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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,730 lines we hold for Heng Swee Keat, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 27 of 35.
“The real change is in our schools' programmes – in the Character and Citizenship Education programme that has been revamped. And, more recently, in our Learning for Life programmes that reinforce these life skills. In East View Secondary School, students work with community partners on food donation drives and reach out to promote health and IT skills to the neighbourhood residents. One student said, "The joy on people's faces has driven me to do more." Over at Mayflower Secondary School, a project called "Spirit of Generosity" has students doing 50,000 acts of kindness to friends, family and the community to celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday. This has brought the school and its surrounding community together through the spirit of giving. Teachers and students alike love how this has made the school a more caring community. Indeed, in giving, we receive as much, if not more. All across our schools, when students put values into action, character and citizenship education comes alive. These efforts are all very commendable. We want to encourage our students in our schools, polytechnics and ITE to do more. SG50 giving will provide funds to enable students to support meaningful causes in the community. 3.15 pm I thank Ms Kuik Shao-Yin for her suggestion on how this programme can work in partnership with VWOs to make it more impactful. Indeed, students will identify Institutions of a Public Character or IPCs that they would like to work with and donate funds to them and they will then partner these IPCs to make a real difference, however small, in their community. Holistic education covers moral, cognitive, physical, social and aesthetic dimensions.”
“Many have also expressed support for our student-centric, values-driven education. They believe we can develop each individual fully, and develop our sense of community, and our sense of personal and collective responsibility. So, I am glad that our students experience the arts, music, sports, outdoor activities and overseas trips. In fact, I should add that there are very few school systems in the world – none that I know of – which send one-third of their students on overseas trips in order to give them the exposure. There is much we should be thankful for. They interact with peers around the world. And, by the way, these are not just students in our top schools. These are students in every school. They lead and participate in a wide range of CCAs. These experiences broaden their worldview and grow them as rugged individuals, physically active and healthy, appreciative of the finer things in life. Like Edward Chia, we hope that they also develop a strong sense of purpose and a desire to help each other and give back to society. Page: 84 Ms Irene Ng earlier on spoke about the Edusave Character Awards. Let me emphasise that, for me, it is a very important signalling of a shift in our education in that we must place emphasis on character and values. It is a catalyst for change. But for the same reason, we should not overdo it and that is why the numbers are kept very small. But we will study her suggestion on how we can make it more meaningful. I am glad that many parents and many students have also spoken to me, and the school principals have noted the progress since we introduced this. And we are actually going beyond all these awards. What is a small part is really the signalling.”
“At a very simple level, I had an idea Page: 83 I wanted to do, that idea was good for society and I just wanted to get it done." He gained respect from his team, many of whom were older, by getting his hands dirty and doing everything he asked of his staff. He washed toilets, cleaned the office, ran the bar and helped out in the kitchen. So, I agree with Mr Baey Yam Keng that it is very important for our children to learn all these skills. You see how important it is in life. Edward acknowledges that those early years were not easy but through working with his team, he also learnt from them. Today, he pays that learning forward. His ventures provide a platform for budding chefs and he recently partnered Singapore start-up Infinium Robotics to develop drones that can navigate their way around tables to serve food. If this sounds like a scene from Star Wars, it is. There are eight drones delivering food, but this is still an experiment and an exciting one. What it means is that the waiters can work more productively and do things that machines cannot do. Edward, for me, embodies the spirit of learning for life, in that he is passionate and innovative in his field. He gives back to the community and creates new opportunities for others. He has a deep interest in music and he wants to give Singaporean talent a platform. So, he runs enterprises with a mission. From musicians, now he is going on to helping budding chefs. So, I hope that we will have a more lively scene in the future. I spoke to many Singaporeans during Our Singapore Conversation. Many shared their aspirations to live a life of purpose and spirit. They wanted to build a successful and cohesive society, a society where Singaporeans lead fulfilling lives, each in his own way.”
“But it is also about exploring the unknown and inventing new possibilities by putting all of our knowledge to creative use, like what Prof Chong is doing to help parents have healthier babies. So, let us nurture many more who seek mastery relentlessly in their field, who are inventive and resourceful and who can make breakthroughs for Singapore. I have made several observations about learning for mastery and learning throughout life and that it is not just about learning what is known; it is not just about attending courses; it is not just about relying on others but, rather, to be self-directed, independent learners. Let me now move on to a third major shift. The third major shift that we need to make together is to go beyond learning for work to learning for life. Developing deep skills to succeed at work is important. But life is more than just work. Developing a lively interest in the world around us, in nature and culture, in sports and adventure, in having zest for life and a concern for others are what makes life purposeful and fulfilling. Earlier, Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin, Dr Benedict Tan and Ms Rita Soh all touched on this. So, let me share another inspiring story, this time on Edward Chia. Edward is a 31-year-old entrepreneur who started his own business when he was 18 years old. His Timbre group of restaurants is well-known for good dining and live music. Timbre restaurants have a social mission. Combining food with music, his restaurants champion Singaporean musicians and give them a platform. His staff would applaud the performing bands and urge his diners to do the same. Edward shares that, and I quote, "Everything we do still counts back towards our social mission of supporting Singapore's music scene.”
“So, let us start early in our schools and make our children self-directed, independent learners. Let us all take a collective pause and see whether the way that we are bringing up our children in school or at home is helping them to develop that independence, that self-directed learning, the resourcefulness and initiative or whether we are spoon-feeding them and that they are going to lose that ability when the crutch is taken away, that they cannot go out and create, invent and build new things. My next observation on learning for mastery relates to learning as a habit of mind. Structured courses are very useful, and that is why our IHLs are embarking on that and that Page: 82 is why the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) is also doing a lot more. But no matter how many programmes we have under SkillsFuture, we cannot cover every learning possibility. It is not possible. Why? Because learning can take place in formal and informal modes – in the classroom or at the workplace, through self-reflection, team-learning or online learning, with friends or in groups. Lifelong learning is a habit of mind, rather than a mere act of attending courses. So, it is important that even as we debate about SkillsFuture accreditation and the quality of courses and so on, we must not forget that it is not about attending courses per se. We need to seize learning opportunities everywhere, from anyone, throughout life and even on our own, like the way that Mr John Chang did at the Police Academy many years ago. Finally, learning for mastery is not just about learning what is known. A lot of our learning is about learning how others have done it and how we might learn the basics from there.”
“Besides the multiple pathways in our IHLs, you can now create your own learning pathways – build a portfolio of skills, just-in-time, tailored to your own needs, at your own pace. You can stack modules towards a qualification or just choose relevant modules. It empowers each of us to take charge, direct our own learning and build our own unique skills map. It empowers each of us to make the best use of the initiatives, including the SkillsFuture Credit and other learning opportunities. Mr Ang Wei Neng highlighted the plight of middle-aged displaced workers. And this is why we have even greater subsidies for those aged above 40. But this self-directed, independent learning must start young. Our teachers must not spoon-feed our students and give them model answers. In life, there are no model answers. I once had a parent who wrote to me to argue for an extra mark for her child's term test in school. Rather than seek an extra mark in tests, let us nurture our children to make their mark in society. We have to encourage our children to be independent, self-directed learners, skilful at figuring out their own way. Prof Tan Tai Yong made an important point that we must not over-protect our children so that they can develop adaptive resilience and learn to deal with uncertainties in life. But if we intervene when a child does not get an extra mark, how does he or she develop that resilience? Mr Lim Biow Chuan cautioned about the over-reliance on others to learn and how it can develop a crutch mentality. Mr Inderjit Singh made the same point and emphasised the importance of self-directed learning. Mr Singh also made suggestions on how we can create more diversity in our schools' profile, which we will study.”
“00 pm So, if workers or companies attend courses to meet quotas or because there are some incentives for it, very little will be achieved from attending the courses. But if companies make the best use of the higher skills of workers, it leads to higher productivity and higher margins; in turn, they can pay higher wages. Higher skills, higher productivity and higher wages. This is the virtuous cycle that we must seek to achieve. To achieve this virtuous cycle, companies play a critical role. So, I am glad that Mr Robert Yap, Chairman and CEO of YCH Group and also Chairman of Singapore National Employers Federation, has been very supportive of his company's collaboration with RP. I hope many more employers will take action to develop and use their employees' skills as part of their productivity and innovation strategy. And I thank Mr Thomas Chua for calling on industry associations to work closely with MOE and also calling on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who can come together in the industry associations to also work closely with us. We are always ready to work with them. Another observation relates to how we direct our own learning or self-directed learning. With SkillsFuture, various specialist and advanced diplomas and specialised, bite-sized modular courses are even more highly subsidised. In fact, there is an even wider range of courses available. Opportunities for learning will be across our IHLs – graduates of Page: 81 polytechnics, ITE or university can take relevant modules, or in WDA-certified courses or at the workplace. With this array of courses, especially modular courses, the system is even more open and flexible.”
“RP will provide specialised training for mentors to help companies build a network of industry mentors, skilled like Ravinder. This will multiply our effectiveness and spread expertise in the sector. I will do it systematically for each of these sectors. We will study different models of learning on-the-job, explore greater use of online learning and look at innovative approaches. This is how we will help all Singaporeans to go beyond learning in Page: 80 school to learning throughout life. As we resolve to learn for mastery and learn throughout life, we need to rethink a few issues about learning and the significance of the changes. Let me share some observations. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD did a recent survey of adult skills. Workers in Japan ranked highly in their skills but ranked poorly in terms of how well these skills are utilised on the job. At the opposite end, workers in the US ranked poorly in skills but ranked among the top in using skills on the job – so whatever skills they have, they use them to the fullest. Much of our Budget Debate focused on the quality control of courses and whether workers get to attend. These courses to learn skills matter. But this OECD study paints a very vivid story that what matters even more is whether workers use the skills learnt. We must not end up debating which courses can enjoy the credit and so on. We must not end up using SkillsFuture Credit to chase another form of qualification or debate which courses can acquire qualifications. Training courses are just the means. Our focus must be on the ends – acquiring, mastering and using deep skills. 3.”
“These are sectors identified as future growth sectors or meeting critical needs in our society. Besides engineering and manufacturing sectors, we will also have early childhood education, which Senior Minister of State Indranee will speak more about later, as well as healthcare and many others. Let me explain how this would work. Republic Polytechnic or RP, for instance, is the Sector Coordinator for Logistics. They will ensure a tighter nexus between learning in school and learning at work in the logistics sector. I want to commend the RP staff who were very enterprising in engaging industry players and galvanising 12 companies, including top players, like YCH Group, DHL Express and Yang Kee Logistics, to come together to design a 12-month Earn-and-Learn programme. These companies will use RP's workplace training blueprints so that learning at work and learning at RP are integrated for maximum impact. Students who complete the programme will acquire skills that are in RP's Specialist Diploma in Supply Chain Management but they will do so on the job, be recognised for it and get paid in the process, without having to pay fees! They will learn how to deal with complexity and scale in global goods flow, data analytics, manage supply chains and inventories and devise plans to optimise transportation. As you can see, all are very high-skills areas. They will learn problem-solving, people skills and a range of soft skills. When they show that they have acquired and can apply the new skills, they will then take on greater responsibilities and see a wage increase. Mr Zainuddin Nordin earlier raised the issue of how we ensure that the skills that are learnt result in better progression. This is how, and I hope many more, industry players will come on board.”
“Our IHLs will work with companies that are keen to make workplaces great places for learning. We will have more enhanced internship opportunities so that young people like Siti and Cheria can learn and solve real-life problems and acquire soft skills. I thank Mr Yee Jenn Jong and Ms Lee Li Lian for their suggestions on internships and how we can engage the different players. Our IHLs will create SkillsFuture Earn-and-Learn Programmes so that Siti and Cheria and others can be mentored on the job and acquire skills when they graduate. Students who take up Earn-and-Learn are effectively enjoying one year or more of highly-subsidised education. But instead of learning just in our IHLs, they enjoy a blend of facilitated learning in our IHL and structured mentoring at work. They acquire a higher industry-recognised qualification through this. We will also put in place skills-based modular courses. By the end of the year, there will be over 300 modular courses offered by our polytechnics and universities. These will be in specialist areas, such as Digital Forensics and Investigation at SP, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at NTU, Functional Genomics at UniSIM and Coaching and Counselling Page: 79 and Skills at RP. As you can see, a very wide range! We will subsidise part-time, Specialist, and Advanced Diplomas for all Singaporeans more generously even if this is not the first time you are getting one and provide the even more generous SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidies for Singaporeans aged 40 and above. I agree with Mrs Lina Chiam that we must encourage everyone to learn, including the elderly. Our IHLs will play a leading role in specific sectors. For a start, we will appoint Sector Coordinators for 17 strategic sectors.”
“It turns out that his son is also interested in aerospace engineering and so he decided that he, too, "had better return to school to pick up new skills and more skills", so that he can mentor his son and pass on his skills to the next generation. So, he enrolled in Temasek Polytechnic's Diploma in Aerospace Engineering and is now six months into his course. All that, whilst working hard at Rolls-Royce mentoring his younger Page: 78 colleagues, like Cheria and Siti. Cheria is technically Ravinder's "schoolmate" in Temasek Polytechnic or TP as she is also pursuing a Diploma in Aerospace Engineering, but she is one-third his age. As an intern, she is learning at the workplace even as Ravinder is learning in TP. Siti, an ITE student in Aerospace Technology, was also part of the team. And whilst working at a bookshop at Changi Airport, she saw the aeroplanes taking off and it piqued her interest. She started to wonder how planes fly. Today, she is a Rolls-Royce ITE scholar, thrilled to be building an impressive and complex engine with some 30,000 parts! And learning all that as an intern. So, you see, it is not just about learning technical skills. She said, and I quote, "Rolls-Royce taught me to be versatile and assertive in order to keep up with changes in the aerospace industry." Ravinder, Cheria and Siti are at different stages of life but all actively learning to be better, to succeed both at work and in life. But I empathise with many Singaporeans who tell me, "Once we start work or have family commitments, it is hard to set aside time to learn." Indeed, we have to address the practical constraints to empower lifelong learning. Our IHLs will play a leading role in empowering Singaporeans to learn everywhere, throughout life.”
“They designed a total of 338 goat lanterns, including 28 motorised ones. Three special goats, each weighing about 400 kilogrammes, were perched on a mountain to form the 10-metre-tall centerpiece. It is not only a wonderful sight to behold; it vividly brought in the Year of the Goat. And we all know that the Prime Minister was very pleased to grace the platform. You can see on the screen the Prime Minister's wefie with the team. This is the fourth year SUTD students have helped to design the display for Chinese New Year and, each time, with each new animal of the horoscope, they learned from the previous year, pushed themselves to think differently and put all their skills and knowledge into a new masterpiece. They put their heads, hearts and hands into creating this. And, indeed, our ITE motto is "Hands-on, Mind-on, Hearts-on." Be it ITE or SUTD, this is an important way to learn. And, indeed, this is what it means to go beyond learning for grades to learning for mastery. The second major shift that we need to make together as a people is to go beyond learning in school to learning throughout life. Let me share with Members another story. I was at the Seletar Aerospace Park recently. Fifty years ago, Seletar was better known for the smell of pig farms. Fifty years on, I visited Seletar to witness the delivery of our first Rolls-Royce TRENT 1000 jet engine, made in Singapore for a Singaporean company – Scoot. A world of difference! I met three Singaporeans working there – Ravinder, Cheria and Siti Mariani. Ravinder is a team leader with 24 years of aerospace experience. You would have thought that he knows everything, but he told me, and I quote, "To me, every day is a learning process". And this gentleman was serious when he said that.”
“For example, Ngee Ann Polytechnic uses the technical know-how in building unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs to build unmanned underwater vehicles UUVs to clean ship hulls – transferring skills from air to sea. 2.45 pm A team in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) worked with the Singapore Zoo's applied Medical Technology to design an incubator and succeeded in increasing the hatching rate of reptile eggs from 25% to 75%. So, if you see many more crocodiles in the zoo, you know why. It is quite productive! We are fortunate that our vibrant economy has created a range of good jobs. With more choices, we need good Education and Career Guidance or ECG. There are many domains and fields that students could explore and develop deep skills in – whether it is design, business, arts, music or sports. By exposing students to possibilities, we empower them to make better choices and choose suitable pathways. We will, hence, strengthen ECG at all levels. ECG curriculum in schools, ITEs and polytechnics will be enhanced and, by 2017, we will have a professional core of ECG counsellors and an online ECG portal that shows many exciting opportunities – enriched by our SkillsFuture initiatives. Ms Rita Soh earlier spoke about how we should integrate the arts and sciences and how we should integrate the learning of head, hearts and hands. In fact, many meaningful and exciting things are also happening in our IHLs. Page: 77 If you have to build an exciting platform which the Prime Minister will stand on for a Chinese New Year celebration, how would you go about doing it? Well, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) students put to work their knowledge of engineering, design, arts and cultural awareness to create this year's Chinese New Year light-up display in Chinatown.”
“Students learn fundamental Aerospace theories and apply mathematics, science and design and technology by building and flying their own model planes. The students go on to take Advanced Elective Modules in Aerospace, where they learn how planes defy gravity while flying a flight simulator! Rayner Lee really enjoyed learning at Hillgrove and, in fact, he is now doing Aerospace Technology at Nanyang Polytechnic and says, "I chose Hillgrove because of the Youth Flying Club CCA. I wanted to be a pilot. My parents and school teachers encouraged me to take the Private Pilot Licence PPL. Now that I have my licence, I hope to join the RSAF as a pilot." Well, I hope Rayner flies high. Page: 76 Another example is Damai Secondary's ALP on Health Science and Technology. Students apply concepts from Chemistry and Biology to construct biomedical devices. They built salinity sensors that can analyse urine samples to determine the health of a person. Damai students also develop a sense of empathy when thinking about their users. Through tie-ups with IHLs and the community, students are inspired by the possibilities of careers in the healthcare and medical technology sectors. As Mdm Fiona Han, a mother of three sons in Damai, puts it, "This is a great experience that allows them to broaden their future career choices." Different ALPs open up different possibilities for students to put knowledge into action and bring learning to life. Learning becomes relevant and engaging for every student, in every school. We are not channelling students to specialise early. In fact, deep skills acquired in one field can be transferred to another.”
“I share Dr Benedict Tan's enthusiasm for outdoor and adventure-based learning and I thank him for his suggestion. I also thank Ms Rita Soh for her suggestions on art education and how we can continue to improve it. Third, continue to improve on our teaching, to stimulate curiosity and let every student put knowledge into action. This includes using ICT to teach, as Ms Denise Phua had highlighted. In fact, I am happy to share that we are already developing our Student Learning Spaces, and, hopefully, we will have high-quality content and many high-quality ways of using these. Fourth, build in every student deep wells of character. It matters in life, and it matters in achieving mastery because mastery takes effort and perseverance in careers and endeavours. An important aspect of learning for mastery is to match our students' strengths and interests to opportunities in our schools and IHLs, in careers and enterprises. Mr Yee Jenn Jong mentioned the Gifted Education Programme (GEP), but I would like to go further. I would like to stimulate the curiosity of learning in all our children, provide plenty of learning opportunities for them in ways which are meaningful, for all our students, in all our schools. A recent innovation in our schools is the Applied Learning Programmes or ALPs in almost all our secondary schools, and this is part of our "Every School A Good School" movement. In fun and creative ways, our students apply various domains of knowledge to solve complex, real-life problems in their field of interest. Let me share two examples. First, Hillgrove Secondary. Hillgrove Secondary has an ALP on Flight and Aerospace.”
“A doctor by training, Prof Chong is leading a nationwide birth cohort study on how mothers' diet and lifestyle during pregnancy affect their babies' growth after birth. It is a study of great national impact to prevent and manage diseases like diabetes and obesity. Someone like him, steeped in knowledge of his field, does not shy away from applying his knowledge and skills innovatively to push new frontiers, to explore the unknown and to invent new things. We should aim to be a nation where Singaporeans develop mastery in every field, Singaporeans who are resourceful, inventive and break new grounds. This will take collective effort across our schools, IHLs and industry. So, let me outline my Ministry's contribution to this. In 10 years of basic education, we aim to, first, equip every student with a strong foundation in literacy, numeracy and thinking skills, whatever their starting point. Mr Hri Kumar mentioned the importance of expressing our ideas well and being confident. I fully agree with him and I thank him for these useful suggestions on how we could do better. And, indeed, we are starting very early now in preschool and in our primary school, with our new reading and oracy programmes. Literacy skill, numeracy skills and so on are vital, as they enable our students to keep learning and progressing. Rigour will be maintained through appropriate assessments as checkpoints to help them track progress and to make good decisions on the best pathway to continue learning. And, where necessary, students can access levelling up programmes to build their basics. Page: 75 Second, we will give every student broad exposure to a whole range of subjects and co-curricular activities (CCAs) to pique their interest in various fields – sports, arts, outdoor adventures and so on.”
“He knew the law, he knew how to deal with tense situations and he knew how to teach. He explained to me that after handling every case, he would reflect on how he could have done better. He would imagine, in his mind, scenarios – how should he have reacted if the criminals he was dealing with had been more violent, if they were armed with firearms or if the victims were less cooperative and so on and so forth. He studied on his own, he attended classes, he asked his peers and seniors at work. Everybody whom he could get to, he would ask. John was one of the few police officers who started as a constable, got many promotions, went all the way and retired as an Assistant Superintendent. You see a Page: 74 photograph of John when he was promoted. Quite a feat in those days. I learnt a lot from John, as a very young officer, about what it means to be an effective learner and how one achieves mastery. He was self-directed. No one told him how to learn but he did so on his own. He was reflective. He thought through his own experiences and learnt from both mistakes and successes. He learnt in bite-size modules, picking up what he needed, when he needed. He kept an open mind and learnt from everyone, everywhere, at any time. He was disciplined. Learning was not left to chance but was built into his everyday routine. And he was passionate. He cared deeply about what he does. All these before we spoke about SkillsFuture. Now in my job in education, I am lucky to meet many who, like John, devote themselves to mastery and in many different fields. Let me quote just one example – Assoc Prof Chong Yap Seng, a Senior Consultant at the National University Hospital (NUH).”
“We developed new ways of learning in our schools, made every school a good school, expanded applied pathways in tertiary education and, in this Budget, outlined a series of SkillsFuture initiatives that build on ASPIRE's recommendations. All these changes have laid the groundwork for a transformation to create a better future for Singapore, a future anchored by deep skills and strong values. But this future will belong to us only if we, as a people, shift our mindsets about education. This is not about "study book" or 读书. It is about learning in every domain, anytime, anywhere for a purposeful, meaningful, fulfilling life. In other words, we need to live the pioneering spirit; beyond learning for grades to learning for mastery; beyond learning in school to learning throughout life; beyond learning for work to learning for life. Mr Yee Jenn Jong mentioned about the Integrated School Programme. Ms Denise Phua made very good suggestions on changes in our schools and also mentioned once again the integrated through-train programme. In fact, Ms Phua even raised an Adjournment Motion some months back. I would say let us go beyond what we do in schools. Let us go much further. It is not just about what Mr Png Eng Huat mentioned about tuition. It is about a more fundamental change. Allow me to touch on these fundamental changes. The first major shift is to go beyond learning for grades to learning for mastery. How do we develop mastery in our fields? We do not have all the answers. But let me share a story. When I was in the Police Academy more than 30 years ago, one of my Pioneer instructors was Mr John Chang. He did not have high academic qualifications, but he was, in my mind, one of the best instructors.”
“We will need collective will and action by employers, teachers, parents, students and society at large where employers look beyond academic qualifications in hiring and promoting the best person for the job; where bosses support employees in skills upgrading; where educators focus on holistic education, building a strong foundation of values and the capacity to learn; where our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) play a leading role strengthening the nexus between learning and work and learning for life; where parents recognise every child's unique strengths and do their part to build their children's character; where students flourish through a range of academic and co-curricular activities (CCAs) and take different pathways to success and grow up to be well-rounded; where the economy stays resilient and flexible, with high levels of employment and many opportunities – high skills, high productivity and high wages. And where our society and our people continue to be caring, harmonious, gracious and cohesive, and we do not see education as a race among our children. This is a path that no society has charted out fully yet – and I have been looking at education systems around the world. Charting this new territory will require us to, once again, be pioneers. Page: 73 Here, in Singapore, building on the many changes in our education system in the past, we have continued to make further changes and to make further moves in this direction. As Ms Denise Phua reminded us, we have focused on values and character, strengthened holistic education, removed school rankings and enhanced support for weaker and special needs students.”
“Some of us will be self-employed, some of us will create jobs for others as entrepreneurs. And if our economy grows well, more jobs will be created. Page: 72 2.30 pm So, all these present new and multiple pathways for success. Faced with such challenges and opportunities, we are at a crossroads. We have two options. We could continue with the "study book" path, with a narrow focus on grades and examinations, and descend into a spiralling paper chase and expanding the tuition industry, as many Members have warned. Employers choose not to invest in employees, relying wholly on academic qualifications to determine who gets the job. Educators drill and test and see their duty as helping students to obtain the best possible examination grades. Parents obsess over grades and spend ever-increasing amounts of resources to give their child an edge over other children. Students chase the next point and spend most of their time going for more tuition and enrichment in very narrow areas. Stress levels in society climb and the system churns out students who excel in examinations but are ill-equipped to take on jobs of the future nor find fulfilment in what they do. And unemployment or under-employment becomes pervasive. Everyone is worse off. This is a grim road, but sadly one in which other societies have already trodden down. Mr Lim Biow Chuan, in his opening speech, raised vivid examples of what is happening elsewhere. Ms Denise Phua warned us that if we do not change, the currents beneath the oceans will cause us to drift and drift us in the wrong direction. This is one possible outcome. Or we can have another outcome. We can act with boldness and resolve to take another path forward, to embark on a major transformation.”
“The same "study book" culture that enabled the other three Asian dragons – South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan – to make great strides is also generating the same, if not even greater, pressures in their societies. Like our Pioneers before us, we have to ask anew: where do we want to be in the future, where are we today and how do we make the leap? At Our Singapore Conversation two years back, many Singaporeans expressed their aspiration for a cohesive home full of spirit and trust. A home where we all have opportunities to pursue our dreams. A home where we all have the assurance that we will each be taken care of when we face difficulties and where we live out lives of purpose. So, it is not just what we do. It is who we are as a people. But many also recognised that the future will be more uncertain and volatile as the global economy and political order change in unpredictable ways. Political and religious developments elsewhere can strengthen or weaken our social cohesion. An ageing population will create challenges that we cannot totally foresee. A younger generation that is digitally connected can either be more united or more divided. The nature of jobs will also change. For a start, many existing jobs will disappear. Smart machines and lower-cost workers elsewhere will take these jobs. So, we have to change jobs, maybe several times over our lifetime. But jobs that need uniquely human qualities cannot be displaced by machines and, indeed, will become more valuable. Even the same job will look different. So, traits like creativity, inventiveness, adaptability, social and emotional skills and cultural and global awareness will give Singaporeans an edge. New, interesting and diverse jobs will be created.”
“Madam, I thank the many Members for their thoughtful and wide-ranging comments. This year, we celebrate our nation's Golden Jubilee. We celebrate how education has enabled generations of Singaporeans to build a better life and enabled us to build a nation. We thank our Pioneer educators and their parents. Looking back, in 1965, education meant 读书 or "study book". Our Pioneers had a sense of where they wanted to be in the future, where they were and worked hard to bridge that gap. The big gap then was basic literacy and numeracy skills – so "study book" made sense as they learnt the three "Rs" – reading, writing, arithmetic. Many became literate and numerate. We then built on this education system, year by year. At critical points, we made important choices to adapt and change. Educators, parents and students responded with spirit and each wave allowed us to make further progress with purpose. With these changes, we built a good education system, developed our people and grew our economy. But there were also inadvertent negatives. In our minds, "study book" became increasingly about examinations, grades and qualifications. A strength in focusing on academic grades can be over-done and become a weakness, as we leave little time to develop other attributes that are necessary for success and fulfilment. Students tell me of Page: 71 the stress they face because of the high expectations placed on them. The chase for better grades fuelled a tuition industry. It created a vertical stacking of qualifications, as well as the tiering of schools in the minds of parents, based mainly on academic results – a hierarchy of grades. We are not unique in this.”
“Madam, with your permission, may I display some slides on the LED screens?”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) recognises that an overseas experience presents rich learning for students. It provides opportunities for interaction with people of different backgrounds, helps develop in our students' cultural sensitivities and interpersonal competencies, and broadens the students’ world view. In 2014, about 60% of our students’ overseas learning journeys were made to ASEAN countries. Many of these trips involved interactions with students in these countries. In addition, MOE also coordinates various student immersion and school twinning programmes with our ASEAN neighbours. For example, there are 65 schools that are twinned with schools in Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. There is also an annual ASEAN Student Exchange Programme. About 40 students from the 10 ASEAN countries gather for a one-week residential programme in one of the countries to share and learn about each other’s cultures, social and economic challenges, their aspirations for their country and how to contribute to the region’s collective progress. Page: 154”
“I think, Mdm Speaker, I find this discussion puzzling because, in fact, Ms Sylvia Lim had just, a few moments ago, told us that in terms of payment of staff, they had done a benchmarking. I assume that you did that to ensure that you do not overpay. Now that you have seen all the figures, it is a very clear instance that you have overpaid and the simple question is: "What are you going to do about it?" May I suggest, Mdm Speaker, that we do not prolong this – where you just assert that, in form, there was a tender and this was the outcome and all that. As I said in my speech repeatedly, it is not about form; it is not about technical rules. It is about integrity, it is about trust, it is about how we wholeheartedly do our very best to serve the people who have elected us, to serve Singaporeans who have elected us. We should not just go behind the facade saying that the technical rules have all been obeyed, this was the outcome, and Page: 72 accept that. Now, having seen the numbers, I think the public can conclude what ought to be done.”
“Mdm Speaker, may I ask the hon Member whether it is perfectly alright to overpay his Managing Agent? Is that the Member's conclusion?”
“Mdm Speaker, I think the hon Member has not answered the very straightforward question which I have posed, which is, yesterday we saw the big differences in the Managing Agent rates. As elected Members of Parliament running the Town Council, is it not in your instinct to say: "How did this happen? Are our residents getting a good deal? Why is this so? How much money are they making?" Yes, it may be a single bid but is it not your responsibility to look at what happened? So, would you ask FMSS and FMSI how much profits have they made out of this contract over the last four years? Minister Shanmugam had said that the estimate is that the Town Council had paid at least $1.6 million more than you should every year for the last four years. So, if you are serving your residents well, should you not jump at that figure and say, "I must do something about this. I must get to the bottom of this"? Rather than to say, "Well, this was an open contract, there was only one bid and that was that." And also, you did not answer my question which is, there were options. You said that they were experienced, they were professionals. Why did you not just simply hire them as employees and continue to run? You would know the cost with great clarity. You would know Page: 71 how much – because Ms Sylvia Lim mentioned about benchmarking. So, you would know exactly how much that you can pay Ms How and her team fairly, competitively and you would have avoided all these problems. But you have not explained why such a convoluted structure and what you have done to prevent the conflict of interests. You are not prepared to ask how much money FMSS have made. You are not prepared to look into how much the Town Council has overpaid and is this money lost through the front door.”
“But Mr Low, I think we must remember one very critical detail, which is that the owner of FMSS – the General Manager, the Secretary and the Deputy General Manager – set up a company seven days after the General Election with a paid-up capital of $500,000. First of all, there is a very clear conflict of interest between what your Managing Agent, as owners, would do and what they as officers of the Town Council would do. You would surely agree that the incentives are very different when they are owners versus when they are just employees. Second, for many, many years, Ms How and her team had been working with you in Hougang Town Council. You could have hired them as employees to do the work. In fact, as far as the cleaning, maintenance, services and all that, all the Town Councils outsource this work. So, there are plenty of big contractors all over Singapore who will be willing to do cleaning work, maintenance work, lift services work. And at the point when you terminated the CPG contract, it was pointed out in this House yesterday that the option rested with you. You could have extended it for another two years. So, the issue that the elected Members of AHPETC need to explain is why did you not extend the contract, and why was a company set up as an exempt private company seven days after the election and, in fact, before you initiated discussions with CPG? In other words, the termination and the intention to set this up were, as Minister Shanmugam pointed out yesterday, premeditated. And did the company make money? I think I have asked this question many times but you have not answered. Page: 70”
“Mdm Speaker, on the Sinking Fund issue, Ms Lim has basically said that the Managing Agent did not do a good job of it. But she had told this House in May 2013 that they were hired on the basis of their professional skills and experience. So, how did that happen? And on the rates that you quoted, and about all the due diligence that you have done, we are aware that FMSS is an exempt company, so the simple question is: did they make money and did the Town Council lose money as a result? So, never mind all the details about computations. But the heart of the matter is: did they make money? If so, are you prepared to say how much? And how much money did the Town Council lose, meaning how much Page: 69 money did the residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East overpay?”
“So, the question is: did the elected Members of the Town Council of AHPETC overpay? And do you accept that the figures that were circulated yesterday that, perhaps, you have overpaid by at least $1.6 million a year, over four years, to your Managing Agent? And if you do, and if you support this Motion fully, what action will you be taking to recover the monies? I think that deserves a straight answer.”
“As I had indicated in my speech, Mdm Speaker, there are many issues on which the residents and Singaporeans deserve a straight answer. How is it that the Managing Agent rates that you are paying to FMSS are so much higher than anywhere else? Where did the money go? Where did it come from? And how was such a structure created in the first instance? And how did the financial position of the Town Council deteriorate so quickly within two short years? Those are the critical issues. Why was FMSS set up? Why was it set up the way it was? First and foremost, whether the elected Members of the Town Council even disclosed this ownership to everybody in the Town Council? Was it debated amongst the Town Councillors, all of them, not just one or two of them? Were actions taken to ensure that proper safeguards were put in place? What happened to all the money? All these are critical questions. So, we heard, indeed, we heard a lot of technical explanations which essentially gave the impression that this was a technical issue. As I had said, this is not a technical issue. This issue is about integrity. It is about trust. It is about our convictions and our beliefs. Our convictions and our beliefs that, as elected Members of Parliament, we are here to serve the Page: 67 people of Singapore, not our friends.”
“That is indeed so, that you have to submit the audited accounts. But you did not. Your accounts were late for two years in a row. The first audit had four disclaimers, and the second had 13. So, from year to year, it got from bad to worse.”
“As I have said, if not for the Auditor-General doing this audit, Singaporeans would have been kept in the dark about what happened to your Sinking Fund. Singaporeans would have been kept in the dark. The residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East would have been kept in the dark.”
“I said that it was missing. I hope that you have read the AGO report because it was very clear that the $12 million that ought to be put into the Sinking Fund was not there, was missing from the Sinking Fund, and the Auditor-General had to say, "You have to put this back." The rules are very clear as to when you have to put into the Sinking Fund. And even despite the reminders from the Auditor-General, you were late. And even now, not all of it has been put back. Page: 66”
“Mdm Speaker, I said that if you look at the accounts, $12 million was missing from the Sinking Fund, and this was caught by the Auditor-General.”
“Running a Town Council in a clean, competent and accountable way is a test of the integrity of the Member of Parliament and his sense of responsibility and accountability. In other words, can we trust him or her? This Motion is not about partisan politics – I have no joy pointing out the many failings and questionable practices of the WP. This Motion is important for all Singaporeans because it is about our long-term future. Unless elected Members of Parliament act with integrity and a deep sense of responsibility and take the trust of the people seriously, we will not be able to maintain a system of good governance – clean, honest, accountable, competent – and pass this on to our future generations. We must not betray the trust of Singaporeans. Singaporeans deserve better. So, let us all honour the trust that Singaporeans have placed in us. Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion.”
“But there is a real cost to Singaporeans – real lives are affected – when they break their promises. Let me now conclude with why this Motion is important for all Singaporeans. At the Ministry of Education and in our schools – tens of thousands of teachers spend many, many hours striving to provide the best possible education for our children, so that they may have a better future. Hundreds of thousands of parents are concerned about their children's future. We spend day and night thinking about our children's future. But our children can only have a better future if Singapore, as a nation, succeeds and remains relevant to the world. That we retain the values and the qualities that are essential for our success. We have seen how in many countries – when elected officials engage in self-serving practices, when they put their interests ahead of the public interest, when they do not act with integrity and when they put the interests of their cronies first – the country fails. And it is the man in the street and the young and the future generation who suffer the most. As a little red dot, good governance is critical to Singapore's future. Elected public officials must act with integrity and a deep sense of responsibility, and serve our people wholeheartedly. In the many decisions we take, there may be errors – human or system – but what matters most is that elected officials act with integrity and do our very best to serve Page: 65 the public interest. As Minister Khaw Boon Wan pointed out yesterday, a Town Council requires elected Members of Parliament to govern and not just politick. It is easy to shout campaign slogans and make all sorts of promises, but do you really believe in what you say wholeheartedly and walk the talk?”
“And Ms Lim sought to show that the lapses were technical, bean-counting, and the WP would fix them by hiring more accountants and doing more checks. And then, of course, that is a dodge. And then, of course, we heard from the other Members of Parliament as well. Ms Lim also circulated a table showing various committees and formal checks. Reading it, I was very impressed. I would like to point out to this House that the AGO report indicated that as of 12 December 2014, the last Finance and Investment Committee meeting was held in April 2014. They did not meet for eight months, but the table that Ms Lim circulated said Page: 64 they met monthly. This is in the AGO report – you can read that. So, is this another instance of saying one thing and doing another? So, sadly, we saw – and today – we heard Mr Pritam Singh, we heard Mr Png Eng Huat – they explained all the technical details, they sought to deflect, but they never got to the heart of the issue. They never got to answer the questions that need to be answered. I was hoping that Mr Pritam Singh would change his mind and tell us today, but he did not. So, we saw a big wayang in this House. Ordinarily, such a wayang would have been comical. But in the context of how important integrity and trust is in how we govern this little red dot, I am so disappointed, I am so saddened by this entire sorry saga. What we are seeing are not isolated lapses of behaviour. What we are seeing is a troubling pattern of dishonest misleading behaviour – to say one thing but to do the opposite. To say one thing that suits them to residents, then to say a different thing in Parliament or elsewhere when it suits them better. This is wrong. This is a serious problem of integrity. It costs the WP nothing to promise the world.”
“The one that claims to be transparent and accountable, which wants to build a First World Parliament; or the one that politicks and says whatever is convenient? The one that politicks, like Mr Pritam Singh, who tries to avoid answering in Parliament but is prepared to say whatever he wants, and to whomever he wants, outside. So, which WP is the true WP? What is most disturbing in this entire sorry episode is the way that the WP has sought to downplay the crux of the matter, sought to deflect the issue by playing victim to a challenging operating environment that the Opposition faced and then claiming inexperience. Let me recount what happened in the House yesterday. Mr Low started with a clever opening to play victim – that the Opposition faced a challenging operating environment, and that is why they had these lapses. And then he insinuated that Town Councils are politicised, and he then took an entirely different line from what Ms Sylvia Lim and the rest of the Members of Parliament have been saying. Ms Sylvia Lim went through a lot of details on the various AGO observations, circulated an action plan and promised to do better. Ms Lim said that Sinking Funds have been put back but she never told anyone of us that they were caught by their own auditor and then the AGO for not putting money into the Sinking Fund. They were forced to put the money back. Ms Lim and the other MPs never answered the critical question – were all Town Councillors aware of the structure of the ownership of FMSS that leads to substantial over-payment, and was there a proper discussion on how you were going to safeguard the interests of the residents?”
“Let me mention a third quote: "Workers' Party MPs are committed to being politically accountable to voters for town management under the current regime. Whatever else is done in other countries, the responsibility for town management has been legislated to the MPs under the TCA. We accept this responsibility and have pledged during elections to manage town councils entrusted to us to the best of our ability. We intend to continue keeping this promise." "We accept responsibility... We intend to continue keeping this promise." This is by Ms Sylvia Lim in the Parliamentary session on 13 May 2013. So, as you can see, these are all quite recent. So, I was most astounded to hear what Mr Low Thia Khiang said yesterday in this House – that we should de-politicise, we should look at the transitioning and all that. So, Mr Low, you are the Secretary General of the WP and have just said the exact opposite of what Ms Sylvia Lim, Chairman of the WP, said in this House in 2013. Did you just change your mind when things went wrong in AHPETC, or you never believed in what you were doing? Or were Mr Gerald Giam, Ms Lee Li Lian and Ms Sylvia Lim misleading residents when they made those speeches, and the WP had no intention whatsoever of fulfilling your promises? So, can you tell this House, and all Singaporeans, what are your real beliefs and values? Page: 63 Do you have any conviction? Or do you just say whatever is expedient for the moment even if it means misleading Singaporeans? Is it not dishonest to claim that you believe in something and do the opposite, and to say one thing in one forum and a completely different thing on another occasion? There also seems to be several versions of the WP floating around. Which one do we trust?”
“And not just small Town Councils, but a huge GRC Town Council in Aljunied. We know the ins and outs of running a constituency. Even when obstacles were thrown in our path to trip us up, we have still managed to ensure residents' needs are well taken care of." This was by Mr Gerald Giam when he spoke to residents at a rally on 23 January 2013. Page: 62 Earlier on, we heard Mr Png Eng Huat spell out all the difficulties. But your fellow colleagues, your fellow Party Members, said, "We know the ins and outs of running a constituency. Even when obstacles are thrown into our path to trip us up, we managed." But why are you attributing all the problems that you have to staff resigning, to difficulties, to challenges in the IT system, and so on? I do not understand. Let me move on to a second quote: "If WP wins Punggol East, I am confident that we will manage the Town Council competently. WP has had more than 20 years of experience managing Hougang SMC. After GE2011, we quickly adapted to take charge of Aljunied GRC under a very short timeframe. We will take over the Town Council functions with as little disruption as possible to the residents. I have the experience and the know-how in running a Town Council." This was by Ms Lee Li Lian at the same rally to residents in January 2013. So, we have heard that you can take charge of a Town Council, a big one too, under a very short timeframe. So, all the explanations that all the WP MPs have given us so far – which is the correct version? That you have plenty of problems, plenty of challenges or that you can take charge within a very short timeframe, that you can overcome any obstacle and that you have no disruption, and that you are experienced and have the know-how? Which is the correct version, may I ask?”
“Who is left in Singapore that the WP thinks is worthy of an answer? Sadly, we saw in this House yesterday this pattern of behaviour of saying whatever suits them for the moment, among the WP MPs. Mr Low Thia Khiang claimed that it is difficult for the Opposition to run Town Councils, or get qualified people to run Town Councils, that they have to start from scratch. But the PAP Town Councils also started from scratch when they were first formed. The PAP Town Councillors had no experience in municipal administration. But they had plenty of integrity and sense of responsibility. Mr Low said that we must, therefore, de-politicise the transitioning process. Newly elected Members of Parliament should not be tested, implying that they should simply be elected to oppose the Government in a First World Parliament, and not to have to show that they can actually govern. This is the precise opposite of the philosophy of the Town Council scheme. Indeed, it is the opposite of what Mr Low Thia Khiang used to maintain, running Hougang Town Council for 20 years until the WP's team messed up in AHPETC: that, contrary to what the PAP thinks and claims, there is nothing to running Town Councils and the Opposition run them as well as any PAP Town Councils and, therefore, people should vote for them. Mr Low calls for the Town Council issue to be de-politicised, but he is politicking. How can he be disclaiming responsibility to govern locally while asserting the right to challenge the Government nationally? What is even more disturbing is what the WP Members of Parliament have been promising residents. Let me just quote three examples. The first quote: "The Workers' Party has over 20 years of experience in managing Town Councils well.”
“But Mr Singh said in Chamber yesterday that he would only answer to his residents door-to-door. In fact, Mr Pritam Singh spoke about transparency, that the WP will press the Government for as much information as possible. But they do not even provide information to their own auditors. What the House witnessed yesterday is unbelievable. Mr Pritam Singh had said this, and I quote, "We will constantly press the Government for more information, especially since it is so selective with the information it releases." When asked pertinent questions on transparency and accountability by Mr Shanmugam, Mr Pritam Singh said that he would not give a reply in Parliament – the First World Parliament which he claims he wants to build and which Mr Low Thia Khiang said he would account to. He refuses to answer to Parliament. So, why is Mr Singh so selective about where he answers his questions? One of my colleagues bumped into Mr Yee Jenn Jong a month ago. When he asked him about the Town Council, he evaded the question and gave him a non-answer, "Answer will be given at the right time and at the right place." And when pressed that he was a WP Central Executive Committee member and should have asked the Party Chairman to know what is Page: 61 going on, he said this, and I quote, "It is a matter for the elected Members." Just last evening, Mr Yee Jenn Jong and a group of his WP supporters, dressed in blue, were asked by a resident about what was going on in AHPETC. But he did not answer and walked away quickly. So, is this the answer Mr Singh promised to residents? A WP Central Executive Committee (CEC) member and his activists met residents and they evaded the question. So, would not answer auditors. Would not answer Parliament. Would not answer residents.”
“Page: 60 The WP's platform in the last General Election was First World Parliament where the Opposition will, I quote, "function as a robust check and balance against the Government". Over the last two days, we have seen so clearly how they have created a system where there is no check, no balance. You cannot even check yourself, or are you not willing to check yourself? They have been entrusted with running a Town Council. Where is the First World Town Council that they should be delivering? Instead, we have a Town Council who cannot account for where the resources go to. And, in fact, the real check in this instance came from the Government, the AGO. You have a pattern of behaviour where you did not answer to your own auditors, as a result of which the Auditor-General had gone in. If not for the AGO, Singaporeans would not have discovered this mess that the elected Town Councillors have created. The WP also spoke vigorously about accountability, but surely, you will agree that the most basic aspect of accountability is the ability to keep proper accounts of the money that have been entrusted to you. I can understand if you are keeping accounts for the first time, but you are not – you have told residents of your experience in running Hougang Town Council. So, till today, we do not know the true state of accounts of AHPETC. The WP said one thing and did another. Are they consistent with their statements? Mr Low started the debate yesterday by saying that he will be accountable. And then, immediately, Ms Sylvia Lim tried to explain away all their failings. Mr Low said that he will account in Parliament and, indeed, Ms Lim told the press earlier that the WP will explain in Parliament.”
“What other conclusions can be drawn? On the other side, we know that AHPETC's financial position, even based on your own figures, which may not be the most reliable, has deteriorated sharply. The finances are now in the red. From a surplus of $3.3 million in the operations, it has now become a deficit of $730,000 in just two years. It is astounding. Two short years. The WP asserted that no money was lost. What is astounding is how they even twisted the comments of AGO to justify their case. Mr Hri Kumar has dealt with this earlier on, but Mr Pritam Singh continued to repeat this. I urge you to read the auditor's report carefully. At the very least, you would agree with me that it is not honest to twist the AGO's comments deliberately in this self-serving way. All the WP MPs have said that they would take collective responsibility. They have said that they would support this Motion. I hope the support is in substance, not just form. If they support the Motion in substance, one would have expected that they will conduct a forensic audit, that they will take legal action against the Managing Agent FMSS; that they will file accounts immediately, on time, as required by the law and any administrative action; that they will put in place checks and balances where there is a severe conflict of interest. And their residents deserve to know what had happened. Are you prepared to come clean and explain and answer all the questions which have been raised in this House? How exactly will you safeguard the interest of residents? The third way that the WP has betrayed the trust of our people is that they promise one thing and do another, quite the opposite. They say something in one forum, then, in another forum, they say something else.”
“In 2013, they said, in Parliament, and I quote, "FMSS was engaged based on its directors' experience in property management, professional skills and track record in running Hougang Town Council." What we have heard in this House so far is that they are inexperienced and these mistakes happened because people resigned. But Ms Sylvia Lim assured us in this House that they are professional and experienced. So, who is telling us the accurate version? And you are talking about experience. How much experience do you need to know that you cannot be handing money to your supporters, at the expense of over-charging your residents? How much experience do you need to truthfully disclose information to your auditors, including your own auditors? In fact, the AGO audit would not have been necessary if you had been honest and forthright in disclosing information to your own auditors. Where is the Page: 59 transparency that Mr Pritam Singh has been advocating so strongly? Elected Town Councillors have acted in the best interests of their friends, the well-paid Managing Agent. They have neglected the interests of the residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East. Can residents trust that you are acting in their interests? Why are you so protective? Why are they so protective of their expensive Managing Agent that messed up the Town Council's work? Because they are their party supporters and friends? Yesterday, in this House, Ms Sylvia Lim rejected the suggestion that the arrangement with FMSS was to benefit their friends. So, may I ask: are they your friends, or, at least, were they? Yes? Did they benefit? Yes, richly so. The structure that the WP set up allowed this to happen. You awarded contracts at these exorbitant rates and allowed them to get away with it.”
“We are in the dark on the true state of affairs. If we are not vigilant, can we be sure that, down the road, somebody may not be cooking the books? Why did a surplus of $3.3 million in the operations become a deficit of $730,000 in just two years? Mr Pritam Singh attributed everything to lift upgrading. We must naturally ask, "Where did the money go?" We have asked, but we have not had a good answer. Though it may not be obvious on the surface, beneath the surface, the Town Council is rotting. And the rot is serious. I am also very concerned about the second way the WP has betrayed the people's trust. The pattern of behaviour; the consistent pattern of denial, deflection and protection of the Managing Agent which suggests a serious rot is happening. Clearly, the Managing Agent FMSS has failed. The elected Members of the Town Council should be held responsible. They appointed the Managing Agent. They are responsible for supervising the Managing Agent, for setting up a proper structure. You can outsource work; you cannot outsource responsibility. The responsibility lies squarely with the Members of Parliament on the Town Council. Why did the elected Town Councillors allow such a deeply flawed structure to be set up in the very first place? We have not heard any good answer. Yesterday, Ms Lim said the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) record of FMSS was tabled. Was it discussed at any Town Council meeting? Was it debated? I think she has not given us the full truth. The elected Town Councillors, instead of disciplining their Managing Agent and taking corrective action, defended them strongly.”
“Was it because the Finance and Investment Committee chaired by Mr Chen Show Mao was not doing its work? Or was it another lapse by the Chairman? No explanation has been forthcoming. Now, this is serious. Sinking Funds are for long-term cyclical maintenance. We need to replace lifts for residents' safety, do major repairs like re-wiring and reroofing, repaint blocks. The safety and well-being of residents and their homes are at stake. Down the line, residents may find their Sinking Fund is all depleted, with nothing left to maintain the town safety and their well-being. When this happens, who suffers? Not the Town Council, not the Managing Agent. Who suffers are the residents. Worse of all, they would not know where the money has all gone. This is a serious matter. In fact, the Town Council Act lists only three offences, and the use of Sinking Funds for operating expenses is one of them. It is precisely to guard against Managing Agents and Town Councils acting to meet short-term interests. Sadly, this is precisely what we are seeing – short-term, opportunistic behaviour. Residents cannot trust the elected Town Councillors to account honestly for where their money is. The Town Council cannot even keep basic accounts properly. You saw in the AGO report – inaccurate arrears, lapses in internal controls, poor records, late accounts, missing documents. These are not technical issues. These raise fundamental questions about whether the accounts can be trusted. All of this money comes from the people in one way or another – whether it is the S&CC that residents pay or the Sinking Fund that was built up Page: 58 over the years from money paid by residents or the Government grants that MND provides out of taxpayers' money. We cannot even trust the books.”
“Till now, after all the debate in the House, the public does not know, none of us knows, the reasons why FMSS and FMSI's rates are higher than everywhere else. Residents cannot trust elected Town Councillors not to sacrifice their long-term interests. In fact, these long-term interests are being sacrificed: $12 million went missing from their Sinking Fund – $12 million; missing. It was only after the AGO pointed this out that this was put back. And even so, one year after the financial year had ended, they still owed a substantial sum to the Sinking Fund. Page: 57 If not for the Auditor-General, the Town Councillors – the elected Town Councillors – would have kept the residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East in the dark. Nothing is transparent. This is a very serious matter. It is wrong for the Town Councillors to argue that as long as money was put back, nothing was wrong in the first instance. The fact is that they put the money back only because they were caught. Why did this happen? Either the Managing Agent is totally incompetent or they deliberately decided not to fill the Sinking Fund to show a better financial picture and have a large operating account to pay for expenses, the largest item being the Managing Agent's fees. This happened because the Town Council was running into cash flow problems from their profligate management and they put off paying into the Sinking Fund, so that they may have money to pay. Now, really, that is compromising the long-term interests of residents to enrich their friends. They did not forget to pay the Managing Agent's fees every month. They did not forget to collect S&CC from the honest, hardworking residents every month. But they forgot to pay large sums that were supposed to go into the Sinking Fund, and repeatedly.”
“Mdm Speaker, I rise to speak because I am concerned about the well-being and interests of the residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East. I am concerned about their lives and their homes. They have been short-changed by their Members of Parliament and they have been kept in the dark. I am concerned about the well-being and interests of all Singaporeans. Elected Members of Parliament are expected to be clean and honest and to act with integrity. This Motion boils down to one word – trust. The people trust that the Members of Parliament will keep their promises with integrity. The people trust that we will take seriously our full responsibility to serve our people and to serve their best interests. So, I am sad to observe that elected Town Councillors of AHPETC have betrayed the people's trust. They betrayed the people's trust in three ways. One, they betrayed the people's trust by failing to act in the best interests of the residents. Two, they betrayed the people's trust with a consistent pattern of evasive behaviour. Third, they betrayed the people's trust by promising one thing and doing another. First, the WP has betrayed the trust of the residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East. The residents cannot trust the WP on several counts. For a start, residents cannot trust the WP to get them a good deal. In fact, the WP has gotten them a raw deal. Their Managing Agents, FMSS and FMSI, charged the highest rate in Singapore for their services. Compared to the Managing Agent's fees paid by other Town Councils, residents paid more than $2 more a unit – one year, $1.6 million – and this went on for four years.”