S. Vasoo
Singapore
“I would like to ask DPM whether the public as well as the Government-linked companies would be looking at some ways in which jobs could be created to absorb some of the older workers. In the longer term, I think job creation will become an issue, especially when many of the industries in the manufacturing sector are going to hollow out.”
“Our recruitment has been excellent over this past period and our attrition has been relatively low. But I am realistic enough to know that it is not just because of the Ministry of Education, the economy has helped a lot. I believe that I have answered most of the questions posed by Members.”
“Can I ask the Minister of State, when he claims that the LRT is of world-class standards, but the Member for Sembawang is complaining that there are so many frequent breakdowns, what world-class standard are we talking about?”
“May I ask the Minister whether the viewpoints of the commuters and the private bus operators will be solicited in his review? Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, we are in touch with the private bus operators and we would definitely take the views of the public into consideration in the context of the overall framework of the public transport system.”
“It would be the last resort, as the Minister has put it, to institutionalise persons because, by institutionalising them, one breaks them up from the family, and family dynamics are disrupted. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that we have other means of rehabilitating young persons and juveniles within a community setting.”
“All the time, we emphasise on marriage as a partnership. We also accept, as one of our core values, the family as a basic unit. It is, therefore, desirable that the wording, at the beginning of this Bill, should reinforce this value. Under clause 13, the Minister will have powers to exclude certain classes of persons.”
The complete record
Every one of 879 lines we hold for S. Vasoo, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 18.
“Sir, have there been any cases which have been denied health care because they are unable to find the funds to get the medical care required?”
“Sir, I want to ask the Senior Minister of State for Health two questions. First, in response to these changes, has the waiting time for medical care improved significantly? Second, has a review been undertaken regarding the access to medical care for the lower income group?”
“Sir, would the Minister inform the House where are most of these child care centres being established and whether there are adequate child care centres in the new towns where there is a growing number of young working mothers who have been demanding for additional child care places?”
“I do not support that the Family Violence Bill be introduced as a separate Bill, but I would suggest that the Women's Charter incorporate all the viewpoints that have been brought forward.”
“Sir, what is important is the follow-up support and our capacity to organise a good service delivery system to tackle the problem. More so, we need to find ways in preventing families from getting into this terminal stage of the problem itself. I would like to see that more resources are deployed to support the family enrichment programmes, ie, marriage enrichment and family life education. If we are able to review these areas and deploy more resources for these areas, I think we can reduce the number of families facing such problems. Sir, as I see it, there is no urgency to have another legislation to deal with family problems in a segmented manner. Yesterday, our Parliamentary colleague, NMP Dr Kanwaljit Soin, said that many of these families are quite reluctant to go and seek help because of their background and profile, and she quoted a Chinese saying. Today, I would like to bring to her attention that there is another Chinese saying which says, " " (ya men ba zi kai, wu qian mo jin lai), in short, it means doors are open but you need money to come in. Sir, in fact, we should examine the existing legislation. We have the Women's Charter which deals with domestic issues - family relationship, maintenance and support for children. We should try and see how we can strengthen this. I hope that the Minister will be able to incorporate many of the good points which have been brought up by NMP Dr Kanwaljit Soin. Dr Soin's viewpoints are quite valid and she has suggested many ideas. I hope that her viewpoints which are in the Family Violence Bill can be fully incorporated into the Women's Charter.”
“Sir, I have spoken to many community groups and leaders and many of them feel that the existing legislation relating to family matters should be strengthened. There are a few reasons that I would like to advance for not supporting a separate legislation to deal with domestic violence. First, the Bill creates a negative label on the parties affected and further drives a relationship problem, ie, a wedge between family members. Second, family violence, in my mind, is a very complex matter and cannot be easily resolved by the provisions in the Bill. Because family relationship is a very personalised and complex matter and you need to encourage the couples to get together to see how these problems could be resolved amicably. Sometimes, the problems cannot be resolved. So what do we do? Sir, despite all this, we still need to find ways for family members and spouses who have difficulties in marriage, conflicts, or domestic violence to resolve their problems. The third reason that I am not supporting this Bill is that the issues covered by the Bill are not new. Many of these issues are related to marital problems, such as maintenance, abuse and neglect of family members. These could be dealt with under the existing legislation and in this case, the Women's Charter could be amended to tackle present and future family problems. I hope the Minister will take the necessary effective steps to plug the problems arising from domestic violence. The cases should be referred to appointed family counselling agencies for follow-up. If this can be done and working in concert with the police, then I think we will have a very coordinated approach in dealing with domestic violence in the context of the family.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate. Sir, yesterday, we had a series of passionate discussions on this subject. It is interesting, but I feel that we have to get down to the ground and look at the issues soberly. Sir, family violence, as I see it, is a tail-end of a family problem because when it gets into a violent stage, that is the end of the problem. It is very complex and difficult to deal with. Nevertheless, I think we should not condone any form of violence within or outside the family, and we should register and deal with this behaviour effectively. Sir, if we examine it, family violence is only a minor issue because I am more concerned about mothers and children who are neglected, and mothers who are not maintained after separation. I think this is a greater problem that needs to be addressed because it represents a large number of people that we should be concerned about. Sir, we have to look at the strategy. We have a problem, that is, domestic violence. How do we deal with it effectively? Do we need a separate legislation for it? Or do we look at the existing legislation and see what we can do immediately to strengthen it and looking at how we can deliver the services more effectively? What we can do to mediate in these problems and help the family to reconcile and come together again and find new meaning to their lives is the issue at hand. Therefore, the question is: do we need a separate legislation to deal with family violence? As I see it, there is no basis for this. Because there is a more urgent need to strengthen and to give more teeth to the existing legislation to deal with domestic problems.”
“Sir, are the support and assistance given to voluntary welfare organisations adequate enough at this juncture and what plans are there for the Ministry to help these organisations to be more effective?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether the proposed changes would have sufficient teeth to deal with the problems of women who are affected by domestic violence and other related family problems.”
“Sir, if there are cases of senior citizens who really cannot afford it, are there any plans to help them to remain within the area?”
“Sir, what steps would the Ministry be taking to help older senior citizens who have very little savings to take advantage of the scheme?”
“Can I ask the Minister what is the feedback from the three areas where the scheme is to be implemented, namely, Boon Tiong, Toa Payoh and Mountbatten?”
“In spite of the Minister's answer, are there any concrete plans for the older housing estates?”
“Sir, could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary provide advice, particularly to young first-timers applying for flats? Because there is a feeling that waiting time is longer than anticipated. What advice would he propose for those who are first-timers?”
“Sir, would the Senior Parliamentary Secretary clarify whether the prices of flats would remain affordable with the longer waiting time? Would there be a steeper price increase in the near future? Secondly, would he also review the transitional rental housing scheme to provide, in the interim, a better opportunity for flats to be allocated to those who are on the waiting list?”
“My own assessment is that the service in the direction of community care is rather thin and it needs to be strengthened. The Ministry perhaps may have to be more visible in this direction. And more comprehensive community care programmes and community support programmes should be planned to meet with the challenges ahead. I would like the response from the Minister in terms of the Ministry's overall plan towards developing community based programmes to deal with the aging population. Dr Michael Lim Chun Leng: Sir, may I take my two cuts together?”
“Sir, much has been said about the issues, problems and challenges of our aging population. We have come out with plans to try and tackle the problems which we will be facing. The issue is whether there are comprehensive plans to deal with the problems of the aged and to enable families to cope better with the problems of their aged parents. I think this matter will become very acute in the decade ahead. Sir, we also have a growing number of aged who will be retiring in the next decade, and there will be surplus manpower available. There are very little comprehensive programmes to tap this valuable manpower resource and to provide opportunities for many of them to be involved in gainful as well as other useful community activities. In short, we have various viewpoints and plans to deal with the problems of the aged. There is a need to look at this whole issue more comprehensively so that we will be able to deal with the different types of aged. We have the go-go aged, the go-slow aged, the slow-slow aged and the no-go aged. In this context, one has got to look at how we can provide plans to deal with this whole aging problem. The Ministry has up to date been segmental in dealing with some of the needs of the aging population. The challenge before us is to come out with more comprehensive plans to deal with the problems. As I see it, no amount of institutional provision is going to solve the problems of care of the aged. There is a need to enable families to continue to look after their aged parents. In this connection, the Ministry should see how families can be supported to enable them to continue to look after their aged parents within their home and in the community.”
“I would like to find out what plans the Ministry of Community Development has to revise the child care subsidies as well as to make long-term plans for the development of child care services, particularly in the new towns.”
“Sir, in the last decade, the number of child care centres run by the voluntary welfare organisations, the trade unions and the private sector has grown significantly,. However, the demand for child care centres in the new towns has become more acute. Many of the young parents in the new towns have to wait for a long time for places to admit their children in these child care centres. The Ministry is not as proactive as it should be. I would want to find out what are the plans that the Ministry is making in meeting the anticipated demand for child care places in the new towns. Sir, the other aspect which requires attention is that the subsidy for child care has not been reviewed in the last two years and the cost for child care has increased quite significantly. The average cost is about $350 a month. The subsidy from Government is about a third of this amount and therefore a large number of working class parents have found increasing burden in trying to find access to the use of child care centres. Sir, I see that the child care facilities provide an overall net gain to families, particularly to the working class. Otherwise many of these children would remain as latchkey children and, in the longer term, it will have consequential effects on the well-being of our community as well as the nation. I feel that easy access to these child care facilities is indeed important because children can socialise and get a better headstart when they go to school. I am of the opinion that the Ministry should request the Ministry of Finance to increase the subsidy for child care services so that a larger proportion of the working class can gain access to such a service.”
“It would be a pity if we are not able to provide them the necessary support and reassurance to encourage them to take advantage of the upgrading programme of their neighbourhood. I can understand that many of them are concerned because they are retirees and they have no means to commit themselves to such a programme. It would be a setback that while we are planning to rejuvenate and improve the neighbourhood, this group of retirees and older residents cannot join in to participate in such a relevant and important scheme. The other aspect that the Minister may wish to address is that residents in larger flats are questioning the rationale why they should not be paying the same charges for the space-adding item. Residents in 3-room flats are charged quite differently from those living in larger flats. The residents in 4-room and 5-room flats are saying that they are having the same space adding item and why are they paying more for the same space. Would the Minister care to clarify?”
“Sir, residents of old housing estates are eagerly looking forward for upgrading programmes to be implemented in their neighbourhood. The Ministry is teasing them by saying that the programme is coming, and when they ask me when is it coming, I tell them it is coming soon. They asked, "How soon?" So I tell them that the Minister says, "Very soon." They asked, "How soon is soon?" I tell them that they say, "Quite soon." All these provide them with hope in terms of upgrading of the neighbourhood. They feel that it is not moving as quickly as it should have been. Some residents have remarked that the way HDB is undertaking its upgrading programme, they will not be able to "smell" it in their lifetime. This is quite real because quite a number of the older housing estates have older residents and the estates look quite run down. In fact, there is an urgency for the Minister to look into the matter, especially when the Minister is also the MP in the same constituency. I hope that he can look at it and try to get the upgrading programme to this neighbourhood quickly. Sir, the Ministry should provide a tentative time-table for the upgrading programme to be implemented. At least, this would become transparent and people would know when the plans are going to be materialised. Could a larger precinct rather than a smaller parcel of eight to ten blocks be targeted for upgrading? This will therefore provide greater visibility and better improvement to the neighbourhood. The other issue is that many of the older residents are concerned about their ability to participate in the upgrading scheme as they are not sure whether they would be able to get the loans and support from the HDB.”
“There are a lot of applicants who live in 3-room flats in the urban areas and they, more often than not, cannot get flats nearer their parents. I wish to find out whether HDB will modify the current allocation policy and provide first priority to this group of people as it will be in line with the Government's policy to strengthen family support.”
“Sir, there are two issues that I would like to address. The first issue is that the prices of HDB flats have increased quite significantly in the last five years. Therefore, there is a demand, particularly by young couples to purchase flats more urgently, and the rise of this demand has been quite significant in the last few years. Sir, young couples are concerned that HDB flats would become unaffordable in the long run. Is it the future plan of HDB to reduce subsidy for public housing and work towards cost recovery? If this is the policy direction, then quite a number of young families living in 3- and 4-room flats with their parents will be priced out of the market. In short, would HDB continue with its policy to provide affordable housing? 2.00 pm The second issue relates to the allocation policies for purchased flats. Despite the changes in the allocation policies for flats, there are still uncertainties about the way in which the flats are allocated amongst applicants under the queuing system. It is not really very transparent and there is insufficient information about the waiting period. Although they are given some indications, they still feel that waiting time comes to about four years or so before they get a flat. This is what they have been informed when they seek information from the HDB. Sir, has the reversion to the queuing system reduced complaints and improved the take-up rate for flats allocated? Sir, the other area of allocation policy is related to applicants for flats in the urban areas. I think the allocation for flats in urban centres based on open balloting should be modified, particulary for applicants who choose to live with their parents.”
“If SBS cannot operate some of these routes efficiently, they should be redeployed to other bus companies. I hope that the Minister would be able to provide some concrete solutions to these transportation problems.”
“At the same time, we should see if we can introduce a cheaper version of the Bus-Plus system for various major routes that are popular. With increased frequency of feeder buses and Bus-Plus system within the housing estates, we could reduce the waiting time to a great extent. More competition should be encouraged between SBS and TIBS. Allow more bus companies to operate, if necessary. The Government believes in an open market and open competition. I see no reason why we should just keep to two bus systems, the major monopoly of which is SBS, and the lesser one being TIBS. Why is TIBS not allowed to compete in certain routes?”
“Just to cite an example, Sir. One of my grassroots leaders travelled from Whampoa to Radin Mas last Sunday, 19th March 1995. It took him about 1 1/2 hours to travel there. I do not think he is exaggerating. Barring traffic jams and congestion, it cannot possibly take 1 1/2 hours to get there. The travelling time was shorter before, if not for the circuitous route. Commuters want to see the reduction of travelling time and not too many change-overs. Most problems are faced by the end-to-end commuters and this is in fact quite true if you speak to many of them. The Public Transport Council should be more proactive and it could do better with a wider cross-section of feedback from public transport commuters. Of the 13 members on the Public Transport Council, I note that not more than two are bona fide transport commuters. Given this situation, how could the problems and the needs of commuters be objectively and thoroughly studied and solved? Sir, the PTC can do more with participation from grassroots leaders who are public transport commuters living in the various regions. With such a wider representation, more effective feedback could be obtained to improve the policy and quality of public transport. Sir, I am not saying that the current PTC members are not doing a good job. They are providing the necessary inputs, but the quality of such inputs can be improved with better representation. Otherwise, we should rename the Public Transport Council to "Private Transport Council". Another area which requires a review is the realignment of feeder bus system with the MRT. We can do more by increasing the frequency of buses to reduce waiting time.”
“I cannot but agree with the GPC Chairman for Communications on some of the views that he has expressed. Sir, the public transport policy, particularly the bus transportation system, should be given immediate attention. The problem has been a recurring one and commuters' dissatisfaction has increased quite significantly. It is all the more urgent as the implementation of the LRT system together with other related systems, as the Minister would be proposing, would take some years to realise. But bus transport, in fact, carries 2.3 million passengers daily. This is about four times more than the passengers carried by MRT. Also, many public bus commuters have expressed dissatisfaction and the need for improvement to the bus system. The bus and MRT integration policy has been undertaken but it has not really increased commuters' satisfaction. I would like to know whether surveys have been undertaken to find out from ordinary commuters about the state of the bus system. The common complaints of many of the commuters are long waiting time and travelling time has not been reduced, despite the reassurance that the Minister has given to look at how this problem could be solved. Could the reduction of the operating fleet of buses, both SBS and TIBS, contribute to the problem? It has been noted that between 1990 and 1993, the number of buses has decreased from 2,712 to 2,649. This is according to the Public Transport Council's Report for the year ending 1994. However, the average daily number of passengers increased from 2.142 million in 1990 to 2.36 million in 1993. The argument by the Minister is that the psychology of waiting is causing dissatisfaction, but I would say that it is the psychology of prolonged circuitous travel that is causing the frustration.”
“Therefore, do we let the information flow and be floored in the long run by negative information? Sir, this is indeed a nagging problem that we should brace ourselves to see how we can tackle this. What I want to ask the Minister is this: are there no ways for the Ministry to alert homes of the non-credit worthiness of certain programmes? How does the Ministry propose to deal with information that could have a negative impact on the moral values of our children? If we do not take early action, we will be over-flowed by various information that will erode our moral values and, in the longer term, have consequential effects on our school children. And the school children's problems will increase and it will have the consequential effect which the Minister for Education has recently highlighted. I would like the Minister to respond to these matters. 3.30 pm”
“As you are aware, in recent months, there has been disquiet and concern among some educated and informed groups about Government's hardening stand on critics of Government policies and programmes. The sharp and qualified response by Government has in a way generated ripples down the line. This is said to have consequential effects on those who have constructive viewpoints to offer as they are unsure whether they should offer feedback and opinions and useful critical viewpoints for policy making. Sir, not too long ago the Government, in its national agenda, has encouraged our citizens who have useful viewpoints to contribute their ideas to improve public policies. Is the Government now saying that it does not tolerate critical viewpoints and opinions any more? Has it made a U-turn now and become more hardened in its stand on critical opinions which can contribute to community building and problem solving? Sir, is there a need? I see there is a need for Government to clarify its stand on this issue so that constructive critics, including those in this House, could be reassured. Sir, the final area is on information flow which I would like to take up. With the move to wire up homes and the active promotion of information network, there will be increasing challenges to monitor and censor negative and pornographic materials that will be relayed through our super information highways. It will be worrying if thousands of our children in future will have access to this mind-distorting and polluting information. True, we can argue for self-regulation. There is no way that we can control this because we need to tap the information world for the young, but are we to thump our chest and say nothing can be done.”
“But that does not mean that they are wholesome programmes. In our case, there is a seeming increase in the number of PG and violent shows that were aired. The PG shows can be assigned "R(A)" ratings. Are we now more lax in our censorship? Should we closely examine these PG films which are released because they are films from America and the developed world and they carry a PG label but actually they may be perpetuating soft-porn issues and directed towards the erosion of values. In my own assessment, this is so. Would the Minister assure us that there is adequate quality control on TCS and other stations which are going to be set up in future to ensure that we do not gravitate into the promotion of very soft-porn films and videos through our station. The second matter that I am concerned about is the proliferation of under-the-counter sales of pornographic materials. I come to understand from my grassroots leaders that there is a proliferation of under-the-counter sales of pornographic videos, laser discs and multi-media programmes. Young children and adults can easily obtain them cheaply through some pirated outlets in housing estates. I am not sure whether our surveillance is as tight. There is a lack of enforcement officers. I know that the enforcement section functions with a very thin number of officers. The present penalties are not heavy. There is a need for heavier penalties for pornography pirates. Would the Minister keep a keen eye on this growing industry? The third matter which I would like to highlight is related to Government's response to critical opinions and viewpoints.”
“Thank you, Sir. Under the area of censorship I have three matters which are of public concern and hope that they would be addressed by the Minister. The first matter is on the maintenance of wholesome TV and media programmes. The basic question that I would like to ask is whether our TV and media programmes are wholesome. According to the Censorship Feedback Panel report, the panel is said to be satisfied and I quote: `Overall, the Panel is satisfied with SBC/TCS and TV12's management and application of standards on TV programmes and commercials telecast in 1994. In its view, censorship-related issues which were first highlighted in 1992, have mostly been resolved.' Sir, I do not think it is all resolved. It is a running battle and there are nagging problems. We will have to keep a watch and not open the floodgates so widely that we will not be able to withstand the tide of flow in terms of issues relating to problems which will erode our social values and moral codes. Sir, in my opinion, TCS and the Singapore Broadcasting Authority are trying hard to bring in wholesome programmes but there are a number of grey areas of concern. So I would like to ask whether the Minister can assure us that the quality of TV programmes is still wholesome and will continue to be so. I am sure he would not want to guarantee that this would be the case, but he would say that he would try hard to do so. Sir, we have seen that many privatised TV stations the world over have slipped down the road and have gone into sleazy pathways. In short, they have become soft-porn stations beaming programmes which erode the social and moral fibres of the population, especially the young. One may argue that the rating of our TCS programmes is very high and their ratings are also equally high.”
“Sir, I have two amendments. Can I take one amendment after the other? The Chairman: Yes.”
“And the depleting Medisave of these low income pensioners could be replenished and this would be a positive gesture by the Government to recognise the contributions of this group of pensioners who have in fact given bastion services to the Government in the earlier years. Sir, last but not least are the problems and aspirations of the low income families. We could afford in this Budget to be a bit more generous to low income families. The rental and service and conservancy rebates are only a trickle of the surplus budget. It accounts for only about 0.001% of the budget surplus. This is indeed very minuscule. In giving a further increase to these families, we hope it will help them to offset the GST burden. And I hope that the Minister in his subsequent review would think about this group of families and see how their burden could be reduced. Sir, on that note, I support the Budget Statement.”
“I think we should be more pre-emptive and we should probably be looking at how we can implement fiscal policies which will strengthen the family's capacity to address some of the problems of the care of the aged sick. Sir, there is a need to look into the provision of more comprehensive policies to deal with the needs of our aging population. Tax relief for the care of the aged sick, incentives for employers to re-employ older workers after 60 years of age, support for voluntary initiatives to provide services, all these need to be reviewed urgently. We should not be caught with the burden of State care for the aged. Where possible, more relief should be given to families for looking after their aged sick. The present tax reliefs and incentives given to families for caring their aged sick are rather dismal. Sir, another matter is the issue of help for low income pensioners. As I pointed out in the earlier debate, low income pensioners have been a neglected group of people. Their problem deserves attention because they have low income and because of the increased cost of living over the last five years, their effective pensions and savings have been reduced and their capacity to purchase goods and services has been reduced to a great extent. Sir, these pensioners have given long years of public service, but their pensions are dismal and cannot help to meet the rising cost of living. Should they not be given a revision in their pension? I strongly feel that they should and they are no less deserving than those who were pensioned later. Sir, their Singapore Allowance should be revised upward.”
“Our labour-intensive economic sectors would be affected by increased competition for cheaper labour cost in the region. Many older semi-skilled and unskilled workers could be affected by the relocation of these industries. Some factories can be saved by automation and workers can be trained for other gainful jobs. It appears that the training funds and incentives are not attractive to both employers and employees for them to take advantage of it. Sir, could more realistic and attractive fiscal measures not be implemented to help our companies to restructure and to train our older workers who could be affected by future retrenchments at the various factories? Small and medium enterprises could be given grants to restructure quickly. On Skills Development Fund, which my fellow Members have talked about, there have been appeals for the Skills Development Fund to be reviewed. I think we have been very slow in attempting to look at how the Skills Development Fund could be made more relevant and accessible to meet the training needs of older workers and others whose skills need to be enhanced. Sir, I think there is an urgency to address this problem so that older workers and others who are less skilled could be better prepared to meet the challenges of imminent retrenchment and relocation problems that we will be facing in the near future. Sir, the other area which is of concern and we should pay a bit more attention is the greying population. The fiscal measures to deal with the greying population is limited to tax relief for the care of aged parents. This only deals with the tail end of the greying problem.”
“However, there should be a better control of monopolistic tendencies in the private sector for housing, car ownership and bus transport. I feel that we have not done sufficiently enough to undertake some selective interventive measures to deal with such monopolistic tendencies, be it in housing, car ownership or transportation. We have not intervened sufficiently enough. The contrary argument is to let market forces decide. But market forces can decide to some extent. If left in the hands of a few key selective players who monopolise the sector, then I think the market forces will be askewed and the price escalations are likely to be very acute. Sir, I feel that the Minister should consider, where possible, selective intervention in some of these sectors. We should control, when necessary, in some of the sectors where there are a few key significant players because these significant players are likely to escalate prices and create excessive inflation, ie, asset inflation, price inflation and, to some extent, excessive profiteering. Sir, the consequences of these will be that the young will find themselves being displaced quickly in getting access to these goods and services. They can get frustrated as these goods and services remain elusive. True, we should allow market forces to decide in this matter from time to time. But I think there is a need for the State to intervene and mediate in some of these matters. Sir, perhaps, the Government can allow more large cooperatives and Government-owned corporations to enter the market to compete and break the monopoly where necessary. Sir, the other issue that I would like to address is the relocation of industries which we are likely to face in the near future.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to join in the debate. I hope the industrial water problem will not be brought to our estates. The Member has given a gruesome picture on this whole issue. But if we conserve water and think of the water problem ahead, we would not face Dr Tan Cheng Bock's dilemma. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Finance has surfaced an important problem, that is, the rising expectations of the young. We will face this problem inevitably. However, it is important that we grapple with the problem. We cannot avoid the problem, and we need to find effective solutions to meet the needs of our growing affluence and the expectations of the young. I hope the Minister for Finance, in his discourse, in the years to come, will be able to find some effective solutions to meet the expectations of the young. Sir, we can alert young Singaporeans to the challenges and the difficulties that they will face in meeting their aspirations. Nevertheless, if their aspirations are not met, I suppose there are other consequential effects that we are likely to face. Migration is likely to be one of the issues if the hopes and promises are better in other areas in the region and these are some of the consequences that we will have to face. Therefore, to avoid these problems, we need to try and find ways to meet these rising expectations. Sir, I hope that we could look at some of the fiscal policies which will help to prepare our young people to be more skilled and better trained. And if they are better trained, they would be able to grapple with the complex changes in technology and be better prepared to become more competitive. If we can enlarge the cake and they can probably have more resources and more income, then we will be able to meet some of their expectations.”
“Sir, would the Minister of State clarify whether those who seek treatment at SGH and other restructured hospitals but do not have sufficient money with them at that stage would be accorded treatment?”
“Sir, how long would this process take for assistance to be rendered? The other supplementary question is whether it is true that people without Medisave, or those without adequate payment, would be turned away from treatment?”
“Sir, is the Minister not aware that it is the cash upfront that young people got to pay that makes it difficult for them to live with their parents in older housing estates? Therefore, I would like to ask two supplementary questions: (1) Could the Buy-Back Scheme, with some proviso, be extended to this group of people? (2) Could the Minister also look into the ballooning repayment scheme by extending it to this group?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether the pedestrian's well-being is a primary factor. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, as I said just now, there is a wide diversity of people using the roads, including not only motorists but pedestrians, cyclists and even drivers of lorries and trucks. Given this situation in Singapore, let us be conservative. Some may argue that 50 km per hour is low. But I think we should be conservative, play safe and make sure that the central message of public safety for all concerned gets through. That is important.”
“When the Minister mentioned about enjoying the meat in the new towns, does he mean the operators can also share?”
“Why does the Minister not allow private operators to compete with SBS and other related operators in the new town?”
“Sir, what does the Minister mean by "targeted sectors" because they are all one sector in the new town? Mr Mah Bow Tan: In other words, it is a service which is not directly duplicating the basic bus service in terms of quality and fares. For example, if an operator wishes to run a coach-type service or an air-conditioned coach-type service at a different fare, that would be considered to be aiming at a different market segment, even if the route duplicates the basic bus routes.”
“Sir, would the Minister consider allowing private operators to operate in some new towns where the present feeder bus services are insufficient and the travelling time is increased?”
“Is the waiting period going to be changed as a result of the revision in income ceilings?”
“Sir, can the scheme be a bit more relaxed in the sense that those who are recommended by the voluntary welfare organisations themselves will get the assistance required?”
“Could I ask the Minister whether he will also be extending the COE exemption to severely disabled persons who are recommended and supported by the voluntary welfare organisations themselves?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether there is a good system in place to identify and assist people who are in need of support in the restructured hospitals. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Every restructured hospital has its own Medifund committee. We have decentralised it so that the processing of applications is done at a level which is very close to those who are in need of such funds. I am satisfied that we have got good working systems and sufficient safeguards.”
“Sir, is there a review of those who have been turned down to see whether they are really in a pressing need and whether their cases have been considered? BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Sir, as I mentioned earlier, only 0.4% of applications were turned down. The numbers are very few and if these are deserving cases, we will surely review them.”