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 8 of 18.
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what would be the future of this hospital in view of the amount of resources that has been pumped into it to improve the facilities. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: We intend to continue operating the hospital up to the early part of the next century. Beyond that, we have to study population patterns in Singapore and the need for additional hospital beds. VICOM AND AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (Charges for second inspection of vehicles) 7. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Communications whether he will instruct VICOM and the Automobile Association not to charge $20.60 (GST included) for the second inspection of vehicles which have failed the initial inspection.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not saying that Asian values are rhetorical. What I am arguing is that some of the viewpoints, which Members have labelled as Asian values, to tackle these problems may not necessarily be realistic. I think we have a problem at hand, and that is the problem of neglect of parents. The numbers are small no doubt, but I do not think we should turn away and say that there are no problems that exist. The issue is: should we address this problem? And do we anticipate the problems to aggravate in the near future? And if so, what is the best approach to deal with such a problem?”
“In this respect, a tribunal based on the principles of the Small Claims Tribunal be set up under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development. The Director of Social Welfare, together with other panel members, could be appointed from among community leaders to be charged with the responsibility to arbitrate and to deal with cases that are brought to their attention. Secondly, as a first line of action, all cases of neglect of parents be referred for investigation and, where possible, mediation of the problems be undertaken as a start. Failing mediation, then an order be made for the case to be referred to the panel for arbitration. Thirdly, the hearing of the cases should be undertaken informally without legal representation. In this way, cost for the proceedings could be avoided and parents may not feel so reluctant or disabled with the heavy financial cost to go through the legal redress procedures. Public limelight on family matters could be avoided. Sir, the number of cases of neglect of parents is likely to increase in the near future. They cannot be wished away. The Bill will protect neglected parents who suffer silently in pain. Sir, I support the motion that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee.”
“Sir, I feel that these parents who are neglected and unsupported have to be protected, otherwise it will become society's problem. Any decent human being should stand up and assist aged parents who suffer in shame and without their daily bread. Sir, I share the sentiments of many hon. Members that it goes against our Asian values and our cultural make-up to have such a Bill legislated. I fully agree with them that difficult matters related to parents and children should be dealt with by the family. This is the first line of defence. But sometimes it does not end this way. Counselling and reconciliation should be undertaken first. However, if these interventions work, well and good. But we all know that, in some cases, with all good intentions and will, some of these actions do not work. What do we do with children who blatantly neglect their parents when all mediations fail? Without such a Bill, nothing can be done to provide for the parents whose welfare is neglected. Sir, there appears to be some misunderstanding about the Bill. The Bill, as I view it, does not legislate that children should be filial or caring. It simply ensures that the parents' livelihood is maintained. Sir, there are a few areas in respect to this Bill which can be improved and I think the Select Committee will be able to deliberate on this matter. But I would like to just highlight a few areas that improvements could be made. First, we need to ensure that the Bill does not become a lame-duck Bill after it is passed. Parents who are neglected should be reached out or should have access and made to feel that their cases will be dealt with in the chambers. Public hearing and legal approach should be avoided. Adversarial approach should be abandoned.”
“This argument is not realistic and is to run away from the plain facts of life. I have in the course of my community service come across parents who are abandoned and denied support by their children. True, some parents are difficult, but it is equally true that some children are also difficult. Sir, the plight of some of the parents who suffer silently cannot be ignored. They are living in our midst. In connection with this, I would like to cite two cases that I know of. Madam X was relocated by her son to live in another purchase HDB flat with a grandchild. After relocation, she was not provided with full meals. She could not manage as she was not provided the funds to buy food. In the case of Mr and Mrs A, they were persuaded to leave their son's home because of problems with the daughter-in-law. After they went to live on their own in a one-room flat, with a view to reducing tension in the home, they found themselves neglected and they did not get any means of livelihood and had to depend on outside help. So these are just two of the many cases that I know of. I think all other parliamentarians will come across some of them in their meet-the-people sessions and they would be able to testify that there are such problems in our midst. And many of these cases have broken down despite intervention. What do we do with them? Do we turn a blind eye to them? Do we close our minds to them despite the real problems faced by these parents? So that is the basic question that we have to address. And I must say that despite all interventions, nothing can work. But if something could have worked, reconciliation could be made and they could be counselled, I think the problem need not be taken a step further.”
“How do we address these problems? It is the same principle that we are talking about in terms of the Maintenance of Parents Bill. Sir, this Bill is not a western orientated Bill. To say that, I think, is far-fetched. Such a Bill would not have even surfaced for a debate in western societies. It would have been shut down. Such a Bill would not have even come up. It would have been seen as an infringement of individual rights. And Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon would not have been able to bring up this Bill in a western society. It would probably be shut out. Sir, the issue before us is a straightforward one, as I see it. Do we have a problem of unsupported aged parents in our midst? Yes or no? I say yes, but it is not serious. Would it become an increasing problem? Your guess is as good as mine. It may become a serious problem and if you project it with the increasing number of aged persons and aged parents in our population, and the different issues and problems of care that would need to be addressed in future, I think the problem is likely to increase. For the sake of the parents who are neglected and unsupported, we have the responsibility to protect them. I think any sensible and well caring society has to protect this group of parents and provide them the maintenance. Sir, as I see it, this is a landmark Bill which will deal with the neglect of parents by children. Although it is a difficult and complex issue that we have to deal with, a very complex interpersonal area, we should all the more not turn a blind eye to it. Sir, can we ignore the problems of the lack of care and support for parents? I am sure not. Just because it is a difficult area and that it is not a problem in Singapore, we should therefore not deal with it? I do not see the logic behind this.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for allowing me to join in the debate. Sir, in life, some of us are optimistic and others are pessimistic. Likewise, some neglect their parents and others do not. The question is: how do we deal with this problem? I think that is the basic issue that we have to get to. Sir, some of my parliamentary colleagues spoke against the Bill. Their arguments were persuasive but not too convincing. At least I am not persuaded or convinced. I am the seconder of the Bill, so I am not convinced. They did not offer any concrete solutions to the problems of the unsupported and the neglected aged parents. All they said was that the Bill was not suitable or not appropriate. It is against our cultural context, it is against our Asian values. Sir, these are all rhetorics, though they are sentiments worth expressing. But I think what is most important is to find concrete solutions to some of the problems. It is just like talking about motherhood and apple pie. I think we can continue to debate on this issue, but nothing will happen. Sir, if we look at the problems of women, imagine what would have happened if we do not have the Women's Charter? There will be a lot of problems. How do we deal with the problems of marital breakdowns? These problems of concubinage and other issues, which are quite common also in the Asian traditions, would not have been solved. These are issues of morality that we are talking about. It does happen in oriental society. So at least we have the Women's Charter to deal with the issues and problems of breakdowns of marriages. In the same principle, we are also debating this whole problem of neglect of parents and the inability to support parents, and these are real issues which are happening in our society.”
“Sir, what about the question of waiting time? Has it been reduced?”
“Sir, is this target of 30,000 flats sufficient to meet the demand in the next few years? At the same time, has the average waiting time been reduced in the last few years?”
“In the light of more flats to be released, are prices going to be increased too?”
“In that review, would the first-time applicants be given a higher weightage in the provision for public housing?”
“Sir, I also understand that, increasingly, there will be a lot of organisations providing services for the aged. And if one were to encourage them to provide more services, it can become a financial burden to them because most voluntary organisations will have to raise money from the public. What I want to know is that in order for these organisations to meet the challenges ahead and to be able to participate in the many helping hands policy of the Government, what steps would the Ministry be taking to support these organisations in meeting the challenges.”
“The other question is: how would the Ministry be working with the Ministry of Health in dealing with the problems of the aged sick? This will become a very crucial and critical area where many families would feel the stress of providing care and attention to the aged, particularly those who require intensive nursing care. Sir, on the question of abuse and neglect of the aged, I see that with the growing number of aged who needs close care and attention, there is potential danger of abuse and neglect of the aged. Some voluntary organisations have, in fact, been concerned about this matter. I would like to ask the Minister what steps are being taken by the Ministry to monitor the situation and whether there are any plans to legislate against abuse of the aged in our community. Sir, the other area of concern is GST and funding. My Parliamentary colleague, Mr Das, has raised this question and I agree that it is an important issue that needs to be addressed. GST does in fact in a way cream off funds from charities. I state that this creaming-off itself is not charitable on the part of the Ministry of Finance. We should see how we could encourage people in the community, various organisations and groups to continue to support the various voluntary activities. The imposition of GST on charitable organisations could dampen people's interest to donate. When people begin to see that what they are donating, either in kind or in cash, or organising charitable activities, are going to be diverted into the Consolidated Fund, then it raises a question of appropriateness. It is not in sync, I would say, with the general interest of people participating in or donating to charities.”
“Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate. Sir, one of the greatest challenges facing Singapore will be its capacity to deal with the aging issue. How can we help the old to retire gracefully? What can we do in order to enable them to manage and adapt with dignity? I think these are some of the questions that we will have to ask ourselves, and whether society is likely to be very utilitarian that the old, who are retiring or who have retired and who have no contributions to make, will be dispensed off with less dignity. I feel the Ministry has a tremendous role in trying to persuade, encourage and strengthen the families, and the various community organisations must have the capacity to support the aging population to manage themselves more effectively. 2.15 pm Sir, it has been projected that the ageing population will grow very steeply from 14% to 26% in the next decade. In absolute terms, we are talking about 180,000 to 320,000 old persons aged 60 and above in the next decade. This is indeed a big number. And such a sharp increase has got tremendous implications on the services for the elderly. More importantly, the number of old persons aged 75 years and above will see a significant increase. This group is at high risk and needs close care and attention. Both the Ministry of Community Development and the Ministry of Health are dealing with this whole problem of the aged and there are perhaps areas where both Ministries will have to coordinate and work together. I want to know from the Minister what would be the direction that the Ministry would be taking in setting a comprehensive plan to deal with this whole ageing problem and issue.”
“I feel that there is an urgent need to look at how these families' waiting time and downpayment schemes could be revised to enable them to upgrade themselves by acquiring larger flats.”
“Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate. Sir, it is time that we took more imaginative and responsive steps to enable as many Singaporeans as possible to own their homes. I am sure this is one of the major policies of our Government. There is an urgent need to review the housing policy for two groups of people living in HDB flats. It is not just review alone, but I think we need to take a more positive action to help them to upgrade. Sir, the first group is the 1- and 2-room HDB families. As at the end of March 1993, there were 64,000 families and this is no small number. Many of these families live in very congested environment. They have a high number of persons in their households. Many of these families cannot upgrade because they are unable to raise the 20% downpayment which is necessary to purchase new flats. At the same time, they cannot afford to purchase 3-room flats in the open market. So they are trapped in between. There are many of these families who want to upgrade but are caught between these two arenas of not being able to move ahead. It is necessary for HDB to devise a scheme to enable this group of families to upgrade themselves. Sir, the second group is the families in the 3-room flats. There are at the moment 246,000 households in this category and this is also no small number. Many of them are second generation families. Their children have grown up and they have become of marriageable age. In these households, congestion has arisen. Many of them want to upgrade to 4-room, maybe 5-room, to accommodate the children within these households. However, many of these families will have to wait for a long time to get a flat. And in the meanwhile, pressures resulting from the lack of space are mounting within these households.”
“In view of the response, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“In addition to that, we also want to explore ways, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, to see how we can encourage more people and more students to read and utilise the resources at the libraries.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code RC 1500. Sir, I like to commend the Ministry for the efforts to reorganise the library and I understand that both regional libraries and community libraries will be established. What I want to know is whether, with this reorganisation, the funding would be reduced drastically in the light that library boards are going to be established to manage these regional libraries as well as community libraries. At the same time, I would also like to find out, because we are going to put in a lot of hardware and knowing that generally our reading population is rather small, what efforts would be made to ensure that the resources we are going to spend in reorganising the library would be effectively utilised. The Minister of State for Information and the Arts (Dr Ker Sin Tze): Sir, Dr Vasoo asked two questions. First, whether the funds allocated to develop the library will be reduced and, second, what kind of efforts we use to encourage more people to read. For the first question, I would say that the funds will not be reduced for both the regional library and the community library. In fact, more funds will be given to develop the libraries. As to the neighbourhood libraries, the initial start-up capital would be given by the Government and experts would also be loaned to community organisations to help them to set up the neighbourhood libraries. On the point about the efforts made, as I mentioned, the Government will provide the initial capital grant. Government will try to give professional expertise to community organisations to set up neighbourhood libraries.”
“In view of the reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“The Board of Film Censors has already announced that with effect from this month, there will be censorship and regulation on the import of such games to prevent the influx of sex and violence oriented games. I think it is a wise move, but I think we should extend the scope of control to include computer games as well as other undesirable comic books. Some parents have already written to the newspapers to complain that entertainment centres and games parlours close to the schools are attracting school children who frequent such places after school to play the video games there. They linger around there and, as a result, their studies are affected. Does the authority intend to exercise some control over such places, such as, requiring such shops to apply for a licence before they can be allowed to operate, thereby regulating them? Some members of the public have also written to the newspapers to complain about comics imported from overseas which contain a lot of violence and sex so much so that even adults should not be reading them. But such publications are circulating underground. I would like the Minister to pay attention to this matter. We should control them so to prevent undesirable contents of video games, computer games, comics and magazines from poisoning the minds of our young people. It is not to universally ban these games as such, because there are games or comics with a healthy content which are suitable for playing or reading by children. It is not enough just to depend on the Government to control these activities. I think the schools, the teachers and the parents themselves must also play their own role in guiding the children and the students. They must exercise some form of supervision so that these children will be able to cultivate a good habit.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code RB 1500. Sir, I will apply self-censorship. If you make a survey of the cinemas around, you will find that there is an increase in the number of R(A) films that have been released. I am just asking whether we have in a way compromised in terms of standards and we are pandering to all these people who are promoting the films. Are they diluting the standards we are setting? If this is the case, then I think we are subtly trying to promote yellow culture in the context of Singapore. I feel that we need to exercise reasonable standards and maintain standards. And I would like the Minister to inform the House what has been done so far to curb the proliferation of R(A) films in the context of Singapore. 5.30 pm Mr Goh Choon Kang (Braddell Heights)( In Mandarin): Sir, TV and computers have great influence on children and the youths. I think now its influence has already exceeded that of the books. I notice that many school children are indulging in three things. One, video games played on the TV screen. Two, computer games. And three, the comics imported from Hong Kong and other countries. We have to monitor the contents of video and computer game software to ensure that they do not have adverse effect on our young people and children. This is like the sword-fighting novels, which are readily available and young people are easily addicted to them. If the contents give play to sex and violence, then they will be poisoning the minds and thinking of our young people.”
“What type of picture will we be encouraging to show? That is the question we will have to address.”
“In many Western countries, the promotion of soft culture is a very insidious process. And when thousands of young people, young minds, are watching these programmes and shows. where they can pluck from the air and they can get access to it, then it is a slow erosion of our moral standards and values. In the longer term, it can lead to a lot of other consequential effects on our society, in terms of relationship, respect for law and order, our orientation to family life, and other related matters. Relationships, marital relationships and all the other aspects are likely to take a different shape and dimension. Sir, with privatisation of SBC, the other question is: how are we going to ensure that public service broadcast is not going to be sacrificed? Educational films, films of value and importance are going to be traded off at the expense of profit making. This is also a question that we will have to address. Are funds going to be cut? Are public service broadcast programmes going to be sacrificed? Sir, I think the issue is to ensure that the values of our young are not eroded, because in the longer term, it is the kind of quality person that we are going to create, the wholesome person, in the context of Singapore, and we have been trying our best to ensure that our values are not eroded. And if you are going into a scenario where broadcasting is going to be mismanaged by going to the hands of private people, then I think there will be serious danger. I like to find out from the Minister what are the types of controls and monitoring that will be carried out and how is this whole privatisation effort going to be managed without sacrificing our long-term values that I am concerned about. Sir, in conclusion, a picture tells more than a thousand words.”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to join in this debate. I endorse the viewpoints shared by my Parliamentary colleagues. Sir, the privatisation of broadcasting will pose serious challenges to Singapore. If it is not well managed, we can go down the slippery road in terms of erosion of values. And particularly with public broadcasting where there is a lot of access to information and programmes, I think the question is how are we going to manage, control and monitor the types of programmes that are going to be released. And this, I think, is a serious question, with privatisation of broadcasting, broadcasters are going to be profit orientated. They are not going to subsidise and promote public service programmes, although this is very relevant, but they are going to take advantage of making profits. Therefore, if you want to make profits, it means you have to promote films which are entertaining. The question is: what kind of entertainment are we going to promote? Sensuous films, and films which excite people? These are some of the issues we are going to face and increasingly so if we are going to have a few stations that are going to be privatised. My question is: how do we maintain a balance? And how is the broadcasting authority going to manage this question of ensuring that Singaporeans will have a wholesome and well-balanced programme? Sir, SBC, as it is, has been setting standards and it has been able to monitor and maintain a reasonably good standard in terms of the type of films and shows that we have. But when it gets out of the realm of SBC and you are going to privatise and you allow private entrepreneurs to run this, then the danger is that it will go out of hand. I am concerned about this.”
“With the GST, they are likely to be affected further, and their income will be eroded further, although much reassurance has been given by the Minister for Finance that they will be getting rebates and other forms of subsidies. But to them, I think the problem is crucial and real. Sir, can anything be done for them? Should they not deserve a review of their small pensions? Sir, how can we attract people to join the civil service when it is seen that the pensioners who have served umpteen years for the Government have become a forgotten lot and they have to from time to time put a case for review of their pension? Sir, the contributions of our pensioners to the good of Singapore cannot be debated. It has been well argued in this House by many of the hon. Members before me. Last year, when the subject was touched, the Minister for Finance said that he sympathised with the small-time pensioners. I hope his sympathy will be translated into some concrete actions to help the pensioners. Hopefully, Sir, their Singapore Allowance will be reviewed. Sir, I support the Budget Statement.”
“Now that profiteering has occurred before GST, it is important to know if businessmen will profiteer further after GST. Hence, the Prime Minister's call for prices, pre- and post-GST, to be monitored is most reassuring. Sir, concrete solutions, I feel, against profiteering in some form of consumer action, either by CASE or at grassroots level through various grassroots' organisations, can be organised. Perhaps, withdrawal of licences for those who profiteer should be instituted against those who are greedy and who profiteer too much. Sir, in the light of our growing aging population, I am indeed pleased to note that a higher interest rate would be given to the Special and Minimum Sum accounts above the normal usual rates accorded by CPF. However, Sir, the rate is not attractive. I hope a 2% or 2 1/4% higher than the normal interest rate would be a greater incentive for people to save in the CPF after 55 years. Sir, besides this, there is a working group of single persons and others who look after their aged sick parents by employing domestic maids. It would be fair to give them tax deduction for their maid levy. This is a good gesture in recognition of their efforts and concern. Otherwise, some of them would probably be sending and admitting their parents to the home for the aged. Sir, I highlighted two groups of Singaporeans in last year's Budget Statement. I am glad that the Government has responded to one of the two groups that I have represented. I wish the Government could do more for the lower-income pensioners. Sir, there is a sizeable number of pensioners who have pensions of less than $500. It saddens me that the plight of this group of pensioners is not given more attention than they deserve. The increasing cost of living has really eroded their income.”
“I think this feeling and concern is quite real because the ultimate analysis is that the impact of GST and increased cost on the ordinary persons will have to be addressed. Although I feel that this is a misinformed viewpoint, the concern is quite rampant at the grassroots level. Whatever extra they need to pay out, I am sure the Minister will argue, has been considered by the Government and these remedies have been effected. I have been reassured by the Minister for Finance that a large section of Singaporeans would not be worse off when GST comes into effect. For those who are worse off, particularly those who face hardship because they have no income, or they are on public assistance, I hope some immediate assistance would be extended to them. Sir, I am inclined to believe that the GST in itself is good for the people in general and good for the country in particular. The threat, however, comes not from GST. The fear of the people comes from the unintended consequences of the GST, that is, profiteering. Quite rightly so, too, Sir, as many of the benefits of the GST appear rather vague to people until it is implemented. The effect will take shape then. There may be a cascading effect when GST is implemented. This is the general thinking at the ground level. Sir, what is real, right now, to people is that prices have gone up pre-GST, and, in some instances, quite dramatically. These are over-profiteering by some greedy businessmen. By recognising that there is profiteering, the Government recognises that there is a problem. What is discomforting to the people is that the Government seems to know what is wrong but appears unable to deal with it effectively because it is left very much to the free market to deal with these consequences.”
“Thus, this year I am glad that the Government has been more generous to the lower income group. In fact, to be fair, the generosity accorded by the Government has expanded in scope. This is evident in that more people than last year stand to benefit from the Government's bonus. This time round not just the very poor benefitted but also those who have just enough to meet the monthly expense. And I believe this group is rather substantial. Sir, I hope that the Government will continue to give annual rebates and other bonuses as long as the economy is doing well. This will in fact strengthen the bond between the people and the Government because, in the final analysis, to the common man, it is the issue whether they are getting the direct benefits and whether Government surpluses are, to some extent, reallocated in good times to the ordinary working class. If this is continued, then the bonding between the people and the Government will be further strengthened. So I hope that in good times the Minister for Finance would be able to continue to provide more rebates to the ordinary working class and others who have worked hard to improve the economy. Sir, as the pool of Singaporeans in the workforce has increased, and as more of our nuclear families have both parents working, the net result is that more and more people are liable to pay personal income tax. Hence, the move to reduce the one-off 5% personal income tax, I am sure, is welcomed by most, if not all. However, Sir, I am told that people still have some nagging anxiety about the Budget. The man-in-the-street feels that all these extra monies would be absorbed when the GST takes effect.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to join in the debate. Sir, I will get down to the brass tack issues which affect the ordinary persons at the grassroots level. Sir, this year's Budget has brought benefits to the low income workers and their families. The service and conservancy rebates, the restoration of the employer's contribution of CPF to 20% and the share ownership cash grant scheme of $300, do reflect the Government's concern for reducing the burden of the lower income people. In fact, the Singapore Government is the only Government that I know of that promotes actively asset accumulation. Sir, imagine if we do not have CPF that has been implemented since 1954, then we would not be able to talk about withdrawal of savings at 55, and many people may not be able to accumulate savings by then if it has been free for all. If you take the case of Hong Kong, where it is a free market and there is no CPF, a lot of them are now asking for CPF, which is quite the reverse in comparison to our case. The issue that we have to address is savings at old age and how this is going to be drawn out in terms of allowing people to use their savings effectively when they are old. I think that is the basic question that we have to address. The Member for Bukit Gombak in fact has missed the issue. I feel that this whole issue of CPF will have to be looked at in that context. Sir, the Budget for this year is significant on several counts. In my comments on the budget last year, I highlighted that the Government, though no doubt generous, could have been more generous. I particularly singled out two groups of people which I felt more could have been done. These are the lower income group and the pensioners.”
“There are trails in the area for cycling.”
“Sir, will interim arrangements be made for people to cycle there?”
“Sir, would the sitting tenants be given a reasonable discount? At the same time, are there also plans to sell two-room rental flats?”
“These are the realities of life and I think, in due course, the community and the families, particularly the families having aged parents, will have to deal with this dilemma. Sir, our community must also take steps to encourage our elderly to be better prepared to cope with their retirement. The more positive efforts the elderly take in maintaining healthy lifestyles, the less dependent will they be in need for care and attention. We must therefore encourage more of our elderly to be involved in self-help groups in our neighbourhoods. Through these self-help groups and mutual support groups, the elderly with different needs and problems could be assisted. The strong therefore can help the less strong. In conclusion, I would like to say that each of us must have renewed faith in what we do. We should continue to spread our wings to find new heights to scale. For this to happen, we must not count on a few, but to count on all who can help to build a better community.”
“One significant social phenomenon of the near future is the greying of our housing estates. In older housing estates, the aging process has become very transparent. There is an increasing number of older senior citizens living in these housing estates and it is urgent that community groups and organisations, with the support of Government, begin to plan the establishment of more community-based programmes such as day care, meal programmes, home-help service and domiciliary nursing care and other crisis response service to meet their needs. In taking a proactive approach to initiate a network of services in older housing estates, we will be able to provide support for families with vulnerable aged and prevent disruptions to the social and economic lives of these families. I am sure you will agree with me, Sir, that in the older estates, like yours, and some of my colleagues, there is an urgent need to review how the environment of these estates can be made more user-friendly for the older people. If we do not take action to deal with this problem, we will land up with serious problems of inaccessibility for the old in these housing estates. One major concern facing the elderly would be the maintenance of good health. It is therefore important to promote healthy living. Otherwise, ill-health at old age can become burdensome and a misery. The prolongation of life as a result of improved medical technology would raise various moral and philosophical issues about the sustenance of life and dying. Our elderly will have to be better prepared to deal with this life reality and dilemma and by encouraging them to draw up perhaps a living will and to also prepare them to deal with this whole question of death and dying.”
“We must continue to encourage Singaporeans to be socially responsible and to extend mutual assistance to others less better off. In this way, we can build a more cohesive society. On the broader front, it is necessary for our society to actively promote value education as early as possible before a child begins school. Such an emphasis in our educational curriculum can facilitate helping behaviour. Value education by parents and the schools can encourage good citizenship. In the longer term, it can help to prevent people from becoming more self-centred and uncaring. More people with high social DNA or high social concern should be attracted. These people with an acumen for the promotion of public good will strengthen our social institutions for the discharge of various social obligations. Sir, with continued renewal of leadership, it is crucial to the further viability and survival of our various institutions. It is therefore essential to have an institutional philosophy of the need to encourage younger professionals and concerned citizens to be inducted into the leadership of the various organisations. In doing so, we will remain relevant and respond to the changing social needs and problems in our community. In this connection, I hope that younger Singaporeans can learn to be humble and seize various opportunities to achieve their best human potential. As for those of us who are in our adulthood and middle age, we must strive to be effective parents and, where possible, support others who are less better off than us. For those who are greying, like myself, it is important that we brace ourselves to deal with the question of retirement and find re-engagement in other meaningful activities. I am sure when you grey, you will have to participate in meaningful activities.”
“Sir, I cannot but agree more with our President that we need good people in both public and private institutions. It is the kind of people we have who make the institutions. Therefore, it is important that our Governmental institutions, be it educational, social, political or economic, continue to have people who show genuineness, provide respectability, demonstrate enthusiasm, have empathy, pay attention, carry responsibility, and have humility. In having these qualities, institutions become alive and they do not deteriorate to facelessness. This is a danger among many bureaucracies and unless we can humanise these bureaucracies it will not be able to respond more effectively to the needs of the consumers. In this connection, I must alert the Government that there is serious disquiet amongst civil servants over the revised medical benefits scheme. Despite the explanation given, I doubt very much that the civil servants have understood what the scheme is all about. There is a need to explain more clearly what the scheme is all about and what impact this will have on the civil servants themselves. They feel short-changed and this disappointment needs to be redressed so that the people who form the foundation to our Governmental institutions are not demoralised. From my own assessment, talking to some of them, they seem to be quite demoralised at this juncture. Sir, we must also ensure that Singapore does not become an individualistic society. If this happens, then Singaporeans can become self-centred and preoccupied with their own interest. People will be less willing to give mutual support to others. This will be bad for Singapore. I am sure you will agree with me, Sir, that we will have to support others who are in need and who are less better off than us.”
“Some of these social factors have already been identified by my colleagues yesterday and I shall not dwell on them in detail. But some of these factors such as declining birth rate or fertility, increasing participation of women in the labour force, continuing breakdown in the extended family composition, delaying marriages, and increasing number of persons in singlehood and divorces, have to some extent created impact and changes in the family. All these aforementioned social factors have important bearing on the current and future programmes for the families. Consequently, it will have implications for the provision of services in dealing with families and I think there is an urgent need to look at how we can strengthen the foundation of the family further. Sir, the other issue directly related to this is the time that the commuters are spending outside their home. More commuters of public transport now feel that their travelling and waiting time has increased because of too many points of transfer. Time with the family is also lessened. Commuters are beginning to become frustrated because they feel that they have taken too many unnecessary rides, and sometimes taken for a ride too! There is a need to review whether the present bus company monopoly should be maintained. A few more bus companies should be allowed to operate so that more competition could be introduced. I do not see there is a need to have just SBS and TIBS to operate the bus services. In many housing estates, there are Transit Link and internal bus shuttle services. Perhaps there could be an introduction of other companies to compete in the transport service. By this, we will be able to increase the quality of the service and also allow consumers a better choice of the transportation system.”
“Therefore, social and cultural values transmitted by various significant institutions such as the school, cultural groups, media and the family should blend together harmoniously and contradictions can be prevented. I see that there are increasing contradictions arising in our context. Contradictions between the media, the family and the school institutions, I feel, have to be minimised so that the transmission of these social and cultural values could, to some extent, be transmitted more systematically and more harmoniously. Sir, with increasing pressure to relax censorship of printed and visual information, there is a danger that contradictions in value transmission between these institutions will increase and it is increasingly so with the introduction of less censorship and other related policy changes in this direction. I feel that we should guard against the problems that will arise as a result of this relaxation. It is therefore important that our Government should send appropriate signals and take calculated action to deal with the media that promotes permissiveness and erodes our moral fibre. Government should, in the first place, be clear about what are the socially desirable materials to be allowed. If we do not take care of this issue, in the longer term, this will flood our society and therefore will create disconcerting values amongst the very young. The social health of any progressive society varies directly with human values of its people and their capacity to find social antigens to counter decadent values which erode social responsibilities of its people. A number of significant social factors will have impact and influence on the dynamics of the family and family life.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to join in the debate. Mr Speaker, Sir, in many developed countries, social values are found to be in transition. In many of these places, values are also in conflict. Problems have arisen in many of these places because of value conflicts related to interpersonal problems, social responsibility, marital and other related problems. These have plagued many of these developed countries. We should deal with some of these intangibles because these are very important issues in the context of Singapore and we must address these issues so that we will not, in the longer term, be caught with these problems. Sir, we must ensure that the family continues to be a viable institution to imbue social and cultural values to our young. In doing so, it will help to build a cultural ballast that will enable our young to choose appropriate social and cultural values and discard those that are negative and decadent. This will prevent the development of social problems such as drug abuse, delinquency, marital and extra-marital problems, personal and moral degradations. In short, good social and cultural values will contribute to healthy growth and development of children and hence strengthen the foundation of our society. I am sure you will agree with me, Sir, that this is very important. One crucial factor which determines whether our young adults will become responsible parents is the type of social and cultural values they are exposed to. The young adults' capacity to handle crises will be determined, to a considerable extent, by the social and cultural values preferred by his family and community.”
“This is an area that I think we need to look at the cost, because it forms quite a sizeable part of medical costs. Sir, there is also concern among medical professionals whether the policy changes to be implemented would affect Singapore's effort to promote itself as a centre of medical excellence. This issue has to be squarely addressed. There are a lot of specialists who are concerned about this, and we need to see how we should encourage and provide the necessary support that Singapore can maintain itself and move ahead to become a centre of medical excellence. Sir, in conclusion, we all have the responsibility to keep our health cost trim. Where we can save in our health expenditure, we should. The prescription for all of us is, as the common saying goes: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But, Sir, life is such that sometimes an apple a day may not keep the doctor away. In this case, we need affordable health care. I support the motion. Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair again at 3.00 o'clock. Sitting accordingly suspended at 2.33 pm until 3.00 pm. Sitting resumed at 3.00 pm [Mr Speaker in the Chair] AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE (Motion) Debate resumed.”
“They say people are healthier. But I think people do need to go to these outpatient clinics from time to time to assess their health care problems. Sir, there is no plan to establish more polyclinics. More support must be given to family medical practitioners to set up group practice in housing estates. This would probably provide some reassurance to Dr Toh Keng Kiat who has been advocating for this. Sir, you will realise that there is a growing number of families with elderly members who are 70 years and above. It is estimated that there are about 106,000 persons in this age group at the moment. The number will be growing further in the years ahead. MediShield does not cover them. There are, and would be, burdens of health care faced by these families. Sir, I think it would be helpful to allow children of these families to use their Medisave for MediShield to cover their parents' medical treatment. Increasingly, this elderly group will create a burden on our health care system which will be under tremendous pressure in the years ahead. Sir, we will also be seeing an increasing number of older persons requiring treatment for terminal illnesses. This will impose serious strains on families and the hospital resources. Both families and medical staff will be faced with the issue of death and dying. There will be ethical dilemmas, and I think we cannot escape this. Hospital staff and families will have to be better prepared to deal with these dilemmas. Sir, the White Paper noted the increased cost of various medical and laboratory examinations. The charges in this aspect need to be contained before it runs out of control. Sir, Government can play a role by encouraging NTUC and other groups to provide laboratory and medical tests.”
“This is indeed reassuring but the task of Audit Committees should include expenditure audit. This is very important because other than audits on medical issues, expenditure is an area that we should watch for and I would suggest that independent Audit Committees should be set up with the involvement of some professionals outside the health care system. Audit should, in fact, be made transparent so that the public would know what is the actual cost for the delivery of our health services. Sir, the White Paper has not fully addressed a few issues which are likely to become more challenging in the near future. Sir, firstly, much emphasis should be focused on primary health care. I cannot but agree with the Minister who stated that we have a good primary health care system. But I think we should be able to do better than that. If you look at last year's Health Ministry's report, only 11% of the Health budget for 1992 was spent on this area. You may argue that 11% is sufficient, but I feel we can review this area because primary health care is an important arena for health prevention. Sir, we have to ensure that there are a reasonable number of polyclinics and laboratory services to deliver frontline medical services. However, only a few polyclinics are planned and this can drive more people to use the hospital services. This can choke the hospital medical system. One argues that attendance rates at polyclinics have dropped. But we should also look at the number of polyclinics that has been reduced. So the attendance rates naturally go down too. An hon. Member: People are healthier.”
“Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate. In the last three days we have covered a lot of medical ground and I suppose they are all interesting viewpoints that have been brought up during the current debate on the White Paper on Affordable Health Care. Sir, I share many of the viewpoints expressed by my Parliamentary colleagues. They have in fact given a lot of prescriptions. The Minister for Health has also given counter prescriptions. They are all good doses to help us manage a better and improved health care plan. Sir, a lot of healthy recommendations have been prescribed. On the whole, I must say that the Government should be given a clean bill of health for spelling out a clear health care plan. In the last few years that I have been in this House, I think the Government has come out with a clear direction in terms of the future of our health services and the types of programmes that would be implemented. Sir, what is most important is that affordable health care is the responsibility of everyone - patients, health administrators, laboratory service suppliers, medical personnel and all the others who are related. What is most important is for all these actors to become more cost conscious and accountable in what they do. If each of these actors is able to play his role effectively, then health care cost could be contained. We must work towards this effort. So what is most important is that consumers should not be subjected to high-tech medicine when other cost effective treatments are available. I think there is this danger. If you have read the newspapers, all sorts of transplants do take place. If we run in this direction, then health care costs cannot be contained. The Minister for Health stated that there are Audit Committees in hospitals.”
“Some clarification from the Minister, Sir. What are the anticipated implications of such proposals on the civil service itself?”
“How many families are projected to benefit from the Scheme?”
“Sir, first of all, I would like to declare my pecuniary interest. Would Singaporeans who are away overseas, and their relatives have been asked to apply on their behalf for the Group A shares, be allocated such shares?”
“There is also an urgency to reduce the downpayment to 10% for families earning less than $1,500 per month and below and this will also help this group of people to gain access and to upgrade themselves into better housing. On that note, I like to thank you, Sir.”
“We must find alternative community-based health care services to deal with the aged sick and to strengthen families to look after their old parents. I support the Cost Review Committee's recommendation to keep at least one Government hospital accessible to the average income families. May I also suggest that we increase more beds for B2 and C classes? Maybe include a B3 class, if necessary. This I think could be worked out and there is in fact increasing demand for these classes. The Ministry of Health, in its health care review, could look at this issue and address it as quickly as possible so that the health care system will not be under serious pressure. Sir, with regard to the remission of school fees, I see that with the establishment of independent schools and more autonomous schools in the near future, it will be necessary to review the income ceiling of families who would qualify for fee remissions in these schools. Currently, the fee remission is extended to families with an income of $2,000 and below. It is reasonable to increase the income ceiling to $2,500, as this will benefit more children. As more schools in the neighbourhood are going to be autonomous, fees are likely to increase and this will create problems of accessibility to these schools for some of the brighter children from low income families. I hope that we could take remedial action at that level. Sir, with regard to housing, it would be useful for us to consider building 4-room budget flats instead of 3-room HDB flats. This is because there is a growing number of second generation parents with children getting married who are living in 3-room flats and the demand by them is for more 4-room flats. I think there is a need to step up the building of 4-room budget flats.”
“We need to see how the excesses and charges of these various bodies could be monitored and checked from time to time. Sir, these three universal services should remain affordable and accessible, as they are inputs to our nation building. They facilitate bondage of individual Singaporeans to our nation building and make us feel that we are cared for in our joint efforts to keep Singapore going. And the more we are bonded through access to these services, the more the identity of the person is built around such nation building processes. Increased cost in these three universal services is inevitable, but it should be reasonable and affordable. I fully support the Cost Review Committee's recommendation that cost increase impact on different income groups should be examined separately. This is important as it will help us to understand better the consequences to their livelihood. In this respect, to the ordinary working class, we may have to encourage them to form neighbourhood cooperatives or credit unions to help them to save and to get the best of their dollar through cooperative activities and efforts. And I see there is tremendous potential for CASE and NTUC, at the neighbourhood level, to develop cooperatives which will buffer and mediate against further price increases and profiteering by various groups. Sir, on the question of affordable health care, I see that in the next five years, we will be expected to face increasing pressures to keep our health care affordable. It is estimated that two out of every 10 households will have a senior citizen who, at some point, may require health care. The health costs to these families will be burdensome.”