Tan Soo Khoon
Singapore
“May I just seek your indulgence and the Ministers for me to raise a little clarification? I raised the point about the absence of a medical officer at Changi Naval Base when the incident at sea happened last year.”
“We all look forward to its people obtaining their legitimate right to democracy and freedom, though I must add here that it should not necessarily be the kind we now see in some other Southeast Asian countries where democracy, unfortunately, has been taken to mean fluctuating between people demonstrating on the streets and the threat of m…”
“The West is unable to accept that it will soon be overtaken by the emergence of Asian powerhouses and fears that it will become irrelevant in an increasingly globalised world it refused to wake up to.”
“They are committed to Singapore and they want to do their National Service, but they just want MINDEF to exercise flexibility when they request for deferments. Mr Speaker, recently, MINDEF granted a deferment of three months to one Mr Stanley Aw to allow him to participate in the Singapore finals of the World Cyber Games.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this issue of the revenue pooling between the two airlines of Singapore and Malaysia is not a new issue. But can I ask why is it that in this era of competition and trade liberalisation, we are still allowing the two airlines to have this archaic policy of revenue sharing which, in fact, results in higher prices for trave…”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, does the Minister of State believe that it is in the interest oftravellers between the two countries to allow what is essentially a cartel made up of MAS and SIA to exist?”
The complete record
Every one of 656 lines we hold for Tan Soo Khoon, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 14 of 14.
“And when there are adequate `supporters' in a particular industry, this will encourage manufacturers of the finished goods requiring the parts made by these `supporters', to set up their plants here, for easy access of supply of parts is a fundamental factor in determining plant location. The spiralling effect is obvious: more manufacturers of the finished product means more factories in the supporting industry. But which comes first? Supporting industries would not start here unless they are assured also of a ready market for their products. The `chicken-and-egg' question then comes into play. The call to encourage industries that seek wider and newer markets overseas is also a good one and the steps being taken by the Ministry of Communications to develop airfreighting facilities at our airport will be timely and will contribute vastly to the efforts of our export-oriented industries. For it is an undeniable fact of marketing that one's ability to move one's products to the market place at a fast pace and at the lowest possible cost determines whether one is successful or not. I do not doubt that we have enough airlines coming through Singapore to carry our products to all corners of the world. But what I doubt is the ability to do so at low cost. Singapore exporters do not enjoy the cheap rates of air charter cargo services going out of Singapore. Hong Kong offers such services to its industries for air charter cargo services can give rates that are as low as a quarter of rates offered by regular scheduled airlines, It is in this question of transportation cost that Singapore industries have often lost that competitive edge to their counterparts in Hong Kong.”
“But the cost to society, in terms of wastage of learned skills, of having to rely on foreign labour, of not being able to make their contributions as citizens to our economy, of being unable to contribute to the family income, is high. It is not suffice to say that creches have been established where working mothers can leave their children and to carry on working, for it is obvious that these have not proved to be popular enough to encourage mothers to do so and concentrate on increasing their family income and to contribute to the economy. I call upon the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Social Affairs to work closely, perhaps in consultation with various women's organisations to scrutinise this problem. Mr Speaker, Sir, I come now to the Addendum on the Ministry of Finance. It is encouraging to note that a special effort will be made to encourage industries, particularly those that supply parts to other manufacturers, We have to be blunt enough to admit, as the Member for Kallang has implied, that our present tax system has been a contributory factor in many investors shying away from Singapore. That there are many incentives given by the EDB is not good enough for such incentives have been aimed more at the `giants' and the pioneers of industries. It is time for us now to give emphasis to small industries particularly those which are classified as supporting industries, that is, those which supply parts to others who put these parts together to constitute the finished product.”
“When we talk of increasing productivity we tend to forget that employers must also make their contribution in terms of proper incentive schemes and the provision of more efficient plant and equipment. Lest we forget, ours is a system of tripartite partnership of labour, employer, and Government and no one partner subjugates the other and no one partner can shirk his responsibility. Mr Speaker, Sir, the English press lamented on the lack of female representation in Parliament when the PAP announced its candidates for the elections. Perhaps that is why unwittingly to them the Minister of Defence has been thinking of drafting them. While it is not my intention to champion their cause and risk the wrath of those in this Chamber who would label me a `ladies' man', I would like to raise a point concerning working women who constitute half our work force. Women today want to be recognised in their own right, and have been, at least in Singapore. They want and have the right to pursue their careers, whether it is a job at the executive level or along the production line. But more often than not the pursuit of a career ends after marriage, that is to say, many are unable to reconcile the objective of carrying on working with that of raising and looking after a family. And we have therefore a situation where those who have acquired skills for years have to stop utilising what they have learned. And we also have a situation where foreign workers have to be employed when our married mothers could well have fitted into their places. But they are not to blame for no woman, not least any man, would like to face the trauma of a broken home, and of delinquent children as a result of neglect of the family all for the sake of a career.”
“The latter category is that group of people who believe the nation owes them a living, who do not believe that reward is equated to performance but subscribe to a premise that higher rewards must come with increasing haste and as a matter of right. Such an attitude, far from being latent in our society, is becoming evident and widespread with the younger generation and must be checked if we are not to go the way of many countries in Western Europe. The objective of improving and bettering one's life has been misconstrued as a desire to achieve immediate material gains, and this desire is in turn catalytic in generating an impatience with one's immobility up the organisational ladder or dissatisfaction with even the slightest quirk in the working environment. The resultant is the perennial situation of one type of intense labour mobility which in times of conducive economic circumstances rears its head under the synonym of "job-hopping". The announcement by the Minister for Labour that the National Wages Council will consider whether job-hoppers would be granted recommended full wage increases would to some extent discourage job-hopping. But it is hoped that the NWC will clearly define "job-hopping", and that nothing is done to discriminate against those who move not through mere fickleness, but who find it necessary to do so because of a genuine desire to upgrade one's skills or because he has incurred the displeasure of those to whom he is subordinate to. More often than not we have called upon employees to make sacrifices. It would not be untimely at this stage also to remind employers that they too have to make their contributions as a partner in the economy.”
“The people of Singapore have once again expressed their confidence that the PAP Government can pull them through difficult waters. But although the PAP won all the seats in the general elections, it would be naive for us to believe that the people are 100% behind us. For, as we steer the ship of state and navigate the course for the next five years, let us not forget that people have become politically more mature, as shown by their rejection of the false pretences of the opposition parties, and at the same time this means that they will grow more critical of our policies and decisions. It is in this context of an increasingly more sophisticated electorate, more volatile in their reaction to the policies we make and implement, that we welcome the President's call for a more thorough debate in Parliament. There are the different "shades of opinions" that have to be "vigorously voiced". But not for us the vociferation of the opposition parties, or that minority of liberals who cloak their academic exposition in the name of democracy and human rights. For us it is a question of determining the bread and butter issues, the issues that affect the rice bowl, issues that concern our economic and industrial well-being, our jobs, better education for our children, improved social and health amenities - all of which are measures intended to better the quality of life in our country. But in our efforts to seek a better life for our people we have to differentiate between those who genuinely want to improve themselves and those who have been given their inch but ask for that additional yard without putting in that necessary extra effort.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, one of the great men of our times, Sir Winston Churchill, once said: "Life is a test and this world a place of trial. Always the problems - or it may be the same problem - will be presented to every generation in different forms." Nothing could be more appropriate to the Singapore context. Our test has been basically a question of survival first, then growth. And as we moved along the path of progress we have had to face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But bold and tough policies of the PAP Government, coupled with the resilience and the strong will of a unified people determined to do their best helped us to prove wrong the pundits who wrote us off in 1965. But that is not to say our test is over for the problems are still here. Some similar to those in the past, some different, but no doubt our ability to solve them will be critical to our continued survival. Two important events have occurred during the past five years that have shaped and changed the destinies of nations, big and small. The sudden upset in the balance of political forces in Southeast Asia has lent encouragement to a vigorous resurgence of communist activities that threaten the security of our neighbouring countries. It has also given stimulus to communist forces to mount a new strategy of slow infiltration into various strata of our society. Secondly, the oil crisis which unleashed a new economic weapon that proved politically potent in undermining the great industrial nations of the West brought about the worst economic crisis in decades, and for us it brought about problems of trade, unemployment and inflation. In spite of these, Singapore has weathered the storm. But bad weather and dark clouds are now gathering on the horizon again.”