Braema Mathiaparanam
Singapore
“Sir, can I ask the Minister whether he would consider it a preventive measure, especially when foreigners come in to set up student agencies, etc, to do a background check.”
“Sir, I was in particular referring to a specialised kind of rehabilitation programme, because there are quite a number of offenders. Is there a need and, if so, would the Ministry consider bringing in some expertise in that regard? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: We can consider that.”
“Do we know the number of school children who may not possess a home computer? Is there any study done in this area? Are schools opening up their school laboratories so that, after school hours and on weekends, children who need to do their homework or browse through the Net to do whatever research, they are made available to them?”
“CouldI ask the Minister whether the criterion of having just two children is one of the deterrents? Is there a view on that? Doesthat criterionnot run contrary to the "Baby Bonus" policy where wedo not now put alimit on the number of children? If so, will there be any review?”
“Listening to the Minister's answer just now, I have one question on the role of MICA in such an eventuality where two companies, media giants, are talking about a merger. It has come across from the Minister's answer as quite a stand-offish approach. If that is so, what then is the role of MICA in discussions on possibilities of mergers?”
“I would like to ask the Minister what kind of approval system is there that you have such structures with barbed wires and nails to deter children from playing in the void deck. I accept that they should not be playing on the void deck. What is the approval process or is there one where the Ministry is concerned?”
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Every one of 296 lines we hold for Braema Mathiaparanam, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 6.
“Yes. I would like to thank the Minister for the transparency. Although we have discussed this issue, I have got three questions. He spoke about 24 deaths. I think it would be reassuring to the public if the lessons learned from the other incidents can be shared with the public, so that we know that there is constant improvement within the SAF where NSmen are concerned. The second question is with regard to counselling. To what extent will anonymity be preserved because there is a hierarchical system within the SAF, and NSmen who are young would look below to complain about their superiors? Thirdly, for errant NSmen, what is the system through which they can seek some kind of redress? And what is the system here that we have where you can complain against your superior and seek some kind of justice for any form of misdemeanors? Lastly, the Minister spoke about the wonderful booklets that have been produced. I would love to know whether they are in different languages. Also for some of them, who are not very proficient with their languages, will there be some kind of oral presentation to them? RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, the booklets are in different languages. This particular one that I have here, "My Son, The NS Man", is in both English and Chinese. I imagine they are in other languages as well. As I mentioned earlier, in the Recruits' Handbook, if a NSman has a complaint and he is unable to write his complaint down, we will actually help him to write his complaint down, so that he can seek appropriate redress. For counselling, anonymity is preserved. The counselling hotline, the number that I indicated just now (1800 2780022), is available, and this is anonymous.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. I thought you are not going to let me speak for half the population.”
“Sir, I am curious about the educational programmes that are given to pedestrians. I am asking this because right now there is a misreading at pedestrian crossings. The elderly person or the child does not know whether to cross or to wait. The motorist is also having that same dilemma. I think there is a lack of consistency and the pedestrians need to be informed that it is within their right to make a crossing. To have 16-17 people dying at pedestrian crossings is not a joke. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, there is no confusion on the rules. But on the ground, it is important to do the right thing in a certain situation. For example, at a pedestrian crossing, the pedestrian will have the right of way. But our advice is that pedestrians must also be careful, because there may be drivers of cars who may not see you or who may be speeding or the driver may be drunk. If that happens, whilst a pedestrian may have the law on his side, he also suffers. So let us take this approach where we will continue to educate all concerned. It is better to be safe than sorry. For example, for young children and for the elderly, the advice to them is that when they cross a pedestrian crossing, they should raise their hands to catch attention. It is not required by the law. But our advice to all, including parents with children, is they may want to do that little bit extra. I have been to many Traffic Police functions over the years encouraging Singaporeans to be better motorists and better road users. If all of us can internalise it and if each of us with our own circle of contacts, whether as parents or siblings or children, can keep reminding our loved ones to be careful on the roads, that will go some way.”
“The data from the Manpower Ministry shows that men and women above 55 have an average net balance of about $30,000 and $23,000 respectively. I wonder what is going to be left for them to see through their retirement and old age. Inter-generational transfer of CPF savings has led to its own erosion for this group of account holders. The savings of this group of people too need some kind of shoring up so that they can tend to their health concerns as well as retirement. Lastly, I would just like to say that in this whole CPF phenomenon, there is a whole group of people who have upgraded themselves constantly and may be caught in a jam. There have been reports in the papers of some of them earning about $2,000 vying for or living in a 5-room flat, and wondering how they are going to cope. While we try and put in these packages, etc, for the current group who is coming in, I think the financial counselling at the HDB end and at other various ends needs to be propped up so that people are very much in the know. As Singaporeans, we too have to realise what is the value system that we are holding on to that has just led us to upgrade and upgrade, and now we are caught in not so wonderful a position, in some cases.”
“I now turn to the two most vulnerable groups, in my opinion, who are in our midst. We need to think more long-term for them so that they do not become a social cost to the nation and their self-esteem is not compromised. I thank the Ministry of Manpower for giving me a very comprehensive reply to my Question on active and inactive CPF holders. From that data, there are 1.1 million inactive CPF account holders, of whom almost two-thirds are women. Among the active account holders of 1.3 million male members, there is a gross balance of about $110,000 while women have about $80,000. Women tend to live longer than the men and they have much less in their CPF. Many have dormant CPF accounts as a result of unemployment or being employed in the informal sector or being home-makers. We need to look into the CPF scheme to prop this up with various schemes that have been mentioned by Dr Jennifer Lee so that we can help these women and help them through the later years of their life. I would also like to ask if the CPF Board would like to consider perhaps an acknowledgment for this group of women who hold inactive CPF accounts that they be notified that their husbands are about to retrieve their retirement package so that at least they are aware how much money their husbands have accumulated and also plan with them, such that Batam becomes a figment of their imagination. The other group of people that I think we need to pay a little bit more attention to are the men and women in their late 40s to 50s - the sandwich generation is what we sometimes call them. They have been responsible family members taking care of their children, parents and, in some cases, grandparents.”
“I would just push it a bit further to ask that it be a one-stop financial planning and counselling service to families in need such that what needs to be done can be mapped out against a time-line and all the aid schemes that are being offered and pegged to the training that they should be getting, plus what I am calling unofficially a "de-tox programme" to get rid of the problems that are stifling them or making them more dysfunctional year by year. With this time-line and constant monitoring, I think we will be able to get quite a number of our various aid schemes under a proper system of implementation which eventually should have an outcome that the family must move on and be better off. Thirdly, a query on the help schemes. The HOPE and the Small Families Interim Assistance Schemes have left the single parents in the cold. Then we ask why many among the single mothers do remarry and sometimes go on to have more children with their new spouses. Most of them, as data would show, are in the low income group. Many are also home-makers. Empowering such women takes time, training them for jobs will take longer when there is a conflicting demand on their time to look after the children. They also have a strong patriarchal mindset that men are the ones who should look after them. Given all these, it would be timely as social workers and VWOs work and get on with the educational programmes for these single parents. We should also back this with political will to help them to understand that people do come from different circumstances and not just review such cases on a case-by-case basis. In short, to me, the HOPE scheme and the rental policy do lack the vision in helping such families to get on and break out of the poverty cycle.”
“Often, they are still functioning quite primarily as hirers and firers when globalisation demands a new order that ought to include personalised career planning portfolios, constant job-redesigning and training. They need to be ahead of the curve like UPS and Hewlett Packard who have constantly redesigned jobs and offered the right kind of training so that retrenchment becomes hardly, if ever, necessary. It is an irony that our only natural resources - the human being, the worker - are led by HRMs that are sometimes not fast enough on the move and do not themselves have a clear job description on personnel enhancement, processes and outcomes and to remain ahead of the curve. On the aid schemes that were spelt out, I share Mr Iswaran's deep concern on attitudes towards people in need. He has expressed his views so eloquently that I will just add this to the discussion - that as we render aid to people in need we need to suspend our own judgment or sense of values. None of us will ever know what it is like unless we walk in the other person's shoes, as what Atticus said in the book "To Kill a Mockingbird". I think that is a lesson we can all remember when, through our frustration, we start passing on some of our value judgments to the person in need. Secondly, it is vital to implement aid schemes well, with consistency and with expertise. Mr Ahmad Magad has already spoken on this need to have financial counselling.”
“It brought on a great sigh of relief that we do know that in spite of the cut, the people in different sectors will be taken care of. The Cut Waste Panel is an excellent idea and I hope the terms of reference here will include looking at processes and schemes and not just the smaller items, though they are equally important. Competition between health clusters and among hospitals has driven costs up, especially sometimes in terms of salary packages for clinicians. Competition among schools has also led to much out-doing of each other in terms of event management or brochure-ware to `sell' the schools. Competition among departments and across Ministries has also driven small launches into mini-stellar events. The argument then that they are sponsored, in my opinion, by corporate sponsors' money, does ring hollow at this point in time when this valuable money should go into the coffers of Community Chest or any other charity that is crying out to help the less privileged in our country. I am heartened that the civil service salaries will be reviewed as it is hard to know right now which market is driving up whose salaries - the private driving up the public or the public driving up the private. A clear example has been given by Minister Lim Boon Heng last week on the benchmarking across different work groups in that international table that he shared with us. On training, while we inject money to give more training for the vulnerable and the unemployed, may I also suggest that we redesign the job scope for Human Resource Departments. HRM and HRD (human resource development) in many companies are sometimes functioning as separate entities or entities with very loose links. HRMs need to be agile, imaginative and visionary.”
“We have already lost big clients to Malaysia and the very example cited by Minister Lim Boon Heng of Philips having moved its manufacturing plant to Batam is also another case in point - cheaper land and labour costs in Batam. Land costs, I think, need to be buffered differently for different industries here. As our retrenchments are most deep in the manufacturing sector then it is equally important to see how land costs can be reduced for such industries to carry on their work in Singapore and provide jobs. Another example is that if we aim to be the fashion centre of the east, then the retail sector needs a helping hand too. A Straits Times article last March showed that land costs for SMEs soaked up between 5% and 10% for the manufacturing sector while the bill for the retail sector was between 40% and 50%. Yes, land costs are coming down but we need to do more and be more creative too. We cannot afford to have any more white elephants if we can help it. An example in point would be to help small businessmen who are looking for cheaper rentals. Might it not be a better idea to rent out the old HDB HQ at Bukit Merah at a much reduced price or to also help the 49 aspiring business enthusiasts from the NTU's Technopreneurship Centre that Mr Raymond Lim spoke about last week? These are individuals who need a start-up hand or a helping hand with cheaper rentals. This Centre in Bukit Merah - right now I am not sure whether it is white or cream-coloured - can become a bustling centre, perhaps even called the Creative Business Centre, and who knows, in time to come, we might have a Sim Wong Hoo emerging with all credit going to HDB. Next, I would like to comment on the $1 billion relief package.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to join in this discussion. I have a few points to make on the recent announcements on the CPF and I hope I will not repeat too many points here. Firstly, I am of the opinion that the cut is not deep enough if we are really trying to meet our objective as spelt out in the Prime Minister's speech and that of the NTUC's chief, Mr Lim Boon Heng. If our reason is to make our workforce a more competitive lot from a wages' point of view, then I personally think that the cut could be deeper. A three percentage point cut can save employers about $1.3 billion a year. The bulk of this saving will be appreciated by the biggest employer, the Government and the Government-owned companies. The Government, as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, will save $175 million through this cut. Employers are mostly grateful but also cynical that these cuts will significantly reduce job losses or bring in foreign investments or stop the outflow of investments. If this is the reality then, is this only a half measure? It would be a sorry day if employers bite the bullet only to make sacrifices for a short-term breather, a glitch on the globalisation radar screen. If we are seriously trying to lure MNCs back and be a serious contender against China and India, this CPF cut will only buy us a bit of time and slower the pace on retrenchments. But whether it will make us attractive enough is a moot point which I hope there will be further clarification on. Secondly, on the issue of land costs, DPM has already reassured that prices have fallen since 1994 by as much as 41%. But are we still cost competitive with other countries around us?”
“Could I ask the Minister how many appeals have HDB acceded to where this 30-month waiver is concerned?”
“Sir, the Minister of State asked for terms of reference. Maybe it is timely to form a task force and I will be more than happy to give the terms of reference to the task force.”
“The Minister of State has asked for suggestions. We have gone through this discussion a few times. Is it possible perhaps to think about conducting a proper research into this matter to see exactly how vulnerable our children are?”
“Sir, I have to come back to the same question about teachers and principals. I feel that the question has not been adequately answered. Parents, yes, the key word I used in my question was "inadvertent". Parents may directly or indirectly bring in some prejudices into a child's life. It is imperative in the early childhood as well as in the lower primary that our teachers have good coping skills to deal with such prejudices and not turn away, because they are inadequately prepared for it. So I would really love to know what are the courses that they are equipped with. What are the skills? What can we learn from other countries? What can we introduce so that our teachers are better equipped to deal with such prejudices that do surface with young children, who do not even know perhaps what they are saying?”
“Can I please get greater clarity on the courses that our teachers and principals, including support staff, go for? That is the bedrock, and I would like greater assurance on that.”
“Lastly, I would like to suggest to the Government that perhaps it is time to consider a Declassification Act so that in another 30 years or so a citizen can exercise the right to ask for files to read and look for himself or herself a part of Singapore's history and to fully understand and comprehend our evolution as a nation. If that can be done, it would be wonderful. For now, I personally think that getting to information is still not an easy road and there are many road blocks. My last word on this matter is a challenge: how ready are we to share retrenchment figures by ethnic-based groups? The usual stuff that comes up with that is that it has to do with our national interests, our neighbours, etc. It is understandable. But this is our country and this is our home. If retrenchment figures are skewed in any particular way against any ethnic group, then it is good to see what is the qualitative data that supports that, and then put in the skills programmes to equip each and every person and, if it is a language-speaking capability, then to look at whether it is a backroom operation or a frontend operation that has brought about the retrenchment. And if it is really something that speaks of certain prejudices, then this society needs to look at itself and come up with a better model through better communication, and we will all have to play that role in eradicating any form of prejudice, if it does exist at all.”
“And we again heard just now from the Minister for Manpower, when we were talking about this issue, that there are jobs, it is not a question of race, but there are jobs for Singaporeans and there are employers. If the two are not matching, then we have to understand why it is not happening. That becomes a qualitative analysis that will steer policy-making and/or communication issues. In conclusion, I would like to say that managing information is a communication process. It could be less top-down, more engaging of public stakeholders, less critical of the role played by academics, journalists, civil society groups and private citizens, who believe that they have a stake in this country. A maturing society cannot be told that information is sensitive and then expected to retreat without good valid explanations. The fewer closed-door feedback sessions we have with the public, the more all institutions, including private enterprises, open their doors to sharing information with the public, then we are really on the road to becoming a more mature society. Sometimes, the cue is taken from the top. We have now seen some institutions with annual reports that display over-summarised financial statement pages, and heads of departments who do not share information with their own staff because it is considered privileged. If there is greater openness from the top down, people below too can be sharing information that, more often than not, is actually not sensitive.”
“My question is if such collation of information is consistent and in keeping with the changing times of our society. In this regard, I would like to highlight that the criteria used to collate information needs reviewing. If we are really to know how a society is evolving, then equally important is the process of information gathering. Often, there is an over-generalisation or over-summarising of categories. We heard an instance just now when the hon. Member, Mr Iswaran, brought up the example of the service industry. If an over-summarised figure is in the public domain, it is sometimes hard to know what exactly constitutes the service industry and how it is impacted. I sit in AWARE's Sub-Committee on Women and Ageing. We have come across quite good data on women-headed households but are stuck when it comes to secondary data. It is quite elusive. Who constitutes a woman-headed household? Is it a divorcee, a single-again person or a single person? Why can this kind of information not also be made readily available in the public domain? That is as an example. My third concern is that sometimes in policy-making issues, we tend to place a greater emphasis on quantitative information at the expense of qualitative data. To cite an example that appeared in the recent edition of Life!, Dr Nirmala Purushotam, an ex-academic don, struck a chord when she was commenting on the quantitative data on inter-racial marriages. The quantitative data will show that we are in a healthy situation, there is greater integration among the different races. But her quote begs another question whether a qualitative analysis might show that perhaps some individuals are not marrying their own kind in an inverted stereotyping of one's own race. That, I think, has its own implications.”
“Such a lack of clarity has given rise to some of the following instances cited by various people I spoke to as well as from my own experiences as an ex-journalist: profiling of teachers by gender and age becomes sensitive information not open to the public domain; breakdown of foreign workers by nationalities is secret; emigration figures are sensitive; number of prisoners on death row is sensitive; the criteria used to categorise employment pass holders as Category 1 or 2 are classified information; the number of people who are in debt over mortgage payments is a difficult no-no; the number of ITE students entering polytechnic or the number of polytechnic students entering university - for these instances, the feedback one gets at the first entry point is that the information is sensitive. What then are the classification codes for the above examples, and who decides? Has any such information been upgraded to a higher level among the four categories or downgraded and released into the public domain? If so, when does this happen? What is the criterion surrounding that? These answers can help the common person to at least understand how information is disseminated and communicated to the general public. The second concern that I have is the process by which information is gathered and collated across the Ministries in terms of consistency. For example, if the Ministry of National Development collates its figures on its tenants in 1-room and 2-room flats and if that data is used to reflect or categorise residents as either the "Still Poor" lot or the "New Poor" - this same kind of database is stretched across to be used by other Ministries to identify who are the poor among us and what kind of schemes should be used to help them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak on the subject of public information processes. I am raising this matter about information in the public domain as I do not want to go into this recent incident involving the Ministry of Manpower and the university dons. Mine is of wider scope and, as a citizen, I feel quite strongly that what falls into the public domain is something that perhaps we ought to relook. On that premise, these are the three primary issues I would like to raise. I would like to ask for greater clarity on what constitutes public information, who decides that such information be labelled as "sensitive" or "in the national interests". I understand that nationally there are four categories for classifying information, ie, Confidential/Restricted, Secret, Top Secret and Top Secret and Cicero. Understandably, as one moves up the secrecy ladder, fewer and fewer people have access to the various grades of information. But what will be useful to the common person is to share with the public how such information is classified, how these classifications of information are implemented, and what really are the parameters around such information.”
“May I ask the Minister, in the light of the current unemployment situation, what would be the criteria that would be used under the Interim Short-term Financial Assistance Scheme when six months are up and there are still difficulties in securing a job? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: On the ground, we have left the implementation of the IFAS to the CDCs. Not all CDCs will operate the scheme uniformly. There have been cases where those who have exceeded the six months are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Our assurance to Singaporeans is that we will try and help them as far as possible within the means that we have but, at the same time, they should also take advantage of some of the schemes that we have already put in place for them to get a job or go for the training and retraining programmes. So, the CDCs have, in fact, under the current circumstances, extended help to those who have exceeded the six months' criterion, based on the particular needs of the family. I do not have the figures, but we know that, on the ground, several CDCs have also implemented their own schemes to try and help some of these families. AFFORDABILITY OF HDB FLATS 7. Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for National Development whether, in the light of the ongoing wage reform and wage cuts, HDB flats will continue to be affordable, especially to the younger generation of Singaporeans whose starting salaries will be lower.”
“Sir, I am a little bit more confused now. How temporary is temporary because if we are widening the walkways under the other clause, surely we are not going to give back the land at some point? In other words, it is not a displacement issue, is it?”
“As such, under the Street Works (Amendment) Bill, is it possible then to add a clause where safety issues are considered such that maintenance of walkways will always be there, so that people can use them knowing that they will not be injured? Like my colleague Mr Andy Gan said earlier, we have seen tree roots in the walkway itself. We have seen lamp posts intruding into the footpath that has been beautifully constructed. We have also seen those huge grey utility boxes taking up almost a third of the width of a footpath. One special section of a footpath that I would perhaps like to draw attention to would be Bedok South Avenue 1 along Upper East Coast Road. It is a very narrow footpath that I think anyone who is not able will not be able to use. While we spend much money on such construction, it will be good to have a safety clause so that that becomes a maintenance issue that we can take into consideration. Before one can support this Bill, I would like some assurance, please.”
“I thank the Minister of State for explaining the rationale to the amendments in this Bill, which I agree will help to improve the conditions for commuters and pedestrians. However, I have two concerns that I hope the Minister of State will kindly clarify. First, like my other colleagues before me, I would like to refer to clause 5 which amends section 9(1) to authorise the Land Transport Authority to take possession of any land to construct or improve any street, or install or remove any road structure and road related facility. Could the Ministry please clarify and give details on how the owners of land will be notified or compensated under this Bill? Currently, there are such provisions under the Land Acquisition Act for the LTA to negotiate with land owners for land that is needed on a non-urgent basis. Does the property purchasing section of the LTA function in the same way under the Street Works Act when land is being acquired for better roads? Could the Ministry please clarify should some amendments be included in the Schedule to this Bill? My second concern is in reference to clause 15 (section 27). Land can be acquired to improve existing walkways or to construct new ones. In the process of designing or redesigning walkways, may I please ask that provision be made for wider footpaths to accommodate especially the width of wheelchairs. In some cases, some footpaths are really narrow. And I think with an aging population and more people wanting to be mobile as they use their wheelchairs, it becomes important that our footpaths are wide enough. Some of our elderly do use walking sticks; some mums and dads do push their babies out in strollers; and where the walkways are concerned here, sometimes the quality is not there and they are not well maintained.”
“I have got a question actually for the Inter-Ministerial Committee about foreign students in the various institutions. When they return for their studies, is there anything here where quarantining them is concerned? The other question is: healthcare workers sometimes do get into their own habits and since we are here with SARS for some time, what can be done now, where the medical students at NUS are concerned, such that the component on infection control is revved up?”
“I have some questions for the Deputy Prime Minister. Talking about screening, will people crossing at ferry points be included? What is the rationale for giving the money to employers to give out to employees who are on home quarantine? Lastly, we are here for the long haul. What are the plans to help take off some of the load, especially of the frontline workers in the hospitals who are doubling up to help out, eg, in SARS-screening duties, etc, and whether we can work with the Ministry of Manpower to retrain retrenched workers, etc, to do them?”
“Could the Minister please let us know when these translations will be available, because the foreign workers are already at the doorsteps of hospitals?”
“Sir, the Minister spoke about language translations. I would like to know the number of languages it has been translated into and whether these are ready. What is the current capacity for quarantine?”
“This is why it is best to adopt a multi-agency approach and ride on the established Family Violence Dialogue Group and Networking System, rather than set up a separate machinery and legislation. Any elderly person requiring help can access services through a number of contact points, including the Family Service Centres, GPs, community agencies, MCDS or the hospitals. Healthcare professionals, in particular, are all well placed to identify and refer suspected elderly abuse cases for help. We are actively working to educate those in the Network on how to deal with elderly abuse. We recently ran a seminar on this subject for social service practitioners and health care personnel and made available a booklet entitled 'Understanding Elder Abuse and Neglect - Detecting and Helping'. Sir, the initiatives I have mentioned are part of our overall strategy to prepare Singapore for the challenges of an ageing population. Our approach is threefold - promoting personal responsibility through public education, creating opportunities for our seniors to contribute and play a role, and strengthening our eldercare services to help families cope with caregiving. The challenges are multi-faceted and require a coordinated effort not just among the Government agencies, but also among all sectors of the society. The desired outcome is for our older Singaporeans to age with dignity and to continue to remain healthy, active and secure in their golden years. I think I have addressed most of the concerns.”
“In planning services, my Ministry will continue to explore co-location of services where there are opportunities to do so. Dr Lily Neo would be pleased to learn that we are currently developing a multi-service centre in Jurong West, which will house services for the young and old under one roof. The centre is expected to be ready by the end of 2004. We will study the benefits of this pilot before expanding the concept to other housing estates. Not all our seniors have families to turn to, and Ms Irene Ng has touched on the needs of one such group - the elderly singles. Our programmes, such as befriending and home help, have succeeded in reaching out to some of these individuals, offering them much needed social and emotional support. Notwithstanding this, we agree that more could be done, particularly for those living alone. Sir, in this regard, we are working towards strengthening the community support network for this group, through developing a manual that will guide agencies on the action to take when they encounter such individuals and how to link them to support services in the community, such as the Neighbourhood Link and the Befriending Service. I spoke about this yesterday as an example of community resilience and that we want to develop support groups for all who are in Singapore for them to continue to have social and emotional support. Dr Warren Lee suggested an Elderly Protection and Care service along the lines of MCDS' Family and Child Protection Service and the Children and Young Persons Act. We agree with Dr Lee that the emphasis must first be on finding workable solutions for the family and not a punitive, legalistic approach.”
“A third breakthrough is that starting from April this year, my Ministry will be funding community case management service as a national programme. This is a significant development as it would pave the way for better coordination of community care for our older people. The service has been piloted locally and over 97% of the caregivers surveyed have found the service to be beneficial. This service provides a one-stop entry point for frail elderly who have multiple and complex needs. Case managers will assess the elderly's needs and put together a package of appropriate services and continue to monitor the progress of the individual. We will spend about $400,000 on this programme annually. Over the next couple of years, MCDS will study the feasibility of a one-stop assessment and referral service for our elderly. Such a facility could bring about a quantum improvement in the care of our aged. My Ministry will study this issue closely with the Ministry of Health. Sir, a much needed breakthrough is in terms of employer mindset in hiring older workers. We will work with the Ministry of Manpower and other partners to address this issue, but there is a need for employers to do their part. In this regard, I commend the KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Dr Lee for being a fine example in this respect. Sir, Dr Lily Neo has asked about the progress of the 3-in-1 elderly care centre. She is probably referring to the Tampines 3-in-1 Family Centre, which was set up in 1995, not by my Ministry, but at the initiative of the PAP Community Foundation branch in Tampines. The centre is progressing well and is a good example of how the proximity of services can promote social integration and inter-generational bonding.”
“Apart from setting up facilities, we have made efforts to develop new capabilities in anticipation of future needs, such as gero-counselling and upgrading the skills of our aged care workers to enable them to deliver a higher quality of service. I have mentioned some of these initiatives yesterday, for example, developing bite-sized eldercare training courses under the National Skills Recognition System. I also like to allude to the point that Dr Jennifer Lee has mentioned about the IMC and whether or not we have been making headway. Sir, one significant breakthrough is that our policies now facilitate the entry of more players into the eldercare industry. This will gradually grow the pool of service providers and the variety of services, hence providing more choices to users. For example, last July, we extended Government subsidy to co-operatives providing services. I am pleased to say that two day care centres run by NTUC Eldercare Co-operative have come on board. We will move towards extending the user subsidy to private providers within the next two years. Sir, a second breakthrough is that we now provide not just eldercare but developmental programmes for the elderly, and opening up additional avenues for our seniors to contribute and remain active. Active aging is still the cornerstone of our philosophy for the elderly. Initiatives include the Active Seniors Programme which has involved 1,200 senior volunteers. We also have nine Neighbourhood Links located in different parts of the island, which encourage inter-generational interaction and mutual help. So these are opportunities which we have created on the ground for the elderly to remain together with the community.”
“These schemes include the parent relief, relief for CPF top-up of parents' retirement account and the use of Medisave savings to pay for the parents' hospital bills. Our housing policies encourage Singaporeans to live with or near their parents, and Ms Irene Ng would be pleased to learn that close to 88% of our seniors still live with their families. For the few who do not provide for their parents, the Maintenance of Parents Act provides a legal recourse for the aged parents to seek financial maintenance from these children. Sir, while we promote filial piety, we also empathise with families that are struggling to cope with the demands of caregiving. A few MPs have called for more to be done to help our elderly. Let me assure the House that my Ministry has invested substantially on eldercare and developmental programmes. In fact, our expenditure in this area has more than doubled over the past four years. Sir, Dr Jennifer Lee has asked for an update of the Eldercare Master Plan. Briefly, 86% of the recommendations would be implemented and we are looking into launching a new round of policy deliberations. At the next round of deliberations, we will focus on employment and sectoral needs, especially single elderly, both male and female, and what are the things that we need to do to help them so that they can continue to age actively in Singapore. Sir, as I said earlier, many of the programmes are already in place. For example, we have revised the funding norms to give the VWOs more resources to run programmes, such as day care, befriending and counselling services. Six new day care centres have been set up over the past two years. There are now more support and resources for caregivers, through a caregiver centre and the availability of carers' manuals.”
“Together with other key agencies, we will study the long-term financial needs of women, as part of our strategy of taking a more sectoral approach towards addressing the ageing concerns of different groups of Singaporeans. So I would like to assure Ms Braema that we will look into this matter as part of our effort to understand better how Singaporeans are coping in their retirement age. In this regard, the services that are needed will be put in place as and when there are service gaps. Ms Irene Ng spoke about the need to educate our young about supporting their aged parents. Filial responsibility has and will continue to underpin our philosophy of the "family as the first line of support". With an ageing population, smaller families and a rising dependency ratio, we must continue to reinforce these social values. Since 1994, we have been strongly promoting the Singapore Family Values, one of which is filial responsibility. These values are taught in the Civics and Moral Education, a compulsory subject for our primary and secondary students, and Civics at pre-university level. MCDS also undertakes a year-round public education drive to foster positive attitudes towards family and older persons. As part of this effort, we are also stressing strong inter-generational ties and the need to care for our elderly parents, not just their physical and financial needs but also seeing to their emotional and social needs. And Mr Chan Soo Sen has alluded to the Grand Parenting Day that we have started a couple of years ago. The Government has, over the years, introduced tax reliefs and other schemes to encourage Singaporeans to take care of their parents.”
“Let me first address the point raised by Ms Braema Mathiaparanam. As Ms Braema Mathiaparanam has pointed out, there are certain segments of our population who are less financially secure. In general, women may need more retirement savings as they tend to live longer than men. For women who have less capacity and opportunity to accumulate financial resources, for example, housewives from low income families with no CPF accounts, the low-income, or lower-educated singles and divorced women, it is even more important for them to develop adequate means and resources to support themselves in their retirement years. Work is still the best form of welfare. And for those who are unable to support themselves, our social safety net schemes would help them. She has asked whether or not we have done a study on how our women are coping. I cannot say for certain that we have done a particular study in this area. But part of the IMC focus is to understand how Singaporeans, in general, including single women who are older, cope with the financial demands of their retirement age. My Ministry is aware that there may be women who need help in coping especially with the impact of economic restructuring. In fact, we have begun dialogues with the three key women's organisations, namely, the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations, the NTUC Women's Committee and the PA Women Integration Network (WIN). The aim, as I said earlier, is to try and help our women folks to explore what are the collaborative opportunities in training and re-skilling of women in areas, such as IT and domestic services. So the long-term goal is to give them some skills so that they can find jobs and develop some financial independence.”
“Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on this topic. We do know that there is a growing number of single women in our midst. Women also tend to live longer, the median age being 80.4. More women are also prone to long-term illnesses, such as osteoporosis and gynaecological-related problems. And there are also more women without CPF savings. 12.15 pm Thanks to the Ministry of Manpower and the statistics that were released last year, 52% of the 1.5 million inactive CPF holders were women. Of this lot, 330,000 were aged 40 and above. In the singles camp, from the data of the Department of Statistics, 64,000 out of the 193,000 are women aged 35 and above. Widows numbered 11,500; divorcees took 20,600. Median income of singles, I am told, is about $2,000. Widows, divorcees and singles with qualifications of below secondary school level are about 1,000. Against the map of these statistics as well as the access to financial resources, I would like to ask the Ministry whether it is timely perhaps to conduct a comprehensive study on how our women are coping where their financial resources are concerned. What are the services that need to be put in place so that we meet this need before it descends on us? Also, at the same time, let us also look at the roles that women have been playing for the longer time in our society. Till today, they are still the main caregivers taking care of, as we have heard, the elderly, the young people, etc. For doing all that work, at the end of the day, what is it that we are going to give them where financial independence is concerned? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank the Members who have spoken on a matter that is close to our hearts - caring for our aged and preparing for an ageing population.”
“(4) The very delicate positioning between VWOs and CDCs is such that the ownership of VWOs does not get subsumed under CDC activities, so that the cooperative model can take place and both parties work in happy tandem; and (5) The different demands placed on the charity dollar by different organisations. I wonder how this is governed. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Sir, for this cut and the others under Head I, I would like to declare my interest as a NUS social work educator and a resource person of the MCDS Committee on the Family. In line with the restructuring of the economy and the positioning of Singapore as a services hub, what developments are in place for our country to have a Social Services Manpower Master Plan for the 21st century?”
“Sir, just a clarification on the earlier cut. I am very happy that NCSS has put all these on the website, because it makes it so much easier. It is just that the criteria scheme is a maze. Sir, Singapore is right now regarded as an advanced society and I think our needs are getting more complex. We have, on the one hand, people who still need financial aid on a daily or monthly basis so that they can get on with their lives; and on the other extreme, we also have people who need help dealing with burn-outs, eg, relationships in the office, home, school, and a multitude of services have cropped up in recent years to try to help Singaporeans deal with both spectrums and those who are caught in between. What I am raising here is that, as already mentioned by the Minister, a lot of services have cropped up. This is wonderful because people are taking the ownership and different organisations are coming into the scene to build up services for the people in Singapore. However, I would like to ask the Ministry on its role when it comes to the following areas, so that what is given has got a certain kind of consistency with it: (1) The quality of training with which these people who are dealing in direct services have. I have raised that before. (2) The duplication of services - when cooperative models might work better, where economies of scale are also concerned, who governs, who sets up what services, and in what areas, etc? (3) In the whole concept, which the Minister has already mentioned, ie, social entrepreneurship, how do we excite an organisation to go further perhaps with its project, such that we can have sustenance as well as independent programmes coming through their initiatives?”
“I would assure Members that we would look into all our schemes to ensure that some form of streamlining takes place. At the same time, Sir, I would like to assure Members that any one who needs any help can go down to the Family Service Centres or the CDCs, and there will be people there to assist them to navigate and guide them through the various schemes which are available, those schemes which they are entitled to, and how they could apply. Thus far, Sir, we have not received any major complaints from our partners in implementing some of these schemes. But, I would like to assure Members that we would look into some of the difficulties that Members may have come across, and we would study how these could be remedied. Sir, the final point I want to make, which Ms Braema has raised, is the problem of hopping or shopping by various client groups. This is an inevitable fact, because it is very difficult for us to ensure that we have one global system. But let me assure the hon. Member that if the family enters the FSC, there is a system that is in place where we can help the family to navigate all the possible options and ensure that the family is helped. As in the example I have given earlier, ie, the IFAS scheme, we not only help the breadwinner to gain employment, but we also help the family in terms of school needs and the payment of utilities, and whatever assistance that they need. In that manner, we can ensure that there is a holistic approach towards helping those who are in need. Sir, I think I have addressed most of the concerns.”
“Children from Public Assistance and Special Grant families receive free childcare and we will ensure that cases on the Healthy Start, RUAS (which is the Rent and Utilities Assistance Scheme) and the Small Families Improvement Scheme can afford to make their co-payment quantum. Apart from these, as mentioned earlier, the Student Care Fee Assistance Scheme supports children in non-profit Student Care Centres with subsidies up to $150. Families earning below $2,500 are eligible but orphans and children from families in difficulties, such as a parent being imprisoned, or having mental incapacity will also be considered. The CDCs and VWOs may also consider helping families more with their co-payment when this is warranted. 5.30 pm Sir, I can empathise with families that had coped well before and who may now feel awkward tapping the schemes. Some may prefer to withdraw their children from childcare or student care because they can no longer afford the fees. They should apply for help. May I assure Members that the VWOs and the CDCs will preserve the confidentiality of all applications for such assistance schemes. Many people who need the schemes we offer may need to know about their benefits. My Ministry will give wider publicity to our schemes. We will also partner with VWOs and self-help groups, who know their clients well, to draw up suitable Family Life Education packages to help low-income families acquire coping skills. Sir, Ms Braema Mathiaparanam, Mdm Cynthia Phua and even Dr Warren Lee have raised some concerns about the multitude and plethora of schemes which are available. I am not sure about the number of schemes that Ms Braema has mentioned that is available on the NCSS website, but I am sure these schemes are there to inform.”
“The Government's social assistance schemes have not shrunk; in fact, the schemes are revised regularly and in the past few years, these reviews were brought forward to respond to the fast-changing environment and circumstances on the ground. For example, my Ministry enhanced the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme at the end of 2001 to help families in purchased flats with difficulties paying their utilities bills. In January this year, the Public Assistance rates were revised between 13% and 23%. These schemes are augmented by other programmes and schemes run by the community. Families in need, for example, can seek help from their Family Service Centres (FSCs) for counselling, including help with budget planning. Sir, my Ministry shares the concern raised by Dr Warren Lee concerning children from low-income families, and I take the point also surfaced by Mdm Cynthia Phua. Let me just elaborate on the programme that we have started in order to help low-income families to give them a headstart in school. Last year, we introduced an early intervention programme called "Healthy Start" for babies and young children from families `at risk'. Five FSCs now deliver this programme for families-at-risk with newborn children. Another two are in the middle of a pilot programme that reaches out to older children from 2-6 years old. For children from families earning $1,500 or less, the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme tops up the Government childcare subsidies. The rates were raised in January this year so that for the very low income, the Government co-pays some 95% of the average childcare fee at a VWO-run centre. There were 1,234 children on the Scheme at the end of last year.”
“Most of the cases who were taken off IFAS were able to find work and regain their financial independence. Let me give Members an example of someone who was on social assistance, but has adjusted his job expectations and is now self-reliant. He deserves our respect, because he had the will to accept a new job, albeit a lower paying one, and get back on his own feet. He has displayed the kind of resilience that I spoke on earlier. This is a case of a 51-year-old man who was jobless for seven months. He has three school-going children. He used to have a white-collar job as a storekeeper. As he suffered from poor vision and could not spend long hours in front of his computer, he had to leave his job. The family made adjustments. His wife worked as a babysitter to support the family. The CDC helped him with grants on the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme for six months while assisting him with job matching. He was also given one-off assistance of $150 to buy school uniforms and books for his children. When CDC offered him a cleaner position, he accepted the job even though it meant a major job switch and lower pay. This is clearly an example of someone who faced reality and was willing to adjust his job expectations because he saw the need to get back into the game. The family took hard knocks, but they are on their own feet again. Sir, I would like to assure Mr Sin Boon Ann and Dr Tan that my Ministry will continue to review the social safety net with partners, such as the Ministry of Manpower and CDCs, so that the genuinely needy get the help they need.”
“Thus, apart from financial assistance, we help best if we can help the individual get quickly back to work. Last year, Sir, I announced that we would link short-term financial assistance to training, re-skilling, and job placement schemes. My Ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Manpower and CDCs to ensure that each client is able to get back to work as quickly as possible by linking the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme (IFAS) recipients to job assistance services under the Distributed Career Link Network for the unemployed. The principle of self-help is an important one. Those able to work will be given the IFAS grants for three months initially, but will be required to show job search efforts or go for training. Those who are really unable to find a job after three months, despite sincere effort, will be given IFAS grants for another three months, so six months in all. During this time, the CDCs will do their best to help the person find a job. The assistance is not indefinite, so those on the IFAS-job link need to make use of the opportunity to land a job during the time they are on the scheme. Many older, less skilled and low educated workers who have lost their jobs will need more help making a switch to jobs different from what they have been used to. They will be given job counselling to help them face the new realities and find new jobs. Sir, I am glad to report that the work ethic is alive and well. Yes, needy Singaporeans are coming forward for help, but they do want to get back to work as soon as they can and not depend indefinitely on Government handouts. According to CDCs, from April to December 2002, 97% of IFAS cases were on assistance for six months or less. 88% were on IFAS for three months or less.”
“Lastly, there is also too much of hopping where recipients are concerned, and that can be a problem because we might overlook someone who is really in need, because there is usually a quota too on how much aid one can give. Therefore, I ask for a review. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I thank Mr Sin Boon Ann and Dr Tan Boon Wan for raising concerns about the poor and needy families who may have fallen into financial difficulties due to economic restructuring. I believe Dr Warren Lee and Mdm Cynthia Phua have also raised the same concern. Indeed, our CDCs have seen more applications for short-term assistance in the past year. For example, the number of applications for the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme (IFAS) doubled from 5,501 in 2001 to 11,291 in 2002 over the same nine-month period (April-December) in 2001. Sir, my Ministry is committed to helping those most in need. We will work with the community and other partners to ensure that the social safety net meets the needs of the poor and the under-educated, those most vulnerable to economic restructuring. Every case for assistance will thus be assessed on its merits and needs. Social assistance officers have the flexibility to help cases at the margins. The help will be given holistically. Poorer families with school-going children, for example, may be referred to the School Pocket Money Fund for help or to the schools for school fee assistance. My Ministry also provides financial assistance for student care services. But social assistance is only a temporary relief. Work is still the best form of welfare. It is not good for a person to remain unemployed for too long. He will find it harder to get back to work and lose self-esteem and respect.”
“Sir, the National Council of Social Service has compiled a very comprehensive list of all the assistance schemes that are available under this assistance programme, and they update it monthly. Looking at all the schemes that are on the website, just as an example, under financial assistance, there are already 33 schemes; help to pay bills, etc, there are 12 schemes; assistance for training opportunities, there are 29; on education, there are 49; childcare, there are 6. The point that I am driving at is that there are plenty of schemes out there, and I share Mdm Cynthia Phua's and Dr Tan's viewpoints too, that it is difficult for a lay person to understand the schemes. The schemes are difficult to administer where form filling, checking of document, etc, are concerned. And the other point which I am concerned about is the criteria schemes that are used under the various assistance programmes. For example, the CCC short-term financial aid programme gives money ranging from $50 to $300 for families in distress. Under the PA, it is $230 to $670 for different criteria schemes. So, at the end of it all, we have just one example, ie, from April 2001 to March 2002, $6 million has been given out to 5,300 people under the public assistance scheme. When much money is going out to many different people who are in need, we need to ride by them. When we have this complex structure of different schemes, it is also important that, like what Mdm Cynthia Phua has said, we should streamline them, and relook the criteria schemes that we are using under various schemes. Maybe the means testing will be a solution here.”
“However, Sir, since my cut was diverted from the MOT line to the MCDS line I shall now flag my question to the Minister on the same lines as my colleagues earlier on. So, apart from the measures by MOT and LTA to make MRT and LRT stations and trains disabled-friendly, what other steps have been and will be taken to maximise opportunities for people with disabilities to utilise public transport, including taxis, for schooling, employment, social and recreational purposes? Sir, in resolving the disabilities' transport issue between the relevant authorities, I earnestly request that the gap between goodwill and political will be bridged - since the Minister has mentioned bridge a number of times - to avoid any sense of ill-will from emerging later on.”
“A friendly taxi driver picks him up and sends him to a shopping complex, but this is a shopping complex where the BCA guidelines are not mandatory and perhaps it does not have a ramp for the person to get in. So we are stuck again. I think this has gone on for far too long and it is my appeal that the Ministry will take the ownership to get representatives from different Ministries to get together to look at this issue from the beginning to the end. Even a simple thing like finding a Braille greeting card is tough in Singapore. So we have small issues and large issues and hopefully we will not have to come to a stage where we spend $78 million later to retrofit all the MRT stations. It is my hope that this will come true and it can begin with a demographic profile study of the people with disabilities in Singapore. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, I would like to add to what the two hon. Members have just mentioned regarding the issue of transport needs. I feel very strongly, Sir, that this issue should rightly be a transport issue and not a welfare issue. What is my context for saying so? We heard earlier today in this House how MOE is providing funding and other support for special education. MOH is also helping nursing homes managed by VWOs meet their financial requirements besides other forms of assistance. In other words, the educational needs of children with disabilities and the nursing care of older adults are not seen as welfare concerns and, therefore, the responsibility of MCDS alone. Similarly, the public transport needs of people with disabilities should not be so regarded.”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to speak on this topic. Like Mr Charles Chong and many others, under various Ministries we have already raised this issue on the disabled. Today, I am here to again talk about the disabled and children with special needs, but I am parking this right now under the Ministry of Community Development and Sports because it is my hope that the ownership to look at the whole issue in an integrated manner will be taken on by the Ministry so that we can have a more integrated approach to issues of the disabled, and this includes Ministry of Manpower for job opportunities, Ministry of Transport for better equipped buses, and accessibility to buildings where the Ministry of National Development is concerned. I think there is an opportunity here as the IMC on Ageing has filed its report and, with much less work and fewer resources, one can piggy-back ride on that report to look at the issues related to people with disabilities in Singapore. For far too long they have fallen between the cracks, caught up in the bureaucracy, or in silo minds. This is quite similar to the crow situation that Dr Teo Ho Pin mentioned yesterday, depending on where the crow lands, that is, the Ministry that picks up the issue where the disabled are concerned. Testimony to how this mindset has played out on the ground is evident, if I can give an example. Imagine a disabled person in a wheel-chair coming out of the MRT - it has to be the North East Line because that is the only one right now with disabled-friendly features - and getting to the bus-stop but got stuck because there is no bus.”
“I wonder why is there no such provision where women are concerned, because women are used all the time in so many advertisements for different purposes. Lastly, it took a while to find this Code and I thank the parliamentary librarians for tracking it down. It is not on the web, and I wonder why.”
“I am here to ask the Ministry for clarity on its role in governing such advertisements as Assoc. Prof. Low has brought up, and in this case I am talking about slimming advertisements. Each day, there are at least two huge advertisements in the print media and many smaller ones in the other media. These advertisements prey on a woman's insecurities over her body and also reinforce notions that she is just there to be attractive to her husband. Let me recite some examples that appeared in today's paper: "Let your wellness radiates from within", "Become now a beautiful mother", "To be attractive to your husband", "She has gained back her beautiful body even after having two children". And then the lady goes on to say how she is grateful to her husband for encouraging her to go for this slimming course, whatever. I am not here to dispute the claims made by these advertisements or the efficiency of the agencies that are running these courses to bring women back into shape. What I am here is to ask the Ministry - as I have just heard from Mr Yatiman that there are two representatives as constituent members of the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) alongside with many other reputable representatives - how is the Singapore Code of Advertising practice being administered and governed by these representatives on ASAS. On top of that, I would also like to draw attention to this book which has got wonderful clauses in Appendix H relating primarily to slimming advertisements. When I compare the advertisements to 2.1.5, I do not really see a direct correlation. Is it time then to review these guidelines? Also, there is a chapter in this Code, primarily catering to how children are being used.”