Ng Ser Miang
Singapore
“The cash award serves both as a recognition and motivation to our athletes. Sir, I cannot over emphasise the importance of funding provided by the Singapore Pools to sports.”
“I understand that the Sports School has also acquired cutting-edge sports and sports size equipment that NSAs would die for. The School now has a population of 140 this year and it would take four years for them to reach a steady stage of 600 students. There will therefore be excess capacity for at least the next four years.”
“In addition to providing our foreign talents with basic education, I would urge the Ministry to explore with our institutions of higher learning on the possibility of admitting these sports talents at the appropriate time, so that they too can further their studies.”
“To tax their surplus could also lead to a culture of waste and encourage unnecessary spending before the financial year ends. DPM in his Budget speech spoke about allowing Ministries accumulate and carry forward unused funds to subsequent years. Perhaps, we could also allow similar flexibility to this group without taxing them.”
“Sir, may I first congratulate the athletes and MCDS on the outstanding performance in Vietnam. Can I ask the Minister what additional support and funding would be provided so that the athletes and NSAs can continue to do well in the future SEA Games? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the hon.”
“The programme has since been extended to all applicants making maintenance as well as enforcement applications. The applicants and their families are referred to the project's community partners, comprising some Community Development Councils, voluntary welfare organisations and self help groups, for a range of services such as job matchi…”
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“Mr Gan Kim Yong asked the Minister for Health whether in reviewing the MediShield scheme, he will also consider reviewing the ElderShield scheme so as to enhance its effectiveness.”
“We need to continue to support this, to allow more of our students who choose sports, either as a career in itself, or as a serious pursuit co-existing with their studies so that this again would be another source of potential champions with us. We also know that it is not just the Sports School that is involved with this, but many mainstream schools. Besides that, it is in their own interest to have both a sports-for-all programme as well as a sports excellence programme. And we would certainly work with the Ministry of Education to promote this. The national sports associations have to make sure that they are well-run, that they have good accountability for their funds, that there is good leadership. Ultimately, they require leaderswho are passionate about sports, who are nurturingthe young men and women who would beunder their charge for many years at a time. I would like to end by saying that we are a small nation and we have often lowered our aims or hopes because we say we are small and we could not produce the talent. I think we are at the stage in our lives as a nation when the sports arena has shown us that being small is compatible with having big dreams and high hopes if we have people, if we have the willingness to commit resources to it, if we are well-organised and if, as a nation, we are united in this pursuit of sports excellence. And, in fact, it is these same ingredients which we need for success, not just in sports, but for success as a nation in the future. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." Adjourned accordingly at Six minutes past Seven o'clock pm. WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER NOT ANSWERED BY 3.00 PM MEDISHIELD AND ELDERSHIELD SCHEMES 24.”
“We would look at all these issues and we would come out, in due time, with a practical and sensible way of allocating resources in a focused manner so that it makes a difference and, hopefully, we would have a significantly better chance of winning medals in the future. The second aspect I want to touch on is culture. Again, as the Memberhas alluded to,the fact that so many Singaporeans were watching TV, reading newspapers and supporting our athletes, it creates an atmosphere, an environment, a culture in which people are interested in sports. Hopefully, this would translate into people actively participating in sports because ultimately it is not a nation of couch potatoes that we want but a nation that lives, thinks and dreams sports because of the multiple benefits that it brings us as individuals and as a nation. If we have a truly sporting culture in our country,we would have the capability to produce potential champions,we would support champions, then corporate entities would feel that it is worth their while to provide sponsorships and to truly support and enhance the multiple programmes which our athletes need in order to compete at the highest level. The third aspect is training. Training requires systems, facilities and schools. Members know that we arehoping to roll out the tender for the rebuilding of a sports hub. This, hopefully, would take place by the third quarter of nextyear, but there are many, many details that need to be sorted out because this is not a trivial project. Membersknow that we have got the Sports School. It is a start.”
“But as Li Jiawei herself told our journalists, that when she looked up to the stand, there was cheering for her. She saw Singaporeans - Indians, Malays and Chinese - collectively celebrating and cheering her on. So, we have shown that sports indeed does have the power to rally and to unify us. The secondpoint I want to move on to is the pursuit of sports excellence. This does not come easily and multiple ingredients are needed. We need money, a sporting culture and training systems. Let me touch first on money. You all know that we have a $500 million Sporting Singapore fund which has been used since 2001 and Mr Ng is very anxious that it would run out by the end of 2005. Let me reassure him that MCYS is currently preparing to negotiate with the Ministry of Finance and Singapore Pools to replenish that source of funds so that we could continue with our pursuit of sports excellence. The point, however, is that it is not just a matter of blindly throwing money at an objective or at a problem. But we do need to critically and carefully scrutinise the strategic plans of the national sports associations and the athletes themselves who would indeed be the cutting edge in our pursuit of sports excellence. We need, therefore, to focus. We do not have an unlimited source of funds in Singapore. We need to focus on areas and in sports where we do seriously have already done well or have a good chance of doing well in the future. I have also heard the feedback from some of the sports associations that even the current limit of $3 million for core sports may be insufficient.”
“I would ask MCYS to consider the possibility of hosting the Asian Games in Singapore in the not too far away future and bear this possibility in mind when designing the Sports Hub. The pursuit of sports excellence cannot be done by our NSAs or athletes alone. It requires the support of our Government and all Singaporeans. Let us all be inspired by what is possible and put Singapore in the forefront of sports in the world in tandem with our outstanding economic development that we have achieved. The Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Mr Deputy Speaker,time is moving on, soI will keep my reply very short. I join Mr Ng Ser Miang in paying tribute to our Olympic team, especially toMiss Li Jiawei, Ronald Susilo and Zhang Xueling who did extremely well, kept the Singapore flag flying, raised our hopes and indeed united us. There are two key aspects that need to be highlighted. First is that they have broken a psychological barrier. For a long while, we have said that we cannot do it - we are just there as spectators, we are there just forexperience, we can never win. I think they have shown Singaporeans that we do have a chance and breaking that psychological barrier is perhaps the most important contribution that their performance has set out for us. The second aspect is that for those few days they brought together an entire nation to share in their celebrations, and also to share in their disappointments. And one key lesson which we also learned from that is that it almost does not matter which sport it is. Table tennis has usually been considered to be a sport which the Chinese have predominantly been interested in.”
“I would ask MCYS to look into pooling and consolidatingthe sports sciencesupport of theSSC Sports School and that of the School of Physical Education under NIE to provide better supportto NSAs and athletes. Recently, I learnt about the Direct School Admission scheme offered by Raffles School, NUS School and a number of selected schools. This scheme would allow admission of P6 students with special talents in sports, visual arts, music and other areas into these secondary schools, independent of their PSLE "T" score. In time to come, I believe that we have many schools that will become a nursery for our future sports champions in addition to our Sports School. Perhaps, MCYS should also provide adequate support to these other schools in order to broaden our base of sports talents. In the review of performance of countries taking part in various games, it is discovered that athletes of host countries usually do better when they are at home. For example, Thailand won three golds at the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994 and 24 golds at the 1998 SEA Games when it was held in Bangkok. South Korea won 65 golds at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok and 96 golds when the Games went to Busan in 2002. Vietnam won 33 golds at the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur and 158 golds when the Games was held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2003. Singapore won 50 gold medals when we hosted the 1993 SEA Games, our best ever performance. Some of the reasons were: home teams would always be better prepared and fight harder for the country's honour in front of their home crowd. Home crowd support and home advantage also play a part. I believe that hosting major games such as the Asian Games would definitely boost the standards of our athletes and bring our sports excellence to the next higher level.”
“One tier is to support sports like bowling, sailing, shooting and body-building that have provensuccess at Asian Games and the next highest tier to support sports like table tennis and badminton that will bring us medals at the Olympic Games. I also urge MCYS to implement multi-year funding to NSAsfor at least the two top tiers, a proposal that has been brought to this House during the Budget debate. To do well at the Olympics or the Asian Games, one has to plan and act at least eight years ahead. No one can do much without commitment and funding. These NSAs and our top athletes need special support. Sports excellence needs the support of our corporations as well. Korean companies are well-known for their support for sports. Almost every bigchaeboadopts a sport for support. It is not just about funding and sponsorship but also the expertise in areas such as management, financial controls, strategic planning that are useful and which companies can provide to NSAs. On the other hand, companies can also benefit from associations of sports and athletes and we can see ample examples of this good relation, for example, between the IOC and companies such as Samsung and Coca-Cola in the top programme. I believe that more companies can be persuaded to come forward - by this, I mean Singaporean companies -to support sports and MCYS can work with them. If I may also be bold enough to suggest that TLCs will have a special role to play and can lead and lend a lot of support in our quest for sports excellence. In addition to funding, NSAs and athletes would also need support in terms of sports sciences,coaching, sparring partners, technical expertise, overseas training and competitions.”
“Despite this, our athletes, with thatsupport, won eight golds at the three Asian Games from 1994 to the year 2002, four golds at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Additional support came in 2000 when Government provided $500 million of extra support over five years.Out of this, $150 million went to enhance the SPEX programme and is much needed by our NSAs. This additional funding will come to an end byfinancial year 2005 and new money has to be found. MCYS and SSC have done a good job in laying a solid foundation for sports excellence and we hope that they will continue to do so. Since the Olympic Games in 2000, wewent to the Olympics not any more as mere participants, but with serious intention of winning a medal for Singapore. Junhong had a chance to do so in Sydney, Jiawei had a possibility even for a silver or gold in Athens and Ronald and Xueling were in the quarter-finals and just one step away from fighting for a medal. I fully agree with Tay Cheng Khoon when he said "Singapore must build on the momentum created by the relative achievements of Ronald, Xueling and Jiawei and there must be more serious credible medal challengers"in an article in the Straits Times on 30th August. I too believe that an Olympic medal is within reach of Singapore at the 2008 or 2012 Olympic Games. Government funding and support are indispensable for sports excellence in Singapore. I would urge MCYS to start looking into the continuous funding and support of sports excellence after FY2005. In fact, I would argue that while the current SPEX programme has and will continue to support our athletes and NSAs' efforts to excel at the SEA Games, we should now look at two additional tiers of funding.”
“The daily prominent coverage by all the newspapers under the SPH Group provided exciting first-hand coverage of our athletes'exploits forour Singaporean readers. The team of reporters andcameramen in Athens was very much of Team Singapore, sharing the ups and downs of our team. Our media has indeed played an important role in supporting sports excellence. They have helped to project the image of our athletes and fire up the imagination and support of Singaporeans. Our athletes truly appreciate the positive and encouraging reports appearing in our newspapers and television programmes. For those of us who have been concerned with the development of a sports culture in Singapore, we feel very happy with the development,the care, involvement and concern of Singaporeans. According to MediaCorp, 313,000 watched Jiawei in the semi-finals and 456,000 in the bronze medal play-off. All in all, there were 2.6 million viewers over the whole games period. The many encouraging comments and letters, SMS and emails, praising the efforts, encouraging all our athletes and urging them on despite losing, were just heartwarming. I know that sports excellence has the support of Singaporeans and that we are developing a strong sports culture. Today, we read about Jiawei accepting Ronald's proposal. We are all happy for them and wish them happiness together ever after - but do not forget the Olympic medal.I hope our table tennis and badminton associations will adopt family-friendly policies so that we have young Jiaweis and Ronalds fighting for the glory of Singapore in 20 years' time. We have a relatively short history in promoting sports excellence. SPEX 2000 was only launched in 1993 with $8 million support, half from the Government and half from Singapore Pools.”
“The headlines in the Straits Times screamed: "Gather around for the live telecast. Table tennis fever at 5.00 pm for Singaporeans at home, bars and abroad". We shared Jiawei's deep disappointment when she lost the semi-final match and the match for the bronze. But we knew that she has fought hard, done well for herself and for Singapore. Our Singaporean journalists and I were with Jiawei. She was inconsolable,feeling that she has failed to live up to the hope of fellow Singaporeans. Then, the Prime Minister (PM) called. PM comforted and encouraged her. PM said, and I quote, "There is no reason to be sad. We are proud of you. Yes, you have not won the top prize but we will keep on trying. Sports isn't just medals. It is doing our best. Try again-overcome setbacks, depending on each other, being part of Team Singapore. Our athletes, many of them have made Singapore their home and they have become part of our family and we should welcome them and celebratethem." Jiawei told me, "zong li jiao wo bu yao ku, wo bu ku le", or PM asked me not to cry and I stopped. And then, she smiled. Thank you, PM, for speaking to Jiawei and for your words of encouragement, not just to her, but to our athletes and to Singaporeans. Our athletes will overcome all adversities and try and try again. I hope that when PM phones Jiawei or any one of our athletes at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, it will be to congratulate her or him for winning a medal for Singapore. Indeed, our athletes have done us proud through their relentless efforts, their fighting spirit and their conduct. MediaCorp, through its partnership with IOC, provided 630 hours of coverage through six TV channels that enabled tens of thousands of Singaporeans a unique experience watching our athletes compete live.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, yesterday morning I returned to Singapore after spending three weeks at the Athens Olympic Games. On the same flight was our Olympic team returning home. The flight landed at an unearthly hour, at 5.15 in the morning, and yet at the Changi Airport to welcome them were RAdm Teo Chee Hean, President of the Singapore National Olympic Council and Minister for Defence,Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, andmore than 200 ardent supporters and fans. When Jiawei and team came through the gate, the crowd cheered and swarmed around them. I thought probably Jiawei needed the security officer more than the two Ministers present. Cameras and flashes went crazy at the reception for the welcome. It was amazing and wonderful.Our team has come home and Singapore is with them. For 16 days, 10,500 of the world's best athletes from 202 countries and territories competed in 28 sports and 300 events in Athens. At the closing ceremony, IOC President, Dr Jacques Rogge,called the Athens Games the "Unforgettable Dream,Dream Games". Our own dream, Singapore's dream for an Olympic medal, almost came true in Athens. Our Olympic team has done its best for Singapore and stood its own against the world's best. We watched and cheered Ronald Susilo's gallant efforts in defeating Lin Dan, the world's No. 1 in two straight sets. We were pleasantly surprised when Zhang Xueling fought fearlessly into the top eight and lostto North Korean Kim Hyang Mi by two sets to four, while a day ago Kim Hyang Mi had defeated the world's No. 3, Niu Jiangfong, in four straight sets. Our hopes were raised when Li Jiawei defeated Wan Nan, the world's No. 2, and went into the semi-finals.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether there is any way to expedite the earlier implementation of the scheme as it does save considerable time for Singapore businessmen travelling to those APEC economies that arecovered under the scheme.”
“Question No. 3, Sir. I would like to declare my interest as Singapore's representative on the APEC Business Advisory Council.”
“The cash award serves both as a recognition and motivation to our athletes. Sir, I cannot over emphasise the importance of funding provided by the Singapore Pools to sports. I hope that the Singapore Pools, or the Tote Board in this case, will continue to serve the social objectives and especially support of sports after the Singapore Pools has been acquired by the Totalisator Board. In fact, I believe that the acquisition of the Singapore Pools by the Totalisator Board would create synergy and therefore more surpluses, and in which case, I would like to do a Oliver Twist and ask for more, ie, more funding for sports. I support the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, I heard from Dr Amy Khor that, since its inception of Singapore Pools in 1968, it had contributed more than a billion dollars from its surpluses to the development of arts, sports and community projects. Two of its most notable contributions being the $409 million over seven years for the Esplanade project and the $375 million over five years towards Sporting Singapore. It has also directly and indirectly contributed and supported many sports and National Sports Associations. Over the years, Singapore Pools has become a strong supporter and partner of sports development in Singapore. Without the funding of Singapore Pools, it would not have been possible for the Singapore Sports Council and the National Sports Associations to implement many of their plans, and sports in Singapore would not be where it is today. Singapore and Singaporeans would have been poorer for it. With the funding of the Singapore Pools, the hard work put in by our National Sports Associations and the dedication and sacrifices of our athletes, we are now seeing more and more outstanding performances and international successes from our athletes in many sports, such as table tennis, badminton, sailing, bowling, swimming, just to mention a few of them. The most recent case being Ronald Susilo winning the Japan Open Badminton Championship, a five star event and critical match before the Olympic games in Athens in August this year. Singapore Pools has also been a true supporter of the Singapore National Olympic Council, funding the participation of athletes for the various SEA Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games. It has also generously supported the cash award for our medal winners at these major games.”
“I understand that the Sports School has also acquired cutting-edge sports and sports size equipment that NSAs would die for. The School now has a population of 140 this year and it would take four years for them to reach a steady stage of 600 students. There will therefore be excess capacity for at least the next four years. I believe the Sports School should look into maximising the use of the facilities and equipment by co-sharing with the NSAs and perhaps even neighbourhood schools. Many NSAs do not have their own facilities and cutting-edge equipment and machinery, so that their high-level athletes could probably derive a lot of benefit from this arrangement. Students from the Sports School could also benefit by training with them. Madam, I also hope that the Sports Ministry will continue to ensure that there will be sufficient sports facilities for the public and that the admission fees to these facilities should remain affordable in order to attract the maximum number of Singaporeans to play sports, enjoy sports and stay fit.”
“I would also recommend that a firm timetable be set for the construction of the Sports Hubas athletes and NSAswould like to know when Singapore will host the next SEA Games so that they will be well prepared. We want to win for Singapore in Singapore. NSAs are doing their very best to build a vibrant sports industry, part of which is to bring international sporting events to Singapore. For example, SAAA is looking into bringing the track and field World Cup to Singapore. They will need to know exactly when the Sports Hub will be ready so that they can work and lobby for it. Next year, the International Olympic Committee will hold its annual session in Singapore. It presents a great opportunity to showcase Singapore as an ideal place with the best facilities to hold marquee sports events. IOC members, top leaders of more than 30 international sports federations and between 1,000and 2,000 journalists and television personnel would be here. There will also be dignitaries from up to nine of the world's most important cities in Singapore bidding for the 2012 Summer Games. We must not miss this opportunity to showcase and market our Sports Hub. Sports Facilities Madam, recommendation 18 of the COSS Report pointed to the need to maximise the limited land and facilities for sports and suggested initiatives, such as co-sharing of facilities, using temporary vacant land, and so on. The Minister had previously informed this House on the efforts of MCDS, and I am happy to see progress made on the number of initiatives, in particular, the co-sharing of school fields and facilities, as was mentioned by the Minister just now. This brings to mind the excellent sports facilities of the Sports School.”
“Madam, building the Singapore's new Sports Hub is one of the very important national projects, not just about building a new facility but creating an icon and focal point for vibrant sports activities and lifestyle. It is also about the creation of an outstanding venue to host our National Day Parade, marking international sports and cultural events. Beijing won the bid to host 2008 Olympic Games in 2001, the same year when our new Sports Hub was announced. Beijing will have 30 competition venues, of which 15 will be new. There will be a new 100,000-seat Olympic Stadium with80,000 permanent seats and 20,000 temporary seats to be built at an estimated cost of S$830 million. All facilities will be ready by 2006, in time for test events in 2007. Madam, 30 sports facilities and stadiums will be completed within five years. We are building one Sports Hub and the Minister has asked us to wait for nine years. Beijing called international tenders for planning, design and construction ofits stadium. The city also exhibited plans and design for public feedback and comments. By doing so, they would have both a spectacular and practical world-class sports stadium at the best price. I think we can learn from this. MCDS has done two studies, spent considerable time and consultation on the concept of the new Sports Hub. I agree with the Minister that there must be careful planning and development of a good business model. I would like to recommend to the Minister to publish the studies and concept so that the public, in particular, athletes, NSAs, event organisers can give their feedback.”
“As we are able to produce talents from the schools, or talents from a younger base, I am sure the NSAs will take note of this and realise that there are local talents. And we are supporting local talents in youth development programmes and many other programmes that NSAs have undertaken. So the Sports School is just one pillar in their effort to produce local talents. Meanwhile, the NSAs will have to submit a proposal to SSC and MCDS on the mix and combination of foreign and local talents that they need for their sports. I am confident that if we are able to achieve a larger youth base from our local talent, I think the demand or the need for foreign talent will reduce with time. But that is best left for us to evolve as we go along. What is important is, let us focus on our efforts to build up Sports Excellence at the younger base. Mr Chiam's final point about sports culture, I do not disagree with that. The Sports School will be working with partners in the north region, and we are planning to also open up some of our facilities to allow people to benefit from the facilities that we have in the Sports School.”
“I would like to assure both Mr Iswaran and Ms Braema that we are open to collaboration in the sharing of best practices with other secondary schools. As you know, our own principal, Mr Moo, came from another secondary school. So, he is very familiar. He is in contact with his colleagues, especially with the schools in the north region, but we are open to schools which are prepared to come and study what we have achieved. We are only three months old. I do not think we have achieved a lot. But we have been able to put in a system that we are now trying to test and prove that it is working for us. And we aremost happy to share that with other secondary schools. 4.30 pm Having said that, Madam, I think the best way to help other schools adopt some of the best practices is actually in the competition ring when the Sports School competes with other secondary schools and we are able to produce results. I think other secondary schools will take notice and perhaps they may also want to modify their programme. That is best left to all the secondary schools to decide. Mr Chiam raised a couple of points which I would like to address. First of all, I agree with him thatthe aim of the Sports School is to help us to produce champions and win medals for Singapore. There is no disagreement on that. Mr Chiam, I thank you for your support for the Sports School. We invited you but you did not turn up. On the foreign sports talents, I have alerted the House earlier that I agree with Mr Chiam that we have to have a balance. Each NSA will have to put up a proposal to us. Will the number decrease? That is only a question of time.”
“Post-secondary options Mr Ng Ser Miang has also asked about the plans for graduates from the Sports School. This is indeed an important issue not onlyfor the Sports School but also among the parents. We need to ensure that graduates from the Sports School who have potential to excel in sports be given the opportunity to benefit from a flexible academic curriculum to support their intensive sports training. We have explored this with other Government agencies and educational institutions. We will be finalising the post-secondary options for the students shortly. Champions Way Madam, let me move on to the renaming of the road. Ms Braema has asked why the road outside the Sports School is named Champions Way. The change in the road name helps to reinforce the identity of the Sports School as a place that nurtures the future sports champions of Singapore. We also want to emphasise to the students that they would go on to become champions in life, whether in sport or other aspects. So I can understand her concern about the pressure, but let us take a bigger perspective. Champions are exemplified by qualities such as discipline, determination, commitment, courage, honour and patriotism. These are the values that we hope to instill in the students through sports. The name "Champions Way" will constantly remind the students of the certain high standards of conduct and character expected of them. Thus far, we have not received any adverse reaction to the name, except for Ms Braema. Madam, I would like to address the issue raised both by Mr Iswaran and Ms Braema on how do we share what Mr Iswaran called the "software" that wehave beenable to develop in the Sports School with other schools in Singapore.”
“The specific targets for each sport are currently being worked out between the Sports School and the respective National Sports Associations. In the short term, the Sports School aims to have 10 to 15 students representing Singapore at the 2007 SEA Games in their respective sports. In the long term, the Sports School graduates should form a significant part of our contingent to major Games in future. Madam, Members must remember that our current batch of students is mostly 13 years old and the Sports School is now but only three months old. Besides sporting achievements, the Sports School also aims to become a value-added school in terms of academic results, and help their students achieve the best possible results when they sit for the €˜O' levels. Sports in the Sports School Let me now turn to the sports offered in the Sports School. Mr Ang Mong Seng has also asked about the sports in the School. The Sports School has started with eight sports – swimming, athletics, badminton, table-tennis, bowling, sailing, netball and soccer. The sports chosen are those identified as major sports in Singapore. Nonetheless, the Sports School is prepared to work with other NSAs on a case-by-case basis. Madam, we have a young golfer - probably he is playing better that I can - who studies at the Sports School but trains under a programme drawn up by the Singapore Golf Association. So, he attends the Sports School but his specific training for golf is undertaken by the NSA. In all these sports, the Sports School works closely with the respective NSAs to map out the overall strategies. We agree with Mr Ng Ser Miang that it is important that the Sports School works closely with the NSAs.”
“The Sports School gets a grant per student per year from the Ministry of Education, just as any other independent schools in Singapore, no more no less. The remainder of the subsidies comes from the Sporting Singapore Fund. Therefore, I would like to assure Mr Steve Chia that the subsidy to the Sports School is not at the expense of other schools. Mr Chia has also taken a political shot at theGovernment by charging that the Government hasselected fancy projects to support, instead of putting money in helping the poor and the needy. I think he is totally wrong.As I have announced earlier in Parliament, funding towards social assistance programmes will not be cut;in fact,they will be increased. And every Singaporean who is in need will not be turned away. We will find ways and means to help all Singaporeans who are in need. But, at the same time, the Sports School is an important component of our Sports Excellence programme. The funding is available and we will continue with the programme that we have set out for ourselves. Targets of Sports School Madam, next is on the targets of the Sports School. The Sports School is not just a school. It is also an incubator for our young athletes. To serve this national agenda, we have given it much support. Naturally, we also have higher expectations. As rightly pointed out, the Sports School must aim high. Although the Sports School is taking part in the inter-school competitions, these are mainly to provide the students with the necessary exposure in competitions. The aim is international achievements, not winning in domestic competitions. The Sports School aims to produce athletes who can compete against the best juniors in the region, which means to consistently come in among the top three in regional age-group competitions.”
“As a relatively small school, it is not cost-effective for the Sports School to offer too many different courses. At the moment, there is not enough critical mass of elite student athletes within the Normal (Technical) cohort, and thus it is not practical to provide such a course for a small handful. As far as possible, the Sports School will take in the talented student athletes and customise the educational paths for them. Alternatively, talented student athletes can continue with their Normal (Technical) education in a mainstream school while continuing with elite sports training with the NSAs. I would like to also add that the Sports School would not be the only school to produce athletes for Singapore. Other schools in Singapore, as pointed out by Mr Ng Ser Miang, will raise their level of performance in order to match the Sports School, and they have been producing athletes for Singapore. Costs and Subsidies Madam, let me now move on to costs and subsidies. Mr Ang Mong Seng, Mr Steve Chia and Mr Ng Ser Miang have questioned about the costs, subsidies and the targets of the Sports School. The Sports School was constructed at a cost of $75 million. When the school reaches its full enrolment of 600 students, the projected operating cost is about $15 million per year. This translates to a cost of about $25,000 per student per year. The breakdown per student is $9,000 for academic education, $10,000 for sports training, and $6,000 for board and lodging. This relatively high level of funding is needed because the Sports School not only provides for education, but also high performance sports training and hostel accommodation for 5-6 days a week with all meals being provided for.”
“Let me first clarify that the first and most important criterion for admission is sports talent and potential. Students would have to go through selection trials jointly conducted by coaches from the Sports School and the National Sports Associations. Apart from this, the students would also have to go through fitness assessment, psychological profiling, and a personal interview with Sports School staff. Only after the student has crossed these hurdles would his or her academic results be taken into consideration. However, the Sports School is also clear that talented young athletes who could not meet the academic criteria will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and accepted into the School if they are deemed to be able to cope with the curriculum. This was proven in the first batch of students. The first batch of 140 students includes 26 students who, based on their PSLE results, were streamed into the Normal (Academic) course, and another two streamed into the Normal (Technical) course. I am glad to inform the House that the School has accepted all these students. For the 26 Normal (Academic) students, the School has made an assessment that they would be able to complete the €˜O' level course in five years' time. For the other two Normal (Technical) students, they will be undergoing basic education in English, Mathematics and Mother Tongue so that they will have the basic educational requirements to allow them to pursue upgrading courses in future. [Mdm Deputy Speaker (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua) in the Chair] 4.22 pm Why not offer Normal courses? Madam, it is quite clear that the majority of our student athletes can qualify for the Express Stream. It is therefore better for the Sports School to remain focused and targeted in its approach.”
“Ms Lee Lai Shan from Hong Kong won a Gold medal in wind-surfing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, while she was pursuing her degree. Or, Mr Peter Anthony from Australia, while he was holding a full-time job in banking, also pursued his sporting dreams and won a Gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in rowing. The aim of the Sports School is to help our young athletes who are still in school balance both their studies and sport commitments. Our experience has shown that the students who are likely to need this support are those who have the potential to excel in both sports and studies. Because they know they have the potential in both and yet have only limited time in the mainstream school system to realise them, they and their parents often have to make the painful decision to sacrifice one. Sadly, it is often sports that loses out. This is a great loss to Singapore if we want to build ourselves up as a Sporting Nation. Dr Benedict Tan is a very rare find for us. An Asian Games Gold medallist in sailing in 1994, Dr Tan is currently a medical doctor working as a Consultant Sports Physician at the Changi General Hospital. Luckily for Singapore, he did not have to make that painful decision to drop sailing or his studies but Ben has had to work very, very hard to achieve both academic and sporting excellence. We would like to help our young talented athletes who have similar dreams as people like Dr Ben Tan to achieve them. Sir, this is why we set up the Sports School and we should not deviate from this primary objective. Sports School Admission Criteria Sir, notwithstanding our stated objective of the Sports School, we have been flexible in our admission criteria. I would beg to differ with Dr Amy Khor that we are settling for mediocrity.”
“Some Members of Parliament have again questioned the Sports School admission criteria, which included an academic component that requires students to qualify for the Express Stream. There was a concern that talented young athletes may be excluded from the School because of their academic results. I hope to adequately address these concerns this time round. Sports Excellence Policy First, I think it is important for us to understand the sports excellence policy that formed the basis for setting up the Sports School. When Singaporeans think about elite sports, we instantly make references to the world of professional sports, such as the English Premier League, PGA Golf Tour, or NBA. The names of David Beckham, Tiger Woods and, more recently, Yao Ming, are invariably at the tip of our tongues. The professional sports world is commercially-driven and centres around clubs and entire leagues striving to increase fan-base and revenues. Our sports excellence policy is not to encourage our young to drop everything and commit only to elite sports full-time because, in reality, there are only very few in the world who can make it as top-class professional sportsmen or women. Instead, we want to nurture a pool of athletes who can help Singapore gain honour and glory at major international sporting events. Well and good if amongst these athletes, some can later go on to become top-class professional athletes. Therefore, for many of our athletes, they would need to be equipped to be employable in future, like any other Singaporean. Even world-class athletes also need education. For example, Ms Hilary Lunke, was only 24 years old when she won the 2003 Ladies' US Open Golf Championships. She was already holding a Masters Degree in Sociology from Stanford University at that time.”
“As the School has admitted some of the top talents, it is also stirring competition from other schools. The School will become a good target to beat and a benchmark to surpass. I believe this is natural and healthy and hope that there will be serious competitions and many records to be broken. I would like to see that all schools compete against one another at national competitions, but all athletes should work together as a team and support one another when going out for international competitions representing Singapore . We all have a common goal to bring sports to a higher level and win for Singapore. And I see a need to inculcate a strong Team Singapore spiritat the very start and for the School to become an important and integral part of the team. 4.15 pm Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir,I would like to thank all Members who stood up to speak on behalf of the Sports School. I think the person to thank is not me nor the former Minister, but the Prime Minister himself for giving us the money to set up the Sports School. Sir, a significant milestone last year was the completion of the Singapore Sports School. I am glad to report that the Sports School has received very encouraging response and feedback since it started recruiting students and operations. Our target was to recruit between 100 and 150 students. When the Sports School opened for trials last year, it met with overwhelming response. More than 1,200 students signed up for the trials. Eventually, we accepted 140 students who started with the Sports School in January this year. This includes eight Secondary 2 students who were willing to repeat their Secondary 2 at the Sports School so that they have a chance of realising their sporting dreams.”
“Sir, I too was very happy to have visited the Sports School . I would like to congratulate MCDS for its efficiency in building it and starting the Sports School in a short period of two years. I was heartened to see the pioneer group of students happy and enthusiastic and I would like to wish them the very best. The Sports School represents substantial investments from the Sporting Singapore Fund and a large percentage of the $500 million. There are high expectations on what the Sports School should deliver. It would, therefore, be of great interest to the public to know the KPI and specific targets in terms of achievement at major competitions such as the SEA Games and Asian Games over the next eight years, and how the Sports School could contribute to the three targets of a Sporting Singapore. Athletes peak at different age, depending on the type of sports. The Sports School could only provide for four years of support. I would, therefore, like to find out what plans MCDS has for these students after four years, taking into account higher education and, for the boys, National Service. We have to ensure that there are opportunities for the students to continue their sports, or else the investment in and efforts of the Sports School will be wasted. I would also like to recommend to the Sports School to work hand-in-glove with the National Sports Associations to maximise the potential of the students. NSAs are the governing bodies and specialists of their sports and are the ones who select athletes to represent Singapore . NSAs are also affiliated to the respective international federation and would be in the position to provide the School with the latest development of their sports.”
“In addition to providing our foreign talents with basic education, I would urge the Ministry to explore with our institutions of higher learning on the possibility of admitting these sports talents at the appropriate time, so that they too can further their studies. Beijing, Tsinghuaand several top Chinese universities have special admission schemes for their sports champions. In fact, this special scheme should be supported and implemented for all our Singapore sports champions. I would also like to suggest that the Ministry look into a scheme where qualified Singapore families each adopt a foreign talent and give him or her an adopted home in Singapore, providing parental guidance, inviting them for weekend family outings, take part in festive activities, and do many things that Singaporeans do. I believe this is the best and surest way to help them integrate into our society.”
“Good news forthe more Singapore babies policy! In December last year, the Minister announced the continuation of the foreign talent scheme and requires NSAs to bring foreign talents to help meet the high performance operational plan. I support the Ministry's move for a clear and consistent policy on foreign talents. So far, NSAs that have brought in foreign talents have shown responsibility and discretion in their decisions. The Singapore Table Tennis Association and the Singapore Badminton Association are good examples. They have well-thought-out plans and have painstakingly sought out young teenage talents and bring them to Singapore, train and develop them into champions, care for them, educate them, and make sure that they have no problem fitting into our society, whichsuggests that no two NSAs and no two sports are the same, and there should not be a one-size-fits-all requirement on their foreign talent plan. For example, table tennis and badminton will require a steady flow of young foreign talents to continue to build a strong base and maintain the high standards that we have achieved. These two NSAs have strong youth development programmes, and we have seen tremendous improvements in the standard of our young players, but they are not there yet. Similarly, it will be many years before our Sports School can produce champions like Jing Junhong, Li Jia Wei, Ronald Susilo and Li Li. In the meantime, any disruption to the foreign talent scheme and any arbitrary cut on the number of foreign talents required would definitely be a big setback. All previous investments and efforts would have been wasted.”
“Sir, the COSS has called NSA the most important link to the three pillars of a Sporting Singapore. NSAs have been encouraged to move towards professional management, put up strategic plans, complete with multi-year targets and multi-year budgets. NSAs have spent a lot of time and efforts working towards these goals. They are, however, disheartened that while MCDS has agreed and accepted their strategic plans and multi-year targets, there has been no commitment on multi-year funding to support the implementation of the plans. To attract the services of professional managers, high quality coaches and technical staff requires commitment and contracts. NSAs are unable to do so, when funding beyond one year is uncertain. NSAs set targets for their sportsmen and women for major sports events, such as the Asian Games and Olympic Games, which come in a 4-year cycle. Some of our athletes are prepared to make exceptional sacrifices, like stopping school or work, or defer NS, to train and compete and bring glory to Singapore. Yet, NSAs cannot ask them to make commitments or ask them to quit their jobs, stop school, defer NS, because of the uncertainty in long-term funding. Ministries can now plan their budgets on a multi-year basis. I would, therefore, urge MCDS to similarly make multi-year funding available to support NSAs and make our dream of a Sporting Singapore a reality. Foreign Talents Sir, foreign talents like Jing Junhong, Li Jia Wei, Ronald Susilo and Li Li bring glory to Singapore and add depth and help raise the standard of sports, and inspire many young Singaporeans to take up sports. In fact, Jing Junhong has done more than bringing more medals to Singapore. She has a 5-year-old son and, last night, she told me she and her husband would like to have another baby.”
“Sir, I would like to continue from what Prof. Low Seow Chay and Mr Ong Kian Min have said about diesel engine vehicles, in particular, diesel engine cars. In the report of the Office of Transportation Technologies, US Department of Energy, it was stated that modern diesel engine produces a lower amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. Emission of reactive nitrogen compounds and particulate matters which Prof. Low has said, has actually been reduced by 90% from diesel engine since the 1980s because of advances in technology. Diesel engines are already more efficient than gasoline cars - 40% of efficiency versus 30%, and with further advances in technology, there is a possibility of efficiency of diesel energy going up to 55%-63%. Sir, in Singapore a litre of petrol costs $1.40 and diesel costs $0.73. So obviously, it is cheaper to operate diesel engine cars. In terms of travelability, there was a study done on a vehicle, Volkswagen Gulf GT1, comparing gas engine and diesel engine of similar capacity. There is no difference in terms of maximum vehicle speed acceleration and fuel consumption is 30% lower. I think this would result in both savings to car owners as well as to Singapore. There are about 50% of passenger cars sold in Europe that are all diesel engine cars. Brands like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen are some of the big names that are selling diesel engine cars. Diesel engine cars will now appear to be more environment-friendly than gasoline engine cars or, what we call, petrol engine cars. I would urge the Minister to consider making it easier for Singaporeans to own diesel cars by removing the diesel tax. Recycling”
“To tax their surplus could also lead to a culture of waste and encourage unnecessary spending before the financial year ends. DPM in his Budget speech spoke about allowing Ministries accumulate and carry forward unused funds to subsequent years. Perhaps, we could also allow similar flexibility to this group without taxing them. Many of them are puzzled why Government grants or subsidies could attract income tax. And why if they work hard to raise additional funds and save some surplus for the future, they also attract tax. These groups are usually run by volunteers and serve a very useful role to Singapore. They are not businesses with a profit motive. I would therefore like to urge DPM and Finance Minister to consider exempting them from tax. Economic Restructuring Shares”
“Sir, the IRAS taxes sports, arts and cultural groups under section 11(1) of the Income Tax Act. This section stipulates that if this type of organisation receives less than half of its income from its members, then such organisation is deemed to be carrying on a business and its surpluses are treated as profits and taxed accordingly. Sir, this group is usually set up by like-minded people to promote the specific sports, arts or cultural activities that they love, and are non-profit in nature. They play a very important role in the development and promotion of their respective sports, arts or culture. They also bring sports, arts and cultural events to Singapore and help add diversity and enrich the life of Singaporeans. They are not businesses as such. Most of this group depend on Government grants through statutory boards or agencies such as the Singapore Sports Council, National Arts Council, Tote Board, Singapore Pools and Singapore Tourism Board. They also raise additional money through sponsorships, donations, performances, matches, to augment their income. It is rare that their membership revenue will be more than 50% of their total income as the membership fees for these organisations are usually kept low, in order to attract members and encourage participation. 1.15 pm Those of us who are involved in these organisations know that it is difficult to get Government funding and just as difficult to raise funds from the public, as we have to compete with other organisations that require funding as well, such as charity, even CDCs and other groups. Sometimes, the timing of inflow of funds versus the plan of activities, the need to save some money for bad times could also lead to surplus or deficit.”
“We need to have ways and means to find support whilst we are not working, but I think that in some companies in some sectors, employees are already doing that. In the electronics sector, they get employed for a while; when there is a downturn, they are retrenched; when business booms again, they get re-employed. Sir, I would end by saying, let us have, maybe, a new set of five Cs, in addition to the so-called material five Cs: (1) We should really value children. So, children are important; (2) We should have caring family and kin; (3) We should have CPF and financial planning; (4) We should have community-based support; and (5) Employers should have corporate social responsibility towards family well-being. I think these are the new Cs that will actually sustain us and help us overcome our problems. I therefore look forward to the deliberations of the Working Committee on Population and I hope that they will "procreate" their recommendations with comprehensive solutions that will actually augur well for us in the long term for our future national interest. With that, Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget.”
“I am reminded of the days when I was doing my PhD in Berkeley, and we were living in graduate housing. As students, we were more or less of the same social-economic status -- we were either on scholarships, or we had to work to pay for our expenses. So we had to pool our resources together. My wife and I decided not to own a car because we had neighbours who had cars. Every time they wanted to go shopping or do other errands, they would ask us, "Do you want to come along? Do you want us to buy things for you?" We baby-minded, child-minded each other's children. From this example you can see that it does not really take too much to bring up a family when you have social support. Lastly, I would say that we are beginning to have a new work order in which the traditional notion of a lifelong career followed by retirement, and having another 20-odd years to survive on a meagre retirement income for financial support will no longer be the general case. Probably we have to change our thinking and accept that we will actually be moving in and out of the labour force over our life span. We will be taking what I call "mini-retirements" along the way, allowing people to plan to have children and spending time with them, to take time out to go for skills training and upgrading, or even to just explore other parts of the world for a while. Therefore, the labour market can be more flexible. Employers do not really have to be worried over undue costs of labour concerning, for example, extended maternity leave or other kinds of leave, such as paternity leave or even parental leave for that matter. Of course, this requires financial planning.”
“For me, I think the best part of being married, apart from having someone you love and someone whom you like to have as a partner for life, are the struggles that we, as parents, have to go through, to bring the children up, sharing with them the ups and downs. And I think the rewards are priceless, as others have mentioned. Also, there is the social net product to society of bringing up the next generation of Singaporeans. When we pass away, they are going to inherit what we have, including our massive foreign reserves. To help Singaporeans cope with the vicissitudes of life in the new economic order, we have actually put in place very sound fundamentals here. So let us not underestimate or undermine the "treasures" that we have. I would actually look at the need for a "family impact analysis" of policies and measures that the Government, statutory boards, GLCs and even the private sector would be making. Do not underestimate or overlook what impact various policies would have on family well-being, and therefore we must struggle with negative-impact policies to make them more balanced. We also need to have a kampong spirit, even as we live in high-rise HDB blocks and neighbourhoods. I think we have not sufficiently utilised the golden opportunity of living in close proximity to each other to build community, social bonding, social networking and social support. I think these are the little things that matter. The "butterfly effect" mentioned by hon. Member Mr Leong Horn Kee is not so much all those big policies. For example, if we are friendlier, we can lend a helping hand to child-mind for our neighbours; when our neighbours or we ourselves are in difficulty, we go and support each other. These are the little things.”
“Related to parenting concerns, of course, we realise that parenting is not inborn, something that we all can do naturally. But we all seem to lack effective interpersonal and communication skills. We all seem to be at a loss as to how to parent effectively. And all these probably act as a damper to having children. There is also then the mindset of employers, as again mentioned by my colleagues, that we have outdated human resource policies and practices in many companies and employers tend to take the short-term perspective. There is debate over extended maternity leave and other fringe benefits that will actually promote family life but are not really favoured upon by employers, which therefore add to the magnitude of our concerns. I would just touch briefly on the scope of the Working Committee on Population. With Minister Lim Hng Kiang involved, hopefully, the scope of this committee would be very broad and go beyond just what was released in the press statement by MITA, ie, for parenting concerns, there are only four issues highlighted: (1), maternity leave; (2), worklife balance; (3), childcare and infant care; and (4), financial support. I think we probably have to also go more into the values, attitudes and motivational aspects. So my suggestions, Mr Speaker, Sir, will focus on what would be the general areas that we must deal with. I agree with the hon. Member Mr David Lim, that we should be dealing with the emotional aspects and not just the material incentives. We have to let the average Singapore couple understand that there is also the private net product of having children, the gains and the joy they will get. And I would like to share this with Members.”
“If you are not married, even though my parliamentary colleagues had mentioned that, for female singles particularly, they still feel a bit of the heat, I think the pressure to get married is less now. Even the Chinese zodiac is no longer influential in persuading us to have babies - Dragon babies, or whatever auspicious animals are around the horizon. As a result, we have what is perceived as a "no-win" situation for our country and our economy. The equation is something like this. There are high costs of child upbringing plus, because of the new economic order, there is no job security, therefore the equation is "zero" child. This is negative thinking and something that has to do with perhaps individual issues also. One of which is the increasingly self-oriented lifestyle preference at work, whereby we are thinking of our present situation mainly. We like to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. We are not prepared to put up with sacrifices. We are not prepared to think long term. So there is a de-emphasis in a community-oriented lifestyle, relatively speaking. There is also, of course, the question of having a "Singapore DNA" in our genes, whether there is such a thing as having an instinct to preserve the next generation, of thinking about the long-term survival of our country, with Singaporeans that are true-blue, rather than relying on a massive influx of immigrants and foreign talents to make up for the shortfall in population. And what implications will this have? This will change the face of Singapore society as we know it and we must be prepared for the consequences if we were to allow that to happen, whereby Singaporeans would not form the majority, or would barely be the majority, of the total population of our country.”
“Those who can afford to have babies do not want to -- that is, those with no kids or have only one child. Those who want to cannot -- these are couples with infertility problems. And, lastly, we have those who should not have, but they have, and therefore they have abortions, and we have, unfortunately, abandoned babies, too. This suggests that we have to look at certain trends and issues at work in society and they make up the fundamental concerns that we have. Let me just go through briefly some of the main ones. One, we have to be very mindful of the unbalanced structural shift of our demographic pyramid. No longer is it a normal one, and we have to worry about its implication. If we have very sudden changes in the population birth cohorts, it will give headaches later on when we have to do planning. For instance, with a decline in enrolment, we may shrink school enrolment sizes, and we may have surplus teachers. And if, suddenly, later on, we have a big swing, then we have to catch up and make all those contingency plans. This is not good for social planning if you like to have an orderly form of development. Another trend that is emerging is that some Singaporeans, hopefully this is not the majority, are beginning to say that this is not their problem; this is the Government's problem. If it wants more babies, then it has to tackle the problems and leave us (the people) alone. We also have the bigger issue of changing values and perception. In the whole notion of marriage and the family as a social institution, we are now seeing a lacuna. In the past, there were values that kept us married, that gave us the incentives to have children, but we do not seem to have them now. So there is no longer a taboo. If you are divorced, no longer is there a stigma.”
“I support the Government's effort and Members' recommendation to support Singaporeans to have more babies. Confucius had said, shi se xing ye, or eating and sex are human nature. This was 2,500 years ago. What has happened to Singaporeans who enjoy food and have less babies? Perhaps a campaign should be launched to reverse this. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, Sir, I shall try to keep my speech short and simple, in other words, brief, as reminded by you. Mr Speaker, Sir, the future of Singapore is actually about the long-term survival of Singaporeans more than the survival of the country -- Singapore. This is because we have two intertwined national survival issues. One is sustaining our economic growth and of this, I have more confidence that we can find the solutions more readily than our second issue of sustaining our population replacement rate, which is intractable. As our country is similar to other industrial countries having a large urban population, we share a number of similar problems, including fertility growth. For my speech, I shall focus on the second national issue. Let me use a business analogy. Our social fundamentals are sound. But why are the share prices of our stocks down and not flying high? Can we reverse our fertility recession the way we can engineer a reverse of our GDP decline? We have a relatively safe environment and a globally recognised education system for our children to be brought up in. We have a relatively safe family-life environment, too. But it appears to many of our young married couples that these are not enough to encourage a baby boom. So we have a paradoxical situation.”
“You will equip him with a language that he or she will need in the future. Perhaps, MOE Language Centre, commercial schools, can work with the experts to make the learning of Chinese more interesting and enjoyable. I see the usefulness of learning Chinese, not just for Singaporeans going to China to do business, trade, or seek employment. Successful Chinese companies are now venturing overseas. For example, they set up offices in Singapore and some are even going for IPOs, and this is the policy of the current Chinese leadership where they encourage successful Chinese enterprise to zou chu qu, or venture abroad. More and more affluent Chinese are also beginning to travel overseas as tourists. Singapore is one of the favourite destinations and we should keep it so, knowing the Chinese language will surely come in handy. Before the financial crisis of 1997, hardly any workers in shops and restaurants in Hong Kong spoke Mandarin. In fact, Mandarin speakers were usually ignored. Now, many of them speak fluent Mandarin. Mandarin speakers are welcomed with open arms because, now, they are replacing the Japanese as the biggest spenders in Hong Kong. As we compete for more Chinese tourists to visit Singapore, our workers must be able to speak the language and make them feel welcome and want to come back and bring their friends with them. Sir, after 49 speakers before me, I think there is very little for me to add on the baby problem. I would just like to say that I have three children and I have added positively to the TFR of Singapore. To bring a child to this world is a serious commitment and a lifelong responsibility. But it is also an indescribable joy to see them grow and to share their joy and pain of growing up.”
“The Straits Times of 2nd March carried an article from Washington Post that says, "Advice to a baby born today anywhere in the world - learn English. Advice to a baby born of English-speaking parents - learn another language. Good choices could be Chinese, Hindi, Arabic or Spanish." These are among the observations made by a British linguist David Graddol in an essay in a journal, Science. With 1.1 billion native speakers, Chinese, with its various dialects, have the largest number of native speakers today. So my advice to all Singaporean babies born today - learn Chinese. In December last year, the College Board, which is best known for one of its programmes, the SAT test, announced the creation of an advanced placement programme course and examination in Chinese language and culture, citing China's growing economic significance. Over the last few years, I have come across more and more reports on the promotion of and growing interest in the learning of Chinese language in countries around the world, in Europe, in Americas, from England to Russia. Countries and organisations around the world are aware of the huge potential of China, and people are realising the importance of learning Chinese. I would suggest that we should look at learning Chinese for all Singaporeans, not just our students but adults as well, so that we are better equipped to deal with the many opportunities that China has to offer, and so that we will maintain our advantage of knowing China better than the others. Here, I would like to echo what Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee has said about the degree of learning Chinese has been grossly exaggerated by some. My advice to every parent would be, please, support the learning of Chinese no matter whether your child will do well in the examination.”
“Can we expect management and workers to work as a team and survive storms and share benefits when the company does well, if there is no job security? With the rapidly changing economic environment, companies need to be nimble to survive. We accept that gone are the days of lifelong employment. But should we swing to the other extreme of hire and fire and of cold efficiency and nothing else? Sir, I believe that our companies should and could find a middle ground and a good balance between these two extremes and develop our own brand of corporate culture and philosophy that builds strong companies with happy employees with high morale in our land of opportunity. Sir, next, I would like to bring up the subject of Chinese language. The recent changes in our education policy on mother tongue have generated a lot of discussions in Lianhe Zaobao. Many were concerned if the learning of Chinese would be neglected or marginalised. I am speaking of learning Chinese not as a mother tongue for Singaporean Chinese only but as a language for all Singaporeans - a language that we need to learn for our future prosperity and survival as we meet the many challenges and opportunities of a rapidly growing China. In an article in the Lianhe Zaobao dated 29th February this year, Miss Pang Sin Hwa concluded that the Chinese economy is on the takeoff, whether to learn Chinese language or not, please weigh carefully. In the same article, Miss Pang also reported that media mogul, Chairman and CEO of News Corp, Mr Rupert Murdoch, has called on westerners to bring their children up to speed, in learning Chinese history, culture and language, in his keynote address at the Asia Society's Annual Dinner in New York.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in this debate. I have two issues that I would like to bring up. In an article entitled, "Unhappy staff burden Singapore economy," in the Financial Times dated 17th October last year, it was reported that according to a gallop poll survey, 17% of our Singaporean workers are actively disengaged employees, a 5% increase compared with May 2002. The poll estimates that the general level of unhappiness among the workers is causing the Singapore economy a staggering $4.5 billion a year, based on factors such as absenteeism and lower productivity. If this finding is reliable, then this is a grave matter that warrants immediate attention. If we are able to recover even part of this $4.5 billion, then it is a great boost to our economy and our companies. I think we have to take measures to remedy the situation where we have a high percentage of unhappy and disengaged workers. I am concerned whether in the preoccupation to deal with the economic crisis and new challenges, our companies have been too focused on numbers and bottomline at the neglect of the human element and, in the process, alienate or disengage our workers. Our corporate culture seems to have taken a very drastic change. It was like yesterday when we frowned on job-hoppers and valued loyalty, commitment and dedication, empowering our workers, and people first were the then buzzwords. Can we build strong companies without loyal, committed and highly motivated employees to deliver good services and make good products? Can we expect workers to be loyal and committed when their jobs are at risk whenever there is a crisis?”
“The programme has since been extended to all applicants making maintenance as well as enforcement applications. The applicants and their families are referred to the project's community partners, comprising some Community Development Councils, voluntary welfare organisations and self help groups, for a range of services such as job matching, skills training, counselling for the parents, tuition and school fee assistance for the children.”
“For jobless spouses who default on payments, and need assistance to secure a job, they can be assisted under the Work Assistance Programme (WAP). WAP is designed specifically to help Singaporeans tide over a period of unemployment and, more importantly, to help the main breadwinner quickly get back to work. The programme is open to low-income individuals and families who may have lost a source of income and who are in need, including single parent families. It provides both employment and short-term social assistance to the recipients. WAP has been implemented since October last year. Concerning the default of maintenance payments, the Family Court takes a serious view of the issue as it has an impact on the aggrieved party and the dependants. If an estranged spouse fails to make one or more payments required under a maintenance order, the spouse or ex-spouse may apply to the Family Court to enforce the maintenance order. The Court may enforce through one or more ways, including imprisonment, seizure of possessions or garnishee orders. Apart from using legal channels, the Court has also engaged and partnered various community organisations to address the problem. For example, it launched Project Hope in March 2002 to help maintenance applicants who are in urgent need of financial assistance. Eligible applicants are given food vouchers to tide over this critical period and concurrently referred to the respective Community Development Councils for further assistance. Last July, the Court also initiated Project SHINE (which stands for Supporting, Helping, Integrating, Nurturing and Enabling) to help applicants who have made at least three enforcement applications.”
“Where maintenance schemes fail, there are social support schemes that needy single parent families can tap on. These schemes provide not just financial assistance, but also support for their children's education and development. Those who need interim relief can be assisted under the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme (IFAS) or the Rental and Utilities Assistance Scheme (RUAS). Under IFAS, the families receive a monthly allowance and, where necessary, grants to help them pay for the utilities and service and conservancy charges. For families with school-going children, they can seek help from the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme. If the families do not qualify for the MOE Scheme but are in need of assistance, they can apply to IFAS to help the family with school-related expenses, including fees, transport and examination fees. For those living in rental flats, they can apply to RUAS for help in their monthly rental and utilities bills. Their children may also be exempted from paying school fees. Single parent families with young children can tap on existing pre-school assistance schemes to help them offset the cost of childcare or kindergarten education. The Centre-Based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare is one example. It provides a subsidy on top of the existing Government childcare subsidy. There is also the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KFAS) that subsidises 75% of the monthly kindergarten fees, or up to $600 a year, whichever is lower. Those who need help to pay for the before-and-after-school programmes for their children can tap on the Student Care Fee Assistance Scheme. This scheme supports children in non-profit Student Care Centres.”
“I would like to assure the Members of the House that we are working vigourously to get the business model and the funding formula out. Ultimately, when we have a sports hub, it must continue to contribute to the development of sports in Singapore and not be a drag onto the nation. I would like to assure the Member that we will try our very best. I rather not promise now that we can do it by 2007 or 2009, but give us some buffer so that we can do a proper job. SINGLE-AGAIN FAMILIES (Programmes to help) 10. Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Minister for Community Development and Sports following the Subordinate Courts report on maintenance payments, (a) what special programmes are in place to help the single-again families cope and be independent when maintenance schemes fail; (b) how many children from such families are being helped to remain in school; (c) what programmes are there to help jobless spouses, who default on payments, secure jobs; and (d) what kind of inter-ministerial cooperation is there to ensure that monies, such as the more than $6 million owing to estranged wives and children, can be recovered from ex-husbands without much difficulty. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, single parent families who need help are encouraged to turn to the Family Service Centre in their neighbourhood for assistance. Many families have found support in areas such as counselling, child management, support group, life skills training, talks and workshops beneficial. There are two agencies, HELP Family Service Centre and As Salaam Family Support Centre, which specialise in supporting single parent families. They seek to provide single parents and their children with support, skills and knowledge to enable the family to manage change and overcome challenges.”