Chiam See Tong
Singapore
“Sir, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund companies, Temasek Holdings and GIC, returned 17% and 9.5% yearly respectively, using largely Singaporeans' CPF money. Why is CPF returning 2.5% on the Ordinary Account and 4% on the Special Account only?”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to take part in this debate. Under Singapore law, single parents are treated as singles who are not eligible to purchase a Housing Board flat unless they are 35 years old and they are also given reduced children benefits like lesser maternity leave and no Baby Bonus.”
“Sir, the collection of revenue from ERP gantries is way above the total amount of revenue lost by the Government from the exemption of household TV and radio licences. I would urge the Government to review and reduce the charges at ERP gantries for vehicles entering the ERP zones.”
“Although the Government is pumping $120 million a year to support needy students in all levels through a slew of enhanced financial aid schemes, schools funds and bursaries, we should not forget to look into the plight of students who have been cheated by unscrupulous education centres by helping affected students to pay or re-finance the…”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman, for allowing me to join in the debate. I would like to touch on fairer distribution of treating scholars amongst schools. MOE should ensure fairer distribution of teaching scholarship holders after graduation from NIE to the various schools.”
“Children and adults with special needs deserve better protection. It will reduce the anxiety of both caregivers and patients with special needs, like the mentally-ill and autistic children. I urge the Government to issue special I-cards to these patients.”
The complete record
Every one of 4,205 lines we hold for Chiam See Tong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 85.
“Sir, can the Minister comment on whether the greatest obstacle to a common currency is, in fact, the possibility of the two countries coming closer together politically, just like the European Union?Our Constitution does not allow for a political union. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Sir, to create a common currency within ASEAN is a much more complex problem than that. The proportion of total intra ASEAN trade still represents a small minority of ASEAN's total trade with the world. We have a vested interest in adjusting our economic policies to developments in the advanced economies. Whether as a long-term objective we should work towards a common currency is an idea which should not be dismissed but should be worked on, explored, studied, and just kept in view. It is not something which can be done quickly without careful thought because there are a lot of implications, and they go well beyond Mr Chiam’s proposal over the years to have closer political cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore.”
“Sir, other than meeting the physical requirements under the Education Act, does the Ministry also check on the financial position of these private schools before they can start?”
“Sir, may Iask if the Minister would ask SP Services whether they are willing to delay cutting offthe utilities during examination periods?”
“- [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. LEGAL PROFESSION (AMENDMENT) BILL Debate resumed.”
“Therefore, a set of strict rules for locum practice is necessary to prevent problems of conflict of interest and other problems. There must be many retired lawyers who have expert knowledge of certain areas of the law but are too tired to work full-time. Their expert knowledge is still very marketable. The locum practice will allow them to take on temporary jobs which may suit them very well and also at the same time, meet the needs of small and medium-sized firms when there is a surge of work and they need lawyers with specialist knowledge. With the availability of expert professional help from locums, small and medium-sized firms need not forgo business which may not be their regular line of work. I welcome the locum practice especially at this time when many lawyers choose not to go into practice. They said that legal practice is too stressful. This Bill will help to make up for the dwindling numbers of lawyers who want to go into legal practice. I hear that the Law Society has already drafted a set of rules to govern and control locum practice. The rules, I understand, cover the areas of clients' money, risk management, insurance and indemnity, confidentiality, privileged information, supervision and special licence in relation to locums. I hope that when this Bill is finally enacted, the Law Society shall allow locum solicitors to take up half-yearly practising certificates and the membership fee shall only be a token fee, to encourage more young lawyers who are not in practice to take up locum practising certificates to give them a chance to keep in touch with the law. EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) Resolved, That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No. 1.”
“Sir, I rise to support this Bill. At this juncture, I must declare my interest. I am a newly retired lawyer and I am eligible for application for a locum solicitor practice. I understand that it was only last year, at the opening of the Legal Year, that the Law Society mooted the idea of allowing locum practice in local law firms. In England, of course, locum solicitors have been in practice for more than 10 years. When the Law Society suggested to introduce locum practice in Singapore, its object was mainly to allow small and medium-sized law firms to tap the specialist knowledge of the more senior lawyers who have retired and who can still contribute to a project taken up by the small and medium-sized legal firms which otherwise would not have been able to do so. And being small, these firms do not have the requisite expertise in that area of the law. However, it is noted that a lawyer can practise as a locum only if, within the last five years, he has an aggregate practice for not less than three years as a solicitor. I think the three-year period as a solicitor can hardly make one a specialist or expert in any area of the law. Such a lawyer is probably more suited to practise as a locum in a general practice. This section of the law seems not to be in line with the intention of the Law Society as regards tapping the expertise and legal knowledge of old retired lawyers. The rules, which I understand that the Law Society has drafted, are comprehensive and they cover all aspects of locum solicitor practice, including prevention of conflicts of interest. The definition section allows a locum solicitor to work in more than one firm at the same time. Under such a situation, a conflict of interest can easily arise for that solicitor.”
“The residents will be intimidated. The policemen are armed with revolvers. It is not friendly house visits. They are fully armed. They have revolvers. I have seen it with my own eyes. That is not police work that they are doing.”
“I am asking the Minister whether he is willing. If he is willing, then we go on to the second step. He has not mentioned it. He also alleged that I have made a serious allegation. But I go down on record to say that I have made this not without substance. I have personally experienced the treatment of the police. So, I am not plucking something out of the air to make an irresponsible allegation. I have been in politics for many years and this happened during my tenure in politics. I am surprised that he says the police accompany grassroots leaders in their house-to-house visits. This is just like bringing an Alsatian dog to visit the house. Mr Speaker: Mr Chiam, I do not think it is right to say that.”
“Sir, the Minister has not said whether or not he is willing to amend clause 4(2) to add another clause to say that the police shall always be neutral.”
“If Singapore wants to remake itself, the first step it should take is to tell the whole world that it is not a police state. For this, the Government can do it by entering in the statute books that the police in Singapore is neutral. The police shall not take sides at all. In the dispute of a person, the police in Singapore must be neutral. The police shall not take sides at all, whether the person supports the Opposition or the ruling party. Only when this is done can the people of Singapore be confident that the police shall be neutral. If this is not done, the people shall always have a lingering doubt, and the Remaking of Singapore programme shall be doomed to failure.”
“Sir, I wish to comment on clause 4 of the Bill which states the functions and the duties of the police force. The functions and duties of the police force are so wide that the police can be used by the authorities as they like, and even can be misused, especially in Singapore where the Government is so powerful. For this reason, I would like to see clause 4 amended by inserting a new paragraph (q) to clause 4(2) as follows: "The duties of the police force shall be to take lawful measures for maintaining a neutral stance in all its dealings and it shall not be seen to be working with or used by any political party or used for any political purposes." I am not making this suggestion without any substance. As an Opposition Member, I have experienced the misuse of the police, and I really think that the amendment is necessary for the good of Singapore. Personally, I have not been dealt fairly by police officers during my years in politics, especially during election time. I have also recently seen the police being used by grassroots organisations in their house-to-house visits in my constituency, and I have also seen the police officers being ordered by a senior grassroots officer not to answer a question I put to that police officer in regard to the places where the police officers have escorted grassroots leaders in their walkabouts and their house-to-house visits. As a Member of Parliament and a representative of the people, surely I have a right to ask a police officer a legitimate question and not be over-ruled by a grassroots leader. But, unfortunately, such a situation exists in Singapore, ie, a grassroots leader can order a police officer not to answer lawful questions put to him by an MP.”
“The first question is whether I agree that a single at 30 living in her own flat is more marriageable or more desirable. Maybe, maybe not. But, again, that has nothing to do with this policy because, as far as this is concerned, we are saying that at age 30, 31, 32, 33 or 34, they are still likely to get married, their chances of getting married are still good. Therefore, there is no need to change this policy.”
“Sir, I have three supplementary questions. Firstly, does the Minister agree with me that, in fact, if singles stay on their own, there are better chances of getting married? Second, at 30 years old, are they not mature enough to live on their own? How long do they have to stay with their parents? Thirdly, the Minister reported just now that there were surplus flats. By allowing 30-year-olds to buy flats, do they not take up the slack and, in fact, cut down wastage? Mr Mah Bow Tan: Let me answer the Member's questions in reverse order. I will take the last one first. As a clarification for Mr Chiam, singles are not allowed to buy new flats. They are only allowed to buy resale flats. The reason for that is very simple. New flats are only for those who can form a family unit. So, that is a very clear-cut policy. What the Member was asking was whether we are going to lower the 35 age limit to 30 for singles to buy resale flats. It is an entirely different matter. So, I think the third question is quite irrelevant. It does not matter whether we have 20,000 or 30,000 empty flats, because singles are not eligible to buy those flats. The second question was whether I think at age 30 they are mature enough to live alone. Absolutely! There are people who are 18 and are quite mature and are able to live on their own, and there are people who are 50 who are still not mature and cannot live on their own. That has absolutely nothing to do with this policy because, if you want to live on your own and you are mature enough to do so, by all means do so. But, unfortunately, you cannot do so in a HDB flat. You can rent a flat, rent a room and you can do whatever you like, but we need to keep this 35-year-old age limit for HDB flats.”
“Is the Minister of State willing to alter the 20 metres to 50 metres?”
“--- they give ample signs of road works. You can see flashing lights from 100 metres away, not 20 metres.”
“Sir, anyone of us who drives on the road will know that there is always insufficient notice given of road works on our roads. We only get to see the notice at the actual worksite with some coloured cones put around it. That will be too late especially around the bend. Suddenly you turn the bend and you see road works ahead. This early warning sign is fixed at 20 metres. I think 20 metres is too short. It must be at least 50 metres. When I drove in Germany ---”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister about sports injuries. With the encouragement of sports, especially contact sports, one would expect that injuries among school children would increase. Has the Ministry taken steps to increase the first-aid facilities in schools?”
“With that, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Thank you, Sir. I have people coming to me at the meet-the-people sessions complaining that they were not able to employ foreign maids. Although they themselves said they were able to, but the Government told them that they were not. It shows that it is out of necessity for many Singaporeans who want to employ foreign maids, and not as a luxury for them.”
“Sir, can I have one final clarification before I withdraw the amendment?”
“Sir, the other point on whether or not Singaporeans are wanting to hire maids, I think it is a question of necessity. It is just purely out of necessity. As both parents are working, they need to have somebody to take care of their child or their parents who are sick. There are many other reasons. Does the Parliamentary Secretary agree on that point?”
“My question has still not been answered. The question is whether or not it is ethical to collect more money than the wages of the maid. Is it a yes or no?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head S of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code SK 1500. Sir, I have four questions for the Minister: (1) The maid levy now stands at $345 per month. Many have commented that it is unethical for the Government to collect more money than the maids' salary. The maids have to slog, as already mentioned, 16 hours a day. The Government does not have to do anything and yet collects more money than the maids. So, I am just asking whether the Government is willing to reduce the maid levy to less than the salary paid to the maids. (2) Can there be a tax exemption for the money paid by single men and single women for the maid levy? (3) Every maid has compulsorily to be medically examined every six months. Since the Government has collected so much in maid levy, I am just wondering whether the Government is willing to pay for these six-monthly medical examinations of the maids. (4) I still think that the question of psychological screening for maids is important, because we have heard of an employer's child being killed by maids. We do not want to see those two incidents repeated. So, I think it is advisable to have psychological screening for maids. Is the Government willing to carry it out at its own expense?”
“Sir, of course, we are at the receiving end, so we are unhappy that the NTUC, instead of just concentrating only on union work, is also doing political work on behalf of a party. So, I would ask the Minister whether it is right for trade unions to act on behalf of political parties to do their biddings.”
“When there is a conflict of interest, where would his loyalty lie - on the side of the Government or on the side of the workers? The NTUC is also said to have a symbiotic relationship with the PAP. In this relationship, the NTUC is supporting the Government more than the workers. An example is the wage reforms now being pushed by the Government, which are at odds with the needs of the workers. Also, last year, there were widespread retrenchments but the NTUC had not shown its dissatisfaction. The NTUC should be apolitical. It should open its membership to all workers of whatever political leanings. The NTUC should also fight for its independence, so that it can serve the interests of the workers better.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head S of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code SD 1500. Sir, last year, an office bearer of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), of which I am an office bearer, was sacked as a member of the UWEEI Union, which is affiliated to the NTUC. The SDA member had been holding the post of Chairman of a branch of that union for many years, yet he was never disturbed. When it was announced in the press that he was elected the Secretary-General of the SDA, he was suddenly asked to leave as a member of the UWEEI Union. All of us in the SDA were, of course, surprised because the said member of the SDA was doing good work for the benefit of the union and did not carry out any political activities while he was in that union. The reason given for the sacking was that the NTUC has a symbiotic relationship with the PAP. By virtue of that relationship, the NTUC not only supports the PAP, but also takes action on behalf of the PAP for its political work. One of those actions taken by the NTUC is to rid from its ranks any of its members who support an Opposition party, although that member has never acted against the interest of the workers in Singapore. I also know of another case a few years back, when an Opposition member, who was a teacher was sacked from one of the NTUC education centres just because he stood for election under the banner of the opposition, although he did nothing wrong as a teacher. The NTUC is a labour union and should fight for the interest of the workers. But at the moment, it is difficult for it to do so because the NTUC Chief is a member of the Cabinet. He is in a difficult position.”
“By then, their brains would be better developed and it is fairer to gauge their abilities at such an older age. I hope the Government will review its 20-year streaming policy in the light of changed circumstances where Singaporeans are encouraged to be creative and entrepreneurial.”
“Sir, streaming in our school is educationally bad because it does not take into account late developers. Einstein failed his Mathematics in his Baccalaureate and Winston Churchill did not pass his entrance examination to Sandhurst. Yet, both of them later became the greatest scientist and war-time Prime Minister of England respectively. 4.15 pm Our streaming programme, since 1984, must have declared thousands of students as failures and rejects when, in fact, many of them could have developed later to become successful businessmen or outstanding entrepreneurs. Most children at age nine or 10 years old are very sensitive, and can easily be hurt irretrievably. Streaming at such a young age hurt them very badly. When they are branded failures, in that sense, our education system is said to be very stressful. This has caused many Singaporeans to emigrate. Even now, many parents want to emigrate to countries where the education system is more accommodating and less stressful. Yet, in those less stressful education systems, they are able to produce children with equally good results and students who can become good citizens. The continuation of the streaming policy shall only be divisive. Most of those who pass the streaming examinations, especially those with good results, will become intellectual snobs. On the other hand, those students who did not do well in the streaming examinations will suffer an inferiority complex and live through their lives thinking that they are no good. They may be bitter with society and may even take to crime. Streaming at the fourth and sixth years in our primary schools is indefensible educationally. If the Government persists in its streaming policy, then I should think that students can be streamed at an older age, say, 14 years old.”
“Madam, may I clarify that I did not on purpose fail to visit the Sports School. I had another very important function. I remember it was a town council meeting, a very important meeting. I have indicated to the Minister that I shall certainly go the next time, if I am invited.”
“We have been giving, in fact, foreign talents a lot of incentives, like PR, citizenship, scholarship and other incentives. I think we should not forget our local talents. We should also go all out to look for local talents and train them in our Sports School and, hopefully, one day, not relying so much on foreign talents. With regard to sports culture, sports champions do not emerge in isolation. In countries which have produced many sports champions, it is noted that there is a prevalent sports culture in those countries. Our Sports School can also help to build up a sports culture in Singapore . I would like to ask the Minister what is the target of our Sports School in respect of winning, say, at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.”
“Sir, I join Mr Iswaran and Dr Amy Khor to applaud the Ministry for setting up the Sports School . I have three points to make in respect of the Sports School. Firstly, the aim of the Sports School; secondly, the issue of foreign talent; and thirdly, the establishment of a sports culture in Singapore. The aim of the Sports School must be specifically to produce champions to win medals at international meets, in particular the Olympic Games, for Singapore. Singapore, it may be noted, as mentioned by Ms Braema Mathi, did win an Olympic medal when Mr Tan Howe Liang won a silver medal in the 1948 Olympic Game in London. But that was the only Olympic Games medal we have won up to today. With the establishment of the Sports School, I hope that in the not too distant a future, we shall be winning Olympic medals. This is not an impossible task, because table-tennis and badminton are now included in the list of competitive sports. We have seen Ronald Susilo reached the semi-finals of the All-England and it is indicated in today's papers, that he intends to try fora gold in the Athens Olympics this year in August. I wish him well. My second point is foreign talent. Singapore has gone out of its way to recruit foreign talent. Many Singaporeans have expressed their unhappiness about this. I hope that since we have a Sports School now, we should trawl our schools and select our young local talents and nurture these talents to be sports champions at a later date. Now we should not take the easy way out by only selecting school champions. We have to go beyond them. We must leave no stones unturned, so to say, to spot young talents and nurture them to be champions. Instead of going all over the world, we should recruit our own talent.”
“It was at the insistence of the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, that the US military already had sufficient forces at hand to pursue its campaign that the general reluctantly went ahead. Otherwise, the military would have waited for more men and more equipment. Sir, MINDEF would have to live with a much smaller force a decade down the road. Sooner or later, we would have to adopt a different doctrine for a totally different war of the future and not, as the Minister said, wars of the past. Could we have taken advantage of our transformation into a 3-G SAF, thereby reducing the size of a standing force, even today? If so, could we have moved more aggressively so that we could reduce the full-time and part-time commitments required of our National Servicemen?”
“Dr Wang Kai Yuen: Sir, Mr Arthur Fong has raised the issue of the declining birth rate on National Service. I support his concern. The declining TFR highlighted by the DPM in his Budget Statement has its implications for defence a decade or so down the road. Sir, ours is a national service doctrine, based on full-time National Servicemen. Furthermore, the full-time NS obligation of two to two and a half years, one of the longest in the world, was established years ago, based on the requirement to maintain a standing force of a certain size. As the number of NSmen has declined from the 1960s to now, how do we maintain a standing force of a certain size must have occupied the minds of the MINDEF establishment. As the number of recruits drops, to maintain the same operational force size, we will need to extend the NS period, or the requirement for the standing force must have changed. There are no two ways about it. In his statement earlier, the Minister touched upon manpower productivity measures where MINDEF has somehow found a way to work with fewer National Servicemen. As they look down the road 10 years from now, they must have prepared for the day when the number of our National Servicemen will be even much smaller. The Minister has already painted the future of the 3-G SAF, where technical capabilities are becoming more crucial and indispensable in the defence of Singapore. Since war was first pursued, generals have always asked for more men and more weapons. The Chinese proverb duo duo yi shan, which means the more the merrier, was attributed to General Han Xing, who helped to establish the Han Dynasty. In recent times, one is reminded of the American generals in the conduct of the Iraqi war.”
“Sir, I would like to suggest that we introduce National Service for our female citizens for a 1-year period, starting from 18 years old. I would suggest that our girls do basic military training for three months, including the use of weapons, and the balance nine months be taken up for basic nursing and nursing related training. Sir, it is not a new thing for women to do National Service. Recently, the Malaysian government made the girls there do national Service, and the girls in Israel do national service as equals to their men. I believe that basic training in nursing is good for all our girls. It shall equip them to be better and more mature women, and to cope better with life generally. After a period of training in nursing, I believe our girls can manage emergency situations better. They shall also be better housewives. It shall, in a way, prepare our girls to embrace motherhood more readily to help in the procreation policy. The basic training in nursing will make it easier for our girls to take up full-time nursing as a career, and to be able to fill the many vacancies in our hospitals. Even if they do not take up full-time nursing, the training can make them deal with life better. In Singapore, we do not have a war situation like in Israel, and there is no need to involve the women to do National Service in combat duties. Our girls, after they complete their 1-year stint in National Service, can be deployed in non-combatant duties, such as in the medical corps, administration or logistics. They can thus relieve a lot of our men from carrying those non-combatant duties. I think, generally, our girls would not object to do 1-year National Service. They get to mix with the guys, and they are in a better position to find a boyfriend or a husband.”
“Why refer to Mr Seetoh? I think it should be the relevant authority. Mr Seetoh is just a layman. What has he got to do with the upgrading of Sennett Estate? I am really surprised that the Senior Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to refer to Mr Seetoh. I have seen Mr Seetoh with one of his men scurrying and hurrying in Sennett Estate but I have not seen him doing anything in regard to the upgrading.”
“Sir, the last time I visited Sennett Estate was three Sundays ago. At that time, I heard that only a few lamps have been installed in one of the backlanes. But the more important thing is that the drains have been untouched. Nothing has been done to any of the drains yet. As regards the playground, I do not think there is any need for upgrading because it has been upgraded. What they want are humps on the roads. As the roads are narrow in the estate, there are some problems there. I think the top priority is the mosquito problem. I think this has to be tackled first. The others may be cosmetic and are not so important. Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: Sir, I would bring this feedback to Mr Seetoh Yee Pin. And we want to assure him that all these issues will be addressed by the residents. Incidentally, Mr Seetoh has been working the ground many times now. No work has been done yet because the final design has not come out yet. The design will also be presented to the residents and Mr Chiam will be welcome to give his feedback through the CCC.”
“I would like to ask when was his last visit, because the EUP programme has already been rolled out. The adviser, Mr Seetoh Yee Pin, has been on the ground and he has already appointed the implementing agency; the architect, Mr J Y Hwang, is also in place. The residents together with him and the CC Chairman have formed a working committee to gather feedback as to what they should do about the open drains, the parks, roads and curbs. Perhaps, Sir, if you give me a few minutes to mention the milestones that will be carried through. The design will be in place once the feedback has been consolidated, because we want the design to reflect the needs of the people. The design must also be such that it is within budget. Some time this year or early next year, a tender will be called and the work should be completed by around the middle of 2006.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code TI 1500. Sir, my cut is on the upgrading of Sennett Estate. It has been reported that I am always harping on the same issues again and again. But in this case, the issue has still not been resolved, and it is my duty to ask the Prime Minister again whether he intends to adhere to his announcement made last year to upgrade Sennett Estate. During my house-to-house visits at Sennett Estate, the residents asked me to ask the Government when are they going to repair the drains in their estate. Most of the drains in the estate are stagnant with water and are breeding mosquitoes which causes great concern to the residents because of the rising dengue fever cases. I would urge the Prime Minister to give top priority to this concern because it is now about a year since he gave the assurance to upgrade Sennett Estate but nothing in relation to the upgrading proper has been done other than some minor ad hoc works. I wonder whether the Prime Minister is carrying the upgrading programme at Sennett Estate forward as a strategy for the next elections. Can the Minister please confirm that upgrading shall be carried out at Sennett Estate as promised and the commencement date of the upgrading? Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: Sir, on behalf of the Minister for National Development. Sir, the PAP Government is an honourable party and the Prime Minister is a very honourable man. What he promises he delivers. The Estate Upgrading Programme in Sennett was announced last year, 2003. It is in good progress. Mr Chiam See Tong said that in his recent house-to-house visits, residents have been badgering him as to whether the EUP would be carried out.”
“Madam, at Potong Pasir, there are two HDB estates. One is at Lorong 8 Toa Payoh estate, and the other is in the Potong Pasir estate. Together, these two estates house about 50,000 residents. Other than providing residents with a roof over their heads, the residents in these HDB blocks are provided with little else in terms of sporting and recreational amenities. The HDB has built only two basketball courts, two badminton courts and one sepak takraw court, and four table tennis tables and five children playgrounds. These facilities are wholly inadequate for a population of about 50,000 in the two HDB estates. My estimate is that the HDB should have provided at least three times the amount of sporting and recreational facilities. Human beings are not like workhorses, which only work and do little else. Singaporeans do work hard, but it is also important that they should play hard. For that to be possible, there must first be amenities or facilities to take part in sporting and recreational activities. There are no such sufficient recreational facilities. I hope that the HDB shall build more sporting and recreational facilities in these new housing estates and also take steps to provide more such facilities in existing estates. Capital Grant to HDB”
“Be that as it may, it is a bad time to ask Singaporeans to pay more money as many of them are out of jobs. In any event, it was the HDB that initiated the changing of the windows which are now starting to come loose and falling to the ground.”
“Madam, I have a cut on the falling windows from HDB flats. The last time this House debated on falling windows of HDB flats, the Minister, I believe, gave the assurance that in the legislation which shall be enacted this year, he shall make provision to allow householders to inspect their own windows. Can the Minister confirm this? On this point of inspection of windows I hope that the Minister, for this time round, at least, can waive the $40 inspection fees on the HDB flat owners. Dr Teo Ho Pin was right when he said it was better to legislate upstream. He said that you need only to legislate to have windows safely designed and safely installed. If you get it right in the beginning, there is no need to legislate downstream. In the light of what Dr Teo said, I would suggest that instead of using casement windows, the HDB should use sliding windows. One architect said that the casement windows, once they are open, act like sails catching the wind. In the high floors, the wind-load increases. I would say that even if the best steel rivets are used, the constant buffeting of the windows shall definitely make the screws come loose. There are about 817,000 HDB flats, not counting private flats, condominiums and commercial office buildings. I shudder to think the number of casement windows that shall be falling in the few years to come. It is safer to replace casement windows with sliding windows. As regards the replacement of windows, I would say that this round the HDB should pay the full cost as advocated by the previous speaker and not let the flat owners pay. Legally, the HDB should be responsible for all fixtures, because they are the land owner. Windows are fixtures and they are the landlord's liability.”
“Sir, my cut is on Singaporeans living abroad. Singapore is the seventh largest foreign investor in China in 2002. Singaporeans invested about US$2.33 billion in China in that year. And with that large sum of investment, so too the number of Singaporeans going to China has increased. Singaporean expatriates in China, if they have a choice, would like to bring their whole families there. The common complaint is that there are insufficient facilities in respect of schooling for their children. For Singaporeans who do get a job package deal which includes their children's education, they have to be separated from their children or they pay heavily to get their children educated in China in the international school there. To avoid the separation, they hope that the Singapore Government can assist them. Singaporeans working abroad also want the Ministry of Education to be more flexible. They say that sometimes when they return home to Singapore, their children just missed the deadline for enrolment, and their children cannot get into the school they want or may have to lose a year. They ask for more flexibility in enrolment of their children whose parents are working abroad. Singaporeans working abroad have to make sacrifices. They often have to leave their children back home. They want to be together with the children. They have to fly home often to be with their children. In this respect, they ask the Government for tax exemption for money spent on flying home to see their children. Mr Baharudin, the former NMP, was quoted as saying that "Singaporeans working abroad should be seen as ambassadors doing their bit for the economy." Singaporeans working abroad also want their voting rights to be maintained. They want the system of overseas voting to be allowed for them.”
“Sir, I have a cut on the role of the Police. The role of the Police is quite clear to me. It is to keep the peace, prevent and to fight crimes, etc. But these days, the Police is also needed to combat terrorism. In Singapore, there is an additional role of the Police and, that is, to escort RC members on their house-to-house visits. From this, three issues arise. One, whether the Police in Singapore is truly apolitical? Are they supposed to accompany grassroots members on their political work? It is political in nature because they associate themselves with support and also do the work for the PAP prospective election candidate in my constituency. Two, can a superior officer in an NPP order his junior officer to go on duty with RC members? Three, can a RC member give orders to a Police officer? Police officers may not be trained to do this kind of work - going on household visits with RC members. They want to do real police work. If not, are they compensated to do this additional duty? A Police officer must be neutral and must be apolitical. The Police officers whom I saw went around on escort duty with the RC members and they were not carrying any crime prevention leaflets. They were not on their rounds to give the crime prevention message. Even if the Police officers were to visit households to convey the crime prevention message, surely they are trained to go on their own. They need not be accompanied by RC members. Road Safety”
“Madam, I would like to speak on the economic union with Malaysia which I advocate. When the Prime Minister of Malaysia had a meeting with our Ministers on 12th January this year, he said that he preferred to talk to Singapore on specific issues. He wants time to prepare the specific issues that he shall be talking to Singapore at the next meeting. On our end, Singapore should talk to the Malaysians on the issue of the possibility of forming an economic union or signing an FTA agreement with them. Singapore has signed FTA agreements with America and New Zealand and is also negotiating to do so with other countries. Of all the FTAs, to me, the most obvious one is to sign one with Malaysia. Malaysia is our immediate neighbour and Malaysia is our second largest trading partner. I think there is nothing wrong with forming an economic union with Malaysia before the 2017 arrangement of the ASEAN Economic Community. The benefits of an economic union with Malaysia are tremendous. For a start, we shall have a market of over 23 million people and our export business shall boom and much of our present economic stagnation can be solved. The benefits are a lot and I would like to urge our Minister to make strong efforts to have an economic union with Malaysia.”
“Sir, I am still unhappy with the answer given by the Minister. I thought that he would at least give some concessions to have the election process really open and transparent. Nevertheless, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $155,233,550 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $46,986,300 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head M - Ministry of Finance”
“My fourth point is with regard to election sites. I would call on the Prime Minister to ask the Elections Department to make sure that there are more than one election sites in one constituency, especially in a single seat constituency. At the last elections, Potong Pasir had only one election site, and there was a scramble for that site from the two candidates.”
“Sir, I call on the Prime Minister to publish the Report of the Electoral Boundary Review Committee at an early date. Sir, the other matter is the election date. In America, everybody knows when the President is going to be elected - every four years, on a fixed date in November in the fourth year. This is really called openness. As far as the PAP is concerned, they keep their cards very close to their chest. We do not know when the elections will be called at all. We have rumours and whether or not to believe in the rumours. Often, a snap election is called and that catches everybody by surprise. Sir, I hope the election date can be given at an early date. The third matter is on election deposit. The election deposit currently stands at $13,000. To PAP candidates, $13,000 may not be a large sum but to many other candidates, $13,000 is a large sum. I think we should not deprive people who want to stand for election just because they cannot afford the $13,000 to disbar them from standing. If the election deposit can be announced at an early date, it will give a chance to all citizens in Singapore who want to stand for election to prepare for this sum of money so that he can stand for election.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head U of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code UA 1500. Sir, this is on the election process and the four points I want to bring up are: the Electoral Boundary Review Committee's Report; the date of the election; the deposit candidates will have to pay; and, election sites. As regards the election process, I think they should be fair. "Fair" means that it must have openness, which means transparency of the election process. The Electoral Boundary Review Committee's Report is an important report, in particular, to the Opposition, because it will tell which are the boundaries to be contested at the elections. I would call upon the Prime Minister please to issue the Report as early as he can. Of course, he will say it is his prerogative. But to be fair to the Opposition, I think the Report should be published at least six months before the election date. Because if we do not know what are the constituencies to be contested, we got no chance to work on the ground in those constituencies. There was a case where an Opposition member was about to win a single constituency, and when the Report was published, that constituency was no longer in existence. I think this is the classic case of Braddell Heights constituency. The Opposition member there, if I am not mistaken, in 1991, obtained nearly 50%, and he was hopeful that he may have a chance to win the next round. But when the next round came, his constituency disappeared. It was absorbed by Marine Parade. The only difference is that Marine Parade has got a seafront. Braddell Heights has got no seafront. It became part of Marine Parade constituency.”
“In the circumstances, I wonder how I can ever get the support of my rival to support me in getting CIPC funds which would lessen his chances of getting elected. I would probably think that the answer shall always be never. My constituency, in a way, has been subjected to scare tactics at election time. They have been threatened that should they vote for me, they shall never get upgrading of their flats, kindergarten facilities shall be scaled down, the MRT station shall never be opened and any precincts that give 50% votes to the PAP shall get upgrading. Another thing is that I was not even allowed to make a speech at my own constituency dinner. I am bringing up the above matters with the hope that all Opposition Members in Parliament in Singapore can be given their due respect and not treated shabbily.”
“I hope that the GRCs could be made smaller in number and not made bigger in time to come. Opposition MPs Sir, I would like to speak on the unfairness of treatment to Opposition MPs. Once, at a function on the grounds of Istana, a PAP MP asked me, "Hey, Chiam, why did you not bring your grassroots along today?" That PAP MP thought that I did not have any grassroots members to bring along to that function. I did not want to embarrass him by telling him that, in fact, my grassroots members were not invited to that function although PAP MPs' grassroots were invited. Yes, Opposition MPs are treated differently from the PAP MPs. I think it is appropriate that I speak out on this matter to educate PAP MPs on the matter. I have already complained that I do not get a proper room to hold my MPS. I have to see my constituents in the open at the void deck. I do not mind doing so, but the only problem is that sometimes, I do not have the privacy to discuss some sensitive matters with the people who come to see me with a personal problem. When working in the open, I am always subject to the elements. Void decks, somehow or other, are very windy and I have difficulty holding my pieces of papers together. When I was first elected MP, the situation then was even worse. I was not even allowed to plant one tree. Today, of course, I can plant as many trees as I like in my constituency or on the land under the jurisidiction of my Town Council. Things have improved a little for me, but on very basic things like application for Government grants, CIPC funds, I still have to apply to the person whom I defeated at the last election, and I believe he shall be competing against me at the next election.”