Seng Han Thong
Singapore
“In the Bill, it also mentioned about applying a blanket permit for usage at same location. So, is it possible for our Grassroots Organisation (GRO)'s new media team to do it for our community events coverage all year round?”
“Mr Lee has left. Let us uphold the Singapore Spirit, stay united in front of crises and seek consensus when facing differences. We will let Mr Lee know that Singapore will continue to develop for another 50 years! Page: 20 We will always remember you, our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. [Applause.] 4.42 pm”
“Through open tender, we now see real market competition in terms of management solutions and fees charged by the competing companies to operate the bundles of public bus routes.”
“Madam, in view of the heightened international terrorist threat, what will be the measures taken by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to enhance aviation security and safety at Changi Airport? Changi Airport served a record 54.1 million passengers from around the world with 340,000 flight movements last year.”
“For patrons who drink, taxis are vital in ensuring the journey home is safe for themselves as well as other road users, while we hear of the difficulties of serving such a segment of commuters, especially relating to drunken patrons.”
“Maritime safety. Madam, as our maritime strategy is to strengthen Singapore as a premier global hub port and develop Singapore as a leading international maritime centre, a strong maritime safety culture needs to be nurtured and developed to support the strategy. What are the work plans and programmes to further enhance maritime safety?”
The complete record
Every one of 495 lines we hold for Seng Han Thong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 10.
“Just now, the Member for Potong Pasir tried to link democracy with economic prosperity. If the superpower USA is hit by an economic crisis, can he then say that there is no democracy in the United States? I do not know how he came to the conclusion that Taiwan is more democratic than we are. Perhaps, he was referring to newspaper reports on how Parliamentarians fought in Parliament. They even went up to the Speaker and threatened him. Such an incident will never happen in Singapore. Is that what he meant when he said Taiwan was more democratic than Singapore? Mr Chiam should know that our economic situation is different from that of Taiwan. In our economy, 73% comes from external demand; 12% from domestic consumption, and 12% from investment. But Taiwan is different. Their market is mainly confined to Europe, the United States and mainland China. They are not so much affected by the regional crisis. I hope the next time when Mr Chiam wants to make such a remark, he should pay a visit to Taiwan first. I do not know how many times he has visited Taiwan (twice or three times or never?). He should go there and find out for himself what the actual situation is. Take a look at the Philippines. They are supposed to be very democratic, but is their economy better than ours? In this crisis, many people are beginning to realise that they need to go for training, retraining, and skills upgrading in order to enhance their employability. However, I feel that the public sector seems to be "half-a-beat behind" in the promotion of training plans for its staff. Now with many Government departments corporatised or privatised, very often the staff have to be transferred to the other departments or organisations, and many of their existing skills could not be utilized.”
“In fact, over the last one to two years, our political leaders, from the Prime Minister to the Ministers, and from the labour MPs to the NTUC leaders, have been explaining to our people the impact of the economic crisis on us, and that many people may face retrenchment and unemployment. We have worked very hard to explain to our people the problems that we would be facing and all the external factors that would have an adverse effect on us. The people understand. When the crisis hit us, they did not ask us for an explanation. Nobody has asked the Government to apologise. We were able to implement the CPF reduction and wage cut without a hitch. The foreign media were amazed. They could not understand how we managed to carry out such a delicate exercise so smoothly, and with hardly any resistance from the workers. Just now, the Member for Hougang also said that the Government did not care whether the people live or die. I would like to ask how many people had died because of this crisis. On the contrary, the PAP Government has shown great care and concern for the people. Our leaders have been making door-to-door visits to the residents and anyone found to be in hardship, assistance will be on hand to help him out. We are helping our people when help is most needed by them. This is like sending hot-burning coal to a freezing person in the snow. I think if the Member for Hougang cares to make a visit to our PAP constituencies he will understand what we are doing. He also said that this Budget is "good to see but not good to eat". In Chinese, there is a saying that good medicine may be bitter to the taste but it cures your sickness. In a way, he is right. This Budget may not be "good to eat", but it heals. So it is good medicine.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, every year on Chinese New Year's eve, the Finance Minister and his grassroots leaders will go to the bank of Singapore River to perform a ritual of releasing live fish into the river. That was why over the last few years, we had a surplus because the word "yu" (fish) in Chinese sounds the same as yu (surplus). The Chinese say nien nien you yu, meaning there is fish (surplus) every year. However, this year our economy has been hit by the financial crisis in the region, and we have a budget deficit. Just now, the Member for Hougang said that our deficit this year is not a genuine deficit. To me, a deficit is a deficit. There is no such thing as genuine or not genuine. If you have a bank account and you spend more than what you have in your account, you run into a deficit. One thing worth mentioning is that there are not many countries which can still increase education and defence expenditure when impacted by a financial crisis. Singapore can. While we are moving towards a knowledge economy, we increase our expenditure on education and training so as to look after the interest of our workers to ensure their life-long employability. At a time when our neighbouring countries are facing turbulent political unrest, we increase our defence spending. This is something which everyone in Singapore can understand. Our deficit is not one of consumption type. It is a development expenditure. In the long run, it will enhance our competitiveness. Sir, just now, the Member for Hougang said that the PAP Government should apologise to the people.”
“For those schools which are not doing well, they should ask the Board of Governors and their Old Boys Association to find some ways to bring up the standard, and ranking, of these schools, so that the Chinese community will not feel that they are losing this pillar. Mr Speaker, Sir, within the last two to three decades, we have already evolved into a bilingual society. This is a good thing because in such an environment, we would be able to develop multi-lingualism. I think Singaporeans should help our fellow Singaporeans. We should support fellow Singaporeans so that everyone would be able to develop our own potentials. For those who may be weak in the language, we should find some ways to help them clear their obstacles, so that their future development will not be hampered. I support the policy statement.”
“Yet, many people are still worried that under the new policy CL `B' may result in the standard of the Chinese language being lowered once again. On the other hand, many Singaporeans are worried because more and more youngsters are speaking Mandarin. You hear people speaking Mandarin everywhere - in the buses, in shopping complexes, and even in the university campus. They fear that the standard of English may be lowered. This is characteristic of our Singapore society. If you look around the other countries, lowering of the standard of languages is a universal problem. In China, the parents are complaining that their children are not learning Chinese well enough, while the English people are worried that their children do not speak good English. This is a general trend. When we go into the 21st century, what is the challenge for Singapore? We want to compete in the market. We want to compete for talents. We want to attract foreign talents. Just now, a few Members have spoken about the emergence of China as a new economic power. The situations all over the world are different. We want to develop a Chinese elite, a Malay elite, a Tamil elite. We want talents. Whether they are the elites in the field of language or in the field of science and technology, we want these talents. DPM Lee mentioned that we are going to have one more SAP school. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I think it is a good thing, in terms of quantity and geographical distribution. We feel that the SAP school is a pillar for the Chinese community. I think we should not allow this pillar to lose its significance. Just now, DPM has said that some SAP schools are not doing well academically. This is a matter of great concern to the Chinese community.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, every time when we talk about the language issue, particularly the Chinese language, people will say it is a very sensitive issue. Whenever we talk about revising the curriculum for the teaching of Chinese, the Chinese-educated would say that the Government is going to lower the standard of Chinese again. As for the English-educated parents, their concern is whether the standard of Chinese is too high for their children to pass. But after some 20 years of fine-tuning, some 80% to 90% of our students seem to be quite comfortable with the present standard of the Chinese language in our schools. Just now, Dr Ow mentioned that in Chinese, we learn to talk, listen, write and read. But there are many Singaporeans who never studied Chinese in school. They may not speak Mandarin well, but they can certainly sing well in Chinese during karaoke sessions! Our MP for Potong Pasir, Mr Chiam See Tong who is a typical English-educated, may not speak Mandrain well, but we all know that he sings the famous Chinese song, Rong Shu Xia (Under the Banyan Tree) very well and raised a lot of funds in the process. To sing this song well, you need not only a lot of stamina but also a good understanding of the lyrics (in Chinese) in order that you may express your feelings in your singing. So, on the whole, we have catered to the needs of the majority of Singaporeans. Perhaps many Singaporeans are still having difficulties learning Chinese and do not have the necessary breakthrough in their mentality. So this announcement by DPM is very timely. In other words, it will not only be able to cater for the majority of Singaporeans, but in fact, everyone in Singapore.”
“I support the motion standing in the name of the Minister.”
“When the sole breadwinner has lost his job or when the company has gone bankrupt, we ought to understand their plight and give them a helping hand. For those Singaporeans who have no family members to turn to for help, the CDCs and other self-help organisations should step in to render assistance. Whether we are civil servants, employers, or grassroots leaders, we ought to empathise and be more compassionate with our fellow country men who are now in difficulties. I hope such message could be conveyed to all Government Ministries. We hope, through the present crisis, we could become more vigilant and be more able to cope with changes. Mr Speaker, Sir, let me cite a real life example that shows how a long period of prosperity can cause our people to be less able to cope with adverse circumstances. Nowadays, more and more housing estates have covered walkways to link their blocks to the bus stops and to shield them from rain and the hot sun. However, one resident complained to me that there was no covered walkway near his block and that it was very hot to walk to the bus stop at noon and when it rains, he could not go to the bus stop. But this resident has forgotten that during the time when there were no such facilities, no one complained that he or she could not walk to the bus stop, rain or shine. What you need to do is to walk faster or to bring an umbrella when it rains. He seemed to have forgotten this instinct of coping with changes. A long period of prosperity could bring about such negative effects on the mettle of our people. It is hoped that the present crisis could lead us to realise the importance of how to survive through hardship and changes. Mr Speaker, Sir, the "every cent counts" spirit is manifested in the various recommendations in the CSC Report.”
“If the ordinary people could save 5 to 10 cents each time they go to work by public transport, shop at the supermarket, or to have a meal at the hawker centre, these savings when added up could amount to something significant. This would in some way help to offset the pains inflicted by the pay cut and CPF cut. In this respect, the NTUC has taken the lead. I hope the retail sector would also follow suit by giving discounts to their consumers. The media can help by giving publicity to those shops which have reduced their prices. When consumers know where they could buy things at lower prices, they would do their shopping there. This would lead to more shops giving discounts or reducing their prices in order to attract customers. It is this spirit of "every cent counts" that we try to imbue into our children's mind when we ask them to deposit their savings into piggy banks so that before Chinese New Year, they could use their savings to buy new clothes and new shoes. Our national reserve is like a "piggy bank". Some people have suggested that we should dig into the national reserves to solve our problems. But I think it is not wise to do so. I think the reserves should be made use of only as a last resort. To do so is like children using a stick to try and dig out a few coins from the piggy bank to spend. If there are other options, we should not dig into the national reserves. We should turn this spirit into a Singapore spirit. We should encourage everyone to save. That we have a huge reserve is a result of our savings because we have enjoyed good times for many years. Our people have become used to living in comfort that they tend to become grumpy when they are suddenly faced with hard times. We can understand that.”
“When we are all faced with a common problem, we should put in a concerted effort to seek solutions to these problems. We should not wait to see who should make more sacrifice. Everyone has to make sacrifice in order to enhance our competitiveness. Mr Speaker, Sir, DPM Lee's measures demonstrate another spirit in our society, that is, we should share good fortunes and go through thick and thin together. Now that we are faced with difficulties, do the Government, employers, unions and workers know what our difficulties are? How did these difficulties come about? We should not indulge in mutual condemnation. While we share in good fortunes, we should also bear adversity together. How do we overcome these difficulties? It is obvious. We should take measures to reduce our business costs. However, when we resort to cost-cutting, we should endeavour to minimise the impact on the poor wage-earners. I am glad to hear that petrol companies have announced a reduction in petrol prices. Singapore Telecom has also announced reductions in IDD charges. We sincerely hope that Government agencies and the private sector will do the same. On the union side, the NTUC launched a $23 million package to help the workers tide over this difficult period. When this scheme was launched, one reporter asked whether the miserable price-cut of 5% to 10% was of any good when people do not even bother to stop and pick up a 5-cent coin when they see one on the ground. Having enjoyed the good times all these years, our people have become so casual about small amounts of money. However, I would still appeal to businessmen to pass on the savings from the cuts in taxes, rentals and CPF by reducing the prices of their goods and services, even if it is just for 5 cents or 10 cents.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, for the past one year a remark which Singaporeans often make in the coffeeshops has been "times are bad". What most people talk about are CPF cut, wage cut and whether prices will go down. At home, what worries people is whether they could keep their jobs as they have seen their own relatives and neighbours retrenched. Moreover, they worry whether they have enough money to service their mortgage loans. Mr Speaker, Sir, with the nation-wide cost-cutting measures announced by DPM Lee yesterday as well as the measures announced by the Minister for Manpower, Dr Lee Boon Yang, in place, I think we can rest assured that things are moving in the right direction. After the CSC Report and the National Wages Council's recommendations were published, the people's attention is focused on the various cost-cutting measures, particularly the specific cuts in taxes, rentals, CPF contributions and wages. In the forum page of the newspapers, the dialogue sessions and in coffeeshops, we begin to read and hear these questions being asked: "Has the Government done enough? Have the employers done enough? Have the unions done enough? Have the workers done enough?" There are people who mentioned again and again that Ministers should take the lead in having a pay cut. There are also others who doubt whether senior management staff in the private sector are willing to take a deeper pay cut. Some have asked whether companies which are still making profits should be entitled to cut their CPF contributions. We hope that bosses in the private sector would be sensitive to the needs of their employees, and would not take this opportunity to exploit them. On the other hand, we also hope that there will not be politics of jealousy in our society.”
“Was there any dialogue session between the Ministry and the taxi-drivers association on the ERP?”
“Sir, is there any plan by the Ministry to have more frequent dialogue sessions with the taxi-drivers so that they could air their views and criticise the policies of LTA?”
“Sir, did the Ministry receive any feedback from West Malaysian workers that they prefer to leave their savings with the CPF?”
“Sir, may I ask how soon will the NWC be reconvened and what is top on the agenda, whether it is a CPF cut or implementing a wage freeze?”
“In all, $60 million will go to these taxi drivers, which is as much as 55% of the savings from the diesel tax. In the past, whenever the taxi drivers talked about the diesel tax, they would become angry. They would scold and abuse. But now, they are happy. I feel that this diesel tax is no longer a burden to them and the taxi drivers no longer have to worry about their contributions to Medisave. This is a win-win situation. In this example we can see that the employer does have a heart and the workers have the incentives to work hard. This is a time for everyone to work together with one heart. As long as the Government has a realistic, pragmatic policy to reduce business cost, I am sure we would be able to overcome all odds and come out of this economic crisis stronger and wiser.”
“For example, in a coffeeshop which is tendered for millions of dollars, a chicken rice stall has to pay rental of $3,000 to $4,000 a month. So let us think about it. How many plates of chicken rice has the stall-keeper got to sell in order to just pay his rent? I hope that the Government will give these property owners more rebates and we must see to it that their tenants share these rebates. Many tenants are telling me that up to now, they have not enjoyed any of these rebates that the owners are getting. Nowadays we have a lot of open-bidding exercises, for land sale, for COEs, etc, and all these tender exercises are absolutely transparent. The policy is correct. But many people feel that property prices can only go up but cannot go down. So everyone will start bidding higher and higher. Now all of a sudden, we know that the property price can go down and there is nothing that they could do. In this aspect, I think the Government should review the policy. We should do away with the speculative element so that we will not commit the same mistake again in future. When we are reviewing our policy, we should also consider the outcome of the review so that everybody would benefit. Recently, the Ministry of Communications reviewed the policy of diesel tax. The saving of the diesel tax rebate is as much as $109 million. The Land Transport Authority makes it clear that the taxi drivers should be entitled to a share of this benefit. Recently, the three major taxi operator associations in Singapore reached an agreement with the taxi companies, whereby each principal taxi hirer shall have $750 paid into his Medisave Account for the next five years. So in five years, every taxi driver would have accumulated $3,500 in their Medisave Account.”
“I suggest we consider allowing the middle management executives to be registered too, because nowadays there are so many middle management people or company executives who are retrenched. At the moment, many employers do not wish to employ the older workers because they feel that these people are more demanding. In fact, many people have lowered their expectations. A friend of mine was suddenly retrenched. He told me that when he returned home with the news of his retrenchment, he asked members of his family, "So, what am I going to do now?" The wife replied, "No problem. Let us dismiss our foreign maid. We can save about $700 a month." Then the daughter said, "Well, I will give private tuition." The son said, " I am in national service. During the weekends, I can do some part-time jobs." Now, he has taken a new job which requires him to do typing, filing and all sorts of odd chores, and he is earning only one quarter of what he used to earn. But he said, "Never mind. I will carry on. I will work hard and I shall survive." So it is only in times of difficulty that you realize how precious your family is to you. The family gives him the support he much needed. For the time being, he may not be able to meet the payments such as income tax, PUB charges, housing loans, etc. I think the Government should be more sympathetic - allow them to defer payment or even to pay by instalments. Now, let me talk about the cost of doing business. We all know that in recent years, our wage cost has already been adjusted. The Ministers and top civil servants have their salaries cut. Civil servants have their bonuses reduced. Many private companies are implementing the wage restraint policy. Since the 1990s the property prices have gone up by about 300%. There is a chain reaction.”
“But now with the economic slowdown when many people are losing their jobs, many people are complaining. They say, "Why are we allowing so many foreign talents to come here? Why are they called `talents'? Are we not talents ourselves? Why don't you employ us?" In order to improve our economy, to increase our competitiveness, yes, we have to employ foreign workers but we must also look after our Singaporeans. The famous poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty said, "Everyone is born a talent. I have my own niche." I must emphasise here that everyone is a talent, even a taxi driver is a talent. So we must make good use of talents and try not to have the mismatch of talents. Mr Speaker, Sir, I suggest that the Government's policy on the attraction of foreign talent be more transparent. We should let everybody know that in each industry what are the job opportunities available every year. How many Singaporeans can we absorb and how many foreign talents do we need to absorb? At the same time, employers who are applying for work permits or professional passes should consider employing locals, especially the retrenched middle management people and executives. Only when we run out of these local talents, then can work permits be issued to foreign workers. The Government should also give a projection as to what are the jobs available, what can be done by locals and what are the vacancies that we need foreign talents to fill. The Government has already had the Retrenchment Advisory Scheme and the Employment Assistance Scheme. I suggest that the Ministry of Manpower publish the statistics of how many people have applied for jobs and what are the job vacancies available. Give some illustrations to let our people know what is the success rate of our job matching efforts.”
“In order to avoid unemployment, you will have to possess many skills in hand so that you can be employed all the time. I urge all Singaporeans to have this habit of lifelong training and participate in the training courses provided by the NTUC and the various self-help bodies so as to ensure lifelong employability. Foreign talents Let me talk about the policy of attracting foreign talents. In recent years, the Government has been attracting a lot of foreign talents to help in our economic development. Foreign talents can be divided into three categories. The first category of foreign talents are the specialists like the R&D researchers, the computer experts, the medical specialists, etc. which we do not have. The second category of foreign talents are the teachers and nurses, etc., the type of people we are short of. These professions were very shorthanded in the past and not many people like to be nurses, but recently there was a change in mind. This year, for the first time, Nanyang Polytechnic has full enrolment for the nursing course. I think it is not because people change their mindset about being a nurse but it is because of the changing circumstances. The third category of foreign talents are those who are recruited to undertake jobs which Singaporeans do not wish to do, such as bus drivers, construction workers, etc. I understand that among our bus drivers in Singapore, some 40% are foreign workers. We issue work permits for people to do these jobs which Singaporeans do not wish to do. When discussing the policy of attracting foreign talents to come to Singapore, everyone supports the idea of getting these foreign talents here to strengthen our economy and to enhance our competitiveness.”
“We have to tighten our belts. It is a blessing in disguise because it makes people more realistic and they begin to realise the importance of upgrading themselves. Not so long ago, I participated in a dialogue session on foreign talents and a young lady told me that the taxi driver who drove her to the dialogue session spoke very good English. She found out from him that he was working as a manager and was retrenched. Since he spoke such good English, why should he work as a taxi driver? We should find a better job for him. I said, "Well, there are many taxi drivers who speak very good English. It does not mean that if one speaks good English, one should not be driving a taxi." I actually admire the courage of this ex-manager who dared to take up this job of a taxi driver. He is being realistic. He grabs a job first and then looks for something better. Actually driving a taxi is not a bad thing. I know of many taxi drivers who drive taxis in the day time and at night time they enjoy themselves by singing in the Teochew opera troupe. In the day time they work hard but at night they go about enjoying themselves by doing things they enjoy doing. Nowadays, many retrenched workers are working as taxi drivers. Even those who are not retrenched as yet, are also working as taxi drivers, just in case they are retrenched later on. So it is good to have such a sense of crisis. However, Singaporeans should try to upgrade themselves at all times and get better trained to ensure their employability. In the past, we said, "A skill in hand brings you benefit the whole life long." But now with technologies advancing all the time, your skill may soon become obsolete when the technology you are familiar with is replaced by new technologies.”
“Some of them have to maintain their parents and support their families, with housing loans and car loans to service, and lots of other financial commitments. They are prepared to work - any kind of work! So long as they can get a job, they are prepared to accept any salary. But the employers say these people are over-qualified, they are very demanding and will not stay long in the job. So they do not even get a chance to go into the interview room. A 51 year-old manager told me that he had attended ten interviews, and had written lots of letters. Every time he attended an interview, he could tell from the expression of the interviewers that he did not stand a chance. He lamented, "If I do not go, I will have no opportunity. But if I go, I do not stand a chance. It is all the same." In Singapore, the Government is the biggest employer. The Government should take a leading role. In some Government departments where there are a lot of backlogs to clear, let some of these retrenched executives and managers be employed to clear the work. They have the management experience and expertise to take on these jobs. Employees face the reality It is said that all good things in life do not last forever. If you say this a few years ago, not many people would believe in it. There used to be long queues to buy the million-dollar apartments and long queues to buy club memberships. There were long queues everywhere because people believed that where there was a queue, there was opportunity to make profits and amass a lot of money. With this trend developing, many people were using future money to buy things that they do not need, just to impress others. When the financial crisis hits Singapore, we all realise that good things in life really do not last forever.”
“When this financial crisis came all of a sudden, many companies were caught off-guard. When business is bad, they try ways and means to cut cost and resort to downsizing their operations. In many circumstances, our employers still have a heart. They would discuss with the union representatives and arrange for the workers to undergo retraining so that they can cross over to the high-tech industries and command higher wages. We say that the bosses do have a heart. An accountant friend of mine who works in an advertising company said that this year the company's business was reduced by 70% and most of the time the staff had nothing to do. The management then discussed with the staff and they all agreed that in order to keep their jobs and stay employed, they accepted a wage cut, and they are allowed to take on part-time jobs outside. So they retain good employer-employee relationship, the company could continue to survive and they have employees who have developed a strong sense of belonging. Sir, the unions affiliated to NTUC are working hand in hand with companies affected by this downturn. The workers are either on shorter work week or temporarily laid off or attending the Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP). At the moment, employees who are retrenched are not confined to ordinary workers in the manufacturing sector and the service industry. Many managers and company executives are given the golden handshake. Even CEOs and General Managers could be retrenched. There are, in fact, more and more cases of this nature. These managers and executives are neither here nor there. It is difficult for them to secure alternative jobs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, every businessman has been saying time is bad and everyone agrees that it will be worse. Every day when we read the newspapers and listen to the news, we learn that more and more companies are winding up and many workers are retrenched. It is getting from bad to worse. More and more people are losing their jobs. We also hear a lot of grumblings from the people. Some companies have simply closed down and the workers lamented, "Retrenched today, no more job for me tomorrow!" Businessmen are grumbling, "The banks are most merciless, they keep on pressing us for payments." In June this year, the Government announced the off-Budget measures where $2 billion were pumped in to bring forward the construction of infrastructure, and to help the businessmen tide over the difficult times. But they say that the Government is not doing enough. More rebates should be given. Sir, many Singaporeans who are yet to be retrenched are worried that they would be retrenched. They are worried that once their CPF contribution is reduced, they will have problems servicing their housing loans. With all these worries, their confidence is lost. So at this time when we are threatened by this regional financial crisis we should pull ourselves together and face the problem together. In the short term, we should minimise unemployment and in the long term we will have to improve our competitiveness. To attain these targets, whether you are the employer, employee or Government, you must first of all have confidence and the determination to face the problems squarely and work out long-term strategies to strengthen our economy. I shall elaborate on the roles of the employers, employees and the Government. First, let us talk about the employers.”
“Sir, can I ask the Minister of State whether the dependency ratio can be adjusted downwards so that we can take in more Singaporeans now that more Singaporeans are willing to perform that kind of job at a lower wage level?”
“May I ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether we have officially informed President Habibie that our offer is still valid, and what is their initial response to our offer, if any? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Sir, we have not made such an official notification. It is assumed so. We have met the officials on 20th April. They have gone back. They are studying it. We expect them to come back in due course and we will consider their inputs in deciding our scheme.”
“I am very glad to note that the three taxi operator companies have indicated that they will be discussing with the taxi drivers on how to share the savings on taxi diesel tax with them. However, my question to the Minister for Communications is: What is the long term policy on diesel tax? From the present $5,100, will the diesel tax be further reduced every year and eventually be completely abolished? Or will the taxi diesel tax be reduced to a certain amount and remain stagnant there? Although LTA has indicated that they will monitor the taxi mileage and said, "If taxi mileage comes down further, there will be scope to further reduce the diesel tax.", I feel that the Government's transparency in this matter can be further enhanced. Why can a decision not be made now to completely abolish the diesel tax by a certain time? Then, when they are discussing on how to share the savings with the taxi drivers, they would have a better idea. Our new vehicle tax system seeks to shift from taxing on ownership to taxing on the usage. In other words, "use more, tax more". So during the peak hours, the charges will be higher. Diesel tax is a product of the old transport system. It does not fit into the new principle of taxing on usage. This is also the complaint of the taxi drivers all these years. Why do we not solve this old problem simultaneously with the implementation of a new tax system?”
“Sir, just now, the Member for Hougang told the Member for Potong Pasir that the COE is a source of revenue for the Government. We all agree that taxes are meant to be sources of revenue for the Government. But this is not a one-way traffic, but a two-way traffic. When the Government collects taxes from the people, they spend them on improving the standard of living of the people. Sir, in this year's budget of the Ministry of Communications, there is a breakthrough. There is finally a reduction on diesel tax. Under the new vehicle tax system, the taxi diesel tax will be reduced from $6,600 to $5,100, a reduction of $1,500. In a dialogue between Minister Mah and the taxi drivers, he said that this is an angpow to them. According to LTA's calculation, with the reduction in taxi diesel tax, after offsetting the slightly increased road tax, there will be a tax saving of $109 million for the taxi operators over the next seven years. In order to show appreciation to the taxi drivers' contribution to public transportation, LTA will discuss with the taxi drivers' association and the taxi companies on how to allow the taxi drivers to enjoy a share in this rebate. At the last debate on the Ministry of Communications' budget, my Parliamentary colleague, Mr Ong Ah Heng, and I suggested that if there were any rebate on the taxi diesel tax, it should be channelled to the Medisave account of the taxi drivers. I hope that this would be done. This has been the common wish of the taxi drivers all these years, because in this way, they will not have to pay from their own pocket to top up the Medisave account for the self-employed persons.”
“Take our Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Beritan Harian, and Tamil Murasu, for example. Although their main focus is on Singapore, regional and international news, each has its own characteristics when covering events in their respective community. To understand the Chinese society, we should read Lianhe Zaobao. But Lianhe Zaobao also covers the news concerning the Malay and Indian communities as well. The Straits Times is targeted at the English educated and the bilingual readers, but it does not neglect the other communities. Singapore needs to have newspapers which have their own characteristics as well as common points. Likewise, Singapore needs to have different TV channels which have their own characteristics as well as common points. 1.00 pm”
“Sir, Chinese news over Channel 8 enjoys one of the highest viewership, especially during this period of financial crisis and unrest in Indonesia. A lot of people are watching TV news on Channel 8. Two months ago, in January, TV news on Channel 8 itself became a focus of news because it failed to telecast the death of the well-known veteran comedian, Wang Sa. There was no mention at all over the TV news in the three days immediately after his death. A lot of people were talking about this omission. Personally, I believe that this omission was unintentional. This incident tells us that our society is still quite humane. Our veteran comedian died, and he is still being remembered by the people. They want more people to know about his death through the TV news. Sir, when we are going regional and international, the news on TCS should cover not only local news, but regional and international news as well, so that Singaporeans can cast their eyes not only on our society but on the whole world. This, I think, should be the policy of all media in Singapore. On top of that, we are a multi-racial society. One of our special features is the ability to seek concord while maintaining our differences. As such, the people of Singapore are concerned not only with common issues in our nation, our society and the region, but also what is happening in our own communities. As such, while covering the major events in the world and in Singapore, Channel 5, Channel 8 and Channel 12 share more or less the same contents. However, while covering news on the various communities, each has its own characteristics. At the same time, they do not exclude coverage on the other communities. This is to ensure that there is better understanding and familiarisation among the various communities.”
“The report commended the good social values depicted in The Price of Peace and Guest People. Sir, one related problem is that the viewership of Channel 8 drama serials has generally dropped. In the past, they used to command a viewership of more than 700,000, but now it has dropped to around 600,000. When we are producing television drama serials, no doubt we have to consider viewership, but with so many channels now available, a viewership of 600,000 can be considered not too bad. If we want to cater for the viewership and the revenue from the commercials, and add in plots which are undesirable and depict bad social values, then it is not good. I think we should not be too surprised by a drop in viewership because there are now so many channels available to the viewers. Viewership is spread out and thinned out. What TCS should do is to produce more programmes like The Price of Peace and Guest People to attract more viewers. In the last few days, we have been discussing the question of bond-breakers of our scholarship holders in this Parliament. This involves the basic value of trust. TCS may consider gathering more materials on this matter and produce a programme on scholarships, bond-breakers, and so on. Perhaps, the Minister may call upon TCS to consider producing a programme based on scholarship bond-breakers. If we have realistic programmes like this, it has a good chance of securing high viewership.”
“Sir, the television programmes produced by TCS have become part and parcel of the Singapore culture, and the current affairs programmes and dramas produced by Channel 8 have also become part of the social life in the Chinese community in Singapore. 1997 is an eventful year for Singapore. First, we were affected by the haze. Then there was this tension between Singapore and Malaysia, followed by the financial turmoil and the SilkAir tragedy. The current affairs programmes from Channel 8 such as Tuesday Report, Focus and Money Week gave extensive coverage and analysis of all these events for the benefit of Singaporeans who are concerned with the society and the fate of their compatriots. The efforts and prompt reports by the Current Affairs Section of TCS are indeed highly commendable. Not long ago, TCS telecast a serial known as Taxi Driver, which was well received by the audience in general, and the taxi drivers themselves in particular. They feel that this kind of drama truly reflects our society and the transport workers in our society. It shows not only their life but also their hardship. It would also promote better understanding between the taxi drivers and their commuters, as well as improve the image of taxi drivers. On behalf of the taxi drivers, I would like to record their appreciation to the producers of this serial. The Programme Advisory Committee in its report released recently, pointed out that among TCS's top 10 serials last year, two were considered to be undesirable, not suitable for children. One of them is the Choice Partner which conveys undesirable ideas and the other is Rising Expectations which has a very complicated plot, involving prostitution, rape and other very illicit relationship between men and women.”
“It is because of this that we are able to withstand the impact of this recent regional turmoil and Singaporeans are beginning to understand this. Secondly, our people are beginning to realise that they cannot keep raising their expectations indefinitely. They must have the ability to adjust to changes. Thirdly, whether it is investment or speculation, we have to face risks. Although for investment the rate of return may not be very high, if you speculate you may lose your last penny. So I feel Singaporeans should have more sense of crisis and less sense of self-interest. I hope the Minister will give us more details on the off-Budget measures he proposes to take if things get worse, when he replies tomorrow.”
“After the crash, many people came forward and signed the book of condolence and attended the public memorial service. It is a very valuable lesson. Singaporeans are more united and have more human touch because of this incident. Therefore, we should make use of this regional financial crisis to unite our people so that we have a sense of crisis and have less sense of self-interest. We should also encourage the people to upgrade themselves. In the past few years, many Singaporeans have been upgrading. They have been upgrading in terms of their housing. When they can afford it, of course, it is well and good for them to upgrade. Unfortunately, there are many people who are upgrading even when they could not afford it. They upgraded from a small flat to a big flat, and then from a big flat to a bigger unit. Now, because of this crisis, many people are changing from the bigger flats to the smaller flats. They are downgrading! In fact, the people should be encouraged to upgrade their skills rather than their flats. In the past, we said that a skill in hand can benefit you for a whole life time. But in the present context, one skill is just not enough. We must be multi-skilled so that we will not be caught in the wrong foot in the face of an economic crisis. I agree with the Government's policy to curb property speculation. I feel that we should encourage our workers to upgrade themselves. Not only the workers, but even the managers and CEOs should also upgrade their skills. Of course, this financial crisis has some negative effect on us, but it has also brought to us some revelation. Firstly, we have a very stringent and highly transparent monetary policy.”
“As we can see, some companies are beginning to downsize or restructure and many workers are affected. I feel that this is a very important lesson to learn. At a time when we want to attract foreign talents, we should also help our own workers to upgrade their skills. However, there is no mention in the Budget of any specific measures to promote job upgrading for our workers. Many businessmen feel that this Budget has not provided adequate help to the small and medium enterprises. Although there are existing packages to help them, they feel that it is something which "you can see but cannot enjoy". The government officials, on the other hand, say "You do not see it, thus you don't enjoy it." So there is a perception gap between the businessmen and the bureaucrats. I feel that we should have more dialogues between the SMEs and the authorities so that the business community can understand what facilities are available to them. Similarly, some people feel that owners of 5-room HDB flats should be entitled to the same rebates as those living in the smaller flats, because living in bigger flats does not necessarily mean that they are better off than their neighbours in the smaller flats. From these observations, we can see that people are more concerned with their own interest. Of course, we cannot fault them for looking after their interest. But at a time when we are faced with this regional financial crisis, we should have a [ ] "sense of crisis" rather than the [ ] "sense of self-interest". I feel that in this budget we have not fully made use of this opportunity to inculcate in our people a sense of crisis. Let us reflect on what happened at the SilkAir accident.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, during the Budget debate last year, the MP for Hougang used the analogy of "wool coming from the back of the sheep". This year, he switched to the horse, saying "the horses will continue to be raced, and the taxes will continue to be levied". This being the "Year of the Tiger", I think the most appropriate animal to be used as an analogy should be the tiger. The financial and currency crisis this time is like a tiger. When the tiger is around, we will have difficulty climbing the mountain. I think the Government should play the role of the legendary hero Wu Song. In the episode from the Chinese classic The Water Margin, Wu Song drank three big bowls of strong liquor to gather enough courage to go to the mountain where he encountered the fierce tiger and killed it with his bare fists. Our Government can play the role of Wu Song, but it relies on prudent financial policy rather than alcohol to defeat the "tiger". We must go to the mountain, face the tiger squarely and defeat it, for the benefit of not only our own people but the people around us as well. This Budget is presented in the midst of a regional financial and currency crisis. It hits our neighbouring countries, like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and we are also affected. Our Singapore dollar is also affected. However, I feel the impact of the currency turmoil has not been fully and adequately reflected in this Budget. Perhaps, the Finance Minister wants us to remain unruffled. He does not want us to be unduly worried. He only indicated that if the situation gets worse, he will take off-Budget measures to assist the people. I hope that in his reply tomorrow, he can enlighten us on what measures he is going to take to pull us through the difficult times.”
“Sir, if we go to London and board a double deck bus, we can still find conductors. I believe we can then really appreciate our bus drivers for their increased productivity. We will soon be in the Year of the Tiger. Tiger Year is a tougher year. The regional monetary crisis has caused people to worry about their job security, their income and in this period of hardship, it is time for tripartism to give more play to its functions. We have gone through the difficult period of the 70s and the 80s. We are confident that we can also go through this difficult period in the 1990s. EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) Resolved, That the proceedings on the item of business under discussion be exempted from this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No. 1. - [Dr Lee Boon Yang]. TRIPARTITE PARTNERSHIP IN SINGAPORE”
“As a matter of fact, tripartism is a model that has been looked upon as a point of reference by unions of other countries, eg, before becoming Prime Minister of Britain, Mr Tony Blair came to Singapore to look at our model. However, for tripartism to succeed, we need a good Government, an enlightened management, and responsible unions. There must also be a commonality of purpose among the three parties. The trade unions look after the interest of the workers by giving them training, retraining and upgrading to improve their quality of life and this is consistent with the objective of the Singapore Government. With the self renewal of PAP MPs and leadership changes in the unions and industries, it is timely to reiterate the importance of tripartism and further strengthen and consolidate the spirit of tripartism. Sir, let me give you another example to show that tripartism benefits everybody and that the trade union movement will give added value to society. For example, to solve the problem of shortage of bus drivers and to improve productivity and save cost, the bus companies implemented the OMO system, which means that the conductor's job has become redundant and taken over by the driver. Without the cooperation and understanding of the National Transport Workers Union, it will be difficult to implement this system. The drivers accepted retraining and the challenge. They not only drive but they also enlarge their job to cover the work of conductors. They now drive longer buses, double-decker buses and as a result they get better pay. Both the passengers and bus companies have also benefited. The bus companies could contain the cost while passengers enjoy the bus fares at an affordable level.”
“They were protesting against the Government for not adjusting their pay and claims. Subsequently, the leaders of the illegal strike were arrested. These illegal strikes caused a lot of inconvenience to the people of Singapore. The streets and side lanes were full of filth and rubbish. Families without modern sanitation had to clear their own night-soil buckets. Today, 30 years later, 100 workers who are engaged in cleansing work and environment protection have been selected as model workers and they have received awards from the Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong. They flew to Perth for a holiday. I do not know how many of these 100 people took part in this illegal strike 30 years ago. But to everyone of them, this is not only affirmation of the Government in recognition of their contribution to make Singapore a garden city, it is also affirmation of the management for their work performance. It is also the trade union's recognition of their contribution. One worker said that he can never imagine receiving the award from the Prime Minister. He has never thought of travelling to Australia and this is the first time he has travelled by air. Sir, this example clearly shows that 30 years ago there was confrontation between labour and management, but since we have tripartism, Singapore has turned from a filthy and chaotic city into a beautiful garden city. Sir, I support the motion in the name of Mr Cyrille Tan. This motion reminds us that true tripartism is not easily achieved. It is worth our preserving it. In the midst of the regional currency crisis and when we are entering the next century facing keener competition, this is even more important.”
“Sir, let me reply to the point raised by Mr Chiam See Tong. Just now, Mr Chiam said that many of the advisers of NTUC affiliated unions are controlled by PAP MPs. Maybe Mr Chiam has not paid attention to the development of trade unions in Singapore. In fact, in the past few decades, a lot of union leaders want MPs to be their advisers. For example, for a new Member like me, when we work with the unions we get to know the feelings and sentiments of the workers and issues which concern them most. We can bring them up on their behalf with the authorities concerned and get things solved. Similarly, because of the MPs' advice and guidance, the unions are better operationally and the workers get more benefit. Just now, Mr Chiam said that the NTUC has been doing too many things. We have been doing many things and more has to be done. The Secretary-General has already mentioned about the training and retraining of workers, and we have discussed this both in and outside Parliament. Maybe Mr Chiam has not paid attention to this. He does not quite understand what is the meaning of tripartite relations. The Member for MacPherson, Mr Matthias Yao, has described the working of tripartism and I shall quote him. He says, "In the tripartite relationship, NTUC takes care of the workers' interest as well as that of the management. The management looks after their own interest as well as the national interest. And the Government is concerned not only with national interest but also the interest of the workers as well." This is what we mean by tripartism. Let me give him another example. In 1967, when we were busy preparing for the Lunar New Year, a few thousand public daily-rated cleansing workers went on strike in response to the union's call.”
“If we have a radio arts channel, then we will be able to coordinate the various activities of the schools and the cultural bodies, so that our undergraduates and students can join hands with the arts lovers to more effectively promote cultural and arts activities in Singapore.”
“Sir, we have now a television programme known as Artitude on Premiere 12 which provides coverage on cultural events and arts activities. However, we do not have a FM radio channel to provide such services to our arts-loving audiences. In Singapore, there are many local and foreign arts bodies which present performances of dramas, plays, concerts, vocal recitals, etc, every year. Some grassroots and civic organisations also regularly hold musical evenings and provincial opera performances. There are also a good number of talented young people from our universities, polytechnics and schools who put up some interesting and quality performances from time to time. If our television and radio stations can pick up these performances and give them more publicity, it will certainly help to make their efforts more worthwhile and their performances more successful. We all know that it is very costly to present these performances on television, and some of these may not be suitable for TV broadcasting. How about having a radio arts channel with a specific purpose of promoting arts and cultural events to cater to their needs, so that our students, musicians, actors, playwrights and even members of the public will have more air time to share their talents with others? Sir, our radio channels are concentrating on entertainment and information programmes. They are only targeting their audience groups on the youngsters, housewives and the motorists. As such, almost all their programmes are selected along this direction. The only exception is FM 92.4 which features mainly classical and light music.”
“I think the programme should also reflect the problems of the middle-aged people, especially the various problems on the changing wage structure and other problems generally faced by all the middle-aged and older people. Sir, our population is aging rapidly, and the programming of TV should reflect this fact. If you are talking about purchasing power, I can say that the middle-aged and older people are equally strong in their purchasing power. So the sponsors can be rest assured that the programmes and the commercials that go with them will appeal to them too!”
“Mr Choo Wee Khiang referred to the programme on the Reunification of Hong Kong with China. I watched the programme too. I must say TCS has made a good presentation. It is a great world event. Through this programe, we have an understanding of the mindset of the Hong Kong people before the reunification. We saw the People's Liberation Army (PLA) marching across the border into Hong Kong. What is the impact of the reunification of Hong Kong with China on this region and on Singapore? I think the programme does not cover this aspect. I feel that TCS should attach more importance to the analysis and comments on current affairs. When Singaporeans watch TV programmes, they like to switch channels from time to time. When they are watching news on our local channel, they may switch over to CNN or BBC News. Then there will be serious problems because they will be looking at problems from the foreigner's point of view. This is certainly not conducive to our efforts of attaining a consensus between the people and the Government. After corporatisation, TCS programmes have improved by leaps and bounds, especially in news reports and current affairs. I think TCS should give more weightage to this kind of programme, give them greater emphasis and go one step further to extend its coverage to the other aspects of life. Interviewees should not be confined to the authorities, celebrities, specialists and experts in the respective fields. We could include also the man-in-the-street, students, housewives and other ordinary citizens. Let us listen to the ordinary people's views. I feel that, at the moment, TV programming is targetted too much on the youths, the educated and the families and, to an extent, neglecting the middle-aged and older people.”
“Sir, every year when we debate the budget for MITA, TV programmes have always been the focus of our debate because television has become part and parcel of the lives of our people, especially the HDB flat dwellers. In the evening, whenever I visit my constituency, I cannot help noticing this point. Almost every family watches TV. Some parents may be reading the Shin Min Daily News or the Lianhe Wanbao and their children would be watching TV. Whenever the Comedy Night is on the air, we hear laughter everywhere. Even the old folks would put down their newspapers and join in the fun. On the other hand, when there is a live telecast of an important football match, we hear shouts resembling the Kallang Roar everywhere in the HDB estates. Our TV programmes have gone deep into the people. But there may be a great change very soon. Why? Because we are speedily wiring up the whole of Singapore with television cables. Right now, I think quite a lot of households are already having access to cable TV. So all these entertainment, news, movie and sports programmes sent to the households through underground cables with super-high definitions can pose a challenge to TCS. For the time being, not many have signed up for subsrciptions with Cable TV. Perhaps it is because the fees are on the high side. I understand that when we have a critical mass of subscribers when the whole country is wired up, then the fees will be lowered, just as in the case of mobile handphones. Then, it will be a greater challenge to TCS. However, we should not be afraid of challenge. We should open up. But we should be fully prepared to face the new situation. In regional and world events, I think we should let Singaporeans view the events from the point of view of Singapore and our national interest.”