Tan Cheng Bock
Singapore
“As I said, we have not done much. We must not be captured by our old style of managing the old. The new old, as I said before, are better educated and travelled, and are very knowledgeable. So we must quickly explore new ways and methods to meet the expectations of the new old.”
“If we only have such a small pool of talents in Singapore because of our population size, we should spare no effort in seeking every such talent.”
“Thank you. I accepted the Minister's reply on the different pricing in the outpatient polyclinics and the hospitals. My point is that the patient's problem has still not been solved. Whenever a doctor refers a patient from a hospital to an outpatient clinic, he still has to pay more.”
“Six out of the nine items were much more expensive. Sir, I am asking why is there such a difference. Is this a one-off incident or is it going to be a norm? How can doctors in the hospital then refer patients back to the outpatient clinic if the patient is going to pay more?”
“I move this amendment to ask the Minister what is the Ministry's stand on seat belts to be made compulsory for primary and kindergarten buses. I heard over the radio that the Ministry is reviewing the case. There are two issues here, question of cost and question of safety. I think safety has a higher weightage over cost.”
“I also want to commend the NTUC for working with the Government to put this package together. I believe that without the NTUC's representation in putting forward the workers' case, the workers would not be able to benefit so substantially this year from this package.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,095 lines we hold for Tan Cheng Bock, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 21 of 22.
“Sir, it is a pity that our golf-playing Ministers are not around to listen to what I have to say. Sir, land is a precious commodity, and even more so if it is reclaimed. Our Government has spent millions of dollars reclaiming chunks of land from the sea. Yet many of us are aware that some of these precious reclaimed lands have been leased to private clubs to operate as golf courses. I would like to ask the Minister how many such projects are on reclaimed land, and what are their terms of arrangement? I think the public has a right to know why these public projects built from public funds at tremendous cost should now be used for projects designed for exclusive private membership use, and especially to develop the handicap of the golfers?”
“Sir, I asked the Minister six seemingly easy questions. But the Minister has only answered three. The others must be very difficult. So he has cleverly thrown the ball at my feet. I accept the challenge and I will discuss with him in private.”
“Sir, looking at the budget for the Ministry of Health, I find that there is no allocation of funds for community hospitals. I would like to ask the Minister about the community hospitals. What are these community hospitals? How are they going to be run, where will they be sited, and why the need for this kind of hospital when there are so many general hospitals in the Republic? How are they going to relate to one another, and will it turn into chronic sick hospitals?”
“Sir, I think the Minister is not realistic. It is not possible for all doctors to go through this DFD course. What is most important is that the Industrial Health Unit must be the coordinating body. They must improve the whole organization. They must inform the workers. They must have contacts with the bosses. They must have contacts with the doctors. You must establish this link. If you do not have this link, the workers will continue to suffer, as I said, from jaundice and whatever diseases.”
“But your DFDs are so limited in numbers. You are only confining them to a few doctors, which is not right. The whole medical potential must be utilized. To reach out to all the workers, you have got to utilize whatever manpower, whatever medical power that you have and whatever medical potential that you have.”
“If we continue to imitate the West blindly, then we will go their way. A day will come when changing our electric bulbs will require a specialist electrician. And NPB will have to organize a specialized course for nurses to carry the bags of the factory designated doctors!”
“Sir, the Minister mentioned about Sweden, and he said that statutory medical examinations are done by designated factory doctors. Sir, I produce to you a report I have just received, which states very clearly that the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health is the central authority in Sweden for matters as mentioned above (concerning those health matters). According to the Board the medical examination can be performed by any medical doctor who is registered in Sweden. So I hope the Minister's experts told him correctly. There is one point I would like to touch on, Sir, and that is legislation. I am very concerned about legislation because I feel legislation will not solve this problem. As such, people outside this House are already complaining that we are over-governing. They feel harassed by legislation, because when you impose legislation they react to it as a veiled threat. Surely the Minister could have explained this thoroughly even before mentioning legislation. Take the question of the dentists, for example. There are already three pieces of legislation to cover the air receivers - the Dentists Registration Act, the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act, and even the Factories Act. They are reacting hostilely because they feel very harassed, as I said. We must not be too quick to slam the door on them. I am not saying that they are right in this issue, but I think legislation must be the last resort in this issue. I for one will come back to this House to press for legislation if the doctors conduct SME incompetently. Sir, let me remind this House that the West, as quoted by the Minister, has DFDs. But the West has this division of labour to such an extent that many of their jobs are superfluous.”
“The designated factory doctor must assist the factory doctor by providing him with a medical profile of the factory he is in charge so that the factory doctor is aware of what to look for. As for the worker, he must be informed and he must carry an identification card or tag, like Medik Awas, to show this to any doctor he sees, whether company or otherwise. This will immediately alert the doctor to the possible health risk confronting the worker. As for the statutory medical examinations, allow the present factory doctors to continue what they are doing now. But guide them by issuing appropriately designed proformas with the relevant information pertaining to the risk involved, similar to those proformas provided by the Work Permit Department and the Registry of Vehicles. If the Ministry considers the present problem urgent, then they should extend the list of SMEs, if necessary to include as many industrial hazards as possible. Lastly, all factory doctors must register with the Ministry of Labour, and if any of them is found wanting in standards in the conduct of SMEs, appropriate action can be taken by the Ministry. Mr Speaker, Sir, I know the Minister is not a medical man. I have tried to present the case in a different light and I hope he will consider what I have said in this House very carefully before he implements the type of designated factory doctors he has in mind and also legislation. He must make use of the full medical potential, not just a few, because he must remember the worker also sees non-company doctors.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, while I would like to put the onus on the Labour Ministry, I think bosses and doctors are also partly to blame. Bosses must not take advantage of the ignorance of such workers who belong to the less-informed and less-educated sector. They must be told from the day they join the company; unions must help to convey this and the Labour Ministry must brief such workers. Sir, I am equally concerned about the health of the workers as the Minister is. I am not against statutory medical examination nor am I against designated factory doctors. But I do not think that it is wise to have the type of designated factory doctors that the Ministry wants. I think designated factory doctors must be very qualified industrial health doctors, not just doctors with three months' training at the National Productivity Board. These doctors must be full-time doctors and not be practising in private clinics of their own. The designated factory doctors must work within the Ministry of Labour in the Industrial Health Unit. And their role is to monitor the industrial health scene, conduct courses for doctors, looking after factories and to upgrade them, produce a regular bulletin for workers and doctors, provide feedback to the National University of Singapore so that they can incorporate this into the University's undergraduate medical course. The designated factory doctors must visit factories. But when they visit the factories, they must bring along those doctors who are in charge of the factories. And, together with the industrial hygienists and, of course, the industrial nurses, they can advise these doctors who are in charge of the factories. Moreover, they can police these factories more effectively.”
“The impression I got is that the Labour Ministry has ignored the criticism and feedback from people involved in the field. They intend to proceed as planned. They are either misinformed or they refuse to understand. The creation of this category of doctors called DFDs will benefit the DFDs more than the workers. It will benefit the doctors, not the workers. The Labour Ministry need not be a big Father Christmas to help the doctors to make money. They are all doing all right. Why do I say so? First, DFDs will have to be paid more for the examinations because they have undergone a special course conducted by the National Productivity Board. Who pays? The company pays. But in this recession period, why should they spend more on an examination that can be done by any factory doctor as in the past and also in the present? Secondly, those doctors who "graduate" earlier from this course or those specializing in Industrial Health will enjoy the benefits of this scheme more than those who are trained later and how about those new graduates. We will soon have a cartel similar to the OPEC countries. In the meantime, while the Labour Ministry is concerned about the doctors, the poor worker will continue to have jaundice, to suffer from ionizing radiation, lead poisoning, etc. Why? Because he has been left out of this whole exercise. Mr Speaker, Sir, the most important consideration in this prevention exercise is not DFD or legislation but simply the worker must be informed in the first place. I am sure those 18 cases in 1982 and those 13 cases in 1973/74 would not have been missed if the workers knew from the start that their working environment carries with it the risk of getting toxic jaundice.”
“There are four such SMEs for lead, ionizing radiation, asbestos, silica and, lately, I believe they added three more. There are two parts in this examination: (1) Physical medical examination, and (2) Supportive evidence. The first part is like any ordinary medical examination that one would have gone through during a medical check-up, except the doctor pays more attention to certain signs and symptoms related to the particular risk the worker is subjected to. There is nothing special about this examination. The second part is biochemical, involving the taking of blood or special investigations like sending the patient for audiometric test for detecting deafness or radiological, i.e. sending patients for X-Ray to rule out silicosis. The point is this. The first part can be done by any doctor and the second part is not usually done by a doctor or even a DFD. It is dependent on other disciplines like the biochemist, the pathologist or the radiologist. Therefore, this examination can be done by any competent doctor. Even an industrial health doctor cannot do more than he. So why create DFDs? This is more unproductive. The Ministry of Labour has come out with two pieces of statistics in support of the creation of DFDs to do SME. For the past nine years, in 1973, there were 13 cases and in 1982, there were 18 cases of toxic jaundice misdiagnosed as viral hepatitis. This works out to be about 3.5 cases per year. There must be within this period hundreds or even thousands of cases of jaundice seen by these doctors and in my opinion an average of 3.5 cases per year is not a bad record. Yet for this small number, the Ministry has decided to create a category of DFDs and later to legislate to only allow them to do SME.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Labour has this notion that creating Designated Factory Doctors (DFDs) and allowing only DFDs to do this examination called the Statutory Medical Examination (SME) will solve the problems of the high-risk prone workers. They seem to think that this move will work like a magic wand - one wave and everything will be all right. I think the Ministry is looking at the wrong end of the stick to solve this complex problem. The Ministry is tackling this problem from the doctors' end. I think they should be looking at this problem from the workers' end. Like the Minister, I agree with him that we should all be concerned with the health and safety of our workers. I am afraid, Mr Speaker, Sir, this is where we part company. I disagree with the Ministry's way of tackling these workers' health problems. Before I proceed, Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to say that I am not a company doctor to any factory. I do not practise industrial medicine and I am only a family doctor. I am not representing the doctors and I am speaking as an MP. It so happens that I am a doctor and I have a more intimate knowledge of the matter and the issues involved. I would like to offer my views on this matter to the Minister. I would like to begin by explaining this term Statutory Medical Examination and why factory doctors who are now doing this particular examination are disturbed by the latest Ministry of Labour's move to appoint only specially Designated Factory Doctors to do this examination. However, let us see what is so special about this examination called statutory medical examination that requires only specially trained doctors. Statutory medical examination is a compulsory annual examination conducted on workers working in certain high-risk occupations.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as regards this amendment, I would like to draw the Minister's attention to the proper use of our expressways and the policing of it. Sir, poor lane discipline, failure to keep left unless overtaking and tail-gaiting, i.e. following very closely, are some of the bad driving habits encountered on our expressways. Speeding along our expressways is another problem. Driving on our expressways can be very hazardous as proven by the large number of accidents in the past two years. To ensure that the expressways are safer for Singaporeans, is it not time that the Ministry formed an Expressway Patrol to police and to upgrade the overall driving standards of Singaporeans? These drivers and riders patrolling the expressways must be specially trained. But, as yet, I am not aware of any high-speed circuits to train such police drivers and riders in pursuit and expressway work. The Member for Alexandra has mentioned about L-drivers not being allowed on the road by 1985. I would just like to know whether there are enough learning circuits and whether land has been allocated for such circuits?”
“Sir, in view of the assurance given to me by the Parliamentary Secretary, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, *That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead LC-02 of the Main Estimates. Sir, in moving this amendment, I am just asking the Minister of Education why is it that my constituency, which is a fairly big one, should have only one primary school. I am wondering why they are depriving me of primary schools. Each year during the Primary 1 registration I am swamped with parents requesting places for their children in school. Can the Minister please explain why, and whether there are plans to build more schools in my constituency and, if so, when will they be built? Sir, the Minister of State made a point about the intelligence test. Now, if intelligence test is of little value, as pointed out by the Minister of State, I wonder why such a recommendation was made in the first place. I would recommend the Minister to tell the systems engineers not to make such non-practical suggestions in the future. In fact, I am beginning to wonder whether the other recommendations are workable.”
“In that case, why not put them into the VITB in the first place rather than make them go through this course? I would like to ask one question. Is it true that teachers have been instructed to pass 90% of the Normal course students? They were given no definite written Normal course syllabus to cover. This means that to achieve this pass rate of 90%, Normal course students must be taught at the pace of the slowest learner. The Minister has not answered two of my queries: one is on intelligence test and the other is on double weightage.”
“Sir, I fully agree with what the Member for Moulmein has said about salvaging the less capable students, and he has debated it so well that I hope the point has been driven home to the Minister. The Minister has mentioned that 28% of the Normal course students have little hope of passing the GCE 'O' examination? Am I right?”
“Second, allow them to do fewer subjects, maybe four, but at GCE 'O' level standard. This will ensure that they fulfil the Ministry's primary objective of salvaging them. Lastly, I quote again from the Ministry of Education Report, 1978 (page 6-4): 'It must be complemented by a properly-organized implementation programme; a realistic curriculum, competent teachers, sufficient teaching materials and facilities and a healthy social environment.'”
“Sir, this re-streaming in the Normal course is contrary to the objective of streaming, which is to help the so-called slow learner to obtain at least three 'O' level passes. In this way, the Normal Course students are worse off. First, he has to endure the label of slow learner. Then the Ministry of Education gives up on him by inadequately preparing him to do the GCE 'O' level. Are we being fair to such students? This is not salvaging them. I read the Sunday Times report dated 15th August, 1982, as quoting the Minister of State to have said: 'The CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) must be structured so that the weaker pupils will be able to pass at least one subject.' I hope he is misquoted because this year's GCE 'O' level results showed that 98% passed at least one subject, and mind you, Sir, this was without streaming. In other words, most of the Normal Course students would have at least passed one subject at the GCE 'O' level without this streaming. In summary, Sir, parents with children in the Normal Course believe that their children will ultimately do the GCE 'O' level examination but at a slower pace. Teachers who are teaching Normal course students know that this is far from the truth. Students in the Normal course end up worse off as they are not allowed to do or they are inadequately prepared for the GCE 'O' level examination. We must do something. Already three batches have been streamed. I propose that, first, the syllabus must cover in each year of study 20% of the total GCE syllabus so that by the time the students complete his Secondary 4 he has already covered 80%. This will equip him better for his GCE 'O' level examination at the fifth year by having to cover only 20% instead of 40-50% at present.”
“How, Mr Speaker, Sir, by any stretch of the imagination can you expect a slow learner, equipped with only 50-60% of the Express Course syllabus, to be able to cope with the GCE 'O' level examination at the end of the fifth year? He must be a super-fast learner and yet he is in the Normal Course, a course for slow learners. Sir, is it also possible that this course has very good students who were wrongly streamed for whatever reason? Perhaps the Minister would like to explain. Let me refresh his memory on why the Normal course was implemented. The Normal course was set up to salvage those who failed to obtain at least three 'O' level passes in the GCE examination. The Member for Moulmein has quoted from the blue book, i.e. the Ministry of Education Report, 1978, and I will quote again: 'In order to help these pupils obtain at least 3 GCE 'O' Level passes, we also recommend that: * the pupils be allowed to complete their secondary education at a slower pace (leading to the General Certificate of Education Examination in five instead of four years), and * the students be allowed to sit for fewer GCE 'O' Level subjects than those in the bilingual streams.' From this Report, Sir, it is clear that these slow learners will be sitting for the GCE 'O' level examination in five years. Yet at the Schools Council meeting, it was reported in the Sunday Times on 15th August 1982, that 65-70% of these students would not be allowed to sit for the GCE 'O' level examination after another streaming at Secondary 3 in the Normal course. These students would have to leave school after sitting for the Certificate of Secondary Education at the end of Secondary 4. The remaining 30-35% would proceed to do the GCE 'O' level examination if they did well.”
“How many of such cases have been identified out of those who did not fare well in the PSLE by this procedure? The Minister must seriously look into the distortion that double weightage given to the language may produce. Any right-thinking Singaporean would by now have realized the importance of bilingualism. There is no further need to hammer this point home by giving double weightage to the two languages. It would not be bad if the Normal course prepares such students adequately for the GCE 'O' level examination. But judging from the way the course is implemented, I see these non-linguistically inclined students paying a heavier price. I will go into this later. Sir, may I request the Ministry of Education to re-examine the double weightage for languages in the PSLE with a view to identifying those who are intellectually capable of doing the Express course but are only handicapped by the second language. I have also filed an amendment to speak on the Normal course in our schools. As I said, judging from the way the Ministry is implementing this course, I see little hope whatsoever of those students of ever doing or succeeding at the GCE 'O' level. Yet parents still think that sending their children to the Normal course would allow them to study at a slower pace for the GCE 'O' level. They think that this will benefit their less academically able children as the Normal course was expressly created to help this group of slow learners. The truth is, Sir, the normal course students are not being prepared to do the GCE 'O' level. In theory, it was the intention to prepare students at a slower pace. In practice, however, teachers are told to teach these students only 50-60% of the Express course syllabus.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for allowing, me to speak at this juncture so that I need not move my two amendments*. The topics I am bringing up are related to what has been raised by the Member for Moulmein. Sir, three years have elapsed and three groups of PSLE students have been streamed into Normal, Express and Special Courses, and three years of streaming experience has been gained by the Ministry of Education. It is all too familiar to us present in this House and outside that the reason students were streamed to the Normal stream was their poor performance in the PSLE and that they were slow learners. But, Sir, is this what is being done? Is the Minister satisfied with its implementation policies on streaming? Are only slow-learners in the Normal stream? How many are there because of the double weightage given to language? Is the Minister aware that double weightage could produce an error in streaming? Some students have got good grades in Science, Mathematics and English but failed in Chinese, and similarly some have also landed in the Normal stream because of English. What has the Minister done to ensure that the child who does badly in the second language but has good results in other subjects are not wrongly streamed? I quote the footnote at page 6-2 of the Ministry of Education Report 1978: A few students who fail an examination may not be slow-learners, They fail because of other reasons (for example, poor home environment), These students would have the intellectual capability to handle the standard academic course. They could be identified by Intelligence Tests ...' To improve the degree of accuracy in streaming, questions testing intelligence were suggested for incorporation in the PSLE. Is this being done?”
“In the past decade or so, our nation's economy has developed so rapidly that it has incessantly raised the standard of living of the people, so much so that the people have a lower sense of responsibility. While enjoying a good life, many fuss over Government policies but when they are faced with difficulties, they expect the Government to solve their problems instantaneously, like performing magic. Actually, in difficult times, people should go hand in hand with the Government, employers together with employees, to cooperate to overcome the difficulties. We can do nothing about the exogenous factors. However, we can try our best to improve ourselves to face the challenges of bad times courageously and ride the storm ahead. Every cloud has a silver lining. After the storm, we shall be able to see the bright sunshine again. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion moved by the Minister for Trade and Industry. 4.35 p.m.”
“40% of it will be used for building flats, 38% on developing our infrastructure, 7.4% on education and vocational training. These three items of expenditure will all promote the level of domestic demand and stimulate economy. The third item of expenditure on building of flats will further stimulate building activities. The first and second items of expenditure will increase the productive capacity of our nation's economic activities and help the restructuring of our nation's economy. Our Budget deficit this year is $3,740 million, i.e. $680 million more than last year's $3,060 million. Some people are worried that this deficit will continually increase. However, we may note that this deficit has been over-estimated, the reason being that estimated expenditure is usually higher than actual expenditure, and estimated revenue is usually much lower than actual revenue. On the other hand, the leakages in savings and imports may also soften the pressure of inflation caused by the increase in expenditure. However, we have to be careful not to over-stimulate the activity of a certain industry (for example, the construction sector) and thereby causing pressure of inflation caused by bottleneck situations. The current recession may be a blessing in disguise to our nation. Firstly, the frequency of job-hopping has decreased. People are not so choosy in selecting their jobs and work attitude has improved. What is more important is that more people now understand that we must not take economic prosperity and better living standard for granted. Comfortable life does not come naturally.”
“Furthermore, there is the question whether such companies will reinvest the monies that have been saved from tax concession during the present economic recession. A more practical proposal would be to reduce the burden of costs for these manufacturers. The concession of depreciation allowance on the purchase of computers and office automation equipment this year and the Save Energy equipment last year are typical ways of reducing costs on specific items. During the present recession, the Government should also consider reducing labour costs incurred by the firms and to use Payroll tax and Skills Development Fund levy and CPF rate as short-run economic stabilizers. The Payroll tax at present is only a part of ordinary taxation and has no specific use. The disbursements of the Skills Development Fund up to 1982 amount to $27.5 million, only 8.8% of a total collection of $314 million. Temporarily reducing the rates of the SDF and Payroll tax should not seriously affect the funds that have been allotted to upgrade the skills of our workers. Similarly, at this stage, it is not advisable to raise the rate of contributions to the CPF. To the employer, paying more CPF means that costs go up. To the employee, paying more CPF will reduce the growth of consumption expenditure, especially when the growth of income is slow. This will certainly have an adverse effect on promoting domestic demand. The Budget has three main aims:- (1) to increase the supply of technical and professional personnel. (2) to promote infrastructural, industrial and commercial development. (3) to meet the needs of our people for housing. This year's Development expenditure will be as much as $7.789 billion, an increase of 14% over the last financial year.”
“With regard to company tax concessions, there is definite encouragement in the exemption of stamp duty on cheques and in tax exemption on income from Asian dollar loan syndication in order to develop Singapore into a financial centre. The greatest concession is by way of encouraging companies to purchase computers and automatic equipment, for which there will be 100% depreciation allowance within the first year. This is consistent with our policy of computetization and automation to increase productivity and to open up overseas markets. It is welcoming to note that royalties for musicians and writers will be exempted from income tax. However, it is more urgent that we should encourage our people to read books and to take part in cultural activities. The Government should consider exempting entertainment tax on cultural activities and deducting tax on expenses incurred in buying books, especially books that are beneficial to our children and youths. There may be administrative difficulties, but we can start with our children buying extra-curricular readers from the schools. Perhaps when our Prime Minister goes on his rounds visiting the people, he will be able to see more books in their homes. Exempting entertainment tax on cultural activities will to a certain extent promote participation by the people in the various cultural activities. Such tax exemption should also prevent some cultural centres from degrading into the pitiable state of having to let their premises to banks. Some people argue that in an economic recession Government should reduce the corporate profits tax. I do not think it is proper to do so. This tax concession will only benefit those companies that are making profits.”
“Only the development expenditure of the Government can have any stimulating effect on the economy. There are three tax concessions for individuals. There is an increase in earned income relief for individuals aged over 55 years old and for handicapped persons. Although the real benefit is not much, it will serve as an encouragement and as a reward. For the care of aged parents or grandparents, the concession is different from that of last year. Last year the concession was meant to encourage the younger generation to live together with the older generation under one roof. This year the concession is meant to encourage the aged persons to fortify themselves to continue to contribute to the economy of the nation. Another tax concession is the enhanced child relief for specially qualified married women. This is, of course, welcomed by working professional women. But I doubt whether such a concession will encourage those who choose to stay home to come out and work, or persuade those who decide to quit to stay on their jobs. To such women "who enter the kitchen", child-care and its upbringing is of paramount concern. With the rapid advancement of science and technology, although there are various domestic gadgets to replace human labour, such as the microwave oven, washing machine and dish-washing machine, etc., up till now there is still no robot with human feeling and compassion to replace the child-caring function of the mother. Furthermore, in our present society in which some people claim it is male-chauvinist dominated, the income of such women is regarded as supplementing the family income. Therefore, I believe the effect of this concession as an encouragement will not be great.”
“Therefore, 1983 is a critical and decisive year for the American and world economies. Sir, we should not passively wait for dawn. In the course of adverse economic situation, we must dig in and make use of the recession to upgrade our workers' skill, renew equipment, raise productivity, improve the quality of our products, explore new markets and diversify the products. Singapore is like a small boat that is easy to manoeuvre at every turn. Being a small country, it is better for us to look for business activities that would be most advantageous to our development, such as the development of information software, precision engineering and medical consultancy, etc. Productivity performance last year was disappointing, partly because of the unsuitable measurement of labour productivity in terms of the ratio between output and the number of workers. A better measure is to evaluate the ratio between value-added and man-hours. The Statistics Department should improve upon its measurement of productivity. Although capital-labour ratio and technology are important in raising labour productivity, human factors such as workers' work attitude, labour-management relations and team spirit are equally important. It is when we are well prepared now will we be able and ready to rise above and sail across the water when the tide rises at the right time, to enable us to move forward and even to climb another peak of high performance. The Budget this year can be said to be well balanced, calm and tranquil. Other than tax on liquors, tobacco, and two petroleum byproducts, there is no tax increase. The few items of personal and company tax concessions are mainly of the nature of symbolic consolation prizes.”
“However, compared with many countries, our performance in 1982 was indeed creditable and hard to beat. What is consoling is that the inflation rate has declined to 3.4%; unemployment rate was only 2.6%, with an increase in the number of jobs by some 1,800 compared with 1981. Besides, investments maintained at $926 million, although slightly lower than 1981, was the highest since 1972. National savings increased from $9.82 billion in 1981 to $11.7 billion. Average weekly earnings of employees increased by 15.3% over 1981 and the balance of payments had a surplus of $2.52 billion. All this fine performance will help our economy to weather the storm ahead and to meet the crisis of short-term economic depression. Sir, during the present world-wide economic recession, all countries are looking towards the driving force of the American economic recovery for a breakthrough. Although many people are not optimistic about the economic prospects for this year, there are indications that the frigid winter of the American economy will soon pass and that the dawn of spring is round the corner. First, the rate of inflation and interest rates are decreasing, while the demand for motor vehicles, housing and other goods is increasing. All this will contribute to the recovery of the American economy. There are only two items that would cause concern: (1) excess productive capacity of the US economy; (2) the huge deficit of the US Federal Government budget. Last year, the US Government budget deficit reached US$110 billion while total interest on public debts reached US$111.7 billion, creating the highest record in her history. Should the deficit increase further to a great extent, it would cause a re-inflation of prices and the return of high interest rates.”
“The world faces yet another problem early this year - the declining oil price which brings about a confused oil market. A declining oil price should benefit the non-oil producing countries in the short term. A lower oil price will help both the developing countries and the industrialized countries to lighten the pressure on their international balance of payments and inflation and will also help stimulate their economic recovery. But the instability in the oil market resulting from competing price reductions will have adverse consequences. Declining oil prices will slow down oil exploration and the search for alternative sources of energy, Both factors are not favourable to Singapore's Asian Dollar Market and oil rig construction and related activities. Moreover, for Malaysia and Indonesia being oil producing countries, lower oil prices will mean a reduction in their income. As we have close economic relations with them, we will also be affected indirectly. Ours is an open economy. Our total trade is 3.4 times that of our GDP. The world economic recession certainly affects adversely many of our sectors which depend on external demand. The growth rate of our largest sector Trade has declined in the past three years. The second largest sector Manufacturing where 60% of its products depend on external market has suffered an even greater blow. Its growth rate last year was -5.6%. Other sectors also had their setbacks. Only the Construction sector registered a growth rate (35.5%) higher than in 1981. However, as its relative importance to our GDP is small (6.6%), its rapid growth cannot offset the slowdown of the other sectors. Hence we have an overall 6.3% growth rate, the lowest in the last seven years.”
“The Minister has cited the cost of domestic help as the reason for granting this relief. However, I am sure the Minister is aware that for every mother who works, whether in the factory, office, school or hospital, some cost has to be paid towards the foster care of her children. This care could be in the form of a child-minder, day-care, nursery care, domestic help or foster care. Mr Speaker, Sir, our women have been encouraged to work, and there are a total of 394,980 women in the labour market, of whom 163,245 of 14.6% are married, widowed or divorced. The tertiary-educated women who form the bulk of these specially qualified women comprise less than 1% of the total workforce. Surely the Minister would want to encourage the majority of these married women to continue working by extending this tax incentive to them also. With this note, Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion. 4.15 p.m. Dr Ow Chin Hock (Leng Kee)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, 1983 is a decisive year for the recovery of the world economy and our economy. Are all these signs pointing towards the oasis, or are they merely mirages? We shall know the answer later this year. Last year, the world recession worsened - the unemployment rate kept increasing while growth rate declined. There are two obstacles to economic recovery: (1) the protectionism of the industrialized countries, and (2) the deepening debt of the developing countries. These will persist for a long time. Sir, when one advances in age, there will be less hair on the head; one will then lose fantasy and will lose what the Prime Minister described as wishful thinking. Therefore, I do not expect, or hope, the industrialized countries to pay the debt of developing countries which now totalled some US$700 billion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion standing in the name of the Minister for Trade and Industry. We have heard at length the grim picture of the economy painted by the Minster in his Budget Statement and by the three previous speakers. The Minister has analysed the world economic scene and how it is going to affect us in the coming years. His call to improve productivity at our workplaces and to lower our expectations for wage increases in 1983 should be taken seriously by every Singaporean. Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully support the Government's tax relief for the aged and the handicapped. This shows the Government's concern for the needs of these two groups of Singaporeans. I also support the Government's increased taxation on liquor and cigarettes, and I hope this will be an incentive for many to give up smoking and to reduce their consumption of alcohol. The generous depreciation allowances on computers and office automated equipment should assist our nation towards increased productivity and advancement up the technological ladder. I think the Member for Chong Boon's suggestion for home computer write-off should be seriously taken by the Minister. The benefits are tremendous. There are also about 380,000 owners of private cars, goods vehicles, motorcycles and scooters who must have heaved a sigh of relief at being let off by the Minister - this time. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to draw this House's attention to the enhanced child relief for the specially qualified women. While I feel that the specially qualified women deserve this incentive, the rest of the working women should also enjoy the same tax incentive because I am sure their need for this relief is greater than those specially qualified women.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether his Ministry will eventually take over the education of handicapped children, thereby leaving the associations to look after the other areas of care, like counselling, home support, rehabilitation, etc.”
“I will come to my supplementary question. Resettlement, for example, in an emergency, and like any medical emergency, should be given top priority. On the other hand, the other schemes are not emergency schemes and therefore should be treated differently. I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether he would consider the proposal that HDB keep two separate registers - one Priority and one Ordinary - and then allocate flats on a quota basis, i.e. for a certain number of flats allocated to those on the Ordinary register, one priority case could be allowed. In this way the pain of having to wait longer will be lessened for the ordinary applicants. My other supplementary question is his. Will the Minister of State assure those whose waiting time has been prolonged, hat they will not have to pay more for heir flats should the price of flats go up by he time they are allocated theirs?”
“Sir, first, I would like to thank the Minister for clearing up a misconception among HDB applicants that their waiting time has been prolonged by the Multi-tier scheme by more than one year. However, is the Minister aware that each time his Ministry announces a priority scheme, those waiting in the queue are upset and frustrated for two reasons - (1) having to wait longer for the flats and (2) likely to suffer more from the price hikes for their flats. What if tomorrow HDB decide to have another priority scheme? How will these people feel? While recognizing that priority should be given to certain categories of people, HDB should make a distinction between emergency priority and non-emergency priority. Resettlement, for example - Mr Speaker: It is a very long supplementary question, is it not?”
“In all fairness, Sir, there are many JTC staff who, in spite of the Corporation's shortcomings, have gone out of their way to answer to the needs and requests of the residents. To these JTC workers, I thank them for their services rendered and hope HDB will absorb them into their setup. With that note, Sir, I support the Bill. 3.10 p.m.”
“Must Teban have so many foreign workers occupying flats in the estate? Would a less concentrated presence lessen their aggravation? After all, I remember what our First Deputy Prime Minister said, "Misery should be shared equally." The other issue, Sir, is water. Many of the residents have complained about the sediments in the water. I remember one resident showing me a piece of a darkish brown cloth. This was used to filter the water that flows through the tap of a home. It was really very black. Sir, Teban was built in a hurry and the Minister for National Development is fully aware of its history. I only hope that the buildings remain structurally sound in spite of the land having sunk considerably. I would also urge that the HDB engineers move in to check so that the residents can be reassured and the first place to start with is the Teban market. Sir, talking about markets, I am asking the Minister for National development not to build markets or shopping centres at odd corners of the estate when they take over. I can assure him that the market at West Coast Drive, Block 502, tucked in an isolated corner of Ayer Rajah, has given me a lot of headache which will last me till my term ends. So I am asking him to give more thought to the future planning of Teban estate and not to repeat the same mistake. On the question of free car parking that the residents of JTC estates are enjoying, I would like to give my full support to the Member for Jurong who at the last Budget debate argued that HDB should not take away this privilege for the same reason that JTC had allowed free parking in the first place.”
“I hope also, Sir, to give the Minister for National Development a report of the housing problems of Teban which is being compiled now by the two Residents' Committees of the estate and the Citizens' Consultative Committee of my constituency in due course. Sir, the land in Teban and in Pandan has sunk. The drainage system is dislocated in some areas. The drains are clogged, rats are plentiful, pipes are broken, toilets leak and lifts break down frequently. The residents are fed up with the delays in attending to their complaints and many have stopped writing to the JTC. Therefore, the residents of Teban and Pandan greet this takeover with great expectations. The HDB, with its glorious history of achievements in the housing industry, is welcomed by the residents as their only hope and saviour. Sir, I am not trying to be sarcastic when I pass that remark. It is a general feeling of the residents there. As for me, I personally feel that I would like to go along with the feelings of these residents. But after having been in this House for one year and listening to the brickbats thrown at the HDB by my fellow MPs who are in charge of predominantly HDB dwellings, I welcome this takeover with mixed feelings. I hope the HDB lives up to the expectations of the residents of Teban and Pandan and I hope that the Minister for National Development is listening very carefully. Do not let the residents of Teban and Pandan down. Do something when you take over.I hope I do not need to bring my video-recording to this House next year this time to drive home my point. Sir, one of the issues that HDB must look into is the question of foreign workers. Some of my residents have written to me about their behaviour and some have even written to the press to air their frustrations.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development (Amendment) Bill involves two housing estates in my constituency. I refer you, Sir, to pages 14 and 15 of the Bill, i.e. the Second Schedule, where the estates of Teban Gardens and Pandan Gardens are mentioned. I am sure the residents of these two estates, and in particular, Teban, would support me if I tell this House that the HDB will not be receiving a bundle of joy but a bundle of woes. My fellow MP, the Member for Boon Lay, and of course the Member for Jurong who has now crossed over to the other side of this House, could also testify to what I am about to say and he would indeed be glad that I am echoing what he has said before in this House when he was a Backbencher. Sir, a picture is worth a thousand words. Therefore, with your indulgence, Sir, I would pass this photograph to the Minister for National Development and another one to the Minister for Trade and Industry who was in charge of JTC previously. In it you will see the conditions of one of the very badly managed flats in JTC. [Photographs handed in] I am sure that the Minister for Trade and Industry, after seeing that photograph, will be glad to pass this JTC buck over to the Minister for National Development. If the two Ministers are not convinced by the photographs I have just given to them, I have here a stack of them taken from the homes of many residents in Teban, and if they are still not convinced, I would extend an invitation to both of them to my Ayer Rajah community hall to watch a video-recording of the Teban market, the housing defects and the general environment.”
“(9) That the total sum to be allocated for Head P of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100.”
“In Singapore, for example, the number of elderly people is gradually increasing and the social changes are associated with an increasing trend of psychosomatic and mental disturbances; affluence and stresses appear to be associated with the rise in cardiovascular disorders; certain life styles and the aging population are associated with an increase in malignant diseases. Primary health care will therefore require changes in an appropriate direction. In this connection, Sir, may I ask the Ministry to explore into the possibility of including physiotherapy on an outpatient basis. This is because of the need to rehabilitate our injured patients close to their homes and place of work. We need every able-bodied Singaporean to participate in our industrialization programme and therefore extension of this physiotherapy on an outpatient basis would facilitate a quicker return of the affected workers to the factories and industries. I have already mentioned the importance of the nurses in looking after the chronic sick and aged at the homes. Sir, if we neglect to include primary health care for our aged population, I can see our hospitals crowded with chronic sick and upsetting all other hospital programmes in the future.”
“If, for example, the doctor and his primary health care team are unhappy, either due to poor working conditions, poor pay, lack of facilities, there will be slip-ups in the first line and its consequential effects on the hospital services. Let me explain further. If a patient with high blood pressure is looked after carefully at this level of health care, he has a less likely chance of being hospitalized. Similarly, a diabetic, or for that matter any ailment, if well taken care of by this team, will result in a less likely chance of hospitalization care later on. Sir, I could continue to explain and cite examples, but I hope my point is clear to the Minister that primary health care is an important component in our health care system. We should continue to upgrade and improve this area. The Ministry must look into the working conditions of the OPD doctor, the nurses, the amahs and also examine the present facilities available at such centres. Let us take the Home Nursing Foundation scheme. The Home Nursing Scheme, for example, could be expanded because at present there are - I stand corrected in this particular figure - 60-odd staff nurses engaged in this work. Yet they have made 39,573 home visits in 1980. These nurses provide basic nursing care and rehabilitation of the old non-ambulant and chronic sick patients in their own homes. In the course of these home visits the nurses also educate the families on providing basic nursing care to detect changes in the health status of elderly patients at an early stage to enable prompt medical attention to be sought to prevent long periods of hospitalization. Priorities in the delivery of primary health care do not remain static. They need to be updated according to the changing needs of our community.”
“Sir, there is no need for me to explain why hospital care costs more, but I would like to point out to the Minister for Health that his Ministry must not rely too much on hospital services in the delivery of our health care system. On the contrary, I would like to emphasize the importance of primary health in the form of outpatient dispensaries, maternal and child health clinics, school health services, in the delivery of our health care system. I therefore lament at the 8.7% allocation of the Health budget for 1982 for this field of health care. Perhaps the Health administrators being specialists tend to be biased in their priority and have concentrated on specialized medical care, including the building of big hospitals. Primary health care at the OPD level, for example, has therefore lost out in priority. Sir, primary health care should cater for the main health problems in the community. Not only should it deal with the curative aspect of ill-health but it should also undertake measures to promote health, to prevent diseases and to provide rehabilitative services. While private practitioners have played an important part in primary health care, the Ministry of Health must not expect and depend too much on them. I believe that OPD must continue to upgrade and expand because four million attendances is sufficient proof of its importance. Sir, the outpatient clinic is the first line of patient contact. It is important to realize this very basic fact. Whatever medical services that the Health Ministry provides after that would depend on how this first line of health delivery system handles the situation.”
“Thank you very much, Sir, for allowing me to speak. First, I would like to say that I am a general practitioner and I have no vested interest in what I want to say. Sir, going into the Ministry of Health's Summary of Expenditure Estimates for FY 82, I notice that out of a total sum of $368 million, approximately $214 million (it has been given as an approximate sum) was allocated to General Hospital Services, while only $32 million (again an approximate) was being allocated to Primary Health Care. In other words, 58.1% of the total expenditure for Health is being used for Hospital Services and only 8.7% of the total Health expenditure is given for Primary Health Care. Let us examine the utilization of both services. I refer you to the Annual Report of the Ministry of Health, 1980. In that year, $139.41 million or 64.3% of the recurrent expenditure went to Hospitals while only $23.08 million or 10.6% of the recurrent expenditure was allocated to Primary Health Care and Health Education Division. In that year, however, out of a total attendance of about five million patients at Government clinics, i.e. outpatient clinics, maternal and child health clinics, A&E attendances and Hospital Specialist clinics, approximately four million or 70.8% were seen at the Primary Health Care clinics. Of the rest, about 1.6 million or 29.2% were seen at the various hospitals. In other words, the fund allocated is not proportional to the utilization of facilities, i.e. 64.3% of Health budget spent on 29% of total patients seen while only 10.6% of Health budget catered for 70.8% of total patients seen.”
“The thousands of tourists who come to Singapore from neighbouring countries and afar can see for themselves whether that is the situation they see, wherever they go in Singapore. I am wondering if the Member for Anson is making another of his accusations based on rumours. I find it difficult to believe that a Member of this House can make such irresponsible generalizations, knowing them to be untrue. Previously he has been unable to substantiate his wild accusations and statements because they were all falsifications. But now it seems he is even prepared to make such sweeping statements to denigrate his own country and people, just to seek popularity with foreign journalists. How far will he go to perpetuate his determination to malign his own country and the achievements of the people? As I see his remark in the International Herald Tribune, I can only conclude that it was deliberately designed to suggest that many people were starving in Singapore. Who is starving in Singapore - except for a few who starve to slim.”
“Another example of what the Government has done for the workers is the Factories Act of 1973 which provides for the health, safety and welfare of the workers. Furthermore, a worker who is injured or afflicted with an occupational disease in the course of his employment is entitled to compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1975. That Singapore today can enjoy full and meaningful employment and second highest GNP per capita in Asia after Japan is due to collective endeavours of the Government, workers and employers. To achieve an even better quality of life, the Ministry of Labour, in conjunction with other Ministries, will help Singapore to move beyond just full employment to more opportunities for higher skilled jobs with better pay. Indeed, it is not just by comparison with other countries but also in absolute terms that I say that the life of the average Singapore worker and for all Singaporeans has improved considerably since the difficult days of the 1950s and early 1960s. Today the life and living standards of all of us in Singapore can by no means be said to be inferior to that in other parts of Asia. However, what upsets me and I am sure all workers in Singapore is the recent remark by the Member for Anson which seeks to malign everything that is Singapore. In a recent interview with the International Herald Tribune which was published on 15th March, 1982, he said, and I quote: 'People don't really know what is happening in Singapore. They see the clean streets and the tall buildings, and they don't know people are starving here.' He suggests we are starving. If this is the real state of affairs in Singapore, then it is a very serious indictment on the Government and the workers' movement. But is it so?”
“Because of the company's development projects, they are asked to vacate their houses and, as work permit holders, they do not qualify for HDB flats. May I ask the Minister to review this policy as some of these workers have been living with their families and have been working in Singapore for the past 12, 20 or 30 years. I must add that I wholeheartedly welcome the Government's decision on work permits. 6.30 p.m. Mr Speaker, Sir, I now seek your permission to give my views on certain matters in the interest of our nation. As a worker and Member of Parliament, I would like to compliment the Ministry of Labour for what it has done to help the workers of Singapore. At a time when unemployment is a very grave problem in many countries, for example, there are more than 11 million unemployed in the European Community, Singapore enjoys full employment. I wonder whether the Employment Service in the Ministry of Labour has any work to do since jobs are chasing workers in Singapore. But I am told the Employment Service has also taken on new tasks such as retraining disabled persons for employment. This is a welcome move. Workers in Singapore enjoy social and employment security which is the envy of many workers and the unemployed in many countries. The terms and conditions of employment with regard to holidays, sick leave, hours of work and other fringe benefits, are regulated and protected by the Employment Act and the Industrial Relations Act. There is also the well-known Central Provident Fund to ensure that workers are provided for in their old age or in the event of their permanent disablement. This Fund can also be used to pay for the purchase of HDB flats.”
“We should allow him to use his CPF money to help purchase such machines. Such a machine is, of course, too costly for him to purchase individually. But together with other patients with similar needs, they could combine together, using the CPF money, to purchase the machine. In the event the part-owner of this machine has a successful kidney transplant, he can sell his share to another person and the CPF money goes back to the CPF Board. The National Kidney Foundation could be the coordinator in this programme and the Ministry of Health should at least provide the expertise and manpower. Sir, in a similar vein, we should allow patients who need Pacemakers, artificial limbs and other prosthesis to use the CPF to purchase these devices. Mr M.K.A. Jabbar (Radin Mas)( In Tamil): Mr Speaker, Sir, I feel proud to speak on this topic together with my other colleagues. We have issued various types of work permits for foreign workers in line with the Government's policy to boost the industries. This is a welcome move. However, Sir, as a result of the recent policy on work permits, some workers from a neighbouring country who have been living in Singapore for a long time with their families are affected. I wish to bring the following to the Hon. Minister's attention. Under the Day Permit Scheme, a worker is required to return to the neighbouring country every day although the worker's wife and two children are Singapore citizens. Is this fair? The children's studies are affected and the worker too is not able to live with his own family. When he applied for permanent residence status, his application was also refused. There are also some other workers who pay rent to reside in their company's houses.”
“No. There is no vested interest. Allow me, Sir, to ask whether the Minister would consider allowing the use of CPF savings for the purchase of vital medical appliances and devices for those who need them but can ill-afford to pay for them. Sir, I am referring to those patients who are afflicted with such medical conditions involving the heart and kidneys and surgical conditions involving loss of limbs and malfunctioning joints. Some heart patients need a special device called the Pacemaker to set the heart to pump at the right rhythm, or some kidney patients need dialysis machines to clean their kidneys of unwanted body waste, or some patients need artificial limbs or joints to get them to be functional again. While I am aware that the Ministry of Health has helped in many such cases, there are some who cannot enjoy such benefits because they do not meet the requirements laid down by the Ministry of Health. Let me inform this House that patients have to pay for these appliances as per supplier's price of 50% for Class C patients. Still the cost can be very high. Allow me, Sir, to highlight the unfortunate 200 Singaporeans who present themselves with chronic renal failure each year at our hospitals. I believe that the Singapore General Hospital has spent about $300,000 on the dialysis centre. This centre, however, can treat only 40 patients at any one time. I also learnt, Sir, that in spite of this new set-up, about 90% of new patients are turned away. A machine for haemodialysis costs $25,000 and treatment cost is over $1,000 per month per patient. In the private sector, it is even more expensive. It would cost a patient $30,000 to $40,000 a year. The CPF is of no use to a man at 55 years of age if his youth is withered away by a debilitating disease.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, everyone wants to get money from the CPF. But I am asking the Minister to consider allowing the use of CPF savings on medical grounds.”