Sim Ann
Singapore
“Sir, given the increasingly transnational nature of crime and the rapid advancement of digital finance, international cooperation is indeed key. Singapore will continue to issue MLAs where it is appropriate, but also pursue international cooperation in informal manner. This applies not just to AML/CFT and PF, but also to scams.”
“Sir, I believe that the first and the third supplementary questions from the Member are related. I would say that if the facts of the case are such that it warrants taking action under the Penal Code for offences relating to the circulation of intimate images, the Police will do so.”
“Sir, we have a national movement to prepare Singaporeans against terrorism – SGSecure. This is one way through which we disseminate important information so that Singaporeans are aware of security risks.”
“Sir, we want to see everyone get home safe everyday. If safety is compromised, then livelihoods and many other good things in life are going to be at risk. We believe that the public will see our proposed for changes in this light, particularly our vocational drivers, because safer roads also mean a safer working environment for them.”
“To Ms Cassandra Lee's question, the alcohol limits that are currently enforced have been in place since 1985, and that is more than forty years ago. Now, Singapore is one of the jurisdictions with the highest alcohol limits, while the other jurisdictions have adopted stricter regimes with lower limits.”
“MFA is working with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to strengthen our safeguards against foreign interference, which will be elaborated on by MHA during its Committee of Supply. Mr Chairman, foreign policy begins at home.”
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“When completed, it will increase bilateral trade and serve as a model for an eventual ASEAN-EU-wide digital trade agreement. Closer to our region, we continue to refresh our engagements with our longstanding strategic partner – Australia. We have complementary strengths and an interest, increasing cooperation in supply chain resilience, renewable energy and the digital and green economies and we will also focus more on emerging markets further afield. Ms Rachel Ong, Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin and Mr Mark Lee asked how MFA can engage Singaporeans and businesses on foreign policy issues amidst global uncertainties. We have stated earlier, that unity and cohesion are prerequisites if we are to navigate an increasingly dangerous and contested world. It is truly the case that Singapore's foreign policy begins at home. This is why MFA will continue engaging the public to understand Singaporeans' concerns and to explain our foreign policy. Minister Vivian, Second Minister Maliki and I, along with other Ministers, Ambassadors and senior MFA officials, spend time speaking to students and members of the public. We value Singaporeans' views on global affairs and embrace the opportunity to discuss foreign policy considerations. We also do the same with business leaders and chambers of commerce and industry. They, too, are keen to understand Singapore's assessment of the global geopolitical situation and the risks and opportunities that arise from it. The intention is to create a broad understanding of the principles and motivations that underlie our foreign policy. Hopefully, this can lead to consensus on the way forward. But even if that is elusive, we must be able to calmly agree to disagree. We must not let external issues or external forces divide us.”
“Mr Vikram Nair and Mr Dennis Tan spoke about intensifying US-China competition. The US-China relationship is the most consequential one in the world and one that we are watching closely. As partners with both, we are heartened to see that their relations have improved over the past few months. We expect that tensions between the two countries will persist for some time and competition will be inevitable to some degree. But this does not mean that the entire relationship has to be zero-sum. There are still many areas, where both sides can work together for mutual benefit and for the global good. This could include climate change, macroeconomic stability, global health and food security. It could also extend to emerging areas – like AI governance and safety. Mr Zhulkarnain, Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Shawn Huang asked how Singapore is building relations with other countries, including new and emerging markets, to enhance our economic and supply chain resilience. We are deepening our links with other significant global players. Japan and the Republic of Korea are strong economic partners and fellow champions of an open trading system. We continue to strengthen cooperation with both in new areas, like the digital and green economies, energy transition and sustainability. We are also deepening our relations with Europe. We welcomed the UK as the CPTPP's newest member in July 2023. This will provide enhanced access to the UK market and new opportunities for trade and investment for Singapore companies. We are looking at new avenues of cooperation with the EU. For example, we will work towards the conclusion of an ambitious and modern Digital Trade Agreement.”
“Singapore is the US' only Major Security Cooperation Partner. This unique category underscores our partnership. Economic relations have grown significantly since the establishment of the US-Singapore FTA, the first between the US and an Asian country. Bilateral trade has more than doubled since its entry into force 20 years ago. Today, the US is our largest foreign investor, top trading partner in services and third-largest partner in goods trade. We are expanding cooperation with the US in emerging areas like technology and innovation. We launched the US-Singapore Critical and Emerging Technology Dialogue last October. We are working with the US to develop a roadmap for our digital economic cooperation to chart common principles in areas like digital standards, consumer protection and data governance. We are also looking to strengthen cooperation on climate resilient infrastructure and regional decarbonisation efforts. Our long-held view is that the US' presence and leadership has played and will continue to play a vital role for the stability, security and prosperity of the region. We will continue to encourage the US to engage the region through initiatives like the Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). Mr Chairman, I seek your indulgence for a few more minutes.”
“Prime Minister Lee, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister Vivian and several other Singaporean leaders, including myself, have visited China. Our people-to-people ties have also been strong due to, inter alia, our extensive business links, student exchanges and tourism. The recent entry into force of the 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement provides more opportunities for those ties to deepen and broaden. Bilateral cooperation is deep and multifaceted. 2023 saw the upgrade of Singapore-China relations to the unique status of an “All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership”. Relations are anchored by the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), which is the apex bilateral cooperation platform. During the 19th JCBC last year, more than 20 deliverables were announced. There is growing cooperation in traditional areas like trade, finance and people-to-people exchanges, as well as in emerging areas like the digital and green economies. As the world’s second largest economy and our largest trading partner in goods, there are significant opportunities for us to cooperate with China economically. We will continue to explore ways to further broaden our engagement of China. Such achievements in our bilateral relations do not stem from the individual initiatives, but rather, comes from strong links between our governments, peoples and businesses which have been built up over many decades. The Government will continue to work hard at identifying ways through which we can forge deeper people-to-people ties and friendships with China. (In English): Mr Henry Kwek asked how Singapore can remain a trusted partner of the US. Singapore has a deep and dynamic partnership with the US – spanning the economic, trade, security and defence spheres.”
“We have taken pains, for example, during the debate on the Addendum to the President’s Address last April, to highlight that our foreign policy is not premised on neutrality or seeking to balance between big powers, but on Singapore’s core interests. These interests are founded on our identity as multiracial country, representing all Singaporeans regardless of race. Ethnic connections are useful in cultivating business and friendships wigion, but fundamentally, we look at things as Singaporeans. When speaking, we must speak as Singaporeans, on behalf of multiracial Singapore, even when dealing with countries with whom we have very close and friendly relations. Third, cultural affinity does not equate national identity. Take Singaporeans of Chinese ethnic descent for instance – we are both Singaporeans and Singaporean Chinese (huaren), but not overseas Chinese (huaqiao). Members of the Singapore Chinese community, civic organisations and business associations that grasp the above points fully would be able to play an effective role as we seek to build win-win international partnerships. Even amidst a world that is increasingly polarised, Singapore can, and does, maintain excellent relations with all our major partners. For instance, we maintain very good ties with the US and China. Both of them continue to work with us because they trust that we continue to act in a principled, open and consistent manner, based on our long-term national interests. Mr Shawn Huang and Mr Edward Chia have asked about Singapore’s outlook for China in 2024 and how we can build up our bilateral relations with China. We have good relations at the leadership level. Over the past year, we welcomed PRC Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Singapore.”
“There have been attempts to condition us to think in certain ways by appealing to a more specific racial or religious identity. This is why the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) was introduced. FICA is aimed at protecting the integrity of our society. The recent case where an individual was designated as a politically significant person (PSP) for the first time under the FICA brings this issue to the fore. This development has raised questions within some segments of the Chinese community over the parameters, which businesses and civic groups can engage foreign organisations. As FICA comes under the ambit of MHA, I will not discuss the operationalisation of the Act. However, I would like to make three points from MFA’s perspective. First, we recognise that the Chinese community in Singapore embodies the tradition of 忧国忧民 - caring not just about their own success but that of the entire nation. Singapore Chinese civic and business leaders are fully aware of the importance of effective diplomacy to Singapore, and tend to watch developments in our external relations closely and contribute actively to discourse on Singapore’s foreign policy. The Government welcomes their interest. Many Singapore Chinese community leaders have been generous in sharing their experiences and insights in doing business and dealing with officials overseas. Some even serve as our non-resident Ambassadors. MFA is grateful for their contributions. Second, those who wish to contribute to flying Singapore’s flag need to develop a good understanding of our core interests, which is underpinned by promoting a just, inclusive and rules-based international order where sovereign states, regardless of size, have equal rights. Minister Vivian has expounded on this in his COS speech.”
“The catastrophic situation in Gaza demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the Palestinian civilian victims and enable humanitarian assistance to reach them. At the same time, we also call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. We call for negotiations toward a two-state solution consistent with relevant UNSC resolutions. This is the only option for a durable peace. This is not the first or the last time when some Singaporeans would feel the powerful pull of sentiments arising from events happening beyond our shores, and call for our foreign policy to reflect these sentiments. It will also not be the last time when sentiments felt strongly by one group of Singaporeans are not necessarily shared to the same extent by others. We are, after all, a diverse society – made up of fellow citizens from different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. This diversity is a great strength for Singapore. But our ever-present challenge is to maintain unity of purpose while amidst diversity. In the case of foreign policy, it is about ensuring that our foreign policy always reflects Singapore’s core interests, despite the ebbs and flows of sentiments. Mr Zhulkarnain, Mr Edward Chia and Ms Tin Pei Ling have asked about how Singapore can remain vigilant against foreign interference in domestic politics. We are a diverse society who lives in harmony. We enjoy mutual respect and a shared sense of national purpose. This is an achievement to be proud of. This has given us a richness of perspective and experience that has been an advantage. Our diversity also means that external forces can try to divide us.”
“Israel’s military response to Hamas’s horrific acts of terrorism of 7 October 2023 has resulted in mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with women and children among the worst affected. It is not at all an exaggeration to say that those of our fellow Singaporeans who care deeply about the Gaza issue find it hard to sleep and eat in peace, and experience great pain and anguish (寝食难安、痛心疾首). This has led to calls for Singapore to do more on the foreign policy front to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and condemn Israel. Minister Vivian and Second Minister Maliki have addressed the Government’s position in their speeches. Singapore has strongly condemned Hamas’ attack on and killing of Israel civilians and the kidnapping of hostages on 7 October 2023. It was a blatant and abhorrent act of terrorism that cannot be justified by any circumstances, context or history. Terrorism poses a clear and present threat to Singapore. To excuse terrorism now would endanger Singapore in the future. After the 7 October attacks, we recognised Israel’s right to self-defence. This is not because we are taking sides. If Singapore is ever attacked, we would certainly exercise this right to self-defence – indeed, our duty is to protect our citizens. However, we have consistently insisted that Israel comply with international humanitarian law. Israel’s conduct must abide by the principles of necessity and proportionality. Unfortunately, Israel’s military response has gone too far. We are also concerned that a potential ground offensive into Rafah will worsen the situation.”
“Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please. 2.45 pm (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Minister Vivian has explained why Singapore’s foreign policy has to be driven by the long-term interests of all Singaporeans. We are a small country with no hinterland, no natural resources, and no intrinsic relevance. We have an open and trade-based economy that is vulnerable to external developments. We are a multiracial, multi-religious and multilingual society in the heart of Southeast Asia. Our foreign policy cannot be driven by prevailing sentiments or affinity to any external group, however powerfully felt they might be. It must be based on understanding our core interests and acting consistently, in accordance with the principles that safeguard Singapore’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security. The conflict that has raged in Gaza between Israel and Hamas since October 2023 has attracted much attention around the world, and demonstrates how Singapore’s approach towards foreign policy will be tested again and again. To many in the Chinese-speaking community in Singapore, the Israel-Hamas conflict is part of the long-standing and complex troubles in the Middle East. The historical threads of who should be blamed for doing what to whom are difficult to sort out – as the Chinese saying goes, you cannot slice through the knots, and the more you try to detangle, the worse the knots become (剪不断、理还乱). This view is reflected from the reports and commentaries on the subject carried in our Chinese-language media. But, for not a few of our fellow Singaporeans, this is a massive and tragic catastrophe.”
“Sir, to clarify, this is possible and is an option that is available to the TCs. Some TCs choose to take it up, some TCs choose not to. But if they want to undertake the MSCP R&R works, they can and I have also explained the way in which HDB will reimburse the TCs for doing so. By and large, we leave it to the TCs to manage the R&R cycle for their own residential blocks.”
“Sir, the Town Councils (TCs) manage the repair and redecoration (R&R) works for residential blocks, while the Housing and Development Board (HDB) manages the R&R works for HDB multi-storey car parks (MSCPs). HDB generally adopts a seven-year cycle for R&R works for HDB MSCPs. The R&R cycles of HDB MSCPs and residential blocks may not fully align, as there could be instances where R&R works are expedited, such as in response to public feedback on estate maintenance. Where there are synergies from carrying out R&R works for MSCPs together with the residential blocks, HDB encourages TCs to undertake the R&R works for the MSCPs on HDB's behalf. Under the maintenance agreement between HDB and TCs, for HDB car parks, TCs can opt to carry out the R&R works for MSCPs. TCs that opt to do so will receive full reimbursement from HDB for the cost of the R&R works for the MSCPs, in addition to a 5% agency fee.”
“Sir, ASEAN Leaders have reviewed the issue twice and remained committed to upholding the Five-Point Consensus.”
“Sir, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has taken a firm and consistent approach to the situation in Myanmar following the 1 February 2021 coup, which is reflected in the Five-Point Consensus. The ASEAN Leaders reviewed the situation at their Summits in 2022 and 2023 and agreed on a series of steps to send a clear signal to the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw. At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat last week, ASEAN reaffirmed its commitment to the Five-Point Consensus as well as the Leaders' decisions. There has been little progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus and, in fact, the situation in Myanmar has become more dire of late. However, the rate-limiting factor for progress is not ASEAN, but the Tatmadaw. Singapore will continue to work with ASEAN's Chair Laos, fellow ASEAN Member States and our external partners to press the Tatmadaw to cease violence and implement the Five-Point Consensus swiftly and fully.”
“Although Government is not in the business of directly providing cooked food or stipulating cooked food prices, ultimately, the best safeguard against runaway cooked-food prices is by ensuring wide availability. This, we do through ensuring that, in towns and across the island, there is a good spread of food and beverages (F&B) premises. This covers not just coffee shops in HDB estates, but other kinds of F&B outlets and also hawker centres. And in terms of how the Government generally deals with the private sector, I think it is also important that we are clear about where the market is free to operate and where the Government comes in with interventions. In terms of the strategy that Assoc Prof Jamus Lim has described, I think that is something that the Government would consider very carefully and it is not a step that we would take lightly.”
“Nonetheless, I also believe that in Ms Yeo Wan Ling's ward, I think, all the coffee shops in the HDB estates in her ward are owned by HDB. So, we will continue to play our role as a responsible landlord. And, if there are specific practices that she is aware of and, which she has concerns about, please raise it to us and we will study it carefully to see if intervention is warranted, particularly, if these coffee shops are owned by HDB.”
“In response to Ms Yeo Wan Ling's supplementary question, HDB began selling HDB coffee shops in 1988, but ceased doing so from 1998 onwards. So, from 1998 onwards, we have not been selling coffee shops in HDB estates. These are owned by HDB. Further, after a pilot in 2017, from 2018 onwards, we have been tendering out new HDB coffee shops using the Price Quality Method. This would put weightage, not just on the rental bid; but, also on the coffee shop operators' ability to fulfil quality criteria. We also take the availability of affordable meals into consideration. In the recent couple of years, we have also been implementing the Budget Meal initiative, which I believe Members of the House are quite familiar with. This is how we look at maintaining the availability of affordable food. As a landlord, HDB plays its part by keeping rent stable. I have also explained that just now, in the main reply. At the same time, we are mindful that the coffee shops need to be operated by people in the trade. We are also mindful that HDB is not, itself, directly in the business of cooked food provision. So, we do need to allow room for the coffee shop operators as well as stallholders, to abide by market principles and operate. But we do our part to keep rents stable and also to encourage the provision of affordable meals via the Budget Meal initiative. As for the practices that Ms Yeo Wan Ling has mentioned, I would appreciate it if she could provide us with more details. We will look at the situation. I think Ms Yeo would appreciate that our approach towards sold privately-owned coffee shops would have to be different than the ones that HDB owns and then rents out, because the relationship with the operators in the two instances are quite different.”
“Sir, there are currently 776 coffee shops in the Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates in Singapore, of which, 374 are owned by HDB and rented out to operators, and 402 are sold and hence, privately-owned. HDB is committed to ensuring that the rents payable by operators of HDB rental coffee shops remain stable. Over the last five years, HDB did not increase the rent for 97% of HDB rental coffee shops at renewal. The increase in the median rent of HDB rental coffee shops was limited to 1.6% during this period. This is part of HDB's effort to help operators and stallholders in a rising cost environment. Further, to help all HDB rental coffee shop operators transition to providing budget meals by 2026, HDB offers a rental discount of 5% for a period of one year, subject to verification that the new budget meals and drinks have been implemented. For sold eating houses, HDB does not regulate the stall rentals that owners charge as these transactions are private commercial agreements between the coffee shop owners and the stall operators. Coffee shop operators and stallholders may tap on schemes, such as the Heartlands Go Digital Scheme, which supports enterprises in adopting digital solutions and improving their productivity. Business owners can visit the GoBusiness portal at gobusiness.gov.sg, for more information on the Government schemes available.”
“I think Mr Leong is tying himself up in knots because if he considers the increase in housing prices over the years as a disadvantage of the scheme, is Mr Leong saying that prices must remain static in order for the housing market to be considered favourable and in order for our housing policy to be considered a success? In which case, I think Mr Leong did not pay attention when I explained that with favourable economic conditions and growing wages over time, we do expect to see a gradual increase in home values and prices. So, it seems to me that Mr Leong is tying himself up in knots and I am not convinced that members of the public will agree that static prices over the long term is what the housing policy should be aiming for. The second way in which he is tying himself up in knots is that by posing this question about deficit, the deficit incurred by HDB, to me, it seems to me that Mr Leong is denying that housing should be subsidised at all. If you want to subsidise any product, be it housing, be it education for that matter, defence, street lighting, these are public goods that are provided. In the case of housing, it is not 100% subsidised by Government; there is some payment from home owners. But the subsidy from Government and by extension taxpayers is very substantial; and therefore, it seems to me that Mr Leong's line of questioning will inevitably lead him to conclude that there should not be any subsidy. So, I really think that for both Mr Leong's good and for the House's good, I think we should pasue this because Mr Leong, you are leading yourself down a path of no return.”
“As with every Government scheme, when circumstances evolve and change, it does prompt a review. However, I think that the comparison that Mr Leong is asking me to make is a spurious one because the Affordable Housing Scheme, as I have said before, is one which I do not think has convinced Members of this House or even many members of the public because it seeks to reconcile three quite incompatible aims. It seeks to dramatically lower BTO prices by leaving out land costs at the point of first purchase. But perhaps his party is worried that the scheme will be rejected outright by homeowners who are worried about a crash in the resale price so it tries to assure people that it does not do. And then also, the scheme seeks to avoid being seen as a raid on the Reserves. But as I have said these three aims are not compatible because by taking land cost out at the point of first purchase actually that already has an impact on the Reserves. This topic has been covered quite extensively over more than a day of debate in this House, so I do not propose to go through it again. But I do not see how I can make any meaningful comparison from between a scheme that has worked, and which requires adjustments from time to time to meet changing circumstances and evolving demand, with a scheme which, as far as we can tell, is actually not able to be internally consistent and is not one that has been convincing to both Members of this House and the public.”
“I am afraid I will have to answer Mr Leong's question with a question of my own. He has not made clear how his Affordable Housing Scheme does not result in the outcome that he claims the BTO scheme has created?”
“I am afraid the nature of Mr Leong's question is not very clear. Could Mr Leong rephrase his question, Mr Speaker?”
“I think on the principle we are not disagreeing and I happened to share Ms He Ting Ru's passion for healthy food so this is certainly something that we will look into. But we also have to balance against the other relevant considerations for quality because after all, coffee shops do serve a wider range of consumers and residents. And people have different preferences for what they want to see in the coffee shop.”
“Actually, I am very glad that Mr Leong seems to have come round to the idea that there is a deficit in our building programme and the deficit is made up by the subsidies that are given to Singaporeans; so, the answer is yes, these deficits are taxpayer-funded. That is why much as we would like to be as generous as we can, we also need to be responsible. We need to be good stewards of public resources and we have to run the public housing building programme with sustainability in mind. As to whether or not with the Prime and Plus going forward whether there will be more subsidies, I think that is not something that we can determine just simply by the introduction of the framework alone. But the intention of the framework is to streamline demand, streamline demands so that people would make quite prudent choices and it will emphasise the principle of owner occupation and what I can say to Mr Leong is that the subsidies will be very well used.”
“In response to Mr Louis Chua's questions, first of all, in terms of backlog, I have shared that we are in the process of clearing the backlog and that HDB has delivered close to 75% of the COVID-19 delayed projects. This will continue and we seek to get back on track. Not only do we seek to get back on track, we do recognise the need to have a buffer. This is also something that Members have talked about. It is something that we do agree with. We see the need for a buffer. This is also the reason why we are seeking to ramp up supply of Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) flats. We know that this is very important to Singaporeans who are waiting for key collection. In terms of population growth, we have discussed population growth in this House over the years. I do not propose to go over it in detail. Suffice to say, we have seen that in the last few years, due to COVID-19, that has caused very sharp fluctuations in population. I believe that the sharpest growth post-COVID-19 and the reopening of our economy in terms of non-citizens actually would be the category would not be living in our HDB flats, particularly, the migrant workers. But overall the Government is planning to ensure that through our land use planning as well as making sure that we have got all the supply side and demand side factors in place to ensure a steady supply, both of private as well as public housing. And I thank Mr Louis Chua for also agreeing on the observations that I have made. 9.16 pm”
“While the Government is helping most Singaporean households, the higher-income groups as well as foreigners will contribute more to Government revenue. Through this combination of not delaying necessary adjustments while providing needed support to households, we can keep our public services and finances sound while helping Singaporeans going through a difficult time (In English): I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the point that was just raised – I believe it was by Mr Louis Chua – on delaying GST increase for one or two years on the basis that finances have been better than expected. We are actually doing much better than that. With the Assurance Package, we have delayed the impact of the GST increase for the majority of Singaporean households by at least five years and by about 10 years for lower-income households. In conclusion, we recognise the impact of inflationary pressures on Singaporeans. Many are cutting back on spending while we ride out the economic uncertainties. We empathise with these challenges and we will do more, if necessary. But, we have to do it right. This means: one. preserving market principles and not over-regulating – to allow the market to allocate resources and determine price so that we can have an efficient, productive economy while intervening decisively where market failures exist; and two, fiscal sustainability – to intervene prudently so as to remain responsible to future generations. In the longer term, the only bulwark against inflation is to remain competitive, to grow the economy and to achieve wage growth for all. This is the sustainable and sensible way ahead and this Government is committed to this mission. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the amendments to the Motion raised by Mr Liang Eng Hwa.”
“We have experienced high inflation for the last few years due to the dislocations in the global economy caused by the pandemic, conflict and geopolitical tensions. Right now, inflation is moderating, but we recognise that many households still feel the pressure from cost of living. That is why the Government has enhanced the Assurance Package to help everyone cope better. We try our best to operate public services efficiently and to keep costs low. However, cost is inevitable as things still cost money. When costs go up, despite our best efforts, they still have to be covered. For essentials, some of it will be covered by Government subsidies, for example, healthcare and public transport costs, but not all. Some part needs to be paid by consumers. Some consumers will need help with this. We will provide them targeted direct help if need be, for example, U-Save rebates and public transport vouchers. And those who need more help will get more support. This is much better than subsidising the product directly or having tiered pricing schemes because that is more expensive and less effective. Overall, we have provided high quality Government and public services to Singaporeans. The Government Budget is less than 20% of the GDP, which is much lower than most developed countries. Nevertheless, the Government's spending needs are rising steadily, especially in healthcare. The GST increase is essential for this. There is no good time to do it. But through the Assurance Package, the Government has effectively delayed the impact on most citizen households while getting the new rate implemented and the additional revenues flowing. For example, the bulk of the GST revenues are paid by higher-income groups as well as foreigners and tourists.”
“The Parliament has passed a Bill mandating that tenants and landlords of qualifying retail premises comply with the leasing principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises in Singapore. This is to ensure industry-wide consistency in leasing principles and practices to provide certainty to landlords and tenants and set out a dispute resolution process that is affordable and expedient. The Act will take effect in early February 2024 as sufficient time has to be given for the industry to transition to mandatory compliance. The code will be reviewed and updated as necessary, based on feedback from industry players. Let me now turn to some points on supporting persons with disabilities and caregiving that Mr Gerald Giam had raised. We empathise with the challenges of those who need additional support, such as caregivers and persons with disabilities. I beg your pardon, I think it was Mr Dennis Tan who raised these points. To Mr Dennis Tan's points, I would like to clarify that financial support schemes for caregivers such as the Home Caregiving Grant or the Migrant Domestic Worker Levy Concession do not just apply to caregivers of disabled seniors but persons with disabilities too, including care recipients with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability. Similarly, all Singapore residents have basic health insurance coverage for life, regardless of pre-existing health conditions. MSF has also recently increased funding to adult disability homes and day activity centres in 2021. Mr Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, cost of living is an issue that touches the lives of all.”
“However, there is also broad recognition also that many businesses are facing rising costs, as Mr Mark Lee has pointed out, including the cost of utilities, manpower, rental and raw materials, and some may need to raise prices in order to remain viable. These could include our hawkers and SMEs. The best safeguard against profiteering is healthy competition. We have a robust system in place to remove impediments to competition and encourage a diversified supply chain, which help to ensure that businesses compete fairly and that consumers have sufficient choices. The Government keeps a close watch on the prices of essential goods and services, especially during this challenging period, and will not hesitate to investigate anti-competitive behaviour. Should a member of the public come across such egregious cases, they can report this to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) and the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). If Ms Hazel Poa, as she said in her speech, felt that the scope of the CAP that she sits on is not sufficient for possible upstream cases of price rises to be investigated, I think CCCS would be glad to hear from her with regards to specific details and investigate them. To further help Singaporeans make better purchase decisions on essentials, CASE has developed an app Price Kaki to compare the prices of items sold at supermarkets. To address potential concerns about shrinkflation, CASE has introduced a unit pricing feature this year on Price Kaki to help consumers more easily compare the prices of products with different package sizes and across different brands. Specifically, on business rentals, Ms Hazel Poa had suggested releasing guidelines on fair rental prices.”
“Using the CrowdTaskSG portal, the public can be part of this nation-wide pilot campaign called the Great Budget Meal Hunt by submitting information on affordable meals they would recommend to others or by verifying the details of a budget meal listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere site. Over the past week and a half, we have received 245 recommendations of affordable meals and 319 verifications across 91 coffee shops. We welcome Singaporeans to contribute actively to this initiative. While the current budget meal initiative only applies to coffee shops rented out by HDB, there are also sold eating houses that are privately owned. HDB is studying regulatory options to require budget meals to be provided in these sold eating houses. This includes making the provision of budget meals a condition for the renewal of use of the outdoor refreshment areas – an idea that Mr Murali Pillai had raised previously. We will continue to work with coffee shop operators to find sustainable ways to offer affordable food options to residents. Some Members have also raised their concerns that businesses may take advantage of the inflationary environment to raise prices exorbitantly. The Government takes a strong stance against profiteering and will not hesitate to take action if there is a case to be made. To date, the Committee Against Profiteering (CAP), which I note Ms Hazel Poa also sits in, has received over 350 feedback submissions, of which 32 cases have been found to involve GST misrepresentation and which have been resolved. If Mr Leong has concerns about GST misrepresentation, in other words, a business unjustifiably raising prices by attributing it to GST increase, he can make a submission too to the CAP.”
“We have observed that rental coffeeshops leased under the Price-Quality Method (PQM) tenders typically provide budget food options with prices at around $3 to $3.50, across different estates. I should add at this point that operator proposals for PQM tenders that include healthier food options are already given more points and more favourably considered under the quality criteria. So, I want to thank Ms He Ting Ru for supporting this idea. We are already doing it. Currently, some 114 HDB rental eating houses offer budget meals and drinks. And by 2026, budget meals will be offered at all 374 HDB rental coffeeshops. Members of public can use the BudgetMealGoWhere site to find out what budget meals are offered at HDB coffeeshops near them. HDB also puts up decals at participating coffeeshops to help residents identify the participating stalls more easily. However, while we help residents with their cost of food, we are also mindful that rising costs affect everyone, including coffeeshop operators and stallholders. To ease the transition for them, HDB has also offered a rental discount of 5% off the market valuation-based renewal rents for a period of one year from the time of the tenancy being renewed, subject to verification that the new budget meals and drinks have been implemented. In the spirit of partnering Singaporeans under Forward Singapore, we soft-launched an effort last month to crowdsource the public's recommendations and verification of budget meals in coffee shops across the island.”
“We have, indeed, been hearing inputs from Singaporeans about alternative typologies of housing but we also have to recognise that the very strong desire for home ownership is present within Singaporeans and we will have to prioritise building for home ownership, not so much building for rent, especially if we are talking about people of middle-income. But we will, first, make sure that there are still public rental options for those who are unable to attain the goal of home ownership. Also, we are ramping up supply for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS). We will have close to 2,000 PPHS flats at the end of this year and we seek to double this to 4,000 by 2025. In terms of how the rents are moving in response to the various measures that have been undertaken, I would like to share that private and public housing rents are showing signs of stabilising. In the second quarter of 2023, the increase in private and public housing rents moderated to 2.8% and 3.0% respectively, as compared to 7.2% and 4.4% in the previous quarter and we expect this to further ease as more homes are completed and become ready for their owners to move into. Allow me to move onto concerns raised by several Members, including Mr Leong Mun Wai, Ms He Ting Ru, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Xie Yao Quan on food, especially cooked food. We had proactively launched the Budget Meal initiative in 2023 to increase the availability of affordable food options in HDB estates, especially for residents who need them. These budget meal options are typically lunch or dinner meal options that are priced affordably and are comparable to meals sold at lower price points at nearby eateries, including HDB coffee shops or hawker centres.”
“And as far as I can make out, the affordable housing scheme tries to do a few things. It seeks to achieve dramatically lower BTO prices by leaving out land cost at the point of first purchase, while seeking to assure existing homeowners that their home values will not be destroyed via a crash in the resale market and avoiding being seen as raiding the Reserves. These are the three aims. However, the first aim is simply incompatible with the second and the third aims, which is why the proposal was met with considerable scepticism, from Members of this House as well as the public. More importantly, the affordable housing scheme does not address the specific imbalances in the housing market that the Government has already responded to and identified. For example, dramatically lowering BTO prices is likely to trigger even more demand, especially in the very popular prime areas, instead of moderating demand. On the other hand, the Plus/Prime model which we have announced will address this concern. I now turn to Mr Leong Mun Wai's mention of his Millennial Apartments scheme and I would also like to address some points that Mr Louis Chua has made about addressing the rental market in flats. I say this to Mr Leong Mun Wai and Mr Louis Chua. Let us listen to what younger Singaporeans want. MND and HDB have been engaging Singaporeans at large but also younger home buyers or prospective home buyers. And most of the younger Singaporeans we have engaged indicated a preference to own their own homes; own rather than rent. So, we are not closed to new ideas.”
“I notice that Mr Louis Chua appeared to express some puzzlement about where all this demand for housing is coming from and he seems to want to link this to population increase. In fact, Mr Louis Chua should know because we have brought this up, we have mentioned this during the debate on the housing Motion in February this year. We have been building HDB flats faster than the HDB population growth. And, in fact, the average number of persons constituting each HDB household has been going down. This is the decrease in household size that Mr Louis Chua has also noted. And what is the cause of this reduction in household size? One factor, and I think this is a long-term one, has to do with the fact that we have heard the housing aspirations of singles and we have, over the years, progressively provided more housing options for the singles so that there are more housing types that they can buy, be it on the resale or the BTO market. And, in fact, we have further open this up with the new BTO classification framework that was announced. Given rising rates of singlehood, even if the population were to remain completely static, demand for housing is going to increase over time because the reduction of household sizes is set to continue. This is the reason why I seek Mr Louis Chua and the WP support for all our levers on both the demand as well as on the supply side. Please support us in having a robust recycling strategy for our land in addition to having careful land planning. Let me now turn to some points that Mr Leong Mun Wai has repeated. These are familiar points because he has also raised them during the debate in February. He talked about the PSP's proposal of an "Affordable Housing Scheme".”
“In 2022, eight in 10 first time home buyers of BTO and resale flats had a Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) of 25% or less upon key collection. This meant that they could finance their monthly instalment with CPF, with little to no cash outlay. The Government will continue to monitor closely and adjust policies whenever necessary. And I am glad that Mr Louis Chua acknowledges our housing moves. However, he seems to think that we have not done enough. I noticed that Mr Louis Chua had co-authored a piece in January this year, saying housing in Singapore is affordable. Perhaps, he no longer thinks so. But I am glad that he agrees that the fundamental issue with housing affordability is one of supply, not policy. Supply was indeed disrupted due to COVID. But we are catching up with the backlog. Mr Louis Chua seems to think we should build more. In fact, HDB is already doing all it can on the supply side. We have also activated more levers on the demand side, for instance, by prioritising BTO flats for young married couples. Through catching up on supply and managing demand, we are stabilising the housing market and there are signs that this is happening. Launching 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025 which I mentioned previously means a commitment of 20,000 flats per year. And prior to 2019, HDB launched about 16,000 to 17,000 new flats per year, a figure that Mr Louis Chua had also noted. But at that time, the WP thought that was too many and said so. Now, we have 20,000 flats per year and it seems the WP thinks it is too few. So, I have to ask what figure does the WP propose? And should your higher number be adopted and if the market comes down due to over-supply, then, what will your party be saying then?”
“Similarly, prices of HDB resale flats increased by 1.3% in 3Q2023, a figure that I believe Mr Louis Chua also quoted just now. And this is lower than the quarterly average of 2.5% in 2022. The third imbalance. This is the fact that mature estate BTOs had presented a specific set of concerns. The price of mature estate BTOs drove much of the ground concern about BTO prices. So, when people talked about BTO prices being a concern, they were mostly talking about the BTO prices that they saw in the mature estates. The issue we faced was how to price mature estate BTOs because these are very sought after so that they do not rise out of reach of most buyers and also not in a way that induces its own demand, which is why we announced the introduction of a new housing framework, comprising a new classification of "Standard", "Plus" and "Prime" flats, to take effect from the second half of 2024 onwards. The new framework seeks to ensure homeownership remains affordable, including in choice areas, by providing additional subsidies to these flats, but also tighter restrictions, so that they are affordable even upon resale. This also helps to keep our system of subsidies fair, while keeping to market principles. This means that we can also maintain a good social mix, even in good locations, because housing will be accessible to a wider range of Singaporeans. Based on our ground engagements, Singaporeans are generally aware of and support the new housing framework and its objectives. This will help implementation go more smoothly next year. So, measures are in place for each of the specific imbalances causing price increases in BTO, resale and the private housing markets. Despite having to tackle these imbalances, we have broadly maintained measures of public housing affordability.”
“Third, demand-side levers for public housing such as grants and priority schemes for various categories of buyers. Fourth, maintaining controls on home loan financing, whether through CPF or cash to encourage prudence on the part of home buyers and moderate price increases in the HDB resale and private property markets. And fifth, additional measures such as ABSD to cool the overall housing market where necessary. Recent housing price movements have been due to specific imbalances which the Government has identified. The first imbalance: our building programme fell behind in the last three years due to COVID and we are catching up. To date, HDB has completed close to 75% of the projects delayed by the pandemic and should complete the rest of the delayed flats by early 2025. And we are committed to launch up to 100,000 new flats between 2021 and 2025. The resumption of delivery of private housing will also, over time, ease the crunch in private housing and moderate rentals and home prices. The second imbalance. HDB resale prices have risen significantly in recent years. This is due to buyers turning to resale when BTO construction was affected by COVID-related delays and shifts in social norms prompted by the experience of the pandemic, contributing to overall increase in housing demand. The catch-up in BTO supply will help moderate demand for resale units as people move into the homes they have booked. We have implemented two rounds of cooling measures in December 2021 and September 2022. Coupled with the broader economic climate and mortgage interest rate increases, these have moderated property prices. The prices of private residential properties increased by 0.8% in 3Q2023, lower than the quarterly average of 2.1% in 2022.”
“Mr Speaker, thank you for letting me join the debate. Acting Minister Chee had earlier shared in detail on how we tackle rising costs – managing the Singapore dollar to contain imported inflation, ensuring our economy remains competitive to create good jobs and sustain real income growth, and providing support packages targeted especially for vulnerable groups. I wish to respond to some specific points raised by Members on topics including housing affordability, cooked food prices and profiteering. First, on housing affordability. Members would recall we have had an extensive debate in this Chamber in February on housing affordability and even more recently, there was a major announcement on upcoming changes to the BTO classification framework. Before I respond to points made by Members, including Mr Louis Chua and Mr Leong Mun Wai, please allow me to set out the Government's overall approach towards maintaining stability in the housing market. As economic conditions improve and wages rise in Singapore over the long term, we expect to see this reflected in a gradual rise in housing values and prices. Sudden shocks in either the public or private housing markets will cause serious problems and even hardship for Singaporeans, and this is why the Government actively uses policy levers to moderate price increases. What do these levers comprise? First, careful land use planning, coupled with a land recycling strategy, to ensure a steady supply of both public and private housing, to meet Singaporeans' needs. Second, pricing BTOs, which by the way, in response to the point made about the five "C"s, these BTOs have become more and more similar to condominiums, in terms of build quality and aesthetics. Pricing these BTOs with a view to affordability, not cost recovery.”
“Okay. Thank you, Speaker. The 21 days that Mr Pritam Singh has referred to is a service standard. So, for the applications that he is referring to, we have about 31% of our HFE applications that were processed within the service standard of 21 days. I should add that there is the issue of whether it meets 21 days' service standard, but there is also the impact – whether or not the delay resulted in, for instance, applicant's not being able to take part in the launch. As I have mentioned, because HDB has also been expediting the processing and they have also made accommodations at their end, to HDB's knowledge, applicants were not made to miss out on the May BTO launch, even if they received their HFE outcomes after the 21 days. So, I just wanted to clarify that. And for the resale applications, for those who have encountered difficulties and have reached out to HDB for help, they have all been helped. 2.01 pm”
“In reply to Mr Pritam Singh's supplementary questions, in terms of determining how many people were affected, we do know that applicants experienced longer waiting times. But to measure how many people were affected, it is quite difficult to define it. So, we look at it in terms of the number of people who have reached out to HDB for assistance because they could not complete their applications. So, let us look at them in terms of two categories. Those who have applications for resale flats – those buyers who urgently require HFE applications to be completed in order to do their resale transactions but were not able to do so and have urgent needs, those that have reached out to HDB have been helped. As for the May sales launch, to HDB's knowledge, because they have made transitional arrangements requiring only an indication and intention to buy as well as a preliminary HFE check, this transitional arrangement has not resulted in buyers missing out on the May sales launch. For the upcoming, in fact, it is the current launch, which runs from 4 October to 10 October, HDB's commitment is to ensure that those who have submitted the HFE applications as well as the supporting documents prior to end of August would receive their HFE outcomes in time to take part in the launch. Can I have the third question again, please?”
“To facilitate expeditious processing, home buyers should submit the required information and supporting documents for their HFE letter application.”
“Mr Speaker, in the past, home buyers applied for their flat, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grants, and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) housing loan at different stages of their flat buying journey. To bring more convenience and help home buyers make more informed decisions, HDB streamlined the flat buying process by integrating the different eligibility assessments into a single application called the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter. The HFE letter provides home buyers with upfront and holistic assessments of their eligibility to buy an HDB flat, receive CPF housing grants and take up an HDB housing loan, before they commence their flat buying journey. Since the HFE letter was implemented on 9 May 2023, HDB has processed more than 50,000 HFE applications. For the May Build-To-Order (BTO) Sales launch, there were system errors and high application volume. HDB redeployed more officers to assist home buyers with flat applications that could not be completed successfully online. At the same time, the HFE system was not yet able to handle some complexities in integrating eligibility assessments with data from various agencies, resulting in a higher-than-expected proportion of cases requiring manual intervention. Hence, some home buyers experienced longer processing times for their HFE applications. HDB is working hard to process the outstanding applications as quickly as possible and we seek home buyers’ patience and understanding. In the lead-up to the October 2023 BTO launch, HDB has carried out additional system enhancements to ensure a smoother flat buying process. We encourage prospective home buyers to apply for the HFE letter early, at least a month before HDB sales exercises.”
“Madam, I would ask Mr Louis Ng to file another question on this. It is two different matters.”
“Madam, we do not expect the BBNJ to impact our sea lines of communications.”
“Singapore will also support capacity building measures for developing countries to effectively implement the treaty, by sharing our experiences through platforms, such as the Singapore Cooperation Programme. As the treaty concerns areas beyond national jurisdiction, it will have no bearing on Singapore's measures to mitigate sea-level rise, use of polders and our plans for the Greater Southern Waterfront Gateway development, which are well within Singapore's territorial waters.”
“Madam, the adoption of the BBNJ Agreement, which stands for Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, also known colloquially as the High Seas Treaty, is a victory for the management of the global commons. As Minister Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned in his statement at the UN following the adoption of the treaty, Singapore will sign the Agreement when it opens for signature on 20 September 2023, and we intend to ratify it as soon as possible. This, along with our deep involvement in the BBNJ process, reflects Singapore's commitment to conserve and sustainably use the oceans and their biodiversity. The treaty governs areas in the high seas and deep seabed – in other words, the waters and the seabed beyond the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelves of countries, and is beyond the jurisdiction of any country. While the treaty will not directly affect marine conservation efforts within Singapore's jurisdiction, it will allow us to play a more active role in global efforts to protect the marine environment in areas beyond national jurisdiction. For example, the treaty provides for a more equitable sharing of the benefits arising from marine scientific research in these areas. Through the treaty, our scientists and researchers will share information and marine samples with other parties, and the scientists and researchers of other parties will do likewise with us. This can help to contribute to global conservation efforts. The more we understand about marine biodiversity in the high seas and deep seabed, the better we will be able to protect it.”
“I am happy to let Ms Hany Soh know that we have just crossed the half a million mark, in terms of user accounts registered with the app. And in terms of further enhancing the app with more services beyond just reporting municipal feedback, yes, we have been doing so. We have a "Help Neighbour" feature and very recently, we also collaborated with a VWO on using the app to broadcast information about persons with dementia who may be who may have lost their way in the community and whose loved ones are very eager to find the person. We look forward to more of such collaborative opportunities so that we can leverage on the large user base to help improve lives for Singaporeans. In terms of improving the use of the OneService app, yes, we are also constantly looking at digital and non-digital ways to promote the use of the OneService app to more potential users. For instance, we note that some outdoor advertising could be quite effective. So, we will also be deploying banners to some of our neighbourhoods so that people who might not already be seeing our digital publicity can also be aware that there is this app which they can download. We will continue to take in more suggestions and feedback and I thank Members for being so supportive of the OneService app.”
“Thank you, Mr Zhulkarnain, for the supplementary questions. Of the use of AI, that has already being done, for instance, through our OneService Kaki ChatBot. The ChatBot does use AI to prompt the feedback provider to give more details that allow us or our agencies to identify the location of the case being reported better. So, that is an example of how we are using AI. In terms of interim updates: first, agencies can use the interim update function that is within the app, to provide some update to our feedback providers before the case is completely resolved. Also, for the high volume type of cases, when the case is being submitted, that will be a link appearing to a Ministry of National Development (MND) website, where, if the feedback providers so wishes, he can be informed on which are the types of cases that might take longer to resolve and why. Mr Zhulkarnain also mentioned about the use of community resources and keeping grassroots advisors in the loop. We will study his suggestion. I am very encouraged to hear that he has a community task force and my team would be glad to discuss how we can support each other in better resolving municipal feedback cases. In terms of the volume that we handle, it is very high on a daily basis. So, I think we would have to think about how to provide the information in a more summarised form, for ease of partners that wish to work with us.”
“Sir, the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Land Transport Authority (LTA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks) and Public Utilities Board (PUB), collectively accounted for 53% of municipal feedback that came through the OneService app from 2020 to 2022. The Town Councils handled another 44%. From 2020 to 2022, these five agencies on average took between two and seven working days to close municipal feedback cases. The Municipal Services Office (MSO) has been working with agencies to improve the timeliness and more importantly the quality of their replies to municipal feedback. For straightforward cases, agencies are expected to close the feedback loop only when they have resolved the issue on the ground, with a photo of the completed works where practicable. Such cases usually involve only one agency and are of a nature where clear, concrete actions can be taken to resolve the issue. For example, repairing faulty lighting or a broken footpath. This focus on true case resolution has been well-received by residents. For transient issues like community noise, or complex cases, like those involving anti-social behaviour and enforcement action, agencies will respond to feedback providers on an action plan and indicative timeline to address the issues. For such cases, time is needed for thorough investigation and enforcement action. In such instances, MSO tracks the recurrence of the issue and works with the relevant agencies to better tackle the root causes.”
“Madam, MSO will respond to all the recommendations of the Community Advisory Panel in due course. As for the unit of dedicated personnel, we will share more information of the duration of the pilot. The intention is to eventually roll this out to the whole nation. The purpose of the pilot is more to determine whether the processes are working as intended and also, whether the resourcing is right.”
“Madam, I am afraid I could not hear very clearly.”