Matthias Yao Chih
Singapore
“Madam, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $247,297,100 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $43,646,300 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head P – Ministry of Home Affairs”
“Individual neighbourhoods or large areas of Singapore may have to be cordoned off during the election time affecting the smooth movement of candidates, election agents, officials and voters, and the conduct of election activities.”
“South East CDC would work with the voluntary welfare organisations and grassroots bodies to develop and implement the building blocks that could help families from different parts of the needs spectrum become self-reliant. In designing new initiatives, our emphasis would be "maximum flexibility, minimum complexity�?.”
“Since its formation, NTUC Thrift has consistently given an interest rate on the small savings higher than what the banks give on their savings accounts.”
“In fact, in the new era of rapid changes in our global and domestic economies, workers need stronger social safety nets that will cushion them more effectively from adverse outcomes. This is a subject my NTUC colleagues have dealt with in the Budget debate and will continue to take up in the Committee of Supply.”
“While we should range freely to capture all good ideas, we must be extremely careful in choosing what to implement and how to do it. Like a good bus driver, we must not turn a corner too sharply as the passengers will surely be flung off their seats if we do so.”
The complete record
Every one of 220 lines we hold for Matthias Yao Chih, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 5.
“Mr Zulkifli is concerned about people who were left with no flat to live in because the seller of the flat that the buyer wants to buy has defaulted on the sale. Sir, it is not possible for HDB to open up the Public Rental Housing Scheme for these people as there are many low-income people on the waiting list. The solution is for such flat buyers to protect themselves against defaulting sellers. To do so, they can take two actions. First, to prevent sellers of properties from defaulting, buyers should get their lawyers to lodge a caveat on their behalf. Buyers who have lodged caveats can then object to any subsequent resale or transfer of the affected property to third parties. The Registry of Land Titles would then not allow transactions of the property involving other parties. Second, to sell their flat after the caveat has been lodged, and not before. If the owner wants to rush into selling his flat before confirming his purchase of his next flat by lodging the caveat, then he is taking a risk. These flat owners engage HDB as the solicitor for the transaction. HDB will automatically lodge the caveat for the buyer. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked where were the repairs to sunken aprons conducted. Sir, I do not have the details. If he would table a Question for Oral Answer, I shall be happy to give it to him.”
“Reducing the charge for multi-storey car parks this time would mean higher increases in the future and this would not be good for the car owners to face different charges at different times. It is also not practical to charge a different rate for cars parked at the top level of a multi-storey car park, as having different charges within the same car park would create problems of management and enforcement. In the case of a multi-storey car park that is fully occupied and someone who possesses a $75 season parking ticket, he comes in and it is full, he has to go all the way upstairs, he says that is a $55 lot and he does not want to park there. That would make management very difficult. Mr Goh Choon Kang asked about car parks in older estates and, in particular, in Braddell Heights. Sir, HDB monitors the demand for parking facilities regularly. In general, when more parking lots are needed and where there are no site constraints and where residents are prepared to give up part of the greenery, HDB will provide the additional parking lots for the housing estates. Under the Upgrading Programme, HDB will also study the feasibility of building multi-storey car parks for the precincts. This will provide more parking lots to meet the needs of the residents. With reference to the reserved site at Serangoon Avenue 2, this site will be tendered out for housing development later this year. The design for the development is being finalised and it will include a multi-storey car park on the site. HDB will take into account the feedback from the MP about the shortage of parking space in nearby areas in the designing of this car park.”
“Sir, I do not have the data of how many of the shophouses are left empty in the interim. As an illustration, HDB officers visited the Eunos area and looked at the 98 shops that were sold in April 1991, and they found that only four were not in business. So this number could be quite small, but we do not have the exact details for all the shops in Singapore. Sir, the main objective of the sale of the tenanted shop scheme is to facilitate the restructuring of the retail trade and improve productivity. Shop tenants who become owners of their shops will have the incentive to upgrade their premises, improve their operations, sub-let to others who may do better business and, hence, their premises will become more efficiently used. Since the implementation of the scheme in June 1992, about 100 lessees have re-sold their shops in the open market. In the process, some shops may be closed because of upgrading or search for new tenants. Such closures should be temporary and we do encourage a free flow of buying and selling and sub-letting. In the long-term, it would promote entrepreneurialship and people should be able to come in and out of the market as freely as they can. So HDB is not in favour of interfering in the commercial operations by introducing more regulations or restrictions over sub-letting or re-selling. 5.30 pm Mr Teo Chong Tee asked about multi-storey car parks. Sir, at the current parking charge of $75 per month, HDB is still not recovering the cost of building and maintaining multi-storey car parks. Although the Government's long-term objective is to recover cost, it has not increased the season parking charge for the multi-storey car parks last year.”
“Sir, Mr Chew Heng Ching asked about the centralised refuse chute system. Sir, this system is indeed cheaper to use and to maintain, as a survey carried out by HDB last year showed that the cost of operating the centralised refuse chute system is $4,800 a year for one block of flats compared to $6,000 a year for the individual refuse chute system. The cost saving is 20% lower. This excludes the problem that was pointed out by Mr Chew which I will go into a bit later. Since the implementation of the new system in 1991, HDB has further improved the design of the refuse chute system to make it easier and more convenient for the residents to use. For building contracts called from 1st March 1992 onwards, an easy-to-use foot pedal system is added because residents do not like to open the hoppers with their hands. Hence, the foot pedal mechanism is installed. HDB will retrofit older flats built with the central refuse system with this new foot pedal. For all building contracts starting from 1st January of this year, the size of the hopper will be bigger so that more bulky items can be put into the chute. Mr Chew experienced the problem of the compactor. Sometimes it is due to the type of refuse put into the chute. And I am happy to note that the RCs concerned are trying to get the cooperation of the residents. Sir, it is a matter of trying to get better compactors and as we gain more experience with this kind of system, I am sure HDB will be able to share its knowledge with town councils so that, overall, the system will be improved. Once the system works, the cost saving is quite substantial because there is a saving in labour, through mechanising of the refuse collection. Mr Chew also asked about shophouses left empty.”
“Sir, the statistics therefore suggest that the situation of violence against women in Singapore is well under control and has not changed significantly in recent years. The Police will continue to monitor the situation. APPLICATION FOR HDB RENTAL FLATS (Increase in income ceiling) 5. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development what is the rationale for setting the household income ceiling of $800 for eligibility to apply for Housing and Development Board rental flats; and whether he will consider increasing the ceiling to $1,200.”
“Sir, MINDEF is not in a position to determine whether in this world there is fair or unfair treatment for women and men. In the same way that all refuse truck drivers are men, it does not mean that we must have an equal proportion who are women. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN SINGAPORE 4. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for Home Affairs what is the position of violence against women in Singapore. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, crimes of violence against women can be grouped into two categories, namely, sexual offences and other offences. Sexual offences committed are mostly rape and outraging of modesty. For rape, in 1991, there were 74 cases and in 1992 there were 80 cases, the figures for both years were lower than 1990 when there were 111 cases. Therefore, the numbers have come down. In the first 10 months of this year, there were 69 reported cases. Sir, the number of outraging of modesty cases rose from 716 in 1990 to 774 in 1992. However, Police point out that one factor explaining the increased figures is that more women are now prepared to come forward and report such offences due to changes in public attitude towards such crimes and the easy access to Neighbourhood Police Posts. Since the Member has asked specifically about violence, she would be assured to know that only about 20% of these outrage of modesty cases involved violence. Sir, as for non-sexual offences, women were victims in about 15% (seven victims) of the murder cases in the first 10 months of 1993. For offences of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, females constituted 20% of the victims (51 victims) during the same period.”
“Sir, indeed it is not equal. We demand from our men a period of national service as well as a reservist liability. To call up women to do the same is equal treatment, but perhaps it is not necessary at this time.”
“Sir, activating the Enlistment Act to conscript our citizens for military service is a rather serious business and we would not freely use such an instrument to solve our manpower shortage. If any Member's daughter wishes to enlist, there are many positions available to women in the SAF and we pay competitive market rates for such jobs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in spite of the declining birth rate in the sixties and seventies, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has been able to cope with the manpower shortage through measures such as raising the productivity of the SAF, upgrading the management systems, and extensive computerisation of administration and operations. We have increased our effectiveness to make up for the reduction in numbers. Therefore, there is no defence need, for the foreseeable future, for MINDEF to extend national service to girls. Rather than being helpful to MINDEF, such a measure would only place a further strain to our labour shortage and adversely affect our economy. Instead of introducing national service for all females, MINDEF recruits the required number of females to join the SAF voluntarily by offering competitive market rates. There are currently more than 4,000 females working in the SAF. Over the years, the deployment of women in non-combat positions in the SAF has released more men to take on combat postings, thus ensuring that our defence deterrence and operational readiness is not compromised.”
“Sir, students who go for overseas study are disrupted for the full duration of their courses. During their vacations when they come back, which is no more than 2-3 months, they can complete their service during that time. This can be considered. However, their disruption is for the full 3-4 years anyway. It is not the same as the disruption that is applicable to local students. NATIONAL SERVICE FOR GIRLS 3. Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Minister for Defence whether he will now consider extending national service, in suitable forms, to girls.”
“Yes. There are two types of absence from training. One is deferment during the year where he postpones his training for that year. Being absent from his scheduled training, he comes back during the year for make-up training. Where a person is disrupted for a period of time, say, three years, to complete his study, then he will have to do a 13-year cycle after he has finished his study. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS (Review of subletting policy) 2. Mr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for National Development whether his Ministry will review the subletting policy for Housing and Development Board flats.”
“We cannot afford to have reservists who are not up to the mark. Hence, the need to practise their skills regularly in every in-camp training. As a reservist officer, I often take the opportunity to talk to my officers and men about their roles. I would advise any reservist who thinks that his role is mundane to speak to his company or Battalion Commander. They will give him a full explanation so that he can fully appreciate more his contribution to Singapore's defence. Sir, Dr Ho Tat Kin asked about the Voluntary Early Enlistment Scheme. Under the Enlistment Act, all male citizens and permanent residents are liable to be enlisted for full-time national service at the age of 18. The Voluntary Early Enlistment Scheme was introduced in 1986 to allow early school leavers to volunteer for national service when they reach 16 1/2 years of age. If the volunteers are found medically fit and mentally mature, they are allowed to enlist in the SAF. In 1991, 78 volunteers were enlisted under the scheme. Following a publicity drive to increase public awareness of the scheme, the number of voluntary enlistees quadrupled to 348 in 1992. The enlistees performed well in their training. The scheme is helpful to those who wish to complete their national service early so that they can further their studies or join the job market without undue delay. MINDEF will continue to promote awareness of this scheme.”
“Sir, Mr Bernard Chen asked about in-camp training for reservists. In modern wars, armies fight in large cohesive formations and not as individual soldiers. This means that our national servicemen have to be trained and exercised well, first, in their own specific vocations, and then have the skills integrated. Only then can they most effectively be used in war. Such training and exercises are carried out over the two and two and a half years of national service. When the soldiers become reservists, they need to continue to be trained for their war time roles. With the limited time available during in-camp training, reservists revise the skills learnt during national service and are updated and, if necessary, upgraded in their specialties so that all the skills and expertise fit together well to build an efficient fighting machine. The reservists also build rapport with their team mates, become familiar with their tasks through practice, and experience fighting under stressful battle conditions. When they reach high positions in civilian life, they are likely to be already half-way into their reservists' training cycle. Retraining them would take time and be disruptive to both their original units as well as to their new units. Sir, no vocation or exercise is too mundane or irrelevant to our defence capability. Every soldier, in every role, is critical in war time. The task and manning levels are carefully designed and are based on lessons learnt through regular exercises and experience. Failure on the part of any soldier to perform can put at risk the lives of his comrades and other soldiers in other formations. Reservists make up 80% of our forces. That is why our reservists must be thoroughly familiar with their roles in spite of their short in-camp training.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Bill. Mr Chiam obviously does not support the Bill and in the process of his speech, he said that the PAP won a solid victory in Marine Parade GRC because the candidates spoke in dialect. I wonder, in his post-mortem analysis, if it is his view that the Marine Parade voters are so simple-minded that a few Hokkien and Teochew speeches will sway 73% of the voters to our platform. Sir, our belief is that the Marine Parade voters supported the Prime Minister and supported our solid programme. It is as simple as that. Sir, the People's Association has a very comprehensive list of activities and is constantly expanding on the activities. With the conversion of the community centres to community clubs, a lot of residents have signed up to be members of the clubs. This Bill allows the People's Association to be more flexible in its activities and I fully support it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister, during the years when two judges sat to try capital offence cases, to what degree have the judgments been unanimous, to what degree have there been differing opinions and whether we can draw any conclusion from the history of such judgments?”
“Lengthening the duration of NS will certainly enhance the deterrent capability of the SAF, especially when the Minister has shown projections that there will not be so many males for us to enlist in the coming years. Nevertheless, provided our region continues to be stable and peaceful, MINDEF has no immediate plans to lengthen the NS period in the foreseeable future.”
“Sir, Mr Koo's speech sounded like an expression of satisfaction for the tax relief for reservists and I thank him for that if that is so. On the question of IPPT from Dr Ho, he suggests that we should have more centres around the country. We are monitoring the situation. The scheme started in September last year and we will look at it over a one-year period and, if need be, we will introduce more centres in the eastern and northern parts of Singapore. He suggests that we go to NTU or NUS. I will ask the officials to follow up on his suggestion. On the NS period, the current NS period is two years for soldiers and 2 1/2 years for commanders. It takes one year to train recruits to the level of proficiency that is required and in the second year we put them on operational duty and make them go through bigger exercises. During this second year, we will train up another cohort of first year recruits. So two years is actually barely adequate, and not adequate. Of course, commanders need longer time to be trained and that is why they are called in for 2 1/2 years. Any reduction of this national service period will leave SAF with a smaller standing army made up of trainees rather than operationally-ready soldiers. So what do we do to offset this? We will have to call in reservists more frequently to serve not only in-camp training but also stand-by duty periods; mobilising them more frequently. I do not think that is a good solution. It is more disruptive to everybody. Therefore, we prefer the current system. The present system is better for us and MINDEF will, therefore, not succumb to any calls for shortening the NS period.”
“Sir, Mr Bernard Chen spoke about the need to use the time for reservist training effectively. I agree with him. MINDEF indeed is judicious in the calling of reservists for the training. Most reservists are called up for fewer than 21 days in a year. Nevertheless, we will continue to shorten call-up periods, where possible, provided that we do not compromise on our training and readiness. For example, we streamline the training system for reservists by centralising basic skills training at the Basic Combat Training Centre. We give a three-day programme, an intensive one. In 1990, we further shortened this three-day programme into a two-day programme without sacrificing quality. During in-camp training we conduct concurrent training as much as possible. This means that each functional group, for example, drivers, radio operators, are called up and trained separately but concurrently before they train together as a unit. This will minimise the time for each group to have to wait for the other to be ready before training together. We also use new technology to shorten the training time. The Minister spoke about the use of simulators and other equipment. This applies to reservists as well as to national servicemen. I assure the House that, where possible, MINDEF will continue to cut down on the time needed to train reservists by employing better training methods and time-saving technology.”
“The Japanese understand this very well. One prestigious Tokyo business school teaches its students, "When you are behind, run faster to catch up. When you are in front, run even faster so that nobody can catch up." Sir, how do we beat such a philosophy? In the Next Lap, we too will be running our race. From here it looks comfortable and easy. But, Sir, anyone who is training for a marathon will be able to tell you a slogan that says, "No pain, no gain." The going will become tough. And when it does, we must not soften. We must have the stamina and the will to make it.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion to thank the President for his Address. In the Next Lap, our people must guard against the temptation of going soft in the luxury of a prosperous economy. The temptation is great. After years of continuous growth, we have come to the level of affluence that was only dreamt about by our parents and is the envy of many people elsewhere. To raise the level of affluence any higher requires much more effort from the Government and from the workers. So the temptation is to slow down a bit, level off, enjoy life a little bit more. There is a second way of going soft, and that is, instead of tackling the problems of society head on, and I am talking about problems pertaining to the under-class -- problems of drug abuse and health care - the way of going soft is to throw money at these problems and hope that they will go away. If we level off, if we throw money at the problems and hope that they will go away, we will undermine the very basis of our success. Our asset is our competitive edge. To maintain that competitive edge, the only way is to remain keen and lean, as the President told us in his Address. Sir, Singapore will continue to succeed only if we want to succeed, which means that we have to stay on our toes all the time. The President's Address charts out the right approach. Our ASEAN neighbours are adopting policies to promote investments and growth in their countries. In time, one by one, they will take off, and they too will succeed. Honourable Members may remember that a few years ago we were talking about the problems faced by Latin American countries, their debts and their inability to pay their loans. Today, analysts are predicting a strong turnaround for them. The world will not stay still for us.”