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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,269 lines we hold for Augustine H.H. Tan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 26 of 26.
“A more modest rate of growth of 10 per cent would give us a doubling in seven years and a quadrupling in 14 to 15 years. In other words, although we cannot yet afford the kinds of welfare programme available in the more advanced countries now, we shall be able to do so in 10 to 15 years' time if we can keep up our present momentum of economic development. For the present, we should concentrate on the quality aspect of our social projects. However, we should never lose sight of our socialist goals of equality of opportunity and a fair share for all. Today we rightly emphasize the need for economic efficiency, as reflected in our slogan: from each his economic best to each his economic worth. The time should come when we accord each person the opportunity for his optimal development, demand of him not only his economic but his social best as well, and compensate him for his economic and social worth. Our present concern for a clean environment and the call for gracious living is a harbinger of such things to come. As we become more affluent, the cultural and social aspects of life should assume due importance alongside the purely economic. Sir, let me now go on to comment on the development of tourism in Singapore. As the Minister has pointed out, earnings from tourism constitute about 5 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product. The resources which have been invested in the industry are already considerable if one takes into account not only hotels but airport facilities, night-clubs and public utilities. Even more resources will be devoted, as can he seen in the airport expansion plans and the Sentosa development project. I think it is time we paused to examine two important questions.”
“While they undoubtedly have served a purpose in our overall investment promotion efforts, we need to ensure that the services promised to the investors materialize effectively. In many cases, there is a need to upgrade the quality of the professional staff. As our economy grows more sophisticated, the kinds of manpower used in monitoring and servicing industry must have corresponding technical expertise. I would hope, therefore, that adequate attention will be paid to the quality of our institutions, from the civil service down to the statutory bodies. The sixth factor is the control of speculative capital. Part of the blame for the escalation of housing costs must be assigned to the influx of what is known as `hot' money, that is, refugee capital from countries suffering political and economic disturbances. Real estate is a natural haven for such capital. Government should look into the means of controlling such speculative capital as otherwise the distortions created in our economy can be very severe. Mr Speaker, Sir, next I would like to comment on our expenditure on social services. The Budget provides for only a 7.6 per cent increase in this item in the Ordinary Estimates. However, this niggardliness is counter-balanced by a substantial increase in the Development Estimates, giving an overall increase of over 17 per cent for the social sector. This perhaps should have been brought out in the Minister's presentation. Looking ahead, I would think that it is time that we thought in terms of a modern social welfare programme incorporating the more positive features of such schemes from the advanced countries. Given our present rate of economic development, our Gross Domestic Product will double in five years and quadruple in 10 years.”
“We can rightly demand sacrifices of our workers in terms of moderating their demands for wage increases but, at the same time, they must not be made to sacrifice some of their real wages through inflation, correctly measured. Ultimately, the success or failure of our development efforts depends upon the exertions of our workers; it goes without saying that they are entitled to a fair return. I would now like to talk about the fourth factor in our optimum investment policy. Here I will put it as the avoidance of protection measures. I note with alarm the almost casual note inserted by the Minister at the conclusion of his budget speech, where he mentioned that protection for some industries at their early stages of implementation may be considered. I hope this will not be the case as protection via tariffs and quotas is counter-productive in the context of our small economy. Let me emphasize once again what I have said on other occasions, that the real argument for protection is for some kind of subsidy for labour training or marketing or organisation. Protection itself tends to create inefficiency and unhealthy dependence on the small domestic market. The fifth factor concerns the quality of our institutions. In the decade of the Sixties, Government did much by way of the economic infrastructure where, in addition to physical facilities for investors, services were extended from new institutions like the Economic Development Board, the Development Bank of Singapore, the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research, and so on. In the Seventies, we need careful evaluation of the effecttiveness of these institutions. One or two are, I suspect, white elephants of an expensive kind.”
“There must, therefore, be a national manpower co-ordinating body monitoring wage movements, checking labour supply developments, and attempting to synchronise with demand for various types of skills. I have argued at Economic Development Board meetings for such a body, since we can assemble the information on projects in the pipe-lines, and we can require prospective investors to indicate the type and the volume of skills required. Our policy with regard to wage increases has been that they should be tied to productivity increases. The problem of how to implement the idea fairly is still being worked out. Hopefully, the reorganisation of the National Productivity Centre should help in this direction. I should emphasize, though, that the avoidance of wage distortions is a macro-problem and takes precedence over intra- and inter-industry wage adjustments. Mr Speaker, Sir, I come now to the third factor, and that is, attention to the cost of living. Singapore is probably the envy of other countries since our cost of living has been exceptionally slow in rising. However, we cannot expect this happy state of affairs to last much longer as inflation in other countries is bound to have its impact on us in due course, because we have such an open economy. Moreover, as an academic colleague of mine has rightly pointed out, we are still using the budget weights of 1960! Since then, our per capita income has more than doubled. As people's incomes rise, the proportions of expenditures spent on food, clothing, housing and other items change, with greater weight being assignable to more luxury-type goods. We need, therefore, to update the weights used in the construction of our cost-of-living index.”
“A purely nationalistic reaction would be to close the doors to foreign investment and adopt an import-substitution policy. This would, however, be a tremendous disaster to Singapore. The key to full employment and higher standards of living in our situation lies in our present open-door policy to both trade and foreign investment. But from a long-term point of view, it is desirable that we try to nurture a corps of local entrepreneurs. This can best be done by, first of all, helping those local industries which are thriving and which have potential for expansion to secure better technology and organisation. There is a distressing propensity on the part of the Development Bank of Singapore and the Light Industries Services to waste time, money and effort in attempting to rescue industries which are incurable. I have also advocated more credit availability to our local industries and I note with approval the provision of an additional $96 million to the Development Bank of Singapore. Government should also help local industries in learning marketing techniques, promote mergers of existing concerns into bigger and more efficient establishments, and help local industrialists to identify worthwhile investment opportunities. The second factor is what I call the avoidance of wage distortions in the economy. In a situation of rapid industrialization, wage patterns tend to get grossly distorted unless there is proper meshing of supply and demand. Even if the general policy of wage restraint is effective, there can be considerable wage movements within the given scales brought about by the mobility of labour and the variability of entry points.”
“Now I cannot imagine how productivity can increase in such occupations! We have got to get our young people used to the idea of forgoing some earnings during a training period of two to three years, but with the expectation of a higher earnings profile later. The only way to induce such a sense of the long-term is to provide vocational guidance, where lectures are given on different career prospects. In addition to the two elements of industrial selection and labour training mentioned by the Minister, I would advocate attention to six other factors in framing an optimum investment policy: First of all is the nurturing of local entrepreneurship. As I have indicated on another occasion, our emphasis on export orientation poses a number of challenges to our entrepreneurs. In the first place, an enterprise has to be efficient in order to compete successfully with foreign goods in terms of price and quality. Secondly, to export success-fully, entrepreneurs must acquire the marketing techniques of advertising, trade missions and exhibitions abroad. The foreign investors come in with a ready technology, managerial capability, and well-established marketing channels abroad. Moreover, the kinds of foreign investment we have been getting lately are large. Indeed, the recent amendment to the Economic Expansion Act favours the bigger-sized establishments, quite rightly, from our economy's standpoint. However, we should recognise that the local entrepreneur is put at a relative disadvantage. He has limited access to technology, his concept of organisation is relatively primitive, his capital resources are rather slender, and he does not have the established marketing channels abroad.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Finance has given us welcome news in his well-presented budget. Economically, we have done better than we expected and we can approach the coming year with cautious optimism. Curiously, however, our performance over the last three years of some 15 per cent of growth a year in the Gross Domestic Product, one of the highest growth rates in the world, has been described by many commentators as a mini-boom. I wonder what a regular or a maxi-boom would look like. Let me comment first on the Minister's proposal to formulate an optimum investment policy. He has rightly emphasized two elements; firstly, the attention to selectivity in promoting new industries, where priority is to be given to industries with higher technology, established world markets, and the ability to utilize higher grades of skilled labour. Secondly, the Minister raised the important question of training skilled labour. Contrary to the view of my colleague, the Member for Moulmein, I think that the proposed use of the payroll tax is an excellent idea. The payroll tax itself is an anomaly in a situation where we are trying to create employment, so that the optimum policy is a subsidy rather than a tax on the use of labour. The use of the tax proceeds to finance the training of skilled labour, therefore, makes economic sense. In addition to the specific proposals for training labour outlined by the Minister, consideration should be given to proper vocational guidance in schools, and at the Ministry of Defence for national servicemen who are about to be discharged. I am told that one of the most keenly sought jobs, for example, is that of hotel toilet-attendants who can expect good tips by turning on taps and handing out towels.”
“Sir, very briefly, I would like to welcome the introduction of this Bill. I think it is both timely and necessary, as the orderly development of financial institutions is indispensable for economic development. I welcome especially the Minister's assurance of the co-operation of the Government of Malaysia in this regard. This is because of the inter-relationship of the two Stock Exchanges of the two countries, and in a matter of enforcement I hope that similar co-operation would be forthcoming. I am wondering whether the penalties which are specified in the Bill are adequate enough, especially $30,000 as the maximum penalty. The gaol sentence of five years, I think, would be adequate, but in view of the fact that the ill-gotten rewards of market rigging can be very considerable, in hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars, the maximum penalty of $30,000 would seem to me to be very trivial.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I would just like to add a note here, that I disagree with what my colleague, the Member for Punggol, has suggested about using combat training to reorientate the attitude of some of the graduate national servicemen. I think we have to understand that these people have some legitimate grouses and the Minister of Defence has tried very hard to remedy some of them. I do not think we should at any stage give the impression that national service, or any part of it, is, or will be, used as a punitive device for any purpose. I think that will defeat the entire purpose of the programme. By all means, let us use exhortation and incentive, but do not let us use the stick for this purpose, because what we want ultimately is the correct attitude on the part of everybody in Singapore, whether graduates or non-graduates - namely, the willingness, the proper spirit to defend this republic of ours. Part of the attitude of these graduates lies in our very success in creating opportunities, which are so many, and for those who have just come out from the university, they are eager to get into industry, into Government and so on. They see all the promotion prospects and they work hard. In the meantime, since some of them have been held back by national service while their colleagues have had a faster start in industry, they feel that they have lost out in the process. I would appeal to Members of Parliament here not to think in terms of national service in this fashion, namely, to punish people or even to use punishment to reorientate people's attitudes. 4.41 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have only a short comment to make on the seven-year age limit of taxis. There would appear to be a consensus that it will cause hardship. I endorse the point raised by the Member for Katong that a properly-maintained taxi may well last beyond seven years, without causing undue pollution. However, if the seven-year age limit for taxis is imposed, then I think the Minister might want to consider allowing taxis to raise their fares beyond the first mile or other than for the first mile. I think it is only fair that the cost of pollution control should also be partly borne by the travelling public and not solely by the taxi owners. 7.56 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the establishment of' a Monetary Authority represents a welcome tidying-up operation, gathering together a number of important monetary and exchange activities hitherto exercised by disparate authorities. The inclusion of the Minister for Finance as Chairman of the Board of Directors will ensure close co-ordination between fiscal and monetary policies. The' Minister for Finance is also Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Currency. It is not quite clear to me why the functions of the Currency Board are not being brought within the purview of the Monetary Authority or vice versa. The Finance Minister has mentioned that it is desirable to maintain confidence in the currency that we have at present. But I do think that we can still retain the automatic features of a currency issue while yet unifying matters relating to monetary policy, since control of the currency issue is intimately related to monetary policy in general. As a general comment, I think Singapore has been eminently sensible in not following slavishly the adoption of institutions elsewhere. In most countries, the Central Bank exercises monetary authority autonomously and often not synchronously with fiscal policy. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to welcome the establishment of a Monetary Authority of Singapore.”
“As for raising the qualifying capital expenditure for an expanding enterprise from $1 million to over $10 million, I think it may be desirable again to have a graduated scale, with so much exemption given for so many million dollars worth of additional capital expenditure. It is not clear to me why, if we allow pioneer benefits with $1 million capital expenditure initially, we should require reinvestment of $10 million in order to provide continuing benefits. Mr Speaker, Sir, the principle of the Bill is well considered and I support it. 4.25 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, I am happy to see this Bill. It has features that should encourage more joint ventures, greater size of industries and, most important of all, export-orientation. Joint ventures are particularly significant to an economy like ours, because when tax exemption is given, at least some of the profits accrue to our Gross National Product. There is a very real danger that where an enterprise is solely foreign-owned and is tax-exempt, the contribution to our Gross National Product during the pioneer period may be negligible, if we take into account the real cost of providing the economic infrastructure. However, the Bill gives encouragement to joint ventures only of enterprises worth at least $150 million. It seems to me to be desirable to have a graduated scale between the minimum qualification of $1 million for pioneer status and the $150 million qualification for special depreciation allowances and export-tax benefits of 15 years in order to encourage those industries that are joint ventures but which range in between $1 million and $150 million. In addition, we may want to build in a feature to encourage management and technical training to local people. Perhaps an index of the proportion of payroll which is paid to local personnel could be used in determining the amount of pioneer, depreciation and export-tax benefits, again on a graduated scale. It may be noted that salaries paid to non-local staff may add to our Gross Domestic Product but not to our Gross National Product which is the more accurate measure of national economic welfare.”
“The idea of a Science Centre is a worthy one. I only hope that it will not turn out to be expensive. I notice that no estimates of financial expenditure are provided. While we are fully confident that our Ministers are not extravagant people, as a matter of principle and a precedent for future Ministers who may not be so trustworthy, this House may want to insist, wherever possible, on the provision of financial estimates for proposed projects. As an economist I am not used to signing blank cheques. However, on this occasion I willingly do so. 3.55 p.m.”
“Sir, the question is this. Should the Minister not consider giving first priority to those people living in slum-like flats at $20 a month, with no private toilet, in Kallang as well as Whampoa and other areas? Some of these people were moved into these slum-like flats from resettlement areas, and they were told at that time that they would be relocated in better housing should it be available.”
“Yes. This is related to the question of priority for the -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my problem is similar to that of the Member for Kallang.”
“Indeed, with the foreign investment orientation of our industrialisation, I would think that people who are not fluent in English would be penalised. This problem extends beyond the immediate one of ex-national servicemen. It applies generally to graduates of non-English schools. If language is the barrier, then perhaps remedial courses in English might be conducted within the national service period and/or upon completion. If other measures are necessary, perhaps the Minister might consider the provision of subsidies to employers to provide in-plant training for ex- national servicemen. A further point, perhaps worthy of consideration, is the employment of ex-national servicemen in the public sector to which this Bill is not directed. While I am sure that the Public Service Commission is co-operating fully in giving preference to ex- national servicemen, I am told that, in some cases, processing of applications by the P.S.C. takes up to three months, which is a long enough period to demoralise any ardent defender of our Republic's freedom. Perhaps steps ought to be taken to strengthen the administrative apparatus of the Public Service Commission. In conclusion, I would like to lend my support to this Bill, because clearly our ex-national servicemen are deserving of special consideration for their service to the Republic. However, I would strongly invite the attention of the Minister for Defence to the matter of the employability of ex- national servicemen, especially those who have not been given training in specific skills, and the measures that might be taken to provide further education and English language proficiency. The combination of Ministerial exhortation, the stick provided by this Bill, and my proposed remedial carrots should be, hopefully, redeeming. 3.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I had assumed that the necessity for the introduction of the National Servicemen (Employment) Bill stems from the difficulties that the Ministry of the Interior and Defence might have experienced in placing ex-national servicemen in employment, but now the Minister apparently tells us that this is not so. The Bill will be placed on a contingency basis. The Bill assumes somehow that the required skills from the national servicemen are forthcoming, and that the employers can find from among the ranks of the ex-national servicemen the kinds of skills that they want. Similarly, the national servicemen would accept the jobs which are readily forthcoming. In that kind of situation, I do not think that compelling the employers to accept those national servicemen would amount to a very economic proposition. I do not have any firm figures to show the extent to which the ex-national servicemen have or have not acquired the kinds of technical expertise which will put them readily in employment. It seems to me that if they have not acquired anything else other than the ability to shoot straight, then they are going to be at a disadvantage when they come out of service. Instead of, or in addition to, looking towards a Bill compelling employers to engage or re- engage only registered persons, perhaps the Minister might consider means by which more national servicemen could be given the necessary skills, either during or on completion of their national service. In addition, perhaps opportunities for further formal education might be made available by a preference in granting bursaries, scholarships and loans. One further handicap that I feel some ex-national servicemen might experience is the lack of fluency in English.”