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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“Well, I do not think the two are in contradiction. The funding will be provided and the company will then have to decide how best to use the funding to achieve the objectives it sets out to achieve, both to attract audiences for the Festival as well as to achieve the objectives that the Member has highlighted, which is to commission new works, inspire and support artists, get creative pieces put out, and then raise the artistic standards and quality of the performances. That is what we expect from the company, both from the Board as well as from the Management and the Artistic Director. So, the way we expect the company to operate, including the Festival Director, is to take the funds that are provided by the Government but not just rely solely on Government funding. We would like them to also raise funds from other sponsors and then, with that funding, do the best possible Arts Festival that they can to raise artistic standards and inspire new audiences.”
“Various sites were discussed at that time, including the Civic District, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Haw Par Villa, the former Ford Factory. These were some of the sites that were discussed at that time. Different stakeholders had views about the heritage value and they were all valid. Eventually, the consultancy study identified amongst these sites, the Botanic Gardens as the one with the best heritage potential – which would have significant heritage value and also the best potential in terms of inscription for a World Heritage Site listing.”
“I think I answered the first question earlier, that there was, indeed, consultation done in the lead-up to even identifying the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was not the only site that was highlighted as a possibility. There were a few sites that were considered at that time. There were different views and people had expressed their views. In fact, if you would just google Singapore Botanic Gardens – which I did, incidentally, because I was curious about what happened in the past – you will find people talking about the listing of the Singapore Botanic Gardens way back in 2009 and 2010. It is there on public record. On the signing of the Convention and what it means for the future, I think it means a stronger commitment to heritage and it means that my Ministry and NHB will do even more to engage different stakeholders on the importance of Page: 38 heritage, with regards to the different sites in Singapore and how we can make an even greater effort to preserve and recognise heritage value in the sites that are important to us.”
“I am not sure what the Member meant by long silence. I would say this. The process started quite some time back in 2010. I was not involved in it personally but I looked at the files, I looked at the records. There was consultation done with different groups, stakeholders and heritage groups. The Singapore Heritage Society was consulted. They were supportive of the bid. When the then-MICA and NHB decided to move forward, they went ahead to make the submission for the tentative listing but we were not sure that we would be able to get even a tentative listing. I suppose at that stage, the sense was that there was no need to tell people that we were making this first step for a tentative listing yet because there was no certainty that we would Page: 37 even get a tentative listing. Now that we are on a tentative listing, then we are ramping up the efforts to make a formal submission for inscription as a World Heritage site. It is a continuous effort, starting with engagement and consultation. On the consultancy that was done, I do not have the details, but I am sure it was done in accordance to Civil Service procurement rules as with any other procurement for consultancy services. So, there was a consultancy service done at that stage, again, when this process started. They looked at various sites that were discussed with the stakeholders then. Then, based on the consultancy study, the Singapore Botanic Gardens was chosen as the best site for submission as a tentative listing for the UNESCO World Heritage Site.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for the question. It was something that Mr Lim Biow Chuan also alluded to earlier in his follow-up question. As I said, we will continue to monitor developments in the COE market and we will re-calibrate our financing restrictions for all cars, new and old, in response to market conditions, in particular, if there is a sustained moderation in COE prices. We have just announced this policy. We have granted a temporary lifting of the financing restrictions for a particular objective, which is for the inventories that were built up. We would like to help the used cars dealers release these inventories without too much difficulty. Having taken this step, let us maintain the policy and look at whether it achieves its objectives over the coming months. MAS will continue to review the policy and re-calibrate based on the outcomes that it observes in the COE market.”
“On the first question of whether there are other means of financing that people will resort to like moneylenders and bank loans which would then circumvent the financing restrictions or put more pressure and add to the burdens, I think it is something which we will have to monitor. I do not think we have seen any signs of this happening. We would also have read the media reports of how financing restrictions have been extended to non-financial institutions as well. So, to the extent that we can, the financing restrictions have been extended. I do not think we have seen any signs of loan behaviours being driven to moneylenders. We will continue to monitor and make sure that that does not happen. On the second point on whether we can extend the LTV for different categories of buyers to make it easier, in the end, it is really about managing the balance between achieving the intent of the policy and making sure that there are some exemptions that we can give to those who are deserving. We have already announced some of the exemptions earlier in the Budget and COS sessions. We should keep to the current position for the time being and look at the impact of the policy, whether it, indeed, achieves our policy objectives which are, as I stated earlier, to ensure prudence and moderate inflation. And then, we can adjust along the way.”
“Mdm Speaker, I will answer the two questions on the extension and why we have decided not to go beyond. We have made very clear that it is a two-month window. I think it is precisely because we have taken in the feedback, studied the issues very carefully, and worked out what would be a reasonable window to help the used car dealers deal with this particular problem where they have an inventory of used cars with a higher built-in COE value. We recognise that it poses problems for them because of the changes in policy, and we would like to help them clear this particular inventory. If Members look at the data that had been presented – 11,000 used cars purchased before; 4,000 sold within one month – I think two months is a very reasonable window. If Members also look at used car sales, in the past, it was about 5,000 a month. In the month since we introduced the financing restrictions, it has come down to about 4,000. Prices have softened somewhat – about 10%. The used car sales are still happening. The market is adjusting. With two months, they should be able to clear the inventories that they have. The adjustment we are making now in providing this temporary lifting of two months is particularly to address this problem, and within this two-month window, the problem should be able to be resolved. That is why we have decided that the two-month window should be a definite period. On the impact on inflation, yes, we are hoping to moderate the impact on inflation. The Member talked about business costs, but commercial vehicles are not included in the financing restrictions. Overall, by moderating the demand for cars, this will have an impact on COE demand and therefore, have an impact on moderating inflation as well.”
“We will have to look, over a period of time, how the COE market adjusts and then if indeed the policy objectives are achieved, as I said earlier, MAS will be continually reviewing and adjusting its policies accordingly. Page: 12 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Acting Minister and MAS for giving the second hand car dealers this 60-day breathing space. I have two supplementary questions. First, I would like to ask the Acting Minister why he has mentioned so soon that there will not be any extension to the reprieve? I would think that we should monitor and see whether there is a genuine reason for any extension or not. Secondly, if I heard the Acting Minister correctly, this curb is introduced in order to cut inflation. How effective would it be, because for those who need a car, they would still need to buy a car? This only adds on to their business costs.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for his follow-up questions. On how the percentages for the loan limits were derived, it is really a judgement of looking at the past trends and at what is necessary in order to moderate the demand for cars, which is the objective of this whole exercise and review. Having looked at the current situation where we have very low interest rates and very easy financing, we did not feel that was prudent. And so we looked at how we can have appropriate adjustments to moderate the overall demand for cars, which was the intent of the policy. Based on that and the assessment on what is necessary, MAS felt that it was necessary to have something that was significant – not just a 10% to 20% adjustment. I think this would not have been sufficient to achieve the intent of the policy. We needed something that was more significant in terms of moderating demand. We tiered it so that for those who are purchasing the smaller vehicles, there would be a higher loan limit. So, from that point of view, first-time buyers – people who are looking at buying a smaller vehicle – with the loan limit, while it is slightly higher, would still allow them to purchase a car with a higher quantum. It is really a balance. As I mentioned earlier in my COS reply as well, these adjustments are not permanent. The policy will continue to be recalibrated and adjusted based on looking at how the COE market adjusts to these new policies. We have had only one month of data and I do not think we should judge the outcome of the policy just based on that one single data point.”
“The two-month relaxation of the rules will in fact provide a good window for the used car industry to clear much of its previous inventory. Data from LTA indicates that of the 11,000 used cars acquired before the introduction of the restrictions, 4,000 were sold in the one month since the financing restrictions were introduced. So, 11,000 used cars were acquired before, and in the one month since the financing restrictions were introduced, 4,000 of these 11,000 used cars were sold. Based on this trend, and with the temporary lifting of the financial restrictions, dealers should be able to sell most of the remaining 7,000 used cars within the two-month window. MAS will continue to monitor developments in the COE market and will recalibrate the financing restrictions for all cars, new and old, in response to market conditions – in particular, a sustained moderation in COE prices. But we will not for some time revert to the pre-February situation of having no financing restrictions on car purchases. We understand that the used car business has grown in recent years and many dealers have done very well, especially when COE prices were moving up. The industry should take advantage of the temporary reprieve for its inventory, and adjust to the new reality in the car market. If the industry should eventually consolidate and employees are affected, the Government will do its part to help them through the transition, and to find new jobs in other industries.”
“Mdm Speaker, as MAS had explained in its press statements, and as I had elaborated during the Committee of Supply (COS) last month, the restrictions on car loans were introduced for two reasons: first, to encourage financial prudence among consumers, particularly in light of the current prolonged period of low interest rates; and second, to moderate the demand for cars, which has been driving up prices of Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and car prices sharply, including over the last year. Higher COE prices contribute to a higher inflation rate and create negative spillover effects on the broader economy. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah highlighted the plight of used car dealers. She did so during the Budget debate and she is asking about it now in this PQ that she has filed, and what we can do about that. Page: 10 As Members would know, to help the used car industry adjust to the new environment, MAS announced last Friday that it would lift the financing restrictions for two months for used cars that were acquired by dealers prior to the introduction of the restrictions. In making this decision, MAS gave consideration to the fact that demand had fallen more significantly for used cars, and also that the used car industry found it challenging to dispose of the inventory that was acquired at higher in built COE values before the introduction of the restrictions. However, it is not possible to relieve the industry from the impact of the restrictions on a continual basis without undermining the policy objectives of promoting financial prudence, moderating the demand for cars, and cooling COE prices. So, MAS will not be extending the concession beyond this two-month period.”
“So, there will be some major marquee events, if you will, to anchor the celebration for the year. We will start with a countdown in 2014 which will be quite special and we will have a year-long series of celebrations. MCCY will coordinate this with a programme office and we are also waiting for MOF's response on the Singapore-50 Fund. It is important that the Page: 108 celebration should not be something just led by the Government. This ought to be a celebration for all Singaporeans and we are looking at how we can make that happen. How Singaporeans can take pride in how far we have come as a nation and how, through various initiatives from the ground up, with support from the Government, we can lend voice to many of these efforts, whether by our artists, by our sports people, by people who want to celebrate heritage, so that, together as a nation, we can celebrate our 50 years of Independence.”
“I thank the Member for the follow-up questions. I will take, not in sequence, but start with Yew Tee. Certainly, we are happy to consider. In fact, Mr Alex Yam told me this story of the origins of the name of Yew Tee which I had not known earlier, so we will be happy to consider. As I have said, we are looking at expanding our heritage trails across all of Singapore and every part of Singapore has something distinctive about it. We would like to celebrate that distinct heritage in all our different communities. So, we will be happy to take that up. On what we can do more for living heritage, people who are doing trades which are under threat or rapidly vanishing, beyond just recording or documenting them, it depends on the particular trade, and so it is not realistic to say I want to keep all of them alive somehow. I think we will have to go case by case and, if there is merit in keeping something alive, we will certainly take a look at it, but I cannot give a general response. We have to look at it individually and try our best to preserve the heritage, not just through documents and films or movies, but also as a living trade, as the Member mentioned. The National Youth Fund is something that we are working on. The details will be out soon, so we will be able to put out more information on how young people can apply for the fund. Finally, I would end on an important point – our 50th anniversary. I think it is really an occasion for us to celebrate as a nation. We will come 50 years in 2015 – it is an important occasion and it ought to be a national celebration. There will be some high points during the year and there will be some natural high points because we will be organising the SEA Games as well in 2015. We will also have, of course, our National Day Parade.”
“I thank the Member for her questions. She has been a big champion of the arts and the Singapore Arts Festival. She would be Page: 105 pleased to know that we have been working very hard at doing our interviews for the Festival Director and the CEO of the Festival Company. We have quite a number of good candidates and the interviews have largely been completed. NAC would be ready to announce the candidates and the names of the Festival Director and the CEO of the company soon. I would also want to manage expectations because it is not easy to gear up again to do an Arts Festival well. It takes at least two to three years to secure international acts. As we start this, the company will be formed, we will have the Arts Director, we will have the CEO. I think we should also give them our full support when the company is eventually formed, recognise that it takes time to build up. So, 2014, they would do their best, but, hopefully, they would be able to gear up in time in 2015 when we celebrate our 50th Anniversary. On the name of the Arts Festival, I do not have strong views. When we talk about giving autonomy to the arts community to take ownership of the Arts Festival, I think that is something that we should put up for the arts community to think through whether, indeed, they would like to call it the "Singapore Arts Festival" or the "Singapore International Arts Festival". That is something we are open to discussing with the arts community.”
“The first question on the matching of demand and supply; demand for sports facilities and the supply of sports facilities. We do see some instances where the demand exceeds supply. So, we would have badminton courts where people want to book, but not enough. At the same time, we would also see some instances where it is the other way round, like I mentioned, some of our old sports facilities, standalone facilities, where we notice that they are not well utilised. We have to, as the Member has said, go in-depth and find ways in which we can marry the two. That is why when we do the sports facilities masterplan, it cannot be top-down. We will have to work with the community as we go into each facility and understand better what are the local demands, what are their needs, and then redesign the facilities to better meet the demands. On the shift in model of corporate sponsorships and support for the sports, we do not have to link that with the charity issue of NSAs. We need to do more in order to think about how we can activate corporate value for sports promotion. We can do that through various means. The governance framework for the NSAs is a separate matter which we should maintain, and there are good reasons why we have the governance framework in place today. But, I think, even within that context, we can still do more through various means to think about different ways to get companies involved in sports.”
“I thank the Member for the clarification. It is an important one. Free entry will apply to all our national museums and heritage institutions, including the National Art Gallery. It will apply to all exhibitions in the museums but, as I said earlier, from time to time, when there are special exhibitions that these museums bring in, especially when they involve external partners and they are quite costly, some charges may apply in the specific context. We have studied in other countries, in the UK for example, and found it is very much a similar model; meaning, free entry across-the-board but, periodically, when there is a special exhibition which is quite costly, then the charges will apply specifically to that exhibition.”
“I should also mention that on the sports facilities and the centres and the timing of it, it is something we will have to work through. As I said, it is a long-term plan. It will be phased out over 20 years. We are still working out the phasing. For the regional centres, we already have plans to do the first one in Tampines. We are looking at something possibly in Punggol. We will see which are the other areas for the regional sports centres. The town sports centres, as I mentioned, are largely going to be redeveloped, not new. We will have to work through in phases progressively and, hopefully, we will be able to do something in Yishun before too long. Page: 103”
“On dollar-for-dollar matching for NSAs, I believe SSC has already done that, but up to a certain limit. I think the question is – can we do more? It is something that we will have to study, given the resources and how we can best allocate them. I would say, for sports, it is somewhat different from the arts. Because when you look at sports funding internationally, there is a lot of corporate support and funding for the sports. And the trigger for corporate sponsorship in sports internationally is usually not government matching grants, but it is what they call activation, meaning advertising, corporate hospitality, different ways in which corporates find value in sponsoring sports. That is something that we need to think about, how we can make it more attractive for companies to get involved in sports, how we can bring value to their corporate sponsorship and their corporate dollar, and then get more corporate funding for the sports. I agree we need to do so. We will find out, whether it is through matching grants or other means. We will have to see, collectively, within the sports community, how to get more corporate support for sports. On the details of the sports budget and where it is allocated and in different areas, I do not have the details with me. We can address that separately if the Member would file a PQ later, or we can take this offline. I would say that we have a good spread of funding across, not just for infrastructure, but we are looking at programmes, we are looking at infrastructure and we are looking at support for our athletes. We are very mindful to make sure that we have a balanced funding framework that supports all of these areas.”
“Page: 102 And how much funding is set aside for retired athletes, especially for those who would like to further their studies?”
“Through all the efforts that I described earlier – the Sports School, SSI, the High Performance System (HPS) – we hope that we can make it more attractive for young people to say, "Look, I will be interested to pursue sports professionally. I know that as an athlete, my lifespan may not be for very long, because there is a limit to how long you can play, but there will also be support to transition to a second career after that". So, all of the measures I have described are really meant to make it more attractive and to support our young Singaporeans in doing sports professionally. We will continue to review and enhance the schemes, and if there are suggestions on what more we can do, we will be happy to review and do so. On MINDEF, interestingly, I had to answer this question last year as the Minister of State for Defence. We know that it is an issue and we will continue to work with MINDEF to find ways to provide flexibility for our national athletes to train. MINDEF already does this to a large extent, wherever possible, while maintaining its principle of equity across NSmen. We are continuously in touch with MINDEF to find ways in which we can provide more support for our athletes in this area. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: Mdm Chair, I got very excited when I saw the beautiful perspective of the upcoming sporting facilities. I do not hope that the residents of Yishun would have to wait for 20 years for their regional sports centre. I would like to clarify. Will the Minister consider dollar-for-dollar matching for those donations that are made to NSAs? This is to encourage the NSAs to work hard to get more donors. Out of the $250 million that Minister mentioned just now, how much of it is for infrastructure and how much is for programmes?”
“I thank the Member for the follow-up questions. On the first point of engaging the alumni, I presume she meant the alumni of the NYC programmes. As I said earlier, that is something that NYC is already doing. It continues to keep in touch with the people who have participated in their programmes or who have benefited from funding. It will try to bring them together and come for dialogue sessions. There is a mailing list and NYC continues to stay in touch with them, build their relationship with them and help them get connected with other young people, especially those with similar interests. Certainly, this can always be improved. NYC is already doing this. There is certainly scope to continue and to deepen the engagement and we will get NYC to do so. The mix of programmes is important. We must make sure that it is diverse and caters to the broad spread of people that we interact with, and that is something we are very mindful of. On the definition of success, I hesitate to offer something that says "ABC" and then that is – and we will have achieved this, because it is really not something that you can quantify. We have talked about many things and I have described them in the speech about outreach, about engagement, about leadership development, about having youths who understand our national challenges. We can describe all of these as what are the outcomes you would like to achieve and it is about working hard to engage and to make sure that we achieve these outcomes. Not all of the outcomes can be measured in quantitative terms. We can also use surveys as a way of keeping a check on whether we are on the right track. We will have a range of indicators and we will continue to work hard at making sure we have authentic engagement with young people. 3.00 pm Page: 101”
“On the Member's first question, the revenue forgone will be made good by MCCY. The museums will not have to worry about that part of the revenue forgone because we will provide them additional funding, all the more important why Members should support more funding for the Ministry.”
“She sees singing in the music industry as not just as a career, but as a way to move others and to do her part to give back and make a difference. There is 74-year-old Mr Lee Yoon Tong. He is one of the six remaining street alley barbers left in Singapore. He has been at this trade for over 50 years. He says that Singapore has progressed well, and life is peaceful and good for its people. Mr Cheang Qing Xin, a 29-year-old rock-climbing enthusiast who believes that you should live life to the fullest. His next project is called "Climbers against Cancer" and it will raise funds for cancer patients all over the world. He says, "Every time when you take a flight back from somewhere, and you fly through the coast and see the HDBs and you think, I'm home, finally." There are many other Singaporeans like them, contributing to our shared culture, and to our engaged community. This is what binds us together and makes Singapore special. This is why we can look to the future with confidence, to a better Singapore, and to a home where we belong.”
“Madam, I have talked about developing a shared culture, through the arts, heritage, and sports; and building an engaged community, through philanthropy, volunteerism and youth engagement. These form part of the Government's broader agenda of change for a better future. Prime Minister Lee had first outlined the agenda in his National Day Rally last year. Many things that we have heard in this House in the last two weeks – the changes in housing and transport, the investments in pre-school and education, the support for the elderly and low-income, the review of healthcare financing – all these are items that we have been working on over the past year, in close consultation with Singaporeans. There will be more changes to come, especially as we embark on the next phase of the Singapore Conversation, and dive deeper into issues that we want to improve. We want to work with Singaporeans to create a better Singapore, and to make Singapore our home. At the end of the day, a home is about its people, and that is what our policies are meant to benefit. Recently, I came across a series of videos called "Singaporean of the Day." The videos highlight particular Singaporeans and provide a glimpse of the lives of ordinary Singaporeans doing extraordinary things. Let me share some of the stories with Members. There is Mary Ee. At 75 and despite being recently fitted with a pacemaker, she still volunteers because she feels that people need people. She says, "It's better to give than to receive. If you can help, help. Don't think of any reward. Page: 98 You must have the love and passion, do it sincerely". There is 26-year-old singer-songwriter Sarah Cheng De-Winne.”
“It has over 200,000 accounts set up so far. There are many other youths like them who have been setting up social enterprises and projects that have benefited from the NYEF. I agree with Mr Alex Yam that the youth scene today has become so much more vibrant and dynamic because of these new ideas from our young people. We want to do more to support ground-up initiatives by our youths in making a difference to the community. The NYEF currently stands at $28 million. We draw on the income every year, and the grant amount awarded from NYEF has been increasing rapidly over the years, reflecting the increased dynamism of our youth sector landscape. At the current pace, the existing funding from the NYEF's investment income will be fully committed by 2015. We will inject an additional $72 million into the fund, on top of the existing $28 million, bringing the total amount to $100 million. And instead of keeping it as an endowment fund, which means that only a small investment income can be utilised annually, we will convert the $100 million fund into a National Page: 97 Youth Fund (NYF), which will be drawn down every year to support youth activities. We expect the Fund to provide an annual budget of about $5 million. That is more than eight times the current annual funding. So, it is a significant increase. The additional funding from the NYF will give a boost to our youths as they go out to champion community and social causes. Whether it is setting up a social enterprise or kick-starting a new social initiative, the NYF will provide our youths with the resources and support they need. Over time, through the NYF and through the efforts of the NYC and its partners, I am confident we can imbue in our youths a strong culture of volunteerism and social participation.”
“NYC already has regular dialogues with youths on social entrepreneurship, and we will be happy to Page: 96 organise more sessions on this through the Singapore Conversation. We will work with partners to build capabilities to encourage more cross-sector collaborations, and develop stronger support networks to further promote social entrepreneurship among our youths. For example, one of the projects which NYC supported through the National Youth Endowment Fund (NYEF) is the HUB Singapore. It is meant as a co-working space, a community where like-minded youths can gather and bounce ideas off one another. In fact, the HUB Singapore is also part of a larger global network with over 35 HUBS and 7,000 members in five continents. This is a place where social entrepreneurs – or "Hubbers" as they call themselves – can find mentorship, support and can build social networks. One of these "Hubbers" is PlayMoolah. It is a social enterprise founded by two NUS graduates, Audrey Tan and Lee Min Xuan. PlayMoolah is meant as a game to teach children financial literacy in a fun way. Incidentally, it is a fun game. The company is also very fun because the co-founders have very interesting job-titles. Audrey is called the "Adventurer & Explorer" and Min, the other co-founder, is called the "Princess of Possibilities". These are young people and that is their creative energy and that is the kind company they have set up. It is a game that allows children to learn about financial literacy. Through the game, the children get to run restaurants and build houses for aliens on a fantasy planet. But by doing this online game, they learn to earn, they learn to save money, they learn to manage their savings and they learn how to reach their financial goals. The game has been very popular.”
“These are all good examples of youthful energies directed to social causes, directed to ways to improve our community. Another good example of a youth-led initiative is Project Dreamcatchers. It was conceived by a group of young people who wanted to help the chronically-ill express their aspirations through art and bring them hope and affirmation in the process. Some of the patients who participated in this programme had the opportunity to present their artworks at the SHINE Youth Festival last year. One of them is 22-year-old Vanessa Leong. She relies on crutches to move around. To remind herself to live positively despite her physical challenges, she created art out of a pair of crutches that she refers to as "Happy Crutches". She said, "Art is a way for me to express myself whenever I feel hopeless. Whenever I'm going through a hard time, this reminds me to keep going". Vanessa hopes to inspire others like her to look on the bright side of life. 2.45 pm These projects exemplify the potential of youths and what they can do for our society. NYC will continue to intensify its support for young people who are looking to initiate projects for a good cause. It will do so in close collaboration with partners from the people and private sectors. Besides providing seed funding for projects like the Young ChangeMaker grants, NYC also supports the development of young start-ups and social enterprises, something that Miss Penny Low spoke about and I know it is something that is very close to her heart. I agree fully with her that our youths are more innovative and entrepreneurial, so we see more and more of them setting up social enterprises, combining business with social good. These are positive trends which we encourage.”
“Many, indeed, return to serve with NYC as leaders, as panel members, as mentors and committee members; and some have even become our Council Members. Ms Tin asked about indicators to track our engagement with young people. We do have some indicators that measure our general outreach, that measure youth leadership, volunteerism and engagement. Overall, the picture is that it is encouraging because we see the indicators improving year after year. But beyond the numbers, what we are really trying to do is to build relationships and quality engagement. There is no perfect way to measure this. Perhaps what is best is to show you examples of what our young people are doing. Some Members may have heard of the Community Service Marathon (CSM). It started out as a one-day volunteer marathon in 2010. Since then, it has become a year-long volunteer movement spearheaded by a group of young people who were so passionate about this that they started their own organisation called Voluntarius, to champion this movement. Page: 95 Last year, the Community Service Marathon organised the "Walk for Causes" in partnership with NYC. The idea was to give young people the chance to adopt a charity or a cause of their choice, and then use the walk to raise awareness about the social needs, and share their love for volunteerism. And the young people came up with many creative ways to support causes close to their hearts – like this group of young people who championed the needs of the elderly, and Members can see them there with a few elderly residents, or another one here – a group of young people who highlighted the importance of child vaccinations, and you can see them carrying cards that say "Bug Off".”
“It will also bring together YSOs and there are many like, to name a few, Halogen Foundation, Heartware Network, YMCA, we will link them together with other non-profit organisations in the youth community like the Social Innovation Park which Miss Penny Low talked about. In this way, NYC can enhance the capacities of YSOs, facilitate innovation and resource-sharing, and build a more vibrant ecosystem to support youth development. Page: 94 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked for an update on our youth outreach platforms. Last year, *SCAPE, our Youth Park, reached out to over 45,000 youths through their programmes. NYC's projects, like the Young ChangeMakers, the Youth Expedition Project (YEP) which sends youths on service learning projects both within and beyond Singapore, and the SHINE Youth Festival have provided many young people with opportunities to be involved in the community, reaching out every year to about 300,000 youths outside the school context. We are also providing many more opportunities for young people to participate in dialogue sessions with policy makers and corporate leaders. Through these sessions, we will not only discuss issues that are important to youths, but also deeper issues like our shared values, or like trade-offs and choices that we have to make in policy. The key to all these is to have authentic engagement with our young people and to involve them in addressing the challenges we face as a nation. When you look at the overall landscape, there is really no shortage of activities and platforms to engage our young people, whether they are in school, or outside of school. NYC stays in touch with the participants in our programmes and actively encourages them to come back and share their experiences with the youth community.”
“And these are different ways in which we can engage people at their working age, involve them in dialogues and also in understanding our policies. Another way we can encourage youth volunteerism outside school is to start building links between students and youth organisations, so that the students get involved in the community at an early age. That is something that Mr Desmond Lee suggested – how we can do more to link up the CCAs in schools with arts, sports and community activities that are happening outside, and I fully agree with him. We can do this now, I think more so than before, because we have a more vibrant youth sector today. We have over 200 Youth Sector Organisations (YSOs), compared with just 70 a decade ago. So, because there are more organisations outside, many of the structured programmes in schools can be done in partnership with the Youth Sector Organisations (YSOs) and with other partners in the community, so that relationships are forged, and the students will hopefully continue their involvement in the community even after they leave school. This is something that MCCY is working on with MOE. Because of the importance of partnerships in the youth sector, the role of the National Youth Council (NYC) has also evolved. NYC no longer focuses on running youth programmes by itself. Instead, it is strengthening its role as a connector and an integrator. In other words, NYC will connect schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) with the Youth Sector Organisations (YSOs) to engage youths outside the classroom and beyond the school years.”
“Ultimately, we want to nurture an inspired and engaged generation of young Singaporeans who will give of their best, both for themselves and for the benefit of others in society. Some Members, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Dr Lam Pin Min and Mr Desmond Lee, asked how we can sustain our engagement efforts with young people after they leave school. I think it is a real challenge and it is something that we have identified. Because as we know, a good number of our young people, when they are in school, the volunteer rates are high. It is not just because of CIP – I think we have to clarify this. The volunteer rates that we measure are over and above CIP, somehow in school, there is high volunteerism but when they reach the ages of 25 to 34, our volunteer rates come down, in what we call a "bathtub effect". To some extent, it is not unexpected because the transition from school to working life is not easy, and many have to juggle new demands and priorities. But it is something that we are looking into and I certainly welcome the ideas from Members on how we can address this better and we will study all of the ideas. Page: 93 One initiative we started last year was to engage young working adults directly. So, we go to the workplaces, we engage them directly through a community platform called INSPIRIT. Through INSPIRIT, young leaders get the opportunity to discuss community and national issues, and volunteer in meaningful projects. We also engage them through learning journeys, where we went on a discussion on our public transport system at SMRT Bishan Depot, and then, subsequently, we visited PSA port. In May this year, we will be going for a learning journey to the Iskandar zone. We do not just go to places in Singapore, we go overseas as well.”
“They provided basketball training for the student-prisoners, and also help to instil character and values. The feedback from the session was very positive, not just from the students, but also from the volunteers who took part. One of our national players said, and I quote him, "When I chose basketball as a professional career, it never occurred to me that we could have this kind of Page: 92 impact on people's lives. I am ready to do this again". This initiative shows what we hope to achieve through SportCares. Building on this experience, we will be organising even more workshops later this year, involving more schools and community partners to reach out to the community, to reach out to disadvantaged groups through sports. Mr David Ong also asked about the amounts raised through SportCares. So far, we have raised almost $300,000 from the various corporate and community partners for 2,600 beneficiaries. SSC is matching all donations dollar-to-dollar, up to the first $1 million raised. Next, let me touch on youth engagement and how we can inspire the best from our youths. I have been involved in youth work for many years, actually even before entering politics, and I would say that our youths possess boundless energy and big hearts. But they need to be engaged and empowered. As Mr Alex Yam said, our youths must feel respected, they must feel that they have a stake in the society they live in and that there is space for them to initiate change and many Members also echoed this view. We must find ways to inspire our young people and provide them with platforms and opportunities where they can pursue their dreams and fulfil their aspirations.”
“Even as we do more for our Team Singapore athletes, we also want to make sure that our former athletes are recognised, something that Mr Teo Ser Luck mentioned. And, indeed, we have set up a Singapore Sports Hall of Fame to honour and commemorate our top athletes. They enjoy various benefits like free entry to SSC's gymnasiums, swimming complexes, and we invite them regularly to our sports events. We also have a Sports Alumni network to keep our former athletes connected to the sports fraternity and to serve as role models for the community. We will continue to review this to see what more we can do to enhance the recognition we provide for our former athletes. At the same time, we would like our athletes – current and the ones before – to give back to the community. This is a slide of some of our Olympians doing so. And SSC will be working with the NSAs to create more opportunities for our athletes to do more outreach and to do more engagement with the community. For example, they can volunteer in good causes they feel strongly about, or conduct clinics in schools to inspire young Singaporeans. Through these efforts, we hope more Singaporeans will identify with our sporting heroes and rally behind them when they represent Singapore at international competitions. More generally, sports offer many opportunities for us to develop volunteerism and philanthropy. That is a point that Mr David Ong mentioned and we agree with him. This is why SSC launched the SportsCares Movement last year, to use sports as a force for social good. For example, in December last year, SportCares organised a three-day basketball workshop at Tanah Merah Prison School. We had 10 players from the Singapore Slingers and two Strength and Conditioning Coaches from the SSI who took part in this event.”
“The way we have designed this is that it will be an inclusive system. All athletes – able-bodied or disabled – will be eligible for nomination by their NSAs, and it does not matter if it is a non-Olympian sport. All can be nominated but selection will have to be based on merit and potential. We only have a limited number of scholarships to give out. But all can nominate and then we will have a panel to select the best. Having said that, those who are not under the scholarship will still get support through the HPS. The scholarship is just one part of it but there is a broader range of support that the HPS will offer and that includes coaching, sports medicine, sports science and training allowance. As Er Dr Lee Bee Wah suggested, we will also look at collaborations with overseas teams and sports organisations to enable our athletes to gain experiences through competitions and exchanges. Overall, we expect the HPS to benefit more than 1,000 national athletes annually. The HPS will be of tremendous help to Team Singapore athletes like canoeist Geraldine Lee. To prepare for the 2011 SEA Games, she took no-pay leave from work for half a year to train full-time. It was difficult because it is a sacrifice that she made, but her efforts paid off when she won a Gold medal and Page: 91 three Silver medals at the SEA Games, and then qualified for the Olympics in 2012. Geraldine sacrificed much in forgoing a regular income to commit to her training. But with the enhanced support available through the HPS, athletes like her can train full-time with less financial worries, and we can also help extend the lifespan of their sporting careers. I believe this will help our athletes fly the Singapore flag and realise their full potential in the international sporting arena.”
“And we will also develop more academic pathways so that students can combine learning with their sports development. Many student-athletes have already benefited from the Sports School's tie-up with Republic Polytechnic. Next year, the Sports School will begin its International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). To further support our young athletes, we have the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI). The SSI provides a high performance sport ecosystem of sports medicine, sports science application, planning and management for our athletes. This year, we will go beyond that to set up a new national High Performance System (HPS), which will provide our national athletes with more Page: 90 comprehensive support. 2.30 pm I agree with the comments of Mr Teo Ser Luck about the broad principles in which the HPS will work. Firstly, we will have to do it in close engagement with the NSAs because they are an important partner. Secondly, we have to think hard about setting appropriate targets, not just about medals but about making our athletes sporting heroes so that they can inspire other people as well. Thirdly, providing assistance for their post-sporting careers so that our athletes will get assistance for education, career and personal development which will equip them with the life skills to make a transition to a second career after their playing days. A key feature of the High Performance System (HPS) is the Sports Excellence (SpEx) Scholarship, which will provide an enhanced level of support, including living allowances for high potential athletes at various levels of competitions. We have set aside $40 million for the SpEx Scholarship over five years and, with this, we expect to be able to support about 50 to 60 top athletes in various sports.”
“So, for the pilot itself, existing facilities will be used for the programmes within the western region; and once we have the new Regional Sports Centres, which are developed – which I talked about earlier – then these new Regional Centres will serve as anchors for the Super Sports Clubs eventually. By enhancing and integrating our sporting hardware and software, we hope all Singaporeans will enjoy fulfilling experiences at venues where families, friends and communities can come together and participate in sports together. While we focus on making sports accessible for everyone in the community, we will also support the aspirations of those who have the talent to excel in their chosen sports. Many Members, including Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Zainudin Nordin, Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Teo Ser Luck, raised this issue of sports excellence. And I would like to assure Members that we will continue to invest and we will, in fact, invest more in our sporting talents to help them realise their full potential. We already have the Singapore Sports School (SSP) which is nurturing our young sports talent. And so far the school has produced nearly 250 national athletes who have competed on the international stage. They include four Olympians – athlete Calvin Kang who competed in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and Tao Li, Mylene Ong and Dipna Lim-Prasad who represented us in swimming and athletics at the London 2012 Olympics. Besides them, the honour list of SSP – Sports School – graduates includes seven world champions, 30 Asian Games athletes and 89 SEA Games athletes. I think they are doing very well and we will continue to support them. We will continue to invest in the Sports School to lay strong foundations for our young athletes to pursue their sporting careers.”
“SSC will develop this Super Sports Club concept but it cannot be done by SSC alone and, as I have said, SSC will have to work in partnership with all the different providers, sports groups, as well as schools. And the schools will be a very important partner because, as Er Dr Lee Bee Wah said, we do know of children who are very keen to play sports in a school but perhaps they did not get into the CCA of their choice and that is something we hope to address because by linking up with the schools, the Super Sports Club can provide additional avenues for students to play games like basketball or other sports that they are interested in. And, hopefully, if we do this well, there will be many others, like Er Dr Lee Bee Wah who will then take up multiple sports, represent their Universities in multiple sports and go on to lead our National Sports Associations. Over the past year, SSC has been working on the possible operating model and the programme to be implemented by the Super Sports Club. And this year, we are ready to pilot the Super Sports Club, and we will start in the western region. Discussions with partners, such as schools in the region, programme providers and sports clubs, such as Gombak United, have been very positive, and we will bring all of them on board when we are ready. We will also consider Mr David Ong's suggestion to provide a wider spectrum of sports activities, including recreational sports that may not have mass appeal. Page: 89 With this pilot, I think we will gain experience and then we will use that experience, to fine-tune and strengthen the concept of the Super Sports Club before progressively expanding the programmes to other regions.”
“We do not want our sport facilities to be just functional areas – places where people go, play sports and then leave – I think that is not going to be well-utilised. Instead, we want our centres to be vibrant community nodes, where people can pick up a new skill, participate in competitions and games and connect with one another through sports. To achieve this, we will need to Page: 88 beef up the sports programming offered in the centres and link up with existing programme providers and organisations, like our schools and our Community Sports Clubs. Today, many of them already offer sporting programmes, but our sense is that their efforts tend to be somewhat standalone and not well integrated, so there are gaps. For example, we have high participation rates in sports among school children, but once they graduate and leave school, their sports participation tends to drop after that. And we aim to address these gaps through the concept of what we call the "Super Sports Club". Mr David Ong mentioned that. It is something that we are looking to develop to offer Singaporeans more opportunities to sustain their interest and participation in sports. How will this work? The idea is to have a platform where we can pool together existing providers and existing interest groups and sports clubs. So, for example, if there are people interested in playing basketball, the Super Sports Club in the region will bring them together, offer basketball clinics and lessons conducted by professional instructors for different levels of play, and organise competitions and leagues so that everyone can find teams to play with, and events to hone their sporting skills.”
“For example, Members can see the new Crest Secondary School facilities which will have a football field with floodlights that can be used by the public at night, in addition to an indoor sports hall, outdoor basketball court and sheltered outdoor street soccer court. All these will provide residents with a wider range of facilities for longer hours. And, finally, we will redesign our standalone SSC facilities into more innovative play areas for residents to enjoy. For example, we have old swimming complexes which are somewhat under-utilised, and they can be re-designed into play fields with gym, outdoor courts, as well as interactive water features to serve residents of all ages. So, collectively, when you look at the plan, at the regional, town and community levels, our aim is to bring quality sports facilities within easy reach of residents in every neighbourhood and ensure adequate facilities to cater to Singaporeans' needs, and they will be accessible and affordable to members of the public As I mentioned earlier, this is a long-term masterplan. I have only outlined the broad concept and there is still much work to be done. In implementing this masterplan, SSC will work closely with the community and we will incorporate suggestions and ideas from residents in the design of the facilities. We see this masterplan very much as a co-created outcome involving close consultations with our partners and stakeholders. Over time, we will enhance the sports and recreational spaces in our neighbourhoods and build a quality environment where all Singaporeans can live better through sports. But our efforts cannot just only focus on the physical infrastructure. I think besides that, it is important we must also do more to have quality sports programmes.”
“Wherever possible, they will be co-located with other community facilities and conveniently located near transport nodes and town hubs to offer seamless access and a new experience, not just for the individual but for the whole family. This is at the regional level. If you take it one step lower, at the neighbourhood level, we will also do several things to improve access to sports facilities for Singaporeans. First, at the HDB town level, we will have Town Sports and Recreation Facilities. It is going to be largely redeveloped from our existing sports and recreation centres – so we are not building new ones but we are going to redevelop our existing ones – but these redeveloped Town Sports Centres will have a broader range of sport and recreational amenities than the existing facilities, and we will try to integrate them better with park connectors and other leisure offerings. So, the intent is to cater to a wider audience, include multi-generational families with diverse needs, and bring sports, games and leisure activities conveniently to one place. At the community level, we will also design and build sporting facilities within the constituency itself. This includes tapping on programmes like the Page: 87 existing Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) or the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme, to upgrade the sports and recreation facilities within the precinct, and we will work with community and interest groups to bring in programmes and activities for residents. Third, we will also continue to work with the Ministry of Education to open up more school sport facilities for the public. We have already been doing so and we will continue in this direction.”
“All of us have fond memories of the former National Stadium, and so we look forward to bringing back the Kallang Roar in full force when the Lions play its Page: 86 first match at the new National Stadium next year, and I encourage Singaporeans to go to the Sports Hub, not just to watch sporting events, but to make full use of the facilities there and enjoy the diverse range of shopping, F&B and entertainment options that the Sports Hub will offer. While the Sports Hub will be a major sports facility catering to all Singaporeans, we recognise that many also take part in sports in their neighbourhood, and there is a need for adequate facilities there as well, a point which Dr Lam Pin Min mentioned. So, we will put in place a new Sports Facilities Masterplan (SFMP) to build new sports facilities in towns and neighbourhoods, and to rejuvenate and redevelop existing ones. This is a long-term plan and we will embark on it in phases over the next 20 years. What do we hope to achieve? Well, by 2030 we plan to have up to five Regional Sports Centres (RSCs) across the island. It will be bigger and better than our existing sports and recreation centres, and we hope that they will serve as focal points for sports competitions, leagues and events. So, they will be designed with a wider array of facilities that will serve to bring the community together, including higher seating capacity in the stadium, LED screens, for example, to cater for better spectator experience. Besides the facility itself, the Regional Sports Centre will also have other complementary lifestyle and recreational amenities.”
“Because of our many commitments at work and with our families, it is easy to place sports lower down on our list of priorities. And even when Singaporeans do take part in a sport, we see more of them doing so individually. So, they go for jogging – which has become very popular – swimming or going to the gym, rather than doing sports together with family and friends. And so the question is: what can we do to encourage a sporting lifestyle in Singapore not just for individuals but also for our communities? We have two broad strategies. The first strategy is to enhance our public sports facilities. Several Members talked about this and I think it is crucial meeting the sporting and fitness needs of Singaporeans. The second strategy is to complement facilities with attractive programmes to meet the diverse interests and needs of Singaporeans. We must sustain interest in sports through positive and engaging experiences. As Mr Nicholas Fang mentioned, we also want to encourage a culture of sports spectatorship – watching sports – so that families and friends can meet, cheer for their favourite players and bond over a game of sports. One key catalyst for all this is the development of the Singapore Sports Hub. As Mr Zainudin Nordin said earlier, it will be a tremendous boost to the local sporting scene. The Sports Hub will serve as the training centre for many of our national athletes and will attract top sporting events to Singapore, and will give Singaporeans a greater choice of quality sporting programmes and many exciting activities. More importantly, we want the Sports Hub and our new National Stadium to be icons that Singaporeans will be proud of, and I think it is very important.”
“Over the next five years, state funding in sports programming will increase by more than $250 million. We will also double our infrastructure investments. The additional investment will largely be committed to operating a wider network of sports facilities, enhanced programming and various engagement platforms to build a strong sports culture. However, we recognise that the Government and the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) cannot do this alone. It really requires the combined efforts and synergies with many partners. One of the most important partners, of course, is our National Sport Associations (NSA) because they play a critical role in promoting a sports culture and sports excellence. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked about funding for the NSAs. Mr Nicholas Fang also alluded to this. SSC currently provides direct funding to the NSAs through annual NSA grants exercise framework. SSC also provides indirect support through sports science and medicine, shared services and usage of sports facilities. However, I know that resources continue to be a Page: 85 concern for the NSAs and I have asked SSC to look at the funding framework, and to work with the NSAs to see how we can better manage and optimise our resources. Part of this also includes looking at manpower needs, a point that Mr Nicholas Fang mentioned and he also asked about this in a PQ earlier on sports administration. And so we will look at it holistically – funding as well as manpower requirements in the broader context of the sports sector – and see how we can better support our NSAs. Several Members, including Dr Lam Pin Min, have highlighted the constraints that Singaporeans face when it comes to sports.”
“Madam, before I start on this part of the speech, I thought I should just clarify because I was alerted that when I talked about the Cultural Donation Matching Fund earlier, I mis-spoke and I said "$20 million", which is, obviously, not correct. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman had announced the Fund as $200 million – it is 10 times more. So, please do not be worried that we have reduced it. Page: 84 Madam, I thank all the Members who have spoken so passionately about sports and youth issues. These are important facets of our Singapore culture and community which I talked about earlier. In particular, few things rally the emotions and fire up the Singapore spirit like the sports. Late last year, when the Lions played in the Suzuki Cup finals, cheers rang out across our island, from downtown pubs to heartland coffee shops. Sports is a language that all can understand. Sports is important for healthy living, personal development and social bonding. It is a leisure activity that all can enjoy. And at its best, sports can bring people together, no matter what our race, background or economic status. 2.15 pm I agree fully with Members Mr Nicholas Fang and Er Dr Lee Bee Wah about the importance of having a strong sports culture. And this is why we want to give every Singaporean the opportunity to experience sports, to live better through sports, whether as a sportsperson, an amateur player, a spectator or a volunteer. This is also why we are increasing our investments in both software and hardware to implement initiatives under the sports Vision 2030 masterplan. As mentioned by Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, we must work hard to translate our plans from paper to reality to promote sports for all and also to promote sports excellence.”
“For example, in Dover Park Hospice, its investment in volunteers is a critical part of helping its patients live life to the fullest in their final days. As work in a hospice can be emotionally draining, its volunteers are given very thorough training in end-of-life care and provided with counselling support. And as a result, more than half of Dover Park Hospice's 260 active volunteers have stayed with the organisation for five years or more. We hope to see more volunteers build long-term relationships with the charities that they are involved in, and be engaged in ways that they find fulfilling and meaningful. Volunteers are more likely to stay on when they find Page: 59 joy and fulfilment in their volunteering experience. To help our charities sustain volunteer involvement, MCCY will work with the NVPC to develop a Volunteer Management Consultants initiative. So, NPOs will be able to tap on the services of a team of Volunteer Management Consultants to build their volunteer management capabilities, such as designing programmes for volunteers, and helping volunteers contribute more effectively. Mdm Chair, building a distinctive shared culture and an engaged community take time. It is not something the Government can mandate. It must be driven by the conviction of Singaporeans who care enough to do something to shape the character and tone of our society. I am optimistic that with the heartfelt calls for a stronger cultural core and a more engaged community, we can work together to build a home we are proud of.”
“At the end of the day, it is about our social compact. It is about what the Government does and public expectations of the Government. If we want to open space for more ground up initiatives, all of us as leaders must be prepared to explain to our constituents and to our people that, sometimes, it is better for the Government to do less and for solutions to emerge from the ground, which are messier but more organic. It is not always easy to do this because if you listen to speeches made in this House over the past two weeks, I think I have only heard calls for the Government to do more, not less. But nevertheless, as I described earlier, there are positive trends and we should continue to move in this direction and identify areas where you can have less Government and more bottom-up initiatives. This is how we can nurture the kampong spirit in our urban city, and strengthen the sense that this is our home. While it is heartening that more Singaporeans are volunteering their time for good causes, there are also some new patterns emerging. For example, we have noticed that those who volunteer are contributing less time compared to previous years. More people are also volunteering on an occasional, rather than a regular basis. From time to time, we have heard feedback from volunteers who are disappointed with their volunteering experience, and they decide not to continue serving after that. There are several reasons why this happens. Maybe the charities that they volunteer in are overwhelmed in serving the needs of their beneficiaries and, therefore, do not have capabilities to engage their volunteers well. But when non-profit organisations (NPOs) put in place best practices for volunteer management, we found that it really pays off.”
“I do not have a picture of them unfortunately, but they call themselves the "Super Mummies". These mothers come together to look after one another's children and support one another to overcome difficulties that parents face. Although it is difficult to coordinate the schedules of so many people, they have found a way to make it work. I have highlighted what some of the elderly and parents do, but we also see positive trends in our younger generation – they are more active, more engaged and prepared to do their part for the community. At a recent Singapore Conversation meeting, I was struck when a Polytechnic student asked, "Why must there always be a policy answer to all our problems?" And she added, "let's ‘unpolicy' some policies." I learnt a new word – "unpolicy". She was advocating that people solve problems by themselves and I think that was very refreshing. Earlier this year, I had a conversation with University students, and the theme of their forum was "More than Ourselves, A Generation that Cares". So, I think there is hope for us to move in this direction. We should encourage more of such civic activism. We will be happy to experiment the different models – as Mr Laurence Lien suggested. Being bold in trying out different models, whether it is at the RCs or in community groups, or in providing seed funding for the community. I would also say Mr Laurence Lien made a very important point that the Government should step back and create space for genuine empowerment. Mr Lien said that some public agencies are not so good at doing this. But I think it is not just about public agencies or public officers. Our public officers are committed and responsible and they will do their jobs well. That is their duty Page: 58 and that is their responsibility.”
“It has to be embedded within the work of the entire government. It is about connecting people, nurturing relationships, and providing spaces and shared activities where people get to know one another. And as we do this well collectively, we can build up a larger community or nationwide community with a sense of belonging to Singapore. The good news is that we do see more Singaporeans actively involved in doing community projects. During the ‘Singapore Conversation', many participants said that they would like to see a more compassionate and inclusive society, where the spirit of giving, volunteerism, and helping one another is a natural part of our lives. To some extent, this is already happening. Every day, all over the island, acts of kindness are carried out by Singaporeans. They may not always be visible to the public eye, but they reflect the generous spirit of our people and our desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Page: 57 And over the past year, the survey done by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) shows that one in three Singaporeans is engaged in volunteer acts. This is the highest rate of volunteerism since we started our survey, and it shows that we are moving on the right track. One example is 70-year-old Mdm Tay Chay Hiang who proves the point that the more you volunteer, the happier you are and the younger you can look. Despite recently undergoing several medical operations, Mdm Tay is still a faithful volunteer with the Lions Befrienders. Twice a week, she visits senior citizens who live alone to see if they need help, even going the extra mile by cooking meals for them. Some volunteer in groups – and I have a group of over 70 mothers living in the Henderson area.”
“How connected you are determines your level of happiness. Because when we are socially connected, good deeds are reciprocated, and we help, trust, and rely on each other. These relationships help us feel emotionally supported, and they enrich our lives. Social ties across different communities are all the more important in Singapore because of our multiracial and multi-religious society. Over many Page: 56 years of patient effort, Singaporeans of all races and religions have learnt to trust one another, to give and take, and to accommodate each other's different customs and ways of life. But as Mr David Ong and Mr Desmond Lee reminded us just now, we must never take this for granted. I agree with them that more needs to be done to strengthen our community bond, especially with new citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) in the mix. We are already looking at ways to do so. I chair the National Integration Council (NIC), and through the Council and its partners, we are helping our new citizens and PRs embrace our cultural core and adapt to our local norms and values. This will help them to interact meaningfully with Singaporeans, forge stronger bonds with our community, and contribute to nation-building. 1.00 pm At the same time, we should do more to foster interaction between Singaporeans of different races and religions. We cannot force this, but we must do our best to encourage it. We have some ideas, which Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sam Tan would share later in his speech. Singaporeans need to know one another, socialise together, and make friends with people who belong to different races and religions. This is the way to widen the common ground and achieve unity in diversity. More importantly, community-building, like culture, cannot be done by a single agency.”
“We do not have details now, but, for now, what we have are some preliminary views on the principles in which the Matching Fund should work: (a) we think it is better for the potential beneficiaries to be the ones doing the fundraising rather than a central agency because this will enable the agency that is doing the fundraising to nurture donor relations; (b) we want the scheme to benefit a broad range of art institutions, and so there is a need to ensure that the matching grants are disbursed in a generally equitable manner, and not monopolised by a few large beneficiaries; and (c) we also want to ensure that the matching grants are used in a way that is impactful and sustainable, and can support capability-building in the cultural sector over the long term. Based on these broad principles, we will consult donors and potential beneficiaries to see how best to design the matching scheme. We will have a consultation paper that we will put up for views, and we will firm up the details when the consultation is completed later this year. Mdm Chair, I have outlined some of the plans to build a strong cultural core through the arts and heritage. Let me now turn to the other C – community, and the need to build more connections between our people. I think this is a point which several Members have raised too, like Mr Baey Yam Keng, Mr David Ong and Mr Laurence Lien. We have all seen surveys of how Singapore has done well economically, but lags behind in terms of happiness. There are, of course, different ways to raise our happiness index. Hopefully, free museums will do so by some margin. But many studies show that the most important factor in happiness is the level of social connectedness in the community. It is not just in Singapore. Many studies around the world show this.”