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 16 of 18.
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of Code VG 3000 of the Main Estimates. Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to talk on the promotion of quality awareness in Singapore. Since the early 1970s, quality promotion has been actively pursued by both the public and private sectors. In the public sector, governmental agencies like SISIR, NPB and EDB have been promoting quality awareness. In the private sector, we have bodies like the Singapore Quality and Reliability Associations, the Singapore Association of QCC and others. But somehow, Sir, in the last few years, I have the uncomfortable feeling that the momentum for quality promotion has been slowing down in the Government sector. Last year, after much persuasion, the Government carried out a quality promotion campaign which was subsumed under the productivity movement. And this year, to date, I have not heard of any plans or any intention of the Government to undertake a campaign on quality promotion. Sir, I would strongly urge the Minister to continue to put interest on this issue of quality promotion in Singapore. The recent decision by the US to remove the GSP for Singapore and a few other NICs does point to the fact that it is important for us to continue to promote the quality of local products. This is also shown by the survey from Newsweek that was given to this House last Friday by the Member for Boon Lay. It reported that the impression of Singapore products in the US is very low. For example, only 3% of the US people surveyed thought that Singapore products are better than the US products. Whereas for a country like China, a high percentage of 8% of the people believed that China's products are better than US products.”
“I see that the Minister is very keen on keeping our beaches clean. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Member for Thomson, and users of the beach; and 3. Oil spills in the sea mainly as a result of accidents involving ships and tankers in our harbour area and shipping lanes. Sir, the public beaches are cleaned daily. Each day, some 35 workers are deployed to clean up the driftwood and the litter left behind by picnickers. It is an onerous task and few appreciate the hard and back-breaking job which our workmen have to do to clear away the rubbish left behind on the beaches. Littering by picnickers and users of the beach is still rampant in spite of the numerous refuse bins provided along the beaches. My Ministry will be purchasing suitable beach cleaning machines to replace manual cleaning for certain stretches of the beach. With regard to oil spills, Sir, the first strategy is to prevent the oil from reaching our shores. The PSA, assisted by oil companies and salvage companies, will attempt to prevent the oil spill from reaching the shores. However, in some cases, this is not possible if the spill is a large one. When the oil hits the beach, the cleaning-up is again an onerous task. Members of the public have a role to play in keeping our beaches litter-free. I urge them to dispose refuse into bins provided. A beach free of litter will certainly be more pleasant than one strewn with rubbish. Sir, my Ministry's long-term programme on the cleaning of beaches is geared towards total mechanization. For a start, we are proposing to buy three beach-cleansing machines for the 13 km stretch of East Coast Beach and the 10 km stretch of Changi Beach. Later, we will source small beach cleansing machines for the Pasir Ris, Changi Point and the Kallang Basin beaches.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MC 5100 of the Development Estimates. Sir, the Ministry of the Environment has done a very good job in keeping our island clean. Tourists have constantly praised Singapore as a clean and green city. In addition, after more than 10 years of hard work, the Ministry of the Environment has managed to clean up our rivers as well. Fishes and marine life are returning to the rivers. I would like to ask the Minister whether his Ministry, having cleaned up the rivers, has any plans to move on to clean up the beaches. I feel that in tandem with having clean parks and rivers, we should also try to keep our beaches clean. Singapore does not have much of a countryside or scenic grounds to speak of. The beaches we have are some of the very few natural recreational grounds we have in our small island city state. I think they are very precious venues for family recreational outlets and they are popularly frequented by our people, especially during the weekends. The littering of our beaches comes from both on-shore and off-shore sources so the monitoring control is very difficult. It is not a very pleasant experience if we find that we have to swim among debris and flotsam and when we get out of the water we are nicely covered with a very thin layer of oil slick. I would like to urge the Minister whether he could work together with other involved Government organizations to make a determined and concerted effort to keep our beaches clean. Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Chairman, Sir, the cleanliness of our beaches is marred by three factors: 1. Driftwood, seaweed and debris that are continuously brought in by the tides; 2. Littering by picnickers, as mentioned by the hon.”
“I thank the Minister for his very patient replies to all the Members in the House. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $40,333,900 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,144,537,400 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head L - 12.33 pm”
“Sir, may I just make a couple of points of clarification to the Minister. Sir, when I first suggested that the SBC should introduce English serials, I did not mean to say that we should cut down or curb the showing of Chinese serials. In fact, I believe the Chinese serials are very popular and they should continue. What I am suggesting is that perhaps the SBC should consider introducing new serials that have a more local flavour, and these serials can be in English. For example, a new serial on the Army, which has a wider coverage on a multi-racial background, can be broadcast as a new programme into English rather than considering dubbing the old serials in English which may result in a lower viewership because of its being a repeat programme. The second point I made is that the time from 5 to 7 pm could be used for children's educational programmes. But if there is an intention to introduce an educational programme for adults, perhaps the SBC can consider slotting it between 7 and 8 pm when the professionals and adults will be back home by then. My last point is, will the Minister enlighten us as to whether there is any intention to privatize SBC in the longer term, as it would give them more flexibility to operate as a private company?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IJ 5200 of the Development Estimates. Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to suggest some improvements to the SBC programmes. First, I would like to congratulate the SBC for having done some very good local serials in the last few years. These serials have become very popular and have gained very high viewership. I wonder whether the Minister would like to consider introducing serials in the English language whereby the SBC can use more local actors of different race groups and these local serials can depict more of the Singapore culture in in English language. The second point, Sir, is in terms of the SBC programmes from 5 to 7 pm. Now very often there are many children's programmes, eg cartoons, or similar shows that interest children. Could we not also introduce an educational programme during this period whereby you can use it to teach languages or computer training. The third point, Sir, is on the use of Channel 12. At the moment Channel 12 is commonly used to show Shakespearean films of the Canterbury Tales genre and the like, as well as wrestling. Could the Minister consider expanding the coverage in Channel 12 to other cultural events from the region, eg, shows depicting regional culture in Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand? Through more exposure to such programmes, we can have a better understanding of the cultural heritage of our neighbours.”
“Sir, do you want me to speak today or leave it to next Monday?”
“Finally, I would like to ask the Minister whether he has any plans in terms of maintenance and upgrading of old estates to address all these nagging problems in HDB estates.”
“Sir, I would like to raise a couple of points with the Minister on the design and improvements to HDB flats. During the block visits by MPs to the HDB estates, we find that the few most common matters that are being raised with us are the problems that residents encounter with HDB flats. Often when we go on these house visits, we are invited into the toilets and the kitchens of the flats, not because they want to show us anything they are proud of, but to show us the leaks from the roofs of their flats. It is a very common problem that residents encounter after residing there for only a few months or sometimes after a few years - the problem of leaks in both the toilet and the kitchen. A second problem that is always raised with us is the breakdown of lifts in HDB flats. A third problem which is also a common one is that they get free hot water through the water system. This means that the insulation of the pipes and water tanks on the roof is probably not well done so that the water gets heated up in the hot sun. Hence, hot water is fed to the households. These problems are not only encountered by residents in the old flats but also those in the new flats. We know that the policy of the Government is to build low cost housing. But I believe Singapore has reached a stage of progress, where there has been a dramatic rise in affluence, and HDB should consider building better designed flats in future - at least flats that are able to overcome these age-old problems of HDB estates. We are asking that the HDB should at least spend more time, effort and perhaps money in looking into how these very common problems can be resolved. A benefit is that the future maintenance cost of HDB estates can be lowered.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for the very detailed answer. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Our people should come eventually round to this understanding that in future, having this labour constraint, Singapore may not be able to chalk as impressive growth rates as we have experienced in the 1970's. Sir, I would like to conclude by expressing my gratification that the Government has put our economy back on a steady course and that we should see a steady and improving economic situation for Singapore. I support the motion, Sir.”
“The worrying issue is the threat of increasing trade protectionism around the world. It is laudable in view of such world wide developments that Singapore maintains a free trade policy. I too support this free trade policy of the Government. However, I am surprised that the Government has, it seems, unilaterally removed the import duty on refrigerators and the quotas on imported airconditioners. The major exporters of these products into Singapore are Japan, South Korea and Europe. I feel that the Government should have perhaps used this as a slight leverage in our discussions with these countries so that we can bargain for some better trade terms from them in future, especially with Japan. On labour shortage, I believe that shortage of labour will be a key constraint to our economic growth. Imposing a worker's levy or increasing the quantum of worker's levy is one way to discourage the use of labour and encourage companies to switch to mechanization. However, such adjustments do take time and there are many sectors that cannot be easily mechanized, such as the service sector, domestic help and nursing. I do not support a liberal relaxation of an inflow of foreign workers. But I do believe that there should be some form of selective control in some areas. However, I think we should take a much longer term approach and may have to come to the conclusion and accept that the labour supply shortage would be an issue we have to contend with as a limitation to growth. In future, Singapore's economic growth may see a steady but more moderate growth because of this limitation of labour supply.”
“For the service sector, the Finance Minister has already announced several incentives to encourage R & D activities. He has also listed some areas to focus on. There are two areas he has listed which I feel have great potential. These are in software development and the promotion of information services. I hope that the Government would not take just a passive approach in promoting R&D in Singapore. In parallel with the private sector's efforts, I hope the Government would also initiate and in fact finance some major large-scale R & D activities in these areas through governmental agencies such as the National Computer Board, SISIR and EDB. I believe that through such joint R&D efforts done in collaboration with the private sector, the Government can help local companies to have the stamina to take a longer-term view and at the same time undertake more sizable and more ambitious projects. On the promotion of small and medium-size industries, this year's budget statement did not give very much coverage. I believe this is not an indication that the Government is according a low priority to this area. We all know that it is a very important area. It will serve as a backbone of our economy in future. The local SMEs have reached a stage whereby many of them can compete effectively internationally, especially in this region against Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea in terms of product quality, price and delivery schedule. I am pleased that there is no move at the moment to adjust the SDF and payroll tax rates. Should there be any plan to make such adjustments in future, I would urge the Government to do it in a gradual process so that local companies can adapt accordingly and maintain their cost competitiveness. On trade policy, we know that trade is our life line.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is very heartening to hear from the Minister for Finance that Singapore has chalked up a strong economic growth of 8.8% in 1987. The Member for Potong Pasir has stated that this budget is an election budget. I would like to argue against that point. I do not believe that it is an election budget. Our Government is not a short-term view government which takes to implementing policies just for a one year purpose for good election results. I believe our Government is a long-term government which believes in taking a longer-term perspective. If the Government has been taking a short-term view, it would easily have offered many goodies and incentives in this year's budget. In fact, if you look through the budget for this year, I would say that it is a "no problem" budget, a budget whereby the Government has in place most of the major fiscal, tax and revenue policies. It is only a matter of some fine tuning to cater for special industries like the service sector and R & D promotion. I think there are three main long-term areas which the Government should focus its attention on. First, is the promotion and development of the service sector and the local industries. The second is on trade policy and the third is on our labour shortage. First, the development of the service sector and local industries. The Government has done much to stimulate economic growth, primarily in the past through the manufacturing sector as the lead and through promoting foreign investments. I believe that to ensure and sustain future growth, the Government should put increasing emphasis on the following two areas: (1) how to promote the growth of the service sector in Singapore; (2) how to promote the growth of local small and medium industries.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Finance Minister has given an account of the Bill which essentially covers the incentives which have been debated in the last Budget debate. But there is one point which has been introduced in the Bill which I would like to bring to the Minister's attention. This is with regard to section 33. This new section, in my view, gives the Comptroller of Income Tax too much discretionary power to disregard and to vary the income tax adjustment made by any company and therefore make them pay additional tax, if necessary. This Bill has been a point of concern by the business community and I would like to express my concern in this House. I believe that in Singapore we do not want companies or individuals to avoid tax or to evade tax. But there is some need for companies to do some form of tax planning. Under the Bill, whatever tax planning is done by a company, the Comptroller will have now has the full discretion to disregard them and to impose tax as he wishes. This has introduced a fair bit of uncertainty and concern in the business community. I am sure in Singapore we do not want our country to be called a tax haven. Neither do we want to be called a tax prison, because now the Comptroller actually has the discretion to impose tax as he deems fit. I hopethe Minister can give due regard to this concern and perhaps allay the fears of the business community that Singapore will not become a tax prison.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill before us, I believe, is a very bold and innovative one. It will also require a very bold and innovative nation to accept the reality that Singapore is a multi-racial country, that it is in our interest, in fact, the interest of all races, to have in our Parliament a multi-racial representation. With this principle in mind, I would like to support this Bill.”
“Thus, in contrast, in the single constituencies we may have candidates coming from different races and therefore some candidates may exploit the racial issue and bring forth racial dissatisfaction. The Member for Potong Pasir said that our Malay MPs should, in fact, reject the GRC concept as they will become second-class MPs because they will not enter this Parliament on their own steam. I would say that our Malay colleagues should walk into this Parliament with their heads held high in future under the GRC concept, because they would be entering Parliament linked arm-in-arm with two other Chinese MPs. Together they foster, embrace and symbolize the concept of racial harmony in Singapore. In fact, a Malay candidate will have to work as hard as their Chinese comrades during the campaigning process. In addition, when they become MPs they will have a much heavier role to play because, besides being an MP covering normal MP duties, they will have to attend to Malay issues. I would not agree with the Member for Potong Pasir who said that our Malay MPs are second-class MPs. In fact, given the heavier load, they are super-class MPs. Lastly, I would like to touch on one point in the Bill which states that the GRC will continue to function until all the three MPs are no longer holding office. In a situation where only one MP is left, I believe the burden on him to soldier on is rather heavy. In addition, as the majority of the MPs, ie, two out of three, are no longer in office, it can actually argue that this one single MP can no longer represent the GRC in which he is voted. In this case, I suggest perhaps we should consider whether we should allow a by-election to take place automatically in the case where two out of three MPs are not holding office.”
“In comparison, we in Singapore have only about 23 years of history since our independence. We have a much larger and more complex race of people. As Singapore progresses, as time goes on, we hope that our people will become more harmonious, more cohesive and united. But why not at this point in time now to introduce a system that can ensure more stability so that there will be minority representation in our Parliament? In terms of the geopolitics in this region, it will also help to add to the comfort of our neighbouring countries if we have a system in place that can guarantee the Malay and other minority races' representation in our Parliament, irrespective of whichever party is in power. This situation, I believe, will contribute to some extent to the stability of Singapore as a nation in this region. We may surely be in a very awkward situation if one day, not by choice or by design, we find that Singapore has a Parliament that is mostly represented by the majority race, and very few or none from the minority races. The surrounding region may treat Singapore in a very different light. Much has been said that the Team MPs concept will lead to racial polarization. In fact, I feel the opposite could be the case. It could be more likely that with the Team MPs concept in place, it will help to eliminate the racial element during elections. That means contesting GRCs will actually have equal profile of representation of candidates, ie, two Chinese and one from the minority group. Therefore, it would be difficult for them to put forth racial issues during the campaigning process.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to join in this very important debate. It is an important debate because the Bill proposes to change the fundamental approach to the election process. I believe everyone of us, every Singaporean, should give careful thought to this Bill and to consider the merits and pitfalls of the introduction of this Bill. I think the key consideration here is to ask whether the Bill will bring forth more stability in our political system. As the Bill is a change to add more stability in Singapore, I think it is a worthwhile Bill to support. As we know, Singapore is a multi-racial society. We cannot run away from the fact that there are always racial undertones in many national issues, especially those affecting the people. This is particularly true in the case when the people are asked to choose the person whom they want to represent them in Parliament. It is only natural that many will choose somebody whom they can relate to, someone whose background, religion, race or interests fit in with their own interests. We should look at the experience of other countries. Many other Members have quoted developing countries. But if we look at the more developed countries which have more than 200-300 years of history like the UK, Canada, India or the US, it is obvious that in these countries; up to the present day, they still have racial and minority community problems. It is quite expected that even in these so-called advanced countries, candidates from minority groups will command a better chance of gaining support from their own minority community. Similarly, candidates from the majority races will also command more votes, and a higher percentage of winning will come from candidates of the majority races.”
“Clause 4(d) empowers the Board: 'to carry on all other activities in support of racing generally in Singapore.' Does it mean that the Board now has a carte blanche to open new racing-related betting activites like dog racing or other forms of racing in Singapore? Could this be a precursor to other new forms of betting activities which the Government may want to support in future. This, I believe, is not the standing image that the Government want to create, at least not as one of high moral turpitude.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in principle, I would say that I support the concept of this Totalisator Board. With its formation, in my view, the difference is that in the past the Turf Club and the 4-digit betting was done by a private organization which also controls the large amount of surplus money in its coffers. At the same time, this private organization has to bear the stigma and adverse publicity arising from such activities. Now with the Government backing the formation of a statutory board to operate the Turf Club and the 4-digit betting, it would seem that the public wrath on such activities will fall on the Government. For example, every weekend Bukit Timah Road would be jammed with cars arising from the tremendously traffic caused by these bettors. In this regard, I would like to say that clause 5 gives some mitigating advantage to the Board in that it allows the Board to distribute money from time to time for public, social or charitable activities, as well as for the promotion of culture, arts and sports functions. I think this objective is very noble indeed. However, it is insufficient to state that the Board will from time to time do this, which means that it is at the Board's pleasure. May I suggest that the Minister consider whether the Board should actually announce publicly to set a fixed percentage of its annual profit to be given to a charitable organization like the Community Chest of Singapore. In this way, not only will the public benefit from such a charitable act but also every bettor whether he wins or loses in a bet, more often he loses than he wins, knows for sure that he will be contributing a fixed sum of his bets to a good cause. My last point, Sir, is with regard to clause 4(d) which spells out the functions of the Board.”
“I just want to make a remark that I am fearful of the proposal to cut down national service to 19 weeks. It is because I have gone through national service for 2 1/2 years and I have been a reservist for almost 10 years. I think if we cut down national service to 19 weeks, we will be sending our soldiers like young lambs to the slaughter. Will they be able to take on an aggressor? Is the aggressor going to take us seriously? Instead of being treated like chili padi, hot and hard to swallow, we will be taken like marshmellows, sweet and soft, easy to eat.”
“Sir, may I take a few minutes to make a few points?”
“Therefore they make substantial capital gain in the process. But in Singapore, as the Minister is quite aware, there is the legal requirement that when an employee exercises his stock option at the point of time when he exercises it, the Income Tax Department will come in. They will impose an income tax which is the difference between the fair market value of the shares against the option price. This means that the Government now has a share of the cake which is about 33%. Should the Minister not at this point in time also review the law governing such stock option schemes, whereby at least for the judicial managers they will be given the added incentive of enjoying more capital gains for their hard work?”
“And even after having disqualified the person, what means do we have to police and safeguard that this person would not continue to manage businesses either under proxies or through other means? Sir, the other area I would like to comment on is section 227 on the judicial management. This is a sound move. It is a new innovation in our Singapore legislation. It helps to save financially troubled companies which are inherently viable. It provides a form of shelter for companies to restructure while holding off the creditors. The key to the success of this section 227, as I see it, is whether Singa- pore has a pool of capable people who could take on the job as judicial managers. May I ask the Minister, conceptually, who are the people he feel could be given this assignment? Would there be a sufficient number of people in Singapore to take on these jobs? As we know, some of our best managers and managing directors are quite entrenched in Singapore companies. How could we entice them to come out from their secure jobs with good perks and incentives to take the risk of being judicial managers? At the moment, as I see it, there are insufficient incentives to attract such persons to take on this task. If we expect them to just draw a fixed salary and take on this onerous responsibility of being a judicial manager, I think we will be hard put to find enough people to do this job. In the United States, there are people who are called company turnaround artistes who specialize in going to sick companies and curing them. The main incentive for these people is that they are offered stock options of the companies. When they do manage to turn around the companies and the companies become successful, the value of their shares becomes much more valuable.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I too would like to congratulate the Minister for his excellent work in the Select Committee. As I read the Select Committee's Report, I am particularly impressed by the Minister's approach and attitude. I like his openness in being quite prepared to consider suggestions and even accept the good ones. And also his candour in explaining why he was unable to accept other suggestions. I would like to express my unreserved praise for the Minister for introducing further amendments to this Bill. Sir, I would like to comment on two particular sections, one on section 149 and the other on section 227. As I said, I am pleased that the Minister has kindly repealed the original section 149. Many Members in this House have spoken against the automatic disqualification feature in the original section 149. Now with the new feature where it is only by application, I think this approach is definitely a more enlightened one. The original section 149 is an inhibition against entrepreneurship which the Minister for Trade and Industry yesterday lamented was lacking in Singapore. Again, I would like to express my praise for the Minister for his responsiveness. It bears well for the good image of the Government. The new amended section 149 puts the onus on him and the official receiver to apply to the Court to disqualify the delinquent directors. I note that there is a new version, which is, the Minister could apply for disqualification even after a director has been involved in one insolvent company. I agree with this stricter approach. I think it is necessary. May I ask the Minister, however, that given this added power, how would he go about identifying people whom he feels should be disqualified? What criteria would he use?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether this change of leadership in Vietnam is in fact a change of tack that they have moved from a military expansion scheme to an economic expansion scheme where they can have a better hold on the surrounding countries and then by proxy the Soviet Union could expand its sphere of influence in this region.”
“On that note, Sir, with the assurance that I will give to the Minister to invite him as well as his Parliamentary colleague to dinners and functions, I would like to beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Dr Augustine H.H. Tan:- (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead VA-01-3310 of the Main Estimates.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would like to make a point of clarification. I did not say that the Government did not promote quality. What I did say is that the Government has subsumed the quality promotion under the productivity campaign. What I do like to see is that the Government should, in fact, have a separate campaign or drive to promote quality and that the Government should provide a separate budget to put more focus and more emphasis on quality promotion. Mr Chairman, I do not agree with the Senior Parliamentary Secretary that quality and productivity are Siamese twins. Siamese twins mean they are identical. Quality and productivity are not identical. There is a difference between these two issues. Productivity is more like a movement; a campaign to motivate the people. Whereas, quality is more tangible. You can train someone, a worker or manager, to practise and to adopt quality measures. So in that sense, I do hope that the Government would give more support in terms of training programmes and training grants for organizations like SQRA that conduct quality promotional activities and training courses. I also made a few suggestions with regard to having National Quality Awards every year for organizations and persons who have contributed significantly to quality promotion. I hope the Ministry will take some of my suggestions seriously. Perhaps I could henceforth invite the Minister, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, or his other senior Government officials, to attend our dinners and functions that we hold to promote quality. During those occasions, they would make speeches and call for the nation and the business community to support quality promotion.”
“South Korea, one of the four dragons and also a major competitor country to Singapore, is fast developing as a solid producer of high quality products. To be competitive against these other NIC countries, I would appeal to the Government to start a major quality promotion drive. I do hope that the Ministry will give serious consideration to my suggestions.”
“Douglas Danforth, the CEO of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, said that: 'Productivity is the by-product of improved quality. Commit to quality first. Then productivity and profitability will follow.' Sir, between quality and productivity, I see that productivity is a more nebulous concept. It is difficult, year in and year out, to keep asking our workers to work smarter and improve their productivity. There is only so much more output that we can squeeze out from them. In any case, an increase in output may not necessarily be an increase in productivity for if the products are of poorer quality they are of no use. On the other hand, quality is a more tangible and measurable item. We can organize training courses to teach quality improvement concepts and practices and this can be aimed at all levels, from the top management down to the workers. As far as I am aware, many countries have adopted a quality month, and mostly in October, but no country, except Singapore, has a productivity month. And yet we do not have a quality month! I would like to strongly urge the Minister to put more money and effort on quality promotion. To promote productivity, the NPB has a total operational budget of over $13 million for the financial year 1987 plus a brand new building costing about $68 million. In comparison, I do not see any specific provision being made in the Government's financial plan to promote quality. Perhaps the Government should put some money into future budgets to focus on quality promotion. Sir, we are well aware that Japan has made tremendous strides in becoming a quality producer of a wide range of consumer and industrial products.”
“I would also like to make the following suggestions for the Government to consider in promoting quality awareness in Singapore. 1) To launch a yearly quality promotion campaign. This campaign should preferably be in October so that it can coincide with the international quality improvement activities organized by other countries. 2) To give annual National Quality Promotion Awards to companies, organizations, QC practitioners and researchers in recognition of those who have made significant contribution to advance quality improvements in Singapore. 3) To designate one or several Government agencies to be responsible for quality promotion in Singapore. Two suitable Governmental agencies could be SISIR or NPB. Perhaps, if need be, I would venture to suggest that a completely new Government agency called the National Quality Institute be created to focus on this task of quality promotion. 4) Government and business leaders to give full support to the quality promotion drive as quality promotion should have top-level support. 5) The Government to provide ample funding for this effort. As the Chairman of the SQRA, I would like to make the point that I lament that the Government has to-date not given ample support to quality promotion. So far, though the Government has been promoting quality awareness, often this has been subsumed under the productivity campaign. I do not deny that the promotion of productivity is important, but I do feel that we should also devote equal effort and attention to quality promotion. I would say that quality promotion is as important as productivity promotion. However, some people would venture to say that quality is more crucial than productivity.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead VA-01-1210 of the Main Estimates. Sir, it was last year, also during the debate in the Committee of Supply, that the hon. Member for Mountbatten and currently the Senior Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry who ably persuaded me to take over from him the chairmanship of the Singapore Quality Reliability Association (SQRA). Hence, I see it now as my duty to promote and champion the cause of quality promotion in Singapore. Sir, I hope that the objective of quality promotion will have good support in this House as, besides the Member for Mountbatten, we also have the hon. Member for Brickworks and Minister for the Environment who has formerly held the position of Chairman SQRA as well. Today, we are seeing Government's businesses and professional organizations, in growing numbers, recognizing the importance of quality. Even the world's foremost industrial nation, the USA, has given due recognition to the importance of quality. They found that quality is the most crucial factor in the struggle against the fierce onslaught of foreign competition. In 1984, through a joint resolution of the US Congress and a proclamation by President Reagan, the US started a five-year campaign in quality promotion. They designated October as their National Quality Month. Since then, many countries in North and South Americas and Western Europe have also designated October as their National Quality Month. The movement is so strong that October is now recognized by many countries and their quality associations as the International Quality Month. I would like to suggest that Singapore should also adopt October as our National Quality Month.”
“Promotion of Cultural Organizations (13) That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead JF-01-3000 of the Main Estimates.”
“The fact that I am raising this point with the Minister for Finance is because I have raised this privately with the Acting Minister for Health. And he did suggest that I raise it with the Minister for Finance in this discussion. Now that it has been resolved that the Acting Minister for Health will answer the question, I would appreciate if he could give us the answer at the appropriate time. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The Chairman: Amendment (3), Encik Othman is not here. Encik Abbas.”
“The Government should be more sensitive in deciding such matters as the eligibility date for tax incentives. Sir, I feel there are two more equitable options which the Minister could have adopted. The first is to backdate it to a time, say, nine months after the Government first started the public debate or public discussion on the need for families to have more children. We can identify a time when a Government leader first raised this issue in public and then make it effective nine months from then. The second option which is again to be more neutral is to make the tax relief effective nine months from the point of announcement, that means from the time when the Minister made the announcement in March. Between the two options, Sir, I would say that the first option is more equitable as people who have responded quickly and actively to the Government's call to have a third child should be amply rewarded. Sir, I hope the Minister would consider my suggestion favourably and give us a good reply.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head N be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead NA-01-1210 of the Main Estimates. Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to bring up a point which I made during the Budget debate, ie, why not backdate earlier the tax incentive for the $20,000 tax rebate and relief for the third child to a time when the Government first started the public discussion on the procreation of more children by our people. The Minister did not answer this point during the Budget debate and he suggested that Members could bring up specific issues during the Committee of Supply. So I would like to press this issue with the Minister. Also, some residents have again come to see me on the need for clarification from the Minister on this issue. The question is: why did the Minister arbitrarily set 1st January 1987 as the effective date for eligibility? As we know, Sir, making babies is not a straightforward process. One cannot just order for a baby today and get one tomorrow. There is a gestation period of about nine months. So by making the effective date from lst January, the Minister is in fact awarding all persons who conceived their third child nine months earlier. This seems like a decision that is made more for administrative convenience. Dr Augustine Tan: That prevents abortions.”
“While allowing these statutory boards to be privatized, the Government should also allow the formation of new companies to compete with these statutory boards, provided of course, that economy of scale can be maintained. For example, if we were to privatize the PSA, JTC or Telecoms, we should allow other companies to operate and provide alternate services. And in the case of the HDB, perhaps the new Minister for National Development will be now conducive or agreeable to even privatize the HDB and allow private developers to build HDB flats. In this way, perhaps the Member for Potong Pasir, who is presently not in this House, can also consider forming a company to build HDB flats and make huge profits as he has always imagined that he could do. Sir, on this note, I would like to conclude by expressing my general support for the Government's financial plan for FY 87/88. 12.28 pm”
“In this regard, I would like to suggest that at least on the revenue side, the Government should put a hold on any more future changes; ie, not to introduce any more new taxes such as consumption tax and at the same time not to accede to the request of many Members to cut corporate tax or income tax further. The Minister should, in fact, take a hard look at the other side of the equation which is the expenditure column. I would like to propose that there should be a firm and concrete plan on how the Government could trim down the public sector. The Government should hasten its move to reduce its involvement and dominance in the business sector. It should set a certain target to reduce the public sector within a certain period of time. This is in line with the stated policy of passing more initiative back to the private sector. Rather than bringing the statutory boards into the total accounting of the Government, I would like to suggest that the Minister should, in fact, consider passing back more initiative to the private sector by privatizing more statutory boards and Government departments. However, as most of these statutory boards are functioning as monopolies, I would like to see measures being introduced to check on their efficiency and competitiveness. A good example of how this has been achieved is in the case of the public listing of the Singapore Bus Services and the formation of new bus companies to compete with the SBS. Hence the Government should seriously consider privatizing some large statutory boards. Four examples that come to my mind are Telecoms, PSA, HDB and JTC.”
“However, for once, I do hope that they have got their calculations wrong this time. I hope that this deficit situation will not be a sustaining one or a long-lasting one. The Minister has quite rightly pointed out that the Government sector cannot sustain such structural deficits. The Minister stated that the projected $3.75 billion deficit would be financed through two means. He mentioned domestic borrowings and a drawdown on the reserves. Both these measures are only temporary solutions, for we cannot continue to depend on borrowing or a drawdown on the foreign reserves should there be continued structural deficits. The Minister also hinted on the need to impose consumption tax so as to increase revenue. I would like to say that imposing excessive consumption tax will not be very palatable with the people. The shortcoming of a yearly budget forecast exercise shows up in this particular case where we see a huge deficit of $3.7 billion for this year. I would like to ask the Minister whether he also has a longer term 5-year forecast to let us know how this deficit situation would be like in the next five years. In addition, perhaps the Minister could be kind enough to allay our fear that there will not be such a problem of structural or chronic deficits in future years. Hopefully, he has some magical formula or magical wand to wish all these deficits away in future. In addition, can the Minister elaborate on how he actually intends to finance this $3.75 billion deficit in FY 87 and, if possible, how would he avoid the undesirable measures that would not be quite palatable to the people? As the deficit could be a structural problem, perhaps I would like to suggest to the Minister to look into how to structure a balance between revenue and expenditure.”
“For example, we have the procreation problem, and we have the town council policy and other new policies such as the independent schools. When policy changes are being introduced, the Government should consider that the people are temporarily thrown into a state of confusion. During such transition period, it would be better for the Government to allow for more flexibility. Sometimes for good reasons, even Government policies have been made with retrospective effect. Hence, in this case of the third child incentive, I would appeal to the Minister to consider backdating the eligibility period. Besides the procreation incentive, I think the other key feature in the Minister's budget this year is the forecasted huge overall deficit of $3.75 billion. This deficit is after taking into account the transfer of $1.5 billion from the statutory boards. Without this payment, the overall deficit would have been higher, amounting to about $5.25 billion. Just to give an idea of the size of this deficit of $3.75 billion. If I were to recall correctly, our national foreign reserves as at last year was about $30 billion, perhaps valued at cost. A deficit of $3.75 billion in one year amounts to about 10% of our foreign reserves. Any man-in-the-street will be much concerned about the need to draw down on the reserves to cover the deficit. Compared to the actual overall deficit of $1.4 billion in the public sector in 1986, the pendulum swing to a projected minus $3.75 billion in FY 87/88 is a most dramatic change. I know that the Finance Minister has a very strong and capable team of officers in his Ministry. They are known for their very efficient revenue collection and their strict control in expenditure.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, last year's budget was hailed as a stimulative budget. Several tax incentives were introduced and firm measures were taken to revive the economy. It was a fix-it budget. In comparison, this year's budget does not contain many tax incentives. The Government is allowing the measures implemented last year to continue to work their full effects through the economy. We are already seeing the efficacy of these measures. Within one year we have a rapid recovery of the economy which is being nursed back to health by a strong medicine: a combination of cost-cutting measures and reduction of taxation. As I see it, Sir, in this year's budget the main feature is the incentive for the third new-born child. The $20,000 tax rebate and other reliefs offered are quite generous. So some Members have called this year's budget as a procreative budget. On the incentive of the $20,000 tax rebate and other reliefs for the third child, I agree with the Member for Bukit Timah who last Friday in this House suggested that the Minister should consider backdating the eligibility to one or two years earlier. A few residents have also approached me on this issue. They felt that the Government should at least backdate the policy to the time when the Government started public discussion of the procreation problem. Couples who took immediate measures to respond to the Government's call to have more babies should be equally rewarded. Otherwise, people would be hesitant in future to act too fast. By catching the stork early, they have now missed the boat. I would suggest that this flexibility in the approach of the Government should be introduced, especially nowadays when the Government is introducing many new policies.”
“Sir, if any Member of this House were to request that URA car parks in their constituencies be exempted from parking charges on Sundays and holidays, would the Minister be prepared to consider such requests favourably?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to join the debate by first stating that I believe this Topping-up Scheme proposed by the Minister is indeed very innovative and deserves our support. I would like to seek a few points of clarification from the Minister. First, may I ask the Minister when the parents have already passed the age of 60 when this scheme comes into effect on a date that the Minister would like to set, whether the amount that the children transfer from their CPF accounts into their parents' accounts could be immediately withdrawn by the parents? If this is so, I think this can be a way where children can at least have the immediate benefit of transferring monies from their own CPF accounts to the parents' accounts. However, would the Minister also take note that this can be taken as a back-door way for children to withdraw money from their CPF accounts before reaching their retirement age. Could the Minister con- sider working some kind of scheme whereby it will ensure that the monies actually goes into the parents' accounts? Secondly, if the children put in cash to top-up their parents' CPF accounts, I support the Member for Yuhua's proposal that these monies contributed by the children should enjoy some form of tax relief. The last point I would like to ask the Minister is this. When a husband and wife wish to put money into the CPF accounts of their parents, can they be considered as a joint account so that either the husband's money or the wife's money in the CPF can be transferred to the accounts of the parents of either the husband or the wife?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the amendments proposed by the Minister are clear and there is an obvious need for them. Hence, I support these amendments especially, as the Minister has mentioned, when the need to extend the reservist training period is voluntary and not compulsory. However, I would like to seek from the Minister some clarification. First, I would like to comment that I believe national service and reservist in-camp training have generally become quite accepted by the people and the employers. Every male citizen knows that, unless there are exceptional reasons, he has to undergo 2 to 2 1/2 years of national service and up to 40 days of reservist in-camp training. The proposed amendment now says that reservists can be liable for longer than the 40 days of in-camp training. There seems to be no upper limit on the yearly reservist training period. May I ask the Minister: why did he not set an upper limit in the amendments just as there is a clear 40-day limit in the original provision? Is it not sound to give a clear signal to reservists and employers, including foreign investors, the limit of such obligations for their male employees? Secondly, I am pleased to hear from the Minister that the intention to extend the 40-day limit would be voluntary. May I ask the Minister for an assurance to this House that in future should there be a desire to extend the 40-day limit to the wider body of reservists, he will come back to this House to seek an amendment to section 14(1)(a) which specifies the days in which the reservist must go for in-camp training. Lastly, may I ask the Minister whether his Ministry has considered giving enhanced compensation, whether in cash or in kind, to reservists who voluntarily go for longer than 40 days of in-camp training.”
“May I ask the Acting Minister based on the planned capacity and usage, how long can our water supply last? Are there any plans to continue to promote water conservation? BG Lee Hsien Loong: How long it lasts depends on how much we consume and how much rain there is. I do not intend to disclose the figures. I do not think it is desirable. As for conservation, yes, we will continue to have water conservation campaigns; in fact, water conservation must not only be a campaign but must be a way of life, because this is a problem which will never go away from us. We have tracked our water consumption over the years. We have studied the figures and tried to find out what it is which determines how much water we consume, and we have come to one very clear conclusion: It is the GNP of Singapore which determines how much water we consume. Firstly, in factories and commercial buildings, the more you are producing, the more water is required. Secondly, even with a population in homes and households, the higher the GNP, the higher the income of the population, the higher the standard of living, the more water is used. It is a fact that 5-room HDB flats use more water per capita than 3-room HDB flats. And as the population upgrades, our consumption will go up. So year by year the demand is there. We have to restrain the demand by conservation, by careful use, and we have to increase the supply by developing all our water resources which are feasible. But we must never forget. This is a problem which is forever.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether it is correct that in the case of HDB and HUDC flats, the CPF does allow up to 100% of the valuation price for purchase of such properties? If this is true, why is there a difference in standard between application of the use of CPF for purchase of HUDC and HDB flats as compared to the purchase of private properties?”
“Thank you, Sir. May I ask the Minister whether, arising from the Israeli President's visit, firstly, have our relations with Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei been affected, and secondly, has it affected ASEAN solidarity and cooperation?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister, as reported in the Straits Times' editorial on 6th December, that the Government rescinded its decision when it knew that Indonesia and Malaysia objected to Singapore's intention to open an Embassy in Tel Aviv, why did we, in this instance, proceed to accept the President's visit from Israel?”