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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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 5 of 16.
“Madam, I am very pleased that the portable medical benefits scheme (PMBS) is now in place. However, with the drive towards longer employment and the implementation of the Re-employment Act soon, there is an urgent need to address the issue of adequate medical coverage for all employees. However, many of our employers are still sticking to the group hospitalisation and surgical (H&S) plan. But being a company-based scheme, this is not able to meet the long-term needs of all our workers given its non-portability, age limit and limit in the benefits coverage. Yearly renewals are also not guaranteed for the companies, whereby premiums and terms are subject to the claims experience. Such a company-based H&S scheme also reduces the employability of older workers. Employers would be disinclined to actually employ or retain the older workers and accept the full burden of their medical expenses since they are more likely to incur higher medical expenses than their younger counterparts. With the successful revamp of the MediShield as a national scheme, which is more robust, I hope all the employers should really consider replacing such a group H&S medical insurance plan with a MediShield-based PMBS, such as the NTUC Income Enhanced Incomeshield plan. The public sector employers should also consider promoting such an enhanced medical coverage scheme because the current Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme only provides public sector employees an additional 1% Medisave contribution in lieu of the inpatient subsidy. The challenge is that most of them may not be aware of the need for greater personal responsibility in ensuring personal and proper coverage through a better and portable medical insurance plan.”
“Madam, with the recent focus on increasing productivity, let us not overlook another important element, that is, safety. The losses from unsafe practices are, in fact, far more costly than the economic gain. In general, the collaboration of the tripartite partners has been effective in bringing down the workplace accident frequency rate. It has dropped from 2.7 in 1996 to 1.9 in 2008. So, there is a clear improvement. However, I think this is not enough. I hope the Ministry could seriously consider extending the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act to cover all workplaces as soon as possible. I urge the Ministry of Manpower to review the safety training framework for workers to ensure that the workers have full knowledge of the various hazards at work, so that they can prevent themselves suffering from unnecessary accidents. I request MOM to provide more support and resources, including financial incentives, for WSH education and awareness for all the workers. In addition, MOM should also provide resources and consider establishing a tripartite WSH resource centre to help the respective sectors to upgrade their risk assessments and manage their capabilities. Madam, can I go on to my next cut?”
“If having basic language competency to communicate clearly with customers is compulsory for local staff, why not for those from overseas? In the same vein, for the protection of the workers here, I think we should do it for both local and foreign workers. There have been instances of foreign workers having to make salary claims against errant employers. There should be a review of the process with which workers make a claim so that unethical employers do not get away with their misdeeds or to drag out the procedure and the proceedings to the detriment of the workers. In addition, I would also like to ask and request MOM to consider including "one rest day per week" into the list of Work Permit Conditions under the Foreign Manpower Employment Act. Next, we need to also review the Employment Agency Act to better protect the interests of both employers and employees who engage the service of the employment agencies. For example, the placement fee cap in the Employment Agency Act for employers and employees is not relevant in today's context. It is also unclear what type of administrative costs and the transfer fee is used to cover. Both placement and transfer fees should be made more transparent. We should include a clause in the Act that requires the employment agencies (EAs) to have a written contract with both the workers and employers respectively, specifying the total agency fees payable and the scope of service that they are providing. 5.15 pm More flexible use of foreign manpower”
“Madam, we all agree that foreign manpower is and has been an essential part of Singapore's economic success. However, moving forward, we need to ensure that not only the mix is right but the employers are being fair in the hiring. Since we are looking at improving productivity, we need to improve the efficiency of the workforce, including the foreign workers, and ensure that the right skill sets are in place to meet the requirements of each job. The proposed levy adjustment is timely. However, as we can see the response from the employers, I would like to urge MOM to ensure that all our employers will take concrete action to increase the productivity of the foreign workers to offset the additional costs instead of thinking of passing the costs to the consumers. I hope MOM would consider using the additional levy collection to set up Skill Development Fund (SDF) scheme to support employers' training initiatives and efforts to drive productivity for their foreign workers, just like the existing SDF scheme that we have for local workforce. It is also important that all foreign workers recruited to work here have the job and language competencies. For a foreign worker who is to be a co-worker with a Singaporean, preferably they should have and had to go through the same skill certification or assessment. I would request MOM to consider coming up with a system of checks or regulations to ensure transparency in the area of fair recruitment and employment practices. Perhaps this can be done using Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) as a standard of skill assessment for all. Language skills are also perceived to be lacking among some foreign workers, particularly in the food and beverage service sector.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State how soon will SPRING's support schemes be made available for the PEI because I think our schemes will cease in July this year. I would also like the Senior Minister of State to respond to my request to let the fee protection monitoring module scheme also be made available to all the students who are enrolled under the current student protection scheme. Last but not least, he mentioned that the schools, which have collected the advanced fees beyond the period of two to six months, will need to do a refund, but does this mean that the schools will have to buy group insurance?”
“Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Marine Parade): Sir, students today are expressing themselves more through writing than their predecessors ever did through mediums such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook and SMS. With it, they are developing their own lingo such as those we see being used on the Internet with its various short forms and acronyms. It is a concern to society and parents that when students communicate via these mediums, they are losing the "humane" essence when interacting in face-to-face conversations. The command of verbal English of students today is also mixed with Singlish and their own brand of youth lingo. These are what I would coin as the "multi-literacy phenomenon". The call is to uplift the teaching of English language in schools today. Besides the curriculum-based strategies, the paradigm shift would require learning to tap on the current medium platforms that our young are communicating. It would also require a 3As approach of raising the Aptitude, Attitude and Altitude of every child in the way he or she is motivated to learn the language in schools. Will the Minister share his Ministry's approach in the teaching of English Language in schools in light of these issues. Strengthening English Language instruction”
“This will be a massive and costly process as it will require the students of the PEIs, who are under the escrow students protection scheme, to withdraw their protected fees individually and bank it into the escrow under fee protection scheme. This arrangement will also mean that the students of PEIs will need to incur additional bank charges to deposit the fees used into the new escrow account. In order to streamline this administrative procedure, we would like CPE to explore more effective and efficient way to allow the schools to transfer the excess amount directly into the students' Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) account instead. This is a hazard-free arrangement, which will not only save costs for both the student and the PEI at the same time, the student fees will remain protected in the new escrow accounts. In addition, CASE received feedback from PEIs that they are still unsure of many requirements by CPE. Small PEIs are facing heavy financial burdens to comply with the higher standards as they are graded on the same scale of operation as the bigger ones. Some examples are the environment management, facilities management, staff counselling, data management and knowledge management. I hope that the CPE can give more funding assistance and guidance to the deserving PEIs to attend this new CaseTrust scheme. Last but not least, under the Fee Protection Scheme, we understood that the students will be able to check and monitor their status on the CPE website. I hope this can be a standard to all existing students, so that they will be better protected. Teaching of English Language in schools Assoc. Prof.”
“Sir, with effect from 21st December 2009, private education institutions (PEIs) must operate under the new regulatory regime, which will enhance the welfare of the students studying in all these private education institutions. I hope MOE could give an update of the progress of the implementation and how the Ministry could help all the PEIs to comply the enhance regulation framework and to be certified under the new EduTrust scheme. Coming 1st July 2010, the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) will relinquish the administrator role of the CaseTrust for Education scheme to make way for the EduTrust certification scheme run by the Council of Private Education (CPE). With the proper legislation and the enforcement power, we hold high hope that the new regime will be able to propel our Singapore Private Education's scene to the next level and address the underlying issues faced by the sector, which could not be rectified by self-regulation in the last six years. Sir, much effort has been extended by CASE towards the smooth transition of 330 private schools and the students from CaseTrust to EduTrust. I would like to request CPE to consider the following suggestions to help further ease the PEI's transition into EduTrust. First, under the mandatory enhanced registration framework, all PEIs registered are not permitted to collect fees for more than two or six months, depending on their participation in the industry-wide course fees protection scheme. As a result, many CaseTrust-ed PEIs will have to refund all the advance fees collected, which are meant for the period beyond the permitted two to six months' timeframe.”
“The basic health screening will also provide the companies with a reference to tailor their health promotion and integration programme so as to help their workers maintain their health and manage their lifestyle habits and reduce all the risks for chronic illnesses. Apart from physical health, MOH should also provide more support in the area of emotional health. This is an area not to be forgotten of as many seems to regard the workplace as a major source of stress. Workers who have problems dealing with stress arising from personal or work related reasons may inadvertently affect their employees around them as well as their own work productivity; thus affecting the morale of the company. Workplace health”
“Sir, with the drive towards longer employment and implementation of the Re-employment Act that will come into effect soon, there is a greater need to keep the workforce healthy. After all, the three key elements in supporting a longer term of employment are; having the skills, having the willingness to work and, more importantly, being physically and mentally fit to work. Employers need to support this drive to help Singaporeans to work as long as they wish. The tripartite at workplace health promotion helps to improve the health and fitness of workers and to create a healthy working environment by promoting healthy lifestyle for a better life has made a good progress. The programme includes a basic health screening followed by way of empowering Singaporean workers to take personal responsibility for their health. In short, raise their awareness and help them create the drive to take actions to CHEERS – Cease smoking, Healthy Eating, Exercise Regularly and manage Stress. Offering attractive salaries alone is often not enough to keep staff productive and loyal. It is important for us in making our economy at workforce more future-ready and more competitive. We must strengthen such a holistic workplace health programme for our workers in all workplaces to achieve both physical and mental well-being. I would like to urge the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide more resources and budget to further support the workplace health promotion to achieve HEALTH – Health and everyone achieves lifetime health. I hope MOH could give more financial incentives for companies to provide regular basic health screening at work. Health screening is an important means of praising workers' awareness of their own health status and health profile.”
“In addition, I would also like to request MTI to step up enforcement against errant retailers and strengthen its administration of the Consumer Protection, Trade Description and Safety Requirements Act, particularly to enforce this Act against retailers who run afoul of the law such as those who labelled jewellery pieces as of a certain gold fineness standard when they are not and those who imported toys that do not meet the safety requirements. I think these are very dangerous and irresponsible acts. These errant retailers have to be taken to task so the consumer, both locals and foreigners alike, can shop with confidence and ease in Singapore. My recent dialogue session with a group of local jewellers showed that many of the retailers actually are not aware of their legal duties and obligations under this Act. Timeshare and lemon law”
“Sir, let me first declare my interest as President of the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE). CASE has been actively educating the public and protecting their consumer rights. However, certain groups of consumers are not reached by our regular information channels. There is an urgent need for us to put in place programmes and activities so as to reach out to a specific audience like the young consumers and the illiterate, particularly the elderly and the housewives. To meet the need to enhance their awareness, we require additional resources to put in place a comprehensive plan and a more focused programme to deliver the message in a way and in a medium that would best suit this group of people. Sir, CASE studies show that the elderly and the housewives often fall victim to direct sellers, door-to-door sales as well as being persuaded to use their retired savings to buy structured financial products and investment-linked insurance policies. We should help them to better understand financial products and their risks as well as protection against door-to-door sales and their rights under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. The young consumers and the students form another group. It is important to educate this group of consumers as they do spend a lot of money purchasing items like mobile phones, services and lifestyle products. We aim to provide such consumers with some tips and also raise their awareness on legal protection for the purchase of services or products in the area of beauty and electrical and electronic devices as well as mobile phone and related mobile and broadband services. I would like to request MTI to consider providing additional funding support for such initiatives.”
“When hiring Singaporeans, employers usually require them to have a certain level of skills. Employers have a quality control role here. They must make sure that they hire on a fair basis, whether they are Singaporeans or foreigners, by using the same hiring standard. I heard that the Government will adopt the WSQ standard for the hiring of these workers, hoping that all employers will adhere to these guidelines, so that they will only hire those who can contribute. An example would be the service industry. Our employers have to ensure that workers in the service industry are able to converse both in English and one other language. Why? Because if they fail to communicate with the customers, they will lose these customers. I hope the Ministry of Manpower can look into this and improve the situation. There is no one solution to all the problems of course. When companies adopt a more advanced method to solve these problems, they should be given more relief and incentives. Last, I hope that we will not see improvement in our economic productivity only. We must continue to build an inclusive and caring society, not just one that focuses on economic growth. We should grow as a people together and open our hearts to each other. *Cols. 2805-2812. 2.16 pm”
“I have discussed this problem with many of my friends in this industry. They complain that the increase in the foreign worker levy will raise the cost of construction projects and they will have no choice but to pass it on to the consumers and the companies who buy their services. I feel that such a mentality has to be changed. Recently, a Chinese company has caught my attention and surprised me greatly. The Finance Minister highlighted that Singapore construction industry’s productivity is only one-third of Japan’s to prod us to increase our productivity in the field. He used this example as a warning. What I would say is that if we do not improve, we will not even be able to compete with China. I noticed that the Chinese people have already started the process of sustainable construction. The Broad Air Conditioning is one such example. While construction time has reduced to just 20% of what it usually takes, the number of workers it employs has decreased too. Besides allowing construction time to shorten, they will also make sure that the entire process is in line with environmental regulations. Their buildings are environmentally friendly and energy efficient, therefore tenants do not need to use much airconditioning. More importantly, during the entire process, the use of building materials has decreased to just 25%. I feel that all these savings is the real breakthrough of productivity. We should not just look at levies. What is important is the kind of foreign workers that come into Singapore. It is not so much the number but the quality of this workforce. What we need is talent. As such, when employers hire workers, they need to make sure that the worker has a good conduct and make suitable arrangement for him.”
“I hope this example will remind our employers that while driving up productivity, they are not just asking the workers to work more, they should also improve the overall productivity and reward the workers fairly, which will motivate the workers to work in a better way. As we improve our productivity, I would like the Minister to provide more incentives to encourage more employers to take on such schemes. It is said that "birds that rise early get to eat worms". We should reward those "early adopters" so that they can have more resources and more support. With more successful stories like Han’s, we can increase the productivity of our entire nation. Sir, some people believe that increasing productivity will cause unemployment, but I do not agree. For example, in the service industry, manpower shortage has always been a problem. Our challenge lies in how to encourage more Singaporeans to work in this industry. In order to do so, we need to improve the entire productivity of the service sector; employers then can afford to pay higher wages. This will make service industry jobs more attractive to the average Singaporean. We also have e2i to help workers switch careers, giving them the choice of whom to work for. Hence, small companies will be motivated to upgrade themselves so as to retain staff. I applaud the announcements made in the recent Budget to boost innovation and productivity in the private sector, but is the public sector doing the same? Some of these measures are geared towards the private sector. I heard that the Finance Minister will ensure that our public services will work to be more productive. We should not leave out the public sector and, in fact, the public sector should take the lead. Next, I wish to talk about the construction sector.”
“Third, collaboration from all levels to boost demand and increase the salaries of its employees. Fourth, constantly look for opportunities and not be complacent. A good example is Han's. This is a local company well-known for its employment of older workers. It has also gained recognition for the steps to increase the productivity of its staff. For instance, they embarked on a service excellence journey and train their staff under the Customer-Centric Initiative. This has helped to increase their turnover by 9% and the staff have learned better communication skills, food hygiene practices, and management of F&B processes. Workers feel that they are empowered to make decisions and enjoy their jobs more. After the increase in their productivity, they also increase their staff's salaries. So this is a very good example. All our service sector can do the same. We should not just focus on the manufacturing sector. We should also pay attention to the service sector as it provides more job opportunities for Singaporeans. Right now, the productivity of this sector is only 58% of the United States. With the opening of the Integrated Resorts, we have to do more to increase the productivity of the service sector and improve its overall performance. For example, after Han’s adopted the Customer-Centric Iinitiative, it has since become a model cafe. As a result, their overall productivity has increased by 118%, and sales increased by 60%. When we talk about productivity, we should look at more than increased output. It does not mean that an increase in productivity will result in fewer workers. To use Han's as an example again, they reduced operating costs and saved $1.2 million. Even in the face of the financial crisis last year, they can still increase their staff bonus.”
“It may sound unpleasant but it will work, and it will benefit us for a long time. On the contrary, plausible suggestions like abolishing foreign worker levy may sound good and sweet. We must be aware that we may get killed by feeling too high. What we want is not sweet talk but workable solutions. Many of the blue-collar workers are not happy with foreign workers, blaming them for depressing the wages. Luckily, we have the WIS to give them an extra 10%. Imagine this: if employers do not have to pay levy, resulting in even cheaper foreign workers, what would happen to our blue-collar workers? We must be responsible for millions of Singaporeans who had worked hard for Singapore's today. To do that, we must continuously build a competitive booming economy which give jobs to everybody. We cannot, like some European countries, be like an ostrich, burying its head in the sand, and not willing to recognise the reality of globalisation and the competition it will bring. It is said that "Not fire-up, you'll get fired." This is a reality. We must do our best. So this Budget will achieve our target. "I will get even stronger when my competitor gets stronger." And everybody, men and women, young and old, should all increase their productivity and get higher pay. In fact, higher productivity does not mean asking workers to work overtime and work more laboriously. What it means is that companies must improve their institutional capabilities. On 24th February, an article in My Paper, shared NTSC’s secrets to improve its productivity. There are four secrets. One, the management has to foresee the future trend and set up a good management system. Second, look for suitable technologies to reduce mistakes and save on materials cost.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Sir, I welcome this year's Budget. It provides resources and financial support to implement ESC's recommendations. I feel that the past two years' Budget had to deal with economic crisis, financial tsunami and unemployment. Last year's Budget, to a large extent, was to save the market and worked as a painkiller. As the world economy recovers, this year's Budget will be more like a tonic to improve our health. So it differs from the previous Budget in that the latter is a remedy for sickness, and the current one is a tonic to boost our health. We do not see the Finance Minister handing us hong baos this year; instead he is going to fill our wallets. Sir, this year's Budget is different from last year's. As Minister Lim Swee Say said, it is different but "same-same". In the end, the target is the same. It comes back to jobs and helping our overall employment. After last year's financial crisis, the world order has changed significantly. The good ones are cheaper and the cheaper ones are better. Now the situation is, if you do not work hard today, you will have to look for a job tomorrow. We cannot just wait for the rabbit and live our lives out of hong baos. So to progress fast, we must increase our companies and workers' competitiveness, so that they can move up to a higher level. Hong Kong people say that if you move fast, you will get a better world. We must be faster, cheaper and more efficient to keep income coming or better still, more income. This is what I call "keeping our wallets and filling them up". The announcement by the Finance Minister brought disquiet to some people. However, most people would understand the Budget's intention.”
“Sir, may I seek a clarification from the Minister? Is it true that for the BTO system, in addition to the construction time and the process that HDB needs to take, there is also a time factor, which is we have to wait until there is a total of 75% or more than 75% of the applicants for a certain block before HDB decides to build the block or the precinct? I think that actually poses quite a lot of uncertainty for the waiting times for the new applicants.”
“I think we all agree that we need foreign manpower to supplement our local workforce but does the Minister agree that we should get employers to ensure that fairer terms and performance-based reward and remuneration systems be implemented in these sectors that are much more dependent on foreign workers? And also, at the same time, employers should step up efforts to re-design work processes to improve productivity and so pay the workers well in these sectors. And would the Ministry also consider ensuring that employers are more transparent in the recruitment process when they have to recruit local and foreign workers? I think it is important to ensure that the foreign workers that we bring in have the job and language competencies.”
“Since it is not mentioned in the Addendum, can the Minister elaborate on future plans for servicing the fast growing dementia afflicted population in Singapore? It is my suggestion that another custom built residential institution be planned in Singapore following the Apex Harmony Lodge model. Currently, Apex Harmony Lodge is the only customised residential institution with a day-care centre in Singapore and it is a good model to follow. My final point in regard to affordability of acute healthcare in Singapore is to request the Health Minister to ensure that the number of C class beds in the new hospitals is sufficient to meet the needs of future projections of possible six million people living in Singapore. In conclusion, I believe that the Singapore populace is changing in its characteristics and in its landscape. This demands a response from the Government that is sensitive yet appropriate to meet the new expectations. With that, I support the motion. 5.35 pm”
“Together with the wellness project and Council for Third Age or C3A, preventive steps to keep older people occupied and healthy have been implemented. I would like Mr Lim to provide more details about the plans he has for developing Singapore as a thriving research and business centre for ageing, as was mentioned in the President's Address and the Addendum. A small suggestion I have for any thriving business or silver industry is that maybe 1% of the profits can be channelled back to the poor and the needy elderly. This is in line with the principle of distributive justice. This concept means that all people, in this case the sub-group of elders, should be treated fairly even when their circumstances differ. My point is that if economic gain is to be made from the growing sub-group of elders who will be big-time consumers in Singapore, from the middle and upper classes, then part of the profits should go back to the poorer segments of the population too. Could the Minister also describe his plans relating to facilitating of ageing-in-place of seniors? As in other countries, does he envisage linking services, such as medical clinics, banks, parks and other community-based services to housing estates? Currently, we only have senior activity centres that are linked to the older people living in HDB flats such as studio apartments. On the Addendum by Ministry of Health, I was heartened to read about Minister Khaw Boon Wan's plans for intermediate and long-term care for seniors alongside this infrastructural expansion. The Health Minister has outlined the plans for ensuring availability of qualified professionals and staff to run these institutions.”
“I believe that the Child Court is an excellent new development as we are keeping up with international trends and are also proactive in responding to changing circumstances. My concern is that if insufficient qualified family counsellors are available, due to the lack of foresight and planning, the programme may run into some problems. Lastly, I would like to ask Minister Balakrishnan to outline the plans for publicity and public education regarding the Mental Capacity Act as I feel there is a lot of work required before the Office of Public Guardians starts operations. Now, I would like to move to the Addendum by the Prime Minister's Office, Minister in charge of Ageing Issues. I would like to commend Mr Lim Boon Heng on the many achievements that his team have made in the past three years. The whole of Government approach to pursue the strategic thrusts of financial security, ageing-in-place, providing holistic and affordable healthcare and eldercare and, lastly, promoting active ageing among healthy citizens above 60 years, is a sound strategy. The goal of forging an inclusive society of young and old is an ideal that needs the sincere efforts of all residents for its realisation. I say this because in the current economic recession, older people may be seen as a burden to their families, an additional mouth to feed. With the new means test introduced in hospitals, some families have had to struggle even more to continue their filial duties. Due to cultural reasons, such as wanting to save face, they may not take the initiative to apply for Medifund. Perhaps nurses and doctors have to keep a keen lookout for such families and proactively approach them for referral to medical social workers as potential applicants for silver Medifund.”
“They take the initiative to do this, in particular these schemes are for seniors and the handicapped. Going forward, I would like to recommend a more proactive approach by policy makers and service providers in pre-empting future problems, such as the rise of child sexual abuse, and consider the idea of making it mandatory for all professionals, including doctors, especially GPs, lawyers, nurses, teachers, social workers, counsellors to report all suspected cases of child abuse to MCYS. I believe some inroads have been made by the Child Protection Branch of MCYS, but child sexual abuse has yet to be brought under control. Perhaps more public talks have to be held in libraries and other public spaces, so that this taboo topic can be aired and dealt with. Another development in the legal sector that crosses into the family and child welfare sector is a Child Court, which is officially located under the Family Court. There was no mention of this new programme under the Ministry of Law, nor was it mentioned under MCYS. The child programme is in the children's best interest and less adversarial. It is mainly in relation to custody disputes in divorce proceedings, as it has been found that there were 4,505 children below age 18 years who were involved in divorce proceedings in 2007, a 3% increase over , and this is from the Subordinate Court's website. Phase 1 was launched last year and at Phase 1 stage, the child programme was voluntary for parents, but I believe it should have moved into Phase 2 now. Could the Minister for Law update the House on the current status of Child Court and whether the family counsellor who sits through the proceedings is selected from the Family Counselling Unit of the Family Court or the Child Protection Branch of MCYS?”
“However, in the current world of volatility and economic uncertainty, this is hard to imagine. Hence, we cannot wait for the day when our materialistic needs are fully met before we change into a more gracious society. To summarise, to make Singapore a beautiful home, a shining red dot, as it were, the real test is in our daily social interactions with all those we meet, starting from family members. How do we seek creative ways to generate this? Well, one practical suggestion is for companies and offices to have recognition for the most gracious employee, just as we have for the most efficient employee. However, more subtle ways are through parent-teacher meetings, committee meetings, sports events, people and private sector, electronic and paper communications and, lastly, through the civil service, both internally as well as in interactions with the public. An integrated and multi-sectorial strategy is required with reinforcement from the media from time to time. I move on now to the specific issues. Sir, I will refer to the Addenda by MCYS and Ministry of Law jointly, because they are interconnected. The priorities as laid down by Minister Balakrishnan are relevant and comprehensive. However, my concerns are in the implementations and the details. For example, what guidelines will enable the officers to exercise flexibility to assist applicants of Comcare schemes and public assistance? Will the mentality of "just follow law" be corrected in the officers? I like the mentality of some frontline service staff in some developed countries who take the initiative of suggesting that you, the person in the queue, may be eligible for a certain scheme, just by their observation and their experience.”
“Under the topic, "Creating a First Class Home", the President talked about becoming a country of gracious people and raising standards of social behaviour. This made me reflect on the causes of lack of graciousness, one of which is unlimited and pervasive competition. From a very young age, parents instil the spirit of competitiveness, although the degree varies by ethnic groups. From the time the innocent kids start kindergarten school, they receive the message from teachers, parents, relatives - you must achieve. The "me first attitude" develops and gets bolstered when the children see that those who achieve, irregardless of the methods they use, are praised and rewarded. Our society rewards material and academic success. It does not reward helpful behaviour or consideration shown to a fellow mate. We need to break this cycle that goads our people to become egocentric, self-centred and ungracious. No doubt, the Singapore Kindness Movement has been a good campaign to remind us of the importance of being considerate and compassionate, however, I feel it is sporadic, it does not sink into becoming a part of our daily behaviour. So, can academic and economic competitiveness co-exist with graciousness? My view is that it can happen only if our school teachers and our parents act as role models to guide the next generation. The awareness and consciousness have to be drilled into all of us, that we, the people of Singapore, represent our country. A country is represented by the quality of its people and tourists are very alert in recognising the soul of a people. It is said that as a country matures and the main tracks to the people are no longer materialistic, the behaviour of the people will reflect their inner sense of security.”
“How can we increase efficiency and targeting of help and services to those who need it? A multi-pronged approach is suggested that advertises services and programmes through HDB open spaces, radio, TV channels and even in school assembly talks and workplace lunch time talks and workshops. I realise it would require many Ministries to cooperate, but at least there is assurance that the goal of targeting the invincible needy would be achieved. One example of the way in which relevant policies do not attain the impact projected is the Workfare Income Supplement or WIS. While I commend the efforts of NTUC staff in liaising with both employers and employees to swell the numbers of workers benefiting from this scheme, as I understand, all the informal workers - daily-rated, casual workers who are not on the CPF scheme - fall outside of WIS. How can we prevent them from falling through the cracks? For a start, if they have children in schools, the School Pocket Money Fund could help them, if they apply for it. If they work as dishwashers and cleaners at shopping malls and hawker centres, food vouchers and transport vouchers could be made accessible to them. During a community project that my undergraduate students conducted from February to March this year, there was feedback from the ordinary people that they interviewed that the Government should do more to help this group. They work hard and they work long hours, but they cannot cope with the rising inflation, especially in terms of foodstuffs, vegetables, and so on. I move on to my third point, which I have called, "Competitiveness versus Graciousness". Can they co-exist?”
“If an economic driven decision leads to strong evidence that the social and moral fabric of society is being undermined, will the Government scale back or even close down the cause of the social problems? Some of you may be thinking that these are rather far-fetched scenarios, but I can assure you that these demographic and social factors change very fast. Political decisions made, based on purely economic benchmarks, run the risk of alienating citizens and this can lead to a country's social erosion. That is why I pose this question to the Singapore leaders. Sir, I move on to the next point, MCYS has developed the "many helping hands" concept, which basically means that there are many players in the social service delivery system and the Government is only one of them. The others are family, voluntary people sector, private corporate sector, and so on. It is important to note that the Government funds many VWOs, together with the National Council of Social Service and Singapore Totaliser Board. While this policy approach is good for the Government, ie, it is cost effective and it requires all the people and their families to be responsible for their problems. It has many drawbacks on the ground for lay people. There are gaps in services, duplication, wastage of resources and confusion for the potential end user. Services tend to be fragmented and the bridges that should link the services with the people are often missing, for example, volunteers are marginalised and disadvantaged populations are usually less literate. So the media that are used most frequently are unsuitable for outreach, for example, posters, flyers, Internet. What are some creative answers that can address the shortcomings of the "many helping hands" approach?”
“" Some years ago, a prominent civil servant explained to me that as long as the economic principles are sound and sustained economic growth takes place, all the other conditions for progress will follow. Economic priorities are always at the forefront of the Singapore political leaders' horizon and social as well as other considerations, for example, moral and environmental priorities, are ranked lower in the scale of importance. This approach has proved to be our strength in the past, accounting for our miraculous success in the past 49 years. However, is it timely to tweak this formula a little, in the face of uncertain and changing circumstances? Let us consider some possible scenarios. What if our increasing inflow of foreign labour, including foreign talent, compared to local citizens reaches a fifty-fifty ratio? If social unrest and envy, fuelled by unemployment of the local population, increase and lead to greater divisiveness, not only along citizenship lines but also ethnic and religious fault lines, will the Government rank social cohesion and integration issues higher than economic issues? Would new policies be introduced to reduce the unrest and assure Singaporeans that the Government will put into action its words that "every Singaporean matters". Let me paint another picture. Let us hypothesise that the two integrated resorts with casinos have been opened and due to the global economic situation and competition from neighbouring countries, the number of tourists that were expected fall short. Meanwhile, the social repercussions of the legalisation of gambling through the Casino Control Act start to afflict many Singaporean families, for example, gambling addiction, increasing in divorce rates, money laundering, prostitution and organised crimes.”
“Kalyani K Mehta (Nominated Member): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this debate. President Nathan's speech made on 18th May 2009 was a stark contrast to his earlier speech made in 2006. In the earlier speech, he laid out clearly the sectors that need to be focused on, such as the disabled, integration of foreigners and locals but in the recent address, he put emphasis on the current economic challenges, strengthening the social cohesion, upgrading education system and evolving our political system. I was particularly drawn to his underscoring of the need for fresh re-thinking and creative answers. Being an octogenarian with sharp wisdom, he stated, "However, our political system is not set in stone". He knows that creativity cannot sprout in a rigid and dogmatic environment. In my speech, I will touch on broad issues first before focusing on four main addenda to the President's speech, ie, the addenda from MCYS, Ministry of Law, Prime Minister's Office, Committee on Ageing Issues and Ministry of Health. I will highlight some gaps, as well as questions that remain unanswered in my mind as we journey through the current era of economic and social uncertainties. Broad issues: One, what is the Government's approach in running this little red dot, our relatively small city state of Singapore? From my understanding, it is a meritocritic system, a Singapore-styled democracy which adopts many characteristics of a mixed economy, defined as, I quote, "Type of economy in which private and public sectors co-exist and try to retain the advantages of capitalism and socialism while trying to eliminate the evils of both systems.”
“” This is what we want in a political party. Todate, we have a system to choose fairly, I called it : 主权在民，一人一票，公平投选 (zhu quan zai min, yi ren yi piao, gong ping tou xuan ), meaning that the voting rights lie in the people, one vote for one person, and the people vote fairly. We should safeguard such a system. Only then are we able to choose the right representatives for the people. I have a friend who just went to NTU recently to do his Masters and he told me that he is very happy to see that Singapore has such a system where every elected Member of Parliament is responsible to their residents. This is a basic principle in our system. Members bring the voices of his residents to Parliament, and these collective voices eventually form the voices of the nation. Under this system, Members could engage their residents, and eventually gain trust from them. Members will also safeguard the interests of their residents, deliver their promises and keep their word. Even after the general election, they work hard and stay committed to their promises to serve the people. My friend said that this is what he admired and I think this is an important principle that we should continue to uphold. Sir, as we weather through 2009, let our strengths as a people, resilience, resourcefulness and respect for each other shine through the difficult times. Let us look beyond our current circumstances to take care of others around us, keep a positive and resilient mindset and outlook so that when the economy has recovered, we can look back at this period and be proud for what we have achieved. I support the motion. Assoc. Prof.”
“I hope that the Ministry of Trade and Industry could consider reviewing the legislation with regard to timeshare issues, because it is imperative that we protect consumer rights from a pro-business point of view. Lastly, I would like to talk about the issue of political reform. I think political stability is an advantage to Singapore. Over the past 40 years, Singapore had been able to progress without corruption, and not influenced by evil forces, or other emotional issues. The people are free to vote for the right candidate to lead the country, and we must ensure that this system continue to go on. Like what Senior Minister Goh said, Singaporeans must have the right to vote for an efficient government that can work for the people, unlike some countries where the governments make promises but never deliver results. If the Government does not adopt a “people-based” approach to serve the people, the people will not cast their vote for the Government. So in this equal "one-person-one-vote" system, we do not have money politics, no corruption or political problems involved. We can say that this is a good system. As we fine-tune our system, we should also ensure that we keep the good Principles and Practices. We should keep theses good principles and practices in the system for the interests of Singaporeans. Of course, no one can guarantee that the Ruling party or Opposition party will not fall to corruption. However, as PAP said in its pledge: “To pledge ourselves as one united nation, to build a strong party and to strive by every means so as to have a vibrant and equal society where every citizen - no matter the race, language or religion - can enjoy a happy life and compete on equal ground in the society.”
“In fact, every Singaporean should keep in mind that others also have the same freedom and liberty to use public amenities. As much as we have the right to take a stroll in the garden and our dogs have the right to stroll in the garden, we should also remember that others have the right to take a stroll in the garden too. We must bear in mind our own responsibility, so legislation is not the solution to all the problems. If everything has to be legislated, then there would not be any ending to it all. Instead of relying on rules, we should all just be aware of the environment and community we live with and practice ownership over the society we live in. Let us not have a society that relies on rules to do the things we ought to do out of goodwill and graciousness. However, while we should not have more rules to just remind people to be gracious and be considerate, I do hope that in other areas, we can put in more protective rules. In these areas we seem to be in a state of anarchy where certain things are concerned. One area to look at is there is need to strengthen our legislation to address the loanshark problem. We have seen how loansharks harass residents. A lot of residents hope that the Government will strengthen legislation in this area, especially for those people who moved out but did not change the addresses on their identity cards, and they continue to use the old information to borrow money and get the new flat owners into trouble. This is irresponsible behaviour. So we should amend the law to protect the innocent residents. This should include the consumer protection issue in the timeshare industry.”
“” They have a small poster [indicating] which is an inspiring reminder that self resilience and resourcefulness remain valuable traits when the tide is not in your favour, and I would like to share it with Singaporeans. It says here: "If there is no wind, row". When our yacht is unable to move forward because there is no wind, what are you going to do? Are you going to just sit on the yacht and wait for the waves to bring you somewhere or should you use your hands to row? So, I find that the message in the poster "if there is no wind, row" very meaningful, and I would like to encourage our workers by citing this phrase in the poster. I hope that we can let more workers in this economic downturn continue to stand up and have a better tomorrow. Tomorrow will be better. Sir, apart from hoping that our economy will recover soon, we also hope that Singapore could be a more gracious society. As an MP, we encounter different types of problems at our constituency. Let me cite an example. Recently, when I was having a walk at a garden in my constituency, a resident told me that some people who keep dogs let their dogs run around and poo everywhere. They simply do not care. So, why do we not ask the Government legislate to prohibit the dogs from barking unnecessarily and pooing everywhere and regulate that owner must put a muzzle on the big dogs, so that they do not frighten our children and old parents? But we should ask ourselves, “Is legislation the answer to all the problems?” Do we really want more rules? Enforcement is not the answer to creating a gracious Singapore. Instead, it is important to be mindful of others. We want the freedom to do what we want, but it cannot be at the expense of the freedom of others.”
“This is a very good example of how a worker had adjusted to a new environment. On the other hand, of course, we must also encourage our employers to adjust their mindsets at this time. I would like to ask employers in the service industry if they can reassess their hiring policies and hire more locals. Very often, the service sector, particularly in F&B sub-sector, hire foreign workers to make up for the shortage or perceived lack of experience of local staff. But today we see many foreign workers, who worked in our F&B outlets, do not understand English or speak it well. If employers can put up with this deficit, is it not better then to hire locals who have been retrained for the jobs in service line? Can MOM check that employers are complying with the ratio and can employers give locals a chance to prove themselves in the service line? Of course, these employers can employ foreigners as well but they should consider giving the chance first to Singaporeans. Let our workers find a new job. So I think a mindset change of employer is equally important. Sir, in Cantonese, there is this saying, "Ma si luo di han, kei ow wun ma", meaning, to continue to walk after the horse has died, and we cannot just stand beside the dead horse and cry. And if we happen to come across an ox along the way, we should take advantage of this opportunity to ride the ox while looking for another horse. I visited Hong Kong lately and realised that they have very encouraging puplicity schemes for the workers, and the key message to the workers is: "In these times when the unemployment rate is so high, we still have tomorrow, we still have hope.”
“Most importantly, how we can let the workers or employers adjust to this situation at this difficult time? So the real problem is not whether there are jobs, rather it is about whether we have the ability to adjust to the situation. We must help the workers upgrade their skills and help them psychologically to be prepared to adjust to their new jobs. At a NTUC prize-giving ceremony, I met an awardee, Mdm Sng, who is 56 years old and has worked in a garment factory for 30 over years. When she was retrenched in early 2009, she was among the first to take up the Employability Can Plus programme by NTUC Learning Hub, despite some initial fears about going back to the classroom. From there, she learned of the choices she had, but, most importantly, she had to dispel her own fears of going back to the classroom. Just imagine yourself as a worker, after having worked at the same factory for more than 30 years, and all of a sudden you need to change your working environment, it is not an easy task. Perhaps we can help them a bit more, whenever possible. I am very happy to see that Mdm Sng was able to pick herself up and build up new confidence. During the training, as part of a confidence building segment of the course, she was asked to pick a stone that represented her. She picked a rough and cracked stone, likening herself to it – tough and able to weather any storm. She has since found a new job in a bakery and has gained new confidence, saying that she will continue to be just like that stone, undaunted no matter the circumstances wo jiang hui xiang na shi tou yi yang jian qiang (我将会象那石头一样坚强). Now, she has found a new skill and she has gone into the service line.”
“I was told to clear my office within a short notice and leave this place which had been a part of my life for the past 30 years and had become my second home. As I packed my things, my heart was bleeding and I had to hold back my tears. I felt very sad to part with my colleagues.” I want to share this story with Members because this person who got retrenched did not give up. He said that when he went home, he counted his savings and found that he had enough money to see him through. Most importantly, we must learn to stand up if we fall. He said that many friends comforted him and told him that this might be a blessing in disguise, meaning that a loss might turn out to be a gain. The concern from his family and friends made him feel better and on top of that, he felt that he should find ways to retrain himself so as to improve his employability. At that critical point, the care and concern from his family and friends, and the confidence he had was most important to him. I hope this short story can illustrate to our fellow workers that "All roads lead to Rome", there is always a way out, and eventually we will be able to break a new path. When people lose their jobs, they should try to find new jobs. It is not a matter of whether there are enough jobs for our workers. It is not as simple as what Mr Low Thia Khiang said: “So what if you send the workers for retraining? So what if the Economic Development Board creates new job opportunities?” Actually, retraining gives us an opportunity to upgrade our skills so that we can look for new jobs. By creating more job opportunities, we are providing new jobs for the workers. Of course, the problem is not only that.”
“The best way is to let the CDC or other authorities give him some financial relief and then help him find a new job. One of my friends told me, in the midst of such an economic situation, "What I am concerned is mei bu mei (美不美?) whether we look good or not?" I find it very strange and asked why are you still bothered about your looks? Actually, what he meant was that we should be concerned about whether the economy of the United States paints a rosy picture. If the economy in America is not good, we cannot have a good economy. Therefore, we cannot just listen to hearsay and get overly excited, thinking that the economy is picking up. Recently, some of my friends get very excited because the stock market seems like rolling on with full force. But we should know that the US consumption makes up 14% of total consumption in the world. Whether the economy is really picking up, no one will know at this point. We should continue to work hard, especially to help those workers who are affected to find new jobs. I have read a heart-warming story in Lianhe Zaobao, Tian Nan Di Bei’s column. The author Wenyi in the article wrote: “Since the economic crisis happened, we have read bad news on pay cut and retrenchment in the newspapers all the time. One day, I myself received a call from the boss PA. She told me that my boss wanted to see me. At that point, I realised that it was different watching a fire from the other side of the river. You feel different when you are on fire, and it is different watching the fire from a distance. My boss told me that I was retrenched. At that point, I realised the impact it caused to the retrenched worker.”
“In the video, rather than probing on why this gentleman had run out of the first tranche of his CPF money, or offering constructive solutions as the remaining $1,000 plus in his CPF minimum sum account really cannot solve his problem, the reporter focused on the frustration felt by the gentleman, asking him if he felt very 'qi gek' about his situation. Is he feeling very angry because he cannot withdraw CPF money and no one will help? This, I feel, is not helpful to those already facing hardship. Why do people keep saying, "I really feel for you. And I can feel your pain." But instead of extending a helping hand, they are rubbing salt onto his wounds. In these times, it is important to keep positive and be mindful of those putting salt on wounds and magnifying the negatives for whatever reason, especially if those reasons are political. I empathise with this gentleman's situation. But at the same time, I also wonder why he did not seek alternatives to his situation. Withdrawing the rest of his CPF monies is not a sustainable solution. Instead, why not approach the problem another way? Has the gentleman looked at other groups or schemes that can help him? He did mention that he sought the help of a Medical Social Worker in the past to pay for his medical bills. Perhaps he can seek similar avenues to help him out of his situation. For example, has he gone to CDC? The example of the above video clip makes us feel for those workers who lost their jobs. We have plenty of assistance schemes to help them. As the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome.” There are not one but many roads. Even if we allow him to withdraw this $1,000-plus from his CPF, how long will this money last?”
“The whole idea is to avoid record retrenchments, avoid record unemployment and strive for more up when up. A young resident from my constituency recounted and shared with me a conversation with an Australian friend working in London. This London worker was worried that she might lose her job as more and more companies there are letting staff go and those who resign on their own accord are not replaced. When he read about Singapore in the papers and got to know about the various schemes that we have in Singapore to help workers, he expressed the hope to be in Singapore. He told my young resident that in other countries, a lot of employers would try to cut down jobs to cut costs, ie, they cut jobs to save costs. But,he could see that over here the union, the Government and the workers are trying very hard to cut costs in order to save jobs. So we save costs to give more jobs to our workers. This is something unique about Singapore, and we should continue this way. Of course, there are other assistance schemes as well. We can see that the NTUC U Care Fund has raised $23 million to help the retrenched workers during this economic downturn to find new jobs. However, some may still lament that there is not enough help. Recently, I have seen a video clip on YouTube and this short film is produced by the Singapore Enquirer. In this short film, they interviewed a man who claimed that he is 57-years old.He laments that CPF policies prevent him from withdrawing his remaining retirement savings till he is 64. He was retrenched a few months ago, and because of his ill health, is unable to find a job.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it goes without saying that the current economic downturn has affected many Singaporeans adversely, and we can also see that a lot of people are very concerned about employment situation and retrenchment. Of course, we are very happy to see that, in a time such as this, the NTUC has been even more active in helping Singaporeans in need and, most importantly, we have a tried and tested tripartism system. This uniquely Singapore system of tripartite relationships has grown from strength to strength. The labour, employer and Government, are able to work together on this strong tripartite platform to cushion the impact of the global recession. Each party understands the other and together, we strive for an all-win situation for Singaporeans. From the newspapers report, we know that in many countries, there is only one way out, ie, to demonstrate on the roads. But, even so, there could be no solution. We need to see how are we going to make sure that this system of tripartism will continue to grow from strength to strength, and the three parties are able to work hand in hand. We do not know when the recession will end, or what its costs are. But as we navigate our way through this dark tunnel, we should still believe there is a light at the end of it. Though we cannot see it now, the tripartite spirit will keep us hand in hand and offer us the support, hope and opportunities to move onwards as one people, towards better times and days. For instance, NTUC rallied for tripartite and business partners, union leaders and staff to work towards being the most pro-business economy, the most pro-worker nation, the most united tripartism and the most caring Labour Movement.”
“Sir, may I ask whether the Minister is aware that the CaseTrust Scheme is only aimed at protecting the students as consumers. In the case of any dispute with the school, we have the Student Protection Scheme to help the students recover the fees they paid. But with the recent incidents, you can see that the insurance scheme is still problematic because the school defaulted on the payment of the insurance scheme or did not even buy the insurance for the students. So, I would like to ask the Minister, moving forward, with the new EduTrust, would it have new measures to address this concern.”
“Sir, the total number of deaths in work accidents in 2008 is 67; and over the last one week, we saw another two workers die in workplace accidents. Sir, all such accidents are preventable and the learning points are not new. And that if more had been done, we could have prevented all these accidents from happening. The workers need not have died. To us, every case is one case too many. It is imperative for, not just the Government, but all stakeholders, particularly the employers, to put their act together to make our workplaces safer for all our workers. Could the Ministry expedite the process to make all workplaces covered by the new Workplace Safety and Health Act? In order for industry to have sufficient time to prepare and meet the requirement under this new Act, we should also activate the tripartite network to work out more practical solutions and measures to address all the occupational health and safety risks in all these workplaces. In particular, we are trying to cover more workplaces that have not been covered under the Factories Act in the past. I hope MOM could also consider providing incentives and facilitating more industry-driven WSH initiatives to improve the safety standard in all our workplaces. I would like to ask the Ministry for an update on the progress made so far in improving our workplace safety and health performance after the new Act has been put in place. Do we see significant improvements in safety and health standards since the formation of the new Workplace Safety and Health Council under the new Act? Workplace Health and Training”
“I hope MOM could take this issue up with the governments of sending countries to see what more we can do. Moving forward, we should further strengthen the control on local employment agents and contractors as well, as it is so easy to form a company in Singapore. These employers, contractors or the employment agents should also not be allowed to float multiple or different companies in order to get around the black list. I would also like to request MOM to monitor closely and step up efforts in raising the employment rate of Singaporeans at the same time, particularly older workers and women. I think we need to educate the HR practitioners and management to change their mindset against matured workers. We also need to place more emphasis on encouraging Singaporeans to consider jobs in the services sector because we cannot be too much dependent on foreign workers for the services sector in future.”
“Sir, the labour movement here is concerned about the welfare of all workers, both local and foreign. We recognise the need to attract foreign workers to work in Singapore in order to supplement our workforce. Unlike many other countries, in Singapore, our Employment Act gives legal protection to all workers, both foreigners and locals. However, MOM should step up its enforcement. For instance, more foreign workers will be out of jobs and be sent back with the economic recession. MOM has to ensure that the employers would not send the workers back home before their salary or accident disputes can come to light or be settled. When it comes to the treatment of foreign workers, we need a set of good practices. They are companies that do it right and there are some doing terribly wrong. As the downturn worsens, there is a risk that some employers may treat workers unfairly or not pay them using the economic downturn as an excuse. We should not let employers exploit the downturn and not pay the workers or treat their workers unfairly. I hope that the Ministry could play a more active role to strengthen the tripartite collaboration in promoting good employment practices and the general well-being of the foreign workers. I also wish to know whether the Ministry has plans to address the issue of accommodation and social needs of foreign workers in Singapore. Sir, in fact, the key reason for foreign workers' problem is the hefty sum that they have to pay before they come to Singapore. Many of them told us that they have to pay their agent at home up to more than S$8,000 to come here. So they have no choice but to jeopardise their own health and safety by working as much as they can to recover the fees. This has to stop.”
“We need to ensure that there is sufficient assistance and counselling for families with long-term financial difficulties. This is especially important if there are children involved. During this time of family crisis, the children may feel helpless and embarrassed; so they do not seek help or share their problems. They may feel that the situation is hopeless because they cannot help their parents. We need more outreach programmes to increase awareness and more holistic counselling to ensure that the children are protected from this emotional upheaval that may affect them negatively. Central Agency for Social Assistance”
“Sir, over the last 12 years, we see that each economic cycle is shorter and shorter, and many have been hit not just once but twice by the economic slowdowns. In this scenario, it is clear that we need more than just quick-fix financial handouts. For some time now, Singapore has done well in our many-helping-hands approach in assisting the lower income groups. But I think we need a network and system to organise these many helping hands. If not, the ball may just get passed around from one organisation to another or drop out of sight. I propose the setting up of H2O, a Helping Hands Organiser system, either in the CDC or even at the CCC welfare committee, to better coordinate available helping hands and to make it more accessible, so that in times of need, people are not running from one place to another to get assistance, or waiting needlessly for messages to get passed around. Such a system can also ensure that the need, would not drop out of sight. We also need to look at whether our existing resources, such as Family Services Centres, require more capacity building or need to be expanded in their outreach. It is good news that the Government is extending a helping hand to VWOs, and we must ensure that the Family Service Centres are not left out of the picture. What are the needs of these existing FSCs? Do they need more resources? How far have they come and what is the profile of the people they help? I think it is important to raise the profile of these centres and I think the Government needs to play a more supporting role in this, particularly to strengthen the existing Family Service Centres or provide support to establish more new FSCs if need be. Apart from the financial assistance, we also need to promote emotional well being.”
“]: Chairman, the Finance Minister announced in the recent Budget that we will be spending a lot on infrastructure building in 2009 to make Singapore better off. To achieve this aim, we have to spend more on human resource which is our only resource, especially investing in our children. And this should start from pre-school and not only when they go into primary school. If we can actually inject more money into early childhood, this should work well for our future. And we have always said that our children are the pillars of society in the future! At this moment in time, Singapore is experiencing a reduced birthrate. Hence it is paramount that we place emphasis on early childhood development and pre-school education. As shown from this old Chinese story, where the mother moves three times to find a good place for the child, we know that in this case we must give our children the best childhood memories and the best childhood education. Hence, in this aspect, I hope that the Government will actually have more grants for pre-school education so that our parents can send the young children to the best childcare centres rather than leaving them with the maids. Family Court - Maintenance Orders”
“Sir, childhood is a critical stage in a child's development. My concern is that childcare centers in Singapore are run on an entirely market driven model, and the regulation of the standards of these childcare centres is sketchy. I would like to know: how are these childcare centers rated and how do we assess quality of the early childhood education conducted in all these centers? Does the Government have long-term plans for early childhood development and education for our kids, including both the quality of services and also for the teachers? MOE's expenditure for primary school child rose by 69% over the last 12 years but childcare grants and support for early childhood development and education have not increased at the same level. In fact, while childcare subsidies increase, so do the fees. We must ensure that the amount of subsidies does not up just defraying the cost of the rental for the childcare operators but that the money goes to useful ends and better quality of the childcare center. Between foreign domestic workers and a proper childcare center, I think the choice of our parents is very clear. But the fact that we still have more than 150,000 foreign domestic workers and many are here to look after our pre-school children shows that much more support from the Government is needed. In Hong Kong and China, the government helps childcare operators with the building of the infrastructure and sets a standard of assessment for operators to ensure that the quality of early childhood development is on par. We should consider doing the same. Sir, let me say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin) [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.”
“Following means testing, Singaporeans will enjoy the Government subsidies on a sliding scale. I hope that the Ministry will be more flexible in implementing the medical insurance scheme in view of the present economic recession. Some lower and even the middle income Singaporeans may have financial difficulties in this economic downturn. Although we know the 3M schemes are very good, there are always some cases which are not covered by the 3M schemes. I hope that the Ministry of Health will consider having some flexible schemes to help people with special needs. Can our MediShield cover all our children from birth, using an opt-out scheme instead of the opt-in scheme? *Cols. 2493-2494. Liberalising Medisave Use”