Janet Ang
Singapore
“It is important that the GPs step forward and engage themselves in the redesign of work processes and incentives that will help make Healthier SG implementation efficient, effective and most importantly, deliver on its intended purpose.”
“In conclusion, my hope is for our Singapore-style of meritocracy to be one which values the dignity of every person – no matter their abilities or achievements, upholds the spirit of community, that is, as Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong calls it, more about the we and us and less about the I and me; empowers attitudes of always learn…”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to ask Minister how is MSF enabling, empowering and compensating our social workers so that they can meaningfully journey with families and persons in their care? What is MSF doing to attract good people and leaders to this sector? Communities with purpose serve.”
“How does MOM and the Tripartite partners intend to manage the implementation of the Fair Practice in the Workplace legislation and achieve its intended purpose while at the same time ensuring that we maintain workplace harmony and not allow for a litigious culture to take root?”
“That said, what measures are in place to ensure that Government agencies do not spend on advertising on what can be perceived as self-promotion of the Government or to show it in a positive light? How does MCI measure the effectiveness of its spending? Partnering Industries for the Future”
“Two, in view of recent Presidential-level engagements between them, how hopeful can we be that open communications and dialogue will continue to progress constructively?”
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Every one of 219 lines we hold for Janet Ang, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 5.
“I would like to focus on the Capital part of the equation in particular, Temasek and the Singapore Government’s co-investment to set up a new $1 billion "Local Enterprises Funding Platform". This Fund will invest in LLEs and support their growth. I am sure that the selected LLEs will benefit not only from the additional capital injected by this fund but will also benefit from Temasek’s leadership development, mentoring, and access to networks and tools, which will further enable the LLEs to accelerate their becoming potential local champions. I have a few questions and one idea for the Minister with regards this purposeful proposition. One, that criteria must the LLE fulfil for the company to be eligible to be a “target” investment for this Fund? Two, assuming that there will be an over-whelming response from the LLEs, how will Temasek and MTI decide which LLEs to fund? For example, sector specific, green future and so on. Three, will this "Local Enterprises Funding Platform" initiative be extended to support SMEs as well? In Singapore, we have many SMEs which may be "stuck" due to lack of capital, lack of access to tools and networks especially for going beyond Singapore, and lack of leadership and expert capabilities needed to breakout and stand out. SMEs do hire more than 70% of our workforce. If we can lift our SMEs, it will be a lift for the Singapore workforce. I would like to make a plug for SMEs who are not quite your start-up, or your LLEs by size, to be given an opportunity to be a part of this initiative. And, finally, I would like to offer an idea – perhaps, there is an opportunity for the LLEs to play "Queen Bee", to bring along the SMEs in their value-chain, and be funded as a portfolio of companies in a value-chain, under this initiative.”
“And as I said in my Budget debate speech, I have highlighted two points: 29 TACs including SBF have signed a joint statement in support of fair hiring and employment practices. Businesses must play their part to have fair practice in the workplace, and develop local talent and leadership. For MTI and EDB, in their engagement with the MNCs to lean-in on the value of the Singapore talent as the foundation of their business success. According to a McKinsey Study, post-COVID-19, we will see “remote work” on the rise. In other words, companies do not need to bring the foreign talents on-shore as they can distribute the work off-shore. Can the Minister share the Government’s strategy to maintain or even enhance our hub status? Or do we have an alternative strategy? For me, I believe that a new social compact in the workplace is one of the critical factors. For my fellow Singaporean PMETS, we need to acknowledge that foreign talents do complement Singapore talents. Asking “who has moved my cheese?” will not help. Having the skills to do the job is but minimum expectation. According to a February 2021 Singapore Human Resource Institute study, employers increasingly look for critical attributes such as a growth mindset, a risk-taking attitude and a drive to excel. Our Singapore workforce and us as parents to the next generation workforce, must “wake up” from our unrealistic expectations, seize the day and bounce back with our classic Singaporean “Can Do” attitude. Appreciate the Minister's response. Tech, People and Capital for SMEs Budget 2021 has the critical elements of Tech + Skills + Capital + Vision for Singapore to emerge stronger.”
“Mr Chairman, let me start by recollecting a meeting I had organised for a IBM Senior Vice President to call on the then Singapore EDB MD, Mr Lim Swee Say. During the meeting, Mr Lim asked a question which stuck in my head for good, and it goes something like this: “How can Singapore stay relevant to IBM’s growth ambitions and global strategies?” After the meeting, the IBM SVP shared with me that no country has ever framed a question like that before! IBM was surely impressed, to say the least. That year, IBM established its first disk drive manufacturing facility in ASEAN, right here in Singapore. Was that a coincidence? And this track record persists even in COVID-19 year, as hon Member Liang Eng Hwa has shared earlier. The Singapore EDB is an amazing marketing machinery in selling the advantages of Singapore and “bidding” for jobs for Singaporeans. Attracting the MNCs to our shores amidst competitive landscape is a feat in itself but what makes Singapore stand out is that Singapore delivers on our promise; a) with the Singaporean workers who are skilled, hardworking and principled; b) with Singapore companies that have the capabilities to be plugged into the MNC’s global eco-system; c) with our efficient government systems and non-corrupt business practices; and d) with Singapore being the open and global city that is attractive to the best of global expertise and diversity of brain power. This has been what makes Singapore, a small economy, break out from the rest. In recent times, there have been rumblings of “foreigners taking our jobs”. I believe that now is the time for stakeholders to work on a renewed social compact.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would like to take both cuts together.”
“I have a dream – where citizens, residents, businesses, civil society and Government work together and take an integral development approach to tackle the issues at hand, always ensuring the poorer amongst us, the disadvantaged, the vulnerable families and SMEs are not left behind. I have a dream – that, in Singapore, we have diversity and inclusion in education, digital access, work opportunities, business leadership and politics – at all levels from workers to businesses and society at large; where we practise fair and just code of ethics which reflect our Singapore values; where we guard our racial and religious harmony; and that we, as a people, do not lose our strengths of being a caring and welcoming society. I have a dream – of a Singapore where our people and organisations are confident to embrace and lead in the innovation, development and application of new technologies and new ideas because we are a learning nation, strong in collaborating with the best minds in the world, and always restlessly re-inventing ourselves to stay humbly relevant in the global economy. And I am so blessed that our Singapore Dream is already a work-in-progress. In closing, I challenge us with this quote by St Francis of Assisi: “Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible”. With this, I conclude with my support for the Budget. Thank you, Mr Speaker and the House, for your kind attention. [Applause.]”
“Of course, we hope that the Civil Service can also join in. Talking about the vulnerable groups, those who are affected by COVID-19, now we take it at a little bit more macro level. Many around the world are waking up to the massive issue of growing inequality, and business leaders and civil society and even governments are calling for a re-thinking and re-framing of capitalism. How society can be better off for all and not just for a few? What corporate values need to be renewed and what are those that need to be reset? How can our companies reframe their purpose so as – to quote Konosuke Matshushita – "to improve human life through enterprise management?" What government policies are needed to drive behaviour and to support businesses in this effort? I believe that when business leaders come together and galvanise other business leaders, we can effect change for the vulnerable groups which include the marginalised or disadvantaged SMEs, amongst us. Temasek has been a big champion in this movement. We can see in Budget 2021 where Temasek has come out with a $500 million match by Government to support the LLEs in Singapore to become true local champions. Mr Speaker, these are but some of my thoughts and reflections. We need on-going dialogue amongst stakeholders to listen to each other, to better understand the issues and find the solutions together. I beg your indulgence as I close with my Singapore Dream. I have a dream – of a Singapore where a culture of care and dialogue amongst all stakeholders for the common good for all and for the greater good of the economy, our health, the environment and society is part of our DNA.”
“Skills transfer and knowledge transfer as well as leadership development are some of the key values in successful partnerships between MNCs and Singapore. Our EDB is one of the best marketing engine you can ever find on earth; serious. And I would urge that, perhaps, this conversation of skills transfer, knowledge transfer, how many Jessica Tans and how many Russel Thams they are going to develop for us in Singapore, needs to be re-started in the board room – between the Singapore EDB and the MNC head honchos both at HQ and here. My next point: organisations to re-think their stewardship responsibilities. During COVID-19, Singapore Business Federation Foundation together with seven TACs launched the Industry-Led Compassion Fund. I was so heartened to see the response by the businesses, who probably themselves are not having an easy time. They came together to set up the fund to support the employees in their own industry. SBF Foundation matched the funds raised by the TACs and together, $1.9 million was raised and it is projected to help more than 3,000 employees in those industries. This is very heartwarming to see – companies coming forward to help themselves and the employees who are affected in their own industries. During these trying times, there are also vulnerable groups trying to enter and re-enter our workforce. Employment is key to their independence. The best way we can help them is actually the dignity of work. Everyone has something to offer. SBF Foundation, which is the social impact arm of the SBF, with support by Tote Board, has set up the Employability Fund and Empower Circles to work with and rally businesses to train and re-design work for these vulnerable groups, to provide job coach support linkages and so on.”
“The foreign skills also complement us in numbers where we do not have enough. We must remember that we are not competing for jobs amongst ourselves. Every day, we are coming out for jobs, competing for jobs, not just when the jobs are here in Singapore but globally. Let me switch to this next issue – fair practice in the workplace. Over the years, many Singaporean workers believe that they have not been given the fair chance for jobs that are created here in Singapore. Fair practice in the workplace needs an urgent review. I am happy to report that in January 2021, 29 trade associations and chambers or TACs, including the Singapore Business Federation have signed a joint statement in support of fair hiring and employment practices. I think that is a good first step. I believe it is time for a renewed dialogue amongst stakeholders – Singapore workers, businesses and the Government – to re-think the social compact and in so doing, create positive momentum for win-win-win. I was an IBMer for 33 years, and am very blessed to be a reasonably successful product of Singapore’s MNC or FDI strategy along with the likes of Mr Koh Boon Hwee who started with HP, Mr Russell Tham with Applied Materials, Mr Lee Kok Choy with Micron, Ms Teo Lay Lim with Accenture, our Deputy Speaker Jessica Tan with IBM and then Microsoft, DBS’ Ms Tan Su Shan with Citi and Morgan, and scores more. I hope my friends do not mind me calling them out. We were all trained and developed by foreign bosses. In those days, our foreign bosses were probably evaluated – and their promotions depended on it – based on how many Singaporean leaders they have developed, not only for Singapore but for the region and for the world.”
“And as for in-demand skills like tech and digital, there are more jobs than there are Singaporeans with the skills and experience, and desire to take on those jobs at the salaries that companies currently are paying. For example, the construction and IT industries face challenges with hiring local talents with the right skill sets, while the nightlife, hospitality and F&B sectors struggle to fill critical "rank-and-file" roles with local employees. Foreign talents with the skills we need do complement our Singaporean talents. I believe that our Singapore workers are confident, determined and ready to work hard, and our companies should invest in them and give them the opportunities from when they graduate through their life-long professional learning journey. The Government is trying to help with the programmes and policies but in the meantime, some companies with contracts need the workers to fulfil their commitments, while other companies need to be sure that they can get the workers if they bid for the work. This is a catch-22 situation. The business community hopes that the Government could fine-tune manpower policies to strike a better balance with regard to hiring of local and foreign talent. Perhaps the Government can consider a differentiated intervention for different businesses and industries and skills, to support them to recover, and for them to recover, they need the manpower. My personal opinion having worked in the tech industry for more than 37 years, and having been a resident foreign talent myself – I lived three years in Tokyo and eight years in Beijing – we are in a global war for talent. We should attract the best foreign brains and talents to come to Singapore, and they add value by way of skills, experience, expertise and knowledge.”
“One suggestion specifically to address the tech talent crunch is to encourage our companies to invest in Singaporean graduates, whether University, Polytechnic and ITE graduates for entry-level tech jobs, despite being able to hire experienced foreign developers at equivalent salaries. In product development, for example, there is no substitute for experience. Experienced developers are able to start contributing quicker to the company's product development, and be ahead for advancement to take on higher level roles in project leadership and IT solution architecture. If our Singapore graduates do not start with those jobs, they cannot possibly take on those higher value jobs especially in tech. Perhaps the SGUnited Traineeship top-ups can help make the difference, and over time, we will have more Singaporean Core experienced developers who can move on to higher value jobs. Singapore has the aspiration to build more digital product companies and we need to have a deeper "Skills for Transformation" strategy. We need all hands on deck – companies, Government and workers. Point two, I urge the business community to continue to work with education institutions to ensure a ready pipeline of labour with the right skill sets. I believe there is opportunity for more collaboration within and across sectors to uplift the labour eco-system, as having a larger pool of skilled labour would benefit businesses in the long run. Nett, we are calling for companies to train more than what they need, or more than the number of skills that they need, and make it available to the rest of the industry.”
“Businesses are also excited about the Singapore Green Plan 2030 which serves to give the Whole of Singapore a visionary goalpost to shoot for. A key challenge for many of them, however, is availability of manpower. They cannot find enough Singapore workers to take up the roles, especially when it comes to expertise and in-demand skills they need to recover and grow. In the Manufacturing sector, the reduction in S Pass Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) announced in Budget 2021 is worrisome for many of them, especially when Singaporeans may have expectation mismatches and not aspire to those jobs. Nett, my view is that the Budget 2021 has the critical elements of tech, plus skills, plus capital, plus vision. So, what will determine success for Singapore to emerge stronger, is going to be how we execute and the speed of execution. COVID-19 has given the impetus for many of our companies to "pivot" to new business models, for example, e-commerce, to accelerate technology adoption and digitalisation, and to look for new revenue-generating activities. The time for companies and industries to push on with their transformation efforts, taking advantage of Government support and industry collaboration, is now. COVID-19 hit a global reset and I think it is an opportunity for us – workers, industry and Government – to review, rethink and re-imagine the way we execute. For today's speech, I would like to start the dialogue on three issues: skills for transformation; fair practice in the workplace; and organisations to re-think their stewardship responsibilities. Let us start with skills for transformation. I would like to put forward a few ideas to explore together.”
“Sorry. I hope I could still have been heard. I apologise for that. Participants all expressed gratitude for the strong leadership by the Singapore Government and acknowledged that Budget 2021 is balanced with realism and sensitivity to the on-going crisis, while at the same time is forward looking and projects a hopeful and exciting future. With the vaccination programme underway, there is optimism going forward and businesses are encouraged by the COVID-19 Resilience Package that will help safeguard public health and provide targeted help for the hardest hit sectors. The additional Jobs Growth Incentive with SGUnited Jobs and Skills to support employers to accelerate hiring of local workers will help businesses and employees move up the value chain together. Many understand the prudence in the gradual opening up of travel but have expressed concerns that the continued restrain on the opening up of global borders will have its impact on recovery. It is hoped that the Government will continue to calibrate its risk management approach, to gradually ease the COVID-19 restrictions, both on the domestic front as well as allowing for business travel and tourism bubbles without Stay-Home Notice. That aside, the Government shifting investments and support in Budget 2021 toward enabling companies to accelerate digitalisation, seize new opportunities of growth in tech, in green and in the region, while continuing to uplift the skills of our workers, is applauded. The Enterprise Financing Scheme will add the capital boost needed to help our companies spur ahead. And, we believe that expert help from CTO-as-a-Service and Digital Leaders will help their digitalisation transformation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to start by sharing a moment of gratitude on behalf of the business community for the leadership and support extended by this House since the COVID-19 virus hit our shores some 12 months ago. In the recent national business study conducted by the Singapore Business Federation or SBF, about two-thirds of businesses reported that they were negatively impacted by COVID-19. And looking ahead, about one-third are unsure about the future of their businesses. And amongst those negatively impacted, 70% thinks that it will take more than a year to fully recover from the pandemic. Last week, after Deputy Prime Minister Heng's Budget 2021 announcement, SBF organised a closed-door dialogue with some trade associations and chambers or TACs and myself. Participants all expressed gratitude for the strong leadership by the Singapore Government and acknowledged that Budget 2021 is balanced with realism and sensitivity to the on-going crisis, while at the same time, is forward-looking and projects a hopeful and exciting future.”
“And leveraging on the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill is definitely a good one to go with. The third suggestion. We have PayNow. We have InvoiceNow. Our businesses have enquired about when we will have “SignNow” so that companies can use e-signatures on banking documents and comply with the banks’ compliance process. And I believe several speakers ahead of me have mentioned this. These are but some ideas and thoughts. We need on-going dialogue among the stakeholders to listen to each other, to better understand the issues and find the solutions together. To conclude, I hope that we can take this unprecedented time of chaos caused by a health pandemic, to forge ahead on how we might have an integral development approach to growth where we collectively – Government, big corporations, large enterprises, the well-endowed, civil society, IHLs, together with the SMEs – bring all the SMEs along, bring those who feel that they are marginalised and disadvantaged, along. The only criteria is that the SMEs and their teams are themselves hungry to survive and to grow, and have the conviction and the resolve to transform. To get on to the digital train, there are investments to be made, and if you see the list of challenges which I shared earlier, the work to get them on the digital track must be now. I support the Bill, Sir.”
“Likewise, for our SMEs, their ability to effectively participate and leverage the trade platforms created for their benefit, cannot be assumed. Sixty-seven percent of SMEs are Digital Starters, and they are still battling with the barriers of investment cost, skills, management expertise and so on, to get across the digital chasm. Perhaps the following suggestions I am going to make, are already being considered and so I beg your indulgence. Specific to the preparation of our businesses especially the SMES for the adoption of Electronic Transactions, I believe we need to bear in mind that there will be increased costs in the short to mid term, when there are investments required, and there is a time when both manual and digital will have to co-exist. So, one suggestion to consider is that the platform for digital trade to be part of a national infrastructure funded/sponsored by Government, PPP or some sectoral Queen Bee, pretty much like how the banks effectively bank-rolled PayNow to facilitate e-payment. PayNow Corporate has crossed more than 4 million registrations in December, of course, accelerated by COVID-19, no doubt. But certainly, it is because of the network effect. Innovation in business models, policies, regulation, technology and the development of skills all go hand-in-hand. That is the first suggestion. The second is SMEs lack the skills and the management leadership and expertise to drive digital transformation. The lack of leadership expertise to drive this transformation is one of their challenges. One suggestion or thought, is for the Government to consider seconding some of their tech scholars to work in SMEs or SME sectors, on these digital transformation efforts.”
“By contrast, so that we do not think that we are that bad, Singapore’s MNCs in the IT and professional services sectors and the LLCs in Financial Services sector had outperformed their peers globally. So, we can see the divide. Of course, the good news is that even for the SMEs, it did improve and increase from 2019 to 2020. The Minister has given us a succinct proposition for why the amendments to the Electronic Transaction Act. In my past life at IBM, I was involved with the Maersk and IBM TradeLens project as well as initiating the PIL and IBM electronic bill of lading pilot. We saw reduced time and reduced costs for trade document processing, and transactions were more secure, inter-operable, and transparency and provenance was built into the system. I believe that the Bill for the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill is very timely as the outlook for digital trade and digital services is rapidly growing. The lack of regulation and legislation globally does increase costs and risks for all. Singapore’s leadership with TradeTrust, the Digital Economy Agreements with Chile, New Zealand and Australia, and now this Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill will pave the way for accelerating digital trade safely with open transparent standards, for Singapore companies and give us a leg-up in being plugged into the global trade eco-system. New rules are needed in the digital economy, and it is certainly far better to be co-writing the rules then to be playing catch up. That said, we are cognisant that COVID-19 has exacerbated the divide between the "haves" and "have nots". We have seen during the circuit breaker that access to computers and high-speed wifi for students to take part in home-based learning cannot be taken for granted.”
“So, acceleration to digital “everything” is on a different trajectory. On the business front, COVID-19 has accelerated business digitalisation efforts across industries by almost two to five years and e-commerce trade have tripled, according to speakers at last week’s World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda. In a recent National Business Survey 2020/2021 conducted by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) from 9 October to 28 November 2020 with respondents from 1,075 companies across key industries – 85% from SMEs and 15% from large companies – it was found that 39% of companies report that their IT/digitalisation budgets have increased as a result of the COVID-19 situation. The Government support has been and continues to be vital toward recovery with 47% and 31% reporting that help with talent and building capabilities respectively, were very relevant. In the same survey, 58% of the businesses highlighted that the key barrier to digitalisation is the perceived high investment cost of technology adoption. Other technology adoption challenges which they spelt out include the upskilling of staff, expensive licensing of IP, cyber security risks and lack of management expertise to drive technology change. For more information on the survey results, please refer to SBF. I highlighted these more specifics, related to their digitalisation challenges. Just to complete the backdrop of where all the SMEs in Singapore stand, based on IMDA's Digital Acceleration Index 2020, most Singapore SMEs have very low digital maturity scores, with 67% of SMEs being Digital Starters – at the bottom.”
“It will be remiss of me not to take this opportunity, as this is my first time, to thank everyone in the House for all that you have done to lead and will continue to lead us safely and thoughtfully through these unprecedented times. And, of course, special mention to the WOG or whole-of-Government Taskforce at every level and to our essential workers in the front line. As Singaporeans and residents, we are all grateful. Singapore has always led with a vision, rallied Singaporeans and the community to work towards the common goal, and execute together, to make it a reality. Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his team rallied Singaporeans with the vision to take Singapore from “Third World to First”; “from mudflat to metropolis”. And our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Long in his National Day Rally Speech of 2014, has yet again set in motion, our transformation agenda to becoming the world’s first smart nation. I feel so humbled to have the opportunity to be here in this very Chamber where these visions and strategies for Singapore were and are being charted. Singapore’s success lies in our collective ability to execute and I have no doubt that once again, even with this Bill and amongst others, we will do the same. We are in an era of "acceleration of digital”. The coronavirus pandemic has propelled technology to the forefront of business agendas, and into the lives of everyone. Work-From-Home, Home-Based Learning, SafeEntry, TraceTogether and SingPass have become common vocabulary amongst Singaporeans and residents. We have all personally experienced during the last 12 months, the surge of e-commerce, the convenience of online food delivery, the proliferation of Zoom meetings and online webinars, and for me personally, K-dramas and masses crash-landed into my living room.”
“Mr Speaker, I am Janet Ang and I would like to make the following declarations. I am Chairman of SISTIC.com, an SME, Independent Director of SPH, Council Member of Singapore Business Federation and Deputy Chairman of SBF Foundation, and a former IBM Managing Director of IBM Singapore. If you would, allow me to make a couple of points to address the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations’ proposed amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act. Of course, I start by saying this is my maiden speech and I support the Bill, which is the reason why I am up here. If you would allow me, I would just like to remind us that one of the key things is to create the future, we must understand the past. When I read the Bill, the first thing goes back to 1985 when Singapore first launched TradeNet. Looking back at the past, we always must have the lessons from our journey so far and develop our collective response to the opportunities and challenges ahead of us to ensure that Singapore 2.0 will be even better than 1.0, for ourselves and for our children and future generations to come. And, as the past year has taught us, we learnt to be resilient in the wake of disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic, to expect the unexpected, to learn from past experiences like SARS and the Global Financial Crisis, while at the same time stay alert to constant changes, be agile and adapt as we go along, and most importantly, to strengthen our resolve for collective response to emerge stronger post-COVID-19 even as we are being tested at every level, every day.”