Arthur Fong
Singapore
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the response. A supplementary question. Would the Ministry of National Development (MND) or HDB consider putting double-glazed windows for bedrooms into the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) options in the future?”
“Mdm Chair, the Sports Master Plan of 2011 is bearing fruit. Since the inaugural Marathon Race in 1982, our sports calendar is now filled with several marathon runs, catering to a variety of running enthusiasts, from novices to Olympic champions.”
“Mdm Chair, in just under three months, we will be hosting the 28th SEA Games and, in nine months, we will have the honour of hosting some 1,300 to 1,500 para-athletes from ASEAN countries. We hosted the SEA Games some 12 years ago and we are hosting the ASEAN Para Games for the first time.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank Mr Chen for his clarification and I hope that Mr Cedric Foo would read it in the Hansard. But my point was on foreign workers, as he prevaricated from his answer to Mr Foo. But I hear him. It is good to have a peek into the Workers' Party's attempt on policy on foreign workers.”
“Sir, the Sports Facilities Masterplan costing $250 million was unveiled last year. The main objective would be to build facilities to cater for future sporting needs and sports development. Are there any updates in terms of new community-based sporting facilities to be built in the coming years, aside from a new stadium in Sembawang?”
“I hope this can be extended to other male national athletes as well. The Olympics is not the only prestigious sports event, even if it is indeed the most prestigious. Our athletes require more opportunities to participate in as many regional sporting events as possible.”
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“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the response. A supplementary question. Would the Ministry of National Development (MND) or HDB consider putting double-glazed windows for bedrooms into the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) options in the future?”
“As important as Singapore's financial sector to be part of the global effort in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing is, we must also ensure that this role, commitment and stance do not impinge upon the understanding and branding of Singapore as a banking centre where the clients or would-be clients of financial institutions place their Page: 56 trust that their banking and personal information is well-guarded. Lastly, to have customer due diligence enacted as a primary legislation to be consistent with other jurisdictions also demonstrates our commitment to FATF and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. This would even send a stronger signal to professionals in the industry that customer due diligence and the maintenance of transaction records and the review of the same will ensure that our surveillance "radar" is always up. Proper retention and maintenance of records will be a focus when the situation arises where MAS or the foreign supervisors need to carry out investigations related to AML and CFT. The current situation where radicalisation and ease of terrorist recruitment, helped by the social media, is a concern for many security agencies across the world. Amongst clients that a financial institution may have or may already have, there may exist one or some who may be or have grown to be sympathisers of a particular group. They may have had a long and cosy banking relationship stretching back many years. Customer due diligence and transaction records will certainly throw light on the changes in the account conduct and client behaviour. Madam, I support the Bill. 3.22 pm”
“To not have AML and CFT elements penetrate our strict standards and regime is unrealistic. The proposed amendments to the MAS Act will once again show our commitment to be part of the international effort to fight money laundering and counter financing of terrorism. The amendments will further place Singapore in the forefront in banking supervision and demonstrate our commitment to be a pre-eminent financial centre. Mdm Speaker, I would like to touch on three aspects that I feel is important to highlight, which the Bill serves to achieve. First, the Bill gives MAS the power to conduct AML/CFT inspections to an expanded range of financial institutions, particularly holders of stored value facilities and non-bank credit card or charge card issuers. This is an important move in the fight on AML. Ask any banker and they will tell you their antennae are raised if they hear from prospective clients that they deal with non-bank financial institutions. In practice, this would trigger enhanced due diligence processes. Bringing such vehicles into the fold under the Bill is to be applauded. Such vehicles count amongst the tools in the arsenal of money launderers. The second aspect I would like to touch on is the introduction of "Assistance to Foreign Authorities and Domestic Authorities for their Supervisory and Actions in respect of Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and other Offences". While I am glad to see that there are legislative safeguards to prevent "fishing expeditions" and the abuse by a foreign AML/CFT supervisory body, I would like to hear even more from the Minister the oversight and administration to ensure that the safeguards are, indeed, adhered to in practice. Some of the concerns were alluded to by Dr Benedict Tan a moment ago.”
“Mdm Speaker, I declare my interest as a professional working in the banking industry. I spoke in the House during the Second Reading of the amendment of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act (TSOFA) in 2013. The amendments were to increase the maximum fine for terrorism financing offences, make tipping-off an offence, protect the identity of informers, refine the exemption provisions and to consolidate the terrorism financing provisions under TSOFA. Singapore has, over the last few years, aligned the Banking Act and the Insurance Act as well. These reviews and updating of our laws show our commitment to fight money laundering and to counter terrorism financing. We are a fast-developing pre-eminent financial centre. Over the years, the financial sector has seen an exponential increase in the number of transactions and an increase in players in the form of financial institutions globally operating in and through our front yard. The Government and the regulators have put in place a tough regime that includes much of the prudence I spoke about during the Second Reading of TSOFA. I likened the regulators to Page: 55 the constructors of a shark net protecting the swimmers in a lagoon. They are also the lifeguards, the inspectors of the nets and the ones keeping up-to-date with technology and innovation to improve the reliability of the shark nets and, therefore, the safety of the swimmers. Our financial sector is the lagoon that financial professionals and financial institutions operate in. Sharks are known to penetrate shark nets and cause serious injuries to swimmers and fatal attacks are not rare. Translate that into our financial sector, an important engine of Singapore's survival, it would damage our reputation as a financial centre.”
“Mdm Chair, in just under three months, we will be hosting the 28th SEA Games and, in nine months, we will have the honour of hosting some 1,300 to 1,500 para-athletes from ASEAN countries. We hosted the SEA Games some 12 years ago and we are hosting the ASEAN Para Games for the first time. Needless to say, we are expected to be efficient organisers and gracious hosts for both Games. I understand that there are about 8,000 volunteers to help stage the Games. This is a great response from the Singapore community. What is the status of preparation to-date? How do we ensure that the volunteers are ready? What is the state of readiness of our Sports Hub? Are the necessary games logistics well provided for? How is the Government going to ensure support from the greater community in terms of ticket sales? What are the learning points from YOG that we can draw on to run a successful Games while keeping a close watch on costs and budgets?”
“Mdm Chair, the Sports Master Plan of 2011 is bearing fruit. Since the inaugural Marathon Race in 1982, our sports calendar is now filled with several marathon runs, catering to a variety of running enthusiasts, from novices to Olympic champions. On top of that, many get-fit programmes have mushroomed: yoga, pilates joined by zuma, MMA, aqua cycling and so on. We have been steadily building sports facilities and upgrading old ones. This has seen an increase in usage of sports facilities over the years. Can the Minister update the House on the usage numbers for some of our more popular sports facilities like the public pools, tracks, indoor stadiums and gyms, so far? The Ministry announced setting aside $1.5 billion to ensure Singaporeans have better access to sports facilities. Can we have an update? Are there plans to encourage more to take up a sporting lifestyle and to use many facilities that we have built or plan to build? Dual-Use Scheme”
“Although that was far from what our Pioneer Generation experienced in the 1960s, my generation caught a glimpse of what tensions brought about by religious sensitivities or insensitivities rippling quickly to racial sensitivities in multi-racial Singapore. We should never take race and religious harmony for granted. Page: 39 In recent times, the "Cook a Pot of Curry", Amy Cheong's comments and Anton Casey incidents come to mind. The reaction towards racial and religious intolerance and insensitivity by Singaporeans were resounding. We rallied against the behaviour and will have nothing of it. It is heartening to note how far we have come. It is reassuring that Singaporeans stand up for racial and religious harmony. Mdm Chair, foremost in our minds we must recognise the fragility of racial and religious harmony. While we have the Sedition Act and Racial Harmony and MRHA to ensure peace and order, we must constantly look out for new trends that could tear this fabric of our nation. What has the Government done to support community efforts aimed at fostering better communal understanding? Is more dialogue the way forward as some had suggested? Social Integration and Discrimination”
“Thank you Madam. Mdm Chair, the year 2014 was an exciting year for those in the arts community. Last year, during the COS debate, MCCY announced the establishment of a $10 million arts trust seed funding sited at the National Arts Council (NAC). Hot on the heels of this announcement at COS, NAC made further good news of approving additional seed grants to eight new groups on top of those already receiving funds. Some of these groups include Tamil and Language, Traditional Arts Centre working with traditional Chinese opera amongst others. Apart from these eight groups, what other new artworks, productions or groups have been added? Tamil and Chinese opera goes down to the heart of our local community. For instance, interest in Chinese opera is waning and it would be good to know how does the funding to these groups benefit and help our local community and draw new interests to these arts? In addition, arts' dynamism and significance are interpreted differently amongst the arts crowd. Chamber music for example, has been around for more than 200 years and is described as "music amongst friends" because it is played in small groups. This would appeal to different segments in our community; some more so than others. Given that the grants handed out through the NAC are public funds, we need to ensure that the production and groups supported need to reflect our national goal. How would the support of some of these art groups reflect our National Heritage? Racial and Religious Harmony Mdm Chair, we have come a long way since the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA) was in force in 1992. I do remember the inter-religious and intra-religious tensions caused by insensitive proselytisation in the late 1980s.”
“Mdm Chair, when Singaporeans travel and chance upon people who had visited our sunny island, a likely remark aside from the interesting food we have is that Singapore is a melting pot of culture and traditions. The Singaporean Chinese, whose ancestors are mainly from Fujian, Hainan, Swatow or Guangzhou, will have different traditional practices or rituals. Indians whose parents came from many parts of India and Malays whose roots reach beyond the archipelago may be from many parts of Indonesia as well. Eurasians, like the Peranakans, have a rich history and culture. I have a former Indian classmate whose father is Gujarati and his maternal grandmother is Tamil. They communicate in Malay. This is Singapore. Multiracialism is our feature. So, we are a multiracial, multi-religious, multicultural small island in the sun! Each race, culture and religion respecting one another; each race, culture and religion preserving its practices. Even as we integrate new citizens from many parts of the world to our unique brand of multiculturalism, we add to our diversity. Our national cultural heritage of respect and tolerance for each other's religious and racial practices may be eroded if future generations are disconnected from the rich cultures, traditions and practices of others around them. We take our multiracialism for granted and in time erode our national cohesion. As our population mix and demographic evolve, we do expect some challenges to our accepted cultural heritage and hence our national identity. What more can our cultural institutions contribute towards multiracialism? What can these institutions do to further promote and showcase the rich heritage of our people? I look forward to hearing from the Minister.”
“Madam, there is a high quality to our free-to-air programmes. Conversations with residents have confirmed that as well. The socio-documentary programme "The Place We Live In" was a favourite with many of my residents, especially the Page: 40 older folks, who can identify with the many places of Singapore's past. It is no wonder that the programme won the Best Infotainment Award at the Asian Television Awards. Even the non-English speaking residents are happy across the different races. My Indian residents tell me that they are happy with many of the programmes on Vasantham and some cited "Kalaimaniga", the Doyen of Arts and, needless to say, tuning into Suria is a daily must-do for many Malay older residents. We need to do more to resource and support free-to-air programmes. In our recent communications of the PG Package, the Mandarin and even dialect short clips have touched many successfully and it has communicated the PGP well. There is no doubt that the dialect programmes have been helpful in communicating to elderly Singaporeans. I am hopeful that the Government may allow more programmes. Can MCI consider this?”
“Thank you, Madam. Madam, we are celebrating SG50 this year. Many events and activities will mark SG50. One such successful project, the Singapore Memory Project, is one where I believe that many young Singaporeans can begin their learning journey of Singapore's history. The last time I visited the website, 423,122 memories were added. The knowledge of the fight against what I call the 3Cs are remote to many younger Singaporeans. The periods of Colonialism, Communism, Communalism and, later, Separation, were turbulent times, just as there were many defining moments for Singapore. Our libraries' archives have a wealth of collection of our national history, as well as different milestones of our nation building. Aside from these collections and archives, how else can we promote and communicate to our younger and future generations the history of Singapore? Competition for Seats in Libraries Madam, my next cut. I declare my interest as a member of the Board at NLB. The libraries have seen an increase in visitors steadily for the past few years, in fact, no less than 25 million a year. I am aware that even tourists have made it a point to visit, as they have heard so many good things about our libraries. The libraries have made much effort to redesign library spaces and always exploring innovative and practical ways to increase the positive experiences of library-goers. There are some popular libraries, especially the community libraries that have some issues of seating availability. Can the Ministry share some of the plans that are in store to tackle this and to improve the experience of library-goers? Page: 27 Information Declassification System”
“Mdm Chair, everyone knows that Singapore is a safe place, but low crime does not mean no crime. That is the common refrain. We often hear from fellow Singaporeans that they hope to see a stronger police presence, particularly where they live. This desire for more Police presence makes it tough to accede to, in view of the labour market and recruiting constraints. The Community Policing Scheme or COPS, which augment the presence of men and women in blue, has proven successful. This can be seen from the Crime Statistics released in January. COPS has increased security and safety in the neighbourhood through collaboration and support of the community. My residents in Clementi have remarked that the unlicensed moneylending or UML harassments have, indeed, dropped. There are currently 20 Neighbourhood Police Centres or NPCs working in partnership with the community to roll out COPS. Many grassroots leaders have enrolled, but I must add that many volunteers in COPS are non-traditional grassroots volunteers who simply want to take ownership of the safety and security of the neighbourhood. The number of NPCs is targeted to reach 35 by 2015. How can their effectiveness be enhanced to complement the good work of these Police officers and to add to the success of the programme? How can the community contribute and participate in taking ownership of the safety and security of their neighbourhoods? Drug Situation”
“Manpower One of the post-mortem findings of the Little India Riot points to the inadequacy of staffing of the SPF. Notwithstanding, we have one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Singaporeans want to see a stronger Police presence for peace of mind that it brings. The men and women of SPF are doing an excellent job despite the manpower shortage. They are making regular patrolling rounds of both Housing and Development Board (HDB) and private housing estates. They not only provide deterrence and ensure safety and security but had gone beyond the call of duty in many instances – I have heard some cases from my residents, such as informing car owners who had not secured their vehicles when it came to the attention of patrolling officers. With manpower constraints, officers are stretched and this ultimately affects their operational reach. While I know that our Home Team officers' dedication is appreciated by many Singaporeans, many a time, when there are situations that are volatile and manpower or reinforcements of response teams are needed, the Home Team bears the brunt of criticisms and, worse, attending officers face the threat of safety or injuries. Although SPF has been looking at force multipliers in the form of technology and changes or refinement to procedures to operate at a more efficient frontier, there are limits. Besides the effective use of community partnerships, what else can be done to improve the recruitment of Home Team officers so as to enhance our presence and increase mutual support for each Home Team officer? I understand that we have a good base of Voluntary Police Officers and they have been contributing to many operations. How else can we deploy them? Page: 142”
“They are harder to detect and the destruction and harm they can bring are in no way less than from an organised group of terrorists or known terrorist organisations. The capacity to instil fear amongst the people is very high due to the unpredictability. The tragic incidents in Sydney as well as the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris are cases in point when the lone-wolf terrorist hit. They occur very quickly, catching everyone off guard. Security forces can only react after the fact. How can Singaporeans and our Home Team raise our awareness and sensing to prepare for this kind of terror attacks? Monash University's Prof Greg Barton, Director of Centre for Islam and the Modern World, said that there is not much more that the Australian government could do when it came to preventing that incident. He said, "Australia has already upped our security level to Page: 141 "high, agencies are well-resourced and we have well-trained personnel". Yet, the attack by the lone gunman happened. Just as we have made ourselves as Hard Targets against organised terror since 9/11, what other ways can we likewise do so for lone-wolf terror possibilities? Mdm Chair, I am of the view that deterrence through a display of our anti-terror resolve and measures, coupled with strong community participation, would serve the purpose of deterring would-be lone-wolf terrorists. In this way, any lone-wolf aspirant will think hard and have no doubt that they have little chance of succeeding against a citizenry and Home Team that is dialed-in to spot and stop them. Would the Home Team consider displaying more of our anti-terrorism measures as well as enhancing community awareness and participation in addressing this brand of terrorism?”
“Madam, the horrifying siege in Sydney by the lone wolf action caught everyone around the world by surprise, not long after the attacks at the Canadian Parliament and also in Belgium. It could have just happened in downtown Orchard Road or busy lunch hour at Raffles Place. The risk posed by self-radicalised terrorists is worrying. A peaceful moment can suddenly escalate into a situation of national and international tension and attention. The Chinese have a saying that it is most difficult to prepare for a hidden arrow. It is necessary for us to instil in our citizenry a practice of awareness and alertness on the need to be vigilant in this new normal. Of course, we have to temper the approach so that this new awareness and vigilance does not cast a pall of insecurity over our populace or, worse, sowing distrust and undo the harmony we have so carefully built over the years. I know it will be a delicate balance to achieve. I share Home Affairs' Senior Minister of State Mr Masagos' perspective when he said at the launch of the Global Security Asia conference and exhibition that the community can be the "eyes and ears against radicalisation". The community can be the eyes and ears on things around them that seem out of the ordinary. I urge MHA to consider more public communication, education and programmes on how our citizenry can be galvanised and how the Home Team can imbue in peoples' mindset a culture of alertness and situational awareness in the context of anti-terror prevention. 7.00 pm Deterrence Against Terrorism The phenomenon of lone-wolf terrorist is a constant concern amongst security forces worldwide.”
“While the deficit is funding many programmes that will make Singaporeans' lives better, we need to be cautious that sustaining such programmes will be on the shoulders of generations to come. As sure as these programmes are welcomed – as some say, "It is about time" – there will be clamour for more to be disbursed into similar programmes. We are adding on to the shoulders for future governments and Singaporeans to carry. As sure as the 2% tax increase to 22% for high-income earners above $320,000, we might one day reduce that income threshold and/or to increase the tax rate at the same time. We will face that someday, hopefully not too soon, but I am sure that as the path towards more social spending and Page: 115 "topping up" has begun, we need to be mindful to find other means towards topping up our state coffers as well. It is often said, "What you never had, you will never know to miss". I am sure this Budget will help many. We will all want the programmes to stay and to be even better. That is for sure. What we do not have is certainty of future revenues or revenue streams towards our state coffers to fund a certainty of programmes and a certainty of rising expectations. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget. 5.50 pm”
“The Fund costs us $8 billion and since its inception, many belonging to the Pioneer Generation have started tapping into the many benefits. The medical subsidies that the PGP provides have given many households with seniors much relief. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Budget 2015, with all the attending social spending is expected to cost us a large deficit of about $10 billion. And I think that it is necessary and worth it. How can anyone argue spending on our future? The SkillsFuture initiative will be putting $500 towards training for every Singaporeans to upgrade and up-skill themselves. Personal development and skills acquired are portable and this gives our workforce more punch for those looking to advance or simply get a job. This gives some relief to the SMEs in their training expenditure as well. For SMEs have long sounded their concerns. While they are encouraged to be more productive, a need to send workers for new skills training or upgrading would inflate their training costs even after claims from SDF. For workers, who now want to upskill and tailor their training can do so at their own time and a wider menu of training is now open to them funded up to $500. I see this long-term programme to be complimentary in continuing our productivity drive for businesses. In the long run, the sum total must be good for Singapore's workforce. Few countries in the world have this luxury in planning for the future. Our fiscal situation of what some labelled "a pattern of running deficits" is a result of necessity rather than of irresponsible imprudent spending. I conclude with the warning I alluded to at the beginning of my speech.”
“Back then, we both shared a concern of dipping first into our reserves and using the returns on our NIRC leading us down a slippery path. Since 2009, we have run deficit budgets in four out of the seven years. Should this be of concern? Several academics and professionals in finance seem to think so. Many of them argued that without the provisions from contributions from the NIRC, our Budget would be out of whack and, in reality, in deficit. For example, in FY2014 sans the transfer from NIR Contributions, the deficit should be $8.4 billion and, even with the transfer, we still have a deficit of about $0.13 billion. This is a sobering thought. The accrual of the deficit budget was towards many worthwhile programmes to strengthen our economy and to help our workforce fare better in life. A positive example is the Wage Credit Scheme. It costs us $3.6 billion over three years or about $1.2 billion a year. This scheme is definitely necessary without which many workers especially the low-income and older workers' salary would remain stagnated. Page: 114 This also helped employers and businesses shoulder wage costs increases while they focused on productivity and innovation. We need to, however, keep in mind that such spending could only become larger and that we will be facing challenges in revenue generation for our state coffers, something that Mr Hri Kumar had pointed out so eloquently just now. We are celebrating our Golden Jubilee and have achieved much, of which a lot is owed to our Pioneer Generation. We launched the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) Fund to recognise and reward our senior citizens who had sacrificed much towards our nation-building.”
“Some Members of Parliament in the past were steadfast in asking the Government to run only a balanced budget, never a surplus budget. Some argued that a surplus meant money taken out of the Singapore economy and private enterprises would be worse off. "If we have more, they will have less" was the mantra then. Earning and adding on to our revenues spending on development programmes characterised much of our early Page: 113 years. Touching our reserves is likened to a taboo act. The recent history of Iceland, Greece and other developed economies teaches us and reminds us that a country's reserves, once spent, will mean dark days for its people. If our fiscal position and reserves are not strong, the ratings agencies will be the first to note. Not more than two years ago, ratings agencies fired a shot across the bow when Singapore's household debt went up, posing a significant risk to the financial system. Ratings agencies downgraded its outlook on Singapore's main banks from stable to negative. Imagine if our reserves are found not to be able to cope with future spending and the accumulation of reserves faces challenges known or unknown. Our sovereign rating will be affected. I know I am sounding a bit alarmist but it bears mention that we must keep a tight hold on the reins as we move in the direction where more social spending is beginning to feature in our budgets. A miscalculation of the aggregation of such spending will be hard to address for future governments. When Finance Minister announced the need to make amendments to allow us to use the long-term returns of our Net Investment Return Contributions (NIRC) of Temasek Holdings, I was reminded of a conversation back in 2009 with a fellow Member Dr Ong Seh Hong, then Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the Budget Statement. Many of the assistance and items on the wishlist of many groups have been answered in this Budget. Singaporeans with young children will receive much asked for help for childcare as well as assistance for their personal career development in the form of training expenses. The Silver Support Scheme or Triple "S", as many of my grassroots volunteers have begun calling it, have set quite a few families at ease. In the years ahead, households with seniors needing assistance will be able to receive aid. This builds upon the Pioneer Generation (PG) programme already rolled out where not only the PG and recipients of Triple "S" will be helped but both programmes when fully in place will give financial relief and ease the burden of many families. Families with very young or school-going children and seniors at home will find some weight off their shoulders. Much of the calls for assistance over the last few years are being addressed by this Jubilee Budget. While I am happy for the senior Singaporeans – especially those above 65 years old who would be getting more GST Vouchers (GSTV) amounting to $600 – I am also happy for those who would be saving about $720 annually on domestic maid levies. I also share the joy of the middle-income group on the expanded childcare subsidy scheme and the waiver of exam fees. Mr Deputy Speaker, I am ill at ease, however, over our ability or concerned for our future Government's challenges to sustain such programmes. In preparing for this Budget Statement debate, I had browsed the Hansard to get a sense of what Members of Parliament thought of the Government running a surplus, balanced or deficit budget.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank Mr Chen for his clarification and I hope that Mr Cedric Foo would read it in the Hansard. But my point was on foreign workers, as he prevaricated from his answer to Mr Foo. But I hear him. It is good to have a peek into the Workers' Party's attempt on policy on foreign workers.”
“In fact, it is from Admiral William McRaven who spoke at the University of Texas, his alma mater, on SEAL training when he went back to his school. He said, "During SEAL training, the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students, three on each side in a small rubber boat, and one coxswain to help guide the dinghy. Every day, your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surf zone and paddle several miles down the coast. In the winter, the surfs in Page: 49 San Diego, get to be eight to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf, unless everyone digs in. Every paddle must be synchronised to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously tossed back on the beach." "For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle. You cannot change the world alone; you will need some help. And to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues and the goodwill of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them." As Minister Lawrence Wong said, we need to be united in our purpose, we cannot polarise. Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion.”
“I would like to say 'Hello' to him." He said, "Oh, he is at the gym." I said, "Huh. That is good." We have a gym in Clementi CC. I said, "Your daughter?" He said, "My daughter is in Polytechnic." I said, "Wonderful." So, his father is a construction supervisor. Education is a great social leveller. He is levelled up. And I said, "Mister, would your son, after he graduates from ITE, take a construction job?". "No way, Mr Fong, he can go to the gym. I don't think he can handle a jackhammer." A pneumatic jack. It is very heavy. We grow up not doing this. He said, "No way." And I asked one of my members who was with me, who went through ITE, who had gone to ITE, who had finished National Service and now in Polytechnic. He said, "Mr Fong, it is very different today. They have levelled up our ITE students. We go into creative, innovative jobs, leveraging technology. In fact, second nature should be developed in leveraging on technology. That is our ITE students." For the life of me, I think it is regressive if we find that our ITE students go backwards and, say, tell the construction supervisor that "I want to handle that jackhammer and do that". Yes, it is an honourable job, but it is a hard job and, in reality, I do not think our ITE students would volunteer and say, "Look, I want to do that for a living". It is a fact. So, I find that the disconnect. And if we do not have those people handling the jackhammers, where do we get them? It has to be foreign workers. So, I just want to make this point. I hope that going forward, as what Dr Puthucheary said, it is what we say, how we say it and what we do not say, that is so important, and not having destructive politics. I would like to just end with a quote.”
“So, cynicism, xenophobia, this is something we really need to take stock and keep watch on and not let these take root. Another example of this, Indonesia, closer to us. Indonesia is an oil-producing nation, but from the mid-2000s, it became a net importer of oil. A producer of oil, a country that produces oil, has a great ballast, capability to pay down debt. But becoming a net importer of oil has affected their balance of payments, affected the country for a long time. Destructive politics. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono increased fuel prices. I think we all know here in this House when the government increases prices for anything, it is at their peril. But Indonesia had to do this. It recognised that subsidies would be a heavy burden for the country going forward but the kind of horse-trading, the kind of destructive politics that go on, gridlocked them. So, it is difficult. I hope that these two examples of destructive politics or non-constructive politics would be visceral to us. Page: 48 Lastly, I would like to seek a point of clarification or comment, Mdm Speaker, on Mr Chen Show Mao's response as he prevaricated on Mr Cedric Foo's questions on immigrants. He prevaricated and talked about foreign labour, foreign workers. I find that there is a disconnect with what is Singapore today. First of all, I was at a block visit last night. I met a construction supervisor. He has been staying in Clementi for 30 years. I asked him, "Mr Ahmad, you know, you are fit. How old are you?" He said, "I am 58." And I said, "What do you do?" He said, "I am a construction supervisor." I said, "Oh. And how many children do you have?" He said, "I have a son and a daughter." I said, "What is your son doing?" He said, "Oh, he is in ITE." I said, "Is he home?”
“Page: 47 If we allow cynicism to take root, a sense of hopelessness to take root, by aspersions cast on politics, for example, it would just do that. We would be gridlocked. I will share with you two examples that show that. I was at a dinner some years ago, hosted for a senior official from a country in our region. The official came with a delegation to look at our healthcare system. He said to me—in Mandarin, Mdm Speaker. I think it will be lost in translation if I did it in English. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] He said, "Mr Fong, let me tell you something very interesting in our country. It has something to do with our healthcare policy. In our country, it is quite normal to see a group of old men, say Mr Zhang, Mr Chen, Mr Lee and Mr Xie, getting together at a clinic to have tea and chit-chat. One day, Mr Chen did not show up. Mr Zhang would say, "Oh, maybe he fell sick." (In English): He is talking about, in a very classy way, not hitting out too much and not being too brute at his government and previous governments' actions. But he is telling me that, first of all, I sensed a sense of hopefulness, a sense of resignation and, more importantly, a sense of cynicism. And he said it is a very lavish subsidy that is given out to the populace, to the country and people over-consume the subsidies. And as the Prime Minister talked about many countries today cutting back on subsidies, this strikes me and I have to tell this example. So, as we are adding on subsidies, adding on to our social safety nets, we need to take stock and need to look at what other people are doing and what can happen if destructive politics were to come in and affect the work of the Government.”
“All these will affect us – our trade routes, our air routes, our trading partners. We have made great leads through these turbulent and volatile 12 years. Our people are largely united but concerns linger. We were beginning to take our social harmony and political stability for granted. The Little India riot, my immediate concern that night – and I am sure that of many of us in this House and Singaporeans when we saw it on the news that evening – was: is this going to spread? Is this going to happen around other dormitories in Singapore that same night? What would happen the next morning? How would Singapore be like? More importantly, how would Singaporeans react? How would Singaporeans respond? So, we cannot take our harmony, we cannot take political stability for granted. There are concerns about how we reacted to the Philippines' Independence Day celebrations. Xenophobia, I hope, would not take root. But this group has been organising this for many years, for 20 years. And this time round, we have this reaction from Singaporeans. I think this is a shot across the bow to tell us to relook and examine ourselves, look at our society. Is this what we want and, if this takes root, what kind of Singapore will we have? We need to be aware and keep this in view so that we would not polarise. Destructive politics – we talked about constructive politics, I figure as the 61st speaker, I would change to destructive politics. Destructive politics – what would it do for us? Well, as I mentioned earlier about not letting xenophobia take root, destructive politics cause cynicism, as Mr Hri Kumar mentioned yesterday. Cynicism and hopelessness.”
“A display of unity at its best for a very long time since. Communities coming together, doing their part, caring for their neighbours. I remember visiting a family in Clementi where Mr Koh cared for one of his neighbours of 20 years. Eventually, she passed away. But that is the kind of spirit, that is heart-warming, that is something we want to remember and need more of. So, we hummed along for a few years, with a lot going for us at home and with FTAs' successes that helped secured vital trade for us. Survival for Singapore, that put us today in a very different spot from 2002. Then, global recession in 2008. That was brought about by the sub-prime crisis. But if we take a step back and remember, we felt some bumps. Singapore was not as affected by Page: 46 the global recession as many of our neighbours – a testimony to what the Government had been doing and how we had managed and how Singaporeans had worked with the Government – united, committed. As Minister Lawrence Wong said just now, purposeful. Then 2010 came along. We were on the grey list of the OECD. That affects one of our vital engines and that is the financial industry. But we got out of OECD list pretty fast and again, it is testimony to how our regulators had put in place forward-looking policies, forward-looking supervisory measures that the global financial community knows that is above, away, ahead of the curve and that Singapore can stand on its own. Today, I still feel the sense of vulnerability. In fact, all of us should. It is a very different world from 2002, but the vulnerabilities are there – different kinds. Around our neighbourhood, what is happening in Thailand, what is happening in Indonesia, what is happening in Vietnam, spats in South China Sea.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate and I would also like to thank the Whip for giving me the distinct pleasure to be the last speaker. I think when we want to move forward, we need to also look back and learn from the past. So, it is quite apt at this point where I would like to bring the House back 10, 12 years – slightly over 12 years ago – when I made my maiden speech at a similar debate to thank the President for his Address. In April 2002, there was a sense of vulnerability. In fact, in my speech, I asked how many Singaporeans felt the sense of vulnerability then and the kind of situations that faces them. We had just come out of the Asian financial crisis and then September 11 happened; shortly after we had our Elections. When we came back to the Chamber, we had to fix a lot of things. We have to shore up the cracks or the weaknesses that came up, that we found out and we observed during a financial crisis. We were facing a new brand of terrorism, global terrorism, after September 11. Many of us would remember travel patterns change. It was a new normal. So, a lot of worries. We had the Remaking of Singapore Committee. We had the Economic Review Committee that set about its work. I remember the Government of the day promised we would leave no stone unturned and to slay sacred cows. I think we have been doing that. We have remade Singapore. But as we were doing that in 2002/2003, moving along, we were hit by SARS. We are not the master of our own destiny and that quite aptly proved it. So, it was thrown to us. But during the SARS crisis and after that, we took stock, we sat down and we realised how united we were. We came together, every Singaporean stood shoulder to shoulder, we fought SARS.”
“Sir, the Sports Facilities Masterplan costing $250 million was unveiled last year. The main objective would be to build facilities to cater for future sporting needs and sports development. Are there any updates in terms of new community-based sporting facilities to be built in the coming years, aside from a new stadium in Sembawang? How is the Government engaging both private and the community stakeholders and what is the gauge of the interest from them? Not just with building new facilities, would the Minister consider – much like MOE's programme like the PRIME Programme for rebuilding and improving existing schools – perhaps a Sports PRIME Programme for rebuilding and improving existing sports facilities. One to mention would be the indoor sports facilities at Clementi that is 20 to 30 years old. Cycling”
“I hope this can be extended to other male national athletes as well. The Olympics is not the only prestigious sports event, even if it is indeed the most prestigious. Our athletes require more opportunities to participate in as many regional sporting events as possible. Allow them to defer their NS if they have decided to put their life and soul into their chosen sport. As the host nation of the 28th SEA Games, the heat is on us to send in as many top-notch athletes as possible. Supporting Para Athletes”
“I would like to ask how are we supporting our NSAs with more funding and resources to promote their respective sports. Next, I would like to give my input on our Singapore Sports School. As in Sports Schools in many other countries, I am sure one of the desired outcomes of our Sports School is to produce world-class athletes. In order to do that, our Sports School must be able to attract top-notch athletes instead of losing many of them to other mainstream schools via DSA. Hence, I would like to urge for a review of DSA's criteria. Page: 154 I also hope that the review of the Sports School can look into lightening the academic workload of students, providing a through-train to its students all the way to University level in order to make the Sports School more attractive. Our Sports School has to aim high and, hence, I would think they should not be competing in our inter-school tournaments. Our Sports School athletes should be sent to compete in the region and beyond. In order to do this, the funding has to be adequate and more consistent. Just to give you an example, for School-Within-School Programme for table tennis (SWS), when it first started with four players, we were given $250,000. Today, there are 17 players and the funding is still $250,000. We cannot and should not do things half-heartedly. Finally, I would like to bring up the issue of NS deferment for national athletes again. Last year, the Minister for Defence made the highly commendable decision of granting swimmer Joseph Schooling NS deferment so that he can focus on training for the 2016 Olympics. This was a timely and possibly momentous move that is likely to have a huge impact on Schooling's sporting career and possibly Singapore's sporting history.”
“Sir, we will be hosting the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games as well as the ASEAN Para Games for the first time. Page: 153 Although we have hosted large scale sporting events, such as the YOG, it has been 21 years since we last hosted the SEA Games back in 1993. We have never hosted a regional paraplegic sporting event involving some 1,300 participants from the region. All eyes will be upon us. What is the status of Singapore's preparation for both the 2015 SEA Games as well as the ASEAN Para Games? Given that we are also celebrating our Golden Jubilee, are our resources overstretched? Are there contingencies should some critical resource needs overlap? Grooming Our World-class Athletes Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mr Chairman, last year, the Sports Facilities Master Plan was announced. May I ask the Minister to give an update on the new community-based sporting facilities that are to be built in the coming years? What are some significant sports infrastructure enhancements in the pipeline and when will they be completed? As Yishun Town is a highly populated town and also the second fastest growing town, my residents are looking forward to having more sports facilities there. What can we expect in Yishun? The Ministry cannot bear the sole responsibility of creating a sporting nation. Promoting sports must be from all levels, an across-the-board effort from schools, National Sports Associations (NSAs) and private sectors. The NSAs have been actively promoting their passion for their respective sports. I would like to declare my interest as I am the President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA). We should support them in their efforts to encourage and enable more Singaporeans to participate in different types of sports.”
“Given the encouraging momentum of arts and cultural heritage efforts in the community, are there more initiatives to bring arts and heritage events even closer to the wider community? How is the Government supporting community efforts to protect and preserve as well as to showcase our heritage and thereby foster a stronger identity? Local Artistes and Local Arts Scene My next cut on local artistes. Sir, the local art scene has come some way and it is dynamic, transforming itself all the time. Some 10 to 20 years ago, there were only a handful of names. A look at each year's Cultural Medallion awardees will testify to the development and pool of talent we have. To name a few, Nick Shen, who mastered the art of face change, Karen Tan returning from London and on to performing without missing a beat and, of course, in our House, Nominated Member, actress Janice Koh. Our local art ecosystem is much alive. What is being done to support our local artistes in their efforts to scale new heights in a challenging environment? What role can the Government play in aiding their development not only locally Page: 149 but regionally or even globally? Maintenance and Upkeep of Public Art”
“Thank you, Chairman. In the region of Southeast Asia, we probably rank amongst the top museums in terms of collections and display although we have not won many accolades. We have received some notable mention, though. Our museums regularly host exciting internationally known collections. The Art Museum used to host paintings of the famous Wu Guan Zhong, and the Asian Civilization Museum some years ago hosted one of the few internationally recognised Buddha relics. Yet, it was reported that both the ticketed as well as non-ticketed events suffer from a decline in attendance. What is the status of attendance since the free admission for Singaporeans and PRs? Would extending the closing hours to suit working Singaporeans to Page: 148 attend after work help, perhaps a night at the Museum or some programmes that we could glean from other successful museums? What plans are there in store to make our museums not only resonant with Singaporeans but as one of the must-see places when foreigners visit us? Not quite like the must-visit Guggenheim or National History Museum in New York. But we can aspire to become a must-see for museum goers. This should be a goal we can strive for. [Deputy Speaker (Mr Charles Chong) in the Chair] Arts and Heritage in the Community My next cut. Last year we witnessed an effort to make quality arts and heritage experiences more accessible to all Singaporeans in the form of free museum admissions. Each constituency launched art programmes, bringing culture and an appreciation of the arts and our heritage to a new level. I might add that the enjoyment and participation of the community in such events contributed to much more community bonding.”
“With this constant development, the National Library's collections of the socio-economic and political developments of Singapore have become more than "nuggets" of information, and records of our past are a connected Treasure Trove of Singapore's history. Although the role of the National Library may not be an actor in shaping the history of Singapore, a healthy collection of materials over the years, both primary as well as secondary, have accumulated. With the long history and the Page: 64 collection of materials, what more can the National Library do to showcase the same and, in so doing, help build a stronger sense of identity for Singaporeans? Public Communications and Engagement”
“Madam, we have one of the best libraries in the region, if not the world. Notwithstanding what was reported in the press, our libraries are popular with our resident population. Even some foreigners who have travelled here will make it a point to stop at our libraries. The lending and the reference sections of our library are well utilised and some library goers have even asked for more seats. As our population now stands at more than five million, what can our libraries do to continually maintain a high service, catering to changing technology and demands of library users? NLB and National Identity Madam, my second cut. Singapore would be celebrating our Golden Jubilee next year. We have certainly come a long way and, rightly, there is much for us to celebrate. But, at this important milestone, it is also important for us to reflect on our Singapore identity, especially in the light of recent changes to our demography and social fabric. Various agencies, organisations and groups have begun making preparations and arrangements to commemorate our Golden Jubilee. The National Library is an important institution to help Singapore and Singaporeans in this effort to take stock and reflect on our national identity. In fact, the National Library, as an entity, pre-dates Singapore's Independence. The National Library has its roots back in 1823, from Sir Stamford Raffles' time in the Far East. The National Library has not stood still but has evolved and, I might add, is "aggressively" transforming, as I speak, to meet rising and changing demands and even ahead of many libraries of the world.”
“Madam, I would like to declare my interest as a Board Member of the National Library Board (NLB) for all my cuts under Head Q. Madam, our small island-state is probably one of the world's most wired in infocomm technology, if not the world's leader, in terms of choices and availability of media and instruments. With my involvement at NLB, I am aware of the kaleidoscope of programmes, activities and services provided. While many had taken advantage of these services, even wowed by them, I am confident the libraries can do more. For low-income families, it would be hard-pressed for them to equip their children with tablets or smart phones – I hope that the library can look into that – and at the same time, there are many other segments in our society, for example, the physically challenged, the visually handicapped, that may face barriers of access to the library services. How would NLB ensure that its services can better reach the disadvantaged, the physically and visually challenged and the low-income households? Page: 52 Digital TV for All”
“As a result of the information provided by the citizen cops, the Police will able to apprehend UML harassment activities. This public-assisted arrest has contributed to the overall positive effects on residents over the safety and security of the neighbourhood. What other initiatives or support for community policing can we expect? Can the Minister update the House if the goal to roll out community policing at the 35 NPCs has been achieved? What is the progress? Are there any intentions to Page: 58 scale this up further and to include other partnerships? Use of Technology in Policing”
“Mdm Chair, our crime rate is low by international standards. Community policing is a principal policing strategy that has shown success since the NPPs were set up in the 1980s, and then the revamp of the same towards the NPCs in the 1990s. My residents in Clementi Division can testify to the effectiveness as well as the significant impact on the ground of community policing introduced two years ago as a pilot, through the various initiatives such as the Community Safety and Security Programmes and the very successful Citizens on Patrol. Our resident volunteers and the Police work together to detect, report, suppress and prevent crime in the neighbourhood. Through this experience, our residents learn that crime prevention is a community responsibility, as much as it is the Police's enforcement of law and order. It cannot be just a Police issue. Residents are involved in community policing. Safety and security can be enhanced if the community can be persuaded to do more for itself. Public education about the kind of crime, criminal behaviour and effect of different types of crimes in the community can further bring citizens to the growing force of community crime fighters. I congratulate the SPF for being proactive and incorporating community policing into its crime fighting strategy. At the same time, this ownership of the community and not allowing criminals to roam free encourages community integration and mutual trust. It is my belief that the Police Force is stretched and community policing will help our Home Team officers to concentrate on problem solving and investigation, rather than just incident response at the outset. Community policing cannot be successful if the partnership between the Police and the community is not established and strong.”
“Our education system has made our graduating cohorts attractive for the private sector. It would have to be a compelling, appealing and rewarding career for men and women to join up. Our current Force size is about 10,000, including civilians in service. Even if we harness technology as a multiplier to the Home Team in its work, we still need boots on the ground. As mentioned, will our young men and women be attracted to this noble profession and spend extended time on the beat? Page: 50 We can increase our Force size through enlarging the pool of reservists by having a larger intake of NS Policemen. Through a few cohorts, we can build up this ballast. Therefore, training resources and facilities must be prepared and future budget allocated. I urge the Minister to review policies as well as training and doctrines relating to security coverage, crowd control, incident response and rules of engagement. Organisation structures that directly affect frontline operating systems and response time could similarly be reviewed so that manpower gaps, resource re-allocation and hybrid solutions can be considered. 1.30 pm Resources and Outsourcing”
“Mdm Chair, Singapore is an attractive city state that many have come to work, play and live. Our resident population has increased over the years. In this respect, our security forces, particularly the SPF, needs to keep up. Sophisticated criminals are quick to adapt to new technology, demographic changes and increases in resident population. The Home Team needs to and will have to prepare, equip and deal with demands that such changes bring. In the 1980s, the Home Team was quick to realise that efficiency and speedy response could not be just placed with the divisional Police stations. With larger housing estates, they required a relook at the response and policing system. That led to the NPP system that was decentralised to better serve an increasingly urban Singapore. The NPC of today and the success of the Community Policing system in an even more urbanised setting is testimony to the foresight of that strategy. Even as we actively promote community involvement in crime prevention, we need more resources to address crime and emergency incidents. While the Little India incident had alluded to manpower issues, I am even more concerned that multiple incidents could have arisen from that. The ripple effect from, say, multiple incidents of terrorist action will put the Home Team's resources and deployment into question. Are we preparing ourselves in enlarging our Force size to cope with increasingly complex security situations that can befall upon us? Can our officers cope with the air and land checkpoint loads that Mr Tong alluded to? I understand that with increased expectations from a more affluent and educated public, hiring of officers to meet such expectations will be more difficult.”
“I empathise with the feeling of local business owners and totally understand their challenges. They are caught in a strait-jacketed situation of not getting the foreign workers they need and not being able to get Singaporean workers to do the type of work they need, And, now, in the face of rising business costs, they face the double jeopardy of rising labour costs of higher foreign worker levy and 1% CPF increment for their local workers. Last but not least, I urge the Government to maintain our vigilance over our global competitiveness and not let it erode. With that, Sir, I support the Budget.”
“So, the rallying call by the Minister for Finance in his Budget speech for a change in social norms towards productivity and, hence, higher pay, is taking root. But there are, as Ms Janice Koh mentioned, smaller micro businesses that will face a very different set of problems. Labour productivity is important. But for some of these micro businesses, they will first need labour. On the real estate front, a property market where prices today are reported to be still two-thirds above the 2009 baseline have skyrocketed, bringing along with it rental rates in no small way, contributing to the higher cost for business owners. I am glad that the Finance Minister is maintaining the current trajectory on the property cooling measures. Business owners have remarked that it would take time for rental costs to come down as leases renew. The effects of the measures in this respect have yet to be felt by business owners whose rental costs count as another bugbear to their businesses. This is probably the third year in a row that the business community is calling for some help, notwithstanding the Government's call for all to boost productivity. There is evidence abound of the local business community struggling and some sinking fast. For instance, cleaning contractors not being able to find manpower, resulting in many of the tables at our hawker centres and food courts with used utensils not cleared; Town Council contractors having a difficult time to hire Singaporeans as cleaners. Our restaurants are closing down or downsizing because of the lack of labour. Examples abound. Page: 146 Sir, a lot of the companies are calling out for help. If we ask the business community in Singapore if they are getting more and more expensive, I would say the ayes would have it.”
“And I take comfort in knowing that the Government, working with the Pioneer Generation, has brought us here and will continue with the fiscal probity that we have come to expect, and, I dare say, "enjoy the fruits of". However, what I am concerned about is that what is being done today may change our social norms and mores. While we are thankful for the recognition and assistance to the Pioneer Generation and somewhat easing the financial commitment for the children of our pioneers, it must remain a social more that we must endeavour and are duty-bound to take care of our parents and our seniors. We need to watch this carefully. We cannot abdicate the care of our parents and our seniors to the state, even if the state can afford it. We cannot take our eyes off this aspect in the development of our society. Social norms do change and it can come about from the acts of the Government, however sincere and meaningful the Page: 145 intentions may be. In other aspects, our radar needs to be up and observing trends where specific policies to tackle issues can overlap yet with another policy that becomes a grandfather's knot. Going back a few years, we saw many of our home-grown industries thriving on the back of the Asian economic recovery and the generation of healthy profits to gain market share. This was achieved through a dependence on foreign labour to meet the demands and boost production capacities. So, weaning off this dependency is painful, but we cannot ignore this. We are on borrowed time. However, I am not sure that productivity can be a panacea for this problem of labour. I spoke with some union members and they have seen the push towards productivity taking root.”
“The same folks pointed out that they were struck by the screaming Page: 144 headlines that Hong Kong could be in deficit in seven to 15 years if no new source of financing is found and if the Hong Kong government continues spending at the rate they have been on healthcare and welfare needs. What a difference the two governments are facing. Our ability to be able to be in such an enviable position is the combination of consistent practice of fiscal prudence, financial discipline, competent economic management and, may I add, political will. Many years ago, with public consultation, a White Paper and a rigorous debate, the GST was introduced despite much resistance. Many packages were in place to soften the impact of the GST introduction. Even as we speak, GST rebate vouchers featured in the Government assistance for many families. As we see the Japanese having to raise GST and Hong Kong's inability to introduce the same, it does say something about how Singapore faces up to the issues and how we deal with them. Singapore would be celebrating our Golden Jubilee, our 50th Anniversary as an independent state next year. While we celebrate our achievements and thank our pioneers for their grit, faith and support for the Government to help build the Singapore of today, we need to be vigilant and alert to changing social norms. The details of how the Government has structured and funded the Pioneer Generation Package have been lauded by both Government and Opposition Members of Parliament. No disagreement with that. Mr Liang Eng Hwa has cautioned that we need to continue to be prudent and responsible. He is right.”
“While executing many of these aid programmes, I would go as far as to say that many a time the same prudence at policy level had at the execution level irked many of those applying for aid, and I believe Ms Janice Koh had also touched on that earlier. Many pointed at the Government for being ham-fisted and the means-testing in place had drawn much ire. However, the Pioneer Generation Package bears no such condition and benefits all above the age of 65, all those born before 1949. This is the right thing to do for our pioneers. While the benefits drawn down by the pioneers may gradually be less as the group gets smaller, one would expect that this fund would, indeed, be sustainable. But I wonder if medical and healthcare cost inflation would affect the draw on the fund. After all, the issues and the pain over the last few years had been about rising medical cost. Therefore, the concern I expressed for future generations and the Government of the day to come up with successive packages expected of them will be a serious contention. Even with the best intentions and preparations and planning for one's retirement, it is difficult to predict medical and healthcare cost inflation. Speak to any pensioners and they would tell you retirement planning can be a game of Russian roulette; more so for today's workers. Sir, what is interesting is that during the conversations I had with some of the residents in Clementi on the Budget, they brought up the fact that the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong had also presented Hong Kong's Budget days after us.”
“Taking some load off their shoulders is, indeed, a welcomed move. Initially, when the package was announced, many younger folks and even some Pioneer Generation members were concerned that their future generation will have an increasing financial burden to carry. They were concerned that the possible shrinking tax base and greying population will present a strain on funding in fulfilling the commitment to the Pioneer Generation Package. They need not worry. The Pioneer Generation fund of $8 billion is not an endowment, but a trust fund. This amount comes directly from one Budget, thus circumventing the need to draw on our reserves for future spending on our Pioneer Generation. Page: 143 However, Sir, I am concerned that as we move along, will the Government of the day be expected by future cohorts of seniors to be aided by similar packages? We just heard from the hon Member Mr Png Eng Huat that perhaps the age of 16 in 1965 may not be the cut-off. May I ask Mr Png what age would he feel is appropriate? Would he set it at 1949 and before? Perhaps, he could enlighten us and give us his suggestion. With the greying population and a lower tax base, such packages may pose greater pressures on the Government and the future generation. Some years ago, we had to draw on our reserves to meet the needs of many. As they faced the challenges brought about by the global financial crisis in 2008, our Government back then was, indeed, prudent to return the $4 billion back into our reserves the moment the dark economic clouds lifted. We need to remain prudent as before. This characterises Singapore from many others.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to speak on the Budget. The centrepiece of this Budget, needless to say, is the Pioneer Generation Package. The generosity included in the Pioneer Generation Package and other goodies in this year's Budget has resulted in this Budget being labelled many things. Many I have spoken to – amongst them, senior residents in my Clementi division – have called this a "responsive" Budget. They have remarked that the Government has heard their call and concerns on medical care and living expenses in their later years. Many do not have children to take care of them or their children are unable to. Particularly, the Pioneer Generation is appreciative of the recognition and appreciate what the Government and fellow Singaporeans are showing them. This Budget is many things to many people. But I think one of the commonalities among the myriad of people with an opinion on this Budget is that it is a generous one. At the very least, 450,000 of our older folks will benefit from the Pioneer Generation Package. But Mr Deputy Speaker, I would argue that because of the many provisions in the subsidies towards their healthcare cost, the beneficiaries go beyond the 450,000 older folks. This is because, rightly or wrongly, I would assume that being an Asian society, many Singaporeans are looking after their elders. So, the savings in healthcare cost spent on their parents would translate to savings for the children of the 450,000 older beneficiaries. Sir, the children of the Pioneer Generation would be at the stage of their lifecycle where they will be having school-going children, and at the same time navigating and managing their careers in more volatile economic cycles than ever before.”
“I am happy to note that while one of the recommendations of the FATF-40 is for countries to adopt the measures set forth in the Vienna and Palermo Conventions, the refinements to the exemption provision in the amendment provides the calibrated approach that I talked about in my opening remarks. Mdm Speaker, finally, I would like to suggest that the authorities and, perhaps, even the media, educate more of our citizenry on the changes made to this Bill and, for that matter, the significance of the Act. Just as I am an advocate for more of our citizenry being our eyes and ears to suspicious items or situations in our daily lives, we can educate more people on the genesis of the Act. This education is particularly useful as naïve individuals could be used as "mules" in money laundering that potentially may be part of a larger web for terrorism financing. Mdm Speaker, I support the Bill. 3.21 pm Page: 49”
“This is consistent with the Government's bi-focus on the financial regulatory system and the criminal justice system. I believe this is Page: 48 also in the spirit of the FATF's 40 recommendations and the nine special recommendations. Mdm Speaker, the banking industry has been working hard alongside the regulators to erect, enhance, update and strengthen our defences against such crimes covered in both the MAS (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations, the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act and those covered in the TSOFA Bill. The practices of Enhanced Due Diligence, Transaction Trend Monitoring and Suspicious Transactions Reporting will shore up our fight against terrorism financing by our financial institutions. In keeping with our ambitions to be a pre-eminent financial centre, the raft of regulatory changes to address such crimes must persist. To better meet our international obligations and keep pace with evolving international standards on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism, the regulators have not shied away from doing the necessary. The amendment being proposed in this House, to increase the maximum fine for both individuals and entities, sends a clear signal to all of the serious nature of such acts. The inclusion of "tipping-off" as an offence into the Bill will ensure that all persons or corporations, not only financial sector persons, must be mindful of the consequences of their actions. I believe that the provision to protect their identity is also an incentive for informers to step forward. This will enhance the effectiveness of prosecuting those associated with such crimes.”