Josephine Teo
Singapore
“The Government's risk-calibrated approach to data security in artificial intelligence (AI) systems was explained in a written reply, given on 9 January 2024, to related questions asked by Dr Tan Wu Meng and Mr Gerald Giam.”
“Access to frontier models is helpful for specific use cases, such as advanced research and cybersecurity. However, these form a small proportion of artificial intelligence (AI) demand. For most industry, Government and research uses, capable models are already available.”
“The Government tracks the development of technical standards for identifying artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content, including watermarking and digital provenance approaches, as part of broader efforts to manage AI-related risks.”
“Upon receiving a valid report of intimate image abuse, the Commissioner of Online Safety is empowered by law to direct Online Service Providers (OSPs) to disable access by Singapore users to the specified harmful online material. This direction may be extended to cover identical copies found on the platform.”
“The Government is committed to keeping children safe online. We have announced plans to extend age assurance requirements to designated social media services, including requiring platforms to keep users under 13 off their services.”
“Under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025, the Commissioner of Online Safety is empowered to issue directions to platforms to remove specified harmful content, including intimate image abuse.”
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Every one of 2,900 lines we hold for Josephine Teo, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 58 of 58.
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the amendments to the CPF Act. I have two areas that I would like to touch on: first, on the division of fund-related assets in cases of divorce. I note that last year, there were a record number of divorces and annulments, numbering over 7,000 in Singapore, and that would be about 2% divorce rate. This compares to the 3% divorce rate in Hong Kong, 4% in Japan, and 8% in Britain. So, I think, as our society progresses, despite best efforts, it is not inconceivable for the upward trend for divorces to continue. At the same time, I note also that in the years 2003-2004, there were over 4,500 applications each year for the enforcement of maintenance orders. In other words, where spouses have been ordered to pay maintenance on a monthly basis to the families that they have since left, there were still many cases who were not able to fulfil their financial obligations. But, I think, in some of these cases, there were at least CPF monies that could be tapped and the amendments make this possible to happen. With reference to the hon. Member, Mdm Ho Geok Choo's point that CPF is primarily for each member to accumulate savings for his own retirement, I do agree with her point, but I think that, at the same time, fulfilling financial obligations to upkeep of the ex-spouse and their children is also very important. So, in that regard, I think the amendments are a great help to divorcees who have been granted child custody because it makes possible for the immediate transfer of the CPF monies without the need for the Minimum Sum or the Medisave Minimum Sum to be first set aside.”
“Sir, regarding what Mr Low said just now - the quote about high salary fostering a clean government - I had shared an observation by Prof. Lu Yuanli of Shenzhen University. It is not just my view, but a view of the Professor as well. So, whether Mr Low agrees or not, he is free to have his own view. Earlier on, Mr Low mentioned the point of linking the Ministers' salaries with the bottom 20%. In my previous speech, I did point out that if we really did that, then all the Ministers will only be concerned with the welfare of the lowest-income group. But what about the sandwich class, what about the professionals - is their welfare not important? Is the Ministers’ work not concerned with raising the living standards of the whole society, and not just of the lowest income? So, I believe that the people will understand that what we want are Ministers who are concerned about all Singaporeans, and not just a small segment of society. 5.58 pm”
“This is how Ministers will be held accountable for their efforts to improve the lives of all Singaporeans, and not just those at the top or at the bottom. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I think if we want people, including Ministers, to give of their best, we should not create the conditions to make them feel disaffected, for example, by paying them far lower salaries than commensurate with the demands of the job. We can never fully measure the value of competent and honest government. What matters most is whether the Ministers deliver on their promises to Singaporeans and that, over time, all our lives are improved. All Singaporeans can and do judge the Government according to their own yardsticks, whether it is the unemployment rate or any other yardstick that they deem to be important, and they will express their assessment through their vote. Because of this, I support the revision and the stronger linkage of the Ministers' pay to the GDP.”
“For the PMETs, we want to continue to have a bold Government to create new jobs and to invest in retraining so that their new careers are better, if not as good as their old ones. So, now do we, as Singaporeans, collectively hold the Government accountable for improving the lives of not just one segment of Singaporeans but all Singaporeans? It is with this in mind that I support the stronger linkage between the Ministers' salary and the GDP as it is one of the most representative indicators of the well-being of a broad base of Singaporeans. And it is definitely not something that will enable the Ministers to earn a "sure-win" salary because the economy can go up and can go down. So the Ministers' packages will also have to be adjusted because of that. At the end of the day, in companies, if an employee does not live up to the expectations and to the salary that he is paid, he can be fired. Likewise, in Singapore, an incompetent and uncaring Government can be voted out. Every five years, all Singaporeans, regardless of income levels, have an equal vote in deciding whether or not the Government has done enough for them. The people will decide whether or not the Government acted as though it has a blank cheque, which Mr Low talked about, or whether the Government acted in a responsible manner with their long-term interest at heart, implementing policies that do indeed improve their livelihoods and well-being. If the Government takes care only of top-income earners, who are a small minority, and forgets about the low-wage workers, the older workers, or the PMETs, it cannot win enough votes to stay in power. And Singaporeans must judge the whole Government for its record in the next few years and decide if it is good enough.”
“First, we take an honest view of human nature, and that is to recognise that political leaders respond simultaneously to their social responsibilities and also economic instincts. We also look at politics honestly. It is a calling requiring a sense of self-sacrifice, and at the same time a career choice impacting the economic well-being of family and dependants. In other words, when we demand that the leaders must have high moral standards, we must also provide good income, and establish strict rules and laws to ensure an honest and clean government. (In English): Therefore, as noted by Prof. Lu of Shenzhen University, paying Ministers well is one of the key measures needed to ensure a competent and honest government. In his opinion, it is better for us to pay well but to hold the Ministers accountable for their performance. As I have mentioned, notwithstanding some of the pitfalls of Mr Low's proposal to peg Ministerial salaries to the lowest 20% income earners, I do believe that the intent behind his proposal is a good one, ie, to bring home the message that Government has the responsibility to ensure the progress and well-being of all levels of society, whether it is the lowest 20%, the middle 30%-70% and the highest 20%. The labour movement, in particular, stresses this point, because workers at all levels matter to us. For the low-wage workers, we want to continue to have able people in Government work hard to support job redesign and skills upgrading, so that more low-wage workers can get better jobs and better pay. For older workers, we want to continue to have a caring Government that is planning ahead to raise the effective retirement age, so that more older workers can keep in good health and to stay in employment for as long as they wish.”
“From the HR practitioner’s point of view, a better method is like what Minister Teo Chee Hean has said, which is to allow a larger portion of the Ministers' salaries to be pegged to the national performance of the GDP. So when the national well-being has gone up, then the Ministers' salaries will also increase. We should let the Prime Minister assess whether each Minister has been effective in his area of responsibility, and decide the kind of bonus each should get. This is in line with what the Minister has mentioned. Ministers’ salaries reflect the importance of their job, and their impact on the national issues. Although the Ministers' salaries are high, our system is transparent. The advantage of this system is especially admired by the Chinese. Prof. Lu Yuanli of the Institute of Modern Chinese Studies in Shenzhen University has made an in-depth study of Singapore. He wanted to know and analyse why over a long period, Singapore, as a one-party Government, has remained clean and honest. He uses four phrases to describe us. Firstly, we have invoked the sense of morality to promote the virtue of clean government, thereby discouraging corruption. Secondly, we have instituted the payment of competitive salaries, thus removing the need for corruption. Thirdly, we have put in place clear rules to minimise opportunities for corruption. Fourthly, we have not hesitated to impose strict laws as a strong deterrence against corrupt actions. Prof. Lu explained that payment of competitive salaries to those in public service allowed them to achieve a better standard of living, thus effectively removing the need for corruption. He highlighted two points that reflect the core of the system.”
“] Mr Low Thia Khiang has suggested that the Ministers' salaries should be pegged to the lowest 20%. If we really adopted such a measure, what would be the consequences? The Ministers would definitely be concerned about the salary fluctuations of the lower income. Of course, that is a good thing. But the Ministers should be concerned with the income levels of all strata, and not just the lowest 20%. In order to solve the problem of the lower income, we need many approaches - re-training, skills upgrading, job re-design - and through these, raise their employability and productivity. All these cannot be achieved overnight. But there is a short cut, which is to promote welfarism or Workfare, or provide free medical and education. But where does the money come from? The money can come from the reserves. Our current Ministers may not have to worry about this for a few years, because our reserves are quite abundant. But, the future Ministers will be in trouble. The problem of the lower-income group would not really be solved. But, more importantly, for all Singaporeans, the safety net for our people, in this case, the reserves will be affected. The Ministers each has different responsibilities. Do we want to see the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources to also spend most of their time focusing on the income of the lower-income group and neglect their own responsibilities like national security issues? Are we only concerned with the salaries of the lower-income group but forgetting about the incomes of the sandwich class and professionals? So, Mr Low's suggestion has its drawbacks.”
“has come from foreign sources, according to the Washington Post, including a Saudi Arabian investment firm and a Chinese real estate development group run by a local Communist Party official." The article adds that Clinton is hardly the only former President to leverage the prestige of the Presidency for big bucks. It is also pointed out that former Presidents received generous pensions and are granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual staff, office and travel allowances. In the article, it was reported that for the fiscal year 2007, Clinton will receive approximately US$1.16 million from the US Treasury, and that includes his telephone stipend which will come to US$77,000. I think the key point is that while we want to make comparisons, we cannot just compare what political leaders are paid on paper. And the real question is whether we would like to see what is happening in the US also happen in Singapore. If our answer to this question is a clear no, then we must ask what all HR practitioners do, ie, what is a fair salary to pay a Minister based on job size, competence and market comparison. And is there an alternative benchmark that we would like to consider? Mr Low Thia Khiang had criticised the pegging of Ministers' salaries to that of top-income earners. And on previous occasions, he had suggested to peg Ministers' salaries to that of the bottom 20% income earners. This is a seemingly attractive idea, as pointed out by Mr Alvin Yeo, and quite unusual from the HR standpoint but not to be dismissed without due consideration. I would like to consider the situation if his proposal is really adopted, and I would now like to speak in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to share my perspective as a human resource practitioner in the matter of the Ministers' salaries. From HR's standpoint, usually, when we hire people, we determine the salary based on three factors. The first is the expected job size; second, the candidate's level of competence; and, third, some sort of a market comparison. Let me, first, deal with the issue of job size and competence. I think that few jobs are as demanding and as complex as that of a Minister. There is not much argument on that. I think in terms of competence, few would also question that our Ministers are very well qualified, and all have proven track records in their chosen fields. So, the key question is, in terms of market comparison, how much are others with similar job sizes paid? Our Ministers' salaries are being compared to those of political leaders elsewhere in the world, eg, that of the US President. I think it is reasonable to compare, but I do think that we have to recognise that for many political leaders in these other countries, the financial returns come after and not necessarily during the term of office - this is the point that Mr Inderjit Singh had mentioned. One example for the House's information is that in the case of Bill Clinton, when he left office, he wrote a book entitled My Life, and the book advance alone was believed to be worth US$12 million. In an article in the International Herald Tribune, that was published on 2nd March this year, it was reported that, "In the six years since Bill Clinton left office, he has pocketed a staggering US$40 million in speaking fees. Two-thirds of his speaking money *Cols. 195-198.”
“Madam, it is hard enough to start a business when you also have to worry about counselling workers and making special arrangements for them. The challenges are very daunting indeed. This is especially so when the social entrepreneurs do not have direct experience running businesses. As such, I would like to urge the Ministry to work with economic agencies like SPRING Singapore to set up a business support system. A business support system should include corporate secretarial services to help social enterprises fulfil their obligations under the Companies Act. It should also provide affordable access to consultancy in areas, such as marketing, branding and product design. But this support system should be kept flexible and be able to respond to varied needs, eg, if it needs help with staff training or counselling. In conclusion, social enterprises have charitable hearts but they also need hard-nosed business skills. Our approach should be two-pronged. If they have a heart but not the skills, then let us help them acquire the skills. If they have the skills but not yet the heart, then let us encourage them. Assistance to Lower Income”
“Madam, Mr Philip Yeo likes to say that to be a socialist, you first have to be a capitalist. This statement is quite applicable to a social enterprise. Social enterprise is not set up for the purposes of profit. But it gains the ability to help the needy by operating a viable business. Some social enterprises provide direct employment to the needy disadvantaged, as Minister Lim Boon Heng has mentioned. Their employees include ex-offenders and single parents with no other forms of family support. They may also employ disabled persons who are high functioning. These social enterprises serve a very useful purpose. But the number of social enterprises in Singapore is not high and they do face a tremendous amount of difficulty. First, on funding. Under the ComCare Enterprise Fund, MCYS currently funds up to 80% of capital expenses for new social enterprises and the first year of operating expenses, up to a total of $300,000. This support is helpful and I would like to thank the Ministry for making it available. However, one year is really too short for any business to show results, let alone a social enterprise. Having operated the scheme for some time, I hope MCYS could consider providing funding for up to three years. This can be done on a sliding scale, more in the first year, but less in the second and third years, subject to reasonably good performance. I think this will give the social enterprises a real opportunity to gain a firmer footing. May I also ask MCYS to consider providing funding to existing businesses that wish to employ the needy disadvantaged? Besides supporting capital expenses, I hope MCYS could also include support for softer aspects, such as training their co-workers to be sensitised to working with colleagues with special needs.”
“I was heartened to hear the Minister of State acknowledges that the final buyer of outsourced services is really the one with the ability and in the right position to assert pressure on contractors and subcontractors to comply with statutory requirements. In this case, the Government is a big final buyer. So can the Ministry consider taking the lead to promote better awareness among Government procurement officers? The second clarification is that, unless I have missed it, I do not believe that there has been a response to my suggestion for the Ministry to consider updating the Employment Act to take into account the need for continuous service as well as the current eligibility criteria for certain statutory benefits.”
“Sir, as one of the biggest procurers of services, I think Government can help to turn things around and I like to suggest that MOM lead an effort to promote better awareness among Government procurement officers so that they can help to ensure that the best sourcing is done completely and all the way in all Government agencies. Sir, the Minister has also said, on previous occasions, that those employed on short-term contracts are also covered under the Employment Act. There are ways in which this has been circumvented, for example, a contract may be extended but there is a one-day break in service. So if the first contract ends on 30th June, the extended contract does not start on 1st July, but starts on 2nd July instead. This means that the contract staff does not perform continuous service and, as a result, the worker may not be eligible for certain statutory benefits, such as medical relief, which requires a continuous service of 180 days. Moreover, I think that the nature of short-term contract is such that it may not even last 180 days. I would like to ask the Ministry to consider updating the Employment Act to address the issue of continuous service and the minimum periods for eligibility.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, yesterday, the House heard during Question Time that, last year, the Government best sourced non-core services valued at about $1.8 billion to private sector providers and, in the process, saved $34 million. This represents a significant saving of about 19%. As a taxpayer, I am very happy to hear that. However, when it was also mentioned that the services included carpark wardens, call centres and email handling, which were quite manpower intensive, I have to confess that I feel a little bit sceptical that none of the savings was due to the salaries of the employers being driven downwards. We have heard about NParks and the National Environment Agency, being two very good examples of agencies, which had moved from headcount based contracts to performance based contracts. However, I think this might not yet be the case for some other services. Waste collection is one example. Contractors are given feedback that the competition is so keen each time a contract is called. The successful bidder is sometimes paid less than the previous contract value, sometimes by more than 10% to 20%. When this happens, the workers often have to move to another contractor that won the job, so that they may do the same job, follow the same route, but they have a different boss, different uniform and certainly a lower pay. This is really only because the contractor has been paid lower. Sir, besides cheap sourcing, there is also the issue of errant subcontractors. The Government may best source to the contractor, but the contractor will cheap source to the subcontractor and statutory benefits, like CPF, may not be provided.”
“Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs)”
“So if we allow wages to rise at runaway levels, the workers will enjoy momentary wage spikes but this will not be sustainable and we will shoot ourselves in the foot. The question is, therefore, how is the Government going to ensure that wages go up but at a sustainable pace? Looking ahead, as the labour market tightens and given that new Singaporean entrants to the workforce stay at around 33,000 a year, it can be expected that part of the solution is to increase foreign manpower. The issue is if we can be more selective about which sectors to allow more foreigners in. This is because different sectors will experience different levels of growth and wage pressures. Some sectors are also more appealing to Singaporeans than others with better job potential for Singaporeans and we would like to encourage them to take them up. Can the Ministry shed some light on how the Government will manage the timing and selection of sectors for more foreigners to come in? Finally, I just like to touch on the unemployment rate. Sir, our resident unemployment rate now stands at 3.6%. This means that about 67,500 Singapore residents say that they would like to work but are unable to find jobs. For many years, resident unemployment hovered around 2.2%, reaching its lowest of 2.2% in 1997. Since then, however, resident unemployment has never dipped below 3.5%. In fact, it reached a high of 5.2% in 2003. We used to say that the 2.2% unemployment is frictional unemployment, ie, it just captures people moving between jobs. Sir, I would like to ask the Minister if these figures suggest that structural unemployment has worsened over time and, if that is the case, I would also like the Minister to help us understand what steps are being taken to prevent this from worsening.”
“Sir, the Singapore workforce stood at 2.5 million as at the end of December 2006. 70% were locals, which include citizens and PRs and 30% were foreigners. Looking ahead, what are Singaporean workers concerned about? First, they want to know who will be the key beneficiaries of the new jobs created. Data from the past is reassuring to some extent. The last three years have all been good for jobs and for locals. In each of those years, between 50,000 and 88,000 new jobs went to Singaporeans. However, as the job creation became stronger, local's share of new jobs created has dropped, from 70% in 2004 to 56% in 2005, and 51% in 2006. Will there come a time when more of the new jobs created are taken up by foreigners than by locals? For example, if out of 10,000 new jobs created, 6,000 to 7,000 were taken up by foreigners, and only 3,000 to 4,000 were taken up by Singaporeans, is that sort of a job creation still meaningful? I think this is an important question because the new job creation is not without cost to Singapore. Jobs created by companies are often supported by generous tax incentives and so we must ask how Singaporeans benefit from them. This leads me to the second concern of the Singaporean worker. A tight labour market allows wages to rise. Through such wage increases, workers' livelihoods are improved. Workers, of course, want wages to rise as much and for as long as possible. However, there are two issues. The first issue is that if the wages rise too fast, exceeding that of productivity growth, then we will choke companies' profitability which will in turn reduce investments and slow down the growth. This is how the economy will self-adjust.”
“Thank you. And if the providers are not willing to have a mandatory quality assurance system, then let those who are quality certified to come forward voluntarily.”
“I would like to thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for responding to my comments. If indeed there is $150 million in pre-school subsidy, I would be the first to have my fourth child. As it turns out, I have already got three children and they are all out of pre-school. While I applaud what the MOE is going to do to help parents better understand the kind of pre-school providers that we have, I do think that it is still not enough. For example, by publishing information on the teacher-student ratio on the website, how is the parent to assess whether a ratio of 10:1 is better than 20:1, or if 30:1 is acceptable? How would a parent, who is not trained in education, know whether we can have four trained teachers in order to have a good pre-school curriculum and one trained teacher is not good enough? So I think that the job of quality assurance is really something that has to be taken up by a body with the knowledge, expertise and credibility, and that would be the MOE. So, as has been done for special schools under SPED, could the MOE also consider putting in place a quality assurance framework for pre-school providers and in fact conducting management audits, as it intends to do for SPED schools? If the providers ---”
“I understand that parents can tap the Children Development Account (CDA) to pay the fees at approved institutions, including kindergartens. To what extent has CDA been used for pre-school education? Has it been useful in ensuring that pre-school education remains affordable for most Singaporeans? Last week, Minister Tharman talked about the need for continued investment in education to provide social mobility. He noted rightly that in developed countries where incomes are stretched out, it is harder for children in the lower strata to achieve upward social mobility. Singaporean parents are increasingly feeling the heat, especially when they see foreign-born students garnering top honours in our national examinations. Sir, having spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get Singaporeans to have babies, would it not be a shame if we did not ensure that Singaporean children got the best start in life, beginning with pre-school education? We can certainly research and study the impact of pre-school education, but we should not wait to act. The children soon grow up and we would have lost the opportunity to make a difference to them. I think we owe it to ourselves to move more boldly and quickly on this. Pre-school Outreach”
“Mr Chairman, our education system provides consistently high quality at the primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary levels. And just as important, fees remain affordable for most Singaporeans. I think our system is also precious because entry to school is mostly by merit. It does not matter whether your parents are CEOs or hawker assistants. If your results are good, the best schools will accept you. However, I am afraid that, like Mr Teo, I believe the same cannot yet be said of pre-school education. There is great diversity in the type of pre-school providers but quality is inconsistent. The affordability of pre-school education is debatable because the price range is very wide, from around $50 to over $1,000 per month. The correlation between price and quality is not guaranteed. So parents just take a leap of faith. Sir, first, on the issue of quality: MOE has put in place standards for kindergartens. There is even a set of FAQs on the website to guide parents on how to select a kindergarten. This is well-intentioned but most working parents may not know that the standards exist or even if the standards are good enough. Even if they do, is it realistic to expect them to be able to assess pre-school providers according to those standards? Sir quality assurance must be done by people who have the knowledge, expertise and credibility. That knowledge, expertise and credibility lie with the MOE. Second, on pricing. MCYS recently extended KiFAS to cover 90% of fees instead of the 75% previously. But we must remember that KiFAS applies only to families earning less than $1,500 per month. For middle-income families earning up to $2,500 per month, having to pay at least $50 per month for a kindergarten is still quite costly, several times that of primary school fees.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would just like to thank the MOS for responding to my question on mental healthcare yesterday. I was glad to note that mental healthcare patients are given proportionately more support through Medifund. I would like to ask the question of whether the IMH has sufficient capacity to cater to demand because, from time to time, we hear of cases of mental healthcare patients who are discharged and have returned home where it would appear that they would be better off with longer term care at the IMH.”
“If we do not have enough, is there a plan to increase the supply, either through training or augmentation from foreign sources? (3) Does the IMH have sufficient capacity to cater to demand which, over time, could be expected to rise perhaps proportionately more so than other healthcare services? (4) Can the Ministry step up efforts in mental health promotion? For example, can we adopt a more holistic approach to tackle the issue? One of the ways perhaps is to work with the MOE to equip our children from young with coping strategies. (5) What steps would the Ministry be taking to ensure that long-term care for mental health patients remains affordable?”
“Madam, last week, during the Budget debate, several MPs spoke on the implications for Singapore, if indeed our population grows to 6.5 million. I think the number of 6.5 million has captured the public's imagination. Regardless of when and how we will arrive at 6.5 million people, with increased population density and the faster pace of economic restructuring, stress levels can be expected to rise and, as the Minister has said earlier, in a way, we will have to move away from a more product-focused type of system to one that is focused more on the varied needs of the patient, and I think mental healthcare is one of those growing needs. This stress will manifest itself in many ways, from neighbourly disputes, breakdown of marriages, higher incidence of elderly living alone or ending their lives prematurely, all of which are very sad, to even just poor road behaviour, including speeding and reckless overtaking. Some school children nowadays also say that they are stressed. The language of stress is very common amongst and very well used by children. A migrant society like ours that is fast-paced and becoming more crowded by the day must pay attention to the quality of mental healthcare and there is no turning back to the days of the leisurely kampong. So we need to ask people to learn to deal better with the stresses in our lives. In some ways, we are already doing so, eg, through ensuring that there are enough green spaces, making our cityscape more pleasant, keeping traffic relatively smooth. I have several questions for the Minister. (1) How much of the Ministry's budget is allocated to support mental health promotion and care? (2) Do we have enough trained counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists in Singapore?”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would like to also thank the SPS for responding to my questions on First-World restrooms and First-World cleaners. Firstly, I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider making NSRS training for cleaners a requirement in all public-sector cleaning contracts. Secondly, the designs of our restrooms are very important in order for the cleaners to do their jobs properly. Would the Ministry consider having an in-house consultant to help developers and who else may be interested who are renovating their restrooms to make it really a job that a First-World cleaner can do well?”
“Sir, in many public places, we still see the "Singapore OK" sign, but a casual survey conveys something different, especially around the restrooms. They do not look OK, neither do they smell OK. Personal hygiene and habits certainly do play a part, but there are two other contributing factors. First, the restrooms are often thoughtlessly designed. They are tucked away in narrow corners which are poorly lit, and restrooms near cinemas and foodcourts are often too small. This leads to long queues. Towel dispensers are placed a distance away from washbasins, contributing to wet and slippery floors. Besides these, cleaners are often not given the right tools to do their jobs. Many of them do not seem to have had the proper training. As a result, the poorly-designed restrooms are poorly maintained. As for the poor restroom user, good luck to him or her. To turn this vicious cycle around, we must have well-designed restrooms which will make it easier for well-trained cleaners to do their jobs and motivate users to keep them clean. To be a first-class city with first-class social habits, we should also have first-class restrooms with first-class cleaners. Can the Ministry take steps towards this goal?”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister: for as long as I can remember, the National Day Parade has been held either at the National Stadium in the past with a capacity of 55,000, or at the Padang with a capacity of 26,000. This year, it would be held at the Marina Basin with a capacity of about 27,000. NDP is one of the most important events that helps Singaporeans to feel a great sense of national pride and strengthens our bonds as a people and many of us look forward to it. I have two questions for the Minister. Does the resiting of the NDP comprise the quality or experience for Singaporeans? What are the plans to ensure that the NDP remains the same signature event it has been in the past? I share Mr Low's concern that we must spend money in the right ways and I do believe that he will also agree with me that the NDP is one such event.”
“In addition, I hope that MOM and MTI will work closely together to help more Singaporeans to take up the new jobs created. As reported in the press, various industry sectors are employing more workers. Singaporeans are worried that they may not benefit from the new jobs created. To ensure that Singaporeans take up new job opportunities successfully, we must encourage employers to make longer-term plans to work with the Government and the labour movement to invest in training and re-training. This will help more Singaporeans enter new growth sectors or to take up the challenges of new job assignments. Through the tripartite cooperation, we will be able to help our workers to realise the benefits of the new job creation. Lastly, I hope that our Government, in the first two years of implementing the Workfare Income Supplement, will adopt a more flexible approach and to give time to low income workers to adjust to getting coverage for themselves and their families under the CPF safety net. Sir, I support this Budget. *Cols. 1751-1752. 1.35 pm”
“For middle-income earners, the most important thing is for their wages to rise steadily over time. The labour market does indeed show signs of rising wages. The economic upswing is welcome news. As the corporate tax has been reduced, there will be further stimulus to our economy. However, I believe it is also necessary for us to avoid overheating. Why do I say that? Everybody is aware of the story: the goose and the golden eggs. In the story, the owner of the goose was impatient and killed the goose in the belief that he would get more golden eggs faster. Alas, he was to be disappointed by the loss of both the goose and the hen. Our enterprises are like the goose, while the golden eggs are like rising salaries paid to workers. Enterprises that perform well are well-positioned to give their workers more "golden eggs". However, if we do not look after the health of the goose/geese, and are impatient for more golden eggs to be laid, we may inadvertently cause the goose/geese to fall sick, and workers are the ones who will suffer in the end. The "geese" may look healthy now, but if wages rise faster than productivity, and operating expenses increase too quickly, companies’ profitability will be affected, and the workers' happiness (because of fast-rising wages) a short-lived one. A better approach is to moderate wage increases, so that workers can enjoy more sustained and stable wage growth. In this regard, I hope that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Manpower will coordinate closely to monitor the relevant indicators, and to take the necessary steps to avoid over-heating. This will allow workers to enjoy more steady wage increases in the next few years.”
“Competitive income tax rates, coupled with our efforts to transform our island landscape, will help Singapore to stay competitive in the global war for talent, as Mr Inderjit Singh has also mentioned. More importantly, Meng Chew's example shows that many investments in our physical, economic and education infrastructure generate long-term benefits for Singaporeans, providing them with geographical mobility and enabling them to earn higher incomes. Mr Speaker, Sir, I came to the conclusion that while the Budget does not specifically target middle-income groups, most of them will rise with the economic tide and have the opportunity to do better year after year. So the outlook for the next few years is a very bright one and we have every reason to be confident. But like my colleague, the honourable Mr Zaqy Mohamad, has mentioned, one of our key challenges will be to help as many of our professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) ride the economic tide. And, indeed, we do need to recognise that many of our PMETs had been affected and continue to be affected by economic restructuring. Therefore, I hope to hear specific plans and efforts that we will put in place to help PMETs secure more of the new jobs created, whether they be in digital media or in hospitality industries. Mr Speaker, Sir, please allow me now to speak in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Speaker, Sir, this year’s Budget has created the conditions for a brighter future for Singaporeans. In addition, the Government has also fulfilled its promise to help lower-income Singaporeans, by introducing the Workfare Income Supplement. As a representative of the labour movement, I would like to express workers' heartfelt thanks to the Government.”
“I asked him, "Although you are living overseas, do you know about the PSEA? He said, "Yes, I am fully aware of it." So, that is good. Meng Chew tells me that while his son was very comfortable speaking Mandarin, he is now equally comfortable speaking English. It took him just two months of being in the Singapore school system to be very comfortable with the language. This is exactly what Meng Chew had hoped to see - his son becoming bilingual like he is and having the opportunities that he has today. So while Meng Chew would like to relocate back to Singapore as soon as possible to join his son, much of it also depended on the availability of good jobs in Singapore. And because many companies based here serve as regional headquarters, Singaporean executives like Meng Chew who have work experience in regional countries are highly valued. Singapore's connectivity with the rest of the world helps to anchor economic activities and jobs here. So even though the markets are elsewhere in the region, the work can be found here. For Meng Chew, there is another benefit from the relocation back in Singapore. He tells me that, in China, he has to pay personal income tax of between 30% and 40%. He asked me not to reveal the exact percentage because that would reveal his own income as well. So I promised him, 30% to 40%. Back in Singapore, he knows that even in the highest income bracket, he will pay no more than 20% of his income as tax. So though the Budget this year did not reduce personal income taxes, as many of us had hoped, the introduction of GST has broadened the tax base, and this has given the Government room to keep personal income taxes low.”
“As a real-life example, a union leader told me that in the aviation industry, skilled workers are being offered salary increases of nearly 30% to move to new companies that have been set up. I think this is something that is positive, something that encourages all of us to have something to look forward to in the future. Therefore, while the corporate income tax cut does not go directly into the pockets of workers, many of them will benefit from the increased profitability of their companies, as it leads to higher investments and job creation. In this way, the Budget provides real tangible benefits to middle-income earners. There are other ways that upper middle income earners are benefiting. Over the Lunar New Year, I met an old friend. His name is Ching Meng Chew, and he has worked for over 10 years in China, and he provides a very good example. Soon after Meng Chew graduated from the Building and Estate Management programme in NUS - in fact, he told me that Dr Amy Khor was his lecturer - he decided to take the plunge to join a multi-national, basing himself, firstly, in Shanghai and then in Beijing. He was able to operate effectively in China and act as a useful interface with his non-Chinese colleagues. Meng Chew is planning to relocate back to Singapore. The key reason is that his son is now seven years old. Meng Chew felt strongly that in the same way that he has benefited from Singapore's education system, so too should his son. So, with the help of his family who are still living in Toa Payoh East, his son has already started Primary 1 classes at First Toa Payoh Primary School, and is now the class monitor. Indeed, his son will be one of the first beneficiaries of the Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA). I tested Meng Chew.”
“Having said that, Mr Speaker, Sir, I do think it is necessary for us to also take concrete action to help Singaporeans who are not yet covered under CPF to make a modest start, perhaps through Medisave and eventually full CPF coverage. The NTUC has already started to do so, working with unionised companies to help create better awareness of the issue. Through the Unit for Contract Workers, which is headed by my colleague, NMP Ms Cham Hui Fong, workers who used to be employed informally through third party labour suppliers are being "converted" into direct employees with full CPF benefits. It is not an easy journey and we have to work very closely with companies, but slowly and surely we are persuading them and converting more. Some of these workers were featured recently in a Lianhe Zaobao article, and we hope that more will come forward and benefit from such schemes. As the estimated number of informal workers exceed 100,000, much more work needs to be done. So this is something we have to work on. Mr Speaker, Sir, while welcoming the measures to help low-wage workers, some Singaporeans also felt that besides increasing the CPF rate of contribution, the Budget did not provide any obvious benefits to the middle income. So how then will the middle-income earners gain from this Budget? One, I believe, is the 2% cut in corporate income tax. Workers do not benefit directly from this, but the companies that employ them do. A reduced corporate tax rate makes Singapore an even more attractive investment location. It provides the impetus for more companies to relocate to Singapore, and for those already here, to increase their investments. This, in turn, creates new jobs and better pay for Singaporeans.”
“Family A is not rich - in fact, they are quite typical - but neither do they have to worry about having a roof over their heads nor do they need to seek financial assistance from other family members, even in time of need like this. They certainly did not plan for Mr A to become ill. I think none of us plan to be ill. But the degree of financial independence provided through the CPF savings has helped to ensure that the family relations are not strained. Incidentally, the following weekend, I met family B. Mr B is a filial son in his 50s. Besides looking after his retired father, he also looks after his bed-ridden mother. His mother is a stroke patient for more than 10 years. Mr B's parents did not have formal education and neither were they employed formally. So they do not have CPF savings. The burden falls entirely on Mr B who unfortunately also does not have CPF savings. So here is a family basically out of the CPF net. Mr B has other siblings but they have families of their own and cannot help much. I gathered from Mr B's muted response that his siblings did not visit much, and he was left to care for his elderly parents on his own. Sir, I am sure my fellow MPs have similar stories to tell. The two starkly different examples explain very clearly why, in the longer run, we must encourage all Singaporeans to be covered by the CPF. So, yes, even though informal workers will have to set aside some money from their salary to contribute to Medisave to enjoy Workfare, it will help them to be better prepared for unforeseen circumstances in the future.”
“Therefore, I hope that the Government would work out a comprehensive communications plan so that the various initiatives are well understood. Sir, speaking to union leaders and residents, I can see that some features of our Budget may take some time to understand. I would like to highlight just two of these. The first is why most of the Workfare Income Supplement will be paid into CPF accounts. The obvious question is that if the scheme is targeted at low-wage workers, does the Government not understand that for them "cash is king"? Is the Government being insincere about wanting to help? This is especially so for informal workers who are not yet contributing to CPF. Sir, these questions are understandable. Let me share the examples of two families to illustrate why I support the use of Workfare to build up our CPF accounts. Both families live in Toa Payoh. To protect their identities, I will just refer to them as family A and family B. When I visited family A some weeks ago, I met Mr A who is in his 40s and he had been ill for about a year. As he had been going in and out of hospital for treatment, he has stopped working. His wife can only work part time. She has to help him and they have two school-going children. I asked how he was coping financially. He told me that though he had stopped working for some time, he still had enough money in his Ordinary Account, and he could continue to service his mortgage loan. He also has money in his Medisave to help pay for his medical treatment. His mother and his siblings visit him regularly and he is hopeful that he can get back to work in a few months. In the meantime, his wife supplements the family income.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, following the Budget Statement on 15th February 2007, I asked fellow union leaders for their feedback. This year's Budget has been dubbed a "3G+3C" Budget. The 3Gs refer to the Budget being "great, generous and gracious". Indeed, from a worker's perspective, there is very much to cheer about. First, our low-wage workers will be given a leg-up through the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme. Union leaders were happy that Workfare would not only become a regular part of our social safety net, they were also happy that it would be extended to cover workers earning up to $1,500 as well as those between 35 and 40 years old. At the same time, informal workers have not been forgotten. They may not yet be contributing regularly to CPF, but by just contributing one-third of the Medisave portion, they could get two-thirds of the Workfare benefit. The second thing to cheer about was the increase in employer's CPF contribution rate from 13% to 14.5%. The third was the Senior Citizen's Bonus. The fourth pleasant piece of good news was the GST offset package, which many felt was quite generous. But besides being a 3G Budget, it was also a 3C Budget. I think this is quite well known now. While union leaders appreciated that the Budget was "comprehensive" - the first C - they also gave the feedback that it was a bit "complicated" and somewhat "confusing". Their feelings are understandable, because even for MPs, it takes a while to figure out all the components of the Budget. So I would hope and I believe that one of the first priorities for all of us is to help the general public and all Singaporeans to understand how the various new schemes will help them.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister that in the light of the recent introduction of Workfare Income Supplement, some employers may want to make contributions to CPF for their employees but starting from now, and some have asked whether an amnesty period can be considered. I would like to know the Ministry's position on this.”
“Sir, my views are slightly different from Dr Neo. For a start, instead of making pre-school education free, could we consider making pre-school education as affordable as primary school education, given that the Ministry recognises the value of pre-school education, particularly for lower-income families?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, besides improving the quality of pre-school education, if the Ministry will be looking at how to improve the affordability of pre-school education, particularly for low-income families.”
“Mr Speaker, I also like to thank the Minister for Health for his very beautiful speech, in my view. Many voluntary welfare organisations are involved in the care of elderly sick. The VWOs often face difficulties in recruiting, training as well as retaining manpower. Could the Ministry of Health please consider ways in which it can help the VWOs to perform their roles more effectively so that, as a society, we are more able to provide holistic care to our elderly sick?”
“So, will there come a time that so few remember, and the voices of those who do remember are drowned out by the cacophony of criticisms and demands of those who do not? Sir, I hope not. And that is why I support the call by some of my colleagues that we rethink the way we teach our children our history, and that we preserve the evidence of our past through art and architecture so that, as a people, we will never forget. I believe that if we focus our attention on the non-negotiables, are careful to avoid deepening the potential divides in our society and avoid the three attitudes that can lead to our downfall, we will indeed be able to build a more inclusive society. Mr Speaker, Sir, in closing, I would like to share a phrase that has touched my heart. The National Geographic Society publishes a monthly magazine filled with beautiful pictures. Today, NatGeo also has a television channel. So, if you have had a bad day at work, NatGeo is a very good channel to watch, just to lift your own spirits. According to one of NatGeo 's photographers, Mr Dewitt Jones, the Society's mission is "To celebrate what is right with the world." Sir, in supporting the motion to thank the President, let me also call on all of us "To celebrate what is right with Singapore". We have so much going for us. For ourselves and for the sake of our children, let us build on what we have to make Singapore a better place for all. 4.48 pm”
“And in family, we learn to accept and accommodate one another. From time to time in a family, there will be differences. But we never allow the differences to tear the family apart. Members of a family must all do our best to contribute, whether it is household chores, bringing home the bacon, or whatever it is. But if we have difficulty, we all chip in to help one another. That is what family is. But members of a family must be careful also about making demands that everyone else has to adjust to. It is better that we each make small adjustments to accommodate one another. So the same in our society. We need to ask if sectional interests can be met. If they can, let us do so quickly and without delay. If they cannot be met, without great cost to the rest of society, we must still have the courage to say "no", and still be able to live with one another in harmony. Sir, in my view, the third and most worrying failure is the failure to appreciate how far we have come as a nation. If you ask my residents in Toa Payoh, many of them would remember the days when food was scarce, no one had running water in their homes, and the toilet referred to a bucket in the ground, already filled with night-soil. Frankly speaking, having been born in post-independence Singapore, I used to cringe when my grandmother talked about the hardships in the old days. I thought to myself, "Not again. Must our elders always tell us how lucky we have it?" Well, the truth is, they are right. We are very lucky and we are reminded exactly how lucky we are only when we travel and make comparisons. And the reason our elders tell us is to remind us to treasure what we have. But our elders are slowly leaving us.”
“And Mr Peh, the ST journalist, whose article I quoted from earlier, also made the amusing observation in his article that if an alien sat in on Wednesday's Parliament sitting, he or she would probably go away thinking Singapore is not the happiest place on earth. Who can blame them? I sometimes fall into that trap too, and when I do, my husband reminds me to snap out of my "doomsday" phase. Sir, optimism as a people is important because it channels our energies into doing things that can make a positive difference, rather than to dwell on things we cannot do much about. Sir, I am not saying we should not try to tackle the difficult problems. What I am saying is, "When we do tackle problems, let's do what can be done first and remain hopeful that we can solve the other problems as we go along." We must never lose heart. The second failure, in my view, would be a failure to accept and accommodate one another. We tend to be very critical of ourselves and others - our children, our staff, even our leaders. We need to remember that we are not in their shoes, and we do not know what constraints they face, not completely anyway. Also, no one is perfect. We all come as a package. That is not to say we should not expect high standards of one another, but as I always tell my 8-year-old son, "Mommy does not accept it if you have been lazy or you have not done your part to revise your work. But if you have tried your best, I accept whatever test results it is that you get." Well, maybe only because he is in Primary 2 and I am still a little bit more relaxed about it. I might change over time. But as it is, that is the position I take. But my point is this, as a very small nation, our ability to hold together as a people is critical. We are just like a family.”
“In it, there is a verse that goes like this, "wo cong lai jiu bu zai hu zi ji bu shi ge da ren wu, yin wei ping fan ye shi yi zhong xing fu, kan dao ming ren zong shi mang mang lu lu, wo de shi jian you wo kong zhi, ping fan ri zi yi yang hui chong shi." It roughly means that "Famous people are always so busy. Me, I get to control my time, and though mine is an ordinary life, it can be just as enriching." Sir, we have a tendency to group people according to material possessions. So, you have a Mercedes, I have a Nissan. You must be happier. I have semi-detached, you have HDB. I must be happier! But I have a silly problem with lizard-droppings and a leaking roof. Sir, I am by no means belittling the problems faced by others. Rather, I am saying that whatever positions we are in, we all have our own problems. Sir, I hope that as our society matures, we can learn to see beyond our differences. We need to empathise with one another, whatever jobs we do, whatever houses we live in, wherever we are born, whatever age we are. And let us honour the talent in each one of us and recognise the potential in everyone to make his mark. Let us learn also to love ourselves, love our own lives, not the lives of someone else's. Sir, my third area of concern is the attitudes that we hold as a people. Fifty years from now, if we do not make it as a nation, my guess is that it will be due to three failures. The first is the failure to be optimistic. We have every reason to be confident about our future, our ability to achieve economic success and our ability to help the less privileged. And yet we sometimes talk as if we are near the end of the world.”
“Two years ago, when my daughters were celebrating their fourth birthday - they were turning four years old, they are twins - they asked me: "Mummy, how old are you?" When I told them I was 36, they said, "On dear, mummy, you're so old!" Sir, I believe age is a mindset and is also relative. Must we think of ourselves as young or old? How about both young and old, but at different times in our lives, and compared to different people? I am "younger" today, and I will be "older" in maybe another 30 years, and so I have some worries - how long will I live? Good health? Enough money? Will my children forsake me? By the same token, those we consider "old" were once young - they felt strong or stronger, able or abler to conquer the world, and irritated or more irritated by rules and traditions. So, is it really that difficult for us to understand one another? "Local" versus "foreign". When I work in Singapore, I am local. When I go overseas for work or travel, I am foreign. As a local, I understand the resentment we sometimes feel when we have to make adjustments to accommodate foreigners. And having worked overseas, I also understand the feelings of loneliness of being different, of being talked about behind my back, and having to adapt. So, as a society, that is far more open than others, can we learn to be less focused on differences and more focused on similarities between peoples of different origins? The "haves" and "have-nots". One of my favourite songs is titled, xiao ren wu de xin sheng, which, loosely translated, means "Voice of the Man in the Street".”
“Some are being asked to do so much over time that they say, "It's enough. I want to go home and spend time with my family." It is therefore sometimes easy for us to want to focus our attention elsewhere. As my former boss, Mr Philip Yeo, used to remind us, young officers in the EDB, "Don't forget, there's always someone ready to eat your lunch." So while I understand that we do not want to be obsessed about economic competition, it is still an area Government cannot afford to lose sight of. The third non-negotiable is education because it is our hope for the future. In the past, our education used to focus on preparing our citizens for jobs. Today, with greater prosperity, we are able to do much more, and this is right. The Chinese say, shi nian shu mu, bai nian shu ren - it takes 10 years to grow a tree and 100 years to grow a person, although most of us do not live to 100 yet. We can never do well enough in educating our young. There is always room for improvement. And it is something we cannot compromise on. I will have more to say about this, but, not today, in the future. So, Sir, in my view, those are the three non-negotiables - national security, economic survival and education. Let me turn now to the second area of concern, the potential divide in our society, which many of my esteemed colleagues have spoken on. It is almost second-nature to us human beings to want to think in terms of "us" versus "them". So, in Singapore, we are conscious of the "young" versus the "old", "local" versus "foreign", "haves" versus "have-nots". But we are not always one or the other, we are both. Let me explain. "Young" versus "old".”
“" Sir, I believe Mr Peh has taken the trouble to remind all of us, in the gentlest way possible, that as MPs, besides raising the concerns of our constituents, we also have a duty to exercise collective leadership on their behalf. And that duty includes setting priorities, deciding how best to allocate our resources, and making sure that things hold together going forward. Therefore, in discharging this duty, I would like to touch on three areas. The first area concerns non-negotiables. In other words, these are things that we cannot and must not compromise on. The first thing that cannot be compromised on is safety and security. Defending our little red hot and deterring potential aggressors is a never-ending challenge. I have never served NS and can claim no credit in helping in the defence of Singapore but I have seen enough elsewhere in the world to know that we must not take our safety and security for granted. We can only enjoy the fruits of our labour if we live without fear for the lives and well-being of our family and friends. The second non-negotiable is economic survival and job creation. We need jobs because it provides the means for our people to lead dignified lives, to grow their families and to prepare for the future. It is quite clear that Singapore does much better than survive economically. True, there are trouble spots - retrenchments will still exceed 10,000 this year, structural unemployment continues to be a problem, not enough mature workers are meaningfully employed and we have a growing pool of contract workers who risk being excluded from the social safety net. But by and large our economy is doing well. So in many sectors, workers have experienced better bonuses and increments this year.”
“In order to save cost, they will lower the price of their bids at the expense of the workers' wages and benefits. Some workers did not even get their CPF contributions, not to mention medical benefits or training. Under the circumstances, these contract workers are like the young man in Hong Kong. Although they work very hard and have self respect, there is no security for their future. I think this is something that we have to look squarely on. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to urge the Government that, while building up a more inclusive society, we should also protect the interests of our contract workers. I would be making specific suggestions in this aspect in future Parliament sittings. I will now speak in English. *Cols. 573-576. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, in yesterday's Straits Times report, a piece written by journalist, Mr Peh Shing Huei, caught my attention. Mr Peh shared his observations having sat through the entire debate on Wednesday afternoon, and he referred to my esteemed colleagues' exhortations to Government and I quote: "After years as champions, Singaporeans have been grown by this Government to demand only gold and not silver or bronze. When they train their sight on how to foster an inclusive society, it can be sure that the social safety nets are scrutinised and turned over many times to see how they can be made bigger and steadier." Mr Peh went on to say, "However, some questions that must be answered are these: Where will the funds come from? Will there be enough? How much help is too much help? Can all of the MPs' demands be met?”
“So long as it is something that you work hard to achieve, you can feel a sense of pride, no matter how little the achievement may be, and that self-respect is priceless. Last week, when I listened to the President’s Address, I was reminded of this young man in Hong Kong. The President highlighted the three pillars of our social security net, ie, the CPF to help Singaporeans save for their retirement, the 3M framework to keep our healthcare affordable and the HDB's “Home Ownership for All” scheme. In fact, we do have quite a good system. Compared to the young man in Hong Kong, our young people in Singapore can aspire for better living conditions in Singapore. In healthcare and for retirement, they have better protection. Apart from depending on themselves, we could also help each other in Singapore. There are still some Singaporean workers who fell through this social safety net. They are the contract workers. In the contract, it is clearly stated when they will start work and when their job will end. So, upon expiration of the contract, there is no assurance that he will get a job again. This model is getting more and more popular, because more and more enterprises are outsourcing their non-core functions. When they outsource, they will be more flexible in their business but it also causes hardship to the workers. In theory, the contractor will try to improve the efficiency of the organisation and quality of service so that he is in a better position to win new contracts. In so doing, his profitability improves and he can better reward his workers. Everyone benefits. But in reality, competition sometimes leads contractors to undercut one another in terms of pricing.”
“Mr Speaker, I rise in support of the motion to thank the President for his Address. Sir, I intend to speak first in Mandarin and then in English. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Speaker, Sir, some time ago I went to Hong Kong. I met a young taxi driver who was friendly and chatty. I asked him about his work. He told me that he worked eight hours a day and could earn only about HK$8,000-$9,000. He felt that being young and energetic, he should work harder. So, he volunteered to work an additional shift of four more hours to raise his takings to HK$13,000-$14,000 a month. Then we talked about his housing. He told me that with his income it was very difficult for him to buy his own home in Hong Kong. As he was an able-bodied person and young, there was no way he could be allocated a rented flat from the government. Under the circumstances, he had to find some way out. So, he bought a very old hut in a squatter area so that when the squatter area was resettled, he would be allocated a flat. His plan worked. He now lives in the resettlement flat which is about 16 square metres with a small kitchen, a bathroom, a bed and a store. It was about one-quarter the size of a typical 3-room HDB flat in Singapore. This was his living space. Very soon, we arrived at my destination. When I was alighting from the taxi, he told me, "Miss, we must always think for ourselves. No one else will make any arrangement for you. But I am happy because I am depending on myself." Mr Speaker, Sir, this young Hong Kong driver taught me a very important lesson that day, that is, we do not need to have a lot of wealth to be happy.”