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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“And thanks to our best-in-class investment attracting agencies like the Economic Development Board (EDB), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG), we have been able to attract these high-quality investments, despite the intense competition. I often read the annual reports of EDB, to get a sense of how much investments we are attracting each year. Besides reporting the fixed asset investment (FAI) commitments and the total business expenditure per annum (TBE), EDB would also report the jobs expected to be created and the value added to the economy. For example, in 2023, the EDB attracted FAI of $12.7 billion, TBE of $8.9 billion and these are expected to create more than 20,000 jobs with a projected value-add of $26.7 billion. I am heartened that our economic investment agencies never lose sight on the ultimate motivation on why we bring in investments, which is to create good jobs and to contribute to our gross domestic product (GDP). Sir, we have to keep strengthening our propositions; among others, to always be a business-friendly destination of choice, having a diverse talent pool, excellent infrastructure and connectivity, trusted jurisdictions, strong financial standing and, of course, an able Government and political stability. How could our local enterprises benefit from the presence of MNEs? The key is in finding ways for our local firms to be the suppliers and servicers of the MNEs; and playing a part in their value chain. The enhanced Partnership for Capability Transformation aims to increase the range of modalities for MNEs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to collaborate and to help the SMEs up the game.”
“This is why the Government is investing significant financial resources and strengthening policy measures to alleviate this burden on the individual. Ultimately, whether we can achieve results depends on whether workers have that willingness and passion to seek skills and knowledge, and whether employers have a flexible, rewarding and long-term mindset to support this. In this process, we also need to curate more courses that can be applied to enhance employment opportunities. This will be a very difficult road, but we have no choice. I can see the Government's determination, and in the future, it will require everyone and the entire system to work together to implement these enhanced upskilling policies. (In English): Sir, on the economy, I fully agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that we need to continue growing the economy, so that we can improve the collective well-being of Singaporeans. And given the inherent constraints stacked against us, such land, labour and carbon, our next phase of growth has to be productivity and innovation driven. It is not going to be easy, as bigger countries that are better resourced and with the scale of domestic economy are also doing the same. The strategy that we have adopted to overcome our limitations and which has placed us among the top economic value-add country per capita in the world, is by continuously attracting high quality and high value investments to Singapore. Attracting such investments help us leapfrog the riskier and the capital-intensive build-up phase; and enable our economy to always stay at the frontiers of cutting-edge technology. Hence, anchoring high value and innovative MNEs to base and hub here continues to be a compelling strategy for an economy like ours with minimal scale.”
“Sir, I welcome another shift that was mentioned in the Budget, with details to be provided later this year; and that is the temporary financial support scheme for the involuntarily unemployed. This is in keeping with the current reality, where we will see more disruptions that will impact businesses and jobs. I am glad that we are now ready to move on this. It is very much part of what we meant a functioning, social compact and that we have got each other's back. Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] There is a saying that people have no fixed position and water has no constant form. The rapid development of technology today has led us into an era of constant change in the workplace. The transformation of economic operations has directly impacted the workplace, changing the employment model and shortening the value and lifespan of skills and knowledge. In response to this situation, this year's Budget has also strengthened a response strategy, enhancing and introducing new policy measures. In addition to the enhanced SkillsFuture subsidies of up to $4,000, the Government has also adjusted education subsidies, allowing middle-aged Singaporeans to re-enter educational institutions to pursue professional diplomas and enhance their employment potential. Workers who wish to attend qualified full-time work courses, can also receive training allowances of up to $3,000 per month. From these measures, we can understand the Government's intention to enable Singaporeans to maintain employability, expand employment opportunities and have a better future. Learning and upskilling is a challenging endeavour, with economic cost and personal time commitment.”
“The SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, with various subsidies, can greatly help to reduce the economic costs for training, a perennial pain point for the working mid-careers. The monthly training allowance, equivalent to 50% of one's average income, capped at $3,000 and over 24 months, helps to significantly buffer the economic costs for workers when they embark on career transition programmes. The $4,000 top-up of the SkillsFuture Credit for Singaporeans aged 40 and above is a sizeable uplift and a clear signaling in the way forward. It is now more targeted in scope; and would only apply to programmes that can achieve the desired employability outcomes. Sir, another notable shift in Budget 2024 is the change in our education subsidy policy; where Singaporeans aged 40 and above can pursue another diploma at our polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) at subsidised fees. The Deputy Prime Minister called it "another bite" of the education subsidies. I hope this new subsidised back-to-school full-time diploma programmes can also help produce more professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs); and hence, reduce the future need for more S Passes and Employment Passes (EPs). Sir, these are substantial moves. Committing the funding is just first step and, of course, a critical enabler. The real heavy lifting is in operationalising the entire value chain, where workers seek training that the employers sought; the educators being deeply plugged into the needs of industries and businesses and curate the skills proramme that matters; and the work unions and Government closely monitoring, facilitating and anticipating the next few bounds ahead.”
“Our people must be at the centre of any policy formulation and intent; whether it is to grow the economy, to build capabilities, to strengthen our securities and even why we manage our finances prudently. We want our people to live a full and happy life. A major part of our life's pursuit is livelihoods. We work to earn income to provide for our families and ourselves; to live good lives and to have the financial means for contingencies and retirement. As a Government, nothing can be more of a priority and worthy than to help provide good and fulfilling livelihoods to our people. That must be the foremost key performance indicator (KPI) for the Government. However, with the rapid technological advancements and a more competitive and disruptive economic environment, long-term job security will be an increasing and ongoing challenge. The skills set that we acquire in schools and in the workplace now has a shortened shelf life. Some old jobs will become obsolete, while new jobs that require new skills will be created. And coupled with that, on the labour supply side, with an increasing healthy life span, we can now have a longer career runway. We are living longer and we have more healthier years in our life; thanks to the quality of life that we enjoy today. Singaporeans understand this imperative and know that there may a time in their career where they need to do a pivot, in response to the changing landscape. The introduction of SkillsFuture 10 years ago opened up our mindset about continuous learning throughout life. Budget 2024 provides a major boost and a significant funding upsize to the SkillsFuture movement; with the aim to nudge Singaporeans in their forties, fifties and even sixties to embrace career resilience and to stay up to speed on their employability.”
“For the businesses, while the 50% corporate tax rebate and the Enterprise Financing Scheme, among others, may also come across as more of the same, the minimum cash payouts of $2,000 to all companies that employed at least one local employee is clearly a new feature and, if I remember correctly, first of its kind in our Budgets. It will go some way to provide relief to the small enterprises and helping to mitigate some of the incremental costs. In addition to the AP, there are also other helpful features in this year's Budget that help Singaporean households and businesses cope with rising costs, such as the Workfare Income Supplement, the Silver Support, the preschool fee caps, the Progressive Wage Credits Scheme and so on. So, I thank the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister for his continuing assurances to help Singaporeans to manage the cost pressures. Besides the annual Budget measures, in September last year, the Deputy Prime Minister also came up with an additional off-budget $1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package. In that package, there was also an additional one-off public transport subsidies of $300 million to moderate the fare increase in 2023. And this is over and above the $2 billion annual subsidy that the Government provides to keep public transport affordable. I hope that that the Government would continue to monitor the costs situation, including keeping an eye on the public transport fare; and to consider another one-off assistance to moderate the fare increase if the Budget position permits. Sir, let me now speak on the part of the Budget that I am most delighted with – that is developing our people.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this year's Budget sets out the first instalment of policy moves to remake Singapore's social compact, as envisioned by the Forward Singapore exercise. We can see the imprints of Forward Singapore in many aspects of this year's Budget, including the various fresh approaches and moves to provide assurance to Singaporeans. There are major initiatives to develop our people, to invest in medium- and longer-term capabilities and security, to support families and seniors, and to build a fairer and more equitable society. We are moving forward amidst a more uncertain, more contested and more volatile world. To adapt and thrive under this environment, we need to keep on reassessing our propositions and norms, but also, critically, to stay cohesive and united. Sir, let me start with the Budget measures to tackle the immediate challenges. And in keeping with one of Forward Singapore key thrust that we are in this together and that we have got each other's back, this Budget continues to enhance the packages to help Singaporeans cope with the cost of living. The $1.9 billion enhanced Assurance Package (AP) may come across as "more of the same", but this is a much welcomed "more of the same", where it is actually more than "more of the same". Even though there are other measures and tools to help mitigate rising costs; nothing beats having more direct payouts and assistance from the Government. And fortunately, we continued to have the fiscal capacity to dish out such upsized packages.”
“I am trying to figure out whether is that a comment or a question. I will just see how I can pick up from what the Member has just said. Firstly, I just said in my speech that the foreign exchange market is a $7 trillion market. It is massive. If there is a speculative attack, we never know what the reason is. It could be some events that happened that caused the speculative attack. Therefore, we always want to keep that last trump card to ourselves. I believe that usually works because if we reveal too much, that is when we show our hand, where our limits are. But, more importantly, the point about Singapore is that we have our inherent vulnerabilities, unlike other countries where they have a big domestic economy. They have natural resources and so on. For Singapore, we are just a tiny island-state and the financial reserves is just the only back-stop that we have. Therefore, we need to really be mindful that someone may see us as a tiny state and may, one day, find a reason to attack us. That is why keeping it not known will serve us better than to let it be known.”
“Sir, the first point is that our central bank has that credibility. Because they know it is MAS. They know they can only challenge up to a point and, they, would have to pull back. I would not know how much MAS has spent. It is not privy to me. But I know the speculators do know that it will come to a point when they will be overwhelmed by what MAS can do, given that the financial strength of Singapore, which is known. The point that Mr Leong Mun Wai is trying to say is, can we still let everyone know the size of our Reserves? I do not think it is a wise thing because once people know where our limit is, then, next time around, when they know where they can push. Maybe, more speculators, they will be going for that limit. So, I agree with the Government and, I think it makes sense for us to keep our Reserves to ourselves and not to be revealed, so that we can keep the speculators guessing. And when we intervene, we will intervene in a decisive way.”
“Sir, I think it is a combination of factors. Of course, the financial reserves form an important consideration for the speculators not to challenge the central bank on this. Of course, like I said in my speech, the economic fundamentals of our country, how we manage the political stability and others, I think all contributed to that. But you still need to be seen to have that adequate reserve, to be able to at least set a strong first-line of defence to deter any would-be speculators from coming in. So, I believe, if you do a contrast between the countries and Singapore in the region, it would show, quite obviously, that the speculators knew they cannot challenge the Singapore central bank. Because they knew the Singapore central bank has the means to intervene and to take decisive actions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following amendments. First, in line 1, to delete "review" and insert "ensure". Second, in line 1, to delete "current". Third, in line 2, after the words "Reserve accumulation policies", to insert "always stay fiscally responsible and sustainable,". And fourth, in line 3, to delete "continuing to save" and insert "planning and providing". Sir, with that, I beg to move.”
“Yes, Sir. May I request the Clerk to distribute the proposed amendments to the Members? [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]”
“Yes. [A copy of amendments was handed to Mr Speaker.]”
“The Government is able to use half of the investment return from the Reserves each year to fund its budgetary expenditure, benefitting the current generation. This fiscal income has been increasing over the years. We certainly hope that it will continue to increase in the future. This will allow the Government to have greater leeway to increase expenditure to help the people, improve their quality of life and help alleviate the current and future tax burdens. It can be said to be a win-win situation. (In English): Sir, while the Budget Statements are made once a year, at the start of the year, the Government do introduce off-Budget packages to help Singaporeans reduce their financial burden. For example, in September 2023, the Government announced the $1.1 billion Cost-of-Living support package to provide relief to households. I also remember during the pandemic, we had additional budgets, a total of five Budgets in one-over year, to help Singaporeans. Here, I call on the Government to do that to help present-day Singaporeans cope with the cost of living, including in the coming Budget, and doing it in a fiscally responsible and sustainable way. Sir, in this context and with your consent, I would like to propose amendments to the Motion.”
“The first key word is that ample Reserves are our peace of mind. Our country often experiences serious crises, such as the pandemic two to three years ago and the Global Financial Crisis in 2009. These crises directly impact our economy, causing job instability and concerns about our health and life. These situations bring about a sense of unease among our people. Fortunately, we have a secret weapon that can greatly help us to deal with crises. That is our Reserves, the key financial resource. With ample financial resources, we have the ability to implement more decisive assistance measures and reassure our people. It is also because of our ample Reserves that Singapore can maintain its best credit rating and investors' confidence and, thus, keep the Singapore dollar strong. A strong Reserve also enhances our ability to deal with market speculators who seek to attack our Singapore dollar. The second key word is the guardian of the nation. We can easily imagine that, for Singapore, being a small red dot, if any catastrophic event happens, such as natural disasters, serious accidents, conflicts or even wars, it will have a very tremendous impact on our country. With our small land area, there is simply no room to escape. In the event of a catastrophic event, our only way forward is to rally our people and to rebuild our homeland. We also lack the natural resources and land for agricultural. These reserves will provide us with the capital to rebuild and recover. They are, indeed, our guardian of the nation. The third key word is that the investment income from our Reserves also helps us to manage our Government expenditure and provide for future generations.”
“6 billion, about one-third of what it is today. Five years ago, in 2018, it was $16.41 billion. Sir, these investment returns help a great deal to reduce our tax burden. We would, otherwise, run deficits or would have to raise more taxes and/or cut spending to balance the Budget. As our expenditures are certainly going to keep rising in the years ahead, it makes good sense to keep growing the NIRC, so as to reduce our future tax burden. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, the NIRC can continue to grow and contribute, perhaps even one-third or 50% of our total revenue. Saving 50% of our investment returns helps us achieve that and, yet, it is still able to provide a significant contribution for current spending. It is not even an issue about whether we are being too conservative or cautious in our finances. It is about being judicious with our money and let the compounding effect of the money do the work for us, to expand our future spending power. In the context of the NIRC framework, what is not spent and saved does not get wasted. It gets compounded. It grows the base principal amount of our Reserves, which helps to add to the NIRC of the next financial year, which, in turn, will benefit present-day Singaporeans. Growing the NIRC gives us more fiscal space to provide more help and support to Singaporeans on an ongoing basis, including helping Singaporeans cope with present-day and future-day cost of living situations. Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, adequate Reserves are important for every country. But for a small and vulnerable nation like Singapore, they are especially crucial. I would like to use a few key words to describe its importance.”
“Thirdly, in the event of disasters and natural calamities or a catastrophic event, our strong Reserves give us hope and the means to recover and to rebuild. The tragic situation in Ukraine is a sombre reminder of how a war can have such massive destruction to lives and to the country. As the war continues, the President of Ukraine has no choice but to keep appealing and pleading to the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) to keep funding their war efforts against Russia. We know that there is always a limit as to how much we can count on others to help us. We hope there will never be a war on our land and that is why we take our defence very seriously. This is why we need to build strong reserves for any contingencies and, also, because of our inherent vulnerability. Sir, it is not possible to predict or anticipate when and what the next major crisis would be and how devastating it can be. But, what we can do is to always ensure that we are in a position of strength to deal with it, should there be any crisis or disaster. Here, having a solid financial means to respond decisively is the necessary readiness that can make a crucial difference. Fourthly, the stable and growing NIRC, is another critical advantage that we have. Perhaps, this is the most tangible present-day benefit of having a sizeable Reserve, that is, the NIRC, which is a topic of frequent debate in recent years as well. Thanks to decades of prudence and accumulation by those before us, our Reserves now generate a significant stable and sustainable income stream to fund annual Budgets. Based on financial year (FY) 2023 estimates, the NIRC is expected to contribute $23.48 billion, or about one-fifth of our annual revenue; second to corporate tax. Ten years ago, in 2012, the NIRC was $7.”
“Today, the foreign exchange market has since ballooned more than five times since 1997, with an average trading volume of about $7 trillion a day. We must never assume or take for granted that currency speculators will not target the Singapore dollar again. Hence, our Reserves must always be the strongest first-line of defence against intense speculations and be able to withstand the waves of massive capital flights should it happen. Sir, the ability to fend off vicious market speculators is not the only benefit or value of having strong reserves. There are other critical advantages as well. Let me just name a few more. Firstly, our strong Reserves are clearly among the top considerations why international rating agencies rated Singapore the highest rating of AAA. It enables the Singapore Government and its agencies to borrow at the lowest risk-free rate. During the Global Financial Crisis, the Government provided a $150 billion guarantee on all bank deposits in Singapore. This guarantee and other financial commitments that the Government made are credible because it is backed by the Reserves and, hence, it is highly creditworthy. The benefits of strong Reserves also help us keep our Singapore dollar strong and it is also a strong anchor factor that reinforces investors' confidence. The second critical advantage of strong Reserves is our ability to mount a strong response during a crisis. We have seen that playing a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving the Government the fiscal ability to significantly boost healthcare measures, procure and obtain the best vaccines amongst the earliest in the world and introduce huge support packages, such as the Job Support Scheme (JSS).”
“Speculators put on the famous no-brainer "at the money" trade, as it was called then, by shorting the Hang Seng Index. Buying the US dollar against the Hong Kong dollar and forcing the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to the raise interest rate sharply to defend the peg which, in turn, caused even more sell-off in the stock market due to the high cost of money. Singapore was not spared as well. I was a bank dealer working in the trading room at that time and I saw, before my very eyes, within hours, how the Singapore dollar devalued from 1.73 to 1.82, all in that night. We called it the "20 big figure move". Fortunately, with our strong fundamentals and, I believe, the decisive intervention of MAS, the value of the Singapore dollar recovered the next morning and thereafter. But it was not the case for the other regional currencies. Some currencies, like the Rupiah and Ringgit, never recovered to pre-1997/1998 levels till today. The crisis triggered widespread rioting and political instability in our neighbouring countries. Though the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stepped in to provide stabilisation funding to countries like Indonesia, it had demanded the countries to impose tough austerity measures, causing more hardship to the people. At that time, I remember reading reports about politicians from neighbouring countries chiding Singapore for not offering more financial assistance to help the neighbours. The lessons I took away from the Asian Financial Crisis is that we must always ensure that our economy is underpinned by sound fundamentals and importantly, we must always be in a strong financial position, especially for a tiny island state like Singapore.”
“My position on the country's public finance and its Reserve accumulation policies have always been that we must stay fiscally responsible and sustainable while we tackle immediate and longer-term challenges faced by present-day Singaporeans and future generations of Singaporeans. This has been and will always be my set of personal beliefs and values. I always believe that we must live within our means, work a little harder for a better tomorrow, save a little more than we can, for better financial security not just for ourselves but for our families. I am sure many Singaporeans and Members of this House have similar values like me. They are not unique just to me. Of course, there are others who think otherwise. Sir, we can still vividly remember the pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and how they have impacted us. But, for me, the crisis that has the deepest bearing on me is the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/1998. This was the crisis that had caused the meltdown in the financial markets and economies of North Asia and Southeast Asia. Many countries in the region experienced severe economic difficulties and massive unemployment. The currency values and stock markets of countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, went into a tailspin. Currencies and market speculators reaped massive profits putting gigantic, short positions on these currencies and stock markets, squeezing up interest rates to as high as a few thousand percent overnight. Currencies, like the Thai Baht, Indonesia Rupiah, Malaysia Ringgit and Korean Won, were decimated in the space of a few days. I remember that the Hong Kong dollar peg was also under tremendous pressure as well.”
“Mr Speaker, the topic of Reserves has been frequently debated in this House. We debated it in almost every Budget session or when we need to raise taxes, such as during the GST Bill; or when we need to draw down on the Reserves, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and during the Global Financial Crisis. During my tenure as a Member of Parliament so far, we have had two amendments to the Constitution related to our Reserves: first, in 2009, to institute the NIR framework; and, in 2015, when we included Temasek in the NIR framework. Both amendments have the effect of refining our spending rules which, in essence, seek to achieve Budget funding stability while also seeking to achieve intergenerational equity. These changes to the Reserves framework helped us to fulfil two purposes. Firstly, ensure that we have sufficient Reserves to deal with a major crisis or a catastrophic event, whether now or in the future. Secondly, it provides a steady and sustainable stream of income that can last across generations. Sir, in my years as a Member of this House, I have detected a significant shift in the tone of debate over the years. I remember in my first term in this House, the tone of the debate tends to be about how we can safeguard and how we can grow our Reserves. In the last decade, what I observed is that, it has since shifted more towards how we can use more of the investment returns for current spending. Sir, I supported both the constitutional amendments in 2009 and 2015 and, I agreed that the adjustment to the framework is necessary to achieve two purposes that I just mentioned.”
“Sir, I am glad to hear that the Government is looking to further upscale or increase the SFC amount or top-ups. My first question is, whether this new push in SFC, is there any change in emphasis, or any new emphasis? Is this like a version two of SFC that we are expecting? And secondly, the Minister of State mentioned about working with professional bodies. I thought it is a very good idea because they are more attuned to the changes, the professionals skill needs. And so, whether under the new push, are we going to work more closely with the professional bodies?”
“Thank you, Sir. My first question is, as the Minister was at COP28, I would like to hear from her whether she is satisfied with the overall outcomes of COP28. The second question is about this call to triple renewable energy capacity and doubling the rate of efficiency by 2030. It is a major undertaking, notwithstanding the plans we have in place. I would like to ask the Minister if Singapore is confident to achieve these goals. My third question is, in COP28, there were also increasing calls for the use of nuclear energy as one of the renewable sources, with the goal to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. I believe there were 20-over countries that came up with a declaration, including the United States (US) and some Asian countries like Japan and Korea. Can I ask the Minister whether this declaration will have any bearing on the Government's position on nuclear energy as another source of renewable energy?”
“Secondly, while Special Administration Orders as well as other orders, to ensure the security and reliability of the designated entities' functions, will only be exercised when it is necessary, can I also ask the Minister if there are safeguards to ensure the judicious and appropriate use of such powers? Thirdly, with regard to the two-year time bar for entities that have acted against our national security interest, can I ask the Minister on the consideration behind this parameter of two years? Sir, I understand that the Ministry has also considered provisions from the investment management legislation of other jurisdictions. As the Minister has said, the Bill was also developed in consultation with various industry representatives from the legal, finance and accounting sectors, as well the general business community, with particular attention paid to minimising the potential impact on businesses and investors. So, overall, I find the Bill suitably balanced between maintaining an open investment environment while still fulfilling the intent to have adequate and effective safeguards for Singapore's national security needs. As such, I support the Bill.”
“As there are already existing sectoral legislations to regulate the broader critical and strategic sectors, this Bill will only impact a handful of entities that are of significant strategic and security implications. As the Minister said, those who are covered under the Bill would have been informed. Those who are not, I suppose they can feel more assured now. Furthermore, the designated entities will be published in the Gazette. Sir, today, we live in an increasingly complex operating environment. The security threats that we face could come from various sources and in various forms, including through the ownership and control of the critical entities. Hence, the provisions in this Bill would apply to entities that are both locally- or foreign-owned. The objective this Bill is to ensure that the critical entities continue providing their functions securely and reliably over time. Therefore, beyond imposing obligations tied to specific transactions relating to significant investments, the Bill also contains other important provisions, such as requiring approvals for the appointment of key personnels to the designated entity. Notwithstanding my support, I have a few clarifications to seek from the Minister. Firstly, under the Bill, only a handful of critical entities are designated as significant investments, while other potential critical entities may also not adequately be covered by existing sectoral legislation. So, my question to the Minister is, whether entities, especially those in new or emerging sectors, like artificial intelligence (AI); or those providing services in certain sectors, such as data centres, will be designated under the Bill?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, many of our critical economic capabilities are owned and controlled by commercial entities. They are managed on commercial basis with the aim to attain profitability and other economic interests. Such entities are also critical to the proper functioning of our economy and society. We cannot rule out the possibility that, as the business owners or operators advance their strategic or economic interest, there could be potential situations where these entities may act in way that is detrimental to our national interest. Hence, I see the need for the Government to be empowered with the necessary legislative and executive levers to not only safeguard our national security, but also ensure resilience of our economy and society. Many other jurisdictions already have such dedicated regulations to monitor and manage such strategic entities. With rising geopolitical tensions and concerns over national economic security and strategic competition, we have seen more countries introduce new legislations to protect strategically important technologies, assets and key infrastructures, such as the CHIPS and Science Act in the US and the Export Control Law in China. When I first heard of this Bill, my immediate response was that I thought we already have these ownerships and control safeguards to manage key sectors, such as in telecommunications, banking, utilities and media, through very extensive legislation and regulations. However, upon more detailed reading of the Bill and how the framework of review is designed, I am fully supportive of this targeted approach to review these specifically earmarked critical entities. The new legislation targets and imposes on individual entities, rather than on the whole sector or sets of activity.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following amendments: First, "In line 1, after the words 'That this House' to insert the words 'acknowledges that cost of living is a global concern, and'". Second, "In line 1, to delete 'review its policies so as to' and insert 'continue pursuing policies that together'". And third, "At the end of line 2, to add ', without undermining our fiscal sustainability and burdening future generations of Singaporeans'". Sir, I beg to move.”
“Yes, Sir. [Copies of the amendment were distributed to hon Members.]”
“Hence, the need to grow our economy to build capabilities to generate revenue, the need for a foreign exchange to create jobs, better wages so that individual and households can have the means to cope with the cost of living. This is more so for a small island state like Singapore with no natural resources. We must be able to get our inflows so that we can pay for our outflows. Sir, we must get our fundamentals right. This is the only sustainable and sound way forward as we continue to tackle expected and unexpected challenges and crises ahead in this volatile and uncertain world. Sir, in this context and with your consent, I would like to propose amendments to the Motion. 2.55 pm”
“How could we continue to pursue polices which, together, lower cost of living pressures on Singaporeans and their families, but without undermining our fiscal sustainability and being responsible to future generations? Sir, I want to add a couple of points before I sum up. Firstly, this global inflationary situation, while we hope that it will go away soon, may actually last longer that we thought. The unending war in Ukraine, potentially the escalation of conflicts in Middle East, superpowers' geopolitical tensions, the rivalry that is being played in the global supply chain, the adverse weather that we now see more often – all these could fuel further shocks to the energy, food and commodity markets. So, we must be prepared that the high-cost situation around the world could worsen or continue for a prolonged period of time. In other words, we must be prepared to sustain the long haul. Secondly, these additional costs whether it is from having to pay for higher energy costs, higher food costs, higher imported material costs and so on, are real costs or outflows to us as a country entity. For example, in the production of clean water, the higher energy costs to treat and recycle water is an outlay that will flow out of the country to the energy producing country. My point here is that we need to be able to always have the means to pay for these costs, which is rising in our current situation. Just because we freeze prices or put a cap to price increases, the outflow required to pay for these external costs does not just disappear magically. The only way to do it on a sustainable basis is to be able to generate inflows to be able to pay for these additional costs.”
“To help Singaporeans better cope with the current cost of living concerns and the new GST rates, the Government has provided direct support assistance through the Budget and off-Budget measures since last year. We have the permanent GST Voucher scheme and the Assurance Package. Both have been enhanced. In September this year, the Government announced an additional $1.1 billion Cost of Living Package to provide relief to lower- to middle-income families. This includes a further $800 million enhancements to the Assurance Package as well as an additional subsidy of about $300 million to moderate the fare increase of public transport. Because of the various enhancements to these packages and the payouts that are spread throughout the year, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) now publishes the calendar view of the monthly disbursements so that it is easier for Singaporeans to anticipate the payouts each month. I must say that when I distributed this handout to my residents during a Kopi Talk, all of them welcomed this and kept this so that they can track whether they are receiving all these payouts. It is something that is helping our residents directly. Sir, I believe in today's debate on the Motion on cost of living, we are not looking at either extreme, that is, on one extreme, we pass on the full impact of all the cost increases to consumers and, on the other extreme, the Government fully shields people from all impacts of cost increases. I believe no government in the world would adopt either extreme approach. For that matter, no Town Councils will do that as well. Rather, we are here debating what that balance is.”
“In Chinese, we call this "货比三家" or "货比或多家", or to be able to compare prices across three or more shops. Years ago, I was among the strong proponents for the Government to resume building hawker centres and was glad that the Government eventually reversed its policy in 2011 to start building hawker centres again. Hawker centres, besides keeping our hawker culture going, help to create a competitive environment in the eating house space, directly competing with coffee shops and other eateries. More importantly, it offers consumers choices and more value-for-money options. We need to keep the business ecosystem competitive, including having diverse sources of supply, just in case we are being outpriced by some of these traditional sources of supply. Thirdly, jobs and income growth. Having job and income growth helps an individual and their family cope with the cost of living. Growing the economy to create good jobs and better pay is critical, which is why we continually invest in skills upgrade to improve employability. We need a business-friendly ecosystem and to continually attract investments so as to keep the economy strong and vibrant to create good jobs. Having a strong economy also helps generate the tax revenues needed to pay for our growing expenditures. This is another important component – jobs and income growth. Fourthly, direct Government assistance. Beyond the multi-pronged macro strategies, direct Government assistance is the key source of support to help Singaporeans cope with rising costs, both the subsidies and support packages. The Government do subsidise substantially in a range of areas – healthcare, housing, education, transport, childcare and a range of social programmes, amongst others.”
“Our strong Singapore dollar has been an effective broad-based tool to manage imported inflation as almost everything that we consume are imported. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has tightened our monetary policy five times since October 2021, in essence, strengthening the Singapore dollar against the currencies of our major trading partners. Without the strong Singapore dollar, our inflation and hence, cost of living situation would have been even more severe. Here, I just want caution that a strong Singapore dollar is not always a given. It is not a drop from sky for us. We cannot just demand a strong Singapore dollar or decree as such. It depends on the markets, which, in turn, depends on whether we have the strong economic fundamentals to deserve this value of the Singapore dollar. If our fundamentals are weakened, you can rest assured the markets will find a new value for the Singapore dollar almost instantly. Fundamentals such as economic dynamism, competent economic management, financial reserves, political stability, social harmony and importantly, prudent fiscal management. These factors have a bearing on our international ratings and the confidence in the Singapore dollar and hence, preserve our purchasing power. So, let us jealously safeguard this very important asset that we have and not undermine it. Secondly, competitive business and enterprise ecosystem. Having a competitive business landscape at both the macro and retail level are important to keep prices in check and to prevent profiteering. Essentially, we want consumers to have choices and have the option to compare prices, whether it is to choose a new mobile phone plan or to buy groceries from among the supermarkets that we have.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the rising cost of living across the globe has become a global concern. We have seen sharp price increases in Europe, the United States (US) and other continents; triggered of by a series of supply shocks that leads to sharp increases in energy, food and commodity prices as well as the demand arising from post-COVID recovery. In the largest economy in the world, the US, its Federal Reserves or the Fed has raised its interest rates 11 times in just about one and a half years to tame the stubbornly high inflation, lifting rates from about 1% to near 5.5% today. So have the other central banks near and far, raising rates to manage and dampen demand. Singapore is not spared from this global inflationary crisis. While inflation has come down from its peak, households are still having to cope with the impact of the various price increases. In addition, we are also faced with domestic cost pressures and, in particular, we are in this necessary transition to uplift the wages of fellow Singaporeans, especially the low-wage workers. Sir, cost of the living is a topic that I have filed among the most PQs in recent years, so had many of the Members of Parliament from both sides of the aisles. We can feel firsthand the impact of the cost of living increases in our neighbourhood centres, at our workplaces and in our daily living experiences. Our low- to middle-income Singaporeans are particularly affected. So, what is our counter to these series of rising costs? In the case of Singapore, fortunately, we do have a suite of policy tools that help us mitigate the impact of rising cost pressures. First, our strong Singapore dollar.”
“Sir, I have a question for the Senior Minister of State on the zero-vehicle growth policy which he mentioned, where we cap our vehicles at around one million on the road and the underpinning consideration is the road space as well as carbon emissions. So, can I ask the Senior Minister of State as we incrementally increase our road spaces and more vehicles are converted to EVs, will there be scope to review these numbers to have some growth when capacity can take it?”
“Sir, in the Senior Minister of State's reply, she mentioned that the non-domestic sector accounts for two-thirds of the overall water demand. And if we were to have further new demand, we are going to continue to tap on the more expensive sources of water, for example, desalination and recycled water. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State: should we really look at this non-domestic sector and do a review, or even if need be, rationalise, so that we will not continue to have this kind of demand, where we will consume more of our strategic resource, like water? Perhaps, some industries are consuming too much that does not make sense for us. And for some of the new investments, when we look at them, do they make sense for us, from a water resource standpoint? So, is the Government doing an exercise on that as well, to review the mix of our industry, whether it makes sense for us from a water resource standpoint?”
“Sir, my question is related to what Minister Tan See Leng just talked about, the hard-earned status as a global hub. There is a recent article in the Financial Times that alluded to this phenomenon that companies are increasingly wanting to domicile or headquarter their businesses in Singapore as they see Singapore as a trusted and neutral jurisdiction where they can avoid the geopolitical sensitivity and the Financial Times termed this as "Singapore-washing". So, I would like to ask the Minister of State or Minister Tan See Leng what is the Government's take on this, being tagged as a place for "Singapore-washing". More importantly, how do we guard against companies with such intentions who could abuse their legal status as a Singapore-domiciled company to misrepresent themselves in other markets, for example, and which could do harm to our reputation or compromise on our position?”
“Thank you, Sir. Can I ask the Acting Minister if there is further upside to increase ridership? Whether with increased ridership, you can improve the overall financials of the operators running the public transport and hence, help to reduce further fare increases?”
“Sir, we continue to see domestically driven cost pressure in addition to the external imported factors, like higher energy and commodity prices. I would like to ask the Minister of State – with this cumulative effect over the last two to three years, has the Government studied how that has impacted the low- to middle-income and the businesses, and what are the measures we can take to help mitigate some of the cumulative increases over the last two, three years? The other question is on the trend of the energy and commodity prices. They are all elevated back again, and I wanted to know what MTI can do to help moderate some of these cost pressures, especially to the businesses.”
“Thank you, Sir. Two further questions for the Minister. Firstly, given that voting is compulsory in Singapore, why does ELD not automatically update all the citizens' names on the Registers of Electors after each election? That will minimise some of these problems that we have just talked about. My second question is what is the purpose of this administrative step for those who did not vote in the last election, to apply for their names to be restored to the Registers? Is this necessary or is the purpose still meaningful today, given that it can open up to potential operational slips and also additional administrative work for ELD and the voters as well, since they have to go and put their names back? So, is the purpose still a meaningful one?”
“Thank you, Sir. I understand the Minister had just attended the conference on ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control, the establishment of that. I would like to ask the Minister for an update on that, what can the centre do to help us be more proactive and to be also pre-emptive, to mitigate the impact of haze to the ASEAN region? Secondly, whether are we also engaging the Indonesian government on how we can help and support in the management of the forest fires, should they occur during the season?”
“Thank you, Madam. I read the feature articles on the impact evaluation for the SMEs Go Digital Programme and it was recently included in the Economic Survey Report. It was mentioned that whenever there are tailored solutions, the outcome tends to be better for the SMEs. So, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether in the Digital Enterprise Blueprint that MCI is working on now, are there going to be more emphasis on tailored solutions. My second supplementary question is: it is good that we have all these improvements and outcomes, better value-add to the workers and so on. I want to ask whether the good outcomes are also because of the COVID-19 period where enterprises tend to want to adopt digital means because of the restrictions and whether this momentum will continue now that we are post-COVID-19.”
“Thank you, Madam. I want to echo what Dr Tan Wu Meng has said. I do continue to receive feedback from our seniors who have said it is almost impossible to make an online appointment at the polyclinic run by National University Health System (NUHS) at Bukit Panjang. Can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether we are able to set aside some walk-in appointment slots, especially for the seniors so that they do not have to go through that online booking? Not everyone is able to do that. Secondly, I feel it is puzzling. Notwithstanding MOH having built new polyclinics with increased capacity, why is it the case that we are still not able to meet the demand?”
“Sir, first and foremost, I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State and also his NParks team for coming down to the Nature Park at Bukit Panjang to assess the situation and to announce enhanced measures to deter the wild boars from coming to our area. Two supplementary questions. Firstly, as what the Senior Minister of State has said in his reply, NParks will be putting up exclusion fences to deter the wild boars from coming in. Can I ask the Senior Minister of State how effective has that been? And in the case of Bukit Panjang, we have a very lengthy border with the nature reserve and nature parks, so whether that is actually possible to exclude wild boars from coming in. The second question is, as the Senior Minister of State also mentioned about the high reproductive rate of the wild boars and that there being no natural predators, how is NParks going to ensure that the population growth of the wild boars will not cause damage to the ecosystems within the nature parks and whether the nature parks, indeed, have the space to accommodate so many wild boars?”
“Sir, I thank the MAS for coming up with this scheme to enhance the career development of our polytechnic graduates. Sir, I have two questions for the Minister of State. Firstly, I would like to ask the Minister of State, what is MAS' assessment on the receptiveness of this apprenticeship programme by both the students and employers so far? My second question is, I understand that in the early years, when we started as a financial centre, many of the international FIs, the banks like JP Morgan and UBS, they do take in non-graduates as trainees and many of them moved up to senior positions, including becoming CEOs of banks. So, I would like to ask the Minister of State, whether today, do our financial institutions still see the polytechnic graduates as a key source of talent pool and to develop long-term career plans for these polytechnic graduate employees to progress in the organisations?”
“This programme includes a wide range of training courses subsidised under the Financial Training Scheme and Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Standards Training Scheme. It also includes job rotations that provide training and mentorship, as well as overseas postings, to help finance professionals, including polytechnic graduates, advance their careers. Besides supporting polytechnic graduates, there are schemes to help ITE students gain a head start in their careers. These include ITE's Work-Study Diplomas, which place students in jobs related to their discipline of study, while pursuing their diplomas. The Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) industry-led TechSkills Accelerator for ITE and Polytechnic Alliance also equips ITE and polytechnic students and graduates with skills to take up opportunities in tech sectors upon graduation. MAS will continually review the talent development schemes, and engage the financial sector and higher education institutions, to meet the financial sector's manpower needs and create good opportunities for our people.”
“Question No 7. The Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Trade and Industry (Mr Alvin Tan) (for the Prime Minister): Sir, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched the Polytechnic Talent for Finance Scheme last month to encourage financial institutions to train and hire more polytechnic students and graduates. There are three tracks under the scheme. First, the Internship Track seeks to encourage financial institutions to train polytechnic students as interns and hire them upon graduation. Second, the Apprenticeship Track aims to provide polytechnic graduates an alternative pathway to acquire further skills to progress in their careers. And third, the Sponsorship Track encourages polytechnic graduates to stay in their jobs in the financial sector while they further their studies. MAS targets to increase the number of polytechnic graduates who take on full-time permanent jobs in the financial sector by more than 80%, from about 160 entering the sector in 2021 to at least 300 by 2025. While the financial sector already offers many internships to polytechnic students, there are much fewer apprenticeship programmes. MAS aims for the Apprenticeship Track to contribute the bulk of the target increase in the number of polytechnic graduates in the sector, or rather entering the sector. As financial institutions develop familiarity with the calibre of polytechnic talent and as polytechnic graduates gain a better appreciation of the opportunities in the financial sector, they can become a more significant source of talent for the sector over time. After polytechnic graduates join the financial sector, they can tap upskilling opportunities available to all financial sector professionals under MAS’ Talent and Leaders in Finance Programme.”
“My first question to the Minister is, I think he mentioned that the reason why COE prices are higher is because of high demand and limited supply. But I would like to ask the Minister whether another reason why COE prices may be at this level, this recent wave, is because of the disparity in the purchasing power among the bidders. In other words, there are, in each batch of the COE bidding, more bidders that have higher purchasing power and, therefore, the ability to pay up; and that is where the COE prices are. So, I would like to ask whether that is desirable. The second question is whether some amount of allocation by balloting, like how we do for housing, can be part of the solution as well.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I would like to further ask the Minister of State whether she can share the insights as to how the Government intends to calibrate the supply of commercial spaces. In particular, can she elaborate on the 530,000 square metres of office space that are in the pipleline? Where will this space be located and what kind of businesses would they cater for? The second question is: the Minister of State mentioned in her reply that rentals form a modest proportion of the business costs for most sectors. I think, to some, it is still quite significant. Can I ask how would the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) ensure that Singapore remains overall competitive to be able to attract investments to Singapore with a rental that is reasonable and affordable to those companies?”
“Sir, I share the concern expressed by Member Joan Pereira on the polyclinics and the Senior Minister of State mentioned about Bukit Panjang Polyclinic. We do have situations where residents have not only not been served as a walk-in – they could not get a place for walk-in – but even for online booking, where the night before they could not get a slot. I just want to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the Ministry of Health (MOH) is looking at improving this situation. Secondly, there is also Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) GP Clinic scheme, which is meant to take some load off the polyclinics. But it seems that is not helping much. May I ask the Senior Minister of State is the Ministry looking at what are the impediments do that? Why is it so? Is there a need to change the scheme or the policy so that it becomes attractive for patients to use the GP clinics as well, and not all going to the polyclinics?”