Ang Wei Neng
Singapore
“Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. Can I just ask for clarification on the three incidents of Singtel disruption? It was reported by the press that they were totally unrelated. What was the preliminary investigation based on the finding of IMDA?”
“Chairman, I have two clarifications. Firstly, we are glad that the Minister has assured us that MOT is working to establish clearer criteria for distinguishing between Cat A and Cat B COE. In the meantime, I would like to seek clarification on the reduction in the supply of Category A COE.”
“I would like to seek a clarification regarding the Lift Access Housing Grant. Could the qualifying criteria be relaxed for occupants aged 70 and above, without the need for medical certification?”
“Such an outcome would run contrary to the original intent of maintaining distinct categories within the passenger car segment. As MOT has previously stated, the primary objective of Cat A COE is to preserve a portion of the vehicle quota for mass-market cars, thereby ensuring greater accessibility and affordability for the average Singapo…”
“Under NParks' pigeon management plan, efforts remain largely focused on pigeons. I urge NParks, within MND's broader human-wildlife management framework, to evolve towards a comprehensive Pest Bird Management approach, one that also addresses other urban-adapted species, such as mynas and crows, where they cause persistent disamenities to…”
“Thank you, Chair. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to ask Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, how would she describe Singapore's current relationship with China against the backdrop of Sino-US geopolitical tensions.”
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“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I also want to join the rest of the Members here to salute the efforts put in by the healthcare workers for doing such a wonderful job so far. Meanwhile, I would like to raise the issue of ICU beds from the other perspective. We note that one of the most important indicators as the Senior Minister of State and Minister have said that MOH is watching, is the utilisation rate of the ICU beds. So, I would like to clarify the following: if the utilisation of the ICU beds is acceptable, that is, not overly stretched and even the daily cases are about two, three thousand a day, does it mean that we are prepared to live with this high number for the next one, two months? If so, are we prepared to remove some of the restrictions or lessen some the restrictions of COVID-19?”
“But we need to have sufficient safeguards against possible abuse so that the pendulum will not shift too much to the other direction. 4.34 pm”
“At present, when people encounter an unreasonable security officer, they usually complain to the security company or the entity that hires their service. Under the new framework, can the Minister consider allowing people to also lodge complaints with the Police Licensing and Regulatory Department? If there are too many complaints, perhaps the relevant authority could consider setting up a separate department to investigate complaints. Although I agree with the Bill to give more protection to our security officers, we also need to be aware of the counter effect of the amendments. I will continue in English. (In English): Mdm Deputy Speaker, I agree with the additional protection to be given to the security officers with the amendments to the Private Security Industry Act. However, we need to better train the security officers so that they can understand the new clauses that protect them and not to abuse the new protective measures. In addition, I have reservation why we need to shift the burden of proof from the prosecutor to the defence lawyer or the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the accused's conduct was reasonable under section 17(C)(3). The accused here refers to a person being accused to cause harassment, alarm or distress to a security officer. I would like to ask the Minister of State if a Police report must be made before the Police will investigate the offence disclosed under section 17(A) to (C)? If so, would the Police be more inclined to charge a person in Court when the person is accused to cause harassment, alarm or distress to a security officer because of section 17C(3)? Would the Minister of State be able to explain the rationale of shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defence? In short, I support the Bill.”
“Once the Bill is passed, 50,000 security officers will benefit. With the new protections and powers, we need to ensure that security officers do not abuse their power to bully innocent people. Recently, online shopping and food delivery have become a trend. There were cases where delivery persons were bullied by security officers when they delivered parcel or food to offices and condominiums. Thus, I would like to ask the Minister of State three questions. Firstly, can MHA work with security companies, Union of Security Employees, Security Association Singapore and The Association of Certified Security Agencies to ensure that new security officers and the nearly 50,000 existing security officers understand the new regulations and powers? At the same time, security officers also need to be aware of the consequences of abusing their power. Secondly, defendants are generally presumed innocent unless proven guilty under the Singapore legal system. However, under section 17(C)(3) of this Bill, it is stated that the accused has to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the accused’s conduct was reasonable in order not to be convicted in Court. In other words, as long as security officers feel that they have been verbally abused by the other party and the other party is charged in Court, the chances of the other party being found guilty are much higher than in ordinary cases. It appears that the security officers are even better protected in this aspect than civil servants. I would like to ask the Minister, why is this so? Thirdly, with the new protection measures, security officers may become more effective in their work. However, some black sheep may abuse their power and make life difficult for others for no good reason.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill. In our civil society, we should not tolerate anyone using abusive language, assault or cause hurt to another person, let alone using abusive language, assault and cause hurt to a security officer on duty. Yet, 40% of the security officers who took part in a survey last year indicated that they suffered some form of abuse in the course of their work. Thus, it is timely for the Private Security Industry Act to be amended to make it an offence to abuse, assault or cause hurt to a security officer. With this newfound protection and power, if the Bill is passed, people will expect more from the security officer. Mdm Deputy Speaker, let me continue in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] There are close to 50,000 security officers in Singapore. They are of varying standards because of the low entry requirements. In the past, security officers earned less than $1,000 a month and had to work 12 hours a day to just earn a living. Fortunately, there has been an improvement in the salaries of security officers after the implementation of Progressive Wage Model in the security industry. Security officers are often not taken seriously. In 2019, there was a case of a senior executive in the finance sector that insulted a security guard at the car park of a condominium and sparked a public outrage. This incident of abusing a security officer also shows the importance of amending the Private Security Industry Act. The Private Security industry (Amendment) Bill aims to better protect our security officers. If you abuse, attack or cause hurt to a security officer while on duty, you will face a maximum fine of $5,000 to $10,000 or maximum imprisonment of one to five years, or both.”
“At the same time, we have to take into account the fact that an ageing population would have increased demand for dentists. If there is a shortage of dentists in the short term, we will need to recruit a large number of foreign graduates to make up for the shortage of local dentists. The Dental Registration (Amendment) Bill will make it compulsory for foreign graduates to pass the local dental examinations to ensure that their skills are comparable to those of local graduates. I, therefore, support the Dental Registration (Amendment) Bill. In the long run, NUS should consider increasing the number of dental students. The current number of 80 per year does not meet the demand of Singaporeans for dentists, much less the large number of students who apply for dentistry every year. As a result, many outstanding students have to pay high tuition fees to study dentistry abroad. (In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we hope that MOH could revamp the dentistry industry in Singapore and provide more subsidies for dental care. Otherwise, Singaporeans who opt to see a dentist at the polyclinic have to "dan gu gu" or "wait long long". If you cannot wait and have to see a private dentist, then you have to pay "high high", and this is not ideal.”
“Meanwhile, we understand that blue Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), Merdeka and Pioneer Generation cardholders receive subsidies when they visit private dentists for routine check-ups. To make oral care more affordable, I would like to appeal to MOH to extend the subsidies to orange and green CHAS cardholders. At the same time, I would like to appeal to MOM to make it compulsory for all companies to provide workers with dental benefits in Singapore. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] MOH has advised Singaporeans to see a dentist twice a year. However, it is expensive to see a dentist. It would cost over $100 even if you have your teeth cleaned at a neighbourhood dental clinic. If you want to save money by going to a polyclinic, you will have to wait a few months before you can see a dentist. Fortunately, blue CHAS cardholders, Merdeka and Pioneer Generation Singaporeans can enjoy subsidies when they go to private dental clinics. However, green and orange CHAS cardholders do not get subsidies. Moreover, most employers do not give dental benefits to their employees. In other words, most Singaporeans only wait until they have a toothache before they see a dentist. This is not good. Hence, I suggest that MOH consider giving dental subsidies to green and orange CHAS cardholders. I also hope that MOM will also make it compulsory for employers to give dental benefits to their employees so that most Singaporeans can visit a dentist regularly and have affordable dental care. If Singaporeans can afford seeing a dentist, there would be a corresponding increase in the demand for dentists. Are the current 2,475 dentists sufficient to meet the demand of Singaporeans?”
“Thus, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State if MOH can consider increasing the capacity of the dentistry course at NUS. If NUS has no capacity, can we consider opening up another dental school in say, NTU, to meet the aspiration of Singaporeans and solve the insufficient supply of dentists in Singapore? Or is there an intention to restrict the numbers of locally-trained dentists? Ultimately, how many local and overseas trained dentists we need is contingent on the target dentist-to-population ratio. I understand MOH’s target ratio is one dentist to 2,200 people. Is that enough? Currently, our dentist to population ratio is one is to 2,304, an improvement from one is to 3,215 in 2010. The question is: how do we derive the target of one dentist to 2,200 people? Comparing to other countries’ dentist-to-population ratios, South Korea’s was one is to 2,000 in 2018; United States was one to 1,638 in 2020; Israel's was one is to 1,400 in 2017; Japan's was one is to 1,250 in 2014. So, is Singapore’s target of one is to 2,200 too conservative a figure? Today, MOH recommends we consult a dentist twice a year. How many Singaporeans really consult a dentist every six months? Many Singaporeans that I know of do not. Why? The cost of scaling and checking your teeth by a dentist in an HDB estate will easily set you back by more than $100 and it is not mandatory for companies to provide dental benefits. If you want to save some money and consult a dentist at a polyclinic, it will cost you about $30 to $50 but you have to wait for months before you can make an appointment to see the dentist in the polyclinic. Why is this so? Is it because MOH does not consider oral health as basic healthcare? Or is it a way to suppress the need to increase the dentist-to-population ratio?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Dental Registration (Amendment) Bill will require the increasing proportion of foreign-trained dentists in Singapore to be subjected to the mandatory Qualifying Examinations. This is to ensure that their competency and standards are aligned with those of local dental graduates. I support the amendment Bill. Quality dental care is something which all Singaporeans will benefit from. However, I want to take a step back to question the current system of training dentists and the target dentist-to-population ratio. It appears to me that we are introducing these amendments because we do not have enough Singapore-trained dentists and we want to make sure that those who studied dentistry overseas are of a good standard. Why do we not train more dentists in Singapore? Back in 2017, a Straits Times article had already pointed out that Singapore was not training enough dentists to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population. The proportion of foreign-trained dentists in Singapore had risen significantly from 20% in 2008 to 36% in 2019. In 2019, 900 out of a total of 2,475 dentists were foreign-trained. I also understand that many of those who have obtained their dentistry degree overseas are Singaporeans and PRs. This is not surprising as the Faculty of Dentistry at the National University of Singapore only has a small intake of 44 students in 2008, although it has increased to 80 this year. Even then, many Singaporeans who have very good grades, many with perfect university admission score of 90 points, cannot get into dentistry. As a result, many of the rejected aspiring dentistry students have to ask their families to fork out a fortune for them to pursue a dentistry degree overseas.”
“Thank you, Speaker. I thank the Senior Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. We understand that we are now negotiating travel corridors, rather than travel bubbles. And one of the important factors hinges on the vaccine passport. We are glad that we have started discussions. But having said that, some countries in Asia, especially one country in North Asia, had experienced a vaccination scam, even a Member of Parliament was also a victim of this vaccination scam. Different countries have different ways of identifying residents who have gone for the vaccination and what type of vaccination. So, my supplementary question to the Senior Minister of State is that, first, what are the type of vaccinations that we will recognise in the vaccination passport? Two, how are we going to verify that this vaccination that each of the residents in the different country get are in the appropriate manner, that they are vaccinated properly?”
“Many of my residents and friends who have taken the jab at the vaccination centres, they have had very good experience. They said the staff are patient and efficient. Kudos to the staff at all the vaccination centres in Singapore. Meanwhile, I have supplementary questions for the Ministers. We know that Changi Airport Terminal has a cluster and it is developing. So, what are the lessons learnt from the clusters as they are developing in Changi Airport and what impact does it have on the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue and the World Economic Forum that are to be held in Singapore? Last but not least, I would like to touch on a point by Dr Tan Wu Meng to say that taxis are shunning the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). Before I proceed, I would like to declare my interest as the ComfortDelGro Taxi CEO. I would like to assure the House that the taxis, especially the ComfortDelGro taxis, are not shunning TTSH or other clusters like Changi Airport. In fact, a cabby had just texted me that he has been encouraging his fellow cabbies to not shun TTSH.”
“Speaker, I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have two supplementary questions. One, how would the recent announcement by the Hong Kong government to bar Singapore Airlines (SIA) from flying to Hong Kong for two weeks, affect the negotiation or the preparation of the travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore. And two, will the Minister reveal which are the countries we are negotiating with and preparing for travel bubble over the next few months?”
“Second, I am concern about the difficulty in employing domestic helpers to care for the elderly. Many Nanyang residents have approached me to appeal for elder care or nursing home facilities, because of the challenges in bringing in domestic helpers to Singapore. This is probably a nation-wide problem. How can the MOH cope with this sudden surge in demand, especially with the delay in the construction of nursing homes? Besides the need for nursing homes for elderly that are not able to take care of themselves, there is also a strong interest from the more abled elderly to age in their own homes. Many are interested in Singapore’s first Community Care Apartments in Bukit Batok, which are affordable housing with senior-friendly features. I understand that it is 4.2 times oversubscribed. Since the take-up rate is so strong, will MOH and MND consider offering more of such flats at the next quarter or so? 2.30 pm Tackling Healthcare Inequality”
“The National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) was officially opened in September 2019, just a few months before Singapore detected the first confirmed case of COVID-19. Thereafter, NCID played a crucial role in battling COVID-19. On the whole, Singapore has done relatively well in controlling the number of community cases as compared to our neighbouring countries, Asia and the rest of the world. Certainly, we are not perfect and can do better with the benefit of hindsight. For example, we could have advised Singaporeans to wear reusable masks earlier. Also, the outbreak of COVID-19 at the foreign worker's dormitories caught us by surprise. We could have moved in earlier to improve their living conditions. Having said that, COVID-19 will not be our last pandemic. We need to document the main learning points of managing COVID-19 and learn from it. Will MOH work with the multi-ministerial task force to conduct a review and release an interim post-mortem report? This would be similar to what the MOF did by releasing the "Interim Assessment of the Impact of Key COVID-19 Budget Measures". We know that the pandemic is not over yet, but an interim report will be important as what has transpired in the past year is still fresh in our memory. More importantly, we would like to know how MOH and Singapore could be better prepared for the next disease X. Healthcare Facilities Adequacy The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on healthcare services and facilities. I am concerned with two aspects. First, COVID-19 has delayed the construction of healthcare facilities in Singapore, but the growth in our ageing population is marching on. What contingency plan does MOH have to deal with the delay in building hospitals, polyclinics and nursing homes?”
“Sir, I would really like to appeal for Senior Minister of State Amy Khor to accelerate the construction of cycling paths, especially for those towns that have zero kilometres of cycling track.”
“Thank you, Chairman. I thank the Minister, the Senior Ministers of State and the Senior Parliament Secretary for painting a very exciting scene that we would have in the next few years for public transport, and especially for aviation. I have two clarifications: one for Senior Minister of State Amy Khor, and another clarification for Senior Minister of State Mr Chee Hong Tat. First for the maritime sector, we are very glad to hear that the Tuas Port will just not be a port but a hub. Activities would include a lot of supplementary industries. And we know that it could be the best in class, but I hope that it will be best in class supported by a best in class MRT station as well. I did not hear Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat saying anything about having a train connection there, but he mentioned about having a new housing estate. So, we hope that he can clarify, because by 2030, as what Minister said, there will still be no train to the Tuas Port area. The second clarification is for Senior Minister of State Amy Khor. Did I hear correctly that we will add 28 km of cycling path by the end of the year? If so, it does not seem very exciting. For example, in Nanyang estate, there are a lot of cyclists, but there are zero cycling paths, zero kilometers of cycling path. So, what does it take to double or triple the building of cycling paths this year and next, rather than wait for a longer time?”
“Chairman, again, I would have to declare my interest for being part of ComfortDelGro management team. The robust transport eco-system in Singapore comprises not just public transport, but also many private transport providers which "fill in the gaps". It is critical that these providers are able to flourish and thrive in a business landscape, while ensuring that Singaporeans are able to travel safely and efficiently. But the rules which define this landscape have not been consistent. A few years back, in the name of facilitating innovation, LTA allowed new rental bicycle companies to flourish. But, this created much social problems and many of these companies fell by the wayside. Similarly, LTA once, was lax in regulating PMDs on pavement, on hindsight, leading to many injuries. At the other extreme, LTA is occasionally strict in regulating existing businesses and increasing compliance costs, even when times have changed. It is not healthy for LTA to swing to both extremes. Thus, I would like to ask if LTA has plans to do a comprehensive review of its regulations to ensure that the regulations are up-to-date, without unnecessary red tape, and that it remains consistent in its approach. Before I end, we heard yesterday that LTA would be taking over the regulations of Electric Vehicles, or EV charging facilities from the Energy Market Authority. I have previously mentioned in this House, industry players have a lot of pains in getting regulatory approval to install EV charging stations. With the change, we know the LTA is willing to set up regulatory sandboxes to facilitate the introduction of new charging solutions. This is a good move in the right direction. We hope to see more of such initiatives. A Caring and Inclusive Transport Culture”
“Chairman, I have earlier declared my interest for being part of ComfortDelGro management team. Would it be possible for LTA to give some insights into the demographics of those who are driving taxis and private-hire cars or PHCs? Taxis and private-hire cars are collectively called Point-to-Point or P2P vehicles. Specifically, how many young tertiary-educated Singaporeans below the age of 40 are driving P2P vehicles? My sense is that driving a P2P vehicle has become very popular amongst the youth, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is good that they are finding ways to make a living but I do not think it is wise for so many young Singaporeans to be contented with the P2P career as a driver. Would MOT consider capping the number of PHCs like what MOT has done to limit the number of taxis? In fact, our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, did not want so many Singaporeans driving taxis. Thus, the growth of taxis was restricted and only Singaporeans above 30 years old could drive the taxis. The rationale is not to hog too many young people in the driving profession. Is this rationale still valid today? This is also in the context of an explosion of P2P vehicles in Singapore in the last decade. When Uber officially launched its service eight years ago in Singapore, there were 27,000 taxis and very few PHCs. Today, there are 16,000 taxis but there are 50,000 PHCs. In totality, there are 2.5 times P2P vehicles today as compared to eight years ago. Do we really need so many P2P vehicles and drivers in Singapore? Jobs in Transport Sector”
“Chairman, I would like to declare my interest as Advisor to the Singapore Port Workers Union. We understand that the Maritime sector is the least affected transport segment in the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the construction sector was badly affected by the circuit breaker last year, which dramatically slowed down the construction schedule of many infrastructural projects. Was the construction of the Tuas Mega Port affected by COVID-19 pandemic, and by how much? If so, given the rise of international trade due to the popularity of cross-border online purchases and recovery of the world’s economy from the pandemic over the next few years, are there plans to accelerate the construction of the Tuas Mega Port? I am also concerned about the accessibility of the Tuas Mega Port for its workers, because unlike the former sites at Tanjong Pagar and Keppel, the Tuas Mega Port is right at the extreme western end of Singapore. For the benefit of those who have to travel to the Tuas Mega Port, which will definitely become an activity hub, could the MRT line be extended to the Tuas Mega Port? If so, when? Are there plans to provide priority housing in Jurong West for port workers who opt to work in Tuas? Job Creation in Maritime Sector”
“If so, will the Government have to subsidise the train operations even more? Or charge a higher fare? If not, could we maintain our excellent MKBF records? I know it is a fine balance, but as a responsible Government, we have to make tough choices and not kick the can down the road for the next generation. Public Transport Sustainability”
“For train operations, the most profitable train operator in the world is Hong Kong MTR which uses the rail plus property model. Hong Kong government is the majority shareholder of MTR and it gives land and development rights to MTR at the greenfield price, that is, the price of the land before the railway is built. MTR subsequently builds malls, offices and private residential houses around the MRT stations and collects lucrBative rent to subsidise the train operation. In Singapore, revenue from land sales are channelled into the Government's reserve. No other major train operator in the world is making money. SMRT and Downtown Line Pte Ltd have been losing money for the past few years. But why was SMRT so profitable in the earlier years? There were many reasons. In 2015, the mean kilometres between failures or MKBF for the Singapore rail network was 133,000 train-km. In June 2020, five years later, the MKBF was an amazing 1,638,000 train-km – a 12-time improvement. The dramatic improvements were due to the hard work of public transport workers, MOT and LTA. However, such improvements would not be easy to achieve if not because of the new rail financing framework or NRFF that came into effect since 2016. Without going into technical details, the NRFF allows the train operators to shift the revenue risk to LTA. This was especially crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic when the ridership plunged, and so did the fare collection. The question is whether LTA is prepared to take on the full revenue risk just like the Bus Contracting Model? This is so that the train operators can concentrate in operational excellence at the lowest possible cost without worrying about fare revenue collection and fluctuation.”
“Chairman, I would like to declare my interest for being part of the ComfortDelGro management team for the rest of my MOT cuts. Singapore’s public transport system has been ranked the best in the world in 2020 by consulting firm, Oliver Wyman and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2018, McKinsey ranked the Singapore public transport system the second best in the world after Hong Kong. But our transport fare is the most affordable in the world, according to McKinsey. Many thanks to the public transport workers, MOT and LTA for making this possible. What is the cost of achieving the most affordable public transport in Singapore? 12.00 pm Two billion dollars in operation subsidies a year, not including capital cost expenditure. The Government is spending $60 billion this decade to expand and upgrade the MRT system in Singapore and this is over and above the $2 billion operational subsidies. Is this sustainable? In evaluating public transport affordability, McKinsey considered the monthly cost of public transport relative to residents' income, that is, the methodology is not looking at the absolute cost of the public transport fare alone but in relation to the income level of each city. Using this objective model, McKinsey concluded that the public transport in Singapore is the most affordable in the world. However, public transport fare is a sensitive topic. Very few people in Singapore would openly agree that the public transport fare in Singapore is affordable. Most people would want public transport fare to be free. However, there is no free lunch. For bus operations, the capital cost is relatively low as compared to the train system. Earlier in the Budget debate, I spoke on the need to revamp the bus routes to be sustainable.”
“While the number of charging stations will balloon to 60,000 by 2030, which would be a strong impetus for EV adoption, a lot of industrial sites cannot afford for us to install a fast charging station. Would LTA or related authorities be prepared to improve the power infrastructure of industrial buildings so that fleet owners could install more fast charging stations? We need a charging farm to support a large fleet of EVs. While much has been done to drive up the adoption of EVs in Singapore, these are some practical concerns which I hope MOT, LTA and other agencies can address.”
“Mdm Chair, I would like to first declare my interest as the CEO of the ComfortDelGro taxi business. With the current push toward Electric Vehicles, or EVs, in Singapore and the prospect of converting a large fleet of point-to-point vehicles into EVs, the following are my primary concerns. For a mass adoption of EVs in Singapore, we need to better incentivise both private and large fleet owners to switch to EVs. There are three important determinants. The first is cost. With the enhanced Vehicular Emissions Scheme, or VES, there is a good chance that the cost of EVs will be similar to that of entry-level luxury cars. For example, the basic Tesla Model 3 will cost about $160,000, inclusive of the current COE price, which is equivalent to the BMW 2 series or the Mercedes A Class. As a large fleet owner, the complete waiver of the Additional Registration Fee, or ARF, is a welcome move. However, the selling price of the EV after the waiver of ARF is still significantly higher than that of a mass market hybrid vehicle, which makes it hard for mass market adoption. Is MOT prepared to take a further step to waive all statutory charges, including import duty, related to EV? If so, this will help to further reduce the cost of EVs. The second is the charging time or the maturity of battery technology. The charging time of EV, ranging from 30 minutes to two hours for the full charge that allows a range of 200 km to 400 km, is a deterrent. For cabbies that use the EV over two shifts of driving, they cannot afford overnight charging of eight to 12 hours like other drivers. Third is the availability of charging facilities in Singapore.”
“As far as taxi drivers and private hire drivers are concerned, I would also like to mention that it is unlikely that their income will improve before the end of this year. It is because it is unlikely that tourism will recover and nightclubs will reopen within this year. The trend of working from home will continue. Hence, I urge LTA to consider extending the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund to the end of the year. (In English): Mr Speaker, notwithstanding the issues raised above, I support the Budget.”
“When similar measures were announced last year, it electrified the debate. This year, it has done the same trick again. Let me elaborate in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Many car owners are wondering, why is the Government so eager to raise the petrol tax this year while the new incentive measures for electric vehicles will only be implemented next year? Moreover, there are few charging points for electric vehicles today and they can barely satisfy the existing 1,000 or so electric vehicles. This is not enough to encourage Singaporeans to buy electric vehicles. URA and LTA have already put up tenders to invite operators to install charging points to cater for 600-odd electric vehicles at more than 200 public carparks island wide. Most of the charging points will only be installed next year, in other words, water from afar cannot put out fires nearby. For taxi drivers and private hire drivers, the pandemic has significantly reduced their income. The increase in petrol tax at this time is like adding frost to snow. As the Government has said, taxi and private car hire car owners will enjoy a 15% road tax rebate of up to one year and an additional $360 in a four-month period. The total rebate for these two types of rebates is about $513. For taxis that travel 400 km a day, the additional $1 per litre of petrol tax amounts to $663 additional cost a year. The rebate of $513 is not enough. Fortunately, the Government has heard the taxi drivers' appeal and announced yesterday that full-time relief taxi drivers will also enjoy the additional $360 petrol tax rebate to further reduce the impact of the petrol tax hike.”
“This will help to reduce air pollution within the CBD and contribute to the Green Plan 2030. Secondly, having all existing cross-town trunk services to terminate just outside the CBD will naturally cut short the trunk services, making bus services more reliable and cheaper to run. The resources saved can be used to improve bus connectivity within each HDB town. I am sure many Members in this House have received feedback from their residents on the need to enhance bus connectivity within their respective divisions. The most common grouses among my Nanyang residents is the inconvenience of getting to the polyclinic and back home. It is not uncommon that residents have to walk a total of 700 metres plus a bus ride or change bus services to reach the polyclinic. When one is unwell, a 700-metre walk is not pleasant. Reforming bus routes is not new. Seoul has done it successfully, by re-organising its bus system to create safer, more comfortable and efficient rides. I am not advocating we reduce the $1 billion subsidies for the bus services. I think it is necessary to subsidise public transport just like we subsidise healthcare. I am advocating making bus services more efficient, complementing the train network and adjust to changes in transport behaviour, including the trend of working from home. The worst option is to raise public transport fares significantly to cover costs if ridership remains low. The COVID-19 pandemic has its perils but it has also provided us the golden opportunity to keep the devil horns away and create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable bus system that does not compete with the MRT, but is in synergy. Mr Speaker, Sir, my last topic is pertaining to the Budget measures in relation to the incentives to promote electric cars.”
“In the last Budget, it was already announced that the Government would be spending more than $60 billion this decade to expand and renew the rail network. After spending so much money, it is natural to encourage more people to use the MRT for longer distance travel, which are more comfortable and efficient, instead of taking buses running parallel to the MRT lines. What do I mean? The three longest bus routes in Singapore are service numbers 30, 51 and 61. Let me us service number 61 to illustrate. For service 61, the bus ride from Bukit Batok takes more than two hours, calling on 19 MRT stations in between. If you take a train from Bukit Batok to Eunos, the travelling time is only 46 minutes – 120 minutes bus ride as compared to 46 minutes train ride. The above example shows that it is better for bus services to connect people to the train stations within a town, and that is for the first and last mile connection. It is more efficient to travel between towns using MRT. Thus, I would like to propose a radical idea. Currently, many duplicate bus services ply through the Central Business District or CBD. And yet, the CBD is well-served by the MRT. Most buildings in the CBD are within 400 metres of an MRT station. Hence, I propose that LTA consider having bus services terminate at MRT station bus stops just outside the CBD and have dedicated feeder bus services to ply within CBD, connecting all the interchange MRT stations. There are many benefits associated with this proposal. Firstly, we can drastically cut the number of duplicate bus services and number of buses plying within the CBD, without compromising the service level. We can even allow only electric buses to ply within CBD.”
“Without the devil horns, everybody has a more comfortable ride and it also benefits the environment. We should work to stop the horns from growing back. Indeed a report from the International Energy Agency states: “Research has shown that disruptions can be a catalyst for shifts towards more sustainable transport behaviours but avoiding a return to pre-crisis behaviours requires governments to take decisive action.” In the same report, it notes that most people are shifting to cycling, in order to avoid potentially crowded buses and trains. The same is happening in Singapore, though to a lesser extent, as sales of personal bicycles go up and bike-sharing companies report an increase in ridership. An example of the Government taking decisive action would be to invest in new and improved cycling networks to make sustainable transport more attractive and safer. On sustainability, I would like to move on to the topic of whether our bus services are sustainable. Currently, there are many bus services running alongside and duplicating MRT routes, which are costing too much money, according to Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat. Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat also informed us that out of the 356 bus services in Singapore, only 11 services were profitable in 2019. The Government had to subsidise $1 billion to operate the remaining 345 services. In 2020, only two bus services were profitable as bus ridership plunged during the pandemic. I could not be sure how much subsidy was given out in 2020, but logically, it would be over $1 billion. At the same time, we have made a huge investment into the MRT network. Our current MRT network is about 230 km and MOT plans to increase the network to 360 km by 2030.”
“Meanwhile, Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that more than 40% of Singaporeans would like to continue working from home after the pandemic. To get a sense from actual businesses on the ground whether working from home is here to stay, I conducted a survey of over 30 of my fellow CEOs in the private sector, ranging from large companies to SMEs. They include MNCs, law firms, architectural firms, financial institutions and manufacturing companies and so on. I asked them if working from home would be a permanent feature at their companies after the pandemic. About 58% said it would not and citing reasons such as lower productivity, majority of the staff are operational staff, lack of opportunities for building camaraderie, for not endorsing working from home. The bright spot is that the remaining 42% said they would embrace working from home in the long run and they said about 20% of their staff would likely be working from home at any one time. If this is representative of the majority of companies in Singapore, we could take the opportunity to re-shape our public transport system. I would go further and suggest that we actively work toward having about 40% of organisations in Singapore commit to having about 20% of their staff to work from home at any one time. One way we could go about this is for the Civil Service, which is the largest employer in Singapore, to weigh in and implement longer term working from home policies especially for the back-end and support staff. I remember when all sorts of incentives, like free travel on certain peak hour periods, were introduced to try to change commuter travel patterns, it took months, if not years, to take effect. COVID-19 achieved that in a matter of days.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to first declare my interest as the CEO of ComfortDelGro Taxi. In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were like A&E, quickly reacting to where the blood flowed. We had an unprecedented four Budgets, where we swiftly came up with ways to help people and businesses cope with the loss of jobs and livelihoods. As we moved into our second year of the COVID-19, many of us learned to live in the new normal. It is no longer just an emergency. Instead of only viewing COVID as a crisis, we are now better able to re-orientate ourselves to seek out the opportunities, to boost Singapore’s future health status. As someone who is involved in the transport sector, I feel that COVID-19 gives us the chance to put in a place a more environmentally friendly and sustainable model of public transport which is also a better use of public resources. The key reason for this is how working from home has taken hold around the world, and in Singapore. I must confess I was not a fan of working from home. I did not believe that people could be as productive when they are in the comfort of their home, and surrounded by distractions. But what I saw during the circuit breaker period made me a convert. More importantly, I observed that for the first time in my life, the roads were empty and public transport was not crowded during the usual morning and evening peak hours, which is what we call the devil horns of public transport. The morning/evening peaks are the devil horns of public transport. Will working from home be a permanent feature of our working life? Even though cases in the community are low and we have started our mass vaccination exercise, MOM still advises companies to adopt working from home policies as a default option.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your indulgence and to the Senior Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. I would like to declare interests as I am part of the management team of ComfortDelGro, which also runs both train and bus services. I have two supplementary questions. Firstly, we know from the Senior Minister of State that the current subsidies for the buses is about $1 billion a year. And the Public Transport Council (PTC) surveys have shown that Singaporeans' satisfaction with the bus service has improved over the years. Ten years ago, there were subsidies for train services, but they were virtually no subsidies for bus services and yet the two public bus companies at the time were still making slight profit. Ten years on, what has changed? I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State what has changed that cost the subsidy to balloon to $1 billion? Is it just more bus services on the road and more buses on the road? Secondly, I would like to ask whether the bus subsidies will increase further when LTA rolls out more bus services to serve the new HDB estates such as Bidadari and Tengah?”
“Thank you, Speaker. I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have two supplementary questions. First, is there any impact of the cancellation of HSR on the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS)? Second, what would be the impact of the HSR cancellation on the development of the Jurong Regional Centre? Although I have moved from Jurong GRC to West Coast GRC, but many of the West Coast GRC divisions are very close to the Jurong Regional Centre. I hope the Minister can give a good reply.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, appreciate the opportunity to ask a supplementary question. I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. Could I clarify with the Minister of State, as we are very concerned that many seniors are still not very familiar with SingPass and they may go and reset the SingPass, so, how many community centres is MTI thinking of designating to help facilitate with SingPass and whether this will be extended to all the community centres because the numbers may be large? Perhaps the Minister of State would want to share how many Singaporeans will be eligible for this scheme and how many percentage of them do you think will need this kind of special service, where they would need a new SingPass account or need help from the ambassadors? The second supplementary question is, if this scheme is popular – and we hope it is going to be popular – many attractions may be having problems coping with the demand, especially at the peak periods that people want to go. So, how would MTI work with the different attractions to increase the capacity during this period and without compromising the safety of Singaporeans?”
“CDC vouchers are unlike the $150 vouchers recently given out by the Government to families living in 1-room and 2-room flats. The latter can only be used in large supermarket chains and CDC vouchers can only be used in neighbourhood shops. During the outbreak, the business of big supermarket chains was booming while that of neighbourhood shops was very poor. Hence, I hope the Government will take more care of the neighbourhood shops. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, it is clear that COVID-19 will be a part of our lives for some time. It is thus not practical or feasible for the funding schemes that have helped Singaporeans and businesses to continue in the same form. But it is imperative that help still needs to be given because people and businesses are still suffering. I hope these schemes will be fine-tuned and tweaked to better suit Singapore's needs, especially now as we have a clearer picture of the impact of COVID-19 on different segments of the society. I support the Ministerial Statement. 2.57 pm”
“For instance, the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme or SIRS, will disburse its last payout in October, this month. What will happen after that? Going forward, I would like to ask if the Government would consider continuing the SIRS schemes as many Singaporeans still need help, but calibrating it so that it is more targeted. For instance, SIRS could be fine-tuned if MOF were to extend for another six months. Rather than a binary approval of yes or no to a fixed payout of $3,000 for three months, the SIRS amount disbursed could differ according to the criteria like past income or type of housing. This might allow those who are currently not eligible for SIRS, like those who stay in private property with an annual value of more than $21,000, to receive a smaller SIRS payout. In addition, part of the payout could be in the form of vouchers so that the recipients will have to spend them rather than save for some of them. And this will help to further pump prime the economy. To reiterate, I would like to appeal to Deputy Prime Minister Heng to extend the SIRS and widen the criteria to benefit more Singaporeans. But the quantum could taper off gradually, to allow the self-employed persons who may have grown dependent on the payouts to wean themselves off. Mr Speaker, Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, I urge the Government to give out another round of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers to low-income families to buy food and necessities from neighbourhood shops and hawker stalls. Many residents and neighbourhood shops in Nanyang and West Coast feel that the vouchers are timely and useful.”
“When these charitable organisations receive the donations, the Government will also match dollar-for-dollar and the companies that donate will enjoy 2.5 times tax deductions. This is a win-win situation. The donation would greatly benefit the vulnerable, the disadvantaged and the disabled. In contrast, almost 2,200 employers were under review for suspected abuse of JSS. Of these, 444 were denied payouts either partially or in full to the tune of almost $10 million. I would like to urge MOF to name these companies, to make it public the culprits behind this such fraud so as to serve as a strong deterrent to other companies. In addition, we understand some of these cases came to light due to whistleblowers. I would like to ask MOF how we can facilitate the public to furnish information of such abuses. At the same time, would MOF consider charging some of the more blatant culprits in Court? JSS funds are our money, our reserve and our lifeline. We want JSS to save jobs. We do not want JSS to be abused or enriched greedy individual shareholders. I would like to urge every Singaporean to be vigilant on the use of JSS, to report abuses and to encourage profitable companies to donate part of the JSS payouts to charities. Mr Speaker, Sir, we want to make sure that Singaporeans and businesses who need help would not need to jump through hoops or wade through red tape to qualify for funding. For example, many staying in property with an annual value of more than $21,000 but do not own a property and yet need some help, could not qualify for many of the COVID-19 support grants. Could MOF consider relaxing the criteria? Meanwhile, some of the support schemes pertaining to individuals will expire soon.”
“In June 2020, more than 130 companies have already returned $97 million of JSS payouts. I suppose the accumulated returned JSS payouts by now would be worth a few hundred million dollars. I hope Deputy Prime Minister Heng can provide us an update and give recognition to these companies. MOF has stated they "do not intend to instruct firms that report profits to return their JSS payouts, whether in whole or in part". Rather, firms are encouraged to use the JSS payouts to hire more Singaporean workers or to accelerate their transformation efforts. To this note, one good example of a business that has utilised its JSS funds in a meaningful way is Shell. Taking its own initiative, it is providing $10 million it received from JSS, to run courses for its staff in demand areas like data analytics and data mining. PSA International has also informed the union that it will use the JSS payouts to not only accelerate the digital transformation in PSA, but the entire marine logistics industry as well as financing some of Singapore's COVID-19 activities. We hope more firms will follow the lead of these companies. Meanwhile, I would like to offer another avenue for firms that are profitable to put JSS payouts for good use. From my interactions with many Social Service Agencies or SSAs, I understand that most SSAs are struggling to raise fund especially this year when the economic recession is very bad. For example, Singapore Hospice Council has only been able to meet 10% of its fundraising goals. It does not help that some may have even more beneficiaries to care for during these difficult times. Thus, I would like to urge profitable companies that receive JSS payouts to donate part of the payouts to charities.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, when COVID-19 hit, the first priority was to ensure that those who needed help received it swiftly and generously. We have unprecedented four Budgets. The Government has tapped into our precious reserves, to give out billions of dollars to help businesses, workers and individuals. We are nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Singaporeans are appreciative of the various COVID-19 support measures. However, it may be timely for us to calibrate the manner in which funding is given out. Before I proceed further, Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to declare my interest as part of the management team in ComfortDelGro and my interest as an Advisor to the Singapore Port Workers Union or SPWU. I would like to focus in particular on the Jobs Support Scheme or JSS, where the Government is helping businesses to co-fund up to 75% of the first $4,600 of monthly wages for Singaporean employees. It has kept many businesses afloat. It is reported that 75,000 jobs were saved due to the JSS. The benefits are good. The cost is also high. The total amount disbursed under JSS will likely exceed $15 billion. It is apparent that COVID-19 has a very different impact on different industries. Some, like aviation, tourism and the events industries, are badly hit. Some, like supermarket chains, IT companies, logistics companies and medical companies are doing better than previous years. However, all companies receive JSS, including companies that thrive due to COVID-19. In the written reply to my Parliamentary Question last week, we understand from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance that as at 24 September 2020, more than 700 firms have declined and/or returned JSS payouts. It is very noble of these companies.”
“Through the amendment Bills, SMC has created new legal entities, dedicated secretariat and a few more "C"s such as Inquiry Committee or IC, Disciplinary Commission or DC, Health Committee or HC, Review Committee or RC, Interim Orders Committee or IOC, just to name a few. However, all these "C"s will lead to a higher "C", that is, higher cost. I will like to ask the Minister who would fund the additional costs? Do we expect the patients who complain to pay? I hope not. Based on the 2018 annual report of the SMC, it has an accumulated surplus of $4.9 million as of 31 March 2019. Yet, SMC received a grant of almost $1.9 million from MOH in 2019. Why is this so? Do we expect the taxpayer to pay for the additional costs of the SMC? I hope not. As of 2018, there were 11,461 fully registered doctors in Singapore and almost of half of them were specialists. So, we have 11,461 doctors, half specialists. What I am going to suggest next will not go well with the doctors, including the physician that will examine me at my next medical report or medical check-up. However, in the larger interest of Singaporeans, I will like to suggest each of the doctors pay an additional $300 annual fee to the SMC. Three hundred dollars per year might be a small proportion of the doctor's annual income. But, it will contribute $3.4 million a year to SMC and that might cover the additional costs to better the complaints by the patients. I hope the doctors can understand and will not pass this additional fee to their patients. Mr Speaker, Sir, despite my above clarifications and suggestions, I support the Bill. 4.28 pm”
“] Mr Speaker, it is timely to amend the Medical Registration Act to allow the SMC to set up a new Inquiry Committee to improve the efficiency of handling complaints. The new Inquiry Committee will decide within three weeks whether the complaint is valid from a doctor's point of view; vexatious complaints will be rejected immediately. If the complaint merits empathy and is not complicated, it will be recommended that the dispute be resolved through mediation. Cases that merits further investigation will be referred to the Complaints Committee. In general, Singaporeans are not very familiar with medical knowledge. If patients suspect that they have been misdiagnosed or given the wrong medicine, they often feel that there is no way to lodge a complaint. I would like to ask, while the Bill is reassuring to doctors, what about further safeguards for patients if they have complaints? I hope Minister can provide help to complainants in 3 areas. First, if the complainant feels that the Inquiry Committee is too hasty in dismissing the complaint, can he appeal to MOH? Second, when the complainant is ordered to go through mediation, can he apply for third-party assistance if necessary? Third, if the complainant does not have the means to hire a lawyer when he needs to go to court or when he is sued for defamation by the doctor, can he apply for pro-bono legal services? Overall, we do not want an honest complainant to be denied access to appeals because of a lack of resources. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Civil Law and the Medical Registration (Amendment) Bills have given the doctors a better peace of mind and have also benefited the patients.”
“These recommendations will hopefully go a long way in restoring trust. In a nutshell, the MRA amendments put more responsibility on the medical community to self-regulate, with the creation of new legal advisory unit, dedicated secretariat and new committees. Currently, many people not in the medical fraternity feedbacked that the Singapore Medical Council or SMC is taking too long to handle and investigate complaints against the doctors. For example, out of 138 complaints in 2018, SMC could only conclude 18 inquiries. The doctors are also complaining. For instance, a doctor's interview in a news report last year, said it took two and a half years for SMC to resolve what she termed as a "frivolous" complaint against her. Thus, we hope that the legal mechanisms will be able to speed up the process for resolving medical complaints. I spoke to several doctors and they are general pleased with the amendment Bill. In particular, some senior doctors are glad that the avenue to appeal to the Minister is replaced by a Review Committee which would also include a lay person. In the light of the new Review Committee, I would like to ask the Minister what will be the selection criteria of the lay person stated in section 2 of Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill. In most people's mind, we hope that these laymen should be experienced professionals who are older, as they are more likely to have the experience to avoid making radical judgements. However, in tipping the balance toward doctors, I am concerned that this might disadvantage patients in some way, especially those who are lack of resources. Mr Speaker, Sir, let me continue my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, for our healthcare system to work well, trust is critical. It is important that patients can trust their doctors and know that their complaints against errant doctors can be heard fairly. Last night, one of my residents, Mr Chua came to see me about his mother, who passed away after taking a straightforward liver test in the hospital. His mother was hospitalised for a skin condition. Understandably, Mr Chua was very upset. We wrote a few letters for him. It is in this context that I hope that the debate on the two amendment Bills today, would build trust between patients and doctors, and not less. I know that it is equally important that doctors need to know of the practical, clear and consistent guidelines to inform their patients on treatment risks so that they can fully serve their patients without fear that patients will end up suing them. But this trust had been under "serious threat of erosion", according to a special work group which was formed in March 2019 to look into this. The report pointed out that controversial, high-profile cases of medical malpractice which seemed to go on for a long time with outcomes the doctors did not expect, had perhaps made doctors fearful and wonder, "How can I care for my patient without getting into legal trouble?" The work group to review the taking of informed consent and SMC Disciplinary Process has put in a lot of effort into this report, engaging over 1,000 doctors. I would like to thank the work group for the great job. Arising from their recommendations, which were released in November 2019, we are now at the stage of legalising some of these recommendations through the amendments of the Medical Registration Act or MRA and the Civil Law Act.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I just want to make two small clarifications about what I said. Firstly, we know that the Police communicated to the communities what are the five major crimes, very often, on a monthly basis, and engage the residents. So, I am suggesting that the Police can do the same for the number of online scams by constituency and let the residents know that these are the online crimes that happened in their neighbourhood, where their neighbour are victims, so that they are more aware, and they can help the Police to fight the online crime together. The second one, I mentioned that we often receive a lot of messages. Is there some way or can we set up a website, and we can send those phone calls and messages to that one site, rather than just making phone call which is sometimes, not efficient because you need people to man the hotline.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. I have a few supplementary questions. First, I heard a few types of scams mentioned by the Minister of State. Can the Minister of State advise us which is the most common scam and which is the one that has the biggest monetary loss in Singapore? I understand that five major crimes which are often communicated to the communities have dropped significantly over the years, and the number of online scams has overtaken the five crimes. So, will the Minister of State consider providing the number or type of online crimes by constituency, on a monthly basis, so as to better alert the residents and garner their support to fight and prevent online scams. Thirdly, I often receive WhatsApp messages asking me to take personal loans from moneylenders. I think it is mostly the works of the illegal moneylenders. I also receive phone calls to tell me that I have a parcel stuck at the custom and mostly this is a fraud case. I understand many Singaporeans also receive similar messages. Can the Police advise Singaporeans what to do when they receive such messages or phone calls? Can the Police consider setting up a hotline or an email account for Singaporeans to send such messages and details of the phone calls to the Police?”
“Last supplementary question. Thank you. Would MOT consider building a transfer line along the Causeway to supplement the RTS Link or replace the RTS Link if the RTS Link becomes not viable again?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. We understand there are a lot of changes in Malaysia recently and it might impact long-term projects between the two countries. So, given the context, I have three supplementary questions. First, what are the safeguards in ensuring that the RTS Link project will be carried out even if there is a change in government in Malaysia over the next few years? Second, what are the implications of having the switch of the RTS Link depot from the existing Thomson-East Coast Line's Mandai Depot, to a new depot in Wadi Hana, Johor Bahru? Does it mean that the maintenance of the RTS Link trains and system will lie primarily in Malaysia and what would be the impact on the reliability of RTS Link?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have three clarifications. The first one is, I hear from the Minister that some companies have directives from their HQ out of Singapore to ask them to practise unfair recruitment. Why can we not nip the problem at source where we inform the companies before they set up shop in Singapore? We can tell them about the guidelines. And number two, we have also heard the Minister said they do surveillance and identify companies that have a high concentration of Employment and S Pass holders, all from certain a nationality. Can MOM be even more proactive even before they have this number that is of concern? Can you stop them from hiring anymore workers based on S Pass and E Pass, which means it is more proactive than after the fact itself? The third one is that I would like the Minister to consider what I said in my speech on Monday, to set up a National Human Resource Committee, so that you have regular engagement with the head of human resources and personnel in the various large companies, to share with them the best practices on how to form a Singaporean Core. For example, DBS is one good example.”
“Based on these best practices, the Committee can give some guidelines so that foreign companies that have set up operations in Singapore can quickly build up a Singaporean Core. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, foreign investment and foreign companies setting up regional headquarters in Singapore have created jobs for Singaporeans and benefited Singapore. We welcome them. At the same time, these foreign companies have also benefited from Singapore’s eco-system, Singapore’s strategic locations and Singapore’s business-friendly infrastructure. Thus, they also have the obligation to grow the Singaporean Core in their workforce and their management team in Singapore. The National HR Committee, working closely with the National Jobs Council, can help to accelerate that and I hope MOM can consider the proposal positively. 5.36 pm”
“However, our birth rate is low: an average of only 1.1 for each female. If we cannot increase the birth rate in the long run, we will still need immigrants or foreign workers to supplement our labour force. Of course, we must maintain a fine balance between the two. I suggest that we set up a National HR Committee to have regular meetings with the Heads of HR of major companies in Singapore so that we can more effectively build a Singaporean Core in every major company. There are three main objectives for setting up the National HR Committee. Firstly, we want to send a strong signal to all major enterprises in Singapore that every company must treat their local employees fairly and give them opportunities for promotion. When the National HR Committee discovers that some of these major companies do not even have a Singaporean as the Head of HR, this would be a reflection of their weak dedication towards building a Singaporean Core. On discovery of such things, the Committee may issue proper guidance to the companies. However, we should not simply copy other countries by legislating how many local employees a company must have. This will scare off foreign companies from investing in Singapore and, hence, reduce local employment opportunities. Secondly, the Committee can release data on the average number of foreign employees in major sectors on a regular basis, including data on the number of local employees among the senior executives. If a company finds out that the number of its foreign employees are disproportionately higher than the sector average, it will feel some pressure indirectly and might make the adjustment accordingly. Thirdly, the Committee may also encourage major companies to share best practices to build a Singaporean Core and learn from one another.”