Goh Chong Chia
Singapore
“The Senior Parliamentary Secretary, I think, did not understand the question that was asked. I understand the structural concrete balconies are there, but there are additions on top of those balconies.”
“I ask the Government, through its champion agency, the BCA, to review the various D&B tender processes devised by the various agencies to optimise the use of valuable and limited human resources.”
“Just looking at the fields near my place, levelling them, putting up fences, it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars - not to mention the TOL fees that we have to pay later. I would therefore urge the Minister to consider ways of releasing funds to help the communities build more facilities for sports.”
“Sir, I understand that 25% of our water could be collected locally. With two metres of rainfall a year in Singapore, it is 1.2 billion cubic metres of water and our annual requirement is only 480 million cubic metres. Why is it not enough to collect water locally?”
“Would the Senior Parliamentary Secretary consider some incentives for private sector to be more efficient in their buildings? Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: We are looking at the examples of other countries to see how we can encourage developers, for example, to be more conscious of energy efficiency. We are exploring this.”
“Sir, as full-time supervision is actually done by a clerk-of-works or a resident engineer, would the Minister consider making them more accountable? Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, currently clerks-of-works are already accountable for the supervisory actions at sites.”
The complete record
Every one of 42 lines we hold for Goh Chong Chia, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account.
“Sir, can I ask the Minister of State the procedure or standing order that the officer-in-charge is required to follow when hospitalisation is required or when death has occurred, in particular, the reporting to the next-of-kin or parents of the NSman?”
“No. One of the properties is mine, but they are on a whole row, and they are existing buildings. There is no upgrading.”
“I do not understand the rationale for the upward revision of the annual values of the properties.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the property we are discussing has nothing to do with upgrading or rent control. In fact, the properties are similar.”
“Mr Speaker, in asking Question No. 8, I wish to declare that I have received a similar letter from IRAS.”
“(c) What are the provisions in the system to ensure that progressive voting patterns cannot be revealed during the period of polling? (d) Overseas electors on registration will be allocated an overseas polling station, but it is not clear to which electoral division will his or her vote be assigned. (e) While there are requirements for inspections of machines for tampering, malfunction and damage, what are the safeguards in the procedures to ensure that the inspector does not tamper with the equipment? (f) While overseas centres may be set up, we presume, and I think it was said yesterday, in areas and cities where there are large numbers of Singaporeans, those living some distance away from this major city may find it difficult to journey down to vote. Will the Government consider postal voting in the interim before a final electronic system is put in place? (g) If a citizen, after spending some time overseas, returns to Singapore before the General Election, will he be subject to the two out of five years' rule on his voting eligibility? Finally, some Members of Parliament had already highlighted yesterday that the Bill is treating private sector citizens overseas differently from Government employees overseas. I find this differentiation disturbing.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the introduction of the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill comprises two important features: (1) This Bill acknowledges that Singaporeans have responded to the Government policy to form an external wing to our economy and that while they are not in Singapore, they should not be disenfranchised. Voting is a fundamental right and privilege of an adult citizen. This Bill, in making it possible for citizens abroad to exercise their right to vote, shows the maturity of our political system to give due consideration to the minority groups within our society. I remember when I first voted in an election - it was not in Singapore, it was in the United Kingdom - the right of Commonwealth citizens to vote while in the United Kingdom initially surprised me, but it really felt good to be part of the democratic process. (2) In a world that is IT-based, there is a necessity to make provisions to allow electronic or DRE voting. I am glad this Bill makes it possible. Mr Speaker, Sir, while I support the Bill, I have a few comments to make and wish to seek some clarifications. (a) The Bill allows a recount to be carried out if there is a difference of 2% or less. In the past three general elections, there were only two cases below 2%. I believe that we are setting the allowance for recounting at too low a level. If we adopt a 5% difference, there would have been recounting in five constituencies in the 1991 and two in the 1997 general elections. Surely, in the interest of accuracy, a recounting based on 5% is not too much to ask. After all, recounting under this Bill is not a mandatory requirement. (b) There is a requirement to test the DRE voting equipment before polling and during polling. Surely the equipment should also be tested at the end of the polling.”
“The Senior Parliamentary Secretary, I think, did not understand the question that was asked. I understand the structural concrete balconies are there, but there are additions on top of those balconies. There is a hotch-potch series of construction and if it is not approved, does it mean that the Ministry would tolerate this non-approved construction? Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: Mr Speaker, Sir, if the Member of Parliament was referring to illegal additions to the balconies, then the URA and BCA will look into them.”
“Sir, if somebody else cleans the window, then the maid does not have to clean it.”
“The exterior of a window is part of common property. Why do we not compel the management corporation to clean those windows, instead of getting maids to do it?”
“What is the number of maids who have been charged?”
“While we hold the employer responsible, why not we hold the maid responsible as well? If the maid is eventually found, would she be charged as an illegal immigrant?”
“MTI will wait for the outcome of CAD's investigations before deciding whether any preventive action is necessary to regulate similar future fund-raising projects, especially the sale of club memberships to the public.”
“Question No. 2, Sir. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Tang Guan Seng) (for the Minster for Trade and Industry): Sir, the current dispute over the ownership of the Raffles Town Club (RTC) has drawn public attention to proprietary clubs, like the RTC. Unlike members-only clubs, proprietary clubs are wholly owned by their shareholders. Members of proprietary clubs do not own the clubs' assets; they purchase memberships in the clubs and pay monthly subscriptions, in return for access to the clubs' services. The membership fees and monthly subscriptions are revenue for the clubs, out of which the clubs pay for the facilities and their upkeep, and any surplus belongs to the shareholders of the clubs. In the case of RTC, some members have alleged that they were misled into believing that only 5,000 exclusive memberships would be offered, when eventually 19,000 memberships were accepted. I understand from media reports that they are considering filing a civil suit against the proprietary owners of the Club on grounds of misrepresentation. Our laws do provide for aggrieved parties to initiate civil action against misrepresentation. Since this may be the subject of court proceedings between private parties, it is inappropriate for me to comment on it at this stage. As a registered company, RTC is governed by the Companies Act, which sets out the duties of the directors of the club, and specifies that they shall at all times act honestly and use reasonable diligence in the discharge of their duties. The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is currently investigating the case to ascertain whether any offence under the Companies Act or any other laws has been committed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State whether it is an offence to ride not in-lane, and whether this in fact contributes to the accidents. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: First of all, there are no designated lanes for motorcyclists. It is certainly an offence to weave in and out. I think that is one of the prevalent behaviours which must be discouraged, because it is dangerous. But the general rule is that a slow-moving motorcyclist should keep to the inner lane, rather than ride on the outer lane. Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung: Sir, in view of his answer just now, may I ask the Minister of State whether Traffic Police has been able to identify certain areas in Singapore, eg, the BKE, where there is a special risk to motorcyclists and whether, in such risky areas, there should not be some provision made, eg, in terms of lanes specifically for motorcyclists, so that they do not present a danger to themselves and to other users of the roads as well. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, accidents involving motorcyclists take place all over, not only in expressways but at junctions and along small HDB roads. So I think it is not wise to designate lanes, because it will affect other users of the road as well.”
“And in his opening speech, he mentioned that 74% of those who have not volunteered for community work cited work and family commitments as their main reason for not volunteering. Also mentioned in the speech was that less than 10% of Singaporeans are volunteers, as compared to 25% in Japan and over 50% in the United States. Sir, this problem has to be tackled quite seriously if active citizenry is going to be an important concept in Singapore 21. And we should be targeting the young working population - and if we do that, then obviously the key is in the companies they are working for. And the question is how public spirited are the companies or the corporate sector. The idea of corporate social responsibility has at least three elements. The first is, of course, straightforward philanthropy, that is for financial support for community projects. Many companies do support this. The second element is to allow their workers, employees to have time off to do charitable or community work, to be involved in the community. But the third element, the element that I do not see much of, is to take into account the social work that is done by employees in actually assessing the quality of their employees for the purposes of promotion or upgrading in salaries, and so on. These are very important concepts that have to be taken into account. I would like to ask whether MCDS has actually taken steps to involve the corporate sector to increase the social responsibility of the corporate sector in the building up of an active citizenry. Has there been an improvement, for example, in the number of volunteers in Singapore and, particularly, has there been an improvement in the number of young workers in the volunteer movement in Singapore?”
“But when we look at the challenges in the future, like I said, this is a far larger challenge that we have seen, even far larger than mosque building fund, or setting up Mendaki and AMP. This is where I hope the Minister will consider looking into ways in which the entire Malay-Muslim community could be restructured in a way so that they provide some organisational capability to make sure that whatever programmes and schemes that you are going to introduce can be better executed. By this, I mean two things. One, perhaps as much as possible, a lot of programmes should be done in tandem and in association with the national programmes which have already infrastructure and organisational capability. It is also part of, what we have talked about the last few days - integration. I hope this must be the main thrust in the way we go forward. Secondly, there is also a problem of duplication and competition amongst the Malay-Muslim organisations. Already we are short of resources and if we carry on to duplicate having different people competing with the kind of programmes that they have, we are not going to achieve our objectives. Other than these two things, I hope the Minister could also enlighten me and the House, ever since the convention and the publication of the report, what other resources and support is the Government prepared to help in these initiatives. I certainly look forward to a better enlightened response from the Government to make sure that the Malay-Muslim community is prepared to take on this enormous challenge. Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung (Sembawang): Sir, the Singapore 21 Report acts as a very important pillar, the idea of active citizenry. To this end, last year, the Prime Minister in July opened the National Volunteer Centre.”
“If we incorporate such features during the planning stage, it would certainly be less costlier than to revamp or renovate them at a later stage. Mr Zulkifli Bin Baharudin: Sir, I am speaking to the Minister in his capacity as Minister in-charge-of Muslim Affairs. It is a bit odd to be speaking just after Mr Goh Chong Chia who spoke about the disabled. Sir, first, let me compliment the Minister and the Malay-Muslim MPs for taking this initiative to want to lead the Malay-Muslim community to face new challenges in the KBE era. My view is that the Malay-Muslims now face a challenge far larger than they have ever faced before. This requires three very important things. (1) It requires enormous financial resources which as a minority community we are very short of; (2) A major change of mindset, one that focuses on the future, one that focuses on new challenges and opportunities; (3) We need structural and organisational changes within the Malay-Muslim community. This is where I want to focus some of my thoughts today. We have seen how, through the mosque building fund, the Malay community has been able to raise huge mosques which resulted in all kinds of activities, not only religious but social and educational activities in mosques. It has brought about a wealth of infrastructure for the Malay-Muslim community that we should all be proud of. But this came about because of the resources that are behind it. Secondly, we have seen how the establishment of the AMP and Mendaki resulted in an entire upliftment of the educational achievement of the Malay-Muslim community. And something else that is far more important is that the Malay-Muslims now realise education is the primary and most important factor that will bring them forward.”
“Financially, there is not much difference in supporting a handicapped person or an aged parent. Therefore, it makes sense to adopt a uniform rate applicable to both reliefs. I would like to ask MCDS to study the above suggestion with the Ministry of Finance. (3) With the recent announcement by the Government to upgrade all food centres and markets throughout the island, may I suggest that provision be made to ensure that all upgraded facilities be made family-friendly and accessible to the disabled, the elderly and babies in prams. Besides providing toilets with facilities for the handicapped, there should be gentle ramps and gradients for the less mobile patrons. The spaces between the fixed tables and stools should be wide enough to allow children in prams and wheelchair users to sit closer to the table. Currently, the fixed tables and stools of many food centres are located so close to one another that it is impossible or difficult for children in prams and wheelchair users to manoeuvre through. I request MCDS to study this suggestion with MND to make the upgraded food centres more user-friendly to the disabled. (4) I have seen disabled people in wheelchairs playing a form of football, mountain climbing, and I have even seen a one-legged skier. With the current emphasis on Sports for Life for all Singaporeans, it is imperative that the needs of the disabled and the elderly for sporting activities are not marginalised. I think it is important that adequate accessibility provisions must be made in all public sports facilities, so that people with disabilities and the elderly can participate and/or patronise these areas. This would enable them to keep themselves fit and healthy.”
“Sir, the disabled and the elderly are an integral part of our society. They do not need our sympathy. They only need our understanding and consideration. I have four suggestions for the Minister: (1) For many disabled people and the elderly, especially those who have severe physical disabilities, engaging a foreign maid is something they could not do without. The maids help in the activities of daily living, such as bathing, toileting, cooking, feeding and movement. Most of these severely disabled are usually unemployed and are dependent on their family members for financial support. However, the cost of employing and maintaining a maid is very high and is unaffordable to many deserving cases. Therefore, I hope MCDS will coordinate with the Ministry of Manpower to consider waiving or reducing the foreign worker levy for maids employed by this group of people. It may not be an across-the-board waiver or reduction, but on a case-by-case basis. To minimise any abuses and that only deserving cases enjoy such privileges, a certified assessment by a qualified medical practitioner or a therapist must be made. (2) Disabled citizens spend a substantial amount of their income on medical fees, transport expenses, mobility aids, like wheelchair, calipers, etc. Currently, the handicapped earned income relief for a disabled taxpayer of below 55 years is $2,000. I propose for consideration that the earned income relief be increased to $4,000 for disabled taxpayers below 55 years. Similarly, I would like to propose for consideration that the handicapped dependent spouse relief, handicapped child relief and handicapped brother and sister relief be increased from $3,500 to $5,000. This is on the same rate as the aged parent relief.”
“Just looking at the fields near my place, levelling them, putting up fences, it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars - not to mention the TOL fees that we have to pay later. I would therefore urge the Minister to consider ways of releasing funds to help the communities build more facilities for sports.”
“One of the reasons that American kids, for example, grow up aspiring to be Michael Jordan is that they can find in schools and in their communities, even outside schools, facilities to play their games. Sometimes even on the streets, because they are so keen to play games that they form their own three against three teams and play games in the streets. We are now doing this, Sir. Increasingly, we are building street soccer and street basketball pitches, and I think we should do more of this. Because, ultimately, if people are aspiring to be Michael Jordans, Shaquille O'Neals, Fandis and Peles, we must give them facilities. In the national development debate that has just terminated, there was this indication that schools and other facilities could be open to the youths of the community. I know the Ministry of Education, in fact, has asked principals to encourage this. But not every principal is able to do it because sometimes they are concerned about the security of the schools, and the ultimate decision of opening up the school field is really at the discretion of the principal. In the end, it is too much of a trouble sometimes for people to use the school field. And yet we have got patches of land all over which are being reserved for future use, and the land sits there for years and years and nobody is using them. And when the grassroots organisations ask for these fields, they are charged market rent. If a grassroots organisation applies for it, they only pay 30% of the market price. And I am asking whether the MCDS could consider either helping to pay for this or fully subsidise the rental, so that the grassroots organisations can indeed build facilities for the community.”
“No Singaporean had achieved this in two decades. Will we forget him now that he is not in the semi finals? I read in the newspaper recently on a question put to a foreign Olympics medallist. He was asked whether he was rewarded a million dollars after he won the Olympics gold medal. He was puzzled but after some explanation, he said that he would have preferred to have the financial support before he won, and not after. (4) Sports as a career path. We must encourage people with sporting skills to excel. A career path in sports must be treated as equal to academic skills. I would like to know what is the Minister's policy towards a holistic and comprehensive approach to health and sports. Will the Minister set up one or more focus groups to collect information, analyse data and come up with plans on two levels? First, the software plans for the development of human capital, education, health and sports. Second, the hardware plans, inclusive of feasibility studies, design briefs, master plans and plans for the development of a sports hub. We need better and world-class sporting facilities. Finally, as an architect in private practice, I cannot help but want to ask the Minister whether he will agree to organise a national design competition to tap the best ideas for the new stadium and sports hub. Assoc. Prof. Toh See Kiat: Sir, I mentioned earlier the need for both a Sports for Champions programme and a Sports for All programme. I mentioned that our Sports for All programme is rather lukewarm at the moment. The reason I say this is that we are not doing enough to provide facilities in every community.”
“Sir, our talent pool needs to be educated and trained in order to sustain a sound workforce, to support the growth we have experienced over the past three decades. We understand from the Budget Speech 2001 that the Government is investing significantly in education, training, investment schemes, endowment funds, etc. The flipside of this must be the development of a physically sound and a healthy workforce, because the workforce is only as productive as its state of health. It is scientifically established that the only mechanism to ensure healthy and good quality life in the labour force is through life-long physical exercise regimes. The setting up of the Health Promotion Board is timely. The MCDS' policy to promote the development of the physical health of the school children will ensure that people carry on a healthy lifestyle throughout their work life and even in their later years. Sports could be developed at several levels. (1) Sports as a lifestyle to ensure a healthy population throughout life. In schools, sports must be developed as part of curriculum activities in parallel with the critical academic curriculum. (2) Sports as a recreation and means of community development to ensure social bonding, allegiance and loyalty. Mr Minister, you encourage us each time we see you in your running shorts and shoes. (3) Sports with the aim of allowing individuals to set their own challenges and goals. We remember the folk heroes like Wong Peng Soon of Thomas Cup fame, Khoo Swee Chiow who reached the summit of Mount Everest and Singapore's plan to attain a position in the World Cup. However, we have also failed to honour Tan Howe Liang, our only Olympic silver medallist. Ronald Soo got to the All-England quarter finals recently.”
“Yes, Sir, I am about to finish my speech. The D&B is not a cure- all solution, and we must not forget the perfectly good conventional design and build. 2.45 pm Finally, we must not forget the many young Singaporeans who are aspiring to buy private property for the first time and for their own use, especially at present when the prices of property have dropped dramatically due to the economic crisis. The Government's anti-speculative measures which have been successful in dampening speculation are now preventing these young Singaporeans from achieving their dreams. Would the Government consider reducing the downpayment from 20% to 10% of the cost of the property or stipulating a cash downpayment of 10%, with the balance 10% paid from CPF? As these buyers tend to live in the property, the anti-speculation tax could remain. If the original anti-speculation rules are not modified, these young people would miss their one chance in a lifetime to buy their own private homes now when there is a surplus of units and the prices have bottomed out. The Minister tells us that spring has arrived and maybe there are even some blossoms in the flower beds. But, please, Sir, there are still patches of snow on the ground.”
“I ask the Government, through its champion agency, the BCA, to review the various D&B tender processes devised by the various agencies to optimise the use of valuable and limited human resources. Otherwise, the D&B process will bleed the consultants and, eventually, it will come to a point where less effort will be invested and the country will suffer the poor work due to the unproductive misuse of D&B tenders.”
“In fact, application in Singapore is less than perfect with diverse versions with the sole intention to passing all risks. In Japan, it has been successful because D&B tenders generally involve a more social conscious mindset, and only a very small handful of contractors are invited to participate per project. In addition, they are often negotiated contracts, rather than contracts by tender. The industry wants to be more productive, but how can it if for some Government projects, it is not unusual to have 30 teams of consultants and builders preparing designs and details sufficiently for pricing. The manpower cost and wastage of resources is debilitating. As an example, in the current D&B tender for the Defence Science and Technology Agency, for an expansion of a single building block, together with some alterations and additions, 48 teams have signed up to participate, giving an extremely conservative cost for the preparation of the tender at $50,000 per team. The cost expended would be $2.4 million, when the contract of $3-$4 million is 10-12 times the value of the eventual professional fees for the project. There must be a more intelligent system to reduce the amount of wastage of manpower and resources. Perhaps the HDB's system of pre-qualifying not more than five teams and inviting them to tender on a rotational basis could be adopted. Alternatively, there could be two stages, where the first stage is based on pricing of the rough order of merit where the extremely high and extremely low tenders are discarded, and only a reasonable range of tenders in relation to the budget goes on to the next stage.”
“Following the Construction 21 blueprint, the construction industry joint committee, comprising the presidents of the various professional bodies and trade associations, was formed to respond to the Construction 21 initiatives. They identified the need for the present exploitative attitudes to be discarded, and a common code of conduct to be drawn up. It is clear that every player has to act fairly, equitably and ethically towards one another, serving the public and their clients with honesty and impartiality. It is becoming increasingly obvious that for the advancement of the construction industry as a whole, and for the achievement of a level of professionalism, it is vital that the role of each player in the industry must be sustainable. I ask the Minister to support the industry in its endeavours and to license all parties in the construction industry, so that a code of conduct can be enforced. Consultants and contractors undertaking public sector projects face a procurement procedure called the IM. All Government agencies follow it faithfully, but its contents are shrouded in mystery to the private sector. Will the Minister make the IM transparent to players in the industry? It seems that the selection of consultancy services must follow a tender process, similar to buying pencils. Surely procuring professional services cannot follow this same route. The Minister for Law, last week, confirmed that the Government will respect intellectual property rights, and yet we see conditions in the procurement process requiring all design submissions to be surrendered to Government agencies. The design and build (D&B) tender system, while it is supported, is only one procurement method with the intention of bringing about an integration in the industry.”
“Sir, players in the construction industry range from entrepreneurs, builders, suppliers, professionals to home buyers. I wish to declare that I am an architect in private practice. My colleagues in the construction industry said that I must convince the Minister that the SMEs and the construction industry continue to suffer, and have still not recovered. More importantly, there are no signs on the ground that indicate the likelihood of recovery soon. The four years of decline since 1997 had hurt the industry and its sustainability. They are trying to cope. The need to reduce the cost of business without affecting quality is a continuing struggle. The reduction of tax in the Budget will help, but tax rebates will only benefit those who have made profits. The industry is not in this happy state. While the Government agencies streamline and rationalise their operations to be more productive, too often, their unproductive works are simply passed to the private sector. I ask the Minister to look into operational procedures which have an impact down stream. In a downturn, public sector work is critical to the private sector. Of the $12 billion works in the public sector, a disproportionate volume was undertaken by a Government-linked consultancy corporation, leaving very few to private consultants. Contracts, on the other hand, are being tendered and awarded at unrealistically low prices. This situation cannot go on without detriment to the whole industry. The Construction 21 blueprint is a historical milestone for the industry, as it adopts a total system approach to deal with the problems of the industry. The consultative approach involving all players in the construction value chain is especially significant.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the countries concerned like Britain, France and Germany have all denied for years that they have BSE. Can we actually just take their word for it or is there any way that we could actually test the meat before it comes into the country?”
“Mr Minister, all the countries that have ---”
“Sir, I understand that 25% of our water could be collected locally. With two metres of rainfall a year in Singapore, it is 1.2 billion cubic metres of water and our annual requirement is only 480 million cubic metres. Why is it not enough to collect water locally? BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Mr Speaker, Sir, I have got to look at the Member's calculations. As far as I can remember, even if we were to collect every drop of rain that falls in Singapore, it is still not enough to meet our needs. That is why we require fairly large catchments in Malaysia.”
“Question No. 7, Sir. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I would like to answer Question Nos. 7 and 8 together.”
“Sir, obviously, these motorcyclists are people who are short-term delivery boys. Is there a possibility of providing short-term parking? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, there are sufficient parking lots for motorcyclists in the CBD. I have been told that there are currently at least 1,200 URA motorcyclist lots provided in the CBD. So I think it is better for them to time their journeys so that they do not park illegally. I think the very nature of his question suggests that it is dangerous for them to do so. So I say it is better for them to time their journey and park where they can legally do so. ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL AND SAF NCO CLUBHOUSE ALONG BEACH ROAD (Preservation) 7. Mr Ong Kian Min asked the Minister for Information and the Arts whether the Alexandra Hospital and the SAF NCO Clubhouse along Beach Road have been placed on the list of buildings considered to be "Gazetted Monuments" by the Preservation and Monuments Board affording these buildings a level of protection and, if not, whether his Ministry will consider doing so as these buildings are of great historical significance and worthy of preservation.”
“Would the Senior Parliamentary Secretary consider some incentives for private sector to be more efficient in their buildings? Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: We are looking at the examples of other countries to see how we can encourage developers, for example, to be more conscious of energy efficiency. We are exploring this. BCA, I believe, is talking to URA and at some time they will talk to REDAS and all the other contractors to see how we can make our buildings more efficient. PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 5. Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for National Development what is the current demand for public housing and whether the Government will revise the public housing development programme to match the actual demand for the next 5 to 10 years.”
“Will the Minister of State consider labelling the vehicles on the maximum number of persons they can actually accommodate?”
“In the case of Compassvale, although the Minister said the supervising personnel were accountable to a certain extent, nothing actually happened at all in the whole case. They were literally let off scot-free. Since they are full-time supervisors on site, are they not accountable for anything at all?”
“Sir, as full-time supervision is actually done by a clerk-of-works or a resident engineer, would the Minister consider making them more accountable? Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, currently clerks-of-works are already accountable for the supervisory actions at sites. I am not sure exactly in what way the Member would like them to be more accountable. Perhaps he could let the Ministry know what he has in mind.”
“Sir, I would like to find out for the institutes of higher learning, what percentage of these foreign students come from the first world and the rest of the world. That is the first question. The second question is this. I understand that the Minister of State said that 60% of the cohort go to institutes of higher learning. I want to find out if we include our students that go overseas, what would that percentage be.”
“However, we sometimes wrongly equate foreigners to foreign talents, and we know that this is not so. The next millennium will see a new Down Town in the Marina South area. This virgin piece of land challenges us to design an ecologically-sustainable city with minimum or no private vehicle traffic, no pollution; and where natural green areas removed by development are re-incorporated within our built environment; where rainwater collection is part of the infrastructure of every building. A highly urbanised Singapore is in a position to pioneer ultra-tall buildings to accommodate a large population and yet maintain its livable quality. We look forward to a new Down Town with mixed usage to ensure a more vibrant people's environment. Together with Government, we must seek alternative proposals that can only enrich the final implemented solution. While we develop our recreational areas, we must make a conscious effort to retain some of our wilderness. It is in the natural wilderness that bio-diversity exists. Singapore should not only be a `pretty garden', but a real experiment in co-existence between nature and an urban population. Pulau Ubin is one such place, a place where we can relax, go back to the simpler things in life and experience our harmony with nature. Mr Speaker, Sir, a people-focused programme outlined by the President has excited us and we have been motivated to make it happen.”
“However, I have witnessed children more comfortable with communicating with computers rather than with fellow human beings and this frightens me. We must recognise this phenomenon and address it. Developing our people goes beyond the training of skills. It involves the releasing of their potential by providing opportunities for them to exercise their ideas and talents for Singapore. Singapore buys skills and has 400,000 foreign workers working for pay. Singaporeans must work for Singapore for more than just pay. They must have a passion in their chosen careers to do the best for themselves and for Singapore. We must wean students from picking a career based on monetary returns only. It is a role that both parents and schools must play an active part in. Only then can our children develop their full potential. We support the Government's intention of turning Singapore into a Renaissance City. The rebirth and expansion of cultural activities will allow the arts, music, drama, sculpture and the appreciation of aesthetics to flower. We must also ask ourselves why our artists had to leave Singapore to win accolades in foreign lands. We must establish the conditions and climate for them to return to Singapore. We will know that we have succeeded in establishing a Renaissance City when our artists choose to return home or, even better, if their talents can be acknowledged at home. We must start to nurture a people with a sense of aesthetic sophistication that demands the best in the arts, architecture and other aesthetic disciplines. We have many talented Singaporeans but our population size requires support from talented non-Singaporeans. Many talented non-Singaporeans have taken up the challenge to come to Singapore to join us in our effort. We welcome their contributions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak. I rise in support of the motion. The last quarter of the 20th century has witnessed unprecedented growth and development of the economies of Asia. The expansion of consumption and the market force doctrine expanded trade and created wealth. We had measured our success by the profit we made. The economic crisis is therefore a warning signal for us to reassess our value judgment. The people-centred approach in the President's Speech is timely and the shift of emphasis from money and economy to the people is most welcomed. We are excited by the Government's intention to create more opportunities and space for Singaporeans to develop their full potential. The private sector is keen to participate fully in partnership with Government in shaping our future together. We look forward to a creative and innovative environment for ideas to blossom and be tested. Not all new ideas will succeed though. We must be prepared for failures. Failures must be seen as a stepping-stone to potential success. While strict observance of procedures has served us well in the past, it has also prevented lateral thinking and lateral decision-making. The mindset of the people that operates the policies must change if we are to achieve the full potential of ideas in order for Singapore to benefit. Information Technology will be an integral part of the Singapore lifestyle in the 21st century. It helps us plug into the world. When technology and humans meet, a new relationship is inevitably created. We have seen movies depicting the doom day scenarios when the two cultures clash. I am confident this would not happen. Technology, in particular, information technology, has been beneficial.”