Chong Weng Chiew
Singapore
“Due to the high fees currently, often a spouse, usually a woman, would have to quit her job to take care of such an elderly person. Considering that the median household income is about $4,000, the household income would be halved if she quits, thereby creating financial hardship and family stress.”
“Mobility is a big problem for them and many cannot afford to pay for unsubsidised home therapy sessions or domestic help and taxi fares to bring them for follow-up appointments. More often than not, they miss their follow-up therapy sessions and their conditions will start deteriorating from there.”
“With regard to my cut on genetic counselling, I would like to suggest that the Ministry work with the Registry of Marriages to encourage all couples registering for marriage to go for medical screening and genetic counselling. Potential couples have the right to know about each other's health status.”
“" Teens under the age of 18 have to get permission from their parents and many end up persuading their parents to donate too. Their contribution comes at a time when demand is growing due to the aging American population.”
“It has to be fair and preferably tiered to be as inclusive as possible. It should also be responsive and flexible, easy to administer and not require too much bureaucracy. This is a pretty tall order. Still, we have to find a way to align the disbursement of healthcare subsidies in all our public medical facilities.”
“Sir, in many countries, whistle-blowing has been a major source of discovery of many fraud cases. Could the public have a clearer understanding of the exact protocol and processes in which complaints can be made and also subsequently on what grounds would such complaints be further investigated, that is to say, what information the public…”
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“We cannot let the efforts and sacrifice of our fellow healthcare providers go to waste, just because of social irresponsibility of a few black sheep. Let me also try to touch on three points. (1) On the topic of quarantine, some people who have been served with Quarantine Orders question whether this is necessary. They feel that their freedom is being taken away. But in the face of SARS, let me say that Quarantine Orders are definitely necessary. As a medical doctor, in the control of any infectious disease, there are only two main approaches, and they have to be concurrently implemented. One, is in the control of the spread of the infection, by way of identification, isolation and quarantine. The other is in the treatment of those infected by the infection itself. In the case of SARS, when the diagnostic kit and the definitive treatment of the disease are not discovered yet, the only way to be on top of the situation is through the control of the spread of the infection. The amendment Bill has thus empowered the Ministry to achieve the objective of controlling the spread of the infection. (2) We all know that Singapore is a small country. Many of us live in built-up areas. We intermingle with one another at our neighbourhood coffeeshops, marketplaces and workplaces. Thus, with this close proximity of us being with one another, in the face of an infection like SARS, if our preventive and quarantine measures are not in place and even if they are in place but not enforced, and people being non-compliant to them, then we would end up in a very sorrowful state. (3) There is one other thing which is as important, if not more important, than the enforcement of quarantine and preventive measures in the face of SARS, and that is definitely none other than public education.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I join my colleagues in the support of the amendment Bill. Indeed, I am so glad to hear the call of support from my parliamentary colleagues, as mentioned earlier on by Senior Minister of State, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, for healthcare providers. I am myself a healthcare provider. I work in a hospital which is together with a restructured hospital in the fight against SARS. Every minute of the day, there are only two things in the minds of my staff and myself - SARS and infection control - and I can tell you, honestly, even in our dreams. The frontline healthcare providers - doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, pharmacists, hospital cleaners, ambulance drivers - are all human. We too share in the fear of getting infected with SARS and I can tell you the worst fear is putting our family members and our loved ones at risk too. Despite the fear, the risk, the sacrifice, we all know that we have a job to do, and we must make sure that we do our jobs right regardless of whether our patients have SARS or not, regardless of knowing the fact that we are putting ourselves and our loved ones at our homes at risk by doing our job. We know that we have to do our jobs right. If not, our family and our country will be in trouble. The Prime Minister had earlier highlighted two examples of black sheep within the community. I have seen for myself unreasonable visitors to my hospital verbally abusing my nurses when my nurses tell them to follow Ministry of Health's guidelines to restrict to just two visitors per day. If I could speak on behalf of all the healthcare workers in Singapore, I will support the amendment Bill wholeheartedly. We have to contain the infection.”
“Sir, my points have already been answered by the Minister. I would thus like to withdraw my amendment.”
“Many of my colleagues in the healthcare industry are lamenting the short-term nature of our foreign nursing profession here, after investing vast resources on them. The people who join the nursing profession do so because they are driven by more than just the will to serve, and definitely less by the motivation of money. I simply refuse to believe that having being here they would leave for other destinations by the pure motivation of more money. The slogan of the nursing profession is definitely not the quest for more money. Thus, we need to look at other areas on how we can do more to retain these foreign nurses in Singapore. Have we done enough to make them feel at home? We need to treat them not so much as commodities but as human resources. If we treat them like commodities, they will behave like one and go off the moment their contract is up. Thus, we need to provide for their welfare, especially recreational facilities outside their work, and their commitment to Singapore. We need to do more to make them really feel that Singapore is also part of them. I therefore hope the Ministry of Health could show leadership on this.”
“Sir, the nursing profession is the backbone of the medical industry. There is no doubt about it. In meeting the manpower requirements of our nursing profession, we spare no efforts in recruiting nurses, both locally and from abroad. In fact, we have nurses from the Philippines, India, China and elsewhere. At the moment, foreign nurses form about 25% of our nursing workforce. There are more than 4,000 foreign nurses in Singapore. Having recruited them, we similarly spare no efforts in training and orientating our foreign nurses to enable them to perform according to the way nursing care is administered here. We have also given due recognition to our foreign nurses' professional qualifications and the importance of their contribution through opportunities for upgrading and career advancement. Yet, in spite of all these, many of these foreign nurses do not stay in Singapore for long. Some stay in their jobs for only between six months and two years. The global competition for professional nurses is hot, and definitely getting hotter. For instance, the UK made no bones about their shortage of nurses. Until recently, they have gone on aggressive recruitment campaigns in some of our sources of foreign nurses, such as the Philippines as well as China. The campaigns also include Singapore, where they advertised in our Straits Times to recruit our nurses. Attractive carrots, such as offers up to treble their salaries, free flights, and a chance to see another part of the world, were used to entice them to work in Britain. Sir, we are up against fierce competition and need stronger measures to retain our foreign nursing talent.”
“Sir, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Manpower have launched the Strategic Manpower Conversion Programme for the healthcare sector recently. It aims to increase the pool of healthcare professionals by helping non-healthcare sector individuals acquire the relevant skills in the industry. Some features of this programme include a shortened training period, cost fee support and training allowances. It also provides an on-the-job wage support to sponsoring institutions that hire these individuals. I must take this opportunity to compliment the two Ministries, as this is indeed a good programme and it brings relief to our current employment status. Times are bad. Encouraging individuals to re-skill into a sector that is critically understaffed is definitely commendable. However, I must say that we are spending a lot of resources and effort on this programme. It is therefore imperative that we do not spend all this money, only to lose the individuals once they are fully trained professionals. I would urge the Minister to put in place a clear career path for these individuals, with a competitive compensation plan, so that the trainees do not take this as a stop-gap measure and leave the industry the moment the economy recovers. Sir, the competition for healthcare staff in the global arena is very competitive. We need to be vigilant to guard this pool of manpower resources jealously. Otherwise, other countries would draw away our new nursing talents.”
“Many thought that they are just being filial by giving their loved ones a better class without realising the level of subsidy, or the lack of it. They would later question why the treatment for their father or mother is so expensive. What are the possible reasons for this? In my humble opinion, the main reason is that there are serious misconceptions about the quality of healthcare available in the different wards and in the different hospitals. This is despite the fact that MOH has re-emphasised time and again that the level of medical and nursing professionalism is irrespective of the class and ward you stay in. There is also a considerable ignorance on the part of the public with regard to the limit of Medisave coverage, creating an illusion that more money is available than there really is, and what it can be used for. Many also erroneously perceive Medisave funds as frozen assets and, if unspent, will be retained by the Government. All these misgivings have induced many Singaporeans to opt for more luxurious services than they would have consumed otherwise. This is a serious problem and it could lead to a situation where no funds remain for their old age when they are more likely to need it. In conclusion, I would therefore like to ask the Ministry to make greater efforts in embarking on a public education exercise to educate the public about potential healthcare cost and the means through which this cost can be managed.”
“Sir, it is not helpful or healthy for public misconceptions to persist, while our medical services work very hard to give Singaporeans the best medical services there are. Perhaps, the Minister could provide a clear direction for the roles the healthcare clusters should play so that they could meet healthcare demands adequately. I would also like to ask the Minister to study the feasibility of introducing a third cluster that will look into the ERC's recommendation of spearheading Singapore into providing excellent medical services. This third cluster could address the demand for premier healthcare services, while NHG and SingHealth could focus on providing adequate basic healthcare upon which Government subsidies can be applied. Sir, with that, I would like to move on to my second cut. Under my second cut, I have two points to make. The first was raised earlier on by Dr Lily Neo about the surge in recent requests for C class beds and the call for more allocations of C class beds in hospitals. I shall not dwell on that further. The second point which I would like to speak on focuses on those Singaporeans opting for higher class of services only to find out later on how unaffordable they are. Sir, we need to address the growing concerns about the level of understand- ing the public has on the ability to pay for their healthcare cost. It has become apparent that a growing number of Singaporeans are not too clear on how they can go about paying for their healthcare cost. I have seen reports that the expenditure for more expensive hospital-based services has increased, primarily because they are perceived to be of a higher quality. I know of many cases where the next-of-kin, upon admitting their loved ones for surgery, would invariably opt for a higher class bed.”
“The ERC has highlighted that we could develop our medical services further and transform Singapore into a medical hub. On reading that, I was really wondering what direction should our two largest clusters of medical services, namely, SingHealth and NHG, be heading to. Would it be to further enhance our medical services to one that is world-class and to attract patients from neighbouring countries, or even countries far away? Or should they be concentrating on providing basic affordable health services for Singaporeans or maybe both, as what they are doing now? Sir, in my humble opinion, achieving both is almost impossible with the limited talent pool in Singapore and also the limited resources that the two groups have. To be able to provide world-class medical services and yet be able to meet the basic needs is like asking our national body-builder to strive for the Olympics but to keep slim to fit into a small-sized T-shirt. Currently, a lot of resources of our two clusters are spent on meeting world-class medical demands and we have achieved that in many of our medical services. Our Heart Centre at SGH is perhaps among one of the best in the region and it stands shoulder-to-shoulder among some of the best heart clinics in the world. I understand that in our bid to top the medical deliverables, some of the hospitals in the two clusters have to pay high wages for top-notch doctors and to equip the hospitals with the most modern and up-to-date equipment and facilities. Given the finite subventions that our hospitals receive, the cost of such talent and equipment will naturally have to be borne somehow. It is either passed down to consumers and hence the perception that the healthcare cost is high, or some areas of services will have to suffer a reduction in allocation.”
“Thus, there is a need to regulate the specialist outpatient clinics with either a set of new guidelines, or a department housed in the Ministry, to monitor that. In Queensland, Australia, for example, there are guidelines for SOCs where SOCs must follow certain guidelines which spell out periodic audits to ascertain if the individuals still require the appointment. These guidelines spell out, amongst other things, the waiting time before a patient gets to see his or her doctor as well. To ensure the audits are competently carried out, the Audit Committee comprises peers from the medical profession. Currently, we do not have this audit system in Singapore. Sir, the containment of rising medical cost in Singapore needs a multi-pronged approach. We must spare no effort, including a need to regulate our SOCs.”
“Sir, Singapore probably has one of the highest cases of specialist outpatient referrals in the world. As the population gets more and more educated, our people invariably get more informed about their healthcare needs. Likewise, people are getting more demands for specialist referrals. In the past, a minor indigestion that could be treated with a simple prescription of antacid could now result in lengthy and numerous medical tests and investigations at patients' demand. All this drives up healthcare cost. Another cause of this phenomenon would probably be how easy it is for polyclinics to make referrals to specialist outpatient clinics (SOCs) and the low cost when referrals are made from these clinics. It is as low as $21, equivalent to seeing a private GP. Also, once a referral is made to SOC, it is almost certain to be caught in a loop of subsequent referrals for years and months. For most patients, if they are told to come back for more referrals, most would obediently follow, despite the fact that many of these cases could actually be sent back to GPs or polyclinics. Let me state that, while there is no evidence of abuse, such a system that we have currently is an open invitation for abuse. I am particularly concerned with graduating patients from this loop of endless further referrals and appointments with the specialists. At the moment, our public specialist doctors have little guidance on taking patients out for more future visits. Patients themselves would either adhere to future visits obediently, out of ignorance, or simply because of the subsidies and are not deterred by the cost of subsequent referrals.”
“Thus, if a patient could not use Medisave for home care, what is the point of having a large amount in his Medisave and he could not use it on what is useful to him? I was previously a practicing medical doctor in a VWO providing home care services. I can tell the House that one of the main problems that acute hospitals and home care providers face in encouraging patients to take up home care is the inability of the patients to fork out cash for the home care services, despite the fact that they have sufficient Medisave. If MOH thinks that home care is the way to go for an ageing population, which I believe so, and MOH has funded operators of home care services, then it must also pave the way by allowing Medisave to be used. For otherwise, those patients who could actually be treated at home would still opt for the more expensive treatment in hospital, just simply because they could use Medisave in hospitals and not home care. Thus, I urge the Ministry to review my suggestion; otherwise we would end up with a service that we know is good, but could not be used.”
“Sir, let me first declare my interest as the CEO of Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital. I propose that the Minister consider allowing Medisave to be used to pay for domiciliary medical and nursing services, otherwise known as home care services. Sir, I had raised this issue earlier in Parliament too and the Minister had turned down the request. I would like to appeal to MOH to relook into this matter again based on the following reasons. We all know that Singapore is becoming an ageing population and rising healthcare cost is one of the concerns of an ageing population. Home care is known to be one of the ways of curbing rising healthcare cost as it would be the alternate route for quite a number of patients to hospitalisation, provided that the illness is one that could be treated at home by a visiting doctor and not requiring hospitalisation. Also, home care is one that could allow the doctors in acute hospitals to send certain patients home earlier as the doctors and nurses of the home care team could attend and monitor these patients at their homes. Thus, as you can see it, the home care element not only enhances the convenience and comfort of the patients and their families, it also helps cut down the number and length of hospitalisations of many patients - all these equate to bringing down healthcare cost. Earlier on, the Minister has cited that Medisave is one that prepares us when we get old, to be used during in-patient hospitalisation. I agree with him. However, with the changing trend in medical treatment, should MOH not be moving along with time too to allow Medisave to be used in home care? As pointed out by myself earlier on, home care would cut down on health expenditure, with fewer numbers of hospitalisation and also the length of hospitalisation.”
“Madam, HDB headquarters moved out from Bukit Merah Central to Toa Payoh around June last year. Till now, the Bukit Merah buildings are still left vacant. I had raised this subject six months ago in Parliament and was reassured then that the Ministry would look into this matter with urgency. In the meantime, the retail sector in the area continues to suffer in silence, with a severe drop in businesses, especially in the area of Bukit Merah Central. All the while, the buildings remain in deep silence, awaiting their next occupants - not even a trickle all these six months - whilst the shopkeepers and hawkers there watch with envy the booming businesses in Toa Payoh Central brought about by the move of HDB headquarters. 6.00 pm I cannot help but sympathise with the retailers in Bukit Merah Central whenever I visit the place, and I think that poor planning of the HDB has contributed to their present woes. The worst complaint that I have heard is that the HDB did not care very much and still moved out, despite knowing that its vacation would spell disaster for the shops at Bukit Merah Central. They expressed unhappiness and wondered how was it that after eight years, since 1995, when HDB had planned to move out, HDB is still now unable to find a suitable occupant, where all this while, there are many, many more Government buildings being built. How could HDB answer to the rest of Singaporeans with the loss of potential rental income of as much as $1 million per month? I would like to take this opportunity to find out the Ministry's plan for these Bukit Merah buildings and also raise the question of whether the soon-to-be formed HDB Corp would be invited to set up shop there.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply and beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head W of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code WA 1500. With the impending move of the Traffic Police to LTA, I would like to raise this cut under this Ministry. For taxi drivers who have accumulated 24 demerit points within two years, especially for those with points owing to the fault of their passengers, I appeal that they should be given extra six points. Perhaps, these six points may be for a period of just six months. In this way, taxi drivers will not be penalised unduly, just because of the non-cooperation of some unreasonable passengers. Also, the time spent by a taxi driver on the road is many times more as compared to the others, perhaps we should consider allowing them these six points, especially in these difficult times, as many taxi drivers are also sole breadwinners of their families. The Minister actually has already replied to my cut on the taxi disciplinary board and thus I would like to beg leave to withdraw this amendment.”
“It is almost similar to that of guerilla warfare and, hence, keeping large armies is no guarantee of strength or security. I am thus asking the Minister for Defence to expeditiously, with the timetable, review the length of national service for our young and shorten it appropriately and deliver a compact training period to develop our defence force instead.”
“Sir, I am glad to note the ERC's recommendations for the enhancement of our human capital. Towards this end, we should spare no effort in allowing our young human resource as much opportunity as possible to strengthen. Our fresh graduates today face very severe competition in the job market, reportedly the worst ever in the last five years. The percentage of the fresh graduates not able to find a job after graduation has grown by close to 10% year on year. Sir, I believe that while we open our economy and job market to foreign talents, we need to remove some of the measures that blunt the competitive edge of our young human resource pool. Our young graduates are not facing only competition in the local job market on an uneven playing field, but also worldwide. The size of China and India's populations allows them to produce bright professionals in abundance. They have an edge over our graduates because they join the workforce earlier as they do not have to do national service. Age to age, the graduates in these countries would have some years of working experience versus our own fresh graduates. In terms of mandatory conscription, we are amongst the minority in the world. I had moved this issue last year and am raising it again this year, as the Minister had responded last year that the Ministry would be relooking into the period of national service. Sir, the smallness of our population would dictate that our defence philosophy and strategy are not solely dependent on size. Throughout history, there are many examples of military contests when numeric superiority does not dictate the outcome. This is especially so in the present day where threats are from terrorist groups, such as JI and the Al Qaeda. Unlike conventional threats, terrorist groups operate in the dark.”
“The owner of a garment shop complained to me that the Government had allowed some other people to sell dresses near his shop and stole away all his business. He also commented that the HDB should have taken some measures to create a wave of people passing by the area where his shop was located. I was a bit curious. So I went to take a look at the dresses that he was selling in his shop. The answer was obvious. The designs of his dresses were so outmoded that even my mother would think that they were old-fashioned. Who would buy his dresses? So, rather than complaining, why does he not think of ways to resolve his problem? Likewise, Singaporeans should learn to be more self-reliant. In his Budget Statement, DPM Lee pointed out the way for Singapore to go. At the same time, whatever can be done for our people has already been done. Dr Wang Kai Yuen has rightly pointed out that Government is not a magician. I think it is time for Singaporeans to make contributions. Ask not what the Government can do for you, but what you can do for yourself. We have to be more realistic in our expectation in life. Which other government in the world has this habit of distributing ang pow to its people? Which other government would subsidise its people to attend courses and upgrade themselves? I think ours is the first in the world. It is very difficult to be parents. I firmly believe that, as parents of our people, the Government will continue to take good care of our people, to help and guide them. I also believe that, as children, the people of Singapore should also appreciate the good intentions of our parents. We should be responsible. We should know what is right and what is wrong, and be responsible citizens of Singapore. I support the motion.”
“Do we provide the kind of training to equip our young school children with such a spirit? I suggest we compile the subject materials into a drama that can be performed in schools and case studies to be debated upon. All the events happening in our society should also be compiled as case studies for brainstorming by our students in the secondary schools, junior colleges and universities. At the same time, we could invite entrepreneurs of various age groups to hold dialogue sessions with the young people, and train our students during their schooling days to adapt to any kind of situation and environment. On the surface, these activities may appear to have nothing to do with the economy but, on the contrary, it is precisely the spirit that is most needed in times of economic difficulties. The spirit of entrepreneurship is the key spirit for Singapore to brave the wind and the waves. We should start cultivating this sort of entrepreneurial spirit among our people as early as possible. Thirdly, it is difficult to be parents. Yesterday, Ms Indranee cited the example of this collision between a motorcar and the MRT train. She felt that people should ask: what on earth was the Mercedes doing on the MRT track, rather than blame the Government for not taking enough preventive measures? I am raising all these examples to remind Singaporeans that they should not be like the fourth type of Singaporeans as described by Mr Seng Han Thong, that is, those ignorant people who know only how to complain, to blame others but never to blame themselves. Let me quote another example. Two days ago, I was visiting my residents in Radin Mas.”
“In the initial stages, many of these small or micro enterprises gave full play to the fighting spirit of the entrepreneurs to become the sources of future large entrepreneurs. But the road to success is inevitably full of hardships and difficulties. In the process, many of them lost steam and phased out. If we want more large entrepreneurs to be born, should we not show more concern for the sources from which these large enterprises were evolved? I suggest that some dialogue sessions be conducted for these small and even micro enterprises, to find out the needs and achievements of these enterprising fighters who had started off in a low profile, so that they could make bigger contributions to society earlier. At the same time, we should introduce their entrepreneurial spirit and success stories to our people, and inspire the growth of an entrepreneurial spirit among our people. Of late, we frequently read in the newspaper reports of young people starting off new ventures and the perspective of advocating entrepreneurship, as though starting new business ventures is the best way to overcome the economic predicament. In fact, what we need more urgently is to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of Singaporeans. A professor of Business Administration from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, spoke at a youth leadership forum recently that to encourage the people to venture into business, we have to start by reforming our educational system to inculcate in our young people the spirit of entrepreneurship. What is the spirit of entrepreneurship? To possess the spirit one must dare to take risk, be responsible, creative, farsighted, have the will-power and perseverance.”
“The Deputy Prime Minister, in summing up his Budget Statement, said that, "In a rapidly unfolding situation, all work must be done onboard ship while we are sailing and battling the elements. There is no safe harbour where our ship can shelter to rebuild and refit, before heading out to sea." This statement has clearly spelt out the core spirit of the Budget Statement this year, that is, the Government has the means to formulate many strategies to deal with and resolve every crisis. However, the best medicine for us to ride the storm is to enable our people to emerge from every crisis stronger, more resourceful and resilient, so that Singapore could become an entrepreneurship and creativity hub. We never doubt the Government's wisdom in facing with any economic predicament and the courage it has to fight all the odds against us. On this occasion, all the various cost-cutting measures and the pro-business environment that is created are all very familiar to us. Many MPs have spoken about these and I would not repeat these points. Today, I would like to raise three points: firstly, to intensify the concern for small and even micro enterprises; secondly, educate the people on the importance of promoting entrepreneurship; and thirdly, to tell how difficult it is for the Government to be a caring parent to us. The Government places much importance on the large enterprises. There is nothing wrong about it. In each and every Budget, special consideration is always given to them, and quite rightly so. But the small and even micro enterprises among us seem to have attracted relatively less attention from the Government.”
“It was claimed that Singapore made huge profits by selling water to ships, and the water supplied by Johor should be for domestic consumption. Could the Minister comment on this accusation?”
“One day, if we were to encounter an unfortunate incident in Singapore, then our people would be psychologically prepared to face them, and would have better understanding and tolerance among our various ethnic groups. Our Muslim compatriots in Singapore are just as peace loving as we are. We know that. Whether we are Malay, Indian or Chinese, we should trust one another and be united to fight our foreign intruders together. Otherwise, we would fall into the hands of our foreign intruders. Let us settle all our differences through our similarities and common space. Let us be united and build up our common aspirations, common wishes to settle the differences in our society so that we can have better mutual tolerance, thereby enhancing our social cohesion.”
“He may be a bit exaggerating, but it is true that quite a lot of our people are not showing interest and concern for the happenings in the other communities. We should try and encourage our people to seek and get into the common space among us. When we are faced with a cultural conflict, the more common points that we have discovered among us, the easier it would be to iron out the differences among us. So, if more opportunities are created for us to celebrate the various festivals together, it would be useful for us to resolve the differences, if any. We should learn to appreciate our counterparts in the other communities for their contributions to our nation building, and make it a point to show such appreciation. There could be more exchanges among the various cultures through various campaigns, get-togethers and even through the media. This will go a long way to enhance our social cohesion. Now, allow me to present my views on some of the other points in the White Paper. The organisation, planning and scheming of the terrorists right at our doorstep are real and serious. We should also have a long-term plan to counter such threat to our security. These terrorist activities, if successful, would impact not only our present generation, but also our future generations. So, we should bring this White Paper to the schools and include its contents to the school curriculum, according to the educational levels of the students. We could simplify the contents, even use cartoons or comics to teach our students, so that they would also know and understand the activities of the terrorists.”
“But let us not forget that we have many things in common too! For example, we are all peace-loving people, we love our family, we love our country and, at the same time, we like to celebrate the various festivals. Whether you are a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu or a Muslim, you would pay a lot of attention to our respective ethnic and religious festivals. Just as we enjoy our reunion dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve, our fellow citizens of the other ethnic groups enjoy their respective festive celebration. However, the joy and happiness of these festivals are not confined to our own community only. I am sure you have this experience. During Hari Raya or Deepavali, you would have your Malay and Indian neighbours knocking at your door and offering you their traditional delicious kuehs and tid-bits. During the Chinese New Year festivities, they may also turn up at your flat to wish you Happy New Year and enjoy your new year goodies. The Christmas, Deepavali, Hari Raya and Chinese New Year light-ups are enjoyed by everyone, not just the individual community. I am sure all of us enjoy the festive mood. So, let us all live happily and peacefully together. There are differences between us, but let us look more at our similarities and less at our differences. Sir, I would like to suggest that we periodically and systematically create this kind of festive mood for our people. This is particularly useful in our multi-racial society. A foreign friend once told me that racial harmony in Singapore is not bad. But there seems to be a lack of communication and exchanges among the different cultures. Everyone seems to be living in their own quarters with no feeling for other communities.”
“Sir, I support the motion to endorse the recommendations proposed in the White Paper. Let me take this very serious topic in a more light-hearted manner. There were two families staying in the same block of flats and they did not interact between themselves, not even greeting each other when they met in the lift. One night, they were laughing, cheering and even held each other's hands in jubilation. Why? Because the Brazil soccer team, which they both supported, had won the World Cup. So, this common interest of theirs had bridged the gap between them. Now, let me touch on Part V of the White Paper on strengthening social cohesion and religious harmony. Over the years, the Government has been promoting religious harmony and as a result our people are living in harmony here in Singapore. In order to enhance our mutual understanding, we have to first learn and understand the differences among us, so that we would be able to accommodate, tolerate and live with each other. However, we are a multi-racial and multi-religious society. In order to enhance our cohesion, I think it is more important that we recognise our similarities than to emphasise our differences. There may be some competition between a hawker who sells apples and another who sells oranges, although the fruits they sell are quite different. But when someone advocates that it is better to eat vegetables than to eat fruits, I am sure the two fruit sellers will take a common stand and be united to argue otherwise. Apart from knowing and understanding the activities of the terrorists, I think we should use our common interest to enhance social cohesion. In our society, which is multi-racial and multi-religious, undoubtedly, we need to examine the differences between the various ethnic groups.”
“Home medical is one of the roots which can avoid hospitalisation for patients. Thus, with this change of trend of hospitalisation, can we not use Medisave for home medical and home nursing?”
“There are two principles of home medical and home nursing care. One, it actually gives convenience to the patient as well as providing holistic approach to patient care. The second point is that with home medical and home nursing, it is one of the ways to decrease health expenditure. And the fact that Singapore is moving towards an ageing population ----”
“Many people have said that Singapore is a paradise for the elites. Look at our Master Plan for the future. It may appear that there is some truth in this saying. But to inculcate a sense of belonging in our third generation Singaporeans, and to have their hearts attached to our country, the most important thing to promote education in the sense of belonging to the whole nation, we must also provide a stage for the non-elites among us. Because, if anything is to happen to our country, it is always the people whose assets and life are inseparable from this piece of land who would be the first to bear the responsibility. Finally, let me end my speech with these few lines of a poem: "Qin's bright moon hanging over the fortress of Han, Soldiers on the long match have yet to return, Let the flying generals of Longcheng survive, Let not the Tartan horses pass our mountain crossing." I sincerely hope that every Singaporean will be a flying general of Longcheng who loves this piece of land and love our country.”
“The strength of Singapore lies in the fact that we are always able to find a way to survive in a rapidly changing economic market. But when we encounter the problem of humanities and thinking, that is, the so-called metaphysical planning, we often lack the patience to wait, and appear to lack the skill to tackle the problem. In fact, I would suggest we weave the stories of such patriotic intellectuals into our school curriculum and passing them on from generation to generation. Currently, there are few essays on a Singaporean 'ideology' or 'sense of belonging' in language textbooks. This is the right thing for us to do. Another example is that the Government has recently declared 36 big trees as 'heritage trees' to be preserved. These trees have not only contributed substantively to our 'garden city' image, but are also constant reminders of our past. This is very good. It is an effort to translate the inner thinking into action. In a fast-changing world, while we seek to be innovative and to change, we have not forgotten the preservation of the `direct scene', so that the people living on this land will have the opportunity to get in touch with historical sites. Look at what we have in our textbooks now. Is there anything to tell us why Orchard Road is called Orchard Road? How many storeys were there in the earliest 'tall' buildings in Singapore? How many times has the Merlion been retrofitted? How many times has the musical fountain in Sentosa been restructured? We have not only to be warm and friendly to the tourists but, more importantly, every citizen should be able to tell some little stories about every little alley and every old tree to the tourists. Is that not a way of establishing a sense of belonging?”
“Her husband worked for 25 years in a statutory board and was diagnosed to be suffering from senile dementia at a rather young age. This had an aggravating effect on the family's finances. Eventually, she went and made a claim under the Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS). The application was processed very smoothly. But when she went to collect the money, she was told that she had to engage a lawyer, at her own expenses, to obtain a court order. Already cash-strapped, how could Mdm Cheong afford the money to engage a lawyer! This is like requiring a person to have 5 katis of rice in your rice bin before you can be entitled to your provision of 100 katis. This is not too reasonable. As such, when we are going to implement a good policy, do we not have to be more humane and more flexible? Recently, the NTUC Club has plans to invest $25 million to build a "Big Splash", and we aim to double our tourist arrivals and tourism revenue by the year 2012. At the same time, we also plan to become a medical hub in Asia. All these plans can definitely help Singapore find a way out in the globalised economy and be successful. However, as we are building a place here for the global elites to live comfortably in, are we causing our own people who live here to feel that they are getting less and less acquainted with their own country, and even not knowing how to position themselves in their own country? Let me talk about building up the people's sense of belonging. Singapore recently lost a grandmaster in the theatre world, Mr Kuo Pao Kun. An intellectual like him knows very well that living in a spiritually impoverished country, his chances of further development abroad are no smaller than those of a technocrat.”
“Should we not give them a stage or a platform to show our appreciation to them? For example, there are various grassroots publications. However, more often than not, what are featured in these publications are photographs of the community's activities and the community leaders and active participants. Can we not designate a column to feature Uncle Wang who has been selling breakfast for the residents in this area for many decades, or Auntie Liu who has been sweeping the floor in the community for the past 10 years? I am sure the children and grandchildren of Uncle Wang and Auntie Liu can pass them down from generation to generation as a family heirloom. At the same time, such special features in the publication could serve as an encouragement and inspiration to other non-elites, and let everybody know that we need not only the elites, but we need non-elites too. In May this year, a survey conducted on Singapore's workforce revealed that out of 10 workers, 8 were not committed to their work, and one was not happy with his job. Has such unhappiness arisen because they felt that they were "nobody" in their company, and their presence or absence would make very little difference to the company? Next, I feel that the Government has given much thought to the future of our country. However, while implementing the various policies and programmes, it was overly technocratic, and too little humanities and flexibility. This has often resulted in the people not feeling appreciative of what the Government has done for them, and a lot of good intentions were not appreciated. Let me give you an example. Recently, the Lianhe Zaobao published the complaint of one Mdm Cheong Peck Wan.”
“Given a chance, those who have the talents and the means would not hesitate to take along all their loved ones and their belongings to the greener pastures overseas, and leaving nothing behind. It is therefore more difficult nowadays for these people to retain their feelings for their motherland, at least their feeling would not be as profound as the people in the good old days. How do we retain these elites in our country who are blessed with an abundance of opportunities all over the world and, at the same time, let the non-elite understand that although we are constantly striving for excellence, with the hope of becoming the global or regional centre of this and that, we need to attract elites from all over the world to help us accomplish these goals, we still need the strength of all these non-elites among us? We must give the non-elites the assurance that it is our policy to attract and retain the best talents. To this end, I have two main suggestions. First, let us talk about how to provide a stage for the non-elites. Recently, there was an award known as the "Phoenix Award", aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs to get out of the shadow of failure. I read through the records of the nominees. One of them, a corporate manager, encountered many failures, two of which were particularly serious. On one occasion, he met with a serious flood and, on the other he bred a species of fish from Sichuan and suffered heavy losses. He deserves the award. How many Singaporeans have the opportunity of encountering so many rounds of failures, yet stand firm enough to be nominated for this Phoenix Award? There are many non-elites in Singapore. They diligently and faithfully serve our community and country in various capacities, and contribute silently in their own ways to the nation.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the main points in my speech today will be: (1) to provide a stage for the non-elite in our society; (2) to inject into the spiritual thinking of all our people a sense of belonging; and (3) to cultivate a third generation of Singaporeans whose hearts are attached to their motherland. There is this famous poem in Chinese that goes as follows: "The river flows 3,000 miles away, The family letter comprises 15 lines, Nothing expressed in each of the lines, But the message, Please come home early!" Recently, I accompanied the Speaker of Parliament on a visit to Mexico. During the visit, I enjoyed the feel of the Mexican culture and the richness of its history. Yet, at the same time, I missed my family, my parents, my wife, my siblings, my children, my friends and my colleagues. I think the important factors that make the people feel for the place where they were born and grown are the land and the people. However, under the present trend of globalisation, many countries are developing rapidly, and working towards building up the most advanced and attractive urban outlook by imitating one another. Very often, we find that many countries are looking alike, except perhaps the weather and the climate. Sometimes, you go to a foreign country and it looks so much like home that you doubt whether you have left home! Furthermore, in the past, it was difficult for people to go out of the country. Most of the time, a person would venture abroad alone to earn a living - leaving his family, his loved ones behind. Whenever possible, he would work very hard, save every cent and send all his earnings home. Now, it is different.”
“One final question. Has the Ministry explored the option of inviting GLCs, or even other Government authorities, such as the Land Transport Authority, to house their headquarters there?”
“May I ask the Minister of State whether the old HDB headquarters in Bukit Merah Central has two towers and three podiums with an area of 7,000 sq ft and looking at a rental rate of $1.50 per sq ft per month, and this works out to be almost a rental income of $1 million per month? So is that figure worrisome when it is left vacant for the past few months and we do not know what would happen in subsequent months?”
“Two supplementary questions, please. If one is to buy a new house, it will be seen logical and prudent to make sure that the old existing house is either being rented out or sold. So would it be seen as illogical and not too prudent in this context? The second question is what is the loss in rental revenue where HDB is experiencing at the moment for the past two months as a result of the vacancy?”
“Singaporeans should also welcome Government's caring initiative to implement a Transitional CPF Top-up Component (TCTC) for civil servants aged 50-55, such that when CPF is restored for the others, they will receive in the TCTC part of what they would have received had their CPF been restored. I would also like to urge the companies which could afford such measures to implement them for their staff and win better loyalty and productivity. Nevertheless, the underlying point worth emphasising is that times are changing and whether for the 50-55 age group, or younger workers, training and retraining are cornerstones workers need to pay special heed to. Especially for the 40-50 age group, they should be thankful that the CPF restoration is possible, but do take a serious look at their skills level. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am glad the Government has decided to extend the SRP and PJTP training schemes. I feel that DPM should consider extending the schemes not only till 31st October 2003, but for at least two years. The problems of employability for the not-so-young will be with us for some time and they will need continued help. Finally, Sir, the many changes recommended for CPF and other related areas, particularly, housing and healthcare, are well meaning. But in the nature of changes, the Government should monitor the consequences of those changes and make necessary adjustments after a period of time, say, six months later, after experiencing the results and outcome of these changes. As the saying goes, "The only more painful experience learning from experience is not to learn from experience." I support the statement on CPF and related changes, Sir.”
“Sir, CPF had for a long time been seen as a sacred cow in preserving our ideals of democratic socialism. But true to Singapore's pragmatic approach to policies and changing realities, even the CPF had been subjected to many changes. Sir, many MPs yesterday celebrated Racial Harmony Day and, for some, it might be considered as insensitive to talk about slaughtering sacred cows. But let me assure you that, even in Islam, when in real emergencies, even pork is considered halal than Muslims. This latest round of changes again reaffirms Singapore's confidence on our system of governance in willing to make bold changes, when necessary. Singaporeans should take note of the signal sent out by the changes and make their own preparation for the uncertainties of the future challenges, as emphasised by DPM. The decision not to restore fully the CPF rate for workers aged 50-55 is one example. It must be a painful decision, but it must surely be more painful to lose your jobs compared to a reduction in pay. I am sure, Sir, there will be those who would look at this decision as a breach of trust, as the Government has promised to restore CPF for all. But for those who feel that way, I would like to urge them to please think again the employment problems facing the age group are real and better to be realistic than to lose out altogether. Having said that, I would like to share the sentiments expressed by hon. Member Halimah Yacob that employers pay deserving workers between the ages of 50 and 55 either in the form of monthly variable component, or bonus. Similarly, I would also like to call on the Government to give CPF top-ups, or Singapore Shares, to such affected groups of people when the economy permits.”
“The prospect of one losing his retirement nest is real. Is the Government educating the public adequately? I call on the Government for more efforts in educating the public in more prudent investments and the managing of their savings. In summary, I applaud the tough but necessary measures. However, in this paradigm shift, I urge the Government to adequately educate Singaporeans, not only the educated but also particularly the lesser educated Singaporeans, on the duties of greater individual citizen responsibility. Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed (Aljunied): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate on CPF changes. Sir, CPF is a highly sensitive issue. In 1984 when the issue of CPF withdrawal age was discussed, it was almost explosive. The Howe Yoon Chong Report on the Committee on the Problems of the Aged was almost derailed when Singaporeans were not ready for its recommendations to change the withdrawal age of CPF balance from 55 to 60, and then 65. For me, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, for any potentially explosive subject, it is a matter of T&T (treatment and timing). Not only must one package and present it well, timing must also be right. Judging from the reaction we have heard about the ERC's recommendations and the endorsement expected and now confirmed by DPM, I believe we are doing all right. Allow me, Sir, to congratulate the ERC for a job well done. The press briefing, which Senior Minister of State Tharman Shanmugaratnam and the team had, was excellent. And they practically covered all the areas, including the concerns felt by the public. Even my trade union friends spoke well of the treatment given by the ERC, especially when they addressed the expected concerns of the labour force.”
“However, I am also of the view that at present, there are too many types of CPF pension funds and it is confusing to Singaporeans. There are the many Henderson funds, three or five arrow Japan, US or European growth funds, technology-related funds, and so on. Do we think our average Singaporeans are economically savvy enough to make an informed choice when investing their CPF balances? I think not, as the percentage of the people using their CPF to invest in stocks and shares and making money is a dismal 10% or less. While I laud the ERC's intent to boost the returns of Singaporeans' CPF monies, I would urge the Government to educate the public on investing their CPF monies wisely. This is to echo what hon. Member Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon has mentioned earlier on. Otherwise, instead of boosting their retirement nest, they might have lost everything, for example, if they have invested in technology-related funds earlier on. Next, I would like to raise a point on the reversal of charge position. The stated intention of the recommendation of the ERC is to allow for Singaporeans to have more monies themselves when they retire, instead of depending on their children. However, by allowing banks to be the first creditor, instead of the CPF, runs contrary to the stated intention. This is because, as I have highlighted earlier on, Singaporeans are dependent on the Government and not investment savvy enough. Thus, they might not have known the full risk involved in real estate investment and indulge in it with their CPF monies. When banks have the first go, there is almost not much left to be returned back to the CPF when things go wrong. I am afraid the public might be lured by the prospect of profitable property speculations and overlook the risk involved.”
“This is despite the fact that in the last 10 years or so, income has gone up and the trend in property is towards upgrading, and there are also Government measures to help them own their own place. Yet, the percentile remains where they are all these years. I appeal to the Government to consider softening the requirements for the low-income group to own their own homes, perhaps by reducing the deposits even further to 5%. Also, I do call upon the Government to step up public education on individual financial management and to further educate the virtues and importance of saving for rainy days. Sir, let me go to my second point. In some academic circles, there is a view that Taiwanese or Hong Kong Chinese, when faced with economic difficulties, rely on themselves to survive. Singaporeans, on the other hand, when faced with a difficult situation, would ask: What is the Government going to do about it? Our Northeast Asian neighbours' resilience can be seen from the hundreds of thousands of savvy Taiwanese businesses in mainland China. This is despite the restriction imposed by the Taiwanese government and other communication difficulties. There are also reports that Hong Kong unemployed are quick on the mend to take up jobs in mainland China, which they previously shunned in order to survive. Singaporeans, on the other hand, look to the Government for solutions or directions when confronted with a difficult situation. Sir, the point that I wish to make is with reference to the recommendations of the ERC to enhance the returns of the CPF balances through more varieties of investment instruments, including the low-cost, low-risk pension plans. I am fully in support of this move of introducing the low-risk pension plans.”
“Sir, drastic times call for drastic measures. In all the years that Singapore has been governed by the PAP Government, I am glad to note that we have not shied away from tough but necessary measures. The recommendations of the ERC, led by Mr Tharman, and what DPM Lee had announced today are no different. Though I agree and support the measures introduced, what we have heard are fundamental paradigm shifts in the way we organise Singapore. Paradigm shifts are very subjective to judgment. Who would have thought that when we introduced the stop-at-two family planning policy more than 30 years ago, we would have runaway success rates so much so that we are facing procreation problems instead? In my mind, Sir, the net result of the changes introduced today is the shift of greater individual citizen responsibility. Allow me to highlight one such change and its possible consequences. The raising of income floor from $200 to $500 would be beneficial and encouraging to part-time workers. Sir, I am concerned, however, that the lifting of the monthly salary of an employee not liable for CPF contribution to $500 might be negative on our low-income home ownership scheme. I am aware that this change would result in a worker earning $500 or less having more money in his pocket. Hence, if he wants a flat of his own, he now would have to put more money aside from his take-home pay every month for this purpose. However, this is an ideal situation. Our home ownership in the last 10 years has not changed much. The percentage of the rental section of the population remains persistently at 10% of the HDB population.”
“The issue is not whether bus and MRT fares should or should not be increased. As costs increase, bus and MRT fares would inevitably increase. The issue in this House is whether fares should be increased now, in times of hardship and recession.”
“In this way, we can make the people appreciate that the Government and the people are on the same side. Finally, I hope that, in future, the Government will make more efforts to explain its policies to the people, to show its care and concern for the people. A good government would not only lead our country to a higher level in its economic development, it should also have greater care and concern for the people. I think this is what Singapore would want in the future. Mr Chandra Mohan K Nair (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Hon. Minister for Transport's speech and the facts and figures stated therein are appreciated and noted. I can only hope that, in future, parliamentarians will have all or most of these facts and figures in advance. Perhaps, the relevant Ministries could give parliamentarians summaries of what are given to Ministers or Ministers of State for better and informed debates in Parliament, and for parliamentarians to reflect on what is given to them, so that the understanding within Parliament would be of a higher standard, and misunderstanding or misinformation would be minimal. However, Sir, what is the issue before this House? For that, I would like to state that the primary purpose of the Government providing public transportation for citizens and people residing in Singapore is for the commuters to have easy access from one destination to another, with speed and as cheaply as possible. All other perks are not mandatory, and are discretionary in nature. To make this possible, ie, relatively an inexpensive means of transport, there must be emphasis on avoidance of luxuries, and to provide just the basic necessities. In adopting this method, there will be a relative reduction of the cost of running buses and the MRT.”
“Have there been some shortcomings in the form of communication between the Government and the people? Just now, the Minister has said that the PTC needs to do something to improve its communications with the people, and he urged the Council to work harder. I am very glad by what he said. The PAP Government's rule of Singapore has brought prosperity to Singapore. Its farsightedness and efficiency are well known to everybody. But the Government's style of "more work, less talk", "more deed, less speech" has created some misunderstanding among the people, and people have some grouses against it. I want to commend Minister Yeo and SMS Khaw for taking great pains to explain the policies. I think it is very good. I suggest that all the public departments and institutions should increase their transparency, and the Government should also review its style of communication and connection with the people. Actually, I wanted to reflect the sentiments of the people but, at this point of time, I think it is no longer necessary, and I do not want to waste the time of everybody here in this House. But allow me to raise just two points. I am a Member of the Tanjong Pagar GRC. As we know, there are quite a lot of senior citizens in Tanjong Pagar GRC. In my recent visits to the residents, many of them complained to me that the bus and MRT fare hikes were making life difficult for them. Why do we not give some special consideration to these people, some form of concessions for these senior citizens? They had contributed much to our nation in their younger days. I think the Government should let all the people in Singapore know that in making improvements to our public transport system, we should also look into the welfare of our people.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, when I saw the glass of water appearing on the table for the Minister, I realised that he would have a lot to speak. So, after he had spoken, I thought many people would leave the Chamber and go to the toilet, but my guess was wrong. Minister Yeo has given us a lot of explanations and figures, and has also solved many of our puzzles. Actually, the atmosphere is now more relaxed. To speak immediately after the Minister has spoken is a real challenge. I have thrown away my original script. Honestly speaking, I do not know what to speak about now. So, I will take this opportunity to convey a message to the Government. Actually, the people's perception of the Government is very important. The people should not misunderstand the concept and intent of Government's policy. As we know, the generation gap between parents and children is a result of misconception and, recently, there was a documentary on the famous celebrity Disc Jockey in Taiwan, Billy. His father was a military officer and from young, he was frequently punished by his parents. As a form of protest, he did a lot of mischievous things against the family. The gap was very wide between him and his parents. It was only when he was suddenly taken ill and his parents took great pains to look after him that he realised how much his parents had loved and cared for him. He began to realise that his perceived feeling that his parents did not love him was wrong. So, we should not allow such misconception between the people and the Government to exist. I do not wish to see our people do something just to spite the Government. Like what Minister Yeo and the Senior Minister of State Mr Khaw Boon Wan have said, in this round of fare hikes, there is a lot of misconception among the people.”
“Sir, I would like to declare my interest as the Medical Director of a voluntary welfare organisation. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee (for the Minister for Law): Sir, like other prudent landlords, the Singapore Land Authority requires a security deposit to be paid by a voluntary welfare organisation renting State premises for the following reasons: Firstly, to ensure that the tenant complies with the conditions of the tenancy agreement; Secondly, to ensure payment of rental; and Thirdly, to recover the cost of repairs and rectifications in the event of any damages when the tenant vacates the property. As a general practice, SLA collects rental payments directly from the VWO. However, in some cases, the parent agency overseeing the VWO requests to pay the rentals directly to the SLA to avoid incurring late payment charges. Even for these cases, the security deposit is still required to ensure that the VWO complies with the conditions of the tenancy agreement as well as to cover the cost of repairs and rectifications arising from any damage to the property. For these reasons, the Singapore Land Authority requires a security deposit, currently set at three months. SLA is prepared to waive the deposit for VWOs that have secured a guarantee from a parent agency or Ministry to make good any damages that may occur to the property. In addition, to ease the cashflow --- 2.00 pm”
“Sir, I would like to thank Dr Balaji for the answers he has given. I am more than happy with them. Thus, I would like to beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”