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.”
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“If organisations such as NKF fail, the consequences would be dire. In the USA, the support is more comprehensive with concerted efforts from the Government, insurance companies, the community and dialysis centres. With an ageing population, I hope the Government will go more into preventive healthcare and provide more support to Singaporeans who are chronically ill. ElderShield and Active Ageing”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] It is best to stay healthy; falling sick is no fun. Chronic illness will take an even higher toll on the patients. I would like to ask MOH about its plans and efforts to support Singaporeans who are chronically ill patients, particularly those who need expensive and long-term care. I am concerned especially with those suffering from kidney failure and needing dialysis. Is the Ministry doing enough to support them and the organisations that help them live a better quality of life? Take kidney failure, for example, I understand that about 750 people are diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure every year and this figure is rising. In Singapore, NKF is the biggest and only provider of dialysis treatment in Singapore and cares for about 60% of the kidney failure patients. The increased Page: 84 demand means organisations such as NKF are struggling to build enough centres and are facing cost pressures associated with caring for their patients. How would the organisation invest in building its capacity to meet the increasing demand? I would also like to ask the Ministry about the current demand for dialysis and how many private service providers are starting up? What is the ratio of this private-to-public supply of dialysis? The Government must step up its effort in providing citizens with such services. Currently, breakdown of dialysis funding for an average patient is that NKF foots 40% of the cost, paid for by donor contributions. Insurance or MediShield makes up about 38%, employers pay 2% and the patient pays about 8% of the bill. Government assistance comes up to about 9%. Can the Government look into reviewing its quantum of assistance for NKF and other VWO dialysis organisations?”
“With effect from 1 June 2014, new applicants for catering licences are required to submit an FSMS plan to NEA within the first three months of the licence issuance date. Existing caterer licensees will be required to submit a plan three months before the renewal of their licence. With this new measure, we aim to improve the standard of food hygiene in Singapore so as to better protect the well being of Singaporeans. Madam, many of the things that we do in NEA and MEWR are not considered exciting or glamorous in the eyes of the public. They are nevertheless executed with determination and commitment as we are deeply Page: 35 aware of their impact on the well being of Singaporeans. From keeping the environment clean, maintaining a high standard of public and food hygiene, curtailing rodent and insect infestation, our officers take pride in our work knowing that we help keep Singapore clean and give Singaporeans a good living environment. I would also like to pay tribute to the many thousands of cleaners that we have in Singapore who tirelessly work to keep the environment clean. We call on all Singaporeans to help us, help ourselves in keeping Singapore clean and free of publicly transmitted diseases. Let us be gracious and considerate to one another, to our cleaners, to our enforcement officers as we aspire to be a truly gracious society with a big heart.”
“Good housekeeping can also prevent the public health threat of food poisoning that Member Mr Charles Chong talked about. We have seen food poisoning incidents occur in a range of establishments from hotels – that Mr Charles Chong mentioned – to childcare centres. In particular, food catering tended to be of high risk. Caterers typically prepare a wide variety of food, in large quantities, store the food for some time before it is consumed by the customers. In 2012, food caterers had the highest food poisoning incidence rate amongst all types of food outlets. In addition, the average number of people affected per food poisoning incident was the highest for food caterers. Mr Charles Chong suggested shortening the period within which refresher food hygiene certification must be obtained. Currently, food operators whose licences are suspended for hygiene lapses will have to send their food handlers for retraining before they are allowed to resume work. Aside from training, we need to do more to maintain high food hygiene standards at all times. In February last year, NEA introduced the food time-stamping system where catering companies are required to indicate the time by which the food should be consumed. NEA and SPRING have also been working with the industry to develop a Singapore Standard on Food Safety Management. The Singapore Standard will guide the industry on the design and implementation of a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) which will include Standard Operating Procedures on food hygiene and risk control measures. One such risk factor is human. Under the FSMS, operators have to ensure that food handlers practise good food and personal hygiene at all times and that they do not work when they are ill.”
“Please also protect yourselves and your families against mosquito bites so that we can break the chain of transmission. We need to work together to manage dengue. Rodents thrive where there are sources of food like uncovered food waste or improper storage of food. The root cause of rodent infestation is poor refuse management and housekeeping. As such, maintaining good sanitation and housekeeping is our key rodent control strategy. Member Mr Pritam Singh asked what the Ministry would do to help curb the rodent population. Rodent infestation is a more serious problem in town centres and areas with high concentration of food premises. Eighty-one percent of rodent burrows found were in HDB estates. To address this problem, NEA has worked with the Town Councils since 2011 under the Rat Attack Programme to mitigate rat problems in their estates. The Rat Attack Programme resulted in a significant 40% decrease in the number of burrows. At the same time, residents and food shops operators should also play their part in proper refuse management and housekeeping practices to reduce the food sources available to the rodent population. Last year, the Rat Attack Programme was carried out in 13 public areas with high number of food retail establishments, also with high human traffic and frequent observation of rodent activities. The programme led to a significant 93% reduction in the number of rodent burrows, from 348 at the start of last year to 26 by December 2012. NEA has also carried out outreach efforts to engage the stakeholders. A rodent control seminar was jointly organised by NEA and the Singapore Pest Page: 34 Management Association (SPMA) in August last year with participants comprising building managing agents, food court operators and pest control operators.”
“Over 3,000 advisories have been issued since 15 January. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah also asked about our next steps on smoking in public places. My Ministry will explore further extensions of the smoking ban and clearer designation of smoking areas as she has suggested. On dengue, as shared by Minister Balakrishnan last month, we have observed an increase in the less common Dengue Type 1 (DEN-1) and Dengue Type 3 (DEN-3) viruses against which the community has lower immunity. This contributed to the latest spike in dengue cases. We agree with Member Ms Sylvia Lim that research is important to improve prevention and management of dengue cases. Our Environmental Health Institute (EHI) has actively collaborated with dengue research and control communities locally and internationally. Its designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre is a recognition of its quality and extensive collaborative network. Page: 33 As part of the local dengue consortium comprising universities and hospitals, the EHI has worked on STOP Dengue, a Translation and Clinical Research programme funded by the National Medical Research Council. Ms Sylvia Lim mentioned the human antibody which could potentially limit the effects of Dengue 1 – this is one of the many projects the consortium is working on. Until we find a vaccine against dengue viruses, the most effective strategy remains source eradication. Our officers are deployed to carry out daily operations particularly in areas where dengue is currently transmitting. NEA's inspections show that 70% of dengue breeding sites detected are in homes. I urge everyone to conscientiously check potential dengue breeding spots, such as flower pots and roof gutters, at least once a week.”
“Currently, on top of the composition fines, recalcitrant offenders can be sent to court where, either a fine of up to $1,000 for the first conviction in court or a Corrective Work Order requiring them to clean public areas for up to a maximum of 12 hours, or both, may be imposed. We are considering increasing the maximum court fine for recalcitrant offenders to $2,000 for the first court conviction, $4,000 for the second Page: 32 conviction and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions. We need the public's support for more effective surveillance, enforcement and deterrence. Through greater community involvement, we can build a strong sense of social pressure against littering. Through effective and enhanced enforcement, we can send a strong signal that it is better to dispose of your litter properly. In short, we will not tolerate littering and cannot rely solely on cleaners to keep Singapore clean. We need everyone to help us make the transition from being a "cleaned" city to a "clean" one. Next, I would like to address the public health issues of second-hand cigarette smoke, dengue, rodent and food hygiene. We have just extended the smoking ban on 15 January 2013 to more areas to protect non-smokers from the effects of second-hand smoke. The ban now includes common areas within residential buildings, sheltered linkways and walkways, overhead pedestrian bridges, outdoor hospital compounds, and a five-metre radius around all public bus shelters. Our officers and ambassadors are going around to the new prohibited areas to educate smokers about the new rules. To give smokers time to understand and adjust to the new law, we have been issuing advisories, instead of summons, to smokers caught smoking at these newly prohibited areas.”
“They are already empowered to do so and we will accord greater priority to enforcement against littering. NEA will increase its enforcement hours by about 50%. We will be deploying more plain-clothes officers and increasing the enforcement rounds at littering hotspots. In addition, we will leverage on technology for better surveillance. We are currently piloting the use of surveillance cameras with video analytic capabilities to monitor littering at hotspots. We will also work with the Police to tap on their surveillance cameras, including those that will be installed at all 10,000 HDB blocks and multi-storey car parks as mentioned by Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Iswaran, last week. 12.00 pm Mr Heng Chee How has suggested that we enlist the help of the public in our enforcement in combating road side littering. Over the past three years, 336 offenders have been successfully convicted for littering from vehicles. Some of these cases were helped by the submission of photographic evidence by the public. In one case, a member of the public reported to us that a litterbug was throwing tissue onto the road while driving and provided a photo of the vehicle. We took the litterbug successfully to Court and he was issued a Corrective Work Order. We will further facilitate the use of public-generated evidence so as to encourage more members of the public to report littering, spitting, pet defecating and other anti-social behaviour. Besides greater enforcement efforts, we are considering increasing the penalties against the recalcitrant minority.”
“These volunteers will be empowered to act on behalf of NEA to educate litterbugs to pick up their own litter and record offenders' particulars for enforcement when offenders refuse to do so. To support our anti-littering efforts, the Public Hygiene Council launched the refreshed Keep Singapore Clean Movement, together with the Singapore Kindness Movement, and the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement. We thank Mr Liang for mentioning this and also paying attention to this important community effort. He asked about the progress of the movement and I am happy to update that it has so far involved close to 15,000 volunteers including students, NGOs volunteers, grassroots leaders and residents who are relentless in their efforts to keep Singapore clean and green. The Public Hygiene Council will soon hold the first Keep Singapore Clean Conference in May to engage the public in dialogue and build public support to turn Singapore into a cleaner city. It has been working with the schools, businesses and community organisations to turn community spaces into "Bright Spots". There are 44 "Bright Spots" so far and I wish the Council the very Page: 31 best in reaching its goal of achieving 100 Bright Spots this year. And I thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for mentioning Naval Base School. Indeed, our schools are really energised in keeping our environment clean and we are really encouraged by the enthusiasm that our younger Singaporeans have displayed. Despite the many efforts, the number of feedback on littering has been increasing. To more effectively deter littering, we will enhance our enforcement regime to penalise those who defy our littering laws. We will enhance our surveillance and enforcement efforts. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah has asked that we empower all our NEA field officers.”
“We are proud to call this place our home and we want to keep it clean for all to enjoy. We feel bad when our home is defaced and dirtied by littering. To keep Singapore clean, and not just a "cleaned" country, we need to harness the energy of the community to first act responsibly; do not litter, and two, to build a strong sense of societal norm. Page: 30 I would like to show a photo of Facebook page on "A Litter At a Time". Ms Elisa Ng and her children have been regularly picking up litter in their neighbourhood in Bishan East. They have also started a Facebook campaign called "A Litter At A Time" to encourage residents to go the extra mile and pick up just one piece of litter a day. This is a great example of an effort on an individual basis. What about on the community basis? There are many groups that are harnessing the strengths and energies of the community to encourage residents to keep their neighbourhood clean. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah has mentioned this HABIT or Hold on And Bin IT or, in short, "HABIT @ Nee Soon South". It is an excellent example of how the community come together and Er Dr Lee has earlier described what they do to remind residents to keep the place clean. And another one, "ACTION @ Bedok" initiative. This is a sustained initiative jointly run by the East Coast Town Council, grassroots leaders in Bedok Constituency, NEA and the Public Hygiene Council – another good example of local community effort. But many in the wider society also feel strongly enough to want to help us enforce against litterbugs. NEA has just completed the training of the first batch of 28 volunteers from groups, such as the Public Hygiene Council, Waterways Watch Singapore and Singapore Kindness Movement, Singapore Environment Council and Cat Welfare Society.”
“With systematic training, he was promoted to be a team leader after he completed the certified cleansing crew level training. The training and development roadmap has given him steady progress in his job scope and salary. The lives of his family members have improved. I hope to see this example replicated many times so that many more Singaporean cleaners can benefit. Mrs Josephine Teo mentioned yesterday that it was essential to encourage private sector service buyers to come on board. We are very happy to hear that. I am pleased to inform that my Ministry is ready to table a Bill later this year to introduce the mandatory licensing of all cleaning companies in 2014. Mr Zainal Sapari and Minister Lim Swee Say have called for licensing to hasten the pace of change during the Budget debate. This will set the standards that all cleaning companies must meet before they can operate. The key licensing requirements include mandatory training courses and progressive wage model for the cleaners. With better training and employment conditions, our cleaners can look forward to better lives. However, an integrated and revamped cleaning industry is only one part of the solution. No matter how productive or hardworking our cleaners are, there will never be enough of them if we think nothing of throwing things out of the window or discarding car park coupons and cigarette butts from our car when no one is looking. Should we tolerate such inconsiderate behaviour? Should we have harsher penalties for the recalcitrant minority who persistently litter? We need everyone in the community to take personal responsibility and set high standards for our social behaviour. I believe the majority of us want a clean living environment for our families.”
“The first integrated contract for cleaning of expressways will be called in April this year. Integrated cleaning contracts for cleaning of public areas, including roads, footpaths, drains, vacant lands and parks within a defined area will be awarded from 2014 onwards, and the level of cleanliness of these areas will be tracked by DPC as part of the performance measurement of contracts. We are also transforming the cleaning industry. By improving the productivity and development on standards of the industry, we hope to uplift the jobs of 50,000 resident cleaners that we have. Last November, we introduced the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme (EAS) to encourage cleaning companies to provide better training and employment conditions for their cleaners. To hasten the pace of change, we announced last year that the Government will take the lead as a major cleaning service buyer in engaging only accredited cleaning companies for new contracts with effect from 1 April 2013. And I am happy to hear from Member Mr Lim Biow Chuan that his Town Council has already started doing the same. Since the launch of the enhanced scheme, 55 cleaning companies have submitted their applications. Ten cleaning companies have been accredited. Page: 29 These are early days but we are beginning to see some heartening results for the cleaners. With your permission, Madam, may I display a series of slides on the LED screens? [Slides were shown to hon Members.] This is Mr Rosli bin Abdul Majed. He joined M/s Veolia ES Singapore Industrial Pte Ltd, a recipient of the enhanced Clean Mark Gold Award, as a cleaner in 2007. A father of three, Mr Rosli has been given opportunities to upgrade his skills through Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) modules for Environmental Cleaning.”
“Last year, we outlined three key objectives – to build an inclusive society, enhance our quality of life and ensure a sustainable future. We have made progress on these fronts. One key aspect of our living environment is public cleanliness. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah was concerned enough about this to move a Motion in Parliament last Page: 28 year. Many Singaporeans share her call for a cleaner Singapore. I agree with her that we are not as clean as we would like to be. I have heard many said that we are not as clean as before. Members Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Mr Heng Chee How have also made their comments. I agree and I feel we can certainly do better. All of us should play a part, not just the cleaners. We should not just be a "cleaned" city that depends on our army of cleaners. We want to be a clean city because our people care enough to keep it clean. Dr Faishal and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about the progress of the integration of cleaning functions amongst agencies. Since its formation in April last year, the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) has taken over the role of taking public feedback on cleaning issues for the Government agencies. It has since received close to 21,000 pieces of feedback as of February 2013. This is an increase of 30% over the year before, about one-third of which were related to areas under the charge of other agencies like Town Councils, NParks, LTA and HDB. The DPC has worked with these agencies to resolve the cases expeditiously, about 62 cases per day, mostly within two working days. DPC has taken over the cleaning functions of areas like footpaths and roads from LTA, JTC and HDB, and will be taking over areas like drains and car parks from PUB and URA this year.”
“Mdm Chair, Singapore has built up its water self-sufficiency through our four national taps – desalinated, recycled, rain and imported water. I would like to ask the Ministry whether our current programme to be self-sufficient before our water agreement with Malaysia expires is on track. With increased demand and changing external factors, I would propose that the roadmap towards our self-sufficiency be reviewed to ensure adequate water for all of us. Madam, an adequate water supply must also be matched by water conservation. I am pleased that our households have done well to meet the goal that we have set. It has already now come down to 152-litres per capita, down from 165-litres 10 years ago. This shows that we are really on track to achieve the goal of 140-litres per capita in the long run. I hope the Minister could review water pricing system to incentivise households to do more to save water. Our water pricing tariffs currently are on a more punitive way – with higher tariffs even for households that have actually already been consuming less than the average. Can we move the pricing mechanism to one that would reward those who actually use less than the average? I also want to urge the Ministry to review its water prices for industry. It is estimated that the industry is expected to account for about 70% of our water demand in the long run. What is being done to meet this demand and how can water prices be adjusted to ensure that conservation is practised all in the companies? The Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Thank you, Mdm Chair. I would like to thank the Members for their questions and suggestions. My Ministry is determined to steadily lift standards of cleanliness and to make Singapore a liveable environment.”
“Madam, last year, the Ministry took swift action to add lemon into the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, but I do not understand why this time round, when it comes to time-share, it took so long. What I mean is that for the time-share regulation, I hope that the Ministry could really expedite it because every delay means that there will be consumers falling victim and every case is one case too many.”
“Their public housing is priced lower and not linked to market price, and occupants can only live in there during their living years, without ownership of the house. This is akin to a long-term lease. Hence, there is no resale market, and resale transactions are not allowed. When the occupants no longer need the flat, or when they have found another place to stay, they will have to return the unit to the Government. I hope MND will consider allowing the co-existence of the two models, as they embark on the review to better cater to the housing needs and expectations Page: 141 of Singaporeans. In other words, to allow public housing on long-term leases, while providing Singaporeans with public housing that will appreciate in value. This will enable Singaporeans to choose the most suitable public housing for themselves, according to their personal needs and financial situation. (In English): Mr Chairman, I also hope that MND will get the PRs to know that when they purchase a HDB flat in the open market, they must understand that it is purely for residence. They should not use their HDB flat as an additional source of income by renting it out to others. Lastly, I urge MND to consider providing more Interim Rental Housing for all those newly-wed couples, as well as the elderly.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Chairman, our public housing policy has helped more than 80% of Singaporeans to own their own homes. We have achieved the vision described by the ancient Chinese poet Du Fu in his verses, "where millions of houses shall give all the poor a welcome shelter". Looking forward, I suggest that MND re-assess our public housing model and the basic principles behind our public housing policy. Our public housing policy has gone beyond the fundamental principle of providing basic housing for our people. In reality, Singapore has provided every household with not just accommodation, but a piece of asset, allowing Singaporeans to sink their roots here, and strengthened social cohesion. Nowadays, HDB flats have become valuable assets for many Singaporeans. Many parents and elderly Singaporeans have seen the price and CPF monies they paid for the flat appreciate in value. We definitely do not have the kind of housing problems seen in the classic movie "72 Tenants". Our public housing policy has solved the housing problem of most Singaporeans. More importantly, it has allowed the fruits of our labour and our savings to appreciate in value. Currently, many Singaporeans are concerned about whether this policy will mean that our next generation of newly-weds will have to invest more money to buy their first home. They are worried about undertaking a huge mortgage after marriage. Mr Chairman, as our population ages, and our economy moves into a developed phase, there will be less room for the value of HDB flats to appreciate, it is time we conduct a review. In other places, for example, Hong Kong, public housing is very conventional and basic, purely to provide accommodation for the people.”
“Mdm Chairperson, the MSO Medical Benefits Scheme was introduced in 1994, about 20 years ago. Since then, for outpatient treatment, regardless of pay and job grade, the PSD provides all in the Civil Service with a co-payment cash budget of $350; for treatment at private clinics, the limit is $10 per visit. As for inpatient treatment, the PSD provides 1% additional contribution to Medisave based on an officer's total monthly salary capped at $7,000, that is up to $70 per month, for officers to arrange their own medical insurance coverage. I would urge the Government to review the medical benefits for civil servants in view of the rising cost of treatments. With rising medical costs, the Government as the largest employer in Singapore should lead by example to enhance its medical benefit provision to keep up with the changing times. On behalf of the union leaders from the public sector, I urge the Government to adjust the benefits soonest possible, particularly the coverage for outpatient and dental treatments. The $350 cap for outpatient is too low for older officers and those who suffer from chronic illnesses. On dental benefit, an officer is eligible to only 50% subsidy subject to a maximum of $70 per year. This rate of subsidy was set more than 30 years ago in the 1990s. The cost of dental treatment has gone up so much. Madam, it is time to increase and enhance the benefits.”
“I urge employers to take on the challenges and the Government to support efforts that have been put in by the tripartite partners. Most importantly, we must go for quality and not quantity, value every worker in this transition and transformation process. Madam, I support the Budget. 2.18 pm”
“To this end, we must continue our efforts to build a safer and healthier workplace for all. It is essential that every worker, whatever his or her job is, returns to his or her home safe and sound at the end of every workday. Now that the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act covers all workplaces, the Government must ensure that this Act will really have teeth and have measures to help every worker say no to risks at work and help every company to be equipped to maintain their WSH capability. I urge MOM to roll out more incentives and training support to unions and companies to achieve their WSH targets and monitor that these are sustainable. Page: 53 Lastly, I would like to reiterate my call for reviewing and enhancing the portable medical benefits. A flexible and comprehensive portable medical scheme is a good form of security for our workers; in particular, we are all more concerned about medical expenses and also with the drive towards longer employment and the implementation of the Re-employment Act. Currently, the Government only gives tax incentives for employers to contribute additional MediSave for their employees. Mdm Speaker, I hope MOF will seriously consider my call again to review its tax incentive scheme to encourage efforts that enable medical benefits to be made portable in whatever form, and not just only this form, so as to help everyone make the medical benefits for our employees portable. In conclusion, Mdm Speaker, with the new direction – lower dependency ratios, higher levies, stricter manpower regulations – a new reality is upon us. These moves, while challenging now in the initial stage, will serve to help us to do better, be more productive, innovative, self-reliant and be better skilled.”
“Employers need to play their part to ensure that the qualifications, training and skills required of local workers are the same as that required of the foreign Page: 52 workers. At the end of the day, I believe that we need to secure migrant workers with the right technical skills, as well as the social adaptability to co-exist with our locals, who are their co-workers. This will, in turn, help us focus on productivity and continuous improvement to build a bigger piece of the economic pie for all to share, and, more importantly, to ensure that the benefits of growth in terms of job opportunities and salaries will flow to Singaporeans. One area that the Government should look into is reviewing the entry-level Employment Pass. We must ensure that employers give fair opportunities to fresh graduates of our local Polytechnics and Universities. Madam, I am pleased about the recent amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act to increase protection of migrant workers and increased enforcement to punish errant employers. We should now review the Employment Act, too. I renew the call for more legislative protection for all workers, particularly in the area of non-payment of salaries, which looks into areas like enhancing the recording of salaries, such as making payslips mandatory. We also have to come down strongly on employers who do not pay their workers promptly. I would like to urge MOM to prosecute such employers to set a firm stance that such moves are unacceptable. Mdm Speaker, besides our moves to create a vibrant and dynamic manpower landscape that provides opportunities and productivity outputs in a fair and just way, we must also look beyond just managing manpower to optimise and sustain it.”
“We have also launched these schemes for white-collar PMEs. We launched the Executive Development Programme and Core Executive Programme, which help companies hire graduates from local Polytechnics and Universities. Currently, eight hotels are participating in the initial stage, creating 19 management positions. In the F&B and retail sector, 174 PME positions have been created for graduates from local Polytechnics and Universities. All these examples show that no matter the size of the company, they can all tap on the Government's productivity schemes and redesign their workflow to strengthen their operations, while increasing job opportunities for workers. With a transitional scheme like WCS and a commitment to gain sharing, SMEs will be able to enjoy a smooth transition during the restructuring process, and achieve sustainable growth. Then, they will have no problems sustaining the wage increases three years later. Yesterday, I read a quote from a famous entrepreneur. He said, "Change is the only constant." In the midst of change, one should not be pessimistic, because your greatest enemy is not the change in environment, but your self-confidence. If you are unable to stand firmly, nobody can help you. The Government has tried to give companies a boost through various measures and incentive schemes, so companies should also give themselves a boost and advance towards a better tomorrow. (In English): Madam, in English. Mdm Speaker, another aspect of valuing all workers and treating all employees with the dignity and fairness they deserve is fairness in recruitment. Employers, as responsible corporate citizens, should abide by values, such as fairness. This is the case in recruitment drives.”
“The WCS can serve as a catalyst; it is like the medical ingredient added to enhance the efficacy of medicine. If companies, big or small, tap on the suite of Government productivity schemes, together with the WCS, to increase productivity and restructure, and allow employees to enjoy wage increases, the WCS will definitely be of help. It will allow employees to enjoy the fruits of labour, while ensuring that companies can achieve sustainable growth, and not worry about what will happen in three years' time. Mdm Speaker, to ensure that Singaporeans have a better life, the Progressive Wage System initiated by the tripartite partners is the way to go. In July and September 2010, NTUC Hospitality and Consumer Business Cluster (HCBC) launched the Core Executive Development Programme in the hotel and F&B sector, and retail sector respectively. Thus far, the HCBC has worked with seven hotels to create more high value-added jobs with higher wages, optimising their manpower use. Such positions usually command a 30% to 50% premium in salary over a traditional single skill- Page: 51 set job. For example, one hotel created a new position called Hotel Operations Specialist Team (HOST), which is different from other single skill-set positions, with starting pay increasing from $1,300 to $1,800. In our pilot phase, a total of 95 vacancies have been created. Other hotels should follow suit. These positions help train workers in more than one skill set, which not only enhances the worker's employability but also allows the hotel to improve productivity. Of course, this has also enhanced the company's competitiveness, and helped the hotel cope with the shortage of manpower. Mdm Speaker, these schemes not only develop our blue-collar workers.”
“In addition, Han's only employs Singaporeans for its office-based jobs. If an employee has done well and is more productive, achieving higher sales figures for the outlet, the employee will receive a bonus equivalent to 2% of his/her quarterly salary. Since March last year, the company has increased wages of their workers twice and has given a pay increase of $200 Page: 50 to employees from its outlets in Singapore. Han's also tapped on the Government's assistance schemes to bring in advanced equipment and technology, as well as automation systems, in the form of automatic roasters and tablet computers that help customers order while still waiting in line. These measures have boosted sales across its 24 outlets within a year. Companies that respond positively have all moved a big step forward. They are committed to redeveloping their manpower resources and redesigning work flow, and have seen an increase in their returns while boosting productivity. These companies deserve to be rewarded. I urge MOM to consider granting short-term DRC flexibility to these companies that have embarked on schemes with the NTUC, the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), SPRING and WDA, to assist these companies in ensuring their plans are effectively executed. Mdm Speaker, with a high employment rate and a tight labour market, wages will naturally increase. In order to cope with the ever increasing wage costs, companies must learn from the examples I mentioned above, by tapping on Government schemes to invest in productivity development or reduce reliance on foreign manpower, or move up the value chain. The Wage Credit Scheme is a form of transitional support for businesses before their investments take off.”
“As the social partner within the tripartite arrangement, the Government, being the largest employer, should do more. At the same time, they should ensure that employers understand how they can benefit from the various growth packages, and cut down on red tape. At the same time, the Government should do more to help employers increase productivity and make use of the Wage Credit Scheme to speed up the adoption of the Progressive Wage Model initiated by the Labour Movement, NTUC. Many employers are concerned about what will happen after the three-year implementation period for WCS runs out. I want to tell everyone that NTUC has already started collaborating with a few companies a few years ago and has seen many success stories. In the past few years, the Customer-centric Initiative by NTUC, SPRING Singapore and Workforce Development Agency has resulted in many companies re-designing their workflow, improving the companies' performance, as well as attracting and retaining more staff, getting more Singaporeans to join the service industry. Recently, the Government lowered the Dependency Ratio Ceiling for the services sector. A few companies have reacted positively by seizing the opportunity and have achieved stable growth. After coming on board the scheme, productivity went up by 23% on average and workers' salaries increased by 16% in some companies. At Han's Group of Companies, which runs F&B outlets, the company made use of the Government's growth package, and overall productivity doubled. The company has also seen a 58.9% increase in revenue and gave staff a bonus amounting to a generous 15% of their net profits. Han's has gone a step further. For one, it gives $200 to any staff that refers a new employee that stays on for more than three months.”
“These moves set a good foundation for all employers. Valuing all workers – local and foreign – also builds a conducive organisational culture and a fair and equitable work environment that supports cross-cultural teamwork, maintains and builds trust, loyalty, productivity and high morale. It is a win-win move for all organisations to take the "people developer" mindset to attract, cultivate and retain talent among all its workers. In valuing every worker, we should go for quality and not quantity. It is imperative that employers value talent and value-added skills. I would like to emphasise that one must not look at quantity, but quality. In 2010, the Economic Strategy Committee had already suggested progressively reining in the growth of foreign worker numbers. Now that measures to tighten foreign worker inflow have been implemented, we can see its immediate effect. Many are worried they may not be able to find enough workers to fill job positions. I understand these worries. However, we must also look at ways to ensure the sustainability of our future workforce. More does not necessarily mean better. We must reduce reliance on foreign workers. In this way, we can develop in a sustainable way, Page: 49 and attract high-quality workers to fill job vacancies. Skilling-up the workforce with the Progressive Wage Model is the key way forward. All companies, no matter big or small, should make use of the Government's growth package to come up with a comprehensive plan to boost productivity, improve workers' welfare, particularly in terms of increasing wages of the low-wage workers. This is something that can only be achieved with increased competitiveness and productivity growth.”
“Mdm Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, I continue to believe in the Labour Movement's version of "welfare", that is, the best "welfare'' for Singaporeans is to ensure full employment. This boils down to ensuring a healthy and growing economy with good job opportunities, so Singaporeans can lead a better life. In my opinion, this year's Budget titled "A Better Singapore", is, in fact, trying to achieve economic and manpower growth, so that all will have job opportunities and better jobs, better lives, then we can have a better home. Page: 48 As a country with few resources, we have taken an "open" approach to our economy. In fact, Singapore is ranked as the world's second most open economy in the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom. We have not only grown our presence as a hub for international trade, but also attracted many businesses to establish their bases here, creating more job opportunities. This has allowed us to maintain a low unemployment rate, with abundant value-added job opportunities. We should continue in this direction, as this is critical to building a better Singapore. My key message to all Singaporean employers is to value every worker – and treat all employees with the dignity and fairness they deserve. Moving forward, we have to ensure that as we calibrate our workforce numbers, we are fair to all workers – both protecting the interests of our Singapore Core and ensuring that foreign workers are treated with rights and dignity that they are entitled to. At the Migrant Workers Centre, we have endeavoured to not only provide humanitarian assistance, but also proactively address potential conflicts, engaging migrant workers in educational outreach efforts and facilitated integration activities.”
“I thank the Acting Minister for the answer as well as the assurance that more will be in the pipeline to help our PMEs and to ensure that we build up a strong Singaporean Core in our workforce. I would also like to ask the Minister whether he would consider upgrading the TAFEP guidelines to make them more effective so that it would be able to strengthen compliance among the employers.”
“Singaporeans are not that kind of people. Foreign manpower is transient. They will not grow old here. Their numbers will expand or contract depending on how we see the situations evolve over time. We will manage the manpower downwards – reducing 1%-2% as mentioned earlier; and 1% thereafter in the next decade. Growth means we will no longer rely on just cheap foreign workers. We have to see how to forgo such growth and change.”
“We are not erecting barriers to foreign employment because it remains part of our landscape. This will go a long way to assuage the concerns that we have – and these are valid concerns, perceived or otherwise. We know pockets of this happen and it cannot be accepted. Let me acknowledge some of the points raised by Members here about the issue of getting elderly and back-to-work women to rejoin the workforce. I agree we should explore all ways and means. I think we are beginning to see some shift – not enough, but I think we will as we tighten the manpower policies, change the business practices. We have put in place incentives to help companies adjust and companies are taking this route. Special Employment Credit, particularly, I think goes a very long way for the elderly. And also vulnerable groups who are keen to be employed, people with disabilities, our fellow Singaporeans from the Yellow Ribbon Project. All of us care about Work-Life Balance and Flexible Work Arrangements. I think we need to continue to work hard at this and figure out how best to Page: 119 enhance support for companies to introduce more flexible work arrangements. Is legislation the way to go? I think we can look at that and how practical that can be. I think more details will be announced at Budget, but we will press on and we welcome all suggestions. Let me touch on towards the end about the Singaporean Core, and what it is. All of us, I think in many ways, are tribal in nature. And in some ways, I feel that this anxiety, and this strong response by Singaporeans, in a way, is a reflection of a growing strong sense of identity – which is a good thing. But as with all good things overdone, you can become nationalistic; xenophobic if you are not careful. I do not think we are there.”
“He obtained his NTC Grade 2 from the ITE in June 2000. He was subsequently promoted to be Production Superintendent in 2006 and then Senior Operations Executive in 2012. So, we will continue to make sure that such stories continue for our people. Page: 118 I have received a lot of feedback from constituents, from the public at large, and many Members here who share their concerns about employment discrimination. And that is why they have also expressed concerns about growing the foreign workforce here. Let me be quite clear about this – there is no place for employment discrimination in Singapore. The Government has and will continue to uphold fair employment for all Singaporeans. So, we are going to continue to look after Singaporeans even as competition becomes more keen; we care about whether Singaporeans are experiencing discrimination in the job market. MOM has and will investigate cases of employers who are believed to have resorted to unfair employment or recruitment practices, such as those who post discriminatory job advertisements or who recruit their own kind regardless of merit, as our esteemed Member, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, mentioned the other day about the entire village coming over to Singapore. Singaporeans who believe they have been discriminated against at the workplace should raise their case with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP). Employers who are unresponsive to TAFEP or persistently fail to improve their employment practices will be referred to my Ministry. Employers who refuse to heed MOM's advice, or recalcitrant, will have their work pass privileges curtailed. Let me be clear. We are putting in place safeguards against irresponsible employers and irresponsible practices.”
“As part of these efforts, we will invest $2.5 billion over the next five years to enhance our CET system. We understand the manpower constraint especially for SMEs. But do send workers for training to upgrade so that we can become more productive and effective. We urge businesses to take a long-term view. CET is our strength. But we will also strengthen employment matching, such as Caliberlink and working with SMEs, in terms of job placements. These will be continued and strengthened. Importantly, we will continue to calibrate our foreign manpower policies to raise quality and slow inflows. Employment Pass (EP) numbers have fallen in 2012 for the first time since 2003. I am not sure whether I am able to definitively say that this will be the trend, but I think the EP framework's adjustments that we have put in place are taking effect. And our EP criteria will be a moving bar and the pay threshold will move up. I am watching this because as I look at the entry-level pay for our polytechnic graduates, these are things we can shape and influence. But even as we tighten, we will continue to provide every support for businesses to transit to a much more productivity-led growth and a productivity-based structure. What about the remaining one-third? We must not neglect the rest of the one-third of our people who may not be PMETs. So, what do we do? There will be non-PMET jobs but perhaps some of them will be slightly different from today. Education profiles will change and improve, so we will move up the value-chain, and we will continue to emphasise on training. WIS and WTS will be strengthened to make sure that training opportunities are available for people to upgrade. Another story – Mr Spencer Ong joined GlaxoSmithKline as an Operator with GCE "O" levels in 1994.”
“MAS will also provide more scholarships to enable early-career Singaporeans to develop specialist tracks in areas like quantitative finance, risk management, actuarial science and specialty insurance. These are done with the support of financial institutions and programmes to nurture Singaporeans for leadership roles. I understand that we are all naturally concerned about competition. But competition is there, whether we like it or not. Just because an individual from the Philippines, Vietnam or China is not here does not mean that he is not competing with us. They are competing with us in their hometowns. As I mentioned earlier, in some sectors, good quality, white-collar, PME jobs for Singaporeans like accounting and HR – some of these have left Singapore. When the whole department leaves, there are jobs that were there for Singaporeans that are now somewhere else. All the associated services, supporting these departments, get affected. Those are Singaporeans in that whole chain of things. Do we prefer to try and have some of these investments and some of these people here to augment, complement and supplement, so that at the same time, on a net basis, generate good jobs for our people? Or do we take a much more protectionist and seemingly nationalistic position? We will restructure. We will take a comprehensive approach to make sure that our people continue to have good education and facilities for continuing education and training. This is accompanied by adaptive foreign manpower Page: 117 policies from time to time. MOE has already announced that the cohort participation rate will increase from 27% to 40% by 2020 with six Universities offering full-time degree programmes. We will continue to invest in the Continuing Education and Training (CET) system.”
“Ms Low Yen Ling mentioned briefly yesterday that EDB has been running the Strategic Attachment and Training Programme since 2007 where we co-fund overseas training of Singaporeans to equip them with the necessary skills and expertise to take on higher value jobs in new growth areas. Minister Iswaran shared about the biomedical science industry − one industry that developed and created good jobs for people. Let me share one short story. Ms Grace Yow, she is Executive Vice-President of Fluidigm Singapore, a pioneer in microfluidic technology used in biomedical research. Grace Page: 116 graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in Electrical Engineering. She began her career as an engineering assistant in the semiconductor industry and worked her way up before transiting to the life sciences industry in 2005. Since then, she has held directorships within Fluidigm before assuming her current Executive Vice-President role, overseeing manufacturing operations for the company globally. These are opportunities that we have created over the years and these are the opportunities that we aim to continue to create for our Singaporeans going forward. So, we will intensify these efforts. In the financial sector, we are making concerted efforts. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has put in place programmes and initiatives to develop a strong Singaporean core. This includes efforts to raise competencies of Singaporeans in areas where perhaps we may not have that much competency in areas such as Compliance, Corporate Banking and Wealth Management. We will grow that and create those jobs for our people.”
“I am not sure if it actually works, and I think the cost is considerable. So, we will transit, and this is where we need to plan not for the theoretical best, but I think we need to anticipate the unknowns. We need to anticipate what if things do not quite work out. Let us have a buffer. But let me say this: if we are able to achieve the desired outcomes, without having to embark on those kinds of numbers, I will be quite happy to be quite far away from the 6.9 million figure. But those parameters are important because we do not want to end up with the problems that we have today. Singaporeans are concerned with the future, because what are we going to do? What are my children going to do when there are all these foreigners in our midst? Are they going to take away jobs? So, let me reassure all of us here that we will continue to ensure that jobs are created to meet the aspirations of our children, of our young. As part of this framework, there will be a level of labour force growth, foreign manpower to augment industries, to augment areas where we need them, especially at the lower skilled ends, where increasingly we will find lesser Singaporeans there. But we will also make sure that we develop the opportunities for locals to move up that ladder to form the core of the workforce. We have undergone continuous economic transformation since the 1960s, and at each stage we want to make sure there are higher value-added jobs, opportunities for our Singaporeans, and to ensure that our people are able to take up these jobs.”
“I agree that we should really work at productivity effort. We should perhaps put in more money, but this is not that rainy day. We should be careful dealing with our reserves, because when we talk about the ageing population, I think you can see the rainy days that might be ahead. These are built up by fiscal prudence over the years and hard work of our forefathers. I think this is not that day yet, but I agree that we need to pay attention to productivity. And ideas, bold, out of the box. I think Mr Pritam Singh suggested that all of us should have 8-hour days, all of us should be paid overtime. It is bold, it is out of the box, but I am not sure whether this is something that will happen in real life. Which is why my colleague, Mr Vikram, mentioned the other day about how we run the Town Council. I think it is not being facetious, it is about how would we translate this into the real world, and in real terms. Every single person in the town council, professional or otherwise, should be entitled to such schemes. Ideally, I would say this: I am a big champion, I believe we work for too many hours. And I do want us to work fewer hours, and to strike that balance. Legislation – I am not sure if it is a solution to everything, but we will look at some of these, and we do welcome ideas from both sides of the House and from all Singaporeans. And I do want us to move off that charts. I think we are Page: 115 on the wrong end of the charts. So, these are some of the ideas that underpin what the Workers' Party proposes. And I think the details are important. We are not looking at detailed concept plans, but, conceptually, how do we realise it. I think that you will find that there are commonalities. But how do we actually realise those kinds of numbers?”
“There are fewer younger people in the workforce. This means that the labour force participation rate will decrease over time, but we will try as much as we can to improve it. But I think those are the dynamics. However, the Workers' Party's model, especially in the second decade, envisages keeping resident labour force growth at 1%. This is why I am very Page: 114 interested to know what these initiatives are because I will be very keen to explore them and to put them in place. Because if that helps, that will also afford us more policy space. And the last one is on raising the TFR. TFR remains vitally important. But as mentioned earlier, even with the 1.3 TFR that is envisaged by the Workers' Party, 2030 plus, our population will decrease even with the 10,000 immigration that he talked about. So, we need to try, and the truth of the matter is that it is not just cash incentives, and I think we know that. It is a whole range of incentives. It is about work-life balance. It is about institutional changes. Incentives, schemes − we will continue to strengthen them. We know that education is a pressure. It gives Mr Heng Swee Keat no end every week in the Cabinet about how the education system should be, and we realise that actually we all have very different views as well. But education system is something we will work on, amongst a whole slew of various programmes. It is not just about throwing money. So, if there are useful ideas, we are definitely open to exploring it. But this is where it also gets a bit worrying. I know that Mr Low explained it earlier. But my ears were pricked the other day when fellow Member Mr Pritam Singh talked about using the reserves. Because this is a rainy day, we should boost our productivity effort.”
“" In fact, during last year's Budget session, Mr Low and we had a long discussion on whether to have differentiated dependency ratios for sectors which are finding it difficult to recruit Singaporeans and to free up the space so they could have access to more foreign workers. My position, and it remains, is that those sectors which find it most difficult are those sectors which actually are demanding and pulling in more foreign workers. So we need to be disciplined and change that. But this position has changed. So it is a bit difficult to reconcile what their next step will be. But clearly, and quite definitively, this seems to be the final position that the Workers' Party is taking. But it is a very alarming one. Actually, I do worry about the economy, I do worry about the businesses and, ultimately, because it has an impact on our people. Raising the labour force participation rate is also another important pillar that buttresses some of the assumptions of the Workers' Party's model. The other day I was asking about some of the details, and that is because I actually do share his perspective. I think raising the labour force participation rate is very important. However, how do we bring back Singaporeans who are not in the workforce? Our labour force participation rate is actually one of the highest in the world, in fact higher than many OECD countries. But I think we can do more. The various measures that we have put in place, we will continue to work on it. But labour force participation rate has limits. This is because, as with every country, we know that the labour force participation rates for the older workers, older Singaporeans, will be lower than the younger segment of the workforce. But our workforce is becoming older.”
“It is anchored on a manpower policy, of which is also related to labour force participation rate and TFR. Foreign worker growth is zero. As Minister Iswaran pointed out, what it means, in real terms, is that there will be no, for example, foreign domestic workers up to 2020. When we need construction workers, there will be no additional ones to meet some of the needs. Yet, we also want more Singaporeans to return to the workforce. We also know that there is increasing need for eldercare. In fact, in our projections, we think that from about 200,000 foreign domestic workers today, it will have to go up to 300,000 by 2030. But we do not calculate the foreign domestic worker in our overall foreign workforce. But the Workers' Party has factored that in, much more robust. So, that means that the space for our economy and social needs are incredibly tight. How do we manage that space, how do we manage that transition? Page: 113 These are real tradeoffs when we need to translate policies into reality in the real world. It is a shock effect. On paper, it sounds fine, but when you put it into practice, it will hurt Singapore, it will hurt Singaporeans. Now, this is where I am slightly confused because I think Mr Low or the Workers' Party had talked about how the tightening on foreign manpower growth would cause the cost of living to rise sharply on 5 March 2012. And it was in February last year that they said, "As policies that attempt to compel SMEs to transform and raise productivity by limiting foreign workers kick in, foreign workers will become crucial to the survival of the companies.”
“An environment, with a possible option of zero foreign manpower growth, will kill off a lot of companies. And what happens at that Page: 112 stage? Like I said, we live and operate in a region of fast growth. Relativity matters because people are deciding – these are not just MNCs, they are Singaporean companies − where should I be? Should I be here in Singapore? Should I be in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Mumbai, Chengdu − where there is access to labour and fast-growing opportunities? We have a lot of advantages, and when one goes, another goes, the network unravels, sectors can shift, good white collared jobs can shift, whole sectors, accounting, HR, can be outsourced to another city. So, growth and economy are important. We need to make sure that we maintain enough so that we can provide for our people. And we will have to transit very carefully − this entails labour growth of 1% to 2% for this decade and 1% thereafter, as it will give us that level of flexibility, because recessions will happen. When? I do not know. But it will happen. Cycles are becoming shorter. Perhaps, let me set aside a bit of time to look at the Workers' Party's proposal. Mr Low had categorically rejected the White Paper and offered various options. The Workers' Party's proposal is actually very attractive. Look at the number – the headline number – just under six million. Let us scale downwards. Economic growth targets are also there. They actually overlap with some of the White Paper's projections. And let us work backwards to see what exactly does it take to achieve that number. It is an exciting narrative because we are trading off growth for a smaller population to focus on the quality of life for Singaporeans. There are three pillars to the Workers' Party's vision.”
“And we will expect that to happen. Our unions are concerned because a slowdown in economic growth could lead to unemployment and stagnation of wages. They have also called for attention to be paid, and we agree, to vulnerable workers to ensure that they too can have better jobs, better pay and lead better lives. And what we have found is that when the economy was growing in the second half of the last decade, that was when incomes for lower-wage workers improved. But that growth also came with a cost in terms of infrastructural and social constraints. So, where is that balance? And that is really the challenge at hand. Let us be measured and not throw the baby out with the bath water. Because businesses and jobs could move out of Singapore and this is where I would urge that we should be careful about demonising MNCs, demonising business in favour of workers, it is not about a class war between the owners, the capitalists and the proletarian. Because these businesses are owned by Singaporeans as well. SMEs, these are salt-of-the-Earth Singaporeans, who built up their businesses, provide employment for Singaporeans. Companies provide jobs for our people. I am both pro-worker and pro-business but, above all, I think we need to be pro-Singaporean and pro-Singapore. So, the companies are here, they provide direct jobs, and when they are here they also provide a whole network of jobs for Singaporeans. And that allows our economy to grow and generate income, provide for our people opportunities. When companies go, it is not trivial. We can boldly be very heroic, tell the people, "Let's bite the bullet." Well, I think sometimes if you bite too hard, the bullet will kill you.”
“How much do we slow down? Because we could end up overdoing it as well. We believe that we should halve our overall labour force growth rate to 1%-2% for the rest of this decade and will further halve it to about 1% in the following decade. This is a very sharp drop from our historical average of about 3%-4%. With these adjustments and the accompanying efforts that must continue – including a relentless effort to build up productivity across the board, to restructure our economy in areas which will make sense for us going into the future. We will try to make sure that we will restructure and position ourselves for a slower, sustainable, but good quality economic growth. And if we can achieve those levels or outcomes for our people, that allows us policy space to look at what kind of growth we can manage with in terms of labour growth. Page: 111 So, let me stress again that we are not just forgoing present growth. As you know, companies see opportunities because, unlike Europe, unlike North America, we are right smack in the middle of one of the fastest growing regions in the world today with the greatest potential. And we will take a step back. So, we will forgo some of these opportunities and choose to slow down because we cannot just go on just accepting growth as it is. But we need to be careful and we need to be calibrated. And this is not time for us to be gung-ho about it because there are dynamics in play that we do not always have full control over. We are not just an island − we are connected to the world, and we are price-takers. As Minister Iswaran mentioned earlier, foreign and local business groups have spoken up. Some of their members are moving out of Singapore, if they have not already done so, and some are planning to.”
“Within our Page: 110 space, let us try to create as much possibilities for our people as possible. What does it take for us, as former Minister Mah mentioned yesterday, to generate that level of income, to provide for healthcare, education, housing and so on? We still need to generate income to do the things that we need to do. These are not bad things. These are necessities. So, what is it that we need? What is that level of economic growth that helps look after our people? Conservatively, we assessed that at 3%-4% GDP growth for the rest of this decade should realistically perhaps allow us to transit, establish firm foundation as we restructure, providing some level of buffer and to look forward to the following decade where we think the economic growth will slow down to a steadier but, hopefully, good quality growth at perhaps 2%-3%. But if we are able to achieve our desired outcome with less, it may well open up the possibility for us to tighten up more. There is no reason to fill up that space just because there is a number there. It is not about a number. It is about the level and quality of life. But we need to tread carefully. The reality is that our economy is not run by dials and levers where we can choose exactly how much unemployment there is, what is the Gini co-efficient, what the wages should be. Unfortunately, it does not operate that way and we know that. So, do we grow when we can, as perhaps we tended to in the past because we do not take growth and opportunities for granted? Or do we take some risks and forgo this growth while trying to establish a more sustainable path? It is quite clear that where there are opportunities, we will have to turn our back on growth. We will have to slow down. The question is, how far do we go?”
“Economic growth is really just a means to an end, and we all know that. Even in the Workers' Party's proposal, they recognised there is a need for economic growth, so the issue is how much, and what type? So, what exactly do we need? We need an environment which can provide a good quality of life for our people in the future. For our children. For ourselves. Many of us will still be around in 2030. What is this quality of life? We all have many different definitions of it, just as how we have different definitions of what makes us happy and give us a sense of fulfilment. But there are certain basics – we need to provide jobs, a good range of jobs for our people. Essentially, we need to ensure we keep unemployment as low as possible. That is something that I am very particular about because I meet my residents who are out of job. I correspond with some Singaporeans out there and we strike up a friendship – long emails, Facebook messages – about how difficult it is for them to try and find a job, despite linking them up with different agencies. We have very low unemployment, but behind every digit there is a real person and a real family. It is not something that we take for granted. The job situation that we have today, we should not presume that it will continue as it is. It needs to be worked at. We need to support our people so that they can stand up for themselves and to provide for their families. And let us provide our people with a wide range of opportunities. You like a faster life? A slower pace of life? You would like Singapore to be a bit like a Perth-type of living environment, or like New York. Well, those cities have options because they are a part of a larger whole. How do we provide that range for our people in Singapore then?”
“But with that, what we saw was that the infrastructure did not keep up pace with the population, and there was an impact. The impact is being felt today, and this is something we will and we need to sort out. Singaporeans have also indicated their desire to slow down, because they feel that pace of growth, because we have crossed a physical and social threshold. We cannot continue as before. We cannot. And we are also at a stage, where from a profile perspective, a different stage of economic development; this is where we need to change in terms of the direction we are going. The White Paper is very much a product of this desire to get it right and to chart the course for the next lap. Of course, the White Paper does not capture everything, there are many other issues we are dealing with, but it sets some of the broad parameters that will guide us. There are two fundamental shifts, I am not sure whether we picked it up, but there are two fundamental shifts. Page: 109 First, we will restructure our economy to be productivity-driven and to slow down to a more sustainable pace, which is essentially based on quality. It is not economic growth at all costs. It is about slower steady economic growth for a good cause. Secondly, we are taking the approach, as highlighted by Minister Lui and Minister Khaw, that we will build ahead of demand. We do not want to be caught out by the infrastructural constraints which are impacting the lives of our people today, everyday. We have been prudent, financially prudent, and we try to be that – and I think that is a strength. But as with all strengths, perhaps when it is overdone, perhaps we could end up with a situation that we have today. So, what is it that we are trying to do?”
“For example, we know that as we age, ageing-in-place at home is emotionally probably one of the best options, and probably a more affordable option with the foreign domestic helper to support. But that pulls in the opposite direction because we also want to reduce Page: 108 the presence of foreign manpower in Singapore. How do you reconcile that? We know that we have an ageing population, we need to restructure. So, what exactly does that mean? What shape and form of growth? It is not just the numbers, indeed, it is about the quality of growth. What should that shape look like to ensure that we have good quality, sustainable growth to provide for our people? We need to increase productivity. We all agree on that with a smaller labour force. But, yet, we need to improve TFR, we need to give time for couples to be on their own, work-life balance is important. Again, tensions, but this is real life. It is important to have a White Paper to pull things together so that there is an overarching framework and concept to plan forward. And we will evolve this plan with time. We need to capture the main thoughts and ideas so that the whole-of-Government, as a nation, we have a sense of what that framework ought to be – to guide us. A big reason why this White Paper is important is because we do not want to repeat the experience that all Singaporeans are going through today – the crowded trains, MRT stations, lack of beds in hospitals. As explained by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, we were scrambling to figure not growth at all costs, but where was growth going to come from in the mid-2000s. We tried hard, perhaps, overdone it – looking back is always 20/20 hindsight.”
“We talked about TFR, and we totally agree with the Workers' Party that this is critical. We should do all we can and we should not let up. But even with whatever ideas that they may suggest – and we would be quite happy to look at practical ideas – they are looking at 1.3 TFR. What does a 1.3 TFR mean? And even with the 10,000 immigration numbers that they talk about on a yearly basis, by 2030-plus, the Singaporean population will decline. How do we deal with these realities? These are not trivial issues, which is why this White Paper is important and we need to table it. As I listened to Mr Lee Yi Shyan – and I do urge all of us to read his speech and examples shared – it sounded sad and quite bleak. But then I also quickly realised that it is not so bad, because all the people that left the ageing cities, they were still in their country. But for us, it is a bit different. We will all grow old here, because there is not another place to go to. So, we need to make this work. We are the next big ageing story. What will be our story be? Actually, our demographics have been scribbled on the wall for some time now. When I was in the SAF, we looked at the demographics, because 18 years ahead of time, you actually know what the size of your SAF will be. There was a massive transformation of the SAF into one with third-generation (3G) capability, because we knew that in order for us to be able to defend ourselves, we needed to change the way we operate. And we did. Various agencies and Ministries have been working hard on the issues for a number of years. And it is very clear that they are interconnected, and sometimes pulling in very different directions.”
“So, the White Paper is all about looking out for Singaporeans as we move forward to the future. And it is a different stage of life for Singapore. It is a different stage of economic development – and the demographic change is a significant one. I would like to thank the hon Member Mr Lee Yi Shyan for sharing with us real-life examples of how ageing is unfolding as we speak, and the impact in countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, as well as how populist politics are coming into play and having a real impact on societies and their future. What do we learn from these countries? Of course, context is important – they are not all the same – but there are certain trends. Ageing populations will result in greater social spending. Healthcare, for example. That is something we envisage will go up. Looking after the elderly. I know that the elderly will live longer, healthier, but at some point we will reach a stage where we do and will become frail. How do we finance this? I know that it is not always very popular. It is not the most aspirational thing to talk about. Page: 107 But all of us who are responsible, we know we need to deal with the practical issues of governance. How do you finance these things? The costs will go up. Where will your tax base come from? This will be our children's generation, much smaller than we are today. Will they bear the brunt of that tax burden? And this is not to say that the elderly is a burden – it is our responsibility to look out for Singaporeans as they grow old, but it is also our responsibility to look out for our children, because they will have to bear the consequences of this. That is why it is important to plan long term. It is about ensuring a sustainable and stable Singaporean population.”
“9 million people? Members would have seen the creative pictures circulating of double-deck MRTs, foreign workers clinging on for dear life to the crowded buses. Some are sceptical. Can you not grow the economy at a slower pace? Are there really no alternatives? Some feel anxious because some would feel that life is competitive as it is – how do we deal with the competition when more Page: 106 people come? Some have said that, "I'm going to emigrate, I'm going to go somewhere else." Some are angry that foreigners are being brought in instead of looking out for Singaporeans. We are uneasy sometimes when there are too many people whom we are less familiar with. Some feel disappointed – "What's wrong with this Government? It should be looking out for us instead of pursuing growth at all costs." And a number really fall into all the above categories. Many have also asked, "Why table this now? This is not very politically astute, the ground is perhaps not ready for this, why don't we sort out the present problems?" These are all valid and fair concerns. So, why the White Paper and why does this issue need to be addressed? Our demographics are a reality – we cannot change that. All these things happened in the past. They have serious ramifications for our people and our well-being. That is what is at stake. It is all about Singaporeans and it is all about our collective future. Decisions have to be taken across the board in Government and some things need to be done now. And many of them are inter-connected in many, many different ways. For example, in my portfolio covering manpower policies, we have to tighten today. How far do we go, how do we manage this? These are critical issues.”
“For example, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has been having to do more with less, as, over the years, donations have decreased while demand rises. Ironically, the changes in subsidy policies mean more patients now qualify for full subsidies – a good thing for them, but an added financial demand on NKF. So, it is important for us to note that in Singapore, today, for example, about 750 Singaporeans are diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure every year. With these added demands and more patients, the organisation is seeing an increasing operating deficit and rising shortfalls. I would urge the Government to look into such areas as well even as it seeks to grow the necessary physical infrastructure. The software is more important and the VWOs are our very valuable partners that we must help them to succeed. In conclusion, we must ensure the benefits of our population policies such as better job opportunities and salaries flow to Singaporeans. I support the push to promote marriage and parenthood to maintain a strong Singapore Core, driving employability of Singaporeans, a well-calibrated and strategic immigration policy, and enhancing physical and social infrastructure to meet present and future needs. Madam, I support the amended Motion. 5.45 pm The Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Tan Chuan-Jin): Mdm Speaker, we are all aware of the reactions towards the notion of an increase in our population. Many of you have written to me through Facebook, some on the walls, through emails. Some are shocked because they cannot imagine what life would be like, especially with what they are going through today. Crowded buses, MRT stations, crowded spaces at peak hours. How could we imagine living a life with 6.5 million to 6.”