Ong Seh Hong
Singapore
“The target groups are often the defenceless youth. We have an obligation to protect them and it is important to raise awareness and educate the public on the threat of all these cyber bullying, cyber crimes and cyber sexual hunting. Close cooperation with the parents is another instrument to combat the scourge.”
“And if the book is published, the writer still has to go through book dealers who will take a 50% cut and the books will be put under consignment, ie, payment once every three to five months. The sale of Chinese books has dropped from more than 10,000 to a few thousand, and now to around 1,000.”
“Therefore, I seek an update from MCYS on the nature and the extent of social problems relating to gambling at the casinos following the full-operations of these two casinos in Singapore. What are the control mechanisms in place and how effective have they been so far? Gambling”
“There is, for me, a simple way to tell if the Budget brings real benefits to the people and the country. If the Budget hinders us, if it taxes so severely or gives too generously that we lose our motivation to work, if it makes onerous administrative demands on us and on businesses, then it cannot be a right budget.”
“Sir, I have a few supplementary questions. First, besides denying employees from taking sick leave which is a very clear infringement of the Employment Act, there could be other forms of exploitation of the workers, such as requiring them to work unnecessarily long hours.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for giving this detailed account of what happened because there were discrepancies in the newspaper reports in the accounts by Mr Goh as well as the Police. However, I would like to ask the Minister how does the Police ascertain whether personal safety is being compromised.”
The complete record
Every one of 397 lines we hold for Ong Seh Hong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 8.
“The target groups are often the defenceless youth. We have an obligation to protect them and it is important to raise awareness and educate the public on the threat of all these cyber bullying, cyber crimes and cyber sexual hunting. Close cooperation with the parents is another instrument to combat the scourge. We must also work closely with the schools to reach out to all the students. I noted that MICA has rolled out Cyber Wellness Programme for a three-month period. May I know if MICA intends to make this a continuous programme and reach out to all children because every child in Singapore has access to Internet and every one of them is vulnerable? What more is MICA doing to "vaccinate" our youth against cyberspace ills?”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman, Sir, for giving me the privilege to make the last cut for this year's COS. Mr Chairman, the Internet is a wonderful vehicle. It has become an essential part of life, especially for the youngsters, as what the earlier hon. Member has just deliberated in his speech, that at the press of a button, we can be inundated with all sorts of information. As a practising doctor, I also observe that the cyber age has changed and re-defined the doctor-patient relationships. Today, we see patients who are knowledgeable of their conditions even before the consultations have started. Sir, the Internet, whilst having many advantages, is also a place where a lot of dangers lurk quietly to haunt our innocent and unsuspecting youths. Youth are, by nature, impressionable and susceptible to guile and deceit. A lot happens within and outside of the Internet domain, but not enough of the seedy side of the Internet is exposed and reported. For instance, what is the extent of sexual grooming and exploitation that goes on via the Internet on young and innocent boys and girls? How do we police sexual preying on the Internet? Is the Penal Code adequate as a deterrent to cyber crimes? Some students in a local school recently posted pictures of two of their female schoolmates in a toilet. They probably thought that it was a harmless prank. But once up on the Internet, it is impossible to delete. I can imagine how devastating it would be for the two female students. In another case, a young man in America, whose privacy was painfully violated, could not live with the trauma, so he committed suicide. These are just a few isolated incidents. There are many more. Sir, cyber sexual hunting, cyber bullying – all these are serious issues.”
“However, the rented space was taken back by National Arts Council (NAC) because of this. Many groups have great potential and innovative plans, but because of space constraints, their plans cannot materialise. For example, the Singapore Literature Association put forward the idea of setting up a Singapore Chinese Literature House. This is a good idea and the Association has since collected many Singapore-published books, including out-of-print editions. They are part of our cultural treasures. However, there is no place for them to exhibit the books. They tried to work with other organisations but were not successful. If these books are lost, it would be difficult to get them back. These groups also face the problem of funding. They are not-for-profit and have to raise funds constantly, yet, they still need to pay taxes like other profitable organisations. I hope the Government can help in these two areas. The lyrics of " 传灯" (pass on the light) is: Every river is a legend, From the remote hills flowing to the sea, Every lamp is incense, Lighting up gradually the dark night, For the great earth and grassland, sun and moon, For the sake of life and for blood ties, Every river must keep flowing, Every lamp must burn itself. I hope we can treasure our cultural heritage to pass on the light! Do not wait till the lamp is gone! *Cols. 4707-4710.”
“Korea, on the contrary, values her traditional culture very much. They pay great attention to rituals. Kindergartens in Korea have special "ritual rooms" to familiarise children with traditional costumes, formalities in greeting, eating and serving tea. In secondary school and university, a special class is offered whereby students, dressed in traditional Korean costume, learn tea ceremony or Korean cooking. In addition, Korea still has over 200 country schools to teach the youth humanity. They open during the summer and winter holidays and teach four main values which are similar – loyalty, filial piety, rituals and respect for seniors. Culture is the root of a nation and race. We are a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society. We cannot forget our roots and we need more resources to make them go deeper. A tree will fall without roots, no matter how leafy it is. We need to have real content and a long-lasting value. Culture should not be a still photo. It should be a part of daily life and an important cohesive power. Our support for and development of the local cultural workers are urgently needed. We need to cultivate a strong cultural army to help sink our roots deeper. We are a multi-racial society with a diversified culture. Hence, while we promote culture, we must also support ethnic cultures so that we have a flourishing diversified cultural scene. Cuisine, performance, arts and literature are means to achieve this aim. While we encourage ethnic cultural groups to play the role of preserving heritage, the Government's support is also crucial. These groups are facing two problems. First, space. Some groups rented space from NAC. Because the space is too small, they have to hold their activities outside.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] In 2008, I pleaded in Parliament to cherish our cultural heritage for the sake of our children. I quoted a saying, "better look for the root when it is still around; better not wait for the light to be gone before passing it on." I am glad to see that "passing the light" was the highlight of this year's Chingay. When President Nathan's calligraphy "传灯" (pass the light) rose slowly in the sky and the whole stadium filled with the music of "传灯", everyone felt the deep meaning of passing the light. "传灯" lyrics were written by local writer Du Nanfa 28 years ago, and music was composed by Zhang Fan. It did not cause much of a stir then. However, it became popular in Malaysia and China. A Chinese student studying in Singapore told me that when she was in Harbin, her school used to teach this song. They thought then that it was a Chinese folk song. Finally, it came to its birth place – Singapore. The story of this song touched me deeply. Our ancestors came from all over the world, leaving us a rich diversified cultural heritage. We have Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Peranakan cultures. Unfortunately, we did not preserve these cultures well and slowly they disappeared from our lives. Take performing art as an example, the Chinese dialect roadside wayang, traditional Malay and Indonesia music have all gone out of fashion. Regarding languages, few young people can speak dialects; Eurasians are worried that they will lose their unique Kristang language. The meaning of traditional festivals is lost, only their commercial value is emphasised. Many street delicacies and handicrafts, which were popular when we were young, have all disappeared.”
“And if the book is published, the writer still has to go through book dealers who will take a 50% cut and the books will be put under consignment, ie, payment once every three to five months. The sale of Chinese books has dropped from more than 10,000 to a few thousand, and now to around 1,000. These days, if the sale is more than 100, the book is considered a best seller. Some writers have no choice but to give up writing, and sometimes put their works away, never to be published. We used to see many writing competitions to encourage people of different writing abilities to participate. Now, these competitions are getting fewer and their scale is becoming smaller. We cannot develop good writers in such an environment. Literary work is an important link of our cultural heritage. Hence, I urge the Government to give more support to writers, create more avenues for them to publish their works and hold more writing competitions. This will inspire the writers and develop a group of heavy-weight writers. *Cols. 4549-4550. Promoting reading and writing”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Singapore's modern Chinese literature started from 1919, under the influence of China's May Fourth Movement. From 1919 to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, Chinese literature gradually developed into two branches – Singapore Chinese literature and Malaysia Chinese literature. Within 100 years, Singapore Chinese literature gained a strong footing in the international Chinese literature scene. However, Singapore Chinese literature started to decline from the 1980s. Sin Min Daily published an article on 3rd February this year, titled "Local Writers Struggle to Survive". The article talked about the difficulties our writers are facing. All of them are part-time writers and it is hard to make a living as a writer. No wonder these days, young Chinese writers are few. Some lament that there would not be any successors to Singapore Chinese literature anymore! Our writers need a place to publish their works. Some said that, without the newspaper literary supplements, there would be no Singapore Chinese writers. In the old days, the Chinese literature scene remained lively because we had the literary supplement section from two major newspapers and some other newspapers. In 1983, the two newspapers merged and the literary section became smaller. Zaobao only carries two "Literary City" in one week. The literary sections in the other newspapers have all disappeared. Publications from grassroots appear only in two to three issues a year, and they cannot afford to pay for the articles. As for publication, not every writer has the money to publish his own works. Sponsorship from the Arts Council and companies is rare. Hence, even for a very good piece of work, the writer would have difficulty publishing it.”
“Sir, the legalised moneylending, apart from financial institutions in Singapore, has its roots in the Nagarathar community. In early days of Singapore, they set up shops and lend money to businesses along Singapore River. These moneylenders would sit crossed-legged next to their pettagam or chests where they kept their money. This was how it looked like in those days [a photo was shown to hon. Members]. The moneylending business has certainly transformed itself. Today, legal moneylenders are regulated by an Act of Parliament – the Moneylenders Act. Indeed, recent amendments to the Act have modernised the moneylending regime. In turn, easier access to licensed moneylenders has helped to stem the scourge of illegal moneylending or "Ah Long ", where as we just heard in the MHA Committee of Supply debate, the number of cases has dropped. However, there is no cap on the rate of the interest and the various charges the legal moneylenders may impose. In my view, the reported interest rate and the various charges charged by some moneylenders are still too high. In this regard, would Minister re-consider introducing a cap? Without a cap on how much interest or fees moneylenders may charge, some argue that they are no different from "Ah Longs " or loansharks. Very often, the people who borrow from these moneylenders would have already maxed out their credit lines. They may have also already owed credit card companies a lot of money. As such, would Ministry consider increasing borrowers' education on their rights and what they should know before borrowing, such as pitfalls of borrowing beyond their means? Can the Ministry make this education compulsory? 1.45 pm Community mediation”
“And also, as we work very closely with the Medical Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Health (MOH), will there be any consideration or future plans to work together with MOH as well? Traffic accidents”
“Sir, may I know what additional initiatives the Home Team has to protect our senior citizens so that they can continue to live and enjoy their golden years in a safe and secure community? Emergency ambulance services Assoc. Prof. Fatimah Lateef: Mr Chairman, Singapore is a city state with land area of 707 square kilometres and a population of five million. There is increasing utilisation of the emergency ambulance services (EAS), with increasing equity of the type of cases transported as well. The average rise in the numbers of ambulance calls is at 6.5% to 8% per year. And the percentage of emergency calls has also increased from 60% to over 90%. Singapore is also highly urbanised, and with skyscrapers, this poses further challenge in waiting times for ambulances. Narrow landings, long corridors of various styles, lifts that do not stop on every floor yet, and delays in getting the elevators are some of the factors which affect response times. Currently, there are approximately 45 ambulances stationed at 15 fire and satellite stations nationwide. Our waiting times are not improving as much as we want to. It has not gone up from the 2.5% in the last two decades for out-of-hospital survival rates for cardiac arrest. The number of paramedics needs a boost to increase the recruitment and also to meet future manpower needs. We need to continue to upgrade and enhance their skills, knowledge and also increase their job satisfaction rate and reduce job turnover rates. What are the Ministry’s future directions for the EAS in Singapore? Are there plans to increase recruitment, enhance infrastructure and hardware?”
“The elderly is a growing segment of our population. Apart from babies and toddlers, they are the age group most vulnerable to violent crimes. Sir, Singapore is supposed to be a safe place to live, therefore, it is very disheartening to read in the papers whenever there is a violent crime against or elderly folks. Just last month, we read of a case of two teenagers punching an old lady on her face and all over her body in an attempt to snatch her handbag from her. Notwithstanding the cases reported in the press, I am, however, happy to note that crime against elderly people had actually dropped by 22% last year. This is the good work of our Home Team and, in particular, our police officers are working very hard with the stakeholders and partners in the communities. Although the statistics are encouraging, Sir, let me reiterate that our elderly folks are very vulnerable to violence and burglary, susceptible to scams and becoming easy victims and preys to crimes of all kinds. So, while the Police have increased their attention on other areas of crime, I hope that the elderly folks will not be left out and they should remain a key area for the Police. Firstly, I would like to see continuous efforts to raise public awareness of the crimes against the elderly and to let the community know what they can do to help the elderly. Secondly, even the Police cannot be everywhere, it might be a good idea to work with the younger members of the families and those in the neighbourhoods to help the elderly folks. This has the benefit of keeping an extra eye to look after the senior citizens and, additionally, they can also help the Police to pass the message of crime prevention to the elderly.”
“Therefore, I seek an update from MCYS on the nature and the extent of social problems relating to gambling at the casinos following the full-operations of these two casinos in Singapore. What are the control mechanisms in place and how effective have they been so far? Gambling”
“Sir, Singapore was ranked the second coolest nation in the world by the lifestyle and travel section of CNN. We are just behind the samba-loving country of Brazil. This is a big step forward for this friendly red dot. Not too long ago, Singapore was considered boring with very little to offer, in terms of night life. We have certainly transformed ourselves from a clean but boring city to a city with an endless run of activities to do and an exciting night life. The two casinos and other facilities at the two IRs certainly have played an important role in sprucing up the tourist image of Singapore. There is no doubt as to the economic benefits of having a casino at the two resorts. What is uncertain would be the social ills associated with the casinos at our very door step. Studies have shown that having a casino within a 10-mile radius has a significant impact on problem gambling. I was told by an ex-gambling addict that the entrance levy of $100 is no deterrence to a gambler. There is a Chinese saying: "小财不出 , 大财不入". He is saying, "put money, get money". In other words, if you do not gamble, where is the opportunity to take in money? Sir, we are seeing more people seeking help with their gambling problems or problems arising from their family members' gambling addictions. There are reported cases of people who lost millions of dollars in the casino. We also hear of cases of people turning to loansharks or selling their flats as a result of losses in the casino. We also had cases of thefts and cheating by the casino workers, and reports of prostitution or sex workers plying their trade in the casinos.”
“There is, for me, a simple way to tell if the Budget brings real benefits to the people and the country. If the Budget hinders us, if it taxes so severely or gives too generously that we lose our motivation to work, if it makes onerous administrative demands on us and on businesses, then it cannot be a right budget. Sir, a good Budget supports us in our dreams. It gives us "money enough" for education, it makes sure that we are fed, it gives us a roof over our heads, to make sure that the basics are taken care of. The rest, we have to do it ourselves, as we should. Sir, whether we are 81 or 18 years old, we all can be the "Dream Rangers". I thank the Finance Minister for a fair and sound Budget, one that does not make onerous demands and has a light yoke for the people as well as the businesses. At the same time, I would like to urge him to think of the people who have small pockets but big dreams, and to consider how much further he can help them in his next Budget. Sir, with this, I thank you and I support the Budget. 2.27 pm”
“This is what he said: "She told me I can do anything if I am determined. Even when I was not doing well in school, she believed in me. She told me that as long as I have a strong will, I will succeed. I trust her because I have seen what she can do. Despite her illness, she still goes jogging with us, she guides me in making major decisions. But the most important thing is she gives me the courage to dream big." Sir, this Budget gave this family some money, it gave them some relief from bills, it gave them a little help. The community, too, gave them some help through CDAC. So I am very happy that the Finance Minister gave $10 million to community self-help groups in the next five years so that they can continue to do more good to help more needy families like Hans. But the core of this family's success lies in the courage of their mother and the determination of their sons. Sir, the victorious overcoming of this family cannot be solely attributed to the goodies that the Budget has given them. Sir, I do not belittle the billions of dollars in public funds each year. They make a real and significant difference. They set the economy on the right track, they provide education and other opportunities to those who would otherwise not have had them, and they go towards building the large and the significant and efficient infrastructure we have in Singapore. But, yet, you cannot pay for some of the things in life. You can spend a billion dollars and, say, buy a year's worth of resilience, or of the Singapore spirit. But you cannot subsidise someone's courage to live a life of meaning and worth. There is something in life that we have to find within ourselves. Hans and his family have shown us what this something is all about.”
“She was given medical leave from February to August 2011. She now sees the doctor almost every week. And despite her illness, she never gave up and she is determined to work again when she recovers. In fact, there is an employer who is willing to employ her once she is better. Such is the warmth in our society. CDAC has been helping her family with its assistance schemes, for example, giving her rental, utility and cash grants for the past two years. And Hans has become my friend because CDAC asked me to be his mentor. So I have been meeting and speaking with him and his family in the last two years. Their determination to succeed deeply inspires me. Hans has been serving National Service (NS) since last year and he contributes at least $200 of his NS allowance to his family each month. Hans did not do well in PSLE. He got into Normal (Academic) stream. However, he did very well in secondary one, topped the cohort and was transferred to Express stream in secondary two. He continued to do well and scored seven points for his "O" levels which enabled him to get into a junior college (JC). He did equally well in JC. And he plans to do his degree in life sciences in a local university after his NS. He is now actively applying for scholarships to support his university studies. With his determination and fighting spirit, I am confident that he will achieve his goals. His brother has been diagnosed as dyslexic since 2005. With no means to seek professional help, his mother has to coach her son patiently to improve his auditory skills and learning abilities. He completed his "O" levels last year and will join a polytechnic soon to study material science. The two boys and their mother are very close. I asked Hans what is the greatest thing his mother ever did for him.”
“If you want to have a job you dream of having, work at whatever job that you have now, until you get sent for training, until you save up enough to attend advanced courses, until you are confident to go for another job interview. You do not need to wait for the Manpower Minister to put more funds in the Workfare programme. If you dream of starting a family, or have a baby in your arms, just go for it, do what is necessary, and do not worry about enrichment classes, do not over worry that your child would not be able to score all four "As" in school. One or two over-zealous schools may need four "As" to meet their KPIs, but your child does not need to do anything but to be the best that he can be. You do not need to wait for the Education Minister – you make your own judgement and guidelines about what grades mean to you and your children. Sir, my point is that we can each live our dreams, with or without help. If there is help, we get there faster. But if there is not, we should keep trying anyway. Sir, from the many stories that we have heard and also from our own experiences, it seems that we seldom see courage in completely comfortable circumstances. I have a friend called Hans. I first met him when he was 18 years old. His mother approached the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) in 2008, referred by our parliamentary colleague, Mr Chan Soo Sen. She has been a single parent for more than 10 years. She supports her two sons and her mother with a full-time job. They live in a 2-room rental flat. This lady had to switch to a part-time job in mid-2008 due to medical and other problems. She went for a surgery in 2009. At the recent medical review at the Singapore General Hospital, she was diagnosed with depressive disorder and other physical illnesses.”
“The video is about a group of Taiwanese men, average age of 81 years, who completed a round trip of the island on motorbikes in 13 days. They were nicknamed the "Dream Rangers". It was a very slick video. These old men, shaky on their legs but steady on their machines, shouting with joy in their old age as they revved their motorbikes. The video also showed them in their younger days, yelling and running on their strong legs, splashing by the sea, bursting with energy and vitality, and the wind blowing through their shirts. These five were an original seven in their younger days. Now in their 80s, helmets on their heads and their bodies on the bikes, they were riding to the sea again, to bring the photos of a dead friend and a late wife, to watch the tide go out and also the sun go down on the other end of the sea. "Why do you live?" the video asked. The answer was that "we live for our dreams". The video was a very good production, with a good message. I must admit that it turned out to be an advertisement for a bank. This is a bit of an anti-climax actually. But artists need to get their funding from somewhere. If it is not from the Government, MICA or NAC, banks will do just as well, I guess. Nonetheless, it was a good video with a very positive message. So the answer I find in this video is this: if you have a dream, you live it. If you find a woman you love, you marry her. If you have no money for a large wedding in a posh hotel, do it at a community centre. If you do not have a flat, rent a room. Marriage is not just about money and you do not need to wait for the Finance Minister to dish out incentives to get married.”
“So I hope that Government will continue to share the fruits whenever there is good economic performance. I would like to sum this up in a sentence, in Mandarin, "Guo jia nian nian da feng shou, guo ren sui sui you qian shou. " 2.16 pm The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me the time to join in the debate. Sir, when the Finance Minister's Budget was released, we read about the many families that will benefit. Some will get a few hundred, others a few thousand dollars. Some told stories of bills that will be paid, new starts to their lives, turnabout at jobs because of training for new skills. All these, I see as stories of hope, and the people benefited from the Budget have laid out their own plans far ahead. I had a feeling that they would have reached their goals sooner or later and this Budget just made it sooner. On the other hand, there were also articles and postings on the mainstream and the new media. The Budget was thought to be underwhelming by some. They wrote, "There is nothing for me. How will I get married if the Government does not help me buy a flat? Why are there no goodies for me if I live in a landed property? How come houses are so expensive? And why are the Growth Dividends just given out near election time?" Sir, I do not know whether anyone can find a perfect answer to all these questions. But I did watch a three-minute YouTube video recently that gave me a reply. It was called, "Why do you live?" You can go to YouTube website and type "Dream Rangers" and you will get a video. This was sent to me by a grassroots leader.”
“I try to persuade them to start table tennis at Primary 1, and very often they tell me that they have used up all their fundings. I have been having meetings practically every week with potential sponsors. Many people know that I am like a "Professional Begging President" (PBP). Very often, I present to them the programmes that STTA has. After the presentation, very often, they will tell me that, "Very good. You have a very good programme but I think that should be the job of Government." In the recent funding that was just released, STTA received 43% of the funding that we asked for. Of course, we hope that the Government could do more. Higher citizen participation rate in sports is highly beneficial to the nation as a whole. Sports is an important catalyst that promotes bonding between people of all ages. Regular participation in sports promotes good health. All these translate to happier and healthier citizens who have greater energy and metabolism which in turn lead to increased productivity. I urge the Minister to set aside more resources to promote a sporting culture in Singapore. Last but not least, generous payouts and surpluses are possible this year due to cautious spending and effective measures as always. Last year, our Government took swift action, bringing the Budget forward and introducing new measures. *Cols. 3189-3190; 3191-3194. Our leaders work very hard to give the best to the nation and the people, just like how we, as parents, work very hard to give our children the best. I am sure many of you, like myself, whenever we get a promotion, good increment or good bonuses, we will give our family members a treat, including the favourite and hot chilli crabs.”
“It is reportedly the first country to draft guidelines to improve the appeal of older workers. They introduced the Finnish National Programme on Ageing Workers (FINPAW) in 1998, a five-year programme designed to promote experience as a national asset. Highlights included education campaigns emphasising the value of older workers, worker and management training, research and development work to improve working life for the ageing population, and providing information about older workers. FINPAW was highly effective and it increased the employment rate for the age group 55 to 64 from 36% in 1998 to almost 48% by 2002, that is, 12% increase in four years. We, too, had a recent campaign to promote experience as a national asset, involving visual advertisements that featured prominent senior citizens who still played active roles in the workforce. I feel it was too passive and did not have the intended impact. We should adopt an active and direct approach. We should give training to employers or management staff to help them understand how to treat their older staff and how they can utilise their older employees’ capabilities to maximum benefit without compromising efficiency. With better understanding about older employees, employers will be keener to hire them. I am glad to hear that more funding will be allocated to Arts and Culture. When Minister Tharman mentioned this, I was pulling my ears wide and long like rabbit's ear, hoping that I would hear something on sports. However, there was no mention about additional funding to promote sports, which came as a surprise to me. Let me share my experience as Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) President. I have been to many primary schools – meeting school principals and teachers-in-charge of sports.”
“It is not that they do not want to reduce the manpower. Just like our children may sometimes come to us and tell us: "Mommy, mommy. I have studied very hard. I spend every minute of my waking hours studying but I still cannot achieve the KPI that you have set, that is, to be in the top 10 in class." As parents, do we give our children more pressure? Do we re-examine the KPI? Or do we show them the way by sitting together to re-examine how to achieve what we want? I hope that the relevant authorities will go one step further and educate the companies on how they can reduce reliance on workers and how to tap the National Productivity Fund (NPF). It is prudent that these companies embrace productivity and work towards reducing reliance on manpower without compromising quality of work. We must reach out to these companies and show them the way or they may simply pass the levy hikes to consumers and cause further inflation. We need to encourage employers to make good use of possible tax rebates and send their workers for further education and training. We have all the relevant tools and assistance schemes at hand. All we have to do now is to create awareness, persuade them to change their business management mindsets and show them the way. I note with special interest that the implementation of the one-off Special Employment Credit for older Singaporean workers covered by the Workfare scheme. I understand that the purpose of this scheme is to encourage employers to continue hiring older workers. However, they may stop doing so once this Credit scheme is fully paid out. I hope the Government will continue to propose long-term measures that will ensure the continued employment of older workers. I wish to cite the example of Finland, a country that is also ageing.”
“Sharing financial surplus is a quick and effective solution, but it is nonetheless temporary, unless the Government can guarantee similar Budget every year. We must provide means to Singaporeans to maintain a stable income even in times of difficulty. Can the Budget provide more incentives to people who are involved in skills upgrading? We have various schemes to help citizens and the business to have higher income and to receive rebates. However, from the feedback I received and the response to media interviews, many Singaporeans know that the Government is handing out bonus, but they do not know how much they can get. Recently, I noticed from my residents’ feedback that more Singaporeans are in favour of self-employment. They can get cash after a day’s work. They like it because this arrangement will give them more freedom. However, without contribution to CPF, they cannot get Workfare bonus. They do not know that they do not have to go through an employer and they can contribute to CPF on their own to enjoy Workfare. Hence, I urge the Government to do more to reach out to the self-employed, especially the low-income earners, and encourage them to pay to Medisave on their own so that they can enjoy Workfare. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, I now move on to the issue of levy hikes on the employment of foreign workers. The Government’s aim is to encourage employers to heed the call for greater productivity. However, in the short term, the levy hikes are painful, especially for SMEs and industries that are highly unpopular with Singaporean workers, such as the construction, services and manufacturing sectors. Some business owners in the services industries told me that they have no clue on how to go about reducing manpower.”
“Our ageing population is not living only in HDB estates. Elderly people living in landed properties also need a safe and easy environment to move around. Barrier-free facilities will also facilitate the movement of pregnant and disabled residents. If they have space to move around conveniently, the elderly can interact more and stay healthy. We all know MRT is a popular mode of transport, convenient and indispensable. It is also used frequently by the elderly. I am pleading again here for lifts to be installed at the overhead bridges connected to MRT stations. Every time I stand under the Khatib overhead bridge, I see an elderly person limping up the stairs with great difficulty. My heart aches. I have raised the issue many times in Parliament. From talking to the elderly people, I can see how hard it is to climb these stairs. I can understand them as I have knee problem too. I am looking forward to the installation of a lift at the Khatib MRT station overhead bridge in this financial year. Last year, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary told us that he would give me an answer in April. I had followed up with him subsequently. I understand that they are still studying but I hope they do not take too long to study. Regarding transport concessions for the elderly, I hope the Government can discuss with the operators to extend the time of concession. This will help the working elderly, cutting the cost of commuting to and from work. Currently, elderly people can only enjoy the concession rate starting from 9.00 am. Although this year’s Budget is designed to alleviate the impact of inflation, more importantly, it is to teach people how to fish.”
“I call on the Government to exercise more prudence than what we already have and save for stormy days ahead. With that note, Sir, I support the Budget Statement. *Cols. 3187-3188. 2.00 pm Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio) (In Malay ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*. ] I would like to congratulate the Finance Minister and his team for planning a Budget that is comprehensive, far-sighted and that touches on critical issues. The most important and complex issue is the inflation rate. This year’s Budget has addressed the issue and helped Singaporeans cope with the higher cost of living. I would like to state that many residents in my constituency are satisfied with this year’s Budget and the assistance being offered. I am also pleased that the Government has set aside $10 billion to upgrade the HDB housing estates. With this upgrading, the older housing estates will be rejuvenated with facilities that can meet the needs of residents. It will also ensure homes that are more comfortable, peaceful and something that HDB residents can be proud of. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Sir, I am pleased to see that the Government is setting aside $10 billion to upgrade HDB estates. This will rejuvenate the old estates and the residents living there will get new facilities to meet their needs, making their home safer and more comfortable. This is truly beneficial to the HDB dwellers and they should be proud of it. However, I hope the Minister can also set aside some money to improve the private estates’ facilities and safety. I raised this issue many times. For example, residents of Yio Chu Kang Garden are facing this problem of having to climb many stairs to go to the pasar or bus stops.”
“I believe our assets managed by MAS, GIC and Temasek were also adversely affected to some extent, no matter how well diversified they might have been. They should have been recovered to some extent and to varying degrees by now. But I would like to know, though, what was the double impact of us having to draw on our past reserves when it was hit during the crisis and, at the same time, it was a time we really needed to use it most. I would like to find out if our reserves have continued to grow in real terms since then. Sir, with the current world economic and political situations, I think we have to be even more prudent and cautious and prepare ourselves for more uncertainties and the future crises. This is particularly so in the face of predicted lower expected returns from our reserves in the future. I quote the Finance Minister's reply to former NMP Gautam Banerjee in this House in 2009. I quote, "The expected rates of return which are estimates of the average returns expected over the next 20 years reflected the GIC and MAS Boards assessment that the future investment environment is likely to be less benign than over the last 20 years. The expected rates of return for the individual asset classes over the next 20 years are in fact generally lower than their historical rates." The Year of the Rabbit started off with much to be positive about because of last year's unprecedented economic growth. However, we have an ageing population on hand, with an increasing demand on our limited resources and I predict the decreasing tax base, maybe, in the future. Yet, the expected returns on our reserves over the next 20 years are lower in view of the uncertain global economic outlook. We therefore have to start saving more now for our future.”
“For example, we would need to build more hospitals, nursing homes, day centres and other facilities. We need to hire more doctors and nurses as well as many other healthcare and social service workers. I think my point is clear. On this rising demand on our very limited resources, we need no sober reminder that we are a small island-state with no natural resources to fall back on. While we really need to save more money and resources for the future, I note that we have actually started spending more money from our reserves in the last two years. Prior to 2009, the Government was allowed to spend only what was defined as Net Investment Income (NII) from the past reserves. Briefly, NII was computed only based on dividends and interest income. The amount the Government was allowed to draw on was around $2 billion with the exception of FY2008, which I noted was at about $4.3 billion. In 2008, this House approved the changes that allowed a new computation of NIRC that is based on the expected real rate of returns over the next 20 years and that includes the capital gain. With the changes to this NIRC, the amount rose to $7 billion in FY2009 and $7.8 billion in the last FY and is estimated to be about $7.7 billion in the coming FY2011. In short, we are only able to have a generous Budget this year, as well as returning the $4 billion to our reserves because of the changes we made in 2008. It is, therefore, fair to say that if we have not changed the rules in 2008, the amount that we may be able to carry forward would have been much lesser. The other event that concerns me is, just after the change to NIRC, the world was hit by the worst financial crisis in history.”
“Sir, while we are celebrating this astonishing fiscal achievement, may I urge everybody to look carefully and think about how we managed to achieve this enviable position? Sir, if you look carefully, after taking into account Special Transfers excluding top ups to Endowment and Trust funds, our fiscal position FY2010 was actually in the deficit of $2.5 billion. It was only after the Net Investment Return Contribution (NIRC) from our reserves of $7.8 billion that we managed to have a nearly balanced FY2010 of a slight deficit of $0.3 billion after considering top ups to Endowment and Trust funds. If not for our reserves and the use of its return, we would have been in a Budget deficit last year and many other previous years. We would not have been able to offer the Resilience Package that helped us through the global financial crisis and get out of it so rapidly and effectively. But what about the future? Going forward, we have to prepare ourselves for the challenge of an ageing population. We face the twin problems of falling fertility rate and the need to control the number of immigrants into Singapore. On one hand, we are not replacing ourselves fast enough or adequately. On the other hand, we have to manage the inflow of new migrants and foreign workforce in order to maintain our social stability. As a result, our population is getting older at a faster pace while the manpower base to support our economy is indeed getting smaller. With a greying population, there will be a decreasing tax base and collections eventually. On the other hand, our elderly dependency ratio will increase. And this elderly population would also demand more funding for healthcare, social safety net and other elderly friendly infrastructures on all fronts.”
“(In English ): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak in this Budget Statement debate. I have mixed feelings regarding the Budget as announced by the Finance Minister. For my fellow Singaporeans, I am happy for them. Everyone would be receiving something from the Growth and Share package in one form or another and many of them really need the extra help. However, I am worried that this is something that they have come to expect every year around Budget time. Perhaps because the Budget in Singapore is almost always presented close to the Chinese New Year period, Singaporeans, too, are expecting hongbao, ie, red packets, from the Finance Minister every year. During a bad year, one expects relief and assistance packages. This, I can understand. However, during a good year, if one also expects goodies and bonuses, this indeed is not a healthy national culture. In the Forum page of the Straits Times and at some dialogue sessions, there are already Singaporeans demanding that whenever there is budget surplus, the Government must give dividends away. Sir, is this the beginning of the long slide down to a culture of demand? I have spoken on many previous occasions in this House of my concerns with this unhealthy expectation of goodies every Budget and, Sir, please pardon me as I am going to repeat it this year. First, let me applaud our Government for taking the most prudent step in returning the $4 billion back into our reserves. In spite of dishing out a generous package to our people, we are still able to return the $4 billion. This is something that very few countries around the world can do.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Speaker, Sir, when our economy was in recession, the Government did not forget to give its people and businesses relief packages in its Budget. Last year, we achieved a strong 14% growth, and this year's Budget handed people a very substantial hongbao so that everyone can share the fruits of economic development. However, while handing out hongbao, we must let people know that they should not take it for granted that the economy will always grow at this fast pace. The reason we can overcome one hurdle after another is because we have a capable Government, a united people and a large reserve as our backup. I told a story during the Budget debate two years ago about a ship running into a storm. The sailor says: when a person encounters hardships, he tends to become hysterical. However, when the situation gets worse, he feels how lucky he was previously. On the other side, people tend to want more. When he has one egg, he wants two; when he has two, he wants four. Such mentality is dangerous. This year's honghao is unprecedented and is considered very rare even in other countries. However, there are still people feeling unsatisfied, asking the Government for more. It is necessary that we instil the philosophy of self-reliance in the people, so that they do not rely on the Government too much. Handing out hongbao is a kind of sharing, not welfare. Dependency will create laziness in people and it is detrimental to our nation's fundamental values. With an ageing population and stricter immigration control, our tax revenue may decrease over time. At the same time, an ageing society will have higher demand on healthcare and welfare. Therefore, we must save more when we have surplus and prepare for the future.”
“Sir, I have a few supplementary questions. First, besides denying employees from taking sick leave which is a very clear infringement of the Employment Act, there could be other forms of exploitation of the workers, such as requiring them to work unnecessarily long hours. I would like to ask whether there is any clear guideline on the working hours and the demands that the employer can make on the employees during festive periods. Secondly, I would like to know whether there are any cases of complaint of exploitation during festive periods by the workers and, if there are, how many are there in the last few years. And, thirdly, what is the redress that workers can seek?”
“Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister whether this incident would have any adverse impact on the state of communal relations in Singapore and what his Ministry would do to allay any anxiety that some communities may have.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for giving this detailed account of what happened because there were discrepancies in the newspaper reports in the accounts by Mr Goh as well as the Police. However, I would like to ask the Minister how does the Police ascertain whether personal safety is being compromised. In this incident, the photographer is someone with experience. Although he did not display his journalist pass, he probably would have taken all the necessary steps to protect himself from falling into the water. How was this judgement made on the ground? I think people are worried that they may be stopped unnecessarily by the Police. Secondly, I would like to find out what are the steps or measures that have been taken to prevent such incidents from happening again to prevent misunderstanding and unhappiness in the public as well as the media.”
“The Renaissance period was a cultural movement that profoundly affected the whole of Europe. It produced great artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. With the diverse cultures found in Singapore today, we will be the ideal place for the start of a cultural renaissance for the region. However, whatever we do it must never be at the expense of any culture. We have a healthy respect for the equal importance of each and every culture here. It is a principle that we must not compromise on. We must embrace new cultures while preserving our existing one. Our pursue of cultural vibrancy must follow two guiding lights. First, it must foster unity and promote harmony amongst the various races. Second, we should explore the economic advantage of our cultural diversity. The economic dimension is important and it will ensure sustainability. 3.30 pm Sir, while most people are supportive of multi-culturalism, there are some critics that claim that diversity is the enemy of unity. History and our experience have proven that diversity, in fact, enriches and unites a society. We should be committed to supporting the cultural heritage of Singaporeans. Nevertheless, multiculturalism may sometimes pose challenges to some members of our society, particularly the young people. They may be confused or have conflict of identities when they are faced with these diverse cultures. Multiculturalism is more than just acknowledging people's particular heritage. It should also recognise that individuals can draw from different cultures in shaping their own identity. I look to MICA and the Ministry's agencies to embrace and tap on the diverse richness of our many newcomers and make Singapore a culturally more vibrant society. Media, arts and our cultural identity”
“Such was the openness of the Tang people to embrace new things. Sir, the infusion of foreign influence during the Tang dynasty benefited and enriched China for more than 300 years. Singapore today is a cosmopolitan city. When I visited Astoria Park Condominium in my ward recently, I was greeted by Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Finns, Russians, Swedish and even Africans. More than one million foreigners live in Singapore. They come with rich cultures and traditions of their own. I believe they add to the richness and vibrancy of our already colourful and diverse multi-culturalism. Let us seize the opportunity to tap on the cultural diversity of this million of people. Let us be the oasis of the world. Kotan, a Chinese city in the present day Xinjiang, was one of the important oasis to the silk route traders. Marco Polo described Kotan as the most splendid city in the capital of the kingdom. Singapore sits at the crossroads of East and West. We were one of the oases along the maritime trade routes during the time of Majapahit empire when we were known as Temasek. When we became a British trading port in the 19th century, we were once again subjected to cultural influences of traders and migrants passing through. Sir, can we afford to close ourselves up? There is another lesson for us from Chinese history. China shut its door in Ming dynasty after Admiral Zheng Ho's seventh naval expeditions and remained so until the Ching dynasty. China ended up poorer for it. What happened to the city of Kotan I mentioned earlier? The isolationist policy of the Ming dynasty condemned Kotan to the desert elements eventually buried by the sand. Hence, we need to have policies of enhancing and tapping on our cultural diversity.”
“Sir, a city with people from China, Japan, Korea, India, Vietnam, Persia, Central Asia and many other parts of the world. Places of worship for Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Ladies with blonde hair and blue eyes working side by side with locals in taverns, serving drinks, too, and entertaining customers with songs and dance. Is this Singapore? No. This was a scene from the city of Chang'an during the Tang dynasty more than 1,400 years ago. The Tang dynasty was the golden age of Chinese culture and economic development. It produced two of the greatest poets in Chinese history. One of them, Li Bai, was born in a town in Kazakhstan, some historians even believed that Li Bai was not a Han Chinese but a foreigner. An anthology of 310 poems is still the primer for many students of Chinese poetry. The Tang style of writing poems remained a dominant style until the earlier 20th century. Tang law codes remained in force until Ming dynasty revised it 600 years later. Printing and gunpowder were two inventions that profoundly affected the emergence of modern works. Why did the Tang dynasty prosper? I believe it was partly because of its open-door policy and tolerance attitude. Through the sea trade and silk routes, Tang dynasty not only benefited from doing businesses with the world but also gained many new technologies, cultural practices, contemporary items and new ideas. Songs, dances and musical instruments from foreign regions became popular in China. Even the foreign concept of chair – here I am referring to the inanimate object of chair for sitting and not the chair as in Chairmanship – was gradually adopted by the Tang. For hundreds of years, Chinese used to sit cross legged on the floor.”
“We have the Sedition Act and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act to prevent any overheating of religious fervour hurting our society. As a society, we have done a lot to promote greater interactions between the different faiths. Our Government has set out a very clear guideline that "While each of us is free to propagate our religious beliefs, it must never be by way of insulting or denigrating the religious beliefs of others." 6.30 pm Yet in spite of all these attempts, we still see people pushing beyond the OB markers. For example, we have the couple who was charged and convicted for mailing seditious materials to three Muslim civil servants. More recently, there was the uproar caused by Pastor Rony Tan. Madam, while I declare my interest as a practising Buddhist, I am not singling out any particular faith or anyone. I am more concerned that why, despite our clarity on the boundary for promoting one’s religion and faith and our constant call on maintaining religious harmony, we continue to see people pushing the boundary in the name of their religions. Madam, have we not shown how serious we are in maintaining religious harmony? Is this the reason why people still think that they can get away by attacking another’s faith? I think perhaps it is timely for the Home Affairs Ministry to consider sending out stronger and clearer signals of our resolve whenever there is a breach. It is especially important when the breach is by a leader of a religious group as he or she would have a far greater sphere of influence. Finally, maybe it is timely for us to consider making it compulsory for all our religious clerics, no matter what is their faith, to undergo a course on religious harmony and the guidelines before they are allowed to preach in Singapore.”
“Madam, His Excellence Pope Benedict said, I quote, "Religions are for peace and reconciliation – they should not be interpreted otherwise," and he further stated, "The best way forward is via authentic dialogue based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another better, respecting differences and recognising what we have in common." His Excellency was making this statement in his first visit to Turkey calling for religious tolerance between the Muslims and the Christians, and, in general, for tolerance between all faiths. The late Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, a man highly respected for his religious tolerance, once wrote, "For you, your religion; for me, my religion". For a religious man and religious leader of Indonesia’s biggest Muslim organisation, if not the world, he showed tremendous respect and tolerance for the belief of other faiths. One of the first things he did after becoming President was to participate in prayers at a Hindu temple in Bali. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama said, "I always say that every person on this earth has the freedom to practise or not practise religion. It is all right to do both." His Holiness throughout his practice has closely adhered to the virtue of multi- religious society and a healthy respect for each other. Madam, here in Singapore, we are also a multi-racial and multi-religious society. With globalisation, in fact, we get more diverse. We also place very high values on the need to maintain religious tolerance and harmony here. Besides "soft approaches", our Government recognised the need to introduce legislation to ensure that there is religious harmony and not leave things to chance.”
“There were also reports of students trying their luck at casinos after they got their study loans and expectedly they ended up with nothing to pay for their tuition fee. I am afraid of Singapore undergraduates trying their luck in the casino and do likewise. Another social menace is the evolution of illegal money lending and the harassments that followed. In Macau, a young man with a university degree from UK was recently prosecuted for loan sharking activities. He had offered a man in a casino in Macau a loan of HK$80,000 but the loan was to be signed with a legalised financial institution. The lender took the loan but lost everything. He was later harassed into repaying an amount of HK$188,000. Madam, it might be too early to predict what would happen in our casinos but I urge MHA to continue to keep a close watch on all these potential areas of social problems and tackle them as early as possible. I would also like to know whether our agencies, like CRA and CCIB, are adequately staffed to do these jobs in addition to their existing work. Creating a Singaporean Singapore”
“Madam, the first of the two casinos in Singapore has opened for less than a month. Yet, there are already two cases of fraud reported. Then there is also a newspaper report of sexily dressed women plying the flesh trade in the casino hall on Sentosa. Madam, when we allowed the incorporation of a casino to the integrated resort to help boost tourism in Singapore, I was one of the Members of Parliament who supported it. The House was then assured of measures and resources put in place to keep out casino-related crimes. The Ministry has set up the Casino Regulations Authority (CRA) and the Casino Crime Investigation Branch (CCIB). We are also trying to control the social problem related to uncontrolled gambling. Madam, I am glad to note that MHA and related agencies have concentrated and deployed a lot of our resources to ensure that the casino operations are regulated, such as the licensing of special employees, prevention of money laundering activities and junket licensing. However, it is just as important that we do not overlook the social menaces and problems associated with gambling and we must be sure that we are prepared to prevent them from happening and, if not, to manage them well should they occur. No matter how well prepared we are, there are always surprises in life. I read that a former Australian floor manager working in a casino in Adelaide wrote of a disturbing trend of children being left in hotel car parks while their parents played in the casinos. In the United Kingdom, there were incidences of students gambling in the casino to try to pay off their study loans and we all know these people ended up deeper in financial troubles.”
“Although many VWOs have been performing an excellent job providing social support and care to seniors, more can be done and I feel that this is a job that requires the wider community involvement. I suggest that we set up more centres for elderly to drop in, socialise, exercise, and get advice on health matters and other social issues. These centres should ideally be located near the elderly's home. Therefore, they should be built on a precinct level and not on a constituency level. They should be run, involving the local communities. These centres should also keep a register of elderly living alone on whom the volunteers and staff can keep a watchful eye.”
“Mdm Chair, in the early 20th century, Sago Lane in Chinatown used to be such a sad place. It was where the lonely immigrants from China, who were here for work but because of many reasons were not able to return back to home, went to rent a place at one of the many death houses. They would pay the operator a small fee in return for a small foldable bed for them to sleep until they died. The house would then look after their last rites. It was a sad business to be in but these houses offered a service to lonely migrant workers during their last journey in life. Because of this service, Sago Lane was also known as "sei yan kai", or the Street of Dead People. Fast forward to Singapore today, we have a growing number of elderly living alone. I am afraid this number will continue to grow further in future. However, living alone has its downfall for the elderly as it increases their risk of ill health, affecting their physical and mental wellbeing. It is sad that, until today, we still hear of elderly people dying in their flats and were discovered only when the smell of their decomposed bodies aroused the attention of the neighbours. Madam, these elderly folks who die alone tend to be also from the less-advantaged group, lower-income group, with no family support. And they tend also to live in poverty and probably living out the last days of their life in a miserable state. The luckier ones might be known to and received some help from many of our VWOs. Madam, therefore, it is important to look after this vulnerable group of elderly. For a start, we could draw them out and encourage them to interact socially and find ways to remain active. Studies have shown that social interactions and regular exercise can improve the wellbeing and cognitive functions of elderly persons.”
“Therefore, to succeed we must look at how we are able to establish new relations with our workers, customers and the environment. In the past, businessmen depended on how to exploit others in order to make money from the remaining value, but today's enterprises depend on creating value. He encourages the enterprises not to be complaining all the time. He said, "This world does not lack complaints, what it lacks is the means to settle these complaints." "To succeed you must work hard! The market does not come with research. You must fight all the way to open it." In order to realise the dreams, we must put our ideas into action. So long as our people from all walks of life can work in one heart and one mind, dare to innovate, dare to try out new things, we will be able to realise our dreams. I support the Budget Statement. *Cols. 3023-3028. TIME LIMIT FOR SPEECHES (Suspension of Standing Orders) With the consent of Mr Speaker and the general assent of Members present, Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No. 48(8) in respect of the reply to be made by the Minister for Finance. – [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT 1.51 pm Debate resumed.”
“Last night, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and the MPs for Marine Parade GRC had a dialogue session with our grassroots leaders on the 2010 Budget. One grassroots leader, who is in the construction industry, gave an example. He said that Housing Board's Lift Upgrading Project is still using the "Bored Micropile System", although a few years ago he had suggested to HDB to make use of another method known as the "Driven Micropile System". According to him, this new method is four times faster and 30% cheaper. It is only 70% of the cost of the conventional method. But the HDB rejected his suggestion on the ground that this new system was a "Percussion Method". I sincerely hope that the Government departments could be more flexible and allow our enterprises to be more creative. As for the SMEs, how are we going to help them? We often hear proprietors of SMEs saying that business is getting more and more difficult to operate. A very famous business man, Hu Xueyan, from the Qing dynasty in China said, "Business may be more and more difficult, but the more difficult it is, the more opportunities there will be." The key is on our foresight. Yes, our businessmen should look further ahead. If your vision is confined to only one city, you can only do one city's business. If you look at one country, you will do only one country's business. But if you look at the whole world, you will have global business. Globalisation and Internet have brought us a lot of global competition, but they have also opened up a sea of global opportunities. The CEO of Alibaba, Ma Yun, is full of confidence for the SMEs. He said the 21st century is not a century for the big enterprises and the big scale. The big dreams of small enterprises should be typical of the 21st century.”
“He should make full use of imagination, have new ideas and better processes, so as to provide better services and products. Take a look at the handphone. Thirty years ago, when the handphone was first introduced, it was as big and as heavy as a piece of brick, and its function was only limited to voice communication. Today, the handphone is very tiny, but it is so versatile that it can be used for communication, sending SMS, sending images, surfing the Net, and even sending emails, for GPS and for playing games. Although the first round of dot-com bubble had caused thousands of start-up companies to go bankrupt, today's Internet has enabled companies like Yahoo!, Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, etc, to provide all sorts of services, create new needs, open new markets and thereby creating trillions of market value. Mr Speaker, Sir, in order that our creative economy may succeed, we must continue to encourage and promote the creative culture and the creative spirit among our schools, the Government departments, private sectors and the people. Our people should be given more space for creativity. The Government should minimise interference and maximise encouragement. The Government departments should also make corresponding adjustments so that the private sectors could have more space to make full play of their creativity. For example, in tender exercises, can we not be less rigid so that the bidding companies can submit different but creative proposals that may be even more effective? At the same time, the Government should also be willing to undertake risks to test out new proposals, and not be too rigid and afraid of making mistakes. They should not be too conservative and stick to the same old models and follow the old rules.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, raising productivity may be important, but I hope that the Government will not neglect another even more important strength – that is, creativity in our economy. We need to have creativity to push productivity. In today's new economy, if we depend on the traditional production methods of "doing more, doing better", it is not enough. It is not enough to push the economic development of Singapore because if we were to raise productivity on our existing industries, we could only achieve very minimal and very gradual progress. In order that Singapore would continue to develop and be prosperous, the Government should ensure that the policy we promote would be one that leads to a Creative Economy. Only through a creative economy can we achieve a quantum leap in our development. With a creative economy, we will be able to create value and to create high-value jobs. Coca-cola is a century-old company established in 1886. Its market value now is US$122 billion. Google has a history of less than 15 years. It is a company emerged from the information technology, and its market value is already US$172 billion. Another company, the Apple Inc., from its origin as a personal computer manufacturer, progressed over the years with innovations and all sorts of new inventions, such as Mac, iPod, iPhone. In less than 30 years, its market value has grown to US$189 billion. To enable Singapore to develop into a creative economy, creative thinking, creative concept and creative spirit should be extended to all trades and all industries, and not to be confined to the creative industries like media, advertising, design, etc. Every Singaporean must be creative.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Speaker, Sir, I am very honoured to be the concluding speaker in the debate on this year's Budget Statement and I have more people in the audience. In 2007, when the Government announced its intention to amend the Constitution to empower the Government to make use of the net investment return (NIR) of the national reserves, I expressed my concern. I was worried that we were beginning to eat into our capital, making use of "ah gong's " money and, thereby, depleting our reserves. In 2008, I again urged the Government, the Ministers, MPs and members of public, not to treat the annual Budget as a time for the Government to distribute angpows. I was worried that people would begin to have unrealistic expectation on the Budget, thinking that the Government will be distributing angpows whether in good time or in bad time. Last year, I told a story of an old man who spent $2.50 on a bowl of fishball noodles while his grandson went and enjoyed a bowl of abalone noodle costing $42. I am concerned because our young people seem to be using their grandfather's money freely, and taking it for granted. This year, I am very happy because the Finance Minister actually gave me a bigangpow, in the form of not distributing any angpow to the people. This year, the bigangpow is that the Government is focusing on how to prepare for Singapore's economic development in the next 10 years, with emphasis on raising our long-term competitiveness. Only then can we continue to compete in this highly competitive global economy and to have a share of the pie so that our people can enjoy a better standard of living.”
“Because he made so much noise, the captain could not concentrate on steering the ship. An old sailor appeared and said, "Let me deal with him. Let me, this old fellow, deal with this passenger." How did he deal with him? He got a few people and used a rope to tie up the noisy passenger and threw him overboard, into the sea. Of course, the passenger was even more frightened and made a lot of noise. But he continued to let the passenger stay in the waters and then, later on, saved him. Of course, after the passenger returned to the ship, he became very quiet and no longer made noise. So the old sailor said, "When a person is thrown into a difficult situation, the immediate reaction is hysteria. But when he finds that the situation becomes even worse, he will then realise how lucky he was previously." Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not suggesting that the Government should throw its people who are not happy with the Government into the sea. I know our Government is kind-hearted and will never deliberately let our citizens suffer a worse fate. Let me use this opportunity to say that we should appreciate our fortune, all the things that we have and what the Government has done for all of us, and not wait until we regret later. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the crisis we face is the worst in the last 50 years since our nation building, and it is not the first time and it would not be the last time that we will face such a challenge. The most important thing is that our people must be united. Together, we will not be afraid of difficulties. We must be willing to face the difficulties to get out of this crisis, so that we will have a better and brighter tomorrow. I support and thank the President for his Address. *Cols. 687-692.”
“Jerry went to New York and realised that there was opportunity to make money everywhere. And because he was from the countryside – he was a farmer – he had some understanding of the soil condition. He made use of some soil from the country which was free of charge, and then he added some dried leaves and grass to produce fertiliser. And he packed them into bags which were suitable for New Yorkers who live in high-rise buildings to be used in flower pots as fertilisers. So he started his business providing fertilisers, and became a successful businessman. A few years later, Jerry went to Boston to tour the place and he saw a shrivelled beggar on the roadside coming to him to ask for money. When they exchanged glances, they stopped in their tracks, because a few years ago they exchanged train tickets. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, what I want to say is that opportunities are up to us to discover and seize. We must have the resolution and the determination to increase our chances of success. Dr Vivian and some MPs said, "We will come across some people, who will always be unhappy in whatever they do. They always think that the society, the country, and the Government owe them something." How do we deal with these people? Let me tell you the last story – the captain, the passenger and the old sailor. There was a ship that met with a storm. The ship had a very capable captain. The captain settled down all the passengers and wanted to control the helm, so that the ship could ride through the storm safely. But, at this time, a passenger made a lot of noise. He cried and shouted, blamed heaven and earth and everybody. He also blamed the captain for the storm and the difficult situation.”
“Of course, the wolves started chasing the deer. They wanted to eat the deer. So the deer started to run away. Gradually, in running around, the deer became stronger and stronger, and recovered their previous health and increased their numbers. Mr Deputy Speaker, the wolves are not necessarily a bad thing. Pressure and crisis are everywhere. They will always appear. The most important thing is how do we face it. How do we deal with pressure? A certain amount of pressure and a sense of crisis will raise our consciousness and make us more ready to deal with any sudden change. It will increase our ability to deal with it, help us progress and go forward. Now, my third story – the villagers, New York and Boston. There were two villagers from the countryside, and let us call them Tom and Jerry. Tom wanted to go to New York to look for a job. Jerry planned to go to Boston. When they bought the tickets at the station, they asked around to check what kind of cities they were. They found out that the New Yorker was very cold. If you wanted to ask for direction, you had to pay. In Boston, the people were very kind-hearted and full of love. When they saw the homeless on the street, they felt sorry and they would help the homeless people. Tom said, "Oh, fortunately, I have not got on the train to New York yet." He changed his mind, and wanted to go to Boston. But Jerry had a different idea and thought, "New York is not bad. Even when you help to point a direction, which is such a simple thing, you can make money. It is really excellent." So the two of them exchanged tickets. Tom went to Boston, and he found out that Boston was very good. In one or two months, he did not work and did not get hungry.”