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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“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Madam, one morning, I was at China Square when I overheard a conversation in Hokkien amongst some elderly people who appeared to be financially well-off. They said, "When you are young, you work to support your children. When you are old, you work to support the doctors." What they mean is that when they were young, they worked to support their children but now that they are old, they need to work to meet the medical expenses paid to the doctors. This reminded me of the movie "Money Not Enough" where two brothers wanted to send their mother to a higher class ward, but they realised that the higher wards would mean higher charges and they were worried that the medical insurance might not be sufficient to cover the hospital bill. I know the Ministry of Health has been working very hard to reduce the burden of medical expenses on Singaporeans. Would we have a national review to see whether all Singaporeans are adequately covered by medical insurance? We have to ensure that our people start taking up medical insurance from young so that they can protect themselves in their old age. I hope that the Ministry of Health would work with the trade unions and CASE to educate the public so that Singaporeans from all walks of life would make informed decisions to take up a medical insurance scheme that is best suited for them. Mr Chairman, since 1994, civil servants are placed under the Medisave-cum-Outpatient Scheme, a portable medical scheme. Under this Scheme, civil servants have an additional 1% of his monthly salary paid into the Medisave. Is this sufficient to cover their medical costs? Can this Scheme be extended to the private sector as well? We need to look into this.”
“Can I seek a clarification from the Minister of State on my call for the Lemon Law - how long will the Ministry take? When can we see the light at the end of the tunnel?”
“Sir, the Consumers' Association of Singapore also has, for many years, lobbied for the lemon law to be introduced in Singapore. In 2006, there were 1,473 complaints of defective handphones, electrical and electronic products, computers, motorcars, airconditioners, and so on and so forth. In 2008, they increased to 1,670. I am happy that MTI has already set up a task force to look into the possibility of introducing lemon law in Singapore. I hope that we could expedite it and would like to enquire on the progress of the review of the lemon law here and when the law can be expected to come into effect in Singapore to provide better protection for our consumers.”
“Sir, let me, first, declare my interest as CASE's President to speak on this cut. Sir, in the last three years, after the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act was introduced, the timeshare industry continues to top the CASE's complaints chart with complaint figures hovering above 200 cases per year. This shows that we need a new time share registration to provide our consumers with better protection. In the UK and the United States, timeshare operators are required to make clear disclosures such as the description of the accommodation, the services and amenities available. In Malaysia, timeshare operators are also required to issue a prospectus before they can sell such interests. We need a similar legislation framework here to request timeshare companies to disclose material information. The information should also be subjected to stringent audit checks. The requirements should also apply to other timeshare-related businesses as they are also involved in the scam against helpless consumers. In the UK, timeshare operators are also not allowed to collect money during the cooling-off period. Breach of this is a criminal offence. In Texas of the United States, any payment made during the cooling-off period is to be paid into a trust or escrow account. We should introduce such regulation here as well. I would also like to request MTI to extend the current cooling-off period from three working days to five working days under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. This is to give consumers more time to reconsider their purchase decision, particularly for timeshare as well. In addition, vendors should not be allowed to collect any deposit during the cooling-off period for timeshare.”
“Sir, can I seek clarifications from the Senior Minister of State, Assoc. Prof. Ho? Before we amend the law to classify borrowing from loanshark as a criminal act, should we not consider a more severe penalty for those who purposely do not change the address in their ICs and go and borrow from the loansharks? And would MHA work more closely with, say, HDB to ensure that all the residents in HDB, upon completion of the sale of the HDB flat, to change the address on their ICs? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, in fact the penalty for not changing the IC under the National Registration Act is already quite severe. If I am not wrong, it is either up to one or two years' imprisonment. But it is a question of the courts meting out a punishment that fits the offence. And in this case, certainly, if the person has not changed his IC to avoid loansharks coming after him, and knowing in the process that the innocent buyer will be afflicted, the prosecution will press for a deterrent sentence. On the other point, I agree that there should be closer collaboration between, say, the Police and HDB, to ascertain and see whether those who sell the HDB flats can be tracked to the next address.”
“Sir, is the Member aware that for those people, they can actually turn to CDC or the local CCC for ComCare assistance? And for those who are really desperate to seek new jobs, they can just go to e2i. Ms Sylvia Lim: Sir, I am well aware of that. From what we know from the people who have gone to CDC and so on, the amount of assistance that they may get varies greatly. Some people get $100, $200 or $300 - it depends. So, what we are proposing to the Government is that this scheme be implemented so that the unemployed who are really taking effort to seek jobs, will know that at the very least, there is this either half pay or up to $500 that they will get if they satisfy the criteria. I think the difference here is that there will be much more clarity and those who are at the position of job-risk, there will be a greater assurance for them that, okay, this is what they can get if they need to draw on it, and they can go and apply for it.”
“The Minister for Education sends you wishes for good results in your studies; The Minister for Community Development, Youth & the Sports sends you wishes for good community spirit with help and support coming from all quarters; The Minister for Transport sends you wishes for smooth and easy passages to everywhere you want to go; The Minister for Manpower sends you wishes for a good and auspicious start in your new working year; The Minister for Law sends you wishes for fewer parking tickets and less fines; and the Minister for Finance sends you wishes for plenty of money to use. As for me, I wish you good luck and success in everything you do. This is what our people are looking for too. I would like to quote from what MP Seng Han Thong has inscribed in his personally-designed new year card, "Team Singapore, work harder. We should not give up even in a time of crisis!" *Cols. 1607-1612. [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Matthias Yao Chih) in the Chair] 4.39 pm”
“The message was: The Prime Minister's Office sends you wishes for strength and vigour as you get older; The Minister for Environment and Water Resources sends you wishes that your money will pour in from all quarters like water; The Minister for Home Affairs sends you wishes for your safety in your everyday lives; The Minister for Defence sends you wishes for peace and contentment in the place you live in; The Minister for Trade & Industry sends you wishes for good business and prosperity; The Minister of Health sends you wishes for strength and health; The Minister for Foreign Affairs sends you wishes for good relationships and connections all round; The Minister for National Development sends you wishes for happiness and comfort at home. If you want a bigger house, you can have a bigger house. If you want a smaller house, you can have a smaller house. In other words, if you want to upgrade to a bigger flat, you can go for a bigger flat. But if you want to downgrade to a smaller one, MND can be more flexible so that we could downgrade to a smaller one. Your loan repayment period can be extended, and the waiting time for a new flat can be shortened. I sincerely hope that the Minister for National Development will seriously look into how to satisfy your needs. At this time, I hope that all the Government Ministries will be more pro-business, pro-people so that in this time of crisis, everybody could be reassured and encouraged to fight together for a better tomorrow.”
“So let us hope that we will help everybody so that this Package will be good and, at the same time, popular as well. Yesterday, I attended the Metro Company's "Learning Journey" known as the Customer-centric Initiatives. At the function, NTUC Secretary-General, Mr Lim Swee Say, announced that a $100 million service industry Resilience Package will be launched. This is indeed a booster shot in the arm for the service industry. The Managing Director of Metro told me that every year in December, it was boom time for his company – the most profitable month of the year. But last December was the only time in more than two decades that he suffered a loss during this festive season. He told me that in this situation, in the economic crisis, we are like running on a treadmill. We run very hard but we seem to be running on the same spot. We do not seem to be heading anywhere, yet we need to keep on running, otherwise, we will fall down. If you carry on running, then you will be fit. Once the thunderstorm outside stops, you can go outside and run faster than others. I think such an entrepreneurial business spirit is something that all our businessmen should emulate. I hope that all our companies would have this sort of fighting spirit. With the support of this Budget, we will be able to work for a better tomorrow. During the Lunar New Year, I received a very special SMS. It says our Prime Minister has asked the various Government departments to be warm and helpful to the people.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this WIS or the Jobs Credit Scheme have also given rise to some arguments that the benefits given to the employers may not be passed down to the workers. I remember that in my younger days when I was staying in a small kampung in the Bukit Timah area, my neighbour was a poultry farmer and he reared a lot of chickens. He told me that so long as you keep your chickens well, you would have fresh eggs to eat. So in this critical time, we are very clear that we need to have healthy chickens so that we would have eggs to enjoy. The enterprises or companies must maintain their competitiveness. If they survive, it would mean that our jobs are retained. So, if you help the businesses, you are also helping the individuals, and more importantly, we should not look at it negatively. Try to save as many jobs as possible, save as many companies as you can. That is the spirit! Just do it! As our NTUC Secretary-General, Mr Lim Swee Say, has said at this moment, to a person who is unemployed, the unemployment rate is 100%. We should help in any way we can. The $5.8 billion Risk-Sharing Package is something which many of our companies are full of praise for and they are hoping that the Ministry of Finance and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would have better coordination with the various banks and financial institutions. It is often said that a classic movie may be very good but that may not be very popular. Many companies and businessmen are worried that they may not be able to benefit from this Scheme. It looks like that the banks are only giving the life-saving devices to those who have not fallen into the water and those who are already in the water, they would not be given these life-saving appliances. They will not be saved.”
“The Government is trying their best to help them make ends meet so that they do not have to retrench their workers, and the workers will retain their jobs, and hence have the income to support their families. On the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), I am very happy that the Government is increasing it to 50%. This will further help 438,000 workers with monthly income of less than $1,500. That is, in a way, giving them a pay rise of 15%. There is this taxi driver who was reported in the Wanbao as saying "I do not know what this Budget is all about, but I do know that last year I did not get the money because I was not informed, and I did not top up my CPF account. As a result, I did not get my WIS last year." I hope that the Government will help, and the relevant authorities will be more flexible in dealing with all these applications. Even if some applicants may be late in topping up, we should not work by the book. We should help those people who need help, so that they will not be deprived of this benefit which they are rightfully entitled to. Not just the Government, the business community should also consider the predicament of the self-employed. We know that these self-employed people have to look after themselves. We should not leave them to fend for themselves. Although they are self-employed, in this economic crisis, they are also quite seriously affected as their income could also be seriously reduced. I hope that, apart from the tax rebate and the other rebates, the Government would also look into the problems of these self-employed people and give them some form of assistance. Perhaps we could top up their Medisave account so that they would also benefit from the WIS scheme.”
“Now, in this Budget, the Government is also saying that money is not enough. But just like the old mother in that movie, she opened up her old biscuit box, took out the money that she had been keeping for a long time, and handed it to her son, so that he could tide over his crisis. I think this type of "saving for a rainy day" attitude should be maintained. Most importantly, we have better hope that the money in the biscuit box is enough to tide us over this difficult time, and that we would be able to reverse the course of events. In the end, we will be like the brothers in that movie, we could put the money back into the biscuit box, so that it could be used again in future. Different people have different attitudes, just as Mr Low Thia Khiang has said. He said we should cut down on our defence expenditure. I do not understand! In Chinese, there is this saying "ju an si wei" or "Be prepared for danger in time of peace". Now that we are facing a crisis, are we talking about "ju wei si jiang", meaning in time of danger, think of lowering. The Chinese characters are very interesting. The character "jiang" or "lowering" is also the same character for "xiang", meaning surrender. So, in times of crisis, are we going to think of "jiang" (lowering) our defence budget and then think of "xiang" (surrender)? Certainly not! At this time of crisis, we must think of how to become stronger. At this time, we hope that these packages introduced in the Budget would be of greater help to our people. There was this caption in the Wanbao which said, "$5 billion to help the bosses pay salaries". In this package, we see that the Government has put a lot of thought in it. I hope that the employers should have conscience. They should be good to their workers.”
“(In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] In a very popular Hokkien song entitled "Work Hard to Win", there is a line that says "30% depends on luck, but 70% depends on your own efforts." In this Lunar New Year period, we see a great number of politicians from various nations going to the temples to pray because of this financial crisis. But, fortunately, our Singapore Government believes more in the second part of the lyric, that is, 70% depends on our own efforts. We want to do our best to help the poor and those who need help. At the same time, we want to strengthen ourselves, so that we can be ready when the time is better. The People's Action Party is a party that works for the betterment of our people. While we are faced with this global economic crisis, there are some people who are shooting themselves in their foot. Week after week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) keeps adjusting the growth forecast downwards. I think what we need is not to shoot ourselves but to put in concerted effort, with one heart and one soul, to turn the tide and reverse the course of events. Before the crisis, just as the Teochew people were saying, "If you do not have, you complain that they have not, but if you have, you say it is stinking." In this time of crisis, it is better to have something than to have nothing. We should adopt a positive attitude. Even if the fish stinks, squeeze some lemon juice on it, it can still fill your stomach. At least, you do not have to walk around with an empty stomach. Sir, at this time last year when we were talking about this movie "Money No Enough", many people were saying that at the end of the movie, not only money was not enough, the tissue paper was not enough. It was a very touching movie.”
“Is the hon. Member aware that, with the savings arising from the Jobs Credit Scheme and the stable prospect of the supermarket business, Sheng Siong mentioned that they will open a few more outlets in Singapore? And is the Member aware that each new outlet of such a supermarket, will create and generate new employment of 80 workers?”
“CASE also noted instances where suppliers deter consumers from seeking third party assistance by stating in the contract that once a third party intervenes, the contract will become null and void. Consumers are also told that the contract is private and confidential and should not be disclosed to third party, including CASE. We find such practices unfair. Consumers should not be prevented from seeking third party assistance for any contract dispute. Consumers are usually in a less knowledgeable position than the suppliers and, hence, are greatly disadvantaged and vulnerable, and need more help. We hope MTI would consider including such third party exclusion clause in the contract as unfair practices under the Second Schedule of the CPFTA. In response to concerns raised by Mdm Ho Geok Choo about the business community, with the new amendments, Sir, I think the business associations should play a more important and active role in educating their members and working with them to ensure that their practices do not breach the law and have a better understanding of the scope of CPFTA. CASE hopes to see more self-regulation and prepare to work with all the business associations closely to achieve this. I would like to know whether the Ministry has any plan to make the implementation of this legislation more effective. What role would the relevant Government agencies like MAS, SPRING Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board play? And would MTI coordinate better efforts by these agencies? What support would they provide to the retail and service sectors to educate the traders and facilitate the effective implementation of this CPFTA? 5.34 pm”
“Earlier this year, a 56-year old lady just collected her CPF money and she went to a local bank to deposit the $30,000 into a fixed deposit account. Before he could proceed with the transaction, she was approached by a financial consultant who advised her to invest the money into a new financial plan which would yield a higher interest and return. However, this financial consultant did not highlight to her the financial risks involved. A few months later, she went to the bank to inquire about her bank balance and discovered that there was only $25,000 left in the account. She was very worried because she wanted to save the money for her son's university education. Therefore, I believe that the amendment to the Act to include the sale of financial products and services is a step in the right direction. It is appropriate and timely. After the amendment, the Act would protect people like this 56-year old lady. Meanwhile, CASE has acted upon this matter and negotiated with the bank on her behalf, but we have yet to receive a response from the bank. *Cols. 3133-3134. (In English): We hope MTI could consider another new feedback we receive from consumers on unfair practices in the telecommunication sector which are the auto-renewal clauses in the contracts. This is prevalent in the telco contracts such as Internet access, subscription plans for handphones and television services. I am of the view that auto-renewal clauses are unfair to consumers. Consumers should be given the option to source for new providers upon the expiry of their contracts. Providers could and should remind their customers about a month before the expiry date of the contracts and encourage them to renew their contracts with them, instead of making it automatic.”
“Sir, the introduction of the CPFTA is a major step for consumerism in Singapore. The Act helped consumers to seek redress when vendors had engaged in unfair practices. For instance, last year, under this Act, CASE had managed to help consumers to recover S$4 million in kind and in cash. We strongly welcome the amendments to the CPFTA to widen its scope and appreciate that several suggestions from CASE have been taken into consideration in the current amendments to the CPFTA. These include increasing the prescribed claim limit from $20,000 to $30,000. We strongly believe that the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Amendment) Bill will further benefit and provide better protection to consumers. As the President of CASE, I am happy to note that the cooling-off period would also be extended to the resale timeshare industry. In year 2007 alone, 300 consumers had filed their disputes against resale timeshare operators with CASE. The extension of the cooling-off period to the resale timeshare industry would no doubt offer consumers some level of protection. However, it would also be better if MTI could consider the proposal that the suppliers or vendors are not allowed to collect huge sums of deposit during the cooling-off period, as such restriction would pre-empt the need to recover the money from the vendors subsequently. CASE is also disappointed that the cooling-off period is not extended to include contracts entered in the beauty industry, which has also caused a lot of complaints for the consumers recently. I hope MTI could review these suggestions favourably too. Sir, let me now speak in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] This Bill is very timely. Let me give Members a real life case.”
“Working parents who wish to give their children a good headstart in life, should not have to be deterred from doing so because of the affordability issue. Youth at Risk”
“(In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *. ] Sir, human capital is an important growth engine for the development of our country. In order to ensure the continuous prosperity of our country, apart from economic restructuring, we need to invest heavily in our future generation, which means to strengthen the education investment. We have a lot of foreign maids and their pay is less than $300 per month. Whereas sending your child to the childcare centre will cost more than an average $560. What is MCYS view on this? Is there any difference between sending our children to the childcare centre or leaving them to our maid? In this regard, can MCYS coordinate with MOE to include all pre-school education into the mainstream education system. For those non-profit making childcare centres, for example, NTUC Childcare Centre, the Government should provide grants to help them to defray their operating cost and to reduce the school fees so as to improve the quality and strengthen our manpower resources. Cols. 2281-2282. (In English ): Sir, we see MOE's expenditure for primary school children has increased by 69% over the last 12 years. MOE has also extended its annual recurrent grant from year 2002 to help non-profit kindergartens to meet childcare teachers' qualification. So for the childcare industry, the non-profit childcare operators are also expected to meet similar requirements. However, there is no Government grant to help them. As such, I urge MCYS to increase the amount of the childcare subsidies extended to parents and also, at the same time, extend the grant to childcare operators, particularly the non-profit childcare operators, to defray the building and operation costs.”
“These schools will enjoy a plethora of MOE’s support, including education training for the school’s research activist, guidance and support from MOE’s master teachers. We hope that MOE will work with the school management to garner their support for education reform, as the distribution of teachers’ resources is very important. The allocation of additional teachers for the schools is a timely help from MOE and, as such, the schools should allow teachers to be fully involved in teaching Chinese and not other subjects. So we must make full use of these additional resources provided by MOE to strengthen the effectiveness of teaching the Chinese language. Singapore is a multi-lingual society and we face a complex learning environment. Our bilingual education policy has been implemented for many years and we have accumulated vast experiences in teaching, appraisal and teaching materials. Our experiences are different from China. We should develop our competitive advantage and share our experiences with other educators around the world. From what I understand, some schools in the US have already adopted our preschool Chinese curriculum. In this regard, I hope that MOE will continue to promote research in teaching, curriculum development and training of teachers, etc, so as to contribute towards the learning of the Chinese language around the world. *Cols.2039-2040. Learning Dialects as Third Languages”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] The Chinese education reform has been carried out for a number of years. I would like to ask the Ministry how effective is the reform and whether the Minister can provide us with an update. The Singapore Chinese Teachers’ Union informed me that MOE’s Curriculum Planning and Development Division has played a supporting role by implementing a variety of efforts such as training which includes teaching philosophy, teaching method, action research and also teaching methods in Chinese reading and video recording techniques, etc. However, we would like to propose that MOE come up with some plans to establish a systematic way of training our teachers, for instance, to develop a method that is similar to the curriculum appraisal process, so that we can have measurable objectives to facilitate evaluation or to promote alternative evaluation methods, so as to provide support for our “Teach Less, Learn More” initiative. We are happy to note that the MOE’s Curriculum Planning and Development Division has stepped up teaching research last year. With support from the Chinese department and master teachers, they have achieved preliminary results and organised a nation-wide sharing session on knowledge exchange. This year, they have continued to make persistent efforts to broaden the scope of teaching research, including teaching foreign students, to study differentiated teaching strategies and learn how to create a professional profile for teachers, etc. With strong support from MOE and schools, the TLLM Ignite! initiative has received good response from primary schools and the organiser has selected six proposals for research and funding.”
“Today, the registration of PEOs is valid indefinitely and there is no system where the PEOs are periodically checked for compliance with the registration requirements for qualified trainers or lecturers. Certain PEOs tie up with foreign universities to offer tertiary qualifications that might not even be recognised by their country of origin. However, many students from other countries assumed that having a licence granted by MOE to operate in Singapore means that there is recognition of the foreign degrees. Contrary to such expectations, a licence granted by our MOE means nothing. Sir, the Government needs to address this issue and introduce measures and regulations to ensure that PEOs are able to deliver on their promise. Objective and credible assessments with regard to the curriculum offered by the PEOs should be carried out before they are allowed to provide their services locally. I will continue my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Sir, some of the educational institutions just want to make money and do not care about the quality of education, and so long as they can stay in business, they think it is okay. Therefore, MOE should increase the surveillance and screening of all PEOs so as to prevent all these unethical institutions from tarnishing our reputation as an education hub. *Cols. 2035-2036. Accreditation of Private Education Sector”
“Sir, I raised the same cut last year to urge the MOE to put in place the necessary measures to ensure that our reputation as an education hub will not be affected by the malpractices of the increasing number of errant private education organisations. 1.45 pm The CaseTrust for private education launched in 2005 just aims to protect the student as a consumer, and the Student Protection Scheme only serves to protect the students' fees in the event a Private Education Organisations (PEO) is unable to continue operation due to insolvency or regulatory closure. The dispute resolution mechanism defined by CaseTrust also enables foreign students who have enrolled themselves in PEOs which did not provide what the PEOs have promised to seek refund under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. Today, there is still widespread misuse of the MOE registration status by many of the PEOs. Many PEOs are advertising themselves as MOE-registered organisations giving the impression that the quality of their courses is certified or endorsed by the Ministry of Education and therefore meet a set of required standards. The public does not know that MOE registration does not ensure the quality of the academic staff and the education service provided by the PEO and it is therefore misled by such claims made by the PEOs in Singapore. Our CaseTrust scheme does not cover academic excellence. However, there is an urgent need for us to enhance the academic delivery of private schools in Singapore. I have highlighted this several times before and I have proposed the setting up of a mechanism for certifying academic excellence by having qualified personnel to conduct the courses and deliver accredited education programmes in the private schools. MOE should also review the registration of the PEOs.”
“Therefore, we should help our people stay healthy so that they will not cause a burden to the society. *Cols. 1801-1802. Means Testing 2.30 pm”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*. ] Medical cost and medical expenses have become a cause of concern of our people. Our Health Minister has already announced that this year, he is going to extend the MediShield protection to cover 80% of the high hospitalisation expenses. We hope this can be implemented quickly. Everybody needs healthcare protection. So everyone must be insured, including their family members, and it is good that our medical insurance is an important part of our social security net. We must let all workers understand the importance of insurance. Therefore, I propose that NTUC, CASE and GIA promote awareness about the medical insurance through a national medical insurance education, and also to insure themselves and their families as early as possible. Because of ageing and changing medical conditions, one day our people may become uninsurable and they will be rejected by an insurance company. Also, we must include the housewives under the MediShield scheme. Just like the Singapore Fire Service, they have adopted a different strategy, that is, they have changed their strategy from extinguishing fire to preventing fire. Similarly, in our healthcare financing, we should shift our focus to promote healthy lifestyle and preventive healthcare measures, because prevention is better than cure. Therefore, it is more effective for us to promote healthcare development and let our people watch out for their health, rather than increase the number of hospital beds and increase the subsidy. So we must help our people monitor their health risk and advise them to be careful of their physical health. According to statistics, the number of diabetes cases has risen from 4.7% in 1975 to 8.2%.”
“Sir, the Minister of State mentioned that MTI will introduce new regulations and amend the current regulations this year. May I know which part of this year? Is it the early part of this year, ie, first quarter, second quarter, or is it third quarter or fourth quarter? This is because, every day, there are consumers who fall victim to unfair practices.”
“In addition, the claim limit under the CPFTA should be raised from $20,000 to $30,000 so that more timeshare contracts could be covered. We also hope that the time bar on specified bodies action under the CPFTA be extended beyond the one-year period to give the specified bodies, like STB, and CASE, more time to deal with cases. Sir, many consumers are also complaining that they are given "lemons" when they buy products. What they mean is that they were given products with problems by default. Since there is no legislation spelling out consumers' right to pursue for refund or replacement, businesses are dragging their feet in assisting consumers with such problems. We find this unacceptable and would like the Minister to consider introducing a lemon law or provisions in any of our existing consumer laws to cover this aspect for any consumer transactions. I suggest a joint task force be formed to take a closer look at the experiences of other countries that have implemented such a law. With the recent outcry about tainted toys being sold to children, we feel that there is also a need to ensure that toys, or for that matter any products, that retailers bring into Singapore must meet certain safety standards. We need to put in place a product liability law to put the onus on the retailers or the manufacturers to ensure product safety before they place their products for sale in Singapore. This will give consumers the right to pursue for refund or replacement speedily at a lower cost. Consumer Protection – Fair Trading Act”
“Sir, last year in this House, we were glad that MTI had considered favourably the recommendations put up by the task force set up to review the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act (CPFTA). Now I hope the Minister could further strengthen the CPFTA for better consumer protection. First, I would like to request that the Minister introduce new regulations under the CPFTA to make motor vehicle dealers more transparent in their deposit policies. The number of complaints received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) against the motorcar industry is increasing. In 2005, it was about 1,227 but, in 2007, it was raised to 1,707 cases. One of the issues is the forfeiture of the deposits by vendors when the contract fell through. Second, CPFTA should include regulations to govern how unsolicited goods and goods provided on an opt-out basis should be treated, and so on. Third, according to CASE's records, the number of complaints against timeshare industry is the highest among all. In year 2007, we received 2,456 cases. If we are not prepared to introduce specific timeshare legislation to regulate the industry, the CPFTA should be amended to further regulate sale of timeshare schemes in Singapore. This should also apply to businesses which provide leasing, advertising and/or consultancy services to terminate, cancel, sell, transfer, purchase, lease, rent and/or recover of any monies paid under any existing timeshare contract or agreement. The current three days cooling-off period provided is also too short. I hope MTI could strengthen the CPFTA to increase the cooling-off period of timeshare contract and that such cooling-off period also applies to businesses offering reselling, terminating or upgrading of timeshare membership.”
“I would like to seek clarification from the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. Does it mean that NEA will from now on just only upgrade the existing hawker centres and will never consider building new hawker centres for the existing housing estates or any other new housing estates that will be built?”
“Because of this approach – prudent and cautious - we were able to weather the financial crisis. We need not beg other people to help us. I remember my mother used to tell me, "If you make $1 but spend $2, you cannot get a wife in future." So, if you make $1, and you spend $2, when you are old, you will have nothing to fall back on. *Cols. 895-898. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, in closing, I congratulate the Finance Minister once more on his insight and pragmatism in rolling out this bountiful Budget. Indeed, the drawn-up plan is both timely and relevant. In reflection, allow me to share with you a thought-inspiring quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the famed author of "The Little Prince". He said, "As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it." I think, we are well on our way to abling that. 1.48 pm”
“With the greying of our population, this problem has become more serious. Therefore, it is necessary to review the cap for the employment of foreign workers. If we do not look at this problem seriously, industries which are facing shortage of workers will adopt other measures to attract people and this will result in adverse competition. This will also result in a lowering of service standards. When the Integrated Resorts start operations, more people will be required to work in these places. And there is a question of whether foreign workers will take away the jobs of Singaporeans. It is only when we cannot find local people to fill these job vacancies should we resort to employing foreign workers. Every year, I visit my mother three or four times. Whenever I visit her, we will go to a coffeeshop to have a bowl of niang dou fu (酿豆腐). After the meal, I will take out a 10 ringgit note and I will get some change. Last December, I did the same thing. I went to the same coffeshop to have a meal there. After the meal, I paid 10 ringgit to the owner of the shop and the lady told me, "The full cost is $15. Don't you know that food prices have gone up?" I wanted to ask her, "Has your Government increased the GST?" When we talk about the Budget surpluses, we should congratulate our Government. Because of the judicious leadership of the Government and the far-sighted policies adopted by our Government, we have been able to attract investments from abroad. We have to thank the Government for its willingness to share the surplus with the people. Why is our Government able to turn a deficit into surplus? We do not have any black gold underground. What we depend upon is one principle – a prudent and practical approach.”
“This will have a great impact on our employment situation. As the former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld said, when dealing with matters, we should think three times, not twice. We should not allow trivial matters to interfere with our plans. The Government should deal with matters from a macro perspective. Secondly, Government's policies and requirements. Yesterday, Mr Inderjit Singh said that certain Government regulations have increased the cost of doing business in Singapore. Let me give you some examples. As a professional engineer, let me first declare my interest. Ever since the collapse of the Nicoll Highway, BCA has launched a spate of measures, despite protests from the industry and these measures are controversial in nature. For instance, the law states that for buildings which are more than 30 storeys, the foundation work has to be designed by a soil engineer, which was originally done by a civil engineer. Contractors have told me that underground digging should be done with special permits and there should be five signatures, including those by the contractors, LTA, professional engineers and worksite quality supervisor. Five persons’ approval before such things can be carried out. Will this entail a greater amount of manpower resources and time? Before formulating or carrying out any regulations, the Government should listen to the views of the industry so that the rules and regulations are made to provide flexibility for the BCA workers. Thirdly, shortage of workers. Recently, many entrepreneurs and businessmen told me that they face a shortage of workers. I urge the Ministry of Manpower to review the quota on foreign workers. At present, more than half of our labour force are aged 40 years and above.”
“How many husbands and children will top up the CPF account for these women? Women live longer and, therefore, there is a greater need for them to be included under the CPF LIFE scheme so that they have enough income for their retirement. At present, the Government has no policy to look after these women. I would like to know whether the Government can help this group of women to be eligible for the CPF LIFE scheme. In a recent report by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce on 76 SME companies, 85% of the respondents said that they are quite apprehensive about the uncertainty in the economic climate. 40% of them hope that the Government will help them to adjust to the present condition by reducing corporate tax, worker levy and fees so that this can lessen the impact of high wages and high cost of fuel. Our SMEs are more closely connected to the performance of our economy than the big MNCs. According to a report, 99% of our economic entities are made up of SMEs and they account for 62% of the workforce, and they contribute 46% to our GDP. Therefore, I feel that the Government should help our local companies in order for them to develop and grow. I would like to propose three suggestions. Firstly, rental of office and factory space. Some businessmen told me that JTC has increased their rental by 42%. Besides coping with business cost due to external factors, they have to deal with high JTC rental. Is there a need for this? Is JTC rushing their report card for the next annual report? There is a saying that goes like this, “The wool comes from a sheep.” In order to enhance their competitiveness, certain companies may adopt certain negative measures, for example, laying off staff or relocating their operational headquarters out of Singapore.”
“The Government could, for example, consider making the income tax rebate a continual feature of the annual budget, not just one-off. It could be better perhaps to institute a cut in the income tax rates. I feel that this is a better permanent solution as it will help Singaporeans cope with the rising cost of living. A cut in personal income tax rates will give them a more direct dosage of medicine to deal with inflation and this can in turn help to stimulate the economy further. Lower income tax rates will also attract individuals to work here, rather than in other places like Hong Kong, where the top marginal personal tax rate is 15%, compared to ours at 20%. Mr Speaker, Sir, please allow me to continue my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] According to a report by MCYS, it indicates that our womenfolk live longer than their male spouses. This is a challenge to the elderly womenfolk. When I walk around my constituency, I often meet women who had never worked in their lives. Once their male spouses have passed away, they are not able to maintain their livelihood. These women, if they are lucky, will be able to get some support from their children. Their CPF account is as empty as their life. Although we stress the importance of retraining, but due to the lack of education and being physically weak, many elderly women are not able to take on full-time or part-time jobs. And these women spend most of their time looking after their parents, their family members, their husbands and children. They have made tremendous sacrifice for their families. However, at the end of the day, they have nothing in their CPF accounts. Therefore, they are not eligible for the CPF LIFE scheme.”
“The Government has shown its generosity with an increase of more than 10% for Public Assistance recipients. I have no doubt that this assistance will improve their quality of life. *Cols. 893-894. (In English): Many Singaporeans are happy that estate duty has now been put to rest. I applaud the Government for having the courage to take this long-awaited step. It represents yet another stride in our departure from tradition. Having estate duty in our economic climate is not conducive to free-flowing business. Now that it has been removed, more individuals - especially those who have high personal net worth - will be encouraged to live and invest in Singapore. Another piece of particularly good news is the increase in amounts for both tertiary education bursaries and also Post-Secondary Education Accounts. I strongly believe that education is the best long-term investment strategy as it helps to put together a solid and enterprising workforce, which is integral to the success of any country. Education is also the best solution for children from lower-income families to escape the cycle of poverty and create a better future for themselves and their loved ones. Other developments that will breed achievements are the tax deduction and allowances on research and developmental activities. I am optimistic that such a move will drive more local companies to channel more resources on R&D. It is a wise move as Singapore is a country that thrives on advancement through brain power, be it in technology or other areas. Thus, we are helping to stimulate further growth for our country by instituting this move. With that said, this year's Budget has accomplished many great feats. Yet, as always, I am looking forward to some adjustments so that it can be even more effective.”
“With effect from the Year of Assessment 2008, the current tax deduction limits for medical benefits expenditures will be extended up to 2% of the total wage bill for companies that provide their employees with in-patient medical benefits through portable medical shield plans, either by paying the insurance premiums on behalf of the employees to the insurance companies directly or by reimbursing the premiums into the employees' Medisave accounts or by making an adhoc contribution to their employees' Medisave account. I think this is very good news and this is what the labour movement and their tripartite partners have been asking for. I hope all employers in Singapore will take advantage of this tax incentive and convert immediately, or as soon as possible, their existing company-based group hospitalisation medical benefits to the portable MediShield-based medical benefits for all our workers. Sir, I support the Bill. 1.30 pm Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio) (In Malay ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] This year's Budget is a surprising revelation for Singaporeans. It comprises many beneficial components beyond our expectations. The Budget is indeed pro-people. Most components of this Budget are specifically aimed to give the people an advantage. So I applaud the Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, for his vision and high aspirations in this year's Budget. For a number of years, the Budget has been focused on the lower-income group. This year, we are going further by including the middle income as well. The middle-income group will receive a number of bonuses, such as the 20% income tax rebate, higher education bursaries, Post-Secondary Education Account and Growth Dividends to cope with inflation.”
“Many of our grassroots leaders, friends and the people that I meet at dinners, including those highly educated professionals, do not understand what it is all about. So, I hope that the Government will improve the publicity campaign and make it easier for people to understand how this scheme is going to help them in old age. Seventhly, I will talk about the company’s health care provision and personal health care and I would like to continue to use English for the rest of my speech. *Cols. 883-892. (In English ): As lifelong employment is no longer prevalent in view of the changing employment trends, working Singaporeans need an integrated portable medical benefits scheme that builds upon our MediShield plan. To build on our existing healthcare financing framework, we should encourage all working Singaporeans to consider taking up private enhanced shield plan and rider. This will ensure that Singaporeans will not be dependent or shortchanged by the loss of company-based group hospitalisation and surgical insurance schemes that are only in force if the individuals remain in the company. As they change jobs, they will lose the coverage. Therefore, among the many hong baos and incentives that are announced by the Minister for Finance, I am particularly happy that the Government is extending the tax deduction limits beyond the current 1% of total remuneration to facilitate portability of medical benefits for all employees and help workers to cope with rising medical costs.”
“The Government should also provide more funding for preventive health care. This is because prevention is better than cure, so that every person will remain healthy as he gets older. It is better than providing greater medical subsidies. I notice that recently in China, the government has implemented a new initiative called the “Zhi Wei Bing” programme (治未病计划), which means to tackle problems of the future, a disease of the future, not disease of the stomach. So we should earnestly explore how to prevent people from getting sick and being admitted into hospitals. That is the best approach. Similarly, if you look at our Fire Department, their strategies have shifted from adopting a fire-fighting approach to a preventive approach. Our fire stations are not only concerned with fighting fire but preventing fire. Sixthly, the CPF LIFE scheme. In this year’s Budget, the Government has implemented the new lifelong income scheme. This is very timely. The lifelong income allows our people over 65 years old to withdraw a certain sum of money every month to provide for their daily needs. The monthly amount will be about $540 to $650 or more. We have to use a simpler example to make it easier for the people to understand. With this CPF LIFE scheme, the Government is using the CPF interest to finance the scheme. It is also equivalent to saying that those over 65 years old will strike a third prize in the 4D lottery draw every month. It can also be equivalent to getting a consolation or a smaller prize every week. This will allow them to have a better life in their old age. Although this scheme is good, many people do not understand it.”
“However, with Government’s announcement on major initiatives to improve the public transport system, the people are also concerned with higher ERP charges. Under the public transport master plan, the Government aims to achieve the vision of seamless connection, with the MRT stations and bus system interconnecting with each other and allowing commuters to transfer seamlessly between the rail and bus systems. We should make sure that the bus operators can make it convenient for the people to transfer effortlessly via different modes of public transport, so that they can arrive at their destination faster with less effort. Currently, many workers have to spend more than one hour on the road before they reach their workplace. If only we can improve the travelling time for public transport, we can dissuade people from using their cars. Besides rising cost of living, the problem of the aged is another main concern of Singaporeans. As they say, if you have the ability to work till an old age, you are considered bao ( 宝), which means useful. But, if you do not have the ability to work till an old age, you are regarded as cao ( 草), which means worthless, it is very sad. In order to improve the ability to work, I am glad to note that in the Budget, we have more provision for lifelong learning, encouraging people to learn and enhance their ability to earn and live so that the elderly can stay healthy as they grow old and they can achieve higher productivity and job security. When a person gets old, other than job security, the other concern is health costs. As we know, the MediShield Plus will be enhanced to cover 80% of the hospitalisation costs. I hope the Ministry of Health will further strengthen the MediShield scheme.”
“In terms of basic necessities, such as clothing and food, the Government has put in great efforts over the years in looking after the people to make sure that the cost of living can be contained. At the same time, the Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to stabilise food prices and to increase supply of basic necessities. Also, the Government will give out allowances and rebates to offset the increase in the cost of living due to accelerated inflation. As for housing and transportation, I hope that the Government can allow more flexibility in these two areas. Currently, people are given two chances to purchase HDB flats. But they are only allowed to upgrade and not to downgrade. Why is this so? This means that when the people buy a second HDB flat, it has to be a bigger flat. They are not allowed to sell off their big flats and buy a small one. For those people who cannot afford to live in a big flat now due to financial constraints, the Government should look into ways to help them, and allow them to downgrade to a smaller flat. Under certain circumstances, these people should be allowed not only to upgrade but also downgrade. More importantly, HDB should always bear in mind its mandate, which is to help Singaporean families own their flats, so that everyone will be able to afford public housing “gong gong zhu wu" ( 公共住屋), not “gong gong zhu wu" ( 宫共住屋), which means expensive housing. Therefore, HDB's objective is to provide affordable housing, and not expensive housing. In terms of transportation, I am glad to note that the Government has allocated $50 billion to improve our transport system.”
“So, when there is a surplus, the Government can also give them CPF top-ups. Therefore, all Singaporeans, regardless of male or female workers, should be covered under MediShield and the Workfare Income Supplement scheme, so that they are protected when they fall sick. Fourthly, the Government has invested heavily in education and manpower development. I am happy to note that the Government has focused primarily on manpower development to achieve sustainable economic growth in the long term. So, the Government has allocated more funds to promote lifelong learning, and to give out bursaries for tertiary and arts students. However, the Government should also look into funding the preschool education. Today, our preschool education is still not considered as part of the mainstream school system. I hope that the Government can consider investing in our preschool education so that our young can receive quality preschool education. Singapore is facing a shrinking and ageing population. Every year, there are only 35,000 newborn babies. Singapore has no natural resources, and the only resource we have are people. Therefore, we must make full use of our human resource so that every Singaporean can achieve his fullest potential in life. As we know, the ages between three and seven years are a critical period for the child in developing the brain and intelligence, and if the Government can provide more funding for quality preschool education, this will set a good foundation for their future. I feel that the Government is not doing enough in this area and, as such, I hope to see more funding for preschool education. Fifthly, besides helping the people with basic necessities in life, the Government should also help people to stay healthy as they age.”
“It is not right for the people to expect the Government to take over the burden of a higher cost of living. Thirdly, besides having enough savings, every Singaporean should be covered under the CPF scheme. Let me give an example using this verse, " Ren ren you qian na, hua wan zen me ban? Ren ren you jin shou, lao le bu yong chou" ( 人人有钱拿，花完怎么办？人人有金手，老了不用愁。). This means “Everybody will get some money, but what should we do after all money is spent? But if everyone is well protected by the CPF scheme, then you will grow old without worries.” Today, the people feel that the CPF is an important safety net for all Singaporeans, be it saving for retirement, buying a HDB flat or using CPF for medical fees. Therefore, I feel that the CPF coverage must be comprehensive and the people should be covered by the CPF safety net. Everyone should be included under the CPF scheme. Last week, the media reported that about 30% of women, aged between 44 and 61 years old, have never stepped into the workforce. They have no CPF accounts. Some left the workforce because they wanted to take care of their children and families, and so they do not have sufficient CPF savings. Therefore, besides topping up the Medisave accounts of those Singaporeans aged 51 years and above, the Finance Minister should also consider giving CPF top-ups to women who are 45 and above. And for those womenfolk without CPF accounts, the Government should put in place some incentive to encourage them to open a CPF account. This will allow their husbands to top up their wives’ CPF accounts, and families to top up their CPF accounts.”
“I agree that t hose high-income groups, the top 20% income earners, should also be getting something. It is necessary for the Government to recognise the contribution of all Singaporeans. Those whose annual income is more than $100,000 will also get something, about $100 Growth Dividends. But I urge that the Government reconsider the distribution method. Rather than granting the high-income earners the Growth Dividend automatically, we can consider an “opt-in” for the Growth Dividend, using the same framework that has been used for GST credits. If they do not “opt-in”, then this money can be donated to the ComCare Fund or a social welfare fund. This way, those who are not in need of this money can choose not to “opt-in” and the money can be given to help those poor and needy people. Secondly, besides giving hongbaoto the people, Singaporeans must also be responsible. When I attended the 95.8 radio show to discuss the Budget, a lady listener made a strong impression. This lady, Mdm Guan, told me that she is happy to know that almost everyone will get some money. But, more importantly, in the midst of rising cost of living, every family should bear in mind to keep expenditure within the limits of the household income. They should be frugal and thrifty in managing their household expenditures. No matter how much rebates the Government is planning to give each of us, it can only help us in the short term. Therefore, we should also draw our own budget and look at our own income to see how much we are allowed to spend. And we should save as much as we can. I feel that what this listener said is quite correct, and we should give a thought to it. The Government can only help those who are needy to cope with the rising high cost of living.”
“8 billion surplus sharing package, Growth Dividends and rebates for all Singaporeans, to help the people cope with rising cost of living. In this year’s Budget, the Government will adopt policies to maintain its economic competitiveness and invest heavily in manpower development. These components are critical to our economy. Regardless of the size of the hongbao, the people will never feel content. So the most important thing is to ensure that we achieve sustainable economic growth, full employment, and that every Singaporean can have a stable job and income. In this year’s Budget, we can see that the Government has taken into consideration the voices of the middle-income group. For the middle-income families, the Government will be giving them assistance package that is equivalent to one month of their income. But some of them feel that it is not enough, because the Government is only helping them for one month out of 12 months in a year. It is not so. One out of 12 means 8%. If your monthly income is $3,000, then the Government is helping you to cope with 8% increase in the cost of living. But, for the middle-income group, I feel that the size of the hongbao is not so important to them. Rather, the best welfare will be for the Government to commit in three areas, namely, steady economic growth, stable and harmonious society, and job security. The Government should ensure that wages rise at a rate in accordance with economic growth. This will be more meaningful than giving them hongbao. Therefore, the resources should be allocated in these areas. In this regard, I am happy to note that the MOM’s budget has increased by twice the amount compared to last year’s Budget.”
“But there is another fish that is not so lucky. The second fish met Ms Lim. Ms Lim said, “Oh, fish, I am from the Workers’ Party, I don’t have any water to offer you, but I empathise with your plight from the bottom of my heart. Your government has not taken good care of you; I shall shout and scream until your government releases the water from the state dam to save you. I will also make sure that the whole world can hear your moans.” Having said that, she sighed in despair and left. The fish was dying. She went around telling everyone about the story of this poor fish, and how ungenerous this government was, but the fish was already dead and has become dried fish in the market. From this contemporary version of the story, I hope that everyone will be able to see the true principles of this year’s Budget, and the true meaning and intention behind this Budget. Firstly, we can see that almost everyone will get a hongbao, and everyone will have a job. Like the verse goes, "Cai zheng yu suan zen me kan? Hongbao bu shi wan ling dan. Ni wo da jia you gong zuo, ri chang sheng huo cai wen dang." ( 财政预算怎么看？红包不是万灵丹。你我大家有工作，日常生活才稳当。)This means“How do we look at this year’s Budget? It is not a cure-all pill for Singaporeans. If everyone has a job, then we will not have problem earning a living.” With globalisation and rising cost of living, the Finance Minister has announced a $1.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] After the Finance Minister announced the Budget Statement, we have heard many views from the Members specifically, opinions that represent the views and interest of the unions. Mr Low Thia Khiang gave his personal views yesterday, and today we have heard from one of the leaders of the labour movement. It reminded me of something, and now I would like to share a story from the famous Chinese ancient thinker Zhuang Zi. The story goes like this. One day, a scholar was walking on the street when he spotted a fish in a very small puddle of water on the ground. The ground was sunken caused by the pressure of vehicle tyres, and the fish was struggling to survive in the puddle. So the fish said, “Please, save me, give me all your water!” And the scholar replied, “This is not a feasible solution. Please wait for me. I will go to the East China Sea, construct a canal and divert the water here, so that you will be able to live happily ever after. ” Of course, the fish knows it will not survive. Let me share with Members the contemporary version of this story. One day, Mr Lim was walking along the street when he came across the same fish in the puddle. Mr Lim said to the fish, “Oh, fish, I am from the labour movement. I shall give you some water to save you first, but please follow me so that I could help and teach you to rely on your own efforts to earn your living. Even if I give you all the water now, you will still not survive because you are trapped here. So why not follow me? I have PAP programmes and all sorts of programmes and measures that can help you. But, most importantly, we want to find a solution so that we can help more fishes like you.” So, this is a lucky fish.”
“Sir, there is actually a need for us to have foreign manpower to supplement our manpower here in Singapore. Would the Minister of State assure us that we will not just freely accede to the employers' requests whenever they use the reason "no takers" as an excuse, that we then free up the market so much that they just take in all the foreign manpower to take away the jobs of Singaporeans?”
“Therefore, the employers should enlarge and strengthen the safety measures in the work environment so that every employee, regardless of whether he is a blue collar, white collar or no collar, no matter what his income, will be able to work in a safe and secure environment every day so that not a strand of hair of these workers will be lost. This is what the employers and the Government must provide to our workers. The arrangement of compensation - no matter how well we change the laws or how large is the compensation - is not useful because, whatever the amount is, it cannot replace the person who has passed away. So I would like to urge the employers and the workers that, in amending this legislation, we must continue to increase the safety of our work environment so as to minimise the risk of industrial accidents. Sir, I fully support this amendment. *Cols. 307-308. 4.33 pm”
“And I will quote one verse of the Tang poetry to summarise my views on the Amendment Bill: "After numerous calls, at long last, the beauty appeared, but she is still holding the musical instrument covering half her face." The union leaders have long waited for this Amendment Bill. For a long time, they have been trying to make the situation at the lower levels known to the higher levels, and at long last, MOM has approved the proposed amendments to the Workmen's Compensation Act. The workers are particularly pleased and are looking forward to the implementation of the proposed amendments. But why do I say "The beauty is still holding the musical instrument covering half her face?" This is because the contents of this legislation are not easily understood. It is like the beauty's face being half hidden by the musical instrument, pipa. So it is necessary for MOM to explain and organise a series of briefings for all employees to fully understand the changes made to the Act. I would like to ensure that members of the public can understand the naked truth from the top to the bottom so that everyone can appreciate the true nature and beauty of this legislation. For the employers, I would like to say in specific terms that not only the employers must understand clearly but they must also look at it thoroughly so that they see the inner beauty of the amendment. The inner beauty refers to the inner meaning of the legislation. For example, the employers cannot say that, because of extended coverage, the compensation is higher, cost of insurance increases and so business costs will go up, but rather I want to remind the employers that they must recognise that if there is no accident, there is no need for compensation. It is a basic truth.”
“By then, the injured workers will actually be facing financial difficulties. Based on the feedback that I have received from the union leaders, they are particularly glad that the amendments have been made, especially the timeframe in which the payment of medical leave, wages and medical expenses is due. This would ensure a fair and prompt compensation to the workers that will alleviate difficulties faced by workers. The union leaders are also particularly pleased with clause 35 of the Amendment Bill. It creates a new offence for non-payment of compensation by employers and also allows MOM to enforce payment of compensation. This new amendment is necessary as injured workers may not have the means to take the errant employers to court. With the number of employees benefiting from the extended coverage doubling to more than $2 million, there is no doubt that the employers will say that the business cost will go up with the added costs of accident insurance for the extended coverage. However, all employers should look at this amendment positively. The amendment should be seen as an added incentive for employers to work more closely with the Government agencies and unions to make their workplaces even safer beyond legislative requirements, to provide a safer workplace for all so that there will be fewer or no accidents at the workplace and thus lesser and, best still, no need for any compensation. Sir, I will say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] This amendment is just in time. The coverage of the safety net has been widened, and more than two million people will benefit from the amendment. More importantly, the changes will see the compensation levels and timeframe made fairer to workers.”