Irene Ng Phek Hoong
Singapore
“Mdm Speaker, elder abuse may be more common than is recognised, particularly amongst seniors with dementia or other cognitive impairments. Does the Minister agree that the barriers to recognising and reporting elder abuse should be addressed? One of them is the lack of a clear definition of elder abuse.”
“I am heartened by the Minister's reply. In my duties as a Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) Member for Defence, I have interacted with many women officers, including commanders in combat units, and they hold their own in a male-dominated workforce.”
“Madam, my condolences again to the families and friends of those who lost their lives at the Sabah Earthquake. I thank the Minister for his reply and we support the Ministry's approach to outdoor adventure learning and its continuance.”
“Thank you, Madam. It is heartening to see how readily Singapore responded to the disaster in Nepal. I would like to ask the Second Minister: now that the disaster relief phase is coming to an end, how would Singapore contribute to the long-term reconstruction phase that follows?”
“This will help to sustain the practice and tradition and increase appreciation of their artistry within the community and beyond. We should also conserve the unique tools of traditional art forms, such as the last remaining dragon kiln in Singapore, and protect it as part of our heritage.”
“I would like to ask about the stress levels on the students. I welcome the Ministry of Education's (MOE) shift to go beyond grades. But, on the ground, Page: 123 the reality is that there is increasing pressure on the students to chase good grades, given the very competitive system and also the high expectations of parents.”
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“For instance, while I was researching on a biography and I needed to have access to the oral histories of various players, I found that the oral histories of key players like Dr Toh Chin Chye and Mr Ong Pang Boon were not recorded for various reasons. And one of them is that they believe that silence is golden. I think it is partly due to the lack of awareness of the role of oral history, understanding our past, and how it is necessary to give our oral history the role that it deserves in capturing our past. Sir, I visited the Old Ford Motor Factory's New World War II exhibition gallery and was excited by it. I saw this audio visual called the "Trials of War" and for the first time, I learned that the war trials in Singapore, which sentenced more than 100 Japanese to be hanged, were held at the site which is now our Goodwood Park Hotel. I go to the hotel, but I never realised that this is a historical building. I hope that more can be done to earmark sites in Singapore which capture our past and in a way that will make it relevant to the present and the future. I also wonder whether our museums and archives are world-class, and what is the vision of MICA for these organisations. What plans do they have to increase their outreach and whether they can have a paradigm shift to make sure that our museums and archives try and relate the past to present and future ---”
“Sir, we need to give more support to our Museums and National Archives to tailor more programmes that reach out to the masses and inculcate in Singaporeans a greater sense of history. I would like to mention especially the valuable role of our National Archives. I have visited it several times and I found the research area quite cramped and not very welcoming for visitors. It has a feeling of an old storehouse. The building used to be a school. It is not purpose-built for modern archives. It is to the credit of the excellent staff there that the NAS has been able to deliver good service to the public, despite its cramped workspace and tight funding. In contrast, the archives at Kew in Britain which I have also visited is a modern airy building, a state-of-the-art building, with large research areas, with proper lighting for reading and research. It feels like a library. It is like our new library in Orchard Road - very inviting. It also houses a free museum and a cafeteria. Coffee and tea are most important when one is doing research, and a boring one sometimes. It is generously funded. Every year, it holds an archive awareness campaign to show people how records in the archives are relevant to them and invite them to discover how enjoyable exploring archives can be. This is also a regular event in the US. And in the US, the archives there launched a new programme called "American Conversations" which involves a series of informal interviews with history experts, and which is open to the public. Sir, in Singapore, I worry that not everyone fully appreciates the importance of archival records and sometimes with sad consequences.”
“Sir, does the Minister of State not agree that seven cultural agreements is quite a sorry number, given our long history in MFA? I would also like to urge our MFA to look at Israel, which has 70 cultural agreements with different countries and it is also a small state. I also wonder why it must be left to MICA to pursue these cultural agreements and not MFA. MFA, with its links to the world, should be able to show our interest in culture and highlight our culture to the world in a more effective way, if we have a division or a cultural attache.”
“I hope that we will do that more actively in MFA. I was looking up the websites of different MFAs, and I notice that Canada has a Cultural Division, Chile has a Cultural Division, Israel has a Cultural Division - so many - Greece, Ireland, and all of them put it as an integral part of foreign policy. And I hope that our MFA will set up a Cultural Affairs Division, or a unit at least, to look out for more opportunities to sign cultural agreements and to promote it. As our Minister said, we are looking at the different civilisations, the growing divide between the Islamic world and the rest. We can play a role as an interlocutor, promoting dialogue between the different civilisations and to show that Singapore is not just a place where we celebrate our economic achievements and our ability to survive, despite the odds, but there will be a place that promotes culture, and that we are proud of it and that the world should know that Singapore is more than an Economic Inc., a corporation. I hope that MFA will help us in that direction.”
“Sir, I first learned that the Hungarian MFA has a Cultural Affairs Division when I was a Senior Journalist covering PM Goh Chok Tong's visit, then PM, in 2001. I met the Hungarian MFA officials and they showed me their cards, and I noticed that it has a Cultural Division. And they gave me a pad, an information sheet, on MFA. The way they wrote it, you can tell that it is not a typical MFA frame of mind. It was almost poetic, and one of the factsheets with the MFA logo says, "History shows that the very notions of nation and literature, nation and culture, confront us as a kind of a Janus mask - one side shows the struggle of a historical community for survival while the other shows the historical continuity of high artistic and literary values." In other words, there is on one side of the face, the struggle for survival, which is something we can identify with as a nation. On the other hand, Hungary is keen to show to the world its other face - the softer face - their values, their way of life, what they hold dear to their hearts and their culture. Sometimes, I wonder, for Singapore, what is our face to the world? I think the struggle for survival is ever present. I think our cold economic realities, our worries for vulnerability, always remain at the fore, and that is understandable. But I think we are growing another side of the face, and it is a matter of showing it. I hope MFA will play a bigger role in looking out for ways to show that. One way is to sign cultural agreements, and I know we do that. When I was in Hungary, in fact a cultural agreement was signed with Hungary and Singapore. And I remember some Hungarian officials telling me, "You mean Singapore is interested in culture?" Frankly, it gives them a different view of Singapore, a better one.”
“Sir, I filed a budget cut on "Cultural Diplomacy" under MFA. MFA redirected it to MICA. It was only at my insistence that it was now back in MFA, and I am grateful for that. But I wonder whether it reflects how cultural diplomacy is viewed in MFA, that it is not an integral mission of MFA, a very marginal one, one best left to MICA. I would urge the Minister to review this in the light of globalisation and Singapore's evolving position in the world. MFA has done a first-rate job in international diplomacy. But Singapore's interest in the context of globalisation can be promoted more effectively if we adopt a more activist stance in cultural diplomacy. It helps to present the softer face to the world beyond our cold economic achievements, our hard-edged military powers and our almost robot-like bureaucracy. Sir, the task of cultural diplomacy would be to produce understanding that goes beyond stereotyped images of ourselves and to mould perceptions of the world about us - about our spirit, our values, our soul. We may say that we may not have much of a Singapore spirit or soul, but it has changed over the last few years especially. We have a lively growing arts scene, we have the Esplanade - thanks to the Foreign Minister when he was MICA Minister - and we are increasingly held up as a successful model of a multi-cultural nation. In many parts of the world, cultural diplomacy plays a central role in their Foreign Affairs Ministries and is a fundamental pillar of foreign policy. The MFAs of many countries have a Cultural Affairs Division and they send their Cultural Attache to their missions abroad with appropriate funding.”
“Otherwise, does the Government change its view in the funding of undergraduate courses, as has been committed earlier? Sir, with all these comments, I support the Budget Statement. 5.00 pm”
“We should also actively promote private sector research in order not to lag behind the advanced knowledge-based economy. Sir, the next topic I would like to talk about is university fees which I initially have no intention to speak. But, lately, SMU has announced another 5% rise in the school fees after the 15% increase - last year. NUS and NTU also came up with the announcement of 3% increase. The Minister for Education said in the media that the increase was moderate, and that it was better to have a small increase every year instead of a large one after a few years. On the matter of university fees, I would like to remind the Government of the commitment to the cost of running the undergraduate courses. The Government would fund 75% of the courses and the students pay 25%. If the universities increase their fees by 3%-5% per annum, and if it is agreeable and supported by the Ministry, I am inclined to believe that the Government must have agreed and committed to increase the Government funding per student by the same proportion. This is a good mechanism. If it does happen, it locks together the students' fees, the Government's commitment and the university fee hike. Every time, before the Government agrees with a fee increase by the universities, they must also, in the first place, give additional funding per student to the universities. Otherwise, if funding by the Government per student remains unchanged, an increase in the tuition fees implies the reduction of Government's commitment. I would like to seek clarification on whether the Government funding in the other graduate courses per student has increased accordingly in line with such announcement of the university fee hike.”
“If one looks at the low number of IP registrations by the local universities, the low number has different implications. It could infer that either certain local universities are lacking in innovation or the IP eco-system in the universities does not make it worth a while to patent one's ideas. While we are going to spend $1.05 billion for the academic research fund in the university research, this matter should be addressed and make sure that the research fund would give us a better intellectual capital in return. In development of the industrial capital, I am of the opinion that R&D work should be dominated by objective research, or what I would like to call it, product development. This research should be an industrial-motivated work so that the outcome from the research will immediately interest the industry, either in the improvement of their existing products or leading to the emergence of new products. In the committed research expenditure for the private and public sectors, I notice that the ratio was less than two. The ratio does not change much in the long-term projection given, whereas the leaders in the same field like Sweden, Japan and others, the ratio was in the order of three. It means that our private sector research was lower in this ratio compared with other countries. Though by the end of the fourth Science and Technology Plan, our research expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, would get closer to that of the world research leader, our actual private sector expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, would still be far behind those of the advanced knowledge-based economy. We shall not just, through the public sector research spending, keep up with the research spending percentage of GDP and catch up with the advanced knowledge-based countries.”
“What people are interested in is the number, but not who constitute the number. Fifteen years after the Science and Technology Plan, theoretically, we should have a local postgraduate research manpower training programme in place in the various local universities in order to meet the challenge of R&D for the future knowledge-based economy. To the surprise of many people, the landscape of research postgraduate in local and foreign compositions did not change very much. It is still an area dominated by the foreign students with some Singaporeans around. If the situation does not improve in the near future, at the end of the fourth Science and Technology Plan ending in 2010, there will still be an area where not many Singaporeans will benefit from this creation of R&D opportunities. Although A*STAR has a projection of creating 220 PhDs through their various schemes in the next five years, this number is exceptionally small compared to the projected 4,500 postgraduate research posts in the 2010 Science and Technology Plan. We really need to pay attention to this matter of having a critical number of local postgraduate researchers if we would like our population benefit from the developments of the knowledge and innovative-based economy and let our population share the success of the economic growth. Concerning the development of intellectual capital, it reminds me of the old issue in the late 70s about the British university's professors. They were all very interested in research work and not keen in commercialising their inventions. As a result, the Americans took advantage of them and made money from the inventions of the British professors. Sir, the British professor syndrome also happens in today's Singapore.”
“The economic indicators we plan to achieve, through the R&D initiative, are impressive and significant to our economy in the future: one, achieve research expenditure closer to that of the leaders in the field, like Sweden and Japan; triple the GDP contribution by three new areas - bio-science, environment and digital media - to $27 billion and double our research manpower in these three areas to $80,000 by 2015. And more importantly, it doubles our manufacturing sector, in terms of output and growth and value-added. Doubled by 2018, would mean a sustainable growth of 5.5% annually. On the various aspects, in the investment of R&D, there are some issues that I would like to bring up over here. First, in the area of human capital development, I notice that the third Science and Technology Plan created 6,500 research scientist and engineer positions and out of which, about half are postgraduate researchers. Sir, the postgraduate research post in the third Science and Technology Plan was a large number compared with what the local universities could produce, bearing in mind also the postgraduate research post in our local universities is an area overwhelmingly dominated by the foreign students. I could imagine the postgraduate research scientist and engineer posts created in the last five years, ie, in the third Science and Technology Plan, will be an area dominated by non-Singaporeans. Initially, we have to start from scratch. We have no choice, but have to find the people whoever available worldwide. We all knew that the universities in Singapore existed well before the Science and Technology Plan started 15 years ago. No specific interest was placed on the training of local postgraduate research students.”
“In my view, if the Budget surplus permitted, we should continue to share the wealth of the nation with the people in every year's Budget, but the quantums have to be adjusted to suit its affordability. Sir, the next topic I would like to deal with is the $5 billion on R&D. We have moved away from the labour-intensive industry to that of the skilled and capital-intensive industry. To continue and sustain the success in our economy, we must move up the value chain to that of the innovative and knowledge-based economy. We shall then compete on knowledge and talent. We need original product design, research and development and creation of intellectual capital. In the past five years, the Government funded a total of $12 billion in research and development. It brought our research spending, as a percentage of GDP, ahead of Holland, but it still falls behind countries like Korea, Japan, USA and Sweden. The number of research scientists and engineers has grown to 87 per 10,000 in 2004. This Budget happens to fall in the beginning year of the fourth Science and Technology Plan 2010. The funding in R&D for the next five years is significant in two aspects. First, is the formation of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council, chaired by the Prime Minister. It brings the R&D matter to the attention of the Cabinet level, a level higher than the previous Plan. The fund committed for the next five years is not $5 billion, but $13.55 billion, which is more than the total allocation in the past 15 years. During the past 15 years, it was only $12 billion.”
“With this kind of wealth-sharing package with the people, and if it can be done in a cyclical manner, the version would then be changed to: "The Government has money, but everyone has a share." Sir, our national reserves are more than $100 billion. In a national crisis, if there is, if each family requires $1,500 per month, it will last us five-and-a-half years. Is this a comfortable figure for our reserves? I am sure, if we throw this problem to the floor here, we would have a diverged opinion on this issue. Yes, we do not have a very large reserve, compared with Japan or China, but we are well above all the Asian countries, other than those mentioned. By reserve per capita, we are the highest in Asia. Judging from the patterns of accumulation of the national reserve in US dollars, our reserve built up very rapidly in the early years up to 1996. After that, it hovers at the present level, with - only very moderate growth. What does this graph show in this particular trend? What it is trying to say in this graph is that we are comfortable with the reserve level and, I believe, that it is adequate. If we have a big Budget surplus like in the past few years, we can have the luxury in sharing a portion of wealth with the people. To reward those who are unable to benefit from the fruits of the economic success of our nation for their contributions to the economy is a matter worth doing. The share of wealth helps the less able so that all the people in the nation could move ahead together with no one being left behind. It is an important social lubricant to our society, characterised by gradual widened gaps in the socio-economic disparity.”
“On behalf of my constituents, I would like to thank the Prime Minister. The many initiatives have been placed in such a way that everybody will have an opportunity to have a share in this particular package. But it is by no means perfect. I believe there are still some minor adjustments to be made in such a way that no deserving individuals will lose out in this particular package. First, the NSmen Bonus. We know that some of our young persons have lost their lives serving their NS. In my constituency, I know of at least two such cases. We should not forget this group of people. Their immediate family members should be given the full NSmen Bonus to recognise their loved ones who had once contributed and lost their lives in building our National Service force. In Singapore, the lowest income people are more often than not those who drop out of the radar screen of our CPF database. They earn a few hundred dollars a month through a full-time job as a cleaner, odd-job labourer and, sometimes, helper in a coffeeshop or market. This is the genuine group of people who are actually exploited in our system due to their low education, lack of means to upgrade themselves and who are also unable to seek better jobs. They may find difficulty justifying their income in order to qualify for the Workfare Bonus and the low-income housing subsidy. Our task force now being deployed on the ground should think of ways to facilitate the application of this category of people and make sure that no genuine individuals will miss his entitlement in this wealth-sharing package. Sir, years ago, people like to say "Government has money but the people do not." It will sound more touching when it is said in Teochew.”
“When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took over as the Prime Minister, the way in sharing the nation's wealth entered into an era of innovation. We introduced the new Growth Dividends, Workfare Bonus for the low-income people, and huge housing subsidies to first-time low-income home buyers, as presented in this Budget. The schemes are designed to help and reward people in accordance with their age, income level, home size and even National Service. It is also purposely slanted to share the wealth with the people in such a way that the poorest who live in the smallest flats and the oldest are the ones who get the most. The high income earners, though getting the least from this particular package, are actually benefiting from the income tax reductions. In short, the poor and the rich are both winners in this particular Budget, except that they are gaining their advantages through different means. Zaobao, on 19th February 2006, featured a 57-year-old man who had done his NS living in a HDB four-room flat and earning below $1,500. He stands to benefit $2,280. Together with his unemployed wife who is a homemaker, the family will stand to gain $3,600 from this particular package. For low-income families like this particular one just cited, this sum would help them to set off at least two months of monthly household expenditure. These people will remember and be appreciative of the Government for its generosity and good-hearted effort in trying to help the people who are particularly in the low-income group. This is particularly helpful to the people who are not able to enjoy the fruits of the prosperity of our nation. The residents in my constituency are of no exception. They will all benefit from this wealth-sharing package offered by this Budget.”
“I fear that if we let this moment pass, we will become desensitised to the notions of sacrifice and service, and take the tears and sweat of those who had gone before us for granted. In conclusion, Sir, this Budget should not be just about what we want to build, and the shiny buildings, the great landscape full of hope. Not only that, but it should be also about what sort of society we want to build, what sort of people we are and who we want to become. This Budget lays a strong foundation for a brighter future for all of us. With that, I fully support the Budget. 4.41pm Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay (Chua Chu Kang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am going to talk about three topics. The first topic is sharing the nation's wealth with the people. When I was an undergraduate in the late 1960s, I was very impressed by the annual timber bonus issued to all Sabahans by the then-Chief Minister of Sabah, Tun Mustapha. This was one of the very early models I know of in sharing the state's wealth with the people. Because of this, up to today, I can still remember this gentleman, even though he has already been out of the political scene for a long time. In short, I would like to say that good things done will always be remembered by the people. In the past few years, the bonuses given by the Government to our people were far greater than the timber bonus that I mentioned, which was only US$50 then. Sharing the nation's wealth with our people was first mooted by our ex-Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, beginning with the offer of SingTel shares at a discounted price. Later, it was developed into Edusave top-ups, utility and GST rebates, New Singapore Shares, etc.”
“I see we recognise NSmen and various groups of people. We set up committees for low-wage workers, committees for older workers, but I do not remember us having a committee to see how we can recognise our founding fathers. And this should not be something that is top-down. It should not be decided by the Cabinet. It should be something decided together with the people, that involves the citizens. If we read today's Straits Times, there is a sense that people want to be a part of that process of deciding how to recognise our founding fathers and we should give them that opportunity. Sir, while I am hesitant to ask for a Progress Package for our founding fathers, because it might demean their sacrifices and their memory, I think we should think about how we should do it and do it well, in a way that is significant. And I think the families of those of our founding fathers who have passed away would also be quite appreciative because, sometimes, when I talk to those relatives of some of our founding fathers who have passed away or even some of those who are still alive, they feel that there is no appreciation, there is no sense of gratitude, there is not even a remembrance. I think that says something about our society and I do not think that is fair. I think we do recognise, we do remember, but it is just a matter of showing it. I hope that we will set up a committee, and I would urge the Prime Minister to set up a committee, involving both representatives of the Government as well as ordinary citizens, to look into how best we should honour our founding fathers. I do not think a nation can ever be too young to show its grateful heart to a leader who had sacrificed for the country. So, let us do that.”
“From a leading steward, he was willing to be a security guard. So he took the programme and was paid $750 to $1,000 to be a security guard. He found the pay very irregular. The employer was not paying him on time, and sometimes not at all. So, he quit. Now he is unemployed. So he is willing to make that change. Can you imagine - from a leading steward of a first-class airline to a security guard? Sometimes, on the one hand, I feel, wow, that kind of spirit, resilient worker, that kind of attitude we should encourage, model worker. But, on the other hand, there is this sense that, surely, he deserves better. He has skills and talents. The only thing that is working against him is his age. He could have a job, working, using his skills well, getting prospects that he can look forward to, and I hope that the Government can encourage employers to create opportunities for them and to create new sectors where they can play a role. [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr S Iswaran) in the Chair] 4.35 pm Finally, it is on recognising the contributions of our founding fathers. There is only one founding generation. Our modern founding fathers, they are a special breed. Without them, we would not be here, we would not survive, much less progress. In the last week, we have been reminded that we have extraordinary people among us, leaders who made a difference. Mr S Rajaratnam passed away and I think many Singaporeans mourned his passing. But I was thinking: why is it that we only praise and recognise leaders after they have passed on? There must be something in our psyche that must want to recognise them while they are still alive, to show that we are a humane society that knows how to be grateful and to recognise the sacrifices of those before us.”
“In my meet-the-people sessions, it is always a heart-rending sight to see retrenched middle-aged workers coming to me saying that they cannot find jobs, they do not want financial assistance but, please, just help them find jobs with decent pay. And they are willing to make the adjustments. That is why we get two different signals. On the one hand, we have the Ministry of Manpower saying, "Look, there are jobs out there, they are just not going for them." On the other hand, we have all these older workers coming to us saying, "No, we have gone for several interviews, we are not getting the jobs that we need, jobs with decent pay." Not only security guard jobs or cleaner jobs, but jobs with decent pay that would suit their skills and talents. And I do not think it is an unreasonable request for them to hope for promising jobs. I know the NTUC and the tripartite partners are working very hard in the Job Recreation Programme to recreate existing jobs. With the $40 million from the Government through this Budget, this programme is on a strong footing. But I think that people need to be reassured that not only JRP for existing jobs but also new jobs with prospects and better pay are also in the pipeline, are being created for older workers. Sir, it has not been an easy time for older workers and I just want to give one example. I have a resident who came and see me. He is 57. He used to be the leading steward of a very good airline. He was paid up to $3,500 plus allowances, but he was retrenched during SARS. He could not find another job in the service industry. He tried hotels and restaurants but could not get a job. Too old, he was told. He is 57. So he took a training course to become a security guard, and I took my hat off to him.”
“They have sacrificed their career, their time; they have undergone great hardship to defend the country. So we give them make-up pay, bonuses, various rewards. And this sends a strong signal that defence is a national priority. But we should also not forget that we also need to send a signal that procreation and nurturing families are also valued, and that homemakers too will not be left behind as this country progresses. It is true that last year we gave baby bonus, but it was designed for the care and development of the child, not a tangible recognition of the mother's role. I would urge the Government to consider giving, when it can when there is a surplus, to give a bonus directly to the homemakers as well. I make this request not to be demanding, not just another group asking for more, but out of a sense of equity. Before women can have equality with men, we must first have equality among ourselves. We should not be rewarding only mothers who go to work but also mothers who choose to stay home to take care of their family. Second, Sir, this Budget is not only about goodies but also on the long-term picture about what kind of jobs will be created and whether these job opportunities are open to our Singaporeans, especially our older workers. Our latest MTI figures show that total employment rose by 32,800 in the fourth quarter of last year, retrenchment has also gone up from 2,810 in the third quarter to 3,100 in the fourth quarter. This trend is expected to continue with restructuring, ie, more jobs created and still more retrenchments.”
“One is that sometimes their pay at work is barely enough to cover sending their children to childcare, paying for domestic help to make sure that the household runs smoothly. So they might as well stay at home, given the pay that they get at work. Some do not return to work because they cannot find flexible work arrangements. There is no flexible work arrangements that offer part-time work or flexible hours that would allow them to marry their job and their household duties. And, third, there is still a lack of affordable childcare arrangements that can support shift work and long and irregular working hours. Increasingly, as you know, our workers have to work long hours, graveyard shift and late nights, they have to find childcare for those hours. Hence, women tend to be the ones that pay the financial price for being mothers. Usually, by the time, they do return to the workforce, they lag far behind on the wage ladder. It is also harder for them to improve their job prospects as they tend to miss out on skills upgrading programmes. They cannot go for skills upgrading after work because, as I said, there is hardly affordable childcare options for them during after-work hours. So we need to recognise this. For a large proportion of women with families, their incomes will lag behind their male counterparts. Sir, if I may contrast this with how we recognise and reward our NSmen for their sacrifices. I would like to say that I fully support all the rewards that we are giving to the NSmen. I sat on the RECORD IV Committee and I am grateful that the Government is giving them especially the 40th Anniversary bonus. No one argues with the fact that they have made sacrifices.”
“It is not something for them to lean on, but something for them to climb on. And it fulfills our promise to the people that no one will be left behind in this country's progress even as we restructure rapidly. I think some of our concerns that this will lead to a handout mentality might be misplaced when it comes to the Workfare Bonus, when it is clear that it is tied to work. Moving on to the overall Budget itself, I would like to just make three points: First, I would like to put in a word for homemakers. I know they do not qualify for the Workfare Bonus, as it is tied to work. I support fully the principle of tying the condition of work to this bonus. At issue is whether we define the work of a homemaker as work. One can argue that every mother is a working mother. Homemakers are just unpaid working mothers. A good guide of what can count as work for homemakers is this: If a third person could be paid to do the unpaid activity of the homemaker, then it is work. Thus, cooking, childcare, house cleaning, these are jobs that you pay people to do and these are jobs that homemakers do without being paid. Therefore, it is work. It might seem like, pardon the pun, a motherhood statement, but mothers play a valuable role in this country's progress. We have been encouraging our mothers to have more babies, to arrest our country's falling fertility rate. We know that women still shoulder most of the household duties. But they do pay an economic price for being mothers. Figures show that women generally earn less than men as motherhood tends to narrow career options. Hence, we have this gender wage gap. Mothers have to take time off to care for their young and some do not return to work until their children are older for several reasons.”
“Sir, I thank the Prime Minister for a very generous budget, especially with its direct Workfare Bonus targeted at our older workers and our low-wage workers. All in, the Progress Package can come up to a big amount, especially for low-wage households. I just spoke to Mr G Muthukumarasamy, who is the General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Daily-Rated Workers, which represents some of the lowest-paid workers in Singapore. I am its Advisor. Muthu himself works as an electrician. He earns about $900 a month and his wife also earns about that amount as a clerk. They have four children, two of whom are NS men. I was trying to add up for him all the Budget goodies that he will get, including the Workfare Bonuses, the Growth Dividends, the NS bonuses and all. He was quite amazed to find that he would get in total about $4,000, around there, from this Budget. And for him, this is mind-boggling. He is very grateful. He told me that this is a Government that obviously cares for the workers and understands the plight and problems of low-wage workers and of older workers, and they are grateful. They have been through a very hard time, especially in the last few years. As you know, as lower-skilled jobs move out of Singapore, they have been struggling to keep their jobs and, year after year, their wages hardly move, while the rest of the workforce have been doing quite well, earning better wages. They are thus very encouraged by this Progress Package and they hope that these targeted measures, when we do have a budget surplus, will continue whenever possible. This is not a sign of a handout mentality taking hold. I think we should not confuse this with the crutch mentality because this is tied to work. This is why I support this Workfare Bonus. It is not crutch, but a ladder.”
“Has the Ministry observed a trend where older workers are put on contract work so as to save on cost as well as to make it easier for the employers to terminate their services should younger workers come along?”
“An excerpt: "You left the shore of your lands, young lads in your teens; You hadn't started living life, you hadn't filled your dreams. Britons, Anzacs, Gurkhas, you all served side by side; Foreign ground marked with your blood where you fought and died ... We ask now was it worth it? Of course it was you see, You helped to right a wrong and set a people free." Sir, in the end, National Service is all about ideals and defending them. We have much to defend in Singapore, not only the land, not only our economic achievements, but our values, our way of life, the spirit of the people. That Singapore spirit, I hope, is large enough to welcome back those who have paid their penalties for defaulting, whatever their sentences were. They would include Melvyn Tan. He has paid his dues. The court has so decided. We should welcome him back and allow him to perform to applause. In some developed democracies, draft dodgers, while they may be criticised, can still become the President of the country and lead the nation to war. Sir, I hope that in that spirit, in the larger Singapore spirit, we will welcome defaulters who have paid their dues back and make them feel proud to be with us as part of the Singapore family. 4.55 pm”
“Not the other way round, to renounce your citizenship, do your NS, almost like the form of punishment. This will reinforce the point that Singaporean citizenship is precious and that, for a man, it is tied inextricably to NS. Finally, Sir, on the value of NS. How do we place a value on NS? It epitomises national solidarity and self-sacrifice. I know the RECORD IV Committee would be making their recommendations on this, and I look forward to that. But perhaps more than that, we should also look at the social values placed on it, the symbolic values placed on it. Recently, I was in UK and it happened to be a Remembrance Day. It was to honour those who have died for the country in the two World Wars and to salute those who survived them. I was there on the streets and I observed a strong sense of national identity and common history being expressed on the lapels of many ordinary British in the form of an artificial red poppy. The entire London city stood still as the Big Ben struck, and two minutes of silence were observed wherever the people were, on the streets, in the offices, in the cafes. It was a powerful moment. I walked to witness the proud parade of war veterans, some of them in walking sticks, in wheelchairs, and they passed by to loud applause from the ordinary British lining the roads. It struck me that this national ritual is a means of reminding themselves of where they came from and what they aspire to be. Equally striking: many young people were also wearing the poppies with pride. Whilst visiting the memorial for those who fought in Singapore and Malaya to pay my respects, I found a poignant poem placed at the site, probably by a veteran. It was dedicated to those who died in the foreign lands of Malaya and Singapore.”
“I am pleased to know that MINDEF would be engaging young women under the National Youth Achievement Award Scheme to host young women to the SAF units to explain the NS thinking, to help them to understand the sacrifices that NSmen make. This is important to make sure that there is no gender divide over the issue of NS. Sir, whenever I am the Reviewing Officer for the passing-out parade, I always feel a sense of great pride when I see our young men standing there in the sun and being proud as Singaporeans and being proud that they have done NS. And this is the spirit that we want to maintain. Lastly, Sir, on valuing NS and its sacredness as a form of obligation as a citizen. I feel that we should have a paradigm shift where it comes to the law where we almost frame NS as a punishment for renouncing one's citizenship, the law that disallows a Singaporean to renounce his citizenship without first serving his NS. I can understand what must be the thinking behind this policy - it is probably designed to prevent men from thinking that they can run away from NS just by renouncing their citizenship. We should have greater faith in our men and in the value placed on being a Singaporean. Those who would give up their citizenship just to evade NS may not be worth keeping as Singaporeans, and I would say good riddance to them. Instead, we should put in place a system, like in Turkey, where Singaporeans can also have their citizenship withdrawn if they live abroad and do not return to perform military service within a certain time limit. Those who have lost their citizenship this way may apply to get their citizenship restored, but their applications may only be accepted if they complete their military service. In other words, to keep your Singaporean citizenship, do your NS.”
“I am urging for more flexibility on a case-by-case basis, including for postgraduate studies, especially for outstanding athletes and musicians whose most crucial stages of development are often in their youth. Sir, my second point is on the evolving concept of the link between NS and citizenship for men. Sir, a common way of understanding citizenship is in terms of rights and obligations. Another is in terms of patriotism, as a deep commitment to one's country and fellow citizens. It is essential to reaffirm the tradition of the citizen soldier that service on behalf of the nation-state is a mark of good citizenship. Sir, throughout history, scores of examples exist of both mandatory and voluntary service to the nation. Service to one's king or nation has been thought of as an honour. In ancient Sparta, the classical military state, although there was no mandatory military service for citizens, young men were most often shamed into service by their family and peers if they did not submit freely. Soldiers were taught to come back from battle with their shields on their shoulders or come back dead upon them. After the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, Sparta's first military defeat in battle, the women of the surviving soldiers mourned the return of their men because they had disgraced their families, while the women who were related to the dead soldiers, who were carried back on their shields, were happy because their men had maintained the honour of their families. Sir, we do not need to go that far. But my point is that it is important for society, including the women, to support NS and the men who do NS, and to equally castigate those who seek to evade it. It is a matter of honour.”
“Its government understands that in a flattening world, where more and more jobs can go anywhere, it's not enough to just stay ahead of its neighbours. It has to stay ahead of everyone." This was in the op-ed piece by Thomas Friedman based on the deferment given to Stanley Aw. Sir, many Singaporeans also understand that we are in a flattening world, and they wonder if they can have the best of both worlds: National Service that fosters a sense of civic obligation and duty while allowing citizens to pursue their chosen course as much as possible. There are examples of countries where deferments for enlistment have been given more generously without causing great grievance among the people or affecting operational readiness or undermining the conscription system. They also claim to have a universal system. According to a paper published by Tel Aviv University on the Israeli Defence Forces, about 3.5% of the conscription pool receive deferments each year because they are living abroad. In Turkey, which also has the conscription system and has been at war, students may postpone their military service up to the age of 29, or up to the age of 36 in the case of postgraduate students. Different military service regulations apply for Turkish citizens who are living abroad. They can then postpone their service up to the age of 38, for a period of three years at a time. Another example is Egypt, which also has a battle-tested conscription system. There, NS lasts three years, postponement is possible for students for the duration of their studies or until they are 28, or for various domestic reasons. I am not saying that we should be as generous. Indeed, I would caution against blanket or automatic deferments.”
“And if we press for a jail sentence - as we intend to do so for serious defaulters - it is as good as saying, don't come back. We should look instead at providing more re-entry points for those who seek deferment and not turn them into defaulters. As the Minister has said earlier in his Ministerial Statement, half of the NS defaulters charged in court returned at age 21 or younger, while 80% returned at age 28 or younger. I would hazard a guess that not a few might have earlier sought for deferments or further deferments but were rejected. Hence, they fall into the category of defaulters. And this is what happened to Melvyn Tan. Sir, I would urge MINDEF to review its deferment policy and perhaps allow it within a certain timeframe, or a specific age limit on case-by-case basis. As it is, Singaporeans generally already accept the need for deferment for specific cases. Mr Tan Soo Khoon mentioned the case of Stanley Aw. He was allowed to defer his NS by about three months to compete in the World Cyber Games. If you contrast that with the reaction to the Melvyn Tan's case, those who have heard about the Stanley Aw's case generally were largely positive, and they saw this as a sign of a more "enlightened" defence policy. This specific deferment case also led to an op-ed piece by columnist Thomas Friedman in New York Times, which was published on 16th September last year. Headlined, "Still Eating Our Lunch", he wrote: "Last week, its Ministry of Defence granted a deferment for the country's compulsory NS to a Singaporean teenager so he could finish competing in the finals of the World Cyber Games." He continued: "Being a tiny city-state of four million, Singapore is obsessed with nurturing every ounce of talent of every single citizen ...”
“According to several reports, for a growing number of young Israeli recruits, considerations of personal satisfaction (assessed in terms of either future job prospects or immediate gratification) now take precedence over a sense of patriotic pride. Influenced by the values pervading the society of which they feel a part, few now express a willingness to subordinate personal considerations, as measured in terms of the market place, to the collective good. Sir, by the standards of all previous portraits of the IDF soldier, that constitutes a shift of seismic proportions. In Singapore, we cannot be insulated from these global forces. But can we find a way to achieve some sort of balance between, on the one hand, the need to subordinate individual needs to the collective good as a Singaporean soldier and, on the other hand, the desire for individual fulfillment as a civilian? Perhaps one way is to review our deferment policy to be more flexible on requests for temporary deferment for enlistment - on a case-by-case basis - even as we get tougher on serious defaulters. And this I echo the views made by my colleague, Mr Tan Soo Khoon. This does not necessarily mean that we compromise on the principle of universality which demands that all men who are fit must be conscripted. They will be conscripted. It is a matter of when. There is a difference between those who default and those who seek to defer their service. The defaulters have no intention of serving their NS and are running away from their obligations. Those who seek deferment want to serve NS and want to return to fulfil their obligations. This distinction must be appreciated. If we are too rigid on deferments, these men who want to serve but could not at that point in time will then, by default, become defaulters.”
“More Singaporean students go overseas to study and to seek and seize new opportunities to develop their different talents. Singapore society itself is also changing very rapidly. We have been telling our residents to pursue their dreams, to take risks, to get out of their comfort zone and to try new paths to become successful. There is a change in societal values as we move towards a society that celebrates individual excellence and the pursuit of individual dreams. In many ways, Singapore is no different from other small countries, attempting to define and maintain for themselves a place in the world that is increasingly becoming globally integrated. But with this change, the supporting framework for core military values of sacrifice, honour and duty, is challenged by the more individualistic and consumeristic values that are on the ascendant. This shift can also be seen in the Israeli soldiers who enlist in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The IDF is considered one of the strongest military forces in the Middle East and ranks among the most battle-trained armed forces in the world, having had to defend the country in five major wars. Surveys conducted in 1980, 1984 and 1988 in Israel indicated that some 90% of the Jewish Israeli 18-year olds looked forward to their enlistment and expressed a willingness to serve even if the conscription was to be made voluntary. However, there have since been random media reports indicating an erosion in the "stigma" once attached to non-enlistment among some segments of Israeli youth. They reflect a subtle shift in priorities.”
“If I may name one example: Eritrea, which has compulsory NS since the war with Ethiopia in 1998-2000. According to an international human rights report, many young people have tried to evade military service and thousands have fled the country or deserted after being conscripted. There are reports that the usual punishment for evading or escaping from military service is torture by beatings and being tied in painful contorted positions for days and indefinite detention without charge or trial. But, still, many continue to evade NS. Sir, to return to the question that our NSmen who were angry with Melvyn Tan's case posed: why bother to serve? Before answering this question, I will touch on three inter-related themes. First, the impact of globalisation on society's attitude towards NS and how this has contributed towards the rise in the number of defaulters in Singapore. Second, on the evolving concept of the link between National Service and citizenship for men. And, finally, on the worth of National Service. First, globalisation. Sir, we have about 100 cases of NS defaulters a year over the past five years. Although, in percentage terms, they form a very small percentage (0.5%) of those enlisted a year, the numbers seem to be on the rise if you take a longer term view. In 1991, it was reported that only 10 out of more than 20,000 who were enlisted each year did not show up. So, if you take that as a marker, in 14 years the number has gone up about ten-fold. So, what had happened? In a word, globalisation. Most of the defaulters, over the last five years, are overseas and most come from families who have migrated. Sir, the fact is that, in this increasingly globalised world, more and more Singaporean families are going overseas to work and live.”
“Sir, I thank the Defence Minister for assuring the House that the Government takes a serious view of NS defaulters and there is no special treatment for those who default, whatever their status in life or their background. This bears repeating because I find it hard to agree with my colleague, much as I respect his views, that we should make exceptions for those who default based on their talent. I think this signal will unravel all the importance that we have placed on National Service, and we should be careful to seek exemption for defaulters. We should take a tough line on serious NS defaulters, and push for a jail sentence for serious cases to send a strong signal that this is a major offence. Hence, I support the Minister's announcement that MINDEF will press for custodial sentences for serious defaulters. Sir, the nature of the military's task - where men are expected to defend the country and, if necessary, to pay the ultimate sacrifice of the country - necessitates the transfer of individual interests to those of the group, and requires the maintenance of particularly high levels of morale and discipline. When our young men got to know that the British pianist Melvyn Tan was only fined $3,000 for defaulting NS, some felt demoralised and asked: why bother to serve? One can say that this is a natural emotional reaction, but that question would not be answered with only harsher sentences for defaulters, or a mandatory jail sentence that does not distinguish the circumstances of one defaulter from another. We can find countries with very harsh penalties for defaulting but still find low morale and discipline a problem among conscripts, with many still wanting to evade NS.”
“Sir, a recent paper by Department of Statistics, based on the 2003 Household Expenditure Survey, found that households in the bottom 20% have accumulated an average home equity of $138,000 each. Sir, this asset is their only asset. Would it not make sense for us to help them to monetise this asset so that they will not be driven down the welfare route? It is totally consistent with our message of self-reliance, help them to get back on their own feet based on their own assets, so that they can later on start saving for their future again.”
“Sir, while it is true that CPF savings are primarily for old age, can I ask the Minister whether it is also true that CPF savings are also used for investments which are risky? And according to the CPF website, 50% of total CPF investors in FY 2004 maderealised losses from their CPF investments. Would it not be more prudent to allow CPF investors to take out some of the money to pay their outstanding loans which attract high late payment interest rates as well as outstanding debts which would force them to turn to loan sharks? Would it not be more prudent for them to do that than to allow them to use the money to make risky investments?”
“Sir, I want to thank the Minister for the assurance that social safeguards will not be removed. But can I ask the Minister whether the 50% cap on casino revenue being removed will mean that the IRs will be dominated by gaming activities as a source of attraction and revenue, especially in the early years, and whether this will mean that it is indeed going to be more a casino than an entertainment centre?”
“Sir, the Minister said that on-going discussions are on for the bridge, but the Malaysian Foreign Minister has been reported as saying that Malaysia could go ahead and build a half-bridge, even if Singapore did not agree to the proposal. Can I ask the Minister Singapore's position on this? A related question is with regard to the unilateral approach that seems to be underlying this decision to build a half-bridge even if Singapore does not agree to it. Can I ask the implications of this on the other outstanding issues that are being discussed, as the Minister has said that both sides have agreed that any proposal should be mutually beneficial? Finally, with regard to the Minister's point about the agreement on both sides to keep their discussions out of the media, may I ask whether there has been a breach of that agreement and what would this mean for the other discussions that are taking place on the other issues on the table.”
“What we consider "normal" behaviour in an emergency is behaviour that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties. They do not sit around and complain that the government has not taken care of them. And they do not use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men." Sir, we need to remind ourselves that we are a small vulnerable state with no resources, except our people, and we have to maintain a community that is ever ready to overcome difficulties on their own and be resilient and rugged. Studies from various countries have shown that children from homes which depend on welfare will grow up to expect handouts as adults. We need children to grow up in homes where work and individual responsibility, rather than welfare and dependency, are valued as a way of life. And we need to build up people's resilience even as we offer a safety net for those who need it. Before I end, I just want to say that it is a good scheme, and I want to thank the Minister for the scheme which has allowed me to set up Silver Connect - a programme to help the elderly among us who are needy and lack a strong family support - which should, hopefully, make life better for many of the elderly in my ward. This scheme has great promise. On that note, I support the Bill.”
“Indeed, if women did not continue to shoulder these risks and burdens, it is hard to see how any social institution could make up for the services they now provide. I would urge the MCYS to work on ways to make absentee fathers or divorced fathers pay more for the support of their children and to stick to their maintenance payments. Sir, a final point. I think we should all stress the message that we need to beware of the welfare mentality settling in. Our ComCare programme is to help residents to be strong and not to weaken them. If I may take a lesson from the hurricane Katrina. When it hit New Orleans, I followed the events on CNN. And the images that came through were jarring. Some of the victims - they looked very well-bodied, in fact, quite well fed - acted helpless, and they preyed on each other by looting shops; some of them raped the women among them, and they were shooting their rescuers. But there was one scene that particularly stuck in my mind. It was a group of men and women, able-bodied, and with their children, all chanting very loudly: "We want aid! We want aid!". And they were chanting it like it was a nursery rhyme, and I could see the look on the children's faces - they took it like it was a normal thing to say. And these are the messages that have been purveyed to the community and the children. It made me ask: where was the sense of community? The resilience and instinct to help one another? What kind of values are the children learning from their parents? Sir, if I may quote a column by Robert Tracinski, which was published in the Straits Times on 12th September: "What hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state.”
“In the form there is a column which asked them to describe reasons for rendering assistance, and she wrote: "Maintenance of children not paid." Then there was another applicant, this time a man. He is 42 and works as a part-time telemarketeer earning about $700 a month. He has divorced and remarried. In the same column asking reasons for rendering assistance, he wrote: "Do not have a proper job even though have gone for a few interviews. To support household monthly expenses and maintenance of my two sons whose mother I have divorced." So we have single mothers writing to us for help because their ex-husbands had not paid their maintenance, and we have ex-husbands writing to us for help because they want us to help them pay the maintenance for their former wives. Clearly, this cannot be sustained. Sir, we need to address wider labour and social trends, such as contract work which pays low and the rising number of single mothers unable to take on full-time work. The wages earned, usually way below $800, are not enough for Singaporeans to raise a family on, given today's rising cost of living. We need to get at the root of the problem: low wages and increasingly unstable work which have driven the more lower-skilled Singaporeans from the labour market to our welfare system. At the same time, we must stress that, irrespective of its size, a pay cheque is better than a handout. But as we can see, welfare dependency is partly also caused by fathers leaving, families falling apart - issues that should be boldly addressed by MCYS. If divorce or separation occurs, most mothers seek and accept primary responsibility for the care of their children even when they are not financially well-equipped to do so.”
“We need to put in place a more robust system at the CDC level to help residents get back on their feet, including counselling, and we do need proactive case managers who will take cases seriously and help them to find jobs and give them the counselling necessary to stay in jobs. I want to also repeat the question that Mr Sin Boon Ann raised, because I think it is a worthy question. It is about the long-term cases. We see repeat cases coming back at MPS. Surely, we do not have to put them through the agony of coming back and crying in our MPS and asking for more help for another three more months. Can I ask the Minister: what are the schemes available for longer term assistance and what are the criteria for ensuring that this help is given to residents who need it? Sir, I understand that there is a Ministerial Committee on Low Wage Workers, and I hope that the committee will look into strengthening the effectiveness of ComCare schemes as part of the overall framework and to take a more holistic approach to welfare. My second point relates to another trend, which was also pointed out by Dr Khor. We see more single mothers seeking help, unable to take on full-time jobs as they need to take care of their young children at home. They also often complain of their ex-husbands not paying maintenance. This is a national phenomenon and it manifests itself when the single mothers come to us for help. I was going through some recent cases, and I would like to highlight two quickly to show how difficult it is for the CCC to resolve this, using the ComCare Fund. The first case: one who applied for help was a babysitter earning about $500 a month. She is about 40, a divorcee with the custody of two children, aged 10 and 11. She lives in a 5-room flat.”
“I then advised her on the need to get a job as a long-term solution, and to seek counselling on her marital situation. I referred her to the Syariah Court to advise her on her options for a divorce. From the CCC welfare fund, she received $200 to pay for her son's examination fees; another $250 a month for the next three months, on top of the $50 one-time cash that I gave her at the MPS itself. So, in all, we gave her about $1,000 from our CCC welfare fund. We also gave her utilities vouchers ($60) for her Singapore Power arrears. And we also went the extra mile to help her find a job. I got my branch secretary to call one of our eldercare centres - Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre - to ask if they could kindly help her to find a job in the interim period while she works out her problems. At my request, Metta offered her a job as a general worker, $800 per month at their Simei Centre, which is quite nearby Tampines. She reported for work and left one hour later. She never returned to work. Also, at my request, the Town Council tried to help her offset partially her outstanding S&CC charges by offering her the job of a Temporary Estate Inspector. She turned up for the briefing but did not carry out any inspection. So she did not enjoy the benefits of having her arrears reduced. I also referred her case to North East CDC, who also helped her financially, and to the various Government agencies, such as HDB, to defer payment. Cases like hers are long-drawn and complex. They are beyond the capabilities of the CCC.”
“So it is clear in our ComCare and it is a clear message to residents that if they apply for financial help at the CCC level, yes, but, at the same time, straightaway, they must go to the CDC for job-matching. And this is a clear signal that can be sent when they fill up the form. Sir, I would urge the MCYS, like the hon. Member Sin Boon Ann, to have performance indicators, especially for CDCs, to monitor them closely on their performance and job placements and in attending to cases promptly. And perhaps to give them incentives or disincentives to do so. The help at the CDC level should, where possible, also shift away from unconditional cash assistance towards helping more in kind, in the form of food voucher, transport and utilities vouchers, and cash payment conditional on work, or attempts to find work. Sir, at the CCC level, we do not have as many levers to work with to find jobs for residents or the wide array of schemes to refer them to. We do not have full-time staff as all on our CCC welfare committee are volunteers. On our own, we have tried to place some residents in jobs - the desperate ones - but they are difficult as they may also need long-term counselling. Let me just give one recent example. A housewife came to see me in April this year at my MPS. Her story was that her husband had left her for a younger woman, but did not want to give her a divorce because it would mean that he has to pay for the household bills and has to pay for the maintenance of the family. So her husband left her with three teenage children and a pile of household bills. In the MPS, she threatened suicide. She said she was very depressed. Of course, I immediately helped her with $50 cash from the welfare fund.”
“First, we need to send and reinforce the message that the CCC ComCare Fund is only for needy, short-term cases, an interim stop-gap measure to tide over difficult periods such as a sudden loss of job or medical illness or the loss of a breadwinner. It is like an emergency fund, a last-resort fund when all else fails. It is not for long-term support. Sir, I am glad to hear the Minister stress mutual responsibility, and it is worth emphasising because we have seen cases in Tampines-Changkat and I am sure also in other wards, where some residents expect unconditional financial support for more than three months. In fact, if they do not get it, they come back to us and they threaten suicide and sometimes threaten to see the PM. Some cases are intractable as they are unable to find a job, and even if they do find a job, they find that the pay is too low to raise a family on, often less than $800 a month, some even citing less than $500. We have referred many cases to the CDC for jobs and also for longer-term financial support, but our experience is that the processing at the CDC level takes more time and, sometimes, too much time. And some cases get rejected. Residents not helped by the CDC then return to us at the CCC or to my meet-the-people session to ask for help from the CCC ComCare Fund. Sir, we need to manage expectations or else the CCC Fund will dry up in no time. May I suggest that the assessment form for the CCC ComCare Fund, which is now quite simple, be redesigned to allow a box for us to refer the case directly to CDC, so that there will be a seamless management of cases, rather than separate and disparate appeals made. It will also help in terms of job-matching.”
“Sir, first, I would like to commend the Minister for setting up the ComCare Fund. It is a timely move, given the social and labour trends, and reassures Singaporeans who need help that they will not be left to struggle alone as Singapore progresses. Sir, of particular note is the initiative under the ComCare programme to engage the community, especially the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs) to deliver assistance. This is most welcome, as the grassroots organisations are more in tune with the needs of the residents and can help residents more quickly without too much red tape. For this purpose, about $33,000 is given to each CCC to disburse to deserving cases. But, if I may put up a little red flag, since the ComCare Fund was announced in early June and the CCC ComCare Fund was set up, my CCC and I think others also in other wards have observed a spike in the number of residents coming forward for help. Not all can be said to be deserving cases. Indeed, before the CCC ComCare Fund was set up, my ward usually saw about 10 residents seeking financial help every month. After the ComCare Fund was announced in late June, we saw a sudden jump to almost 50 cases for the month of July. But to our relief, it then tapered down to about 14 cases in August. This is the trend. Sir, we have to be careful in how we disburse the ComCare Fund, which is public money, and make sure Singaporeans do not develop a hand-out mentality. This has been stressed but I think it bears repeating. At the same time, we must make sure that residents who need help get the help they need, and this is not always only financial assistance. Sir, I would like to make three points.”
“Sir, there have been instances where the MRT services were disrupted because suspicious parcels were found but they were found to be actually litter left behind by Singaporeans, such as food parcels, drinks and cups. Can I ask the Minister, given the higher vigilance being put upon residents and Singaporeans to make sure that these things are reported, whether we can at the same time educate Singaporeans to be more mindful about not leaving behind parcels, such as their own litter?”
“Can I ask the Minister whether our Police Officers have a similar kind of instruction that the London Police have, which is to shoot to kill any suspected suicide bomber on the spot? In the recent case of London, they actually shot an innocent person. Can the Minister please enlighten us? Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, we have evolved our doctrine of rules on engagement according to the circumstances. In our context today, we have not come across a suicide bomber case, and we hope that we will not come across one. But I would not rule that out because suicide bombing is one of the preferred tactics of the terrorists to frighten and intimidate normal citizens. In the case of other countries where they have experienced this, they have indeed adopted a shoot-to-kill policy because they cannot leave it to chance that this person may turn out to be a suicide bomber, as we have seen in the case of London. But, in our case, the Police Officer has to use his judgement. He has to assess at the time when he is confronted with a person who may appear to be a suicide bomber and, in his opinion, to neutralise the threat, he may have to take such an action. Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung (Sembawang): May I ask the Minister, with the introduction of the MRT Police, is that due to a special threat posed in terms of our general public transport situation that MRT stations are more vulnerable to attacks? Is there any other arrangement also made for other public transport systems, like buses, ferries and so on?”
“I would also like to stress on the function of the Board. They must know their function and their roles, which are to provide direction to the CEO. In this case, I am not sure whether the NKF Board of Directors are calling the shots or is it the CEO that is calling the shots. I think it is important to have some independent directors on the Board as well. Sir, my last point is on the need to convey to the media and the public the role of charities and the changing faces of charities. In the UK, just this month on 11th July, their National Council for Voluntary Organisations has come out with a new coalition, which is called Impact Coalition. "Impact" stands for improving accountability, clarity and transparency, launched on 11th July, to improve public trust and confidence in their sector, their values and the way they work. Their main task is to convey to the public why they raise money the way they do, what is the fund-raising ratio, why do they pay their top people the way they do. It should not be the role of Government only. The VWOs should engage with the public actively, to form their own coalition, to build public trust and to convince the public that, indeed, if you are a complex organisation needing high pay to attract the people, then that should be the way to go. And I think it should not be the job only of this Parliament but also for VWOs to band and stand together to build public trust.”
“67% of the organisation's total functional expenses. How does this compare to NKF? T T Durai's pay is $600,000 out of total expenses of $84 million, which means he makes about 0.71% of total expenses. It is arguable whether it is too high, given that NKF's role and reach are not quite that of Oxfam America. The Minister mentioned that he has already in mind a candidate to be CEO, and the candidate that he has in mind is someone who has experience in running hospitals and in healthcare services. The question then arises whether perhaps the benchmark for the pay of the CEO of NKF should be that of a CEO of a hospital rather than a CEO of a social service VWO, which is what the public has in mind. The Minister also mentioned the dilemma of making public the salaries of senior management in charities. He is worried, and perhaps rightly, that people will not join VWOs as senior management if their pay is made public. Perhaps a way out of this is to present it as a ratio rather than the nitty-gritty of dollars and cents. This is also done in some websites I found just a few minutes ago while I was scrolling through. Many of the websites that track charities maintain that it is unrealistic to expect organisations to spend very little on management. And according to one reliable website which tracks charities, it mentioned that, typically, charities spend between 5% and 13% of their total expenditure on senior management. I am not sure if NKF falls within this range because the pay of its senior management is not made available. But the key is accountability. Donors should be able to ask the charity what is spent on administration and, if appropriate, ask them to justify their performance and not wait until they are called to court proceedings in a witness stand.”