Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
Singapore
“I thank the Member for her suggestions. PRICING GUIDELINES ON CANTEEN FOOD FOR STUDENTS 19. Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education (a) what are the Ministry's pricing guidelines on the sale of food to students in school canteens; (b) how does the Ministry balance the needs of the students and those of the canteen operators to mee…”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Sir, I would like to say that Mr Calvin Cheng must have thought deeply about what I have said. I have mentioned that 80% of singles actually wanted to get married. The responsibility of providing a social network used to be borne by the Government.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) provide fee subsidies to help low-income families send their preschool children to childcare centres and kindergartens respectively.”
“The childcare philosophy is to encourage the women to work. We have already relaxed the criteria because for those housewives who send their children for half-day care, we would still help them, so that they can get half subsidy.”
“I think we can consider that. INCOME CEILING FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEMES 16. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports whether the Ministry will consider increasing the family income ceiling for eligibility to the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kinde…”
“Very soon. IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY FOR ELDERLY PEDESTRIANS 17. Mr Laurence Wee Yoke Thong asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the measures in place to (i) promote the safety of elderly pedestrians, especially at traffic crossings; (ii) encourage the able-bodied public to assist the vulnerable frail elderly crossing alone; and (b)…”
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“I thank the Member for her suggestions. PRICING GUIDELINES ON CANTEEN FOOD FOR STUDENTS 19. Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education (a) what are the Ministry's pricing guidelines on the sale of food to students in school canteens; (b) how does the Ministry balance the needs of the students and those of the canteen operators to meet their operating costs; (c) why are schools allowed to operate drinks vending machines which are a direct competition to the canteen stalls.”
“We are glad to know that almost 80% of IPCs and large charities are already making the disclosure in their annual reports. The Office of the Commissioner of Charities will continue to work with the Charity Council to promote greater transparency in the charity sector under the comply-or-explain approach. There is no need to treat voluntary organisations the same as public listed companies and mandate the public disclosure of the remuneration of their leaders. At the same time, the NCSS has set up a lot of programmes with my Ministry. We have put aside quite a number of training funds and in the last few years, 2007 to 2010, we spent about $4.7 million to upgrade the salaries of the volunteers, social counsellors and social workers. And last year, we added an additional $3.9 million to help this sector, especially in the area of personnel training, and we also give scholarships and bursaries as well training overseas to upgrade the skills of this sector. NCSS and the VWOs have done a lot in this area together with the Charity Council. The Council is private sector-led, and the chairperson is Fang Ai Lian. I think we can work closer to enhance the professionalism and quality of this sector.”
“The employment terms in the voluntary sectors in different countries vary, depending on factors such as numbers of players in the sectors, the state of philanthropy and volunteerism, the labour market and the job scopes. Therefore, direct comparison of pay structures across countries will not be meaningful. Based on a 2009 survey on 200 key executives in the social service sector, we found that about 79% of these executives are earning below $100,000 per annum. The remaining key executives, who are from organisations with annual receipts of over $10 million, earn between $100,000 and $200,000 annually. Although the National Council of Social Service provides pay guidelines for the VWOs, ultimately, the boards of the VWOs decide on the salaries of the CEOs or Executive Directors. They have to bear in mind various considerations such as their financial state, the job requirement and the ability to attract and retain capable persons, as well as the depth and the breadth of experience and expertise that the potential appointee can bring to the organisation. The Office of the Commissioner of Charities also works closely with the people-sector led Charity Council to encourage greater disclosure and transparency by charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs). The Code of Governance developed by the Charity Council recommends that IPCs and large charities disclose in their annual reports the annual remuneration of its three highest paid staff in salary bands of $100,000. And while compliance is not mandatory, charities and IPCs would have to explain the reason for non-compliance in their Governance Evaluation Checklists submitted to the charity regulated annually.”
“Mr Speaker, the Member has filed a second Question about the voluntary sector and it is related to this supplementary Question she has now asked. May I take the next question now?”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Sir, I would like to say that Mr Calvin Cheng must have thought deeply about what I have said. I have mentioned that 80% of singles actually wanted to get married. The responsibility of providing a social network used to be borne by the Government. Now, we encourage private match-making agencies to do the job. We are only providing a platform; we are not pressuring the young. Some singles told me that they really need help. They are too busy and have no time. Some do not have the opportunity to socialise. Families, parents, employers and the social groups should all join in to provide the young people opportunities to socialise and help them fulfil their wish. Indeed, 80% of the singles do want to get married.”
“In the past, 2,929 families received help under the Public Assistance Scheme, and an additional 2,400 families also received help under the ComCare Transition Scheme. In total, 5,329 families have benefited. From 1st April this year, the amount of Public Assistance for singles will be increased to $400. For those with children, we will provide additional assistance of up to $150 per child, which is $20 more than the current amount of $130. Let me illustrate. From April this year, a single person will receive $565 in direct benefits, and may receive an additional estimated $880 in housing subsidies and free medical treatment from the Government. With other forms of assistance received from the community, such as hongbaos, he can receive up to a total of $1,700 in direct and indirect assistance. Lastly, in conclusion, I would like to mention something that my colleague, Mr Teo Ser Luck, had shared with me. He said, "My family was poor, but we didn’t know it since no one told us and we never felt it." Recently, when I visited some old folks, an old lady told me that she just lost her job and her daughter was jobless as well. When I offered her financial assistance, she immediately replied, "No, no, what I want is some help in finding a job, I still have a bit of savings." From this example, we can see that Singaporeans have the self-reliant spirit, determination and aspirations to carve a better life for themselves. However, for those who are really in need and who cannot find jobs, we will help them. Ultimately, our ComCare Fund must adopt a more balanced approach to make Singapore a home that is filled with warmth and kindness, vibrant and productive. Sports facilities master plan”
“For example, North-East Community Development Council has gone down to establish links at the constituency level between CDC officers and other help agencies and community partners through its "Proactive Ground Engagement Programme." Our approach is flexible. Currently, we provide $800,000 to CDCs for manpower resource support to drive the CLNs. In the past few years, ComCare has disbursed over $200 million to help low-income families, 160,000 individuals and families have benefited. I hope families with difficulties will not hesitate to call the ComCare Call for assistance. Just a while ago, the Minister also mentioned that many countries, including the United Kingdom and USA, are cutting their budgets. In Singapore, we are very fortunate not to have reduced but to have increased the budget. Initially, the Prime Minister had announced that the target amount in ComCare Fund was $1 billion. However, we have now raised the target to $1.5 billion. The current amount will also be increased from $800 million to $1.3 billion – a total increase of $500 million. However, having more resources does not equate to careless spending. The fundamental objective of this Budget, as all Members are aware, is to promote inclusive growth. To achieve this goal, boosting incomes through employment and increasing productivity are the long-term solutions. According to newspaper reports, we see that there are other countries which hail Singapore as an example, and they are seeking to study our system. However, there will be some families that cannot keep pace – those with physical and psychological problems – and we will help them, especially children and old folks with disability.”
“For example, families unable to work for the time being due to illness can receive assistance from the ComCare Transitions Scheme. Thirdly, for those people suffering from long-term illnesses, and where their children have limited income, we provide assistance through the Public Assistance Scheme. In recent years, we have made several changes after taking in feedback from Mayors and Members of Parliament. In the past, only the elderly without family support could qualify for the Public Assistance (PA) Scheme. Now, we have made changes: If their children’s income is less than $1,000, we will also provide assistance. Following feedback from the Mayors, we have also allowed those who are receiving CPF payouts of less than the PA amount and who meet other criteria for PA, to receive a cash grant on top of their CPF payouts. In the past five years, we have implemented many policies and schemes for needy families and also enhanced existing programmes. Dr Teo Ho Pin and Mr Hawazi Daipi also talked about how we can improve the ComCare Local Network (CLN). We hope that CLN will continue to expand and deepen its reach. In terms of expansion, we have established links with many organisations. I am glad to report that there are now about 1,100 such agencies working together, which represents a significant increase of 500 from a year ago. These include Family Service Centres, social service organisations, schools and town councils, etc. In terms of deepening our reach, besides expanding the network, we can also provide more in-depth assistance. Some of the Mayors and CDCs have already taken the CLN to another level.”
“More importantly, parents should take the responsibility to enquire from community centres, or during the Meet-the-People sessions, or call ComCare Call at 1800-222-0000 to enquire about details of the various ComCare schemes. Let us not have a situation where our children are unable to go to pre-school, just because as parents we are unaware of this information. Mdm Halimah also voiced concerns that besides childcare fees, low-income families could not afford registration fees, school bags, textbooks, etc. In actual fact, for needy families on CFAC, we provide a one-off start-up grant of up to $1,000. Under KiFAS, needy families can also get a similar one-off start-up grant of up to $200. They can use the money to buy textbooks, uniforms and pay the registration fees. These new measures will benefit 24,000 children, that is twice the current number of 12,280 beneficiaries. We will cover up to almost the 40th percentile of households. This additional investment will cost $10.3 million a year, and increase Government’s annual spending *Cols. 4293-4294. on fee assistance for preschool education to $35.6 million. Besides children, I would like to talk about assistance for the genuinely needy families. Our Ministry takes a holistic approach in our assistance schemes. Firstly, ComCare addresses the immediate and urgent needs of families, such as problems with housing and physical illness, by providing immediate and timely assistance through the CCC ComCare Fund. Funding is adequate in this area. Secondly, as Dr Lily Neo mentioned, ComCare should provide more comprehensive assistance. We do this through a family-based intervention approach to address the social barriers that families face in getting employment.”
“I believe Mdm Halimah will be happy to see that while she suggested that we raise the salary ceiling for subsidy from $1,800 to $2,500, the Government and Finance Minister have been very generous, they have raised the salary ceiling to $3,500. As quality improves, childcare fees are also on the uptrend. Just a while ago, the Minister mentioned that we must find an equilibrium, and encourage NTUC and PCF childcare centres to play a more important role. Nevertheless, no child will be deprived of the opportunity of having a preschool education because of financial difficulties. These are issues that Dr Lily Neo and Mdm Cynthia Phua are concerned about. Currently, regardless of their family background, we provide each child with a monthly childcare subsidy of $300. For CFAC, the maximum amount of subsidy is $340. In other words, the total amount of subsidy given by the Government to low-income families is up to $640 a month. Hence, based on childcare fees of $700, parents need only pay $60. For kindergartens, we have similarly raised the income eligibility ceiling for KiFAS from $1,800 a month to $3,500 a month. From 1st April 2011, families with household income of less than $1,500 can receive KiFAS subsidy of up to $108. Let us look at this chart*. [Slide shown to hon. Members ]. For childcare centres charging $700, low-income families pay $60. For kindergartens charging $110, they pay $2. 1.45 pm Looking back, we have done quite a good job, and this is because of the encouragement from Members. Families of the lowest income bracket of $1,500 only pay $2 for kindergarten. Hence, children from needy families should not be unable to enrol in childcare centres and kindergartens because they cannot afford the fees.”
“Currently, we have a total of 888 childcare centres, providing 79,000 places. Compared to 2008, this is an increase of 26%. We will implement more measures to improve the standard of childcare services, especially the standards of teachers. In the past three years, we have trained an additional 1,700 childcare teachers, so that they have at least a professional diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education. In addition, the turnover rate of childcare teachers has also dropped from 23% to 15%. As more and more new childcare centres start operations, our Ministry will also invest $15 million in the next three years to attract more good quality teachers to join the childcare industry. To attract talent, we will provide 840 scholarships and awards for Early Childhood Education courses in the next three years. To recognise the contributions of childcare teachers and to retain them, we will work with industry players to put in place good employment practices, to recognise employers who have outstanding human resources and employee management practices, and to facilitate them to share their experiences with the industry. More importantly, we need professional development in the childcare sector. In order to promote the professional development of teachers, we will be launching a Continuing Professional Development Framework for childcare teachers. To promote this Framework, we will subsidise approved courses, conduct consultations with industry players and provide related support. Mdm Halimah was concerned about whether parents can afford the preschool fees for their children.”
“Hence, through individuals, families, schools, public opinion, public awareness and mass media, we should show more concern towards our young people. In the past, if you did not get married, it was a concern for the entire family and community. They would help introduce potential partners. Today, we assume that young people have their own way of handling these things. But I think we should not give up this responsibility. Let me also take this opportunity to show Members the new Registry of Marriages. The newly-upgraded Registry of Marriages is quite nicely done up. Our budget was $7 million, but we only used $4 million. Now, we also want to partner with the private sector to explore the possibility of allowing solemnisations in the evenings. This will allow couples to register their marriages after getting off from work, so that they can get married in a more romantic ambience. The Government’s policy is to encourage family formation. We believe that the family is the best environment for children to grow up in. Therefore, we encourage Singaporeans to have children within the context of marriage, by giving the Baby Bonus and other incentives. Nevertheless, I would like to assure Mr Chiam See Tong, Dr Lam Pin Min and Ms Indranee Rajah that besides these incentive schemes, children born to unwed parents also enjoy various subsidies just like other children, such as childcare, medical and education subsidies. Let me elaborate on the resources we have invested in the development of young children. Just a while ago, our Minister mentioned three strategies in early childhood development, the first being to establish more childcare centres. As of January this year, we have established 171 new childcare centres since 2008.”
“SDN’s third strategy is to develop the private dating sector, through the Partner Connection Fund and the SDNTrust accreditation scheme, so that our dating services industry will become more professional. As of last month, there are 10 dating agencies and 15 practitioners accredited under the scheme. Finally, SDN has also launched various public education initiatives and publicity campaigns, through platforms such as radio talk shows, the SDN publication "Duet" and SDN website in order to create more public awareness about singles’ issues. Last year, SDN and partnering organisations organised around 1,000 activities for over 31,000 single individuals. Since 2008, we have provided an additional $4 million every year for five years to fund SDN activities and *Cols. 4295-4306. operations. I believe our colleague, Mr Seah, is also very pro-family. I hope his NTUC FairPrice will also collaborate with us more. However, the root cause of the decreasing marriage rate is that social norms and individual preferences have changed. According to a survey that we did last year, young Singaporeans cite a few reasons for delaying marriage. Firstly, they want to work hard to achieve financial stability. Secondly, they want to have a successful career. In addition, they said that they have no time and cannot find a suitable partner. Hence, the work of helping singles cannot be done by a few institutions alone. More importantly, we should work on addressing individuals’ perspectives. In the past, we believed that we must start a family and establish a career, that among the most unfilial behaviour, not bearing any offspring is the worst. Nowadays, the younger generation may not accept this way of thinking.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] I would like to thank my parliamentary colleagues for their recognition of our work at MCYS in the past five years. The aim of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports is to develop Singapore as the best home for starting families and nurturing children. I would like to thank Mr Seah Kian Peng for giving me the opportunity to do some publicity for the Social Development Network (SDN). We had announced this last year that their website is www.lovebyte.org.sg. Mr Seah is correct to say that the main reason for Singapore’s falling birth rate is that people are not getting married. To identify the problem is not difficult. However, how can we influence the personal decision of Singaporeans? SDN has four main strategies. According to a survey conducted in 2009, around 80% of young Singaporeans still want to get married, so we have hope. First, we will start from young singles. SDN will target young Singaporeans by organising talks and courses in universities, polytechnics, junior colleges and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to improve the relationship skills of students and impart family values to them. Such talks and courses are already available in 83% of institutes of higher education. Secondly, SDN will collaborate with more partners, for example, Singapore Sports Council, Sentosa Development Corporation, SAFRA and others. According to feedback from Members of Parliament and officers from our Ministry, we should also strengthen collaboration with employers. We hope employers from private organisations and companies, public sector organisations and quasi-Government organisations will help our workers by taking on the role of "matchmakers", and encouraging singles to socialise.”
“Very soon. IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY FOR ELDERLY PEDESTRIANS 17. Mr Laurence Wee Yoke Thong asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the measures in place to (i) promote the safety of elderly pedestrians, especially at traffic crossings; (ii) encourage the able-bodied public to assist the vulnerable frail elderly crossing alone; and (b) what can be done to ensure that speeding cyclists stop and look out at pedestrian crossings so as not to endanger the elderly.”
“That is true. So far, the schemes are to encourage mothers to go back to work, especially those in low-income families. We hope that they can supplement the husband's income and that will encourage the children to have a better start and better education, and we hope that the children will get out from the poverty cycle.”
“The childcare philosophy is to encourage the women to work. We have already relaxed the criteria because for those housewives who send their children for half-day care, we would still help them, so that they can get half subsidy. For instance, those women who want to go back to work, or whom we encourage to go back to work, we would also consider giving them support. So, it is not only those women who are already working. If they are prepared to come back to work or they are seeking a job or are under training, we do consider giving them subsidy. The whole philosophy, so far, is to encourage the women to work and help them remain in the workforce.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) provide fee subsidies to help low-income families send their preschool children to childcare centres and kindergartens respectively. In July 2008, we extended the CFAC and KiFAS income criteria from $1,500 to $1,800 to help more low-income families afford preschool education for their children. The number of children who have benefited from these schemes has increased over the last three years. In FY2009, about 3,200 children received CFAC and another 7,200 children received KiFAS, an increase of 24% for CFAC and 15% for KiFAS from FY2007. As part of our regular reviews, we are studying the scope and adequacy of CFAC and KiFAS to help more low-income families afford preschool education. Sir, we will consider Mdm Halimah's suggestion.”
“I think we can consider that. INCOME CEILING FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEMES 16. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports whether the Ministry will consider increasing the family income ceiling for eligibility to the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) from the current $1,800 to $2,500 so that more families can qualify and be encouraged to have more children.”
“And they are able to benefit from the expertise of resource persons in the community, such as Dr Jennifer King, Clinical Director of the Child Development Unit at the National University Hospital (NUH) as well as Mdm Ho Chin Geok and Mrs Hwang-Lee Poh See, retired Principals from Nanyang Primary School and St. Nicholas Girl’s School respectively.”
“The African proverb tells us that, "It takes a village to raise a child." So the Government cannot do this alone. My Minister also mentioned this at the last seminar – we must work hand in hand with other members of the community to re-build a modern Singapore "village" that supports the development of our children. This means, firstly, engaging all caregivers in a child’s life to actively learn how to give our children the best possible start in life; pre-school teachers as well as the local community, neighbours, home, family, nannies, grandparents and domestic helpers. Secondly, working together with the local community to tap on resources for early child development – both "hardware" such as facilities, playgrounds, and so on, as well as "software" – community members who have relevant professional skills; and, lastly, promoting better exposure for our children to a variety of stimulating interactions with a diversity of caregivers in their community – inter-racial, inter-cultural and inter-religious. Some of our better childcare centres have already begun to develop such services. For example, one of the Little Wings childcare centres run by PCF and NTUC at Clementi Block 305, has worked closely together with their Residents’ Committee (RC) on a joint project to grow a mini-garden with a variety of plants and fruits within the childcare centre. Through this initiative, the children are exposed to opportunities to experience and interact first-hand with the natural environment. This centre has also linked up with their RC to tap on community facilities, such as the children’s playground and amphitheatre.”
“However, recent findings from neuroscience and research on child development indicate that the impact of the early childhood environment on healthy physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development in children is very important at this age. A number of countries, such as Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, UK and the US, are now taking action on these findings. We need to take similar steps for our children in Singapore. MCYS is presently developing an Early Years Development Framework as a national framework to guide centres in applying care and holistic development practices for children aged zero to three. We have set up an inter-disciplinary advisory committee that includes the Government, academia and industry professionals to drive this initiative. Research also tells us that supporting child development in the very early years requires an emphasis on the quality of caregiver interactions with children, rather than institutional settings alone. A recent study by John Friedman at Harvard cites research evidence that parental and other factors in the home learning environment can be even more important than pre-school education itself. I think on this statement alone, we can have another debate because our children have maids, neighbours, nannies, grandmothers, and so on. So, parents play a crucial role in the development of their children and the family remains the first line of support. Hence, efforts to improve the quality of centres must be supported by good child development practices in the home learning environment as well. Rebuilding the early childhood "village" because MCYS always believe in many helping hands. To achieve this, MCYS is exploring new ways to reach out to all members of the caregiver community, including at-home caregivers.”
“Last year, we introduced the Professional Conversion Programme, together with WDA, to facilitate mid-career professionals join the industry. Going forward, we will look into developing specialist courses for teachers in areas such as physical education, art, music and dance, that will contribute to their professional development as well as the holistic development of our children. What about the community and the operators? Apart from formal courses, we also aim to raise quality by strengthening professional interactions among members of the early childhood community. Last month, MCYS officially launched the Child Development Network (CDN). The CDN is a platform to build and connect our community of stakeholders in order to champion quality early childhood development in Singapore. The CDN will aim to: (1) bring in recognised international experts from overseas universities to share research and good practices through workshops and public lectures; (2) provide professional guidance through the training of mentor-leaders for childcare centres to groom and develop their staff; and (3) promote a local culture of research and practical application of research findings through the Early Childhood Research Fund (ECRF). Let me touch on the other group of children because childcare also takes very young infants. Mr Speaker, the discussion so far has focused on the efforts in place for children aged four to six. But what about the zero to three age group? My Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, announced during the recent Child Care Seminar 2010 that MCYS would place more emphasis on the very early years, defined as "infant care" from two to 18 months and "toddler care" from 18 months to three years old. This is an area that has been relatively neglected in many countries.”
“Childcare centres use the same MOE Kindergarten Curriculum Framework. All childcare centres are also eligible for funding under the joint MOE-MCYS Innovation Grant. In addition, MCYS has introduced a recurrent grant for eligible not-for-profit childcare centre operators to set the benchmark for quality and affordability in childcare services. This is similar to MOE’s recurrent grant for eligible kindergartens. The grant enables competitive salaries to be paid to attract higher quality teachers, to upgrade the skills and qualifications of existing teachers and to reduce class sizes. Since August 2008, MCYS has disbursed a total of $25.34 million to eligible childcare operators in recurrent grant funding and all childcare centres in Singapore should get their licence from MCYS before they operate. Teacher quality and manpower planning are also very important. MCYS applies the same regulatory requirements to childcare teachers that MOE applies to kindergarten teachers. We are now undertaking more focused efforts to attract and retain our early childhood professionals in the sector, eg, by recognising the efforts of outstanding early childhood professionals through the annual Child Care Awards. We have a vibrant local training landscape with diploma, degree and postgraduate courses offered by institutes such as SEED Institute, SIM University, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic, and the National Institute of Education (NIE). We provide training grants and scholarships for these courses. Our training agencies collaborate with reputed overseas universities, such as Wheelock College, to ensure the quality of their course programmes. We also work closely with WDA and the various training providers to promote early childhood education as a career.”
“In 2008, we enhanced the full-day universal childcare subsidy for working mothers from $150 to $300 per month per child and the infant care subsidy from $400 to $600 per month per child. We also enhanced the Children Development Account (CDA) under the Baby Bonus Scheme, which can be used to pay for child-related expenditure including fees for children attending pre-schools. The Government ensures that no child will be deprived of pre-school education because of financial constraints. Children from low-income families enjoy additional financial assistance under ComCare schemes – the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS). Families with income of $1,800 or less can receive a total of $500 to $640 per child per month for children above 18 months. The range of support is $800 to $940 per child per month for infants below 18 months. The median monthly payment for a household with income $1,500 or less is only $13. Some families can pay as low as $1 for childcare per child per month. The number of children benefiting from these schemes has increased over the last three years. In FY 2009, about 3,200 children received CFAC and another 7,200 children received KiFAS, an increase of 24% for CFAC and 15% for KiFAS from FY 2007. To promote awareness, information on both schemes is available at various touch points such as Community Development Councils, Family Service Centres and polyclinics. I would like to repeat my call – try to help us encourage those who want more information to call the ComCare line, 1800-2220000. What is the Government doing for the childcare sector in the area of quality? Childcare centres enjoy the same support for quality enhancements that apply to kindergartens.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Minister of State for Education’s proposed amendment to the motion. I would like to focus on the role of childcare centres in the provision of pre-school education. MCYS works very closely with MOE to ensure delivery of high quality educational opportunities across both kindergartens and childcare centres. A joint committee chaired by senior officials meets regularly to resolve common issues and formulate joint initiatives. What are MCYS policy objectives for childcare? During his National Day Rally speech in 2008, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that we should do three things to build up the childcare sector – make it more accessible, more affordable and of higher quality. This is a major focus area for MCYS and we have been investing significant resources in this area. How are we progressing in terms of accessibility? In August 2008, MCYS committed to facilitate the development of 200 new childcare centres over five years in order to increase the accessibility of childcare services for families. In the past two years, 129 new centres have been established. Together with 726 existing centres, we now have 855 centres as at end October 2010. The number of childcare places has correspondingly increased by 12,400 to a total of 75,700 places today. To further improve accessibility, we have increased the number of centres in HDB estates and located new centres near transport nodes where possible. Today, 78% of HDB households have a childcare centre within 300 metres. Another point I like to elaborate is this: is childcare affordable for families in Singapore, especially the lower-income?”
“SEs that do not qualify for VCF but whose employees wish to attend non SDF-approved courses, whether run by Social Service Training Institute or other training providers, can apply to the Workforce Development Agency (WDA). My officers also work very closely with WDA in the hope that they will consider this and WDA will assess applications for funding support on a case-by-case basis. MCYS supports the social enterprise sector in other ways too. We are funding the newly launched Social Enterprise Association, which is co-chaired by Miss Penny Low and Mr Seah Kian Peng. We are also facilitating the development of the Social Enterprise Development Centre (SEDC) to be launched in the second half of 2010. When set up, the Centre will help establish a system of business support and development to address the capability and infrastructural needs of the sector. Let me conclude by saying that the Government will continue to support individuals, families and communities to remain strong, resilient and able to help themselves. We will continue to strengthen the Many Helping Hands and support effective agencies in doing their good work. If everyone plays his or her part, we will be able to find happiness, security and fulfilment in our lives. Self-assuredness for integration”
“Just as families are the primary support for individuals, communities form a wider network of support for needy families and individuals. As Mr Hawazi Daipi and Mr Zaqy Mohamad have mentioned, the Many Helping Hands approach has increased the community's stake in providing help to the less advantaged. I think I must thank all my CDC Mayors and the CDC councillors, they work very hard on this. All the CDCs, together with various community and private organisations, have rolled out initiatives to uplift the community. These include community-led initiatives such as South West District's Adopt-A-Rental Block initiative, South East District's Learning Family Programme, North East District's Lunch Box Fund, the Central Singapore District's Credit Suisse – Central Singapore Nurture Programme and North West District's Food Aid Programme. MCYS will continue to support community organisations in developing initiatives to meet local needs. For example, the ComCare Enterprise Fund provides funding support for Social Enterprises (SEs). These enterprises, as Miss Penny Low and Mrs Mildred Tan have mentioned, also play an important role in helping the needy and vulnerable in our midst. I should say that Miss Penny Low has done a lot on this and I hope that she will continue to champion this. I agree with Miss Low that building the capability in this sector is important. Let me clarify that regardless of their legal or ownership form, SEs can apply for subsidies under the Skills Development Fund (SDF) for their employees to attend SDF-approved courses. SEs that are registered as charities or are members of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) can tap on the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF) for courses run by the Social Service Training Institute.”
“But as Mr Ong Kian Min pointed out, marriage and parenthood are areas where policies and financial incentives alone are insufficient. The roles of men and women must be re-aligned to achieve a win-win equilibrium. More women are asking "What are the opportunity costs? What about infant care? And what about my job opportunities?", and so on. As Minister Lim Swee Say mentioned on International Women's Day recently, husbands, family members and employers should make women happy by supporting them in forming families, raising children and going back to work. I thank Assoc. Prof. Paulin Straughan for emphasising that the Government must continue to support families in practical and sustainable ways. That is why my Ministry works closely with partners like Marriage Central, the National Family Council and Business for Families Council to build a family-matters culture and ecosystem. My Minister has also highlighted our commitment to protecting children. The foster parent scheme is one such avenue to care for children without family support. Some members of the House have indicated interest in the foster parent schemes. MCYS will continue to review the scheme, including whether to extend the allowance to foster youth beyond 18 years old because at this moment we only give allowance to the fostering parent to take care of children below 18 years. So some of the fostering parents are very kind, they even help them after the age of 18. Despite the challenges, I would like to add that families are about individuals being committed to each other, raising the next generation on cherished values, and finding fulfilment in all of these. To me, no other form of social relationship can be so richly rewarding. So do not wait!”
“And this will cost us about an additional $1 million in subsidies in FY2010 as a result of this change. In addition, we will also introduce differentiation in our subsidies between Singaporeans and PRs. From 1st April 2010, the difference will be 10 percentage points, and this will be raised to 20 percentage points from January 2012. So more people will enjoy the benefits. Let me now share my thoughts on the state of the family in Singapore. As my Minister has said, the family remains the basic building block of our society. And, yet, many are choosing not to start their own families. I think my colleague NMP, Mr Calvin Cheng, talked about singlehood and its difficulties and the Minister had invited him to join the Social Development Network (SDN). Let me give him the website – www.lovebyte.org.sg.[Laughter.] The SDN is no longer limited to members, and any resident single can sign up for events by simply logging into this website. Since January last year, SDN has worked with various partners to initiate over 2,000 events reaching out to more than 30,000 singles. The Member had asked what was the resulting number of marriages. Last year, I think the number of marriages went up to about 26,000. I cannot claim that all of them come about as a result of SDN. I think Ms Denise Phua also asked if we have given up encouraging people to get married and have children. Let me assure the House that we have not. To support parenthood, we budgeted $720 million this year to provide Baby Bonuses, childcare subsidies, maternity leave and childcare leave. Today, many MPs also asked for other types of leave. The Minister just said he will look into it.”
“As some Members had earlier mentioned, families are facing increasingly complex and chronic issues. The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports is therefore working with other agencies, such as HDB, the Ministry of Health, even the Ministry of Home Affairs, to see how we can adopt a more integrated and holistic approach in tackling these problems. Mr Chairman, Sir, let me continue in English. *Cols. 3925-3928; 3915-3916. 5.45 pm (In English): We have a working model of a robust and comprehensive social safety net. It is also sufficiently decentralised for the Many Helping Hands to deliver help responsively on the ground. We constantly review and refine our social safety net where necessary. Ms Denise Phua would be happy to note that we will refine the Public Assistance (PA) scheme criteria to help a group of Singaporeans who are permanently unable to work due to reasons such as disability or old age and have no family support and have no other means of subsistence except for a small monthly payout from their CPF savings. They will be given a cash grant on top of the CPF payout they are receiving. This change will likely cost $4 million more a year, bringing the total PA budget to $17.3 million in FY2010. We will also provide more support to lower income Singaporeans who need social services. With effect from 1st April 2010, MCYS will enhance our means-testing criteria for funded programmes to align with that of MOH. This covers our residential programmes, such as our Homes for the Aged or Disabled and community-based programmes, such as our Day Care Centres and Home Help Services. These changes will allow more Singaporeans to qualify for means-tested subsidies, and at higher rates.”
“4 billion will be given to Singaporean households in handouts including GST rebate, service and conservancy charges rebates, utilities bill rebates, CPF top-ups, Medisave top-ups and so on. The second level is meant for those who need targeted help. The emphasis is on children, for example, through financial assistance schemes for children to attend childcare, student-care and kindergartens. As mentioned by Dr Amy Khor, we are giving kindergarten fee assistance to families with household income of up to $1,800 a month. The other area of assistance is under ComCare Self-Reliance. Then, we also have ComCare Enable, and we will refine the criteria for Public Assistance (PA). Please refer to the second chart*. At this point, I must thank Dr Lily Neo who has actively fought for the elderly PA recipients to get better PA allowances. In the years 2007, 2008, 2009 – we have consecutively increased the PA allowance rate from $290 to $330 to $360 respectively for a single person. The assistance for senior citizens has improved. In 2007 only those who had no family support, were permanently unable to work and had no other means of subsistence were given PA assistance. In 2008, we adjusted the PA criteria to allow elderly whose children's household income was below a thousand dollars and who met the other PA criteria to apply for assistance. From July this year, needy Singaporeans whose CPF payouts under the Minimum Sum Scheme or CPF LIFE are less than the prevailing PA allowance rate of $360 for a one-person household can be considered for PA. Further details will be announced in due course. In 2010, the budget for the Public Assistance scheme will be increased by $4 million to $17.3 million.”
“There are three levels to our social safety net. The first caters for those who need short-term immediate help, such as those who are retrenched, who have lost their job, have met with an accident or are not well enough to work. These people need immediate help. The CCCs, the CDCs and the grassroots organisations in the various constituencies have a variety of schemes to provide such immediate but short-term help. The second level is meant for specific groups of people who need time to adjust to new conditions. Schemes such as the ComCare Transitions scheme can provide help for such cases over a transitional period. Over 60% of our financial assistance cases are dealt with within two weeks currently. Before we established ComCare, only about 40% of the cases received help within six weeks, but now 98% of the cases received help within six weeks. In this regard, our Mayors, advisers and many of our family service centres have played a great role. I am very glad to note that more than 600 organisations are involved in our ComCare Local Networks, an increase of 40% from those in 2008. I hope that we can continue to work hard and get more organisations, schools, HDB, hospitals, etc, to come forward to help in this area. As the Minister pointed out earlier, though these safety nets are effective, we should not, as a society with Asian values, abandon our value that family remains the first line of support. So I hope that we do not give up this good value. Let me talk about our plan to refine our Public Assistance scheme criteria. Let us look at the chart. Let me first explain the first chart*. As I was saying, there are three levels to the social safety net. The first level is universal, that means everyone in Singapore receives this support from the Government. In 2010, $1.”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Chairman, let me first of all explain in Mandarin what the Minister had said earlier. I would like to thank my parliamentary colleagues, Dr Lily Neo, Mayor Teo Ho Pin and Ms Denise Phua for their comments on the low-income families and their problems. Our Ministry's approach to these problems is targeted at both the short term and long term. In the long term, we see a breakthrough in this year's Budget. Through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s of the last century, we have been emphasising life-long learning and productivity. The most fundamental approach is to have a job for everyone to ensure his or her income. We agree with the Members that we should not be overly pessimistic. In the handouts that we distributed to Members earlier, you will see that in the past three years, among those who went to the Community Development Councils (CDCs) for jobs under the Work Support scheme – more than 74% were successful in getting jobs, and 61% earned higher incomes after undergoing training. These are long-term measures. I hope Dr Lily Neo will work with our CDCs to find ways to help these low-income families, especially the parents, so that they can be better skilled and equipped to be in a better position to find jobs. I note that in the debate on the Budget Statement, Dr Neo had also asked how we could improve childcare services so that mothers can return to the workplace and earn an income to help support the family. As far as the social safety net is concerned, the Government has not forgotten the people who need assistance, particularly those who are in dire need of assistance to find means to support their families.”
“Sir, we link up our ComCare database with the NCSS, HDB, MOE, and so on. More or less we would know that families have benefited from different kinds of schemes. 3.00 pm”
“We are still studying this informal sector, where some housewives stay at home and take care of two or three children. We do work with NTUC to train some of the housewives to improve the quality of care but we still have not settled the issue of whether we should introduce more structured policy on this. So far, we do encourage NTUC to train some of these housewives. MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS BY EX-SPOUSES 2. Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) over the last three years (i) what is the number of cases of ex-spouses seeking court assistance for maintenance payments; (ii) what is the average number of times the ex-spouses have to see the court officials before payments are resumed; (iii) how many of these cases are still unsuccessful in getting the maintenance payments; (iv) what are the main reasons for non-payment of maintenance; (v) what is the average amount of maintenance granted per child; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider allowing applications for enforcement of maintenance payment at Night Courts. 3. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) whether his Ministry is looking at other measures to assist wives to enforce their maintenance orders against errant ex-husbands; (b) whether giving free access to marital records and making public the maintenance payments of divorcees to their former spouses and children, including defaults, are being considered and, if so, when would these measures be implemented.”
“I think it is a good suggestion and we will look into it. At this moment, I am sure the Member is aware, we do, at least, encourage them to be sensitive to food requirements, especially for the Malay-Muslim children. Whether the operators provide different kinds of food at their centres depends on the operators but insofar as I know, there have been no complaints in this area.”
“On the question of talent – here in Singapore, we are short of talent in all sectors. In the early childcare sector, I should also say that we are quite squeezed. Previously – as Mayor Zainudin knows since he also supervised NTUC's childcare unit – we only recruited people with three GCE "O" Level passes. Now, the requirement is five GCE "O" Level passes and we want to improve on this further. As my Minister said during the COS debate, quality and training for teachers would be the key challenges for my Ministry and MOE. Therefore, we will look into the salary package and how to help this industry improve. I am sure the Member also knows that lately, my Ministry has been very generous in giving grants to some of the anchor operators to train their people. I am sure the Member knows we even give scholarships. We even give some assistance for set-up costs and administrative costs. In previous years, there was no such thing but from this year onwards we gave operators a lot of assistance. We will work harder with MOE and other training institutions to see how to help to train these professionals and at the same time, make sure they have reasonable rewards in this industry. But it is a challenge.”
“As the Member knows, our objective is to ensure accessibility, affordability and quality. Therefore, we would not sacrifice the quality of the centres. Both MOE and MCYS have tried to speed up our training programme, conducted jointly with NTUC, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and so on. On the second question about safety – my Ministry has set up benchmarks, standards and licensing requirements. If they do not fulfil the Ministry's requirements, we will not give them the licence. If operators do not do a proper job to recruit qualified people, we will also withdraw their licences. All caregivers, whether local or foreign, should fulfil the requirements, such as five GCE "O" Level passes, training, and so on. The third question was about infant care, whether parents will use the maternity leave provided by the Government and employers. We will leave it to the individual family. What we try to do is to give people a choice. So we try to provide infant care for babies as young as two months but whether parents want to use their maternity leave or they want to put their infants into infant care, the working women can make their decisions.”
“I quite agree with this idea and MICA will look into this. Madam, the Pledge is written by Mr S. Rajaratnam, a reporter who, in 38 spare words, had captured the soul of the nation. He said everything that needed to be said. It would be a pity to go against his grain and belabour his points because straight talk needs very few words. So with this, Mdm Deputy Speaker, I thank you. [Applause]. ADJOURNMENT OF DEBATE Resolved, That the debate be now adjourned. – [Mr Mah Bow Tan].”
“So the way we keep faith will all the faiths on our tiny island is not to try and mesh everything into a whole but to keep things separate. Unity in diversity is what has been working effectively for Singapore. That is why we see the race on our ID cards, we celebrate our heritage, culture and our history. We have such organisations as the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Mendaki, SINDA and Eurasian Association. Self-help groups are mixed signals according to the Member. He thinks that we should stress our sameness, not our difference. But I wonder if there is any point to pretending because a Malay is actually not an Indian and is also not a Chinese. We are all different and if we group ourselves into different ethnic groups and then we can help ourselves to tackle problems better, quicker, with less embarrassment – why not? Why force ourselves into a common hole when we are all different sorts of squares? Madam, as Head of the CDAC for many years, I know firsthand the importance of cultural sensitivity and knowledge. I was able to carry out my duties effectively because of who I am, what I look like, how much I know and how the people in the same community have trust and faith in me. These conditions also apply to my counterparts in other self-help groups. In many other countries, self-help groups would not work, but in Singapore it does. So we are an unconventional democracy. To me, the signal is not mixed. It is just merely different. So lastly, Madam, I would like to point out that the Member has at least made one concrete suggestion which I think merits further review. He says that it will be useful for each vernacular channel to carry more stories or features about what is happening in the other communities.”
“Now, an integrated approach is necessary and is the goal of the many countries but at the heart of this approach must lie an important national goal that people can agree on and in Singapore's case, many people will agree that our economic strategy will still be regarded as a top priority because this is where it will guarantee us success, prosperity and many other good things to come. And crucial to our continued success in the economy, is the social development of the country. In Singapore, with its many races and religion, the fact remains that the racial and religious faultlines will continue to assist for many, many more years to come. There is a need to ensure that racial and religious harmony be maintained at all times and to achieve this, we have to remind ourselves time and again, even if it sounds like a broken record. We play the same tune but we have to play the tune time and again. So on a policy level, we see this in the many measures which have been put in place after the September 11 bombing. Inter Racial Confidence Circles (IRCCs) became a small but important part of living in a multi-racial Singapore and IRCCs were set up to tackle people's fear and get the racial and religious groups to know each other better. This was until after the arrest of some 34 members of the JI, a terrorist network which wanted to stir up racial strife between Singapore and Malaysia, and turn both into a part of an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia. The Prime Minister has reminded us again the importance of keeping an eye on religious and racial faultlines in Singapore during his National Day Speech just two days ago. Yet, the way we do things in Singapore is quite different from the rest of the world.”
“Allow freedom for citizens to express themselves and allow a credible multi-party system to evolve. All these are not here, he says, because they have been placed on the back burners, I quote, "placed on the back burners to make way for progress and prosperity". Madam, it is true and I agree with the Member that the lay of the land has changed but this change does not mean that economic growth should be put on the back burner. I think it is useful to remember that economic growth remains a priority for the Government and, in fact, for any given government, and it is also a backbone of Singapore's success in the last 50 years, we should not forget that. One economist, Dr Henri Ghesquiere – who is a Belgian and had studied Singapore for the IMF for many, many years – talks about three reasons for Singapore's success in his book Singapore's S uccess: Engineering Economic Growth. He says that Singapore has an integrated approach to Government, with policies and cultural values, institutions and political dynamics, reinforcing each other. Secondly, there is a distinction between basic principles and core functions and their applications. Dr Ghesquiere makes these points merely as a polite way of saying that Singapore strikes its own path, often times, an unpopular path. It does not follow the political fashions of other countries. Lastly, it talks about the leadership and the importance of this for the continued success.”
“He says that electoral boundaries are changed at the last minute and there is a lack of media coverage or biased coverage. Because of this, he says people are increasingly alienated and disenfranchised. Madam, this process has allowed two opposition Members of Parliament and as many as four in the past, to come into this House. So is the Nominated Member saying that the process by which this Opposition gained the seats in the Parliament and gained entry to this House is not clean, it is dirty? Do we hear the Opposition Members making these same allegations? I think in his time here, and in his public duties, I have not heard the Member for Hougang make such a claim, so far as my memory can recall. The Nominated Member has also not given us international benchmarks such as those that conventional democracies adopted in the timing of electoral boundary changes. He has not given us the ways in which we have flouted other conventions. He does, however, insinuate that we caused the media to be biased and the point about media coverage is quite separate and one which I think the Nominated Member has to put to the Editors of the various newspapers. I can only take up the one point that is against MICA and I wish to state that we do not interfere with the editorial stance of the papers and the media owners. We do not. This arm's length policy is an old and established one which has worked for us in all these years. Second, the allegation that in our drive towards economic prosperity, we have neglected other equally important goals. Madam, I disagree with this point. The Nominated Member implies that now that we have attained a certain level of economic success, we can perhaps relax a little.”
“Perhaps in my firm rebuttal, we can see more evidence of thin-skinned government but if there is a difference between being thin-skinned and standing up for what we believe in, if doing the latter risks being mistaken for the former, then I would take the risk rather than leave my principles lying in the mud. So that is not what the responsible and an accountable government would do. Lastly, he says that we need to do more to inspire young people to be patriotic, to want to serve our country and not to rely on high salaries to attract them into service. This, I would not disagree with. Madam, I would not disagree with these points because it is difficult to disagree with platitudes but it is as unhelpful to agree with them as it is to state such platitudes in the first place. Now, Madam, the above may tempt us to treat the Member's speech as a sort of good-nurtured roasting of the Government, all done with the best of intentions. So we ought to take it in our stride, to "chill", as the Member suggests. But Madam, to do so, in my view, will be a mistake because mixed in with the cheerful half praises and murky suggestions are two serious allegations. These, if not rebutted, would cause great damage to the Government's reputation. The first allegation is that we stand here in this House, each of us elected Member, not on the strength of our own making but through the conniving and insidious interference of a corrupt party and an equally corrupt government. The election process, the Member alleges, is not democratic. The Member asked that the Government desist from making it difficult in an unfair and undemocratic manner for the Opposition party to "gain success".”
“He says, and I quote, "Citizens should be made to feel our commitment ... is appreciated and not taken for granted. Rewards and privileges must be significant and discernible and accorded without being asked for." Madam, I think he has gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick. Commitment to a country requires no quid pro quo. If we are treading on rewards and privileges, if these are the things that a committed citizen needs, then I do not think the commitment is worth very much. What about the first generation of leaders, the Merdeka generation? They asked not for rewards or privileges. There were none to give then and yet how much these people gave. Not just the likes of Dr Goh Keng Swees or the Kenny Byrnes but the trishaw riders who gave to build a university, the business leaders who set up schools and foundations and the men and women who took in their neighbours of different races during the racial riots in 1964. So do you think they were doing all these for a PBM? As I see it, the Government does not, cannot and will not take the citizens for granted because it is the duty of the Government to provide as well as they can for them but this is quite different from the issue of commitment and citizenship. One, it is not traded for the other. Second, the climate of fear. The Member is not saying that the Government is instilling fear deliberately. I am glad he made this clear but merely that there is such a perception. People are speaking up but we could do more to encourage participation, he says. This, I would not disagree with. But I would disagree if he adds that the fear was created by the Government that was thin-skinned. I think our Government can take strong views and criticisms as well as any other government in the world.”
“I would very much disagree, however, with an allegation that the Government takes people for granted. How so? Does the Government ignore the fact that our population is ageing and not make lifts to their flats? Does the Government not fund and build such lifts and make sure every block will have one? Does the Government ignore that people find it difficult to find jobs during a recession? And does the Government not help all it can to the extent of using the reserves and offering Jobs Credit? Does the Government, as the Member alleges, care only to grow the rich but ignore the poor on Public Assistance (PA)? Madam, I know this subject as I have spoken on this several times when I was a backbencher. Now that I am on the Government bench, I will not change my mind and my tune. It is true. PA recipients have a hard life. They have to watch every cent but they have a roof over their head. They have something basic to live on each month. Just now, my colleague Mrs Yu-Foo, has taken some time to explain what the Government has done to help the needy through Public Assistance and ComCare. So I shall not belabour the point suffice to say that the Government does not take the poorest for granted. It ensures that they do not pay a single cent when they fall ill through the Medifund. There are many helping hands to put food on the tables but of course, there is always room for doing better and at the urging of the Members in this House, including the Nominated Member of Parliament, the Government is increasing the PA grant periodically, sometimes without the Members asking for it. So Madam, we do these things because it is the duty not to do less. We do not do them for the reasons that the Nominated Member says, so that the citizen feels unqualified commitment to the country.”
“More importantly, we in Parliament must lead the way by demonstrating that no national policy or Bill will be passed if it goes contrary to the letter or spirit of the Pledge." He says that it would be useful to have a review of all existing policies and practices to check for significant contradictions with the key tenet of the Pledge, resulting in mixed signals being sent to the ground. So he wants the Pledge to be some sort of check against bad Bills. But he then says further that: " – Citizenship is not a concept – it is something that you live, breathe and feel deeply. For this reason, I believe it is futile for us to talk in technical or legalistic terms about citizenship – rights, obligations, fairness!" So, you want the Pledge to be a check on bad law-making, but then you also dismiss the rights and obligations that laws create. So, what is the point of this suggestion then? This appears to be what the Member would call "a mixed signal" to me, which I do not quite understand. But this may not be a fair reading, to lump one sentence with another, to look for coherence where none was meant. Perhaps there is a more straight-forward reading of the criticisms. For example, one, the Member might be saying that the Government is not accountable to the people and the Government takes them for granted; two, there is a climate of fear and the people are afraid to speak up; and three, our current rules and institutions are not aligned with conventional democracy. He might be saying all of the above, but he is saying it very carefully. First, he is asking for more, he acknowledges that the Government is accountable but we ought to be faster, more sensitive, more genuine in our approach. This I would not disagree.”
“So, Singapore is 50 years old this year. And the Confucianist in me realises that at the age of 50, a man knows the will of Heaven or, in Mandarin, Kong Zi shuo: wu shi zhi tien ming (孔 子 说: 五 十 知 天命). On the level of rhetoric and philosophy, this can be interpreted to mean that at 50, a man has gained wisdom and clarity – he knows that his life is larger than himself, he knows the forces of nature and the strength of his own destiny. It can also mean that he has chosen a more deterministic view of life at 50, and he has made a decision to contend with, or resign to, his lot in life. It is a statement of epiphany, a crystal of philosophical wisdom, a way of life, and an expression of your beliefs. On a personal soul-searching level, I have a deep appreciation for it. However, on a matter of public policy it provides – I fear – very little concrete direction. The Nominated Member might have inadvertently confused the first for the second. There is room for rhetoric and there is also room for practical intent. But the first cannot be the cover for the second. The Member makes many points but, in there, there are two ways to make good points, or rather, two sorts of good points. The first sort, which is more philosophical in intent, makes good listening, good reading, and gives us memorable turns of phrases. The second sort, which is more pragmatic in nature, makes you think, challenges the Government in public policy, and gives you more meat to chew on. The second sort, I am afraid, is less apparent in the Member's speech. Let me elaborate how. Take for example, what he says about citizenship, and I quote: "We must ensure all citizens from young understand it beyond the words.”
“With Government subsidies and the assistance from the social welfare organisations, all our people are looked after, but the underlying principle is that we want them to be self-reliant. They must be able to help themselves. We would also like to depend on the family as the first line of social safety net. I would like to emphasise this once again – for those who are healthy, they must be self-reliant and work to support themselves, and their children and elderly will be looked after. For anyone who needs help, they can always call the ComCare hotline 1800-222-000 for assistance. *Cols. 1095-1096. 5.53 pm The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry and Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong): Mdm Deputy Speaker, I watched my fourth National Day Parade this year as a Member of Parliament. Each year is better than the past, and this year's NDP is the best one yet. As I stood and recited the Pledge at 8.22 pm, it was a time for pride and reflection. I am sure the same sentiments also ran through the mind of the Nominated Member, which had in turn motivated him further to write a well-crafted, articulate and very lengthy maiden speech in Parliament. I think he broke the record. I share some of his views and I agree that we should find ways to re-energise the Pledge as the ultimate social glue that binds us as a nation, as a people. However, I do differ with the Member on a number of issues. I will not attempt to address all of the Member's points as he has given us a full slate of issues to ponder over. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I will just confine to a few issues that are close to my heart. Let me start with our humble beginning in 1959, the year when Singapore gained self-governance.”