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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“While there is no turning back on overall direction of restructuring, we should, however, have our eyes focused on managing the potential downside risks. In the horizon, there are possible events that could pose as shocks to the economy, such as the sudden drop in the overall global demand, the sharply rising interest rates and the potential geopolitical hotspots. While I support the need to have dependency ratio ceilings for each sector to control the total number of foreign workforce, we should keep the option open for adjustments of the levies should there be adverse changes to the external environment or there might be a sharply rising business cost where we need to mitigate. Hence, I am glad that the Finance Minister has deferred the impending final increase of the foreign workers levy. I would urge MTI to closely watch overall business costs and be proactive in managing any potential downside risks from the restructuring. On the whole, the productivity performance is still not showing the results that we desired. Construction and F&B continue to lag behind as we expand the social sectors, such as the elderly and nursing care, childcare, community facilities, which tend to be of lower value-add but yet important in improving citizens' well-being; we can expect this to be non-accretive to our productivity indicator. Nevertheless, we should continue to nudge smaller companies to improve their productivity with a series of incentives and disincentives. We should also do more to help companies reduce business costs and enhance competitiveness. The clustering and provision of shared services is a good move and I hope that it is gaining traction among the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”
“Besides, we cannot perpetually depend on additional foreign workers to fuel our growth as there is no guarantee that suitable low-cost foreign labour will always be available for us to bring in. The cost of labour has been creeping up in countries where we traditionally source our foreign labour. So, this is not a viable strategy for us in the long term. By tightening foreign labour, it is hoped that it will also serve as a disincentive so that companies will invest in improving productivity. Though there are assistance schemes available to help companies, such as the PICs and the ICVs, many will see them as SME welfare, so to speak. Labour tightening is perhaps still the most painful part of the restructuring. 5.45 pm The key question – is the pace of restructuring too fast for businesses to cope? Should we stop or reverse some of the measures? Many have pointed to the slower pace of GDP growth in the last quarter of 2014 as yet another indication that economic restructuring is failing. In my view, it may be too simplistic to draw such conclusions purely from broad GDP data. And we all know that restructuring is a long-term process, a long-term exercise as we are not adopting a "cold-turkey" approach, or what the Finance Minister said yesterday, pure market forces approach. [Deputy Speaker (Mr Seah Kian Peng) in the Chair] In my view, there is no turning back on restructuring. The old way of growth where we liberally employ foreign workers is no longer sustainable. MOM's intention to maintain the foreign labour at no more than one-third of the total workforce is perhaps a reasonable Page: 129 balance to strike. So, what more can we do in this restructuring effort?”
“Singapore is entering into a new phase of development where skills, innovation and productivity will be the key growth drivers; hence, the need and urgency to restructure our economy. If we do not restructure fast enough and the competition catches up with us and erodes our advantages, we will be faced with a stagnant economy made worse in later years by an ageing and shrinking workforce. Any economic restructuring will inevitably be painful and come with significant risks. Do we have a choice? We need to transform our economy to be less dependent on cheaper foreign labour and to be geared towards sustainable and productivity-driven growth. Page: 128 Foreign labour gives us the additional economic bandwidth to seize economic opportunities during positive economic cycles, thereby creating better jobs and accumulating financial resources. In the situation of negative economic cycle or downturn, having a foreign workforce does help buffer the citizen workforce from rising unemployment, as were the case in the downturn of 2001 and 2009, whereby the number of work permits and employment passes were significantly reduced. But the reality is that in the past decade or so, the number of foreign workers has grown too fast and too many. They are more visible on the ground, in the housing estates and they do add to social costs. So, understandably, it has become a source of concern for Singaporeans. The scenes of what happened in Little India on 8 December 2013 also drove home the point that there are, indeed, physical and social limits as to how many foreign workers we can accommodate on this tiny island.”
“Madam, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100." In the last 50 years, Singapore has been transformed from a small and undeveloped economy into a first-world metropolis and a reputable international financial centre. In the first 40 years since Independence, our gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an average rate of about 8%. But for the last 10 years, growth averaged lower at 5.9% per annum as the economy entered into the mature phase. We can expect an even lower range of growth in the next decade. Our past economic strategies had succeeded in developing various value-adding hubs such as manufacturing, petrochemical, finance and banking services, shipbuilding, air and sea transportation, among others, and helped create many good jobs for Singaporeans. We were also able to build our own export capabilities in the high-tech sectors, such as precision engineering, wafer fabrication, aerospace engineering and bioscience, leveraging and synergising with the industrial and research and development (R&D) capabilities of multinational corporations (MNCs) that are based here. The strengths and advantages that Singapore has built up will continue to put us in good stead and enable us to stay in the game in the foreseeable five to 10 years. The necessary conditions, of course, are that we remain an open and business-friendly location and have sound infrastructure and a skilled workforce, as well as uphold our reputation as a trusted hub. Beyond that, we must develop new capabilities, new markets and innovations and do things differently to bring about the next generation of business successes.”
“Mdm Chair, over the years, Singapore has built up and maintained very good relations with key regional partners, such as Japan and the Republic of Korea. For example, Singapore and Japan share many common interests on regional and international issues, including the security situation in the Asia Pacific region. Singapore and the Republic of Korea also enjoy broad and deep ties anchored on strong Page: 72 economic cooperation. This year also marks the 40th year of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the Republic of Korea. I would like to seek an update from MFA on the state of Singapore's relations with Japan and the Republic of Korea. Going down south to Australia, 2015 is also the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Australia. Australia was among the first countries to recognise Singapore's Independence in 1965. For the past 50 years, Singapore and Australia enjoy warm and substantive ties in a wide range of areas, such as trade, investment, defence, education and environment. The two countries signed FTA that comes into force in July 2003. I would like to seek an update on Singapore-Australia relations and how the relationship can be further strengthened. Singapore-India Relations”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for the honour to kick off this debate. I rise in support of this Budget because I believe it goes quite far in building a society that is on the one hand fair and inclusive and, on the other hand, still forward-looking and keeping our economy vibrant. In particular, the Government has answered calls for more help and assistance for the middle-income families "sandwiched" between having to take care of elderly parents and raising young children. The various top-ups for education accounts, waiver of exam fees, affordable childcare, lower maid levy and the 50% income tax rebate capped at $1,000, among others, are welcomed measures. At the same time, I hope that our efforts to restructure the economy and to raise productivity and skills will also benefit the middle-income group in terms of better jobs and better pay. The middle-income group is the backbone of our economy and at the heart of our social fabric. They hence should always be our central focus.”
“AHPETC has to rectify these serious shortcomings and accurately restate and present their financials expeditiously. Madam, I support the Motion in the name of the National Development Minister. Given the seriousness of the issue, at the time of voting, and with your consent, I would like to call for a Division. 2.33 pm”
“He said, "Why is the PAP doing WP a favour by helping them to get their house in order, and yet being accused of bullying the WP?" He said that the way things are going, the Town Council is clearly down on a slippery slope and, in no time it will turn into a monster Page: 31 and collapse on its own weight. So, I had to explain to him that as a responsible political party, we cannot allow such poor management of public funds and public money to occur and impacting the lives of our citizens, even if it means hurting us politically, and also the perception that the PAP bullies WP. In any case, we are more concerned whether WP is bullying their own residents with these malpractices. From the numbers that Minister K Shanmugam just clarified, obviously the Managing Agent is charging the Town Council a lot more than the other Town Councils, and, from the other numbers that have been reviewed, it is quite clear that FMSS has short-changed the Town Council. In other words, the Town Council paid more and the residents got less. Mdm Speaker, what we have learnt from the AGO report is far from the best practices that we expected from a political-linked organisation like Town Councils, funded by public money and run by elected Members. These are worst practices that may not even find its place in a Third World parliament. Finally, I want to quote a comment made by Mr Zulkifli Baharudin in Wednesday's Straits Times. He said, "It shouldn't be that if you're from a smaller party, your standards are lower. If someone votes for opposition, it is because he thinks they can do a better job. You cannot join politics and say that you are inexperienced." Our politics must not be about accepting mediocre performance and sub-standard practices. Singaporeans deserve better.”
“And most amazingly, notwithstanding the related party transactions and the fit and proper issues, they were given the job of certifying work done and approving cheque payments from the Town Council to their own company. So, again, the common sense question is: how can that be allowed to be passed by the Councillors of the Town Council? Are the stewards of the Town Council not supposed to discharge their fiduciary duties and responsibilities? Again, were these lapses due to ignorance, or were they incompetent? Or is it a case of the Town Council taking advantage of the financial autonomy granted to the Town Councils? It is also amazing to see how AHPETC has flip-flopped and reported wide swings in the S&CC arrears numbers. The arrears report to MND and to AHPETC's Finance and Investment Committee was unreliable and not aligned. More than three years into running the Town Council, AHPETC still does not have a system that can generate reliable arrears data. This is unsustainable and unfair to residents who duly pay their S&CC. Mdm Speaker, we are all really shocked and at the same time saddened to read observations in the AGO report and the AHPETC's Independent Auditor's report. The systemic breakdown of internal controls as well as the messiness and the sloppiness in the way the Town Council operated are the consequences of incompetent management, to say the least. As of now, we are not even sure if the financial statements tabled are correct and reflect the true state of affairs at AHPETC. In other words, we do not know what we do not know. Listening to the speeches of the WP Members of Parliament yesterday, I am not sure if they have come to grips with these serious lapses. Last night, at a coffee shop dinner, an auditor friend of mine told me an interesting comment.”
“49 million intended for the Sinking Fund were not credited into the Sinking Fund bank account. Again, it went into the operating fund account. According to the AGO's report, even after restoring the full amount, the Sinking Fund is still short of the missing $490,000. These and other lapses related to the Sinking Fund pointed out by the AGO will seriously undermine the adequacy and sufficiency of the Sinking Fund, and this is not unacceptable. The Workers' Party (WP) is not new in running a Town Council, having run Hougang Town Council for more than 20 years. Hence, it surprised me why AHPETC did not transfer the money, as required, to the Sinking Fund bank accounts. It is not about whether you have a good IT software system or not. It is simply about whether the management is conscious of the importance of the Sinking Fund and the presence of mind to see that this is adhered to. The previous People's Action Party (PAP)-run Town Council for Aljunied left a healthy reserve of about $90 million to the current WP-run Town Council. It is only right that the current leadership of the Town Council ensured that the long-term funding needs of the Town Council are safeguarded and the hard-earned monies of the residents are properly and fairly spent. Page: 30 The AGO's report also pointed out the serious conflict of interest issues and the disregard for related party transactions, which were well-covered by Minister Shanmugam and Minister Khaw yesterday. Again, I want to record my serious concern over this situation where the "Group of Four" or the "Gang of Four" sit as key appointment holders of AHPETC and yet are also the owners and directors of the company that render for-profit services to the Town Council.”
“It is for this reason that Sinking Funds are segregated and ring-fenced so that Town Councils cannot dip into these funds for other operating and routine uses. If there are no regular and diligent contributions to the Sinking Fund, it will soon run out of money and there will be no cyclical maintenance to talk about. Like the reserves that the country builds up over the years for our long-term security, the accumulation and disciplined contribution to the Sinking Fund are at the core of the type Page: 29 of government that we want in Singapore, which is, to do whatever is right and in the long-term good of Singapore and our people. In contrast, mismanagement and the wrong use of Sinking Funds tell a different set of value system – that of a short-sighted and populist government. I am very concerned that AHPETC took such a lax attitude towards the Sinking Fund. If AGO had not pointed out this lapse, it is only common sense to expect that the Town Council Sinking Fund would soon be running short of funds to maintain the estates. Then, we will see the estate deteriorating and the quality of life worsening for the residents. Also of particular concern is another related lapse pointed out by AGO with regard to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) input tax claimed from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). In this case, Sinking Fund expenditures were paid from the Sinking Fund's bank accounts for two financial years. However, the two amounts claimed – $643,000 and $888,000 – were not returned to the Sinking Fund and ended up in the operating account. This, again, will deplete the Sinking Funds which are for longer-term use. Instead, the funds were transferred to the operating account which is for short-term use. In another instance, maturing deposits of $5.”
“The debate in this House is also necessary because, in the area of financial management, payments and procurement procedures and processes, it is not often obvious to the general public as to whether public monies are properly managed and clearly accounted for. Mdm Speaker, I want to record my concerns with regard to the lapses in the Sinking Fund raised by AGO. In AGO's report, it flagged that AHPETC had failed to make the required transfers of the conservancy and service fees and the Government grants into the sinking fund accounts for the last three quarters of FY2011/2012, in non-compliance with the Town Councils Financial Rules. It later transferred a $2.7 million and an additional amount of $1.2 million only after being queried by AGO. Monies in the sinking fund are set aside for future cyclical maintenance, such as repainting of common areas, replacing water tanks and pipes, re-roofing and electrical rewiring, upgrading of lifts, which is a costly item, replacing rubbish chutes and water pumps and so on. These are the real things that need to happen with money from the Sinking Fund. The consequences of having insufficient money in the Sinking Fund are that many of these essential maintenance works may not be done and, hence, resulting in poorer living conditions, living environment, frequent breakdowns and repair disruptions and even compromising the safety of residents. These consequences may not be seen in the initial few years but, as the estates ages, residents will soon be at the short end of the stick and suffering. And the Town Council may have to levy more S&CC to pay for the maintenance costs. And, of course, there is also this risk of inflation that you have to take into consideration.”
“The Town Council was set up to manage the Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates and entrusted with the responsibility to manage very large sums of public money, money from residents in the form of S&CC and from the Government in the form of grants from MND. Town Councils are not part of the Singapore Public Service. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance (MOF)'s Instruction Manual (IM) does not apply here. Instead, the Town Councils Act was crafted to give the Town Councils financial autonomy and devolved powers to manage their own businesses, including procurement and financial management. The elected Members of Parliament of the Town Councils are empowered to appoint key appointment holders and council members. Clearly, there are significant powers and autonomy given to the Town Councils. But it does come with accountability and responsibility as well. Given the political nature of Town Councils, the issue of governance and accountability should rightly be dealt with in Parliament, the highest political institution of the land. It is the duty of every one of us here in this House to resolutely uphold the high standards of Page: 28 governance in Town Councils, certainly no worse standards than any companies or charitable organisations. We must not let any errant practices erode public confidence and trust in the integrity of the finances of Town Councils. We, the elected representatives, are the guardians of governance, transparency and accountability. And it cannot be just form without substance, talk without actions.”
“I know this was talked about at length yesterday by Minister Khaw and Minister Shanmugam, but it is worth reiterating again to remind all in this Chamber of the seriousness. Page: 27 Qualified opinions from independent auditors are about the most disapproving opinion you can get from an auditor. And it usually suggests material discrepancies that compromise the accuracy and integrity of the financial statements. Any companies receiving a qualified opinion would almost drop everything to immediately address the issues raised and would expeditiously act to rectify the concerns raised as well. However, in the case of AHPETC, its response to the adverse audit report was surprisingly one of sloppiness and lack of urgency, with a number of audit issues not rectified thereafter. The public has no access to the Town Council's state of finances and processes. Hence, they will have to depend on independently audited statements to know if things are in order. In the last three years, the public and Parliament were denied the right as there were no credible and unqualified financial reports available that can be used as a basis to scrutinise them. So, yesterday, Ms Sylvia Lim told the House that many committees had been formed by the Town Council, and of how she chaired her chairman's committee meetings, the various measures she has put in place, the Members of Parliament's estate visits. They were all mentioned in the annex that she presented. Well, form without substance is meaningless. What really matters to the public are results and desired outcomes, in the sense that funds are well-spent and accounted for. Clearly, in the case of AHPETC, the outcomes are a let-down.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to join in the debate. What was revealed in the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) report went beyond what many had imagined. It is like reading an extreme negative case study in a text book on corporate governance. The only difference is that this is real. It is a live example and, sadly, something that will bring disrepute to many of our elected Members here. Glaring lapses that are most disturbing to me and many others are the mismanagement of the Sinking Funds, the disregard for the governance of related party transactions and conflict of interest, the shocking lack of internal control, the mishandling of S&CC arrears and several instances of amounts collected and paid out that were not properly recorded, to name a few. It gave the impression of a house in disarray and also, critically, the absence of leadership to ensure governance, transparency and accountability. The financial affairs for the Town Council were in such a shambles that both AGO and, earlier, the AHPETC independent auditors, were unable to draw any meaningful opinion on the Town Council's state of affairs and transactions. AGO said that due to the inadequacies in the accounting system and procedures, the financial statements prepared were inaccurate and not reliable. And, hence, they were unable to establish if public funds were properly spent, accounted for and managed. AHPETC's independent auditor had not once but twice and, in fact, two years in a row, stated that they were not able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide the basis for an audit opinion. In the 2012/2013 report, its independent auditor issued a qualified opinion stating 13 issues of concern over the Town Council's account.”
“Madam, the Minister of State mentioned enforcement. I agree that is the key to eradicating unethical sales practices. I would like to ask the Minister of State whether we could consider letting the enforcement officers come in, disguised as a mystery shopper, so that they can do some form of audit or check on some of the retailers that you receive numerous complaints about. We have to be proactive in some operations to see whether they are cases of unfair practices or misleading sales practices. So, whether some of these enforcement officers, when they receive information, can take immediate action?”
“Thank you, Madam. While I appreciate the effort by MOE to increase the number of student care centres – 40 as stated by the Minister – clearly from the demand that we see on the ground, we need these faster and we need even more centres. I know of centres that have 30 places, but they have a waiting list of another 50 students. I hope that the Minister sees that we can speed this up and provide more places. The second question is whether we can better harness the VWOs, both the capabilities that they have and the passion that they have for getting into student care. We used to have this in the past and I thought we should look at further incentives or even some concessionary rates for them to use the void deck space for student care centres. The schools may not all have the space for student care centres, or to gear up so quickly. In conjunction with the schools ramping up capacity, maybe the VWOs can also play a part. Thirdly, would MOE consider having MOE-run student care centres? I understand that most of these are handed out by way of GeBIZ to private commercial operators. Similar to Page: 22 how MOE runs the MOE Kindergartens, MOE can look at doing their own student care centres as well.”
“Hence, whether also there will be this potential issue of future public liability where investors may take that consent as an indication? Premature resignation of auditors for a public interest company is likely to be price-sensitive information for its traded securities, including whether the consent is given by ACRA. Hence, it would be necessary for the company to circulate the auditor's notification to its shareholders, and in the case of the public interest company, to the public, in the soonest possible time. Here is where we can have greater clarity for this amendment. I read in the public consultation report that auditors are also concerned about the risk of defamation if they were required to disclose reasons for their resignations. Is this a valid concern? Finally, on the removal of the maximum age limit of 70 years for directors, this is a timely change in line with the overall trend of rising retirement age. I tend to think that as we get older, we also get wiser. So, it is good to remove this age limit, whether in the corporate world or elsewhere. The current rules are obviously obsolete. In any case, we should not be overly prescriptive on the selection of directors in the Act, such as requiring directors to present education credentials or any age specifications. It is best left to the shareholders to decide on the appointment of directors and for them to live by their decisions. Mdm Speaker, it is important that we constantly update our company law in response to changes in the way companies do business and how shareholders would want to be engaged and involved. Overall, these are very good changes to the Act and I agree and support the amendments.”
“Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo mentioned that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are reviewing this for the listed companies. I hope they will address these concerns in their reviews. Thirdly, on the new multiple proxies regime, I welcome the effort to encourage shareholder activism as well as the thoughtful changes in the Act to allow indirect investors, such as CPF investors, to participate at shareholders' meetings. Such shareholder engagement could nurture a more long-term investment culture in Singapore and that would augur well for us to develop a healthy market. Depending on the companies' mix of shareholders, this could obviously entail more administrative as well as logistical arrangements and resources on the part of the companies. Hence, it is essential to give companies enough time to prepare for a potentially larger number of attendees at shareholders' meetings and to expect more active participation by the shareholders. For this to work, stakeholders, management and shareholders need to work together to establish a culture or norms for an orderly and purposeful conduct of shareholders' Page: 46 meetings and to do it with decorum. Otherwise, it will defeat the purpose of this amendment. Fourthly, on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's (ACRA's) Consent for Premature Resignation of Auditors, while requiring ACRA's consent will strengthen governance, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State how ACRA would assess such requests for consent and under what circumstances would ACRA not give consent, for example. Would ACRA's decision to give or not to give consent be seen as a signal or an indication that the state of accounts for the company may be in trouble or there could be some problems?”
“Having a more flexible requirement of meeting two out of three criteria to qualify for audit exemption is helpful and more encompassing. However, we need to safeguard against businesses of a Page: 45 bigger group deliberately creating small companies just to enjoy the audit exemptions. I do hope that most of the 25,000 companies mentioned by the Senior Minister of State can benefit from this exemption although I understand that banks do often ask for audited accounts from companies when they extend credit facilities so that the companies can also enjoy a better rating and, therefore, better borrowing rates. Notwithstanding this exemption, if companies can afford it, we should encourage companies to still prepare audited accounts so as to keep up with best accounting practices and to prepare for growth of their companies. Secondly, on the removal of one-share-one-vote restrictions for public companies. While this removal would give public companies greater flexibility in capital management and allow them to have a different class of shareholding structures, the concern is whether it would entrench control of public companies by way of the special voting rights and whether it would lead to more companies going that route of having that shareholding structure just to fend off or retain permanent control, which can be to the detriment of minority shareholders. The other issues are also whether retail investors are ready for such structures and do they understand the implications for this sort of shareholding structures and, importantly, whether the markets are efficient enough to fairly price the different class of shares with different voting rights.”
“Mdm Speaker, I also wish to declare my interest. I work in the financial services industry. First and foremost, I would like to also join Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo in thanking the steering committee led by Prof Walter Woon as well as many public and private sector members involved for their thorough review of the Companies Act. I agree with the Senior Minister of State that our company laws are fundamentally sound and the changes proposed in this amendment are focused on reducing the regulatory burden on companies and with the aim to enhance Singapore's position as a global business hub. Given the extent of changes to the Act, I would not be surprised that many of our company law text books will soon have to come up with new editions to capture the latest changes introduced in this amendment. The entire Companies Act review has been a multi-year effort starting in 2007 and involved very extensive public consultations including from the members of our Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance. It culminated in a 262-page report with 217 recommendations. The Ministry of Finance, in response, also came up with an equally lengthy response – a report which, more importantly, accepted 192 recommendations, modified 17 and left the door open for the remainder to be considered in future. As there were already very detailed deliberations by various parties on the various recommendations, I will just highlight a number of notable changes for clarification by the Senior Minister of State. Firstly, on the "small company" concept for audit exemptions. This is clearly a progressive move to reduce the regulatory burden on small companies.”
“I do agree with the Minister that the Tribunal will be the last resort and we should try to avoid that if possible. But I want to ask the Minister whether this adjudication approach is the only way to compel the resident to behave or act, or are there other ways like the enforcement approach where we can have specific penalty issued by maybe the Police or the HDB officers, or even demerit points systems that some jurisdictions have. In Hong Kong, they have demerit points for households and so on. So, whether we want to look also at the enforcement approach. Going into adjudication will be really the last resort. The neighbour disputes can be resolved but there will never be neighbourliness between them. Secondly, it appears that a minority of the residents still are not conscious of what constitutes anti-social behaviour or socially irresponsible behaviour. On that front, whether the MCCY will want to step up on the education and publicity, especially when the new residents move into the flats, and so on, will conduct themselves in a socially responsible way.”
“Madam, first and foremost, I want to congratulate the Defence Minister for yet another spectacular NDP this year. Increasingly, we are seeing more Singaporeans taking part in the celebration with great pride. And NDP, being a pinnacle celebration, I think, obviously is where more Singaporeans want to be a part of. I would like to ask the Minister what more we can do to maximise Singaporeans' participation, especially at next year's NDP, and whether we could further leverage or harness on the surrounding places around Padang or the Marina Bay, so that more Singaporeans can be part of SG50. And thirdly, the NDP Preview, whether we could consider one more of this preview because the capacity at the Padang is usually much less and perhaps, we can see if we can have one less rehearsal in the earlier stages so that we can have one more Preview for the public to view.”
“But because we have the CPF system in place, and Singaporeans have seen that it has worked, we have the flexibility today of reforming the system one way or another, to better meet the needs of this generation as well as that of the ageing population. And that, as the President has mentioned in his Address, is what the Government is doing, and I fully support further improving the CPF savings and the CPF LIFE annuity schemes, as well as developing alongside more options for Singaporeans to unlock the value of their homes. Mdm Speaker, we have our pioneers to thank for their vision and foresight, for daring to try a road not travelled, for making the painful but necessary sacrifices, and for upholding the value of "saving now for a better life in the future". Let us, therefore, do our level best to closely safeguard these very precious governance values that we have, even as we renew our pledge to build a better and brighter Singapore. Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion. 2.03 pm Page: 21”
“Today, I would Page: 20 like to pay tribute, especially to the pioneers who have built up the vital institutions like the CPF Board, EDB, JTC, MAS, GIC, Temasek Holdings and the list goes on. These home-bred institutions have built a reputation for excellence since their inception through their professional competency, integrity and passion for Singapore and have improved the lives of generations of Singaporeans. These pioneers were trailblazers and entrepreneurs in the policymaking world. In many cases then, there were very few relevant models that they could rely upon. They made leaps of faith based on informed estimates and calculated guesses and, thankfully, these have turned out to be right and successful. I am convinced that if our Pioneer Generation had been less decisive and decided to act in a more conservative manner, many of those same changes would be near impossible to implement today, under the current environment. Take the CPF as an example. The compulsory savings scheme forms a major pillar of our system, ensuring retirement adequacy while making funds available in important areas, such as home ownership, healthcare and education, for citizens and their children. I cannot imagine how our social and economic well-being for our citizens would be like without the CPF system. Some of our fellow citizens may not have saved enough for their retirement. We would have much lower home ownership, and each hospitalisation expense would result in more cash outlays without Medisave savings, not to mention that there may not be enough savings for their children's education. If we did not have a CPF and we want to introduce it only today, in 2014, I believe the proposal would likely be drowned out by a major uproar.”
“We have over the years established ourselves as an important financial centre, as well as a service hub and increasingly now, an R&D hub. We are well-recognised for our rule of law, our sensible and responsive regulatory frameworks, our efficient and forward-thinking system of governance and our corruption-free bureaucracy. As a people, we are known to be a smart and competitive workforce. Our unique brand of tripartism has furthermore fostered harmonious labour relationship with positive outcomes for all stakeholders. We have also sought to ensure that our own Singaporean talent is rooted to Singapore and has a stake here. All these economic advantages require constant and concerted effort from the Government and stakeholders to work together constructively – not devoting our energies to industrial disputes or to sectoral interests, but coming together in good faith to improve the nation for the good of all Singaporeans. We have succeeded because we have maintained a long-term view of things, implemented the right economic policies and have done so consistently. Mdm Speaker, let us not forget that these are the advantages that we have painstakingly built up over many decades that have put us in a good position to transform the economy and to compete strongly. We must strive hard to maintain these advantages. Once we lose it, we may never be able to build this up again in the new environment and in the new competition that we are in. Finally, as we take stock of what we have today, we cannot help but develop a deep sense of gratitude and respect for the pioneers who have made this possible.”
“The jobs created may make greater demands of employees – their skills, their creativity, their intellect and their tenacity. But they should also offer employees more enablement, more flexibility and, ultimately, a greater sense of fulfilment and social contribution. To create these jobs, the Government should not hesitate, if the need arises, to encourage the growth of certain sectors in the economy, by way of specific incentives and infrastructure building. The Government should also not hesitate to move the levers that will raise wages as a proportion of GDP to reflect fairly the increased contribution of employees over time. Quality growth also means greater inclusiveness. We seek the type of economic growth that leads to higher wage increases for the low to middle income and not those growths that only Page: 19 disproportionally result in higher asset inflation. Quality growth is more sustainable for the system as a whole and for individuals within the system. With more flexibility, for example, there is greater scope for each individual to carve out a work-life balance that better suits one's needs and that of his family. Taking time off work to learn at various junctures would be enjoyable and beneficial, even necessary. For the system, as a whole, we must move towards a greater emphasis on social well-being. We can achieve quality growth only if we also make progress in areas, such as affordable healthcare, social mobility, education, as well as ensuring a secure retirement for all. In this way, quality growth will result in a sustainable and endearing economy. Mdm Speaker, even as we move into new areas of growth, we will do well to continue to shore up our key economic advantages – areas that we have done well since our Independence.”
“They will move the jobs to locations where the labour force offers them most value and where the business environment is accretive to their businesses. China alone produces seven million graduates each year. They are all intelligent, well-trained, hungry for jobs and are prepared to work for much less. Graduate unemployment now stands at 16% in China because the supply exceeded demand and the glut looks likely to worsen in the years to come. So, let us make no mistake about it. We still need to constantly watch the competition and continuously enhance our value proposition. To do so, we will have to find new ways to grow our economy and press on with the necessary economic transformation. Indeed, Singapore is where it is today – the third most competitive economy in the world according to a recent Swiss study – only because we have constantly reinvented ourselves. From the time the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee were in charge, we have never stopped striving to stay relevant to the world. We have never stopped upgrading ourselves, building a better and more educated workforce and creating more productive companies. We have never stopped rethinking our broad economic strategies while examining specific sectors and sweating the small stuff, such as improving regulations and cutting red tape. We must not stop now. At this stage in our transition, it would be a sensible strategy for us to now seek quality growth, restructure and reduce our dependence on foreign labour. So, let us bite the bullet and press on with these changes that we have started three years ago to transform the economy. Mdm Speaker, our new path of quality growth must mean a better life for Singaporeans.”
“As we seek to expand our social agenda in the years to come, the need for a thriving economy does not become smaller – it becomes greater. The economy has to stay vibrant to generate the revenue that will fund a wider array of social programmes. The economy also has to continue to create what Singaporeans still want first and foremost: a constant and reliable stream of meaningfully paid jobs, both for those leaving school and entering the marketplace for the first time, as well as those seeking re-employment opportunities. Let us not forget that economic growth improves the lives of the vast majority of Singaporeans. It is true, as some have pointed out, that the benefits do not always trickle down fully to the lower income. But the solution is not to slow down growth, which some have been suggesting. The implications on our system as a whole can be very serious if we grow our economy below our economic potential. The far better solution is targeted help for the lower-income group through a slew of measures that includes raising their wages, improving safety nets and keeping the other foot on the pedal of growth all the time, which will help us fund these measures. Page: 18 MTI's Addendum to the President's Address mentioned that over the next three years, around 40,000 to 45,000 young Singaporeans are expected to enter the job market each year, with two-thirds aspiring to hold PMET jobs. Our economy would need to grow enough to create that many jobs to meet their aspirations. The race to get these jobs here in Singapore is a global one and the competition is only getting more intense. Companies these days are mobile and operate on a regional basis.”
“Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion of thanks to the President standing in the name of Mr Zaqy Mohamad. In my last eight years as a Member of this House, what has been most gratifying for me is to see the implementation and enhancement of various social policies and schemes that have improved the lives of lower-income Singaporeans – schemes, such as Workfare, which was introduced in 2007, the additional grants to help Singaporeans to own their homes, the various increases in education and healthcare subsidies, and the introduction of ComCare, just to name a few. These policy changes, many of which were introduced even before this term of Parliament, have made a real difference to the lives of many Singaporeans that I met. In many cases, without the help and support from the Government and the community, the individuals would not be able to cope with the daily challenges of making ends meet. Hence, I am glad that in the President's Address, the Government has pledged to continue this priority of strengthening our social safety nets for the remainder of this term. A better Singapore must mean that we all feel a greater sense of responsibility to one another. When there are families still struggling, the rest of us should feel duty-bound to lend a helping hand, whether at the individual level, through community, grassroots resources or through the Government's various social assistance schemes, to lift these families up. This is the kind of cohesive society that we should aspire to be as we prepare to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. While the President's Address may not have contained significant mention of the economy, its importance was implied throughout the Address.”
“Mdm Chair, there are currently 18 polyclinics across the island serving our population. Although there are more than 1,400 private medical clinics, many of the long-term chronically ill patients still prefer to visit the polyclinics; for fear of expensive medical costs at the GPs. With the Pioneer Generation Package and the other healthcare subsidies, seniors felt that it would be more value for money to seek their medical care at the polyclinics. Coupled with the rapidly ageing population, we can expect demand for polyclinics to increase sharply. Under the MOH Primary Healthcare Masterplan, new models, such as the Family Medicine Clinics (FMC), would be introduced to provide comprehensive team-based care for patients with chronic disease. MOH will also develop more neighbourhood Community Health Centres (CHC) to provide other supporting Page: 41 services. Notwithstanding these facilities, which are necessary, judging from the feedback I have received on the ground, most seniors still prefer simple, no frills and low-cost healthcare services at convenient locations. They like the straightforward affordability offered by polyclinics. Can MOH bring forward the 12 polyclinics that are to be built by 2030? Would MOH consider perhaps building more basic and smaller versions of polyclinic at more convenient locations to meet the local needs? Some of the existing polyclinics are located at less-than-ideal locations, such as not within the walking distance of major transport nodes or far away from the town centres. Would MOH consider relocating some of them to more convenient locations? Also, may I also ask the Minister for an update on the plans to build more FMCs and whether the charges by the FMCs will be comparable to those at polyclinics? Escalating Healthcare Cost”
“The new model should also help keep hawkers' heritage and our unique food culture alive. In many cities, some of the food streets come about by chance, by circumstances and survive many decades, and many continue to thrive till today. One common characteristic is that the intrinsic value is not being loaded into the ecosystem and the stallholders need not pay the land premium. It has become a positive externality, both socially and economically. Mr Chairman, I know that there are high expectations for this new model and indeed, it is a tall order. But we should be prepared to try a range of variations and different approaches as long as they meet our objectives. Even if they do not work, we can always go back to the NEA model to run the hawker centres.”
“Mr Chairman, NEA is piloting a new model to manage hawker centres on a not-for-profit basis. I support this new approach and agree that it will help keep hawker centre food affordable. We have seen the undesirable outcomes from the commercial eateries such as coffeeshops and food courts where rising rentals have been one of the key contributing factors to higher food prices for consumers. Both the stallholders and consumers are worse off. Faced with rising rentals, stallholders have to pass on the costs of higher rentals to their customers and this resulted in lesser business for the stallholders. Consumers ultimately bore the rising costs from the pass-on effects of higher rentals. It is frightening to read in some of the press reports that some of the coffeeshops sales are transacting at very high prices, with at least one beyond $20 million. We need some safeguards that these high prices will not be translated into higher cooked food prices at the stall level. Hawker centres certainly can play that role. I would like to ask the Minister where we are now in terms of the operating model to run a not-for-profit hawker centre. How would this policy potentially Page: 169 benefit the public? What are the safeguards to protect the interest of stallholders? With more hawker centres to be rebuilt in the coming years, the challenge would be to find more Singaporeans to "step up to the plate", so to speak. We are at this stage where increasingly the Pioneer Generation hawkers are mostly nearing retirement and many are having difficulties finding successors for their business. 7.00 pm The new model should aim to keep the barrier to entry low, so as to attract more and younger Singaporeans to be hawker entrepreneurs.”
“Mdm Chair, in recent years, we have seen more Singaporeans buying overseas properties, including those in our neighbouring countries in Malaysia and in Thailand. Prices in some of these locations such as Iskandar, have also risen sharply, which could be partly due to strong interest from Singaporean buyers. In some of the recent property launches, properties were quickly snapped up in droves by Singaporeans, regardless of fundamentals or whether there would be tenants to occupy the properties. Low interest rates and ample liquidity may be among the reasons for this surge in interest in overseas properties, and some may have bought into these properties hoping to make a quick buck. 3.30 pm Clearly, there are significant risks to these investors. Should there be a major correction either due to changing macroeconomic environment or an oversupply situation, prices of these properties may fall sharply. Is the Government concerned that Singaporeans may be overly exposed to overseas property markets? Are there any possible measures that the Government could take to rein in excessive speculation in foreign properties by Singaporeans? The information on Singaporeans buying overseas properties is not readily available and much of it is anecdotal. Would the Government have the necessary information and data to monitor these developments? There have been more launches and exhibitions of foreign properties in Singapore. Does the Government regulate these real estate sales that occur in Singapore like how CEA regulates the local property real estate agents? Foreigners Buying Properties in Singapore”
“Mr Chairman, we should help our SMEs to do away with as much red tape as possible, so that they can focus on business transformation and increasing productivity. In view of the manpower constraints faced by SMEs and the much smaller resources and bandwidth that SMEs have compared with larger firms, can the Government do more to reduce the corporate regulatory and compliance burden on SMEs, for example, in the area of tax filing and auditing requirements or in the area of business registration and so on? A study of 521 companies conducted by NTU's Nanyang Technopreneurship Center (NTC) and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) in 2012 revealed that about 78% of the companies surveyed said that excessive documentation required during the application process for the various Government schemes was their greatest challenge. This survey was done two years ago. My sense is that things may not have changed too much at this point in time. Page: 168 Although corporate governance and compliance are an important aspect of good business practices, could we help the smaller companies more by making compliance with these various regulatory requirements easier?”
“Given the labour constraints in Singapore and our effort to promote internationalisation of our companies, I would like to ask the Minister what are some of the high-growth markets that companies can expand into and how is MTI working with companies to make inroads there. Also, I would like to find out from the Minister what are the common challenges faced by companies going global. What more and how differently can MTI work with the private Page: 127 sector to address these challenges? Growing Traditional Industries”
“Mr Chairman, given the small domestic market in Singapore, we have seen many of our home-bred companies expand overseas and seek new areas of growth. It is a logical strategy for local companies, given the circumstances, and many have, indeed, done well in the regional locations. Successful local brands that come to mind are CapitaLand, BreadTalk, Hyflux, SembCorp and so on, which have, in a way, carried our flag high. Our aim is to develop more globally competitive companies that are rooted in Singapore and thereby expand our economic space. The Government has been very helpful in directly assisting companies through agencies based in overseas locations, such as IE Singapore, EDB, STB, MAS and Overseas Singaporeans Unit. In addition, there are available schemes, such as Global Company Partnership (GCP) and Market Readiness Assistance (MRA), to assist local companies venturing overseas. Beyond that, as the Minister has said earlier, the Government has also helped open access through the FTAs. Here, I want to compliment the good work done by IE Singapore. I have received very positive feedback from businesses on how IE Singapore has been a great help to Singapore companies, especially those stationed in Chinese cities. The officers there have solid ground knowledge and insights as well as the necessary contacts and connections to the local business and regulatory establishment. Many of the officers will often go the extra mile to help companies to link up with the right business partners and cutting short the learning curve.”
“Singapore imports almost all its energy needs and hence will always be subjected to supply risks as well as fluctuations in energy prices. Over the years, the Government has instituted various policy measures, such as the building of LNG terminals, opening up of energy markets to commercial companies, initiated a wholesale electricity market with spot bidding to enhance energy resilience as well as competitiveness. Last week, the Page: 106 Government further announced the building of a second LNG terminal. Our energy market landscape fosters competition to prevent abnormal profits and provide better services to consumers and businesses. It is also important that we look for alternative energy sources as back-up. In the recent dry spell which also affected our neighbouring country, NEWater and sea water desalination have proven to be good alternatives and add to our water resilience. I would like to ask the Minister where are we in terms of energy diversifications and in harnessing other alternatives like solar power? Recently, the retail electricity market has been liberalised with the aim to promote efficient supply of competitively-priced electricity. How has this liberalisation in the retail electricity market benefited consumers at large? I would also like to ask the Minister for an update on when we would introduce direct electricity imports. Energy Market”
“The attitude must be to help make every day a better day for the customers – our residents – or, in Chinese, they call it "成人之美". We must always have that attitude. I applaud the recent announcement by the Transport Minister on a programme to better connect MRT stations to surrounding developments, such as schools, healthcare facilities and public amenities, by building sheltered walkways within the 400-metre radius of the stations. So, that is something that Page: 43 is good. We spend billions of dollars building the MRT lines and it only makes sense for us to enhance the last-mile experience. I want to quote what the Prime Minister said in his speech to the Public Service leaders last year: "We have to be customer-oriented. We have to see things from the perspective of those we are serving, those who are on the receiving end when we make and carry out policies. We have to understand the realities on the ground to identify and solve problems before they become serious and not discover them too late." As a Member of Parliament on the ground, I look forward to working with the Government agencies to not only deliver the 95% well but also the last 5% as well. Madam, if I have time, can I continue my speech in Mandarin?”
“As we progress and as the population grows in affluence and get better educated, expectations and demands will naturally go up. Every citizen wants a better quality of life for themselves and for their families. We want today to be better than yesterday; tomorrow to be even better than today. Hence, it is understandable that Singaporeans are concerned when they read about reports of operational lapses, such as those at the ICA Checkpoint, shortage of hospital beds or the breakdown of MRT lines. Though the lapses are not systemic in my view, I hope the Public Service and the agencies can review their processes as well as their people management and culture so as to meet the higher expectations of our people. We must strive to be the best in class and commit to keeping operational lapses to the minimally acceptable level. Often, we hear residents complain about amenities that lack thoughtfulness in design, service gaps or blind spots that they encounter. And in some cases, say, the new home buyers, they complain about some of the HDB defects and the poor finishing, and so on, just to cite a few. So, while by and large, Singaporeans are satisfied with the service delivery by the Government agencies, it is often the last 5% of delivery that left much to be desired. Take, for example, the recently opened MCE. Wonderful add for our expressway. We spent quite a few billion dollars on it. But when it came to the opening, we could have done better in terms of communicating. So, that is the 5% that I am talking about. We need greater focus within our system to deliver this so-called "last 5%" even better. It requires a mindset change and a culture shift and to internalise this customer-centric thinking into the system.”
“I support the Government's continued efforts to restructure the economy and to continue managing the inflow of foreign labour. It is crucial that we succeed in transforming the economy and embark on this new phase of economic development. Well, no Budget debate speech is complete without some suggestions for improvements. But let me just run through some of the things. As a country, we have done very well. We have a viable economy with distinct competitive advantages. Our reserves give us further economic security. Global companies still see Singapore as a premium location to do business and we continue to be a vibrant financial centre. We have among the best armed forces in the region and, despite our natural limitations, amazingly, we are on the road to self-sufficiency in water and greater resilience in energy. In the social arena, no country in the world can claim to have a higher home ownership rate than us at 90%, thanks to HDB and CPF savings. In education, the latest PISA ranking confirmed that we are on the right track in levelling up the academically weaker students and in giving them a strong foundation. Racial and religious harmony remains our most precious asset and something that we can all be very proud of. So, since Independence, Singapore has done well. The Government has done the big things right and well. As a country, we have every reason to be Page: 42 proud of our achievements. And our gratitude and appreciation also go to our Pioneer Generation for laying the solid foundation for us to build on. However, doing the big things right is not good enough. Today, our citizens also want the Government to do the smaller things right and to do them well.”
“These days, when I engage businesspeople on the ground, acronyms, such PIC, ICV, WCS, have become their natural vocabulary and, interestingly, when I spoke to one of them, he even used "PIC" in verb form, meaning "I just PICed this year". It may be an indication that businesses are in action mode now to improve productivity and using all those schemes. And many businesses I spoke to also seem to have accepted the reality that the tight labour market is here to stay and there is no point lamenting or whining about it further. Ironically, scenes of what had happened in Little India on 8 December last year have also driven home the point among the businesses that, indeed, there is a physical and social limit as to how many foreign workers we can accommodate on this tiny little island. My sense is that the mindsets of businesses have shifted or changed, and they are focusing more on improving productivity, and that is the good news. Page: 41 Our economy continues to show resilient growth at 4.1% despite the labour market squeeze and the wage increases. Unemployment remains low at 2.9%. But what is more encouraging is that the real wages of median Singaporean workers have increased by 5% in 2013. And for the lower-income group, we have also seen real wages gone up by around 7%. Though productivity remains flat in the last four years, wage increases can be seen as an early indicator. After all, the ultimate goal why we are restructuring our economy and enhancing productivity is to seek better wages and better jobs for the low to middle income. Also, the Gini coefficient has improved to its lowest level at 0.412 in more than 10 years if Government transfers are included. These are all encouraging social indicators that we want to further improve upon and build upon.”
“The other major taxes are the personal income tax and GST. If the economy shrinks or throttles at a flattish trajectory, we may not have enough additional revenue to fund the higher spending. Hence, growing the economy the quality way is still the best course of action for now. Page: 40 But we cannot rule out having to raise taxes to balance the Budget one day; for example, in situations where the economy is not growing enough or the expenditure has run way ahead of us. In that situation and, if that is necessary, I hope we can apply the fair and equitable principle that is being espoused in this Budget; which is let those in the society who have done well shoulder more of the tax increases. If we have to raise taxes, we should minimise the broad-base tax impact on the low-and middle-income groups. Nevertheless, our premise must be to continue growing the economy, spend prudently and raise income, which is the third aspect of what I like about this Budget. Four years ago, the Government accepted the recommendations of the ESC and embarked on this journey to restructure the economy, to improve productivity and to reduce dependence on foreign labour. The ESC then highlighted the unsustainable demand for foreign labour and that we are bordering the limits as to how much more our society can absorb. Four years on, the Government is pressing ahead with the labour tightening. And in this Budget, we saw the PIC scheme being extended for another three years to help businesses, and more new measures are added to further enhance productivity and raise wages. Some of the recent indicators are, indeed, very encouraging. The PIC scheme is gaining traction on the ground, as the Finance Minister has mentioned in his speech as well.”
“Both are necessary and interdependent. And this is well manifested in this year's Budget. I am heartened that the Government and our fellow citizens see it necessary to assist those in need within our society. It shows that we are a compassionate nation. And more importantly, we are also in a good position to offer an adequate social safety net that is sustainable. But make no mistake about it. Our social spending and other development expenditure are just going to keep growing in the years to come. Budget 2014 projected total expenditure to grow at 8.3%, following an increase of 6.8% in FY 2013, the year before. On the other hand, operating revenue for 2014 is projected to grow at a lower 4.1% compared to also a lower 2.4% in FY 2013. Though we still have a primary surplus, it is not difficult to see that our total expenditures are clearly growing at a faster rate than our total operating revenue. In business budgeting, this is what we call a negative draw, meaning the growth in expenditure surpasses the growth in revenue. If left unchecked, where expenditure continues to grow at a much faster rate than revenue, we could end up with ballooning Budget deficits in the years to come. To balance the budget, governments have to either cut spending or raise taxes, or do both. And we have seen many of such austerity budgets happening in Europe in the last few years to deal with their huge deficit and debt crisis. In Singapore, our approach has been to first grow the economy so that we have additional revenue pools to help pay for the increased social spending without the need to raise taxes. Currently, the largest contributor to our tax coffers is the corporate income tax. In FY2013, it accounted for 22% or S$12.55 billion of total operating revenue.”
“We have to thank our earlier generations for instilling the financial discipline and the virtue of thriftiness. If our earlier generations had chosen to spend more and save less, we would have been faced with a very different situation today. Over the years, the Government has often been criticised for being too prudent or too conservative. Indeed, it is always so tempting to spend more and to tax less. But we all know that there really is no free lunch in this harsh real world. Every success that Singapore achieved in the past five decades was hard earned. And there is no shortcut to prudent fiscal management. It took a lot of effort, determination and political will to institutionalise and embed these values within our system. And we should not allow it to weaken or slip in the years to come. So, every Member in this House can play our part to further entrench these values and discipline so that Singapore can continue to progress and thrive on a sound fiscal footing with no financial burden to the future generations. The second thing I like about Budget 2014 is the greater clarity in the direction ahead. The message is clear. We need to transform our economy and we want to build a fair and equitable society. A more intellectual way to put this is to say that we want to build both economic capital and social capital. From this Budget, it became very apparent that economic capital and social capital are interlinked and they do feed into each other. Without economic progress, we would not be able to generate resources to execute and spend on Page: 39 our social programme; which is likely to increase steeply in the years to come. Without social harmony and social mobility, communities and systems will fall apart and there would be no economic progress to talk about.”
“Mdm Speaker, like any democracy around the world, it is to be expected of Members of Parliament during Budget time to always push the envelope and to urge the Government to do more. I am sure in the next few days, there will be no shortage of passionate arguments, asking the Government to do more, to give more, to reverse unpleasant policies, to institute friendlier policies. So, in a way, asking the Government to do more is the easier part. To determine a policy construct and the resources to do the job is a more difficult task and best left to the Government. Notwithstanding what I have just said, I will also be pushing for more in this Budget and during the COS because even given a best-in-class Budget, such as this one, we can always find areas to improve, to do more and, if not Page: 38 now, hopefully, in time to come. Let me start by saying what I am happy with about Budget 2014, and I intend focus on the "non-goodies" part of the Budget. Firstly, on Government fiscal and economic management. Budget 2014 projected a small overall deficit of S$1.2 billion or 0.3% of GDP despite increased social spending and setting aside S$8 billion for the big-ticket item – the Pioneer Generation Package. Thanks to the robust and broad-base tax revenue as well as the increasingly significant investment returns from the reserves, we are able to fund the various spending increases on our social agenda as well as further invest in capacity building for future growth. This enviable position does not come by chance. We do not have oil or minerals underneath us and we do not even have our own economic hinterland. So, every revenue dollar, whether it is from taxes or from reserves, had to be painstakingly built up over the years.”
“Take the example of the Downtown Line, where we spent tens of billions of dollars to build an underground line right into the heartlands. But the initial design at Bukit Panjang MRT station only provided two underground accesses, which would have resulted in a large proportion of commuters having to cross a busy junction to get access into the station. Imagine doing this on a daily basis during morning and evening peaks and during bad weather. I am glad that LTA finally agreed to build a third underpass access after some lobbying to avoid such a situation. These are thoughtful things or the so called "last 5%" that will give commuters a positive experience in their daily commuting. Mr Deputy Speaker, with that, I support the Bill. 6.21 pm”
“However, these enhanced powers should not remove the responsibility of the board of PTOs to assemble the best team possible, both to help ensure the fiduciary interests are protected as well as to ensure that customers' needs are also well served. Ideally, LTA should never have to invoke these powers but if the situations call for it, LTA must be empowered to take the necessary interventions to preserve public interest. Finally, I welcome the new definition of the "railway commuter facility" in section 2 of the Act, which specifically mentioned about bicycle parking facilities, pedestrian overhead bridges, footpaths, ramps, lifts and other similar structures and facilities that integrate the rail system with developments around it so as to maximise patronage of the system. The RTS Act was originally enacted in a period where the connectivity provisions were at a more basic level. Today, however, commuters have diverse Page: 103 needs for their daily commute. For instance, the elderly and the mobility-challenged are increasingly taking steps out of their homes to remain active. This is very positive and should be encouraged. As our society ages, we need to better support the mobility needs of our silver generation. We are also seeing more modes of travel, in particular, the increasing trend of cycling to neighbourhood destinations and the MRT stations. The amendments in the Bill, which enhance LTA's ability to meet these diverse commuter needs, are timely and integral to our overall efforts to build an inclusive society. I like this definition in section 2 of the Act and the new emphasis, that is, besides the task of building a major infrastructure, it should be also about delivering the "last 5%" of our transport service even better.”
“The higher level of maximum penalty gives LTA greater flexibility in Page: 102 calibrating an appropriate level of penalty to be imposed on an errant MRT operator, according to the nature and severity of the incident. However, I want to add that penalties imposed on service disruptions are after all still reactionary measures; in other words, where the damage is already done. I would urge LTA to be more pro-active in identifying potential service disruption risk within each of the PTOs as well as regular compliance audit to assess the robustness of the licensees' maintenance regimes, similar to the way MAS supervises the banks. Taking preventive or even pre-emptive measures, if necessary, to sharply minimise disruption risk is still the preferred approach. This is why I support this other set enhancement measures in the Bill to enhance the regulatory power over the licensees' board composition. The power for LTA to approve the appointment of RTS licensees' Board Directors already exists in the RTS Act. This power will be extended, for LTA to require RTS licensees to augment their Boards if necessary, to ensure the Boards have the expertise and experience, including relevant engineering experience and sufficient independent perspectives, to administer their roles as public transport operators. This is again not new for the other industry. For example, in the banking sector, MAS has fairly wide powers over appointments of bank directors and the key executive appointments, including requiring the key officers to undergo a fit and proper test.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I welcome this Bill to further strengthen powers of LTA to ensure that the public transport licensees discharge their responsibilities to provide a reliable and sustainable rail system to serve the public commuters. Apart from enhancing the LTA's regulatory powers, this Bill also enhances LTA's ability to improve the rail network's connectivity to meet diverse commuter needs. Service reliability has been an issue of concern for commuters and, indeed, there have been a number of significant service disruptions. MOT and LTA have taken serious steps since the Committee of Inquiry was concluded in 2012 to tighten the regulatory regime for our MRT operators. As with all other regulatory measures, setting high operating and maintenance standards alone is not enough. These must be complemented by sufficient deterrence against failure to comply and effective enforcement. With the tightened regulations and higher standards, an increase in the maximum penalty is thus necessary. A regulatory penalty must be set sufficiently high for deterrence purposes, and it must also reflect the true cost of non-compliance. The MRT system is a critical infrastructure and is extremely important for the daily lives of Singaporeans. A serious disruption today causes extreme inconveniences to commuters, especially if it occurs during the peak hours. Time is lost, incomes are affected, and trust in public transport in general gets eroded. There are social costs to poor public transport reliability, on top of economic costs. In this regard, it is useful to take reference from the maximum regulatory penalties for other essential services, such as energy regulated by EMA and telecommunications regulated by IDA, which are also set at 10% of licensees' turnover.”