Koh Poh Koon
Singapore
“In 2025, for walk-in patients, the median and 95th percentile doctor consultation waiting times were eight minutes and 72 minutes respectively. However, the Ministry of Health (MOH) does not track waiting times by peak versus off-peak hours, but it is likely that 95th percentile waiting times happened during peak hours.”
“The offences and penalties for importing, supplying or abusing SPS products are similar to those in the MDA, to ensure similar level of deterrence. Mr Speaker, with your permission, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout that summarises the changes in legislative penalties for key offences.”
“So, if you are a Singaporean student, you will expect that there will be some subsidies to the fees. The third question on how can the public, who may want to seek psychological care, know who is legitimate.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his question on audiologists. In general, a qualified audiologist in Singapore needs a higher level of certification because a diploma level may not be quite enough to perform the task. So, we will look and see whether there is a way to actually find an in-between.”
“We are starting with registration to give formal recognition to those who are practising in higher risk sub-sectors in psychology and making sure that the quality, the standards and the support is given to them to deliver the care that the clients and the patients need.”
“It takes a bit of, not just system change in the providers, in the doctors and the care teams, but also, a gradual shift in the mindset of our population as well. So, it is something that we have to continue to do. There is no magic bullet to this and it is not something we can achieve overnight. 12.15 pm”
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“The Open Electricity Market (OEM) is one such initiative to give households and small businesses more choices of retailers to buy electricity from. Since we launched the OEM in May this year, households and small businesses have reported savings of about 20% to 30% on their electricity bills.”
“In the immediate aftermath of the 14 September 2019 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, the benchmark Brent crude oil price surged from US$60 to US$71 per barrel. However, it retreated when Saudi Arabia and the United States (US) pledged to maintain a steady supply of oil, and it has since stabilised at around US$59 per barrel. For 2019 as a whole, the Brent oil price is projected to average US$63 per barrel, lower than the US$71 per barrel in 2018. Given that global oil prices have stabilised and oil production capacity in Saudi Arabia has returned to normal, the Ministry of Trade and Industry's (MTI's) assessment is that the impact on the Singapore economy is likely to be limited. First, our oil supply remained sufficient throughout the period of outage. Second, the impact on consumer prices is likely to be small. However, this incident is a useful reminder to us about the importance of energy security, especially given ongoing tensions in the Middle East. This is particularly pertinent to Singapore as we import almost all our energy. The Government adopts several strategies to secure our energy supply and keep energy prices competitive. First, we ensure resilience in our energy supply by diversifying our sources of crude oil and gas. We encourage our oil and gas traders to import from multiple sources, while our oil refineries leverage their global resources and supply chains, as well as the wider oil trading ecosystem, to ensure a continuous supply of crude oil if there is a disruption in any supply source. Second, while electricity prices in Singapore cannot be insulated from global energy price movements, Singaporeans can enjoy competitive electricity prices because we continue to promote competition in our electricity market.”
“Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to answer Question Nos 2 and 3 together, please?”
“In fact, many of the suggestions by Mr Chen Show Mao are not new and have already been implemented on the ground. For example, our Labour Movement's push to implement more company training committees will be one mechanism in which the Labour Movement can work with companies to ensure that workers' outcomes, including older workers', are taken into account when the company transforms. In conclusion, Mr Chairman, to create good jobs for Singaporeans, we must press on with our industry transformation efforts, that is, enhancing capabilities, developing infrastructure and facilitating partnerships. We put people at the heart of our industry transformation because they are our nation’s most valuable asset. By partnering unions and businesses, we can translate economic growth into real opportunities and better outcomes for all.”
“We will do so by requiring businesses embarking on EDG projects from 1 April 2020 to commit to the fulfillment of workers' outcomes. These outcomes may include wage increases, job creation, job redesign or hiring of older workers. With this change, workers' outcomes will be a mandatory consideration from the very first dollar of the EDG funding. NTUC and ESG will work closely together on the mechanisms to implement this, and we will announce details later. Mr Chairman, I will now continue in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: The merger of EDG and IDP represents a significant change in how we approach our enterprise transformation efforts. We will encourage companies to think of how to improve their workers' skills and career prospects through transformation right at the start when companies design their transformation plans and apply for Government grants. After merger, from 1 April 2020 onwards, NTUC, the unions and ESG will work together to ensure improved productivity is translated into better worker outcomes, such as wage increases, job creation or hiring of older workers. Through this change, we hope to send a strong signal about the Government's commitment to work closely with the Labour Movement to keep People at the heart of our transformation. (In English): On Mr Chen Show Mao's query, the inclusion of worker outcomes into the enhanced EDG will be complemented by the efforts of the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers which was established last year. This Workgroup is studying issues relating to older workers, including how to make workplaces more conducive for them. The Workgroup's recommendations will be released later this year.”
“NTUC FairPrice at the nearby Ang Mo Kio Hub will be one of the first buyers of the farm’s produce. Planting had started last month in February 2019, with the first harvest expected in April 2019. So, residents can soon look forward to fresh vegetables that are produced by the community, in the community and for the community. Mr Chairman, industry transformation must not be an end in itself. It is a means to expand human capabilities and open up new opportunities for our people. In my time with the Labour Movement and in MTI working with companies and workers, I observed that some companies have yet to translate increased productivity into tangible benefits for our workers. Therefore, some workers find it very hard to see how industry transformation can benefit them. Currently, the IGP administered by NTUC's e2i aims to address this. It helps companies kickstart productivity projects. In turn, they are required to share the productivity gains with their workers through higher wages. However, as the pace of our industry transformation quickens, we need to do more to encourage companies to move in this direction. As Minister Chan Chun Sing mentioned, the EDG's enhanced funding support will be extended for three more years. Companies will enjoy up to 70% of qualifying costs till end of FY 2022. This is to support SMEs in undertaking deeper and even more ambitious transformation projects. At the same time, we will merge IGP into the EDG. Mr Teo Ser Luck and Mr Liang Eng Hwa will be pleased to note that through this merger, we will encourage companies to more intentionally translate enterprise transformation efforts into improvements in workers' livelihoods.”
“For example, Republic Polytechnic has launched a Diploma in Urban Agricultural Technology early this year. As the sector develops, we expect more of such course offerings from our other IHLs. Minister Heng Swee Keat also mentioned in his Budget speech that Temasek Polytechnic will be launching a Centre of Innovation in Aquaculture. This will pool together resources, IP, infrastructure and expertise from Government agencies, IHLs and Research Institutes, which companies and practitioners can tap on to deepen their capabilities. These developments will support our agri-tech sector in becoming an export industry. Our position as an agri-tech hub will strengthen Singapore’s economy, create good jobs for Singaporeans and buttress Singapore's food security. Food is important to us not only as an industry. But it is something that is close to every Singaporean’s heart. Even in our communities, interest in urban farming is growing. For instance, the Citiponics Farm @ Ang Mo Kio is a pilot project located in my own constituency in Yio Chu Kang, on the rooftop of a multi-storey Housing and Development Board (HDB) carpark at Level 6, Block 700, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6. This is the first time we are piloting commercial urban farming on an HDB multi-storey carpark, and it is another example of how our Government agencies like AVA and HDB have exercised regulatory flexibility to support the agri-tech industry. This farm will hire local residents, including the elderly, and provide them with on-the-job training. My elderly residents from the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA) Senior Community Home are very excited to have the chance to bond with one another by exercising their green fingers and, at the same time, earn for themselves a source of income.”
“Local egg farm, Chew's Agriculture, faced such difficulties when seeking fire safety approvals for its new farm at Neo Tiew Road. I am happy to hear that SCDF worked closely with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to understand the farm’s unique operations and was willing to exercise flexibility in view of the low fire risk and site limitations. We are also helping more of our agri-companies expand into foreign markets. For example, Sustenir, a local startup which specialises in the production of non-native plants, recently launched the first strawberries grown here in Singapore. It has worked with ESG to develop regional marketing capabilities and is expanding its operations to Hong Kong. To catalyse agri-tech innovation and co-creation among industry players, we need to strengthen our infrastructure support. So, I am pleased to announce that we will establish a new 18-hectare Agri-Food Innovation Park (AFIP) in Sungei Kadut. AFIP will bring together high-tech farming and R&D activities, including indoor plant factories, insect farms, and animal feed production facilities. We are working with local and overseas industry players to develop this first phase of the park, which will be ready from the second quarter of 2021, with potential for future expansion, depending on demand. Beyond the hardware and infrastructure, a talent pipeline is crucial to succeed in this endeavour. More Singaporeans, especially younger ones, are showing interest in high-tech urban farming. We are now seeing an emerging new generation of young technopreneur farmers. We agree with Mr Desmond Choo that interested Singaporeans must be equipped with the specialised and relevant skills to benefit from opportunities in agri-tech. Our IHLs have been instrumental in driving these efforts.”
“Questions on plans for charging infrastructure and the use of EVs, unfortunately, fall under MOT, so I hope the Member perhaps will raise these questions at their COS. Mr Chairman, in addition to transforming existing industries, we will also develop a new sector that offers exciting job opportunities – agri-technology. The food and agri-tech sector is a $5 trillion global industry that is growing rapidly, fuelled by new innovations in processes and products. Our good innovation climate, strong talent base, reputation for food safety and strategic location position us very well to capture a slice of this industry, particularly here in Asia. Mr Desmond Choo asked how we are doing to develop this industry. Our vision is for Singapore to be a leading urban agriculture and aquaculture technology hub with a food production model that can be exported to the region. To realise this vision, I am currently leading a multi-agency team looking at how we can better support the agri-tech industry in the areas of industry and enterprise development, R&D, manpower and regulations. This Steering Committee will work closely with industry players and associations, such as the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation, to take on board industry feedback. 1.15 pm As we grow this nascent sector, we will encounter new challenges that will require us to explore regulatory flexibility and innovative ways of doing things. For example, under the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF's) fire code, farms are regulated in much the same way as factories because production activities, such as packaging, are allowed onsite. However, some of the fire code requirements may not be applicable for farming activities and may constrain a farm’s operations.”
“At the same time, we are also developing next-generation estates, such as the Jurong Innovation District (JID), which will catalyse the Advanced Manufacturing cluster. JID will feature innovative infrastructure, such as an underground District Logistics Network, that will free up surface land and provide seamless integration with JID buildings to transform the way we deliver goods. Beyond physical infrastructure, we are creating platforms for local and global talent to come together to exchange ideas and to collaborate. Last October, we hosted the inaugural Industrial Transformation ASIA PACIFIC (ITAP), an offshoot of the Hannover Messe, the largest Industry 4.0 event globally. It is a platform for leading manufacturers, technology providers and thought leaders to exchange ideas and best practices. This Singapore edition attracted 15,000 visitors across 55 countries, exceeding our initial goal by 50%. We look forward to hosting ITAP again this year to profile Singapore as the regional hub for Advanced Manufacturing. The growth of the advanced manufacturing sector will have spillover effects for emerging adjacent industries, such as electric vehicles (EVs), which Mr Leon Perera spoke about. In Singapore, players like Grab and ComfortDelgro have also been adding EVs and hybrids to their fleets, in line with the Government's push to encourage more carbon-efficient vehicles. Singapore's strong manufacturing and electronics sectors will allow us to plug into the global supply chain to meet the increasing demand for EV parts. We can also build our expertise in other nascent areas, such as self-driving software development and automotive cybersecurity.”
“It has improved the productivity of its core meat-cutting operations, achieving 18% manpower savings and freeing up workers to support new business initiatives. This has also resulted in shorter lead time to deliver orders, better customer service, and lower processing cost. More importantly, by working closely with the unions, SATS-BRF Food was able to sustain these productivity improvements and thereby improve welfare for its workers. They are now able to start their shifts at more convenient times and some have seen wage increases made possible by job redesign. Another promising growth area undergoing rapid transformation is Advanced Manufacturing, which Mr Baey Yam Keng spoke about. We are building new niches in areas, such as additive manufacturing and advanced materials, by deepening the capabilities of our companies and workers. The Singapore Smart Industry Readiness Index was developed by EDB and leading global technical service provider TUV SUD and launched in November 2017. This is a diagnostic tool for companies to evaluate their readiness for Industry 4.0. To date, we have awarded over 230 funded assessments and helped more than 150 manufacturing companies better prepare for Industry 4.0. The unions have also been important partners in building our capabilities in advanced manufacturing. For example, NTUC, the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), EDB and the Metal Industries Workers' Union have recently engaged 16 major players in the manufacturing sector, such as Epson, Seiko and Natsteel, on the adoption of the Index and the training that is available for their workers. Such tripartite partnerships are very important in ensuring that as companies upgrade to new technologies, our workers also upskill into higher value-added jobs.”
“Mr Chairman, Singapore is a small and open economy. To remain globally competitive, we need to transform our industries and develop new areas for growth. Singaporeans must benefit from the new opportunities that industry transformation brings. We have seen friction and instability arise in other parts of the world when workers feel they are left behind. We should learn from these developments and ensure that both our companies and our workers share the gains from transformation. Chairman, allow me to provide an update on our ongoing efforts to transform our industries. In the first phase, we have taken a sectoral approach through the 23 ITMs that have been launched. In the next phase, we will be developing synergies across sectors to build and deepen linkages between the complementary industries. In this way, industry stakeholders along different parts of the value chain can come together to innovate and ride on market opportunities. This includes strengthening our partnerships with the TACs, which Mr Douglas Foo spoke about, through the LEAD programme. My colleague Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng will elaborate further in his part of the speech. Our transformation efforts have begun to bear fruit. For example, in line with efforts to strengthen supply chain and logistics capabilities in the Trade and Connectivity Cluster, the Centre of Innovation for Supply Chain Management in Republic Polytechnic has rolled out several initiatives. One of which, the GoLEAN Improvement Programme, helps companies systematically optimise their processes through building a culture of continuous improvement. One beneficiary of this programme is SATS-BRF Food, a food processing and distribution company.”
“Secondly, to ensure that workers are co-drivers in the change and transformation process, the Labour Movement will be working with companies on the setting up of Company Training Committees, especially in our unionised companies. Both management and workers must work together to engender continual training as an important ingredient for business transformation and increased productivity. Workers must be a co-driver in this change process. The Training Exco, through the promulgation of Company Training Committees in the companies, will enable the Labour Movement, employers and the Government to work together more closely to operationalise the ITMs and, in particular, support future skills development and job placement strategies under the various ITMs. We must ensure that industry transformation leads to real outcomes for our workers, be it wage growth or retention of older workers and upskilling of our workers. In conclusion, Mr Speaker, this year's Budget has presented a clear focus on supporting the needs of both businesses and workers so that they can take the necessary steps to transform and adapt to the future economy. This is a Budget that is both pro-enterprise and pro-worker. It sends a strong signal that Industry 4.0 and Worker 4.0 must continue to go hand-in-hand for us to succeed in the competitive global environment. With close partnership amongst the Government, businesses and workers, with our strong tripartite relationship, I am confident that we can overcome challenges and achieve win-win-win outcomes for all. Sir, I support the Budget.”
“NTUC will work with unions, industry partners, Government agencies as well as IHLs to curate courses and simplify the training space for businesses and workers. NTUC's e2i will be rolling out some enhancements to U Leap, a mobile app that can be a useful tool for workers to upskill, reskill and acquire knowledge in bite-sized formats. Over 200 topics and modules will be reclustered to align to the 23 ITMs to help workers in each of the sector navigate through the courses. There will also be quicker registration and on-boarding process for learners to intuitively navigate U Leap for a better user experience. We plan to introduce more certifiable modules in collaboration with educational institutes and professional organisations. NTUC will also work with agencies like the Economic Development Board (EDB) and ESG to bring more SMEs onboard U Leap Enterprise version. To date, we have 15 companies, including SMEs, such as Feinmetall and Fong Engineering, who have reaped the benefits of customised content for their workers' training to learn on-the-go. This has allowed workers to acquire useful knowledge without the need to be away from work, helping SMEs to better manage their manpower while, at the same time, upskilling their workforce. To build a healthy ecosystem that supports transformation efforts, U Leap, together with Human Capital Singapore, will launch a community network for SME bosses in March this year. This is the start of various U Leap communities to enable users to network and participate in crowd-sourced learning as well as be attuned with trending topics on U Leap itself.”
“Only by helping our workers meaningfully and effectively use technology can we unleash the full potential of technology as a multiplier to the capabilities of our companies to be globally competitive. In my many conversations with our workers and employers, two issues stand out. First, workers and companies are unsure of where to go and get started on training. Workers who are keen to undergo training are confused by the myriad of courses available by different course providers and are unsure of what exactly is the most suitable course that they should go for. Some companies also find it difficult to navigate the training space and find the right partners to train their workers. Second, workers are often not involved in the change management process in the company's transformation and wondered if they will be able to meet the needs of the company or get displaced by automation and robotics. Some companies have embarked on transformation but have yet to translate increased productivity into tangible benefits for their workers. This has all led to a sense of unease among some of our workers on what industry transformation holds for them. To address these issues and make industry transformation "real" for our workers, the NTUC Training Council and the Training Executive Committee (Training Exco) were formed last year. The Training Exco, which I chair, comprises unionists and senior Government officials to coordinate the implementation of training efforts. To address the two issues which I highlighted, the Training Exco will focus our initial efforts in these two areas. Firstly, to help companies and workers navigate the training space, a key priority for the Training Exco this year is for NTUC to become a viewfinder for workers' training.”
“These programmes have been successful in helping many mature PMEs enter new and exciting job roles. We, therefore, welcome the Government’s move to expand PCPs into new growth areas, such as blockchain, prefabrication and the development of embedded software, to support mid-career professionals entering these sectors. We will continue to work with the Government and employers to strengthen the employability of our older workers through our network of unions, social enterprises and our U Associate partners. There are other funding levers that NTUC can work with the Government to better incentivise and support companies to upskill and reskill older workers. We will work with the Government on implementing the changes to the EDG and PSG to ensure workers' outcome will be one of the key endpoints of ITMs. Government grants for transformation must partner the Labour Movement and result in better outcomes for our workers. We need to continue helping Singaporean workers keep pace with economic transformation so that they can continue to have better wages, better career prospects, progression, protection and privileges. Since we launched the ITMs, much has been done and we are starting to see early successes across many sectors. However, the ultimate beneficiary of our ITM initiatives must be the Singaporean worker. Transformation and ITMs need to be made real, with real tangible benefits for our Singaporean workers. And I will be sharing more about this at MTI's Committee of Supply debate. Mr Speaker, Sir, training is, therefore, an important aspect of ensuring our workers, young or old, remain relevant to the transforming industry landscape.”
“By using a familiar platform like the iPad as the user interface between the operator and the industrial robot, older workers found it much less daunting to adapt to robotics and automation and are able to improve on their productivity. Innovation and technology adoption do not have to be complicated for businesses or workers. We must do more to ensure that job redesign and technology adoption remain user-friendly and intuitive for our workers, both the young and old. A more conducive work environment through job redesign will attract a younger talent pipeline to enter the industry while enabling experienced older workers to expand on their job roles. Second, companies must provide better training for older workers to upskill or reskill to leverage technology. For example, PSA has been testing and adopting many automation technologies, including unmanned automated guided vehicles (AGVs) as well as automated and remotely-controlled yard cranes. To ensure that their drivers and crane operators remain relevant and employable, PSA worked with the unions to train them for higher-skilled roles. The result is new skills, better pay and greater fulfilment for its workers and, of course, enhanced productivity for PSA. Training and reskilling are key to ensure that our older workers remain employed and employable. In 2018, more than 40% of clients served at NTUC's e2i Career Centre were aged 50 and above, and approximately 30% of this group were professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). PMEs are, therefore, also at risk of displacement and must continually upgrade to seize emerging job roles. NTUC has been working with the Government and industry partners on the PCPs, Place-and-Train Programmes and Professional Development Programmes to upskill and reskill older workers.”
“Our older workers with their years of industry experience are well-placed to leverage technological tools to maximise their productivity potential. Successful Industry 4.0 transformation must be complemented by a capable and competent Worker 4.0. But this transformation is not a straightforward process. There are challenges. The key challenge is mindset change of both employers and workers. Some employers prefer hiring younger workers, while some older workers are apprehensive and resistant towards emerging technology trends. In the face of rapid technological changes and the evolving demographic profile of our local workforce, the Government, businesses and workers must all be ready to adjust their mindsets and adapt to changes. This change in mindset must be led by employers. With supportive employers coming on board the transformation journey, workers will also be encouraged to pick up the relevant skills. Here, I would like to encourage enterprises and companies to focus greater efforts in two areas to integrate more older workers into the workforce. First, companies must put an emphasis on job redesign to ensure that older workers are able to adapt to new technology and to different work environments. This could mean improving the user interface of a process so that technology adoption is much easier. For example, some SMEs I have visited in the manufacturing sector have made the control of industrial robots via the use of iPads very much more intuitive. The operator does not need to understand the inner workings of the robot. He only needs to be familiar with the controls on the iPad.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the 2019 Budget is a strategic and forward-looking one, with measures that are meant to benefit Singaporeans of all ages. These include strengthened support in education for young Singaporeans, as well as the MGP and Bicentennial bonus that will help older Singaporeans and low- to middle-income families. In particular, I was glad to see strong support for businesses and workers, with measures that will help them embrace and adapt to industry transformation. For enterprises, the Scale-up SG programme and pilot Innovation Agents programme will help firms build deeper capabilities to innovate and grow. For workers, the extension of SEC and CSP will help them upskill so that they can keep ahead of the curve and be ready for emerging jobs. Businesses and workers must embrace change together so that everyone can reap the benefits of industry transformation. While these measures and announcements are encouraging, there is more that we can do and I want to focus my speech in two areas. First, to enhance the employability and employment of our older workers; and two, to make industry transformation "real" for our workers. Sir, our population is ageing. Older Singaporeans form a significant part of our workforce, which has a quarter aged 55 and above. This proportion is likely to grow as Singaporeans enjoy better healthcare and higher standards of living. Older workers are valuable assets who can contribute experience and maturity to our workforce, and we must better ensure their employability and employment. With our transition to a knowledge-based economy and the wider use of enabling technology, our workers rely less and less on physical strength and their work experience becomes an even more important asset.”
“As I explained earlier, it is a difficult call for the Government to impose an opt-out basis because, as I said earlier, price plans do fluctuate over time. If you look at this in the similar vein to telecommunications companies and how they operate by proposing different price plans, bundling with broadband, with your cable television, for example, the plans change over time, and I think it is hard for us to do a kind of opt-out mechanism in which consumers may then find that they are locked in to something and cannot change when they have to. Whereas this is an active mechanism which allows consumers to make an active choice on who they want to give the contract to and get service from. So, this is where the market must play its part. EMA, therefore, emphasises a lot on the education of the consumers. Through this zonal rollout process, staging it zone by zone, giving enough time to educate the public so that they are aware what the price plans entail, what the price plans mean for their own consumer needs, so that over the longer time, consumers will make better informed decisions and choices, and that, again, will also influence the behaviour of the retailers as well.”
“Mr Speaker, SP Group's regulated tariff takes into account the long-term cost of producing and maintaining infrastructure. In the absence of competition, in the past, when SP Group was the sole monopoly provider, what EMA does is regulate the amount of profit that SP Group can make, and this is benchmarked across electricity providers in other jurisdictions which also operate on the similar structure of a monopoly. And that is benchmarked across all other jurisdictions. Today, with liberalisation by encouraging competition, we allow the market to, therefore, compete based on supply and demand, and bring forth benefits to consumers. But at the end of the day, SP Group will continue to be the provider of last resort. Should any retailers fail, SP Group will continue to be the one that will provide electricity for all consumers, so that there will be no disruption to the electricity supply.”
“Mr Speaker, from the data we have so far from the rollout, household consumers who have switched, generally pay electricity rates of about 20% to 30% lower than the regulated tariff. So, in itself, this is a very good outcome from the consumers' perspective. As this is an early phase in the rollout, we will continue to monitor the take-up rate. As I said before, with each zone of rollout, it seems the increased take-up rate has gone from 11% to 16% to 19%. So, probably, it will stabilise around the 20-something percent level. But, over time, based on the market fluctuation, as electricity prices fluctuate, perhaps with different bundling as well, the take-up rate may again change. So, this is something that the regulators will watch very closely.”
“Mr Speaker, the regulated tariff charged by SP Group and approved by EMA reflects the long-term costs of producing and delivering electricity in Singapore, such as the cost of building and operating the power plants. On the other hand, the electricity rates that are offered by retailers typically reflect the current market conditions, the level of competition as well as the short-term cost of producing electricity and, under this current market condition where the capacity exceeds the demand for electricity, we can, therefore, expect market rates to be lower than the regulated tariff. However, this may change over time, based on market demand and supply, and consumers should be aware that while the price plans offered by retailers are fixed for the duration of each contract, retailers, like all businesses, may adjust their prices and discounts over time. So, consumers who have switched to other retailers can also switch back to buy electricity at the regulated tariff from SP Group should they feel that the prices at a different point in time may be more favourable to switch back. They should check with their retailers if there are any applicable charges when making that decision. So, the key here is to give options to consumers to choose a price plan that best meets their needs. I think the underlying difference between SP Group and the other retailers is that SP Group has to take into account the long-term cost of infrastructure.”
“Mr Speaker, the Open Electricity Market (OEM) completes the Government's efforts since 2001 to progressively liberalise the retail electricity market for all consumers. In deciding when and how to implement this liberalisation, the Government conducted studies and international reviews of other markets, to ensure that consumers are able to benefit from greater choice, competitive pricing and innovative offers with no change to the reliability of their electricity supply. Following the successful soft launch of the OEM in Jurong, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) commenced the nationwide zonal rollout of the OEM in November last year. By May this year, all business and residential consumers will be able to choose who to buy electricity from. The nationwide launch of OEM is progressing well. We observed that more households are choosing to switch. Zone 2 has seen a switch rate of about 19% in the first month, compared to 16% and 11% in the first month of Zone 1 and the soft launch in Jurong respectively. So, there is an increasing trend of more households switching. Households value the choice offered by OEM and are actively choosing the retailer and price plan that best meet their needs. Households which are looking to switch can benefit from a wide range of competitive offers, incentives and promotions, such as referral programmes, loyalty programmes and bill rebates. Retailers are also offering value-added services and products through tie-ups with third parties, such as banks, telecommunications and home insurance companies. Going forward, EMA will continue to work closely with the retailers to roll out the OEM to the remaining zones and actively engage consumers to raise awareness of the OEM and help them make informed choices.”
“Mr Speaker, as I said before, we would be worried about a trend if the same component or the same system within the electrical grid across different sub-stations fails repeatedly. But while there may be several incidents that happened in the recent past, they affect different parts, components, for which the OEMs are still looking at it. So, until investigations are complete, I will not draw any premature conclusions to say that there is a trend linking all these different equipment and different components together.”
“But, of course, as equipment gets replaced overtime, new models come on, they could well be unknown unknowns of how whether the design itself, the material itself, could lead to future faults. This is where we work closely with the equipment manufacturers to see if the design or the material that they use for the manufacturing could have been a cause of it. And some of these investigations will require us working very closely with the stakeholders and may take some time before we detect them.”
“Mr Speaker, as I said earlier in my reply, this is the very first incident in which a voltage transformer has failed in the past five years. So, there is no trend relating to this particular component. Other incidents may have happened in the recent past. But this does not necessary indicate as a systemic issue because they pertain to either different parts of the system or actually could have been just due to human error. On the previous incident, I have actually shared the findings in the reply to the earlier Parliamentary Question, so I will not repeat it here. As far as protocol to ensure that our system is robust and resilient, let me just share that SPPG's distribution control and customer service monitors and controls the distribution network around the clock to ensure that electrical supply can be restored quickly in the event of power supply disruption to our consumers. And supply could generally be restored typically within three hours by switching to an alternate feed or deployment of mobile generators. This is for the distribution network resilience. On preventive maintenance, SPPA practises the combination of both time-based and condition-based maintenance regimes. So, that is the kind of standard operating procedure or protocol as the Member had asked. And they carry out maintenance in accordance with the OEM's recommendation to ensure reliable operation of equipment. In addition to periodic maintenance, SPPA adopts a condition monitoring regime in sensing and tracking the health of the assets which includes technologies to detect insulation deterioration, abnormal oil contents in our electric city cables and equipment, amongst others. This ensures that impending failures are properly mitigated before they actually happen.”
“In addition, SPPG has engaged the Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM's) experts to review and advise if the failure was due to design, manufacturing or material defects. SPPG has also engaged an independent expert, CHUBU Electric from Japan, to review the findings and recommendations of the equipment manufacturer. EMA will continue to work closely with SPPG to ensure high standards of reliability for our power system.”
“Mr Speaker, the power failure that occurred on 26 January at 1.30 pm affected about 27,000 consumers in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Sin Ming, Toa Payoh and Thomson. Based on the Energy Market Authority's (EMA's) preliminary investigations, the disruption was likely due to an equipment fault at a substation at Bright Hill. The suspected cause is a faulty voltage transformer which started a fire in the substation. Immediately after the fire was detected, electrical protective devices were automatically activated to isolate the fault so that the downstream equipment would not be damaged. This resulted in the cut in power to the affected consumers. SP Power Grid (SPPG), the national grid operator, was able to restore supply to 80% of consumers within 30 minutes and fully restored power supply to the remaining 20% of consumers within 90 minutes. This is the first power failure incident involving a faulty voltage transformer in the past five years. Our power system remains one of the most reliable in the world. Over the past six years, Singapore's average annual disruption per consumer ranged from 12 seconds to 4.2 minutes, which includes the most recent incident. In comparison, major cities, such as Osaka, New York, Hong Kong and London, experienced an average disruption per consumer of between five minutes and 21 minutes in financial year 2017. EMA will thoroughly investigate each incident and take appropriate regulatory action if necessary. SPPG has since adopted a higher frequency of condition monitoring for the specific equipment that had failed and will prioritise the replacement of that particular component in future rounds of substation maintenance. SPPG has also set up an internal investigation committee to investigate this incident.”
“Mr Speaker, before the investigation is concluded, it would not be wise to kneejerk and impose more demands on the system unnecessarily. Suffice to say that we have enough spare capacity in the number of generators that we have to meet consumer demand. Certainly, the trip on that night was not due to excessive consumer demand, but due to equipment fault. With the OEMs now looking at the equipment, and with the equipment being sent for overseas testing, let us give it some time for things to settle. Nonetheless, EMA is exploring and also looking at it with all the gencos to see how we can strengthen our processes and our SOPs, where necessary.”
“Third, we also do a spot check to audit their spare inventory, so we know if there are shortfalls in any of these areas that need to be ramped up. What we also do is we use a regulatory framework to ensure that standards are maintained, by first imposing penalties if they are not well maintained and, secondly, to give them some of these regulatory incentives to ensure that they are kept on their toes. Because these companies would lose revenue if they cannot fulfil their maintenance requirements and, therefore, they will lose revenue and they will not be able to fulfil their contractual requirements when the units fail. Secondly, the warranties will become invalid if it is not maintained according to the OEM's requirements. So, there are sufficient incentives to ensure that these companies keep the maintenance up to par, in accordance with the guidelines. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): I have three questions. The first question is: during this interim period where the equipment fault is being investigated, are there any safeguards being put in place to prevent recurrences of equipment failure? The second question is: was there any link to consumer behaviour, especially extensive use of air-conditioners by residential households, due to hot weather, for example? So, is there any link in the disruption to this consumer behaviour? And the third question is: is the grid resilient enough to meet changing consumer behaviour because of climate change and other trends?”
“Mr Speaker, I would say that EMA is currently investigating this incident, together with the gencos and their original equipment manufacturers. So, I would not jump the gun to draw any conclusion until the investigations are completed. But that said, we will not hesitate to take any regulatory actions against SembCorb or Senoko if they are found to be at fault, including imposing a financial penalty under section 14 of the Electricity Act, which is a financial penalty of up to 10% of the licensee's annual turnover or $1 million, whichever is higher; and also requiring the gencos to tighten their standard operating procedures (SOPs), where necessary. So, let us wait for the investigations to be completed. As to the Member's other question about whether EMA does spot checks to keep the gencos on their toes, the answer is yes, because maintenance works by the gencos are done by the original equipment manufacturers, which the gencos have to pay for. And EMA tracks when the units are shut down, because before they can shut the units down for maintenance, they have to apply to get approval from EMA for shutting down their operations. So, because of the need for them to notify us, we then have a few things that we can do. First, we would know whether they are doing maintenance, because they have to apply for permit to do so. Secondly, we also send our EMA teams down to do spot checks when they are doing their maintenance to ensure that actual work is done. And when the maintenance is done, EMA staff would then file a report highlighting any issues and any problems that need to be resolved, and what are the recommendations for resolving them.”
“Such technologies can also address other issues, such as the increased intermittency faced by greater deployment of intermittent generation sources, such as solar power. EMA recently completed a round of industry consultation on the regulatory framework for energy storage systems and will publish a policy paper to provide clarity on the regulatory framework by the fourth quarter of 2018. We will ensure that we incorporate all the lessons from this incident to ensure continued high standards of reliability for our power systems.”
“In addition, if there is any disruption from the main power source, backup power systems, such as diesel generators and Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) systems, would automatically kick in, to support all critical equipment and critical facilities. Hospitals also carry out regular and preventive maintenance to ensure that both their electrical installations and backup power systems are in good working condition. During the power outage on 18 September, hospitals in the affected areas activated their backup power supply immediately, preventing disruptions to their operations and patient care. Telecommunication exchanges, similarly, did not experience any disruption as their backup power supplies were activated. On the other hand, passenger lifts have to be installed with an Automatic Rescue Device that will park the lift at the nearest floor and open its doors during a power failure. Furthermore, a standby generator is required for lifts in very high-rise residential buildings or those serving both residential and commercial and non-residential uses, which will provide emergency power to resume at least one of the lifts. As for traffic signals, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will work with the Traffic Police to quickly deploy resources where needed during a power outage, to assist with traffic control at affected junctions. Backup generators can also be deployed onsite to provide temporary power supply to mitigate the impact on traffic signal operations. Beyond these sector-specific measures, EMA has been looking at how technological solutions, such as energy storage systems, can increase security and resilience at the systems level.”
“The higher the degree of redundancy, the smaller the probability of disruption, but the higher the cost at the system level. Hence, we have adopted a calibrated approach in our system planning, with a certain level of redundancy at national grid level, coupled with a higher level of redundancy at the local level for critical systems. This system design has served us well so far, with Singapore having one of the most reliable and affordable electricity systems in the world. From financial year (FY) 2013 to FY2017, the average disruption per consumer annually in Singapore ranged from 12 to 45 seconds, while, in comparison, major cities, such as Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong and London, experienced an average disruption per consumer of between four and 34 minutes in 2015. The reliability of electricity supply has also not been affected by the liberalisation of the electricity market. In fact, our electricity sector relies on both regulatory powers and market incentives to keep generation companies on their toes. Generation companies that do not maintain their sets will lose market share and face regulatory action by EMA. In addition to the generation companies, EMA also regulates the infrastructure planning and maintenance regime of SP PowerGrid, the national grid operator, to improve system reliability and to minimise disruptions. For critical services and infrastructure, such as lifts, traffic signalling systems and public hospitals, these have contingency plans to deal with power outages on the national grid. For instance, public hospitals are provided with dual supply sources, each of which is able to provide backup to the hospital if the other one fails.”
“Firstly, EMA has been working closely with the two generation companies and their original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to establish the root cause of their respective equipment failures, even though the units were maintained in accordance with the manufacturers' recommendations. This is an important point because the generation technology is also used in other generating units in Singapore as well as globally, and what happened here could well happen elsewhere. This will take some time, as the parts have to be sent for testing overseas, but we believe a thorough investigation is important. Secondly, EMA is also working with the industry to review its processes for handling such events to ensure they remain satisfactory. As explained earlier, the technical processes kicked in as designed, allowing for the relatively quick restoration of power. During the blackout, SP Group officers were immediately activated and deployed at key substations and control centres. SP Group also provided the public with progressive updates on its social media channels and concurrently informed the media of its updates. Nonetheless, we will review this incident carefully to see how we can further improve our responses. Thirdly, we are reviewing our system to ensure that we continue to have sufficient capacity and contingency measures to handle any similar incidents in future. Mr Speaker, I would like to reassure Members of the House that we do, currently, have enough spare capacity in our system, as evidenced by the quick progressive restoration of power within 15 minutes of the incident. In the design of any electricity grid system, we have to balance redundancy and assurance with the cost that will be imposed on consumers.”
“Mr Speaker, let me begin by tracing the timeline of events behind the electricity supply disruption on 18 September. That evening, a total of 16 generating units were operating. At 1.17 am, a power generating unit at Sembcorp Cogen Pte Ltd tripped. Based on the Energy Market Authority's (EMA's) preliminary investigations, this was likely due to an equipment fault. This triggered an automatic response by the other 15 units that were running, to increase their supply, to meet the demand for power. This is usually not a problem, as each of the remaining units only had to increase their supply by about 5%. However, a unit at Senoko Energy Pte Ltd tripped a few seconds later, due to failure of a different equipment component. This led to a further shortfall in supply from the operating plants to meet demand, which caused the protection devices in the power system to kick in as designed and automatically disconnected electricity to about 146,500 consumers to rebalance the system. Out of these 146,500 consumers who were affected, 130,535 were households. To restore electricity supply, EMA immediately instructed other stand-by generating units, including unaffected units from Senoko and YTL PowerSeraya Pte Ltd to provide additional electricity supply. Once these additional units came online after about 15 minutes, electricity supply was progressively restored. While power was fully restored within 38 minutes, some consumers remained affected as the electrical equipment within their premises had to be manually reset. EMA treats its mandate of ensuring the reliability of Singapore's electricity supply very seriously and has taken the following steps in response to this incident.”
“Mr Speaker, can I have your permission to take Question Nos 4 to 7 together, please?”
“We do see that certain sectors would have a lot more chances for manpower growth in terms of number of jobs created. The wages in these growth sectors will probably be a lot more competitive as well. One of the sectors that we believe to be a very good attractive sector that can take in a lot of people with good jobs and good pay would be in the area of wholesale trade, which is very diverse. It includes sectors that deal with commodity trading, but also trading in many other areas. For example, in the logistics sector, which is also a key sector in this group. The other growth sector would be in the manufacturing space. For example, precision engineering and the semi-conductor industry are still continuing to do well. So, these are the areas in which I think workers would continue to see specific gains.”
“So far, this has been implemented in three sectors: the cleaning, security and landscape sectors. We do see that there is a need to do more for other sectors. Minister of State for Manpower Sam Tan mentioned during his COS speech this year that MOM is ready to support tripartite partners to develop and adopt the Progressive Wage Model voluntarily for other sectors. NTUC has announced recently that the Labour Movement has begun conducting surveys with F&B workers as part of early efforts to see if this can be included in the Progressive Wage Model as well. So, there are multiple approaches but, fundamentally, they all hinge on raising the productivity of our workers.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his questions. I think the key is that wage growth will not be uniform across all sectors. Fundamental to driving sustainable wage growth would be to improve productivity. It is one of the important tenets of the ITMs. We want to help our companies to better increase productivity by leveraging on technology such that the companies can make better profit margins while controlling their costs from various pressures. An example of how we can help some of these wage gains translate to benefits from the workers' wages would be in programmes like the IGPs. But importantly, you also need to put in place a lot of framework to help our workers re-skill and upskill so that they can be productive. Several initiatives have already been in play. First, there is a skills framework. Individual workers can leverage on this skills framework to continue to upskill themselves, working with the employers. The other scheme which the Government has put forth is the WorkPro Job Redesign grant. The grant provides up to 3,000 incentives to help companies create physically easier, safer and smarter jobs, especially for the older workers aged above 50. Because this is the group where there is probably genuine concern about wage stagnation and also job prospects. By using such schemes and grants, we can encourage companies to help level up the workers. And, in turn, companies can benefit from having more experienced workers, especially higher productivity ones. Finally, there is also the scheme called the Progressive Wage Model, especially in certain sectors which are traditionally low-wage. This model is a productivity-based wage progressive pathway that helps to increase the wages of workers through upgrading skills and improving productivity.”
“The resultant productivity gains are then shared with the workers in these companies, such as through allowances or payments. As a specific example, the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) administered by e2i co-funds companies to embark on productivity improvement projects. The companies are, in turn, required to share the productivity gains with their workers through a rise in wages. The Government is committed to continue to work with businesses and the unions to help businesses improve their productivity and ensure that the productivity gains are shared with workers through higher wages.”
“Against this backdrop, it is crucial that we press on with our productivity drive in order to maintain our competitiveness globally, while enabling continued improvement of Singaporeans' wages and living standards. In this regard, we are taking a targeted, sector-specific approach to raising productivity through the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs). For example, under the Hotel ITM, the Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Hotel Association have launched the Hotel Innovation Challenge to crowd-source innovative technologies that can improve hotels’ productivity and enhance the guest experience, such as facial recognition check-in. The Government has also provided assistance to firms through schemes designed to help them enhance their capability and productivity. These schemes have seen some early signs of success. For example, firms that tapped on the Capability Development Grant (CDG) managed by Enterprise Singapore for capability improvement projects between 2005 and 2012 experienced a 9.3% increase in revenue, on average, over time. Productivity improvement projects had the largest impact, raising firms' revenue by 12.4%, compared to 7.8% for technology innovation projects and an average of 6.7% for the remaining project areas. Similarly, firms that tapped on the SMEs Go Digital programme, formerly known as iSPRINT, for IT solutions to automate their business functions between 2010 and 2013 experienced a 3.1% increase in their revenue on average over time. Maintaining a close partnership with industry and unions is also important in order for businesses and their workers to benefit from productivity improvements. For example, NTUC has partnered various companies on measures that raise their productivity and competitiveness.”
“Over the long term, real wage growth should track productivity growth in order to be sustainable. This is because if real wage growth outstrips productivity growth for an extended period, businesses will be at risk of losing their competitiveness and potentially be forced to scale back or close their operations. Over the past two decades, real wages have grown broadly in tandem with productivity at the overall economy level. Specifically, from 2001 to 2017, real wages for resident workers grew by 1.5% per annum on the back of productivity growth of 2.1% per annum. In recent years, however, real wage growth has outstripped productivity growth. From 2011 to 2017, real wages for resident workers rose by 1.9% per annum, while productivity grew by only 1.1% per annum over the same period. However, there were differences across sectors. In particular, domestically-oriented sectors like Construction and Other Services Industries saw real wages rise faster than productivity between 2011 and 2017. This was, in part, due to labour market tightness, which had led to upward pressures on wages and also weak or negative productivity growth in these sectors. Meanwhile, even though the sluggish global economic environment had weighed on the productivity performance of outward-oriented sectors over this period, real wage growth in these sectors was generally still supported by positive productivity growth. Indeed, in sectors, such as Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade and Finance & Insurance, real wages rose in tandem with productivity on the back of their relatively strong productivity performance. However, in other sectors, such as Transportation & Storage and Accommodation, real wage growth exceeded productivity growth.”
“Our second approach is to develop technology platforms, such as the National Trade Platform, which allow for digitalisation of documentation in the sector and also provide innovative value-added services. These are also open to all firms in the industry. Sir, the challenges ahead are not insurmountable. All things considered, Singapore has all the ingredients for success. Globally, everyone is facing the same set of challenges as a result of the rapidly changing environment, but Singapore is well-placed with distinct advantages to embrace innovation-driven economic growth for our enterprises and people. The Government is prepared to support our enterprises and people in their transformation journeys. Everyone has a role to play as we move into the innovation-driven economy of the future. And everyone can participate in it, whether as a worker submitting an innovative idea to improve work processes, as a student through school projects, or a first-time entrepreneur coming out to start your own business, or even a retiree who has a good idea. The key is being open in our thinking and being prepared to make the necessary changes. Businesses must lead change as they bring together and organise their resources in new ways, while our people have a responsibility to upgrade their skills, develop new ideas and take risks to make change happen. If we can hunker down and band together, our enterprises and our people will emerge all the better for it. Singapore is not defined by the progress and accolades it has achieved, but our constant striving to do better. Our story has always been about the future that we create through our collective efforts. With that, Sir, I stand in support of the Motion.”
“Even within the ITMs, where necessary, we have taken a tailored approach in the formulation and implementation of our ITMs, as each industry segment has a different makeup and faces different challenges. This is a reflection of what Mr Teo Ser Luck pointed out yesterday that, even within each industry, different approaches will need to be taken for different groups of enterprises. We will continue to review and adapt our ITMs to meet the needs of each industry, even as these needs change over time. To illustrate, for enterprises in more innovation-intensive industries, for example, in the manufacturing sectors, the capabilities the enterprise needs to develop can be highly enterprise-specific. In such cases, we support companies to develop company-specific operational-technology roadmaps (OTRs) to map out how they can use technologies to meet their needs. They can subsequently be supported through schemes like the Capability Development Grant (CDG) to take up these technologies. And in the OTR, we also work with them to see how best they can level up the skills of their workers to manage technologies that they are bringing in. On the other hand, for sectors like logistics and air and sea transport, the technologies required are much more similar across different enterprises. In such cases, we adopt a more broad-based approach which allows many firms to benefit very early on. We do this in two ways. First, based on our engagement of firms in the industry, we pre-scope and pre-approve technology solutions which meet the firms’ problem statements. These pre-scoped solutions are specific to the needs of each industry and can be supported through the Productivity Solutions Grant, available online on the Business Grants Portal.”
“So, beyond the usual measurements of productivity gains and value-add per worker, we need to have better ways and better parameters to measure how our workers actually benefit from the transformation. A good example of such tripartite effort is seen in the Air Transport ITM, which was developed in close collaboration with the Air Transport Industrial Tripartite Committee (ITC). The Air Transport ITC was set up in 2015 and comprises top management from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and relevant Government agencies, Changi Airport Group, NTUC, the airlines and ground handling agents, which together account for over 85% of total employment in this entire sector. Meeting every quarter, the ITC aims to shape and drive manpower and productivity initiatives for the sector through tripartite collaboration. Notably, the ITC has a Workforce Transformation Workgroup through which it regularly updates members, such as NTUC and the union, on the progress of industry transformation and workforce issues in the sector. The inputs obtained through the ITC’s channels on Government initiatives and ground sentiments have proven valuable in helping our agencies further refine their schemes and programmes. In my concurrent appointment as Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC, I hope to be able to further bridge the gap between Government agencies and the Labour Movement, particularly in the implementation of our ITMs. Throughout all these, the Government must remain nimble and be prepared to change our approach when needed.”
“Tripartism is the "soul" of the ITMs. It brings the ITM to life. While the ITMs have, as their starting points the transformation of enterprises, we must not forget that the ultimate aim is to ensure that our workers are equipped with the right skills and knowledge to benefit from the fruits of this transformation and innovation. The tripartite partnerships involved in each ITM are, therefore, crucial to bring together this integrated perspective. Just as important, we also need to continually reinforce our society’s capabilities to support its more vulnerable members. We heard earlier the resolve of this Government to ensure that inequality does not set in, that we take care of the vulnerable. We need impactful initiatives like the Adapt and Grow Programme in which the Government provides support for our workers to learn and upgrade their skills throughout their lives, with particular attention to helping displaced workers learn new skills and utilise them in better jobs. These are concrete ways in which we can ensure that Singaporeans are not left behind in the midst of economic progress and keep inequality at bay. As Mr Thomas Chua mentioned yesterday, we need to continue to empower the TACs to do more with the employers to help businesses better understand the transformation journey they can undertake in their own sectors and support them in taking the first steps. We need to find more ways in which the unions can participate in the training and reskilling of our workforce, to catalyse the mindset change I spoke about. More importantly, we need to ensure that the fruits of economic transformation translate to real tangible benefits for our workers.”
“Sometimes, they come with a stack of papers printed from the Internet. You get a test right on the spot. And they will only comply with the doctor’s advice after the doctor has spent some time explaining his decisions. But once we are able to get the patients to understand the issues and empower them with the knowledge, more patients today are taking charge of their own health. It is thus a much more satisfying partnership for our doctors to work with their patients towards achieving better health outcomes. In making our ITMs work, we must continue to listen to our workers and our business owners to ensure that we build this partnership, so that as the transformation progresses and the operating environment changes, our strategies and tools must evolve in tandem to meet those new needs and challenges. The Government needs to be flexible and be prepared to make changes where necessary. We have to better communicate to our people the challenges and limitations that we face so that we can make the necessary tradeoffs and partner our people so that we can remain as a competitive “Team Singapore”. The second strength we have is also our uniquely Singaporean secret sauce – our strong partnerships and tripartism. Sister Thanaletchimi shared that our Government works hand in hand with TACs which represent businesses, and unions which represent workers, crystallising the essence of our tripartism. This is something that sets us apart from many other countries which face the same challenges we do in economic transformation, but without that secret sauce that we have. Each ITM is an integrated plan bringing the tripartite partners together to drive change for its particular sector. But the ITMs are only of value if they can be executed and executed well.”
“Swee Heng has also digitalised much of its manual processes and upskilled their older workers to become more tech-savvy. Its shopfront retail employees have moved from writing on paper and faxing orders to the headquarters, to placing orders directly through the tablets. This reduces order consolidation time by as much as three times, allowing the production site to have access to quicker and more accurate order information. Beyond mindset change, how can we better leverage our strengths to effect a successful transformation? Well, one of our key assets is a well-educated population. We need to better engage and co-create policies with our people to harness the power of an increasingly educated and better-informed population towards the creation of better outcomes for everyone. Let me share an observation from my personal experience as a doctor, having witnessed the change in patients’ dispositions over the years. I remember when I was a student, patients in those days tended to be very highly compliant. Whatever the doctor says, they will do. But they are much more dependent on their doctors to play a paternalistic role in looking after their health. Those days, we were often frustrated that patients were not able to comply with the treatment instructions in the regime. They either did not finish their antibiotics when they were supposed to, or they were not using the asthmatic inhalers as we instructed them. So, often times, diseases were not very well controlled. They do not somehow feel like they want to be empowered. Over time, this changed. Today, our patients are much more educated. They are better informed, and they do not necessarily take their doctor's orders so easily at face value. They ask their doctors many questions.”