Chan Chun Sing
Singapore
“Since 2002, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has worked with the autonomous universities (AUs) to establish arrangements that minimise disruption to National Servicemen (NSmen) who are pursuing full-time studies up to the undergraduate level, while meeting the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) operational and training needs.”
“Secondments help to build up the range of competencies and work experiences of public officers to strengthen their longer-term employment relevance and resilience. The Public Service Division's guideline to agencies is to support public officers even while they are on secondment.”
“The priority of our National Servicemen must be their military duties and operational training, to meet the Singapore Armed Forces's (SAF's) operational requirements.”
“In January 2026, I had informed this House that the Government had convened an independent committee to conduct a review of the political salary framework that was laid out in 2012. The Committee has completed the review and submitted its recommendations to the Government in April.”
“All countries seek to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, and the United States-Indonesia Major Defence Cooperation Partnership is one such example.”
“Since the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps (SAFVC) was established in 2014, over 1,500 men and women have completed training and served as SAFVC Volunteers (SVs). Presently, there are about 1,100 in-service SVs, comprising 52% male and 48% female. About seven in 10 of our in-service SVs are new Citizens or Permanent Residents.”
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“Only grassroots volunteers will qualify for recognition schemes meant for grassroots volunteers. PA does not require grassroots volunteers to declare their political affiliations and, therefore, does not have such records.”
“These pension contributions were paid to staff who were already on pension schemes, who were either (a) transferred to the People’s Association (PA) from then-Ministry of Community Development in 1993; or (b) seconded to PA from their parent organisations. PA no longer has a pension scheme. Second, these contributions consist of once-off retention bonuses paid to junior grade officers upon fulfilment of their contract terms as per common industry practice. The term "termination benefits" in past Annual Reports was renamed as "pension contributions" to better reflect the nature of such payments.”
“Grassroots leaders (GRLs) are volunteers who serve the community actively. They help bond residents to weave our social fabric, gather feedback for the Government to improve our policies and services, and help to close the last mile in our policy communications and delivery. The Government recognises GRLs' contributions and facilitates their community work. Information on these schemes has been provided during previous Parliament Sittings and has also been made available online separately. To facilitate their work, like engaging residents and conducting community activities, GRLs may apply for a special parking label after first purchasing a Housing and Development Board (HDB) season parking label. This label allows them to park at designated car parks up to 11.00 pm in the constituency they serve. Eligible GRLs can apply for Primary 1 (P1) registration for their children under Phase 2B in schools within the constituency they reside in. This is similar to school and parent volunteers. Eligible GRLs can apply for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and Executive Condominiums (ECs) under a HDB scheme. These long-serving GRLs typically help to bond the new communities in the new estates. These schemes recognise the GRLs' contributions to community building and provide platforms for them to continue strengthening their community services. To facilitate their work in their constituencies, Grassroots Advisers (GRAs) may also apply for the special parking label, after first purchasing a HDB season parking label. GRAs are not eligible for the P1 registration or HDB schemes mentioned above.”
“The People’s Association (PA) promotes social cohesion amongst residents from all races, age groups and socio-economic backgrounds, including both public and private estates. To enable private estate residents to be involved in community activities, PA has helped to facilitate private estate residents to form more Neighbourhood Committees (NCs). There are currently 183 NCs, up from 112 in 2011. We will continue to expand the number of NCs as necessary to deepen their engagement with the wider grassroots network. Besides organising activities and forming interest groups to bring residents together, NCs also facilitate residents' involvement in their own communities via the OneConnect Programme. Through this programme, residents can offer suggestions for estate improvement and formulate Page: 155 community solutions to tackle common issues, for example, to eliminate dengue breeding spots. NCs also partner various grassroots and community organisations to reach out to the residents, including the less privileged, through various meaningful initiatives. PA also offers many community programmes and courses at the Community Clubs/Centres to meet the different interests and needs of residents, including those living in condominiums. All residents are welcome to participate in these activities where they can get to know their neighbours and community better.”
“Our minimum voting age is set at 21 under section 5 of the Parliamentary Elections Act. The reasons for keeping to this minimum voting age had been explained in this House before on more than one occasion. Let me state them again. Voting in elections is a very serious matter. Voters choose their Member of Parliament and, in turn, the group of individuals they will entrust to eventually form the Government, or the President to exercise the custodial and veto powers set out in the Constitution. This is a choice that a voter needs to have the necessary maturity to make. These reasons for keeping the minimum voting age at 21 remain valid today and we have no plans to review it.”
“The prohibition of election advertising on Cooling-Off Day and Polling Day allows voters time to step back from the excitement and emotion of campaigning, to reflect on the issues at stake before casting their votes. In assessing whether any breaches have occurred online, the Elections Department (ELD) takes into consideration the intent, reach and impact of the posts published, regardless for whom the posts are made. In the various elections since the Cooling-Off Day was introduced in 2011, right up to General Election (GE) 2015, ELD had investigated more than 100 cases involving candidates and supporters from both the ruling and opposition parties for potential breaches of the election advertising law. The approach then was to give warnings in respect of these breaches. However, despite the fact that Cooling-Off Day had been publicised several times, ELD observed what appeared to be deliberate and serious breaches of the law during the 2016 Bukit Batok By-Election. These posts were published in spite of the advisory that ELD had issued prior to Cooling-Off Day and a subsequent reminder on Cooling-Off Day against such activities. Given the egregious nature of these breaches, ELD reported them to the Police for further investigation. ELD relies on different sources of information to identify potential breaches. For instance, ELD monitors candidates' declared campaigning sites as well as online platforms that regularly engage in discussion, propagation or promotion of political issues. ELD will also look into feedback or complaints from candidates or members of the public.”
“The People's Association (PA) promotes social cohesion and racial harmony amongst residents from all races, age groups and socio-economic backgrounds through many community programmes, courses and activities. To better serve the residents, PA conducts regular surveys to enable us to understand their needs, interests and satisfaction-level with our programmes and services. Between 2011 and 2015, PA conducted eight nation-wide surveys. The total cost of these surveys was about $4 million. These services were procured in accordance with Government procurement procedures. The appointed vendors follow industry practice in how they conduct their surveys and may issue tokens of appreciation to their respondents for participation. The vendors do not give cash incentives.”
“ELD will consider how many people are likely to have read particular posts. Posts by individuals or groups that regularly engage in the discussion of political issues will have further reach and greater impact than those by ordinary members of the public. As for the Member's second question, the law does allow for individual-to-individual transmission of personal political views, on a non-commercial basis, on Cooling-off Day and Polling Day. So, if a person sends an email or SMS to a friend to share his personal political views about the election, that will not be considered a breach. However, if he blogs or posts a message on his Facebook page that everyone can read, asking readers to vote for a particular party or candidate, that is clearly publication of election advertising.”
“Let me state upfront that I cannot comment on individual cases because Police investigations are still ongoing. However, I will speak broadly about election advertising and how we determine whether specific postings during Cooling-off Day and Polling Day are allowed or not. Election advertising is defined as any material, whether online or offline, that is intended to raise the standing of, or secure the electoral success of, any candidate or party. Under the Parliamentary Elections Act, election advertising is not allowed on Cooling-off Day and Polling Day. This is to allow voters time to step back from the excitement and emotion of the campaign and reflect on the issues at stake before casting their votes. This prohibition applies to all individuals and organisations. However, in the online space, social media has made every individual a potential broadcaster. It is, therefore, not possible for the Elections Department to monitor every single post in enforcing the prohibition against election advertising on Cooling-off and Polling days. Instead, the Elections Department takes a practical approach, by taking into account the following factors: (a) Intent. Posts clearly intending to promote or procure electoral success of a political party or candidate, or enhance their standing, are not allowed. For example, a post that asks people to "vote Party A" is quite clearly intended to secure the electoral success of Party A. A post that portrays "Party B" negatively is also considered election advertising as it is likely to enhance the standing of Page: 78 Party A. In addition, repeated publication of posts on Cooling-off Day and Polling Day, or posts published after ELD had issued its reminder, will be treated more seriously. (b) Reach and impact.”
“Open fields are managed by various Government agencies and statutory bodies, including the People's Association (PA). For fields managed by PA, their primary purpose is for community use. The local residents will work with the grassroots organisations (GROs) to determine if there is any need to fence up a field. The usual considerations are safety of use, security, noise management and maintenance. For example, the said field in Punggol was fenced up upon residents' request for safety and noise management considerations. Utilisation rates vary and depend on various factors. They are generally higher during weekends and school holidays. All local residents are welcome to use the fields for community activities and can make a simple booking with the local GROs.”
“Mdm Chair, the answer is yes. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Chair, I am very disappointed with the reply from Parliamentary Secretary Baey. If I heard and understood the Parliamentary Secretary correctly, residents in Yishun will have to wait beyond 2020 for the sporting facilities because of the constraint on the contractors' capacity. Page: 49 My question is: if I can find the contractor to do the upgrading of the swimming complex, will the Ministry give us the funding? Because a lot of contractors out there, they are hungry for jobs. So, there is capacity. What we are looking for is whether the Ministry will fund the upgrading of the swimming complex. I am only asking for swimming complex.”
“I do not have the details of the incident that she raised. On how the Ministry of National Development works with the Town Council and the CCC to upgrade the various estates, I think Senior Minister of State Mohamad Maliki has already replied to that on record last year. I have heard from both sides on the ground accusing each other of being uncooperative. All I can say is that I urge both sides, be it the Town Council or CCC, to always remember to put the interests of the residents first. In life, when things get done, there is never a shortage of people Page: 20 who will claim credit. When things are not done, there is always a shortage of people who will claim responsibility. This is not the way we want to go. This is bad politics and this is not leadership. So, I would urge all parties on the ground to work together to put the interests of the residents first and foremost. Residents are wise enough to know who have worked hard for them and who have served them well. And residents will also be wise enough to know who have not worked hard and who have not served them well. For PA, our Mission remains to make sure that we strengthen the bonds in our community. We have never taken it for granted that this country of ours will naturally bond together as one because of our diverse backgrounds and diverse aspirations. The social fabric of our nation is a work-in-progress. It is a work that we all want to embark on and we all want to succeed together. So, let us work on that basis.”
“Within the margins, we try to find the best time to do it, taking into consideration the following: one, do we have the budget available from the macro national perspective? Two, are we able to get bang for the buck? Are we able to stretch those dollars that we spend? So, during the current economic slowdown, if there are opportunities for us to lock in good prices for us to do our routine projects, I think we should do it. But on the whole, PA adopts a consistent approach to stretch every dollar that we spend. It does not do us any good to have a feast-and-famine strategy in our capital expenditures. Ms Sylvia Lim, in her remarks yesterday, seems to allege that PA is partisan. Let me state that the PA's participants are average Singaporeans from all walks of life, like you and me. PA does not check on the political allegiance of the participants of our activities. Nor do I or anyone know their voting preferences. It is not relevant to our work. Personally, I have seen participants of PA activities supporting both the incumbent and the Opposition during the elections. When I see my own residents, participants of my PA activities supporting the Opposition, I can only ask myself how I can work harder to win them over. PA is a Statutory Board. It executes the directions for the Government of the day as per any Statutory Board. PA does not allow any political activity or canvassing on our premises or in our activities, and we certainly do not mobilise anyone for any political party. If Ms Sylvia Lim has any such evidence of wrongdoing, she can let me know and I guarantee her I will follow up. I will be the last person to ever allow PA to be politicised. Ms Sylvia Lim talked about working with the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC).”
“For financial year (FY) 2016, PA's Budget is about 5% lower than FY2015, about 5% lower in aggregate. The Operating Budget dropped 3.7% compared to the last FY2015, and the Development Budget dropped 6.6%. So, on aggregate, the decline for the overall budget is about 5%. This is despite the following changes. Page: 19 Ms Sylvia Lim asked whether this increase in the last two years is a result of the SG50 celebrations. The answer is: not exactly. As stated in the Budget Book, the SG50 expenditure only increased the PA's budget by about $4 million. Most of the SG50 activities ride on existing programmes that have already been planned by the community. So, where is the significant increase? The first significant increase in FY2015 is the start-up of the Pioneer Generation Office. We started up the office to reach out to all the Pioneer Generation elders, so that we can explain to them, mobilise the volunteers to reach out to them, not only for them to understand the policies but, more importantly, for us to reach out to them to see if they are well taken care of by their families. So, that accounts for the bulk of the increase in our Operating Expenditure. The bigger bulk of the increase is the Capital Expenditure and there are two projects that are parked under the PA's budget which contributed to this significant increase. One is the building of Our Tampines Hub. Second, is the building of Wisma Geylang Serai Civic Centre. At the same time, for this year's Budget, we are embarking on a programme to upgrade 24 Community Clubs. Ms Sylvia Lim might ask, "Is this the correct time to upgrade the Community Clubs?" Yes and no; it all depends. We have a schedule to upgrade our Community Clubs progressively.”
“Mdm Chair, there are three essential pillars to Singapore's continued success: our ability to defend ourselves, our ability to make a living for ourselves and our ability to stay together through thick and thin. The People's Association's (PA's) mission is to strengthen the social fabric of our nation. We do this in three ways. First, we strengthen the people-to-people connections. For an increasingly diverse population and increasingly sophisticated population, the People's Association (PA) has our challenges cut out for us. Long gone were the days when we just needed to put one black and white television at the basketball court and it would bring out the whole kampung for everyone to bond together. The range of programmes that PA has to undertake now for an increasingly diverse and sophisticated population is very different from what it used to be in the past. The second way that we do to strengthen the social fabric of our nation is to make sure that we work with the Ministries to provide timely feedback to the Government of the day on our people's concerns and aspirations, so that the Government of the day can make better policies to serve our people. The third way that PA seeks to strengthen the social fabric of our nation is to work with our Ministries to explain and execute the policy intent of the government of the day. This includes explaining the recent Budget measures, explaining and reaching out to our Pioneer Generation about the Pioneer Generation Package, explaining and reaching out to every Singaporean on the MediShield Life plans. So, the breadth and depth of PA's work has increased, in tandem with the needs of our country. Ms Sylvia Lim asked how has the Budget changed for PA.”
“Mr Chairman, let me respond to that. Any framework must be constantly reviewed and updated. We are never complacent. Whenever we receive any information, whether domestically or from our foreign sources, we will undertake the necessary investigation to get to the bottom of it. So, this is how we do things in Singapore. Once we get any information, we will get to the bottom of it. Having done the investigation for the specific case, we will always follow up and ask ourselves is there a need for us to strengthen our framework. So, it is a continuous process and we will never let our guard down. But I will not be able to comment on any of the investigations because I think it is not correct for us to make any specific comments while investigations are ongoing.”
“In addition, Singapore's Financial Intelligence Unit – the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) – plays an important role in detecting illicit funds entering our financial system. STRO receives and analyses reports of suspicious transactions and other financial intelligence. Where possible offences are detected, STRO disseminates the intelligence to relevant domestic law enforcement agencies and STRO's foreign counterparts. Such intelligence has assisted both local and foreign jurisdictions to bring corrupt persons and other criminals to justice and recover proceeds of crime. If any Member of the House has any information relating to possible acts of corruption, I would strongly urge everyone to help CPIB by providing such information for us to investigate, so that we can get to the bottom of it. Mdm Chair, while our ranking is good now, we must never take it for granted. Ultimately, the best test of how good we are and how good our reputation is lies in the fact whether people will put their trust in us, do business with us or place their money here. It is in our collective interest to make sure that we not only maintain our reputation but to continuously strengthen that trust for people to put their assets and intellectual property with us.”
“Mdm Chair, let me answer on behalf of the Prime Minister. We totally agree with Ms Sylvia Lim that while our corruption numbers are low, we must continue to maintain our vigilance. As we always say, "low corruption does not necessarily mean no corruption". The nature of corruption is a constantly evolving challenge and we must always maintain our vigilance. Our reputation for being against corruption is hard fought and hard won but that does not mean that we can let our guard down. The Member asked about our fight on the financial front. Singapore is well-known for our policy of zero-tolerance against corruption. We have a robust and comprehensive anti-corruption framework. Our Prevention of Corruption Act provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction, such that acts of Singapore Citizens, even if it is done overseas, will be dealt with in the same manner as if they were committed in Singapore. As an international financial centre, Singapore has an important part to play in the global effort against money laundering, including that related to corruption. MAS has put in place a robust preventive regime that combines tough licensing requirements, strict regulations and rigorous supervision. MAS requires financial institutions here to put in place adequate controls to detect and deter the flow of illicit funds through Singapore's financial system. Financial Institutions are required to report any suspicious transactions that they come across. Our law enforcement agencies proactively engage their foreign counterparts and investigate both money laundering and related offences when there is sufficient information to suggest that illicit proceeds have flowed into or through Singapore.”
“Mdm Speaker, I think we all know the challenges with any Internet transactions and, that is, the authentication and verification of the person's identity. SingPass, as of now, we have a single- and a double-authentication method. Both of these are contingent on us being able to verify that the person is, indeed, the person using the token and the SingPass password. This is not so easily overcome. For any Internet banking transaction equivalent, we also have the same challenge. If somebody is able to get his hands on the password or, for that matter, the token, then it is not a foolproof method. There are risks involved in all these, which SingPass itself, Page: 8 while it is an improvement over the past, will not be able to overcome entirely.”
“Mdm Speaker, on behalf of the Prime Minister, let me take this question. The Elections Department has studied the feasibility of Internet voting for overseas Singaporeans. While Internet voting may appeal to some, it has various challenges, like difficulties in authenticating voters, preventing impersonation and ensuring voting secrecy. In addition, there are system reliability issues and security risks, such as vulnerability to hacking and cyberattacks. Auditing the voting results in the event of a petition to the Election Judge is also more challenging and potentially problematic. The use of SingPass can only overcome the difficulties with authentication partially but not the other challenges with Internet voting. For now, voting by paper ballot at polling stations is still the simplest and most transparent method of voting that can ensure the integrity and secrecy of our voting process.”
“Firstly, we often talk about the training of workers but bosses need training too. For example, at the recent training session organised by the Bosses' Network, company bosses get to upgrade their skills and open their minds which help them achieve breakthroughs. When bosses achieve breakthroughs, workers will follow likewise. If bosses cannot make a breakthrough, then there is no need to even talk about productivity. In this aspect, NTUC will continue to organise programmes for company bosses to learn from one another and share best practices with the rest of the SMEs in Singapore in the shortest time possible. Secondly, SMEs face great difficulties in terms of manpower training. In this regard, NTUC will launch training programmes to help our SMEs strengthen human resource management. Only when they upgrade their human resource management skills can our workers have a better future. As for us, the success of an SME means success for our workers. If the bosses' businesses cannot succeed, our workers will not have a better tomorrow. So, to us, the success of businesses and improvements to our workers' lives are two sides of the same coin. They are, in fact, the same Page: 89 issue. Moving forward, NTUC will continue to work with SME bosses and other organisations because we believe that the Government has taken the first step. The next step requires both people and businesses to work together. By doing so, we will be able to overcome both the current cyclical issues and long-term structural challenges.”
“On the other hand, if we do not convey the message to SMEs during the most crucial period, even the best policies will come to nought. So we really hope to work together with the TACs of SMEs and the Government to address these problems. Why do we say less sugar? In fact, the Minister for Finance gave a lot of "candies" but we all know that we should take sugar in moderation. If we take too much sugar and it becomes a habit, then obesity problems may arise and it does nothing to solve our problems. As Mr Thomas Chua mentioned, the Government has taken one step forward. And we hope that companies and unions will work together and move forward together for a better future. Secondly, move around more. But where can you go? Actually, SMEs have combed the entire Singapore but Singapore will always be a small market. We all know that if an SME makes $10 out of every Singaporean, it will only be a millionaire. But if you go overseas, for example, to big cities in China and India, you only need to make $1 out of every customer and you will become a billionaire. Singapore is a small country and a small market, but it does not mean that we cannot venture overseas and conquer other markets. However, it is easier said than done and requires cooperation from IE Singapore and other economic agencies to help our SMEs expand out of the domestic market and venture abroad. Only when they go international to conquer a bigger market will our SMEs become MNCs of the future. So, do exercise and move around more. Hopefully, the Government, unions and businesses can move together hand in hand. Thirdly, take some tonics occasionally. In this area, NTUC will do our part. We are very interested in the bosses of SMEs, big or small. They have two key areas of needs.”
“Perhaps the Minister for Finance has some remedies but I have learnt a thing or two from Minister Gan Kim Yong. I may not be able to solve all the problems of SMEs and I am not saying that I can do better than SMEs because, ultimately, a lot of problems must be solved by SMEs themselves. SMEs have to address many near-term issues and the NTUC and Government want to do our part to help them. Mr Gan is the Minister for Health, and he takes care of his health in three ways. Firstly, by taking less sugar and less salt. Secondly, by exercising more. Thirdly, by taking tonics occasionally. Page: 88 So, let us talk about taking less sugar and less salt. SMEs agree with, and are appreciative of, the measures implemented by the Government. However, they face a big challenge: they do not have enough manpower and time. Even though the Government has implemented so many good policies, they wonder: "How can we benefit from them? Do I have the time to understand all these measures? Or is it a case of there seemed to be many options but none is within reach?" In this aspect, we are heartened by the Finance Minister's announcements. If the Government can streamline these procedures and consolidate various measures and workers can be sent for proper training and there is partnership with SMEs, then I believe SMEs will benefit tremendously and be very grateful. To be honest, SME bosses are very busy and every day is a challenge. So, as Government officials, we cannot just wait for them to apply for these schemes or come forward to understand these programmes. That is being too passive. For NTUC, we will be proactive in helping to promote these programmes for SMEs to benefit from them. If we can all do that, even if it is just an ordinary policy, we will see good results.”
“There are more fundamental structural forces at work. It requires us to have a shared understanding that for every dollar that we take from the Budget, we have a responsibility to do the most that we can, be it businesses or individuals. Sir, thank you very much and please let me continue my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, last week, former Member of Parliament Mr Yeo Guat Kwang and I met some SME bosses to discuss future challenges. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang truly lived up to his reputation as "Yeo Guat Kwang" – he compiled all the difficulties faced by SMEs and summarised them into a list of 12 "headaches". This is what he calls the four "threes". It is not a 4-D number. First, SMEs face three "highs" – high rental, high wages and high levy. They also have three "less" – less business, less profit and less workers. They feel that there is a "lack" in three areas – the bosses lack power, the workers lack motivation and landlords lack empathy. And they face three "difficulties" – difficulty in doing business, difficulty in getting workers and difficulty in securing a shop space. With these 12 challenges, can this year's Budget really help SMEs? It is our wish for our SMEs to succeed because all large multinational corporations (MNCs) started out as SMEs. Without today's SMEs, we will not have the Singapore MNCs of tomorrow. In the1960s and 1970s, we developed a number of Singapore MNCs. Today, the challenges are the same. How do we grow a new generation of Singapore MNCs? How do we support the SMEs of today so that they will flourish and continue to employ 70% of workers in Singapore? This is our challenge. I am neither a doctor nor the Minister for Finance.”
“Today, the persons holding the country's top jobs in Exxon Mobile and Shell are Singaporeans. But these two Singaporeans did not grow up just in Singapore. They were exposed to the opportunities across the globe before returning to Singapore to take on leadership positions. We will continue to make sure that we adopt this inclusive and globally-oriented approach when we define the Singapore Core. The Singapore Core cannot be defined from an exclusive and Page: 87 inward-looking perspective. We will work with MOM and MTI to continue to strengthen companies which want to support us in this endeavour. And I think Minister Lim Swee Say will announce more about such measures in the coming week. NTUC will also be doing what we can to help our younger generation get the necessary exposure when they are young, before their family commitments tie them down. We need to prevent PMETs in their 40s from being displaced in 10 years' time. We have to start with PMETs who are in their 20s and 30s now. Otherwise, we cannot blame the competition if, one day, our people lose out. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, the challenge is upon us, just as it is upon any other country. We need not fear the competition because there is competition. In fact, the greater the competition, the more intense the competition, the more we are able to pull ourselves apart from the competition if we organise ourselves well and get our act together. As I always say, the circumstances will not define us; our responses to the circumstances will define us. There is no reason that our tripartite formula that has served us so well will not be able to help us overcome this challenge ahead of us. But it requires us to have a shared understanding that this is not just a cyclical slowdown.”
“If productivity growth is low or zero, then economic growth is low or zero. It is a very simple equation and we should bear it in mind. For the last part of my comments in English, let me state the Labour Movement's stance on the Singapore Core. We believe in the Singapore Core. We believe in urging and working with all companies to build a strong Singapore Core. But that Singapore Core does not mean that it is an all-Singaporean workforce. We recognise and accept that for Singapore to be regionally and globally competitive, we need a diverse team − a team of talents from cross-sector and cross-cultural backgrounds and have international exposure. So what does it mean to develop a real Singapore Core? It means giving all Singaporeans the best shot to rise up the hierarchy. We are not asking for affirmative action that just because we are Singaporeans, we will get ahead compared to the rest. We are asking for a fair chance. We want to work with all MNCs to give our workers a fair chance, a fair shot. And NTUC is committed to working with companies to give our workers chances to be groomed, not just deepen their professional competencies but to equip them with the cross-sectoral competencies, so that they have the best shot to rise up the hierarchy and reach the C-suite positions. It will be such a waste that, after EDB and MTI have worked so hard and we have all these good jobs in Singapore, our people are unable to take on these jobs. And to take on these jobs, we must prepare our people way in advance − 10 or 20 years in advance − for them to be groomed systematically through diverse paths, to be exposed beyond the country, to see the world as their oyster and not just Singapore. Only then will we be able to take on the very best jobs.”
“So, we need to pay attention not just to the Page: 86 new stock that are coming in, but also the vast majority of the old stock that we have inherited and must continue to work with. It is not something that we can do easily. But I would suggest that we relook at some of our processes seriously to catalyse some of these. In the area of productivity, very often, we talk about the training of man and the buying of new machines − what we called the first two "M"s − the man and the machine. But if we are truly serious about raising our productivity across all sectors, let us all unite together to re-examine our mindsets and methods. Take, the security industry, for example. There is no way that we can design a higher paying job for the security guard if the building has not been designed for security right from the onset. As Churchill would have said, "Once we design a building in three months, the building will take the next 30 years to design us"; and it will design our jobs as well. If we do not design security upfront, there is no way that we can uplift the productivity of our workers downstream. What about the methods? We have to re-examine − and I hope that the Government will take the lead in this − how we do our contracts. Explore whether there are opportunities to aggregate contracts, both in terms of time and space, for us to achieve greater economies of scale and the scale to redesign some of the jobs for our lowest-wage earners. These are the things that we have to do step by step to raise the productivity. At the end of this, once again, as Mr Lim Swee Say has put it most eloquently, "Economic growth equals manpower growth plus productivity growth". If manpower growth is zero, then our only variable is productivity growth.”
“It requires the TACs to work very closely with the civil servants, workers and so forth, to identify areas which they can improve, in each and every process that they are involved in. So, it is no easy work. But we have no choice. We either do this or we pretend that some broad macro measures will miraculously lift the productivity of all. I do not believe that. I have visited enough companies to know that no two companies are the same. No two companies can even blindly adopt processes that have been proven elsewhere. They have to localise and contextualise them; and they have to win over the workers – retrain them, according to their capabilities to adapt and adopt those new strategies. So, it is hard work. On this front, the Labour Movement is committed to work with MTI, MOM, MOE and MOF to give our best shot for all our companies to do this well. It is not a short-term challenge but a long-term one. And very often, when we talk about productivity, we have a lot of new ideas about how new hotels can be differently designed, new production processes can be differently designed, and so forth. These are good ideas. But I would urge all of us to look beyond all these because the turnover is too slow. If we only focus on the new ones, it will take us very long before we change the entire stock. I will give an example of the hotel industry, which is very challenging when it comes to lifting the productivity of, say, the housekeeping services. For all the new hotels that we designed, yes, we can do something different. And we are doing something differently. But our focus must go beyond that because, at any one point in time, the vast majority of the hotels are from the existing stock. Their rooms cannot be redesigned overnight.”
“It is also not true that the average number defines the productivity of the entire sector. Let me give some examples. In the current volatile environment, many people would think that the oil and gas industry is suffering and is in the doldrums. But it is not true that the entire oil and gas industry is suffering. There are companies in the specialty chemical sector that are earning more because they are able to hold up the prices while their feedstock prices are low. There are companies in other sectors, despite what you say about these sectors, that have above average productivity. In terms of sectors, there are three sectors that are particularly challenging and require us to pay much greater attention to if we are to lift the overall productivity number of our country. They are construction, retail and food and beverage (F&B) sectors. We have to do much more if we truly care about the salaries of workers in these sectors. Because without real productivity growth, no matter what rules we come up with, it will uplift the salaries of the lowest earners in our economy artificially. So, we owe it to them to try our very best to lift those numbers. This is why the Budget this year goes beyond a broad policy. We need to go sectorally to examine where the laggards are in our productivity drive and how best we can help them to uplift the productivity in their respective sectors. It is not easy. It is not as easy as just giving out grants to encourage people to change their work processes to achieve higher productivity. If giving out money is the KPI, then perhaps MTI and MOF will not be sweating so hard because it is easy to give out money. To achieve real productivity growth, we need to go sector by sector and, sometimes, company by company.”
“Our challenge, when we come to speak about retirement adequacy, is not just talking about whether the older workers should get 20% when they are past the age of 60 or 65. This is because, if the employers are unscrupulous, they will tell you that, "I can give you back your 20% CPF if I lower your base pay". It is the total pay package that is important. Our job is to make sure that our workers command a respectable total pay packet that allows them to save up enough for their retirement. Retirement savings have to start from Day One. The formula that I just shared, starts with the assumption that at the age of 20, when we start working, we save one-third conscientiously. When we can get more and more people to be self-sufficient without having to depend on the Silver Support Scheme in future, then we have truly succeeded. We can then reserve the finite resources that we have for those who are truly in need because even with the best of our abilities, there will be some in society who will not be able to save enough for their retirement adequacy. Our job is to make sure that as few as possible need to rely on the Silver Support Scheme in time to come, and that we can focus our finite resources on those very few. Page: 85 This will require us to work very hard to look at job redesign and prepare our workers for the eventuality. And it is never too early to talk about preparing for retirement and saving up for retirement. The third challenge that the Labour Movement is most concerned with is the issue of productivity gains. We have read many statistics that our average productivity is quite low. But let us go beyond that average number. It is not true that we do not have high productivity sectors.”
“After Dr Goh Keng Swee's time, we have had a rough rule of thumb that has worked very well for us. For every dollar we earn in our lifetime, we save one-third of it. That is essentially the basic CPF system. If you earn $100, the employers put in $20 and we put in $20. This means that there is $40 in CPF out of the total of $120, hence, one-third. Where did Dr Goh get that magic number of saving at least one-third? That is because most of us work two-thirds of our life and then spend one-third in retirement. If we start working at the age of 20 and retire at 60, we work 40 years. And if we live until 80, that means that we need to prepare for 20 years of our life in retirement with 40 years of earning. Hence, the rough rule of thumb, without taking in the interest rate and escalation in medical cost, would require us to save at least one-third. This is a choice that we must allow people to make: some people would like to save more and retire earlier, whereas some would want to work longer and prefer to save less. Our job is not to dictate the choices that our people make. Our job is to facilitate their choices with the options available. Many of our people want to work longer and we should find ways to re-examine this concept of a fixed retirement age to allow Singaporeans with the experience and capabilities to contribute as long as where they want. 5.30 pm This is a work-in-progress. Some countries in Europe have done this. It is a very involved process, in defining the capabilities required and the job specifications, to facilitate this. [Deputy Speaker (Mr Lim Biow Chuan) in the Chair] But we must look into this because our people are working longer.”
“NTUC, together with WDA, will announce more details later in the year. Besides going upstream, we need to do more for the midstream through continuous upgrading. The Labour Movement will want to partner the Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) and Institutes of Higher Learning to stretch the SkillsFuture credits that are available to all our workers. Today, they all have $500 in their SkillsFuture credit account. With the Government's subsidies, it can allow our workers to undertake more than a few upgrading courses. But the upgrading courses must be there. Today, we still have much to do to ramp up the number of courses that are current and relevant to the workers. It is not just about encouraging workers to take up any course. It is about encouraging workers to take up courses that are relevant to them; that allow them to have a better chance of obtaining a better job and a better career downstream. And our workers are clever enough to know what are the jobs that may be available and what are the courses that they want to take. We must facilitate this. The third thing that we need to do better in tackling possible structural unemployment is to second-skill or prepare our workers at the age of 40 for the second "lift-off". I learned this from the Swiss. They have a very concerted programme to make sure that before the worker reaches 60 years old or 50 plus, they are equipped and counselled on the next lap of their career. It has to start Page: 84 at the age of 40-plus, to prepare for the next step in their career. If we can do these three things well – upstream, midstream and downstream – then we have a much better chance of tackling any possible structural unemployment. The second big concern that the Labour Movement has is ensuring retirement adequacy.”
“The person displaced from the physical retail space might have to take on another adjacent job and someone else might have to take on another job and, slowly, step by step, upgrade themselves. So, it is not a simple issue. For every one job that is being displaced and one job that is being created, we need to train more than that one person to move from A to B. It will be a very involved process and the Labour Movement will definitely want to work with employers and the Government to make sure that we minimise the occurrences of structural unemployment. The faster our structural changes go, the more we need to do this. But it is not so easy. Because when growth slows down, the space for manoeuvre that we have becomes tighter. So, growth, in itself, provides us the space to overcome some of these challenges. When we do not grow fast enough, it will become even more difficult for us to help those who need the help most, that is, those who are displaced structurally. And the jobs will not come back even after this cyclical downturn because consumers' habits and production patterns have changed. So, we will need to do much more to overcome this. From NTUC and the Labour Movement's perspective, we can do three things much better in partnership with the tripartite partners. First, as the hon Member Desmond Choo has highlighted, we need to go upstream. Go upstream into the schools, the polytechnics and ITEs to provide career guidance and counselling so that we minimise the chance of every fresh graduate being put into a wrong course or selecting a wrong course because they do not have the correct information. We need to have career guidance and counselling right from the school and onwards to beyond the time they spend in school.”
“Our responsibility is to use this money wisely to really achieve the goals that we set out to achieve, rather than to waste or fritter them away. That would be the greatest injustice that we could do to ourselves, our companies and, of course, our country. To do this, as hon Members Patrick Tay and Desmond Choo have shared, we encourage businesses to relook business processes, expand the markets to go beyond Singapore, and re-examine work processes to see how to raise productivity gains. But the businesses cannot do this alone. The workers must similarly embrace a lifelong learning culture to make sure that we are ready not just for today, but for tomorrow. Let me now touch on three critical challenges that I think we need to face head-on going forward. The first has to do with our effort to tackle possible structural unemployment. The example that I shared just now, about people moving from offline to online, does not mean that jobs are destroyed and no new jobs are created. In fact, although the retailer who used to have a physical Page: 83 shopping outlet might be displaced, on the other hand, there are new jobs that are being created at the e-commerce, data management and logistics management fronts. So, the problem is not the total number of jobs available in the economy. The real question is how do we help the person who is displaced at the retail line get into another job that has been created? It will be too far-fetched, for most of the time, to expect someone who is displaced at the retail scene to be able to go into the e-commerce or data management space with minimum training. In order for us to avoid structural unemployment, many people need to literally move one step to the right.”
“Many workers have given us feedback that they are very appreciative of the Ministry of Finance's (MOF's) effort to expand and extend SEC, the Workfare Scheme, the Silver Support Scheme and the Professional Conversion Programme. Indeed, we are very thankful that we still have the means to do all these schemes. But I would certainly agree with the hon Member Assoc Prof Randolph Tan who spoke earlier that we need to ask ourselves what is our definition of success for these schemes. For the Labour Movement, the definition of success for all these schemes is not in the continuation or the continuous expansion and extension of these schemes. Our mark of success is that in time to come, we are able to slowly, but surely, wind down the proportion of workers who are dependent on such schemes. The true mark of success for all these schemes is not the schemes themselves, but for us to work upstream to make sure that as few workers as possible are reliant on these schemes. This suggests that we have to go upstream to do many more things and not see the expansion of these schemes as a mark of success. So, at this point in time, we are at the critical juncture of our economic transformation. How do we restructure our industries to create the jobs of the future? How do we ramp up the capacity to upskill our workers so as to equip them with the skills of the future? The Government has not shied away from spending resources to upskill our workers or to help our industries restructure. But it is incumbent upon all of us to realise that all these monies come from the taxpayers; and it is incumbent upon all of us to realise that whoever takes any of these monies, either for personal upgrading or for corporate restructuring, has a responsibility to society.”
“The number of bags may have gotten fewer because people are buying less. But a friend told me that he tested the online shopping delivery time. It has gotten longer. That suggests that it is not just a cyclical slowdown but there is perhaps a more fundamental shift in the consumer pattern – from physical offline shopping to online shopping. If that is the case, the question is how should we respond to this? I will come back to this in a short while. Some workers have commented that this year's Budget did not seem to speak too much about training. There was a lot of news about the $4-plus billion that we are going to spend to restructure our economy. So, some workers asked me: has the Finance Minister forgotten them? My answer is no. Page: 82 If I may borrow a quote from Minister Lim Swee Say. Last year, we embarked on SkillsFuture and we committed more than $1 billion to upgrade the skills of our workers. And we have barely started. We, in NTUC and the People's Association and many service providers, are ramping up relevant courses to meet the needs of our workers. So, yes, we have committed $1 billion as a first tranche to try and get ourselves up to speed with the skills of the future. This year, the focus is on trying to create jobs of the future. And as Minister Lim Swee Say would say, "Only when we have skills of the future, plus the jobs of the future, will our workers have careers of the future". So, I do not see this year's Budget in isolation. I think we should see this year's Budget as an ongoing continuous effort to restructure our economy and upskill our workers so that we can all have careers of the future. This is where we are today.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate and share the Labour Movement's perspectives on this year's Budget. This year's Budget comes at a time when the mood in Singapore is rather sombre. When we walk the streets and talk to our workers across all industries, the things that are uppermost on people's mind are as follows. One, will I still have a job by the end of this year? If I do, will I have any pay raise, if I am fortunate enough? If I lose my job at the end of this year, will there be another job looking for me? Times have changed, and times have changed very quickly. It was not so long ago that people were choosing their jobs. But the mood has turned around very quickly. The next question that both businesses and our people ask is this: is the current economic slowdown a cyclical or a structural issue? Recently, during the festive period, I had the fortune of driving down Orchard Road. And I always make it a point, when I drive down Orchard Road, to look at the taxi queues. I try to make a mental comparison of the length of the taxi queues with those of last year's or the preceding months. I try to make a mental count of the number of big bags that the people in the taxi queue are carrying. I noticed that the queues are shorter and the bags are fewer. So, the question in front of us is: is this a slowdown where, sooner or later, the same business model will allow us to pick up steam again and life will be back to normal? My conclusion is that the current slowdown is both cyclical and more fundamentally, structural. The taxi queues might have gotten shorter and the bags fewer because people are more careful with their spending now. And the taxi queues could also have gotten shorter because Uber is competing with the taxis now.”
“As chairman of the CDC, the Mayor maintains the focus of the CDCs to serve the residents and ensures the efficient running of the CDC. He or she advises the PA Board on matters affecting the well-being of the residents in the District and the provision and use of public facilities and services within the District. From time to time, they will be asked to represent Singapore at official international conventions or meetings in their capacity as Mayors. Mayors hold responsibilities which are comparable in scale and complexity to that of officeholders at the Ministries. The norm annual salary of a Mayor is $660,000, pegged between the salary range of a Senior Parliamentary Secretary and that of a Minister of State. A Mayor who also holds a concurrent appointment in the Ministry will only receive one salary.”
“The Community Development Councils (CDCs) were set up in 1997 to foster community bonding and strengthen social cohesion in Singapore. The Mayor, as the Chairman of the CDC, plays a key role in strengthening the social infrastructure in the community. The CDCs bring together various community stakeholders across the people, public and private (3P) sectors to serve the residents in each District. This engenders community ownership and builds community resilience. For example, by partnering the Law Society, CDCs have provided residents with greater accessibility to legal advice and better awareness of legal issues through legal talks by pro bono lawyers. By partnering the National Arts Council (NAC), CDCs have made arts programmes more accessible to the vulnerable. By working with SPRING Singapore and the Business Associations to set up the five Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Centres@CDCs, the CDCs have helped to promote greater awareness of the Government's help schemes and offer business advice to SMEs. In the same spirit, the CDC mobilises the local resources of community and corporate organisations to complement the national assistance schemes to meet the needs of the residents. For example, at North East (NE) District, the NE CDC coordinates among Grassroots Organisations, Social Service Offices and Workforce Development Agency to help the residents achieve self-reliance from receiving financial assistance to getting employment. In 2015, the CDCs helped over 100,000 beneficiaries. Mayors are appointed by the Chairman of the People's Association (PA) who is the Prime Minister. Each Mayor is in charge of a District where the number of residents in the District is not less than 500,000.”
“In the five-year period from 2010 to 2014, the number of corruption complaints received and cases registered for investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) have remained stable. The CPIB will be releasing its latest annual corruption statistics in April 2016. This will incorporate latest corruption statistics from the year 2015. The Corruption Reporting Centre at Whitley Road, which will be co-located with CPIB's Heritage Gallery, is set up to provide an accessible and convenient platform outside of the CPIB Headquarters for members of the public to make corruption-related complaints or to find out more information about corruption. Based on CPIB's statistics, complaints lodged in person are significantly more pursuable and are three times more likely to result in investigations, compared with other modes of complaints, such as through phone calls or written correspondence. This new facility will provide an additional access point for members of the public to come forward with information on suspected graft cases.”
“Mdm Speaker, I am glad that Mr Low Thia Khiang has made a distinction between the party list and the NCMP scheme. Indeed, I fully agree with Mr Low that the NCMP scheme is not a party list scheme. Second, I would like to clarify with Mr Low. He has mentioned many things that an NCMP cannot do. But why not think about the many things an NCMP can do for this House and for this country? Third, the People's Association is a Statutory Board under the Government. It executes the policy and directions for the Government. Fourth, Mr Leon Perera, you suggested you put yourself at great risk taking up this scheme when you also seem to suggest that this NCMP scheme will endanger the very future of Singapore. Why do you want to be a party to this? And finally, Mr Low, you said you have raised many dangers. Indeed, we agree with you there are many changes to the NCMP scheme including people coming in for the wrong reasons, people deluding themselves to showcase. If these are clear, present dangers, why do you allow your party Members to take up this scheme? It must be because on balance, you have found this scheme to be useful perhaps not just to yourself but hopefully to the wider Singapore as you have suggested; that they can contribute something even if they are not taking care of a constituency.”
“An NCMP has the privilege to demonstrate to Singaporeans his capabilities and commitment. Finally, I look forward to the day where every candidate respects the wishes of our electorate according to our laws. Let us not turn the NCMP scheme from one of service to the nation into a revolving door for partisan, political, talent displays. With that, Madam, I beg to move the Motion as amended. [Applause.] 6.34 pm”
“Madam, I propose to move, "to amend the Motion, to add '(c) but regrets that Ms Lee Li Lian, having stood as a Workers' Party candidate and received the highest vote share among all losing Opposition candidates, has now decided to give up her NCMP seat to another candidate from her party with a lower vote share, contrary to the expressed will of the voters, and that the Workers' Party supports this political manoeuvre to take full advantage of the NCMP seat, even as its Secretary General criticises NCMPs as just 'duckweed on the water of the pond.'" Mdm Speaker, my party will support the amended Motion. Thus, let me conclude. Madam, we look forward to all Members of this House discharging our responsibilities fully. We look forward to all Members in this House participating robustly in the decision making for the future of our country. We look forward to having a full and complete House to advance the future of Singapore. We also look forward to the day where every candidate who stands for election has in his or her heart the full commitment to serve, regardless as an MP or NCMP. That when we as candidates, when we walk the streets to ask for the votes of our electorate, to canvass for their support, and that when we tell them to place their trust in us, we mean it. When we say that, "Let me be of service to you", we mean it. And it does not matter whether we serve as an MP or NCMP. But it matters more than ever that we serve Singapore and Singaporeans and it matters that we respect the will of the voters. An NCMP can contribute no less than any MP in this House. In fact, as I have said, an NCMP without constituency responsibilities should be able to contribute as much, if not much more to Parliament.”
“Yes. [A copy of the amendment was handed to Mdm Speaker. ]”
“So, why not let us be honest with each other, as our founding Prime Minister had urged us to be, as Members of this House? There are political merits for any political party to take up the NCMP scheme. And if we say that with a straight face, touch our hearts, I do not think anybody will fault the person for saying it. We just have to be frank with ourselves, why we do it. The NCMP scheme must certainly have also benefited the Workers' Party. If not, why does the Workers' Party allow its members to take up the NCMP seats, not just two, but all three? If it is just for the PAP, why do it? And if Ms Lee Li Lian had been upfront, honest about it with her voters before they cast their votes, declare that she is not the best candidate and that even if she gets the highest vote share, she would not take up her NCMP seat, I think the Punggol East residents would feel that they are fairly treated, fairly respected. Now, if you say that the NCMP scheme does not give any political party muscle, again, the question is: why bother to fill the NCMP seat? Why do we want Mr Leon Perera, Mr Dennis Tan and, perhaps, in time to come, Mr Daniel Goh, to spend their precious time to be here, if it is of no political advantage for the Workers' Party? So, Madam, for this reason, my party will support the filling of the last NCMP seat according to the rules. But the motion must reflect the truth. We have to recognise that the Workers' Party has continued to criticise the system and, yet, deliberately made use of it to the hilt for its political advantage. As such, Mdm Speaker, with your permission I propose to amend the Motion with the following additions.”
“We are here to answer a higher calling: to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. We are not here to showcase our talent. It is not like this for the Prime Minister. It is not like this for any of the Ministers, any Members of Parliament, including NCMPs. And I hope that we, as Members in this House, will continue to bear this in our hearts as we go forth in our journey to serve Singapore and Singaporeans, first and foremost. Mdm Speaker, this brings me to the central and troubling questions raised by this Motion. First, let me categorically say this again that we want to see the third NCMP seat filled. What troubles us is the manoeuvring behind. Ms Lee Li Lian was the person who qualified. Mr Daniel Goh is the person that the Workers' Party supports to take up the seat. So, clearly, there are advantages to take up the NCMP seat. And let us be frank about it. I do not think people take up the NCMP seat to do the PAP a favour. I do not think so. Why would you want to do so and be so gracious to train the PAP? When one takes up the NCMP scheme, I hope it is for the correct reason, to serve Singapore. And I hope it is not for the wrong reason, to showcase your talent. We do not want the NCMP scheme to be a revolving door. This is the reason why I cannot understand the events that happened this week. When the Prime Minister on Wednesday gave his speech and explained why we are going to expand the NCMP scheme in size and in scope, on the very same night, Mr Low completely dismissed the NCMP scheme. He even called NCMPs "duckweeds". I do not know how Mr Leon Perera or Mr Dennis Tan feel. But I would guarantee you that none of my PAP MPs would ever call you "duckweeds". We value you for your contributions.”
“So, the question is: why did Ms Lee, a Member of this House in the last Parliament, the Workers' Party candidate who came closest to being re-elected and returned to Parliament, decide not to fulfil her responsibility to the people of Punggol East who had voted for her? It is most regrettable that Ms Lee has chosen to reject her NCMP seat and, with that, her responsibility to her voters and Singapore. The voters of Punggol East have given Ms Lee Li Lian the right to serve and, I am sure, they look forward to her service to our nation. But, unfortunately, this is not to be. On the day when Ms Lee lost the election, she said, "I should give this chance to my other Workers' Party colleagues. We really have some good people who deserve the slot". But Ms Lee got it wrong here. The right and the privilege were given to her by Punggol East residents. It was not for her to give it to someone else. Then, the very next day, Ms Lee repeated a similar sentiment, that "There are better people in the party that we should showcase. Let the people see how good these people are". "Showcase". I was not sure what she meant. The honour and privilege to join this House are for service to our nation. It is not for us to showcase ourselves. It is not for us to showcase our party talents. If we do that, we come in with the wrong end in mind. And for the third time, on 16 September, Ms Lee said, "The NCMP role is better suited for an aspiring MP who has no such experience and should take this up to show how he or she can contribute in Parliament." Again, "to show". Let us remember our duty and responsibility as Members of this House. Let us not turn the NCMP scheme into a revolving door to showcase our talent for our own party objectives.”
“In 2009, she said the scheme is "overall supportable" because it gives "greater recognition to the desire of voters who cast votes for Opposition candidates in significant numbers which would otherwise be shut out in a pure first-past-the-post system". And the next sentence is even more important. She said, "It will also facilitate Opposition parties serving the people in Parliament based on results obtained at General Elections." Mdm Speaker, Members of this House, this is exactly the reason why the Government introduced the scheme and now, to want to strengthen it further. Ms Lim was once an NCMP as she had shared. When she accepted her NCMP seat in 2006, Ms Lim said that it was with "that sense of obligation", to those voters who had voted for her, that she was taking up the appointment. She said that her decision to accept the seat was made easier because "more than 58,000 people actually wanted a Workers' Party voice for Aljunied GRC". Mdm Speaker, at the start of this new electoral term, this House saw a new batch of Workers' Party NCMPs accept their seats − Mr Dennis Tan and Mr Leon Perera. We welcome both of them as equal Members in this House in debate. But Ms Lee Li Lian did not accept the seat. Many in this House who have spoken in the last few days, including Mr Leon Perera on Tuesday, said that it was a privilege to participate in the debate in this House. And we all said that we want to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. Like her party colleagues, one would have hoped, expected, wished that Ms Lee Li Lian would have the same sense of obligation to do right by the support of the people who had voted for her.”
“We do have an issue with the Workers' Party's motivation in supporting Ms Lee Li Lian's decision and moving this Motion to declare the seat vacant. Let me explain why. The Workers' Party has often spoken up against the NCMP scheme, including in this very House, this very afternoon. In 2010, Ms Sylvia Lim said that having more NCMPs is not the way forward to make our political system more robust. In 2010, Mr Low Thia Khiang too said that, "We will vote against it in-principle because that is not a system we should entrench as a political system." Just on Wednesday, Mr Low Thia Khiang repeated this outside the Chamber and I quote, NCMPs have no "political muscle". "An NCMP is just duckweed on the water of a pond... You don't have roots, unlike elected MPs …" and so on and so forth. But, the Workers' Party obviously see advantages for itself in accepting NCMP seats. Because, despite the repeated objections, many Workers' Party candidates have in fact taken up the NCMP seats in the past and in today's Chamber. In 1988, Dr Lee Siew Choh became the Party's first serving NCMP. Mr JB Jeyaretnam who claimed that he wanted nothing to do with the NCMP scheme in 1984 accepted the seat himself in 1997 when it was offered to him. In more recent times, Mr Yee Jenn Jong and Mr Gerald Giam both took up the NCMP seats that were offered to them last term. Mr Yee said in 2011, and I quote, "It is more effective to be able to have a voice through the NCMP scheme than not". So, obviously, they have found it useful. And they must have found meaning to be able to join the debates in Parliament to contribute to the future of our country. In fact, Ms Sylvia Lim, Workers' Party Chairman, despite statements to the contrary, has publicly expressed support for the scheme. Let me quote.”
“We put that way ahead of the longevity of our own party and we have never changed from that position. We are making these changes because we want to continue to strengthen our political system, not just for this generation, but for many more generations to come. Foreign observers looking at us are puzzled. Why do we have to do this? Is it, as some suggest, for narrow partisan political interest? Is this for our own selfish interest? If so, why do we need to do it? Why do we need to do it now? Madam, this Government believes that it should, at a moment when it has won a strong mandate, to think beyond the immediate, beyond narrow party interests, to make sure that we can continue to grow a stable, open, contestable political system, for the future of Singapore, not the future of PAP per se. And there are people on the ground who asked us: why are you doing this? Is this good for your party? We do not know, but we believe that this is good for Singapore and that is why we are doing it. Madam, this very act is an embrace of diversity, not just in words but in actions. This very act is the embrace of debate, not the fear of debate. We walk the talk. No one should doubt that we are willing to fill the last vacant NCMP seat in this House. We look forward to having a full and complete House, with MPs, NCMPs and NMPs all vigorously debating the future of our country, working hand-in-hand, for the good of our country. So, we have no trouble at all, supporting a Motion to fill the last NCMP seat. We look forward to it. But we do have an issue with the reason that Ms Lee Li Lian gave for giving up her seat in favour of another Workers' Party's candidate.”