Chen Show Mao
Singapore
“Sir, a year before the Minister of Health declared War on Diabetes, four years ago, the International Diabetes Foundation reported that Singapore had the second highest proportion of diabetics among developed nations. Our children and young people were increasingly overweight.”
“Sir, zero waste is an effort that members of the public as consumers can be engaged in to great effect. All of us can take action to reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse waste. Twenty-nineteen was designated by the Ministry as the Year towards zero waste to rally Singaporeans to care for our environment and treasure our resources.”
“Sir, informal or unpaid care-givers enable other Singaporeans to carry out the economic activities that are figured in our GDP while their own care-giving is not. As of now, the burden of informal eldercare-giving falls disproportionately on unmarried women.”
“Sir, the COVID-19 outbreak will likely give a critical lift to the growth of technological applications that seem ripe for wider adoption now and in all likelihood will remain more widely-adopted post-COVID-19, for example, video conferencing.”
“Sir, support our older workers to improve their productivity helps provide our older workers with the choice of working longer if they wish, representing an opportunity to stay economically active, socially engaged at work and better provide for themselves in future retirement and, of course, work to the best of their ability.”
“Sir, the Ministry has taken a step towards buttressing the retirement adequacy of freelance workers in our economy with Contribute-As-You-Earn (CAYE) model for MediSave, whereby contribution is made as and when a service fee is earned.”
The complete record
Every one of 146 lines we hold for Chen Show Mao, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 3.
“Madam, earlier in this debate, Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that a national conversation will be entered into over the next few months to draw up a national action plan for successful ageing. Issues in lifelong learning, employment, volunteerism, urban infrastructure, healthcare, retirement adequacy and research into ageing will all be discussed. I wish the Minister every success in this important undertaking. In this connection, the Minister also called for a change of mindset, and I quote, "from worrying about the challenges that come from ageing to celebrating longevity". This is welcomed. For my part, I would like to say again a couple of things that I had said before in this House which I believe would be useful for us to keep in mind as we embark on drawing up our national action plan for successful ageing. First, in addition to the challenges it presents, the ageing of our population also gives us opportunities as a nation to invest in the human capital of our senior citizens for great social returns. Investing in elderly Singaporeans will reward our society with the economic, social and cultural contributions they are able to make with our assistance. It would also enable us to be inclusive, which is the basis of community and social cohesion. Economic benefits can be realised from investments made to redesign jobs, workplaces, work processes or even our work culture to allow us to more fully draw on the experiences and the know-how that older workers have to offer in spite of physical bodies starting to slow down, and to allow older workers to remain as productive as or even more productive than their younger counterparts. The elderly are also a repository of social and cultural capital.”
“Madam, participation in regular health screening for common chronic illnesses as we age, is one way to enable early detection and early intervention, and helps keep the individual healthy, as well as keep the long-term healthcare costs to society low. In Singapore, we have the Integrated Screening Programme (ISP), which invites Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents in the target age groups for health screening. However, participation rates in the programme remain low, despite attempts to encourage more to take part. Research has found that one of the key factors preventing Singaporeans from taking part in regular health screening programmes is the cost of screening. Could the Government provide more incentives to individuals to Page: 116 overcome this barrier so that we may achieve a collective good? Perhaps, it could be in the form of subsidies to targeted age groups, or MediSave top-ups, or reduced MediShield premiums for regular participation in screening programmes, or for taking part in healthy living activities. Holistic and Preventive Healthcare”
“Better education and outreach to employers to help them understand the needs of their employees who are also caregivers can also benefit both parties, with a view to redesigning jobs creatively so as to accommodate the specific needs of the caregiver employee. Also, we could consider CPF and MediSave top-ups for informal caregivers who are full-time carers, not because we want to monetise the act of caregiving to their loved ones, but to help ease some of the financial strains that may arise from their taking on such informal caregiving arrangements. Supporting Caregivers”
“Madam, in 2010, it was estimated that approximately 8% of Singaporean adults provided regular care to family members or friends, providing on average 6.8 hours a day of care in a typical week. Our dependence on this group of Singaporeans will only grow as our society ages. Page: 93 It is well-documented that caregivers often suffer declines in their own financial circumstances, and mental and physical health, as a result of their caregiving role. If they work, their performance suffers, too. Often, these carers may pass up opportunities and stay at home and can find themselves with little support and resources in their own old age or when their turn comes as being in need of care. In recent years, we are starting to acknowledge and provide assistance to these informal caregivers, with several Members of this House having spoken on the issue. Perhaps, it is time to consider an overarching framework of acknowledgement and support for informal caregivers. Whether they are looking after the very young, very old or the disabled, there are certain common characteristics that informal caregivers share, such as the need for emotional support and, if they work, more flexible working hours and conditions. Some examples of a much needed acknowledgement and support for caregivers could include the leave for caregivers that several Members in this House have called for. Or we could also consider the possibility of a right for caregivers to ask for flexible working arrangements, regardless of the category of dependants they are caring for.”
“So, perhaps, for example, middle to high-income families could receive matching funds from the Government as a form of savings by the individual and his or her family in the lead-up to old age and, perhaps, for lower-income families and individuals, the Government could provide means-tested top-ups for the development of our seniors. 2.45 pm Long-term Healthcare”
“Madam, as our society ages, in addition to the care of Singaporean seniors, could we also look at their development and continue to invest in them as they age? This will become increasingly important, with our rising life expectancy. Page: 82 We have a variety of schemes and initiatives that help out on hospitalisation and medical costs, in the event older Singaporeans are ill or are no longer able to perform certain activities of daily living. When it comes to development, the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund may be an example of investing in our older citizens, but only in the context of employment. Can we facilitate and encourage the development of older Singaporeans outside their employment, including in their retirement or with a view to self-employment or entrepreneurship? Healthy and healthier and more active older Singaporeans can continue to contribute to society outside the work place, by playing an active role in the community, by undertaking voluntary work or by providing care and support for their family members. Could we consider setting up a Senior Development Account for Singaporeans, similar to our current schemes for young Singaporeans, such as the Child Development Account or Edusave Account? Funds in the account may be used to pay for approved products and services associated with active ageing and learning, or simply growing old, based on the choices of the seniors among goods and services that will help keep them healthy and active, offered by the public, private or people sectors. Perhaps, these may include courses to encourage lifelong learning, exercise programmes, health screening packages, alternative medical treatments to maintain well-being, and cover daily expenses, such as mobility aids, reading glasses and adult diapers.”
“Yes. Sir, I am 53 years old this year. With the right support, a Singaporean senior may become the next Ray Kroc, who launched the McDonald's corporation, as we know it, when he was my age. Consumer Protection”
“It even allows seniors to command a premium for commercial experience in their chosen fields, as ageism may be less of an obstacle when it comes to winning business versus getting hired. Sir, we welcome the lifting of the age restriction of 26 years or younger for ACE start-up grants since 2012. But newly-minted older entrepreneurs face other challenges. Being self-employed means they cannot accumulate Medisave and medical expenses are more of a concern for older persons. Another challenge is that, on the whole, older persons may be less IT-literate, that is, in information technology. This is borne out by an MDA survey of IT and Internet literacy across various age bands. Sir, many SME and entrepreneur support schemes already exist and available to entrepreneurs irrespective of age. Perhaps, the Ministry could consider measures targeting seniors to raise their awareness about the entrepreneurship option, about available business opportunities, such as those in the silver industries, and to redress the deterrence posed by age-specific factors. For instance, the Government may consider special Medisave top-ups and free ICT training in the first three years of business operation for older entrepreneurs. Also, perhaps, a special part of the MLP (micro-loan programme) or CIP (Co-investment Programme) funds could be set aside for funding entrepreneurs aged above 50. The most rewarding efforts may involve working with different Ministries to provide better support for self-employed workers and freelancers in our economy, as some Members of this House and members of the public have urged, as in this letter today to the newspapers: "A thriving environment for self employment and freelance work is necessary to breed entrepreneurship."”
“Sir, the Labour Force Survey tells us that more than 41,000 residents over the age of 50 are classified as under-employed, meaning that they work part-time but would like to work more. Six thousand persons aged over 50 are classified as discouraged due to reasons of perceived discrimination, such as due to age, so that they have become demoralised in their job search and have stopped looking for work. In total, over 51,000 persons over the age of 50, with tertiary qualifications, are economically inactive. A great reservoir of experience, talent and drive resides in our seniors. Many seniors face difficulties, however, including ageism, when seeking to re-enter full-time employment after even a short break in working. Many have given up the search altogether. Perhaps, assistance may be provided to them as they pursue another option of returning to economic activity – that of becoming entrepreneurs. Sir, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Nor would it by itself solve the under-employment problem among seniors. But it is an option that more seniors may wish to explore. To quote Mr Geoffrey Kung, the Secretary of the REVERSE Cooperative for seniors, "Planning for seniors to return to work requires an understanding of their lifestyles and aspirations... we need a different system of compensation and motivation." Whether it is launching a firm with world-scale ambitions, a micro-business or even a one-person consultancy, entrepreneurship holds many attractions for seniors. It offers the prospect of more flexibility in hours, the fulfilment of life Page: 139 goals and a longer period of active engaged work.”
“Just to put things in context, in response to a question filed by Ms Sylvia Lim, Member for Aljunied, the Minister for Home Affairs replied, "The current total strength of the auxiliary police forces is about 6,000 officers. The majority of the officers are Singaporeans, while the others are Malaysians." Also, this Bill confers powers that extend beyond the special zone, such as powers of search outside the special zone. Also, this Bill contains an immunity clause. It provides that the Government will be protected from liability for anything which is intended to be done in good faith and with reasonable care, in exercising the powers under the Bill. Given the wide-ranging nature of the powers being proposed in this Bill, along with the effects on residents and businesses in Little India, and in view of the fact that powers under existing laws have proved effective in maintaining law and order, and that the Committee of Inquiry has yet to complete its work, Madam, I oppose the Bill. 5.26 pm”
“Could he please explain how existing powers have proved lacking in the time from the riot to today, so that this new set of powers to the security forces must be rushed into law before the Committee of Inquiry completes its work? We are told that the powers contained in this Bill are of a temporary nature, to be in force for only 12 months. But, as was said earlier, If not strictly necessary and fully justified, even 12 months would be too long. Even compared to the Public Order (Preservation) Act mentioned by Second Minister Iswaran, the scope of Government powers in this Bill may be deemed "extensive" in several ways. For example, under the Public Order (Preservation) Act, each proclamation of a state of danger to public order in an area in Singapore expires after one month, requiring the Minister to renew it for up to one month at a time, if he is of the opinion that "public order in [that] area of Singapore is seriously disturbed or is seriously threatened". Page: 86 This Bill in contrast expires after one year, during which the Minister may declare an area part of the special zone if he is satisfied that it is "needed for the well-being of the communities ... or ... otherwise in the public interest". Also, this Bill confers powers not just on police officers, but also approved persons who are Auxiliary Police Officers. These include powers to inspect personal belongings and garments, conduct strip search and car search, refuse someone entry to the special zone for up to 24 hours, and remove someone from the special zone, all if the approved person reasonably considers it necessary to do so.”
“Mdm Speaker, in Singapore, we have enjoyed many years of relative order and stability. The Race Course Road riot in December last year came as a shock to most of us and the news also rippled beyond our island. Some worry about how the riot affected Singapore's reputation and our standing in the world. We must not forget that how we respond to the riot, the measures that we take after the disturbance, including passing this Bill into law, also say a great Page: 85 deal about the kind of people we are. We must resist the urge to come up with a reflexive reaction and should try to ensure that our responses remain proportionate and balanced, that any proposed powers and their limitations on our constitutional rights are strictly necessitated and fully justified by the clear requirements of maintaining public order and security. The Bill before us has as its stated intention to "provide Police with powers to continue to take calibrated measures to maintain public order and calm in Little India post-riot." By all accounts from the Government to date, we understand that following the riot, measures have been taken by the Government pursuant to powers they have under existing laws, to restore and maintain public order and calm. Second Minister Iswaran suggested that existing laws may be among other things too blunt an instrument for our current needs. But by all Government accounts to date, measures taken have been calibrated and effective for the last two months. Could the Minister please clarify: how many instances have there been where the security forces have found that they do not have adequate tools to deal with threats to public order and calm within Little India – the proposed special zone? If any, what was the nature of the threats to public order?”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister for his chronology of meetings that took place and actions that were taken in the recent haze situation. Like him, I appreciate that the haze sends us a reminder not to take our fresh air for granted. I also appreciate that it is a yearly reminder. We know that an Inter-Ministerial Task Force was set up in 1994 and that that Task Force drew up a national haze plan of action with responses in Government actions at different ranges of PSI. We were reassured in 2006 that we have a haze action plan to protect and inform Singaporeans in the event of haze. So, I would like to ask the Minister: these actions that we took this year, were they actions taken under the 1994 plan that was drawn up? Was that plan in force during the week of 17 June? If so, could the Government not have publicised that haze plan, more so that we could all have planned better our own efforts to deal with the haze?”
“Similarly, could the Government, perhaps through the Active Ageing Council, look into the possibility of more generous concessions, in one form or another, for our senior citizens to attend classes and activities offered by Community Centres, in order to encourage more of them to take part? Taken together, these will make it easier and more attractive for older Singaporeans to pursue more activities and hobbies, to allow them to age actively and independently. And, more importantly, for us to express our gratitude and our values of respect for our elders. Sir, may I continue in Chinese? (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I urge the Government and transport operators to consider granting free travel on public transport to Page: 180 those aged 70 and above to really implement the "active ageing" policy. I believe that allowing seniors to enjoy concessions in transport, cultural and leisure activities will not only improve their quality of life, but also serves as a mark of our respect to our senior citizens. This will increase our awareness of the respect for the elderly, uphold the shared tradition of respecting the elderly among all the ethnic groups, and further cultivate a good social norm of respecting the elderly. Promoting Lasting Power of Attorney”
“Sir, much has been said in this House about active ageing. The World Health Organization defines active ageing as Page: 179 not merely being physically active or to be actively employed in the workforce, but also to "continue participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs". Could we explore, using a "whole of government" approach, concessions and benefits that help promote active ageing, for example, in areas such as transport, visits to attractions and community activities? For transport, we should consider granting free travel on public transport to all Singaporean residents aged 70 and above to encourage them to move around more and lead healthier lifestyles. It will also, and I think more importantly, serve as a mark of our respect and a gesture of our thanks to our senior citizens. For all that they have done for us, our community and our nation. This would also be in line with the pledge made by the Government to do more to build a better, more inclusive society which includes the elderly. As we know, seniors in several other civilised societies in different continents currently enjoy similar concessions. Would the Government consider working together with the public transport operators to assess how such a scheme could be brought about? Likewise, we should also take a leaf out of the books of the National Heritage Board museums, which currently offer year-round free entry to elderly citizens and permanent residents. Could the Government encourage and support other museums and also attractions like the Gardens by the Bay and the Zoological Gardens to offer more generous concessions on entry for older visitors?”
“By encouraging more of such exchanges to take place at the individual level through scholarship studies, we will also be facilitating Singapore's foreign relations through our students' engagement with their peers in other countries in meaningful dialogue. Polytechnic Education”
“Madam, as a Southeast Asian nation, Singapore shares much of our history and heritage with our neighbours. There is much to be gained by closer exchanges between the students of our countries Page: 124 and we should offer more opportunities for Singaporean students to do so. At present, MOE offers an ASEAN scholarship programme to citizens of some ASEAN countries to undertake studies in our local schools at the pre-tertiary and undergraduate levels. The Minister said that ASEAN scholarships are offered to promising ASEAN students, to "promote mutual understanding and goodwill in the region" and that "ASEAN students add diversity and vibrancy to our educational institutions. Singaporean students, interacting with international students, enjoy the opportunity to learn from other cultures and experiences and become more prepared for the global marketplace." 4.45 pm Madam, Singaporean students, too, will benefit from the diversity of educational institutions in our neighbouring countries, and the Minister's aims of closer understanding and goodwill can also be achieved by offering similar opportunities to Singaporean students to study in our neighbouring countries – much like under the ASEAN scholarships – and also by having more Singaporean students study the region around us – much like under the current Regional Studies Programme Scholarship at the pre-university level, which is restricted to three schools and offered to a select group of students for two years. Could this programme be expanded to allow more students − both at the secondary and university levels − the opportunity to learn more about our surrounding region, and to also offer more chances for our students to go on visits and to take part in exchange programmes with our neighbouring countries?”
“In addition to industry collaboration and collaboration between SMEs and large enterprises, we should also foster synergistic collaboration by firms with companies outside their own industries, and by firms with senior citizens themselves as consumers and key stakeholders to offer co-creative solutions to the challenges of an ageing population – such as Japan has been doing with robotics – so that we can focus on solutions in elder care, elder housing and elder living. We can be both hopeful and realistic that one day, the popular science fiction saying may very well be true in Singapore: "Live long and prosper!" Rising Business Costs and Productivity Drive”
“The demographic trend of our ageing population is highlighted in part of the recent Budget. The Budget has two parts: "quality growth" and "an inclusive society." They contain pillars of the Government's economic and social strategies, respectively. When speaking about the social part of the Budget − an inclusive society − the Budget acknowledges as "key concerns" the issues facing older workers and Page: 54 retirees. I hope the Government will similarly keep older Singaporeans closer to the centre of the economic part of the Budget − for "quality growth". Singapore should promote our silver industries, which produce goods and services for the elderly, as a key plank of our restructuring, evolving economy. For example, the Budget refers to funds set aside for Collaborative Industry Projects for productivity growth, where industry-wide collaboration provides the scale that individual firms lack. There is also the Partners for Capability Transformation (PACT) Scheme to foster SME collaboration with large enterprises so as to enable capability upgrading and sharing of best practices. In addition to productivity growth and capability upgrading, which are the objects of these schemes, could we foster similar collaboration to address the economic opportunities presented by an ageing population, first within Singapore, as a testbed to develop robust and innovative silver products and services, before then exporting them to regional markets. China, in particular, is an economy that is expected to age very rapidly, from 100 million seniors, aged 65 and above, in 2010, to 350 million in 2050. This will benefit both our businesses and our seniors.”
“I would like to ask the Minister of State: for the ADVANTAGE! and Flexi-Works! schemes, what is the matrix?”
“Madam, that was in the context of what I had said earlier, which was to make it possible for different industry clusters, and that was an example I cited, to try to make it possible for different clusters to have different dependency ratios in the context of an overall roadmap that reduces our dependency on foreign workers and raise productivity for our different industries in different ways. I do not think that is inconsistent with anything that the Workers' Party has talked about in this debate.”
“I will. "The further tightening to reduce our economy's dependence on foreign workers is a necessary step in the right direction. However, I would like to ask the Minister to do more by refining the Ministry's current segmentation of industries in coming up with foreign manpower policies, including dependency ratio ceilings. This does not divert us from our specified goals of reducing our overall foreign manpower dependency and raising productivity because given an overall target and roadmap, the idea is to make it possible for foreign manpower policies to be less stringent for some industries than for others, not for them to be less stringent than the status quo."”
“Madam, I believe Mr Ang Wei Neng in his speech earlier was referring to my speech in the last Budget debate and the Committee of Supply discussions about foreign worker dependency in our industries. If I may, I would just like to read from that speech to set the record straight and put things in context. Just the relevant paragraphs.”
“Zero increase when we can maintain a 1% increase in growth in the resident workforce.”
“Madam, no additional contributions from the current foreign worker population that we have in Singapore.”
“Madam, I am reminded of the person who says quitting smoking is easy because he has done it hundreds of times. We may well have programmes in place to say increase our TFR, to say increase our productivity, to say bring more elderly workers back to work. But unless we are saying that there is no more room for us to go in these directions, I think what we are proposing is that we focus the resources at our disposal on these important directions and policies. Instead of importing workers even over the longer term, let us plan to grow the resident workforce through increases in the labour force participation rate than in the total fertility rate. The Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr S Iswaran): Madam, I appreciate the Member's explanation. I just have one point of clarification to seek from the hon Member. Is it the Workers' Party's position that its growth forecast is premised on productivity as we have described it in the White Paper, plus 1% growth purely from the Singapore citizen and Permanent Resident components of the workforce in Singapore, with no Page: 76 additions from foreign workers? Is that the Workers' Party's position?”
“I am actually interested in how he intends to actually bring that about. We have the ADVANTAGE! scheme where we incentivise companies, re-design work arrangements. We have the Special Employment Credit (SEC) which has worked very well. I am not sure if he has read about those initiatives but I am very interested to know the specific programmes he has in mind, obviously because he has been talking about the elderly for a long time. Surely, he has very concrete ideas which I will be very happy to look at and to see whether we can adopt to increase the participation rate along the lines that he has talked about. So, if he could perhaps share some of these suggestions and ideas, we would very much appreciate it.”
“Madam, we are not counting on increases in the labour participation rate to achieve the numbers that we have been talking about. And perhaps later, the Member will get more information. We expect the resident labour force to grow at 1% over the next few years. The Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Tan Chuan-Jin): Mdm Speaker, as the Acting Minister for Manpower, I was listening very intently to the proposals that Mr Chen was espousing. The first point of clarification, the 6.9 million number is not a target. We have spelt out the boundaries in terms of potential population growth. We are looking at 6.5 million to 6.9 million. The objective – and we totally agree with the Workers' Party – is about the people. It is about the quality of life that can be provided at that stage, not just material but non-material. What are the stepping stones to get there? The economy, the state of the Page: 75 economy, the level of population growth needed and so on. I am more interested in their initiatives or the intent of getting there based on the Workers' Party's proposal. Mr Chen went on at length with a lot of things about our elderly which actually I have spoken about and I totally concur with. I think we can age well. I think we should look at encouraging women to come back to the workforce, the economically inactive, older workers who contribute in many meaningful ways. I have said that very often. I am not sure whether the Member has checked the MOM website. We do have many initiatives. We do intend to strengthen them and to continue to build on them. The Member has described the outcomes. He has described the positives, the values in encouraging older workers and how they contribute.”
“I do not know which part of the speech the Member is seeking clarification on. Like many Town Councils, the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council is managed by a managing agent who in turn helps the Town Council sub-contract a lot of its functions to service providers, including those who perform cleaning functions. Yes, they have foreign workers on their staff, although I understand from them that they are making every effort to try to reduce that number.”
“We will provide the breakdowns of the kind the Member asked for, and more details later on.”
“Yes, Madam. How does increasing the population up to 6.9 million by 2030 allay these concerns and make it less likely for Singaporeans with such concerns to decide to leave the country of their birth and search for a better life for themselves and their children? Madam, the assumptions and conclusions laid out in the White Paper need to be looked into again. I oppose the Motion.”
“Older Singaporeans are custodians of culture and, as some had suggested, can be employed in schools to teach subjects such as social studies in National Education or be encouraged to volunteer to do so. This is also a way of encouraging cross-generational sharing and learning, particularly in a society where family trends are shifting and there may be less opportunities for inter-generational sharing within the family. The White Paper warns us – a shrinking and ageing population would also mean a smaller less energetic workforce and a less vibrant and innovative economy. Young people would leave for more exciting and growing global cities. We need to ask ourselves the reasons why Singaporeans are leaving. Are they leaving because they feel that Singapore does not offer them the right economic opportunities that they would need to support their ageing parents and other elders if they stayed? While many of them are leaving because they feel that Singapore is becoming overly crowded, costly, competitive and that they would like to live somewhere and bring their children up in a place with more space and greater well-being.”
“The Singapore Workforce Report mentioned employers' discrimination, preference for young workers as a major reason why discouraged workers have given up their search for jobs. We should actively investigate if additional administrative or even legislative measures could be taken to remove this impediment through our older workers re-entering or staying in the labour force. In addition, incentives for businesses not only to hire older workers but to redesign jobs, processes and also workplace specifically for older workers should play a larger role in our measures to improve productivity. More targeted measures can be done to help older workers remain as productive as their younger counterparts. When older workers are able to be more productive, employers will be more inclined to retain or hire them. We have been shown charts for growing old age dependency ratio which is the ratio of persons aged 20 to 64 years to persons aged 65 and over. When we look at that, we should also bear in mind that with improvements in health and life expectancy, many of our elders, as many had pointed out, are healthy and able to work longer and indeed they want to, not to mention that many have economic resources of their Page: 73 own, they are not all economically dependent. Madam, an ageing population is a triumph of development. We should stop seeing elderly Singaporeans as a drain on our economy and a hindrance to our growth to keep Singapore dynamic. Older Singaporeans have much to offer us and not all of it can be measured in economic terms. In fact, our elderly Singaporeans are essential to maintaining a Singapore Core.”
“Perhaps, it can be in conjunction Page: 72 with incentives to employers to have such facilities in the workplace and, as some had mentioned, also in terms of making flexible working arrangements more available. If we look at some of the OECD economies with high TFR, some of them have higher TFR and female labour force participation rates than us. Clearly, more can be done and the public sector should lead the way. While current Government programmes include initiatives aimed at providing incentives to get economically inactive Singaporeans into the workforce, more can be done. Perhaps, structural changes are needed in our workforce and family-friendly support structures in order to allow a greater proportion beyond the 35% of employers who were offering at least one form of work-life arrangements in 2010. The last group is the elderly. The Government has been trying to get more elderly people to remain in the workforce for a longer period. Indeed, the employment rate for older workers aged 55 to 64 has increased in recent years. But as we pointed out before in Parliament, these numbers may not tell the story of unemployment. Studies have shown that older Singaporeans are also healthier. We believe that our elderly should be able to work for as long as they want to and are able to, and there is scope for older workers to help grow the resident workforce. The male labour force participation rate for those aged 60 to 64 was 74.6% and 52.6% for those aged 65 to 69. For women, the figures in 2012 were 41.7% and 26.3%. We have age discrimination in hiring and in the workplace, which is a common concern of many Singaporeans.”
“We believe that any labour force growth should take place via a targeted 1% per annum growth in the resident labour force. Over the longer term, we should target to increase the existing labour force participation rate currently at 66.6%, instead of immediately turning towards importing new workers. Over the short term, our resident labour force grows when young citizens or permanent residents enter the labour force. We can target different groups about our existing population that are currently economically inactive and focus on removing the barriers that may be keeping them from entering or even re-entering the labour force. These include resident foreign spouses, stay-at-home parents and also the elderly. At present, resident foreign spouses who are on Long-Term Visit Pass or Dependant's Pass are not eligible to take up employment. If they want to do so, they need to apply for work passes and be subject to the qualification criteria and are tied to a specific job. Those on the new Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) Scheme do not need to apply for work passes, just a letter of consent for a specific job. These requirements may make it difficult for these pass holders to enter the workforce and indeed an average of 19.5% of work pass applications by these foreign spouses on LTVP+ were unsuccessful. It could be even more difficult for them to meet the requirements if they are hoping to work part-time or on a flexible schedule because they have other responsibilities at home. As for stay-at-home parents, encouraging them to re-enter the workforce can be in the form of, as many have pointed out, introducing better, more affordable and convenient childcare support.”
“The land use data prepared by the Urban Redevelopment Authority shows how little room we have to move if the White Paper is endorsed. Under the plan, we will use up significantly more land, with only 4% of land reserve left for future generations. By then, we would be even worse positioned to meet the challenges of a sustainable population policy, we would have less room for error in planning, with a population of 6.9 million on the island. At this critical time, we urge calmness and caution. (In English): Madam, the Workers' Party is not being facetious when we reversed the wording of the White Paper title to "A Dynamic Population for a Page: 71 Sustainable Singapore" to describe our alternative approach. For the White Paper, population growth has to be sustained to feeding through a dynamic economy like so many pieces of coal into the furnace to drive the Orient Express. For the Workers' Party, the people is at the heart and soul of the nation and it is the duty of the Government to provide the conditions for a dynamic people to thrive. A sustained economy is a must, but it is one that serves the dynamic Singaporean workforce. Not the other way round. Our model hinges on resident workforce growth over the long term through the encouragement of local labour force participation, the principal aim of which is to get more Singaporeans to be economically active and independent, and, also, structural reforms to set the total fertility rate on the path of recovery to replacement rate. For the Workers' Party, a dynamic Singaporean population is a very populous and meaningful of our existence as a nation and economy and existence that should be sustainable.”
“We need to look into ways to increase our LFPR so that more residents of working age are encouraged to Page: 70 enter the workforce. Our current LFPR was 66.6% in 2012. There are 1,063,400 economically inactive residents, 306,100 or 29% due to family responsibilities, 163,800 or 15% are retired. The numbers for the latter will increase due to an ageing workforce. Both represent scope for LFPR increase – getting stay-at-home parents to re-enter or enter the workforce and re-employing elderly workers. Historically, in the last 10 years from 2003 to 2012, LFPR increased by 3.4% points, or 0.34% points per year. We should focus on fostering LFPR increase in the future. Under the Workers' Party's proposal, assuming the Government meets its current productivity growth target, we could enjoy 2.5% to 3.5% GDP growth per year up to 2020, and 1.5% to 2.5% GDP growth per year from 2021 to 2030, which is in line with the growth rates of most mature economies. In this scenario, we are looking at a projected population of 5.3 million to 5.4 million in 2020, and 5.6 million to 5.8 million in 2030. Most importantly, we will not need to take in so many foreign workers and immigrants to supplement the local workforce, which will help us maintain a Singapore Core. The Workers' Party does not endorse proceeding headlong into the Government's suggested path. Underlying its plan is that population injections of that magnitude are required for a dynamic economy. Instead, we believe we should focus on growth through a Singapore Core. To quote a population expert, immigration is "essentially a one-way policy tool with permanent or long-term social, economic and environmental consequences, and it cannot be reversed without human rights violations".”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, the White Paper states that "to be a strong and cohesive society, we must have a strong Singaporean Core." It also states that "our population and workforce must support a dynamic economy that can steadily create good jobs and opportunities." Our experience over the past few years suggests that to achieve these objectives would require much planning. Our population will eventually reach the limit of our island's space. It would be more responsible to plan now for economic growth that would rely on fewer labour inputs, while maintaining a Singapore Core, than to leave the underlying economic and social issues till later. The Workers' Party proposes that we target to increase our resident workforce growth by up to 1% per year from now until 2030. This includes Singapore citizens and permanent residents. The foreign workforce should be held constant and should increase when we do not achieve our target for growth in the resident labour force. We should focus on growing our Singapore Core of workers over time through efforts to increase our Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR). The Government has recently announced additional incentives for having babies. However, there are structural problems that require longer term solutions, which also affect Singaporeans' decisions to have babies. These include the lack of work-life balance, escalating housing prices, the stressful education system and even a crowded environment and others. Other governments have been more committed and have shown significant success in reversing declining fertility. How will we grow our resident workforce if the number of new entrants is not increasing due to declining fertility trends?”
“There are empirical studies that estimate the medical and social costs of gambling which may include the cost of treatment, counselling of gambler and family and other social welfare services, the cost of loansharking and other crimes and the cost of lost employment and reduced productivity. These could all form the evaluation by any panel or decisions by the CRA on whether to grant or renew a casino licence. Page: 1384 Individual casino operators could be evaluated in a systemic way on how well they do, in an audit of their sponsorship of responsible gambling programmes for consumer protection. If that evaluation is taken into account in the grant or renewal of casino licences, then it will provide enhanced incentives for the casino operators to commit to responsible gambling. Casino operators could also be evaluated on the basis of how the operations stack up against the international best practices, such as those benchmarked in the Responsible Gambling Index developed by Canada's Responsible Gambling Council. Sir, it is right that the casino operators shoulder their share of responsibilities to help ensure that the social costs of gambling are minimised, just as importantly as that economic benefits are delivered, and that this be reflected in our laws on the grant or renewal of casino licences.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this is the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill. Casino. Control. I understand the idea is, now that we have the casinos as part of integrated resorts, or IRs, and they have been in operation for two years, we should try to better control their effects on our lives, our economy and our society. For example, this Bill adds, as a new factor for consideration in the grant or renewal of a casino licence, an evaluation of the applicant's economic contribution to Singapore. An evaluation panel will be set up to advise the CRA on matters such as "the visitor appeal of the integrated resort" and "the contribution of the integrated resort to the tourism industry in Singapore" in deciding whether to grant or renew a casino licence. These are the expected benefits of the casinos — mostly economic. What about the costs — mostly social? Could they be evaluated and considered in a similar fashion when deciding whether to grant or renew casino licences? And could that be written expressly into our laws — through the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill, like the evaluation of economic benefits? Just as the Bill is trying now to help incentivise the IRs to continue to deliver economic benefits for Singapore by making it an express consideration in the grant or renewal of casino licences, we should give the same pride of place to similarly incentivising the IRs to continue to contain and minimise the social costs incurred by the operation of casinos in Singapore. It is not easy to quantify the social costs of operating casinos, but researchers have tried. There are extant surveys of the number of problem gamblers and pathological gamblers and the number of other people in society affected by them.”
“" Sir, there is no reason why that should not apply to our public agencies. 5.08 pm”
“I also note that of the jurisdictions in the world that have a personal data protection framework, only very few do not have personal data protection laws that are applicable to the public agencies. Therefore, making this data protection framework applicable to public sector organisations, to our public agencies, would mean that Singapore will be truly in line with international standards, which is one of the three principles that the Bill is based on. Sir, the protection of personal data is welcomed not only because of its expected economic benefits. It is welcomed also because it acknowledges an important principle that our personal data belongs to us, as persons, much like our cash or phones or wallets and other forms of property. And this property needs to be safeguarded and protected by law against misuse, including by the Government. We must remind ourselves that the proper function of a government and its associated bodies, first and foremost, is to provide essential services to the people. The Government collects our personal data in order to be able to provide us with various services, such as administering our CPF accounts for our retirement needs, or our Medisave accounts for our medical expenses. However, this information belongs to us, and our Government agencies must handle our personal data with care. Above all, they should be accountable to the people and to Parliament about the way in which they use and safeguard our data while they carry out various services for us. Page: 859 Mr Lui Tuck Yew, as MICA Minister in 2011, said, "What we are doing, first and foremost, is to govern the proper processing of personal information, such as the collection, the use, the disclosure and the transfer of this data and to make sure that this is properly regulated.”
“So, it is just as important, if not more important, that these concepts of accuracy and access rights should also apply to public agencies that collect, use or disclose personal data. Public agencies, during the course of their duties, use personal data to make decisions, such as whether to grant somebody Workfare Income Supplement payments, which have a direct impact on the lives of individuals. Therefore, it is important that individuals should be able to access their personal data on the basis of which the Government makes decisions on and to ask for such data to be corrected if they are inaccurate. Another reason that we have been given for why the public sector needs to be excluded is that public agencies often have to share information with one another or to deal with national emergencies. And, indeed, we do already have laws that allow public entities to share data. Examples include the Income Tax Act, the Medical Registration Regulations, the Immigration Act. As mentioned earlier, these will continue to apply as they are contained in existing written laws. Also, as mentioned earlier, we have broadly worded exemptions contained in this Bill relating to national interests and to emergencies, which may well be helpful through our public agencies looking to share information in a national emergency. By ensuring that the public sector also falls within the remit of our personal data framework, individuals can be certain that there is at least a minimum baseline that applies the way the public sector treats their personal data, and they can take comfort from how the processes and the rules would be clear for them.”
“I do not know what these laws are, or, rather, what these rules are, because they are not made known to the public. What I know is that, if these rules are not laws then they are not subjected to parliamentary scrutiny and oversight, and we do not know when or how they get created, amended or terminated. The people who are directly affected by these rules do not know what they are, much less have the chance to have their views on them heard. To give an example, while individuals will be able to complain to the new Data Protection Commission relating to suspected violations of the data protection laws in this Bill, it is not clear if and how, under current Government data protection rules, individuals have similar rights for complaint against public agencies relating to the wrongful collection, use or disclosure of personal information. The Government has also said that some of its rules are "more stringent in other areas." Well, that is good. That could continue to be the case, even if this Bill should apply to public agencies. And there is nothing in these laws stopping organisations, public and private, from having internal rules that afford even better protection for personal data, should those be deemed necessary or desirable. Page: 858 The concept of accuracy, and individual access and correction are key provisions contained in this Bill. This means that individuals have the right to request access to their personal data held by an organisation and also to request that they be provided with information about ways in which their personal data have been used, and to be provided with the names of the parties to whom the data have been disclosed. Individuals also have a right to request that organisations correct any errors or omissions in their personal data.”
“No need to comply with the data protection requirements in this Bill in these cases. Page: 857 So, these exemptions would have been helpful in providing some flexibility to organisations, such as Government agencies, when dealing with the interests of the public in specific cases. But, unfortunately, this Bill will not apply to public agencies. It expressly carves out the application of personal data protection laws to public agencies that collect, use or disclose our personal data. These include Government Ministries, tribunals and, upon notification by the Ministers, statutory boards like the PA and the HDB. As an extension, the personal data protection laws will also not apply to private organisations when they act on behalf of a public agency. So, Sir, this is an area in which the Bill is lacking. Like private organisations, public agencies that collect, use and disclose personal data of individuals should be required by law to comply with the minimum levels of data protection in this Bill. A reason given by the Government was that public agencies do not need to be included as they are already governed by their own set of rules and that these rules provide similar levels of protection. Sir, to the extent that the Government's data protection rules are contained in our written laws, such as the Official Secrets Act, they would have continued to apply even if we were to extend the coverage of this Bill to our public agencies. This is because, as mentioned earlier, this Bill is set up as a baseline law that is not intended to affect rights and obligations under existing laws. Sir, to the extent that the Government's data protection rules are not contained in written laws, then I do not know what they are.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Bill before us has been a long time in coming. Back in 1990, the Law Reform Committee of the Singapore Academy of Law published the working paper entitled "Data Protection in Singapore: A Case for Legislation". And, today, we have a Bill that proposes a baseline data protection framework to regulate the way organisations in Singapore collect, use and disclose our personal data. This Bill relates to the protection of personal data. It is developed based on principles derived from the OECD guidelines on the protection of privacy. These principles include, among others, accountability and openness. The data protection provisions being introduced will serve as a "baseline" law. That is, we legislate here for a minimum standard to be applied across the board. There are then expressed provisions within the Bill for various exceptions, particularly that any other written laws shall prevail over these data protection laws should there be any conflicting positions. So, this is, in part, how, as the Government stated, "a general baseline law will apply concurrently with existing sectoral regulations", such as for banking and telecommunications. The Bill allows for various other exemptions. For example, an organisation may collect, use or disclose personal data without having to comply with these data protection laws if doing so is "necessary in the national interests". Or if the collection, use or disclosure of personal data is "necessary to respond to an emergency that threatens the life or safety of that individual or another individual". Or if those personal data is "publicly available". Or if the use or disclosure of personal data is "necessary for any investigation or proceedings".”