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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Every one of 618 lines we hold for Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 13.
“We are speaking for the general good of the people so that we can break through this present economic dark cloud.”
“I hope that for those who are 25 years old, we do not have the same problem 20 years later in Parliament. So I think we should really sit down and systematically analyse this problem as to how to enhance our competitiveness. Just now, I mentioned about PSA. I asked them how we could further improve the productivity of our workers. They told me that they do not have a problem with the facilities. They have the capital to meet the requirements. The problem is how to let our workers work in a wiser manner. They are hardworking, but how do we train them so that they can work smart and provide a higher level of service. This would involve training and equipping them with proficiency in languages, mathematics, and the use of computers. Yesterday, the Prime Minister mentioned that many office jobs have been relocated to other places. I think this is a serious problem. We should sit down and conduct some in-depth studies and analyse the situation. Finally, I would like to talk about our fighting spirit. The Prime Minister had mentioned that in the past, Singapore was able to counter all difficulties because our people had the fighting spirit and the spirit of unity. I hope that our people should not be down-hearted. Our basic infrastructure is good. Our system of government, strong reserves and transparency in our system are our forte. So, the most important thing is that we must lift up our fighting spirit like what Mayor Heng Chee How had mentioned. Many of my residents said that I was speaking for the employers. I said, "No, we are speaking for all the people of Singapore." Maybe the employers should say more. It seems that all the time, it was the Government and the trade union leaders who are speaking up. I think the employers themselves should also speak up.”
“But the older workers have worked for more than 10 years because they know that when the company makes money, they will be given bonuses and a lot of benefits, but the younger workers work for one or two months and they quit, because the working hours are long. So, I think we should not just be concerned with wage cuts. We should help ourselves by upgrading ourselves. There have been retrenchments in some big companies like PSA Corp. We know that PSA Corp aims to be a globalised group of companies. It ranks very high up in the world. It is one of the best ports in the world. Recently, we also visited the Keppel Offshore and Marine Company. The company has invested heavily in research and development. They are the world leader in the manufacturing of jack-up rigs. In fact, some 60% of all the jack-up cranes in the world were constructed by them. So we should not feel depressed. If we have a long-term plan, we will still be able to maintain our standard of living or even enjoy a better standard of living. But on the issue of training, I still have some reservations. Some 20 years ago, Dr Tay Eng Soon promoted the WISE and BEST programmes, but the response was not too good. Even now, many workers in the 40s have difficulty undergoing training because of their lack of linguistic and mathematical aptitude. Twenty years ago, when these programmes were launched, these workers were about 25 years old. Twenty years later, they are now 45 years old. There are real problems in training them. We should sit down and study where the problem is. Is it because the workers refuse to be trained or the employers are not proactive in wanting to train them? So, for 20 years, this generation of people are already moving into middle age.”
“Maybe it is too late for this round of CPF cut. But I hope that there would never be another round of CPF cut. But in the unfortunate event that this happens again, I think those companies which do not have a flexible wage system should not be allowed to enjoy any reduction in the CPF contribution. This way, we can encourage these companies to quickly adopt a flexible wage system. Last week, I visited a company known as Ameron. I was told that the company has been making profits every year since 1998. This year, they have enjoyed the highest profits ever. So originally, in my speech, I was supposed to tell their workers to tighten their belts and to exercise wage reform. But when I heard their results, I held back and asked the CEO how did they manage to have profits every year despite the economic downturn. He told me that they make sure everybody in the company, from the senior mangers to the factory workers, understands the competition they are facing, and they have therefore to adapt to changes. Everyone should make a contribution at his own level and, if necessary, make sacrifices too. The company guarantees that its products must be 100% accurate - because their products are used in deep seas for oil exploration - there should not be any defects in the quality. Another factor is the speed. The products must be able to deliver on time. He said that his company was very happy to invest in Singapore and that the workers here were good. But he commented that the younger workers normally do not stay in their job for long. They would work for one or two months and resign.”
“Another point I wish to mention is that in our South West CDC, we promised our residents that no child would be deprived of the opportunity to be placed in childcare, kindergarten, student care and be educated simply because his or her parents have financial difficulties. A Children's Fund has been set up to see to it. The Prime Minister mentioned the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme. We hope that we would be able to promote this scheme to the families who have financial difficulties so that the children would not be deprived of the opportunity to be educated. We should give this assurance to the residents that their children will be looked after. Just now, DPM had also mentioned that he hoped that the HDB could relax their rules. I think Minister Mah and his ministry officials are very active people. We have taken up quite a bit of issues concerning HDB rules to them, and these issues were settled expeditiously through the efforts of Minister Mah and his officials. I hope in this aspect, we could accelerate the exercise to simplify the procedures so that it would be easier for the residents. In the long term, we cannot just depend on wage cuts. Minister Lim Boon Heng had recalled several wage reforms that we have undertaken over the years. And just now, Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Hawazi had also talked about companies where the employees are not unionised, less than 10% of these employers have adopted flexible wage system. We, the labour MPs, have been advocating a flexible wage system for the past 18 years, and yet so few of these employers have heeded our advice. So perhaps, I should offer two suggestions to improve the situation. One is to grant some tax incentives to those who adopt a flexible wage system.”
“I know of one old lady in our constituency who works on a sewing machine in the market and she offers the service of clothing alteration for her customers. It took me 10 years to get her a licence to run a small stall at the market place. Over the years, all her applications were rejected because the officials said that there was no such precedent, and clothing alteration was not one of the skills specified in their manual for approval of a vocation licence. I think if one is prepared to be self-reliant, we should make it more convenient and even encourage one to earn a living by using one's skills, so long as it is legal, proper and cause no harm to the country. We do not want retrenched people to queue up for handouts. We should encourage these people, make it more convenient for them to earn a living with their skills or special talents so that they could earn enough to support themselves. I think we should encourage them to take up these jobs as well as micro enterprise. We have also a lot of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. When we talk about SMEs, it usually means those with a paid-up capital of $1 million, or at least $500,000. But there are some older workers who have no means to start a business of that size, and it is very difficult for them to be trained or re-skilled. I think we should encourage them to do some small trades so that these people can earn a living for themselves. I think SPRING Singapore should consider encouraging this sort of small businesses. In some developed countries, like the United States, they have also promoted this type of small trades. Capital loans of $10,000 or so are readily available for the older folks to start their small businesses.”
“But when we bring them to the hospitals, have tea with them there and explained to them the situation, they will be more receptive and willing to work there. We even brought them to the handicapped children's homes. At first, they were not willing to go. But if you hold their hands, arrange to have people from the hospitals to explain the job requirements to them, they would respond positively. We discovered that many of them who went to the home for the handicapped children, felt that the children were very appreciative of their attendance there and they cultivated a love for these children. So, as a CDC, we will help to cooperate with MOM and the employers to arrange for training, particularly for the older workers, and I can see that we are getting better results nowadays. As for the cost factor, yesterday, we talked only about CPF. But today, the Deputy Prime Minister had introduced various packages to help the people. I am sure that both the employers and workers would welcome these packages. But some people I spoke to feel that companies which are not linked to globalisation, for example, our energy companies, utilities companies, public transport companies, and are not affected by the global competition, are also enjoying the 3% savings on CPF. These companies should share the benefit of these savings with their customers. We would also like to see how the Government could cut down on all those bureaucratic red tapes. Recently, the Government introduced "e-Government" which is a very good initiative. We can now provide the foreign investors with a "one-stop" service. I feel that this one-stop service should not be confined to the MNCs. We should extend this one-stop service to all the services and the various industries, including the local SMEs.”
“In some less developed countries, maybe China and India, we can see that the standard of living has been going up. But in the developed countries, many people's standard of living has actually gone down. Just now, Minister Lim Boon Heng and Deputy Prime Minister Lee had mentioned about what the CDCs could do to help. I am very glad to report to our colleagues here that in the past one year, we have been quite successful in our efforts to help our residents who are affected by the recession to look for jobs. We have made use of some of the packages introduced by MOM. We have also gone down to the factories. We have trained some of the workers to upgrade their skills or to retrain them. In July, there were 4,800 unemployed who have registered themselves with our South West CDC. We have successfully secured interview opportunities for 60% of the job-seekers. A total of 1,235 actually took up the jobs that were given to them, among whom 588 are 40 years and above. So the older workers were also able to find jobs so long as they are willing to be more flexible. Out of 1,235 jobs, 374 or about 29% were lower-paid ones, and our local residents were prepared to take these jobs. So long as we give them some encouragement, give them some skills training and some guidance, we can persuade them to take the jobs available to them. For example, we cooperated with the hospitals to train the older female workers to do some cleaning work in the hospitals. We brought them to Alexandra Hospital and KK Hospital and the success rate was quite high. If we had not held their hands and encouraged them and just told them to go to KK Hospital or the mental hospital, they would be worried and may not even turn up for interview.”
“Talking about competition, we have to, first of all, talk about cost competitiveness, secondly, on efficiency and competitiveness and, thirdly, competition in our living environment, ie, to be one of the best places to live, work and play. We want to make our talented people in Singapore feel that Singapore is a good place to live in and we also want to attract foreign talents to come and work and live here. Over the last two days, we have been talking about cost competitiveness, and two Ministers have given us a very clear picture of the situation. Yes, we want to cut cost, but it does not mean that we want to bring ourselves down to the level of China or India. In this competition, yes, we want to tighten our belts, but it does not mean that we want to drastically lower our standard of living. Perhaps, some people's standard of living may have stagnated, and some of them may continue to go higher and some may go lower. But economists who have studied the matter advised that if we were to purchase the cheaper products from the developing countries and adjust our lifestyle a little, then perhaps our standard of living would not go down so fast. It is an unavoidable fact before us, ie, we would have to face these three types of situation in Singapore. Some people's standard of living may be stagnated at the present level; some people may be affected. We have to be psychologically prepared that we will not be able to grow so fast like in the past. We need to do some adjustments to our choice of housing, the car we use, and our consumption pattern. A number of Ministers have mentioned that in some developed countries, even in the United States, the standard of living of some of the people is affected.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the proposal by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to reduce the CPF contribution rate. After the announcement by the Prime Minister on the CPF reduction, I spoke to some grassroots leaders and my friends in the business community. They have some comments on the CPF cut. In his National Day Rally speech, the Prime Minister gave an indication of the direction that we were going. So many people guessed that it would be a 6% reduction. But, after giving much thought to the matter, the Government decided that the cut would be 3%. I think that it is a very rational decision and it also proves that the Government is one that cares about the people. Today, the Deputy Prime Minister has proposed a comprehensive programme to help Singaporeans, particularly the lower income and the older people in Singapore. The whole package shows that the Government does not take this CPF retuning exercise lightly. I fully support this reform by the Government, but I would like to make some suggestions. [Mdm Deputy Speaker (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua) in the Chair] 5.25 pm Globalisation. In fact, some five years ago, we thought that the pace would not be so fast and that the emergence of China and India would not be that fast. But we now realise that the whole impact is more much severe than we thought it would be. We have to adapt ourselves to this environment, as it is a case of "survival of the fittest". Prime Minister Goh has said that we have only two choices: either we go on a drastic reform, or just keep to our old ways and gradually go downhill. The Prime Minister has picked the first method, ie, to undertake drastic reform to our system.”
“Although the efforts we put in may not yield immediate tangible effects, I am sure, in the long run, they will bear fruits and benefit our future generations. In the meantime, we should encourage our young people to get married and have children while they are still young. Miss the boat, and you will regret for life!”
“Sir, I wish to comment on the family planning policies of the Government. In this uncertain world economic situation, the family is the most important foundation of our country. It is the best safety net for us. It gives us stability, warmth and solace. The MCDS has set up a Public Education Committee two years ago. The Committee published a book entitled: Looking After the Family, and had made some 70 recommendations in 2001. Some of these recommendations were incorporated into some of our national events such as Romancing Singapore. May I ask the Minister whether any of the other recommendations have been implemented? Mr Charles Chong asked whether we need to set up another Inter-Ministerial Committee as we already have a Committee on Marriages and Procreation. What has this Committee achieved since its inception? We may have to take into consideration the changing environment in Singapore, and make adjustments to some of the present arrangements. For example, shall we not outsource our match-making activities, instead of confining them to Government agencies such as the Social Development Unit, etc.? I am of the view that the question of marriages and procreation is not something which can be settled by MCDS alone. Collective efforts from all quarters are required. This matter has a very wide-ranging implication. In MOM, we have lifelong learning; in MOE, we have sex education, and so on. Many Ministries have to be consulted, and whatever policy we implement, it must be consistent. So, I would urge the MCDS to combine efforts with other Ministries and agencies to promote marriage and procreation. Many people consider this question of marriage and procreation to be taboo, but I feel we should not avoid discussing it. Something has to be done about it.”
“I think there should be a joint effort among the Government, society, schools and the families. In our South West CDC, our Youth and Sports Committee and the Family and Children Committee have been working very closely with the schools and voluntary welfare organisations in our area. We want to share our limited resources. We should also consider using mother tongue to teach moral education. When I was in secondary school, I read the Zhengqi Ge (Song of Righteousness) written by the great patriotic poet, Wen Tianxiang. It left a very profound impression in my mind. At that time, I asked my father if I had to face a situation like what Wen Tianxiang was facing, should I die or should I surrender? My father said that I should choose to die. These touching stories of great people in history are deeply rooted in our minds, even decades later. If our young people could be exposed to all these classics, it would help them to make sound judgement and well-guided decisions in critical times.”
“Madam, I would like to speak on character development. Under our educational system, every effort has been made through our co-curricular activities (CCAs) to develop the character of our students. But what worries me is that co-curricular activities are not compulsory. How does the MOE ensure that a character development programme is implemented in the schools? We should attach equal weightage to academic and character development. Equal emphasis should be given to these two aspects of education. Why is character development so important? At this time of economic downturn, and with the world in such a state of instability and uncertainty, we should develop the character of our students so that they would have enough courage and perseverance to face adversity. This kind of courage and perseverance cannot be learned from the textbooks. It has to be cultivated through various team activities, physical education and some of the CCAs. We need to enhance the students' self-discipline, constantly striving to improve themselves and to be self-reliant. They should learn to sacrifice their personal interests for larger objectives, to put nation before self, to build up team spirit and to nurture the love for labour. In our homes today, we have domestic maids to take care of all the household chores, and we have imported hundreds of thousands of foreign workers. Many Singaporeans feel that we should not be doing all the manual work. This type of attitude is wrong. We must cultivate the right attitude for labour in our students. We must also cultivate our students to be curious, to be inquisitive and to be eager to learn. All these attributes can be cultivated through mass participation in various team activities.”
“Perhaps, the Ministry of Education could look into the possibility of allowing more schools, particularly the neighbourhood schools, to offer Higher Chinese, if there is demand for it. As for the scholarship plan, I understand the Ministry of Education has been very successful in sending some students to Taiwan and Beijing to study Chinese. Are these students enough to cater to our need for Chinese teachers? Some enterprises in the private sector, such as the Singapore Press Holdings, are also offering scholarships to students to study Chinese in China. Can some form of incentive be given to more private enterprises to offer more scholarships or bursaries for students of the Chinese language? The learning of Chinese does not necessarily mean that you will end up being a Chinese teacher. It can also be extended to cover the arts, music and other forms of visual arts, so that the learning of Chinese is not confined to the language alone, but could include Chinese culture, history, arts and philosophy, etc. I understand that the LaSalle School has been very successful in its branch in China. We have to balance the ratio between the foreign Chinese teachers and the local Chinese teachers. Sometimes, when we are shorthanded, we may have to engage teachers from outside Singapore. They may not be familiar with the situation in Singapore. Are they competent in the sacred duty of imparting the correct values to our younger generation of Singaporeans? I am not against the idea of employing foreign Chinese teachers, but there should be a balance between the foreign teachers and the local teachers.”
“Sir, today, I would like to speak on a topic which we are very familiar with, that is, the cultivation of the Chinese practitioners in Singapore. A few years ago, Prime Minister Goh mentioned at the National Day Rally that we should have some Chinese elites among us. I would like to ask the Minister for Education whether his Ministry has any strategy, plan or target for the cultivation of Chinese teachers and Chinese practitioners, and whether or not it has attained the set target. As we know, in order to cultivate these Chinese practitioners, we have already introduced the SAP schools. But students in the SAP schools are normally good in the other subjects too. The number of SAP school students eventually end up as Chinese practitioners is very small. Yet, we do need a pool of people who are very good in Chinese to serve in the fields of education, culture, journalism, translation and business. The economic reform and opening up of China and its accession to WTO have now made the economic value of Chinese very much enhanced. We have not intentionally forced and encouraged our students to read Higher Chinese. But, we should allow the parents of those students who are good in Chinese but who managed only a minimum pass in English the choice to decide whether they would like their children to read Higher Chinese. Presently, students in the neighbourhood schools who qualify and wish to read Higher Chinese will have to travel to another school which offers the subject to attend classes. This is very inconvenient and students tend to fade away after some time as it costs more money, time and energy, and a lot of efforts to stick on.”
“All right, Sir, I will try to sum up. So we should speed up. Another area is, as a city state, we need to accelerate the building of an island-wide MRT network. Sir, at the end, I would like to say that MND must aim to make Singapore a "WOW" city.”
“I would like to urge the Government to increase MND's budget further to re-energise and consolidate our development, position ourselves strategically for the next wave. MND must aim high to make Singapore truly a city of excellence. Our buildings should reflect our multi-cultural and multi-racial background. If we keep building boring and "so-so" looking buildings, Singapore will soon become a "so-so" city. We should start building buildings that will stand up to the best designed buildings in other cities. Better still, we should encourage buildings designed for our humid and hot weather. We would save money through energy conservation and we could even become a world leader in design for the tropics. Good-looking buildings need not necessarily be more expensive and less practical. Sir, we should benchmark against the best cities in the world. When we built Changi Airport, we learned very aggressively from the best. We should do the same for everything that we do. To promote a healthy lifestyle, it is a good idea to connect the parks, and park connectors are very well used.”
“Sir, the setting up of the 3-in-1 service centre in Jurong East took only 11 months from approval to operation. I would like to thank MND for this. So, instead of cutting $100 off the budget, I believe maybe we should add $100. The concept of "a first world oasis in a third world region" gave Singapore a competitive advantage for over 30 years. We clearly did well. But the world has changed. Not only do we have to compete for investments among cities, we also have to compete to be the best place to live in. Sir, the Esplanade is our latest pride. But when you travel along Sheares Bridge at night, it is hardly seen, unlike the Fullerton Hotel which is brightly lighted up. Bright lights and big cities are a natural combination. Think of the theatre district of London where the flashing lights create a vibrant and buzzing atmosphere, or the chaotic and colourful shops of Shanghai, and Harajuku in Tokyo. I am glad that the Ministry has allowed some neon lights to add colour and life to our night skies. We have to make it well known to the people and identify more areas for such lights. Some of the countries came and learn from us. So we should put in more effort in our much praised "Garden City", if not, it will be slowly losing its shine when compared with some other cities. Our population too has changed. With economic wealth and rising standard of living, their expectations have risen. They travel all over the world. They compare our city state with other countries. Our students study overseas and expect to have the same quality living conditions as the best cities in the world. The competition for talent, tourists and investments has now become global. We should use this economic downturn period to sharpen our competitive edge.”
“Yes, I am trying to finish, Sir. --- to try to match those who are retrenched with those who have capital, to create joint ventures. Lastly, I would like to urge the Minister to raise the cap for tax relief from $2,500 to $5,000.”
“This will make training more interesting and fun. As Singapore is encouraging entrepreneurship, there is a Self-Employment Training (SET) Programme to help those who wish to set up business. MOM, Chambers of Commerce, business and professional associations and the Singapore National Employers Federation can set up an "Enterprise Circle" ---”
“Such information will help them in making appropriate lifelong learning and career decisions. How does the newly proposed Continuing Education and Training (CET) statutory board plan to train our people for employment? Among our retrenched workers, the most affected groups are production and transport operators, cleaners and labourers, and professionals, managers and executives, which represent 34.4% and 42.5%, respectively. I would also like to suggest that the CET should place more emphasis on training these two groups. The CET statutory board should also adopt a holistic approach in carrying out its training. It is not easy for a retrenched person who has worked in a job for 30 years to change to another job immediately. It takes a lot of courage, mindset change, determination and support from family, friends and society. Therefore, one of the important areas is career counselling. The other area is generic employability skills training. I would like to suggest that the CET statutory board develop comprehensive and flexible training programmes for our workers, especially those who are changing jobs from manufacturing to the service industry. This includes basic IT skills, customer service attitudes and grooming. Another area is in bringing training closer to the people. There are many ways of conducting training. Besides the normal classroom training and training through Internet, the classes can also be conducted at the community centres, libraries, etc, or training facilities can be set up in shopping malls, such as Ngee Ann City, IMM and big shopping centres. For trainees in the service industry, they can observe what is good customer service and what is not. It will be even better if the training providers can link up with the shops to provide hands-on training.”
“Sir, in the course of the proceedings over the last few days, two words kept appearing in the debates. The two words are "change" and "fast". In this modern society, everything is changing much faster - in school, at work, in business and in life. How fast does the Government change in terms of policies and strategies? How fast do businesses change or improve their products and services? How fast do workers change in terms of skills and attitudes to be able to meet the challenges in the face of fierce global competition? How do we respond to such changes in terms of manpower policy? In this fast-paced society, today's jobs may be gone tomorrow. We have to be fast to plan, respond and take action. Sir, I think it is important that our people should be fast enough to be aware of and understand the changes in the job market. I would therefore like to ask the Minister how does the MOM plan, in terms of demand and supply in the labour market? How far ahead do we plan for, and how often do we review our policies? The reason I ask this is that a few years ago, when the Jurong Island was set up, we had a shortage of technicians and engineers for the petrochemical industry. And, now, the bio-sciences industry is the in-thing. Do we have enough qualified workforce to meet the demand? The percentage of our labour force in the manufacturing sector dropped from 27.5% in 1992 to 18.2% in 2002. In the same period, the community and personal services sector percentage rose from 21.5% in 1992 to 25.7% in 2002. For the financial and business services sector, the percentage rose from 10.9% to 17.1%. It will be useful for the public to know what are the manpower needs in each industry, where are the existing jobs, and which are the growing sectors.”
“From the history of civilisation, we can find many examples of religions being naturalised. These are Buddhism in Thailand and Japan, Islam in China, and Hinduism in Bali, where they have integrated with the native cultures. The four main racial groups and nine major religions in Singapore must try to adapt to our local circumstances and forge a distinctive multi-racial culture. Different people have different views on this issue, but the views must be presented and discussed frankly and openly. I suggest that grassroots organisations, and even the schools, should hold discussions on the White Paper. Our National Education channel should be used to educate the public on the significance of the White Paper, so that they can have a better understanding of this issue and rebuild their confidence. This will help to build up confidence and mutual respect. What kind of Singapore do we want? Our ultimate object is to build up a secular and democratic society based on meritocracy, regardless of race, language or religion. This is my aspiration for Singapore. Sir, I support the motion.”
“While the fight against terrorism should be undertaken by the Government, we, the people, should be vigilant at all times and not to harbour suspicions against each other. We have to strengthen the people's psychological defence. Grassroots organisations in the various constituencies have been conducting mutual visits for believers of the different faiths. Many religious bodies such as the Muslim organisations, the Buddhist organisations and the Taoist organisations have also come together to raise funds and carry out social welfare work, for the common good of our society. We also encourage our younger generation to value their own ethnic cultural heritage. The Southwest CDC is now actively working on a fashion show and a food fair to be participated by the various racial groups, showcasing the cultural development of the various ethnic groups. Through these activities, it is hoped that there would be better understanding of the customs and cultures of the various ethnic groups. This is particularly useful and necessary for our younger generation of Singaporeans. The various religious groups should take the initiative to communicate with each other. Many Members have spoken about the moderate faction among the Muslims. In fact, the concept of moderation is not confined to the Islam faith but to all other religious groups too. Therefore, the nine major religious groups in Singapore should come together to generate a common code of conduct which is acceptable by all the moderate followers. But most of the moderate followers are silent in nature. They should come out and speak their minds so as to isolate the few militant and extremist groups. If the moderate group can enlarge its influence, it would be better for our future.”
“He replied that he was impressed by what we had done, and that very few countries in the world can claim to have people from different racial and religious groups working at the same place, studying in the same school and shopping at the same shopping mall and eating in the same hawker centre, while at the same time retaining their own cultures and faiths. I am very glad to hear such an endorsement from a MNC official. We see churches, temples and mosques located in the same housing estate. How are we going to seek unity in diversity? We cannot force other people to behave like us. We have to respect the differences of other races. Singapore is not a theocratic state. It is a secular state. Our racial and religious harmony is not to be taken for granted. Hence, we have to nurture it and consolidate it. We cannot allow a few religious fanatics to undermine it in the name of religion. We respect the religious freedom of the various groups and we respect their religious values. But things that touch on national interest, such as defence, education and internal security, must be looked at from the perspective of national interest. On this, I believe the various racial groups have the same consensus. Hence, we shall all view the White Paper rationally and with a mature outlook. But what is more important is that we have to be exemplary in our behaviour, especially as Members of Parliament. We have to try and understand the customs and religions of other racial groups. We must also have good communication skills. How do people strengthen their psychological defence and strengthen their confidence? This is very important.”
“We applaud them for this correct attitude. I am pleased to note that the Deputy Mufti would form a committee comprising representatives from the various mainstream Muslim organisations. This committee, after consulting the views of local Muslim scholars and religious teachers, would formulate a code of conduct for the local Muslims to follow in their daily life to comply with their religious laws. They would also ask the religious teachers to explain to the public certain Islamic terminology, so that terms such as jihad, etc. are not misused to glorify violent activities. We welcome the setting up of such a committee. Likewise, the other religious bodies might want to do the same - to formulate certain code of conduct for their followers, and to educate their people so that they can have a better understanding of one another's culture and religion. We cannot avoid the reality that the threat posed by the JI group has generated a negative impact on Singapore, even though its earlier plot has been foiled. It may well shake our confidence and the confidence of the potential foreign investors. This is especially so since the bombing incident in Bali. This incident has forced our Muslim brothers to be constantly defensive about their religion. It has also caused members of the other ethnic groups to look at the Muslims in a suspicious light. Many Muslims in Singapore are attributing their retrenchment and inability to find jobs to discrimination from employers against their race. So, how do we consolidate the racial harmony that we have achieved so far? Many foreign leaders and visitors to Singapore have praised us for being an international model of racial harmony. I asked the CEO of a MNC what he thought about Singapore's progress in achieving racial harmony.”
“This is also to ensure that such acts of terrorism will not undermine our racial harmony that has been built up over the years. There has been terrorism since time immemorial, but the September 11 incident and the Bali bombing have made us more keenly aware of the fact that the threat is right in front of our doorstep. Therefore, we cannot afford to be complacent. We cannot compromise our resolve to fight terrorism. You may think that if you avoid visiting countries where terrorist acts are likely to take place, nothing will happen to you. Some may ask what could a small country like Singapore do in the gigantic fight against terrorism. However, one must not forget disaster may strike even if you are sitting right in your sitting room at home. Terrorism is insidious and ubiquitous. Though Singapore is small, we have to be prepared. Like a hedgehog, we must have the capability to defend ourselves. Otherwise, the bombing that took place in Bali could well take place in some corner in Singapore. Therefore, we have to work together with other countries in the fight against terrorism, as suggested by our colleague, Dr Ong Chit Chung. We should work together with our neighbouring countries to fight terrorism. I would like to ask one question. Now that the Government has made great effort in this regard, what contributions can individuals, grassroots organisations and religious bodies make? Since the release of the White Paper, we are glad to see Malay MPs and Muslim organisations making immediate and positive response on the White Paper. They condemn such terrorist acts and express their support for Government's policy on counter-terrorism. They will not allow any individual or organisation to engage in terrorist activities under the name of Islam.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, having heard the speeches of my parliamentary colleagues, I am glad that we are able to discuss so candidly this issue of how to counter terrorism. No doubt, the question of religion is always a very sensitive issue. As the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng, has said, we want to be frank and open in our discussion of this issue, and I hope that we will all try to be as objective as we can. The release of this White Paper has led me to ask this question: "What kind of Singapore do Singaporeans want?" The significance of the White Paper lies in what kind of Singapore do we want. There are two kinds of response from our people to this White Paper. On the one hand, there are people who feel that the firm actions taken by the Government against the JI members are appropriate and that our security agencies should be applauded for a job well done. On the other hand, as mentioned by Professor Chin yesterday, there are some Singaporeans who are simply indifferent to the whole matter. On the campaign to counter terrorism, the Government has been positive and thorough. However, the fight against terrorism is international in scope and long-term in nature. As reported by the Home Affairs Minister to this House, the Government has taken various measures to counter the threat to our security posed by the JI group. What the Members in this House should do is to promote mutual trust and confidence among the various ethnic groups in Singapore. Apart from strengthening our security, this White Paper also seeks to enhance our awareness of the terrorism threat so as to prevent any terrorist act from taking place in Singapore, thereby restoring the foreign investors' confidence in Singapore.”
“But I urge the ERC and MOM to set up a committee to review and to re-assess the effect of all our training schemes so that they could be implemented more effectively and workers who are 40 and above would increase their employability. I support the Ministerial Statement.”
“At the moment, our target is $80,000 but after 2003, it is suggested that it goes beyond $80,000. I personally support this because with our families going into nuclear family units, many senior citizens need to work to support themselves. Of course, we want our children to be filial to their parents. But nowadays, we can see there are more single parents and a lot of people have no children to support them. With the increase in the Minimum Sum, better protection will be provided for the old folks to meet their retirement needs. As for those higher income workers, we have now reduced the income ceiling for CPF contributions. I feel that they should be able to take care of themselves because they are among the top 12% of our population. The Government has introduced the Supplementary Retirement Scheme whereby the high income earners can set aside additional savings in it to earn better interest. I would like to know what is the take-up rate for this scheme since its implementation. Many people have been investing in shares. I do not think that many of them have actually made profits from there. Perhaps, we should have more education programmes for our CPF members so that they would know how to invest wisely. I think most Singaporeans do not have a good enough knowledge on how to invest their money. Generally, the people's reaction to these recommendations to change our CPF system is certainly not as hotly debated as the earlier 3-cent increase in bus fares. I think this is probably due to the prior consultative approach by the Government. Singaporeans are very rational. They understand that under this globlisation trend, in order to retain our competitiveness, we have to reform.”
“I think this will tell the workers that we do not want just to reduce their CPF, but we want to set aside part of it to set up a training account for them. Perhaps, 1% should be used to set up a training account in their CPF. Another point is that I feel that employers should be more positive in their attitude. Over the years, we have read a lot of reports in the newspapers concerning discussions on how to reduce business cost, including labour cost. As reflected in these reports, it is always the trade unions and the Government who are actively pursuing the matter. Very little has been reported on the employers' involvement in this. We talk a lot about globalisation nowadays. But it is always the Government which is doing the talking. In other countries, all sorts of projects are initiated by the private sector, eg, IBM, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, etc, whereby the workers are briefed on the global trend of business and the company's reaction to all these changing trends. This would enable the workers to know what direction their company is heading towards so that they could do the necessary adjustment and make early preparation to adapt to all these changes. But in Singapore, our employers are not very active. Here in Singapore, only the MCDS is doing this sort of thing. I feel that we should explain to our workers the perspective of the employers, let them know the competition that we are facing and the various aspects of globalisation. I feel our employers should not wait for the Government to solve their problems for them. They should be more proactive in explaining to the workers the importance of training and the importance of enhancing their productivity. Another point I would like to touch on is the Minimum Sum.”
“According to the South West Community Development Council's job-matching data, those who are affected by economic recession and have come to us for help in getting a job, some 30.5% are from the 40-49 age group and 13% from the 50-59 age group. So, strictly speaking, those who are affected are not confined to workers between the ages of 50 and 59. Even those who are 40 and above are already affected by this retrenchment trend. I was quite surprised by the figures. After some consultation, the Government's recommendation now is to reduce the CPF rates only for those between 50 and 55. Of course, the presumption is that by reducing the labour cost on these workers, the employers will be less inclined to retrench them and they stand a better chance of retaining their jobs. But whether or not this will create employability, I think we have to look further into it. Employability concerns not only the labour cost, but also on other attributes of the workers such as work attitude, competence, ability to work as a team, etc. I hope the Ministry of Manpower would set up a committee to look into the employability of workers who are 40 years and above and conduct more in-depth study into their employability issues. A number of schemes are already in place to help them but whether or not they are effective, we do not know. We have also introduced this incentive for lifelong learning. But has this been proven to be effective? Another point that I would like to bring up concerns the 4% reduction in employers' CPF contribution. I would suggest we set aside 1% for a Personal Training Account in the CPF. This point has been brought up several times before.”
“Many people feel that with globalisation, competition has become very intense. We should therefore have a comprehensive review of our existing CPF system. The functions and roles of CPF are becoming more and more complicated. Now, CPF is also used as an adjuster for the employability of our workers! With regard to the ERC report and DPM Lee's statement, I would like to present my views. This adjustment of CPF income floor from $200 to $500 is very good. In 1996, when I was in NTUC, we proposed to the Ministry of Manpower to raise this income floor for CPF contributions in order to encourage more women to return to the workforce. It was then turned down. I am glad that it has now been recommended by the ERC. So, I hope that on this occasion, more women would take advantage of this scheme to get back to the workforce. Just now, the Minister for Manpower has said that we may delay this scheme because of the economic recession. I beg to differ. If we want to improve our productivity, we should encourage more women to return to the workforce. One of the important points is that we should encourage more flexible work schemes or part-time jobs for the women, particularly when their husbands are retrenched or unemployed. It will be all the more important that the women return to the workforce. They can help to support the family. As for the reduction of CPF contribution rate from 40% to 32% for older workers between the ages of 50 and 55, this is one of the most hotly discussed topics. For workers in this age group, they will not see their employers' CPF contribution rate restored to 20% when the others finally get theirs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to commend the Economic Review Committee in adopting a consultative approach to discuss with the people and also to consider all the impacts on the people from all walks of life before they make their recommendations. According to feedback from the people, this process of consultation is very good. I hope that in future when Government wants to make any new policies, it would use such a consultative approach. It may be more work but I think it is worth it. I want to say that the CPF scheme has contributed greatly to our nation-building. Since the time of independence, we have been proud of our CPF system as it serves as a safety net for the welfare of our people. With this CPF safety net, we facilitated the implementation of the home ownership scheme for our people and took care of healthcare expenses for our people through the Medisave scheme. Apart from its role as a social safety net, the CPF scheme has also been used as a sort of buffer in adjusting the wages of our workers during the bad times. If we do not have CPF, then we would have to hit on the actual wages of our workers, and I think it would be more difficult for us to recover from a recession. During the acute recession in the 1980s, we helped the businesses to reduce their labour costs to stay afloat by cutting the employers' CPF contribution rates. This way, most of the businesses managed to tide over the difficult times with the workers' rice-bowls kept intact. However, after the recovery of the economy, people began to withdraw excessively from their CPF accounts to speculate on the property market. This is a genuine cause for concern. There should be some restrictions on the use of CPF money for property investment.”
“The rich cannot afford the time, the poor cannot afford the money. Sir, I would like to ask the Minister when the Ministerial Committee on Marriage and Procreation is going to release its report. Is it at the courtship stage, pregnancy stage, or going to be delivered soon? I understand that in Denmark and Norway, the fertility rate is quite good. This is because of extensive support from the Government, such as childcare, nanny-care, financial support, and so on. Would the Government look into implementing some of these schemes? Sir, I wish to touch on abortion. There are about 14,000 abortions here a year, and about 60% of them are by married women. Sir, I am not against abortion. There are many reasons for abortion. According to feedback, women opt for abortion because of medical reasons, forced pregnancies, financial difficulties, alternative contraception, immaturity, fear of losing out on promotion, out-station postings, studies, or the inability to get a flat. Abortion, however, is a highly personal decision and it is difficult for the Government to interfere. But, in some cases, the mother might want to keep the baby for adoption. Sir, abortion counselling would need to be strengthened. Mandatory counselling should be done by independent counsellors and not by the clinic itself, as there is a conflict of interest. Mandatory conselling should be extended to the family as well. There should also be more joint efforts by MCDS and VWOs to support distress cases. Sir, a life saved is one more Singaporean. There is an important question I wish to ask. Procreation is the responsibility of the individual and the family. How far should the state share in this responsibility?”
“Sir, I think the best safety net is the family. Families are the building blocks of society. The families act as the first line of care and support for an individual, especially during uncertain times. There are signs that the family values may slowly be eroded. For example, divorce rates have been rising, singlehood rates have been rising too, while fertility rates have fallen. While we focus our attention on economic uncertainties and restructuring, we should not lose sight of the value of the family. Our Prime Minister has identified declining fertility as one of the key challenges for our future. Despite generous tax incentives, the Baby Bonus and other measures, the number of births has remained low. Sir, some of the young professionals, men and women, told me that they are so busy with their work that they do not have the time to socialise, meet new friends and find a partner. And they are giving up the search for a life partner even when they are in their early 30s. Perhaps it is time for MCDS to consider privatising the SDU and SDS and allow the private sector to manage these functions. Maybe they are more imaginative in this. The Public Education Committee (PEC) on the Family, after consultation with people from all sectors of society, have come up with 70 recommendations, which include balancing the work life and family life, family support services, narrowing the gap between men and women in their expectations of life and marriage, and fostering a family-friendly society. Can the Minister comment on how MCDS will implement the 70 recommendations? Sir, there might be a need to review the slogan of procreation "Have three or more if you can afford it", the reason being that it looks like no one can afford it.”
“I would like to appeal to the Ministry of Education to extend their scope of review to cover pre-school education, along with the primary, secondary, junior college and university education. This is because pre-school education is very important in the building up of a good foundation for the students to advance to the primary school later on. The last point I would like to raise is on the SAP schools. I fully support the SAP schools and it is my firm belief that the SAP schools do not affect racial harmony in Singapore.”
“Recently, I met a number of scholarship holders who have recently returned to Singapore. I asked them whether they had been to Shanghai. To my surprise, none of them had been to Shanghai and had shown no interest in going there. But, every one of them said that he or she had been to the United States or Europe, and expressed the wish to visit these places again. With the opening up of China and the huge potential in the China market, these bright young people should make an attempt to visit China and see for themselves how China has prospered. Now, let me go to my main points. There are two aspects that I would like to take some time to talk about. In the meeting of the women's organisation, the participants were very concerned with our system of streaming and the philosophy of teaching according to the children's potential and ability. When we talk about teaching according to the different abilities of the students, we can implement modular system in schools. Besides the core subjects such as English, Mathematics, and mother tongue, the students can opt for subjects at a higher level. Outstanding primary students can opt for subjects at the Secondary level; outstanding Secondary students can opt for subjects at the Junior College level or university level. The students should be taught according to their interest and ability on these selected subjects. In addition to the core subjects, they can opt for subjects they are good at. But they should not be stigmatised. Sir, I am very proud of our ITE students. But, something must be done to improve on the image of ITE. ITE should be integrated into the mainstream.”
“The talk among women in China is that the Taiwanese men are wu qing, (heartless), the Hong Kong men are wu yi (ungrateful), while the Singapore men are wu zhi (ignorant): This is of course just a joke. But my personal feeling is that the talents that we produce must not only know how to work but also know how to behave appropriately. We must make some adjustments in this area so that our educational system will not only concentrate on training students to score high marks in examinations, but to build up their character. What is emotional education? Emotional education involves the appreciation of arts, culture and how to deal with people, human relations, caring and love; own strife for betterment. We must train our students to learn and appreciate more about the various religions, languages, history, politics, sociology and philosophy. To achieve all these, we cannot just depend on the teachers alone. It is not fair to expect the teachers to carry these responsibilities all by themselves. The Ministry of Education should be more open-minded and draw from the collective wisdom of people from all walks of life, the politicians, the businessmen, the parents, etc. The Ministry of Education can also involve other ministries such as the MCDS, MOH, MHA to form an inter-Ministry task force to look into this. To me, heartware is more important than hardware. When we are building a school, do not go for fanciful designs, such as those fantastically looking roofs, which cost a lot of money but not really practical. Why not save the money and use it to send the students on overseas study tours instead? The students could learn more by interacting with their counterparts in the neighbouring countries and see for themselves the customs and culture of our neighbours.”
“In the case of education, if our educational system is to be thoroughly reformed, it will eventually evolve into one in which students will be selecting only subjects which they are strong in and according to their personal interest. I would like to raise a few points. Apart from knowledge and technical education, we should also emphasise on emotional, practical, adaptive and creative education. Because of time constraint I will only speak on two of them: emotional education and creative education. Senior Minister of State, Mr Tharman, has already given an answer to this aspect of education, and we can expect a lot of improvement in this area. In a report in the Straits Times yesterday, columnist Richard Lim mentioned that in the future, a country's wealth will depend not on its size or the size of its population, not on its natural resources, but on how you leverage on your advantages, that is, how you build up the intelligence, the knowledge and the potential of every individual in the country. If you have a Bill Gates in Singapore, then at least half of our economic problems would have been solved. Now, let me talk about the emotional education. Nowadays, Shanghai is talking about "one change a day", not a change in 10 years or a change in 20 years. When Singaporeans go to do business in China, we were said to be "able to work but unable to behave appropriately". There is a saying that when Taiwanese go to China to do business, they practise karate or kongshoudao, implying empty-handed. But when Singaporeans go to China, we practise tae-kwando or taiquandao, implying carry your money there.”
“Mr Chairman, all along, we are of the firm belief that only through education can we raise the quality of our people, extend their capability and enhance Singapore's competitiveness in the rapidly changing world of today. The integrity and excellence of our educational system is beyond doubt. The knowledge and technical education which we have been emphasising since independence has received international recognition. Even developed countries in the west are using our educational system as a reference and model for emulation. This is something we ought to be proud of. As a parent, an MP and a grassroots leader, I have the privilege to work very closely with the Ministry of Education and the schools. I agree with my parliamentary colleagues who have spoken before me that the Ministry of Education and the schools have done a lot of good things, and we can see that the contents of our education and the students that we have produced have attained international standard. I have attended a number of dialogue sessions with the women's organisations with Dr Aline Wong. At first, I thought that they would be most concerned with the role of women in politics. But, to my surprise, this ranks 5th in priority whereas education topped the list. As we face internationalisation, globalisation and more competition, our education must be more flexible, more diversified and with more options available. Our targets are parents and students. Experts have said that because of advancement in telecommunications, Internet and so on, people are becoming more self-centred and their interests are also more focused. I believe Prof Pukumayar has said that the social clubs in the future will all be centred around very limited scope of interest. There will be a lot of focus-groups.”
“For example, many residents tell me that the military aircraft landing in their area creates a lot of noise throughout the day. But I support this military aircraft exercise for security reasons. The solution may be double glazed windows by HDB. Sir, I would like to urge the Ministry to look into the remaking of Jurong.”
“Sir, Jurong was created as an industrial estate in the 1960s. It plays an important role in supporting Singapore's key industrial manufacturing base. When I suggest to remake Jurong, I am suggesting the area from Jurong East, Jurong Central, Taman Jurong, Jurong West and Tuas. After 40 years, many of the industrial facilities are quite old. The area also lacks recreational space and parks. The low take-up of HDB housing is possible proof that people find it too inconvenient or unpleasant to live in the area. Many companies also have to give an additional transport allowance and provide company transport in order to convince people to work there. So, how can we create a vibrant and green Jurong industrial estate? I believe it is the right time to recreate Jurong not through a 50-year plan, but a more immediate and interim plan of 5-10 years. I would like to propose the following for the relevant agencies, or maybe the Ministry can authorise JTC to be its coordinator to implement this masterplan. Firstly, rebuild and revitalise all industrial facilities. We need Jurong industrial estate to preserve its high-tech and forward-looking image to continue to attract key industries to operate there. Secondly, build a new and extensive transportation network into the area, like MRT, LRT, bus and taxis. I know there is a task force looking into this now, but I feel that it is taking too long, and the task force is not bold enough. Thirdly, construct more recreational areas and facilities, parks, sports facilities, such as canoeing, etc. Fourthly, develop commercial shopping area or wet market and facilities. We should look at building more popular shopping centres, such as Jurong Point, in other town centres. Fifthly, improve residential living environment.”
“I would like to urge all the Ministries and organisations who provide services to link up through IT, to give a one-stop service to the people.”
“Yes, Sir. Our civil service must continue to develop its people, not only those in leadership position but at all levels. It is easy to prescribe the number of hours of training for employees. This may improve their skills, but it is not enough to create an entrepreneurial team. How do we change mindsets to make civil servants more enterprising and more accountable for their actions? We must be more open to private sector leaders taking up public sector positions at all levels, as my colleague, Dr Wang Wai Kuen also suggested, not just at the top policy-making level. I understand that we tried that before. We should continue to actively pursue this area. In many instances, reforms have been initiated --”
“Today, we have cineplexes that give customers greater choice based on taste and preferences. Small cinema halls are both efficient and effective. If the cinema industry had not made this move, it would have collapsed. Take the housing industry. A private developer would build apartments of different sizes to give customers choices based on their principle of supply and demand. HDB can consider doing the same. The childcare industry is a good example. It was privatised and is able to provide more choices from community childcare to upmarket Montessori childcare and yet fulfill the Government's social role through subsidy. Secondly, compete for effectiveness. We should use competition as a tool for improvement. When there is competition, there is greater choice. To draw customers, you need to be efficient and effective in your services and products and competitive in price. We should allow services, traditionally run by the public sector to be run by the private sector, for example, the transport sector. However, we must bear in mind the affordability of the people. Thirdly, build an enterprising culture in a public organisation. The management of public organisations must be enterprising and pro-active in seeking out ways to provide services. The CEO can make quick, autonomous decisions without bureaucratic layers. For example, it is timely for our sports council to be privatised and provide comprehensive lifestyle services at the sports complexes. It can extend the scope of its involvement in the sports business in Singapore. This will impose competition on small and medium sized enterprises. However, we can invite them to work together. Fourthly, focus on developing leadership and human capital. Today, the human factor has become the key ingredient for success.”
“Sir, we have a dedicated civil service. It is lean and efficient. According to PERC, it is ranked the least bureaucratic of the 12 Asian economies covered. The civil service also implements initiatives to improve itself, for example, Quality Service, ExCEL and Organisational Review. There are recent initiatives with IT such as ZIP and "Innovator Activist" awards. Yet there are still many complaints of bureaucratic indecisiveness and tardiness. There are also complaints of rudeness and poor communication skills by frontline officers in explaining policies clearly. People wonder if these civil servants think they are doing taxpayers a favour or they are serving the taxpayers. Why does the administrative system need to change? We are facing stiff global competition, more uncertainty, greater information flow and shorter reaction time. There is also the higher expectation of better educated and more demanding citizens. In a globalised environment, decision-making has also become more complex. There are many angles to a problem. Thus, a one-size-fits-all administrative structure and processes are no longer applicable. Other than sovereignty and security areas, as many areas as possible could operate like the private sector, where possible, corporatise and privatise the services. However, the social role, the integrity and transparency of the civil service should not be eroded. What kind of change? The civil service needs to change in the following areas: Firstly, be even more customer-focused and strive to meet the needs of the customer. If we place customers first, we become very responsive to change in market needs, that is, customers' preferences. Let me quote you an example of a cinema industry. We used to have large cinemas that could seat a large number of people.”
“But now, it has lost its glamour. I would be touching on Remaking Jurong initiative under MTI in the Committee of Supply. We should also have a review on the various regions. Many regions have lost their glamorous characteristics. Jurong used to be a very famous place in Singapore. I feel that Jurong can be more beautiful than the Suzhou Industrial Park in China. I hope that this Economic Review Committee would also conduct some regional review, and this review would be able to help improve our quality of life. Another point is on social and welfare services. The Deputy Prime Minister has provided for double tax rebates for donations to charity. I think it is a very good measure. But we should also look into how we could help the charitable organisations to look after the needy people, for example, the handicapped people. We should change the mindset of the people, because in this industry, it is not just welfare work. In fact, in this aspect, Singapore has done well. Dr Amy Khor mentioned about autistic children yesterday. We have done a lot. We have many experts in this field. We should look at it as a service industry. We could even export this expertise. It could tun out to be a lucrative industry. In conclusion, I hope that the Economic Review Committee will look not only at the direct economic fields but also on the living environment of the people and the needs of the various sectors. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion.”
“But, we can invite more SMEs, successful entrepreneurs or local entrepreneurs to take up shares in the big GLCs, or take over the smaller sized ones like, for example, companies in the food industry or electronics companies. I think most SMEs have these skills. We should be more magnanimous and invite some successful companies to merge or even to take over the management of these smaller Government companies. No matter how we look at it, we have to stand united. We should make use of the strength of the GLCs and the local companies to fight for a bigger space in the international market. My visit to the maritime industry has boosted my confidence. In the past, for safety consideration, a lot of works in the maritime industry were carried out on land rather than on board on the vessels. When I asked the shipyards why people shied away from this industry, they told me that safety in this industry was a great concern to the potential workers. I think if we can enlighten our workers more on this aspect, we should be able to boost their confidence in this industry. Another point I would like to raise here is that the Economic Review Committee should look not only at the economic matters, but also on our living environment and our quality of life. Yesterday, some MPs talked about the problem of having children and the desire for a better living environment. I feel that perhaps the south-western part of Singapore has been neglected in our national development We have Punggol 21. We have good old Katong, etc. Jurong seems to be neglected nowadays. In the past, Jurong was a show-case to the developing countries on how we developed our industries, and the bed of our industrialisation in the 1960s. It was an industrial estate which we were very proud of.”