Lina Chiam
Singapore
“But we must take into consideration the effects of real-time information. These days, both passengers and drivers have access to applications that can work out the balance between demand and supply. The most efficient way to match demand and supply in the short term is by allowing prices to surge.”
“The lapses in the management of tenancy contracts, procurement and engagement of external operators by PA form one such example. Moving forward, conducting regular training is something that the Ministry ought to be looking into to ensure procurement officers in public agencies understand procurement best practices.”
“An example would be the case that happened in May 2013. An employer, Lee Yew Nam, had caused public outrage last May after he was shown allegedly slapping his worker in an online video in his office. It was only after another colleague uploaded this video that MOM took notice.”
“One suggestion is to require companies or researchers to post all raw data and results to the Government website, even if the treatment being tested is never approved or if they cannot make it for scientific publishing. This promotes more vigorous scrutiny from MOH should there be any wilful suppression.”
“To what extent will national funds be committed in this multilateral development bank and will Parliament have the powers to check on this creature later on? Mdm Speaker, AIIB may boost our country's stand as a capital banking hub in Asia and, of course, our GDP growth.”
“For the safety of drivers and passengers, I would suggest the recommendation to legislate technology companies operating taxi booking apps to compulsorily provide taxis with a strong, adjustable holder and handphone solely dedicated for use on the apps system only.”
The complete record
Every one of 275 lines we hold for Lina Chiam, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 6.
“I would like to ask the Minister for some clarifications. The Minister mentioned that I was the Vice-Chairman and Town Secretary and I wish to stress that I was the Vice-Chairman and Town Secretary for only a short while and not for 27 years. And also, will the Minister still consider appointing PAP advisers to RCs, even though he is not an MP?”
“I am happy for the residents of Potong Pasir, but I would have hoped that the residents be more informed and involved in the planning of the NRP exercise to decide what they really want for their estate. After all, residents have a stake in their estate. While physical structures and beautifications can be bought with money, the "software" of community ties and interactions can never be bought. All Town Councils, whether they are held by the PAP or not, should be able to benefit from community improvement grants from the HDB. Residents are all taxpayers and deserve equal treatment. MND started publishing the Town Council Management Report (TCMR) in 2010 as a form of a report card on their Town Councils' performance in estate management. The evaluators have often found ways to rank Opposition-held constituencies of Potong Pasir and Hougang lowly. The residents of Potong Pasir, however, are happy with our management of the Town Council. The evaluation process for the purpose of the TCMR must be led by investigators independent of the MND and HDB to avoid biasness in the reporting and branding of the performance of Town Councils. Town Councils should retain its current powers to manage estates, and MND should not have central control over them – for example, when implementing ad hoc policies at any time, without debate in Parliament. In conclusion, my question to the Minister is this – is the Government willing to improve the framework for running the Town Councils in the best interests of Singaporeans? Whether they live in a PAP- or an Opposition-held Town Council, they all pay taxes. Going forward, I urge the MND to review what are the best practices that Town Councils must adopt as public agencies. 5.05 pm”
“If the Review concludes that the AIM transaction is in compliance with the Town Councils Act, then the Act is not well-drafted. The Act must be revised to better address public concern over conflict-of-interest issues, including political interest and criteria for the award of tenders. When the Town Councils Act was passed in 1988, it was said that the Government wanted to make life harder for the Opposition MPs in running their constituencies. Nevertheless, Potong Pasir Town Council, the only Opposition-held Town Council then, took up the challenge. We worked hard to run the Town Council. I believe we did a good job, and I believe we earned the trust of our residents throughout the 27 years. But a lot of unfair obstacles were thrown at the Potong Pasir Town Council. To obtain CIPC funds, we had to seek the endorsement of the Advisor of the Residents' Committees, who had always been the PAP's candidate in all the constituencies. Indeed, no Opposition politician has ever been allowed to become the Advisor of the RCs, even when that politician is the sitting MP for that constituency. Advisers to the RCs cannot be given the power to endorse community improvement projects or otherwise. Why should the sitting MP, who is democratically elected by the people, be at the mercy of the RC Adviser? MND has got to change this. When it was under the Opposition, Potong Pasir did not obtain a single cent from the CIPC fund or any HDB-related funding. The sole exception was funding for improving barrier-free accessibility, granted in 2010. That was, after all, a nationwide exercise for wheel-chair bound residents. Recently, Potong Pasir obtained $5 million fund from MND for the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, or NRP.”
“Mdm Speaker, MPs and Town Councillors are public servants. In section 21 of the Penal Code, a public servant is defined as an "officer whose duty it is, as such officer, to take, receive, keep or expend any property, on behalf of Government". Their status was the same before and after the Town Councils Act was passed in 1989. Through that Act, HDB merely divested its powers in the management and maintenance of their estates to the individual Town Councils. The Town Councils Act might have been enacted to give the elected MPs as much latitude as possible to run the Town Councils with broad and general rules. But they are still fully subject to the Penal Code as public servants. Singaporeans, therefore, find some key points in the AIM transaction puzzling. The Review before us has not satisfied the questions in their minds: How can a two-dollar company, with no staff, be deemed to have an established track record in providing IT services to Town Councils? The fact that AIM was awarded the tender seems to have hinged solely on their past working experience with the PAP Town Councils. How can the Review report say that there was no conflict of interest in the AIM transaction, simply because "no one made money"? I am not sure if any lawyer will be satisfied with how "conflict of interest" is defined here. Even if Town Councils are understood to be political, as provided for by the Town Councils Act, it does not mean that we can just forget about the concerns of residents over governance and due diligence. Whatever has happened to the mantra that we must strive to observe best practices in public transactions? The Review report does not mention anything about best practices.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for answering the question. I have two questions to ask. First, who defines the criteria for the term "leadership" here, and if leadership can also be identified outside Government and politically-linked entities? Second, would the Minister for Education consider scrapping the scheme as community leadership in Government-linked entities should not be rewarded through priority over public goods and services?”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for answering my question. I would like to ask a supplementary question. If the two conservatories charge about $20 per entry or less for senior citizens, is it enough to cover the maintenance and, if not, who covers the other side of the maintenance to run these two domes?”
“Madam, the number of school children seeking mental healthcare is on the rise. According to the Asia Pacific Committee Mental Health Department project's report in 2012, failure in schools is amongst the most common referral to the child mental health service. I believe more students require psychological care and support due to various emotional and behavioural problems but fear the stigma of being labelled a so- Page: 139 called "mental" case. Clinic attendance is only a proxy indicator and we lack robust data. Last year, the Minister abolished the banding of secondary schools. I applaud this move towards removing such unhealthy stressful measures in school that detract from a wholesome educational experience. Going a step further, the Ministry should also look into building up an environment in every school that provides readily psychological care for school children and teenagers from qualified counsellors when needed. Perhaps, the Education Ministry should commission a more detailed study to look into the issue more closely. The Ministry should review its policies and bold moves are needed to give our children a better, healthier and holistic education. Special Needs Sector”
“Madam, I thank the Minister, for answering my question. I have two supplementary questions. First, could a committee be set up to study and authorise installation of solar panels on HDB blocks and to support the growth of alternative sources of energy? Second, why has the Energy Market Authority had to reintroduce coal, given the push for liquefied natural gas in recent years?”
“Madam, our buses and MRT have proven to be currently unable to cope with our population growth. Singaporeans are not sold on the Government's infrastructure plans to cope with the growing population. These plans have not yet been in sync with its population strategy. We need to bring back private bus companies and loosen regulations so that buses can compete directly with the transport giants which became monopolies through Government's assistance. The taxi rental scheme is also not working. Rental fees are high. The curious pricing structure of cab fares forces drivers to play around the system. Due to the CBD fees, a taxi driver entering the CBD area in the early noon hours would not want to exit until he has a passenger going out. Taxi drivers may also have to strive for booking orders to increase their revenue. The general feedback we are getting from taxi drivers suggests that it might be a good idea to bring back the taxi ownership scheme. That would be a more meaningful way to incentivise taxi drivers to drive for longer durations and to clock more mileage. Page: 154 I hope the Minister will consider this. Improving Bus Connectivity”
“Could I ask the Acting Minister for Social and Family Development: how many PA recipients in Singapore currently have a dependent child and whether the cash component for a PA recipient with a child can increase to allow better development for the child, as a growing child would need more money than an adult? Promoting Mental Wellness”
“Madam, the labour force participation rate of women is lower than that of men usually because women are expected to be caregivers for the elderly or for the young children. Figures from MOM show that a large percentage of women are not in the workforce. Much more has to be done to recognise their work in financial terms. How else can they retire one day in security if they do not have CPF? We cannot assume they can rely on their spouses as a breadwinner as the current system does. What if they are not married in the first place? Perhaps hospitals and homes could initiate a programme for nurses and social workers doing part-time and flexi-hours to visit caregivers to offer basic nursing care and training. Retired nurses should be encouraged to come back to join the workforce. Another plight of caregivers is single parents who do not get the same childcare subsidies like fatherhood benefits and housing benefits. The Government has to adopt a different mindset to accept children born out of wedlock. Every child is a gift from God and should be counted as only to caregivers and their parents, whether single or married so that we can nurture them. I want to stress the importance of diapers for elderly, particularly important because I believe they are being rationed in nursing homes and they are costly. Page: 97 Perhaps the Minister could look into giving more subsidies for this item. The Public Assistance (PA) scheme is designed for those who are either disabled through illness or with physical disability with no dependents to get support from the Government. Currently, adults on the PA scheme living alone receive $100 a month while those with dependent child receive $50.”
“If I may ask the Page: 72 Minister, what is holding us back from spending a little more of our GDP on healthcare?”
“Mdm Chairperson, the Minister for Health stated in Parliament on 21 October 2011 that out of the total amount of MediSave withdrawn for healthcare expenses for the elderly in 2010, about 45% was from their children's MediSave accounts. We cannot keep expecting those with insufficient MediSave to ask their children or family members to top up from their own MediSave accounts. This is not a sustainable plan. What if they require money in their own MediSave accounts when they themselves are old and sick? Are they expected to withdraw from their own children's MediSave account? This is simply kicking the can down the road. This will have the effect of deepening inequality. It will also aggravate the plight of lower income families. Similarly for MediShield, the Ministry urges children to apply for MediShield coverage on behalf of their elderly parents. It expects all children with elderly parents to be able to pay such premiums. Late last year, the Ministry noted that 35% elderly Singaporeans aged 76 to 85 are not issued under MediShield. That figure for the general population is 8%. Current payouts from ElderShield are insufficient. What happens when the bills of some patients are twice the amount, as is sometimes the case? The 3M accounts for less than 10% of total healthcare expenditure which itself is currently at 1.6% of GDP. At last year's Budget, the Minister for Finance said that he would increase that figure to 3.5% GDP by 2030. Let us not wait that long. Other countries and economies in the region like South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong have already achieved this level of healthcare spending at 3% to 4% of GDP some years ago. Prof Phua Kai Hong, an academic on healthcare policy, has characterised the standard of Singapore's long-term care as third world.”
“Sir, we have recently heard cases of NSmen, NSFs and regulars going beyond the call of duty, at times even risking their own lives. I believe it is only right that those who are willing to give their lives should have their lives well taken care of. For a start, our NSFs should have free universal health insurance coverage. As I understand, NSFs have to opt in to purchase insurance coverage at about $16 if they want additional coverage. We need to take into considerations lower ranking NSFs from low-income family. Another issue concerns compensation for death or injury of servicemen. MINDEF pegs this to compensation paid out under the Workmen's Compensation Act. I understand they also pay out discretionary sums above the benchmark amount. But there is no recourse for a civil suit, if there is a good case for an affected serviceman to pursue higher compensation. Could the Minister spell out the clearer framework of compensation in such cases, rather than rely on discretionary case-by-case basis of compensation? Training and Development”
“Mdm Chair, we suggest that Government offers trading and execution fee rebates and various allowances to kick-start growth of the local fund management industry. Creating back-office and documenting jobs is not a wise strategy over the long term. Take a look at some of the banks' back-office parks in Singapore. What is the proportion of locals? Let us create an eco-system for local driven asset management firms. These firms could have a more regional flavour, and unlike international funds, are less likely to relocate expatriates even for entry level jobs. Singapore has been a financial centre for 20 years. We believe that the pool of local talent is sufficient to create a base load of talent requirements. We have received feedback that the key factor behind why the exchange volume is not growing is the huge difference in commissions with other financial centres. In Singapore, trading fees amount to $60 nett in a two-way trade. This is a huge difference from our competitors in the US and Hong Kong, where the Page: 123 commission is a fraction of ours. This holds huge implication for small financial firms and investors. If we want to enhance our competitiveness in the global financial arena, reducing our commissions by at least 10 times may be necessary. Premium service brokers can continue to charge higher commissions if they can command the fee.”
“The agency should leverage on its inhouse expertise to create convenient and affordable business and mix-style spaces, allowing small-scale tests of unique business models. Each company may also use the venue for test-bedding of ideas for up to three years. Sustainable businesses can then graduate into the market. Incentives that build up manpower capabilities to direct funding and grants extended to subsidise the growth of industries should be carefully considered. Could the Government instead re-invest the money in schemes and provide productivity of businesses? The schemes should allow employees to upgrade their professional skill sets. The Government can provide financial certification support for financiers' audit and accounting certification support for accountants and the same time should apply to other professionals in the engineering and service sectors. Subsidising undergraduate fees by examination may no longer be sufficient to maintain a competitive labour force. We propose that the Government should provide preferential rate loans to prospective post-graduates to pursue an advanced degree so as to enhance the competitiveness of our manufacturing and financial workforce globally. Qualifiable degrees should have specialised Masters in engineering and science.”
“Madam, to enhance the local business eco-system, we suggest that the Government invests an amount of up to $500 million on micro and small set-ups through investment instruments, such as equities, for near break-even stages and loans for seed stages. For the past decades, Singapore's economy had grown through a heavy emphasis on foreign direct investment. We need to make a significant push for locally driven growth which is necessary to diversify the economy and the job market. In a high fixed cost living environment like Singapore, where our HDB flats and CPF constitute a large amount of our savings, Singaporeans may find it inhibitive to be risk-taking entrepreneurs. An existing agency should be tasked with a new agenda to manage the fund and invest prudently with the mandate to grow innovative ideas. Existing schemes, such as the SPRING's Start-up Enterprise Development Scheme, may not be adequately geared towards the intended outcome because of too many unimportant rigid rules. A start-up does not necessarily need to move from the seed to the revenue and profit-generating stage. At any moment, the fund manager should be able to add value by providing merger and acquisition opportunities or advise that the entities be liquidated. An agency with an overview of a wide range of industries, such as Page: 100 IE Singapore or EDB, should be tasked to take up the role. Test-bedding space and flexible business space may not be accessible to idea generators and micro-entrepreneurs. Special spaces may be required to support short-term businesses to accommodate a diversified mix of business activities ranging from retail, light manufacturing, storage and commercial. The most relevant Government organ to lead this task will be the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).”
“Yes, Madam. I would like to ask a clarification from the Senior Minister of State, Mr Lee Yi Shyan. I spoke on Friday about community spaces. Would HDB or MND consider instituting a cap on the floor area of the void decks of any block of flats that can be leased out to centres? Do they put a cap in HDB on the floor area? Also, can I just make one more comment, Madam? That is a comment on Senior Minister of State Tan Chuan-Jin. This is a good comment. I commend the Government's initiative for doing the Garden City because I got comments from tourist friends who said that they can even smell the flowers when they walk along Orchard Road.”
“Madam, Singapore's growing population and reliance on imported food make us extremely vulnerable to changes in the global political and economic situation. In times of hostilities or global food shortages, Singapore needs a surer source of food. Apart from the diversification of food sources and increasing stockpile, we need to develop strategic partnerships with friendly nations. Ideas like vertical farming and growing food on HDB rooftops are credible mitigation to shortage of food, but they are, at most, experimental. The supply from growing food vertically will not solve our problems from prolonged periods of threat. We believe that Singapore could ask the Government-linked companies to develop and invest in mega farms in various neighbouring countries. These neighbouring developments could be a test-bed for innovative farming methods. Over time, we could develop the logistics supply chain to bring this produce back to Singapore, instead of depending on peace-time procurement system. If we make these direct investments, we would likely have priority over other customers in the purchase of food. Rental Flats”
“Sir, the void decks of our HDB flats are a uniquely Singapore space. Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim put it eloquently when he once said, "The void deck carries fond memories for many of us where the residents can gather to meet friends or where our children can run around, rain or shine." Recently, our void decks have come under threat of being encroached by childcare, wellness activities, elderly centres, shops, eateries, and so on. I am sure residents appreciate the importance of these centres to the community. The question is: why are they encroaching into void decks which are used primarily for residents' interactions and bonding? Residents feel that there is now very little of what counts as community spaces. It is hard for them to get a slot to hold a wedding or a funeral wake at their own void decks. The issue is not just void decks in Potong Pasir or other estates. Allow me to also cite the incidents surrounding the decision to build the nursing home in Bishan Street 13. Some residents hold a not-in-my-backyard mentality which I do not condone. But the site for the nursing home was an important community space that residents valued. It was a soccer field for children to play. There was Page: 158 no replacement for this. We understand the need for a nursing home, but why must it be here?”
“That platform should also allow the public to call in to ask questions Page: 116 and seek recourse. The platform can also act as a facilitator among CASE or MAS product service providers and investors. We have also a prudent oversight of the financial industry. Our regulations are always updated.”
“Madam, last month, the Acting Minister for MCCY replied to my PQ on false advertising when it comes to financial or investment courses. He said that MAS intends to work with other agencies to tighten rules on advertising for such courses as well as investment schemes. For years, we have heard of questionable investing schemes for wine, gold, bullion, land banking, multi-level marketing and so on. Most recently, we see a proliferation of the so-called "get-rich-quick" scheme trading courses. One reason for not dealing with them is the lack of scope in the current regulations. Another is that we expect consumers themselves to be sceptical enough to protect themselves. But the increasingly complexity of these schemes may be such that consumers are no longer able to make informed judgements for themselves. In the light of this, may I propose that the Government consider setting up a centre or agency or financial education and regulation under the auspices of MAS and a Ministry, such as MCCY? This agency can be both a hub for financial educators and a regulator for investment programmes and financial products that are currently outside the purview of MAS. The agency should be accredited to offer licences, just like in other professional bodies to ensure the quality control of financial courses. Minimal requirements for a candidate to obtain the licence should comprise the existing professional investment certifications. Without this licence, trainers should not be allowed to teach or provide financial-related briefings. The same agency can also raise red flags when it deems that a product is too good to be true. We may not expect the Ministry to audit such product offerings, but it could list available products on a publicly available platform, such as on the Internet.”
“Other cities have suburbs and a hinterland as a buffer. On weekends, you can take a retreat to these places. During holidays, you could move back to your home. In Singapore, we cannot, and this leads to an increased stress level for our commuters. We need to actively manage it to mitigate the social disamenities. I thank the Minister and his team for preparing the Budget. 6.03 pm”
“Can these returning officers impart knowledge to the second generation caregivers? I think so. To conclude, may I make a general observation. Social mobility is under threat and, as seen through the increase in car and housing prices, can weaken the Singaporean Core. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hard-working taxi driver, a diligent teacher could afford a landed house after decades of hard work. The same teacher could pay down his HDB flat, if he chooses a HDB flat, within five years. Cars were not necessary, public transport would have sufficed. It was a simple town-to-town bus strategy, not a complex spoke-and-hub strategy. We managed. Page: 123 Now, this is not possible. You find it difficult to fork out your monthly payments for HDB loan. You might be afraid that you have insufficient CPF funds for retirement. Increasingly, HDB flats do not impress the common Singaporean anymore. If a family sells its 5-room flat for $700,000, can it really cash in the profits, keeping in mind that a 4-room flat would cost something near $500,000 in the same precinct? After settling the administrative costs, how much can he be left with? We think that HDB flats were never meant to be an asset, an investment portfolio, a retirement fund. A second or third condominium can be assets. The HDB flat is not, and cannot be, an asset. Social mobility is under threat if one cannot afford an HDB flat comfortably. There is no room for error when paying off a home loan – unforeseen circumstances, such as retrenchment – especially when one is also providing for one's children. Needless to say, the hurdle for landed properties and cars is even higher. If we had our way, population should never increase beyond a critical point. We believe the critical point is 5 million to 6 million.”
“We propose a minimum wage of at least $4, an amount that is still a pittance compared to Hong Kong's Page: 122 minimum wage which has recently risen to HK$30 or S$4.82. We also need to take note of women who are not employed, that they do not get marginalised in a progressively transformed economy. Only 58% of women are currently in the labour force. Towards this end, more incentives for promoting flexible work arrangements are needed. The higher Workfare payouts for low-wage workers have a personal income ceiling of $1,900. This ceiling disadvantages those supporting big families with many children. The per capital household income should be used instead as a ceiling, so that those earning above $1,900 will not have a disincentive to work. The full restoration of the employee's CPF contribution rate to 20% eventually for lower income workers may mean a lower disposable income for some workers, and make their lives even harder. It may also make some lower income Singaporean workers even more expensive now to hire, relative to some foreign workers. The increase in MediSave contribution for the lower income self-employed may also have the same adverse impact of having less disposable income. Caregivers are important figures in an ageing society. At this moment, the market does not price their salaries right. We can help to improve the situation through a few measures. Firstly, we can provide scholarships for potential caregivers to upgrade their education and skill sets. Secondly, we should learn from international best practices by sending caregivers overseas for international internships. In 10 years' time, our ageing society will benefit from their experience. In short, we purchase experience; we invest in healthcare and human capita at the same time.”
“Social costs, transport burdens are unquantifiable costs that must increasingly be reflected. I wish to mention the construction business. A budget should be set aside to review the construction sector and assess the critical mass required to support construction projects in Singapore. We should explore the regional supply of construction services instead, in order to reduce the disamenities of low value material storage and to attempt to reduce the over-dependence on low-wage foreign workers in the construction industry. The Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) bonus of up to $15,000 over three years should be increased. This is the fundamental contributing factor to long-term productivity increases. Nevertheless, may I ask how the Government intends to be accountable for the disbursement of the PIC funds and whether there is a set of KPIs that the public can track? The core strategy to increase the real wages of lower income Singaporeans may be fundamentally flawed, because of the assumption that employers will share most of their productivity gains – if they are ever achieved – with workers by increasing their wages. With rising costs from higher foreign worker levies in some sectors and jobs announced in the Budget, rentals, COE and so on, will most employers share most of their productivity gains with workers? On the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS), the $3.6 billion WCS would certainly help to mitigate some of the impact of the manpower crunch, particularly in the F&B Industry. But it is unsustainable as this is a direct subsidy. What will happen to wages after the scheme expires? A better way will be for companies to invest, with support, in machinery to increase productivity. We have also neglected the poorest in Singapore.”
“However, this must take place quickly as there is a high cost of having more foreign workers. The Government must take the lead to develop competitive sectors through organs like SPRING Singapore. In one of our COS cuts, we will introduce the idea of venture capital funds to invest in new markets, new infrastructure and new businesses. The Three-Year Transition Support Package – consisting of the Wage Credit Scheme, Productivity and Innovation Credit, and Corporate Income Tax Rebate – cannot be used as a subsidy to sustain low value-added sectors anymore. We should no longer pay lip service to economic growth. We would urge the Government to use the funds for the new growth industries only. We are disappointed that foreign worker policies will not be tightened significantly across all sectors, manufacturing and logistics. We will use the influence we have to ensure that businesses continue to restructure as the SMEs decide which activities are suitable for Singapore and what is not. We believe that competitive businesses, not subsidised by schemes, will be the key to creating good, well-paying jobs for Singaporeans. As businesses are restructured, there will be some pain. Some Singaporeans may find their skill sets obsolete in the short term. How will this strengthen social mobility unless specific schemes can be co-introduced to Page: 121 develop new, critical skills for Singaporean workers? For instance, they will need skills to innovate rather than to operate. The influx of those sectors of workers that have consistently shown low productivity should not be cut immediately, to facilitate business restructuring. More acute measures must be introduced to lead businesses in the right direction.”
“While the Government is willing to subsidise pay increases by 40% under the Wage Credit Scheme, those on hourly wage may not benefit, despite them requiring the most help. On transport, we applaud the Government for opening the way for private operators to step in to provide the supply of bus services. Competition from these private operators can act as competition for the current bus operators. We look forward to changes in regulations that would lower the hurdles for these private bus operators to serve commuters. We believe this can be Page: 120 particularly useful for bus routes that require more vehicles to ply them. We hope that this is not just a stop-gap measure, but a new direction to support the transport infrastructure in Singapore. We hope this could be extended to encourage the ownership of taxis. On cars, we seriously need a better COE allocation mechanism if we believe in a fair structure. A COE for a car should be guaranteed for every family nucleus at an affordable rate. It is the second and subsequent COEs for each family nucleus that should be subjected to higher bidding prices in the open market. Let us not punish first-time car owners. There are reasons why public transport may not suffice for some. For instance, those who have elderly parents who are not mobile, school children and salespersons who desperately need a car to commute due to their business. It looks like the very rich or the very poor will not be affected by the COE new structure. We agree that a restructuring of the economy is required. Firms that are overly dependent on low-wage workers will need to restructure their operations. They will find Singapore increasingly unsuitable for low-wage operations.”
“Unlike short-term Page: 119 financial instruments, these investments will yield returns in the long term. It takes a strategic government to make these investments. For example, the Singapore People's Party has, over the years, consistently spoken out for the need for smaller class sizes, which would mean more resources channelled to each child. Can a teacher adequately address the needs of all his 43 students, compared to a teacher with 20 to 30 students? New batches of well-nurtured students will quickly emerge as a more competitive workforce for Singapore's economy within 10 years. The payback time is not that long. We urge the Government to rethink some of the fundamental educational principles. There are, of course, other issues on education, including the examination-focused learning and lack of critical thinking in the syllabus. Beyond education, we would have wished that the budget surplus could have funded infrastructure growth in Singapore. We should have more MRTs in Singapore. Our MRT construction strategy has been too-little-too-slow for more than two decades. We also believe that privatisation of public transport in an industry that is essentially a monopoly, is inherently wrong. There are concerns, too, with this Budget. If you are younger than 35 years old, you might not qualify for most of the incentives. When the employee's CPF contribution rate moves up to 20% from 16%, the take-home pay for a Singaporean worker holding onto a fixed pay will be affected negatively. There will be no guarantee that the employer will not adjust the cash component downwards to meet the 20% requirement. A needy Singaporean below the age of 35 may not qualify for Workfare, the $200 top-up of Medisave and income tax rebate.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, the Budget sends a right signal to Singaporeans. The Government has indicated that it is willing to listen to Singaporeans in controlling the rapid growth in our non-resident population. As Singapore is facing an ageing population, I am also heartened that the Government will expand the current Senior's Mobility Fund into a Senior's Mobility and Enabling Fund – top-up of $10 million – which will cover a wider range of assistive devices to set off the costs of basic aids, such as hearing aids, walking frames and wheelchairs. Measures have been developed to raise the wages of Singaporeans and to help businesses restructure. The Singapore People's Party feels that some of the initiatives could go further. Singapore has seen decades of growth at full capacity, but it was supported by low wages and low productivity. To reverse this trend, the Government urgently needs to prescribe stronger medicine. We hope the Budget 2014 can achieve this. The Minister has said that instead of the expected balance of $1.3 billion or 0.4% of GDP, we now expect a higher surplus of $3.9 billion or 1.1% of GDP growth. With a surplus of $2.4 billion being budgeted for the next year, why is there a need to raise taxes, like property and vehicle taxes? We have had huge surpluses in about nine out of every 10 years. If we consider the $5.6 billion top-ups to endowment funds, which other countries would not count as expenditure, then the surplus may have been even higher at $8 billion. We do not expect the Government to spend more just because we see a surplus in our books. Rather, we hope more money can be invested in education, infrastructure, economic restructuring and in social care.”
“Just one clarification. I would just like to ask a question. Would the Government consider restricting future Ministers from discharging similar duties to competing nations, especially when they are holding important posts like Trade, Finance and Defence?”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for answering the question. I would like to have one supplementary question. Would the Government consider restricting former Ministers of importance like Trade and Industry, Defence and Finance from discharging similar duties to Page: 35 other competing nations, or would they still allow them to do so?”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Acting Minister for answering my question. I would like to ask a supplementary question. Could MAS take on a licensing role for financial educators? The second question is, could MAS study the potential conflict of interest between financial and training educators and their students where clients would be unduly influenced to appoint related brokers and remisiers?”
“Yes. Would the Government consider this request to have some sort of psychological tests for maids coming to Singapore to work? I am sure the employers would not mind paying for this.”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for answering my question. This Parliamentary Question (PQ) has been asked for many years and the answer had been no psychological tests for maids. Since all these years, there have been so many cases – suicide, murder and various other unnecessary things – that happened to the maids and to the employers. We also have got so many elderly people in Singapore and we need maids to look after them. So, I think it is timely for the Government to implement some sort of psychological tests when they come in from other countries to apply for work in Singapore, for their own well-being, as well as the well-being of the employers, so that all of us will have peace of mind. These maids, I do not know where they come from. They may come from very unknown situations. Page: 26”
“Conversion from foreigners to PR and later to Singaporeans must slow Page: 123 down further. SMEs that perform poorly in terms of productivity should not be allowed to be artificially sustained. The Government must make wise decisions over MNCs threatening to leave Singapore unless supported with foreign worker quotas to their liking. It is highly regrettable that the Government has decided to rush through the debate and approval of such an important plank of national policy. The Government's programme of the so-called National Conversation has been a PR stunt. And there is no better indication of that than in the formulation of this White Paper. Singaporeans were told that they will start listening more to us, but ultimately, they will not tell us they know what is best. Mr Deputy Speaker, I do not support the Motion for A Sustainable Population for A Dynamic Singapore and the accompanying Land Use Plan.”
“Now, I have never heard of the armed forces of any country in the world that concentrates all its activities and, presumably, facilities, on one island, away from the mainland. Does that not make it a very easy target for Singapore's defence capabilities to be wiped out by a belligerent force? Perhaps, I have not understood this correctly. I will certainly appreciate any clarification from the Minister for Defence. Secondly, according to Table 1 of the document, there will be only 4% of land left for "Others", in 2030. What happens if the population continues to grow after 2030, and if any effort of the Government to curtail that fails? Perhaps, the Government thinks we can always resort to land reclamation. Then, the question is, how much more land can Singapore gain through reclamation thereafter? There must surely be a limit. In conclusion, the Singapore People's Party is most concerned that there seems to be no new substantive initiatives in this White Paper to address Singaporeans' most pressing problems like negative real median wage increase over the last five years, and the relentless rise in the cost of living, particularly for basic goods and services. There is just the same old measures, like life-long upgrading, Workfare, job-matching and placement programmes. For whom is the White Paper written? It does not address the concerns of low-income Singaporeans. We are of the opinion the White Paper has framed the issues wrongly. A fundamental revamp of Singapore's economic growth model is sorely needed; not just stop-gap measures to deal with a population explosion which may themselves engender further costs. Change has to start today. Our immigration policy must change more boldly.”
“So, is the plan for Singapore to attract foreigners of lower skill in 2030 as compared to now? Thirdly, Chapter 5 of the White Paper is "A High Quality Living Environment", which ties in with the Government's idea that the quality of life can still be maintained in 2030. But what we find in that chapter, instead, is a focus on how our public transport system will be expanded, the new MRT lines that will be built, hospitals and so on. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is not what quality of life entails. These are the very basic infrastructure requirements for the influx of people the country wants to bring in! I was hoping to see more relevant indicators of the quality of life, such as a survey of satisfaction with life among Singaporeans. But no such measures seem to be used. Fourth, if the White Paper is indeed the guiding document for infrastructure planning, are we doing enough? For instance, the stated plan is to increase the number of acute hospital beds by 2,200, or 30%. Considering that the increase in the total number of hospital beds over the last decade was zero, how can 2,200 more beds by 2020 be enough to cater for the 700,000 increase in the Page: 122 population? I now turn to the Land Use Plan, on which I have two questions for the Minister. Firstly, it was reported by a few media outlets that in this Plan, the Ministry of Defence's activities will be consolidated on Pulau Tekong, so as to free up the space it currently uses on the Singapore mainland, for development. I do not seem to be able to find any mention of this in the Land Use Plan document, so perhaps the Ministry announced this at the press conference.”
“Or put otherwise, can we justify bringing in more migrants to support aged Singaporeans, knowing that the new migrants will themselves contribute to the aged population? Which leads to the fourth point. The White Paper assumes that bringing in more migrants is the solution to our worrying Old Age Support Ratio (OASR), through increased tax revenue collected and so on. But I do not know how this is applicable in Singapore, where the Government believes families should be the main source of financial and social support for the elderly, where the state is unabashedly anti-welfare. Page: 121 How then can the new migrants support our elderly? How then can the increased revenue collected from them be channelled effectively to Singaporeans? Even if this is the case, we see no projected figures for the increased revenue expected, for substantiation in the White Paper. I now deal with four points in the White Paper we take issue with. Firstly, when the proportion of citizens out of the total population nears the 50% mark, as the 2030 numbers project, I do not know how we can convince our young men of the need for National Service, let alone lay down their lives for the nation. In the worst case scenario of war, they will ask – what are we defending? Why defend a country where so many of its residents can leave if they wish? But we do not even need to go that far. Even right now, many are wondering why they should sacrifice two years of their lives, and in subsequent reservist cycles, only to be beaten in the job search by foreigners. Secondly, the White Paper foresees that two-thirds of Singaporeans will take on PMET jobs in 2030, compared to 50% currently. Does it mean that foreigners will take up more non-PMET jobs in 2030, compared to the current numbers?”
“Ten to 20 years are, indeed, too long a period to make any realistic policy. But the logic underpinning the White Paper's recommendation necessitates a clearer policy direction for Singapore post 2030 to meet now. Does the Government intend to freeze the intake of foreigners in 2030? Or at the point when it realises that no land use plan will work anymore? Let us take a look at four assumptions used in the White Paper. Firstly, the Minister has emphatically stated that the Government is not going for "Growth At All Costs". Nevertheless, the White Paper perpetuates the mindset of dependency on labour. It assumes that there is still a good chance for productivity growth to get better, whereas all the productivity enhancement schemes have not worked. Secondly, Singapore is a city-state with no hinterland, a point with many consequences for recreation for national security. This sets our situation apart from just about every other highly developed cities in the world. It will be alright for those cities to have half a population of foreign residents. For Hong Kong SAR, which is perhaps the only comparable city-state entity, their population density currently stands at only about 6,400 persons per sq km, compared with that of Singapore's current population density of about 7,200 persons per sq km. Even city-state entities like Hong Kong or Monaco do not have to take care of their national defence, a crucial point I will return to. Thirdly, the White Paper is based on a very unique event in human history, namely, that of the Baby Boomers phenomenon. Given that Baby Boomers is a unique event in history and is transient in nature albeit for 10 years or longer, is it wise to plan for a country's population and infrastructure based on this event?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there has been a lot of media attention on what the 2030 population numbers in this White Paper represent. Is this a target? Is it a projection or "a worst case scenario"? Yes, the Deputy Prime Minister has taken great pains to explain that the White Paper is very much an exercise in infrastructure planning for Singapore. But make no mistake. The 6.5 million to 6.9 million population range by 2030 is a planning target set by the Government, subject to the economic situation in the next 15 or so years, but a target, nevertheless. The Minister has given us his justification for the target set. As such, the Singapore People's Party do not agree to the recommendation of the White Paper. We are also disappointed that the White Paper which as one Public Policy academic pointed out, "did not even contain a reference session to show what research the writers of the Paper had done or the methodology employed". In fact, the only citations we found in this White Paper prepared by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) were seven of their own papers and briefs. Talk about cyclical reasoning. The White Paper raises more questions than it seeks to answer. If one of the main pillars of the White Paper is to maintain a strong and stable Singaporean Core, since we are told that the current Total Fertility Rate puts that under threat, then why is it necessary for the non-citizen population to keep growing? Is this so that we will have a bigger pool of foreigners to audition to become Singaporeans? Is the non-citizen population expected to grow after 2030 or stagnate at the 2030 level? If it is stagnant, what will happen to Page: 120 economic growth, as this Government's model would dictate?”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask a supplementary question. Would all these procedures, measures and safeguards be applied to private hospitals as well?”
“I am sorry. Can I just clarify with the Minister of State on one point? I was asking about implementing the tax relief for NSmen performing reservist training. Is it included in there?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have only a few points of clarification from the Minister of State which I would like to make in regard to the amendments in the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill. I refer to clause 50, which provides for tax relief for a married woman, divorcee or widow who maintains a child who dies. This is a long overdue move. In fact, I wish it would go further. How about divorced men or widowers who had supported the maintenance of a child who died? Surely, they should be entitled to the same benefits, if he faces the same situation as a woman would under this clause. I do not have the figures with me, but I would think that the number of men in the situation of maintaining a child alone is increasing. As a clarification, could the Minister tell us if there is any age criterion for who would qualify as a child under this clause? Page: 1284 I would also like to ask the Minister the rationale behind the pattern of increment of the tax relief for the parent of a child who dies, for example, 15% for the first child, 20% for the second child and 25% for the third child. I understand this is how most tax relief schemes generally work, but the situation is really something quite different. A death is a death, regardless of being the first, second or third in the family. The amount of stress and pain is always felt. Going further on the issue of allocating tax relief to the citizens who would rightly benefit from it, has the Minister considered implementing tax relief for NSmen performing reservist training? I believe this would be the right way to acknowledge the service they render to our country, while sacrificing time and effort from their work. I think it is a more befitting way to do so than the "hongbao" of $50 to $100 vouchers.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like the Minister to clarify the point I made yesterday about one section – that is, whether section 33B(2)(a) of the Bill covers offenders who are found to have participated in acts such as packing, storing or safekeeping drugs, as their culpability may be similar to those who are involved in transporting, sending or delivering the drugs and should not be excluded for consideration for discretionary sentencing. Can I get his clarification?”
“I thank the Minister for the answer. I have one supplementary question to ask the Minister: whether the Ministry will allow male foreigners below the age of 40 who did not have to do NS, to be made to serve community service for an equivalent period of 24 months?”
“Mules also face other pressures, such as financial debts, family problems, lack of proper education, poverty or even threat and coercion. It is, therefore, unfair for them to be sentenced to death and they should be given life imprisonment instead. Again, we are not trying to justify or excuse their actions, but rather for them to be spared from having their lives taken away. Life is precious. We have only one life − once taken away, it cannot be reversed. 5.36 pm”
“In the Law Minister's Ministerial Statement to this House on 9 July this year, he made reference to several factors which need to be considered in determining the sentence of an offender. The usefulness of the offender was not one of them. While we accept the legitimacy of the aim of gathering further intelligence to protect our society from drugs, and that it is appropriate for an offender's sentence to be mitigated in relation for having given useful information to the authorities, this should not be the factor which determines whether the mule receives an automatic sentence of death or not. Page: 1105 This is because the difference between a death sentence and life imprisonment is not just one of degree, but it is of a different category of punishment altogether. Furthermore, drug kingpins are often part of organised crime syndicates. It is not uncommon for mules to be threatened with violent retribution against themselves or their families. In such circumstances, offenders will literally be put in a position where they are faced with an impossible dilemma of choosing between their lives or the safety of their loved ones. This is especially problematic if the offender's family is not in Singapore and is, therefore, outside the protection of the Singapore Police Force. To reiterate the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs' point in his Ministerial Statement, drug syndicate kingpins are the ones who actively try to recruit mules who are in vulnerable circumstances, to take on the bulk of the risk burden while they themselves control the operations from offshore in a manner which minimises the amount of evidence which can be gathered against them.”
“We think that offenders make careful calculations before they commit a crime. But the reality is that criminals often are put in circumstances where their choices are not as rational as we would like them to be. Of course, this does not justify their actions. We are not calling for them to be pardoned or to be released. What we are calling for is for them to be given a chance to explain their circumstances to the Court and to let the Court determine the appropriate sentence. As the Minister for Law put it, "Justice can be tempered with mercy where appropriate, offenders should be given a second chance." Who best to decide on this than the Courts, who are able to make the decision based on the unique circumstances in each case? Under the current Bill, offenders convicted of drug trafficking or importation will be given a chance to argue in mitigation of their sentence only if they qualify for two very strict criteria. While this move recognises that drug mules are relatively less culpable and do not deserve an automatic death sentence, I share Members' concerns that the criteria may be too strict for reasons which the other Members have elaborated upon. What I would like to do is to draw the House's attention to the problem of mule's "substantive assistance", the decisive criteria which decides whether a mule gets a chance to have his sentence mitigated. In effect, what this means is that whether a mule receives an automatic death sentence depends on how useful he or she is to us. This goes against the principle that the punishment of offenders should be determined in relation to their culpability.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I shall now focus on the social aspect and the principles of the policy. The death penalty is the ultimate punishment that we have in our laws. It is an extremely harsh punishment, and its irreversible nature means that any error of law discovered after an execution cannot be remedied. It is even harsher to make it mandatory, because it means that offenders are denied a chance to convince the Court why they do not deserve this harsh punishment. In his answer to Members' clarifications after his Ministerial Statement on the changes, the Law Minister pointed to the fact that the Government continues to support a system of capital punishment in Singapore where it thinks it is necessary. The connection between our low capital crime rates and the presence of the death sentence is inadequately demonstrated and is inadequate to justify its use, or at the very least, making it mandatory. Criminological studies done on the death penalty worldwide have failed to show that the punishment has a deterrent effect on capital crime. More significantly, a study conducted on Singapore and Hong Kong showed that murder rates in both countries underwent a similar decline from 1975 till 2008 despite the fact that one had the mandatory death penalty for murder while the other abolished it in 1993. The study puts the deterrent effect of the death penalty in significant doubt. Page: 1104 Mr Speaker, it is one thing for us to rationalise the deterrent effect of the mandatory death penalty in our heads. It is another whether the punishment does have a real deterrent effect on crime. The rationale of the death penalty may make sense to us, but how many of us have really been put in the shoes of an offender?”