Liang Eng Hwa
Singapore
“Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to thank IMDA for its flexibility in allowing the filming of "Dear You" in the Teochew dialect, and for approving additional screenings to meet public demand.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Sir, we hope that there will be peaceful resolution to the Middle East conflict soon and that the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open.”
“Sir, I believe the political office holders have not replied or responded to my cut on traffic congestion, so can I perhaps ask the Minister, whether is it because he disagrees with me that the traffic congestion has worsened or that there is no non-pricing solutions to traffic congestion, which I had asked for.”
“Sir, Minister Chee, in his speech mentioned that this year we will be launching 19,600 new BTO flats. So, I would like to ask, how he sees the trajectory in the next two, three years.”
“Also, flexible work arrangements, through inter-agency coordination, could also help flatten peak demand. Sir, road pricing remains important, of course, but it must be a multi-pronged approach to manage congestions. And all these suggestions that I have made, I hope would also help to reduce congestions.”
“Thank you, Speaker. Sir, there are Singaporeans who felt strongly that the founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew's original wish to have the house demolished should be respected. It is not just because this is his personal wish but also the values that he espouse, which is not to have personal monuments.”
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“Mdm Chair, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100." Mdm Chair, should we be concerned about the state of our economy? The economy grew by 2% in 2015 and we are expected to grow between 1% and 3% in 2016. So, by the aggregate macro indicators, we grew slower, but we are not in recession. Based on the Ministry of Trade and Industry's (MTI's) forecast for the year, we should not be in recession this year as well. But is this the situation on the ground? Based on sentiment surveys and many other anecdotal observations and feedback, businesses have reflected that times are bad and many are struggling to manage both top and bottom lines. Are we at risk of entering into a recession? Well, the manufacturing sector is already in recession. It recorded its weakest performance in the last quarter of 2015, with a contraction of 6.7%. This is extending the decline of 6% in the preceding quarter. Manufacturing, which includes electronics and the oil and gas sectors, tends to be more outward-oriented and, hence, are directly exposed to the current weak global demand. The services sector, which is more domestic-focused, grew at a moderate pace of 2.8% in the last quarter but the sector is faced with supply side constraints and margin squeeze. The current narrative for the global growth outlook does not look good as well. Just two days ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of the loss of growth momentum and frigidity in the global economy. Since the start of the year, uncertainty and downside risks have also increased, the state of China's economy being the foremost concern.”
“Mr Chairman, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Singapore-Japan diplomatic relations. Our relations with Japan have grown and are increasingly broad and multi-faceted. I recall that the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) was Japan's first Free Trade Agreement and Singapore's first with a major trading partner. Given that Japan has signalled its desire to play a more proactive role in the region and expand relations with ASEAN, it is well-timed for us to take stock and further broaden and deepen our bilateral and regional cooperation with Japan. May I seek an update on Singapore's Page: 108 relations with Japan? Relations with Republic of Korea Our relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK). Singapore and ROK enjoy long-standing ties which extend into many areas. We have become each other's top trading partner over the years and seek to deepen cooperation in various sectors, such as ICT, real estate, SME and transport. Last year, we commemorated the 40th anniversary of Singapore-ROK diplomatic relation. I would like to similarly seek an update on our relations with ROK. Relations with India”
“This means that the existing skills of workers may not meet the demand of the new jobs, creating a mismatch problem. The workers will end up like a "hero who has no place to show his prowess". So, I hope that the Government will pay attention to this issue and give more support. Although we have some comprehensive packages, I believe that, in helping the workers, we can adopt a more proactive, caring and inclusive approach. (In English): Mdm Speaker, with that, I support the Budget.”
“Page: 21 At least in the short to medium term, the Government would have to push urgently the various key horizontal enablers and to facilitate the realisation of a conducive ecosystem where innovation and entrepreneurship flourish. Left to market forces, we may take a long while to transit or may not even get there. Or we may have to do it in a more painful way at a later stage. Ultimately, it is the businesses that must come up with the next "killer" product or services that can sell to the consumers of the world. Businesses should be the trendsetters. The Government can help, but the Government may not always make the right business call. Hence, the ideal state is for the Government to forge and sustain strong partnerships with economic stakeholders and, over time, with the stronger industry players and enterprises emerging, they can take the lead in driving the growth ahead. The gut instinct or the "animal spirit" is still very much needed to bring us to the desired state. Mdm Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, with the rapid technological development in the world, Singapore is also undergoing a necessary industrial transformation process. What I am most concerned about is how this will directly impact our workers. This is the challenge that many developed countries are facing. A recent survey showed that in the US, close to 47% of the existing jobs could be replaced by technology or digitisation in the next few years. The advances of technology and the Internet have created innovative business models which, in turn, caused products and services to become outdated very fast and their lifespan shortened.”
“One of the questions posed to the chief executive officers (CEOs) participating in the poll was whether businesses should rely less on the Government's help and more on their own efforts. The results were actually surprisingly very encouraging. From the poll, 69% of CEOs think that businesses should be more self-reliant and rely more on themselves and less on the Government to grow their businesses, although I must add that the recent position paper published by the Singapore Business Federation suggests a different sentiment. In that paper, almost all the recommendations that were put up asked for the Government to do more. In preparing this speech, I must admit I struggled quite a bit as to the role the Government should play in the next phase of our economic development. In the last five decades, we saw strong and direct involvement by the Government in industrialising the country. We achieved remarkable growth, very much engineered by the state. Government-linked companies, like Singapore Airlines (SIA), Sembawang Corporation (Sembcorp), Keppel, the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering, were established which developed world-class capabilities for the economy and created good jobs. The Government's direct hand in the economy has enabled Singapore to progress and thrive. But my intuition tells me that in the next phase of development where the strategy is geared towards innovation, value creating and more entrepreneurship, the Government's hand in the economy should be less direct, though not necessarily less in terms of financial resources or administration.”
“There is no guarantee that the expected long-term returns would not fall in the years to come, as it really depends on the prevailing yields of the financial markets and the global outlook. Already, we are seeing negative interest rates in countries like Japan and Europe and that we are entering into a world of low returns. Mdm Speaker, notwithstanding the expansionary Budget, we should still monitor very closely how the slowdown would impact businesses in the short term. Uncertainties and downside risks in the global economy have increased. For instance, as China continues with reforms to rebalance the economy, there are concerns that the Chinese economy could slow down more sharply than expected. The services-driven nature of growth in the US and China, as well as the trends of in-sourcing in the two countries, may mean that external demand for our exports will remain subdued. China and the US are our top trading partners. We should watch closely how the lower oil prices would impact the marine and offshore sector as these could have negative spillover effects on other sectors supporting the oil and gas industry. And we should also be concerned about the continuing shrinkage of the manufacturing sector. Mdm Speaker, the Finance Minister had emphasised at length the spirit of partnership in his speech. The Government will lead and act, whether it is economic transformation or social uplifting. But the Government cannot do it alone. We can achieve better and with more sustainable outcomes if the stakeholders are in this together. Last month, The Business Times conducted a pre-Budget poll.”
“And in the years to come, the rate of increase in expenditure will continue to rise. While there are no new measures in this year's Budget to deal with the cyclical downturn, the Budget this year still presents substantial support for firms, especially SMEs. The $1.9 billion Wage Credit Scheme payout this year, the $1 billion extension of the Special Employment Credit (SEC) and the enhanced corporate income tax rebate, among others, actually put money into businesses and would help the cash flow position of companies. Although the increase in total expenditure amounts to $5 billion in this year's Budget, the overall injection to the economy is actually much higher if the net investment returns (NIR) contribution is taken into consideration. The NIR contribution (NRIC) of $14.7 billion, versus $9.9 billion in financial year (FY2015), helps to fund the basic deficit of $7.7 billion. This net injection into the Budget, which is not funded through taxes or tax leakages, represents a strong stimulus to the economy and helps to support overall growth. While the overall surplus of $3.45 billion may be good news, it may pose potential problems to the Finance Minister. I am sure expectations will rise for the Government to spend more, given the surplus that we have. However, we should note that the increase in NIRC, which is the major balancing item for the Budget, is merely due to changes made to the NIR framework last year. Temasek's NIRC is now also based on expected long-term returns, like the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Some would argue these are Page: 20 just changes to accounting treatment.”
“Clearly, in a Government-led transformation and where the agencies play a hands-on role to facilitate and enable transformation, we need to first get the bureaucracy right for the task. Agencies will have to work in a more integrated and networked rather than the hierarchical manner. Public sector officers will also need to master the art of seeking aligned partnership with enterprises, something that is not written in the Public Service manual. Also, importantly, in innovation-driven transformations, agencies administering the grants will need to move away from key performance indicator (KPI)-driven criteria to more outcome-based criteria in dishing out support. The ticking of boxes approach would not achieve the outcomes that we want. As we seek new ways to grow the economy, it is also timely to take stock and review if the various economic agencies that were set up years ago are still well-positioned to carry out the transformation roadmaps laid out. Agencies like the Economic Development Board (EDB), SPRING, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, A*STAR, JTC, WDA, IDA, among others, have been excellent and effective organisations in carrying out their respective missions. But as we press on for a decisive shift in our economic growth strategy, we have to examine whether the scope of work of different agencies can be better integrated, and whether we can eradicate overlaps and re-mission the agencies if necessary. And whether we need a merger and acquisition (M&A), so to speak, among the agencies? Mdm Speaker, I am glad that the Finance Minister continues to exercise prudence in the Budget, notwithstanding this being an expansionary Budget. It is worth noting that our expenditures have grown to almost two-and-a-half times what they were 10 years ago.”
“The transformation package is an excellent opportunity for our local technology industry to build credentials and expertise, which they can leverage to expand internationally. This should be the second order priority for the National Robotics Programme (NRP). Leveraging on the trade associations and chambers (TACs) to help transform industry is also a logical move. The Government and businesses can work together to develop the industries, identify market failures and work out the most appropriate interventions, be it systemic or otherwise. We should leverage on TACs to build interdependencies among industry participants and encourage the "win-win" culture of mutual harnessing and sharing. Of course, the TACs would also need a little incentivising as well, and, hence, the Local Enterprise and Association Development-Plus (LEAD+) programme is the needed boost. However, it becomes trickier if the sector has more than one TAC representing them. Here is where the Government could encourage the setting up of umbrella TACs to coordinate for the entire sector. I applaud the move to second up to 20 public officers to interested TACs to better understand the needs of businesses and to build closer rapport. It demonstrates commitment to the task and would help raise the partnership to new high levels. I also read from the news that a team of officers drawn from different agencies will be set up to serve each of the 20-plus sectors. These cluster champions will actively engage the industry to carry out the transformation roadmap. Such facilitation efforts, when backed by necessary Page: 19 resources will help kick-start and fast track the pace of transformation.”
“To transform at the enterprise level is already a formidable challenge. To do it at the economy-wide level, the challenges just multiply. Take the National Robotics Programme. We have seen promising adoption at the hospitals. The Finance Minister mentioned that it could be widely applied to transform sectors, such as construction, manufacturing and logistics, with the aim of providing solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at reasonable cost. This is all very exciting, but I can imagine the various implementation challenges ahead. The first question is whether there will be a champion agency with deep enough knowledge and the leadership to drive and coordinate this programme. How would the robotics programme work along with the various efforts by the other agencies, like the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), and how will this agency be involved in the research and development (R&D), acquisition, standards and deployment of robotics in the enterprises. Or is this a case where the Government's role is primarily as the grant provider and to "let a thousand flowers bloom", with the hope that it will accelerate the use of robotics in the industry? If so, how do we minimise wastage from duplication in R&D, share the limited robotics expertise and avoid fragmenting the robotics suppliers' industry? As we promote and incentivise the use of technology in enterprises, we should also synergistically grow our local technology providers.”
“So, in developing the next gen JID, we should bear in mind not to allow the cost of land and the cost development to be the de-enabling factor for startups or would-be entrepreneurs. In the last decade, innovation districts have emerged in the Western economies. In many of the United States (US) cities, innovation districts emerged near anchor institutions – the universities – the midtown areas where economy shaping, learning, living and social networking are integrated. It has helped cities move up the value chain of global competitiveness. Creating a new innovation district next to an established technological institute like the Nanyang Technology University (NTU) is an exciting idea. Besides the innovation districts and launchpads, our neighbourhoods are also places where entrepreneurism and innovations can take root. After all, Jack Ma started Alibaba at his humble apartment in Hangzhou. Already in the heartlands, we have seen smart work centres being set up at community locations like the community clubs and libraries. They are meant to promote flexible work arrangements. Nonetheless, these well-equipped and broadband-enabled smart work centres can also serve as initial workspace for budding startups. The Finance Minister spoke about revitalising Housing and Development Board (HDB) shops in his speech. Perhaps, HDB can work with the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) to set aside shop spaces as smart work centres for Page: 18 heartland startups as well. Much has been said about the need for a "more integrated approach" among the different agencies and support schemes, and a "more targeted approach" to develop each industry. These are very much the crux of implementing transformation on a national scale.”
“It is no longer just about setting up digital platforms for the purpose of gaining efficiencies and data management. Rather, digital platforms should also spur innovations and co-creation. To this end, developing the National Trade Platform into an open innovation platform where third-party apps and value-adding services can be incorporated is accretive. In fact, in many platforms today, it is the apps that drive adoption and utilisations. The global trading system has grown in complexity and we need to continually crowd source innovative solutions so as to stay in-game in the global trade flows. Mdm Speaker, having a vibrant startup scene is an essential part of an innovative and value-creating economy. We need to place-make the ecosystem with the necessary players, the budding entrepreneurs, mentors, venture and private equity funds, among others. Hence, I fully support the set-up of the new entity SG-Innovate, which is the soft infrastructure needed to foster innovation and collaborations. On the other hand, we will also need the second Launchpad @ Jurong Innovation District (JID), which is the hard infrastructure to serve as spaces for entrepreneurs and researchers to design and test-bed their new ideas. A key ingredient for a vibrant startup scene is for the barriers to entry to be kept as low as possible, whether it is rental costs, red tape or others. I like the JTC Launchpad at one north – the now famous Blk 71 at Ayer Rajah. It is actually a very modest set-up but a very conducive environment. I would imagine that the maintenance cost for the place would not cost too much. And that is the right approach.”
“The Industry Transformation Programme is both an exciting roadmap to achieve quality growth as well as a practical organisation of the various efforts to help businesses deepen capabilities, scale up technology adoption and transform through innovation. The $400 million Automation Support Package and the $450 million National Robotics Programme are necessary bold moves. Somehow, we cannot run away from tagging dollar values to important initiatives to show solid commitments. I welcome that. The enhanced Risk-sharing Financing Scheme to support scale-ups as well as the upsized Mezzanine Growth Fund to support expansion and internationalisations are useful enablers. It goes some way to addressing the funding needs of companies seeking to grow their businesses. These new measures are tilted in favour of businesses that are looking to upscale, innovate and internationalise, the three important key words in the Industry Transformation Programme. And I agree with the approach. It is usual to expect individual businesses to have varying aspirations and perspectives with regard to future growth or expansions. Some companies may be Page: 17 satisfied with the status quo and find no need to take on new risks or seek new growth markets. But for those who are prepared to venture into new frontiers and have good business ideas and are willing to take on investment risks, we should do our utmost to assist them in a meaningful way so as to increase their chances of succeeding. Their successes will add vibrancy to the economy, create better jobs and grow value overall. Digitisation of the economy and the Internet of Things continue to proliferate at a very fast speed around the world.”
“Mdm Speaker, firstly, my congratulations to the Finance Minister for his well-delivered maiden Budget speech. I am most impressed with the overall balance of the Budget measures and the clear roadmap articulated in the area of industry transformation. Although there were no new big-ticket items introduced, the Budget actually went into the next level of the nuts and bolts of implementing the various policy measures that were introduced in the last few years. It shows continuity in the policy directions and staying committed to the overall game plan. Here, I would also want to record our thanks to Deputy Prime Minister Tharman, the former Finance Minister, for instituting the timely and necessary shifts in the fiscal policy during his tenure and getting us towards more inclusive growth as well as strengthening our social compact. The Budget, in a way, also reminded us that we do have in place a comprehensive tool kit to deal with the challenges ahead. A number of life-changing measures were introduced in recent years and require steadfast and diligent implementation. I see this as among the important priorities of this year's Budget, which is to implement well the series of far-reaching social and economic programmes and to ensure they remain well-funded and sustained. Clearly, economic transformation is the priority focus for this year's Budget and, indeed, will be in the years to come. That is the "get real" part for us as a country. We are mindful that to achieve better lives and a stronger nation, we need to have the means and the resources to get there.”
“Madam, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State what can the owners do if the contractors or the BSC are reluctant or are dragging their feet in responding to the defect complaints, knowing very well that time is not on the side of the new owners because they have a short window within which they must move in? They know that if they can drag further, the likelihood is that the owners will just accept the defects. So, what can the new owners do? How can we help them? Secondly, my sense on the ground is that in some of the projects that I have encountered, there are really quite a number of defects. The HDB officers are just not able to cope with them. Manpower resource is a problem and they may not be empowered to do some of the things to rectify certain defects. It always comes upon the contractor. The contractor will again try to use the default response and push back and say, "No, it could be due to some other things". How do we help the new owners so that they have a positive experience moving into the new flats?”
“We need to continue to stay open, to stay connected and to stay open to changes, and that way, we will give our local entrepreneurs and local innovators access to more opportunities, and it enhances our chances of succeeding as a value creating economy. Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion. 2.47 pm”
“Over time, we need to blur the lines between learning in schools and training during employment, and it should be a continuous journey. Mdm Speaker, for entrepreneurship and innovative culture to permeate across the society, we need individuals who are willing to try and willing to explore to step out of their comfort zones. Going forward, we literally have to think like a start-up in the way we respond to opportunities. It is not just the businesses and individuals but the entire ecosystem including the educational institutions, social stakeholders, business associations and, crucially, the Government and regulators. Our laws, our rules as well as our Instruction Manuals (IMs) in the Government are written quite some time ago and may need to be updated to cater for a more entrepreneurial society. Mdm Speaker, to conclude, as we venture into the value-creating world and to become an innovative economy, we have to remain open to all talents and ideas. That is very much part of the interdependencies needed for the ecosystem to flourish. Having a diverse range of talents will strengthen our position as an innovation hub. By all means, manage and calibrate our overall foreign manpower supply in accordance to our physical and social constraints like what many international centres, such as New York and London, have done. But we must remain open and not be averse to an innovator or entrepreneur from a foreign land coming here to innovate and venture. It is all a necessary part of the buzz and vibrancy. Staying open and staying plugged to the global network has strengthened our position as a key economic hub in the past.”
“Coupled with the emergence of the so-called "gig economy" – something that Mr Ang Hin Kee has talked about with the freelancers – the concept of full-time employment or permanent employment may well be under threat. We have already seen how Uber has disrupted the traditional taxi business and the livelihood of taxi drivers, or how waves of digitisations by fintech companies are threatening traditional bank financing and bank intermediation. We are not alone in this challenge. A recent study in the United States (US) estimated that 47% of the total US employment is at risk of being computerised or digitised. Hence, we have to make learning continual, whether it is by seeking new knowledge or learning new skills a way of life and actually enjoy and be motivated by it. SkillsFuture could be the mindset game changer and especially with the SkillsFuture's credit of $500 that will certainly help ease the costs barriers. What I like about SkillsFuture is that it enables individuals to take ownership of their own learning journey and hopefully inculcate the attitude to always seek new knowledge and to improve skills as part of their lifestyle routine. However, we should also be mindful about whether the training and courses under SkillsFuture would have sufficient depth and focus and whether it would help improve individual employability and skills mastery. Also, continuous learning should be made more accessible to all in ITEs, polytechnics and universities. There should be no age barrier. There should be no paper barrier. We can calibrate the right fee structure, but we should make it accessible to all. We should also ensure that it will not be at the expense of places set aside for each cohort of new undergraduates.”
“I am glad that the two Ministers at MOE have reiterated in their Ministry's Addendum that MOE will reduce the over-emphasis on academic results and make learning more enjoyable. And that the learning institutions will help Singaporeans discover their strengths and interests and thereby cultivate passions and fulfil aspirations. I have lifted this from the Addendum. I am sure this is music to our ears. These are all necessary moves to become an innovative and entrepreneurial society. We must not just say it or signal it, but also do it in every sense and every aspect. Another human aspect that is essential for a flourishing innovative and entrepreneurial scene is the existence of lively communities of innovators and the related stakeholders. These are very much informal social structures that may involve the university alumni support groups, networks of overseas Singaporeans, mentors or serial entrepreneurs, among others, to create buzz, facilitate sharing and mentoring, and also to foster collaborations and partnerships. We need to place-make of some sort to get the entrepreneurs and innovators to come together to participate in lively forums and to leverage on the value of interdependencies. Universities and polytechnics are among the suitable convenors for such social groups and should be encouraged to initiate such communities to form. Mdm Speaker, the third human factor I would like to touch on is life-long learning. Continual learning and seeking new knowledge are the best response to the rapidly changing technological landscape and also equally fast changing business models. We must keep up and not be on the wrong part of the skills mismatch curve as the landscape changes.”
“How does stopping CCA during the PSLE year or O-level year help in developing the students that we want? It is just going to increase the tension and add more stress. We need to develop students to be self-assured, confident and, for that matter, to be able to multi-task. I agree with Minister Ong Ye Kung that we should not be too obsessed with numbers. Often, when I attend schools' annual award ceremonies, the Principal's speech and presentations sometimes really sound like a shareholder's Annual General Meeting (AGM). There will be a lot of performance indicators being shown. So, I do not think numbers are that important. The speech should be about motivating the students and motivating the parents as well. I do believe that there exists a distribution of strengths and abilities for each cohort of students. There will be some who may appear to do less well in a whole bell curve, but who, nevertheless, have the inclination to think out-of-the-box, and are perhaps less "conventional" than others in their learning attitude. Perhaps, they have more of the "maverick-like" thinking. These are the people who may have street savviness to be entrepreneurial and to venture into uncharted waters. These may those who may not do well in schools, very much like Jack Ma, Steve Jobs or George Quek of "BreadTalk". In the early years, they tend to daydream a lot – I agree with Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam that some of it is good. In fact, we should not dampen their natural curiosity, especially during their early formative years. Help them, open up to them and give them second chances and if not, third chances even if they have not done well academically in their early years. Keep them in the system so that they can learn on and gain knowledge.”
“I echo calls by many Members in this House for the Ministry of Education (MOE) to do more to diffuse the high stress and high stakes situation of our education system, from the primary school to tertiary level. In the economy of the future, having good subject-based knowledge is important but not good enough on its own. We need to foster critical and creative thinking as well as develop behavioural and social skills. Our education system cannot be narrowly focused on examination-based academic performance. It just stresses out everyone – the students, parents and teachers and even the Members of Parliament, when the parents come to see us to appeal for the scores and to get into the schools. So, it stresses out everybody with very little gain in return besides generating the national examinations scores to help us do the school postings. Instead, it risks producing an education system that dampens the innovative and entrepreneur spirit. Students may score well in exams for those subjects, but they may have little passion or interest in that subject matter, which some recent international studies have shown. So, we need to distinguish the truth from the facts. Also, schools should avoid crowding out less easily assessed curriculum such arts, sports and aesthetic subjects as these activities stimulate a wide range of social, thinking and behavioural skills. Rather, the weightage of these subjects should be increased so that learning in school can be fun and can be enriching. So, when I heard that in some schools, co-curricular activities (CCA) were stopped for students in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) year or the "O" Level year, just so that the students can focus on their major examinations, it disturbed me quite a fair bit.”
“We also have among the best legal framework for intellectual property (IP) protection rights in the world as well as the high availability of venture capital and research and development (R&D) funding. These are necessary conditions for a vibrant start-up scene. However, while Singapore ranks high in world rankings in terms innovation inputs, such as infrastructural support and business sophistication, the innovation output has not been as encouraging; and it is mostly in the area of wholesale trade and financial services. Indeed, it was not the lack of support schemes for the businesses or the regulatory frameworks being less or not innovation-friendly enough, that is the impediment. The smart and hardworking officers of the various economic agencies are always on top of this and will continue to add new schemes, finesse existing schemes as well as to keep up with the best practices around the world. I think we only need to look at the SPRING Singapore website to see the range of schemes available to help the start-ups. I am sure the CFE will further add more new ideas and new approaches in developing innovative capabilities for companies and to expand our market linkages. We can debate that at a later date, while the new approaches that we should explore. But what I think we need do more, and what we are talking more about today, is the human dimension of innovation and entrepreneurship. The human factor is the spirit and purpose of innovation. Successful innovation rests on the foundation of education, skills and, more importantly, the passion and risk attitudes of individuals.”
“With smarter resource optimisation, greater technological adoption and enhanced global linkages, our smallness as a country can be less of a disadvantage. In the future landscape, it may well be the case where the big no longer beats the small. It is the fast that beats the slow and the imaginative that will eat the lunches of the uninspired. But we need to be among the early movers and trendsetters, and to exploit the fast-expanding networked world to our advantage. The key is how we identify the future opportunities and how we could transform ourselves to seize those opportunities. The CFE has that difficult task on their plate. The Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Finance, Trade and Industry looks forward to participating in discussions and engaging the CFE on the various suggestions and recommendations in the months ahead. In this era of fast-paced technological changes and, as a result, shortened obsolescence cycle, it is increasingly very difficult to predict future product trends. We may be none the wiser about what the next "Big Thing" would be – more than ever before. So, building hard infrastructure ahead of demand, something that the Government is very good at, may not be as straightforward in the future world. Hence, the road ahead towards a value creating economy is more about developing soft infrastructures to become an innovative and entrepreneurial society – and thereby be able take advantage on a range of possible scenarios that comes our way. Singapore has been consistently recognised for its business-friendly environment and producing graduates excelling in mathematics and science.”
“However, given the inherent constraints in our capacity, that would mean we have to settle for a much lower growth range going forward and are destined to always compete with the next cheaper player. We will also be at the mercy of the volatile global demand cycles, which tends to impact us more as a small and open economy. So, just adding value and competing on prices has become less of a value proposition for us, especially so as our economy matures and that we are near the limits in terms of manpower growth and land spaces. Enter the value creating and innovative economy, a term that we have be hearing a lot in the last few months since the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) was set up. It is the next logical step, and it is also time that we make bold moves to open up new growth frontiers and expand possibilities. Any restructuring and any major re-positioning of the economy of this magnitude comes with its challenges and risks. There will be disruptions to existing businesses and jobs, and the outcomes are by no means guaranteed. Fortunately for Singapore, we are in a position of strength. Our strong economic fundamentals, our solid financials and the adaptable workforce can help us weather the risks and to tackle the multiple challenges ahead. Our hard-earned political and social stability also give us the scope to think and act in the long-term interest of the country – in contrast with many of our regional competitors who are bogged down with their domestic political impasses or social disharmony. For a small country with unchangeable physical constraints, further advances in digitisation and easier access to the global knowledge pool actually works better for Singapore.”
“Mdm Speaker, I am glad that the President spoke about renewing our economy in his address. I would like to voice my support. We owe it to our children to keep the country strong and our economy vibrant so that they can also chase the rainbows and fulfil aspirations. Social well-being for our people can only be enhanced and sustained if we have a growing economy that generates the financial resources to pay for the needed expenditures, which include security which the House talked about last two days, as well as to provide good job opportunities for our citizen workforce. That includes the tens of thousands fresh graduates that join the workforce each year. In the last 50 years, we earned our prosperity largely by value adding and we are pretty good at that. Not just because we do it cheaper than others but rather, we were able to create our own competitive advantages. We engineered strong growth in manufacturing and services by way of a whole-of-Government approach – building the necessary infrastructure ahead of demand – ports, airport, industrial spaces – continually developing international linkages and connectivity to facilitate trade and investments, free trade agreements (FTAs), multinational corporations (MNCs) with their international links, instituting pro-business policies, among others, our low tax regime, and ensuring that there are sufficient manpower resources for businesses, both local sourced and foreign sourced. This strategy has enabled companies large and small to ride on the global economic cycles and thrive. Continuing this way of growing our economy is still a viable option, particularly in areas of high value adding, and it remains a policy option.”
“Mdm Speaker, in his reply, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman mentioned about the different types of audit conducted by AGO. I would Page: 17 like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he could help us better understand the different types of audit that AGO conducts. For example, those that AGO conducts on the various Ministries and agencies on an annual basis, versus those that AGO conducted on the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC), and what are the differences?”
“Finally, while we debate over the constitutional amendments as to what we should spend, how we should spend the returns, let us not forget the Pioneers and the generations thereafter that have built up the reserves painstakingly over the last few decades and now render us available this strategic and precious option. If at any time, the Government of the earlier years were less steadfast in their position, there would be less reserves for us to benefit from today. In my view, how we judiciously and how discipline we manage and use the reserves has a direct bearing as to whether Singapore will continue to thrive and whether we have a SG100 to celebrate or not. The still unfolding sad state of affairs for Greece is a very relevant case study for us. We could be like Greece or even worse if we badly mismanage our finances. And we have no equivalent of the EU to bail us out. So, Mdm Speaker, I support the amendments. 4.02 pm”
“However, the natural concern is whether it would lower our guard to spend prudently and sustainably, given that it is a less unpopular funding source. It may breed the mentality to always look to reserves whenever we have a major spending programme. There may also be times when the expected long-term real returns could fall over time, during prolonged periods of economic slowdowns and market slumps. Page: 67 Therefore, the need to have a diversified source of sustainable revenues to fund Government's expenditures remains a vital necessity while maintaining the constant check and oversight on the prudence of our spending, especially those that are of long-term nature and those that are cross-generational implications. As the election draws nearer, it is again not surprising to expect political parties in their bid to win over voters, to start dangling promises to spend from reserves' returns and even reserves itself. It is always so easy to come up with a very appealing election manifesto, listing the big popular items to spend and then say the money to pay for these items can come from the "reserves ATM". The fact of the matter is the NIR is already funding a major part of our capability investments as well as our social programmes. We need to retain and re-invest part of the investment returns just so that we can, at the very least, maintain the purchasing power value of our reserves, which is why the real returns is being used, as well as re-investing part of the returns for future generations.”
“I fully support Temasek's continued ownership in these Temasek-linked companies (TLCs) as we want these companies to be firmly rooted to Singapore and to be aligned to our national interests and our long-term economic strategy. These companies account for a significant portion of Temasek's portfolio. The share prices and values of these companies do have their fair share of ups and downs; often due to external global market sentiments. There may be times when, for example, equity analysts would call for a "sell" in these shares due to perceived high valuations. Under the NIR framework, would the investment managers of Temasek now be more inclined to actively trade the shares of these TLCs so as to preserve the long-term returns of the portfolio? I would be very concerned if, for example, they decide to sell the entire stake of SIA if they find the company's market valuation to be overly high and it is timely to lock-in on the gains. How does the Government balance the national strategic need to hold the major stakes in certain companies versus giving Temasek the full independence to manage the valuations and returns of its portfolio? The Net Investments Return Contribution (NIRC) has increasingly become our key revenue source rather than a Budget-balancing item; which was what it used to be and in the manner it was presented in the Annual Budget indicate that it is still a balancing item because it is always in the finer lines of the statements. But we know that NIRC is now a major contributor. Reserves are now our strategic resources and competitive advantage, and its returns reduce the need to have high taxes and allow us to invest in economic and social infrastructure even during periods of economic downturns.”
“Can the Minister share more details on the approach and how would the computing of the expected long-term real return for Temasek be different from that for GIC and MAS? Are there different risk-weightings applied and what are those? Under the current framework for Temasek, the contributions are from dividends and interest earned – which are essentially realised cash contributions. With the inclusion of Temasek into the NIR framework, there is now a long-term returns trajectory to keep up so as to meet the Government's funding needs. While Temasek already measures its performances based on Total Shareholders Returns (TSR) approach but contributes on NII basis, it is very different now where the actual contributions are based on expected long-term real returns. The question is whether Temasek's investment strategies and portfolio management would change as a result. Under the framework, non-realised capital gains also constitute part of the net investment returns. In addition, actual returns would also likely be different from expected Page: 66 long-term real returns. Hence, with the inclusion of Temasek, which would require actual cash contributions to the Government, the cash flow impact would become significant. How would the Government ensure sufficient cash generation and liquidity as our Budget is essentially accounted on a cash flow basis? Temasek holds significant stakes in companies, on behalf of the Government, that are of strategic importance to Singapore and its economy; such as Singapore Airlines, PSA, SingPower, NOL, SBS Transit, SMRT and so on.”
“Mdm Speaker, I wish to declare that I work in a company where Temasek owns a substantial stake. When the Finance Minister announced at this year Budget speech that Temasek will be included in the NIR Framework, similar to the other two investment entities GIC and MAS, my immediate reaction then was, are we again looking to the kitty under the bed to fund our ever-growing spending needs? As I went back to read the Second Reading speech for the Constitution Amendment way back in 2008, the Finance Minister did mention then that it would be prudent to leave Page: 65 Temasek out of the new framework for the time being and to review again after some years. So, this is indeed the unfinished part or the final instalment of the constitutional changes to our returns' spending framework. The question is what has changed in the last seven years to now justify the inclusion of Temasek into the NIR framework? Temasek's investment mandate has largely been unchanged; which is to invest in both public and private equity including taking concentrated stakes in a number of companies. Compared to GIC and MAS, Temasek manages a more risky portfolio and its returns are a lot more volatile. Take for example the recent volatility in the Chinese and Hong Kong equity markets that we saw in the last few weeks. Obviously, the impact will be more on Temasek than on GIC and MAS. Given the difficulties in projecting a long-term expected real return for an all-equity portfolio, it was the right decision then to defer the inclusion of Temasek into the new NIR framework. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman mentioned in the Budget Statement speech that MOF has since worked with Temasek to develop an approach to project its expected long-term returns, taking into account the nature of its investment portfolio.”
“I agree with the Minister of State that we do have cases of surface imperfections. But increasingly, I am getting cases of real defects where there are wall cracks that come with water seepages, doors unable to be closed properly or unable to fit nicely, or tiles which are easily stained but not easily cleaned. So, these cause a lot of frustration to residents and they have to take leave to resolve, and these have caused damages to the fixtures and so on. So, I would like to ask the Minister of State, why is it the case that there are so many of such defects: wall cracks, seepages and tiles staining? Is it an issue of supervision during construction or the sourcing of suppliers? And also, the Minister of State mentioned that about one-third, or 30% of the residents now to go BSCs but in some cases, in some of the blocks that I encountered, it is more than that. And whether the BSCs have the resources to cope with those cases and to turn around fast enough, and whether HDB comes in to push this along so that some of these defects can be rectified soonest?”
“Secondly, how would the Government intend to use the funds raised from the Savings Bonds the market condition does not have the opportunities where the Government could invest at a return higher than what the bond is paying and whether there will also be an overall cap as a proportion of the Government's total debt? Thirdly, would the Statutory Boards also consider issuing Savings Bonds in future? Mdm Speaker, with our society ageing rapidly and individuals needing to save even more due to increasing longevity as well as in anticipation of the rising cost of healthcare, the Savings Bonds is a thoughtful initiative by the Government to help Singaporeans better plan for retirement and is another compelling investment alternative worth considering for the public at large. Madam, I support the amendment Bill. 3.44 pm”
“Of course, if the investors of the Savings Bonds take the view that interest rate or the inflation is rising, the investors can redeem the bond early and re-invest later when the rates increase. But that would require investors to understand the interest rate market, which is not something that is easy for a layman to understand. Hence, I hope that Government would consider to also issue inflation-linked bonds in future so that there is a safe avenue for retirement savers to hedge the inflation risk other than by way of investing in stocks or property which come with downside risks. Secondly, based on current SGS yields, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) rates still offer better returns. It still makes sense to save most of the retirement money in CPF LIFE. However, in times of a changing interest rate environment, retiring investors may need guidance as to whether they should maximise their savings in CPF or withdraw some of the Page: 64 funds to invest in Savings Bonds. During the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Committee of Supply debate, I am glad to learn that the Government will be providing guided one-to-one retirement planning service for CPF members approaching retirement. Savings Bonds should feature as another instrument in the portfolio of retirement planning and the guidance will be helpful to CPF members who are approaching retirement. I have a few questions for the Senior Minister of State. Firstly, can the Savings Bonds be transferred to or inherited by their beneficiaries should the investors pass away?”
“Hence, it is most suited to ordinary investors who just want a simple and low-cost investment alternative with reasonable Page: 63 returns and flexible tenures for their financial planning as well as to meet their long-term retirement needs. Currently, the closest comparable investment product is SGS, which comes in higher denominations and investors would have to take the price risk when it is sold, as the bond is traded in the secondary market. From a risk-return analysis stand point, the Savings Bond is certainly of more value than SGS as it comes with a free put option for investors to put the bond back to the Government if they need the cash. In market terms, this is known as the "free lunch" part of the Savings Bond. When the bond is being put, investors still get the returns for the shorter tenure they hold. Given this free put option feature, I agree that the bond should be targeted and limited to individual investors and not to institutional investors. Also, there is a need for the cap as, otherwise, we may potentially see a huge surge in bank deposit withdrawals due to the attractiveness of the Savings Bonds. The implication is that it may push up bank interest rates and result in a tighter monetary condition in the financial system. While it is mostly pluses for the Savings Bonds, I would like to point out a few areas where investors of Savings Bonds ought to take note of. Firstly, the interest rate for the bond is fixed at the time of the purchase and does not change for the life of the bond. So, in a rising interest rate or rising inflation environment, the return of the bond might not keep up with inflation or with rising interest rates.”
“Mdm Speaker, first and foremost, I would like to declare my interest that I work in a financial institution and do engage in bond trading activities in my professional work. This amendment to the Government Securities Act facilitates the issuance of a new class of non-tradeable securities to the public. I support the amendments and the ensuing introduction of the Savings Bonds. There are three reasons why. Firstly, it is an investment with almost zero risk of default, being issued by a rated sovereign. It will appeal to investors with very low risk appetite. Secondly, it offers holders of the bond a long-term Government bond yield pick-up and at an affordable denomination of just $500. Thirdly, it does not impose penalty or price risk should investors need to encash the bond before the 10-year maturity, yet enjoy interest coupons even when redeemed earlier. In other words, it allows investors to enjoy the higher interest rate premium from the longer end of the yield curve without having to give up on liquidity. In this day and age, where markets are volatile and full of surprises, and where investment products are increasingly complex, the Savings Bonds are just what some financially less literate individuals would need – the peace of mind of a safe credit and steady stream of returns with flexible redemption options. Given the simplicity of Government-issued Savings Bonds, we can expect investors to be spared the many pages of terms and conditions of a typical investment product as well as both the fine and bold prints. Of course, the other plus is that the transaction cost for such an investment is likely to be lower than those offered by financial institutions.”
“Mdm Chair, polyclinics play a vital role within the primary care sector, especially in serving the low-income residents. I remember, in the 2013 COS debate, Minister Gan shared that we would need to expand the polyclinic capacity and build new polyclinics. Bukit Panjang Town has grown significantly in population as well as ageing rapidly. We now have new rental blocks that house many of the lower-income families as well as seniors. The urgent need for a polyclinic in Bukit Panjang Town is unmistakable. We do have the land space within the town for a new polyclinic. We hope that MOH will not overlook Bukit Panjang Town as it increases the capacity of polyclinic services across the island.”
“Thank you, Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I am inspired by the poem that the Second Minister just read out. The last sentence of her poem is "10 plus 10 to benefit all", I would like to add another sentence, "It would be even better if we could build faster". I would like to ask the Minister, when will these new hawker centres be completed. Not only do we need to build more, but also faster.”
“Mr Chairman, we must always aim for high standards of air quality and benchmark them against international standards and guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Some of the main culprits and contributors of air pollutants are industrial emitters and construction sites. What are the Ministry's plans to better address industrial pollution as well as to meet our 2020 air quality targets? Notwithstanding the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint's plans to move towards a "Car-lite Singapore", emissions from vehicles will continue to be a challenge. We know that vehicles are significant domestic contributors of PM2.5. What is the Ministry doing to reduce the domestic emissions from vehicles? During the 2013 haze crisis, individuals' daily lives were affected. The three-hour Pollution Standards Index (PSI) in Singapore reached a record high of 401 in June 2013, surpassing the previous record of 226 set during 1997. The threat of haze was not over since there were still intermittent hazes every year since. The Transboundary Pollution Act was read in Parliament in 2014 to deter misaligned commercial interests of companies burning forests and engaging in unsustainable degradation of land in order to maximise short-term profits. What is being done to implement the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act? And now that the Act has been enacted, what other measures is the Government pursuing to prevent the recurrence of the haze?”
“— doing an overall review on the health of the LRT system. Obviously, it is in a poor state of health. So, I want to ask the Minister: what more can MOT do to boost the health of the system?”
“I want to seek clarification on the Bukit Panjang LRT breakdown. The 19-hour disruption on the LRT is yet another major Page: 113 disappointment to the residents, and a major dent, I would say, in public confidence in the LRT system. It has caused significant inconvenience to the residents and I was told by the principal that the students were also late for school. So, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and myself were on site on Monday and Tuesday night to get an update to see the recovery efforts. In a sense, what we came away with from observing it is that the measures taken to get the system running are pretty temporary in nature. It seems that the system is yet to stabilise and there is still a significant risk of further disruptions. So, I would like to ask the Minister whether, since we are still in a state where the system is not stabilised, can the parallel bus service continue to run along the LRT system, just as a back-up, and perhaps extending the Parallel Bus Service (PBS) to a whole-day service, instead of just the peak hours? My second clarification is that Minister Lui mentioned on his Facebook page about LTA —”
“Sir, it is not uncommon in some public places to see the grass turfs from adjacent plots of land having different maintenance and grass-cutting schedules, resulting in non-uniformity and unsightly scenes of overgrown grass of different heights. This was often because different plots of land are being owned by different Government agencies, such as SLA, PUB, HDB, LTA and NParks. The ownership of different land plots is transparent to the public. Instead, what the public sees is the unpleasant sight where grass turfs are properly trimmed and maintained on one plot but untidy and overgrown on the immediate next plot. It is often difficult to ascertain who the land owner is and the public usually gets referred from one agency to another when they offer feedback. This is the case not only for grass cutting but also tree pruning as well. Hence, I read with interest Minister Fu's recent Facebook post that the MSO will look into the option of centralising public greenery maintenance as the grass-cutting schedules Page: 139 across different agencies may be different. I would like to know the progress of this development and how centralising public greenery will benefit residents at large. Also, would this centralised greenery maintenance include areas currently managed by Town Councils? How about those land plots owned privately but immediately next to public land? Should there be some greenery maintenance coordination with the land owners?”
“Mr Chairman, I know that Deputy Prime Minister Tharman and Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo as well as the MOF team have worked very hard to deliver a best-in-class Budget. We also had a lively debate during the Budget Statement debate. Many of the MOF issues were raised. As a gesture of our appreciation to the team, we have deliberately kept the COS short and with relatively short clarifications as well. In that spirit, Mr Chairman, I would like to beg leave to withdraw the amendment. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $738,386,200 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $178,657,400 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)] Page: 155”
“I can imagine the demands on our public sector officers, and obviously the need for more headcount to smoothly implement these initiatives. What is not helping is that the economy is also faced with a severe manpower crunch with the tightening of foreign workers. Will the public sector hiring further squeeze out labour from the economy? The public service sector today is faced with a more challenging environment. The public now has higher expectations of the public services. There are often conflicting interest between segments of society to manage, policies and initiatives no matter how complex they are, when implemented, must be easy to understand and simple to apply. And in response to the changing social and economic landscape, we can expect the Government to introduce Page: 140 more schemes and measures to make these new challenges. [Deputy Speaker (Mr Seah Kian Peng) in the Chair] Of course, in the midst of meeting all these challenges, the public sector still has to maintain and uphold the high public trust that the public has and expect of the service. I would like to find out how would the Government manage this manpower growth while meeting the demands for public services in the coming years? Could the Government tap on the pool of retired public sector officers who are still active and proficient, whether by way of full-time employment or more flexible work arrangements? The Government has been at the forefront of digitialising public services. E-services are now an important means for citizens to transact with the Government. What can the Government do to further improve e-services delivery to the citizens, and the process also helps the Government do more with less head count? [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“Madam, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Estimates be reduced by $100". From the string of major initiatives that the various Ministries announced in this year's Budget and in the last two years, we get the impression that the Government and statutory boards are expanding and getting bigger. Just last week in this House, to our delight and also comfort, we heard amongst others the Home Team will be having 2,000 more officers to boost security, MOE will pump up the numbers of schools with student care centres from 105 to 140, an addition of 35 centers in the next two years. The number of new national levels schemes to be implemented like the SkillsFuture, Silver Support, in addition to the PGP, MediShield Life and the CPF changes where nationwide outreach efforts are also necessary to explain the complex schemes. We are also setting the Municipal Services Office and the Smart Nation programme office which will need additional staffing and manpower. And just early this afternoon, MTI also announced that there will be resources for SPRING Singapore so that we can cope with the new companies and SMEs that have set up in the last few years. And to top it off, we are going to have our biggest and grandest SG50 National Day Parade as well as of a whole year of SG50 celebrations to name a few. Do not get me wrong, I am supportive of these initiatives and, in fact, some of these initiatives are long overdue. I am glad that the Government is walking the talk and rolling out these plans and changes expeditiously. But we know that all these major new initiatives and changes require significant manpower to plan and to operationalise on the ground.”
“Mdm Chair, I want to thank Minister Lim, Second Minister Iswaran, Senior Minister of State Lee and Minister of State Teo for the thorough and informative replies to our cuts and clarifications. The message from this debate is that: in the context of Singapore, we continue to build a vibrant and resilient economy. We will help our SMEs to catch up, to improve, but we also need to change. We cannot afford to fail in our productivity efforts and our skills upgrading efforts. And of course we need to remain open and stay business-friendly to stay in the game. It is not an easy task for MTI but we are confident that the Ministry, which is our Team Singapore economy, will continue to bring rain to Singapore like what we have done in the last 50 years. With that, Madam, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.”
“Madam, I just want to ask a clarification on internationalisation. Singapore companies have done very well internationalising into China, thanks in part to the strong government ties, as well as agencies like IE Singapore helping to do the ground work. Page: 35 It is good, of course, but it also means that we are overly exposed to China's economy. I would like to ask the Minister: does he envisage similar success in other markets? Can some of these be replicated elsewhere in terms of different geographical markets and whether we are too dependent on China's market and whether we should really make an effort to diversify from there?”
“Thank you, Madam. I have two clarifications with regard to inflation and cost. Firstly, the MAS recently did an off-cycle adjustment to the Singapore dollar rate, slowing the appreciation trajectory. While it will help exporters, it has also led to the upsurge in Singapore interest rates. I would like to ask the Minister whether this sudden sharp increase in the Singapore dollar interest rate will have an adverse impact on our businesses, especially since many of them are still grappling with the rising labour cost and whether this weaker Singapore dollar will impact imported inflation, especially the imported necessities. My second clarification is with regard to the petrol duty that was announced. Following the Budget announcement of a 20-cent hike in petrol duty, petrol prices were reported to have risen beyond the level of the duty increase. I would like to ask if the Ministry has carried out investigations on the matter and whether action will be taken against petrol companies which have unfairly raised the petrol prices.”
“Two, what is MTI's outlook for growth in ASEAN and how will this affect Singapore in the lead-up to the ASEAN Economic Community this year? Three, the Finance Minister mentioned about the five key growth clusters in the Budget Statement. Can the Minister elaborate further on the key growth sectors and why these sectors are being identified? Also, given the changing profile of educational qualifications, how will MTI facilitate the creation of the right sort of jobs for Singaporeans, leveraging these key growth sectors? Four, what is MTI's strategy to raise productivity growth over the next few years? How effective have the various schemes and initiatives been in improving companies' productivity? Five, one of the key economic strategies in this year's Budget is to encourage our companies to internationalise. How can the Government help to create good jobs for Singaporeans through internationalisation? Six, SkillsFuture is the buzzword for Budget 2015. What is MTI doing to support SkillsFuture and help Singaporeans take on good jobs in the growth clusters, leveraging on SkillsFuture? Key Growth Sectors”
“Beyond SMEs, the Government should also encourage and, in some cases, work directly with larger companies on specific initiatives to innovate and uplift productivity. Besides microeconomic reform measures, Government and industry groups could work together to explore ways to better synergise and to tap on under-efficient capacity and resources within the economy. I read that in Seoul, South Korea, they have launched something called the "Sharing City" initiative in 2013. The Seoul metropolitan city government is not only enabling sharing businesses but it is also putting its own under-utilised assets into shared use. This initiative has the overall effect of countering rising business costs, create new jobs, instil a sense of community and also, importantly, reduce wastage. I understand the other cities like Portland, Amsterdam and Milan have either launched or are contemplating similar sharing economy platforms. The concept can be extended to crowdfunding and the sharing of human resource, Page: 130 among others, something that a digitised island state like us, will be well-placed to develop. In this Big Data era, the Government should also share more data with businesses and the public at large so that individuals and entities can be better informed and make better decisions. All these non-traditional measures add up can make a difference to the overall activity performance. Mr Chair, I have six questions for the MTI Minister. One, there is considerable uncertainty in the global economy, with many of the major economies revising their growth outlooks. How will this affect Singapore's economy and what is the outlook for the Singapore economy this year?”