Lew Syn Pau
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, one of the greatest problems SMEs are facing in this downturn is the sudden decline in orders and decline in revenue and, as a result, some SMEs are not able to get enough cash flow to service the interest.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply. We look forward to increases to come. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $29,360,000 for Head F ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $3,716,700 for Head F ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head P -”
“If you take a look at the Enterprise 50 companies, Sir, a lot of them have gotten to where they are today without financial support from the Government, and it has taken them a long time, many years. Some of them have been in operation for more than 10 years.”
“This is especially important for the design-and-build projects where the contractors take the lead in a construction team which even includes the appointment of a QP and the payment of his fees. This amendment Bill does not seem to address this concern.”
“Thus, the Government is not in favour of awarding prestige or acknowledgement scholarship without the scholar making a commitment to serve in the public service. There is already much flexibility in the treatment of Government scholars.”
“Sir, there have been a lot of discussions in the papers about compulsory acquisition of flats. Does the Minister not think that the compulsory acquisition of a HDB flat is a bit too severe, because it punishes the family members who are innocent, rather than the offender himself?”
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“If the taxi service is a public transport service, just like the buses or MRT, why should taxis then be made to pay the same diesel tax of $6,600 as private cars? As my colleague, the MP for Fengshan, rightly pointed out yesterday, the historical reason for imposing the high diesel tax on private diesel cars was to discourage the use of such cars as pirate taxis. This same reason therefore cannot apply today to public vehicles like taxis. If this tax is a social cost for polluting the air, then why are so many bigger polluters paying less diesel tax? Buses have their bus lanes, the MRT has its MRT tracks, all paid for by the Government. Taxis, however, not only do not have their own taxi lanes, they are made to pay more diesel tax than buses even though taxi is about one-third the size of a bus. Surely this treatment is not in keeping with the status of taxis as the second most important public transport in Singapore. It is no wonder that taxi drivers feel that the Government does not want them to earn well and to have a better life. According to ROV statistics, the current gross earnings is $3,067 for one-shift taxis and $4,467 for two-shift taxis. The net income after deducting operation expenses is $1,565 for one-shift taxis and $2,720 for two-shift taxis. There is no employer's CPF contributions, no AWS, no bonuses. When the Government increased the diesel tax to $4,400 in November last year, with plans to raise it again to $6,600 in November this year, the Ministry of Communications and Information said the increase has been calculated so that taxi operators could accommodate the diesel tax increase without increasing any taxi fares.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully support the goal of the Government to create a better life for all Singaporeans. I am happy to note that it is the Government's desire for every working Singaporean to have a skilled, well-paid job; and every family to live in an affordable, comfortable home. There is, however, a group of people I represent who feel that the Government does not want them to have a better life. Every time when their income goes up a little, the Government increases their operating costs, and they take a few steps backwards. At this stage, Sir, I would like to declare my interest as the General Manager of NTUC Comfort which is the largest taxi organization in Singapore. The taxi industry in Singapore supports about 20,000 taxi drivers comprising full-time and relief drivers. Although taxi service is a personalized service, the ridership is 700,000 passenger trips per day and this makes it the second most important public transport system in Singapore, next to the buses. Buses carry 2.5 million passengers per day and the Government has provided them with special bus lanes. The ridership of the MRT is only 280,000 passenger trips per day and the Government has invested about $5 billion in the MRT system. I understand that this capital cost will not be recovered. The taxi service in Singapore, although a personalized service, is clearly a very important public transport service. And it must be in recognition of the public nature of this service that the Government has decided to entrust the regulation of its taxi fares to the Public Transport Council. The Public Transport Council also regulates bus fares and MRT fares.”