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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“But, with falling demand from regional economies, I would urge the Government to take aggressive measures to strengthen the capabilities of our local firms and increase the market share of their products and services. Sir, I would like to offer some suggestions for the Government to consider: Market Diversification As a small country with limited resources, Singapore has no choice but to depend on foreign investors and other countries' economies. Therefore, it is crucial for Singapore to widen its business dealings with more countries so as to cushion the effects of fluctuating economies in the future. But we need to identify suitable products and services, which are in demand in these markets. We need to develop market niches. Potential areas include consultancy services for housing, industrial park, health, R&D, and education services. As for consumer products, we must form strategic alliances with MNCs to penetrate specific markets. Singapore has the Asian culture and goodwill to become trustworthy partners of MNCs. I would urge the Government to set up a task force to focus on strategic alliances with MNCs. To be successful in market diversification, it is also essential for local firms to have strategic marketing. Many local firms are family businesses and may lack the exposure in international marketing. Although the Trade and Development Board has been searching for more new markets, we need the expertise of private marketing firms, especially our own top marketing firms, to conduct market research and sell our products and services. I hope the Government can consider engaging the services of local marketing firms by paying them a retainer fee. These marketing firms can then be engaged by local firms, on a commission basis, for increasing their sales overseas.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion as proposed by the Minister for Trade and Industry. Sir, over the last 14 months, many Singaporeans have experienced the effects of the regional financial crisis. Some are affected financially while others are affected psychologically. The crisis has made all Singaporeans learnt one important lesson, that is: `Do not take things for granted'. Economies can fall, diplomatic relations can sour, property and stock prices can fall, income can reduce, and our quality of life can drop. By now, many Singaporeans understand that they are much more fortunate than many people in other countries. This fortunate situation does not happen by chance. It is the foresight of our Government and our prudent management of the economy that have sheltered Singaporeans from the vagaries of the regional crisis. That is why the Government is now again rallying the support of all Singaporeans to take tough measures to position themselves in the global market in the next century. In times of crisis, all of us must make sacrifices and take a longer viewpoint in our actions and deeds. In this way, Singapore will be able to cope with the crisis and emerge stronger as a more competitive economy in the global market. The Committee on Singapore's Competitiveness (CSC) has indeed done a very comprehensive study to spearhead Singapore into the next millennium. Although many visions and strategies were recommended in the Report, it would be better if more details on targets and method statements could be highlighted to guide the respective Ministries, statutory boards or companies to achieve the desired outcomes. Sir, I am glad that the Government has accepted the cost-cutting package to increase Singapore's competitiveness.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether HDB is prepared to allow a working member in the family, who is an existing HDB lessee, to be included as a member to pay the mortgage instalments?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister whether the HDB will levy any administrative charge for those who need to restructure their loans?”
“The Registry of the Strata Titles Board would give the notice where members have not been served. It could be a condition that before an application is heard, all the parties have been served properly. Sir, another area that I am concerned is this. If we do not change the law and allow, as I have said earlier, the period of 10 years to stand, then a lot of properties that have been developed recently and are in good condition would be torn down and rebuilt, which would be an economic loss. Another area which I think we should also consider is that probably the owners of terrace houses in older estates may wish to have them developed if the plot ratio is increased from two storeys to three storeys. Because some of these estates are in fact in worse condition than some of the HDB estates which are better managed. This is something which the Minister may want to consider. Sir, the office of Registrar is being created and I am grateful to the Minister for this because, with this amendment, many applications could be dealt with by the Registrar. So the full Board does not have to sit. All we require is the Registrar to deal with applications which are not controversial in nature and it would be helpful when the law comes into existence to appoint a Senior Legal Officer as the Registrar. At the moment, the person holding office is actually qualified for District Judge. I hope the practice will continue. As I said earlier, I would like to assure Members once again, my experience over the years is that both parties always want to discuss the matter and, in fact, in most cases, mediation succeeds. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“The matters which I have dealt with have always been settled without going through a full hearing. So I would like to tell the Members of this House that the Strata Titles Board may be a more appropriate panel because it is made up of people who are not just lawyers but also engineers and architects who appreciate the dispute better. So I hope Prof. Chin would change his view after hearing my arguments. Sir, there have been some complaints from members of the public, both in the news media as well as some people who have approached me. I know of a case of a retired librarian in the University of Singapore who lives in Holland Road. Her worry is that if her property is put up for en-bloc sale, she would miss the company of relatives who are nearby and other facilities. But I tell people who have this problem that it is in the interest of the community at large and especially, in view of the MRT development, that we should allow maximum utilisation of our land. We have got limited land supply and community interest must take precedence over that of the individual right. As I said earlier, one of the advantages that we have is that because we did not enshrine in the Constitution the right to own property, as some other countries did, we have this development. Sir, I move to another area which I am a little concerned. Prof. Chin has also mentioned this. This is new section 84A(10). The notice to be given requires only two days' notice. I do not think that is sufficient. If you post a notice on Saturday, the next day is Sunday. I think we should at least have a minimum of five days' notice. Another Member also raised the question of who is to give notice. I think that could be easily addressed.”
“In this way, the number of panel members may vary from time to time depending on the availability of expertise and the number of disputes. Sir, I support the Bill. Mr Shriniwas Rai: I am obliged to you, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. Sir, I rise to support the Bill and I congratulate the Minister for agreeing to send the Bill to a Select Committee. This has been proposed by Members as well as the public, because it is a very important question that we are going to deal with, ie, the question of property rights. I must, first of all, declare my interest. I am a practising lawyer and I am also a member of the Strata Titles Board. Sir, Singapore has limited land supply and it is of utmost importance that we utilise this to the maximum benefit of the community. This is why the success of Singapore has largely been attributed to the very equitable way in which land acquisition has worked. In this particular case, no acquisition is being made. All this Bill hopes to do is to facilitate en-bloc sales. Mr Speaker, Sir, one question that has bothered me and other Members is this 10-year period. It is not adequate. We should at least allow a minimum of 15 years. I am happy with the requirement of a percentage of at least 80%, because I think that is also the practice in other jurisdictions. Prof. Chin also spoke about the Strata Titles Board. Sir, the Strata Titles Board is made up of the President, Deputy President and two other members. In fact, it is better than what you get in the High Court because in the High Court only a single judge hears the matter. It would also be more expensive and time consuming. The other advantage which Members may want to know is that the Board always tries to mediate. In fact, I have been sitting on the Board for more than a year now.”
“Jurisdiction of Strata Titles Boards Clause 14 has removed the jurisdiction of the Strata Titles Boards to adjudicate disputes between management corporations and developers. In practice, management corporations often encounter problems when taking over new developments from developers. These problems may range from simple disputes concerning handing over of relevant documentation to major disputes such as repairs of major building defects. Very often, these disputes are technical in nature and could be either mediated or adjudicated by the Strata Titles Boards. However, with the new amendment, all these disputes would have to go to the courts for settlement. As such, it may create an influx of cases, thus hampering the efficiency of our courts. Instead, we should expand the jurisdiction of the Strata Titles Boards to adjudicate disputes between management corporations which have become common in recent years. Composition of Strata Titles Boards Clause 11 increases the number of persons on a panel from which the Strata Titles Boards may be formed to 24. The increase of panel members from 20 to 24 is probably attributed to the increase in the number of strata title developments, and the amendment in section 86 which allows parties to a dispute to have a say in the choice of members forming a board. As the real estate and construction industry is small, it may be better to increase the panel members so that the Minister would have more leeway to appoint one or more Strata Titles Boards to expedite dispute settlement. Thus, I would suggest that in line with the principle of appointing management corporation council members, we should allow the Minister to appoint a panel of members but subject it to a maximum of 30 members.”
“In principle, I agree that the 80% and 90% share value requirement will facilitate en-bloc developments. However, the 10-year time period requirement may result in wastage of resources. This is particularly so for developments which are less than 10 years old. Technically, the life span of a building is about 60 years before physical obsolescence takes place. But in a fast-pace society like Singapore, buildings tend to have shorter life span due to economic obsolescence and changing social trends. Despite this, it is wasteful to facilitate en-bloc sale and development of buildings that are less than 10 years old. In fact, with the introduction of new building materials and technology, buildings are built to last much longer. Thus, I hope the Ministry will reconsider the time period requirement for en-bloc sale application. In addition, it would be prudent to specify that applications for en-bloc sales for developments below 10 years should obtain approval from the Minister. This would curb any speculative developments which may have other repercussions or economic implications. Distribution of sale proceeds One of the stumbling blocks in en-bloc sale is the obtaining of consensus among subsidiary proprietors or owners with regard to the sharing of the sale proceeds. Subsidiary proprietors or flat owners often have differing opinions as to the methods of sharing the proceeds. This has indeed hampered a number of potential en-bloc sales. The Bill has not addressed this problem. To facilitate en-bloc sale, the Bill should state clearly the method or formula for sharing the sale proceeds. Based on past en-bloc sales, the use of share value has been commonly adopted as an acceptable means to distribute the sale proceeds.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to declare my interest as the owner of a strata title lot. Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. In land-scarce Singapore, we have no choice but to maximise land use through proper land use planning. The recent revision and development of the Concept and Development Guide Plans by URA clearly indicates the need to update land use plans in Singapore. This is necessary so that we can keep up with changing population and economic trends. This Bill indeed will facilitate better utilisation of land through en-bloc sales of certain property. At the same time, it will enable the Strata Titles Boards to function more effectively and efficiently for the benefit of all subsidiary proprietors and flat owners. Sir, I would like to raise the following points on the principles and implications of this Bill. Collective sale of property Clause 8 inserts a new Part VA (containing new sections 84A to 84F) to facilitate en-bloc sales of land within a subdivided building. But it only applies to owners of flats or units in a strata or subdivided building or development with more than 10 units or flats. The clause seems to discriminate against developments of 10 units and less. I hope the Ministry could clarify the need for this requirement. Sir, to be consistent in encouraging en-bloc sales, we should remove this requirement and allow all developments that are eligible for en-bloc sale to make an application for collective sale. Time period requirement for en-bloc sale This Bill permits owners of 80% share value in a development to apply for collective sale if the lots are more than 10 years while a 90% share value is required for lots which are less than 10 years.”
“May I ask the Minister whether he will consider providing additional grants to voluntary welfare organisations which are facing difficulty in raising funds in the present situation? Perhaps the Government could increase the 50% operating grant to 80%.”
“However, pupils of other levels are not given much opportunity in schools to take up swimming lessons. In fact, a survey by one school shows that 50% of Primary Three students have never been to a swimming pool. There is an urgent need to implement a structured programme to ensure that all our students achieve a certain level of proficiency in swimming, life saving and first-aid skills. The Ministry should place more emphasis on these ECAs and work closely with the Singapore Sports Council and swimming and life saving associations to further encourage such activities. Swimming, life saving and first-aid courses should be made compulsory for all students, except for medical or religious reasons. 1.30 pm”
“Sir, my topic is on extra-curricular activities. As Singaporeans become more affluent, we aspire to live in condominiums, waterfront housing, such as Punggol 21 or landed properties with swimming pools. But many may not be able to enjoy waterfront housing or their water facilities if they or their children cannot swim. In fact, some may even fear to let their children play near the water. Sir, we need to encourage all Singaporeans, in particular school children, to learn swimming, life saving and first-aid skills. Let me highlight the importance for Singaporeans to learn swimming. According to the Straits Times' report on 6th December 1997, 83 people drowned in Singapore last year, 52 at sea, 10 in swimming pools, 8 in rivers and the rest in canals and other places. Out of the 83 drowned, some of them may not have died if they can swim or understand water safety or people around them know life saving skills. Sir, as a qualified life guard myself, it saddens me each time I read in the papers of drowning cases, especially involving school children. Over the last 20 years, I have saved four persons. Two of them would not have been alive today if I could not swim or did not know any life saving skills. This clearly shows the usefulness of learning swimming and life saving skills. Learning swimming and life saving is not only to keep one healthy. But it is a skill which will make a difference to one's life or other people's life. As life savers, we live by this motto: "Whosoever you see in distress, recognise in him a fellow man." We are always on the alert and ready to save anyone who encounters difficulty in water. Sir, I am pleased to note that most schools have incorporated swimming programmes for their Primary 4 and Primary 6 pupils.”
“I would urge the Education Ministry to involve school staff, School Advisory Committee members, parents and community leaders in the planning of schools. With regard to the design of schools, PWD should adopt a different approach in producing a conducive environment in schools to facilitate innovative and creative learning. In addition, schools should also be designed to accommodate adult evening classes, public lectures, civil and community functions, and cultural activities to serve the community. In this way, schools can be better utilised for the benefit of the community. To save resources, we should build primary and secondary schools at the same site. This would facilitate the sharing of facilities such as school fields, sports facilities, canteen and civil defence shelter. A joint primary and secondary school can then be managed by one principal for better coordination and control purposes.”
“Sir, my topic is on planning and design of schools. Neighbourhood schools provide much convenience to pupils and parents. They help parents to save on transport costs, and facilitate the ferrying of children to and from schools, especially for parents who have more than one child attending school. Thus, I would like to urge the Ministry to place more emphasis to ensure that there are adequate school places in neighbourhood schools. I would like to make the following suggestions for the Minister to consider: (1) Register all Primary One pupils two or three years before they start school. This will enable the Ministry to collect exact demand data for the planning of schools. With this information, the Ministry can proceed to develop new schools immediately or refurbish existing schools to cater to the demand. According to the PWD contract, it is possible to build a school within 18 months. (2) Revise the 1 km policy for neighbourhood schools. Children staying 1 km must be given higher priority. (3) Provide extra capacities when designing primary schools. At present, many principals are conducting tutorials, remedial and ECA classes during school hours, thus utilising many classrooms. This has made it difficult for schools to have the flexibility to increase its enrolment to cater for the increased demand. We should build schools with more classrooms, so as to cope with the fluctuating demand yearly. (4) The Kentucky Department of Education has introduced the Consolidated Planning Process, a joint effort between the Department of Education, local school council and district stakeholders. In this process, school councils are responsible in providing an environment in their schools to enhance students' achievement.”
“Sir, my topic is on Quality Education. Sir, I would like to declare my interest as a staff of NUS. To develop a national attitude of "Thinking Schools and Learning Nation", we need to adopt a holistic quality approach to education. Although the Education Ministry has an internal quality system, we need to develop an internationally recognised quality assurance system. To achieve world-class standing and recognition, we must adopt the ISO 9000 approach to our educational institutions. Clear quality policies, objectives and procedures must be documented to ensure that quality services are provided in our Ministry and schools. The ISO 9000 quality assurance model provides a systematic approach to ensure that quality services are delivered. It has a structure whereby regular periodic quality audits are conducted. We should conduct external audit to ascertain the quality of students produced. For example, secondary schools should audit primary schools, pre-university institutions should audit secondary schools, the tertiary institutions auditing the pre-universities, and finally, employers auditing our tertiary institutions. In this way, we can always be assured that our students are receiving quality education. Sir, I understand that the cost of education is rising and the operating budget of the Ministry is tight. But we should not compromise on the quality of education. Thus, I hope the Minister can update the House as to how he proposes to achieve low cost and high quality education in Singapore.”
“This could be achieved by appointing quality auditors from the Ministry, our universities or practitioners in the industry. The accredited courses may then be included in the list of approved courses in the CPF Education Scheme. In this way, more Singaporeans would be encouraged to upgrade themselves. Finally, I hope the Education Ministry can take steps to control the quality of tertiary courses that are currently conducted by private educational institutions. We should set up a national accreditation body similar to that of the UK or USA. Accreditation will assist Singaporeans to make a better-informed decision to upgrade themselves. To have a quality workforce, we need to control the quality of education of both the public and private educational institutions in Singapore.”
“Sir, my topic is on private educational institutions. Over the years, the Government's effort to encourage Singaporeans to upgrade themselves has resulted in many Singaporeans taking up many courses in private educational institutions. These include tertiary courses such as diploma, degree and postgraduate programmes. As such, there has been an influx of private educational institutions and overseas universities offering a wide range of tertiary courses in Singapore. Although it is assumed that Singaporeans who are attending tertiary courses should be able to evaluate the quality and recognition of these programmes, in practice this may not be so. Sir, I am the President of a professional body. Very often, I receive queries from students or practitioners concerning the recognition of various professional degrees, or diploma courses conducted by private institutions. Many Singaporeans have spent large sums of their savings on these courses. Sometimes, they do not obtain value for money. In some cases, they were disappointed when they found that the diplomas or degrees which they have obtained are not recognised by our Government, statutory boards or companies. The above situation could happen because we do not have a system of accrediting tertiary courses conducted by private educational institutions in Singapore. Sir, to protect the interest of Singaporeans who are keen to upgrade themselves, I would like to urge the Education Ministry to accredit all tertiary courses conducted by private institutions in Singapore. The Ministry can license these private educational institutions, and conduct quality audit to assess the standard and quality of all approved tertiary courses.”
“Are people happier, more fulfilled, more creative, more able to develop their potential? Are their relationships at work and leisure as satisfying? Do they find their neighbourhood and environment as pleasant to live in? Is there a supportive network of families, friends, and neighbours to help them in their old age or childcare? All these questions must be properly addressed before we embark on our ambitious plans to develop Singapore into a world-class city. I hope the Ministry could update the House on the quality of life of Singaporeans. Sir, I would also like to urge the Ministry to consider developing a Quality of Life index for Singaporeans. Economic indicators are used to track the performance of the economy. We also need Quality of Life indicators to monitor the fulfilment of Singaporeans' needs and aspirations in life.”
“Sir, my topic is on quality of life. If we were to go through the corporate brochures or annual reports of various Ministries and statutory boards, we will find that most of them have impressive mission statements, visions and goals for their respective organisations, many of which strive to develop Singapore into a world-class city, a city that offers diversity and choice, a city with a rich variety of environment, a city of character and grace, and a city with a rich quality of life. Although all these mission statements reflect what the respective Ministries or statutory boards would like to achieve in the next century, many fail to reflect what Singaporeans really want in life. While it is easy to define a world-class city, it is difficult to define quality of life. Thus, I would like to urge the Ministry to develop a set of social indicators to measure our quality of life. A recent Straits Times report on 2nd June 1997 highlighted that, "Life has become better for Singaporeans in the five years between 1990 and 1995. Singaporeans are richer, better-educated, live in bigger homes and hold better jobs." 12.45 pm Another survey which was conducted by Asiaweek in October 1996, ranked Singapore's standard of living second, as compared to 40 other cities in Asia. But, are these measures truly reflective of the quality of life of Singaporeans? I do not think so. If you were to conduct house visits to a block of 3- or 4-room HDB flats, you will receive this common feedback from the residents, "Living in Singapore is very good, but life is very tough." In some developed countries, the standard of living is improving, but the quality of life does not necessarily improve at the same time.”
“Sir, just a few points of clarification. One, I am surprised that the Parliamentary Secretary has got the figure from his officer about the 60% season parking in Bukit Panjang. They must have included a lot of new multi-storey car parks where the residents have not moved in. Because three months ago, I went there and noticed that about 90% of the car parks were all taken up. But the Parliamentary Secretary has not answered my suggestions concerning the equalisation of car park fees and converting the unused land space to car parks. The other point is on bulk materials. What I mean is that HDB is doing a good job. But can the other Ministries also tap on HDB's bulk purchase of materials, that is, MOE can buy concrete or sand from HDB? So the contractors can reduce the cost. The next point is about the central dividers. I know there is a need for a central divider. What I am trying to say is that you may not need to landscape the central divider heavily. You do not need to maintain those trees. The last point is on deep sea fishing. I know the method used in Singapore is different. But if you put 30,000 fishes in one cage, it does not matter whether the current is strong or not, because the faeces are still polluting the sea. The current is not important at all because it will still pollute St. John's Island.”
“Sir, my next topic is on deep sea fish farming. I must commend the Ministry for conducting the pilot study on deep sea fish farming recently. In resource scarce Singapore where most of our food supplies are imported, there is a constant need to search for alternative food sources. Deep sea fish farming provides an innovative way for Singapore to breed fish for local consumption. I hope the Government will provide more support to develop this industry as fish consumption is growing rapidly among Singaporeans. However, there are a number of concerns which I hope the Ministry will address and they are as follows: (1) Experiences in British Columbia and Canada have shown that salmon aquaculture farm have been the centre of controversy for many years. These farms have been blamed for environmental degradation and disruption to wild life in the ocean. The problems associated with open caged aquaculture include faecal pollution, release of dangerous pathogens into the marine environment and disruption in the spawning patterns of native salmon. Recently, I met a professor from Finland. He told me that the Ministry in Finland has recently asked all school children to boycott the purchase of salmon to protest against the uncontrollable pollution caused by private aquaculture farms. (2) Another report from Vancouver highlighted the spread of virulent disease by salmon fish farms. It attributed the spread of this disease to the netcage system which usually fills high densities of farm fish. The jammed and stressful conditions of these netcages become potential breeding grounds for disease epidemic. 2.30 pm While I am no expert in aquaculture, I hope my feedback would help the Ministry to ensure that deep-sea fish farming in Singapore is both safe and environmentally friendly.”
“Thus, they sometimes disregard their own safety. In view of the above problems, I hope the Ministry could review its policy to remove all landscape along the central dividers of our roads and expressways. In certain expressways, the central divider is wide enough to be converted into an emergency lane for ambulance or for diverting traffic during congestion. Furthermore, mature trees along roads should be tied back, if possible, to prevent them from falling onto our roads. The above measures would certainly improve the safety and traffic flow of our roads.”
“In land scarce Singapore, if we strictly adopt a "No removal of trees" policy, we will ultimately face serious maintenance problems in our landscape. Recently, there have been a number of accidents at the expressways involving water tankers that were carrying out maintenance works along these roads. As reported in The Straits Times on 27th January 1998, the LTA has made it mandatory for contractors to install shock-absorbing device to safeguard workers and motorists. Instead of solving the problem, the authority has actually placed a device on our expressway for cars to knock. This solution is indeed very disturbing and costs the contractor $40,000 to install such a device. This extra cost will result in higher construction and maintenance cost of our roads. I would like to urge the Ministry to review its policy of landscaping and growing trees along the central divider of roads and expressways. Landscaping along these dividers poses several problems: (1) It requires frequent maintenance, such as watering, fertilising and pruning. The maintenance trucks cause traffic congestion and pose safety hazards to other road users. (2) Mature trees tend to fall or have fallen branches during the monsoon season, thus endangering the lives of motorists. Whenever there is a heavy downpour, trees along roads are often reported to have fallen and injuring motorists or causing traffic congestion. (3) The leaves of trees and shrubs cause blockage of the drainage system along the central divider, thus resulting in water ponding in certain areas during rainy days. These water ponds have caused cars and motorcycles to skid resulting in accidents. (4) Workers who are maintaining the landscape along central dividers tend to be too engrossed in their work.”
“In some cases, parties have to go into litigation to resolve their disputes, thus further increasing the cost of construction. If this situation is allowed to continue, the productivity of our construction industry will never be improved. We need to adopt a more cordial and cooperative approach to resolving disputes in the construction industry. I must commend the Ministry of Law for initiating mediation as a form of dispute resolution. With the support of the Ministry, the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) was set up in August 1997 to provide amicable and fair resolution of disputes. In addition, the SMC has formed an Advisory Committee on Construction Mediation comprising representatives from construction related professional bodies to promote mediation in the construction industry. Sir, I would like to declare my interest as a member of this Advisory Committee. To encourage mediation in the construction industry, I would urge the Ministry to consider the following suggestions: (1) Include a mediation clause in the public standard form of contract to refer all disputes to SMC for resolution. (2) Include a condition in the sale of land tender requiring private developers to insert a mediation clause in their contract when engaging construction firms. (3) Provide training grant for construction-related personnel to understand the use of mediation as a tool for dispute resolution. (4) Provide more support to SMC to run the centre. My last topic is landscape along roads and expressways. I agree with the National Parks' mission "To make Singapore our garden". But we need to adopt a more practical approach to maintaining greenery in Singapore.”
“A number of contractors have ventured overseas but many have lost lots of money. Some have wound up their businesses. While contractors do not expect the Government to provide any direct financial assistance, they hope the Government will provide support to reduce their risk exposure when venturing overseas. The recent initiative by TDB to include Singapore as a signatory in MIGA is indeed a positive step towards reducing political risks faced by firms venturing abroad. In addition, the Government should also provide incentives for banks and supporting industries to join venture with construction firms to form conglomerates which are capable of competing in the international market. I understand that many construction firms are well backed by private banks and construction-related firms when they tender for projects overseas. Sir, countries like Japan, China and Israel have Ministries of Construction to spearhead their construction industries. I am sure we can learn from these countries and develop a Ministry of Construction to spearhead our construction industry in the next millennium. Last year, I gave several suggestions to the Minister to upgrade the construction industry. I hope the Minister will update the House on the status of the upgrading of the industry. My next topic is on construction dispute resolution. Despite all the Government's initiatives and incentives, the productivity of the construction industry is still low. One of the main contributing factors to this phenomenon is the lack of teamwork and adversarial working culture among parties involved in a building project. Construction disputes are common at construction sites. These disputes often sour working relationships, thus resulting in delays in completion time and poor quality of work.”
“Thank you. The first subject is on Ministry of Construction. The construction industry has grown into a sizeable sector contributing 7% to 8% to our GDP. Despite its growth, the industry is faced with problems of low productivity, shortage of skilled labour, rising cost, poor image and a slow growth in the export of construction services. There is a lack of concerted effort to spearhead the construction industry. The above problems are attributed to the following: (1) Limited authority and resources of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). In 1984, the CIDB was set up to spearhead, promote, develop and monitor the construction industry. Although CIDB has achieved moderate success, the construction industry is still experiencing the same problems. CIDB, being a statutory board under the Ministry, has limited authority and resource constraints. As a result, the construction industry is still unable to upgrade to better contribute to our economy. (2) Lack of one-stop approval centre for building approvals. The development of a building requires approvals from various Government departments, such as URA, BCD, ENV, PWD, and so on. The productivity and workload of these Government departments vary. Thus, approvals for projects may be delayed by one or two departments which are either having heavy workload or less productive. At present, Government officers are not accountable for the productivity of building projects. Thus, they may not be motivated to expedite the approval process. We need to provide a one-stop approval service for building projects and give incentives to Government officials who have made efforts to increase the productivity of projects. (3) Bad experiences in venturing overseas.”
“Sir, can I have your permission to take the three cuts together?”
“Sir, certainly this episode looks like an episode out of the British TV series, "Yes, Minister". Therefore, I would like to urge the Minister to look into the following: (1) To work much closely with other bodies, like MTI, JTC and so on, to ensure that workers are not housed in large numbers in urban areas or landed properties but in other older flats in outskirts, preferably away from Singaporean housing, if that can be found. I think, to some extent, this is being done. JTC is buying up more flats. But I think the pace needs to be hastened. (2) The Ministry needs to coordinate all the foreign worker housing-related matters and find ways to tighten the present guidelines and look into possible changes in legislation. Perhaps the Planning Act needs to be reviewed to restrict the number of foreign workers that can be housed in a single dwelling unit, and to look into things like fire prevention, fire safety and security concerns of neighbouring residents. Sir, perhaps there is a need for a multi-agency task force to be set up to resolve these pertinent problems that irritate many Singaporeans unnecessarily. On this number of foreign workers in a dwelling unit, I just want to end by saying, even the Geneva Convention has got restrictions on how big a prisoner cell should be. So I think we should not deteriorate below these guidelines.”
“(3) These foreign workers cause noise pollution because they tend to speak very loud, especially at night, disturbing the neighbourhood. (4) Some of these foreign workers have been caught for snatch thefts or outraging of modesty of the females in the area. Therefore, having these workers in the area is a security hazard; and (5) All these problems result in a drop in the valuation of properties in the area which further upsets Singaporean owners living in these neighbourhoods. And it is no fault of theirs. Sir, I asked my constituency's private residents' committee and the constituency's secretariat to take up this critical issue with the URA. The reply from URA stated: "The Planning Act does not control the number of people residing in residential estates and neither does it regulate the rental of residential properties." In other words, the number of people residing is not regulated in a particular unit. Then we wrote to the Ministry of Labour. The reply from the Ministry of Labour stated: "It is stated in the work permit condition that an employer must provide adequate housing for the foreign worker employed by him." And they went on and ended the letter by saying, "However, the Ministry of Labour is not the authority responsible for specifying the building requirements." Then someone checked with BCD under the Ministry of National Development to see whether they control the number of residents in a dwelling unit, and BCD has no control either. So we have been talking to URA, Ministry of Labour, BCD, ENV, the Police to solve some of these security problems and so on, and yet the problems remain unsolved, except for the occasional raids by URA and others on some of these dwelling units.”
“Sir, the problem really is the abuse by foreign workers of these rented dwelling units, especially in landed properties, particularly terrace houses which house up to 30 to 40 people in one dwelling unit. In fact, there are many such rental dwelling units in various parts of Singapore. In my own constituency, the practice is somewhat prevalent in the Cambridge area, Carlisle Road area, and around the Sing Avenue and Joo Avenue areas. These foreign workers are probably village folks who are ignorant that they are a nuisance to their neighbours and may be oblivious of the mess that they create around the house, with their sardine tins, broken beer bottles and the loads of rubbish that they create. Or they may be just jealous, perhaps vindictive, of their richer Singapore neighbours. Ignorant or vindictive, their action has caused an avalanche of problems for Singaporeans living in the estate. Let me highlight some of these problems. (1) Many of these foreign worker dwelling units are not only packed with workers, but are also packed with lots of wooden furniture and partitions that they become real fire hazards. Sir, I refer the House to this Straits Times report, 4th January 1998, written by Mr Jasbir Singh, and he stated: "This is the second time in less than two months that foreign workers have died in a shophouse blaze. On November 15th, four Malaysians were killed in a Jalan Besar fire staying in quarters like this." (2) Then, just a few days ago, there is reason to believe that foreign workers' housing also facilitates mosquito breeding and is causing dengue fever. Straits Times, 14th March, stated 28 cases of dengue fever near Tan Tock Seng Hospital in my constituency.”
“Government departments can provide project financing such as advance initial payment, timely progress payment, and early settlement of final accounts. This would reduce the borrowing cost of contractors, thus reducing the cost of public projects. (6) Provide housing for foreign workers. Recently, JTC has been purchasing HDB flats to rent them out to their workers. Likewise, the Ministry should also consider either allocating low cost land for contractors to build housing for their foreign workers or build housing for these workers. In addition, vacant site or vacant state land should be let out at lower rental to contractors for site office and storage purposes. (7) Disposal of construction wastes. It is costly to dump construction wastes such as excavated earth, metal, wood, glass and concrete waste. Presently, all contractors are making their own arrangements to dispose these construction wastes which may be uneconomical at times. 2.00 pm The Ministry should centralise and out-source the disposal of construction wastes to disposal firms. Term contracts could be called for different regions. This would provide and reduce the cost of waste disposal drastically, and also at the same time prevent indiscriminate dumping of wastes. Mr Sinnakaruppan: Sir, there are many condominiums and landed properties that are being used as boarding houses for foreign workers. As there is a healthy demand for this, many house owners are increasingly leasing out their properties to foreign workers and, of course, with the permission granted from URA. But somehow it seems that the number of applications is on the increase.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, my topic is on cost reduction for public projects. I would like to propose the following measures to reduce the construction cost of public projects for the Ministry to consider. (1) Design-and-build tenders. All public projects should not invite more than 3 firms for design-and-build tenders. It is costly and time-consuming to prepare such tenders especially when details and models are required for the tender submission. This would reduce wastage of resources of the construction industry. I understand that HDB has adopted this measure and would urge all other Government departments to follow likewise. (2) Bulk purchase of basic building materials. All Government departments should adopt HDB's approach in purchasing basic building materials in bulk for contractors working in their projects. This procurement method provides price stability, ensures availability of material supply, and reduces the cost of building materials. (3) Clerk-of-work and resident engineer. We need to review the roles and impact of clerk-of-work and resident engineer on the productivity of public projects. The performance of clerk-of-work and resident engineer should be closely monitored as they have direct influence on the progress of the project. They should be paid by employers and inclusive of overtime charges. (4) Standardization and modularization. Public projects should adopt a high level of standardization and modularization of building components and elements. Standard sizes of beams, columns, floor slabs, windows and doors will facilitate the use of precast technology and mass manufacturing. The use of standard components will expedite construction and also increase productivity. (5) Project financing.”
“(e) Relocate trees that are occupying car park lots In conclusion, I hope the Ministry can take immediate steps to resolve the shortage of car park lots in semi-mature estates before the full impact of the ERP is felt.”
“Sir, my topic is on HDB car parks. With the introduction of electronic road pricing, the car population will grow more rapidly as more COEs will be issued. This will lead to a greater demand for car park places, especially in HDB estates. I understand that HDB has been building multi-storey car parks for both new estates and those undergoing Main Upgrading Programmes (MUP). Although these car park provisions will meet the new demand, not much has been done to increase the car parking places in semi-mature estates. Presently, some semi-mature estates such as Bukit Panjang are facing problems of inadequate car parking places. Thus, I would like to urge the Minister to consider the following suggestions: (a) Build more multi-storey car parks in semi-mature estates immediately to overcome the shortage of car parks. Available state land or HDB land in semi-mature estates should be utilised either temporarily or permanently as car parks. (b) Incorporate the construction of multi-storey car parks into the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP). The Government should increase the grant for IUP so that multi-storey car parks can be built together with the provision of landscaped gardens, covered linkways, and other facilities in the open spaces. This will reduce wastage when the Main Upgrading Programme is implemented for these estates. (c) HDB should standardise the fees for both multi-storey car parks and open space car parks to $50 monthly. This would facilitate the grouping of car parks for season parking and encourage residents to use multi-storey car parks. (d) Convert all open space car parks for season parking only between 10 pm and 7 am. Overnight parking for visitors should be restricted to multi-storey car parks or less utilised open space car parks.”
“I would urge the Minister to take this opportunity to reassure HDB lessees that in difficult times, such as these, the HDB would not evict them but would view with sympathetic understanding and grant extension of time for repayment to help these affected families tide over their financial difficulties arising from this economic crisis.”
“The third group are existing flat owners who, because of a change in their financial circumstances arising out of the current economic crisis, are not facing difficulties in meeting the obligations under the mortgage loan repayments. Under section 56(1)(k) of the Housing and Development Act, the HDB has the power to compulsorily acquire the flat on the ground that the lessee is owing the HDB arrears of monthly instalments. The HDB has served section 56 Notices in the past for debts as small as a few thousand dollars. In a good year like 1996, of the 407,200 households with mortgage loan account, four defaulted on their payments and had their flats repossessed by the HDB. Given the present economic circumstances, we can expect this number to increase. In the fourth quarter of 1997 alone, 4,278 workers lost their jobs because of retrenchment. More workers are likely to be laid off this year. Sir, it cannot be easy for these retrenched workers, especially those who are sole breadwinners of large young families, to face the prospect of losing the family's roof over their heads because they have difficulties meeting the loan repayment schedule. Under the scheme of things in Singapore, owning a HDB flat is a heavily protected right. Commercial creditors, who may be owed large sums of money, may institute legal proceedings to enforce their claims and make the HDB lessee a bankrupt, but they cannot take over his flat, they cannot throw him out into the streets and take away the roof over his head. It would therefore be most ironical for the HDB, whose mission is to provide Singaporeans with affordable new HDB flats under the Home Ownership Scheme, to evict the debtor and compulsorily repossess his flat to enforce a debt of a few thousand dollars.”
“In 1997, 59% of the new applicants for 4-room and bigger flats have opted for 5-room flats, compared to 36% in 1991. However, in the light of the present economic crisis, these assumptions are not reliable. Family income might not increase as projected but could even decline because of retrenchment and lower bonuses and increments. HDB flats on the resale market no longer command the same premium. Sir, I would therefore urge the HDB to consider the difficulties faced by the following three broad categories of HDB lessees. The first group are new applicants who are in the queue for flats which are now beyond their means. Could the HDB allow and facilitate this group of applicants to opt for smaller flats instead? If such applicants have to go ahead to complete their purchase, they would probably face increasing difficulty in fulfilling their repayment obligations under their mortgage loan financing. I believe it would be most helpful at times like these that such applicants, who have miscalculated their future earning capability, be permitted to select smaller flats and hence lessen their financial burden. The second group are those who have upgraded in the last two and a half years by buying a larger flat in the resale market and are now realising that they could not afford to maintain such a big flat. Under existing HDB rules, they cannot dispose the flat within two-and-a-half years of purchasing it. For such families who are compelled by circumstances to downgrade, could the Minister consider relaxing this rule and permit them to sell their flats in the open market in order to purchase a smaller one again from the open market?”
“As for the private residential flats, there is presently no provision in the Land Titles (Strata) Act stipulating the percentage of contribution for sinking fund. As a result, some management corporations, especially the older condominiums, do not make adequate provision for the replacement of their lifts. The replacement of lifts is a costly exercise and some management corporations encounter difficulty in raising funds to carry out such works. Thus, I would like to urge the Government to consider providing a grant or tax incentive for owners of private residential flats to upgrade their lifts. Mr Ong Kian Min: Sir, since the last economic downturn in 1985, Singaporeans have enjoyed more than a decade of economic growth. This has formed the basis on which many families plan financially for their future. Therefore, it is understandable how the present economic downturn has taken many Singaporeans by surprise and upset their financial planning. This is probably nowhere more obvious than in financial plans for one necessity close to everyone's heart, and that is housing. Our consistent economic growth over the past decade has led many a Singaporean to project their ability to finance the purchase of a home on the basis of assumptions, such as, first, a stable income. Until recently, most Singaporeans can look forward to good annual salary increments year after year in a competitive job market. Second, the rising property market where an investment in property will almost certainly yield profits. It is no wonder that many applicants for new HDB flats opt for the bigger room types. As at 31st January 1998, 57% of the 131,100 applicants on the HDB waiting list have opted to buy a 5-room flat.”
“Sir, my topic is on lift upgrading. In land-scarce Singapore, the majority of Singaporeans have no choice but to live in high-rise flats. As we move into the next millennium, Singaporeans are more likely to be living in 30- or 40-storey flats. Living in high-rise buildings can be quite comfortable provided we have a reliable and safe lift system. If the lifts fail frequently, many residents will be inconvenienced and some may be trapped in the lifts. Thus, it is important that lifts are maintained, upgraded and replaced accordingly to ensure that they function properly. According to the HDB, the recommended replacement cycle of a lift is 28 years. However, in practice, most lifts will begin to give problems after 15 years of operation. The average lift breakdown rate for HDB flats is 0.3 per lift per month. This means that 3% of HDB lifts (that is about 3,000 lifts) break down monthly. This is definitely not acceptable if we were to live in 30-storey buildings. In the Interim and Main Upgrading Programmes, lift upgrading is not a standard item of work. As such, some IUP and MUP did not upgrade or replace the lifts due to budget constraint. It costs about $95,000 to replace a lift for a 12-storey block with three lift landings, while the replacement of a lift for a 12-storey block with 12 landings will cost approximately $175,000. 6.30 pm Thus, I hope the Government will consider increasing the grant for both IUP and MUP programmes. In addition, the Ministry must specify lift upgrading or replacement as a standard item of work for all IUP and MUP. Where possible, all upgraded blocks must have lift landing at every floor.”
“Sir, my topic is on upgrading of 1- and 2-room flats. The HDB's upgrading programme has been a success. Older flats were rejuvenated to improve the living environment of those who have supported the Government's upgrading programme. But due to the criteria for selection, many of the flats upgraded are 3-room flats. Not much has been done to upgrade 1- and 2-room flats in the HDB estates. Presently, there are about 3,200 units of 1- and 2-room flats in Singapore. Most of these flats are rented out to low income families, including older Singaporeans. Many of these flats were built in the 70s and 80s and do not have many facilities, especially for the senior citizens. Sir, I lived in a 1-room flat for six years. I understand the plight of these residents. I understand their living conditions. I am sure Singaporeans will support any Government's effort to improve the living conditions of these fellow Singaporeans. Thus, I would strongly urge the Ministry to consider implementing upgrading programmes for 1- and 2-room HDB flats. As these are mainly rented flats, HDB should bear the full cost of upgrading, thus alleviating any financial burden on these residents.”
“In summary, Sir, I am not calling here for more construction of MRT and LRT for the sake of economic stimulation without regard to the long-term viability of the projects. Singapore has one of the highest density of population per sq km in the world. Big cities like London or Paris have a bigger cosmopolitan area, lesser high- rise residential buildings, yet they operate some very efficient transit systems. I believe townships like Tampines or Ang Mo Kio have enough population density to justify some viable LRT system. In my view, infrastructure work such as MRT or LRT is an asset. It is not an expenditure per se. Building this infrastructure is equivalent to converting cash in the balance sheet into a useful asset. And I call on the Minister to consider expanding our MRT and LRT network now, so as to cater for future increase in demand when the good times return.”
“If we build now, our cost on investment would be lower and that would mean we would get a higher rate of return. There is also this substitution effect between road usage and transit usage. If our network of transit system is more convenient and less costly to use, the commuters will switch from using cars to using the transit system. This phenomenon can be clearly seen in Hong Kong, New York, London, etc. As more people switch to the transit system, the economic return on the transit system would be better and, hence, make the system more viable. In the longer term, a more comprehensive transit system would benefit the nation as a whole. We definitely spend less foreign reserves to import cars and petroleum year after year. We also have less air and noise pollution. Our population possibly will spend less time on the road, suffering less from the stress of driving, spending more time resting, or even reading on the train, etc. These are the intangibles and softer factors that are hard to quantify but clearly beneficial, especially when we strive to move towards a more civic society. In the past week, many Members of this House have pointed out that many of our companies are badly affected by the regional crisis. If the Government implements more MRT, LRT projects now, it will help to prime the economy and provide reliefs to our companies. And coupled with the points I have pointed out earlier, it is a win-win proposal for the Government to do more now. Before I end, I would like to point out that not only the transit system would use less land for a specific traffic volume, it actually would enhance the value of land along the corridor of the system, and such enhancement to a large extent will offset the construction cost of the system.”
“With the impending introduction of ERP system, we are going to see a more accurate pricing in road use from a partial shift of charging for car ownership to charging for usage of road. I use the word "partial" because any user of ERP still has to own a car, and that is, you still have to pay for COE, road tax, ARF, etc. Even when he is not driving, the cost is still taken into account every minute. No doubt the ERP represents the state-of-the-art in vehicular traffic management and we should unreservedly commend LTA for their bold effort to move in that direction. But I wish to point out that we already have in place a transportation system which charges usage even more accurately, and that is none other than our transit system (MRT). The users pay for the MRT as taxpayers and they pay as and when they use. If they choose to stay at home or walk to work, he bears no variable cost. And this concept adheres very closely to the tenet of pricing theory. Sir, I notice this year, other than those already approved projects, the Budget has no special provision for building more MRT or LRT systems. It is surprising that a government as shrewd as the Singapore Government does not recognise the rare opportunity to embark on more MRT and LRT construction in the face of this regional economic slowdown. The justifications for building more of these projects are quite obvious. May I quickly cover some of these. There is a tremendous slowdown in construction activities in East Asia. The construction materials are very cheap now. Lots of equipment are lying around idle. Big international construction companies are very hungry for jobs. The overall construction cost index has dropped 10-20%.”
“This can be said to be one good news after another. Whether we drive along the roads or commute by public transport, we cannot help but appreciate all these rapid developments. Mr Low Thia Khiang said that the Government had been collecting money all the time. I think he is wrong in saying so. The facts show that the Government has been making good use of the taxes collected to improve our living conditions and social amenities. The Government has already done all this. We have accumulated strong reserves through years of prudent financial management to ensure that we can tide over this economic and financial turmoil. Sir, recently, the Ministry of Communications announced that they were going to build a new MRT station near the Singapore Polytechnic. This shows that the Government is determined to meet the needs in our public transport. As a labour MP, I hope that, apart from looking after the needs of students, the Government should also consider the needs of the workers. In this regard, I hope that the LTA would consider building MRT stations in the industrial estates. For example, we should consider building a MRT station on the Woodlands extension line, near the Sungei Kadut industrial estate, for the benefit of the workers there. Sir, with the implementation of the ERP system, especially in the CBD, I hope that the Ministry of Communications can consider giving the environmental vehicles some special concessions, especially the garbage trucks. Rebates should be given to them or to allow them to pay a fixed monthly rate, so that our environmental workers will not be adversely affected because their companies have to face the rising cost under the new system. Mr Chuang Shaw Peng: Sir, I would like to declare my interest as a director of a construction company.”
“Sir, my topic is on construction of pedestrian crossings. Last year, 217 pedestrians were either injured or killed while using zebra and signalised pedestrian crossings. The common causes of these accidents are failure to look out and failure of vehicles giving way to pedestrians. Zebra crossings, which used to be a safe mode of crossing for pedestrians, have become a potential accident spot. Sometimes the crossings create bottlenecks in our traffic system. The following are some observations at zebra crossings: (a) Pedestrians simply assume "absolute right of way" without due regard to their own safety. (b) Some take their own sweet time to cross the zebra crossing. (c) At certain zebra crossings, the stream of pedestrians is almost non-stop, thus making it impossible for any traffic to pass through. (d) At night, it is difficult for motorists to see pedestrians at some of these crossings. The above situations cause congestion on our roads, and also traffic accidents. Sir, I understand that the Ministry has been closely monitoring the situation and has taken various measures. I hope the Minister could update the House on the measures taken. At the same time, I would urge the Ministry to conduct a thorough study to determine the possibility of replacing zebra crossings with other forms of crossings that are safer to pedestrians. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Cheng San)(In Mandarin): Sir, over the past two to three years, the Ministry of Communications and LTA have vastly improved the transport system in Singapore, and the livelihood of the people is thereby improved. This is indeed commendable. MRT and LRT are also being developed and a lot of above-ground and underground projects have been completed. Our bus and taxi services have also improved.”
“I would like to urge the Finance Minister to provide capital grants to approved pre-school institutions for the setting up of IT teaching facilities. To further encourage Total Education of our children, the Government should also set up a Pre-School Edusave Fund. This fund can provide subsidy for pupils in pre-school institutions to take up enrichment courses such as IT, music, thinking skills, and drama to further develop the potentials of our children. Finally, I hope that the Finance Minister will seriously consider providing more rebates for the 1-, 2- and 3- room HDB flats, increase the utilities rebates, reduce property tax and provide grants for pre-school centres to improve their IT facilities. If this cannot be done now, I hope the Finance Minister will take off-Budget measures to provide financial assistance to low income families when the full impact of the regional crisis takes place. Sir, I support the motion.”
“These exposures will definitely increase the innovative, creative and competitive capabilities of our IT firms. Thus, I hope the Finance Minister would further expand the Local Enterprise Financing Scheme to give priority to local IT firms which are keen to serve our Education Ministry. IT grant for pre-school centres In order to develop a national attitude of "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation", we need to initiate programmes for our children at a very young age. IT provides an excellent means to arouse interest in creative learning and develops thinking skills for our children. We need to start early, and pre-school education plays an important role in facilitating the IT Master Plan of the Education Ministry. The PAP Community Foundation, NTUC and some private kindergartens are providing excellent pre-school education services to prepare our children for primary schools. About 80,000 students are enrolled in the PAP Community Foundation pre-school centres and kindergartens each year. A large proportion of these students enter the main stream primary education yearly. However, not all pupils have the privilege to learn IT skills in these centres. The PAP Community Foundation and NTUC are non-profit making organisations and thus have limited financial resources. As a result, they are unable to provide computer-aided instruction facilities to all its education centres. I understand that the Education Ministry would like to concentrate on main stream education, and let the private sector provide pre-school education services. But the Government should provide support to encourage private pre-school institutions to improve their teaching facilities, especially in IT-related areas.”
“Today, over 90% of Singaporeans are homeowners as a result of the efforts of our Government. To levy a 4% property tax on owner-occupied properties amounts to taxing 90% of all Singaporeans. This works against the GST taxation philosophy and the asset enhancement programmes. Furthermore, the computation of property tax, which is based on annual value valuation, has resulted in lots of unproductive administrative work and unhappy home-owners. In the last recession in 1985, there were 20,285 objections raised by homeowners on the annual value valuation of their properties. Just imagine how much time and efforts were spent by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and Singaporeans to resolve these objections. Therefore, I would like to urge the Finance Minister to take the drastic step to initiate a gradual property tax reduction mechanism which will finally remove property tax for owner-occupied properties. Development expenditure on education I commend the Finance Minister for allocating a generous budget for the Education Ministry. I fully agree that we should continue to invest and upgrade our educational system to produce a quality workforce which will spearhead our country's economy into the international market in the next century. A total of $847 million has been allocated for the upgrading/rebuilding and construction of schools and the provision of IT resources. While it is good that we continue to strengthen our education system, we should also take this opportunity to increase the capabilities of our own local IT firms. Special tie-ups with the Local Enterprise Financing Scheme could be arranged to allow small and medium IT firms to provide services to the Education Ministry.”
“Last year, the Government gave $36 million in rental and S&C rebates, which have benefited many Singaporeans. I would like to urge the Finance Minister to consider increasing the rental and S&C rebates for 1-, 2- and 3-room HDB residents. We should provide at least three months' rental and S&C rebates to 1-, 2- and 3-room flats. In addition, a more direct way of providing assistance to the low-income earners is to increase the utilities rebate for these families. Low income families, in particular those with large families, will encounter much difficulty to cope with the increase in utility rates. I do not think the provision of utility rebates will hamper efforts by the Government to encourage Singaporeans to save water and energy. In fact, many of these families are very careful in the utilisation of water and energy, as many could not afford to pay high utility bills. Thus, I would urge the Finance Minister to at least provide $300 for utilities rebates during this difficult period. Property tax for residential properties Although the budget provides a 15% property tax rebate for commercial and industrial properties, no relief was provided for home-owners. Many home-owners, especially those in the private residential, are facing high costs of servicing their property loans due to rising interest rates. In 1993, the Government introduced the GST to widen our tax base, and focused on taxing consumption instead of income and investment. Traditionally, property tax provides a major revenue source to the Government and enables the Government to stimulate investment and encourage development in the country. With the introduction of GST and the Government's thrust on asset enhancement, the role of property tax must be reviewed.”