Sharael Taha
Singapore
“L, link regional ecosystems. O, we orchestrate with AI and frontier technologies. And W, we win by creating greater economic value, better jobs and better lives for Singaporeans. For the past 60 years, Singapore mastered the movement of ships. Then we mastered the movement of aircraft. Today, we are mastering the movement of data.”
“This is a test of our social compact, a compact that must now be renewed for a new era where businesses commit to not just profits but to people, where workers commit to not just jobs, but to lifelong growth, and where the Government continues to stand with both, ensuring that no one is left behind.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to thank Minister Tan for sharing the dual fuel nature of our power plants. My supplementary question is how quick is this switching? Can it manage the volatility, especially this unprecedented volatility? And do we need to re-optimise our power plants to manage our energy generation resilience?”
“Thank you, Chairman. Chairman, the Rail Reliability Taskforce has set out clear recommendations – accelerate renewal of ageing core systems, including train signalling and traction power, strengthen backup and resilience measures, improve asset management and spare part planning, deepen workforce capabilities and enhance commuter communic…”
“Thank you, Chairman. I thank the Minister and the political office holders for their comprehensive response. I have a few supplementary questions. I believe the Minister did not get an opportunity to address my cut on the role of NAIC. What precisely is its role?”
“Okay. Mr Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, Minister of State Rahayu, Minister of State Jasmin Lau and the Permanent Secretary of MDDI, and the whole MDDI team for the responses and the great work that they do.”
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“The Jobs-Skills Integrator pilot in precision engineering, retail and wholesale trade is a positive step towards this goal, but how do we speed up this pace of rollout to other industries? To navigate the economic headwinds, Singapore needs to stay united and work together between the Government, business, unions and workers. The tripartite partnership between the Ministry, the unions and employers is unique and must be leveraged. The focus should be on protecting workers and preparing them with the skills required in the evolving economy rather than protecting jobs that may no longer be relevant. It is thus essential to strengthen the tripartite alliance to avoid the breakdown of trust and disastrous consequences seen in other countries. Secondly, Mdm President has highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened social capital among Singaporeans and strengthened the sense of being Singaporean. We have shown much care and compassion to each other, acting as concerned citizens helping one another in the face of incredible adversity. We should not let this deepened unity dissipate with the decreased threat of the pandemic and instead, we should harness to expand opportunities for all citizens at every significant stage of life. Mr Speaker, education remains a key lever in nurturing and shaping our future, providing opportunities for all. To ensure equity, we need to mitigate the negative impact of meritocracy by prioritising the distribution of need, where the less well-off gets added resource and support to help them. We must also re-evaluate how we value skills and qualities beyond academic achievements, such that those more skilled with their hands or who are empathetic and employed in community service are also equally rewarded.”
“Staying united and working together is key, with the Government nudging businesses in the right direction but not fostering a sense of dependency. Businesses must be willing to pivot and transform, workers must upskill and retrain, and unions must work together to seek opportunities. In the era of disruptive innovation with artificial intelligence (AI), Industry 4.0, and new business models, stakeholders must focus on working together to maximise opportunities for all. Businesses must be proactive in finding opportunities. They should focus on improving productivity, attaining new capabilities and driving best value instead of depressing wages to remain competitive. Businesses and workers must work together to remain agile. Businesses must invest in developing talent and skills, unlocking new areas of growth. Wage growth must be accompanied by productivity growth, otherwise, it will just increase the cost of doing business, leading to less competitive businesses. The expansion of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) into other industries and the topping up of the National Productivity Fund with $4 billion is encouraging, but for the National Productivity Fund, how do we ensure the funds are effectively used to drive productivity improvements that will help lower the real cost of doing businesses? There will be times that despite productivity improvements, we must be being prepared to pivot, change business models or exit non-competitive businesses. To avoid structural unemployment due to skills mismatch, workers must also be comfortable and confident to retrain seamlessly into growing industries.”
“Secondly, it requires a whole societal approach and it is our collective responsibility to create real and sustainable opportunities for vulnerable groups such as seniors, persons with disabilities, caregivers and special needs workers. Allow me to elaborate on my first point, which I have shared in previous speeches. Singapore faces challenges in maintaining global competitiveness due to geopolitical uncertainties, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rivalry between the US and China, which can impact global trade and economic growth. Major powers prioritising their own advantage instead of promoting interdependence and multilateralism also pose a challenge to Singapore's position in the global economy. The high labour cost in Singapore and high inflation globally have increased the cost of doing business. Additionally, the tight labour market has made it challenging for businesses to attract and retain talent, posing a significant challenge for many industries. The business landscape in Singapore is facing additional challenges, including the impending increase in carbon tax and the implementation of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 initiative. These challenges, along with existing cost pressures, make it more expensive for businesses to operate in Singapore. Furthermore, the US and other countries are offering aggressive tax breaks and subsidies to attract investments and revitalising their domestic manufacturing, which poses competition for Singapore. To remain globally competitive, Singapore must reposition itself and find new opportunities amid economic headwinds. This requires being nimble and agile, responding quickly to new challenges and seeking new opportunities.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Motion of Thanks to Mdm President. Before I touch on my two points, I would like to respond to Mr Faisal Manap's speech earlier. Mr Speaker, in Malay, please. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In his speech, he said that one of the characteristics of good democracy is that we must be able to agree to disagree. I agree with that, and I respect that because among the PAP Members of Parliament (MPs), there are also differences in opinions with one another. On the issue of the repeal of section 377A and strengthening the definition of family, each Workers’ Party (WP) member took a different position based on the principle of “agreeing to disagree”. The debate on section 377A was a very sensitive one. A leader’s responsibility is not just about opening up space for disagreement. We are also responsible for uniting people with different opinions, move forward and not become divided. It is not just about them expressing different opinions. Therefore, although I agree with what he said about “agree to disagree”, that is simply half of the truth. We cannot shirk our responsibility as MPs. After debating, we make the best decision to enable everyone to move forward. Not to become divided but to stay united. Nonetheless, the most glaring point is not about an incomplete principle. In his speech, I did not hear him highlight an equally important principle in Parliament. It is the principle of integrity and honesty – honesty to the Parliament, to the people and to the nation. (In English): I would like to come back to my speech and touch on my two points. Firstly, amid economic challenges, the Government, businesses and workers must stay united to remain globally competitive and provide good jobs for our people.”
“Mr Speaker, I support the Motion and once again would like to express our deepest gratitude to all in Singapore for contributing to our nation's fight against COVID-19. Majulah Singapura.”
“However, there is an eighth lesson that is equally important and also mentioned by fellow Member Mr Seah Kian Peng – a lesson that is hard to pen down, that cannot be taught in textbooks but only learnt. It is the need to anchor, strengthen and build upon the values of our society. While it is essential to work on infrastructure, supply chain and policies to make us more resilient, these efforts will be futile if we do not stay united as a society and exhibit the values that have made us stronger during this challenging period. It is critical to recognise that the next pandemic is not a question of "if" but "when" it will happen and Disease X may be even more dangerous than COVID-19. Therefore, we must use the same values to guide us not only through the next pandemic but also through other challenges in our volatile and uncertain world. These values will help us to transform our economy and ensure inclusive growth, providing equal opportunities for everyone. It is too easy to forget these values of our society. Left to chance and on its own, it may deteriorate with time. When the next pandemic comes, we may not be able to rally together as a society. COVID-19 is often described as the crisis of our generation. However, given the volatility of the world today, it may not be the only crisis for our generation. While we reflect on our policies and actions during COVID-19 and learn and improve for the next pandemic, beyond policies and actions, it is also through anchoring, strengthening and building upon the values of our society that we have shown during the pandemic, trust, care for one another, understanding towards each other, resilience, grit, agility and perseverance that will prepare our society for the next pandemic ahead.”
“Our Malay/Muslim community also exhibited commendable qualities during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Many cooperated with various parties to help the needy in this challenging environment. For example, the SGBukaPuasa initiative has distributed more than 300,000 food rations to needy residents throughout the month of Ramadan. Spiritually, we did not let the COVID-19 crisis hamper our ability to perform religious obligations. In fact, we used this opportunity to look for innovative solutions such as performing congregational prayers under SMMs or implementing online classes for madrasah education and Quran reading. We also understood that religious practices can be adapted to safeguard the well-being of the general public. Finally, our patience and persistence have paid off and allowed us to emerge safely from this pandemic. While this achievement is certainly worth celebrating, we must also look to the future and prepare ourselves for the next pandemic. As the Malay proverb goes, "Prepare an umbrella before it rains" – we should also learn what works and what can be improved so that we are better prepared to overcome the next pandemic. I am confident that with Singaporeans’ ability to rally together, we will be able to overcome any challenges that may come our way. (In English): Mr Speaker, at this juncture, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to everyone in Singapore who had contributed and sacrificed in one way or another for the common good of all. Truly, it is only with each and everyone's effort and commitment to the cause were we able to pull through this crisis which, at times, seemed almost insurmountable. The paper highlights seven key lessons that we can learn from our experience through the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We moved between the circuit breaker, Phase 2, Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and the Stabilisation Phase. This required resilience from our society to stay the course. At times, we had to pivot to meet and overcome these new challenges. This was exemplified by various industries during the pandemic such as the aerospace industry, where airlines converted their aircraft to carry more cargo and airline workers moved to man vaccination centres or across different industries while upskilling and retraining themselves. The entire education sector had to adapt to home-based learning. Even religious practices had to make significant changes, such as suspending prayers and booking for prayers at mosques. These examples show the value of resilience and perseverance and how it had helped us to adapt to changing circumstances. Mr Speaker, in Malay, please. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, we have witnessed how the transmission of COVID-19 has drastically changed Singapore's environment. From the circuit breaker to Phase Three (Heightened Alert), to Phase Two and back to the Stabilisation Phase, we had to carefully shift these stages to ensure public safety is maintained and Singapore's healthcare system is not overburdened. Despite being faced with a challenging and uncertain situation, I was proud to see our community display resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the best memories that I recall fondly was when our community joined hands to support healthcare workers during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. From giving words of encouragement to driving them home from the hospital for free, the COVID-19 crisis has shown our ability to come together and help each other in critical times.”
“Grassroots volunteers such as Mdm Uma, Mr Raymond Phua, Mr Rajeev and Mr Charlie Cheong, all volunteers from Pasir Ris East, were among the first to offer food packs and rations to families who were quarantined at home. The community's efforts evolved into the Pasir Ris East Care Store, which continues to provide monthly assistance to needy residents. Additionally, SGUnited Buka Puasa delivered over 300,000 food rations to residents to break their Ramadan fast. Engineering Good provided laptops to children who had no access, so that these children could continue with remote learning. Together with the Government support, the unity and generosity of the community played a crucial role in providing sustenance during the pandemic. Beyond providing physical support, the community also prioritised mental health and digital connectivity during the pandemic. Volunteers and staff from the Silver Generation Office and Active Ageing Centres visited seniors who felt isolated to check on their well-being and to allay their fears about vaccination. Digital ambassadors were deployed to assist seniors in learning how to use technology such as Zoom, digital payments and WhatsApp to stay connected with loved ones. Proactive steps were taken to ensure that residents had the necessary mental and emotional support during the pandemic. Thirdly, our resilience as a society was integral in our ability to overcome the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, our journey through COVID-19 was far from smooth. At times, we had to re-evaluate SMMs just as they were loosened, such as when we combated the Delta and Omicron variants. Often, it felt as if we were forced to backpedal even as we thought we had forged ahead.”
“Workers in industries such as transportation, platform workers, aerospace and ports, and water and electricity industries, have played a crucial role in keeping our infrastructure running amid these challenging times. Besides the sacrifices of our workers, care for one another also meant helping those in need of financial support due to the financial challenges brought about by COVID-19. The Government's financial support for businesses, workers and individuals was unprecedented. The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), for example, helped businesses affected by the economic slowdown by paying for their workers' salaries, saving an estimated 165,000 jobs and reducing the unemployment rate. As someone from the aerospace industry, I personally witnessed how the JSS assisted companies to retain workers and allowed companies to use the downtime to reskill our workers. Individuals who lost their jobs or are self-employed also received support such as through the COVID-19 Support Grant and Self-Employed Person Income Relief, which provided up to $9,000 to support taxi drivers and platform hire workers and their families through the difficult times. The SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package also helped redeploy manpower to high-demand areas. For example, I remember how, with the facilitation by MOM and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) staff, aerospace workers were reskilled and redeployed to the busy electronics industry. To help deliver this support, grassroots and union leaders like Ms Jobie Lee from Pasir Ris went online to raise awareness for these support measures. During the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Pasir Ris, it was the community that stepped up to provide sustenance to those in need.”
“Compliance with Safe Management Measures (SMMs) and guidelines was essential, and it became everyone's responsibility to practice basic hygiene for the greater good. Additionally, when the guidelines changed during the pandemic, such as group size, distancing and mask wearing, we trusted the view of experts and adapted quickly. At work, new requirements were implemented due to the pandemic. Staff had to be split into two teams to minimise contact between employees. In factories, even during breaks, workers had to be separated from one another. Additionally, masks had to be worn by those in high-risk jobs, such as those for our delivery workers. In many other countries, even basic needs, such as the wearing of masks, became highly contentious and heavily politicised issues. Thankfully, this was not the case here. We trusted the advice of experts and implemented necessary measures without delay. By doing so, we were able to move forward without losing valuable time and energy on unnecessary debates. Secondly, caring for each other was crucial during the pandemic, where we witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of care for one another. The pandemic has brought to light the sacrifices that workers make to support society. Among them are healthcare workers who continued to serve tirelessly even during the early days when little was understood about the virus. As the number of cases increased, healthcare workers put in longer hours to ensure our healthcare facilities were not going to get overwhelmed. In addition to healthcare workers, our essential workers, driven by a sense of responsibility, have also made numerous sacrifices to continue serving society despite their own reservations and even those of their families.”
“Mr Speaker, in the past three years, we have battled for lives and livelihoods due to the pandemic. The scale of this pandemic should not be forgotten. Over 6.6 million lives were lost globally, including 1,331 in Singapore. The global economy took a severe hit. Our country's economy contracted by 4.4% and suffered its worst recession since Independence. Several industries such as aviation, hospitality and the aerospace industry were brought to a literal standstill, threatening people's livelihoods. In 2019, 68.3 million passengers passed through Changi Airport. At the height of the pandemic, passenger traffic fell to its lowest levels ever, barely reaching 0.5% of 2019. These numbers paint a stark picture. The impact of COVID-19 was unprecedented in many ways. Streets, schools and offices were empty during the circuit breaker. People were separated from their loved ones during festivities such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali and Christmas. Even places of worship were empty as we all took the collective responsibility to stop the spread of this pandemic. It was indeed the crisis of our generation. The crisis tested our values as a society. It laid bare what we would be willing to do to support one another. Now that the pandemic has passed, it is an opportune moment to reflect on how we perform as a society and what values will we like to shape the future of our society. Three critical values that emerged during the pandemic were trust, care for each other and the resilience of society. Firstly, trust was essential during the pandemic, whether in each other or in the authorities and various agencies.”
“Thank you, Chairman. I would like to thank Minister Edwin Tong for clarifying the players from the SFAs, Sports School, Active SG, FA Football Academy and private clubs would be scouted and channelled to the National Development Centre and this would be the national framework to choose the best players for the national development centre. I have a few clarifications for Minister Tong. Are the scouted talents then taken out of their current academy or schools and placed into the National Development Centre or would they concurrently train in their current clubs and also the development centre? And given that the National Football Development Centre would comprise of youths aged between 13 to 17, will this cannablise the talent for Singapore Sports School and will they be playing in the National School Games (NSGs)? If not, will it dilute them, the quality of football in our National School Games? And when will we launch this development centre?”
“Chairman, currently, we have many pathways for our young football talents, such as ActiveSG Football Academy Development Centre, Unleash The Roar, Singapore Sports School, S-League Youth Teams under 12, under 14, under 16 national development squads and private clubs like Lion City Sailors. How will all these pathways fit to ensure that we have enough young talents playing together at the right level and standard? What is the progress of the teams from Unleash The Roar? Are they performing well in the national schools game? To support all the different talent development pipelines, there needs to be sufficient and proficient training, staff and coaches. How are we developing our coaching staff? Do we have the right quantity and quality of training staff and coaches? Are there enough development opportunities for our local coaches, such as training and overseas development? Singapore Football”
“I would like to thank Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad for sharing on the GIC scholarships. Is MENDAKI looking at more scholarships with the private sector, in order to create more stronger mentorship programmes for our Malay/Muslim youths?”
“M3@Pasir Ris-Punggol also launched BTS (Back To School) programme where kids from lower income families were provided with schooling essentials, textbook and connected to Mendaki Tuition Scheme. We will continue to monitor their academic performance over the year. All these initiatives to uplift the community is only possible through the efforts of its volunteers, who come from all walks of life. Some of them have benefitted from MENDAKI initiatives and programmes, such as scholarships, bursaries, awards presented to students for their achievements. How can we encourage more youth to join as volunteers and contribute back to the community? MENDAKI Educational Programmes for Youths”
“Thank you, Chairman. In Malay, please. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, a good education remains fundamental to helping both individuals and families achieve success and social mobility. Therefore, it is important for the youth to have access to education. While the more affluent have access to supplementary classes like private tuition, the lower income families may not be able to afford it. Hence, MENDAKI has played an important role in helping lower income Malay/Muslim children and youths in this regard. Good education begins from young and I am pleased that in 2018, MENDAKI launched the KelasMateMatika@CC to help parents guide their preschool children aged four to six years old on the basic numeracy concepts to prepare their children for primary school. For school-going children, students have MENDAKI Tuition Scheme which provides affordable tuition for as low as $10 a year for students who meet the eligibility criteria. How have MENDAKI programmes such as KelasMateMatika and the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme been successful in enabling our children and youths to fulfil their educational potential? Youth Volunteerism (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] At the M3 Forum held in February, we saw how the 11 M3 towns rolled out many initiatives to uplift the Malay/Muslim community. As each town has different demographics and is unique, M3 volunteers have tweaked and designed programmes around the four Focus Areas to meet the needs of our community in the towns. M3@Pasir Ris-Punggol for example, have launched 12 new programmes last year such as HashTech and Learning journey where youths were mentored by professionals in the technology and engineering industry to expose our youths so that they develop skills required in the growth industries.”
“Update on Flexible Work Arrangements I am heartened to see that while we work towards growing our economy and equipping our workers with the right skill sets, we are also focusing on strengthening our social compact by ensuring growth is inclusive and we have work-life balance for workers in mind. Anecdotally, through interactions with residents in Pasir Ris, it seems that post-pandemic, a small percentage of workers are either working entirely from home or are going back to work every weekday and the larger proportion of our PMET workforce are on a three plus two or two plus three arrangements of working remotely and working from office. Does the Ministry have any indicators of the percentage of businesses practising remote working, especially for SMEs as there are many friction points in FWAs between employer and employee, such as working hours, hours of working week and performance assessment, just to name. Has the number of complaints of perceived unfairness brought about by FWAs increase? What is the progress of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements and other elements that can be implemented earlier?”
“Thank you, Chairman. Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) can take the form of flexi-time, flexi-place and flexi-load. FWAs, together with job redesign, can unlock employment opportunities for seniors, persons with disabilities (PwDs), part-time workers and caregivers. For example, call centre operators or help desk providers can be done remotely via FWAs and this can create opportunities for seniors, PwDs and part-time workers. Another possibility is to fund training for seniors to be trained as trainers to impart their knowledge to the industry. Given our ageing population and more of our seniors wanting to find employment although at a slower pace, how do we create structural employment opportunities for seniors through job redesign? Similarly, how can we create structural employment opportunities for PwDs? In Pasir Ris, we have a few families with adult children with either mild autism or low IQ. One such family in my constituency has three children with disabilities in their 20s and 30s. The parents are in the 60s. The father is the sole breadwinner and the parents are worried for the future of the children. The children have not been able to find employment and are stuck at home all day. Is there an opportunity for us to encourage businesses to also employ PwDs? With the extension of the Senior Employment Credit, Part-time Employment Grant and introducing Uplifting Employment Credit for ex-offenders, what is the measure of success for these schemes? How do we ensure that these fundings translate to actual improvements in employment opportunities for seniors, PwDs and part-time workers?”
“Chairman, while 60% of our workforce are PMETs and flexible work arrangements (FWAs) or some degree of remote working appear to be the norm for our PMETs in this post-pandemic workplace, remote working is a double-edged sword. While employees rejoice as it gives us the flexibility to manage our daily lives, it also means that some jobs can be done remotely and hence can be done anywhere in the world. With FWAs or remote working, our Singaporean PMET workforce are no longer competing for jobs only within Singapore but rather, we are competing against a global workforce. Hence, given our higher wages, how do we define the unique value proposition of our Singaporean workforce to the world? How do we equip our workforce with competency and levels of productivity such that our Singaporean talents are relevant and add value to the global economy? With remote working, how can our PMET workforce expand our horizon and gain access to jobs beyond our shores? What skills must we equip the PMETs with and how do we develop these skills to ensure that our PMETs are competitive in the global talent market? A Singapore Core of Tradesmen and Women”
“Sir, there is a mismatch between jobseekers with the vacancies available in the labour market today, especially with new roles in the growth industry. The Industry Transformation Map provides a high level overview of what are the skills that are required in industries. However, when it comes to applying in on the ground, potential jobseekers are overwhelmed. They are overwhelmed by what courses to take to find better jobs or be better at their jobs. While we unanimously agree that upskilling and retraining will be critical to our future success, the challenge is how do our jobseekers upskill and how do we then match jobseekers with their newly acquired skill set to vacancies? How can MOE strengthen the training and placement programme, particularly in the fragmented sectors, to better match jobseekers' skills to vacancies? 7.00 pm Jobs-Skills Integrators”
“Chairman, industries are now skills-focused and appreciate usable skills over paper qualifications. Industries value students who acquire the skills in school and are ready to be productive when they join the workforce. With the rapid evolution of technology, there is a need for schools to be well connected to the industry and nimble enough to make frequent tweaks to the syllabus such that students leave school with the right skillset required for the industry at that point of time. I am heartened to see more schools having career days, where they invite people from the industry to share their experience and the skill sets that are required in the industry. Individual ITEs have also reached out to industry partners to try to understand industry better such as ITE College Central's engagement with the aerospace industry, just to name one. Beyond individual school effort, how can MOE better facilitate collaborations between schools and industry partners to help students in our schools gain an even deeper appreciation of the skills and competencies needed in the future workplace? Singapore – An Education Hub”
“According to a Straits Times news report, technology firms laid off 1,270 resident Singaporean workers between July and mid-November 2022. Many of the layoffs were due to economical uncertainty and aggressive overhiring during the tech boom years. Given the volatility of the labour market as tech companies rationalise their operations, how are we ensuring that our tech workforce stays resilient, especially with the rapid evolution of technology? Connecting Citizens to Opportunities”
“Thank you, Chairman. The new NEU PC Plus Programme and Home Access programme ensure that children from lower-income families are not disadvantaged and have access to digital hardware and home broadband. With increased digitalisation and the future of work changing, our school-going children must acquire digital competencies that will ensure that they are ready for the future workplace. How do we ensure that our school-going children not only have access to hardware but are also digitally proficient? In particular, how do we bridge the digital divide and ensure that children from lower-income families are not disadvantaged and will have the opportunity to develop their digital proficiency? Digitalisation – Reducing Business Cost Through the efforts of MCI to grow the Information and Communications (I&C) sector and drive digital maturity, many firms have adopted digital technology. MCI has been developing the digital ecosystem and advancing digital utilities such as PayNow and Singpass and also providing support for broad-based enterprise digitalisation. Beyond just adopting digital technology, how can we ensure that digitalisation enables Singapore to remain globally competitive even as businesses face rising costs. Many businesses cite costs of implementation as a barrier to adopt digital technology. How do you assist companies to bring about cost savings from their digital investments? For companies that have embraced digitalisation and want to further enhance their capabilities, how are we supporting them to do so? Retaining Tech Talent In January, globally, Microsoft cut 10,000 jobs. Google parent, Alphabet, removed 12,000 of its employees. Amazon shed 18,000 jobs and Salesforce axed 10% of its workforce.”
“As tax equalisation in BEPS 2.0 also implies that we have one less instrument to assist us in attracting investments into Singapore, how can we generate non-tax incentives to enhance our business competitiveness to continue to attract foreign investments when we lose preferential tax rates as one of our competitive levels? Silver Industries”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. The National Productivity Fund was established in 2010 and has been instrumental in driving productivity in Singapore's businesses. Deputy Prime Minister Wong mentioned that the National Productivity Fund will be topped up with an additional $4 billion and the scope of the fund will be expanded to include investment promotion as a supporting activity. While we expand the scope of the fund to anchor more quality investments into Singapore, how do we ensure that the funds are effectively used by businesses to drive real productivity improvements that will lower the cost of doing business in Singapore? Given that $4 billion is half of what we spend on the Ministry of National Development (MND) and about the same amount that we spend on the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), what will be the measure of success for the National Productivity Fund? Attracting Investments Mr Chairman, the cost of doing business in Singapore is continuously rising. This is especially due to the rising cost of labour which can be attributed to the tight labour market. Aspiration of workforce to have higher pay each year and our collective desire to pay our lower-wage workers better through the Progressive Wage Model. Our strong currency also means Singapore-based businesses are finding it harder to compete through costs in the global market. Furthermore, additional headwind such as the impending carbon tax and the implementation of base erosion and profit-sharing BEPS 2.0 Initiative, would add even more cost to doing business in Singapore. While businesses in Singapore face these pressures, in the meantime, the US and other countries are rolling out subsidies to build up their industries and hence, reduce Singapore's attractiveness for investments.”
“Mr Chairman, at the Smart Nation Summit week closing dialogue in 2019, Prime Minister Lee in his speech mentioned for us being a Smart Nation is not about flaunting glitzy technology. But it is about applying technology to solve real world problems that would make a difference to people's lives and across the whole-of-society. One of the roles of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group is to develop digital enablers and platforms to raise economic productivity and catalyse innovation. SNDGG has rolled out many projects to test technologies such as the personal alert button to help the elderly seek help, the lift monitoring system in Town Councils, the computer vision drowning detection and also develop technologies that we are now regularly using such as Life SG, PayNow and Digital IC. Given that there are many proofs of concepts and technologies already developed, how can SNDGG partner and engage businesses and the community so that the businesses and the community can tap on the opportunities brought about by these technologies as we collaboratively work towards the next bound of Singapore as a Smart Nation. How can we use this ecosystem of partnership between SNDGG, businesses and the community as a comparative advantage in light of rising business costs and increasing competition in attracting investments around the world? Voting Age”
“Therefore, I also would like to understand more about "Jobs-Skills Integrators" that will help employees improve their skills and facilitate job placement in growth industries. And at the COS Debates later, I would also like to understand more about how we can encourage more companies to take advantage of the Senior and Part-Time Worker Schemes to redesign jobs to provide more employment opportunities for older workers, part-time workers and persons with disabilities. (In English): In conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Budget 2023 is a balanced Budget that addresses the key issues weighing heavily on everyone's minds while preparing us for the future challenges and it does so by working within the constraints of the limited resource that we have. The tweaks that were made on taxes on luxury vehicles ARF and buyer stamp duty for higher property values are in the right direction to make our tax system fairer, more progressive, resilient and sustainable. It is important that the overall tax burden does not rest disproportionately on any category of taxpayers and it is equally important that we continue to have a balanced budget. This is consistent with our values as a society and reinforces it with action where collectively, as a society, we support each other and the less well-off should receive more, while we move forward together towards a new era. Notwithstanding the clarifications above, I stand in support of the Budget. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.”
“Therefore, I am happy to see how support schemes are channelled so that everyone, not only the less well-off, but all families, will receive help regardless of income, such as the CDC vouchers. Those who are not working or with low-to-moderate income will receive more support, in the form of GST vouchers, cash payments, and S&CC and U-Save rebates. This is in line with our society’s values and reinforces those values through actions where we help each other collectively, with those who are less well-off receiving more help. The Assurance Package support network will be able to help many families, including the "sandwich class" families, where a middle-income family with 2 children and 2 seniors can receive support of up to $8,000 dollars this year The enhancements to the Assurance Package will increase its expenditure by $3 billion, thus increasing the total amount of the Assurance Package from $6.6 billion to $9.6 billion! These enhancements to the Assurance Package is justified in such a unique situation. However, we should continue to monitor the budget in future and fine-tune it as the situation improves. This is necessary because spending of this magnitude is not sustainable in the long term. With competition for investment and jobs intensifying around the world, I am also pleased to hear about the sustained commitment to helping businesses transform and grow in the global markets. There is also a sustained commitment to improve the skills and productivity of workers so that the workers can see real wage growth while we also focus on inclusive growth so that everyone has employment opportunities.”
“We must provide opportunities and unlock potential through meaningful re-employment for our seniors, part-time workers and workers with disability especially in sectors and roles facing labour shortages. Key to this is our societal approach, or adopting a societal approach towards flexible work arrangements which can take the form of flexi-time, flexi-place and flexi-load. What is the progress of the Tripartite Guideline on flexible work arrangements? How can flexible work arrangements, together with job redesign, unlock employment opportunities for seniors, persons with disabilities, part-time workers and caregivers? For example, call centre operators or helpdesk providers can be done remotely via flexible work arrangements and this can create opportunities for such individuals. Or can our seniors be funded to be trained as trainers to impart their knowledge to the industry? With the extension of Senior Employment Credit, Part-Time Employment Grant and introducing uplifting employment credit for ex-offenders, what is the measure of success for these schemes? How do we ensure that these fundings translate to actual improvement in employment opportunities for our seniors, part-time workers and persons with disabilities? Mr Deputy Speaker, in Malay, please. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Budget 2023 is a sensible budget that provides for current needs, prepares us for the future challenges and strengthens our social compact while maintaining financial prudence. What everyone is concerned about is the high cost of living that is felt not only in Singapore but all over the world.”
“Finding the right source to train for the right skillset to bridge the skills gap to drive a real improvement to the business is an outright challenge. In my earlier speech in January on the SkillsFuture (Amendment) Bill, I had mentioned that the training landscape is confusing. There is the SSG website, SkillsFuture website, MySkillsFuture portal, SSG-WSG portal, just to name a few. I asked whether this landscape can be consolidated into a worker-centric portal like "Support-Go-Where" which then provides the comprehensive support for the business and worker. Hence, I am glad to hear that we will be piloting the Job-Skills Integrators in a few industries to be intermediaries who can work with industry, training, employment and facilitation partners to optimise training and job placement. I do hope these integrators, as its name implies, bring together all the schemes, courses and stakeholders to simplify and execute rather than creating more schemes and programmes to add to the already confusing landscape. This is something that I will touch more in the subsequent Committee of Supply (COS) cuts. Similar to the PWM roll-out too, how long will the pilot in the Precision Engineering, Retail and Wholesale Trade sectors take and what will be the expected pace of roll-out to the other industries once the pilot industries are completed? How can we also increase the participation rate of eligible Singaporean utilising SkillsFuture to significantly more than 30%? And as we provide support to transform and upskill our current workers, we need to stay committed towards inclusive growth.”
“What mix of industries will we be focusing on for investment promotion to create the optimal value and leverages on our current infrastructure and workforce that we already have? How do we ensure that funds are effectively used to drive real productivity improvements that will help lower costs of doing business in Singapore? What will be the measure of success for the National Productivity Fund? As we bolster the National Productivity Fund to compete globally for more quality investments, we must also prepare our workforce for the needs of the future economy. Addressing our skills mismatch to alleviate structural unemployment will be one of our key challenges and this is a concern in the industry. While we unanimously agree that upskilling and retraining will be critical to our future success, the challenge is, how do we upskill? In each of the industry, what are the skills and knowledge that is necessary to bridge the gap? Where do workers go to gain these skills and knowledge? The industry transformation map (ITM) provides a high-level overview of what are the skills that are required in the industry. However, when it comes to applying it on the ground, businesses and workers are simply overwhelmed. Workers are overwhelmed by what skills to learn to find better jobs or be better at their jobs. Employers are overwhelmed by the types of training and support packages that are available and the quality of training providers. A Straits Times article mentioned that there are more than 26,000 courses available on the MySkillsFuture portal and this does not include all the other platforms that provide both offline and online skills training, such as Udemy.”
“While businesses in Singapore face these cost pressures, the US and other countries are rolling out aggressive tax breaks and subsidies to attract investments, such as the CHIPS and Science Act in US, to build up their industries and revitalise their domestic manufacturing, competing with Singapore in attracting more investments. Tax equalisation in BEPS 2.0 also implies we have one less instrument to attract investments into Singapore. In my earlier speech in November on the GST Amendment Bill, I challenged some of the members' perception that BEPS 2.0 alone can make up the "hole left behind by not raising GST". I mentioned that because of the headwinds on cost, we will have to do something and spend on non-tax incentives such as training, subsidies and grants to restore and enhance our business competitiveness to continue to attract foreign investment while we lose preferential tax rates as one of our competitive levers. And this results in the nett income from implementing BEPS 2.0 to remain uncertain but likely it would not be a straight-through revenue as some may have previously assumed. While EDB attracted a record high of $22.5 billion Fixed Asset Investment (FAI) commitments in 2022, which brings about good well-paying jobs into Singapore, with the headwinds and increasing competition, how can we create more non-tax incentives to enhance our business competitiveness to continue to attract foreign investment? Hence, I am encouraged to hear that the National Productivity Fund will be topped up with $4 billion and the scope will be expanded to include investment promotion as a supporting activity.”
“6 billion which is more than the budget for Ministry of National Development (MND), or Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) or MSE, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) combined! Hence, I believe that while this is necessary in the current environment, this is something we must closely monitor in future budgets and carefully calibrate the amount and qualifying conditions when the situation changes so as to avoid entrenching the sense of reliance on Government support as it is not fiscally sustainable in the long term. Given that the inflation levels are here to stay, how do we then beat the inflation without Government support? The rising cost needs to be overcome by generating value and increasing productivity. Which brings me to my second point. The costs of doing business in Singapore is continuously rising. This is partly due to the rising costs of labour attributed to the tight labour market, aspirations of our workforce for annual pay increments and our collective desire to pay our lower-waged workers better. Our strong currency also means Singapore-based businesses are finding it harder to compete through cost in the global market. Furthermore, additional headwinds such as the impending increase in carbon tax and the implementation of Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS 2.0) initiative will add even more costs to doing business in Singapore.”
“Hence, I welcome the enhancements to the permanent GSTV scheme and Assurance package to cushion the impact of our much-needed GST increase so that we can maintain our commitments to fund impending healthcare spending and the one-off support measures to address the immediate cost-of-living challenges. I am encouraged to see how support schemes are disbursed such that everyone – not just the less well-off – but everyone, receives something regardless of income, like the CDC vouchers. While those without income and lower to middle-income receive more, like the GST vouchers, cash payouts, S&CC and U-save rebates. This is consistent with our values as a society and reinforces it with action where collectively as a society we support each other and the less well-off should receive more. I am supportive of tiding the current Cost-of-living challenges with one-off schemes such as the Cost-of-living special payment of $200 to $400, Seniors Bonus of $200 to $300, doubling of U-save rebates and CDA top up. These one-off support measures are well suited to deal with these exceptional past three years. The pandemic, inflation, tight labour market and geopolitical instability were amongst the many challenges we had to surmount. However, I worry that such levels of support if perceived as the norm in the future, may not be sustainable. The enhancement to the assurance package, both the one-off and the earlier versions will cost $3 billion and hence increases the total amount of the package from $6.6 billion to $9.”
“Hence, I am glad that Budget 2023 has elements that attempts to address the challenges and issues that weigh heavily on everyone's minds, while working within the constraints of our limited resource, with tweaks to make our tax system fairer, more progressive and sustainable. If the Budget addresses the right issues, then it becomes a question of whether we have prioritised and apportioned enough within our limited resources to address the challenges that we have been identified both immediate and in the future and is the resource efficiently deployed through policies such that it achieves the collective social goal that we as a nation desires. It is through that lens that I will touch on four key themes: Firstly, the adequacy of the support for the current inflationary and cost of living pressures. Secondly, from a business perspective, in light of all the cost challenges such as increased payroll cost, impending carbon tax, BEPS 2.0 implementation, how do we continue to attract investments and grow our economy? Thirdly, as we grow our economy, how do we ensure our workforce remains competitive to bridge the skills gap to alleviate structural unemployment and channel workers into jobs and industries that are growing and transforming? And lastly, while we remain competitive in the global market, how do we realize our desire to have inclusive growth, in particular, providing meaningful employment for our seniors, part-time workers and persons with disability. Allow me to begin with the adequacy of the support for the current inflationary and cost of living pressures. We have weathered periods of high inflation before. However, unlike those times, the current persistent inflation felt globally is fuelled with a tight labour market within Singapore.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. In Pasir Ris, we have frequent dialogues and engagements with our residents both formal and informally. During these engagements, issues that weigh heavily on the minds of our residents which they shared are: firstly cost of living; secondly, challenges brought about by our ageing population; thirdly, housing affordability and availability, especially for our young first-time buyers, which we have debated on significantly in the last Sitting; and lastly, jobs, employability and work-life balance. While individuals feel the pressure from these issues, in my conversations with associations and those in the industry, businesses both here and abroad, are worried about the rising costs of doing business in Singapore and if Singapore can continue to have and provide the competitive edge in the global market. I would like to quote Deputy Prime Minister Wong in the forward of the Budget booklet: "As a small country in a globally uncertain environment, the road ahead will not be easy. But we are on this journey together, and we can draw confidence and strength from how we have overcome past challenges." "The road ahead is not easy" – and that is true. Our tight labour market and ageing population will have to contend with high inflationary global environment, the deeply concerning war in Ukraine, Sino-American relations, Protectionist practices and other grim macro-economic challenges. However, we have shown that for the past three years, regardless of how challenging the journey is, we are better off coming together, working together to come up with viable pragmatic solutions able to meet the immediate needs of our society while positioning ourselves favourably for our future.”
“As it is essential that older workers upgrade their skills, how can we encourage more mature workers to participate in the SkillsFuture programmes? Lastly, how can we enhance the effectiveness of training in SkillsFuture courses? We must ensure that the quality of training is not affected, even as we increase the amount being offered. I am also aware that Singaporeans who wish to participate in these courses must visit various websites, such as SkillsFuture, My SkillsFuture, SSG-WSG sites, and this can cause some confusion. Perhaps, SSG can consolidate these websites into one website such as the "Support-Go-Where" portal to facilitate participation in SkillsFuture. (In English): Notwithstanding the clarification above, I stand in support of the Bill to enhance the regulatory powers of SkillsFuture against fraud and abuse of its incentives and grants.”
“How do we ensure the quality of training is preserved, to which I agree with what our fellow colleague Mr Mark Chay has mentioned earlier. Beyond the accreditation of the instructor, are the training partners regularly audited too? On effectiveness of training, can SSG considering using outcome-based course subsidies? Can we have a tiered course subsidy system where the full subsidy is only granted when the individual or organisation can show proof that they have implemented or applied what was learnt during the course. For example, for the Implementing Lean Sigma course, which is a course on productivity, can the full subsidy be given only after the individual or company show that they have delivered projects to improve their productivity? And on simplicity, there is a SSG website, SkillsFuture website, MySkillsFuture portal, SSG-WSG website. As an end-user, the landscape can be very confusing. Can this be simplified to be more customer-centric similar to the "Support-Go-Where" portal that provides the inter-agency support available for individuals? Mr Speaker, in Malay, please. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Skillsfuture is important in promoting lifelong learning amongst Singaporeans. Since its launch in 2015, more than 840,000 Singaporeans have used their SkillsFuture credits to take up skills upgrading courses. However, this figure represents only 30% of those eligible. This means that 70% of eligible Singaporeans have yet to use their SkillsFuture credits. What is more worrisome, its utilisation is highest among the younger ones, compared to those who are 40 years and above. How can we boost the participation rate from the current 30%?”
“Allow me to elaborate on these three points. Firstly, given the cases of fraud, overpayment and shortfall in collecting Skills Development Levy (SDL), what were the lessons learnt from all these cases and have they been implemented and if not, what is the timeframe for implementation? For example, the overpayments for SkillsFuture Singapore is attributed to errors in manual processing and SSG has shared that it is taking measures to reduce reliance on declarations and manual processing. Has this been implemented? And if not, what is the implementation plan? Has SSG completed the process of recovering the outstanding SDL owed by companies and how do we prevent similar occurrences? Given this Bill will give SSG greater enforcement powers, will SSG be resourced with additional staff with the right skillset to implement effective enforcement? I also note that the Bill indicates extra financial expenditure, what is the expected increase in operating cost? Secondly, how can we boost the participation rate of eligible Singaporeans in utilising their SkillsFuture to more than 30%? Based on data shared by Minister Chan in the November Sitting, what is more worrying is the decreased rate of participation as age increase. Are there plans to encourage more of our mature workers to participate in upskilling and retraining? Possibly, one opportunity is to encourage our mature workers to transit to a second career to be trainers and impart their experience to the rest of the workforce. Lastly, how do we increase the effectiveness of training for the courses supported by SkillsFuture? On quality of training, I do note from the website that there are many training partners. From just a search between "A" and "C" alone, there are already 60 training partners.”
“Hence, I am glad to hear from Minister Chan in the November Parliamentary Sitting that since the introduction of SkillsFuture, 840,000 Singapore citizens have utilised their SkillsFuture Credit (SFC). However, that is only 30% of eligible Singaporeans. Worryingly, the percentage of people who use SFC is highest among those in their 30s and it reduces among those in their 40s and 50s and older. And as we move towards increasing the participation rate in developing skills and improving the effectiveness and the value of training, the underlying process of disbursing grants, collecting levies and onboarding the support of trusted education and training partners must be simple to encourage participation yet robust to prevent any abuse. Unfortunately, some have taken the opportunity to abuse the funding arrangements such as the case of the husband and wife masterminds, Ng Cheng Hwee and Lee Lai Leng, who were behind the $40 million SkillsFuture scam by submitting and forging falsified documents between May and August 2017. Hence, I stand in support of this Bill to strengthen the regulatory powers of SkillsFuture against fraud and abuse of its incentives and grants. However, I have three clarifications for the Minister. Firstly, given that there have been a few cases on SSG such as the total of $42 million fraudulent claims, AGO's finding on overpayment and the shortfall of outstanding Skills Development Levy, how can we improve and enhance governance such that there are no leaks and similar incidents do not occur? Secondly, how do we increase the participation rate of utilising SkillsFuture for eligible Singaporeans? And lastly, how do we improve the training efficacy and assess SkillsFuture's success in meeting its strategic goals?”
“I am pleased that we remain committed to our Continuing Education and Training (CET) Masterplan and I am happy to hear from Minister Chan that our education system and MOE will "move beyond the first 15 years of education to the next 50 years" as mentioned in the Straits Times last Friday. Furthermore, MOE has extended its portfolio to include not only classroom learning, but more importantly, lifelong learning. Since the Skills Development Levy Act in 1979 and the establishment of Skill Development fund, we have shown and proved that in Singapore, we remain committed to training our workforce and have been improving and developing how we continuously train and upskill our workforce; including the passing of the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency Act 2016 which established the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency and the topping up of SkillsFuture credit during the COVID-19 period. SkillsFuture is a key enabler in developing the culture, infrastructure and platform for continuous education and learning. SkillsFuture also represents a repository of resource for our workforce to attain mastery of skills and it must remain so. Education must be more than just having the right paper qualification. We must strive to achieve excellence through continuous knowledge acquisition and application, and building relevant experience required in the industries. For our workforce to continuously develop, attain skills mastery and remain nimble to take advantage of new opportunities and also to plug skills gap around the world, SkillsFuture must aspire to have the participation of as many people in our workforce as possible. This is only possible through collaboration with education and training partners.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, US-China tensions, China's trajectory as it recovers from COVID-19, the likelihood of recessions in US and EU, political instability in other countries and many more macroeconomic trends, cast uncertainties on the economy's prospects for the short-to-medium term. Despite these uncertainties, there remains opportunities, provided we continue to stay united and demonstrate to the world that Singapore remains an open, safe, stable and reliable country and most importantly possess a capable and relevant workforce so that we can continue to attract investments and, as a result, have good jobs for our people. That has been and continues to be Singapore's formula for success. However, the global competition for investment is intensifying and we must continue to upskill and reskill ourselves to strengthen our value proposition and remain relevant to the world. Beyond the short-to-medium term macroeconomic challenges, the need to upskill and reskill is nothing new for Singapore. This has been integral for our success and will continue to be a cornerstone of our economic strategy as we continue to ensure that we remain relevant to the world by having the right skillsets that the world requires. Education should be understood broadly and not stop prematurely at the end of a person's schooling life. Nor should education be defined solely within the confines of a school. Continuous education must constantly prepare Singapore's workers for future workplace demands which is evolving very rapidly.”
“]: To support the growth of electric vehicles or EVs in the coming years, the Government has committed to develop a charging network in Singapore, with around 2,000 parking spaces in housing estates to be equipped with EV chargers by 2025, and around 60,000 chargers by 2030. We aspire to save the environment and reduce carbon emissions from our vehicles. Singapore must develop a resilient and effective EV charging ecosystem. Therefore, I have a few questions. First, will LTA be responsible for chargers in private locations, such as condominiums and office buildings? What is the possibility of EVCOs affecting the electric grid and how can we prevent that from happening? Second, to ensure satisfactory service, what penalties will be imposed on users who park their cars in the charging lot for too long? How can we ensure that the charging pricing structure is fair and affordable for consumers? Considering that the demand for petrol station pumps will decline as Singapore switches to electric vehicles, what are the plans to help petrol station workers transition to other sectors? Finally, although this Bill does not address the recycling of car batteries, many of our hybrid vehicles will reach their 10th year and will be sent for disposal. How can we recycle lithium-ion batteries in hybrid/electric cars? Is the Government reviewing legislation to ensure that hybrid and electric vehicles can be recycled efficiently and sustainably? (In English): Notwithstanding the points of clarification, Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill.”
“With multiple charging firms now offering varied pricing models, how do we ensure that the price structure is fair for customers, particularly penalty charges for leaving a fully-charged EV in an EV lot? Thirdly, the Bill will mandate developers of specified building works to provide EV charging at their developments. How do we maximise the efficiency of the charging infrastructure network? At present, we have SP Group, Shell Recharge, BlueCharge, Charge+, CDG Engie, Plugshare, all with their own standards, apps, locations and charging speeds. In the long term, as more EVs become available, demand for ICE vehicles will also fall, as will demand for pumps at gas stations. What is the strategy for gradually repurposing land for petrol stations and the labour that backs it up? How do we ensure that the transition from ICE to EVs is done in a manageable way, for both labour and land? One other topic that I would like to touch on is the recycling of batteries. Though this Bill does not talk about recycling of car batteries, we will start to see many of our hybrid vehicles like the Honda Vezel, Toyota Vios reaching their 10th year and will be deregistered and sent for scrap soon. How are we prepared for scrapping, particularly the recycling of lithium-ion batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles? In Singapore, what percentage of scrapped electric or hybrid vehicles had their batteries removed and recycled? Is the Government working on regulations to ensure that hybrid and electric vehicles are recycled efficiently? Mr Speaker, in Malay, please. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“Does this apply to chargers already installed? What are the frequency and cost of this routine inspection? Understandably, LTA is responsible for EV chargers in public spaces. But is LTA also responsible for overseeing the upkeep of EV chargers in condominiums, residences and private offices? Will LTA be adequately resourced in terms of both personnel and capability to carry out such an activity? This involves having personnel with the necessary technical expertise to monitor and manage the supply and modification of EV chargers. With 60,000 public chargers across the country, not including chargers in office buildings, condominiums, landed homes, what is the expected manpower requirement and how do we ensure LTA is sufficiently resourced to carry out this enforcement? Is the Ministry concerned that the Electric Vehicle Charging Operators (EVCOs) may detrimentally affect the grid and that adequate safeguards are in place to prevent that from happening? Is LTA best equipped to comprehend and monitor its effects, or should EMA also be involved, too? Secondly, in order to provide a satisfactory user experience, the public charging network must be reliable. The Bill requires EV charging operators to obtain a licence in order to provide the service. Licensees will be required to meet conditions, such as data exchange, the purchase of public liability insurance and the uptime of their chargers in their network. Licences will be valid for a fixed period and must be renewed. Hence, I would like to raise a few clarifications. What kind of information must the EVCOs share? How can we ensure the user's privacy is protected? How is the service uptime determined and what is the expected penalty for not meeting service uptime?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for letting me be a part of this debate. Minister Iswaran stated in a June 2022 The Straits Times article that electric cars accounted for 8.4% of all new car registrations in the first five months of this year, more than twice the rate in all of 2021. Compared to the whole of 2020, just two years ago, the 8.4% represents a 20-fold jump. To support this growth, the Government has already set to boost Singapore's charging network – 2,000 public housing car parks equipped with EV chargers by 2025 and a network of 60,000 chargers by 2030. Just last week, on 18 November, Singapore had accepted the United States' invitation to join the Collective 2030 Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Deployment Goal (Goal) which represents a shared aspiration among like-minded countries in transiting to a greener land transport sector, at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). To support our ambition of being environmentally responsible in lowering emissions from our land transport, we must create an efficient, economical and effective EV charging ecosystem. Hence, I have a few clarifications to make for the Minister. Firstly, in regulating the safe charging of EVs, to minimise the proliferation of unregulated or ill-maintained chargers which can pose safety hazards, the Bill will provide LTA with powers to regulate the supply, modification, advertisement, installation, certification, registration, use and maintenance of EV chargers. The Bill will require all chargers in Singapore to be installed, certified and used in accordance with prescribed standards, such as registering before they can be used. Registered chargers will need to be inspected regularly in accordance with the relevant standards. Hence, I would like to make a few clarifications.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. At the National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee's announcement that Singapore will repeal section 377A of the Penal Code and amend the Constitution to protect the definition of marriage reflects the common agreement that many believe our gay citizens have a place in society and should not be treated as criminals. And in Singapore, marriage between a man and woman remains the fundamental building blocks of a family.”
“With the right rebates, like the enhanced GST Voucher, U-Save rebates, S&CC rebates, Seniors' Bonus, CDC vouchers, just to name a few, we can delay the impact of the GST increase to many of our residents. In fact, the lower 10% of the population does not pay GST at all. With that, Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill. 3.54 pm”
“This can offset at least five years’ worth of additional GST spending for most households, and 10 years for those living in 1-room to 3-room HDB flats. The GST Voucher Scheme, which has three components - cash payment, Medisave top-ups and U-Save rebates - will be enhanced when the GST is raised. This will fully offset the GST for retiree households living in 1-room to 3-room HDB flats, significantly offset the GST for retiree households living in 4-room to 5-room HDB flats and offset about half of the GST for low-income households without seniors. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, the high level of inflation, coupled with the needs of our ageing population, is top of everyone’s worry. It is of no doubt that, as our population ages, our healthcare cost will increase and we must be prepared for it. We all believe in a fair and inclusive society where the lower income families should receive more assistance. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has shared many alternative taxation tools considered in previous debates. With regard to corporate tax and the impact of BEPS 2.0, from an industry perspective, when Singapore loses the competitive lever of preferential tax rates, we will definitely have to do something and spend more on non-tax incentives to restore and enhance our business competitiveness. With all the uncertainties in implementing BEPS 2.0, the only thing certain is that even if there is an increase in revenue from corporate taxes, there will not be a direct flowthrough of revenue to income. How do we then depend on something so uncertain to fund our increasing healthcare cost?”