Teo Ho Pin
Singapore
“Mr Chairman, Sir, when Total Defence was first introduced in 1984, it was recognised that threats will not simply affect our military but potentially Singaporeans, combatants and non-combatants alike. Thus, we must continue to build resilience in our people and community.”
“Chairman, over the past year, we have witnessed an increase in the number of cybersecurity breaches. As a response to these incidents, many countries are stepping up efforts to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities.”
“Sir, I wish to seek an update from the Minister on the skills upgrading and development of public officers as well as aspiring public officers, especially in the three areas which I have mentioned. Can the Government also consider giving out scholarships to nurture and attract talent in these fields? Role of PMO”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we should empower the community to come up with innovative solutions like North West 911 and build capabilities in our people to cope better during emergencies.”
“The French Government passed a law in 2016 mandating that large supermarkets have to donate excess food to food banks and charitable organisations. If we had a similar initiative in Singapore, we can not only reduce the amount of food waste, but we can also help those in need.”
“Sir, I have three clarifications for the Senior Minister of State. First, will the Ministry consider licensing PMDs so as to manage the growth of PMDs in Singapore and also to make it compulsory for the PMD riders to attend a safe riding course?”
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“We agree with them that it is important to make the learning of mother tongue languages, including the Chinese language, not only effective but also interesting. Following the Mother Tongue Reviews, Chinese Language syllabuses were revised, and new textbooks have been phased in by level from the year 2002. Training courses and workshops on the use of the new materials and creative strategies on the teaching of Chinese Language have been conducted for teachers. As Mr Yeo has said, today, more and more Chinese language teachers employ creative and lively teaching methods to cater to the needs of their students, and we want to encourage this. We will be reviewing the modes of assessment and the examination formats to ensure that curriculum and assessment are aligned and geared to achieving the learning outcomes of the new syllabi. With regard to Mr Yeo's comment that the Ministry sets too many restrictions on the teaching of the subject, I like to clarify that students are not required to memorise the content of the text or the meanings of words. In fact, teachers are encouraged to exercise flexibility in determining the modes of assessment when setting school-based examinations for their students. Mr Iswaran asked if the Ministry could allow a school with 20 Indian students taking Higher Tamil to have school-based Higher Tamil classes. I fully understand the aspirations of parents who want to see Tamil instruction offered in as many schools as possible, and the Ministry will strive to do this. But if a school has only 20 students offering Higher Tamil across Secondary 1 to Secondary 4, it means there will be, on average, only five students per level offering Higher Tamil. I think this is too small a number to justify starting Higher Tamil classes in that school.”
“And these incentives include: (1) Relaxing the eligibility criteria to allow more students to offer their Higher Mother Tongue, from what was 10% to now the top 30% of a cohort; (2) Providing 2 bonus points for Higher Mother Tongue for admission to junior colleges, and bonus points for students who perform well in mother tongue, or Higher Mother Tongue at A-level for admission to courses related to mother tongue languages in our local universities; (3) Increasing the number of Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools from 9 to 10, and introducing a special programme called "Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS)" at Bukit Panjang Government High School as well as upgrading the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre for the teaching of Higher Tamil and Tamil Language. This Centre which is now open - Mr Iswaran asked about this - also serves as a national resource centre for the teaching and learning of Tamil Language. 3.30 pm We have also set up the third centre for the Chinese Language elective programme at Nanyang JC, and introduced the Malay elective programme at Tampines JC. Outstanding students are awarded the language elective programme scholarships. This more customised approach at both ends of the spectrum - the lower achiever end mother tongue and higher achiever end mother tongue - has allowed us to maintain the standard of mother tongue that can be attained by the majority of students with reasonable effort. And we will review our mother tongue policies regularly to ensure that our policy objectives continue to be met. Mr Yeo and Mr Ang spoke on Chinese language teaching and learning.”
“The 1999 mother tongue language review made several recommendations to achieve our objectives. The recommendations were carefully calibrated, and we are just implementing them. We recognised that not all pupils have the same natural ability, home background and motivation. We needed a more customised approach, where we aim for different levels of achievements for pupils of different abilities. As Dr Wang has said, the growing proportion of English-speaking families, and the large difference home language background makes, means that we cannot ignore the real problems some children have learning the mother tongue. That is why we introduced the Mother Tongue B syllabus. This syllabus focuses more on speaking and listening aspects, and is designed to make the attainment of a basic level of competency in mother tongue to proceed to the next educational level less of a hurdle for students who face exceptional difficulties in learning their mother tongue. At the same time, we also sought to enlarge the pool of students studying Higher Mother Tongue, so as to broaden the base for a literary elite. I agree with Dr Ong and Mr Ang that we should have high standards for the mother tongue language. Higher Mother Tongue is the standard bearer for mother tongue in Singapore, and incentives are given to encourage students who are strong in mother tongue to offer Higher Mother Tongue.”
“Temasek Junior College, Mr Singh's alma mater, has an Entrepreneurs' Club with 50 members learning about product marketing and risk management from external instructors and mentors, and they are trying to put their skills to work on some projects. We encourage schools to provide such opportunities for students, but we leave it to schools to decide whether such activities fit into their overall programme and priorities. Our main focus is really at the post secondary level, where much has already been done. At ITE, entrepreneurship training is now part of the core training programme for all students, as it is in the polytechnics, particularly for the engineering, IT and life sciences, the non-business courses. NTU has the Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre hosted by the Nanyang Business School, and NUS has the NUS Enterprise office. Members have also asked about the mother tongue policy. On one end of the spectrum, we have Mr Sin suggesting a relaxation of mother tongue requirements, on the other end, we have Dr Ong and others, highlighting the importance of mother tongue and that it cannot be over-emphasised. Bilingualism will remain a cornerstone of our education system. English is needed for the globalised, knowledge-based world, and as a common language to communicate with each other across ethnic boundaries, and the mother tongue to imbibe values and appreciate our cultural heritage. This is our policy. Our policy is to encourage every Singaporean to study his mother tongue in school for as long as possible, and to as high a level as he is capable of. Dr Wang asked for a review of our mother tongue policy, to turn over this stone. It was indeed reviewed in 1999 by a high level committee chaired by DPM Lee.”
“Thus, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions: (1) What is the average durable score of schools built over the last five years? (2) Does the Ministry conduct any design audit to check on the durability and maintainability of schools? (3) Is design-and-build an appropriate procurement method for schools? RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Mr Singh, Dr Wang, and Mrs Yu-Foo spoke on the importance of a well-rounded education, and I agree with them. Curriculum content has been cut by up to 30% to provide time for the infusion of thinking skills. Strong moral values are promoted through the Civics and Moral Education programme. Last year, we also announced a set of initiatives to develop and enhance arts education in our schools. In addition, the changes to the University Admission System in 2003 will include bonus points for CCA. So that will reinforce other measures of ability and make CCA count. Mr Singh and Mdm Ho had spoken about the need to expose our students to entrepreneurship, financial planning and starting up businesses, for the new economy. While the specific skills of financial planning and starting up a business are not an integral part of the programme in schools, students do learn useful practical life-skills, such as self-management, social and cooperative skills, communication, and information skills. In co-curricular activities in particular, students have the opportunity to organise challenging activities involving managing people, time and money. Some schools have their own cooperatives, for example, Ping Yi. And Anderson Junior College's Enterprise runs a gift shop in the college and has a link-up with One.99 shops. Students acquire experience running a company and even raising business capital.”
“Sir, the planning of schools, especially neighbourhood schools, has a tremendous impact on the quality of life of families. The mismatch of supply and demand of school placement often causes much anxiety among parents, who will thereafter make numerous appeals to the school. With fluctuating child births yearly, and rapid population shifts, it is difficult for the Ministry to forecast the demand of school placements in schools. As such, we need to review the planning process of schools to better cope with this fluctuating demand. Sir, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions: (1) What are the measures taken by the Ministry to ensure that students staying within 1 kilometre of a neighbourhood school can have a place? (2) Can schools be planned and built based on actual school placement demand data obtained through an early school registration system? (3) Will the Ministry consider increasing the capacity of schools so as to cope with the yearly fluctuating demands for school placements? On school design, the development expenditure of $1.48 billion in the building programme of schools and educational institutions must be carefully monitored to ensure that money is appropriately spent to provide a conducive and functional learning environment for our students. I wish to highlight some concerns regarding the design of schools, especially the new generation schools, and those under the PRIME programme. Too much emphasis may have been placed by the architects to create unique design features for schools. These features may be unnecessary and unfunctional. It may pose durability and maintainability problems. It will also increase the cost of construction and subsequent maintenance.”
“Teachers play significant roles in ensuring that our students receive proper guidance and quality education in schools. Sir, I have proposed in this House before that we need a quality accreditation system, such as the ISO 9000 in the Ministry of Education and our schools. This will provide consistent quality assurance in our education system. It will also benchmark our education services with international standards. We need a quality system to make sure that there are quality policies and procedures in place in our schools and in the Ministry. Sir, we need quality input and quality process to produce quality output. In recent years, the Ministry has been actively recruiting many new teachers to address the problem of teacher shortage and replacing retiring teachers. I am concerned about the quality of teachers recruited, especially during the recession. Sir, I hope the Minister could update the House on the recruitment process of teachers and what are the quality criteria for teachers. I would also like to ask the Minister the following questions: One, how many teachers were recruited over the last five years, and how many have left the Ministry? Two, what is the long-term strategy to attract good quality teachers?”
“Sir, I would like to thank the Minister, the MOS and SPS for their comprehensive and concise replies. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $350,428,120 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $9,150,268,900 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head F -”
“Sir, I would like to seek the following clarifications from the Minister: (1) What measures have been taken to increase the production of fish, eggs and vegetables in Singapore? (2) What is the status and production output of our deep sea fish farm? (3) Can the Ministry support high-rise farming in Singapore?”
“At present, the BCA registration scheme forces contractors to procure contracts at unrealistic tender prices and adopt substantial sub-contracting of their work to meet the registration requirements. This has resulted in the liquidation of firms causing delays of projects and loss of jobs to many Singaporeans. All these hamper efforts to develop the capability of our contractors and consultants. Sir, I wish to seek the following clarifications from the Minister: (1) Why do we need a contractor registration system while other industries do not? (2) In the proposed contractor registration system, why is there a requirement to have one-third architects or engineers running a construction firm? (3) How will it help in nurturing world-class construction firms?”
“Sir, first on sustainable construction. Sustainable construction is hardly practised in Singapore. To achieve the vision of our Green Plan 2012, we need to promote sustainable construction practices in Singapore. This will ensure a balance between sustainable development and maintaining a quality living environment. Sir, there is not much incentive for sustainable construction practices in Singapore. As such, the impact of construction operations on the environment can be undesirable in the long run. I wish to ask the Minister the following questions: (1) What are the initiatives taken to encourage sustainable construction? (2) How many construction firms are ISO 14000 registered? Next, on construction technology. The incentive schemes by BCA have not been successful in encouraging technology innovations among contractors. As a result, many local construction firms have not developed any capability or niches to be globally competitive. Sir, I wish to seek the following clarifications from the Minister: (1) What is the state of technological advances in our construction industry? (2) How does BCA facilitate the introduction of new construction technologies in the industry? (3) What are the R&D efforts by BCA to encourage technological innovations in the industry? Next, on contractors' registry. The existing and proposed new contractor registration system by BCA has some fundamental flaws. It provides protectionist mechanism for consultants and contractors. This contradicts the Ministry's plan to promote self-regulation in the industry. At the same time, it restricts open competition among contractors based upon performance and track records.”
“Sir, despite contributing about 5-8% to our GDP yearly, the construction industry is not a sunrise industry. It faces problems of sustainable workload, shortage of labour, lack of innovation, low productivity and a poor public image. To date, not much attention has been paid to the development of the construction industry. The recent failures of some large construction firms, which affected various public projects and many industries, clearly show signs of possible collapse of the industry. The Construction 21 plan does not provide key strategies to develop our industry. There is a lack of focus to nurture local consultants and contractors to be world-class players. I would suggest that the Ministry set up an International Advisory Panel to develop our construction industry. Sir, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions: (1) What are the key strategies in developing the construction industry? (2) What are the plans to nurture local consultants and contractors to be world-class players? (3) What are the strategies adopted by BCA to export construction services?”
“Sir, our present HDB housing policy is too rigid and lacks flexibility to promote family members to stay together. The Registration for Flats System does not give home-buyers much choice to select a flat near their parents or siblings. The five-year minimum occupation period prevents home-owners to sell their new flats when they need to move near their family members. The 10-year minimum qualifying period does not allow parents to upgrade and stay with their children applying for new flats. There are many other restrictions which do not facilitate families to stay near one another. Sir, we need to review our housing policy to make them more family-friendly. If families were to be a pillar of our society, we must facilitate Singaporeans to stay within or near their family members. This will be crucial when our population ages. Sir, I wish to ask the Minister the following questions: (1) What percentage of HDB dwellers is staying within two kilometres of their family members? (2) What is the long-term plan of HDB to facilitate families to stay near one another? (3) Will HDB provide more flexibility for families to convert their flats to accommodate multi-tier family living?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, the Concept Plan 2001 has put forward a vision to make Singapore a dynamic, distinctive and delightful city. To be a global city, we must provide more flexibility in our land use planning so that we are able to make quick adjustments to better fulfil the development requirements of future industries and aspirations of our people. High-rise and high-density office and housing are planned to cater for future needs. This will indirectly exert pressure to demolish existing low plot ratio developments. One area of concern is a loss of identity and heritage when we transform housing estates and commercial developments into skyscrapers. We must make efforts to retain our identity and heritage so as to build a sense of belonging among our people. Sir, I wish to seek the following clarifications from the Minister: (a) What are the key performance indicators to measure the achievement of the vision in the Concept Plan 2001? (b) What are the specific strategies and plans for preserving our heritage and identity?”
“Besides the elderly, the handicapped, disabled, injured, sick, bedridden and pregnant women are also affected. Many HDB flats that were built in the 80s do not have lifts stopping at every floor level. If HDB were to adopt the present pace of lift upgrading, these residents may have to wait many years before realising the benefits. Thus, I would urge the Government to expedite the lift upgrading programme. Sir, I support the motion. 6.08 pm”
“We need to provide more employment assistance to help these hard-to-employ Singaporeans back to work. One effective approach to upgrade workers' skills and change their mindsets is to promote employer-led initiatives under which the workers learn key skills in their workplace. But we must be focused and strategic in identifying future industries for this group of Singaporeans. For example, the service industry is a potential and attractive sector to provide employment and skills upgrading for these Singaporeans. Sir, I would like to propose a two-pronged approach to help these hard-to- employ Singaporeans to join the service industry. First, we need to attract more tourists to Singapore so as to create more job opportunities. We must adopt more creative and innovative strategies to expand our tourism industry. We have to carve out new niches and have new tourism features that would attract repeat visits. Secondly, the Government can, in the meantime, be the surrogate employer for on-the-job training and employment schemes initiated by employers. Many hard-to-employ Singaporeans do not have money to enrol in training courses and are not convinced that they will get employment after attending these courses. As a result, the present skills upgrading and traineeship schemes achieve limited success. We must provide more support for employment-related training schemes where workers learn skills while in employment. HDB lift upgrading programme A total of $325 million has been allocated for the upgrading of HDB precincts. But only $43 million will be used for lift upgrading. The upgrading of lifts to provide for easy access at every floor is crucial in view of our ageing population.”
“Many associations and non-profit organisations have also voiced their concerns on the property tax of their premises. Many felt that the Government should show philanthropy and not impose property tax on these non-profit and community-based organisations. I would urge the Finance Minister to promote philanthropy by taking the lead in removing the property tax for all associations and non-profit organisations. Season car parking charges The increase in car parking charges has raised concerns, especially among car owners in HDB estates. Many felt that season car parking fee is part of car ownership cost, which HDB car owners must pay monthly. It is not related to car usage per se and thus should be differentiated from the URA/HDB hourly parking charges. Many HDB car owners are delivery drivers or work in sales-related jobs. The increase in season car parking charges will pose additional burden or increase the business cost of their companies. Sir, at present, HDB pays town councils $4.80 per car park lot per month to maintain the car park, while collecting a monthly season parking fee of $75 and daily car parking charges for a lot. Car parks are relatively maintenance free if properly constructed. To avoid the situation of HDB having a deficit, HDB should build no-frills multi-storey car parks so as to reduce the cost of construction and maintenance. This will indirectly help to reduce car ownership cost in the long run. Employment assistance scheme Despite efforts by the Ministry of Manpower and the Community Development Councils, many retrenched and unemployed Singaporeans are still unable to find jobs. Skills, age and attitude of these job seekers have been identified as the main hurdles for them to be employed.”
“Sir, the importance of pre-school education in preparing our children for primary school education must not be overlooked. While the Government provides subsidy for childcare and formal education, there is no subsidy for pre-school programmes. As education has always been a priority for our Government, I would urge the Finance Minister to consider providing pre-school fee subsidy to pre-school pupils. Presently, pre-school pupils pay between $25 and $800 per month for their school fees. This poses much financial burden, especially for the middle and lower-income families. In addition, I would urge the Government to consider providing subsidy on a per capita basis for pre-school operators. This will facilitate the recruitment of better quality pre-school teachers and the acquisition of essential resources to improve the standard of pre-school education. The Education Ministry can also play a leading role to ensure quality in pre-school education. By working closely with pre-school operators, we will be able to provide good quality and affordable pre-school programmes for our children. This will provide a strong foundation for children entering primary schools. Property tax Sir, the implementation of GST has changed the taxation philosophy of Singapore. It is a broad-based consumption tax, which provides the necessary revenue for the Government. Therefore, we should review and gradually remove other taxes, especially real estate and asset ownership taxes. The asset enhancement push by the Government has encouraged many Singaporeans to be home owners. Property tax is part of ownership cost, especially for owner-occupied properties. In order to continue to encourage Singaporeans to own their homes, I propose that owner-occupied properties be exempted from property tax.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to propose the following measures for the Finance Minister to consider. Economic Restructuring Shares for all Singaporeans Sir, many adult Singaporeans welcome the issue of the Economic Restructuring Shares. But some queried why the shares are issued to adult Singaporeans only. Babies, children and teenagers are also affected by the GST increase. In fact, some babies are bigger consumers than the elderly. In line with the Government's push to encourage families who can afford to have more children, we should recognise and reward those with two or more children. Similarly, lower income families under the Small Families Improvement Scheme should also be rewarded for keeping their families small so that more resources can be channelled to their children. Thus, I would urge the Finance Minister to consider issuing Economic Restructuring shares for children and teenagers. In this way, all Singaporeans will understand that the economic restructuring process involves everyone. Pre-school programme subsidy Sir, I support the 7.4% increase in budget for the Ministry of Education. The expenditure is mainly attributed to general education, university, polytechnic, and ITE programmes. But there is no support for pre-school education programme. The Government has always considered pre-school education as the private sector's responsibility, and thus has not provided much guidance and support. However, in recent years, feedback from many primary schools has highlighted that the different teaching approaches and standards of private pre-school operators have produced pupils with differing standards of reading and writing skills. This has posed difficulty and affected the pace of teaching in primary schools.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister of State, since the average occupancy rate for the subsidised wards is 100%, is there any plan to increase the number of beds for the subsidised wards?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister of State what is the average occupancy rate of the acute hospitals?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister, besides the studies done, what other measures have been taken by the Ministry to minimise any possible environmental impact on both Malaysia and Singapore? Is there any pollution screen being erected, or whatever is being taken?”
“If they tender for a piece of land at that kind of price and the profit is not good, why should they do so? Could the Minister prove that I am wrong. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not quite sure I understand the point of Prof. Low's question. If it is so self-evident that running a petrol kiosk is so profitable, then I am quite sure that the next time sites are available, Prof. Low will be one of those who will tender for those sites. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay: Sir, I accept the challenge if I can run a petrol company. BILL INTRODUCED PARLIAMENTARY PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Parliamentary Pensions Act (Chapter 219 of the 1996 Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS Debate on the Address (Fourth Allotted Day) Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [1st April, 2002], 'That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to: "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the First Session of this Parliament.".' - [Mrs Lim Hwee Hua]. Question again proposed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister whether the increase in oil prices will lead to an increase in electricity tariffs, and whether the Government will soften the impact on consumers and businesses, if there is any such increase. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: The increases in energy prices must be reflected in electricity tariffs. I think that is necessary. We must ensure that the signals get passed through to the economy so that every consumer and every industry makes its own adjustments to these price signals. Should the Government ameliorate it? I would be against the Government ameliorating it directly, because then we would be making electricity artificially cheaper and, if we do so, there will be an over consumption of electricity. But the Government can always ameliorate its effects through income support, which this Government does from time to time. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay: The Minister does not seem to answer my question whether the profits are acceptable. I would like to ask the Minister, because he touched on the issue of tender prices for petrol kiosks. Based on the tender prices that have been accepted in the past, I would like the Minister to comment whether I am right that they are still very profitable based on the following scenario. When a petrol station is available for tender and the land is about 30,000 square feet, the common tender price will be around $10 million. If we work that out in simple mathematical terms, it will be around $300 per square foot for a 30-year lease. If, let us say the price works out to be equivalent to a 99-year lease, the tender price for a petrol station in a noisy, dirty and very unattractive roadside would be even more than that for an Oxley Road residential land.”
“Sir, let me cite one example to illustrate the importance of having quality of life indicators to measure the performance of the public sector. Every year, we spend billions of dollars to develop and maintain parks in Singapore. However, not many Singaporeans visit these parks, especially the national parks. The lack of accessibility and supporting infrastructure has deterred many from visiting our parks. Not many activities or programmes are organised to attract Singaporeans to the parks. Furthermore, inadequate or paid car parking has always deterred people from going to the parks. Sir, I am surprised to learn that you need to pay $1 for taking a walk at the Sungei Buloh nature trail. How many Singaporeans are willing to pay $1 per walk? The "pay as you use" principle or policy must be reviewed to facilitate better usage of our parks and nature reserves. The Government must invest in the well-being of our people. The use of parks has proved to be good relaxation places for many people in other countries. There is no point spending so much on parks when the utility is so low. Our National Parks Board should be more proactive to bring life into our parks. To have a good quality of life, Singaporeans must learn how to work hard, stay healthy and enjoy life. Maybe, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts should set up a Department of Enjoyment to help Singaporeans enjoy life. To be a world-class city, we need to have a measure of our quality of life. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am confident that Singaporeans will stay united and integrated. We will work as a team and provide world-class products and services. Together, we can make Singapore a world-class city.”
“We should capitalise on this to organise or bid for more world leaders meetings, international conferences, trade exhibitions, forums and gatherings. We can be the "World Business Centre" where political, economic and social discussions take place. In addition, we should develop Singapore into a food paradise with a wide range of international and local cuisines, ranging from hawker centres to fine dining outlets. The East Coast Park can be converted into a "World Food Paradise or Esplanade" where the best food in Singapore can be housed together. Sir, we need to remake our Singapore Tourism Board (STB). Tourism can be a key driver of our service industry. It provides many jobs which our older workers can do, such as tour guides, housekeepers, drivers, customer relations officers, chefs, and so on. We must be more proactive to attract more tourists. STB must reach out and encourage tourists to spend money in Singapore, instead of using Singapore as a transit centre. We need to revitalise the Singapore Tourism Board, Orchard Road, and our tourist attractions. I am sure Singapore can easily accommodate 10 to 12 million tourists a year. (iii) Quality of life. Sad to say, Singapore has no quality of life index or measure to monitor our efforts in improving the quality of life of Singaporeans. Although many Ministries have put forward statements of vision and mission, no quality of life measures were stated to determine whether we have achieved our vision and mission. Many countries have some measures or benchmarks of quality of life. To be a world-class city, we need to establish our own set of quality of life indicators. This is to ensure that we utilise our resources properly to improve the lives of Singaporeans.”
“When there is business, businesses will be motivated to further improve their operations. As for the construction industry, our open tendering system has severe setbacks in ensuring quality of construction. The competitive nature and low profit margin in construction do not provide much room for contractors to focus on quality. Many developers, including the public sector, are reluctant to pay a premium for quality work. Furthermore, there is inadequate independent quality assessment and easily accessible information on the quality performance of developers, designers and contractors. The Building and Construction Authority should develop a web-based database on the performance of developers, designers and contractors. We must also review the quality incentives for the construction industry. (ii) Developing a Quality Tourism Hub Singapore aspires to be a tourism hub. Each year, we attract about 7 million tourists to Singapore. If each tourist spends $200 in our retail outlets, we should have a billion-dollar retail industry. Is this the case in Singapore? We may need to check whether the GST rebate by tourists indicates the size of tourist dollars spent in Singapore. With so many countries competing for tourists, Singapore must establish our niches to attract tourists from all countries. Presently, our tourist attractions, such as Sentosa, Zoo, Bird Park and Botanic Garden are facing an uphill task to attract tourists. We need new tourist attractions and more aggressive marketing of our attractions. We have to market Singapore as a world-class city worthwhile visiting. The low crime rate and safe environment, coupled with our beautiful garden city, provide excellent niches for Singapore to be a tourist attraction.”
“Top civil servants and Government agencies' chiefs must adopt both horizontal and vertical coordination and teamwork. Physical and mental barriers across Ministries and Government agencies must be removed to facilitate workflows and better delivery of services. Furthermore, top management in the public sector must adopt a more hands-on approach in formulating policies and procedures. While we do not encourage micro-management, top management must constantly be in touch with their ground staff and customers to continually upgrade their operations. A hands-on approach will definitely provide more support and impetus in delivery of world-class services. Quality (i) Developing a quality culture and workforce To achieve sustainable competitive advantage, we need to focus on the quality of our products and services. We must inculcate a quality culture in our workforce, like the Japanese. Workers must understand and be convinced that quality will ensure the survival of their companies and jobs. Although PSB has been spearheading the quality drive through the ISO 9000 and Singapore Quality Award schemes, not many local firms have achieved world-class quality. In particular, the retail and construction sectors suffer from the image of poor quality of services. We need to address the issue of quality of services in our retail industry. Efforts by the Government to upgrade the retail industry will not succeed if there is no business for retailers. The constant push by PSB to upgrade retail businesses may suffer backlash, resulting in higher business costs and business failures. Instead, we should focus on how to bring business to businesses. This is especially so in Singapore where we have an oversupply of retail outlets.”
“We must strengthen our friendships with other countries and forge economic partnerships where possible for mutual benefit. The pursuit of Free Trade Agreements will provide excellent opportunities for businesses to collaborate and provide products and services to growing markets such as China, Korea and Indochina. (ii) Building a Singapore Team Back home, we should encourage our people to work closely as a team to compete globally. We need to build a Singapore Team and brand our team. Both our Government-linked companies and local businesses must work as partners to provide global products and services. We should work as a team to develop more world-class companies. Thus, the Government must provide more support to nurture local businesses to be global players. The public sector and GLCs should also make concrete efforts to support local SMEs and provide opportunities for them to grow. GLCs should reduce its local market share and give local businesses opportunity to provide their services and gain experience. We need the inertia from the private sector to drive our products and services overseas. We should also reduce the stake of Government in GLCs and provide opportunities for private entrepreneurs to build niche businesses. In addition, GLCs can support local businesses when venturing overseas. (iii) Teamwork in Government Ministries and Agencies To provide quality services for both our people and businesses, we need teamwork from all Government Ministries and agencies. Staff from the public sector must understand the macro perspective of policies and procedures. They must exercise more flexibility to safeguard the interests of our people and business.”
“This situation is further aggravated by the lack of standardisation and modular coordination of building components. Columns, beams, doors, windows, tiles and fittings all come in different shapes and sizes, thus making it difficult to achieve high productivity in construction. While we encourage creative design, there is an urgent need to promote more standardisation and modular coordination in the construction industry. We must also integrate our design and construction teams through design and build. Developers must be encouraged to support standardisation and dry construction methods such as precast and off-site fabrication, without which construction productivity will always be low. Another contributing factor to the low construction productivity is the lack of mandate of the Building and Construction Authority. BCA does not control the provision of manpower and administer building regulations, which come under MOM. It does not implement standards and codes of practice, which is the responsibility of PSB. The Environment Ministry regulates environmental and public health matters on construction sites. With so many different agencies acting together with different agendas, how can building projects progress smoothly on site? We need to review and integrate all regulations affecting the construction industry and encourage more self-regulation. We also need to remake BCA. Teamwork (i) Friends to all countries Mr Speaker, Sir, no man is an island. Although Singapore is an island, we must work as a team with the international community. As a country, we should continue our foreign policy to be friends with as many countries as possible. We must be committed to ASEAN and be supportive of international organisations, in particular the United Nations.”
“We should consolidate our resources instead of having many small set-ups. We must aim to be a world-class learning and research centre. Instead of having three or four universities and several research institutions engaged in local competition, we should compete with other world-class research institutions to attract top-notch talent to Singapore. We should integrate all our universities and research institutions into a mega university. In global competition, size does matter. A mega university will be more attractive to talent. It will help to spearhead Singapore's innovation and creative efforts. We should build one world class university which can provide first-class learning and research environment to the world. The quality of Singapore's education system does provide niches for us to provide world-class education and research services. We must aim to be an innovation centre which produces recipe for success, new products and services, and best practices. (iii) Integrating our construction industry The construction industry has always been a "low productivity" industry. Despite all efforts by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), productivity remains low. Why is construction productivity low in Singapore? Let me explain the phenomenon. Almost every building in Singapore is developed by different teams of developers, consultants and contractors. A building is a complex product which comprises the inputs of a few hundred trades such as concrete, steel, bricks, tiles, glass, electrical and mechanical products, and many others. In every building project, the developer will specify different design and building material requirements. As such, there is always a learning curve for the designers and contractors in every single project.”
“And, finally, Singapore is a beautiful country which receives accolades of admiration from people all over the world. So, how can we harness our strengths to spearhead efforts to cope with globalisation? I would like to suggest a three-pronged strategy. We should focus on three areas: Integration, Teamwork and Quality. Integration (i) Integrating Government Ministries and Agencies Sir, I fully support the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts' vision to make Singapore a connected and creative island. With the advent of information technology and modern communication devices, we can easily connect the Government, business and people sectors of Singapore. We must remove all territorial barriers among Ministries and Government agencies to achieve one integrated Government. The public sector must take proactive measures to integrate Government agencies and services to provide more one-stop service centres for our people and business community. For example, the housing of various Government agencies in the Woodlands Civic Centre provides a convenient one-stop access for residents and businesses. We should develop more of such centres, and also a one-stop website providing all Government services. The eCitizen website is a good example of how Government services and information can be integrated to provide a one-stop 24-hour service centre. We should expedite the integration process, and similarly set up a one-stop eBusiness website for businesses. The integration of Government agencies and services will definitely provide a boost to higher productivity and better quality of services. (ii) Integrating our Universities and Research Institutions Singapore is a small country with limited land area.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion. Singapore is at the turning point. Rapid globalisation has posed formidable challenges to our country and our people. Globalisation will continue to impact the political, economic and social dimensions of Singapore, and push for changes which are inevitable. Singaporeans must face this reality that we are living in a globalised world today. Any event or happening outside Singapore will have almost instant repercussions on us, be it politically, economically or socially. The recent financial crisis and terrorist attacks are clear examples of how global or regional events have affected the quality of life of Singaporeans. We experienced political brickbats, hollowing out of our economy, loss of jobs, and threats to our security and social cohesion. Today, we live in a connected world. Singaporeans must learn how to be global citizens and cope with global challenges. Mr Speaker, Sir, how can Singapore be a global player? How can Singaporeans be global citizens? What must we do to make a living in the global market? These are pertinent questions which all Singaporeans must address. It is not the sole responsibility of Government. Every Singaporean must play a role to make Singapore a global player. To successfully position Singapore in the global market, we need to understand our strengths and weaknesses, and at the same time the opportunities and threats in the global marketplace. We know our weaknesses. Singapore has limited natural resources. We also have a small population and talent base. But we do have certain unique competitive strengths. We enjoy strong political and social stability. We have a world-class infrastructure for our people and businesses. We have a hardworking and educated workforce.”
“May I ask the Minister on his view on one recent report in the UK. It was reported on 21st September 2001 by Dr Alan Preece, Head of Biophysics at Bristol Oncology Centre, that mobile phones may cause damage to health by speeding up the brain's response times. What is his view on that?”
“May I ask the Minister: why is the HSA so sure that handphone radiation will not cause cancer when WHO is actually still studying the issue?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister of State whether the Ministry will also consider asking SLRT to install railings on the track. Because when the train stops, the commuters will have to walk along the track to the respective stations, and it is quite dangerous to walk along the track. So presently it is without railings on both sides.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister of State what are the world-class performance standards which the Ministry has set for the LRT? Also, since the Ministry is not happy with the LRT's performance, what kind of deadline has been given to the SLRT to improve the system? Will the Ministry also consider setting up a committee to conduct a safety audit of the system? What is the redress available to LRT commuters who have suffered much inconvenience and financial loss? Many residents in Bukit Panjang have to take taxis to work as a result of the disruptions.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether or not HDB will allow the change of use to eating houses, and also whether HDB will control the tenant mix of the neighbourhood?”
“Yes, CASE has received quite a number of complaints. That is the reason why we are trying to help by collecting information and passing it to the Ministry. But we need to have a hotline because there are quite a lot of enquiries and there must be officers to answer these enquiries. So can CAD set up a hotline for these members to make their enquiries? Mr Tang Guan Seng: I will pass it to CAD. Whether CAD wants to set up a hotline, it is for CAD to decide. In Singapore, a telephone line is readily available. You can just pick up the phone and call. MANAGERS AND EXECUTIVES (Mistreatment by employers) 3. Mr Seng Han Thong asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many cases did his Ministry receive of managers and executives being mistreated by their employers, for each of the years from 1998 to 2000; (b) what is the procedure to resolve their complaints; and (c) whether the present legislation is adequate in protecting their interests.”
“Sir, may I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether the Ministry in the meantime can set up a hotline to answer queries from aggrieved members or complaints from members and to provide more information to the Ministry or to facilitate CAD's investigations?”
“Sir, can I ask the Minister whether the Ministry can consider allocating land along the side of expressways for these "white pumpers" instead of putting the petrol kiosks at the housing estates?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether HDB will consider building more flats now when construction costs are at rock-bottom?”
“But we have no choice as market forces determine our efforts to prepare Singapore for a knowledge-based economy. We must continue to improve our living and business environment to make Singapore a world-class city. At the same time, we will spare no effort to make sure that all Singaporeans are taken care of during this transition. I would like to commend the efforts put in by the Ministry in helping tenants affected by the abolition of the Act. The Ministry has announced in April 1997 (three years ago) that the Control of Rent Act will be repealed as from 1st April 2001. This has given tenants adequate time to make the necessary preparations and adjustments. In addition, URA and HDB have implemented two housing schemes, especially for low income and single aged tenants, who may face difficulty finding alternate accommodation. They are the Housing Assistance Scheme for families affected by rent de-control and the scheme for relocating tenants and occupiers who are single aged persons. Sir, these measures clearly show that the Government has taken a very compassionate approach to help the affected tenants although it is a private matter. Likewise, I hope that the landlords will also help low income tenants to make this transition in their lives more smoothly. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. The abolition of the Control of Rent Act is a step towards an open market economy. The Act, which was enacted in the early 1950s, has outlived its usefulness. It was meant to prevent unscrupulous landlords of premises built before 7th September 1947 from increasing rent indiscriminately. While it had served its purpose, the Act is no longer applicable in today's market environment. Tenants now are more educated, and they know how to protect their rights against unscrupulous landlords. The success of the HDB public housing has also eliminated the need to protect tenants from being levied market rental for these premises. In fact, some tenants in these rent controlled premises have abused the Act. I learn that some tenants profit immensely through the subletting of the whole or part of these premises at market rent while paying low rental under the Act. In cases where the premises are of commercial or industrial uses, the profits made are substantial. These practices are unfair to landlords who have lost much opportunity to recoup their investment returns. The above situation has also hindered our urban renewal progress. With such low rentals, landlords have no incentive to maintain or upgrade their premises, thus leading to disrepair. These derelict premises mar our city landscape and result in under-utilisation of our limited land. In order to inject life into our city areas, the Government must remove legislation which hinder urban renewal. The abolition of the Act will provide much impetus for landlords to rejuvenate their premises thus adding more buzz to our city. Sir, I understand the plight of tenants affected by the abolition of the Act.”
“Sir, point of clarification. I commend the Ministry for encouraging the schools to form environment clubs. I understand that in many of these schools, the environment club comprises very small groups of about 30-50 students. I wonder whether the Ministry can provide more support to help the schools to outreach to more pupils to develop this passion to protect the environment.”
“Sir, over the last 35 years, Singapore has successfully coped with the challenges of industrialisation and urbanisation and, at the same time, provided a healthy environment for Singaporeans. Today, Singapore is renowned as a Garden City with a well-designed land-use plan and a comprehensive and sophisticated environmental infrastructure. In May 1992, the Environment Ministry prepared "The Singapore Green Plan - Towards a Model Green City" to adopt a fresh approach towards environmental management. The Green Plan aims to address global environmental concerns, such as global warming, protection of the ozone layer, preservation of biodiversity and endangered species and prevention of pollution of the seas. The Green Plan also identified strategic directions with Action Programmes and targets for specific areas and sectors. In this regard, I hope the Environment Minister can update the House on the targets achieved so far, and future environmental management efforts. Sir, I have the following clarifications to make: (a) What is the progress made in "The Singapore Green Plan"? (b) Has the Ministry managed to build environmental consciousness among Singaporeans? What are the key benchmarks and indicators? (c) How many firms have developed corporate responsibility towards environmental management? What are the successful programmes or initiatives implemented? (d) Is there any review to improve the environmental audit in Singapore? Has such audit increased business cost? 5.15 pm”
“(d) Will the Ministry build more sports clinics at the community level?”
“Sir, my topic is on the community sports clinic. The sports for life programme, launched by the Singapore Sports Council, has been successful in promoting healthy lifestyle among Singaporeans, especially the elderly and housewives. Many Singaporeans are beginning to participate in the sports for life programme, such as brisk walking and many other games. As we have a fast ageing population, we should continue our efforts to keep our people healthy. But the push for a healthy lifestyle by the community must also be supported by the necessary sports clinics and medicine infrastructure. Presently, we have only one sports clinic at the Sports Council serving mainly our national and school athletes. The centre has basic sports medical facilities but lacks the modern equipment for sports injury diagnosis and therapy such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. The limited resources also do not permit the centre to conduct sports medicine research, and education to the general public. 4.15 pm As we become more active in mobilising the masses into sporting activities, we need to provide adequate, accessible and convenient sports clinics at the community level. These clinics can provide consultations for sports injury, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services at affordable costs. It is a form of primary healthcare for sports injuries at the community level. Sir, I would like to seek the following clarifications from the Ministry: (a) What are the plans the Ministry has in providing sports medicine infrastructure in Singapore? (b) What are the resources committed to train sports doctors and physiotherapists? (c) What is the appropriate ratio between the population and sports doctor as compared to other developed countries?”
“Sir, I would like to thank you for accommodating all the cuts for this amendment. I would also like to thank the Minister, the Minister of State and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for their high speed and positive responses to all the questions put forward by Members. I am confident that many Singaporeans will benefit from the initiatives announced by the Ministry. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, may I ask the Ministry whether they will allocate agricultural land for high-rise farming in Singapore?”