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 8 of 10.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Budget tabled by Deputy Prime Minister Lee is a Budget that has taken cognizance of the world situation and is in keeping with it. The world situation is different now, therefore we have to restructure our economy to create more jobs. This statement seems to be simple when one hears it. The trouble is that the Government is forward-looking, and the people look but cannot see. Many people do not understand. After hearing the whole Budget Statement, the immediate thing that strikes them is that the GST rate is going to be increased. They would also like to know whether the relief package would be adequate to cope with the rising cost of living. The review on CPF will affect their financial commitment. They are also afraid that the unscrupulous businessmen would jack up their prices. However, undue worries coupled with suspicions will lead to divisiveness. As the Member for Hougang alleged, the Government is giving you a piece of candy and then cut out a piece of flesh from your body. People are shocked to hear that the GST will be increased. So the Government has to give them some kind of tranquiliser to calm them down. The extra 2% in GST may pain you. The Teochew people would say, ba tia (meaning pain in the flesh). But the Opposition Member has exaggerated by saying that the Government will cut a piece of flesh from you. You may feel some pain on your flesh, but no flesh will be cut out. Mr Speaker, Sir, the world is indeed changing and changing very fast. But for people who are preoccupied with earning a living, they have heard a lot but they do not understand. If a Member of Parliament like Mr Low does not understand, how do we expect the ordinary people to understand? They may be confused by what they have heard and misunderstood it.”
“They are not afraid of the sand-storm, and not afraid of having no water supply - even if Malaysia cuts off the water supply, no problem! They can carry heavy objects and travel afar. Singaporeans certainly have this potential. We have already seen many Singaporean "camels" in action. In fact, when Singaporeans, young or old, men or women, travel abroad, their "camel spirit" is fully manifested. The moment they have checked into the hotel, they will rush out into the streets, making full use of every second available. They are not afraid of going the wrong way, not afraid of walking for miles and miles, not afraid of missing dinner, and not afraid of having no water to drink. They would just go ahead and shop, shop and shop, so much so they need to buy a few more suitcases to bring home their purchases. If you go to Changi Airport, you can see all these "troops of camels" coming home after some triumphant shopping expeditions, and showing off their trophies. Mr Speaker, Sir, we all realise that Singapore is facing a lot of challenges. We want to participate and shape a new Singapore so that we can be victorious in the global competition. But we must not be afraid of suffering, nor afraid of facing difficulties. This is the "camel spirit". The first generation of Singaporeans acquired this camel spirit, while the second generation strove to maintain this camel spirit. Now, the third generation of Singaporeans must also possess this camel spirit of not being afraid of sufferings and not afraid of facing hardships. They must not end up like the ostrich instead! 2.10 pm”
“Over the years, Singapore has become prosperous and there is home for everyone. With the various HDB upgrading programmes, we have covered walkways that link the apartment blocks to the bus stops, and linkways that connect one block to another. But now the residents are still complaining. They cried, "No linkway, how to go to market?" Yes, they are never contented. Nowadays, many Singaporeans do not bother to use their heads to resolve even very minute problems. Many complain that they are "stuck". They cannot go up or go down. In actual fact, all they need to do is just to use their heads, put in a little effort, make some adjustments, you can go up or get down. They can easily get themselves "unstuck". Yet, all they do is to sit around and wait for the Government to solve their problems, and alas, the Government has come! Now, everybody is waiting to see what the Economic Review Committee can do to cut business cost and enhance our global competitiveness. The people are also waiting to see how the "Re-making Singapore Committee" is going to reshape Singapore to establish itself as a regional hub and metropolitan city of excellence. It is my sincere hope that while transforming and restructuring, these committees and the various ministries and statutory boards would take into consideration not only the data and statistics but also the characteristics of Singaporeans, typified by the kiasu (afraid to lose) and kiasi (afraid to die) mentalities. We should train our people and cultivate in them what I would call the "camel spirit". The camel is a very kind-natured animal. It can move steadily and steadfastly, even in very difficult situations.”
“But then, we must not forget that in the process of transition, there are many problems relating to their children's education, family members, etc, which have to be taken into consideration. Of course, we know that the Government has recognised the importance of re-skilling for our workers, but then, even after re-skilling, the employers might not want to employ them. Let me cite another example. In Singapore, there are many people who are unmarried. By the same logic, if we ask all the unmarried males to marry all the unmarried females, there would not be any problem of low population growth and excessive unmarried young people in our society. But we observe that there are a lot of foreign brides and a lot of foreign grooms in Singapore, while the unmarried ones remain unmarried. This is a problem similar to that of the foreign workers. Even when these people get married, it does not necessarily mean that they would have children, and many marriages even end up in divorces. All these figures and statistics can only serve as a reference. We must not neglect the human factor when we formulate Government policies. We cannot always explain the trends by the data and figures at hand. In the past two years, many events have happened in Singapore, such as the DBS incident and the erroneous utilities bills. HDB planned their building programmes based on the demands of the people. Yet, there is now an over supply of flats. These are some examples of how we have neglected the human nature when we formulated the policies. In the initial period of our nation-building, we wanted to build a rugged society, one that can withstand all the thunderstorms, one where the people fear no difficulties and one where the people could actually move forward courageously.”
“In the past, they had a Japanese motorcycle company, Honda, which produced a very popular locally manufactured model called "Dreamy". It was selling at US$2,000. But now, with motorcycles being imported from China, "Dreamy" has to be sold at less than US$2,000. The Chinese produced a motorcycle known as "Hong Da" and it is now selling at only $600. The Vietnamese manufacturers soon find that they could not sleep at night, and hence "dreamy" no more! Mr Chiam See Tong also mentioned that the Government has not given the Opposition parties their due recognition. He said that they are now being reduced to the status of a fortune teller. I do not think he is a fortune teller, otherwise he would not have introduced Dr Chee Soon Juan to his Singapore Democratic Party. Mr Speaker, Sir, some people said that Singaporeans are very obedient to the Government. When the Government asks them not to do something, they would not do it. But now the Government wants them to change jobs. They called upon the employers to employ the older workers. But there are still problems. Why? Basically, when the Government formulates its policies, it often fails to have a good grasp of the human nature. Very often, it will take the available statistics as the basis to work out some solutions, without making some in-depth analysis of the characteristics of Singaporeans. There is this argument that there are a few hundred thousand foreign workers here and there are less than 100,000 unemployed Singaporeans, and if all Singaporeans are prepared to take up these jobs which are currently taken up by the foreign workers, then there should not be any unemployment problem.”
“Just now, Mr Chiam See Tong mentioned that NTUC and the labour MPs should fight against lowering of wages and CPF. I think if he had participated in our dialogue sessions, he would know that our workers are more concerned with keeping their jobs than keeping their wages intact. If the factories cannot survive and have to close down, their jobs are gone. If the orders are reduced, then they would have to settle for shorter working hours, and that means less income. If Mr Chiam See Tong does not understand this problem, then let me give him an analogy. Many people are complaining that they have been working so hard that their hair has turned grey. To them, I would say, "Consider yourselves lucky that you are still having hair on your head. There are many others who have no hair at all." So having grey hair is still better than having no hair at all! I think having a job is surely better than having no job. This is the reality of life. If Mr Chiam does not understand, I would urge him to come with us to visit the factories. We, labour MPs, have been visiting the factories and speaking to the workers. We know what the workers are going through. At the present moment of recession, the workers' concern is not for higher income. They are more concerned with keeping their jobs. They also know where the challenges are and they are adjusting their expectation. But it takes time. I think our union leaders understand the situation better than Mr Chiam See Tong. Even in Vietnam, they are facing challenges from China. In the past, they had a lot of bicycles on the road. Now there are a lot of motorcycles. Why is it so? This is because Vietnam is also getting affluent. They are challenging us. Their workers' salary is only one-fifth of what our workers are getting.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in his Address, President Nathan highlighted the challenges which Singapore faces. I believe most Singaporeans are aware of this fact, but it takes time for them to understand the long-term implications of these challenges. Only when they have personally experienced the effects of these changes will they appreciate the seriousness of the implications brought about by the emergence of China and the unpredictable situation of our region. For the moment, the main concern of most people is on the bread and butter issue. When you have entered middle-age, say, 40 and above, retrenchment means instant unemployment as it will be difficult to find another job. This affects not only the lowly-educated people, but even the degree-holders and executives, as we see many companies which are making huge profits are also retrenching. The executives find it difficult getting alternative jobs because they are often deemed to be over-qualified. We can only urge them to lower their expectation and to go for re-skilling. But even with re-skilling, there is no guarantee that they will find a job. So, what should we do? Everyone expects the Government to come up with a solution and there are indeed various programmes instituted by the Government to help older workers seek re-employment, including incentives for employers to engage older workers. These strategies have helped some affected workers get jobs but it is very tough to convince all affected workers to go for re-skilling. In NTUC, we have worked very hard with our affiliated trade unions to urge our workers to go for re-skilling and to equip themselves in order to be in a better position to seek re-employment.”
“The feeling is that we should hand out umbrellas when it is raining. I think we should build up an environment whereby companies can carry on with their businesses, rain or shine, storm or no storm. We should convey this message to everybody. Nowadays, in every HDB neighbourhood, we have built covered walkways. Residents can walk along the covered walkways to the bus stop even when it rains. But, I heard that where there is no covered walkway, the residents would complain that they could not walk out to the bus stop when it rains. I asked them why they did not get an umbrella. They said that it was too troublesome. They would rather wait for the rain to stop. I think if you have to catch a bus to go to your destination, you should run across to the bus stop, whether there is a covered walkway or not, even if you do not have an umbrella. Otherwise, you will not catch the bus and get to your destination in time. I think DPM should emphasise to the people that they on their part too must trim themselves in a difficult time like this and make every effort to lift up their heads and not walk around with their chins down. The people must not lose their confidence. Whether or not there is an umbrella, whether or not there is a covered walkway, life must go on. We should work together hand in hand to make Singapore strong and competitive. Yes, what we need is confidence in ourselves! 2.45 pm”
“And now with China coming up, many people are also blaming China for all these problems. These are challenges which the Government will have to face and tackle. DPM has now introduced this package where a lot of money is put into our economy. I think this will help to boost the confidence of the people. As I see it, there are four levels of problems. First, the superficial level. We have to enhance the employability of the people, and the country must have the competitiveness. We have been emphasising this even in the 1960s, but the people just looked at the surface of the matter and were not prepared to look beyond the superficial level. In 1970s and 1980s, when faced with the economic downturn and recession, people began to look a little deeper, which I shall call the sub-surface level. The people were persuaded to cooperate with the employers to suffer a pay-cut to keep their jobs. Then the Asian financial crisis in 1997 brought the people to the inner level, where they began to realise the importance of skills upgrading and retraining to stay competitive and enjoy better employability. The September 11 event in 2001 gave the people a rude jolt that took them into the deep-inside level where not only the ordinary workers but also the middle and senior management level people are feeling the pinch. The people begin to realise that they have to look far and beyond the present problems. I think the Government has a very long telescope which can see very far ahead. Perhaps, the Government should share this telescope with the people, so that they can look farther. Some Members were talking about handing out umbrellas during rainy days. I think, in the present day context, the umbrella is not good enough, because it has its limitation.”
“But these people still do not have confidence in the Government. Many of them have reservations about undergoing retraining or skill enhancement. Many people say that they do not feel good about going back to the classrooms or the workshops. I think we should make them feel good and confident in being retrained. As many of my parliamentary colleagues have said in this House, many people above the age of 50 cannot get a job. Now, even those above 40 are having difficulty getting a job. Nowadays, at 40, you are looked upon as an old man. That being the case, then half of our population would be deemed to be old people. I think we should change this perception. I am glad that the Government is granting a rebate on diesel tax. This will benefit the taxi drivers. Many taxi drivers told me that nowadays after queuing for four hours at the airport, they could not get any tourists as their passengers - no more American or Japanese tourists. After deducting their costs, their net income is just about $10 a day. I hope the taxi companies will pass on the benefit of this diesel tax rebate to the taxi drivers. Another thing that is worth mentioning is the Government's decision not to cut the employers' CPF contribution. I think this is a good reassurance to the people. Of course, if the recession gets worse, I think we cannot rule out the possibility of a reduction in the employers' CPF contribution again. Why have the people lost their confidence? This is because in the last few years, we have been developing too fast. Many companies are relocating and we have been importing a lot of foreign talents. Many people who were retrenched could not find an alternative job, and they put the blame on foreign talents.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in a short period of three months, we are now introducing a second package, and this time it is for $11.3 billion. I think the important thing for us to do now is to restore the confidence of the people, because many workers are worried that they would lose their jobs and the businesses are worried that they would collapse. After the September 11 event, many people were saying that the World Trade Centre had collapsed and the companies here will collapse too. Sir, $11.3 billion is a big sum of money. But no matter how much we have instilled in our economy, the most important thing is to maintain the confidence of the people, the businesses and the Government. The Feedback Unit recently conducted a survey on how much confidence the people had in the Government in leading us out of the present economic crisis. Only 56.5% stated that they had great confidence in the Government's capability in pulling us through, another 34% or so said that they had some confidence, not very much but not very little, but just some confidence. Sir, how do we increase the confidence of this 34% in the Government? If this survey is conducted after the introduction of this package by DPM, I am sure many more people would have greater confidence in the Government. In the Skills Development Fund alone, the Government will be putting in another $50 million. I am sure this will give people more confidence that the Government is serious in equipping the workers so as to enhance their employability. The People for Jobs Traineeship Programme will benefit those in the middle income group because, prior to this, the concern was on the lower income group only, but now we are looking into the benefits for the middle income people as well.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I mentioned just now that we must have some moral principle. As a husband, one can have only one wife and be faithful to her. But as a Member of Parliament, he can only serve one constituency and be faithful to his voters. Just now the Member for Potong Pasir said that he should be been given the liberty to serve many constituencies. He mentioned that he wanted to contest in Potong Pasir and the Jalan Besar GRC, and serve whichever constituency he wins in. I am afraid if he does that, he would end up losing both constituencies. I hope that he will be more faithful to his own constituency. Since Mr Chiam remarked about my analogy of yi fu duo qi (one husband many wives), I would change it to yi fu duo qu (one person many constituencies).”
“If someone is to post a slogan, "Keep it up, Workers' Party" on the Internet, I do not think anybody would take any objection to it. So be it! You do not have to worry about anyone going after you just because of that. If you want to participate in politics, you must have the political courage, political intelligence and say what you want to say. If you are not sure, then you should go and do something else instead. On the question of rules, Mr Speaker, Sir, I feel that the Government is liberalising election advertising on the Internet. Political parties can advertise their platforms with pictures inserted, and the surfers can hear their voice and see their pictures. As the Chinese saying goes, you sheng you se (full of sound and colour). This shows that our legislature and legislation are in pace with the development of technology. But we are allowed to display only still pictures, but not films. So no election advertising motion pictures over the Internet! Full of sound and colour, but no motion! With the advancement of technology, our information providers can string together a series of pictures to animate them and turn these still pictures into some kind of motion pictures. Can the Minister please enlighten us on whether this is allowed under this Bill? I feel that we should review our law on video-tapes so that our manner of election campaigning can keep pace with the development of technology. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill involves the question of principle and the question of rules. I have no doubt whatsoever on the question of principle. Mr Chiam See Tong too commented only on the rules aspect, but not on the principle. I agree with the principle, but on the question of rules, I have some reservations. Mr Chiam asked why a candidate cannot stand for election in more than one constituency. This is like one husband wanting to have many wives. In Singapore, the law prohibits polygamy. Likewise, in an election law, the candidate must contest only in one constituency and serve his constituents there. Mr Chiam must have been eyeing the Jalan Besar GRC in addition to his own Potong Pasir. He is not sure whether to move to Jalan Besar, or to stay in Potong Pasir. So, to have the best of both worlds, he wants to contest in both. Well, he may end up with nothing. I feel that we can support the general principle, and that is, we must have fair competition, to compete on a level playing ground. As we all know, election propaganda or advertising is a very serious matter. Whether it is the political parties or the individuals standing for election, their agenda and views on major national and international issues must be clearly communicated to the voters to win their votes. They should not hide themselves behind the cover of the Internet. They must stand up and say the right things at the right time. They cannot say things indiscriminately, without taking responsibility of what they are saying. On the question of rules, the Member for Hougang, Mr Low Thia Khiang alleged that our liberalisation on the use of Internet for the purpose of election was, in fact, a suppression of the political parties.”
“Sir, on the enhanced Skills Redevelopment Programme whereby employers need to pay only 20% of course fees, may I know how soon can it be implemented? As we know, many companies need to send hundreds of their workers for SRP training but they are facing this cashflow problem of paying 100% of the course fees first. In particular, a company which sends 200 workers for a $3,000 programme, it would cost them $600,000 and the claim from Government takes months. My second question is whether the Minister will agree with Mr Simon Tay's suggestion of keeping PWD Corporation out of public projects. If so, the workers from PWD Corporation will suffer and be retrenched. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Sir, in reply to Mr Seng Han Thong's first question, as quickly as possible, there will be no unnecessary delay in working out the details of this programme. On PWD, our responsibility is not only to the industries. It is also to those workers in PWD who work with us faithfully for all these years. So when we told them that we were going to privatise it, we owed them a responsibility and we had to encourage them to move out from a permanent Government service into a private company. To give them that assurance, and they have families to support, we told them, "All right, five years' moratorium." I think we should stick to it and not because we are under pressure, cause a breach of faith in the solemn undertaking which we gave them.”
“The media of the various countries play different roles in their respective countries, owing to their different historical experience, political systems and makings of their people. The function represented by their civilisation and the function manifested by the media in different environments are equally effective. Mr Speaker, Sir, when we are opening up our media to the outside world, the introduction of this Amendment Bill is necessary and important. I support the Bill.”
“The foreign television media can report on the politics of Singapore, comment on our politics, but they should not participate in our domestic politics and influence our people's decision on our political development. With this amendment to the Singapore Broadcasting Authority Act, they will once again criticise us of having no press freedom here. I would like to ask the Minister for Information and the Arts what plans his Ministry has to promote Singapore's image in terms of media opening. Our long-term plan of developing Singapore into a regional media hub should not be hampered by the introduction of this Amendment Bill. Our image should not be tarnished. I remember in 1986, when the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act was introduced, the western media pointed an accusing finger on us and claimed that this was a clear evidence of the lack of press freedom in Singapore. In 1989, the then Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, personally went to the United States of America to meet face-to-face with more than 300 international journalists. I was then one of the journalists in our Singapore delegation. I discovered that many of these journalists did not really understand the situation in Singapore. They could only say that by restricting the circulation of a certain foreign publication we were violating the principle of press freedom. They asked why was it that in Asia, places like India and the Philippines could have press freedom, but Singapore could not. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's reply was that he understood Singapore better. The US model was not universally applicable and valid everywhere.”
“Some people may feel that we are behind time when we apply the rules and regulations governing the press in the 80s to the 21st century television media. My view is that while times have changed, and technology has changed the mode of operation of the media, there are some basic principles that remain unchanged. All the countries in the world agree that they should not interfere in one another's domestic politics. Why cannot we stop the foreign media from interfering in our domestic politics? Foreign journalists can be Singapore's political observers, but they should not be participants in Singapore's politics. This fundamental principle will never change. When the western media talk about freedom of the press, they always talk plausibly and at length. But from the examples of what had happened in Singapore in the past, we can tell that they are having double standards in their definition of freedom. The foreign media would use some unreliable and inaccurate data to distort the facts. When our Government demanded a verification, and even suggested purchasing advertising space to refute all these fallacious reports, they refused. Our Newspapers and Printing Presses Act prohibits foreign newspapers from interfering in Singapore's political affairs. This Act has been in force for many years. It is clearly understood by the foreign media. They can report anything in accordance with the facts of the matter. They can comment, but they cannot distort the facts. They are not allowed to participate in or influence our politics. Otherwise, their circulation would be restricted, and in cases of serious violation, their permit will be revoked. I support the extension of this principle to apply to the foreign television media.”
“Sir, the introduction of the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Bill is because we are opening our media to the outside world. Whenever people talk about opening the media in Singapore, most people will associate it with the coming hot battle between MediaCorp and Singapore Press Holdings. Actually, the opening up of our media started in the 1980s, that is, the opening of our media to the outside world when we allowed foreign publications to circulate in Singapore. Since 1995, we have also allowed foreign television stations into the homes of every Singaporean with the introduction of cable vision. As a matter of fact, seriously speaking, the opening of our media to the outside world started even earlier than its opening to our domestic market. However, if we were to tell the foreigners that there are some 40 foreign television channels and a few thousand foreign publications available in Singapore, many of them may not believe us. They would ask, "Is it true? Isn't the Singapore Government keeping a very tight control on everything? Do you not have a ban on chewing gum and even install urine detectors in the lifts of your public housing estates to catch people urinating there? And, of course, you restrict the circulation of foreign publications!" This is indeed the gap between reality and image. The main reason for the existence of such a gap is that the foreign media often make criticism against some of the Singapore Government's policies. Our policy all along has been that we want to have a rule-by-law society in Singapore, and there are certain social values which we want to uphold. The foreign media can criticise our policies, but they are not allowed to interfere in our domestic politics. This is the most fundamental principle.”
“Recently, there was a proposal to form a watchdog body similar to the equal opportunity commission found in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Watchdog body means another "W" which workers can turn to. But, in my view, our unions have been playing an active role in ensuring that older workers are not being discriminated. We may not see eye to eye in some of the things with the employers; however, we should work hand in hand with the management and Government in resolving this concern. And, in fact, this has happened in a smaller way in the petrochemical industry where older workers are being retrained and re-employed after their retraining. And I must admit that we should do more to ensure that workers are not being discriminated. Thus, I would like to urge the Minister to re-consider if an incentive package could be given to employers who re-employ older workers after they have gone through the retraining. I believe this is one of the more effective ways to get older workers employed. Our National Skills Recognition System has also created opportunities for workers to have their skills certified and made it easier for them to gain recognition by the employers. It is through this concerted effort that the perception of age discrimination can be checked, and I believe that this is a more pragmatic approach towards the issue and to ensure that older workers will get the right type of "www".”
“Sir, lately, when someone talks about lifelong learning, I observe that they like to quote the Chinese saying of " ." While older workers understand the importance of lifelong learning, they are more concerned about the their lifelong employability. So they ask, can we " "? In short, they want to be reassured that after they receive the necessary training, they can get a job, and that is crucial. At many of the dialogue sessions, Singaporeans expressed their concern that as more and more companies restructure and with the development in technology, the older and the less educated workers tend to be retrenched. Despite the retraining they receive, they notice that employers prefer younger workers. Thus, they perceive the age discrimination. So for those who have a job at the moment, they are also worried about their job security. One union leader said at a session, and I quote, "We need a job. We older workers are concerned that if we are out of job, we have to go back home to face the wife and the wall. That will be very stressful." Sir, he received big applause from other fellow workers. That shows that they all agreed with him that it was very stressful without work. But I do not know whether they also agreed with him that facing the wife, and especially facing the wall at home, was also stressful. But I can imagine that life without a roof and four walls and without a wife is equally stressful. "WWW" is the in-thing nowadays, which means world wide web to the youngsters. I was told that the soldiers refer "www" as wine, women and war. But to the workers, especially to the older ones, the "www" means work, wife and walls. The concern of age discrimination in the employment market should be addressed.”
“In the programme, colleagues from the same company or members of the same family would team up to create some very creative scenes. It is a very novel way to promote creativity and at the same time encourage family members or colleagues from a company to work and play together as a team, thereby fostering better relationship among them. Why do we not learn from them? Instead, we are going for violence and sadism. With the further opening up of the media and competition by a new TV station, I hope that this kind of unhealthy programme will not appear again. I hope that the media can exercise some restraint and that the SBA will provide some kind of guidance. If the TV station persists in torturing the artistes, we should boycott them by not calling in because it is no longer a charitable performance, but an act of violence and sadism. 5.30 pm”
“Sir, during the past few years, there have been quite a number of charity shows over TV to raise funds for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the National Heart Association (NHA). When the audiences see their TV artistes performing the stunts, they would call in and pay $5 per call to contribute their donation. For NKF and NHA charity shows, the targets for the amounts to be raised have become higher and higher, from $1 million to $2 million. Accordingly, the stunts to be performed by the TV artistes on these charity shows are becoming more and more dangerous. Many people think that the artistes were risking their lives with the performance of these stunts. Doing charity is good but to ask artistes to risk their lives for higher fund-raising targets is against the spirit of charity and good deeds. Artistes are not trained acrobats from the circus and the spectators are not watching a circus performance. So why are they made to watch their favourite TV artistes pressing their bodies on the spears and hanging upside down with a heavy chain tied to their necks until they almost suffocate. What happens if something were to go wrong? The organisers stated that they had taken insurance coverage for these artistes. This is not a question of having insurance coverage or not. It is a question of conscience. If you hang a dog upside down, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will certainly lodge a protest and complain. Do you want your children and family members to watch all these tortures to their favourite TV artistes before they are willing to call in and donate to charity? Recently, our TV stations screened the programme called "Super Change" from Japan.”
“Sir, last year, the Government liberalised the media. There are three more newspapers now. Singaporeans are aware of the keen competition in print media and they know that it is better to have competition because they can get free newspapers. On the other hand, in order to stimulate their sales volume, the newspapers have resorted to feature all kinds of sensational news. But it is too early to conclude whether the additional newspapers are good or bad. The broadcasting and TV stations will also be plunged into competition. We have to make use of SCV to serve every home in Singapore as well as homes outside Singapore. The Minister, in answer to questions about the media, has said that the opening up of the newspapers and the press is good, although there are some newspapers which feature some scantily-dressed ladies on their front-page to attract the readers. Will MITA review the guidelines on the media? Whether they are in English, Chinese, Malay or Tamil, there should be some fair guiding principles so that our TV stations will not lower their standards and resort to sex and violence in order to get more viewers. What kind of assistance will be given to our local stations to cope with the competition by the foreign stations? We cannot deny the fact that many Singaporeans have started to switch over to foreign stations as they find foreign TV programmes of a very high standard, in terms of programming, content and packaging, etc. Therefore, we have to catch up with foreign-made programmes. It is possible that after watching foreign programmes for some time they may not switch back to our local stations and be oblivious of what has been happening in Singapore.”
“I would like to urge MITA to also award the Outstanding Small Performing Arts Group, based on their performance and potential. The award can be in the form of cash grant, plus training opportunity. At present, most of the arts groups survive on a very lean budget. Funds and opportunities for training should be extended to the small arts groups, especially in the area of arts management.”
“Sir, the Government has increased funding for the arts. This is a very positive step forward for the arts scene in Singapore. At present, four established groups receive $2 million each, 17 smaller groups share another $2 million, with the remaining $2 million shared by another 60-odd groups. However, community-based and clan association-based groups are not eligible for funds from this scheme. This situation in funding does not acknowledge the important role the small groups play in forging cohesiveness as well as in promoting understanding among groups of different cultural backgrounds. With a very small population in Singapore, it is very difficult for performing groups to solely rely on its own community to survive, not to say flourish. Without a vibrant arts scene at the grassroots level, it would be difficult for Singapore to cultivate arts as an integral part of every Singaporean's life, the foundation for a Renaissance City. However, we have been very fortunate to have a group of successful Singaporeans who are also strong arts supporters. It is this group of arts supporters who have been contributing to the small groups. And each year, the National Arts Council confers its prestigious Patron of the Arts Awards, Friends of the Arts Awards and Associate of the Arts Awards to those who contribute $50,000 and more. The supporters of the small groups have been neglected. Sir, I am glad that the NAC launched the New Arts Supporters Award this year to recognise this group of sponsors who have contributed less than $50,000 towards the promotion and organisation of the artistic activities. The contribution of this group of small time supporters has not been recognised for a long, long time. However, it is better late than never.”
“As the Finance Minister said, "Every Singaporean can continue to play a role in our new economy." Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget Statement by the Finance Minister.”
“I can give you hundreds of other examples to illustrate how we could encourage Singaporeans, especially the older Singaporeans, to take part in lifelong learning. I hope that in the new Budget, the Minister for Finance could consider allocating some funds to encourage employers to employ workers who have undergone retraining, that is, those workers who have migrated from the old economy to the new economy. I also wish that while emphasising the new economy, the Government should also simultaneously tell all Singaporeans that any service or product which brings about better results through creative measures will be needed by the new economy. Let me give you another illustration. Our public bus service conveys some 2 million passenger-trips every day, about half of our population. Buses spur on our economy, our new economy. If the buses do not move, our economy will be affected. As such, the bus service industry is also part of the new economy. Can we not conduct various training schemes through the Government to attract more workers who are affected by the economic transformation to turn to the bus service industry? I understand that many years ago, SBS attempted to promote a bus driver training scheme, but the response was not encouraging. If we can repackage this scheme, it should be able to help some Singaporeans who are affected by the economic transformation. Let them obtain a Class 4 licence which costs some $1,000. This will also help to alleviate the problem of shortage in bus drivers. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am citing all these examples to illustrate the fact that apart from computer technology, our essentials in life, such as clothing, food, accommodation and transportation, can also be part of the new economy.”
“But, instant noodle is also a product of the new economy because it is continuously innovating, and new types of products, new flavours and new packaging are emerging every day. We have now the cup noodle and the bowl noodle. In other words, we do not need to have a cup or a bowl to enjoy a meal of delicious instant noodle. How creative! Instant noodle is sold all over the world, even taking to the sky. When we are hungry while taking a long haul aircraft, we can simply ask the air hostess for a cup of instant noodles. Instant noodle can take to the sky because it is convenient and innovative. Instant noodle is part of the new economy. Our Singaporean popiah, kuehs, satay and roti prata can also fit into the new economy. If we can be more creative to make the production of these delicacies more economical, tastier, more "instant-cooking", they can become a part of the new economy. If they can be like the instant noodle selling to all over the world, then they are part of the new economy! I am glad to see that our "Ti Yi Jia" popiah has stepped out of Singapore. Our Bengawan Solo has set up retail outlets at Changi Airport so that tourists can bring our Singapore brand home. These are products of the new economy! Therefore, I hope that when the Ministry of the Environment and the HDB upgrade their hawker centres, markets and neighbourhood shops, they would create opportunities for creative Singaporeans to start up not only in their HDB flats, but also in our markets and shops, and extend the benefits of the "Creativity Fund" to them. Let the ordinary folks see that when computer technology which is essential to the new economy is creatively applied to our daily lives, it can make life better for everyone. This is only an example.”
“We should let everyone know that the objective of lifelong learning is to enable our workers to tackle the challenges of the new economy, that is, to have a job in the new economy and to lead a good life. Many workers have this worry: they thought that "new economy" means computer technology, companies reform and restructure, and hence more retrenchments. Then, they may lose their jobs. To undergo retraining, they fear it may be a case of "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak". Therefore, during the transitional period of migrating to a new economy, the Government should give them not only the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund but also the lifelong learning confidence. Tell them, "The new economy is actually built upon the foundation of the old economy. The new economy is not just computer technology, life sciences. It also includes the essentials of our daily lives." The new economy is to solve the problems of our daily lives in more innovative ways, to improve our quality of life, and to let us lead better lives. Let me give you an example. I believe everyone of us must have taken instant noodles. I believe every family must have stored some instant noodles at home. In fact, many people are storing some packets of instant noodles in their office to tackle the challenges brought about by working in the new economy. The instant noodle was invented in the 1950s by Ando Momofuku of Japan. He is already 94 years old today. This was the first chicken ramen invented by him in the 50s. The instant noodle is a product of the old economy. It enables us to eat a bowl of steaming hot and stomach-filling noodle very quickly, and it is cheap.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in his Budget Statement, Finance Minister Dr Richard Hu described this as the most generous and unprecedented Budget. This Budget is not only generous, but is thought of by many as being more generous than expected. My personal view is that the generosity of the Finance Minister is a principled and creative one. It is intended to relieve the people from hardship, reassuring the people, pro-business and maintaining competitiveness. Just now, the Member for Potong Pasir said that this was an "election year" Budget. I think we can only say it is a budget which is presented close to an election year. Utilities, service and conservancy charges rebates will serve to relieve the hardship of the lower-income group. Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund, Eldercare Fund and Medical Endowment Fund serve to reassure the people. The various tax rebates and reductions will not only benefit the business community but also reaffirm their competitiveness. Yet, the most touching part of his Budget Statement, particularly to the lower and middle income workers who are apprehensive under the impact of the new economy, is the following statement, "This year's Budget emphasises how to help every worker to pull through this difficult but necessary economic transformation." The Minister also said that in the next 10 to 15 years we need to have a workforce comprising at least 65% workers who have received secondary education and above. Yet, in 1999, we had only 35% of our workforce with secondary education. The Government has allocated another $500 million to the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund. The Fund has now $2 billion. As this Fund will eventually be topped up to $5 billion, our challenge now is how to mobilise every Singaporean to participate in lifelong learning.”
“It has been observed that while most of our young people can do their job very well there are many who do not know how to conduct themselves properly. They are very strong in their jobs but when they are facing a crisis and handling human relations, marriage and parenthood, they are not so strong. We must have some programmes for social and personal cultivation to teach them how to be a man. The second point is that there is no specific explanation on the cost of setting up the infrastructure. We know that we are aiming at all Singaporeans, including people living in HDB estates. So the best places would be the CCCs, the CCs and the RCs. In order for these CCs and RCs to be able to make available their facilities, they will have to find money. If they have to raise funds for such facilities, then it would slow down the process. For example, if a community centre or community club wants to start computer classes, they will have to raise funds of $10,000, $100,000 or whatever. To cater for National Education, all the basic infrastructure costs should be subsidised. I also suggest that in assessing applications for subsidies, they should also allow the residents to enjoy the benefits under the Skills Development Fund. We all know of the song "We must slog in order to win", but I think when you slog you may not necessarily win. So in order to win, they must have new skills and new knowledge. They must learn new skills and new knowledge so that they will be able to win. So we must learn in order to win.”
“They learn and adapt the various strategies from Sun Tze. So they all learn and win all life long. We must inject this spirit into the concept of lifelong learning. It is good that we have this Bill before us. I support this Bill. But there are two points I wish to raise with the Minister for his clarification. First, in this Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund, the stress is on enhanced employability. That is the emphasis - enhanced employability. So the emphasis is on skills. But there is no mention of the word "knowledge" in the Bill. I feel that lifelong learning should not be confined to the skills level. It should also be extended to the knowledge level so that when we encourage Singaporeans to go for lifelong learning, aside from skills enhancement, we also encourage them to enhance their knowledge. To acquire more knowledge, we must teach people not only how to do a job but how to be a man. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, older people have this worry that after Singapore becomes globalised, they would lose their jobs, as there may not be jobs for them to do. So this Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund Bill is a shot in the arm for them so that they will be able to learn more skills to make it easier for them to secure jobs. It is very painful to have the skills without a job. So I feel that when we subsidise these older people for training, we have to be more liberal with their choice of training programmes. In terms of the language of instruction, it should not be confined to English only. The Ministry of Manpower should also have a package so that these older people would be given some kind of special treatment. We must teach every Singaporean not only how to do a job but also how to be a man.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that with money, time and energy, many things can be done. But many people often feel that they have not enough time, not enough money, and not enough energy, and so they could not do anything. During the dialogue sessions with our workers, I observe that many young workers are not willing to go for training because they claim that they do not have enough time. They want to spend their time working overtime in order to earn more money. In the meantime, the middle-aged workers would say that they have family commitments, and not enough money. As for the older workers, they have time and money, but no energy to go for training. On the other hand, the workers who are undergoing training have money, time, and energy to undergo all the training that they want. So the crux of the matter is the workers must understand that whether they are old, middle-aged or young, they do have the time, money and energy to undergo some training. The Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund is the manifestation of the Government's re-affirmation of the spirit of lifelong learning. Whether you are old, young or middle-aged, you can always find time, money and energy to undergo some form of training. As a matter of fact, lifelong learning is not a new expression that emerges with the New Economy. When we are young, we must learn. We must keep on learning for so long as we are alive. For my generation of Chinese-educated Singaporeans, we learnt in school the Chinese phonetic symbols, English, computers, Hanyu Pinyin and the Internet. So if we do not carry on learning and making ourselves relevant to the times, we will be the losers for the rest of our lives. Today, successful businessmen all know that the marketplace is like a battlefield.”
“There is a Chinese saying to the effect that when you encounter difficulties, you make changes and look for alternatives. Once you find the right alternative, the problem is solved. In other words, we make changes when there are difficulties. Even when we have started implementation, we have to make changes to adapt to the new circumstances. Mr Chiam See Tong alleged that almost all members in the Committee are PAP Members. I do not agree with him. If he bothers to read this Report of the Committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore, he will see that more than half of the members constituting the Committee are educationists. Even for the Members of Parliament who are in the Committee, we represent different communities in our society. For example, Mr Hawazi represents the Malay community and I represent the Chinese community. In implementing Compulsory Education, the emphasis of the Ministry of Education should be on how to reduce the attrition rate in the secondary schools and the tertiary institutions. We always lament the lack of talents and emphasise that everybody has opportunities to improve themselves in Singapore. Compulsory Education will ensure that every Singapore student has an equal opportunity to be educated to meet with the challenges of the new economy. So, if the Ministry of Education can do something to reduce the attrition rate in the secondary and tertiary levels, then more people will benefit from the system. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Most of the representatives of the Chinese community in the dialogue session felt that we should not be too harsh with parents who violated the provisions under the Compulsory Education Act. We should look into the circumstances of each and every case. If the children do not wish to study, there is nothing their parents, the principal and even the police could do to confine them in the school. Therefore, it is no point setting up an impractical target. I think we should have a more realistic target. I support the recommendation of six years' Compulsory Education. The emergence of the new economy is affecting every sector of our society. Those who are not adequately equipped are blaming themselves for not having enough education, and life is difficult for them. Yet, in the new economy, even if we are well educated, we are not guaranteed a good job. The computer, the Internet and information technology have changed our whole competitive environment. In the past, we said that Government policies changed very fast - "One small change every three years, and one big change every five years." But now, in the IT era, changes are taking place every day. The new environment is changing very rapidly. Compulsory Education will be implemented in Singapore in three years' time. By that time we cannot predict what will be the competitive environment then. But one thing we can say for sure is that if our younger generation of students do not have the basic knowledge in mathematics, English and science, they will not be able to cope with the many challenges in the new economy. Therefore, I suggest that when the Ministry of Education start to implement Compulsory Education, they should also anticipate the problems that will follow the implementation.”
“As such, when we are talking about Compulsory Education, our main concern is on the 3% who are not receiving formal education under our mainstream education, and how they are going to face the future challenges in the new economy. Sir, I support the Bill and the recommendation of the Committee on Compulsory Education that those attending the madrasahs and San Yu Adventist School be exempted from Compulsory Education. In a multi-racial and multi-religious society, racial harmony and inter-religious tolerance have to be exercised. This has been entrenched in the recommendation of the Committee. I think Compulsory Education of six years is practical, not 10 years or 12 years. The reason is very simple, because we are a progressive society. We are upgrading ourselves all the time. As it is, only 3% of each cohort failed to register for places in the primary schools in Singapore. There are actually more than 80% in each cohort who go all the way to complete their secondary education, and more than 60% completed their tertiary education. It is envisaged that these percentages will be further improved every year. A small group of students drop out after primary school. They either do not want to study or lack the ability to do so. If we force them to remain in school, there will be a lot of difficulties administratively and in the enforcement of discipline on them. This is one consideration of the Committee when debating on this matter. The vast majority of families in Singapore support Compulsory Education. In a feedback dialogue session that I conducted, most of the people feel that there should be 6 to 10 years of Compulsory Education. Nominated Member Mr Tay Beng Chuan has suggested 10 years. I believe this is the collective view of the Chinese community in Singapore.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, nowadays, it is trendy for people to talk about the "new economy". Every day, in the newspapers, we read a lot of reports or articles on the new economy. Recently, I read in the newspapers that Dr Tan Chin Nam, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Manpower described this era as the "new economy era", one which requires a high degree of transparency and a brand-new environment to get things done. It is under this new environment that we are debating here on the question of Compulsory Education. For many foreigners who do not know Singapore well, they think that we are very backward and remote. They may think that many children in Singapore are not attending school and that is why the Government has to introduce Compulsory Education now. In fact, we have 97% of students in every cohort registering for enrolment to the primary schools. This percentage is comparable to Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan which have introduced compulsory education many, many years ago. In the Chinese community in Singapore, many people told me that they thought there was already Compulsory Education in Singapore. They feel that it is not necessary to introduce legislation to make education for children compulsory in Singapore. As a matter of fact, in Singapore, most parents have brought upon themselves to see to it that their children not only go to a good primary school, but even to a renowned kindergarten before that. It is not uncommon to see many parents queuing up overnight to get a place for their children in the more popular kindergartens.”
“While waiting in the holding room to board the aeroplane, I saw a group of labourers from that country who came to Singapore illegally to work, and had to be repatriated after being found out by the authority. Our workers understand that if we do not have a good Government and good civil servants, they may face the same predicament. However, many workers, particularly those in the middle and lower income group, are perplexed as to why many charges are being adjusted upwards before their wages are adjusted and their CPF contributions are not fully restored. With the revision of salaries of civil servants, will it bring about another round of high-salary war when the private sector boosts up its offers in order to lure the best talents to its fold? I hope that the Government will monitor closely the development in this aspect, as well as the feelings of the people.”
“They not only saw to it that these old people get the money immediately, but also deployed extra helpers to move some chairs over for these old people to sit on and treated them very well. They have certainly put to full play the well-intentioned policy of the Government in a most vivid manner. Otherwise, even a good policy can turn out to be one detested by the people. The Service Improvement Unit appointed by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has been actively monitoring the service standard of the various Government departments, and proposed many people-friendly services. Being a member of the monitoring unit, I am personally aware of many efforts put in by the civil service in this aspect always with the interest of the people at heart. While supporting the revision of salaries for civil servants, I would also urge the Government not to forget the workers who may be drop-outs in our new economic system. We know that skill upgrading is the best security for our workers. However, many older workers have difficulty upgrading their skills. I hope that our Government would review the various policies, so as to be more focused on how to help these workers who cannot keep pace with the rapid changes in our economic system, in order that these older workers could also have a stake in our prosperity. The people of Singapore generally understand and accept the principle of "competitive salaries for competent and honest Government". The workers of Singapore also understand that without a good Government and highly efficient civil servants, we will not be able to attract foreign investments and create job opportunities for our people. Last month, I went with a group of trade unionists to a neighbouring country to attend a conference.”
“The many excellent policies of the government cannot be effectively implemented. In another country, there is a perfect civil service system. The civil service is stronger and more powerful than the government. The government is at the mercy of the civil servants, and is entangled by money politics. Likewise, the people suffer. On the other hand, although we have a team of highly efficient civil servants, there are times when too much emphasis is placed on efficiency at the expense of humanity. They have sacrificed the "human touch". As such, while I support paying good civil servants handsomely, I also urge the Government to strongly promote the plan to send civil servants to the community to feel the pulse of the ground. They must touch the ground, so that they can understand the feelings of the people. In implementing its policies, the People's Action Party Government should make the people feel that the action is for the good of the people. Touch their hearts. This is what we call the "heartware". Under the system of the new economy, the income gap between the top earners and the low-income group tends to become wider and wider. This is inevitable. We must let the people understand that for all the policies of the Government, interest of the people is always the prime consideration. In this aspect, I wish to commend the performance of the CPF Board. According to a report of Lianhe Zaobao on 5th April, some 7,000 senior citizens, influenced by a certain rumour, rushed to the CPF Board to collect $250 because they were under the impression that they might not get the money if they were to go there late. The staff from CPF Board manifested their care and concern for these old folks.”
“The people of Singapore want to have a good Government, one that is of high integrity, one that is honest. As such, in 1994 when Parliament debated the salaries for the Ministers, our emphasis was on "Competitive Salaries for Competent and Honest Government". I feel that even in this new economy of today, this principle remains unchanged. Today, as we re-debate this issue, DPM Lee introduced a more practical and relevant formula. As the Ministers' salaries are equated to the 206th and 367th ranking among the top earners in the private sector, I would be grateful if DPM Lee could enlighten us as to what professions these corresponding personnel in the private sector come from. If the top management staff from more professions and more corporations are drawing this level of salaries, then our people will have a better understanding and will be more willing to accept it. Our Ministers would have no difficulty handling the types of jobs, and there is no reason why they should not be remunerated as well as the chief executive officers in the private sector. On this principle, we should also want to "cherish our talents, value our talents and cultivate our talents". We want not only a honest and far-sighted Government, but also capable and efficient civil servants. These are the wishes of the people of Singapore. We are fortunate to have both a good Government and a very efficient civil service. This is indeed most commendable. As we know, in a certain country, although the central government has absolute power, the local government officials do not observe the rules as they are too far away from the controlling authority. The officials collude with the rich businessmen and the people are the ones who suffer.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in the past, civil servants gave people the typical impression that they were eating from an "iron rice bowl" that could not be broken, and the senior Administrative Officers were holding "golden rice bowls". Today, when we debate on the revision of the salaries of civil servants, is this an implication that more "iron rice bowls" would be turning into "golden rice bowls"? If we look at the major reforms to the civil service in recent years, with all the privatisation and corporatisation, we will find that the various personnel incentive policies given to the civil service are gradually approaching those in the private sector. This is inevitable. The main reason is, in this era of globalisation and new economy, not only the various countries are competing for talents, the public sector and the private sector are also competing for talents and brainpower. The Government must ensure that the civil servants, who are charged with the extremely heavy responsibility of formulating and implementing public policies, are of the best calibre. They must be better than those personnel in the private sector. In order to attain this fundamental condition, these top civil servants must be rewarded according to their performance and even be remunerated substantially. Just now, DPM Lee mentioned that the PSL job cannot be permanent. They can only hold the office for 10 years. This is a breakthrough. It is a compromise between the "iron rice bowl" system and the high remuneration policy. Perhaps we should change the title of "Permanent Secretary", lest it gives people the impression that the office of permanent secretary is so permanent that they continue to hold the office forever.”
“I support this as this will give the affected HDB blocks a more realistic chance of achieving the minimum 75% vote as only flat owners who will benefit directly from the works will vote and pay for it. However, the residents are concerned about the cost of sharing as it may be too high that they cannot afford. The Minister did not mention the percentage. Thus, I would like to urge the Minister to set a lower ratio so that the owners need to pay, say, 15% to 20%, instead of the normal 30% for the additional upgrading item, especially if they opt for a new lift. Sir, I support the Amendment Bill.”
“For emergency, it is the green button. Normally, we do not press this button. Sir, HDB's existing lift upgrading criterion is that each new lift landing must serve at least four dwelling units. This has caused disappointment and unhappiness to residents of 4-room segmented blocks as there are only two units in each of the segment on every floor. Residents are of the view that they should benefit from the new lift landings at every floor if there is already a lift and should not be deprived of it just because the proposed lift landings cannot comply with the criterion. During my meet-the-people sessions, there have been several requests from senior citizens or families with aged parents of swapping their flats with those on the floor where there is a lift landing. I must commend Mr Mah for moving this amendment. As Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Ageing Population, he is in the best position to understand the frustration and disappointment of residents who cannot enjoy easy access to the lift due to the existing regulations. It is timely that we made these amendments to meet the needs of an ageing population. It will be too late if we do not make this amendment in time as such segmented blocks constitute 22% of all the high-rise blocks built by HDB. More and more of these blocks will undergo the Main Upgrading Programme. Though similar blocks in the earlier MUPs were not given the full lift upgrading, it cannot justify that all other segmented blocks should not be given full lift upgrading just because the earlier blocks could not. The Bill empowers HDB to carry out selective polling and payment for special upgrading works.”
“It is just meant for the door to open or close. An hon. Member: What about emergency?”
“Sir, most Members in this House must have heard about this IQ question: A man who stays on the 12th storey of a flat always takes the lift up to the 9th storey and walks up three storeys to his flat. However, when he leaves for work every morning, he always takes the lift on the floor where he stays, ie, the 12th storey. Why? The answer is that the man is short, not tall enough to press the upper button. He can only press the lower button so he can reach only the 9th storey. But in many of our mature housing estates, many residents living on the upper floors are doing exactly the same as the short man though they are not short. Why? It is because our lifts do not reach the top floor. Our lifts do not stop on every floor either. Thus, residents living on the upper floors have to walk up or down a few storeys to take the lift. This is especially so for residents of the 4-room segmented blocks. Due to structural constraint, some need to go a few storeys down to the common corridor floor, and walk past a few units to take the lift; as not all staircases are equipped with a lift. As a standard, only two lifts are provided in a block where there are five pairs of staircases. Thus, residents wish that a new lift can be added to the segment. As a result, when we urge residents to vote "yes" for the Main Upgrading Programme, the most frequently asked question is, "Will the new lift stop on every floor?" or "Will there be a new lift in our segment?" Residents also comment that in the lift that serves a 12-storey block, we normally can find only five buttons. The buttons numbered "5" and "9" are to enable you to reach the 5th floor and the 9th floor. And one more button is for everyone to go down. The other two buttons do not bring you up or down.”
“Sir, POSBank brought over to DBS a deposit base of more than $20 billion. So if DBS makes a 1% differential, the profit per year will be $200 million. So how can DBS say that they are losing money on POSBank accounts? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Sir, DBS said POSBank was profitable. So, if DBS takes over POSBank, at the very least, DBS should not make it unprofitable. But that does not mean all the POSBank accounts were profitable. As I have explained, most of the POSBank accounts - even when it was with POSBank - three quarters of their accounts were not profitable, losing money. And if DBS takes over, it has to progressively rationalise this and that is what DBS has done. It is not possible for the bank to say, "I will provide these services completely for free." Nearly every bank in the world will have a certain degree of cross-subsidy between the bigger accounts and the smaller accounts because there is a benefit to the bank of having a catchment of customers, and of having people whom you can potentially do other business with. You can sell him insurance, unit trusts or you can do something else for him, if he needs to buy a bank draft or to transfer some money. So it is worth the bank's while to carry some of these accounts which are not profitable. But it is a question of degree - how much you can afford to lose on each of the accounts and what is sensible. And I think DBS has decided that zero-dollar charge is not sensible. All the other banks have already decided this, not just the local banks, but even the foreign banks. So they have decided that with $2, they still lose money, but they lose a little bit less, and because they lose a little less, they are a little bit less unhappy.”
“With this offer, the affected employees can decide what they want to do with the money. One way is for them to buy medical insurance to cover for their old age. As the Government is likely to conduct more such conversion exercises in future, each conversion exercise will affect an increasing number of older workers who, in turn, would feel a greater need for medical benefits. And each time a conversion exercise takes place, unhappiness associated with the loss of option would arise. This has been so for the exercises involving TAS, NParks, Singapore Power, SBA and LTA. The gesture on the part of the PPD to offer an attractive package is appreciated. It can serve as a good reference for future conversion exercises. It also shows that the Ministry concerned needs to be careful to ensure equitable treatment between different groups covered by the same exercise. In this case, it is a comparison between pensionable and non-pensionable officers. As the profile of our workforce is changing, aging, in particular, will increase the desire for medical benefits over time. Hence, rules that impinge on such privileges will increasingly become a cause for anxiety among the workers. Thus, I would like to urge the Public Service Department to be more pragmatic and creative in interpreting rules and regulations with its sophisticated software, expensive hardware and the much needed "heartware" under the Singapore 21 vision. Policies and rules cannot always be mechanically applied, following precedent.”
“Sir, the Primary Production Department (PPD) will be converted into a statutory board on 1st April 2000. The main concern of the affected officers is the terms of transfer of employment. As many as 333 non-pensionable officers crossing over to the statutory board will lose their option to convert back to pension upon retirement under section 6(d) of the Pensions Act. They are mainly worried about their post retirement medical benefits. In the past few months, the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) had several discussions with officials from the Ministry of National Development and PPD over the details of the conversion exercise and hoped to resolve this issue of perceived inequity. Section 6(d) of the Pensions Act allows any non-pensionable officer in service before 7th December 1984 to return his excess CPF contributions at the point of his retirement from the civil service and claim pension benefits from the Government. However, in December 1984, the Government acted to contain its liabilities by restricting it to serving officers only. Thus, officers affected in this exercise have no choice but to cross over and, in so doing, lose the option. The option has become more attractive with the rising medical costs. Pensionable officers crossing over to a statutory board get to retain their pension benefits in full. This is the perceived inequity. We are glad that the new statutory board intends to make it attractive to the employees concerned to join the board. We welcome PPD's initiative to offer an attractive package to solve this problem for those who convert. I understand that this offer is now pending approval from PSD or MOF, and I urge the two departments to be supportive as it will be a win-win solution for all.”