Zaqy Mohamad
Singapore
“Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the Question Time at this day's Sitting be exempted from Standing Order No 22(1) so as to enable questions for oral answer to continue until the completion of Question Nos 7 to 29, including relevant supplementary questions, until 12.45 pm?”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of the Minister Tan See Leng's speech, please?”
“I think on the hawker front, we keep our rentals as low as possible to sustain our hawkers. But for food prices, we continue to monitor. My colleague, Minister of State Gan mentioned about how we are monitoring food supply of food prices, and I think that we will continue to do so.”
“I thank the Member for his question. On seafood specifically, we do not see immediate risk. We have diversified our food imports. We have also got local production of seafood readily available. At this point, as both the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister have shared, our main risk for agriculture lies in fertiliser.”
“Mr Speaker, as I shared, we are monitoring the situation. The Government is monitoring at this point. There is no need at this juncture, because we have not seen the price hikes hit the hawkers in the same way as yet. There will be downstream impact. I think that is quite sure.”
“For us to also look into buying local produce, that helps our farms to increase capacity at this point, helps them build resilience over time and should there be disruptions or should there be a need for us to divert supplies or look to ramp up local production, I think they would be in a better position if we do what we can today to supp…”
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“Because not everyone can respond to changes today at the same pace, not everyone views the landscape from the same peaks that you and I are on, if some are even on a peak to begin with. But the point I wish to make today is that, while we rationalise policies and law with Singaporeans, sometimes unfavourable ones, we can do more to connect with the hearts of Singaporeans and listen to their voices within. Because in their hearts lie voices or sentiments, which if not taken care of, can result in fear, resentment and anger. This is one of the blind spots that we must be aware of, 'soft' aspects that the Government must do more to engage the citizens, particularly with the emerging social and political climate. In policy making and governance, the Government has always had the long-term interest of Singaporeans in mind. Its policies and programmes are based on good judgment. But often, many feel that the Government brushes off their sentiments along the way, rebutting ground feelings with statistics and data, analyst reports and Ministerial commentary and, at times, hard-hitting messages as policies are released. We cannot just brush aside these sentiments, but we need to understand how they come about and address them accordingly. This has become an increasingly important input as we need to remain attuned to the shifts in expectations, aspirations, values and even priorities among Singaporeans. There is a Malay saying, “Kalau tak ada angin bertiup, takkan pokok bergoyang ”, which means the tree will not sway without a trace of wind. Of course, there are also those who say that sometimes, the tree moves because a monkey is causing it. But I am confident we know a monkey when we see one.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to add my voice to the chorus of support for the Motion of Thanks to the President. In our early years, we built our nation with a sense of purpose - to take Singapore through its developmental years, to ride waves and survive downturns, to create a competent workforce, to guard against security threats - all with a vision of economic progress. As time passed, the Government gained its reputation for its steady and able hands, responding to changes and threats with sound and robust policies, and these are often built on vision, reason and rationale. Today, we face changes in the global economic landscape, where it is critical for us to adjust policies and change mindsets to keep Singapore competitive. The threats of terrorism have strengthened our resolve to maintain harmonious living as a safeguard for turmoil. As we forge ahead, in these uncertain waters, we often listen to the voices of fact and reason in finding our way. Sometimes, the voices that we tend to overlook - and sometimes brush aside - are those from the heart. I would like to touch upon the four ‘soft’ themes in my speech today - sentiments, values, hope and faith - against the backdrop of the ‘new social and political compact’, changes in the expectations of our citizens (both Post65 and Pre65), changes in the employment landscape, changes in the way we communicate, and changes in our values and priorities in life. I will start off with engaging sentiments. The process in which we set off on our journey is critical. We must win the hearts and minds of Singaporeans at every level to take us in the same direction.”