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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“Sir, this may not be related to the Bill, but I would like the Minister to comment. I have received feedback that the booth for the marking of the ballot paper does not seem to be private in the sense that somebody may be able to see how you mark at the booth. I wonder whether the Elections Department will consider improving the booth with maybe a box-like enclosure where you have some cover at the back. Now it is quite exposed. You can mark, but people will know where you mark.”
“Sir, the Minister has not answered my query about the authentication procedures. How do you ensure that every ballot paper is indeed properly authenticated and not void?”
“Sir, I only have three points to raise. Firstly, how does the Elections Department ensure that every ballot paper is fully authenticated and does not end up being void by default? Secondly, is there any procedure where it would ensure proper authentication of every ballot paper that is being issued? Thirdly, the question of serial numbers printed on the ballot papers, which was raised by Dr Lee. I would like to know whether it is necessary to have the serial number in view of the new authentication method. Would the Minister clarify why is there a need for the serial number to be printed on the ballot paper and what is the purpose of the serial number?”
“Sir, based on the Minister for Finance's answer, it seems to me that if any form of gambling has reached a level of popularity, the Minister for Finance might consider legalising it. Chap ji kee is a traditional form of gambling in Singapore with a long history and many old folks like it. If the popularity of chap ji kee increases, would the Minister for Finance consider legalising it?”
“Sir, I just wish to clarify that it was not my intention to pinpoint anyone as a scapegoat. It was not my intention.”
“However, this incident has reminded me of a small article in the Lianhe Zaobao which said that when the Government was adjusting its language policy, a reporter tried to interview a student but the student did not dare to be interviewed because his school principal was attending a meeting and he would not commit himself. He insisted that without the principal's approval, he could not agree to the interview. With regard to the Jin Tai Secondary School's incident, could it also be because the principal was attending a meeting, and the teachers and students could not decide for themselves? They did not know whether to put up a resistance or to submit timidly. As a result, they were humiliated for no rhyme or reason, and they did not even dare to make any noise. My goodness, all is lost! In our National Education, I think emphasis should be given on how to inculcate in our younger generation of Singaporeans the spirit of resistance and defence. They should be cultivated to rise up and resist any injustice and unreasonable treatment upon them. They should not be left at their wits' end when confronted by a sudden attack or invasion.”
“Did they think that this was the real thing and were so scared that they did not have the strength to defend themselves? Or is it because they decided to be worldly wise and played safe to avoid worse treatment? Having thought about all these, I just could not help feeling dejected. Of course, I was not present at that time, and I do not know what was in the minds of those who were present. But I feel that this incident has indeed inspired us to think over and make an in-depth study on what has become of our people and our society in these 30 years of nation building. I remember that in the early years of our nation building, the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said that we should build a staunch and vigorous society. It is with this connotation that we selected the lion and the tiger to put in our State emblem. Yet, from the reaction of the teachers and students in the Jin Tai Secondary School's exercise, I cannot help asking how much we have achieved in our target of building a staunch and vigorous society. Is it because under the strong authoritarian control of our Government, our people have become soft. Our people have developed the kiasu mentality and the social value of being afraid to get into trouble. Since Singapore is just a little red dot in the ocean of Southeast Asia, what kind of impact will this mentality have on our future and security of our nation? Sir, I have no answer to this question. Due to time constraint, I will not be able to go into details on how the social values and mentality of our people today are closely related to the style of governance of the political leaders in this country.”
“Sir, we all know about the incident at Jin Tai Secondary School where, in conjunction with the Total Defence Day, an exercise simulating the historical invasion of Singapore by the Japanese troops was conducted. According to the newspaper report, the teachers and students in the school did not know that there was going to be such an exercise. After the 400-odd teachers and students had assembled in the school auditorium, the lights went off, and six masked men dressed up as Japanese soldiers suddenly appeared, shouting and yelling. Some students were ordered to kneel down, while some were forcibly dragged on to the stage. Some were slapped and many were sobbing and crying. According to the Straits Times report, even some teachers were punished by the "Japanese soldiers" and forced to kneel down facing the stage. This Jin Tai Secondary School exercise has left me with some deep thinking. Firstly, the teachers and students did not know beforehand that this was just an exercise. Secondly, there were more than 400 teachers and students and only eight simulated "Japanese soldiers", including the two standing guard outside the door. They were overwhelmingly outnumbered, and unarmed. Thirdly, more than 400 people, including teachers, timidly submitted to the six unknown invaders, and allowed them to do whatever they wanted in the school auditorium. My first reaction was that of a great shock. How could the 400 teachers and students, who clearly outnumbered the six unarmed members of the National Cadet Corps who acted as Japanese soldiers, allow themselves to be humiliated in this manner? Moreover, the teachers and students were not forewarned of such an exercise.”
“Sir, I think the Minister would do well to summarise exactly what is the signal and ability that SAT tries to achieve, and what signal would it send to the parents, teachers and students.”
“Today, the `A' level examination is a very high stress process. It is one throw of the dice. You take the examination once, and everything depends on that examination. If you want to take it again, or if you do not do well enough, you have to wait till the next year to take it again. With the SAT, what has happened basically is that there is a wider balance in the selection criteria. In effect, what has happened is that the weightage to the `A' levels has declined in comparison to all the other factors in the university admission system. The SAT, of course, like any test you take, will have some element of stress. But because the SAT is a test which can be taken a number of times, it does not have the quality of a one throw of the dice, as the `A' level has today. So if you look at it overall, yes, you could say that there is a balance there. But it is not clear that it will increase the stress level and so on, for the students. There is a balance to be struck.”
“May I clarify the point that he mentioned? I think the Minister missed my point or misunderstood me. I said that, in theory, because we are using English as a medium of instruction, the students should not have difficulty in understanding the language of the SAT1. But the language part where it tests the reasoning of students by using pairing of words in English, some of these words are quite difficult even for English-educated students. I think it was mentioned in the feedback by a number of takers, which appeared in the Straits Times. The question here is, yes, you do have sufficient working knowledge of English and it is sufficient as a tool to do academic research, but do you have a depth in the language to understand the different pairs of words that are designed to test the reasoning? I think it is more than just the language standard that we are expected here. As pointed out by the Dean of the American School here, the language can be a problem. Because the depth of the language here, generally speaking, may not be the same as that in America and Britain where they speak English as a mother tongue. RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, I am quite confident that students will be able to manage. We basically already have an English language based education system. Our students take most of the subjects in the English language for 12 years of education. And we do want our students to read widely. We do encourage them to do so. As a matter of fact, many of our students of all academic aptitudes and abilities take the SAT and do quite well. Many of them, after having taken the SAT, gained admission to US universities. So I do not really see the difficulty. On the point of `A' levels and extra stress and so forth, I think there is a balance here to be struck.”
“I raised a question on streaming earlier which I think was not answered. RAdm Teo Chee Hean: First of all, on the cultural content of SAT, I think we do recognise that there may well be a little bit of cultural bias, in a sense. But I am really a little surprised with the arguments that Mr Low is raising. Earlier on, he said that actually our students should be well prepared, because if they proceeded all the way to the `A' levels, they really should have no difficulties doing this. Now I am a little surprised because he is taking the other side of the argument to say that they do have difficulties. I am not really sure what Mr Low is trying to say. I do accept that there are some culturally biased elements in the SAT, but I do not think that they would be so serious as to cause the SAT to be invalidated. And I think this is the point which Mr Low himself agrees with. Because he said earlier that if we do teach our students well in the 12 years of education and through JC, they should have no difficulty taking the SAT. So I am really surprised that he should now raise this point.”
“Sir, the Minister has not answered my earlier question on streaming. I would like the Minister to explain specifically what is the signal and ability that SAT is trying to send to the students, parents and teachers. I think what he has explained is too abstract and too vague. Has he taken into consideration the potential burden that SAT would place on parents and students? And how would the objectives of SAT justify all these additional burdens on students, parents and teachers? Would it not be possible to revise `A' level examination questions to assess the ability that SAT would have tried to assess? Finally, Sir, since the Minister has admitted that language in SAT could be a concern, I would like to know whether there is any immediate measure or remedy that the Ministry of Education is looking at before we go into full swing of putting SAT as a criterion for admission into the university.”
“Sir, may I have your permission to seek clarification from the Minister?”
“First, this examination uses the pairing of two groups of English words to evaluate the students' standard of English. Theoretically, if a student can satisfy the admission requirement, then his standard of English should have reached a certain standard of proficiency. There should not be a problem taking an examination in English. But using vocabulary in English to test students' comprehension skill and their ability of logic involves a student's depth in understanding English vocabulary. In a Straits Times report on 17th January, the Dean of the American Education Centre in Singapore was quoted as saying that Singapore students may have difficulties in the vocabulary part of SAT. To students who speak mother tongue at home and English is just a medium for academic research, this examination will be an unfair obstacle to them. If the Ministry of Education feels that the ultimate method of evaluating the effect of education is through the examination system, then is the Ministry of Education going to consider having some subjects like our sense of patriotism in our examinations? Or like in Japan, they tested the students' integrity when they want to go into medical school. I urge the Ministry of Education to review the necessity of having SAT in Singapore in order to prevent the need for those who cannot make the grade to go overseas to further their studies, and those who cannot afford to go overseas will be deprived of the opportunity to go to university. They would thus become the scapegoat of the new admission system.”
“But the evil of examination is that when students, teachers, parents and schools place too much emphasis on the examination results, it would defeat the primary purpose of education itself. I feel that we should not depend too much on examinations to decide whether any particular student should be given the opportunity to further his studies. Because education is a process of exerting subtle influence on the character and thinking of our students. So if we just use the basis of the pass rate in examinations to decide whether a school or our education system is good or bad, I think it is too simplistic. This Scholastic Aptitude Test will become another type of examination in Singapore, a subject to test our students' comprehension skill and their ability to solve tricky problems. Worse still, this is an examination which is outside the school syllabi. Although some people say preparation for SAT examinations will not raise their score, one thing for sure is that there will be a lot of American experts in this type of SAT examinations coming here to set up schools and claim that their method is the most effective one. So, like a swarm of bees, our parents will rush towards these tuition schools, and this will become another burden to our parents, teachers and students. I think our parents will have to spend a lot of money because of this examination. For this examination, no matter how many times you take the examination, you can always use the highest score for your admission requirement. So, in our kiasu situation in Singapore, the parents and students will keep on taking the examinations in order to improve their score, and this will increase the burden of our people. Why should we do that? Thirdly, is SAT relevant to our national conditions?”
“Sir, the Committee on University Admissions has recommended changes to the admission criteria for universities. The suggestion is made because in a knowledge-economy oriented world of tomorrow, a university graduate must have wide ranging skills, and not just the skill of absorbing knowledge. The Committee also feels that that the new admission criteria will therefore change the broad direction of our education system. However, I do not believe that the introduction of this American style Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) will help our university students to possess extensive skills and cultivate the spirit of life-long learning. First, this Scholastic Aptitude Test evaluates the candidate's comprehension skill and the ability to solve equivocal problems. I think if after 12 years of education, and having attained `A' level results which are good enough to satisfy the university's admission and eligibility requirement, our students still do not have the comprehension skill and the ability to deal with tricky problems, then there must be either some big problem with our education system or significant defects with the design of the examination papers. Therefore, I think the Ministry should review the present education system, restructure the curriculum and the way examination papers are set. Secondly, this Scholastic Aptitude Test is another obstacle for the students' admission to the university. It will also bring additional financial burden and mental stress to our students and parents. Examinations may serve the purpose of evaluating the students' proficiency in certain subjects and their mental capabilities.”
“I suggest that the Ministry of Education consider abolishing streaming in our primary schools and based on the school examination results and the wishes of the parents, to decide who are suitable to take Higher Chinese after Primary Four. As for streaming in secondary schools, I feel that the Ministry of Education should review the Normal Stream course in our secondary schools. Under the present examination system, Normal Stream students will have to first of all pass the `N' level examination before they are allowed to take the `O' level examination. I feel that this is an unnecessary obstacle to them. Since they are promoted to Secondary Five, they can take the `O' level examinations, but then the four years of secondary education is not much of a help in taking the `O' level examinations, because there is a large gap between the `O' level and the `N' level education. So these students actually have great difficulty adapting. It would be difficult for them to take the `O' level examinations. I think the Ministry of Education could consider abolishing the `N' level examinations and let all the `N' stream students take five years of secondary education and then take the `O' level examinations, irrespective of how they fare in the `O' level examinations. I hope that, after 10 years of education in school, they can at least learn some basic ability of comprehension and acquire some skills in meeting some of the challenges facing them with our move towards a knowledge-based economy.”
“Sir, having heard Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Mr Rai on their opinions on the SAP schools, I feel that their worry is unnecessary. They feel that the SAP schools have deprived the Chinese students of the opportunity to mix with students from the other ethnic groups. In my view, interaction can take place in other forms, and not just be confined to the schools. Interaction among students from the various races could be achieved through their neighbourhood activities or in their places of work. We have to look at the matter from a more comprehensive point of view. If we do not have SAP schools in Singapore, then can we make sure that in every school in Singapore, there will be a fixed ratio of students from the various ethnic groups? I think it is not possible to achieve that, unless we can do like what the HDB is doing, ie, to have this quota on the various races in every block of flats, and have a similar quota in our schools. For example, we must have a certain number of Malay students or Indian students in each school. Is it necessary? There may not be enough Indian or Malay students from certain neighbourhoods to fill the quotas. Sir, the system of streaming has been implemented in Singapore for many years. Although the Ministry of Education can present data to prove that streaming has helped to reduce the number of drop-outs among our students and they also emphasise that students from the various streams are given equal treatment, we should nevertheless conduct a study on whether the streaming system is beneficial or detrimental to the development of our human resources, which is very limited in Singapore, and also whether every student can bring into full play his potential after 10 years of basic education.”
“Sir, a clarification from the Parliamentary Secretary. When doing voluntary work, sometimes our VWOs exceed the time of their parking coupons and they were summoned for that. Why can we not provide VWOs who drive the convenience of free parking in our HDB or URA car parks? Just now, the Parliamentary Secretary said that the work of the PAP and the grassroots organisations is not related. I would like him to state categorically how do the PAP workers and the grassroots workers disassociate themselves during the general elections.”
“Sir, social workers work quietly and spontaneously, sacrificing their time to serve the unfortunate people in society and bring them warmth. Their spirit is worthy of our emulation. But social workers in our society have not been given due social status, and the Government's recognition for their contributions is also very limited. Of course, social workers do not expect the Government to give them any benefit, neither do they work as volunteers for the so-called benefits. But I feel strongly that it is unfair to these noble voluntary workers not to be given the due recognition from the authority. In comparison, grassroots leaders enjoy free parking facilities in their constituency, whereas social workers do not get such concession. Sometimes, because of their work commitments, they are fined because the validity of their coupons has expired. They work for free, and yet they have to incur out-of-pocket expenses. The Government has given money for the construction of the Grassroots' Club, so that grassroots leaders can have the prestige of having an exclusive club of their own. On the other hand, the Government does not even give a thought to provide similar facilities to the voluntary social workers, so that they can mingle together and exchange experiences and information and strengthen their determination to serve the society. I would suggest that the Ministry of Community Development consider building a similar club for social workers. Why is there such a difference in treatment? Is it because the grassroots organisations are serving the interest of the PAP and are therefore given these special privileges?”
“Many workers also see the BEST and WISE programmes will lead them to nowhere or too far to somewhere, as these are not specific skills redevelopment programmes that will enhance their skills to become more employable. I suggest the Ministry of Manpower make a projection of the manpower needs of the various job sectors and provide grants and offer training places to workers who are currently working in those less promising industries who wish to change their jobs and to build a new career. In conclusion, Sir, the Government should realise that there are workers who are working in some less promising industries, who are older and it is too late for them to obtain a basic general education. They face the prospect of losing their job. They need retraining badly so as to remain employable in the future. The Government should also note that these workers may not be working in multi-national companies. They are also not unionised. I urge the Government to target this specific group of workers and design programmes that are tailor-made to their needs.”
“5 million of grants were committed to the training of workers with PSLE qualifications or below, whereas a total of $54 million were committed to train workers with secondary or GCE "O" level qualifications. In terms of training places, 54,180 places were committed for those with PSLE qualifications and below compared to 286,434 places for higher educated workers. Even workers with university degrees were given higher allocation of grants and more training places than workers with PSLE qualifications or below. I urge the Government to refocus its priority in workers' training to ensure that those who are older and have little education remain employable in the future. Greater efforts must be made to reach out to these workers to offer them training and an alternative career in their job before it becomes too late when they will face long term unemployment and hence financial hardship. It is no good just pleading with employers to give them a chance, as what the Prime Minister did, not so long ago. Although these workers may not know what is a knowledge-based economy and may not be able to operate sophisticated machines, they are part of our society and are prepared to do tough jobs that many others shun. The Government should help them to avoid financial hardship due to economic restructuring. Sir, I also wish to point out another weakness in the training programmes being offered, ie, the programmes rely too much on employers to decide whether they should send their workers for training. For example, the Back-to-Work programme, depends on whether the workers are selected by the potential employers for training, and the Skills Redevelopment Programme depends on the employers to send their existing workforce for upgrading.”
“Sir, I share the concerns of Members in this House that our workers will be in for a tough time with employment, and especially employment that will yield good economic returns. I am also worried that with the rapid restructuring of our economy, our workers could be caught by long term unemployment due to the change in the economic structure where there would be mismatch of skills. Right now, there are workers who were previously enjoying good economic returns in jobs, such as welders, metal fabricators, plasterers, bricklayers, etc. The metal and construction industries are already facing strong competition from cheaper foreign labour from Malaysia, China and India. Cleaners and odd-job labourers are also facing the same problem. Many of these workers have little education and are in their middle age, with families to support. Most of them are from the middle lower or lower income groups. If they are unable to move upwards in tandem with the economy and eventually become unemployed, we would see this segment of the society becoming adversely affected, and this would hurt the cohesiveness of our society in the long run. Although they know they are now facing strong competition and may even lose their jobs in the future, they do not know what other jobs they can switch to and what are the avenues open to them to acquire the necessary new skills. The Government has announced various schemes in the retraining of workers. The schemes seem to favour workers with at least secondary education. For example, the Report of the Skills Development Fund for 1997/98 shows that in 1997 $5.”
“I would like to ask the Minister: was controlling what should be transmitted to the homes and be viewed by Singaporeans uppermost in the Government's mind when deciding to wire up the whole nation by cable rather than allowing Singaporeans to have direct access to international channels freely via the satellite dish? BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Sir, satellite dishes are not as convenient as Mr Low may think. Satellite dishes require line of sight, which means you cannot have it if you live in a high-rise apartment block. If you have one satellite dish, you access one satellite, you may not get all the channels that you want. Furthermore, even after you have got the satellite dish, you have still to cable it to your home. So it is not as if satellite represents a cheap alternative. It is far better for us, economically speaking, to see the whole of Singapore as one large condominium satellite with big satellite dishes pulling down channels from all over the world and then feeding it through a cable system and through wireless systems to different households, office blocks, schools and so on. This was the model that we adopted. Would we allow the free use of satellite one day? We already allow it for banks and companies. We have decided to hold back on households in order to buy ourselves more time for local programming to take root. We also wanted to make sure that extreme broadcasts which are pornographic or inflammatory in a racial or religious sense are kept out. Of course, a cable system, if there is a national emergency, or if there is an SAF mobilisation, is very useful for these purposes.”
“Mr Chairman, do I have your permission to seek just one clarification?”
“Thereby the traditional mode of receiving TV programmes via the antenna system will become obsolete and indirectly force everyone in Singapore who wishes to watch television to connect to the cable network. I would therefore like the Government to state its position on the matter. I also understand that those who live in landed property will have to pay a yearly maintenance fee to Singapore Cable Vision under the connection agreement. If one wishes to continue to use the cable network to receive those non-paying channels, like the HDB flat dwellers, after they have paid for the laying of the cable infrastructure, I would like to know what is the rationale for imposing such a fee which is subject to revision by SCV. I would also like to know whether the Minister thinks it is fair for SCV to impose such a fee for maintaining the cable infrastructure after asking the residents to pay for the laying of the cable infrastructure in the first place. I understand people who live in HDB flats need not pay the maintenance fee.”
“Sir, a while ago, I heard Mr Chew Heng Ching expressing his concern and worry that Singaporeans may be exposed to too much opposition opinions from external television channels that are now accessible to Singaporeans who are connected to the cable network. I wish to assure him that there is no need for him to worry about such influence because this Government, the PAP Government, will know how to control such influence directly or indirectly and to ensure that at least it is not easy for Mr Chew, because of the influence, that he might lose his seat. Sir, there are various ways that the Government could influence the stations although they might be plugged into the cable network. There is the granting of licence and the question of whether or not they will be accessible to the cable network. Similarly, the same goes to foreign publications in Singapore. The Government deals with foreign publications by influencing them on how to report or what to report. Otherwise, they may be banned or their circulation will be curtailed. Anyway, I do not think that there is a cause for Mr Chew to worry. Sir, I understand that, although Singapore Cable Vision is a private firm, some of the major shareholders are Government-linked companies and I also understand that the Government intends to use the cable system for the Singapore ONE national IT project. With this backdrop in mind, I wonder whether it is the Government's intention to force all Singaporeans to use the cable network. There is a concern among those who do not intend to connect to the cable network that the television stations may one day decide not to transmit signals via the air wave.”
“Sir, I am just as concerned about the new criteria as Mr Sin Boon Ann. I believe the new point system is in line with the Government's policy of attracting foreign talent. While I understand the need, in principle, to attract foreign talent, I am concerned whether our citizens will be disadvantaged by the policy or, worse, suffer because of the policy. Sir, I think priority for approval of PR should be given to those whose spouses or parents are Singapore citizens. I came across a case where a Singapore citizen mother, applying for her two children to become PRs since 1987, was rejected. I am also of the view that the criteria for this category of applicants should be made more transparent so that the applicants know what are expected of them. Otherwise, they would be just guessing why their applications are rejected while others are approved. I also would like to know whether there is a quota system under which applications are approved based on the number of quotas for each category. If so, how does the quota system work? The Chairman: Mr Rai is not here. Mr Chng.”
“Sir, I am not satisfied with the answer and the time allocated. So I am not withdrawing the amendment. Question on the amendment put, and negatived. The sum of $333,986,040 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $3,772,694,400 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head Q -”
“What I would like to know from the Government is how would the Government protect the privacy of individual citizens in view of the databases available now?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head W of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code WB 1500. Sir, I understand that the Department of Statistics has used administrative data from various Government agencies to set up a household registration database. A national database on dwellings has also been set up. With this detailed data available to the Government, it would be very convenient for the Government to know the details of individual households or even individual citizens just by a few strokes on the keyboard. I would like to know whether the Government has plans to expand the database further by including also, for instance, income expenditure and other personal information available from Government agencies, such as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, CID, MINDEF, Immigration, LTA, CPF, Elections Department or even the commercial banks. Sir, in the electronic world today, and especially in Singapore, where the Government advocates the use of electronic transactions in almost every aspect of payment and transaction, every citizen is fast losing his privacy without even realising it. Instead of having a more transparent Government, what we will have in Singapore will be a transparent population with every citizen like a sotong in the sea. Singaporeans must be aware of what all these databases mean for them.”
“Sir, since the Minister said that he was not referring to my constituency, could the Ministry consider selling the 3-room flats in my constituency to the sitting tenants?”
“Sir, may I seek a clarification from the Minister? I would like to know whether the sale of flats to sitting tenants scheme is linked to the level of support for the PAP and the election results. Mr Lim Hng Kiang: There is no linkage in the sale of flats to sitting tenants scheme to the level of electoral support. We encourage our tenants to buy over their flats. But at the same time, you must balance the needs of other low income families who are now on the waiting list. So, wherever possible, we can meet the demand we will sell the flats to the sitting tenants. But if we sell all the rental flats to the sitting tenants, then we will not have enough flats for future allocation to those on the waiting list. So, unfortunately, the Hougang area is a very popular area, not Hougang in his constituency, but Hougang as a general area is a very popular area. There is a long waiting list and we do not have such a big supply of rental flats compared to the central areas. 3.00 pm”
“Today, property prices, including a resale HDB flat, has fallen roughly to about the 1993 levels. In contrast, the prices of new HDB flats have not dropped. Surely the prices of new HDB flats should move in line with the rest of the market. Is it because they are costed at historical prices when land prices were still very high? Also, since land sale has stopped for one year, at what price does HDB buy land? Surely this cannot be set at historical prices which do not sufficiently reflect market movements. I understand that new HDB flats are highly subsidised. I am not suggesting that the subsidy be increased in order for prices to fall. But perhaps there could be a float where the prices of HDB flats are concerned and it is this float factor which could move with the market. Another reason for the dropping out could be because new flats are much smaller than existing flats of the same type. For example, up to two years ago, 4-room flats were about 110 square metres in size. Now they are about 90 square metres. And a new 5-room flat now has the same floor area as an older 4-room flat. It is a puzzle to me that as per capita incomes in Singapore rise, flats of the same type are getting smaller instead of getting larger. On top of that, the civil defence shelter takes up additional space. Could one of the reasons be because of the fact that two years ago, during the height of the property boom, land prices were so high that a 125-square metre 5-room flat would have been too costly, and so smaller flats were designed instead? To the extent that HDB policies are set during boom times and geared to rising prices, it is time that they be re-evaluated in today's changed circumstances. 2.15 pm”
“Sir, in 1997, I wrote to HDB to inform them that the design of new flats in Hougang Constituency was such that it was prone to burglary. After some investigation by its architecture department, HDB told me that no burglar would take such a big risk climbing over the external wall to enter a flat. However, a recent report of the Police confirmed that what the residents in the area were worried about could indeed happen. I would like to know whether HDB has any remedial measures for such defective designs which can cause security problems to the residents. On the other hand, I notice that in the new precincts, blocks of flats are built very close to one another. I have received feedback from the residents that the flats are so close that they can fight with people in the opposite blocks simply by stretching out their bamboo poles. Not long ago, at the 5th Southeast-Asian Geographical Conference, the Geography Department of our National Institute of Education presented a study report which revealed that the design of many HDB flats is such that there is difficulty for heat to be dispersed at night, thereby resulting in a general rise of temperature in Singapore. One of the factors is that the blocks of flats are built too close to one another. I would like to know whether in developing new towns, HDB has taken consideration into the possible effect on our natural environment and the question of privacy of the residents. Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Sir, the number of first-timers who dropped out of the new flat queue increased from about 950 in the fourth quarter of 1997 to about 3,000 one year later in the fourth quarter of 1998. There are various reasons cited by the Minister in a written answer. Of all the reasons, two of the most important must surely be price and size.”
“It seems to me that Singaporeans who hold Malaysian shares now are being deprived of their right to trade on the market by the Malaysian authorities. How is the Government of Singapore going to help them? Or are we going to leave it as it is with no end to it? BG Lee Hsien Loong: The shares remain the shares of the Clob shareholders. As I have explained, there is an agreement between Clob and the KL Stock Exchange to make the arrangements for the shares to be traded. The Singapore Stock Exchange has done its part. We are now awaiting for the KL Stock Exchange to do their part. The Member would have noticed that when the Prime Minister met Prime Minister Mahathir in Hanoi in December, they talked about the package of issues to be discussed and resolved together as one bundle. Clob was one of the items.”
“Sir, may I have your permission to seek one clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister? The Chairman: Yes, make it short.”
“The Government did not care about the super-risk the investors were facing, neither did they heed the Malaysian Government's repeated warning that this market was illegal, and went on to operate it for 8 years. It was only when the Government was forced into an impasse that it was thrown into confusion and left it to run its own course. As a result, the fate of the investors' share capital is now left entirely in the hands of the Malaysian Government. You call this a responsible Government? As at 31st August 1998, approximately 200,000 investors were affected and most of them were Singaporeans. Since the collapse of this CLOB market some half a year ago, apart from apologising hastily to the investors, the SES took no further positive action. The Government also seems to have washed its hands off the matter, and it leaves the Singapore investors who bought Malaysian shares at the mercy of the Malaysian Government. I would like to know what measures this self-proclaimed brilliant, capable, far-sighted and highly efficient PAP Government is going to adopt to protect the interest of Singaporean investors who invested in Malaysian shares. Moreover, the PAP Government has been advocating Total Defence all the time. But, have we done enough in our economic defence? Why is it that all of a sudden, the investment by the people of Singapore in their homeland has become the sacrifice in the political wrestle between Singapore and Malaysia, and even the control of capital has gone into the hands of a foreign government? 5.30 pm”
“If what Mr Chuang said is correct, then I think the PAP Government is not up to the standard. Yahoo! took 2 years and we took more than 30 years! When the Government encouraged the people of Singapore to invest in shares, Singaporeans from all walks of life happily jumped on the band wagon, with the hope that the Government would create wealth for them through the share market. Many loyal Singaporeans believed that all activities they were encouraged by the Government to participate in would bring benefits to them. This time round, they have their fingers, some even have their hands, burnt. The most innocent ones are those who bought Malaysian shares from the CLOB share market. Since the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) announced in September last year to close down the CLOB market which had made lots of money for the SES and the Government for the past 8 years, those investors who bought Malaysian shares could only lament their bitterness before the heaven. All their investments are stuck, and they have no way of knowing when they will see the light of day again. The PAP Government who has all along self-proclaimed to be brilliant and capable, pushed the blame to the people and said that the people should have recognised the risk of investment. What I want to point out is that the situation here is not one of the usual risks involved in investment. The fact here is that, this CLOB market, as set up by the SES, has the inherent risk of collapse of the whole market system itself. This is not the type of risk which people describe as the risk of being eaten up by the crocodile as one enters the "crocodile pit". Now, the whole crocodile pit is disintegrated. Everything is in a quandary and heaven knows when it is going to settle down.”
“Sir, at last year's Budget debate, I raised the issue of MINDEF's tender procedures and weakness in financial control based on the Auditor-General's Report for the Financial Year 1996/97, the details of which were mentioned by Dr Ong just now. In the Auditor-General's Report for Financial Year 1997/98, the issue of MINDEF's financial control remains glaring, especially on the question of accuracy of accounts being confirmed as correct by the Permanent Secretary. The Report pointed out that the two deposit accounts which were confirmed by the Permanent Secretary as correct, and I quote, "found to agree with the records kept by my Ministry" turned out to have a discrepancy of more than $100,000. Furthermore, Audit could not verify the third account as the individual account listings were not ready for the audit then. MINDEF owes an explanation to this House. How did the above happen and whether the third account mentioned in the report has been audited, and if so, what is the result of the audit? Sir, I think it is time MINDEF woke up to the call for prudent financial control and the need to follow financial procedures.”
“Sir, the point is that the revenue estimated by Government is sufficient to cover the operating expenditure. So, the question is how much do we want to spend. The Government has decided in this Budget to spend more on development expenditure, and that has caused the deficit of $5.1 billion. That was the point I made. Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: Precisely. And that is what we have said all along that we are spending heavily on development to prepare for the future.”
“Sir, I wish to clarify that I did not suggest in my speech that the Government should not incur a deficit in this Budget, nor did I suggest that the Government should cut back on development expenditure. I also wish to further clarify that there are basically two underlying messages in my speech in my attempt to analyse FY99 budget deficit. One is that the deficit is not alarming because the Government's revenue estimates are more than sufficient to cover the operating expenditure. Secondly, the deficit is the result of greater development expenditure and is not due to more schemes or expenditures to help the people weather the economic crisis.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to clarify part of my speech which was misinterpreted by the Minister for Finance?”
“Why do we not change the environment here?”
“Sir, may I seek a clarification from Dr Wang? Would Dr Wang agree that these people who are transported to a politically more freedom area may not be creative, probably because in their old environment there was no opportunity for them to be creative?”
“Of course, Mr Seng said there are ups and downs. We all understand that at the end of the tunnel there is light. But we do not have to publicise that this is due to the efforts of the PAP Government. During the General Election, the impression was that you have more prosperous years ahead, more good years ahead. So when there is a crisis, you cannot put the blame on others and say that it is because of the regional crisis that our economy takes a downturn. When times are good, you say, well, it is the PAP Government which is very efficient and very good, and therefore you have these good results. How do you reconcile these two arguments?”
“Mr Seng was asking me how many people had died as a result of this crisis. I can say at least two people in my constituency have died. One committed suicide because of heavy losses in the stock market, the other became very ill when the property market plummeted, and eventually succumbed to his illness. Mr Seng said that the Government had attempted to explain to the people, but many people still could not understand. This is because, just two years ago, at the General Election in 1997, the PAP was full of confidence that Singapore would enjoy 5% to 7% growth for the next few years. One of the important platforms of its election manifesto is to create wealth for the people. Now, not only no wealth is created, in fact, people are losing their wealth. So many people do not understand. I think perhaps Mr Seng should cause more publicity to be made through our media on this point.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to clarify certain matters mentioned by Mr Seng?”
“Sitting resumed at 3.10 pm [Mr Speaker in the Chair] ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT Debate resumed.”