Mariam Jaafar
Singapore
“One trusted person who knows their story, who checks in, who believes in them when they do not believe in themselves can make all the difference. As we scale, how do we protect that relational core as numbers grow?”
“I thank Members for the robust debate. I think healthcare is probably one of the most complex Ministries. On behalf of this Health Government Parliamentary Committee, I would like to say thank you to the healthcare family, from everyone at MOH to the frontliners in the hospitals and community. With that, I seek to withdraw my amendment.”
“Every young Malay/Muslim deserves to know: they are seen, they are valued, they are supported – in faith and in life. When our youths are anchored in faith and supported in well-being, our community – and our nation – are stronger. Singapore College of Islamic Studies”
“We must adapt S+3M: financing not only healthcare, but health itself, not by abandoning the principles, but by fulfilling them fully. Shared responsibility must include shared prevention. Personal ownership must empower early action. Equity must recognise cumulative burden. This is not about spending more.”
“Could MOM share the uptake and outcomes so far? And could we expand practical models so seniors can pace themselves while staying engaged? And with the Tripartite Workgroup on senior employment, when can we expect key recommendations and how will success, beyond placements, be tracked?”
“Can we strengthen incentives for FWAs and provide structured coaching at key transition points, so caregivers do not have to choose between career and care. Third, re-entry. Can we create structured return pathways so that stepping up for family does not mean stepping back professionally. Supporting caregivers is not charity.”
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“So, why all this effort? Quite simply, it is because without measurement and transparency of outcomes, we would not know whether what we are doing and paying for is having an impact and how much. Doctors and clusters would not have the data they need to make better decisions and drive innovation, teamwork and best practice sharing. We need outcomes that are measurable, effective and standardised across clusters. It takes time to identify, find ways to measure, and to show the value to everyone in the care delivery chain so it is not simply administrative overhead. This is not something we can leave to the clusters. I repeat, not something we can leave to the clusters. MOH leadership is needed. So, I call on MOH to consider including, as another pillar of Healthier SG, a drive to accelerate the identification, measurement and transparency of health outcomes. It is very true that there is a big risk in a transformation as fundamental and complex as Healthier SG to expect too much too soon. But the evidence from successful value-based healthcare systems has shown that meaningful health outcomes can, in fact, be achieved sooner, but for defined patient segments, particularly at the intersection between primary care and the secondary and tertiary space, such as at the point of discharge from hospital. For example, a general nutrition education takes a long time to payback. But Oak Street Health, a relatively young and innovative US primary care provider, found that making sure elderly patients with diabetes are eating properly when they are first discharged from hospital is very rapid payback in terms of lower re-admission rates.”
“There are many things to like in the Healthier SG White Paper – mobilising GPs, removing co-pay, free vaccinations, cheaper drugs at the GP, social prescriptions, leveraging community assets and solutions. Colleagues have talked about it today. I would like to focus on three enablers to making Healthier SG happen – healthcare financing, IT and manpower as identified in the White Paper. But before I go into the enablers, I would like to frame them in the context of what it is that we are trying to achieve. How do we frame the objectives? The ultimate objectives must be better health outcomes, at lower cost. And indeed, this is the objective of healthcare reforms around the world, towards a model commonly known as value-based healthcare. But when we look at the key performance indicators (KPIs) for Healthier SG, many of the KPIs, especially in the near term, are process indicators, things like enrolment rates, screening rates, vaccination rates and health plan completion rates, while health outcomes like disease prevalence and control, mortality, re-admission rates, frailty, start to figure only later. Mr Speaker, there is a whole body of knowledge that has emerged in the field of value-based healthcare around health outcomes measurement, such as the US' Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services and its Meaningful Measures initiative, as well as the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement and its range of condition-specific standard sets of outcomes, for different age groups and different demographics, including clinical and patient-reported outcomes. Patient-reported outcomes includes measures of quality of life, for example. Do they feel pain, their ability to perform activities in daily living, sense of control, their moods, loneliness?”
“And she may want to know for the specific datapoint on health adjusted life expectancy (HALE), MOH has actually tried doing that and it has been increasing year-on-year. And based on the global finding, our HALE at 73.9% in 2019 is the highest in the world. So, I just wanted to give the credit to MOH that our hospitals do a great job at treating the sick. But could we have done more to avoid people getting sick in the first place? Could we have done more in taking more decisive, holistic actions on preventive care, on a national focus on population health, that permeates everything we do in our daily lives, from the food we eat, the exercise we do or do not do, the amount of screen time we allow our kids that might have helped us prevent the rise of chronic diseases – diseases like diabetes, hypertension and lipid disorders? So, for these reasons, Mr Speaker, I say that Heathier SG is not just a good idea. It is necessary and overdue. Too much has been spent on acute care, too little on prevention. More people are getting sick and living with chronic illness. They are getting sick earlier in their lives and will require medical care for a long time. Add to that an ageing population and rising costs and we have no choice but to make this work. HPB has worked hard to promote healthy living, but HPB cannot do this alone. It is time we recognise and ensure that incentives, norms, practices, data analytics and policies must be aligned to the behaviours we want to drive across the system. Not only behaviours of the doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, everyone in the healthcare delivery system, but also of the community, of patients and currently healthy citizens, to take charge of our own health.”
“Mr Speaker, I declare that I am a Managing Director and partner of a management consulting firm that does work in the healthcare space. The rising cost of healthcare is a threat to our Government budgets and to our economy. It is a growing financial and emotional burden on our families. It has already been cited as the reason why we have to do the unpopular choice and raise GST, despite the political cost. It is, in a word, unsustainable for Singapore. It is unsustainable for Singaporeans like my Woodlands resident, Mr Z, whose wife suffers from diabetes. Mr Z comes to my Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS). He has problems – how to cover the cash co-pay for her next hospital visit, how to pay for the bags and other consumables that are not paid by MediSave, how he is going to push her in her wheelchair to the NKF centre for her dialysis treatments, these days, often in the rain, when the growing arthritis in his bones sends waves of pain up his legs and back. It is for my resident, Ms N, who has worked hard to build her career. But one illness to her aunt who lives here on a Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP), has wiped out a huge chunk of Ms N's savings, and continues to take a chunk out of her take-home pay every month. It is why my resident, Mr T, refuses to go for check-ups, let alone screening. "If they find something, I do not have the money for treatment. So, better do not know", as Minister Ong said. It was exactly what Mr T said. Sir, we have a healthcare system that is admired. We are living longer. And, at this point, I want to react to the comment by the Member Ms He Ting Ru who stated that we are living longer but not healthier and that MOH tends to look at life expectancy rather than more healthy indicators. For this speech, I did look at that data.”
“I thank the Minister for his response to my PQ. Just one supplementary question – as we consider the criteria for which people without the academic qualifications may yet qualify for the career conversion programmes, who would be the regulator for that? Would that be SkillsFuture Singapore or would it be dependent on the administrator of the programme? And how can we make sure that in a world where more and more people are going for certifications and training, that these are not cast aside when they apply for career conversion programmes or even jobs?”
“(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Boosting social mobility and uplifting the success of our community do not come from policy changes alone. It requires a lot of hard work to build a supportive culture – providing access to networks, advisors or mentors and peer support to help our young people make the right choices in life. We must have that in our community. Can the Government give an update on the M3 youth mentoring programmes and the value derived from these programmes in the eyes of the mentees? What is the demand for these mentoring programmes and how much of the demand is being fulfilled? How quickly can the programmes be extended to ITE and Polytechnic students? Supporting Malay/Muslim Non-homeowners (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The number of Malay families living in rental housing cited in the latest population survey is something that has been noted. At the same time, we know that many families in public rental flats aspire to become homeowners. Can M3 provide an update on the KPIs for Project DIAN@M3, what has been achieved to date and how the Government can also extend more support to other vulnerable families which do not own a home, but do not reside in rental flats, for example, renting a room/unit in the open market, staying temporarily with friends or family, or are homeless? 1.45 pm Progress of Malay/Muslim Community”
“Chairman, it has been several years since we embarked on the "3 Beyonds" strategy. But I have a lot of hope that we are now ready to make some bold calls to really unlock it and move forward. There is an urgent need to transform to keep our healthcare costs in check. Our healthcare workforce must be ready.”
“Can the Minister share what is being done to recruit, nurture and deploy people from different backgrounds, especially in leadership roles?”
“Third, addressing the shortage of nurses. Nurses are the bedrock of our healthcare workforce. At around 7.5 nurses to 1,000 population, our nurse to population ratio is lower than the OECD average of nine. The burden of the pandemic has without a doubt, been felt most keenly by our tired nurses. With an ageing population, increasing life expectancy and increasing incidence of chronic diseases, the demand for nurses can only continue in intensity and nursing care required will also increase. As we shift beyond hospital care to community care, nurses will be needed not only in hospitals but also in the community. I echo the hon Member Dr Tan Wu Meng's point that more needs to be done to raise the standing of the nursing profession and further review of remuneration. Those are calls for rationality and pragmatism in addressing the foreign nurses who complement our pool. The shortage of nurses is a global one. The UK has launched the Health and Care Worker Visa that allows settlement in the UK after five years and applicants can be joined by dependent partners and children. Are we similarly considering something like this? What more is the Government doing to attract, train and retain nurses? Fourth, increasing diversity in the healthcare system. There is a need to broaden the definition of a healthcare worker, where someone who has good interpersonal skills and motivational skills, and with technology, can play a key role in population health. There is also scope to increase diversity in leadership, including in cluster leadership, to better reflect the population we serve and the skills and backgrounds required in the new healthcare model.”
“Chairman, our healthcare workforce needs to transform to accelerate the implementation of the "3 Beyonds" strategy. First, putting in place the organisation enablers to support the shifts in the "3 Beyonds" – how to manage the workforce across the public and private healthcare system in the new healthcare delivery model and increase their productivity. Doctors, GPs, nurses, pharmacists and more in the community will play new roles and need to be empowered with new skills, capabilities, evidence‐based practices and tools, as we move beyond hospital to the community. As we move beyond quality to value, behavioural shifts are needed across the system, from the hospital CEO to frontliners. As we shift beyond healthcare to health, new skills will be needed, such as in data analytics and behavioural economics. Across the board, new ways of working – much more multi-disciplinary, much more agile, will be needed. This means putting in place the right organisational structures, achieving clarity of roles and responsibilities, aligning funding models, KPIs and incentives, and bringing in and building the right talent. Can the Minister share what the Government is doing to facilitate this transformation? Second, the work of healthcare worker needs to be re-imagined digitally as we move to increasingly digital integrated care. New digital roles will be needed in data analytics and AI, in robotics and they will need to be brought in from outside. But importantly, all healthcare workers, will need to embrace digital skills and adopt a digital mindset, seeing digital as an enabler rather than a threat. What forms of digital reskilling and upskilling programmes are being developed to help our healthcare professionals pivot to the digital future of healthcare?”
“Thank you, Chairman, two questions for the Minister. One is on EIP – wonderful news. On the flip side of my question, the group that, due to EIP, cannot rent or buy flats nearer to their parents, is there something that the Ministry is also thinking to do for them? Secondly, on green buildings. Great to hear about the grants for retrofits being extended to residential buildings, too. But, of course, HDB is the primary volume driver here. Can the Minister also give an update on the roadmap for HDB to retrofit its large base of buildings, as well as new buildings, to become greener? I say this knowing that it has a lot of socioeconomic impacts; I do not take it lightly, but it would be great if the Minister could share something on the roadmap.”
“Chairman, a fairer, greener, and more inclusive Singapore requires fairer, greener and more inclusive housing. Fairer: while the EIP continues to be relevant, it remains a concern that it causes negative externalities to minority home owners who face difficulties in selling their flats as well as renters and home buyers who cannot get a flat close to their parents. How can the Minister address the rough edges of the policy? Greener: buildings account for a large share of emissions. Can the Minister share how HDB is playing its part to move to greener buildings, both new builds and retrofits? More inclusive: can the Minister update on the outcomes of the policy to integrate rental units with purchased units instead of dedicated rental blocks? What more can be done to facilitate the forming of support networks within the community for rental flat residents in these integrated blocks? Can the Minister also update on measures to enhance the HDB experience for the elderly and persons with disability?”
“In a green economy, every worker must have basic and foundational knowledge of climate sustainability alongside functional specific skills and sector‐specific competencies to enable a successful transition of key industries towards sustainable business models and practices. Our IHLs can play a key role in building these capabilities and competencies. I echo his views. What is the Government doing to reskill and upskill employers, employees and students for managing and capturing value in the green economy?”
“For example, does HDB prioritise going for the fastest, cheapest way to get a lot of flats out or go for green buildings that have lower embedded emissions and reduce controllable lifecycle emissions? These are complex questions but ones which we must take a position and communicate effectively to all stakeholders as part of the green public procurement transformation. Other levers for the Government include funding and incentives for innovation and R&D in transformative new technologies, working with industry coalitions to promote decarbonisation across the value chains, upgrading and making available climate and sustainability data and analytics systems, providing incentives for market adoption such as low interest loans and tax credits and boosting understanding expertise and capabilities through education and reskilling programs, the subject of my next cut. We can also invest in relatable and inspiring public education campaigns to educate Singaporeans on the choices they make. For the right portfolio of measures and pace of implementation, we will need to understand trade-offs, consider cross-sector impact and socioeconomic impact. How will the Government support local companies that innovate and invest in a green transition ahead of the market? What is the Government doing to activate the market demand and willingness to pay, including among end consumers? Skills for Green Economy Chairman, I filed the cut but I do not have to write my own speech here as the hon member Koh Lian Pin has very succinctly made the points in his Budget speech.”
“Chairman, in past speeches, I have called for Singapore to have a higher ambition, leading the way to a green future in spite of our size. To do this, our local industry must innovate and invest in a green transition. But uncertainty over costs, benefits and risks will influence incentives to make the move. Each sector has a different emissions profile, transition readiness, industry structure and willingness of the end customer to pay. The increase in carbon taxes may compel companies to move, though it must be implemented in just transition. The Government is also exploring and putting in more regulations and standards and benchmarks. What else can the Government do to encourage local companies to invest, perhaps, ahead of the market? One key lever is green public procurement. Globally, public sector procurement activities are directly or indirectly responsible for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions – seven times the amount emitted by the entire aviation industry. They are also heavily concentrated in six industries: defence and security, transportation, waste management services, construction, industrial products and utilities. And often account for a large share of their suppliers' revenues. Using this buying power, green public procurement can be a major boost for the green economy. Government can set standards for products, services and project activities, certify companies and materials for sustainability, giving extra points for suppliers that are "greener". However, public procurement is complex and highly decentralised and there are competing priorities and socioeconomic considerations.”
“Sir, for a lot of young Singaporeans, education, especially higher education, is a series of check the boxes. Choosing the best course they can get into, based on "cut-off points, study hard, get good grades, get a job". What is the Government doing to encourage young Singaporeans to explore opportunities and embrace the lifelong learning mindset from a young age, even while they are still in the formal education system. For example, taking part in boot camps outside of the university curriculum or during NS. Will the Minister consider extending SkillsFuture credits to younger Singaporeans perhaps from the age of 18 or 21? My next cut. Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) Partnerships Globally, the world of education is transforming. Governments need to move away from the idea that they can educate and prepare our workforce of X number of graduates for the labour market, that has led to their configuration of schools, universities, polytechnics, ITEs and other institutions that we know today. Sir, education systems must evolve, every Singaporean will have his or her own lifelong learning journey, and there will be new forms of education to deliver learning at the right time, right context, right format as part of this journey These education systems must be closely intertwined with work and delivered as part of digital ecosystems. Learning would include specific technical skills demanded by industry, but also digital skills, life skills, and as we work towards a greener future, sustainability skills. How can the Government encourage our IHLs to strengthen partnership with industries and develop these ecosystems, in order to better serve their evolving role in higher education and continual learning? Supporting Instructors, Coaches and Students”
“Sir, COVID‐19-era protocols give new ideas for the future of work, from work from home to the dispensation of the need for a medical certificate (MC) when self‐isolating after a positive COVID-19 test. Will the Minister consider changes to the Employment Act to dispense of the need to produce an MC for paid sick leave of up to, say, three to five days out of the 14 days entitlement, being for COVID‐19? Review of the Employment Act”
“A quick clarification because I did not hear much about SME reskilling. Just to make sure that they have opportunities too.”
“Sir, I would like to declare my interest as the Managing Director of a consultant firm that does work in the area of skills development. The Government has made available a wide range of programmes available to help SMEs to go digital, such as the Productivity Solutions Grant and CTO as a Service. Many SMEs have taken advantage of these grants. Yet, there are still many SMEs which have not started down the digitalisation path in a meaningful way. But for a digital transformation to be sustainable, it is not enough to adopt some digital solutions. To ensure sustained performance, the employees need to go digital, be reskilled and upskilled, and, importantly, must have the opportunity to use these digital skills in their daily work. Yet, we often hear that Singaporeans who work in SMEs find that they have fewer opportunities to acquire these new digital skills, compared to their peers working in LLEs and MNCs. This will impact their future career options. While the expansion of SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit eligibility will help more companies provide these employees, there is a lot of room to increase the take-up amongst those already eligible. What more can the Government do to encourage the long tail of SMEs to reskill and upskill their employees now in order to capture opportunities in the digital economy in a sustainable way? How can this reskilling be done at scale? How can larger enterprises and TACs support the SME base? And how can we encourage and ensure that employees, in particular, who do not invest in such reskilling can go after those opportunities on their own, given that they have more limited resources to do this on their own and may not get the opportunity to put these skills to work in their day jobs? Vibrant Tech Talent Ecosystem”
“Okay, two supplementary questions. Community gardening is something that has become very popular. My first question is to HDB. Often, in converting our MSCPs to community gardens or urban farms, we do run into challenges. For example, HDB requires the hiring of a Professional Engineer (PE) for various regulations and rules, which to be honest, I find that some of them are a little bit questionable. For example, can they bear the load? That is something HDB is supposed to have already assessed. And also, if they can bear cars and lorries, I think they can bear vegetable pots, and requiring a sprinkler for hydroponics and we have water all around us. Things like that. The first supplementary question is, can HDB review some of these rules to narrow down the sets of requirements, so that the burden of hiring the PE is a little bit lower and therefore less costly for us? My second supplementary question is, it is not just HDB, but we have other SFA regulations to deal with. For example, can people come up to the car park to buy the vegetables? In the business space, we have had the Pro-Enterprise Panel that has helped a lot to relieve some of these regulations and rules to make things much more business-friendly. If we are serious about our Green Plan, should we have a Pro-Sustainability Panel to similarly look through such issues, so that ground-up and community efforts in the heartlands and by our enterprises can just go a bit faster in loosening some of these regulations?”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. I have three questions.”
“Sir, the investments in building new capabilities, strengthening local enterprises and investing in our people signal our Government's commitment to enhancing the competitiveness of our domestic economy and helping companies to digitalise and globalise. But it will take time for the impact of these measures to be felt in a large flow economy like ours while there are many nearer-term headwinds to global trade and economic recovery. Competition for investments can also be expected to intensify, especially in a post-COVID-19, post-BEPS 2.0 world where companies are refining their global and regional games. EDB has done remarkably well during the pandemic years. As the world emerges from the pandemic, how does the investment pipeline look going forward? How can Singapore extract value quickly from the recently completed trade agreements? Can the Government give an update on progress in facilitating cross border data flows and digital trade? How else can the Government enhance Singapore's competitiveness in the near term to capitalise on opportunities, both amidst the COVID-19 recovery and in a post-BEPS 2.0 world?”
“Can I call for it again to be in the core curriculum? If you look at countries like Korea, for example, they have in the core curriculum dealing with robots. So, all those sorts of things are just going to be very important going forward.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her response. As she has said, we all agree that technology is very important in going forward. We also agree that the earlier the introduction is done, the better. I am glad to know about the programmes that already exist to introduce cybersecurity. But, with respect to both cybersecurity and coding, which we have also discussed in previous Parliamentary Questions (PQs), it is really important that our children are given that digital mindset early in life; otherwise, it could be another source of future inequality and lack of social mobility. Because I have seen great discrepancies in children who have resources and can code in all kinds of languages as kids, versus those who do not even have a computer when they come in. I also think that introducing coding and cybersecurity in the core curriculum is very important to inspire kids to learn about these careers early in their life which foundational computational skills like Math and Science may not actually introduce them to.”
“I think a lot has been raised in this House of the concerns for the mental wellness of our elderly. As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, it has been quite a while since some of them have had house visits. Can the Ministry also talk about the forward-looking plans? Will we bring the house visits back to the level of about 300,000 and when will that happen?”
“I know many are unhappy about introducing GST in next year, but I also know that with the $6.6b Assurance package, the vast majority of our community will not be affected by the GST increase at all until 5 or even 10 years or more from now. Indeed, some will get a GST bonus in the interim. During this time, we must continue to work on increasing incomes across all levels of our community through our individual efforts to upskill, and through further Government effort. Separate from GST, there are valid concerns about cost of living. I hope the Government will move swiftly to support Singaporeans even more if the high costs persist. I also hope that the 4G leaders will continue to build genuine relationships with our community, understand our values, our constraints, but also our talents, our efforts and our hustle. And then please be our ally and help us develop and use our strengths to benefit ourselves and society. Because we don’t just want to get better than we were, we want to be at par with everyone else. (In English) Mr Speaker, Budget 2022 makes a significant move down the path of a fairer, greener, more inclusive Singapore, from which may emerge a vision of a Singapore that is beyond great. It moves further to build capabilities to keep our economy and our people competitive, scaling up early intensive interventions to boost social mobility. It is a Budget we can be proud of. I support the Budget.”
“Mr Speaker, during the pandemic, there was a catchphrase that became quite popular. Test negative, be positive. Let us infect one another with positivity, regardless of backgrounds, cultures or political leanings. Mr Speaker, before I end, let me say a few words in Malay. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Not long ago, I received a message over Facebook from a Chinese resident. Taking pains to say that it was nothing racist but an encouragement to me, our Malay MP in our Sembawang GRC, she shared what she overheard from a group of Chinese women: "Aiyo, you see, generally Malays are less hardworking … But you see that our Sembawang GRC Malay MP looks so cheerful, so hardworking and active?" Is this racist? Some will say yes, some will say no. But it is at least prejudice. The truth is prejudices are real. As minorities, the truth is we have always had to work harder than others just to be seen as working as hard as others. Is that fair? No. But is there a genuine desire to put in the hard work to change things? I believe this to be the case with this Government. It is fashionable these days to cry out injustices, to see calls to cancel someone or something. Sadly, that can sometimes do a great injustice to the hard work being done to change things. The Budget represents a vision of a fairer, greener and more inclusive Singapore. A fairer and more inclusive Singapore where the fruits of progress are shared more equally by all augurs well for our community. I hope our community will take full advantage of the commitment to invest in our people, invest in our children. I hope more will be done to build a positive national culture and that through the formation of networks, mentorship and communities, the Malay community can be lifted by a positive spirit.”
“For example, with respect to climate change, we could take the view that Singapore going to net-zero may not move the needle if bigger countries in the region and the world do not do their part or we could take the view that I mooted in last year's Budget debate that by investing in research and development (R&D) and developing solutions for the greatest existential crisis of our times, we can lead and change the world. We must cultivate that eternal optimism, that sense of idealism and adventure. Mr Speaker, at this point, I cannot help but remember another famous speech by our founding Prime Minister, "There is a glorious rainbow that beckons those with the spirit of adventure. And there are rich findings at the end of that rainbow. To the young and the not so old, I say, look at that horizon, follow that rainbow, go ride it. Not all will be rich. Quite a few will find a vein of gold. Dig it out. But all those who pursue that rainbow will have a joyous and exhilarating ride and some profit." Mr Speaker, building this positive national culture requires a lot of work that has to start early in life – in our schools, communities, workplaces, in our interactions with Government agencies, in social media, in the metaverse. We have to enable and stimulate the building of networks, support groups, mentorship programmes, volunteer groups. In my youth, we had a lot of public education campaigns on radio and television. Who can forget Singa the Courtesy Lion, Teamy the Bee and all those jingles? Now, the same types of campaigns may not be quite so effective with Singaporeans today but we have even more new mediums, tools and talents today to put out relatable and inspiring content to propagate positivity among Singaporeans.”
“The third strategy deals with shaping our values themselves – build a positive national culture. Our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, famously said in 1977, "You know the Singaporean. He is a hardworking, industrious, rugged individual. Or we would not have made the grade. But let us also recognise that he is a champion grumbler." Forty-five years later, we may laugh and wryly say some things never change. But who do we really want to be? Have we thought about how much better and stronger we would be if we were a more positive people? Not just law-abiding but positive. There are three components of a positive national culture that I think are particularly important. First is empathy. In dealing with people, we must make the effort to get to know them as whole human beings. It increases the likelihood that they will go the extra mile when we need them to. The relationship and the trust between the people and the Government and the Public Service are a massive ingredient to sustainable success for our nation. Second is mutual respect. If we respect others, we must accept that people have different strengths and weaknesses and support them to use their strengths to flourish and not be stuck with narrow ideas of what good looks like and of what should be valued. We must accept different backgrounds, cultures and viewpoints while not letting society become more and more fragmented. We must speak to one another, on the streets and in this House, with respect and with integrity. Third, aspiration or ambition – always believing that we can do better, be better. We fight complacency and cynicism by surrounding ourselves with people who push us to aim higher and do better. We believe that no matter how small we are, our actions matter.”
“I must confess though that when schemes like the Solidarity Payment and Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers were announced, I was quite bemused. Did rich Singaporeans really need the $100 to feel solidarity with other Singaporeans? But after getting feedback on the vouchers from the ground, I must say my position has shifted. My residents in 5-room, executive apartment (EA), executive maisonette (EM) and Jumbo flats – we happen to have a lot in my division – told me that it felt good to finally get something when, usually, there is nothing for them, even though quite a few of them donated theirs. In the discussion on GST in this and previous Budgets, we have talked about the advantages of GST as a broad-based tax on revenue. Perhaps, there is something to be said about boosting solidarity through a broad-based distribution, which also provides an additional way to enhance financial security and mitigate inequality for those whose fortunes do not reflect the nation's success. The support package has elements of this but, if we want to be more inclusive, could we explore a more structural change to provide a permanent growth dividend tied to GDP or Budget surpluses, with different payouts, of course, based on wealth or income, partly in cash, partly in CPF, that give every Singaporean an additional stake in the nation's economic progress, reinforcing that we win and lose as a team. We have done this before with one-off payments like the SG Bonus in 2018, the Growth Dividend in 2011, the New Singapore Shares in 2001 and, of course, the discounted Singtel shares in the 1990s. It may feel moot to even be discussing this in the context of consecutive years of Budget deficits, but I hope the Minister might consider this as we move forward.”
“But these are table stakes. Beyond Great companies will also demand world class digital infrastructure and customs procedures that minimise transaction costs, cross border data sharing frameworks and safeguards, regional trade agreements that harmonise regulations. All of these are necessary for them to transact international business through digital platforms and fast-evolving ecosystems. Beyond Great companies also require flexible labour policies and the ability to tap on global employees and freelancers sitting outside the host country and within a country, a workforce that is not only highly skilled with specialised technical capabilities but also people with digital mindsets, who are agile and always hungry to learn, who have motivation and grit. In my maiden speech at the start of this Parliament, I spoke about the need for the Government and companies to invest in our people. We have made significant moves since then, but it is still not enough. We must continue to accelerate the reskilling and upskilling of our workforce for a more digital, more green future and, over the long term, we must reexamine the entire education system from early childhood all the way to work, to enable learning at the right time, at the right place, on a personalised learning journey. We must also collaborate in public-private ecosystems with these Beyond Great companies to align plans, policies and incentives to achieve mutually shared goals beyond profit and growth. The second strategy deals with social policy – implement a permanent growth dividend. As I have alluded to earlier in my speech, we have built, over time, a comprehensive social security system fit for our demographic profile with Workfare, Silver Support and Progressive Wage Model – really quite game changing.”
“I would like to focus the rest of my speech today on three strategies for our nation’s development, strategies that are driven by alignment of values. The first is an economic strategy. Go after the Beyond Great companies. There is a set of leading global companies that are moving past all definitions of “great”, companies that used to focus on scale and strong shareholder returns. One example is Microsoft. These Beyond Great companies have realised that sustainable competitive advantage in an era of technological, geopolitical and social change, can only be attained by being responsive to the needs of all stakeholders, shareholders, but also customers, employees, local communities, governments and the natural environment. The have agile business models that offer customised solutions to borderless communities of digitally connected customers and are experts at forming flexible ecosystems of partners. Conscious of their responsibility to the countries they operate in, they nurture local expertise, enable SMEs to participate in global and regional value chains and help the countries they are in to develop customised solutions to their toughest problems. They are willing to provide jobs and opportunities for a combination of skills, from the highly skilled global professionals who compete with the best in the world, to the middle and lower-skilled workers who may compete more often with lower-cost resources in the region, because they understand that for Singapore to be true to our values, we must have jobs for every Singaporean. The Government, led by EDB, can proactively attract and nurture Beyond Great companies to anchor in Singapore. To attract these companies, we must continue to offer financial stability, predictability, transparency and low taxes.”
“His petrol bill, which he uses to work and ferry his kids to and from school has gone from $500 to $800 or $300 increase a month, $3,600 a year. His food expenditure – they do not cook a lot, so they mostly eat out – has gone up by about 15% to 20%, he says. Fortunately, his spend on healthcare and education have not gone up by much. But as you can see, these add up pretty quickly. Some of these, we expect to come down in due time, as MTI has previously shared, but the developments in Ukraine and the continued disruption of supply chains, give rise to concerns that this situation might go on past the end of the year. Mr Speaker, if anything is regressive, inflation is regressive. So, I would like to ask the Finance Minister, what assumptions of inflationary trends were made in developing the $560 million Household Support Package and whether more support can be given, including to the middle-income, for whom ComCare is not an option. But long term, the way to make sure that the increased cost of living does not bite too hard, is to ensure that incomes grow faster than expenses at every level of the workforce. With the expanded PWM, I think we are quite covered with the lower-income workers. For the middle-income, it is vital that we continue to enhance the competitiveness of our economy so that we can continue to create and retain good jobs. It is vital that we continue to invest in capability building and take a balanced, tempered approach in implementing the tax and manpower policy changes. In the Committee of Supply, I will speak more on measures to enhance the competitiveness of the economy, build capabilities in our people and businesses, accelerate the green transition and manage the healthcare costs and workforce for an ageing population.”
“The Government has recognised the need for greater social support, in response to growing inequality, technological change and changing societal expectations, and adjusted the system, very deliberately, over time, including the introduction of the new anchors of our social security system like Workfare, Silver Support and now PWM, and the tightening of foreign manpower policy. Collective support means we all pay, which also ensures that we all understand that nothing we get comes for free. But the wealthy pay more. The more money you have, the better the life you lead, the more you can afford to pay for other people's children's education and other people’s healthcare. That is just and fair. I welcome the progressive moves in the Budget: the uplift in salaries for lower-income workers, the higher income taxes for the rich, the wealth taxes, and the combination of GST with GST Vouchers and other rebates. By raising revenue in a broad-based way, but spending it in a targeted and fair way, we set ourselves up for a more sustainable fiscal position, while giving time and support for the transition. However, one area I urge the Minister to review, in light of recent developments, is the Household Support Package. Many Members of Parliament on both sides of the House have spoken about their concerns over the cost of living. I must echo this concern, for low- and middle-income households. I sat and talked to one of my residents. He and his wife have five children, they live in a five-room flat. Very typical upper middle-income family. Over the past few months, his electricity bill has gone up from $120 a month to $200 or by $80 a month. Multiply that by 12, $960 a year. His water bill has gone up from $30 to $60, multiply by 12, $360.”
“Mr Speaker, budgets are seen by most lay people mostly from the lens of “what’s in it for me” – what am I going to have to pay more for? What goodies am I going to get? How will my business benefit? Economists and market watchers look to be convinced of whether the Budget will make Singapore more competitive and foster GDP growth. But just as organisations are finding that employees are increasingly looking beyond dollars and cents for companies with a clear and inspiring purpose, I believe that Singaporeans are also looking for more in a Budget: do the values reflected by the policies and initiatives proposed align with our own core values? Because when the values espoused are aligned with your own core values, it is a very special and awesome feeling – just ask any Liverpool fan who has bought into the ethos of "You Never Walk Alone". It is about not just getting results but doing it in a way that makes you deeply proud to be a Singaporean. On this measure, the evolution of the social compact towards a fairer, greener and more inclusive Singapore, as described by the Finance Minister, delivers. These are values and a vision for the future that are shared by the broad middle ground of Singaporeans. Personal responsibility and collective support. The yin and yang of the Singapore way, mutually reinforcing. While reinforcing personal responsibility through tying incentives and support to work, the Budget continues the tilt towards collective support. This has been happening for the past more than 10 years.”
“The Government, the financial sector and the scientific community must help companies and industry associations to design sector specific transition pathways as part of their industry transformation maps and manage their transitions; not just give companies time to adjust but help them move faster and with higher productivity. Singapore companies must change their mindset and see climate and the green economy as a big opportunity. Businesses, investors and the Government must invest behind climate innovation and new technologies. And they must build the capabilities, people and skills needed to do this. Finally it is not all down to companies and production, but consumers and consumption and lifestyles. We must all understand the climate risk and opportunity and make informed choices on what we are willing to pay for, if we want to leave a better world for our children. Learn from our youth, many are already making these choices. If we do not fully embrace the new green economy, we might fall behind. But if we do, then imagine this: Singapore could be, for climate and sustainability, what the Silicon Valley is, for technology. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Motion.”
“If we are to achieve the objective of making it less expensive for companies to invest in decarbonising and low carbon technologies than to continue emitting carbon, the carbon tax needs to go up, no question. The question is how we ratchet it up and covering what scope. Too fast and we risk disadvantaging our companies economically or passing on the cost to end customers; too slow and we risk not achieving our climate KPIs or hurting the companies' own long term resilience and missing the opportunity to create business advantage and value. Each sector has a different emissions profile, transition readiness, industry structure, willingness of the end customer to pay. I echo the views of the Member, like Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Foo Mee Har, that the increase in carbon tax must be phased, I think with the highest emitting sectors first, with explicit forward direction on price levels and ample time for companies to prepare and adjust. And they must be implemented in a way that is a "just transition", minimising social and economic costs for those least able to bear them. At the same time, we cannot afford to lapse into naval gazing. This space is rapidly evolving, The carbon border tax has arrived and the impact will be felt through global value chains, and could redefine the competitive balance between nations in many industries. And, in the words of Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, there is already a tectonic shift in capital as asset managers are moving billions and billions of dollars into sustainable strategies. Companies that do not act, may well soon see capital outflows to companies that do. So, I repeat the call I made in my Budget speech: Singapore should be bold and lead the way. The Government must move on the carbon tax, albeit with a phased implementation.”
“So, to unlock and catalyse private capital in transition finance and climate innovation, the government and the financial markets should promote the development of blended finance structures, combining public and private capital, in collaboration with national or multilateral development banks, foundations and philanthropic organisations, such as the Gates' Foundation. This must be coupled with Government investment in R&D, including basic research, infrastructure and standards, and smart money from venture capital and private equity. Innovation is critical in green finance – innovation in terms of the the financial products themselves, but also innovation across the green finance ecosystem. Just to cite a few examples, leveraging geospatial data for climate risk assessment, AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to facilitate reporting and disclosures, sophisticated scenario analysis and risk modelling, standardisation of legal contract language, as well as tools and platforms for green finance literacy and risk awareness, for corporate boards and executives down to retail investors. These all represent opportunities for Singapore to boost economic growth and create high paying new jobs as we enhance the green finance ecosystem and build green finance capabilities. We have built a vibrant financial sector and grown new segments within the sector most recently in fintech. We can do it again. But a key risk to the efficient scaling of the green finance globally is the absence of, or too low carbon pricing and a lack of viable transition pathways for companies to begin. In Singapore, we know that the current $5 per ton carbon tax is not enough to shift behaviour but it has served to signal intent.”
“But to meet the needs of companies and investors in the region and globally, as well as to push for more aggressive, more ambitious targets and hence, higher risk projects, a wider range of products and instruments are needed, including equity, structured products, derivatives, project finance and securities financing in order to provide companies and investors different ways to get financing, invest and manage risk or liquidity. A particularly interesting investment space is climate innovation. Venture capital and private equity investments in climate innovation have grown 14% a year since 2016 to reach $37 billion in 2020, with most funding going into mobility, renewables and waste. But many more times is needed. The GFMA report estimates that today, the world is between $90 billion and $210 billion short of the yearly investments in new climate technologies needed to achieve net zero. There is a need to bring in high risk and patient capital to fund investments in early stage technologies, start-ups and emerging market firms. The first generation of “green champion” companies – like Enel Group, NextEra Energy, Orsted – they are generating shareholder returns at Big Tech levels, think about the Facebooks and Amazons. And the second generation, including companies like Beyond Meat and Tesla, are generating returns twice this. The rewards are great. But so are the risks, and the time frames for payback long. Hence, the funding gap.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. I must first declare my interest as Managing Director and Partner of a management consulting firm that does work in climate and sustainability. In previous speeches, I have spoken about how climate change, one of the biggest risks facing the world today, can be one of the biggest opportunities for Singapore to lead. One of these big opportunities is green finance. How big? According to a Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) report, the development of which I must say my firm was involved, some $100-150 trillion US dollars in investments is needed over the next three decades to transition to a low carbon economy. This translates to at least $3-5 trillion in investments per year – an increase of five to eight times from current levels. And $66 trillion of these investments will be needed right here in Asia. Today, Singapore is already ASEAN’s largest green finance market, constituting nearly half of green and sustainability-linked bond and loan issuances. There are ongoing initiatives and partnerships between the Government and industry, such as the Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) to accelerate green finance in Singapore. And there is so much potential to do more. Green bonds and green loans are now established products. They need to be scaled up and the known gaps and frictions need to be addressed, as many of my colleagues have discussed today.”
“So, I would just like to confirm: the enforcement powers proposed will apply to divorces that have already been finalised in the past and not only to new divorces going forward.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her clarifications and many of them have addressed some of my concerns. I still have a lingering concern in the area of enforcement of access and parental alienation. Because the lived experience of my residents is that leaving it to FSC has not addressed the issues for them. And, of course, the legal recourse is very expensive and long drawn-out, which is why I had also raised the question on legal aid. So, I hope that, at some point, MSF will assess again a framework for parental alienation. But I have one clarification on the use of enforcement of access. Will this apply to divorces that have already been approved, even if it is multiple years? Parents who feel that they have not been given due access to their children right now, will they be able to now go to Court and get their orders for access approved when their kids may say that they do not want to see them because they have been conditioned by the other spouse to actually break relationships with the previous spouse?”
“Six, will the Government undertake a review of the definition of parental alienation, which is currently not tracked, to ensure it can be tracked and to facilitate reforms to protect the rights, interests and physical, mental and financial health of alienated parents and, by extension, their children? Seven, finally, given that no area of law matters to more people than family law, will the Government consider the establishment of mandatory accreditation, standards and monitoring processes, including complaints mechanisms and ongoing professional development and training requirements for family consultants, counsellors and all family law professionals, including judges, also in the areas of family violence and child abuse, unconscious bias, parental alienation dynamics, engaging and communicating with children and disability awareness? Notwithstanding the above, I would like to thank MSF for continuing to update the Women's Charter and continuing to advocate for women and children's issues. I support the Bill.”
“This should not prevent applications for interim support, injunctions or family violence orders, and voluntary counselling and mediation should continue as planned. Further, has the Minister considered making it a requirement for divorcing couples to take a parenting education course – perhaps this is the MPP referred to by the Minister of State – but including information on reconciliation or to take it even further, making counselling and mediation mandatory? Three, regardless of the grounds for divorce, should there be a minimum period – say, six months to a year – after the final judgment and orders, during which counsellors and mediators check in on the parties to ensure both parents and children are coping well and that the orders are being adhered to? Four, there is, in some quarters, a perception that the system is biased against men and there is a limited range of support services for men. At this point, I want to recognise the millennial men, who, I think, take on a much more equal role in parenting than their predecessors and are often very close to their children. When things do not work out between the couple, they want to keep that bond. I believe that, for the most part, all services are equally available to men and women. But what is the Government doing to address this perception? Five, fighting for access to their children is a costly affair that spans years for affected parents. But as my resident told me, when it comes to your child, you will fight all the way, even if it drains your finances, even if you have to represent yourself, which is sub-optimal. Notwithstanding the provisions on enforcement of access orders, can more funds be allocated to legal aid and means tests relaxed so as to increase legal assistance to vulnerable parents?”
“Indeed, stronger processes for counselling and mediation pre-marriage as well as before and after a divorce must also go hand in hand with the current proposals in this Bill. Second, as described in Part 5, are the broader enforcement powers granted to the Court over custody and child access orders. Of all the foundations upon which we build our lives, family is the most important and we are moved to recognise that kids need their moms and their dads to raise them. Society needs their moms and dads to raise them. We have all heard of parents, men and women, who have shirked their responsibilities as parents after divorce. But we have also heard of parents, again men and women, though notably more men, who want nothing more than to remain a core part of their child's life but are prevented from doing so. One of my residents did not see his son for eight years, during which he fought in Court for his access rights at great cost to his finances and his career. And he is the fortunate one. He now has access and a good relationship with his teenage son. But I have other residents who are still fighting, who are alienated from their kids, where once a loving relationship existed. To that end, I have a few questions and suggestions for the Minister's consideration. One, will the Government allocate more funding and resources to counselling and mediation services to provide trained help for couples, especially vulnerable couples, during the divorce process but also prior to marriage and at the point where they face marriage difficulties, where a marriage might yet be saved? Two, should there not be a minimum time period for the proceedings to allow proper reflection, consideration and reconciliation?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Like many Members of this House, I was brought up to believe that marriage is a beautiful thing – something to be protected. But like the Members who have spoken before me and most family law practitioners and women's groups, I support the proposal that providing a less adversarial, more amicable path for divorce and settlement of disputes, without the need to blame either party for adultery, desertion or unreasonable behaviour, will help to reduce conflict during a most difficult time, especially for those with less resources to lawyer up. This will help parties to move on with their lives and the lives of any children involved. Where children are involved, understanding and acting in the best interests of the child are the most important things. I do not think that the requirement to allege fault does anything to protect the sanctity of the institution of marriage or improve the lot of the child. Having said that, there are two aspects of the Bill that are crucial to providing important safeguards in light of the proposed amendments. First, as described in Parts 3 and 4 of the Bill, the provisions related to pre-agreement on matters related to parenting and finances, counselling, mediation, programmes for children, family support programmes and reconciliation. These are all very important safeguards against the criticism that the Bill makes divorce too easy. More importantly, it is in the best interests of the family. In the US, studies have shown that in about 10% of divorces, both parties are often open to efforts to reconcile and, recently, in the UK, the same percentage, 10% of divorce proceedings started, are averted with counselling.”
“This is especially the case when there are large families with a claim to the CPF monies. Recently, I had a Meet-the-People Session (MPS) appeal where the case had been in limbo for more than a year, with several back and forth queries with the Public Trustee Office. The proposed amendments would allow more families to receive payouts sooner, during a difficult time. The increased efficiency, however, should not come at the expense of the next-of-kin deserving of a share of the funds, particularly in situations where there are family disputes. I would like to clarify with the Minister for Law the following. What recourse does a next-of-kin have in the event that they do not agree with the appointment of the beneficiary representative, or with how the beneficiary representative disburses the CPF monies? Does it automatically become a private matter to be settled among the beneficiaries, which may or may not result in a Court process or do they continue to have recourse to a public agency which may be more trusted to administer the disbursement process in accordance with the relevant Acts. Regardless of whether they are named as nominees or the account is un-nominated, what efforts are made to contact and facilitate disbursements to Singaporean family members who are overseas, which is now not an insignificant number, especially in light of continued travel restrictions that may make it difficult for them to come back to settle the affairs? Notwithstanding the above questions, I support the Bill.”
“Having deemed that a given employee continues to be able to contribute to the organisation by offering re-employment, is it not unfair for retrenchment benefits not to recognise his/her full length of service, especially if nothing else has changed in their roles, but even if the roles have been adjusted a bit? Mr Deputy Speaker, allowing businesses flexibility to make adjustments when offering re-employment contracts continues to be very important. But it cannot be at the expense of long-serving employees. As the number of older workers on re-employment contracts increases, as a number of re-employment workers who do not stay in the same jobs but are reassigned to different jobs, redesigned jobs, or other adjustments to their roles, or move to part-time status, more attention and protection should be focused on the fair and dignified treatment of re-employed employees, during moments of truth such as retrenchment exercises, which will remain a feature of the landscape, as technology and other disruptions continue. So, I hope this will be given attention in the implementation of any legislation. At the same time, we should continue to review the social safety nets afforded to older workers, lower-income ones especially, so that today’s retirees and future generations get the dignified retirement that they have earned. Notwithstanding the above, I support this Bill. Now, the CPF Bill. Mr Deputy Speaker, the proposed amendments to the CPF Act provide welcome simplification and streamlining of various CPF processes. I would like to focus only on the proposed amendments related to the disbursements of unnominated monies to a beneficiary representative. The disbursement process today can take a long time and feel quite complex to family members.”
“Some companies are also looking into how to fractionalise jobs. When doing these, I urge organisations to engage retiring workers on how best to do this; they are often in the best position to propose the most optimal ways. Indeed, retiring workers can and should also plan and propose it themselves, rather than wait for their employers to do it. But whether it is redesigned jobs, part-time or fractionalised jobs, more and more older workers may not stay in the same roles when they enter into re-employment contracts. I believe, by and large, older workers will accept that there may be commensurate adjustments to their employment terms – wages or benefits. In a previous response to Parliamentary Questions, then-Minister for Manpower Mrs Josephine Teo shared that the vast majority of re-employed workers in the same job did not experience any cuts to wages and benefits. This is comforting, suggesting that the majority of employers are playing ball, in line with the spirit of re-employment. However, many of us would have also received appeals from residents, that this is not always the case, such as for my resident Mdm L. Mdm L had worked for 20 years for her company and had recently retired and been re-employed on a re-employment contract. When COVID-19 forced the company to undertake a retrenchment exercise, like her colleagues, she felt anxious. But that anxiety turned into dismay when she learnt that her retrenchment payouts considered her not as an employee who had served for 22 years as she had, but as an employee who had served for two years, because the re-employment contract reset the clock on retrenchment benefits. Mdm L felt incredibly let down, given her loyalty to the organisation.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise in support of the Bills moved by the Minister for Manpower First, the Bill on Retirement and Re-employment. The proposed amendments give older workers the flexibility and choice, not obligation, to continue working for a longer time if they are willing and able, in line with increases in life expectancy and our ageing population. It gives older workers the opportunity to increase their retirement savings. Older workers bring invaluable experience to any organisation. We all know colleagues, friends and family members who can, want and do contribute, long past the current retirement age. But it is also true that as a person gets older, sometimes, you lose a little in terms of physical ability but also, mentally, you start to lose a bit of sharpness, speed, drive and other priorities become more important. So, let us face it, for a number of our older Singaporeans, they just do not want to have to keep working at the same pace or keep having to reinvent themselves, because work can be a grind, especially if you are in an industry that is being disrupted, especially when there are younger co-workers who are eager to move ahead, who are all too happy to, as we say, "chiong". And on their part, companies need to be able to create space for these workers to move up the ranks faster. The re-employment framework has always been given flexibility to employers to adjust re-employment terms and roles. As the pace of change and disruption in industry only continues to grow faster, more effort will be needed, as called out by the Tripartite Workgroup, to promote more inclusive and progressive workplaces, including redesigning jobs and reskilling, providing more part-time re-employment opportunities.”