Teo Siong Seng
Singapore
“I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. The point is about us being a WTO member and having to comply with fair bidding. However, we also hear that construction companies are coming from developed countries; in fact, they are coming here to bid at very low prices, and yet it is very hard for our companies to bid for contracts…”
“Perhaps, a similar programme could be started to help displaced and mature PMEs find relevant jobs in SMEs. In addition, we noted that WDA, through the Professional Conversion Programme and Max Talent, has made an effort to help retrenched PMEs in reskilling themselves for the possibility of finding new careers in selected industries and…”
“With the development of global norms and guidelines on responsible business conduct, such as the UN Global Compact and ISO 26000 Guidance Standard, CSR – if not appropriately managed – could, in time, operate as a non-tariff trade impediment and eat into Singapore's export competitiveness.”
“I thank the Minister of State Mr Teo Ser Luck for the clarification, and for the handbook printed. We will try and read it. Mr Teo had clarified that to apply for any PIC scheme, a company can have fewer than three CPF-paying accounts. My understanding is that there must at least be three.”
“The Government should help them to improve and upgrade, provide the small business owners and small factories with a sustainable business environment, attract younger people to join them, and enable them to apply new visions and methods to improve the productivity of these companies.”
“On this note, while we welcome JTC's new data collecting function, I would like to urge that JTC and URA continue to work closely so that the land use needs of our companies, especially our SMEs, will be sufficiently taken into due consideration in our national land use plan. With that, I support the Bill. 5.20 pm Page: 85”
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“Take the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry for example. Nowadays, we have extreme difficulties getting people who are effectively bilingual and could work independently at the Secretariat. Our 133 trade association members and the few thousand corporate members are facing the same problem. Many young people scored good results in the Chinese Language paper, some even scored A1, but when it comes to actual application, they find that they are unable to cope with wrong words everywhere, and inability to express themselves in good, coherent Chinese. Truly effectively bilingual talents are very scarce indeed. In the past few years, more and more people are coming to attend the Chinese courses conducted by the Chamber. This is a good sign, but it is also worrying. Is the standard of Chinese teaching in the schools too low that they need to take extra lessons to brush up their Chinese after graduation? As such, I sincerely urge the Ministry of Education to touch base with the business sector to find out how we could raise the standard of the teaching of Chinese Language in the schools so that our students can truly master the Chinese language, and meet the demand of the business sector. Recently, there were heated discussions on the use of English to teach Chinese. I think this method is appropriate only to those with an English-speaking background and who are just beginning to learn Chinese. Using English to explain the meaning and usage of the Chinese terms often miss out the beauty and nuances in the language. I hope the Ministry will not take this as a panacea, and implement it in all the schools. Over the years, Chinese teachers have put in a lot of efforts and accumulated a lot of experience in the teaching of the language.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Madam, I would like to raise some views and suggestions on the issue of the declining standard of Chinese language among our students in Singapore. First, the standard of Chinese of the current students of our schools just cannot satisfy the needs of our enterprises. Secondly, in line with the general trend, the standard of teaching of the Chinese Language must not go down. Over the past decade, the examination results of ethnic Chinese students in Singapore have been improving every year, with passing rate of 99% (including passes in the Chinese Language subject) in the PSLE and more than 85% in the O-level examinations. Passing the examination implies that they should have no difficulty with listening, speaking, writing and reading Chinese. Our bilingual education has produced many excellent talents. Pillars of society like Prime Minister Lee, many Ministers, many Members, are effectively bilingual as they are the beneficiaries of our bilingual education system. Credit must be given to the Government and the Chinese language teachers. I visit China very frequently, and I am able to communicate with the local people there because I had the privilege of receiving bilingual education in Singapore. As a Singaporean, I am very proud of this achievement. 6.00 pm Good results are commendable, but there are still many intrinsic problems. With the rapid economic development of China, Chinese businessmen all over the world are getting more and more influential, and the demand for Chinese-speaking talents from all sectors of society is getting higher and higher. Under such circumstances, can our students cope with the demand and be truly competent in their job after graduation from the schools?”
“A number of foreign shipping companies have chosen Singapore as their headquarters or regional bases. The capital-intensive nature of the industry means that the shipping sector will require financing. An EXIM Bank would be a useful instrument to extend the range of financing solutions available to ship owners and operators with a good track record, and will assist the growth of Singapore as an international maritime centre and a hub for shipping investments. By extending the EXIM Bank services to these sectors which are traditionally our strengths, we can expect positive multiplier effects which would benefit the economy at large. The business community is keenly awaiting the details of the proposed EXIM Bank! Development of the accounting sector”
“Therefore, the proposal of developing a specialised financial institution like the Export-import (EXIM) Bank is a big step in the right direction. It will bridge the much needed gap in cross border financing. Countries and regions like China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Taiwan have set up such financial institutions. A good example is the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund (SMEG) set up in Taiwan in 1974. Taiwan's SMEG has assisted in fostering the growth of SMEs with good potential. This may be a useful model for us to study. For the EXIM Bank in Singapore to achieve the intended purpose, it must be easy and convenient for SMEs to obtain quick financing for operations and expansion overseas. Only then can SMEs seize business opportunities in an increasingly competitive and open world market. This EXIM Bank should not just operate purely on commercial returns, but should also assume some risk-taking positions. Otherwise, it would not be different from any other financial institutions. Moreover, such financing facilities should not be limited to just "Made in Singapore" products. We should also take into consideration the key pillars of Singapore's economy that we want to grow. For example, Singapore is an international trading hub with many local companies dealing with import and re-export of goods. We should continue to nurture this sector. I would also like to propose that the EXIM Bank's facilities be extended to shipping. Shipping is an important contributor to our economy. The direct value added contribution of the maritime sector to Singapore's GDP has grown to about 7%. Today, there are more than 5,000 maritime establishments in Singapore, employing over 100,000 people.”
“Mr Chairman, the idea of having a bank to support SME has been advocated by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry as far back as 2003. In the past few years, local enterprises, both big and small, have been encouraged to expand overseas. However, SMEs face many hurdles in doing so. Let me give one example. A local construction and engineering company, WEC Engineers and Constructors Private Limited, set up in 1972, is currently bidding for a multi-million dollar construction project in the Middle East. Part of the bidding process requires WEC Engineers to provide a performance bond and insurance. The company also encounters great difficulty in getting a bank in Singapore to provide project financing required. Despite the fact that WEC Engineers has a history of 28 years, the financial institutions here still require the company to provide high collateral before approving the loan. To expand overseas or to take part in overseas projects, SMEs need the necessary financial resources. However, financing through traditional banking channels is not forthcoming as SMEs are constrained by their size and lack of collateral. This means that they cannot build up their track records and with no track records and credibility, these SMEs would not be able to expand or secure projects. It is a vicious circle. The Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) has identified the need to develop a broader and a deeper base of Singapore enterprises of which some can be globally competitive. We fully support this call. Our SMEs must be given the chance to plug into the world markets. If we succeed, we would then be able to truly build an external wing for our economy.”
“Perhaps, the Government could look at relocating certain industries into purpose-built hubs, besides those already designated for priority clusters like electronics, infocommunication and media, aerospace, marine and cleantech, biomedical and chemical clusters, engineering and logistics. These could then help accommodate SMEs and start-ups which really need to source affordable industrial and commercial space. With that, Sir, I support the Budget. 1.20 pm”
“And the responsibility of the employer is to do his best to keep them happy and productive. In fact, in today's Straits Times, front page, it reads: "Bad service? The buck stops with the CEO". The eventual productivity of the company relies on the joint efforts of the entire team. Lastly, I would like to touch on affordable land for SMEs and start-ups. Another recommendation of the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) that has been taken up by the Budget 2010 is to intensify industrial land use towards more land efficient and higher value added activities. SMEs and start-ups are also included in the rally to create higher value in every sector of our economy. In this regard, it is timely to reiterate the need to provide affordable land and rental for SMEs and start-ups. Budget 2010 acknowledges the importance of SMEs and the Government would like to create a dynamic and viable SME sector. It also encourages a continuous flow of start-ups and new entrants into the economy. Besides the very thorny issue of manpower, one of the major concerns of the SME is the difficulty of sustaining higher rental costs and being strapped by the unavailability of purpose-built industrial commercial premises. In the past, Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) played a crucial role in providing industrial land and factory space to support the growth of local enterprises. Following JTC's withdrawal from the ready-built industrial space market and the divestment of properties to Mapletree in 2008, these properties are now being managed by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The disadvantage to SMEs is that a REIT manages a property on a purely commercial basis. SMEs and start-ups no longer have the option of finding affordable industrial commercial premises.”
“Productivity and working smart must be the new motto for all Singaporeans. This is a concept that needs to be embraced by all Singaporean employers and workers alike, and requires a great deal of effort from every quarter. The notion of productivity is not always easily quantifiable. While we can measure the KPI for the manufacturing and construction sectors, how do we actually measure the productivity of the services sector which we are in fact trying to grow in Singapore? It can be very subjective. Singapore's services industry will be greatly enhanced by the presence of the two new Integrated Resorts (IRs), adding to an already vibrant retail hospitality and F&B landscape in Singapore. But how do we apply the productivity model in the best way to the services sector? There is no recognised and accepted measurement as services is by nature not as tangible and concrete compared to the manufacturing sector. Should we measure productivity in the services sector by customer experience, product knowledge or service quality? Then, again, these are hardly quantifiable and can at best be based on customer surveys. From my personal experience and feedback from many others, Singaporeans have a long way to go before we can catch up with the US, Japan and Hong Kong in dealing with customers using the personal touch, a caring attitude and the display of outstanding product knowledge. Still on the subject of productivity, I would like to suggest another way to boost productivity. This may have no correlation with wages. In fact, I strongly believe a happy worker is a productive worker. Workers need to feel that their contributions are being appreciated and are meaningful. Workers are human beings, not robots.”
“Budget 2010 has, however, earmarked productivity as a key strategy and direction to secure Singapore's positioning as an advanced economy, carrying out higher value-added activities and jobs. As the Government has quite rightly said, this is a national effort requiring the inputs and commitments of all Singaporeans. A National Productivity and Continuing Education Council will be set up under the stewardship of Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to oversee the work of different Government agencies and promote close collaboration amongst the tripartite partners. Since this will be a high level Council, this means that it will provide another level up from the Government agencies. In view of this, I would like to point out one practical concern. Sometimes, there is some disconnect between Government agencies and the industries, especially the SMEs. By this, I mean that there is often a gap between the understanding as perceived by Government agencies and what is actually happening on the ground by the industry players. Hence, real problems faced by the industry can be shoved aside as they may be treated as complaints and grudges rather than actual problems in search of solutions. At the same time, the business community needs to communicate their concerns more clearly. Perhaps, more effort needs to be put in at the level of the Council or the Government agencies to bridge that disconnect and nurture a greater understanding of how the industry actually operates. Government agencies themselves need to develop a different mindset, engage more with the industry in order to communicate this vision to make sure the implementation is simple and practical. I believe this would be a more effective way instead of a top-down approach in promoting productivity as a national goal.”
“We are concerned that if the hike in foreign worker levy does cause a cut-back in employment of foreign workers, this could affect operations and growth, if there are insufficient local workers to replace them, or if our productivity does not improve fast enough, especially when we have a low birth rate. For those companies that need foreign workers, they have no choice but to pay the higher levy. That only means operational costs will increase and they have no choice but to increase the selling price of their goods and services. If we do not have enough manpower and other resources to take on added new orders in the world market, we may lose all our customers and business opportunities to our competitors very quickly. Obviously, Singapore is faced with its greatest challenge yet – of how the current workforce can cope with the increased opportunities in the global marketplace, given the clear signal from the Government that employers should wean themselves from the reliance on foreign labour. Next is productivity. There is going to be a paradigm shift to productivity. When we look at the period over 10 years, this may be more achievable. But we are, at the moment, more concerned with the near term impact and how this may even erode productivity if not properly managed. Productivity is not a new concept to Singapore. The National Productivity Board (NPB) was established in 1972. It was then merged with the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research (SISIR) to form the Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) in April 1996. This was later renamed SPRING Singapore in April 2002, a statutory board which aims to raise productivity to enhance our competitiveness and economic growth.”
“The rest of my speech will be in three parts, tweaking of the foreign worker levy to manage the supply of foreign workers, productivity as an ultimate goal and affordable land for SMEs and start-ups. Everyone will agree that Budget 2010 is a visionary Budget, with an eye to investing for the future. However, some SMEs were disappointed that the Budget did not seem to tackle some of their most pressing problems. After a very trying year in 2009, some SMEs have not quite recovered and are still trying to find their feet. The one area we are not so comfortable with was the realisation that the foreign worker levy will be used as a price mechanism to control the growth of the foreign workforce. While we can understand the rationale for wanting to stem the growth of foreign workers, the hike in foreign worker levy could be quite damaging to growth in the medium and long term for some industries. Raising productivity is important and ensure that we will not fall behind our other countries. But equally important is the need to keep the cogs of the economic wheel moving and remain cost competitive. How much of our economic growth is attributed to the contribution of foreign workers? Or to ask another question: how has the presence of foreign workers improved Singaporeans' quality of life? Many foreign workers are here to do back-breaking jobs that no local Singaporeans would like to do. As more local workers become better educated, they are less likely to accept jobs with lower stature. Currently, 26% of our employed residents possess a university degree and this is expected to increase to 30% by 2015.”
“Mr Speaker, in general, this Budget is in line with the recommendations of the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) and aims to transform our economy quite radically. From a long-term perspective, the Government has taken into account the interest of the SMEs and even the start-ups. The new incentive for angel investors will be a boon to SMEs. The nurturing of future business leaders and capital financing for the growth of SMEs is useful in helping some of them to become globally competitive. In particular, the extension of grants to specific industries and clusters will be a great help to the SME sector. It will certainly help and encourage SMEs to pool their resources and efforts to promote productivity and enhance their competitiveness in the face of fierce competition on the regional economies. We are glad that the Government sees the need to cultivate the SME sector and acknowledges the important contributions of SMEs in the Singapore economy. A very welcome initiative in the Budget was the introduction of a Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme. The objective of this new scheme also fulfilled three items of the Budget wish list from the business community, ie, for the Government to provide tax incentives for training, for companies in the service sector to introduce innovative and value-added services as well as for the purchase of machinery to automate processes. In fact, these tax deductions will now apply not only to research and development, but also to acquisition and registration of intellectual property, design activities, automation through technology or software and the training of employees. This is a major enhancement and we are keen to see the benefit filter through to all enterprises, including the SMEs.”
“I want to thank the Minister for the reply. Since I left school 37 years ago, there have been various changes in the method of teaching Chinese. It looks like we are trying to stop the deterioration of the Chinese Language level amongst students. I have two questions. One is that besides considering a change in the teaching method, would the Ministry also consider improving the environment for learning Chinese? The second question is, would the Ministry try to highlight to the students the value of studying Chinese?”
“Thank you, Minister for the very comprehensive assessment. No doubt the APEC meeting was a good success. In fact when I was in Manila last week to attend the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Congress, I was congratulated by many of my counterparts for the good success. Still, I cannot help but raise the issue of how the man-in-the-street felt. The week before the APEC meeting, I was in a taxi and I was asking the taxi driver how APEC was affecting him. He said it was terrible because of the road blocks and he said "how can I compete with 350 BMWs?" While we know that $100 million was spent to make the APEC a great success and to show that we can really host such a big event to bring world Leaders together, the man-in-the-street feels that Singapore is famous enough already. Do we have to make ourselves more famous?”
“Sir, with the extension of the Jobs Credit Scheme, does it mean the Government is more confident of a full economic recovery ahead? Will we likely see a U-shaped recovery or a W-shaped recovery that the Minister mentioned a few months ago?”
“Column No : 1221 EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) Resolved, That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No. 2. – [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. Column No : 1222 NATION BUILDING TENETS Debate resumed. 6.12 pm”
“In terms of media reporting, I also hope that the different television channels or language dailies could report on the activities of other community groups. For example, I hope the Straits Times could include more reports of the activities of the Chinese community groups. Similarly, Zaobao could also report on the activities of other racial groups. The mutual cooperation amongst different racial groups is a most effective platform. As an example, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry provides Mandarin language courses for Malay and Indian citizens, to improve their employability. We have joined hands with MENDAKI to provide career fairs for Malay-Muslim Singaporeans, and mobilised our corporate members to provide 2,300 job openings for fellow Malay citizens. Last year, we organised a business mission to Zhejiang to explore the China market together with members of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We have also maintained close networking ties with new immigrants to Singapore. All these activities have achieved good results. So I hope that the civic organisations of various groups could jointly organise more of such activities to articulate the spirit of the Pledge. Rather than engaging in rhetoric, we must take more practical action. As the Chinese saying goes, if all the people are united, we can move mountains. Hence, I would like to encourage more people to make full use of these civic organisations to build rapport with the Government and contribute towards Singapore’s racial harmony and social development. Unified strength knows no bounds! Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the amended motion. *Cols. 1257-1260.”
“It has explained the policies to the people and implemented meritocracy to allow equal opportunities for people at all levels. So, today, in Parliament, including Nominated Members of Parliament like myself, who come from various racial backgrounds and religious persuasions, all of us can give our views freely. It is not sufficient to depend solely on the Government to uphold the spirit of the Pledge. While we hope the Government would continue to understand Singaporeans’ needs and concerns in order to implement even more effective policies, we also need all community groups, all civic organisations to work together in support of various policies so that these policies could reach their maximum effect. In the past, the various community groups in the grassroots organisations, cultural and religious groupings, have all done their part to uphold racial harmony and social stability of Singapore. Since Singapore achieved nationhood, we have indeed overcome many crises, including the current financial crisis, through this important bonding. The social groups and the community organisations are the bridge between the Government and the people, and they play a central role in bringing about social cohesion and racial harmony. Through the useful channel of civic organisations, the Government can achieve a better understanding of the sentiments of the people, explore constructive solutions and consider making suitable changes to Government policies when necessary. We look forward to strengthened ties between the Government and civic organisations, and hope that the Government would enhance its support and assistance to these civic organisations, enabling them to play an even more effective role.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me a chance to say a few words. Fortunately, I am not the last speaker, and I will give my comments in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *. ] Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to express my views on the motion by the Nominated Member of Parliament. In 1964, we had very serious racial riots in Singapore. We must always remember this painful experience. Today, we want to ensure that the younger generation as well as the older generation accept the values of the Pledge. This is done in our schools, where students recite the Pledge every day. At the National Day Parade this year, at 8.22 pm, people all over Singapore as well as those on the floating platform repeated the Pledge in unison, and this was to allow the older, middle-aged and the younger generation to remember the objectives of our country. I was fortunate to be present that night, and I believe it was the first time after leaving Pre-University in 1972 that I had the chance to recite the Pledge again. Like the Nominated Member, Mr Viswa, I was very moved and proud to be a Singaporean. Since 1965, the Government has used the fundamental principles set out in the Pledge to implement various policies to promote national development and uphold social cohesion. In order to realise the spirit of the Pledge, we need all Singaporeans to stand united and to strive hard as one people. This is not something that only concerns the Government. It is something that concerns all of us – every Singaporean. Within the Cabinet, and in Parliament, the Government has put in place an effective system to ensure that there are multi-racial representatives. It has, through multiple channels, gathered meaningful feedback from the people.”
“Sir, the concern for my community is not a matter of relaxing the foreign employment. The concern is there will be a tightening of hiring foreign workers and there are industries and businesses where they just cannot get local workers to work during the odd hours.”