Yeo Cheow Tong
Singapore
“Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent report on fungal corneal infections (a) whether those who contracted the contact lens related fungal corneal infections will suffer permanent damage to their eyes; and (b) how long will his Ministry take to conclude its investigations into the causes of these contact le…”
“My Ministry performs a regulatory role and what we do is that we try to ensure that we have a conducive regulatory environment for the growth of this industry in Singapore. Let me tell him what we are doing in some areas.”
“Sir, on her two questions, whether we are satisfied that the school buses are collecting fares during the school holidays, as I mentioned just now, the school bus service is a contractual service between the parents and the service provider. It is therefore up to them to work out the terms and to abide by the terms.”
“Sir, on the first question, whether there is any abuse by owners of buses while using the 50% rebate, the answer is no, because LTA monitors very closely.”
“Sir, I have to repeat my answer. We are not responsible for regulating school buses and therefore will not be involved. SCHOOL BUSES (Installation of seat belts) 5. Assoc. Prof.”
“Ong Soh Khim asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) if his Ministry will increase the cap of $10,000 per disabled person over their lifetime for the Assistive Technology Fund scheme; and (b) if not, whether there will be a flexibility to adjust the funding cap for this scheme based on the applicant's need, as j…”
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“Currently, import duties are levied on most goods imported into Malaysia. Popular consumer items like foodstuff, textile and garments, household items and footwear, attract import duties ranging from 2%-30%. If Johore proceeds to set up a duty-free shopping (DFS) zone, these goods will become cheaper and more attractive to consumers, including Singaporeans. The retail trade in Singapore will have to continue upgrading itself in order to remain competitive. Retailers will have to offer better value to local consumers and tourists and ensure that they remain competitive in terms of price and quality, and level of service. CESS COLLECTION AND ITS USES 21. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Trade and Industry how much Cess was collected from 1991 to 1993 and what were the main uses that it had been put to.”
“The Department of Statistics has planned for the detailed Census results to be published in a series of six Statistical Releases. To date, four Statistical Releases have been published: a. Demographic Characteristics (July 1992), b. Households and Housing (November 1992), c. Literacy, Languages Spoken and Education (April 1993), and d. Economic Characteristics (September 1993). Two other releases on Transport and Geographic Distribution and Religion, Childcare and Leisure will be published shortly. Eleven monographs containing more detailed analysis of the census data are being prepared by academicians and researchers from the local universities. None has been published yet. These monographs take a longer time to be ready because they involve more in depth analysis, editorial changes and pre-printing arrangements. The first monograph, on Religion, is expected to be published in August 1994. The next two, on Aged Population of Singapore and Demographic Trends, will be published in September 1994. Other monograph writers are targeting to complete their reports by the end of this year. The Department of Statistics has also made further studies on the census data and published the findings in its Occasional Paper Series. Examples include Dual-Career Couples in Singapore, Profile of Self-Employed Persons in Singapore and Life Cycle Analysis of Singapore Households. To facilitate policy evaluation and formulation, the Department has provided numerous census tabulations to various ministries and government bodies. DUTY-FREE SHOPPING ZONE IN JOHORE BAHRU 20. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Trade and Industry how the creation of a duty-free shopping zone in Johore Bahru will affect Singapore.”
“Sir, I think the loss would be to the whole region, because the UR meetings have taken place in all the regions of the world except in Asia. And yet Asia is today the fastest growing trading region. Therefore, if the first meeting of the WTO Ministers is not held in Asia, it represents a loss for the whole region and not just for Singapore. Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, would the Minister consider suggesting to the AFTA Senior Economic Officials the inclusion of services and investments? Otherwise AFTA will become superfluous when compared to GATT and NAFTA if services and investments are not included, besides speeding up tariff reductions. Mr Yeo Cheow Tong; Sir, those issues will be addressed by the Senior Officials in Jakarta as well. CONSERVATION PROGRAMME FOR OLD SHOPHOUSES 17. Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Acting Minister for National Development (a) whether the conservation programme for old shophouses in the City has met its objectives; (b) whether there are areas for improvement; and (c) whether there is still room and need for traditional small traders.”
“The UR has also extended the market access process to cover agricultural products, an area which has been excluded from the CEPT scheme. The ASEAN Economic Ministers discussed the implications of the UR for AFTA when we met informally in Genting on 22-23 April this year. The Ministers also took note of the rapidly changing external environment, including the strong competition from the emerging economies of China, India and Indochina. The ASEAN Ministers have asked the Senior Economic Officials to review how to keep AFTA relevant with the completion of the UR. The Senior Officials will be meeting in Jakarta from 6th to 8th June this year to review and recommend changes to the programme under the AFTA.”
“Sir, Singapore is perhaps unique in being a small, almost totally open economy which is heavily reliant on trade. Our external trade accounts for some three times our GDP. The Marrakesh agreement, the product of the seven-year Uruguay Round (UR) negotiations, is an especially important agreement for economies like Singapore. First, the Marrakesh agreement achieved deep tariff reductions. Based on Singapore's 1993 trade figures, Singapore can look forward to potential tariff savings of about S$3 billion for our exports when the reductions are fully implemented. In the services sector, we can also look forward to greater transparency and liberalisation in the various regulations imposed by our export markets. In short, Singapore will gain when the market access barriers of our trading partners are lowered through the implementation of the Marrakesh agreement. Second, the agreement provides for the implementation of a more effective GATT dispute settlement process. A new body, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), will be set up, hopefully by 1st January 1995, to enforce international trade rules. Stronger rules and stronger enforcement will help provide greater predictability and certainty in the conduct of international trade. This will help provide some recourse for us should any trading partner decide to take unreasonable unilateral actions against our exports. Sir, on the significance of the UR on AFTA, the Marrakesh agreement requires countries to fulfil their tariff reduction and market opening commitments within a period of 10 years. On the other hand, tariff reductions in the AFTA Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme has a 15 year implementation period, starting from 1st January 1993.”
“This represents about 2% of total MediShield members. (c) 6,100 members' dependants have been reimbursed. (d) No member has reached the maximum life-time limit of $70,000. (e) Premiums collected by MediShield for the period 1991 to 1993 are as follows: Year $ Million 1991 34 1992 38 1993 42 (f) As at 31st December 1993, MediShield has a balance of $122 million. FOREIGN WORKERS IN SINGAPORE 11. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Labour what is the total number of foreign workers in Singapore; what is the percentage of these workers in the workforce; and what are the long term plans to phase out these workers.”
“COUNSELLING AGENCIES 1. Counselling and Care Centre 2. Family & Women's Welfare Section, Ministry of Community Development 3. Kim Keat Family Service Centre 4. Singapore Gujerati Society 5. Ren Ci Counselling Centre 6. Tiong Bahru Family Service Centre 7. Singapore Indian Development Association 8. Ang Mo Kio Social Service Centre 9. Young Women Muslim Association (YWMA) MEDISAVE FOR HOSPICE CARE 9. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health if he has come to a decision about the use of Medisave for hospice care. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: The Ministry of Health is presently reviewing the cost of providing inpatient hospice care based on the experience of the Assisi Home & Hospice which has just completed its first year of operations in the new premises. As inpatient hospice care is a new service, the review will assist MOH in defining the patient group who would require hospice care, and the appropriate Medisave withdrawal limit. The review will be completed in a few months' time. MEDISAVE AND MEDISHIELD 10. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health (a) what percentage of Medisave account holders have subscribed to MediShield; (b) what percentage of MediShield account holders have been reimbursed; (c) how many dependants of these Medisave account holders have been reimbursed for MediShield; (d) how many account holders are no longer covered by MediShield because they have claimed the maximum lifetime limit; (e) what is the total amount of money collected by MediShield each year from 1991 to 1993; and (f) how much is left in the MediShield scheme. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: (a) As at 31st December 1993, 88% of all eligible Medisave Account holders have subscribed to MediShield. (b) 31,000 members have been reimbursed.”
“Students in the US, UK and Australia who do not have RSI can turn to other sources of information on Singapore such as Singapore produced by SIF, The Singapore Bulletin produced by MITA and the Overseas Weekly newspaper produced by the Straits Times. All these have current information about Singapore. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 8. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health if he will consider documenting cases of domestic violence that are presented to Government and restructured hospitals and then referring them to the relevant voluntary organisations for counselling and help. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Children who are brought to Government and restructured hospitals with a history of abuse or who are suspected to be victims of abuse are admitted into hospital for clinical examination and evaluation. If the clinical findings indicate child abuse, the child is referred by the doctor to the hospital's Medical Social Worker (MSW) for assessment. All child abuse cases are referred to the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) for further investigation and subsequent management. A police report is also made. Women who are victims of abuse and seen at Government and restructured hospitals are also referred by the doctors to the hospital's MSW. The MSW assesses each case and determines the type of assistance required. Women who require short-term support will be counselled by the MSW to help them overcome their crisis. Those who need temporary shelter will be referred to homes and other resources available under the MCD and voluntary organisations. Women are also advised to make a police report. Women abuse cases who have been identified as requiring long-term therapy are referred by the MSW to the agencies (see below) which provide more specialised and intensive counselling.”
“With regard to worker participation in QCCs, NPB plans to double the participation rate of private sector employees in QCCs to 4 per cent by 1995 through: (a) working with the NTUC to reach out to unionized companies which require assistance in setting up QCCs in the workplace; (b) promoting QCCs to top management of companies by inviting CEOs to participate in QCC conventions and seconding QCC experts to companies to help implement QCCs; and (c) promoting QCC training programmes at NPB's QCC College. RADIO BROADCAST 7. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Information and the Arts if he will consider extending the range of our overseas shortwave radio broadcasts from regional to global reach as some of our students are studying in the United Kingdom, Australia and North America. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Radio Singapore International (RSI) went on air on 1st February 1994 as a regional service. The principal aim of the service is to reach out to Singaporeans and friends of Singapore in the region. We have started RSI as a modest service. We will review the performance and audience feedback before we commit ourselves to expansion. It is difficult, however, to envisage RSI becoming a global shortwave service. The infrastructure and investment required are prohibitive, and it is not our aim to be a BBC or a VOA. However, while we will not be a global service, we will try to extend the reach of our shortwave services where practical so that they are available to as many listeners as possible. One way is to use spare transmitting capacity available in other countries.”
“In an article entitled, "Training up America", which appeared in a recent issue of The Economist, it was suggested that the way to achieve productivity gains was through a "high-performance workplace". Essentially, this involves management techniques which allow workers to use technology productively and to organize themselves flexibly. To create a high-performance workplace, commitment on the part of the company management in two areas is crucial: (a) training and upgrading workers' skills to ensure that workers keep pace with technological advancements; and (b) encouraging workers to participate in the company's efforts to improve productivity, through Quality Control Circles (QCCs). To this end, the National Productivity Board (NPB) has introduced various worker training and upgrading programmes, and provided financial incentives through the Skills Development Fund for companies to put their workers through such programmes. It has also actively promoted the formation of QCCs at the workplace as a tool to increase productivity. To further promote worker training, NPB will emphasise on-the-job training (OJT) especially to small- and medium-sized companies which will find this approach more affordable. NPB aims to institutionalise OJT on an industry-wide basis and train 100,000 workers through OJT by the year 2000. To achieve this, NPB will recruit and train some 500 OJT instructors over the next 3 years to provide on-site training and help establish OJT systems in companies. NPB also plans to launch several new programmes this year aimed at specific target groups of workers. These target groups include first-line supervisors, workers involved in our key industrial clusters, and workers affected by the rationalization and restructuring of our industries.”
“On electricity generation, PUB has also been improving its efficiency by investing in newer and larger equipment. ANNEX A COMPARISON OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER US DOLLAR OF GDP AMONG G7 COUNTRIES AND NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED ECONOMIES FOR 1991 Energy Consumption Per US$ GDP at Current Market Prices (Million Joules/US$ GDP) Canada 15.0 France 7.0 Japan 4.8 Hong Kong 3.9 South Korea 14.0 Singapore 11.0 United Kingdom 29.6 United States 14.1 Note: (1) Energy Consumption figures are extracted from the 1991 Energy Statistics Yearbook published by the United Nations. (2) GDP figures are extracted from the International Financial Statistics published by the International Monetary Fund, except the GDP for Hong Kong, which is extracted from the Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics August 1993. The GDP are at current market prices in 1991 and converted at end-of-the-year exchange rates to US$. (3) Data on Germany, Italy and Taiwan are incomplete or not available. HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORKPLACE 6. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what further measures are being contemplated to ensure a "high-performance workplace" in companies, and what is the ratio of companies that can be considered as high-performance workplaces.”
“In 1991 (latest available cross-country comparison), Singapore consumed nearly 11.0 million joules of energy* to produce one US dollar of GDP. Singapore uses less energy per dollar of GDP than Canada, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom (see Annex A) (Cols. 1457 - 1458). However, Singapore uses more energy per dollar of GDP compared to Hong Kong, Japan and France. *Energy consumption = (Total Indigenous Product + Imports - Exports - Bunkers � Stock Changes) of gaseous fuel (eg. LPG, natural gas), liquid fuel (eg. petroleum, naphtha, fuel oil kerosene, etc), gaseous fuel (eg. LPG, natural gas) and solid fuels (eg. coal). There is a wide variation in the energy used per dollar of GDP. The different composition of GDP in each country would be a major reason for this. Taking Singapore and Hong Kong, for example, Singapore's energy consumption per dollar of GDP is about four times of Hong Kong's. However, Singapore has a much larger manufacturing base (which needs more energy per dollar of GDP) that accounts for over 29% of its GDP in 1991, whereas Hong Kong's was only about 15%. It should also be noted that Singapore is a tropical country and unlike the other countries in the list, consumes energy for air-conditioning throughout the year. The Government will continue to actively promote energy conservation in Singapore, through a combination of education and fiscal measures. The Building Control Division of the Public Works Department has already incorporated a set of energy conservation standards for building design into its Building Regulations. PUB will continue to conduct energy audits, workshops/seminars and provide advisory services to customers on more efficient use of energy in industries and buildings.”
“The others being planned include Investors Clubs for Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. So that is on-going.”
“We will look into the setting up of similar councils between Singapore and other countries as well. He has asked that we provide grants to enable chambers and organisations to set up offices overseas. As far as the overseas offices are concerned, MFA, EDB and TDB have already an extensive network of offices in all the major countries. And these offices would also be able to help our businessmen who are going abroad. There is, therefore, no need for us to provide the funding for organisations which want to set up on their own. They are free to do that, but funding would not be available from the Government. The organisation may want to consider doing it on a commercial basis, ie, opening up offices, providing services to investors from Singapore and charging for the services rendered. He has asked that we negotiate for banks to be established. We do discuss and negotiate with the other countries for more banking licences to be provided to Singapore banks and this is a continuing process. He has asked for more funding to be provided to set up a Regionalisation Information Centre. Sir, the TDB already has a Trade and Investment Information Centre at the World Trade Centre and this Centre provides entrepreneurs with a comprehensive range of trade, investment and business-related information. This is a fairly new centre and TDB would be working with MFA and EDB to build up the database. So, therefore, this is already on-going and I think it should meet the needs of what Mr Robert Chua has described. On the setting up of country investment clubs, I have already answered just now, in my reply to Dr Ow, that EDB is already looking into the establishment of country business clubs and we have already set up the first one this year and, that is, the Vietnam Country Club.”
“They will not be neglected. If they still wish to grow within Singapore and they need assistance, of course, the EDB's and TDB's schemes are still open to them. So we do not only focus on companies that are going overseas. In fact, the bulk of the funding of the assistance programmes is channelled to companies within Singapore because the domestic economy is still the one that is fundamentally important to us, and we must never neglect our domestic companies. 3.15 pm Mr Davinder Singh has asked about the assessment of India. Sir, India has definitely come a long way in its economic reforms and liberalisation programme. The recent measures that were announced by the Finance Minister are, indeed, encouraging, eg, the convertibility of the Rupee in the current account, reduction of corporate tax rates of foreign companies and the reductions in import taxes that he told us about when we were there in February have come about. Our assessment is that the economic reform process in India is irreversible. This is the feedback that we have had from both the public and private sector leaders that we came across. And as such, India therefore offers tremendous prospects for Singapore businessmen and we should not hesitate to take advantage of the window of opportunity that is available. Mr Robert Chua has asked that we establish a high level council between the private sector and the Government officials on a bilateral basis. That is already happening and we have good examples. For example, we have the Business Council with the States of Johor and Malacca. There is also the Japan-Singapore Economic Advisory Group and the India Business Interaction Group. So this process will continue.”
“Sir, as explained by Dr Richard Hu, our intention is not to encourage every Singapore company to proceed to invest abroad. Our aim is to encourage Singapore companies that have the financial and technical capabilities not to ignore the regional markets. So if they have the resources, they should look beyond Singapore and, because the window of opportunity is now open, it is best that they act as soon as possible. But there are many other companies that would not have the resources to go overseas.”
“Sir, he has asked how does the Growth Triangle fit in with all the developments and whether the Growth Triangle is still relevant and what are the plans for the longer term. Sir, the Growth Triangle remains important to Singapore. Proximity is still an important consideration when deciding where to put one's investment and that is why our largest investments are still in our two nearest neighbours, namely, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Growth Triangle concept is different from our investments in other countries. The concept is one of cross-border collaboration and the key factors are geographical proximity and the complementary nature of our economies. Sir, the Growth Triangle capitalises on the comparative advantage of each member and the combination and advantages to be derived from this arrangement. It is not easy to replicate elsewhere and therefore the Growth Triangle remains relevant to our long-term needs. Sir, the Growth Triangle is receiving competition from the growth in the other areas in the region. Therefore, the three governments concerned must review and ensure that the terms offered to investors within the Triangle remain attractive and are competitive, so that they can continue to attract investors into the region.”
“Sir, as I mentioned just now, CASE has relied on funding from other sources as well, that means, our contribution is not adequate for CASE's total activities. Our funding only funds part of the expenditure of CASE.”
“Sir, Mr Low asks which are the local and international organisations that we are providing subventions to, and why? Sir, of the total budget of about $4.5 million for FY94, $450,000 is earmarked for local organisations, in this case, CASE. The remaining sums are allocated to international organisations. Why are we providing subventions to CASE? CASE is a non-profit organisation set up to protect consumer interests and Singaporeans are all consumers. Therefore, it is in the interest of Singaporeans that Government provides as much support as possible to CASE. Despite the funding, CASE is an independent body. It also has funding from other sources, not just Government sources. Secondly, MTI provides funding to five international organisations. These are (1) GATT; (2) UN Common Fund for Commodities; (3) ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism; (4) The Statistical Institute for Asia and Pacific, and (5) The Global System of Trade Preferences. Sir, as a signatory to a number of international agreements and international organisations, the Singapore Government is obliged to make annual contributions to help support the activities undertaken by these organisations. We are members of these organisations because we do benefit from our participation in the organisations and the programmes put forward by the organisations. I will just take one organisation, and that is, GATT which I hope Mr Low is familiar with. Sir, GATT is responsible for measures to liberalise world trade and therefore it is very vital that we participate. Our contribution to GATT is on the basis of our share of the world trade. In FY94, our estimated share is about 1.3% of the world trade and therefore our share of GATT's total expenses would also be about 1.4%. This amounts to about $1.”
“Those decisions are carried out in their headquarters at home in Europe or elsewhere and therefore relatively few MNCs have asked to participate in our missions. Mr Chay Wai Chuen: Sir, I thank the Minister for his answer and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, business delegation members are selected based on the interest of the companies in the markets concerned, and not because of their affiliation with certain Chambers or associations. It is certainly not because they are representatives of the Chamber. Sir, in any case, most of the members, if not all the members in the delegation, would be members of one Chamber or another anyway, In fact, many SICC members have participated in our missions overseas. Perhaps the occasion that Mr Chay is referring to was when the SMA was involved in PM's delegation to India. But that is because the SMA was signing a strategic framework agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industries. Therefore, the SMA Chairman was there officially as a member of the delegation. If the SICC was to enter into an agreement with their counterpart in other countries and the agreement is going to be signed at the visit of a Minister, I am sure the Chamber would be welcomed to come along as a member. He has asked about our attitude towards MNCs in the delegation. Sir, in fact, one of the strategies that we have is to encourage Singapore companies to work with companies from third countries to invest in the region because there is synergy to be obtained here. MNCs in Singapore would be obvious potential candidates. So if MNCs in Singapore are interested in entering into a joint venture with our local companies, they are of course welcomed, either on their own, or with a joint venture partner, to come along on the trips. But in practice, what we have found is that the decision-making process on strategic investments in the region are normally not done here.”
“Sir, the Government fees have been increasing on the basis of cost recovery. This has been happening for the past few years. Even with all these Government fee increases inputed into the inflation rate, our inflation rate has still remained low at about 2.4% a year. So that is the underlying inflation rate which takes into consideration the fee increases from Government and the local cost increases on the part of the private sector. That is why I said just now that the underlying inflation rate from all the cost increases will be about 2.5% and if we add the GST rate of 3%, our overall inflation rate for this year should be 5.5% at the maximum. But because of the offsets given, it is likely to be below that.”
“Sir, it has been explained several times in this House that GST is not meant to result in a freezing on prices of goods and services, whether it is by the private sector or by the Government. What we want to do is to ensure that the retailers or the private sector do not use GST as an excuse to increase prices unreasonably and blame it on GST. Sir, the Committee on Inflation and Profiteering does not coordinate the fee increases by the various Government Ministries. What happens is that each Ministry is responsible for ensuring that the proposed fee increases are justified in terms of actual increases in operating costs and that they should therefore recover the additional costs that have been incurred. On top of that, the Ministry of Finance and my Ministry also monitor the fee increases in terms of the impact on inflation. So the Committee does not coordinate the fee increases.”
“I would say yes, he can find a job there and he can get approval to work there. But the key thing is that the township will be creating jobs for the Chinese. The bulk of the workers will be workers from China, not from Singapore. It is not the intention to transfer Singaporeans en masse to Suzhou. Are we likely to have more of such townships? This is a massive project. And in view of our very limited manpower, as Mr Chia himself has observed, we have no capacity to take on another project of the same scale. Sir, I believe I have answered all the questions. I will ask Mr Goh Chee Wee to answer the remaining two questions.”
“Tourists made up about 15% of total retail sales. He has also asked about the average expenditure. The data I have in hand show that the total expenditure for tourists has declined from slightly over $1,000 in 1991 to only $760 in 1992 (Table 3). A significant part of the drop is contributed by Japanese tourists whose expenditure dropped from about $1,260 to $750. Dr Ow also asked whether the retail business will be affected by GST and whether the machinery for refunding GST to tourists is now in place. Because the GST rate is fairly low, we believe that it will have very little impact on tourists. Yes, the machinery for refunding GST to tourists is now in place. So we are ready to start. Mr Chia Shi Teck asked a lot of questions about Suzhou. I will briefly answer him. What is the cost to us? When he said "cost to us", my reading is that he meant the cost to the Government. The cost to the Government is actually quite minimal, because the hardware part, the cost of developing Suzhou, developing the sites, putting in the necessary infrastructure, will be undertaken by a private sector consortium and they will be undertaking the investments on a commercial basis. The Government is only responsible for the software part, ie, the training of personnel from Suzhou on the public administration system that 2we have and sending people to Suzhou to assist them. The cost, including the manpower that we put in from the Ministries and statutory boards, will work out to about $2.5 million a year for the next 3-5 years. So the cost is quite minimal. He has asked how would Singaporeans benefit. Will this be an extension of Singapore's territory? Absolutely not. This is Chinese territory. It is not an extension of Singapore's territory. Can he work there any time?”
“The data show that the retail sector in Singapore grew marginally in January this year versus January last year. For last year, it grew by 3.6% on an overall basis. This year, it is about 1.4%. But what is interesting is that for the whole of last year, 1993 versus 1992, the growth for outlets outside the CBD was 6.6%, ie, Table 1 (Cols. 1071 - 1072), . For outlets outside the CBD, it grew by 6.6%. But when you look at , if we exclude the new outlets, that means only for the existing outlets, they only grew by 2.5%. What does this tell us? This tells us that a lot of the increase in sales actually went to new outlets in the regional centres and new shopping centres outside the CBD. If you look at the outlets within the CBD, overall, the increase was 0.7%. But when you take away the new outlets, if you look at , for existing outlets within the CBD for the whole of last year, they actually suffered a decline of 2.8%. Table 1 - Year-on-year Growth of Retail Sales Turnover, Breakdown of Visitor Arrivals, 1992-1993, Average Expenditure Per Person for 1992-1993 (Cols. 1071 - 1072) What is interesting is for January. For January, for those outlets within the CBD, they had an increase of 1.3%. But for the existing outlets, they had a big drop of 6.5%. So within the CBD, a lot of customers actually went to the new outlets. This shows that last year, without the whole-day ALS, growth outside the CBD was already much higher than growth within the CBD. And yet for January, with the whole-day ALS, the growth within and outside the CBD was very similar. So contrary to the feedback, actually the ALS did not have that big a negative effect. If anything, it reverses the trend for last year. Dr Ow has asked what percentage of the total demand of the retail business came from tourists.”
“Yes. Mr Chew Heng Ching has asked about the Cluster Development Fund, ie, how the fund is to be used. Sir, the fund will be used in three ways. Firstly, to facilitate the setting up of key manufacturing projects which will sharpen the competitive advantage of the overall industry cluster. Secondly, to enter into partnerships with MNCs to take part in projects in the region. These projects must be directly linked to an existing cluster in Singapore and must result in additional spin-offs to the cluster. The multiplier factor is an important one. Thirdly, the fund would be used to accelerate the development of promising local enterprises that possess the necessary technology and technical capabilities but which lack the financial resources to either expand or to upgrade. Sir, he has asked how we would benefit. With the upgrading of the companies into clusters, or the addition of the project which will add strength to the cluster, the overall cluster becomes more competitive and, therefore, the chances of the workers in those companies enjoying a more secure and better paying job would be higher. He has asked about safeguards and whether EDB has enough capability and expertise. The EDB has a significant pool of industry knowledge but where they lack the expertise, they will then call in outside consultants to help them. The other safeguard is that these projects normally involve significant investments and, therefore, EDB will have to seek the support and approval of the Ministry of Finance and my Ministry as well. So there are adequate safeguards. 2.30 pm Dr Ow Chin Hock has asked about the retail trade and the impact of tourist spending on the retail trade. First, I will answer his last point which is on the growth of the retail trade.”
“I believe that is already being done. We are also providing such information to all new companies that are being incorporated. He has also asked about the staffing in our EDB and TDB offices abroad and whether the turnover rate is more serious than in the past. The TDB has experienced a slightly higher turnover in the last few months and I think this is because most of the TDB officers are involved in areas which are experiencing great dynamic growth. These are people with information and knowledge which are highly prized by the private sector and, therefore, it is no surprise that most of our TDB officers are under tremendous pressure by the private sector companies to join them. The solution is to keep on recruiting our people and I believe that is what TDB is doing. We will try to recruit as many good people as we can and ensure that our offices abroad are staffed adequately. Dr Ow also asked that a club be formed for those with overseas experience, or with overseas interest, so that they can exchange notes. I believe that EDB is already in the process of forming such country business clubs. I think the first one has been formed. We are also looking at forming one for India and for the other countries in the region. We will then invite private companies to participate.”
“Sir, we have about 300 to 400 promising medium and large local enterprises in the manufacturing and service sectors which have the potential to grow into our MNCs of tomorrow. Our role is to really facilitate growth in these companies by giving them access to the financial and technical assistance schemes. We have to help build political and business bridges overseas. For example, when the Prime Minister, the Senior Minister and other Ministers travel, they have been bringing along with them business delegations. These delegations find it very useful because they can make contact with high level people in the other countries and, therefore, they are able to seal up business contracts or investment projects quicker. Our approach is to make all these schemes available to all parties that are interested, and not try to identify particular companies and try to groom them. That I think will not be practical nor reasonable. Ultimately, those enterprises that are able to develop strong core capabilities, are able to build up innovative and entrepreneurial management teams and which are able to participate actively in the strong economic growth in the region, will then have no problems in becoming the next Creative Technology or IPC of Singapore. Dr Ow Chin Hock and Dr Wong Kwei Cheong have also asked how we help those that are venturing abroad. Dr Ow has specifically asked that the EDB and TDB collect more information on the business environment and policies abroad and that we beef up the Trade Development Board's resource library. I agree with him. The TDB is actively updating its resource library and this will be a continuing process. He has also asked that the EDB and TDB channel information about the assistance schemes and incentives to the chambers and associations.”
“We also have the Local Enterprises Technical Assistance Scheme which, during the same period, gave grants amounting to $62 million to about 2,000 companies. There are about 60 assistance schemes and programmes available under EDB, TDB, National Science and Technology Board and other statutory boards. And all this information is easily available from any of these statutory boards. I also believe that some Members are interested, and I will be very happy to provide each Member with a listing of all the assistance schemes. The fourth area is to nurture a quality mindset in our workforce. Sir, as we move into higher value-added products and services, the quality factor becomes an increasingly important one in our work ethic. As wages increase, companies cannot afford to have the work done wrongly and having to correct the work again. Also, as we move more into the capital intensive investments, companies find that any mistakes made can be very expensive as well. We have therefore established the National Productivity and Quality Council to look into ways in which we can imbue a quality mindset into the Singapore workforce. Lastly, this is a measure which all of us are quite familiar with and, that is, maximising the potential of our human resources. We have limited manpower and it is, therefore, important that our education system trains and educates our young to the best of their potential. We have also worked with the unions to retrain older workers that are lacking the necessary skills. Dr Wong Kwei Cheong asked how we are going to help promising local enterprises, and how we are going to groom them into MNCs.”
“The Government will have to leave it to the private sector to identify which are the best areas to act on. Our role is to encourage the companies to upgrade, to act as a catalyst and, where necessary, to provide the necessary impetus to upgrading by becoming a partner. And this is really the last resort for the use of the Cluster Development Fund. I will elaborate more on that later in reply to Mr Chew. Secondly, Research and Development (R&D). It will facilitate the establishment of a R&D culture in the manufacturing sector. Sir, the marketplace is now moving very rapidly, product life cycles are very short and it is not unusual for a company to derive a significant portion of its revenue and profits from products which were not even in existence five years ago. So R&D is, therefore, indispensable if companies are to remain competitive and if they are to keep a few steps ahead of their competitors. The Government has set aside $2 billion for the period FY91-95 to promote R&D and I will again elaborate on that later. Thirdly, we will assist local companies to continually upgrade their technical and technological capabilities. This way, they can undertake higher value work and also they can improve their productivity and, therefore, become more competitive. There are a number of well-established schemes in place for the last few years, and these assistance schemes have already reached out to quite a wide range of companies. They are basically in two areas. One is the financial schemes. For example, we have the Local Enterprise Financing Scheme which, in the six years from 1988 to 1993, provided almost $2 billion in low-cost loans to about 4,500 companies.”
“I would say that CASE, as a protector of consumers' interest, should be bold in its actions to protect the consumers. It has the public support and it should come out fearlessly to expose those with unreasonable prices, and, therefore, there is no need to come up with an additional legislation to give CASE more bite. I think CASE's teeth are already big and sharp enough. 2.15 pm Sir, Mr Robert Chua asked how we are going to maintain Singapore's competitiveness. Sir, he is right that our neighbours are very well endowed, much better endowed than we are in terms of land, natural resources and manpower. And since we cannot just compete on costs of land and manpower alone, we have to adopt a more effective strategy and, that is, how do we broaden and deepen our manufacturing base and how do we upgrade the capabilities of our companies and our people. Sir, we are adopting a five-pronged approach. First, we need to develop strong industry clusters. No company exists in isolation. A company thrives only when it is linked to its suppliers, its technology partners, its service providers and to its customers. Together, all these components form an industry cluster. If we can strengthen one aspect of the cluster, then we can improve its competitiveness and, in the process, enhance the cluster's competitiveness as a whole. The Government has already allocated $1 billion to the Cluster Development Fund and the aim is that this fund will build on the existing industry clusters. We will help to upgrade vital members, members which form the weak link in the whole chain, and we will try to fill up the gaps so that the whole cluster can become more competitive. Which member and which gap to be filled up, that will be left to the market forces.”
“He brought up three instances where consumers have problems with advertisers and suppliers and asked that the Government implement legislation similar to New Zealand's Fair Trading Act in order to give CASE some bite. Sir, in the first place, our existing legislation already contains most of the provisions in the Fair Trading Act of New Zealand. For example, the Consumers Protection Act already protects consumers against false trade descriptions and it also stipulates safety requirements for the goods. I think the problem is what do we do with advertisements that do not tell the whole story. It only tells part of the story like the case which Mr Koo brought up where the advertiser advertised chairs on special offer, but in actual fact only two chairs were on special offer, and by the time the consumers went there, they were all sold out, and therefore they had to buy the chairs at the normal price. Sir, I think, in the first place, CASE can investigate to make sure if the allegation is true. And if the allegation is true, CASE should come out strongly to criticise the company for not telling the whole story. I do not think the company can object to that because CASE is stating a fact. It is not making an allegation. He is also afraid that, if CASE publishes prices and compares companies that are giving good value for money versus companies that are having high prices, CASE will be sued. Sir, I think he need not fear about that because CASE again will be stating a fact and making a fair comment. It is up to the consumer to draw his conclusion whether to go to the higher price shops or the lower price shops. I do not see how any shop can sue CASE for publicising what is public information.”
“Sir, despite all these measures, if there are still instances where a group of suppliers has ganged up together, monopolised the Singapore market and artificially raised prices, the Government is prepared to use its powers under the Price Control Act to break up such monopolies. Mr Chew Heng Ching has asked whether MTI would invoke this Act immediately as a signal to potential profiteers. I would like to inform Mr Chew that the Act is already in place. All we have to do is to gazette a particular item and straightaway it will become a controlled item. Mr Koo also raised the issue about the misleading advertisement by Gain City. Sir, first, I am disappointed that the newspaper did not vet the advertisement to make sure that it was not misleading. In any case, my officials called up the company to clarify and they gave us good clarification. The original advertisement was in Chinese and the intention was to inform consumers that the company would absorb GST for three months after the implementation of GST. And they said that they realise that competition will be very strong, so they want to inform consumers now that they do not have to rush. Even if they buy three months after GST, the company would still absorb the GST, subject to a maximum total amount of $25,000. That shows how stiff the competition is. On the inflation forecast for 1994, our underlying inflation rate is abut 2.5%. So even if we add to that the full GST rate of 3%, we expect the inflation rate for this year to be no more than 5.5%. And since we have a lot of offsets, it is likely to be below 5.5%. Mr Koo touched on CASE.”
“Sir, the key thing is you must give consumers the right information, the necessary information, for them to make the right choice. And CASE has come up with price watch. The Department of Statistics will help to provide CASE with more information and help CASE to publish a list of where consumers can get the best deals in town and also where they can get the worst deals in town. This latter list will be similar to the Tourist Promotion Board's blacklist of retail shops which prey on unwary tourists. This blacklist has been very, very successful. Some of the shops blacklisted have gone out of business very quickly because their business dropped dramatically. And I am sure no retailer wants to be on CASE's blacklist as well. Whilst we can give the information and to make sure that Singaporeans are aware that there are shops selling good value goods, we cannot guarantee that at a specific location desired by a consumer, the prices there will be the lowest. What we can ensure is that there would be shops selling competitively priced goods well distributed throughout Singapore and, as I said, NTUC FairPrice is already a good starting point. All these measures would only bear fruit if consumers consciously exercise their right and consciously make a right choice. They should therefore boycott any outlet that is charging exorbitant or unreasonable prices, and this would then discourage other retailers from doing so. We have to teach the retailers that greed does not pay and the consumer is in the best position to do that.”
“So it is not easy to define what is profiteering. But basically profiteering can only exist if the consumer has no choice at all but to pay the artificially inflated prices demanded by a retailer. But, nevertheless, Government is mindful of the public concern about the GST-induced price increases. My Ministry therefore reactivated the Committee on Inflation and Profiteering to review what is happening and to recommend measures to ensure that the GST will not lead to unreasonable price increases and profiteering. Sir, the Committee has done quite a few things. It has met with major retailers and got from them a description of what they are going to do with the implementation of GST. I think what is useful to know is that many of the retailers have explained that they will absorb the GST on many of their lower-priced items, and on the higher-priced items, they have pledged to increase the prices by no more than 3%. In fact, NTUC FairPrice has publicly pledged to sell a basket of 111 basic food and household goods at the lowest prices available in Singapore. So that forms the starting point for consumers. The Department of Statistics has also stepped up price monitoring efforts and they will be regularly updating the CPI. Mr Koo had asked that we do it monthly. I am happy to tell him that that is what we are doing and we will continue to do that. The Department of Statistics has been monitoring the prices in 1,600 hawker stalls in 70 hawker centres. This represents about half of the hawker centres in Singapore. And their finding so far is that only 4% of the hawkers have increased prices. So this concern about runaway prices therefore has no basis at all.”
“Sir, in terms of what are we going to do about profiteering, I think we have to bear in mind that ours is an open economy and therefore there is very little scope for profiteering. We have no shortage of goods and we have many suppliers all keenly competing for the consumer dollars. In fact, the competition today is keener than ever before. During the last sitting, I was asked about the retail sales and Dr Ow Chin Hock had also pointed out that in fact many retailers are suffering from drops in sales. So the competition is very tough. And any retailer who tries to increase prices unreasonably in this environment would stand to lose a lot of his business. The problem, as Dr Ow had pointed out, is: how do we define profiteering? Sir, high prices alone does not mean that there is profiteering. I think some Members would have heard that there is a shop in Chinatown selling fried rice. The going price for the fried rice is $20 to $25 per plate. Around the neighbourhood there are other shops selling fried rice, $3 to $5 per plate. Is this fried rice seller who is selling at $20 to $25 profiteering? If Singaporeans are prepared to pay that price, instead of going next door, should we prevent them from doing so? Should we ask this shop to close down because it is profiteering? I think the answer must be no. Sir, the price of every item varies in various parts of Singapore. For example, a tin of milk powder, the variation in price would be about 15% in various parts of Singapore. Is the one who is selling 15% higher than the lowest price profiteering? And even from day-to-day and within the same day, there are variations. For example, fishmongers and vegetable sellers towards noon time drop their prices to clear their goods. Were they profiteering earlier on in the morning?”
“Sir, I will take the questions as they were raised. The first four speakers touched on GST and they asked what Government is going to do to contain profiteering and inflation. Sir, the concerns are understandable. They are worried that GST would lead to profiteering, induce a price spiral, and lead to runaway inflation. I will address the concerns in three areas. Firstly, the inflationary threat of GST, what Government can do and will do to prevent profiteering and the forecast of inflation for this year. Sir, let me first assure the House that GST will not lead to high inflation. Singapore is not the first country to implement GST and therefore the lessons that we can gain from the experience of the other countries would be useful. I will be brief. Sir, the International Monetary Fund in 1986 carried out a study on 35 countries which had implemented GST. The finding was that of the 35, 29 countries experienced a one-off increase in inflation and subsequently the inflation rate dropped back to its normal level. What is also important to note is that the increase in inflation rate was in most cases lower than the actual GST rate that was imposed. For example, in Japan (Japan introduced a GST at a rate of 3%, it is the same as Singapore), the increase in the inflation rate, when it was implemented, was only 1.5%, only half that of the GST rate. Mr Koo, on Friday, I think, explained very well the underlying factors that would prevent the GST from having a high inflationary impact on Singapore, mainly low GST rate, our open economy, the offsets that are available, the high threshold for companies. I would like to thank him because he has saved me a lot of time explaining all that, and he is right.”
“Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates for the financial year 1994/1995, and ask leave to sit again on Tuesday, 15th March 1994.”
“The Declarations do not require any endorsement by Government departments, and are used primarily for the compilation of trade statistics. Rationale for the Amendment Sir, the existing procedure for documenting trade with West Malaysia will no longer be adequate when GST is implemented. With effect from 1st April 1994, imports into Singapore from all sources will be subject to GST collection. Exports from Singapore, including re-exports, to all destinations will be eligible for refund of GST. This makes it necessary for all import declarations to be endorsed and scrutinised to ensure that the reporting is accurate for the purpose of GST declaration. The proposed amendment will remove the exemption for Import and Export Permits for trade with West Malaysia to enable the Trade Development Board to scrutinise, if necessary, the declarations of imports from and exports to West Malaysia, and endorse them before they can be accepted at all Customs checkpoint for the clearance of goods. Implementation Sir, with the amendment, the Permit Requirement for trade with Peninsular Malaysia will harmonise Singapore's trade documentation system for all our trading partners, and facilitate the implementation of GST. We plan to implement the new Rules on 1st April 1994, to coincide with the implementation of the GST. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That this Parliament, pursuant to section 4(2) of the Registration of Imports and Exports Act (Chapter 270), resolves that the Registration of Imports and Exports (Amendment) Rules 1994, published as Notification No. S 14 in the Government Gazette Subsidiary Legislation Supplement No. 1 of 7th January 1994, as contained in Paper S.L. 4 of 1994, be approved. CIVIL LIST”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the Motion* standing in my name under item 4 in the Order Paper. *That this Parliament, pursuant to section 4(2) of the Registration of Imports and Exports Act (Chapter 270), resolves that the Registration of Imports and Exports (Amendment) Rules 1994, published as Notification No. S 14 in the Government Gazette Subsidiary Legislation Supplement No. 1 of 7th January 1994, as contained in Paper S.L. 4 of 1994, be approved. Sir, under the current Registration of Imports and Exports Rules, Singapore's imports from and exports to all countries, except Peninsular Malaysia, are required to be supported by Import and Export Permits. With the passing of the new Rules, all imports and exports will thereafter require Import and Export Permits respectively, without exception. This is consistent with international practice. Historical background Sir, the exemption of the requirement for Import and Export Permits for trade with Peninsular Malaysia dates back to the period before 1957, when Singapore was part of the British Straits Settlement. At that time, imports and exports moved freely between Singapore and the various States of Malaya without the need for Permits. When Singapore became independent in 1965, we continued the practice of not requiring Permits for trade with Peninsular Malaysia. In 1967, Singapore legislated the current Registration of Imports and Exports Rules. This requires traders importing from or exporting to West Malaysia by road and rail to deliver a Declaration to the Customs at the Woodlands Customs checkpoint or at the Railway Goods Shed checkpoint. Transport agents for imports from and exports to West Malaysia by sea and air, deliver the Declaration to the Imports and Exports Office.”
“Sir, it is better that the cyclists wait until the trails have been properly laid out. EMMANUEL NYARKO YANKSON (Employment as commodities futures broker) 18. Dr Ahmad Mattar asked the Minister for Finance how the "Man-in-the-Tent", Emmanuel Nyarko Yankson, could become a commodities futures broker in Singapore's respectable financial district. Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: Yankson entered Singapore on 6th February 1991 and was given a two-week social visit pass. He did not extend his pass when it expired. Neither did he obtain an employment pass or a work permit to work in Singapore. As Members are aware, Yankson has been convicted for housebreaking, theft and overstaying in Singapore, and is currently in jail. Between 1991 and the time of his arrest, Yankson worked as a freelance commodity broker for two firms, both of which are not licensed by the authorities. Only companies that trade in gold, financial, energy or rubber futures need to be licensed under either the Futures Trading Act or the Commodity Futures Act. Trading in futures of commodities other than those mentioned above presently are not required to be licensed. The Immigration Department is currently investigating the case with a view to charging the two companies if an offence has been committed. SIXTH AVENUE (Widening and conversion into dual carriageway) 19. Dr Toh Keng Kiat asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether there are any plans to widen and convert Sixth Avenue into a dual carriageway as the density of residential units in the Holland Road/Bukit Timah Road area is increasing.”
“Sir, if the trails are not available, it will be very difficult for cyclists to enter those areas.”
“Sir, the National Parks Board, in collaboration with the PUB, is developing a cycling trail in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR). The first section of the trail is scheduled for opening later this year traversing the eastern periphery of the BTNR. The National Parks Board will later extend the trail into the western area of the BTNR. It is also working with the PUB on developing cycling trails in the central catchment nature reserve which includes the MacRitchie Reservoir.”
“Sir, there is no need to. We will monitor the data for the following months and see what is the sales performance like. RADIO AND TELEVISION LICENCE FEES (Reasons for increase) 11. Mr Koo Tsai Kee asked the Minister for Information and the Arts if he will explain the reasons for the increase in the radio and television licence fees.”
“I did not state that the sales were not affected by the ALS. I said it is not possible to attribute any change to the introduction of the ALS.”
“The preliminary data indicate that retail sales grew by about 1% for businesses within the CBD as well as those outside the CBD.”
“Sir, there are many factors that affect the retail business just like any other business. Some of the factors are competition from other retailers, even within the same shopping complex, the attractiveness of the business location or shopping complex, the merchandising capability of the retailer, the quality of the services offered by the retailer, and of course the product mix offered by the retailer and whether it is relevant to the needs of the potential customers. These and other factors probably have far greater significance than the $2 ALS fee that is being charged. It is therefore not possible to attribute the performance of those who did not do well purely to the presence of the whole-day ALS scheme. Therefore, we do not intend to conduct a survey specifically to find out whether there is any impact of the ALS scheme. Mr Chng Hee Kok: Mr Speaker, Sir, will the Minister tell the House what is this growth in retail sales in January that he mentioned just now?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry has not conducted a survey of retailers and other businesses operating within the CBD specifically to determine the impact of the recently introduced whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS). However, the Department of Statistics carries out a monthly survey of business activities in Singapore including that of the retail sector. About half of the January returns have been received so far. The data shows that retailers within the CBD had about the same growth in sales in January as those outside the CBD. The Government implemented the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme in order to ease the worsening traffic condition in the CBD during business hours. This will ensure that our limited road space in the CBD will be optimally used for the benefit of our economy. Initial surveys by the PWD have shown that the number of cars going into the CBD has dropped by about 10% with the implementation of the whole-day ALS resulting in a smoother traffic flow. This will benefit retailers as an increasingly congested CBD will only deter shoppers who wish to drive into the CBD to shop. Shoppers can also use the extensive public transport system serving the CBD. Furthermore, those who are deterred by the ALS from entering into the CBD during the day can also do their shopping during the evenings and weekends. As more shopping complexes are developed outside the CBD, retailers within the CBD will need to adapt and respond to the new competition. The best assistance the Government can give to retailers is to smoothen traffic flow within the CBD and help maintain it as an attractive shopping location.”
“Sir, can I ask Mr Koo to clarify one point? He stated at the beginning that CASE strongly supports the concept of balance billing. But he also suggested that should there be any problems with the quality of health care, since some doctors have stated that with balance billing, doctors will cut corners, he proposed that we revert to the pre-1986 arrangement whereby Medisave could only be used in the subsidised hospitals. But he did not explain whether CASE will support this as an alternative.”