Heng Swee Keat
Singapore
“In a world heading towards greater contest and fragmentation, amid rapid advances in science, technology and innovation, Singaporeans can play a valuable part as bridge-builders and connectors, and Singapore can be a trusted and neutral Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise.”
“The National Quantum Office has identified specific goals under the National Quantum Strategy (NQS), with resources and efforts directed towards specific quantum areas and technologies accordingly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank Member Ms Denise Phua for her comments because her comments reminded me of the tagline that I always said when I was in MOE – that you can learn from anyone, anytime, anywhere. In fact, peer learning is a very important aspect of that learning.”
“But I have laid out the strong basis for my optimism that a small and open economy like Singapore can continue to thrive and secure our next bound of growth. By serving as a trusted node and connector, we can create value by facilitating connections and building new linkages in today's fractured global landscape.”
“Secondly, one other very important thing the Member must bear in mind is that AI is a very rapidly developing field and it is something which our researchers are working hard on, to look at the different techniques of AI – it is not just GenAI, but the whole range of different AI systems that are being used – and how that can be used in c…”
“Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, you do not need an invitation. You are free to provide your suggestion. After all, are you not from WP? And by the way, let me make it clear that I have heard MPs on both aisles speaking about workers, and we have a very strong presence of our union MPs here and they will be speaking even more on this.”
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“One aspect is nurturing "Asia-capable" students who can operate and build connections in the region, which is a vast and growing market. Bilingualism and the experience of growing up in a multiracial society bring advantages. We nurture competencies like global awareness, cross-cultural literacy, communication and collaboration skills. And we provide opportunities for overseas exposure throughout the schooling journey, from internships to immersion programmes. These enable us to shape an outward orientation and acceptance of diversity from young. We also prepare our young people to harness and complement technology, by building skills that machines and AI cannot yet deliver well. For example, creativity, empathy and building connections are areas where human endeavour remains superior, at least for now. This is why we focus on building socioemotional competencies and enable our students to put scientific principles into practice through the Applied Learning Programme. Coupled with scholarships and study awards that span industries and sectors, our young people receive a continuum of support to build relevant competencies, pursue their passions and join the workforce with confidence. But developing our people must go beyond the schooling years. Success in a more disruptive world requires continuous reskilling throughout life. We must, as Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence said, strive to be a "Learning Society – from cradle to grave". We will strengthen our SkillsFuture movement to ensure Singaporeans are resilient and well-equipped to face the future. This goes hand-in-hand with jobs transformation and business transformation that we mentioned earlier.”
“Besides anchoring multinational enterprises, we have also developed a lively startup ecosystem, connecting venture capital and private equity with innovative startups and companies. Our efforts have yielded good outcomes. Singapore is ranked among the top 10 most innovative economies in the world. In an age of contestation, we must build bridges, not walls. Positioning Singapore as a Global Asia node is of strategic importance. We seek to be a trusted partner with strong regulatory frameworks and rules, and connected to different parts of the world. We can be the place that facilitates collaboration between like-minded partners and countries. We must continue to welcome the best researchers and scientists and entrepreneurs from around the world. As several Nobel laureates who were in Singapore for the Global Young Scientists Summit earlier this year told their audience, "Science is global. By building bridges, we can stay relevant and useful to the world". So, I was glad to hear Mr Pritam Singh say earlier on that the WP is not xenophobic. I have spoken about growing our economy. Let me now move on to the next point. Ultimately, economic growth is about creating tangible benefits for all. To do this, we must develop every Singaporean fully, and enable each to maximise his or her potential and seize opportunities. The World Bank ranks Singapore as the best place in the world for a child to realise his or her potential. It reflects our investments and shifts, particularly in education, to support different pathways, skills and inclinations. And we plan to further widen the notion of meritocracy, as Minister Chan Chun Sing said earlier. Through our education system, we prepare our young people to navigate shifts and seize opportunities with confidence.”
“I should tell Mr Leong Mun Wai that the founder was a foreigner who has been working here for many years and the older worker was a Singaporean whom he cared about and said, "I'd better redesign the process to keep him employed". This staff was very qualified to do this because he had gone through the difficult manual work before and if there was any breakdown in the system, he would happen to be the best person to be able to do that. He was thoughtful and caring enough to redesign the whole job and train him to do it. Another company adopted the use of exoskeletons to enable their staff to lift objects safely. The broader point is that job redesign can be empowering and inclusive, a point that Miss Rachel Ong mentioned yesterday about helping PwDs. Besides enabling older workers who wish to continue working to do so in a fulfilling and safe manner, it can enable differently-abled people to take on good jobs and fulfil their potential. With science and technology determining the next bound of growth and competitiveness, we must deepen Singapore's investments in research & development (R&D), and tighten the linkage between our R&D and industry transformation efforts. In a more contested world, we should position Singapore as a Global Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. This way, we can attract, create and capture value in Singapore, which will benefit not just ourselves, but the region and the world. Over the years, we have invested in and grown our research, innovation and enterprise capabilities. We have strengthened our research capabilities in our universities. The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University are now ranked among the best in the world.”
“Singapore's small open economy, which has benefited from an open, multilateral framework, can be badly affected. We must stay nimble and adapt quickly. Third, ageing populations, especially in the developed world, will be a challenge for many governments. Ageing can significantly affect personal consumption, retirement adequacy, healthcare consumption and economic dynamism. In many countries, the social compact is being strained as societies confront this crisis. Singapore is facing similar challenges, and we will have to make difficult policy moves like raising taxes to support growing social needs. More fundamentally, we need to grapple with the difficult but critical issue of talent and immigration, which I will speak more about later. These three structural changes will transform the global economy. To succeed, we must press on with efforts to transform our economy, with the Government, businesses and workers working closely together. We had made a good start seven years ago. The ITMs mobilise companies and workers in every sector to prepare for the future. We are now into our second iteration. ITM 2.0 includes two additional pillars – resilience and sustainability. Resilience to address shocks in the supply chains and sustainability to address carbon constraints. There is also a sharper focus on the future of jobs and skills, to better deploy technology and prepare for an ageing workforce. I visited two companies which leveraged technology to redesign higher-value and better jobs for their older workers. One automated their entire processes. The founder explained to me that he trained a staff in his 60s to supervise the new automated system.”
“First, scientific and technological innovation will reshape every sector of the economy even more rapidly than before. Industry 4.0 is reshaping jobs and skills. Today, robots can enable factories to operate round-the-clock. In fact, I myself have seen several dark factories, where it is not even lighted up, because the robots were all doing the job and they did not need lights. And an AI can spot disease on x-rays as accurately as a human radiologist. Ms Mariam Jaafar spoke about the impact of AI earlier. New sectors like the digital economy and renewables, biotech and a whole range of others are advancing rapidly. There is now a more dynamic corporate landscape of startups and smaller companies, pushing the frontiers with greater agility. Many traditional firms and workers will find this competition unsettling. Competition not just from other countries or from foreigners, but from greater automation and AI. Yet, these advances also offer the best hope for addressing global challenges like climate change and ageing populations, from extending healthy longevity, to new low carbon technology that can bring us closer towards a net-zero world. We must learn to harness the best of science, technology and innovation, while supporting our workers and companies to ride these advances and blunting the sharp edges that they bring. Second, as countries realise the critical importance of technology, technological supply chains will increasingly bifurcate and fragment into competing blocs. The shift towards national security considerations and industrial policy will reverse the past three decades of globalisation and free trade. These will reduce efficiency and innovation. What does this mean for Singapore?”
“Within my career, I have experienced many of such rainy days – the Asian Financial Crisis, the dot.com bubble, the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, which plunged us into one of the worst recessions. We supported our workers and companies through these crises and retained their capabilities. This enabled Singapore to bounce back quickly. During the COVID-19 crisis, we rolled out five Budgets in one year and eventually drew down around $40 billion from past Reserves to save lives and livelihoods. Most remarkably, we did not borrow a single cent, which would have burdened future generations. I am grateful, as a citizen, that we could do this. Without strong growth and the discipline of setting aside resources to provide a buffer against the unexpected, Singapore and Singaporeans would have been worse off. So, let us resolve to not just think about the next election, but to think long-term, about the future of Singapore and Singaporeans. We must do our best to build up the capability and resources for future generations of Singaporeans, just as the previous generations had done for us. This is why we should think carefully when the WP says that they reject the GST hike because one alternative that they have been constantly offering is to increase the proportion used from returns on investments. This will slow down the rate of accumulating reserves, leaving future generations with less resources. Sustaining growth and creating good jobs for our people will become harder in the years ahead. Besides getting our fiscal and monetary policies right, we must address structural changes that are sweeping across the world. Let me mention just three.”
“Within our short history, we have managed to survive and thrive through even more difficult circumstances. A key lesson is that to continue to succeed, we must stay relevant and useful to the world while deepening our social cohesion and national unity. As we look forward towards the future, allow me to touch on three things we need to get right, in addition to the many that many of you have suggested. First, we must grow a vibrant and innovative economy. Second, we must develop every Singaporean to their fullest potential and empower each one to thrive and succeed. Third, we must remain open as an economy, as a society and as a people. Let me start with growing the economy. Some may ask whether we should move beyond economic growth to focus on other pressing domestic issues, such as caring for our seniors and uplifting those with disadvantages. After all, we are almost at full employment and the constant call to upgrade and reskill can be tiresome. This is a false choice. Throughout our history, growth has never been for growth's sake. Growth is critical for giving us the means to build a better Singapore and better lives for Singaporeans. Growth allows our people to access good jobs, fulfil their aspirations and raise their families. It generates the resources for our nation to fund needs and priorities, such as supporting families, caring for our seniors and uplifting those with disadvantages. Thinking longer term, growth coupled with prudence has enabled us to build a buffer to weather many storms. Our national reserves were created through the surpluses generated by strong economic growth. Our founding fathers and successive governments were disciplined about saving for a rainy day.”
“Indeed, the newly independent Singapore was akin to a startup – figuring out our economic strategy, attracting companies to invest, building up our workers' capabilities while ensuring national cohesion and security. Mr Lee did not do it alone. He had a team of capable comrades like Dr Goh Keng Swee, Mr S Rajaratnam, Encik Othman Wok and many more. Together, they laid a strong foundation for Singapore to take off. The best way for us to remember Mr Lee and our founding fathers is to learn from and build on this. Indeed, this is what Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence and the 4G team are doing – to refresh our social compact and bring Singapore forward. Like Mr Lee and the founding fathers, the 4G team must win the trust of Singaporeans by setting out a clear plan to secure a better future for all. Our plans must address Singaporeans' aspirations and concerns, given today's context of an ageing population, greater economic disruption, a worrisome international environment and differences in starting points. This is why the ForwardSG agenda sets out the shifts we need to make to refresh our social compact. This unity and clear sense of purpose is crucial if we are to continue to secure our place in the world. As the President said in her address, we must "take the world as it is, and not what we wish it to be". Over the years, our policies and hard work have earned Singapore and Singaporeans a good reputation. The next lap will see new challenges as geopolitics become more unsettling, technology and innovation disrupt jobs more rapidly and our constraints of land, labour and carbon become tighter, but I am optimistic that we can, once again, turn challenges into opportunities and secure a bright future for Singapore and Singaporeans.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, over the past few days, we have heard diverse views on how we can take Singapore forward in a more uncertain and contested world. The Prime Minister spoke about the grave geopolitical and economic outlook and how we must stay united, be go-getting and uphold our good standing in the world. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence laid out five key shifts to create a stronger social compact to take Singapore forward. Members have offered perspectives and suggestions across a range of issues and concerns. I will not attempt to sum up, which will not do justice to the range and quality of ideas that have been raised in this House but allow me to commend Members on two counts – first, for identifying difficult issues early, putting forward ideas and solutions to address them and highlighting the trade-offs. Second, that even in proposing changes, many Members abide by certain fundamentals precious to Singapore, such as fairness, multiracialism and our approach of tripartism. This is what ForwardSG is about – building on strong foundations and at the same time, having the courage to do things differently from before if needed. It is befitting that this debate is taking place in the year that we commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Some 30 years ago, I was at a meeting where Mr Lee asked a successful American venture capitalist why he had asked Mr Lee to meet with him. The American replied that Mr Lee was the "ultimate entrepreneur". While he, the venture capitalist, helped build successful companies, Mr Lee built a new nation – two remarkable lifelong learners learning from each other.”
“We will continue to build a strong core of local research talent by nurturing our youths’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and providing diverse pathways for those who wish to take up research careers. As a small nation and global city, we must remain open to top international talent. We are expanding our global collaborations in research and innovation to address complex problems that cannot be solved by one country alone, including through the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), a collaborative research hub with foreign universities and international research organisations. We will also continue to enhance the porosity of research talent across academia, public research institutes and industry, for instance, by seconding public researchers to local enterprises. We are working with industry to enhance their research capacity, through initiatives such as the Industrial Postgraduate Programme which provide opportunities for postgraduate students to undertake industrial R&D projects with companies. To grow the pool of deep-tech talent with Innovation & Enterprise and technology commercialisation skills, we also have on-the-job training programmes, which are accessible to mid-career professionals. Our RIE investments have created a strong foundation for Singapore to remain competitive amidst rapid technological changes. We must continue to leverage and build Singapore’s science and technology capabilities to meet imminent needs and challenges, capture new economic opportunities and support our businesses and workforce.”
“In the next phase, as part of the Singapore Global Enterprises Initiative to build more locally-grown, high-growth and globally competitive companies, we will provide customised financial support for promising enterprises to build sustained R&D and innovation capacity. In addition to its economic importance, RIE has been critical in addressing Singapore’s challenges in areas, such as public health and resource resilience. Our R&D capabilities in biomedical sciences and infectious diseases enabled us to respond to COVID-19 quickly. Singapore was one of the first countries to successfully culture the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We also developed several diagnostic test-kits that were rapidly deployed for use both locally and overseas. Our early investments to diversify our water sources, such as creating and adapting technologies for NEWater and desalination, have also helped make our water supply more secure and resilient. We will continue to invest in R&D to tackle ongoing and future challenges, for instance, to improve our pandemic preparedness by bolstering our vaccine development capabilities. To respond to the existential threat of climate change, we are deepening our investments in low carbon energy research and strengthening our climate adaptation R&D efforts, including by investing in coastal protection and flood management research. Food resilience is another pressing area. We are investing in food R&D particularly in aquaculture, urban agriculture, alternative proteins, and food safety, to strengthen our food security while reaping economic benefits. A robust talent pool is a key enabler for good RIE investment outcomes. The number of public and industry researchers in Singapore more than doubled from 20,000 in 2000 to 46,000 in 2020.”
“We are scaling up platforms that bring together our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), public research institutes and industry, so that technological advancements in areas, such as medical diagnostics and additive manufacturing, are more quickly commercialised. Companies can also establish corporate laboratories with our public research performers to address their industry challenges or tap on Centres of Innovation for technical and business advisory to support their journey to become product builders. We will also strengthen Singapore's position as an attractive Global-Asia node for businesses to conduct research and development (R&D) and innovation, tapping on our diverse workforce, vibrant RIE ecosystem, and connections to fast-growing markets. This will build on the growth in Singapore's Business Expenditure on Research & Development, which has risen from about S$1.9 billion in 2000 to about S$6.6 billion in 2020. Many large corporations and multinationals have anchored their R&D centres in Singapore. Small-Medium Enterprises are also growing their innovation ambition and capabilities by tapping on capabilities in the IHLs and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and on platforms, such as the Global Innovation Alliance, which provide access to enterprise partners, talent and markets in international innovation hubs. Our startup ecosystem continues to grow, with a more than 20-fold increase in venture capital funding raised in Singapore, from about S$500 million in 2011 to about S$11 billion in 2022. This includes promising deep-tech startups.”
“The National Research Foundation (NRF) seeks to build a thriving Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) ecosystem that drives an innovation economy and addresses Singapore’s national imperatives. Over the years, our RIE investments have benefited Singapore and Singaporeans. Investments in biomedical sciences and medical technology since the 1990s have set the foundation for the flourishing sectors they are today. As of 2020, Singapore hosts more than 30 regional headquarters (HQs) in the sector, many of which are from the world’s top pharmaceutical and med-tech firms. The biomedical sector supports 25,000 jobs and makes up almost 4% of our GDP. We will support the next bound of Singapore’s economic transformation by advancing Singapore’s capabilities in strategic technology areas. This will unlock new opportunities for growth and create good jobs for Singaporeans. For example, in the area of semiconductors, our public research institutes and universities are collaborating with industry through corporate laboratories and joint projects, to work on new materials, designs, and manufacturing techniques that can drive the next generation of more efficient and powerful chips. These innovations will enable advances in wide-ranging applications such as wearables, communications equipment and vehicles, and expand the base of semiconductor manufacturing activities and jobs in Singapore. Artificial intelligence (AI) is another technology with transformative potential. We will continue to attract top AI talent and spur the development of innovative AI solutions that generate value for businesses and society. We will continue to support transformation efforts of businesses across industry sectors by creating new and improved solutions that leverage science and technology.”
“The National Research Foundation is not currently participating in any international fusion reactor projects. Nonetheless, as part of our overall efforts of keeping abreast with the latest progress in nuclear technologies, we are monitoring global developments related to fusion, including at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), to identify where Singapore can participate and contribute meaningfully. The latest development, in which researchers produced for the first time a small fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes, is a significant scientific advancement. However, more work needs to be done to achieve a much higher scale of net energy gain over a sustained period, for fusion to generate electricity in a commercially viable manner. We will continue with our efforts to better understand the evolving nuclear science and technology by supporting research in relevant areas of nuclear science and engineering, and training a pool of scientists and experts through education programmes and collaborations with overseas nuclear technology partners.”
“This could be through research collaborations with our public research performers, such as the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) research institutes and Institutes of Higher Learning, as well as the establishment of corporate laboratories. Large enterprises can also explore and develop new business ventures together with the Economic Development Board (EDB) New Ventures team. Our R&D investments have also benefited Singapore workers by giving them new opportunities to upskill and work in deeptech sectors. For instance, the Industrial Postgraduate Programme co-sponsors locals to pursue full-time postgraduate studies while undertaking an industrial R&D project at a Singapore-based company. This form of training allows trainees to develop a stronger appreciation for the commercial applications of research, and develops more "industry-ready" postgraduates.”
“For local startups, our approach has been to help groom them to translate deeptech research into commercially-viable products and services and connect them to international partners and venture capitalists who can help them grow and scale. We have built up a thriving startup ecosystem in Singapore. Startups in Singapore raised S$11.2 billion during the first nine months of 2021, more than double the S$5.5 billion raised in the whole of 2020, and up from S$8.5 billion in 2019. In 2021, Singapore also saw a bumper crop of 11 new Singapore-based unicorn startups, that is, startups with a valuation exceeding US$1 billion. With regard to SMEs, we support their efforts to leverage public R&D and innovation capabilities to build new products and solutions, as well as strengthen their own innovation capabilities and capacities. This is achieved through various initiatives, such as T-Up, Centres of Innovation and the Innovation Advisors Programme. These initiatives provide our SMEs with critical enablers necessary for their growth: (a) T-Up helps to address SMEs’ deep-tech talent gap by seconding research scientists and engineers to these companies; (b) Centres of Innovation offer SMEs with technology consultancy and access to technical equipment; and (c) Innovation Advisors impart industry-relevant tech advice and business networks to help SMEs innovate, secure new customers and grow their businesses. As for large enterprises, we want to encourage them to invest in R&D and create globally leading products, services and businesses out of Singapore.”
“Our consistent investments in basic research have allowed Singapore to develop a base of scientific capabilities and intellectual property that we can now draw on. As science and technology are evolving rapidly, the National Research Foundation (NRF) will introduce mechanisms to systematically review our basic science capabilities and identify potential peaks of excellence that will differentiate Singapore internationally. RIE2025 also emphasises talent by building a robust base of research scientists and engineers, such as through our NRF Fellowship and Investigatorship schemes which will support both promising young scientists and established experts to pursue groundbreaking research in Singapore. In addition, the Returning Singapore Scientist Scheme will continue to attract overseas-based Singaporean research leaders home to contribute to Singapore’s pursuit of scientific excellence. Third, RIE2025 will strengthen our support for companies and scale up Innovation & Enterprise (I&E) platforms to drive tech translation and accelerate enterprise innovation that benefits our companies and workers. For instance, our investment in the Diagnostics Development (DxD) Hub supported development and productisation of the Fortitude test kit for COVID-19. The Fortitude test kit has been deployed in over 45 countries to date, with over seven million kits sold. Going forward, we will support I&E platforms to expand into adjacent areas with high growth potential, for example, from diagnostics to medtech. Where necessary, we will also establish new platforms to tap on Singapore’s R&D strengths and bridge ecosystem gaps. Beyond I&E platforms, we will also customise our support for different enterprise segments, such as startups, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises.”
“The Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 Plan sets out the Government’s RIE plans from 2021 to 2025. We have allocated a total of S$25 billion for the RIE2025 Plan, which sustains our investment in RIE at about 1% of our GDP, similar to our commitment to RIE2020 and earlier research plans. The RIE2025 Plan has three focus areas. First, RIE2025 aims to address a broader spectrum of national needs and to better drive economic growth post-pandemic. In RIE2020, we organised our efforts around four domains to focus our efforts in core areas, such as manufacturing and healthcare. However, as science and technology become more pervasive, we have refreshed the scope of the four RIE domains as follows. The Manufacturing, Trade and Connectivity domain has broadened its scope beyond manufacturing to raise capabilities in the trade and connectivity sectors, for example, aviation, sea transport, logistics. The Human Health and Potential domain has expanded beyond Human Health to include Human Potential, with a focus on enhancing development during pregnancy and early childhood, augmenting learning outcomes and fostering healthy and meaningful longevity. The Urban Solutions and Sustainability domain will address new challenges in sustainability and resilience, including climate change, decarbonisation, healthy cities and transformation of our built environment. The Smart Nation and Digital Economy domain will further our strengths in strategic technologies to enhance our resilience and anchor Singapore’s position as a trusted digital innovation hub. Second, RIE2025 will enrich our scientific base, by sustaining our support for basic research at about one-third of the overall budget.”
“Finally, a separate International Evaluation Panel considers each shortlisted CRP application alongside the peer reviews and PIs’ responses. Sixty-one percent of shortlisted CRP applications over the past three years received NRF funding.”
“Under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan, grants are provided by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and other Government agencies to strengthen Singapore’s research and scientific capabilities. Panels of independent experts – both international and local – are typically convened to review such grant applications, with multiple panels convened for larger grant awards for added robustness. As part of the review process, the experts are encouraged to engage in frank and thorough debate on all grant applications. As the experts assess applications using their specialist knowledge, they may differ in their assessments. When this occurs, the experts will discuss their assessments with each other. NRF does not require the experts to be unanimous before awarding funding. Hence, NRF does not track the number or proportion of grants approved unanimously by the experts. NRF’s robust governance of grant applications is reflected in the Competitive Research Programme (CRP). The CRP funds multi-disciplinary teams to perform cutting-edge research that is relevant to Singapore. Over the past three years, NRF has received 412 CRP applications. CRP applications first pass through the Whitepaper Stage, where panels of multi-disciplinary international experts shortlist applications for development into full proposals. Sixteen percent of CRP applications over the past three years were shortlisted. This reflects the selectivity of NRF’s review process. Shortlisted CRP applications are then sent to subject-matter experts for peer review. The Principal Investigators (PIs) who lead the research teams are invited to respond to the peer reviews.”
“Rather, you have to know the ambit of the law, assess each situation on the ground that you encounter, exercise discretion and take the right course of action. This was another huge cultural change, built on the earlier changes to community policing. Personally, I have learnt much over the years and particularly enjoyed my final stint in the Police as Commander of the Jurong Police Division. The camaraderie among officers was strong and the level of dedication was outstanding. And the public, and Members of Parliament and grassroots leaders in the Jurong area were most supportive. Every few weeks, I had the pleasure of presenting a pewter plaque to members of the public for their acts of bravery in helping us arrest criminals, including snatch thieves and molesters. In fact, about 30% of our crime then was solved with the help of the public. Today, I am glad that this ratio remains high, between 20% and 30%, even as our policing capabilities have risen.”
“In fact, the main insight of our NPP system, which is part of the broader community policing approach is this: 99% or more of the public are law-abiding. In many communities, unfortunately, the Police treated most members of the public or segments of them as potential criminals. This sets up an antagonistic relationship, the very exact opposite of what the Police needs to rally the 99% against the 1% or less. We made the right choices in adopting the soft policing approach of building the community to partner one another and taking action to protect one another, so as to deal with potential criminals. And this soft approach is complemented by investing in cutting edge capabilities, whether it is in intelligence or in dealing with extreme stresses and hardened criminals. So, while we can speak of policing approaches, the heart of it is in the trust and confidence of the public in the Police. This trust and confidence rest critically on the values and attributes of our officers. Over the years, we have selected and developed officers with integrity and to keep out corruption. The Commissioner I first served under, Mr Goh Yong Hong, had stories of him arresting those who tried to bribe him. Implementing community policing was a big change in culture for a policeman who grew up in the 1960s, and he gave full support to this very major change. When I was serving as Commander of a Police Division, the then Commissioner Tee Tua Ba initiated an empowerment movement. He saw that as the situation that officers had to handle were becoming more complex, and that was over 20 years ago, they could not just rely on PGO, the Police General Order. The PGO sets out what you could or could not do. But Mr Tee felt that every situation is different and you cannot just rely on instructions.”
“I was later interviewed by an American professor when applying for my postgraduate studies. His question was simple: you had low crime rates in Singapore because of harsh punishment? I took some time to explain to him that the Singapore Police had a holistic approach in dealing with law and order. First, everyone is a potential victim of crime, so Police officers spent a great deal of effort encouraging everyone to take prevention seriously. Prevention is better than cure. And the Police worked with agencies to optimise the design of public spaces, especially with the HDB, to provide protection for the most vulnerable. Second, it is not punishment alone, but the probability of being caught. So, it depends critically on whether you can solve a crime. Again, after several years of the NPP system, the Police have built up enough trust and confidence for the public to come forward to do their part. Each of us is a potential witness. Third, it is how our criminal justice system is organised to ensure fairness and justice. We have due processes and a public who supports taking action. And later on, as the system evolved, the different agencies, first within MHA, the Home Team, was one that worked closely together, Central Narcotics Bureau, the Prisons and SCDF. In fact, Mr Tee Tua Ba, the Commissioner whom I served under, was the Director of Prisons. He was a Policeman seconded to become Director of Prisons and when he came back, he came back with a new perspective about how we can help to reform those criminals who can be reformed. So, I was glad that the professor agreed with me and told me years later when we met again that he learnt a lot about our policing approach, and not to take just a broad brush approach and come to conclusions.”
“When we were in our second year of service, after we finished our investigation stint, we are part of this effort to set up Neighbourhood Police Posts or NPPs all over the island, one in each constituency. NPP officers conducted house visits, checked on the well-being of citizens, gave crime prevention advice and encouraged neighbours to form Neighbourhood Watch Group, to look out for strangers and report suspicious activities. Special efforts were made to nurture the community spirit. In the kampungs, people knew each other well. But when relocated to HDB flats, they needed time to get to know one another and to adjust to a new way of life. It was critical to build that community spirit among neighbours, to look out for one another, to look out for criminals on the prowl. Besides their own efforts, the NPP officers also worked closely with grassroots advisors and volunteers, joining them to give crime prevention advice and helping to build the community spirit. For many officers, especially detectives, it was a huge cultural change. Police officers were traditionally seen as macho gun-toting officers. The friendly Policeman, out to make friends with the public, was seen as a step backward and, in fact, the NPP system was derided by some as "No Power Police". "NPP" equals to "No Power Police". I see many of the seniors here smiling because that was the term that we used all the time at that time. But the Police Commissioner then, Goh Yong Hong, persisted. At the same time, the Government was also enhancing punishment for some crimes. We had strict minimum sentences and death penalty for offences like trafficking of drugs above a certain quantity, robbery with firearms and kidnapping. The message was simple: in Singapore, crime does not pay.”
“But new problems like commercial crimes were on the rise as our economy took off. Our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had tasked Dr Goh Keng Swee to review our policing approach to keep up with the times. The result was one of the most significant changes in policing strategy, where we adopted the Neighbourhood Police Post system, modelled after the Japanese Koban system. I was very excited to be part of this effort to implement this new way in my second year of service. I will share why. As a fresh officer, our first assignment was to do investigation and I was posted to the Central Police Division at that time. On duty one day, I was deeply disturbed to attend to a case of a badly decomposing body. The old lady had been dead for several days in a rental cubicle in Chinatown, but no one knew until the stench was unbearable, as she was living all alone. As part of investigations, I uncovered a sum of cash and gold jewellery that she had saved up. I tried to trace her next-of-kin to return these valuables. What was very sad was that several "relatives" turned up to make the claim but in order to verify this, I had to take statements from them. None could say what they had done with her or for her. It taught me that when members of the society are isolated and relationships were not built over time, we will run into long-term problems, and when people do not care for the people around them, the Police would have a hard time trying to maintain law and order. And just the year before this, I spent some time in Tokyo with Mr Heng Chee How, a fellow Police officer, to study the Koban system as Dr Goh Keng Swee had decided to adopt this community policing system.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I thank Member Mr Christopher de Souza for tabling this Motion to commemorate and honour the important contributions of the Singapore Police Force and its officers. Mr Christopher de Souza has given an excellent overview of how policing has evolved in Singapore since 1820. It is a story of growth and transformation that has enabled the Police to contribute to nation building and keep Singapore one of the safest cities in the world. Mr Murali recounted acts of bravery of our officers – DSI Low, DSI Lim Siong – and paid tribute to the 125 officers who were killed in the line of duty as well as their families, and Mr Melvin Yong just highlighted the important role that many different officers played. I rise to speak in support of this Motion and to add a personal perspective as someone who has served in the Singapore Police Force for 17 years, including five when I was on course or seconded to MOE. Listening to Mr Patrick Tay recount how his pager sounded when he was in the cinema with his then-girlfriend reminded me of how my own dates with my girlfriend were also interrupted very often that way. [Laughter.] But I am sure that many of our officers today will be interrupted by more than just a pager. I was telling my children about this pager story and they said, "Dad, what is a pager?" I joined SPF 15 years after our Independence. The old problems of street crimes, rioting and secret society activities had been brought under control, thanks to the excellent work of many of our veteran officers, including many of them with us here today. They were really in the rough and tumble in those early years when things were very difficult. But back in 1980, the problem of street crimes and secret society activities were still there.”
“The other important point is from Ms Janet Ang, who talked about digital opportunities and the new market. No sector in our economy is going to be immune from competition. Economists used to have this concept of tradable and non-tradable sectors. Non-tradable sectors are naturally protected because they are in your neighbourhood. Your neighbourhood shops, who is going to compete with them? Today, with e-commerce, our neighbourhood shops are under stress. That is why we have a programme, as part of our industry transformation, to help our neighbourhood shops upgrade. That is why IMDA has put in so much effort on SMEs Go Digital programme. I think it is very important for the right policy in Singapore: (a) to stay open; (b) to learn how to cope with changes which will be accelerating; (c) to make the best use of science, technology and innovation to allow us to move forward; and (d) to maintain unity so that businesses, unions, workers and the Government work closely together to make the very significant changes that you need to make. [Applause.]”
“We have Polytechnics and ITEs which provide the most valuable practice-oriented learning. We have enhanced it with SkillsFuture. We have now the Earn and Learn Programme and a whole range of programmes. So, I think, Mr Leong, you will better serve Singaporeans if you help Singaporeans understand how changes are taking place so quickly and you must help to encourage people to upgrade and learn new skills, and work to support our unions in forming Company Training Committees and Job Security Councils and the like, in order to raise the ability of Singaporeans to compete. So, I think to say that our education system has not done a good job or that the Government has not put in enough, I would seriously ask you to rethink that, and come back and debate us on that. Let me end by mentioning two very important points which two Members have just raised. Prof Hoon Hian Teck made an excellent point that the future of competition will be a future of competition of innovation and technology. And it is very important for us to bring in some of the best people to work with Singaporeans, grow Singaporeans to be able to excel in that new realm. It is going to be a different world. So, please do not get stuck in the old world and think that we can excel all on our own. Let us have an open attitude to work with countries around the world who are willing to cooperate and work with us. Just last week, I had a very good session with the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation of France and we talked about what France and Singapore can do together in our research agenda, in our innovation agenda. France is not a small country and they have a long history of science and innovation. So, that is a very important point that Prof Hoon Hian Teck had made.”
“So, the movement of natural persons was a chapter which, indeed, the Indian negotiators were very keen on because they said, "What do we get?" Well, I said no. Because this is of great importance to Singapore. You have a population that is over a billion. Singapore has a population of, at that time, probably about three-odd million, and I said we will be easily swamped. So, we must have very strict agreements on this. And that was, in fact, among the last chapters. There were two chapters that were the most difficult to conclude for which I never let go and we got what we needed. So, I think Mr Leong Mun Wai must not think that, well, you said, "I hope that the Government has the people's interests at heart". Of course! Why do we negotiate FTAs and why do we do this in public service if it is not with the interest of our people at heart? Why do I spend three years of my life doing the agreement? So, please be reasonable and do not mislead Singaporeans. I want to raise two other issues which are very important too. First, you said, "Why is it that we do not have talents and what happened to our Universities?" Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean was the Education Minister. So, was I, and all our former and current Education Ministers are sitting here. I must say that I am extremely proud of what our schools and our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have done over the years to groom Singaporeans. The World Bank has ranked Singapore the best in the world in educating our people. So, please do not go around thinking that we have not put in enough effort. And, in fact, we have increased cohort participation rates from 20% of cohort to now 40%, Government-funded. We now have six Universities.”
“And that is how we had the ASEAN Economic Free Trade Agreement; that was enhanced to the ASEAN Economic Community. Thereafter, it was not just ASEAN. There were two things that we did. One was Free Trade Agreements between Singapore and other countries, far bigger economies: Japan, Australia, US; and then, more recently, the European Union. You asked quite correctly, what is Singapore's bargaining chip? The honest answer is very little. We only have tariffs on three items: beer, stout, samsu. And what is that as a bargaining chip? But I think a very important quality for our public policy is that we must be creative and we must learn to meet the needs of other countries to see what may be in the agreement that is of benefit to them. So, how did we manage to negotiate trade agreements with big economies that have a lot of concerns? For example, Japan was very concerned about agriculture. In the case of India, there was an even wider range of concerns. So, let me tell Mr Leong and his team that I spent three years of my life negotiating this agreement because although I was a Permanent Secretary – and Permanent Secretaries usually just supervise, they do not get into the trenches – the Indian side decided that it was an important agreement, they would have a permanent secretary, and Minister George Yeo said, "Well, you have no choice". So, I ended up being the chief negotiator for CECA. I can tell you the amount of homework I had to do to look at how we can come to an agreement. I went to different parts of India because there was objection from every part of India, from business groups to states. And I can share with you long stories about some of those most intriguing demands which I managed to explain why we cannot do.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you. Well, I was not intending to speak, but since Minister Ong Ye Kung mentioned that I was the chief negotiator for CECA, I thought I must put on record the question that Mr Leong Mun Wai asked. Let me first say that I am terribly troubled by the way that PSP has taken this. And I want to put on record clearly, that the movement of natural persons is a very important chapter but it was not used as a bargaining chip to trade for what else we got. It was not. So, let me give you a very brief history of FTAs because I was in MTI at that time, first, as a Deputy Secretary and then as a Permanent Secretary. In 2000, the Doha round of WTO negotiation was launched and then-Minister George Yeo and I were at Doha. We saw the entry of China into the WTO. But soon after the launch, our assessment and Minister George Yeo's assessment then, was that it looked like the Doha round would not go very far. And, indeed, he was proven correct. And he said, what does Singapore need to do to ensure our continued survival? Minister Ong Ye Kung earlier mentioned the importance of free trade to Singapore. Trade is more than three times our GDP and it will continue to be so. So, he decided that we should pursue Free Trade Agreements, and our very first Free Trade Agreement was with New Zealand, two small little economies. And I must say that people were laughing; what could two small little economies do to advance the cause of free trade? But we persisted and we got the first agreement done and, thereafter, we went on to do a number of other agreements. When I was Permanent Secretary, I was in the trenches negotiating many agreements with our ASEAN counterparts.”
“State land is sold based on the Government’s development plans. These plans cover various planning horizons, from land sale programme covering specific land sites with specific uses for the coming year to long-term land planning spanning decades for which broad uses are defined but subject to detailed planning in future years. The more detailed plans are revised in light of evolving needs of our population and economy. It is, therefore, not meaningful to calculate the total value of Government-owned land that can be sold for development. However, the Government maintains a listing of physical assets, such as land and buildings, which forms part of the information on the size of reserves that is provided to the President under the Reserves Protection Framework.”
“The policy intent of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is to moderate demand and to ensure a stable and sustainable residential property market. For Singaporeans, ABSD is applicable on the purchase of a second and subsequent residential property. This applies regardless of whether they dispose of their first property subsequently. This is because even if the first property is eventually disposed of, the purchase of the second property adds to the demand for residential properties at the time of purchase. Only one exception is made, namely for Singaporean married couples. A Singaporean married couple may need to change home due to changing family needs, such as when they have more children or when their children are growing up, or when the couple needs to right-size in their senior years. It is in this context that we have an ABSD concession for Singaporean married couples buying a second property. Under this concession, a Singaporean married couple is required to pay ABSD upon buying their second property, then claim a refund of the ABSD paid on their second property, provided that they sell their first property within six months1 after the purchase of a completed property or the Temporary Occupation Permit date of an uncomplete property. This ABSD concession is not available to other groups of property buyers, as our overall key objective remains to moderate the demand for residential properties, including that for second residential property of Singaporeans. Buyers who do not wish to incur the higher ABSD on second residential properties may wish to consider selling their first property before purchasing their second property.”
“Let me also make the important point as to why I had to stand up to say this. It is not my classification or the Ministry of Finance's classification that this constitutes revenue available for spending, and this does not. We follow international standards and our Reserves Protection Framework. These have been agreed. It follows the international standards set out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF provides for a range of ways in which certain expenditures can be counted or not counted, because the structures of governments in different countries are different.”
“Let me also make the important point as to why I had to stand up to say this. It is not my classification or the Ministry of Finance's classification that this constitutes revenue available for spending and this does not. We follow international standards. These have been agreed. It follows the international standard set out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF provides for a range of ways in which certain expenditures can be counted or not counted, because the structures of governments in different countries are different. [Please refer to “Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Bill”, Official Report, 10 May 2021, Volume 95, Issue No 29, Second Reading Bills section.] [(proc text) Written statement by Mr Heng Swee Keat circulated with leave of the Speaker in accordance with Standing Order No 29(5): (proc text)] I wish to make the following factual correction to the reply given during the debate on the Second Reading of the Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Bill at the Sitting of 10 May 2021. My reply should read as follows:”
“Today, an individual who acquires partial interest in a residential property due to the death of a co-owner does not have to pay the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD). Generally, in other instances of an individual acquiring a partial interest in a residential property, ABSD applies. For taxpayers in extenuating circumstances, the Minister for Finance and the Commissioner of Stamp Duties have granted remission of ABSD on a case-by-case basis.”
“The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) serves as the Government’s legal advisor. However, there may be instances where Government agencies need to procure external legal services, for instance, where specific areas of legal expertise are required. Over the past five years, about one-third of Government contracts for provision of legal services were awarded to small and medium-sized law firms, that is, those with not more than 30 lawyers. Government agencies conduct their procurement in accordance with the principles of transparency, open and fair competition, and value for money. Contracts are awarded to suppliers who are best able to meet the agencies’ requirements, such as whether they possess the specific expertise required, while ensuring cost effectiveness. The requirements and criteria for selecting the supplier are specified upfront in each tender or quotation request.”
“Hence, we had put in place the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) as a property market cooling measure, with foreign buyers subject to higher ABSD rates. Foreigners accounted for about 16% or $174 million per year of ABSD revenue from property purchases by individuals on average over the past five years.”
“Everyone in Singapore, local or foreign, pays some form of taxes. But we have designed our tax system to be progressive and fair, so that those who are better off pay more taxes. The revenue we collect from all taxpayers is then used to benefit Singaporeans who enjoy a range of subsidies, in areas like education, healthcare and housing. Therefore, the tax system generally does not differentiate by nationality, and we do not have the detailed breakdown of the tax paid by the different groups of foreign taxpayers by pass types, as requested by the Member. Nevertheless, we have extracted some relevant information on the main tax items. On personal income tax, those who earn more pay a higher proportion of their income in tax. Foreigners, who accounted for about 28% of the resident personal income taxpayers, contributed about 32% of personal income tax revenue or about $3.7 billion per year, on average over the past five years. On GST, based on an estimate using GST collections in 2018, foreigners residing in Singapore and tourists are estimated to account for over 40% of the net GST borne by households and individuals. This is after taking into account the GST refunded under the Tourist Refund Scheme and the GST Voucher scheme, which is extended only to Singaporean households. For property-related taxes, we have a progressive system for residential properties, where higher-value residential properties are subject to higher property tax rates as well as higher Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD). Most properties in Singapore are purchased and owned by locals rather than foreign work pass holders. But we recognise that there continues to be a strong buying interest from abroad in Singapore residential properties, vis-à-vis the relatively small size of the Singapore market.”
“The Government takes a serious view of any attempt to defraud or abuse our schemes, including the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS). This includes the payment of purported mandatory CPF contributions for non-genuine, or “phantom” employees, with the intent of attracting JSS payouts for such phantom employees. IRAS, as the administrator of JSS, has instituted a robust anti-gaming framework leveraging data from multiple sources to identify and detect abuse such as “phantom” employment. While we are unable to share the specifics of IRAS’ anti-gaming operations, this framework has been in place since the first JSS payout in April 2020. For cases suspected of higher fraud risks, IRAS requires the firms to authenticate their CPF contributions before the payouts are released. Cases with strong corroborative evidence to support JSS abuse are reported to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for further investigation and prosecution. Thus far, more than 5,000 employers have been selected for review by the anti-gaming framework. After further reviews, about $28 million of payouts have been denied to over 1,000 employers due to suspected abuse, and 10 employers have been referred to CAD. The penalties for any attempt to abuse the JSS are severe. Offenders can be charged under section 420 of the Penal Code, and may face up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine.”
“Since the incident, MTI has worked with MOF, MOM and IRAS to carefully examine and rectify the processes. Additional checks and steps have been instituted to prevent similar occurrences. The compilation of re-opening dates is no longer done manually and is now coded with rules that have been reviewed and tested. An external auditor has also been engaged to thoroughly check and verify the re-opening dates. In addition to the checks and audits put in place by the scheme owners, the implementing agencies will also pay specific attention to the various COVID-19 support schemes as part of their internal audit. The Government and our public officers are committed to doing our best, even in a crisis. In this case, the officers were working hard to disburse the funds quickly to businesses that were facing tremendous stresses during the circuit breaker. Given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the sudden imposition of the circuit breaker, there was not enough time to put in place an enterprise IT system to manage the re-opening process. Agencies had to manually process, at short notice, more than 1.8 million applications from businesses to resume operations. Unfortunately, mistakes were made in the process, resulting in the overpayments. Nevertheless, our existing processes and checks enabled us to detect the lapse. Once detected, the agencies acted responsibly to put things right, and were upfront and transparent about what happened. We have learnt from this incident and will spare no effort to strengthen our processes and to ensure that similar issues do not arise.”
“(c) Post-disbursement, independent audits and data analytics are also performed to detect any anomalies and verify that funds were channelled appropriately to the intended beneficiaries. For instance, IRAS conducted post-disbursement checks, comparing the amount of JSS disbursed against past payout quantum to check for any anomalies. It was during this process that the errors in re-opening dates were first detected. MSF also made use of data analytics to conduct post-disbursement checks on over 550,000 Temporary Relief Fund and COVID-19 Support Grant applications to detect false declarations. (d) The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) also conducts regular audits on grant disbursements to ensure proper accounting and use of public funds. The erroneous JSS payments and foreign worker levy waiver and rebate amounts arose from source data errors in the firm re-opening dates. MTI had run sampling checks before passing the data to CPFB for the computation of the payout. But these sampling checks did not pick up the error, which affected about 4% of beneficiary firms. The error was eventually detected by the processes that we had put in place to flag out anomalies for investigation and rectification. Specifically, IRAS first detected anomalies in end-November 2020 as part of its post-disbursement checks. At the same time, IRAS also received queries from some businesses about the quantum of the payouts they had received in the October 2020 JSS payouts. After thorough investigations, IRAS managed to trace the cause of the anomalies to errors in the re-opening dates. MOM was also alerted to take remedial action as the same re-opening dates were used for the computation of foreign worker levy waiver and rebates.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented disruptions to the global economy and to Singapore. The Government responded swiftly and effectively through many different schemes to support households, businesses and workers, with the primary goal to protect lives and livelihoods. For all Government measures including COVID-19 support measures, there are a series of checks to ensure that the grants are designed for and disbursed to the intended beneficiaries. (a) At the design stage, the scheme owner sets clear policy guidance on the target beneficiaries of the grant, the benefits they will receive and the framework for assessing appeals. (b) At the implementation stage, the implementing agency ensures correct payout computation for each beneficiary and oversees the accurate and timely disbursement of funds. For the Job Support Scheme (JSS), the two implementing agencies are the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB). CPFB computes the payouts using information from its own sources and other agencies like MTI for firm re-opening dates and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for citizenship date. IRAS then disburses the payouts and handles the appeals. Before each JSS payout, IRAS performs internal checks on its computational logic and engages an external auditor to verify the computed JSS quantum for each beneficiary. IRAS also has an anti-gaming system to detect fraud and erroneous claims. For cases suspected of higher fraud risks, IRAS withholds the JSS payouts until the employers verify and confirm the authenticity and accuracy of their CPF contributions.”
“All Singaporean children receive substantial benefits from the Government, regardless of their parents’ marital status. These include: (a) Child Development Account (CDA) benefits, including the $3,000 First Step Grant and matched co-savings from the Government; (b) $4,000 in MediSave Grant for Newborns; (c) Over $180,000 of education subsidies by the time they turn 16 years old; and (d) Government healthcare subsidies. Working mothers, regardless of their marital status, are also entitled to: (a) 16-week Government-Paid Maternity Leave; (b) Six days paid Child Care Leave per year for children aged below seven years, or two days for children aged 7 to 12; and (c) Concessionary foreign domestic worker levy. In this way, we support all parents, including unwed working mothers, to give their children education opportunities, good healthcare and a conducive social environment, so they can realise their fullest potential in life. The Working Mother’s Child Relief (WMCR) is granted to working mothers who are married, divorced or widowed. It is intended to support parenthood within marriage and to encourage married mothers to continue working after childbirth. So, there are specific objectives tied to this scheme. As the prevailing societal norm in Singapore is to have children within marriage, our policies reflect these values. We will continue to review our tax policies from time to time, bearing in mind prevailing societal norms and needs.”
“The Member is an Associate Professor of Economics and Finance, and I think the Member would understand these arguments quite well. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Heng Swee Keat.] (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“On the Member's second point about whether I would ever consider any form of soft infrastructure and the Member said that he has spent a whole page specifying the conditions under which they would qualify. Let me say that when I was Education Minister, I went to many, many countries to study their education system to see what we should do. I looked at the spending patterns of various countries and one education minister – whom I shall not name – said to me, "Why are you coming to study us?" And I said, "Well, because you have great peaks of excellence". And he said, "Yes, but we have very deep valleys as well". And I explained we will study from the best and look at how best we can learn, and we learn from each other. And I have seen so many proposals on why spending more in this area or that area would make a bigger impact. The fact is that you have to consider education holistically. It is not just what you spend on pre-school, Primary school, Secondary school or University. Human development takes time, takes effort. It takes consistent investment of time, effort and energy by parents and by students. So, to just simply think that we can achieve great outcomes by spending more money is just wrong. It is important for us to be rigorous about it, make out the case as to which are the areas of education spending which are lacking and what exactly would we do. And do not get onto the wrong path, because I have also studied systems which had extremely high subsidies for students at various levels. Again, one education minister told me, "Please do not make the mistake that we have made, which is to assume that when we spend more, we will get better results. We awfully regret that decision because, now, it is impossible for us to take back". So, please have a care.”
“I thank Assoc Prof Jamus Lim for his questions. First, on the point that we are number one in the world based on the Human Development Index and, for infrastructure, we are also number one, so, do we need to invest in infrastructure? The answer is, of course, yes, because the Member supported the infrastructure Bill as well. But as to whether do we, therefore, need to invest further in human capital development – absolutely, which is why I said that, on healthcare, I had so many discussions with Minister Gan Kim Yong on healthcare expenditure and why we need to continue to provide for healthcare expenditure. Whether you call it “investments”, whether you call it by any other name, the fact is we do need to spend more on healthcare to take better care of our ageing population. Will we continue to spend on education? Absolutely. When I was in MOE, we were already building on the investments that were made by previous Education Ministers, including Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, and, over the years, we have been adding to our investments in education. Just one data point, a simple data point: we increased the cohort participation rate that is funded by the Government to 40%. We set up two new Universities and, right now, we are also investing more in adult education, in SkillsFuture and so on. So, it is not as if that the Government has stopped investing in education. So, please remember, as I said in my Budget Statements before, do not take every Budget as a standalone Budget. Every Budget builds on past Budgets and, therefore, we have to look at the cumulative effects of all these spending, investments and the outcomes that they have achieved.”
“Mr Leong, I do not want to waste Members' time on this. Let me, first, say that the IMF does not stipulate what is NIRC, what constitutes NIRC and so on. It has a set of clear principles as to what will constitute proper spending and what can be counted and what cannot be counted and so on. And because we are in a net asset position – we are not in a net debt position, debt servicing costs and so on – as I said in my speech, instead of us using current revenue to pay for debt servicing incurred by earlier generations, we have been in an extremely fortunate situation that we inherited that legacy, those reserves, from our forefathers. And I hope that every one of us in this House and in Singapore will abide by that principle and will understand the need for us to remain prudent and that we are a tiny red dot with no natural resources and for which we are subject to the vagaries of the global economy. We are an extremely open economy as well. Sir, I will just end there because if you have any further questions, you can file a Parliamentary Question and we will answer you.”
“Mr Leong, of course, they are not IMF definitions because which country in the world has NIRC? Tell me.”
“Can you let me continue? Let me also make the important point as to why I had to stand up to say this. It is not my classification or MOF's classification that this constitutes revenue available for spending, and this does not. We follow international standards. These have been agreed. It follows the international standard set out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF provides for a range of ways in which certain expenditures can be counted or not counted, because the structures of governments in different countries are different. [Please refer to "Clarification by Deputy Prime Minister", Official Report, 10 May 2021, Volume 95, Issue No 29, Correction by Written Statement section.] Some countries have different layers of government. They have national government, they have state governments, they have city governments. What constitutes public spending will all have to be aggregated properly, in order to make useful comparison. In Singapore's case, we have made it very clear – including during our IMF consultations – that we abide by these standards. We have always taken the same standards and reported our numbers consistently as to what we can spend and what we cannot spend. So, please do not confuse the public that the Government arbitrarily decides on what can be spent and what cannot be spent. This is a very serious allegation which I hope you will take back.”