Chua Teck Chew Robert
Singapore
“Given time, if the economy of Singapore continues to grow rapidly and in the process bring in more and more adverse influence from the western culture, resulting in our people behaving like the westerners whereby the relationship between parents and children is built on legal responsibility and obligations rather than love and compassion,…”
“Sir, the idea of allowing owners of factories to build dormitories for foreign workers is an excellent idea. May I know from the Minister whether the rules concerning usage of factories, ie, the 60:40 ratio and so on have been changed so that factory owners can in fact build dormitories and not violate any of these standing rules?”
“This way the system will not be seen as favouring only the rich and depriving the less rich of ever owning a car. At least, if someone should lose out in the draw, he can attribute his inability to own a car to his lack of good luck and not just blame it all on the Government.”
“For example, Singapore families should be encouraged to try and spend some time in some of the rural areas of our neighbouring countries, perhaps even in the long house of Sarawak, to try and understand that people do live in a different environment.”
“Other possibilities include giving special tax allowance and depreciation benefits to financial institutions to encourage them to finance the machineries and working capital needs of these enterprises which often lack the track record overseas to obtain standard bank loans from the overseas banks.”
“So land cost in Singapore can never be the same as that of other countries which have more land. But we should not try artificially to keep the land cost down, but to ensure that our limited land resources are put to the best possible use.”
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“Sir, would the Minister assure us that he will monitor the prices and if they continue to rise, something will be done to ensure that there will be no spiral?”
“Sir, I presume that the release of more State land for residential buildings will still be done by tender. Would that not push property prices even higher?”
“Given time, if the economy of Singapore continues to grow rapidly and in the process bring in more and more adverse influence from the western culture, resulting in our people behaving like the westerners whereby the relationship between parents and children is built on legal responsibility and obligations rather than love and compassion, then it will be the greatest sorrow and satire to Singapore. At that time, I am sure the leaders of foreign countries will not want to learn from Singapore, for they might as well go and learn direct from the western countries. Then, the term "Learn from Singapore" will become a historical term. This is not something which we would like to see. I suggest the Government set up a Commission to find a solution relevant to our social environment to resolve the problem of our aged citizens.”
“Yet, if the Government is only concerned with creating job opportunities and generating wealth for the people, but neglects the role of inculcating in its people the traditional values of the East, resulting in the number of cases of children failing to maintain their parents escalating year after year, affecting the national economy and increasing the burden of the country, then it will be the Government's fault in failing to educate its people. In any event, the many old people of Singapore had contributed significantly to our present prosperity and success. In the process of our nation building, they worked and toiled for our well-being. Their contributions cannot be denied. As such, looking after them now is the common responsibility of the nation, society and family. It is the duty of the Government and society to resolve the problem of the old people. Only a policy which is capable of fitting into our oriental society can effectively resolve the problem of our aging population. Using a system based on the western concept to deal with problems in our oriental society is no solution to the problems but will only make us a laughing stock. The paramount leader of China, Mr Deng Xiao Ping, urged the political leaders and people of China to learn from Singapore with the hope that the rapid economic reform of China, which has resulted in a better standard of living for its people, will not erode the traditional oriental values of its people which may well result in a total westernisation of its society. Therefore, when Mr Deng Xiao Ping urged the leaders of China to learn from Singapore, I feel this is something which we, as a small nation, ought to be proud of.”
“We should change the thinking of those who believe that it is the heavenly duty for parents to bring up children but who neglect to educate their children on the moral obligations to repay their parents for what they have done for them. The western way of thinking is that since our parents brought us to this world without giving us a choice, it is their obligation to bring us up, and when our turn comes, we will, likewise, have to look after our children. As to whether we should look after our parents in their old age it is another matter altogether. I think that kind of argument is plain individualism and selfishness, which is prevailing in the west. Finally, the Government has the responsibility to look after the abandoned old citizens. I am very glad to hear from the Acting Minister, Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, that the Government will be doing so. As long as it does not adversely affect the economic growth of the country, nor impose too heavily on its financial burden, the Government should shoulder its responsibility to look after the abandoned old people in our society. When the situation develops to a point beyond remedy, it is the responsibility of not only the members of the family, the charitable organisations in society, but also the Government. No doubt, I agree that "bringing up a child without providing him proper guidance is the fault of the father".”
“Faced with all kinds of problems, spiritually and morally, they will eventually become the most desperate lot of people in our society. My second proposal is that we should also consider a higher tax incentive for the maintenance of parents. At the moment, the tax relief for maintenance of parents is only $7,000 per year, out of the children's annual income. The actual tax rebate, in real terms, is a meagre $1,000 to $2,000 only. This is not enough. In Singapore today, the income tax relief for maintenance of parents should be further increased so that our people will understand that the Government is not standing by with folded arms as far as the problem of looking after our older citizens is concerned. Thirdly, as mentioned by a number of speakers before me, we should inculcate in our students, through education, the proper traditional values of the East. In schools, we should actively promote the virtue of filial piety, and sow in the seeds of moral obligations on the part of the children to maintain and look after their parents. On the other hand, we should make use of the mass media, such as newspapers and television, to expose the wrong doings of those unfilial children who refuse to maintain or choose to neglect their parents. The traditional oriental values are more centred on emotional feelings. As we have been arguing, it is whether we should look at the matter with the heart or with the head. In the oriental society, the heart is used more often than the head. The traditional moral values of the East are more emotional than rational. For children to look after their parents is a principle which is unalterable, something which is fair and reasonable.”
“On the other hand, for those children who have not been filial to their parents, their parents will, at least, have the use of the 2% to 4% of their children's CPF contributions amounting to, say, $290, and they can be spared the agony of having to go to court to sue their children for maintenance. I propose that for children who are earning below $3,000 per month, they should pay 2% � 1% for the mother and 1% for the father. For those earning below $6,000, they pay 3%, and those earning more than $10,000 per month shall pay 4%. So, if the parents have two children and one of them earns $1,500 per month, 2% will be $30 per month; another earns $6,500 per month, then multiply it by 4%, it will be $260. Adding the two together, the parents will have $290. Apart from this, we must not forget that we have the $80,000 CPF Minimum Sum Scheme which we have already implemented. Our retirees will have no problem looking after themselves in their old age. As for those irresponsible parents or other non-parents, they can be dealt with by the Ministry of Community Development on a case by case basis, based on their investigation reports on the individual families. In short, in my view, there must be love before there is a family. When there is harmony in the family, everything will be well and good. To the old people, apart from being able to sustain a comfortable living, they also need the genuine care and concern from their children. If they do not have even this minimum love and compassion from their children, and have to go to court to get the little meagre maintenance money to cater for their everyday living, then how can the lives of these old people be meaningful at all?”
“Therefore, if there is a necessity, I would urge the Government to consider making the children use 2% to 4% of their CPF savings to maintain their parents. From the day a person starts working, he should transfer 1% to 2% of his CPF into his father's account and another 1% to 2% into his mother's account, as monthly maintenance for his parents. If necessary, the parents can withdraw some money from their CPF account for their daily expenses or make monthly withdrawals. If the money is not used, or if there is any amount remaining in the parents' accounts, then upon the death of the parents, then whatever amount remaining of the 2% to 4% contributions from the child will be automatically credited back into the original account of the said child. This method will not affect the family ties of the oriental society of Singapore and the parent-children relationship will not become cold and stale, and held on merely as required by law. This will also avoid putting the parents and their children in an antagonistic position. This is in keeping with the present situation of our society and it will radically resolve the problem of the aging population in Singapore. As far as I know, at present, most of our children are filial to their parents. Every month, the amount of money they give to their parents far exceeds 2% to 4% of their CPF contribution. Therefore, using 2% to 4% of the CPF contribution of the children to maintain their parents will not increase the burden of the filial children who are already looking after their parents. For example, if the filial son gives his parents $500 every month, then after deducting 2% to 4% of their CPF contribution which amounts to say, $290, they need only to top up $210 in cash.”
“7 million people in Singapore. This is impossible! Even for the compulsory education of our children, we feel that it is not necessary to go through the trouble of legislation. Then, why are we legislating now just for the sake of a very small minority in our society? The Government has, time and again, stressed that we must enhance the cohesiveness between members of the family so as to enhance our social cohesiveness. The negative effect arising from the introduction of this Bill will run counter to the promotion of the concept of the Government's five core values, making the promotion more difficult. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Bill introduced by Prof. Walter Woon cannot achieve the desired effects in a traditionally oriental society of Singapore. I would like to urge the Government to consider a number of alternative measures to replace this Bill in order to solve the problem of our aging population. If, one day, Singapore becomes a westernised society and we are unable to preserve our traditional oriental cultural values, then I would suggest that the Government consider making use of 2% to 4% of the children's CPF savings for the maintenance of their parents in place of Prof. Walter Woon's Maintenance of Parents Bill. At least, this is more in keeping with the conditions of our society. Children should look after their parents and repay their parents for bringing them up. This is particularly so, because they will, one day, become parents too. There is an old Chinese saying: "The young lamb kneels down when it sucks from its mother's breast, and the crow knows that it has the duty to feed its parents." How can we human beings who are supposed to be civilized not measure up to them!”
“"All right, here's your money," and at the same time give them a scolding. So, on the one hand, you have the reluctant giver and, on the other hand, the parents will have to suffer the humiliation of accepting the money paid in contempt. Now, how can this be in keeping with our traditional society? In such circumstances, would it not be better for them to get the limited allowance from the Ministry of Community Development or the other social charitable organisations? With the little money, feed yourself with plain porridge and salted vegetables. It is better off this way! Now let me talk about the negative effect on the next generation. In a family, when the young children see their own parents paying maintenance money to their grandparents every month at the call of the court order, what kind of impression will they have and what unhealthy education will they receive in the process! This will certainly expedite the move of our Singapore society towards total westernisation, as mentioned by Nominated MP, Mr Robert Chua, just now, and the argument of Prof. Walter Woon will not hold water. The Bill is against the basic concept and philosophy of the Government's five core values. The traditional family values and outlook in life has a very strong influence on the children of Singapore. The feeling of "blood is thicker than water" can be felt everywhere. The industrialisation of Singapore has not weakened our family ties to the extent of having to rely on legislation to resolve the contradiction between parents and children. Yesterday, Prof. Walter Woon said that even if only one person benefits from the law, the legislation would be deemed to be a success. If that is true, then we may have to legislate for the benefit of each and every private matter of all the 2.”
“Then the children will suffer. They do not enjoy the love and the warmth of the family and from their parents. Worse still, some fathers refused to work for a living even in their younger days, yet managed to have many wives and concubines, produced a good number of children, but did not care about them. The children were left to fend for themselves. Then, when such fathers become old and weak, they will use Walter Woon's Maintenance of Parents Bill as a basis to sue their children in court. Although the court may not rule in favour of such fathers, (I believe no court will rule in favour of such fathers), it will be a traumatic experience for the children, who have already suffered so much in life due to their irresponsible fathers, by adding more insult to injury. Why should we allow this to happen? Even if the parents succeed in suing the children, the law will not be able to compensate the parents for the kind of sorrow and misery in their heart after the court has awarded the maintenance to them. Mr Speaker, Sir, the effect of legislating for maintenance of parents is different from legislation against littering. You can legislate against littering to deter the offenders from repeating the offence. But once you have parents suing their children in court, then the contradiction between parents and children will be even greater. They will become more antagonistic. So when they are already on the flimsy family ties, the litigation will make things worse. So even if the court decides in favour of the parents and the children are forced to pay some form of maintenance to their parents, the chances are that they will pay the money reluctantly and at the same time, hurl some abuses at their parents.”
“I do not wish to see the day when Singapore will be like the days of Mao Zedong's cultural revolution with the father suing his children, and the children suing their parents. Everybody is suing everything. The whole country is thrown into a chaotic situation. Secondly, the narrowness of this Bill is unfair to those non-parents who have been looking after the children. The Bill refers only to natural parents, foster parents and step-parents. What about the child whose mother has passed away early and whose father was irresponsible, resulting in the child having to be looked after and brought up by his uncle or other relatives? In a situation like this, how do we deal with it? In the case of both parents having died young, and the eldest brother and the eldest sister have to look after their younger siblings as though they are their father and mother, why are they not covered in the Bill? I bring up these examples not to suggest that we should protect these non-parents, but to stress the strong cohesiveness within an oriental family. This is not something which a family in the western society can understand. Therefore, this Bill will undermine the strength of cohesiveness and mutual-help within our families and lead to the breakdown of this kind of family cohesiveness. People will become more realistic and they will eventually be forced to learn the western ways of life, looking after just their own interest, becoming self-centred, and taking no heed of the welfare and well-being of their nieces, their nephews, and other siblings. The Bill may also be abused by a small group of irresponsible and "thick-skinned" parents. We cannot deny that there are some parents who give birth to their children but do not bring them up properly, nor educate them properly.”
“So if the parents are to sue their children in court, I think it is something that is very shameful. In order to save the face of the family, even though the children do not carry out their moral obligations, they will be most reluctant to sue their children in court. Yesterday morning, I contacted the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore and I was told that although there is a law, there has not been a single case of parents suing their children in Taiwan. This strengthens my argument that people who are steeped in oriental cultures and traditions will not sue their children in court. So, even if the Bill is passed, it will perform practically no function at all, and will lose the meaning of legislation. On the other hand, the western society does not believe in the doctrines such as: "To bring up a child without proper guidance is the fault of the father" or "Wash not your dirty linen in public". For this reason, when the American student, Michael Fay, was given the sentence of caning by the court recently, his father went on prating that he was going to sue the Singapore Government. He does not realize that when his son committed an offence, the fault lay with him because "bringing up a child without proper guidance is the fault of the father". It was his fault, not the fault of the Singapore Government. So, by right, scandals in the family should not be publicised. Yet, he wanted to publicise his own family scandal, far and wide, to ensure that everyone in the world knows his son was sentenced to caning by the Singapore Government. As for the provision in the Bill for a third party to sue on behalf of their parents, I think this will make its implementation even more complicated.”
“Let me give you some examples to show that this Bill is incompatible with the society of Singapore which is steeped in traditional values and I feel that the Bill proposed by Prof. Woon will not solve the problem of the aged. Firstly, as we know, parents do not want to put their children to shame by bringing them to court. We know parents have a heart. They are selfless; most of them are; they are great people, especially those who live in the East. They make sacrifices, save for their children, look after them and bring them up, educate them, love them. As other Members of Parliament have said, "The parents love their children more than they love themselves." There are so many real-life examples that we can see around us. So if you want such parents to sue their children in court to claim maintenance for themselves, it will be very difficult. Let me quote a Chinese saying from the "San Zi Jing": "To bring up a child without proper guidance is the fault of the father. To slacken in teaching is the fault of the teacher ...". This shows that for parents in an oriental society to take their children to court, it will be like announcing to the world that they have failed in the upbringing of their children. So, they are the ones who are at fault. It amounts to openly admitting their own fault. Therefore, it is most unlikely that they will go to court to sue their own children. If the children have failed to maintain their parents, I think the primary fault lies with the parents, just as in the example mentioned by Mr Chandra Das a while ago. The oriental society is different from the western society because, in the mind of the oriental people, dirty linen should not be washed in the public.”
“On the other hand, Singapore has a much smaller population. Our economy is growing fast. Unlike India, the problem of an aging population has not become a serious threat to our economy yet. There is also no need for us to learn from Israel either, because Israel is always in a state of preparedness for war. It has got no foreign investment, its economy is not fully developed. As it is always preparing for war, it has a huge expenditure on national defence. National defence takes up a giant share of their national economy. How can it afford to look after its old people? The situation in Singapore is different from that of Israel. We cannot use Israel as a comparison, neither shall we blindly follow Israel. Furthermore, Singapore's population policy has already evolved from "Stop at Two" to a policy of "have more if you can afford it". We have also the Minimum Sum of $80,000 in the CPF account to cater for old age. So these, to a very large extent, will take care of the maintenance of old people and reduce the burden on the national economy. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am very doubtful about the feasibility of this Bill. If the Bill is passed, will this be able to solve the problem of our people, once and for all? With all its oriental traditions and cultural values, how many parents in Singapore would resort to use the law to sue their children? Even if they succeed in suing their children, how will they feel within their hearts? Will this Bill be fair to those non-parents who have been maintaining and looking after the children? Or, will the Bill be abused by a minority group of irresponsible and thick-skinned parents?”
“The oriental society and the western society are different in cultural origins. In many respects, their values also differ greatly. Will it be feasible or will it be appropriate to our nation of traditional cultural values to implement the Maintenance of Parents Bill from the point of view of a western society? Is it feasible? As a responsible government, an in-depth study should be conducted before any decision is made. We should not follow Taiwan because the Taiwan of today is no longer a society like Singapore which maintains strong traditional values. The present Taiwan is greatly influenced by the west. Its economic reform is going too fast and is following the American footsteps. It is too westernised. Many political leaders of Taiwan are concerned about the problems. They shake their heads in despair and they are beginning to envy Singapore and want to learn from Singapore. Why should our respectable Members of Parliament follow the Taiwan Parliament in legislating this Bill? According to my understanding, Taiwan has the law to provide for the maintenance of parents and this law is very close to the five core values we are promoting. I do not understand why the much respected Parliament of Singapore should want to learn from Taiwan and pass a legislation which is more open. Even today, the people of Mainland China and Taiwan are of the view that Singapore has done much better in maintaining the traditional values and culture than they do. We should not learn from India because the present India is not only very populous, but also its economy has not even taken off. India has not considered this kind of a Bill despite its large population which is also rapidly aging, and the burden on its economy is getting greater and greater, heavier and heavier.”
“Mr Peh Chin Hua (Jalan Besar GRC)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Bill introduced by the Nominated MP, Prof. Walter Woon, is intended to provide a solution to the problem of a fast aging population in Singapore. The Bill also seeks to provide a safety net for old people in Singapore if their children do not shoulder the responsibility of maintaining them, so that the parents can take legal action against their children, if necessary. In other words, Prof. Walter Woon is worried that Singapore may follow the fate of the western countries where there are more and more parents who are neglected by their children, and it may eventually become a social problem and a burden to the economy of Singapore. At the same time, Prof. Walter Woon reflects his pessimism and disappointment with the changing values of the western society. I personally appreciate his intention in introducing this Maintenance of Parents Bill. Mr Speaker, Sir, looking after the old is the responsibility of the nation, the society and the family. There is no doubt about it. But Prof. Woon's key point in solving the problem of the aged in Singapore is his belief, his own belief - I stress - his own belief that Singapore will become a society totally devoid of traditional values, and hence, a completely westernised society. Can this be true? Mr Speaker, Sir, from my analysis of Prof. Woon's past speeches, I realise that his knowledge of traditional and cultural values is very superficial. It is not intensive and somewhat lacking. In fact, in certain areas, he seems to have no understanding at all. Therefore, when he introduced this Bill, he did not consider the factors of our traditional and cultural values. As a matter of fact, he drafted this Bill using the western values as his basis.”
“The chances are that he is partly or wholly to blame for such neglect by his children. But whatever it is, it does not absolve the children from their responsibility to maintain their parents. Once again, the Bible does say, "If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have?" My concern about this Bill actually is that we already have the CPF providing a safety net for our working parents when they retire. On withdrawing his or her CPF, currently, without this Bill, the parent knows that he has to be very careful and prudent in spending this saving and will not spend it unwisely. However, if the parent knows now that he has well-to-do children and can fall back on them as a second safety net to provide for him should he imprudently waste away his CPF, then the parent might unwisely or rashly invest in some speculative stocks or other things resulting in irrecoverable losses. That is my concern. I also would like to say that the Bill provides for payment in a lump sum or monthly payment. I do not agree that an applicant should ever be given a lump sum. If the Bill is ever passed, I would like to see that the applicant be given a monthly payment. This is to prevent him from being tempted to spend away a large sum of money or invest it unwisely or to fall prey to some others who are helping him to apply and recover this amount from his children and then taking part of it away from him. I wonder if the timing is right. I believe that our society has not reached a stage actually for this Bill to be really needed. But, as I have said, so what if the Bill is there and is not used. Will it do any harm? I do not think so. I would like to see the Bill sent to a Select Committee and amendments made before I would fully support it.”
“The point is that even though they have such a Commandment, they make sure that it is part of the modern laws of Israel to remind the children of this very, very important responsibility. In their case, it is a God-given Commandment. The Bible also gives wise exhortations and proverbs to listen to your father who gave you life and do not despise your mother when she is old. Filial piety is really paramount and the most important element for strengthening society's moral fibres. I had problem trying to decide whether to accept or to reject this Bill. But assuming that the Bill is passed, does it do any harm? Some said yes. It shows that our society is decaying. Is it true? The Bill on its own does not show that our society is decaying. But the subsequent usage of it will be a good indication whether our society is indeed heading for trouble and whether our moral fibres have been weakened. If its usage in court, or in a family court, as suggested by some others, becomes very popular, meaning more parents are suing their children for maintenance, then we should be very concerned that we are losing strength in our moral fibre. But what does it mean? To most people, this Bill would not do anything to you or to us if we are already maintaining our parents. But for those who have chosen to neglect their parents, they are served notice that they have to play their role in our society. Sir, I agree with Mr Chandra Das in one of the points he made, that when a parent has to resort to suing his children for maintenance, he should take a closer look at what he himself has done in bringing up his children. Somewhere along the way he must have made some mistakes in bringing up his children so as to cause them to ignore him or his needs.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to join in this debate. I once heard a story about a very poor man and his wife, and he had an aged father and a son. The father was old and useless and he could not contribute to the family. The man was so poor and he felt he could not feed his father any more. So he discussed with his wife and decided to put his father in a basket and, in the tradition of his tribe, he was going to take him up to the mountain and to leave him there to die. Just as he was about to do that, his little son came along and said, "Father, what are you doing with grandfather?" He said, "Well, my son, your grandfather is old and useless and we cannot afford to feed him. I am going to take him up to the mountain and leave him there to die." The little boy said, "Father, can I come along?" "Why do you want to come along, son?" The little boy said, "Father, I want to know where you are leaving grandfather so that when you are old and useless, I will know where to leave you to die." Some say it is retribution. But how we treat our parents our children are around to see and perhaps that is how they will treat us. If we take care of them, I am sure our children will take care of us. There is no guarantee, but it is our responsibility to take care of our parents. Some have mentioned about the strength of the Jewish people in honouring their father and their mother. When Moses was given the 10 Commandments, according to the Bible, the Fifth Commandment said, "Honour your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you." They have not forgotten this Commandment, though it was given more than 4,000 years ago to Moses on Mount Sinai.”
“Sir, the idea of allowing owners of factories to build dormitories for foreign workers is an excellent idea. May I know from the Minister whether the rules concerning usage of factories, ie, the 60:40 ratio and so on have been changed so that factory owners can in fact build dormitories and not violate any of these standing rules?”
“I just want an assurance from the Minister that we do not just consider inflation but the interests of manufacturers and exporters are taken seriously in the management of the currency.”
“Sir, does the Ministry or the Government take into consideration the hardship being faced by businesses caused by the rapidly rising dollar and what measures is the Government taking to make sure that they will still survive against such a background?”
“But I suggest that this be looked into because that is one way of comparing with and without the lifting of the ALS on Saturday afternoons, otherwise you only get one picture.”
“In the meantime, Sir, would the Minister consider giving it a trial run of, say, two months, by lifting the ALS after 10.15 am on Saturdays?”
“This way the system will not be seen as favouring only the rich and depriving the less rich of ever owning a car. At least, if someone should lose out in the draw, he can attribute his inability to own a car to his lack of good luck and not just blame it all on the Government. Such a system will also help to dispel any notion that Government policies are always aimed at boosting its coffers without tendering any loving care for the individual.”
“We should be a tender loving and caring people but we should guard against becoming a tendering society where everything must be tendered for. The argument for tendering or bidding has always been that it is a fair means of allocating scarce resources and the tender prices represent their true market values. Tendering also means that if you say you need it more than the other guy, be prepared to pay more for it. There is some truth in all these arguments but we should understand the different impacts such a system can have on business and on the individual. High tender prices increase business costs which are usually passed on to the consumers as price increases. However, the tender system is regressive when applied to the individuals because the rich is affected to a lesser degree than the less rich by higher tender prices. In other words, the rich will always be able to afford a car whatever its COE price and regardless of whether he needs it or not. But the average person who may genuinely need the car for his work, or profession, cannot justify his need just because he cannot afford it. To say that if you need it, you must be prepared to pay for it is too simplistic and ignores the regressive nature of the tender system. I suggest that the Government should review its transportation policies and, for that matter, all other Government policies, which propagate the use of tender as the only means of allocating limited resources, whether it is for COEs or land. I suggest for the Minister's consideration that some portion of the COEs, or any other limited resources, may be allocated at a lower fixed price by balloting or the luck of the draw. The rest of the COEs can be tendered out as before.”
“Sir, Singaporeans who have travelled abroad to other major cities in the region often recount their horrific experiences of being choked for hours in the seemingly endless traffic congestions of those cities. Driving in those cities is a nightmare and I doubt our countrymen would like to own a car to get around those cities. So it is always a pleasure to return to our clean and green city state where our roads are also free from congestion. I commend the Government, especially the Ministry of Communications, for its ability to keep our roads congestion-free. However, because traffic is smooth and the road network is excellent, the Singaporean's dream is to experience the thrills of driving his own car along the free flowing highways and by-ways. I guess the Minister for Communications shares this dream with all Singaporeans, provided it remains a dream. It is when everybody wants to turn his dream into reality that the Minister's dream turns into a nightmare. On the other hand, this nightmare has somehow turned into a sweet dream for the Minister for Finance, who must be laughing all the way to the Treasury to consolidate the billions of dollars collected from COEs and other vehicle-related taxes. Singapore is already a 'fine' city. Fined for this and fined for that. We are told, and most people accept, that such fines are necessary to create a disciplined society and a clean and relatively crime-free environment. But now, Singaporeans are also told to tender. Not tender loving care, but tender for this and tender for that. Tender for telephone numbers, tender for car registration numbers, tender for residential land and, of course, tender for the unpopular COEs.”
“Sir, before I begin, may I refer to Mr Othman's suggestion on the employer education account. I would like to suggest that this matter be deliberated by the National Wages Council where Government, unions and employers are represented. Sir, the economy grew at 9.9% last year and the manufacturing sector posted a 9.8% gain over 1992. Businessmen are concerned that such growth will once again demand more workers and consequently the labour market will tighten further and increase labour costs. Companies' growth potential will then depend on the availability of workers and they may have to look for more foreign workers to meet their expansion programmes. Firstly, will the Minister please inform Members of the House whether his Ministry intends to revise the foreign worker policy? And, if so, can his Ministry give the private sector advance notice of any proposed changes so as to facilitate the formulation of corporate strategies? Such information will enable the Singapore companies to plan their expansion or investment projects and help them decide whether to locate such projects locally or overseas. Secondly, whether the Minister is prepared to liberalise the waiver of the foreign workers' levy for those companies which have invested overseas and plan to bring their foreign workers to Singapore for training for a period of up to six months or more. Presently, the number of foreign workers a company can bring back for training is limited to 10% of the company's local workforce. This is too restrictive and not practical as companies investing overseas quite often also try to minimize their workforce in Singapore. Will the Minister consider increasing this 10% limit and adopting a more flexible and pragmatic approach to helping the companies overcome this problem?”
“And that is why the TDB in 1991 established the Brands Development Assistance Scheme (BRANDAS) to provide financial assistance on a cost-sharing basis to help companies develop and launch new Singapore brands. To-date, a total of almost $120,000 has been granted under this scheme. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked quite a few questions. I am not sure whether I have got all of them. He has asked whether the funds set aside for local enterprises are adequate. Sir, the funds set aside, we feel, will be adequate. But in any case, the commitments normally are committed in one year and paid out over several years. So we will have some reserves left over from previous years as well, should there be a surge this year. So the funding should be adequate. On the question of whether we have any bad debts, the funding is not done through EDB directly. The funding is actually provided by the banks, and EDB would then provide the funds to the banks to be in turn loaned out to those companies. If there are any bad debts, the bad debts will be between the banks and the borrower except that EDB shares the burden of bad debts for the first $3 million of the loan per company. So I am not aware of whether the banks have encountered any bad debts so far. How does EDB assess the applications? Sir, the applications are assessed basically by the lending or participating financial institutions. They will assess the applications of the company and normally these applications will be for the purchase of equipment or factory buildings, and they will lend up to 90% of the cost of the assets. So, in a sense, those are quite well secured. He has asked - I do not know whether I got him correctly - whether local companies have overlooked the regional opportunities that are available. Is that right?”
“Sir, I will keep my speech short. Will the Government consider setting up the following as part of the regionalisation assistance programmes: (1) To establish more high level joint business committees or councils on a bilateral basis comprising senior representatives from the governments and private sectors of both countries selected for these committees. (2) To provide direct Government grants to leading business groups to set up trade and investment offices in key cities of countries targeted for our investments. These offices could complement existing MFA, TDB and EDB offices. (3) To negotiate with foreign governments to allow our banks and financial institutions to set up branch offices in key cities to help our businesses with financial advice and services and to fund their investments. (4) To provide substantial funding to set up a Regionalisation Information Centre in Singaproe to give businessmen a comprehensive range of information to facilitate their ventures overseas. This could be a joint project between the MFA, TDB, EDB and leading business groups and chambers; and (5) To establish and support more Country Investors Clubs locally and overseas. Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, Mr Chia Shi Teck said that the playing field is supposed to be level, but really the system favours the big boys. The system does not favour anybody in particular. It is up to the individual company to present its goods and to compete. And there are some small companies which have done very well, Creative Technology, for example. Even Mr Chia's own company has done very well. But I agree with him that the investments needed to establish new brands can be quite substantial.”
“Sir, last year, Singapore attracted $3.8 billion in investments, while many of the other regional countries saw a drastic drop in their investments. No doubt, some of them are unable to match the strong magnetic force drawing investors into the booming economy of the PRC. We can expect more such forces to emerge from Vietnam and India as they too turn on their powerful magnets to attract investors into their new but potentially large consumer markets. I wish to pay tribute to our farsighted Government for levelling up our capabilities through the constant upgrading of our infrastructure and enhancement of the skills of our workers and the quality of our financial and telecommunication centres and our airport and seaport. As reported by BERI, we have emerged as number one in most of the categories of their competitiveness report. But let us not rest on our laurels and say that we have arrived. Whenever I led business missions around the region and met politicians, officials and businessmen of the various countries, I could sense that while they envied the progress we had made, they felt that over time they could emulate our model and success and even surpass us. The only way we can remain internationally competitive is to keep improving our systems and the quality and productivity of our manpower, removing all obstacles to progress and taking nothing for granted, constantly challenging what exists with a firm belief that it can be made even better. May I ask the Minister to spell out the Government's strategy and latest programmes to keep Singapore's manufacturing sector internationally competitive?”
“Other possibilities include giving special tax allowance and depreciation benefits to financial institutions to encourage them to finance the machineries and working capital needs of these enterprises which often lack the track record overseas to obtain standard bank loans from the overseas banks. Another possibility is for the Government to give special grants to business associations and chambers to set up overseas offices in the region to promote networking and joint ventures and at the same time provide vital information, useful contacts and other services to these local enterprises venturing into those countries. These business group officers could work hand-in-hand with other Government agencies such as the TDB and EDB to complement their official and business networks overseas.”
“Sir, in the last two years, the Government has given a series of tax and other incentives to encourage and help companies to venture abroad and build an external wing to our economy. I wish to take this opportunity to commend and thank the Finance Minister and his Government colleagues and the various Government agencies for initiating such incentives. The EDB and TDB, along with other Government departments and statutory boards, have been actively promoting a host of assistance programmes. Businessmen planning to venture abroad would do well to familiarise themselves with these programmes before taking their first flight out of Singapore to explore the region. However, I observe that most of the incentives tend to benefit the larger companies more than they do the small and medium-sized enterprises, which usually do not have the organisational capability or financial muscles to venture abroad on their own. However, to survive the enormous competition from their competitors in the less developed and lower cost economies, sooner or later, our SMEs will be forced to look at re-distributing their operations into the region to reduce their operating cost and exploit the fast growing and large potential markets. I urge the Minister for Finance to lead the Government agencies and work with the various business groups to formulate some special incentives and assistance programmes to help these small and medium-sized enterprises meet the challenges and exploit the business opportunities in the region. Earlier, I have suggested the setting up of a development bank for financing such local enterprises.”
“For example, Singapore families should be encouraged to try and spend some time in some of the rural areas of our neighbouring countries, perhaps even in the long house of Sarawak, to try and understand that people do live in a different environment. In exchange, we should invite some of the rural people to maybe stay in our HDB flats or condominiums or even bungalows here in a city state. This way, we will get to understand each other better. Another idea mooted is to build a youth camp in one of the neighbouring countries where the young people of different countries in the region can come together and we should promote recreational and sports activities or even seminars and workshops. I urge the Government to take the lead in formulating more concrete programmes to further strengthen our existing ties with the regional countries. I hope the Minister will enumerate some of the Government-initiated programmes for achieving such cohesion and networking with our neighbours at all strata of society.”
“Sir, the Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, and Senior Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, supported by their Cabinet colleagues, have devoted a great deal of their time to strengthening their ties with the political leaders of the region. In addition, they have been actively involved in promoting Singapore's regionalisation programmes by personally leading several official and business missions to the regional countries, including China, Vietnam, India and the other ASEAN countries. Having enjoyed the privilege of accompanying them on some of their missions as a businessman, I strongly feel that Singaporeans should feel proud of and be grateful for their leadership. Although ours is a small nation, our leaders have been accorded the highest honour by the leaders and people of many other nations. As a nation, we should continue to develop our ties with all the regional countries at all levels of society, from the President, Prime Minister, Senior Minister, right through to the ordinary citizens of our country. We should encourage our people to interact more with their counterparts in the region, whether they are politicians, civil servants, businessmen, professionals, sportsmen, artistes, union leaders, students or youths, through exchange programmes, seminars, workshops and other sports and recreational activities. Such interaction will go a long way towards fostering better understanding, tolerance and cooperation with our neighbours for peaceful and friendly development of our society. I would like to give two examples of what we may be able to do, ideas which were mooted recently. One is an exchange programme. We should try and encourage more exchanges even at the family and youth level.”
“Sir, as our economy expands, even with the long-term target rate of 4-6% per annum, Singapore will still need more professionals than we can produce domestically from our own limited population growth. In the meantime, companies will need more managers, engineers, scientists, accountants, legal officers, human resource managers and so on to meet their expansion needs, both locally and in their overseas ventures. While we should continue to produce more professionals locally, we should not ignore the potential pool of such talents which is available in our region and beyond. I hope that the Government will formulate some pro-active policies to promote the selective immigration of foreign professionals to supplement our limited pool of such manpower so that our future economic growth, including the building of an external wing, will not be dampened by the shortage of such manpower. Ideally, such talented professionals, if found suitable, should be encouraged to sink their roots in Singapore and thereby add to our total capability. My question is: is the Government reviewing its policies to allow more foreign professionals to obtain permanent residence status and eventually citizenship in Singapore?”
“So land cost in Singapore can never be the same as that of other countries which have more land. But we should not try artificially to keep the land cost down, but to ensure that our limited land resources are put to the best possible use. Moreover, being competitive is not just a matter of containing the land cost per se, because we have to consider other factors such as efficiency, adequacy and quality of the infrastructure, political climate and consistency of Government policies. In the case of manufacturing, I understand the land cost constitutes only about 7.7% of the total manufacturer's cost. As long as we can ensure that we have adequate and efficient infrastructures that meet the needs of our industries and give our investors value for their money, for what they invest here, we will not be in danger of losing our competitive edge in manufacturing because of higher cost, such as land cost. But in any case, I have taken note of his point and we will keep this under review.”
“If it is the objective of trying to save the marriage, of reconciliation and settlement, then one has to ask a fairly important question as to whether the courts are the best place to achieve this objective. Because our judicial processes are heavily flavoured with the adversarial system. We may have to consider whether other avenues should be explored outside the court system which can focus on these objectives of conciliation, mediation, advice. I intend to discuss this with my colleague, the Minister for Community Development. Nobody can quarrel with the objectives, but we have to see where the solution to this matter should be reposed, whether it is in the courts or outside the courts. Mr Robert Chua's question on pricing of industrial land - let me first say that my Ministry of course will discuss this with other agencies, like JTC. But for now, let me say that the valuation of land of course is based on what the land's worth is if transacted in the open market on a freehold and tenure basis, taking into account naturally parameters such as location of site, land area, land use, intensity, development. Industrial land value is determined from analysis of market evidence of private transactions or public tender of industrial lands. Necessary adjustments are then made based on these parameters to arrive at the market value of state lands which have been valued. Since valuation of state land for industrial development is based on transaction of private lands, it will of course tend to follow the market trend of industrial lands. True, he mentioned other countries - compared to other ASEAN neighbours or China or Vietnam, our industrial land cost is higher because of the scarcity of land in Singapore.”
“These questions really ought to be left to the Chief Justice to decide because he is in the best position to know how best the Judiciary's resources can be used and whether we have reached the stage where we can establish such specialist courts. The Chief Justice has been consulted and he is of the view that all disputes relating to family matters, family life, which are envisaged for the proposed family court, are already dealt with quite satisfactorily by the several courts within the existing judicial system. But while there may be some merits in the idea, the present resources which are available to the Chief Justice simply do not enable him to establish such a specialised court at the moment. We have to bear in mind that it involves having to set up a separate establishment with special staff, interpreters and so on for such a specialist court. Moreover, you have to get at least two Judges or Judicial Commissioners who are prepared on a daily basis to hear nothing else but matrimonial cases. I would add that if and when the time comes for setting up a specialist court, the Chief Justice will have to consider carefully what the priority is. As I have said, should it be a commercial court or some other courts? Finally, I think it is important also to be clear about our objectives for the family court. I have listened carefully to what Dr Soin mentioned. She laid emphasis, quite correctly, on the objective of mending marriages, emphasis on reconciliation, encouragement of settlement. Of course, all these are to prevent the end result, that is, a break-up of marriage. She also mentioned about coping with stress.”
“Secondly, we will also introduce during the course of the year legislation on bankruptcy, which I think is overdue. I would like to say that we are also asking the Attorney-General's Chambers to consider the adoption of some important international codes and conventions which will be important for Singapore's commercial centre, for example, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Laws model for international commercial arbitration as well as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for International Sale of Goods. I forgot to add, Sir, that when you talk about the law, the legal profession, I think, also has a role in educating the ordinary people on what to them appears to be the mystery of the law. To many ordinary men-in-the-street, law is a rather frightening and awesome set of rules and they do not know where to begin. And, therefore, I commended the Law Society for their recent efforts in organising the law awareness exhibition. If I may turn to Dr Kanwaljit Soin's question on the family court. I have listened to her arguments and I also must mention that the Minister for Community Development has raised a similar point with me. I would first start off by saying that this is actually a matter which concerns the administration of the courts. The first question is: should there be specialised or specialist courts? The second question is: do existing resources enable the establishment of such specialist courts? And the third question is: if, yes, we have the resources, then what are the priorities? Is it the priority to establish a family court, a commercial court or a juvenile court, and so on?”
“The court system has been revamped, waiting time for hearing cases has been reduced, backlog of cases considerably cleared and, overall, there is improved efficiency, productivity and avoidance of delay in administration of justice. 3.00 pm The Government on its part provides the necessary infrastructure, the building of the courts, facilitating the appointment of Judges and Judicial Commissioners. It has introduced legislation for the restructuring of the courts, permanent Court of Appeal, abolition of appeals to Privy Council and has introduced far-reaching legal reforms such as the Application of English Law Act and also restructuring the basic structure of the legal profession so that it will ensure that there is no over-supply and there is a high quality. Next, the legal profession itself has a part to play. They have to upgrade their skills to meet the new challenges. I also think that we should join hands with the business sector in our efforts at regionalisation. And I am very glad to know from the President of the Law Society that more and more law firms are making trips and visits to countries in the region, either tying up with law firms there or establishing offices there. The Government on its part has encouraged this and the Ministry of Law and the Attorney-General's Chambers have authorised the establishment of joint-venture firms between foreign offshore law firms and Singapore law firms. In terms of law reforms for the coming year, as the Member noted, most of these major law reform legislation has been taken through last year. But for this year, we have two major items of law reform. One is the Patents Bill which has just been introduced which will make significant reforms into our system of registration of patents.”
“Ho Peng Kee, will respond briefly. First, Dr Arthur Beng's points about Singapore being a centre for legal excellence and on law reforms. When we talk about Singapore being a centre for legal excellence, they can mean several things. It can mean, within Singapore, enhancing the quality of legal services to both Singaporeans as well as to others, investors, multi-nationals, and so on, who operate within our legal system. Of course, that is very important because a sound legal system is part of the infrastructure to encourage economic and commercial development. Excellence in terms of legal facilities also entails Singapore developing competence and skills in the area of international law, international business transactions, regional law, so that as we develop as a regional, financial and shipping centre, and as others from outside the region will want to come to Singapore and use our services, our legal services will also not be found wanting. In terms of our effort at regionalisation where many other foreign law firms are venturing into China, Indo-chinese countries, Singapore law firms should also not lose out. So in that sense of developing Singapore as a centre for legal excellence, whose role is it? Dr Arthur Beng asks what Government would do. The Government has a part to play, the Judiciary has a part to play, and the legal profession has a part to play. So the three components have to come together to perform their roles. I think we are familiar with the courts. The courts have achieved an enormous success in streamlining the judicial system and administration of justice.”
“Sir, land prices affect the cost and competitiveness of all industries and high industrial land prices put export industries at a great disadvantage as they have to compete against foreign manufacturers worldwide, many of whom are already blessed with abundant and cheaper land. For example, a Singapore manufacturer operating on one hectare or 10,000 square metres of JTC industrial land in the Kallang Basin Industrial Estate has to pay S$670,000 in land rental per year with an annual increment of 7.6%. For a 60-year lease, if we use the same discount factor of 7.6%, he will have to pay a net present value of $670,000 times 60, or $40,200,000 for the total cost of using the land over the next 60 years. On the other hand, his competitor in Johor occupying the same area of one hectare of industrial land in a Johor industrial estate only has to make a one-time payment of about 1.2 million ringgit or roughly $700,000 to use the land for the next 60 years. This means that the Singapore manufacturer must pay almost 60 times more than his Johor competitor for land rental. Singapore is short of land, so manufacturers are expected to compete against other land users to lease land at market rate. They are finding it increasingly more difficult to pay the initial high land rental followed by an annual escalation rate of 7.6% and still remain internationally competitive and earn a fair return on their investments. Sir, my question is: how does the Government price state land for industrial use so as to ensure that our manufacturers will not lose their international competitiveness as a result of excessively high land prices? Prof. S. Jayakumar: Sir, I will respond to all those who have spoken except for Mr Koo Tsai Kee whose point about parallel import my colleague, Assoc. Prof.”
“I hope therefore that the Minister will study my proposals and respond positively with at least some hongbaos for the businessmen to keep them smiling until the next Budget. I support the Finance Minister's motion.”
“This way, older folks who have been living in their old but now much more valuable property will not be unduly burdened to pay such income taxes on the notional rental income or be forced to sell their properties in order to pay such enormous taxes. To grow, sooner or later, our small and medium enterprises or local enterprises must venture overseas. However, they soon find themselves facing enormous challenges and obstacles. A major problem is the lack of funds for financing such ventures as local banks are not too sure about how to secure their loans while overseas host banks are not familiar with our companies and will therefore hesitate to support them. I propose that the Government look into forming a joint venture with the local banks and business groups to set up a bank or financial institution to help our businessmen, especially those running SMEs to finance their overseas ventures. The involvement of business groups will help the proposed financial institution assess the viability of and the risks involved in each project. The good news is that the economy grew by 9.9% in 1993 and the manufacturing sector, the health of which indicates our international competitiveness, grew by 9.8%. The bad news is costs might escalate as a result of the tight labour market, the GST implementation and other cost increases. I urge the Government to freeze or moderate any fee or cost increases so as not to precipitate any price spiral which will damage our international competitiveness. The Finance Minister in many ways has been generous to the people with his tax cuts. On the other hand, businessmen felt let down when they found very little for them in the hongbao Budget.”
“I hope that the Minister will accelerate the process to lower this rate to 12%. However, many people feel that this reduction is academic as they have received hefty upward revision by the IRAS of about 30% to 60% of the annual value of their properties, resulting in enormous increases in the absolute property tax paid. The worst hit are owners of owner-occupied industrial properties who feel that such property tax increases would only add to their operating costs and reduce their international competitiveness without adding any tangible value to their current business operation. I wish to appeal to the Finance Minister to give a special concessionary property tax rate of 4% for owner-occupied industrial properties, similar to that accorded to owner-occupied residential properties. Already, our manufacturers are paying much more for their industrial properties and land or factory rentals compared to their competitors in the region, and such large upward revision of annual values and property taxes will seriously erode their international competitiveness and threaten their survival. On the subject of annual value, with residential property value escalating in the past few years, owners of older owner-occupied properties are also facing large upward revision of their annual value. Many who used to pay no personal income tax on rental income for owner-occupied properties because of the exemption from income tax for such properties with an annual value of less than $75,000, suddenly found their old owner-occupied property had been revalued to more than $75,000 and are now therefore subjected to income tax. I hope that the Finance Minister will grant a blanket exemption from income tax for the first owner-occupied residential property regardless of its annual value.”
“Whenever an employee attends an SDF approved course to upgrade his knowledge or skills, an amount equivalent to the course fee paid by the SDF would be transferred from his Employee Education Account to the credit of his CPF Ordinary Account. For example, if he attends a course and the SDF gives a subsidy of $200, he will then receive a transfer of $200 from his Employee Education Account into his CPF Ordinary Account. However, if at the end of a two-year accounting period, the employee did not attend sufficient approved training courses to warrant transferring all of his two-year cumulative balance from his Employee Education Account to his CPF Ordinary Account, the remaining balance in his Education Account will be transferred to the SDF so that it can be used or recycled for training other workers. This way, it is hoped that the employee could see that 1% of his wages will be credited to his CPF Ordinary Account provided he has used the SDF of the same amount to put him through SDF-approved courses, preferably sponsored by his employer. I hope that the Government, trade unions and employers will take a closer look at this proposal. The ultimate objective is to produce a better educated and highly skilled workforce through the use of SDF and such incentives. Singaporeans should be grateful to the Finance Minister for his generous tax rebates, rebates on service and conservancy and rental charges. The tax changes to encourage Singaporeans to venture overseas are timely and will help companies in persuading their employees to take up overseas assignments to ensure the success of our regionalisation efforts. Mr Speaker, Sir, the reduction in property tax rate from 16% to 15% is a most welcomed move.”
“5%, I appeal to the Finance Minister to bring our corporate tax rate down to 25% from the Year of Assessment 1995 or, alternatively, give a one-off 5% tax rebate for corporate tax for the Year of Assessment 1994, as it is being done for personal income tax, both as a way of rewarding the businessmen for their hard work and enterprising spirit which help to strengthen our economy in the face of tough international competition and also as a means to help them build up their reserves to enable them to venture overseas. Businessmen would have preferred a more gradual restoration of the employer's CPF contribution rate to 20% to keep their Relative Unit Labour Cost internationally competitive. But it seems like they will have to bear with such cost increases and look forward to other means of improving their productivity. In this respect, I wish to propose a new scheme to encourage more employees to upgrade their knowledge and skills through continuing education and skills training. Quite often, employers have expressed concern that owing to the tight labour market situation, they face great difficulty in persuading their employees, especially the more mature workers, to attend courses to upgrade their knowledge and skills. Under my proposed scheme, which I shall name the Employee Education Account Scheme, instead of paying the full 1.5 percentage point increase in employer's CPF contribution into the employee's CPF Ordinary Account, pay only 0.5 percentage point into this account. The other one percentage point of the additional 1.5 percentage point of the employer's CPF contribution should be paid into a special Employee Education Account in the employee's CPF account.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Finance Minister, Dr Hu, in his hongbao Budget, handed out plenty of goodies for the individual: rebates on income tax, rebates on S&C and rental charges, Share Ownership Top-up Scheme, etc. Dr Hu, Singaporeans love you for your generosity and recognition of their hard work. However, the businessman must feel like the child waiting expectantly at the end of the line to receive his hongbao, but when Uncle Richard reaches him and runs out of red packets to give him, he is understandably disappointed and upset. Although Uncle Richard keeps reminding him that he had already given him a large hongbao last year, he is still waiting and hoping for Uncle Richard to give him something from this year's hongbao Budget. To add to his disappointment, the businessman was given a few new bills to pay, such as the 1.5 percentage point adjustment to the employer's CPF contribution rate and the revision of the ceiling for the Skills Development Levy from $750 to $1,000, and all these are on top of the GST compliance costs. But businessmen are not ingrates and, on their behalf, I wish to thank the Finance Minister for lowering the corporate tax rate from 30% to 27% for the Year of Assessment 1994. However, in view of the recent reduction of the Hong Kong corporate tax rate by one percentage point from 17.5% to 16.”