Mah Bow Tan
Singapore
“The previous generation of Singaporeans overcame huge odds together to create this improbable nation which we call home. Let this generation work as one to define our country for the next lap of our journey. Sir, on this note, I fully support the amended Motion. Page: 143”
“Like all upgrading programmes, there is a certain budget, and a certain pace at which we will build. We have completed the LUP and now we are going on towards the HIP. The Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) is ongoing.”
“For those who cannot afford home ownership, we will provide rental flats. For the rest where there is hardship involved, that is where the safety net comes in. I do not think we should make the safety net so wide as to bring in everybody.”
“Building a studio apartment is no different from building any other HDB flat. If a person applies now and the building works start now, he can get it in two-and-a-half years to three years. We have stepped up the building of studio apartments over the last couple of years.”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health (a) how many people have signed an Advance Medical Directive (AMD) and how many have revoked them since; and (b) whether there is a need to review the current rules on AMDs which do not require a person who has revoked the AMD to inform the Registrar, thus causing uncertainty for hospitals t…”
“Parents who wish to exert more control over the maximum mobile service charges incurred by their children may consider service options such as mobile pre-paid cards. IDA is aware of the public's concerns on mobile subscriptions, and will continually review policies and look into measures to further protect the interest of consumers.”
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“Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe there were some complaints of this nature. But again, as I said, this was a massive exercise. It was a very large exercise. There were many people involved and I think the processing of all the various tranches of shares was done as quickly as possible. Staff involved in the banks, CPF and SES worked through the night to try and get the results out as quickly as possible. Under the circumstances, I am sure that there were some people who might have been left out or were informed late about their allocation of shares. But I believe that these matters were being handled by the agent banks as expeditiously as possible. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (Sale of flat before five years) 7. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for National Development under what circumstances can a purchaser of a Housing and Development Board flat sell the flat upon taking possession without the need to wait for five years.”
“Sir, an opt-out scheme was one of the options considered in the Singapore Telecom IPO. But the Government decided on an opt-in scheme instead. The decision to invest should be one made by the individual, not by Government. Government can explain the benefits of long-term share ownership. Government can make the procedures as simple and as convenient as possible, but it is up to the individual to decide whether he wants to invest in Singapore Telecom shares or not. An opt-in scheme requires the individual to make such a conscious and deliberate decision. An opt-out scheme does not. We are prepared to consider an opt-out scheme for future privatisations if the experience of the Singapore Telecom exercise had shown that the opt-in scheme that we adopted was too cumbersome, or discouraged too many Singaporeans from taking up the Singapore Telecom Group A shares. However, this did not happen. Of the over 1.6 million forms that we sent out, 1.45 million Singaporeans applied for and were allocated Group A shares, as I mentioned earlier. As a result of the simplified and convenient procedures for application, the whole exercise proceeded smoothly. So the Government will continue to use the opt-in scheme for future privatisation exercises.”
“The Government thanks them for all their invaluable contributions, without which the exercise would not have been possible. The Government will study the lessons learnt from this first IPO of a privatised statutory board, including Dr Toh's suggestion of a more comprehensive education on electronic share application procedures. Nevertheless, the fact that so many Singaporeans have been involved in this exercise will, to a large extent, ensure a smoother implementation the next time round.”
“Response to Group B shares was unexpectedly overwhelming. Furthermore, many Singaporeans waited till the last moment to open the necessary accounts, despite the early publicity for the listing. The result was long queues at the CDP and the CPF agent banks. SES then simplified application procedures so that those using cash need not open CDP accounts, and those using CPF funds need not explicitly transfer funds from the CPF Ordinary Accounts to their investment accounts. Unfortunately, before we could implement these changes, some minor incidents of unruly crowd behaviour occurred at the CDP and CPF agent banks. Once the changes were implemented, the queues disappeared. We also anticipated a rush of people wanting to sell ST shares when trading began. We therefore made arrangements for Singaporeans to sell Group A and B shares at designated bank branches as well as at stockbroking offices and simplified the procedures for doing so. As matters turned out, these arrangements were more than adequate. There were no queues or delays, and everything went on smoothly. Sir, ST was the largest IPO ever on the SES. Its listing was not only a financial exercise, but also a political one to distribute share ownership among as many citizens as possible. Overnight, the number of shareholders in Singapore has increased more than three-fold, from about 400,000 to over 1.4 million. Despite this, overall, the operation proceeded extremely smoothly. Credit for this is due to the banks, SES, the CPF Board, ST itself, as well as the many Government departments which helped to coordinate and execute the operation. Their staff worked long hours to make everything ready and to service the public.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government adopted various measures to facilitate a smooth initial public offering (IPO) of Singapore Telecom shares. Firstly, there was an extensive publicity campaign which began five months before the IPO. The Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) and the banks organised a series of share investment seminars to educate the public on the mechanics of share investment. This was reinforced by the "Invest Singapore" publicity campaign, which included mobile exhibitions to 15 community centres all over the island to educate the public on the risks and benefits, as well as the procedures of share investment. The banks and the Stock Exchange of Singapore were also present at these exhibitions to facilitate the opening of CPF investment accounts and CDP accounts. Secondly, the Government simplified the application and selling procedures for Group A shares. An offer letter was sent to all eligible Singaporeans who merely had to sign and return the form in order to apply for Group A shares. The fact that 1.45 million Singaporeans, or more than 85% of all eligible Singaporeans, applied for Group A shares with minimum hassle indicates that the simplified application procedures for Group A shares were effective Unlike Group A shares, Group B shares were fixed-price shares with no discount or loyalty shares, similar to those offered in the fixed-price tranche of other IPOs. There are established application procedures for such shares. These shares were meant to cater for those Singaporeans who wanted some more Singapore Telecom shares. The anticipated target group was the existing share investors, who already have trading accounts with their brokers and CDP accounts, as well as new investors who are serious enough to learn and follow the established procedures.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am afraid I do not have that number available. But if the Member wishes to address the question to the Minister for Labour, I am sure he will get the answer. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERS OF STATUTORY BOARDS (Adoption of less disruptive method for allocation of shares) 6. Dr Toh Keng Kiat asked the Minister for Communications whether a less disruptive method will be adopted for future allocation of shares in the initial public offers of statutory boards, including a step-by-step education on electronic share application on television and video demonstrations in community centres.”
“Yes, there were special arrangements made for eligible Singaporeans who were overseas. These arrangements were made well in advance. Proxy forms were made available to those who were about to go overseas. These forms were also available to their friends and relatives here in Singapore so that they could be sent or faxed to them. The administrators of the scheme also accepted responses by fax. So it was made as convenient as possible and all those who responded accordingly were allocated the shares.”
“Sir, first of all, it is not true that people who did not apply for the shares were the ones who did not have money in their CPF. A further breakdown of the numbers would indicate that not all the people who were active CPF account holders applied for the Group A shares. There were actually 10% of active CPF account holders, ie, people who are contributing regularly to their CPF accounts, who did not apply for the Group A shares. As I said, we can only guess as to why these people did not apply for the Group A shares. But the more important point really is that it is a conscious decision on the part of individuals to participate in this exercise. The Government gave $200 under the CPF Top-up Scheme and made the scheme as convenient as possible and it also made the Group A share application as simple as possible. But in spite of all this, 10% of active CPF account holders did not apply.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, out of a total of 1,694 million offer letters for Group A shares which were sent out to all eligible Singaporeans, 1.45 million returned their application forms to apply for Singapore Telecom Group A shares. In other words, about 244,000 Singaporeans or 14.4% of those eligible decided not to apply. We can only guess as to why this group of Singaporeans decided not to apply for the Group A shares. Some may have had other priorities in the use of their CPF funds. Others may have been averse to the risks of share investment. But whatever the case, the Government has left it to the individual to consider and decide, after making available all the relevant information. The fact that more than 85% of eligible Singaporeans did apply is a measure of the success of this exercise to enhance the assets of Singaporeans and make them members of a share-owning society.”
“Sir, as at end August 1993, 9,786 cars have been registered as Weekend Cars since the start of the scheme in May 1991. Of these, almost 80% are medium or small cars with engine capacities 1600 cc and below. A table (Cols. 865 - 866) giving the breakdown according to engine capacities has been circulated to Members. table - BREAKDOWN OF WEEKEND CARS ACCORDING TO ENGINE CAPACITIES AS AT 31ST AUGUST 1993 (Cols. 865 - 866) COST REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT (Motion) Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [12th October, 1993], "That this House endorses the conclusions of the Cost Review Committee contained in Paper Misc. 5 of 1993 and calls on the Government to accept the Committee's recommendations to contain rises in the cost of living.". - [Mr Chng Hee Kok]. Question again proposed. 12.56 pm”
“I would be happy to ask SBS to accede to the Member's request. PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL UNITS (Particulars of ownership) 4. Dr Toh Keng Kiat asked the Minister for National Development, for 1992, of the existing and completed private residential units, what percentage and type are owned by Singaporeans and foreigners and of those owned by Singaporeans, what percentage is owner-occupied.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the bus interchange at Hougang Central is now under construction, and is expected to be completed by July 1994. SBS will move in and start operations soon after. The bus interchange is designed to accommodate eight trunk and two feeder services. These include five services to be relocated from the Upper Serangoon end terminal, which will then be abolished. The feeder services and additional trunk services to be provided will be based on prevailing demand for services in the vicinity. SBS will firm up its plans nearer to the completion of the bus interchange.”
“Clause 11 of the Bill therefore provides for the inclusion of the director, or agent of a company, as persons liable to be punished for offences committed by the company. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. PROBATION OF OFFENDERS (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Therefore, clause 3(b) is to allow for the imposition of penalties for late renewals. Deregistration of Vehicles Vehicles, once deregistered by ROV, should either be scrapped or exported and are not to be used on our roads. These vehicles could be deregistered either on safety grounds or because the owners have no more use for them. In some instances, COE and PARF rebates or road tax refunds would have been granted to the owners. Currently, ROV does not require proof of the disposal of deregistered vehicles. As such, there is no certainty that these vehicles have been taken off our roads permanently. Between May 1992 and August 1993, 289 deregistered vehicles were found by ROV during its regular enforcement operation. These vehicles have been impounded. Clause 9 of the Bill is to require owners of deregistered vehicles to produce proof that the vehicles had been disposed of either through export or scrap within one month of deregistration of the vehicles. Refunds of Road Tax Prior to 1st May 1992, the period for which road tax of a newly-registered vehicle was payable would be computed from the first day of the month in which the vehicle was registered. With effect from 1st May 1992, the road tax for new registrations has been computed on a daily basis instead. As a follow-up to this, clauses 5, 7 and 8 are to allow refunds on road tax to be computed on a daily basis as well. Prosecution of Offences Currently, the Road Traffic Act only provides for the managing director or the manager of a company to answer for offences committed by the company. However, not all companies list the managing director or manager in the Registry of Companies and Business Names.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Bill seeks to amend the Road Traffic Act for two main purposes. First, it is to enable the Ministry of National Development (MND) to implement a scheme to require heavy vehicles to have a proper overnight parking place. Second, it is to enable the Registry of Vehicles (ROV) to streamline and, in some cases, to inject flexibility into its procedures on the implementation of the vehicle quota system, the deregistration of vehicles and the collection of road tax. Let me explain the provisions in the Bill. Overnight Parking of Heavy Vehicles The Minister of State for National Development has earlier explained the need to implement the vehicle parking certificate scheme when he spoke on the Second Reading of the Parking Places (Amendment) Bill. Under this scheme, owners of heavy vehicles will be required to show proof of a proper overnight parking lot for the vehicle before they will be allowed to register or transfer the ownership of the vehicle or to renew its road tax. Clauses 2, 4, 6 and 10 of the Road Traffic (Amendment No. 2) Bill are to provide for this requirement and will enable ROV to assist the Ministry of National Development in implementing the scheme. Certificate of Entitlement Under the present law, a vehicle will be deregistered once its Certificate of Entitlement (COE) has expired and is not renewed. However, in practice, ROV gives vehicle owners a grace period of up to 14 days to renew the expired COE. This is an administrative arrangement. Clause 3(a) of the Bill which provides for the late renewal of COE is to regularise this administrative arrangement. However, we also want to discourage motorists from renewing their COEs late.”
“Furthermore, on certain occasions when immigration and anti-narcotics operations and surprise checks are conducted at the Checkpoint on persons entering Singapore, the time for clearance of arriving travellers may be lengthened. The Immigration Department has taken measures to ease the problem. For example, when there is congestion, Traffic Police, which normally deploys two to three officers at the Checkpoint for the morning peak period, has doubled its force. This has improved traffic flow. In addition, Immigration Department is recruiting more staff and this will increase clearance capacity. For the longer term, as has been announced in Parliament, a new and much larger Checkpoint is being developed at Woodlands. Land has already been reclaimed for this purpose. The new facilities are expected to be operational by late 1996 or 1997. Traffic flow will then be better managed and persons entering or leaving Singapore will be cleared in a much shorter time. Meanwhile, the Immigration Department, together with the Police, will continue to monitor the situation and will take all necessary measures to ensure speedy clearance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the retail trade association has been consulted and discussions have been held with the retail merchants association prior to the announcement of this scheme. The Registry of Vehicles has met and explained the rationale of the scheme. The feedback is that the retail merchants association, whilst they would prefer not to have the scheme, understands the rationale and reason behind it and they also recognise that, in the long run, we should continue to maintain the situation where the traffic flows smoothly and not deteriorate into a situation like in some other major cities where people avoid the city area because they cannot even move. While they do not welcome the scheme, they recognise and understand the need for it. WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT (Reasons for traffic congestion) 3. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the reasons for the traffic congestion at the immigration checkpoints at Woodlands and what steps are being taken to improve the situation. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, the main reason is that the number of travellers passing through the Woodlands Checkpoint has risen rapidly over the years. In 1990, the daily average was about 176,000. This increased to 181,000 in 1991 and 187,000 in 1992. In the first six months of this year, the daily average has hit 190,000. At the same time, the number of vehicles passing through the Checkpoint has also increased. Given this large number of travellers and vehicles, some traffic congestion is unavoidable from time to time.”
“Perhaps I will take the second question first. As the Member may be aware, it is in the overall land use policy of the Government that we try and decentralize as much as possible many of the activities. Hence, you will notice the setting up of regional centres in many of the outlying HDB estates. However, there is a limit to what can be done because some of the activities still need to be in the CBD. We cannot completely decentralize all these activities. So long as there is commercial, retail and business activity in the Central Business District which attracts traffic and people, there will be traffic congestion. The purpose of the ALS scheme in the past and the purpose of this extension of the ALS scheme is not to eliminate traffic from the CBD but rather to control it to the extent that people who want to use the road and who are willing to pay a nominal sum to use those roads can do so and enjoy smooth, congestion-free travel. That in itself is a plus. It saves them money. Coming back to the first point that he made on whether there will be congestion in the ring roads, yes, there will be congestion in the ring roads but this is not envisaged to be serious congestion at the moment. However, it is a dynamic situation and the authorities concerned - the Public Works Department, Registry of Vehicles and the Traffic Police - will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as and when it is found necessary. Mr Chia Shi Teck: The Minister has said that the shift of traffic could be from the off-peak hours to the peak hours. But because there is the off-peak period, many people could just drive into the city and do their business. Has the Minister considered the business effect in the CBD, like in the retail trade? I speak with vested interest, Sir.”
“The proposed rates of $3 for the whole day and $2 for just the mid-day off-peak hours are premised on the fact that there will be some shift of traffic to the peak hours but it is sufficient to smoothen out the road traffic throughout the day. In other words, yes, there will be some shifting over of the traffic from the off-peak to the peak hours, as the Member has suggested, but there is still a little bit of capacity left in the peak hours to allow this to take place without undue congestion. But, nevertheless, if the differential of $1 is too small to bring this about, we will review the rate.”
“If the whole-day ALS succeeds in reducing congestion in the CBD, the Government will be able to allow more Singaporeans to own cars by increasing the number of COEs available.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) is to be introduced because congestion in the Central Business District (CBD) during the off-peak hours is becoming severe. This is not unexpected given the rising number of cars in Singapore. Rather than tighten further on ownership of vehicles, the whole-day ALS will tackle the specific problem of congestion in a specific area at a specific time through appropriate charges for use of the roads. It is a step towards the use of more extensive road pricing to control congestion and will prepare motorists for the forthcoming Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) which is expected to be ready by 1997. Through more extensive road pricing, we can then allow for a higher level of vehicle ownership without compromising on our objective of keeping congestion under control. Motorists today enjoy a relatively congestion-free drive in the CBD during the morning and evening peak hours. However, this is not the case for the period in between. Average vehicle speeds during the non-ALS hours, especially in the afternoon, have fallen substantially by 36% to 19 kph. Some places in the CBD like Eu Tong Sen Street, Orchard Road and Bras Basah Road are already experiencing some localised congestion. The whole-day ALS will even out traffic flows into the CBD throughout the day, through differential pricing for entry at different times of the day. It will encourage motorists who may not need to be in the CBD to use alternative routes. Some may also be encouraged to use buses or MRT. The net result will be a smoother and easier ride for all road users, motorists as well as public transport users.”
“We are currently reviewing the question of unused motorcycle COEs. We have to bear in mind of course the fact that these unused COEs have arisen as a result of lower than expected demand for motorcycles and we need to know the underlying reasons behind it. Unused COEs represent unused capacity as it were of road space and we need to make sure that this is equitably distributed if motorcycles are not using it. However, this is still under review and we will be in a position to give a more definitive answer perhaps in the new year. FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME (Reasons for introduction) 2. Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Minister for Communications what are the reasons for introducing a full-day Area Licensing Scheme in the Central Business District in 1994.”
“That may well be so, Mr Speaker, that the COE premiums today are tending to gravitate towards a common level among the various categories. However, I would like to remind the Member that when we first started off with the various categories for cars, we wanted to ensure that there would be some equity in the bidding process. In other words, those people who are bidding for COEs in the smaller car category are not competing with those who are bidding for the larger and more expensive cars. Nevertheless, ultimately, as I said earlier, prices of COEs reflect supply and demand and it is very much the case today that the demand for small cars is as high as the demand for the larger cars in respect of the number of COEs available. Hence, COE prices are tending to be about the same.”
“I do not have a ready answer for the assessment but I do know that COE prices for commercial vehicles have gone up correspondingly with the economy and with demand and in the same ratio or thereabouts with the other COE categories. I do recognise that for certain categories of commercial vehicles, namely, the heavy goods vehicles, they have to pay double the COE payable by the smaller commercial vehicles. I suppose this is reflected ultimately in the cost of doing business. Nevertheless, there is a good reason for that. These heavy goods vehicles pay different taxes from the smaller goods vehicles. My Ministry is in the process of reviewing the difference in tax structure.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the prices of Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) are determined by market forces of supply and demand. Since the supply of COEs is fixed every month, the rising COE prices simply reflect the increasing demand for vehicles in the market. COE prices fluctuate according to demand for vehicles which, in turn, is dependent on the state of the economy. This is borne out by past trends. During the Gulf Crisis of 1990, when there was some uncertainty about the economic situation, demand for vehicles dropped and COE prices dropped correspondingly. When the Gulf Crisis ended, demand picked up sharply and COE prices rebounded to pre-Crisis levels. Today, the economy is doing well. More people want to buy cars, trucks and buses, and are able to afford it, hence higher COE prices. The only way to dampen COE prices is to increase the supply of COEs. My Ministry is now looking into various road pricing measures, such as the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) and electronic road pricing which can help to control congestion and at the same time allow for increased vehicle ownership, in other words, more COEs. Meanwhile, my Ministry will continue to monitor the Vehicle Quota System. We welcome any constructive suggestion which any Member of the House or anyone may have on this subject.”
“One of the possible causes was due to oil on the tracks immediately prior to the accident. Precautions that have to be taken by the MRTC and the SMRT to deal with oil spillage have been in the manuals. However, the fact that there was an excessive amount of oil being discovered on the tracks has created the possibility that this was a major cause of the accident. Nevertheless, I would not like to confirm this fact until the Inquiry Panel has had time to go further into this. In the meantime, extra precautions have been taken on how to deal with oil spillage on the tracks. STOCK EXCHANGE OF SINGAPORE (Investment of CPF savings by contributors) 6. Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Minister for Labour how many Central Provident Fund contributors used their savings to invest in the Stock Exchange of Singapore in 1991, 1992 and 1993 (up to the latest convenient date).”
“I presume the Member is referring to a letter in the newspapers postulating that electronic pollution was the probable cause. The MRTC has assured me that in the planning of the system in the initial phase, electronic pollution was a factor that was taken into account as being a possible danger to the system. Therefore, all safeguards to protect the system from such a possibility were taken. Nevertheless, this is not to be discounted and the Inquiry Panel will, I am sure, look into this, amongst other factors.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the accident took place at 7.46 am on 5th August 1993, when a westbound train from Buona Vista Station collided into the rear of the preceding train which had stalled at Clementi Station. After the accident, MRTC engineers conducted comprehensive tests to ascertain that all equipment along the affected stretch were working properly before allowing SMRT to resume train service between Queenstown and Jurong East Stations the following morning on 6th August 1993. However, as a precautionary measure, the resumption of the train service was subject to the restriction of not allowing a westbound train at Buona Vista Station to leave until the preceding train at Clementi Station had moved off. This restriction was only lifted on 8th August 1993 after MRTC had performed a further round of checks on the system. A three-member Inquiry Panel has been appointed by MRTC to determine the causes of the accident, and to review the existing operating procedures and safety systems of the MRT system. The Inquiry Panel commenced its investigation on 10th August 1993. It expects to complete its task in a month's time.”
“Sir, in the past, stalls were allotted to the poor and to resettle street hawkers to help them earn a living. As such, the stalls were heavily subsidised to keep rents low. They still are. It has therefore been necessary to make the stalls non-transferable. However, on compassionate grounds, my Ministry does allow an immediate family member of a deceased hawker to continue renting the stall, if the family depends on the stall for a living. Between January 1992 and June 1993, there were 385 of such requests from family members of deceased hawkers. Of these, 353 or 92% were approved. The remaining cases were not approved as the families were not dependent on the stalls for a living. As recently announced by the Prime Minister, the Government plans to sell stalls to incumbent hawkers. After they own their stalls, these hawkers can sell, transfer or sub-let their stalls to others. Details of the sales scheme are being worked out. REVISED PRIMARY ONE REGISTRATION SCHEME 4. Mr Lew Syn Pau asked the Minister for Education how many children (percentage) were admitted at each phase of the revised Primary One Registration Scheme; how does this compare to the previous scheme; and whether he is satisfied that the revised scheme is more successful than the previous one.”
“Sir, when TAS granted the exclusive licence for ST to operate its services, particularly the international services, it did so with a fixed time period. This time period is five years for cellular services and 15 years for the other services. During this period, TAS is looking at liberalising other areas of ST's operations. But the reason behind giving ST an exclusive privilege for a certain period of time is to allow it to recoup some of the heavy capital expenditure that was invested in putting up these systems. Nevertheless, having said that, TAS is looking at various ways whereby the market can be further liberalised without compromising or without affecting the monopoly privileges that have been granted so far. GOODS AND SERVICES TAX BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore Telecommunications Pte Ltd (ST) operates under a licence issued by the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS). A condition for this licence is that ST has to ensure that its telecommunication and postal tariffs and quality of service remain competitive. ST is required to submit to TAS quarterly reviews of rates in comparison with comparable companies around the world. Any tariff change proposed by ST for these services will need to be submitted to TAS for approval. In evaluating the proposed tariff changes, TAS will consider, apart from rate competitiveness, other factors such as wage and consumer price indices, efficiency and productivity growth. As a private company, it can still maximise profits by providing quality services at competitive prices to its customers. The price control framework is not to control the profits of the company, but to ensure that the public will continue to enjoy basic telephone and postal services at affordable and competitive prices.”
“Sir, Singapore Telecommunications Pte Ltd (ST) does not keep records of revenue collected from business lines with PABX and those without PABX. Since the sale of PABX equipment was liberalised in 1989, ST does not differentiate lines which are connected to PABX equipment from other business lines. For the 14-month period from 1st December 1991 to 31st January 1993, ST collected $117 million from business lines and $155 million from residential lines. Based on the flat rental system, ie, the old system, ST would have collected $124 million from business lines and $160 million from residential lines for the same period. In other words, with time-based charging, ST collected $7 million less from business lines and $5 million less from residential lines. SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS PTE LTD (Maximisation of profits after public floatation) 4. Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for Communications how he will ensure that the Singapore Telecommunications Pte Ltd will not increase prices to maximise the profits for its shareholders after its public floatation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, tenders for the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system were invited on 27th March 1992. Five tenderers submitted their proposals when tenders closed on 23rd July 1992. Evaluation of the tenders has been completed. We are now in the process of inviting the successful tenderers to undertake a Demonstration Project. As I explained in Parliament yesterday, during this demonstration project phase, the successful tenderers will each develop their own system and each of these systems will be tested to ensure that it meets our requirements. After evaluation of the demonstration projects, the final contract will be awarded. We expect to award the final contract some time in 1994 and we expect the ERP system to become operational in 1997. SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS PTE LTD (Revenue) 3. Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for Communications if he will state the revenue collected by the Singapore Telecommunications Pte Ltd in respect of three user-groups, namely, business (with PABX), business (without PABX) and domestic, from 1st December 1991, when the time-based charging system was instituted, up to the latest available date and how these figures compare to those of the corresponding period of the previous year.”
“On the bid for a 10-year COE and unlimited life of a COE, basically, this is a question of offering what I would call a "freehold" COE, as opposed to a 10-year old COE. I think the arguments against having a freehold COE are as what I have pointed out earlier. It just simply means that you deplete your resources and you do not recycle COEs back into the system to the detriment of prospective car owners. I do not think that would be very fair. Dr Soin asked about safety features. Sir, I think the question of safety features is of concern to the ROV. We ensure that our vehicles in Singapore meet safety standards which are based on international standards. We review these standards, we see how other countries change their standards and, if they move, we will follow. Because, obviously, the countries where there are more cars, where manufacturers are based, are in a better position to decide which are the more acceptable standards. So with that as a background, I would like to inform the Member that things like ABS, air bags, and so on, are safety features which are available but, so far, no country in the world has actually made these compulsory requirements. So we will monitor the situation and when these become compulsory requirements, we will have a look at the system again.”
“If we have a COE which is in perpetuity, which confers the right to use that vehicle in perpetuity, these COEs must be very, very precious and very, very expensive. What this means is that prices of existing vehicles would rise. But, at the same time, if you have this right in perpetuity, it also means that there will be no COEs available to recycle, to put back into the system. Currently we put back into the system COEs which have expired. So we are able in this way to offer more COEs at every tender exercise. Not just the net increase, but also the surpluses. So this is the reason why last year we were able to put in something like slightly more than 10,000 surplus COEs. These were COEs which had expired. If we had allowed the existing vehicle owners at the time we implemented the quota system to use their vehicles in perpetuity, these 10,000 or more COEs would not have been available, and the result of it would have been less COEs available for bidding, and prices would go up. So having decided that there would be a time limit on the COEs, it was a relatively easy decision to fix that time limit at 10 years. He asked a few other questions. On non-transferability, yes, I thought we had made it clear after our review that the non-transferability of COEs for certain categories, particularly the private vehicles, would stay. On review of the ARF, I think we have touched on that. The moment you touch the ARF, you straightaway touch all the other taxes that are inextricably linked to the ARF. At the end of the day, it is the final total price of the car that is important, not how the taxes are constituted in that package. On attaching COEs to cars in perpetuity, perhaps there is a misunderstanding here because, at the moment, the COE is attached to the car.”
“In other words, to aim for a public transport service which is reasonably regular, which provides good coverage, island-wide coverage, not necessarily direct links to every place from every place, which is clean, which is safe, which is comfortable, and, most important of all, which is at a level of fares affordable to most people. I think that is really what we should be aiming for. As a regulator of public transport services, it is the job of the PTC to ensure that we achieve this acceptable level of service. Coming back to the Member's request, I must say that he has been very consistent, he has written to me many times, he has been most persistent on behalf of his constituents. If it were up to me to decide, Sir, he would have his services straightaway. But, unfortunately, as I explained earlier, it is not that straightforward. I have asked PTC for more details about the services in Changi Constituency. They tell me that Changi Constituency is served by 13 trunk services, two feeder services providing direct access to the Central Business District, to Geylang, Chinatown, East Coast, Pasir Panjang, Changi Airport, Pasir Ris, Bedok, Paya Lebar, Queenstown, among other places. Is this sufficient? I honestly do not know. However, I will ask the PTC to do a review and to report back to the Member. Sir, on the question of 10-year old COEs, I think what Mr Leong may not have realised is that it is not a question of paying for the extra 10 years. But it is really a question of fairness when we decided that we should have a time limit of 10 years for the COE. It is fair, not only to the existing vehicle owners, which is what he has in mind, but also fair to the prospective vehicle owners.”
“But no matter how thorough they are, vehicle inspections cannot ensure that a vehicle will be roadworthy all the time. So it is difficult to quantify a vehicle's condition based on inspection results. Unless, of course, you want to do inspections very regularly, once a month, or whatever period, by which time it would be so impractical that the whole idea cannot be pursued any further. Mr Heng also asked for reactions on the SDP's proposal. I presume he is referring to a proposal which was included in a letter in the Straits Times today. First of all, it is not a new proposal. The proposal has been raised many times before by Members of this House, by members of the public and by members of the press. We have every time explained the reasons why we do not think it is a good idea. The reasons are as what Mr Heng had mentioned just now. In fact, if we were to follow the proposal we would be penalising the small car owner, not helping him. Sir, Mr Teo Chong Tee asked about bus services in Changi. He says that there are insufficient bus services to meet the needs of his residents. I think we need to ask ourselves the question: What really is the kind of service or level of service that we will consider to be sufficient or reasonable? What is it we would like to have? I think all of us would like to have a service where there is a bus waiting for us to take us straight to our destination, no need to change buses, and all at today's fares, or even lower than today's fares. I think it is an ideal, but it is not possible. But what we should do is to aim for a level of service which is as close to the ideal as possible, but keep our fares affordable.”
“Sir, Mr Heng has suggested that instead of using the 10 years' rule to assess the cut-off point, we should use the actual condition of the vehicle. I cannot disagree with Mr Heng that the actual condition of a vehicle depends not only on its age but also on how well it is maintained, designed, and constructed. But I do not think he would disagree with me if I say that, all things being equal, the older the car, the poorer its condition, due to wear and tear. We have, therefore, used the age of the vehicle as a reasonable proxy to a vehicle's condition and road worthiness. In fact, the statistics from our Vehicle Inspection Centres bear this out. The older the car, the greater is the likelihood of failing in the inspection test. Therefore, the fact remains that we need to have age as the criterion for the cut-off. Then the next question really is: Why 10 years as a cut-off? Why not 12 years? Why not 15 years? Why not eight years? The reason is that we have a general acceptance from the members of the public as well as the trade that the average life span of a normal passenger car, normally used, normally maintained, is about 10 years. Of course, by definition, this means that there will be some cars that are above average, and some cars that are below average. All of us have come across instances where there are cars that are 15-20 years old, and they are very well kept. But this is not the norm. This is the exception. By and large, most cars last about 10 years. The other reason that we cannot use vehicle inspection as a cut-off is simply because our system of vehicle inspection only ensures that vehicles meet minimum standards of safety and roadworthiness at the time of inspection. We inspect cars every year, and some vehicles every six months.”
“They have decided that it is in their interest to have a special taxi service for the handicapped. These taxi services pay all the taxes. But as a charitable organisation, they obviously depend on donations. In that way, the question of necessity is not left for the Government to decide but left to the individual. The businessman decides that it is worth his while to pay the taxes, the ERP in future. So he pays and he enjoys the benefit. It is the same thing for the salesman. If there is a higher cost involved in doing his sales, he factors this into his cost of doing business and he charges if he feels that he can pass it on. If not, he absorbs the cost. So how can we decide who is more deserving?”
“Sir, first of all, the vehicle quota system or the COE will remain after the ERP. The reason is very simple. We need to have both usage as well as ownership measures. If there is no limit on the number of cars available, what is going to happen? It is not just the number of cars that are going to travel on the road. Where are we going to find enough space to park them? On priority, there are certain areas, eg, in the CBD, one recognises that more people are likely to go into that area. Secondly, the cost of congestion is likely to be higher. It may not be the CBD. It may be, for example, in an industrial area, the port area, where there is a necessity to make sure that the traffic keeps flowing smoothly, whether it is for cars in the CBD or whether it is for container trucks near the port area. So these will be some of the criteria which will be used to determine which are the priority areas. If people feel that certain areas should be included under the ERP, I will be very happy to consider them. Finally, the question of necessity. This question always crops up: who is more "entitled" to a car, if I may use the word, the handicapped who feels that he needs to have a car, the businessman, the salesperson and so on? Surely it is better to leave it to the individual to decide how much he actually needs a car and to pay for it. Why should the Government decide that the handicapped is more in need of a car and therefore give him subsidies? A better way would be to let various organisations decide whether they want to subsidise that person. So in the case of the handicapped, for example, there are organisations that provide shuttle services, taxi services, for the handicapped. That is the best solution.”
“So there is no capturing of information, as opposed to a passive system which would have done so. Will private buses be exempted? At the moment, buses are exempted from the Area Licensing Scheme. Whether they will be exempted from the ERP, I cannot say at this moment. That will be one of the issues that we will be discussing and looking at. Next, on business vehicles, vehicles which are a necessity. Every vehicle is a necessity and it is difficult for us to make this distinction as to which is more necessary than others. So I think it is best for us to levy the same conditions on all so that the pain will be slightly less for all. Finally, whether it will be used for car parks, this is a possibility which can be looked into.”
“We may not be too concerned if there is congestion in Hougang Town Centre, for example, because the price of that congestion may not be too high. So we need a mechanism which will be more accurate in controlling congestion, and that mechanism is the road pricing mechanism. It is not anything new because today we already have a road pricing system in place and that is the Area Licensing Scheme where people pay to get into a certain area. If I decide that it is worth $3 for me to get in there, I pay the $3 and when I get in I enjoy a smooth ride. If not, I take my chances elsewhere. I may get caught in congestion in the fringes. So the ERP is a system that will allow us to control congestion in a more defined area, at a more defined time. The big benefit of all this is finally, of course, that if we can successfully do so, we will be able to balance the ownership and the usage measures. In other words, what this really means at the end of the day, which will be of concern to you and I, is that with ERP in place, with the quota system in place, we can increase the quota to allow for more people to own cars, taxis or whatever, and use the ERP as the more fine mechanism to control congestion, so that Singaporeans will have a better chance to own a vehicle. So that is in answer to the question of how it will help to improve our transport system. Will the movement of cars be recorded and the information misused? I think the Member does not have to fear that, because under the system that we will be implementing, an active system, there is no capturing of data about movement of vehicles. So he does not have any cause to worry. The system will simply deduct a certain amount from a smart card placed in the vehicle.”
“Sir, the Member has asked for a progress report on the ERP. There is actually a Question for Oral Answer on the progress report which, I believe, is due tomorrow. But, nevertheless, I will give a very brief update on what has been happening with the ERP project. We have invited for tenders, as Mr Low may have read in the papers. The tenders have closed and we have submitted the proposals to the Tenders Committee for evaluation. We are now in the process of finalising the successful tenderer. What the successful tenderer will do is to undertake a demonstration project. Why a demonstration project? It is because this is the first time that we are undertaking a project of this nature, of this scale. We want to be sure that when we finally commit to the ERP project the bugs would have been ironed out. So we are having a demonstration project. This project will be for a period of about a year. Thereafter, we will select the final successful tenderer. The implementation, we expect, will be in 1996-97 or thereabouts. 4.00 pm How will it help to improve our transport system? Road pricing has always been a major part of our transportation plans to control congestion. So far, we have been using ownership measures. The quota system is a classic example where we limit the number of vehicles on the roads. But it does not quite follow that if you limit the number of vehicles on the road that we will be able to control congestion, for the simple reason that congestion happens in different places at different times. So we want to control congestion in certain places as a matter of priority as opposed to others, congestion in the CBD, congestion in the major business areas, probably congestion along major highways.”
“Then I will give him a few important conferences. For example, this year we will be hosting the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Land Transportation Meeting. We will be hosting the Tripartite Technical Experts Group (TTEG) Meeting on Safety of Navigation in the Straits of Malacca. We will also be hosting the Asia-Pacific Telecommunications Conference. These are the main ones.”
“He wants to have the whole list. All right. Do we have time, Sir?”
“That is correct. Mr Low Thia Khiang: How about "Official visits"?”
“Sir, the operating expenditure on the Administration Section, particularly on the Public Relations side, consists of several votes which are put into one. It consists of expenditure for overseas conferences, meetings, hosting of conferences and meetings in Singapore, mass media expenses and so on. The simple explanation for this is really that such expenditure under Administration and Public Relations varies from year to year depending on whether we have foreign visitors, how many visitors are coming, whether Singapore is scheduled to host international meetings, regional meetings, or whether we attend overseas meetings. Some of these meetings do not take place every year. Some of them take place every four years, and some of them take place every two or three years, and so on. So it really depends on the cycle and how these meetings coincide. There is a whole list of meetings that we are hosting next year and I do not wish to bore Members with such a long list. But, basically, my point is that it is not an unusual occurrence. In some years, it goes up; in some years, it goes down, depending on how many meetings we host. The reason why we have to host these meetings and the reason why we attend meetings is obviously to make sure that we keep track of what is going on and to influence decisions at international conferences and meetings, decisions which have a major bearing on Singapore. We go to meetings to update ourselves, learn from others, share experiences, and so on. All this is to help safeguard our interests and to enhance our status as a commercial communication hub.”
“But if we do nothing, then I think we will pay an even higher cost which other countries are paying. It is an invisible cost. People do not compute how much money they have lost by staying in traffic jams, and so on. But as a businessman, Mr Chua will understand very well what this cost means. It may be invisible but, ultimately, it shows up in its bottomline. So I think this is something that we should not treat lightly. We have decided to make our costs visible and to make the user pay. It is not only a fair thing to do but is also an efficient way of allocating a scarce resource, which is road space. Finally, of course, every dollar that the Government collects, in terms of road taxes, ARF and COE premiums means one dollar less is required from taxpayers, whether individual taxpayers or corporate taxpayers.”
“These are actually State land but they are remnants of land. They are usually constrained by a lot of difficulties in meeting planning controls, and I believe controls on sanitation, buffer space, car parks, etc. MRTC also has their own constraints, particularly, for example, the height of buildings below the viaduct. I am told that it must not exceed one storey and the activities must be of low fire risk. While URA will consider proposals to use land beneath MRT viaducts, I would suggest that the land is best used for very narrow purposes, such as car parks, lorry parks, and so on. Right now, some of these lands are being used for bus interchanges and some are being used for car parks. And there was one very interesting use made by a Town Council where they have built a physical fitness park. So if there are any such proposals from the Member, MRTC and URA will be pleased to consider them. Finally, Sir, the comments by Mr Robert Chua on the impact of transport policies on business. We are well aware of the high costs of ownership of vehicles in Singapore, cars, trucks, etc. The reason is very obvious. The Member has mentioned that all this is to serve a purpose of making our roads free of congestion. This is something that we should not treat lightly because there are many, many experiences in many developing as well as developed countries where the situation has been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that it is very hard to put back. It is obvious that, in our case, we have the fundamentals in place. We have the quota system and soon we will have the ERP system which will allow us to relax the quota a little bit and yet be able to control congestion. All this is not cost-free. There is a high cost to it, not least a high political cost.”
“And to be fair to the PTC, I think they do not have an easy job to do. They try their best to balance the interests of commuters and the operators and I say they have been doing a marvellous job so far. 3.45 pm Sir, I turn quickly to the other points made by Dr Wang. First of all, the question of Electronic Road Pricing. He asked whether taxis will be exempted from the ERP. The answer is "no". Taxis today are not exempted from the Area Licensing Scheme for the simple reason that they contribute as much congestion as the person driving a private car. However, obviously, they recoup the cost of the licence from their passengers which is fair so that, ultimately, at the end of the day, a passenger in a taxi and a person driving a private car will more or less pay about the same if he wants to go to the same place and travel the same distance. On cruising for business, when the ERP comes in, one major impact I would envisage is that the mode of operation of taxi companies will change and change quite drastically. In particular, this practice of empty cruising, or cruising around looking for passengers, I think, will become much more expensive. Taxi companies will have to become more innovative, to look at new ways of getting passengers, radio phones, booking system, contracts, etc. And, in fact, deregulation will allow them more leeway and more flexibility. He also asked a question about the merging of the ERP meter with the taxi meter. Yes, it is, I believe, technically feasible but at this stage, I think the Committee is looking at a more simple solution which would give the passengers an idea of how much they are charged without having to go into complicated modifications to the system. Finally, Dr Wang's point about land beneath MRT tracks.”