Umar Abdul Hamid
Singapore
“Teachers should no longer be portrayed and perceived as only being a teacher of a classroom but like a manager of a classroom. And the principal can be called the Chief Executive of a school.”
“Sir, when I look through the parents' guide on universities in the world, I found that our two universities are rated as one of the very competitive universities in the world. In fact, in the list of these very competitive universities are top class universities like Harvard and Cambridge.”
“Sir, I like to declare my interest as a polytechnic staff. Sir, as we move into being one of the most advanced developing nations, we need to relook at our manpower structure and the direction in which our tertiary institutions are heading.”
“Sir, my concern is basically, are we going to pay a price for being the most advanced developing nation? Singapore is very well known for taking proactive measures before any undesirable effects occur to us. Though I am in the NYC, we have done a lot to make sure that our youths are actively involved in the activities.”
“My question to the Minister is whether he sees the trend of our young people who are not equipped with the values that I had mentioned, which promote progress and development to Singapore as a hindrance for us to move into the next phase of our economic development. If he does, what proactive and reactive measures are we taking? 2.45 pm”
“In the second case, a principal wanted his pupil to obtain certification by a mosque that the pupil was a Malay. The first letter the child obtained from the mosque was rejected because it was handwritten.”
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“May I now suggest to the Minister to consider giving them a one-time $1,000 tax relief and a relief of $500 for the successive years. I would consider it appropriate because it will serve as a token to show how the country appreciates the services rendered by them. Before I end, allow me to reiterate that for a country like Singapore that depends primarily on its human resource and its location as a world-known commercial centre, we must be economically viable and be able to stand through the hardest of global drawbacks. We must then carefully plan for an invincible financial stability and at the same time creating a balance between a desirable state budget and meeting the well-being needs of our population. Every accessible opportunity has to be taken. Sometimes what it takes is a little ingenuity added to our present technology to make it as if we are years ahead in standard and comfort. And this, Sir, I am sure Singaporeans are capable of. 5.48 pm”
“Therefore, I would like to urge the Government to consider providing other incentives that will make it more attractive for SMEs to consider going for automation. Finally, I would like to touch on the tax relief for reservists. Sir, I must say that the introduction of tax relief for reservists is timely and long awaited by many. It is a fact readily accepted that our reservists play an important and crucial role, not only to defend the country but to ensure continuous economic progress and political stability. Not only do they contribute to our private and public sectors, they also help to guarantee the continuity of appeal for investment in our country. The recent development following the post cold-war era, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, makes it more imperative for us to have a formidable deterrent force to defend the prosperity of the nation. Hence, there is an irrefutable need for us to continuously appreciate their services and contributions. In this year's Budget Statement, the Minister has generously given a tax relief of $1,000 for all active reservists - an amount that I would deem substantive in comparison with the amount allocated for personal relief. Sir, our reservists deserve the tax relief because of their commitment to attend their in-camp training and other activities to maintain their operational proficiency. In appreciation to those who had served national service, but not an active reserve service, the Minister has granted a relief of $500. The Minister for Defence has pointed out that there is a group of people who had served their national service and completed their reservist training, I appreciate that the Minister is considering giving them a tax relief.”
“New designs make it possible to produce goods with important new characteristics and new techniques of organisation, marketing and management. To do so, we need innovators, people with the foresight or vision to see new things that can be brought out from the transformation of mere ideas into reality. Sir, our industries have reached a point where we need innovative people with creative ideas. Innovations which can help increase the level of productivity and as Joseph Schumpeter, Harvard's distinguished economist and social theorist, puts it: 'Innovators are the mainspring of economic progress.' Innovative people are out there in our industries and learning institutions. We must create an environment in which they could surface and come forward to contribute to our economic progress. Creating this environment is a painstakingly slow process, but it is a process worth investing because of its long-term benefits. I would like to compliment the Government for taking our research and development (R&D) industry seriously and I think more can be done to enhance this field in Singapore. However, what we need urgently now is design and development support to our industries, particularly the construction and marine industries. In a tight labour situation, we need to automatize our industries before they become over-dependent on foreign labour. The effort for automation must be a concerted one. Government should provide incentives to encourage industries, particularly SMEs, to go for automation. Many SMEs still do not see the long-term benefits of automation. Despite tax concession on all capital expenditure to buy equipment for automation, many are still reluctant to convert to automation.”
“If we need to introduce the consumption tax, I would like to urge the Government to consider reducing the top marginal tax rate on individual income and to consider tax reduction on capital income. Reduction of personal income tax rate will make people work harder and for longer hours. Some economists advocate tax reduction in order to encourage savings and stimulate productivity. Savings should be encouraged to enable society to invest for the rate of productivity is related to investment rate. Moreover, encouraging people to save is one of the objectives of introducing consumption tax. Sir, I support the Government's principle of investing on human capital as well as physical capital. Education and public health should always be given the weightage. Singapore depends on its human resource for economic growth and continual investment on human capital will unquestionably increase the productivity, versatility and adaptability of our labour force. Our infrastructure must always be improvised to ensure efficient mobility and working environment for Singaporeans. However, Sir, as much as the Government would like to invest on human and physical capital, we must not forget or neglect the significance of the rate of technological change. Technological change is in fact one of the persuasive and determinant features in our economic growth. Technology is a society's pool of knowledge concerning industrial arts. It includes the knowledge of engineers, scientists, managers, craftsmen and others on how goods and services can be produced and capitalised. New technologies like microelectronics, computers and biotechnology have greatly influenced the rate of increase in labour productivity. Technological change takes the form of new methods of producing existing products.”
“On the other hand, our expenditure will be on the rise in order to provide services to the elderly. If expenditure is more than the revenues collected, the Government may have to adopt either one of two solutions. One, increase tax rate on individual income or, two, cut down expenses. Cutting down expenditure would mean low quality health programmes, poor standard of education and inefficient Government services. Sir, both solutions are of no advantage to Singaporeans and the Government. This is where consumption tax will come to the rescue, because it is a more stable form of revenue and will make our economy less susceptible to economic changes. Perhaps another feasible solution to the problem is to increase the retirement age of our workers to 65. By stipulating that people can withdraw their CPF account at 55, the Government has made that age as the beginning of old age. But the biological clock tells a different time. People who have been healthy most of their lives generally do not begin to decline rapidly until their late 70s. Therefore, I would like to urge the Government to consider delaying the retirement age of our workers to 65. Massive effort must also be carried out by the Government to encourage the private sector to follow en suite. However, Sir, as much as I agree with the principle of consumption tax, I would like to register my disagreement to the timing of its application. My contention is that we are not, in any way, in a situation where our expenditure exceeds revenues and have started meddling with our reserves. Introducing consumption tax now will mean to supplement our system of direct taxes and not to complement it, as mentioned by the Minister in his 1989 Budget Statement.”
“that in the longer-term, we will need to introduce some form of comprehensive consumption tax to complement our system of direct taxes. This is to cover the contingency that we may be compelled by external forces to cut our direct taxes to a level where it can no longer support the revenue we need for Government purposes. Or alternatively, if Government is persuaded by Members and the public to spend greatly increased amounts of revenue on social purposes, social welfare or on health measures which are considered desirable, and this imposes an exceptional burden on the Government budget process, and if the direct tax budget cannot support it, then it will have to come from consumption taxes. We cannot rely on the drawdown of reserves.' - [Hansard, Vol. 53, No. 3, col. 197]. My question to the Minister is: are we already in a state of condition where we have to spend a greatly increased amount of our revenues on social and health purposes? I am definite that we have not done so and, if not, why the need to introduce the consumption tax now? The only explanation that I can offer to the rationale of introducing the consumption tax is that the Minister is very concerned with our greying population. With many of our population reaching retirement age, we should expect an increase in expenditure on health and community development programmes. Let me provide figures so that we can understand the situation better. In 1990, 1 out of 9 persons was 60 years old; in the year 2010, 1 out of 7; and in the year 2030, 1 out of 4 persons is going to be 60 years old. What does it mean? It means that in the coming years we are going to have fewer people in the workforce and that means fewer people contributing to revenues via direct taxes.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Minister's financial policy. Sir, from the Minister's Budget Statement, I am pleased to note the Government's commitment to ensure that we remain competitive and attractive in order to retain investors. The proposed 1% cut in corporate tax is a reflection of the Government's effort to keep operating costs low in Singapore. I am confident that, slowly but surely, we could reduce the corporate tax to a level where it will provide optimum return to the investors and Government. Sir, when the Minister announced that our economic growth is going to be slower in the years ahead, it has caused great concern to many Singaporeans who have been enjoying the fruits of high economic growth for the past few years. Many have taken the signal as the coming of another recession, particularly the employers. I was made to understand by some of my colleagues that employers have started using the two favourite words, ie, "to cut" and "to freeze". If this phenomenon of crying out wolf goes on, it will affect the morale of our workers and eventually the level of productivity. The Government must closely monitor to ensure that employers do not take advantage of our slower economic growth to be the reason for any wage freeze or, even worse, wage cut. Sir, given the adverse conditions of our external markets, we should be thankful and grateful that we have achieved a moderate economic growth. We have achieved, and are capable of achieving, continuous moderate growth at a time where many countries are struggling to narrow their deficit and are faced with zero or even negative growth. On the consumption tax, Sir, in the 1989 Budget Statement, the Minister for Finance mentioned: ' ...”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me end by reiterating that as we explore and progress further, we will not by omission neglect some observational points that can be just as important in determining the popularity and success of a policy. I therefore submit that my inquiries and suggestions be met with the closest scrutiny so as to develop a cohesive and respectable Government that can confidently answer the call of the nation. Sir, with that, I support the motion. 1.54 pm”
“For EM1, a bright pupil could take both English and mother tongue as the first language. EM2 remains intact as the phase out system. For EM3, mother tongue is taken orally with English still as the first language. For ME3, the mother tongue is taken as the first language while English is taken as a third language. Pre-supposedly, ME3 is designed for pupils who are extremely weak in English but are generally good in their mother tongue. My grave concern is with the attitude of some parents who would resort to an easy way out for their child's education. This concern is particularly relevant to Malay parents, because the way in which Malay pupils could have been easily streamed to the monolingual and extended streams under the former system is alarming. Malay parents and their children will, to my worry, without any hesitation, opt for ME3 as an easy path to solve their educational problems. By opting for ME3, Malay pupils will face difficulty in upgrading to EM3, EM2 and EM1 and eventually to higher learning institutions where English is the first language and the medium of instruction. Sir, let me state at this point of time that there is a group in the Malay community which strongly feels that ME3 is to the detriment of the Malay pupils. They suggest that such disadvantaged policy be done away with. I would like to urge them to give this policy a chance to be tried out, for I feel that it can serve its objective and there is no need for a radical proposal to eliminate it. May I suggest to the relevant Ministry to take the centre stage to educate parents as to which category their child is best channelled to. MENDAKI could also come forward to assist Malay parents in deciding the future of their children's education.”
“$100,000 will only be an epitome to a highly acclaimed school with an outstanding student population as compared to schools that barely reach the national average with a small enrolment. Sir, my question to the Government would be: if the grant is to be awarded annually, how will the assessment for the next grant be justified? Are we going to continue giving a fixed $100,000 yearly, regardless of the school size or its passing rate? Will the schools have total discretion in deciding the manner and form of spending the grant? At this juncture, may I suggest that clear guidelines be drafted out to control the proper handling of this fund. While it is conceivably healthy that schools are endowed with the liberty to make independent decisions, some control mechanism should, however, be exercised. The Government should adopt a cautionary line so as to avoid this whole programme from being too subjective, that it could eventually lead to an adverse epoch than what is initially intended. Mr Speaker, Sir, education, being an indispensable pillar in nation building, must be prominently placed and timely marketed. We certainly do not welcome the notion that our education system is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Educational Changes. The recent streaming in primary schools is one highlight among the new changes. The introduction of EM1, EM2, EM3 and ME3 are attempts to reduce pupil dropouts and to better streamline them according to their cognitive levels. Structurally, it is a more systematic way of categorising pupils with the objective of turning as many of them, in the near future, into citizens of economic value, rather than a social burden. The different phases in the new system are set as follows.”
“One, after a pupil has sat for the Primary 6 year-end examinations just before the PSLE, the pupils are required to indicate their choices of secondary schools in preference order. Bright pupils from poor families will presumably pick the nearest reputable neighbourhood school, for they may not want to take the risk of losing out in the fierce competition for the scholarship, should they decide to enrol in any of the independent schools. The second possible scenario is when all the poor families, attracted by the Edusave scheme, encourage their bright children to attend these schools. As allocation is assumed to be given to one quarter of the entire intake, regardless of their financial backgrounds, they might be trapped into bearing the cost burden if their child is not shortlisted for the scholarship. It will therefore be a good safeguard and beneficial if Edusave is given a massive publication to educate parents so that this noble idea will not be a stick instead of the original carrot intended. Sir, one other commendable implementation by the Government is the annual grant of $100,000 to all secondary schools. As there are 135 such schools, we are looking at a substantial amount of $13.5 million per annum. What would probably be the argument is that the schools have the discretion to the usage of the grant. We are all aware that, in reality, schools do not operate on an equal basis of priority, scale and standard. These measurements and performances depend technically on the locality, the drive of the students, school's goodwill, commitment of the teachers and dynamism of the principal.”
“The scholarship provided reflects the emphasis and recognition of our Government's commitment to make Singaporeans a landmark society well-known for its educational excellence. To realise this, Edusave must be capitalised fully. It aspires to congenially provide bright pupils from lower income families the opportunity for what might only have been a dream to them. I have been made to understand that Edusave is granted regardless of the pupil's financial background. Supposedly, this privilege is equally extended to pupils from credit card families, then are we not being seen as enriching the rich? As stated in the Addendum of the Ministry of Education, one quarter of the students in independent schools will be awarded scholarship. Then the oddity will be even more obvious if pupils from the lower income families make up less than the allocated one quarter of the scholarships to be awarded. My reservation would be that the public, without cogitating further, might paint us as a Government that advocates autocracy more than meritocracy. Sir, since its inception, independent schools have swiftly appropriated the claim as the eminent gantry for class and quality. Equally of common perception is its sumptuous fees. This may result in only the affordable seeking admission in these schools, and until statistical figures are shown, the general public might anchor the idea that independent schools are popularly meant for and dominated by the upper class only. Inevitably soon, the question of the cut-off point in determining the eligibility of the students to qualify for the scholarships will ripen into rife inquiries. Sir, another area that demands exploration is the possible reaction by parents towards this policy. There can be two possible scenarios worth deliberating.”
“If that is the situation, it would be appropriate for me, because of my Malayness, to be standing here delivering my speech with my sarong, baju kurong, and songkok on. However, that is not the reality. Sir, I hope that the Member for Potong Pasir will not take his role as the Leader of the Opposition as a trifle undertaking. He should bear in mind that his words and conduct are taken as exemplary by other Opposition Members and that any less than a cautionary approach will lead to an eventual loss of public confidence in the institution of the Opposition. The Member for Hougang has affirmed my concern that this trend will be commonly adopted by Opposition Members when he made several unfounded remarks. I would like to leave it to my colleagues to finish with all the facts and figures. Sir, please allow me now to touch on the Presidential Address. It is comforting to know that in the President's Address, education has served to be the pivotal point in the development of our nation as several innovative changes in our education system were brought about recently. I am happy to note that our education policies are constantly being reviewed, and I am confident that these changes are necessary to ensure that inquiring minds are being nurtured and individual potential is being developed to the fullest. These changes, in my view, will prepare Singaporeans for the Next Lap. The Open University, adjustments in the primary and secondary education system, the Edusave scheme and others should ensure a fail-proof and comprehensive governmental approach in educating our population. It is pertinent, however, to note what I would consider as residual greyness of some of the changes. Sir, Edusave should be rightly claimed as the most applaudable scheme.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion moved by the hon. Member for Hong Kah GRC to express our thanks to the President for his Address at the Opening of this Eighth Parliament. Sir, before I touch on the President's Address, please let me express my concern on the point raised by the Member for Potong Pasir. Undoubtedly, Sir, baseless presumption is not to be tolerated within the confines of this House. Making remarks which are contrary to the truth and far from being constructive will only result in undermining the Member's credibility. What is upmost here is upholding the dignity of this House through Members being honest and honourable in dispensing their messages. Sir, statements like Government policies encourage racial compartmentalisation do not stand on fact. Singapore is a country well known for its harmonious mixture of races, languages, cultures and religions. This harmonious mixture has been made possible through long-standing Government policies and let me refresh the memory of the Member for Potong Pasir on some of these policies, such as the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, which curbs any religious extremism and promotes inter-religious harmony. Another policy which reflects the Government's commitment to multi-racialism is the policy of encouraging mixing among the races in public housing and schools. The PAP Government had never and will never tolerate any racial chauvinism in this peaceful and harmonious country. Sir, if it is true of what was said by the Member for Potong Pasir that the Government has emphasised on things Chinese, then it will only be natural for the Malays wanting to be more Malay, and the Indians wanting to be more Indian.”