R Dhinakaran
Singapore
“With a strong Singapore Core that is economically resilient, we will build a strong and cohesive Singapore body. Singapore has come a long way in these near 50 years with the right fundamentals and conditions.”
“We wish to commend ACRA for its time and efforts in obtaining comments from the public, as well as holding dialogue sessions with professional bodies, including the Singapore Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators (SAICSA), the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and the Law Society of Singa…”
“I would like to propose that we should look at the transport companies like healthcare institutions which operate not on profit or loss basis and receive support from Government. This way, at least, it is neat and clean and is not torn between the objectives as a private company and obligations of a national service provider.”
“Further, I would like to suggest that for such an assistance scheme, which could become a national initiative to grow our population, we should award it universally to all young couples and, like in the Pioneer Generation Package, not base it on any form of Page: 66 means-testing. We need Singapore children, rich and not rich alike.”
“The Government should help them in this regard to give them grants and the expertise from our Government agencies on developing R&D, commercialising it and also to develop and market their own brands on the global market. This will also help SMEs build their revenue streams so that they can better cope with the costs.”
“Thank you, Madam. I thank the Acting Minister for the explanation. I wish to ask a supplementary question on whether the Ministry was going to moderate the recruitments in the other source countries which MOM had been concentrating on in the past, besides China, India, Thailand and Bangladesh.”
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“This recommendation was expanded later in the report to entail two broad strategic areas – firstly, to review ICPAS' Constitution to ensure its relevance and alignment with ICPAS' mission as the national professional accounting body and that the ensuing governance and leadership structure and system are consistent with that of a professional accountancy body with a global membership, outlook and standing; and secondly, to review its infrastructure to ensure that they support the vision of the ICPAS becoming a professional accountancy body with a global membership, outlook and standing. I can assure you that ICPAS has seen to both recommendations, to do a thorough review of its Constitution, introduce a new governance and leadership structure, as well as take steps to expand its infrastructure and fine-tune its processes to ensure that it is able to effectively play the role envisioned in the CDAS report. I feel that ICPAS has the necessary capabilities to own and administer the SQP by itself and has taken steps to ensure that it can play this role effectively to aid in the overall development of the accountancy sector here. Page: 89 So, the SAC should allow ICPAS to play this role, while it maintains broader and strategic oversight of the sector, including the SQP, as envisioned by the CDAS report. The widely held argument may be that in accountancy, like its other professional sector counterparts – as mentioned by the Minister just now, law, architecture and medicine – it is important to standardise the professional qualifications and accreditation processes under a centralised national body. However, there are inherent differences between the accountancy sector and these other professional sectors, which reduce its need to come under a blanket regulatory body.”
“Thus, the Bill will now allow the SAC to own the Chartered Accountant of Singapore Qualification, and migrate all current CPA members to this new qualification. In doing so, the SAC will become the owners of this designation and qualification of all ICPAS members and then fulfil some of the functions that ICPAS currently does in terms of the professional qualification of the accountancy profession here, except for membership registration. SAC will however appoint ICPAS only as an administrator for the SAC-owned Singapore Page: 88 Qualification Programme (SQP). However, I feel that the CDAS Report actually envisioned a more complementary role between SAC and ICPAS, with the SAC actually maintaining more of a supervisory, regulatory function. For example, recommendation 10 of the Report states that the SAC should be given "formal oversight responsibilities over the administration of" the Singapore branded professional accountancy qualification and the necessary accreditation processes. I doubt that the recommendations by the Committee called for the SAC to take complete ownership of the qualification and the SQP. Take the third strategic thrust of the Report mentioned earlier which calls for concerted action from all relevant stakeholders who can, and should, make a difference in turning the Singapore accountancy vision into a reality. Besides calling for the establishment of the Singapore Accountancy Council, the recommendation also proposed for the transformation of ICPAS into a professional accountancy body with a global membership, outlook and standing.”
“The final report of this Committee, which the Minister had established in December 2008 to conduct a holistic review of the Singapore accountancy sector and profession, with the aim to position Singapore as a leading international centre for accountancy services and professionals, was formally accepted by the Minister in May 2010. Under its third strategic thrust of establishing strong infrastructure and institutions for the accountancy sector, the Committee recommended the establishment of a Singapore Accountancy Commission. According to the Report, this strategic thrust "is a call for concerted action from all the relevant stakeholders who can, and should, make a difference in turning the Singapore accountancy vision into a reality". Global role for ICPAS. One of these relevant stakeholders is the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS). In promoting the accountancy sector, this Bill, also creates an opportunity for the Singapore Accountancy Commission to work with ICPAS to achieve that objective and at the same time allow the latter to increase its own global profile. As stipulated by this Bill, the SAC will now do many of the functions that ICPAS currently does. For instance, one of the functions of the SAC should be to develop, provide for, administer, facilitate or collaborate on the development, provision or administration, of programmes, qualifications, certifications, specialisations or continuing professional development relating to the accountancy sector and its related fields in Singapore. At present, ICPAS administers the professional qualification of the accountancy sector here and accords the CPA Singapore designation. The Bill also introduces a new designation, the Chartered Accountant of Singapore.”
“This Bill has generally positive implications for an important sector of our economy. Developing Singapore's Accountancy Sector. The Singapore accountancy sector plays a substantial role in the growth and development of the Singapore Economy. Firstly, it provides access to professional accountancy services and talents needed by the different sectors of the economy. Besides catering to domestic demand, the accountancy sector itself is also experiencing significant growth opportunities on the exports of its professional services to the region as it has shown double-digit growth on a compounded annual growth rate basis on its exports of professional services to the region since 2000. Against this backdrop, this Bill is timely as it seeks to establish the Singapore Accountancy Commission, which will mark an important milestone and start a new chapter in the development of the Accountancy sector in Singapore, and our effort to transform Singapore into a leading global Accountancy Hub for the Asia Pacific by 2020. The establishment of the Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC) will lend weight and add impetus critical to the development of the accountancy sector in Singapore and the transformation of Singapore into a leading global accountancy hub. More significantly, its establishment clearly reflects the Government's strong support of and firm commitment to follow up on the recommendations Page: 87 of the Committee to Develop the Accountancy Sector (CDAS).”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to speak on this Bill. At the outset, I would like to declare that I am an accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS). I am also the Vice-President of ICPAS, but I stand here to speak in my own personal capacity. Madam, I would like to make a request to hand over a handout to all Members for some clarification.”
“Much as we try to protect individuals and society from the negative spillovers of having a casino in our society, we have to acknowledge that the IRs and casinos have, in fact, created significant economic benefits for Singapore and our businesses. We should, hence, treat them in the same way as we have welcomed other MNCs into our country over the years to which we have extended many benefits and subsidies. I am not arguing in favour of the subsidies for our IRs, but I am mindful that we should not burden them with overly stringent requirements for operating, financial reporting and other regulations, such as taxation and so on. Where possible, we should simplify the procedures of dealing with the relevant authorities or Government agencies and complying with regulations. The removal of the $1,000 minimum for disputes with patrons, for example, may create a culture where patrons have little deterrent or criteria to lodge disputes and thus may do so on little basis. This could result in unnecessary resource wastage by the casino operators. Admittedly, Sir, the nature of their business requires us to be more vigilant and pre-emptive in dealing with the impact on society, but now that we have welcomed them here, we must also be mindful in not squeezing them too much that they feel unwelcome or unfairly treated because we have benefited more from their presence than they have been detrimental to the society here. I meant the economic benefit to the nation. In conclusion, Sir, I generally support the Bill. Page: 1413 5.31 pm”
“As such, it would be useful in also expanding the family or personal exclusion initiatives to include such individuals; also for the cap on the number of visits and amount of money spent to include such individuals. Here, some due diligence has to be done to determine the person's debt standing. Page: 1412 Impact on society. Besides high-risk individuals, we should also not ignore the potential of other members of society running into trouble, financial or otherwise, in visiting the casino. I would like to draw attention to a certain segment of our society – those people who are in positions of authority, responsibility and public accountability, especially when they have access to or control over large sums of money, either through their jobs or through their public service. Sir, such individuals, if they lose a lot of money at the casino, could amplify the negative externalities of the casinos on society if they decide to abuse the trust bestowed upon them in handling the finances in their jobs or public service positions. If we do not wish to see a proliferation of such cases in the future, we may need to be pre-emptive. It may be useful to encourage employers and their organisations to opt for an exclusion order on such individuals in the interest of their jobs and the organisations they serve. In order to reduce the negative impact on society, I also think that the casinos and IRs should be responsible stakeholders of society. Besides preventing the casinos from advertising or marketing themselves, they should also be required to participate in promoting responsible gambling. They should be required to invest in such efforts, much as the cigarette companies now issue health warnings on their cigarette packets. IR as an economic driver.”
“If we cap the number of times a person is allowed to visit the casino, assuming human psyche, he may be tempted to spend more on each visit or on any of the visits if he realises that he may not be allowed to come back to the casino for a period of time. Hence, this may defeat the original intent of the capping of his frequency to the casino, which is to reduce the risk of him losing large amounts of money. I would like to propose that the Bill also includes a cap on the amount of money such high-risk individuals may be allowed to spend at the casino, as other fellow Members have already similarly suggested. There are many ways of doing that. You can even set a percentage on their annual income, which should be more appropriate from his last year's income, and it may help in this direction. This may be taken in totality − how much he is allowed to spend in a month or year, or on each visit. The latter option should, of course, be complemented with a cap on the number of visits. I also note that effort has been made to strengthen the protection of high-risk individuals from the casinos, through the family exclusion order. This is based on the person's financial factors, such as credit standing, bankruptcy and so on. However, there are other individuals in society that may have healthy financial standing based on our system of credit assessment as these reports evaluate the individual on whether he has defaulted on payment, not the total amount of loan he may be owing. So if an individual keeps servicing his loan through another loan, he would technically still not have a bad credit history but would probably be quite in debt. Is such a person a high-risk individual? I would certainly argue so.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on this relevant topic that is important to our society as well as Singapore's economic growth. Ever since the Integrated Resorts (IRs) have been brought into Singapore, the casinos have played a central role in it. While the economy has benefited from the existence of the IRs, we have also seen examples of individuals who have gotten into trouble due to the existence of the casinos in our society. Media reports have shown individuals who have used deviant methods to enter the casino, play a game, cheat on winnings and run into financial problems thereafter. Page: 1411 Therefore, this Bill allows us the opportunity to revisit some of the conundrums or problems that have emerged with the casinos and let us correct them so that they may continue to exist in our society with greater benefit than detriment. This Bill should be considered through three perspectives: its impact on high-risk individuals, its impact on society and the effectiveness of the IRs to be an important driver of our economy. While I agree that it is impossible to ensure that no individual will be less better-off or avoid being in a detrimental position through the existence of the casino, as it is ultimately down to individual choices and values, we can certainly tighten the laws to help minimise and control any negative externalities. Firstly, I commend the proposed Bill for considering capping the number of times certain individuals may be allowed to visit the casino in a period of time. I think this is a step in the right direction to reduce the danger of high-risk individuals in losing large sums of money. However, such a cap may not be sufficient to achieve this objective. Allow me to illustrate.”
“I would like to check with the Minister of State if the interest is a fixed interest, or whether the Fund income is fixed income from other Government investments. If that is the case, what is the revenue estimated for the five years on this Fund, whether that is already included into the Fund? What is the total amount of that income?”
“As such, I feel that the sentences being meted out to those whose actions are intended to cheat the scheme, should be harsher so as to create a strong deterrent. On the whole, Sir, I support this Bill. 6.15 pm”
“If these criteria are intended to dovetail any existing criteria stipulated in other schemes or regulations, then this should be made explicitly clear. Page: 1291 One of the reasons I feel that it is important to specify these criteria clearly and explicitly in the Act, is so that a more accurate number of Singaporeans who fall under these guidelines may be determined and, therefore, a better estimate of the amount of payment likely to be paid out can be made. This will make the fund more efficient, the size of which would be better estimated. Touching on the size of the fund, it may be also useful to stipulate how this would change in accordance with the rate of GST. Should the GST rate be increased in the future, for example, would this then lead to a larger size of a fund, to reflect a larger quantum of financial assistance that may be needed to be paid out in future? Theoretically speaking, it should, but it should be useful to have this enshrined. Since the fund may be used for investment, the incomes of which would help grow the initial fund size, I think it may be useful to also provide more clarity and guidelines on the nature of investments the fund may engage in. I would think, given the use of the fund, it would be prudent to ensure that the fund's risk-appetite is not that large. It would be better for the fund to be invested in less risky investments. This should be stipulated, especially since a third-party may be engaged for the purposes of managing these investments of this fund. As this fund is also public money, there should be little tolerance of any attempt to cheat or mislead the system to benefit from the financial assistance being meted out.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on this Bill, which is of importance to many Singaporeans. The Bill is designed to help financially needy Singaporeans with GST costs and this is useful as it helps cope with rising costs of living in Singapore. Although reports have suggested that the inequality gap has widened here in Singapore, transfer payments from the Government have actually helped narrow this gap, and this Bill is another example of how the Government can help further plug this gap. As costs of living in Singapore have increased over the years, at a pace that is faster than the rate of income growth for most Singaporeans, there have been calls to look at how these financial burdens may be alleviated. The Goods and Services Tax is one area in which some of the public attention has focused on, especially since the rate of GST has increased gradually in line with the Government's public finance policy of a greater shift to indirect taxation from direct tax. Such calls have asked to exempt low-income Singaporeans from paying GST on basic necessities. While I do not think that this would be a productive or effective move, I recognise that the emotion behind this argument has been fuelled by a view that the GST is an additional burden on this group of Singaporeans. In light of that, this Bill is timely and relevant as it is a more direct and effective way in helping low-income Singaporeans deal with the GST costs. There are some points though that I would like to raise in relation to this Bill. First, I would have hoped that the Bill stipulated the criteria through which the beneficiaries of this Bill would be defined. It would have been a good opportunity to determine, which Singaporeans would qualify for this assistance and which would not.”
“Would the release also then include accrued interests? And thirdly, on section 27 (3)(b), where the bona vacantia property was a land which had been sold, the successful claimant would only receive payment by means of monies. How would the quantum payment be made? Would it be the sale proceeds at the time of sale of the land by the Government or would it be based on the valuation at the time of the claim? Can the Minister also provide some details as to how a bona vacantia would be dealt with, such as the holding period before the land is sold and also the method of sale, etc? Finally, Sir, how would the Government address the concern of a claimant, for example, that the bona vacantia land has been of ancestral, or other intrinsic value, and should not have been sold off by the Government? With that, Sir, I support the Bill. 3.08 pm”
“Also, there should be provisions to ensure that false claimants who are revealed after the warrant has been issued to transfer the assets in their name, can be brought to task for the false claims. And, of course, provision should also be made to repossess the assets that have been transferred should the claim prove to be false. Also these processes may have to take into account disputes in claims and decide how these should be resolved. We must not ignore the possibility that such disputes may emerge even after the warrant of transfer has been issued and the transaction is completed. On the whole, I wish to extend my support to the Bill which aims to simplify the process and to ensure that assets that belong to the deceased are transferred properly to the deserving claimants. 3.06 pm Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Sir, in general, this amendment Bill is a welcome as it covers greater scope than the current section 27. I have a few clarifications to raise. First, the amendment empowers the Minister with no change to the existing provision to release any bona vacantia properties to any person if the Minister is satisfied that person has established an equitable or moral claim on the property. Page: 977 Now, would the Minister require the claimant to obtain an order from the court that the claimant has indeed established this before the Minister is satisfied with the claim? Again, this is related to the preservation of authenticity as mentioned by the Member, Mr Dhinakaran. There would also be the concern of legal as well as court costs incurred by the claimant to obtain that order. Secondly, pertaining to section 27 (3)(a), where the release of the bona vacantia property consists of only monies, would the release be also of the principal sum?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill. This Bill is very useful and is a reflection that the Government is aware of the rapidly evolving environment around us. One of the issues that we have been discussing openly in the public domain is that of low marriage and birth rate, a problem that may have serious implications on the society and the economy of Singapore. Page: 976 With more Singaporeans choosing not to get married or not having children, we may face a situation in the future where many Singaporeans grow old without next-of-kin or clear heirs to their properties. As such, the proposed amendments through this Bill to the Civil Law Act to expand the scope of section 27 and to make related amendments to the Public Trustee Act are timely as they will help resolve matters related to ownerless property accruing to the death of individuals who do not have any next-of-kin. While this Bill will allow, that is, the rightful person, property of deceased citizens to be transferred to claimants and ensure more equitable distribution of assets, I have some concern about the authenticity of such claims that may emerge as the process is now made more simplified through these amendments accruing to this Bill. I would like to query on the process and criteria that have been thought of and how these will help protect the authenticity of the claims and to ensure that the pay-outs made meet their intended consequences of equitable distribution. To protect this process, it is also perhaps important to consider implementing some deterrents to prevent false claimants from making their claims. I would like to suggest creating a clause in this Act that would penalise such errant claimants as a deterrent.”
“A blanket approach may not be a good solution. Page: 876 Besides, in case of disputing the intrusion by both parties, the resolution would become an expensive and needless affair for both parties. What we need to build in here is more a sense of responsibility to marketers and a clear option for customers to opt out after having been given a chance to understand what is being offered. This will ensure that the customer later does not cry foul that he was never informed, while the fact would have been that he had opted out of all marketing calls because he was irritated by one stray call for something he did not want. A simple and balanced approach is the way to go forward, than to weave complexity and create more work for all parties, including the judiciary. The cost-benefit analysis may also prove the complexity is unworthy. On the whole, I support the Bill, Sir. 6.07 pm”
“Marketing, after all, is to create a need where there is none, and it is the best possible when you reach out to a target segment beyond your existing customer base. Having made my point through the speech, I would like to acknowledge that there is indeed a need to protect the privacy of our people and it should not be abused by cold calls and unsolicited approaches. But I feel the approach we are taking is perhaps more theoretical than keeping it simple, practical and perhaps clinical. Some possible ways will include those I will list. If there is indeed clamour in the market on unsolicited communication, it would be perhaps best to analyse and segment the noise and address the specifics alone. For instance, if financial marketing of loans and credit lines are the majority of the breach of personal privacy, then an opt-out option could be made compulsory before making the call. To ensure that customers' privacy is respected but at the same time he is exposed to new products and services that may be of interest to him or her, we should allow a less direct but personalised approach. A SMS to an intended customer seeking permission to call for discussing an offer can be sent together with an option to unsubscribe future messages and calls on a toll-free basis will clearly avoid nuisance while giving the customer a choice with minimum intrusion. A call should follow only having a reply from the customer rather than a message where silence is implied as acceptance to the offer. Imagine, if offers in supermarkets are not to be communicated to regular buyers, how would the customers react to their favourite retailers not communicating to them on bargain buys? Clearly, there is a distinction on what we would want to hear and what we do not want to hear from the marketers.”
“Having spelt out a few instances of complexity and additional costs we may be weaving into the existing practices, I would like to imagine brief immediate recourse by businesses to avoid the maze of legal complexities the Bill may bring about. Today, in many western countries where a DNC registry is in place and personal data protection law is in force, unsolicited calls are almost non-existent. Businesses have adapted to use other communication channels to reach out to their customers. These methods are largely generic and public channels. The use of flyers is extremely high in these markets. Perhaps, while we would have addressed the menace of unsolicited marketing approaches with a tedious-to-implement data protection law, we may be unwittingly inviting more flyer menace in our mailboxes. We may want to look and think about this well in advance, especially when we are spending large amounts of resources to control littering in our country! Page: 875 At a time when we are looking at customised services and customised marketing, the new Bill will increase costs significantly for database handling and administration, making more of the smaller businesses to go back to blanket marketing methods which will be easier and less costly. The irony of this subject is that while we are annoyed by unsolicited approaches, we are still keen to have the best offers to selectively reach us. It is a choice to make between wants for better deals and offers, and the need for privacy. A costly choice for the businesses, it is the price we are trying to assign for the legal complexity we may be weaving into our lives which may not address the real issue of breach of privacy as it may eventually lead to other kinds of unsolicited approaches.”
“While the Bill requires data users to preserve sources of data, it allows already available public data for use. What about customers who have detailed online profiles giving personal contact particulars while also seeking privacy or selectively signing consent for certain use? Does the public information available overrule all the selective consent given? What if visiting cards shared in business forums or meetings are used as a consent and implicit interest in the company's products and services? I would like to draw attention to the DNC database. This is the most direct redressal of key grievances leading to the Bill. I am sure most of us receive unsolicited calls typically trying to market unsolicited financial instruments. We may want to join the DNC list out of frustration and irritation. Having joined the list, it does not preclude any of us from being enamoured by some exciting things we see or offers we like and therefore we may register our interest for these services or goods. However, if the business does really check the DNC registry, we should be getting no communication. Is this what we want? Is this acceptable? Will we not charge the retailer for not providing good services and not receiving the communication despite registering for it? The fact that we have chosen to enlist in DNC may have occurred in a different context and timeframe. The DNC, being dynamic in nature, makes it even more onerous for businesses to follow. Businesses may make a decision based on the status at a point in time, only to be unwittingly violating it at the point of making the call should the customer opt out of the DNC list by then. These are practical realities and complexities. Moreover, the call roster to make calls at call centres is made in advance.”
“In addition, the businesses always grow in size and scope and it is very natural for new add-on services to emerge, keeping in view of its relevance to its customer base. This results in the creation of newer business divisions, entities and subsidiaries within the same parent group. The Bill forbids usage of existing customers' data between subsidiaries or group companies unless explicitly collected for the use. This will lead to severe duplication of efforts and maintenance of separate databases, marketing team, etc, and may even kill cross marketing efforts which drive increasing productivity and even customer satisfaction. Of course, it leads to higher costs for businesses in duplicating the marketing efforts. Furthermore, wilful wrong submissions of data by customers who want to protect privacy but are also keen to have businesses reach out to them on offers is not uncommon. Some people may be filling mandatory fields in an online form, with fictitious email, IDs and phone numbers. While these numbers may not be theirs, it may be existing numbers of other people who have shown no interest in the company's products or services but are now exposed to marketing calls unwittingly. Is the business guilty on the count of breach of privacy? Page: 874 The Bill states the need to preserve logs and usage of personal data for a minimum period of one year. Is it practical to expect SMEs to maintain logs for every marketing call they make if they do not use the services of a sophisticated call centre? I am sure some small businesses may not have the resources to engage such professional services for peripheral reasons or spending additional resources in maintaining the data internally.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, today, we are on the verge of passing a landmark Act, which will make personal data more confidential and safe. While I understand the need for such a Bill arose from the plight of several unhappy residents of Singapore having being accosted by strangers offering various unsolicited services, and the need for the law to take a tough stand to dissuade such nuisance creators, it is important to understand and think through the needless collateral damage we may be causing with this Bill. The Bill has tried to define personal data, its usage and various obligations for the party holding on to this data. While the attempt has been towards clarifying the usage and their implications, it will weave in a maze of legal complexity into the subject. I wish to bring to highlight certain types of challenges we are likely to face after this Bill is passed. Firstly, I would like to illustrate the example of signing forms with disclaimers like in the case of credit cards, and so on, where most people sign on the dotted line without going through the page full of clauses in detail and in very, very small letters. You need a kind of binoculars to go through the details. They may have unknowingly permitted usage of their personal data for marketing purposes, which the company is within legal bounds to use. However, the customer may take offence under the present law claiming the calls as violation of privacy and the business forced to prove that its calls were legitimate. For small businesses, the legal and operational costs incurred to prove that it was legally accorded the right to use the data by the customer will be an over burden.”
“Most of these agreements are verbal and cash transactions which cannot be verified. The goal should be to root out possibilities of misrepresentations by middlemen. Although the rules and regulations are in place, the Ministry should have tighter guidelines and monitoring of agents who may act in collusion with several other people within and outside Singapore to give false hopes and promises to innocent and gullible workers. The number of agents and their methods of working need monitoring and control to eliminate any possibility of abuse of the law. We should perhaps regulate this profession in order to monitor standards and quality as well as ensure that the integrity of the profession is not compromised. Sir, while dealing with foreign manpower problems, it will be a good idea to explore working with the governments of those countries, the main ones in particular, especially through their Embassies in Singapore. They can help in endorsing foreign credentials and spreading the rules and tight regulations including penalties for offenders in home countries. Exploring possibilities of working with authorised employment bureaus in foreign countries may possibly limit pranks by middlemen. Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill aims to strengthen the law and ensure justice prevails besides upholding Singapore's reputation for sound employment practices. Practical and simple dispute resolution practices with a strong will may be the next step the Ministry would want to focus. I support this Bill, Sir. 4.25 pm”
“The amendments seem to come down rather heavily on faking credentials. While the spirit is welcome, there are grey areas which are particularly making low-wage and less educated workers vulnerable. A lack of understanding of legal implications and English language on the part of the workers may allow the agents to exploit the situation and have employees sign on blank documents. Widespread education of penalties on employees for falsification of data should be done both in Singapore and in foreign countries of interest. The proposed new section 22B makes it an offence to "obtain a work pass for a foreign employee for a trade or business that does not exist, that is not in operation … and fails to employ the foreign employee". In cases of companies whose object is to supply workers to other companies, this is a reality leaving workers in Singapore without jobs and income. The law is clear in its intent. But there should be further detailing to ensure that contracting companies or agent companies are having the foreign workers on regular payroll and not keeping the workers as an available pool for subcontractors. This can be done by having electronic time sheets using biometric and itemised salary slips and paying their salaries direct into their bank accounts to avoid disputes on outstanding wages, and so on. Wage disputes are often a big proportion of contentious issues for foreign workers. Page: 745 One of the root causes for disputes is false representation and false promises made by agents about the job scope and benefits while the employees are still in their home countries. Besides, the dispute often stems from the huge amount of monies paid as agent's fee in the home country, in addition to any monies being paid later after arriving in Singapore.”
“Some of these examples include: (a) Victim is promised an engineer job back home by his agent and paid agency fee accordingly while being given manual work in Singapore; Page: 744 (b) Victim is hired by agent as a cook but is instead being employed in a construction site where his ability and aptitude is completely out of place and, eventually, leading to his termination; (c) Victim is being assured of two years' contract, the agency fee has been paid up but employer runs into trouble and asks employee to return home earlier; (d) Victim gets injured while at work but employer denies compensation and cost of medical treatment; and (e) Victims are staying in Singapore to be witnesses in cases which are in progress for months and years while they are being unemployed, with their active work permits already revoked. Sir, these are the cases where workers are suffering from agony for a second time while waiting for the judgement, or they already have suffered at the hands of the errant employer or the agent. These workers without working rights are a liability to the country and also a potential source of social problems. The issue here is created by the inordinate time taken for the dispute resolution processes to be completed and the lack of a right to make a living for the foreign worker. I would like to suggest that the Ministry establishes express special benches to hear such cases in a short period of time and deliver enforceable and binding judgements. The workers can then leave the country upon resolution, thus easing the burden and problems for all. Further, the Ministry should consider short- term work permits to allow them to work in the interim period while awaiting judgement so that they are not a liability to the state in any form.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we are introducing an amendment to our Employment of Foreign Manpower Act which aims to further strengthen our legal framework to dissuade abusers and award stringent punishment to offenders. As we aim to position Singapore as a global city for global talent and skilled labour to come here to grow our economy, we need to ensure that our laws and regulations also incorporate the safety and welfare of this group. As such, this Bill is timely as it will help assuage the grievances of several innocent foreign workers who have come to Singapore to make a fair and decent living. At the same time though, we must ensure that such laws and regulations protecting foreign manpower do not impede adversely on operations and the bottom-lines of our businesses. I am aware that many businesses, particularly the SMEs, are facing a difficult time coping with the rising costs of doing business in Singapore. These include costs of manpower as well, especially since the Government has taken steps to reduce the dependence on foreign workers. While this forces companies to look deeper into productivity – and that is a good thing – we also need to be more mindful that we should not burden our SMEs with too high costs. And this is the fine balance we must try to attain. Therefore, I generally support the motion, Sir. However, I want to highlight some grey areas which remain open and pose significant challenges in terms of practicality. I wish to bring to the attention of the House the following: Today, we have a number of foreign workers who are jobless and victims of deceit. These victims often knock at our doors seeking resolution and justice against offenders.”
“Thank you, Minister, for updating on these FTAs. I have two supplementary questions. What is the status of the free trade negotiations between India and ASEAN in terms of the services and investment chapter? My second question: eventually, if it is implemented, what would be the impact on the bilateral FTA, that is the CECA, that we have with India?”
“I believe that the Government and this House have zero tolerance for corruption and despite more high-profile cases surfacing this year, Singapore is generally a corruption-free society and certainly one of the most corruption-free countries in the world. Page: 614 We should continue to uphold that and while attractive incentives can reduce the need to turn towards corruption, we should at the same time also ensure that there are enough deterrents. I would like to suggest that the clause reflects that a Member, who is found guilty and convicted of corruption or a related charge, has his rights to any pension payment from thereon be taken away from him. That is a permanent suspension and no possibility of a transfer or reinstatement thereafter. I believe this is a strong deterrent and as Members of Parliament, we should send a clear message of intolerance towards corruption. Sir, on the whole, I support the Bill. 3.25 pm”
“I do not see the need to differentiate on this and that if a Member of Parliament has served the same number of years as an office holder, that is eight years, then there is no reason for him to be deprived of a pension payment in the instance that his service ceases. This principle of equating the length of minimum service for both Members and office holders should also be upheld in other sections of the Bill including the payment of gratuity upon the death or incapacity of a Member. Upholding the Integrity of Service − clause 6 of the proposed Bill also includes the terms of payment of death gratuity for a non-pensionable Member and stipulates that such a payment could be transferred under a court order for the payment of periodical sums of money towards the maintenance of the person's minor child, whether legitimate or not. While I recognise and support the intention to support a minor, I do not think this should be extended to any person's illegitimate children as we should not be seen to be condoning such behaviour through the availability of monetary support. I believe this is an important contribution towards helping to ensure the integrity of the position of public service. In this regard, clause 3 of the schedule in the proposed Bill details the treatment of pension payment should a Member be found guilty of a corruption charge. While I understand the clause conferring the President with the power to reduce or withhold pension payment to any Member found guilty of corruption, I find that section 3 of that clause allows the President to exercise the discretion to direct all or any part of that pension to the accused person upon serving his sentence.”
“Page: 613 However, the Government also needs to take into account the sentiments of the country and there is a substantial number of Singaporeans who feel that there should be an inert value and pride attached with the sanctity of public office and that this should not be equated in monetary terms. They also believe that public servants such as office holders and Members of Parliament should come forward to serve to answer the call of national duty and so monetary incentives should not be the carrot, or feature significantly in the equation to attract talent in this regard. There is merit in this argument as well and so the Government must balance carefully between both perspectives. This Bill is the right step in that direction. I would like to make a few suggestions as to how this Bill could help draw further balance between both perspectives. Accountability and equity – Sir, I would like to highlight clause 4 of the Bill which stipulates that pension will not be paid to Members on or after 21 May 2011, unless the person has not less than the minimum number of years of reckonable service and refers to the Parliamentary Pensions Act as reference of this duration of service. Under the Parliamentary Pensions Act, the minimum number of years of reckonable service as defined in section 3 of the Act is nine years for Members of Parliament, and under section 4 of that Act, this minimum period of service is eight years for office-bearers. I would like to suggest that this distinction be done away with and that the minimum period or reckonable service be made uniform for both Members and office holders, be that eight years or nine years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill. The Bill comes at a good time as it reflects the commitment of the Government to continue with its restructuring efforts of the compensation structure of Members of Parliament and office holders. This process was initiated last year when the Government presented the White Paper on "Salaries for a Committed and Capable Government". I commend the Government for having seen this through and I hope Singaporeans will see this as a sign of sincerity of a responsible government. While the Government undertakes this process, it is also timely to use this opportunity to strengthen the tenets of transparency, accountability and also integrity, which are entrenched in our highly regarded system of governance. Sir, I agree with the position that our office holders and Members of Parliament need to be paid at a level that continues to attract top talent, and that helps deter an individual in that position of power to abuse the position to seek financial or economic gains. Moreover, our Members of Parliament and office holders earn a clean wage that is free of various add-ons that their counterparts in many countries, including in developed political regimes such as the UK and the US, have. When all of these benefits and allowances are compounded, parliamentarians in many of these countries earn far more than the incomes accrued to our office holders and Members of Parliament. So, from that perspective, the salaries of Singapore parliamentarians can be justified.”