Lim Wee Kiak
Singapore
“" The point I want to make here is that given that we have one of the longest lifespans in the world now, and there is a correlation with an ageing population and chronic diseases, are there plans to explore and develop the emerging fields of regenerative medicine and healthy longevity?”
“Can I ask, in light of the fact that we have a smoking cessation clinic, is there a vaping cessation clinic, whereby the public can surrender themselves and say, "I have been vaping. I wish to have some help"? And how does the Ministry of Health (MOH) handle this?”
“May I ask how the Government decided on these targets, and what steps will Singapore take to achieve them? I would like to highlight, this year, the Government announced a 2035 climate target to reduce emissions to "between 45 and 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035". Are we on track to meet our 2030 target?”
“Building upon this progress, I encourage individuals with innovative ideas and a passion for contributing to this vital green industry to step forward.”
“While mandating sustainable aviation fuel for departing flights is a commendable way, what other strategic initiatives are planned across different sectors to leverage on our hub position? How will such initiatives affect Singapore's economic competitiveness as a travel hub?”
“Sir, I would like to thank the Minister of State for the reply. I would like to ask two supplementary questions. First is that, is the Government happy with the state of affairs of the current SFC utilisation? Is 50% of the of the population using SFC the target?”
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“And I hope that one day, every block of HDB flats will have a recycling facility. I know there are challenges. The residents have complained about the overflowing problem at the recycling bin, and that is a good problem to have. It means that the residents are recycling. Some of the bins had non-recyclable rubbish thrown in, and that has to be rectified by public education. I hope the Ministry can monitor and solve some of these ground issues more efficiently. Ideally, I hope that recycling bins will be an essential item in all buildings, including HDB flats, in the building code and make recycling a way of the Singaporean lifestyle. Research and development and manpower capabilities”
“Sir, being a small and compact urban city state, Singapore can be a model city nation to the world in the best practices in recycling and waste minimisation. We generate more than 5.6 tonnes of rubbish per day and that is 2,044 tonnes per year. With the opening of our integrated resorts and an expected huge influx of tourists, we can only expect our rubbish load to increase. With limited land for incineration and landfill, we have no choice but to recycle more and reduce waste. In 2008, we achieved a recycling rate of 56%. I understand that this rate has been going up. I would like to ask the Minister whether we are on target of achieving 60% recycling rate by 2012. What is the Ministry doing now to encourage higher recycling rate by households? 5.45 pm The "Bring Your Own Bag" (BYOB) campaign started off with a very good response two years ago. It started only with one Wednesday a month and it quickly caught on and soon we started on every Wednesday. However, the movement seems to have lost steam along the way and now we are hardly reminded at all about this campaign. I asked my daughter this morning when I was driving her to school about "Bring Your Own Bag". She asked me, "What is that?" What is the Ministry doing now to encourage Singaporeans to reduce the use of plastic bags? Will the BYOB movement be extended to more days of the week especially the weekends where crowds are at their greatest in their numbers? I would also like to thank the Ministry on the pilot project to provide every block with a recycling bin at one of my precincts in Sembawang GRC. The preliminary results of the last two months have been very promising. I am pleased to say that out of the 14 blocks, the 14 bins have been full almost every week.”
“Sir, the Minister mentioned that the current measures are enough to cool the property market and say that the Ministry will consider more measures. Can the Minister clarify what are the other measures that the Ministry is thinking of now if the market is not cooled by his cool tea?”
“Sir, thank you very much. I think the Minister has not answered the question about the long-term target and what is the total number of HDB flats that this country really needs, in the first place, for the population. I have made a calculation saying that there is currently about 2.9 persons per dwelling unit. Now, are we going to build until there are two persons per dwelling unit or one person per dwelling unit? Is that enough? My fear is that there could be a glut coming up. The other question I want to ask is this. What is the proportion of first-time home buyers buying a resale flat versus going for a new BTO flat now? Can we have a mechanism now to shift people more to think about buying a resale flat? Will that save us more resources? Because if there are enough flats, then we should actually encourage them buy resale flats rather than build more and more BTO flats. If COV is a problem, then fix the COV problem, like what my hon. Members have been talking about, which represents a lack in the system.”
“They should be made to take and pass this test first before they can buy or rent a HDB flat. More efforts to promote social integration are definitely needed. Can the Minister give an update on the progress of the new social integration unit formed recently by HDB? Is there an overlap of roles of this unit with the Integration and Naturalisation Committee that was formed by the People's Association? Prevention of racial enclaves”
“Sir, with the large influx of permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners into Singapore over the last five years, there are grumblings from the ground regarding the congregations of PRs/foreigners in HDB estates. I have also noticed more PRs and foreigners staying in HDB flats during my weekly block visits. Some residents have very good feedback about their new non-Singaporean neighbours while some have negative comments. Among the adverse comments are: they are unfriendly and seldom interact with us, they make too much noise, they talk too loudly, they litter and make the place dirty; they put too many things at the corridors, resulting in obstruction, as well as they throw rubbish out of the windows. And the list goes on. There is also a natural tendency for PRs and foreigners to stay and interact with their own kind – hence, a danger of ghettos forming. Although it is not a problem now as PRs only own 5% of HDB flats, we should act fast to introduce a quota not unlike our Ethnic Integration Policy. Will MND impose a restriction on PRs purchasing flats in areas where concentration is already high? We should act now to prevent the formation of ghettos – otherwise, once formed, they will be tough to break up. If we do not do anything now, apart from our little India, Chinatown and Malay heritage village, we may see little Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam emerging very soon. Regarding their behaviour and social integration, somebody suggested that perhaps a set of MCQs on knowledge about Singapore be proposed as a screening test for new citizens. Maybe a similar test on "Harmonious HDB living" should be set for all PRs/foreigners and also Singaporeans who intend to buy or rent a flat.”
“There was even a recent newspaper report that featured a landed property owner who bought a resale HDB flat and sold it at a decent profit even without physically staying in the flat at all. HDB flats should be homes for Singapore residents. Except for the retired elderly, HDB flats should not be rented out to foreigners for rental income. For Singapore residents who have done well and upgraded to private properties, they should not be allowed to keep their HDB flats for rental yields. They should release their flats so prospective new home buyers will have sufficient supply. I urge HDB to do a thorough review on HDB ownership and rental and keep to the commitment to provide Singaporeans with affordable housing. Home Ownership”
“Sir, at the recent HDB 50th Anniversary celebration, Prime Minister announced that HDB will be building its one millionth flat soon and reiterated HDB's commitment to provide Singaporeans with affordable housing. Our current Singapore resident population is 3.58 million (ie, Singaporean and Permanent residents). Assuming 80% (2.87 million) resides in HDB flats, each HDB dwelling unit is housing only an average of 2.87 persons. What is the target number of flats HDB will build for Singapore residents and what is the target person per dwelling unit? Will there be a glut in the near future if we continue to build more flats? Is there really a shortage of flats for Singapore residents? HDB's pace of building will have to slow down and prospective flat buyers will have to buy available resale flats in the open market. However, the current Cash-over-Valuation (COV) is a significant barrier to many new home buyers despite of generous Government grants. Hence, most prefer to wait for HDB new flats and laments on the lack of new flats. I suggest MND review the COV system. As the name implies, to sellers, it is cash OVER valuation and not UNDER valuation, although there are brief periods where COV was negative. COV represents an inefficient market valuation system that lags behind the real-time home prices. In a perfect system, the COV should be zero or close to zero. How often does HDB update the valuation? And how many months does the valuation lag behind the market? If there are enough flats for Singapore residents, then what are the causes of high HDB resale prices? I understand many HDB home owners do not stay in their flats but choose to rent out their flats due to high rental yields. Many of these flat owners now are currently staying in private properties.”
“This is in part due to the good economic progress we have achieved collectively over the past four decades but it is also artificially propped up by the presence of abundant cheap foreign labour recently. The source of cheap foreign labour will not last forever. They will start to dwindle as their own home country progresses. It is time for us to wake up to the reality and make adjustments now so that it will be less painful and there will be fewer withdrawal symptoms. If we reduce the reliance on cheap foreign labour, Singaporeans will have to pick up the slack and fill those roles but we need to do them more productively so that we can continue to enjoy a high standard of living and moderate the increase in costs. This is a painful adjustment as there will be increase in costs and our cost of living is likely to increase further with this move. But with innovation and smart working, I am confident we can embark on this productivity journey together and emerge as a leaner, more efficient and competitive nation. With that, I support the motion. 4.31 pm”
“I visited the SWAMI Home recently during our annual ang bao and festive cheers for the elderly residents there. They are very well taken care of. The home is full. There is a long waiting list for the home and the waiting time is at least three months. With the silver tsunami, the waiting list will only get longer and the waiting time will only get longer too. Building more homes such as SWAMI may be needed but it should not be the main solution. Many elderly will prefer the comfort of home as well as family. Many families send their aged parents to homes because they are unable to care for them due to financial constraints and they need to work. I would like to appeal to the Government to consider waiving or further lowering the domestic maid levy for families who need a maid to take care of their aged parents at home so that their family members can continue to work and support the family. Caring for the elderly is a very labour-intensive event. The hon. Member Denise Phua has described part of it. The care-giver to elderly ratio at the homes is about 1:2 or 3. There is not much scope for the home to up productivity and reduce the reliance on foreign labour. I hope the Government can make an exemption for foreign worker levy for the aged homes so that they can remain affordable to the low- and middle-income Singapore families. The clock is ticking fast and the silver tsunami is real. We cannot afford to ignore the warning. I hope the Government can act fast to alleviate the problems faced by many families caring for their aged parents. Last of all, in conclusion, I would like to discuss whether the Singaporean standard of living is too high for us to sustain. Singaporeans have been enjoying a good and high standard of living for many years.”
“I welcome the calibrated and careful approach that allows our companies to adjust at the same time. But I hope that the Government will monitor this very closely so that they will not fall out. At the same time, the incentives provided by the Government to enhance productivity is a good antidote to ease the withdrawal symptoms. Certainly, I hope this will help our companies to ride through this wave. However, I am also concerned with the possible impact on the lives on the common Singaporeans. In the push for productivity, it is usually the repetitive, mundane and low-skilled jobs that get automated and these workers may be the first to be rendered redundant and retrenched. In a fast growing economy where many new jobs are created, there should not be a problem in absorbing them. But in a slower growth environment, as anticipated by our Government, this may pose challenges. How will the Government tackle the fallout? Will this result in a widening of the wealth divide in Singapore and increase our Gini coefficient? Will Singaporeans see red over this productivity drive? Third, are we ready to face the silver tsunami? We have heard over the news about the tsunami warning around the Pacific Rim due to the massive earthquake in Chile. It was fortunately a non-event as the tsunami was much milder than expected. The warning of a silver tsunami has also been sounded many times in this House. Unfortunately, it will be real. In another 20 years, one in five Singaporeans will be in this silver age group. And I have a vested interest as I will be one of them quite soon. Are we prepared for the silver tsunami? While residents living in the Pacific Rim can be warned and evacuated, we cannot do so.”
“Lowering the cost of shared transport is a good incentive. Lowering ERP charges for taxis and shared transport will certainly encourage more motorists to give up driving, reduce congestions on our roads as well as there will be less demand for our precious carpark spaces. Two, are Singaporeans seeing red over this productivity drive? While I agree with the strategy recommended by the Economic Strategies Committee, I have some concerns. I agree that we cannot continue our growth based on cheap foreign labour. Although, in the short term, we have all benefited and it helps our companies to remain competitive, cheap foreign labour is like an opium. It will get our companies hooked and dependent. I do not quite agree with some of the Members in the Chamber who described the levy as an opium. But I think the cheap foreign labour itself is an opium. Ultimately, if our companies get dependent on cheap foreign labour, they will ultimately pay very dearly with the erosion of productivity and lack of innovation. We need to slowly wean the companies off their dependence. While opium is a dangerous addictive drug, it is a drug that is used by doctors in ICU to save patients as well. So, I must say that while cheap foreign labour itself can be considered as not good for us, we also have to acknowledge that they have helped us and will continue to help us in our pursuit for growth. What we need to do now is that we need to just control and contain our dependence on this cheap labour that we are enjoying. There will be painful correction and huge impact if we institute the "cold turkey" treatment, that is, a sudden withdrawal. The companies may not survive the sudden withdrawal symptoms.”
“I hope that the Government can continue as well as to further assist our companies with incentives and grants in this particular area. I shall concentrate on green efforts in transportation. Transportation accounts for 40% of the country's carbon emission. We have a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system in Singapore to control the population of vehicles in Singapore. The COE dictates the type of vehicles such as buses, motorcycles, small/medium-sized cars as well as the large cc cars. We can use the COE system to encourage green cars. Like many of my colleagues, I think I have mentioned in this House before and suggested the creation of a new green COE category. Just by setting aside 5% of COEs in this category, in 10 years' time, we will achieve at least 5% of our vehicles on our roads to be green. I think I have suggested this to the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and they have actually said that they would like to give their support, but this belongs to the Ministry of Finance. So I hope the Finance Minister can consider that as well. The largest fleets of vehicles on our roads are actually public buses, school buses and taxis. Already in New Delhi, all public buses and taxis run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which has lower carbon emission. We can start by giving more tax incentives and grants to our public transport operators, school bus operators and taxi companies to go green. We should encourage and promote shared transport. In our current classification, it is only public transport and private transport. Car-sharing schemes and taxis are different modes of shared transportation. There are significant savings for our nation as a whole if more car drivers give up their cars and opt for shared transport or public transport.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad, despite the doom and gloom of the recent financial storm, we did well to weather it with employment figures remaining high and a smaller-than-expected deficit. I am also happy to learn that the Government continues to put money into the Medifund, top up our elderly Medisave Accounts as well as continue to invest in our young through education and the topping up of the Post-Secondary Education Account despite the deficit. This year's Budget is one that focuses on sharpening the saw so as to reposition Singapore for the coming decades. Instead of just repositioning the saw, we should go beyond to teach and equip our workers with skills to use an electric saw. The man-in-the-street may be disappointed with the lack of fish given in this year's Budget but most understand it is more important to teach them how to fish and equip them with the skills. Even more importantly, the Government must be able to attract fish to our country so they can continue to fish. In short, creating a stable business friendly environment so that more companies can strive and continue to provide good paying jobs for our people is the best welfare this Government can provide. However, I have three concerns for this Budget and hope the Government can address them. I have actually colour-coded three of them. One is green, the other one is red and the last one is silver. That is why I am in green today. First of all, it is a lack of a green focus. It seems that the Budget did not match up to what the Government has pledged for the support of the international efforts to combat climate change at Copenhagen last year. The Government has also identified green industries as a new source of growth so that Singapore companies can ride the next wave.”
“I have some reservations with the proposal that a legally trained person should be appointed as a chairperson for the Tribunal although it is not always the case. The roles of the DT and the Courts of Law are entirely different. The DT actually is a platform to hear out complaints involving ethical issues and professional misconduct or mispractice. The DT presides and penalises doctors who misconduct themselves professionally in specialised area of their practice. Hence, who is better to lead the DT than someone who is trained in the practice, to be able to understand the thought processes and the judgments or decisions made by a trained medical professional? The presence of a lawyer may bring about a technical convergence of the law and medical practice but it does not promote higher standards of medical ethics. In fact, in my view, moral ethics may perhaps be better advocated and better served by one who commands a very high degree of respect and trust from the public and the members of the medical profession, such as a Justice of Peace. Indeed, if there is a problem in terms of public perception that doctors may not be judging harshly on their peers who have come before the DT, then I think the presence of an eminent member of our community as the Chairman of the Tribunal, namely a Justice of Peace, more than a lawyer would actually add more weight to the proceedings. For more complex cases with legal implications, there is already a provision for a legal assessor to be appointed to assist and advise the DT during such proceedings. With that, I hope that the Minister would have time to elaborate on some of the points. I thank you for the opportunity to present my views on this Bill.”
“Will a shorter training duration now compromise the time needed for trainees to learn and excel in every area that is required in their career? How can they juggle between research, clinical practice as well as administration? We need to remember that doctors in Singapore actually see a much higher workload compared to those overseas. The US Society of Hospital Medicine at a recent meeting in Chicago in 2009 noted that the conventional wisdom holds that the optimal daily output for a doctor is 15 patients, but that varies from doctor to doctor. In Singapore, it is not uncommon for our doctors to see a much higher throughput, especially at Government clinics of up 80 to 100 patients a day. Hence all the more we need to ensure doctors are adequately exposed through the years of his training as the demand on them is much greater. It also raised the question of the new batch of doctors be less rounded than their seniors who have additional years of rotation and hands-on experience before focusing on their eventual subspecialty. Given the complexity of medicine and the advent of new medical technology and advances in medical science, the longer the time a doctor spends in training, the better he is able to grasp and understand the practice of medicine. It is about life and death. There is little room for trial and error. Even under the current regime, under our rigorous regime, we read of lapses on the part of doctors with the patients having to bear the consequences of their oversights. Are we able to continue to uphold our medical excellence that we have proudly and painstakingly built up over the years with the new programme? Next, I will touch on the Disciplinary Tribunal (DT).”
“And will our future medical specialists be less knowledgeable and less skilled than the medical specialists that we produce today under the current system? Besides, you need to give young medical graduates adequate exposure by spending sufficient time in different subspecialties so that he can make up his mind on which area of medicine he wants to pursue for specialisation, and this is a lifelong commitment. This particular period is critical so that he can understand the subject, appreciate the implication before making an informed decision. While the shortened duration may benefit those who are already certain of the subspecialty they are interested in from the onset of the training, it is not so for most of them who have not yet decided immediately after graduation. More than a reduction in duration, the proposed new residency programme is actually a complete overhaul of the existing system. With such short notice for the graduating batch of medical students, they may be forced to make some very rushed and uninformed decisions. As one medical student actually lamented in a blog that the sudden announcement of this change has left him only one month to decide on the path he wished to take. Furthermore, as this is a new concept which affects an entire graduating batch of medical students, flaws in the new programme may result in trainees not performing up to standard. Will they then be expelled, or will they be given a second chance as the programme gets a review? More importantly, will mentors be able to cope with the changes and revise their training methods for this new programme adequately? These are really genuine concerns of doctors as well as medical students. A doctor shoulders a very heavy responsibility.”
“In the UK-style residency programme or our training programme which has served Singapore very well in the past few decades, medical graduates rotate in different medical departments for a year in housemanship, after which they become medical officers for one to three years before deciding and being admitted into a three-year Basic Specialty Programme. We call it BST. And, subsequently, they have to go through another three years of Advanced Specialty Training before they are registered as a medical specialist by the Singapore Medical Council. This system gives our doctors a very good and wide exposure to different subspecialty as he gradually builds up a holistic knowledge and broad-based experience in medicine. And that is the reason why Singapore doctors are so well respected internationally. A doctor who seeks to become a specialist definitely must have holistic knowledge of various subspecialities as this will equip him as a specialist to be able to identify symptoms of ailments that may not be related to his area of practice later on so that he can refer a patient in a timely manner to see another specialist. The entire process is long but is necessary. It takes about seven to 10 years. Under the new proposed US-style residency programme, it takes only five years to complete the training, during which the medical graduates spend the first year involved in clinical work and further education, and the next four years training in the subspecialty of their choice. When the duration is shortened, what is the impact on training as well as the knowledge imparted for this particular doctor? My personal view is that something has to give. I wonder if the Ministry has done any study on the implications of the reduction in the training period?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for the opportunity to voice my opinion on this particular Bill. While I support the Minister's points on the Bill, I would like to voice some concerns mainly in two areas. One of them is the proposed Residency Programme and the other one is the proposed Disciplinary Tribunal (DT) which has been debated so far in this House. First, let me make some clarifications. My learned and hon. fellow Member of Parliament Mr Christopher de Souza brought up the point that sometimes a medical doctor may be invited by the legal fraternity to assist in legal proceedings. But that is as a medical expert. I have not heard of any medical doctors being requested by the legal professionals to help them in a disciplinary case against a lawyer within their own fraternity yet. Second point I would like to highlight is that I disagree with our hon. Nominated Member of Parliament Mr Calvin Cheng who was pushing for the majority of the DT members to be non-doctors. That really goes against the spirit of self-regulation. At the end of the day, this is the Singapore Medical Council and I do fully support the concern that was brought up by the hon. Dr Lam Pin Min as well as some other Members that we have to protect self-regulation. Let me just proceed with my speech on this particular debate. The training years of a doctor really constitute the most important part of their career. Essentially they lay the foundation for the grooming of an exemplary doctor so that he can be adequately equipped to go out and practise after having been exposed to good practices during this time. They are like your kindergarten and primary school years.”
“Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of State whether there are plans to develop the informal sector. Currently, we know that many parents leave their children or babies with their neighbours or somebody else to look after. Are there plans by the Ministry to enhance this sector?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the answer. Two years ago, when the Ministry released the Land Transport Review, we were overjoyed and very happy that finally they were going to put the commuter at the centre of this whole planning. This is going to be commuter-centric. I would like to ask the Minister in what way has the consultation been commuter-centric in the first place. Currently, is it still in the planning stage in the offices of the LTA or will they be going on the ground now to interview residents directly to find out how are the commuters affected by this review? It was stated two years ago that the review will start in end of 2009. We are a few months from that. Currently, on the ground, nobody has felt any changes yet in terms of the review. And last of all, on the premium bus services, how is it featured in this overall review? There is a fear that it will be using premium bus services to plug the gaps, as a result there will be no change at all in the basic bus services.”
“Does the Minister agree that the Cash-Over-Valuation system now represents a significant barrier for people buying HDB flats, especially for resale flats? If it is thus, the question is: Is the Cash-Over-Valuation system still the best system that we have or can we think of alternatives? Many people are CPF-rich but cash-poor when they want to buy a flat. And the problem now is, of course, the open market asking prices. Could there be a separate mechanism for HDB or even the private sector to provide a bridging loan for this Cash-Over-Valuation, so as to help young couples to overcome that barrier. I realised that the chart given by the Minister did not include Cash-Over-Valuation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. Can I ask him if the Ministry will consider a system, similar to Hong Kong, whereby one of the criteria for allocation of priority for public housing is the age of the applicants in view of our changing demographics; and also whether a proportion of the flats can be guaranteed or allocated to this group of applicants. Likewise, will the units that are closer to the lifts, for example, be safeguarded for this group of applicants?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have one supplementary question. Thank you for highlighting some of the recommendations from the Workgroup to the House. I would like to check if the Workgroup has explored looking into the qualifications of drivers who drive these workers. Many a time, the public has complained that these drivers are very reckless and they drive at very fast speeds. Are there special considerations as to what kind of training these drivers have to go through before they are allowed to drive these vehicles that transport the workers?”
“I propose that separate specific government grants be allocated to the Town Councils for elderly-friendly facilities. In conclusion, I support the President's call in his Opening Address for us to build our future Singapore in an uncertain world. The world is indeed uncertain but we know for certain that our population is ageing. While one in five Singaporeans will be 65 years and above, let me remind the House that four out of five parliamentarians will be 65 years and above by 2030. If we do not take active steps to address some of these issues, the future of our elderly will indeed be uncertain. I support the motion.”
“I think the Government can re-think and, perhaps, allocate and zone land specific for this purpose. Such land should not be a white site, it should not be used for any other development and, in doing so, I hope that the cost will be lower. I hope that more low cost retirement homes can be set up so that the elderly can apply for such homes, instead of going to MPS to request for HDB rental units. Care for elderly – I hope that MCYS will look into this very carefully, in terms of setting up more day care centres for elderly people. I am pleased that the Ministry has indicated that more day care centres and senior activity centres will be set up but I hope that this can be accelerated. Presently, more focus is given to establishing childcare centres and providing subsidies for young working couples. But we must not forget that young working couples will need to take care of their elderly parents as well as grandparents. At present, the ratio of childcare to day care centres is somewhat disproportionate. The Government will have to consider enhancing the eldercare facilities and also provide more eldercare subsidies similar to the childcare subsidies for working spouses. Lastly, I would like to touch on facilities for elderly. The Town Councils have been doing a wonderful job in providing three-generational facilities in parks, catering for both young and the elderly to exercise and to keep fit. I think we can take steps to further explore, especially for the older blocks of flats, to set up exercise facilities at the void decks. This will serve two purposes, one of which will enable the elderly to exercise, even in the early hours of dawn while it is dark. Second, it will provide them with an all-weather facility to exercise and stay healthy.”
“Housing for elderly – small apartments are best suited for the elderly. They are not only affordable but they are also easy to maintain for elderly residents. I am therefore happy that HDB is speeding up the building of more studio apartments, so that more such flats are made available. I hope that the HDB will also look into its policy and see how preferential treatment or a priority scheme can be introduced for the elderly so that they can get these flats more easily. The Lease Buyback Scheme is a good way to monetise the assets of our elderly. The current scheme limits only to 3-room flats and below, and the payout is based on CPF LIFE which is a flat amount. The payout amount does not account for inflation, as this monthly payout will diminish in its purchasing power over the years. I hope that the Government will extend the scheme to the larger 4-room and 5-room flats as there is a sizable group of elderly living in such flats and are not willing to move. They have grown accustomed to their community and relocation will certainly give them undue stress and adversely affect the community. Application of the Lease Buyback Scheme of larger units will also provide more income to the elderly and also provide them with the option to rent out some rooms for supplementary income in future. I do not foresee the payout from CPF LIFE can sustain the elderly without supplementary income in the near future. Retirement homes and villages it not a new concept. The key cost for such development is still land cost. While we can take advantage of low land cost of our neighbouring countries for such developments, many elderly will be uncomfortable with the idea because they will feel abandoned.”
“Moreover, the advancement of medical science and improved healthcare facilities make our seniors today much healthier than their colleagues of yesteryears. Yet, this age old policy is not updated to keep pace with science, let alone keeping up with other parallel policies. Healthcare for elderly – I understand that my parliamentary colleague, Dr Lam Pin Min, has highlighted some of the issues. But I would like to just point out that healthcare needs for elderly are unique and the demand will increase exponentially over time. The elderly are particularly susceptible to infections and chronic diseases. Undoubtedly, our current healthcare system is one of the best in the world. However, I would like the Ministry of Health to consider setting up special geriatric clinics within the polyclinic setting and these clinics should offer something similar to the NTUC FairPrice format, which they set a day or time or even a particular location for the elderly. This will not only cut their waiting time, but also reduce their exposure to possible infectious agents, such as flu, from other patients. Enhancing recreational and social activities for elderly – I feel this sector has good potential. With a growing number of elderly citizens, this is actually a sunrise industry. The demand for entertainment and social services for senior citizens can only increase with time and investors in the silver industry will find opportunities beyond Singapore, as there is a large pool of greying population in the other parts of Asia as well. Perhaps the Government can consider introducing more incentives to accelerate the growth of the silver industry with more grants and tax incentives for businesses and I certainly hope that more SMEs will tap into this new market innovatively.”
“If there is a consensus that an older worker is unable to contribute in the same manner as the younger worker, then why not adjust shorter work hours for the mature workers so that they would not be overstrained and they have more time to rest? Why should older workers be asked to work more with less leave and less pay? Let me highlight a survey in Toronto, Canada, and I believe that our workers too share the same sentiments, if asked. The survey found that shorter work weeks, flexible hours, extended healthcare benefits, longer annual vacations are key factors in attracting older workers to stay on in their jobs. This was a study by Ipsos Reid, a Canadian market research company, which polled 2,052 people online. Sixty percent said that the top factor in retaining older employees is extended healthcare benefits. Fifty percent rated flexible work hours as their second priority. In fact, a guaranteed wage or salary ranked only 34%, while phasing in retirement is only 24%. I think we should remove all age limit to employment, as we have done so for the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA). This is a form of discrimination against elderly. Let me share an example of how our policies are not keeping up with the times. From July 2006, the age for taxi drivers is extended from 70 to 73 years. However, the age limit for driving instructors remained at 70 years, even if the instructor is certified fit by his doctor. The policy on driving instructors must have been set decades ago. I do not think the job demand of a taxi driver is less than that of a driving instructor. In labour-scarce Singapore, we are encouraging our people to work for as long as they are fit. So why set an arbitrary age limit?”
“In fact with the demographic change, perhaps a whole carriage that is closer to the lift or escalator should be reserved for the elderly? Lowering the cost of public transport as well as making public transport accessible would encourage elderly to remain economically and socially active. It is important in strengthening our social compact. By 2030, one in five will be 65-years old and above. The elderly will form a very significant portion of our society. Keeping them active and healthy is definitely a worthwhile investment for Singapore in the long run. I would like to see more schemes in place to encourage our elderly to remain active and I hope that a senior citizen season pass can be introduced so the elderly can maximise the use of public transport. Keeping our elderly employed and economically active – we are seeing many elderly workers losing their jobs and I suspect the figures could be much higher because many may have been forced to retire prematurely. As such, they would not be captured in the statistics as "retrenched". The Government should review its policy for the employment of matured workers beyond 60 years old. Many upon attaining the age of 59 harbour a fear as their next birthday arrives. Why? To begin with, they will face a 10% pay cut. Their benefits, such as annual leave may also be cut. It is indeed a "two-face approach" in our policy to encourage employment of mature workers. On one hand, they are asked to work beyond 60. On the other hand, they are told that they would not be paid the same wages for doing the same job, and putting in the same time, if not, longer hours.”
“00 am onwards to closing operation and for MRTs from 9.00 am to 4.30 pm and 7.00 pm onwards to closing operation. Many elderly who are still active in the workforce have already accepted pay reduction to continue to work. They have no choice but to use the public transport during the peak hours. I am sure if they have a choice, they would rather use the public transport during the non-peak hours. I am hoping that the authorities and transport operators would consider waiving the travelling restrictions time for elderly and make their concession full day. Let me quote some senior concession schemes from overseas. In London, senior railcard discount entitles the holder to travel anytime, singles and return trips, among others. Bus passes and railcards are issued free of charge to those above 60 years. Let me read an "FAQ" on the Colchester Borough Council website: "Under the Transport Act every local resident aged 60 or over is entitled to receive a free bus pass for free travel in England (including London). This is the National Travel Concession scheme." In Queensland, Australia, senior citizen card holders enjoy not only concession within the state, but also when they go inter-state. I do not think we are ready to go so far as to provide free transport for elderly, but at least consider the waiver of restriction times, please. Reservation of seats for elderly on public transport – currently, there are limited seats catered for the elderly on our buses and MRTs. Should the ratio of such seats follow our demographic changes? The ratio of seats for the elderly is too low to accommodate a growing elderly population. I hope more seats can be allocated. Currently, an MRT has six carriages.”
“Retrenchment can also happen to any of us. Vulnerability comes with age. The older you are, the greater the risk of getting the boot. While the economic outlook is uncertain, we know for certain that Singapore is changing demographically. By 2030, 21 years from now, one in five Singaporeans will be 65 years and above. Are we prepared for that? While we recognise the magnitude of the issues when dealing with an ageing society, I feel we are not moving fast enough with some of the policies. In fact, some people from the ground felt that it is not in sync with the overall policies articulated by the Government. I would like to throw some light on this issue and some suggestions from the ground. First, transportation. I applaud the Government's move to transform our public transport to be more elderly-friendly with more barrier-free access features, such as lifts at MRT stations and wheelchair-accessible buses. By next year, 40% of the buses will be wheelchair-accessible. Many have asked, since we only took two to three years to achieve 40%, can the Government speed up the programme to convert all buses within the next five to six years, instead of waiting for 11 more years for the rest to be converted? As our population is greying at an alarming speed, I feel that there is an urgency to move faster, otherwise our elderly would not be able to move at all. Elderly concession for public transport – the elderly concession fare scheme is good one to encourage elderly to remain socially active and also to encourage more to extend their working life and delay their retirement. The current scheme should be enhanced. Under the current scheme, senior citizens with EZ-Link concession card can enjoy concession rates for buses from 9.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak in this debate. I thank the President for his Address which eloquently captured the key elements of how we should move forward if we are to triumph in the face of the adversarial economic conditions. Without doubt, we have done extremely well over the past 50 years since self-government. Compared to most others, we are far ahead, in terms of economics, social cohesion, national development, education, transport, environmental control as well as politically. Now we are at another crossroads. The whole world has to come to terms with its past insatiable appetite for wealth and greed which has plunged the global economy into a financial abyss. Optimists are bandying around the green shoots but the sober consensus is that the present downturn will last longer than previous ones. What does the current downturn mean to Singapore? How does it affect our long-term plans and future? Will the downturn distract our Government in the long-term strategy to tackle other equally important issues such as environment protection and ageing population? In the interest of time, I will dwell mainly on the ageing population. Singapore has done well for the previous downturns. We have managed to turn adversary into an opportunity to grow and further strengthen our social compact and social fabric. Likewise, we should be able to see a re-play of opportunities this time around. With the economic slump, many who were vulnerable even during the good times, were shoved unceremoniously into the dumps of hardship. Although there are many Government programmes to support these groups and they have been implemented, many have fallen through. It is perhaps prudent to remind ourselves that like the swine flu, no one can claim immunity.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for the answer. I would like to check with the Minister whether the socio-economic groups that chooses each class between C, B2 and B1 have shifted because of the implementation of means-testing. Are more people from the middle-income and the upper middle-income groups choosing C class and B2 class wards because they are getting less subsidy?”
“Sir, to wait for end of the year for three stations to be completed and the rest until 2012 seems to be too long. As it is now, there have been two fatalities already, and I am not sure how many are needed before we can speed up the project. I do hope that despite all the technical difficulties that the Senior Parliamentary Secretary has just described, there should be other ways to make it safer. I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary what is the minimum distance between the edge of the MRT platform and the yellow line, and whether MOT has reviewed the CCTVs or the footages of the accidents to see what ways we could have prevented these. By increasing the distance between the yellow line and the edge of the MRT track platform, will that actually help to improve safety? Second question – I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary is: what is the liability of the PTO in such accidents. Whether passengers are insured for injury incurred while they are using the facilities? Last of all, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether the CCTV was working for these incidents.”
“Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for his comprehensive replies. We are more assured that with safeguards put in, this Bill can be better supported. I would like to ask the Minister to clarify the situation of a foreign recipient – foreign donor. We know that some of our neighbouring countries forbid foreign recipients to go and harvest organs from their people. Will this Bill apply to foreign recipients and foreign donors, and will we be opening up a loophole for rich foreign recipients coming over to exploit the poor of the region?”
“But I am afraid that we will make a blunder and attract people to donate their organs for a wrong reason. I hope that the Minister can clarify this. *Cols. 3613-3614.”
“What safeguards can we put in place to ensure that this transaction is not only legal, but also ethical? On enhanced penalties, I am pleased to see that penalties for offences relating to human organ transplants have been increased to 10 years' imprisonment and/or fines of up to $100,000. This is a good way to deter irresponsible commercial dealers who would indulge in trading, like trading cattle in the marketplace. The implementation of all these harsh measures is not simply about interfering with organ trade commercialisation, it delves deeper in the sense that it reduces organ wastage and the dangers of health complications and eventual deaths brought about through illicit transplants of mismatched organs and operations performed by unqualified surgeons. The local saga last July is an eye-opener to Singaporeans. This malpractice had taken place within our shores. Although it was a regrettable incident that sparked plenty of controversy, it has sounded the alarm to remind us to be more vigilant and less compromising. Thus, I think that by reducing the grey areas, this Bill is the right way to go. Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] "Saving a life is better than building a seven-storey pagoda". Life is precious and cannot be valued by monetary terms. The amendments proposed in this Bill included a clause on reimbursement of organ donors, and I am worried about this legislation. Firstly, there is the issue of how much should the reimbursement be. Will we be seen as putting a dollar value to a human organ or a human life? If this move can encourage more people to come forward to donate their organs, then it may be a good thing.”
“Organ incompatibility is often the greatest obstacle in organ transplants. It accounts for delays in obtaining the much-needed organ, sometimes consequentially leading to death when the organ fails before the patient receives an organ. With this system in place, more patients will receive their organs quickly. However, my concern is that some donors may not fully comprehend this system and may baulk at the thought of donating their precious organ to a complete stranger over their loved one. To encourage donors to be open to such a system, counselling sessions and public education could be initiated to address these concerns. These donors must be assured that their original intended recipients would eventually also receive an organ through donor swapping. I would like to ask the Minister whether such paired organ transplant arrangement will be performed simultaneously? If not, what would happen if the second party backs out of the arrangement after the first organ transplant was performed? What safeguards are in place to protect all parties involved in the paired organ transplantation? Is there a legal redress to this issue? There is a need for safeguards. The provision of comprehensive monetary reimbursement for living donors is a bold step forward and makes Singapore the second country in the world after Iran to legitimately pay a living donor for organ donation. This would greatly reduce the occurrences of underground organ trafficking. On the other hand, I am worried that we may just push it above ground. Are we taking the slippery slope to a dangerous precedence? A human life is priceless, but paying somebody to donate their organs is something we must manage in such a way that we do not impart the wrong values to our young ones.”
“So I hope the Minister can consider taking a step-by-step approach, rather than rushing in to include all categories. I know that the Minister's view is that discrimination of nationality should not be involved, but I think it is better to be careful and do it step-by-step. No matter how healthy a donor is, it is too idealistic to assume that his health will not be compromised after the operation. He will require medical expenses to cover costs of post-operation medical care. If he is unable to work temporarily, he will require other sources of income to support himself and his family. The financial implications and uncertainties constitute major turn-offs for potential altruistic donors. I know that it is an excellent idea to call for reasonable provision of expenses for short-term medical care and long-term medical insurance protection for altruistic donor. I feel that the Government should play its part. As a community, we should care for these selfless donors by providing them with medical benefits, just as we have done for some of our retired civil servants. This is a practical display of how our society acknowledges selfless contributions by another fellow human being. Although I do not know exactly how much such an initiative would cost the Government, I am sure the individual expenses for each Singaporean donor cannot be more than the amount that has been used to sustain a renal failure patient on dialysis for life. With regard to paired living donor organ transplant arrangements, it makes perfect sense as not all donors would have a tissue match with their intended recipients. Donors and recipients should be paired in accordance to the compatibility of their organs so as to reduce organ wastage and the painful aftermath of organ rejection.”
“I am worried about the ramifications of opening this "Pandora's Box". Is this a step towards the slippery slope of organ trading? Although I know the Minister is strongly against organ trading, a key point in the whole discussion is the compensation or reimbursement for the altruistic donor. The two words do not really coincide with one another in terms of reimbursement and altruism. Too little money or a token payment may make a mockery of the donor's altruistic effort. Too much reimbursement may induce organ selling. The question is how much is sufficient and how much is excessive? Who will do this reimbursement? Where should the money for this reimbursement come from, seeing that it is clearly stated in the Bill that there will be no extra financial expenditure on the part of the Government? Who will decide what is a reasonable amount of reimbursement? Is it the Ethics Committee? Last of all, is there a cap to this reimbursement or is this as much as they like to claim? There are four possible scenarios on organ donations. We may have a Singaporean donor to a Singaporean recipient, a foreign donor to a Singaporean recipient, a foreign recipient to a Singaporean donor, and last of all, a foreign recipient to a foreign donor. My feeling is that this amendment should start off slowly, which means that the amendment should apply to the first category of Singaporean donor to Singaporean recipient first and learn from the experience. It is highly contentious for the rest of the scenarios once foreigners are involved. We do not want to be perceived by the world as legalising organ trading using the backdoor method and becoming an organ trading hub to allow the exploitation of the poor, especially those from our neighbouring countries.”
“For example, a medical study that was published in the Journal of Cardiac Surgery revealed that patients who received hearts from donors 50 years and older, fared just as well as those who got their hearts from younger donors. The long-term survival rates were nearly identical among all patients. In US, organ transplants involving deceased people in their 70s and 80s have generally been very successful. As long as a deceased's organ is still healthy, we should not write off the possibility of using the organ. No doubt stringent medical tests must be carried out to evaluate the health of the deceased's organ before deciding whether it is suitable for transplant. It is this point that I hope the Minister can enlighten the House whether more stringent criteria and procedures would be used, especially involving cadaveric donors who are more than 60 years old. Last of all, for this particular Bill, by removing the 60 years old limit, I wonder whether we will be adding more recipients waiting in the line for organs at the end of the day, because there will be more people who are elderly who have organ failure. It is good that we give them hope but I think there will be a much longer waiting list than what was quoted by my colleagues earlier on. Second, on comprehensive reimbursement, I think this is something many of my colleagues call, "Opening of Pandora's Box". It is a concern amongst many that I have spoken to. It is a process that is highly complicated as it involves many ethical issues, other than medical tissue matching of organs in question. The proposed third party reimbursement of living altruistic donor will be welcomed by future donors and also recipients. But it may also open the door and the system to abuse.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I declare my interest as a medical doctor. I look after some patients who had renal transplant or renal failure. I am currently seeing them for their eye problems. My heart and compassion are with these patients and I understand their suffering. I wish to begin by applauding the Health Minister for his boldness and far-sightedness in introducing the amendments to this Bill. From a medical and ethical viewpoint, these initiatives, when incorporated into the Human Organ Transplant Act, will make it more comprehensive. This is an opportune time, given the increasing number of people with organ failure, arising from advancement in age and/or due to poor lifestyle habits. But, like my preceding parliamentary colleagues, I do have some concerns as far as reimbursement is concerned. Let me start off by talking about the removal of age limit for cadaveric organ donors. Our retirement age has moved from 55 to 62, and will be moved higher later. The age limit of taxi drivers has moved from 70 to 73. So why should cadaveric organ donor's age limit stay at 60 years? With medical advancement and improved quality of life in Singapore, more people are able to live a longer life. This means death comes later and with it, the general perception that when they die, their organs and tissues are all useless, supposedly ravaged by the passage of time. This is a misconception. Indeed, there are a few age-related medical conditions that would take a toll on the organs. However, while some organs may not be in best shapes, others may be sufficiently functional to prolong the life of another person for many years. I, therefore, strongly support the removal of the age limit for cadaveric organ harvesting.”
“Sir, we have been hearing that there are jobs available again and again. But I think the real situation out there is that for those who are unemployed, they just find it very hard to find a job. I am just wondering what are the obstacles and what is preventing them from getting a job. Second, I would like to ask the Acting Minister what is his projection in terms of unemployment rates for the next six to 12 months and would he like to comment on what is reported in the papers today by one analyst who said that our unemployment can hit 6% to 7%.”
“Are the CDCs and the e2i in communication?”
“Sir, I have three points of clarification. First of all, the Minister mentioned that the website at WDA has been centralised and that all the information is available. But I think residents still find it very confusing. Is it CDC, is it e2i, is it WDA or is it CDAC, Mendaki or Sinda when looking for a job? So I hope the Ministry can look into how do you centralise all these information and advise residents accordingly. The second point is regarding the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP). It was launched two years ago, on 27th March 2007, and it was stated that their target was to train 1,000 PMETs at the point in time – to spend over $20 million of Government funds. But the Minister has just announced that over the last two years, we only have 500 over that was being trained. I would like to ask the Minister what accounted for this shortfall? What are the difficulties that is facing this PCP programme now? Is it because the allowance is too low, causing residents not to take it up? And what are the measures being taken to boost the conversion rates of PCP? Last of all is the PCF. While I am heartened that the Government did not lower the PCF rate for this recession unlike previous recession, I am just requesting whether we can tweak the contributory rates to the Ordinary Account and the Special Account. In times like this, can the contribution rate to the Special Account be lowered so that more can go to the Ordinary Account to help with their home mortgages?”
“For those who do not have sufficient monthly CPF contribution to cover all their home mortgages, perhaps the Government can allow them to use part of their special account to supplement the cash component, so as to free up some more disposable income for their families to shelter the economic storm, or perhaps we should adjust the contribution rate to special account so that there is more that is going into ordinary account in such hard times. For those who are retrenched, perhaps we can allow them to use their CPF in Special Account to pay for their home mortgages till they can find a job. This is better than deferring or lowering the mortgage repayment which will result in more interest payment over long time. For those who are retrenched and had significant pay reduction and are finding it hard to pay their income tax, perhaps the Government can allow them to use their CPF for payment of either in full or in instalments so that their precious cash reserves can last longer while they look for another job. Although the main purpose of our CPF is to build up our retirement needs, these are exceptional times and we should consider exceptional measures to tackle the problems head on. For a family whose main bread-winner has lost his/her job, the immediate crisis is the day-to-day living and survival, rather than their retirement needs in 20 to 30 years' time. I hope the Ministry of Manpower can consider some of these suggestions which may be useful now. If not now, I hope the Government can consider them later if the economic storm gathers strength and further off-Budget measures may be needed. Workfare Income Supplement – Assisting Low Wage and Contract Workers”
“Sir, the current economic downturn is so severe that the Government is taking unprecedented moves, such as Jobs Credit Scheme, Special Risk-Sharing Initiative scheme and the use of our well-guarded national reserves. Many have asked, since the Government is allowed to take such unprecedented moves to use the reserves, should the Government allow the people of Singapore to share part of the burden of shouldering this economic downturn by allowing the people to use their reserves that they have painstaking saved for retirement over the years, such as their CPF? Similar to the Government, the reserves in the CPF of the people can be rebuilt again when the good times return. Allow the people to use part of their CPF in such hard times can also provide some relief for those who were unfortunate to lose their jobs or had suffered significant pay cut. Similar to strict and careful guidelines for the use of our national reserves, Government can draw up guidelines to ensure that the use of the CPF is now exceptional for one-off purpose and not for long-term subsistence of daily living. We can limit the use of CPF for the following purposes for one year. For example, we may allow the use of CPF for capacity building for the future, such as the payment of the cash portion of the SPUR or PCP training programmes of individuals that is up to 10% of training course fees as the Government is subsidising the remaining portion.”
“It will be difficult for him and his family of four to depend on the stipend of $900 per month for the next three years just to survive. I hope the Ministry will look into enhancing the PCP schemes, so that they can better support the PMETs and their families while they are in training. 1.15 pm I am glad that the Government has announced the increase of course fee subsidy from 80% to 90% for the Diploma and Degree holders. Many do not have much reserves to fall back on, especially in tough times like these. So even the 10% course fee which may run into hundreds is prohibitive. I hope that the Government will consider allowing CPF to be used for the course fees for those who are retrenched. I also understand that PCPs will be expanded to include more sectors of the economy. While it is good to teach our PMETs how to fish and also to improve their fishing skills, the main concern on the ground is the depletion of fishes in our pond. Even with skills, some have lamented that there are no jobs available. Can the Minister enlighten us on how many PMET jobs opening is expected to be created in the next six to 12 months? What is the Ministry doing to help our PMETs in securing jobs? There are also fears that fishermen from overseas with similar skills may come to our waters to fish as well. Will the Ministry be issuing less employment passes for these overseas fishermen so as to ease the excesses in supply? How many 'S' passes did MOM issue last year and how many more will be renewed or issued this year? Apart from the Jobs Credit Scheme which favours Singaporeans, what is MOM doing to help our resident population in securing jobs?”
“Sir, as reported in an excellent article in the Straits Times today talking about PMETs, written by Mr Aaron Low, PMETs form 51% of our workforce and it is the backbone of our economy. According to an employment report published by MOM in third quarter 2008, among the resident retrenched workers, the PMETs constitute 43.3%. I would like to ask the Minister what is the current unemployment rates of PMETs among the resident population? And what is the Ministry's worst-case scenario prediction of unemployment rates for this group in 2009? MOM launched the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) on 27th March 2007 and was scheduled to run for two years. The PCP for each industry is offered by different schools and each differs in the duration, cost fees and allowances. The duration of the course ranges from six months to 36 months and course fees can be quite substantial for longer courses such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy courses. I would like to ask the Minister for an update for PCP – how effective is the PCP so far? And how many PMETs were successfully converted and found a new career after their training? The PMETs that I have met at my Meet-the-People Sessions and block visits were generally in their late 30s and early 40s. Many are married with young, school-going children.They do have many household bills to pay including their mortgage loans, utilities bills and conservancy charges. I met one of them recently and he was thinking of doing a course on physiotherapy. The duration of the course is three years. The course fees before subsidy is above $6,000 and a stipend of $900 per month will be paid during the three-year course per month.”