Low Thia Khiang
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, my question is for the Minister for Health. The official communication channel to the people who subscribe to the WhatsApp group quoted the Prime Minister saying that "Experts think that the Wuhan virus may be less deadlier than SARS". So, can we have some verification whether this is true so far?”
“In Mandarin, Sir. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] So, Member Mr Gan Thiam Poh meant to say that although the Minister has the decision-making power under this Bill, you can still go to Court to challenge the decision.”
“Mr Speaker, clarification in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I have stated clearly that the Government already has a lot of power under existing legislation. They can even shut down websites.”
“(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] First and foremost, you must follow the Minister's decision to take down the message, you cannot go to Court. According to this Bill, you must comply with the Minister's order. Otherwise, you will be charged.”
“In Mandarin, Sir. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our Secretary-General is in the Committee. He told us about the contents of the Committee's discussion, so we know what was discussed in the Committee.”
“(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] You assume that the Minister will not do this, but is your assumption correct? It may be correct now, but will it be correct in the future? Even the Minister cannot guarantee that, he said he cannot be sure that future governments will not abuse their power. Can you be sure?”
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“Furthermore, elected members will get to hear from their constituents through weekly Meet-the People (MPS) sessions. Only by doing so can the Member have a good grasp of the issues and problems faced on the ground. Through making representation to the government authorities on behalf of his constituent, he can better understand whether a particular Government policy has been effectively implemented. Such real-life grassroots experience is very important in the cultivation of a rational and responsible opposition party. If we want opposition parties to be able to play its functional role in our political system, we need to give them the space and time to grow. To provide for a rainy day, we must prepare in times of political stability. For a small country like Singapore to continue to survive in the geopolitical crevice of Southeast Asia, economically, we have to be ahead of others. It would be better if we could play an important role in bringing about economic development in the region. Militarily, we should possess defence technology of the superpower, and even be capable of exporting our weapons to neighbouring countries to help strengthen their defence capability. However, these are merely the hardware. Social cohesiveness, the people's national identity, and the solidarity as a people in times of adversity are the software that would ensure the long term survival of Singapore. Whether the software can run smoothly would depend on the operating system of our country- the political system. &nMr Sam Tan Chin Siong (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak. In his address, the President says that we "must take steps to emerge from this global crisis stronger economically, socially, and politically".”
“Since the people have made their choice during elections and cast their votes for the PAP candidates, allowing the PAP to have control over amendments to the Constitution and elections, the PAP is supported by the vote of the people whereas opposition parties are unable to garner enough support from the people. Who can we blame? Some blame the opposition for not doing their job well and not having talents. Maybe this is true. But if a person of noble aspirations does not join the opposition party due to whatever reason in the face of the realities of life, where do we get the talents? Even the ruling party cannot get talents, let alone the opposition parties! Even if we can find people of noble aspirations to stand for election, they may not be elected. Some feel that the losing candidate from the opposition party can be appointed as a Non-Constituency Member and he or she can still represent the voices of people in Parliament. However, the role of the opposition party is not merely to reflect the feelings of the people; it has a functional role in the actual operation of our political system which is based on Westminster model to ensure that the political system can function soundly. In order for the opposition party to play the role, opposition party must be elected into Parliament so that it has the mandate from the people and can have sufficient resources to build the capability of the party to enable it to play the role. Non-Constituency Member is a representative of no constituency! An elected member has the backing of his constituency, he will also have physical space to organize events to widen the network of support and strengthen the capability of his party.”
“Maybe the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) has a role to play, but as the CPIB is under the purview of the PMO as well, how can the CPIB play a checking role? Some feel that we should not entertain imaginary or groundless fears; the ruling party will self-check, and it is impossible for all PAP members to collude and congregate like snakes and rats will. Even if the party breaks up, the remaining half can still rule the country. However, if we were to allow ourselves to reach such a plight, our political system would be greatly weakened by then. Therefore, the best plan is to reinforce external checks and balances into the system to avoid such situations from happening. The role of an opposition party is to play the role of checks and balances so as to ensure that the system is effective, but until today, our opposition parties are incapable of giving full play to this role. Even during election times, we do not have enough opposition candidates to stand for election so that Singaporeans can exercise their voting rights. Therefore, our democratic political system is like a one-legged duck. The ruling party said that it is not her role to help sustain the opposition party, or this is like throwing stones at one's feet. This is the mentality of “the winner takes it all and the loser is a bandit.” But we cannot solely blame the ruling party. After all, the political system is the foundation of our country. Citizens should be concerned about this.”
“The Presidential Speech highlighted that our political system encourages a strong and effective Government worthy of Singaporeans and responsive to the people's needs and aspirations. This is an affirmation that is taken as an honour by the ruling party, supported by the results of the last election, where the ruling party won 67% of the votes. However, I wish to highlight that under the present system, the true effectiveness of our system lies in individual political leaders and not the political system with checks and balances built in to ensure its operational effectiveness. We have had two Prime Ministers in the past. The transition of power was smooth, and this was the internal affair of the ruling party, similar to the replacements of leaderships in China. The ruling party controls the legislative process and can amend the Constitution at any time, retaining firm control of government machinery and state resources. Its power and resources far exceeds the power of any political party or non-governmental organisation in the country; this is not in line with the doctrine of separation of powers. If, one day, the ruling party abuses its powers, tramples on civil rights or is guilty of corruption, what can the people do? So far, our system is yet to be tested. One day, should we experience a political crisis similar to that of Indonesia and Philippines where a strong and effective government collapses, would Singapore be able to withstand the test and survive? I am not sure. Some feel that PAP leadership team constantly self-renews and our leaders show great foresight and appear honest and upright. But who can guarantee that the leaders will never fall victim to corruption? Can a high salary really keep corruption away?”
“Besides those who believe in the political theories perpetuated in autocratic monarchic states in the olden days, I believe that no citizen of the modern state in the 21st century will agree that political leaders own the majority of the country, the way shareholders own the company. And so, every citizen should have a stake in the country and enjoy equal basic rights. Under this premise, the political system must be people-oriented, the will of the people expressed and the leaders chosen based on the will of the people. In addition, to ensure that the will of the people is respected by the leaders, to prevent monopoly of power and authority, or even amendment of the Constitution to ensure certain political groups perpetuate themselves in power, a system of checks and balances must be set in place. The Parliament comprises of ruling and opposition parties and Constitution provides for the separation of powers - legislature, executive and judiciary. This is the concept that underlies the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy. Singapore adopted the Westminster model framework upon independence and several amendments have been made to our Constitution since, some of which involved fundamental changes in our political system. Examples include the Elected President System and Group Representation Constituency (GRC) System. The purpose of raising this issue is with the hope that Singaporeans will understand the present by reviewing the past and not forget the origin and meaning of our political system. It was also mentioned by the President in his presidential speech that, "Singapore’s political system must evolve over time as our society change".”
“As for tertiary education, the Government is not willing to increase subsidy level because it feels that graduates will earn a high income after graduation; the government also attempts to justify the affordability of tertiary education by allowing the borrowing from parent’s CPF and grant of study loans for tuition fees. As such, these graduates are in debt before they even start work- this seems to be sending a message to our young that it is alright to spend future money. As we face the change in economic condition, is the Government’s assumption that every graduate will have a good job waiting for him, thus it is not necessary to provide higher subsidy for tertiary education still valid? Should we re-look at the affordability of tertiary education fees? It is true, however, that we cannot depend solely on the Government to foster caring social values. I am of the view that everyone should play a part in daily life, to have civic awareness and open discussion on social values. In this regard, the new media can play an active role. Earlier, I mentioned that Singapore is a country, not a corporation or private company. The fundamental difference is that companies will be allowed to issue shares and the one who owns the most shares will be the biggest shareholder. They naturally serve on the board of directors as its chairman or directors and in turn appoint the CEO and management staff. They can exercise control over the operations of the company, and the means of livelihood of employees lies in their hands.”
“This would ultimately result in the “M” model societal structure, where the middle-income group will lose out and the cushioning effect that it offers will gradually disappear. This is the challenge that we face in maintaining social cohesion. I am of the view that social values would form the pillar of our social cohesion; they also support sustainable growth and development of our society. The Government should place on its agenda the building of a caring society. Policies should not be solely motivated by economy incentives and a person's worth should not be measured solely based on economic value. For example, as we face an ageing population, medical and social welfare expenditure will increase inevitably. Yet in response to this, the Government's attitude towards the need to increase medical expenditure for the elderly is merely to describe them as a "Silver Tsunami". To build a caring society, the Government must be more aware of the intrinsic values of its policies. For example, the Government is generous towards allocating budget for education expenditure, but it is taken to be an investment, meaning the Government expects returns in future. This gives the people an impression that it is the not Government's duty to provide education for the young so as to ensure they have a bright future. If the same attitude explains why we also subsidize foreign students, this can be considered reasonable in principle, but the Government should let the people know what the returns for investing in these foreign students are.”
“In this way, we would be able to maintain our labour force competitiveness and ensure that those who are displaced by the economic changes would be able to find a decent job. Although SPUR and other skill training schemes had provided some assurance to our workers, this is insufficient to calm the current wave of unemployment. I was told by a furniture painter that after training his foreign worker colleagues on the relevant skills, he was retrenched by the employer. Following which, he had undergone SPUR training but was still unemployed a few weeks after the training ended. Hence, it should be the priority of the Government now to ensure that workers are employed after the training so that such skills will not be wasted after training. Singapore is not a big corporation or a private company. It is a country. Economic development is important, but as a small state with a small population, we cannot ignore other factors that can promote the sustainable growth and development of our country. One important factor is social cohesion. In the 2006 debate on the Presidential Address, I had pointed out in my speech that income disparity will continue to be a challenge for us. The Government has subsequently implemented the Workfare Income Supplement scheme which has narrowed the income gap to a certain extent, but this is not enough to solve the problem in the long run. As we face global economic restructuring, we are likely to face a greater disparity between the two income groups. Different jobs demand different salaries in the global market; some jobs demand a high income while others continue to lag behind.”
“Therefore, to avoid turning the “Singaporeans versus foreigners issue” into a political hot potato one day, the Government should clearly state its stand on the priority of safeguarding the interests of Singaporean workers first and foremost. Our economic development model, in keeping up with changes in the world market, has resulted in our workers being unable to catch up with the pace of development. They are willing to work but are paid wages which cannot meet our high cost of living, or they may be thought too old for the jobs. This is the problem the Government should confront. To strike a comparison between foreign workers and Singapore workers is neither fair nor practical. Many foreign workers come here to work mainly to earn money and when they have earned enough, they will return to their homeland to live there. Their families are not here. They can accept work conditions which may not comply with our employment laws. They are prepared to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day as long as they are paid adequate wages. In contrast, Singapore workers live here, have different costs of living and require time and space for family and leisure as well. Therefore, I would like the Government to consider reserving for Singapore workers certain jobs which require special licences, such as safety management, heavy crane drivers, tractors and bulldozer drivers. During good economic times where there is labour shortage, it is inevitable for the Government to relax rules that restrict foreign workers to meet the demand for manpower. However, when facing a prolonged economic slowdown, the Government should change its mindset and review its policies accordingly.”
“Although our economic problem is not due to rising costs but to falling demand this time round, whether a company is able to swiftly cut costs during a downturn is a critical factor in determining whether the company survives or not. While this year's Budget did help to alleviate business costs to a certain extent, we have to look into a long-term plan using both macro and micro economic measures to prevent costs from rising rapidly during boom times but remaining high during a downturn. The President mentioned in his Speech that new immigrants and foreign workers may cause concern because of unfamiliarity with their different accents and habits and because of competition in workplaces. I believe the crux of the issue is not the different accents and habits and the competition in workplaces, but of national identity. Those Singaporeans born after the war have been instilled with our national ethos. Male citizens have to undergo tough and rigorous military training in National Service so as to undertake the duty of protecting our home, defending our nation. Everyone knows the importance and necessity of making the sacrifices. During our nation-building, all contributed without grumble. But, when this generation of Singaporeans has aged and is not able to contribute as much as they did in the past, they are compared with foreign workers and labelled as soft and choosy in looking for jobs. The Government gave Singaporeans an impression that it even thinks that the moon in foreign countries is rounder and only foreigners are talents. Many Singaporeans will ask themselves what significance there is in being a Singaporean.”
“It is correct, in my opinion, to attract foreign investments, encourage competition in a free market, and open up our market to go global as this had allowed Singapore to integrate with the global economy. Although such an economic strategy makes us vulnerable to changes in the world economy, as how we are now being burdened by the US financial crisis which has impacted us more than other countries and experienced a steeper downturn than others, I believe we shall continue to prosper and advance when the global economic storm blows over. Hence, I am of view that our economic model is a basically sound one. However, as the global economy changes, the slowdown and the emergence of protectionism have raised the issue of reviewing our economic development strategy. We have been dependent on MNCs, especially the manufacturing sector to provide job opportunities for our people. We also depended on these MNCs to sell products made in Singapore in global market. However, the rise of China and India and the increase in costs has made us less able to compete with low-cost countries. The world economic downturn, the slow growth and the drop in demand for products worldwide, have greatly undermined MNCs except in a few sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and the cutting-edge industries. We should therefore focus on our SMEs, particularly the knowledge-based and creative sector, as they will be our sunshine industries. The Government should boldly invest in such industries which have growth potential as we have done in our R&D sector, and help them globalise. In addition, the fact that our business costs had gone up tremendously during the period of rapid growth, but have not been able adjust swiftly in response to the downturn, is a matter for concern.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] For several decades, the United States has been leading the global economy as the locomotive for world economic growth. America's capitalist system creates demand and promotes production of consumer products by encouraging consumerism bringing about value added economic development; it becomes the lifeline of global economic growth. Singapore is a new developing country with limited natural resources and lacks a sizeable domestic market; hence the only rational choice is for us is to attract MNCs and to sell goods produced locally in the market set up by them. It is through such economic strategy that Singapore is linked up with the global economy. With the stability and growth of wealth of the US economy in the past several decades, Singapore has also laid down a strong economic foundation. We are lucky, as apart from the Government's correct economic policy and the people's hard work and solidarity in pushing forward economic development, the relatively prolonged world economic stability also made it possible for Singapore to have sustained growth, to accumulate massive reserves and to carry out various infrastructure works to make Singapore a modern country. The stability of the global economy has provided us space and opportunity for our economic development. We seized the opportunity and hence we are in a position to weather the gloomy global economic prospects confronting us now. I am confident that Singapore will be able to deal with the challenges brought about by the new global economic situation.”
“Sir, the Job Recreation Programme (JRP) aims to redesign jobs to make older workers more productive and, hence, higher pay. The WDA sets aside $40 million over three years in 2007 for this programme. Globalisation and Singapore's rapid development into a more knowledge-based economy has resulted in less skilled older workers finding employment opportunities more difficult. The current recession worsens the employment prospects of these older workers as even younger workers face retrenchment when businesses downsize. Therefore, it is important to scale up the JRP to sustain employment for older workers in these recreated jobs. Is the budget of $40 million over three years enough? The NTUC's website shows that JRP has helped 43,484 workers from 2005 to July 2008. What is the number of workers to be helped in 2009? Are these Singapore citizens, or does it include Permanent Residents as well? I would like to know what is the Government's strategy in helping older workers in this economic downturn, as many of them have contributed to Singapore's development from a Third World to a First World status only to find themselves unwelcome in the job markets in our supposedly Swiss standard of living. How does the Government reconcile the prospect of structural unemployment for this group of older, less skilled workers with the continued extension of the retirement age as well as increasing Minimum Sum amounts that limit many of these older Singaporeans to very little payout at the age of 55? Re-employment of Older Workers”
“Sir, the SPUR programme costing $600 million, aims to provide workers the opportunities and resources to upgrade their skills and employability. It also gives an allowance to jobless Singaporeans who attend courses – combining training with benefits. I understand that for those who are unemployed, there is currently no disclosure of eligibility criteria but will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The reason given was that it might discourage some from coming forward or encourage others to abuse the system. With training places under SPUR doubling from 110,000 in 2008 to 220,000 in 2009, I would like to know, one, what does the Government base the formulation of SPUR on? How does MOM decide what training courses and skills to support? Two, how do we measure its effectiveness? Three, would there be some performance indicators to evaluate the impact of training on the economy and the workers? For example, how many found new jobs as a result of retraining? How many were re-employed with larger work scopes? What is the average wage for those who have undergone retraining? Four, would it be more efficient to have some form of allowance eligibility criteria for the unemployed, versus the current approach of using case-by-case assessment? Sir, the subsidy rate for PMET courses under SPUR will be increased to 90% and will include all specialists and advanced diplomas offered by our polytechnics. Again, the question is how do we measure its effectiveness? A considerable sum of money was allocated to SPUR. It is important that SPUR focuses on the employability of the trainees, with new jobs created and with a long-term view to cater to the future manpower needs of Singapore as well as to prevent wastage of resources. Employer-based Funding – Absentee Payroll”
“Sir, I know the Minister has explained the effect of ERP. On the ground, people do not seem to be convinced of the effect of ERP. They will still complain that even you pay for ERP, you will still end up in a jam. Would he like to clarify that? Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: If you look at, say, the Straits Times Survey conducted in October last year – the percentage of people who said that the changes to the ERP have led to smoother traffic has actually picked up compared to the year before. So, I am not sure what survey the Member is referring to, or what evidence, or it is just hearsay. If it is hearsay, then I say please, have a care because it might not be really reflective or representative of the policy impact.”
“Sir, in my speech, I requested LTA to look into the feasibility of modifying the roadside kerb near the taxi stand to form a taxi bay or holding area if there is site constraint at the taxi stand for more taxi parking lots. The Senior Minister of State, in her reply, asked me for suggestions on a particular taxi stand. But, Sir, I am not a taxi-driver although I know one or two taxi stands. I would suggest that LTA do a survey with taxi-drivers or work with taxi-drivers or the Taxi Drivers' Association to look into particular taxi stands where there is a high demand to provide such facilities. The second clarification: I wonder whether LTA, in the name of road safety, has conveniently ignored the plight of taxi-drivers. Has the LTA considered the impact on the taxi-drivers when implementing new measures regulating where the taxis that can stop in town and changing some of the taxi stands to taxi-stops, while some taxi-drivers obviously may not be informed of that. I wonder whether, in Mandarin, it is "na de shi si ji lai kai dao ". The Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Teo Ser Luck, wants to promote Singapore as a cycling nation. I wonder whether he is aware that there may be obstacles to this objective, eg, bicycle thefts. I think the Police generally may not be interested in bicycle thefts. I would like to ask him whether LTA would consider providing anti-theft bicycle rack at MRT stations.”
“I hope that LTA will provide more waiting lots along the curb near the popular taxi stands, so that it will benefit all taxi drivers, and the passengers will also be able to catch the taxi within a shorter waiting time. This is a win-win situation for both. *Cols. 3137-3138.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.]Mr Chairman, the figures released by LTA in January this year showed that in the first 11 months last year, taxi drivers received as many as 1,800 summonses with demerit points; three times more than the 407 cases in the year before. Among these summonses, 70% were for violation of taxi-stop rules in the CBD. In my MPS, there are quite a number of taxi drivers living in the Hougang area who came and sought my help after receiving such summonses. They told me that on some occasions, they were booked under circumstances beyond their control, for example, passengers alighting on their whims and fancies but the taxi drivers were fined. Although the passengers are aware of the regulations imposed by LTA on alighting within CBD, they often insist on alighting wherever they want. As the taxi-stand could be too far away from their destination, some even just drop the taxi fare, open the door and get down at the traffic light. The Police then summoned the taxi driver. Under such circumstances, it is really beyond their control. Another problem is that there are not enough waiting lots for taxis at popular taxi stands. When the lots are taken up, the taxi drivers have only two choices: first, is to risk being summoned by the Police; or secondly, to ply their empty taxis in the CBD looking for another taxi stand. This adds on to their burden and it is not environmentally-friendly. Some of these busy taxi stands allow only taxis to let the passengers alight and not to wait for passengers. In this present market downturn, it will make life more difficult for the taxi drivers.”
“Although this is one way to reduce the learning burden, this will also lead to the students using the wrong word in the future. Even for those who have learned under the old system where the pronunciation and Chinese character were learnt simultaneously, they would still make mistakes. The use of Hanyu Pinyin as a basic pedagogy in the teaching of Chinese Language has raised concern of its problem, there was an article published on the Lianhe Zaobao, stating that during a reading exercise at the best of the Chinese Language class amongst the classes of the Primary Four, the whole class, except the daughter of the author, mispronounced the words lai fo shi (Raffles) as cai fo shi. In Korea, a similar situation has landed the people in a cultural crisis. Many young Koreans do not recognise the Han characters. So serious was the problem that 20 former Prime Ministers collectively sent a letter to President Lee Myung-bak to express their concern. Although the situation there is not entirely the same as ours, the fundamental problem is the same – their language teaching emphasised on phoneticism and the younger generation could not connect the pronunciation to the characters. The implementation of the Chinese Language pedagogy of artificially segregating Chinese character and its pronunciation in the learning process by using phoneticism as the main way of teaching may not enable the students to learn the language properly. It will bring about many problems, the future generation of Chinese students here may not be able to recognise the Chinese words as a result. *Cols. 2701-2702. Teaching of Key Core Values in Schools”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*. ] As far as I know, in 2006, the Ministry of Education started a new curriculum for the teaching of the Chinese Language in 25 selected primary schools. In 2007, this new curriculum was adopted for all Primary One and Two students in Singapore. Now, it has been extended to Primary Four and Five classes. Has the Ministry done any evaluation on this new curriculum and method of teaching, and what kind of educational outcome has been achieved? This new method of teaching in primary schools emphasises the ability to listen and speak, but the ability to read and write was treated as secondary. In the 105-page textbook used for first semester in Primary One, the first 66 pages were devoted to the study of phonetisation of the Chinese Language – - Hanyu Pinyin. In the first few chapters, whenever a less familiar word is encountered, only the Hanyu Pinyin is given, but not the actual Chinese character. With this method of teaching, the students may master the pronunciation, but may not necessarily recognise which character is the correct word for it. Some educators believe that the teaching of phonetisation rather than the characters may reduce the burden of learning. First, master the ability to speak and listen, then learn to read and write later. However, the Chinese Language is not composed of phonetic alphabets. If the pronunciation is not studied together with the recognition of the Chinese character itself, the students may not be able to connect the sound to the word. Another reform in this new Chinese Language pedagogy is to allow the students to use an electronic dictionary while taking composition examinations.”
“Sir, I have two clarifications for the Minister. Sir, I refer to the Minister's earlier reply on his nice trip to Johor, which I suppose must have inspired him to contemplate new healthcare policies. I would like to ask the Minister is he now suggesting that Singaporeans who cannot afford medical treatment or step-down care here, should now consider such facilities in Johor. Second clarification: is the Minister outsourcing the Government's responsibility to provide affordable healthcare service to Malaysia now?”
“Sir, I understand that Singapore is currently ranked as the sixth best nation in the world for its medical advances, and the best in Asia by the World Health Organization. Hospitals and medical centres have achieved high marks in clinical indicators that equal or even surpass those in the developed world. However, it is important for us to strive to maintain the high standards and quality of our medical and healthcare services. Recently, I received feedback from my constituents that some patients who were admitted to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital were infected by a virus in the hospital and died of pneumonia. I would like to ask the Minister for Health was there an unusual increase in the number of patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital who died of pneumonia? 12.30 pm Sir, during March 2005, when SGH first identified Vancomycin-resistant entercococcus (VRE), it decided to screen all its patients with a view to identify the carriers so that they can be properly isolated. In parallel, SGH staff was reminded to set up good infection control practices, such as mandatory handwashing in between patients, and stricter compliance of the two-visitor rule in the hospital. According to statistics, in year 2007, pneumonia was the third major cause of death after cancer and heart disease. I would like to know how hospitals monitor whether the wards are affected by infectious viruses. Are there routine measures that hospitals take to ensure that there is no outbreak of infectious viruses in the hospitals? Human Cloning and Other Prohibited Practices Act 2004”
“How are we preserving our history to provide an authentic cultural and uniquely Singapore experience for tourists as well as for our children? Ready Built Factories”
“Sir, Singapore's reputation as the best destination for tourists' retail experience is under threat. We hear cases of retail shops selling over-priced electronic goods, overcharging tourists, dealing in unfair retail practices, "bait and switch" or misrepresentation. Such poor service appears to be prevalent despite the introduction of Singapore Service Star by the Singapore Tourism Board which seeks to recognise, through accreditation, businesses that promote good service. Tourists' confidence in Singapore's retail sector can be easily tarnished by a few black sheep and shops that chose to remain outside this scheme. I would like to ask what is the Government's strategy to provide a uniquely Singapore tourists' retail experience in view of the present recalcitrant retail businesses that continuously dish out poor service and bad practices. Next, rapid urbanisation and redevelopment of Singapore have eroded our heritage in the name of development. Take Chinatown, for instance. While it has been preserved for tourists, many of the original trades located in Chinatown have been replaced by touristy shops selling souvenirs and trinkets. Tourists are becoming more sophisticated. They will prefer the experience of the real cultural heritage of a place as opposed to a copy of it. Thus, our conservation strategy toward places for tourism should focus on retaining the original trades, businesses and attractions that are authentic to the place. A Straits Times Forum writer shared in his letter on 6th January 2009 that perhaps the real Chinatown is at Waterloo Street because Chinatown is becoming too touristy to the extent that tourists would want to give it a miss. I would like to ask the Minister what is his strategy to conserve our heritage sites for tourism.”
“Madam, the Senior Minister of State in his reply says that online search for SPH newspapers is available on the Library premises. But I am referring to internet search. The public is able to search for SPH media online like the Straits Times and Business Times but not Lianhe Zaobao, I do not know why. Would he like to clarify?”
“Madam, the situation of library members borrowing materials and failing to return them does not speak well of Singapore as a society. I would like to know how many library members are in arrears of penalty and owe materials to libraries. I also would like to know whether the library has plans to better manage the problem. Cultivating a Gracious Society”
“Madam, $156 million has been allocated to our libraries to expand the nation's learning capacity through a network of libraries and information resource centres. Recently, I made some online search via the Library E-resources data for articles in Chinese newspapers like Lianhe Zaobao. I encountered some problems during the search and my understanding from the library was that the Factiva limits online search by library members to only a few sources. According to the library, the reason given for this limitation was due to licensing constraints faced by the database service provider. As such not all features of Factiva are available for home online access. I would like to know what are the constraints pertaining to the licensing issue. Can we expect the issue to be resolved soon? Next, the library seems to over-service its members who failed to return borrowed books and pay penalties. It was reported that the library will spend some $250,000 to send letters to those members, providing the details of individual borrower's accounts, titles of borrowed items, amount of unpaid library fines, etc. What about the administrative cost that is incurred as a result of providing these details? The Finance Minister in his Budget speech has said that we should continue to avoid waste in Government spending and make sure we derive value in every use of taxpayers' money. I wonder why there is a need to spend $250,000 of taxpayers' money to notify those members who borrowed materials from the library but failed to return them that they will be barred from using the library service. Would just barring these members until they settled all penalties not be sufficient?”
“Thank you, Sir. The Minister of State has not answered my specific question. I would like to know whether the Minister can provide an indication of the scheduled date of the LUP in Hougang. The Hougang Town Council has called a tender for lift upgrading for 54 lifts. We do not know whether to proceed depending on when the LUP will come. Sir, the second clarification is, I would like to know why is HDB not reimbursing the Hougang Town Council the cost of unexpired cyclical periods of lease and other items for the blocks that HDB decides to demolish at Hougang Avenue 7. 4.45 pm The third question is on the types of lifts. Will Town Councils be given a choice in the LUP to decide what type of lift shafts – whether the ferroconcrete or metal type? I like to know whether MND has made a study on the implications on using metal lift shafts. The concern is whether it will increase maintenance cost as the heat difference in temperature could cause frequent breakdown of the lift parts.”
“Just a mere seven years after the lifts at these blocks were upgraded at a cost of some $400,000 to $500,000, the HDB refused to reimburse Hougang Town Council the cost for the expired cyclical period. Had Hougang Town Council been informed of the plans of the Government, the money could have been saved and put to better use.”
“Sir, I noted that prefabricated metal lift shaft is commonly used now, instead of four wall concrete lift shaft under the LUP. The Minister has also mentioned in this House that this change will reduce the total cost of construction. I would like to request the Minister to provide a detailed breakdown of the cost reduction and how much this translates into savings for the HDB, the Town Councils and the residents, in terms of dollars and cents. I would also like to know whether the metal lift shaft would be the choice of all future LUPs. If that is so, will the use of steel, which is by nature a better conductor of heat, increase the frequency of breakdown of various heat-sensitive mechanical components of the lifts? This would have implications on the maintenance cost. As Town Councils and, eventually, residents are responsible for the cost of the maintenance of lifts, a Town Council should be given a choice to decide the type of lift shaft they prefer under LUP. Hougang Town Council recently called for a tender to replace 54 number of lifts to 26 blocks of flats, but MND informed the Town Council to prepare financially for the coming LUP in Hougang estate. Although the objective of the Government is to complete the LUP programme by 2014, MND has not informed Hougang Town Council on the planned commencement and completion dates for the Hougang LUP. 2.30 pm Sir, such information is vital for Hougang Town Council to plan and accommodate works by the HDB, so as to avoid wastage of the Town Council's precious resources. Such wastage of resources was experienced in the ongoing demolition of the HDB blocks at Hougang Avenues 3 and 7.”
“Thank you, Sir, I have two clarifications. I would like to know how MAS monitors the outcome of the guidelines on the financial institutions offering products and services suitable for the targeted consumer segments. The second clarification is on the structured products resolution which the Minister mentioned in his reply. There was feedback that FIDReC compensation, which was capped at $100,000, is unfair for those who have invested more than $100,000 because they were deprived of a cheaper way of resolution on the issue of mis-selling and compensation; so whether the Minister will consider increasing the scope of FIDReC.”
“My question is, does the Minister still believe that the proposed Guidelines for Fair Dealing can be effectively administered by the board and senior management of FIs given that MAS has embraced the importance of IPs to assure consumers that they will be given a fair hearing by FIs on the issue of mis-selling. Second question, Sir, would the Guidelines for Fair Dealing for FIs be considered complete without the input of consumers? Would MAS consider releasing the consultation paper by groups like CASE or the Security Investors Association of Singapore for consumers to feedback on their experience with FIs over the issue of fair dealing since we have about 10,000 affected investors of failed structured products to-date? Third Question, when does MAS intend to implement the Guidelines for Fair Dealing for FIs? The last question is, how is MAS going to monitor the compliance of the Guidelines for Fair Dealing by financial institutions or is MAS going to consider its job done once the Guideline is accepted for implementation by the FIs?”
“Sir, in February 2008, MAS released a consultation paper on proposed Guidelines for Fair Dealing. The proposed Guidelines focused on the role of board and senior management of financial institutions (FIs) in leading their companies to deliver fair dealing outcomes to retail consumers. The proposed Guidelines, amongst others, seek to build consumer confidence that the FIs will put their interests first in the conduct of their business and to offer product and services suitable for the targeted consumer segment as well as handle consumers' complaints promptly and in a consistent manner. As these proposed Guidelines are in line with one of the supervisory objectives of the MAS, I would like to ask the Minister four questions. One, we all know that the board and senior management of FIs will always put the interests of their company first. They have a duty to ensure that their company is well managed and profitable. Thus in any dispute with consumers, no FI will readily admit to any wrongdoing. The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and the resulting meltdown of the financial markets have made investors of structured products even more sceptical of FIs on the issue of fair dealing. In a press release on 2nd October 2008, MAS stated that it understood the anxiety of many investors and identified three well respected independent persons (IPs) to oversee the complaints handling and resolution process of FIs for the failed structured product linked to Lehman Brothers. IPs are also tasked to determine whether these internal processes of FIs are independent, fair and transparent.”
“The Minister also, in his reply, said that the political appointment estimates in the Budget have not been updated. Besides these items which have not been updated, I wonder whether all the other estimates in the Budget have been updated.”
“Sir, I want to clarify that my concern over the way the Government uses the past reserves is not an indication that I am now supporting the Elected President system. On the contrary, the concern arises because of the way the so-called two-key system operates. It seems that the two-key system operates simultaneously at the same time. When the Government's key says "unlock", the other key unlocks automatically. It seems to be like that. I wonder whether the second key has always been there on the safe. Sir, the fact that the Minister for Finance has to explain in detail in this House on how the reserves are being used shows that whether there is an Elected President or not, the Government still needs to publicly justify the use of the past reserves. I would also like to know how does the President forms his independent opinion on the justification on how the past reserves should be used, when in fact the justification and the presentation of the facts to the President were all done by the Government and the civil servants from the Ministries. Sir, my next clarification is this. The Minister for Finance has explained the rationale for using past reserves for the two initiatives of Jobs Credit and Special Risk-Sharing Initiative (SRI). Can I take it that as long as the programmes continue, even into the next financial year, if there is a need, the Government will continue to draw on past reserves for these two initiatives? Sir, the Minister for Finance also quoted the Courts CEO for his support on the GST Credit, instead of reducing GST by 2%. Is he aware that the same CEO has also been quoted as saying that the Jobs Credit Scheme is not of much use in saving jobs?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, please allow me to speak in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Just now, Mr Ong said that he supported the drawing down of the reserves. I would like to ask him whether he knows that the Government has the financial capacity to pay for the expenses from its own surpluses instead of drawing down on the past reserves? However, the Government has chosen to draw down from the past reserves. Just now, Mr Ong told us an episode of abalone noodles. I would like to ask him if he has enough of his own savings to pay for the abalone noodles, would he use his grandfather's savings for that? *Cols. 1591-1592.”
“Our position is that we would never cut the CPF. But the question is whether or not, must it be Jobs Credit? Could it be other forms to help employers to cut costs? There may be other forms but, to me, Jobs Credit, as it is, I do not think is effective. 2.01 pm”
“Sir, I thought I made it clear in my speech that I welcome that CPF is not used in this downturn as a tool to cut employers' costs. If the Workers' Party is the government, I would rather use the money, if there is a need to save employers' costs, to pay directly to the CPF accounts of the members for companies which are in difficulty, rather than a Jobs Credit Scheme that give companies, regardless whether they are profitable or not, the payment. Secondly, I also doubt whether it is effective in helping companies cut wages.”
“What I am saying is that you have to be targeted and to be sure what will really help. I am not saying that you should not help at all. I am doubtful about your Jobs Credit Scheme. How much will it help companies and whether it is justifiable to spend the past reserves to help companies in this way? Eventually, of course, we could say that Singaporeans will benefit because they can stay employed, but the figure is something that is not certain. So, can we make better use of the limited financial resources we have, by helping workers that are retrenched or other schemes that will be more effective in helping companies to stay afloat?”
“Sir, of course, it is good to pre-empt retrenchment and to help companies not to retrench. But how much does Jobs Credit help? Yes, to some companies, it may be helpful but eventually the effect is limited. It may help companies to keep some workers but some will still be retrenched. If there is no business, there is no demand.”
“Yes, I believe that with the SPUR and other assistance schemes with the credit facility, I think we should be able to keep those viable businesses afloat. We could have used the Jobs Credit Scheme, to help those who are retrenched. I think it is a direct help. Whatever scheme that you have now, be it Jobs Credit or tripartite guidelines – you have read the papers – there are retrenchments. We cannot stave off retrenchments.”
“Sir, it does somewhat help certain companies. But my question really is, how effective is it? Why do you need to spend the reserves for something which, to me, is not really effective? I have spoken to some companies as well. They would rather have credit facilities that ease the cash flow going on to the business to keep the employees, rather than having Jobs Credits because at the end of the day, it does not really save money. Yes, it is for Singaporeans, I know. But when you are talking about using the past reserves and expanding Government expenditure, I believe it is prudent for us to look at what we want to achieve, whether the money is well-spent, to achieve the result, or is it something else.”
“Sir, I agree with the principle but the Jobs Credit Scheme does not do the job of really saving the wage costs of the company. Given the current circumstances, it is not so much the costs, but the demand. When the company has no demand, no business, your credit scheme is neither here nor there, the way I look at it. As what I compared, $900 in savings as compared to savings of $7,500 in three months for companies who retrench a worker. How does it work? I do not think it works.”
“Sir, needless to say, I support the Government's initiative to help Singaporeans stay employed. I make it clear in my speech. But, being a government, when you are spending the past reserves, you have to consider what is the effect of the expenditure, what is your target? I have no problem with the Risk-Initiative Sharing Scheme, neither do I have a problem with the SPUR Programme which, I think, does help. But my question is: does Jobs Credit Scheme necessarily achieve the target as it intended? Can we have some figures? If not, then why are we spending past reserves to do something which is not certain? Secondly, as I mentioned in my speech, there will be some companies that will not need the Jobs Credits. They can very well keep their workers, but you are adding to their profits. On the other hand, those small companies or SMEs, with minimum number of staff and with high cost of labour, does the Jobs Credit Scheme really help them? As I mentioned in my speech, compared to waiting three months for a $900 cash rebate, to saving costs of $7,500 immediately if a worker with a salary of $2,500 were to be retrenched, which decision will an employer make in the downturn?”
“Sir, this is something that is understood. The question is: how many companies, which are profitable, will still be expanding? And those who are profitable, do not need to retrench and the Jobs Credits given to them, will just add to their profits? So, how many new outlets is NTUC Fairprice adding? How many more employees does NTUC Fairprice expect to employ? Or whether NTUC is going to give out some of the Jobs Credits as a form of wage supplement to the workers, or just add to the profit?”
“Being the first country in Asia to slip into recession, Singapore should work towards being among the first to get out of it too. I urge Singaporeans to work together to ride out this economic storm. Looking beyond the gloom and doom, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The optimistic side of me believes, this will not be a long tunnel.”
“The lifestyle of Singaporeans was also disrupted by the cycles in economy and on top of that, the increases in GST, in between the cycles and high food and fuel prices have contributed to increases in the cost of living. We only got a short reprieve from anxiety in 2007 and part of 2008, and we sank into a recession again. The Government has now asked employers to think, before they retrench workers because it has schemes to help them lessen the burden of keeping Singaporeans employed. Does the Government ever wonder why Singaporean workers are so costly to keep in the first place? Are we really that uncompetitive or has our high cost of living eaten into our competitiveness? In the 2007 Report on Wages in Singapore, it was reported that 'all occupational groups enjoyed wage gains over the past decade except for the group of cleaners, labourers and related workers whose medium gross wage was almost unchanged.' To make things worse, the wage differential between the various occupational groups relative to the lowest paid group of workers widened from a decade ago. Sir, 10 years is a long time to get stuck at the bottom of the economic chain. The Work Income Supplement Scheme may have lowered the Gini coefficient slightly but we have to ask ourselves what is wrong with our policy planners that despite the emphasis on retraining and upgrading of skills, our lowest paid group of workers cannot enjoy the fruits of our economic growth for 10 long years. I hope that when we get out of this recession this time, this group of workers will not be forgotten again. Mr Speaker, Sir, both Japan and China have declared that they want to be the first in Asia to get out of this downturn.”
“They are staring down at the prospect of no-pay leave and retrenchment. Belt tightening for workers is inevitable. The Government should take the lead in tightening its belt wherever possible and spend generously and wisely in a focused manner to ride out the recession. I noted that the budget for political appointments across all 14 ministries and the Prime Minister's Office is reduced by just 1% from $61.8 million in revised FY2008 to $61.4 million in FY2009 estimates. This does not square with what Minister Teo Chee Hean disclosed in this House that the MR4 salary will drop by 20% compared to 2008. With no change in headcount at each entity, five Ministries and PMO registered 5% to 12% increase in the Political Appointment budget estimates, six Ministries remained almost unchanged, three Ministries registered a 4%, 12% and 29% drop from the revised 2008 budget. Are we sending a mixed signal to the people? How can the Government ask Singaporeans to tighten their belts when it fails to restrain its own salaries estimates? Expenditure estimates for all Ministries are revised upward except for one Ministry – the Ministry of National Development. I can understand why Health, Education, Transport, Community Development and Home Affairs are amongst the top spenders but do we really need to increase the expenditure for Defence by $644 million over FY2008? I would imagine MINDEF would be able to buy more for the same dollar in a recession. The expenditure for Defence for 2009 has grown to $11.5 billion, or 26% of total budget allocated for all the Ministries. Sir, since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, we have seen shorter economic cycles of ups and downs and with each cycle, the workers were the hardest hit.”
“When more SMEs fail, more Singaporeans will be out of a job. It is a loss-loss situation for all. Sir, if the banks are still not lending in the coming months, what other measures are there in place to keep credit flowing for SMEs? I believe this is a time for Singapore to get innovative and, perhaps, even bold in dealing with the credit crunch. The Government must take the lead to unfreeze the credit market if all the prodding on banks yields no tangible results. Sir, I will now move on to the budget for supporting families. Out of $20.5 billion in the Budget, $2.6 billion or 12.7% is earmarked to support families. However, this Budget does not extend enough help to retrenched Singaporeans. The new initiative in the Budget announcement for Singaporeans who lost their jobs in 2008 or face retrenchment in 2009 is an extension to allow them to pay their income tax in 24 instalments, instead of 12. People say death and taxes are the only things certain in life. How true. Sir, this is not a decisive pro-family Budget for an economy that is expecting retrenchment numbers to surpass the 29,000 level of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Why is the Government not making more provisions in the Budget to help this group of people since it expects retrenchments to escalate after January? Retrenched workers have families to feed too. The Government must be prepared to accept that schemes like Jobs Credit and SPUR may not stave off retrenchment after all. I urge the Government to look into more ways to help retrenched Singaporean workers and their families. This economic downturn has affected almost every level of the economy. The Government asks everyone to play a role to ride out this recession. Workers are facing more than just a wage freeze, bonus cut or a wage cut.”
“Apart from enhancing the SME loan schemes in November 2008 by increasing the Government's share of risk to 80% and introducing a Bridging Loan Programme for working capital loans with the Government taking 50% of the risk, there is no new measure in this Budget to help SMEs secure the much-needed credit facility to survive in a shrinking economy. The Finance Minister has said that it is too early to assess the effectiveness of the enhancements made to the SME loan schemes last November but time is of essence in this economic downturn. Some businesses may not have enough resources to wait long for the banks to get back to them on their loan applications, as mentioned by Mr Ang Mong Seng. Under the Special Risk-Sharing Initiative announced in Budget 2009, the Government will increase its share of risk on the Bridging Loan Programme from 50% last November to 80% now. Can we infer from this increase that the banks are still not lending enough? Sir, if the Government can see the need and urgency to increase its share of risk for the Bridging Loan Programme in a short span of two months, just to stir the banks from its credit slumber, think about the stress and anxiety SMEs must have endured trying to secure credit lines since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. I urge the Government to work fast with the banks to free up the credit market. It was reported in the Straits Times that bank lending fell for second consecutive time in December 2008. This is a fast shrinking economy. It is natural for banks to worry about lending money to companies with weak business models or plans. Then, again, would any bank believe a rosy business plan in this economic climate? This is why the Government must come in to resolve the issue.”