute due to lower affordability as was indeed its original mission. In fact, it would be ideal if HDB completely stops building 5-room and larger flats and instead sell more Executive Condominium sites as a step towards increasing the proportion of housing types as well as giving the private housing sector more space. If a housing subsidy in the form of cash grant is to be allocated, this grant could be given to all first-time home owners with a household salary cap commensurate to that stipulated by HDB. And they should be allowed to buy any property they choose, be it private or public. With 84% already housed in HDB flats, some 95% owning the flats and an ageing population, there should be sufficient 5-room flats in the resale market for those who wish to upgrade. Indeed, one of the worries is that with an ageing population, there could come a time when there are more downgraders than upgraders and then there could be a glut of larger HDB flats. This would depress prices, leading to further asset deflation and fulfilling the fear of a new underclass of asset-poor and cash-poor Singaporeans. Housing Policy”
“The reverse tender mechanism which allows the developer to bid for the land, taking into account the maximum end-unit selling prices fixed by HDB, could be a possible mode of allowing wider private sector participation whilst ensuring the affordability of the flats. Possible concerns that flat quality could be compromised by developers who cut corners to maximise profit could be allayed as eventually only half of the market is to be opened to private sector participation, even in July 2008. The remaining half will still be under HDB's ambit and will help to provide the quality and price benchmarks. Another alternative approach would be to provide fixed housing subsidies in the form of cash vouchers or grants to first-time eligible home buyers, much akin to the CPF housing grant for first-time buyers of resale flats. The developers could then bid for the land and price their flats at market rates. The prices of the remaining HDB developed flats would help to provide a price benchmark and ensure that the developers do not overprice. Resale HDB flat prices would also act to keep prices of these new flats in check. This leads me to my next point regarding the mix of public to private housing. In the previous 1991 Concept Plan, it was envisaged that a long term public to private housing ratio would be about 75:25. We are nowhere near this ratio given the percentage of public housing sector has consistently over the past 10 years or so hovered at about 84-85%. This may be attributed to the fact that HDB continues to offer flats of all sizes and shapes literally. A case in point is the Pinnacle at Duxton which arguably competes directly for home buyers in the private sector looking for flats within that area.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, the ERC had recommended in 2003 that the Government review HDB's role in public housing and also undertake a fundamental review of the home ownership policy, which remains the key plank of this Government's social policy. In July 2003, HDB divested its building consultancy function to HDB Corp. HDB Corp was granted a 3-year moratorium of public housing projects. Thereafter, the public housing sector is to be liberalised in phases, starting from July 2006. This move is laudable as it shows HDB's intention not to remain as the monopoly provider of new public housing. I would like to ask the Minister if the possible modes for private sector participation had been exhaustively evaluated and, if so, what is the likelihood of a particular option being chosen over the others. I would like to urge the Minister to go beyond the traditional outsourcing of the building management and consultancy services as these are already done for design-and-build schemes. The private sector should be allowed to assume a more significant role so that their skills and expertise in housing design and projects could be better tapped as well as preserved. Injecting private sector participation of up to 50% would lead to a more dynamic and innovative public housing sector. Moreover, the private sector should be given more leeway to be developers of public housing estates, since HDB Corp will, from July 2006, be able to compete in the private sector market. Given that its parent is the formidable Temasek, its activity will most certainly cause some concerns among the private developers in Singapore.”
“This will also help achieve the vision of the community taking ownership of itself and helping its less fortunate. And this is also in line with the current desire for higher volunteerism and philanthropy. We will need to equip these grassroots with the skills and knowledge to be able to work with the CDCs and Government agencies and provide appropriate assistance to those who need help. In formulating the ComCare programmes, some of the issues raised above should therefore be taken into account. Sir, the Budget this year is mildly generous to the tune of $1.3 billion for almost everyone. But it cannot be called spectacular, as the benefits are spread more thinly and do not comprise any direct cash handouts in the form of ERS, as in previous budgets. In fact, one of my residents told me the other day, "I have got $100 CPF top-up, but I cannot see the cash. I have to wait for many years before I can withdraw." But I told him, "It is still your money." Nonetheless, this Budget is highly significant as a very visible signal of the new leadership's emphasis on building a caring and inclusive society. It is also a strong acknowledgement that the community has a duty to help those unable to cope with structural changes. Putting priorities on our SMEs besides the sectors which are identified as potential star contributors, like financial services and logistics sectors, focusing on upgrading the skills of our workers for lifelong employability and strengthening our social safety nets for the less fortunate members of our society while fostering self reliance are welcome measures. I hope that further refinements will be made to these measures to help us achieve the vision of a land brimming with opportunity and a strong sense of community and belonging.”
“Centralised database A centralised database of recipients much akin to the way the credit bureau is set up would also be useful. The VWOs, self-help groups and CDCs could pool the data together and become members of this database with MCYS providing the framework and administrative support to manage the database. This would help all participating agencies to administer more comprehensive and holistic help to the applicants as well as prevent the more enterprising from abusing the system by applying for and getting help from many agencies. The establishment of the ComCare Fund which will be administered by the CDCs working together with MCYS, VWOs and grassroots with the aim of formulating new schemes and streamlining existing schemes would certainly help to strengthen our safety net for those in genuine need of help. A key feature of the ComCare Fund is the flexibility to be given to the CDCs and community organisations in dispensing help to deviate to some extent from the criteria of the national financial assistance schemes. However, I feel it would be even better if some in-built flexibility is incorporated into the national schemes themselves, say, by using means test together with qualitative assessment of family circumstances. This would allow help to be dispensed more efficiently and speedily. For the intent of the ComCare Fund, that is, dispensing assistance to the less fortunate and help them become self reliant again without breeding a crutch mentality to be fulfilled, the MCYS, CDCs, VWOs and grassroots organisations need to work closely together to formulate comprehensive and flexible help schemes. Furthermore, we would need the full support of grassroots volunteers as they are the closest to the ground.”
“Nonetheless, I agree that there is certainly room for a more organised and systematic effort to seek out this group of hidden chronic poor. The CDCs can work with the VWOs and grassroots to identify the areas or precincts where the most vulnerable are likely to be, such as precincts with 1-, 2-, or even 3-room flats. The grassroots and VWOs can then adopt these blocks for regular visits to reach out to those in need and who are unaware of the help available. Streamlining and consolidating help schemes There is also good reason to streamline and consolidate the many help schemes currently available from the various Government agencies and organisations. This is not merely to minimise duplication and make them easier to understand. Criteria for the assistance schemes should be refined to ensure that no deserving applicant who genuinely needs help falls through the cracks. For instance, an applicant should not be refused help just because he stays in a private apartment if he is the sole breadwinner, has lost his job and exhausted all his savings or some member of the family has met with some catastrophic illness that has wiped out their family savings and caused financial difficulties. Means testing, together with qualitative assessment of the family circumstances, would be more appropriate and allow for greater flexibility in the provision of assistance rather than, say, stipulating housing type as one of the criteria. We will then be able to more adequately help those often identified as the sandwich class, the middle income who live in bigger flats or private apartments but who have been hard hit by economic restructuring or some catastrophe and need short-term help to tide them over their difficulties till they become self-reliant again.”
“A Social Development Feedback Group survey of 311 residents living in 1- and 2-room flats in nine mature estates found that seven in 10 respondents have little clue on how and where to get financial aid and this drew many reactions. Reaching out Last year, the five CDCs alone dispensed close to $40 million worth of financial assistance to more than 35,000 hardship cases. This excludes the help dished out by self-help groups and VWOs. It shows that help is available and there are those who are aware of how and where to get help. In fact, more than half of the cases assisted by the South West CDC, for instance, are walk-ins at our various centres located at highly accessible premises within the heartlands, whilst the remainder are referred by the advisors of the constituencies or by VWOs and self-help groups. Nonetheless, there is likely to be a group of Singaporeans who may have little knowledge of how and where to get help. This would tend to be the less educated elderly who may have no family support and who tend to be isolated. There are already existing efforts by the CDCs as well as VWOs and grassroots organisations to reach out to the needy. For instance, at my constituency, we have formed a welfare group comprising grassroots volunteers from the various RCs and CCCs who visit any hardship cases which they are alerted to either by fellow residents or when they come to my MPS. These volunteers then assess the needs of the families, give them emergency short-term funding, where necessary, and then help them to get more comprehensive help from CDC, including of course job matching. Occasionally, on house visits, we also find the hardship cases needing help.”
“Hence, there is an urgent need for a more coordinated, comprehensive approach to study and alleviate the problem with the setting up of a high level multi-agency task force, comprising the relevant Ministries and organisations like MOM, MTI, MCYS, CDCs, NTUC and SNEF. Helping Singaporeans cope Thirdly, helping Singaporeans cope. Much attention has been focused both in this House as well as in the press on the plight of the poor, needy and elderly. This Budget has devoted a significant amount of attention and measures to help this less fortunate group cope. It is in line with what seems to be the paradigm shift of the new Government which acknowledges that as we grow and develop, there will be a group left behind due to market distortions and it is the community's responsibility to help our less fortunate members. A study by the Department of Statistics in 2000 showed that income disparity had increased in 1999 compared to previous years and this represents a change in trend from earlier periods when household income distribution remains relatively unchanged. The increase in income disparity was associated with an increase in households in the lower income brackets. The study concluded that while the situation was exacerbated by the 1998 economic downturn, the tendency towards greater income disparity may remain, as there will be a small group of households who are unable to exploit career and other business opportunities in the new economy leading to the prevalence of structural unemployment. Hence, recognition of the need for the State and the better off to help those who are unable to help themselves.”
“I usually keep my peace and listen intently rather than argue with him lest his excitement throws up dire consequences for my hairdo! Members will then be able to discern the reason for my bad hair days! The Government could further increase job opportunities particularly for the older less qualified job seekers by identifying industries and sectors where age and experience do not put them at a disadvantage and may even be valued by employers. This could be compiled in a database constantly updated and made accessible to the public as well as publicised through various media. The employment problems of older workers are compounded by the phenomenon of an ageing workforce due to longer lifespan and declining fertility. On the other side of the equation, economic growth can be adversely affected if the size of the labour force cannot be maintained as the population ages and they cannot be persuaded to retire later. In Singapore, we are beginning to see more senior citizens looking for work for various reasons, such as wanting to remain economically active and independent since they are still healthy, need to work as they have insufficient retirement savings or unable to rely on their children for financial assistance. Therefore, consciously looking at ways to extend the effective retirement age which currently stands below our official retirement age of 62 years as well as finding suitable employment for older workers will not merely benefit these older workers but also benefit employers and the economy as a whole over the longer term. Again, to do this effectively, mindsets of both employers and employees must change. As the Minister for Manpower has acknowledged in this House before, a multi-pronged approach is needed to tackle the employment woes of older workers.”
“It would appear the employers are reluctant to redesign jobs and some incentives to motivate them and hasten the process are in order. Clearly, we need a multi-pronged approach targeted at both employers as well as employees to help alleviate the unemployment woes of the older workers. But, Sir, unlike the NCMP Steve Chia, I have said that if we adopt a multi-pronged approach and are determined to incentivise employers as well as employees in the job redesign process, then we will be able to succeed and, contrary to what he terms as "dirty jobs", say, in the cleaning sector, I believe that these are decent jobs. They are far from being "dirty". And if we actually are successful in job redesign, then all the jobs, including those in the construction sector, will be decent jobs that enable our Singaporeans to make a decent living. Additionally, with the increased grant that WDA has got from the budget, it should also develop more comprehensive life skill training programmes and offer them to all the job seekers, including those fresh out of school. Many employers I have met have consistently fed back to me that, in general, our local workers' attitude is far from ideal. One employer narrated her encounter with a job applicant for her food business. Throughout the interview, she felt more like the one being interviewed than being the interviewer! This may be one of the reasons why some employers may actually prefer to employ foreign workers. Of course, part of the reason may be skills mismatch but another reason could be the attitude of our local workers. Even my hairstylist never fails to complain each time I visit the salon about the poor attitude of our local workers and how difficult it is for him to hire and retain them.”
“Currently, many SMEs feel that whilst the Government expounds on the virtues of entrepreneurship and the importance of SMEs, its action in its procurement exercises sadly tells a different story. Jobs and lifelong employability My second point is relating to jobs and lifelong employability. Getting a job and staying employed remain the topmost priorities of most Singaporeans. Indeed, many residents who come to see me at the MPS sessions tell me that they are working odd jobs. In fact, there is a common joke among professionals that if you lose your job and subsequently label yourself as a consultant, or are labelled as a consultant in the same company, you are technically unemployed! The Government's continued emphasis on helping Singaporeans to get jobs and remain employed through topping up the Lifelong Learning Fund and launching the Re-employment Assistance Programme is commendable. These will be especially useful for the older and less skilled workers who are at a higher risk of getting retrenched and find it more difficult to get re-employed. While these efforts and incentives are useful, they are job seeker centric and only address the problems on the employee side of the employer-employee equation. To motivate employers to seriously look into job redesign, incentives, such as cash grants or tax incentives, to supplement the subsidies provided by WDA for part of the costs incurred in job redesign projects could be given to compensate the companies for the time, expense and inconvenience of doing so. Thus far, only the cleaning sector has been successful in job redesign and recreation with Singaporeans making up at least 70% of hawker centre cleaners, up from 20% some 18 months ago. Other sectors, such as hotels and horticulture, have had limited results.”
“Of course, the presumption is that such goods and services must be able to meet the needs and aspirations of discerning local consumers and be competitively priced. The "Buy Singapore" mentality should be imbued in the mindsets of all consumers and not just individuals but also Government agencies and the GLCs. The intention to outsource non-core Government functions is welcome as it would help to increase the market opportunities for our private sector. However, to boost our fledgling entrepreneurship culture and our SMEs, Government agencies should be encouraged to consciously package their required services or products such that SMEs would be able to participate. They can do so, for instance, through breaking up the size and value of the project so that SMEs can qualify to bid for the project. I urge the Government not to view this as protectionism, but rather as a means to nurture our SMEs. Alternatively, Government contracts should allow smaller firms to band together in a loose consortium without a formal merger or setting up a formal JV entity before they can bid for such contracts so as to meet paid up capital requirements. Government agencies and GLCs should also be imbued with the commitment to consciously invite our local firms to partner them or to tender for their overseas projects. This is in fact one of the main gripes of our contractors who were yet again virtually left out in the cold in this year's Budget! Of course, whether the local firm is successful in bidding for the project would still depend on its competitiveness, but at least there is an open door policy for the firm which gives it an added business opportunity.”
“Hence, the Government agencies should look into simplifying the application and funding procedures for these schemes. For instance, under the Local Enterprise Financing Scheme, since the banks already undertake very detailed evaluation of the loan application, there should be no need for SPRING to do another round of evaluation. This would be in line with the perspective of managing risk instead of eliminating risk which, PM Lee says, Government agencies should adopt to ease regulatory restrictions and promote enterprise. The Economic Development Board and the SME Feedback groups together with the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce recently mooted the idea of a "Buy Singapore" campaign to boost demand for locally made goods and services. The rationale is that even though the size of the Singapore market is limited, its importance and usefulness to SMEs cannot be under estimated. After all, home grown companies like Osim and Bread Talk would not have been able to expand overseas if their products did not first fly locally. I find this idea appealing, even if we are wary of a cynical public, tired of campaigns. What is worth pursuing is the philosophy behind this idea, ie, adopting a "Buy Singapore" mentality. Even before this idea was reported in the press, a young Singaporean professional I knew had remarked to me that unlike Malaysia, we do not have a "Buy Singapore" drive, which can help our own home grown companies. Indeed, if "Malaysia boleh", "Singapore can also boleh lah!!" There is clearly a place for efforts to promote Singapore-made goods and services and inculcating a "Buy Singapore" mentality.”
“Although some SMEs have expressed disappointment as they have hoped for more help from the Government in this year's Budget, they were nonetheless pleasantly surprised by the loss carry-back provision, because apparently they had argued for this a number of times but without success. Furthermore, PM Lee has acknowledged that SMEs are the backbone of many economies and provide jobs for a large part of the population. This recognition is precious to them, and signals that their plight will occupy more Government attention and resources. I therefore heartily support my colleague, Mr Inderjit Singh, erstwhile champion of SMEs, on his suggestion to have a dedicated agency modelled after EDB to help SMEs survive and even thrive. There are two other areas I would like to highlight which I feel the Government can further assist the SMEs in. One of the constant bugbears of SMEs remains the difficulty of getting financing even though there have been some improvements over the years. Obtaining financing to fund expansion and daily operations remains a challenge for local businesses. Indeed, one of my grassroots who used to own and manage his family's recycling business shared that he found looking for funding to expand his business so difficult, costly and limited that, in the end, in exasperation, he sold the company to a GLC. Come to think of it, Mr Speaker, Sir, that is not a bad way to grow our GLCs! Furthermore, many SMEs feel that the application procedures of Government-initiated funding schemes for SMEs are too complicated and the processing time too long. SMEs often complain that the schemes seem to be created and administered by people with little practical business experience.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not inappropriate to describe this Budget as distinctively thoughtful, cleverly innovative and multi-pronged with something for everyone. Sir, I therefore generally support the Government's prudent fiscal stance. In fact, I am very heartened that the NCMP Steve Chia has also given his full support for the Government's prudent fiscal stance as well as the many measures that have been implemented in the Budget and the policies that have been taken by the Government including the issue of the four water taps. Sir, in my humble opinion and in layman's terms, the Finance Minister could be compared to a housewife faced with a tight allowance. She has to be very budget conscious and careful, as she has to meet the many needs of her family with the limited budget available and which could even become tighter in the future as the needs and aspirations of the family members increase. Hence, Sir, I will not be asking the Finance Minister and Prime Minister to be Santa Claus or the God of Fortune, as my parliamentary colleague, Ong Kian Min, so colourfully describes the expectations of some Singaporeans regarding the Budget. Nonetheless, Sir, I would like to highlight three key areas of concern arising from the Budget for further fine tuning. These have been discussed by many of my parliamentary colleagues, but I feel duty bound, as an MP and Mayor, to highlight them yet again as they have a major bearing on our collective quest to build a cohesive and vibrant economy, and hence cannot be repeated adequately. Firstly, nurturing our SMEs or SLEs, local enterprises, as Dr Loo mentioned, because "SMEs" is fast becoming a stigmatised acronym.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State: would not the subsidy for that particular flat have been computed based on the purchase price of the flat at that point in time when it was purchased and the market price then? Therefore, if you were to impose a levy on the subsequent resale of the flat, would it not be more equitable to actually impose the levy based on a percentage of the price then because the subsidy was tagged to the differential between the market price and the flat price at that point in time?”
“Thank you, Sir. I have just one question for the Minister. I would like to ask the Minister, in view of the ageing population and thus the increasingly imminent need for lifts, if the Ministry will consider SERS for those four-storey walk-up flats where the installation of lifts simply does not make economic sense due to design and other constraints.”
“Sir, as I strongly support the requirement for valuations to be undertaken only by valuers on HDB's panel of valuers, I would like to ask the Minister to seriously consider only allowing agents on HDB's panel to undertake resale flat transactions simply because the real estate agency firms actually take a part of the agent's commission and they purport to train and guide the real estate agents and therefore, there should be some onus and responsibility on these real estate agency firms to ensure that their agents do not get into illegal and unethical schemes such as the cashback deals from time to time, and thereby protect gullible and cash-strapped buyers. I would also like to ask the Minister if he would forward the names of the real estate agents as well as the real estate agency firms to IRAS who is currently the licensing authority of the real estate agency firms and if HDB would also be working with IRAS, the licensing authority, to look into how to further regulate individual real estate agents because, currently, only the firms are licensed by IRAS. It would probably be more administratively efficient to penalise errant real estate agents through the licensing scheme than via the courts.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister, besides the case that was prosecuted in court, whether HDB has actually come across any other cases because it has been reported that such cashback deals are rampant and, if it was so, how HDB can ensure that the valuations that have been made are not inflated because of such cashback deals. Another question I would like to ask the Minister is: in the same way that HDB will be requiring valuations to be done only by the panel of valuers, would the Ministry also consider only allowing real estate agents from firms which are on HDB's panel of real estate agents to undertake resale flat transactions? I understand that it is not required that only real estate agency firms which are on the LHAS can actually undertake resale flat transactions?”
“Sir, I just like to have a point of clarification. Regarding the possible negative impact on values of privately held land, I am more concerned with, for instance, areas that are identified for tree conservation which are actually privately held land. Would there be prior consultation before the Minister gazettes the area for conservation? The other question relates to the watch list. Would this actually be available to the public? If not, can it be made available?”
“Making Singapore the best home and a land of opportunity for all, regardless of gender, age or ability is not a pipe dream or the philosopher's stone or a nice sounding political slogan. It is a compelling vision, one that we owe both to our ancestors for all the blood, sweat and tears they shed to build this country, and to our children for the sake of their future. I urge all my fellow Singaporeans to work with the Government to bring this vision to reality. I support the motion, Sir.”
“The announcement to provide seed funding and support to help our young translate their ideas into constructive action is helpful, but it is actually not new. There are already a number of funding schemes available, both Government, eg, NYC's Youth Development Fund, and North East CDC's Dare to Dream Fund, and non-Governmental, eg, Citi Youth for Causes by YMCA and Citibank, for ad-hoc events or activities championed by youths. What is needed is better publicity of such funding programmes to our youths and streamlining of the various funding programmes available. A good start could be a portal to serve as an e-marketplace of ideas where youths with like-minded interests can come together to form informal groups to tackle a social issue or meet a real need in the community. They can then find a relevant agency, such as a VWO or NGO, to help facilitate, adopt or implement the project. Beyond the match-making, the portal can provide other value-added services, such as bringing on board "sponsors" which can be the relevant statutory boards or community organisations to act as "social venture-capitalists" for well-researched propositions, and to bring in relevant experts or specialists as resource persons to guide the groups to ensure meaningful outcomes. We also need to build a core of youth ambassadors, young men and women, with the proven attitude and aptitude to advocate worthwhile apolitical causes, enrich the lives of others in the community and ultimately, the nation. The National Youth Awards can recognise such service and contribution and over a wide range of age groups. Sir, in conclusion, while the external picture is not all rosy, we must not lose heart. Our vulnerabilities also spur us to work much harder, run that much faster.”
“Of course, it is noted that, in Pop Idol, people could place as many votes as they like while, in an election, each person can only cast his vote once. Nonetheless, it does show an important point, ie, when people are interested and know that they can affect the outcome, they will make sure that they have their say. This phenomenon was also seen in our recently concluded Singapore Idol contest. Hardly any of our young did not know about the Singapore Idol contestants. In fact, even my friend's 4-year-old was a die-hard fan of Taufik Batisah. Actually, she prefers Olinda, who was ousted at the semi-finals, but nowadays she counts herself as a fan of Taufik's. Offering our young a say in real, vital issues in more savvy ways that appeal to them, such as webchat with Government leaders and showing that their feedback is taken seriously, are ways to engage our youths. But, by themselves, these may not be sustainable, since not all feedback will result in policy change. Even if they do, there could be a significant time lag between the feedback and policy change. Of course, all of us have been young once. We know patience is certainly not a virtue of the young. Youth leaders from our South West District recently told me that, to engage youths, to get them interested in the community and play a role in nation-building, they need to be given a sense of control, empowerment. They need to feel that they can take charge, see the outcome and make a difference. Hence, creating more opportunities for our young to be involved in national and community issues through projects and activities they devise would be tangible and practical ways to strengthen their sense of belonging and ownership, and build lasting ties with the community.”
“Unless there are similar opportunities, eg, economic, social and intellectual, back in Singapore, we will always have to compete against the lure of a better future in other parts of the world. Of course, even as young Singaporeans pursue their personal successes elsewhere, they can stay connected to Singapore. Take, for example, violinist Lee Hui Min who is based in New York but returns to Singapore periodically and proudly identifies herself internationally as a Singaporean. But we do need to have a significant group of Singaporeans who will come back after their stint overseas, as well as those who choose to remain in Singapore, to form the core group of Singaporeans who will help chart the course of the country. Much has been said about the political apathy, especially of our young. But it must also be recognised that political apathy, especially of the young, is not unique to Singapore. In the book 50 Facts that should Change the World by Jessica Williams, it is noted that in the UK, where voting is not compulsory, 26 million British citizens, representing just below 60% of the population, voted in the 2001 General Election. This was the lowest voter turnout since 1918. Of the 26 million, it was estimated that just 39% of the 18 to 24-year-olds voted, compared with 75% of the 65-year-olds. This trend is repeated across the world. In the 2000 US Presidential election, just 29% of the eligible voters aged 18 to 24 years voted. The oft-cited reason for disinterest is that they do not think their vote can change a thing. In contrast, during the 22 weeks first season run of the British Reality TV programme Pop Idol, more than 32 million cast their votes.”
“Besides putting in the necessary infrastructure to create a pro-entrepreneurship environment, there is therefore a need to continue to work on changing the mindsets of: (1) our aspiring entrepreneurs, that they need to be self-reliant and that Government is not everything; (2) our civil servants, that they should make every effort to grasp the challenges businesses face, be flexible, eg, the policies they frame, and not assume that businesses are out to gain unfair advantage; and (3) other stakeholders, such as bankers and financiers of SMEs, that they should explore fresh ways of supporting the SMEs without compromising on their profit criteria. Additionally, the Government and GLCs need to progressively give way to the private sector to operate and remove the fetters hindering entrepreneurship and innovation. There has already been a series of initiatives, such as the Temasek Charter, sunset clauses in the rule books, and best sourcing in the public sector. I urge more to be done so that a more dynamic private sector can emerge as the backbone of our economy. For instance, public sector housing could be built by the private sector using a reverse tender system to ensure that the prices of these flats remain affordable. Sixth, building active citizens early. The Government's earnest call to citizens to be engaged in national affairs recognises the importance of forging the ties that bind people to the country in an age when those very ties are being strained by globalisation and opportunities for work, family and leisure abound elsewhere. As young Singaporeans become better educated, more widely travelled and global in outlook, they are exposed to a world of seemingly unlimited opportunities outside Singapore.”
“Feedback from businessmen is that whilst we now clearly have a more civil civil service, some applications do still get stuck at the middle management levels, as the civil servants do not know how to deal with new business ideas that have no precedence or tend to take an extremely cautious approach. There is a perception that civil servants tend to be more receptive to business ideas which fall within sectors which the Government favours and are actively seeking to grow champions. Whilst the Government's massive efforts to kick-start the development of these industries should help to grow the economy and create jobs, we must also support business ideas in other more mundane sectors as long as they can contribute to the overall vibrancy of our economy, especially through the efforts of our unglamorous SMEs. We have an economic structure where a disproportionately large share of the profits is generated by foreign-owned companies whose dividends are generally not received by Singaporeans. A larger number of locally-grown SMEs should help to reduce the inherent volatility of our MNC-biased economy and create jobs. In an UPS survey on the optimism of smaller companies in Asia, only 45% of the Singaporean respondents felt that prospects were good for economic growth. It was reported that Singapore businesses found cash flow, especially access to funding and working capital, a key hindrance to staying competitive. According to Professor Patrick Turner, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD, Singapore has one of the most rigid structures in Asia in terms of financing small and medium-sized companies. Fifth, change begins at home.”
“One plank of our industrial policy thus far has been trying to pick winners, eg, petrochemicals, biotechnology, logistics, education, healthcare services and so on. But, increasingly, central planning, particularly one that focuses on picking winners, will become more difficult to accomplish and less effective in outcomes. This is because as more countries liberalise and deregulate, the competitive advantage Singapore enjoys over others will be eroded. However, in this new age of uncertainty, finding the next big thing or things which will contribute to growth will need to come much more from the bottom through private enterprise and innovation, with many companies and individuals simultaneously sniffing out new opportunities and markets. Hence, as the President has rightly noted, the Government will and must continue to promote an environment that supports entrepreneurship and fosters innovation. While much progress has been made, many budding entrepreneurs and SMEs are still griping about the lack of funding or the difficulty of getting funding and other Government support for their enterprises. I was told of an entrepreneur who had much difficulty convincing the relevant Government agency to give him funding support for his proposed venture. He was finally offered a grant of S$300,000 for his proposed enterprise. In the meantime, he had applied for assistance in Malaysia. He was given approval for RM1 million in half the time. Of course, it is always good to be prudent and fully accountable when it comes to public funds. But I fear the problem is deeper. It appears that whilst the ministerial leadership is convinced of the need to foster entrepreneurship, this resolve and mindset have not yet fully filtered down to the officers.”
“School tuckshops should revert to the policy regime when they were reserved for the needy families who need to find work or supplement their income, instead of allowing the schools to tender out these stalls. In fact, it was with such a school tuckshop stall that my mother supported my three brothers and myself through school. Third, managing elderly healthcare. The older workers in our midst are also the ones most prone to debilitating illnesses. I urge the Ministry of Health to devote more attention to gerontology and problems of the elderly sick. Dementia, for instance, could be a crippling disease with significant negative multiplier effects because of the enormous emotional and financial strain it places on the family members and friends of the affected people. With an ageing population, healthcare cost undoubtedly becomes one of the most pressing worries of all Singaporeans, including the young, because many of them would have elderly parents. Moreover, even the middle income worry about healthcare cost, as many may already have sizeable financial commitments for their homes, cars, children's education and so on. The middle income are also concerned with impending means testing for in-patient hospital services. They feel that they should be allowed to choose the ward they wish to be admitted to, as they may have financial commitments which place a strain on their ability to pay for a higher class ward. Singaporeans are also wary about proposed changes to the MediShield and how much more they would have to pay, both in terms of premiums and the minimum bill size, before the insurance kicks in. Fourth, small is beautiful too.”
“To this end, I am pleased to note that the Government has several schemes to help workers who are retrenched or unemployed to tide over the period whilst they are looking for a job. To avoid breeding a dependency syndrome, however, these workers should be required to attend regular counselling sessions, such as budget and money management courses. The effort to mount such programmes is extremely resource-intensive, but it is needed to minimise free-riders. I am told, for instance, of a man in his early 50s, already on social assistance as he was out of a job for some time, coming to the CDC for further assistance to help pay his medical bills. Upon checking, it was found that the bill was for viagra. When queried about why he should be taking this pill, he said, matter-of-factly, that this was absolutely essential to him and that we should help him to pay for this since he is out of work. While such cases are rare, we must put in place measures to avoid inadvertently cultivating a crutch mentality. We must also be mindful that there will always be those who cannot find employment for various reasons, such as family circumstances, or simply aptitude or attitude. To help this group of chronic unemployed, we should, for instance, look at issuing more street hawker licences, building more hawker centres where viable, and relaxing rules on home-based businesses, such as food catering and other cottage industries, to enable them to make a living, become self-reliant, and hold their heads up high again. MCYS, for instance, could help promote the establishment of recognised home-based childcare services.”
“These are the chronic unemployable. Some of their circumstances are quite heart-breaking. There is a real need to focus efforts on helping this vulnerable group of workers remain employable and employed. Government's recognition of the need for a multi-pronged holistic approach to this issue is commendable. Some workers may be at a loss trying to retrain. They do not know where the jobs will be and who will be hiring them. They may need counsel and guidance on what to be retrained for and, in some cases, even a mindset change. At the same time, MOM, WDA and even NTUC should urge employers to earnestly look at redesigning jobs in order to raise productivity and pay and, hence, attract local workers. They should also be persuaded to employ older workers even beyond their retirement age, if they are still fit to work, because many of them may still have to support themselves. The most visible success at job redesign to-date has been the cleaning industry under the "1,000 for 1,000" scheme where automation has helped increase the productivity of cleaners and, hence, their pay. The Government, together with the NTUC, should look at helping other sectors, such as the hotel services, shipyards and textile industry to redesign or recreate various jobs for local workers. Perhaps, incentives, in the form of grants as well as expert advice and studies, could be provided to these firms to help them redesign jobs for the locals. While we need to keep an open-door policy for foreigners with the needed skills and talents, we must motivate and incentivise firms to put priority in redesigning jobs for the locals as far as possible without affecting their bottomline and competitiveness. At the same time, these workers may need some social assistance until they find a job.”
“Like it or not, a thriving economy remains the bedrock of our stability and growth. This is not the be-all or end-all, but without it, not much else can be done. At the ground, the persistent worry of the average worker, even in developed countries like the US, is jobs, jobs and jobs, which are increasingly being threatened by global instability, techno logical change and brutal competition among nations in product, label and capital markets. Especially vulnerable are the older workers who deserve special attention. A study by Hui Weng Tat, published in Singapore Perspectives 2004, showed that the employability of older workers has been deteriorating over the last three decades. The share of older workers as a percentage of the total unemployed, has been increasing disproportionately. According to the study, about 40% of the unemployed are those with below secondary education. Presently, about a third of the workers in the labour force have below secondary education and they tend to be the older workers. Hence, lower educated older workers remain the most vulnerable to structural unemployment. Second, help older workers and the elderly, but promote self-reliance. Our experience at the CDC shows that, currently, about half of our job applicants are aged 40 years and above, most of whom have low educational attainments. In fact, we are also beginning to see an increase in the number of job applicants aged 50 years and above who have little or no support from the family and have meagre, if any, savings. They therefore need to work to pay their bills and support themselves and their spouses. We also observe that some have been unable to find a job even after repeated job matching attempts, although the economy has picked up and more jobs are available.”
“Sir, the President noted in his 2002 Address in Parliament that the preceding five years from 1997 to 2001 had been momentous times for Singapore. Only with the benefit of hindsight did we realise that the next two years would be even more momentous! The President's observations then that the next few years will present us with the most severe challenges in our nation's history could not have been more prescient. More than ever, we are left in no doubt of our vulnerabilities. Singapore has achieved much since independence but the global environment has changed even more drastically both geopolitically and economically. The key feature is one of great unpredictability. Hence, the need to continuously revise and change policies and practices which are no longer relevant or effective - the current mantra of the Government, which I fully support, seems to be "It ain't broken but we better upgrade"! The President's Address sets out the Government's agenda of the key issues and policies that have to do with writing the new pages of Singapore's success story, a task which has now passed on to a third generation of leaders. Whilst I agree with the broad thrusts and principles of the Government's key priorities, there are six key areas of concerns I would like to highlight. First, job matters. One oft-repeated criticism of the Government has been its disproportionate emphasis on the economic side of nation building. Under the new PM's watch, however, 2004 marks the beginning of a new paradigm, one which seeks to actively promote a balance between economic pursuits and personal and family fulfilment. In many ways, this is only possible because we have attained a high standard of living and our forefathers have paid the price by their hard work and sacrifices.”
“Of course, that presumes that the parents themselves must attain a certain proficiency in the language and be able to communicate in Chinese to their children in a real-life everyday setting and in a natural way. Perhaps this is the reason why Malays have done better in their mother tongue, as more Malay families speak mother tongue at home. To assist families, perhaps, our television stations, as my other parliamentary colleagues have alluded to, should re-allocate more prime-time slots to Chinese educational programmes that families can enjoy watching together. We cannot underestimate the power of television and its influence in language acquisition, especially for young minds. My friend's four-year-old daughter thinks that Olinda is better than Sylvester and Taufik any time. Also, the Chinese programming should be less sublimal in content, as some of our Chinese serials are currently perceived as Government propaganda. This can be quite off-putting. Instead, they should be more fun and educational. In some countries, the learning of second languages is a politically-charged issue, dividing communities and creating much social friction. While we place considerable emphasis on CL learning for reasons of economic survival and national preservation, we must never let our Malay and Indian fellow countrymen feel that their own MTLs are less worthy of such a comprehensive review to strengthen their own ethnic community's social and historical roots. Sir, I am pleased the Ministry will be addressing this issue soon. With this, Sir, I support the Report's recommendations.”
“Learning from the experiences of the previous review, the MOE clearly does not have a monopoly on wisdom. Therefore, it should develop a dynamic and flexible feedback mechanism to enable it to make timely revisions and refinements to the ambitious changes it is implementing and, hence, ensure its success. This is because we really cannot afford to fail this time, with such fundamental changes and after so many attempts trying to reverse the tide. Otherwise, there are implications on the success of our bilingual policy, with mother tongue learning having seen the most number of changes in the education system to-date. Promoting the language in the wider community Sir, the broader problem we face is one of language competition. The rising use of English in homes, and probably the death of Chinese-medium schools close to 20 years ago, stems from its universal acceptance as a global language of commerce and our Singaporean families' well-known pragmatism. If we cast our eyes 20 to 30 years hence, the yuan may become a world currency on par with the US dollar, the Euro and the yen. Chinese may then, likewise, be on par with English or, arguably, even overtake it. There will always be a tension between older Chinese Singaporeans and possibly the Chinese elite and intellectuals on one hand, and the English-speaking folks on the other hand. Some schools are often typecast as "ang mo pai" - English tag, versus "tng nan pai" - Chinese tag, to reflect their pupils' standard of CL ability. This is unfortunate, but perhaps quite unavoidable. I think parents also have their roles to play in this whole equation. They need to make a conscious effort to provide as conducive an environment for their children's CL learning.”
“Just as the pedagogical approach to teaching CL is the most fundamental change in the current review, the key responsibility of implementing the changes appears to fall on the teachers. Among others, the Report calls for teachers to be trained such that they can identify students who could benefit from the Bridging or Reinforcement modules and advise parents accordingly early on in the school year. Teachers are also called upon to use creative and innovative tools and techniques, including IT project work, etc, to enthuse and sustain children's interest in the learning of CL. Has the Ministry already formulated ideas as to how teachers can be trained adequately to enable them to assess the student's learning abilities and, ultimately, the modules he should take? What diagnostic tools would MOE make available to help the teacher in this task, which may be challenged by the parents? Clearly, to ensure that the recommended approaches to teaching and learning CL, including the new mantra of "Recognise first, Write later", more innovative teaching methods, etc, yield positive results, existing and new CL teachers must be adequately and appropriately trained and equipped. There is no short cut to this process, and it will take time. Teachers' workload must also be recalibrated so that they will not only have sufficient time to be trained or retrained, but also have time to prepare more creative and interactive lesson projects and tests. Furthermore, even as the slew of sweeping changes are being phased in, and the jury is still out on the success of these changes, the MOE must have built-in mechanisms to monitor and review these changes and gather feedback from the teachers who are implementing the changes, and not hesitate to initiate further changes, if required.”
“To meet the demands of the curriculum, they say that they have to resort to tried and tested repetitive drilling of students. Yet, I distinctly remember that some three years ago at a dialogue session, I had made the remark that perhaps we can review the teaching method for CL as the emphasis on rote learning on spelling, dictation, etc, does not seem to have changed over the years and this is off-putting to students. Back came the almost immediate retort from a teacher that this is the way Chinese Language ought to be taught, there is no short cut. I was taken aback, but shrugged it off since I am clearly no authority on the language. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I trust there will not be serious resistance to these changes from CL teachers who are themselves the implementors of this new approach to CL learning. Perhaps the sentiment is not shared by all Chinese Language teachers. But I believe that there are Chinese Language teachers who do not necessarily subscribe to the newly advocated approach to teaching and learning CL. Also, if the issues and problems that have been highlighted were known all along by the teachers, why was nothing done about it till now? In fact, it was reported in the press that, when interviewed, a teacher had said that she had heard about the methods emphasising character recognition for a long time now and was eager to try out this new approach. Were there no avenues of feedback to MOE for the teachers? Or, if such feedback were given, why were they not acted upon? What then would trigger follow-up action on feedback received from teachers and principals who are at the ground and have first-hand knowledge of the relevance and effectiveness of MOE's prescribed policies?”
“This present review is now moving the changes upstream, to the primary school levels, in due recognition that it is better to start early and to have a more differentiated and customised approach to allow students to learn as far as their abilities allow. Sir, should we then not consider shifting these changes even further up the education chain to the pre-primary levels? While I recognise that pre-primary education is not part of the national education system but very much left to the private sector and social sector initiatives, there is implicit recognition that basics count in CL learning, and the earlier we start exposure of the language to our pupils, the better. Given that English-speaking homes are still on the rise, the pre-primary learning environment becomes a crucial bridge for pupils to acquire foundational CL skills. Perhaps the Bridging modules the review spoke of should be developed with a pre-primary orientation in view. I certainly hope that we will not have to debate another review committee's report on CL in pre-primary schools five years from now. Providing adequate and appropriate resources I find it quite perplexing and rather ironic but at the same time amusing that, besides the students, many teachers are now also saying that the textbooks and teaching materials are uninteresting and turn off students from wanting to read them. Textbook writers, we are now told, were hitherto constrained in their ability to produce more interesting materials, as they are to stick to five stipulated moral themes and also characters from a prescribed word list. Teachers also blame the current examination format for limiting what they can do to make Chinese lessons lively and interesting.”