Warren Lee
Singapore
“Sir, there are 300 clan associations, approximately 200 of them belonging to a single umbrella for Chinese clan associations. They have played a significant role in the development of Singapore, especially for early immigrants, who faced hard times, financial assistance, job placement, building communal facilities, dispute resolution, sch…”
“With the community parent, children who need to work long hours or overseas need not worry endlessly about their elderly parents living alone.”
“Sir, I am really glad to hear of the Minister's vision for the revived waterways. Can I ask whether he might include plans for Sungei Sembawang or Katib Bongsu canal? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Certainly, we will include all our waterways. I have been told that we have done something at Sungei Sembawang.”
“Preparedness Against Infectious Diseases Sir, during World War II, losses due to malaria and other preventable diseases among allied forces operating in the China-Burma and India theatre far exceeded the number of casualties inflicted by enemy action.”
“In fact, in the latest issue of Pioneer, which was just circulated by the Minister, on page 8, you will find these brighter, better gymnasiums. There are 12 of them, the latest ones, across the SAF camps. There are also the latest gymnasiums in the SAFRA clubs. Some of the machines emulate what Dr Warren Lee has been saying.”
“Sir, like other Members of this House, we have noted that relations between Australia and Singapore are broad-based and go back many years. Our troops train in Australia, Qantas uses Changi International Airport as a major overseas hub, and our two peoples have strong ties of friendship and family.”
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“I personally believe that it would be a good thing for us to recognise this type of excellence and allow these people to enter university because in Singapore, university education, like it or not, is one of the big prizes of our system. We realise that not everyone would know what he wants to do later in life at the age of 16 or 18. This new system will make it easier for young people to make better choices and prevent premature shunting into fields which one may not have wanted to go into. In thinking of that, I think of my friends, some of whom were asked to go into certain professional fields, even though their own hearts say otherwise. Also, not everyone will have the benefit of a family that values exposing their children to a wide range of general knowledge topics, or to the opportunity to travel. But again, these new JC and Upper Secondary reforms will make it easier for children, even from less privileged backgrounds, to have their worlds opened up to different experiences. Turning to another point, I believe we should aim to reduce the wastage of potential. Currently, while one in four of our Primary One cohort will sit for their "A" levels, only 80% of these candidates will be able to qualify for admission to a local university. I am particularly heartened by the news that even with this new system, the 3-year pre-university centres will still be retained, to allow those who need to develop at a But, as with other speakers before me, I think that we should be dealing with the problem perhaps a little bit earlier.”
“And, if everybody has a degree, why would then people fight to get a degree? We are familiar with what has been happening in the United Kingdom, where there is a move towards getting everybody to have some sort of university experience. We need to ask ourselves if the aim of our system is to make it possible for all people to go to university. I believe it is not. And, if not, what will then be the value of a university degree? Our system aims to ensure that all Singaporeans will have the skills to earn a living, to understand the world around them, after a fashion, and to understand the society they live in and their own place in the society. I believe this has been very well stated through the Ministry of Education's goals in education. But we are also unique in that we do this through a variety of institutions, culminating in the ITE, polytechnics and university education routes. While we recognise these different routes to success, we are focused today on the route that leads towards university education. We need to recognise that there is a bell curve for academic excellence and there is no getting around that bell curve - you are either at the beginning, the middle, or the end of it. But we can recognise the existence of other bell curves, and that we can recognise that some of the people who are otherwise just competent, to benefit from a university education, may be actually the excellent end of the bell curves for some other skills. And I think it is a societal choice whether we should be allowing them the chance to enter university.”
“Yet, I am glad that the report has recognised the great value of the brand name of the Singapore "A" levels and that we must not only provide for the acquisition of technical knowledge, but also for the development of the spirit of inquiry and creativity, and the development of morals and character. The issue is really also about the best way to use the time available to prepare Singaporeans who will benefit from a university education, to be qualified for competitive admission to local and foreign universities. With the proposed changes, individuals can reach a university education by either proof of achieving academic excellence, or through proof of academic competence, accompanied by proof of excellence in some other fields, such as the arts or in sports. Is it perfect? Perhaps not. Because just as there are limitations in designing, say, a car or a military tank, where one has to balance fire-power, protection and mobility in one fighting vehicle, there are also only 24 hours in a day, and there is only so much that one can cram into a young mind in a week. Instead of fire-power, protection and mobility, therefore, we have to balance breadth of knowledge, depth of knowledge and the ability to apply knowledge. I believe there are no easy solutions, and there is no perfect design - only the possibility of a design which is best able to suit our particular needs and our particular point in history. The Singapore of the future will have more and more people with degrees. In fact, if you look around world-wide trends, the tendency for many of the developed countries is for the majority of the so-called educated workforce to have some degree or other. The issue then is: what will a degree be worth?”
“And I think this is very, very important because it is the broad minds, the agile minds, succeed in the new economy, even though that itself is a cliche by now. What we do hope to achieve is a long term shift in society's attitudes and direction towards a more thinking and creative nation - a nation of leaders and not followers alone. We need a couple of Thomas Edisons, not a couple of thousand of candle-makers. Yet the biggest impediment to the success of these proposed changes is, I think, fear. And I think these fears are two-fold. Firstly, a fear of change. Some have expressed fears that our teachers are not used to the system. Others fear that their children would not be able to cope with this new system. Secondly, a fear of missing the boat - a lack of bridges between the EM3, EM2 and EM1 segments of society, so to speak. Many of those who have talked about the through-train approach also fear that some of these young people might fall between the stools in the through-train system. Many have expressed the fear that in households where English is not the main language spoken at home, there will be children who would not be able to cope and not be able to benefit from these new reforms. But I think we can actually deal with these fears separately, and indeed some of these issues are very important, but they should be dealt with separately. The crux of the matter before us today is that we need to give our brightest and best new routes to success because the "A" level education model that has served us so well in the past is perhaps no longer the most suitable model for Singapore's future needs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in this debate on the motion, standing in the name of the Minister for Education. As I thought about the motion, I thought back about the entering cohort of medical students who started in university with me. One has become a very good musician, one a playwright, a few have become bankers, a few have become good businessmen, real estate developers - not all finished their medical course - but all became successful in their own ways. And in thinking of these people, I thought about the second part of this motion, which endorses a greater diversity and opening of new pathways in JC and Upper Secondary Education, to cater to different strengths and interests of students. Twenty years ago, and I am sure this strikes a chord with many Members, many of us and parents would have said that the route to advancement lies in the professions, therefore, get yourself a good "A" levels, go into one of the professional courses and after that you can think about it. I think this new set of reforms sends a strong signal that we mean what we say in wanting to show people that there are many, many ways of achieving success, that Singapore needs a broader definition of success if we are to face the world ahead. We are an unashamedly meritocratic and competitive society. No matter what MOE reforms are put in place, many Singaporean parents and Singaporean kids themselves will always strive for excellence, and subject themselves and their children to perhaps a little too much pressure to succeed. These reforms will not change this because it is an ingrained habit, and perhaps not such a bad thing. But what I think we would need to change is this broadening of the Singaporean mind.”
“Would the Minister comment, if we pursue the question of negotiations and come to an agreement, whether such negotiations and agreements would not suffer the same fate as the 1990 POA? How sure would we be that any bargain struck would be kept?”
“Could the Minister comment on reports that Malaysian leaders have said that, yes, they are prepared to supply water to us, but only for human consumption and not for ships and industry?”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, many of the points I wanted to make have been made by my esteemed colleagues. I rise in support of the Bill. I just want to say how happy I feel now that there is an amendment that would allow the representation, especially in retrenchment and business practices, for executives and junior managers because, previously, these people would have nowhere to go. At the same time, employers need not fear that there would be a conflict of interest in the proper functioning of the companies with respect to trade disputes. On this note, I support the Bill.”
“The move towards commercial loans for third time HDB flat buyers would initially not affect the majority of HDB flat dwellers. But, I think, as many Members do, the commercial banks will never be as generous as HDB in dealing with those who have difficulty in servicing their housing loans. Perhaps, HDB would need to revisit again this business of providing basic rental housing, whether heavily subsidised or not, to those people who need to cash out their flats due to inadequate CPF savings, or to those who have lost their flats due to retrenchment, or business failure. My last point is that the Government should also not forget those who have very little by way of CPF because they are petty traders, or they are self-employed, like taxi drivers. Some of these people have come to see me saying that as they did not even have enough spare cash to put into their Medisave accounts and keep their contributions up to date, they faced difficulty in renewing their licences to operate as petty traders. For these people, surely we must find a way to help them because if they, at this point in time, do not even have the means to pursue their trades and their occupations, they really feel that they are at their road's end. For this group of people, how can the current CPF measures help them? I hope that the ERC and the Government will also consider the plight of these low wage earners and those who have really no business in their shops and stores.”
“Many Singaporeans are having smaller families and the traditional support system based on the extended family can no longer be relied on. We have been told that many Singaporeans will be retiring with less than half the recommended Minimum Sum of $80,000 in their CPF accounts and this situation will certainly continue for many years. For many of these Singaporeans, their main asset in old age is the HDB flat. I hope the Government would consider revising some of the HDB policies, as Ms Irene Ng has said, so that these people will not face unnecessary obstacles in monetising the last asset to support themselves in their old age. Let me quote you an example. I recently met a 73-year old man at one of our meet-the-people sessions. He told me that he had been trying, without success, to sell his 4-room flat for the last two years. He had been a skilled workman, had led a frugal lifestyle, but had exhausted his CPF savings in helping to look after himself and two elderly and sickly siblings. As the siblings have bought a 4-room flat less than five years ago, they would be ineligible for rental flat had they sold the flat, and they would also not have been able to buy a resale 3-room flat on the open market after paying back HDB for their rental arrears. These people were desperate because there was no way that these three 70-year-old people would have gotten a commercial loan. They also had less than $1,000 left in their CPF at that time. The Government would need to consider making reverse mortgages on HDB flats and easier option, or furthermore to tweak policies meant to discourage property speculation, such that they would not pose problems for elderly people such as these.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate on the motion before us. The new CPF measures for workers above 50 years of age will surely have the effect of flattening the wage pyramid for employers, as many are still using the seniority-based system for a variety of reasons. Although many may say that this is but a small gesture and that few jobs will actually be saved, I think we are making an important signal to investors and employers that Singapore is serious about remaining competitive when addressing total wage cost. Mr Matthias Yao yesterday brought up statistics to show that it was the older workers who are more likely to be retrenched as companies restructure to face lean times ahead. So this measure is about helping to ensure that older workers will be able to keep their jobs for as long as possible while pursuing retraining, a second career, or new business of their own. We want our people to be prepared to be entrepreneurs. But if we ask, we find that many of them would only have assets, the HDB flat. We may then need to be prepared to provide large amounts of rental housing again, if Singaporeans, having lost their flats through business failure, are not to be left to fend for themselves in the streets. I support suggestions that will reduce the amounts available to service housing loans through the CPF, and that is a good thing, because there is currently a temptation to upgrade to a housing unit that one can ill afford. This move towards making commercial loans for those who have had two or more subsidised housing opportunities from HDB would force people to consider carefully if they could really afford their fancy new home, or their expensive renovation loan.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I of the Development Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IC 5200. Sir, I applaud the move by the Finance Minister to encourage philanthropy among Singaporeans. In the present economic climate, there will be increasing demands on our VWOs for help. There will also be increasing competition for the charity dollar. The National Council of Social Service, through the Community Chest, raises approximately $42 million a year to serve 314,000 clients through 130 programmes. By contrast, according to its website, the National Kidney Foundation raises $59 million a year to provide for the 1,900 patients dialysing under the NKF programmes. Both are fine organisations doing excellent work, but Members may agree with me that it appears that the ComChest seems to have less presence and less reach in the minds of the average Singaporean. This will have an inevitable effect on its ability to raise funds. I would urge the Minister to consider helping to level the playing field for the Community Chest and its stable of funded agencies by assisting NCSS to revamp and strengthen its publicity and fund raising capability to match the juggernaut of the NKF. This is not to mention the needs of many other non-funded VWOs, who do not come under the NCSS funding umbrella but who have to raise their own funds. At the very least, I would like ComChest to be able to compete on an equal footing with the NKF in persuading schools, community organisations, Government agencies and private sector organisations that there are many other worthwhile charities in Singapore, and that they too deserve funding attention.”
“I thank Prof. Koo for his comprehensive answer, and I thank him for his invitation to visit the unit concerned. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $7,695,000,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $509,000,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head P -”
“Besides the stress of economic competition, we also have to confront the increasing threats of global terrorism, regional instability, piracy on crucial sea lanes, not to mention some threats of "skinning". Our citizen soldiers know that they bear a heavy responsibility to the country, to themselves and their families. They know that only when the country is safe and secure will there be a basis for a better life for our people. The Government recognises the sacrifice and contributions of our National Servicemen in many different ways, through the work of bodies such as ACCORD and such policies as CPF top-ups and tax rebates, as mentioned by my colleague. The Government has enhanced the standing and reward for our National Servicemen, both active and operationally ready over the years. One of the most concrete ways for the Government to indicate its recognition of the work and contribution of National Servicemen is to review the allowances paid to them. Such review has been done periodically. The Minister of State for Defence, I believe, told the media very recently, which I read in the papers that the Ministry might be reviewing the allowance for National Servicemen. I would like to ask the Minister for Defence whether such a review has been completed and, if so, when will the revised rates of allowances take effect.”
“Madam, even in National Service, there is time for rest and recreation. To help NSmen use their time wisely, could I suggest that we might consider helping NSmen with low educational qualifications to upgrade their educational levels by encouraging them to take examinations as private candidates? For those who have actually done well, perhaps opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship, social skills or public speaking might even be encouraged. On a different note, since National Service is such a great national institution, activities that might promote cohesion building, inter-faith and inter-racial understanding might also not be out of place during leisure hours. On a different note, some of our young NSmen may also have started families. While this may not have been wise, they are nevertheless in that position. If they have young children, their spouses are unlikely to be able to seek employment outside, because of the need to look after the young ones. Could we perhaps be more generous to this small group of servicemen on a case-by-case basis? In the same vein, there are those who come from families where, unfortunately, one or both parents may have been retrenched recently. The argument that our existing NS allowances are only meant to be allowances for the individual NSmen may then not quite be as relevant. Perhaps we could also help this group and be more generous to them, especially in cases of genuine hardship. Mr Heng Chee How: Madam, National Servicemen play a critical role. In a small nation with a small population, these citizen soldiers are responsible for the protection of our national sovereignty. We live in a complicated part of the world, and the world itself is also becoming more complicated.”
“Sir, sorry about just now. Singapore has a long history of providing technical assistance to countries in the region. These exchanges allow us not only to help build up capacity in surrounding countries, but foster great goodwill and enable long-term friendships to be built up that can help smooth over relations between states during troubled times. I wonder if the Minister could encourage more of these exchanges and training programmes to be carried out, not only by Government agencies, but through NGOs and institutions, like the Singapore International Foundation, so that we can move for more understanding among our neighbours.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister of State whether, in the computation of the $80,000 per annum, the salary component of the teachers concerned includes the amount computed for direct service to patients or whether it is actually just computed as the teaching component.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have received some feedback about this project work that, especially in primary schools, it ends up that the parents actually end up doing the project work on behalf of their children. While I can see that good things are being said about having project work in later years in school, I wonder whether the Ministry has some measures to put in place to make sure that the project work in primary school really comes from the students, and not from the parents.”
“Sir, can I ask the Minister, with regard to health supplement products sold as food, how rigorous is the Ministry's labelling requirements?”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether there is any success in wooing back some of the shipping lines which have gone to our rival ports?”
“We are building a new Singapore on a strong foundation - an aspiring people, a system of multiracialism and meritocracy that still makes us special, a labour movement that favours growth and good governance, fair and transparent. It has given Singapore a strong brand name in every capital across the world. No one seriously thinks of us as a little red dot. We cannot erode these assets, the core of our social capital. But we need new capabilities to succeed against the competition, and to keep our sense of well-being as a people. These new capabilities will require us to evolve a new, tougher social culture. We can do so. We are a young society, still mobile, without encrusted values and habits, still engaging our future with vigour. We will prevail, and emerge flying dragons. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we should not try too hard to develop entrepreneurs, or to build an entrepreneurial culture. Entrepreneurs are self-made. But we have to provide more space for our young to develop a free-spiritedness that is lacking in Singapore today, and that is essential for entrepreneurial society. We should avoid being, as Mr Gan Kim Yong says, a perfectionist society. The Chinese have a saying, clear water has no fish (qing shui wu yu). I agree in spirit with Dr Wang Kai Yuen, Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay, Mr Chew Heng Ching and other MPs who felt that the excessive amount of time that our students spend in examination preparation is not ideal. It is especially not ideal for our more academically able, to prepare for both their "O" and "A" levels in a space of three years before proceeding to university. It will not prepare them well for the future. It is one of the reasons why the Ministry of Education has embarked on a review of the structure and curriculum for the upper secondary and junior college levels. But there are no easy solutions to the problem of examination pressures in a society whose very strength lies in being meritocratic and achievement-oriented. We do not want to water down our standards, or lose the transparency of the assessment system which allows all students to compete on a fair basis for entry into schools or the tertiary institutions. I am sure many of my colleagues in Parliament would join us in thinking through the changes which can be realistically achieved, and which represent real improvement over our current system. Building on Strong Foundations Mr Speaker, Sir, we have come this far over 40 years because of extraordinary feats of leadership.”
“Our schools are providing a range of activities to make this possible, whether through local projects or regional ventures that bring students face-to-face with the realities of life outside Singapore's prosperous, comfortable conditions. The enthusiasm of many of the students is remarkable. One school girl, Liu Xiaojun, 17, borrowed from friends to fund her trip to East Timor recently on a humanitarian mission. Her father, a technician, had been retrenched before her trip. Xiaojun has now found a part-time job as a piano teacher to repay her loan. Taking the Road Less Travelled Sir, we need a breed of young Singaporeans with a spirit of inventiveness and an ability to take failure in stride. More of our young have to be willing to be unorthodox and take the road less travelled. They must learn to take knocks, be prepared to run into a rut from time to time, know how to get out of it and look for another way to get ahead in life. It will take time to develop a more enterprising spirit in Singapore, a willingness to be different, and think differently. But it is not totally absent among our young. The eight national sailors in junior college, university or early in their careers, who recently put a hold on their education or careers in order to train full-time for the Asian games are an example of this new spirit. One of them, Stanley Tan, a 27 year-old who had completed his Bar examinations has decided to postpone his legal career until after the Athens Olympics. As he put it, "I want to see how far I can go. Frankly, I am looking at 30 or 40 years of a legal career. Taking some time off is a drop in the ocean." They are taking time-off to do something they can do well in, and do something which they take passion in doing.”
“It is very different from the tradition in several European countries, where students who go through the technical route suffer no stigma. We have changed our system over the years, built world-class institutions in our polytechnics and ITE. ITE graduates got jobs faster than university and polytechnic graduates last year, and with good starting salaries. But some old social attitudes remain and we have to change them. We have to remove the sense of failure among those who do not make it all the way up the academic ladder. But we have to avoid going the way the British have since done, of converting polytechnics into universities and creating new degrees - in sports, tourism studies and so on - so that more people can make it through university. We should be honest and pragmatic in our education agenda. We should recognise different abilities and give them each the best chance of flowering. We should avoid lowering standards and giving students a false sense of academic achievement. Sir, we must continue to show compassion to families and individuals who end up in distress through no fault of their own or no lack of effort. But we should continue to focus this effort at the local level, through the CDCs and CCCs and through voluntary actions by private organisations and citizens. That way, we develop strong local community bonds and ensure that assistance goes to those who are willing to put in the effort to help themselves. That way we guard against a culture of dependence on the state. Our young must have opportunity to contribute to the community. They have to develop the instinct of wanting to contribute something much larger than themselves.”
“We have to expand the paths to tertiary education, and provide the full menu of opportunities for life-long learning. We may even have to provide classes for Members of Parliament seeking an upgrade in Cantonese karaoke. We need more varied heroes in education, who make good regardless of how they started. Like the ITE graduates who make it through polytechnic, some even through university. Or people like Mohamad Saberi Bakar who, not daunted by his indifferent 'O' level grades, decided to catch up in his mid-20s by working hard for a diploma, then an advanced diploma in IT - his study room was the Changi Airport waving gallery - and eventually went on to get his computer science degree. He now works as an engineer. Mr Saberi told The New Paper that he was tired of the "underclass" tag and people suggesting that, as a Malay, he would have no opportunities. In his own words, "Everyone has a chance in Singapore. No matter who you are or what your background or race is. It is just a matter of grabbing that chance." Redefining success But, ultimately, Sir, we have to measure success not by whether you get a university degree. Everyone who puts full effort into going as far as he can, and developing the talent he has, is a success. Every ITE graduate who holds down a job and looks for ways of upgrading his skills every few years is an unqualified success. We inherit an East Asian tradition that reveres scholastic success. We also inherited an education system that was geared to producing the intellectual elite in Britain. The combination of East Asian values and the academic bias of the British system was a potent combination, and has shaped attitudes among generations of parents. All that mattered to the British were your "O"s and "A"s and which university you went to.”
“Strengthening Our Social Compact But the market philosophy that we need for future growth will not be viable in Singapore if we do not work hard on our social compact. We have to overcome the problem that many other societies have faced, where economic freedom has not coexisted well with social cohesion. We can do so, by building on our past strengths, preserving the trust between people and Government, and exercising strong leadership wisely. For the market-based philosophy to work and be accepted, Singaporeans who do very well must engage with and show concern for the rest of Singaporeans. We cannot recreate the environment that threw up the sense of commitment to community that our early pioneers had, or the extraordinary spirit that Singapore's founding generation had in building a new nation. But we will find ways to strengthen civic attachments and a sense of shared purpose among all our citizens. We have to do so through our educational institutions, our community organisations and, as Raymond Lim emphasised, through a more vibrant civil society. And we have to strengthen the heartware of multiracial relations, as Mr Iswaran and Mr Ahmad Khalis spoke on yesterday. Social Mobility Sir, we have to work hard to preserve a sense of mobility in Singapore society, especially through education. Every citizen must know he is getting an equal chance to improve himself and develop his talents. We have to intervene earlier to help children from lower-income groups. We have to raise standards of pre-school education so as to narrow the gaps, as best we can, at the starting line where children begin their school education. My colleagues, Sir, have spoken also of the importance of providing a "second chance" to those who do not do well in school.”
“We are a city-state, competing with cities within countries. They are not just cities, but cities that draw the best talent and the most energetic people from across their countries and regions. Cities like London and Zurich within Europe, Shanghai and Guangzhou drawing from China, New York and San Francisco drawing from the world. Over half of New York's residents are either foreign-born or children of parents who are both foreign-born. Native New Yorkers do not begrudge the presence of foreigners who have settled in the city. They know that New York throbs because it attracts talent from around the world in business, the professions and the creative arts. We have to be the hub in Asia for business, small and large, and a Mecca for talent. We have to develop Singaporeans of all talents and spur on Singaporeans to succeed. But we also have to move further ahead in attracting foreigners with the ideas, skills and connections that can contribute to Singapore's growth and vibrance. We should continue to shift the emphasis of our tax policies from redistribution to growth. We have to move away from the egalitarian approach. We should give greater incentive for anyone with the ability, guts and energy to succeed to go as far as he can. That way, we can succeed as a country, generate more growth and more jobs. It is not a zero-sum game. It is not a matter of favouring the rich or the clever, but of favouring a future of better jobs and better incomes for all. If a Singaporean entrepreneur becomes a billionaire, our "Gini coefficient", as the economists put it, will "worsen" - we will have greater inequality - but we should be happy as his success will create more jobs and better incomes for others.”
“But Japan's system of consensual decision-making and its highly egalitarian culture are now holding it back. The system is geared to avoiding pain, which means avoiding reform. Farmers, construction companies and corporate dinosaurs have greater influence on government policies than the needs of the overall economy. There is a profound loss of confidence. The Europeans have a more congenial and cohesive culture than the US. They are also absorbing lessons from the US on how to create an environment for growth, although of course the Europeans would not say they are learning from the US. They are cutting taxes, trying to roll back the welfare state and putting in place US-style capital market discipline. But the differences between Europe and the US lie deeper, in the culture and outlook of individuals on either side of the Atlantic. Unlike the US, the Europeans view the world as a zero-sum game - one person's gain is another's loss. And so they seek to preserve the status quo. It is a culture that blocks out newcomers, start-ups and up-starts, those with ideas and innovations that can unseat the incumbent players and generate growth. So although there is great egalitarianism in European culture, and a genuine concern on the part of the successful for those lower down the economic ladder, the system produces less growth, fewer jobs and higher unemployment. It is an egalitarian culture that does not produce egalitarian outcomes, especially for those without jobs. Embracing the Market Mr Speaker, Sir, we have to embrace the market and accept the inequalities thrown up by the marketplace if we are to succeed in generating growth and creating jobs in our next phase of development. We cannot shrink from this challenge.”
“But Americans tolerate inequality and even regard much of it as fair because of the reality and perception of social mobility in the US. It is a powerful and popular ethos - that anyone can get ahead if he puts in the effort. Contrast with Europe. Because there is less social mobility in European societies, there is greater popular demand in Europe for government to fight inequality than there is in the States. The Americans' non-egalitarian attitude to capitalism, and their greater acceptance of creative destruction in the corporate world, has produced superior economic outcomes. For every NTT DoCoMo or Vivendi, there are many more Wal-Marts, Intels and Microsofts. More important, jobs in the US have grown more rapidly than in any other advanced society over the last two decades. And they have had a faster increase in average productivity and standards of living. It has produced better results for the majority, not just the wealthy. But American society is not cohesive. They rally around magnificently in crisis, as September 11th showed, and have a fervent belief in certain American ideals - but the US is otherwise not a tightly bound society. Wealthy Americans make large contributions to charity, as Madam Ho Geok Choo has mentioned, but it does not change the basic reality of a somewhat disparate society. The affluent and the upwardly-mobile live their lives quite separate from the less-skilled if they wish, moving out to the suburbs and even out of the cities altogether. The Japanese are most unlike the US in social culture. They shun individualism and place a premium on modesty, group decision-making, and on sharing the credit. They succeeded as a people for 40 years, caught up with the West economically and surpassed the West in some areas.”
“Sir, we need this new culture not only to succeed in throwing up a stronger core of entrepreneurs, but to develop a more innovative people. It will be what gives us advantage against the competition and enables us to achieve good growth. This new culture will take time to evolve and it will have many implications for Singapore society. How do we ensure that those who do well in the market and earn higher incomes will not feel they stand apart from and above the rest? How far should we intervene in the market or seek to moderate the consequences of the market, whether through our fiscal policies, HDB subsidies or a social safety net? These are not trivial questions. Not many societies have succeeded in preserving a true spirit of togetherness and cohesion while holding to a spirit of enterprise and economic individualism. In most societies, economic individualism has worked against social cohesion. And policies and attitudes aimed at preserving social cohesion have often worked against a culture of enterprise and economic individualism. The Americans have the most enterprising culture among the advanced countries. In strictly economic terms, they have outperformed the rest. They have been able to do so because, more than other societies, Americans accept the free play of market forces. Individuals are more willing to adapt to changes, develop the next product, find the next market, look for the next opportunity. Americans accept as fair that individuals be rewarded in the market for their energies and their enterprise. They also welcome the best and brightest foreigners into their society, give them a place and make them feel at home. The US has a wider inequality of incomes and wealth than most societies.”
“The first, on what we need as individuals and, the second, on what we need as a society. Twin priorities First, Singaporeans have to be more self-reliant, more robust as individuals, less dependent on Government. Many Members have expressed this need for greater resilience. Mr Seng Han Thong called for a camel spirit, not an ostrich spirit, among third-generation Singaporeans, and Dr Ong Seh Hong called for flying dragons, not earthworms - all these, no doubt, adding to the diversity of the new Singapore eco-system. Second, we have to redouble our efforts to stay together as a people. Government has to engage Singaporeans and, particularly, young Singaporeans, more actively and demonstrate that it is sincere in doing so. But Singaporeans have to themselves take ownership of efforts to build a strong Singapore society to enhance our multi-racial compact and carry forward the Singapore Cause that Mr Khaw Boon Wan spoke about. A new culture Sir, I agree with the views expressed by many of my colleagues on these two priorities. At the core, we need a new culture, a new spirit, to take Singapore and Singaporeans forward in a new and very different world. We need a culture of rugged economic individualism. But it has to be a culture that sees value in every citizen, celebrates alternative paths to success, and preserves a deep and abiding sense among all Singaporeans that we share a future together. We have no choice but to go the way of economic individualism. We have to encourage individuals to do well in the marketplace and earn great rewards. We need many more Singaporeans willing to stand out, do things differently, take a risk and occasionally go against the tide.”
“The provision of more temporary heavy vehicle parks in the light of our slowdown in public housing development comes to mind. Our civil servants and statutory boards do need to consider that together with our business community, we, together, represent Singapore Inc, and our aim is to make it happen, not tell each other why it cannot be done. I am sure that preservation of policy aims and transparency can co-exist with compassion and flexibility in application of policy. It may take a little effort, but that can and should be the Singapore cachet. Singaporeans love food, so permit me to use one last analogy. Singapore is like an established up-market restaurant in a neighbourhood that is seeing a lot of new eateries spring up. Our items on the menu are good, but a little bit pricey. We need to ask ourselves whether we can really keep attracting the business by just giving good value, or whether we will need to lower prices to survive, and whether we need to put completely new items on the menu. I think we need all three, and fast. Maersk and Evergreen evidently feel that good price outweighs good service. How many more out there feel the same? Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of Thanks to the President. 2.18 pm The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education (Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of Thanks to the President. We will prevail and emerge flying Sir, coming in at the tail end of the debate, I have had the privilege of listening to my colleagues' thoughtful and impassioned views on what Singapore needs to do to go forward and thrive in a very different world. I would like to comment on two priorities which stand out in the debate.”
“As the current generation of adult Singaporeans, we can do a lot more to show our young that they can have confidence in our generation yet. Let me just offer three suggestions before I close: Firstly, if you are a boss, consider hiring an older worker. He or she may have been retrenched, but may still have an agile mind and an able body. Sure, you could be wrong. You may have to sack him soon. But if you take the trouble to consider the individual and not just the age, and put yourself in his shoes, you may realise that one day, you too might want someone else to give you a chance to prove yourself. Young or old, degree or no degree, I find that it is actually the job attitude that makes the difference. Secondly, let us not price ourselves out of the market whatever our field is. We must consider that we cost more to hire than most other people in the region, so whatever we are doing, let us aim for excellence, let us aim to deliver value for money. Quality always commands a premium, but working smart enables you to charge less and yet earn more. Once you have tried a new chicken rice stall that is as good as the old one but gives you more chicken for the same dollar, you may not want to eat at the old store anymore. In Europe, Easyjet is flying rings round established airlines because it offers good value at low cost. SIA and PSA are companies which, to my simple doctor's mind, need to consider what their consumers are saying about their perceived value, even though they may currently be at the top of the pile. Thirdly, when in a position to decide or administer a policy, consider if there is something you could do to make another Singaporean's life easier, his business less of a struggle.”
“However, we should make sure that our children do not just become ugly Singaporeans, known for passing loud comments about the relative backwardness of places that we visit, because pride comes before fall. In my travels as an advocate for diabetes knowledge, I have realised that whatever lead we Singaporeans think we have in technology or language or ability to understand the local culture obviously is fast disappearing. Our biggest stumbling block may well be a misplaced confidence in our own advantages. Our regional neighbours are at varying stages of economic development. Some may seem backward, but some are already better than us in certain areas. We need to teach our children to be humble when we visit these countries and to learn from them, to appreciate the cultural diversity, and to be inspired to see these as new lands of opportunity, new lands where they might want to do business. We should continue to send our young people abroad for school trips, even in these troubled times because we need to open their eyes to poverty, to opportunities for service, opportunities for commerce and to understand the people of the region better. We should encourage the work of the Singapore International Foundation to send more people as volunteers representing Singapore. Surveys by the SIF showed that young people who had done overseas volunteer stints were more likely to be volunteers in Singapore upon their return. These people will not only develop a greater civil consciousness towards our own citizens, but they will also be better able to function as global Singaporeans, rooted to Singapore and yet able to take on jobs and do business globally. But how about ourselves, this current generation, as change agents for a better Singapore?”
“Although he is mainly conversant only in Mandarin, he now has business interests in Myanmar, Batam, and even in Australia. His is an example of a local SME made good, despite his own limited formal education. I believe many can learn much from his example. For these examples to be effective, they need to be widely known. They need to become part of the myth of Singapore. Our young people need to hear the stories of our local role models, not just to be aired on occasional news specials, but to be propagated in our magazines, serialised into TV dramas, made into comics and perhaps even made into computer games, and made into part of our local folklore. We would also do well to have a young businessman's council, or a young inventor's chat show. We should consider the road less travelled to be no less valid, especially when they lead to success. We should celebrate those who clawed their way back to success from the ranks of the scholastically challenged, either via entrepreneurial ladder or via an alternative scholastic ladder. The knowledge that your own countrymen have tried and made it, even though they may have tasted failure along the way, this is powerful stuff. This is about winning hearts right from an early age. We must tell our young people that they should not be like the proverbial frog in a well thinking themselves superior to others around them. 25 years ago, my mother, then a teacher, told me she had students who had never been to Orchard Road. Just before she retired, she told me of how her current students in the very same school were now comparing travel notes about China, Australia and the USA.”
“Perhaps, we also need to consider more educational support for those who would succeed if they only have a little bit more help in our school system. We need to inspire our youths by showing them heroes they can understand and identify with, heroes not only from Singapore, but from this globalised world that they can apply to Singapore. History buffs may know the lessons of Venice and Hong Kong vis-a-vis Shanghai, and they may also realise that London is still a financial centre despite the decline of the British Empire. But when it comes to our younger generation, they may be more inspired by the men and ideas behind household names, such as Nokia, McDonald's, IBM, Sony and Samsung. They need to hear how Steve Jobs and Bill Gates made their way, and their fortunes, and how the inventors of velcro, post it pads and the humble zipper seem to have come upon the great discoveries they made their fortunes. They also need to know the nature of the competition, and that China now produces modern washing machines that can also churn butter. The need to hear also about our own Singapore role models. Not only do they need to know the stories of Senior Minister, CK Tang and Lee Kong Chian, but also about Creative Technologies, our own poets and painters, our own innovative mushroom growers, internationalised prata and popiah skin makers, orchid exporters, aeroponic vegetable growers, fishball makers and, yes, even our entertainers. Not all the possible role models for our young people are well known to the media. One of my own grassroots leaders, a Mr Tay, started out as an apprentice in one of our local shipyards, then struck out on his own to become a successful subcontractor to shipyards.”
“I know many of our budding entrepreneurs actually started doing business even in the NS days using handphones and pagers. We can encourage this simply by allowing our young people to plan and run their own fun fairs and magazines in schools, sell souvenir T-shirts in college, run service projects and incubate businesses even while they are schooling. I know there are one or two of my CDC colleagues who actually have already done so. At the tender age of 21, they have already become CDC counsellors because they were prepared to throw in their two cents worth. We should get them to develop gadgets as part of their school projects, and help them patent inventions and bring them to market. Never mind it is not a commercial success. I too have a patent. It is not a commercial success but it saves my hospital money. There is a thrill in learning the skills needed to get a group of people to work together to raise money or to complete a project for the good of society. This sense of achievement and confidence gained will spur our young people on as social and commercial entrepreneurs later. Learning how to run service projects, whether locally or overseas volunteers, will also ignite a spark of social conscience that will often blossom into a lifetime of volunteerism. Learning how to run these things, inter-school, inter-college or inter-community also teaches our young people skills and promotes social cohesion, attributes sorely needed in Singapore's future. For those who have left school prematurely, schemes to bring them back to school, or at least to bring them to formal learning, such as YMCA Project Bridge, should be encouraged.”
“They will need to help remake Singapore many times within their own lifetime. We need to support them in their efforts, even if they do not get it right first time round. We need to imbue in them the optimism born not of cocky arrogance in their own abilities, but in a deep and binding belief that they will triumph whatever the odds because their forebears did so. We must teach them not to underestimate the competition, but also not to give up. I believe that, in remaking Singapore, we need to create a national psyche that emphasises three aspects: Firstly, a spirit of optimism and inquiry that seeks new challenges and new opportunities and a culture that recognises that sometimes failure is a necessary stopover on the road to success. Perhaps, in Singapore, we are too hard on those who fail the first time round. Secondly, we need to have a sense of humility about our present successes, one that recognises the need to continually improve and commit oneself to excellence. And, thirdly, in echoing many of my colleagues in this House, I believe that we must create a national ethos that emphasises the individual's obligation to active civic mindedness and civic service. To instill this spirit of inquiry and a thirst for challenges, we need to imbue in younger Singaporeans the idea that they too can be the authors of their own success stories. They do not need to follow the generally recognised Government model. We need to communicate the stories of role models for economic success that will resonate with our young. Some of these models may not be the ones that we would recognise. We need to train our young to think business right from the start, to think leadership, to think a "can do" spirit, right from the schooldays.”
“For these soldiers, NS was not about learning to defend Singapore, but a struggle to get back on track in their lives and a struggle to be accepted back into a society which had already branded them as failures. Later, while studying to be a paediatrician, I suffered many reverses in specialist examinations. But I have colleagues who believed that I deserved a second chance, and who believed and supported me, and eventually, I became a paediatrician. These experiences taught me valuable lessons: Firstly, you must believe in yourself and you must believe in your dreams to succeed. The second was that, to succeed, you needed people who believed in you and who are prepared to give you a second chance. The third was that when you fail, you must be prepared to be disappointed, but you have the resilience to fight on, and perhaps be laughed at for a while. The fourth was that when you fail, you must confront your faults and weaknesses, and be prepared to try something new or to risk repeating your mistakes again. Later, as a doctor treating chronic illnesses, such as diabetes in children, I come to know that my patients will only get serious about looking after themselves when they have accepted the diagnosis and understand that they have a lifelong condition that will not go away, but which they can battle and overcome. Such patients respond to treatment better and faster once they have embraced the challenge of tackling the disease for themselves and get serious about taking control of their own lives. I feel that this situation is analogous to the process of reinventing Singapore, in that we need to undergo a painful restructuring of our economy and reinvent ourselves as a global city. Our young people must buy into their own version of the Singapore dream.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to speak in support of the motion to thank the President. My being here is about maintaining hope in our younger generation. Three other Members of this House who were naturalised Singaporeans have spoken of how they cast their lot with Singapore. I, on the other hand, am a Singaporean born overseas to expatriate Singaporean parents in Sarawak. I spent my early years in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, and later in KL. In the political aftermath of Singapore's independence, circumstances forced my parents to move us from Sabah to KL, while the racial riots there in 1969 sent them back to Singapore. Despite having to take a paycut each time and to start all over again in their career each and every time, Singapore was still home and that is where they went, because they knew that here, in Singapore, success would not depend on one's race and religion, but on hard work and equal opportunities for all. I remember how funny it felt having to renounce my rights to a foreign passport and to take the oath of citizenship again despite having being registered as a citizen since birth. After nine years in our schools, I gladly served NS, not only because I now possess the pink IC, but because I felt that this was a place I was prepared to defend because it had given me the opportunity to make something of my life. After BMT, I was assigned to do social work among soldiers convicted of consuming controlled drugs. Many of these so-called Hokkien ping were basically what I felt were very good people, who had just strayed onto the wrong path. They taught me to appreciate all my blessings, and made me to reflect on the need for opportunities to get it right first time, and also how difficult it was to come back on course if you did not get it right first time.”