Lee Boon Yang
Singapore
“6 The other guidelines are that there must be a post office sited within 5 km of every private residential estate and within 1 km of any commercial or industrial estate. MAID LEVY CONCESSION (Applications by the disabled) 32.”
“Madam, can I quickly respond to the point on assistive technology? Certainly this is an area of interest. We cannot say that we have the capability at this juncture but we will certainly look into what is possible and work with our ICT sector.”
“Nevertheless, if the spouse of the homemaker is working, he will be eligible for WIS if he satisfies the criteria. Husbands of homemakers are further eligible for tax relief.”
“Sir, I do not think it is quite correct to say that we always expect our own artists to perform for free or do public service. There are, of course, occasions where we do seek Singapore artists and arts companies to contribute to the national causes. For instance, when we went international for Singapore Season in China.”
“Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) what checks does the Ministry or the National Environment Agency have in place to prevent mistaken payments to hawkers who cease operations due to upgrading works at hawker centers; (b) how did the mistaken payment of $18,000 to Mdm Lee Ah Muey come about; and (c) what will the…”
“While it was also true that initially the reaction or the response of the licensing authority was that foreigners should not participate in such an event at the Speakers' Corner - because there is already an existing prohibition against any foreigners taking part in any activities at the Speakers' Corner - subsequent assessment resulted i…”
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“Sir, the Member for Chua Chu Kang mentioned that his farmers, and I believe farmers throughout Singapore, will require some time to phase out their operations. We are aware of that. In our recommendation,to the Government regarding the implementation plan for phasing out pig farms, we will certainly provide adequate time for them to run down their business and to sell off their stocks. Sir, the Member for Chua Chu Kang next requested the Government to carefully monitor the importation of pigs during this phasing out programme. Singapore advocates a free market policy, free market for the import of live pigs and pork. It would not be in our long-term interest now to clamp down on the import of pigs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, that being the case, I appreciate the concern shown by the Member for Whampoa. Sir, the Member for Chua Chu Kang spoke about his 600 pig farmers who are facing an uncertain future. Sir, the policy on pig farming is very clear, and very clear-cut. It has been decided that pig farms should be phased out of Singapore and, as I had reported to this House earlier this month, my Ministry is working out a plan to enable such phasing-out to take place with minimal hardship and distress to the farmers concerned. We shall be making an announcement on the plan itself in the near future. 12.30 pm Sir, farmers who are affected by resettlement do face some difficulty in adapting to a new life-style. We are fully aware of it. For those who are interested, we will of course consider their applications for market produce stalls. After all, Sir, they have been dealing with pork and other food items. Market produce stall is the nearest to their former livelihood. For those who wish to go into the cooked food business, the problem here is that priority should be given to street hawkers who are causing a serious pollution problem, as exemplified by street hawkers in Bugis Street described by my Minister. The Member for Punggol raised the point about compensation being $120,000 and that it is not adequate for them to start a new life. On the average, a resettled pig farmer receives an ex gratia payment well in excess of $150,000 which should be sufficient for him to purchase a HDB flat with something left to give him a good start in a small business. Perhaps if the resettled farmers are particularly interested in cooked food, they could take up a cooked food stall in one of the coffee shops which are springing up in the new towns.”
“Is that not in itself, Sir, indicative that our lifestyle in Singapore is changing to the point where people are more comfortable, more willing and better prepared to use the facilities offered by the mini-markets and supermarkets with their extended hours of shopping? Mr Jeyaretnam: You still have not answered my question.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Committee in 1981 made a thorough assessment of all forms of retail - food retail, cooked food retail, market produce retail, and after exhaustive investigation came to the conclusion that wet markets would no longer be the most efficient and effective means of distributing or retail"ng our food in Singapore in the context of a modern Singapore. The other point that I want to remind the Member for Anson is that a wet market entails a high cost in terms of manpower. A very large number of people is required to man these very few stalls in the perspective of the number of hours that they actually operate. And the alternative offered by the HDB which is responsible for building all the new towns is a far better solution for the residents. The supermarkets and the mini-markets operate for much longer hours of shopping for the convenience of the residents. If our residents are to have food, fresh good quality food available to them at their convenience in a mini-market or a supermarket which opens from 9.30 in the morning to 9.30 in the evening must represent a tremendous improvement of service. It also makes it so much easier for all the working mothers, the working women, on their way home, to just purchase what they need and go home and cook for the family; rather than rush out early in the morning to do their shopping in a wet market which is congested, wet, as he says, and very often very crowded. The other point, Mr Speaker, Sir, which I would like to remind the Member for Anson is that we have in the past built many wet markets, and at the present moment many of these markets have large numbers of vacant stalls. Many of the stalls are unoccupied. Many of the people who have taken up the stalls have discontinued their business.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Anson has been in this House longer than 1. He was in this House on 14 March 1984 when my predecessor, the hon. Member for Changi, informed this House and, of course, the Member for Anson too, and here, Mr Speaker, Sir, allow me to quote: 'In 1981, a study team chaired by the former Senior Parliamentary Secretary of my Ministry and comprising Members of Parliament and officials from the Ministry of the Environment, Primary Production Department, HDB and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was set up to review the existing retail distribution system. In their reivew, the study team recommended that wet markets be replaced by supermarkets, specialty and neighbourhood stores. My Ministry has not built wet markets for many years and HDB has also stopped building wet markets in their new housing estates. It has also been decided that no more new food centres will be built in the future by the Ministry of the Environment or the HDB.' [Hansard, cols. 995 - 996]”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there may be some increase in costs but the quality of service is increased to justify this increase in cost. The more important thing is that this Government continues to provide full employment, continues to manage the economy such that people have good employment, and they receive salaries that are commensurate with their skills, so that they are able to afford this marginal increase for better quality services. Overall, Sir, this is our objective. We want to raise the standard of living of all Singaporeans. We want to give them the means to afford a better quality of life.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government, in particular my Ministry, is aware that more and more people are eating outside their home. This has to be so, as we encourage more and more of our women to leave the home to join the workforce. It is part of the change in our lifestyle. And, as I said in my answer, HDB, in its development of new towns where more than 80% of our population will be living in the future, will build alternative forms of food outlets, a different style from what we formerly associate with our cheap hawker centre. It will be a proper eating establishment incorporating good standards of hygiene in the food preparation areas, clean environment for the tired working people to relax in and to have their meals, congenial surroundings for them to have their cup of coffee. With all these steps being taken, I think the problem of people eating outside their home will not exist.”
“Sir, in May 1971, the Government decided to build markets and food centres to accommodate all the street hawkers. There were then about 17,800 hawkers on the streets. Today, some 17,300 of these hawkers have been relocated into markets and food centres. There are now only 546 street hawkers. They will be housed by the end of this year, or early next year, in suitable food centres. There are a total of 25,448 food and market produce stalls housed mainly in centres managed by HDB, MOE, and other statutory boards. 1,525 of the market produce stalls are housed in 14 private markets. Sir, the Ministry of the Environment has no plans to build any more food centres, as the relocation programme is nearing completion. We have barely over 500 more hawkers to be resettled. The HDB has indicated that they will not build any more food centres or wet markets in their new housing estates. Instead, they will build supermarkets. They will provide appropriate shopping places for people to operate mini-markets, neighbourhood shops, specialty shops, and eating establishments such as coffee shops, fast food outlets and other food retail outlets. Sir, Singaporeans have a wide variety of food outlets to suit their taste and budget. There are 192 food centres with some 9,069 foodstalls, 1,508 eating houses with a total of 8,805 food stalls. Over and above these stalls, there are still numerous other snack bars, fast food outlets, restaurants spread out all over the island. Apart from those provided by HDB as part of its amenities for housing estates, the private sectors can also set up food centres and eating establishments to cater for the demand of the residents and the working population.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Anson has a habit of smelling a rat when there is not any around. He has a suspicious turn of mind. What I said earlier on was that the Government has come to an agreement with 90% of the farmers who had incurred expenses as a result of the programme to require them to set up waste treatment plants. All these expenses have been documented and the Committee has reviewed all the claims to the expenses, and where each and every expense is justified it has been reimbursed in full. PUNGGOL/TAMPINES AREA (Fly menace) 2. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the sudden increase of flies in the Punggol/ Tampines area, particularly around the Chinese New Year season; what were the causes and what measures have been taken to eradicate this menace and whether the situation is under control.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, many of the pig farmers are operating their farms on Temporary Occupation Licences (TOL). If their farms are occupying lands that are required for other development purposes, they will be resenled and they will be paid an ex gratia payment. For those who at this present moment so decide by themselves that they want to voluntarily quit pig farming and since the Government does not have an immediate need for that piece of land, I think there is no particular reason to offer compensation. But if this phasing-out of pig farming is carried out because, as I said, of other public development projects, then of course there will be compensation paid. Mr Jeyaretnam rose ---”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry, as I have said, is still considering various options that are available to us in the phasing out of pig farms in Singapore. We expect to be able to come to a conclusion very soon and we will make an announcement, as I mentioned earlier, in particular, to the three Members who have pig farmers among their constituents. The question of compensation that was raised by the Member will be part of the overall solution to this problem, a solution that we will provide to all farmers who are affected by this phasing-out programme.”
“Sir, does this imply that the Member for Potong Pasir did not make proper calculations when he alleged in public that the HDB made $20,000 and $40,000 for a 3- and 4-room flat respectively?”