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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Every one of 576 lines we hold for Ang Mong Seng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 12.
“Sir, when we were promoting industrialisation in the 1970s, the JTC succeeded in developing a very large and typically Asian industrial estate. It attracted not only foreign investors but also local SMEs to set up factories there. At that time, the lease granted by JTC was for a tenure of 30 years which would be expiring soon. According to JTC's policy, if the lease is to be extended, it would run for another period of 30 years, which means the existing lessees would have to put in a lot of capital investment to extend it. In these bad times and the prospects of the next few years being uncertain, the local SMEs operating in the JTC industrial estate are in a dilemma. To extend the lease means that they will have to pour in lots of money in terms of capital investment. Not to extend means they would have to fold up. I hope that the JTC would exercise some flexibility in dealing with the matter. Must the lease be necessarily extended by another 30 years? Can the Minister not consider giving them a shorter lease of, say, five years, without any commitment of further investments, so that they will be able to tide over the present difficult time? If JTC persists in its original policy of requiring fresh investment as a condition for the mandatory 30 years' extension, then many of the SMEs will not be able to carry on with their business. Consequently, a lot of employees will lose their jobs, and the performance of the entire manufacturing sector will also be affected. Furthermore, according to the terms of the lease, there would be a 5% increase in the rent annually, in good and bad times. It will be increased automatically. At this difficult time, I think we should review whether there should be this annual 5% rent increase.”
“Sir, last year, PSA lost two of its major customers to Malaysia. But according to reports, in February this year, our total container throughput has increased by 29%. However, out of this 29%, only 4% was derived locally while 25% was from its operations at other ports, eg, those in China. If this is the trend, then the throughput of containers in Singapore will be moved overseas. Would we then lose our ranking as the second busiest port in the world? Would this also result in a second round of retrenchment in PSA? Secondly, recently, the Malaysian government announced that it was going to remove the causeway and replace it with a funny-looking bridge so that ships can pass through the Johor Straits. I would like to ask the Minister, under such circumstances, would it further affect the development of our port and its performance.”
“By right, the taxi operators shall bear the cost of this $25 licence fee, but can we say for sure that they will not pass this on to the taxi drivers? I would like to know whether this is an ad hoc measure or will this be levied perpetually. If the taxi service has already reached a certain standard, and there is no further need for improvement, should not this $25 levy be lifted?”
“Sir, taxi service is one of the three main forms of public transport in Singapore. Apart from taxis, we have air-conditioned buses and the MRT to provide very comfortable public transportation for our people. Of course, taxi service is much faster, more comfortable and, of course, it costs more. Some commuters are complaining that there are not enough taxis on the road, and are asking for more. However, I feel whether or not we should have more taxis will depend on the demand and supply in the market. If the demand is not so high or the high demand is only restricted to peak hours, then during the off-peak hours there would be an over-supply of taxis, and the operating cost will go up. Eventually, the higher operational cost will be passed on to the commuters. The commuters will have to bear the brunt. So, we have to think of the consequences. 11.15 am Let me give you an example. Recently, I was in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. I observed that there were a lot of taxis but only about 30% of them were occupied, the remaining 70% were not. As we know, taxi fares in Hong Kong and Tokyo are much higher than Singapore. Do we want to end up like them? Can the Minister tell us whether there is any plan to increase the number of taxis in Singapore? Secondly, recently, much has been said about encouraging the commuters to make use of the radio taxi service. It is a very good system. But to use the phone service, you have to pay a $3 surcharge. If we want to advocate wider use of radio taxi service, should we not consider lowering the surcharge, perhaps halve it to $1.50? This will encourage more people to use the radio taxi service. Thirdly, as Mr Seng Han Thong has mentioned, we are imposing a $25 licence fee on each taxi.”
“Sir, the terrorists' activities on September 11 and the Bali bombing shocked the world and caused a lot of damage to our people. The JI conspiracy in Singapore has also given us some very disturbing thoughts. I think we should continue to enhance our security awareness. Here, I would like to raise three points. First, Changi Airport. Our Changi Airport is a transport hub for Asia. Millions of local travellers as well as tourists pass through the airport each year. Recently, I travelled overseas and I can feel that the security check at our airport is very stringent. The only thing is that the time between the arrival of our luggage and until it is checked by the security personnel could provide an opportunity for the terrorists to do something if they so desire. Can something be done about it? Can we just check the luggage the moment it is brought into the airport? Can we also step up patrol within the terminal buildings, so that any unattended luggage could be removed for security sake? Secondly, MRT stations. The MRT has become the most favoured mode of transportation for our people, young and old. Can there be patrols in the MRT stations, particularly those in the busy central business district? We could even engage private security companies to step up patrol in the MRT stations. My third point is on cruises. Many of our people are now going on cruises, and every cruise ship carries thousands of passengers on each trip. Should we also step up our security measures on the cruises? Otherwise, if anything is to happen, it will bring heavy casualties to our people.”
“Yet, they chase after their favourite pop stars, such as the F4 and the 5566 . They are simply crazy over these idols. On a more serious note, according to a survey, more than 10% of our students in the institutes of higher learning do not know who the Prime Minister of Singapore is. I think this is some mindset that we cannot accept - young people who care only for themselves and the world around them. They think only about where to travel to, but do not care about major national events. They are simply bo chap - they do not care. These are all very serious problems for the nation. The young must take this matter very seriously. We cannot allow this to deteriorate. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I support the motion. 4.18 pm”
“To promote entrepreneurship, overall efforts are required for a sustained period of time. It depends on not just the Government, but also on the kind of social culture to promote entrepreneurship and to change the mindset of the individuals. Government departments must also change their mindset, so as to create a good environment conducive to the cultivation of entrepreneurship. Senior Minister Lee spoke at the Nanyang Technological University that Singaporeans must turn away from the existing mindset of over-dependence on the Government if they want to continue to enjoy prosperity. I think it is a very important message. The GLCs should not depend too much on the Government. They must take the lead to help our local enterprises to go out of Singapore and into the world, to sell our brand overseas and not just to stay on in Singapore and compete with our own SMEs, sharing the very small pie with them. To become a globalised city and to promote entrepreneurship, we must be able to step into areas that others have not developed before. Social problems. Young people in Singapore are very lucky. They are born in a very comfortable and affluent society. They enjoy a good living environment, good education and are able to learn from the information technology such as the Internet. They thus get to learn from information from all over the world. It is apparent that the young people nowadays have better opportunities than we did. There should be more consciousness of national patriotism. But they are apathetic to politics. They are not interested in national and current affairs. They are indifferent to the threat of terrorism and to the possible effect of the war in Iraq, or even the souring of the Singapore-Malaysia relations.”
“But the Singapore SMEs do not have this advantage when they go over to China. Our investors tend to play solo when they venture into China without the support of a team. They lack capital, and they cannot do much to develop and establish themselves. Singapore has built the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) which is now well known throughout China. Recently, I visited Qingdao in the Shangdong province. An official there told me that he and many of his colleagues had gone to the Suzhou Industrial Park to learn. I asked what they were learning from the SIP. He replied that they were there to learn the Singapore management system and the Singapore experience. Our endeavours at the SIP have created a good impression on the senior officials throughout China. When asked further, he said that the Chinese entrepreneurs learnt from Singapore about planning, administration and management; from Taiwanese they learnt how to make money; and from the Hongkongers they learnt about entrepreneurship. Having learnt from them, the Chinese now have all these three pre-conditions to success. They will be able to break through their old framework and make a lot of money. Their economic growth was around 8% every year for the past five years. So, we must seize the first available opportunity to go to China, preferably within the next five years, otherwise we will miss the boat. In Singapore, we have already good management, planning and experience. We should next learn from the Taiwanese how to make money and learn from the Hongkongers about entrepreneurship. After having acquired all these, then can we make a world for ourselves. With very keen global competition, we want to be able to create products and services to compete with the world. Then we must be able to strengthen our entrepreneurship.”
“In this way, more people will get the chance to earn a living at a lower cost. Of course, administratively, it will be a bit difficult but it can create more jobs for Singaporeans. Next, I would like to talk about building up team work. Globally, the global political and economic scenes have changed. We can now sell our Singapore brands to the world market, and this is one way for our SMEs to survive. The GLCs and some of the larger private companies have already gone into China, India and Vietnam for their development. But, in respect of encouraging team work and entrepreneurship, we can do better. SIA, PSA, JTC, HDB etc, have already become well known brands in Asia and all over the world. These GLCs can take the lead and leverage on their experience and reputation to take on the role of matchmaker to take our SMEs into the international markets, such as China, where every businessman would aspire to enter. It is a big market, full of attractions for everybody. But in order to have a competitive edge in China, we must first of all satisfy three preconditions: financial capital, energy and a team. You must have large capital, you must have a team which you can depend upon and you need to have the entrepreneurial spirit. When we invest in China, we compete not only with the Chinese traders but we compete with the world. So China has become a centre of contention for the whole world. One example is the Taiwanese investors. They have their people in Guangdong, Shanghai, Jiangsu and the Suzhou Industrial Park. They work as a team. They have a good financial funding system for international investments and development. They have this kind of entrepreneurial spirit. Their projects are closely watched and esteemed by the Chinese Government.”
“Nowadays, I observe that many petrol stations have switched to manual washing. Two years ago, a certain petrol station at Jurong West Street 93 was planning to install a car-washing machine. But, because of the recession, the petrol station proprietor gave up the idea of automated car washing, and decided to invite the residents nearby to provide manual car washing for his customers, working on a two-shift basis. They charge $5 for every wash, the same as in the automatic car washing stations. For every car washed, $1 would be paid to the petrol station, while the remaining $4 will be shared by the workers. With 60 to 80 cars washed daily, each car-washer will get some $1,500 a month. The petrol station proprietor earns $2,000 a month, without having to commit a capital outlay for the automatic car-washing machine. If every petrol station can have about 10 people working as car-washers and with some 200 petrol stations in Singapore, some 2,000 jobs are created. I think this kind of idea can only be generated in the private sector. Borrowing from this concept, I would like to make some suggestions for the public sector. For convenience and easy administration, the canteens in most schools are let out to contractors on a tender system. The successful tenderer would then sublet the various stalls to the individual hawkers at a higher rate. Many stalls remain vacant as the hawkers could not afford the high rental. In good times, this may be a good way of management. Now, with the high unemployment rate, can the Ministry of Education consider changing the system by renting the stalls directly to the individuals, preferably the residents nearby, so that they will not have to pay higher rents to the canteen operator.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, since 1997, we have been living under the shadow of the Asian financial crisis. After the September 11 event and the Bali bombing in 2002, we are further faced with the problem of terrorism. It is difficult for us to predict how the future will be. In this extraordinary time, the Government of Singapore is proposing a $1.2 billion deficit budget, with lots of utilities and SC&CC rebates, plus another $500 million set aside for training programmes. These are very good measures. The Government has done all that it is expected to do. But the main concern now is to keep the jobs for the employed, and train the unemployed so that they improve on their employability. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I would like to speak on the problem of unemployment and the entrepreneurship mindset of our young people. Our unemployment rate has not come down. The forecast is that it would be between 4.5% and 5% this year. It is now difficult for those who are retrenched to find another job, especially those who are not well educated and above the age of 45. Having to compete with younger and better-educated workers is indeed an uphill task for them. I hope that the Government would do something to encourage the employers to take on the older workers, apart from providing training and retraining opportunities for these workers. In good times, of course, we think of automation, computerisation to improve productivity and reduce labour cost. But in this difficult time, can we not change the employment attitude? Under the premise of not increasing the cost of labour, we can look into how we can create more jobs for the people. Let me give one example. In the past, car washing at petrol stations was almost all done by automatic car-washing machines.”
“With advanced IT, can LTA dispense with the need to produce the VPC when renewing the road tax for these heavy vehicles, just like the way we renew our radio licence with the road tax of our motorcars? This would save the owners the trouble of having to go personally to LTA just to physically produce the VPC.”
“As these parking places are far away, private bus drivers would have to leave home before 5 o'clock in the morning to ferry the students to school and lorry drivers too have to leave home early to avoid the morning peak hours. More often than not, public transportation such as MRT and buses are not available in the early hours of the morning. In the circumstances, they decide to park their vehicles somewhere near their HDB estates, and risk being booked for such parking offences and incur heavy fines every month. In 1998, some 2,000 parking lots for heavy vehicles were allocated in Jurong East, Jalan Bahar, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang and Bukit Gombak. The needs of drivers in the western part of Singapore are basically satisfied. But such parking facilities in the eastern and northern parts of Singapore, particularly in the newer HDB estates in Sengkang, Woodlands, etc, are still lacking. I hope that the Minister would understand the plight of these drivers. Just now, the Minister mentioned that the total number of available parking lots exceeds the number of heavy vehicles registered in Singapore. But most of these parking lots are situated at industrial estates and remote places which are impractical for the drivers to use them. Yes, there are parking lots, but the drivers just cannot make use of them. Therefore, I urge the Minister to liaise with the HDB and URA to open up or develop more parking lots for heavy vehicles in order to meet their demands. Lorries and bus drivers have played a great role in our nation building and economic development. We should do something to help them.”
“The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill authorises the Minister to punish the drivers of heavy vehicles for indiscriminate parking. Instead of parking their heavy vehicles in the designated places, these drivers chose to park their buses and lorries near the HDB estates or in the private housing estates, resulting in a lot of complaints from the residents there. The owners of these heavy vehicles have actually purchased the licences to have their vehicles parked at the designated vehicle parks. Yet, the drivers choose to park these vehicles in the housing estates. I think there must be a reason why they are doing so. I have spoken to some of these drivers and I now understand their problem. There are two important factors. Most of the drivers of these heavy vehicles, including lorries and buses, are living in HDB estates. They belong to the lower middle income group of people. Their working hours are irregular, having to leave home early and return home late every day. Naturally, they would prefer to park their vehicles at proper parking places near their flats. But parking lots for heavy vehicles are not readily available near the housing estates. According to the rules of the Land Transport Authority, if an owner wants to renew the road tax for his heavy vehicle, he must produce a Vehicle Parking Certificate (VPC) to prove that he has a proper place to park his vehicle. Since such parking lots are not available near their HDB estates, he would have no choice but to purchase a VPC for parking at a designated vehicle park at some remote industrial estate, just to satisfy the requirement for the renewal of road tax.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, both Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to sign the special agreement on the 6th of next month to refer the Pedra Branca matter to the International Court of Justice. May I ask the Minister how long will the ICJ take to resolve this problem and, during this period, what is Singapore's stand on the management of this small island?”
“The performance of the students can be reflected by their linguistic capability, the way they express themselves and the way they communicate with others. Merits should also be awarded to their participation and contributions in the field of arts, sports and community service. I think we should encourage our students to give full play to their talents and their potential. It is my sincere hope that MOE would move away from the existing system whereby the ranking of schools and colleges is weighted heavily on examination results. More emphasis should be placed on the creativity or innovations of the teachers and the students. I think in this way, the principals, teachers, students and even the parents will put in concerted efforts and work hand-in-hand to raise the overall standard of the schools, to the benefit of the students. I hope that MOE would consider the three suggestions I have made. Finally, I would like to thank Mdm Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to speak. I support the motion. 6.12 pm”
“We often hear in this House that schools in the other countries are better. For what you know, our schools may well be better than theirs. If our MPs can have the opportunity to visit the junior colleges, they will have a better understanding of these colleges. Thirdly, under the new system, how will MOE evaluate the performance of the junior colleges? If we want to attain good results, the teachers must have the support of the principals for them to apply their talents and creativity in their teaching. But, if MOE still insists on using examination results as the basis to evaluate and rank the junior colleges, then this new system will turn out to be just an ideal, and will not be practical at all. We should evaluate the teachers on their creativity, not just on the examination results. In a restaurant, if the owner restricts the chef to just a few dishes in the menu, no matter how creative the chef may be, he will not be able to dish out more delicious cuisines to attract more customers. I hope that MOE would also take into consideration the creativity of the teachers when they rank the junior colleges. We should use the 6/2/2 system, that means 60% based on the results attained by the students in the examinations and 20% based on the teaching method of the teachers. We should send out inspectors to schools to evaluate the creative level of the teachers. If the teachers are very creative, we should give them more points, more incentives. So this will make up 20% of the total evaluation. The remaining 20% will be based on the creativity of the students. We are always encouraging the students to be creative, to make full use of their talents.”
“While I was there, the teacher was teaching these young students about yi sheng (physician). I observe that many articles relating to the medical profession, such as stethoscope, clinical thermometer, syringes, etc, were exhibited in the classroom. The teacher made use of this apparatus to demonstrate how a physician went about examining his patient and diagnosing his ailments. The students were invited to ask questions, and many questions were asked by the young children. It was indeed a highly interactive session. The students were also invited to participate in role-plays whereby some took the part of the physicians and the others played the part of the patients. The whole lesson was conducted in a very relaxed and informal manner. No pressure, no stress. I could see that the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and I am sure they must have learnt a lot from this kind of exercise. This is what I call creative teaching! Last night, I had dinner with the Principal of a Junior College and he was telling me that the teaching method in Singapore was also very creative. Perhaps, we have left school for too long a period. In the last few decades, we can clearly see that the school premises and facilities, or the hardware aspect, have improved a lot. But, we really do not know about the software aspect - the teaching methods, contents and style. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to visit the ITE, and it was a real eye-opener for me. I would like to ask the Minister whether some arrangements can be made for our MPs and our grassroots leaders to visit the junior colleges and the schools, to see for ourselves whether this software aspect of our education system could match the vast improvement in the hardware aspect.”
“Can MOE consider granting some sort of "Certificate of Standard" for these students so that they would have at least a certificate to show that they have progressed over the years in this "through-train", and has been exempted from the "O" level examinations? This may help them to seek admission in the foreign universities or to show it to their prospective employers. Secondly, I would like to talk about the teaching resource. Under this new system, we need to be able to accurately assess the potential of the students, and to customise the teaching accordingly, so that the students would derive the optimal benefits from the system. I think the teachers will play a very important part. I would like to know whether we have enough teachers who are adequately equipped to take on this higher responsibility. Let me give you an illustration. Teaching is like cooking. If you have some high-quality abalone, but you do not have a good chef to cook it, you would not be able to serve out a delicious abalone dish. On the other hand, if you have the best abalone, and the best chef from the famous abalone restaurant from Hong Kong to cook it, then I am sure you will have a very delicious and well presented abalone dish which is fit for the king. MOE will only start this new system in 2006. We have a window of some three to four years before that. Can MOE make use of this period of time to identify some good teachers, send them overseas for special training, so that they will be able to cope with the demands of this new curriculum, and the students would benefit from their teaching? Recently, during my visit to the world-renowned Qinghua University in Beijing, I was invited to tour a subsidiary primary school of the university.”
“Will MOE simply designate a number of schools to be the "through-trains", and all the students on board will go straight to the "A" level examinations? In my opinion, this method will lead to some problems, because in this way, would not all the students who score well in the PSLE be concentrated in these "elite" schools, and all the other students who could not make the grade to these elite schools would be deemed to be second-class students, and their schools become second-class schools? The teachers in these schools will then feel that they are given the second-class students to teach. They will naturally be demoralised, and the standard of their teaching, and consequently the standard of the schools would be lowered. When MOE decides on the "through-train" system, would it be compulsory for all the students in this system to skip the "O'" level examinations? Do the students have a choice? As a matter of fact, students who are good in their studies are not afraid of examinations, because the examinations can only prove that they are strong in their studies. So, would the students be given an option to take the "O" level examinations if they decide to do so? I have spoken to some parents and they are worried that this through-train system may yield unpredictable results. The new system will take some time before the result can be clearly seen. They are afraid that in the event that some students could not cope with the new model of study in the reformed JC curricula, and could not do well in the "A" level examinations, they would have no "O" level results to back them up. With no good "A" level certificate in their bags, they would have nothing but a PSLE certificate. They cannot qualify for admission to the university. Even looking for a job would be a big problem.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to join in the debate on this motion. There are 27 other colleagues who would like to speak on the motion and I will try my best to make my speech short and brief. Mdm Deputy Speaker, in this new economy era, in order to survive, our people must be able to make changes, be flexible and adjust ourselves to keep up with the times. As such, this proposal to reform our JC education is very apt and appropriate. This report of the Junior College/Upper Secondary Education Review Committee has been carefully deliberated upon and presented by a panel of experts. All these recommendations are based on very solid grounds. The purpose of the reform is to broaden the scope of studies of our students and to give them more space to develop their potentials and talents to the fullest. They are very creative and challenging. I have discussed with many parents and teachers on the recommendations of the Review Committee, and the feedback I have is mainly positive. Here, I would like to make three points concerning the proposed reform. First, on the "through-train" method. The Committee is recommending that some students, particularly the better students, be allowed to go straight from Secondary One to the "A" level without having to take the "O" level examination, and from there proceed straight to the university. This is a break-through and a watershed decision in the reform of our education system. In this aspect, I would like to ask what criteria will MOE take to decide who will be exempted from the "O" level examinations and take the through-train to the "A" level examinations.”
“Thirdly, subletting of flats. Those who bought the resale flats from the open market are allowed to sublet the flat after staying there for a certain period of time. I would like to ask the Minister how many units would qualify for this scheme under the present arrangement. Of course, the permission for subletting is a good policy. It will provide the prospective tenants with cheaper rental flats and, at the same time, allow the owners to earn some extra income. However, if there were too many of these units available for subletting, it would give rise to some problems. Just now, the Minister mentioned that such subletting would be subjected to strict rules. We would like to know whether there would be enough provisions in the rules to restrict the owners from subletting to an excessive number of foreign workers to the annoyance of their neighbours, or people who use the flats for illegal activities. This is something which we have to be very careful about. Each and every application for subletting should be carefully scrutinised before it is approved. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Residents who have to downgrade from a bigger flat to a smaller flat owing to financial hardship will face double trouble if they are deprived of the entitlement to a concessionary loan rate. Another group that warrants special consideration is the senior citizens. In their younger days, they could have purchased a big flat so that they could live with their children and grandchildren. Now that the children have grown up, bought their own flats, and set up their own families, the old folks may find the flat too big for just the old couple who are left alone, all by themselves. They do not need to stay in such a big flat, and the logical thing is to downgrade to a smaller flat. But now, they are not entitled to the concessionary loan. In the circumstances, can we not review the applications on a case-by-case basis? If they were in financial difficulties, particularly those who were retrenched, or maybe those who were adjudicated bankrupt or had some special financial difficulties, can we not consider their cases on a case-by-case basis? As for the senior citizens, do we have enough studio apartments for the elderly? I think this is one area where the HDB needs to look into. Secondly, minimum occupancy period of resale flats. Under the present rules, you have to stay in the flat for more than 21/2 years before you can put it up for resale in the open market. With the present amendment, this minimum occupancy period is shortened to one year. The point is, since they have bought the flat from the open market with no subsidy from the Government, why should there be such a restriction? Can we not fully liberalise this rule and do away with this restriction, so that when they apply to the bank for a loan, they will be in a better position to bargain for better terms?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, at present, about 86% of Singaporeans live in HDB flats. Among them, 96% have purchased their flats from HDB. Apparently, the Government's home ownership scheme has been well supported and is very successful. I think Singapore is the only country in the world where the housing needs of as much as 86% of the people are satisfied by public housing, with almost every family owning its own flat. This is a win-win situation for both the Government and the people. However, as in any other schemes, any changes to the housing scheme or any amendment to the law would, directly or indirectly, affect some of the people. On this amendment Bill, I would like to raise three points. First, on the change in granting of concessionary loan. Under the current rules, every qualified buyer is entitled to a concessionary loan offered by the HDB. However, under the amended rule, when an existing owner of a HDB flat wants to downgrade, eg, from a 5-room or 4-room flat to a 3-room flat, or from a 4-room flat to another 4-room flat, he will not be entitled to this concessionary loan. Of course, if they have the means, there is no problem. But for those who are facing financial difficulties, particularly in the past few years because of the economic recession, many people are retrenched or unemployed, and are unable to find jobs for a long period of time, they will have problem servicing their loan, and may have to resort to downgrading in order to make ends meet. Under the new rule, they will not be able to enjoy this concessionary loan from the HDB. I think this is something that we should carefully reconsider.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister of State has mentioned that there are some cases like zero payment. I want to ask the Minister of State, for the last two years, how many cases had enjoyed this scheme through Medisave, MediShield or Medifund. My second point is, since USA spends 7% of its GDP and Singapore spends only 3% of its GDP on healthcare, whether the Government has any plan to increase the 3% to a higher rate? Dr Tan Cheng Bock rose ---”
“So, we should allow the company to decide on its own. But the Government now decides that for age 50 to 55, the company has the right to fix the CPF at 16%. I think that the ERC should revisit its decision. Another point is about HDB's proposal to transfer the housing loans to the banks. There is a rule which says that if the people want to downgrade from a bigger flat to a smaller flat, they cannot borrow from the HDB. So, they must borrow from the bank. Now, HDB allows every citizen to buy two flats, ie, a small 3-room flat or to upgrade from a 3-room flat to a 4-room or 5-room flat. So they will have two opportunities to enjoy the subsidies from HDB. If a citizen started off with a 3-room flat and then upgraded to a 4-room or 5-room flat, when he grows old and all his children are married and not living with him, then he would find that he does not need the bigger 4-room or 5-room flat. Now, he wants to downgrade to a 3-room or smaller flat. But, he cannot borrow from the HDB and has to borrow from the bank. By that time, because of financial difficulty due to economic downturn, he would have to sell his bigger flat to buy a smaller one. In those circumstances, he would still have to borrow from the bank. But banks are commercial institutions. If you are old and have financial difficulties, then it is unlikely that the bank will lend any money to you. This will become a major problem for the old citizens. I would suggest that the HDB be more flexible towards the older citizens, particularly those who are in financial difficulties. When they need to borrow money, then they should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Generally, I support the Statement of Deputy Prime Minister Lee.”
“Another point is that the new generation of citizens are getting married late, between 26 and 28. At 50, their children will be about 18 to 20 years old, and attending polytechnic or university. The financial burden peaks around this time, at between 50 and 55. To cut their CPF amounts to cutting their income, and that will undoubtedly enhance their financial burden. This is a very important issue which the people are very concerned with. In order to solve this problem, Dr Low Seow Chay asked whether, during the bad times we reduced CPF contribution rate to 16%, and when times are good, do we not have the moral obligation to have it restored to 20 percentage points? So, every few years, we have to make some adjustments. Sir, the NTUC has also raised the issue of flexible wage system. I think this is a good system and many companies are adopting the new system. I am just thinking whether we can also have a flexible CPF scheme, ie, between age 50 and 55, the CPF contribution rate can range from 16% to 20%, and companies, which are able to gauge the contribution and performance of their employees, can decide how much to pay for their respective employees' CPF. If this employee can make a lot of money for the company, why should the company cut down the CPF by 4 percentage points? In this way, it will allow the company more flexibility in making the CPF contributions, and that will encourage the workers to work harder and do better. The companies will therefore have more autonomy to exercise their own judgment to decide on how much CPF contributions to pay to the individual workers. We should not fix the rate at 16% across-the-board. There may be 100 people or 1,000 people working in the company. They cannot have the same level of performance.”
“But for a 52-year old senior officer who is paid $5,000, 16% CPF amounts to $800. The total wage cost is still higher than that of the fresh graduate. There is not enough incentive for the employer to take in older workers when they can get better qualified and more productive younger workers at a lower cost. I feel that this measure will not be very effective. These older workers started working when they were young. They have made great contributions to the company to lay the foundation of the company. Such efforts and contributions should not be ignored. In the world, there are many, many 50-year old people who are very important. So, we cannot deem a worker to be less productive or too expensive the moment they turn 50. As a matter of fact, to many great people, life begins at 50. Take China, for example, most, if not all, their leaders took on top leadership position only when they were over 50 years of age. Even our very own Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was 50 when he took over the helm to become the second generation leader to lead Singapore into more prosperity. The number of people who are aged between 50 and 55 now is quite big, because they are the ones born during the baby boom years after the second World War. They have gone through various stages of our nation building and have rendered meritorious contributions to the development of Singapore. Without such people, Singapore would not have been so successful and so prosperous, economically and socially. In community services, those in the age group of 50 to 55 are the most active. They take part in various community activities and contribute tremendously to the future of Singapore. They are a very important group of people.”
“The people are watching, and they do not miss any changes that the Government proposes to make. This is good! There are two views on this. First, they support the recommendations of the ERC. At present, if your monthly income is $200 and above, you have to contribute to CPF. But now, you do not have to do so unless your income is $500 and above. This means the lower-income people would have more in terms of take-home pay. This recommendation has the support of the people. This will help those who do temporary work and odd jobs. They like it because they will now have more cash to take home every month. At this bad time, this change is a piece of good news to them. At the same time, this will also help those people who are unemployed and are looking for jobs. At the moment, when jobs are not so easily available, they will be more prepared to accept lower-paid jobs, because they do not have to deduct money from their pay to contribute to CPF. Psychologically, they will find the lower wages more acceptable. Sir, there are some residents who have a different view. For those in the age group between 50-55, the employers' CPF contribution will be frozen at 16%. The proposal is based on two points. One is to encourage the companies to employ older workers and, secondly, to lower the labour cost to keep the business viable and for the workers to keep their jobs. Theoretically, it is a very good policy and measure. But, in reality, is it really so? Singapore is a pragmatic society. Many employers and companies employ people according to the cost they have to bear. The meagre 4% saving on CPF contribution makes very little difference to them. For example, to employ a fresh university graduate with a pay of $3,000, 20% CPF means the company has to pay $600.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I agree with the views of Mr Matthias Yao. It is always better to resolve a minor problem before it evolves into a major one. Let me give you an illustration. Last month, I injured a finger while playing volleyball. I thought it was nothing serious and simply applied some traditional medicine on it. But three weeks later, it became swollen. I had to see a specialist. After an X-ray examination, the specialist said that it was not a very serious problem, but it would take another six weeks before it would heal. I had to wear this cap on the injured finger and it is very troublesome. The specialist also told me that had I consulted him earlier, say, within one week of the injury, he would have cured it in a few days' time. This example shows that if you have any problem, you must first try to understand it as early as possible and find the correct solution for it. So, when we talk about future economic development, we have the Economic Review Committee (ERC) established to look into it, and the ERC recently made some recommendations concerning changes to our existing CPF system. Sir, after the announcement was made, I went on my usual round to the coffeeshops to hear the views of the public. This time round, the reaction is not as strong as the time when the transport fare hike was announced. No doubt, there are some discussions about the CPF changes. But our people are generally very rational in trying to understand and accept the changes to the CPF. Some residents feel that these changes are timely; while some still have doubts. In the last Parliament sitting, we debated on the fare increases, and the feeling was that the people of Singapore were beginning to show concern for national issues.”
“May I ask the Minister, under the pilot project, do they have special contract periods, ie, how many years are given to the private bus companies?”
“The launch of the ez-link card system has enabled the bus companies to collect huge sums of money as pre-payment for the fares, and these would generate huge cash flows for them to run their business. They would not need to borrow money from the banks. Furthermore, with the reduction in corporate tax rate, they should pass on this benefit to the commuters. Perhaps, the bus companies would consider giving a rebate of, say, 3% for those who purchase an ez-link card worth $50, and 5% for a $100 card. My point is that in this round of fare increase, those who are paying by cash have to face higher fare increase. This is not fair. The poorer senior citizens do not buy the ez-link cards simply because they could not afford to make the up-front payment. Some do not use it because they are old and do not know how to use it. We should educate them and help them to get used to it. They should not be penalised. I support the amended motion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we read in the newspapers how our people have been queuing up for the National Day Parade tickets. This is a sign of patriotism. We read also about people queuing up for an HDB flat, and this is to get their money's worth. Now, we have Members of Parliament queuing up to speak on this motion concerning fare increases. This is to reflect the feelings and sentiments of the people. I believe, on this occasion, we have the highest number of MPs speaking in this House on one single issue. I agree with Dr Tan Cheng Bock that this round of fare increase has a great impact on the unemployed people. Many MPs have elaborated on why fare increases should not be implemented now. The Minister's reply is that if we want to have a better public transport system, we must be prepared to pay more. We know that the rationale for the fare increase, but there are more than 5.5% of the workforce or 120,000 people who are out of job now. Taking four persons to a family, we are looking at 500,000 people who are not having any income and are probably making every effort to look for jobs. They cannot walk all the way, and surely cannot afford to travel by taxi. So, the most appropriate mode of transport would be by bus or MRT. Although the increase is only 3 to 10 cents per trip, it adds up when you have made several trips in a day. However, whether we like it or not, the price hike is already implemented. It is a fait accompli. Nevertheless, I hope that the relevant authority would do something for these people who are affected. Could PTC implement some sort of rebates to these people? The bus operators can surely afford them as they are making huge profits.”
“Sir, talking about buy-back policy, I just want to confirm with the Minister whether HDB can now buy back any 3-room flat from the market.”
“Second, we should award scholarships to our sportsmen and sportswomen, sportsboys and sportsgirls to go overseas for further studies, and to receive professional training there, in order to have breakthroughs in their respective sports. Then, we may have a good chance of fulfilling our objective of becoming one of the top 10 sporting nations in Asia.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, MCDS has set two very challenging objectives: (1) By 2010, Singapore will be one of the top 10 sporting nations in Asia; (2) 50% of Singapore citizens could take part in sports activities. If we can formulate some strategies to fulfil these objectives, I think we can achieve the objective of becoming one of the 10 sporting nations in Asia or the third best sporting nation in Southeast Asia. There are many countries in Asia, such as China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong which are very strong in sports, and certainly stronger than Singapore in this aspect. Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia are the strong sporting nations in Southeast Asian countries. In order for us to achieve the objective of becoming one of the 10 sporting nations in Asia, we have to be in the top 3 positions in Southeast Asian countries. Last year, I attended a SEA Game in Malaysia. I found that the standard of sports in the Southeast Asian countries has improved significantly. I am sure we are all familiar with the story of the tortoise and the hare. If the tortoise is well prepared and perseveres all the way, he will beat the lazy hare who relaxes in mid-stream. Therefore, in order to achieve the objective laid down by the MCDS to become one of the top 10 in Asia, I have two suggestions to make. First, the Singapore Sports Council should meet up with all the National Sports Associations to find out what are the reasons for their inability to excel. Athletes and sportsmen should discuss ways to improve their skills and techniques to bring out their best performance.”
“Sir, the most important point is that many of these senior citizens are still active and they can still work. We also have healthy senior citizens who can take up the job of looking after the old people at home. Some factories may need part-time workers. They can come to the CCs to employ these senior citizens. It is also good for the senior citizens because they can earn some extra income. I have spoken to the Mayor of our Southwest CDC, and we wish that we could set up this Community Senior Citizens' Institute as a pilot project in the Bukit Gombak Community Club. If this is successful, it will be extended to all the other constituencies in Singapore. So I would like to ask the Minister for Community Development and Sports whether he will support this suggestion or to give us his support and perhaps give us some financial support as well.”
“Sir, the aging population in Singapore is one of the matters that is of most concern to Singapore. By 2030, about 25% of our population will be 65 and above. That will give rise to a lot of social and national problems. This very important problem must be jointly resolved by the Government, the family and society, and we should prepare well in advance and reduce all the impact that may be brought about by the aging population. Over the years, the Government has introduced a lot of new measures to look after our senior citizens and it has been praised by many senior citizens. What I am concerned with is how to give more care and concern to these senior citizens. In Singapore, most families are small and, most of the time, only an aged mother or father is staying at home. If they cannot do any work, at the most they will go to the void deck to kill time. They feel very lonely and isolated. I have a suggestion. Maybe, in our community centres or in the old schools in our constituencies, we can set up a Community Senior Citizens' Institute so that we can make use of the facilities at our community centres to provide some leisure and training for them. We encourage lifelong training. We can open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. In the morning, we can encourage these senior citizens to do some qicong or exercise, and do something that is good for their health. We can also provide some educational programmes, eg, explain to them some of the important policies of the nation, and they can have lunch. In the afternoon, we can allow them to use some of the facilities, such as karaoke or let them learn computer or some language. Malays can learn Chinese, and Chinese can learn Malay, and they can exchange and build up a better cohesiveness among themselves.”
“I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $456,276,240 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $674,608,900 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head Q -”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head L of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LC 1500. (In Mandarin): Sir, my cut is only for $10, so I am only going to ask five very simple questions, $2 per question. First, does the Minister know how many crows we have in Singapore? Second, the Ministry of the Environment has engaged professional shooters to cull crows. How many have they culled so far? Third, many residents complained that some elderly people were attacked by the crows. Is there any plan to prevent that from happening? Fourth, is there any plan to stop the propagation of crows? And fifth, I was told that some crows flew from Johore Bahru to Singapore in the day and then fly back to Johore Bahru at night. Is there any plan to stop them from flying in?”
“The hawker centre is one of the places that provides affordable food for Singaporeans, in particular for the low-income people. Watching the trend of prices charged by hawkers, prices are rising. This is partly due to the relatively high prices charged by the stallholders in HDB eating houses, and partly due to the increase in rentals due to tendered hawker stalls. Upgrading, no doubt, will improve the ambience and comfort level of hawker centres. With millions of dollars spent, it is also natural to expect the Government to recover part of the costs through an increase in rental. The amount of rental increase depends very much on the cost of upgrading. I have seen some of the upgraded hawker centres - expensive wall tiles with graphic pattern designs being used. I have also seen some of the conceptual designs. I have seen fanciful roofs and 3-dimensional roof structures have been adopted. All these will lead to an increase in the cost of construction, and may also lead to difficulty maintaining these high 3-D structures. Ultimately, these factors contribute to an increase in rentals and maintenance costs. I would like to ask the Minister what action has been taken at the design stage to keep the cost of construction and upgrading of hawker centres and their subsequent maintenance costs low. Does the Ministry plan to increase rentals after the upgrading and, if so, what plans does the Ministry have to keep food prices as low as possible in the upgraded hawker centres?”
“Mr Chairman, we have altogether 124 hawker centres in Singapore, 32 come under the purview of ENV and the remainder under the control of HDB. However, the administration of each hawker centre involves three authorities - the Housing and Development Board for rentals, ENV for licensing and the town council for the collection of maintenance fees and other charges. So, even for a small hawker stall, we have to involve three departments and the administrative costs become unnecessarily high. This could lead to much confusion for the hawkers. When something goes wrong, they do not know where to go for remedy. A stallholder told me that when the hawker inspector came to check on his stall, he found that there was something wrong with the water pipes. The inspector told him that this matter was under the HDB, and he was referred to the HDB. When he went to the HDB, he was told that this was a maintenance and repair matter and it should come under the charge of the town council. He went to the town council only to be told that the piping problem was within the stall, and that it was the stallholder's own responsibility to rectify it. I had to step in to get the town council to look into it. The problem was resolved within four hours. I feel that this kind of problem would not have happened if the hawker centres come under one centralised Ministry, ie, ENV. ENV should be the main coordinator, and handle all matters relating to the hawker centres, such as issuing of licence, collection of licence fees, rentals, maintenance charges and looking after other related problems. In this way, we can have a one-stop service centre under the Ministry of the Environment to administer all hawker centres. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay: Sir, on upgrading of hawker centres.”
“The Ministry, in its announcement, also stated that by raising the refuse disposal fees to the actual cost recovery level, will encourage recycling, something which is very funny to me. I would like to know: (1) Whether it is the Ministry's intention to eventually pass on the full cost of refuse disposal fees to the households. If so, will the increases ultimately add burden to the average household? (2) What efforts has the Ministry made to encourage recycling, in the context of keeping waste collection company's fees down? They did not pass the cost to consumers. (3) I understand the Minister said that the target for recycling is 60%. Is this 60% going to be achieved by his Ministry's increase in refuse disposal fees? That was what he said in the statement. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay: Recently, the refuse disposal fee was increased by about 15% for private housing. So, I would like to ask the Minister a few questions. First of all, why is there a need to increase the refuse disposal fee by 15%? Is it not better to increase the fee when the economy improves in future? The other question is whether the refuse collector is over-charging. Because the increase in incinerator fees may not necessarily be transferred to the increase in fees for refuse collection. So, could the Minister respond to my question, whether the refuse collector is actually over-charging?”
“Just now the Minister mentioned that we have been progressing well in the recycling of waste materials, but this is only for paper and plastics. Singapore is a garden city. Over the years, many, many trees have been planted all over the island. A lot has been done to keep these trees in good shape and good health. The National Parks Board carries out maintenance work on these trees, by pruning them every now and then. In the process, a lot of branches are being cut off everyday. Can the Minister enlighten us as to whether these cut branches can be recycled? If so, have they been recycled? I understand that a certain company has been recycling the husks of durian to produce flower pots. For recycling to be successful in Singapore, we need the support of the grassroots organisations and the people, and we should step up the education campaign in recycling. The Government has also promised some rebates on our garbage disposal fees, if a certain percentage of our wastes could be recycled. With the advancement in technology, I would imagine that more of our waste materials could be recycled, and hence our garbage disposal fees could be lowered. But instead we find that the fees are increased. Can the Minister tell us how much more we must do in recycling in order to claim the said rebates? Mr Low Thia Khiang: Madam, in the midst of the current economic downturn, another increase that would add to the cost of living has been announced. The Ministry of the Environment announced the increase in the fees for refuse disposal. The increase was passed on to households, shopkeepers, shopowners, market and stallholders immediately by the waste collection company.”
“I believe that we must correct the attitude of the students on Chinese language. Give them more training to enhance the value of Chinese. The Chinese community should organise more cultural activities. The various Government departments should emphasise on the use of the Chinese language. MPs who are conversant in Mandarin, should speak more in Mandarin. The TV media should introduce more educational programmes. Through these channels, we will be able to enhance the standard of the Chinese language in Singapore.”
“It enriches the general knowledge of the students and can also enhance the interest in the learning of the Chinese language. Such programmes will be able to help students to better understand the Chinese language. We should encourage the students who are better in the Chinese language to take up Higher Chinese. With China opening up successfully, and with strong economic growth, we must encourage our people to jump onto the bandwagon. But if our standard of Chinese is low, then we will not be able to succeed in China. For example, when it comes to signing of agreements in Chinese, we will have problems. With proper learning of the Chinese language and culture, the students will be better-equipped to take on China as the future engine of growth. The Chinese Department of NUS can play a greater role in this respect.”
“We should include some interesting stories, such as how the ancient sage in China, by the name of Sima Guang, broke a large water vat to rescue a boy who had fallen into it, and another boy, by the name of Kong Rong who, being the youngest in the family, was offered the largest of the pears in the tray. He graciously refused the offer and said that since he was the youngest, he should only take the smallest one, and the biggest pear should be given to the eldest brother. Stories like these are interesting and inspiring. They could inculcate in our young the correct values while capturing their attention with the interesting contents. Incidentally, the name of Sima Guang was changed to Ali in our local textbook, but this has since been rectified by MOE. We cannot just change the names of well-known characters in the Chinese history at random. For example, we cannot change the name of Justice Bao to Kumar, or Dr Sun Yat Sen to Robert Sun. This will not reflect the philosophy and the culture that they represent. Apart from teaching the students how to read and write the language, we must also teach them the culture and philosophy behind the language. Besides the textbooks, the editorials and the feature articles in the newspapers could also be used as materials for discussion in the classroom. Students will then also learn to understand current affairs in the process. They can be encouraged to express their views on these current affairs using the Chinese language. Such application will strengthen their proficiency in the Chinese language. The schools can also encourage students to watch good programmes in the cinemas or on Channel 8. For example, one programme is Who Wants to be a Millionnaire? It is a good programme.”
“Sir, the lowering of the standard of Chinese language in Singapore has been a cause for concern among the Chinese community here. Especially of late, when the tourism pamphlet was misinterpreted and has created a joke out of it. The Speak Mandarin Campaign has been in place for many years. The main objective of this campaign is how to make Mandarin the medium of communication among the various dialect groups in the Chinese community in Singapore. In our schools, most of the students are able to speak and listen to Mandarin. There is no problem about that. But in terms of writing, they have a lot of problems and difficulties. In order to raise the standard of the Chinese language, much will depend on the Government's effort. The Federation of Chinese Clans Association and the Chinese community itself must also put in more efforts to conduct classes, hold seminars, discussion sessions and workshops for the improvement of the Chinese language in Singapore. Basically, we must start from the schools. This is a long-term approach to the raising of the Chinese language. In primary schools, there are a lot of opportunities for the learning of English. But in the case of Chinese language, it is only confined to teaching within the subject. We cannot arouse the interest of the students in the learning of the Chinese language. In fact, many students treat the learning of the Chinese language as a chore and feel that it is a very difficult subject to learn. As a result of such attitude, the standard of Chinese remains very low.”
“I hope that HDB will reconsider this matter. Nowadays, a lot of people queue up to buy HDB flats in the mature estates. When Channel News Asia interviewed these people why they were flocking to buy flats in these old estates, the spontaneous response was, "Because there is a wet market, it is very convenient here. That is why I am applying to buy a flat here." Since most residents like the wet markets and they are popular with the residents, I hope that HDB will consider building wet markets in the new towns like Sengkang and Punggol, and provide better services to the residents. I hope that HDB could conduct a survey among the residents, and find out whether they would welcome the provision of wet markets in the estate, before they formulate their policy. I think that would better reflect the wishes of the residents. In Mr Yatiman's constituency, HDB has built a new wet market to replace the dry market. I would like to find out what is the residents' response to this wet market. I understand from Mr Yatiman that the residents like this wet market very much. If that is the case, would the Minister consider building more wet markets in the other estates, to fulfill the wishes of the residents?”
“Sir, in the early days, the HDB always provided for wet markets in the old estates so that the residents could go and purchase their food and market produce. The wet markets have all sorts of produce offering the residents very good choices. The residents enjoy buying their food there because they can pick and choose, and can even bargain for cheaper buys. But, in the supermarket, there are no such facilities. The choice is limited and the prices are fixed and not bargainable. Most importantly, at the wet market, residents can mingle with one another and talk about anything under the sun, even national issues. But, recently, in all the new towns, the HDB has stopped building wet markets. They have only the so-called dry markets which are actually housed in shops. These are very small and there is hardly any space for the residents to move about. The situation is even worse when it rains. These shops, when they are operating as markets, are not hygienic and people are not very happy with them. Residents, particularly housewives, would prefer to go to the wet market because they like this concept of wet market better. For example, in Boon Lay, Jurong or Chong Pang, all these wet markets are very popular with the people and the business there is very good. I have asked the officers in HDB why they have stopped building wet markets, and they told me that the wet markets were very messy, and that was why the Government had stopped building wet markets. I do not believe that the wet markets are messy. Perhaps, they were referring to the great number of people moving about in the area, and the wet markets were always bustling with activities. So, if these officials think that they should not build wet markets because they are messy, then I am afraid they are terribly wrong.”