Tay Beng Chuan
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we believe that so long as we could maintain and manifest this spirit of tripartism among the Government, the labour and the management, with each party giving its best, and all working with sincerity and unity, we will surely pull through these difficult times and head for a brighter future.”
“Many of them are having problems with cash flow, labour shortage and high business cost. On top of that, because of Government's policy of opening up, the various MNCs and Government-linked companies are competing with the SMEs in the limited and almost saturated market, and many of these companies may have to resort to retrenchment again…”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to clarify with the Minister for Manpower and also in response to Mr Yeo. What I said just now was that I confirmed the strong existence of Government, labour and management tripartism in Singapore. Like the labour side, the management side has also made a lot of sacrifices.”
“Yes. (In Mandarin): What I would like to say is that in this tripartite arrangement, both labour and management have made sacrifices and contributed towards the economy of Singapore. Should not the Government also chip in by making its contribution and make its presence and participation felt?”
“Sir, is the Minister aware that the abolition of second-class postage for printed materials by SingPost has resulted in a substantial increase in the postal cost for business magazines and newsletters alike, which can no longer be posted at a cheaper second-class mail?”
“In order to encourage and justify certain preserved buildings for further redevelopments, would PMB consider granting them certain incentives to further redevelop such shabby buildings, for instance, by giving greater plot ratio and greater height to encourage them to carry out redevelopment?”
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Every one of 179 lines we hold for Tay Beng Chuan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 4.
“If we adopt an indifferent attitude, we may unwittingly drift into either of two extremes: one where the people are indifferent and apathetic to Government policies, leaving everything to the Government, and completely oblivious of whether the Government is bent on doing things its own way when formulating and implementing new policies; or the other, where the people are consistently confrontational against the Government. Whatever policy the Government formulates or implements, they will query and use every possible means to find fault with the Government, and attack it in order to embarrass and tear the Government apart. If we allow this trend to set in and to grow, it will become a very corruptive social influence and may mark the beginning of our decline. Therefore, we must remain very alert. In a moment of crisis, we must treasure and protect our parliamentary democracy system. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to prevent our people, particularly the younger generation, from moving into either one of these two extremes, we should start from Parliament itself to openly and frankly discuss national issues constructively and extensively without being personal and without discrimination. It is only in this way that we will be able to give full play to the function of Parliament. I hope that my parliamentary colleagues will do their homework to reflect the views of the people and give their constructive criticisms so as to ensure that Government policies can be better formulated and implemented. On the other hand, I also hope that the Ministers themselves will have more patience in listening to the views of MPs.”
“Outside Parliament, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, the Government has, among others, set up the Feedback Unit and strengthened the communication channels with the grassroots organisations and the CDCs to enhance the cooperative relationships between the people and the Government. The Government has also opened up more communication channels and conducted several dialogue sessions to gather feedback from the people on our major policies and development strategies. Since we have already developed this healthy and sound parliamentary democracy system and the communication channels to strengthen rapport and cooperation better between the Government and the people, why should we discuss this motion at all in this Parliament? Are we "moaning and groaning without being ill" or entertaining imaginary or groundless fears unnecessarily? Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mr Shriniwas Rai moves this motion at a time when we are being affected by the current financial crisis. I think it is well intentioned. It has far-reaching significance. Whether a system is good or bad may depend on certain objective circumstances. A good system cannot be taken for granted or treated as eternally reliable. In this turbulent and competitive age, the results we have achieved through our past efforts can easily be wiped out overnight because of changes in circumstances and the prevailing factors.”
“Over the years, we can see that the Government is always full of confidence and has remained undaunted in the face of a crisis, whenever an unpopular but necessary policy is implemented or some measures have to be taken in response to changes in current situation. As a result, many people begin to adopt the attitude of "you do things, I am rest assured", thereby leaving everything to the Government and refraining from actively participating in discussions with the Government on national policies. To the democratic system of our country, this is not very encouraging. There is a saying: "even the wise are not always free from errors". If, after winning the mandate from the people, the Government is to become arrogant and supercilious, refusing to listen to the views of the people and bent on having its own way in the implementation of national policies, or wilfully takes suppressive action or rejects diverging views, then this will not only cause impediment to the implementation of the policy, but also result in the loss of the people's confidence in the Government. In this way, our spirit of cooperation between the political leaders and the people and our strength of unity will be undermined, resulting in crisis and disaster to the country. I believe that this is what the Government and the people would always want to avoid. As Mr Shriniwas Rai has mentioned, we have inherited the parliamentary democracy from the British. We are also building up or have built up on this basis the necessary changes and adjustments in keeping with our prevailing local conditions, including the introduction of the Elected Presidency, the creation of NCMP and NMP.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, racial harmony and national unity can only be maintained through close rapport and seamless cooperation and not adversary or confrontation, between the Government and the people. The relationship between the Government and the people is like that of the lips and teeth. There is a Chinese saying, "When the lips are gone, the teeth will be in trouble." Through the democratic process of election, we give the Government a mandate and therefore we should have full confidence in the Government. At the same time, we must try to understand the rationale of the various Government policies, and give the Government our support for the proper implementation of such policies. On the other hand, the Government, acting under the mandate of the people, has the obligation to take the trouble to explain the various important policies to the people through Parliament and the various administrative channels, with an enlightened and consultative attitude. At the same time, they should listen open-mindedly to the views of the people, and make the adjustments to the policies where necessary taking into consideration the feedback of the people. In this way, the policies formulated will not only serve the interests of the people but also have their greater support. Over the past 33 years, the Government has accumulated a wealth of experience in governing the country and, in terms of development strategy, it has always adopted its own unique approach and is full of ideas in tackling major problems and it should value this important asset.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Singapore is basically a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious vulnerable small nation. In the early days of our nation building, we went through a lot of difficulties and appeared to face a very bleak prospect of survival, because we were not adequately conditioned to stand on our own to build up the nation. In spite of that, Singapore remains undaunted in the face of peril and has overcome many difficulties during the past 33 years of nation building. That we not only survive, but also grow and prosper, is definitely not a mere "economic miracle" as described by the academics, or to be taken for granted. The success of Singapore is basically due to the fact that we have shared and cherished a very fundamental but essentially important value in the process of nation building, that is, the key to survival is racial harmony and national unity. Because of this common conviction, our people, regardless of race, have been steadfast in giving the present government their strong support through successive elections under the democratic parliamentary electoral system, notwithstanding the numerous debates and trials and tribulations. This has ensured that there is sustained political stability to our country, and that Government policies and measures can be implemented smoothly to achieve the desired results. This kind of parliamentary democracy coupled with the shared value of our people has been consistently upheld and realized to the benefit of our people, thereby strengthening the confidence of both our people and foreign investors. This is the key factor to our success.”
“With the economic downturn, I would like to ask the Minister what further measures HDB would take to help their tenants and lessees tide over this difficult period.”
“As regards the 15% rebate on property tax for commercial and industrial properties, as announced by the Government, I consider it as negligible as compared to the very high rentals. Sir, in order to help lighten the rental burden of the business community so that more funds could be channelled to improving the productivity of different business operations, and at the same time to maintain our competitive edge, vis-a-vis our neighbours, I urge the Government to make a resolute decision to take appropriate measures to further lower HDB's factory and shop rentals. At the same time, I hope that related agencies, like JTC and PSA will also take corresponding measures to lower the rentals of their industrial land, factories and warehouses so as to help the business community to keep the operation cost at a reasonable level, and to maintain our competitive edge over our neighbouring countries. Mr Lew Syn Pau (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): Sir, just like the HDB residential estates, the old HDB industrial estates also need major upgrading or redevelopment in order to better utilize the land, many of which are on prime locations. Redevelopment will also lead to more well designed industrial premises with more modern and efficient features and facilities. It would enhance the productivity of lessees and tenants, many of whom are small and medium-sized enterprises. Although the redevelopment of HDB industrial estates has been announced last year, I am not sure if every affected tenant or lessee has been informed. I would like to ask the Minister whether HDB will inform those affected as early as possible so that they can plan for their relocation. I would also like to know the response of those who have been informed so far.”
“7% in 1997, and the rate of return of industrial properties has increased from 13.7% in 1993 to 19.7% in 1997. Although this year HDB has adjusted the estimated rate of return down to 10.9% for commercial properties, it is still higher than the 10.7% in 1996. As for industrial properties, although the estimated rate of return has been adjusted downwards to 3 percentage points lower than the 18.8% in 1996, it is still maintained at a high of 15.7%. Apparently, faced with a situation of not being able to "have the cake and eat it", HDB will necessarily overlook the business cost and competitiveness of its tenants when it fixes its rentals. As a gigantic landlord, HDB, in fixing the supply of industrial and commercial properties and their rentals, is capable of influencing the rentals and business cost of the entire market. In this difficult time, if HDB still insists on maintaining a high profit, then it will not only be unrealistic but also will force many SMEs to stop their business, thereby aggravating the adverse conditions of our economy. I must emphasize that the industrial and commercial rentals in the neighbouring countries are already very cheap as compared to Singapore, in the light of the substantial devaluation of their currencies. It will be extremely difficult for Singapore to compete with them. As such, I would like to appeal to the Government to review the objectives and policies of HDB in terms of rental revision to ensure that it will not overlook the overall competitive edge of our country while trying to make a surplus. Furthermore, rentals of private properties have already come down. HDB's rentals should also be adjusted correspondingly to be closer to the market price and should not remain at the high level.”
“Sir, with regard to the Government's announcement to freeze JTC's and HDB's rentals for industrial and commercial properties, I would like to convey the gratitude on behalf of the industrial and commercial sector in Singapore. This shows that the Government is beginning to attach importance to the problem of exorbitant rentals faced by the industrial and commercial sector. However, I regret to say that the Government has yet to thoroughly resolve this problem, to embody the spirit of common sharing of joy and sorrow among the tripartite parties of labour, management and Government. Sir, over the years, the small and medium-sized enterprises have been loyal tenants of HDB. In response to HDB raising its rental year by year, they have been taking it in their stride and appear to be rather helpless. Once they do not accept the rental increases they will have to get ready to move out or to wind up the business which they have painstakingly built up. They will have to suffer great business and financial losses. Why has HDB been turning a blind eye to the hardship of the tenants? Is it because they are not interested in the well-being of the tenants? When adjusting the rentals, HDB seems to give people the impression that it is very calculative and very "kiasu". In the final analysis, it must be closely linked to the budget objectives set by HDB. From HDB's budget, we can see that in leasing out the industrial and commercial properties, HDB's main objective is to make a profit and the rentals are pegged to the highest rate in the market. According to the workload and performance indicators set down in the budget, the rate of return of commercial properties has actually been raised from 8.2% in 1993 to 11.”
“Sir, last year, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through the LETAS scheme, assisted seven textile member firms in their computerisation programme. Through the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the seven member firms jointly engaged one computer company to help them implement full computerisation for their businesses. By so doing, the Chamber helped the PSB to save six times the grants they would have given should the seven companies apply separately. Very clearly, close cooperation between the Government and the Chambers of Commerce will achieve greater cost effectiveness. More importantly, by so doing, the link between the Government and the business community can be further strengthened. Sir, recently, the Government has been sparing no efforts in promoting regionalisation, and the active participation of SMEs is a force that cannot be overlooked. But because of their constraints in size and scale, many SMEs will find it difficult to go regional without Government assistance. Therefore, I would suggest that the Government establish an investment fund aimed at the regional market to assist SMEs to venture into the ASEAN region and help them to secure soft loans at a preferential rate of interest on a dollar to dollar basis. At the same time, I would also suggest that the project be coordinated by a well established business and trade organisation and managed by professionals from both private and public sectors to ensure that the objective of the fund can be achieved.”
“Currently, through the Productivity and Standards Board, the Government is implementing the Local Enterprises Technical Assistance Scheme (LETAS). According to the Board's statistics, so far, about 2,900 SMEs have benefited from this scheme. However, under the scheme, the quantum of assistance is rather restricted whereby engagement of professional consultants can only be financed up to 70%. In other words, the enterprises will still have to fund the remaining 30% in order to engage a professional consultant to assist them in their overall business development. As a result, many new and promising enterprises will not be able to benefit from this scheme due to financial constraints. They are, therefore, unable to get a breakthrough in their business development. In view of the above, I would appeal to the Government to increase the quantum of assistance to expand the assistance scheme and to liberalise the limitation and restriction by increasing the subsidy to 90%. I would also suggest that the Government consider enlisting the help of the Chambers of Commerce to help in the implementation of the LETAS scheme. At the moment, the various Chambers of Commerce have full understanding of the needs and development of the various trades and industries. However, due to lack of funds, they could not afford to engage enough full-time staff to help their members apply to the Productivity and Standards Board for assistance under LETAS. I hope that the Government can consider granting funds to the Chambers of Commerce to employ suitable staff to provide full support to their members in applying for the assistance as well as helping more members to enjoy the benefits under the scheme.”
“Sir, in order to solve these key issues, I would suggest that the Government set up a review committee on Government charges and levies in order to review and monitor the various adjustments by the Government and statutory boards. This is to ensure that such adjustments are reasonable and properly coordinated. In this way, our businesses can then rely on the price-competitive and efficient public facilities and services to maintain our international competitiveness. 12.45 pm”
“Sir, over the past few days, the debate in this House has focused on the question of the rising cost of doing business in Singapore. This is because these are the key factors that affect the survival and development of our businesses and our international competitiveness. Sir, in the operating cost of doing business, I think the various levies and charges imposed by the Government and statutory boards account for a very large proportion, such as factory and shop rentals, utilities charges, foreign labour levies, property taxes, GST and port charges. Recently, the devaluation of currencies in our neighbouring countries has made it more difficult for us to compete with them in terms of our cost of business. Over the long term, this will be detrimental to our exports and external trade. According to a recent survey conducted by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry among its members, more than 50% of its members fear that there will be rising cost of doing business in various degrees, and this includes the charges and levies imposed by the Government and statutory boards. Obviously, any such charges and levies and their upward adjustments will accumulate to produce serious negative effects on the cost of doing business here. Sir, the greatest worry among the business community is that adjustments of Government charges and levies appear to be made on the basis of "to each his own", and are aimed at balancing income with expenditure or accumulating substantial surpluses. Under such circumstances, the Government departments and statutory boards, because of the rising cost, will compete to adjust upwards their own charges and levies and neglect the overall competitive edge of the country.”
“This is one of the reasons why young people care more for benefits but less for the spirit. In helping our SMEs, in terms of transportation cost, it would not be enough for us to just talk about economic benefits. To make it even clearer, certain things may not be competitive enough today. But their values in the long term may be very high. So in our economic calculation, we should not under-rate the importance of future value. The Government's economic policy has been well founded and far-reaching. In this financial crisis, foreign countries have already praised us for what we have been doing. It is based on this Government's outstanding achievements that I sincerely hope that the Government will be able to introduce off-Budget measures to encourage our local small and medium enterprises and to lower the cost of doing business in Singapore.”
“Undoubtedly, because the SMEs have not reached the economic scale, they are at a disadvantage. But, of course, they also have the advantage of being a small boat which can manoeuvre with a lot of flexibility. But, more importantly, they are the symbol of Singaporeans', especially the young Singaporeans', entrepreneurial spirit. We have been alarmed that this kind of spirit is gradually fading away. So we cannot just pay lip service that we encourage entrepreneurial spirit. In terms of policy and taxes, Government should substantially give reasonable or long term assistance to these local enterprises. We do not expect the Government to over-zealously help them. We know that will be quite futile. The Government will also not oblige. What we are asking the Government to do is to realise that the SMEs are not fully grown as yet. They are still in the seedling stage. We must care more for the SMEs. Because their roots are short and small, the Government should help these companies to grow faster by giving them more water and fertilizer. Otherwise when the leaves of big trees cover up all the sunlight and their thick roots obstruct the tiny roots of the SMEs, even if the latter's seedlings are of good quality, they cannot survive and will seek better and more friendly fields elsewhere. Recently, some statutory boards published the names of bond breakers. Although I may not agree with this, from the debate on this matter and my own experiences, I feel that it is quite true that the "me-first" attitude of the younger generation has reached the extent that we cannot afford to overlook. From my own humble view, I feel that in our economic development process, we have over-emphasised efficiency and financial benefits.”
“For many years, we have accepted the Government's self-reliance principle, ie, within the law, everyone pursues his profits, enjoys the fruit of his success, but also bears his own risks. We also understand that, to do business in Singapore, you must depend on yourself. So this survey should be interpreted as reflecting the true difficulties faced by the business people, rather than attention-seeking sort of "groaning without being ill". The development of the financial sector is very important. There is no doubt about it. If Singapore can become a world-class financial centre, then local enterprises will also benefit. To a very large extent, multi-national companies have their own intra-trading. I think this has provided some cushion for Singapore's economy in this financial turmoil. We also concur with the Government's call for local enterprises to pool their resources together to go into the so-called sunrise industries such as telecommunications, high-tech, logistics and transportation, and electronic-commerce, etc. But I would again appeal to the Government not to neglect the SMEs in Singapore. They are important and special to Singapore as a nation and Singaporeans as a people. First of all, the small and medium-sized enterprises, just like the Government-linked companies and some large companies such as Yeo Hiap Seng, are "our own". When Singapore is in trouble, they are the people who will remain in Singapore. They have no other places to run to, and they do not wish to run. They are local indigenous businesses. The big companies also started off as small companies. So if we neglect the small and medium-sized enterprises, then you will be doing a disservice to the entrepreneurial spirit of Singapore.”
“Given that the Government adopts the COE system to restrict the increase in the vehicle population, the high cost of motor vehicles naturally follows. The Government has already started to increase the cost of vehicle usage and, proportionately reduce the cost of vehicle ownership. Still, I feel that basing the costs of owning or using motor vehicle completely on economic efficiency and market pricing has its drawback. For example, a rich man is prepared to spend $100,000 to buy a car for his university-going daughter to avoid the inconvenience of using the public transport. On the other hand, a small businessman can only afford $80,000 to buy a vehicle indispensable for his business. Under our present free market competition framework, the businessman will lose out in the competition, and the rich man's daughter will get to use the car. Is this outcome optimal for Singapore's economic development? I doubt very much. This is not a simple issue. Precisely because many Government policy issues are not simple and need talented people to work out good solutions that we whole-heartedly support the Government's high-pay policy to recruit talents into the Government. I believe the Government has the means and the ability to think of a better way to lower the transportation costs to a more reasonable level, so as not to hurt the competitiveness of our businesses. Before the announcement of the budget, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted a survey among its members. The result shows that many enterprises and businesses have suffered as a result of the regional financial turmoil. We know the Government's economic policies are driven by strategic long- and medium-term plans and objectives.”
“And, if necessary, the Government must take off-Budget measures to reduce the company tax, GST, road tax and port charges, etc, to ensure that our competitiveness can be sustained. As encouraged by the Government, many local enterprises have gone regional. But, unfortunately, they are suffering heavy losses in this financial turmoil. Not only have they failed to get proper returns, they also suffer great losses and heavy setbacks because of the currency turmoil. In order to maintain their morale and to help them go through this difficulty, I think the Government should liberalise the corporate tax system and give the enterprises the necessary assistance by allowing companies to deduct losses of subsidiary companies overseas from their group profit. In addition, the Government should also grant them double tax deduction in respect of wage cost overseas and other related costs. Last year, the Government reduced the property tax to 12% in order to help lighten the burden of property owners. At the same time, however, the Government, raised the annual value of properties so that the quantum of tax paid has actually gone up. Now, property prices have already come down. The Government should also correspondingly lower the annual value of properties and the quantum of property tax. I hope that the Government will further reduce property tax to 10%, so as to further lighten the burden of the property owners and, thereby helping the property owners to maintain their confidence in the property market. Singapore's motor vehicles are the most expensive in the world. Everybody knows that. From the point of view of economic theory, we can say that when the price is low, the demand will be high. When the demand is low, the price will be high. This is indisputable.”
“This levy is to control the demand for foreign labour. But now with this economic turmoil, our demand for foreign labour has dropped. So this is the right time for the Government to lower such levy. Mr Speaker, Sir, faced with the financial turmoil sweeping across the region, we should all be united together with one heart to make the necessary sacrifices and preparations to avoid an economic recession. If this negative situation should persist or even worsen over the next few months, I would urge the Government to decisively and immediately adjust the CPF contribution by employers. The 1998 Budget contains an increase of 30% on education expenditure. But no new measures have been introduced for retraining of employees. As the Government has said, an economic slowdown is the best time for retraining of our workers and employees. Our labour market is highly flexible, allowing free competition to determine the allocation of human resources. As such, if company A pays for training an employee, the benefit may go to a new employer, company B. This is to say that the value-added to the employee will not necessarily go back to the employer paying for it. But for the whole of Singapore, the nation for sure benefits. In other words, like formal education, staff training is also to some extent a "public good". Therefore, in terms of staff training, the Government must play a greater role and give more incentives. I think it is very much the Government's responsibility. Mr Speaker, Sir, Government taxes and charges by the statutory bodies have also become a rather substantial part of the business cost. Therefore, the Government should constantly review such taxes and charges and evaluate their negative effect.”
“In January, the House already approved the motion tabled by Mr Cyrille Tan on tripartism. The Government's refusal to reduce rentals appears to go counter to this spirit, because just freezing rentals is not enough. In good times, enterprises move forward. The rentals go upwards. But now through no fault of ours, but because of the effect of the regional financial turmoil, business suffers losses. We move backward and the Government just freezes rentals. That is "running on the same spot". When the economy prospers and the businesses recover, the Government will not stand there and wait for the businesses to catch up. Instead, it will immediately raise rentals. This amounts to sharing prosperity in full while only sharing hardship in part and will delay the recovery of businesses. Such practices do not seem to be totally consistent with the spirit of tripartism. Apart from rentals, another burden on the businesses in Singapore is the wage cost. Compared to our neighbouring countries, our wage cost is already quite high. The recent devaluation of the currencies of our neighbouring countries has made our companies and businesses even less competitive in terms of wage cost. In the long run, this will be detrimental to our exports and to our foreign trade. I feel that the Government, apart from encouraging our businesses and workers to enhance productivity, should also help to reduce the wage cost for our businesses. So I would again appeal to the Government to exercise restraint on wage increases in the public sector, so as not to create a vicious competition that may push up wage level in the private sector. The Government levy on foreign workers is aimed at preventing undue increase in foreign labour and social problems.”
“But here, in the midst of disappointment, we have not missed the promise of the Finance Minister for off-Budget measures. Therefore, we have turned our disappointment over the Budget into new hopes that the Government, presently taking the "containing motion with quietude" stand, will definitely introduce appropriate off-Budget measures at the right time to help the local industries and enterprises. Mr Speaker, Sir, the business community has always been faced with the heavy cost of doing business in Singapore and they have to cudgel their brains. The business people have to face the problem of lower sales and the pressure of rising business cost. This is what we call "adding frost to snow". According to the Economic Intelligence Unit's survey report, Singapore's cost of business is ranked No. 10 in the world, comparable to that in Europe and America, and much higher than our neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. I think that the most important task ahead is that we must lower the cost of doing business here. This is an urgent task to us. I hope that the Government can look into the direct costs of business like factory rentals, shop rentals, wage cost, Government taxes and charges, transportation cost, etc. If all the Government agencies can look into the situation and quickly adjust such costs of businesses or to suspend collection of certain charges, it will help our local businesses and, to a certain degree, restore the confidence of the business people. Mr Speaker, Sir, in the budget, HDB and JTC have already announced the freezing of rentals for one more year. Of course, freezing is better than no freezing. We appreciate that. But just freezing alone is not enough. The Government should consider lowering the rentals.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, under the shadow of the regional financial turmoil, the Minister for Finance announced the 1998 Budget on 27th February. But in this Budget, the measures relevant to the business community are inadequate. This can be borne out in three areas. Firstly, there is a wide gap between the "purchase order" placed before the Budget and the "delivery order" given after the Budget. Secondly, on 2nd March this year, there was a significant drop in the share market that shows the disappointment of investors over the Budget. Thirdly, the reaction as reported in the media showed that there are voices of disappointment everywhere and the voices are quite loud indeed. Of course, I would not be so naive as to indulge in wishful thinking that the Government will deliver according to the "purchase order". Based on our trust in the Government, we can put ourselves into the shoes of the Government and look from an overall angle the intention of the 1998 Budget. We cannot deny that the 1998 Budget, being extremely conservative, does have certain positive implications. For example, firstly, it conveys the full confidence of the Government in not allowing the little boat of Singapore to go adrift in a big storm as it firmly controls the rudder and remains on course towards our long-term objective. Secondly, before the uncertainties of political and economic factors outside Singapore are resolved, any measures put up by the Government could turn out inadequate or not directly relevant. So instead of indiscriminate use of medicine, it is better that we watch and monitor the development of events and situation before prescribing the right medicine to cure the disease.”
“Therefore, it warrants a balanced budget. Mr Speaker, Sir, undoubtedly, as a very small country, Singapore alone cannot resolve the regional financial crisis. The recovery of our economy relies on the improvement of the economic climate of the regional countries. However, the Government can take certain suitable measures to give a shot in the arm to our domestic economy. This will be consistent with our cooperative and harmonious tripartite partnership spirit, with which we can work together to ride out this extraordinarily difficult crisis.”
“However, it was with such unparalleled prudence and conservatism that, year after year, during the time when the economy was well and sound, Singapore was able to accumulate large surpluses to generate the huge reserve we now have. All Singaporeans should be grateful to the Government for its foresight and discipline. The Government was absolutely correct in repeatedly stressing that we need to save for the rainy days. Well, seeing the financial turmoil blowing through the region, it appears that such rainy days have finally dawned on us. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said last Sunday that, if the region's economic crisis was confounded by political instability, we would also be adversely affected and could expect more hard times ahead. Mr Speaker, Sir, given what has been happening in the stock and foreign exchange markets and the way events are unfolding in the neighbouring countries these few days, I think the hard time is already with us. Countries which sought IMF assistance have no choice but to exercise austerity. The business community I represent however feels that our Government should not propose an austerity budget at this difficult time. On the contrary, the Government should fill the gap resulted from the private sector's cutback by increasing the development expenditure to stimulate the economy. For FY1987, we had a deficit of $1.16 billion. The year 1987 was the year of recovery following the 1985-86 recession and the 2.6% (of GDP) fiscal deficit reflected the Government's measures to tackle the economic problem at that time. Today, what we are facing is a regional economic crisis which has the potential to blow up to a global scale. It will be more complex and far more challenging than what we faced back in 1985.”
“I would suggest that business costs such as energy costs and the rental of factories, offices and shops be linked with the economic condition. This way, in times of slowing economic growth, the Government would be able to flexibly adjust such costs more quickly, helping businesses when they need such help most. In addition, I would like to stress that in the midst of this regional financial crisis, the economic difficulties we will soon face will be daunting. I would like to appeal to the Government, in keeping with its character of tackling problems head-on without being rigidly confined by conventions, to propose a balanced budget for the coming year to help the business community to ride out the severe difficulties lying ahead. Our Government has no foreign debt. The foreign debt of the private sector is not excessive either. During economic downturns when the private sector consumption drops, investment slows down, and the net export is likely to fall, the net expenditure in the public sector is the only factor left to provide the needed stimulus for the recovery of the economy. While the business community is busy weathering the regional economic storm, our economy will need the Government to adopt relatively expansionary fiscal policies such as tax cuts and increased development expenditure to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn. Mr Speaker, Sir, our Government has always been extremely prudent. It has always insisted on fixing the small holes here and there during the sunny days. Often, even though things appeared all right, the Government still wanted to strengthen the roof, the wall, and the pillars. Some of us indeed felt that the Government might have been too risk averse.”
“Relatively speaking, our Government has a larger hand in Singapore's economy. As a result, many Government measures directly affect the operating cost of businesses, including personnel cost, cost of utilities, rentals of factories and shops, all kinds of taxes and levies, etc. Naturally, employers keep a close eye on Government policies. They very much hope that the Government will also look at the problems they have to face seriously and provide assistance as and when necessary. In terms of personnel costs, I think it is fair to say that the Government is the largest employer in Singapore. As such, the pay adjustment in the public sector sets the lead for the private sector. Each year, when the civil servants' pay is adjusted upwards and the bonus is generous, the private sector immediately faces the pressure to follow suit. Not long ago, the Secretary-General of NTUC, Mr Lim Boon Heng, told the workers that they should not expect too much pay rise and bonus this year unless productivity is substantially raised. Such openness and straight talk are much appreciated by the business community. Mr Speaker, Sir, the financial results of our businesses may have yet to reflect the impact of the current financial storm sweeping through this region. So far, the level of retrenchment may not have markedly increased. But we must not underestimate the impact this financial turmoil will have on our economy. Therefore, I would like to appeal to the Government to appreciate the difficulties faced by the business community and take the lead in adopting austerity measures in terms of salary. In terms of business cost, I feel that we should seriously consider risk sharing between the Government and the businesses.”
“If the turnover rate is high, the incentive for employers to train their workers will naturally be reduced. Mr Speaker, Sir, the largest and most precious asset of Singapore is its human resource. Training is very important if we want to enhance the value of this asset. If the labour turnover rate is too high, businesses will not be able to obtain a reasonable return from their investment in training. This will undoubtedly lower their willingness to put in efforts to train their employees. In order to encourage employers to strengthen the training of employees, the business sector has proposed in the past that the vesting of employer-contributed CPF be linked to an employee's length of service. In other words, if an employee leaves the job before fulfilling the pre-set minimum length of service, he will not be able to enjoy the whole of the CPF contributions made by the employer during his employment with that employer. The employee's entitlement should be pegged to the length of his service. The importance of grasping the information technology cannot be underestimated. There is no doubt that computerisation will enhance the productivity of a business. However, many small and medium size enterprises still lack the required expertise to use computers and apply the information technology. Therefore, I would suggest that the Government provide a special fund to encourage employers to send their employees for related training. The use of the fund could be for direct sponsorship, double tax allowances for employers, or tax deductibility for employees. In the relationship between the employers and the Government, the employers face several problems, such as many regulations and charges, resulting in ever increasing business costs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore's achievements in economic and trade development are attributable to the joint efforts and cooperation among the Government, employers and trade unions. In the development of this tripartite partnership based on peaceful co-existence, we have experienced many challenges and difficulties. Sometimes, we may have some disputes and we may not fully understand or agree with certain Government policies. However, at the end of the day, we have always been able to sort out our differences through discussion, consultation and compromises. So, it is correct to say that the tripartite partnership's approach towards the common goal and problem resolution is a very important success factor to Singapore's economic development. Based on the spirit of solidarity and unity, our unions, employers and Government have been able to cooperate and work together to maintain this long-lasting harmonious partnership. The resulting economic environment has enhanced the confidence of local and foreign investors. This is also the strongest weapon we have in dealing with the current regional economic crisis. Therefore, I agree with the views of Mr Cyrille Tan and support his motion. Mr Speaker, in this tripartite partnership, the employers are involved in two bilateral relationships. The first is between the employers and the trade unions or the employees. The second is between the employers and the Government. In the relationship between the employers and the employees, the most serious problems faced by employers are: (1) high labour or personnel costs, (2) job-hopping, (3) the quality and training of staff. These three problems are inter-related. If the quality of an employee is high, a higher pay is justifiable.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the legislation of a nation should basically provide for the Government to make a resolute decision in an emergency so that they could take rapid action to protect the interest of the nation. At the moment, the entire region is faced with a financial turmoil that is affecting our nation. We should therefore be concerned with how to unite ourselves and to take effective measures to boost the confidence of the region, particularly our neighbouring countries. Under such circumstances, our Government has, at the request of the Indonesian Government, agreed to grant them a loan of US$5 billion so that they can tide over their financial difficulties. We should be more understanding and give our Government the support. After all, Indonesia, like Malaysia, is our immediate neighbour and one of our most important trading partners. Their economic development is closely linked to ours. If the crisis in Indonesia continues, it would gravely affect our economic development. On these premises, and at the request of the Indonesian Government, we give them a helping hand. I think this would go a long way to benefit our economic interests. Of course, we must ensure that they make good use of this money and repay the loan as promised. Sir, at a time when we are faced with such a crisis, we should rally behind our Government and I feel it is most inappropriate to move such a motion at this point of time. Therefore, I do not support the motion.”