Leong Horn Kee
Singapore
“My question is that, although at the point of purchase when the blocks were built, this may not be structural deficiency, as the Parliamentary Secretary said, but it is now because the demand or desire is for lift access.”
“Lastly, by centralising at MOM, I wish to urge the kind Minister to provide more funds and resources for job search programmes. Most feedback from residents is that they are not getting sufficient help and satisfaction on job search services at the CDC level.”
“At the same time, our SAF soldiers are better educated and trained to handle more sophisticated fighting system. Thus, the combination of both modern weapon systems and better trained soldiers will provide a good platform for our SAF to build a strong and capable integrated fighting force.”
“All right, "may" allow two months of disruption. But in terms of cohort, after the students have left school, they are no more in the same cohort. They actually enter enlistment at different times of the year. So this issue of relating cohort to enlistment period may not be valid. Therefore, why not just have a clarity of rule?”
“Sir, on this issue of early disruption of two months, we should actually look at it not from the two months' point of view of early disruption, but from the 10 months of waiting time. The servicemen will have to mope around waiting for 10 months for his tertiary education.”
“If the safety and personal security in Johor is not improved, no matter how excellent or scenic a bridge we build, Singaporeans will be hesitant to visit Johor and spend time and money there.”
The complete record
Every one of 876 lines we hold for Leong Horn Kee, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 18.
“After the announcement of the privatisation exercise, those residents in Phase III and IV HUDC estates who applied for HDB flats have been asked to take out their applications from the HDB flat registration list. Could I ask the Minister whether he could reconsider this policy?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether he has any idea as to when Shunfu estate will be privatised?”
“In Thomson Constituency, I have four blocks of HDB flats at Sin Ming Road, Blocks 22, 23, 24 and 25, which were built in the early 70s. These flats are over 20 years old. The residents are very keen to know when their flats would be scheduled for main upgrading. I raised this issue with the Minister a few times previously. I look forward to a very favourable reply from him today. Sir, my third query is that in the void decks of these four blocks of HDB flats in Sin Ming Road, there are some shops which are also very old. The tenants of these shops are very keen to be included in the proposed sale of shops programme of the Government. I understand that some of these shops are, in fact, not suitable for sale as they are engaged in trades which are not compatible with the residential surrounding. I would like to appeal to the Minister that if the tenants of these shops who are engaged in non-compatible trades are prepared to convert their shops to other suitable trades, would the Minister be prepared to include them in the forthcoming sale of shops programme?”
“Sir, I would like to make a few points. I am pleased to hear from the Minister that his Ministry has plans to upgrade the old private apartments. As we know, the HUDC estates were also a form of public housing of executive flats constructed previously by the Government under the HUDC housing programme. I have such an HUDC estate in Thomson Constituency called Lakeview HUDC Estate. Some years ago, the Government terminated the HUDC programme and passed on the management of these estates to the respective management corporations of the HUDC estates. These HUDC flats, like their HDB cousins, are also of old design and suffer from general wear and tear. They too need to be upgraded. The HUDC estates intend to undertake their own upgrading programmes. I would like to ask the Minister whether he would provide funding support for the upgrading works implemented by the management corporations of HUDC estates, somewhat similar to the schemes implemented for HDB estates. Sir, I feel there are two arguments in favour of this request. Firstly, at the time of the hand-over of the HUDC estates to the management corporations, the Government did not give any grant or subsidy to them. Secondly, actually had there been no change in the administrative arrangement to put HUDC estates under their own management corporations, they would in fact continue to be managed by the HDB. HUDC flats, therefore, would similarly be enjoying HDB upgrading privileges. In view of the background and association with the HDB, I feel that the HUDC estates should get some form of financial support from the Government for their upgrading programme. My second point, Sir, is on the queue for upgrading of HDB estates.”
“Sir, may I be allowed to say a few words?”
“For this cut on the Ministry of Labour, I would like to ask the Minister whether the residents of such HUDC estates can be allowed to use their CPF funds to pay for their upgrading work. That means, if the residents of HUDC estate decided to vote in favour of implementing their own upgrading programme, they have to share a part of the cost. They have to incur substantial sums, and I would like to know whether or not there will be part subsidy or grant from the Government through the Ministry of National Development. To fund their share of the upgrading work, the residents would like to request that they be allowed to use their CPF funds. This would help to alleviate the substantial financial burden to be incurred by the residents, if they were to pay out fully in the form of cash. I feel that this proposal is worthwhile considering, as the Government is already allowing CPF account holders living in HDB estates to use their CPF funds for payment towards their share of the HDB upgrading work. Therefore, the HUDC residents should not be treated differently from the HDB residents.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether his Ministry would consider allowing CPF contributions to be used to pay towards the expenditure incurred by residents in the upgrading project implemented for HUDC estates. At present, the Government is undertaking the Main Upgrading of several old HDB estates. At the same time, the Government is also devoting substantial funds for the Interim Upgrading of HDB estates which are about 15 years old. As we know, the HUDC estate is also a form of public housing for young executives constructed previously by the Government under the HUDC housing programme. I have such an estate in Thomson Constituency called the Lakeview HUDC estate. Later, the Government terminated the HUDC Scheme and transferred these HUDC estates to be managed by the owners under their respective Management Corporations (MCs). At the time of the handover of the estate, the Government did not give any grants, or funding support for the MCs of these HUDC estates. Meanwhile, executive flats continued to be built by the HDB. These HUDC flats, including those in the Lakeview HUDC estate, are now fairly old. We read in the recent press report that most of them have plans to carry out their own upgrading of their estates. Like their HDB cousin, HUDC flats also face problems of leaking ceilings, poor plumbing, old designs and general wear and tear. This upgrading programme will cost them substantial amounts of money. I have requested for a cut to be made on the Ministry of National Development's budget where I intend to ask the Minister for National Development later whether he will provide funding support for the upgrading of HUDC estates, somewhat similar to the scheme implemented for HDB estates.”
“There have been instances in the past where GLC shareholdings of listed companies are just being transacted between themselves, instead of being sold to the public. That is not privatisation. So, if there are any future plans to privatise GLCs through public listing, I believe the public would prefer to see that the shares are being sold to the private sector, instead of being sold within the GLCs.”
“Sir, my first cut is on the implications and objectives of a strong Singapore dollar. Over the last two days, many Members in this House have argued passionately on the several difficulties companies faced in running businesses with a strong Singapore dollar. Yesterday, the Finance Minister has put up a very spirited defence of a strong Singapore dollar. I am not sure whether everybody is convinced but I feel that there are truly several difficulties that we face in operating under an environment where the Singapore dollar is very strong. I would like the Minister to review the many arguments that have been put forward by various Members on the operating costs, cost of imports and cost of doing business outside Singapore as well as the impact on our retail and tourism trade. So I would like to urge the Minister to look into these factors and give a sympathetic ear to these arguments about how difficult it is for businesses to operate in Singapore where the Singapore dollar is very strong. I wish to move on to my next cut, which is on the privatisation of statutory boards and Government-linked companies. Here, I would like to ask the Minister what are his plans on the privatisation of statutory boards and GLCs. Since the Minister has generously given a total of $500 to top up the CPF accounts of Singaporeans, I believe many Singaporeans are now very keen to know what are Government's plans on privatisation. They can now use the money to buy shares in Government privatised companies which are always offered in the initial public offer stage at preferential prices, under very special schemes. On the point about privatisation, I would like to also ask the Minister to consider, when GLCs are being privatised or sold, selling the GLCs preferably to the private sector.”
“Of course, the Minister also says that the Government would only do things under this Act in regard to national interest. I hope it will be done. As I turn over the pages of the Bill, I notice that under clause 16 (amending section 57) the punishment section seems to be paltry. It imposes a fine not exceeding $5,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with both. I do not know what these punishments are really for, but if they are for drug money laundering, then they would appear rather feeble.”
“In other words, under the new section 33B, there must already be an offence committed abroad, then the Attorney-General on our side can assist the foreign government. This is mainly done under the provisions of the Drug Trafficking (Confiscation of Benefits) Act or the Misuse of Drugs Act. But as regards the new section 33A, there is no requirement of a prima facie offence committed abroad. Under the new section 33A, subsection (3)(a), the first part relates to a foreign offence, but the second part states that "in any other case, that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a specified person has carried on or has benefitted from drug trafficking;". This particular part of this section is rather wide. As long as you are suspicious of a person who suddenly brings in a couple of million dollars to Singapore, you can suspect that the money is derived from drug money. So I would like to ask the Minister what other safeguards there are for Singaporeans because I have heard this spoken in Singapore - this may not be true - that as soon as a Singaporean brings in lots of money, the IRAS and other relevant Government departments would like to know where the money comes from. But for foreigners, if they bring money into Singapore out of the blue, no questions are asked. So if there is such a section, it will be additional grounds for the Government to ask a Singaporean if he seemingly has no business and out of the blue he brings home lots of money, there you are, a finger can be pointed at him. So what are the safeguards in such cases? Of course, the hearing is in camera but still once a person is called to answer certain charges, I think the damage has already been done.”
“Finally, Sir, I notice that there is also a provision in clause 9 (section 23) that finance companies which raise their capital funds to above $100 million may apply to the Authority to expand their business scope. They can be allowed to transact in new areas, such as trading in precious metals, and investment in foreign currencies and equities. However, the scope of such expanded businesses is not exactly stated. For example, they are allowed to invest in foreign currencies and equities and deal in precious metals on their own account, I presume. But would they be allowed also to deal on behalf of their customers' accounts I feel that it would be more appropriate for the relevant Authority to state explicitly which are the businesses and the scope of such businesses that the finance companies can expand into. This will enable the finance companies to decide whether they want to stay within the $50 million capital fund level, or move to the second level of $100 million capital funds and enjoy a larger span of businesses. Otherwise, it would be hard for finance companies to make a reasonable judgement whether to increase their capital two-fold from $50 million to $100 million, if the additional businesses they can enter into are not well defined. Mr Chiam See Tong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I notice that the two previous speakers have not commented on clause 15, and that is in relation to the new sections 33A and 33B. These two new sections relate to drug money laundering. I have read these two new sections and I cannot find any problem with the new section 33B. The Government can only take action to assist foreign authority in its investigation into a foreign offence.”
“I wish to make a point that to ensure a level playing field in the competition between the finance companies and the banks, I would ask the Authority to set the same standards for both banks and finance companies. For example, in arriving at the formula for calculating the ratio, such as the definition of the risk weighted assets, the same basis should be used, if not more favourable, for finance companies as compared to banks. As the Minister has said, finance companies are already facing very fierce competition from the banks. Sir, at clause 7 (section 20) finance companies are required to publish their audited annual balance sheet and profit and loss account or such other details as required by the Authority in four daily newspapers, that means, in Malay, Tamil, Chinese and English papers. While this provision is inserted in the proposed Finance Companies (Amendment) Bill, in comparison, the recent amendment to the Banking Act requires banks to publish in such papers as prescribed by the Authority. I understand that the Authority has only the requirement that banks will publish their accounts in two daily papers, usually the English and Chinese papers. It seems that what has in fact happened is that in bringing the provisions and procedures of the Finance Companies (Amendment) Bill to be in line with the Banking Act, the old version of the section in the Banking Act has been used. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister whether he would like to give the same flexibility to finance companies as has been given to the banks in the publication of their accounts.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to raise a few points with regard to the Finance Companies (Amendment) Bill. Before I start, I wish to declare my interest as a director on the board of a finance company. The points I wish to raise are in the general interest of the industry. I would like to start by saying that I am, in principle, in agreement with most of the provisions proposed in the Bill. These new amendments serve to tighten the admission criteria and financial and prudential requirements for the finance companies operating in Singapore. Like Dr Ow, I would like to commend the Minister for achieving a good balance between prudency regulations and flexibility for the operations of finance companies in Singapore. I would like to comment on a few clauses in this Bill. First, on clause 5 (section 7) regarding the minimum $50 million capital funds. I agree with the requirement in this new section 7 which states that the existing finance companies should have a minimum capital fund of $50 million. I am pleased that the finance companies are given a slightly longer 8-year period to comply. This will enable finance companies to have time to either raise their capital funds or implement sale or merger with other finance companies. This measure will definitely help to enhance the financial strength of the remaining finance companies which wish to operate in this industry. Next, on the new section 7A regarding the capital adequacy ratio. This new section requires finance companies to maintain a capital adequacy ratio of not less than 12%, or such percentage as may be determined by the Authority.”
“Sir, I do support Dr Wang because I also believe that the pay-as-you-bid system will actually have a better effect on the prices of COE. But the question I want to ask of the Minister is this. I am pleased to hear the Minister say that he is going to improve other transport and road systems. Could he tell the House whether the total cost to be incurred each year on such improvements would more or less be matched by the collection that he will get from the COEs?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether he is aware that, because of rising property prices, there is now an increasing pool of young professionals in the so-called "sandwich" class who cannot afford to buy private housing and, at the same time, are not allowed to buy HDB flats? Would the Minister not consider that it is fair to review the income ceiling levels so that those with higher incomes can be allowed to purchase the more expensive flats, like the Executive and 5-room flats, and those with lower incomes can be allowed to buy the smaller flats which are highly subsidised?”
“Sir, I would also like to express my support for the new scheme. In fact, I have spoken to ask for this change to the queuing system in the Committee of Supply debate last year. Sir, I have a few comments. First, I support Dr Tan Cheng Bock in asking why should there be three zones. I think one basic register would be fairer to Singaporeans. Another simple reason to add to why we should not have only one zone is for those who live right in between the boundaries: how should they decide which zone they should choose and they may have families and relatives living in between the two zones. Next, I want to ask the Minister how he arrived at the 60%-40% percentages. It may be a fair formula if you state that a certain advantage is given to the first-timers, but I like to suggest that this formula should be made quite clear. Later, the proportion could be varied, because every year, the numbers of first-timers and upgraders will be different and we should adjust the percentages each year so that a very transparent and clear advantage is given to first-timers. If it is a fixed percentage, then it can cause distortion, as the relative numbers change over the years. Finally, in view of the increase in the cost of living, salaries and prices, is the Minister not thinking about adjusting the ceiling criteria for eligibility of flats for Singaporeans?”
“If we ever degenerate to that state of affairs, then we should first look at the root causes of why is there this social degeneration of our family values. Education and societal factors will have to be re-assessed.”
“Are there many abandoned old parents in the streets? Are the old folks' homes bursting at the seams with rejected, uncared for parents? If this is so, it will then become a national problem. Only then will I feel that it is justifiable for the State to step in. The problem becomes a matter for the Government to tackle and a financial and social burden for the State to bear. At that stage, then there is in fact a rational need for such a Bill that requires maintenance of parents by children. If this is not the status, why is there a need for this Bill now? I feel that sad will be the day when there are many Singaporean children neglecting their parents to the extent that it becomes a national problem. Sad will be the day when parents need to or liberally resort to going to court to get their children to support them. Even then, the main effect of the maintenance of parents law is to solve and shift the financial burden of maintaining large numbers of poor aged parents from the State back to their unfilial children. The Government would still have to solve the root causes which rest in, I believe, poor education of the children and the degeneration of social values. Fortunately, this is not the case in Singapore at present. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the conclusion of my evaluation is that I am not inclined to support the Bill in its present form. I do not feel that it is necessary to have parents resorting to going to court to sue their children to support them. Moreover, the instances of children neglecting their parents are not so prevalent at the present time, such that it becomes a matter for the State to interfere and to resolve.”
“The children did not ask to be born, and there is no contract at birth to say that the children must be taken care of by their parents, and that they in turn must take care of their parents when their parents grow old. Hence, the parents will view this as their personal failing if they have not properly educated their children, and that in failing to do so, their children do not wish to reciprocate and take care of them during their old age. From the parents' point of view, there should not be a need to legislate this requirement. Many consider it as an affront to their personal parenting ability to require the Government to step in and impose an order on their children to maintain them. Putting aside all the emotional hang-ups that we may have in this Bill, let us ask ourselves rationally: should it be done? What are the rational considerations for having this Bill? The basic premise is that if the parents have brought up their children properly, then in turn the children should be responsible for maintaining their parents in their old age. Taken narrowly in the context of the family, this is a private family affair that should be settled and resolved within the family. How, who should do it, how much and when, are matters that should be settled within the family. Why is there a need for the State to get involved? In the event of differences and disagreements, is it not better for family members to sort things out among themselves or seek mediation from friends and relatives? To have to resort to going to court seems to be a very alien idea for us Asians. This litigious approach is more a Western rather than an Eastern cultural concept. Moreover, we have to ask ourselves whether this problem of children neglecting their parents is becoming prevalent in Singapore.”
“Sir, there has been a fair amount of public reaction to this Maintenance of Parents Bill. I have heard many comments, both for and against the Bill. I can categorise the reactions into two groups, those that are reacting from the heart and those from the head. To put it in another way, whether the reactions are emotional ones, ie, from the heart, or rational ones, ie, from the head. Allow me to assess this Bill from these two angles. Coming straight from our hearts, the spontaneous emotional response of many people and I to this Bill is negative. Singapore is essentially an Asian cultural society. As Asians, it has been ingrained into us the importance of filial piety and the importance of the family. These values have been indoctrinated in our minds. There are eight virtues in Chinese teachings. These are which means patriotism, filial piety, mercy, love, courtesy, justice, integrity and shame. These are things we must understand and respect. Hence, Chinese teachings stress the importance of filial piety and family values. I believe the same applies to the teachings of the other Asian cultures of the Indians and the Malays. I believe the emotional response of all filial sons and daughters to this Bill is that it is shocking and unthinkable. Most will feel that it is only natural that our parents who have devoted their life, love and money to bring up their children, that they should then in turn support their parents in their old age. As many have said, this bondage between the parents and children is emotional. This bondage should not be legislated. On the other hand, many feel that the emotional response from parents is also similarly negative. Many responsible parents see it as their natural duty to bring up their children and to educate them.”
“Sir, can I ask the Minister whether the review will also include a review of the income limit on people who are eligible for HDB flats?”
“The third solution I can suggest is that employers should not only draw from the domestic pool in Singapore and the countries where the projects are located but should also look towards other countries in the region where these people can be recruited. And these foreign staff can be specially earmarked for the overseas projects. For example, we know that unemployment in Australia is now quite high and, therefore, there could be professionals from Australia who are prepared to work for Singapore companies in these overseas projects. These people should be given the initial training in Singapore. Then they can be sent to supervise projects in other countries like India, Indochina and China. But to facilitate these two processes of employing personnel from other foreign countries or from the foreign countries where the projects are based, I would like the Minister to be more flexible in allowing local companies to recruit foreign professionals and to enable them to work in Singapore for short stints of 6-12 months, and these personnel should not be subject to the normal local rules of immigration and employment conditions, such as the percentage of local and foreign workers that can be allowed to work in Singapore companies. I urge the Minister to consider these proposals. 1.45 pm”
“Our contributions to all these overseas projects will not only be the transfer of technology but also the transfer of software, such as in management techniques and management control. Therefore, I would like to urge the Minister to inform the House as to how his Ministry intends to cater for the necessary manpower planning and training of our local workforce to meet the expanding needs arising from more and more businesses venturing overseas in future. I can propose three measures that can be taken into account to attend to the problem of increasing demand for manpower for overseas projects. First is for his Ministry to start to plan in the middle and longer term on how more manpower for overseas projects can be trained in our tertiary institutions. This means that the Ministry has to look into its manpower planning and training now so that we can cater for the future. For example, if there is a need for more engineers and technicians, then the required intakes for polytechnic and university students for these courses will have to start now. The second solution is for employers to consider how they can recruit suitable managerial and supervisory personnel from the countries where their projects are based. It is natural that the local personnel from these countries where the overseas projects are located be used and recruited, as these people will be best suited to supervise the lower level of workers and operators. However, these managers may have to be trained in Singapore to be instilled with the right knowledge and technology before they can be effective.”
“Sir, regionalisation is a key strategy to continue sustaining Singapore's economic expansion. I can envisage that if this strategy turns out to be very successful, the demand on our manpower will be very high. This demand will be particularly heavy for people in the managerial, supervisory and skilled grades. I would like to express my concern that, in addition to the fear that there could be a hollowing out of our industries caused by the businesses shifting to the less developed countries in this region, there may also be a risk of hollowing out of our trained and skilled manpower as well. In simple language, if everybody is going overseas to work, who is left to take care of things back in Singapore? Sir, please allow me to explain my concern. As I can envisage it, at present, the regionalisation drive will only involve the CEOs and top managers who travel out to the region to source for and land business deals and contracts. I understand that even at this initial stage, the key people in the Government sector and in the private sector are already very stretched due to the numerous overseas trips. But after securing the contracts, the next level will involve middle management and supervisory personnel who will also be very much needed in implementing the projects. Hence, I have a fear that the middle management and skilled personnel will be overly stretched in time for them to attend to the domestic as well as foreign operations of their companies. The constraint on our ability to invest overseas will not be limited by our capital since Singapore has quite ample capital in reserves both by companies and the public sector. We will be constrained more by the lack of manpower.”
“Although I have made a very short speech, I would like to assure you, Sir, that I am as impassioned and concerned about this issue as my colleague, Mr Koo Tsai Kee, who has made a long and deliberate speech. The Chairman: Mr Ling How Doong is not here. Mr Koo.”
“Sir, I share the concerns of my Parliamentary colleagues on this issue of inflation and profiteering. In fact, I have raised my concern regarding this aspect in the previous years as well as during the recent Budget debate. The people, especially those in the lower income group, the housewives, the elderly, are very concerned about inflation and excessive profiteering by retailers and shopkeepers. The Government has assured the people several times that the impact of inflation due to GST will be minimal and probably not more than 3%. These are reassuring words but, unfortunately, not comforting enough. 5.45 pm What the people like to see is that the Government actually comes out with concrete measures to curb inflation and check on profiteering. Some ideas I have raised in this House in the past are to actually form a central body or committee to monitor prices and take action against profiteers. Secondly, to publish on a regular basis the normal prices, inclusive of GST, of various essential goods and services. This list serves as references for consumers to avoid those companies and shops that charge excessively. Thirdly, to form watchdog groups at constituency level to monitor unreasonable price increases. This group which I have named profiteering monitoring groups (PMGs) may refer profiteering cases to a central body under MTI for further investigation. If proven to be a serious case of profiteering, I hope the Minister can invoke his powers under the Price Control Act to deal with such cases. Sir, I hope that the Minister will consider these issues and proposals seriously.”
“Sir, the Open University Programme has been launched recently. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister what are the concrete plans and proposals that have been drawn up to encourage the expansion of the Open University Programme. I am also interested to know what is the current enrolment of students for the Open University courses and whether there is a demand for more places that have not yet been satisfied. I note from the Ministry of Education's budget that an allocation of only half a million dollars of capital grant (excluding the recurrent expenditure) has been made for the Open University Degree Programme. Compared to the total capital grant to the schools and various educational institutions of $717 million, the allocation for the Open University Programme is only a paltry 0.1%. I also note that the total budget allocation for the Open University Programme for financial year 1994/1995 is only about $22.6 million. Again, this is a very, very small sum compared to the hundreds of millions being spent for the local universities. I believe that there is a large number of our adult population who have missed out on the chance to attend university. They are very keen to improve themselves by studying for a degree under the Open University Programme. I hope that the Government can do more for those who wish to join this Programme since this is a very meaningful one. I agree with Mr Lew Syn Pau that those who are fortunate enough to study in our local universities, they enjoy subsidized university education. Similarly, I feel that to be equitable to those who attend the Open University, more capital grant and recurrent expenditure grant can be allocated for this Programme. 5.30 pm”
“Sir, the promotion of bilingualism in schools has been a corner-stone of our education policy for many years. I would like to ask the Minister for a report on the various measures that have been taken in the schools to further promote bilingualism. In addition, I would like to know whether the Ministry has conducted regular surveys to check on the progress of this policy, ie, whether the Ministry has conducted surveys and collected data on the percentage of school children who are effectively bilingual; how often are they taught their mother tongues in schools; as well as how often are the mother tongues being used in the classroom and amongst students in the school. Given our new effort to promote regional expansion and investing in the neighbouring countries such as China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, I thought that it would be even more important that the mother tongues spoken by our different races such as Mandarin, Malay and Tamil be more actively and vigorously promoted. Moreover, the teaching of the mother tongue is also an effective channel for the teaching and inculcation of moral values, such as the five shared values, and the recently promoted family values.”
“Sir, like Mr Chew Heng Ching, I would like to ask the Minister what are his Ministry's plans to privatise and list on the Stock Exchange of Singapore some Government-linked companies and statutory boards in the next two years. The Minister has said that the next major privatisation exercise will be in two years' time. I assume he is referring to the proposed privatisation of PUB. May I ask the Minister whether there are also plans to privatise other statutory boards such as the PSA, SBC and SMRT? In addition, whether there are also plans to privatise and list more GLCs this year and next year. On the privatisation of statutory boards, I would like to ask the Minister how would he ensure that there will be adequate competition and market forces in play so that the privatised statutory boards would remain effective and not continue to function as monopolies. More specifically, I would like to ask how would the Ministry ensure that new competitors can be encouraged to enter the field to compete effectively against the huge organisations such as the PUB, PSA, SBC or SMRT after they are privatised. Because without competition, these bodies may continue to function like monopolies and there may not be adequate checks to ensure that they are run efficiently.”
“But I feel that Singapore will have to be mindful to be competitive in both personal income tax and corporate tax rates so as to be comparable with our competitors, so that we can attract professionals to work here and corporations to invest here. In addition, since we have healthy budget surpluses, I feel that we should also reward our locals and local corporations for their enterprise and hard work by taxing them less, if we can afford to. 2.45 pm”
“Sir, in Singapore, the new personal income tax rate is at a maximum of 30%. In contrast, the new corporate tax rate is 27%. Since there is a difference of 3% between these two rates, I would like to ask the Minister whether he has plans to eventually cut the maximum personal income tax rate to 27%, and also to maintain it at the same level as the future corporate tax rate. I feel it is only fair that individuals who have worked hard and contributed to the economic growth of the country should be rewarded equally as compared to corporations, for their enterprise and hard work by having to pay the same tax rates. In any case, as there is a 3% difference between corporate tax and income tax, I presume that some individuals can form companies to enjoy the lower corporate tax rate. Sir, I would also like to ask the Minister what are his intentions with regard to the longer term tax rates for both individuals and corporations. With the introduction of indirect tax via GST, there will be more flexibility for the Ministry to review personal income tax rate and corporate tax rate. Singapore needs to have a tax regime that is competitive versus our main rivals such as Hong Kong. I understand that in Hong Kong, the top personal income tax rate is 25%. And it is even stipulated that the total salary tax payable by individuals should not exceed 15% of the total assessable income before deduction of any allowances. In addition, the corporate tax rate in Hong Kong was reduced this year by 1%, from 17 1/2% to 16 1/2%. I can understand that different countries have different tax rates as conditions vary from country to country. Countries also have different sources of income. For example, in Hong Kong, land sales form a major part of the authority's total revenue every year.”
“These groups may not fully enjoy the 3% reduction in personal income tax since they have low incomes and, therefore, do not pay much income taxes. On the other hand, they have to face the brunt of the full impact of the 3% GST. I would like to urge the Government to continue with these measures to help the lower-income groups as long as healthy budget balances can support these concessions. In fact, I feel more can be done by the Government if it can afford to. Finally, Sir, I wish to conclude by commenting that while the business community has felt disappointed by the Budget, they should not be. The Government has always been keenly aware of the need to create a conducive environment for businesses to thrive. The main policy direction in this year's Budget is to introduce the GST. They should allow the GST regime to work its course before considering any stimulative measures. The Government must be watchful over the threat of inflation and those who attempt to profiteer from the GST increase. The above are the reasons why I thought this year's Budget is, in fact, significant and well-considered. The leading industrialised economies, such as, USA, Europe and Japan are showing signs of emerging from the recession. On the other hand, East Asian giants, such as, China, India, Indonesia and others are awakening and beginning to boom. With a firm guiding hand, the Government has led local businesses to sail far and wide to seek our fortunes. Exciting times are ahead.”
“To mitigate the effect of CPF and SDF increases, I thought that the Government could have considered a more gradual increase of, say, 1/2% or 3/4% from the employer's CPF contribution and spread the increase of 1 1/2% over two to three years. GST It is indeed an opportune time to introduce GST when our economy is robust. Many companies can absorb some of the costs of the GST increase. I would like to congratulate the Finance Minister for his very impeccable timing. However, I would like to urge him to take extra caution and monitor those businesses which attempt to profiteer on the GST increase, by jacking up their prices excessively. I suggest that perhaps watchdog groups, particularly at the constituency level, can be formed to monitor price increases. For example, our Citizens' Consultative Committees of all the constituencies can be mobilised to form Profiteering Monitoring Groups (PMGs) to watch over retailers in the constituency who might attempt to profiteer from the GST increase. Tax Concessions for the Individual I would like to thank the Finance Minister for giving so many goodies to the individual in this year's Budget. In fact, it is opportune to reward the individual as he has worked hard to build up the economy. Previous years' Budgets have been generally pro-business. It is right that this year is pro-individual. Of the many incentives given, I am particularly heartened by the higher level of rebates for HDB service and conservancy charges and rental charges. It is also most considerate of the Government that higher levels of rebates are given to the lower-income groups, such as, those in the 1-room, 2-room and 3-room categories.”
“To enable the ordinary people to invest directly in overseas projects, the Government can consider allowing CPF funds to be used for specific approved projects. I admit that this idea is still in its very early stage at present. Naturally, we must tread with caution on the use of CPF money. But sometime in the future, if venturing overseas is proven to be a viable strategy, the Government can then consider allowing the people to invest in very specific approved projects overseas. An example is the recently announced Singapore-Suzhou project. It can become a privatisation scheme like the Singapore Telecom where Singaporeans are allowed to invest their CPF money in these privatised projects. Again, I must reiterate the need to be cautious on the use of CPF funds for overseas projects. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to move on to comment on some very specific tax incentives. Property Tax Reduction The property tax rate has been reduced from 16% to 15%. Given the rapid increase in property prices each year, especially for residential, retail and industrial properties, the savings for business of this 1% cut will be easily eroded by higher property capital values. That is, in effect, in spite of the 1% cut, companies may still be paying higher property tax in absolute terms. Hence, I believe there is justification for the Government to reduce the property tax rate to the targeted 12% more rapidly over the next few years. Employer's CPF Contribution Rate The increase of 1 1/2% on employer's CPF contribution rate is quite large. Plus the increase in the Skills Development Fund (SDF) ceiling from $750 to $1,000, the combined effect of these two increases could add another 2%, or so, to the total staff cost incurred by companies. This is quite a big sum for companies to bear.”
“Even the small-time businessmen who have the pioneering spirit can venture abroad. Just the other day I heard that a local businessman is actively working out the details for setting up a beef kuay teow outlet in Shanghai. Sir, it was said in the past that Singapore is a fine city. What they actually mean is that Singapore imposes fines liberally. There is a $500 fine for littering, another fine for not flushing the toilet, and so on. Now I feel that we can call Singapore a "fine and fund" city. "Fund" here I mean "fund", not "fun". Do you notice that there are many funds in Singapore? There are the Skills Development Fund, Venture Capital Fund, University Endowment Fund, Medisave Fund, R&D Fund, and the latest, the big fund called the Cluster Development Fund. Even at the grassroots level, we have our own CC Building Funds. There are so many Funds. Singapore is really a "fund" place, and fund-raising is a perennial affair. But this demonstrates that, fortunately, the Singapore Government and the Singapore people are flushed with money and capital. Therefore, it is appropriate that some of these funds can be channelled to overseas investments. The biggest brother of all Funds in Singapore is the very pervasive Central Provident Fund. Calls have constantly been made to use CPF for various purposes. I would like to add one more request for its use, and that is, to ask the Government to consider allowing CPF to be used for foreign investments sometime in the future. At present, the ordinary salaried worker has not caught on the venturing overseas fever. One of the very few means for him to participate is to buy shares of listed companies with strong overseas drive.”
“Just like school children, for primary school kids, it might be expected of the parents to fetch them to and fro the school. However, once they have reached secondary and university levels, the school children will have to learn to travel by themselves independently. There are many stories of Singaporean businessmen who have ventured out early on their own, and made good. To further assist our local businessmen, especially the SMEs, in sourcing business contacts and deals overseas, I say that the Government can do the following: First, to organise more overseas visits led by Government leaders, including Ministers, targeted at specific industries. Government bodies such as EDB, TDB, or even JTC, can lead delegations overseas. To spread the net wider and to get more local businessmen involved, the private sector associations such as SMA, the ASME, the various Chambers of Commerce like the Chinese, Malay and Indian Chambers of Commerce can also be encouraged to organise their own trade and business delegations overseas, so as to assist their members establish contacts and open doors. Secondly, the Government can also establish more trade and commercial representative offices overseas under the EDB or TDB in the main overseas cities in countries like PRC, India and Vietnam. And, thirdly, while we venture to the less developed countries such as in East Asia, we should not forget about opportunities in countries nearer home, such as South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. The Government can also lead business delegations to these countries. While businessmen are venturing overseas, opportunities are abound, but these should not be restricted to large organisations and businesses.”
“With an over-heated economy, it may also give rise to the risk of an over-inflated stock market and property market. As we know, last year we saw a very active and buoyant stock market as well as the property market. Since the economy is strong and steady, I feel that only minor fine-tuning is needed. Therefore, the Finance Minister is in fact correct to have chosen a conservative and cautious approach this year. In fact, I would like to commend the Minister for his very appropriate diagnosis of the health of the economy and prescribing the right dose of medicine. There is a Chinese saying dui zheng xia yao ( ) - which means to apply the medicine best suited to the illness of the patient. However, in this instance, the patient is actually not sick at all. Another Chinese saying that best describes the situation is wu bing sheng yin ( ), which means to moan and groan, although one is not ill. If a person is well and in robust health, there is no need to feed him with any more stimulants, otherwise he will be "overheated", in Hokkien, we say "tai luat". Therefore, what he actually needs is a balanced diet and also ample exercise, including doing more outdoor activities. Talking about venturing outdoor, the Government has actively exhorted our business people and professionals to venture overseas. The Government has done a lot for local businessmen. In the past two years, our Government leaders had led many business delegations to China, India and Vietnam. This year's Budget has offered some tax and CPF incentives for those who venture abroad. I think these incentives are a good start. While it is helpful to have the Government to lead the way, but eventually to land the specific deal or contract, the businessmen have to strike out by themselves.”
“Sir, in my view, this year's Budget is in fact a very significant and well-considered one. Many people in the business community have expressed disappointment in this Budget, as it has not offered any major incentives to the business sector. Since we have achieved better than expected growth in 1993, and attained healthy budget surpluses for several years, the business community has expected to be very well rewarded. Let me explain to the House why I thought this year's Budget is in fact a very good one: it is very significant and well-thought through. First of all, as the Minister has said in an interview on SBC, this year's Budget should be viewed as a continuation of the 1993 Budget. This year is significant in that you will see the introduction of a very comprehensive indirect tax regime, that is, the GST of 3%. At the same time, corporate and personal taxes are being slashed by 3% and various tax rebates and grants are given to the individuals, especially those of the lower-income group. In the previous years, the budgets had generally been pro-business. This is valid as we have to recover from a major recession in the mid-1980s. Then the world economy was generally weak in the early 1990s. The USA, Europe and Japan were in recession. During these periods, pro-business budgets were necessary, so as to stimulate economic growth. However, for last year and this year's Budget, Singapore has already reached the pink of health. For 1993, we chalked up an economic growth rate of 9.9%. Given the healthy state of the economy, now we have to be very cautious that the Budget is not overly stimulative. Moreover, since we are introducing a 3% GST, there is added concern of inflationary impact. We should be watchful over the economy being over-heated.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in this debate. I just heard Mr Ling How Doong speak at length on a few issues. In fact, I could recall briefly four issues. First, the CPF Minimum Sum Scheme, then the salary increase of civil servants, next, something on the amendments to the Legal Profession Act and, finally, medical benefits for female civil servants. Sir, today is the debate on the Budget, and these four issues are actually old issues. They are passe. They had been debated in the past and Ministers had answered them fully in the past. I do not know why Mr Ling has taken this occasion to repeat them during the Budget debate. In fact, more specifically, the issues he raised on the CPF Minimum Sum Scheme have just been very recently debated during the debate on the Presidential Address. Many Members have raised questions and asked for clarifications from the Minister. The Minister has given many clear replies to this issue. Perhaps he was not here in that very long debate which lasted many days. Therefore, he touched on these issues here again. But these are issues that have been fully debated in the past. The last point he raised was that the Government is giving less and less to the people. I would like to counter this point. Mr Speaker, Sir, I think if he has read the Budget carefully, he must acknowledge that this year's Budget is definitely very pro-individual. The individual receives quite a few goodies. Besides the 3% personal tax cut, he also gets a 5% tax rebate, HDB service and conservancy charges and rental charges rebates as well as $300 CPF Share Ownership Top-up into his account. If Mr Ling does not like this Budget, perhaps he would like to ask the Minister to withdraw all these concessions to the people.”
“At the same time, the Government must think of ways and means to ensure that they repatriate a major portion of their profits back to Singapore for investment. The next point is on the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is against the full implementation of GST because the implementation of this tax will certainly cause the prices of essential goods and services to go up. This is very unfavourable to the lower income and salaried workers. As at today, even before the implementation of GST, the wind of price increases has already started to blow. Now there are many people in Singapore who are very worried. From 1st April this year, when GST will be implemented, what will be the adverse effect on the people in general? The Government has often said that the expectations of Singaporeans are rising. But sometimes it is not because their expectations have gone up, but because they are forced by the Government or some commercial establishments to have more expensive tastes. For example, many people do not mind whether the buses they are taking are air-conditioned or not. However, with bus companies deploying more and more air-conditioned buses on the road, the commuters are forced to take the air-conditioned buses. This is not a case of rising expectations, but they are simply forced to take the air-conditioned buses. We note, with pleasure, that the Government is continuing to grant our people subsidies in education, housing and health care. Generally speaking, most of the Government policies and measures as mentioned in the President's Address are already being implemented. The Singapore Democratic Party has some reservations on certain Government policies.”
“This will help to enhance the language proficiency of the students as well as the building of their character and conduct. Our schools should also inculcate in our students the sense of patriotism and correct moral values. This will help to prevent the propagation of individualism among the students. On labour problems, I am glad to note that the Government is now paying more attention to the job opportunities and welfare of the older workers. However, the mere legislation to extend retirement age to 60 years old is not enough. I feel that the Government should encourage all Ministries and Government departments, as well as the private sector, to continue employing people who have reached retirement age but are still healthy and eager to carry on working. There are many companies in Singapore which are unwilling to continue employing these older people even before they reach retirement age. So I would like to urge the Government to look into this matter. On the other hand, those industries and organisations which are in genuine need of foreign workers, the Government should actively give them as much assistance as possible. There is a need for the Government to review its policy on the foreign workers' levy, because it adds to the cost of doing business in Singapore, and has resulted in the rise in housing and commodity prices, as well as charges for various services. This is not in the interest of the people. Next, let me deal with the question of regionalization. The Government is encouraging entrepreneurs to go overseas. But it must be careful about one point, and that is, our businessmen may bring their capital overseas, never to return. So the Government must take measures to ensure that this does not happen.”
“Another point is that I am gravely concerned about the fact that the Government has to resort to high salaries to attract talented people into politics. In fact, Singapore does not lack talents. The question is that there are very few who are willing to go into politics. Why is it so? This is because of the unique political culture in Singapore. Therefore, we must appropriately modify this kind of unique political culture in Singapore to encourage talented Singaporeans to go into politics. This is a very important and very urgent matter that we must look into. The Government must suit the remedy to the case. Although offering high salaries to attract people into politics is one of the ways, it may well be a great disaster to the country, because the people who are thus attracted will be going into politics, not to serve the nation and the people, but for the monetary rewards. As Singapore is a highly developed economy, the emphasis on money is, to some extent, inevitable. However, we can still adopt some remedial measures. For example, our schools can inculcate in the students the value of "collective interest above self interest". In other words, the value of "national interest first, individual interest second" must be inculcated. This value must be inculcated continuously from primary school right up to the university. We must let our people and the students have this basic understanding of the proper values. Once they have these values, they will be able to step forward willingly to serve the country and the people. Next, let me deal with the question of education. In the long term interest of Singapore, I feel that, apart from paying attention to science and technical subjects, we must not overlook the humanities.”
“Many retailers, especially those in the CBD, depend on this festive period for a larger volume of business of their annual income. Therefore, if shoppers can enter the CBD earlier in the evenings, it will help them to earn additional income during this very crucial period of their business cycle in the year. Sir, I thank you for your indulgence. Once again, I wish to voice my support for the motion. Mr Cheo Chai Chen (Nee Soon Central)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, in my view, the Government's policy, as enunciated in the President's Address, is not comprehensive enough because the President has made no mention of the safeguards on the spirit of democracy and the importance of political tolerance. Singapore is a country that practises the democratic system. Whether it is the ruling party or the Opposition party, the interest of the country and its people must first be looked after. We must stress the importance of maintaining the spirit of democracy and political tolerance, in order that we may be able to develop a better political system for Singapore, to attract more talented people into politics and, at the same time, maintain the political stability of Singapore. Any government that has failed to accord fair and equal treatment to the Opposition parties and their constituencies is exhibiting its lack of political tolerance and respect for the democratic system. Let me give you an example. There was originally a plan to set up a library in a certain constituency. However, at the General Election, the voters in the Constituency decided to return an Opposition member to Parliament, and the Government repeals the original plan or drags its feet in implementing the plan. This is one example.”
“The need to increase the Top-Up amount by the children to their parents is in line with the reasons for the increase in the Minimum Sum Scheme. In fact, at present, the two schemes are linked by a common Minimum Sum of $34,000 per person. My next comment is on the implementation of the full day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS). Since the implementation of the full day ALS, comments were mostly focused on the impact on the retailers and other businesses in the CBD. I would like to ask the Ministry of Communications whether they will be conducting a review of the impact of the full day ALS. I would like to also ask specifically whether the Ministry will consider shortening the hours in the evening when the ALS terminates, say, by half to one hour. Evening is a period where most office workers in the CBD will be actually leaving their offices to go home. Therefore, the traffic jam will be at the outward flow of traffic. However, by shortening the hours by half hour or one hour, it would mean that the inward flow of traffic can possibly be increased without necessarily affecting too badly the outward flow of traffic. The benefits, of course, it will bring to the retailers are better businesses for the longer period of hours in the evening and residents who live in the CBD could return home earlier. In any case, if the shortening of the evening hours cannot be implemented as a long term policy, I would like to ask the Ministry to also consider allowing shorter hours on a temporary basis, say, for about two weeks before the Chinese New Year. If the Government can agree to this temporary measure, it will demonstrate that the Government can be flexible in policy implementation.”
“Since this independent commission will be referencing salary adjustments to the market conditions, it may also be opportune for this commission to look into the perks and privileges which Ministers and top civil servants should enjoy. It is reasonable to include fringe benefits as a total package as we are comparing with the private sector. In line with the earlier part of my speech, where I said that there is a need to balance between material and non-material (or spiritual) aspects, I think the same can be said of the Ministers' salaries. Too much talk about Ministers' salaries tends to debase the important role they play. While we offer them the material attractions, we should look into how the top people in Singapore can be attracted to take on the job as Ministers by appealing to their spiritual sense, ie, we should continue to maintain the "aura of the calling to the high office" as a Minister. The public should also accord them their due respect and regard. Sir, I would like to move on to two very specific policies mentioned in the Presidential Address. First, the CPF Minimum Sum Scheme. This proposal is valid as in the long run the people's needs after their retirement will escalate as they live longer and as their standards of living rise. Therefore, a larger Minimum Sum is needed to provide for a longer life span and heavier expenses in future. This will enable the members to withdraw a larger amount per month to meet their needs. However, I would like to ask the Government whether they will also consider increasing the Topping-up Scheme where children of the retired members are allowed to top-up contributions to their CPF accounts from their own CPF accounts.”
“However, I would like to propose that, like the high-level Economic and Health Ministerial Committees that we have formed previously, it may be worthwhile to form a high level Community Development Ministerial Committee to look into our long term policies and measures to forge a national community spirit. Prominent personalities and the public may be invited to offer views and suggestions. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to move on to some other specific areas to comment on. First, ministerial and civil service salaries. All of us agree with the basic tenet that our Ministers and civil servants should be amply remunerated. There is a need to pay decent salaries so as to attract and retain good people both in the Government and in the civil service. I agree that it may be more expedient and politically more acceptable if a set formula can be arrived at to peg and automatically increase the salaries of Ministers and civil servants according to market conditions. It is natural to expect that as the country progresses, the people, including our Ministers and civil servants, should also be rewarded with higher salaries. Once the formula for the salaries of the Ministers and civil servants are set and generally accepted by the people, there will be no more need to argue about this issue. It will become a very basic and generally acceptable formula which the people have no more reason or need to get agitated about. I would like to propose that a Commission be set up to study and propose the appropriate formula for the regular adjustments of the salaries of Ministers, top civil servants and the general body of the Civil Service. Preferably, it should be an independent commission. If not, the commission should enlist independent members from the private sector.”
“As said by many Members in this House, the aspiration of the young is not so much as to become a Minister in the Government or a Minister in the Church, but to become a successful businessman with a big fat bank account. It is also stated by my colleague, Dr Wang Kai Yuen, that young people tend to give more regard to people with higher "street-smart quotient" or SQ. In his equation, people with higher SQ are people who are better at making money, and therefore earn more respect. I feel that it is important for the Government at this juncture to look into how to enhance the spiritual well-being or social cohesion of the people. We should look into how to weld our people together to have common goals, values and beliefs, and how to cultivate a more caring society with a higher sense of community spirit and togetherness, and how to attain a higher sense of appreciation of the arts. In simple language, we should move away from too much talk about "dollars and cents" and perhaps talk a little more about the "flowers and the trees." While our people are rushing to chase after the alluring smell of money, we should also stop and learn to smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers. To achieve this higher level of spiritual welfare among the people, attention should be paid to two particularly important institutions: first, the role of the education of the young and, second, the role of the mass media in influencing the thoughts of the adult population. Much can be said about these two aspects on how we can achieve the end results, but I shall leave the lengthy discourse to some other time.”
“Here, I use the term "spiritual well-being" to mean the non-material part of nation building. I do not mean spiritual in the sense of being religious. I am referring to the wider sense of social development and social cohesion, and to the emotional and mental sense of the people. I feel that better spiritual well-being of the nation can lead to our people becoming more cultivated, caring and sensitive. It serves to strengthen the emotional ties of the people to the country and the mutual bondage between the people. In contrast, material well-being or asset enhancement only serves as a reference, that is, to link the value of a citizen's personal wealth to the economic welfare of the country as a whole. Asset enhancement serves to cause the people to be more aware of the material value to help to maintain the economic progress of the country. But it does not serve to increase the emotional bondage of the people to the nation and the mutual understanding between the people. Asset enhancement ties a person to the country by pulling at his purse string. Spiritual attachment of a person to his country tugs at his heartstrings. Obviously, it is stronger to bond a person to the country with two strings rather than one. Physical assets can be liquidated, but it is not easy to erase fond memories of a person for the country. As I have said earlier, there seems to be a stronger emphasis on material success. People tend to measure success based on monetary values. For example, car ownership is a display of wealth as indicated by the person's ability to pay for the high price of a car and the COE. Another example is that a person's success is very often measured by his earning power.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to support the motion proposed by Mr Loh Meng See, the Member for Kampong Glam GRC. The President, in his Opening Address, said that the Government will "focus on longer term policies to position ourselves for nation building". I fully agree that nation building should be the main attention of the Government. This is particularly important for Singapore where there is a need to bond together people of diverse backgrounds, race and cultures. I believe that the work of nation building by the Government will have to be looked upon in two aspects: one is the material well-being of the people and the other is the spiritual or non-material well-being or social cohesion of the nation. These two aspects of material and spiritual welfare can be likened in modern day high-technology terms to the country's hardware and software. One cannot work without the other. The Government has put in a lot of energy to improve the hardware, or material well-being, of Singaporeans. This is reflected in the President's Speech which states that the Government's asset enhancement programme will enable every Singaporean to share the fruits of Singapore's success. Notably, the programmes to achieve this aim are the HDB Upgrading Programme and the HDB Interim Upgrading Programme. Another example is the recent move to get people to own shares of privatised companies, such as the Singapore Telecom. I believe that the material enhancement aspect has been very successful. This is demonstrated by the dramatic increase in the standard of living of Singaporeans over the last 15 to 20 years. In comparison to material well-being improvement, it appears that the effort to strengthen the spiritual well-being is less visible.”