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)…”
The complete record
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 9 of 13.
“So when we are talking about a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual society, the feasible way is to be like in the past, to exercise tolerance, mutual respect, mutual understanding of one another's culture, to observe the festivals and the religious celebrations of the various races. Just like what the Prime Minister said yesterday and what my colleague, Minister Lim Boon Heng, and Mr Goh Choon Kang have said, we want to forge a common identity while maintaining diversity. This is something which is repeated over and over again in our Parliamentary debate. This is characteristic of Singapore. We can treat this as an advantage but it could also turn out to be a disadvantage to us. It depends on how we want to continue with our policy. Recently, we have many Parliamentarians from the Commonwealth countries coming to Singapore for the CPA meeting. I asked them what they felt was the characteristic in Singapore that they found to be most attractive. Almost everyone of them told me that the most attractive feature of Singapore is our multi-racial society. They were amazed that our people who are dressed in the Malay national dress, the Chinese or western dresses were happily chatting away at a common function together, using English as the common language. Yet, in the next minute, they would turn and speak in their own languages to people of their own community. It is simply fantastic! One expert who has been doing research on the history of the various countries remarked that he envied our bilingual policy. We are an amalgamation of the strong points of the various races.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to support the motion standing in the name of RAdm Teo Chee Hean and the Singapore 21 report presented by the Committee. As mentioned by Prime Minister Goh yesterday and many of my colleagues who spoke before me, the basic principle of this report is how to cultivate in our people the sense of loyalty towards our nation. That is on the basic foundation established by our first generation of leaders in Singapore. They have taken the decision to build up Singapore on this foundation. What decisions will the second generation leaders and the third generation leaders take? I think the most important reminder to us is the pledge that is being taken by our students every morning at the flag-raising ceremony. Although this pledge was worded by our first generation leaders some 30 years ago, it is still relevant to us now, and I believe it will continue to be relevant in the next century. The pledge reads: "We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation." I remember that at one political gathering, some people commented that the survival of Singapore was an accident in history. But if you look at our nation building and our survival, it can be said to be the result of a very important decision taken by our leaders. We live by this decision. We treasure this will to build up our nation. It is not the responsibility of just the Government but the responsibility of everybody. The second generation leaders and people, the third generation leaders and people, do they still maintain this will of survival?”
“The other day Dr Aline Wong was talking about AIDS. In America there are certain sects which say that they can have casual sex so long as they use condoms. But I tend to agree with Mr Bernard Chen. He said that we must set the example ourselves. AIDS can be prevented so long as you do not have casual sex. We must inculcate in our youths the right values and moral obligations to do what is right and to avoid doing what is wrong. I hope that when the year 2000 arrives, we can be fully prepared, on the one hand, to enjoy the economic benefits brought about by high technology and, on the other hand, provide more comprehensive "Life Education" and "Family Life Planning" to our people, so that everyone will become active participants in our family and social activities; everyone will optimise our "human bonding" to make Singapore a more humane, friendly and compassionate society.”
“In Japan nowadays, some townships are already adopting the points systems where the organisers would record the number of hours a person participates in their activities. These points would be accumulated to give him credit for any service that he may require in future. For example, if he needs to go to a day-care centre, he will enjoy priority or concessions if he has accumulated a certain number of points through his previous voluntary services rendered. This will serve as a form of reward for his past contributions. Of course, the reward is not the ultimate objective, but a sort of encouragement or incentive. Perhaps, the Ministry of Community Development could consider adopting this points system to encourage and reward the voluntary welfare officers, so that social service will become a norm rather than an exception in our society. Nowadays, we are all pursuing the 5 Cs. But we should also pursue the 6th C, which is community work. In the old days when we had the family planning campaign, there were advertisements with catch-phrases : "Boy or girl, two is enough" or "More children less to share". In our society now, everybody wants to live a good life. Maybe the Ministry of Community Development should start a "Family Life Planning" campaign along this line. We should reach out to the people. We should teach our people how to live harmoniously with their spouses, how to live together with their families and neighbours, and how to enjoy the company of their friends of different races. Very often, we criticise our younger people and tell them "You must not do this, you must do that." But, in fact, we are not doing what we preach. We should set an example ourselves. The Japanese say, "You are a mirror to your children". So we have to teach by example.”
“" But if we look at it seriously, if everyone can contribute, say, one or two hours in a week, or at least in a month, to participate in social work, it will make a lot of difference. In other words, since they can afford to play 9-hole or 18-hole of golf every week, borrow so many video tapes to watch, or watch so many TV programmes, I am quite sure they can arrange their time and set aside a few hours to do social work. First, the family as the fundamental building block of society. Because of very busy work schedule or other commitments, our parents, brothers and sisters may not have met even once in a year. So we can start, first of all, from the family activities. Whenever there is a function or some celebration, we have to eat. So, why do we not take the opportunity to eat together? We can also observe the various religious or cultural rites and rituals. If we are not restricted by our religious beliefs, we can participate in activities in the churches, mosques or temples. We can also participate in the various cultural activities. We can also visit our relatives during the Chinese New Year period. Nowadays, we are quite used to celebrating the various festivals together. Second, participation in community organisations. Now, we have CCCs, RCs, CCMC, Senior Citizens' Clubs, Youth Groups, Women's Group and all that. We have the whole set up. The important thing is whether or not we have the time to participate in their activities. Another point that I wish to raise is that when we participate, of course, it is best if we can do it on a voluntary basis. But we can also set up a points system with the help of the computer.”
“Sir, as we step into the new millennium, we are likely to face the impact of a new economic system. With globalisation, regionalisation and the challenges of the new information technology, how are we going to enhance the social cohesion of our multi-racial society? What type of changes can be expected in our family lives? How do we sustain and pass on our traditional values from generation to generation? No doubt our social and legal structures are very good. However, we need to instill some kind of catalyst in our families and society to strengthen human bonding, ie, to make our families and society more humane, and also to strengthen family ties and friendship among our people. When we participate in nation building, it is the duty of every one of us, first, to keep our families in good order. Every one of us should play a part in it. There is a saying in Hainanese to the effect that if you have money, you contribute money. If you have strength, you contribute your strength. If you have no money and no strength, you just donate aerated water. In the good old days, provision shop owners may not have the money to donate or time to spare, but they had plenty of soft drinks or "aerated water", as it was then called. We often hear our friends complain that the CDC has not done enough, or that the voluntary organisations have not done enough. It is easy to point an accusing finger at others. However, when we ask our friends to take part in the activities of these organisations, they would say, "I am very busy. I have to work overtime. I have to look after my children. I have to go for training, etc.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $93,885,540 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $55,681,600 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.”
“Japan is a good example of sound labour-management relations, which had survived the turmoil faced by workers and employers in the prolonged recession that the country is facing. One relevant feature of Japanese industrial relations that has contributed significantly to this stability is the practice of allowing union leaders who are promoted to management ranks to continue to remain in office. This fusion of the role has allowed both management and labour to have a better understanding of each other's role and has clearly contributed to the peaceful labour-management relations in Japan. Hence, could MOM look into this issue again and, if necessary, form a tripartite committee representing all the three parties to study the issue carefully and make the necessary recommendations? I understand that at present, there is a committee to study the guidelines on this area. But according to feedback, it is not very satisfactory. So we would like to urge MOM to relook at this issue urgently and hope that the three parties can actively participate in this area to come out with guidelines which are workable. 2.00 pm”
“Sir, the current economic downturn has once again demonstrated the importance of having good labour-management relations. This has been made possible because of the strong emphasis on tripartism and the efforts made by all three parties - the Government, employers and unions to work out problems peacefully and not adopt positions that are confrontational or would lead to disharmony. However, it is important to nurture and further develop this partnership and not take it for granted. One positive way of doing so is for MOM to support initiatives where the three parties can learn and share experiences together. I would therefore like to suggest that MOM consider getting the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies to organise more courses and training for employers, Government and union officials together to give them the opportunity to learn and to share their experiences. And I would therefore also like to encourage MOM to consider its funding to support the SILS effort. The Government has given the Institute a once-off grant but I would like to urge the Minister to consider the possibility of reviewing this arrangement and provide grants once in three years. The workforce profile continues to improve with better education. At present, 60% of new entrants to the workforce are tertiary-educated. This means that the pool available for union membership and leadership will shrink as traditionally only the bargainable employees join the unions. This will have serious repercussions on tripartism which will clearly weaken. Therefore, there is a need to review the current restrictions on executives joining unions. For a start, MOM could consider allowing rank and file unions partial representation of executives on issues such as retrenchments and grievances.”
“What effort is being taken by the Employment Service Department to improve this situation? Because of the low rate of population growth and the rapid aging process of our society, we have had to rely on foreign workers. We also lack skills or knowledge in certain critical areas needed by industries and therefore the infusion of foreign talent is necessary. Otherwise, we will not be able to attract these high-tech industries. This means that fewer jobs will be created for Singaporeans. However, in a time of job loss and fewer job openings available, could the Minister elaborate on what measures are being taken to balance and manage the supply side of local and foreign workforce? During the recession, there are problems of missing foreign workers and increasing disputes between employers and foreign workers. What measures is MOM taking to tackle this problem?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. On 1st April 1998, the Ministry of Labour was revamped and renamed the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). This was done to allow MOM to take on a more integrated approach in planning, developing and managing human resources and to ensure that these functions are well coordinated. In the years ahead, competition will intensify as the global economy becomes increasingly interlinked. In a knowledge economy, the most important resource will not be merely capital or machinery but human beings. The strategy for us to thrive in the knowledge era must be to convert our manpower into a key engine of growth. Hence, the first point I wish to raise is on this aspect of manpower planning. Could the Minister enlighten this House on (1) the overall manpower plans that MOM has in mind; (2) MOM's strategy for balancing supply and demand of manpower; (3) how MOM determines manpower demand; and (4) what policies and programmes will be formulated to synchronise the needs of industries for skilled manpower and the needs of Singaporeans for good jobs in the growth sectors. Could the Minister also tell the House how the above information will be released to the public to raise awareness about job growing areas and the skills needed? We would also like to know the progress of the Manpower 21 study effort. Last year, for the first time in many years, we suffered a net job loss of 17,000. In the good years, the net job gain was 120,000. What would be the projections for this year? In the last few days, we heard a lot from our colleagues about the mismatch between employers and employees in job expectation and skills.”
“Five years from now, when almost every family has a computer at home, the CCs and RCs should equip themselves with more high-end computers that an ordinary family could not afford. Only then can we attract a new generation of residents to come forward and make use of the latest technology. We should have a Ministry to be overall in charge, to provide the budget and to monitor and supervise such projects. In conclusion, I would like to say that when the computer was just an apparatus for doing calculation, we had already established the National Computer Board to actively promote computerisation. So now when IT has become the security for survival, should we not upgrade NCB, TAS, SBA, etc;, related organisations, to become a centralised ministry like a Ministry of IT Power to be overall in charge of all aspects of IT applications in Singapore? I hope my suggestions would be seriously considered by the Minister for Finance.”
“At the moment, every Ministry is carrying out activities to develop their IT applications, using the guidelines issued by NCB. However, there should be more practical guidelines to keep abreast of the times. For example, I know of a civil servant who took his children to Funan Centre to buy a Pentium III. But, back in his office in a Government department, the computer on his desk is just a 486. If you go to Funan Centre, the shopkeepers there will tell you 486 is so far obsolete that it has become extinct in Funan Centre, but this 486 is still very much alive on the office desk of this poor civil servant. This is no good. We should have some plans to upgrade and replace our computers in the Government offices. Our computer is no longer just a computer. It is a bridge or a window for our people to have a lifelong learning process or it may even set new policy and direction. We should set a target of, say, once in every three years, we must replace the computers in our Government offices. Although this may incur some heavy expenditure, it just cannot be helped. If we have a centralised Ministry to be overall in charge and coordinate the replacement of computers in all the Government departments, community clubs, community centres and the People's Association, our civil servants and public officers will have their computers replaced, from time to time, with the latest models and the best capabilities available, it would certainly enhance their productivity. In the past, when not many families have computers at home, the Government used various channels such as the community centres, RC centres, etc. to promote the use of computers by making available the facilities in their computer rooms to the residents.”
“So when our people surf the net from one website to another, they should be able to access the desired website within three seconds. According to feedback from some users, although our information infrastructure has attained a leading standard, sometimes we still need to wait 20 to 30 seconds to go into certain websites in Singapore. There are frequent traffic congestions. We must constantly monitor and upgrade our facilities so that our people will not have to waste precious time waiting for the congestion to clear. So, which Government authority should be in charge or be responsible to ensure that there is no traffic jam, and when traffic congestion appears to be building up, to upgrade our information infrastructure to clear the jam? We must also set up new indexes and some means to measure the level of application of IT in Singapore. For example, the Lianhe Zaobao website has more than 30 million hits per month. Apart from people in Singapore, there are also people from all over the world who browse and visit the Lianhe Zaobao site. So with more people accessing our Lianhe Zaobao website, the newspaper's status would go up and it would attract more advertisements, and hence more revenue! With more people accessing the Singapore websites, the status of our nation will also go up and our economy will be stronger. We should perhaps set up a certain target to measure how many websites in Singapore has received more than 20 million visits per month. We all know that the Ministry of Education, MOM, MTI, MITA, Ministry of Communications, MND, are all developing their own plans to promote the use of IT. I feel very strongly that we should have a Ministry to coordinate all these activities.”
“Fourthly, we may look into the possibility of providing intelligent-type bus service or intelligent-type MRT service on board buses or trains so that commuters could use the facilities to surf the Internet or send e-mail on their way to office or returning home after work. Students could also make use of these facilities to do their own work even before they reach home. Of course, if we want to promote IT, we must promote it to everybody. Today, in Singapore, even the vegetable seller aunties could make use of the TV Teletext to check their 4-D winning numbers. Perhaps, in future, we can help the vegetable seller aunties to access the websites, to download correspondence course materials and submit their homework through the Internet. Some workers told me that if we want to encourage everybody to use IT, to use Internet, the most effective method is to allow them to place their bets on 4-D or TOTO on-line. In the long run, our people hope that one day, our home can be a "intelligent" home. Even when we are working, we can remotely control the appliances at home, for example, to cook rice, bake a cake, etc. So it will become an IT-type style of living. We must let everybody possess the skills to use computers so that they could more effectively participate in all these IT activities. The question is: who should be overall in charge of all the IT applications in Singapore? If we want to provide world-class information service, like our airport and seaport, we must have a world-class information infrastructure. Take, for example, our "Information Super Highway" system. It is like our land transport. There must never be traffic jams along the highway.”
“However, in order to receive the arrival of the era of a knowledge economy, we should provide more training to the grassroots leaders and their staff so that they could have a more systematic knowledge of IT, in order that they may be able to effectively lead a new generation of Singaporeans. Perhaps, if we look five or 10 years ahead, we would wonder if it would not be more effective if we have a Ministry to be overall in charge of IT applications in Singapore. I am not an expert but just an ordinary user of IT. I would like to make some suggestions. How do we promote? In the past, our Singapore Government has its "Home for Everyone" scheme which is well known throughout the world and our people are happy to have their own homes. Perhaps, as we step into the 21st century, we could have a "Computer for Every Home" scheme. We may perhaps want to help every family living in a 3-room flat and below to own a computer. At present, about 50% of our families have their own computers. We are slightly better than London because London is only 37%. Perhaps, we should set up an unprecedented target of 80% of our families owning computers in three years' time. Secondly, we could have smart-type HDB flats. Under NCB's IT 2000 scheme, Singapore is going to become an intelligent island. At present, many commercial buildings are being rebuilt as intelligent buildings. HDB may perhaps try a pioneer scheme to design some intelligent-type flats conducive to the application of computers at home. Thirdly, JTC may perhaps develop some "intelligent-type factories", providing our SMEs with e-commerce packages.”
“But which ministry or agency in Singapore can evaluate our level of application of IT in Singapore? First of all, we would have to promote IT to our students because the students are the life-force for our future. Recently, the Minister for Education announced the IT Education Master Plan and the Finance Minister has generously allotted more than $5 billion to invest in education. I think we should have more resources available to promote IT in our schools and then our school principals would not have to worry that there is not enough money to use. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the establishment of the E-commerce blueprint and NCB set up the Singapore ONE integrated network. EDB, TDB, PSB have also introduced various incentive schemes. NTUC and PA have also been very active in promoting IT and related skills training. I do no think there is any other country in the world that has so many ministries and government agencies working hand in hand and with such a high profile to promote IT among the people. As for the non-professionals, they are the people with potential economic values. Our housewives have helped us to manage warm homes for the families, and to pass on our traditional values to the next generation. As for the retirees, they have contributed towards the building up of our nation to what it is today. They have a rich experience which we did not have the opportunity to live through. Whether they are housewives or retirees, or even the less fortunate handicapped people, so long as they have the ability to apply IT, they can upgrade themselves and make their contribution to our knowledge-type production activities. In the past, we have provided a lot of hardware to our grassroots organisations.”
“From telephone to television, from study to work, from shopping to investment, from Internet to e-commerce, IT has affected almost every aspect of our lives. Various ministries, statutory boards, departments and agencies of the Government, such as the NCB, PSB, Ministry of Education, TAS, SBA, MITA have also put in a concerted effort to popularise IT among our people. Looking at the future, would it not be better if we have a centralised authority to take charge of the overall planning and implementation of the national IT policies? Why do we have to actively and strenuously promote IT technology? We need to do so because this will give us a leading edge in a knowledge economy. As a small country, whether or not we could lead in the world of a knowledge economy would depend on two factors: first, the general standard of education of our people, and secondly, the general level of application of IT among our people. When we have more people using IT, productivity will go up. For example, engineers or doctors could use 3-D imaging to more accurately and quickly make diagnosis and decisions. Now, e-commerce has become a new mode of business transactions. With more people possessing IT skills, they will be able to work smarter and faster. They will then have more leisure time to be with their families or to upgrade themselves. With more people possessing IT skills, their employability will be better and productivity of the various companies and factories would go up. This would enhance our competitiveness, and our world ranking. How do we help Singapore to attain such a target and to supervise the implementation of such an effort? There are many foreign organisations that have been evaluating us from time to time.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Budget announced by the Finance Minister this year has not drawn much reaction from our people because last year the Government had already announced packages to deal with the currency and economic crisis. The reaction by our people illustrates the maturity of our people and their confidence in the leaders of Singapore. More importantly, whenever the Government makes any important decision, they would first communicate with the people so that they could be psychologically prepared for it. Undoubtedly, this Budget has basically looked after the needs of our people in this time of crisis. According to some of our workers, many seminars or talks were conducted over the past one to two years, and they are aware that the Government has been planning for their future. Our workers are concerned with more long-term issues. From the feedback we have received, it appears that our workers want the Government to provide them with more opportunities to acquire the necessary skills to cope with the challenges ahead as we are evolving into a knowledge-based economy. When computer was just a calculating machine, our Singapore Government has already established the National Computer Board (NCB) to actively promote computerisation. So when IT is going to be the security for our survival, should we not upgrade NCB to a higher profile Ministry of IT Power? I feel that we should have a Ministry to be overall in charge of all our computer resources. We should have a designated Ministry to monitor, supervise and manage the upgrading and evaluation of our IT needs and also to maximize the effects of IT on our social and economic development. Information Technology (IT) has advanced very rapidly and has a great impact on our life.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a necessity for us to enlighten the people in Singapore on our social network and to let them know how to seek assistance from these schemes, if necessary. We, in the NTUC, firmly believe that if we go along with the recommendations of the CSC, and if we are in one heart and one mind as a nation, we will get out of this crisis, emerging stronger. So long as we stay united, we are confident that we can have the power to face and conquer whatever challenges that we may encounter in the future. TIME LIMIT FOR SPEECHES (Suspension of Standing Orders)”
“Many are paid an average of two weeks' wages for every year of service rendered, and some get as much as 12 to 24 months of salaries in terms of retrenchment benefits. Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to find out from an officer from a developed country that there is a cap of 12 months' salaries as unemployment benefits. So actually our retrenchment benefits compare favourably with the welfare states. As for those who are not unionized and are not in a position to negotiate with their employers, I urge them to quickly organise themselves and register as members of the NTUC so that we can help them. Although our social security network is good, there is still room for improvement. For example, we need to look at how we can simply find procedures for applications for various schemes to help workers in distress. Perhaps, we can also see how we can improve on the level of support, especially for those who remain unemployed for a long time. I also urge the Government to set up a one-stop agency which could coordinate the various financial schemes. In fact, the CDC is well placed to be the focal point of all assistance schemes. In other words, if an unemployed person goes to the CDC, he can seek not only financial assistance but also help in finding an alternative job through the Internet network or through other means which can be coordinated by the CDC. In this way, the CDC will be able to help the unemployed persons get all the relevant assistance under one roof, including matching up of training courses and job vacancies available. In addition, counselling can also be provided to help the worried unemployed persons cope with stress and learn how to manage family expenses and job expectations.”
“This is the best welfare because it helps workers to acquire the necessary skills to stay employed. But in the training programme for workers, we would like to request the Government to set up a task force to study the needs of older and the less educated workers. This task force should provide the workers with information on vacancies and types of skills required in the market and educate them to change their attitudes so that they will be prepared to accept jobs which they were previously rejecting. At the same time, the task force can educate the employers so that they will not discriminate against the employment of older workers. Some people may ask: "Since Singapore is not a welfare state, where can the retrenched workers turn to?" Although, Singapore is not a welfare state, we have all sorts of schemes which are even better than the welfare state system to help those who really need help. For those who are in difficulties, they often seek help from their MPs. Some of them say that they cannot pay their utilities bills, S&C charges, rentals, etc. As MPs, we know where to turn to for assistance to these people. Many grassroots organisations like the CDCs and self-help groups are ready to extend a helping hand. In extreme cases, there is of course the public assistance scheme, the bridging loan scheme, Small Families Improvement Scheme, Rental and Utilities Assistance Scheme, Edufund and the assistance schemes established by the various community self-help groups. So long as they accept our recommendations, they will be looked after under any of these schemes that are relevant to their needs. As for those workers who were retrenched, and are unionized, the unions will negotiate with the employers.”
“They have the Medisave accounts and they have MediShield. For those who genuinely cannot afford to pay their medical fees, there is Medifund to stake them out. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has stated on more than one occasion that no one in Singapore will be deprived of medical benefits just because he has no money. Another social security is education. In Singapore, there are places for all school-going children. The quality of our education is good. Government has set up an Edusave Fund to help meet the educational needs of every child aged between 6 and 16. Workers can use their CPF to pay for their own and their children's tertiary education. For university students, if they are in difficulty, they can apply for loans. About 25% of our students receive some form of bursary or scholarship. In other countries, if workers lose their jobs, their children have to stop going to school because they cannot afford the fees. There is a report in the newspapers that half of the Indonesian children have stopped going to school. Such a report may be exaggerated but it is true that many parents can no longer afford to send their children to school. This will result in a loss in one generation, with very serious consequences. In Singapore, every effort is made to help children from families in financial hardship to remain in school and to receive education, and bursaries are offered by NTUC, the grassroots organisations and various organisations. We have a comprehensive system of in-employment training. The Skills Development Fund subsidises the training cost. The NTUC-initiated Skills Redevelopment Programme is aimed at upgrading the skills of workers, especially the older and less-educated ones. In the SRP and CREST alone, the Government has committed $240 million.”
“This is like teaching people to fish rather than merely giving them fish to eat. So, in this economic downturn, our top priority must be to find new jobs for the retrenched workers. A job with a steady income is anytime better than any form of unemployment benefit. The NTUC has joined hands with the Ministry of Manpower and the SNEF to develop a job bank to match those who are retrenched or unemployed with the vacancies available. At the moment, when we accept this 15% reduction in our total wage cost, we are appealing to the companies to retain the workers in this period of crisis, and retrench only as a last resort. In Singapore, housing is not a problem. We must thank HDB and its "Home Ownership" scheme. Since as many as 90% of our people own their own homes, even in this time of economic crisis, they do not have to worry that they may be thrown out of their homes by unscrupulous landlords when they default in paying their rents. But in many other countries, like Korea, for example, the workers live in quarters provided by their employers. The moment they lose their jobs, they lose their shelters over their heads too. In fact, in most developed countries, home ownership is about 60% (40% of them are living in rented properties). Once they lose their jobs, they will be thrown out of their house. So to them, unemployment benefit is of paramount importance. Despite that, in many of these so-called welfare states, many people are sleeping in the streets. In Singapore, our situation is different. We have different schemes to help our people. Therefore, I feel that our model is a better one. Another social security is medical benefits. We all know that our workers in Singapore are adequately provided with medical benefits.”
“Here, I would like to thank our workers for being so understanding and for supporting this recommendation to reduce 15% of their employers' wage cost. Today, with the economic downturn, grassroots leaders and unionists have asked whether we have the means to help those in financial hardship as a result of wage cuts and job losses. Do we have a social security net to meet their needs? When our workers are retrenched or have suffered a wage cut, do we have a social security net to help them? In some developed countries, the jobless can look to unemployment benefits. So some people are questioning why we do not have social security in Singapore. Does it mean that because we do not have unemployment benefits, we do not really have social security? Are they correct in their accusation? I do not think so. I do not think we should look at the issue so narrowly - that just because we do not provide unemployment benefits, there is no social security in Singapore. In fact, what are the basic needs of the people? First, jobs; second, housing; third, medical care; fourth, education. In fact, all of these have been provided for in our social system but very often we take them for granted, and we forget that they are part of our social security system. Take jobs, for example. We have made job creation our top priority. Over the years, we have brought in many foreign investments to Singapore. Many jobs have been created. Our preference is on quality investments because they are the ones that can afford to pay higher wages. Over the past 10 years, our real wages have gone up by an average of 5% per year. This is better than what has been secured even in many developed industrialised countries. Our philosophy is to train people for life-long employability.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Committee on Singapore's Competitiveness has recently made two sets of recommendations. One is on how to deal with the current economic crisis, while the other is on how to prepare our economy to face the future challenges. In the short-term, our workers and the trade unions have to accept pay cuts to help the companies regain competitiveness and, in the process, to save our jobs. In the long term, we have to equip ourselves with new skills to operate in a knowledge-based economic environment. We, in the labour movement, support both sets of recommendations because we are convinced that they are in the best interests of our workers. During our debate in Parliament yesterday, I was surprised to hear one MP saying that the 15% wage cut is not enough. He suggested a 30% cut. The question is: during the last few months when we were debating on these issues, why did the employers and companies not put forward the reasons for the 30% wage cut? They should list out the cost structure in the various sectors in the business community to present their case. In fact, over the last few months, they have remained silent. So, after we have explained to our workers why we should agree to take a 15% wage cut, they accepted it. Now, the employers are saying that it is not enough. Furthermore, the said MP is a member of the National Wages Council (NWC) which recommended the 15% wage cut. Why is he now questioning the 15% cut? Since he sat in the NWC, he should be in the best position to know why the reduction should be 15%. From yesterday's debate, we can sense how difficult it is for us in the trade unions to explain to our workers such complicated economic matters.”
“Sir, the NWC negotiation had indicated a downward trend. Furthermore, most of the unions have agreed to cut the variable component and I think we also know that if things become very bad, maybe a CPF cut will be the last resort. Then why is there a need to reconvene the NWC?”
“In circumstances like this, our young people should be educated on how to look after the older people. So through certain grassroots activities, if we can have the hardware as well as the software, and if we can set up a special body to coordinate all the efforts, I think we can certainly do better in looking after the older folks among us. 5.30 pm”
“I appeal to the Government to provide enough funds for this purpose, so that more such centres can be set up. With the help of the private sector, we can do better. As for housing, although we plan to build senior citizen apartments for them, can we ask the PA to plan some activities, such as home nursing to look after those who are sick and to help them to take care of certain basic chores, eg, preparing tea or cooking porridge for them? Through the CDCs, PA and the MCD can also arrange for more activities for these aged people, not only recreational and cultural activities, but some care and concern for them, particularly those who are handicapped. Another matter I am concerned with is education and moral values. During the past few months, MCD launched some mass media programmes. I have received feedback from people that these programmes are very good. They depicted episodes of disputes between the parents-in-law and daughters-in-law and problems such as the lack of respect for parents. I hope that MCD would do more in this respect. MCD should liaise with TCS to produce more of such programmes. Another point is that we should psychologically prepare our aged people. Recently, in my constituency, we have looked into the psychological needs of such aged people. The aged people have slowly become senile. Certain disputes between parents-in-law and daughters-in-law are due to their psychological make-up. We do not understand their problems. For example, in a day-centre in my constituency, there are one or two older people who are constantly complaining that they had no food to eat, but the folks there told us that they had already taken their meals. Whenever they see a car driving near the centre, they would say they want to go home.”
“The Housing and Development Board deals with housing and the Ministry of Community Development deals with setting up of homes for the aged while the Health Ministry looks after the healthcare of the aged. A few days ago, we debated the importance of training for our workforce. I must say that the problems of an aging population are equally important. Perhaps the Government could set up a "Life Planning Ministry" or the MCD could set up a special unit to deal with and coordinate all efforts by the various quarters to help the old people. There should be a centralised body to coordinate all the efforts in this respect. Otherwise, there may be duplication of efforts and thereby resulting in wastage of resources. If we have such a body, the problems of the aged can be divided into food, clothing, housing and transport. Most of the aged people receive support from their children. If possible, this body should provide counselling to the aged and train them to carry on working for as long as possible so that they can be economically independent. Because of the changes in our family pattern, most children move out to form their own families once they get married and both husband and wife go out to work to make a living. Therefore, looking after the aged is a problem. Some charitable organisations have set up some day-care centres to look after these aged people. At night, these aged people can go back to their homes. I think we should not send them to a home for the aged. Although they are provided with food, this is not healthy and it is very cruel to send them to the home. Therefore, it is important that we should set up day-care centres and convalescence centres. We should encourage the private sector to set up such centres to look after the aged.”
“Sir, Singapore is one of the countries where the population ages most rapidly. In 1980, only 7.5% of the population, or 173,400 persons were aged 60 and above. The number rose to 305,300 or 10% of the population in 1996. It is estimated that the number will rise to 900,000 or 20% of the population by the year 2030. As such, the problem of an aging population is something we cannot neglect. We should make sure that the aged are cared for, and the young are properly deployed for the good of the society. In fact, our Government has not forgotten the sacrifices and contributions made by these old people towards our social and economic development. Many Government departments and organisations have launched quite a number of programmes for the aged. For example, economically, our CPF system is providing Singaporeans with financial security after their retirement. Whether it is health care, housing, family protection or asset enhancement, the Government has shown great care and concern to provide Singaporeans with all their needs after retirement. Recently, HDB proposed to provide senior citizen apartments for them to apply and to live in. The People's Association and the grassroots organisations of the various constituencies are conducting various recreational, cultural and sports activities on a regular basis for the senior citizens who are still healthy and fit. The Ministry of Community Development has set up a "National Families and Aged People's Consultative Committee" to look into the needs of the senior citizens in Singapore. Some charitable organisations have also set up day-care centres and community hospitals for the benefit of these old people.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $64,498,540 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $6,723,300 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head I”
“For those who turned 55 in 1997, the median net balance had gone up to $52,000, an increase of about $7,000 over the two years. Furthermore, I also want to point out that all of a member's CPF assets including the cash in the CPF account, property, insurance and investments are available for old age, not just the cash component. We cannot just look at what is the net balance and say, "Is this adequate?" We must look at the total CPF portfolio. For instance, investments under the CPF investment scheme can be easily converted into cash. The shares can be liquidated or sold and the cash can be used to meet the needs of the retired members. Furthermore, a retired CPF member can also sell off, for instance, a 5-room flat and then move to a smaller 3-room flat to free up cash to meet his needs for daily expenses. And if we look at the regrossed balance of members who turned 55 in 1997, 70% of them already have balances which exceed the current minimum sum of $50,000. Younger CPF members should be able to save up sufficiently to meet their basic needs when they retire. For instance, the median net balance in the ordinary and special accounts for the younger workers between 45 and 55 years is already $47,000. And the regrossed balance is, in fact, much higher, about $100,000 for CPF members in the same age group. Sir, by the year 2003, when the minimum sum scheme will reach its target of $80,000 with $40,000 in the cash component, about 80% of the active CPF members would be able to meet the minimum sum requirement. The Member has also asked about the CPF investment scheme. 1.55 pm”
“Sir, I want to touch on CPF policy. My concern is that CPF originally started off as a pension scheme catering for the retirement needs of Singaporeans. But today, we use it for housing, medical care and even education. More recently, CPF could even be used for investments in stocks and shares. I would like to ask the Minister what are the average balances in the ordinary and special accounts of members, and whether the Ministry considers such amounts sufficient to meet the needs of the average workers upon retirement. The other question is that, lately, we also give the flexibility for CPF members to invest their CPF funds. I would like to say that there is a need to educate CPF members who are ignorant of the mechanism of the stock market. There should be more safeguards so that CPF savings are not excessively exposed. Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, Mrs Yu-Foo is concerned whether CPF savings are adequate, especially for the older CPF members. I would like to quickly point out that low CPF balances of older CPF members is the result of low wages and low CPF contribution rate in past years. While this may be inevitable and actually reflects the gradual growth of our economy, we, as a Government, have launched various efforts to help older CPF members to build up their CPF savings. Examples are the CPF Top-Up Scheme, Pre-Medisave Top-Up Scheme and Minimum Sum Top-Up Scheme for both spouse and parents. I would like to point out that the net CPF savings have actually been increasing over the years. For instance, the median net balance, which is the total CPF savings less savings committed for investments in property or stocks and shares, for those who turned 55 in 1995 was about $45,000.”
“With the new Ministry of Manpower, a more coordinated strategy for the development, training and funding of such programmes would hopefully be in place. At the end of the day, what we hope to achieve is to help women lead meaningful lives and contribute to society by allowing them to balance family and work. Sir, can I continue with my amendment on CPF?”
“Journalism is one example, as the primary tools of a journalist are a laptop and a telephone which do not require them to be in the office all the time. Vast opportunities can be created, if only employers are prepared to be flexible and spend time to redesign their jobs. Singapore Post is one example of an employer who did a marvellous job in bringing work to the doorsteps of women. Instead of depending on male postmen, now they have housewives to distribute letters. Apart from flexible work arrangements, we find that where there are adequate community facilities and pro-family incentives, in the form of tax incentives or child care leave, the labour force participation rate increases. In Sweden, for instance, either parent could take up to 15 months of child care leave with full pay for the first three months and 75% of the salary for the remaining period. Whilst I am not suggesting that we follow the Swedish example, it nevertheless highlights the importance attached to child caring and the reason why many Swedish women could go back to work after their leave is over. We could perhaps adopt more modest measures. Employers could consider allowing women to take unpaid leave, after their paid maternity leave is over, for another six months. Presently, this scheme is found only in the public sector which gives up to one year's leave, but is almost non-existent in the private sector. Employers who provide pro-family benefits could even be given tax incentives and subsidised assistance from PSB to redesign jobs. Many women also need training, both in raising their skill level and developing their self-confidence to re-enter the workforce.”
“Sir, according to the latest Labour Force Survey, there are about 53,000 married women who have indicated that they want to go back to work. The majority have young children. This is the major reason why they could not take up normal, full-time jobs. Unlike the situation in most developed countries, our women do not re-enter the workforce in their later years, after their child-rearing years are over. The participation rate for women aged 40 to 50 years is only 52% compared to 71% in Japan, 76% in US, and 70% in the United Kingdom. For those aged 50 years and above, only 41% are economically active in Singapore compared to 66% in Japan, 57% in the US and 52% in the UK. With such a huge pool to tap from, it is a great pity that we are still relying heavily on foreign workers. And now we are talking about attracting more foreign talents. It is time that we took stock of our own existing resources and see how best we could develop them. We must try to do much more not only to attract such women into the workforce but also try to retain those who are already in the workforce. If we look at countries with high female labour force participation rates, we will also find that there are many flexible work arrangements that are in place to help women balance work and family. I think they do not want to depend on foreign maids. A key element of these work arrangements is flexibility. This comes in the form of flexible working time, job-sharing, part-time work or home-based work, or work located near their homes. With the vast improvements in telecommunications, there is no need even for women to leave their homes. With a little planning, many jobs can be converted to home-based work.”
“It results in a workplace that is hostile and will cause loss of productive manhours when a company has to defend against expensive law suits. Therefore, we would like to encourage executives to bring their grievances to the Ministry of Manpower for conciliation. Sir, I am aware that there are presently guidelines to help weed out bogus titles. These guidelines were passed in 1992 and were an attempt to overcome some of the difficulties faced in organising executives. Instead of amending section 16(3) of the Industrial Relations Act, we agreed that one alternative would be to try out these guidelines and gauge their effectiveness. While the guidelines have resolved part of the problem, the restriction on a rank and file union representing genuine executives remains unresolved. It is time that we reviewed these guidelines and come out with more effective solutions. This review could be done through tripartite efforts and through the good office of MOM, so that a consensus may be reached on this issue.”
“Sir, over the years, our workforce profile has changed drastically. In 1992, there were only 15.8% executive, managerial and professional staff. Today, there are 21.5% of them. With 60% of every PSLE cohort going into university and the polytechnics, this group will further increase. All these have serious implications for the labour movement. It will mean that the membership and leadership pool will decline. It will mean that those who are eligible to join unions will decline to 40% of the total workforce. It is not by accident that we have a harmonious industrial relations climate which had enabled employers to get on with the task of managing their companies with no disruption. A key contributing factor for the industrial peace that we had enjoyed is because of the quality of our trade union leadership. This would be compromised if we cease to have leaders of such calibre because they fall outside the scope of our trade union representation. More so than in the past, we will need such leaders now, because of the changing nature of our economy and the demands of global competition. This requires trade union leaders who understand the ground well but at the same time have the knowledge and sophistication to deal with complex issues which are global in nature. Looking at the issue from another angle, executives and managers are also employees of a company and do need some kind of assistance when they have problems. Seeking redress in the courts can be a costly, time-consuming and generally damaging experience for the individual arising from the attendant publicity that arises. Litigation is not necessarily the best option for employers either.”
“We could use the CDCs, CCs and other grassroots organisations and even NTUC to provide the network of support and assistance needed to run such programmes. All these may help the foreign talent become integrated, if not, assimilated into our society because it is important to prevent the formation of unhealthy enclaves.”
“And industrial relations training will enable officers who are involved in industrial relations to understand the job better and thus be more effective. The target of such training will be MOM staff who handle industrial relations, trade union staff, employers and management staff. This will complement training currently provided by NTUC and the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies. Sir, I now turn to the issue of foreign talent. I would like to ask the Minister to elaborate on the kind of schemes that will be put in place to attract foreign talent and how this fits into our overall manpower planning. There is no dispute at all that to remain competitive, we need talents from outside to enhance the capabilities of our own workforce. This is inevitable given our small size and manpower constraints. But at the same time, we must not overlook Singaporeans' concerns on the impact that an influx of foreign talents would have on their jobs and standard of living. To get rid of such fears, the message transmitted must be clear: that every Singaporean will continue to be given full opportunities to develop their potential. Could the Minister ensure that sufficient safeguards are put in place to prevent employers from abusing this scheme by bringing in talents from outside even when there are Singaporeans to fill the jobs? We must also ensure that the transfer of skills and competence from foreigners to Singaporeans takes place so as to avoid continued and over-dependence on foreign labour. Once these workers are in our workforce, we must help them adjust and adapt to our work environment and society. We ought to have in place programmes that will cater to their social and recreational needs and help them to understand Singapore society better.”
“Some of its key mission objectives are employability, competitiveness of companies, promoting productivity and strengthening tripartite partnership for better industrial relations. SNEF also has SNEF 21 which will also benefit both employers and workers. I call upon the Ministry of Manpower to incorporate the aspirations of both unions and employers in the formulation of its mission. Sir, the formation of the Ministry of Manpower is timely. With keen international competition, our workforce has to be globally competitive if we want to retain our competitiveness. It is important that we have one Ministry to coordinate and develop an integrated and comprehensive strategy for the planning, development and management of human resources. Presently, there are several agencies like NTUC, PSB, EDB and ITE which are involved in training. With the establishment of MOM, the roles of these agencies would have to be clarified. I would like to suggest that MOM set up a tripartite committee on training to look into training and overall manpower planning and human resource development in Singapore. Sir, the formation of MOM has generated a lot of interest and expectations. Many would like to know what key initiatives MOM will be working on once it is launched. One key concern is training for the existing workforce. I call upon MOM to support programmes, such as Skills Redevelopment Programme, Back-to-Work Programme and Skills Certification Programme, and to develop these programmes into national schemes to cover all workers. Sir, there is another area of training that MOM should look into. This is the building up of skills in areas of human resource management and industrial relations. Human resource management training is important for helping companies manage their human resource.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, I have attended a regional conference recently. One clear disappointment among the delegates was that the unions had not been involved in policy and decision-making in the efforts to handle the serious economic crisis in the region. It appeared that the trade union movement had no role in the economic crisis. It was only lately that some governments invited the trade unions to be involved in IMF discussions. Such a situation exists because in those countries, there is no tripartite mechanism which enables the viewpoints of the labour movement to be an important input in all negotiations. The lack of this is detrimental to industrial peace. For example, when Korea amended the Employment Act, workers went on strike because of a lack of a well-established tripartite relationship. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] 4.50 pm It is fortunate for Singapore that we have a strong tripartite working relationship. However, we must not take this relationship for granted but must instead, during this time, take the opportunity to strengthen it. I would therefore like to call upon the Minister to look into how we could invoke existing mechanisms or, if need be, set up new channels for discussions among the three parties on how to prepare ourselves and to respond to the challenges that are fast taking place. I am pleased to note that there is already a Retrenchment Committee. I hope that the Committee would take a proactive approach by looking into measures such as job redesigning, identifying new jobs and job replacement for retrenched workers and matching retrenched workers with available training schemes. NTUC has set up a blueprint called NTUC 21.”
“I would urge the Minister to provide more funding to MCD to strengthen family bonding. Therefore, the Budget should provide support for technical education as well as social education and moral education. With better political leaders, better economic policies, I believe Singapore will convert this economic crisis into opportunities so that the people and the Government can be united to upgrade themselves to move into the 21st century and we will emerge stronger than ever.”
“Another point I want to talk about is: how are we going to help those elderly workers when they are retrenched? The NCMP mentioned about our Secretary-General's talk on retrenchment. He said other countries are doing something to help their unemployed workers. What about our Government? I want to explain to him. Our stand is that the best guarantee for the workers is to upgrade their skills and to give them training. When a company is faced with retrenchment or downsizing, the company will retain only those highly skilled workers. Therefore, we have to continue to urge our workers to be upgraded, trained and retrained. If our local workers' skill is as good as that of the foreign workers, we will retain our local workers unless the foreign workers are better skilled than our local workers. For those who are in the unions, we have approached the employers to devise other ways, eg, wage reduction, reducing the number of working days to cope with the downturn in the economy. Should they be retrenched, our Industrial Relations Unit also helps them to find new jobs. We also help them to go for retraining. We will pay for their training expenses. So I would ask the NCMP to read more of our union's magazines to have a better understanding of what we are doing. When we adjust our budget, we should not neglect the importance of workers' training. It is important that while we should do everything we can to strengthen our infrastructure we should not neglect the importance of spiritual development. I am talking about the safety net provided by the family. In the past we used to receive support from the family, but nowadays the small nuclear families account for 80% of our household number. The close family ties have been eroded.”
“The second aspect refers to the need for workers to continue to make themselves employable. We are worried about structural unemployment. The kind of investments we see in the future require a highly skilled workforce. The Government should not neglect this problem. Therefore, workers should try to make themselves employable as long as they are fit and healthy and their skills be made relevant to the latest technology. The third aspect of the safety net is rather passive. The first safety net is to ensure full employment for our people. The second aspect refers to the need for workers to continue to upgrade themselves to be employable throughout life. The third aspect is social protection. I do not mean that we should adopt the western welfare system; we should not fall into such quagmire. I am referring to our CPF. Many people make use of their CPF balances to invest in this and that. Apart from purchasing homes, we also use our CPF balances to pay for education, medical expenses and for our old age retirement. During an economic crisis, our CPF contributions will be reduced. What I would like to suggest is that when a worker is retrenched something should be done to assist him. I would like to propose the setting up of a livelihood protection net. When we are in an economic crisis, when we are having negative growth, we can use this sum of money. How is this operated? We can encourage employers and employees to co-pay into this livelihood insurance ( ). They can use their CPF money to pay into this fund just like paying into their MediShield or MediShield Plus. When they are not able to maintain their basic living, they can use this money to pay for their basic living expenses.”
“It reflects the Government's steadfastness in the midst of changes. If we are united and work for a common purpose, we will be able to weather such crisis. The last two days saw many MPs asking the Finance Minister to tell us more about his off-Budget measures to help our business community. I personally feel that the Minister has already got such plans to help our business community. When the time is right he will announce such measures. Apart from education, I would like to talk about investing in economic infrastructure. We should be bolder in making such investments. Also the business community should make use of this opportunity to better prepare themselves for the years ahead when the economy turns around. Another issue is the training of our workers. I am a bit disappointed by the insufficient provision for the training of our workers. The Government has expressed that more funds will be provided when the need arises. Some Government agencies have formulated well thought-out plans to get workers to go back to training. I would like to speak at greater length on this issue when the allocations for the Manpower Ministry come up for debate. I hope the Minister would be more generous in allocating funds for this item. While doing everything we can to promote economic development we must not neglect social development. We should set up a good and sound social safety net. This social safety net has a wider meaning. It encompasses several aspects. The first safety net refers to full employment for the workers. As long as we have sound economic policy and measures and our workers are prepared to upgrade themselves we will be able to achieve this first safety net. At present, this is not a problem.”
“We do not have natural resources, for example, oil or timber. We cannot support our currency with oil or timber. This goes to show that our Government is correct in accumulating surpluses. Perhaps now is the time to use some of the surpluses. In the past 10 years our Finance Minister has worked very hard to give us prudent budgets year after year. The regional financial turmoil has taught us a few lessons. That is why we must have able political leadership and a sound political structure. Economic and social development should go hand in hand. The crisis has also put our stamina and mettle to the severest test in the most trying conditions. We have shown ourselves to be able to withstand such buffets and storms. This could be attributed to our sound economic and social structures. In every election, our Government has been able to recruit able people to join the Government. In other countries, leaders are created by opportunity. We have been able to carry out self-renewal in leadership. The current budget shows that we pay great attention to the education of our young. While other countries have cut down expenditure on education we have increased it. When we talk about education we do not mean the acquisition of knowledge only. We mean the nurturing of an all-rounded citizen. In the last two days we have been debating the issue of bond breakers under the EDB scholarship scheme. If we had strengthened our moral education such incidents need not have happened. I hope that the Minister for Education would use this precious expenditure to nurture our next generation who should not only be well versed in knowledge and technology but who are also imbued with sound moral values. This budget is a very pragmatic and prudent one.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion standing in the name of the Minister for Finance. The financial and currency turmoil that engulfs the whole Asia has caught many people off-guard. Although the situation has somewhat stabilized, stock markets and currencies have collapsed and there is no sign that recovery is in sight. We are quite apprehensive about what is happening in our neighbouring countries. I believe Members have read from the newspapers that in certain countries tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. The loss of jobs also means the loss of incomes. Furthermore, there is no social welfare system to take care of them. The depreciation in their currencies coupled with two-digit inflation could only cause the situation to deteriorate further. This situation will remind elderly people of the days in the 50s and 60s when there was high unemployment and inflation. We hope international financial authorities would give a helping hand to these countries. Singapore has been spared this financial and currency turmoil. Many Singaporeans are confident about their future because we have a strong foundation. Though affected by this regional crisis, we have been able to withstand it. Why is it that when our neighbouring countries are going through such economic crisis we come out unscathed? Singaporeans ought to ponder over this matter. In the last few years our regional economic situation has been good. We have surpluses in our budgets. Many people were rather critical about such surpluses. Had it not been for the surpluses we have accumulated over the past few years we would not have been able to maintain our currency value. That we are able to keep our Singapore dollar strong is due to the fact that we have massive surpluses to support us.”
“Sir, with the Minister's very comprehensive answers, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”