Cheryl Chan Wei Ling
Singapore
“I note that Singapore has been pursing discussions with multiple countries over the past few years, regarding these cooperation activities. Will the Government be able to provide an update on the status of these cross-border discussions and whether they are progressing as expected, and aligned with our infrastructure plans and timelines?”
“Speaker, I have one supplementary question for the Minister of State. I want to ask the Minister of State, given the fact that we do this environmental impact study, will there be a study that will be conducted for every single oil spill and, if so, how long would the monitoring period be?”
“Speaker, I have a supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. As we go for more resource- and energy-efficient models of agri-tech production, would the Ministry consider taking a more active stand, beyond just grants, to look at areas of R&D, scaling and commercialisation?”
“Speaker, I have a supplementary question for the Minister. I agree with the Minister that these software systems are relatively complex and, generally, you do not just have a single supplier supplying to the overall system.”
“I have got a supplementary question for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. From now till when the official regulation is in place is still some time away. For home owners, they would not have a means to be able to detect formaldehyde levels because they would not know.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have one supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. I recognise the challenges and headwinds that the Senior Minister of State has mentioned, but the reality is beyond just capability building and the grants that are given.”
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“Thank you Mdm Chair. I have got two questions for Minister Desmond Lee. The first is, with the inclusion of the first-timer, the parents and the married couples in the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme, will this impact or affect those who are already today eligible for the PPS scheme? The second one is with the first-timer families, because they are those who have disposed of their private property or even a non-subsidised HDB flat, they because of financial reasons will have a need to go for subsidised flat now. So, what is the rationale for only prioritising the first-timers or those who we think have never owned or sold any local residential property before?”
“Ultimately, greening should not bring about inconveniences as an afterthought. Can the Minister provide an update on the progress made thus far on this aspect and if there are any areas that we can accelerate the transformation with science-based capabilities? In 2021, $25 billion has been planned for our nation’s research, innovation and enterprise development landscape, with urban solutions and sustainability being a key research domain. Could MND also shed light on how such R&D impact has on the actualisation of our urban sustainability vision? URA’s Long-Term Plan Review in 2022 saw many participants from the public express interest in having green spaces and sustainability concepts being incorporated in our future land use masterplan. What are the opportunities for the community to play a more active role in these transformation efforts? To take this beyond just community gardens that we have today, will it evolve to having ground-up planning of facilities creation with residents and better use of spaces for functional purpose that fits the local demographics, instead of just generic exercise corners or playgrounds?”
“Are we able to move our integrated bus and MRT depots in future below ground and would the revamped Orchard Road or other streets have more underground plans as we go car-lite? With Phase 4 of LTPR concluding, can MND provide an update on the key findings and what aspects of the public consultation feedback will feature in our land use plans? Will more of the future trends and the land use needs be included in the next Masterplan? Singapore as a City in Nature Singapore’s reputation has been synonymous as a “Garden City”. As part of Singapore’s Green Plan (SGP) 2030, a step further was taken to transform Singapore into a “City in Nature”. Indeed, with more green spaces interwoven amongst our heartlands, it is not just aesthetically pleasing to the eye and acts as nodes for family and friends to socialise and come together. It also acts as buffers against the effects of climate change. While all greening efforts are appreciated, one challenge the citizens will have to grapple with is how they can live harmoniously with nature. We have heard of incidents of uninvited animals in the household, citizens attacked by animals when they panic and retaliate and some tree species that have been attracting unwanted birds that are creating much nuisance in the neighbourhood. As much as we want to progress the effort in giving citizens more access to greenery, we need to utilise more science and technologies to expand the ecological corridor. For example, to use heatmaps in identifying the warm spots in existing living environment to decide how to design the green spaces for natural shades that encourage human walking or socialising near their homes, and overlaying the tree varieties to review how the animal species will interact, be attracted or even migrate to the area.”
“Sir, URA has concluded its long-term plan review last August with engagement from many different stakeholders – ranging from the general public to youths and industry leaders. I was delighted to be part of the engagement which started in 2021 and it was heartening to see many Singaporeans come together to think, discuss and share ideas on how they envision our future Singapore. Singapore has pockets of heritage that deserves more attention and reviving their vibrancy as we re-invent these spaces. Our heritage cannot be defined by an infrastructure marker but rather placemaking. It has to breathe life with diversity and more interactive activities throughout the day and improve infrastructure that provides ease of movement with comfort of presence under our humid weather. An example of such a place is Kampong Glam. We can consider revitalising Kampong Glam and link that as an extension of the vibrant Bugis area. To begin, we need to bring the community together including schools, merchants, hotels and community leaders to curate signature concepts that enables raising awareness of the heritage, providing education for more locals while we continue to tout these as tourist destinations. The current business mix can also be further improved to attract variety, uniqueness in concepts and having a balance of local and cosmopolitan feel. This can incentivise our locals to visit and bring synergies across different business types. 2.15 pm Space in our tiny island always has many competing needs. While we aim to protect and conserve nature biodiversity, how can we expand our limited land space? Will using more subterranean space be a possibility for Singapore? We have done so for the Jurong Rock Cavern, MRT tunnels and common services tunnels.”
“Nonetheless, 2-room Flexi flats still mean new supply must be placed in the market. I wish to ask Minister whether the take-up rate for the Silver Housing Bonus has been encouraging. For seniors who are looking for flat options to right-size or to live in community assisted care apartments, is it possible for HDB to refurbish and re-configure existing blocks of flats to allow better caregiving needs and active ageing in place instead of having nursing homes? Of course, HDB has to assess the structural stability of infrastructure and economics taken into consideration to decide if alteration of existing units or new builds of such units would make more sense. Can Minister also share what are HDB plans to better support the needs of our seniors? [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] The Affordable Homes Scheme”
“Second, allow singles to share or rent flats that is directly from HDB for flats that will undergo Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS). While there are no details around VERS now, we know that many flats built in the 1970s to early 1980s would fall in this category in the coming decade or so. The need to shift current cohort of VERS flat owners to new flats meant more land and more new builds are required regardless of the size. Singles and families who rent from the open market will also further add to this demand even without any significant increase in our total country's population. Despite the trend of more singles or people marrying at a later age, singles will not form the majority of our society and people who do eventually settle down when the timing and factors are right. Thus, the large bulk of this demand is transient and may actually better cater to the needs of those who require them for several years till they enter the next stage of their lives. Today, rental flats are only made available to the low-income group while those who wish to rent or have interim housing need to rely on flats that HDB have on hand. If HDB plans to tear down the VERS flats in phases to free the land for different purposes, why not consider making such flats available for rental by singles or on sharing basis without having the age limit pegged to 35 years of age as that remains for singles who wish to own their flats? Third, new variety of flats for seniors who right-size. Today, seniors who right-size appear to have a preference for some type of flats. Those from the private housing generally purchase 5-room or Executive Apartment (EA) resale flats and those who moved from the HDB flat would choose a 2-room Flexi or 3-room resale flats.”
“Our society now faces new demands, changing trends and aspirations whereby young adults want their own independence or shared spaces soon after graduating. Young families requiring more space to cope with work from home and their children want to have their own rooms while growing up. More seniors are seeing empty nests after their children have their own homes and the seniors increasingly find it difficult to upkeep their existing homes as they age but are unsure if they can indeed enjoy the new home that they right-size to. So, what do we do with these changing needs? I wish to raise a few suggestions for MND's consideration in future housing supply and new builds. First, more 4- or 5- room or larger flats and reduce 3-room flats in new precincts for a specified period of housing supply. As more young families aspire to upgrade or move to larger units over time, would it not be more suitable for them to obtain a larger unit from the start and live in it for a longer period? This way, the market demand will not increase on a cyclical basis and the minimum occupation period (MOP) can be increased to curb near term price increase which is inevitable in every sale. Families will have more stability in anchoring their lives around a neighbourhood, as over time, there will be less distinction between mature and non-mature estates with better transportation networks and more infrastructures available in new towns. Further, the resale market for 3-room flats can be sustained for those who require and be kept more affordable without competing with the new BTOs' supply. Such supply builds will be done for a specified period and reviewed regularly to monitor its impact over a decade.”
“Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Estimates to be reduced by $100". The recent public housing Motion and conclusion of the Budget debate saw a very vigorous discussion in the House with the Budget providing assurances and pledging more support to ensuring affordability and accessibility to public housing. Several Parliamentary colleagues sought more details on the support to be rendered and offering suggestions for consideration to address the intricate issue of housing affordability and accessibility on the long run. 12.45 pm With Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong outlining that more help would be given to first-timer families with children by giving them an additional ballot for their Build-To-Order (BTO) flat applications, can the Housing and Development Board (HDB) provide more details how they intend to help first-timers who plan to start their families soon after settling down and first-timers with children to achieve a better chance at securing a BTO flat? This is a matter not just about encouraging birth rates. Instead, it is about giving clarity to young families so they can better plan their lives around their careers, where to live after marriage and how to find the appropriate caregiving support for their children and parents as family sizes shrinks. Sir, when we think of home ownership, I cannot help but feel the need to consider this topic at different life stages. Many of us today have the benefit of living with our parents when we are fresh out of school and not worry about it until we are of certain age or begin our lives with our better half. Yet, times have clearly changed.”
“Thank you, Chairman. I have two clarifications. The first one is for Senior Minister of State Amy Khor. I am glad that Senior Minister of State Khor has told us that the rentals do not make up the bulk of the cost and prices of cooked food for the stalls in hawker centres. I think she mentioned that it is only about 9%. But the challenge will be for the many people who are out there, they will now think, are the hawkers now profiteering as a result of it? I believe most hawkers are not and they are just trying to earn a decent living. Can Senior Minister of State Khor share a little bit more. Apart from what we already know, how we can ensure that price increase of cooked food in future does not outpace the inflation rate that is in the market? For all the cooked-food stalls that are under the direct rental with NEA, will NEA consider asking them to at least provide a budget meal in some form or the other, even though they are not the Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centres? The second clarification is for Senior Minister of State Khor. I am very heartened that she shared all the plans for the aquaculture. They are very good because they consider all the different aspects within the ecosystem. But as we all know, R&D efforts also take time to translate into commercialisation. Given now that the runway to 2030 is not very long, how confident are we that all these will be able to meet the targets that we set for 2030?”
“Chairman, with an increasingly volatile climate pattern and supply disruptions, COVID-19 has only reiterated the importance for Singapore to enhance our self-reliance in basic supplies. Singapore’s "30 by 30" goal is definitely a step in the right direction, leveraging agri-tech to help production in eggs, seafood and vegetables to meet the Singapore Green Plan 2030 targets. In the 2022 Committee of Supply (COS), there was an effort to transform the aquaculture sector – from providing existing farmers with Temporary Occupation Licences to reducing the farm culture licence fee. Yet, that is only the starting point to convert existing farms and solutions. Aquaculture itself is a complex ecosystem. This includes impact on land and water resources, studies on the life cycle of different breeds of fish and crustaceans, health of each breed under varying environmental conditions, how to manage controlled parameters for healthy breed of produce, availability of efficacious vaccines for intervention and to promote growth of fry and fingerlings. Efforts are also required to translate the lab trials to open waters. All in all, it is a huge science that the industry needs to finesse with the researchers, engineers and biologist experts. I seek the Minister to provide an update on the detailed plans of how aquaculture will support our "30 by 30" ambition. To better support the industry, what is put in place to build the pipeline of researchers, technologists and industry partners to manage the trade? Given our climate conditions which are different from those in temperate regions where aquaculture sector is more advanced, can the Minister explain how we are developing and applying learnings in this area for the tropics? Aquaculture in Singapore”
“Further, is the issue today one that we can rebalance by having more supply or options for consumers in each geographical area or is it one that needs relooking at where hawkers continue to have reasonable profit margins so that they can earn their living wage while serving the masses? I seek more clarity from the Minister in these areas. Hawker Centre Affordability”
“Sir, Singapore’s hawker culture has been internationally recognised with our 2020 UNESCO recognition. Indeed, even before the current escalating food prices, it is rare to find many countries having such dining options with a smorgasbord of cuisines to choose from at comparable price points. It is no wonder that many overseas visitors rave about Singapore’s hawker centre – not just about its tasty food and variety, but also commenting that the prices are reasonable. However, for many Singaporeans and families who have their daily meals in our hawker centres and coffee shops, they found the price increases since the pandemic, and now with inflation, something hard to accept as they felt the prices will only trend upwards in future. The increment of 50 cents to a dollar on food each time is something that they cannot comprehend as they felt that the percentage increase by the stalls always outstrip the increases in the Government taxes, the Government subsidies or the associated business costs. The question is with several measures already in place on the national level to mitigate the effects of rising food prices, are these sufficient or are there other factors which impact food affordability that still needs to be addressed? With more new hawker centres being built, with Bukit Panjang and Bukit Canberra being the newest additions, will more hawker centres imply a lower rental cost to stallholders or does the current bidding model for our stalls still need to be tweaked? With the increased number of hawker centres, how do we ensure there are sufficient hawkers joining this trade in order to sustain it?”
“However, the Act does not define clear boundaries on how much allowances the Government will be allowed to issue and how these will be allocated from a sectorial perspective. This brings me to the point about volume of allowance, its fair allocation and integrity of businesses using the allowance. On the provisioning of allowances, could the Minister clarify the estimated volume of allowances the Government is planning to issue as part of the transition framework? How will the volume be calibrated over the years as Singapore progressively lowers our carbon intensity? Will the Ministry consider introducing a cap on the number of allowances that can be issued annually to safeguard against any overprovision of allowances from a national perspective? 6.30 pm On the allocation of allowances, could the Minister also clarify how the Government plans to allocate allowances across the different sectors? As the businesses liable for carbon tax can have differing strategic importance to Singapore, how will the Government benchmark a business which provides critical infrastructure, such as the power sector, versus another business which serves as a growth engine in new emerging economy? While the current provision allows internationally recognised benchmarks to be applied in the methodology of assessing the award of allowances, it does not obligate the use of benchmarking elements. I would like to seek clarification on how the Government will track the carbon intensity performance of a business benefiting from such allowances. Will there be regular benchmarking reviews on its carbon intensity performance against global peers? How would feedback loops be put in place to adjust the allowances issued based on the benchmarking results? Climate-friendly Households Programme”
“Sir, in the past five years, there has been increased awareness of the effects of climate change and the Paris Agreement has created a momentum for all stakeholders to play their part. The investment market and customers have demanded a greater transparency for useful climate change risks and opportunities information related to businesses. In a way, this demand has become so strong that businesses that fail to disclose their climate change risks could jeopardise their reputations. However, reputational risk do not solely apply to businesses only, they have similar implications for any Government. I would like to touch on two areas. First, the need for disclosure from businesses and Government. From FY 2023, it is mandatory for public-listed companies under the Singapore Exchange (SGX) beginning with specific sectors to make climate disclosures. More sectors will be included from FY 2024. However, there has not been any requirement made on the Government and its agencies. While we have the intended strategies in place as a nation, we also need instruments to monitor and measure against the targets set on a continuous basis. As the Government is the regulator and governing structure in Singapore, are there any plans for the Government to provide similar disclosures annually, in order to send strong signals about our commitment to combat climate change? Second, the provisioning and allocation of allowances for carbon emissions. The Carbon Pricing (Amendment) Bill was passed in November 2022. Given how heavily trade exposed our economy is, such a provision is vital to ensure our businesses remain competitive as they adjust towards a low-carbon economy.”
“Chairman, as a small city-state, Singapore has thrived through many years of mutual exchange with many countries. We celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Singapore Cooperation Program (SCP) in 2022. Close to 150,000 foreign officials have participated in SCP courses, and a large proportion of participants were from ASEAN member states. Given the global fight against climate change and the impact of digitalisation in dealing with real world issues, there is increasing need for countries to cooperate and develop framework, conduct practices and co-create technical solutions that are beneficial for both their domestic needs and concurrently helping to solve global issues. While the commitment from countries is strong in wanting to reduce global emissions under the Paris Agreement, there needs to be demonstrated political will to set up intersectoral climate governance on critical areas like renewable energy transition, food security, forest and land use protection amongst others. I note that MFA has launched the Sustainability Action Package (SAP) to support the capacity-building needs of developing countries on sustainability and climate change. Moving forward, I would like to ask the Minister how is the SCP evolving to better meet regional and global challenges? Will the SCP be advocating for an overarching coordinating body on climate change to ensure more information-sharing across ASEAN bodies, one that can convene dialogue partners to exchange, based on structural needs and solutions and also engage civil societies; something similar to the public health emergencies model established during the pandemic? Engaging Singaporeans on Foreign Policy”
“The Government has utilised different options to pilot projects, build partnerships with different countries and urged the private sector to be a strong proponent in developing solutions that may be feasible for our needs. Thus far, the Government's role continues to be that of a catalyst, a regulator and a facilitator. What if that role changes to be a co-producer with differentiated governance for critical resources that our country needs? Will our pathway to achieving the climate target be accelerated and will this better secure our supplies with greater resiliency and reduce the overall cost of essential resources for our citizens? Sir, we sometimes need to challenge our assumptions and conventional wisdom and be open in order to succeed. We need to know simply what works, why they work and how to apply them. In fact, it is fair to say that innovation usually requires pressure, necessity and even adversity to thrive. And I quote what Michael Porter said: "National prosperity is created, not inherited". Singapore, as a young nation, has much more to give and to constantly create for the benefit of our current and future generations. But the Government alone cannot fulfil this task. It takes our citizens, our industries, our talents, our global partners to collectively harness the strength, knowledge and our social responsibility towards one another to materialise our dreams. Only we can define the social fabric and the signature of our society that we wish for. Let us take the lead and not wait for the external environment to shape us, nor be limited by our imagination to achieve greater heights and greater things together. Sir, I support the Budget.”
“As we continue to monitor the efficacy of our measures and initiatives implemented for the dollar value invested, it is probably important, too, for us to understand if there are missed opportunity cost with the current approach. Third, the Government as a catalyst, innovator or change-maker. Often, when we talk about innovation, it is associated with having new technologies and doing things in a new way. But we sometimes forget that some innovations are not about radically new things, rather a new way of perceiving existing resources or chipping on ideas that were not rigorously pursued under past contexts. As we continue to attract investments to Singapore and create quality jobs for our workers, have we thought about what role the Government intends to play for future nation building? Today, we maintain our competitive status with heavy investments in skills, knowledge, physical assets and upkeeping the Singapore brand. This is what we have going for us. Indeed, it has given us the competitive advantage even with small acts of innovation. But what we may need to caution is that innovations responding to circumstances that are peculiar to our home context may result in impeding our international competitive success at some point. For example, a critical resource like energy supply, one that our nation clearly requires from residential to commercial, or industrial demands. We have long known that Singapore has no natural resources, limited land space and no geological attributes to generate much electricity from clean energy sources. But for us to meet our climate targets, we need the value chain to be in place to transport the clean energy sources from other geographies to Singapore.”
“From a talent pipeline perspective, how are we able to concretely identify the progress of this development and further complement the progress for future strategic investments that we wish to anchor in Singapore? Second, leveraging overseas network as multipliers to develop our local talent. With a limited population and an ageing workforce, we must, first, acknowledge the need to retain our experienced workforce while we develop the next generation of workers. The pandemic has shown that work can take place virtually, productivity is not determined by the number of hours in an office and innovation can come about through collaboration of great minds. Even with that, we must also allow our talents to explore and venture out as they become co-creators of work clusters globally that provide job opportunities for our workforce. Attracting top talent to Singapore is one approach and over the years, we have been finding ways to have more global talents augment our ecosystem. Recently, the Overseas Network and Expertise Pass was introduced as we hope to fill the gaps for new emerging growth areas like the digital and sustainability space. It is true that on a broad level, these global talents will have a rub-on effect for our SMEs and make the local ecosystem more vibrant. On the other hand, we are still missing mechanisms that enable these global talents from directly benefiting SMEs through consulting services, being advisers to the local boards, providing expert sessions for the locals to learn alongside or acting as mentors to contribute deeply to the talent development.”
“When the ITMs for 23 industries was first introduced in 2016, it was indeed a huge undertaking by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). To develop roadmaps for each industry which is inherently different in nature, having wide ranging and some unique issues faced in each industry and the broad spectrum of stakeholders to be engaged made this task very challenging. Yet, if we had not taken this first step, it would have been even more difficult today to keep pace with the rapid global market development and more workers would have been adversely impacted by the fiercer competition and the lack of skills to manage the changing nature of jobs. As we all recognise, skills or multi-skills of any worker cannot be developed overnight. Keeping workers relevant on the long horizon takes more than just policies. SkillsFuture was introduced for this purpose and to send home the message about the need for continuous education training (CET) after formal schooling ends. To better enhance the scheme, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong introduced the Jobs-Skills Integrators to better match the industries' skills gap and the learning required to be put in place. I appreciate the concept and see the need to plug this gap, but would like to further understand how the current CET curriculum available and ITMs that have made significant progress are pushing the boundaries for industries. Also, can Deputy Prime Minister Wong outline some of the key industries in which we are trying to develop a competitive advantage in and how the Enterprise Innovation Scheme can complement ITMs and imbue a stronger innovative culture?”
“Mr Speaker, as we emerge from the pandemic, the world and Singapore are now facing other challenges brought about by the macroeconomic climate. Prices of goods continue to escalate, access to supply has not returned to normalcy and the headwinds remain strong while we find a new balance and world order. In my conversations with residents the past week, some welcome the different measures in Budget 2023 to help address the cost of living, others are heartened by the support given to young families and some mentioned that the intent to strengthen our social compact is an area we need to put stronger focus as we progress as a nation. I am also supportive of the various measures to help those in need and how the Government is finding other sources of income to balance a tight fiscal position. In order for us to manage the challenges ahead and have financial wherewithal to provide for more diverse societal needs, I feel strongly that we must look at the topic of how to ensure Singapore's competitiveness can be sustained in the long run. This cannot simply be a quick fix or measures that allow Singaporeans to cope for the short term, but rather we need solutions that can enable us to navigate more complex environments and external threats which compete with Singapore for both investments and talent. As I have highlighted in my 2018 Budget debate speech, our competition today is no longer local. The real competition is dynamic and beyond our shores. I believe there are some important factors for our continued competitiveness. Let me explain them. First, investing in our local workforce and the successful implementation of the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs).”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me clarify the context of my question just now. I think I was quite specific in that I said given the fact that we have an ageing population and also a lower total fertility rate, if we were to continue building the supply in the same volume which Ms Hazel Poa referred to 40 years ago – I cannot remember the exact number, but it was like building 189,000 flats – if we continue in those large volumes, my question was how would we actually be able to ensure that the resale flat prices can continue to keep up if you indefinitely build this kind of volume? Because the fact is that when you have a shrinking population, we may or may not even have buyers for these future owners of such BTO flats. That was my comment.”
“Further, to review if the downsizing options for owners from private housing should be limited to some flat sizes unless they are above a particular age group. Speaker, Singapore is one of the few countries in the world where home ownership is extremely high, with more than 90% of citizens owning homes, of which more than 70% actually live in public housing. Such high home ownership brings with it different challenges, especially when individuals or families are unable to obtain their first public flat after several attempts. It not only upsets people but also makes one think why others are always luckier than themselves when it comes to securing a flat. To make matters worse, nobody actually feels good when they see others making a windfall from the sale of a subsidised HDB flat. But at the end of the day, let us focus on the fundamental of why public housing was first established since this country’s Independence. It was really to provide housing access and making it affordable for every citizen. This Government and our forefathers have tried to ensure this basic objective is met. I wish this to continues to be so, particularly for our low-income individuals and families and those who are actually vulnerable in society. This, in my view, is one of our key challenges as a country and as a people – how best to balance the demand for affordable and accessible housing by Singaporeans against all other competing needs for land use as Singapore continues to modernise. Sir, I rise in support of Minister Desmond Lee's Motion.”
“First, our supply of flats come from our BTO flats, our resale flats and also rental flats. If we want the Government to intervene and also to make resale flats more affordable for the younger generation, this simply means we may have to do a few bold things. And these, in my opinion, are bold things: one, to convince our parents and ourselves to settle for less profits when we sell our subsidised flats; two, be willing to live in the same property for a much longer time and not inflate the demand on a cyclical basis; three, to accept a new definition of living proximity to our parents or their extended family in estates that are non-mature and at distances beyond 15 kilometres of one another; four – and I think this is quite important – to not constantly ask for more subsidies in different forms because, if we are honest about it, we know this must be paid through taxes or other means. While the above that I have mentioned will not completely resolve the concern of affordability, it will at least be a start to shifting the whole balance on housing supply and demand in a more calibrated manner. Finally, Sir, I wish to suggest this for the Ministry to consider. After the supply shortage has been better addressed post-pandemic, what can be done for those buyers with genuine requirements for flats and first-timers particularly, who are purchasing flats after four attempts of BTO and/or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF). Can the Ministry also review the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) for new BTO flats in mature estates to be lengthened and if it cannot and must remain at five years, when the BTO flat is sold within a 10-year timeframe, an additional levy to be placed on those purchasing their next subsidised flat at a percentage of their profit from the sale proceeds?”
“Take some of my residents and those whom I know who purchased their HDB flats in the 1980s. Some of my residents, when they relocated from the kampungs, told me that they only purchased their flats at about $50,000 or so and those were actually brand-new flats at that point when they were purchased. Today, many of them still live in the flats and they are still first-time owners. Having lived in the flat for a few decades and looking at the resale market today, these flats would sell – at least, in the mature estate – for a decent price of $400,000 to $500,000. Yet, many of them told me they wish to continue living in it. They do not want to monetise even though they can get good monies for it at this point and it is attractive. They do not want to sell the flat and downgrade to a shorter lease flat. So, I really wanted to ask the Member, Mr Leong Mun Wai, on his position when he said that there is a need to review our public housing policy. I do not think HDB stands still on this and does not review our public housing policy. But it is interesting when he said that we need to make a reset to it. Because my question would be related to, if in the short term, we need to make up for this delta of shortage of BTO flats, but to what Ms Hazel Poa actually said, that we have to continue building it in large volumes, like about 40 years ago. What would really happen to all these flats, because we would have such a large number of them? And knowing that we have a shrinking population and ageing population with low total fertility rate, can these owners in future still rely on their flat for retirement? Will they be able to sell to anyone in the long run or would there even be buyers in the future? I think we need to look at the supply of flats from a few angles.”
“HDB also continues to provide schemes like lift upgrading, home improvement programmes, neighbourhood renewal programmes – I know this more because in Fengshan, we have had all these programmes, except, the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) in future, to ensure the flats remain liveable and safe. All these help in the general capital appreciation of the flats, having residents to pay very little of their own money for operations of these facilities and any new additions. In sharp contrast, unlike public housing, in private housing like condominiums, all these infrastructure maintenance, upgrades and new builds have to be paid through the sinking fund collections from every household within that condominium. If the condominium does not have sufficient sinking funds, they will be unable to carry out any additional or amendment works. While most people understand the concept and the differences between having a public flat and a private condominium, the feeling of ownership of a 99-year lease property of a HDB versus a private apartment is not quite the same. On a comparable basis, one can conclude that the relative cost of a similar size and the same leasehold public flat versus that of a private apartment already significantly differs starting from the purchase price, its maintenance over time, the continual upgrading and the rate of capital value appreciation at resale – unless the private condominium has an en-bloc opportunity. Third, I believe that no single approach for a complex topic like housing will be effective on its own. Any artificial intervention on the price of today's HDB flats based on a free-market model will have significant repercussions on our social fabric and the wealth of different generations.”
“The challenge with the ease of finding a home in the same estate is difficult as there is limited or no new land, in fact, for new flats to be built within the vicinity of the existing flats. What this means is that their children will naturally have to purchase the nearest BTO flats around Bedok Town, failing which are other new public housing projects in the East or settling for resale flats in the same vicinity or for some even purchasing from private housing nearby. This impacts affordability. In mature estates where there are ready amenities and access to public transportation, actually quite contrary to what PSP has said, I think that we have seen that the housing located in such places have inevitably risen in prices over time even when the lease diminishes. The question is – can first-timers afford the price of a resale flat in mature estates when they are unable to take a loan for a longer period because of the remaining flat lease or take a larger loan given the lower subsidy for resale flats? Second, let us look at the price of a public flat versus a condominium for the mass market in a mature estate with a 99-year lease. The affordability of a flat is more than just the final price of the purchased flat. It also includes the value of maintaining the flat and the value of the flat when it is ready for resale in the market. All these years, HDB has continued to maintain and upkeep the public flats through Town Council works. It also provides subventions for the upkeeping of major infrastructures like lifts, common amenities like linkways, community gardens, playgrounds, exercise corners and much more.”
“To look at affordability and accessibility of homes in Singapore, let us begin from the fundamental of public housing. When public housing was first introduced in Singapore, it was with the intent of providing homes to every citizen and enabling those living in the kampungs who had to make way for land development to have a place to live in. The flats built in the late-1970s to early-1980s housed many of those in the generations before us. Today, we still have more than 70% of local residents living in public flats and the flat supply continues every year both in public and private housing. So, what has really changed since then? In my view, what has changed most is the demand pattern and the lifestyles of the subsequent generations. All these have an impact on the affordability and the accessibility of homes currently and into the future. Let me share a few perspectives on changes in the demand pattern and lifestyles. First, people over time do not live in their first public flat for more than two to three decades, unlike those of my grandparents' generation. When the younger generation gains independence, be they single or married, they would like to have a place of their own and live separately from their parents. However, amongst this group, there are still many whom we know who wish to live near their parents or extended family in order to have support for the caregiving of their children or for them to take care of their parents conveniently. I see this in my own Fengshan constituency as it is a mature estate. Many families have three generations living near one other, within walking distance.”
“Mr Speaker, a home is a basic need that every person requires and many also aspire to own as they gain independence or set up a family of their own at different life stages. The topic of housing is thus not new and one that is close to many people's hearts as it touches their daily lives and is one that they cannot do without. It is also a complex topic as it ranges from ownership, subsidies, land value needs, flat types, location, people's lifestyles to the norms within a society and across generations. In contrast to the Member Mr Leong Mun Wai's comment about the 11th consecutive quarter of the resale price of flats, I wish to put some context on the state of the HDB resale market a few years ago. In 2018, I spoke at length in this House about public housing as it was a top concern for a majority of Singaporeans who were concerned about housing affordability and choice as well as capital and retirement value. Back then, a key concern was on homeowners of older HDB flats who were worried about the value of their homes as their leases shortened, compounded by a lacklustre resale market that had persisted for six consecutive quarters. Five years hence – not even a decade, just five years – we have the converse of this issue with a resale market that had been exceedingly robust for 11 consecutive quarters and an imbalance between housing supply and demand heightened by the pandemic and a confluence of other factors. Today, my Ministry of National Development (MND) colleagues and I will be touching on various aspects of housing that concerns Singaporeans and making suggestions for the Ministry's consideration. I will focus on the notion of home accessibility and affordability.”
“If we can retain some heritage of the precinct and concurrently leverage on the understanding of needs versus availability of current and future services, we will be in a better position to transform the precinct beyond just infrastructure investment. Notwithstanding my clarifications, I stand in support of the Bill.”
“While I understand this concept of approval is similar to other schemes, like the Home Improvement Project, the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, but the probability of flats changing owners are generally higher and new flat owners would mostly renovate post-purchase to upkeep their units. Thus, I would like to seek clarification from the Senior Minister if State how this amendment can be effected if the sold commercial shops already constitute more than 25% and the likelihood of getting owners onboard to rejuvenate their shops and the neighbourhood is low. Next, under clause 6(3a), under section 78, it allows HDB to recover the costs incurred, in respect of those commercial property upgrading works. I would like to know how the cost and upgrading work scope will be shared with the owners before any project tender. Will consultation with the shop owners on its design works and the project scope be discussed for better perspective of what to accept? Lastly, clause 7 section 85(b) specifies that the Minister may make rule prescribing the value in votes of owners of flats for commercial property upgrading works. Can the Minister explain what are some of the principles of these rules, and if I may ask, can HDB also consider to include the lift upgrading for the blocks that were unsuccessful or opted out in the past for those areas that is near the commercial properties? Mdm Deputy Speaker, I am all for the rejuvenation of our precincts, particularly at the neighbourhood centres. After all, this is a communal area that brings life to an estate and provide the convenience to the residents and over the weekends, some specialty pop-up stalls that makes an exciting walk through the area.”
“While I hope to see some changes in the tenancy mix to bring more vibrancy and new services like co-working spaces, gyms, learning and fixer spaces for the community, I am cognisant that we must retain some traditional and essential services like the clinics, dialysis centres, provision shops, sewing and alteration services, as they are still much needed by the older population who rely on these familiar services and for others in need of a last minute purchase. Thus, the curation of service types after the shops' leases expire becomes critically important in shaping the life of a neighbourhood. There is, however, a challenge when over 25% of the shops in Fengshan are sold as they belong to the early batch, where sale of shops was permitted. This has been the challenge faced when HDB offered to renew the area earlier but the response for support of ROS by the owners was underwhelming. The clear reason given by the shop owners was that they will not invest in face lift or rejuvenation cost, given the short leases. They felt the ability to recover the sunk cost does not make economical sense – and that I can clearly understand. What ensues thereafter is the constant change of services in the subletted units. At times, there may even be one too many of a single service type, which has low cyclical demand to sustain them in business. In clause 5 amendment 2 section 77, where a precinct has been declared to carry out the polling connection, with a proposal for the commercial property upgrading works, an approval seeks for at least 75% of the owner consensus before these works can be carried out.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, like the hon Member Lim Biow Chuan, many Singaporeans and I would have grown up with the familiar sight of mama shops, clinics, fruit stalls, confectionery, traditional chinese medicine (TCM) halls and many others at the void decks below the HDB blocks where we lived or would find these shops operating in the neighbourhood centres near the market or hawker centre. Four decades on, many of these sights remain nor have the trades changed very much. The reason I can imagine these shops and trades survived over the years is simply due to the convenience they bring to the residents and there is a genuine demand for the services provided. The question today is with the proliferation of e-commerce, extensive delivery services available and changing patterns of work and lifestyle needs of the younger generation, will these shops survive after the last generation of stallholders retire? Should there be a refresh of the type of trades that operate around this what I consider "prime" location? And if a change entails, whom should decide what services continue and whether they remain relevant to fulfill the needs of the future. At least to me, there is much comfort in having a local scene with its unique heritage, characteristics and familiar stall owners who know just about everyone in the 'hood by name or family. In my constituency Fengshan, this is just what we may see happening after the current lease of the commercial shops near the 85 Market and Hawker Centre runs out over the next two to three years. HDB has explained that the treatment of shops' expiring 30-year leases will be returned to HDB to be let out to operators via a tenancy model.”
“But as individuals, regardless of our beliefs and inclination, we should not impress upon others that they must embrace our way of living. With time and ability of individuals to perceive different norms, the values of what define us as a society will naturally surface. Thus, Sir, let us not allow divisive voices to break us apart but rather for us to consider when and how we want to be inclusive while maintaining our own beliefs and values.”
“Thus, I firmly believe that to repeal 377A, it must be done on the grounds where the recognised legal union between a man and woman is also strongly protected by definition within the Constitution. While we can now take reference of this in the form of Article 156 if it is passed, we must ensure that the Government stands by this firmly as we consider any future amendments to the legislation or even the repeals. Particularly so for ours, as many pieces of today’s legislation are designed with the family unit being the fundamental social fabric. Take the housing policy as an example. Today, HDB public housing can be purchased or rented by those who have a family nucleus. But housing demands come from many groups besides those with a family nucleus. These groups include the unmarried singles, single parents with or without children, lone seniors and more. They, too, have a need for basic housing. But their applications are currently either limited by conditions or considered on a case-by-case basis. Hence, this brings about the question of fairness if the definition of family nucleus for a married couple changes. For a need as basic as housing, this becomes a tricky situation. Whom then should be given access to public housing and in a timely manner? Sir, what may not be a social norm today that is publicly expressed and accepted does not imply that it cannot be privately practised by various groups who adopt it as their way of living. Similarly, this also does not indicate that those who do not believe or adopt it should ostracise individuals who are different from themselves. Every family, every community, every individual has the right to choose what is comfortable for their lives.”
“For us to move forward as a country, there needs to be more ability in us to actively hear different viewpoints, be less biased beginning with a lesser extent of pre-judging people and for activists not to plainly impress one's agenda on others to accept regardless of the other's preferences and values. How then can we achieve a calibrated balance between one's beliefs and practices without imposing on others? I believe this boils down to the values that define each of us and what we are prepared to accept and adopt in our lives. There are values which are key tenets of a society's mainstream, those which most can accept and acknowledge as norms. These values are those where people freely express and are naturally accepted without being judged. However, we must also recognise that there are other values which serve some unique groups or serve some purposes or being adopted by some but are not commonly observed amongst our daily lives. This is where management of social expectations and perceptions play a role. Personally, I was raised on the values where family centricity is key. One where marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. This is what I also wish to see remain as the beliefs, teachings and practices in our education system. While I think many may share this view, we should not be oblivious that our next generation will not have access to information that influences them about homosexuality or sensitive topics; just because it is not taught or spoke about in mainstream schools. By not having it as mainstream, we can at best defer the exposure of the young ones to a later stage when they are more mature to differentiate or make sound decisions independently.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, in our 57 years of Independence, Singapore has pride ourselves on being a multiracial, multi-religious country. While diversity exists, we have learnt to respect and allow different individuals to practise their faith, believes, traditions and religions. All these are possible because first, we have intentional policies in place to enhance behaviours which are widely acceptable or discourage certain behaviours which are less accepted. Second, we learn to respect one another from the values we are taught in school and at home. Third, we define over time the country we wish to live in and the societal behaviours that most consider as norms. This is the basis I believe have bonded us together and enabled us to live in harmony thus far. But beneath this social model, there still lies frictions and differing views in our country. Some of these frictions or differences are not easily solved or appreciated by different groups as it is not simply an assessment of right or wrong, nor is it about the louder voice triumphs. Especially not so when it comes to one's preferences, liberty of choices and how one can make others understand their views and accept it without having broader societal impact. If only things were as straightforward, there would be hope of reduced conflicts and more peace today. As it is with any evolving society, when the exposure to different facets of life become wider for most individuals, the reality is we are faced with a gradation of expectations and perceptions from the family, friends, co-workers and society.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his reply. I think he had not responded to the second part of my Parliamentary Question (PQ), which is whether this layoff will have a knock-on effect on the salary adjustment of workers in the tech industry. The Minister pointed out just now, that a large majority who were laid off were actually in the non-tech domain. The fact that they had been coming from the big tech firms, the salary adjustments would be quite significant for some of them, if they have to do career conversion or if they have to go to other companies that are not in this big tech space. Would the Minister clarify this?”
“Thank you, Chairman. I want to begin by thanking Minister Desmond Lee, Second Minister Indranee, whom we miss but I am sure she has been preparing for this COS as well, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, Minister of State Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State Tan Kiat How and the entire MND team who have been working very hard to address all the varying topics that we have raised. Housing policies and land planning topics are complex for the fact that they have a lot of stakeholders that they interact with and also because they address genuine needs on a day-to-day basis. So, it is not an easy balance. By recognising this, the Ministry has been trying its very best to help many people on the ground, based on all the feedback that we have received. I hope that we can continue refining the policies over time, in order to make sure that we can strengthen the schemes that are available, so that it really helps people. Last but not least, it is important that we continue engaging citizens and partners to be able to shape the future Singapore, so that we can truly have a sustainable, resilient and liveable city and, together, we can build a home for all. Chairman, with that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $3,426,272,700 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $7,806,220,000 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Chairman, because I am also aware of the Guillotine Time, so, I shall file my clarifications in subsequent Parliamentary Questions (PQs) instead. Would you like me to withdraw my amendment?”
“In cases where neighbours are unable to resolve their differences, HDB refers cases to the Community Mediation Centre (CMC). And since 2014, over 70% of cases are resolved through CMC. But there is also difficulty underlying mediation, as when the relationship is acrimonious, this option may be futile. For the longstanding and intractable cases, what else can be done if the cases taken through the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRTs) still remained inconclusive? I have had such case feedback, some of which occur in private condominiums where the MCST and the by-laws are unable to assist. Will MSO consider having other pilot schemes, like Project Restore, that is run by social service agency, the Lutheran Community Care Services (LCCS). LCCS actually gets parties to come together and talk and they create what they call a "peace-making circle". The parties can discuss issues objectively and without feeling being judged. So, besides mediation, what further assistance can MSO provide to address such disamenities? And since the launch of the "Help Neighbour" function in June 2021, can MSO update the number of cases that was received thus far and the nature of the cases? What is the success rate like? And since the function is targeted at the vulnerable groups, will MSO consider a more extensive outreach effort to educate the mentioned group on the use of the app and how to maximise its usage?”
“The OneService App began as a one-stop platform for Singaporeans to provide feedback on municipal issues without having to go through hoops to figure out the appropriate agency to undertake the issue raised. Since 2015, it has, indeed, brought much operational efficiencies to both the Government agencies and Singaporeans alike. Anecdotal sharing suggests that many have found this app very helpful with ease of use and some having their feedback addressed in a timely manner. However, I have also received feedback that some cases have been closed or deemed resolved by the agency, but the action done did not exactly resolve the issue raised or it was not satisfactorily managed. One suggestion is for a summary report of the actions taken by all agencies to be provided to the complainant so that they can be actively involved in the matter's closure. With the OneService App now evolving to include more features, such as the "Help Neighbour" and parking facilities, can the Municipal Services Office (MSO) share the impact of these new features on the user base? What has the adoption rate been like for these new features? Can the Minister also share if there are any additional features that are still under consideration and yet to be implemented? How does MSO envisage the future of the OneService App? Building Neighbourliness Since the start of the pandemic, many people have experienced working from home. Even as the borders are gradually opened up and corporations transition to hybrid work, this trend of hybrid working is likely to stay post-pandemic. While some relish the prospect of spending more time with their loved ones, there are also more media reports and ground feedback on neighbourly disputes as a result of spending more time at home.”
“Mdm Chairman, Singapore's facilities management sector has been challenged by manpower shortages, ageing facilities, the need to make existing and new buildings more sustainable and varying service standards. I understand that in the Facilities Management (FM) sector's transformation, the key areas identified are design for maintainability, procurement, smart FM and manpower development. However, some businesses have cited the delay in adopting technologies due to the higher implementation cost and the immediate impact of workers' cost with the Progressive Wage Model. Today, we are at the intersection of urbanisation, digitalisation and innovation. By not enabling smart facilities through technology, they will face even more challenges ahead by not knowing where to harness efficiencies using conventional FM methods. Take, for example, rainwater harvesting. There is enough technology in this space to allow for some upgrades through incorporating IOT solutions to better harness and understand the environment and know which part of the facilities to manage and be more effective in the waterflow. Could the Minister share the steps taken to accelerate the transformation of the FM industry and encourage the adoption of new technologies? Below are a few areas for consideration in the transformation. First, use of data analytics to improve maintenance outcomes. Second, share best practices in design or retrofits that enable optimal building performance and sustainability. Third, focus on outcome-based contracts to achieve cost efficiency and improve the service delivery. Lastly, partner industry players to map technology solutions and invest in R&D for complex infrastructure environment analysis. Allow the Keeping of Cats in HDB Flats”
“May I ask the Minister on the current progress of this public engagement exercise and what are the next steps to involve more citizens in shaping our future land use together? As the LTPR is more strategic in nature and with the plans materialising only in the decades ahead, can the Minister shed some light on whether there are plans to expand the PLH scheme to beyond the core central regions? During my walkabouts and house visits, residents have expressed reasons why some choose to purchase public housing outside of the core central regions and they do prefer to have this in actually the mature estates. I understand there could be some challenges because the mature estates are quite highly built by today. But their reasons do range from convenience of facilities in the mature housing estates to the ability to stay closer to their parents who can assist with caregiving for their young children and some also want to do the same for their elderly parents. Would there be a possibility for the PLH scheme to be extended to popular mature estates? With headlines last year heralding that our public housing in mature estates is being sold at record-breaking prices, it does not help that some young working adults do desire their own independence but yet still would like to live near their parents for mutual support. Sir, public housing is a necessity for many individuals and with the young families that we are looking at. As we pride ourselves for having one of the highest home ownerships around the world, we must continually find ways to enable this to remain affordable for the generations to come. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Prime Location Public Housing Scheme”
“This trend is further accelerated by COVID-19. Also, the trend may further pick up, as seen in some Western societies, whereby the young would leave their “nests” when they turn of age. How can we prepare for this sociological change that we are seeing in our society today? At this point, I must commend MND for the timely intervention in the fast-heating property market in 2021. As we all know, it is a tight balance to let market forces operate on its own to sustain a property market but, at the same time, introducing property cooling measures that do take some effect in the short term to prevent any possible housing bubbles. One of the schemes that was introduced is the Prime Local Public Housing (PLH) scheme, and that is not so much about the housing bubble but to manage the evolving housing needs and trends that we are seeing in our country. But very often, we forget that, with limited land available, the affordability of public housing does hinge upon forward planning of land usage and allocation of land in Singapore. We need to ensure that we have a delicate balance in the many needs from residential, commercial, leisure and environmental sectors. In last year’s COS, MND announced the commencement of the public engagement exercise for the Long-Term Plan Review (LTPR). I personally attended some and am heartened to see the active participation of Singaporeans in envisioning, together with our land planners, on how they would like the future Singapore to be. I am encouraged at how our citizens have reflected the needs of incorporating natural and environmentally sustainable solutions in addressing housing needs moving forward. But at the same time, they also acknowledged that, sometimes, trade-offs are inevitable.”
“Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Estimates be reduced by $100". Sir, the majority of Singaporeans are residing in public housing and the affordability of public housing is ever more an important topic for us to emphasise on. This will be my focus for this speech. The property market has been vibrant over the past two years amidst the pandemic, largely due to the delays in BTO construction and, hence, resulting in higher resale market housing prices. While MND had all hands-on deck to better manage the delays in BTO construction through providing concessionary work passes for construction workers from neighbouring countries, to extending the duration of steel price protection to shield the construction companies from rising cost pressures, we were still unable to prevent the delay that is involved. As I mentioned in my Budget speech, Singapore, as a small nation, we are very susceptible to supply chain disruptions and shocks. With more unseasonable weather occurring globally and unstable political situations, the likelihood of these supply chain disruptions would only continue to persist. Would MND be able to share the plans in place to build resilience in our construction ecosystem as we continue to be dependent on them as we develop this nation and manage the potential future disruptions? Since the onset of hybrid working, many have realised that their existing homes may not be adequate to facilitate both working from home and for their children to continue home-based learning on certain school days. Some may look to upgrade and having more space or the younger members of the family may choose to have their own spaces as they look out because they want to have a private working space.”
“Chairman, I would like to seek two clarifications from Minister Gan Kim Yong. The first one is on the projects of the sustainable Jurong Island project because, currently, most of all the projects and the carbon emissions are based on disclosures by the industry or the companies. I would like to understand from the Minister how we would be tracking these so that we can validate the carbon emissions that they said have been reduced over time. That is the first question. The second question is with regard to the new technologies that we are going to bring across, whether on Jurong Island or in Singapore, how will we be doing this sandbox of the new pilots? Could the Minister elaborate further on how this would be possible so that people with good proposals would put them up?”
“With all these giving momentum to the industry and deepening research for solutions, we will soon be able to put sustainability concepts into real-world practice. I would thus like to ask BCA: apart from the sustainability guidelines, as introduced for existing and new buildings, how is BCA supporting the industry to effectively transit to a low-carbon built environment?”
“Chairman, at MND's COS 2021, I said that for urban infrastructures to be more climate-resilient, it is imperative to adopt the use of existing climate change information and resources for urban planning. Further, to have buildings designed with lower carbon emissions and for sustainable maintenance, we should incorporate innovative design solutions. The Government announced then that it is driving R&D in urban sustainability, such as climate-resilient urban infrastructure with reduced carbon emissions. Can the Minister provide an update on the progress made and how the Government plans to encourage stakeholders to adopt these solutions further? Often, when people think of sustainable projects, they will, naturally, associate it with higher costs. However, that is because they did not consider sustainable principles in the project planning for building lifecycle costs. By optimising resources during the planning stage to evaluating environmental and performance trade-offs, finding a good balance between capital and lifecycle costs, it can effectively improve the outcome of the system. The push towards a low-carbon built environment also has to do with scale, speed of adoption and investment in technologies. When larger players in the value chain utilise good asset management programmes and invest in technologies at scale, the trickle-down effect will benefit the smaller players, too. With emerging trends in sustainability towards dynamic master planning for city planning or utilities, I believe we can leverage algorithms and digital tools to predict and test extensive scenarios to better organise capital allocation, project prioritisation and develop strategies to improve the city’s resilience and liveability.”
“This would ensure that the households that are conserving energy and using electricity within the national average level are not penalised. Climate Change”
“Today, we are looking at different forms of renewables, solar sources locally and hydropower overseas. For the solar capacity that are announced to be available in Singapore, will the full capacity being channelled into the grids as part of the energy mix and are the power producers actively working on large scale electricity storage to harness as much of the power generated? Without which, the process to reduce energy source from low carbon to green supply will always be impeded. I had also previously mentioned the move towards green friendly practices may be easier for the large corporations who have the resources and expertise to do so. For our SMEs, they will have real tangible costs to them. As we emerge from the pandemic, besides financial grants, will the Ministry be looking at other options to help the SMEs embark on the sustainability topic in the decade ahead? Finally, the rationale of a carbon tax is to shift behaviours and mindsets to nudge businesses to rethink their existing way of operations and to become more sustainable. A mechanism should be implemented to prevent the carbon tax from being fully passed on to consumers, especially if the goods being consumed is a necessity. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of making corporates take ownership in decarbonising their footprint. A possible mechanism that I can suggest could be on the power generation companies to tier the cost being passed down to households based on usage, for example, with the first 400 kilowatt hour having no carbon tax passed on, and a subsequent tier percentage to be determined by the Energy Market Authority of the carbon tax allowable to be passed on for every 100 kilowatt hour thereafter.”