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 9 of 14.
“How are our commuters benefiting from these changes? How much bus capacity has increased since 2008 and how much more can we expect to see in the coming years? I know there are many questions. The introduction of the bus lanes has certainly increased the speed of our public buses. It is not uncommon for motorists to see congested roads and a relatively empty bus lane. Perhaps we should ramp up the number of buses on the road using the bus lanes fully. The buses can be a good alternative to congested MRT trains and it can relieve the congestion we see today in our public transport system. I urged the Ministry to ramp up the bus numbers and capacity immediately to address the current congestion. It is right that the Ministry has introduced initiatives to improve the integration of the public transport network. The distance-based fare system has provided a seamless fare system but it is confusing to commuters as different MRT lines impose different charges. I hope the fares can be harmonised and simplified in the future for easy understanding by the commuters. It would be good if the rail system and bus system complement one another. Have there been improvements in the planning and coordination between the bus and rail networks? What has been done to improve the dissemination of information to commuters for them to make better journey decisions? Many commuters gave feedback regarding the long waiting time for public transport. The waiting time is a function of what time a commuter arrives at the bus stop or the MRT station and the time taken for the bus or MRT to arrive. When I was in the United States for my fellowship, the public bus frequency was terrible in the area I stayed. The buses came once an hour but my waiting time was short. The reason is simple.”
“There were some suggestions to improve the current passenger flow in our MRT trains so that the movement of passengers can be more streamlined and hastened, such as designated doors – one door in, one door out. There are also calls for additional carriages at the end of the train to increase the capacity. But the last carriage will not be able to alight or board passengers. Passengers got to walk to the next carriage in order to get off the train because the current MRT platforms are not designated to accommodate further increase in carriages. I have previously called for an introduction of off-peak discount in MRT fares so as to encourage those who may not need to travel during the peak hours to do so during the off-peak hours. This will spread out the demand. I hope this suggestion can be further explored. As the MRT network expands with the completion and opening of the Circle Line this year, we can expect more to have access to this MRT network and system. Our MRT passenger load will hit new highs. Many are concerned that our current load capacity along current lines are already hitting the maximum. How can the current lines take on more passengers from the new lines? We all know that MRT projects have a long gestation period. It takes many years to complete a line and ramp up the capacity. There is a gap between transport infrastructural development and public transport demand. This gap can only be filled up quickly by the buses. What are the improvements made to our public bus system since the release of the Land Transport Masterplan? Can the Ministry provide an upate on the LTA’s new role as the central bus planner? How many new lines have been added? How many bus routes were changed? How does the Ministry decide on the route changes?”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head W of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Over the past one year, if there is any radio or TV talk shows regarding public transport, it will attract a large number of public tuning it. The common themes of these shows are regarding congestions, long waiting times and, basically, the aspirations of the public to see a cheaper, better and faster public transport. Since the release of the Land Transport Masterplan in 2008, there have been many new measures introduced to further improve our public transport system. How successful have these public transport improvement measures been? What more is the Ministry doing to address the crowding and congestions during the peak hours on our trains? One resident recently told me that he has to go to the MRT station earlier now compared to one or two years ago, as the congestion means that he will not be able to board the first train. He has to wait usually for the second or third train before he can board. What is the Ministry doing to address the crowding on trains? I understand that if all passengers take the train at the same time, there is no way we can avoid congestion as we cannot build a rail system to accommodate such a demand. What can the Ministry do to spread out this peak in demand on our current system so that we can comfortably handle the workload while waiting for the rail network to double in 10 years' time? The current high COE prices will also mean many will be sticking to public transport and some motorists will be switching to public transport. Will that not further increase the demand for public transport and increase our congestion?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister: out of the 8,000-plus green vehicles, how many of them are green motorcycles and what is the reason electric motorcycles are not gaining popularity. Are we doing anything about that and what is the reason for not doing anything? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I do not have the figures here to share with Members. I am not sure why it is not being taken up but, I suspect, if I were to check with MOT, that there are more cars than motorcycles, to begin with. The figure itself is small relative to each other. There may be other reasons, but I will endeavour to find an answer for him.”
“Mr Chairman, 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 170,000 tons of rubbish per day. With the increase in tourist arrivals and economical activities recovering to pre-crisis level, we can only expect our rubbish load to continue to increase. With limited land for incineration and landfill, we have no choice but to recycle more and reduce our waste. What is the recycling rate in 2010? Are we achieving our target of 60% recycling rate by 2012? What is the Ministry doing now to encourage greater recycling rate by households? I would like to thank the Ministry for the pilot project that was held in Canberra Division of Sembawang GRC to have one recycling bin for every single block. I would like to know from the Minister when will every block of HDB flats in Singapore have their own dedicated recycling bin? Haze and air quality”
“Will the Government continue to support the public take-up of green vehicles as this Green Vehicle Rebate is only temporary? Sustainable waste management and recycling”
“Mr Chairman, green vehicles are more fuel-efficient and emit less air pollutants than their conventional petrol or diesel equivalent but they are generally much more costly. To promote the use of green vehicles, I understand that LTA and NEA have jointly introduced the Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR). This GVR aims to bring about a change in consumer behaviour to support clean emerging technologies, by narrowing the cost differential between a green vehicle and the conventional equivalent model. The rebate is calculated based on 40% of the open market value (OMV) at registration, for passenger vehicles, and 10% of the vehicle's OMV for electric motorcycles. But there are certainly fewer green motorcycles than green cars on the road. Can the Government consider increasing the rebate for electric motorcycles to encourage the take up of electric motorcycles? Another obstacle to green vehicles is the lack of support facilities such as refuelling as well as recharging stations and infrastructures. What is the current status of green vehicles utilisation and what progress have we achieved so far in this area? What are the challenges going forward and what is the Government doing to increase the public take-up of green vehicles? I have suggested in previous year's COS to set aside a certain percentage of our COEs for green vehicles and create a green car COE category. In this way, our proportion of green cars can be increased progressively over the years. We should also progressively improve the supporting infrastructures and increase the number of CNG and recharging stations supporting these green cars. What is the Government's long-term target of green vehicles take-up?”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, Singapore has two water agreements with Malaysia. The first agreement will expire on 31st August this year and the second in 2061. We have, over the years, developed and improved our own water catchment and collection and also developed other sources of water such as NEWater and water from desalination. Currently, what proportions of the water we ultilise come from these two agreements and what proportions are from the different sources such as our reservoirs, NEWater as well as desalination? Will the expiry of this agreement result in water shortage for Singaporeans? The cost of water from different sources will differ. What is the relative cost of water from each source? What are the implications, if any, to the public from the expiring of the first water agreement with Malaysia? Will Singaporeans see higher water bills after the expiry of the agreement? I also understand that we do sell processed water to Malaysia at low price. After the expiry of this agreement, will we continue to sell cheap processed water to Malaysia? What will happen to all our reservoir assets in Malaysia? Water supply”
“Sir, it is an irony that when the economy does well, in fact, sometimes, we see more homeless compared to when the economy is down. When property prices are moving up, in fact, more people are taking the opportunity to cash out. My clarification to the Minister is: with the new three-letter acronym that is given to this Special Housing Grant (SHG), does the Minister think that we should extend the Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP)? It is very sad that young couples come in now and buy a flat and then after five years they cash out. They will bring their three-year-old to see MPs at the Meet-the-People Session and tell MPs that they are homeless. The key issue now is: how do we encourage them to keep it as a home rather than see this an investment or as a cash-out opportunity?”
“Mr Chairman, one of the issues we have now is the very erratic weather system. I guess too many people are asking the sky for too many things. If you ask "wa meng ti ", that has resulted in droughts, massive floods and hurricanes that are happening. Perhaps we are asking for too much. But these natural disasters have resulted in disruption of food supply and production. It has caused food shortages and put a spotlight on food security for the future. In fact, this has been highlighted even at the United Nations level. Some of these food producing countries have banned export of food periodically, including wheat and rice, as their local production cannot meet their own local demand. Such actions have resulted in a spike in food prices and caused food inflation and hardship for the poor around the world. In Singapore, we are not spared as well. We import almost all the food that we consume. The sharp increase in world food prices has also affected us. What is the Government doing to mitigate the situation and to ensure that our food supply is resilient? What is the current stockpile policy that we have? Should we review the stockpile policy and make it even more secure and more resilient? Given our limited land size, what can we do to increase our local food production? Someone suggested that, perhaps, on the HDB rooftops now, we should consider expanding it to allow for community vegetable farming and that has the effect of greening the environment as well as producing some food at the local level.”
“The Government has announced three sets of measures to cool a boiling hot property market over the past few months. Now, every time Minister Mah stands on the podium, the developers get a bit worried. Despite these cooling measures, property prices seem to continue to rise. And people are asking: are the current rising property prices a reflection of inadequate housing planning to meet the needs of a very fast growing population due to the increase in Permanent Residents and new citizens over the last few years? [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Matthias Yao Chih) in the Chair] 4.30 pm Sir, for Concept Plan 2011, is the Government still planning for a population of 6.5 million? Or perhaps we should be pushing for 8 million people, so that we have enough supply? What can the public expect from Concept Plan 2011? When will Concept Plan 2011 be released? Given our limited land, how can the Government optimise the use of the land? What will the Government do to support the needs of a bigger population? What is the current percentage of land use for residential, transport, commercial as well as recreational? How will these change in Concept Plan 2011? Will there be any change in the amount of land use for SAF training? Can this be reduced further, since we have advanced simulators that can help our operational units to practise? Last of all, how will all these percentages, in terms of use, change in Concept Plan 2011? Liveable city and quality of life”
“I would like the Minister to explore how to shorten the entire BTO process as well as to adopt a strategy that can assure some form of success for them. Currently, without any assurance of success, many adopt a strategy to submit multiple applications to different BTO projects at the same time. Does that not distort the demand and result in many times over-subscription for some of the BTO projects? Instead of a ballot system, why does MND not consider reverting back to the old queue system but build only when a certain percentage of the flats are selected? Can the Minister also do more to help those in the lower-income group to own their first HDB flat by giving them more grants, but on the condition that perhaps we should consider extending the minimum occupancy period to 10 years to ensure they do not cash out the flat too quickly? Regulation of estate agents”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, like many other Singaporeans, when I first proposed to my wife, my girlfriend then, it was at the HDB Centre. In 1992, we went through the whole process. It was very smooth and very easy. We registered for an executive apartment in Woodlands and immediately we were put on the queue. We were given a stack of papers, showing all the documents needed, showing all the areas in Woodlands, so we quickly took a bus to Woodlands to take a look at where the areas were. A few days later, we were given a date to go down to select a flat. To our dismay, we saw that we were to make our selection on the fourth day, and my number was quite far behind in the queue. Of course, we did our work diligently, highlighted the units that we wanted and then, everyday, I went down to take a look to see which units were gone, which units were still available. On the fourth day, when we went down, there was only one unit left on our "wanted" list. Luckily, the couple in front of us was arguing about which jumbo flat they were taking. So we asked them very politely, "Sir, you are not taking the jumbo flat. So can I take this unit?" They said, "All right." So we took that unit. That was our story. Three years later in 1995, we collected our keys. We did not need to ballot and the entire process was very transparent and fast. It is very certain, in the sense that we were put on the queue. In contrast now, my residents complain to me that they face a lot of uncertainty when they apply for a BTO flat. Many attempted a few times before they obtained a queue number that is ahead enough in the queue to be called to select a flat. There is also uncertainty in terms of supply.”
“But with innovation and determination, I am very confident that we can succeed in this productivity journey together and emerge as a leaner, more efficient and more competitive nation. With that, I support the motion. 2.11 pm”
“But in today's world, in order to fulfil the different housing requirements of Singaporeans, HDB has introduced many new schemes, including Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and having special projects such as Pinnacle and Dawson estates. These projects are usually priced higher than the normal Build-To-Order (BTO) flats. The price of a 4-room HDB flat in Punggol Lodge ranges from $190,000 to $234,000. The price of a similarly sized 4-room flat in City View@Boon Keng is $523,000 to $597,000. It is almost up to three times higher. Should the owners in both HDB flats be treated similarly when Government gives rebates during the years of surplus? The HDB executive apartments in some heartlands are priced lower than a 4-room flat in a DBSS project and yet the owners receive less rebates according to the room type distribution. One suggestion is for the Government to give rebates to owners of HDB flats according to the house value and also the annual income of the owner. These are the same criteria the Government uses to give the Growth Dividends. The source of low-cost foreign labour will not be here forever. They will start to dwindle as their own countries start to progress. It is time for us to wake up to the reality and make painful adjustments now before it is too late. Rather than calling for levies for foreign maids and foreign workers to be reduced, we have to think of how to cut our reliance on foreigners to do the work for us. Our cost of living may temporarily increase as we embark on this journey together because there is always a productivity lag even when we implement something.”
“Cost of houses, infrastructure projects such as roads, new schools, new hospitals and upgrading projects for our estates may all be affected. Cleaning services, food and beverages, and retail services that rely heavily on foreign workers will also increase in costs. That will translate to a higher cost of living for all of us if the foreign worker levy increases without a corresponding increase in productivity. Therefore, we cannot afford to fail in this quest to increase productivity, otherwise we will end up with an increased cost of living and a decrease in standard of living. Like my previous parliamentary colleague, Dr Teo Ho Pin, I am concerned that this current Budget does not have a green focus. Singapore has pledged support for international efforts to combat climate change in Copenhagen. The Government has also identified green industries as a new source of growth and for Singapore companies to ride the next wave. But the truth is that the current Budget does not seem to contain much of all those. So I hope the Finance Minister can elaborate a little on this. Last point, I received an email from a resident just before the Budget Statement was read. The resident was asking me if the HDB utilities rebates as well as Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates will be given according to room type. In fact, she seemed to know that there were rebates even before the Budget Statement was read. So, it has become a standard item in every year's Budget. Many have asked previously for a revision for the way HDB rebates are given out. I understand that for administrative simplicity, giving out by room type is the most practical and easiest way. But in the past, when HDB prices were more homogeneous as there was only one type of HDB flat, that may be more practical.”
“If it is not done properly, like some drug addicts, they may get addicted to the treatment instead. I suggest the Government set up an agency to engage and study those businesses that require and are highly dependent on these foreign workers. They can then develop and recommend changes to the management of these businesses to adopt over time to reduce their reliance on foreign workers. If the management accepts the treatment, these companies may be granted temporary increases in their foreign workers quota beyond the current quota during the transition and the implementation phase as long as they are compliant to the prescription. The principles in effective treatment of drug abuse can be applied to assist our companies to wean off their dependence on low-cost foreign labour. Next, I am also concerned with the possible impact on the livelihood of low-wage Singaporeans. In the push for productivity, it is usually the repetitive, mundane and low-skilled jobs that get automated and these workers will be the first to be rendered redundant and retrenched. In a fast growing economy, like what we faced last year where many new jobs were created, there should not be a problem absorbing them into the economy. But in a slower-growth environment, as anticipated by our Government, this may pose challenges. While training is generally desired by many, the question is what do we do with a group that is not willing to go for training or a group that is unable to upskill further due to limited capability? Will this result in widening of the income gap in Singapore and increase our Gini coefficient? A reduction on low-cost foreign workers will also mean an end to cheap services that these workers provide. Our construction costs may go up.”
“The treatment process is one that needs to be closely supervised and calibrated for each industry and each company’s needs. If we institute a cold turkey treatment, the withdrawal will be painful and sometimes may even be fatal. In fact, some companies may not survive the sudden withdrawal syndrome. I recommend a more calibrated and careful approach that allows our companies to adjust. The recent move by the Ministry of Manpower to limit the foreign workers numbers and quotas has affected many businesses, especially small and medium enterprises. Some business owners have lamented that they are rejecting orders due to lack of workers. As the current demand is strong, they are unable to take advantage of the surge to grow because of manpower shortages. They are willing to pay a higher levy for suitable foreign workers. I am not sure if the Government can consider a tiered levy system for those businesses that really need workers and have tried getting locals but failed in their attempt, to get foreign workers at a higher levy. In this way, if there are really good growth opportunities and employers do not mind paying a higher levy, they can continue to grow. Having said that, we still have institute some form of treatment. The incentives that are provided by the Government to enhance productivity is a good antidote to ease the withdrawal symptoms. However, I feel that these incentives may sometimes be complicated and many business owners are confused. Many are not sure what they can claim for productivity and innovation, and some may do so just for the claim without any actual resultant increase in productivity. In short, supervision is lacking. It is like giving Subutex to a drug addict without a treatment programme.”
“I shall list them and I hope that the Government can take note of the principles and see how we apply to our current productivity as well as Innovation Credit Scheme. (i) No single treatment is appropriate for everyone. So there is no one size fits all. (ii) Treatment needs to be readily available, which means that we should cut more red tapes and make it easy to access. (iii) Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse. Likewise, there are other issues related to the requirement for foreign labour. Please examine the reasons. (iv) Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical. So, whatever measures we put in, they have to be long term, they cannot fluctuate, according to economic situation. (v) Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with counselling and other behavioural therapies. So, we cannot be dependent on medications alone, there must be behavioural therapy for a change in mindset of our business owners as well. (vi) An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs. So, there must be a continual assessment of the company. (vii) Treatment need not be voluntary to be effective, which means that sometimes treatments have to be forced upon the companies. Likewise, drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously, if not lapses during treatment can and do occur. So, we may give companies some credits, but if we do not monitor properly, the same habits may happen again. I would like to reiterate that we need to wean the companies off their dependence.”
“I am a little worried when I hear our esteemed Opposition colleagues calling for foreign and domestic maids to be made as a standard item for every single household. We are really getting too reliant on foreign labour. The foreign workers, in fact, are propping up the high standard of living in Singapore. They perform many unpopular jobs that are not performed by Singaporeans. The construction industry and many service industries are highly dependent on low-cost foreign labour to augment the manpower requirement. Without the low-cost foreign labour, they may have been out of business long ago. Although in the short term, we have all benefited and foreign labour has helped our companies remain competitive, cheap foreign labour is like an addictive drug that will get our companies hooked and dependent. Ultimately, our companies will pay dearly for the erosion of productivity and the lack of innovation which is beginning to show. I checked the Internet last night, looking at what is the meaning of drug abuse. This is what I got from the National Institute of Drug Abuse information website, it reads: "Drug addiction is a complex illness characterised by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and usage that persists even in the face of devastating consequences. While the path to drug addiction begins with the voluntary act of taking drugs, over time a person's ability to choose not to do so becomes compromised, and seeking and consuming the drug becomes compulsive." I looked further and they highlighted within the website the principles of effective treatment for drug abuse.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for allowing me to participate in this year's Budget debate. I thought I was participating in an election rally just now. Budget 2011 is a good Budget. You can call it whatever name, whether this is a pre-election Budget, it is indeed a generous Budget. It comes at a time when most governments are struggling with reducing their countries' deficit and high unemployment, and facing sluggish growth in their economy. We could just rest on our laurels, and keep on going like business as usual. But I do not think the Government is doing so. Instead, the Government is leveraging on the strong economic growth momentum to transform our economy further, building a stronger foundation for growth based on productivity as recommended by the Economic Strategies Committee. In fact, looking through my speech last night and comparing it to the speech that I made in the last Budget debate, I realised that it is very similar in the sense that the Government is very consistent looking at productivity as the main aim. I know that the man-on-the-street is more excited and more interested in the amount each and every family is receiving from the Government's Grow and Share package. But the more important aspect of the Budget is the long-term impact as well as the transformation that will affect all of us and our children. I have three concerns in this particular Budget and hope the Government will address them. I have spoken previously that cheap foreign labour is like a form of addiction for the companies. I would like to continue on this tone to say that we cannot continue to pursue our growth based on low-cost foreign labour as there are immense social implications.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how many commuters or how many EZ-Link card holders were affected in this particular exercise and currently, what is the percentage who have made claims for their overcharged fares. I understand that commuters are supposed to make their claims by 17th June this year. If by then the percentage is low, will the Minister consider extending the time for making claims by another six months?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for her reply. I have two supplementary questions, one of which is what is the average disruption time or the clearance time required when a minor accident takes place when there is no injury versus one that has casualty involved? And, likewise, will the MOT consider rolling out more public education programmes to inform even existing drivers of the "do"s and "don't"s during an accident? Because, currently, it gets very congested and I find that people are very lost once an accident happens and there is a long delay.”
“Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have two supplementary questions. First, the gyration of the COE prices. There are years where more than 100,000 COEs are released, and there are years where fewer than 50,000 COEs are released. Over the 10-year life cycle period, I would like to ask the Minister how does his Ministry intend to even out this sudden surge and sudden drop in COE supply, because this will result in the gyration of prices. Second, regarding some of the suggestions that were given by the public. Will the Ministry consider each COE as a separate bidding, which means that you pay as you bid? That will actually control some of the elements whereby people will tend to outbid one another. The other point is to limit COE financing so as to encourage prudence in car financing.”
“The amendments spelled out will facilitate and enable faster development of our rapid transit system, so all Singaporeans can continue to enjoy a cheaper, faster, better and safer ride. With that, I support the Bill. 4.34 pm”
“Long-term planning and development may also be compromised in view of the shortened licence period. By Government taking over the assets as well as procurement, it will solve the latter, but will the replacement and upgrading now become slower, because it is not commercially driven? Another area of concern is the quality of service. Our current public transport operators are in a privileged position. They are like the big US banks, and are too important for the Government to allow them to fail. Knowing this fact, the management may take more risks than it can handle and also cut cost to maximise returns. Will service quality drop since they know the commuters do not really have any other choice or options? What is the safeguard against unrealistic bidding and service failure? Lastly, this Bill also spells out security arrangements. It empowers the public transport operator with the right to check all bags and properties carried by the commuters on the system. I guess public will be concerned about the following: (i) When will all bags be checked on our rapid transport system? (ii) Will the operator disallow commuters to bring drinks and food onto their trains? Can the operator unilaterally enforce such actions since commuters now face a fine if they get caught drinking or eating? (iii) Will the current amendment be applied to existing operators? What are the expected additional security measures that existing operators will be putting in place with this amendment? (iv) Will commuters pay more due to increase in security costs? In conclusion, I support the visions spelled out in the Land Transport Master Plan and I look forward to the doubling of our current rapid transit system by 2020.”
“I would like the Minister to clarify the following: (i) Over the past 25 years since the first MRT has become operational, how much has the Government invested in developing our MRT network? How will this change with the new amendments? (ii) What is the current cost to the Government in maintaining and providing the MRT services to the public? With the new financial arrangement, will this cost be increased or reduced? (iii) What is the public's share in paying and maintaining the MRT system? Is the total revenue collected by our two existing MRT operators sufficient to offset the operational, assets and parts replacement costs? I support the principles highlighted in the Bill on rail financing framework and the network-based financial evaluation approach. I also support injecting greater contestability in the rail industry by shortening the licence periods so that the incumbents do not get too comfortable with a long 30-40 year licence. However, I do have concerns arising from contestability. Competition in principle is good as long as commuters benefit from lower fares and better services. We are all worried about competition that becomes irrational and that may end up with commuters paying more. Will competitive bidding become destructive just like the telcos bidding for EPL screening rights? Will public need to pay more if the bid prices go up? One of the virtues of our public transport system is that it runs on commercial terms with commercial efficiency. Because our rapid transit system is not run by a Government agency which may become overly bureaucratic and inefficient, the current system runs well to maximise utilisation. The danger is the over-utilisation of assets to maximise returns and the neglect of maintenance.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to participate in the debate of this Bill. The ancient civilisations were all situated where transportation facilitated their growth. It is no wonder why most centres of civilisations are near major rivers, deltas and coastal regions where transportation by water makes rapid growth and development possible. Transportation is a major enabler and catalyst for growth of all activities. Hence, it is important that our transportation infrastructure development should lead our national development rather than lag it. I support this Bill as it enables our Government better control over our rapid transit infrastructures so that development can be hastened to lead and not wait for commercial viability for too long before developing new rapid transit lines. Our Government has done well for the past 45 years in providing for the basic needs of the people such as security and safety, housing, education, healthcare and transportation. These are the basic requisites for continual stability, growth and prosperity. The Government expenditure on security and safety, healthcare, education and housing is very visible and very much appreciated by the people. However, the expenditure on transport infrastructures seems to be less visible and we often hear people lamenting high public transport fares. The Government’s position of not subsidising operating costs of our public transport and the reported annual profits by our public transport operators have also reinforced the public views and perceptions that the Government is doing less for transport than other key areas.”
“Can the Minister provide the percentage of senior citizens who are travelling less than 5.2 km and, hence, will benefit from the new fare structure?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer. I guess this is a hot issue on the ground. The commuters are usually at the shorter end of the stick when dataset errors occur. One of the issues is: can the Minister make the refund process less onerous? To claim 20 cents, they have to go on the Internet to fill in a form and so on. With the smart card system, can this be done automatically? Secondly, the PTC is going to review the dataset. I would like to ask how often will this dataset be reviewed and what is there to ensure accuracy? My other question on distance fare is: during the initial assessment, how did PTC come up with the statement and the conclusion, and what were the assumptions that were made? Now that a review has been done on the actual fares collected and given the discovery that there is a slight difference, could the Minister share the detailed results with the public to allay fears that fares are going up? I would also like to ask if PTC took into account the expiry of the 3% rebate that was introduced as a temporary measure during the recession. If that was taken into account, would all the assumptions still be valid? As for senior citizens, the starting fare is now lowered to 53 cents compared to before –”
“I thank the Minister for his reply to my Question. I would like to ask the Minister with regard to the insurance for these workers especially when they are injured or when lives are lost: what kind of coverage do they have now? Will the Minister be looking into increasing the insurance coverage of these workers who are transported on lorries? My second question is whether the Minister will consider putting a ban to prevent these lorries from using expressways because expressways have stipulated speed limits. Even if you lower the speed, these lorries are going at faster and faster speeds with time.”
“It is not my intention to forestall the Government’s effort to allow for dissenting voices to be heard in this House. Rather, we need to be mindful that in doing so we are not ignoring the people's voice and their choice. After all, the Parliament belongs to the people and it should be the people who will determine the Members who speak in Parliament on their behalf.”
“A candidate from the ruling party who lost narrowly certainly has more mandate compared to an Opposition candidate who lost by a wider margin. For example, in the last General Election, PAP candidate, Sitoh Yih Pin actually garnered 44% of the seats while Ms Sylvia Lim garnered 43% in Aljunied GRC. In fact, does Sitoh Yih Pin have more mandate to be in this Parliament compared to Ms Sylvia Lim? I am not sure. The current proposed NCMP scheme disregards the voters’ choice. Perhaps the NCMP scheme should be made non-partisan. It should be based purely on the nine highest losers, regardless of party affiliation. I understand that the scheme was devised to ensure there will always be voices from the Opposition parties in Parliament. If we make this scheme non-partisan, even if one party is able to garner all elected seats in the Government, there will still be nine NCMPs from the Opposition. If the Opposition candidates are successful in winning some elected seats, then there will already be opposing voices in Parliament. Our objectives can still be achieved if we make NCMPs non-partisan. I acknowledge that there are dissenting views which we must not ignore, however small they may be. In fact, the Government has put in so much effort to show different view points that we even have Nominated MPs in this House. Certainly I must say their presence has enabled us to hear views from different perspectives and enriched our debates in this Parliament. I hope the Government can consider the proposals (i) of the one-man-two-votes system; (ii) raise the minimum stipulated percentage votes garnered by a candidate before he or she can be considered as NCMP, and (iii) consider making NCMP a non-partisan scheme.”
“Although I had my reservations about the NCMP scheme initially, I must admit that it does provide an opportunity for candidates who were narrowly defeated at the polls a chance to show their worth in Parliament. Over the last 10 years, we have had two NCMPs in Parliament. The first is Mr Steve Chia and the second is Ms Sylvia Lim. So, I would like to ask how well have our NCMPs performed so far even as we question the performance of our NMPs? Are they so good that we need to increase our NCMPs provision to nine at this point in time? We have not even increased the provision to six that was provided by the Constitution in the first place. In a democratic system, the one-man-one-vote system determines the winner. The NCMP scheme actually runs contrary to the democratic one-man-one-vote system as voters do not really determine who are the top losers. Perhaps we should have a one-man-two-votes system whereby one vote is the primary vote to decide the elected MP and the second vote is a secondary vote for voters to decide whether the candidate deserves to be a NCMP if he fails in his or her bid for an elected seat. The voters now may give both primary and secondary votes to the one candidate or to different candidates. In this way, the NCMPs will have a direct mandate from voters. Although the NCMPs do not represent any constituency but they do have a responsibility to voters who voted for them. Currently, it is stipulated that they must garner not less than 15% votes before they can be admitted into this Parliament. The 15% benchmark, in my opinion, is too low. It is only 2.5% higher than the point whereby the candidate loses his or her deposit. It should be higher, maybe a minimum of 25% or even 30%, for a candidate to be considered as a NCMP.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, be it elected MPs, NCMPs or Nominated MPs, I think our accountability and our responsibility is towards the people of Singapore. I think that is the most important. So, Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of this Bill, however, I would like to raise some concerns. I would like to quote one of the papers that I have read in a medical journal recently. It relates to baby walkers and for many years parents believed in the benefits of baby walkers as they enable the precocious locomotion in the very young, otherwise pre-locomotor infants. Many thought that the baby walkers will enable to their infants to walk earlier. However, a study published in the Journal of Developmental Behavioural Paediatrics in 1999 reported baby walker-experienced infants sat, crawled and walked later than the no-walker controls and, worse still, they even scored lower on the Bayley score of mental and motor development. Some may argue that the Non-Constituency MP scheme is providing support for the development of Opposition in our political scene but just like the baby walker, it may actually retard the growth and development of the Opposition movement instead. The ruling party, PAP, was once an Opposition party too. It swept into power by the choice of the people. It is ironic that this Government is looking for ways to develop our Opposition in Singapore today. In my opinion, the best stimulus for development of Opposition is a bad government. No, we certainly hope we need not to go so far to encourage the development of Opposition. Even if the ruling party today enlarged the GRC scheme to have a 84-member GRC. If it is truly bad, I am sure the people would vote PAP out even if there are 84-member GRCs.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister: Does he not agree that the renewal of estates is important, in the sense that we would have to consider policies to help to renew our ageing estates? So, encouraging first-timers to consider buying resale flats rather than BTO flats does achieve the impact, and would not a policy to favour that actually helps in terms of national development?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply. Encouraging the first-time applicants to buy resale flat has a positive impact of renewing our estates as well. I would like to ask the Minister what measures are being taken by the Ministry, if any, to encourage young first-time home buyers to consider buying resale flats in the open market, so that they can increase this percentage from 45% to a higher percentage. Second question: Will the Minister consider increasing the grant to help these first-time buyers who are considering resale flats rather than BTO flats, or even consider some type of financing for the Cash-Over-Value (COV) so that they can consider buying resale flats instead of queuing up for the BTO flats?”
“Lastly, to quote the Minister "that public transport should be a choice mode and it should not be the last choice for commuters". With that, Sir, I seek your permission to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $467,333,600 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $5,167,811,600 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.”
“Sir, the journey to a world-class transport system, be it air, land or sea, is one that has no finishing line. We have come a long way since 1977 when I took a first public bus. The challenges that MOT face are multi-dimensional, from solving the problems of Nee Soon Zone "B" residents changing buses, all the way to escalators for overhead bridges as well as signal light crossings and the overall picture of whether our roads are too congested. I certainly thank the men and women in MOT for working very hard to ensure that we have a good system. Let me just take this opportunity, on behalf of my GPC as well as the House, to thank both Ministers Lim as well as Senior Parliamentary Secretary Teo for your answers. Certainly, we look forward to a more seamless flow of traffic –”
“Sir, I have a few clarifications. Number one is the COE system. I asked why there was a huge spike and Minister said because of over-projection. But if there is an over-projection, should that not be corrected at the end of the year, which means one year there will be a lot, the other year will be fewer. Why is there an accumulation over the last four to five years resulting in a sudden 30% jump? Second clarification: moderating road usage. Apart from ERPs, I hope that the Ministry can consider more creative ways to upgrade road productivity. For example, currently, when I drive my daughter to Bukit Timah on Mondays, the traffic is good; but on Tuesdays to Fridays traffic is terrible in the morning. The reason is because Nanyang Girls, on Monday mornings, delay their class by one hour. I am not sure whether LTA can work with the surrounding institutions in tight situations and see how they can moderate their timing. It could save us a lot of time and that will up productivity for everyone. Another clarification is public transport for the elderly as well as for the disabled. Could MOT seriously consider building this into your contract when you start to tender for the network system? Last of all: taxis. I would like ask whether taxis are considered public or private transport? Or is MOT prepared to have a new category called shared-transport? Because there will be fundamental differences in philosophy and planning in policy.”
“I understand that demand for the scheme varies according to locations. Which are the locations that demand actually exceeds the supply of carpark lots? The Minister said in 2009 in a reply to my parliamentary question that LTA will be reviewing the Park and Ride scheme. I hope the Minister can give us a good reply in this COS debate. Alternative transport arrangements”
“Sir, during lunch time yesterday, Minister Gan Kim Yong shared a joke with me. He told me that there were two men in Jakarta. One of them was walking, the other one was driving. The one who was driving offered to give the one that is walking a ride. And the one who was walking would say, "sorry, I am in a rush, I cannot take your car." I think that is the state of the current situation now whereby I find that MRTs are so much more efficient and so much more predictable compared to driving. When I was working as a houseman in Tan Tock Seng Hospital in 1992, I used to take the MRT from Khatib MRT station to Novena MRT station, it is a very nice 20-minute ride. I remember that I had a senior also working in Tan Tock Seng Hospital and he used to tell me said that he would take much longer to reach the hospital and I remember that we would leave Yishun at the same time and I would be at the ward at about a cool 10 to 20 minutes before him, even though I needed to walk up the hill to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. But I guess that is the reason why we are pushing for Park and Ride scheme. For someone who stays near or works near an MRT station, MRT is a natural choice for commuting. And for many who do not stay near the MRT station, Park and Ride scheme is a good option. It helps the driver to save on parking charges as well as CBD charges. It is a good scheme to be enhanced and promoted as since it will reduce the vehicles on the road and also encourage greater usage of our public transport. Most certainly there have been more calls for more Park and Ride schemes. I understand that Park and Ride schemes, some of them are very popular, some of them are less popular. I would like MOT to roll out more publicity to encourage more motorists to use the scheme.”
“I would like to make a plea for taxi-drivers to the Government to consider reducing ERP charges payable by taxis and also consider some concession for taxis to use the dedicated bus lanes. I hope we can streamline or do away with our confusing taxi surcharges that, in my opinion, have resulted in much undesired effects such as the "no taxi syndrome" after 11.30 pm which is miraculously resolved at the stroke of 12 midnight. Car-sharing schemes are also another form of shared transport that did not take off well but took off well overseas. As a concept, I think it is a good one. Perhaps MOT can study and review our car-sharing schemes. Our buses and MRT now are much better compared to the buses which I took in 1978. Today, my children enjoy a higher standard of public transport compared to what I experienced 30 years ago. Sometimes, they prefer taking buses and MRT home rather than waiting for my car. I know that many Singaporeans look forward to the vision that is spelled out in the LTMP. Although we have an excellent public transport system and infrastructure, our men and women in MOT as well as LTA never cease to look for more ways to enhance and to bring our public transport system to a higher level. To these men and women, we thank them for their endless and thankless task to keep the traffic flowing. Land transport policy”
“Looking and confronting at the daily slow traffic and jams on our expressways now, have we exceeded that threshold? Is it not time to reduce the vehicles on the road as it can only get worse? The increased car population has also resulted in other problems. Previously, it was unheard of for a new HDB estate to run out of carpark lots. Now, I hear some new estates, carpark lots are even full before all residents have collected their keys. More vehicles and slower traffic speed will also mean higher fuel wastage and more pollution to our environment. There are many compelling reasons why we must rein in the vehicular numbers but many will not give up their cars for the simple reason that our public transport lacks the capacity. I would like to propose a review of a category of transport, what I call "Shared Transport". I know the Ministry has maintained its position that taxis is private transport and, hence, are treated as such. Taxis, although privately-owned by taxi companies and leased out to taxi-drivers, occupies a space similar to private cars and the carrying capacity is the same as a private car. They are, in fact, a form of shared transport that can bridge the current gap between public and private transport. Taxis on the run and fully utlilised will not need a parking space and is, in the long run, a more economical way for all families, rather than all families owning a private car. Our current taxi companies are taxi leasing companies. Their main activity is to lease out their taxis. They should do more to encourage and increase taxi ridership. I was surprised that under the LTMP, there was no mention at all on taxis. I propose that MOT do a review on taxis and see how taxis can be more effectively used to bridge the gap.”
“Many complained that owning a car is beyond the reach of the middle and some upper middle-class families. In response, the Government shifted the control from vehicular population to its usage. ERP was born. More cars were introduced then. However, ERP charges and gantries started to increase. We started a vicious cycle. Like many drivers on the road, I am wondering when will be the next round of ERP increases and when will a new gantry be erected near my house or my working place. The car population has increased from just over half a million in 1990 to the 900,000 in 2008. The jump has been particularly steep in the last five years. There was a 6% growth per annum, if you compute correctly. Why was there a sudden surge in car population? Should the COE system not moderate the growth to only 3% as promised earlier on? I am glad MOT has earlier announced that the vehicular growth will be further reduced to 1.5% per annum. Is this reduction coming a bit too late in controlling the current congestion? What is the projected vehicular population in Singapore in the next 10 years? Can our already crowded roads take the additional vehicles even if it is only a 1.5% growth? Will the Government consider a zero growth strategy or even a negative growth to remove the additional cars from our roads? I read many years ago in a newspaper report that managing traffic is very complex and many academics studied and revealed that traffic jams are very similar to water molecules in a liquid state turning to solid ice state. The road can only take a certain vehicular load and a small increase beyond that threshold resulted in a sudden freeze and, as a result, a jam would start. I concluded that a jam will only start with a small number of vehicular increase.”
“I hope the Minister can enlighten the House on the results of HITS 2008 and explain how MOT is using the results to further improve our land transport mode, especially public transport. When will be the next HITS? Singaporeans understand and agree with the recommendations outlined in the Land Transport Masterplan (LTMP) released in early 2008. We look forward to a public transport system that can cater to most of our needs. We also agree that the most efficient mode of transport will be MRT. It is the least pollutive as well as the most cost-effective. But our building speed is slow. We have to wait until 2020 before our rail networks double. Between now and 2020 is a decade. What can we do to alleviate the already congested roads and crowded public transport in the interim? Many who are frustrated with crowded buses and MRT turned to owning a car, only to be further frustrated by congested roads and higher ERP charges. As the nation progresses, so do the aspirations of Singaporeans. Over the years, we have seen a rise in car ownership. It is not uncommon to see a family owning two or more cars. Drivers are complaining about the congested roads, although our traffic is still better than many of the major cities in the world. Many wondered what went wrong since we have two powerful levers to manipulate our vehicular traffic, ie, COE as well as ERP. When the COE system was introduced, we rejoiced that vehicular growth will be capped and our roads will be free from congestions. But our joy was short-lived as we saw COE prices escalated to above $100,000. A Toyota Camry cost near to $200,000 and a Corolla cost $160,000 in 1996 when I first bought my first car. Cars became a symbol of the divide between the rich and the masses.”
“The recent Household Interview Travel Survey (HITS) done in 2008 really hit MOT very hard, in a sense that it raised many questions when the headlines of media reports read a further drop in the public transport mode share from 63% in 1997 to 58% in 2004 and 56% in 2008. It seems that MOT is losing in its quest to achieve the target of 70% public transport mode use. Many questioned the drop and few comprehended the figures. When I was invited to Blog TV a few months ago to discuss this issue, the title of the show was "Why Aren't You Going Public?" The host started the show by commenting that the public is abandoning public transport and more are turning to private transport. I asked the host if more people are abandoning public transport, why are there so many complaints about crowded buses and MRT? The real issue is, there is a huge jump in travel demand by individuals and our public transport system seems to be limited in capacity during the peak hours. I am not sure. Probably, it is due to our huge increase in population recently. There is an overall 24% increase in both public and private transport trips. However, private transport trips went up more than public transport trips. The callers to the show cited crowded buses and erratic frequency as the main reasons for abandoning public transport. I wondered if MOT were to achieve the target of 70% public transport mode share in the next few years, can the current public transport system take the additional 16% increase to 70%? That is an absolute 30% increase from the 2008 figures. I cannot imagine what the 30% increase in ridership do to our already crowded buses and MRT today.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head W of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, I started taking public buses to school instead of a school bus in 1977 when I was in Primary 3. My primary school, Sembawang School, is non-existent now, and it was about three kilometres away from the Nee Soon village where I stayed. The SBS buses plying between Nee Soon village and my school were 160, 161 , 164, 167 and 169. There were also the more erratic but much cheaper private buses numbers 19 and 20. They were like our premium buses today but their fares were much cheaper, almost by half. SBS charged 25 cents and the private buses charged 10 cents for students. I used to wait up to one hour for the private buses to save money. 1.00 pm I remember the buses were very crowded during the peak hours and, frequently, I had to perch precariously at the boarding stairway. There were no air-conditioned buses then. However, I did not mind the heat. I actually enjoyed the breeze coming from the open windows. It was on rainy days in very crowded buses that I cannot stand the humidity as well as the very stale air. There were no MRT and LRT then. Although the public transport those days was a far cry from today, they seemed to be able to cater to most of our transport needs and the majority did not own a car. One possible reason was that most of our activities were nearby and there was less need to commute far. Instead of going to the library to borrow books, the library van came to the Nee Soon community centre once a week. If a household interview travel survey were to be conducted then, I am sure the results would be very different from what we had in 2008. I can postulate that at least 80% travelled by public transport then and many may even cycled to work.”
“There are some cost implications obviously but this is something which we have to study very carefully because we have to be mindful of the potential impact on the industry in order to improve on our recycling of waste. So, I want to assure Dr Lim that we are working on this target. It is a commitment that we have given that we want to achieve this target, and I am confident that we are able to do so, bearing in mind that we have reached quite far. So far, in our efforts, I think the improvements can bear the fruits that we want.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether the 60% recycling rate by 2012 is achievable. And what are we doing now to achieve that? Because we took one year to increase from 56 to 57, so I am not sure what is the 3%. On another note, I would like to just caution against the licensing of karang guni men. My heart goes to all those people who have to earn a living by collecting all these collectables. By licensing them now, my fear is that you will put more of them out of job because it is an informal employment and many of them depend on it. Certainly helping them is the key thing. We hope the Ministry can explore ways on how to get them work closer with the waste collectors, and then together we form an eco-system that can help them better, rather than just licensing them. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I thank Dr Lim for the second suggestion. I am sure Mr Low would agree that that is the best way for us to approach the problem. On the recycling rate of 60% by 2012, as I mentioned in my reply, you have to look at specific waste stream now in order to achieve that 2%-3% increment that we are looking for. So we are going to focus our minds on food waste as one potential source that we can reduce. But at the same time, for domestic waste, there is still some room for improvement. What we are doing now is that we are reviewing the National Recycling Programme (NRP), together with the waste collectors, on how best we can increase the number. There are some suggestions that we are now working through internally before we consult the industry and the waste collectors on what more they can do. We are looking into the number of bins, the frequency of collection, etc.”