Edward Chia Bing Hui
Singapore
“So, I therefore call on the Government to develop a transport jobs and skills roadmap, aligned with our future transport strategy, to identify emerging jobs, the skills required and the training pathways to help Singaporeans seize these opportunities.”
“Thank you, Speaker. The Senior Minister of State also pointed out that at some point Singapore will have a land constraint and looking at the constraints, we, therefore, need to look at maximising the available EV charging infrastructures and, therefore, utilisation rate.”
“Sir, this Bill is a strong step forward. Its success will depend on building credible, liquid instruments that are fully integrated into Singapore's capital markets ecosystem. With continued focus on adaptability, ecosystem strength and investor clarity, Singapore can realise the full potential of this framework.”
“Sir, I have three supplementary questions. First of all, frontier models require a significant amount of compute and are likely to be concentrated among well-resourced organisations, leading to concerns about accessibility and uneven capabilities.”
“Question No 5, Sir. The Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information (Mr Tan Kiat How) (for the Minister for Digital Development and Information): Mr Speaker, Sir, my response will cover the questions raised by Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Edward Chia in today's Order Paper.”
“Could the Minister clarify the criteria and safeguards for granting such waivers, and how consistency will be ensured? It would be important to avoid unintended circumvention or uneven application across businesses. Finally, on transition and unintended behaviours. I note that there will be a transition period before full implementation.”
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“We need to preserve critical capabilities so that we can emerge stronger. Hence, I hope the Government can consider my three recommendations: one, to add an additional criteria for rental relief to support more businesses in need; two, to extend moratoriums for Temporary Bridging Loan and review loan eligibility criteria; and, three, to accelerate the disbursement of JSS and tweak the tiered criteria tied to SSIC so that these measures are more timely and targeted in helping our businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding my recommendations, I support the Bill.”
“In addition, being classified as Tier 3 also meant that they will not receive loan moratorium extensions. The core events industry is intertwined with inbound corporate and leisure travel. Each phase of dining-in restriction affects the confidence of event clients and leading to eventual cancellations. The continued cap on weddings guest size and suspension of social and community events have also meant lower revenue for event-related companies. While there are “pilots” for events to take place, the capacity cap makes them commercially not viable. Those who have pivoted to digital formats have found that the revenue is unable to support existing costs and borrowings incurred prior to COVID-19. With high overheads and borrowing costs, event business owners had to bear continued losses and exhaust their own savings to preserve their business to retain capabilities built over many years. Therefore, I would like to ask that we review the support mechanism for the wider events industry ecosystem to preserve capabilities that are much needed to maintain Singapore as a business hub. I would like to request the relevant Ministries and Statutory Boards to undertake deeper engagements with companies to reassess if current SSIC classifications are still relevant and need to be updated. This allows us to be more targeted in supporting our companies now and in the future. Mdm Deputy Speaker, as Singapore continues to progress while battling this pandemic, support grants and financing measures are essential and beneficial to Singaporeans. We must continue to hear the voices of Singaporeans from different industries and ensure that no one, no one, is left behind. Targeted and equitable support that is commensurate with the impact specific businesses face is necessary.”
“In addition to this recommendation, this is a good time to review the criteria to obtain a Temporary Bridging Loan, specifically, the need for preceding bank statements in applying for a Temporary Bridging Loan. Unlike last year in 2020, when such a criterion could have shown how well the company was in 2019, its relevance now is clearly a problem because the preceding year was the ultra-difficult 2020. A review of such criteria could well be needed to help our companies get through 2021. My third suggestion is to further finetune the disbursement and criteria of JSS. After close to one and a half years of battling COVID-19, many businesses are facing low cash reserves. Through my conversations with several businesses, they hope for an earlier and quicker disbursement of JSS to aid their cashflow issues. To quote one business owner, "We need water to arrive earlier to fight this fire." Some businesses have also shared with me how the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) categorisation of their businesses has a clear impact on the support measures they receive. Some businesses shared that due to their SSIC codes, they have fallen through the cracks. At this juncture, allow me to highlight some of the concerns from businesses within the events industry, concerns that are consistent with what the hon Member Liang Eng Hwa shared earlier. Those whose businesses include audio-visual, staging and backdrop, event landscaping, event design, event logistics, booth carpentry, artiste management and so on are currently categorised as Tier 3 in the SSIC code structure. This means they qualify for lower support measures, compared to those in the F&B, hotels and MICE industries when their work is highly integrated with them.”
“This Supply Bill has differentiated rent relief for companies solely based on revenue, which may not be sufficient to assess a company's ability to withstand long-drawn challenges like the one we are going through now. My suggestion is that we consider adding the criteria of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for companies in industries that operate with low margins. I am aware that this would add additional administrative requirements but this would differentiate critical companies who need help from those who enjoy better margins because of the nature of their industries. My second recommendation is for the Government to consider extending moratoriums for the Temporary Bridging Loans. Since 2020, businesses need help for moratoriums of loans, especially for sectors that are unable to restart core business activities. Through my engagements with some businesses, they shared with me that these Temporary Bridging Loans require them to make principal payments after a year while this pandemic has lasted way more than a year. MAS made an announcement in June this year that businesses will enjoy a further suspension of 80% of their principal loan till September 2021. However, with this current round of the Heightened Alert phase, businesses do require a much longer runway and even an additional principal payment moratorium. This is against the backdrop of suboptimal business activity for more than one and a half years. I believe it is necessary for such an extension of principal moratoriums to provide businesses with this additional runway to restore cashflow, which dovetails with the overall COVID-19 resilience safe reopening plans.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and unpredictable. The year 2021 is proving to be another tough year for our businesses. Companies have been coping with suboptimal business conditions for close to one and a half years now. I am heartened that the Government is mandating commercial landlords to match the two-week rental support provided by the Government to tenants during the latest Phase Two (Heightened Alert) measures. It is also notable that smaller landlords who rely on rent as their main income will also be given fair consideration since they may not have the financial ability to sustain themselves. Some businesses have shared that since the last Phase Two (Heightened Alert) in May, they are still locked in discussions with their landlords on adequate rental support. Hence, I fully support the move by the Government to mandate the rental reliefs and believe that this will avoid inefficiencies derived from such protracted negotiations between landlords and tenants. This will also minimise disputes, misalignment of expectations and erosion of trust between landlords and tenants. To confront COVID-19, the Government had introduced various support measures to help businesses cope with its impact. To ensure that these measures are more timely and targeted in helping businesses cope with challenges brought on by COVID-19, I would like to put forward three recommendations: one, to add an additional criteria for rental relief; two, to consider extending moratoriums for Temporary Bridging Loans; and three, to further improve the disbursement and criteria of the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS).”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for his very comprehensive reply. Just one supplementary question. It is without a doubt that we must uplift our lower wage workers. At the same time, I am concerned about the impact on our smaller businesses. What can be done to assist our smaller businesses in business transformation to cope as an employer and as a service buyer?”
“Two, how did the setting of a minimum project qualification sum at $4 billion come about and what would be the considerations in the future for adjustments of this minimum sum qualification criterion? Three, could the risk and benefit assessment matrix that the Government intends to use for deciding on projects be shared with Parliament, please? Four, will the duration of the issued bonds dovetail with the payback period of the project to prevent a scenario where a bond needs to be extended with higher interest rates and, thereby, adding more expenditure to recurrent Government Budgets? Five, as a key principle of SINGA bonds is the equitable sharing of cost across generations, will capitalisation and depreciation be linear throughout or frontloaded to take into account higher maintenance cost in later years? Lastly, I would suggest to include initiatives to ensure that infrastructures are built to cater for larger capacity and with better materials, methodologies and technologies. These may translate into higher capital cost today, but can lower downstream cost expenditure for an ageing asset, adding to my previous point on avoiding putting burden on maintenance cost on future generations of Singaporeans. Mr Speaker, Sir, investment in public infrastructure is certainly beneficial for Singapore and Singaporeans. We, however, must continue to be prudent on the deployment of these funds as the effects will ripple and reverberate into multiple generations of Singaporeans. Mr Speaker, Sir, notwithstanding the considerations and clarifications I have raised, I support the SINGA Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore has to continue to invest in competitive economic and efficient public services infrastructure. We need to do this with robust financial approaches that provide differentiated expenditure support. As such, I find the overall principles laid out for the SINGA bonds to be sound for our long-term infrastructure investments. Having said that, the principle of equitable sharing of expenditure holds up best if the proposed infrastructure provides clear "net" benefits to the economy and society. This requires us to be prudent on our assessment of the infrastructure project investments' cost and benefits. If the cost outweighs the benefits, we could burden future generations with a potential growing net debt load and this is an outcome we must avoid. It is also important to stress that SINGA, like any other forms of borrowings, needs to be repaid. We need to ensure that future revenue growths can accommodate the repayments and maintain Singapore's strong balance sheet and credit ratings. I have met some residents who expressed concerns on whether we are passing on debt to future generations. Residents have expressed that we need to be cautious and ensure we pass on assets and not liabilities to our children. With their concerns included, I would like to make five clarifications. One, the $90 billion limit is about 20% of current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is lower than the past six Development Loan Acts, which was near 40% of GDP. Having said that, our GDP in the past had higher year-on-year growth rates. Hence, may I ask to what extent the limit took into account future growth trends in the coming years, especially when we are expecting a slower recovery due to both the COVID-19 context and ourselves a maturing economy?”
“We could establish ourselves and ensure that the impact investment capital flows through our companies creating good and impactful jobs for Singaporeans and growing our economy in a sustainable and inclusive manner. I am cognisant of the fact that setting up a ESG mark can be complex and it takes time to develop one for each sector that is well accepted by the majority of companies. With this in mind, I propose that we take a small step but incorporating a ESG component in the evaluation of Enterprise Grant schemes. This is a small step that is hand signal and encourage a commitment towards sustainable and socially impactful development. Green Economy and Energy Reset”
“It is widely embraced and accepted in finance and investment sector as key criterion in decision-making. For instance. It was reported that in Europe, many pensioners consciously chose asset managers with ESG capacities as their fund manager. Much can be learned about how it has been implemented and translated into different practice models for the various industries in Singapore. I acknowledge that the ESG measurement tools are highly different for different sectors. As such, I propose that we need to have different set of indicators that is more targeted and relevant to sectors to make it more meaningful for enterprises, investors and consumers. In addition, we need to consider the nature of smaller enterprises that their growth and development are much different even though they belong to the same sector. For instance, a high-end fashion chain retailer versus heartline retailer within a retail sector uses resources that are vastly different skill and rate thereby impacting our environment very differently. Hence, there should be a tiered ESG measurement within the same sector to ensure that we account for new ones or smaller enterprises. Apart from the above proposal, I recommend that we dovetail existing and future measurements, such as BCA Green Mark, Enabling Mark, PWM Mark as part of a larger ESG mark so the Enterprises have one clear benchmarking standard and investors and consumers have only one report to assess the companies from its peers. We must further develop our brand equity that is trusted, sustainable and impactful. In fact, Singapore is growing as a wealth management hub.”
“Mdm Chairman, while our enterprises develop and grow their revenues, they too must care for our society and planet. Now that we have a Singapore Green Plan 2030, we must drive our enterprises to weave in environmental, social and governance objectives. In my maiden speech, I shared that we need to broaden our view of enterprises and entrepreneurs as having not only economic value but deep societal value at their core. In addition, I spoke about how enterprises are agents to societal changes and we need more companies be created with missions that value adds to our society and improves our societal well-being. This is possible and I call on the Government to implement ESG for SG, in other words, introduce an ESG mark with clear and appropriate indicators for environmental, social and governance that is applicable to Singapore and Asia. These benchmarking standards are needed so that our businesses can work towards concrete target setting. Investors want to do more with their money and create good social outcome goals. An ESG mark will allow investors to make an informed decision while enterprises grow with accountability and sustainability. Implementation of an ESG mark can benefit individual consumers and B2B clients, very much similar to International sustainable food certification, such as Marine Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance. An ESG mark will assist one to make conscientious decisions and selecting who he or she will support and patronise. By empowering the end consumer with more informed choice, we may drive supply chain upstream towards a greener and more impactful future. Such a mark could also assist regional and international efforts and benchmarking like how various Singapore standards have been adopted regionally. ESG is not a new concept.”
“I believe that our relentless focus to accelerate the PWM adoption plus this fine-tuning of our foreign worker policies will be important levers to prepare us for a better future. Work Passes for Foreigners”
“As a business owner myself and through conversations with other business owners, the severe challenge of our current policy is the inability to first find the necessary local manpower to grow the business. Noting the above business owners' concerns, I would like to call on the Government to apply the foreign worker levy lever instead of the DRC lever to a very select group of enterprises that are restarting and/or pivoting their existing businesses. 7.00 pm In my maiden speech, I suggested that we need a different approach for firms re-starting and pivoting after the challenges of 2020. Manpower resources are necessary for these businesses to pivot, and the adjustment of levy is a temporary measure to assist them to have interim stability of their manpower base to transit. Perhaps, adopting a pilot approach with a few identified companies could yield greater insights and allow us to test such options first. Next, I would like to propose applying and calibrating DRC in accordance with sub-sector nuances and differentiations, in particular, the services sector. The services sector forms a large part of our economy and a differentiated quota would be more targeted and beneficial. Each sub-sector has different job demand among Singaporeans, and businesses in each sector have various abilities to adopt automation to reduce manpower needs. For example, different players in the foreign worker-dependent industries, like the food and beverage, and cleaning and maintenance, have different base resources and allure as employment choice. Hence, we need to be more surgical in applying DRC in each sub-sector, ensuring that there will be no net increase to the foreign worker population in Singapore based on current DRCs.”
“He is also facing higher cost of cleaning and dishwashing and finds it difficult to make up cost by selling his mee rebus and mee siam at a higher price. In his own words, "a hawker centre is meant to provide affordable food to Singaporeans and I will cause disappointment to customers if I increase prices." There are clear challenges in passing on costs. In addition, we need to consider that any cost increase to adjacent verticals will affect another sector. For instance, the introduction of cleaning PWM could have increased the cost of dishwashing and cleaning, thereby increasing their operating structure. Hence, a targeted approach for smaller enterprises is necessary to keep their business sustainable for themselves and workers, and cost affordable for consumers. As we progress economically, I urge the Government to work together with the industry players to go into more details, to carefully and sensibly curate and develop bespoke PWM strategies to support all Singaporean business. Now, allow me to focus on our foreign workforce. MOM has two main levers for managing our jobs and employment and they are the foreign worker levy and Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC). Our foreign manpower policy has worked well for Singapore to strike a balance in providing jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans and concurrently supporting the economy with adequate manpower to continue businesses, thereby, economic growth. Having said that, we must continue to finetune our foreign manpower policy to ensure relevance and calibrate it to meet changing socio-economic conditions. Manpower is essential for businesses to grow. And as they grow, more good jobs will be provided for Singaporeans.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, Singapore's economy is built around a strong Singaporean Core and supplemented with migrant workers in specific industries and jobs. Let me first discuss the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which is critically important for all Singaporeans. As a business owner, I support the PWM. A standalone minimum wage is too general and does not address sustainability and progression issues. In contract, PWM factually is a progressive and sustainable model where wages are paid in tandem with the necessary skills and productivity required for a specific sector. Employers are showing that they do care about our lower wage workers and their livelihood. As such, I strongly urge the Government and the Labour Movement to further hasten the implemention of PWM in more sectors. We need to have advanced conversations with industry partners to prepare employers so being ahead of the curve is necessary. Today, the PWM is implemented by sectors, which is a vertical approach. We also need a horizontal approach to include smaller enterprises. Smaller businesses do not have economies of scale and do need a longer runway to prepare and scale up to pay their workers and concurrently remain viable. A good example are our hawkers. As we celebrate our successful inscription onto the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural of Humanity and appreciate our hawkerpreneurs, we must recognise that they cannot offer the same salaries and benefits as other food operators such as restaurants. I spoke to Mr Lennon Peh, a hawkerprenuer in Bukit Panjang who sells mee rebus and mee siam. He shared that his largest operating cost today is manpower cost, ahead of ingredients and rent.”
“Therefore, can MCI further integrate blue bins in our estates or can data on parcel delivery be shared with blue bin collection agency, so that removal frequencies can be calibrated accordingly to maximise yield and efficiency? Future of the Postal Sector”
“Mr Chairperson, Sir, it is truly commendable on the efforts of MCI and its officers in implementing Heartlands Go Digital and Hawkers Go Digital to help businesses transform digitally. We note that the current efforts are laborious despite significance in results. Can MCI incorporate certain digital adoption like digital payment solutions as a condition into new tenancy agreements and renewals, providing rental relief measures in return for digital adoption? For smaller businesses, can MCI provide aggregated anonymised data on a regular basis so that SMEs can understand how data can help augment their businesses? There is also a need to transform our postal sector to meet consumers’ needs such as e-commerce parcels. Today, with digitalisation, consumers have a higher expectation towards faster and more convenient delivery of their parcels. This is a major challenge. To overcome this challenge, there is a need to expand the use of non-contact delivery methods like collections points with real-time tracking to minimise delivery disruptions. This form of non-contact delivery method reduces both economic and environmental cost due to reduction in door-to-door delivery. With a demand in e-commerce purchases, this creates a rise in reverse logistics due to consumers’ return of purchases. Without a sustainable process, this can greatly counterbalance the efforts of parcel deliveries in reducing carbon footprint. Has MCI considered a circular economy on parcels through the process of delivery, return and recycle? What efforts have MCI undertaken in this logistical challenge to ensure environmental sustainability? During key e-commerce seasonal sales, we observe higher volumes of packaging waste recycled at our blue bins.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, as no one single economic entity can be self sufficient and survive in a silo – just as humans require some form of interaction with one another – every business needs to collaborate and coexist. I hence would like to ask the Ministry on the existing take-up rate of Partnership for Capability Transformation (PACT) grants and how many of the applicants involve companies collaborating across industry verticals. PACT should be the first port of call grant for all enterprises to encourage companies to collaborate and achieve greater economies of scale. Government funding will also be maximised as it impacts two or more businesses and their employees. Due to our small domestic economy base, it is crucial that we foster a collaborative and partnership mindset amongst companies. Such joint venture projects and collaborations can be preludes to deeper partnerships such as actual mergers and acquisitions as company founders, directors and employees develop trust and relationships with each other. This is crucial in our efforts to scale up SMEs. This complements the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement of a joint Government investment with Temasek Holdings to invest in our LLEs as it provides a pipeline of SMEs that could grow to become LLEs or be combined with LLEs via mergers and acquisitions. Supporting Tourism Sector Recovery”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, it is likely that the path to recovery will be long-drawn, uncertain and uneven in a post-COVID-19 world. As mentioned in one of my earlier speeches in Parliament, I strongly feel that there is a need for Singapore to have a deeper cultural understanding of our ASEAN region, in view of greater potential growth opportunities, especially since ASEAN forms a strong economic powerhouse. This greater interconnectedness is necessary, especially with the growing uncertainties and instabilities, such as rising protectionism over supply chains, resources, data and technology, as well as extraordinary levels of public debt globally to fund the exceptional financial responses during this pandemic. To achieve this, I propose that the Continuing Education and Training (CET) as well as SkillsFuture components for each ITM include understanding industry models, the supply chains, the business strategies and the cultural context of how things are done in our neighbouring countries. These cultural knowledges developed through CET are essential for fostering people-to-people connections within the ASEAN region and to ensure stable business partnerships. COVID-19 has underscored the importance of Singapore towards strengthening its adaptability and resilience to cope with uncertainties and instabilities. As such, how may MFA assist to provide these opportunities within CET and SkillsFuture to support pre- and post-tertiary education and lifelong learning? How may MFA strengthen our resilience via relationships, partnerships and people-to-people connections with other countries? Combating COVID-19 Beyond Borders”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, as the Government continues to fiscally strategise to meet long-term needs of our nation through investing in essential sectors, I would like to suggest that the Government adopt more upstream urban design ideas to optimise downstream operating expenses. This can reduce long tail costs. For example, designing upstream and investing in an organic waste conveyance system cum digester as part of building or district. Organic waste is transported through a system of pipes to an onsite digester which could up-cycle waste into useful products. Such a system reduces overall cleaning and haulage cost due to lesser need for point-to-point transportation, allowing for a reduction in carbon footprint too. Value for money and value for good. I also would like to recommend training in deep sector technical knowledge for relevant public officers so that procurement tenders are scoped with the best outcome. Creating more secondment opportunities for public officers to be attached to high growth Singapore businesses to gain first-hand experience would also be ideal. Having equipped with industry technical knowledge would allow for all translation work to be more effective, alongside with industry feedback and insights. Finally, we need to further integrate the use of technology with design-driven solutions so that the user is at the center of all of Governments’ programmes and services. We can find the balance of being both cost conscious and outcome driven and embrace the importance of design in our public services. Boosting Support to Local Businesses”
“I stand in support of the Budget. 3.26 pm”
“By assisting our local businesses to re-position their business models ensures: one, that our local businesses tap on the growing appetite of impact investments thereby creating opportunities for wealth managed to flow into our local economy; two, build greater resilience, greater resilience, as more clients and end consumers are shifting their purchasing preferences to value for money and value for good; and three, expands both economic value and deep societal value of an enterprise, transforming businesses into agents of societal change, that value adds to our society and improves our societal well-being. We really need to help as many businesses, especially SMEs to embrace the ESG mandate. We need to create benchmarks and standards for our business to rally around this green beacon. I will share more about how the Government can play a role in establishing standards and a benchmark for our businesses to create the best eco-system for such a leap forward in my MTI cuts. In conclusion: one, I would like to propose that the Government include a horizontal frame or approach by way of the life stage and cycle of a business to supplement the current industry classifications; two, to be more contextual in recognising that different companies in the same sector, at different growth stage or at different part of the value chain, face different challenges and opportunities and will require more bespoke support; and three, position our businesses and economy to ride the wave of growing demand for products services based on environment and social impact, value for money and value for good. Mr Speaker, Sir, we will emerge stronger after this battle. Putting together precise, bespoke and updated policies will strengthen our Singapore business for a better Singapore.”
“This will enable a more targeted approach to optimise our lean manpower resource base. Secondly, Singapore is well poised to seize the opportunities of the green economy. Deputy Prime Minister Heng's Budget initiatives to catalyse green adoption provides the necessary green beacon for us to rally on. I believe the Singapore Green Plan is an economic growth opportunity and positions our economy and businesses favourably as more investors and end consumers are demanding more from the products and businesses, based on their overall impact to the environment and society. On a global level, investors, clients and end consumers are increasingly adopting the environment, social and government-recommended measurements to decide on which business to support. This is a structural shift. This is a structural shift. Hence, we can further seize opportunities in the social impact space in addition to green economy. With a growing wealth management base in Singapore and more investors, especially family offices, keen on impact investments where investments achieve both economic gains and social impact, we need to position our entrepreneurs to ride this wave of new investors and end consumers consciousness.”
“For instance, a hawker stall and a restaurant in the food services sector may grow differently, grappling with different issues. The consumers of hawker centres are more price sensitive and any increase in food prices will cause disappointment. Hence, hawkerpreneurs are less likely to increase the price of food, even as manpower costs or other operating costs increase. We want our hawkerpreneurs to do well, and continue to provide affordable and diverse food options for our people. Hence, our measures for smaller businesses like hawker stalls needs to be specific and bespoke. With targeted support and measures, all our businesses – small, medium, and large – will be able to restart, pivot and grow, resulting in job security and more good job opportunities for Singaporeans. I do believe that both WSG and ESG can provide a lot of expertise in this area. For example, training in the form of consultative training can take into account what the entrepreneur or the business owner needs to be exposed to and upskilled at the particular stage of the company's growth, to the workers skillset that is required, so that training can be more targeted and translate to a company's top line and bottom line growth. It is crucial that as we beef up workers' training, we need to also beef up training for business owners so that management can be more insightful. Crucially, business consultancy should go hand-in-hand with training so that training for all level of staff within a business is tailored to match the business growth stage and journey. This dovetails the investments in consultancy and training, and maximises on the return on investments. Even our manpower policy can be further calibrated by business growth stage and sub-sector classifications.”
“I would like to propose that the Government include a horizontal frame or approach by way of life stage and cycle of a business to supplement the current industry classifications – from the start-up phase, to the early growth phase, to the scaling phase and even to the pivoting phase for many. At each of this phase, entrepreneurs face a different set of challenges. At the start-up phase, I believe we will see greater entrepreneurial efforts over the next two to three years and we may want to provide targeted help here, especially for those who can see this as another option to the traditional employment route. This is especially so amongst our youths. At the early growth phase, entrepreneurs and their firms' capability needs will face the challenge of time and resources. So, targeted help to get them to adopt training will have to go beyond financial support. At the scaling up or pivoting phases, both short-term financing and even financial restructuring could be essential for the company. Here is one example: one condition to get credit often involves providing personal guarantees by the entrepreneur, despite risk-sharing by the Government. This puts smaller businesses at a disadvantage and those who really need help may not get the help needed. Therefore, the initiatives to provide more credit and financing needs to be calibrated and fine-tuned for SMEs who are in a specific stage of growth. Being even more contextual is important for our efforts to be relevant. Different companies in the same sector, at different growth stage or at different part of the value chain, face different challenges and opportunities. The extent to which a sub-sector can automate differs too. We need to understand the nuances and be precise in our support.”
“PBA was founded in 1987 by Mr Tony Yap as a hardware shop trading in ball-bearings, bolts, nuts and belts. Instead of sticking to the less risky business model of trading, Mr Tony Yap and his son Mr Derrick Yap pivoted PBA to a precision robotics manufacturer. PBA now provides businesses with precision and general robotics across verticals to allow them to scale up their operations. They developed and manufactured precision robotics for the semiconductor, electric vehicle battery, mobile devices, fibre optics sectors; collaborative robots for industries like construction, medical, the logistics sector such as SingPost's smart letterbox; automonous mobile robots to transport goods autonomously to replace forklifts for warehouses, and most recently, the COVID-19 disinfection robot, a first for Southeast Asia. Derrick also shared that a robotic arm cooking his favourite local food "bak chor mee" may also be on the cards. PBA used to stand for "precision, bearings and accessories". Fast forward today, PBA now stands for "platform for bots and automation". PBA's evolution as a business exemplifies how a traditional business pivots across verticals as part of its business life stage and cycle, and the heartwarming story of how a family business transcends across generations. In fact, as PBA sets itself up as a platform for bots and automation across verticals, it finds it challenging to navigate different rules, regulations, Statutory Boards, departments that are currently structured on industry verticals.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as we begin 2021, our battle with the global COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. The unprecedented series of five Budgets, totalling around $100 billion last year, were pivotal in supporting our businesses and Singaporeans through this difficult period. It is likely that our route back to growth will be slow and gradual as we are dependent on how the world recovers. Therefore, our continued resilience and resolve are central outcomes in this year's Budget and this has to include being even more targeted so that Singapore and Singaporeans emerge stronger amidst COVID-19 and beyond. I would like to propose: one, ways we can consider to be more targeted and calibrated on our support for businesses; and two, the structural shift that provides new growth opportunities for our businesses and economy. We have an opportunity to supplement our current classification of companies beyond just by vertical industry sectors. Since last year, as someone in business, I have personally seen: (a) the emergence of many new companies that are not only created by young technopreneurs but by a much wider profile; (b) the restructuring of many incumbent companies as they focus on their cost structures; and (c) the repositioning of traditional businesses to go beyond their current industry sector in search of new revenue opportunities. Added to this, many traditional businesses are family owned and how these businesses evolve and pivot across different generations of leadership determine their contribution to our economy. Such family inter-generation leadership changes require better understanding. A good example of a Singapore company that has evolved horizontally, not founded by a techonopreneur and repositioned from a traditional family business, is PBA Group.”
“With such adaptable and flexible approaches by the Ministry, I believe tough businesses will outlast tough times.”
“Adding to this point, I would like to further propose having a different qualifying criteria for different industries, as businesses in different industries have varied margins and the ability to withstand shocks. For instance, a $50 million grossing company in pharmaceuticals is very different from one in services. Therefore, additional evaluation criteria, other than revenue, recognises intra-industry nuances, and an industry-specific approach to recognise inter-industry differences, will help to save businesses and jobs effectively. On my clarifications, firstly, I would like to ask if the framework could include sunk costs by tenants, such as exhaust system, M&E systems, fire suppression systems to offset outstanding obligations. This is because such fixtures could eventually benefit the landlord in the event of a contract termination. The landlord in this case would have a fitted-out unit to lease. Secondly, I would like to ask what would be the approach used to compare revenue differences between financial periods in 2019 and 2020. Would this be audited accounts? If so, most companies would not have audited accounts for the period in 2020. Mdm Deputy Speaker, notwithstanding the considerations and clarifications I have raised, I rise in support of both Bills and the broad principles of the amendments made to provide opportunities for businesses, especially SMEs and even micro ones, to discover potential solutions, given the unique circumstances. When both parties approach with such a rational and progressive mindset, the amendments to these Bills can be very successful in helping all parties navigate through these tough times. I would like to end my speech by reiterating the famous saying, “tough times do not last, tough men and women do”.”
“We hope that these renegotiations lead to a continuation of the existing contract with new and acceptable obligations so that businesses grow with certainty, thereby protecting jobs and livelihoods of our Singaporeans. Earlier in my maiden speech, I also spoke on how the rental relief framework for SMEs have been beneficial, providing peace of mind for our businesses. I propose an extension of the categories within the current rental relief framework to include other debts so that it provides businesses with a longer runway to pay their debts while attempting to restart their businesses. The simplified insolvency programme in the IRDA Bill provides this process for the restructuring of debts to any eligible company that seeks to enter into a compromise or an arrangement between the company and its creditors or any class of those creditors. This offers mental wellness for our entrepreneurs that old debts are managed. They can focus quickly on restarting their businesses, creating jobs and contributing to the overall economy. Regarding the amendments made to both Bills, I have two considerations and two clarifications that I would like to put forward to MinLaw. One of my considerations is to urge the Ministry to set evaluation criteria that would cover a large majority of companies, so that the intent of the amendment is broadly achieved. On my second consideration, I would like to recommend providing other types of qualifying criteria other than aggregate group revenue, such as EBITA, as companies in the same industry may have different cost and margin compositions. For example, a $4 million revenue grossing furniture retail company will have different profitability and employment sizes, compared to a $4 million grossing electronics retail company.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, it is universally accepted that COVID-19 qualifies as a “black swan” event with significant consequences. Since April, we have been responding well to these consequences and must continue to do so because the months ahead will continue to be challenging for our country and economy. MinLaw has made strategic changes to our laws, thereby enabling Singapore to be highly adaptable and flexible, which is essential for our businesses. Many of these contracts were signed in one particular context. Now that this context has changed, we need to provide a fair and transparent way to redesign these contracts that leads to a win-win situation for all contracting parties. This provision of the Re-Align Framework in COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Amendment No 3) ensures that these contracts entered earlier do not allow one party to subject the other to a disproportionate financial and legal distress arising from COVID-19. In other words, the framework allows affected businesses to renegotiate and rebase their contracts, failing which the contracts may be terminated with prospective obligations extinguished. This approach is extremely practical to ensure that Singapore’s legal framework for businesses continues to be responsive and competitive. I strongly believe that Singapore needs to support our businesses by giving them the opportunity to re-start and the Re-Align Framework is certainly a tangible effort in that direction. I hope that “Re-Align” signals the continuation of contracts with new commitments, rather than an immediate termination of contracts.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his clarification. I think as a business owner, the responsibility is not to a specific sector of employees but to the entire company. Sustaining a business means providing jobs for the whole company. So, a business owner needs to look at sustainability, and it is the responsibility of a business owner to look at productivity increase because that is what makes businesses profitable, viable and then scalable to be able to provide more jobs for Singaporeans. So, an arbitrary Minimum Wage may actually be more negative for a business. We need to look at it as a holistic approach, helping businesses upskill their employees, helping businesses to grow their business. So, as the businesses grow, we can provide more to our workers and we can actually hire more workers. I think that is what businesses are looking towards in terms of good effective policy.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Businesses need to stay competitive and avoid passing all costs to consumers to stay competitive. So, an increased wage has to be coupled with an increase in productivity. If not, it may actually lead to no wage. So, could I seek clarifications from the Workers’ Party on whether they actually recognise the downside risks of low wage becoming no wage, especially when technology automation is increasingly being adopted?”
“Two, we must ensure that our next phase of ITMs is focused on cross-industry and border collaborations with a deeper cultural understanding of the growing Asia region. In addition, the new ITMs should also ensure the upskilling and job re-design of our low-wage workers while ensuring business sustainability. Three, we must augment innovation driven by two-fold engines – technology and design. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in this way, I am confident that Singapore can continue to retain and grow our competitive edge in today's fast-changing world and emerge stronger. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Ministerial Statement.”
“This has shortened waiting times for seniors while continuing to provide the all-important psychological and emotional comfort for this segment of seniors who still want to use their passbooks. This BTM example shows the user-empathy element in interaction design when adopting technology. This is possible when technology solutions are designed and implemented with the customer at the core. Thus, DBS is able to be socially inclusive while still using technology to enable productivity of their business. I believe design is a critical partner for technology and this will further enhance our country's competitiveness in the economic sphere. Our public service needs to embrace design in significant ways, too. I would like to urge IMDA, which is the lead agency for technology adoption, to build its own design capabilities so that all future roll-outs of new plans will have an even stronger design-empathy component in them. This could also be the right time for Design Singapore Council to undertake a strategic update of the Singapore Design Masterplan that was launched in 2016, considering how much has changed in just the last two years. Design 2025 would require new thinking, especially in the spheres of economic inter-connections and societal value creation. I would like to conclude my speech by echoing Deputy Prime Minister Heng’s economic strategy for Singapore. We need a dynamic and growing economy to deliver our priorities as a society. In a nutshell, we need to, one, ensure that our enterprises survive and grow to save jobs and livelihoods of Singaporeans. Enhancing the next phase of JSS with an interim payout in December will aid in this endeavour.”
“Just like how we do not isolate one specific technology from another, we must go beyond looking at design simply as vertical industries, such as publishing or furniture, but, rather, cross-sectional skillsets, such as interaction design and experience design. We must also go past buzzwords like "design thinking" to better appreciate the deeper substance of design, which is a serious academic discipline of creation that focuses on divergent and convergent problem-solving with the user and customer at the core. Many of our Autonomous Universities and Polytechnics have already included design as a core curriculum. Even the recently announced proposed integration of the Faculty of Science with the Faculty of the Arts and Social Sciences at NUS will see design as one of the compulsory core modules. We need to deepen this capability inside companies and across industries so that new technologies can be even more successful. Design leaders and design departments need to be created to work with the strategy and digital functions of the business. A good example of a local company that has brought design into its core business is DBS. DBS strives to be the "Apple in banking". DBS uses design methods and approaches to focus on serving customers better both in their digital services as well as in their branches. I am sure all of us have heard of ATMs. But I recently found and learned about BTMs – the Branch Teller Machine! DBS discovered that many senior residents were still queuing in their branches to withdraw cash because they value the traditional passbook over card-based ATMs. Hence, DBS created the BTMs where seniors can simply scan their passbooks to withdraw cash and still have their passbooks updated without having to wait for a physical counter to be available.”
“These cashiers need to be upskilled and their jobs redesigned to take on higher value-added jobs so that they can continue to be employed, enjoying good wages with better skills and productivity. Hence, ITM 2.0 needs to ensure that as we push industries towards innovation, it has to be coupled with upskilling and job re-design to ensure our workers are not displaced. My final area of focus would be to draw the all-important interconnection of technologies with design. While we encourage innovation driven by technology, we should also encourage innovation driven by design. We only have to look at countries, such as South Korea, Japan and Denmark, to appreciate how they have embraced both technological advancements with deep design capabilities resulting in innovation that has provided economic and societal returns for their citizens. Design is the economic equivalent of creation with the user and customer at the core. It is about designing for specific needs of markets and segments so that real value can be unlocked. Design is also the skill to bring about integration and synthesis – how different technologies or platforms could be organised into appropriate economic units that are scale-able. Design capabilities are even more essential today when we look at how technologies have evolved. For example, we are now seeing how social and live commerce has cut into omni-channel sales because buyers are now showing signs that they prefer to purchase through existing well-designed social messaging platforms rather than another app. I believe that we need to match our investments in technology with a renewed focus on design – a 21st century duet of design and technology where we draw the value out of these interconnected twin engines of growth.”
“Even language courses could be included as we need to be more connected at the people-to-people level for economic and social win-win outcomes. Another area would be for the new ITMs to focus on our regional opportunities even more within the internationalisation component of the blueprints. Encouraging more cross-country business chamber collaborations or joint ventures in the co-creation of new products and services that can serve two or more cities could provide a larger market, even at the prototyping stage. Making the region a core context of our ITMs rather than the "next step" would accelerate how our companies are thinking in this new decade. This crisis is the right moment to pivot our local enterprises away from a local mindset. An added area under ITMs would be the welfare of our low-wage workers. Minister Josephine Teo mentioned about the formation of a new taskforce that will explore ways to raise the wages of our low-wage workers. While the ITMs are being reviewed to ensure its relevancy in the ever-changing environment, each ITM should also focus on the low-wage workers in their own industries. They should dovetail upskilling of these workers, thereby leading to higher wages with higher productivity. Moreover, higher productivity should also lead to business sustainability. Businesses need to remain competitive and avoid passing on the cost to consumers. We must ensure both upskilling of our workers and business sustainability to avoid a case where a low-wage job becomes no job. This is especially so with the growing trends of automation. For example, the role of cashiers at supermarkets is needed lesser with auto check-out machines and cashless payments.”
“The Industry Transformation Maps or ITMs were first launched as part of a $4.5 billion industry transformation package in Budget 2016. They were industry-specific roadmaps which aimed to take an integrated approach where trade associations and chambers, companies and the Government worked together to help each sector prepare for the future. These ITMs are currently being reviewed to ensure relevance and effectiveness. I would like to propose that we frame ITMs 2.0 in the context of the region because this would be the right time for our industries to start building new capabilities that can immediately include broader opportunities beyond our shores. Asia as a region will continue to grow even as COVID-19 has thrown a massive curveball. From North Asia to Southeast Asia and the Oceania region, the entire region is in the midst of a global re-orientation as it takes its cue from uncertainties from the US-China tensions. New supply chains are being reimagined as fast as new markets are emerging following the rapid uptake in digital transactions from the variety of circuit breakers or movement control orders employed by governments to contain the spread of COVID-19. This is the time to prepare our industries to include the region in our bid for continued competitiveness. Singapore is already inking digital agreements, and new travel bubbles are on the cards. ITMs 2.0 should include components where the region is integral. One obvious area would be to ensure that the Continuing Education and Training or CET as well as SkillsFuture components for each ITM include understanding the industry models of our neighbours, the supply chains in these countries, the ways of doing business and the cultural context of how things are done.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my speech today will focus on three interconnected areas of our economy where I believe further refinements can enhance our global competitiveness. Firstly, I would like to touch on the interconnection between retaining local jobs with enterprises. The Jobs Support Scheme or JSS has clearly helped to save good jobs and kept many Singaporeans employed through this year. It does that by providing wage support to the employers, giving them the resources to retain their local employees when revenue has taken a severe beating this year. [Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair] The extension of the JSS to March 2021 is a strategic necessity and I support the tapering of the JSS to ensure fiscal prudence as we look towards the long-term growth of the Singapore economy. The next JSS payouts will be made in October 2020 and March 2021, with a six-month gap in between. I would like to suggest that an interim payout in December 2020, as it is necessary to enforce the interconnected value of the JSS to the enterprise's cash flow. Many companies are only beginning to see sustainable revenue returning. For other companies, they may need the cash flow support for their industry's uneven recovery. Such an intermediate payment will not increase any cost to the Government. It spreads out the payouts and instead increase the relevancy of the JSS in this next phase. Otherwise, the risk to these jobs will increase, which runs contrary to the goal of the JSS. I hope MOF will consider my suggestion to help enterprises during such economic uncertainty while focusing on the long-term growth of Singapore. Secondly, I would like to focus on how we can build future industry roadmaps such that they take into consideration our connection with the region.”
“Through the above five policy advancements, we can leverage our inherent capacities of our enterprises and entrepreneurs who continue contributing to the overall Singapore economic and social footprint, creating good jobs for Singaporeans and thereby securing their livelihoods. We must provide more hope and heart for greater value to emerge. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am confident that our entrepreneurs and enterprises has the grit and gumption to overcome current disruptions and challenges. Let us walk this journey of "revive", "rejuvenate" and "restart" and with our entrepreneurs. Let us partner them as societal agents of change, facing each challenge with the conviction of carving out opportunities for sustainable good. I believe together we can evolve Singapore Inc which will ultimately not just provide good jobs but great livelihoods for the families of Singapore. [Applause.]”
“Let us keep finding more ways to integrate all our efforts further so that there is more collaboration between partners so that we achieve higher network effect for our enterprises. And, last but not the least, beyond support measures, the Government needs to also foster the best environment for our SMEs and entrepreneurs to succeed. I am heartened that MTI has convened a Fair Tenancy ProTem committee. COVID-19 brought structural imbalances of the landlord-tenant relationship to bare. For many SMEs who are tenants, they rely on an equitable partnership with their landlords to thrive. Those who are fortunate to have landlords who adopt a partnership mindset have a higher chance to thrive and as they grow, their landlords benefit too as they take up more space. As with all types of relationships, there needs to be trust and trust is built on transparency. We need to ensure a fair and transparent relationship between landlords and tenants so that both can grow in a sustainable manner with the end goal of providing societal well-being. In a nutshell, we need to: (a) view our Singapore enterprises as having both economic and societal value. As such, we need to broaden and recalibrate our performance indicators when supporting them; (b) we need to enhance our existing grant schemes to enable our entrepreneurs and their enterprises to revive, rejuvenate and re-start; (c) we need to provide an assured legal framework on insolvency and debts repayment for targeted companies and entrepreneurs to enable them to restart now and after COVID-19; (d) we need to develop an eco-system to enable more cross sector collaborations; and (e) through a Fair Tenancy Framework, provide a conducive and fair environment for our SMEs to thrive in Singapore.”
“Many also worry about their old debts having snowballed. In the case of rental arrears, these businesses must now cope with repayments due under the rental relief on top of their already strained cashflow situation. As such, I would like to propose that: (a) a repayment scheme be extended for more categories of debts. This can be patterned along the lines of the COVID-19 re-payment scheme for rent arrears. The new categories can include other obligations, such as liabilities under personal guarantees or insurance bonds, trade financing and term loans. There should be an instalment plan outlining a clear debts repayment schedule with capped interest rates; and (b) we should make it clear that Directors should not be liable for insolvency trading if the insolvency period arises from 1 February 2020. Currently, this relief is only temporary. These additional moves would provide entrepreneurs more runway to pay their debts, ensuring their mental wellness while attempting to restart their businesses. Fourth, more innovation can take place when companies look beyond its specific vertical and sector. Cross sectoral collaborations provide opportunities where skillsets can be combined synergistically to create new business products and services. To enable more of such cross-industry collaborations, we need to add horizontal layers in our current way of structuring industry verticals. Government officers will need to have horizontal exposure and skill sets to better support our companies. We will need to promote more networking opportunities and collaborations between trade associations. We need to promote more Joint Venture opportunities.”
“Seasoned entrepreneurs have years of experience, knowledge and networks that can be potentially wasted if they are unable to restart fast. We need to help them with a tangible rebound by assisting them with seed capital and public financing to restart. With this approach, they can contribute to our economy and society quickly, thereby creating new jobs and benefiting Singapore to emerge faster and stronger. To help our entrepreneurs restart quickly, our regulatory agencies will need to process new applications faster as it is important to consider the opportunity cost to our society. To help our entrepreneurs rejuvenate, we need to be more targeted in manpower policies towards different industries. MOM's recent announcement of raising EP and S Pass minimum salary impacts industries unevenly. Industries, such as offshore and marine, travel and hospitality, construction, retail and F&B are already reeling from the impact of COVID-19. The additional cost levied on these industries are hard to bare. We need companies to survive and thrive. In this way, we continue to help our Singaporeans by preserving their jobs and their livelihood as SMEs employ close to 70% of our workforce. Thirdly, we need to further enhance support for businesses who face financial challenges. The reality is this: as many businesses re- start, they face a mountain of old debt, be it rental arrears or owing to suppliers. Cashflow remains a challenge. The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and the new rental relief framework for SMEs have been beneficial and provided some peace of mind for our entrepreneurs. However, it is temporary and the hard reality kicks in after the COVID-19 measures are lifted. Some businesses may want to restart but they have a problem of getting fresh credit.”
“When COVID-19 required restaurants to be closed, and more people began to prepare their own meals at home, the Alchemy team created complementary consumer-friendly products that could be easily used for healthier home-cooked meals. Today, Alchemy fibre is found in established brands like Boon Tong Kee and working with food manufacturers like Gardenia. I have known Alan before Alchemy when he and his wife started a company selling soy-based ice cream. They have evolved from serving desserts to transforming everyday staples. They are a good example of how an enterprise is an organic entity which evolves through time with a mission of improving our societal well-being. I deeply hope that we can and will do more to help our entrepreneurs and enterprises. As such, I call upon the following five policy moves. Firstly, we need to enlarge our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) when we support Singaporean enterprises and assess their broader contribution to Singapore society. Increasingly, the world of investing and corporate reporting is shifting towards the ESG model. Government support measures for our enterprises needs to evolve towards this lens – the way we support and shape enterprises, focus and outcomes. Secondly, we need to expand our current grant schemes to also include areas to revive, rejuvenate and restart entrepreneurs and enterprises as we need to make "hope" a tangible value in our economic DNA. In this climate of COVID-19 pandemic, we expect to see more business disruptions. Some entrepreneurs will fail because their business models have been destructed if not disrupted by COVID-19. We need to help these entrepreneurs restart much like how we help budding entrepreneurs to start up.”
“Some successful companies today come from very humble beginnings. We must not assess the success of an enterprise at a single point in time but instead adopt an iterative perspective where all enterprises evolve over time and therefore will have many highs and lows as part of its development. This means that we need to reframe our belief of letting failing companies die to enabling failing companies to rebound and restart. We must support every entrepreneur or business owner in all sectors because society needs them rather than the belief of spotting unicorn winners and only supporting high-tech entrepreneurs. We need to build into the DNA of the entrepreneur and the enterprise their ability to contribute meaningfully to Singapore society at large. We need to value the individual entrepreneur more than the business and walk this journey of evolution alongside them. Our approach with our workers is that we cannot save every job, but we will look after every worker. Our approach for our SMEs and entrepreneurs should be the same. While we cannot save every business, we should partner every entrepreneur to evolve, help them with a soft landing, provide them a longer runway and help them re-start. A good example of a start-up that evolved over time is Alchemy Foodtech. Alan and his wife, Verleen started Alchemy Foodtech to fight our societal battle on diabetes. Together, they invented Alchemy Fibre, a patented ingredient that is gluten-free and made from plant crops such as corn, pea and tapioca, to lower the glycaemic index of refined carbohydrates such as rice, bread and noodles while raising their overall fibre content.”
“Therefore, it is crucial that we shift our perspective from looking at an enterprise as an economic entity but also see it as a unit for our society’s progress. This will mean that at a societal level, each enterprise must reflect our national narrative of "against the odds", "regardless of race, language or religion" and "inclusivity". We must be prepared to "learn, unlearn, and relearn". We need to support our companies trying to revive and transform their businesses. I agree that this requires a significant change in our mindset, but we must do so quickly in such difficult and unusual times. We need to question existing assumptions and recalibrate our thinking about enterprises. Looking at entrepreneurs and enterprises as having both economic as well as societal value at the national level will inspire more entrepreneurs to establish more companies in Singapore, especially young people in their 20s to 30s who want to do more than simply make money. With more companies on board, we can offer more quality jobs which attract more Singaporeans who desire to work for these companies because it resonates with their aspirations. In addition, we should not compartmentalise that Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is separate from entrepreneurship development. In fact, the concept of CSR is fast becoming nothing more than a "Public Relations". Doing well and doing good comes hand in hand. Authenticity is much talked about and less often reflected. Today, we must think even beyond delivering double bottom lines and instead build businesses out of a core that integrates societal well-being into its operations. Every enterprise is an organic entity that evolves over time. Those that did not begin in high growth sectors can pivot into it over time.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is a privilege to deliver my maiden speech at the Fourteenth Parliament of Singapore. I would like to declare that I am the Managing Director of the Timbre group of companies, Director of placeM One Pte Ltd, Feed The World Pte Ltd, SMU Enterprise, NP Enterprise, Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Restaurant Association of Singapore and the Treasurer of the Singapore Nightlife Business Association. I rise to thank the President for her speech. I fully concur with her that we must engage and harness the aspirations and creative energies of all Singaporeans. Our lives have changed so much in the past eight months. This COVID-19 pandemic is providing unprecedented challenges for both our people and society. 2020 has revealed two major realities. First, even well managed companies have been adversely affected due to external factors. For instance, the companies in our tourism ecosystem such as SIA, hotels and F&Bs. Second, the desire of our electorate for a more inclusive society on matters pertaining to race, community and employment. I strongly believe that these challenges provide new opportunities for us to work together as one community, to evolve to meet new realities. As a fellow Singaporean entrepreneur myself, I stand here to represent and be a strong voice for our companies, especially SMEs, during such extraordinary times. We need to broaden our view of enterprises and entrepreneurs as having not only economic value but deep social value at our core. Our enterprises are agents of social changes. We need more companies to be created with missions that value adds to our society and improves our societal well-being.”