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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“Madam, I have two clarifications. First, will the Government consider allowing CPF members to withdraw from CPF Retirement Account to redeem housing loan with a small loan balance, say, about $20,000 at age 55, so that the member can save on paying interest? I have a second clarification for the Deputy Prime Minister. He said that if the CPF monies were managed and invested as an independent pool, it would not be able to enjoy the same investment returns as GIC. I would like to know why it is so. I understand we currently have about $300 billion CPF balance. Is the pool not big enough to be able to secure the same returns and maybe better returns?”
“Thank you. Madam, earlier, I referred Members to the Workers' Party website for our publication, WP Population White Paper. The correct name should be WP Population Policy Paper. Thank you. 2.28 pm”
“Madam, permission to clarify what I said earlier on. Page: 26”
“Mdm Speaker, on the issue of immigration, I thought we have stated clearly. Many a time, I believe the Party's Members have repeated the position of the Workers' Party. The Workers' Party is not an anti-immigration party. We make it clear here. We are not anti-immigration. We welcome immigration which can contribute to the well-being of Singapore and to the economy of Singapore. We welcome foreign talent but "talent", "real talent", not immigrants who are taking away the jobs of Singaporeans or taking away opportunities Singaporeans could have been served. So, I think let us make it clear here. We are not anti-immigration. What we are saying is that we got to have quality immigrants. Secondly, we have to keep the Singaporean Core strong. I think it is too simple, too simplified to assume that when the immigrants come to Singapore, they would integrate with Singapore and Singaporeans, and be part of Singapore. It is not that simple. In the Population White Paper, we had debated a lot on this. We have set out the Workers' Party's position clearly. I hope Members would go and read our White Paper; it is published on the website, so you understand our position. We are not running away from the position.”
“Thank you, Madam. I would like to let the Member know that the Workers' Party does have a manifesto. It is published on our website. He can go and take a look at our positions on certain key policy issues, and what do we think, and whether, indeed, some in the manifesto have been taken up by the Government, in terms of policy shifts. I would like to inform him that, yes, perhaps we are reviewing our policies, our manifesto, maybe we can come up with something more in the future but let us be patient.”
“Thank you, Madam. On alternative policies – the Member referred to and cited his own suggestions, his comments on policies and how he had made suggestions. I also invite him to check the Hansard, the Workers' Party Members of Parliament have also made a lot of suggestions, some of which were taken up. But when we say we are happy to see that the Government has taken up some suggestions, we are told the Workers' Party is claiming credit. This is the double standards of politics.”
“Madam, I seek clarification from the Member. The Member talked about alternative policies from the Opposition. He does not sound as reasonable as the Prime Minister. The Member is the Chairman of a Government Parliamentary Committee. What alternative policies has he come up with? I noted he has made some criticisms but I have not heard of his alternative policies accompanying his criticism. Madam, I would like to seek clarification from the Member as to whether he thinks US President Obama is a statesman or a politician. Secondly, I would like him to say whether he has defamed by the stroke of what he said here, "Politicians in mature democracy". And, thirdly, does he think that the voters, the citizens in mature democracies are all unable to think independently and to make their own decisions and are just simply slaves of their politicians?”
“Mdm Speaker, I disagree that this is the mark of a sub-standard Opposition. This is the mark of a responsible Opposition – not to jam up the Government; after giving our view, debating it, allowing the Government to move forward, not to jam up the Government. So, it is the mark of a responsible Opposition and the mark of a First World Parliament.”
“We had made a calculation at that point in time of debating the Population White Paper, that if we continue to allow the foreign worker number to grow, it would be untenable in the future population growth. Thereby, we decided that we need the population number in check. One way of doing it, of course, is to freeze the foreign worker growth in numbers. Our calculation was that probably within the existing number of foreign workers, you can still move them around within some sectors where we do not need so many foreign workers. And thereby, you can still get by with zero foreign worker growth. We understand perfectly the possibility and the trade-off. That is our position at that point in Page: 84 time. We had not objected subsequently or grilled the Government for, "Why are they not doing it?" Because that is our view – that it should have zero foreign worker growth, but the Government decided otherwise; that is their way of doing it. We have said our piece but we have to respect the decision of the Government to move on. Our message has got across. We cannot sustain continuously the kind of population growth plan that the Government is planning. I am glad to hear the Prime Minister saying today that the Government is taking a very serious view on tightening and watching the growth of the population.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to say that the Prime Minister is reasonable to say that the Workers' Party may not be able to come up with all the alternative policies. That is true. But to say that the Workers' Party has no position on major issues – that is not true. We did state our position in Parliament; we debated major policies vigorously; we do not oppose all the policies, but where we think that there is a need for us to oppose and when it concerns the future of Singapore like the Population White Paper, we did so. We stated our position on important issues and we did not oppose things that we think the Government is doing right. Is that not enough?”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for praising the Workers' Party's ability to fight in the elections. We have no intention to hide ourselves in Parliament. We seek the mandate from people to come to Parliament to check against the Government, and we have done it honestly and sincerely. We have not turned this place into a theatre. That shows we are responsible. We will behave continuously as a rational and responsible Party. I believe Members would agree that the Workers' Party has been rational. We have not come here with some wild policies or wild suggestions. We debate the policies. We came up with some suggestions but these are not bankrupting the Government coffers or suggesting using the reserves. Elections – I think we are also rational. We do not accuse the PAP of something that we cannot substantiate. Or else, I know, we will get sued. I think we are fair. And elections are elections. I thank the Prime Minister for noting that we can fight an election. I am sure the PAP can too. You are the Government and you have been the governing party for 50 years. And you have got many more people, more talented people than the Workers' Party. How can you say we are tigers and something else in Parliament? I am sure the PAP can equally be tigers or lions. Page: 83”
“I think our position is quite clear on many of these issues. If the Prime Minister wanted my view on what the Government has been doing, and whether he has done well, I will say, well, he has solved some of the problems – what the Prime Minister has mentioned. The Workers' Party Members of Parliament also acknowledge this in their speeches, but also pointed out there are things that are still "work in progress" and that the Government will have to focus on and to make it better and to improve. So, that is the position. I do not see the need for me to give an overall sum-up. I think the Members will be able to do it in their own view and to give their views and assessment and, at the same time, wherever possible, offer certain views and alternative suggestions to improve the policies.”
“Thank you, Mdm Speaker. Madam, I wish to clarify a few points. First of all, the reason why I decided to focus my speech on constructive politics was because I thought that was an important issue that we should look at. As I have said in my speech, Singapore is becoming more diverse. There will be different views. And, moving forward, how the Government will deal with and accommodate different views and different perspectives of Singaporeans is important for us to move forward together as one united people. The other Members of Parliament from the Workers' Party will be talking about different issues, ranging from social issues, social safety net to foreign affairs, national security. They will cover the full range of areas, and thereby we split our job. I will focus on constructive politics. I thought it was an important issue. And, of course, it is important to also understand what is the perspective of the PAP in terms of constructive politics. And, from what the Prime Minister has said, it seems to me that it is more constructive politics dictated on the terms of the PAP, rather than constructive politics in terms of the society moving forward. I have affirmed my endorsement of what the President has said – that we should look at the outcome of constructive politics, that is, we should be able to move forward together despite the differences. Next, the Prime Minister talked about the Workers' Party flip-flopping on the foreign worker issue. I say again I do not think we have flip-flopped. I have explained in this House of some misunderstanding of the speeches that we have made. In any case, I also noted that when the PAP has to make a policy U-turn, they call it policy shift. I do not know whether that is a shift or it is a flip-flop.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. First of all, I wish to clarify that it is not that I do not agree to constructive politics. What I was saying is that constructive politics is only a term that is used. It can be just merely the rhetoric of the Government. What is important is the outcome of the political process. What the President wanted to see – the desired outcome – is that whatever differences we have, we can move forward as one united people. What is important to me is: where is the actual action by the Government? Action speaks louder than words. I think it is useless for the PAP to keep on harping on the Town Council matter. Let me first explain that the award of the contract to the Managing Agent is through an open tender. The Chairman is not here. Okay, never mind. But what I know is it is through an open tender. It is not something that we signed under the table. So, I think if you are talking about integrity, perhaps you might want to give us more details to prove how is it that the Workers' Party Page: 98 lacks integrity in awarding of the contract. Secondly, if the Senior Minister of State is referring to accounting issues, the Auditor-General is currently auditing the Town Council's accounts. Is she suggesting, before the Auditor-General comes to a conclusion, the Government has already some pre-concluded conclusion of what happened? The other things, like whether we flip-flopped. No, we did not. If she wishes to have a full debate on that, please file a Motion. We are prepared to debate that.”
“Therefore, this is a timely realisation of the Government to put in efforts to enable a more robust political process, to cultivate political norms and to build an environment for constructive engagement in politics to safeguard the future of Singapore. 2.42 pm”
“However, it takes time for the establishment and citizen activists to internalise and put in practice constructive politics and to cultivate the thought as a norm for consideration in the decision-making process. I am of the view that bitter and negative experiences of citizens participating in politics, such as being detained without trial and becoming bankrupt, hamper us from moving towards constructive politics. We should also bear in mind that making personal attacks during political engagement does not help us to "come together again". Instead, the attitude of "live and let live" despite our differences and unhappiness with one another will help us to move ahead as a united people. As we approach 50 years of nation building, I am happy to note that we have made political progress in strengthening our political system. Our political system today is more competitive and the Government is more responsive to the people. This augurs well for the future of Singapore as the geopolitical environment around us is becoming more dynamic, and the younger generation of Singaporeans are becoming citizens of a globalised world with diverse views. The younger generation of Singaporeans today is better educated and the Internet connects us to the world instantly. Hence, the expectations and horizons of Singaporeans Page: 33 today are very different from the older generation; they expect better standards befitting a first-world Singapore not only in terms of hardware like physical infrastructure and efficient services, but also software like quality of life, as well as in politics and government responses.”
“This is because the people of the United States trusted their Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the Constitution and respected its rulings. However, building such institutions is not easy. Public trust can be eroded very quickly due to political gaming, as seen in many countries when political infighting unravelled the Page: 32 efforts to build them. Building such institutions is the obligation of any responsible government and entails whole-of-Government efforts to protect these institutions from being perceived as political tools of the Government. The key to the success of such institutions is public trust, not government trust. Therefore, the institution must be seen to behave impartially and to be above politics. Such consistent and predictable behaviour over a long period of time will gain public trust to enable them to play a stabilising role in a political crisis. Strengthening our political system. Mdm Speaker, the sub-title "Upholding Constructive Politics" in the President's Speech is glaring to me. It is an expression of a direction of the Government's priority in its work plan to Parliament. This is unprecedented in President's Address since I entered Parliament in 1991. I believe some will be cynical of the real meaning of "Constructive Politics" due to recent Government actions. For instance, media convergence regulations extended the individual licensing regime for print newspapers and TV broadcasters to online news sites; this could result in a loss of valuable political diversity when online news commentary sites run by passionate and dedicated volunteers decided to shut down rather than be subjected to onerous licensing requirements. This smells of Compliant Politics and not Constructive Politics.”
“This is building a self-serving political culture. Building institutions of public trust. There is weakness in every political system, which could potentially result in political gridlock and paralysis that the President is concerned about. One such concern I have is the elected President system which is unique to Singapore. I am concerned that the efficiency of the Government can be paralysed by the President exercising his "blocking power" if the elected President and the Government do not see eye-to-eye. To avoid gridlock and paralysis, it is critical for us to build institutions of state that the public trusts. There are two examples showing why building institutions that the public trust is important. Nearer to home, we have an ASEAN member – Thailand – that is in political gridlock today. I believe the political gridlock could have been avoided if the Thai King decided to play an active role to defuse the crisis, as he had done in the past. He is a constitutional monarch with largely ceremonial and symbolic powers, but he embodies the spirit and values of Thai society. Most importantly, his past behaviour of acting in the interest of the nation has been consistent over a long period of time, and has won the respect and trust of the Thai people. Next, let us look at the United States Presidential Election of 2000 where the "Florida Vote Recount" episode threatened to derail political stability in the US with its political system's history of more than 200 years. The US was in political gridlock for weeks until the Supreme Court of the US made a ruling declaring George W Bush as the winner. Although the ruling was not without controversy and not all were happy with it, the US was able to move on from the political crisis without damage.”
“The people should speak and decide via the ballot box what political culture we want as a country and politicians must be aware of what political culture we are building through our style of political engagement as well as our actions. If the people continue to support a governing party that uses high-handed tactics against its political opponents, we are endorsing a bullying political culture. If the people support a governing party that uses government resources, including civil servants, to serve its partisan goals, we are condoning the abuse of political power as an acceptable culture. Similarly, if you support a political party which believes in overthrowing the government by taking mass political action against the government regardless of the laws and proper channels to change things, you are building a culture of lawlessness. If you support a political party conducting its political engagement with a habit of playing racial politics, mud-slinging and launching personal attacks on its political opponents, you are building a thug political culture. If you support a political party with the habit of fixing its opponents, you are Page: 31 breeding a political culture of fear. While all politicians play a role in building a political culture through political engagement, the Government is the dominant player of politics in Singapore, and plays a significant role. Using differentiating measures in policies to punish people who voted for the Opposition breeds a culture of divisive politics. It also used to be said that the political incumbent has no obligation to level the playing field and might is right. And that the political incumbent has the right to use all legal means to remain in power because everyone will do it if they are the incumbent.”
“We must all remember constructive politics does not happen by the order of the Government, nor does it happen through a national conversation or public consultation. To achieve the outcome of constructive politics in a diverse and open society like that in mature democracies and to nurture an environment conducive for it, require much effort, and everyone across the society has their part to play. There are three aspects to this: political values, political culture and impartial institutions trusted by the people. Political values. Inculcation of political values needs to be undertaken in the young who have fresh minds. I suggest we take a hard look at the National Education syllabus in our schools. National Education should enable students to understand their rights and obligations as citizens in a democratic society, as well as values and concepts associated with democracy. These can include knowing and respecting the Constitution; understanding how the political system empowers the people to make decisions and to take responsibility for the decisions made; and also inculcating values like mutual respect, tolerance and diversity, as well as human dignity. The youth are the future masters of the country and the political leaders of tomorrow. I believe Singapore will be a more stable and mature democracy if Singaporeans are in possession of democratic values, which will be the DNA enabling us to move ahead as one united people and mitigate against the worry expressed by the President of gridlock and paralysis in the hurly-burly of politics. Political culture.”
“Mdm Speaker, when Parliament first opened after the General Election in 2011, the President, in his Address, noted that our politics was becoming more diverse and open, and the composition of Parliament reflected this. He said that this was positive for Singapore and advised that only by getting our politics right and keeping it constructive and responsible would Singapore make progress. The President, in his Address to the same Parliament in May 2014, devoted a section of his speech to "Upholding Constructive Politics". The President advised that the vigorous debate in this House should continue but we should not allow our differences to pull us apart and we should move ahead as one united people. Constructive politics. Mdm Speaker, yes, this is what the Workers' Party and I believe in. This is the thought behind getting every candidate of the Workers' Party to recite the National Pledge at the end of our final rally in the General Elections. It is to remind us that despite our differences, we are all Singaporeans. The recitation of the National Pledge has now become a tradition of the Workers' Party. Politics comes in many shapes and forms. One can describe politics by adding different adjectives in front or at the back of the word "politics". In the President's Address, the phrase "constructive politics" is used, I assume to be contrasted with "destructive politics". To me, in whatever way "politics" is described and coloured, it is still politics. To me, what is important is the outcome of the political process. Here, what the President has described as the desired outcome of constructive politics is moving ahead as Page: 30 one united people.”
“Yes, okay. So, I ask the current Minister to clarify what he has been doing, since the issue was raised in this House in 2005. I Page: 144 would also like to know from the Minister what he thinks is a reasonable waiting time for a patient to wait for a bed in the hospital, or whether he could assure us what would be the waiting time that a patient can expect when he needs the hospital bed for admission. We have feedback that there are patients who have waited for eight hours, or some for as long as 23 hours. I think this is just too long. It is not something which we would expect in a First World country, right?”
“Madam, earlier on, the Minister explained the difficulty in hospital bed demand projection. I wonder whether MOH planned for emergencies and spikes in patient numbers who may need acute hospital care. Madam, this is not a new issue. In 2005, nearly 10 years ago, I raised the same issue in this House. The then-Minister for Health answered that, "Our hospital beds are crowded out by foreign workers who are being dumped at Tan Tock Seng Hospital at the expense of others who require emergency care and beds." Today, we have a new Minister for Health telling us a different reason of difficulty in projection. Perhaps, the Minister may want to explain the factors that are taken into consideration now and 10 years ago since 2005 when the issue was raised.”
“Thank you, Madam. I have four clarifications for the Minister in respect of the issue of bed crunch. First, I would like to know whether the bed crunch today is a result of MOH's policy in under-estimating demand for hospital beds. Madam, in 2007, the former Minister for Health was quoted to have said, I quote, "When we under-estimate demand, the result is overcrowding at hospitals as we now experience at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. If we over-estimate demand and oversupply, we end up with under-utilised excess, a costly outcome. Between the two, I prefer to undersupply than to oversupply as this will put pressure on ourselves to intensify usage and minimise over-consumption." So, does this represent MOH's policy, resulting in what has happened today – the bed crunch? Second clarification, Madam, I would like to know: is having beds at hospital corridors and tentage the new normal? Third clarification, what is the waiting time for hospital beds in Government hospitals? Do we have some figures to look at? The last clarification, Madam: what can Singaporeans expect in healthcare 2020 in respect of hospital bed availability? Will queuing for a bed in the hospital become an activity of active ageing for the seniors? 5.45 pm”
“Next, telemedicine is another area that can extend the reach of home-based care, but this area appears to be still in its infancy. Currently, the points of referral for home-based care are the hospitals, clinics and medical social workers. To improve its accessibility and utility, as a start, it would be good if elderly patients with multiple diseases and impaired mobility could receive one home visit upon discharge from the hospital. Subsequent home-based care visits would be dependent on need. Affordability of home-based care will determine its overall place and utility in the healthcare delivery ecosystem. It is encouraging to note that MOH is reviewing the financing structure for home nursing so that the financial support given to patients, especially needy patients, does not penalise them for using home-based care. Elder Development and Care”
“Madam, like other developed countries, Singapore faces the challenge of achieving a good healthcare system while controlling escalating healthcare costs. Home-based care is an integral part of right-siting of care. Currently, a mix of private and voluntary welfare organisations provide various forms of home-based care. To realise its true value and potential requires a review on acceptance, awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability. I believe that home-based care is acceptable and welcomed by the elderly. It saves elderly patients the trouble to travel to the clinic. Home is also an environment that patients are familiar with and conducive for their health and Page: 81 recovery. However, home-based medical care is a departure from the normal setting in which most medical doctors provide care. Hence, a change of mind-set will be needed for the acceptance of such medical care. A new remuneration scheme for medical personnel that takes into account medical services provided in the home setting should also be effected. For home-based care to become fully integrated into the healthcare delivery chain, greater awareness is needed. Greater publicity and outreach via the media and at hospitals, clinics, care centres and social service offices and so on are necessary. To improve the availability and efficiency of home-based care, an effective use of infocomm technology is desirable. In the Intelligent Nation 2015 blueprint by IDA, the aim for the healthcare industry is to digitalise medical data to achieve "seamless information exchange among different members of the healthcare network" and improved "convenience for patients through better and more information services". To what extent have these been realised?”
“Making known the ethical and moral limits of professional fees for doctors in private practice in the form of a fee guideline will help to contain healthcare costs. Specialists in private practice require time to build up their client base. Those who are new to private practice may find that their initial income does not match their last-drawn pay in the Government hospitals. Some may increase their consultation and surgical charges to compensate for a smaller volume of patients so as to maintain their income. A fee guideline will discourage this practice and keep a lid on healthcare costs. Finally, Madam, prudence must be exercised in the adoption of medical advances in therapies and technology. MOH should ensure that these medical advances are evidence based before adopting them into clinical practice. 1.00 pm Properly Incentivising Providers”
“Madam, advances in medical science and technology and an expanding and ageing population contributed to the increase in overall healthcare cost. To mitigate increasing cost, healthcare systems should not focus on specialist-centric and resource draining hospital care, instead they should focus on preventive and primary healthcare, as well as intermediate and long-term care at the community or at home. Next, I understand that in Government hospitals, a fee for service remuneration scheme that includes surcharges for private and foreign patients not only drives up the overall healthcare cost but also encourages senior specialists to focus greater attention on serving private and foreign patients. This behaviour places the burden of care of subsidised patients on the more junior specialists. The resultant unequal distribution of workload among specialists leads to the younger specialists leaving the Government hospitals for private hospitals. Page: 42 Recent and repeated pay increases, such as the S$1.9 billion infusion in 2008 by MOH, have succeeded in driving up healthcare cost but failed to stem the flow of doctors from Government to private hospitals. There is a general perception that specialists in private practice enjoy sky-high earnings compared to those in the Government hospitals. I am not sure how true this is but I think greater transparency in doctors' charges is needed. Currently, "hospital bill size" displayed on MOH and some private hospitals' websites has only the "total bill size" without revealing how much is the doctor's charges. If the actual income between doctors in private and Government hospitals is more comparable and transparent, fewer specialists may be tempted to move from Government to private hospitals.”
“A former NMP also witnessed the bed crunch when her husband had to wait over eight hours before being given a hospital bed. She observed that, I quote, "when it happens so frequently, then it's no longer a glitch; it's the new norm". The question is what has happened to the master plans for hospital beds five, 10 years ago? Furthermore, if we are currently playing catch-up, then the question is, "Are Singapore public hospitals on track to meet future healthcare needs?", given that our population is still expanding and still ageing? Madam, many of our Government restructured hospitals are Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited. This internationally recognised accreditation is awarded to hospitals that meet certain standards for patient safety. The standards for patient safety are stringent and include a minimum distance between patient beds and adequate sinks or toilet facilities so as to reduce the rate of hospital acquired infections. Are housing patients along corridors and in tents acceptable to the JCI? Page: 38 Hospital Beds and A&E Waiting Time”
“Madam, "Hospitals facing severe bed crunch take unusual steps" made the front page of The Straits Times at the beginning of this year. The hospital bed crunch, together with the public transport "crush" and the riot in Little India, are stark examples of Third World problems in First World Singapore. One certainly hopes that Singapore does not make history by going from Third World to First and back to Third within one generation. Page: 37 The hospital bed crunch is not a new problem and we have been reminded of this problem on multiple occasions over the past few years. Although this problem tends to wax and wane, and some attribute it to "seasonal variations" dependent on infectious disease epidemics and the spike of "social stayers" during festive seasons, I think it has now reached a level of sufficient importance to warrant MOH to take a hard look. At present, subsidised beds within the Government restructured hospitals comprise 81% of the total bed count, while non-subsidised beds comprise 19%. Instead of using tents and corridors, ward space currently used for the provision of non-subsidised beds can be converted to subsidised beds so as to quickly increase the bed availability within the current physical confines of the Government restructured hospitals. The Minister for Health has noted that the conversion from non-subsidised beds to subsidised beds will entail changes in "infrastructure design". But these changes in "infrastructure design" will take less time to achieve compared to the construction of a new hospital; and the manpower needs that arise will be less than the manpower needed to run a new hospital. A WP member told me that her 97-year-old grandmother waited for 23 hours for a bed.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, hawker food is central to Singaporean culture. We must also not forget that hawker food is the means to affordable daily meals for many Singaporeans and helps to keep our costs of living low. I therefore welcome the restarting of the Hawker Centre Building programme in 2011 after 26 years of not building any new centres. Instead of the tried and tested approach of directly managing hawker centres, the Ministry is seeking to appoint social enterprises to run centres on a not-for-profit basis. However, the not-for-profit approach does not mean that social enterprises will not seek high revenues so as to channel surpluses to its Page: 168 social projects. NTUC FairPrice, for example, has a net profit margin of 10.9%, or over $270 million in 2012. Yes, the profit is returned to the Central Co-Operative Fund to benefit workers. But this also means that $270 million were not put to use to keep the costs of groceries lower. We have already seen a social enterprise-run private hawker centre failing only after one year, at Simpang Bedok. High rentals, low quality food, expensive dishes and cleanliness problems kept customers away. Recently, the Minister announced that NEA is considering proposals by 12 social enterprises to manage four older hawker centres. What are the criteria being used by NEA to evaluate the social enterprise proposals? How will NEA ensure rentals do not shoot through the roof? How will NEA ensure the outcomes will always be affordable food? [Deputy Speaker (Mr Seah Kian Peng) in the Chair] Hawker Centres”
“I would like to know the Government's position on the declassification of Cabinet Papers. We are 50 years old next year. 50 years on and all the papers are still sensitive? I am sure there are some that are not. Secondly, currently, all the stories, Singapore stories, are told by National Archives, the establishment. I am sure historians in Singapore are interested to research into the history of Singapore in an independent manner, and without those papers published, I think it is quite difficult for them to do so.”
“Some are good, some are bad, with a considerable gap between them. If the organisation has no competency to vet the translation work, it could end up spending money, yet becoming a laughing stock. Hence, I suggest the Page: 70 Committee consider establishing an accreditation framework for the translation industry, and set out the basic qualifications and experiences that a translation practitioner must possess. National Archives of Singapore (In English): Mdm Chair, the National Archives of Singapore is the official custodian of public records and, arguably, the keeper of our collective social memory. However, my understanding is that there seems to be a huge gap in the records and our collective memory because our Cabinet Papers are not released to the National Archives. Madam, in many democratic countries, with advanced social and economic development, they have what has been famously termed the "30-year rule" whereby yearly Cabinet Papers are released for public information and research 30 years after they are created. In fact, the United Kingdom is now moving towards a 20-year rule. In Israel, the 30-year rule is subject to state security and foreign policy sensitivities. Mdm Chair, I am sure we are in a better position than Israel in this respect. The principle behind the 30-year rule not only concerns transparency and accountability to maintain public trust in the Government, but also you are encouraging historical investigation and writing to foster a strong sense of national identity. Singapore would be 50 years old next year. It is timely that the Government adopts a 30-year rule, legislates a Declassification Act and release the first trench of Cabinet Papers for public access. Public Service Broadcast”
“Mdm Chair, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I believe the ridiculous Chinese translations from some Government departments which became a laughing stock are still vivid in our memory. As far back as in 2002, STB translated the Hungry Ghost Festival in the lunar seventh month as "Hungarian Ghost Festival". The recent fiasco involved the NHB website last year. Last month, MCI announced the establishment of a National Translation Committee. I welcome this development. I hope, through the efforts of the Committee, we can reduce translation errors and avoid translation fiascos. I have two suggestions for the Committee to consider. I hope they can improve the local translation standard at the same time, promote the correct usage of the Chinese language. First, I hope the Committee would set up a website with standardised translated terms. The Committee can coordinate various Ministries' translations, official terms and correct technical terms to be used in the context. The Committee should categorise all these terms and publish them on the website. Currently, Lianhe Zaobao has a website for standardised translation of terms. The Committee can explore expanding this website. However, timely updates are needed for the website. For example, I saw on the first page, "Abdullah Tarmugi" is described as Speaker of Parliament. It has been quite a number of years since Mr Abdullah retired as Speaker of Parliament! Second, regulate and accredit the translation industry. Many Government departments and private organisations do not have their own translation team. When translation is needed, they outsource it to translation companies. However, the standard of translation services available in the market is not consistent.”
“One, the use of Direct School Admission tests and other discretionary admission instruments should not disadvantage students from neighbourhood schools from entering top and special niche Secondary schools. Two, it is important that the broadening of the assessment system does not result in the dilution of bilingual education. Acquisition of good language skills, both English and Mother Tongue, is crucial to our humanistic and cultural life. It should be treated as equally important as academic and technical skills. In particular, Mother Tongue language education should not be sacrificed. Direct School Admissions (DSA)”
“Mdm Chair, many parents and teachers I have spoken to are getting anxious about the broader review of the education system that the Minister mentioned with regard to the review of the PSLE in Page: 124 October last year. The Minister had said then that the Ministry would engage parents in the coming months to obtain feedback. Few details about the broader review or the feedback have been made known to the public, and sudden changes to the PSLE system announced each year in the past two years just before the release of the results, though minor, have worsened public anxiety. For the benefit of the public, would the Minister kindly share with us the scope of the broader review of the education system he had in mind and the specific areas that would be looked at? Would the Minister share with the public the engagement and consultation framework that the Ministry is adopting for this review? The education system is the bedrock of our economy. It is not only a subject of great anxieties for Singaporean families but also a subject central to the national interest. As such, I propose that the Ministry consider adopting a phased consultative process involving the release of topical papers leading to the tabling of a White Paper for parliamentary debate, much like the one we had for population policy. Though there is no guarantee that the outcome would satisfy the public, at least the process will make the review transparent and clear to relieve parents and teachers of their anxiety of uncertainty. Madam, the Workers' Party welcomes a broader review of the education system. However, the review should proceed cautiously. I am concerned with two things related to the broadening of the assessment and admission systems.”
“Mdm Chair, biometric information is increasingly being used for security purposes. Recently, the National Environment Agency is using face scans to clock in hawkers to prevent illegal subletting and a pre-school is using the same technology to control door access for parents and guardians to drop off and pick up their children. With the proliferation of biometric information collection and usage in society, the theft of it becomes easier and likelier. Furthermore, biometric information technology is undergoing mass commercialisation, as smart Page: 53 phones are now capable of thumbprint and face recognition. Many organisations are also outsourcing their information technology and security systems. It was previously pointed out in this House that the Government's outsourced systems experienced many instances of unauthorised access and other security vulnerabilities. Biometric information is very important for our border security. How are the Ministry of Home Affairs and its agencies, particularly the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, prepared for security breaches and identity theft? Are there contingency plans to maintain the same level of security and functionality in the event of system glitch or breakdown? Is there a need to update the Personal Data Protection Act to tackle the specific problems caused by biometric information and to regulate its collection and usage? Replacement of ICs”
“Madam, a supplementary question. I would like to ask the Minister whether he could share the nationality of these overstayers and which nation has the most overstayers in Singapore.”
“Mdm Speaker, I have a few supplementary questions. First, how does MOM carry out enforcement, especially against what Mr Baey Yam Keng referred to earlier, that is, informal work, and especially Malaysians who work in Singapore in an informal way? Secondly, is it the policy of MOM to allow Malaysians who cross the border to work freely on social visit passes without enforcement? One example is Malaysians who come across to Singapore to be karang guni or rag and bone men. Or they may work as deliverymen. Are these jobs legal or illegal? Next, there are Malaysians who hold construction workers' permits, but are doing other jobs which are not related to construction. The question is: how seriously is MOM monitoring such a situation? I have received feedback that MOM tends to keep a "closed eye" on these engagements.”
“Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I refer to the chronological events. Madam, at 9.45 pm, a request was made for assistance by Special Operations Command. The first SOC troop arrived at the scene at 10.42 pm, nearly one hour after the request was made. I would like to seek clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister whether he is satisfied with the response time of the SOC. The second clarification is that it was recorded that at 10.30 pm, the first vehicle was set on fire. When the first SOC troop arrived at the scene, no more vehicles was overturned. So, I wonder if SOC had responded faster before 10.30 pm, the setting on fire of vehicles could have been averted. And, Madam, I thought, perhaps, the bright side of the incident also shows that as a society, we have become a matured multi-racial society. The public was largely unaffected by the incident and they remained calm. Good race relationships in the society remain intact after the incident.”
“Thank you, Mdm Speaker. Supplementary questions, please. I would like to ask the Minister whether the SAs are becoming too expensive as an option for the elderly who were initially planning to take up the option. I remember we started off with the SAs costing Page: 42 about $60,000 per unit. Today, it costs a lot more. Secondly, in view of the term of the lease and the size of the SAs, whether he thinks the current selling price is quite expensive, compared to BTO flats.”
“Many programmes have been rolled out by IDA and MDA to help our seniors to migrate to a digital lifestyle. I can go through the long list of the programmes that IDA and MDA have been doing long before 2011, because we recognise that we have to build a digitally-inclusive society. I cannot question Mr Low's figures – about 60% or 50%, I do not have my figures here. Our data, which were shared by MediaCorp, show that only 28,000 people have been accessing the Teletext service. It does not mean that these 28,000 users do not have an alternative; it is just that they are using Teletext because it is available. At the moment, with the kinds of services that we are providing to the seniors through our Silver Infocomm Initiative (SII) programme, we have trained about 77,000 seniors, and the programme is ongoing. Finally, the decision to cease is actually a commercial decision by Mediacorp, in consultation with the Ministry. We have to allow MediaCorp to make that decision and, recognising that there are alternatives in place, we have to give them that leeway because they are in the market and they know better how to conduct such a service.”
“Madam, I have some supplementary questions. I understand from the answer that there were about 28,000 users before Mediacorp decided to terminate the service. My question is, whether Mediacorp has studied the profile of this 28,000, the impact of its discontinuation and whether the Minister is aware that the IDA conducted a survey in 2011 which showed that only 15% of elderly 60 and above used the Internet and a computer, and there are more than 50% of the elderly aged 50 to 59 years who neither use a computer nor the Internet over the past 12 months at the point of the survey. In a situation as such, how can IDA confidently say that it will be a smooth transition for the elderly to be able to access information with the discontinuation of Teletext? The next supplementary question is: why did Mediacorp terminate the service in such a hurry, before IDA's programme kicked in to ensure that the elderly has sufficiently grasped the ability or have the ability to access the Internet and with a satisfactory mode of replacement of the information? Page: 34 Lastly, is the Minister aware that there were a lot of complaints on the ground from the elderly about the discontinuation of the service? What is the Minister's answer to that? Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Madam, the Ministry and MediaCorp have both received a lot of feedback from the ground, especially from the elderly, about the cessation of the Teletext service. We must expect that people who are impacted will be upset and, therefore, we have to offer them alternatives. To answer the Member's second question, the programme to assist our seniors is ongoing. In fact, we have started the programme well before the cessation of the service to get our seniors on board onto the digital bandwagon.”
“Thank you, Madam. A supplementary question. I noted that in this case, the Director of CPIB was replaced. I would like to know why the Director of CPIB was made responsible for this case. Under what circumstances when such corruption cases or whatever cases happen in the Civil Service, and to what extent does the supervisory authority of the officer take responsibility? Under what circumstances would the head of department or head of agency be dealt with?”
“Because of the difference in the terms used and of the arrangements of the cleaning of the high rise areas of the market, thereby, there was this problem of spring cleaning and the market was closed for five days, but it is not necessarily that the Town Council will go in to clean. In fact, the Town Council has come up with a schedule for annual cleaning. But I thought it would be good, if you get the annual cleaning together with the spring cleaning. Thereby, you save all the problems of coming back to clean the high areas after the spring cleaning. That is why I went to speak to them, and to persuade them, "Let's do the work together". Once a year, out of the four spring cleanings, for one of them, let us do the high rise cleaning. Finish. That is the position.”
“Thank you, Madam. Madam, I do agree with Ms Lim. From my understanding, the Town Council is well aware of the obligation to clean the high areas of the markets. What I gather from the whole Page: 30 episode is that it arises from the misunderstanding between annual cleaning and spring cleaning. In the past, in Hougang, we do not require the market to close for annual cleaning. And we fulfil our obligation to clean the market once a year. It includes everything, scaffolding and all that. And thereby, I can understand the perspective of the email, or the meeting, because they are talking about spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is conducted quarterly four times a year. Annual cleaning, cleaning the high rise areas of a market, once a year. So, if the Town Council is obligated to clean also the high rise area in the spring cleaning, then the question is how many times do we have to clean? I have not spoken with Mr Tai. This is the first time I read all these things but I gather that is how it came about because of the spring cleaning. The next issue about the ATL quotation. I am trying to find out who actually asked them for the quote. Obviously, someone asked them to quote or otherwise they would not have quoted. But it has nothing to do with the Town Council. The Town Council has not asked them to quote either. What happened? I do not know but I am very certain the quotation has nothing to do with the cost of the cleaning of the high areas of the market. It is not. This is my understanding of the whole issue.”
“Thank you, Mdm Speaker. Madam, I understand that during the previous haze, Singapore brought the issue of the haze to the United Nations. That would be seen, I suppose, as exerting pressure on Indonesia. This time round, I suppose that has not been an option because the Minister said we do not want to exert pressure on Indonesia. So, what has changed between then and now in terms of approach and strategies that Singapore has adopted in dealing with the haze issue and in dealing with Indonesia to address the problem? Page: 18”
“CPF members below age 55 who have reached the VL in using the CPF OA must set aside half of the prevailing Minimum Sum in their OA and Special Account before they are allowed to continue using their CPF money to finance their mortgage loans. I have come across cases where CPF members' OA balance was sufficient, or more than sufficient, to make full redemption of their outstanding CPF mortgage loan balances and free themselves from the financial burden of servicing their home mortgage. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to do so because of the Minimum Sum requirement. 4.45 pm If these CPF members were allowed to make the full or partial redemption of the mortgage loans using their available CPF OA balances, they would save a considerable sum on their mortgage interest. The loan value determined by the CPF is the lower of the purchase price or the valuation price of a HDB flat at the time of purchase. For many of these CPF members, the valuation price of their flat was low relative to today's HDB flat price. Hence, there is little for such CPF members in using their CPF OA balances exceeding the market value of the flat since it was capped at the lower of purchase price of valuation at the time of purchase. Also, most of them would continue to work beyond the age of 55 and could continue to contribute to their Retirement Account savings. I urge the Minister Page: 125 to consider allowing such CPF members to continue using their CPF OA balances to make full or partial redemption of their mortgage loans. CPF – Retirement Account”
“Thank you, Madam. The Minimum Sum amount was set at $80,000 in 2003 and targeted to reach $120,000 by 2015. In order to maintain a Minimum Sum amount value at 2003 dollars, the sum is adjusted yearly for inflation. In 2012, due to high movement in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the increase in 2013 was supposed to be $12,000, but MOM decided to moderate the increase. Although the Government decided not to factor in the full increase based on the CPI and, instead, to spread the increase over the next few years and to shift the target of reaching Minimum Sum to 2015, the Minimum Sum now looks to be a moving target. To most Singaporeans, we wonder what would be the eventual amount for the Minimum Sum when we reach our time Page: 124 to retire. I am of the view that it is timely to review the Minimum Sum and to establish a reasonable yearly adjustment rate that is not only based on increase in CPI. The CPI may not be the best indicator for the computation of inflation for the CPF Minimum Sum as components, such as imputed rental and private road transport, are not as relevant to retirees for their retirement needs. There is anxiety among middle, low- and lower income wage earners that the amount of money they can withdraw from their own CPF savings at the age of 55 will decrease with the ever corresponding increase in the Minimum Sum. Use of CPF for Home Financing Madam, I move now to my next cut. Madam, current CPF members are allowed to use their Ordinary Account (OA) to service their housing mortgage loan up to the valuation limit (VL) of the property.”
“Madam, MOE must reclaim the confidence of parents that the school can and will be able to educate their children and bring out their best and full potential without the need for parents to seek private tuition outside school education. Specialised Training for All Normal (Technical) Stream Teachers”