Heng Chiang Meng
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, whilst I agree with the approach taken by the Government, especially when I personally think that the economy may well recover in the second half of next year, I would like to ask the Minister whether he could take steps to rectify the situation on the ground, of which I am very deeply concerned.”
“Witness the prices of PCs when they first appeared and the prices of PCs now. Also, without an extensive infrastructure, motoring with a hybrid car will cause more inconvenience for the owner.”
“Sir, I did address you as Chairman. I only once, earlier on, addressed you as Deputy Speaker. Most of the comments I am going to say have been covered by the two earlier speakers. I just want to add that I understand that Newater is biologically very clean.”
“I dare say that Singapore is kept litter-free by the street cleaners, and not because there are no litter bugs. So the real long-term solution is to inculcate good environmental behaviour as part of our habits.”
“For example, one way could be to rank the distance of each household from the school, and the ranking to be used to allocate the available places based on the household nearest to the school having the pole position.”
“Sir, I find it difficult to understand why the Senior Minister of State should bring in other people's arguments, like people being sick, one parent looking after so many children. We are talking about distances away from the school. Let us not bring in other factors. But, in any case, her mind is already made up.”
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“I do not know the number of blocks in the Ang Mo Kio New Town which are part of Nee Soon, but there are 26 blocks in the Ang Mo Kio New Town which are part of Jalan Kayu. It does not make sense that almost 95% or even 99% of Ang Mo Kio New Town are covered by NPPs, and you leave out these two small parts of the New Town uncovered.”
“Sir, I would like to support the Members' comments on the NPP. I see that under the Development estimates, $60,000 has been provided for the evaluation phase, whereas 437 new posts are budgeted for the NPP. This presumably must mean that evaluation is over and the Ministry is going ahead with the implementation of the project. In this respect, we were told earlier by the Hon. Minister of State that the project has been brought forward two years because of the expert advice of the Japanese. I would like to say that perhaps we should advance it by more than two years. If it is a matter of manpower or a matter of finance, I can understand why we can only bring it forward by two years. But I cannot understand the reason for bringing it forward by two years based on the expert advice of the Japanese. 12.45 pm I understand that our system is based on the Japanese Koban system and presumably they have a lot of experience in this. Nevertheless, we have called it the NPP. If it is a system meant for our country, then we can modify the Japanese Koban system for our country. But I cannot understand why we can only advance it by two years because of the Japanese advice. Once again I would like to bring up my plea for the extension of both the Chong Boon NPP and the Cheng San NPP to cover only 26 blocks in Ang Mo Kio. However, although these 26 blocks are in Ang Mo Kio Housing Estate, they are considered part of the Jalan Kayu Constituency. Right now in the town of Ang Mo Kio, there are nine Constituencies. Seven are completely in Ang Mo Kio, except for two, ie Nee Soon Constituency and the Jalan Kayu Constituency.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have an amendment* under the NPP project and since we are speaking about the project now, may I have 10 minutes to speak?”
“Thank you, Sir. Adding on to the hon. Member for Punggol's plea for review, I would like to say that the last review done was in March 1982 where there was about 50% increase for certain categories, and previous to that, in December 1981, there was a 50% increase for other types of categories, and in March 1982, there was a 30% increase across the board. The increases of CPI as well as the HDB flat prices from 1982 to 1985 have been very minor - 13% increase in average HDB flat prices and about 8-9% increase in CPI during this period. But nevertheless I would still hope that the Hon. Minister for National Development reviews the resettlement compensation because small doses of increases are very much better than 30% or 50% which are large quantum jumps. On another point, Sir, earlier the Minister mentioned that he will consider favourably and sympathetically those large families and people who got married after the cut-off date. I would like to ask him to consider that in these cases these people who want a second unit of flat would like to be balloted with their parents because they want to continue staying as extended families.”
“Sir, may I have just two minutes to speak?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, may I ask a point of clarification. Sir, I do not quite understand what the Member for Potong Pasir is saying. I just want to ask this. Does he mean that HDB should sell or price the flat on the basis of land that has been acquired many, many years ago at, maybe, $1 per sq ft? Or does he mean that HDB should actually price the flat at the land price today? As I am working in a somewhat related profession, I just want to say that I have come across many developers who have had land given to them, maybe by their grandfathers, which probably cost them 50cts per sq ft. But today the value of that land is $80 or even $100 per sq ft. Surely they are going to sell the house based on land value at $80 and not 50cts per sq ft.”
“(1) That the sum to be allocated for Head S be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead SA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates. Mr S. Chandra Das: (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head S be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead SB-03 of the Main Estimates.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister of State to go and check properly. I believe that the NPP coverage is on a constituency basis and not on a town basis. So the 26 blocks in Ang Mo Kio that is bounded by Cheng San as well as Chong Boon are not covered by NPPs.”
“Is the Minister of State aware that the whole of Ang Mo Kio is not covered by NPP? There are two parts of Ang Mo Kio - one part in my constituency, Jalan Kayu, there are 26 blocks, and another part in Nee Soon Constituency - which are not covered by NPPs?”
“I will come to the supplementary question.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Hon. Minister of State has mentioned that the Paya Lebar Police Station covers ---”
“Sir, is the Minister aware that it is precisely because of this closed system and the fact that the HDB is the monopolist of these estates that has led to this increase? Is the Minister also aware that, in fact, from 1981 until the present time, rentals for commercial properties all over Singapore, as published in the Monthly Digest of Statistics which shows only sale prices but presumably would also reflect the rental prices, have decreased from 1981 until the present time?”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The second vital part is that we should develop our talents. But should we really just use or make very good use of academic qualifications? Should we not also pay respect to those who have talents in other areas? Because after alk if we want to realize the vision of 1999, we also must give due respect to those who are good, not so much with five 'O' levels or a University degree but also those who are good in music, in the sports and in the other fields. Here again, I think the vital parts, although they are covered, are there. Here is where the President said: 'to strengthen the driving force of our progress, namely, the urge each citizen has to develop his potential to the fullest and to achieve his rewards in accordance with the worth of his contribution to our economy or society;' I think that is the key part, "to our economy or society;". The third vital part, Sir, is the executive branch of the Government, ie, the Civil Service, because policies are implemented by them, and the heavy hand of bureaucracy can kill really any creative spark that may be in us. All of us have our own favourite stories about the Civil Service, and I do not wish to go into them. The question I ask is, why are they like this? Are all these actions that one hears about the acts of some misguided, untrained, underpaid staff? Or does it run through the whole Service? I think the main problem here lies very much with the fear of making mistakes.”
“In other words, what I am saying, Sir, is that, like fire, wealth is a good servant but a bad master. At this point, although it is a covered vital part, I am not very concerned because I think our new leaders are aware of it. If one looks carefully at the speech by the President, one will find it, And here, I would like to quote: 'Our people can be encouraged to find satisfaction and fulfilment beyond material pursuits.' So the hint of the vital part is there, "beyond material pursuits".”
“Thank you. But here, I must say that to bridge this gap we require a vital spark, a spark that is not tangible, something that cannot be seen but something that must be within all of us, so that we can become creative, stimulating, perhaps interesting. This is what I mean when I say that the bikini covers the vital areas. I am sure we are all aware that the bikini is a two-piece swim suit. Although, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is a two-piece, I maintain that it covers three vital areas. What are these three? I leave it to the imagination of Members. Here, I would like to touch on these three very briefly. The first vital area, I think, is in the very important question of the allocation of scarce resources. This is an important policy matter, and in Singapore it is important that we allocate our scarce resources correctly. But may I ask: why is it that we frequently use monetary incentives or disincentives to do this job? The Members for Chong Boon as well as Whampoa have already adequately covered this. I just want to add that we can hear sometimes, or even very often, in the streets and in coffee shops the local colloquialism where people used to say, "With this Government, if there is no money there is no talk." When we use this too much - I say "too much" because I believe there is definitely a place for such usage - but if we use this too much, we run the risk of encouraging our citizens to look at the accumulation of wealth as the alpha and the omega of life. Although earlier I stated that economic growth is important, nevertheless I do not think that these two points contradict one another, for it simply means that we need to recognize the importance that wealth can bring but we must not let wealth rule our lives. Poverty is certainly not a badge of honour.”
“Perhaps even in London, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution when arts and culture bloomed, where scientists, whether in the natural science or in the physical science, who were all Members of the Royal Society, came forth with new discoveries and over things. Or even Paris attheturn ofthecentury,where itwassaid that if you want to paint or write you have to go to Paris. But, Sir, how do we reach from where we are today to where we want to be in 1999? That is the key question. In this, it seems to me that Singaporeans will have to be innovative, creative and imaginative. We have also been given a show of the interesting areas where the Government has said that we will reach an accord with the citizens, there will be participation and there was also express concern for the aged and for the 15-20% of those in the lower income group. Many Members here have offered many suggestions, and I do not intend to add more because there will be ample time in other sittings to do this. Some hon. Members: Hear! hear!”
“May I tell the Member for Serangoon Gardens that he has to look for it himself. Some of the goals are quantitative. These are the economic growth rate of 5-7%, the increase in productivity rate of 3-5%, the 80% home-ownership by 1989, and so forth. These are all very quantifiable goals which can be seen quite easily when we achieve them, because these are what we have achieved in the past. But there will be more and better things in the years to come. And with a history of what we have done, I am pretty confident that we will be able to achieve them. However, there are some goals that are more qualitative. Perhaps at this point I would just like to quote briefly some of them. In the President's Speech, he says: 'A more vibrant cultural environment can make living in Singapore more fun.' In the First Deputy Prime Minister's Addendum, he said: 'There will be ample facilities and support for music, the arts, for sports, recreation and leisure activities.' He also mentioned this: 'They can be gracious as well as socially disciplined and confident. They can find fulfilment in non-material pursuits......' 'Singapore can be a cultivated society...... Talents of the people will be developed to the fullest. For that we need a creative, stimulating and culturally vibrant environment.' These are very beautiful goals to achieve because straightaway, when I read this, it reminds me of certain periods of history of other civilizations where these things happened, particularly the European Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries.”
“Those of you who have ridden motorcycles before will know that if you, try to negotiate a right-hand bend while turning your body to the left, you will find yourself in a very nasty accident. I agree, Sir, that this motorcycle that we are on now and then wobbles, especially when we come to some slippery patch of road. We have had that in the past, ie, the British pull-out and the separation from Malaysia. But now, I think the horizon shows that we are coming to another bad patch again. I hope that the Member for Teck Ghee, who is also the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, prefers my analogy of a motorcycle because what may cause only dents in buses will be a fatal accident to a motorcyclist. Sir, I think these two pillars, the pillar of nation building and the pillar of economic growth are two fundamental pillars of foundation, so much so that if anybody were to knock these down, he will bring down the nation that is Singapore. It is only because the People's Action Party for the past 25 years have to a great extent properly maintained these pillars that today we can talk about the new goals for 1999, ie, the goals that have been enunciated in the President's Speech together with the Addenda that accompany the Speech. Looking at the goals in the speech, I come to a very interesting conclusion; the programme reminds me of a bikini. Why do I say it is a bikini? Because, like a bikini, it shows you very interesting parts. It tantalizes you but the vital parts are covered. I would like to explain briefly what I mean by this. An hon. Member: Open it.”
“I agree that we can take some measures to protect ourselves. We have done so for our own motorcyclists. We advise them to put protection bars. We require them to wear crash helmets. But, by and large, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is really not much that we can do to protect ourselves. These are the disadvantages. But we have some advantages. We are small, we are flexible and therefore we manoeuvre better, especially in traffic jams and other forms of jams that we may have. We can move faster, but in the long run, over a long stretch, our speed is constrained by the size of our motorcycle. It is difficult to move a motorcycle with, let us say, a 300 cc engine. But being small, we also occupy very linle space and therefore whatever business there may be, though it may be a drop to countries like the United States or China, could be a boom for us. And along with this motorcyle that we are travelling on, we do have our fellow road users. Most of them are the huge imposing vehicles, the lorries, the buses and the cars. Some of them are downright unfriendly, such as recession and economic problems, trade protectionism, external political uncertainties, communalism, and things like these. But I must say that there are some friendly road users too, and these are the principles of free trade that we base our economy upon, our Asean friends with Asean cooperation and vehicles like these. Sir, my motorcycle is not as big as the bicycle that has been illustrated by the Member for Bukit Merah. Just like Singapore is, we all are "on board" in a small place, and we know that it is only discipline, a purpose of direction, and hard work that can keep us going in the right direction to keep us in proper balance.”
“I do not really want to go into this because, as he rightly said, the best things in life are not free despite what the advertisements and romantics tell you. But I would just like to touch briefly on his analogy of a bus that is applied to Singapore and the economy. Since Members have used quite a lot of land transport vehicles, may I use another example. With apologiestothe Memberfor Bukit Merah,l think our economy is more like a motorcycle. After all, a bicycle is really too slow. A motorcycle moves faster than a bicycle but, like a bicycle, a motorcycle has two wheels and so we are always in danger of toppling over. We cannot stop although sometimes some of us may feel tired and say, "Stop the motorcycle. I want to get off." Unfortunately the world carries on regardless of our state of health. We are also exposed to the elements, to the wind, the rain and the sun, just as our country is exposed to the uncertainties of world economic and political situations. We are also very vulnerable, especially when we get involved in accidents. An hon. Member: Sure!”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the motion moved by the Member for Ayer Rajah to thank the President for his speech delivered on behalf of the Government. Before going into the Government's goals, I would like just to touch on two pillars of foundation upon which Singapore was built and become what it is today. These are, first, the pillar of nation building. I thought this is something that we all take for granted, that it is on the efforts that have been made since 1959 that we are able today to stand here and speak. Obviously, the remarks that have been made by both the Members for Potong Pasir and Anson have shown that it is not so. They have both bitterly criticized the Government's $18 million spent on the National Exhibition. I do not think, Sir, I want to go into why or how our forefathers came here. But I do want to say that today we are here. This is our nation. Every step we take, every move we make, everything we do towards building this country, a nation of people committed to the nation that we call Singapore, and any money we spend is worth the money spent. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, what is the use of all our economic growth; what is the use of all our wealth if, when the chips are down, we find all our people deserting our shores? So I think the Government need not make any apologies for this money spent. Sir, may I remind them that it is our 25th year of nationhood. In a marriage, they call 25 years of marriage the S.'Iver anniversary. It is a time for rejoicing. It is a time to spend this money to show our people what has been done during the last 25 years. The second pillar, Sir, I would like touch upon is that of economic growth, The Member for Teck Ghee has spoken eloquently on this.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask if the Ministry, in considering the compensation for the pig farmers, will also consider in their plans those who want to voluntarily give up their farming activities, although the Government may not require their land for any form of clearance at this stage?”
“Sir, may I ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether these details will also include the pig farmers on TOL presently in my constiuency, and also whether, although they are on TOL, the compensation that may be given to them could be accelerated because sooner or later these people will have to be actually resettled? Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Speaker, Sir, I have just informed the House, in reply to the question from the Member for Punggol, that the Ministry is working out an implementation plan. I would like to assure the Member for Jalan Kayu that his pig farming constituents will also be given due consideration in this implementation plan. We will take into consideration any request for resettlement and compensation by pig farmers who wish to voluntarily cease pig farming if the land is required for other public projects. Since I am on my feet, Mr Speaker, Sir, may I be allowed, in anticipation, to say to the hon. Member for Chua Chu Kang, who is not in this House at the present moment, that his constituency will also be one of the constituencies where there are groups of farmers that we will consider in our implementation plan.”