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 Government must rethink how it supports our entrepreneurs and work closely with the entrepreneurial community to build a vibrant startup ecosystem. Page: 46 Today, we stand at a critical inflexion point in the journey of our nation-building. Even as we celebrate the successes that we have achieved in the past 50 years, we also need to take the necessary steps to build the framework and the groundwork for our future generations from this position of strength. The path forward does not promise to be easy. We are acutely aware of the pains that our SMEs are going through and we are prepared to walk this journey with them. We will continue to provide strong support to SMEs that are prepared to transform and enhance their businesses. We will work closely with the trade associations and the business community to ensure that our SMEs continue to succeed. We will seek new growth industries to set the stage for our future economy. With the business community, the Government and the people working hand-in-hand, I am confident that the next chapter of our economic story will transcend what had preceded before and bring about greater prosperity and opportunity for each and every Singaporean. With this, Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion.”
“Firmly believing in the market value of their business idea, the initial rejection, from what I know, according to the young founders of ShopBack, was actually helpful in making them work and think harder about their business ideas and, eventually, they caught the eye of investors who provided them with further seed capital. ShopBack started out with three co-founders less than two years ago and now they have close to 60 staff, with an average age of only 27 years. Clearly, in the case of ShopBack, it was not Government efforts alone that got them started. In transforming our economy to be future-ready, startups can be a driver of change. But we must ask ourselves these questions: how can we create a more conducive ecosystem for our entrepreneurs to thrive? Are there hindrances that we must remove to allow ideas to germinate and innovative start-ups to prosper? Will over-supportive policies stifle the fighting spirit and the desire to succeed, much like over-watering a plant would kill it? How do we calibrate the relationship between Government and the industry to ensure that the optimal amount of intervention and creative-tension exist? Is this a case of "doing more is not doing better but may be doing more harm"? How can we be more flexible in the way we render help to our small startups and SMEs to make impact where and when it matters most? As we move from SG50 towards SG100 and cast our thoughts on what our future economy entails, these are questions that we need to think carefully about. The entrepreneurial spirit of our next generation, like the group which started ShopBack, will open new avenues through which we can create the economy of our next 50 years.”
“Its young founders, whom I spoke to, were not trained in computer science or computer programming, but that did not stop them from taking the bold step of starting their own company. Aware of Singapore's unique value proposition as a well-established Asian hub for businesses, with close links to the fast-growing Asian market, ShopBack decided to build a base here in Singapore and use that to target the neighbouring Asian markets. Within 18 months of its formation, ShopBack had moved into our neighbouring markets, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, with support and facilitation from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, while the e-commerce landscape in these countries were still relatively less mature. Today, ShopBack has over 400,000 regional users and receives over three orders every minute. As a first-mover in a rapidly growing e-commerce space, ShopBack is well-placed to establish itself as an important link in the e-commerce value chain and ride on the global e-commerce wave. Our SMEs and startups must constantly be on the lookout for new opportunities and not be constrained by our geographical limits, just as how ShopBack has recognised that the global nature of its business, which means that it must internationalise at a very early stage to reach out to a wider customer base. This is a very different approach from what a usual brick-and-mortar business like our SMEs, which usually consolidate their local operations and only internationalise at a later stage of their establishment. ShopBack may look like a thriving and promising startup today. But, in fact, their initial proposal for Government funding was rejected by our agencies.”
“Today's innovative startups are transforming many aspects of our lives, from the way we travel and the way we shop to the way we live or interact with others. The use of Facebook, Uber and Airbnb are well-known examples. Over the past years, there have been strong, concerted efforts by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and many Government agencies to build a vibrant startup ecosystem in Singapore. Through the collective efforts of both the startup community and the Government, we now have in place the key building blocks of a successful start-up ecosystem – infrastructure, financing support, community and culture. For instance, in the past year, JTC Launchpad@One-North was launched as a deliberate effort to create a startup cluster in the One-North area. The response to Launchpad has been good, with occupancy currently at over 90%. As a result of these efforts, the startup scene in Singapore has gained increasing momentum. For instance, the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking in 2015 put Singapore's startup ecosystem at 10th place in the world, an improvement from 17th place in 2012. Our population has also become increasingly entrepreneurial in outlook. Based on surveys by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the proportion of our working population actively involved in an entrepreneurial activity increased from 4.9% in 2006 to 11% in 2014. On my recent visit to JTC LaunchPad@One-North, I was struck by the passion, optimism and can-do spirit of the startups that I met. ShopBack was one of them. Recognising a market gap in the growing e-commerce space within Singapore and the region, ShopBack set out to revolutionise the Page: 45 e-commerce landscape by tying up with online merchants to provide cashback to online shoppers.”
“I am heartened by the spirit of cooperation shown by Sanwa and its partners and hope that more SMEs will embrace this mentality to develop win-win outcomes for the broader industry. Another example that I would like to share is Skylace Language School. This is a Chinese language training school. In terms of scale of operation, resources and finance, it is significantly smaller than that of Sanwa's. However, it has similarly taken the first step to transform. To reduce its teachers' workload in having to mark student's worksheets, Skylace digitised its worksheets onto tablets. This way, not only do students receive instant feedback on their automatically-marked assignments, it also frees teachers up to focus on their main job – teaching. Skylace is also looking to implement the same technology to automate its administrative functions, such as payroll. The underlying point of all the examples that I have shared is that all SMEs, regardless of size, have the potential to transform their businesses through technology to address business challenges and open doors to new business opportunities. The Government is committed to helping SMEs which are willing to transform through multidimensional assistance, but businesses have to recognise the need for innovation and transformation and be willing to change their old business model, in order for the assistance programmes to be effective. (In English): Mdm Speaker, I would now like to finish the rest of my speech in English. Beyond helping established SMEs to transform, we must continue our efforts to support entrepreneurs and build a vibrant startup ecosystem in Singapore. Startups, particularly those with high-growth potential, are an important source of innovation in our economy and help to rejuvenate our business landscape.”
“It focuses on manufacturing high-quality and cost-effective products. However, as fewer young Singaporeans are willing to work on the production floor, the company faced severe manpower shortages. In response, Sanwa invested heavily to automate and mechanise its production and quality control processes. Factory automation has also helped Sanwa to perform highly repetitive tasks and achieve higher levels of accuracy, reliability and efficiency. Through this, Sanwa achieved 50% manpower savings and improved its overall productivity by 15%. In addition, buyers recognised the higher quality and reliability of its products, resulting in higher sales for Sanwa. Beyond improving work flow for its existing businesses, Sanwa has also been actively building capabilities to seek out new business opportunities and niches. Sanwa is currently partnering research institutes, such as A*Star's SIMTech to develop new technologies and business opportunities. Recognising additive manufacturing as another potential growth area, Sanwa worked with six other local precision engineering companies to focus solely on additive manufacturing projects. Page: 44 Supported by Nanyang Polytechnic and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), this consortium pools together capabilities of each member firm in developing additive manufacturing solutions for key customers in niche areas. Sanwa has shared with me that this collaboration has been successful because members did not see one another as competitors and were willing to share expertise with one another. In fact, members acknowledged that the competition was global and that they had to collaborate in order to survive and succeed.”
“However, many SMEs are still unaware of the channels of assistance. The Government will, therefore, engage and consult closely with the business community to identify technology trends in each sector and further improve our various assistance programmes provided for companies. We will also further leverage our current SME Centres to provide SMEs with advice on how to transform and innovate their business models. In addition, they should also help the SMEs to forge closer ties with public research entities to design specific technological solutions for them. The SME Centres can also play an active role in guiding our SMEs to seek for the relevant R&D and technologies they need. Businesses undergoing transformation can be likened to warriors on a battlefield. In order to have well-developed muscles, they have to train very hard to build a strong and healthy body. This will not only ensure that they can face the challenges on the battlefield, but also help them withstand the injuries that they may sustain. Similarly, in order to succeed in the competitive landscapes, companies must continually seek breakthroughs in technology to develop their unique weapons and capabilities. The process of transformation of the business can be difficult and painful, much like life-saving surgery. Even businesses which have realised that they need to transform can be daunted by uncertainties and fear of the unknown future. But we also know that there are many examples of SMEs which have successfully transformed. Today, I would like to share a few examples, not only to recognise the achievements of these businesses, but also to give you some inspiration. As long as we maintain an open and innovative spirit, we can overcome any challenge. Sanwa Group was established in 1977.”
“Two of the major challenges that our SMEs face are in the areas of manpower and rentals. On the manpower front, the key issues faced are rising manpower costs and difficulties with attracting and retaining talent. In addition, SMEs also have difficulty in coping with rising rents. While there are cyclical factors affecting both issues, they also stem from the fact that Singapore is, fundamentally, a small country with limited resources. In order to address manpower challenges, our economy needs to transform and shift towards growth driven by productivity improvements and make the best use of available manpower. Rental increase is another challenge faced by SMEs. Many SMEs have told me that they have been struggling with rising rents. However, the overall situation has stabilised. In the third and fourth quarters of 2015, retail rentals fell by 0.3% and 0.1% respectively on a quarter-on-quarter Page: 43 basis. Likewise, office rental fell by 0.1% in both quarters, while industrial rental dropped by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2015. Nonetheless, the Government will do its best by working through the market to ensure that there is enough space supply to meet long-term needs. I believe sufficient supply would mitigate the adverse trend of rising rents. At Singapore's current stage of economic development, our companies, particularly SMEs, need to pursue growth through innovation and internationalisation. With innovative technologies, SMEs can introduce new products and services to consolidate their market position. By internationalising, SMEs can tap into larger markets to grow their revenue sources. The Government has introduced a broad array of programmes to help companies access the financing, infrastructure and expertise that they require in order to succeed.”
“Mdm Speaker, I rise to thank the President and speak in support of the President's Address. As the President said, we are embarking on "a new chapter of nation-building". Last year, we celebrated half a century of economic progress and success. This was the product of decades of hard work by our forefathers. We will need to have the same resilience and enterprising spirit, in order to write the next chapter of our economic miracle together. However, with the changing population demographics, disruptive technologies and new global economic challenges, the previous formula for economic success may no longer be adequate to ensure our economic resilience for the next 50 years. For Singapore to remain competitive, we need to do things differently. A new formula for success may be required. Our businesses need to go beyond adding value and competing on costs and move on to creating value and competing on innovation. As a significant part of our economy, SMEs play a crucial role in the transformation of our economy. Mdm Speaker, I would like to deliver the next part of my speech in Mandarin and to conclude thereafter in English. (In Mandarin):[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In the last few months, I have met with a number of SMEs and had a deeper understanding of the way they operate. They almost unanimously highlighted one point: the various challenges that they face today have brought about greater pressure. The most recent SBF-DP SME Index shows that SME's business sentiment has fallen to a four-year low. This indicates that our SMEs are less upbeat in their business outlook, as they are under strain due to domestic business cost pressures as well as the worsening external economic factors.”