Ow Chin Hock
Singapore
“Thirdly, I believe that Mr Simon Tay referred to links with ASEAN+3. Let me say that we do not preclude any such flexibility. Indeed, APEC is an established forum linking Australia and New Zealand with ASEAN and East Asia.”
“Sir, I am not an expert on the Constitution, but I am aware that the Supreme Court's ruling is different from Mr Estrada being impeached and convicted in the Senate. NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES IN SINGAPORE (Facilities) 2. Mr J. B.”
“However, we are mindful that nowadays, Singaporeans who like to experience living and working overseas, have many other attractive career options, in both private and public sectors.”
“Sir, let me thank the Minister on behalf of the 3-room flat dwellers. My supplementary question is: in future, if any rebates are given, will the Minister consider making the amount of the rebates inversely proportional to the size of HDB flats, in other words, the smaller the flat the greater the amount of rebates?”
“Lastly, clause 8 of the Bill also proposes to amend the Banking Act to allow the Singapore branches of foreign banks to transmit information to their head offices or other overseas branches for data processing.”
“These requirements would help to ensure that such businesses are run in a proper manner, and that records are kept to provide an audit trail of transactions, in order to deter illicit transactions from being conducted via such businesses. However, these requirements impose additional costs on the licensees.”
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“(2) pump-prime construction sector by bringing forward the infrastructural projects and by maintaining high level of public housing construction activities. These measures will help stimulate aggregate demand. (3) In addition, the Government has also announced specific schemes designed to induce risk-taking in high-tech investment and to assist local businesses. All these measures deserve our support, as they attempt to tackle the problems at source. The Government may further consider certain fiscal measures, such as (1) lowering company profit tax rate, (2) temporary removal of the 3% cess on restaurants and hotels, and (3) normalize the anomaly in the way petrol duty was imposed. I hope the Minister for Trade and Industry and the Minister for Finance are listening. I am particularly unhappy about the last measure, ie, the way we tax our petrol. Sir, if you recall, in the last Budget debate, I protested at the way petrol duty was imposed and I argued that the increase in petrol duty would lead to inflation. I was proven right. This is the consumer price index for the month of July 1985. If you compare the consumer price index of July 1984 with July 1985, you will see that the cost of transport and communications has gone up from $104.6 to $110.7, an increase of 5.8 percentage points during this one year period. Fortunately for us, prices of food items have declined. This has more than offset the increase in prices of transport and communications. As a result, our consumer price index increased by only 0.7%. Otherwise, the inflationary pressure would be much greater. Some quarters blamed the Government for not foreseeing the current economic difficulties, others held the Government responsible for the high costs of operation.”
“The Opposition Members have to prove beyond doubt that the cut of Ministers' pay and MPs' allowances by 25% will revitalize the economy, otherwise, their motion will be rejected and dismissed by the people as another political gimmick. Our people are not that silly. Logically speaking, in order to make wage cuts an effective means for cost reduction, wage cuts must be made across the board. Managers, professionals, (including lawyers, of course), executives, technicians, workers, etc. all will receive lower wages and salaries. But what are the consequences of such a proposal? First, total disposable income of our economy will fall and total consumption expenditure decline. This will further aggravate the economic stagnation. Aggregate demand will fall further. Secondly, wage cuts across-the-board will be taken as a panic move, it will create such adverse psychological effects that people may start to believe that our whole economy is going down the drain. People's confidence and investor's confidence will be undermined. Therefore, wage cut is both unnecessary and undesirable. Let us prepare for the winter, but we need not burn down our house to keep ourselves warm. Sir, now let me turn to the economic measures and the Government response. Immediately after the last Budget debate, the Government responded quickly. In April, the Economic Committee under the Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Member for Teck Ghee was established. So far, the Government has implemented or announced a number of measures to tackle our current economic difficulties. These measures may be summarized in three categories: (1) reduction of statutory boards' fees, levies and charges, and property tax. These measures will help reduce costs of operation.”
“Their action will not only help to ease cost pressure on many enterprises but it will also send a strong signal to investors and potential investors that our workers are realistic and are willing to make adjustments in the interests of our nation. I notice the Opposition Members have tabled a motion to cut Ministers' salaries and MPs' allowances and pensions by 25%. 1 wonder in what way this cut, if implemented, will help reduce operating costs of businesses and stimulate economic recovery.”
“Wages must be allowed to increase when productivity increase, workers should be given a share of productivity gains. Sir, our productivity did increase at an average rate of 4.6% in 1980-84, This is an improvement over the average productivity growth rate of 3.2% in 1975-79 before the wage correction policy was implemented. Moreover, our productivity performance in 1980-84 was better than the productivity performance of other newly industrialized countries in Asia. But the trouble is that this productivity growth rate still fell short of the average wage increase during 1980-84. During this period, total labour cost inclusive of CPF, SDF and payroll tax increased by about 10%. Productivity growth rate was only 4.6% per annum but labour cost increased by about 10%. Why has productivity increase lagged behind wage increase? The reason is simple: it is nearly effortless to increase wages, but to increase productivity, business enterprises must be prepared to invest more in capital, train their workers and upgrade their management systems. All these will take some time before productivity performance can be improved. Under these circumstances, and given our present economic problems, it is sensible to restrain wage increase for the time being until productivity growth catches up. In other words, wages have to increase at a much slower pace in the next two to three years. However, exceptions, as I argued just now, must be made for workers in enterprises whose productivity has increased rapidly. Trade unions and workers have, in fact, taken the first step towards wage restraint. They have decided to forgo this year's NWC wage increase. Trade unions and workers must be commended for taking this action.”
“In May and June, I already sensed there were pressures coming from the business community and other quarters on Government to reduce CPF contribution rates in order, as they argued, to reduce costs of operation. I have pointed out in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao on 18th July, that CPF contribution rate should not be used as an anti-cyclical measure. The CPF is not a levy; it is part of a worker's total wage. Reduction in employer's contribution rate alone will reduce worker's pay and worker's savings. Reduction in employee's contribution rate alone will reduce his savings but not his employer's operating costs. And reduction in CPF from both sides, employer and employee, as the Member for Anson once suggested, will reduce the worker's pay, his saving and his ability to own a flat. So let us not fiddle with CPF contribution rates, unless we are really facing a crisis. Now let me turn to wages. Wages reflect labour market conditions. We cannot expect wages to remain low when we experience rapid economic growth and labour shortage, Even without wage corrections in 1979-81, wages would have increased. However, we cannot simply look at wages or wage increase alone. Wage increase must be compared with productivity increase. If productivity increase can keep pace with wage increase, total wage cost will not go up. When we talk about wage costs of export industries, we must also compare our wage increase and productivity increase with such increases of our competitors. That is what competition in international market is all about. But here let me sound a word of caution: Competitiveness should not be achieved at the expense of the living standard of our workers. By cutting down wages, our competitiveness will surely improve but workers suffer.”
“A third economic external factor is the restraint imposed by our neighbouring countries on travel and expenditure of their own citizens outside their countries. These restraints have also affected our tourism and retail trade to some extent. At micro level, the internal and external causes which I have just mentioned would mean two things for most enterprises: (1) higher cost of operation and (2) decline in sales or turnover. Sir, I am going to argue that demand factor is more important than cost factor, both at macro and micro sense. It is true that part of the decline in external demand of some industries may be due to the loss of our competitive edge because of higher cost of operation. However, being a small open economy, decline in external demand is mainly due to exogenous factors over which we have no control. I have already identified some of these exogenous factors just now. Hence, the current economic problems could not be prevented even without higher costs of operation, or without wage increase and CPF increase in the last few years, though higher cost of operation would worsen the situation. Sir, at enterprise or industry level, decline in demand seems to be more serious than high operating cost. Sir, you are a businessman. I think you understand this. When demand is high, turnover rapid, you and other businessmen have no complaints or less complaints. Costs are not a problem, When demand starts to decline, and wages, rents, interests and other costs fail to decline or fail to decline proportionately, costs begin to bite. Less efficient enterprises find it difficult to carry on, some enterprises may go under. Sir, let me now turn to the other issue - CPF contribution rates and wages.”
“We can only make use of our only resource, namely, human resource, and take advantage of our geographical location and infrastructure which we have painfully built up in the last 25 years to manufacture goods and offer services for the world markets. We also buy from the world markets what are needed by our people and our economy food, raw materials, machinery, equipment and even water. In this way, our economy is plugged into the world economic system. This linkage gives us economic prosperity, but it also makes our economy vulnerable to changes in world economic conditions. Let me now analyse the three economic external factors which affect our economy. First, the economic slow down of the industrialized nations and the protectionist measures adopted by some of our trading partners have further aggravated our economic situation. Our domestic exports of goods and services in the last few years failed to increase as rapidly as in 1969-1979. In the ten years, 1969-1979, the average growth rate of our domestic exports was 26.9% per annum. In 1981-1984, the growth rate of our domestic exports was only 6.6% per annum. In fact, in 1982, the growth rate of our domestic exports was negative, -1.0%. The second external factor, Sir, is specific to some industries. There are world-wide economic problems specific to some industries. For example, oil refineries and shipbuilding and repairing are suffering from excess capacity, excess supply and change in oil trade. Similarly, electronics and some sector of computer industry is undergoing a shake-out. Our refineries, shipyards, petro-chemical and electronic and computer industries cannot avoid these adverse conditions.”
“We Parliamentarians, as elected representatives of the people, must assure our people that we can and will overcome our current economic problems. The next question I ask myself: "What went wrong? What caused the present economic difficulties?" Let me here offer some of my observations. Basically, there are two causes. Internally, our economy is undergoing structural changes. We are in the transitional period. First, wages increased rapidly in the last few years, In 1979 to 1981, wages increased as a result of the high wage policy. However, wages continued to rise after 1981 because of tight labour market conditions. Productivity did increase in the last five years. However, productivity growth has yet to catch up with the wage increase. As a result, unit labour cost increased. The second internal factor, Sir, was that labour intensive, low-skill, low-value-added industries and other economic activities were phased out by high wages, but new high tech, high-value-added and high-skill industries and economic activities have not been established fast enough or in sufficient number to occupy the central stage of our economy. There is a third internal factor. The construction boom is over. Not only the construction sector itself is affected, but also businessmen who have used their property, either commercial or residential property, as collateral to raise loans, find it difficult to raise sufficient loans. So there is a chain effect. They face a credit squeeze. Externally, the demand for our goods and services also declined. We are highly dependent on the world market. This is not a result of conscious choice, but it is a matter of economic survival, We have no other options. We have no agricultural base to fall back on. We have no natural resources to exploit.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, 'That this House, noting with concern the present problems with the economy, commends the Trade Unions and the workers for their responsible attitude towards wages; and supports the measures so far taken by the Government and urges the Government to take all further steps necessary for the Nation to adapt to the changing environment, including steps to strengthen the role of local businesses in the economy.' Sir, let me first deal with the current economic problems, We are facing difficult times. Our economy has slowed down and stagnated. The economic growth rate has declined continuously in the last six quarters - from 9.9% in the first quarter of 1984 to minus 1.4% in the second quarter of 1985. This year, the economic growth rate may turn out to be the lowest since our independence in 1965. Sir, everywhere we go we hear businessmen, shopkeepers, restaurant owners and other people complaining that business is bad. My CCC members also told me that this year hungry ghosts may stay hungry as Seventh Moon Festival organizers cut back their cost of operations. Some Seventh Moon Festival reduced the number of dinner tables, others decided to do away with wayangs, sing-song and whatever. So restaurant owners, wayang operators and actors have lower income and therefore spend less. Here we observe the multiplier effect working in the grassroots economy, but in a negative sense. I ask myself this question: "Is our economic situation really that bad?" Yes, we are facing difficulties, but we are not facing a crisis. If you read the forecast by Wharton School of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, and the forecast by some American banks, it seems to me that many foreigners have more confidence about us than some of our own people.”
“But he said he wanted to move away. I just want to ask him whether he shares the same views as the Member for Potong Pasir.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of clarification. The Member stated that he wants to move away from the CPF issue. May I ask him a question whether he shares the same views as the Member for Potong Pasir on CPF, in particular with regard to the following points: (1) CPF Board will be unable to pay back in the near future; and (2) whether CPF withdrawals will be put in M1 and hence cause inflation?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his long-winded and detailed reply. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $36,095,370 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,139,198,900 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head 0 -”
“Point of clarification, Sir. I did not say quantitative restriction by import duty. They are two different things. Import duty on cars and registration fee. That is one thing. The other thing is quantitative restriction. They are two separate matters.”
“Sir, may I have your permission to move amendments (1)* and (9)* together? I will need about 15 minutes.”
“They should first organize their own parties and make sure that there is an alternative party to take over before they even attempt to knock-off the PAP. That illustrates my point of the importance of responsible citizenship. I feel that responsible social conduct is more important than ability to perform task in any society. In school, moral education to inculcate social responsibility is more important than the learning of knowledge. This should be an objective in our school education. Since the Minister has announced that he will review our education policy. I am bringing up this point for the Minister to consider. Thank you.”
“However, Pei Hwa Primary School has now 100% English classes. It is not different from any English schools. The students' results are still very good. The fine tradition of the school is still going on. I made a study of this and enquired of a number of parents. I came to the conclusion that it was due to his extraordinary care and love for the school and its students who had, in turn, taken him as an example and model of their learning. So the discipline in this school was marvellous. The students produced by Pei Hwa Primary School are generally very good. I feel that our schools other than imparting knowledge should emphasize more on moral education. Together with physical education, they form the triple objectives of education, ie, sound knowledge, good morality and strong physique. The imparting of knowledge is important but personally I feel that moral education, how to behave properly as a responsible citizen, is equally if not more important. If we do not adequately instruct our pupils moral ethics in school, then we would not be able to guide them into this society to live as responsible citizens. Our future generation, masters of future society, may be able to perform their tasks well through acquisition of knowledge but without good morality they will not know how to behave like responsible citizens. This does not appear to be a good phenomenon. In the past few days, the expressions and behaviour of the two Opposition Members have given me an unsettling feeling. What they intended I think is to pull down the PAP Government, but what happens after that, they did not seem to care. Who is to replace the PAP as an alternative - that does not seem to be of interest to them.”
“But changes to our education policy should only be made where absolutely necessary. They should not be made just because of the pressure of public opinion. If we do so, it is not a good thing. I would like to ask the Minister a question which seems to be simple but the effect is very great. It is about the appointment of principals, the training of principals and the promotion and demotion of principals. Last year, in December, just before the general election (the timing is indeed bad) it appeared suddenly in the newspapers a very small news item that a number of principals had been transferred and demoted to ordinary teachers. Of course, the Ministry of Education had its reasons for so doing, but I want to know what are the procedure and criteria involved in such transfer exercise. A principal who was my voter expressed that he did not know why he had been so transferred. So I asked him, "Do you want me to write to the Ministry to enquire about it?" The principal said, "No. Whether or not I am a principal does not matter. But the fact is that the person who has been transferred to take over my place refused to come." It is a pity that the school is now without a principal. I do not know how he performed during his term of office, but I do feel that he cares for the school. Personally I feel that a good principal should be just and responsible, ready to make sacrifice, loves his school and cares for its pupils. I have seen such a good principal. If I mention his name, many people will know him. He is Principal Wu of Pei Hwa Primary School at Bukit Timah. My son received his education in that school. This principal was in the school the whole day. He had purely Chinese education. He could speak very little English.”
“If I remember correctly, the Minister in his reply to the Member for Moulmein on the 19th March, 1985, said that he was not worried about the top 10%, or even the top 50% of our school children, so why should he worry about children of graduate mothers who are more likely to make it to the top? I know the Minister has agreed to review the scheme. I am here just to provide him with some inputs, intellectual or otherwise, for his decision. The points I raise may not be new, but the feelings from the ground are still very strong. May I just ask him one or two questions: whether the Ministry of Education should use a mother's educational background as a criterion for the children's admission into schools. And, if so, should we not honour our words not to place the third child of a graduate mother above Phase IIA of the old system, that is to say, for a child one of those parents has been sterilized after the birth of the first or second child. We have to be fair to these parents who have responded to the incentives provided under our family planning programme. Sir, I am getting old. I am becoming less impatient. I am prepared to wait, but whether our people are willing to wait? Mr Chai Chong Yii (Bukit Batok)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, our education problem is a very complex one. Everybody knows a bit about education, whether he is an expert or not. Those who have been to school for a few years of education feel that they know quite a lot. Although a lot of people know that they are not education experts but they claim to know our education problems. This has made it very complex. Our Minister for Education has expressed his views that he would reconsider the present education system to see whether he should make some adjustments. I support this move.”
“Non-graduate parents feel very hurt because they do not see why their children are considered inferior to children of graduate mothers. Many single female graduates and graduate mothers also resent this scheme because they fear that the Government is intruding into their personal and private life. Others also feel that this scheme is wrong because it has violated the basic principle of equal opportunity for all. Parents who have undergone sterilization after the second child are bitter because they feel cheated. Sir, I am not convinced that this scheme will achieve its objective, and therefore the argument that this scheme is for the long term interest does not arise. According to his Report on Registration of Births and Deaths, 1983, Table 8, 91.8% of female managers and administrators have only two children, only 5.9% have three children, and 2.3% have four or more children. Similarly, 91.3% of female professionals and technicians have only two children, only 7.5% have three children, and 1.2% have four or more children. I do not believe that because of this priority scheme graduate mothers will start to produce more babies. If you do not believe me, Sir, you may check with our three lady MPs here. To the question of the Member for Kampong Chai Chee, the Minister replied that 157 children were admitted under this priority scheme. This figure does not reflect whether the scheme is working or not, because these children were born before the scheme was implemented. Moreover, these children are likely to make it to the top, either because of Nature or because of Nurture. In that case, why give these children an added advantage at the beginning of the race?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me move away from streaming, although I share the sentiment expressed by my colleague, the Member for Moulmein. Under this amendment, Sir, I would like to formally raise the issue of graduate mothers' priority scheme. As we all know, the policy objective of this scheme is to help correct the lopsided procreation pattern among different educational groups. Sir, you have sent me and a few of my Parliamentary colleagues to attend various population conferences. I take this opportunity to thank you. From them, I have learnt quite a lot about population problems. Every year when I read the Report of the Registry of Births and Deaths, I get worried. We have a serious population problem at hand. If this trend persists, we will face very serious political, social and economic problems in the near future. The Government has so far implemented several policy measures. I support the $10,000 incentive scheme to encourage couples from the low income group, low education group, to stop at two. I am prepared to support the income tax incentive scheme, namely, the enhanced child relief for children of working mothers with five 'O' level subjects, or higher educational qualifications. I am even prepared to support the setting up of the SDU and its activities, provided SDU's activities are discreetly carried out. I have confidence in Dr Aw. I believe she will do a good job. [Interruption] No relationship. However, Sir, I cannot accept this priority scheme for graduate mothers. I raise it again and again, not to gain popularity, not to win votes, and not to be idolized. I raise it again in this House because this scheme is wrong. The scheme is wrong because it has offended so many people unnecessarily.”
“May I say a few words first, Sir. Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin) Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad to know that the Minister has given us assurance that cultural activities would not be neglected. Furthermore, the Community Development Ministry has also put forward a five-year plan for cultural promotion. As for the name, I have already said, according to Confucius, "if the name is not right, then whatever anybody says will not be justified". If he is not aware of this saying, I forgive him. As for the junior Minister who is ignorant of this saying, I am rather puzzled. He said that Thailand has no Ministry of Culture and yet their cultural activities are thriving. He also said that we do not have a Ministry of Housing and yet our housing programme is very well done. I have myself pointed out that Thailand has no Ministry of Culture. My main point is that we have had Ministry of Culture for 25 years and now we have done away with it. As for Ministry of Housing, we need not create a new name just to be different ( ). I am glad that the Member for Potong Pasir supported me in saying that we should promote culture. But the question is "how"? I would like to know from him what can be done to promote culture in Singapore. As a constituent of Potong Pasir, I am entitled to know. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me say another sentence. Ours is a multi-racial society, just as here we have an ethnic Indian Minister who is answering in English to questions put forward in Mandarin by an ethnic Chinese Member of Parliament. This blend of racial harmony is a very good trait of our society, a precious trait of our society. Let us preserve and treasure this precious trait of our society. On that note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. 3.15 pm”
“In Hong Kong, I am told a motorist has to pay HK$ 20-25 per entry in some commercial car parks, and taxis are allocated by auction. In Taipei, taxi fares are based on mileage only and there is no charge for waiting time. Sir, of course, Singapore is not Hong Kong, not Taiwan, not China. But let us remind ourselves that no one in this world owes us a living. Our very existence as a people and as a nation is itself no small achievement. So let us count our blessings, let us look at things in perspective, and let us not allow these transport problems to blur our long-term vision. 12.22 pm”
“The inflationary impact of the increase in petrol price, road tax and taxi fares can be very substantial. Hopefully, this may be partly offset by the deflationary effects of our strong dollar on imported goods. Sir, let me conclude with this sober thought. In the evening of 5th March, 13 days ago, there was a blackout in the eastern and central parts of Singapore. Many families had their dinner by candle light. It was really very romantic. Children cheered because they associated candle light with birthday parties. But let us imagine this: if the power failure were to last for a few more days, then what would have happened? Candle light dinner would no longer be romantic; students would begin to worry about getting their homework done or preparing for their examinations; housewives would worry about food turning bad in their refrigerators. No electricity, no light, no television, no air-conditioning; machines, computers, lifts not working; traffic jams everywhere; economic activity would slowly grind to a halt; life itself would be disrupted. Mr Speaker, Sir, the power failure therefore serves as a sober reminder to all Singaporeans of how dependent we are on oil, and not forgetting that we have to import oil. Similarly, we are also dependent on imported water and foodstuffs, Sir, we are vulnerable, very vulnerable. Sir, having arrived at the promised land, having achieved what we set out to achieve, we tend to forget the basic - our very survival. We tend to squabble over high cost of car ownership, car park fees, taxi fare increase and so on. These perhaps are good signs - they are problems of economic affluence. In China, when a farmer bought his car, he made it to international news!”
“The increase in import duty and registration fee will achieve the same objective but, more importantly, at the same time, these measures do not increase the tax burden of existing car owners. Sir, an alternative to price mechanism is quantitative restriction. The Member for Whampoa has discussed with me on the feasibility of quantitative restriction. Under this proposal, only a certain number of new vehicles should be allowed on the roads each year, depending on the expansion of our road capacity. The Member for Whampoa is in favour of auction. I am more in favour of balloting. But whatever the form of quantitative restriction, there is to be a supplementary measure to prevent the resale of cars under balloting or a lump sum tax to siphon windfall gains from auction, if auction is the form of quantitative restriction. Thirdly, Sir, the tax measures relating to taxis and taxi fares. I believe that the demand for taxi service is price inelastic. The increase in taxi fares will more than offset the decline in demand. Hence, the gross income of taxi drivers should increase. However, this is not good enough. The increase in gross income must be more than $550 per month so as to offset the impending increase in diesel tax of $6,600 per year. Here, Sir, I would like to urge the Minister for Communications to hold back part of the proposed increase of diesel tax if the taxi driver's gross income fails to increase by more than $550 per month. I think this is a very reasonable request and I hope the Minister will consider this. Sir, according to the Household Expenditure Survey 1982/83, transport expenses accounted for 12.2% of total household expenditure. Moreover, the increase in petrol price will increase the cost of every line of production and every line of distribution.”
“If that is so, at the outset we must dismiss the concept that these tax increases are designed to punish motorists and are merely to enrich the coffers of the Government. Allow me to make some brief comments on these tax increases. I may have some more to add in the Committee of supply. First, duty on petrol. Among all the tax increases, this is the most serious one. Mr Speaker, Sir, I also find the statement that "duty on petrol is raised by 10% from 50% to 60%" is misleading. We have a peculiar way of calculating tax rate on petrol. Let us take the premium or supergrade petrol as an example. The old pump price was $1.21 per litre, and the duty was 60.5 cents. The duty was calculated to be 50% because it was based on $1.21 which included the 60.5 cents tax. We may argue, Sir, that the duty was in fact 100% of the petrol price, excluding tax. Now, with the recent increase in duty, the new pump price per litre is $1.51, inclusive of tax of 90.7 cents. The 90.7 cents per litre represents 60 cents of the new pump price. The petrol duty therefore has increased from 60.5 cents to 90.7 cents per litre, an increase of 30.2 cents or 50% increase and not 10% increase, as stated by the Minister for Finance. As a result, the pump price increased by 24.8%. In this way, Sir, the Government is seen to have not only imposed a tax on petrol but also imposed a tax on tax, and a tax on tax increase. Secondly, Sir, road tax. If we have to use price mechanism to curb car ownership, the increase in road tax is not necessarily the best measure. We may argue that increase in import duty on cars and registration fee will increase the selling price of new cars, and this will discourage potential car buyers.”
“In production, basic economic decisions on "what to produce", "how to produce" and "for whom" are better left to the invisible hand of the market. Only in the distribution of income and wealth, must Government continue to intervene to help and protect the less well-off. However, Sir, there is one area that I feel the Government can play a more positive role, ie, the grooming of local entrepreneurs. EDB's Small Industry Financing Scheme is confined, more or less, to the manufacturing firms. Commercial banks providing loans to professionals are not really generous in their terms and conditions. The Government therefore should consider setting up a local entrepreneurship scheme to help those with professional expertise, working experience, and willing to take a risk. The assistance can be in the form of preferential loans, market information and technical advice. We must build a core of local entrepreneurs who can take advantage of the expansion of trade in services and in advances in science and technology. To stand still is to be left behind. Sir, despite the concessions to the business community (and I feel these concessions will benefit the whole economy and eventually everyone), many Singaporeans are not happy with this year's Budget. The reasons are obvious: increases in duty on petrol, road tax, taxi fares and the impending diesel tax on taxis. Ground reactions are strong. Some have become emotional. Many have accused Government of being Gian Lui-"Money faced", and I overheard one taxi-driver verbally accusing the Minister for Communications and threatening to do something to his mother. All tax increases, Mr Speaker, Sir, are supposed to effect Government's land transport policy.”
“An economic committee has been set up to review the development plan. The Government needs to do the necessary to help businesses help themselves. Let me stress that businesses themselves must also respond, and respond positively. They should not adopt the attitude that these concessions are long overdue, and therefore expect the Government to give more concessions and still more concessions. As the Lianhe Zao Bao editorial on 2nd February, 1985, correctly pointed out: small and medium-sized enterprises must seriously re-examine their styles of doing business and their management systems. To remain competitive, they have to make necessary adjustments and changes. Sir, last year, one of the objectives of the Budget was to restrain the increase in Government spending. Some Members, including the Member for Rochore, myself, and others, commented on the role of Government in economic development and on Government spending. I have checked the Tables in the Economic Survey, 1984, and I take note that, in the Annex Tables 7.2 and 7.3, the increase in Government expenditure in 1984 was 7.7% as compared to 17.5% for two years in 1982 and 1983, and 16.1%, the average rate for the period 1969-1979. This year, the Government has moved a step forward. The Government will refrain itself from direct participation in productive activity; it will leave to the private sector to set the pace so that the private sector would be the engine of growth. This is a welcome move. There are no inherent reasons why civil servants in public enterprises should be more efficient than entrepreneurs. There are no inherent reasons why Government is smarter than market mechanism.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion standing in the name of the Minister for Finance, Minister for Education and Minister for Health, with some reservations. Mr Speaker, Sir, we Singaporeans must congratulate ourselves because we have done very well in the last five years. Despite the world recession in 1980-82, despite external threats of protectionism and the instability of the world financial system, and despite the internal constraints of labour shortage and limited land area, our economy grew at an average rate of 8.5% per annum. There was no unemployment; there was minimal inflation. Domestic exports expanded by 28%, external reserves went up by 65%. Net investment increased from $870 million to $1.14 billion, average earnings of workers increased from $161 per week to $253 per week. Sir, we are supposed to be happy but we are not. The reason is that this year, our economy is facing a downturn, we may be heading towards a recession. But let us keep these in mind: the Business Cycle is a reality, we have to live with it as a hard fact of life. Economic growth is not a certainty, we cannot expect to come up with a double-digit growth rate year after year. Let us do what needs to be done to meet the challenges ahead of us. Let us not over-react and not be unduly pessimistic. Pessimism can only undermine our investors' and businessmen's confidence; expectations of the future can easily become a reality. The Government has taken measures to help businesses to prepare for a downturn - for example, the Skills Development Fund contribution rate has been reduced by 2%, payroll tax has been lifted, repatriation of foreign workers will be made more gradual, and JTC rentals of industrial properties are being frozen.”
“HDB should investigate and understand the living conditions and family background of these 15-20% of our citizens, so as to better help them to purchase their flats earlier. Sir, I would like to make a suggestion here. If we want to help the aged, we can make use of the CPF by deducting $1 monthly from each of our one million CPF contributors' monthly contribution, just like what MUIS is doing. In this way, we may provide for the centres for the aged with good facilities to enable them to engage in suitable activities in their leisure time. If we can do so - 4.30 p.m.”
“Because of the heavy burden of life, they are unable to make CPF contributions. They do not have the surplus. If they are monthly paid, their total income would not exceed $600 per month. With this meagre $600 and deducting the 25% CPF contribution, how much is left? $450. This meagre sum of money will not help them make ends meet if they have to support a family of four persons. Therefore, they are compelled to take up casual daily work to earn an income of $30-$40 in order to meet their daily expenses. In order to help them purchase flats, we should encourage daily rated workers to change to monthly paid employees so that they will have fixed regular income with CPF savings. In order to attract them to monthly paid jobs, we should raise the minimum monthly salary from $200 to $400 whereby the workers are required to make their own CPF contribUtions. This minimum amount of $200 was fixed many years ago. However, with a rising-cost of living, this amount is no longer realistic and should be raised accordingly. Another measure will be to allow those drawing under $750 a month to contribute only 10-15% to CPF so that they may have more take-home pay to meet their basic living expenses. With the employer's contribution of 25% to CPF, they will have 30%-odd of CPF savings monthly. In this way, they will be enabled to buy 2-room or 3-room flats. As long as they have self-discipline and are thrifty and diligent, with the increased contribution in CPF year by year, they will be able to purchase even better and larger flats one day. In order to lighten their burden of life, we should consider reducing the interest they have to pay on their loan for the purchase of an HDB flat to help them pay off monthly instalments.”
“This will improve mutual dialogue, strengthen common bonds between the Government and the people and also help in promoting the people's confidence in the Government, Sir, I fully support the first objective in the President's Address, namely, a greater voice and participation for the people in the development of the country. We should understand that the views of the new generation differ from the old generation, to a great extent. The now generation are better educated. They have got their own way of thinking and their own judgment. To let them have a greater voice and participation in national and social issues will motivate them to greater involvement in their development and to be more concerned with the interest of our society, which, in turn, will promote national consciousness, patriotism and pride in our nation. Sir, I also fully support what is stated in the President's Address about the target of 100% home-ownership for the people. Ours is a small island state with limited land space. We should see that every family should own his own home, occupying part of the country so that the people will have a sense of belonging and a sense of pride. Although most of our citizens have their own homes, however, as the President's Address has pointed out, there are still 15-20% of our population in the lower income group living in rental flats. Unlike other more fortunate citizens, they do not receive the benefits of our economic growth and prosperity. They are left behind by the mainstream of our economic life. They are burdened by their daily living, toiling for daily meals. Sir, those who are living in the 1-room and 2-room flats are mostly engaged in casual work or odd jobs without a fixed place of work. Many of them are daily-rated labourers.”
“"We must make use of what opportunity that is given from above and should make use of what treasure that is in store on earth below and, in the midst of these, make use of what human talent we have" ( ). Besides, we must all the more have this spirit of taking up challenges and the will to create something new. The Government and the people must, together with one purpose, cooperate with each other and strive to climb the higher mountains in order to build a better society and a better future for our next generation. 4.24 p.m. Mr Yeo Toon Chia (Ang Mo Kio)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I also support the motion moved by the Member for Ayer Rajah in thanking the President for his Address. Mr Speaker, Sir, everyone has got his own feelings, and expectations. If there is no scope for expressing such feelings and expectations and if the Government makes a mistake in assessing the people's expectations and feelings, and such suppressed feelings are not channelled to a proper outlet, the whole system of politics will be challenged. Conversely, if everyone can express his own view, feeling and make constructive criticisms and suggestions to the Government, and if these views and suggestions are accepted by the Government and appropriate responses and adjustments made, then it would help Government in formulating and implementing policies. When the people's views are reflected to the Government and the Government's policies are channelled down to and understood by the people, this kind of interchange will be of immense benefit to the Government when it formulates and implements its policies.”
“I understand that the Polytechnic has certain part-time courses for technicians and the National University also has part-time courses for graduates to obtain Master's degrees in Business Management and Engineering. Sir, as the saying goes: "talent needs learning; where there is no learning there is no talent" ( ).What we need now is a comprehensive plan for part-time courses covering levels of education ranging from secondary to tertiary and even higher degree so as to provide these people an opportunity for more comprehensive and fuller education and training, only then can we raise the general education level of our people as required by a country like ours where manpower is our own resource. The third point is about giving assistance to our medium and small size enterprises and how to promote local entrepreneurship. Because of time, I would not touch on this aspect now. I shall raise it when we debate on the Budget. Sir, the present Parliament, as I said, symbolizes a new beginning. The younger generation leaders should not only strengthen the close relationship which the first generation leaders have with the people, but they must strive harder to win over the support and confidence of the younger generation. The new leadership should work more closely with our younger generation. It is difficult to create an enterprise. It is even more difficult to preserve an enterprise. But, if we realize it, it will not be difficult. We should not only preserve an enterprise ( ), but create new enterprise ( ). I will quote from Robert Kennedy: 'Some men see things as they are and ask why? I dream things that never were and say why not?' We should have this kind of why not spirit in meeting challenges. Singapore is a small place with limited resources.”
“The Government has the duty and should try to help the low income group to get out of the vicious circle of poverty. On 21st June last year, I had made a suggestion to the Government that we should provide such people with interest-free loans so that residents in 1-room and 2-room rental or even 3-room rental flats will be able to buy their own flats. If my memory is correct, the Minister for National Development in December last year also expressed his willingness to do away with the 20% down payment for HDB flats. But I personally feel that the provision of interest-free loans will be a more positive way of helping them, since they may understand that the Government is sincere in helping them out of their difficult position. It is not just a matter of HDB itself removing its own restrictive rule of 20% deposit which has been regarded as the stumbling block in their purchase of flats. I would like to add that we should not only pay attention to the interest of the lower income group, but also at the same time pay attention to the aspirations of the middle income group. Besides desiring higher income and higher material living standard, Singaporeans also want to raise their educational standard so as to achieve excellence in education. Among our middle income group, there are people who, for financial reasons or for some other reasons, have missed their opportunity for higher education. Therefore, I feel that our Universities should consider initiating some part-time courses for those improvement-conscious people so that they may use their leisure time after work to acquire university degree or to receive professional training.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion by the Member for Ayer Rajah. As a friend, I have a suggestion to make to him: I hope he will buy a bicycle for his son! Sir, this Parliament is a turning point in our political history. The power of ruling a country is being passed on to a new and younger political leadership. The younger political leaders have formulated their ideal vision for 1999. They have adopted a new style and a new image. They had dialogues with community leaders, mingled with them at a tea party for the Chinese New Year and took pictures for them. But the fate of a nation does not depend only on the quality of the leaders but also on the quality of the people. More and more of our voters belong to the younger generation. Therefore, the direction and mentality of our younger generation will determine the future of our nation. Vast spans of country are like a stage of chess ( ), so to speak. So the long term vision requires concrete measures in terms of short term targets in stages. The President in his Address delivered last month has set out six main targets to be achieved in the next few years. The first three targets are wide-ranging that involve all the people. The latter three are directed at the aged, the lower income group and working mothers. Concerning the problem of the aged, we have the Howe Yoon Chong Report and had debated on it last year. There will be plenty of opportunities to discuss about it in future. Regarding the question of working mothers, the Member for Ulu Pandan, our elder sister, has given her views. So I would not want to repeat the points here. I would like to give some views on the question about the assistance to be given to the lower income group to acquire their own HDB flats.”
“However, in this regard, distinction should be made between children who live with their aged parents and those who merely provide financial support. The former should enjoy greater income tax relief. This is consistent with the HDB priority scheme for three-tier families, and in line with the spirit that filial piety does not mean only financial support for parents, The distinction made in paragraph 6.1.1 in page 41 of the Committee Report in respect of the distinction between "filial piety" and "ability in supporting parents" in the words of Confucius would provide us with food for thought! Resolved, "That the debate be now adjourned." - [Mr Howe Yoon Chong].”
“First, they have a long period of service ahead. Second, their salaries and wages will increase year by year. Moreover, with the rate of contribution reaching 50% recently, plus interest, their CPF accumulation will be quite substantial after a number of years. From the analysis given above, for the long-term interest of our country while taking heed of the wishes of our people, we can adopt a compromise solution: (1) To make a distinction between the old contribution and the new contribution (not old and new contributors) by specifying a certain date this year, say the 1st of July, all CPF contributions prior to this date could be withdrawn on reaching 55 years, so that the Government keep credibility with the people. (2) New contributions belong to new contracts, the withdrawal age for which could be raised to 60. Other provisions can be flexible. It can also be required that part of the CPF savings be allotted for the purposes of annuity or insurance annuity or some approved investment schemes. The purpose of these schemes is to ensure a definite minimum monthly income for the basic livelihood of the retiree. In this respect, I agree with the Member for Chong Boon. The Government should also consider the suggestion of the Committee that in respect of income tax, more relief should be given for the aged dependants from the present $1,000 to $2,000 and that the Government should also allow another son or daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, to claim tax relief up to $2,000. This is only proper, because on the one hand, we legislate to compel maintenance of the parents and on the other, we encourage them to do so by giving tax relief. With this two-pronged measure, we ensure our success.”
“However, those whose CPF savings are less than $10,000 and who have already passed 45 years of age will face a serious problem because their savings are small and their wages are also low. As many of them have low education and skills, when they reach 55 years their chances of being re-employed are also very small. After they are retired, if they cannot depend on their CPF to maintain their livelihood, they will be in a financial quandary. Under these circumstances, the lower paid employees with small CPF balances and those own-account workers who have personal savings are in the same situation. If they are living in their own flats, their situation is not so bad. But if they live in rental flats, their situation will be more serious. Many of these people after retirement will have to depend on their children or relatives for maintenance. From this point of view, legislation to compel the children to maintain their parents merits support. To an Oriental society, to have to legislate for the children to maintain their parents is really a sad thing. But the Government should have the power of law to compel the minority who do not want to maintain their parents to fulfil their filial piety. At the same time, in view of the trend of westernization of our young corroding our good traditional virtues, we have to consider whether the number of young people who would not maintain their parents would be increasing. Therefore, legislation is necessary in these circumstances. This would be directed at the minority who would not maintain their parents. For the majority who observe their good Oriental tradition, they need not be worried. Young members who do not have much CPF savings now, their prospects are good provided they are diligent and try to excel.”
“People will fear that in future the CPF withdrawal age may be changed again and again, and may become indefinite in future. It is no wonder that they are worried. The reaction of the people is only natural. We can understand it. However, although we must listen to the opinions of the people, we should not follow their opinions blindly, From the viewpoint of national interest, we should help them to view and analyze this proposal on CPF from a long-term perspective. As at 31st December 1983, the total number of CPF members is about 1,779,000. After deducting the withdrawals for purchase of HDB flats and properties under approved schemes, the total CPF balance was about $19.5 billion. The number of members with CPF savings of $1,000 or less is about 534,000, which is 29.8% of the total membership. Those with savings from $1,000 to $10,000 is 38.7% of the total membership. So those members with savings of less than $10,000 constitute 68.5% of the total membership. However, their savings are only 16.6% of the $19.5 billion in the CPF. Those members with savings between $10,000 and $50,000 constitute 27.7% of the total membership, their savings are 53.5% of the total of the CPF savings. Those with savings above $50,000 represent only 3.8% of the total membership, but their total savings are 29.7% of the total CPF balance. For those members who have large savings, raising the CPF withdrawal age is not a serious problem because they have various ways and means such as purchasing larger flats, exchanging properties, or buying a second property to transfer or divert their CPF money into investments in property before reaching 55. To them, the rate of return on investment is more important.”
“Therefore, under the present CPF ruling, allowing people to withdraw their entire CPF savings on reaching the age of 55 may cause many people not to be able to maintain their livelihood in the 10 or more years thereafter. (3) The Committee has also observed that the total withdrawal of CPF monies on reaching 55 years will lead to the illusion of financial security on the part of many people, who may not continue working after reaching 55 years of age. This may encourage unnecessary consumption, even squandering away life-time savings among some people. But the strong reaction from the many CPF contributors and the people generally, against this proposal can also be summed up in three points: (a) Central Provident Fund money is part of their earned income, their savings, and may possibly be the only savings in their life-time. This is their own money. They feel they have the right to dispose of it in the manner they choose to. This proposal will only delay their opportunity to withdraw their old-age money for many years. (b) Raising the CPF withdrawal age without a comparative rise in the retirement age is causing much worry to many people because once they reach 55 years and are retired by their employers and if they cannot take back their CPF money, they may not have any income to sustain their livelihood. (c) The longer the delay in getting the CPF money, the higher will the actual value of their CPF money be eroded by inflation. But I personally feel that the most important reason is that this suggestion of the Committee may cause the Government to lose credibility with the people ( ). The original ruling specifically provides that those reaching 55 years can withdraw their CPF money, but a sudden change in that ruling will cause a crisis of confidence.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I sympathize very much with the Minister for Health for his problems. He is my MP, I am his voter. But I will deal with the matter as it is and not with the person. Generally speaking, the Report of the Committee on the Problems of the Aged is a comprehensive one and it contains in-depth studies of the problems of our aging population and the aged. The Report has touched on many questions and the withdrawal age of CPF is only one of the recommendations. But many people have directed their attack on this recommendation, neglecting the other recommendations which are proper and apt. This tunnel vision is very narrow in scope ( ), and it is regrettable. This particular proposal has caused complaints all round, even anger from all sides. Members of the Committee do not expect such strong reaction. Their intention is good. Their purpose is to provide the aged with better financial security in their old age so that they may pass their remaining years with self-respect and self-sufficiency. The grounds for the Committee's recommendations are: (1) The number and the percentage of the aged are increasing every year, thus increasing the economic burden of the State. (However, the Committee has not observed that the percentage of those under 14 years old is decreasing every year, thus decreasing the economic burden of the State comparatively). (2) At present, the life expectancy of the people has been raised to 70-72 years. But this is an average life expectancy for the whole population. Sir, you are a well-known surgeon. If I look you up one day, you would not guarantee that I can live up to 70 or 72 years.”
“Sir, in view of the Minister's reply, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I am very grateful to the Minister's reply. He has quoted certain figures, the female labour force participation rate for the year 1979 as compared to 1983. What I am looking at is cross-sectional data. I do not have the figures for 1983 but I have the figures for 1982. He may take note that the female labour force participation rate increased very rapidly from the age-group 15-19 to the peak of 79.4% for the age-group 20-24; and after that it declined continuously to 10% for the age-group 60-64. This implies that many married women do not re-enter the labour market. So I do not know whether the Minister for Labour may like to look into the terms and conditions of employment for older workers so as to encourage women, particularly better educated women, to re-enter the labour market when their children are older.”
“Teamy, the hard-working bee, is effective in getting the productivity and teamwork message across. Sir, I notice that Teamy even appeared in the Workers' Party's publication, Hammer. This speaks well for the NPB. On the other hand, the latest TV productivity message, "Come On Singapore" is now known as "Come On Singapore Handiplast", simply because it reminds people, particularly our students and children, of the TV commercial on the Handiplast plaster. So may I remind the National Productivity Board, to be productive it has to be creative and imaginative.”
“In this context, may I recall what the Prime Minister said on 15th February, 1984: "do our women need to value their careers more than, and at the expense of, their families?" Similarly, we should ask ourselves: "Should we further increase our female labour force participation rate for the sake of more rapid economic growth, or should we encourage more women to stay at home to look after their children and bring them up properly and perhaps to cook, as the Member for Whampoa would suggest?" Nursery schools and child-care centres are no substitutes for home. And there are limits to part-time work, piece-work and shift-work. In 1982, there were only 12,100 female part-time workers and 47% of them had no qualifications whatsoever. May I ask the Minister to comment on this dilemma? 3.45 pm Finally, Sir, if we cannot increase the quantity of our labour supply substantially, then we have to improve the quality of our work force. Hence, we have no choice but to press on relentlessly to increase our productivity. The labour productivity growth rate in 1983 was 5.2% and I trust this figure to be accurate. It is a vast improvement over 1.1% in 1982. However, we must take note that this productivity growth rate still falls short of the targeted productivity growth rate of 6-8% per annum. Moreover, part of the increase in productivity in 1983 was due to the hoarding of labour by employers during the recession in 1982 in anticipation of an economic upturn. Nevertheless, in this context, I would like to commend the National Productivity Board for its efforts in promoting greater awareness of the importance of productivity. The productivity message was brought home through soft-sell packages including posters and TV commercials such as "Teamy" and "Come On Singapore".”
“If this happens, it will have very serious implications or effects on our labour force and military manpower requirements. Perhaps, there is a need to review our population and family planning programmes. I understand that these programmes are not under the portfolio of the Minister for Labour, but I urge him to raise this matter with the Minister for Health and the Minister of Defence. Next, labour force participation rate of our older workers. The additional domestic supply of labour could be obtained by extending the retirement age to 60 or 65 years of age. There were 62,128 retired workers and pensioners in 1982. According to the 1980 population census projection, if the retirement age were extended to 65, about 44,000 more workers would be retained in the labour force. In view of the ageing population and the fact that more and more young people are entering the labour force at an older age (in fact, the participation rate of 15-19 age group has been declining from 49% in 1980 to 43% in 1982), there is a strong case for the Ministry to consider extending the retirement age to 60 with the option to go on to 65 in both private and public sectors. May I ask the Minister to consider this? However, the most significant increase in labour supply will have to come from the increase in female labour force participation rate. According to the Report of the Labour Force Survey 1982, the participation rate among females aged 15 years and over, has been increasing continuously from 40% in 1978 to 45% in 1982. This rate is higher than Taiwan, West Germany, France and Switzerland but lower than Japan and the United States.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead RA-01 of the Main Estimates. Before I begin, Sir, I would like to support the view expressed by my colleague, the Member for Ang Mo Kio, regarding the withdrawal of CPF funds for educational purposes. I have raised this matter before and I must say that I am disappointed with the Minister's reply. One correction about the Minister's comments or his reply. He said that such a withdrawal was for a consumptive purpose. I disagree. In fact, education is an investment in human capital and, like all investments, there is always a risk involved. Let me now turn to the more general point - labour force. The most serious domestic constraint on our future economic growth will be the supply of labour. Without immigration, increase in labour force has to come from two sources: (1) population growth, and (2) increase in labour force participation rate. Our population growth rate has declined to 1.2% per annum since 1980. Sometime ago, the Ministry of Health projected that we will reach zero population growth in the year 2030 with a maximum population size of around 3.5 to 3.6 million. This projection was based on the assumption that the net reproduction rate is equal to 1.0 and will be maintained around that level. However, since 1975, the net reproduction rate has fallen below 1.0 and has been declining progressively. In 1982, the net reproduction was only 0.79 or some 20% below replacement level. If this trend persists, our population will peak at about three million around the year 2000, and after the year 2000 our population will begin to decline. This is the most pessimistic projection I have ever learned.”
“Sir, I just want to remind the Minister that I am on his side and I am sitting behind him, On that note, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Chai Chong Yii: (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead JC-01 Object Group 1210 of the Main Estimates.”
“Sir, with your indulgence, may I just raise one or two points. I know that financially SBC currently is quite healthy. But if you look at the annual report, the net income in 1982 was $25 million but it has dropped to $22.4 million in 1983. So I still think that it will be good for the Ministry of Culture on behalf of the SBC to ask the Ministry of Finance for a grant for so-called public service programmes. The other point I would like to make is whether the Minister will ask the SBC to consider telecasting BEST lessons over TV for our workers.”
“They have got to face up to the pressure of their careers. They want to have more time to themselves and for their children, and in the case of Singapore they have difficulty in getting domestic aid. I would suggest that the Ministry of Education study this phenomenon in depth to arrive at the true picture. In any case, I have my doubts whether the revised admission policy will be sufficiently attractive or effective in encouraging well-educated parents to have more children. 4.15 pm The Hon. Minister of State for Education has, in fact, in a well-publicized speech admitted that the new admission policy is no big deal as there is no great disparity in performance among the primary schools. This seems to cancel out the inducement value of the revised admission policy. I hope this is not merely to soften the impact of the scheme on those who do not benefit from it. Perhaps the Minister may want to clarify this as this may appear to be self contradictory. Sir, although this revised admission policy does not have a direct impact on the day-to-day life of the people,like the newly introduced bus interchange system in Toa Payoh, this policy, if not clearly explained to the people, may strike deep into their heart. Some people consider it socially divisive. It can also be easily distorted by vicious elements who want to exploit the situation of those who condemn the policy as one that is intended to improve the human species through selective breeding, or it can be taken to mean that only well-educated parents can have bright offsprings whereas less educated parents cannot. The Minister owes the people an explanation and may I suggest that he appears before the television to explain this controversial policy to the people.”