Nadia Ahmad Samdin
Singapore
“Other exchanges have pursued dual, listings and cross-market linkages. The experience has been mixed. While these frameworks generally reduce friction and improve access, they have not always translated into influence. Some companies eventually opt out of dual listing as a hitch.”
“Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Minister as well. I have just two points, mainly related to the site-specific studies, as it appears that this is a very key part of the process, and I am not sure if I missed it.”
“Second, singles up till now can typically only purchase 2-room, Flexi or resale flats, given that two-room flexi flats are highly sought after by both singles and seniors, can the Ministry consider expanding the options?”
“Thank you, Chairman. I have three follow-up questions. The first is regarding food resilience and the initial plans for the Lim Chu Kang Agri-District. Could the Minister of State please elaborate on that. The second, I am very glad to hear of the top-up to the ACT Fund.”
“Could the Ministry share how aquacultural farms are transitioning towards climate resilience systems, such as hybrid or re-circulating agricultural technologies as well as the take-up rates of support schemes, the extent of transition across the sector and any key challenges in scaling the adoption of such technologies.”
“The recently published Green Skills Report defines what are green jobs and green skills, finding that such competencies are being integrated into mainstream roles, not just specialist jobs, with about 5,000 workers projected to be needed by 2030.”
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“Her parents were divorced, did not have regular employment and could not support her. She met a young man of the same age, had a baby, got married and got pregnant the second time. Despite moving in with his family in their rental flat, the youth and her baby effectively lived as a separate family unit while the husband served National Service. She shared with me her hopes of finding a job but worried there would be no care-giver for her children as her husband's vocation did not allow him to return home in the evenings and that the flat's monthly rental fees would be adjusted upwards when she became a new income earner in the house. The rental flat fees could increase by up to eight times, depending on the increase in household income. Could we consider a fixed rental fee for a longer period of time to allow such households to build up their savings for rainier days and future dreams? In my time on the panel of advisers to the Youth Courts, I have also encountered youth who reside in homes under the Children and Young Persons Act. While family is a building block of society, as spoken about by my colleague Mr Zhulkarnain earlier and the hon Member Louis Chua, sadly, there are some youth who, upon reaching the age of 19, are no longer able to stay in these homes but also do not have families to reintegrate with. The sudden shift to independent living without a routine while having to find work to pay for accommodation can be overwhelming and these youth, sometimes, are not able to reach their to reach their full potential. Having served in the youth space for many years, I have seen the shifts and in fact compassion, exercised by policy-makers.”
“While training allowances are much appreciated, the reality is that these individuals and their families will feel the drop in income. A number of mid-career professionals already find themselves part of the sandwiched class squeeze and at times, the opportunity cost of upgrading their skills in pursuit of a potential future feels far too great. Our workers will need to adopt a longer term earning outlook but this does means that perhaps on the social side, we may need to relook what assistance schemes look like, who qualifies for them, and if there can be interim targeted support so that families can thrive and not just survive. In her address, Mdm President also spoke about the need to evolve our model of meritocracy. This resonates deeply with me. There are many schemes to support students and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. At the same time, work on the ground reveals that there are people who fall through the cracks and we must deal with these gaps with empathy. Where individuals miss the qualifying criteria by a whisker, where circumstances require our youth to take on part-time paid jobs instead of a coveted, unpaid internship, or where women drop drop out of the workforce to fulfill care-giving roles at home as hired help is beyond their means. While it may not be possible to completely eradicate inequality in the world, it is entirely within our responsibility to ensure that Singaporeans from all walks of life are not priced out of opportunities and are able to seize them in a timely way. I would like to share one story of a youth who comes from a difficult background. At 20, she did not fall automatically within the age criteria to receive certain transfers or benefit from schemes that residents 21 and above qualified for.”
“This greased the wheels of social mobility. Fifty-five years later, we are in a different time faced with different challenges in a world battled by COVID-19. While there are immediate challenges to tackle, it is also important to keep an eye on the longer term. After the dust settles, what does that citizen's stake in Singapore's progress look like for future generations? What will be the engine of social mobility for our sandwiched class? In times of hardship such as this, we need to sow seeds of hope for when the rain passes and a strong vision for the future. In the region and globally, we see socio-economic shifts gassed by systemic inequality. Across the world, my generation worries about rising home prices, stagnating wages and an increasingly competitive job market that could mean that we will not see the same rate of upward mobility as that of generations before. Here in Singapore, we would be in a much worse position if the Government had not invested heavily in trying to protect Singaporeans by motivating companies through stimulus levers to raise wages progressively, upscale workers and keep the Singaporean core employed. One group that has been deeply impacted are mid-career professionals. These are individuals with several years of working experience and are on track to becoming specialists in their domains. They are often at the age where they have children to raise and parents to look after. Many of my residents fall within this category. The Government recently introduced the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways programme. The programme aims to provide 14,500 opportunities for mid-career jobseekers to gain meaningful industry-relevant experience. Those part of the full-time training programme will receive a monthly allowance.”
“We may even feel this in our own homes as grandparents and grandchildren disagree on political and cultural norms. If we truly want to harness the potential of our youth and tap on the experiences of our seniors, then we must not be dismissive of their thoughts, dreams and fears. While social media has amplified the space for individuals to have a voice, ironically, it can also make people more afraid to speak up for fear of being judged or flamed. In a world where tweets and memes dominate, we must also take the time to really listen and consider the details. The space that our middle ground occupies, carefully built up over the years, should be enlarged, not shrunken. Social media also accentuates the polarisation of perspectives on a global level, which very quickly trickles down to the local. We are not only exposed to shifts in global economic headwinds, now we are also exposed to shifts in social and cultural headwinds, which we must learn to navigate with equal competence. Mr Speaker, one thing I know to be certain about who we are as a people is our ability to punch above our weight. As much as we are pragmatic, we are a nation built on the backs of dreamers with the gumption to tackle the challenges of their time. We have seen this through the efforts of the Merdeka and Pioneer Generations. Driven by the promise of a stake in Singapore's progress, they pursued the betterment of our society relentlessly. The unlikely reality of Singapore building a bustling metropolis in place of what could have been an abandoned port city post war rife with ideological, economic and social strife came to past, and with that, came the promise of a stake in a young nation's progress fulfilled with citizens through education, home equity and wage growth.”
“During my house visits in Cheng San-Seletar, some senior residents shared their fond memories of rubber plantations and farms in Ang Mo Kio. The world we live in today is one where these residents and people like my grandmother hardly recognise. My grandmother was given away as a child and tried to find her way back home after the war. It was a time when girls did not go to school and sometimes were considered less worthy. Her experiences shaped her own perceptions, beliefs and hopes for her children. Only a few decades have passed and now Singapore is a place where girls go to university, participate in the workforce and run for political candidacy. The stark differences in lived experiences have not spared the baby boomers, Generations X, Y, Z and Alpha from inevitable clashes. It is natural for members of each generation to feel that their experience holds the most weight, to reject opinions that do not gel with their worldviews. And it is convenient to turn to labels, which make it easier to dismiss perspectives. While these inclinations are understandable, they are unacceptable in a society which appreciates the wisdom and guidance of its elders but also trusts its youth to lead it forward into the future. "OK Boomer" and "strawberry generation" narratives are examples of reductionist caricatures. They obfuscate the path to finding common ground by pitting old versus young. This can cause tensions in the workplace as the average office environment now houses three to four generations under one roof. Generation Z comes in as interns, millennials move up in their careers to take on supervisory roles, Generation X become top executives and seniors retire later.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I join the other hon Members of this House in adding to the chorus of support for the Motion of Thanks. In her address, Mdm President highlighted that we are facing a sea of change in an uncertain and complex world. Globally, fault lines are growing more pronounced across class, political, racial and inter-generational divides. We are seeing new waves of protectionism taking root in a world more connected than ever before. How do these fault lines form? It starts within us and the biases in our mind, whether we admit them or not, and grows in the unwillingness to have conversations to understand the perspectives of people we are unfamiliar with or with whom we may disagree. The end result? Echo chambers where entrenched views take root and we end up in shouting matches on opposite ends of divisive issues. Mr Speaker, one of the core tenets of Singapore's success lies in our ability to live harmoniously with each other in spite of our differences. We got here by emphasising tolerance and mutual respect, and while mutual respect will always be relevant, we must navigate the uncomfortable but necessary shift from mere tolerance, past acceptance, to active understanding of different views. This requires us to lean into conversations on issues that may be uncomfortable. But I submit that if we do not lead the way in navigating these conversations, we leave the space wide open for others to fill in ways that may be incendiary or out of context for our Singapore. While hope for a better future is a shared aspiration across generations, the common lived experience of a Singaporean life has changed dramatically over the years.”