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?”
The complete record
Every one of 673 lines we hold for Lim Wee Kiak, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 14.
“Sir, during a clinical session at a restructured hospital last week, my clinical assistant, Mdm Vasagi, was in tears and looked very troubled. I asked her what happened. She told me that her 60th birthday was approaching and that she had just received a letter from the hospital HR. I asked her whether it was a birthday greeting or some form of gift from the HR. She said, no, it was the contrary. She will be turning 60 years old soon and has been notified by the hospital that her salary will be revised downwards from $1,666 to $1,502 - which means that she is excluded from WIS - while the remaining terms and conditions of employment remain unchanged. I have asked around my friends in the private sector whether it is a common practice to reduce the pay of a worker when he or she reaches 60 years old without any change in workload or working hours. Perhaps, they wish to be politically correct, many replied that they do not subscribe to such a practice and will pay the worker as long as productivity remains. Should the public sector, including restructured hospitals and the statutory boards, not take the lead and practise good and fair employment. Reducing the pay without reduction in workload or working hours of older workers would be deemed as taking advantage of these older workers. It will do more to discourage rather than to encourage them to stay in the workforce. With the changing demographics and escalating demand for workers to sustain our economic growth, we have to do more to entice and not to discourage older workers to remain in the workforce for as long as possible. Many would like to continue but may prefer some form of a part-time arrangement so that they can have other pursuits.”
“Sir, this morning while driving to work, I encountered a similar situation which I described in last year's COS. Two foreign workers were engaged to hold traffic signs of STOP/GO on a stretch of road works. I am not sure if it is due to a lack of innovation or it is because of cheap foreign labour that resulted in the employers using cheap foreign labour performing that type of task. The situation has not improved as compared to last year. I would like to highlight that according to MTI Economic Survey 2007, overall labour productivity fell by 0.9%. In the fourth quarter last year, it fell by an even faster rate of 3.7%. Productivity in business continued to fall, posting a 5% decline. And productivity in manufacturing sector declined by 3.2%. I would like to ask MOM why is our labour productivity declining? What are the main factors? With the declining productivity, what is driving our economic growth? Also, I would like to ask the Minister to comment on the wage increases of our labour force. Is it sustainable in view of the declining productivity? Have we overpriced ourselves and are we in danger of overpricing or pricing ourselves out of the global market? What is MOM's strategy in dealing with the declining productivity? And I have just received this lovely chart showing the economic expansion and job creation. If we superimpose productivity, I just wonder where is the dot? Job Opportunities”
“Sir, speaking on behalf of the sandwich class with elderly parents to take care of, will the FAS scheme be considered base on a per capita income, rather than just on household income?”
“Sir, no Singapore students should be denied of education because of financial difficulties. Opportunities for students of needy families to excel and to develop their full potential is paramount. I think with the MOE financial assistance scheme - I just received one from my children last night when they came back from school - that has helped many of the needy students to carry on their education. With rising costs of living, households that are not even low income, just the middle as well as the lower middle income with school-going children and elderly sick, are the most affected. Will MOE review and increase the current household income guidelines of $1,500 for MOE financial assistance scheme, especially those with elderly sick at home too? Will MOE also consider including per capita income rather than just household income in their assessment of the family for the FAS scheme? I hope it is not too intrusive. Will MOE also consider enhancing the FAS scheme now to include transportation costs, school after-care services, pocket money as well as a 100% waiver of national examination fees rather than just 75%? Apart from financial difficulties, what are the other reasons for non-attendance and dropouts in schools? What is MOE doing to address these particular issues?”
“But having said that, I share his spirit of trying to encourage more Singaporeans, but I am sure if he analyses the answers that we have given that if we let the green vehicle to float from one category to another category, it is free to actually respond to the market demand. If we restrict it to only one category of the COE, even for 5%, if we restrict it to engine capacity, I know you are asking across two dimensions basically, which is very difficult, because under MOT's current rules, it is only along engine capacity, it will restrict the growth. But to be fair, we will keep all the options open. Perhaps he can raise it again at next year's COS.”
“Sir, I have two clarifications. First to the Minister. Sir, I hope that the Minister will reconsider and review the proposal to introduce the Green COE. I said that because there are 800,000 cars in Singapore. With a minute 5% proportion of COEs being green itself, we will have 40,000 of new green cars over a 10-year period, which is 4,000 a year and that is a straightaway commitment. And that will limit and force the distributors to bring in new cars unless they want to lose that 5% of the market. So I hope that the Minister can, with the other ministries, restudy the proposal. The second clarification is to the Senior Parliamentary Secretary as regards the recent Chikungunya outbreak. I would like to ask whether we have any environmental intelligence of any Chikungunya outbreaks in Johor or in the nearby countries, and as a result causing the Chikungunya outbreak over here, and what kind of cooperative framework is formed under the ASEAN ambit for such environmental disease control. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: If I were to say that we have studied it and the answer is still no, will he accept my answer? But certainly, Sir, if I look at the spirit of Dr Lim's question, it is how do we ensure that we have better vehicles on the road. I think one of the low lying fruits are commercial vehicles. As you know, we have instituted Euro IV standards for buses and so on and so forth from October 2006. Once the Euro V come into availability, we will consider moving to the Euro V. So I think we should work at that population of the transport sector first rather than the passenger vehicles.”
“This will provide us with a radar screen on Chikungunya and vector distribution and an advance warning sign of change of viral diseases. Was there an outbreak of Chikungunya virus in our neighbouring countries prior to such cases appearing in Singapore? Littering”
“Sir, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Chikungunya as well as malaria will remain endemic in South East Asia for many years to come. In 2005, we witnessed our largest outbreak of dengue fever in Singapore with 14,000 cases reported. Thanks to the effort of multiple agencies, including NEA, Town Councils, grassroots volunteers, we overcame the problem and dengue decreased to 3,126 cases in 2006. Unfortunately, we saw a rebound in dengue figures in 2007 due to a serotype change. For the first eight weeks of 2008, there are already 864 cases. In addition, we also saw the emergence of a new viral disease transmitted by the same Aedes mosquito – Chikungunya virus. The viral disease is also endemic in South East Asia but not in Singapore previously until now. Our Environment Health Institute (EHI) does research on vectors, dengue virus and maintain a strict surveillance on the mosquito population in various parts of our island. The EHI also studies dengue virus serotypes as well as monitors the serotype shifts. Detection of serotype shifts or new virus may predict epidemic risk and early measures may be instituted to reduce the risk and the effects of such an epidemic. I would like to ask the Ministry whether EHI detected the presence of Chikungunya virus in mosquitoes and larvae even before the emergence of the 13 cases of Chikungunya fever. Singapore is a small island and we are susceptible to diseases that are endemic in South East Asia, even if they are not endemic in Singapore. Chikungunya is a good example. It is important to collaborate with centres in our neighbouring countries and share information on the different viral diseases and vector population.”
“Sir, one of the key initiatives for mitigating climate change is to encourage, reduce, reuse and recycle. I would like to congratulate the Ministry of the Environment for the good progress we have made in our recycling efforts. Under the Singapore Green Plan 2012 launched in 2002, the target is to increase recycling rate from 44% to 60% by 2012 and to achieve zero landfill. What is the current status of the Singapore Green Plan? Is 60% a target too low since we have already achieved a recycling rate of over 51% in 2006? Although there are recycling bins distributed in HDB and private estates, the management of these bins is less than desirable. There are many complaints regarding recycling bins being too far away, too full as they are not cleared frequently enough, too dirty and smelly as other organic waste may have been disposed in these bins wrongly. The bins are also frequently raided by karang guni men, resulting in extensive littering around the bins. What is the Ministry doing to address these issues? What other measures is the Ministry introducing to increase recycling? Will the Government consider incorporation of separate and dedicated recycling rubbish chutes for HDB flats both in new and those undergoing the Home Improvement Programme as well as to encourage private developers to incorporate dedicated recycling rubbish chutes in their new developments? Environmental Degradation”
“8% of fuel consumption in 2005. I understand that significant inroads have been achieved through our energy efficiency drive for the power generation and industry sector, but I think more can be done for the transport sector. I have proposed a green car COE category before to increase the proportion of green cars on our roads. I hope the Government will introduce measures to encourage our fleet of public buses and taxis to use CNG or biodiesel. Global Warming”
“Sir, Singapore was described as a little red dot among the sea of green but the reality is that when you view satellite pictures looking at fires around our neighbouring countries, maybe Singapore should be a little green dot among the sea of red. The issue of climate change took centre stage at many international and regional forums, such as the Davos meeting, the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali (called the Bali Roadmap), the ASEAN Summit as well as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The European Union has already committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020, regardless of what happens in international negotiations. The United Kingdom has also introduced a Climate Change Bill last year. The Climate Change Bill will provide a clear, credible framework to support emission reductions in the UK, in a way which maximises the social and economic benefits and minimises costs. So what I like about the word is "maximises social and economic benefits and minimises costs". This Bill will put into statute the UK's domestic targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through domestic and international action by at least 60% by 2050, with an interim target of reducing it by 26% to 32% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline. I would like to ask the Minister what is Singapore’s and ASEAN’s response to climate change. What concrete steps can Singapore take to mitigate climate change and reduce our carbon dioxide emissions? Will the Ministry introduce a Climate Change Bill? The fourth IPCC assessment report listed energy supply, industrial activities and transport sector as the top three CO2 emission activities. In Singapore, power generation, industry and transport account for 51%, 31.7% and 15.”
“Up to 5% can be sold to those whose household income is above $8,000. On the other hand, the Ministry may want to examine why people with household income below $8,000 choose to queue up for brand new HDB flats? Why are they not buying resale flats? Maybe it is because of the cash over valuation system that currently we are having. They will say that they do not have the cash to buy. Is there any way that we can help them? 4.45 pm I hope the HDB can re-examine the cash over valuation system. It can also re-examine or review the current ceiling. Is the $8,000 ceiling really a ceiling to prevent those that are privileged from staying in HDB flats? Why deprive them a chance? Next, on our finite island, how many HDB flats can we build, in the first place? What is our current population? What is the number of HDB flats? How many people to HDB units is the correct ratio or correct mix? Because we cannot be building forever. Including the private properties that the Minister mentioned, the number of units is going to be huge. There is going to be an over-supply. Can we encourage newly-weds now to look at resale flats too?”
“Sir, I have the privilege of staying in an HDB flat for about 17 years of my life. I think many of the Members in this House also have the privilege of staying in an HDB flat. Unfortunately, some of the Members may not have the privilege of staying in HDB flats because their parents' incomes were too high. HDB living is a way of life for many Singaporeans. And HDB living actually, in a way, represents Singapore. It is a melting pot where all races come together. It is a melting pot where the socio-economic groups meet as well. There are three rooms, four rooms, five rooms, rented units as well as Executive flats. But one group is totally excluded because they are too rich, they cannot stay in HDB flats. You may argue that they can buy resale flats if they want to. One of the things is this: why do we not take a look at how we allocate flats so that we do not discriminate those who are earning above $8,000, in terms of applying for HDB flats? For example, in healthcare, yes, no matter how rich you are, if you choose to go to a C class ward, you may. Of course, currently now, there is going to be means testing. When means testing comes in, you have less subsidy. Perhaps MND can follow a similar formula. `Currently, the Government has been advocating that we should price everything at market rate. Yes, HDB housing is subsidised. May I ask: it is subsidised by how much? The reply probably from the Minister will be, it is subsidised by the amount that is different from the market rate. Why does the HDB not sell flats at market rate? For the poor, just add in the additional housing grant. For those people who can afford it, make sure that they buy at market rate. If we are afraid that too many rich people suddenly rush to buy HDB flats, we could even put a quota.”
“What measures is the National Parks Board doing now to promote more community garden projects and what has happened to our rooftop greening projects amongst HDB estates, especially the HDB carpark areas? Green and Conservation”
“Sir, a plot of land in the new downtown Marina is worth billions. Even a plot of land for a hospital in Novena fetched over $1.2 billion recently. So, what is the worth of a garden or green space? Probably priceless. We pride ourselves as a city garden, a garden in a city. The green living environment and green spaces in our urban landscape provide a good balance and form a vital part of our general well-being. With land prices escalating, some of these green spaces are fast disappearing, especially along our Orchard Road belt, giving way to new commercial and residential developments. The Government should actively enhance our living environment and working space with more green spaces so as to provide a conducive environment not only for Singaporeans but also for all who come to visit, work or play. We should allocate and preserve land just for more green spaces and we should actually actively do it especially in our quest towards a 6.5 million population in the future. I would like to ask the MND what percentages of the land in our HDB residential estates, CBD area and industrial estates are earmarked for green spaces and garden, and how these are preserved. While MND builds gardens and green spaces, the Ministry should ensure and facilitate the accessibility of these green spaces to the people. The park connectors project is a wonderful idea, for just doing that. I had the chance of jogging at a few of these park connectors but my encounter was that many of these park connectors led to nowhere. I hope that the MND could quickly facilitate the park connectors project and increase the pace so that at least it leads to a park at the end of the day. In addition, I would like MND to facilitate residents' involvement in our greening effort.”
“May I reply, Mr Speaker, Sir. In fact, when I did a block visit last night, a resident asked me the same question. Why is the Government having such a huge surplus? Did something go wrong in the estimates? Reading the papers this morning, when Hong Kong reported a huge surplus four times above the estimates, of course, the main reasons given were that it was an unprecedented year, property prices went up, and they got huge transactions in terms of the stock market. Similar phenomenon was seen in Singapore as well. And I told the resident, at the end of the day, the key question for this House is how do we look forward. When the family breadwinner came back and said, "I strike the lottery", you should not, in the first place, be asking, "Why did you strike the lottery?" You should be asking, "How are we going to use the lottery money?" Are you going to say, "Let's go to a restaurant. Let's go and have a holiday and splurge it all."? Or are you going to put some of this money now to buy insurance for your child, to make sure that education is provided for, or to put some into medical insurance as well to make sure that medical needs are taken care of? I think we should not miss the point. The real issue now is what we can do now to make sure that there will be less and less need for all these social welfare programmes in the future. Look forward and not look backward.”
“But I ponder, now that we have more and more of these programmes, are we truly progressing? Are we truly resilient as we introduce more of these programmes? I understand that we definitely need them now. But I would still again urge Members of this House as well as the Government to ponder over what more we can do now so that the need for social programmes can be reduced in the future. With that, Sir, I support the Budget.”
“The last point which I would like to touch on is on climate change. With the increase in oil price hitting a three-digit level now, there will be increase in energy costs and I do not think the costs will come down further. It augurs well for Singapore and it makes sense for us to save energy. And the Government had articulated the importance of tackling climate change during the ASEAN meeting last year. Likewise, the same message was echoed at the Bali meeting that we need to speed up the efforts on tackling climate change and there is an urgent need to do so, although we recognise that being a little red dot, even as we stop producing any CO2, we are unlikely going to change the direction of climate change. But I think the green revolution can start from the little red dot. I hope the Government, through its fiscal policy, can initiate some changes. Apart from the reduction in supplementary tax for diesel-powered passenger car which meets the stringent Euro IV emission standards, the Budget is truly silent on the issue of climate change. I would like to suggest something simple, which is for the Government to consider introducing a green car COE category and that amount can come from the current COE amount. I am not asking the Government to put more cars onto the road now. It does not need any further Government funding but with green car COE, the market will decide and over time the number of green cars on the road will increase. As our nation progresses and we achieve happiness and prosperity, we should be more resilient. There should be less and less need for social schemes, such as Workfare Income Supplement, ComCare, Medifund, Eldercare fund, etc, and many of the funds that were quoted by Mayor of North-East CDC, CPR, etc.”
“With that, the employers need not pay the levy on skill retraining after that. With the revision of the upper ceiling now from $2,000 to $4,500, I am afraid that will only discourage employers from sending their employees to retraining. So I hope that the Government take a look at it and provide some other incentives so that re-training is possible. I am heartened to see that the Government is topping up the Life-long Learning Fund to encourage life-long learning. It is a right step towards a resilient nation, a resilient community. The proposed subsidy for part-time degree programmes at the three publicly-funded universities and the UniSIM for Singaporeans who had not previously benefited from a Government-subsidised undergraduate education is a boost for diploma holders who wish to upgrade to a degree. But I have received an email from one of my residents asking me to put forward this request in Parliament, one of which I have brought up before. Can the Government allow the use of individual CPF to pay for their part-time degree courses? Second, can the 40% tax relief on school fees of part-time degree courses at approved universities be transferred to the parents or elder siblings who are actually paying and supporting their school fees? And I like his ending statement in his email to me. I quote: "With the influx of foreign workers into our country, we have to ensure that the sons and daughters of our own land be among the top 50th percentile in earnings of our workforce. We are not asking to be the top, but we should not be at the bottom." I am not here pushing for a bumiputra policy in Singapore, but I think it is worthwhile to re-look at how our Singaporean workers can gain more from the re-training.”
“In US dollar term, the hourly wage cost for production workers in Singapore shot up sharply by 17.1% to US$8.55 in 2006. Mind you, that was 2006 figure; the 2007 figure, I am sure, would be higher. According to the MTI Economic Survey in 2007, overall labour productivity fell by 0.9%, down from the 1.5% gain in 2006. And in the last quarter of last year, overall labour productivity fell even at a more alarming rate at 3.7%. Productivity in business continued to fall, posting a 5.0% decline in 2007; in manufacturing sector, declining by 3.2% in 2007. If our productivity is dropping, then the question we need to ask is: what is supporting the economic expansion? Is the economic expansion possible because of increase in foreign labour? Can we continue with the over-reliance on foreign workforce to secure good economic growth in the future for Singapore? I would urge the Government to take a look again at our productivity. To look at means and measures on how we can raise our productivity to propel our economic growth instead of relying on foreign labour. Although the proposed incentives to spur R&D and innovation may increase productivity, I hope the Government can devise measures and to encourage and reward increase in productivity in the industry. The levy on skill re-training seems to me like running contrary to this productivity drive. Currently, only for workers who are earning less than $2,000, the employers need to pay a skill re-training levy of 1% of their gross salary, which means that employers spend $20 per worker if the salary is $2,000. And there is some motivation for the employers now to want to train the workers so that they can raise the salary to above $2,000, of course, provided productivity increases.”
“I would like the Government to review the current policies and propose measures to provide for the future of the home-makers. If left alone, they will be the ones who are left out in the CPF LIFE scheme. The Government can facilitate in assisting the working spouses to transfer part of their CPF funds from the Ordinary Account to the Special Account of the home-makers so as to provide at least some form of retirement funds for them. The Government can also consider increasing the tax reliefs for children and parents but transfer the savings into the Special Account of the non-working spouse directly. I again suggest that we should reward these home managers – they are all the ministers of home affairs – with incentives that are not dissimilar to the ones that are provided to NSmen, although, administratively, it is difficult. But if any government can do it, it is the Singapore Government. While everything is moving up, there is something that goes down. The key to a resilient nation is a top quality economy as well as a resilient workforce. We have no other natural resources except for human resources. Continual investment in our human resources through upgrading and training is the key to our success in the future. As I said, everything is going up – wages, rental, inflation, CPI – but productivity is down. We have achieved good economic growth. The output or productivity of our workforce did not match this growth. According to the headline of the Business Times on 11th February 2008 "Singapore's competitive edge eroding", it reported a US study showing the high hourly wage cost rise for the production staff in Singapore was the second highest among 33 locations.”
“It will increase their total household income and over time enhance their resilience. Another point regarding family. I know that the middle income group has been offered 20% tax rebate and that has been tilted towards the lower middle income group (those who are earning less than $150,000 per year). But this is for the individual. I hope that the Government can consider the breadwinner, the family man who has to support the children as well as elderly parents. There have been calls in this House to review the child relief as well as the enhanced child relief scheme. The relief for children was last revised in 1998. It was raised from $1,500 to $2,000 for the first to the fourth child. It has been 10 years now. With rising costs and inflation, I hope the Government can revisit the child relief scheme. Likewise, the relief for the elderly was last revised in 2000. It was raised from $4,500 to $5,000 for children who support elderly parents living with them. For parents who are not staying with their children, the tax relief remained at $3,500. I urge the Government to increase both the children and parents tax relief to affirm the importance of the family in the Singapore society. Many Members have raised the issue on home-makers which I had raised it in 2007. The "stay-at-home spouse" could be "mum", and in some case "dad". Their contributions to the family must be recognised and appreciated. They are team mates working in the paddock of an F-1 race. So they are unsung heroes. However, they are also a very vulnerable group. They are the ones who will be most affected in the event of a family discord or divorce. They receive no pay, no CPF, and no Medisave.”
“And the $150 subsidy offers little help to the lower income group, who can probably earn between $800 and $1,000 if they go out to work. The sums do not work well for these workers. After deducting the subsidy, childcare still costs them from $250 to $650 per child, and it does not make economic sense to encourage them to work. The current $150 per child subsidy is given to all working mothers regardless of their income levels. The same amount is given to a mother who earns $800 as a factory worker and sends two of her children to a $500 per month void-deck childcare facility and to an executive mother who earns a five-digit salary per month and who can afford a $1,500 per month up-market pre-school/childcare facility in town. The current $150 childcare subsidy can be revamped to tilt in favour of the lower and middle income groups. If higher subsidy is given, I believe it will entice the non-working spouse in low-income families to the workforce. It will also help to elevate their household income. Their children will also benefit from more structured pre-school education programmes and social interactions in the childcare facilities. Just like the proposed means testing in healthcare, and the additional housing grant of HDB, this is not the first time we are introducing differential subsidy and grant, which is provided according to socio-economic needs. And, in this case, targeted assistance can be delivered to those who need it most. It will encourage and enhance their resilience for the future. I hope the Government will revamp the childcare subsidy scheme to make it more attractive for the lower and middle income non-working spouses who are staying at home to care for their children to join the workforce.”
“With the looming uncertainties in the global financial markets as well as dark clouds in the horizon, I join in the echoes of my fellow parliamentarians to welcome the prudence of the Government for keeping some surpluses for additional contingencies if the need arises. But, at the same time, I urge the Government to be bold in rendering assistance to low income families to help them to become resilient again. The key word here is "resilient". Do not, because of fear of breeding dependency or possible abuse, be paralysed into inaction. Building a resilient nation starts with building a resilient family. Although the Budget 2008 has provided for almost every individual, ie, the students, the taxpayers, the working adults, average Singaporeans, the elderly and even the rich dead, there is no mention of the family. Strengthening the unity of the Singapore family is the antidote and the prophylaxis to many of the social ills of the future. I would like the Government to re-examine this and see how we can strengthen the family structure better through fiscal policies. The current tax rebates and incentives given are mainly targeted at individuals. One of the ways that we can look at is enhanced childcare subsidy for lower and middle-income families. Through our work in the constituency, we have come across many low income young families with a single breadwinner. The non-working spouse may stay at home to take care of two, three, or sometimes four children. The option for the non-working spouse to work to supplement their family income is attractive but is not a practical one, as the childcare charges for their children can be higher than their income. Today, childcare cost is not low. It ranges from $400 to $800 a month (averages about $650).”
“The aim is to revamp our tax structure to better equip the Government with additional resources in the future to tackle the widening income gap and provide resources for wealth redistribution through schemes such as Workfare Income Supplement, and the key words here are "in the future". This year, yes, the Government struck lottery, a big prize. But compared to Hong Kong, we only got third prize. They got first prize. I think the key question we need to ask is: what has the Government achieved last year? The Government collected $1.4 billion in GST but returned $865 million, in terms of Growth Dividends, and that is 62% of the GST collection. In actual fact, the real increment for the Government for GST is only 0.8%, which means it is from 5% to 5.8%. How does the Government return this amount of $865 million? It is not uniform, it is not equal. It is targeted and it is tilted in favour of the lower and the middle-income groups as well as the elderly. The lower and middle-income groups gain more from the GST rebates. Now, consistently, they also gain more from the proposed Growth Dividends that are about to be paid out if this House approves the Budget for 2008. There are also concerns as to why there is such a large discrepancy in the 2007 budget estimates. But I must say that I am happy that the Government is in a strong fiscal position of $6.4 billion surplus rather than in a $0.7 billion deficit. If the Government had estimated a $6.4 billion surplus and ended up with a $0.7 billion deficit, I think we will be very worried. I think this House has much to cheer rather than to accuse the Government of coming out with the wrong estimates. If we are wrong, Hong Kong is wrong as well. They are four times above their estimates.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my esteemed colleagues who have spoken in the last two days have covered most of the topics. As I was listening, I pondered upon what is the most important question for Members of this Chamber to consider, ie, what are we doing today so that the need for all these social welfare schemes that we are all requesting for can be lessened? We should not be asking for more and more social welfare schemes. We should be asking how can we reduce the number of social welfare schemes, and what individual policies has the Government made now to reduce the reliance on all these social welfare schemes for the people. How do we measure the well-being of a nation? How do we measure progress – GDP growth, mean income, family, inflation control, control of consumer price index, how inclusive as a society that we are. I think there are many, many measures. And I reiterate again – what are we doing today so that we need less of social welfare schemes? If there was no 2% GST hike last year, will the price of the luncheon meat remain at $1 and not increase from $1 to $3? Will the prices of wheat, rice, other food items, transportation cost and rental not increase to current levels? Will the oil price, which is an important proxy and critical link to energy prices and inflation, remain at last year's price? The answer is no. We are not immune to the global inflationary pressures, as we import all our food, energy needs and sand as well. There will still be increase in prices and there will be inflation. We approved the 2% GST hike in this House last year and we must not forget why the GST hike was proposed in the first place.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. All sports have their inherent risks, but I am sure the Parliamentary Secretary and Members of this House would agree with me that safety is paramount. Safety standards adopted should be uniform, whether the sporting event is conducted locally or overseas. I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary what kind of risk appraisal system will the Ministry be putting in place to ensure that our sportsmen and sportswomen can compete safely in regional and international events in the future.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the SPS for the comprehensive answer. In the course of our work as MPs, during the block visits as well as the meet-the-people sessions, we still frequently come across a group of PMETs who were retrenched in the last five years and have yet to find gainful employment. And for those who are employed, many of them are still under-employed. I would like to ask the SPS, of the new jobs created over the last six months, how many of these new jobs actually belong to this PMET category? Why is the take-up rate for PMETs mainly in the education sector? How about the rest of the sectors? And what is MOM doing to increase the uptake of the PCP?”
“One last question on the house-to-house visits for all the families there. As we know, typically, even during the MP's house visit itself, only about 50%, or 60% at most, of the owners are at home. So, does the house index take care of those who were present at home and opened their doors and also those who did not even open their doors? How was the house index calculated?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the SPS whether this cluster could be prevented in the first place. Were there measures that we could take to predict the arrival of this particular cluster, for example, the ovitrap project that was mooted a few years back? What has happened to the ovitrap project, and has it been used for such an incident?”
“Is the information in the public domain?”
“I thank the Minister for the comprehensive answer. With the escalating oil price and the likelihood that it will remain high, how will the high oil price impact the public transport sector and the cost to the people? And what are the measures that the Ministry of Transport is taking to mitigate this particular impact? Will the Ministry consider liberalisation of the public transport sector to a more competitive one, instead of the current duopoly? And, lastly, can the Minister give us some updates on the current status of the land transport review, if possible?”
“I would like to thank the Minister for the comprehensive answer. The best way to stop an epidemic is to stop the transmission of the disease by early identification and intervention and also through public education. Will the Minister consider a more proactive step, in terms of screening the entire cohort of Singapore males, similar to what the NS has done for mandatory medical examination at the age of 35 for all NSmen prior to IPPT? Perhaps, the Ministry could consider to add HIV testing as part of the testing so that the entire male cohort of Singaporeans can be screened regularly when they are doing their reservist or when they go back to NS at the age of 25, 30 and 35.”
“I am happy to learn that the Government is prepared to allow for some to opt out. These are those with expected limited life expectancy and those who already have sufficient provisions for their retirement. For the latter group, I hope it will include civil servants who are already on the pension scheme. I hope that the Government can also consider opt-out schemes for those who have too little to spare in their CPF accounts. If a person has a Minimum Sum accumulated of only $12,000, requiring him or her to pay $6,000 for the premium does not make sense at all. They will need all the money upfront, rather than to delay for another 23 years. Singaporeans should not depend on this scheme as their sole and only retirement funding. But I hope the monthly payout should be enough to sustain their basic livelihood, just like our Public Assistance (PA) scheme. Even at our low inflation rate of 1%, in another 35 years, the monthly payout amount will be much less than what it is today. It will be good if the Government can peg the longevity insurance payouts to our PA scheme to ensure basic sustenance. Last, I like to commend the Government for making bold reforms to our CPF system to be ahead of anticipated changes. My last concern is - what is the actual fiscal impact on the budget of this and subsequent Governments? Will the Government need to raise further taxes, such as GST, in the near future to fund all these changes? Mr Speaker, Sir, I hope the Minister can answer some of the questions. With that, I support the proposed CPF changes. 5.00 pm”
“The scheme requires all Singaporeans to pool part of their savings together to mitigate the risk of living beyond their savings. It is like a term insurance whereby if nothing happens, you get nothing from the premium paid. But there will be a large payout in the event of an occurrence. If this scheme, unlike MediShield, is going to be a compulsory scheme, how is the Government going to include those who have little or no CPF to pay for the premium? If the scheme is considered to be so critical and so important to be made compulsory, such as the compulsory primary school education for our children, the Government should consider co-funding the scheme with the people. There are also many who question who will stand to gain from such a scheme. It is intuitive to many that the wealthy who can afford higher standard of care and medical services may have longer life expectancy than the middle and lower socio-economic groups. Will the wealthy stand to gain more if they have a longer lifespan? Or will the middle sandwich class, who may have the highest stress, be the ones to lose out in the long run with a shorter lifespan? Are there any studies to allay the fears of the public to dismiss these assumptions? Although 50% of those who live to 62 years will live to and beyond 85 years, how many will die at 86, 87, 88, 89 and 90 years? How long must they live to at least equalise the premium paid 23 years ago? 89 or 90? What percentage will stand to take back more than they paid? How about the group that does not have any CPF or too little CPF to purchase the premium? They are the home-makers, odd job labourers and some self-employed. Will there be schemes to assist them? If not, how can the scheme be compulsory?”
“I am sure the Government cannot guarantee that especially in times of an economic downturn. Delaying the Minimum Sum withdrawal age from 62 to 65 may bring hardship to those who are unable to find employment or, for medical reasons, are unable to work. They may be left completely without regular income from 62 to 65 years old. For this group, I hope the Ministry of Manpower can introduce more flexibility in this policy to allow them to start drawing down at 62 years but at a lower quantum. In this way, they can have some regular income during the interim years and also enjoy payouts till 85 years old. (In English): Increase in CPF OA interest rate and peg CPF SMRA to long-term bonds rate I welcome the increase of interest rate for the first $60,000 in the CPF to help all Singaporeans grow a larger retirement reserve. I hope the Government can continue to keep the minimum 4% interest rate for at least the first $60,000 in the Special, Retirement and Medisave accounts for longer than two years. The poor and, in fact, most of the middle class will be using most, if not, all of their savings in the Ordinary Account for housing needs. Hence, the move to help them to accumulate more by increasing the interest rate by 1% for the Ordinary Account may be good but, unfortunately, may not work well for them. If the interest rate for the Special, Retirement and Medisave accounts were to decrease due to the decrease in the long-term bond yields to below 3%, the poor and the middle class will suffer as most of their savings will be there. I hope MOM can extend the minimum 4% guarantee base rate for the SMR accounts for a longer period. Compulsory annuity/longevity insurance The compulsory longevity insurance represents a paradigm shift in our management of retirement funding.”
“Sir, I will use Mandarin for the first portion of my speech and followed by English. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] To describe the different stages of our life, we can use the four seasons as an analogy. The first 20 years of our life is like spring where we grow and learn. The second 20 years is like summer where we work and progress towards our peak. The third stage is like autumn where we have reached our peak, start to slow down but continue to accumulate and collect our harvest to prepare ourselves for the last stage, winter. If we prepare ourselves well and make hay while the sun shines, then we can have a comfortable winter with enough food and warmth. If not, we will starve and face the cold. *Cols. 1665-1666. With the longer life expectancy, Singaporeans can expect some changes in these four seasons. We should rejoice with the longer life expectancy that we are enjoying, but it also means that many will face a longer winter. We need to accumulate more and earlier to prepare ourselves for the longer winter. To increase the retirement age, increase CPF returns by increasing the interest and delaying the draw-down age for the CPF Minimum Sum are all necessary, timely and farsighted measures. These measures will help many Singaporeans in their golden years. I support these measures. However, there will be some Singaporeans who may fall between the cracks. As mentioned by PM in his National Day Rally speech, only one-third of male employees, and much less than that for female employees, actually retire at the current retirement age of 62 years. In the near future, when the retirement age is raised to 67 years old, can we be sure that Singaporeans who are healthy and want to work can find employment?”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether he can give an assessment on the impact of the rising cost of commercial and residential properties on the cost of doing business in Singapore; (b) whether this situation has eroded Singapore's competitiveness; and (c) what measures the Government intends to put in place to ensure that the overall cost of doing business, not just labour cost, remains competitive.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether he will consider pushing for the recycling bins and recycling chutes to be included as part of the building codes for new public as well as private housing in the future. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, that is a very good question. The Ministry, together with NEA, is in constant discussion with MND on this particular aspect of environmental sustainability in our towns. There is of course the cost concerned but we will endeavour as much as possible to make this as part of our lifestyle. When it will come, I suppose it will depend on when these agencies can come together and find a common ground. But certainly this is an item that is hot on the agenda that we want to try to push as fast as possible. IMPACT OF RISING COSTS ON COMPETITIVENESS OF SINGAPORE 3. Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether there is a risk of overheating in the Singapore economy; and (b) whether the recent price, rental and wage increases, coupled with our strong Singapore dollar, will impact our export competitiveness relative to our regional competitors. 4. Mrs Josephine Teo asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) if there are signs of the economy overheating; and (b) apart from unexpected external shocks, what factors can limit the growth of the economy in the next three years. 5. Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what are the effects of rising prices and property rentals on the competitiveness of Singapore in attracting foreign direct investments and as a place to live, work and play. 6.”
“The key thing is for the new Board to decide and to make sure that their training is adequate to ensure that the opticians are able to meet the mark of standards to provide the best eyecare possible. The second portion that I wanted to bring up is what Dr Lam brought up regarding the use of eyedrops. I think it is a great concern. To some of our ophthalmologist colleagues, they may see the use of eyedrops becoming an intervention. However, in performing their duties in eye examination, sometimes these eyedrops may be necessary. There are certainly dangers to the use of these eyedrops because there are side effects. I think, with proper training and certification, the optometrists may be allowed to use, but that I would leave it to the Board to decide, as well as in close consultation with the Chapter of Ophthalmologists. With this Bill, optometry and opticianry in Singapore will no longer be just an optical trade, but a profession - a profession that has a role in looking after the vision health of the entire population and beyond. I sincerely look forward to an exciting new era in eyecare in Singapore with optimism and enthusiasm. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I support the Bill. 4.26 pm”
“The optometrists have lobbied through their individual state legislature to allow them to perform ophthalmic surgery, such as Lasik, using the training certificate issued by AAO as proof of proper training. Such practice, as we know, is unethical and is detrimental to the standard of eyecare for the public. I hope the new Optometrists and Opticians Board will ensure and maintain the highest standard of optometry and opticianry care for the public. There is definitely a need for close continuous consultation between the new Board and the Chapter of Ophthalmologists in the Singapore Academy of Medicine to ensure close collaboration between all eyecare providers. I am glad to note that at least, on the Board, one of them is an ophthalmologist. In order to ensure that there is close collaboration and consultation, may I suggest that this particular ophthalmologist appointed to the new Optometrists and Opticians Board could perhaps be a board member of the Chapter of Ophthalmologists in the Singapore Academy of Medicine. With that arrangement, I hope the new Optometrists and Opticians Board will work very closely with the Chapter of Ophthalmologists to provide the best eyecare to the public. I hope that in this way they will really work together and see eye-to-eye and not work against one another, an eye-for-an-eye. In terms of providing eyecare, I do agree to some point with Mdm Halimah Yacob in the sense that opticians should be provided some leeway, but I do not agree that they should not be allowed to do refraction. I think it is a matter of training. With proper training, I think the optician should be allowed to do refraction.”
“I hope the new Board formed will take this into consideration and provide them with ample time, opportunities and training to allow them to register so they can continue their practice but without compromise on the standard of care. (2) Will the registration and recertification process result in an increase in the cost of eyecare to consumers? I think the likely answer is, yes. With this Bill, the optometrists and opticians will be licensed and they will need regular recertification to ensure currency of their knowledge and skills. While all these will ensure quality eyecare, they also mean an increase in cost. I hope the new Board will keep registration, training and recertification costs to a minimum, so that the increase in eyecare cost for consumers will be minimised. (3) This is my chief concern - will this Bill result in an unhealthy competition and a division in the eyecare sector similar to what is seen in some states in the USA? I would like to highlight the dangers that this Bill may be divisive to the eyecare industry. I was in America about two years ago for the American Association of Ophthalmologists' (AAO) meeting. This is a very big annual meeting attended by about 20,000 ophthalmologists and, at that particular meeting, there is a standard clause there. They deny the attendance of all their instruction courses as well as lectures by any optician and optometrist. This is because some of the opticians and optometrists have overstepped their clinical competence and performed ophthalmic intervention procedures, including surgical procedures, on their clients.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, first, I would like to declare my interest as an eyecare professional, an ophthalmologist. Singapore has one of the highest myopia rates in the world and an ageing population, which has been alluded to by my parliamentary colleagues earlier. This has resulted in an ever-increasing demand for quality vision correction, especially for myopia and presbyopia. The optometrists, opticians and ophthalmologists are the main eyecare providers to cater for vision correction and eye health provision for the entire population and the foreigners who are staying here. The optometrists and opticians form the primary eyecare layer, while the ophthalmologists provide the secondary and tertiary eyecare which is mainly interventional, be it medical or surgical. In this respect, the three eyecare providers work together to form a seamless eyecare continuum to provide the best eyecare possible. The introduction of the Optometrists and Opticians Bill will provide the legal framework to recognise our optician and optometrist colleagues as professionals, an equal partner in doing their job. In doing so, the public will benefit with the assurance of a standard of professional care by the opticians and optometrists. I have three concerns regarding this particular Bill, two of which have been mentioned by earlier speakers as well. (1) Will the older members of the trade be given ample time and opportunities to get the necessary certification? As the Ministry has dealt with the traditional Chinese medicine registration, I am confident that that experience will be well used in this case as well. Some of the older opticians learned their trade through apprenticeship over many years. Although they are experienced, they lack the necessary qualifications.”
“Sir, I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the very comprehensive answer. One of the concerns from all consumers is, of course, that checks are done but they are all random. It cannot be complete. I am just wondering whether AVA actually goes abroad to inspect the source of the food. Secondly, does AVA collaborate with other like-minded agencies, such as the FDA of the US, and share database with like-minded organisations in Europe as well?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the very comprehensive answer. I understand surely that it is not the Ministry's role to evaluate the business plan. But, however, I understand that all business plans must have contingencies before the Government itself gives out any funding or grant. I am sure the Government has evaluated in terms of their plans and any contingency if the enrolment drops below the projected numbers. So, I am wondering whether these contingency plans were evaluated and, if they were, why these contingency plans were not implemented. Mr Lim Hng Kiang: The support package that EDB provided for UNSW was, essentially, in two parts. One was loan to help build the campus, and that loan was backed by a bank guarantee. So if they do not build, of course, we can recall the loan. The second support package was a set of grants to help them build up their capabilities, particularly in the science laboratories. So, of course, if they do not build the science laboratories, the grants are not disbursed. We also gave out some grants to help them build up the initial capacity, and they were the grants that were disbursed at the early stages, so that they could start up their operation and build up initial capacity. So, the grants were given for different milestones, and for those which were given at the startup to help them come in, those were the grants that were disbursed, and that is the S$17 million that we have to recover now.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what are our options if this DCA does not go through. What are the long-term implications to our forces in terms of training and whether we have other alternatives? If we have other alternatives, would the Minister consider these alternatives now rather than to wait until then?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the MOS for providing a comprehensive answer to the Question. It was reported in USA Today on May Day itself that up to 14.9% of the United States' college students have clinical signs that satisfy clinical depression. And amongst these, 38% are taking medication and 25% are in other forms of therapy for depression. I would like to ask the MOS: is the Ministry of Education actively collecting data and monitoring the trends of psychiatric disorders amongst students in our schools and the varsity? And with reference to the unfortunate incident in Virginia Tech in Maryland, what more can be done to detect these students and treat them early? RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: I think the data that we have shows that in 2006, only 31 out of a total of 7,155 cases of schizophrenia, which is the most common form of psychosis, were diagnosed for patients under 18 years by the Child Guidance Clinic of the Institute of Mental Health. That is the data that we have right now. With regard to what happened in the University of Virginia, as I have mentioned in the reply, our polytechnics, universities and institutions of higher learning actually have a system in place where there are people who are on the lookout for such developments or such symptoms arising. The difference of course is that we hardly have instances where people have access to weapons which I think, in part, accounted for the tragedy that happened in the United States recently.”
“00 PM WIRELESS@SG (Status of development) 18. Miss Penny Low asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts in the light of iN2015 (Intelligent Nation 2015) (a) what is the status of current development and bugbears faced in wireless@SG; (b)what is the timeline for the rest of the development; and (c) if there are plans for future expansion.”
“But at the same time, it is important for us to build up knowledge on this area. While I agree with him that renewables are the way to go, we must keep all options on the table, in terms of understanding the environment around us and what are the things that we can do. Finally, I agree with him, in terms of energy safety and security. But as I said earlier, this particular Act is to allow us to be ready to play our role, once we have agreed on the Additional Protocol. In fact, it will put Singapore in a better standing in the international community where we will continue to play our part, together with IAEA, to monitor the proliferation of radioactive materials in this region. So I would like to assure Dr Lim that, this being a new role, NEA will quickly ramp up its capabilities and we will continue to consult with the agencies. As to whether or not we will consult people beyond Singapore, a lot will depend upon the type of functions that we have to do. At the moment, since we are not going the nuclear way, there is no reason for us to consult in those areas of nuclear energy, etc. But, certainly, in terms of nuclear safety and understanding of the processes, we will build up that capability as quickly as possible. Sir, I think I have addressed most of the issues. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." - [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. Adjourned accordingly at Seven minutes to Seven o'clock pm. WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER NOT ANSWERED BY 3.”
“Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, Dr Lim has raised some questions of concern and I share his concern about building up local knowledge in terms of nuclear energy, as we have heard reports about countries in the region wanting to go the nuclear way. I would like to assure him that we will do our best and, to answer his last question first, as to whether or not we have the capacity, we are ramping up our capability as quickly as possible. For example, NEA is building up its capacity to carry out what we call "terrain decontamination" as a new function, something we have not done before but we need to know how to do this. In the event of an incident, of course, the Singapore Civil Defence will be the first to carry out their response to save lives and mitigate the impact. But once the area is secured and the situation is stabilised, NEA will then move in and carry out what we call "terrain decontamination" to restore the affected areas. It is this sort of new skill sets that we have to build up, in light of what Dr Lim has mentioned, and therefore we take this very seriously. Dr Lim has also asked about whether the existing controls on radioactive materials would be affected. I would like to assure him that the amendment will not affect the radiation protection and radioactive materials used in medical institutions and research facilities. At the same time, he also asked the question as to whether or not the health aspects would continue to be addressed. I would like to inform him that MOH is still in charge in terms of this particular aspect of it, and we will continue to consult MOH and HSA on the health-related issues. Dr Lim also raised about the possibility of going nuclear. At the moment, I do not think so.”