Ang Mong Seng
Singapore
“Lihua is also my alma mater. I am very proud that Chen Zhixiang became the top student in Singapore in the "A" level examinations. Use more. Parents should speak Chinese more with their children at home. I also hope Members of Parliament would speak more Chinese in Parliament. When *Cols. 4059-4060.”
“After the cooling-off period, flat sellers can make a final decision. Some unscrupulous housing agents would use various means to persuade people to sell their flats in order to earn commission. They would tell the owners that should they have any problems, just see the MPs.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Chairman, the construction industry requires a lot of foreign workers, including both skilled and unskilled workers. However, the MOM has decided to reduce the number of unskilled workers.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] As our population ages, we see more and more retirees selling tissues at hawker centres, coffee shops and malls to help with their expenses. They do not have CPF, yet they do not want to live by Government welfare – they want be independent.”
“Mr Chairman, may I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary what is the main concern for the Ministry in not issuing licence to the elderly to sell tissue papers in the hawker centre. We are asked to refer all these people to the Community Development Council (CDC).”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Madam, at the moment, 10% of our population is above 65 years old. Twenty years later, by 2030, about 25% of our population will be above 65 years old. If at that time, our population is five million, this will mean that we will have one million people who are over the age of 65.”
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“Some people have compared the contents in the Budget sharing package to yu sheng, ie, raw fish salad dish, eaten during Chinese New Year. Yu sheng has many tasty ingredients: colourful shredded vegetables and fruit, with freshly sliced raw fish and abalone, to entice the tastebuds. The surplus sharing package this year is equally rich in ingredients. The Government will give out $865 million Growth Dividends, CPF LIFE bonus, a 20% rebate on personal income tax, Medisave top-ups and more increases for top-up to Post Secondary Education Account. These top-ups and rebates are like the ingredients of the yu sheng. After tossing this salad and articulating auspicious Chinese proverbs welcoming happiness and prosperity into the New Year, the diners lift up their chopsticks to find that it is not easy to locate the raw fish and abalone slices in the salad. Similarly, people do not realise the full benefits of the Budget sharing package. In fact, there are many good ingredients in the Budget package, but they find it difficult to understand the contents of the Budget package and they do not understand the benefits of the package. Therefore, I hope that the Minister will simplify the details of the Budget package, by using pictorial illustrations in posters and newspaper reports, so that the people can better understand the details such as bonus amounts, distribution criteria, when and where to apply. All these are very important contents in the Budget. There are many people who did not know how to apply for certain benefits. One example is the GST relief. Until December last year, many people still have not applied. This proves that we have to do more to publicise the benefits and details of surplus sharing with the people.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] In this year’s Budget Statement, the Finance Minister announced that the Government will share the $1.8 billion surplus with the people, which includes the Growth Dividends that will cost the Government $865 million. This is a very good surplus sharing package. I support the Government in its efforts to target more help for the lower income groups, the elderly, and the most vulnerable in the society. I am glad that the Government adopts this policy to help the lower-income group to cope with the rising cost of living in Singapore. However, many residents are not clear about the details of the sharing of the surplus. They asked me, "Why are there no rebates for rental, utilities and S&C charges?" In fact, they have forgotten that last year, the Government did provide such rebates to families in these areas. And so I said, “Last year, the Government announced a GST offset package that will be given out over four years, including rental rebates, utilities rebates and conservancy charges, and these rebates will last until 2010.” However, many residents are not aware of this, and they asked me if this was true. They are quite doubtful. But we know, in the past few years, the Government had given out many kinds of allowances, rebates and top-ups. However, the calculation of these sums of money varies from time to time. So they are confused. As in the article "Government policies should not be too complicated" on 17th February 2008 in Lianhe Zaobao, Mr Cai Tian Cheng wrote that all these measures should be clarified and simplified so that the people can understand them.”
“We could look into the proposals of the various insurance companies and see which one offers the most favourable terms and the best returns, and decide who should underwrite this insurance scheme. This is to make the whole process more transparent and secure the best returns for our members. Under the new scheme, for those who unfortunately have passed away within the insured period, the money will go back to the common pool. I think this is not fair. The spouse of the deceased should be the beneficiary of his insurance policy. I hope that the Committee would look into this. Secondly, I hope that the committee, to be led by Prof. Lim Pin to look into this longevity insurance scheme, would consider co-opting some senior citizens into the committee to offer the senior citizens' perspective. Their opinions and views are very valuable. In Lianhe Zaobao this morning, there is an article written by Mr Ngiam Tong Fatt on the problems faced by senior citizens. Having read this article, I feel that some of his suggestions are very good. They reflect the sincere and constructive views of the author. I think all these invaluable views could be of good reference value to the committee for the members to work out the best scheme to look after the benefits of our senior citizens and to provide good protection for these old folks in their sunset years. Sir, I support the new measures proposed by the Minister. *Cols. 1843-1848. 5.06 pm”
“According to the demographic data 2006, we have 24,600 people who are above the age of 85, which is 0.68% of the total population, 16,300 of whom are women and only 8,300 are men. Men seem to have shorter lifespans than women. Although they constitute only about 0.68% of our total population and not all senior citizens above 85 are poor - in fact, some of them have good savings, good family backgrounds and have no worries - there is always a small group of people who are poor and helpless. They may face financial difficulties when they live beyond 85 years of age. How are we going to help them? If we have this fund, just like our Community Chest, we may be able to help these people. It should be something built up by the private sector. Perhaps the Government could also start a similar fund to help these people and give them some financial aid. These old people could have contributed to our economy and our nation-building in their younger days. I think we should give them some form of reward in their old age. There are not many people among this group, so I think we can well afford to take good care of them. I am sure that if we have such a fund, it would receive good support from our people and we will have no difficulty in raising the money to set up this fund. The Government should also keep information on the family backgrounds of these old people and only those who are in genuine need will benefit from such a charity fund. This proposed longevity insurance scheme is a very good scheme. This will complement our CPF scheme. I suggest that the Government adopt an open tender system, just like the way we invited tenders for our IR projects in Singapore.”
“When he reaches the age of 82, the total amount that he has drawn out would be as much as $180,000, that is, about double that of the principal sum of $96,000. This is a very good return indeed. That is why I am fully supportive of this Minimum Sum system. [Mdm Deputy Speaker (Ms Indranee Rajah) in the Chair] 5.00 pm The Minister has indicated that he will consider giving more flexibility to the period of drawing down of the Minimum Sum. Depending on the financial and health conditions of each individual, he can choose to stretch the Minimum Sum withdrawal period from 20 years to 25 years. I think it is a good suggestion. This way, members would have a choice as to whether they want to withdraw it in 20 years or 25 years’ time. However, in order to meet the cost of living and inflation over the years, the draw-down amount per month or per year should be increased gradually or in stages, for example, in the first five years, it should be $600, the next five years, $650, and 20 years later, $800, so that they can cope with the inflation and be able to maintain their existing standard of living. If the Minimum Sum is only $30,000 and the members can only draw down about $200-$300 every month after the age of 62, with the rising living expenses and inflation, they may not be able to make ends meet. So I hope that the Government will consider helping these members because, if their income is low and their CPF savings are not very much, perhaps we could help them to purchase some "peripheral longevity insurance". Then, the low-income group members who have low savings in their CPF accounts would be able to afford a comfortable old age too. I would also suggest that we set up an "Old Age Protection Fund" for the old people.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Speaker, Sir, in the Lianhe Zaobao this morning, there is this report that mentioned that, in Japan, the number of senior citizens above the age of 65 has reached 28 million, and this is 22% of the population of Japan. This is in fact eight times the population of Singapore. And there are seven million senior citizens above the age of 80. At the moment, in Singapore, we have approximately 300,000 senior citizens above the age of 65; this is 8.5% of the population in Singapore. In 20 years' time, as Minister Mentor has said, our population may go to about five million and we would have about one million senior citizens among us. The Government has proposed this longevity insurance scheme. I think this is an excellent suggestion to provide for the rainy days and is complementary to our existing CPF system. With the changing of times, our CPF system has undergone many adjustments. Singaporeans are using the CPF money to buy their residential properties, to invest in shares and to pay for their medical expenses and educational fees. This has deviated from the original objectives of the CPF system. I think this longevity insurance scheme will bring us back to the original purpose of the CPF system. Currently, our CPF members can withdraw their CPF savings at the age of 55, but they must retain a Minimum Sum in their accounts. Now, the draw-down age for the Minimum Sum is 62 years old. So if a member retires at 55 or 62 and has a Minimum Sum of $96,000, then he will be able to draw down $790 every month from the Minimum Sum for as long as 20 years, until he reaches 82 years old.”
“This will mean that the speed limit for cars travelling on this lane will be 80 to 90 km per hour. For slow-moving vehicles, they will have to use the left lane. This policy has been implemented in Japan, China and other advanced countries. So far, the results have been good and traffic conditions have been smooth. Hence, I hope that LTA will consider carrying out this pilot scheme on the AYE and, if proven effective, we can further implement it on other highways so as to solve the slow traffic problems and congestion.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *. ] Mr Chairman, the country's transport system is its economic lifeline. To build a world class transport system, the Government has allocated huge funds to build highways and install the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system. The aim is to ensure a smooth traffic flow and achieve optimal economic efficiency. However, every morning or evening, as I pass the AYE, I have to face the inevitable slow traffic or being stuck in a traffic jam. This happens almost every day. Although the ERP system has been installed on the AYE, we see slow traffic and traffic jams happening all the time. The immediate reaction from the Ministry of Transport is to increase ERP charges. I feel that this merely alleviates the problem but will not effect a permanent cure. Also, it is not a fair solution to the drivers. Before installing the ERP system, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has developed a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) *Cols. 3653-3654. of a speed limit of 45 to 65 km per hour. This is to ensure that drivers will ultimately enjoy smooth traffic conditions. But results have shown otherwise. Hence, I would like to suggest to the Minister that if the speed limit imposed cannot be achieved, then LTA should stop collecting ERP charges. In this regard, I do believe that all drivers will support my suggestion. Having done that, drivers will be convinced when they pay the ERP charges, and I think this is fair and reasonable. Therefore, I sincerely hope that the Minister will take my suggestion seriously. In our attempt to tackle slow traffic and congestion on the highways, I hope that the Minister will also consider converting the right lane into a high speed lane.”
“Therefore, we should encourage the National Sports Associations to set a target, and pool the wisdom and efforts of everyone, so that we can strive for a breakthrough in our performance. In addition, we should lift the present restrictions on the Sports School, and actively groom players to become national athletes. Therefore, I would like to suggest that the Sports School consider increasing the number of sports that are being offered in the Sports School and the National Sports Associations, so that we make full use of the facilities to train our athletes in sporting activities such as Chinese and Malay martial arts, etc. This will definitely help to ensure the development of a flourishing sports arena, as well as to encourage our athletes to achieve glory for the nation. *Cols. 3461-3462. Disabled Athletes”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] The Singapore Team has done extremely well in the recent SEA Games and Asian Games. However, if we compare ourselves to other athletes from the Southeast Asian countries, Singapore only ranks sixth. This is worthy of our concern because it is Singapore's turn to host the SEA Games in four years' time in 2011. At that time, our athletes need to achieve breakthrough performances, so that we can clinch more gold medals and, most importantly, to move up the ranks. We must be the first, if not the first runner-up. To achieve this goal, we need to plan ahead and take action now to cultivate and train our athletes for all sports and not just in sports that are given more emphasis by the Singapore Sports Council. In that regard, we should continue to work closely with the National Sports Associations by producing more sporting champions to achieve top honours for our country. The Singapore Sports School costs about $75 million to build. It was officially launched by the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in 2004. The Sports School’s primary mission is to nurture and train more outstanding athletes to participate in regional and international competitions such as the SEA Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics, etc, so that they can achieve good results and bring honour to Singapore. Currently, the Sports School only trains athletes in a number of sports that are being offered. On this, I would like to ask if we are being too conservative. This is because we have not fully utilised the facilities of the Sports School to train our athletes.”
“Therefore, I would like to suggest that the ComCare Committee of each constituency take over this role and function. They will examine *Cols. 3447-3448. and assess these applications at their end. Through the Internet, they will keep in close contact with the CDCs so that financial assistance is given to those who need them in the most prompt and effective way.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the ladies a happy International Women's Day. Sir, last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Government would set up the ComCare Fund to help care for low-income Singaporeans with financial difficulties. ComCare Fund has since helped many poor families who need urgent financial assistance. This is a good scheme, like the Chinese saying, “雪中送炭” [xue zhong song tan] - to send charcoal in snowy weather, meaning that it has provided timely help for the needy. Although we have achieved strong economic growth and created many new job opportunities last year, helping the less educated and older Singaporeans remains a great challenge for us. During my meet-the-people sessions, I have come across at least 10 residents who are genuinely in need of financial assistance. Currently, the Community Development Councils (CDCs) have allocated $40,000 of ComCare Fund to each constituency, but this sum is still not enough. In this respect, I would like to suggest that the Government consider allocating a bigger sum of ComCare Fund to each constituency so that we can help the needy solve their financial problems. At the moment, all financial assistance applications will be directed to CDCs for approval and this process can take a very long time. This is due to the large number of applications and hence the CDCs require a longer processing time. In this regard, many residents feel that “远水救不了近火” [yuan shui jiu bu liao jin huo ]- distant water will not put out a fire close at hand, meaning that a slow remedy cannot meet an urgency.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mdm Chairman, the grassroots organisations of Bukit Gombak has spearheaded a health screening programme for all elderly residents of Bukit Bombak constituency since 1999. This scheme has been very well received by our residents. In 2000, MOH implemented a health screening programme at the national level, and has extended this programme to all various constituencies in Singapore. It has since become an important healthcare management regime for our residents. However, over the past two years, there has been a decrease in the number of elderly people going for health screening. Feedback shows that the elderly people are afraid of finding out their health screening results. They fear to be confronted by test results indicating that they have contracted chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, etc. Such chronic conditions require regular follow-ups and treatments, and the cost of treating these chronic diseases, over the long run, can be extremely costly. As such, many of them are unwilling to come forward for the health check-ups. This certainly defeats the purpose of the health screening programme. In this regard, I would like to ask the Minister if MOH is able to formulate an affordable healthcare package for our elderly folks. This can help to lessen their financial burden for step-down care services, and hopefully they can come forward voluntarily for health screening organised by the grassroots communities. Regular health screening will also help in the early detection of chronic conditions and thus achieve the purpose of implementing the health screening programme for our elderly. Traditional Chinese Medicine”
“Hence, water tanks at the top of these buildings are necessary. This method of supplying water is an engineering practice adopted by other countries, as it is energy-efficient and cost-effective. It would be costly to supply water directly to high-rise buildings without water tanks, as this requires PUB to increase the water pressure by having additional pumping stations throughout the island to bring water up to the highest floors. Besides the high cost of pumping, maintaining a high pressure in our system will put additional strain on the pipe network and increase the likelihood of leaks. Though proper maintenance and security of such tanks are required, the water tanks help to ensure continuity and reliability of water supply to the premises, especially in the event of power or pumping system failure. For example, during the Nicoll Highway incident, the water tanks in the high-rise buildings in the vicinity provided continuity of supply even though our water mains were affected. Quality of Living Environment”
“At all reservoirs and selected waterways where there are water activities, existing safety measures will continue to apply. For example, if you go to MacRitchie, you want to kayak there, you must wear a life vest. Buoys are used to demarcate areas where the water activities can be carried out. The Singapore Canoe Federation and People’s Association operate water activities centres at MacRitchie Reservoir, Bedok Reservoir and Jurong Lake with full-time staff to supervise the activities. During bad weather, all water activities are suspended. Sir, these existing safety measures have worked well and there have been no drowning incidents since PUB started actively promoting water activities at selected reservoirs in October 2004. While we have put in place safety measures, I would like to encourage everyone to exercise individual responsibility and good sense when having fun in the waters. For example, parents should educate their children on how to play in the water safely. Water users should stay within the demarcated zones and approved activities, and they should avoid any actions that could put themselves or others at risk. Mdm Cynthia Phua has raised some questions on alternative energy. I will address these later. Let me now turn to the final point by Mr Ang Mong Seng on whether we can review the requirement to install water tanks in HDB blocks. Sir, in Singapore, treated water is distributed mainly by gravity from service reservoirs to various parts of the island through an extensive pipe network. Service reservoirs are large storage tanks sited on high ground to maintain sufficient water pressure in our system. As Singapore is generally flat, our service reservoirs are not sufficiently elevated for water to be supplied directly to highrise buildings.”
“Through a dedicated catchment surveillance team, PUB hopes to intensify checks on catchments and waterways and, at the same time, educate the public, industries and construction sites on proper housekeeping and pollution-control practices. Sir, while our reservoirs and waterways have been opened up for more recreational activities, PUB will ensure that these activities are eco-friendly and non-pollutive. Water is a shared resource that we all need to protect and cherish. All of us have a stake in keeping our waterways and reservoirs clean. By having ABC Waters throughout Singapore, we hope to bring water closer to everyone, so that we can all bond with it, develop a better appreciation of it and be committed to keeping it clean. It is like a marriage, Sir. I urge each and every one of us to play our part by not littering and not allowing dirty or silty water from getting into the drains, so that we can have clean and beautiful waterscapes in the vicinity of our homes, schools and work places. Let us work together to turn Singapore into a “City of Gardens and Water” that we can all live, work and play in. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your childhood friend, Dr Lim, and I share your concern about water safety. Dr Lim pointed out that while we encourage more activities within or near our waterbodies, these should be carried out safely, and we cannot agree more with him. All our ABC Waters projects are designed with public safety as our foremost concern. For example, metal railings can be replaced by earth mounds, boulders or shrubs to form a natural barrier along the river bank. Play features will be in areas away from the main streams, with shallow waters for children to play safely in.”
“These features and more will be incorporated at other estates, all aimed at getting people closer to water, a point noted so aptly by Mdm Cynthia Phua as "steady lovers". As shown in the recent ABC Waters Exhibition, 28 such projects will be carried out over the next five years. But to have clean water flowing continuously requires the concerted efforts of the Government and the public. The Government will do its part through good land use planning and by curbing litter and silt discharge into our waterways. This is important, as raw water collected in our catchments is one of the four sources of Singapore's water supply. Our Marina Reservoir will be unique among all reservoirs in Singapore and around the world as it collects urban run-off from the highly built-up and densely populated city centre. Drinking water quality is not a concern as these contaminants can be removed by membrane technology in the water treatment process. However, the challenge is in ensuring that the aesthetic and recreational quality of the Marina Reservoir would not be adversely affected. PUB is putting in place a holistic strategy that includes both prevention of pollution at source and downstream measures. For example, to restore ageing public sewers, PUB spent about $270 million in the last 10 years and will further invest another $150 million to restore the public sewers within the Marina catchment over the next few years. This is to ensure that leaky sewers do not cause pollution to the raw water collected in our drains and canals. In addition, PUB has also installed float-booms and drain coverings to reduce the daily load of litter and flotsam.”
“In general, they have worked well. At places where they have not, and we admit, PUB will investigate and implement long-term measures, as we have done last year in Bedok North and the Commonwealth Road areas and, recently, in the Joan Road areas. While the long-term measures are underway, PUB will also put in place interim measures. The aim is to minimise and prevent recurrence in the same location. Sir, let me now move on to the ABC Waters Programme. Dr Muhd Faishal, Mdm Cynthia Phua, and even Dr Lim alluded to it, have asked how the ABC Waters Programme will contribute to improving our quality of life. The ABC Waters Programme will make Singapore into a city of Gardens and Waters, with water as a pervasive and welcome feature in Singapore's landscape. Our drains and canals will be transformed into beautiful flowing streams and rivers leading to our reservoirs. Our ongoing reservoir schemes to dam up our rivers at Marina, Punggol and Serangoon will tie in nicely with the ABC Waters Programme, by keeping the water level in these rivers at a constant level, instead of being subject to tidal influences. This allows us to have constant flowing streams and rivers, which we can beautify and bring into our living environments, including our HDB heartlands, condominiums and schools. ABC Waters will also bring opportunities for water activities and create new community and recreational spaces for the public's enjoyment. With the Programme, we will be able to enjoy waterfront living in the heartlands and an improved quality of life. Imagine if you are living in Bishan now. The huge canal which is empty most of the time there will be transformed into a beautiful flowing river, with landscaped banks and rivulets running inland where children can play in.”
“Over the past 30 years, we have invested $2 billion in our drainage infrastructure. We have reduced flood-prone areas from more than 3,000 hectares in the 1970s to only 127 hectares today. The flood on 19th December 2006, if you see it positively, was a good test of the efficacy of our drainage system. Despite receiving the third highest rainfall in 75 years on that day, the majority of the drainage system held up well, with some flooding in isolated pockets of Singapore. PUB has an ongoing drainage improvement programme to reduce flood-prone areas from 127 hectares to 66 hectares by 2011. So the programme was not put in place after the flood but has always been in place. As it appears that we could see more instances of extreme weather, and this is the part where it is very difficult for us to predict, we have decided that the PUB will accelerate the drainage improvement programme. These will be completed within the next three years instead of five years as originally planned, at a total cost of about $175 million. Sir, in addition to flood alleviation measures, we will also strengthen our early warning systems and procedures, which I agree with Ms Lee Bee Wah, to alert residents of impending floods and motorists of flood-affected areas. PUB will work with LTA and the Traffic Police to warn motorists of areas to avoid ahead of and during heavy rainfall through radio broadcasts and lighted signages. It is not possible for us to predict where the next localised flooding will occur. But we have studied the whole of Singapore and identified the potential areas and we are working aggressively to improve those areas. Every occurrence of extreme weather is a test of our drainage system and the flood alleviation measures that PUB has put in place.”
“Currently, used water fees have two components, comprising the SAF and Waterborne Fee (WBF). We will look into restructuring the SAF and WBF into a single volumetric fee. This ties in with our idea of charging a single price for both potable water and used water. 1.45 pm Sir, Mdm Cynthia Phua has commented that our current water tariff does not encourage large families. I would like to assure her that this is certainly not the intention of our water-pricing policy. The domestic water tariff has a two-tier structure, with the threshold between the two tiers set at 40 cubic metres per month. A higher price is charged for the second tier to discourage excessive use. Based on our current average per capita consumption of 158 litres per day, 40 cubic metres would be sufficient for large families of up to eight persons. The majority of households in Singapore consume less than 40 cubic metres monthly. Hence, we find that the 40 cubic metres is a reasonable threshold, beyond which a higher tariff applies in order to encourage water conservation. Sir, an important aspect of our pricing reviews has always been the impact on users. We will, therefore, study carefully the effect of pricing changes to the water bills of all household types, including those with large families. We will strive to minimise the impact on households such that, on average, water users will not be worse off with the revised price structure. We are working towards introducing this revised pricing structure in 2008 and will announce the details nearer to the implementation date. Sir, Ms Lee Bee Wah has asked what measures would be taken to prevent the future occurrence of floods. I am not comfortable with her phrase "too little too late".”
“By providing information on the water efficiency of products, such as shower heads and washing machines, we hope to help consumers make well-informed purchasing decisions. So far, the scheme is voluntary and 150 models of water products have been certified under this scheme. PUB will monitor the response to the scheme before deciding whether to make it mandatory. I am pleased to note that our series of water conservation initiatives has resulted in a reduction of our per capita domestic consumption from 160 litres a day in 2005 to 158 litres a day in 2006. So we are on track. Sir, apart from our community efforts to promote good water habits and the use of water-efficient devices, Mr Charles Chong has rightly pointed out that pricing is also an important leverage in managing our water demand. So far, we have been pricing water to reflect its scarcity and the high incremental costs of additional water supplies. The Water Conservation Tax (WCT) is charged to encourage prudent use of water. As water remains a precious resource to us, the WCT remains relevant. With the development of NEWater, we have now closed the water loop by channelling and treating used water for consumption purposes. Currently, we price potable water and used water separately. As potable water and used water are now part of the same water loop, it is timely for us to view both as a single product. We will therefore consider moving towards charging a single price, as this better reflects the holistic manner in which we manage our water resources. We have also received feedback that the Sanitary Appliance Fee (SAF) is confusing, since having more sanitary appliances may not result in more used water being discharged. Charging on the basis of volume of water used will thus be more equitable.”
“This puts us in a stronger position to meet future challenges of potential extreme weather that might result in some drought conditions. While we may have enough water, this is only sustainable if we use water wisely. We must proactively manage our water demand and encourage water conservation. My Ministry recognises the importance of individual efforts at water conservation. Last year, we set a bold target of reducing our daily per capita domestic water consumption to 155 litres by 2012. We launched the 10-Litre Challenge to encourage each and every individual to reduce their daily water consumption by 10 litres. To recap, the initiatives under the 10-Litre Challenge included: (a) nurturing of Water Volunteer Groups; (b) launching of the 10-Litre Challenge website; and (c) introduction of the water efficiency labelling scheme (WELS), which Mr Masagos alluded to. Let me give an update on these initiatives. Sir, the Water Volunteer Groups (WVG) initiative was launched in March last year to educate and spread water conservation messages to the public. The volunteers come from the People’s Association, the Community Development Councils (CDCs), grassroots organisations and even educational institutions. The initiative has received good support. To date, we have 54 WVGs in 32 constituencies with 2,090 volunteers, including 600 students. The WVGs have so far visited 4,100 households. Another initiative is the 10-Litre Challenge website, aimed at raising awareness and showing how everyone can play a part by reducing their water consumption by 10 litres per day. To date, 80,000 visitors have visited the website. Sir, in October last year, we launched the voluntary Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS).”
“Currently, it meets about 7% of Singapore’s water demand. It is well subscribed by industries which need ultra-clean water. To cope with growing demand, we will expand the production capacity of two of the three NEWater factories, mainly at Bedok and Kranji. Our fourth and largest NEWater factory at Ulu Pandan will be opened on 15th March 2007 by our Prime Minister. With a capacity of 32 million gallons per day (mgd), it will boost our local water supply. The SingSpring desalination plant is operating successfully and has become a model for seawater reverse osmosis plants, attracting overseas attention and many international visitors. So to answer the questions raised by Mr Charles Chong and Mr Masagos, we would endeavour to develop as many water resources as possible to meet the demands of Singapore in the coming years. Sir, the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) is our long-term solution to meet Singapore’s needs for used water collection, treatment and disposal. The DTSS is on track for completion next year, and will act as a superhighway for channelling used water to a centralised water reclamation plant at Changi. I am pleased to announce that the deep tunnels, the influent pumping station and the outfalls of the DTSS have been completed. The remaining major works, including the link-sewers, have also been substantially completed. Sir, our efforts to diversify and develop our water resources will serve us well. During the last El Nino season in 1997, we relied on water from our local catchments and imported water which were dependent on rainfall. Today, we have NEWater and desalinated water, which are not affected by fluctuations in rainfall.”
“Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank all Members who raised a very important issue for all Singaporeans, which is water. First, Mr Masagos and Mdm Cynthia Phua have asked about the measures to ensure that we have sufficient water to meet our needs, and this is also a point raised by Mr Charles Chong in his opening speech. As the national water agency, PUB manages Singapore’s water resources in an integrated and holistic manner. Besides curbing water demand through water conservation practices, PUB manages the entire water loop by optimising our precious and limited resources to produce, treat, supply and recycle water to meet Singapore’s needs. With the introduction of desalinated water in September 2005 as one of the pillars of Singapore’s water supply, the Four National Taps strategy is now in place. This will ensure a diversified and sustainable supply of water for Singapore. Local water catchment is one of the Four National Taps, and PUB has been optimising our resources to increase the amount of water we can tap locally. We now have 14 reservoirs. Work on the Marina Reservoir is progressing very well. We have also started the construction of another two new reservoirs at Punggol and Serangoon last September. We will have 17 reservoirs when the three new reservoirs are completed in 2009. They will store water collected from our water catchments which forms two-thirds of Singapore’s land. A scheme to link a few of our reservoirs is also in progress. This will allow excess rainfall collected from one catchment to be transferred to a larger reservoir for storage, thus optimising the yield from our reservoirs. NEWater is another source and has been growing from strength to strength.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, water tanks are installed on the building's rooftop for all existing buildings exceeding five storeys in Singapore. It serves the purpose of supplying water to residents for major water uses. On a recent trip to Dalian, China, involving a real estate development project, I discovered that China has abolished the installation of rooftop water tanks. Instead, they have water pipes to channel water to each individual household up to 18-storeys. Such a system is currently not available in Singapore. With science and technology advancing so quickly, I would like to ask the Minister whether it is possible to consider abolishing the rooftop water tank system in Singapore. The cost benefits of abolishing rooftop water tanks are clear: lower construction costs and a simplified water-pipe system. Most importantly, it is for the prevention of terrorist attacks. The greatest security threat that the world faces today is terrorism. Terrorism is anywhere and everywhere. Currently, as a precautionary measure, the Town Councils have installed quality security locks at the rooftop water tanks, to ensure that supply of water is kept safe. As we do not want to take any chances, even one in a million chance is unacceptable, it is thus important that we safeguard our water tanks to prevent possible water contamination from terrorist attacks. In this regard, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has any precautionary and preventive measures to safeguard all our water tanks, so as to ensure that our water supply is safe and clean. Assoc. Prof.”
“This will include our Navy, Air Force and Army. In this regard, I would also like to ask the Minister which are the countries that our army forces have been for military exercises. And what is our relationship with these countries in terms of military alliance? *Cols. 2827-2828. New Citizens”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Chairman, Sir, National Service (NS) was introduced in 1967 by the then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew to prepare Singaporeans to defend Singapore. NS has been implemented for 40 years. Whether it is in the Air Force, Navy or Army, it has achieved remarkable results. To commemorate the 40th Anniversary, I believe that the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) will have a celebration this year to mark this significant milestone. The achievements over the past 40 years have been remarkable and personally I do feel proud having completed 2½ years of NS. In this regard, I would like to know if the Government will give recognition to our NSmen and give them some form of incentive. I would like to know what are the measures taken to ensure our security and safety and what is our role in safeguarding the regional safety and security of Singapore. [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Matthias Yao) in the Chair] 4.33 pm Over the past 40 years of development, we have innovated and developed high-quality weapons and arms. Recently, I visited our NSmen who are training in New Zealand. According to the training officer, the 155-mm artillery that we are currently using is developed by DSO National Laboratories (新加坡国防科技研究院). The shooting range is between 24 and 30 kilometres. Being a small country, it is thus not possible for us to use long-range weapons in our military exercises within Singapore. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister, with advanced weapons being developed, whether we will have enough opportunities and training grounds for our NSmen to carry out military exercises accordingly, so as to improve their fighting techniques and combat skills.”
“What is lacking now is a unique cultural attraction like Rose Garden in Thailand. While visiting Thailand, the tourists will definitely go to Rose Garden where they can catch Thailand's traditional cultural performances. Therefore, I would like to suggest that the Government consider setting up a multi-cultural performing arts centre which will feature various cultural performances of the Chinese, Indian as well as the Malay communities. Such performances will include lion and dragon dance performances, highlights of a traditional Malay wedding ceremony, etc. I was told by many tourists that two of their favourite destinations are Sentosa and Geylang. Geylang offers a wide variety of tropical fruits at great prices, including durians, mangosteens and coconuts. These are popular fruits favoured by tourists from tropical countries. A great eatery area, Geylang has a lot of famous and good local food to offer. Apart from that, Geylang is best known for its bright and famous night life spots. It has attracted tourists from all around the world, and has become a popular tourist attraction. Therefore, I would like to ask the Government whether it has any development plans to redevelop the Geylang area, including Geylang Serai, to reconstruct and rebuild Geylang into a more charming and interesting district. This will help us to achieve our basic goal of strengthening tourism as a key pillar and, at the same time, to reach our targets of 17 million tourists and the corresponding tourist spendings. *Cols. 2825-2826.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Speaker, we have attracted about 9.7 million tourists from all over the world in 2006. MM Lee forecasted that, after the completion of our two IRs, we expect to draw in 17 million tourists to Singapore every year, and this target is twice our current tourist numbers. With the upcoming integrated resorts and influx of tourists, the capacity to provide good services thus remains one big challenge for us. Besides Europe, America and Southeast Asia, there will be more tourists from China, India and the Middle East. Hence, it is important that we provide our visitors a wide range of tourism products and services. This will include ample tourist attractions, cultural and entertainment centres, shopping facilities, etc, to fulfill all their shopping needs and sightseeing needs. One example of Singapore's upper market tourist attractions will be the integrated resorts; others include Orchard Road, Suntec City and Clarke Quay. These high end attractions provide them the opportunity to satisfy their tourism and shopping needs. However, there are also the middle class tourists, who have different shopping needs and habits, and sizeable purchasing power. It is thus a very wise decision for our Government to announce its plans to develop Little India. We will be able to attract more tourists from India and Sri Lanka. Mr Speaker, Sir, I feel that Geylang Serai is another area worth considering for development. The rich Malay culture and traditions of Geylang Serai are expected to attract tourists from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East. Its colorful architecture, shopping facilities and cultural performances will give a boost to our tourism industry.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion. 12.50 pm”
“" The Minister replied, "No. This time we go to an even more romantic place. Let us go to Hawaii." When they came back, they had their second baby. I think this is a very important concept. We need to have a good environment and conducive conditions to have babies. Perhaps MCYS can conduct a forum and invite our Minister of State, our Mayor Amy Khor and even our Minister to educate our young people on how to make babies. I think this will help us to attain the target of a 6.5 million population. On the part of the Government, we should also do more to help our young people. I receive a lot of feedback from our residents that we are still lacking in baby-care centres. Although there are now many day-care centres for young children, there is an acute shortage of day-care centres for infants below the age of 18 months. Even when there are, the charges are high, charging between $800 and $1,000. Exorbitant! Families with average incomes could ill afford to send their babies there. I respectfully plead with MCYS to give special consideration to the establishment of more baby-care centres, so that our young couples will not be so worried with having babies. Charges for such services should be reasonable so that the young people could afford it. Mr Speaker, Sir, this is the Year of the Pig, and it is going to be a good year. Since we have just celebrated the Chinese New Year, our young couples could still have time to produce babies during this auspicious Year of the Pig. I wish to tell our young couples in Singapore that Minister Mentor Lee was also born in the Year of the Pig. As such, I would like to encourage our young Singaporean couples to work hard to produce babies, and contribute to our nation’s efforts to increase our population.”
“In fact, many young people, even after they are married, do not want to have children. They want to earn more money, purchase their house and car, before they have children. They feel that having a baby would be a heavy financial burden, which is understandable, because having a baby soon after marriage would impose heavy financial burdens on the young couple. In the circumstances, I would urge the Government to provide some kind of bonus to young couples who conceive and have children within one or two years of their marriage, to help relieve their financial burden. Thirdly, go home early. Some people may ask why I am making this suggestion that they should go home early. We all notice that the younger Singaporeans now are working very late. My daughter, for example, comes home only at about 10.00 to 11.00 pm. I have asked my friends, and they told me that their children too work until midnight. By working so late day after day, they have no time for dating. For the married couples, when they come home so late after a long day in the office, they would be too exhausted, with no energy and mood, to make babies. I would like to tell you a story. One of our Ministers shared with us his experience. Of course, I would not mention his name. The Minister and his wife were married for about two to three years. As both of them were working very hard day in and day out, they were in no condition to make babies. One day, they decided to take a holiday abroad. They went to a very romantic beach on the east coast of Malaysia. There, their first child was conceived. Two to three years down the road, maybe because of the pressure of their work, they did not have another baby. So, the wife asked, "Could we not go back to the east coast of Malaysia for another vacation?”
“About 10% got to know each other through other means. About 15% remain single. 45% is a very high percentage, that is, people who were acquainted with their other partner, way back in their school days, and eventually married each other. I am not encouraging small children to fall in love. But I think in secondary schools or universities, there should be opportunities to know more friends of the opposite sex for development into serious relationships and eventually become husband and wife. In fact, I knew my wife when we were in secondary school. I think we should have more social activities in the secondary school level and above, and perhaps even let socialising become part of the CCA for our students. This may sound ridiculous, but I think it is a feasible solution. Secondly, marrying early. Ten or 15 years ago, the average age which young couples tied their nuptial knots was 25, now it is about 28, and many people are not even getting married. Such a phenomenon would be contrary to our policy of encouraging our young people to have more babies. That is why we should encourage our young people to marry early. According to medical reports, the best age for women to get married is between the ages of 20 and 25. I asked Mayor Amy Khor, and she told me that she was married at the age of 26 and she has three children. Our Minister of State for MCYS, Mdm Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, was married at the age of 24, and she too has three children. So, you see, if you marry early, it will be more convenient to have more children. These are very good examples. I would encourage our young people to marry early and have more children. I think we should also have a “wedding bonus” to encourage young couples to get married early. Give them an ang pow for marrying early.”
“We should strive to provide more facilities for our old folks near to their homes. We have more than 300 Residents' Committee centres or RC centres. They are in the best position to serve the residents because out of every eight to 10 blocks, there is one RC centre. But the RC centres are very small and unable to conduct enough activities to cater for the needs of our residents, particularly the older folks. I would suggest that MCYS and the People's Association give special consideration to help the RCs so that they could have more space and more resources to conduct activities for the old folks. This would help our old folks to live comfortably in the area around their home without having to move to old folks’ homes. Now, I would like to talk about procreation. As the Minister for National Development has said, our target is to have a population of 6.5 million in the next 20 years. Currently, we have only about 4.5 million. In other words, if we want to increase our population by 2 million in 20 years, we need to produce 100,000 babies a year in order to reach this target. At the moment, our birth rate is about 35,000 a year and even with the Baby Bonus, it has only increased by a few hundreds. So we need to have better schemes to incentivise and encourage higher birth rates. To have a higher procreation rate, there are three major premises: firstly, get to know your partner early; secondly, getting married and starting to make babies early; and, thirdly, go home early. Let me elaborate. Recently, I conducted a survey during the Chinese New Year festive season. I found that about 45% of the couples were acquainted with their partners during their school days. About 30% knew their eventual lifelong partners in their workplace.”
“" The waiter took the order and came back with three cups of drinks: one cup of coffee, one cup of Milo and one glass of milk. The young lady was puzzled. She said, “I ordered just one cup of drink, why are you serving me three cups of drinks?” The waiter asked, “What did you order just now?” She replied, “Kopi mai lo guni.” The waiter exclaimed, “That’s right, kopi (coffee), Milo, guni (milk)!” The young lady explained that what she actually wanted was “Coffee, do not add milk”. The waiter shook his head and said, “Coffee without milk is simply Kopi-O!” Indeed, coffee without milk, in coffee jargon, is simply kopi-o. This is universally known to all coffeeshop customers, but alien to the sophisticated young lady. There is, very often, a lack of proper communication between the old folks and the youngsters. The old folks could not comprehend the “hip” language of the young, while the young could not attune themselves to the jargons or idiomatic expressions of the older people. It will cause a lot of inconvenience. Now, I would like to talk about allowing the old people to live in their original place of residence. I fully support Minister Lim Boon Heng’s point that if we were to serve our old folks better, we should allow them to stay back at their original residence. In other words, they do not have to move out of the familiar surrounding and a place which they are accustomed to. At the moment, the old folks normally adopt a so-called three-point lifestyle, namely, their home, the void deck downstairs and the coffeeshop. A big part of their daily activities is centred around these three points.”
“He called it the three “yes” and one “no”. “Yes” to (1) good health; (2) diligence and fighting spirit; and (3) clean and hygienic, as it is a food establishment. What then is the “no”? No English is not a problem! I am full of admiration for this employment philosophy of his. As such, I wish to recommend to the Secretary-General of NTUC, Mr Lim Swee Say, to present an award to Mr Han at the May Day Rally for his efforts and contribution in the employment of his workers, so that other companies could follow Mr Han’s employment philosophy and our elderly workers would have more employment opportunities. Thirdly, I would like to talk about some services to our senior citizens. When a person gets old, he may have difficulty walking and, with poor eyesight, may have difficulty reading. The Ministry of National Development has upgraded the HDB flats by making the lifts stop at every floor. Some other elderly-friendly facilities have also been introduced. These are very good efforts! However, we could also consider making the counters at the Government departments, particularly at the hospitals, more user-friendly to our senior citizens. Many senior citizens could not speak or understand English; some may not even communicate in Mandarin and have to speak in dialects. Perhaps we could set aside a designated counter to serve the senior citizens. At this point, I would like to tell a story about the communication gap between the old folks and the young people. A young lady went to a traditional coffeeshop to have a cup of coffee. The elderly waiter came up to her and asked her what she wanted to drink. She replied in Hokkien, "Kopi mai lo guni.”
“But our statutory retirement age is 62 years old. So, these retirees have almost 20 years to live after their retirement. For senior citizens who do not have a job, no income and not enough savings, they will run into difficulties during their old age. The retirement age was actually tied up with the earlier pension scheme of the civil servants. The pension scheme is being gradually phased out. So I feel that the present retirement age system should also be abolished and employers should allow their employees to work so long as they are fit and are able to do their work properly. Recently, I went to New Zealand and I observed some situations of older people working in New Zealand. On our bus, there was a bus driver who was 74 years old. During our lunch, I struck up a conversation with him and understood that he was in fact working as a school bus driver. During the school holidays, he would double up as a travel coach driver. He was very conscientious and hardworking. He was very happy with his job. When we went to the National Museum, we met a guide who was 70 years old. He was very happy working as a guide and he performed his duty very professionally. When we went to our resort, we had a 60-year-old woman as our guide, and she too was working very happily. I feel that so long as the workers are healthy, age is not a criterion. The Ministry of Manpower should seriously consider abolishing the statutory retirement age. This reminds me of the article published in the newspaper on 20th February about Old Chang Kee, the famous curry puff maker. They have 400 employees, of whom 322 or about 80% are above the age of 40 or 45. Mr Han Quan Yuan, the proprietor of this company, has a very good recruitment philosophy for his employees.”
“No doubt, many of these old folks do have their children supporting them, but their children did not have access to a high level of education some 30 years ago, and hence their present income is also not very good. Although they may want to help their parents, they do not have the means to satisfy the needs of their parents in meeting their cost of living. Their spirit is willing, but their flesh is weak. As a result, many of these senior citizens are very troubled because they do not have enough cash to spend. A lot of older citizens came to see us and raised this problem with us during our meet-the-people sessions. I feel that the Ministry of National Development should formulate a new policy whereby senior citizens above the age of 60 who have financial difficulties are allowed to sell their flat in the open market to get some cash to meet their cost of living. However, under the present scheme, if they were to sell their flat in the open market, they will have to wait for another 30 months before they could apply for a rental or purchase flat from the HDB. It is this policy that puts them in a dilemma. I would want to, once again, urge the Ministry of National Development to look into this policy and consider allowing them to buy or rent a smaller unit without having to wait for 30 months after they sell off their own flat. In this case, they will have some extra money to make some investments and to meet their daily cost of living, and still have a flat to live in. This would be a good solution to help them resolve this problem. Secondly, I would like to talk about the abolishment of the retirement age system. With advances in medicine, our average lifespan now in Singapore is 76 years for male and 80 years for female.”
“All the low income workers above the age of 45 would be able to benefit from this scheme. The WIS will be dispensed with 70% going to the CPF account and 30% in cash. I have been receiving feedback from our older residents that they welcome the scheme as it would be very helpful to them. However, they are hoping that the cash portion would be increased to help them tide over the present difficult situation. I suggest that the Ministry of Finance consider changing the proportion to 50-50, ie, 50% to CPF and 50% in cash, so that they would receive more cash to help them tide over this difficult time. Mr Speaker, Sir, senior citizens who are 65 years now were 30-year-old youngsters at the time of our independence some 35 years ago. They did not have a high level of education, and their monthly salaries are not high. At that time, a university graduate earned only about $600 to $700 while the ordinary folks were earning just $300 to $400 per month, and their CPF contribution rate was only 5%. As such, their CPF or cash savings are limited. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, in support of the Government’s “Home for Everyone” scheme, they would have used up a substantial part of their CPF, cash and savings to pay for their housing loans. As a result, they did not have much CPF or cash savings at the time of their retirement to live comfortably in their old age. Many are in fact having financial difficulties. Many of our senior citizens are having this problem between cash and housing. During their old age, they may have a 3-room or 4-room flat, but not enough cash flow.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*. ] Mr Speaker, Sir, in 2006, our economy grew very rapidly, and the prospect for 2007 is optimistic. PM Lee described 2007 as a “big fat year” for us. A renowned fengshui master from Hong Kong predicted that there would be 20 years of good fortune for Singapore with effect from 2007, as reported by the Wanbao yesterday. Everyone has been saying it is good, and I strongly believe that 2007 would be a good year. The new Budget released by the Second Finance Minister, Mr Tharman, *Cols. 2217-2226. has brought good news to Singaporeans from all walks of life. My grassroots leaders and residents are very happy with this Budget, including the offset package for the proposed 2% increase in GST. A friend of mine from China who happened to be in Singapore was listening to the Second Minister for Finance when the Budget was announced. He raised his thumb and said, "Only the Singapore Government can give such a big ang bao Budget to the people, particularly the big bonus to the senior citizens." This policy gives recognition to the contributions made by our senior citizens. It is indeed an innovative incentive scheme that encourages Singaporeans to make contributions to the nation. The main emphasis of this year's Budget is to focus on how to help the people in our society who need our assistance, particularly those who are less educated, the low income and elderly. As such, I would like to express my views on these two topics on how to look after our senior citizens and to encourage our people to have more children. Looking after our senior citizens First of all, I would like to thank the Government for the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme to help our senior citizens.”
“May I suggest that the Sports School extend its facilities to other sports, such as wushu and Malay martial arts to train our national players? May "a hundred flowers bloom" in the field of sports in Singapore and bring more glory to Singapore. In addition, I would also suggest that, two to three months prior to any major international meet, the School open its facilities to our participating athletes. At present, we usually send our athletes overseas for training, and it is very costly. I urge the Singapore Sports Council to make full use of the professional equipment and conducive environment of the Sports School so that the training of our athletes would be less costly and more effective.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, first of all, I would like to congratulate the Singapore National Olympic Council for the excellent results achieved at last year's SEA Games held in the Philippines where we won 42 Golds and a total of 129 medals, surpassing our set targets. This is an excellent performance that deserves our commendation. However, our ranking among the Southeast Asian nations remains in the sixth place. This is something which warrants our concern. This is because, five years later, in 2011, Singapore will be hosting the Southeast Asian Games. Then, we will need to have a breakthrough, not only in terms of gold medals and the total number of medals, but also in terms of ranking, we should aim to be at least second, if not first, in the overall ranking. In order to attain these targets, we must start planning now to holistically train our athletes in all the SEA Games events and not just confine ourselves to the handful of sports prioritised by the Singapore Sports Council. We must work closely with the various national associations to train more outstanding national athletes so that they can shine for Singapore. The Sports School is set up with the aim of training more outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen to compete in regional and international sports events, such as SEA Games, Asian Games and even the Olympics, and to score good results for Singapore. At present, the Sports School provides training in only eight sports. I think this is too conservative and it is not making full use of its facilities. In order to win more medals, we should work harder on the other sports as well. We should open up the Sports School's facilities and actively provide training in more sports.”
“Sir, with our ageing population, by 2030 there will be 850,000 people who are 65 years and above. I think we have to take quick action and make the necessary preparation by establishing more daycare centres for the senior citizens. I would like to ask the Ministry that in the next five years, how many more daycare centres would be established. For their convenience, I think the Minister could consider setting up daycare centres for senior citizens in each and every one of the community centres or clubs because every constituency has at least one community centre. They are very conveniently located. It would be very convenient for our residents to send their old folks there. Sir, we should also have some educational courses for our senior citizens. In other countries it is very popular. In the United States, Europe and Japan, there are educational courses for the senior citizens. In China, there are at least 20,000 senior citizen universities. In fact, some of them conduct their courses through television or Internet. In Taiwan, there is a radio university for the senior citizens. In 1973, France started the first third age university and now they have a few thousand third age universities in about 15 countries in the world. I have visited one third age university in Australia and all the undergraduates are senior citizens. They are taking courses that are relevant to the senior citizens like law, humanity, health, sports, etc. I think we should also have such a university in Singapore so that the senior citizens will have a chance to be educated. We should also issue licences to those who are experienced in organising third age university to fulfil our lifelong learning spirit.”
“Sir, the number of young people joining grassroots organisations in community service is on a declining trend in recent years, resulting in a lack of successors for our community leaders. Singapore has a population of 4 million but only 26,000 people participate in activities of the grassroots organisations, accounting for only 0.65% of the population. Volunteers in our local charitable organisations make up another 15.2%, making a total of 15.85%. This is inferior compared to other countries. In the USA, it is 44%; in the UK, it is 47.5%; in Hong Kong, it is 22%. With an ageing population, we need more young people to participate in community activities. Recently, in my constituency, there are many students who volunteer to take part in our youth group organisations and help us to organise community activities. I suggest that the Ministry of Education allows the participation in grassroots organisations' activities to be considered as a form of regular co-curricular activity for the schools. This will encourage more young people to take part in community activities. We can then have more volunteers to serve our people and to promote our community activities, enhance our cohesiveness and, together, we can build a warm and harmonious society for our multi-racial and multi-cultural society. This will also help to arrest the declining number of grassroots leaders. National Education and Racial Integration”
“Sir, some years back, we discussed the problem of heavy school bags of our primary school students, and attracted the serious attention of the Ministry of Education. As a result, the Ministry of Education recently introduced the concept of "teach less, learn more" with the hope of reducing the burden of the primary school students. This was originally a good intention on the part of the MOE, but I discovered that the situation has not improved. On the contrary, it has become worse. In recent years, I noticed that more and more primary school students are using the trolley-type school bags when they go to school. Sir, just look at these pictures [Indicating]. We can see that these primary school students are dragging their bags when they go to school. It is quite different from the old days when we put the bags on our back. Now, these bags are about 6-8 kilograms each, and the students have to walk with a hunch as they find it very difficult to walk. I think for these very young primary school children, this is too heavy and it goes against our basic education policy. I would like to ask whether the Minister for Education has taken note of this problem. Has the MOE any plan to resolve this matter? I think we could consider providing a locker in each classroom for the students to leave some of their stationery and textbooks behind, so that they do not have to carry them around everyday. [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr S Iswaran) in the Chair] 4.35 pm Talent”
“Sir, in recent years, the Government has reformed its healthcare policies to the benefit of many Singaporeans, particularly patients in the middle and lower-income groups. However, very often, when the senior citizens went for treatment in the hospitals, they were not aware of the many financial assistance schemes provided by the Government to help them pay for their hospital bills. Some of them came to see me at my meet-the-people sessions and asked me to write to the hospitals to ask for assistance in the payment of their medical expenses. As a matter of fact, many are eligible for the assistance schemes provided by the Government. At the time when they sought treatment at the hospital, they could have applied and be granted the assistance on the spot, without having to wait until the hefty hospital bill comes before rushing to their Member of Parliament for help. Perhaps, it was because they are not well-educated, hence are ignorant of how to apply for such assistance. I hope that the Ministry would set up an effective system whereby a team of designated officers or department would offer the required assistance to these senior citizens on the spot. This is also a way to reward the elderly for their past contribution to our nation building. 3.45 pm Gerontological Education”
“First of all, I would like to thank Minister Mah Bow Tan for accepting my suggestion at last year's Budget debate for HDB to adopt a new technology, the so-called machine-roomless lift technology, for the HDB Lift Upgrading Programme. At present, this new technology is already used for some low-rise flats. The use of this technology reduces the installation time by one third and lowers the construction cost by some 20%. This is because the machine-roomless lifts do not need to have a machine room constructed on the roof top, and also lighter metal could be used to construct the lift well, instead of reinforced concrete. This will reduce installation time by about one-third. It also saves construction cost. As such, the residents will save on their upgrading cost and enjoy a brand new lift facility sooner than expected. In other countries, this technology is being used on 18-storey buildings. The Minister has said that HDB will use the new technology in other flats in Singapore. I urge HDB to make full use of this new technology so that the Lift Upgrading Programme could be completed faster. Since it is a 20% saving on the cost, I would like to ask whether the Minister would bring forward the upgrading of all the lifts from 10 years to five years. May I also know how many polling exercises have been conducted for the residents of the low-rise flats to decide whether or not they want to have lift upgrading and what has been the response so far?”
“I hope the HDB would raise the income ceiling for first-time applicants who are Singapore citizens, so that they will be able to purchase their first HDB flat, otherwise they would be deprived of the privilege of purchasing a new HDB flat.”
“Sir, on public housing policy, I have three questions and three suggestions. Owing to a series of economic downturns and economic restructuring, some low-income families had no choice but to sell their flats to pay their debts. In fact, they came to a point where they were without resources. Even in such circumstances, they had to rent a place for their families to stay in. But according to the regulations of HDB, once you have sold your flat, you are barred from applying to the HDB to buy or rent another apartment within the next 30 months. They really did not know whether or not to sell. Sir, I would like to urge the HDB to remove this regulation so that those who are forced to sell their flats because of financial difficulties will be able to rent a 2-room flat for their family to stay in. Secondly, the HDB has announced that it will be building some 2-room flats for the public to apply. This is good news for those who are in financial difficulty. However, every day, when I travel to Jurong, I could see a lot of vacant 4-room or 5-room flats. I feel that the HDB should not just concentrate on building new flats. They should consider making full use of these vacant flats. Maybe they could be converted to 2-room or 3-room flats for sale or rent, so that these vacant flats will not be left unused. This is like killing two birds with one stone. Thirdly, many of our young people are encouraged by the Government to become entrepreneurs and their educational level has gone up, their income is also higher. So now, when they get married, their combined income may be more than $8,000 which exceeds the ceiling imposed by HDB.”
“I hope the bus companies will accelerate the process of fitting these wheelchair ramps. This should be completed in seven years, not 17 years. School Buses”