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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“Sir, by and large, we know that most of our neighbours observe the acceptable social norms. However, there will always be a very small minority that would cause a significant social nuisance to their neighbours on a prolonged basis. Sometimes, really, no amount of mediation, education or grassroots engagement can change the behaviour of such neighbours. So, would the Minister agree that, perhaps, we need some form of local regulation, maybe some powers devolved to the local agencies to impose some form of penalty? In Hong Kong, there is a demerit point system for the public housing. I would like to ask the Minister whether that will be suitable for Singapore.”
“Sir, as Members of Parliament, we often encounter instances where the applicants are unable to get a loan from commercial banks due to their income levels. Yet, they are also unable to get HDB loans for various reasons. For example, their income levels could be too high to qualify. Their incomes could also be too high to qualify for HDB rental flats. They end up paying market rentals, which are way above what they would have paid to service their mortgages. I would like to ask the Minister whether such situations are desirable. Should we not help or facilitate these applicants to own their own flats, so that there is some secured retirement financing and, in a way a hedge against rising property prices?”
“Our laws and our capital punishment system must evolve with progress in our society and changes in our values. Nobody can claim absolute wisdom in this matter. If this amendment is seen as a step in humanising criminal law, so be it. Indeed, I saw a little of that with the insertion of section 33(3)(b) on the abnormality of mind or taking into account the state of mind of the offenders. I applaud the Government for doing the review and for the courage to move this change. It is time to move on this issue and I agree with Deputy Prime Minister Teo that the proposed changes strike the right balance for the Singapore today. Sir, I support the amendments. 5.20 pm”
“Firstly, the starting point is that we must trust and have confidence that our judges will exercise high professional standards of judicial judgment and also possess the wisdom, courage and integrity to pass the right sentences. Secondly, even if the judge were to take into account the human circumstances and pass a sentence other than death penalty, so be it. The prosecution could appeal if it disagrees with the sentencing. Let the system run its course but we should not deprive the judge of such discretion as it is an important component in the entire judiciary system that we operate. We cannot rule out that there could be certain circumstances where the mandatory death sentence on an individual may come across as too hard and too cold. Personally for me, the most discomforting part about the existing law is that the low-level couriers, who could be among those most vulnerable to exploitation, or being conned or even coerced into carrying the drugs, would end up facing mandatory death penalty while the drug kingpins who mastermind and profit enormously from these trafficking continue to be scot-free. Mandatory death penalty has been in effect for decades but we all know the drug kingpins are rarely apprehended. Let us be really tough on those who are the head men of the drug syndicates. These are the ones who deserve the ultimate punishment. But for those very low on the food chain like the drug couriers, let us mete out appropriate sentences and I agree that the penalty should still be tough and still a high human price to pay. Page: 1100 Hence, I fully agree with the insertion of section 33B (2)(b) to take into consideration in sentencing that the person has substantively assisted CNB in going after the drug trafficking network.”
“The higher likelihood of being caught can be an even more effective deterrent than the ultimate penalty itself. There should be no complacency and no let-up in our effort to apprehend drug offenders even with the harshest of penalty that we have in place. It means we will continue to need even better surveillances and intelligence, better investigative expertise and technologies; and resolute enforcement to crack down on the supply of drugs. At the end of day, the battle against the supply of drugs is won over by fighting trench by trench, and not just about setting the toughest penalty in the world you can think of. Page: 1099 Sir, I welcome the Minister for Home Affairs' announcement in his July statement that there will be more resources put into border checks and enforcement; there will be more investment in technology and intelligence. And given the grim statistics that Deputy Prime Minister Teo had just presented, we clearly need to do more and do it fast. I also support the expansion of the law to cover recruitment of young persons for the drug trade, and to cover the throwing of drug parties. These are all important signals that we need to send. Sir, under the mandatory death penalty regime, the judge is basically limited to what I would call "digital" judgment outcomes; that is, either mandatory death or acquittal, and nothing in between. There is no discretion for the judges, no option for a more calibrated sentence, and hence, to me, it may lead to a disproportionate sentence being passed. Often, the argument is that if discretion is given to the judge, the judges are likely to go for the soft options; that is, not to go for the death penalty. I disagree with such views.”
“I am not a legally trained person but, from a systems governance standpoint, I thought it is better to vest this sentencing discretion in the Judge rather than implicitly allowing the Prosecutor to do so. Even without mandatory death penalty, our penalties on drug offences under the new amendment are still very tough by any measure, and I would say still near to zero tolerance. The ultimate penalty of death is still very much a sentencing option by the Judge. So, make no mistakes about it. If a person smuggles drugs, there is still a high probability that the person could be sent to the gallows. In addition, the Judge also has the option of life imprisonment plus caning of not less than 15 strokes which, again by comparison with most jurisdictions, are also among the heftiest penalties and a very high human price to pay for the offenders. With the passing of this Bill, there are possibly only two known countries left that have tougher penalty on drug offences than Singapore, and they are Malaysia and Iran. Last month, the Malaysian government has also announced that they are studying whether to do away with mandatory death penalty. So, are we still tough or are we softer now on drugs with this new section 33B? Well, I believe the deterrent effect is not just about how dreadful the penalties are. What is a more important signal to send out is our resolve and seriousness to fight the drug menace and therefore also the resources we are prepared to commit. We should not be drawn into a false sense of comfort that as long as we have the toughest penalty in the world on drugs, the strong signal that we send in itself will do the job. People are deterred from committing drug offences not just because of the severity of the death penalty.”
“Sir, I will speak mainly on the newly inserted section 33B of the Act. Sir, I support the death penalty for selected serious crimes, such as acts of terrorism, firearms and drug offences. I believe it is still an effective deterrent. However, I do not think that the imposition of the death penalty needs to be mandatory, particularly in the specific circumstances stipulated by the new section 33B, which is that of a drug courier. I support the amendment to give courts the discretion to mete out the appropriate sentence based on the facts and arguments of the case put forward to the due process of the court. And l support the change to incentivise the courier to offer information that could assist in the fight against drug trafficking activities. Page: 1098 Technicality aside, I suppose the key concerns with this amendment by those who still have reservations are: firstly, are we signalling that we are going soft on drug offences? Secondly, would we lose the deterrent effect with the death penalty being non-mandatory? Sir, on closer study of the amendment, it is clear that the conditions set out in section 33B are still fairly restrictive, in particular, the part where the Public Prosecutor would need to establish whether the courier has substantively assisted CNB in disrupting drug trafficking activities within and outside Singapore. This is still an onerous condition to meet. So, I do not see this as a major softening on drug offences. In any case, currently, the prosecutor is already exercising prosecutorial discretion in some ways by taking into consideration cooperation by the courier. The Straits Times reported on 20 October this year that at least 13 individuals have been spared the death penalty in this manner.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister: based on the projections on the number of family nucleus and eligible singles, do we have an adequate supply to meet this demand in the next few years? Secondly, would HDB consider building more flats to meet some of this projected demand and to manage some potential surplus as a reserve, so that there is always some buffer? We may not always get the demand-and-supply balance right and so, will HDB consider having some surplus to meet some unanticipated demand?”
“Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his assurance. I would like to follow up with practical questions. In a mature town like Bukit Panjang where we have something like eight BTOs announced, the concern among residents, understandably, is whether all the infrastructure like roads, public transport and facilities and amenities like hawker centres and so on, would be able to cope with the increase in population. The problem on the ground is always this: there are so many agencies to deal with, and each time when the construction starts, there is no co-ordinating agency to work through. So, I am glad that the Senior Minister of State has said that HDB should be the agency. I want to ask the Senior Minister of State this: should there be a situation where, for example, LTA says that "We cannot build any wider roads here now; we cannot have more road links or more public transport", is HDB still going to proceed with some of these constructions, knowing that there is going to be congestion on the ground? My second question is whether in the ramp-up to this housing programme, is it reasonable to build eight BTOs at about the same time, all at one go, in a mature estate? Should HDB not phase out some of these at different locations so that we do not have a complete tsunami of housing construction going on at the same time?”
“Sir, I am asking about higher allocation because, right now, we are still seeing children who are only 50 m away from the school, and they cannot get into the school of their choice.”
“Sir, at each year's P1 registration exercise, it always pains me to see the disappointment in the parents' and children's faces when they are not able to get into the school that is located just a couple of 100 m away from their flats. Instead, they have to go to a school that is much further away and have to incur transport costs, school bus and travelling time. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether for perhaps non-GEP schools, would MOE consider higher allocation to those who live within one km so that they have a higher chance and have a shorter distance to travel to school. Page: 600”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether he expects the disaster in Japan to reduce the direct investments from Japan to Singapore, and whether the existing Japanese investments in Singapore will be impacted. Does the Minister expect to see some repatriation or reduction in the investment-dollar in Singapore?”
“The compilation, which consists of six sectors and 88 occupations, also lists the skill-sets that are expected to be in strong demand by industries in the coming years. These occupations, in my opinion, are jobs that we want Singaporeans to take up and to grow their income. Sir, we should channel more training resources to help Singaporeans upgrade productivity and increase income in these sectors. Unemployment”
“Sir, Employment Pass (EP) covers jobs that pay more than $2,500 in monthly salary. These are the jobs that we want more Singaporeans to take up as we grow their incomes. Currently, as I understand, there is almost unrestricted access to foreigners taking up Employment Pass as long as the company is prepared to hire them and there is no dependency ceiling or levy. There has been feedback that, for example, NS liability for Singaporean males and longer maternity leave for Singaporean females may actually put them in a disadvantaged position compared to cheaper foreign professionals and managers who have no such NS requirements or maternity benefits. Employers of EP holders also do not need to contribute to CPF. Would the Ministry look into streamlining the Employment Pass very much like what we did for the Work Permits? We need more concerted effort to help Singaporeans take up better paying jobs and achieve the target of increasing their income by 30% in 10 years. Similar to the principle we have taken for the Work Permits where we increase the levies to manage foreign labour inflow to increase productivity, we should not have easy access of foreign EP holders in this space of better paying jobs. In a letter to Straits Times Forum by Mr James Ang on 1st March 2011, he wrote that there must be a delicate balance to reap the optimum benefits of combining local and foreign talents and he urged the Government to have a process of checks to manage the quantity and quality of white-collar foreign talents and I share his sentiments. In the MOM website, a Strategic and Skills-in-Demand List was drawn up for those interested in applying for EP. The list is a compilation of occupations that is key to supporting the growth of key economic sectors in Singapore.”
“For example, I do receive feedback from the schools and parents at my constituency that there are often youth, not from the schools, hanging out outside the schools waiting to recruit students from the schools into their gangs. When the schools inform the Neighbourhood Police, the typical response is that these youth are not breaking any law and, hence, nothing much can be done. But we all know this is very often how the kids would join gangs and, later on, be on the wrong path The community would do our part in whatever we can. But we would hope and need greater support from the Police as well. There is definitely more scope for improvements here. Youth offenders”
“Sir, the public has high confidence that our Home Team agencies are able to deal with the major crimes, maintain law and order and protect the safety of citizens. However, residents in the neighbourhood hope that the Police could do more to deal with the situation of wayward youth behaviour and gathering at neighbourhood locations, especially where they are causing noise nuisance or disturbances to residents. I would like to ask the Minister for an update on MHA study to give additional powers to Police to intervene upstream, for example, curfews for recalcitrant youth who have been a noise nuisance or requiring the youth to attend intervention programmes. This could prevent the early formation of loose gang groups. Also, what are the efforts to enhance outreach to at-risk youth and the other preventive measures? Do the neighbourhood police centres have the sufficient resources to work with each of the neighbourhood schools which we know are the recruitment sources of youth gangs? I am glad that there is the cross-Ministry National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation (NYGR) to drive and support a range of developmental, preventive and rehabilitative programme to reach out and help at-risk youth. This is a national-level committee and I believe the different agencies are well integrated. However, on the ground and at the neigbourhood level, the recurring feedback I have been hearing is that the various stakeholders within the community, like schools, Police, VWOs and the community organisation are still not well synergised and they do not talk to each other. Various gaps still exist.”
“We had what we called the Super Sunday event for the youths where they formed teams to do a Vertical Relay at one of the HDB flats. It was a 30-storey block of flats. In the process, the students appreciated that the staircase at our HDB flats could be used for other healthier activities rather than just congregating there to do some of those anti-social activities. Sir, I hope that MOE can do more in this area and work with the schools and the community, as well as with the Police. Youth Sports and CCA”
“Sir, many parents today may be caught up with their work demands and may not spend enough time with their teenage children. Parents tell me that there is minimal communication at home as teenagers now socialise in their own online world while parents chat less with the children. While there is still care and love for their children, there is lesser imparting of values by the parents to their children. These are the anecdotal feedback I received when I meet parents and teachers from the schools at our neighbourhood. Rightly or wrongly, parents expect and depend on the teachers to teach the right values and to guide the child on the right path. We know that teachers are also stretched with the school's other academic and non-academic KPIs. I would like to ask the Minister if there are plans to strengthen moral and values education in schools. Will there be more resources set aside to prepare students for their life journey and to be socially responsible citizens? How can schools better work with parents and the community, including the Police, on early intervention for potential at-risk students? The situation is not getting any better now with more dual-income families. Many of the teenage students grow up as latch-key kids. Without close parental guidance, whether a kid stays on mainstream or becomes wayward depends very much on the company he or she mixes with. I believe the school and teachers can play a more pivotal role here to develop a stronger relationship with the students. The community can also play a part and organise more activities to engage the youths so that their hyper energy can be channelled to healthier activities. For example just yesterday, I was with about 100 youths from our neighbourhood schools at my constituency.”
“Sir, I am glad to hear from the Minister of State on the new mandatory time-stamping requirement for catered food. However, the Minister of State did not elaborate on the penalty as well as the liability and responsibility on the part of the caterer and consumer. Can I ask the Minister of State to shed some light on that?”
“Sir, during my regular house visits, it is not uncommon for residents to complain about noise nuisances, whether it is from the speeding motorbikes, cars with noisy exhaust pipes or even the sharp drilling noise from construction and piling works, and so on. A recent overseas study reported by the Straits Times indicated that constant noise level of more than 80 decibels has been associated with increased risk of permanent hearing loss, 65 decibels with hypertension and heart disease, 55 decibels with significantly disrupted sleep, and so on. Traffic noise can reach something like 80 to 85 decibels, according to the study. Singaporeans really hope that the Government can do more to reduce noise nuisances, whether it is by regulations, enforcement or education. I would like to ask the Minister for an update on NEA's efforts to curb noise pollution.”
“The Singapore Sports School was plagued with food poisoning cases last year with over 100 students taken for medication. In April last year, there was also another mass food poisoning at a community event which affected 48 people. I would like to ask the Minister if the number of food poisoning cases has been on the rise. Food catering is now a bustling business. I suppose Singaporeans today are eating more catered food than before due to our more active and vibrant lifestyle. Catered food, if not prepared in a proper and hygienic manner, can pose a significant health risk to the public. What does the Ministry intend to strengthen food hygiene for external catering and what regulations are they looking at?”
“Sir, during a recent visit to Taiwan, I can sense that the concept of recycling is well immersed in the Taiwanese way of life. It is becoming second nature in them that they will carefully separate the recyclables for their wastes and put them in different bins. In fact, many of them have two different bins for recycling purposes. When I visited the 7-Eleven there, the cashier will ask if you need a plastic bag and, if yes, each plastic bag will be charged. In Japan, there are strict laws on separating recyclables which go beyond separating glass, plastic and paper. It even pushes for the separation of a special plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET), from which it is used to produce the bottles, from the other plastic containers and paper products from cardboard boxes. I would like to ask the Minister to update us on the Ministry's plans and policies to promote a sustainable waste management system in Singapore. What further measures would the Ministry and NEA take to increase the recycling rate in Singapore? Recycling”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister the strong Singapore dollar has been the key macro weapon to combat imported inflation. However, we are increasingly dependent on the external sector like tourism, exports to grow our economy. I would like to ask the Minister how would the strong Sing dollar, which has been hitting new highs, impact industries like our tourism and export sectors. Also, how would that impact the companies that we are encouraging to internationalise? I must declare my interest: I do work in a financial institution that deals with the markets.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Recently, I went to the People's Association to attend an event. Since it was still early, I went to a nearby coffeeshop and ordered a cup of coffee with less sugar. The coffee shop assistant brought me the coffee and I was about to take out 90 cents. Before I even handed it to him, he said, "yi yuan wei ding". I was puzzled – I did not know what he meant by "yi yuan wei ding ". He immediately explained that one cup of coffee is $1; it is a set price and cannot be bargained. I understood and appreciated his humour. This little episode gave me a good first-hand experience of the inflation. I heard that even zhuchao stalls raised their prices. A plate of hor fun now costs $3.50; the price of a can of Coke Light rose from $1.10 to $1.30. I would like to ask the Minister how the Government is going to monitor the retail prices and if there are any anti-competition practices. We want to keep the price at a level that people can accept. Do we have enough resources to monitor effectively?”
“Sir, we have seen unrest in the oil rich Middle East region in the last few weeks. The situation is still unfolding, remains uncertain and with no end in sight. The unstable geopolitical risk has pushed oil price to hit a two-year high of almost US$120 per barrel last week. Some analysts like Nomura even predicted that the oil price could even hit above US$200 per barrel if the unrest spreads and expands further into the region. Should the events in the Middle East turn for the worst, how would Singapore be impacted? Would an oil shock change the outlook of our economic growth? And how prepared are we for a scenario of sustained high oil price?”
“Sir, I want to thank the Minister for mentioning Bukit Panjang in the Remaking of our Heartlands (ROH) programme. He mentioned "sooner or later". Somehow, it came across as the "sooner" was louder than the "later" [Laughter ]. I have a question on lift upgrading for car parks. Many of the car parks in our estates still do not have a lift. I want to ask the Minister whether there is a plan to upgrade those car parks with lifts and, if so, how long will it take? Does this Member need to make an application like he said for the other question?”
“Sir, the Finance Minister in his Budget Statement announced that the Government will spend $10 billion to upgrade homes and rejuvenate estates over the next 10 years. Besides the more specific programmes like HIP, NRP and LUP, there is also the more sizeable estate improvement plan, known as the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) initiative. I want to compliment the Ministry for coming up with this ROH initiative. It seeks to rejuvenate and inject vibrancy into HDB living while still preserving the character of each town. This is particularly welcomed for older and middle aged town that may be home to generations of Singaporeans. Can the Minister share more about what to expect from the areas selected for Batch 2 of the Remaking Our Heartland initiative? And how many residents are expected to benefit from the plan? Can residents from other towns like Bukit Panjang, for example, look forward to ROH 2? If so, when? I suggest that the Ministry also use this ROH initiative to enhance mature towns which are seeing significant increase in population due to new housing being constructed. These mature towns will usually need urgent hardware enhancement as well as improvement to the overall ambience due to the increased population. Sir, with 80% of Singaporeans owning homes at HDB estates, we need to continually remake our towns and estates so that Singaporeans would feel a greater sense of ownership and experience better life even as their estates mature. Lift Upgrading Programme”
“If I had known, I would have followed what the young couples do today – see their MPs in Tampines or in the area where they live. So after three tries over more than a year, I finally got a flat in Woodlands and the waiting time to get the flat ready was about two years. Moving forward to today, I think a typical case of waiting time and from the time they book to the time they get a flat could actually be slightly longer. I have a story that I want to share. This couple started applying for a flat in 2007; finally, they managed to get a booking after the third try, at the end of 2008. But their flat will be only be ready in 2013. There are some differences in those experiences: firstly, this couple applied for a flat at the same time, same place; and secondly, the waiting time for their flat is five years, which is actually longer. You see, if they are 25 years old, they can only get a flat when they are 30, and then they procreate and all that, that takes a longer time. The other challenge is that their income may exceed the ceiling. Such a case is not uncommon. I understand the anxiety but we are all aware that young couples are young, Singaporeans are more demanding on the type of flats and waiting times. So I am glad that the Ministry is doing something about it. Also, they are supplying more flats – the DBSS flats – and opening up to raising the income ceiling from $8,000 to $10,000. So the increase in supply of flats is to meet this demand. I would like to ask: how will HDB ensure that there are enough DBSS flats to meet this demand, when would these flats be launched for public sale and what would be the average waiting time? Third Child Priority Scheme”
“So, I would like the ask the Minister whether the planning agencies, like HDB and LTA, have studied the impact and looked into the enhancement of the existing infrastructure and public transport to cope with the population increase in the town. For example, there are limited traffic access and exits in the town. Are there plans for more links to a nearby expressway? Has HDB studied the existing traffic bottlenecks within the town, for example, at key junctions, and the schools? Can these be improved before the flats are ready? A mature town such as Bukit Panjang was built more than 20 years ago. Would the basic infrastructure designed and built some years back be able to cope with the population increase? I understand we need to increase the supply of flats to cope with increased demand. I hope that the infrastructure of mature estates, where more flats are being added on, be enhanced to cope with the increase in the population. That way, we can maintain or improve our quality of life as these towns expand. Supply of flats – Design, Build and Sell Scheme The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Minister for Transport (Mr Teo Ser Luck): Mr Chairman, for young Singaporeans, an HDB flat decides when they should get married and the decision to get married depends on a few factors they are facing today with HDB flats. Maybe the "3As" like affordability, adequacy of the supply of flats and annual income. I was no different. It was a discussion I had with my wife when we decided to get married. Timing was of the essence, and the time when you get a flat determines when you get married. We had applied for a flat in Tampines but we never got it.”
“There will be 22,000 new BTO flats this year and it will be further supplemented by the DBSS and EC as well as the other private housing from the Government land sales. Are there any concerns of possible oversupply in the near future and would that lead to the softening of the market? Finally, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Government would further fine-tune the management of this mismatch, going forward, with the aim to maintain price stability. Infrastructure in HDB towns HDB has been lining up its housing programmes to meet the increased demand in the last two years, launching 16,000 flats last year and will be building another 22,000 flats in 2011. HDB has plans to build more if demand is there, potentially to 35,000 flats by end 2015. Whilst some flats are built at new town locations like Sengkang, there is also a good stream of flats being built at fairly mature estates like Bukit Panjang. In the case of Bukit Panjang town, HDB has since announced or launched five BTOs and one EC project. In addition, URA has also sold sites for private housing and office developments. When completed, the town will see at least 3,800 new residential units with potentially more to come as HDB and URA add more dwelling and office units. The concern of residents there is that the peak-hour traffic and public transport within the town is already congested. With more residential units and population increase, the congestion is going to get worse. Also, this large number of new flats adds strains and pressures to the other amenities.”
“Sir, one of the possible reasons for the sharp increase in the prices of HDB flats and the related COVs in the last two years could be that the pace of supply of the new flats was not able to cope with the demand of housing due to increased population in the last 10 years. Many of the new home buyers find the three years' waiting time for a new HDB flat too long and, hence, would rather buy from the resale market, thus leading to the sharp increase in COV and the flat prices. The perception in some quarters is that the mismatch in supply and demand could have been mitigated if the planning agencies have anticipated the increase in immigration and, hence, stepped up the construction of new flats ahead of the curve. I would like to ask the Minister why the Ministry did not increase the supply of new flats to cater to the increased immigration in recent years, thus leading to the current shortage. Could the HDB have increased the flat supply earlier in anticipation of the increase in immigration and avoided this situation? Oversupply of new flats Sir, now that we have started ramping up the supply of flats to meet the current demand, will we now end up with an opposite situation of oversupply of flats in three to five years' time when these flats are all ready? While we understand that the working approach for BTOs is that HDB will only go ahead with the proposed BTO project if certain percentage of interest in a project is secured, however, would we end up with a situation where we see potential buyers in the resale market drying up and leading to falling HDB prices? Has the Ministry made the projections on the population and immigration trends in the coming years and whether more or fewer flats are needed than, say, five years ago?”
“Sir, in conclusion, this Budget resembles the Singapore way of being a forward-looking Government that continues to demonstrate its ability to deliver good governance so that people can realise their aspirations and goals, that we take no short cuts, take longer term perspectives and, most importantly, have the pulse of our citizens at heart. Sir, on that note, I support the Budget. 1.11 pm”
“Within our society, besides the low income, there is a growing number of Singaporeans who are handicapped, diagnosed with special needs and the destitute who would need greater support in meeting the challenges of the new economy. We also have children, young persons and orphans who may not have support from the mainstream. I sincerely hope that the Budget of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports could provide greater support for this segment of our society so that they too can benefit from Singapore's growth. While the Budget means well, some of my residents, like Mdm Tan, have challenges in attending some of the training sessions due to time constraints in making ends meet for her family. I would like the Government to work out flexible structures for courses under Workfare to be able to meet the needs of people like Mdm Tan. I have received feedback from residents of the not-so-positive operational aspects on matters and procedures that affect some of the aspirations of our senior residents in attending training for Workfare. I sincerely hope that the agencies would go beyond the call to make the experience of our seniors a convenient one. The direction to propel our economic growth through productivity and innovation is a sustainable strategy, as even low-cost centres like China and India are facing rising labour costs. However, the movement to upskill and train our workforce can only benefit those who are able to learn and work in an increasingly competitive labour market. I would like to know what measures the Government can put in place to ensure that while we set aside funds to help those who can still learn and upgrade themselves, we must ensure the illiterate or the uneducated workers are not left behind.”
“Their flats have since undergone the Main Upgrading Programme. They shared that they are happy that their children are doing well in life. And their flats, although small, have provided them with a base to pursue their purpose in life. I sense a feeling of stability and satisfaction among them. I could also feel a sense of belonging to the community where they live – a pride in owning their flats although it is a small 3-room flat. And they could also link home ownership to the success and development of their family in Singapore. I urge Singaporeans to take the message of home ownership seriously, as I believe this effort is part of nation building, and individual and family development, and not only about the opportunity to have capital gain arising from the low actual price paid due to the generous grant from the Government. We should continue to strengthen this base among Singaporeans so that as a society, we can see this as a platform to reap the many opportunities available in the development of Singapore. Sir, before I end my speech, allow me to briefly mention a few areas where the Government could do more in future. I have spoken earlier about promoting home ownership. The challenges faced by today's couples in this generation differ from those of my residents who bought their flats in the 1970s or even in the 1980s and the 1990s. With higher standards of living and additional costs, such as hiring a maid to look after their children, kindergarten cost, childcare cost and others, I still receive calls from young Singaporeans for additional effort from the Government in helping them to own a flat.”
“It is a place where one creates and builds one's family. Some call it a comfort zone, others call it a place to work and play. To some, a home also represents opportunity, aspirations and investment. Some regard a home as the greatest asset in their life, next to their family. As one of the respondents mentioned, "Housing is the most important and valuable asset to me as of now. I will use my home as a backup for my retirement plan. It provides me with financial security and is not just a place to stay." Recently, I met a resident, whom I will call Mr X, who shared with me that he is going to sell his home as the prices of HDB flats have gone up, and he would stand to have some capital gain if he were to sell his flat now. However, upon further discussion and analysis with him, we found that he would have difficulties financing another home, which may affect the well-being of his family. Thus, he decided not to go ahead with the sale and to focus his attention on his newly found job and develop his family. While Mr X may have saved himself and his family from facing a future housing problem which may have implications on his family's well-being, I have met many other residents who had difficulty owning a flat upon selling their flat, thinking that they would have much capital gain from the sale of their former flat. A few of them shared with me about their regret for not analysing it carefully prior to the sale. Sir, last month, I had the opportunity to visit residents of Block 20 in Chai Chee Estate. The block was built in 1972 and I met two residents who have been staying there since then. They bought their flats for less than $10,000. They shared with me their happy moments witnessing the development of Chai Chee Estate as well as their family members.”
“(In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am also very pleased about the Special CPF Housing Grant which aims to help low-income families make their first-time purchase of a Build-to-Order flat. This is on top of the existing additional CPF housing grant. I believe this will certainly assist them in their quest to own a home in Singapore and is certainly the right way to go. Sir, last week, I was on an overseas trip with my post-graduate students, a few days after the Minister for Finance read the Budget Statement. We had foreign students among us who shared with me that they were pleasantly surprised and touched that the Government of Singapore is seriously assisting low-income Singaporeans to own a flat or a home. From where they came from, low-income residents may not have the opportunity to own a home in their life time. Many spend their time looking for homes, like in squatters, and have difficulty settling their families. To me, this represents the Government's continuous stance in promoting home ownership among Singaporeans which deepens our efforts in creating an inclusive society. While the home provides shelter for an individual, family and the society, it also plays a very important role in moulding our current and future generations. I have met residents whose families' well-being has been challenged due to the loss of their home. Recently, I sought the views from Singaporeans about what a home or housing means to them. As expected, I received many responses. Among them, it includes this comment that, "It is a place which would provide me with a sense of belonging and rootedness to Singapore. It is a place where I can always feel secure." Others mentioned that it is a place where they can feel safe, relaxed and be away from all the stress of work or school.”
“Mr Speaker, many Singaporeans welcome and are excited about our Government's plan to increase Singaporeans' income by 30% over 10 years. One resident mentioned that, "This will certainly be good for me, as my children are growing, and I would need more money to support them, especially for their education." Nevertheless, the increase in income will not come without the effort and support of Singaporeans. Singaporeans need to ensure that they continue to remain relevant and upgrade their skills and expertise. While I have met residents who have embraced their upgrading and training routes, there are those who are still apprehensive at making these efforts. There are also those who are unaware of the options available to them, while others are yet to be convinced of such a route. Therefore, the task ahead of us is to continue our outreach efforts in enhancing the awareness of Singaporeans on the availability of schemes and programmes which will benefit them. We need to encourage them to participate in these programmes. I feel that we need to do more and take a multi-faceted approach in spreading the self-upgrading fever among Singaporeans. They should continue to build on their capabilities at the grassroots organisation front to engage our residents in promoting this national effort. We should showcase more role models from amongst Singaporeans who have gone on to the upgrading of skills route and have benefited from it, so that more Singaporeans can come on board this journey. In addition, informal channels, such as creating networks amongst residents and workers, can be further enhanced to excite Singaporeans about self-upgrading. Allow me to continue my speech in English. *Cols. 3183-3186.”
“Looking through the past Budget Statements since I became a Member of Parliament in May 2006, I could see how the Government had been responsive to the challenges of the times and had rolled out many policies, schemes and programmes to enable Singaporeans to reap the opportunities and challenges during these different periods. I have met Singaporeans, including my constituents, who have greatly benefited from these schemes and programmes. One of them is Mdm Zaiton Binte Jantan who has recently upgraded her skills by completing a Certified Service Professional Course in November last year. Through her perseverance and self-belief, she subsequently secured employment as Library Assistant at Bedok Library the following month. She hopes to continue her education and upgrade her skills in the future to earn more income and provide greater opportunities for her family. I sincerely hope that programmes such as the Skills Training for Excellence Programme (STEP) and possibly the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund (LLEF), would be able to support her aspirations. Mdm Zaiton is glad that the Budget would be reducing her expenditure and making it affordable for her to upgrade her skills. Another constituent is Ms Tan Lay Wah who had attended Workfare Training Scheme Motivational Workshop. She was able to use the learning experiences of the course to subsequently secure employment. She was initially apprehensive to go for the course but then decided to try. She found the training useful. When told of the additional schemes and programmes in the new Budget, she was heartened to note that she could grow her income through training and that this would open up more opportunities for her.”
“Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Marine Parade) (In Malay): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to participate in this year's Budget debate. Much has been said about the Budget. Kindly allow me to add my perspectives on this matter. This year's Budget is progressive in nature which cements our Government's standing to be one that is forward looking, and embeds itself in good governance and practising disciplined fiscal policy. It reinforces Singapore's continued efforts in investing in human capital and its commitment to growing its economy through productivity as the impetus to growing incomes. With a productive economy and a quality skilled workforce that sees its incomes growing progressively, it puts Singapore in good stead to face the ever changing challenges of the new economy. There are two elements that struck me in this Budget. One was the deliberate element to innovate to adopt manpower practices that promote productivity. The other was the act of prudence to put back what was taken, which reminded me of the days when Singaporeans from the past generations saved to build their wealth progressively over time. These elements differentiate us from many other nations. While other countries are putting forward budgets that propagate cuts on spending for some on education, we are increasing our spending on investing in our people and infrastructure, both physical and software, while propagating productivity as a key growth strategy as well as investing for our future. Thus, I strongly concur with our approach to remain centred on opportunities, not entitlements, and focus on helping the low-income group through education, employment and home ownership.”
“Before I end my speech, I would like to ask the Finance Minister for an update on the performance of our financial reserves, particularly the performance of GIC and Temasek. Two Budgets ago, like many other investments and funds, the values of our reserves were impacted by the global financial crisis. Has the market volatility in the last three years affected the level of the expected long-term rate of returns which in turn could also affect the Net Investment Return (NIR) in our future Budgets? Sir, we are in a different phase of our economic development. In essence, the challenge faced by the Government now is to manage an almost fully employed economy. We will experience bottlenecks, constraints and crowding out, whichever way we grow our economy. In fact, Singapore can be a country with no domestic unemployment, buffered by the foreign labour. Socially, Singaporeans are feeling more squeezed than before. Our public transport modes and roads are more congested. But as the Prime Minister said last year, it is a happier situation in Singapore where we are managing problems of success rather than problems of failures like what is happening in Europe. The trade-offs between economic growth and social cohesion will just get more stark now and something may have to give. The choice we are making is that we still want to continue to improve our lives and to manage the associated problems that come with it. The level of difficulty managing these trade-offs is just going to get higher and the balancing of different needs and demands is even more challenging. All the more, there is an even greater need now to have the best Government to run this tiny island, as Singaporeans simply deserve the best. 12.54 pm Assoc. Prof.”
“I suggest the respective sectoral agencies go on small-group road shows to show and sell the enhanced schemes to the businesses, hand-hold the businesses with the paper work. And perhaps for each company's first application, we should give them the benefit of doubt even if the paper work for the qualifying activities or expenses is not in perfect order. The quick turnaround in the disbursements would certainly be helpful. I applaud the simpler and better cash conversion option where businesses can choose to receive cash payout of 30% for the first $100,000 of their qualifying expenditure. This would be a good encouragement to cheer them on and encourage them to venture deeper into improving productivity and innovation. Perhaps the most common disappointment in this year's Budget was the absence of procreation incentives. I guess after the release of the record low Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 1.16 last year, expectations may have build up for more assistance and incentives. In my view, the Government should continue to look at new and enhanced incentives, both financial and non-financial to help lower the demands of parenthood. It has to be of significant size to bite and to make a difference. It needs to be also packaged with non-financial incentives as well; for example, as suggested by the Member Mr Ong Kian Min, priority for schools as well as additional HDB homeownership benefits. I suppose parenthood and Baby Bonus packages are traditionally items addressed during the Prime Minister's National Day Rally and not at the Budget. So, we would look forward to the next National Day Rally and hopefully our economic financials can support an even better package. We just got to keep trying.”
“Also, another commitment worth mentioning is the $850 million grant set up under the Enterprise Development Fund (EDF) over the next five years. Given our small domestic market, our local enterprises may not have the initial scale to compete in the region. Yet, it is also because of our small domestic market that these companies need to internationalise so as to scale up for growth and efficiency. This initial help and support at the start could make the difference and help the companies secure foothold in regional markets. If we are serious about helping these promising companies to expand overseas, that leap of faith is important and this support, such as the EDF, is necessary. Understandably, the enterprises or the SMEs that depended on foreign workers in their area of business are unhappy with the Budget. In our post-Budget dialogue with the Finance, Trade and Industry GPC resource panel last week, these new increases in the foreign workers levy dominated the discussions. Business people from the services and construction sectors felt that the increase of another $180 and $200 respectively by July 2013 are just too steep. While the PIC does have various schemes to help mitigate the increases in levies, my sense is that many of the businesses are not aware or have no idea how to tap the juices from these schemes. They feel the pain from the stick but many have not tasted the sweetness of the carrot or do not even know where the carrots are. There is also this perception that they have to fulfil a long list of checklist and requirements to apply for these benefits. They felt that after going through all the effort, the benefits may not even move the needle too much in their bottomline.”
“What impressed me about the scheme, besides the quantum of the fund, is that the bureaucracy involved to tap the programme appears to be quite minimal, at least on paper. There are only four very straightforward qualifying criteria, one of which is that the global corporate headquarters and at least three strategic decision-making functions must be based in Singapore. I think this is fair and is a necessary requirement. With Temasek as one of the co-investors, the invested enterprise is more likely to be rooted in Singapore together with its economic value add. I have received very positive feedback from the businesses and they look forward to tapping the programme. Temasek's involvement is seen as a plus to the standing of the companies, in addition to the benefits of its financial and strategic mentorship. Putting money into the programme is probably the easier part. The more difficult next step is to find promising suitors for the programme and the question is whether we have a big enough pool of entrepreneurs and businesses. We need to do more to nurture entrepreneurship especially those businessmen with regional aspirations and those who have the ability in them to develop new niches. I suggest that a small portion of this fund be carved out to specifically nurture and support young entrepreneurs, those with out-of-the-box innovative and creative ideas. These ideas and ventures often would not involve a large capital outlay but if an idea hits on the sweet spot, it could be turned into a big commercial jackpot. We need to believe in some of these young entrepreneurs and their propositions and give them a little lift. Who knows, there could be another Mark Zuckerberg in the making.”
“We may need to revisit the idea of having a super agency to champion the services sector, very much like how the Economic Development Board (EDB) champions the manufacturing sector and deals with the cross Ministry regulatory issues. This services agency would not only help to cut red tape but would also plan, coordinate and execute strategies to grow the services sector and develop better paying careers. For the economy and businesses, this year's Budget is clearly a "stay-on course" Budget, focusing squarely on executing the strategies laid out by the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) last year. At last year's Budget debate, I commented that the $1 billion pledged by the Government to the National Productivity Fund is not significant enough given the strategic importance of enhancing productivity and the size of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Hence, I am really glad the Government has topped up another $1 billion, bringing the National Productivity Fund to the size of $2 billion. In addition, there are significant improvements to the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme, costing the Government $520 million per year. That is a strong commitment. I am also particularly pleased that there is more assistance to groom Singapore-based Globally Competitive Companies (GCCs). This was also a key suggestion put forth by the Finance, Trade and Industry GPC to the ESC last year. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced details of the Co-Investment Programme last December where the Government would catalyse the supply of growth capital of about $500 million to be matched by a similar amount from private-sector capital.”
“In this effort of growing incomes, while we should rightly focus on the low-wage workers, we should also not neglect helping our lower- and middle-income groups to grow their incomes as well. I am referring to the sandwiched group who have children and parents to support and to take care. They also have lifestyle aspirations and want to live a reasonably good life. I am glad to note from the Finance Minister's speech that the real income of the 20th percentile has risen by 8% over the decade, and that of the 50th percentile by 21%. I agree we can do better. However, the next 30% of income growth is always that much difficult to achieve than the previous 30%. As our economy enters into a more mature phase of growth of between 3%-5%, we cannot really count on high economic growth now to uplift wages. Given our land constraints, increasingly we will have no choice but to depend on our service sector to grow our economy and moving more of our enterprises to high value service activities and helping workers to attain superior service skills. The service sector is where we should get most of the income increases. The Asian Development Bank described Singapore as a service economy with a large manufacturing sector. We can build further niches in the service sector and develop more of our service branding. If we can be world-class in airline and financial services, I cannot see why we cannot be world-class in education services, hotel management, healthcare, and so on. Singapore can be a place where we are trendsetters of best practices in the service sector. We have the comparative advantage to develop an internationally competitive service sector and export our services to the region. *Cols. 3179-3182.”
“It increases the base of our strategic reserves and the benefits will come back in the form of increased NIRs in future budgets. To deliver such an inclusive Budget would need more than just economic growth. Crucial to all these is the consistent practice of fiscal prudence, financial discipline and competent economic management. Besides focusing on long-term objectives, Budget 2011 did not ignore the short-term challenges we are facing, such as the fight against inflation. While the strong Singapore dollar continues to be our powerful macro economic weapon to reduce imported inflation, the direct cash assistance by way of Growth Dividends and the other reliefs offered would be of most practical help to our people faced with rising costs. Mr Speaker, Sir, of course, no budget can please everyone. But we try to spend and benefit as many as possible in the short term and those surpluses not spent, hopefully, will benefit all in the long term. (In English ): Sir, realistically, there is no Budget that can please everyone. But in our case, we try to spend and benefit as many as possible in the short term and those surpluses not spent now, hopefully, will benefit all in the long term. The Finance Minister mentioned that one possible long-term benefit is to grow incomes by 30% in 10 years. This is one of the key thrusts of this year's Budget and it is always good to set targets and to rally our people towards achieving them. Higher real income is really the only way to solve the "money-not-enough" problem. Subsidies, price controls and welfare have their limits and may not sustain. Just look at Europe and we can see how the countries there landed themselves into a sovereign debt crisis.”
“The Budget not only dished out a generous sharing of the fruits of our economic performances at the time where our citizens are feeling the squeeze of rising costs, it also still retains the usual hallmark attributes of investing into the long term to enhance our economic viability, for example, our single-minded focus to enhance long-term productivity. To top it all, we still have money to return to the reserves. The $4 billion that we dipped into two years ago to fund Jobs Credit and SRI – which we should not forget – was crucial in preventing job losses in 2009. Returning the $4 billion sets a very good precedent for future governments. I fully support the Government's move and it nicely puts a fairy tale close to the remarkable financial performances for this Government in its five-year term. Many governments would be tempted to use this additional money to distribute, especially when it is an election year. However, in Singapore's case, you can rest assured we will not be spending as if there is no tomorrow. We have set our sights squarely on our long-term future. While we share some of the surpluses, we also invest some for the long term and save some for rainy days. We only need to look at the unrest in the oil-rich Middle East region in the last few weeks to appreciate how uncertain is the world we live in. The unstable geopolitical risk has pushed oil prices to a two-year high of almost US$120 per barrel last week. Some analysts like those at Nomura even predicted that oil price could rise above US$200 per barrel if the unrest spreads and expands further in the region. Nobody could have predicted this one year ago. What we save will strengthen our financial position and enhance our survivability.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*. ] Mr Speaker, Sir, in the last six months, we have heard around the world one austerity budget after another. Just type the words "austerity budget" into any of the search engines, chances are that a list of countries would be thrown up – countries like Ireland, Greece, Portugal, UK, Spain and even the state of California in USA. For example, in Ireland where they have just announced their budget last December, there were spending cuts and tax increases amounting to six billion Euros. The austerity measures include cuts to child benefits, pensions, social welfare spending among others and also various tax increases as they tried to rein on the budget deficits that run as high as 14.4% of GDP. About 24,000 public sector jobs will go as well. In Portugal, their recently announced budget also aims to cut 5 billion Euros through a combination of painful cut in public spending and tax increases. In the United Kingdom, the Chancellor of Exchequer announced deep budget spending cuts and raising taxes to help the government slash its 1.3 trillion pounds of debt. These deep cuts in public spending coupled with tax and fee increase inflicted pain on their people and brought about unrest and street protests. The unemployment hit is as high as 20% in the case of Spain and others are not far behind. The people have to suffer and pay a very high price from the mismanagement of their past governments. On the reverse, if you do a similar search on the words "generous budget"; yes, you guess it right, Singapore is the top on the list. Hence, it is actually with great pride that I listened to the Budget speech by the Finance Minister.”
“The pro-business approach mentioned is fine but we must indeed be mindful of the cost involved in engaging a QP versus the cost of a human life lost or affected by lifelong disability. In conclusion, Sir, these rides must be taken seriously. We must respect the forces and follow all the recommended safety rules and ensure extra precautions are taken especially when dealing with children and vulnerable rides.”
“This Bill also requires the appointment of at least one qualified ride manager to supervise operations. What will be the training to prepare him/her for the job? Will skills required of a first responder, first aid and CPR as well as Automated External defibrillator operations be included? Will BCA also be reviewing the insurance policies for ride managers and will there be an incident reporting register that will be set up? Will BCA have special criteria for children and children rides, as young children are indeed at highest risk for ride-related injuries? This is besides the coin-operated rides mentioned by the Senior Minister of State earlier. I did not see the specifics pertaining to this in the Bill and we do know that there are indeed separate rides and thrill rides for children and kids such as the ones at Resorts World Sentosa. In line with the classification of the rides according to risks and safety criteria, determined by speed, height displacement and acceleration when BCA issues the technical expertise criteria, I would like to suggest customisation for specific rides, as the different rides have the potential for different types of injuries. Sir, pertaining to the issue of re-installation, it is mentioned that "when the rides are relocated, they would be subject to less stringent regime of inspection during re-installation by a QP and a ride manager for major and other rides respectively". My question is why "less stringent"? In the process of relocation and re-installation, many things can happen indeed. Parts can be moved, dislodged, broken, become dysfunctional or even faulty. Thus, the public should be given the appropriate assurance on this matter of re-inspection.”