Yeo Guat Kwang
Singapore
“Madam, a supplementary question. Many are concerned that with the rising manpower cost and manpower shortage, whether the standard of cleanliness and the hygiene level in the hawker centres will also be affected.”
“The Government should consider implementing new disposal standards like Taiwan and the cities in China, as well as roll out assistance schemes similar to the Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV), to encourage the local F&B industry to bring in new technology and provide businesses with grants to purchase kitchen waste disposal machiner…”
“Madam, the Minister of State mentioned that instead of having a one-stop, he is suggesting to provide a better first-stop. So, I hope the Minister of State can elaborate further on how this first-stop can really help.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to seek a few clarifications from the Minister. The Minister mentioned that the Bill targets those dormitories that are housing 1,000 workers and above. But this Bill's name is "Foreign Employee Dormitories Bill". Why do we not call the Bill the "Purpose-Built Dormitory Bill"? That is, we call a spade a spade.”
“I would like to ask the Ministry: why does it not just group all these regulations together under this Bill and apply it to all? Madam, as the legislation is allowed time to take effect, I would also want to urge the Government to continue close consultation and engagement with the operators and migrant worker residents especially, as wel…”
“This is a Bill that touches everyone in one way or another: some of us are pet owners, others are potential pet buyers, business owners, and some of us may be neighbours to pet owners.”
The complete record
Every one of 770 lines we hold for Yeo Guat Kwang, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 14 of 16.
“Sir, in Singapore, we believe strongly in ensuring and maintaining religious harmony and that religion is not misused to fulfil vested interests. I would like to ask whether the Government has a screening mechanism for preventing non-religious groups or political groups to register as a religious society. Recently, we have seen cases where companies and restaurants use religious names, causing discomfort among religious groups. Sir, may I suggest that the Government consider making it mandatory for all religious groups to be registered to be cleared with the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony? This will help to ensure that all societies registered under the name of religion are truly religious in nature. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Let me assure Mr Yeo that the Societies Act ensures that we do not allow any group to carry out undesirable or objectionable activities that are detrimental to society's interest. Sir, there are basically two levels of checks. First, pre-registration; and second, post-registration. While any group of 10 or more persons can apply to register a society, before registering the group the Registrar will check to ensure that the proposed society's objects and activities would not be contrary to public peace, welfare or good order in Singapore or national interest. He also consults relevant agencies, such as MCDS, if it is a religious society. Post-registration, the society's activities would still be subject to our laws. If the society is found to have been used for unlawful purposes or purposes prejudicial to public peace, welfare and good order in Singapore, the Minister may order the dissolution of the society under the Societies Act. Hence, we do not generally have a problem with registered societies in these areas.”
“Sir, the issue has been raised yesterday by other Members and answered by the Minister.”
“We have to pay special attention to this as it concerns the job security of the staff and workers who work in the shipping, stevedoring and logistics industries. I hope the Government will formulate policies and measures to help us maintain our superiority in our sea port. I would like to ask: should the Government build a Jurong Port when PSA is already facing strong competition from other ports in the region? 2.30 pm”
“Sir, all along, Singaporeans have taken pride in our port. For two years running, PSA has won the honour of being ranked the best seaport because of the hard work put in by the PSA staff. The efficiency of the port has won acclaim from all. As it is said, "It is not easy to be No. 1, but maintaining the leading position is even harder." Today, we are facing tremendous competition. This is particularly so when 80% of our business comes from transhipment services. There is no monopoly in this business, and no shippers are duty-bound to stay loyal to any particular port. Shipping companies can transfer their business to any port, depending on the price, service levels, convenience and preference. That Maersk SeaLand sang "Goodbye, My Love" to PSA last year, is only one example. Though the company is contemplating coming back to us, this does not change the fact that we continue to face very keen competition in the business. One real-life example is if 3 million TEUs are handled by Malaysian ports, there will be a drop of 16% in the volume of cargoes handled by our port. Even if shipping companies do not intend to go to other ports, they will ask for more discounts and better rates by applying the pressure of competition. West Port has declared that within the region, their port was next to none, and Tanjung Pelapas said that it was the best alternative port and it intended to surpass PSA to become the darling of the maritime industry. Countries such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka are also trying to become the transhipment hub of the region. Sir, I have confidence in PSA, but I hope that Government would take heed of the tremendous competition faced by our port.”
“Many residents in the private estates felt that roads are being dug up much too frequently by the various departments, such as the Telecoms, PUB, Ministry of the Environment, etc, with one department digging it, patch up, and then another department would come and dig it up again. This lack of coordination among the various departments causes a lot of inconvenience to the residents and danger to the road users.”
“In recent years, the number of fatal accidents happening along the expressways is very alarming. Putting aside the human factor, such as drunken driving, we want to ask whether or not the design of our highways has reached international safety standard. Has LTA conducted any comprehensive inspection on our highways to ensure that the safety of our road users would be protected? We would also like to remove all the objective and environmental factors that would threaten the safety of the road users. Many residents and NTUC members have reflected to me that the safety measures provided to the workers who are doing road repairing or tree pruning works along the highways are not adequate. I hope LTA would enhance the safety measures so that the workers who are doing the road repair or tree pruning works would be adequately protected. In addition, the positioning of the traffic signboards should also be looked into. These signs should give a clear indication as to when there is an exit ahead. If the signboard is positioned too near to the exit, the drivers will not be given sufficient notice to enable them to change lanes safely. Noticing the signboards just before the exits, some rash drivers would just swerve their cars into the lane of the other cars without due care and diligence for the safety of the other users of the road, resulting in some serious accidents. Moreover, very often these road signs are blocked by the trees. I think this is a very common phenomenon. Many residents are also quite unhappy with the frequency of the diggings along the highway and they are questioning whether LTA has been coordinating with the other Ministries.”
“Very well, Sir. I will take the first cut first. (In Mandarin): During the Budget debate last year, I mentioned that the CTE was like a very heavily congested artery and there was a need for us to perform a bypass surgery on it. The residents in the north-eastern part of Singapore are very happy that the Minister has decided to speed up the construction of Kallang/Paya Lebar Expressway. I hope LTA would give us more details and advise us on the time-frame of this work. As for the very congested artery, the CTE, I think the Government should consider putting in a "stent", that is, to expand the bottleneck part on the CTE or even convert some of the roads into two-tier highways. I hope that the Government would seriously look into this matter. I am sure we do not wish to see more toll-gates along the CTE. I think we should convert them into two-tier highways so that the traffic can be more free-flowing. Also, the bottleneck situations at the exits are very serious. Whenever a vehicle comes to the exit, it would run into a traffic jam and the motorists cannot reach their destination on time. Then, all our efforts to make our highway free-flowing would be in vain”
“Sir, I have two cuts. Can I be allowed to take the two cuts together?”
“This two-way narrow road had only two lanes on either side, causing great inconvenience to the residents. This makes us wonder if there is a lack of coordination in the overall planning. Because of earlier partial completion of the new town, the school has to start operating earlier. Nan Chiau Primary School was opened on 2nd January. But right now, buses cannot stop by the side of the school because the bus stop has not been approved by the relevant authority. Therefore, we can see there is a lack of coordination here. I hope that the various Government agencies can improve their coordination. They cannot proceed by the original schedule. They must be more flexible to take into account the development pace and the needs of the residents to make timely adjustment to the plan through better coordination among the various agencies. There are a lot of developments to the Hougang New Town, Punggol Central and Punggol South. But right now, the residents still need to wait for bus services to be strengthened in this area.”
“Sir, as an open economy, we must have a highly efficient land transport system to ensure free traffic flow. Our public roads are like the blood vessels in our body. There should not be any blockage, otherwise our economy would suffer great losses, and our livelihood would be affected. The performance and results of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) since its establishment in 1995, have been very commendable. But we must not be complacent. With rapid development, we must strive to achieve further progress upon our current success. Right now, we have to review to see whether we have effectively implemented the White Paper on a World Class Land Transport network, including the proposed Singapore Underground Road System (SURS). I feel that, more importantly, we should be able to move at a faster pace to improve the public transport for our people. With the completion of the airport extension line and the North-East line, will the Government consider extension of the rail network to link up the major housing estates in Singapore, so that these housing estates can be better served by public transport? Will the Government consider bringing forward the plan to bring LRT to other housing estates, like Sengkang and Bukit Panjang? LTA should let our people know by announcing the schedule and implementation plan for such a scheme so that our people could plan for their future transport arrangements. Sir, with greater efficiency and speed in the construction of public housing in new towns, I hope LTA will also have better coordination with the relevant agencies, like HDB, URA and Ministry of Education. Take Sengkang, for example. Before the commission of the Sengkang East Road on 22nd January, the old Punggol Road was the only approach road to the new town.”
“Sir, to enable Singaporeans to rise up to the challenges in the new economy, they must be computer literate and Internet savvy. However, there is this digital divide between the high and low-income households, and the well-educated versus those who are not. Our HDB heartlanders, older workers and housewives are the group of people who may not have access to computers and, thus, lag behind in embracing an e-lifestyle. The NTUC realises this importance and has pledged to train 10,000 union leaders in basic IT and Internet skills. To date, a few thousand workers have completed their training. NTUC has even tied up with PeoplePC to adminster a programme to give union members access to computers with all the support network for less than $1 a day. However, union members comprise less than 30% of the total workforce in Singapore. I would like to inquire about the plan of the Government to bridge this digital divide for our HDB heartlanders, particularly the older workers and housewives. Is the Government planning to have concrete and structured IT public education programmes to benefit our HDB heartlanders, older workers and housewives? This would definitely speed up the process of the Government's initiative to bring infocomm to all Singaporeans. I am encouraged by the efforts made by some of the grassroots organisations, VWOs and churches to contribute, in their own individual ways, to educate the public on IT. However, there is a limitation to their outreach. I would like to suggest the Government develop a national programme on IT public education, riding on the CDC, PA or PCF network, so that all Singaporeans can have an opportunity to embrace the e-lifestyle. 6.15 pm”
“Perhaps, the Government could consider granting further tax concessions for employers who support the portable medical benefits system or who voluntarily make additional contributions to the employees' medical accounts. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion. TIME LIMIT FOR SPEECHES (Suspension of Standing Orders) With the consent of Mr Speaker and the general assent of Members present, Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No. 45 so as to remove the time limit to enable the Minister for Finance to reply adequately to all the points raised by Members. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng] ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT Debate resumed. 4.50 pm”
“I hope that the Government would consider increasing these funds when there are surpluses and also to raise the ceiling for matching grant to the Community Development Councils (CDCs). This will enable the CDCs to provide better services to the less privileged in our society. I have collated some feedback from the television forum corner, the coffee-shops and meetings of the grassroots organisations, and I would like to present them to the Minister for his consideration: (1) Why is the Government deciding on the amount of rebates on utilities and service and conservancy charges based on the sizes of the HDB flats rather than the combined incomes of the families? Quite a large number of Singaporeans' incomes are not really commensurate with the size of the flat they live in. (2) Can the said rebates be extended to all households? (3) The personal income tax relief has stagnated at $3,000 for many years. Can the Government consider some upward adjustment? (4) The relief for parental care is fixed at $5,000 and $3,500, depending on whether the taxpayer is staying with the parents. Can the Government consider granting the taxpayers who are not living with their parents but are deliberately staying close to their parents so that they could look after them, the higher relief as well? Finally, as we move towards a knowledge-based economy, the economic structure will be facing all sorts of restructuring and changes, and the welfare of our workers will inevitably be affected. The labour movement in Singapore is promoting more flexible labour welfare measures to more effectively protect the interests of our workers, particularly medical benefits. Can the Government consider raising the 2% cap on tax exemption for medical expenses?”
“Whenever the people encounter difficulties, there is always a way out. The only problem is some people are not aware of the relevant measures and where to seek help. With some guidance from other people, they are enlightened, and very often, they will see the light at the end of the channel. However, it is regrettable there are some people, like the NCMP, who are always putting forward some fallacious arguments rather than lending a helping hand to those who need help. They could only exaggerate the problem and inflate the hardship. Their mentality and behaviour are like a song that is made known by the popular Hong Kong star, Roman Tam, "Loving You Is Hurting You". Why should the love become a harm to you? What we need are realistic policies and solutions to the problems, so that our people can survive in the global economy and continue to enjoy better quality of life. Even when there is an income gap, everyone's living conditions can be improved continuously. I am very glad to learn from the Minister that our utilities industry will be further deregulated and the power and gas supply market will be fully opened up. I hope that through competition, cost-effectiveness will be enhanced, thereby relieving our people from the pressure of escalating electricity charges. I hope that the Minister would take some steps to restrain the rise in electricity tariffs. I am also very glad to learn that the Government will increase the Medical Endowment Fund to $800 million as this will imply that more than $30 million will be allocated to the Medifund every year to help the poor in settling their medical bills. The $1 billion Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund would also mean that, every year, $40 million could be spent to finance our workers in training and skill upgrading.”
“I would like to thank Mr Speaker for making me the last speaker on the list but the first to speak after the break. Mr Speaker, Sir, I feel that this year's Budget is a "doughnut" Budget. It is a delicious snack which is favoured by the young and old. But then a friend of mine told me that some Singaporeans would prefer to buy ham jin ben, the Cantonese pancake rather than the doughnut. The reason is that even before you start biting on it, there is already one mouthful missing as there is a hole in the middle of the doughnut. That is why there are some people, like Mr Low Thia Khiang, who would only focus on the little hole but negate the pleasure that comes from the dough ring, and forgetting that the structure of doughnut itself is a ring, and the space in the centre is not a hole. He said that the $230 saving for the lower-income taxpayer is not a saving. He is looking not at a doughnut but a cake. No matter how big the cake is, he would say that it is not big enough. Is he saying that the income tax saving totalling $700 million is not a saving? What kind of logic is this? I do not understand. Mr Speaker, Sir, we are not immortal. We have still to take earthly food and water to survive, and to face the cruel reality. The Government is mortal. It is not a god. It cannot turn stone into gold and cannot answer your every prayer. So what we need is a balanced budget that benefits everybody. Singapore is like a child born to a poor family. It has to rely on itself and work hard to make its mark. We do not have oil. We do not have natural gas. Even water has to be imported. Our society may not be so perfect. But we have very sound systems. Apart from the Government agencies, we have very extensive grassroots network.”
“Our workforce, which is the world's number one, is the nation's best asset we have.”
“It is alarming because hypertension increases kidney disease risk and, on average, a person with high blood pressure is seven times more likely to suffer a stroke. This means that there are more than 655,000 stroke candidates here. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is said that a good worker works hard. In today's workplace, our workers are working so hard that they have been taking their health for granted. Company policies and programmes at work to improve the physical, social and emotional well-being of employees now play an increasingly important role. If health care costs go up, the company's competitiveness will be adversely affected. As a firm believer of prevention is better than cure, I welcome the move by the Government to establish the Health Promotion Board (HPB) as a statutory board to better promote healthy lifestyle and good health for all. It is appropriate that the Government now intensifies its effort in health promotion and preventive health care. Like the PSB for the productivity movement, I hope the HPB will be a champion for good health for all and to provide more resources to help improve the health of our workers and spare them from unnecessary medical expenses. Today, unlike the babies and the young Singaporeans who are students or national servicemen, our working adults are not provided with or subjected to any structured health programmes. Our employers at the same time also tend to be more concerned about the cost of medical treatments only, rather than proactive programmes to improve their workers' health. The idea of a workplace health promotion is still relatively new in Singapore and it has not yet taken root in the private sector. Mr Speaker, Sir, we have to do more in this area to make our workers healthier and happier. We have no other alternative.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill. Before that, I would like to advise Mr Chiam to inform the particular workers to go to NTUC Dental Care. Since 1998, the National Trades Union Congress has taken the initiative to work with companies to set up workplace health programmes. These programmes have two key objectives. One is to help prevent workers from running into hardship as illnesses can cost job losses and increase health expenses. Two, it helps companies save medical cost by keeping their workforce healthy. The companies' bottomline will improve and the workers get better wages. The ultimate goal is to ensure that our workers enjoy a better life with healthy body and healthy mind. We understand that health affects our work performance, earning capacity and our employability. Job creation, job security and good wages will be meaningless if the workers are unable to enjoy the benefits due to poor health. In the past, as mentioned by the Minister, most deaths in Singapore were caused by infectious diseases. Today, it is the lifestyle diseases that take the greatest toll - heart illnesses, cancer and stroke. It is pertinent that now all the tripartite social partners work more closely to help our employees reduce the risk factors in developing all these diseases and illnesses. The National Health Survey done by the Ministry of Health in 1998 found that the level of high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure among Singaporeans has increased. The survey showed that hypertension was more common among the elderly workers - 49.5% of those aged between 50 and 59, that is half of this age group, and 64.3% for those aged 60 to 69.”
“I would like to ask the Minister this question. There is a saying, "when you borrow you must pay back." Is it not reasonable for the employers' CPF contribution which was cut during the crisis to be returned to the workers, now that the crisis is over?”
“But I am asking clarification from the Minister.”
“I would like to ask the Minister whether he would consider extending the age limit beyond 65 years for the Home Protection Insurance Scheme. With longer life span among our people, would he consider further fine-tuning the scheme? In my mind, the tripartism of labour-management-Government relationship is based on the basic understanding of mutual benefit and mutual help. It is not built on the basis, as alleged by Mr Tay Beng Chuan, to put unreasonable demand on the employers. Mr Tay accused the Government of putting pressure on the employers without taking into consideration their predicament. Can that be true? Employees in Singapore worked very hard and made sacrifices during the crisis to help their employers tide over the difficult times to survive the crisis. They took a pay cut and CPF cut to help the companies reduce their business cost. The employers should not keep on asking the employees to make sacrifices whenever they are in trouble. Should the employers not take other measures to solve their own business problems? I am very saddened by the employers' lack of recognition of the employees' sacrifices.”
“In order for the companies to implement this flexible wage or flexible time arrangement scheme for the workers, the Ministry of Manpower may want to review the present legislation, for example, the present system of 44 hours a week. For some industries, particularly in the knowledge-based economy, we should review whether we should have a better reward system and better wages for the workers who are on this flexi-time arrangement. We should look at the results rather than the number of hours they work. In this way, the workers can have more liberty to allocate their time so that they have a balance between their work requirement and family needs. Singapore has overcome many challenges over the years. Among others, this challenge of enabling our workers to balance the work with their family is a daunting one. But it is by no means insurmountable. We have proved to be very adept at finding innovative ideas and solutions to resolve our present problems in the past. This time round, I am sure, if we have to make changes, we should make them. Employers should take an enlightened view and with the encouragement from the Government and the cooperation from the unions and the workers, I am quite confident that we would be able to create an ideal work environment and an ideal home for our workers. EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) Resolved, That the proceedings on the item of business under discussion be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No. 1. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORK PRACTICES Debate resumed.”
“The NTUC also promotes the employment of part-time workers and articulates the relevant legislation to protect and enhance the benefits for part-time and contract workers, so that workers need not give up their work just because of family commitment. However, some workers may still perceive flexible work arrangement as their employers' way to squeeze more out of them so as to make more profit. Some see flexible work arrangement as temporary or short-term employment. I think that workers should not worry too much about this. The labour movement would like to work with employers and the Government on this subject more actively. We will have to make sure that employers treat workers fairly when they reorganise work to gain more flexibility. We should also ensure that unions are consulted when companies implement new work arrangements. It is in the trade union's interest to help workers keep their jobs and have greater certainty in their incomes in spite of the peaks and lulls of the business cycle. This type of arrangement, on one hand, will improve the company's productivity and, on the other hand, will help the workers to look after their families. Whether the economy is booming or whether it is in recession, we must make sure that the worker's job is secure and he will have a steady income. We do not need to have a uniform style or model and we do not need all the companies to implement such a scheme. Because in different companies, there are different circumstances and the companies should design their own work schedules in a way that is most suitable to them.”
“The Ministry of Education has set a good example by implementing the new part-time teachers scheme. With such an alternative, the teachers need not opt out of the labour market totally when they need more time for family commitments. So they can be said to enjoy the best of both worlds with a very good balance between family needs and work requirements. Sir, with this very competitive environment, the company's business may go up, and sometimes they may go down. When there are more orders coming in, the companies will have to meet their obligations, and their margins are often very thin. If they have no orders and if there is no work to be carried out, the company's cost remains very high. Under the circumstances, if the employers do not find some ways to improve, and make the economics right, in the end it would be the workers who will suffer most. Many of them will lose their job because the company was relocated to save cost. I believe that all the workers and employers know the advantage of the flexi-time scheme, and many of the workers are actually taking the initiative to ask their companies to allow them to work on a flexible time system so that they can have more time with their families. So the management should respond promptly and find feasible ways to implement such flexi-time schemes. The unions in Singapore support labour market flexibility with flexible work arrangements. The NTUC has, over the years, put in considerable efforts in promoting flexible and family-friendly work environment through a number of tripartite programmes such as back-to-work and setting up of eldercare and childcare cooperatives, etc.”
“The report also states that by the flexi-work schedule many advantages are derived, because every time an employee leaves his employment to meet family needs, employers not only incur cost in replacing the employee but also lose the wealth of experience and the tacit understanding and teamwork that has been built up over the years. This type of loss is very substantive. This family-friendly sort of arrangement is not impossible in Singapore. In fact, some unions and management have worked out flexible arrangements, for example, Singapore Power, Singapore Technologies Aerospace and the restructured hospitals have enjoyed some very successful experience. At the Changi General Hospital and Kandang Kerbau Hospital, they had such a scheme for their staff two to three years ago. The results have been very encouraging. This experience should be a good example for the others to emulate. Besides lower absenteeism, staff morale is higher. Staff dedication and commitment became more prevalent and an enhanced level of service is for all to see. There are a lot of advantages in this sort of practice. It is something that is worth a try. This is a win-win situation for both the employers and employees. There is no reason why we should not adopt such a practice. Flexible working schedules that incorporate lifestyle aspect is a much better arrangement. I feel that the employers should believe in such practices. Be prepared to give them a try and see how the system can evolve. The management must be the drivers of such changes. The employers have much to gain to explore initiatives such as flexible work arrangements so that they can attract and retain the best employees. This is evidenced by the experience in the United States and in some of the companies in Singapore.”
“Although some women-folk are still at home looking after their family and children, many women have to go out to work because of the need for money. They have to return to the workforce to help contribute to the family. Today, there are many women who possess stronger economic power. They work not merely to supplement the family income. In fact, the income of women nowadays contributes a greater portion to the total income of the family. Many women are in a situation whereby they simply could not afford to give up their jobs to look after the family because they know very well that once they drop out of the workforce, they will not be able to catch up with the fast pace of changes in the business world, and they will lose their employability forever. Sir, from the above, we now need to have employers to look at avenues where they can put in place all the necessary facilities and flexi-working arrangement to help the women to balance the needs of work and the family. During the 21st century, the male workers also need flexible working arrangements to help look after the family and their children. The tripartite partnership should help to look for such pro-family working arrangements so that they could balance the needs of family and work responsibility. The statistics show that in Singapore the proportion of employees in the flexi- time work arrangement is only 0.06% in 1998 compared to 28% in the United States. The experiences of family-friendly companies in the US have manifested to them the benefits of productivity gains, higher staff retention and lower absenteeism and reduction in recruitment and training cost.”
“I rise to support the motion standing in the name of Dr Lily Neo. Today, the workplace is no longer the same as before. With new technology and widespread use of IT, new mindsets and different aspirations have drastically changed the way we work. The end result is a frenetic pace of work. We cannot stop or reverse the changes brought about by the new economy. Nor should we. We must be prepared to change or else change will overwhelm us and undermine our survival. Constant adaptation and upgrading of skills are the order of the day. Workers should be adequately equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge to enhance their employability. The changes taking place at work also have profound implications on the family. As a matter of fact, the trend of the new economy plus the development of our social and family structure have made it more and more difficult for our workers to strike a balance between the family and the workplace. The present small-family structure has caused us to lose the closely-knit network and mutual assistance among members of the family. In a family where both the husband and wife have to go out to work, they no longer enjoy the support of other family members as in the traditional big families. Many workers are sandwiched between maintaining their parents and raising their young children. There are abundant problems. Sir, more and more workers find it difficult to balance the demands of work and family. The gradual rise in women's participation in the work force is the key reason why the family is under more stress now than in the past. With more and more women participating in the labour force it has become more difficult. Therefore, we have to look at this problem.”
“So long as the Government can implement the principles, that is, to ensure that the less fortunate are properly looked after, in other words, we must have a good government so that we can attract investments and create more jobs for the people in Singapore, then we will have a good and stable working environment. The trade unions will support this salary revision. The trade unionists also agree with building the bonus system into the scheme. The AUPE representative hoped that the PSD will further enhance its transparency in the evaluation of public sector employees, especially those who have become trade union leaders. If possible, they will ensure that these trade unionists will not suffer under the scheme. I hope the Government, in revising the salaries of the public sector, will also expedite the work redesign and re-engineering in the public sector so as to further enhance the efficiency of the public service. I hope that the Government will benchmark the bonuses and other incentive awards with our GDP and other development indicators. They must also take into account the social indicators and standard of living of the lower-income group. What we want is a public service that cares, one that does not sacrifice the "human touch" for efficiency.”
“We often say that for lovers in love, they can survive on water and fresh air only. But how long can they survive? If we want our horses to run well, we must feed them well. How can you deny the horses of their feeds, yet expect them to gallop well? We should not inhibit the able and talented people to earn the rewards which they truly deserve. If they are good, pay them handsomely to commensurate with what they are worth. In an open society like Singapore, we should permit "adding flowers to brocade". As a unionist, I feel that while practising "adding flowers to brocade", we should not forget also to "send hot charcoal to the needy during snowy weather". The Government must try and do its best to upgrade the low-income and low-skilled workers so that they too would have the opportunity to upgrade themselves and have a share in the fruits of our economic success. They should be given the necessary assistance in time of need. More importantly, we must ensure that children of every Singaporean, irrespective of their family background, should be given the equal starting point, to receive good education, so that children from the lower-income group will also have the opportunity to get out of the poverty trap. There is a widening income gap among the top earners and bottom earners. There is this V-shape going up all the time. But this is not the problem. The key is whether the Government-employer-employee tripartitism can continuously work together to level up the "V", that is, to continuously push up the bottom line of our incomes. This morning, we conducted a dialogue session with our trade union leaders. All the leaders raised their hands in support of this salary revision.”
“Because we do not want to be like many other countries in the world which have fallen into the pit of quicksand of money politics. Neither do we want to be a country using the "little above board and plenty under the table" kind of reward system. As a matter of fact, this kind of transparent salary system for our Ministers and civil servants who have sacrificed a lot, is one which can be described as a "win-win" system for both the Ministers and the masses. As it is often quoted by the Opposition Member, "After all, the wool still comes from the sheep's back." (meaning in the long run, whatever you are given, you pay for it). However, we must stress that if you want to have the wool, you must also ensure that the sheep can grow with good health. Then only will we have the wool to shear. Let me give you another illustration. If a farmer can rear the chickens well, then he will have eggs to harvest, and the better your chicken, the better eggs you will get. If a farmer has developed a special skill to make his chicken produce golden eggs, then the golden eggs should be his rewards. On the contrary, if the farmer cannot rear his chickens well, then he gets only sick or even dead chickens. He can forget about having eggs to eat. There is a Chinese saying that people need food to sustain their lives, while the nation is built upon its people. Our leaders and civil servants have to work very hard to earn their rewards. In Singapore, to become political leaders by itself is a sacrifice. Like doctors and teachers, the political leaders too make their own sacrifices. We should remunerate them well so that they would dedicate themselves to serving the nation and the people, without having to worry about providing for their families and their children.”
“They hope that their children will grow up healthily, live in a safe country and have jobs that provide them with a stable income. Let us take a look at all these hopes and aspirations. We all feel that, as Singaporeans, we should be very proud and happy because many of those things that remain as dreams for the people in many parts of the world have become a reality in Singapore. Most, if not all, of the Singaporeans' dreams have become realities. We must continue to put in our efforts to ensure that our people, especially the younger generation, will continue to enjoy this kind of very good social environment. A friend of mine once told me that there are three types of government in the world. The first type of government consists of those who sit back and depend on their national resources to finance the government's spending and eventually squander away all the national wealth. The second type is a government consisting of people who work very hard to create wealth - for themselves. The third type is a government comprising able people who work hard to create wealth for the country and help the people to enhance their assets and share the fruits of success brought about by the government. We cannot find anywhere on the map of the world any other country like the little red dot of Singapore. Yet, our system and our hardworking people have made us outstanding and different. It is only here in Singapore that we have this kind of transparency to discuss the question of how to implement meritocracy for good government to continue to help the country prosper and develop. What we want in this kind of system of transparency is reward based on merit.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, on behalf of the trade unions, I would like to thank the Government for agreeing to credit the unused portions of the annual $350 cap on outpatient subsidy for civil servants who are on the Medisave and Subsidised Outpatient Treatment (MSO) scheme into the Medisave account of the officers. This is a shot in the arm for the unionists' effort to make our medical benefit more portable, and it is a great encouragement to our unionists and gives them more confidence in making representations to the Government on behalf of the workers to review their welfare and benefits. I support the DPM's proposal for revision of salaries for civil servants. As we enter the 21st century, the nature and model of a global economy are undergoing great changes. This is a vast world with blurred boundaries. Compared to the time when we detached ourselves from the British rule some 40 years ago, the Singapore of today has seen a 70-fold increase in our GDP. We have already attained great achievements in social and economic fields. Recently, the Housing and Development Board handed out the 800,000th key to the owner of a brand new HDB flat. 90% of Singaporeans own their own flats. Even among the bottom 10% of our people, some 65% own their 3-room or bigger HDB flats. Sir, we have read in various literature and newspapers that different people in different regions, irrespective of their races and nationalities, have some common aspirations. They do not want to be dependent on others. They wish to have their own homes. They also hope that their children have education and everybody craves for the country to be prosperous and the people live in peace and harmony.”
“I would like to ask DPM what would be the Government's response towards those workers who wish to ask their employers to pay their salaries in cash so that they can avoid the bank charges. BG Lee Hsien Loong: I think it would be the wrong direction to go because if the employer does his sums properly, he will conclude that it is better for him to pay the worker $2 to pay his bank fees than it is to spend the afternoon paying in cash. I used to be in National Service and many Members used to be in National Service. Do you know what the pay officer does? He puts on his full battle order. He brings his rifles. He draws rounds. He mobilises two land rovers. He sets up a control room with a big radio set and then he monitors the convoy going to the bank drawing the cash, coming back and then he posts guards and lines up the troops. The whole afternoon is spent paying people money. We did all this because we had one armed robbery and an officer died. So I do not think we really want to go back there.”
“May I ask the Minister of State whether the Ministry would consider working with CAAS and LTA to help in better protecting the workers who service the trains on MRT and LRT tracks and those who service aircraft in the airport round-the-clock?”
“Can the Ministry of Education consider allowing the neighbourhood schools to have more flexibility in implementing the one-kilometre radius priority rule, for the benefit of all those who live within walking distance of the school? Perhaps we should bring these cases forward to Phase 2(a) instead of Phase 2(c).”
“Sir, I hope that the Ministry of Education would review the school admission system. Let me give you an illustration. A mother looked at the plot of vacant land near her HDB flat. Words got round that the Government was going to build a primary school there. She was full of expectations. "Good," she said, "next time, my boy can just walk to school. No need to take a bus. Save time, save money." Soon, piling works started. Noise, dust, and all sorts of inconvenience. Never mind! Suffer a bit now, but think of all the conveniences next time. It is worth it! More noise, more dust, and the children suffered plenty of mosquito bites because of the patches of water at the work-site. Endure it silently. Finally, the building was completed, and the school began to enrol its first batch of students. Now, the boy was all geared up to go to school next door. When registration started, the boy was eligible under Phase 2(c). Alas! When it was time for Phase 2(c) registration, the school was fully enrolled. Registration closed. No more place. Now, mother brings her son downstairs to take the school bus to a school which is one hour's ride away. She looks at the brand-new school building, and all the cheerful boys and girls running and playing away. Flag-raising ceremony, and the National Anthem is sung. She clutched her fist and held it against her chest. Was she singing the National Anthem? No, she was singing the pop song: "You are my pain in the heart"! I hope that the Ministry of Education can understand the predicament of all these young couples who stay near the neighbourhood schools, yet cannot find a place there for their children.”
“The locally trained CL teachers are able to not only impart language skills to the students but instill in them a strong national identity. Today, we are faced with the serious problem of a shortage of teachers. Immediate steps must be taken to train more CL teachers. We should not be too dependent on foreign sources. As for those foreign CL teachers we have recruited, are they required to undergo some orientation programme in Singapore to understand our local situation here before they are deployed to teach in our schools? This is because different countries have different education objectives. Are these foreign CL teachers familiar with our educational goals and objectives of our mother tongue education? This is something which we should take note of. Is MOE considering retaining the good foreign teachers and let them take on more important roles in our educational system? Sir, I feel that recruitment of foreign CL teachers should be just an interim measure. In the long term, the solution lies in training more young Singaporeans to become mother tongue teachers.”
“MOE has been taking a long-term view and has been correct in its judgement when it formulates education policies to identify talents to be nurtured to meet the needs of the nation and society. This is to be applauded. I do not agree with the views expressed by Mr Inderjit Singh. Only a small minority of students find it difficult to study the mother tongue. Therefore, they should not undermine the interest of the majority of the students. The bilingual education policy must be continued. Not long ago, MOE published a report by the Chinese Language Review Committee. Many of its recommendations on the teaching of Chinese language have been adopted and implemented. This includes the modification of syllabus, revision of textbooks and the teaching of Chinese literature and history in order to supplement the teaching and learning of mother tongue and to train more students to have a better command of the mother tongue, culture and language, in order to be effectively bilingual. But to achieve such objectives we must have enough CL teachers to help implement such policies. Sir, I would like to know what is the shortfall of CL teachers in both primary and secondary schools. Will there be a shortage of CL teachers in the next five to 10 years' time? What measures are being contemplated by the Ministry to tackle the problem? Sir, a language teacher's task is not just to impart language skills to the students. He must also inculcate correct values among the students and teach them to be good citizens. In this regard, CL teachers have all along taken upon themselves the sacred duty of imparting knowledge as well as instilling moral values in the minds of the students, thus achieving the twin objects of mother tongue education.”
“In conclusion, in propelling Singapore's sports industry in a new time, injection of subsidies for housing development, leadership development and assistance in organising international sports events for our National Sports Associations are very crucial.”
“Sir, I would like to first declare my interest as the President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association. Sir, the Government has provided a strong injection into the development of sports by incorporating sports into the Community Development Ministry. The National Sports Associations have embraced this move as a positive inclination towards Government's emphasis on the growth of the sports industry in Singapore. At present, the Singapore Sports Council's Sports Excellence programme, with a number of assistance schemes, provides a basic framework and infrastructure for our sports development. Our National Sports Associations have been categorised and received different amounts of subsidies from the scheme. However, this is not sufficient. More support should be considered for the areas of concern, such as technical development of the core sports and a more structured leadership development programme for all the NSAs. Another key area of concern is the housing scheme for the various NSAs. Homes for our National Sports Associations are important. I hope the Government could evaluate on the various sports housing schemes for our National Sports Associations. Sir, the local sports fraternity also needs human capital. Scholarships and a tailored tertiary education programme should be considered and provided in this respect to assist the growth of the industry. And I hope more support would also be given for the organisation of international sports events in Singapore, like the recent 14th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship. This will give Singapore a new light as a country with a positive outlook towards international sports development.”
“Sir, for young parents living in new HDB estates, looking for a childcare centre to look after their young children is invariably a big problem. In the new estates like Punggol and Sengkang, because of the great number of young couples, the need for childcare centres is also very great. Last year, in my constituency, I requested the NTUC to open a new childcare centre. This childcare centre has yet to start operation but already the list is full. Some parents are very anxious, particularly those who have no relatives to look after their children. The MCD should also coordinate with HDB in the development of these new towns, providing more childcare centres to satisfy the needs of the people. I hope that MCD would empathise with the worried young parents and should not only depend solely on the old data of demand and supply. We should also consider other factors. In Singapore, working mothers' participation in the workforce is relatively low compared to other countries. The main factor is because there is no one to look after their children. Can we do as in the European countries to provide more subsidy to professional childcare providers so as to encourage more women to go back to work? More importantly, providing more childcare facilities will reduce our dependence on foreign domestic help. Sir, we now have 100,000 foreign maids. I hope that we should let children in the 3-6 years old age group be looked after by well qualified and trained childcare operators, and we should not leave them to foreign maids who come from different cultural and language backgrounds. The formative ages of 3-6 years old are very important to the development of children.”
“Sir, with the aging of our population, a lot of resources utilised for creating wealth may have to be used to nurse the aged sick. So more Government policies will have to be formulated towards the elderly and health sector. There will also be enormous burden and responsibility placed on the fewer younger Singaporeans in looking after their aged sick, and the price that they pay will be greater day by day. Therefore, whilst we should continue to review our health programmes to provide a high standard of healthcare, we must also intensify and strengthen the cooperation between the various healthcare sectors to ensure that cost of healthcare services for our older people remain affordable. The Ministry of Health recently announced that it plans to increase the private sector's share for nursing homes to 40%. Is 40% the right balance? How could we ensure that we will have adequate nursing care for the aged be provided by the private sector, because the commercial nursing homes are more concerned about business bottom line? Therefore, under such circumstances, is it proper to ask the private sector to shoulder this responsibility of looking after our aged sick, and to provide them with a high quality of service?”
“And moreover, how do we assure Singaporeans that, despite the escalating hospitalisation bills, they will continue to have sufficient savings or monies in their Medisave accounts?”
“Sir, the 1998 National Health Survey found that Singaporeans above the age of 50, particularly those above 60 years old have the most health risks. Many in this age group suffer from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar content. This means that there are more than 655,000 stroke candidates here. Sir, in 1999, 10,000 Singaporeans suffered a stroke. Perhaps, it must be pointed out that high incidence of illness among Singaporeans, particularly the elderly, is due to lifestyle much more than age. Sir, I am a firm believer of prevention is better than cure. Whilst we invest millions of dollars towards medical treatment, I hope the Ministry of Health could also spend much thought and more budget on preventive measures. I would also like to urge the Ministry of Health to consider tax incentives for employers who invest in workplace health programmes to help their employees stay healthy, like those schemes we have in place to provide for those industries who promote industrial safety. Sir, we have a Government who cares and recognises that healthcare must be of high quality and affordable. The Government has instituted many schemes and programmes towards this end. The 3Ms - Medisave, MediShield and Medifund - are prime examples. However, our challenge remains. How do we ensure that the premium and co-payment for Medisave will remain affordable? There are literatures issued by private insurance companies which pointed to the fact that hospitalisation bills will increase. Hence, will the 3Ms be sufficient? Can the MediShield remain affordable and effective, such that the premium, the co-payment and the number of illnesses excluded from prior coverage will not rise?”
“Although such cases are few and far between, maybe, one out of 10,000, it does nevertheless have an undermining effect on our reputation, and give our neighbouring countries a wrong impression that we have treated our foreign employees very badly in Singapore. So we must consider measures to deal with such irresponsible employers. But I think, more importantly, with our globalisation and economic reform, we should substantively reduce our dependence on foreign labour. In the sectors which are more dependent on foreign workers, such as the construction industry, I hope the Ministry of Manpower will try and help the industry to raise their productivity by introducing innovative construction methods to cut down their manpower requirements. MOM should shorten the timeframe in tightening the Man-Year-Entitlement. I also hope that the Ministry of Manpower would look into the accommodation condition for the foreign workers. We must tackle the problem at the roots. Here, I would like to ask the Minister whether the present system of work permit allocation has achieved its desired outcome and does the Ministry have any plan to reduce the problems of repatriation. 1.30 pm”
“Sir, Singapore is a small country with a small population. To a certain extent , we have been depending on foreign workers to help sustain our economic development. Take local factories, for example. But for the great number of foreign workers to make up for the shortfall in our local workforce in this sector, we would not be able to sustain the momentum of our production in Singapore, and the factories would not have survived. In turn, the survival of these factories provides our local labourers with the opportunities for employment. Therefore, our trade unions and people also recognise and affirm the contributions of the foreign workers. Sir, I recently attended the ILO Asia-Pacific Seminar on Foreign Workers. It was established at the seminar that as compared to other countries, Singapore is in a better position to give better protection and benefits to the foreign workers. At last year's Labour Day celebration, the Minister for Manpower said that foreign workers enjoyed equal legal protection and the various basic welfare schemes as our local workers in Singapore. In certain circumstances, the Government even went to the extent of amending the Criminal Procedure Code to give greater protection to the foreign workers, like the domestic maids. The number of foreign workers in Singapore is very large. We have about 400,000 foreign workers in Singapore. In the media, we have occasions to learn of incidents of ill treatment or abuse of foreign workers. For example, on the 5th of March, Lianhe Wanbao mentioned the poor living conditions of some workers and cases of abuse of foreign domestic maids. From the picture, we could see that it is like an indented labour hostel during the colonial days.”
“Sir, since the NTUC has committed to support and fund the training of all its 10,000 union leaders for basic IT and Internet, I would like to ask the Minister of State whether his Ministry can request the People's Association to do the same for all the grassroots leaders.”
“I agree with the views expressed by Mr Chay Wai Chuen and Prof. Toh. In this era of Information technology, information and knowledge travel very fast from one part of the world to another. News on what is happening in this part of the world is transmitted very quickly to another part of the world. As such, we must speed up our efforts to equip our people with at least some basic knowledge in IT so that they would be able to use this network to obtain all the information they want, quickly and accurately. The broadband network is a very important infrastructure. If we say that the land transport system is like blood vessels, then the broadband is like the nervous system in the body. We must spread it throughout the nation and everyone would have a feel of what is happening in the world in order to make appropriate responses promptly. Since the Government is financing the development and construction of the land transport system, the MRT system and the telephone system, why is it that the Government has not considered financing the installation of the broadband network infrastructure, so that broadband access is more affordable to our people? From what I know, SCV's charge for use of the broadband is almost double that of Hong Kong's.”
“Sir, our seaport has all along been our pride. Credit must be given to all our cargo operators, the PSA group and all the port workers. Our port has now enjoyed a reputation as one of the busiest ports in the world and it has won praises from all quarters. For this reason, our seaport has become the favourite and true love of the ocean shippers in this region. However, we are troubled by recent media reports that some shipping companies, including NOL, are beginning to be unfaithful to us. They are falling out and they have forsaken their old love for the new love and singing "Good-bye, my love" to us. These rumours are very strong. We keep reading it in the newspapers. The names of third parties such as Port Klang and Tanjong Pelapas are mentioned again and again. It looks as though they will soon become the new loves of the maritime industry in this region. I would like to know whether the Government has any good policy to ward off the advances of the third party so that we will not be forsaken by the shippers. Will the Maritime and Port Authority consider opening some of our berths for the shipping companies to operate and manage, like the way it is done in Hong Kong?”
“Sir, with more and more new towns being developed, like Sengkang and Punggol 21, nowadays the HDB estates are getting bigger and bigger. Sengkang is bigger than Ang Mo Kio, and the density is very high. There are more and more people in each new town. Therefore, we should have a very good public transport system for the convenience of the residents there. I would like to know whether there is any coordination between LTA and HDB in this aspect, so that the residents would not have to move into a new town where there are no buses running. It would have been very inconvenient. Also, the construction of bus stops should also be planned in advance, so that they could be completed before the residents move in. In this way, they would not have to suffer from the strong sun and rain when they are waiting for buses. We should also have some direct buses from the city to the new towns. For example, Service No. 572 goes all the way from Lorong Chuan to Shenton Way. Such an express bus service is very convenient for the residents, and many car owners may even turn to taking the bus instead of driving to town. However, I feel that this type of bus service has not received much attention, because the numbers of these buses are not found on the bus stops. Once when I went to this bus stop, I was not sure which buses were passing that way and whether the bus routes were still operating. I hope the LTA would encourage more operators to provide such direct express service so that the residents in the new towns would enjoy this benefit.”