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?”
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“They see that the successful people in society running faster and faster, and there is no way they can catch up with them. We need to have a soft approach to this matter. Recently, someone gave this handbill to me. It says, "Soft shoes for the hard world". This is precisely what we need. We must provide our older workers and lower-income people with a pair of soft shoes, so that they can be more comfortable, more relaxed and more confident when they walk. I think the Government should help them. We should have this soft and warm approach towards the people. *Cols. 253-258. In NTUC, last year alone, we re-designed 40,000 jobs for our workers. These jobs in their original form were not suitable for the older workers but we have re-designed the jobs so that even the older workers could cope with them and the employers are comfortable having the older workers to work for them. The NTUC has also been given a grant by the Government to promote this sort of effort. So long as we can work harder, and the families could give more encouragement to the older workers, we will succeed. In enhancing our social network, apart from soft landing, we should also try ways and means to be more comprehensive and thorough. In fact, many of our schemes are very intermittent, they are here and there. As Mr Low Thia Khiang said, many people are not aware of these schemes. I think while we enhance our social network in the future, our schemes should be continuous, sustainable and visible. The President has also mentioned in his Address that we want to do more for our people. I would like to say that we will not only do more but do it faster and more flexible.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Speaker, Sir, Mr Low Thia Khiang said that when he had a look at the people around him, although they have a job to do, their income is not as good as in the past. My conclusion is that Mr Low Thia Khiang is a hardworking person. He works very hard, so hard that he could only see the ground in front of him but not what is happening around him. The Secretary-General of NTUC has said that we have to look after our lower-income workers. Our Secretary-General works hard, but he does not concentrate only on the ground in front of him, he looks at his surroundings as well. Sir, at this moment, what we are most concerned with is the income gap. Just last week, it was reported that, from the statistics available, there were more than 1,000 multi-millionaires in Singapore. While there are a lot of rich people here, there are also some poor people around us, and we are worried about the income gap between the rich and the poor. We are trying to narrow the gap. Mr Low Thia Khiang said that all the people in Singapore had to tighten their belts, they had to work harder and yet their income was lower than before. He concluded that the Government was only putting in the hardware and not the software. He is wrong! The Government is tackling both the hardware and software aspects. In his Address, the President said that if we wanted our economy to prosper, we had to work hard on our hardware and, at the same time, we also aspired to be an inclusive society. I fully agree with the President that we need to strengthen our social network. In this network, allow me to raise some suggestions. In fact, many older workers are facing difficulties and they complain that life is very tough.”
“Sir, there is a Chinese saying: "Rich water must not flow into other people's field." In other words, what is good should be retained for your own use and not be extended to others. That was why in the old days, almost all the factories made everything themselves so that they did not lose the business to others. But now, as long as it is more viable, the manufacturers will outsource parts of their processes to save cost. Because of globalisation, everything can now be outsourced, not to only one location but all over the world. However, not all outsourcings yield good results. If you are unlucky, your outsourcing may end up as bad-sourcing. Just the other day, Mr Low Thia Khiang mentioned the translation in which Katong, the sea turtle became the grandfather of Chew Joo Chiat. This is a typical example of bad-sourcing. Outsourcing is a trend that cannot be stopped. In NTUC, our preliminary responsibility is to protect our workers. To us, good-sourcing means if the work is done well, the bosses will not go away. Now, we learn from MOM that there are in fact a lot of cases of bad-sourcing. In order to win the tender, the contractor has to cut its cost, and hence the wages of the workers. If the workers are not well-paid, they would not put their hearts and souls into their work. As a result, the product is sub-standard. The outsourcing became bad-sourcing. When business stops coming, the company will collapse. I hope that MOM would look at this problem squarely and see how the interest of the workers can be looked after. We should get to the root of the problem early, so that the workers can have good protection. Workplace Safety and Health”
“Sir, a few years ago, we were saying that by age 50, we need to have savings for our old age, a wife to keep us company, some friends to talk to and good health to do what we want to do. Now, we talk about lifelong learning and lifelong working. The mindset now is different. In those days, when you are old and still working, it was considered a shameful thing. But now, the older people want to work. They feel very uncomfortable if they are not working. Many older workers began looking for alternative jobs after retirement. Some work as newspaper distributors, some as gardeners and some as car-washers. They just want to have something to do. Moreover, some of them are actually getting jobs which are better-paid than their previous jobs. The Government now sets aside more money for the Lifelong Learning Fund. However, it seems to be targeted at the younger people. As we encourage the older workers to continue working, we would like to see the Government opening up more job opportunities in the various departments and train the older workers to fit into these jobs. Some of the training courses should be conducted in Mandarin to enable the older workers to participate in. We need to actively settle this matter. If we do not do it now, it would be a problem in the future. As we promote lifelong learning and lifelong working, we should encourage everybody to work and find some suitable work for them to do. 4.30 pm”
“If their skills are not relevant here, I do not think other countries will take them in too. In Singapore, you need to have the relevant skills to find jobs. If you do not have the relevant skills, you cannot get a good job. I think the workers should participate in all the training programme or NTUC's Job Recreation Programme. When they have the relevant skills, they will have no difficulty getting a job. Unemployment does not cause people to migrate. The important thing is that we have jobs but no suitable people to take them. We must have people to do the job. Workfare Bonus”
“Sir, in encouraging the low-income workers to qualify for the Workfare Bonus, they have to work continuously for six months before they can qualify for the Workfare Bonus. I am glad that the Government has been flexible in allowing workers who have worked accumulatively for six months during the last 12 months to qualify as well. I think accumulatively is very good. Many low-income workers can now qualify for the Workfare Bonus. We know that a lot of low-income workers work for three days and stop for two days. Today, they work as a painter, next week, they sell durians. On another week, they may be doing another job. They are very grateful that the Government is flexible in dealing with this issue. Another thing is a technical problem which MOM would face, ie, how do you count the six months? There are many workers who ask, "If we work five months and 28 days, will we be ruled out?" I think we should take five working days as one week, hence, 28 working days should be deemed to be one month. If they work hard and deserve the bonus, we should give it to them. They are the people who deserve our help. 4.15 pm On this concept of continuous working, some people do not know the rationale for Workfare. They asked, "They have work and receive income, then they get the welfare. I am unemployed, yet I don't get the welfare." They do not get the point. Even Mr Low Thia Khiang did not understand. He said that we are now facing structural unemployment and a lot of professionals are unemployed. Although they are initially prepared to be under-employed, but later on, they cannot take it anymore, they will migrate to other countries. Actually, not many people migrate because they cannot find jobs in Singapore.”
“Sir, on behalf of Members who have spoken, may I thank the Minister, the Senior Minister of State and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for sharing with us the many exciting views leading to more exciting jobs for Singaporeans and together we will see a brighter future for all. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $384,246,650 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $161,228,300 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head T - Ministry of National Development”
“The publication of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons had led to angry protests from Muslims all over the world. Lives have been lost over this controversy. Singapore has an important lesson to learn from this incident. Our media has been vigilant and sensible enough to avoid offending the sensitivities of our Muslim community. In Malaysia, the publication of cartoons led to the closure of the Sarawak Tribune, the longest serving English newspaper in Sarawak, the equivalent of our Straits Times. So this is a reminder for us that freedom of expression comes with responsibility, and this is especially so in the case of multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore. Sir, our media regulators are going to be increasingly put to the test as our society opens up. The creative industry and the knowledge economy are being identified as the key sectors for future growth. We must impose as little restriction as we can to allow the creative users to flow. But at the same time, how does the Ministry propose to protect the privacy and security of individuals without discouraging innovation?”
“Sir, to develop a knowledge community, our Library plays an important role in providing knowledge and information services to the public. I would like to congratulate the Ministry on a very successful opening of the new National Library. Singaporeans nowadays do not only go to our library to borrow books or read newspapers. In fact, our libraries organise more events like plays, reading sessions, seminars and art exhibitions for the public. The library has become not only a knowledge hub, it has also become a venue of cultural exchange for Singaporeans. However, there is another potential reservoir of knowledge and heritage waiting to be exploited in our very well stocked National Archives. The archives plays an important role as a safe keeper of our national history. Good archives like those in Great Britain and Australia are heavily utilised by academics doing research on their nation's history and ordinary citizens doing research on their family history. Government documents are open to the public for reading after a stipulated period of time, normally 30 years. I would like to urge the Government to release more public documents for reading and research. This would enhance our position as a knowledge hub, not only in terms of scientific research and development, but also in the humanities. Encouraging our people to find out more about their roots will also enhance their sense of belonging to Singapore. On the building of the National Archives, I agree with Ms Irene Ng that yes, it is rich in content but poor in image. If we can compare the new National Library to that of the Archives and if I give our National Library a five-star rating, Archives will barely get three stars. However, it is more important to have a rich content rather than a better image.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates by reduced by $100. Sir, the digital and interactive media is amongst the fastest growing sector in the world. I am happy to note that the Government is investing heavily in the sector. This is an important step forward in our transition to a knowledge economy and this new sector will open up many more job opportunities for Singaporeans. PM Lee, in his Budget Statement, highlighted the use of optic fibre and the latest wireless technology to ensure Singapore's economic competitiveness over the next several years. Infocomm is definitely going to play an increasingly important role in our economy. May I ask the Minister to update us on the progress of the infocomm industry, including that of the Intelligent Nation 2015 Masterplan. Indeed, Singaporeans are already responding to this new initiative. Several polytechnics are running digital, media and animation courses. Parents are proud that their children are students of such courses. They realise that their children will have a brighter future by getting a good job in this industry. Sir, our initiatives should aim to develop Singapore as an alternative hub for animation and design to New York, London and Vancouver. In fact, Singapore can provide an attractive Asian environment for Asian animators and designers who want to be based in a non-western environment. But how do these new initiatives face the keen competition from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Workers' Party was named as the Workers' Party many years ago. In so far as the People's Action Party is concerned, we get into action for the people. The Workers' Party is saying a lot, but there is no action. It is just mere lip-service. In the People's Action Party, the word "people", includes everybody, including the workers. So, we do not have to change our name to the Workers' People Action Party. I mentioned just now about this Teochew song that "wherever it is cool, people will sit there". I was just explaining the global trend. Investors will look at where the cheapest place is, and go there to produce their products. In the past, it was cheap to be in Singapore. Then they moved to Taiwan, and now mainland China is cheaper. So they go there. From the investors' point of view, wherever it is cheaper, they will manufacture there. For the investors, if they feel that they can go there and make the most profits, they will invest there. Now, the general feeling is that China is good, so they go to China. We need to understand that. When the workers understand this, they will know that there is still opportunity in Singapore because not all outsourcing jobs go to China. We have also managed to secure a lot of jobs, like aircraft repairs and maintenance, and some high-level jobs. I think if we understand this, we will be able to help our workers. If they have the skills, they will be able to secure better jobs. 2.25 pm”
“Over the years, Mr Low has made a lot of speeches according to his subjective views and not from the point of view of the workers. His famous saying was, "Whereas Government has money, the people do not." He does not understand that nowadays the workers are singing a different song. The workers now say, "Wherever it is cool, I will sit there. So, when there is money, I will go there." For the manufacturers, wherever it is cheaper, they will move their factories there and, for the investors, where there is money and profit, they will invest there. This is the world today. We want to create jobs and job opportunities for our people, and we cannot just hand out money to the people. He said that, over the years, people have been suffering. Now that we see light at the end of the tunnel, we hope we would be able to lead our people to a better future. This is a Budget that looks after the welfare of the people, so that our people will be full of confidence and work harder. Just like what is stated in our NTUC theme: "Together, we can build a better future for our workers!" Sir, I support this Budget.”
“We want to have the "best sourcing". As Mr Low said, we do not lose our manufacturer to outsourcing. But, with the rising production cost and highly competitive market condition, no outsourcing means we will not be able to survive. By now, we have already created 7,200 jobs and helped 4,600 low-income workers find their jobs, and we are getting more ambitious. The Minister for Finance is giving us $46 million and we hope that every year we would be able to redesign and create 10,000 jobs. Even in the taxi industry, we have about 700 people who have found jobs there. We want to create this form of welfare for the people. It is not that the Government is avoiding giving welfare to the people. We do not believe in the welfare scheme because this will only discourage people to work and become lazy. We want our people to be hardworking. NTUC will be celebrating its 45th Anniversary this year and our theme is "Together for a Brighter Future for All". Our emphasis is to create more jobs for our people so that more unemployed people would be able to find jobs and that the lower-income people can get better jobs and those who are 62 years old and above can carry on working so long as they can do it. So, our target is something that we can achieve, so long as we put in a concerted effort. Just now, when Mr Low Thia Khiang spoke, he appeared to have failed to think in terms of the welfare of the workers or the perspective of the workers, despite the fact that he is from the Workers' Party. As is said in Chinese, "If the name is not correct, whatever you say cannot be justified." If you represent the Workers' Party, you must think in terms of the workers. If you do not, then you are not doing the right thing. We, the PAP, represent and work for the welfare of the people.”
“The employers should not say, "Well, since the Government is paying you so much, I do not have to pay you so much." Mr Speaker, Sir, just now I mentioned that Mr Low Thia Khiang was probably not aware of the changes in the market today. In fact, the NTUC has already started the Job Redesign Scheme. The problem of structural unemployment is faced by all the countries, not just Singapore. In the United States, United Kingdom and France, they have the same problem. Last year, through our Job Redesign Scheme, we were able to create 7,200 jobs. In every constituency, we have people coming to see us at our meet-the-people sessions complaining of not being able to find a job. Maybe in Hougang, there are also people going to see their Member of Parliament for help in looking for jobs. There may or may not be, we do not know. People may not go to see Mr Low, because they do not believe that he would be able to find jobs for them. But we all know that outsourcing has become a trend. During the 1970s, if you went to Disneyland and bought a Mickey Mouse to give to your children, when you looked at the tag, you would find that it was stated: "Made in Korea". At that time, we did not understand why we bought a Mickey Mouse in the United States, but it was made in Korea. In the 80s, if you had bought a Mickey Mouse, it was probably stated: "Made in Taiwan". We could understand that because we realised that production cost was cheaper in Taiwan. But now, more often than not, you will find your Disneyland toy being made in China, and we understand. We all know because we have lost a lot of jobs when manufacturing work was outsourced to China. We know that there is a lot of outsourcing which has become "bad-source", ie, production work is not carried out properly.”
“However, there are indeed some unemployed people who are still unable to find a job. We would like to thank the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance for this package to encourage the unemployed to try harder to find a job. There are some other people who feel that we should not be encouraging the older workers at the expenses of the younger workers. But, as we are advocating lifelong learning and lifelong working, we should encourage the older folks to work too, if they can handle it. I do not know whether Mr Low Thia Khiang is aware of the changes in the whole global market. Is his mindset still the same as 10 years ago, three years ago or two years ago? If his mindset is stuck in the situation 10 years ago, then I think his conclusions will all be wrong. If his point of view is based on what he understood of the market three years ago, then he is partially wrong. But if he bases his understanding on the situation one year ago, then he would be better off, but still there could be some mistakes in it. Why? Because the whole world is changing. Now, the workers know a lot about the problems they are facing, while Mr Low Thia Khiang does not know about them. The important thing is that we must encourage our people to work. They must carry on working and not wait for the Government to feed them. We cannot keep on handing out bonuses to the people. We must encourage them to start working, even from a lower paid job. If they put in an effort to work, the Finance Minister would give them some kind of bonus to encourage them. That is why we have the Workfare Bonus. They can start from a lower-income job and gradually move on to a higher-income job. We would also encourage the employers to pay them appropriately.”
“In this Budget, in the short term, we want to help the lower-income people, particularly the older workers, and we want to redesign the jobs and create new jobs for the people. This is a Budget to create job opportunities so that everybody can live happily. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to praise the Finance Minister for introducing this Workfare Bonus, a bonus that encourages the people to work. Now, everybody is talking of how much he or she is getting - a small ang pow, a big ang pow, or a medium-sized ang pow. Of course, those who get a big ang pow will have to work harder, and because they are older, they need to work harder. According to the newspaper report, this is a something that very few other countries can emulate. But there is also an article that claims that there is a problem here. It asked why the people who are working will get the money and those who are unemployed do not get the bonus. This is a misunderstanding by some people, including Mr Low Thia Khiang. If we were to encourage the unemployed Singaporeans to remain unemployed and enjoy the welfare, then Singapore will collapse. We want to encourage people to work. We are using cash bonus to help the older people and lower-income people. In the past few years, many of our workers have gone through a lot of problems. They were unemployed, retrenched, had difficulty finding a job, and they could not last long because their income was low, they did not have much savings to survive on. They cannot survive for a long time. If they can find a job and carry on working, then there is hope that one day they will earn more, and life would be better. I think we should encourage them. We should give them some incentives for that.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this year's Budget, as Mr Inderjit Singh said, is a people's Budget. Dr Wang Kai Yuen also feels this is a people's Budget, but I would say that this is a workers' Budget. Of course, the workers' Budget means everybody would have a share in the goodies. I think Mr Low Thia Khiang also agreed that everyone would have a share. But in his case, he was saying that everyone would have a share in the anger. He said that since 1999, the PAP Government had been giving dividends every time when there was an election. I believe in 1999, the year when he came into Parliament, he made an issue out of this, and because of that, he came into Parliament. According to the media at that time, he said that the Government had money, but the people had none. But now, the Government has money, so it is sharing with the people. He is angry. He said, why should the Government distribute the money to the people? This year, the Finance Minister mentioned that in 2005, the growth was very good, better than expected. I am not an analyst, but I can understand in simple English and simple arithmetic. Last year, from our investment income, we earned $2.7 billion which was much higher than expected. There was a surplus. Yes, last year, there was a surplus. So the Government is now distributing this Progress Package. But Mr Low Thia Khiang said that this was no good, and he had many complaints. He said that by increasing the GST from 3% to 4% and then to 5%, the Government was taking back what it had given to the people. But we have told the people, right from the beginning, that the GST would eventually go up to 4% and then 5%. Likewise, in this years' Budget, we cannot just look at the ang pows that we are receiving, we have to look at the long-term target of this Budget.”
“I think we should all work together to make the integrated resorts a great success. ADJOURNMENT OF DEBATE Resolved, That the debate be now adjourned. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan].”
“Would there be any chance of Singaporeans taking the jobs or would they go to foreigners? I think we have to give the assurance to our people and to convince them that serving in the service industry is also a good option. We should put more priority on it and let our Singaporeans know that the service industry can pay them better and offer them better working conditions. Thirdly, there are concerns that the safeguard measures proposed by the Government may not be adequate. I think this is a matter of personal opinion. Of course, over time, these measures may need to be adjusted. The people can be rest assured that the opening of the casino will not result in many broken homes. Whether you are a big-time gambler or a small-timer, you need to have chips to gamble. Just now, Minister Mentor said that our chips are that we have political stability, transparency and a relatively drug-free environment. Our crime rate is low, and we have no laundering here. When foreign investors come here, they also need to have the chips, and they come with $5 billion worth of investment. They know that Singapore is a good place to invest in. I believe that when the other cities announce such a plan, they would not attract so many proposals. In Singapore, we attracted 19 proposals. Also, in other countries, even if they have the proposals, they may not be of such a huge magnitude. But as Minister Mentor has said, they are investors, not gamblers. They have made very careful calculations and made informed decisions. PM Lee said that some people had commented that our water was so clear that there was no fish in it. But these big-time investors do not come here to fish in muddy waters. They come well prepared and well informed.”
“But when I went in, I would hear some people saying, "Ah, the MP from Ang Mo Kio is here". So there are a lot of Singaporeans there. When PM Lee announced that Singapore would build two integrated resorts, many heartlanders were concerned that the casinos may have adverse effects on our people. The fact remains that those who want to gamble would have gambled anyway. They may not rush to the casinos here because they have to pay $100 each to get in. They can go to Batam because the ferry ticket is cheaper. For those big timers, they would not want the Government to know that they are gamblers. They would have gone to other countries. We want to attract the foreigners. So if we want to do it, we have to do it well. We want to attract tourists from all over the world. We want to have a world-class casino and we want to attract the big gamblers from other countries to come here. In fact, generally, the people have three types of views on PM's announcement to allow the opening of casinos in Singapore. First, since it is such a big project, would it succeed? Would it be successful? A lot of people feel that they have not seen these projects. As Members of Parliament, we are very fortunate. We were invited by the Singapore Tourism Board to see the master plan of this project. Mr Low Thia Khiang was standing beside me. His eyes were wide-open. He was shocked to find that the project was so huge, and although he did not ask many questions then, I am sure he was very surprised that the project was so huge. Eventually, when we decide on the developer, we should announce this plan to all the people so that they will know what it is. Secondly, some people are sceptical about the 35,000 job opportunities.”
“More than 20 years ago when I was an interpreter in the courts, every Monday was always the busiest day of the week, because over the weekend, the gamblers, illegal bookies, 4-D collectors, would be arrested and charged in court on Monday morning. Most of the accused persons were Chinese. That is why there is this saying that out of 10 Chinese, nine are gamblers. The one who is not gambling is a reserve. It may be a bit exaggerated but if you go to the casino in Macau you will see that this saying is not far from the truth. I went to the Lisboa Casino in Macau and it was crowded. A man was asking why his friend did not come into the casino. His friend answered that he could not squeeze himself in. This was the situation. We cannot prevent the people from gambling. When I was a reporter, I received a call one day that there were a lot of people gambling at the Lim Tua Tow market. I went to investigate and to my amazement they were gambling on whether the digits on the number plate of the next vehicle turning into the lane were an odd number or an even number. There was a huge following. Another group was betting on whether the next person to walk up the slope would be a male or a female. That is the Chinese community. That is their culture. I think we have to face the reality. We cannot avoid it. It happens everywhere. It happens in Singapore, it also happens in Hougang, in fact, everywhere. But we know how to tackle the problem. Has Mr Low Thia Khiang forgotten that a lot of Singaporeans go to Genting, on cruise-to-nowhere or to the casino in Batam? Not long ago, PM Lee said that Mr Wong Kan Seng accidentally went to the Batam casino. Mr Wong Kan Seng is a famous person. I am not.”
“His allegation is not true because the Government has openly told the people about all the anticipated problems, and has announced the results of the survey on the effect of gambling on the people's life. It is left to the people to decide whether they want to gamble or not. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I remember when I was young, there was a hawker selling duck rice in my neighbourhood. On one occasion, I saw a resident buying duck rice from him. He paid 30 cents for a drumstick and was offered a chance to play the dice against the seller. He won, and had the drumstick for free. The hawker was not happy and he urged the resident to play once more. The resident played on and won two drumsticks instead of one. Eager to recover his loss, he asked the resident to stake his two drumsticks for half a duck in another round of dice-throwing. Again, the resident won. Desperate to win back his day's earnings, the hawker challenged the resident to go for a final round, double or quits. The resident obliged and ended up winning the whole duck. A big crowd gathered, and was treated to a free meal of duck meat. The hawker lost his duck and did not know what to tell his wife when he went home. I felt sorry for the poor hawker. Should this happen every day, the hawker would not have the money to maintain his family and pay for his children's education. Recently, I met the son of this duck rice seller, and he is none other than the Chairman of Koh Brothers. There was a function where a number of property developers gathered. This Chairman of Koh Brothers pointed at the map and said, "Look at this piece of land. They are going to develop a casino there. My father used to gamble so much that he lost almost everything. If you are a compulsive gambler, you may lose everything.�?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mr Low Thia Khiang mentioned that Minister Lim Hng Kiang's porridge was ready to be served, but it may cause some people to have diarrhoea. I know Mr Low is a Teochew and he has been so for many decades. Minister Lim is also a Teochew. So am I. Teochew people love porridge, and we all know that porridge does not cause diarrhoea. There are different types of porridge. There is one type which is more watery. After taking it, you may have to go to the toilet more often - to pass water, but you would not have diarrhoea. It is only when you take too much salted egg with the porridge that you may have diarrhoea. I think he must have forgotten. As a Teochew, he must have taken a lot of porridge. He should know better. Mr Low alleged that when the Government was talking about the integrated resorts, it was trying to divert the people's attention. This morning I attended an interview at the TV station and they were asking me why the Government did not mention about the integrated resorts right from the beginning, and all the time the Government has talked about the casino without any reference to the integrated resorts. I told them that this was because the Government is very concerned with the people's feelings on the casino component while realising that in other parts of the world a casino is needed to support the integrated resort. The Government is looking squarely at the subject and is not trying to divert the attention of the people. Mr Low also said that the Government was playing down the problems arising from the opening of the casino by claiming that the problem would not be too great.”
“Do they know how they could gain access to their assistance schemes which are meant for them? I think we should uphold our lifelong training plan, ie, you have to learn as long as you live. I would like to ask what courses are actually designed or tailored for the older people. As the Minister has said, the training courses are multi-language but I heard that many of them are in English and the older workers could not fit themselves into the courses. I think we have to have more publicity. We should encourage them. We can have Mandarin, even Hokkien courses for them. I think this will help the whole society and benefit everybody.”
“Mr Chairman, the older workers find it very difficult to find an alternative job and this is an undisputed fact. When they are old and have no skill, it would be even more difficult for them to find a job. That is why they said it is easier for an old man to wed a young foreign wife than to find a job in Singapore. Of course, it is encouraging to find that the situation for the workers above 50 years old has improved in recent months. The unemployment rate has been reduced from 5% in 2003 to 3.5% now, and more older workers can find jobs because there are more jobs that are suitable for the older workers. But just about four days ago, Maxtor retrenched 5,500 workers. This is worrying. The Maxtor factory is in my constituency and a lot of my voters work there. When this news came, I cannot help thinking of the future of their family, their children, their PUB bills, etc. If the company wants to restructure, there is nothing we can do to stop them. The question now is how to put in a concerted effort to help the older workers to find respectable jobs. Just now, the Minister mentioned about respectable jobs for older workers. I am glad that a tripartite taskforce has already been formed to look into the matter. It is important that we find soft but respectable jobs for them. We should make use of their strength and not their weakness. So, when offering the jobs to them, it should not be a "take it or leave it" kind of attitude. I think we must change our mindset. We should respect them. The old people were also young once. For us, we are young now, but we are going to be old later. I understand that the Government has a lot of plans to help them. The Government has done a lot, but the problem is whether these people are aware of it.”
“With their concerted efforts, creativity and flexibility, the Teacher Assistant Scheme has been launched, and 74 older unemployed Singaporeans have been trained to be Teacher Assistants, and they are being placed at schools near their homes. This is a good example to show that as long as we have a heart to help Singaporeans find jobs, jobs can be created. If we continue to be creative, if workers continue to be flexible, more jobs could be redesigned and recreated. Then the foreign worker levy will not be such a sensational issue at all. It will just be a simple issue of supply and demand. Thus, I would like to urge the WDA to continue to be flexible and creative, and work closely with the unions so that more jobs could be created for Singaporeans.”
“Sir, in most policy changes, it is difficult to please everyone. In the case of the foreign worker levy, it is just impossible to please anyone. If the levy goes up, employers will complain about business cost going up. If it is adjusted downwards, workers are concerned that their jobs will go to foreigners. PM Lee has assured this House that even if the new $500 levy for companies exceeds the current ratio, there would be a limit in the new dependency ratio. So, is this latest increase of foreign worker levy too soon, as the employers claim? In my view, it is not an issue of timing. It is a question of whether we have enough local skilled workers. If we do not, then employers should be allowed to get more foreigners, as they are here to create growth and jobs. If we do have enough skilled workers, then employers should simply employ local workers rather than foreign workers. Sir, the real issue is this. There are jobs, but there are not enough skilled workers in certain sectors. And there are the unemployed who cannot find a job in any sector. We call this a "skill gap". In Chinese, it is said, you ren mei zuo gong, you gong mei ren zuo. Thus, NTUC, with its tripartite partners, has embarked on work redesign and work recreate, so that there are more jobs available for Singaporeans, especially the unemployed. So the theme of NTUC May Day celebrations this year is "Creating Opportunities for More Jobs". To create opportunities, we need to be creative and flexible. In this respect, I must commend the good work done by the Singapore Teachers Union together with the WDA.”
“Sir, as the Minister has agreed that the Government should take the lead, may I ask what are the soft skills required to achieve the target set? Has his Ministry the adequate soft skills to enforce the new framework on this aspect?”
“Sir, on behalf of all the Members who have spoken, may I thank the Minister and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for their updates on the arts scene and the various programmes initiated by MICA, as well as for your patience on certain clarifications. I observe that some of the Members are happy with the answers and some are not happy. However, everyone was entertained by the Senior Parliamentary Secretary's creative answer on the sarong cut. I believe that, with all these initiatives, we are now able to move on from level 2 of a cultured society and cultured Singaporeans to level 3. With that, Sir, I beg to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $341,299,400 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $224,307,600 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head J - Ministry of Defence”
“Sir, the Arts School for students aged 13 to 18 was announced last year. May I ask the Minister to update us on this project? Sir, with a growing and more vibrant local arts scene in Singapore, parents now see that there is good future for their children in the arts. Will the Government do more to encourage greater interest, education and participation in the arts in Singapore? I believe that the interaction, influence and exchange of creative ideas and energies between local and foreign students in the Arts School would result in a Singapore-trained artist getting more value-added experiences and multi-cultural perspectives. May I know what are the intake criteria of the Arts School for both the local and foreign students, and how the school would benefit the locals as well as the foreigners in this respect. Sir, with the official opening of the new Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Campus at Bencoolen Street later this evening, and the new National Library later this year, the arts quotient and vibrancy of the civic district is expected to be enhanced further for Singaporeans and for tourists alike. May I ask if there are any plans to create greater synergies among arts institutions here by linking up the Arts School with NAFA and other arts institutions perhaps via the through-train scheme for students?”
“With the opening of the Esplanade in 2002, the new National Library this year and the launch of the Creative Town Initiative, I am confident that we are moving towards the third level of being cultured at the "proactive participation level", where Singaporeans play an active role in using their creativity and interests in the arts to contribute to the community and society as a whole. Thus, under Media 21 plans, I would like to ask the Minister on what the Government is doing to encourage, recognise and deploy the creative talents and energies of our people for community benefit and development under the Creative Town Initiative. MICA is also developing the creative industry. I would like to know whether the creative industry would benefit the community and society at large. If so, how are these benefits transmitted to ordinary Singaporeans? Besides, what are the additional investments that the Government would be making to develop our cultural capital and to strengthen Singaporeans' interest and knowledge in our arts and cultural heritage? Arts and Culture”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, we all know that Singapore is a multi-cultural society. But how cultured our society and Singaporeans are exactly? If I may define being cultured at three different levels, I dare to say that our society has moved from level one to level two. And as a result of the consistent effort on the part of MICA and the people sector, we are now heading to the third level of being a cultured society and a cultured people. Let me elaborate. Singaporeans like to eat good food. So when we enjoy good food from different cultures, like Italian, French, Egyptian, Japanese and Vietnamese, we learn many things about them, including their people and traditions. Thus, based on the many cuisines and restaurants of different cultures we can find in Singapore, we have already achieved the multi-culturalism at the first level. I call this the "input" level. Most Singaporeans are cultured at the first level. As long as you enjoy good food, you are cultured at the "input" level. The second level of being cultured is at the "responsive" level. In the past years, we have seen an increasing number of visitors to our museums, book fairs, arts festivals and exhibitions like the bountiful sculptures of Botero, and the audiences to our concerts, operas, performances and musicals and we know that the Broadway classic "The Sound of Music" is coming to Singapore next month. Thus, Singaporeans and visitors are responding to the artistic talents and avenues found in or introduced to Singapore. I am glad that the vision, policies and strategies of MICA to promote the arts for everyone and arts at everywhere have borne fruits.”
“Sir, I did not mention about the ridership. I just mentioned the income of the taxi drivers. It has dropped by 10%-20%.”
“Sir, I would like to seek one clarification. The Minister asked me where did I get the figure of the taxi drivers' income from. In my speech, I mentioned that they have to drive longer to maintain the same level of income or they will suffer a reduction of income of 10%-20%. The reality is that they have to drive longer to maintain the same income. If not, they suffer a loss of income of 10%-20%. I mentioned that the feedback from the taxi drivers is that they now have to drive longer because they do not have relief drivers. My second point is that the Minister asked me to work harder. Yes, my NTUC colleagues and I will work harder to enhance the benefits for taxi drivers and, at the same time, we will convince the companies to give better rebates to the taxi drivers.”
“The taxi should therefore bear the same amount of tax as private cars. Hence, the taxi diesel tax was steadily increased to $6,600 per taxi per year in 1989 and remained at that level till 1998. The second rationale was the need to equalise the fuel tax imposed on private cars and taxis. Based on this reasoning, if fully implemented, the taxi diesel tax on each taxi could be as high as $9,200 per taxi per year. In 1998, Singapore was hit by the Asian financial crisis. As a result of the recommendation by the Committee on Singapore's Competitiveness, a review was done on the land transport cost structure, and the taxi diesel tax was reduced from $6,600 to $5,100 per taxi per year. Sir, the high diesel tax imposed on the taxi industry was done when the supply of taxis and meter fares were controlled by the Government. Now that the taxi industry is liberalised, I urge the Government to take a fundamental policy shift on taxi diesel tax from an ownership-based traffic management tool to taxi industry development. Sir, the most vulnerable group of people are the taxi drivers. High business cost means high taxi rental they have to pay daily. On top of that, they are also at the forefront to face the uncertainty of the demand for taxi services and, therefore, they can do nothing on the increasing supply of taxis on the road. I strongly urge the Government to consider reducing the taxi diesel tax which will be crucial in smoothening out the transition from a highly regulated taxi industry to one that is responsive and market driven. This is particularly so for the taxi drivers who eventually have to bear all the costs imposed on the taxi business by paying their daily rental.”
“Sir, the Government has liberalised the supply of taxis and deregulated the taxi meter fare. Hence, the development of the taxi industry is subject to the demand and supply of taxi services. Based on the latest statistics released by LTA, the demand for taxi services has reduced, but the supply of taxis on the road continues to increase. Taxi drivers' incomes are adversely affected as a result. They either have to drive longer to maintain the same level of income or suffer a reduction of income at around 10%-20%, based on feedback from the taxi drivers. The recent surge in diesel pump price has worsened the situation. From March to December last year, the pump price had increased from 44 cents per litre to 90.2 cents per litre, a 123% hike in price. Sir, I am heartened to see that many taxi companies have come up with several temporary measures to help their drivers. More could be done to help taxi drivers by further reducing the taxi rental or other operating cost. On the part of Government, I see the need to review taxi diesel tax. It is a right move on the part of Government to liberalise the taxi industry. We expect the industry to be market driven and competition will drive the cost down and stimulate better taxi services. However, we should also look at the unusually high cost structure of the taxi business. As we all know, high cost will prohibit the development of any industry in a market driven economy. I therefore urge the Government to review the high upfront statutory cost imposed on the taxi industry, in particular, the taxi diesel tax. So far, there are two rationales on the imposition of taxi diesel tax. The first rationale was spelt out in 1985 - that the taxi occupies the same road space as a private car.”
“When we talk of the "tossing up of raw fish" and the blessings for everybody, I think we should regard the Budget of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister as a very important Budget for creating opportunities and building up the community. There is also a top-up for the Lifelong Learning Fund, some 19,000 job opportunities will be created. Not only that, we can also make use of the Lifelong Learning Fund to help these people. I do not agree with Mr Chiam See Tong who said that some female workers receive low wages and are exploited, and that the Government and the NTUC should do something about it. I think Mr Chiam See Tong can see for himself that the NTUC has and will continue to work together with the Government and the employers to create more jobs for our people. Mr Chiam said that we must set a minimum pay of $1,000 per month. If the job is worth $1,000, then the employer will be willing to pay the $1,000. It depends on the value of the job. We cannot make it compulsory for employers to pay $1,000 for a job which is worth only a few hundred dollars. The union leaders and labour MPs have been advocating for better benefits for the elderly workers. So this is a social problem and also a national problem. The Government, the employers and the unions should try and solve this problem step by step. On the SMEs, the Government has heard and understood their predicaments. The NTUC and the employers will work together with the Government to solve the problem of the SMEs in the spirit of tripartism. This is a good Budget. I hope that next year, the Finance Minister will be able to give yet another "tossing up of raw fish" type of Budget so that, in future, our Government and our country will become stronger and the people will be better off.”
“The God of Fortune gives away ang pows, but the Finance Minister provides the opportunities. The question is whether we are able to seize the opportunities. After the announcement of the Budget, the general reaction from the people is different from that in the previous years. What is the difference? In the past, whatever goodies we gave, there was inevitably the complaint that there were not enough and the distribution was unfair. But this year, the people are generally happy and pleasantly surprised. They feel that the Finance Minister has listened to them, and has looked into their needs. Why is there a difference in the reactions? I think there are two reasons. Firstly, in 2003, we went through the SARS crisis. Secondly, the Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed homes and took away thousands of lives. Now, our people realise that we are indeed blessed with happiness and good fortune. We are better off than our neighbours. Now, people are not so critical. In the past, people who were generous have now become even more generous. The Government has allocated about $70 million towards the relief fund, and the people also donated a lot of money. So we are all working together, and the people have more confidence in the Government. Now, the expectations of the people have become more realistic and down to earth. People are more pragmatic. That is the reason why the people have reacted differently to this year's Budget. The second reason, of course, is that it is a very good Budget. It is full of warmth, very inclusive and very compassionate.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Budget this year was announced by Mr Lee Hsien Loong in his capacity as Prime Minister and Finance Minister for the first time. This is the time of the Chinese New Year celebration. When he announced the various reliefs and handouts, I was reminded of the "tossing up of raw fish", a traditional Chinese New Year dish which is very popular with the people, young and old, in Singapore and Malaysia for its auspicious significance. When partaking of this dish, it is traditional for the people to say out a series of greetings, such as good health, good luck, peace and prosperity, etc. When the Budget was announced, there were all sorts of goodies being handed out, such as topping up of Edusave, Medisave, and so on. Everybody is happy. There will be no cut in defence expenditure. Everybody will be happy and healthy. Happy and healthy are very important to everybody. Everybody will get rebates on utilities. Many of our MPs came across residents whose power and water supply was cut off. Now we have all kinds of rebates to help these people. There is also the loss carry-back provision for the SMEs. So there is something for everybody. The NTUC and the employers will redesign the various jobs for the benefit of the senior citizens, so that they can keep their job and be happy. Of course, there is a price hike for cigarettes. Smoking is bad for the health. We must all work with one heart and seize the opportunity that would be created, and make full use of them. In the debate yesterday and today, we kept hearing MPs saying that some residents had told them that the Finance Minister's goodies were visible but not tangible. This is because many people regard the Finance Minister as the God of Fortune.”
“We have actually restructured the work flow in the hospitality industry and provided various types of training for our workers to adapt to these new methods that would help them to earn better-paying jobs. This re-engineering of the work process has also provided opportunities for the workers who were retrenched so that they could take up new jobs. As long as we can put in a concerted effort, even if we cannot anticipate what is coming, we should at least recognise and seize the opportunities that come along. I am confident that we would be able to bring greater vitality to Singapore, as the President has mentioned in his Address.”
“Many people upgraded themselves so that they not only managed to retain their job but even seize the better opportunities that come along with regionalisation and globalisation. But many people are worried. They say that they do not know what they are going to do when disaster strikes, yet more often than not, they end up better off after a disaster, that is, if they survive. There is yet another group of people who may not be pre-emptive in making preparation for a rainy day, but when recession does come, they can adapt quickly and somehow manage to cling on and tide over the troubled waters. When the Government opens the way for them, they will grab the opportunities and make good. It is unlike what Mr Low Thia Khiang said that the Government has not given any help to the people. The problem is that some people do not want to accept the openings that are available to them. The President's Address has outlined the seven priorities of the Government. They may not appear to be glamorous but they are really very pragmatic. I am confident that if we were to implement all these, we will do well. There are three lessons which we can learn from the Indian Ocean tsunami: firstly, knowledge is strength. Over the years, the NTUC has trained many workers so that they can acquire new skills and are therefore able to face the economic restructuring. This is something which we have achieved. Secondly, we must have the will to live to survive. We know that in the last few years, NTUC has redesigned and re-engineered many kinds of work. Much has been said about the hospitality industry.”
“First of all, when the Indian Ocean tsunami occurred, many people saw the giant waves coming, they not only ran for their lives, but also helped others to run for their lives. When a little British girl saw the sudden recession of the tide, she remembered what her geography teacher taught her in the class, and she promptly told her parents about it. Her parents listened to her, and acted upon it by warning all the people around her to run, thus saving hundreds of lives. Another old man in Thailand, although uneducated, remembered from experience that when there was a sudden recession of tide, gigantic waves will rush in. He asked everybody to run and thus saved a whole village of lives. These are people who have the knowledge. They have foresight, and know danger when there is one. There is another group who did not know how things would come about but they somehow managed to survive. We read that there were some people who managed to survive one week or even 8-9 days after the tsunami struck. They have this will to live and that is why they survive. Though they do not have the foresight, they learn from experience and react on hindsight. Then, there were these people who saw the tide backing away leaving a lot of fish, crabs and sea-shells. They happily went out to pick up all these poor creatures, only to be swept away by the giant tidal waves and perished. These are the people who have no foresight, and did not even have the chance of any hindsight. In Singapore, although our economic tsunami is not as disastrous as the Indian Ocean tsunami, we must be fully prepared for the worst. When we look at our economic weather and notice that the bad weather is coming, we must be prepared.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Hougang, Mr Low Thia Khiang, said that the President's Address was vague and utopian. It was also reported in the newspapers that Mr Low Thia Khiang has remarked that the President's Address had nothing new in it. Today, he quoted an article in Lianhe Zaobao to say that the Government did not look after the welfare of the middle-income people. I was hoping that he would give us his own views, but he was only quoting other people's views. What is the point of quoting other people's views without offering his suggestions on how to improve on the situation if he feels so strongly about it! In my view, the President's Address is very meaningful and it has a lot of substance in it. There was this story about an old man who had two daughters, one married to an ice-cream vendor and the other married to an umbrella seller. Every morning, this old man would look at the weather. If it looks like it is going to rain, he would be worried for his ice-cream vendor son-in-law as his business is likely to be affected. The next day, when the weather appears to be fine and sunny, he would worry that the umbrella seller son-in-law would have no business. However, if he were to look at the situation from a different angle - if the weather is bad and stormy, the umbrella seller would have a roaring trade; and if it is a hot and sunny day, then the ice-cream vendor would enjoy good business. If he is more creative, he would encourage his two sons-in-law to partner each other and sell both umbrella and ice-cream. Then they would have business, whether it is a sunny day or a rainy day. So it is very important that one looks at things from different angles and find the solution to the problem. There are many lessons to learn from the recent Indian Ocean tsunami.”
“This report recommends a core curriculum for all, so that every student could at least be able to listen, speak or read in his or her mother tongue language. Take, for example, my mother. She is a Teochew. She has never had formal education but now, she could watch the Mandarin television programmes. By listening to the Mandarin news, she knows about the current affairs. She could read the newspapers and, of course, she would start with the obituary page to see if any of her friends has gone. At her age, many of her contemporaries are going day by day. But then, she could at least read the newspapers. And now, we want Singaporeans who are effectively bilingual so that they could know what is happening outside. Mr Low has been quoting MM Lee from what he said in 1966, 1974 and so on. I did not know that he admired Minister Mentor Lee so much that he could remember exactly what MM said at which point of time. Times have changed. The situation then and the situation now are different. Mr Low said that without Deng Xiao Ping, there would be no economic reform in China that drove its phenomenal economic growth. I can tell him likewise that, without Lee Kuan Yew, there will be no Singapore of today and we will not have this debate here today.”
“Mr Speaker, may I respond? Mr Speaker, Sir, just now, I told Mr Low that he had to tell me if he was not satisfied with my remarks, and he has actually done so. Now, I want to reply to him. He said, "Are we going to move all the Singapore Chinese to China?" There is also this saying that if the mountain does not come to Mohamed, Mohamed would have to go to the mountain. We have the Phoenix Channel and CCTV on cable TV. Singaporeans today do not have to travel all the way to see and hear about China, the TV programmes have brought China to us. We do have the learning environment here. The question is whether or not you are interested to learn. If you are not interested, then even if we send you to China, you will not learn to speak Mandarin well. So, if the environment is not good enough, we need to change it. Change it to one that is conducive to our learning of the language and culture. Then, we need to adapt ourselves to the changes, so as to gain optimal benefits from them. As Minister Lim Swee Say said yesterday, there are various kinds of changes. With regard to the second part regarding the bicultural programme, Mr Low said that it would benefit the minority. This is a fact. Even in China, they are lamenting that the standard of Mandarin has dropped. And even in England, the Queen has lamented that nowadays only very few people could speak the Queen's English well in England. As for bilingualism, countries all over the world need people who are bilingual or even multi-lingual. In Japan, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has difficulties getting people who are bilingual to be their diplomats. So the people who are bilingual are usually the elites. Not everyone can be effectively bilingual.”
“Whether we are learning a language, skill or knowledge, the most important thing is the will to learn. I think we are all familiar with the television programme "Yan can Cook". Yes, everybody can cook. The question is whether or not you can cook well. If you want to cook well, of course, you must, first of all, have the will to learn. Of course, life cannot be plain sailing all the way. The learning process also may change from time to time. We have to change the policy, the way we teach and learn the language. So, we do not want to give Singaporeans the wrong impression that from now onwards, with the reform to the Chinese Language, that Chinese will be very easy to learn, you can close one eye and learn Chinese. I think this is not true. If you want to learn anything, you have to put in an effort. Only then can you achieve good results. When you have problems, you must find ways and means to resolve them. In conclusion, I would like to quote the push-line in a breast-enhancement advertisement that appears frequently in the newspapers which says, "Flat is not the best way; it is only with ups and downs then your life would be enriched."”
“Even in the Government departments, those who are bilingual, the Government makes full use of them but does not attach much importance to them. On the bicultural aspect, I feel that culture can be looked at from various angles. Now the Government wants us to attain about 70-80% level in English and maybe 60-70% in Chinese. This is to raise our standard of the language. I think it is something that every one in Singapore should strive to be effectively bilingual. In Singapore, we may not be contented with being bicultural. We could be tri-cultural or even quadri-cultural, because we have Chinese, Malay, Indian and western foods in Singapore. So, if we want to look at the culture, we should look at it from the application side of it. We want to know all about the history of China from the ancient times to the present time. Mr Low said earlier that he was full of admiration for Mr Deng Xiao Ping. But we all remember Mr Deng Xiao Ping's famous saying, "White cat or black cat, so long as he can catch the mouse, he is a good cat!" We should know where our strength lies, and what our competitive edge is. Build on our strength and we will catch the mouse. What is our competitive edge? That is our bilingual policy. English has always been a strong language in the world. It is being used in most developed economies in Europe and the United States. If you have a good command of English, you have the advantage. But if you have Chinese or Malay and Tamil as well, then you have even better advantages. We have Indians speaking English. The Indians in various parts of India speak English, albeit with strong Indian accent. If we know English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, then we would be at a distinct advantage over others.”
“In fact, they seemed quite proud that they did not need to know their Chinese names! But nowadays, people are beginning to pay more attention to Chinese. Even foreigners who come to Singapore would want to have a Chinese name. An Italian businessman once gave me a name card and remarked regrettably, "Unfortunately, I do not have a Chinese name. Can you give me a Chinese name?" So, I suggested a Chinese name to him. Two weeks later, he sent me a name card with the Chinese name I gave him on it! Nowadays, our parents want their children to learn Chinese well. The important thing is: how do they change the mentality from discouraging to encouraging their children to learn Chinese? With regard to non-Chinese families, my colleague Mdm Halimah mentioned just now that they are also concerned about it. In the past, there were misconceptions among the races. Now, we have racial harmony - we could live harmoniously together. So, if we want to look at it from this aspect, that all of us are Singaporeans, we should throw away all our historical baggage and work together for our future. We have to face reality. Now we are reforming the Chinese Language curriculum and pedagogy. Soon, we will have a reform for the Malay and Tamil mother tongue languages as well. Just now, Mr Low mentioned that we had to look at it more from the cultural aspect rather than just the economic part of it. In fact, the Government has already announced that MOE is going to start a bicultural programme for our students so that those with the ability would be able to learn more about China, including its culture. Some people may feel that there is no point being bilingual.”
“Just now, Mr Low quoted Mencius, saying that you need a three-year-old medicine to cure a 7-year-old illness. We must also not forget that Mencius' mother had to move her home three times so that her son would have an environment conducive to his studies. We want to improve on the teaching of the Chinese Language in Singapore because we want our people to be effectively bilingual so that they can have a competitive edge in the international arena. We hope that the Ministry of Education would move fast and work hard to make sure that the recommendations of the Review Committee would be implemented successfully and yield the expected results. I can see three types of reaction from the people in Singapore with regard to this report. First, the Chinese-educated. Generally, the first reaction would be that this talk about reform to the teaching of Chinese Language has been going on for years. It is so tiring. Why do we want to keep on talking about it? But the fact remains that the standard of Chinese has been dropping. So, this is a historical baggage we have to tackle. As Mr Low put it, we are just talking about the economic benefits. Should we not also look at it from the cultural aspect? I think culture is important. Yes, we have to look at the cultural side of it. For the English educated, the reaction is: how do we adapt to the changes? But I feel that, for the past two to three decades, the English-educated families are also changing their mentality. I remember in the 1970s and 1980s, when I was a reporter, I used to ask the people I interviewed, "How do you write your Chinese name?" More often than not, they would tell me that they could not write their Chinese names, and they made no apology about it.”
“She was accompanied by the world-renowned Vienna National Opera Orchestra and the National Opera Choir whose members were predominantly German or Viennese speakers. But when Song Zuying was singing Moli Hua in Mandarin, the sopranos and altos singers echoed in perfect diction, "hao meili di yi duo moli hua!" (What a pretty Jasmine flower!). When she was singing the Dragon Boat Song, there was a line saying, "Shui gei wo tui yi tui?" (Who can give me a push?) and the tenors and basses responded, "Wo lai gei ni tui!" (I'll push it.) in clearly recognisable Mandarin diction. They were all smiling and enjoying it. I am sure it took them quite some efforts to get the diction right, but so long as they enjoyed doing it, they could do well, and enjoyed the whole process of learning. Nowadays, in our schools, we could also teach our students some latest pop songs or traditional folk songs. I am very happy that MOS Chan Soo Sen will be leading the Steering Committee on the implementation of the recommendations in this report. Mr Chan sings very well. I am sure he could introduce some nice songs to the students to enthuse them and develop in them the interest in the Chinese Language and culture. Over the past 12 years, our Chinese Language curriculum and pedagogy had undergone three reforms. This time, it is a very major reform. It involves the retraining of our teachers, adjustments to our examination system and for the pedagogy to be more flexible. It involved a lot of people. More than 10,000 people were interviewed. In this present reform, apart from the language that we use at home, the emergence of China is also a very important factor, and the advance of new technology is yet another very important factor.”