Lawrence Wong
Singapore
“Sir, we will provide more information. I see the value of getting Ministries to put out more information, to share more about how their resources are being used and what outcomes they have achieved.”
“Sir, I agree fully with Mr Azhar that human capacity, human capital is critical. In fact, I would say the long-term potential of Singapore, how far we go really depends on us being able to maximise our human potential. That is key and that is why we have long invested in education. And it is not just about the investments.”
“Sir, we have been maintaining that commitment of 1% for some time now. I do not think it is about saying that we just have to do more and spend more. As many have highlighted, we want to ensure good outcomes from our R&D spending as well. So, we will continue if the outcomes are good.”
“This has never been the case. Temasek, when it started, was always very clear about its mandate from the very beginning – commercial, not doing national service, focused on commercial outcomes.”
“Sir, the MOF economists when they look at fiscal projections use Government's forecast of the economy, which is also published. We would typically use the mid-point of the range and then, of course, because these are in nominal terms, you have to factor for that. And the projections are done on those basis.”
“Sir, I was relieved that Mr Loh said he only has one question, but he asked the most difficult question. To answer the question, we will continue to monitor cost of living across all segments of society.”
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“We must continually work hard to strengthen our value proposition, build new advantages and seek new opportunities. This way, we can ensure Singapore's continued economic success and ultimately a good future for our people.”
“Over the decades, Singapore has built a solid reputation and track record as an attractive place for business and substantial economic activity. While a conducive tax environment has been helpful in attracting investments, it is not the decisive factor. Having quality infrastructure, good connectivity, a skilled workforce, an open and business-friendly regime founded on the rule of law, are all far more important factors. We must therefore double down on these competitive strengths. In particular, the Government has been investing and will continue to invest in enterprise capabilities, including innovation and digitalisation, and in the skills of our workforce. The Minister for Trade and Industry will be elaborating further on how Singapore can continue to strengthen its position as a hub. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has also separately provided a written answer to Ms Mariam Jaafar's question on Singapore's position as an international financial centre. In short, we will continue to provide a conducive regulatory environment for businesses, especially for new and innovative activities, as well as a good ecosystem and infrastructure for such activities to scale up across the region. We will also work closely with the industry to build up capabilities and skills that will enable us to stay relevant in the face of key structural trends like digitalisation and sustainability that are transforming the financial landscape. Mr Speaker, the latest proposals to change international corporate tax rules will not be the first or last challenge we face. The key is for us to stay agile and nimble, and respond innovatively to the key global trends affecting our economy.”
“Furthermore, our tax system, like most others, provides for tax reliefs to encourage various meritorious activities like capital investment, R&D or charitable donations. And for a small number of companies, there are also tax incentives for their qualifying activities subject to economic commitments. However, at this stage, it is still too early to work out the exact impact of the tax proposals. The final number of affected MNEs, as well as the extent of the impact, depends on the design of the specific rules which are still being actively discussed at the IF. As some of the tax proposals can only be effected through a multilateral instrument, there will be a need for international consensus to be fully reached before the changes can be implemented. So, in response to the query from Ms Foo, we will only be able to determine with a high degree of confidence what the eventual impact on Singapore's fiscal position would be, once the IF has worked through and agreed on the detailed design elements of both Pillars. The eventual impact will also depend on how companies and other governments respond to these international developments. What we can say for certain is that when a consensus is fully reached, Singapore will adjust our corporate tax system as needed, in consultation with the industry. Any adjustments to our tax system will be guided by three principles. First, we will abide by internationally agreed standards. Second, we will safeguard our taxing rights. Third, we will seek to minimise the compliance burden for businesses. Ultimately, the best response to these tax changes is to continue to strengthen our overall competitiveness.”
“Under Pillar One, some part of the profits and hence, the taxes payable of large companies with overseas operations will be reallocated to where their customers are. To illustrate, assume a Pillar One MNE group in Singapore has a profitability of 15%. Pillar One will then reallocate a portion of the profits in excess of 10%, 5% in this case, from Singapore to be taxed in the market jurisdictions. This means that hub economies with smaller markets like Singapore will stand to lose corporate income tax revenues. Pillar Two aims to put a floor on international corporate tax competition. Essentially, under this proposal, MNEs will be subject to the minimum effective tax rate of 15% at the MNE group level, in every jurisdiction they operate. Broadly speaking, this means that if an MNE group in Singapore is taxed at an effective rate of, say 10%, then its home jurisdiction will impose additional rules to require the group to pay an additional 5% in tax there. Pillar Two will therefore limit the effectiveness of tax incentives as a tool to encourage larger MNEs to invest in Singapore. Ms Mariam Jaafar asked how many MNEs in Singapore currently pay less than the global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. The current proposal, under Pillar Two, is to apply this minimum effective tax rate to MNEs that meet a certain revenue threshold, currently set at 750 million euros, as I highlighted just now. There are about 1,800 such MNE groups in Singapore that would meet this revenue criterion. We expect that a majority of these MNE groups will have group effective tax rates below 15% in Singapore. That is because our headline corporate tax rate is 17%, close to the proposed minimum effective tax rate of 15%.”
“Sir, since 2016, there have been concerted efforts to strengthen international cooperation in taxation matters, to stamp out harmful practices and to increase the taxes paid by multinational enterprises (MNEs). These efforts were first initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to deal with the issue of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) by MNEs. To ensure a wider international consensus, the discussions were subsequently broadened to include more than 130 jurisdictions through a platform called the Inclusive Framework on BEPS. Singapore has been actively involved in these international discussions as part of the Inclusive Framework (IF). The IF has been discussing two major tax changes. The first proposal concerns the reallocation of taxing rights of the largest and most profitable MNEs from where they conduct their substantial activities to where their customers are. This is known as Pillar One. The current proposal is that Pillar One will apply to MNE groups with global revenues above 20 billion euros and profitability above 10%. The second proposal is the introduction of an internationally agreed minimum corporate tax rate for large MNEs, wherever they operate. This is known as Pillar Two. The G7 and IF have proposed a minimum effective tax rate of at least 15% for MNE groups with global revenues above 750 million euros. Let me briefly explain how Pillars One and Two will likely impact Singapore. Pillar One was intended to adapt the international tax system to new business models where large businesses sell remotely to consumers in other jurisdictions, without physical presence.”
“Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to take Question Nos 5 to 7 together.”
“The proportion of International Students that enrolled remained stable at less than 5% in Primary schools, Secondary schools and Junior Colleges, and less than 10% in the Polytechnics and Autonomous Universities (AUs) in 2019 and 2020. MOE does not track the number of Singaporean students who choose to study overseas. That said, we recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic may have disrupted some local students’ plans to study overseas. We have, therefore, provided more degree places at the AUs in 2020 on an exceptional basis to cater to such students, while still ensuring admission standards are maintained. We will also consider doing so this year, as part of our broader efforts to support local students and help ensure that their education journeys are not unduly disrupted by the pandemic.”
“The Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum equips students with age-appropriate knowledge and skills to help them build healthy self-esteem and positive self-identity, and also in relation to the impact of social media. At the Primary level, students acquire social and emotional competencies, such as emotional regulation, perspective taking and self-confidence. They learn to recognise and appreciate their strengths and personal qualities and understand the developmental changes that they will experience as they grow, such as physiological, social and emotional changes. At the Secondary and Pre-University levels, students have opportunities to discuss how their perception of their body image can be affected by external influences, such as social media and social comparison. They learn to appreciate that their self-esteem and sense of worth do not need to depend on external affirmation, but can be anchored on their understanding of themselves and their intrinsic qualities. They also learn how to manage online interactions that may undermine their self-confidence. Parents can also help support their children to be discerning users of the digital space. Schools are provided with Cyber Wellness resources to engage parents as our partners to educate their child and equip parents with strategies for digital parenting.”
“All Primary schools have student care centres for after-school care and will continue to expand places in schools where there is demand. For Secondary schools, after-school programmes and facilities are also important. All Secondary schools run a wide range of vibrant CCA and enrichment programmes for students to develop their interests, skills, character and leadership. They provide sports facilities, CCA rooms and comfortable spaces for students to use for unstructured play, group discussions and individual study. Under the UPLIFT Community Pilot, we have identified vulnerable students in the pilot towns and referred them to community-based after-school programmes and resources, depending on their needs. This is done in partnership with public agencies, Self-Help Groups, Social Service Agencies, volunteer groups and other community organisations. We will study the findings and results of the pilot before considering how to scale this up across all schools. Besides the UPLIFT pilot, we have also rolled out the GEAR-UP programme in Secondary schools, so as to provide vulnerable students with early intervention support. Under this programme, the Secondary schools are given more resources to set up or enhance after-school student activity spaces and introduce programmes to engage and motivate students who need them. Through customised activities that cater to students’ needs and interests, GEAR-UP strengthens protective factors like school connectedness, learning motivation and resilience. Many schools also work with community partners to offer befriending and mentoring opportunities, as well as interest-based activities.”
“The Rapid and Immersive Skills Enhancement (RISE) programme is a six-month course under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme – Company Training (SGUP-CT). SGUP-CT is designed to support mid-career jobseekers who would like to acquire industry-relevant skills and pivot to new employment opportunities. There is no requirement for individuals to be unemployed for a prior fixed duration as this scheme is designed to provide jobseekers with support as soon as possible. Employed individuals face significant opportunity costs to leave their jobs in order to enrol in a full-time SGUP-CT course, as the training allowance provided is not comparable to wages for full-time employment. There is also a wide range of alternative CET opportunities supported by SkillsFuture Singapore that employed individuals can take up while still remaining in their current job. For individuals who have weighed the trade-offs and still find that it is in their longer term interest to take up SGUP-CT programmes like RISE, we should avoid making it harder for them to qualify for such programmes.”
“The Polytechnics review their course offerings regularly to ensure their courses are relevant to the needs of industry. This includes merging and streamlining courses over the recent years, to provide graduates with more breadth, versatility and career options. Over the past few years, the Polytechnics have also introduced Common Entry Programmes to allow students to pick up broad skills from a cluster of disciplines, before subsequently specialising. There is still a role for some specialised diplomas, especially those that equip students with the necessary skills to join specific vocations or professions. Examples are the Nursing and Early Childhood Education courses, both of which enjoy strong industry demand. Nevertheless, we recognise the need for all Polytechnic students to be equipped with a broader set of life skills regardless of the courses they are enrolled in. This is why the Polytechnics offer common modules in areas like communication and design thinking, and also provide opportunities for multidisciplinary learning. For example, all Year Three students in Ngee Ann Polytechnic work on projects in multidisciplinary teams with peers from at least two other academic schools. This helps students better appreciate the connections between different disciplines and their application to real-world contexts and problems. The Polytechnics have also introduced new electives for students to equip them in cross-sector skills, such as data analytics and data visualisation. Our institutions will continue to refresh their curriculum and course offerings, to equip all graduates with the skills and attitudes needed to succeed in the future workplace. This is an area of emphasis in our on-going review of applied education and pathways.”
“Home-Based Learning (HBL) days are meant to complement, and not substitute, in-school learning. They provide students with more opportunities to learn independently and to be more self-directed in their learning. They will continue to have opportunities on these days to learn with and interact with their fellow students. Our students will thus benefit from both in-school and home-based modes of learning. Having HBL days scheduled about twice a month for Secondary school and Pre-University students represents about 10% of curriculum time in an academic year. This is a good balance that allows students to experience HBL often enough to develop the skills and mindsets to become more independent and self-directed learners, without unduly compromising the in-person learning experience in schools. For students whose home environment is not conducive for HBL, or who require additional support in their learning, they can return to school for HBL days. These students will still be learning independently and have the freedom to organise their learning schedule but in a school setting.”
“Students are guided by counsellors through their cessation journey to make long-term behavioural changes. HSA investigates the source of supply from students reported by schools. Those who supply e-vaporisers to students are liable to be prosecuted in Court facing penalties, including fines, imprisonment or both. If they are underaged themselves, they may be made to attend a pre-Court diversionary rehabilitation programme like the Guidance Programme under the purview of MSF.”
“About six in every 1,000 students in Primary and Secondary schools, Junior Colleges and Centralised Institutes were caught for smoking or vaping offences annually. We do not have the breakdown of vaping cases. Students are educated on the harmful effects of smoking and vaping through the school curriculum and they are reminded that vaping at any age and underaged smoking are illegal. In Primary and Secondary schools, students are taught that all tobacco products are harmful and can adversely affect their health and fitness. Students also learn Singapore’s laws and regulations regarding smoking and vaping, and the consequences on individuals, families and the society. We will monitor the trend, work with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and continue to refresh the teaching materials. Students are also equipped with skills to say no to those who offer them harmful substances, including electronic cigarettes. They learn to recognise impulsive and addictive behaviours that harm one's mental and physical well-being, as well as strategies for self-control and managing negative peer influences. Through the lessons, students are encouraged to make responsible decisions by considering how their actions can affect themselves and others. HPB also supports interactive educational programmes for all students, provides training for teachers, and pushes useful information to students through the HealthHub website and mobile application. When students are caught using or possessing e-cigarettes and other types of vaporisers, school-based disciplinary action is taken. They are reported to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). HSA may fine recalcitrant offenders and they are required to attend cessation programmes run by HPB.”
“As tuition is optional and supplementary in nature, MOE does not track the overall number of students who attend tuition or enrichment classes, or the number of sexual assault cases involving private tutors and private education centres. If such cases are reported, they will be handled by the Police. Based on Police records, over the past three years from 2018 to 2020, there were about eight reports of sexual assault of students by private tutors or teachers from private tuition centres or enrichment centres per year. This represents about 0.3% of the total number of Police reports of sexual assault. As private tuition is a commercial business, we encourage parents to exercise discretion and due diligence in engaging the services of tuition and enrichment centres, as well as individual tutors. As the Minister for Home Affairs informed Parliament last month, the Government is reviewing whether to make it mandatory for persons employed in sectors working with children to be screened for serious offences, including sexual offences.”
“MOE regularly reviews the demand and supply trends at the national and local levels to ensure that there are sufficient school places for all school-going children and that our schools are well distributed geographically. Our school planning takes into account the current and projected population trends and planned housing development programmes, including HDB’s Build-To-Order (BTO) projects. We closely monitor the demand for school places in areas with increased number of school-going children due to new BTO flats and review our plans as necessary. Declining birth rates, coupled with changing demographics in our housing estates, have led to steadily falling enrolment in some schools. To ensure that students continue to enjoy a vibrant education experience, we have to take the difficult decision to merge some of our schools. For the school sites that will be vacated, MOE, in consultation with the relevant agencies, will assess the need to retain former school buildings for other uses, such as interim holding sites for schools undergoing upgrading. If there are no plans for the vacated buildings, MOE will return them to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which will then work with other Government agencies to put them up either for adaptive reuse or for longer term redevelopment. To Ms Hany Soh’s question on the future of Fuchun Secondary School site which would be vacated in 2024, we have not yet firmed up our plans on its possible use.”
“Mr Speaker, as I think we have highlighted and shared, there is no place for complacency. Assuming we are able to curb the current community cases, bring things back under control, yes, I think there is a chance we will be able to then get back on track with our re-opening plans. But really, even if we were to be able to do that, there is no place for complacency in our community. We all still need to realise, whatever we do on our borders as you heard just now, even for places that have been very, very tight – China Australia, Taiwan – cases leak through. Leaks will happen. Even in our community, it is not likely that we have ever throughout this whole period been able to eradicate the virus. There has always been a low level of circulation. So, even if we can get today's outbreak under control and we start resuming more activities, there is no place for complacency. We must remain alert, vigilant and uphold all the necessary safe management measures. Second, vaccinations, as I have said, is an important game changer. Today, you have heard where we are now, we are making good progress. By May, June, July, we will continue to scale up and get more of our population vaccinated. The more we do so, for example, once we cross 50% of the population getting vaccinated, all the models and all the studies suggest that then, even if a cluster were to happen, the number of people infected will not be as large. It would be more contained and we will be safer. So, if we stay alert, stay vigilant, uphold all the prevailing safe management measures, continue to press forward with our vaccination programme, then I think there is a good chance we can remain on track with our re-opening plans.”
“So, that is the reason why we suggested people bring their own equipment, but we will continue to monitor the situation very closely. And we will see if there is any possibility of modifications along the way, depending on how the next few days and weeks unfold.”
“Mr Speaker, our approach towards these high-risk activities has been consistent, in the sense that if you look at what we have done for nightclubs, karaokes, for example, we have not allowed these activities which we think are of higher risk, but the premises have been allowed to pivot to other activities which are permissible. Last year, Members will recall, Zouk, maybe even now, has been transformed and changed to different kinds of activities. So, in that sense, we continue to apply the same approach now to gyms and fitness centres. Why did we specifically identify this activity? Because we have seen evidence of spread in other places, we have had infected persons use gyms and fitness centres in Singapore, and we have been very worried of large clusters potentially breaking out in these settings. Because in a gym fitness centre, it is an enclosed space, many people are there, very often without masks on, spreading a lot of droplets each time you are exercising, shouting or whatever you are doing in the gym, Zumba or whatever that lesson is, the chances of a spread within that environment is very high. That is why we have decided, during this period of heightened alert, this is one of the highest risk kinds of activities; better to put a stop to it temporarily. But if the operators are able to pivot or do something differently, something of lower risk, then we will be able to allow it. On the specific issue of equipment, we will be prepared to look at it. There is concern, obviously, because there will be infection, not just through droplets but also fomites and touching the surfaces. Remember how last year we encouraged everyone not to use your hands to touch your face? That basic advice still remains. You can still get infected by contact.”
“Mr Speaker, the experience from the latest cases picked up in Changi Airport as well as the clusters we have seen from ICA and Tan Tock Seng Hospital so far suggests that, as Minister Gan mentioned in his earlier speech, this strain or the variant that we are experiencing now is more infectious. Each time we pick up an infected case, we are seeing larger clusters. More people are being infected than, say, the experience last year. So, what this means for us is that we really need to take this seriously. We should take all the safe management measures and all the infection protocols very seriously. People who need to wear PPE need to be very diligent about this. Those who are in close contact or doing high-risk jobs need to be very diligent about wearing of masks, for example, and make sure they are wearing a proper mask. So, these are all basic things but I think it is worth re-emphasising. The other point is that testing can be a big help. We have seen how, through very frequent testing, either by doing a special sweep of everyone or doing it on a regular basis, we are able to pick up cases very quickly. So, that is an important point that we should not give up. Vaccination is important but testing remains an important way for us to detect the virus quickly. When we talk about events that are coming up, certainly, we will apply all of these lessons – infection control, safe-management measures and frequent testing – to ensure that these events can be conducted safely.”
“] The best way to support our frontline workers is to take all the prevailing measures seriously – do our part to reduce the risks of transmission and, when vaccination is offered to you, take it up as soon as possible. Avoid spreading falsehoods or unverified information that can cause needless fear or foster divisions and suspicions in our society. Remember, the virus does not respect ethnicity or nationality. This is not a Chinese virus or an Indian variant. This is a global pandemic – the virus and its variants are out there everywhere in the world. So, there is no place for discrimination, racism or xenophobia here in Singapore. We must continue to stand together, look out for one another, so that we can all get through this together. [Applause.] Mr Speaker, working together over the past year, our overall situation has improved. Yes, we have had our share of setbacks, but we have learned and we have bounced back from them. Importantly, we have seen the Singapore spirit shine brightly throughout these challenging times. So, let us draw confidence from what we have been through; let us brace ourselves for the rest of the marathon, complete the race together and emerge stronger at the finish line. [Applause.]”
“We tested about 35,000 swabs per day in the past week and have the lab capacity to test up to 73,000 per day, or even more, with pooled testing. Trace Together and SafeEntry are now more pervasive, which means we can contact trace and ring-fence cases more quickly. We are also regularly testing persons in higher risk settings and undertaking surveillance testing for symptomatic individuals, which was how we uncovered many of the cases reported over the recent days. Importantly, vaccination is a major game changer. We have not vaccinated everyone yet but we have covered most of our older population as well as our healthcare and frontline workers at the air and sea ports and our SHN hotels and dormitories. This puts us in a much safer position. Our experiences over the last year have shown that if we act quickly to contact trace, isolate, test and, if we all exercise individual and social responsibility, we can effectively suppress the spread of the virus. We have brought down infection rates in the community before and we can do it again. We must also continue to support one another. Many have been fighting COVID-19 for more than a year. For example, our healthcare professionals testing, vaccinating and treating patients; our contact tracing teams; our public officers across multiple Government agencies; our Safe Distancing Ambassadors and Enforcement Officers and many, many more serving on the frontline. It has been very tough for all of them. So, to them, we say, "Thank you, keep your spirits up and all of us are behind you every step of the way." [Applause.”
“That is why we have decided to tighten the overall rules pre-emptively – to reduce our movement and social contacts more generally, so that we can reduce the risks of transmission and curb any further spread of the virus. I recognise that these measures pose considerable inconvenience to all Singaporeans. As Minister Gan Kim Yong said just now, there are several public holidays coming up in the month of May. Many activities and plans have had to be adjusted. I know, in particular, this must be very disappointing for our Malay/Muslim community, having to observe these strict rules during Hari Raya and to curtail your normal family visits for a second year. Likewise, for the Buddhist community during Vesak day. I hope everyone understands why the latest measures are necessary and I thank everyone for taking them in your stride. I seek your cooperation to abide by them – not just with the letter of the law but also the spirit of it. I think it is very important for us to understand that we are now on the knife's edge and our community cases can go either way over the next few weeks. We have a chance of getting things under control by the end of the month. But, as we know from experience, it only takes one lapse or one irresponsible action for an infection to spread and that infection may end up being a super-spreader event in the community. So, let us all do our part: work from home, cut back on social activities and interactions, and stay home as much as possible during this period. This is not the first time we have had to deal with spikes in community cases. But compared to a year ago, our capabilities have significantly strengthened. Our testing capacity is much larger.”
“At the same time, businesses will also need to be more agile and to start factoring the need to pivot plans or operating models at short notice. We will all need to learn to adapt quickly and be more nimble in this new uncertain and rapidly changing environment. Even with the tightest of border controls, there may still be imported cases leaking into the community. I shared earlier that countries like China and Australia have adopted a tighter border regime than us because they can afford to rely on a larger base of domestic resources and demand. But even these countries have detected cases of new variants in their communities. So, we cannot just rely on border measures to keep out the virus. We also need to have a full suite of protective measures and safeguards in our community. When a new case pops up, we move in quickly to isolate all the close contacts and ring-fence them, as we have been doing. We cast a wide net and conduct mass testing for all persons with possible exposures to the infected case, like what you have seen recently, when we went in quickly to test everyone in the schools or everyone working in the airport. Thus, we try our best to prevent large clusters and outbreaks from happening. Despite these efforts, there will be a few occasions when we will need more general movement restrictions. For example, with the recent Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) cluster, the transmission was detected some time after the virus was introduced into the ward. We have tested all the hospital staff, patients as well as visitors and tried to ring-fence the cluster. But we could not be sure if there were still hidden cases out there in the community.”
“Stresses will be felt in our society too. Singaporeans will find it harder to reunite with their families abroad. Families applying for new foreign domestic workers to care for their children or elderly will have to wait for at least two months. These are the consequences of keeping our borders tight. I hope Members will help to explain this to your constituents when you receive appeals, be it to shut down borders completely or to relax the restrictions to allow their workers or foreign domestic workers to come in. Meanwhile, the Government will do more to assist the CMP sector which is bearing the brunt of the impact. The industry has been working very hard to become more manpower-lean. But this will take time. That is why MND has set out new legislation to allow existing construction contracts to be adjusted to take into account the increase in manpower costs; we are debating that later. As announced recently, CMP firms will receive higher Foreign Worker Levy rebates from May to December 2021. The rebate for each Work Permit Holder will be increased from $90 per month to $250 per month. We will also continue to work with the CMP employers to find safe ways to bring in workers to alleviate the manpower shortage. Beyond the CMP sector, as well as the aviation and tourism-related segments, there are signs of improvement in the broader economy. Barring a setback to the global economy and provided we are able to keep the COVID-19 situation under control, we should be able to continue with our recovery trajectory. But things are very fluid and the outlook remains uncertain. The Government will continue to keep a close watch over the economic situation and consider how best to support those who need more help to adjust.”
“Our companies, including many SMEs, urgently need new workers to make up the shortfall and have been applying to MOM for approval to enter Singapore, as you have heard just now in the Parliamentary Question that was posed to Minister Tan See Leng. The application backlog has been building up significantly, even before we imposed the latest set of travel restrictions on the South Asian region. And now, the manpower crunch has worsened. I fully understand and share the desire amongst many to be tight on our border measures. In fact, we have maintained a tight posture, as I have explained, and we will continue to do so. But we also need to be very clear what this means for Singapore and Singaporeans. Contractors will be especially hard-hit. Building projects will be delayed. In particular, we can expect many new BTO projects to be delayed by one year or more. Private home buyers may also face delays of varying lengths. Likewise, companies in the marine and process sectors will be badly affected. They will find it hard to deliver their existing projects on time and a few may even have to forgo new opportunities and projects. These are important sectors that we have taken decades to build. They hire thousands of Singaporean engineers and executives, and they remain crucial sources of highly skilled jobs. The manpower shortage will not be confined to the CMP sector; it will have a cascading effect on the whole economy. In fact, any company seeking to bring in workers from higher risk countries will now face considerable delays. The waiting time for an entry approval could be more than six months. Our big concern is that if companies continue to face difficulties or are forced to close, we could then end up with higher unemployment and job losses for Singaporeans.”
“In April, we reduced entry approvals for long-term pass holders and short-term visitors from India. Later, we moved to ban all travellers from India. This ban was extended to the entire South Asian region from the start of May. Let me share some numbers to provide a better perspective. Pre-COVID-19, we had 200,000 travellers coming through Changi Airport every day, both on transit as well as entering Singapore. This plummeted during the circuit breaker when we closed our borders temporarily. After the circuit breaker, as I mentioned, we eased some of our travel restrictions. By November last year, we had about 820 arrivals a day. Eight hundred and twenty arrivals a day, compared to 200,000 transit and arrivals. Between December and March this year, the figure has been stable at about 1,200 arrivals per day. One reason for the increase in arrivals is that we had taken in more migrant workers for the Construction, Marine and Process (CMP) sectors as well as foreign domestic workers. This group was also the largest contributor to our imported cases – they account for about 40% of the imported cases over the recent six months. But even as we increased the flow of these workers, we also implemented a tighter screening and quarantine process for them. So, these imported cases were already in SHN when we detected them and they were not in contact with the community. But the inflow of CMP workers we have allowed up to now is still unable to meet our needs. Because every day, every week, every month, many migrant workers have left to go back to their home countries. Whatever numbers we are bringing in barely replace those who have left.”
“That is why we have moved recently to a tighter 21-day SHN regime for travellers from all higher risk countries during this period of heightened alert. Ms Nadia Samdin asked if it is possible for vaccinated citizens and PRs who travel abroad to serve their SNH at home. At this stage, we prefer to take a more cautious approach and have all travellers from higher risk countries serve the SHN in dedicated facilities. But we will continue to review and consider options for the future, especially as we gain a better understanding of the new variants and when more of our population are vaccinated. Mr Yip Hon Weng also asked about the business travellers who do not need to serve SHN. We have explained before that we allow a small group of such travellers for essential work reasons. We control the risks tightly by keeping the numbers small and requiring them to adhere strictly to a controlled itinerary. We also subject them to frequent testing while they are in Singapore to ensure they are free from the virus. The scope and usage of such travel passes are subject to constant review and close monitoring to ensure they are used in a safe manner, while minimising risks to the community. Importantly, besides the SHN and testing protocols, we control tightly the overall flow of travellers coming into Singapore. This is a dynamic process. We adjust the travel flows from each country regularly based on our assessment of the public health situation. Once we observe any deterioration in any country or region, we will throttle down the numbers and impose stricter border restrictions for that country or region. That was the approach we took recently because of the rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 situation in India.”
“We recognised then that there would be a risk of some imported cases leaking into the community and we had taken several steps to strengthen our precautions and safeguards. For example, we put in place a system of regular testing for those working at the checkpoints and borders. We prioritised vaccination for them and those working in our Stay-Home Notice (SHN) facilities – the hotels. Vaccination rates are now above 90% for aviation and maritime; and 85% for the SHN facilities. We stepped up our testing protocols with pre-departure and on-arrival PCR tests. We tightened our SHN regime and ensured that the hotels we use for SHN have proper infection controls and security measures. We also continue to update the SHN regime to respond to the evolving public health situation here and abroad. Some Members have suggested extending the SHN to 21 days. Indeed, we did so initially for the incoming Construction, Marine and Process (CMP) workers, because they would be living and working in higher risk settings. So, these workers would serve out 14 days in the SHN facility, followed by seven days in the Migrant Worker Onboarding Centres. We also applied a 21-day SHN for arrivals from the few countries where the variant strains originated: the United Kingdom, South Africa, India. But these strains are now circulating everywhere in the world. So, it has become increasingly difficult to target just countries where the strains originated. I should clarify that there is still no medical evidence that the new variants have a longer incubation period. But variant or not, there is always a very small tail risk of such long incubation cases.”
“After we exited the circuit breaker, we set out a three-phase roadmap to re-open our economy and to resume activities. We highlighted then that this re-opening process was not going to be a straightforward one and there would be potential stops and starts along the way because the virus has not been eradicated in our community and new cases can leak through our borders despite our precautions and safeguards. So, the more we open up and the more activities we undertake, the higher the risks of new cases breaking out in the community. How do we manage COVID-19 and protect both lives and livelihoods under these very difficult circumstances? Several Members – Mr Yip Hon Weng, Mr Don Wee, Mr Alex Yam, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Mr Leong Mun Wai and Mr Seah Kian Peng – have raised questions about our border measures. So, let me provide some perspectives. One option for us is to shut our borders and minimise the flow of people into Singapore. Larger, continental-sized or resource-rich countries like China, Australia and New Zealand have taken this approach. They are able to keep things going with their own resources and people and sustain a living with their own domestic demand. But Singapore is in a completely different position. We are a little red dot fully plugged into the world. Trade and travel are our lifeblood. For us, these are not just good-to-have; they are existential issues. They are how, as a country, we earn a living and remain relevant to the world. In other words, we can keep our borders closed for a short time, but not over a prolonged duration. That is why after we exited the circuit breaker last year, we also progressively lifted our travel restrictions and allowed travellers to come in, but in a controlled and safe manner.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we have been fighting this virus for more than a year. From the start, we have said this is a marathon, not a sprint. Really, no one knows how long the pandemic will go on for. Vaccination is a key to ending the pandemic but it will take a very long time to vaccinate the world. Meanwhile, the virus is not waiting for us. It is changing and mutating quickly. New variants are spreading faster than the current pace of vaccinations worldwide. These variants are more infectious and potentially more virulent and more resistant to the current vaccines. So, there is still a long road ahead of us in this fight against COVID-19. We do not know how the path of the pandemic will evolve and we must be mentally prepared for a long road ahead with many curveballs and many more twists and turns. One scenario is that the virus will never go away. It becomes endemic to the human population. We will then have to learn to live with it. At a personal level, this means we try to lead our lives as normally as we can but manage the impact of the virus by getting vaccinated every year and taking sensible precautions. As a country and economy, we will then continue to connect with the world to earn a living but we set up strong border defences, establish protocols for safe business travel, partner safe countries to open up our borders and keep hospitalisations and fatalities as low as possible. We are not there yet but we are planning ahead, looking at different scenarios of how the pandemic will unfold and preparing our drawer plans and responses. In this journey, we are bound to face some bumps and setbacks. We worked together to overcome some of these difficult challenges last year.”
“The Government will continue to work closely with the IHLs on the implementation of the Singapore Green Plan and to further develop our manpower pipeline in sustainability-related research.”
“Mr Speaker, there is a strong pool of expert researchers and scientists in our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), in particular, our research-intensive Autonomous Universities, who are able to support the implementation of the Singapore Green Plan 2030. This is not confined to a specific discipline or background, as our approach is to draw on the diverse expertise available to support the implementation of the Green Plan. So, all the relevant Ministries involved in the Green Plan will tap on this expertise when they spearhead efforts for their respective domains. Our researchers' areas of expertise cover a wide range of sustainability-related fields like climate science, waste management and food safety. For example, the National Research Foundation funds the Cooling Singapore project, which is co-led by the Singapore-ETH Centre and the Singapore Management University (SMU). The project studies ways to mitigate the Urban Heat Island effect. Assoc Prof Winston Chow from SMU, a Singaporean expert in Urban Climatology, plays a key role as Principal Investigator. The Ministry of Education and the IHLs have also been actively building a pipeline of Singaporean and Singapore-based researchers and experts on sustainable development. For example, since the inception of its PhD programme in 2014, the Nanyang Technological University's Asian School of the Environment has trained more than 40 PhD students on topics like sea level rise and other climate hazards. The School also features a blend of research expertise, like Asst Prof Janice Lee, who looks into the impact of land use changes on biodiversity conservation and human livelihoods in Southeast Asia; and Prof Benjamin Horton, who is an internationally-respected expert in sea-level change.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his questions. Inequality is certainly an issue that the Government is very focused on. We have been tackling this issue through a whole range of measures – Workfare, GST Vouchers, Senior Employment Credit, a whole range of different social support measures – for at least 20 years now. And you can see from the statistics that, in fact, the Gini coefficient in Singapore, post-tax and transfers, has been coming down. So, our measures are working. We will continue to do more to address inequality and social mobility, particularly, given that the concerns of COVID-19 and the impact of the pandemic are being felt disproportionately more by the lower income groups. As to the enhancements to the permanent GST Voucher, that is something we are studying. We have committed; the Deputy Prime Minister did say when we talked about raising the GST rate, that we will also look at enhancing the permanent GST Voucher, not just providing a one-off offset but enhancing the permanent layer of the GST Voucher. We are studying that and will certainly get back with details when we are ready.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer to the first question is yes. It is a combination of both, obviously. The absolute dollar amount that we get from NIRC will be both a function of the smoothened net asset base as well as the expected long-term rate of return. That is the NIRC framework. As to the components which contribute to the FY2021 figures, I do not think we have the breakdown today. Because there would be a process based on what the smoothened base is and then, what the expected long-term rate of return is, and there are processes in place, as we have described in this House, to ascertain each of these figures which then are submitted to the President's Office for the President's approval.”
“The private education landscape is diverse, with a range of providers and course offerings. Under SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)’s regulatory framework, Private Education Institutions (PEIs) can apply to be accredited under the EduTrust Certification Scheme, a voluntary quality assurance scheme focused on the academic and organisational processes and structures of the institution. While useful as a guide for employers and prospective students, the EduTrust Certification Scheme does not cover academic standards. Given the diversity of programmes that are offered by the PEIs today, it would be difficult to have a central accreditation framework that covers academic quality or industry relevance. As private institutions, the onus remains on PEIs to work with industry to regularly review their curriculum and course offerings for relevance to potential employers. This positions their graduates to secure good jobs post-graduation. SSG publishes results of the annual PEI Graduate Employment Survey (GES), to support prospective students in making informed decisions on whether they wish to enrol in a PEI programme. There is a range of Government initiatives and programmes to help graduates in their job search. Graduates can visit any of the Career Matching Services touchpoints comprising WSG’s Careers Connect and Careers Connect “On-The-Go”, NTUC-e2i’s career centres and SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres for employment assistance. Recent graduates can also participate in traineeship opportunities in both public and private organisations under the SGUnited Traineeships programme.”
“As part of their educational mission, the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are committed to helping students develop critical thinking skills and to provide a safe and conducive environment for rational discourse and learning. The IHLs’ Codes of Conduct for staff and students emphasise the importance of civil, respectful and balanced discourse where differing opinions can be voiced and discussed objectively. Against this backdrop, students learn to engage respectfully and constructively with diverse perspectives, including those related to contentious issues. The IHLs are very clear that they need to provide a safe environment for students to express their views, and engage in robust and rigorous debate, without fear of being “cancelled”. While the views on specific issues may differ, the discourse must always be carried out in a civil and respectful manner, so as to ensure a positive learning environment. At the national level, our youth also have opportunities to discuss and engage with diverse perspectives, including with other youth, industry experts and policy makers from various agencies. Such platforms include the regular Youth Conversations and Youth Action challenge, organised by the National Youth Council. We continue to provide safe avenues for our youths to voice their opinions and to engage with each other respectfully.”
“Our teachers, School Counsellors and Student Welfare Officers are also trained, and look out for signs of distress in students so as to support them where necessary.”
“The safety of our students is of paramount importance to MOE. As part of the hiring process, MOE conducts pre-employment checks on all prospective employees who are considered for non-teaching staff positions in schools. These include screening the applicants with the Police and conducting reference checks with their previous employers or referees. MOE has a set of guidelines on how MOE officers, including non-teaching staff are expected to conduct themselves professionally. These are communicated to our staff regularly to ensure they understand the expectations. MOE takes a very serious view of any misconduct by staff that may impinge on the safety and well-being of students. Where there is indication of improper behaviour, the case will be thoroughly investigated and disciplinary actions taken accordingly, or if need be, referred to the Police for their investigations. In severe cases, the offending officers will be suspended from service or re-deployed to non-student facing roles while investigations take place. Schools will continue to strengthen the communication and engagement with our staff on the Code of Conduct, make explicit the professional boundaries in their interactions with students as well as step up vigilance to safeguard and protect our students. Students also learn about personal safety and protection from abuse through the Character and Citizenship Education curriculum. These lessons start from Primary 1 and are reinforced throughout their years in school. Schools also help students recognise that they can seek help from trusted adults when there is risk of their personal safety being compromised.”
“The proportion of Polytechnic graduates gaining admission to local Universities has increased over the years, in tandem with the expansion of University places to raise the cohort participation rate. It has risen from about one in four in 2015, to one in three today. Admission to the Autonomous Universities is based on merit and all applicants are assessed fairly and objectively based on their demonstrated strengths and merits, and regardless of their prior educational pathway. Private education institutions (PEIs) are not part of the public education system and have varying quality of programmes and learning outcomes. Given the diversity of programmes offered by PEIs, it is challenging for SkillsFuture Singapore or MOE to meaningfully review and accredit these degree programmes for their quality. It is thus difficult to apply a blanket approach in terms of Government funding and support.”
“MOE aligns our workforce arrangements for teachers and staff with the workforce advisories issued by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF), MOM and Public Service Division (PSD). With students attending school as per normal, teachers and school staff need to be physically present to support school operations and to ensure that the learning of our students is not disrupted. The schools will exercise flexibility on work arrangement where operationally feasible. For example, school staff may be allowed to: (a) Report or leave at staggered hours if they have no lessons or duties assigned for the start or end of the school day; or (b) Work from home on a day where they have no physical classes or other assigned duties requiring their physical presence in school. This arrangement has worked well for our schools and staff in balancing the need to meet the schools’ operating needs while providing flexibility in work arrangement where feasible. To facilitate new ways of working and digital collaboration in schools, school staff are supported with suitable IT devices and tools, as well as resources on topics such as conducting lessons with students, meetings with colleagues or engaging parents using virtual platforms. Our staff have generally adapted well to embracing new technologies in their work. For example, there have been many positive stories about our officers employing innovative pedagogies and leveraging digital tools to design and enhance students’ learning experiences, especially in the context of blended learning.”
“In 2019, around one-third of Masters by Research students and two-thirds of PhD students and Post-doctoral Research Fellows (Post-docs) in the Autonomous Universities (AUs) were non-Residents, that is, non-Singaporeans and non-Permanent Residents. As for research-active faculty, Assistant Professors and above, around 40% were non-Residents. Like Universities everywhere around the world, our AUs seek to attract and retain international academic talent, so as to pursue excellence in research and education for the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans. At the same time, our AUs are continuing to build up the local academic and research manpower pipeline. MOE also works with the AUs to provide support to local academics at different stages of their studies and careers. Through the Singapore Teaching and Academic Research Talent scheme (START), we support young Singaporean undergraduates and postgraduates keen on pursuing an academic career at the AUs via scholarships and mentorship opportunities.”
“Non-teaching staff at schools have rest areas such as the staff lounge and dedicated rooms. For outsourced workers such as cleaners, there are dedicated rest facilities as recommended under the Tripartite Advisory on Provision of Rest Areas for Outsourced Workers.”
“MOE has taken a calibrated approach in resuming the National School Games (NSG) with 12 non-contact sports, in order to safeguard the well-being of our students. To ensure that no student would be disadvantaged as a result of this approach, all students selected to represent their school in all 29 sports in the NSG would be accorded the same recognition for school representation and credited with CCA achievement. This was also the approach taken in 2020, when NSG was suspended for all sports. The Singapore Schools Sports Council (SSSC) Colours Award was established to recognise students’ outstanding achievement in sports and their exemplary conduct. The qualifying criteria is to achieve top four placings in NSG. Hence, students whose sports are not offered in NSG, would not be eligible for this award based on NSG achievements. However, all students representing the Singapore Schools Sport Teams or the state through Singapore National Olympic Council, Singapore Disability Sports Council or the National Sports Associations of SSSC sports at major games can still be nominated for the award.”
“The IHLs work closely with students and staff to build a safe and positive campus environment, with a culture of mutual care and support. Apart from efforts by schools and IHLs, parents and community groups also play a crucial role in guiding students to adopt socially desirable values and attitudes.”
“In schools, the importance of social cohesion and racial harmony are taught in the curriculum. In Social Studies and Secondary History, students learn about the negative impact of extreme ideas, prejudice and stereotypes, and how these can be countered. In Character and Citizenship Education, students learn to develop empathy and respect for each other. Through teacher-facilitated inquiry and discussions, students examine the roles played by individuals and groups in strengthening understanding and interactions between different racial and religious groups; and consider how they can play their part in promoting harmony. They also learn to recognise harmful content and discern information from different sources, including online media. By 2022, all schools will establish a peer support structure, where students will support each other and be taught to speak up for their peers where necessary, when their peers experience racism and hate speech. These social bonds are one of the strongest counters against any exclusivist or extremist ideologies. Through Co-Curricular Activities and other school experiences, students bond and interact with one another, regardless of background. Learning journeys to places of worship and heritage sites, and celebration of cultural festivals also help students to develop a stronger sensitivity on racial and religious issues. Building on the foundation established in our schools, the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have programmes and activities that promote cross-cultural and inter-religious understanding, and modules that foster critical thinking and equip students to be more discerning in what they read online.”
“As part of the Budget 2020 measures to support Singaporeans affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, MOE has suspended loan repayments and interest accrual for Government-funded loan schemes for all Autonomous University and Polytechnic graduates for one year, from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2021. In addition, through various traineeship programmes and active job placement efforts, we have been able to ensure that tertiary graduates were able to find good jobs upon their graduation. We will continue these efforts for this year’s graduating cohort. Generally, we can expect better employment outcomes as the overall economic and labour market outlook has improved. Nevertheless, we are aware that the outlook is highly uncertain and unpredictable, and will depend to a large extent on the external environment and the path of the pandemic. Therefore, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and will consider how best to assist the graduates who continue to face difficulties in securing jobs.”
“The Singapore Institute of Technology has a course on Building Energy Modelling, to train building professionals such as architects and energy auditors to identify opportunities for improving energy efficiency when designing or managing buildings. The IHLs will continue to work closely with their industry partners to equip students and workers with the new skills needed for the green economy.”
“The Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are committed to preparing their students to be able to seize good career opportunities, including in emerging areas such as the green economy. This will ensure a healthy pipeline of talent to support green growth in Singapore. The IHLs have been introducing new courses and programmes in sustainability-related fields. For example, Republic Polytechnic has launched two new Diplomas. The Diploma in Sustainable Built Environment prepares students to take up roles as Energy and Sustainability Consultants, while the Diploma in Environmental and Marine Science prepares students to take up roles as Environmental Service Officers. SMU offers a sustainability major programme that equips students with the knowledge, skills and expertise to implement sustainable practices in businesses. In addition, IHLs have been increasing their emphasis on sustainability within existing programmes. From this coming academic year, NTU undergraduates will be required to take up a new common module on “Sustainability for Society, Economy and Environment” under their interdisciplinary collaborative core curriculum. Temasek Polytechnic has also revamped its Diploma in Architectural Technology and Building Services to focus on using technology for the sustainable management of buildings. For working adults, the IHLs are providing more opportunities to upskill and reskill for jobs in the green economy. For example, Singapore Polytechnic runs a Food Manufacturing Programme which trains individuals to analyse sustainability issues in food manufacturing and to apply technologies for converting food waste to value added products.”
“This includes schools with a relatively higher proportions of students with greater learning needs, which we support with more teachers so that the school has the flexibility to deploy teachers to teach such students in smaller classes. Furthermore, as enrolment in the proposed merger schools drops further, students in these schools will not be able to enjoy the same holistic range of learning experiences as their peers in other schools, in terms of subject combinations, educational programmes and Co-Curricular Activities. These remain critical aspects that contribute to the vibrant and holistic educational experience we want for every student.”