Lee Hsien Loong
Singapore
“Yes, of course, every time I sell the land, I put money into the Reserves, but I am not putting the money into the Reserves all today. I am putting it in a stream of payments, 30 years apart.”
“Speaker, Sir, I do not think it was a very difficult question to figure out, that when I spoke to MTI, I spoke to the Minister, because Mr Gan Kim Yong is the Minister for Trade and Industry.”
“" I think that would have been unjust because he has not been charged. If there is a case, the case has not been heard, he has not been found guilty or acquitted or whatever. I cannot prejudge a case based on an incomplete investigation – started recently, or a partial investigation, just entered into the formal phase.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first, Mr Leong is quibbling over words. In February, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin told me, "I offer to resign". I said, "Yes, sort out your constituency first". In other words, decision taken. The moment to execute it, I will decide. So, it is quite clear. Legally, he has not resigned.”
“Sorry, Mr Speaker, to respond to Ms Poa on why not no pay leave. It is my judgement to make. The Civil Service works in one way; their basis is if you have been convicted, then you are on zero pay and other consequences will follow.”
“I am very happy to note that Assoc Prof Jamus Lim appreciates the second key and is seeking a third. And I hope that it portends a change in your attitude towards the Elected President and his custodial powers. But I think the Brazil example is a very interesting one.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,557 lines we hold for Lee Hsien Loong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 23 of 32.
“To help alleviate the immediate problems, we announced on 17th April a relief package worth $230 million. These measures were targeted at the sectors most affected by the SARS outbreak, namely, the tourism and transport-related sectors. The measures will not fully offset the impact on these businesses, but they will help them tide over the difficult period and save jobs, wherever possible. Home Quarantine Allowance Scheme There is another group who need help. People who have been placed under Home Quarantine Orders (HQOs), have so far not been given any allowance or assistance. We have left it to employers to work out their own arrangements, for instance, by putting employees on HQOs on medical leave. As the HQO cases were initially dispersed and the number manageable, this did not pose a problem. However, the closure of the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre and the imposition of HQOs on about 2,400 stallholders and workers at the Centre showed that HQOs may need to be imposed on large numbers when a business establishment is ordered to shut. Furthermore, if the Government can mitigate the financial burden of the HQOs on the quarantined persons, it will reduce the incentive for people to breach the HQO in order to continue working. Also, people will be more willing to be identified and quarantined when they are traced as the contacts of a SARS case. The Government will therefore implement a Home Quarantine Order Allowance Scheme, to be administered by the CDCs. Under the scheme, the Government will pay an allowance to self-employed persons who are serving HQOs, to make up part of their income. It will also give the allowance to establishments whose employees have been affected by HQOs.”
“Tourist arrivals have fallen by 61% in the first 13 days of April and are expected to fall sharply for the second quarter of 2003. A number of events, conferences and conventions scheduled for April and May this year have been cancelled or postponed. China, which is our fastest growing source of tourist arrivals before the outbreak, has banned organised travel to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Arrivals from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong have declined sharply. I was in one hotel a few days ago and I talked to a worker there, and he said, "We have five lifts. Three are closed. There is nobody to ride up and down. We are only operating two to save electricity. The workers have been put on leave. When their leave runs out, they will be asked to go on no-pay leave." Times are tough for the industry. So far, the manufacturing sector has not been affected. But if the SARS situation deteriorates in the region or in the major industrial countries, it will affect our export markets and important trading partners. It could shake global confidence, and disrupt production and new investments. Then the impact on us will be broader-based, and more severe. We cannot predict exactly how the situation will unfold, but MTI has lowered the GDP growth forecast for this year to 0.5% to 2.5%. This is on the assumption that the outbreak does not spread worldwide and become a global pandemic. The unemployment rate is expected to increase beyond the 4.2% last December. While we will try to preserve as many jobs as possible, we have to expect more retrenchments this year, especially in the tourism and transport-related sectors. Relief measures The Government recognises the economic hardship brought about by SARS.”
“We hope that we will not need these arrangements, but should any such situation develop we will be prepared. Battlefront 2 - The Economy The second battlefront is the economy. The Government is working with the Singapore Business Federation and business chambers to encourage businesses to adopt business continuity plans, so that they can continue to operate even if their staff fall ill. Special attention has been placed on essential services, such as utilities, to ensure uninterrupted services. At the industry level, firms in the tourism trade are working with the Singapore Tourism Board to devise ways to bring tourists back when the SARS situation stabilises. It is also important that investors and analysts understand the true SARS situation in Singapore, and what we are doing to get things under control. Our policy is full and transparent disclosure, so that there is no doubt of the true picture and people can trust our statements. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been briefing the heads of foreign missions here, while EDB is in contact with the multi-nationals as well as their corporate headquarters, to keep them updated on the situation. Impact of SARS on the economy At the beginning of the year, Singapore's economic outlook was mainly clouded by the impending Iraq War and its impact on oil prices. The war in Iraq has now ended, and oil prices have fallen, lifting some of these uncertainties. However, SARS is now putting a strain on our economy and creates a new and greater uncertainty for us. The tourism and transport-related industries, such as hotels, restaurants, retail, airlines, cruise ships, travel agents and taxi services, have been most severely hit. Air travel has been reduced sharply.”
“These measures make Changi Airport both a safe transit point for passengers from all round the world, as well as a safe place to visit. There is no reason for either locals or foreigners to avoid Changi Airport. We are also paying close attention to the Causeway and the Second Link, where more than 100,000 travellers move in and out daily. We have installed thermal scanners at both the Woodlands and Tuas land checkpoints. Singapore and Malaysian health and immigration officials have been meeting to discuss the SARS problem, and will work closely together to draw up measures to screen for SARS at the Causeway and the Second Link. Newly arrived work pass holders coming from SARS affected areas are being required to undergo a 10-day quarantine to minimise the risk of their bringing in SARS to the workplace. ASEAN leaders recognise the seriousness of the SARS problem, and the need for a collective response. They are holding a Special ASEAN Leaders' meeting in Bangkok next week, to coordinate our efforts and collectively respond to SARS as a region. We need to work out measures to manage the movement of people across ASEAN borders, so that we can stop SARS from spreading between countries while we maintain the flow of commerce. Plan for the unexpected Besides taking immediate steps to keep the SARS outbreak under control, the Ministerial Committee has also been working out contingency plans to deal with various scenarios that could arise. These include measures relating to health, the economy, transport, border control, childcare centres, kindergartens and schools, emergency housing and social support, and public communications. For example, we are working out the housing and social support plan should a large number of people need to be quarantined, all at once.”
“After that we will progressively supply the homes with thermometers, and each home should have one. By June, every student and every household should have a thermometer, and should use it. Safeguard borders A third major concern is to prevent fresh cases of SARS from being introduced into Singapore by travellers, and Singaporeans infected with SARS from going abroad and infecting other countries. SARS is a major problem in China and Hong Kong, and cases have been reported in nearly every country in the region, including Malaysia and Indonesia. We must expect new index cases to enter Singapore from time to time. This was, in fact, how the SARS outbreak in Singapore started. We cannot shut our borders, and stop the movement of people and businesses completely. But we must institute effective border controls, to identify people with fever so that they can be examined more thoroughly by doctors. We have built thermal scanners that enable us to scan the temperatures of large numbers of people efficiently and without intrusion. If you walk past the scanner and your face looks green on the monitor, that means you are in the pink of health. If your face looks red, the Chinese say the kuan kong face, then you better see a doctor. We have already started screening all inbound air passengers from SARS affected areas. This includes passengers coming into Changi Airport for transit. As soon as we acquire more scanners, we will extend the screening to inbound passengers from all areas. We have also started screening all passengers departing from Singapore. At the airport, when you go from the land side to the air side through the barrier, you will be screened.”
“It has disseminated to all Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) units information on SARS, tips on personal hygiene, travel advisory, and procedures for handling suspected SARS cases. Critical units are working in shifts to ensure that operations continue seamlessly in case there is an outbreak in the units. All recruits and NSmen undergoing in-camp training will be screened for SARS daily. By the end of this month, MINDEF will issue personal thermometers to all MINDEF and SAF personnel to do twice daily temperature checks. These measures will keep the SAF SARS-free, while maintaining its operational readiness. It is a useful practice for Singaporeans to take their own temperatures daily and, if they have a fever, to stay away from work or school and see their doctor. Temperatures are already being taken at many workplaces and large gatherings, and Members had their temperatures taken before coming into Parliament House today. It reassures everyone who is there that the group is less likely to contain an infectious SARS case, and it helps to detect early anyone who is ill, before he can infect too many people. Even if this measure is only partially effective, it will still reduce the chances of SARS spreading from one person to many others, and thus help us to bring the outbreak under control. Every home should have a thermometer. Every Singaporean should know how to take his temperature, so that he can take personal responsibility for his own health, and monitor his own and his family's temperatures. It will take a month or two to obtain the supplies, distribute the thermometers to homes, and teach Singaporeans how to use them. Our first priority is to provide all pupils in schools, and SAF personnel, with thermometers.”
“We will also ensure that our environmental workers are properly equipped and protected, so that they do not inadvertently become a mode of transmission. Within the next week, ENV will work with market stallholders to spring-clean all wet markets. Food handlers in all food establishments will be required to take their temperatures twice a day. The Ministry of National Development, together with HDB and Town Councils, has instituted several measures to improve the cleanliness of our housing estates. These include stepping up the general cleaning of HDB common areas and implementing an SOP to respond to complaints of sanitary pipe leaks within 24 hours. The Building Control Authority (BCA) has reminded all Management Corporations of private buildings to maintain the sanitary pipes in their buildings in good working condition. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also introduced a series of measures. Schools are educating students about SARS, issuing every student with a personal thermometer, and teaching them to check their own temperatures daily. Students and staff are also required to regularly declare their travel history. The institutes of higher learning are segmenting their large campuses into smaller sections, to reduce movement across the campus and to facilitate contact tracing should a SARS case occur. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCDS) have implemented standard operating procedures for child-care centres and kindergartens, to screen and manage the children. The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has instituted all possible precautionary measures.”
“These public health measures to "detect, isolate and contain" the disease are all the more necessary because there is not yet a diagnostic test for SARS, which can tell quickly and reliably whether or not a suspected case has the disease. Scientists in A*STAR research institutes in Singapore have been working flat out as part of a worldwide effort to identify and understand the SARS virus. They have successfully mapped the genome of the SARS virus, confirming and extending the results of mappings done elsewhere. The Genome Institute of Singapore is developing new diagnostic methods, and several other diagnostic methods are becoming available from other laboratories. We will be testing these out over the next weeks and months, to identify the best methods to use, and I believe the methods will improve over time, as the scientists work at it. The ultimate goal of the scientific research is to develop a treatment and a vaccine for SARS, but this is not going to occur overnight, and may take several years or even longer. Protect and Monitor the healthy For those who are not infected, we are taking vigorous measures to prevent them from contracting SARS. We need to pay special attention to public areas with heavy human traffic, and mass institutions such as schools and military camps. The Ministry of the Environment (ENV) has taken preventive actions to raise the overall standard of public health and hygiene, to minimise the risk of environmental transmission of SARS. ENV will clean and disinfect public areas, check for and eliminate pests, ensure that waste disposal and collection is done properly, and make sure our sewerage systems are in proper working order.”
“And, if there is somebody or some place you have been to, and you do not want to tell us about, well, that is big trouble. Also the quarantine system has to be watertight. It takes only one undeclared contact, one irresponsible breach of an HQO, to start a whole new cluster of infections. It is therefore absolutely essential that those served with HQOs obey the orders and stay at home, and not put many others at risk. Thus we have acted firmly against HQO defaulters. We have installed electronic cameras in their homes, and implemented tougher enforcement measures such as electronic tagging. While most people on HQOs have complied and cooperated, a minority are recalcitrant and incorrigible, and I think the public understands that we have to take serious measures. I received a fax today from a member of the public who says, "When you ring them up, better make sure that they are not using call forwarding." I have asked the Minister in charge to fix that. This is why the Minister for Health is amending the Infectious Diseases Act, on a Certificate of Urgency, to give additional powers to the Ministry to take action against persons who breach HQOs, refuse to cooperate with health officers to take SARS control measures, wilfully hide medical information related to SARS control, or fail to comply with any directives or regulations related to SARS control. Violators can be levied composition fines of up to $5,000, instead of being charged in court. Furthermore, the general penalty for committing an offence under the Act will be doubled, to a maximum of $10,000 or 6 months' imprisonment for a first offence, and $20,000 or 12 months for a repeat offence.”
“First, those who are already infected or who might be infected; second, those who are not infected; and third, those entering Singapore who might bring in the virus. Detect, isolate and contain For those who are already infected or who might be infected, our strategy is to "detect, isolate and contain". This means sending those who are ill with SARS promptly to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, contact tracing - to identify and locate those who have had contact with SARS patients, and issuing Home Quarantine Orders (HQOs) to those who are at risk. The HQOs are to put their health under close monitoring, and also to prevent them from spreading the virus to others. This way we can break the cycle of infection and spread, and bring the outbreak under control. The most stringent precautions are taken at the hospitals. That is where most of the SARS patients are. They must be prevented from infecting other patients or healthcare workers. If doctors and nurses get infected and fall victim to the disease, our healthcare system may collapse, and SARS will spiral out of control. Hence healthcare workers are required to don protective gear and to monitor their own temperatures closely. We have also severely restricted visits by family members and friends to patients in hospital. These stringent measures are working. Because of them, since 31st March, no patients in Tan Tock Seng Hospital have fallen ill from SARS as a result of being infected in the hospital. In the community, we must trace all the contacts of SARS patients quickly and comprehensively, and place them on home quarantine. For this strategy to work, patients and their families have to cooperate with the authorities, to tell fully and truthfully where the patient has been and whom he has had contact with.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I will answer all the Questions under my name, as well as the Minister for Trade and Industry's name, on the Order Paper, in my Ministerial Statement. With your permission, I will begin my Ministerial Statement now. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a grave threat to Singapore. It has taken a heavy toll on our public health, our economy and our society. We have to muster all our resolve and resources, in order to fight SARS. Then we can bring the SARS outbreak under control, restore confidence, boost morale, and get the economy moving. If we fail to do so, and allow the disease to overwhelm us, the consequences will be catastrophic. Tackling SARS calls for an effective and comprehensive plan, rigorously implemented, with the full support and cooperation of Singaporeans. We have mobilised the whole Government machinery for this purpose. The Ministry of Health and the hospitals are fully engaged in the medical measures to combat SARS. In addition, we have set up a Ministerial Committee, chaired by Mr Wong Kan Seng, to coordinate all the ministries and departments involved, to support the Ministry of Health and to direct the broader response. Mr Lim Hng Khiang has just presented the public health measures. Let me now explain the overall action plan. There are three battlefronts - public health, the economy and the society. Battlefront 1 - Public health Firstly, public health. Besides medically treating those who have caught the disease, we must take public health measures to stop the spread of the illness, and to minimise the number of people who fall ill. We need to set up lines of defence around three groups of people.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Third time." Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Third time and passed. INFECTIOUS DISEASES (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 4.40 pm”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The purpose of this Bill is to make provision in accordance with Articles 148(2) and 148C(2) of the Constitution for additional expenditure in excess of the provisions authorised by the Supply Act 2002 and the Supplementary Supply (FY2002) Act, 2002. The additional sum has been presented as Second Supplementary Estimates which have been considered and approved by the House as Command Paper No. 3 of 2003. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time. Third Reading”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Third time." Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Third time and passed. SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPLY (FY 2002) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." In accordance with Article 148(1) of the Constitution, heads of expenditure to be met from the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund, other than statutory expenditure, have to be included in a Bill to be known as the Supply Bill. The purpose of the Supply Bill before Members is therefore to give legislative approval for the appropriations from the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund to meet expenditures in the financial year 1st April 2003 to 31st March, 2004. The heads of expenditure and the sums that may be incurred in respect of each head are shown in the Schedule to the Bill. These have been approved by the House in the Main and Development Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1st April, 2003 to 31st March, 2004, and appear on pages 24 and 25 of Cmd. Paper No. 4 of 2003. The Supply Bill, when approved, will empower me to issue warrants, authorising expenditure up to the amount for each head as shown in the Bill to be paid out from the Consolidated Fund and the Development Fund. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time. Third Reading”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament doth agree with the Committee on the said resolutions." Question put, and agreed to. Resolutions accordingly agreed to. SUPPLY BILL Order for Second and Third Readings read.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply have come to certain resolutions. First Resolution reported - "That the sum of $30,857,810,580 shall be supplied to the Government under the Heads of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Main Estimates for the financial year 1st April, 2003 to 31st March, 2004, contained in Paper Cmd. 4 of 2003." Second Resolution reported - "That the sum of $18,680,464,300 shall be supplied to the Government under the Heads of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Development Estimates for the financial year 1st April, 2003 to 31st March, 2004, contained in Paper Cmd. 4 of 2003."”
“Sir, the Member may be glad to know that we have already reminded all agencies to pay promptly and to specify payment terms clearly in all procurement contracts. Temasek companies and GLCs - these are on a commercial basis - we do not get involved in their day-to-day operations. We expect the Government-linked companies to be fair to customers, suppliers and competitors, and this includes paying their debts properly and promptly according to the terms. If there are grounds to believe that specific companies have not been paying promptly and are unreasonable, then I hope he would give us specific details and feedback, either to the holding company, Temasek, or to MOF. We would look into them and see what we can do. But I would be careful to say that in all cases where there are delays, the Government agency is the problem. Disputes are very complicated. I have come across some of them in my meet-the-people sessions and, I am sure, so have the Members, and they can go on for a very long time, and it is not always clear who is the cause of the dispute. In those cases, we have to understand that things would take a while to sort out. Mr Leong Horn Kee: I thank the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and the Second Minister for Finance for all their replies. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“We have had staff exchanges with them to foster interaction and promote greater appreciation of each other's financial sectors, and we will continue to engage the regulators in the different countries, build rapport, hold regular dialogues and facilitate training opportunities with them. We have a regular flow of officers coming from the People's Bank of China to MAS for training and gaining exposure. We are very happy with this. We welcome this. Currently, the Stock Exchange has about 122 companies which are of foreign origin. This is 20% of the number of companies on the Stock Exchange. They account for 41% of the total market capitalisation. In particular, we have attracted, so far, 19 Chinese companies to list on SGX. So there has been reasonable success, although we probably need to do still more.”
“The value proposition for companies that list here would be: firstly, to raise their profile in the region. Secondly, they would not be overshadowed by bigger companies or more sexy and glamorous companies, as they would be in Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange. Although they are small, they can come here, build up their operations and their profile. And later on, if they want to go somewhere else to list, they can still do that. But if they go to Nasdaq, as many companies did during the dot.com era, they become "orphaned". It is a technical term. What it means is that after a while, the analysts lose interest in you. They do not write any reports on you, and nobody trades in you because there is no information on you. So you have got a dead stock. But in Singapore, on a smaller Exchange, that is less likely to happen. And because we are in Asia, we are in the same time zone and information flow is readily available. Thirdly, Singapore offers an environment where investors can have confidence, because we have sound corporate governance and regulatory standards and efficient and transparent processing of listing applications. The Stock Exchange has to promote these value propositions. We have also made efforts to raise familiarity with global investors, and to deal with the supervisors as well. We have good relations with the supervisors. This gives comfort to companies to come here, and for their supervisors to give the nod for their companies to come here. MAS has signed MOUs with Chinese financial regulators and the Chinese Central Bank to enhance our cooperation.”
“" In which case, it would carry less weight, and may mislead some people who read the prospectus and who do not understand what it means. But these are trade-offs which we will have to weigh and which we will have to consult the practising community. As for companies from India and China having difficulty with best practices from the West, I can well imagine this is so. The issue is: what then should we do? I think we should have a set of best practices which makes sense for us, and which assures us that what the companies are doing are adequately disclosed and maintains a certain tone and standard on our stock market. So companies which are there, everybody knows that they meet a certain standard. We cannot say that just because companies in the region generally have much lower standards, therefore we should lower our standards so that all of them can list in Singapore. We will become a casino and we will have no idea what will happen. Even if a company declares its accounts and goes by the disclosure and the auditing standards, nobody knows what do the figures mean. So that is not desirable. We need a set of realistic, respectable standards, and if there are companies which we want to have listed here, which cannot quite meet those standards but have the potential, then we should encourage and help those companies. As Mr Sin pointed out quite rightly, we have to do more to attract these companies to come to Singapore. China and India are very natural potential markets for us, and we ought to do more. In fact, SGX has been making frequent trips to countries in the region to promote the opportunities and the prospects of listing in Singapore. I think they need to do more and they need to put their value propositions more cogently to them.”
“We have to strike a balance between the two, and not make the obligations of listing on our Stock Exchange so onerous that companies, especially foreign ones, are discouraged from listing here. To solve this problem, we have a corporate governance committee which Mr Joe Pillay chairs, and comprising practitioners from the industry. They discussed it extensively. There was no unanimity but they discussed it. All views were aired. Eventually, a majority recommended that we proceed with quarterly reporting, and we have done so, with some phasing-in period for the smaller companies. I am aware that not every Exchange takes this approach. Hong Kong has not done this. I think Britain has not done this either, but the American stock exchanges have done this. So it is an arguable issue, whether or not it is something which we ought to follow. We have taken the advice, because we have a committee and they are knowledgeable people. We will leave it for now and after a few years, if it is not a workable approach or the consensus of professional opinion changes, then we will look at it again. As for forecast and expert opinion, this is similar to the question of quarterly reporting. It is again a trade-off between having a set of corporate governance rules which looks good on paper and one which is practical and implementable. And if it is not working out, we will have to reconsider the matter. I am not familiar with this particular issue, but it is arguable whether you want to have a forecast which is backed by expert opinion, in which case you are just paying the expert to sign his name, or whether you want to allow somebody to put out a forecast and say, "Well, that's my view but I take no great responsibility for it.”
“We have panels and we are about to appoint people from the profession to the panel, so that if a case comes up, we can have people who are knowledgable about the business who will make a proper judgment. As for the punishments being too steep, eg, omissions in the prospectus, I do not know about this particular offence, but there are scales of punishment. And if any of them looks out of line, perhaps the Member can let me know and we will look into it. We are collecting implementation experience on the FAA, which is, after all, a new piece of legislation that came into effect last year. It will need to be fine-tuned. We have proposed some amendments which are coming up quite soon. If they could let me have their observations and suggestions, we will look at them and if there are anomalies, we will try and iron them out as we go along. Complex legislation like this - several hundred pages long - is always work in progress. And by the time we finish tidying it up, it is time for a new revision. Mr Sin Boon Ann talked about the cost of listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange, and he particularly mentioned the issue of quarterly reporting. This is an issue on which there are strong views on both sides. The people who want to raise corporate governance standards say this is becoming the norm and it does not cost a lot to put out the reports. Because if people are running the company properly, they should have the quarterly data anyhow. On the other hand, quite a number of the people who are operating the companies consider this an imposition, and they feel that it encourages a short-term approach and they are strongly against it.”
“Miss Penny Low asked about financial advisers and wanting to put brackets after the term, say, Financial Adviser (Pension), Financial Adviser (Insurance) or something like that. We used to have that system. We used to have different financial advisers for insurance, stock broking and other services. We decided to bring them altogether under one licence because we want to simplify the licensing framework. They all have the same licence. You are a financial adviser, then you are qualified to do different things, depending on what your skills are, and therefore they are all called financial advisers. But, according to our rules, regardless of the titles and designations used, they and their representative, and in the case of banks, that means the employees of the banks, are required to disclose to clients the types of financial advisory services that they are authorised to provide under the Financial Advisers Act (FAA), and other types of activities carried out by them which are not regulated by MAS. So there are some safeguards. They have, as a matter of duty, to disclose to their clients what they are qualified to advise in. I would rather not put brackets against their names. Otherwise, we are taking a step backwards and making the licensing scheme more complicated. 1.45 pm I do not know where Miss Low got the idea that if a person is accused of an offence as a financial adviser, he is guilty until proven innocent. It is a common perception. It must be like the serial numbers on ballot papers. But we will try our best to dispel this common perception. It is totally untrue. There are due processes, there are hearings, there are appeals.”
“" It is not viable. The banks do not have a licence to print money. Maybe if we have a closed system and you have just two or three banks or a monopoly, that is possible. We do not have a closed banking system. We have issued new privileges to have qualifying full banks in Singapore. So new entrants have come into the Singapore retail banking market. Our wholesale banking market is substantially open because there are dozens of participants, 30-40 banks, and there is free competition between them. So there is no monopoly profit nor economic rent which they are creaming off and which therefore we have to regulate and manage. In fact, if you look at the retail banking sector, one of the reasons why the Singapore banks have merged into 3 instead of 7 banks, which we had 6 years ago, is because competition is fierce and they have no choice but to merge, consolidate and reduce cost. Having reduced cost, you find that their earnings have not gone up. Their returns on equity or returns on assets stay about the same as before and, in fact, in some cases, have come down because business conditions are quite difficult. So the assumption that the banks are printing money and therefore we should somehow or other help them to spend this for good causes, is not right. And the proposition that because the banks are rich, therefore the directors are also rich, and people should take turns being bank directors, I think that is not quite what bank directors are meant to do and not how the system works. The bank directors are there to ensure proper governance and supervision of the bank, to make sure that they are operating properly. And you do not get rich by becoming a bank director.”
“In Britain, the Financial Services Authority, which started off gathering together the British supervisory authorities, had a very high reputation for being able to supervise with a light touch, to allow companies to carry on with their businesses and implement caveat emptor. It has now caused a lot of concerns because they have had to go very heavily into consumer protection, regulations on mis-selling, clamping down on insurance companies, and people having pension funds and so on, which is not promoting and growing the industry but really responding to political pressures. There is no magic formula how we can avoid doing this, but if Members understand this and the risks involved, then it will be easier for us to maintain a balance. When things are going well, that is not difficult. The difficulty is after things had gone badly and you tell people "caveat emptor, you took the risk and you have to accept the consequences", that is when we have to decide whether there is in fact something wrong with the system which needs to be fixed, or whether this is a spill which cannot be avoided if you are aiming for the thrills. The Government really should not intervene too much. Mr Chandra Mohan said that banking licences are issued to a privileged few and therefore banks have a social responsibility. I think banks do have some social responsibility because they are very major institutions in the financial system, and if they take a narrow profit view of their purposes, then we are going to have problems. But, on the other hand, banks are not charitable organisations either, and they perform a social duty to reduce cost because we say, "You have to carry the burden of extending loans to companies which are not viable because otherwise the companies will suffer.”
“Sir, I agree with Mrs Lim Hwee Hua that it is most important that we maintain a balance between having good rules and not imposing onerous burdens on businesses. We discussed this over the last couple of days and it applies particularly in the financial industry. After Enron, World.com and other corporate disasters in the West, the attitudes have changed and the free-for-all approach of the dot.com era has been replaced by regulations, tightening up of rules, and all kinds of impositions. And we are also carried along by this wave because we are plugged into the global markets and we cannot completely divorce our institutions from the practices elsewhere. However, we have to be quite careful not to go unthinkingly with the latest fads and fashions, gather from around the world all the tightest restrictions and put them together and call them best practices. Because if you do that, you are going to have a system which looks good on paper but which is not workable. There is also the other point which Mrs Lim pointed out, which is the political pressure on the Government to tighten up after problems are discovered. Because if you are going on a caveat emptor, management by exception regime, when a problem appears, there is bound to be political pressure to say that you should fix it and not let it happen again. Lock the door. The horse has bolted. And each time you add these padlocks and restrictions you are adding burdens and additional difficulties on businesses. And this can happen to all jurisdictions.”
“Because companies are required to submit their tax returns for YA 2003 only in July this year, we cannot measure the effects of the system yet at this stage. We will not be liberalising the group relief system at this time because it is a very fundamental overhaul of our tax regime. So it is prudent for us to start conservatively, especially since the impact on companies' behaviour and Government's finances cannot be measured yet. Further, the lower the threshold, the more prone the system will be to abuse. Many countries which have introduced group relief started with a 100% threshold. Even today, many countries still maintain thresholds which are closer to 100% than the 75% that we have chosen. So we will keep it as it is, monitor the reactions, and after a couple of years, review and decide whether changes will be necessary.”
“But, in between, there will be other exercises to update, to bring in private sector inputs, and to adjust our plans and strategies to new developments and new situations. Mr Leong also asked about direct and indirect taxation, whether we will be able to offset the reduction of 20%. I think it is most important that we do reduce our taxes to 20%, as promised, if it is at all possible. Because we have committed to this, it is the direction which we need to go, and it is the basis on which companies have calculated and decided to come to Singapore. We need to deliver on this promise to maintain our credibility. That is why it is all the more important to raise the GST to 4% this year, 1st January, and to 5% next year. Going to 5% will raise revenue of about 0.8% of GDP per year, which is about half the revenue lost from our corporate and personal tax cuts, which is not an insubstantial loss. This should leave the Government with a modest surplus over the medium term, provided we are careful not to increase expenditures recklessly. As for whether it will be enough, we have no plans at present to raise GST beyond 5%. But, if in future, we have to go below 20% in our corporate and personal taxes to maintain Singapore's international competitiveness, or the Government has to increase social expenditure and needs more revenue, then we cannot rule out increasing the GST rate beyond 5%. But we have no plans to do so at the present time. We are still in the process of getting to 5%. Group offsetting of corporate taxes - we introduced this last year in Budget 2002, and it will take effect only from this Year of Assessment (YA 2003).”
“And if there are savings, then they should declare them and we can spend the money on something more worthwhile in future. So we have to accept some uncertainties. I think what we are doing in Singapore is not out of line compared to other countries. For slow payments, the Member asked if culprits can be reported to the Ministry of Finance. Of course they can. Indeed, many such complaints come to me in my public e-mail box and my officers look into them. And those people who prefer to remain anonymous, we will look into their complaints too, if there are sufficient details to study the matter. 12.30 pm As for the ERC, what is next? What is next is that we have to implement the proposals. The main ones have already been done in the Budget. The others will take longer. The Ministries will follow up and implement. And MTI will coordinate the follow-up actions systematically. Their status will be regularly reported to the Prime Minister's Office. If there are inter-agency issues to be resolved and Ministries cannot sort out themselves, the Prime Minister or myself can get involved, and we will sort it out. But I do not see this as a very difficult problem. We are already going to set up a Ministerial Committee on Services. And I think we will be able to deal with quite a lot of the issues there. We will make sure that between MTI, the other economic Ministries, other implementing agencies and statutory boards, the ERC's recommendations are systematically followed up. The measures will have to be updated as the situation changes. I do not foresee us doing an exercise of this magnitude very soon. We will do it maybe every decade or 15 years.”
“Sir, with your permission I will take these answers first. Mr Leong Horn Kee asked about our budget balance. As he is aware and as I have explained, there is a reason why we are running a small budget balance at this stage. It is small by his standards but not small by MOF's historical standards of $1.2 billion, but we will watch how the economy and the international backdrop develop over the next few months and, if need be, we will do more. I fully agree with him that it is not desirable to have off-Budget packages frequently, and we should plan a budget which anticipates as best we can the needs for the year. But for this year, it is premature to look ahead and conclude that we will need a very big stimulus. As I also explained yesterday, the first quarter January numbers look quite stable. So I think we have to wait and hold our ammunition until the position becomes clearer. Our yearly budget forecast is not accurate enough. I lament that too. But it depends on so many factors which are not completely within our control. It depends on the state of the economy which affects our tax revenues and also our net investment income. And that is not completely predictable because it depends on how well our investments perform. At the same time, it depends on how well Ministries spend their own budgets. Last year, as I have explained, the variation was not in total revenue, which was quite close to what we had predicted, but in the expenditure which was lower than what we had anticipated. And we will try our best to get the Ministries to predict accurately and to manage their budgets within what we have provided for. But, at the same time, we have to remember that we do not want Ministries to spend money just to use up what has been allocated.”
“Sir, the Council of Presidential Advisers comprises six people; two decided at the President's discretion; two decided on the advice of the Prime Minister; one on the advice of the Chief Justice; and one on the advice of the Chairman of the Public Service Commission. The Member asked whether we could have more rotation. As I have explained before, we are looking for the best men for the job and, usually, we have more jobs than people, rather than vice versa. So, I do not think that rotation will solve the problem. As for publishing its report, its papers are presented to Parliament, as the Member has noted. Its recommendations are gazetted, and the Gazette, in fact, is on the website. So, for anybody who needs to know what the recommendations and decisions are, that information is available. The same considerations which apply to the Cabinet meetings, which I discussed earlier, apply to these other organs of State.”
“This is why Cabinet proceedings are secret, apart from the inherent sensitivity of many of the discussions which have to take place in Cabinet, the subjects of which are sensitive and will remain sensitive for a long time to come. Mr Chandra Mohan talks about the British system, where records are released after 30 years. But not all British records are released. If you go back and look for records 30 years ago, all the sensitive parts have been excised. Somebody has gone through and decided which parts remain sealed and which parts are published and open to researchers or historians. I think our system works well. If there is a serious historian who needs to do a study of some subjects and needs access to the records, his request can be considered. But to open up our system because that is the fashion in the West, I think 30 years is not long - 100 years may be. Our grandchildren can think about it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am at a loss for words - perhaps we should rotate the replies. I think it would be quite a unique system to have a Cabinet without the Prime Minister. There are very few countries which operate like this. Switzerland is the only one which I know of where they have a Council of Ministers and the Chairman rotates, and he purely presides. But Singapore is not like Switzerland. Southeast Asia is not the middle of Europe, and even then no other European countries operate like this. So I do not think we intend to start a study on a rotation system for the Prime Ministership. As for Cabinet meetings and Cabinet matters, I am not sure what we need to educate people about. There exists a Cabinet, Cabinet meets, Cabinet discusses Cabinet matters and Cabinet makes decisions which resulted in national policies. I think everybody knows that, and that is sufficient. I do not know if the Member is proposing to televise Cabinet proceedings. It would be quite a ground-breaking proposition. But there is a reason why Cabinet proceedings are kept secret and the oath of office is that every Minister shall not reveal any of the Cabinet discussions or votes of the members unless they are properly required by law or by his duties. Because we have collective responsibility. When you are in the Cabinet, you discuss, you deliberate, you disagree, you debate, but eventually you decide and take collective responsibility for the decision. If you do not agree with the decision fundamentally, you resign and can say what you want. But as long as you are a member of the team, you have to be part of the team and you have to be a team-player.”
“In fact, CPIB does prepare an annual report which is circulated to the Cabinet. We will look into how we can prepare a version of the report which can be published and tabled in Parliament so that everybody can see what they have done, what the trends are, and whether the numbers have gone up or gone down. I do not have the numbers with me today, but you will know what they have done, how professionally and seriously they investigate cases and when they finally decide to charge somebody, they have good reasons for it. That is the way our system has to work. Some people have asked us, "How do you keep your system clean?" Our people have explained to them, "Well, we have a CPIB." Then the question is, "Whom does the CPIB report to?" And the explanation is that it reports to the Prime Minister. Then, the question comes back, "No, you do not understand me. Whom does the CPIB report to?" In other words, reporting to the Prime Minister does not mean that the CPIB will work. But we have to make sure that we have a system where the people in key places, i.e. the Prime Minister and his Ministers, can make it work. And if there is somebody who is not clean - even a Minister - he would be investigated and, if need be, action will be taken. As Members know, this has unfortunately sometimes been necessary.”
“They will leave, because they feel they are ready, but cannot move up. On the other hand, if the top changes too quickly, then, after a while, none of them leaves an impression and the organisation is just a succession of names and pictures on the wall. So, how to have a balance so that we have good Chiefs and, at the same time, good staff officers and good commanders who can see reasonable progression ahead of them and that progression is not just on the basis of dead men's shoes? That is a balance which the SAF is trying to strike. If we judge by the quality of the people in the SAF, we have done quite well. Finally, Mr Chandra Mohan Nair asked why the CPIB is in Prime Minister's Office and not in the Ministry of Home Affairs. First of all, CPIB officers are not police officers. They may be seconded, but it is the CPIB scheme of service which services the CPIB. And the CPIB has to report to the Prime Minister because the Prime Minister is responsible for the integrity of the whole civil service, the public sector, as well as the Judges and the Ministers. It is his responsibility to keep the system clean. If he does not, and we have a corrupt Prime Minister, then we are in serious trouble. We have safeguarded that situation, because under the Constitution if the Prime Minister would not give leave to the CPIB to pursue a case, the CPIB can go to the President, and the President can give leave to proceed. So, even the Prime Minister can be investigated. But that is an extreme situation. I think we have to work on a system where we make sure that we have a Prime Minister who is absolutely reliable and, furthermore, who has the guts and the determination to police the whole system. As for the CPIB putting out a public report, I think it is a good idea.”
“The Senior Minister also has some views on this matter! Certainly one day when we have ladies in Cabinet, they will likely to make very strong arguments, and we will discuss this issue again. So, it is something which is gradually evolving. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked whether we are changing for the sake of changing, and posting people around too fast - every two years - and if we are doing things just to have a splash. He has a point. We do not want people who are just punching their tickets and saying, "I have been here, and here, and here." But, at the same time, we do want people who have had a broad range of exposure. If they are in the Ministry of Finance overseeing the collection of revenue, it is also good for them to have been in the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where they are responsible for spending the money. So they know how difficult it is to collect the money and at the same time, they know how careful they have to be when they spend it, and vice versa. So, we do need people with a certain range of exposure and we post people around to achieve that. I think on balance we have reasonable stability in our system and in our policies. Indeed, I have not heard Members complaining about policies changing too quickly. Usually, the complaint is that the policies change too slowly. But it is a balance which we have to continue to watch. As for the SAF top positions going around too quickly, this question ought to be directed to the Minister for Defence in his Committee of Supply cut later on. I am speaking not on behalf of the Ministry of Defence but on first principles. Every defence force has this problem. They want able people at the top and at several levels down. But if the top does not turn-over, the people below will not stay.”
“As the composition of Parliament changes and that of the Cabinet changes, these views gradually shift, and the consensus shifts. The Cabinet discussed this very seriously, at least once per term of office, sometimes twice. We recently discussed it, and there is not yet a majority in favour of changing. There is a significant minority of the Ministers in favour of changing - I cannot say who because we have collective responsibility - but it is not a unanimous view, because the younger ones feel that we ought to move with the times, and the older ones prefer to move a little bit slower. An hon. Member: And she knows who!”
“Because the more grey areas we have, the more discretion we leave to the officer on the spot, the more disputes and difficulties we will have in implementing the law, and the more room and temptation there is for the officer to do something not quite proper. The way to have a clean system which is easy for people to operate is to have as few rules as possible, but the rules which we have will have to be clear. Paying officers nine months' salary out of 12 to participate in outside activities is, I think, a very interesting idea. Perhaps we should start it at the top with the Ministers! It may be possible only in certain jobs. If you are an academic, you are paid nine months out of 12, and the other three months you do consultation, that is possible. If you are Managing Director of MAS and three months of the year you go and be a private sector banker, I think that may cause certain complications. So, it is not such a straightforward idea. But we are keen on having a flow with the private sector. We do second people to private sector organisations, such as McKinsey, SIA, Shell, to give them the exposure and the understanding of how the private sector works, so that when they come back they are better for it. And the opposite too. We have people seconded from the private sector into the Government, so that they understand how we work and they know that when we do something there is a reason for our actions. Mdm Halimah Yacob talked about medical benefits. She knows my arguments. It is not a matter of efficiency. It is a matter of values and setting the tone. As I said, it is not cast in stone, and it is not a matter where everybody has the same fixed view. Different people have different views.”
“I assure Members that we have standards to keep them functional and adequate, but not excessive. After last year's discussion, I had a look at the norms again and we tightened up the norms, and brought down the average cost per square metre which we allow for Government buildings. Also, the budgeting process has been tightened up, so that if in the course of the tender it turns out to be cheaper than expected, we then work with that new cap, rather than use the savings for some other facilities. But I would say that when we visit the Ministry buildings - and perhaps we ought to organise a tour for MPs who have an interest in this subject - such as the Ministries of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Education and so on, we will find that they are not luxurious. The officers work in open plan offices, with standard modular furniture. There are no chandeliers or expensive excrescences and expressions. They are meant to serve a function, but they are presentable because they are built for the long term. We are not going to rebuild them in 20 years, and they have to last. So, the standard is adequate and I think it is about right. I have some interest in this because I have been to several buildings, and sometimes it turned out more than you expected, sometimes it turned out less than you have expected. But all civil servants know that they gain no brownie points by ending up with a palace. As for an entrepreneurial civil service, this also has been discussed at length over the last few days. I am not in favour of building in grey areas in legislation. Legislation has to be clear. We need not go into excruciating details, but the principles have to be clear.”
“Mr Inderjit Singh talked about how public sector salaries have now become the benchmarks for the private sector, because we set our salaries at a time when the economic growth was high, and now economic growth has come down and private sector salaries have gone down. I think he is wrong on several counts. Firstly, private-sector salaries have not really gone down that much. If we look at incomes - as I explained yesterday - they in fact went up by 1% last year across the board on average, although I acknowledge that starting salaries in certain spots have gone down. Secondly, at the top, the public sector salaries do not set the pace. We have a system which is benchmarked to the private sector, but at a significant discount - two-thirds the private-sector, at the top. As salaries in the private sector go up, so do the civil service and the Ministers'. As when those in the private sector go down, so do we. In fact, over the last few years, we have not followed the benchmark, because we have frozen public sector salaries. Presently, public sector salaries at the top are only 60% of what the benchmark should be. This means that if we take two-thirds of the average private sector salaries as the benchmark - which is where we ought to be - we are only at 60% of the benchmark. So, we are quite far behind where we ought to be. We are not making an adjustment now. And we are not setting the pace. On individual services, there could well be some points where we have not adjusted downwards, and this we will review and stay in line with the market. There is no need for us to pay out of line with the market and push cost up. Luxurious Government offices are a subject which was raised last year by Mr Tan Soo Khoon and discussed.”
“That is not just IQ but also EQ, and a combination of these two attributes is very hard to find. The Chairman, Dr Andrew Chew, who has served almost a term, constantly looks for people who are suitable for this job. He tests them out, puts them onto scholarship boards and interview panels. And after some time, when he has a good assessment of them, he puts their names up, and it goes to the Cabinet and then the President for decision. We are always looking for names. There is not a queue of suitable people waiting their turn to be on the Public Service Commission. So, I do not think having term limits of one term of five years is going to help us have a better Public Service Commission. It is good to have some turnover but, at the same time, we have to be realistic whom we can have on this Commission who is going to add value. And, all the more, it is very demanding to be the Chairman of the Public Service Commission. To propose a term limit of three years and one term is not a realistic approach. As for the Legal Service Commission, the system has worked well. The requirements really are similar to those for the Public Service Commission, except that you need some additional legal inputs which are provided by the Chief Justice and another Judge. The rest of the Legal Service Commission comprises the Chairman and a couple of members of the Public Service Commission, and I think that is a good way to work. I do not know what the President of the Law Society would bring to the Commission, because you should not be there just ex-officio. We need people who can add value, can make contribution and are in a position to judge. I think that is what the Legal Service Commission provides, as presently constituted.”
“The Article of the Constitution he cited, Article 111A, does not discriminate for or against civil servants. It is a control mechanism. We have devolved powers over personnel matters, which used to be very centralised in the Public Service Commission, to a system of Personnel Boards - a Special Personnel Board at the top and Senior and other Personnel Boards in each Ministry - to look after recruitment, promotion, postings, and so on. To maintain system discipline, at the very top we did not devolve powers over the Administrative Service and the Administrative Service (Foreign Service Branch). And the non-devolution is safeguarded in the Constitution. Article 111A merely says that, above the Significant Grade in the Administrative Service, the powers shall remain with the PSC and cannot be devolved to a Personnel Board. 11.30 am So, Article 111A is a control mechanism, not a discrimination mechanism. Admission into the Administrative Service is by merit. Many come in at the start. Along the way, we try very hard to find people who are suitable, either in service or even outside the civil service, to be recruited into the Administrative Service mid-career. We have some modest success. So, you are only in as long as you measure up, and anybody who measures up can come in. There are no special criteria for being a member of the Public Service Commission. The most important thing is that, first, you must be prepared to make the commitment of time and effort, because it is quite a heavy job. Secondly, you must have a good feel for people, understanding their motivations, recognising their abilities and where they will be best fitted, assessing whether they merit promotion or whether they should be disciplined.”
“Sir, first, in reply to Dr Maliki on employment of ex-offenders in the civil service. The civil service does indeed employ people who have criminal records. So far, 11 persons with criminal convictions have been employed - four in the Prisons Department, as part-time tutor and as corporate support officers handling administrative work; two are in the Civil Defence; three are with the Police Force, in positions of security screening officers, mechanic and tool attendant; and two more are operational support officers with MOE performing attendant duties. I am glad to learn that they are all performing and contributing well in their jobs. I do not know how many were unsuccessful or why. They could have been unsuccessful for any number of reasons, quite likely unrelated to their criminal backgrounds. The recruitment into the civil service is based on the principles of meritocracy, incorruptibility and impartiality. It is the Ministries who are in the best position to make informed decisions on the requirements of the jobs and the type of jobs suitable for the applicants. So we leave it to the Ministries and give them the freedom and flexibility to select the best candidate for the job, taking into consideration the job demands and how suitable the candidate is. This applies to everybody, including ex-offenders. So I do not think that leaving recruitment decisions to Ministries will make civil servants more rigid and conservative. I also do not think it will be an improvement to have a central office for recruitment of offenders. Mr Chandra Mohan asked about the Administrative Service being given special privileges. There are no special privileges, nor discrimination.”
“On the other hand, if a woman comes along - she has tried her best and the husband is not there, she has children and they are studying and trying their best in school - then I will go the extra mile to help them. So, I think we need that sensitivity and not just make political capital in order to collect selfish political dividends from people's sufferings. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April, 2003 to 31st March, 2004. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. Adjourned accordingly at Eighteen minutes to Five o'clock pm. Committee of Supply - Estimates of Expenditure for the Financial Year 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2004(Cols. 547-552)”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, the CPI is an average for the whole economy, covering all income groups. But we also have figures for the different income groups. So, if incomes have gone down, you can see how different groups have been affected in terms of cost of living. Do things cost more? The answer is that things do not cost more. There are some variations, maybe +1%, maybe -1%. But on the whole, the cost of living for all income groups in Singapore has remained very stable. Secondly, I fully acknowledge that times are difficult, that we have to tighten our belts, that incomes are down, bonuses are down. And, in some cases, net wealth is down, because your property has gone down in value and you feel poorer even if you have not sold the property. But that is not the same as saying that the cost of living has gone up. Thirdly, I have cases, like any other MP, where people come and look for help. Maybe I get more than other MPs, because they think that if they come to me, they may get a bit more help. But as I explained in my speech, we will help them. But the way to help them is not for Singapore Power to forgive their utility bills. It is for the CCCs, the CDCs, to get to know them, understand their problems, find out why they have a problem, and if they deserve help, to give help. But if they do not deserve help, then you have to tell them to look after themselves. For instance, if somebody comes and says, "I can't pay my utility bills", and it turns out he owns an airconditioner. You tell him to turn off the airconditioner and he says, "I only turn it on for four hours a night." And he has a handphone. How much help should I give him?”
“The education level of our workforce has gone up. Then, graduates were 5% of our workforce. Today, the number has more than trebled to 17%. So, the world has changed, and Singapore has changed too. The Economic Committee's recommendations in 1986 laid the basis for more than a decade of growth, which ended with the Asian crisis. And this ERC Report in 2003 aims to chart the way forward over the next decade of intense global competition and knowledge driven growth. As we progress together, we will run into some old challenges in new forms, like cost competitiveness issues. We will also meet totally new challenges, like the emergence of China and India, the explosion of the Internet or the threat of extremist terrorism. The environment and competition facing us today are much tougher than before, but we are also much stronger than we used to be. The Government will be pro-jobs. We will help to create jobs, more jobs, better jobs. We will help train workers for the new jobs. The civil service will be even more pro-business. There will be more help for entrepreneurs to navigate the way through the Government agencies, and to take off on their own. We will bring along all Singaporeans on this journey. Nobody will be left behind. Those who can must help themselves. Those who cannot, who will be few, will be the focus of help. Above all, we will be pro-Singaporeans, because this is our home. Tough minds, warm hearts, strong spirits. With these, we can look forward to a bright future where all Singaporeans share in the fruits of our success. Together as a nation, we will realise our vision of Singapore becoming a leading global and entrepreneurial city, one of the best places in Asia, and indeed in the world, in which we can live, work and grow. [Applause].”
“My members cannot catch up." We are making so many initiatives. They have not even read about them in the newspapers. But, in fact, maybe we need to go faster, as the world is changing quickly and our competitors are forging ahead. As Khaw Boon Wan pointed out, we have to move faster than China and the other emerging economies. It would be even more painful later if change is not done soon enough. Therefore, everyone has to put in the effort to adjust, adapt and venture so that we can progress as a nation. The Government will guide and facilitate the structural shifts we need to make, but success ultimately depends on the resourcefulness and resilience of Singaporeans. We are on the right track. The ERC recommendations are the result of the collective effort of many good minds committed to Singapore. We cannot control events in the short term and we may have to make tactical shifts along the way, but the strategic thrusts are correct and, in time, they will generate growth and transform Singapore. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked what is the difference between the 1986 Economic Committee and today's ERC. The world has changed and so has Singapore. Those were the days before the Internet and biotech. Those were the days before China and India joined the global economy with their low labour cost and highly motivated workforces. In Singapore, our per capita income has more than doubled from $14,000 in 1985 to $37,000 in 2001. Our standards of living have improved substantially for the vast majority of Singaporeans. Yes, we are tightening our belts. But, compared to 1985, the last recession, in fact, we are much better off. Most significantly, the quality of our housing has improved. Then, we had 41,000 households living in 5-room flats. Now, we have 194,000.”
“With growth, we will have more resources to help the older workers. With growth, there will be some more jobs for the older workers. If we try to preserve the status quo, to protect the jobs which are no longer viable, and to put off economic restructuring, then we will fail. We have set as our objective here and as our theme "New Challenges - Fresh Goals". Some people have accused us of doing too little. Some people have accused us of moving too fast. MPs like Mr Inderjit Singh and Mr Leong Horn Kee have said that changes are not radical enough, and more could have been done. We have left no stone unturned. We decided where we needed to make radical changes, where modifications are needed, and where we should leave things as they are, at least for the time being. The changes are more significant than they look because we have deliberately prepared people for them and introduced them carefully. It was our purpose not to shock people. If you are astonished, if you are amazed, if you are not prepared, that means we have not done our job well. There are big changes - tax structure, committed to reduce the corporate and top personal tax rate to 20%; broaden the tax base with the increase in the goods and services tax. The CPF system - to make significant shifts, to balance our retirement needs and maintain labour market flexibility and to lay the foundation for changes to be phased in gradually. And land - to lay down the principle to maximise value creation from our land resources as well as to keep the cost of land competitive. So, we have done a considerable amount, but maybe we still have not gone fast enough. Some people, however, have found the changes unsettling and the pace too fast. Some union leaders have told me, "Why do we have to move so quickly?”
“Even in the wafer fabs, there are semi-skilled jobs, but they will require a certain amount of discipline, adjustment or shift work. It is not easy, but it can be done. Secondly, help to educate, train and match workers to jobs so that they can stay employed, or if they lose jobs, then they can find new ones. That is the purpose of the new statutory board and also the People for Jobs Training programme. Also, we need to set up the right networks at the grassroots, the CDCs, the self-help groups and NTUC, to help workers find jobs. Thirdly, the Government will continue to provide targeted assistance to those who need help the most. But such assistance must be tied to their efforts to find jobs. The Government will also look after the younger generations to make sure that no child is deprived of good education because of lack of finances. This is a problem, because if it is too easily available, people will not look for the jobs. I was in Australia a year ago and I visited a village about 50 miles outside of the Gold Coast. I asked the guide, "Who live here?" He said, "Some teachers, some retired people, some unemployed people." I said, "Why are they living here, 50 miles away from the Gold Coast? There are no jobs." He said, "Exactly, because there is a rule in Australia that if you want the dole, you must show that you have hunted for work within a certain radius, 30-50 miles, and failed." And this was a good place for failing. So, we have to be very careful. In Singapore, there is no place to go, and if they do not try, you are going to have a problem. Some people have objected that many of the jobs being created are for younger, better-skilled workers. That is true. But it is important that we do create these jobs and generate the growth.”