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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“Is the Minister satisfied that, in the event that Malaysia should go ahead and legislate requiring their exporters to use their own port instead of Singapore ports, we will not be adversely affected?”
“Clarification, Sir. What is the penalty for mosquito breeding grounds found on the premises or properties under the charge of, for instance, the Ministry of the Environment, such as concealed drains, sewers and sub-stations, or land under the Land Office?”
“Is the Minister satisfied that the formula so far that has been adopted is fair to the cost allocation of lower class wards such as C class and B2?”
“Would the Minister explain the principle of allocation of costs to the various classes of wards in terms of indirect manpower cost, depreciation and overhead costs?”
“Has the Minister considered building multi-storey heavy vehicle parks?”
“Sir, does the Minister agree that it is for the Ministry's convenience to settle the issue and to solve the problem of heavy vehicle parking lots by just raising the season parking charges on the pretext that there is a mismatch rather than solving the problem by building more season parking parks within 3 km of HDB estates? I am not talking of building it in the heart of HDB estates.”
“Does the Minister not think that to solve the problem of heavy vehicle parks and also for the convenience of the drivers, the answer should be to build more heavy vehicle parks near HDB estates, rather than raising the price?”
“Sir, the mismatch may not necessarily be due to price factors but due to the location of the heavy vehicle parks, because it would be more convenient for vehicle owners or drivers to park their vehicles near their homes, which are normally in the HDB estates. Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Obviously, being nearer the housing estates is more convenient and therefore a person should pay a higher price for that convenience. So, today, we have a situation where if a driver is lucky to get a lot in the URA heavy vehicle parks within 3 km of housing estates, he pays a lower price. And those who cannot get a lot will just wait forever for a lot. If a person is unlucky to get a lot, then he pays a higher price further away from his housing estate. This is not a sensible way to run heavy vehicle parks. So we need to make the adjustment - URA to raise its charges a little and the private sector to lower their charges a little.”
“Sir, would the Minister explain how does the increase in season parking charges solve the problem of mismatch?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to seek further clarification from the Minister for Finance who mentioned that Singapore does not control the bank interest rates. But I wonder whether he would comment on the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir's recent comment after the UMNO General Assembly, that Malaysia's economic recovery will be faster if interest rates in Singapore were reduced. And if interest rates rise, then there will be an outflow of money from Malaysia to Singapore. Would he comment on that? Mr Choo Wee Khiang: Sir, I just want to clarify. I understand fully as to what the Minister has explained earlier pertaining to the GST suspension. But I think a lot of people feel and just hope that somehow in this kind of economic situation, no matter how artificial it is, every single drop of water counts.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is common knowledge that the bank interest rates will affect the ability of Singaporeans to service their loans and the ability of businesses to stay afloat under the current economic situation. I wonder why the Government has not introduced any measure to influence the banks to reduce interest rates so as to ease the burden of borrowers.”
“Sir, the Minister for Finance, in his answer, said that the Government will only consider implementing off-Budget measures if the economy slows down significantly. May I know from the Minister what does he mean by "significant slowdown"? What percentage is he looking at? Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: A "significant slowdown" would mean that it would be down to negative growth, for example.”
“Is there any target set by the Government in terms of self-sufficiency in water supply, ie, a certain percentage of water supply would be developed locally rather than depending entirely or the bulk of the supply from foreign sources?”
“Sir, is there any other effort that the Government would put in to develop water resources locally, in order not to be over-dependent on water supply from foreign countries? Mr Lee Yock Suan: Yes, Sir, we have been doing it all these years. Water is very important for us. So we have been developing our own water resources to the maximum. We are now looking into desalination as well, as Members have been informed. We are also looking into other sources of water which are not so usable. They are non-potable water, but they could be used to supplement our sources for non-potable uses.”
“Will they focus on examination results by which schools are measured or creative thinking to achieve higher educational objectives?”
“Secondly, if the Ministry's intention is that the teachers will still have to ensure that the students pass all their examinations and pass them well, with good results, and at the same time MOE also requires students to have thinking skills, creativity and to achieve the desired educational results set by the Ministry of Education, then a different system of evaluation to include the objectives should be formulated to assess the performance results of the students. We all know that our education system is based on the marks of students to measure results. The success or failure of students is also measured by academic results. So whatever it is, it is examination results! So parents follow it, MOE follows it, everybody follows it, and the whole society goes by the same standard for incentives and awards. The whole society has this kind of attitude. Therefore, if you have creative teaching to achieve the higher objective of education but it will not be measured as part of their performance, then I doubt very much whether we can achieve much from creative teaching, and how much can be achieved in the teaching goals beyond examination subjects. Sir, if, on the one hand, teachers are required to proceed with creative teaching and devote time to non-examination subjects to expand the students' general knowledge and to strengthen their thinking skills to achieve the higher objective of education, but on the other hand, continue to rank our schools based on the students' academic results obtained through faithful reproduction of knowledge they have learnt from the textbooks and lecture notes, then what does the Ministry of Education think that the school principals and teachers will do?”
“The Minister for Education said that academic performance is part of a holistic education and that the pursuit of holistic education will not compromise academic standards. Theoretically, this may be so, but when the measurement of success or failure of education is based on results, the teachers would still have to be more realistic to go by the standards by which they are measured. I am not against creative teaching and the emphasis on the thinking skills of students, but when we are emphasizing so much on marks and scores, on results and performance, where do we get the support point? First of all, will the Ministry of Education consider the ways of setting questions so as to ensure that creative thinking will also have a place to play in examination? At the moment, the way of teaching is centred around questions set at previous examinations and the school curricula. If the examination questions are the same, but the teachers focus on creative thinking, and the results are therefore affected, will this be acceptable to parents, the schools and the Ministry of Education? If the Ministry of Education decides to change the contents and styles of the questions set for the national level examination, what form will it take and when will it start? The teachers feel puzzled about creative teaching. What is meant by creative teaching? What percentage of the teaching time should be devoted to creativity and critical thinking? How much of the teaching must be tailored to impart knowledge and understanding of the subjects that the students are studying?”
“I heard Mr Sim Boon Ann's speech about students suffering from stress from the learning of the second language. When my children learn English, they also find it stressful. So shall I ask the Minister for Education to lower the standard of English in school? Sir, when the Minister for Education spoke in this House yesterday, he painted a very idealistic educational objective for us. He also said that in achieving such an objective, teachers play a decisive role. The Minister also introduced certain measures to lighten the teachers' workload, such as restructuring the curricula, cutting down the course content and syllabi. But all these can be implemented only in a few years' time. In the meantime, upon the implementation of new education policies, teachers immediately face extra workload and mental stress. For example, in the application of IT in teaching, the Ministry of Education stipulates that by the year 2000, 30% of the teaching content must apply IT. Many teachers have gone for training in software application - Internet, Powerpoint, Chinese Star, etc. But knowing how to use the software and using them for the design of teaching materials require two different levels of proficiency in IT. At the moment, there are not many CD-ROMs available, especially for Chinese language, and not much suitable materials on the Internet. Yet, the Ministry of Education keeps exerting pressure on the teachers to apply IT in their teaching. In creative teaching, the teacher's dilemma is how to carry out creative teaching in class and at the same time ensure that the academic results of his students will not be compromised.”
“Sir, I do not think the Minister has answered my questions. I have raised two questions. First, what is the Minister's definition of "subsidy", and not market subsidy? I am talking about subsidy. Second, will the selling price of the new HDB flats in the north zone be increased further if, let us say, they are more popular, as the Minister's answer is that the price is based on popularity?”
“Clarification, Sir. I do not know where the Minister has got the definition of "subsidy" from. Maybe it is a mixed definition. What I understand from the Oxford Universal Dictionary, the definition of "subsidy" is a grant or contribution of money. But in this particular case, I stated that for the Sengkang flats, the Government makes a profit. It does not contribute any money in the development of the new flats. And I asked him just now whether the selling price of flats in the north zone will increase if there are more applicants.”
“Government subsidy? Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Call it what you like, that is what Singaporeans benefit from buying an HDB flat directly from us. Mr Low has his point. You can go round. In fact, I encourage him to publicise those numbers that he has and draw the conclusions from there to both the Workers' Party as well as to all his constituents in Hougang. In fact, I will help him with the direct mailing list. Tell them that this is his calculations, that in the Sengkang flats, the number which I gave him, Government made X dollars of development gain and therefore HDB flats are not subsidised. Therefore, as their leader and elected representative, he will advise them to quickly withdraw from the North-East queue because HDB flats are not subsidised. Please do that.”
“Clarification, Sir. Is it correct that, based on my calculation, HDB makes a gross profit of more than $44 million from selling of those flats that I cited in my speech in Sengkang? I think it is better to get these things clear here. I am talking about Government subsidy. I am not talking about market subsidy. For instance, Carrefour sells some goods which are below market price. Then you can call it market subsidy, if you want to. I am talking about Government subsidy. Would the Minister enlighten this House what is his definition of "subsidy" and whether those flats in Sengkang that I cited in my speech yesterday under the various contracts are subsidised by the Government?”
“I am talking about subsidy, not market subsidy.”
“Can I confirm with the Minister that (1) there is no Government subsidy for the new HDB flats in Sengkang? (2) Does the Government make development profits from the sale of these flats in Sengkang? Another clarification is: would the selling price of new HDB flats, let us say, in the north zone, be increased if more applicants apply for flats in the zone?”
“For this reason, the Government says it is allowing more people to own cars by issuing more COEs. This would make up for the loss in the above revenue. At the same time, apart from the fixed road tax, the Government is now implementing the ERP system to ensure they have a steady income. 2.15 pm”
“Sir, I think I can tell Mr Chiam See Tong that the Government will not abolish the COE because the COE is a steady source of income for the Government. The Government claims that the purpose of implementing the ERP is to ease the congestion on our roads. It will also switch from a fixed road tax system which taxes on ownership to that of a road pricing system which taxes on usage. Road tax rebates will be provided for the next five years, and the Government claims that the implementation of ERP will not increase its revenue. But what will happen five years later when no more road tax rebates will be given? With higher ERP fees, the Government's revenue will surely go up. There is another thing that we should know, that is, with the ERP system, whenever we use the road we will have to pay for it, like GST. You cannot escape from it. On the other hand, the Government is assured of a steady income, irrespective of the economic situation. I am of the view that the reason for the Government to revise the various tax structures was to ensure that the Government will have a steady tax revenue irrespective of the economic situation. In recent years, taxes on motor vehicles have become an important source of revenue for the Government. For example, in last year's budget, the Government expected to collect more than $4 billion from COE, import tax, ARF, and road tax. However, apart from the road tax which is a fixed income, revenues from the other taxes were affected by the economic downturn and the number of COEs the Government could issue. For the financial year 1st April 1996 to 31st March 1997, the Government's income from COE was $120 million less than the expected amount. On ARF, the revenue was $174 million less than the expected amount.”
“A clarification from the Minister, Sir. I mentioned in my speech that the number of cases of mosquito breeding has shot up from over 7,000 cases in 1992 to 25,000, and subsequently an average of 20,000 cases. That is the number of mosquito breeding cases discovered. It was reported in the Annual Report of the Ministry of the Environment. I would like to know specifically what has the Ministry done, after discovering that mosquito breeding cases were going up. Secondly, I would like to know whether the Ministry is considering cooperating with other Government agencies, in terms of certain policy coordination within the Ministry and departments, to make sure that construction sites and other places where there is a likelihood of mosquito breeding would be prevented 4.30 pm”
“Together with URA and the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), the Ministry of the Environment can stipulate the minimum gradient of the drains so that water will not accumulate and remain stagnant to facilitate the breeding of mosquitoes therein. Likewise, there should also be stipulations that no gutters should be constructed for the houses in new development projects.”
“Sir, originally, dengue haemorrhagic fever which was supposed to have vanished from Singapore has reappeared. According to reports, the number of such cases is on the rise. I know that the Environment Ministry's officers are trying their best to wipe out this problem. But, of late, their efforts do not seem to be successful. Indeed, cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever are on the rise. Recently, because in the increase in cases reported in the Tan Tock Seng Hospital area, ENV officials conducted a thorough search of the area and discovered that there were about 18 sites which were breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquitoes. Construction works have been going on in this area for over a year. It is only now that they have discovered that there are so many breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquitoes. Is it not too late? According to the Annual Report of the Ministry of the Environment, in 1992, 7,052 mosquitoes breeding sites were discovered. By 1992, the number of breeding sites discovered was 25,530. On the average, more than 20,000 breeding sites were discovered. So I want to ask, since there is a clear increase in the breeding sites, apart from fumigation, what other measures are taken against this kind of situation? I feel that the Ministry of the Environment should cooperate with other Government Ministries and agencies to have an overall plan and scheme to stop the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes. For example, before PWD and URA approve the permits for construction work to commence, the contractors concerned must first engage vector control agencies approved by the Ministry of the Environment to regularly inspect the construction sites to prevent mosquito breeding.”
“Sir, may I seek clarification from the Minister. I am not asking the Government to jam up the satellite TV transmission. I am asking: is it so impossible for the Government to use the technology available to us to prevent clear transmission of pornographic signals to the homes, rather than banning satellite dish wholesale? The second clarification is: why has the Government decided to spend so much in laying the cable network and then at the end, people have to pay for the subscription? Why did the Government not consider installing a central satellite dish at HDB blocks? And I understand that quite a lot of programmes transmitted through satellite are free. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Mr Low's first point. I think what he was describing is a form of jamming. And it is a very crude way of blocking out foreign broadcast. I am not sure if it can be done. I have got to discuss it with my experts. But it is not a method we will contemplate. On Mr Low's second point about the cabling exercise, it is done as a private undertaking by SCV. SCV is a private company. It is not owned by the Government, and it includes an American investor who has 20% in it.”
“Sir, Singapore is now developing into an IT hub. Our IT infrastructure and development are more advanced than our neighbouring countries. The strange thing is that countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia which are lagging behind us in IT development, are allowing their people to use the satellite dish freely to receive satellite TV telecast, while Singapore bans the use of such satellite dish. The Government is concerned that if people are allowed to tune in freely to undesirable programmes, such as pornography, from the satellite TV, this would have a grave adverse repercussion on our society. I agree with this stand. However, with the advance in technology, would the Minister consider the use of some kind of technology to block out such undesirable programmes from the satellite TV, so that they will not reach Singapore? Then the Government can allow people to install satellite dishes so that they can freely select and watch programmes from other parts of the world, particularly programmes on political commentaries.”
“With the aging population, there are more and more elderly people in our society. Many of these old people suffer from various chronic diseases, such as senile dementia and other problems. They are unable to look after themselves. Although they stay with their children, more often than not, their children would be working outside and therefore unable to look after the old folks. The problem is getting more serious nowadays, as the number of old people rises. Although there are home nursing serviceshomes presently available to cater for these old folks, these serviceshomes are run on a private commercial basis. Their fees are high, and quite beyond the reach of the lower middle income groups. Only a small number of such services are provided by charitable organisations. I hope the Government will provide inexpensive home nursing care for these people so that they can stay in their home and need not go to the nursing home. As for the nursing homes run by the charitable organisations, I understand there are many elderly people waiting to be admitted. I would like to know how many elderly people are on the waiting list and whether the Government has plans to increase the number of nursing homes.”
“Sir, water resource is a very hot issue. Our water tariffs have been raised again and again. I would like to know what efforts have been made to develop water resource in Singapore. First, has the Government made any study on the potential of our subterranean water as a source to augment our water supply? Secondly, what is the progress on the study on sea-water desalination?”
“For example, the Ministry of Education gives bursaries to people who want to become teachers and it also gives bursaries to existing teachers to upgrade themselves. I think we should give these workers a similar kind of bursary to help them upgrade. The Government should be able to know what kind of industry will, in the process of economic development, be needing more skilled workers, and what kind of industry will be eventually phased out. So they must have objectives charted out to make sure that these workers in the sunset industry can upgrade themselves to go into the sunrise industry.”
“Sir, the training of workers and the upgrading of their skills in this technological age are of utmost importance. Skills training will enable workers to reach the level as demanded of them. This will enhance their employability. From the economic point of view, the upgrading of our workers' skills will make Singapore's economy more competitive. Although the funds for the training of workers come from the Skills Development Fund (SDF), the manner in which the training is done depends much on the employers. The Government has not been active in providing the training and upgrading of the skills of the workers. The employers call the shot. This is often very restrictive because in the curriculum, the courses are designed in such a way that they cater only to the needs of the companies employing them. More often than not, they do not help to expand the vision of the workers themselves, and the companies only care for themselves. As a result, all this training cannot achieve our overall national objective. On the other hand, because how and when the workers are to be trained is in the hands of the employers, the workers feel that if there is no more future for them in the company or in the industry, they will not be motivated to embark on courses to improve themselves. Although there is now a Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP) to enable the trainees to get better and more comprehensive training, I think only about 1,500 workers have benefited under the scheme. The Government should expand such training courses. I would suggest that the Government consider providing bursaries for workers to encourage and help them to upgrade themselves or to go into another area of higher skills.”
“Sir, to develop Singapore into an international business centre to ensure that in the next century we can be the leader in the regional economy is an important economic strategy. To develop into an international business hub, one of the main conditions is to be able to attract foreign companies, particularly the multi-national companies to set up regional headquarters in Singapore. According to the statistics of EDB, up till the end of 1996, Singapore had approved only 22 companies to have their offices in Singapore accorded the status of oversea headquarters or business headquarters. I would like to ask the Minister whether he is satisfied with this result. I would also like to know whether the concessionary terms presently offered by the Government are adequate to attract other MNCs to set up their regional headquarters in Singapore. Faced with the impact of the current regional financial crisis, will it not be necessary for the Government to review the incentives offered? In attracting foreign companies to set up their regional headquarters in Singapore, what is the Government's target?”
“Further clarification, Sir. The Minister of State mentioned that the $630,000 was not captured in the original contract. That, I think, is understood. But how did, after the negotiation was done, the contractor agree to the deduction and why was it not communicated and deducted from the contract sum? And even at the payment stage, I understand the sum of $630,000 was paid to the contractor. Why was it so? How did it happen?”
“Sir, may I seek a clarification. How was the mistake made? Apparently, MINDEF negotiated with the contractor and a discount was offered. Why was this offer not reflected in the contract awarded, in terms of the amount? Secondly, I do not think that MINDEF has given any assurance that a tender box should not be opened before the tender is closed. Should MINDEF not have any innovative solution, instead of saying that the Ministry of Finance has allowed them to carry on with the practice because of the current situation?”
“Sir, how about the question of $630,000 which was offered by the tenderer after negotiation and was not deducted in the main contract?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head K of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code KA 1500. (In Mandarin): Sir, the Ministry of Defence is a very important Ministry in Singapore, especially for a small nation like Singapore that is surrounded by the big countries in Southeast Asia without much breathing space. Most information relating to defence expenditure are sensitive and cannot be disclosed. Although defence expenditure is necessary, we must still be prudent in our spending. In the 1997 Auditor-General's Report, I saw a lot of shortcomings in the Ministry of Defence's expenditure and administrative procedures. For example, in the tendering procedure, the tender boxes were opened before the closing date. Secondly, some tenders that were submitted after the closing date were also accepted and considered. Thirdly, the fax machine was not installed at a proper place, and some of these documents and quotations can be read by other people in the office. There was also an incident when the tender price was negotiated down by $630,000 after the tender was closed. Yet, when payment was made to the successful tenderer, the amount of $630,000 was not deducted from the original tender price. I wonder what the Ministry is doing about the matter. How did this happen? Has any investigation been conducted, and what is the result of the investigation? How can the Ministry of Defence ensure that this type of mistake will not occur again?”
“Sir, the Nominated Member says in his speech that he is glad to note that no Member of Parliament, including Opposition MPs, raised questions on defence expenditure. I would like to ask him: what is wrong in questioning defence expenditure and whether the Budget debate is not for the purpose of questioning and scrutinising Government expenditure, be it defence or any other Ministry?”
“Sir, may I seek a clarification from the Member?”
“When the budget is released, the rebates given to the people are so small. It is just like trying to put out the fire of a burning cart-load of wood with a cup of water. When salaries are frozen or incomes are reduced, the Government does not provide anything for them. To the Government, it is a situation whereby the "horses will continue to be raced, and the taxes will continue to be levied."”
“When the people are faced with unemployment problems, the Government's policy is to enhance their employability so that they could resolve their unemployment problem. If you can find a new job that pays you the same wages, it is well and good. But if you cannot get a job that gives you the same pay or you cannot even get a new job, then what is going to happen? When we face an economic depression, when people are facing a long unemployment situation and if the Government is unable to attract new investments to create job opportunities, then what protection can we give to our workers? What I am more worried is that, with the financial crisis in this region, the value of the Singapore dollar may be affected. Our imported goods would be more expensive and our people will face serious problems of inflation. Under such circumstances, would the Government promise to suspend the collection of GST? The Government has also said that if the economy takes a turn for the worse, it will consider reducing the CPF contribution rates or allowing people to withdraw some CPF savings to tide over. But the problem is how much money do our people have in their ordinary accounts in the CPF? The HDB flats are getting more and more expensive. Under the new policy, the people have to withdraw everything they have in their ordinary accounts before they could obtain a loan from HDB. I understand that many Singaporeans have only enough CPF savings to pay for their loan instalments. What happens if one day we suffer a very serious depression and many people are unemployed and faced with serious inflation, what can our people rely on? When the economic situation is good, the Government feels that the people could afford it and they keep on increasing charges.”
“When times are good, and business is good, the various costs and charges would go up. Once the economy takes a downturn, income is reduced, and they will face a big problem because the fixed expenditure cannot be changed. For the business community, when the economy is good, the costs of materials and operations will go up. When sales are good, they could still manage to pull through. But once the situation is bad, when their sales drop, they would not make enough money and they will have a serious cash flow problem. Because of this high cost of operation, the profit margin is low, and they could not save enough for a rainy day. Once they face difficulties and are caught in the midst of instalment payments, there is no way they would adjust or trim their overhead expenses to tide over. From this budget, it is apparent that the Government feels that the economic situation faced by Singapore is not serious enough. But the survey by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals that more than half of the businesses are facing cash flow problems. A global securities institution, Morgan Stanley, has predicted that Singapore may face zero growth in its economy. I hope that the Government's judgment this time is correct. I hope that it would not repeat what it did in 1985 when it waited until many companies had closed down and the economy was well battered before they resorted to contingency measures. What I do not understand is that when the Government levy taxes, they always say that we have to provide for a rainy day. But when we are having difficult times, when the people are tightening their belts and not knowing whether they could tide over, the Government does not come to their rescue. All they say is, "wait and see".”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Singapore is facing financial and economic difficulties. How long the difficult situation will continue or how deep it will sink is still uncertain. But what we can see is that many businesses are faced with a stagnated market and serious cash flow problems. Many people are faced with a reduction in income or even unemployment. Everybody is trying to adjust or adapt, but they soon discover that the options open to them to adjust or adapt are not many. In the business community, many items of operational cost such as rent, wages and various Government charges are fixed expenditures. The little bits of rebates offered by the Government cannot effectively bring down the operational cost for them to pull through. As for the ordinary citizens who are unemployed or have suffered a reduction in income, they still have to pay the instalments for their mortgage loans, educational fees, GST and the various charges that have been raised again and again over the years. During the Budget debate last year, I pointed out that the escalation of the various service charges such as public transportation, refuse collection fees, university fees, water conservation tax and the selling price of HDB flats was worrying. I also warned the Government that if it was unable to resolve the problem of business cost resulting in the workers' salaries being stagnated or the factories closing down, then the pressure on the people would be mounting. Unfortunately, many people are already facing this pressure. The Government should review the price mechanism that it has been employing all the time to achieve its policy objectives. The side effect from the price mechanism principle is higher cost of living and higher operational cost for businesses.”
“Sir, would the Minister agree that eventually the motorcyclists will be paying more than what they are paying now? With the phasing in of higher road tax for the motorcyclists, what is the rationale for phasing in a much higher road tax scheme than at present?”
“Sir, is the Minister aware that motorcyclists will eventually pay higher charges for road usage? The fact is that they will have to pay much higher road tax after the phasing in of road tax after five years. In view of the motorcyclists' income, is the Minister of the view that the system is equitable to them?”
“Any film that touches on any of the Government's policy, controversial issues, or comments on any political matters shall be deemed to be a party political film. In future, if SCV is to telecast any of these films, or any programme containing unfavourable comments or criticism on the PAP, will it then be committing an offence? The Government has been telling the people of Singapore that our information is open. Our people can tune in to foreign TV programmes through SCV. However, after this Bill is passed, if SCV is to telecast any programme that contains unfavourable comments on the PAP which are considered to be biased, and the officer-in-charge is accordingly found to be guilty of an offence, then is this what the PAP Government mean by saying our information is open?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Films (Amendment) Bill clearly provides for anyone who produces, distributes or exhibits any party political film to be fined up to $100,000 or imprisoned for as long as two years. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) once produced a video film but it was banned from distribution by the Government. This Bill further deprives the Opposition of the right to make use of other media to reach out to the people in order to express their views on the nation, society and the Government. However, the Bill also provides that films covering current affairs shall not fall under the category of political films. Then, the People's Action Party (PAP) will not be affected, because the PAP can make use of the current affairs programmes on the television channels to send their signals effectively to the people at any time. The real purpose of this Bill is not just to prevent the opposition from producing and distributing films or video which are not in the interest of the PAP, but more importantly, it is designed to block out the unfavourable comment on the PAP by any foreign media. As such, the real question is whether this Amendment Bill covers also the TV broadcast relayed by Singapore Cable Vision (SCV). We all know that SCV will eventually reach out to each and every household in Singapore. SCV relays TV programmes from other countries. Some of these may contain the views of people from other countries on Singapore, particularly some comments on policy matters, or on the way in which the PAP rules Singapore. The PAP introduces this Amendment Bill just as the people of Singapore are beginning to avail themselves of some different views and comments from SCV. In clause 2 of this Bill, the definition of political films is very wide.”