Kanwaljit Soin
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister to give a response to an exclusion in clause 2 (b) which amends section 10 to deem any maintenance payment received by a parent or a child under a maintenance order not to be income subject to tax.”
“Clarification, Sir. I realise that. But I would like to know what is the policy, what is the thinking, that you can allow a parent who gets maintenance not to have to pay income tax. A parent is an adult. But you do not give the same privilege or right, I would say, to a wife who gets a maintenance ordered by the court.”
“My point is no income tax is charged for maintenance payments received by parents. That is what the Minister said about clause 2. But yet when wives receive maintenance from their husbands, those maintenance payments are subject to income tax. Why is there a discrepancy?”
“So I would like to ask what is the Minister's thinking. Why is it that the maintenance of a parent is not considered income, because it is for the subsistence of the parent, while the maintenance for a wife which is for her subsistence is considered as income?”
“If the letter of authority is not stampable, then this may become a recourse of getting around the stamp duty and income tax rules affecting sub-sales. Another issue to be considered is the timing of the payment of stamp duty. With the amendment, this has to be paid at the time of the signing of the sale and purchase agreement.”
“Would the Minister have, in hand, figures to show how many Singaporeans who go abroad to study medicine come back to do their housemanship in Singapore for the last three years? Dr Aline Wong: I do not have the figures on Singaporeans who come back to do housemanship for the last three years.”
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“Sir, in view of the fact that not many people are making use of this, would it be possible for the Ministry to make it better known so that more people could make use of it?”
“Sir, is there any specified minimum amount? Or would the Ministry prefer a minimum amount? Otherwise, there may be a lot of work handled by the Board if small amounts of cheques are sent in.”
“But many times, these owners do not respond and they just throw away the notices. So the only thing that can work is not notional clamps but physical clamps. Let me assure the House that this additional measure of wheel clamps will be used only selectively on drivers who repeatedly flout the law. For offenders who are caught for the first time, the usual practice of putting a notice on the windscreen will suffice. If the vehicle is parked in a place which physically obstructs the smooth flow of traffic, we have the powers today to tow away the vehicle. So the additional power of a wheel clamp is only aimed, first, as a deterrent and, second, against those who repeatedly flout the notices. So the Traffic Police, HDB and the URA have a list of people who have thrown away such notices for 10 to 20 times. The next time when they commit such an offence, their vehicles will be clamped. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lim Hng Kiang]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. ROAD TRAFFIC (AMENDMENT NO. 2) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“I would like to speak on the proposed section 15(1)(ii) which gives a discretion to the Superintendent to physically immobilise an offending vehicle by placing a clamp. If the rationale of the clause is to prevent the vehicle from being parked there and causing obstruction, then the actual physical clamping of the vehicle runs contrary to the rationale. A better and more civilised solution, and that will achieve the same deterrent effect, is not to do any physical clamping but to affix a traffic ticket with the bold endorsement "Vehicle deemed to be clamped". This can then be regarded as an aggravated offence of parking in respect of which no composition should be offered. This will mean that the offender will have to face the inconvenience and expense of going to court and very possibly suffer a higher fine. By doing this, a few objectives will be achieved, Sir. One, we save the time and labour of the police officer or the Superintendent, in physically clamping and unclamping the car with the attendant saving of financial expenditure of buying clamps. Two, there will not be the inevitable and needless prolongation of the time during which the clamped vehicle is parked illegally with possible obstruction to the flow of traffic. The driver of the offending vehicle may decide not to have his vehicle unclamped expeditiously. He may decide to shrug his shoulders, cool off, have a meal first and then go and have his vehicle unclamped. By not using physical clamps but notional ones, the traffic personnel can police more effectively by using his or her time and energy more productively. Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, we already practise notional clamps today by placing notices on the vehicles.”
“Mr Speaker, can I ask for clarification, please? There was no response to compulsory price tagging and labelling of all retail trade.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak. I rise to support the Bill but I would like to seek some clarifications from the Minister. Some of the points have already been alluded to by the hon. Member for Tanjong Pagar GRC. Specifically, I would like to ask three queries. 1. How can the financial cost of the effect of GST be minimised for registered persons or businesses who make donations in kind of more than $200 to voluntary welfare organisations? If this is not done, then there will be less likelihood of such donations in kind being given to voluntary welfare organisations. 2. Voluntary welfare organisations will suffer input taxes on their purchases and other services consumed where such purchases are supplied by a registered business. If the voluntary welfare organisation is not registered as a charity, then it will have to absorb the input tax suffered as an extra cost. On top of that, there will be the added one-off increased inflation rate caused by the initial imposition of GST. Are there any provisions being made to offset these additional financial burdens on the already heavily burdened voluntary welfare organisations? 3. There should be compulsory price tagging or labelling of all retail trade to prevent confusion and profiteering. I understand that this is already being done in Malaysia. If the Government is considering this, how will it be enforced?”
“What discourages parents is that they have heard stories from other pupils who are refused. So could I request the Minister of State to make the criteria better known and to relax the criteria so that the parents know that they can apply if they so wish?”
“What percentage of the total number of students does that constitute?”
“If the parents request for it, and it is the parents' choice, I do not see how the sensitivity question can arise unless the Ministry forces it. What I am asking is for those parents who would like their children to take up Mandarin. I would like to know why the Ministry is very reluctant to do so.”
“Would the Minister consider the sensitivities of the minorities if they are prevented from taking Mandarin? Does the Minister realise that in the private sector knowing Mandarin is a great advantage and it makes the difference between getting a job and not getting a job?”
“Sir, the pupils could be learning their mother tongue at home. What I am still not quite clear is under what circumstances would the Minister allow non-Chinese pupils to take up Mandarin?”
“Sir, with the push to go regional to China, I think there have been many forums outlining the economic advantages of learning Mandarin. In view of that, could the Minister then take that as a reason for studying Mandarin for non-Chinese pupils?”
“Would the Minister then outline what the good reasons are and what are the criteria when Mandarin can be taken as a second language by non-Chinese pupils?”
“Sir, would the Minister agree that cultural identification is not a simple function of learning your mother tongue? Considering that, would the Minister allow more latitude in non-Chinese pupils to take up Mandarin as a second language? Dr Ker Sin Tze: We will certainly allow greater flexibility if there is good reason to do so.”
“Sir, would the Minister agree that the learning of Mandarin could be of economic advantage to a non-Chinese? So would the Ministry of Education allow non-Chinese pupils to take up Mandarin as a second language if the parents so wish?”
“Sir, for maximum human resource utilisation, should there not be sharing of doctors at the junior level between MOH's restructured hospitals and NUH?”
“Sir, but why had we then started cutting down on the number of our own medical students? With a possible move of our local students going abroad, we are thinking of cutting down the number of universities that are recognised. If the need to have fewer doctors has not arisen yet, should we not then wait until that need arises?”
“Sir, when we are trying to cut down the number of medical students in Singapore, would the Minister please elaborate why we need to give full registration to foreign-trained doctors?”
“Sir, would the Minister please tell us what are the social conditions underlying the high fertility in the families that qualify for the SFIS? Can I elaborate? We have done away with illiteracy. Literacy is high. So why is it that poorer families tend to have more children while higher educated women tend to have fewer children. That is what I am trying to find out. What is the social reason? Is it lack of family planning? What makes poorer families want to have more children?”
“Our boys urgently need to learn the skills of being a homemaker and a parent. Girls often learn these skills on their jobs at home, even if they are not taught Home Economics in school. Yet we persist in teaching this subject to girls and not to boys whose need is more acute. We have lost enough time. If we wish to correct some of the trends which will weaken the family building block, then it is time to set our hearts and minds on this crucial issue as promised in 1991. We also have to upgrade the technical skills of the female labour force. Therefore, we must institute the learning of the common Home Economics and Technical Studies course for all students. We have to start training the teachers and getting the infrastructure ready today so that we are all set for 1994.”
“In 1986, the Manpower subcommittee of the Economic Committee suggested the implementation of "changes in the educational system to promote the virtues of sharing housework." In 1988, Mr Wong Kan Seng, in his keynote address to the 3rd General Assembly of the ASEAN Confederation of Women's Organisations, encouraged men to assume their new role in sharing responsibility in raising a family. In 1989, our late Dr Tay Eng Soon, in his opening speech at the 5th Biennial Conference of the ASEAN Regional Association of Home Economics, said men must change from "The attitude that their role is simply to go out and earn the income and they can leave everything else, including bringing up the children to their working wives is simply not good enough any more. They have to help around the house and be involved with their children." Also in 1989, the Advisory Council on Youth called for "Schools to teach children the importance of preparing for their future roles as spouses and responsible parents." All these authorities quoted are heavyweights and cannot be mistaken or ignored. So let us heed their call. Let us start preparing our young men for their future role as husbands and fathers by teaching them Home Economics in school. Now, we have our Prime Minister just recently voicing his concern over trends that show an increasing proportion of single women and a declining number of children per married woman. Unless and until we institute attitudinal changes in society towards shared parenting and housework, we will not be able to reverse the worrying trends mentioned by our Prime Minister. The education system and the school environment are best placed to effect changes in these attitudes. The introduction of Home Economics to boys would be a step in the right direction.”
“I would like to ask the Minister why we have not kept to the schedule that was announced in 1991 that full implementation would take place in 1994. We had three years to train teachers and to build the infrastructure but we have apparently not done so. We have lost valuable time as we did not prioritize our tasks and projects. The purpose of the announcement of the change of policy three years ahead of time was to ensure implementation by 1994. Let me elaborate on why the teaching of the common course of Home Economics and Technical Studies is so important. With the changing economic scene in Singapore, over 50% of our women are in the workforce. Women should do Technical Studies. Our workforce of the future has to be technically literate so that we can make the transition to the value added skilled industries. Also in 1991, Dr Seet Ai Mee said: "Singapore's changing social norms mean that men and women will now have to play complementary roles in managing the home." She said that the change in curriculum was necessary "as wives no longer just stayed at home and looked after the house while their husbands went out to work. A Home Economics programme for girls and boys will pave the way towards shared responsibility in the home." Also, Home Economics has a far wider influence nowadays as its scope has broadened from the old components of cooking, sewing and housekeeping. "The Home Economics syllabus has been extended to include conservation and care of the environment", Dr Seet Ai Mee said. Besides Dr Seet Ai Mee, other important bodies have made similar recommendations to change the mindset and attitudes of Singapore males so that they will begin to share domestic and parenting responsibilities with their parents.”
“Therefore, at present, in general, school girls learn only Home Economics and school boys learn only Technical Studies. Then in 1991, an enlightened and refreshing reversal of this policy was announced by Dr Seet Ai Mee. She promised that from 1994, both girls and boys in lower secondary classes will take up both Home Economics and Technical Studies. However, it appears that this promise is not going to be completely fulfilled. I will refer Members now to the first paragraph of the letter from the Ministry of Education dated 3rd March 1993: "In 1994, all Normal (Technical) pupils at Secondary 1 will learn both Home Economics and Technical Studies. This will be so at Secondary 2 as well. As for the Special, Express and Normal (Academic) course, MOE plans to implement a common Home Economics and Technical Education curriculum for all lower secondary pupils when facilities are made available in the next few years. At present, these pupils offer either Home Economics (for girls) or Technical Education (for boys)." We must be cognisant of the fact that only 10-15% of the cohort of primary school pupils will go to the Normal (Technical) stream. This means that 85-90% of the students of each cohort will be left out of the teaching of the combined Home Economics and Technical Studies course as they will be in the Special, Express and Normal (Academic) streams and not just in the Normal (Technical) stream. We do not know when the combined course will be made available for the large proportion of students. The Ministry of Education says that it will happen in the next few years but Dr Seet Ai Mee promised in 1991 that this would materialise in 1994.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have laid claim to speak on the Motion for Adjournment today on a matter which, I believe, is of considerable importance and which I hope the Minister will look into and consider for immediate action. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Could I have Mr Deputy Speaker's permission, Sir, to circulate to Members a letter from the Ministry of Education? [Copy of letter circulated to hon. Members.] I ask for the indulgence of Members to prolong the sitting of this House. The matter, Sir, which I am referring to is the compulsory teaching of Home Economics and Technical Studies for all students in lower secondary classes from 1994. Let us start from 1983. At that time, boys in lower secondary classes pursued technical studies while girls could opt for either Technical Studies or Home Economics. In that year, about 50% of the girls opted for Technical Studies in the lower secondary classes. Then in 1984, the Ministry of Education announced a drastic change in policy. The option of learning Technical Studies in the lower secondary classes was taken away from the girls and Home Economics became compulsory for them. In the upper secondary classes, girls could offer Technical Studies for "N" and "O" levels and boys could offer Home Economics for "N" and "O" levels. However, in 1986, only 45 boys sat for the Home Economics subject at "N" and "O" levels. Only 24 did so in 1987. Therefore, almost all the boys could not and did not avail themselves of this opportunity of offering Home Economics at "N" and "O" levels as they lacked the basic knowledge of the subject, having been denied its teaching in the lower secondary classes. Similarly, the girls did not offer Technical Studies at "N" and "O" levels.”
“Mr Speaker, I just want to make a response to what Mr Choo said. First, I think it behoves Singaporeans to be humanitarian towards foreign labour. Secondly, I think Singapore's good name was being questioned in what I was saying, and Mr Choo would do well to support me as well in this matter.”
“Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Minister for Information and the Arts, in view of the need for more regional and international news coverage in support of our regionalisation thrust and the huge increase in readership and viewership, whether it is timely now (i) to allow another pro-Singapore newspaper group to be established in Singapore; (ii) to allow some reputable foreign and regional broadcasting stations to be received in Singapore; and (iii) to direct the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation to network into the region to give better and more current reporting.”
“No, Sir. ASEAN/ASIAN NEWS NETWORK (Setting up) 8. Dr Toh Keng Kiat asked the Minister for Information and the Arts, in view of the habitual negative reporting by western-owned media on our and other ASEAN/Asian governments and leaders, whether the Government will set up an ASEAN/Asian news network either on its own or with other ASEAN/Asian countries. The Minister of State for Information and the Arts (Dr Ker Sin Tze) (for the Minister for Information and the Arts): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Information and the Arts. Cooperation in news exchange among the press in ASEAN and Asian countries already exists. Broadcasting organisations Columnn: 411 in these countries exchange news through the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) which was set up in 1964. This news exchange was stepped up with the establishment of the Asiavision news exchange network in 1984. The Asiavision news exchange has been further enhanced this year with the computerisation of the Asiavision Coordinating Centre in Kuala Lumpur. News exchanges have also been taking place between the national news agencies of the ASEAN countries. On the setting up of an ASEAN or Asian news network, the initiative should not come from the Government. The decision is best left to the media professionals themselves in the various countries. I am sure they will take advantage of the growing media market in the region to expand their operations and gradually challenge the Western domination of global news. MASS MEDIA (Establishment of another newspaper group and receiving foreign broadcasting stations) 9.”
“My question is whether the Minister is aware of this letter and whether the allegations in this article have any substantiation.”
“Sir, is the Minister aware that on 19th July an article appeared in the West Australian under the heading "Asia's Shame"? Singapore is alleged to have a poor record of Filipina maid employment as we have not acceded to the Philippine government's request to cooperate with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.”
“Sir, would the Minister consider extending labour legislation to maids as with other foreign workers?”
“Sir, with so many groupings, would the Minister consider the existence of a high-powered coordinating committee to see where our economic interests coalesce and where they conflict?”
“Sir, would the Minister consider spelling out the criteria for eligibility for PR and citizenship, instead of on a case-by-case basis?”
“Sir, would the Minister consider granting Singapore citizenship to children of Singaporean mothers and foreign fathers but born outside Singapore, as this would help the Singaporean woman to return home with the children if she becomes a widow or a divorcee?”
“Would the Minister consider that since family values are in our national ethos, that should merit more priority than mere upgrading for bigger space?”
“Sir, would the Minister consider giving some priority to upgraders who are young couples with children and want to be in estates where their parents or parents-in-law are living?”
“Sir, does the Minister think it is feasible to have a small watchdog committee that will monitor the transactions daily and alert the relevant authorities if there is any possible irregularity?”
“This is what I would like to know from the Minister. What is the rate of return? The reason I am asking this question is that I think the CPF Board gives us a return which is more compatible with short-term lending but CPF money is given on a long-term basis. So I want to ask what is the return from Government bonds so that we could channel this back to the CPF members' accounts. Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: The bonds are issued on published interest rate and I can supply the figure to the Member if she wishes. But it is more than adequate. The reason why they are issued against a specific interest rate, rather than channel all the money directly back, is that Government, in managing the reserves, assumes all capital risks whereas there is no risk to the CPF members. Therefore, it cannot be exactly the same. Though the earnings may vary from time to time, the interest rate payable to the CPF Board is more or less the same. SECURITIES INDUSTRY ACT (Adequacy of penalties to deter market rigging and related offences) 5. Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon asked the Minister for Finance whether the penalties provided in the Securities Industry Act for market rigging and related offences are adequate to deter such behaviour and to ensure that manipulators are deprived of the proceeds of their crimes. Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon (Nominated Member): Sir, before I ask the Question, I want to make a declaration of interest. I have been asked to advise in two cases which may involve market manipulation. Question No. 5, Sir.”
“Sir, I know that Government bonds are bought with CPF money. But what happens to the money with which Government bonds are bought? Is the money not further invested?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, will the Minister please tell us how much of the reserves invested come from CPF money and what is the rate of return? The second question is: could some of the extra earnings that are derived from this investment be channelled back to CPF members?”
“I would also like to ask the Minister the following questions: First, for workers above 55 and who continue to work, can they withdraw the accumulated CPF at any time as they so please? Secondly, clause 5 of the Bill says that after the Act has come into effect, those employment contracts with the retirement age stipulated at 55 will become null and void. What about those civil servants who are supposed to retire at 55 to enjoy their pension? Will they be compelled to retire at 60? For example, some contract employees of the Ministry of Defence are supposed to enjoy certain gratuities upon the expiry of their contract. What will be their position? What kind of impact will the Bill have on these people? What about other contract workers? Will they suffer any losses because of this Bill? Thirdly, clause 7(1) states that if any employee thinks that he has been dismissed because of age, he can appeal to the Minister for reinstatement. Mr Speaker, Sir, under our Employment Act, any employee, irrespective of the contribution he has made, so long as the employer gives him one month's notice or gives him one month's pay in lieu, he can be dismissed. If an employer takes such an action when the employee reaches the age of 55, then what can the Ministry of Labour do to prove that he has been dismissed because of age? How is the Minister going to reconcile the inconsistency between the Employment Act and the present Bill? 2.16 pm”
“However, this makes older workers less attractive to the employer as it costs more to retain such workers. To offset this higher cost to the employer, the Minister has announced a 5% reduction of the employers' portion of the CPF. However, there can be some further incentives. Another incentive that can be offered is to do with medical bills. For employees over the age of 55, the medical cost goes up. For this category of workers, the 2% of the payroll allowable for medical expenses should be raised to 4%. A third incentive for firms that retain older workers after the age of 55 could be a higher ratio of foreign workers allowed to the firm. The Retirement Age Bill will only be effective if some incentives are given in tandem to the employer who retains older workers beyond the age of 55 years. Otherwise, the employers will not find the exercise cost effective and will find means to avoid retaining workers after the age of 55 years. Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang)( In Mandarin): Sir, it is my understanding that the purpose of this Bill is to compulsorily force employers to raise the retirement age of their employees and to protect the older workers from being dismissed on the ground of age. With rising life expectancy, we should encourage healthy older workers to remain on their job as they would contribute to our national economy. I therefore support the spirit of this Bill. Although the Minister says that after the Bill has been in force, the withdrawal age of CPF will remain unchanged, it is my hope that the Minister can categorically assure this House that in future the withdrawal age of CPF will not be raised to 60 or even 67 for one reason or another.”
“I rise to support the Bill. Singapore has a tight labour market and yet the retirement age is 55 years. In many developed countries, the retirement age is 65 or 70, depending on the occupation. A difference of 10 to 15 years in the period of employment is equivalent to about 33-50% of the active adult working life of someone who starts work at the age of 25 years and retires at 55 years. Therefore, Sir, increasing the retirement age from 55 to 65 years can prolong the working life of most people by about one-third. This will be an economic boon to labour scarce Singapore. However, so far, only 5-10% of non-unionised companies have voluntarily embraced the scheme to set the retirement age at 60. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves two important questions: (1) Will the Retirement Age Bill be effective in carrying out its objective? (2) How can we ensure that employers will retain their older workers? Let us look at three possible situations when an employer can ask an employee to cease employment. (1) Termination of fixed term contract. (2) Employee with contract but has been given agreed period of notice. No reason need be given. (3) Employee with no contract but where reasonable period of notice is given. Also, no reason need be given. In these three situations, the Retirement Age Bill can be by-passed as many employees have no long-term tenure in employment. How can the Bill overcome this problem of common law termination of employment? Why are employers not keen on retaining their older workers? I think the Minister has alluded to this, that is, in a tight labour market like Singapore the employers tend to practise the seniority-based wage system to retain their workers.”
“I am not clear about what the Minister said. How many months is the ultimate target? It is seven months now. But do we have an ultimate target of how many months of our GDP?”
“Sir, what will be the charges for this community hospital when it is run as a restructured hospital?”
“Sir, if it is not going to be run as a community hospital but it is going to be run as a restructured hospital, will it be run as a general hospital? And is there a need for such a hospital in Ang Mo Kio?”
“Sir, would the Ministry consider having an in-depth study with the Ministry of Community Development and the Ministry of Education on the causes of teenage suicides?”
“Now is the time for us to set the price monitoring agencies in place rather than to wait till after the imposition of GST. Some unscrupulous businessmen will raise prices this year in anticipation of the GST next year. The agencies must start their work this year.”
“Thus, I feel that it is important to recognise not only the economic but also the social consequences of the GST on the elderly. To help these old people to cushion the effects of GST and to compensate them for it, I suggest that we as a nation show filial piety to our senior citizens by taking their needs into consideration. One of the most pressing concerns of older people is health care and we could allay some of the fears and hardships of this group by putting some money into their Medisave accounts. There is a place, Mr Speaker, Sir, for this sort of payment for the elderly because they contributed to the national economic growth by investing all their money in their children's education and upbringing. The hon. Member, Mr Chay, has referred to inter-generation equity. Just giving more subsidies for health in general will not be particularly beneficial to the old people. Furthermore, MediShield does not cover people over 65. Children are our resource and we have happily started the Edusave scheme for them. The aged are our responsibility and we must also allow them a share in the country's prosperity. They do not have a strong voice now but we have prospered by standing on their shoulders. Thus, I strongly feel that we can start an "Old Age Endowment Fund" and use the proceeds of this to top up the Medisave accounts of the elderly. The amount should match the Edusave account. This scheme will offset the effects of the GST on the elderly. The next point I would like to clarify with the Minister is whether the increased education subsidies given because of GST will be extended to disabled children. These disabled children do not have access to Edusave. Finally, I would like to make a point about profiteering.”
“First, I want to talk about the elderly consisting of retirees, pensioners and those who have not been working in the formal job market. Of the total number of senior citizens above the age of 55, 34% of the males and 73% of the females have no personal income. These people, therefore, have to depend on their living allowance from children or relatives. It will be the working children who will benefit from the tax benefits and offsets, but will they pass this on to their dependent parents? In an ideal situation and where filial piety prevails, the answer would be "Yes". But over the last few days, we have heard various Ministers talk about human nature and the tendency to want more. Thus, the children may keep the extra cash in their own pockets and there may be no increase in the allowances given to the elderly. All of us in this House must accept this reality and plan for the aged with this possible scenario. Also, the older people often feel embarrassed and unable to inform their children that their allowance is insufficient because of the added GST burden. Thus, the aged may face financial hardships and be depressed and there could be a conflict in the relationship between the young and the old. This is what happened in the case of the time-based telephone charges. Many old people use the telephone much less because they do not want to burden their working children with a larger bill. According to social workers and those working with the aged, the elderly have cut down on phoning their social and family contacts. This has led to some degree of social isolation. This was an unintended negative social consequence of an economic decision worked out on market principles.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Bill. The GST Bill has two main economic objectives. Firstly, to reduce direct taxes to preserve long-term competitiveness. And secondly, to broaden the tax base. We have so far concentrated mainly on the fiscal effects of the GST. The Minister for Finance has spelt out the various rebates and offsets to counter the regressive economic effects of GST on the poor. From the calculations so far, the Minister has been generous. However, there will be some far-reaching social effects of the GST and these have not been discussed extensively, as the hon. Member Dr Ow Chin Hock alluded to just now. GST will affect our thinking and our way of life. There will be both positive and negative social effects. Because of these wider social ramifications of the GST, I urge the Minister to form monitoring bodies to study the non-fiscal effects of GST. I suggest that these bodies carry out surveys on representative sample households before the imposition of the GST and then periodically after the imposition. These socio-economic surveys will give us an indication of the consequences of GST and how to maximise the positive side and minimise the negative aspects. If we do not start gathering information now, then we will remain ignorant of the existence and the extent of the negative social effects and we will not be able to address the relevant issues effectively. The positive outcome of GST is that Singaporeans will tend to save more and spend less. Consumer culture will decrease to some extent. It is hoped that post GST, the new generation will grow to value thrift. The incentives will be in place for these young people to work hard and save more. Two special groups of people will be impacted by the GST and, I think, negatively.”