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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,031 lines we hold for Liang Eng Hwa, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 21.
“They may have made undertakings, but it is important to have the majority control. Both form and substance are both important. I also hope that the Government and the NTUC can align and reaffirm its social missions of with regard to co-operatives and refresh an updated roadmap on the roles of our major social co-operatives in our economy and our society. Sir, to my next point. Singapore has always been an attractive destination for foreign direct investments. Inward investments have helped to build our economic capabilities, brings in the needed capital to fuel growth, create good paying jobs. Our openness to foreign investments is one of our key success factors for our economic progress and it brings in exciting opportunities for Singaporeans. Hence, my other concerns would be whether the rejection of the Allianz transaction on grounds of public interest would have any impact on our reputation as a global centre that welcome international investments, which is my second ask. That is, to call on the Government to reaffirm this long-standing policy, to position Singapore as an investment friendly global hub that welcome value adding economic investments. The point is, we have never been averse to foreign investors acquiring Singapore companies. Over the years, we seen foreign acquisition of local companies, including iconic ones that today, still continues to be foreign owned like NOL, Raffles Hotel, our three large generation companies, SPC, CPG, among others. It is inconceivable for Singapore as a global business hub to prevent or resist any change of ownerships of companies as these are all part and parcel of the market realisation and maximisation of enterprise value.”
“I support this Bill to allow the Minister in-charge of MAS to withhold the approval, based on the advice of MCCY, in which the considerations may be non-prudential in nature. It is the right thing to do. Mr Deputy Speaker, notwithstanding my support, I have two related asks from the Government. Firstly, I urge the Government to continue preserving our current social-economic landscape, where social enterprises including NTUC co-operatives operate alongside businesses in a competitive yet socially inclusive business environment. Social co-operatives and the not-for-profit enterprises play an indispensable role to help keep essential products and services affordable and accessible; and also, importantly, plug the gaps for those areas not covered by commercial enterprises. In Singapore's context, entities that are run as social co-operatives, such as those like NTUC, have always been a useful instrument for the Government to do some of the public good, such as helping to stabilise inflation, to manage cost of living, to provide more affordable, inclusive products, whether it is healthcare, eldercare, childcare, groceries or insurance. I remembered during the early days of COVID-19, NTUC Fairprice and its pharmacy arm, Unity, were at the forefront of managing the distribution of masks and sanitisers and also helping to keep prices steady and to curb profiteering. Social co-operatives do help to strengthen our social and economic resilience. In the case of corporatised insurance, where it enjoys the exemption of section 88 of the CSA, I would argue that the Government should requires NE to remain as the majority shareholder of Income for a prescribed number of years so that it can continue to steward Income to carry out its social mission.”
“But I must admit that, in my heart, I thought it is a done deal in due course. So, it came as a surprise to hear the Ministerial Statement by Minister Edwin Tong on Monday that the deal would be blocked on grounds of public interest. In Monday's Ministerial Statement, a critical piece of information was disclosed where, under the proposed transaction, there would be a substantial capital reduction exercise which would entail a cash transfer of S$1.85 billion from Income to the proposed shareholders within three years upon completion of the transaction. While such capital reduction exercises are not uncommon in corporate mergers and acquisitions transactions, it would not be acceptable in this context. And the reason is that at the time of corporatisation in 2022, Income enjoyed an exemption from section 88 of the CSA, where they were allowed to carry over the S$2 billion of surplus capital into the corporate entity, rather than transfer it to the Co-operatives Societies Liquidation Account (CSLA) to benefit the wider co-op sector. MCCY has allowed this exemption then on the basis that Income will continue with its social mission and as a company it would build up its capital resources and enhance its financial strength. So, this capital extraction exercise of S$1.85 billion appears to run counter to the basis in which the Ministerial exemption was granted. This, to me, is a deal breaker. Clearly, with the cash extraction, the capital position of the new entity would not be accretive and hence, also put into question how the company can continue to fulfil its social mission. In a way, I am glad that the Government, both MCCY and MAS, through its detailed assessments and due diligence, picked up this serious implication and intervened to halt this proposed transaction.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me, first, declare my interest that I work in a financial institution. Sir, in the August Parliament Sitting, I filed a Parliamentary Question on the Income-Allianz deal when I read the public announcement in the newspaper. Among my concerns then were whether with NE ceding majority control of Income, would Income still be able to do the social good, as what they have done before all these years, which is to provide affordable essential insurance products, particularly to the underserved. I also asked if there is social value in NE retaining control of Income Insurance. In his reply, Minister of State Alvin Tan shared that the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Income has given assurance to keep the premiums affordable for Income's low-cost schemes for its members and that they reiterated its commitment to its social mission, post-acquisition. Minister of State Alvin Tan also mentioned that Allianz has represented that it would honour Income's existing policies, participate in the national insurance programmes and continue its charity commitments. In the same session in August, in the replies to related questions on behalf of MAS, Minister Chee Hong Tat also shared with the House then that MAS is still in the midst of assessing the application. He said that MAS would consider a range of criteria in assessing the deal, such as its track record, fitness, reputation, propriety, including the financial capacity of the proposed shareholder to support the insurer when needed. Sir, when Minister Chee Hong Tat and Minister of State Alvin Tan addressed the House in August on the questions that were raised by Members, I must say that they were both non-committal as to whether the deal would be approved.”
“Sir, in addition to joining the expression of thanks to the staff, the workers, the volunteers, I would also like to thank the Minister for helming this very challenging portfolio and having to manage each of these crises and situations. Having said that, I do have something to ask the Minister. We know that it will cost more to have a more reliable, resilient and more connected public transport system. The Minister mentioned having more buses that will complement the MRT lines. So, there is a significant role for buses as well, given their agility and reliability. But we also know that there are also competing demands for limited budget resources. In this regard, can I ask the Minister, who is also the Second Minister for Finance, if the Government would also review the overall Government funding and subsidies for public transport so that we can have a more reliable, more resilient as well as more connected public transport system.”
“Sir, can I ask the Senior Minister of State if there are car parks where the occupancy is not as high, where the take-up rate of the season parking is not as high, would the Ministry of National Development and HDB be prepared to consider to allow some of these dual use, of having two season parkings?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, my question relates to the Second Reading of the Bill on Wednesday. While I can understand the urgency of the intervention by the Government, can I ask is there not any provision within our existing legislation that allows the Minister-in-charge to reject corporate transactions on grounds of public interest, rather than to amend the Insurance Act on the basis of a Certificate of Urgency?”
“Sir, in a way I am glad that the Government has done its due diligence to pick up these very serious implications of the deal, which is the S$1.85 billion capital extraction. My question to the MCCY Minister is, Income is now no longer a co-op, it is a corporate now. Hence, my query is how would MCCY still be able to exercise its oversight, whether it is for these transactions on the grounds of public interest or to hold Income to fulfilling its social mission that it has committed to, going forward?”
“Sir, indeed, like what the Senior Minister of State says, in the HDB towns, we are seeing more of these building contractors and repair contractors using drones to inspect HDB flats for any defects or seepages and so on. The Senior Minister of State mentioned that under the "green lane", it will take three days to get the approval to use a drone. From my experiences with the contractors, some told me it took as long as two weeks to get approvals to be able to fly the drone. So, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether in cases like for very localised use for HDB heartlands just to inspect the HDB blocks, can a kind of blanket approval be given for the whole works, for example, repair and redecoration (R&R) work? Can approval be just given for the whole stretch rather than you need to go for a case-by-case approval in the use of the drones? [Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair]”
“Sir, while I agree with the Senior Minister of State that these very high rental bids are the exceptions, they do have the effect of creating some upside on the rentals – something that we should take note of. These disproportionally high rental rates do go against the intent of why we set up hawker centres, which is to provide hawker food at affordable prices. So, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether NEA, besides looking at the rental bids, could also do some due diligence on the bidders on whether they have the ability and the financial capacity to sustain at this kind of high rentals for their business, and because to take up a stall when another stallholder might have been able to do it better — so, very much like how, in public tenders, we look at price and quality, whether these stallholders have the means and capability to be able to sustain at such a high rental rate.”
“Thank you, Sir. I would like to follow up on my Parliamentary Question (PQ) on the schools' monitoring and surveillance of bullying cases, whether in school or outside and whether the schools collaborate closely with the Police. I believe the monitoring and surveillance is important to pick out early indications, telltale signs that there are situations of bullying. And so, I would like to ask the Minister in terms of resourcing for the schools, whether the schools are equipped or resourced enough to be able to do that monitoring and surveillance. Also, given that the cases now are increasingly more complex and with the workload of the teachers as well, one would really have to step up resources to be able to reduce the cases of bullying.”
“Finally, would the Government also look to support reskilling of the platform workers, whether to continue in their work in the platform service sector or to seek new work opportunities in other sectors. Notwithstanding my questions, Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Sir, it is only right that we treat our platform workers as a part of our workforce, providing them the necessary protections such as compensation for work injuries and importantly, housing and retirement adequacy that is so key to one’s life cycle. They should also have the organised means and representation to collectively negotiate and bargain with the platform operators so as to safeguard the interest of the fellow platform workers. Sir, I fully support the measures and appreciate the calibrated approach to implement the various changes; including the Government funding support to introduce the PCTS to offset part of the increases in the CPF contribution rates. Sir, the platform sector is still a relatively new sector. Many of the platform operators are still running operating losses and counting on money from investors to keep the operations going. So, in my view, the sector is still in search of the optimal financial equilibrium and yet to be on a more self-sustaining footing. With that in mind, can I ask the Senior Minister of State how would the changes envisaged in this Bill impact the overall ecosystem of the platform service? Do we expect the terms of trade between among the stakeholders which are the platform operators, platform workers, consumers and, in the case of food delivery, the F&B operators, do we expect any change in the terms of trade among the stakeholders as a result of this Bill? As this sector does create employment and income, and also provide useful flexible work arrangements, besides the Platform Workers Bill, how can the Government help to strengthen the resilience and robustness of this sector?”
“Mr Speaker, I remember during the COVID-19 pandemic period, where on many occasions we had to sit through weeks of quarantine, it was the delivery platform workers that brought food and necessities to our doorsteps. Today, platform workers provide much appreciated last-mile service, making a difference in terms conveniences in our daily lives; their services widen our dinning and consumption options, and they plug the service gap for those who are less mobile such as our seniors or those that are unwell. Rain or shine, platform workers carry out their work; often under time pressure to fulfil their job orders. There is a lot of daily toil and hard work on their part. Platform workers are not faceless Singaporeans. They, like the rest of us, also have their ups and downs in life, emotions, angst and anxieties. Like us, they also have families and loved ones and they too want safety, security and better life for themselves and for their families. At Bukit Panjang where I served, we have a Delivery Riders Support group where we get together regularly such as during festivities, to catch up and to offer each other support and assistances. In my frequent engagements with the platform riders, they will often share with me about what they are going through, the daily challenges that they face as well as their concern on the longer-term stability and security of their work as well as their longer-term livelihoods. Sir, platform workers merely just want to earn a decent living to support themselves through their hard work, sweat and even at their personal safety. But they also hope that the society would not see them as a forgotten group and also appreciate their fair share of contributions in the service that they provide to the community.”
“My final question to the Minister would be does the investment mandate of the FEF also cover investments in nuclear energy, should it become feasible? So, notwithstanding that, I support the Bill.”
“I believe businesses and the public can understand the need for power rationing in an exigency situation. They just need to know the format that it will be done so that they can be better prepared. Businesses also need to have some legal cover from potential liabilities as the power rationing may impact their ability to fulfil contractual obligations. So, I hope the Minister can also share more details on this. Finally, on the $5 billion FEF to support investment to transit to net zero future. Energy infrastructure investments are massive capital expenditure items and come with considerable risks, especially when we invest in new sources of energy with nascent technologies. The investment horizons are usually much longer and the projects can cut across jurisdictions and, hence, also come with significant geopolitical risks. On their own, private sectors will often not be able to undertake these investments and to underwrite its entire project risk. The FEF will come in useful and can help catalyse investments in innovative energy technologies and also put us in a better position to get the projects off the ground. To achieve longer-term energy security and resilience requires massive investments in energy infrastructure and, therefore, do come at a cost. The initial $5 billion allocation of funding will give us the financial space to make some early decisive moves and be prepared for a more challenging, volatile and uncertain energy future landscape ahead. Notwithstanding my support, can I ask the Minister to spell out the mandate, the terms and the investment criteria of this fund as well as its approval process and its governance.”
“With the new framework and the new approach where we need to safeguard securities, the determination of the unit price of gas will become more complex and less transparent. This Bill allows EMA to recover costs of energy security, infrastructure development and decarbonisation-related efforts. Here, I want to ask the Minister, how would EMA continue to ensure price transparency and how would the regulator determine the transfer price between the Gasco and the gencos? When the Government caveats statements, such as on cost recovery, the concern, naturally, is that energy prices will be priced up and, hence, passed on to businesses and to the mass consumers. Can I also seek clarity or an indication from the Minister, how significant will the cost recovery be relative to its current baseline and what are the mitigating measures? Can the FEF, which helps to initially fund new infrastructure investments, be able to help mitigate and reduce cost recovery? Sir, to strengthen EMA's ability to regulate supply of power, the Bill also allows EMA to direct owners of critical infrastructures to give access to licensees on a reasonable term basis. Owners of electricity and gas infrastructure assets will also be required to seek EMA's approval if they plan to repurpose their assets. This is to ensure that energy security and system reliability will not be compromised. I fully agree with that. Sir, this Bill also equips EMA with the powers to direct licensees to ration power during an emergency. Power rationing is new in Singapore. I do not remember having one before. It will require wider engagement and education with the stakeholders and public on how this will be done and what are the likely prioritisation plans.”
“The Bill also additionally empowers EMA to impose energy and carbon efficiency on operators licensed under the Electricity Act. Obviously, those provisions in that Bill, then, were still insufficient. And hence, today's Bill on the Energy Transition Measures and Other Amendments. Sir, one of the key provisions in the Energy Transition Bill is to institute the regulatory regime for centralised gas procurement, with the establishment of Gasco. I can see the rationale. If we leave it to individual generation companies (gencos) to purchase the gas purely based on their commercial consideration, we may not meet the overall gas needs of the country as well as the needed security, whether it is the security of supply or price stability. To negotiate for more favourable contracting terms in the energy markets, where we are a price-taker, having considerable order size helps. To ensure energy resilience, we should also avoid a situation where the individual procurements by gencos primarily come from the same source and, hence, subject us to concentration risk. Having a centralised aggregator that procure with the national interest in mind, can better achieve supply source diversification. With scale, it will also come with better risk warehousing capabilities, which would, in turn, help manage longer-term price and supply stability. To better manage risk, the Gasco may need to enter into longer-tenure gas supply contracts and employ forward-hedging strategies to mitigate price volatility. We will have market situations where we lock in longer-term gas contracts, which will cost more than spot price or the short-tenure contracts. The point here is that, there will be cost implications for a more secure and resilient energy supply.”
“Mr Speaker, having secured energy supply is existential to our economic development and, for that matter, our well-being and our survival. The task is made more arduous for a small island state with no natural resources and alternatives deprived. Even to tap solar power has its limits because of our land space and the frequent cloud cover. Climate change, geopolitics, economic nationalism, among others, have added further challenges to this formidable task of achieving energy security and resilience. For Singapore, in a setting of a volatile world, our constant energy challenge is to, firstly, ensure reliable energy supply in the medium to longer term; secondly, meet Singapore's 2050 net zero ambition; and thirdly, achieving this at an affordable price. This Bill looks to beef up the current regulatory regime and addresses the all-important issue of system resilience and our ability to respond to shocks and disruptions in the supply of energy and in the energy prices. Some may have forgotten that we actually faced an energy crisis in 2021-2022, due to the rapid economic rebound as the world emerged from the pandemic. Of course, the crisis escalated dramatically in February 2022 when the Russian-Ukraine war broke out. Just to illustrate the volatility, the Asian spot gas price moved from a low of about US$2 per metric million British thermal unit (MMBtu) in June 2020, to a high of more than US$54 per MMBtu in around August 2022. It remains at an elevated level of around US$14 per MMBtu, which is still about seven times from the low in June 2020. During that crisis in November 2021, the House passed a Bill to empower EMA to acquire, build, own and operate power infrastructure to safeguard our energy security and reliability.”
“Mr Speaker, there are two supplementary questions for the Minister. Sir, for many years, the People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Labour Movement have asked for support assistance for the jobseekers. I remember even during my first term as an MP in this House, this was also raised. So, I am glad that the Government has finally made the move. Can I ask the Minister, why now? The second question is: under this scheme, the criteria have been tightly structured, such as with the salary cap of $5,000, the annual value of not more than $25,000, the financial relief is also for a maximum of six months. So, can I ask the Minister how the Ministry determines the sufficiency of this scheme to help jobseekers and whether it will achieve the outcomes that we have set out to achieve?”
“Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker. Madam, the crux of the matter here is that we expect entities under the NTUC Enterprise to not only do well, but also to do good, such as offering affordable and inclusive insurance to the mass consumers as well as to the underserved. This has always been ethos and mindsets of the management and board of NTUC entities. So, my first question to the Minister of State is with NTUC Enterprise ceding control of Income to a foreign company, how is NTUC Enterprise able to ensure that the acquired company, which will be foreign-owned now, will be able to continue to do good, like what they have always done before. And if the acquired entity is no longer able to do as much good, will the Government be prepared to step in to plug the gap? My second question is, in Singapore's context, entities that run as social co-operatives have always been an added and valuable instrument for the Government to do some of the public good, such as helping to stabilise inflation, to manage cost of living and launch more affordable, inclusive products, whether it is healthcare, childcare, groceries or insurance. So, my second question is, in the light of this sale of Income and its earlier corporatisation, do social co-operatives still have a role in our society?”
“Thank you, Sir. I just want to follow on the question from the business side of things. Minister Chee mentioned that there will always be lessons learned from each incident and I am sure post the incident, there will be further step-up measures. So, can I ask whether as the Transport Minister or the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, whether post the oil spill incident, would we see increase in the cost for shipping and in the maritime sectors in Singapore and hence any wider implications to the economy? My second question is for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, whether the oil spill incident will have a bearing on our push to decarbonise the maritime sector? Whether, as the industry moves toward hydrogen and ammonia-powered ships, are we gearing up our capabilities to prevent as well as potentially deal with, the effects of allisions or collisions of such ships?”
“Thank you, Sir. Let me first declare that I work in a financial institution. I thank the Minister for his reply, which further clarifies the position of GIC's investment mandates. I do agree with the Minister that we should not compromise on delivering returns and to achieve the best Net Investment Returns Contribution for the country. But having said that, I would still nevertheless like to ask the Second Minister how our very own investment agencies like GIC, Temasek, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, can help strengthen our status as a premier international financial centre, given the scale that they have, as well as the sophistication in terms of the scope of investments.”
“Thank you, Madam. I would like to ask the Minister of State, these days, we do often see the public uploading videos of near misses or dangerous driving on the roads on social media platforms, like the SG Road Vigilantes and other platforms. So, can I ask the Minister of State, how does TP treat these videos, whether these are considered sufficient evidence for TP to take enforcement actions on possible violations? Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: With the era of social media and also online platforms, TP embraces them. We look at some of this evidence and also, we are often being tagged whenever there are posts. This is in addition to the platforms that we have, which I had shared earlier, in reply to Ms Tin Pei Ling's queries. So, on average, we receive around 30,000 traffic violation reports such as these every year, which shows many members of the public are already able to access the e-services. We constantly try to look at how we can improve our platforms. Ms Tin has shared some feedback and we have taken it back. As for posting on social media, some of these platforms that we are familiar with, we look at it and we take that seriously, to investigate. But it does not mean we will just take on board everything that we see, what we want to see is part of the investigation process, so that we can enhance the evidential part of it, as well as we want to make sure that we navigate today's landscape together, with what we can find in technology.”
“Sir, as Members of Parliament, we do send a large number of appeals to HDB, on behalf of residents. For me, in particular, I think they account for up to half the total appeals that I send. So, the question is whether, on one side for the HDB as an organisation, given the case load, are HDB staff spending a disproportionate amount of time handling appeals, which could have otherwise been spent, maybe on the ground, to solve other problems. While on the other side, the residents are having to wait for weeks or months for HDB to respond. For someone who wants to buy a flat, to withdraw his or her name from a parent's flat, may take weeks or months, just to appeal. So, can I ask the Senior Minister of State, is this a case where the schemes are structured just too tightly and are less flexible, resulting in high numbers of appeals, and whether should HDB review the schemes to reduce their appeals. For the newer schemes, whether it is possible to design these with the aim to reduce the likelihood of appeals.”
“Sir, can I just follow up with another question about whether the demands continue to be there? The Minister of State mentioned 33,000 for school-based SCCs and 8,000 for the community-based SCCs. So, whether we have seen more or higher demand and whether there will be more SCCs to be provided, if so.”
“Thank you, Sir. It has been quite a number of years since we introduced the SCCs. I believe they still serve a good purpose, especially for latch-key kids whose parents are working. Now that this has been implemented for a number of years, can I ask the Minister of State if MOE would do a fresh review, to see if the programmes can be updated further or can be enhanced, especially, given the emphasis now to embrace learning beyond grades, so, whether the SCCs can be aligned to that as well?”
“Despite numerous efforts by agencies like NEA, Town Councils and others, the state of public cleanliness and hygiene remains much to be desired. Irresponsible waste dumping, high-rise littering and cigarette butt littering remain a common scene in our neighbourhoods and heartland centres. While the majority of the public are socially responsible, there are still a recalcitrant minority that continues to be inconsiderate and behave irresponsibly. It seems that the effect of deterrence has no impact on them. Can I ask if surveillance and the enforcements can be significantly beefed up to deter more of such inconsiderate behaviours? May I ask what are the Ministry’s plans to further enhance efforts to keep Singapore clean, especially at the littering hotspots around the island? Efforts to Keep Singapore Clean”
“Sir, in his reply to my cut on career health, the Minister made a brief reference to the Citizens' Panel on Employment Resilience, quite a brief one. Can I ask the Minister if he can share the main findings and also, is MOM incorporating the findings into the policies?”
“On the upcoming support to assist the involuntarily unemployed jobseekers, I know the details of the support measure is still to be finalised. Nevertheless, can I ask if the Minister can share the broad principles and the parameters that will be featured in this new scheme? Has the Government taken in feedback from the public and as well as the tripartite partners in the design of the support scheme? Support for the Involuntarily Unemployed”
“Chairman, at last year’s MOM COS, the Manpower Minister announced the setting up of a new feature in the MyCareersFuture portal known as the CareersFinder. Perhaps because of his medical background, he couched it as a tool to keep tap of our career health, very much like physical health. 1.30 pm When I heard of it last year, I thought it was a refreshing approach to encourage workers to take stock of the state of their career health, starting with better insights and awareness of our own employability situation and thereafter, taking proactive and purposeful steps to keep career health in good shape. The CareersFinder beta version was launched in the third quarter of last year. It uses the data on skills adjacencies and jobs churn in the workforce to help workers discover the personalised upskilling needed and identify possible career opportunities based on their individual profiles. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and the data, it is hoped that the efficacy of job matching can be improved and friction reduced. This new feature is particularly important and useful to those in their mid-careers who tend to be more career vulnerable and hence, need better career agility and resilience. In my conversations with those in their mid-careers, many have concerns on the durability of their current skillsets and jobs and how the fast-paced technology advancement, such as AI and blockchain, would impact their jobs and career development. In that context, can I ask the Minister for an update on the CareersFinder beta? How has the take up been and has it achieved the outcomes intended? Also, as a whole, how can the various career health initiatives benefit individuals, employers and the economy?”
“Sir, before I withdraw my amendment, allow me to congratulate MTI and EMA for successfully bringing the International Energy Agency to set up its regnional office in Singapore. It is a great achievement. And I am sure Minister Tan See Leng's personal charm must have made a difference there. With that, I also want to thank Minister Gan, Minister Tan, Minister of State Low Yen Ling and Minister of State Alvin Tan for their comprehensive replies to our responses. I beg leave to withdraw my amendments. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $1,628,845,400 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $7,179,458,100 for Head V ordered to stand part of Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Thank you, Sir. Much as I would like to sample the oolong tea that Minister of State Low Yen Ling recommended, I do have one question for Minister Tan See Leng. This is on the second LNG terminal. I can understand that we need this terminal to strengthen our energy resilience. We already depend heavily on piped gas and, therefore, we will need also to have, as a backup, LNG. But can I ask the Minister how MTI sees the planned time horizon for this second LNG terminal? I ask this because, directionally, we are heading towards greener and cleaner energy. So, how would this second LNG terminal feature in our overall energy strategy, in terms of having greener and cleaner energy?”
“Fourth, to strengthen our connectivity and international linkages, can the Minister share more details on our international collaboration efforts and how Singapore companies can benefit from these partnerships? Fifth, in the Deputy Prime Minister's Budget Statement and in his round-up speech as well, he mentioned about developing local pipeline of corporate leadership talent and more support to help Singaporeans gain overseas experience. Can I ask for more details of this plan? Finally, sixth, on tourism, MTI announced that the Government has earmarked half a billion dollars to support tourism recovery. So, can I seek an update on our tourism revitalisation effort? What more can we do to ensure that Singapore remains an attractive tourist destination amidst the intense global and regional competition? Sir, I Iook forward to the Minister's response. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Supporting Growth of SMEs”
“Thirdly, we grow our economy by continually investing in new technologies and capabilities. Last year, we saw the rapid emergence of AI powered applications and systems, and the momentum is likely to continue and increase this year. We need to develop homegrown AI technologies, grow the AI talent pool and encourage adoption of AI technologies among enterprises. Besides AI, we would also need to sustain our investment in research and innovations to deepen our scientific capabilities and bolster the startup ecosystem here to capture value. Sir, Budget 2024 also took a major step to safeguard our energy security which has a bearing on our longer-term economic competitiveness. Some of the major moves include building a second liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal as well as the setting up of the Future Energy Fund with an initial $5-billion injection to further develop the critical infrastructure and to transit to clean energy. Sir, to do all the above, Singapore must have the requisite skills and talent pool. We are investing big time to grow our own timber, such as the SkillsFuture Level-Up, Career Health and others; but we have also got to be open to have external workforce that complements and strengthens our overall proposition. Sir, in that context, allow me to frame a few questions for the Minister. First, given these unsettling times, how is the Government ensuring that Singapore will remain globally competitive and relevant? Second, how does MTI plan to continue supporting our enterprises, to capture future growth opportunities in the region and in growth sectors such as AI and the green economy? Third, can the Government share more about its plans to enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector?”
“Other than attracting and anchoring frontiers global manufacturers to base here, we should also keep working on developing and growing the manufacturing capabilities of our local enterprises, with the aim grow them into regional champions in their own right. Sir, I will now move on to the services sector. Our services sector covers a wide spectrum of businesses, including both outward-oriented sectors like financial services, logistics, trade as well as domestic-facing ones like food and beverages (F&B) and retail trade. At last year's MTI COS, Minister Gan shared that our Services 2030 vision seeks to harness the growth opportunities in the areas of digitalisation and sustainability and to anchor Singapore as a leading, vibrant hub for businesses, lifestyle and tourism. This strategy and the focuses would play to our strengths and minimise our shortcomings. The one services sector that plays to our strengths and not easily replicable by others is our premiere position as a financial hub and as the international financial centre of the East. I am glad we are not resting on our laurels and have announced another $2-billion injection into the Financial Sector Development Fund to further up our game in this year's Budget. To continue to be the service hub of choice for global businesses, we need to make our city the among the most business-friendly and among the most liveable city in the world. Hence, the longer-term urban planning such as the Masterplan by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the infrastructure upgrades in transport, recreational facilities, healthcare, convention facilities and so on – all adds to making us a conducive hub to offer services to the consumers and businesses of the world.”
“To achieve that, we must tick the boxes in the list of checklist that investors look for. Among the key requirements are excellent infrastructure and connectivity, diverse talent pool, trusted and innovative hub, strong financial standing and political stability. Despite being a small economy, Singapore is the fourth largest recipients of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the world. However, the implementation of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Pillar Two will reset the playing field in the competition for investments and would have implications in our efforts to attract high-quality and high-value investments. And that is why we must keep working on enhancing our overall propositions; continue to invest heavily into our workforce, in infrastructure and also innovation; as well enhancing our connectivity, our economic fundamentals; and to have sound and consistent policies. Secondly, we must continue to strengthen the two wings of our economy – manufacturing and services. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has in earlier Budget Committees of Supply (COS) outlined our manufacturing and services strategies. Although manufacturing now accounts for less than 30% of our gross domestic product (GDP), it remains a very important pillar in our economy. Singapore is the eighth largest exporter of high-tech goods in the world and home to many high-value industries like precision engineering, MedTech, aerospace, semiconductors and so on. Besides the jobs and value-add that it creates, the manufacturing sector helps add further resilience to our economy and also helps contribute to the growth in the services sectors.”
“Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100." Sir, having a growing and vibrant economy is very much a part of our efforts to build a strong social compact. We need a growing economy to create good, fulfilling jobs for Singaporeans and to generate the resources to tackle our social and longer-term challenges. If our economy stagnates, it will dampen aspirations and hopes for a better future and may lead to unease and insecurity among our people. Sir, we know that growing our economy is going to get even more difficult in the years ahead. The inherent constraints facing us – land, labour and carbon – will become more acute. We have also got to content with a more fractured and contested world, with greater willingness of countries to use economic leverage to exert their interests. 12.30 pm There are also profound shifts in the economic landscape. The rapid rise of new disruptive technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and the wider adoptions of big data analytics, cloud computing, e-commerce and automation technologies present both challenges and opportunities to Singapore. All these may sound daunting but fortunately, we are able to respond from a position of strength. So, how do we grow the economy going forward? Allow me to just touch on three areas. Firstly, Singapore must continue to be a choice destination for high value-adding investments, investments that put us at the forefront of cutting-edge of technology. Having state of the art companies' hub and base here helps overcome our scale limitations and enable the proliferations of technologies and the development of skilled talents here.”
“Chairman, there has been greater emphasis and high visibility of ASEAN in our regional affairs in recent years and, at the same time, many of the ASEAN member states have also been playing prominent roles in their own way. In past Committee of Supply debates, the issue of ASEAN centrality comes up quite often. ASEAN is the often seen as the representational regional grouping that speak in one voice on regional issues and engage with external powers as a unified group. We all know that ASEAN can only stay relevant and influential if there are unity of purpose and member states seeing strength in its collective value. I would like to ask the Minister: how can we ensure ASEAN's continued relevance within the international space, considering the troubling and the unsettling geopolitical environment? Bolstering and Reforming ASEAN”
“Mr Chairman, as a small country, the existence of a rules-based international order meant a lot to us. It is where we derive stability and normality and, hence, peace and prosperity. From my understanding of what rules-based international order is, a major part seems to centre on the United Nations (UN) and its Charter. A hundred and ninety three countries have signed to be part of the UN Charter and, hence, are obliged to follow the principles and provisions that extend from that Charter. Besides the UN Charter, there are other international conventions, treaties, international agreements and rulings from the ICJ which purported to be rules that nations should abide by. Notwithstanding all these rules and international agreements that we have, we know that there is no shortage of violations or unobserved rules by countries big or small. There appears to be no supranational enforcement body that can reign in any violations of all these rules. Under this setting, how can tiny Singapore play our part to bolster the rules-based international order? Singapore's Role in Multilateral Forums”
“Sir, allow me to first thank the Deputy Prime Minister and the MOF team for a very impactful and forward-looking Budget. And also for their continuing assurance to Singaporeans to cope with the current cost situation. I also want to thank Minister Indranee and Minister Chee Hong Tat for their comprehensive reply. Sir, with that, I beg leave to withdraw the cut. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $1,150,716,900 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $161,511,500 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Trade serves as an important pillar for the economy; and along with rapid digitalisation, they are much better connected across the trade value chain today. Systems, such as the Networked Trade Platform (NTP) and TradeNet, helped us up the game and enabled greater efficiency and enhanced connectivity. In that regard, can I ask: how do we maintain and strengthen our position as a leading trade, supply chain and trading financing hub? Sir, Singapore has committed ourselves to ambitious climate targets, including to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy. To achieve these targets, we have to transit to a green economy that deploys greener and more sustainable energy solutions. While the transition will pose significant challenges, especially to our cost structure, it also provides impetus for businesses and entrepreneurs to start seeking innovative green solutions and to explore new opportunities. Can I ask how is MOF supporting companies to seize growth opportunities and develop capabilities in the area of sustainability? [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Prudent Use of Public Resources”
“The Government and Public Service are a gigantic machinery with extensive functionalities and round-the-clock operations. Public Service has become more complex due to the changing social, economic and political landscape as well as the deeper proliferation of technologies and the use of digital channels in our daily lives. Understandably, the Public Service will need a comprehensive set of control and procurement policies and governance framework to administer its procurement of goods and services of this scale. To strengthen governance and accountability, agencies are also subject to the audits by their internal and external auditors as well as the Auditor-General's Office. As the agency that manages the Government's finances, how does the Ministry of Finance (MOF) ensure the effective and prudent use of public resources and that the intended outcomes are met? Sir, many local enterprises are suppliers and servicers to the Government. While they have no issues with the credit worthiness of the Government in fulfilling the contractual obligations and paying the bills, many do hope that doing businesses can be made even easier. For example, businesses hope that the Government's procurement contracts can be portioned into smaller bite sizes so that smaller businesses would not be disadvantaged. How would MOF continue to improve businesses’ ease of transacting with the Government? Also, importantly, how does the Government ensure prompt and timely payments to suppliers to ease their cash flow challenges amidst rising costs? Over the decades, Singapore has built up its reputation as the trusted hub for trade and enterprise.”
“Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head M of the Estimates be reduced by $100". Sir, even as we remake our social compact, set out to build our shared future together, we should not lose sight on the other non-social aspects like growing the economy and to ensure that we have sustainable finance. I am glad that both growing the economy and upholding fiscal prudence and fiscal responsibility are also featured in the Forward Singapore report. Having a strong and vibrant economy creates good jobs and gives us the means to tackle social challenges and enables us to bring about better lives for our people. The Forward Singapore report also reminded us that we are stewards of our limited resources. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] While as the current generation of Singaporeans, we are beneficiaries of the strong financial position that we are in today, we should also be good stewards of our finances so that the next and future generations of Singaporeans can continue to benefit from the financial security and the financial resources available. Our social compact must, therefore, be inter-generational; so that future generations, our children, our grandchildren and those not yet born can also be sufficiently resourced to be able to deal with the challenges of their times. Sir, our Government spending has reached around 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) and is projected to increase to around 20% GDP by 2030. We are spending more for the better well-being of Singaporeans and to build for a more secure future. We cannot and should not cut costs to greatness, but we should ensure that our public spending is value-for-money and that we live up to the high governance standards.”
“Mr Chairman, in 2022, the Government raised our climate targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as part of our Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy. In addition, the Government has also committed to reducing emissions to around 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2030 after peaking emissions earlier as part of the revised 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). These new targets have been duly lodged UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2022. This is an ambitious undertaking given our constraints as an alternative energy-deprived city state. I applaud the Government for pursuing these stretched targets and doing our part fight global climate change. Can I ask for an update on the preparations and what steps is Singapore taking to achieve these targets? Decarbonisation and Green Finance”
“Thank you, Sir. I just want to bring up this point about the pre-funding of some of the major expenditures the Government committed. I do agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that we should pre-fund some of these major commitments that we have. It just demonstrates our prudence and our fiscal sustainability that the longer-term policy commitments are responsibly funded. However, it may also limit the overall fiscal impulse of a current Budget. So, I want to ask the Deputy Prime Minister: can he share whether the Government do take into consideration the utilisation of the earlier-funded packages to determine the total spending injection into the economy, so as to better calibrate the level of fiscal impulse to be injected in each Budget? So, that is my first clarification. My second clarification is related to the NIRC, which the Deputy Prime Minister also mentioned. I do note that the NIRC for FY2023 has been revised down to $22.92 billion; and the NIRC for FY2024 is $23.5 billion. So, it suggests a flattish growth in our NIRC for these two years. Just wanted to ask the Deputy Prime Minister: given that we continue to grow the base of the Reserves with half the contribution of NIRC, why is the incremental increase not as high as the previous years? Just wanted a short clarification.”
“This discipline about a balanced Budget is of critical importance especially where the trajectory of our spending is heading higher. Often, commentators would like to use characterisations such whether the Budget is left-leaning or right-leaning or centre-left or centre-right to describe a Budget. But it may not be that straightforward for this year’s Budget. Rather than to characterise the budget as being more left or right-leaning, I would say this is a budget that is forward moving and upward progressing. We have every determination to move Singapore forward; and in this forward journey ahead to ensure that there will be upward social mobility and cohesion and importantly upward progress for everyone. Sir, I support the Budget.”
“Using our revised FY2023 corporate tax revenue base of $28.4 billion, this would mean an additional $4 billion to $11 billion of revenue. In February 2024, Hong Kong which will introduce Pillar 2 in 2025 has estimated its own revenue impact to be around HKD 10 billion, or S$1.7 billion. There was another estimate by Switzerland in August 2023 which estimate the impact for Switerland as CHF 1.6 billion, or S$2.4 billion. Both the Hong Kong and Swiss estimates seem to be point to a lower revenue impact than what the OECD estimates would imply, which is up to about S$10 billion for Hong Kong, up to about S$15 billion for Switzerland. Of course, OECD has cautioned that there is a wide range of uncertainty in their estimates. Sir, Pillar 2 is an unprecedented change in tax policy and there are significant limitations in the extent to which previous experience and studies can inform on the "behavioural reactions" by governments and MNEs and therefore the revenue impact. Furthermore, the OECD report does not factor in the impact of Pillar 1, which will have a negative revenue impact for Singapore. When both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 are taken together, it would be difficult to pin down on the net revenue impact. The more important point is BEPS 2.0 is a key challenge for Singapore which we must navigate carefully. And which is I why, I support the Budget 2024 measures to enhance our investment promotion toolkit through the Refundable Investment Credit; as well as the various investments in our workforce, in innovation and in infrastructure. Sir, to conclude, a good Budget is not defined by just about how we spend, how big we spend, how many more areas we spend but also how we fund our expenditures on a sustainable basis.”
“One of them was where the opposition politicians ridiculed their government on why tiny Singapore can be listed as the top 10 countries in the world, leading in AI research and technology; and Taiwan is not there. They lamented that Taiwan is losing out in this AI race and will severely impact its overall competitiveness. Sir, I am pleased that we are now into version 2 of our National AI Strategy; and in this Budget, the Government has committed to invest $1 billion per year for the next five years. The investments will be used to work with leading companies to set up AI Centres of Excellences in Singapore as well as secure the much needed advanced chips for AI development. Sir, we need to keep up with the momentum in our AI development; and I support the additional funding announced by the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr Speaker, Sir, my final point is with regards to the adjustments to the corporate income tax; to incorporate the BEPS 2.0 Pillar 2 changes. Under Pillar 2 of BEPS, a global minimum effective tax of 15% is required to be applied to large MNEs. Many jurisdictions including Switzerland and Hong Kong has announced their plans to implement it in 2024 and 2025. BEPS 2.0 will reset the level playing field for global competition for investment and that is why it is critical that we keep improving our overall offerings such as introducing the Refundable Investment Credit to strengthen our competitive position. One issue of considerable interest is the revenue impact from introduction of Domestic Top-Up Tax. In the near term, it is expected to provide additional revenues to the Government. In an OECD report released in January 2024, OECD provided estimates that imply a revenue gain of around 15% to 40% in corporate income tax for investment hubs.”
“This could be the pathway for our local enterprises to break out of the size trap, level up to be the emerging regionals or niche champions. Sir, besides attracting high quality investments and developing our local enterprises, we have also got to invest in our capabilities and build longer-term competitiveness. The Deputy Prime Minister announced a series of significant investment into our capabilities in this year's Budget; for example, the $3 billion in Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE2025), $2 billion in the Financial Sector Development Fund, $100 million to upgrade our Nationwide Broadband Network. To enhance our longer-term energy security, the Government will also inject an initial $5 billion to set up the Future Energy Fund. These are massive funding commitments. Sir, I look forward to the details in the upcoming COS debate. On AI, I am glad that Singapore has a head-ups in developing AI capabilities with our National AI strategy. It has not gone unnoticed internationally. Last December, I happened to be in Taiwan for the holidays, with my family. At that time, the Taiwanese Presidential and the Legislative election campaign were in full swing. And out of curiosity, I popped into a couple of election rallies in Taipei and watched the local news there, to hear what are the issues that the candidates were talking about. It is not uncommon in Taiwanese elections, to hear opposition politicians there using Singapore as an example to criticise their government for not doing as well as Singapore. So, in this election there, it was again not surprising that Singapore got a few mentions.”