Choo Wee Khiang
Singapore
“Sir, bearing in mind the problem we have with Malaysia pertaining to the CIQ matter, would the Minister envisage any problem with our negotiations with Malaysia and will the Minister tell us whether there is going to be a deadline in terms of finalising the negotiations?”
“Sir, in today's Straits Times, it is reported that, "Singapore should not decide unilaterally on the relocation of CIQ facilities from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands." It was mentioned by UMNO Vice-President, Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak. I take it that Dato Sri Najib had said that we should not move to Woodlands.”
“That is most important and let us not take the emotional aspect of it in dealing with this particular Bill. Let us be really focused. Let us take into consideration the well-being of the great majority of Singaporeans and the progress and prosperity of Singapore into consideration.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. If we recognise the importance of sports, I think he should consider re-naming his Ministry to "MCDS", Ministry of Community Development and Sports. Dr Vasoo: Sir, as usual, Members have stretched their viewpoints. The Minister has given very elaborate replies.”
“Sir, I will be equally brief. The Singapore Sports Council has done a very good job and it has been transformed. But I understand from many National Sports Associations that they are all running into financial difficulties. They have a lot of good and great plans, but they need funds.”
“If they are working in the city, and you want them to buy a flat in the suburban area, they will have to spend a lot of time travelling to-and-fro. It is too troublesome and inconvenient. I have also come across a case where a resident wanted to sell back the 3-room flat to HDB in order to buy a bigger flat.”
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“I hope the Minister will enlighten the House as to how privatization will help us in achieving medical excellence and also how the Minister will appraise and assess the performance of these privatized hospitals. Dr Tan Cheng Bock (Ayer Rajah): 1DPM, when he opened the National University Hospital, said that the idea behind this restructuring is not profits but cost effectiveness, not more expensive services, but better services and greater efficiency. I believe that the Ministry has employed an American company to help in restructuring. I am not against employing Americans to help us to restructure, but I believe that their approach is profit-orientated and I want the Minister to prove me wrong. In every restructured hospital autonomy inevitably will be given to the hospital. And accompanying autonomy there will be a need to account for the use of manpower and equipment, and I am sure this will lead to a lot of self-interest in the hospitals that have gone private. The terms "restructure" and "private", as far as I am concerned, mean the same. Therefore, there will be no sharing of manpower, no sharing of equipment and no sharing of facilities. Let us look at the present arrangement. Under the present arrangement, Singaporeans have a chance to get expertise advice from neighbouring hospitals. They can also enjoy the facilities of each other's hospitals. For example, in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there are specialists in neuro-surgery, in SGH orthopaedic surgery, open heart surgery, radio-therapy ENT, in Toa Payoh Hospital, endocrinology and, of course, in Kandang Kerbau Hospital, obstetrics and gynaecology. My concern is, how does restructuring affect this arrangement?”
“My GPC Chairman, Dr Aline Wong, and Dr Vasoo and others have spoken so far on corporatization of hospitals and I would just like to take this opportunity to reiterate some points. In my view, drastically reducing the number of beds for Class C wards is actually not appropriate and should be reviewed. Because the poor still need them. The availability of Medisave should account for the major reason for them to opt for Class B wards instead of Class C. I think the Government should encourage people who have lower Medisave accounts to take up Class C wards. One of the ways in which we can do this is to really upgrade the Class C wards. For example, haviang lesser beds for each Class C ward so that they would not be too congested and is more comfortable for the patients. I was told by some others that when Class C wards are mostly occupied, it is like a wet market or supermarket. However, as far as corporatization or privatization of hospitals is concerned, many still fear that hospital charges will be increased tremendously. Because to them, corporatization means privatization which means it is set up with a view to profit. Sir, I am for corporatization because in giving more autonomy to hospitals, I think they can do a marvellous job, but I am not in favour of reducing the subsidy. As a nation we need to have hospitals, we need to provide medical services, medical care, to our fellow citizens, especially the poor ones. The cost of maintaining hospitals is high. However, the cost of maintaining hospitals and other health services, in particular manpower, in my view, can be seen as sunk costs. Therefore, when looking into subsidies one should give due consideration to such sunk costs.”
“In the course of making your speech, you were very confusing. We do not know where you are. At the beginning, you said you were for. But later on you said you were not. And somehow you came back to your original note saying that you were for. Please clarify your position.”
“Point of clarification, Sir. I would like to ask Mr Chiam whether our country is a sovereign state, in the first place. Secondly, is he inferring that our judges are inferior to other judges within the Commonwealth, for example? And whether the lawyers produced by our NUS are inferior to lawyers in England? If so, then there is no need for us to have the NUS Law Faculty and all of us should do law degrees in Britain. Mr Speaker: Do you wish to respond, Mr Chiam?”
“Sir, I would like to express my support for this Bill. However, I would like to make a comment on clause 13 which relates to section 23 of the principal Act. The Minister earlier said that if there is any reorganization or restructure of a company which is not directly for the purpose of deriving tax benefit, then the tax advantage will be passed on to the new set-up. I would like the Minister to consider putting in an additional word such as, if you were to read from subsection (2A): '(2A) The Minister may, where there is a substantial change in the shareholders of a company and he is satisfied that such change is not ...'. I wonder whether the Minister will consider inserting the word "directly". So that it reads: ' ... such change is not directly for the purpose of deriving any tax benefit ...'. so that the restructuring or reorganization of a company will really benefit from such an amendment. Because any reorganization or restructuring of a company will invariably involve taxation, and somehow for a company that has made a loss whenever there is a restructuring or reorganization of capital or of shareholders of that particular company, it will have an indirect or direct tax effect. I would like the Minister to consider this particular point.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister to consider whether it is possible to postpone the decision of recommending an increase in foreign workers levy and CPF contribution because profitability does not necessarily mean that it equals to cash surplus. BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Speaker, Sir, it is always possible to consider, and it is always possible to postpone. The question is whether it is ever desirable to do so. If the Member listened to my answer very carefully, let me quote the reply, what I said about the foreign workers levy is that: 'The Government will continue to monitor the labour situation closely, but so far it sees no reason not to increase the Levy to $250.' If you read that carefully, it means that it is still under consideration. Similarly with the CPF, the Government has not determined the exact quantum of the CPF increase. It will do so only after the economic results for the first quarter of this year are known and I think by that time we will know whether it is desirable or necessary to postpone the increase. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS Debate on the Address (Fifth Allotted Day) Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [16th January, 1989], 'That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:- "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the First Session of this Parliament.".' [Mr Abdullah Tarmugi]. Question again proposed. 1.18 pm”
“Sir, would the Minister consider allowing the existing foreign workers to take up part-time jobs so as to ease the labour shortage problem?”
“Would the Minister for Labour tell us that since there is virtually full employment in Singapore, why not allow more foreign workers to come to Singapore?”
“The inscription on the stone reads as follows: "Singapore is an immigrant society. We must uphold the value concept that has served us well in safeguarding our survival, security and success." I think this is very inspiring. Mr Speaker, Sir, I think national ideology should be discussed in the context of oriental cultural traditions of our country. I hope the Government will invest its human and financial resources and take concrete steps to work out a moral value system that is relevant to our society and nation. Though we may not be able to transform social tradition overnight, we could look forward to its realisation as long as all of us set our mind on the task.”
“We have to inculcate them from young the oriental cultural tradition and values. I propose that such values be incorporated in the syllabus for mother tongue education. Another suggestion I would like to make is to combine the moral and religious lessons into one so that students will have a better understanding of the religions other than theirs. This will help avoid racial consciousness in the students. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Presidential Address also stresses the development of personal ability to the fullest and helping people to get good jobs. In this regard, I hope the Government would consider allowing young adults with long working experience to join the university. At the moment, the university entry requirement is based on the result of one gets from the combined pre-university examination, irrespective of age. But the requirement varies from year to year. Twenty years ago, for example, a "B" plus an "A" in two major subjects would qualify to study accountancy or business administration in the university. But now, a combination of "A" and "B" in such subjects will no longer be good enough for entry requirement. I would like to urge the Government to allow such adult students to be admitted into the university as "mature students". This of course is to be done without compromising the university standards. Mr Speaker, Sir, mature students have their experience and thoughts to share with other students. Ultimately, their presence will be beneficial to others. To the extent that the Government has achieved "home ownership for the dwellers", I believe the Government could just as well provide opportunity for those who are able to acquire a degree. There is a stone statue at the entrance of the museum on Sentosa island.”
“While we cannot dismiss the importance of English, we should give our mother tongue its rightful place. This is because our mother tongue is like the window for the exploration and learning of one's own culture. I therefore fully agree that children be given mother tongue education. They should be inculcated with good eastern values and cultures through the mother tongue education. These values will thus be programmed like computer in the children and form their basic principles in dealing with society and with problems. I remember when I was in the primary school, I learned in a Chinese textbook a lesson which says: "The elder brother is older and the younger brother is younger. When the elder brother runs, the younger brother also runs. When the elder brother jumps, the younger brother also jumps. "This passage is to illustrate the order or seniority of family members. The moral of this passage is that the older brother being older must look after the younger brother, whereas the younger brother must in return respect the older brother. There is another chapter about an old bird and the young bird. The text reads: "The old bird flies away, the young birds cry. When the old bird flies back the young birds hop." Here it talks about maternal love. There is a picture in the textbook. It is a mother bird with a worm in its beak trying to feed the wide-mounthed birdies in the nest. The moral of this story is that parents are working hard trying to bring up the children; it is therefore the obligation of children to be filial to their parents. In contrast, the word "brother" in English text could mean either elder or younger brother. There is no such precise identification or moral connotation. Our children are the masters of our nation in future.”
“We should also include propriety, filial piety, kindness and love in our national ideology. This will be more meaningful and worth developing. On the other hand, some western-educated youths openly express their unhappiness over the omnipresence and guidance of the Government. They want more independence and personal freedom. There are others who think that our people are over-relying on the Government, lacking initiative and a sense of identity with the country. The grouses and sense of repression among the youngsters should be closely monitored. The Government should take every opportunity to mobilise all civic organisations and all channels of communication to provide forum for younger people to pour out their hearts. This will help to sort out the problems. It will in turn help building a better understanding and communication between the Government and the younger generation. We should try our best to encourage the younger generation to put forward their constructive views and proposals to the Government. Basically, what we want is a society ruled by law. At the same time, we want to emphasise tolerance and harmony, not conflict nor contention. Encourage free competition, but upholding fair play and orderliness. We must not discard our cultural traditions. But at the same time, we are not free from the impact of western culture. Therefore, we must skim the best part of our culture and integrate it with the best in western culture. Mr Speaker, Sir, national ideology, oriental cultural traditions and education are closely intertwined. One of the important policies stressed in the Education Addendum is to ensure that our children master their mother tongue through education in order to preserve their cultures.”
“Meanwhile, people find it increasingly difficult to adjust and keep up with the pace of rapid urbanisation. As a result, Singaporeans may be in danger of losing their cultural roots and history. They will then lose their ballast. Hence, we must focus our attention on the onslaught of westernisation, the loss of cultural tradition and the mess-up in value system. We should make our young people understand that our own culture must take precedence over western culture. We should never allow our culture be replaced by the western's. Of course, every culture has its complex ramifications; at times, it has its internal conflicts and contradictions. However, the fact that our oriental culture has withstood the test of time affirms its useful role in the civilised society. Therefore, in the discussion of national ideology, we have to make an in-depth study of the oriental cultural tradition . Try to trace the history, recover our roots and develop our culture. Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-cultural society. We should build on the rich heritage of various cultures and move with time. The search for cultural tradition is not to embrace all that is in a culture, and least of all the rejection of modernisation. Rather, it is to broaden options from which we can exercise our choice of values. The learning of cultural tradition involves a selective process. But before we exercise our choice, we must have an adequate knowledge of our cultural tradition. We should minimize the onslaught of westernisation as it would unsettle our people. Rather we should promote nationalism and rebuild our oriental cultural tradition. We should instil the spirits of loyalty, integrity, diligence and bravery.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion of Thanks moved by the Member for Siglap. (In Mandarin) Sir, the President in his address has resolved to create an even better life for all. This has indeed taken us a big step forward towards an excellent nation. The achievement in the past 28 years is self-explanatory. Today, our island is dotted with skyscrappers and blessed with good transport system. Our people are enjoying comfortable life. These are the tangible assets of the nation and the people. But the achievement does not come by accident. It is possible because not only do we have an effective and credible government, but also good quality people, people who inherit their traditional cultures. These are our intangible assets. All of us should be proud of the fact that we enjoy stable and prosperous life despite living on a tiny island with no natural resources. Nevertheless, people with a sense of traditional culture have discerned a disturbing trend. There are symptoms of morbid social vogue: our young people do not show adequate concern for the country and take for granted our economic achievements and nation building. These symptoms are closely related to our being an open society and the use of English as the first language in our schools. In fact, they are the manifestation of the westernisation among our youngsters. In the push for industrialisation and modernisation, we have had to emphasise efficiency and ability of the people as the overriding guiding principle. However, the emphasis on efficiency and ability has its undesirable influence on people's mentality. Our people have become more self-centred and pragmatic, but less humane, compassionate and cohesive.”