Peh Chin Hua
Singapore
“Secondly, I can see that some hawkers are doing a roaring trade. They live in big houses and drive Mercedes cars. If they are good in their trade and want to expand their stall space, they should be allowed to take over the vacant stalls nearby, so that they can expand their business.”
“The Government has continued to help the low income group by ways of rebates and reduction in rental, utilities, and S&C charges. This means that when we have succeeded in our economic development, we do not neglect those less fortunate and elderly people. We also provide opportunities for them to be trained and retrained.”
“Sir, the annual Primary One registration exercise is something that parents are most concerned about. As a parent, I do not agree with sending my children to the so-called branded school.”
“With Singapore moving very rapidly into a modern IT society, there is bound to be an increase in the number of patients with various eye diseases. This is a matter not to be overlooked.”
“They want to introduce this sort of creative spirit of the Silicon Valley into our public service departments. We encourage our public servants to keep on coming out with new ideas and to cultivate our civil service with this concept of creativity. Only then can we establish a very creative entrepreneurial society.”
“The Prime Minister's emphasis on the use of standard English is not only very timely, but only serves as a warning to our bilingual educational system. Apart from emphasising the use of correct English, we should have a better use of standard language in the media, in the television, radio and the newspapers.”
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“We must be more open in looking at success, not just to measure success in terms of economic or academic achievements. I agree with this view of the Committee. In the past, we were stressing elitism and scholarship, scholars and successful people. I do not deny the importance of elitism. I do not deny that scholars are successful people. But if we over-emphasise elitism and scholars, we are actually hurting the pride of 95% of Singaporeans. Because we cannot deny that these 95% Singaporeans who are neither elite nor scholars are also successful people in their own ways and they may also have the potential to become outstanding people one of these days. In other words, if we over-emphasise elitism, scholarships, the success of scholars, and so on, 95% of Singaporeans will feel or be made to feel that they are failures. Therefore, if a country or a company is facing difficulty, the responsibility will rest on the shoulders of only a few people. Most Singaporeans will not share such a responsibility or participate in solving the problem. I am glad that this Committee has taken an open view on the criteria for success. I hope that we will not use the same kind of mindset or measure as the only way to measure success of a person. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I can be said to be a rare species in Parliament because I am the only non-graduate among all the Members of the ruling Party in this House. Although I am not a graduate, in my past few years in Parliament, I think I have performed equally well on the same kind of work done by my colleagues in this House. I always feel that although I may not be a graduate, I want to do as well as the graduates. So my pressure is greater because our society has this kind of mindset about elitism and scholars.”
“When their parents are out at work, more often than not, the young children are being looked after by the maids. In the developed Singapore, young parents will continue to work outside to maintain their family life and economy. Grandparents will naturally become the best choice for looking after their grandchildren. After I became a grandfather, I began to realise the joy that I have in spending time with my grandchildren. I feel that older people can continue to work and contribute to the family, the society and the country, especially when most of the elderly people are very healthy and strong. If you want them to completely retire at 55 or 62 years old and do nothing, I think it is a waste of manpower to Singapore. So whether it is the Government departments or private sector, we should consider encouraging older people to continue working. If they prefer to stay at home, we should encourage them to look after their grandchildren. It is a good arrangement. I always tell my wife that while I have been quite successful in my business, my success pales in the face of what she has done in looking after and bringing up the children. So I hope that she will be able to make good use of her experience and methods to continue looking after the grandchildren. I feel that our third generation can also grow up to succeed like our second generation. I think that will be an ideal situation. So I hope that the Singapore 21 Committee will continue to preserve the fine traditions of Singapore, and that is, we must look after both the spiritual and the material aspects of life. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the S21 Committee has also stated that everyone in Singapore matters.”
“But I like sports cars because I appreciate them as a piece of art. But I have not changed my values and thinking just because I have bought a Porsche. My children feel that at their age and without a strong economic foundation, they should not own a Porsche or enjoy an expensive sports car like this. Their thinking is correct. So I spoke in jest to the agent of Porsche that the marketing of Porsche should not just be targetted at the young people, they should start giving publicity to create the impression that those who have the means, the middle-aged people, should also drive Porsche. I think the agent will seriously consider my suggestion. Sir, I have given this example so that we can accept a new culture, new technology, new science and even a new material life, but we must always preserve our own values. Singapore 21 vision wants to transform us into a dynamic metropolis. The standard of material life of Singaporeans will be upgraded to a higher level. Materially, it is a good prospect for Singapore and it is what our Singaporeans want to pursue. But we must ensure that when the material life has changed, our new generation of Singaporeans will be corrupted, and their original fine traditional values will not be changed. So I would like to remind the Government that when we are pursuing this Singapore 21 vision, we must continue to inculcate in our young people the five core values. Otherwise, when the 21st century comes to Singapore, Singapore may have succeeded in becoming an international metropolis but it will also become a rootless duckweed or a kite without a string attached - aimless and disoriented. On the other hand, we also encourage our old people to look after their grandchildren.”
“But if the people are unable to maintain their own family cohesion, to preserve their own family values and traditional cultures, to maintain religious tolerance and racial harmony, we will become the rootless floating duckweed when we enter this state of international metropolis. Our lives will be empty. We will have no direction. So I feel that every Singaporean must build his own family cohesion as early as possible, spend more time with their family members, and try to strike a balance between our pursuit of material lives and our efforts to promote the growth of our family. I always tell my children that even if one day they can become outstanding Singaporeans, their basic values must not be shaken or changed. My children graduated from NUS and have gone overseas for further studies. I want them to accept the good values, good culture, and good technology from the west. These will be of great help to them when they eventually step into society to earn a living. But I want them to continue to preserve the traditional values of their own culture, including the five core values of Singapore and the traditional values of the Chinese culture. I am glad that my children, while accepting the future challenges of life, have not changed their values. I have told them that when they have given full play to their talent, they have succeeded, their material life has changed, they can have a big house, a big car, even a Porsche, their life, thinking and values should never change. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, a year and a half ago, I bought a Porsche Boxster. I believe many people were very surprised. They felt that the Porsche Boxster was simply out of tune with this old conservative fellow like me. Perhaps, Porsche Boxster gives one the impression of being contemporary or trendy.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am very happy to join in the debate on the Report of the Singapore 21 Committee headed by RAdm Teo Chee Hean. This is the Report put up by the Committee after more than a year of hard work, collecting information and views of the people from all walks of life in Singapore. Once this Report is endorsed by this House, everyone in Singapore should work hard to translate the vision into reality and turn Singapore into a dynamic international metropolis. Sir, the Report of this Committee refers to strong families as our foundation and future. This is very important. The survival of a country depends very much on family cohesion. The family is the basic building block of society. If we have a sense of belonging to the family, we will also have a sense of belonging to the nation. We all know that it is not just the house or physical building owned by the family, but it is also the emotional and blood bonds, feelings and care that make the house a home or a family. It is this common sense of belonging to Singapore, the common vision that we share, our commitment to such vision that make us as a country and a nation. At times, we may be overseas, but our heart is still with Singapore. So if every Singaporean can strengthen his own family cohesion, it will also help to enhance our national cohesion. A small country like Singapore will become an international metropolis. I am very optimistic about it. The Committee's Report wants to turn Singapore, and Singaporeans, into a higher level of economy, technology and greater prosperity.”
“I would propose that the Ministry of Education set up a special college with Chinese elite lecturers to train our Chinese teachers to enhance their quality. At the same time, those who are now serving as Chinese teachers should be sent to this college or even overseas for specialised training, so that their standard of Chinese and their pedagogy can be further improved, and their professionalism enhanced. This is particularly important for Chinese teachers who are now 40 years of age and above. By now, they would have been teaching for some 20 years or more. They should be given the opportunity to attend some refresher courses to upgrade themselves. I would like to ask the Minister whether there is a long-term plan to ensure that we have sufficient qualified Chinese teachers to teach Chinese and Higher Chinese to meet our future challenge.”
“This will indeed be of great help to Singapore's future development. Mr Ang Mong Seng (Bukit Gombak)(In Mandarin): Sir, the Prime Minister said in his National Day Message in 1997 that our standard of Chinese should be enhanced so that we can nurture our Chinese elite. This is very important because of the regional needs. The Chinese market is now open. To establish better trade relations with China, we need to have people who have good command of the Chinese language. The Chinese elite can also contribute in the fields of journalism, politics, education, the arts and the community. Every Chinese family should cultivate and practise Confucian teachings, such as honour the elder and respect the wise, filial piety and harmonious relations. In order to let the 5% of our students who have difficulties learning Chinese, the Government has proposed to set up a CL (B) programme to encourage them to carry on studying Chinese and learn their mother tongue. On the other hand, to attract more people to learn Chinese at a higher level, more students will be given the opportunity to take Higher Chinese. In a recent dialogue session of the Feedback Unit, out of 32 attendees, 27, ie, 85%, supported this move. I hope that the Ministry of Education would ensure that the principals and teachers of our schools will understand the intention of this new policy, give it their full support so that the new policy can achieve the desired results. 12.45 pm Sir, to produce students with a high Chinese standard, we need to have high quality teachers. As such, the Ministry of Education should take the training of Chinese teachers strictly and seriously.”
“Most Singaporeans are proficient only in one language and concurrently know another language. If they only "concurrently know" and are not proficient in Chinese, they can speak and listen, but not so good in reading and writing, it will be very difficult for them to genuinely understand and preserve the quintessence of Chinese culture. They may perhaps feel that although they are not proficient in Chinese, they can still preserve the essence of Chinese culture through the use of other languages. This is unrealistic. I have spent a lot of time reading and studying a Chinese translation of the Holy Quoran. Until now, I can only say that I know the Islamic teachings of my Malay compatriots a bit more than before. Sir, personally I feel that people from different language backgrounds may be able to understand another language and culture through translation, but it will still be extremely difficult for them to fully comprehend the quintessence of that culture and strike up a sympathetic chord with it. In my view, most people can acquire only superficial understanding this way. In the ancient Chinese classic "Chronicles by Zuo Qiuming", there is a saying, " With the skin gone, what can the hair adhere to?" - meaning a person or thing cannot exist without a basis. Therefore, I urge the Ministry of Education to avoid thinking that one could learn the quintessence of his own culture through another language. Only if our students can make conscientious efforts to pragmatically learn their own mother tongue, can they preserve the essence of their own culture. Moreover, Chinese culture is rich and profound with great compatibility with and accommodation for other foreign cultures. This will indeed be very important for a multi-racial, multi-lingual society in Singapore.”
“Sir, if we had not preserved our own language and tried to learn our culture through the use of another language, can we retain the essence of our own culture? I think it will be very difficult. When I read the Chinese version of Shakespeare's works, I must first of all find out whether it was translated by the best translator. Even then, I cannot be sure whether the best translator can translate 100% of the quintessence of Shakespeare's works and the intricacies of the English culture at that time. Sir, it may not be very difficult to find a good Chinese translator. But, to get a very good Chinese translator who can genuinely understand the famous works of Shakespeare and the English culture will be extremely difficult. If, after reading the Chinese translation of Shakespeare's works, I tell my English-educated friends that I have already understood the quintessence and intricacies of the English culture, I will certainly make a laughing stock of myself. Likewise, if my English-educated friend tells me that he has read the English translation of the Chinese classics, and has therefore fully understood the quitessence of the Chinese culture, I will just dismiss it with a laugh. Sir, the bilingual language system implemented by the Singapore Government all these years is a very important education policy. It has at least trained Singaporeans to concurrently know two languages. If we say now that they know two languages (with English as the main language and mother tongue as the supplementary language) and our students will be able to understand the essence and intricacies of their own culture, it will hardly be convincing. Today, only very few Singaporeans are truly effectively bilingual.”
“Then, how are we going to cultivate in our students the spirit of creativity? I think this is not a good sign. Coincidentally, the Government issued a circular in November last year to all civil servants that anyone who takes up a part-time job will have to surrender all his earnings from the part-time job to his department. I think the Government should reconsider this matter. Members of this House are not full-time MPs, they are part-timers, so to speak. We do not have to surrender our allowances to our companies or organisations where we are supposed to be working full-time. Some of our MPs are teachers. They do not have to surrender their allowances to the Ministry of Education. Why then should civil servants be required to do so? Also, teachers in the Government schools are not allowed to take up part-time jobs. However, teachers in the aided-schools are allowed to do so. Teachers in the Government schools are naturally not very happy about it. I hope the Ministry of Education can clarify this. While we are moving towards a more creative Singapore in the 21st century, we should be more flexible in dealing with the approval of part-time jobs for our teachers. 6.00 pm”
“Sir, many teachers are asking whether the Government could consider allowing them to take up some suitable part-time jobs. Recently, a teacher from the Catholic Junior College, Miss Annetha Ayyavoo, took part in a Supermodel Pageant overseas and won the First Prize. When she came back to Singapore, she was called up by the Ministry of Education for investigation. This is regrettable! We are moving into the 21st century very soon. If we want to transform Singapore into a creative society where "a hundred flowers bloom", we should be more flexible in dealing with some obsolete rules in the Instruction Manuals of our civil servants. We should not go by the book. There should be more flexibility from time to time. In my view, as long as it does not harm the operation of the civil service system and affect his or her existing work, a civil servant should be given more space to pursue their hobbies or interests, or to take up part-time jobs. Only then can we enable Singaporeans to create a more creative social environment. Today, if a teacher wants to take up some part-time jobs, such as tutors, textbook writers, textbook vetters or to pursue their hobbies or jobs that they enjoy doing, they must, first of all, get the approval of the Ministry of Education. Moreover, the remuneration from their part-time job including the fees paid to him for the articles he contributed in the newspapers will have to be surrendered to the Ministry of Education. This is contrary to the Government's effort to promote diligence and creativity in our people. If every teacher is so strictly obedient, go by the book for fear of violating any rules and regulations, then they will not dare to venture. They would just refrain from making new experiments.”
“Since A, B and C are all "pass" grades, a P grade is good enough. For those who do not make the pass grade, just give them a "F" for failure. The customers would know. Sir, I hope the Ministry of the Environment can look into the matter.”
“The stall has attracted a great number of patrons. It enjoys the best business in the whole hawker centre. I discussed this phenomenon with my grassroots leaders and they told me that business is so good for this stall that the stallholder simply cannot find time to keep his stall in the conditions favoured by the Environment officials. There is no way he is going to earn himself a A or B grade. On the other hand, those stalls where business is not so good, the stallholders have a lot of time to clean up and dress up their stalls to the delight of the officials, and they get their Grade A certificates. My grassroots leaders told me that this is an irony. When the customers come to the hawker centre, they look at the stalls which are graded C. Their business is so good that there is always a long queue. The logical conclusion is that the food at these stalls must be good. But when you look at the A-grade stalls, there is no queue and, therefore, the food must be lousy. Do not buy from them. Do not patronise them. This defeats the whole purpose of the grading exercise. It is even puzzling to note that the stall at Block 90, #01-171, which was recently adjudged by the Town Council as the cleanest hawker stall in Whampoa Drive Food Centre, has been given only a C grade by the Ministry of the Environment. Frankly, I do not know how the Ministry officials derive at the A, B or C grading. I have also visited the hawker centres in Queenstown, Bukit Ho Swee and some other places. I observe that some hawker stalls which are very dirty are awarded B grade, while some stalls which are cleaner get only the C grade. I do not know how the standard is fixed. I hope the Ministry of the Environment can look into this question and see whether we can do away with the A, B and C grades.”
“Sir, I endorse the Ministry's measures to assess the hygiene standard of food stalls. But many hawkers are unhappy with the grading criteria. I think the Ministry of the Environment should review the criteria so that we can reach a standard acceptable by both hawkers and the consumers, as well as the Government. Right now, I observe that not many stalls are graded A or B. Under the present grading system, not only the hygiene aspect is considered, but the display of food, attire of the hawkers, general cleanliness of the stall, layout and other factors are also taken into consideration. If we compare the hawker stalls with fast food outlets, restaurants, air-conditioned food courts, we find that it is unfair and biased against the poor hawkers. Because of their favourable conditions, the operators of fast-food outlets and food-court stalls are in a better position to secure A or B grades from the authority. But to the neighbourhood hawker stalls, to get A or B grades is not so easy. It is unfair. Unlike the fast-food chain or restaurants, these hawker stalls do not have the financial backing, neither do they have the advantage of advanced technology to help them with their chores. Most of the hawkers have to do everything by themselves, from dawn to dusk. They are the bosses as well as the cooks. They have to serve the customers as well as to wash the dishes and clean the stall. So if you want the ordinary hawkers to do everything to qualify for a A grade, it is almost impossible. Let me tell Members about the Whampoa Hawker Centre, a hawker centre in my Constituency, which is generally regarded as one of the best in Singapore. During my visit to the hawker centre, I found a lot of people queuing up in front of a certain stall which was graded C.”
“Sir, I am going to speak on what would appear to be a small matter, something concerning a difference of 30 cents only. I am aware that most of our NUS students use public transport to get to their campus, in particular, many of them use SBS bus service No. 96 from Clementi Bus Interchange to Kent Ridge. Whether it is an air-conditioned service or not, the minimum charge is 60 cents. Many students feel that the fare of 60 cents is very expensive and unreasonable because the distance is so short. They are asking for the fare to be reduced to 30 cents, as in the feeder service. Although it is just a difference of 30 cents, to the NUS students 30 cents per trip, when accumulated, can mean a lot of money. They have made representation to SBS, but the company had turned them down and the explanation given is unconvincing. SBS's justification for sticking to the 60-cent minimum fare is that bus service No. 96 is operated from Buona Vista Interchange and not a loop service from Clementi Interchange to Kent Ridge. Technically, it is not a feeder service. It cannot qualify as a feeder bus service. In this current economic crisis, the Ministry of Education has already frozen the incremental university tuition fees. I hope the Ministry of Communications would take up the matter with SBS so as not to give our NUS students the feeling that SBS is operating on a monopoly and any hope of fare reduction is out of the question!”
“Without the support of the newspapers, TV and the people, I do not think they would have achieved such a marvellous box office record. I would like to commend MITA and TCS for being so open-minded in helping the development of our local film industry. With its own financial resources, skills and technology, TCS is well capable of producing its own local movies and even gung fu films. I believe there is a steady market for these productions. Of course, when TCS wants to produce its own movies, it should select some themes or subject matters which are different from those of other local films. Then there will be some very healthy competition. By doing so, it will open up a new phase of development of the film industry in Singapore. I feel that the number of locally produced movies is still very limited. If TCS can participate in this field and can satisfy the demands of our local audiences, it will go a long way to promote the growth of our local film industry. I hope that, very soon, films produced by TCS can have an important place in the international film arena, and perhaps win an Oscar one day. I hope that MITA will encourage TCS to take on this challenge.”
“Sir, in the past one year, our newspapers, television and radio, and even senior Government officers, have openly supported the development of a film industry in Singapore. As a matter of fact, the local film industry has enjoyed great results during the past one year. It is true that we do have excellent local talents in the film industry but, more importantly, there is enthusiastic support from various quarters. Singaporeans find a strong sense of identity with the local films. I think this is the most important factor contributing to the recent locally-produced films. I am glad to note that TCS has done a lot to help the development of our local film industry. When I went to watch Jack Neo's Money No Enough and Liang Po Po - The Movie, I noticed that some famous artistes from TCS, like Zoe Tay and Kym Ng, had made guest appearances in the films. This illustrates TCS' sense of identity with our local productions and its support for the local film industry. It is heartening to note that TCS has acted pro-actively to promote the development of the film industry in Singapore. Five years ago, many people would have thought that it was impossible. In the past, TCS was only concerned with protecting itself and would try its best to avoid its competitors. But now TCS has changed for the better. I notice that TCS has used some photographs taken from Liang Po Po - The Movie on the cover of its Radio and TV weekly, and was giving away some 250 complimentary tickets to its readers. Inside the magazine there were 11 pages of coloured photographs to introduce this film. This shows that TCS has given great publicity and support to the local films, and by doing so it will help the local films to grow steadily and rapidly in Singapore.”
“In this way, we can help to encourage our local artists to continue with the arts creation, and at the same time allow Singaporeans and visitors to view these authentic works of our local talents. In addition, arrangement should be made for masterpieces previously donated by our older generation of artists and local collectors to be exhibited openly on a permanent basis, like the arts museum at Stanford University. This would have certain encouraging effects on private companies and individuals who wish to donate their art works in future. It would also help to prevent some precious collections from being lost to other countries.”
“Sir, I notice that in many Government departments and private companies, art works exhibited which are reproductions and not authentic works. This may have something to do with their budget on the purchase of art works. Of course, in this present financial crisis, it may not be a practical suggestion to Government departments and private companies to spend more money in buying authentic art works of our local artists. We all know that art works are priceless. The artistic value cannot be measured in monetary terms. However, to many of the artists in Singapore, most of whom are amateur artists, with steady incomes of their own, their aspiration is that their art works can be exhibited in the reception area of some important buildings and private companies. Therefore, many of the local artists are willing to donate their works, free of charge to MITA. Of course, they do not wish to see the art works they donated being tucked away in the storeroom. Sir, I have the privilege of visiting the Arts Museum of Stanford University. I noticed that the university had openly encouraged private companies to donate precious art works and antiques to them, and received very enthusiastic response. From what I know, the art works were permanently displayed in the arts museum, and were given dedicated protection. It is not a case of just exhibiting for a short while and then tucked away in the cellar. For this reason, I hope that MITA could set up a Local Arts Committee, and with the help of the NAC, to help arrange for these art works to be rotated and displayed in Government departments and private companies for open exhibition and display.”
“If this phenomenon is allowed to carry on in Singapore, I believe the Minister for Education, the principals and teachers will all lament the wasted efforts they have put in over the years, and what have become of our young people. In order to prevent our young boys and girls from going astray, I hope the Ministry of Home Affairs will exercise stricter control over discotheques and lounges, especially those which allow hanky-panky business to be conducted within their premises, so that the parents and teachers can feel at ease.”
“Sir, I would like to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to exercise more control on discotheques and lounges. Many parents and teachers are expressing regrets that the Government has relaxed the control over discotheques and lounges. In particular, they are greatly concerned and unhappy with the "Foam Party" at Sentosa and the ladies-only discotheques. In August last year, a novel "Foam Party" at Sentosa attracted about 500 participants, mainly teenagers. Scantily dressed boys and girls squeezed into a pool of thick foam and were in bodily contact with one another. Many openly embraced members of the opposite sex, even when they did not even know each other. Some brought their own liquor, and some were under-aged. According to a newspaper report, a 16 year-old student was seen wearing only brassiere and short skirts and fooling around with her boy friend in the foam. Many elderly Singaporeans were really surprised by the degree of openness of these young people. There was also one discotheque in Singapore which catered only for teenage girls. Among the patrons in the discotheque, half of them were dressed as girls and the other half were dressed as boys. Those who played the part of boys wore T-shirt and trousers with men's shoes. They spotted short and heavily gelled hair. At a glance, they looked like boys. If they do not open their mouth and talk, it is very difficult to tell that they were actually girls. Worse still, they were kissing each other. Girls and girls were hugging each other. Some even sat on the laps of the others. It is very hard to believe that such things can actually happen in this decent island of Singapore. These happenings have caused great concern among parents and teachers.”
“Therefore, I ask MHA to consider opening the prisons, the drug rehabilitation centres and the detention homes for visits by young Singaporeans. Let the secondary and primary students visit these places so that they could understand what would be the consequences if they were to do something wrong or to commit a crime, with the hope that these visits would have some deterrent effects on them. At the same time, we would also let our students know how effective our Police is in solving all the crimes, to drive home the message that "Crime does not pay"!”
“Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct open-house sessions for teenagers in Singapore to visit the prisons and feel for themselves the misery of lives behind bars, to serve as a deterrent to teenage crime. The problem of teenage crime is something which is of great concern to our people. According to a survey on the psychological qualities of our teenagers today, in 1996, teenagers nowadays are generally very emotional. They live in a materialistically rich environment, and they lack a sense of responsibility to society. This is unlike their older generations where they worked very hard for the society. Our young people are more egoistic. They are asking for more from the nation, from society and from the family. They do not understand what they can do for the nation, for the society and for the family. They only ask what can the nation and society do for them. This type of mentality is wrong. More importantly, they do not have the courage and confidence to deal with failures. With just a little setback, they will become very upset and start to blame others. They blame the family members, society and the Government, but never themselves. They even harbour the feeling that everybody has failed them, and they want to get back on them. Thus, they begin to develop an anti-social behaviour. Many parents nowadays do not know how to discipline their children. They allow them all the liberty to do as they wish. As a result, they are not properly guided. They do not have the will power to resist what is wrong and would often yield to temptation. Therefore, I urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to carry out more educational activities for the benefit of our teenagers and steer them away from crime.”
“This will not only help our business people to tide over the crisis, but also prepare them properly so that they would be able to seize good opportunities when the Asia Pacific's economy recovers, and make a comeback to better contribute to our country's economy. Of course, our local businessmen must also seize the opportunities that may be available to them with the recovery of the Asia Pacific's economy. In general, we must encourage our local businesses and MNCs to venture into the Asia Pacific region this year. Be the "early bird that catches the worm" and pick the right opportunities to invest and develop their business for good returns. I hope that the financial institutions in Singapore will quickly and resolutely take this kind of economic recovery into consideration, and be daring in providing financing facilities to the more reliable promising local businesses so as to help them to seize such opportunities as they come along. This will be helpful to our economic development. Furthermore, a survey by MasterCard International revealed that there has been significant increase in the consumer confidence index. As a businessman, my feeling for the economy and the market is more direct and sensitive. In view of this whole bunch of good news, I believe that the new year ahead will indeed be a good year for us to gong xi fa cai. Let us work hand in hand to prepare ourselves to receive gong xi fa cai . Sir, I support the motion.”
“Malaysia has also increased its foreign reserves by 40%, attaining a high of US$28 billion in a short period of time. The Philippines' foreign reserves reached US$12 billion in February this year, back to the level before the currency crisis. As for Thailand and Korea, their foreign reserves have risen to US$29 billion and US$52.2 respectively. All these increases in foreign reserves will help the countries' debt repayment and import capabilities, and indirectly stabilise the exchange rates. More importantly, the five countries and territories which have the highest foreign reserves in the world, namely, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are all in the Asia-Pacific region. This shows that the resilience and ability to rebound in the Asia Pacific's economy is very strong. In addition, the world's semi-conductor industry is also showing signs of recovery with expected growth of 8% this year. This will in turn bring about more exports of electronic products such as personal computers, mobile telephones, etc. and this will be beneficial to South-East Asian countries whose main exports are electronic products. On this basis, I would say that there are already signs of recovery in the Asia Pacific's economy. I hope that the Government and our people will not be overly pessimistic about the Asia Pacific's economy. We must be properly prepared. Apart from consolidating our domestic economy so that we would have more and more good years of economic prosperity ahead, the Government should also do more to create an environment conducive to investment by foreign and local entrepreneurs, by providing financing facilities and simplified procedures.”
“On the contrary, I have observed that the exchange rates of the currencies of these countries have rebounded by about 5% to 30% vis-a-vis last year's values. In the stock market and real estate market, there have been no more slips and there seems to be a tendency of stable climb. All these changes are very encouraging. Furthermore, many countries in the Asia-Pacific have also increased their budget to stimulate their country's economy and to increase the need for their imports. According to a report, in January, Korea has increased 15.4% in their imports and Thailand has increased by about 1.6%. In a speech delivered at a function of the New York Foreign Policies Association, the Managing Director of IMF, Mr Camdessus said, "Apparently, the economy of the Asia Pacific region is in the process of recovery, and for the world's economy, the worst seems to be over already." He admitted that, of late, the mistake of IMF was to be over-pessimistic about the economic prospects. He also felt that the economic reform plans adopted by the Asia-Pacific region were already beginning to prove effective, and that Korea and Thailand have apparently stepped out of their economic crisis. I would like to point out that there are already some silver linings appearing from the black clouds overhanging the Asia-Pacific's economy. The financial situation is stabilised, foreign trade is gradually improving and foreign reserves are increased. This year, the Philippines issued international bonds to secure more financing from international financial houses and to buy in US dollars from the foreign exchange market, thus substantially increasing the foreign reserves of the Philippines.”
“Then on the sixth day of Chinese New Year, ie, on 21st February, the Government of the People's Republic of China decided that it would expand its domestic demand and strive for 7% economic growth this year and they also stated categorically that the RMB would not be devalued. With all my years of experience investing in China, I feel that this is not an impossible task for the Chinese government. And then on 19th February, the Finance Minister of Taiwan also announced that Taiwan's five main financial reform measures were receiving immediate positive results. Therefore, from the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, I began to say "Gong Xi Fa Cai" again because I was no longer pessimistic about our future. After the Chinese New Year this year, there are a lot of changes in the economic situation in Asia-Pacific. Apart from India and Indonesia, there are many countries which are beginning to see light of recovery at the end of the tunnel. For some countries, they see hope of getting out of the present financial crisis. Apparently, the launch of the Euro and Brazil's financial turbulence have also caused some upheavals to the stock markets in this region. However, the financial market was able to recover its tranquility in a relatively short time. Apart from the attempt to stimulate its economic recovery by the passing of a S$1,211.5 billion budget, the Japanese Government also adjusted its currency policy to lower the Japanese yen exchange rate to its lowest in three months. The margin of depreciation of the currencies of the other countries in this region remains quite normal. There was no particular upheaval in the forex market.”
“Although the crisis has quite seriously impacted on us, our sound financial system and solid economic fundamentals have stood us well in withstanding this financial turmoil. Now, with some signs of recovery in the Asia-Pacific region, I feel that the Government and our people should not be too pessimistic about our future. We should see how we could seize this opportunity and move one step higher. The Government should also consider creating an environment which is conducive to foreign investors and local businessmen to invest here. This will help them to build up their business and, at the same time, bring out the entrepreneurship among our Singaporeans. Mr Speaker, Sir, on the first day of Chinese New Year this year, when community leaders, friends and relatives came to greet me, at first, I would avoid using the traditional Chinese greeting of "Gong Xi Fa Cai" because with this financial crisis and all the troubles in this region, no one will believe that we can fa cai or strike a fortune this year. So I just said very plainly, "Good Luck, Good Health". But then by the sixth day of Chinese New Year, my feelings changed because on the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, ie, on 19th February, the Japanese Parliament approved an unprecedented huge budget of S$1,211.5 billion to rescue the Japanese economy with the hope that in the new financial year starting on 1st April, it would be able to rescue Japan from its economic recession which had been troubling them over the last eight days. I have full confidence in this rescue package of the Japanese Government.”
“However, provisions are made to help our lower income families tide over these difficult times, unlike what the NCMP had said just now. I welcome the rebates given to the HDB dwellers in terms of rentals, utilities and S&C charges. I hope that the Government could also provide some form of assistance to those who are retrenched or unemployed because of the economic downturn, as their families are suffering because of their loss of income. I personally feel that after the off-budget measures and the $10.5 billion cost-cutting package announced by the Government last year, if the Government again gives some cost-cutting provisions in this budget, it would send the wrong message to foreign investors and local businessmen that our economy is getting worse. Therefore, I feel that although this Budget is very cautiously tabled and seemingly uneventful, like plain water, it is nevertheless a confidence-boosting budget. I believe that foreign investors will continue to come here to invest and local businessmen would also make a comeback to recapture lost ground, thereby helping to resolve our present unemployment problems. In short, to look beyond the economic crisis and put our focus on the strategic industrial development after recovery from the crisis is the correct thing to do. Our Government has been cautious in avoiding over-reacting to the present crisis, particularly at this time where there are signs of recovery for the economies in the region. I think this budget would give people more confidence and would alleviate their worries about our economic future. Mr Speaker, Sir, since its inception in July 1997, the Asian financial crisis has been sustained for more than 11/2 years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget Statement by the Finance Minister, Dr Richard Hu. On the surface, this budget would appear to be uneventful. Some people commented that it is like drinking plain water. Yet, it is a budget which is popularly supported by the people amidst this South-east Asian financial crisis. The budget deficit in 1999 has been increased from $470 million in 1998 to $5.05 billion this year, or 3.5% of our GDP which is the highest deficit in recent years. The increase in the budget deficit is mainly due to the increase in Development Estimates which is as high as S$13.94 billion, accounting for 48% of our total expenditure or 9.8% of our GDP which is again one of the highest figures in the recent history of Singapore. According to the Finance Minister, this is to be treated as an investment for our long-term development of our educational and economic infrastructure. For the education budget, it receives S$5.7 billion, which is 4% of our GDP and is much higher than the 3% in 1997 or 3.4% in 1998. On the Development Expenditure for the Ministry of Education, it has also increased by 31% or S$2.2 billion, out of which S$1 billion will be used for the construction of schools and the other S$315 million will be used on IT facilities. I am very glad that our Government would be able to spend so much money on education despite the economic crisis we are facing. I hope that the Ministry of Education would build more schools so that they could implement the full-day school programme as soon as possible, and that more computers would be purchased to facilitate our students with IT skills. On tax reduction, there is no big change in this budget, except for a 10% rebate for corporate and personal income tax only.”
“Whether your newspaper can sell or not, you have to edit, you have to write, you have to print every day. Finally, if you cannot sell your newspapers, you sell them cheaply to the karang guni man. The newspaper business is very, very capital-intensive. If you want your friend or your enemy to die, the best method is to encourage him to start a newspaper! So I hope that Mr Jeyaretnam could understand this motto of the publication industry. Do not encourage people to start a newspaper. You will be causing much harm to them. According to the motion by Mr Jeyaretnam, the most ideal newspaper or publication in Singapore perhaps is The Hammer, that is published by the Workers' Party. The Hammer is published under his control. Whatever he writes, it can be published and hopefully it will enjoy good circulation. Maybe they are selling more than the Straits Times or the Lianhe Zaobao. I do not know. I am not sure. It is not easy. I think he knows best whether it is selling well or not. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, whether the newspaper comes under the Singapore Press Holdings or under another syndicate, it is not important. The most important question is whether this newspaper could report in a fair, objective and independent manner. Whether it could receive support from the readers, that is the most important thing! I feel that our local newspapers have also attained this. In view of that, I think we should not waste our time discussing the NCMP's motion.”
“This is evidenced by the daily circulation figures of the various newspapers in 1997. For Straits Times the figure is 376,900; Lianhe Zaobao, 199,300; Shin Min Daily News, 111,600; Lianhe Wanbao, 132,200; and Business Times, only 33,000. If the Government wants to control all these newspapers, how can the contents of all these newspapers be so eventful, with a hundred flowers blossom, a hundred schools of thought contend? Besides, before the Government considers issuing the licence for a new newspaper to be published, we should also consider the future of our journalists. With an additional newspaper, it may have some adverse effect on their salaries and remuneration. If the circulation drops, and if the newspaper cannot grow, then their rice bowl would be in danger. Now that we are facing an economic crisis, we have to look after their rice bowl. We should not use our own perception of freedom to cause harm to them. Mr Jeyaretnam's perception of freedom cannot be used to feed these people. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have been in the publication industry for more than 20 years. There is one motto in our publication industry. It says that if you want to kill your friend or your enemy, the best method is to encourage him to invest in starting a newspaper. Because in Singapore, the market is small, our population is small, and investment in a newspaper is a very heavy one. It is not just $1 million or $2 million - much more than that, and the risk is high! Every day you have to publish. Yesterday's paper, even if you cannot sell it, you would have to print today's paper. And today's paper, you do not know whether you can sell or not, but tomorrow you will still have to publish.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, journalism is a sacred job. The birth and growth of a newspaper is closely related to the degree of support it receives from its faithful readers. Whether a newspaper is successful or not, it is dependent not only on its format and design, its sophisticated printing or its interesting contents, it is also on whether it is responsible, whether its arguments are independent and free, and on the professionalism of its journalists. In addition, and more importantly, it would also depend on whether the inclination and social consciousness represented or reflected by the newspaper is accepted by the people or not, and whether the vast majority of the readers hold the view that this newspaper is credible, reliable and readable. This is something that is decided by the market situation. It is not something that the Government can manipulate or influence. If the market has a need and it feels that more newspapers should be published, I believe the publishers will naturally make the necessary application to the Government. So long as they comply with the necessary requirement, their application will be approved. This is a business activity and conduct. I do not think Parliament needs to be bothered about it. Nowadays, with all these gloomy economic downturns around us, I think it would do us well for Parliament to spend time discussing how to tide over this economic crisis. This is the really important issue. We should not waste time talking about such unimportant matters. From the circulation figures I have obtained, the major newspapers in Singapore have a large readership. In other words, their independence, their reliability and their freedom of speech have been supported by the readers.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I must say I am very impressed by your patience for listening to the very long and repetitive speech of the NCMP which went on for one full hour. As an open society, it is important that Singapore possesses a news media which is objective, fair, pragmatic, responsible and independent and which enjoys the freedom of speech. This is because it will facilitate the mutual transmission of the correct signals, the exchange of views and arguments, and dissemination of latest science and technology among the Government, the social organisations and the people of the various races, and even with the international communities. Personally, I admire the important roles played by our newspapers such as the Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Business Times, Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, The New Paper, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu. As independent and responsible news media of Singapore, they have spared no effort in promoting Singapore's development into an open and progressive society. Opposition Members complain that they are not getting enough coverage in our local newspapers. On the other hand, my PAP colleagues often remark that the opposition members seem to attract more attention from the local press than they do. Even as the Deputy Chairman of the GPC for MITA, my picture does not appear in the newspapers as much as the opposition members. I believe every newspaper has its own standards and guidelines, and our journalists certainly know their job. We cannot say that they do not have freedom of speech and we want the Government to liberalise the issue of more permits for more newspapers to be published in Singapore. I do not think this is a sensible argument and I cannot agree with it. I therefore oppose the motion tabled by the NCMP.”
“The Chinese schools were facing extinction. Fortunately, with the Government's strong defence of the Chinese language to preserve the excellent heritage of the Chinese culture and the fine traditional values, the Chinese language has been able to grow steadily and healthily in Singapore. With the economic reform and open-door policy of China, the economic value of the Chinese language has become higher and higher. Learning better and more Chinese is very important to the future economic development of Singapore. In the circumstances, this may be an appropriate time to re-open the case for us to re-study and review the feasibility of establishing one or two Chinese schools in Singapore. For those who excel in Chinese Language, they can concentrate on majoring their CL1, with EL2 being offered as an optional subject. This is to deal with the changes in the economic development of the Asia-Pacific region. Ten years ago, if I were to make this suggestion, I would be accused of turning back the wheel of history or following the beaten track. But today, if we can coolly and objectively study and review this matter, it will be of benefit to the future economic development of Singapore. I urge the Ministry of Education to consider this suggestion of mine. I support the policy statement of the Deputy Prime Minister.”
“However, today, we should go one step further to emphasise the economic value of the Chinese language, and the impact it may have on the individuals, the society, and the nation. I always feel that during our past 30 years of nation-building, if we did not have English, we would not be able to achieve the sort of economic development we have today. Our people would not be able to enjoy such a high standard of living. But in the next 30 years, if we do not add in the Chinese language to the English Language, there will be great obstacles to our future prosperity and progress. We may find it very difficult to move one step higher in our economic development, and there will not be good years, year after year. This is because the Chinese language will play a very important economic role in the 21st century. If our parents and students today only recognise the economic value of English, and neglect the economic value of the Chinese language in the Asia-Pacific region, we will be lagging behind others in the economic environment. I therefore suggest that, apart from emphasising on the intrinsic values of the Chinese language in preserving cultural and traditional values, the Government should also emphasise the economic value and importance of the Chinese language so that students will be more pro-active in taking a positive attitude towards the learning of Chinese, just as the way they learn their English, rather than taking a passive and negative attitude. Finally, review and re-study the possibility of reviving the Chinese school. Some 20 to 30 years ago, because of the poor employment prospects for the graduates of Chinese schools, parents sent their children to English schools, resulting in the survival of the Chinese schools being threatened.”
“Fourthly, I feel that the contact time should not be reduced for the learning of Chinese. I was educated in the Chinese stream. During my school days, Chinese was the medium of instruction for all the subjects, such as history, geography, science, etc. Only EL2 was taught in English. Consequently, no matter how much time I spent, how much efforts I made to learn, I was unable to master my English. This was because I did not have a really good environment to be in contact with English Today, the situation in Singapore is just the reverse. Other than the subject "Chinese", the textbooks and the teaching of all the other subjects are in English. English is the medium of instruction. In the circumstances, with only one subject, Chinese, how can you expect the students to master the Chinese language? It is certainly not easy! More importantly, the Government must ensure that the students have enough time and opportunity to learn Chinese. Therefore, I suggest that, whether it is Higher Chinese, CL2, or CL `B', the exposure time should not be reduced. The teaching periods should not be reduced for diverting to the other subjects. If any school wishes to reduce the Chinese periods, its principal must first seek the approval of the Ministry of Education, stating very valid grounds, before it can be done. The opportunity to learn Chinese must not be sacrificed in order for the school to strive for higher ranking. Fifthly, we must place more emphasis on the economic value of Chinese language. Over the past few decades, the Government has been doing a lot for Chinese Language and this is for all to see. We often emphasise that the importance of learning Chinese is in the preservation of our Chinese culture, Chinese values, Chinese tradition and Chinese heritage.”
“The Chinese word is an ideograph. Chinese is not a romanised language. One has to learn the individual Chinese characters to build up his vocabulary. There must be some ways to make the learning of Chinese characters interesting. This is something that is lacking in our Chinese textbooks. Perhaps we should set up a committee to oversee the preparation of textbooks, particularly their contents. The Government should not just formulate the policy and let the writers have a free hand to write whatever they like. My third suggestion is that we should not let the Chinese community feel that the standard of Chinese will be lowered. The Chinese community is most concerned about the Chinese culture, Chinese values and the Chinese language, and they have been working very painstakingly and faithfully in helping the Government preserve the Chinese cultural heritage. Therefore, when we promote Higher Chinese, we must also look after the small minority of students who have difficulty in learning Chinese. That is why the Ministry is setting a simpler CL `B' paper for these students. We should assure the Chinese community that the standard of mother tongue in Singapore will not be lowered. In view of this, we must restrict the number of students opting for CL `B', as suggested by Dr Ow Chin Hock. Only students who have good learning ability for other subjects, but for some reasons could not cope with the learning of Chinese, shall be allowed to opt for CL `B'. It is only with the recommendation of the teachers that they are allowed to take CL `B' in place of CL. Otherwise, many ethnic Chinese students will use the excuse of having come from English-speaking families to readily give up CL and switch to CL `B'.”
“However, they were born in a Chinese-speaking family which is rich in Chinese cultural atmosphere. Apart from good English, they also have quite a lot of exposure to Chinese (although I often criticize their writing in Chinese as being unreadable rubbish). Their classmates always feel that they are at a disadvantage when they come to the learning of Chinese, because they were not born in a Chinese-speaking family, and they therefore claim that it is not fair to them. Therefore, I would like to urge the Government not to make it too easy for students from English-speaking families to drop the learning of their mother tongue. Unless it is absolutely necessary, the Government should not allow the parents to withdraw their children from the normal CL course and switch them over to the lower CL `B' course. At the same time, the Government should prescribe the medicine according to the ailment and find out the reasons for these students' difficulty in learning Chinese. Is it the textbook, the teaching method and environment, or the attitude of the parents themselves? Apart from that, I would like to raise another point concerning the teaching of functional words, grammar, word discrimination and rhetoric in Chinese. I feel that we should not rigidly teach these things in our teaching materials. As a matter of fact, even after my graduation from the senior middle school, I did not know there were such things as functional words, grammar, word discrimination or rhetoric in Chinese. But after I graduated, I could write Chinese, I could read Chinese, I could understand Chinese, and I could speak Chinese. Therefore, in the teaching of Chinese, all materials which unnecessarily add on to the burden of the students should be expunged from the textbooks.”
“It tells you how imaginative the Chinese people were, even some centuries ago. The Monkey God could pluck a few hairs from his body, give them a blow and hundreds of little monkeys were cloned. As far back as a few thousand years ago, the Chinese people had already had this imagination of human-cloning. 4. Romance of the Three Kingdoms. By reading this book, you will appreciate the high intelligence and clever strategies of the Chinese people in their struggle for power, and arm yourself with the proper tools to do business with the people in China. If we can enhance our students' knowledge of the Chinese culture through our Higher Chinese lessons, this will be of great help to our grooming of Chinese elite. We can also choose to publish simplified versions of all these four books suitable for children and teenagers, make them easier for our students to study them and thereby enhancing their interest. The second approach is to find out the real reason why our students are having problems learning Chinese. Today, Singaporeans who learn Chinese basically have no problem in listening and speaking. Most of them can understand and speak some simple Mandarin. But in reading and writing, they face a lot of difficulties. This is mainly because they do not have too many opportunities to get in contact with the Chinese language but have generally more exposure to English language. When I discussed the problem of the learning of the Chinese language with my children, they told me that their standard of English is much higher than that of their Chinese. Even then, compared to other students, my children are more fortunate, because in school, they have ample opportunities to be exposed to English. So the standard of their English is quite good.”
“From my experience in investing in China, I truly understand that the Chinese-educated from Singapore have a distinct advantage over others in China. They are like fish in the water. They have created many business opportunities and interests beneficial to Singapore. But, for those English-educated from Singapore, they do not understand the actual conditions in Singapore, and tried to apply the Singapore and western management model and investment style in China. In the end, they run into a lot of trouble and problems. Mr Speaker, Sir, the adaptability of the Chinese-educated and the English-educated in the China market and the reading of the investment environment in China are closely linked to their educational background. The Chinese-educated are in a better position to understand the Chinese culture, language, thinking and way of doing things, and make flexible adjustment and coordination to deal with the problems encountered in their investment projects. I feel that for Singaporeans to work, invest or do business in China, they must, first of all, spend some time to study the four "Great Classics" in the Chinese literature: 1. Dream of the Red Chamber. This thick book of a few thousand pages paints a picture of the complexity of the huge extended family in ancient China. The story evolves around a big family compound known as Dai Guan Yuan and talks about the conflicts and struggle among the clans within the family, and the intricacies in coordinating and resolving these problems; 2. The Water Margin. It enables you to understand the meaning of yi qi (righteousness), and learn how 108 heroes' vastly different backgrounds could come together and be united like brothers. 3. Journey To the West.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I welcome and support the policy statement by DPM Lee in nurturing a new generation of Chinese elite. The revised mother tongue policy will, on the one hand, give more students the opportunity to study Higher Chinese in order that a group of Chinese elite may be nurtured in Singapore, and on the other hand, continue to look after the interest of the majority of students who are taking CL so that they will, in the process of learning Chinese, generate certain interest in Mandarin Chinese, let them appreciate the connotative meanings of the Chinese culture, and thereby moulding their integrity and fine cultivation. This is indeed commendable! As for those who have special difficulty in learning Chinese, we have also made special arrangement for them to take a simpler CL `B' paper, to lighten their burden of learning, and to encourage them to continue to keep in contact with their mother tongue. I think this is also something that cannot be faulted. As such, I support the policy. But in implementing this new policy, I have the following suggestions for the Ministry of Education to study and consider: In the Higher Chinese lessons, students should be appropriately taught the poli- tical, economic, cultural and historical background of China. This will help the Chinese elite have a fuller understanding of China by simultaneously adopting the Oriental and Western perspectives. To a certain degree, they will be able to look at things Chinese - China's social formation, the Chinese way of thinking, the Chinese way of doing things from the viewpoint of the Chinese people, and not just make comments or pass judgement from the angle of Singaporeans or Westerners.”
“The important thing is whether the standard of living of the people of Singapore, including the Member for Hougang, is getting better and better. Mr Low Thia Khiang(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, of course, I want to have a better standard of living. But the PAP keeps saying more good years. But now what I see is that it is not getting better every year even though it is under the leadership of the PAP. When the external situation is bad, it will still be bad for Singapore. So it is not more good years.”
“I support Mr Yeo's views. As in the game of Chinese chess, whenever you make a move, you have to take the latest development on the board into consideration. One wrong move, and the whole game is lost. Therefore, we look at it as a whole. If we want to win the whole game, then we must make every move correctly and at the correct time. I am confident that the PAP will win the game.”
“Thank you for clarifying. Since the residents in Potong Pasir did not make any request to Mr Chiam See Tong as their Member of Parliament to look for a job when they are retrenched, the retrenchment problem is not very serious in Potong Pasir. As MP for Jalan Besar, every week I meet my people, and there are many constituents who come to me for help to look for a new job because of retrenchment. But the residents in Potong Pasir did not see him. Maybe these people went direct to the Ministry of Manpower to look for jobs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I know that Mr Chiam See Tong is a veteran MP. In fact, I respect him. Unfortunately, after all these years in Parliament, Mr Chiam's Chinese has not improved much. He did not understand what I said just now. Let me ask him very slowly. Mr Chiam See Tong, did you say that no retrenched worker had approached you at your meet-the-people session for help to find another job?”
“Just now I was referring to Mr Chiam's remark that no retrenched worker had come to see him at his meet-the-people session for help to find another job.”
“I believe the CSC took more than a year to come out with this Report. Therefore, we should start now to plan a second package as a contingency plan against any future crisis. EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) Resolved, That the proceedings on the item of business under discussion be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No. 1. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. COMMITTEE ON SINGAPORE'S COMPETITIVENESS Debate resumed.”
“I suggest that the Government consider granting some loans or financial assistance to local enterprises which have the potential to go regional. For example, we may allow them to use their company's shares as collateral for mortgage loans. Promising local enterprises may have the potential to go regional, but they may not be able to secure bank loans during this economic crisis. Many banks which have previously granted loans to companies or enterprises to invest in Malaysia and Indonesia are having problems recovering their loans. Once bitten twice shy. The banks are having this phobia whenever they hear that the companies are going regional. Nowadays, when you talk to the banks about regionalisation, they are simply not interested. So if the Government could give these companies a helping hand, it will help them to go regional earlier and faster, and will go a long way in building these local enterprises into world class companies. Sixthly, more business information should be provided to the businesses in Singapore at this time where prompt international business information is of utmost importance. I think MTI should be able to provide more ready information to our businesses. This is more effective than conducting overseas tours for our trade delegations. Finally, we should start to plan a second package to save our economy from future crisis. Some people are of the impression that the present package of $12 billion to help our local enterprises may not be enough to save our economy. However, if the international economic situation deteriorates rapidly, the future will be most unpredictable. If we wait for the worst to happen before planning for a second package to save our economy, it will be too late. I think we should prepare well in advance.”
“I think maybe we should consider allowing retrenched workers from families with combined income of less than $800 per month to withdraw, say, S$150 per month from their CPF account for a period of 12 months. In other words, the maximum they could withdraw is only S$1,800 but to them this may be the straw they can hold on to tide over the difficult times. Fourthly, we should reschedule the instalment payments of shopowners and hawker stallholders. Many existing tenants bought over their shops or stalls under the "Shop For Everyone" Scheme introduced by HDB some years ago. With business so bad now, they are having problems serving their loan instalments. I hope that the HDB would reschedule the loan repayment or maybe suspend their payment for one year so that they could continue to pay after the crisis is over. Many hawkers are also having the same predicament. I think the Government should also help them. I also suggest that the Government should consider reducing the rentals for the shops and hawker stalls in the HDB estates. Fifthly, we should provide capital assistance to our promising local enterprises which have the potential to go regional. The CSC has recommended eight major strategies. I am in particular agreement with three of them, ie, to strengthen the external wing, to build world-class local companies and to strengthen our base of small and medium local enterprises. From the perspective of long-term development, using foreign economies to supplement the growth of the domestic economy is a practical strategy. At the same time, while strengthening the local enterprises, it will also provide the Singapore economy with a new impetus for growth.”