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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“They should act more positively by extending a helping hand to the building contractors. I do not believe that the contractors want to be punished again and again, nor do they want to see more accidents happen in their work sites. This is the time for our Tripartite Committee to work together to solve the problem. Many developed countries have, over the past 10 to 20 years, been devoting much time and efforts to reduce the danger and risk of the workers in the work site through the use of advanced technology and machinery, thereby reducing the number of accidents. These countries have also assisted the related industries to improve on their work processes and building specifications to improve productivity in the building industry and reduce the industry's dependence on foreign workers. I do not know whether the Ministry of Labour is also encouraging our building industry to move in this direction. I would like to know, for example, the progress in the implementation of QCC and the Safety Management System (SMS), and whether they have attained the target of the Ministry of Labour. As for the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), what is its role in this effort? The CIDB now comes under the Public Works Department. I think it is better for CIDB to be transferred to the Ministry of Labour or Ministry of Trade and Industry.”
“Soon after the problem of illegal foreign workers has just been slightly alleviated, the building contractors have been put under the spotlight for the spate of industrial accidents in building sites, becoming the focus of attention of many people. When we talk about "leaking roof", it seems to point to the fact that in the past years, there was hardly any improvement to the efficiency and technology in the building industry. As such, they are like old houses where the roofs leak. During the rainy seasons, of course, problems are aplenty. Although under the Factories Act, anyone convicted of an offence under the Act can be fined not more $200,000 or imprisonment for one year, or both, which can be said to be quite stiff, it seems to be not effective enough. Ii is reported in today's Lianhe Zaobao that there are already 32 incidents of industrial accidents in the building sites in the first half of 1997. Therefore, I doubt if penalty alone is a good measure. Sir, there is an old Chinese saying that when a high reward is offered, brave fellows will come forward. I think we improvise on this to read as: "Heavy penalty after penalty, there is not a part of the body which is not injured." Our building contractors are subjected to all kinds of penalties and they are pushed beyond their means. I think we should probe deeper into the matter. A lot of construction builders claim that they have already taken steps to comply with safety requirements, or that they are in the process of making efforts to improve the safety measures in the work site. I think the Factory Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labour can extend their consultative role in this field, rather than just arresting and prosecuting the offenders.”
“Safety Improvement Team (SIT), a concept similar to Quality Control Circle (QCC), is a group of workers working as a team to look into specific health and safety problems encountered at their workplace. SITs will help workers to foster safety awareness through constant discussions and practice. The Buddy System involves the teaming up of inexperienced workers with their experienced colleagues. This will help to complement and facilitate short training courses on on-the-job training. Both the SITs and Buddy System are especially advantageous to foreign workers, as they encourage discussions and exchange of experiences between the experienced and inexperienced workers. Both the systems will also be beneficial to the contractors and it does not only ensure the promotion of worksite safety but also make more productive use of resources. Members may wish to know that Sembawang Shipyard has embarked on the buddy system and it has proven to be very successful. 4.30 pm For both concepts to work, there is a need for a firm commitment from the employers to introduce them at the workplace and to put these concepts into practice. If there is enough commitment from all the parties concerned, I am sure SIT could also be part of our working culture and norm. I strongly urge the Labour Ministry to provide the necessary resources and guidance to enlighten and help the employers and workers to successfully implement the two concepts. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang( In Mandarin): Sir, I am the Executive Secretary of the Building Construction and Timber Industry Employees Union. There is this Chinese saying: "The roof leaks, yet the rain keeps pouring the whole night through". This is a very apt description for the plight of the building contractors today.”
“Sir, I would like to congratulate the Labour Ministry for reducing the number of industrial accidents since the 1990s. However, the number of noise induced deafness (NID) cases has been on the increase. It has been the number one occupational hazard for the last decade. Part of the increase is probably due to more workers undergoing audiometric examinations, as more noisy factories are being identified by the Labour Ministry. However, it is our concern that many of our workers are presently suffering from NID. Similarly, the number of chemical hazard cases, such as industrial dermatitis, chemical poisoning and absorption, has also not improved. These hazards are very prevalent now and are affecting many workers in the relevant industries. While the Labour Ministry has put in efforts to reduce the number of such cases, I believe that more can, and should be done. There is a need for a combined effort for all the three tripartite bodies to tackle the problem at its source and to formulate preventive measures. There is a need to educate and reinforce the workers with an understanding of the health effects of occupational hazards pertaining to NID and chemical hazards. Employers need to be more vigilant in ensuring that their workers comply with the statutory Acts on the engineering control of machinery. Sir, the number of accidents in the construction industry has been on the increase, especially the higher number of fatal cases. I would like to urge the tripartite partners to promote the Safety Improvement Team (SIT) and Buddy System in all industries, especially the construction industry.”
“Sir, there is a need to solve our labour shortage problems without an over reliance on foreign workers. We should also seriously explore ways to allow our healthy senior citizens and housewives to continue working. There is a lot of room for improvement in our labour force participation rate from the females in the age group of 30 to 50 and for the older people. More efforts are definitely necessary to encourage employers to restructure the jobs and be more flexible to attract this potential group of employees. 3.45 pm”
“To encourage more companies to participate in job redesigning and restructuring, incentives and recognition will also have to be given to reward companies which have succeeded in this area. For example, would the Labour Ministry consider looking into devising some form of incentives to encourage companies to employ housewives and older persons instead of having them crying out for more foreign workers to solve their manpower shortage problem? One possible incentive could be to allow companies to employ more foreign workers above the allowable quota if they have employed a certain number of housewives or older persons. A good network could be set up to help potential candidates find a placement and to help employers get workers. The People's Association's community clubs and community centres can provide some counselling, job matching and job guidance services for these residents. Basic training courses could also be conducted at a location near home for the convenience of the prospective employees to prepare and equip them to join or rejoin the workforce. There is a need to improve the effectiveness of the requirements for the funding of the training programmes by SDF. I understand that while the SDF programmes are also open to housewives and retirees, the SDF needs these people to prove that they have secured employment before they can go for the subsidised courses. Can a scheme be worked out for these housewives and older persons to attend the course and pay the course fees first? If they could get an employment within, say, one year or six months, part of the course fees will be refunded to them plus some rewards or incentives for their transportation and other out-of-pocket allowances.”
“Sir, now I would like to touch on the topic "Back to Work". Since the programme was launched by the tripartite body in September 1996, it has generated wide publicity among the potential employees and the response has been good. About 2,000 job seekers have registered. On the employers' side, 80 organisations have posted their job vacancies with the Labour Ministry. However, the number of successful placement is very low, at only 680. Why is it so low? One problem is that the employers are still reluctant to restructure jobs and introduce innovative working arrangements to meet the needs and expectations of housewives and older persons. Many still prefer younger workers or foreign workers who can work full time. To date, only a handful of employers like McDonalds, POSB and Singapore Post have succeeded in introducing innovative part-time and flexible work schemes and attracted housewives and older persons to fill up their job vacancies. Another problem is that the prospective employees prefer to work near home, have flexible arrangement and prefer clerical and child care jobs which are limited. They do not want to take up jobs in factories, hotels and fast-food chains where there are more vacancies. Sir, to overcome this problem, one very basic requirement is the need to change the mindset of both the prospective employers and the prospective employees. Public education is crucial and necessary to educate all Singaporeans, both young and old. To change their mindset, a positive attitude is necessary not only towards life but also towards continuous learning. I would also like to suggest that employers work hand in hand with the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board to seriously look into job restructuring and job redesigning.”
“Sir, we understand that employers are concerned with the higher cost of employing older workers. I would like to suggest that employers adopt a more flexible approach in their cost cutting measures in cases where the salaries of the older workers are already reflective of their job's worth. Employers should also pay adequate attention to other equally important aspects of this issue. I note that there is a recommendation for employers to displace older workers who cannot perform their existing jobs. However, I also feel that employers can do a lot more in job redesigning. Employers should study their workplace, either the way in which jobs are organised or the structure of the workplace which can be modified to enable the older workers to fit in better. This should be done. There is a tendency to write off older workers as being less receptive to training or, worse still, untrainable. This is not true in all cases. To encourage employers to continue providing training to the older workers to ensure they are relevant to the employment and job demand, incentives could also be extended to employers who provide training to their older workers. Those with a good record could perhaps be given a tax rebate or other appropriate incentives. The recommendations of the extension of the retirement age are far-reaching and cover some controversial issues. It is indeed a credit to our strong tripartite relationship and the responsible and mature attitude of both employers and unions. Sir, I am confident that with mutual trust and understanding, any problems of implementation that may arise along the way can be ironed out by the tripartite body. I urge the Minister to consider this extension as soon as possible.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, the Tripartite Review Committee on the Extension of the Retirement Age has recommended that the retirement age be further extended from 60 to 62 years. It has also suggested that various measures be adopted in relation to this issue. When we first extended the compulsory retirement age to 60 in 1993, the benefit has been evident. Since 1993, some 63,000 workers above 55 have been provided with employment. This is very significant, considering the serious labour shortage that Singapore faces and the huge number of foreign workers employed here. With the extension of retirement age to 62, it is estimated that another 80,000 workers, aged 60 and above, will be added to the workforce. This will definitely help further reduce the reliance on foreign workers. We should also look at the issue from the perspective of our aging population. Today, for every older worker, there are eight younger workers working. In just 30 years' time, this will drastically change with one older worker being supported by only 2.5 younger workers. We cannot wait until the situation becomes critical before we act. I have received much feedback from older union members who are eager to know when the extension will take place. Contrary to popular belief, many want to work and lead productive lives. For some, this is no longer just an issue of keeping them occupied. Because of their low savings, work has become a necessity. Hence, although the Tripartite Committee has suggested that the compulsory retirement age be extended to 62 with effect from 1999, I would like to urge more employers to voluntarily extend the retirement age to 62 without waiting until 1999.”
“But the law is only one aspect of what I have suggested should be a multi-pronged approach. I would like to restate the five actions that should be taken together. First, strengthen existing laws. The Women's Charter (Amendment) Bill is a balanced piece of legislation and will enhance protection for women and family members. Second, streamline administrative procedures for the Police. Third, provide training to qualified counsellors and train the Police on how to handle family disputes. Fourth, provide community support for families with such problems through the Ministry of Community Development, voluntary organisations and grassroots organisations. Fifth, and most importantly, inculcate the right family values through homes, schools and public educational programmes. I would like, once again, to call on the Minister to strengthen the administration and resources of the Ministry of Community Development to help voluntary groups and others in the community to be more visible and pro-active in protecting and promoting a healthy family life. The status of women and family relations are dynamic, especially in our modern and rapidly changing society today. We must periodically review together the relevance of our laws and practices, as we have done in amending the Women's Charter with this Bill. I believe that our consensus in support of the amendments and the spirit of our deliberations show our commitment to achieving a shared vision for a better quality of life for all Singaporeans, regardless of men and women.”
“Taking these factors into consideration, the court can award more than half to the wife in cases where, based on her total contributions to the marriage, the court is of the view that the wife deserves more. Can the Minister confirm my understanding of this section? On protection of the family, the new provision of the Women's Charter has strengthened and enhanced protection for the family and is thus a most welcome amendment. Under this new Bill, protection is expanded to cover not only the spouses and children but also parents, siblings and even any handicapped family member. At the same time, the new amendments have also widened the definition of "violence" to include psychological hurt, and has increased protection for the victims. It will be much easier for women to apply for Personal Protection Orders, and they could also have a warrant of arrest attached to the PPO if there is immediate danger of violence being committed against them. In more serious cases of violence occurring within the family, there is the Penal Code which extends added protection to the family members. Mr Speaker, Sir, through these deliberations over the Women's Charter (Amendment) Bill, we have all become more aware of the problems faced by some families in Singapore who are at greater risk because of domestic problems. We have also become more aware of the need for individual and collective efforts in helping these families. At the same time, we must continue to strengthen family relationships, which is a more effective long-term strategy in preserving families and dealing with broken families. Strengthening our existing laws is an essential step to address the problems arising from family breakdowns.”
“Yet another welcome amendment is the provision to enable a child above 21 years to apply for maintenance for himself, as well as to apply on behalf of a sibling below 21 years if his mother or guardian is unable or refuses to apply for them. This is a logical development, in view of the decision to expand the scope for payment of maintenance to children above 21 years. In addition, I am happy to note that a pro-active provision has also been introduced to enable persons appointed by the Minister, possibly social workers and community leaders, to apply on behalf of a child who has no one else to apply on his behalf. I have spoken on this point many times, and I feel that community leaders are in touch with the ground and it would be easier for families in distress to approach them for assistance compared to a Government servant. Another area I would like to mention is on matrimonial assets. On matrimonial assets, the new provisions have adopted a broader approach on this issue. The new provisions allow the court to divide the assets in such proportions as the court thinks just and equitable. In deciding what is just and equitable, the new section 106(1) requires the court to take into consideration not only the financial contributions of the parties but also their contributions towards the welfare of the family, particularly contributions in looking after members of the family, the aged or infirm relatives of either the husband or the wife. In this respect, as women are usually the main care-givers in the family, they would benefit from the new amendment as their non-financial contribution would now be given greater weightage.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am very happy that the deliberations of the Select Committee have led to further improvements to the Bill. I believe that from the lengthy discussions we have had over the provisions of the Bill, we have also gained greater understanding and appreciation of important issues concerning women and families in our society. I would like to highlight improvements in three areas in particular that address concerns that I and others have raised. First, I would like to touch on the area of maintenance. I am pleased that the Bill has been amended to provide more teeth to the enforcement of maintenance orders. There are now new provisions which will allow the court to issue an attachment of earnings order at any time, and not only when the husband has breached the maintenance order. In addition, the court can now also make a garnishee order. These two new measures will address the hardships faced by many women whose husbands deliberately fail to pay up promptly or who refuse to pay. The court can now give an attachment order at once, rather than only when the husband eventually does not pay and the wife has lodged a complaint. This will save the wife from unnecessary costs, time and headache. The garnishee order, which is practised in some countries, will provide another more effective way of collecting maintenance from husbands who claim they have no regular earnings and have accumulated arrears. A further improvement is the provision which makes it necessary for the husband to continue to pay arrears of maintenance to his wife, even when he is imprisoned, although the court has the discretion to order a lower maintenance payment. This is a point which was unclear under the old law.”
“Some employers are very good at creating fanciful titles for their staff so that the union cannot represent them. The guidelines, however, cannot override section 16(3) of the Act. In other words, if a person is actually performing executive functions, then he cannot join the rank-and-file union. In view of this, could the Minister make a review of section 16(3)? Sir, as the service sector grows over the years, more and more workers are employed in this sector. I believe there is a need to review the Factories Act to ensure that the service sector workers are adequately protected against hazards in their workplace. For instance, the increasing use of computers and other office equipment, and pregnant women workers especially are expressing concern about their health over the constant exposure to radiation. The usage of computers may result in eye strain and backache if the company does not provide appropriate chairs or lighting. At the moment, there is no law to ensure that employers provide adequate protection for the office employees because an office is not designated a factory under the Factories Act. Employees working at MRT stations are also not covered by the Factories Act as the stations are not designated as a factory under the Act. However, technicians maintaining the stations are exposed to hazards such as falls, etc. like any other workers operating in a manufacturing concern. In this regard, I would like to know whether the Ministry of Labour is considering expanding the Factories Act to call it the Factories and Offices Act to cover employees in the service sector as well.”
“Sir, I rise to speak on the issue of representation of executives. Under section 16(3) of the Industrial Relations Act, a union that represents rank-and-file employees cannot at the same time represent executive staff. In my view, this prohibition should be removed. In other words, rank-and-file unions should be allowed to represent executives. Sir, the profile of our labour force has changed. In 1983, only 21% of our workforce were in professional and related jobs. In 1994, this figure had increased to 32%. In three to four years' time, this will be increased to about 50% to 60%. 60% of our workforce will come from the polytechnics and university and this figure will continue to rise as the population becomes better educated and with further economic and industrial restructuring. The impact of this is that more and more employees will be excluded from the union's scope of representation. A shrinking pool of bargainable employees will weaken the trade union's movement. We will also be deprived of capable leaders who can pursue sound and responsible policies to run the trade unions. At the same time, employers' concern that there will be conflict of interest if executives are allowed to join rank-and-file unions is exaggerated. There are presently sufficient safeguards to overcome this, both in the law and through industrial practice. Trade unions in Singapore have behaved responsibly and reasonably. We have always believed in settling disputes through peaceful means. The situation today is vastly different from the hostile industrial climate of the 1960s when the law was first introduced. Some years ago, the Ministry had issued guidelines on the representation of front line supervisors. They are useful but only address the problem of bogus titles.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code JD 1500. Sir, I would like to praise Government's effort in coming up with a number of schemes to help the poor and the needy over the years, such as the Public Assistance Scheme, the Small Families Improvement Scheme, the Citizens' Consultative Committee Assistance Scheme, the NCSS Special Assistance Scheme, the financial assistance given by MOE to students, the 25th Anniversary Endowment Fund which was set up in 1991 to help the destitute and low income families, and so on. I would like to ask the Minister how many persons have benefitted from the various schemes, how far have the objectives of these schemes been achieved and how many organisations have benefitted so far. Sir, most of the schemes provide assistance to those with income below $1,200 or $1,500. There are families with income of between $1,500 and $2,000 who may be in hardship because of special circumstances. I would like to know whether the Ministry will be flexible in the implementation of some of the schemes to help this group. I would like to request MCD to update the directory of schemes available from time to time so that the latest assistance scheme is made known to the public. I would also like to request that the directory of social support centres in Singapore be distributed to hospitals, community centres and clubs, child care centres, etc, so that they could direct the needy to the appropriate centres for assistance.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“More importantly, we can use the Respect for the Elderly Week to encourage young people to pay respect to the aged. 1.00 pm”
“I hope that the Minister can consider setting up a special planning committee to provide overall planning for the provision of user-friendly facilities for the handicapped and elderly people. The second point I wish to bring up is on the question of work for the handicapped and elderly people. I would like to ask MCD whether there is any special agency to look after the employment needs of these people for the maintenance of their livelihood. Of course, the Ministry of Labour has a special agency to help the handicapped people to look for jobs. But elderly people and handicapped people have different employment needs. So I would like to ask the Minister for Community Development what role is his Ministry playing in this respect. Next, on the question of respect for the aged. Filial piety and respect for the aged are the traditional virtues of Singaporeans. Parents brought up and cared for their children. Their contribution is very great, and it is because of this contribution that we have the Singapore of today. Family cohesiveness, respect for the aged and filial piety are very important aspects of our social lives. Just imagine, Sir, if we are a society that does not pay attention to filial piety and have no respect for the elderly, then parents will be discarded by their children. Our social order will be undermined, and this will lead to a vicious cycle which will undermine our social cohesion. Sir, this will be a terrible situation. So I hope that we should start from the fundamental, ie, to respect the aged. I would suggest that the present "Senior Citizens' Week" be renamed as "Respect for the Elderly Week", so that the senior citizens will feel the respect and the care given to them.”
“More importantly, there is room for mediation and counselling, if necessary. I understand that a Tribunal for the maintenance of parents will be set up soon. I would like to ask the Minister on the application and administration procedures of the Act and what sort of mechanism MCD has set up to implement the Act. Mr Choo Wee Khiang (Jalan Besar GRC)( In Mandarin): Sir, I often see handicapped and elderly people on wheel chairs moving about in the streets. However, I notice that most of our buildings and roads are not user-friendly to people on wheel chairs. On one occasion, I saw a person on a wheel chair trying to cross the junction of New Bridge Road and Upper Cross Street with great difficulty. There was no ramp on the curb of the road. So when this person came down from the curb, he almost fell off from his wheel chair. I would like to ask the Minister whether he has any long-term plan to provide better user-friendly facilities to facilitate the movement of handicapped and elderly people. I feel that the Ministry of Community Development should set up a special planning committee comprising officers from the various Government Ministries and statutory boards, especially the LTA, Ministry of Health and MND, to look into the question of coordinating the activities of the various Government agencies in planning public facilities, with special consideration for the needs of elderly and handicapped people. At the moment, I understand that the Building Control Division, under the Ministry of National Development, stipulates the provision of certain facilities to be provided in the new towns for the benefit of the elderly and handicapped people. But I feel that this is not enough.”
“Sir, when we enter into the 21st century, we should focus on the problems of an aging population. At present, there are more and more nuclear families. Many young couples prefer to stay on their own. There will be more and more elderly parents who live on their own. This number will increase significantly and may pose social problems in the future. As the family size is getting smaller, my concern is when the young couples and children are working during the day, who will take care of the elderly when they need assistance? I see that there is a need for a community networking support system as well as close coordination between MCD and other relevant Ministries to ensure a more coordinated approach to service delivery. Are there any efforts made to mobilise grassroots, voluntary organisations and senior citizens' clubs as well as individuals, such as the well-elderly to give voluntary service to the elderly in need like home visits and to look after the basic needs of the elderly? And I would also like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry will set up more day care centres for the elderly. Sir, in November 1995, Parliament passed the Maintenance of Parents Bill. I am pleased that in passing the Bill, the idea of a Tribunal received very favourable support from Members of this House. In passing the Bill, I was pleased that MCD has found an appropriate set-up which would allow for a more mediatory approach to a rather sensitive family matter. MCD has taken the feedback from the public well and incorporated a tribunal which will put in place a legal mechanism to help parents who need help to seek maintenance from their children while enabling the parties involved to sort out their problems in a less austere atmosphere of a court.”
“I would like to urge that this effort deserves praise and should be encouraged and supported. I would like to ask the Minister to let us know how much has been spent, whether he sees a need to sustain or, better still, expand the promotion of SFV and whether the $1 million for five years is sufficient.”
“Sir, in October 1994, the Minister for Community Development released the Report of the Inter-Ministry Committee on Juvenile Delinquency, Dysfunctional Families and Drug Abuse. The recommendations were wide-ranging and aimed to put in place further measures to address the needs of dysfunctional families and juvenile delinquents. Recent police figures show that the number of juveniles arrested went up from 1,200 in 1990 to 2,500 last year. With the recent rise in juvenile crimes and offences, the recommendations are timely and crucial. I would also like to bring to the attention of the House of a group of youths who had failed in their PSLE examinations. If they are forced to study, the absenteeism rate may be high because they have no interest in their studies. They cannot join ITE for technical training because they are under age. I would like to ask the Minister whether there is any programme specially designed for this group of youths to counsel and guide them so that they will not waste their time hanging around shopping centres or roaming around. I would also like to ask the Minister about the Report of the IMC. Could the Minister update us on its progress? The other area that I would like to touch on is Singapore Family Values. Since 1994, when the Ministry of Community Development launched the Singapore Family Values (SFV), much has been said about the importance of preserving family values in our society. The focus is on the family because it is one of the most important factors underpinning the progress of Singapore. We see the SFV being promoted in schools, buses, taxi-cabs, MRT stations, TV, radio and several publications and mass events. Many members of the public praise the programme, especially over TCS. However, lately, the programme has stopped.”
“Sir, could I speak on my amendment tomorrow?”
“It also includes the promotion of family values and civics education. Under the proposed amendment to the Women's Charter, it has to help in the mediation and conciliation in family disputes. It has to enhance social cohesiveness, liaise with grassroots organisations and provide sports activities for the people. Although we are unable to quantify the work of the Ministry of Community Development, its mission and responsibility and duties have far-reaching effect on the nation as well as everyone of its citizens. I would like to ask the Minister whether, with the widening scope of activities, we have new plans to cope with the requirements of the various quarters. Secondly, how do we enhance our cooperation with other organisations and to tap their resources, coordinate activities and plans with them so as to attain our target? Thirdly, with the present resources, are they enough to cope with the promotion of these activities, particularly those activities which have to be sustained over a long period of time? Also, are we having enough manpower and expertise to cope with the increasing volume of work in future?”
“At a time when most Singaporeans are enjoying comfortable lives, there is still a small group of people who are having problems in making ends meet in their daily lives. They are unable to keep pace with our economic development, and may be depressed because of family problems or pressure from work. Although the Government, charitable organisations, religious bodies, voluntary organisations, and grassroots organisations have extended a helping hand to them, I hope that our society would also find some ways to help these less fortunate and poor people, while pursuing economic development. We should help members of these families to get out of their hardship and poverty as soon as possible. No doubt, we do not advocate welfarism, but we could try counselling and train them to be self-reliant and self-supporting. The role and portfolio of the Ministry of Community Development have been expanding over the years. I suggest that the role to be played by MCD should be fine-tuned in line with the time, the target group and the demand. They should not be confined to its traditional role and modes of operation. Otherwise, the Ministry may find itself unable to cope with the increasing demand, and because of limited resources it may conveniently transfer its responsibilities to other organisations, thereby affecting their efficiency. We know that the scope of service and the service target of the Ministry of Community Development are getting more and more sophisticated and they are expanding. It is now serving a wide spectrum of people and involving various activities, starting from creches to teenager's problems, problems of the aged, the handicapped and the lower income families and also to settle family disputes.”
“But the expenditure for the Ministry of Community Development is only 2% of this amount, the second lowest among all the Heads of expenditures, the lowest being the Ministry of Information and the Arts. As we are approaching the status of a developed nation, we have to make a lot of adjustments. What I am concerned about is, for the last 20-30 years, our economic development has been advancing rapidly. With the changes in social structure and functions, the expectations and needs of our citizens in terms of clothing, housing, food, transport and material needs are now different from the past. Due to a higher standard and quality of living, the needs of the citizens and their expectations have increased. In this Budget, will the Minister consider spending more money on the promotion of public education and social awareness? I feel that for a nation, while pursuing economic development, it should also concentrate on developing a gracious society. Although the latter's performance cannot be measured by statistics, the benefits of a gracious society are long term. Besides defending the country, the promotion of individual stability and proper family values, moral standards, family and social cohesiveness are also important. I hope that more funds could be allocated to these areas. It should be treated as a long-term investment to attain our goal of enhancing better social behaviour of the individuals in particular, and the community in general, building up stronger family ties, and making Singapore a nation of happy people. In the past 10 years, our income has increased by an average of 5.9% every year. The Government has introduced various measures to increase the assets of the people.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head J of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, one special characteristic of this year's Budget is that it is pro-family, one that enhances family cohesiveness. I am happy to note that for the last three years, the budget allocated for the Ministry of Community Development has been gradually increased. For FY96, the allocation for the Ministry of Community Development is $379 million, which is $130 million or 9% more than the revised expenditure for FY95. In this allocation, the People's Association gets the most, some $90 million to finance its various operations and activities. This includes the promotion of more social activities, development of new plans which include building of more recreational facilities at void decks, upgrading of Residents' Committee facilities and promotion of social cohesiveness and community spirit. Besides that, we have also provisions for expenditure on Small Families Improvement Scheme, and the scheme to help low-income families. More importantly, in order to assist working mothers, the subsidy for child-care centres has been increased to more than $40 million. In addition, the expenses also include building homes for the aged, and subsidies for the construction and maintenance of facilities for organisations looking after the disabled and low-income families. In order to encourage our citizens to have a strong and healthy physique, this Budget has allocated more than $30 million for the development of sports facilities. As in previous years, the allocation for social and community development this year takes up 42% of the total budget.”
“The choice available is either to pay or to forgo the training. The $2,000 educational tax relief on earned income is of little help to most of the workers as 70% pay no tax at all. It would be interesting to note if the Finance Minister can provide figures on the actual numbers who have benefited from this. Earlier, Sir, I have proposed a scheme similar to Edusave for skills training. The same concept can be applied to continuing education. This would be of tremendous assistance and motivation for the workforce to upgrade. A list of nationally recognised qualifications/courses that meet economic objectives can be drawn up to enable a worker to drawdown on this account to help defray the cost of upgrading. This is investment in human capital. Government can consider funding this from budget surpluses. To encourage employers to train their workers beyond the immediate needs of the job and to help defray the cost of training to employers, Government can consider double enhanced taxation benefits to companies who take a keen interest in the continuing education of our workforce. Based on the company taxation rate of 26%, a double taxation allowance on such training would effectively half the cost of training to employers. With a system of funding in place, tertiary institutions can be encouraged to do more in the area of continuing education. The Government has invested heavily in setting up the tertiary education infrastructure. Provision of continuing education opportunities would mean better utilisation of these resources. The Government can consider funding some of the incremental costs associated with continuing education. This would mean that fees can be even more affordable to workers.”
“Sir, I have earlier spoken on the need to do more in the area of skills training for workers with less than secondary education. I would now like to touch on the subject of continuing education. As a more advanced developing nation, we will need to focus on the continuing education needs and development of those who have attained secondary education and above. This currently accounts for 57% of the workforce. Programmes offered to these segments of the workforce are not well supported by the Skills Development Fund (SDF). The supply of these better qualified resources should not come only from the ITE, the polytechnics, universities and overseas scholarships. We should ensure that the existing workforce has a ready supply of such needed talents for our economy to thrive. This can be achieved if enough continuing education training opportunities are made available to them and at affordable rates. Continuing education need not be skill-based. It can include knowledge, languages and training of a developmental nature. Such training can be tied to meeting economic objectives. An example of this would be language skill and knowledge to meet the demands of regionalisation, not only for the person affected alone, but for the spouses as well. 4.00 pm Continuing education can be expensive. The cost of continuing education programmes can vary from $150 for a 20-hour course to $660 for a 42-hour non-certificated course at the ITE. The courses are pegged at the vocational level. As we move up the skills ladder, continuing education courses at the polytechnics and Open University can cost more than $2,000. The cost can be even higher for those conducted by private providers. If an individual worker is not sponsored by the company, there is little that he can do.”
“Further, in view of the tight labour market, more support should be given to the retraining efforts of women and older workers who are re-entering the workforce.”
“With the outflow of SDF money at more than three times the inflow, the SDF coffers will be depleted by the year 2000. Sir, my concern is that with the declining coffers, SDF will be more stringent in its criteria for committing training grants. Already, the maximum grant per trainee hour has been reduced from $10 to $8. And funding for the national IT Power programme was reduced from 80% to the current 50%. In all, for our workers who have to fund their own training because training opportunities are not provided by their employers, it will affect their take-home pay and their living standard. It may be appropriate to raise the $1,000 SDF salary ceiling to $1,500 and to revise the 1% levy rate upwards, to ensure that the SDF has adequate funding to help our workforce into the 21st century. We have called on the Government to set up a scheme similar to the Edusave Account to assist individual workers to defray the cost of skills training. While it can be argued that the national target of 4% payroll to be spent on skills training is likely to be met this year, it does not mean that all workers have equal training opportunities. We know that small and medium-sized enterprises are not training enough of their staff. Out of 493,000 training places committed by the SDF in 1994, only 65,000 training places or 13% were taken by workers in companies with an employment size of less than 200. To meet the skill needs of the years ahead and to meet the challenges of the 21st century, I would propose to the Government to set up a scheme similar to Edusave for workers' training, opening up the SDF training grant schemes to individual workers on training programmes leading to nationally recognised qualifications, and to channel part of the surpluses to the Skills Development Fund.”
“Sir, the Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) has placed Singapore in the league of advanced economies. Countries accorded this status have a high proportion of jobs that require upper levels of vocational and university training. They produce goods and services with a high value added and, consequently, workers are well paid. Under-trained or low skilled workers are known to have experienced losses in living standards in some of these advanced economies. Singapore has a workforce of about 1.6 million people. Of these, 26.4% have attained an educational level of primary six and below. If we were to include those with less than secondary education, it will rise to 43%. Given this profile, are we doing enough in the area of skills training and upgrading? This is to ensure that this group of workers will not be left out on their ability to improve on their living standards, relative to those who are better educated and skilled. Further, of the 43%, about half are aged 40 years and above. The average training expenditure per employee in many advanced economies is much higher than Singapore. For example, Japan has a training expenditure of $2,001, Germany $690 and USA with $600. Singapore has a training expenditure of only $350. During last year's Budget debate, it was brought out that the coffers of the SDF was declining. The salary ceiling of Skills Development Fund levy was raised from the salary ceiling of $750 to $1,000. At the end of FY94/95, the SDF had total assets amounting to about $387 million. The current balance to date is estimated at $250 million. This is a decline of $137 million or about 35%. Yearly grant commitments over the last couple of years averaged about $60-$70 million, while receipts from the SDF levy are expected to amount to $18 million.”
“We should develop legislation in accordance with our own social norms and to suit our needs. We have taken this approach in many instances and I am sure, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will agree with me that we should continue to do the same in this particular case. At the end of the day, whatever we do we should strike a balance between humanity, rationality and law.”
“Within itself, MCD should set up a permanent unit to receive complaints from victims, provide counselling and rehabilitation to both abusers and victims and help victims to apply for Personal Protection Orders, if necessary. It should also set up a helpline for families in distress. We should look into the root cause of the problem. If family violence is caused by abusers who are addicted to alcohol, drugs or gambling, then these problems will first have to be addressed by making counselling and rehabilitative services available to such families. To provide more effective counselling, MCD, together with voluntary organisations, should provide accredited professional training for counsellors, which is presently lacking in Singapore. I feel that MCD's budget of $1 million to promote family values is too small. There are many creative ways we can come up with to promote family harmony, similar to the programme Extraordinary People which is shown on TV. We must not be too ready to think that the law alone will solve the problem. It will not. In America, the law protects children from being abused by parents. That appears to be very good. But look what happened? Children have sued their parents for disciplining them! The number of child abuse cases is still increasing. The laws in the developed countries may be very comprehensive. But, in reality, does it mean that in terms of social development, family cohesiveness, husband and wife relationships, parents and children relationship of these countries are better off than us? I do not think so. We should not follow the developed countries blindly. Instead, in the long run, we should rely on our own values and experience to develop our own model of dealing with problems within the family.”
“It should not be brought under public scrutiny and be subject to prosecution under our law. From the feedback I have received, people have asked what amounts to marital rape. When can a wife be said not to give her consent to sex? Opening it to public scrutiny affects not only our Asian sensitivity on the issue, but it is also an area of conflict best resolved through counselling. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, given these proposed amendments to the Women's Charter, I am of the view that it is not necessary for us to have a separate piece of legislation. But more can be done to improve the procedures for handling family violence cases by the police and to improve the counselling services provided in Singapore. Since police officers at the neighbourhood police posts may be the first people that abused victims approach for help, we must do more to train them to be more sensitive. We must also train them to be more supportive of victims and to be helpful in correct ways. Another channel should be provided to victims of family violence who for one reason or another choose not to go to the police. It has been proposed to appoint a Commissioner under the MCD to handle claims for maintenance under the Maintenance of Parents Bill. The Commissioner's scope of work can be widened to include providing conciliation and mediation to family members who are in conflict. The Ministry of Community Development should continue expanding the number of Family Service Centres which can also act as the eyes and ears to seek out those who need help. Government should devote more resources to build up this support network.”
“Finally, the amendment allows a third party to apply for Personal Protection Orders on behalf of the abused child or incapacitated adult. One important issue in the Family Violence Bill is that when anyone makes a report of domestic violence, the police is expected to intervene, and can arrest without a court order or warrant of arrest. We agree that the police should be proactive in this issue and look into the case. However, I feel that this can be covered under the police operating procedures and need not be included in the law. My concern is that to stipulate it in the law or criminalise the whole issue at an early stage is premature. Such a drastic measure should not be supported. This is because interference from the police or a third party may aggravate the conflict between the abuser and the victim and affect the family relationship as a whole. The law must not be made too rigid to exclude personal choices and flexibility. It must protect the victim, but not take things out of their hands. The amendments to the Women's Charter serve therefore to protect the vulnerable members of our families and allow them to choose which course of action to take. Another point which the Family Violence Bill touches on concerns compelling a family member by force or threat to engage in any sexual act or conduct. I fully agree that sexual abuse of family members should be severely punished. And I note that this has already been provided for under existing laws, such as the Penal Code. Even for sexual relationship between spouses, if the victim can prove cruelty in the behaviour of one spouse that can constitute a ground for divorce. The sexual relationship between spouses is a very private and personal matter.”
“In gist, the Bill is meant to provide for the following: extending the coverage to the elderly and other family members; widening the definition of family violence to include other family offensive conduct and not just physical hurt, including compelling a family member by force or threat to engage in any sexual act or conduct; making counselling mandatory; making it easier for victims to obtain Personal Protection Orders; empowering the police to investigate and make arrest, if necessary, without a court order or warrant of arrest. I am glad to note that the proposed amendments to the Women's Charter will cover the key points in the proposed Family Violence Bill and which had also been raised by the Inter-Ministry Work Group on Spousal Violence. The proposed amendments to the Women's Charter will widen the coverage to include protection for parents, parents-in-law and siblings, other than spouses and children. It widens the definition of family violence so that it does not only include physical hurt but also the threat of causing hurt, restraining or confining victims against their will and harassments that may result in distress for the victims. Another important proposed amendment to the Women's Charter is that it now makes it very much easier and faster for the victim to obtain a Personal Protection Order so long as the victim can prove on a balance of probabilities that violence will be committed. The powers of the court will also be broadened. The court will be able to attach a warrant of arrest to a Protection Order. This means that if the abuser hits the victim, the police is given the power to arrest him or her. The court will also be given broader powers to order counselling for the abuser.”
“They also felt that rather than dilute the Women's Charter through having a separate legislation, amendments should be made to the Charter to strengthen it. We must be clear about our objective when tackling the problem of family violence. In the end, what we are working for is to help suffering families become healthy and strong, and to preserve family harmony. Keeping this objective in mind, let us see how we can tackle the problem in the most effective way. Sir, I believe that the approach must be a multi-pronged one. We must, first, strengthen existing laws. Second, streamline administrative procedures of the police. Third, provide training to qualified counsellors and train the police on how to handle family disputes. Fourth, provide community support for families with such problems through the Ministry of Community Development, voluntary organisations and grassroots organisations. And, most importantly, fifth, inculcate the right family values through homes, schools and public educational programmes. Before I go to the proposed Bill, I wish to point out that as far back as 1992, the MCD had been reviewing the Women's Charter. In fact, in 1994, the Inter-Ministry Work Group on Spousal Violence chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs together with some women's groups had started a pilot project aimed at improving the existing police and other procedures dealing with family violence. This had provided valuable inputs and formed the basis for some of the amendments that will be proposed to the Women's Charter. Now, I wish to touch on the proposed Family Violence Bill.”
“Sir, I am glad that the problem of domestic violence is receiving the attention of the House today. My colleague, Dr Soin, has done a service to the community by raising awareness about the problem. She has reminded us that although most Singaporeans live in happy families, some unfortunately do not. I agree that violence within the family, whether against the women or an aged person or against a hapless child or even against a man, is undesirable. Society must show that it will not tolerate such behaviour. But we must see the issue in perspective. It is good to discuss the problem. However, we must be careful not to blow the issue out of proportion. We must not make it seem that family violence is the biggest problem that Singapore families face today. We do not want to frighten our young citizens into thinking that marriage is a declaration of war, the home a battle zone, and the bedroom the scene of war crimes! Neither do we want the Bill to be viewed as a piece of legislation that will result in constant conflict between the two genders, ie, men and women. I have met many community leaders and constituents over the years. During these meetings and the feedback sessions that I have chaired, they tell me that their main problems revolve around the need to balance family and work responsibilities, especially when we encourage the couple to regionalise and to go overseas. They also worry about inculcating the right values in the young. The common view is that while some violence occurs in some families, the problem is not pervasive. According to the Feedback Unit session chaired by Dr Ow Chin Hock recently, the participants felt that we should adopt a conciliatory approach, rather than a confrontational or legalistic one.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, according to feedback which I have received, divorced women face difficulty in obtaining maintenance from their ex-husbands. In this regard, would the Minister consider amending the Women's Charter to make it easier for divorced women to claim maintenance from their ex-husbands? The second question I would like to ask is: How can we further strengthen the Women's Charter to ensure that housewives, who are not working, get a fair share of the matrimonial assets in recognition of their contribution to the family in the event of divorce?”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“I think I am not asking too much in this appeal.”
“I think that is too little because the home nursing service has enabled those old people who cannot go out of their home to be served at home. They need people to cook and send food to them, and help them to do some domestic chores. Basically, I support the view that old people must be allowed to stay at home. Our young people should allow their old folks to stay with them. But these young people need the Ministry of Community Development to provide some training facilities on how to understand the physical and psychological development of old people, how the young and old people can live together, and try to narrow the generation gap between the young and the old. Young people should be trained on how to take care of the aged, how to bathe them, how to feed them, and so on. The next point I would like to touch on is the question of accommodation. I believe the HDB has already worked very hard on this but, personally, I am dissatisfied with the Minister's answer that it would be difficult to give the first-timers priority in their application for HDB flats. Next is on the question of fund raising. Many charitable organisations have found it very hard to raise funds for the less fortunate children and the aged. But when it comes to fund raising, a lot of money has to be spent on publicity. Singapore Press Holdings and the Television Corporation of Singapore are profit-oriented organisations. They charge commercial rates for the publicity of these charitable organisations. I would appeal to the mass media not to charge them so much for their publicity, particularly when the Television Corporation of Singapore and the Radio Corporation of Singapore are receiving subsidies, in terms of licence fees, to provide public service programmes.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code JD 1500. (In Mandarin): The Minister has just explained some of the problems relating to the aging population of Singapore. Here, I would like to stress certain developments in this area. Although the Ministry of Community Development has done quite a lot in providing facilities to help the aged people, I think the steps taken are still somewhat slow because we have now about 200,000 old people in Singapore. By the year 2030, we will have some 850,000. I believe most of us in this House may well belong to that age group by then. Actually, I do not really know whether the discussion on the problems of the aging population should come under the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Development or the Ministry of Community Development. It seems that every Ministry or Government agency has done something for the aged. Here, I would like to appeal to the Government to look into the possibility of setting up a national coordinating committee to deal with the problems of the aging population. In terms of health, the Minister for Health has already referred to this matter and the Minister for Community Development has also mentioned that we have now some 45 homes for the aged sick which have places for just 350 old people. If we take the present proportion of the aged in our population, we have only 1.5 places for every 100 old people. By the year 2030, we will need to have at least 90 of such homes. If each home can accommodate 150 old people, that means out of every 100 old people, there will be only two places available. Now, we have also the Home Nursing Scheme. Last year, the Government spent only about $40,000 on the home nursing scheme.”
“The Ministry of Community Development has a lot of plans to carry out but I do not know whether we have enough professionals and volunteers to implement such policies and plans. I hope the Government can give some incentives to encourage more people to take part in voluntary work. At the same time, the Ministry should link up with the Ministry of Education to get more students to spend at least two to three days each year on voluntary work. On financial resources, we know that the various charitable organisations have been actively raising funds every year. In order for these fund-raising campaigns to succeed, they need very good publicity, and such publicity is normally done through the mass media, like the newspapers, radio, TV, etc. 1.15 pm”
“Next, I would like to deal with drug addiction. The Government has already set up a committee to prevent drug addiction, to help boost the confidence of the drug addicts and enable them to return to a normal life. Some women face great financial and social hardship because their husbands or children are drug addicts. I would like to ask the Minister whether there is any new plan in the pipeline to help these women. What is the progress in the Ministry's review of the drug problem in Singapore? On welfare facilities and public assistance, I believe that the Government has a whole string of schemes in store. For example, we have the bursary, CDAC, 25th Anniversary grant, all kinds of subsidies and rebates, but when it comes to application for such assistance, the applicants find themselves facing a lot of problems. For example, if the family's income is more than $2,000, it will be very difficult for them to apply for a bursary. The CDAC only helps families whose combined income is less than $1,000. A family staying in a 3-room flat qualifies for public assistance, but I think most of the time their applications are rejected. Although these people have a family income of between $1,000 and $2,000 and they live in a 3-room flat, if the husband or the wife or any member of the family is suffering from some prolonged chronic illness like kidney disease, they just cannot make ends meet. They are helpless. So I hope that in handling the application for public assistance, the department concerned can be more flexible so that these poor people can find our Government to be more humane. Finally, I would like to talk about human resources and financial resources.”
“But many of these families have an income of less than $2,000 and they cannot afford to pay for such services. Therefore, they would not be able to make use of the facilities of these child care centres and creches. I would therefore suggest that the subsidies should be raised for these children so that their mothers can go back to work. They can be encouraged to bear more children and, at the same time, do not have to be over-reliant on foreign maids. On the ageing population - I have another cut later on - I would just deal, in passing, on the subsidy for the old people. The Ministry of Community Development provides a lot of services for the old. The grants of the Government come to about 55%. For those families with an income of less than $2,000, it is quite difficult to send their old parents to this kind of centre. I hope that we would try our best to increase the subsidy to help the lower-income families. On the handicapped and unfortunate children, they need special care from their families. But according to my understanding, the facilities for them are very limited. For example, I have a resident who has to send her handicapped child to Newton to attend special school from Jurong East and she has to work half-day. Child care centres do not normally accept these handicapped children because they need special care, and the centres do not have the means to do it. To the lower income group with handicapped or retarded children, I think it is very, very difficult. They face great hardship. So I hope that the Ministry will do an overall review on the distribution of these facilities and equipment for the retarded and handicapped children. I hope that the Government will give subsidy or grant to trade unions and other civic organisations to help in this area.”
“In the inculcation of family values and social values, what kind of measures will the Government take to promote the social and core values of the family? I would suggest that the Ministry take the initiative to link up with the youth groups, the trade unions and the community leaders to educate the public, the young, the old, and the couples on how to live together happily in harmony. Because in this highly commercialised society, members of the family are constantly facing very heavy pressure. Our Family Service Centres should take the initiative to strengthen education of the family so that they would not break up the family ties. To wait for the family to break up before stepping in to mediate may be just too late. Undeniably, our Women's Charter has gone a long way in enhancing the social status of women in society. In terms of education, employment and social status, I think our women have enjoyed a better position. But, unfortunately, there are still some women who come from broken families and they are hard put in terms of livelihood. They are quite helpless. I would like to request the Minister to amend the relevant provisions of the Women's Charter to help this group of women. Next, I would like to ask how the Ministry of Community Development could promote a family-friendly policy. Over the last few years, the Ministry has already done a lot to promote social and friendly values. But I think we should strengthen our care for the children, the aged, the handicapped, etc. For the children, I think child care centres and creches are very important because a lot of couples are working to maintain a certain standard of living. So creches and child care centres play a very important role here.”