Chan Soo Sen
Singapore
“In this way, we could generate, nurture and grow the sparks of creativity. But all these ideas will still need to have things like incubators and the various start-up support schemes in order to make them into reality. All these would need funding support.”
“The fact that children give parents some money to have a good time in casino shows how complacent we can be. Mr Chairman, I want to propose that we must be more aggressive in publicising the ills of gambling. Let us take the example of smoking. Real pictures of health hazards are shown on the boxes to deter people.”
“Thank you, Madam. I just want to say that the Minister did not quite answer my question about having a special Chinese language programme or, if necessary, set up a special Chinese language centre for those who are gifted in Chinese. Perhaps I did not make myself quite clear.”
“Hence, I propose that the Ministry of Education consider implementing a Special Chinese Elite programme. If necessary, establish a Special Chinese Language Centre and peg the standard to the highest level.”
“As the public sector is a major employer in Singapore, may I ask whether the public sector as an employer is willing to recognise the medical certificates issued by TCM practitioners and allow medical benefit claims for TCM treatment? If not now, then how about some time in the future when professional standards of TCM further improve?”
“I hope that in the next few years, more emphasis will be given to the care and support for the caregivers – how to offer them emotional support, how to give them counselling support, how to organise programmes to give them some relief from the daily chore of giving care so that at least they may have, say, two or three hours a day t…”
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“Okay, Sir. We will share with him the details later. But take it from me that we have organised a very broad range of courses, and we will continue to extend the range of courses. And I think that justifies the additional money that we need in order to fund NACLI. The advisors can certainly approach NACLI to tailor some courses for the volunteers to go for leadership courses. I think I have more or less addressed most of the questions, Sir.”
“For example, the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI), which Mr Charles Chong mentioned by quoting from the Budget book, organises a very, very broad list of courses. If he wants, we can provide more details. But I will just read out some of the titles ---”
“Amongst them, 19 have carried out the exercise and the remaining two RCs will complete the exercise by August 2003. To-date, the 19 RCs have received a total of 65 nominations, and amongst them, 32 have already been appointed into the RCs. We have people coming from all walks of life and profession. I think the results are very, very encouraging. The scheme is there to actually supplement the existing system of appointing grassroots leaders. In other words, it is an additional alternative to try and encourage more people to come in. The results, I must say, have proven that the scheme is a useful additional means of recruiting new RC leaders. PA is prepared to consider extending the scheme to the other RCs if advisors recommend so. If Mr Charles Chong is interested, we can talk about it later. By the way, this is not an election scheme. It is just an additional system to bring in new grassroots leaders. Miss Penny Low talked about the training for the grassroots leaders. Yes, I certainly agree with Miss Penny Low about the contribution given by the grassroots leaders. When the grassroots leaders join us, the most important attribute that they must have is the heart to serve. If they have a heart to serve and when they actually start to serve, they would pick up the skills along the way. This has been the kind of so-called training that a grassroots leader will receive. If we ask some of our grassroots leaders what they have benefited from being a grassroots leader, they would tell you that it is the exposure, the opportunity to enlarge the circle of one's contacts, as well as to enrich one's life. So, the experience of participating in a grassroots organisation is already a very good form of training. But, of course, there are other training opportunities available.”
“On 1st February 2003, we implemented a new guideline limiting the tenure of RC and Neighbourhood Committee Chairman to only three consecutive terms, with a total of six years. The objective of these new guidelines really is to encourage leadership renewal within the CCCs, CCMCs, RCs and MCs, especially in those key posts like Chairman, Secretary as well as Treasurer. For these three members who have stepped down, there are other options for them. They can be committee members and continue to serve. In the case of the Chairman, for those who are very outstanding, they can become honorary patron or immediate past Chairman and can continue to contribute their experience as well as their knowledge. I must say that the implementation has been smooth. Since 1st April 2002, 24 key appointment holders in the CCCs and CCMCs have relinquished their posts with the new guideline. Another 16 key CCC and CCMC office bearers would be due to retire in the next 12 months, in accordance with the age limit. Also, a total of 111 RC and two NC Chairmen would be due to step down in the next 12 months when they reach a three-year term. Some would be appointed, as I have said, as immediate past Chairmen. To-date, seven new RCs have new Chairmen as a result of this rule. Only two appeals have been received so far to extend the term and these are under consideration. So, generally, the implementation has been smooth. There are a small number of cases of advisors coming to appeal to say that this particular person is still very much needed and we will consider, but the number is small. If the justification is there, we would allow. Mr Charles Chong also asked about the residents' nomination scheme. This scheme is currently piloted in 21 RCs.”
“If Members come to the People's Association at the west block, they will find many such temporary buildings and, currently, there is building activity to build something more permanent. So there is no question of tearing down our facilities at Kallang and rebuild. That particular item is not for that purpose. As far as the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI) is concerned, it is actually related to Miss Penny Low's point on whether we are going to spend additional money on NACLI and whether there has been any increase in the type of courses. Perhaps I will address this point a little later. Mr Charles Chong also asked whether the community centres are still relevant. Of course, they are still relevant. We know that, nowadays, people have more choices. There are other places to go to. But all our community centres and community clubs are doing their bit to make themselves relevant and to attract the residents to come to them. Despite the slight decline in the number of attendance at the community centres, they are still relevant. We will take into consideration the needs when we build the community clubs and community centres. If we find that there is already a declining population or attendance at the community centre, then that community centre or community club may be closed. So this particular review is going on all the time. 4.15 pm Mr Charles Chong asked about the age limit for the grassroots leaders, as well as for certain figures. On 1st April 2002, the People's Association introduced the retirement age limit of 65 only for key grassroots leaders. These are for the Chairmen, Secretaries and Treasurers of the CCCs and the CCMCs.”
“Sir, Mr Charles Chong asked three questions. Firstly, the basis for reduction of the cost and whether after the reduction, there is still enough money to run our programmes. I would say that the basis for reduction of the cost takes a bit to explain. Perhaps we can talk about it separately, as I do not have the details with me here. The more important question is whether the reduction would affect our activities. Part of the answer was actually given when I answered an earlier question. Although we are doing more, firstly, we are not the only Government agency that has a reduction in expenditure. The budget situation being very tight this year, I think all of us would have to exercise an economy drive. We all have to apply our mind to make the dollar stretch further. So the People's Association will be doing that. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, we rely on volunteers to carry out a lot of our activities. When we have new functions, they will come together with the resources, the manpower, headcount as well as the money. When there is a new function that is to be allocated, we will go to the Ministry of Finance for additional funding. And when there is a need, the Ministry of Finance is usually helpful. I am not saying that the process is necessarily easy. They will scrutinise our justification. But if there is a need to do certain projects and there is additional need for money, it will be given. Mr Charles Chong asked about the new building. The building activity in the People's Association is actually to replace some of the old container-type temporary buildings housing many of our subordinate organisations.”
“We have organised 14 community job fairs as well as arranged 53 local job orientation workshops and visits to various industries, such as wafer fab, hospitality, marine and transport industries, to facilitate retrenched workers to try to work in these industries. In April 2002, we had also worked with the Ministry of Manpower to pilot the Train-and-Place Programme. This programme offers training and employment opportunities in informal sectors where there is demand for manpower. The CDCs have started the programme in areas such as domestic cleaning, eldercare, childcare, confinement nannies, spa and beauty care, netball coaching, logistics, cooking and catering, as well as horticulture and gardening. This programme is helpful for those older and lower-skilled retrenched Singaporeans. The CDCs have trained about 600 persons and about 40% of them have found jobs. About $2 million has been spent to help them. So I would want to say that the CDCs have been doing their part in helping the less well-off Singaporeans and the retrenched Singaporeans. Certainly, we will do more, but the CDC is also a people-sector community oriented organisation. The various Mayors who are seated over there have, through their channels, reached out to the community, assessed their needs and attracted new ideas and volunteers to get the programme started. This process will continue.”
“One way is that the various CDCs do have their newsletters. Maybe they can consider, in one of the newsletters, highlighting their annual activities. So it becomes some kind of an annual report. The other possibility is for the People's Association's Annual Report to give more pages to CDCs, so that each CDC will have individual chapters and sections devoted to them. The People's Association would definitely look into this. All of us agree that we should give CDC activities as well as the Mayor's role more publicity, so that our residents would know what they are doing. Thirdly, on surpluses and whether the CDCs have been giving financial assistance to the residents, I would say that the CDCs have actually done much towards this end. Since 2001, we have taken on more local and community functions from the user Ministries. That includes Public Assistance, Rent Utilities Assistance Schemes, Small Family Improvement Scheme, and so on. In year 2002, CDCs have disbursed close to $21 million to help 24,000 needy Singaporeans of various categories. CDCs are also responsible for developing and funding childcare, student care and family service centres. All of these contribute towards social development and, in some ways, help towards the more needy families. We spent about $8 million in 2002 to develop and maintain 74 such community facilities. But CDCs also operate on the philosophy that we do not just give a fish. We want to teach people how to fish and the best welfare is to help them find work. Since December 2001, the CDCs have worked with the Ministry of Manpower to provide job matching services. So far, they have done it for 32,000 retrenched Singaporeans.”
“In fact, as an added incentive to encourage greater minority participation, PA gives bonus points to community clubs, like CCs, as well as RCs, which have attained a high level of multi-racial participation in their programmes and activities. Every year, we rank our CCs and RCs, and the ranking points give weightage to more multi-racial participation. Sir, I will now address Mdm Ho Geok Choo's point about CDC. She raised three points. First, she said that because of the enlarged scope of activities, which are all very labour-intensive, do we have enough staff in the CDCs to handle these tasks. The answer is yes, because when a new function is given to the CDC it must come with the resources needed to implement these functions. This has been the understanding that the People's Association has with the various Ministries. So, if they hand over the job, they will have to also hand over the money as well as the head-counts. From that point of view, whenever we undertake a task, we will have the resources to implement it. And, very importantly, in the CDCs, the volunteers play a very important role, and they do play a big role in helping out in implementing these activities. It is through the participation of active citizens that we are, to put it this way, never alone. Mdm Ho Geok Choo also suggested having annual reports for the CDCs because she said that not many people know what the Mayors are doing. I do not know what form of annual report she is thinking of. If she is thinking about printing a proper annual report, like the Town Council's annual report, it will cost about $20,000-$30,000 to print a few hundred copies. We feel that it is not necessary. But there are a few ways that we can do to highlight more of these activities.”
“Sir, I will address Mr Chandra Mohan's point about multi-racial participation in the People's Association's activities. In fact, that is what PA is all about. Among PA's objectives are racial harmony, social cohesion and, of course, the link between Government and the people. And, therefore, promoting multi-racial activities has been a very key priority of the People's Association. Over the years, the People's Association has introduced many initiatives to draw more people from all ethnic groups to join the activities, as well as to serve as grassroots leaders. There are far too many of such examples. I do not think I want to waste the time of the House by elaborating them. I will probably send Mr Chandra Mohan a copy of the PA's Annual Report and, if he needs to, I can go through some of these activities with him. 3.45 pm But I want to highlight just a few. Firstly, the Inter-Racial Confidence Circles (IRCCs). After the IRCCs have been set up, it has so far organised 200 activities to promote inter-racial understanding. There is also a programme called Ethnic Bonding Homestay Programme. It was introduced in school by North East CDC to celebrate Racial Harmony Day 2001. Under this programme, families adopt a child of a different race for a weekend, and we have a plan to expand this programme. There are also the Malay Activities Executive Committee and Indian Activities Executive Committee in our grassroots organisations. They promote the various ethnic activities so as to promote better understanding between these groups as well as other ethnic groups.”
“Sir, I am just responding to Mr Steve Chia's point about national helplines. We do have two national helplines. One is by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). The number is 1800-221-4444. This is for people who feel desperate, discouraged or in distress, in other words, with suicidal tendencies. Every year, they receive about 37,000 calls. About 90% are non-suicidal and they very often refer these cases to other agencies. The other helpline is the National Family Centre hotline. It is 1800-838-0100. This is for people with any social problems and who need help from Family Service Centres. We will accept the point by Mr Steve Chia that both these numbers can be better publicised and we will look into how we can better publicise these numbers.”
“Yes, Sir. That being the case, perhaps I will just conclude by saying that every year we celebrate family three times. In February, we have Romancing Singapore. In May/June, we have the Family Week, and in November, we have the Senior Citizens' Week and Grandparents Day. We involve various sectors to promote family and we have been receiving better and better responses. I characterise the situation of family when I began my reply by saying that family is in good shape, though under pressure. But, on the other hand, we see many people wanting to be part of our effort to promote family. So, we are very encouraged. We are confident that we will do well. 12.00 noon”
“Since 2000, participation rates at these programmes have also been increasing at a phenomenal rate of 25% per annum. We could not have done this without some 700 dedicated Family Life Ambassadors who comprise individuals, organisations and corporations from the private as well as the people sectors.”
“This year, we will adopt the theme "Parenting Teenagers" to help parents better connect with their growing teenagers. For this, I have a personal interest because I do have two teenage sons. So you will see me participating more actively this year in the programme. The programmes will include bonding activities such as "Parent-Teen obstacle challenge" in a TV reality programme, as well as a multi-media contest involving the family unit in the Singapore Street Festival. The Festival, by the way, is organised by the Orchard Road Business Association and supported by several statutory bodies. And just as we try different communication media, depending on our audiences, my Ministry is also paying more attention to inter-generational communication. In July 2002, a Task Force was formed under Family Matters! Singapore Committee to promote the importance of grandparenting and positive inter-generational relationships. We also launched a funding scheme to encourage the private and people sectors to develop and implement programmes that promote inter-generational bonding. At the time when we were young, we remember our grandparents very dearly. I think we do notice that our children do not seem to share such sentiments towards their grandparents, and yet grandparents are potentially a very, very important part in encouraging fellow Singaporeans to have more children. Since 2001, we have celebrated Grandparents Day. I believe we may be the first in the world to celebrate Grandparents Day, during Senior Citizens' Week, and it is done on a larger scale to recognise the contributions of grandparents as well as to honour their important roles. More than 200,000 people signed up for Family Life Education programmes in 2002.”
“We communicate our messages through as many channels as possible. One effective way has been through various MediaCorp and MediaWorks TV programmes in all the four languages. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon has this idea of a TV documentary and that she will be pleased to know that her idea of a TV documentary called "My Home", based on real-life stories of individuals and their families overcoming challenges, telecast over a period of two years, in English and Chinese, since 2000, has already seen four seasons so far. Each episode on average reaches more than 700,000 viewers. Our latest TV family programme on Vasantham Central has also achieved an unprecedented drama viewership rating of 30% of the Indian population. I am told that this is equivalent to the most popular Bollywood movies. So, maybe we are beginning to see Sollywood. Our Malay human interest stories with family life messages in "K Inc" on Channel Suria was consistently among the top 10 programmes broadcast. Besides, we also have other popular TV programmes on parenting, eg, an English TV drama called "First Touch" and the drama "I Not Stupid", which carry our parenting messages. We have used TV stars such as Xiang Yun, Gurmit Singh and top Malay and Indian TV stars to promote the importance of family in TV commercials. We accept the reality that people do not listen to us, Members of this House, but they listen to messages from people whom they really enjoy seeing, eg, film stars. The roadshows in the heartlands and in the central business district featuring comedians such as Jack Neo have also helped widely disseminate family messages, ranging from inter-generational bonds, to parenting as well as marriage. Another channel that we use to communicate our family life messages is the National Family Week.”
“Last year, together with Fei Yue Counselling Centre, the North West, South East and South West CDCs, my Ministry piloted the School Family Education Programme in four schools. The programme has reached out to almost 12,000 people within a year of its implementation. The idea is to reach out to the parents through their children. It equips parents with effective parenting skills, children with life skills, and supports all parents, as well as teachers, to balance career, school life as well as family life. The bonus is that, in the process, in line with my Ministry's vision to promote strong families who help others, parent volunteers now run some of the schools' family life centres and are starting peer support groups. So we are beginning to reach a stage of parents beginning to inspire other parents. We see that the pilot is a success and my Ministry will expand the programme to more schools. My Ministry is also looking into another programme called Journey of Life. It is being developed for students in polytechnics, whereby through experiential learning, students are imbued with healthy attitudes about love, spousal relations, family relationships as well as aging. Sir, my Ministry has been working in partnership not only with the Ministry of Education, but with the people and private sector in family life education. I would also like to report that we are trying all things possible to engage families, and to empower our partners, such as Family Life Ambassadors, through sharing of resources, experience as well as best practices. Working with our partners, we find there is no shortage of bright and creative ideas. Indeed, there is no monopoly of good ideas and wisdom if we can all encourage everybody to come forward and contribute.”
“To have strong marriages, we must ensure that we start them right. In a survey conducted by my Ministry recently, twice the number of participants found marriage preparation courses to be highly useful as compared to a similar survey conducted in 1999. So, perhaps there was a general agreement that such courses are getting to be more important. We are encouraged by these findings. We will make marriage preparation more accessible. One such initiative is the launch of an on-line marriage preparation programme on the "About Family Life" website. That will be in about three months' time, in June this year, so that people who are too busy to come to us can access the website. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang would be happy to know that since last year, a number of Deputy Registrars and Licensed Solemnisers have agreed to expand their role to be Marriage Mentors, and we have developed a training programme for them. A number of them are JPs, grassroots leaders as well as religious leaders. Underlying this initiative is the premise that, being respected members of the community, couples will welcome their advice as well as counsel. We also have the Healthy Marriage Programme, which aims to better prepare Malay/Muslim youths for married life. The programme is a developmental and preventive initiative. It aims at inculcating teenagers with healthy values and positive views about marriage as well as family. Mrs Yu-Foo has called for MCDS to work with agencies like the Ministry of Education to put our young through life skills and character building programmes. I am happy to report that MCDS is implementing the PEC recommendation on the School Family Education Programme.”
“Sir, perhaps some other day, when my wife is around. Yesterday, Dr Maliki suggested a Men's Movement for men to understand the feelings of women, and for us men to be able to run after the women. I fully concur. While listening to some of the feedback from SDU, as well as SDS, that the Minister talked about, there was one feedback which said that a girl called up SDU and said, "The man you chose for me was really unromantic because at the first dinner we had to go Dutch." I never did that while I was courting in Oxford. There was another interesting story of a man calling up SDU, after the first date, and said, "Can you tell me when I can hold her hand?" I was totally speechless when I heard that. In fact, I wonder if the aim of the movement should be how to be gentlemen. And maybe to learn the wonders of falling in love, staying in love, and being spontaneous in small gestures of romance like Mr Valberg who is in his 70s with 50 years of marriage behind him. However, on a more serious note, while Family Matters! Singapore Committee organises programmes like Romancing Singapore, the Ministry supports VWOs like the Centre for Fathering to run programmes like Father-Child bonding camps - one of the phenomena that we always hear about is that the father had disappeared - couples adventure camps, as well as to conduct talks for single men on how they can be good husbands and fathers. A similar programme is Forum Adam, an initiative started by none other than Dr Maliki in 2001, which aims to provide a platform for Malay men to share challenges as husbands and fathers. My Ministry is working with YWMA Mendaki Family Service Centre, Al Khair Mosque, to start a Father Support Group, following this year's Forum Adam.”
“Though the number is still small, compared to other countries, divorce is certainly an area of concern and we cannot be complacent about it. 11.45 am It is in this context, and with these concerns in mind, that the Romancing Singapore Festival was initiated. Romancing Singapore is a people-sector initiative led by two private-sector volunteers, Dr Finian Tan and Ms Claire Chiang. It was funded by donations from the Singapore Totalisator Board at about $400,000. It generated good media coverage with 500,000 people participating in over 100 Festival events. The Festival reminds us all to build relationships that are vital to marriage and family. It is not just about getting singles to consider romance. It is as much, if not more, for married couples to nourish their relationships like the case of Mr and Mrs Valberg, a couple in their 70s, who renewed their 50-year marriage vow at a Romancing Singapore event. When asked about the love of her life, Mrs Valberg remarked, "Once, my husband, who is usually very quiet, broke into a love song while we were walking along the Esplanade." Small gestures like these are really romantic. Yes, we need such small acts of romance to keep marriages alive. I have to say that that story is very inspiring to me too.”
“In May this year, we will be collaborating with Media Development Authority (MDA) and Institute of Advertising Singapore to organise a regional broadcast conference focusing on how the media impacts on the values of the young and the families. I will also later highlight two key recommendations of the PEC, namely, Romancing Singapore and the School Family Education programme. The Family Matters! Singapore Committee continues to be the people-movement that the PEC envisaged. Unfortunately, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon is not here. In fact, I want to thank her for the good work done at the PEC as well as for her foresight in putting together an extensive network of people- and private-sector partners. When I succeeded her to be the PEC's Chairman, I continued with her legacy of engaging the people- as well as private-sector agencies. Today, many community partners are leading the initiatives as well as corporate donors, like Singapore Totalisator Board, have come forward to provide substantial funding for the programmes. Sir, Dr Maliki has asked about Romancing Singapore. My Minister has earlier shared with Members the very serious challenges facing us as a result of the changing attitudes towards marriage and procreation. We are now seeing more "young" marriages breaking up. And by "young" marriages, we mean those marriages that break up within five years. The proportion of civil divorces among marriages under five years increased from 9.6% (208 out of 2,178 divorces) in 1990. This 9.6% increased to 15.3% (533 out of 3,491 divorces) in 2001. Muslim divorces of similar marriage duration remained high at 34.7% (467 out of 1,347 divorces) in 2001.”
“Sir, allow me now to address the remaining questions relating to families, ie, "Strong and Stable Families". Sir, Singapore families are by and large in good shape, although we have to admit that they are under some pressure. It would be helpful to promote support options for the family. The community can support the family. Families, in turn, should support one another as well as the community. We have many partners under our Many Helping Hands approach. We actively consult them as we do not own all the wisdom on family issues. In fact, everybody can be a family expert. One important partner in family is the Committee on Family. This is headed by Mr Noel Hon. This is a people-sector led committee. It has, over the years, provided invaluable advice on family initiatives. Another committee that has allowed us to tap the strength of the community is the Family Matters! Singapore Committee, which I chair, but I have to say that most of the work is done through the various sub-committees headed by people from the people sector. We are carrying out the blueprint developed by the former Public Education Committee on Family or PEC which was then chaired by Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon. Over 40 of the 70 PEC recommendations are being implemented, some 18 months after the PEC Report was released. Some of the initiatives undertaken include partnership with the Singapore History Museum to organise a wedding exhibition aimed at reinforcing the importance of marriage as an institution, and a recent collaboration with the advertising industry to launch annual Family Matters Awards for the most pro-family TV/radio commercials and print advertisements because we believe that people look at advertisements quite seriously.”
“I believe that if we were to implement these recommendations proposed by the Minister for Education, in five to 10 years' time, our values would be changed. This is something which is a long term endeavour. We may not yield immediate results. But I think we should support this motion so that there will be better opportunities for our future generations.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I hope that Mr Low Thia Khiang will not look down on the polytechnic students. When I was working on the Singapore 21 project, I had the opportunity to speak to many young people. I observed that the polytechnic graduates were very aggressive. They were entrepreneurial, strong in their spirit, even stronger than the University graduates. I asked some of the polytechnic graduates why this was so. They told me that they had two options after their graduation. One was to fight it out like Sim Wong Hoo who was their idol and role model. The other option was to be contented with a $3,000-$4,000 salary job and live in a 5-room flat. So, if you want to strike it big, you fight for it. I hope that Mr Low Thia Khiang will not look down on the polytechnic graduates. As for the so-called pressure, let me tell him a story. I encouraged my son to take up a third language, the Malay language. When he was in Secondary 3, he said that it was too much pressure for him and he wanted to drop it. I asked him why. He said that the teacher was not good, and that it was likely that he would fail his oral examination. I told him not to worry, and that by acquiring one additional language he would have another passport, one more path to take. I told him that it was not necessary to strive for an A1, just manage a pass, a C6 would do. Maybe it is a smaller passport but it is one extra passport. He said, "Let me try." In the end, he succeeded. So one extra path, a little bit more pressure, but it is worth it!”
“We worry about retrenchment, we are concerned with unemployment. But, we have to remember the big picture, and be bold enough to plan for necessary changes, and have the drive to bring about the changes. Once again, I reaffirm my support to this motion. I also hope all of us in this House give it our strong support, so that the professionals, the principals, and the teachers will go full steam ahead without worries to do a good job. This will be a new chapter in the development of education in Singapore.”
“They all try to be creative. They want to emphasise on culture, the arts, etc. So they offer more choices. We must learn how to make choices, and we can benefit from the advantage of having many options. If you say I do not care how many roads there are, I just want to take one particular road, then when you find that you cannot make it, you will be very stressed. The stress can be quite unbearable and it is a self-generated kind of stress. I hope that through these changes which would bring about creativity and innovation, Singapore would gradually evolve into a really gracious metropolitan, where all the flowers bloom. We have now a population of 3 million. If tomorrow, Singapore suddenly disappears, what would the world have missed? Perhaps Singapore Airlines, and perhaps Creative Technology. That is about all. I cannot think of anything else which the world would feel have lost. But, if tomorrow, Scotland disappears, what would the world miss? Scotland has a population of about 5 million, less than twice of ours. They would miss the game of golf, the biscuit called shortbread, the unique kilts and bagpipers, it's the song of Auld Lang Syne, and the drink of whiskey. So there are many things which the world would miss if Scotland were to disappear. And these are the products of their culture and marketing skills. We have not reached that level of culture. But through our continuous efforts to go up, to diversify, to be flexible in all other fields of arts and culture, I think one day we will also reach the stage that despite our small 3 million population, we contribute to the world in such a way that if Singapore should disappear, the world would miss something important. I know that of late, the morale of our people is generally not very high.”
“He may not have an university education, but his products are well known throughout the world. Everybody knows the name "Creative". Can you say that he is not an elite? So we must understand that in Singapore's education system, all roads lead to Rome. If you want to become an elite there are many, many roads for you to take. So long as you are prepared to work hard, try it out, you do not necessarily need to go on the through-train. Will our children who cannot go on the through-train be called a non-elite, and have to till the land, work the farm? There is no such thing. There are other routes to take. They can still succeed by other routes. So I hope that parents like us must be rational in looking at this matter. We must understand that, with the proposed changes in our JC/Upper Secondary education system, MOE is introducing more channels, more routes for us to choose from. Of course, if there are many choices, it may also lead to some stress, because there can be a feeling of helplessness arising from not knowing which road to take. I remember when I first went to the US, I wanted to install a telephone-line. I was told that I have three sets of numbers to choose from. Back home, in the 1980s, we had no freedom to choose the telephone number you wanted. So, I felt a little stressed then. So too many choices could lead to stress, that is when we do not know how to choose. But in reality, having more choices is good. It is having no choice that is really stressful. The many options open to the children will give them opportunities to do even better for their future. If they are unable to go on the through-train, we should not force them. They need not be on the through-train. There are other ways. The JCs may want to have their own characteristics.”
“Is stress generated because we have too high expectations on them, and hence they feel helpless and do not know what to do as they are afraid of letting us down? They cannot do what they want to do, and they have to do what we want them to do. Put ourselves in their shoes, and we can understand the stress they face. So I hope that as parents, we should be rational in handling our expectations on our children so as not to put unreasonable stress on them. Times are different from the past. When I was young, my father asked me to study well, study properly. He told me this, "If you do not study properly you will end up working as a coolie. As a coolie life is very, very tough." During his time, in his village, there were probably only two persons who did not have to work in the paddy field. One was the village head and the other was the village school teacher. Apart from these two, everyone else would have to work in the paddy field. So the choice then was between working in the field and studying hard. Both are hard work, but to many the choice is quite obvious. But we have more choices than that now. If we cannot jump on the through-train, we can still have other regular channels of education through which you can go to the JC, and then the university. Or, we can go overseas to further your studies. Many of our parliamentary colleagues here have mentioned examples of students who left Singapore to study overseas, and did very well because our good education system had prepared them well. So in our education system, all roads lead to Rome. There are successful role models in every channels. For polytechnic students, they have a model in Sim Wong Hoo. He is a polytechnic, and definitely an elite.”
“It is essential that the motion gets our strong support, so that our professionals in MOE and the schools and JCs would be able to concentrate on the implementation of these changes in the next 4 to 5 years, without having to look back. To implement such changes, we will, of course, have to take care of some concerns. For example, will there be too much emphasis on elitism? Will there be an increase in stress on our students? On the first question, I think the Minister of State Dr Ng Eng Hen has already explained very clearly that in the past 20-odd years, under this education system, there were fewer and fewer dropouts, reaching almost zero level. If our education system is tinted towards looking after the elite, then there will not be such an outcome. So we can accept the assurance given by MOE that our educational direction will not be focusing too much on the elitist. Having taken care of the masses, however, we should also give our strongest students the opportunity to give full play to their potential so that they can become more creative, more innovative, to be able to compete better in the new economy. The next question is on stress and pressure. We must understand what stress is and who generates stress. I feel that the so-called stress is not because you have too much work to do. Too much workload does not necessarily lead to pressure. For some people, the greater the workload the happier they are. If you ask them to sit down and do nothing, that would be the greatest stress. So more work does not necessarily mean greater stress. Stress is a feeling of helplessness, of not knowing what to do. I hope that parents, like many of us, must fully understand this point. We must help our children to handle stress.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, like the other colleagues in this House, I support the motion in the name of the Minister for Education for the reform of our education system. I am a member of the Review Committee. When I was working on the review and talking to the various parties, I noticed that everyone we talked to - from the academia, private sector, entrepreneurs themselves and professionals - unanimously supported the idea that we should reform and introduce new changes to our JC/Upper Secondary schools. Everyone knows that the world is changing, the economy is changing. As a Chinese proverb said, before a storm, there will be strong winds blowing. We all feel the wind, and know we must prepare for the rain. We must retool and rebuild. All these will take time. So we must plan and prepare early, and allow time for implementation. Even the professionals and the educationists, the teachers and principals, the people stand to face the greatest impact with the changes, are also prepared to face the changes, albeit with some apprehension. They unanimously agree that we must change, and change we must, whatever the difficulties. Therefore, I am very glad to note that Mr Low Thia Khiang too supports this motion, in principle. I believe this motion before the House will get the unanimous support of Members. The main consideration is on its implementation. We must implement it well. The Ministry of Education has given itself 4-5 years to do the important preparatory work, and will not implement the changes hastily. This is an admirable spirit. In fact, our education system has been good and praised by many. We are only talking about adjusting the JC and upper secondary school system to face the challenge of the times.”
“Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for National Development, since the last amendment of the Land Titles (Strata) Act in 1987, whether there is now a need to review and further explain the law to prevent the many problems of management and maintenance faced by condominium owners such as those of the Bukit Timah Plaza, People's Park Centre and Kentish Green, as well as problems faced by owners of mixed-use developments. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Land Titles (Strata) Act (LTSA) provides a legal framework for the development and management of strata schemes in Singapore. The hon. Member will be pleased to know that the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), together with the relevant public agencies, has already initiated a review of the Act. The cases featured recently in the media have highlighted some issues faced by strata developments. This has highlighted to the subsidiary proprietors, ie, the owners of the condominium units the need to take an active interest in the management of their building and a greater awareness of the LTSA. Some have provided feedback that the provisions in the LTSA could be improved upon to ensure better governance and minimise the possibility of abuse. BCA has been consulting relevant stakeholders for the review and will consider their feedback so that the changes to the LTSA will better meet the needs of subsidiary proprietors and management corporations.”
“While national programmes and CDCs can cater to most Singaporeans, the self-help groups are more effective in reaching out to the last 5% that need help, given their cultural affinity, language and networks. Moreover, different communities have different priorities to address. A community self-help approach allows each community to focus on the issues and problems that are most pressing for that community. The existence of self-help groups should not be perceived as a weakness but as complementary to our multi-racial approach. If the multi-racial approach was not well accepted, we would not be able to form self-help groups without creating communal tension. The self-help groups recognise that their programmes should promote and not undermine multi-racialism. Where feasible, they pool their resources and organise joint programmes. For example, the students can now attend tuition classes run by any of the self-help groups island-wide. Self-help groups are governed by boards of management and overseen by MCDS. Amalgamating them under one umbrella body may not be necessary, and could in fact impede their ability to respond quickly to the needs of their community. The self-help groups should continue to network regularly and consciously seek out areas of collaboration among themselves and with other agencies. This will also enable them to pool resources and minimise duplication. CONDOMINIUM AND MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS (Management and maintenance) 6.”
“This is a question that I will pose to the various religious groups that my colleagues and I are currently consulting. What we are doing is we are visiting group by group and we listen to their views on the Code itself as well as to listen to some feedback on the current state of religious harmony. After we have consulted all the groups, we will sit down and draft the Code before inviting everybody to sit and go through the Code together. Depending on what the Code looks like then, we would be able to raise this question of mediation council with them and to see whether they feel good enough to actually form their own mediation councils so that, for minor matters, there is no need to make use of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. SELF-HELP GROUPS (Review of model) 5. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Acting Minister for Community Development and Sports, after September 11 and the recent development of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) activities, (a) are there plans to (i) review the model of self-help groups and (ii) enhance the concept of cohesiveness by amalgamating them under one umbrella body without disrupting their individuality at the same time; and (b) what more can be done and how can we ensure that there is more collaboration of resources among these self-help groups. The Acting Minister for Community Development and Sports (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Sir, September 11 and the arrests of the Jemaah Islamiyah members reinforce the need for a concerted effort to build harmony and trust among Singaporeans. But they have nothing to do with the self-help groups' role in Singapore. The self-help groups were set up to help the underachievers in their community to level up.”
“I do not know how it will develop eventually either. We are in the consultation process and we would like the various religious groups to play their part in formulating the Code and to play their part to remind their followers on the Code and how to internalise the Code. Since the process is still on-going, I cannot presuppose what would the turnout be at the end. But if we are talking about Singaporeans in general, my own view is that there is already a code called the National Pledge. But for those who are practising their religion actively and bearing in mind that Singapore is a multi-religious type of society, we want to practise a faith in such a way that it does not create misunderstanding or, worse still, create offence with each other. What I was saying is that if the Code addresses this situation, then to be able to remind the people who are actively practising their religion would have been well-served by this Code. And in addition, as Singaporeans, they also remember the National Pledge. So they are reminded twice.”
“I think it will depend on the content of the Code, whether it addresses everybody, or it addresses people who are practising a religion. If we are talking about addressing everybody, there is already a code which is in our National Pledge that all our students read every day where we pledge ourselves as one united people regardless of race, language or religion, and so on. But for those who are practising a religion, if the Code is to remind them that when they are practising a religion and when this goes into the common space, when they are interacting with people of different faiths, what is the understanding between our various religious groups on how we should handle that kind of situation. If the Code is to address that, then I would say it suffices to remind the people who are actively practising their religion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, through the consultation process, we hope to achieve a situation whereby the various religious groups consider the Code as their Code, and not the Government's Code. And if the various religious groups consider the final Code as their Code, we can discuss in what manner they could remind their believers of this Code. I have actually exposed the preliminary idea to them that, for example, if all the religious groups agree, we can say that for the first week of every month, at the end of their weekly prayer, the Code can be read out to the devotees or followers just to remind the people. But all these are very, very preliminary at the moment. I maintain that what we want to achieve is for the various religious groups to consider the Code as their Code, and that they take it upon themselves to remind their believers and devotees of their Code.”
“" This story has touched me, even today. There are many other stories that I read when I was studying, like "The Drummer Boy" and "The Last Lesson" aimed at inculcating patriotism and national pride in our young hearts. I hope our students today continue to read these stories which would do them a lot of good. The problem we are addressing is not third generation Singaporeans being labelled "quitters" or "stayers". It is how to improve from 95 marks to 100 marks. Our challenge is how to retain the stay instinct of an agricultural society like Eritrea, yet be aggressive and successful in globalisation. If we can always remember falling leaves returning to the roots, and always have our hearts in Singapore while we globalise, I believe Singapore will thrive and flourish for many generations to come. I support this Motion.”
“A few years later, the mother passed away. The father felt lonely and bored in a foreign land because his friends and relatives were in Singapore. So father came back to Singapore. As the brother missed his father, and his wife missed her parents and friends too, they decided to move back to Singapore too. Their feelings for Singapore are even stronger than before. So it does not matter where your physical presence is, so long as your heart is with Singapore, one day you will return. Family and friendship are major pull factors for the stayers. Hence MCDS has set up a 'Family Matters Singapore' Committee to continue to work towards encouraging people to set up families and strengthen their families. This is an arduous task, but it is a task that must be undertaken. Lastly, we have to consider or give emphasis to patriotism in our Moral Education Programme. Of course, we hope our nation will never be plunged into serious national crisis, but there are a lot of stories and legends in history that show that one's true commitment will be reflected only in dire adversity. This can help inculcate patriotism in our people. I remember that when I was in secondary school, there was this chapter called "The Young Patriot" in our Chinese textbook. It was about a poor Italian boy who was a beggar on board a ship. One day, he came across a group of tourists from England, France and some European countries who gave him some money. These people gossiped about the places they visited. They started to criticise all the bad things about Italy: that it was dirty, full of pickpockets, etc. Suddenly a few coins rained on them. They turned and saw the Italian boy staring hard at them and shouted, "You insulted my country. I do not want your stinking money!”
“We need to increase further volunteer participation rate and the number of people who do volunteer work. The Community Development Councils (CDCs) have introduced many programmes on the ground, and have provided more channels and varieties to volunteerism. We should also have more opportunities for the volunteers to use both their brains and their hands, since actually dirtying one's hand to get things done increases commitment and a feeling of giving. MCDS and CDCs are continuing to improve on this. Secondly, to have a sense of belonging, we need to strengthen the family ties of the 3G Singaporeans. The Government has been urging the young people in Singapore to set up happy families. They should not only spend all their time and energy on their work alone. They should consider setting up families as an important goal in life. Because family is the place where their hearts are anchored. So the feeling for their family, the love for their family will be broadened into the love for the nation, and hence become another reason to stay. A friend of mine told her friend's family story. This is a rather typical family with a father, a mother, a brother and a sister. The sister went overseas for studies, married to a foreigner and settled down in that country. She told her brother, "There are plenty of opportunities here. Why don't you come here?" After some persuasion, the brother left Singapore and went to join his sister in that country. He persuaded his girlfriend to go along. They got married, and settled down there. Then, after some time, they invited the father and mother to join them. The parents were initially not willing to go but since two of their children were there, they went. Sounds like a sad story for the stayers? Not really.”
“There will be more amongst the 3G Singaporeans who globalise, because of their higher education and their cosmopolitan outlook. Singapore cannot afford to lose them. Hence this debate is to stimulate our people to reflect on this issue of stayers and quitters. Mr Low Thia Khiang said that we do not have character as a people, a nation, and a political system. I disagree. When we Singaporeans are abroad, we feel very close to each other when we meet fellow countrymen. Unlike others, we Singaporeans queue up at counters even when they are overseas. We are proud to have done national service. National service is a crucial programme that moulds our nation. So we are rich in character that identifies us as Singaporeans. How can Mr Low say we are lacking in character as a people, a nation, and a political system? Talking about the third-generation Singaporeans, how are we going to improve from 95 marks to 100 marks? Of course, we have to create conditions conducive to the development of our economy, so that they feel there are opportunities to optimise the use of their talents and do well here. We have to do better in three areas which we are already doing. Firstly, we must help all discover the spirit of giving to society. Giving produces a sense of pride and pleasure. Such good feelings can be addictive: The more we give, the better the feeling. This can lead to a greater desire to give, which in turn generate more good feeling. There is a maxim, "To give is more blessed than to take." This will lead to a benign circle. In this way, we will achieve 100 marks in fostering a sense of belonging. Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCDS) will facilitate more volunteerism.”
“He is provoking Singaporeans to think hard about the issue of rootedness as Singapore continued to develop and globalise. Treat rootedness as a test. We have attained 95 marks, and we all know the PAP Government will not be satisfied until it attains 100 marks - full marks. We are not satisfied with 95 marks, but know the need for the extra effort and commitment to get the last 5 marks. There is a Chinese proverb: "It is better to provoke a general than to give him an order." Hence the provocation and the debate of this Motion to facilitate full deliberation on the issue of stayers and quitters in the House. Just now I mentioned Eritrea. Eritrea is an agricultural country, and by nature, people in agricultural countries have a deep-rooted love for their land because they worked on their land which fed them. In ancient China, however senior or rich you are, the common aspiration was to go back to your hometown upon retirement and be buried in your native village. This is called "The falling leaf returning to the root". However in a globalised world, will there be this same sentiment as in the agricultural countries? That is the question. Certainly we are not contented with 95 marks. We must achieve 100 marks. We have to work hard to score 100 marks. We want to make everyone in Singapore to be like the people in the agricultural countries, having a deep-rooted love for his motherland. Certainly we have to achieve 100 marks for our nation. Because of the need for economic development, we have to be globalised. Singapore cannot achieve economic growth as an agricultural country to solve our problems. Globalised Singaporeans are elites of the country.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not know whether hon. Members have heard of a country called Eritrea. Eritrea is located on the eastern part of Africa. It used to be a province of Ethiopia. In the 1970s, when I was studying in Oxford, I met a fellow-student who told me that he was from Eritrea. I was a little struck since Eritrea was at that time not an independent country. It was fighting a fierce war to gain independence from Ethiopia. Why did he say he was from Eritrea rather than Ethiopia? Subsequently, I learnt that he was a medical student. One day, I asked him, "What are your plans after your graduation?" He said, "After I have qualified as a medical doctor, I would like to go back to my country. Every day, every night, I think of my motherland. My people need me. My soldiers in the frontline need me. I feel guilty living such a comfortable life in England when my motherland and my people are at war." His heart was with his native land. So he went back to Eritrea. What happened to him subsequently, I do not know. But he is a real "stayer". He is an elite in his country. After his medical studies, he could have stayed back in England and live a comfortable life. Yet, he chose to return to his native land to serve his people at war. If we ask our Singaporeans, I believe more than 95% will say that they are staying. I asked our grassroots leaders and all of them said, "We are staying. Where else can we go? Singapore is our country." I do not know why Mr Low Thia Khiang is so pessimistic about our people. He has certainly misunderstood Prime Minister's intention when the terms "stayers" and "quitters" were introduced. The Prime Minister is not putting labels on people.”
“Sir, to preserve the family, the best way is to ensure that the marriage does not break up. Therefore, we have in line various forms of social services to help the family preserve its integrity. We feel that is a more positive way of solving this problem raised by the hon. Member. As for this gender equal issue, when it comes to, say, a divorce, I thought my short answer was "not yet". I did not say "no". This question is asked in the present tense, that is, for the time being, not yet; 100 years from now, who knows? WORKSKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMME 13. Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many unemployed workers have taken up the WorkSkills Training Programme since it was started; (b) what is the age profile as well as educational and skills level of these workers who have taken up the Programme; and (c) how many of these have since been placed with jobs, by their age profile, educational and skills level.”
“Sir, I think this is a totally different question. The Questions are on the Women's Charter. The Women's Charter was created to protect women and children because of this economic reality. The hon. Member is asking why there is this economic reality. Perhaps we should discuss it some other time. Dr Jennifer Lee: Would the Minister of State not agree that it would be much more equitable, when we are talking about preserving families and protecting the rights of families, that a spouse who dedicates his or her time to supporting the family, thereby sometimes giving up the ability to build a career, that whatever gender that spouse is, should deserve the ability, if the marriage should break up, to getting some maintenance? Specifically, that would be the kind of protection, I believe, that we would be asking for - maintenance for either spouse in a marriage - for the spouse that had actually dedicated time away from building a career to building the bonds and looking after the family.”
“I would be very happy to listen to Mr Charles Chong's proposal on specifically what protections are needed. It does not automatically follow that whenever there is a need for protection, we must go and create a whole Charter for the men.”
“What form of protection? I think the reality is that if these men would like to go and look for a job, there are various channels to help them to do so. In our society, if a man is healthy with no physical disability, to say that he has got problems looking for a job and therefore needs a whole Charter to protect him, it would appear a little bit excessive. Mr Charles Chong rose ---”
“I do not really feel that there is a need to further complicate it. The Women's Charter's objective is to basically protect the women and children in the case of matrimony. This particular objective is still valid because, as I have mentioned earlier, the socio-economic reality today is that the men are still stronger than the women and children.”
“I think the issue of amending the Women's Charter into a Family Charter makes the whole matter much more complicated. In fact, the family also includes children. This matter was actually discussed some years ago. The decision at that time was that it was not worthwhile to complicate the Women's Charter by amending it into a Family Charter because the Women's Charter was working well and it is still working well.”
“Sir, we are talking about the Women's Charter, not the Men's Charter.”
“These include: (1) the financial needs of the wife; (2) her income or earning capacity, property and other financial resources; (3) any physical or mental disability of the wife; (4) the age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage; (5) the contributions made by each of the parties to the marriage and to the welfare of the family, including any contribution made by looking after the home or caring for the family; (6) the standard of living enjoyed by the wife before the husband neglected or refused to provide reasonable maintenance; and (7) the conduct of each of the parties to the marriage, if the conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it. As the law currently provides for the Courts to make a fair and equitable judgement when making maintenance orders, we feel that there is no necessity for a means test as suggested by the hon. Member. For this reason, the Courts do not always grant applications for maintenance, and have indeed dismissed some, while in other cases, have granted a lesser sum for maintenance than what was asked for.”
“The hon. Member has asked if my Ministry would review Part VIII of the Women's Charter, which provides for the maintenance of wife and children, to ensure that the provisions are more gender equal. He has also asked if my Ministry would review sections 69(1) and 113 of the Women's Charter to include a means test for women seeking maintenance from their husbands or former husbands. Sir, the short answer is not quite yet. Let me explain, Sir. Despite the progress we have achieved since independence, gaps continue to exist between man and woman on the economic front. The percentage of economically active women in the workforce is 54% in 2001. This is significantly lower than that for men of 78% in the same year. As a group, women workers' average salaries were lower than male workers. This is not really because we have unequal pay for the same job, but rather because women are generally still working in the lower-paid professions. These are realities. Therefore, the economic reality of the situation is such that the law must continue to provide protection for women and children. Notwithstanding this, the hon. Member might wish to know that section 69(4) of the Women's Charter provides for the Courts to consider all the circumstances of the case when ordering maintenance for the wife.”