Augustine H.H. Tan
Singapore
“There are instances when reserves should be used, but the govern- ment has to make a case to the President and if good arguments are used, the President is expected to concur. I therefore end by asking you, as you have done in your speeches, to support this Bill with a very loud "Aye" when it comes to the vote. [Applause].”
“We must have confidence that in the end, as Singaporeans, we know what is overall best for ourselves. We are a community of free citizens committed to making Singapore a great city to live in and for foreigners to come visit and admire.”
“There is such a thing as initiative. Who initiated the project? What was the objective of the project? And there is such a thing as economies of scale, the benefits of which are passed on to the taxi drivers. Let us not forget those elements. An hon. Member: They do not pay tax on their income.”
“They can still enjoy the seafood regardless of the indigestion. They can do the shopping and do other things in Johor Baru. I believe that what is important for us is that we do not preclude ourselves the option of setting our own national policies.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister stated that it is undesirable to employ foreigners to run child care centres because they affect the values of our children. Is it not also true that by having foreign maids in our homes that they too directly impact upon the values of our children?”
“It was a point which I brought out much earlier when a similar matter was debated here in Parliament. Because the government could borrow on the basis of the reserves even though the President has one key to the reserves because there is such a thing as credit-worthiness of the country.”
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“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead RA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates. Sir, the first issue I would like to raise concerns the transfer of funds in the CPF to Medisave. I was quite surprised when I received my CPF statement recently that, sometime last year, quite a substantial sum was transferred from the Special Account into the Medisave Account. And I had thought that only 6% contribution was transferable, but apparently much more has been done.”
“Yes, I will do so now, Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $84,841,700 for Head V ordered to stand pan of the Main Estimates. The sum of $425,395,700 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head R - The following amendment stood on the Order Paper Supplement - Dr Ow Chin Hock Dr Augustine H.H. Tan Mr Lim Boon Heng Mr Heng Chiang Meng (1) That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead RA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates.”
“Yes. I would just urge him to give special consideration to local companies in other ways.”
“I prefer women to look after their own children. Sir, before I withdraw my amendment, may I just offer a few observations. Sir, we are moving into a new era where the private sector will take a leading role in our economy and, I believe, that the reformulation of some policies are going to be necessary, and the Members from this side of the House have been forthcoming with some good ideas. I think the suggestion on venture capital ought to get the attention of the Government, especially when Government begins selling government companies. There will be plenty of capital to dispose of. So one avenue would be in terms of venture capital. And I think we need to revamp our tax structure to shift capital from speculative activities to productive activities, and marketing is an area which our companies need help in. So I think the TDB's efforts will be much appreciated. At the same time, Sir, the idea about private inputs into public planning is an important consideration. The Minister for Trade and Industry has been very reassuring to this House and the figures presented before this House, I hope that would put paid to the dismal analysis and dismal presentations about the state of our economy. I am glad the Minister of State has voiced strong support for the GATT and I look forward to his participation in international forums to push the free trade idea, free trade policy, because that is so important for Singapore. Just a note of disagreement with him: he mentioned rightly that the domestic market is too small for us to consider protectionist - The Chairman: Dr Tan, you have finished all your 10 minutes. You had eight minutes yesterday and two minutes today.”
“But then in the first quarter of this year, there is a decline in Construction. That will make it so. What about the first quarter of this year?”
“Point of clarification, Sir. In Table 2, under item 5, Construction, for the fourth quarter, there should be a decline there. The brackets are missing. It is 367. The figure 367 is less than 374 for the third quarter.”
“I am a little concerned that we seem to be varying our policy in regard to work permit holders in Singapore. Not too long ago, we were told that we will be phasing out work permit holders. Then this was amended to say that we will phase out workers from non-traditional sources. Now we are told that we will be more flexible. So I am at a loss to try and understand how this has come about. If manpower planning is conducted properly, I do not think we should get such gyrations in policy at all. I have a suspicion that perhaps the labour requirements for the new hotels that we have been building at a rapid rate have not been taken into account adequately in the manpower estimates. Neither have the manpower requirements for the many shopping centres and office complexes been taken into account adequately. I raised the point earlier in the estimates for the Ministry of Education that I felt perhaps we are under-producing graduates in Singapore, or rather too conservative in producing graduates. And the reason for my saying so is that if one looks at wage differentials between graduates and non-graduates, that differential seems to have been on the increase over the years. That is a sure indicator that there is excess demand for graduates. Further, Sir, in the planning assumptions, I suspect that the Ministry has not taken into consideration the fact that there are several areas in our economy that could benefit from having graduates instead of non-graduates performing the tasks. In America, for example, no one can be a teacher even in primary school without having a degree, but not so in Singapore.”
“Unfortunately, Sir, even as tariff barriers have come down, non-tariff barriers like quotas, orderly marketing arrangements, voluntary export restraints and other protectionist devices, have come to the fore. And now we find increasing protectionism even in services and high technology products, areas which we have a vital interest in. So I would urge the Minister concerned to pay due attention to the GATT. I understand a new round of negotiations will be started fairly soon and we should be there in the forefront advocating free trade policies. At the same time, Sir, I believe that we should also be actively engaged in international fora, especially those that promote free trade. I was in Tokyo recently at such a forum and our Minister was invited but he failed to turn up. The next point I have, Sir, concerns the Economic Survey of Singapore, 1984. I am glad to note that over the years there have been significant improvements in the presentation of the Economic Survey. The standard of professionalism has gone up. But I see many authors contributing to various chapters. In Chapter 6 on Public Finance, there seems to be a little mix up. In Table 6.1, col. 617-8 the figure for expenditure for 1984 is given as $10.6 billion. But then when one gets to Charts 6.2 (a) and (b), Sources and Uses of Funds, suddenly the figure used is $14.1 billion and no explanation is given in the text. There is a minor footnote to Table 6.1. But to the average reader, he will never understand why there is a tremendous jump from $10.6 billion to $14.1 billion. It could be a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup. Sir, I would also like to take up a point about manpower planning in Singapore.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead VA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates*. Sir, I raised a question recently about the health of our economy because of a number of press reports that make our economy look in a bad way. Apparently, there have also been a spate of foreign press reports about the health of our economy. I have here an article xeroxed from The Star published in Penang recently. I will just quote two paragraphs: 'With problems cropping up at all major fronts and the number of bankruptcies on the rise, it looks as though Premier Lee Kuan Yew's oft-repeated warning that Singapore will face difficult times if there is a world economic slowdown is about to come true. Will Singapore be able as usual to rebound and give a new burst to its growth? Or will the economic bubble burst?' Sir, perhaps the Hon. Minister for Trade and Industry may want to give some facts and figures to show what the true position is. Secondly, Sir, in the Budget statement that was presented to this House recently, the Finance Minister said the following, and I quote from col. 487. 'Our free trade policy has served us well,and we will continue this policy. But we will have to work through GATT and other international organizations to press the case for a more liberal international trading system or at least to slow down further encroachments on free trade.' Sir, I would like to emphasize this point - that we should give our whole-hearted support to the GATT, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. This is a body which monitors trade restrictions around the world and it has been very successful in lowering tariffs in several rounds of multi-lateral negotiations.”
“Sir, do we conclude that Chong Boon is very crime prone and Whampoa is crime free?”
“Point of clarification, Mr Speaker, Sir. What kind of criteria are used by the Ministry in determining which constituency or areas should get their NPP post first and which last?”
“On a point of clarification, Mr Speaker, Sir. I understand that the Chong Boon Constituency already has a temporary NPP post and now it is going to get a permanent one. Could not the resources of the permanent post be better redistributed to Whampoa?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it was about 10 years ago that a Prison Reform Committee was set up and its recommendations were submitted to the Minister for Home Affairs. I would like to enquire of him what has happened to the recommendations, how many of them have been successfully implemented, and whether he is satisfied that the people who are sent to prison get sufficiently reformed after leaving prison. Perhaps one indicator would be whether the same criminals are sent back to the prison again and again. The second question, Sir, relates to the Neighbourhood Police Post. Members in this House have supported this idea and in Whampoa we are eagerly awaiting the establishment of these posts. Perhaps he could inform this House when would this be likely.”
“Sir, the Hon. Minister of State mentioned considerable wastage of water at construction sites, Has he some idea of the volume of water being wasted? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Speaker, Sir, it would be difficult for me to say exactly how little water you need to build a block with. But I would guess about 20-30% of the water being consumed could easily be saved, would be worthwhile to save.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Hon. Minister of State inform this House what kinds of fiscal measures are being contemplated, and whether they will be harsher on the wasters of water? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Speaker, Sir, indeed it has been the policy of the PUB to charge incremental rates for water. In other words, if you use less water the price is lower, and as your consumption increases the price for each successive cubic metre goes up. It is so for families. It is so for domestic users. It is so for non-domestic industrial users of water. It is the policy of PUB to charge higher, even punitive, rates to users who waste water. Let me explain like this. If we could get a lot more water by just building another plant, there would be no sense in having very high water rates, because we would just build the next plant, sell the water, and charge the consumers. But we cannot do that, because even if we can build the plant, there is a limited amount of rainfall. There is a limited catchment area, and there is no further fresh water available to be tapped. So we have to be very strict with wasters of water. If you just look at Singapore, half of Singapore is catchment area. What does that mean? It means the other half is housing estates, homes, roads, defence lands, and all the many other purposes for which land is required in Singapore and which we have recently discussed in this House. Half is catchment area, and you cannot make that much more than half, So we have reached the limits within Singapore, Even outside Singapore, there are limits, as I have pointed out, which will be reached within 15 years. So we have to be very, very conscientious and parsimonious with water.”
“May I clarify this point, Sir. I would like to inform the Hon. Parliamentary Secretary that I do not engage in smear campaigns, but when I do charge anybody with anything, the charges tend to stick. Now, the fact is that people outside are blaming the Government for this campaign. Secondly, PIE is mentioned again and again. So I thought I would raise this issue to give him a chance to explain. Instead of scolding me, he should be grateful to me.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. I do not see why the people of Whampoa should be flooded by other people's problems, such as from Bugis Street. I have always associated Bugis Street with spiritual pollution. Now I am told that there is physical pollution as well. Would the Hon. Minister give us an undertaking that he will deal with both kinds of pollution?”
“You cannot control, The Government cannot control prices. Already, people have been complaining that this Government has too many regulations, and we are trying to deregulate. Please do not get us into another mess. And if you get the hawker stalls tendered out, that will give them an even greater excuse to raise their prices. Because they pay high tender prices, they will charge even higher prices. So although the Member for Toa Payoh is my good friend, I believe that this is a bad suggestion to make. I am sorry to have to take him on.”
“Already, the wet markets are facing intense competition from the many new supermarkets which have sprung up all over Singapore. The third issue that I want to touch on concerns a point raised by the Member for Toa Payoh. I do not believe that we should go around telling the hawkers what to charge, and trying to restrict them. I do not like price increases, whether by hawkers or by anybody else. I do not doubt that some of them are taking advantage of price increases in taxi fares and in petrol to raise their prices. I have no doubt that they are doing it. But at the same time there are thousands of hawkers in Singapore. If you do not like one hawker, you can go to another. If you do not like one centre, you can go to another. If you do not like hawker centres at all, you can go to the restaurants or the fast-food centres. Why is it that nobody has complained that a cup of coffee in a coffee house costs $2.50 or $3.00, and it is only 45 cents in a coffee shop or 45 cents at the hawker stall? I mean, nobody pays any attention to the high prices paid by other establishments. So why should you come down on the poor hawker? Suppose the Government tries to do something about it and sets limits on prices: a plate of Char kway teow should not cost more than $1.20. Do you know what the hawker will do, if I were the hawker? I will give you less shrimps or less prawns; I will give you a few slices of meat less; I will cut down on the size of the plate; I can do all kinds of things. You try to limit the price I charge for my bowl of rice. Okay, you say, "No more than 30 cents". I use inferior quality rice, mix it with broken rice, I put more water in the rice, I give you a smaller bowl. There are all kinds of ways to beat you.”
“Sir, first, I rise* to protest the heavy and continued pollution from Sungei Whampoa. Despite the many promises of his predecessors in the Ministry of the Environment, nothing appears to have been achieved. It continues to be filthy and smelly. And it flows right past the Whampoa Community Centre. So I would hope that the new Minister for the Environment can do something about it soon. The second issue that I would like to raise concerns the frozen pork campaign. Now, Sir, we have seen many campaigns in Singapore and I am supportive of campaigns in general. They are a means of educating our people, but when it came to this particular campaign, I refused to support it. First, I ask the question, who is behind it? At first, I thought it was the People's Association. I checked with PMO. Apparently, it is not. I tracked it down to the Primary Industries Enterprises, a company formed, I believe, under the Primary Production Department. Sir, here is an excellent example of a Government-owned company that competes unfairly with the private sector. Just because this company has been given a licence to import frozen pork, it does not give the company the right to run a public campaign and have it done by voluntary organizations, like the CCCs and the MCs. Already, this particular company has raised the hackles of many hawkers by having pork stalls in wet markets, and now it is trying to push this frozen pork campaign. What business has the Government got to tell people what to eat, whether it be frozen pork or fresh pork, or vegetables, or what other food? So I would urge the Minister to put a stop to this ill-conceived campaign. Otherwise the Government will get the blame by the hawkers if they should lose their business.”
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Member making a speech or clarification? Mr Jeyaretnam: I am asking for clarification of what help the Government is giving to these schools.”
“And a similar problem applies to bursaries. I disagree with him that students should be channelled to private sources, like foundations and CCCs and so on, although these institutions are doing a very good service. I feel that education is human investment and that Government should find more ways to equalize opportunities to enable those from the lower strata of society to rise up the social ladder.”
“Sir, firstly, on the shortage of school teachers. I understand that the Institute of Education insists that graduates have two teaching subjects before they are enlisted by the IE. As a result, the IE has rejected several graduates from the University who have taken subject combinations like Economics and Statistics because Statistics is not reckoned to be a teaching subject. I hope that something can be done here because I feel several good teachers have been lost in the process. Sir, secondly, on the point of admission to NTI by a Polytechnic graduate. What I sought from him was an assurance that such a graduate who is now serving his national service be guaranteed a place upon finishing his national service, in the same way that a pre-university graduate waiting to go to the NUS has been guaranteed a place even while he is doing his NS. Then, Sir, on the question of free text-books, yes I take the correction. I think my eye jumped one line. The actual figure budgetted is $30,000 for this year and the figure for the previous year was $50,000. The Minister mentioned that there was under-spending last year and, therefore, he has cut the budget for this year. But then in the next breath, he gave the reason why this was so, namely, that the income ceiling is only $350 per month. Now, Sir, I do not know whether the Hon. Minister of State knows anything about the labour market, but he ought to know that there are very few people earning below $350 per month nowadays, and, therefore, if you peg the income ceiling that low, you are going to exclude virtually everybody. So I would urge him and his Ministry to review this income ceiling to revise it substantially to put it on a net basis, net of CPF, and not to use family income but head of household income.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have another amendment later but I would not be speaking on it. Can I use some of the time to respond to the Minister of State?”
“Sir, the Member for Potong Pasir made reference to my point about importing foreign graduates, and he suggested another university to solve the problem. May I ask him how another university can solve the sexual imbalance due to the fact that male graduates prefer to marry non-graduates?”
“Can I have a point of clarification, Sir?”
“People should do their best to climb up the educational ladder and better themselves socially. But at the same time, Sir, we should make sure that there is equality of opportunity. When we read of this case of the young girl from the Naval Base Secondary School getting distinctions in all her subjects, we rejoice with her. But at the same time, should we not be doing something to help cases like that? Last year, when the estimates for Education came up, I queried the Minister at that time on the number of bright students who came from graduate mothers and fathers, and the number who came from parents with general education, where the majority have come from people who are non-graduate parents, in absolute numbers. I proposed then, and I would propose again today, that the Minister should devise schemes to identify who these bright students are and then to give them every opportunity to maximize whatever talents that they have. Sir, I know of a case of a PhD graduate some years ago who was given a scholarship to go to America to pursue his PhD. It was a generous scholarship, but he said to the sponsors, "I cannot go." What was the reason he could not go? The reason was that his parents expected him to support them. This was many years ago. As it turned out, the sponsors realized the problem and provided $150 a month allowance for the mother, and that enabled the student to proceed on his scholarship abroad and he came back with a PhD. We should realize that family circumstances can be very inhibiting in so far as the development of talent by poor people is concerned, and we should make every effort to equalize the opportunities, whether by providing scholarships and bursaries or by providing facilities for study at community centres.”
“Firstly, may I ask the Minister what are the criteria for the grant of free textbooks, or the waiver of tuition fees and for the grant of bursaries to our students in schools? I have a suspicion, and certainly this is borne out by some cases that have been brought to my attention at my Meet-the-People sessions, that the criteria are unduly stringent. Firstly, gross income is used. We all know that 25% of gross wages goes to CPF. It is quite unfair on the part of the Ministry to use gross income as one of the criteria. Secondly, Sir, family income is used. If the family income comes from one wage-earner, namely, the head of household, then it might not be so bad because $1,000 earned by one person can be quite adequate for a family. But if that same $1,000 were earned by two or more persons within the same household, then it is going to be grossly inadequate. It cannot cover the needs of the family. If a man is earning $500 and his son is earning $500 he cannot hope for more than a $50 contribution from his son towards the household expenses. The son has to spend on bus fares. He has to spend on lunch. He has to spend on his own personal expenses. I would plead with the Minister to either remove this use of the family income as the criterion or else substantially increase the income ceiling or minimum which is stipulated, so that more people from poor families can benefit from bursaries, free textbooks and get waivers of their tuition fees. Sir, I want to emphasize this because I have been supportive of the Government when it says that we should not encourage people to stop working by being too liberal in terms of welfare hand-outs. I have been supportive of this. I have been supportive of the fact that people should work for their own living.”
“The suggestion was that we should import graduate men to provide spouses for our graduate women. I did not make that suggestion in jest, Sir. I have very good reason for this, and the reason is this. One way to climb up the social ladder for many people is to marry a graduate. If I have a daughter who is a non-graduate, my hope would be that she would marry a graduate some day. But when such people, non-graduate girls and mothers and their fathers, seethe Government making great efforts to make sure that graduate men are married to graduate women, they find one avenue up the social ladder shut off from them. So there is understandable concern, fear and anxiety, and I feel that this is not desirable. What do you think the reactions are of the many women, non-graduates, who have already married graduate men? Do you think they are supportive of this policy of the Government? Understandably, they get very angry. So we get a large section of the population very upset over the priority given to graduates. I hope the Government will revise some of these unpleasant, unpalatable and unwarranted policies accordingly. Next, Sir, I note that the votes for free textbooks and bursaries have gone down quite substantially this year, especially for secondary school students. On page 156 of the Budget I notice that the provision for textbooks and stationery for pupils has gone down from $50,000 to $30,000. And the provision for bursaries and scholarships for school children has gone down from $2.5 million to only $1 million. For junior college bursaries, there has been a marginal increase from $323,000 to $345,000.”
“I believe myself that our tertiary education system is under-producing the number of graduates that we require. I have a sneaking suspicion, perhaps more than a sneaking suspicion, that the planning assumptions underlying our manpower projections done by the Ministry of Trade and Industry under-estimate the absorption capacity of our economy for more graduates. But I shall be taking up this issue directly later with the Minister for Trade and Industry. Next, Sir, I would like to say that I agree substantially with the sentiments expressed by the Member for Leng Kee. I think Government has a valid point. There is a problem in so far as the reproduction patterns of graduates are concerned. But recognizing the problem is one thing, doing the right thing is another. Some of the measures are palatable, but one in particular, mentioned by the Member for Leng Kee, is certainly unpalatable. Any priority scheme arouses resentment on the part of people. So any priority scheme has to be devised with sensitivity. But this particular priority scheme that favours graduate mothers insults every non-graduate mother. The Minister for Education should realize that every mother has high hopes for her children. No matter how stupid they are, no mother will concede that her children are stupid. I have known cases and we read about such cases in books that even when the son is a criminal, convicted and imprisoned, yet the mother will never admit that her son has done wrong. This is in the nature of every mother. What the Government has done unwittingly is to insult the non-graduate mothers and I hope that correction will be taken in due course. Sir, when the Social Development Unit was debated in this House, I made a suggestion that people laughed at.”
“On behalf of my colleagues, I recognize the total impotence of the two Opposition Members, Sir, may I first of all take up a case? There was a young man who saw me recently at my Meet-the-People session, and he is a graduate from the Polytechnic. He is now serving his national service. He has applied to the Nanyang Technological Institute and he is likely to qualify for a place in the second year. This young man is quite concerned because, as he understands it, NTI does not guarantee a place for people who are serving national service, and who are Polytechnic graduates. I would like the Minister to clarify this before this House. Next, Sir, I would like to take up the question of admission criteria into the National University of Singapore. Whilst I welcome the recent liberalization, at the same time I feel that the system is what I might describe as a double-jeopardy system. Allow me to explain. First of all, minimum entrance requirements are not specified. They seem to vary from year to year. This puts tremendous pressure on our students in the junior colleges and pre-university classes. Not only do they have to do well enough to pass their pre-university examination but they have to do better than their peers. If in a given year there are exceptionally good students, then many of these students might be penalized. They might be barred from entering the University and the result is that there is tremendous pressure put upon our students. When the Minister complains that our students are not interested in ECA and diversifying their intellectual activities, here is a very good reason why, and this also explains why many parents spend large sums of money on tutors and pressurize their children accordingly.”
“Yes. Can I have the comment or the view of the Minister on this?”
“Some of the comments by industrialists have been that these concessions have been too few and make a negligible impact so far as their costs are concerned.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in the recent Budget Address, the Finance Minister gave a number of significant concessions like the suspension of the Payroll Tax and the reduction of the Skills Development Fund.”
“In looking at the Annex, while the various assistance schemes given to industries, both local and foreign, look good and helpful, one element seems to be missing, and that is, of marketing. What is the Government doing in this respect to help our industries in marketing?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Hon. Minister mentioned that the EDB intervened in some cases to persuade the banks to be more flexible in recalling their loans. We all know that the EDB was set up to attract foreign investors to come to Singapore. So, were their efforts made largely on behalf of foreign companies or were some local companies involved as well?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Hon. Minister seems to be implying that the press reports about bankruptcies and closures of companies have been a bit on the sensational side. Is he afraid that this may produce a panic situation?”
“It will soon be evident, Mr Speaker. There were six of us. Three of us, the Prime Minister, his Security Officer, and myself were in First class. His physician, his private secretary and one other were in the Economy. The only courtesy extended by SIA to him was an extra seat for him, and I saw him curled up asleep in two very short seats, less than half his height. My respect for him grew ten-fold on that occasion. And after the trip, I was billed for $90 for phone calls that I made from London. I was asked whether the phone calls were personal or official, and since I made personal calls, I was billed for $90. Words like "skinflint" went through my head. But later I understood the reason for it. Mr Speaker, Sir, people have been using figures in this House. But I was looking at the GNP of Singapore. In 1960, we had $2.2 billion; in 1984, $38.5 billion. Almost 18 times increase. And in the process we have created many millionaires and even billionaires in Singapore. It is the system of government that has created this. And I feel that what the Prime Minister said is entirely justifiable.”
“Sir, I am sure hon. Members are quite happy as I am with the courteous replies from the Minister for Finance. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $2,722,448,860 for Head N ordered to stand pan of the Main Estimates. The sum of $2,089,075,600 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head W -”
“On a point of clarification, Mr Speaker, Sir, in regard to the question raised by the Member for Changkat. Will the Minister enlighten this House whether part or the whole of the expenditure of the SDU would have come out from items like conferences, work shops, seminars, staff recreation and welfare expenses, items which seem to be available for every Ministry, not to mention productivity schemes?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not ready to give up yet. On a point of clarification. I do not know if the Singapore Monitor is more credible than the Straits Times. But a few days ago, there was a front page report which said that the Singapore Turf Club is considering setting up more betting centres in Housing Board estates. If this report is true, and if the Ministry of Finance is giving the authorization, then I am quite alarmed at the prospect because that would encourage more gambling by Singaporeans.”
“This leads me, Sir, to another question, and that is, the problem of the quality of service that our civil servants provide to the public. Do Ministers or their officials make surprise and periodic visits to various departments, especially at service counters, to see for themselves and experience for themselves the quality of service that is provided to the general public? Have there been many complaints about discourtesy on the part of civil servants? Related to this, Sir, is the question of whether the Ministry has provided for the political education of civil servants. They are serving the public. They are implementing the policies set by the Government, so they should have some political sensitivity. I know that some years ago, there were such political education courses provided for civil servants, but I have not heard of such courses in recent years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head N be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead NA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates. Sir, among the many responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance is one to enhance the effectiveness of the Civil Service through the establishment of appropriate terms and conditions of service, as well as proper training, career development and deployment of staff. Sir, in the last few years, much publicity has been given to the rapid promotion that returned scholars have obtained. These scholars are very bright, well educated, but their careers seem to be mapped out right from the start. These are so-called high flyers among the civil servants. And what they have obtained by way of rapid promotion seems to have attracted the envy of many people, especially among the non-graduates and those graduates who have been bypassed in promotion exercises. Sir, two days ago, the Minister of State for Defence reassured this House that as far as the Singapore Armed Forces are concerned, Mindef is looking more to the performance of the SAF men rather than their paper qualifications. This is very welcome news to those who do not know about it. The question that must be raised, Sir, is whether there is a bias in Civil Service promotion criteria. Is the Ministry of Finance concerned also about the career development for ordinary graduates and for non-graduates? In other word's, for officers in middle management and officers in Divisions III and IV. What are the promotional avenues available to civil servants? Is his Ministry looking into their problems of job satisfaction? What are the turnover rates like in the Civil Service in the last few years? What courses are available for self improvement of civil servants?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, is it true that, in the event any family is in rental arrears, then if an MP were to write in to ask for payment by small instalments, would the HDB allow such payment to be made? Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer is yes. In fact, in many cases HDB allows the rental arrears to be paid by instalments.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Hon. Minister inform this House whether, among the eight families who were thrown out of HDB flats, there were families already on social welfare? And among these families, were there able-bodied people, able to work, but not working, or refusing to work?”
“Sir, with your indulgence, I want to make two clarifications. First, in regard to what the Prime Minister said. Some years ago when I raised my query about HDB accounts in this House, first of all, the intent was not one of mischief. It was purely to determine the extent of the subsidy that Housing Board was giving per flat. I never questioned the fact that HDB is subsidizing and has been subsidizing all along. I was disagreeing with the Minister on the extent of the land subsidy. Now, may I make a clarification on the point raised by the Member for Potong Pasir, the concept of transfer pricing, Transfer pricing is an attempt by multi-nationals to cheat tax authorities, by so arranging the prices of the materials they buy and the output that they sell, to show no profit or to show a loss, in order to get certain concessions from the host government. So it is a criminal action. It is something designed to cheat somebody. Now, to use that concept against the Housing Board is an allegation of the grossest kind, unbefitting of an MP, whether from Potong Pasir or from anywhere. The purpose of the new accounting system, as I see it, is to reflect the true subsidy that the Housing Board is receiving from the Government. But I sought assurance from the Minister yesterday, the moment he finished, that, although ( realize that the actual cash subsidy amounts to several hundred million dollars a year, the Housing Board will continue to make its flats available to the people of Singapore at low prices and at affordable prices. I got that assurance for the people of Singapore. Thank you, Sir.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, a point of clarification. Is it true that, under the new accounting system, since the Housing Board will have to pay market prices for its land from the Government; the Housing Board in turn will need a much larger cash subsidy from the Government to the tune of several hundred million dollars a year?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Marine Parade, there is a lovely piece of land fronting the sea, which is built up by Housing Board flats. Surely would he deny that that land could have been tendered on the free market to a private developer for building luxury condominiums at several thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, surely the hon. Member would understand that the Government has the option of selling the land to private developers. Surely he also understands that HDB can have an alternative option of tendering the land from the Government and thereby paying the true market price. Now, what does he prefer?”
“Opportunity cost; alternative use of the land.”