[(proc text) \"to amend the Radiation Protection Act (Chapter 262 of the 2008 Revised Edition)\", (proc text)]
[(proc text) presented by\tthe Minister for Transport (Mr Lui Tuck Yew) (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
\tPage: 9
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Debate on President's Address","subTitle":"First Allotted Day","sectionType":"OS","content":"Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to: 'We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the Second Session of this Parliament.'.\"
Thank you for the privilege to begin the proceedings in this important Sitting, that marks the second-half of our term in Parliament. President Tony Tan set the tone for the rest of this term in his opening speech last week. He offered a vision for the future – a Singapore for all, and a Singapore that will be better for our people. Allow me to speak now in Malay, Madam.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The President's Address provides a comprehensive plan on the Government's focus to further improve the lives of all Singaporeans, in addition to ensuring that our nation stays resilient in facing rapid developments. Singaporeans, in general, aspire to continually improve themselves. Those who are left behind also have opportunities to better their lives, through the system of meritocracy and various Government policies that are focused on helping them.
The Malay/Muslim community in Singapore have also ascended and progressed from generation to generation. This aspiration was able to be fulfilled through various programmes as well as the spirit of self-reliance and the strength of gotong royong that forms part of the lives of Malays in Singapore. It is true that more needs to be done.
However, the one thing that is exceptional and gives us pride is the awareness among the Malay/Muslims about the importance of investing in education, which is a pillar of success. Just like other communities, the Malays also face many kinds of challenges and concerns, including day-to-day issues like cost of living and social issues. However, one of the long-term solutions is to use every opportunity to upgrade ourselves, in order to take advantage of the potential available globally, through our education and economic systems.
The same goes for professionals and entrepreneurs who need to reinvent themselves with new abilities and capabilities that are relevant to global developments and requirements. I also welcome the efforts by Malay/Muslim SMEs that continuously undertake initiatives to provide focus, in order to overcome all obstacles and challenges to be more competitive, in addition to using assistance programmes provided by the
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Government. The forum organised by the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an important platform to find ways to overcome present challenges.
The Malay/Muslim community can and should make use of Government programmes to take full advantage of regional opportunities. In this aspect, perhaps the Government can play a role to facilitate these businessmen and women in making use of the available network and build ties among organisations from different industries so that the Malay/Muslim business community can have collaborations and learn from them.
As a community that possesses a strong gotong royong spirit, we are also proud to see the successful ones, comprising more professionals and entrepreneurs, who are willing to step forward and serve the community and country. One example is Ms Rahayu Mohamad, a mother of six, who is an educational consultant and a professional. Although she is busy with her duties as a mother and a professional, she still finds time to do community work. She serves, amongst other things, in the Singapore Muslim Women Association (PPIS) and the Kampong Siglap Mosque.
Another example is the Chief Executive Officer of Cathay Organisations, Mr Suhaimi Rafdi, who wants to do something for the community after climbing the career ladder. He, amongst other things, serves in the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA), Tampines Secondary School and is also a youth mentor. He does grassroots work in Tampines as well.
Their contributions are very meaningful, which shows that our community does not forget those who are in need.
In conclusion, I am confident that for the Malay/Muslim community, there is much potential for us to become successful citizens of Singapore. We must continue to become citizens who make contributions to the nation and community.
(In English): I remember that at the beginning of this term in Parliament we faced the challenge to address a number of hot button issues. Members of this House have debated over many of these issues in this Chamber. To the credit of the Government – that has always stood for active and effective action – we have seen a number of improvements today through the various changes in policies implemented.
We have seen improvements in housing with measures to boost supply, cooling measures to stabilise prices. The past year has also seen greater social support for the low-income to help them own their homes, support their children through school and childcare as well as greater support given to low-wage workers through the introduction of the
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Progressive Wage model (PWM).
For our seniors, whom in the past, had serious concerns on whether they are adequately covered for their health expenses, they are now better covered through programmes such as the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP).
In my constituency, I have also seen the effects of our policy on the cases that we have at the Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS). We hardly see any appeals from first-time HDB applicants today, including those from low-income families, because our housing policies have made first-time home ownership more affordable and new flats are in better supply.
As Town Council Chairman, it is also heartening that all our cleaners have benefited from PWM and seen their wages improve today for them to bring home more income for their families.
The setting up of Social Service Offices (SSO) in the heartlands has also made a difference. They have made social assistance schemes and job matching more accessible to my residents.
To this end, I have residents such as Ms Yap, a single mother, who was forced to work as a cleaner after her husband passed away. Her salary was initially low, but it has gone up in the past two years as a result of PWM. Today, she is able to support her children who have progressed well in school and one is studying in polytechnic. She is helped by Government social assistance and, just as important, support from the community.
Be it in housing, education, healthcare, transport or cost of living, the Government has adapted its policies to suit the changing needs of Singapore and Singaporeans. And this, the Government did by listening closely to the ground, through channels like Our Singapore Conversation (OSC), constituency dialogues and various public consultation exercises. By listening to and understanding the diverse concerns of Singaporeans, the Government gets a better feel for the issues that need to be prioritised – and how to fine-tune the policies.
But our job is not done even though the situation and public sentiment has improved on many of our national issues. There is more that we need to do and there are people who still need our help.
I support the President's speech to chart our way forward, laying out an agenda that is far-sighted to safeguard and build our future for a better Singapore. I would like to see more \"heart\" in how the Government will implement the mission laid out by the President,
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particularly in the following areas.
We should strengthen our safety nets to help the vulnerable and elderly – in a way that one will not feel they lose their self-worth while asking for help and, at the same time, inculcate a sense of compassion in our people to be proactive in helping those who are less fortunate.
We need to give our people greater assurance and peace of mind that they can retire comfortably here in their old age – while continuing to provide our seniors active economic opportunities to be self-reliant, in a dignified manner and not worry about being a burden to the family.
We need to ensure our social fabric – families and communities – remains cohesive for generations to come, respecting our multiracial, multi-religious norms that we have painstakingly built over the years.
We need to provide a safe and secure, high quality of living that is affordable for Singaporeans to enjoy a better quality of life and, yet, citizens must also feel that basic public services, including housing, food, basic goods and transport options, remain affordable.
We should protect our social mobility and be prepared to give second chances at success, in terms of working opportunities, entrepreneurship or education pathways. Give Singaporeans hope and security that they can achieve their aspirations through fulfilling jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities here in Singapore, or beyond our shores through Singapore.
As our President noted in his Address, \"Our Best Years Lie Ahead\" and \"we are determined to… build a better, brighter Singapore.\" A better, brighter Singapore for each and every Singaporean is what we can expect, if we work together to fulfil the vision that has been laid out in his speech.
Madam, the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) announced recently has helped our Pioneer Generation and families deal with future healthcare costs. My immediate concern is the segment that comes after, especially the middle-aged, middle and lower middle-income groups, sometimes also known as the \"sandwich\" class.
It is timely for the Government to address the issue of retirement adequacy and review our CPF policies by enhancing CPF Savings and CPF LIFE annuity scheme. The Government has announced its intention to keep healthcare more affordable through subsidies, Medisave and MediShield Life and I look forward to the positive outcomes that these would
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bring.
Residents I speak to are often concerned about whether they can retire comfortably in Singapore. Most are also concerned, whether their CPF savings can meet the Minimum Sum, pay for their home, afford their children's education or support the medical fees, if they have a family member that needs constant medical care. Our cost of living is, indeed, high by international standards, but given our standard of living and quality of healthcare, one major illness can set back one's savings by a lot.
For many in the middle class, they often only see 2Ms – Medisave and MediShield – and not the 3Ms. They face the barrier of being means-tested across the family, having to draw down their savings and those from their family members in the household, before being given access to Medifund. To many, while Medifund is there, it seems inaccessible and so, the feeling of insecurity sets in.
The best thing we can do for Singaporeans is to provide them with stronger safety nets and portable health insurance to protect them and their families, and a CPF savings scheme that will provide assurance for their retirement, healthcare and eldercare needs.
The CPF system has served us well. Singaporeans have come to expect that the CPF savings will be their foundation for a comfortable retirement. We need to assure Singaporeans that when they retire, they can retire comfortably.
The CPF savings is a function of the salary one earns and the cost of living that is expected when they retire. Thus, the Government needs to ensure that Singaporeans can maximise their income and retirement savings during their prime years of employment.
Holistically, to help more low-income workers, we should explore other areas to expand the PWM and enhance WIS to cover jobs and industries that have seen lagging salary increases or depressed salaries due to heavy reliance on cheaper foreign manpower.
Overall, workers must also see their real wages increase as they support and pursue the Government's wider push on productivity, automation and retraining in CET. If I do get complaints on CET, it is because workers do not necessarily see an upgrade path in terms of employment after undertaking the courses and certifications. So, we must safeguard against under-employment in the workforce. It is not easy to guarantee employment, but we need to finetune the supply chain from training to upward mobility in real income or enhanced career progression.
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We should also find ways to reduce citizen's unhappiness with the changing \"goalposts\" of the Minimum Sum amount. Only half of Singaporeans today are able to meet their Minimum Sum. Thus, I can certainly understand the anxiety and fear, given the barriers. Much of the frustration I encounter with the Minimum Sum or the Retirement Account after a certain age, is due to the inflexibility when residents fall into difficulty in the use of funds to pay for mortgage or change in property, especially if they have lost their jobs or are required to take a lower pay, or have drawn down their CPF fully in their senior years.
I do not have the answers today, but hope that a comprehensive review can provide a more positive outcome for the CPF to provide better retirement adequacy.
However, I would also recommend that the Government find new ways of improving returns on one's CPF savings so that it is not too difficult to achieve the Minimum Sum condition. I have met many residents who have asked the Government to provide an alternative to the CPF-approved investment funds which are currently managed by the private sector.
Perhaps, the CPF can consider a Government-backed investment plan that tracks inflation, above the existing Ordinary Account and Special Account interest rates. The existing CPF-approved investment funds are pretty much left to the market which often has certain financial risks beyond the understanding of the ordinary CPF contributor. A Government-led plan may come somewhere in between, in that it is a trusted plan, with standard terms and the objective of tracking inflation to protect one's savings for the long term.
Madam, the Singaporean dream of a better life must remain an attainable one for every citizen. We must give Singaporeans enough to dream about and aspire towards. So that when they look at someone higher up the ladder, it is not one of resentment but one of inspiration to aspire and climb to achieve those levels.
We must uphold a fair and just work environment that our local workers do not feel disadvantaged while working amongst a global workforce. We must encourage an environment where our workers can see themselves having an equal opportunity to rise to the top based on merit and not be limited by an employer's preference for a certain nationality or profile.
As a start, I hope that the implementation of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) will help Singaporeans to access better jobs, while better Union representation and strengthening of TAFEP will facilitate employers to adopt progressive employment practices.
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We must continue to encourage companies to invest and train our local talents to groom them to achieve their potential. I am glad that in the Addenda, there is concerted effort by agencies, such as MAS, for the financial sector to develop a strong core of Singaporean financial specialists and leaders. I hope to see more sectors working towards the same objectives. But, at the same time, we must also engage workers to recognise and bridge expectations. As we focus on growing incomes of Singaporean workers, our workers must also be mindful that we are operating in an increasingly globally competitive environment – and that salary costs also contribute to increased costs towards services and goods.
On the employer front, employers need to be reassured that our policies will not inadvertently create a negative environment for businesses. We have to be mindful that there are markets around us that are cheaper, more open to talent and provide a larger market base than Singapore.
If we do not manage this well, the consequences that we see today – sentiments against foreigners or foreign workers – can send the wrong signals to employers and foreign investors. Some may think that we can afford to let these companies go. But if companies start leaving Singapore, we risk losing jobs, leaving ourselves in a far worse position.
Madam, moving on to communications. Our demographics and citizen expectations have evolved. People trust that our Government can come up with good policies that will benefit Singaporeans. But the people's expectations now are whether the Government can show that it cares and has compassion for citizens in the way it runs and operates.
Today, there is an increasing expectation for the Government to engage and to communicate to show that it has Singaporeans at the heart of any policy that it formulates.
The Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) was a wonderful policy announced recently. So, I expected it to reach the ground easily, given its popular response every time we explain the programme to our seniors and their families. But I learnt that even for such a popular and meaningful policy that was covered extensively in the media, a recent report found that 40% of Singaporeans were not aware of the benefit from the PGP.
What this means is that we need to put in a lot more effort to explain policy benefits and issues on the ground. We need to put in even more, for policies where citizens will only see benefits in the long term and those that require more convincing.
Today, this is the gap where you find destructive politics at play – especially the politics of envy, pitting the haves and the have-nots, and the politics of self-interest, where one
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group's self-interest is championed above others and above the common good. Misinformation and conspiracy theories travel much faster through the social media and coffee shop talk because these make for more sensational stories and they tell people what they want to hear.
So, the Government needs to invest more resources to respond quicker and drive our communication channels more effectively to reach hearts and minds out there. Otherwise, the Government will always find itself on the back foot and these divisive messages become like a festered wound that refuses to heal.
Madam, in conclusion, in thanking the President for his Address, regardless of political affiliation in this House, the long-term interests of Singapore and Singaporeans should always be our first priority. I support the President's direction on the way forward.
As a citizen, we affirm our pledge of loyalty and love for our country on each National Day. In this globalised economy where we have many options, why do we choose to be Singaporean? It is about belonging here as one people and as one community, knowing that as a citizen, this is where we call home where I am safe and protected, that my livelihood and future are assured. If I need help, my Government will always look after my interests and it is whom I turn to in times of need.
This is where our Government needs to go beyond delivering on good policies and logic, win hearts to make Singaporeans feel they belong here and continue to sink their roots here for generations to come.
Singaporeans have placed their trust in us and elected us to represent them in this House. It is our duty to ensure that our debates continue to help the Government help the people. Most importantly, this House must create unity in Singapore and not separate Singaporeans.
This is how we can ensure that Singapore continues to thrive and prosper for the next 50 years. This is how we can leave a Singapore fit for our children and our children's children to grow up in so that they can remember our legacy in 50 years to come. Thank you, Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
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Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit \tTimah): Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion of thanks to the President standing in the name of Mr Zaqy Mohamad.
In my last eight years as a Member of this House, what has been most gratifying for me is to see the implementation and enhancement of various social policies and schemes that have improved the lives of lower-income Singaporeans – schemes, such as Workfare, which was introduced in 2007, the additional grants to help Singaporeans to own their homes, the various increases in education and healthcare subsidies, and the introduction of ComCare, just to name a few. These policy changes, many of which were introduced even before this term of Parliament, have made a real difference to the lives of many Singaporeans that I met. In many cases, without the help and support from the Government and the community, the individuals would not be able to cope with the daily challenges of making ends meet.
Hence, I am glad that in the President's Address, the Government has pledged to continue this priority of strengthening our social safety nets for the remainder of this term. A better Singapore must mean that we all feel a greater sense of responsibility to one another. When there are families still struggling, the rest of us should feel duty-bound to lend a helping hand, whether at the individual level, through community, grassroots resources or through the Government's various social assistance schemes, to lift these families up. This is the kind of cohesive society that we should aspire to be as we prepare to celebrate our 50th Anniversary.
While the President's Address may not have contained significant mention of the economy, its importance was implied throughout the Address. As we seek to expand our social agenda in the years to come, the need for a thriving economy does not become smaller – it becomes greater. The economy has to stay vibrant to generate the revenue that will fund a wider array of social programmes. The economy also has to continue to create what Singaporeans still want first and foremost: a constant and reliable stream of meaningfully paid jobs, both for those leaving school and entering the marketplace for the first time, as well as those seeking re-employment opportunities.
Let us not forget that economic growth improves the lives of the vast majority of Singaporeans. It is true, as some have pointed out, that the benefits do not always trickle down fully to the lower income. But the solution is not to slow down growth, which some have been suggesting. The implications on our system as a whole can be very serious if we grow our economy below our economic potential. The far better solution is targeted help for the lower-income group through a slew of measures that includes raising their wages, improving safety nets and keeping the other foot on the pedal of growth all the time, which will help us fund these measures.
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MTI's Addendum to the President's Address mentioned that over the next three years, around 40,000 to 45,000 young Singaporeans are expected to enter the job market each year, with two-thirds aspiring to hold PMET jobs. Our economy would need to grow enough to create that many jobs to meet their aspirations.
The race to get these jobs here in Singapore is a global one and the competition is only getting more intense. Companies these days are mobile and operate on a regional basis. They will move the jobs to locations where the labour force offers them most value and where the business environment is accretive to their businesses. China alone produces seven million graduates each year. They are all intelligent, well-trained, hungry for jobs and are prepared to work for much less. Graduate unemployment now stands at 16% in China because the supply exceeded demand and the glut looks likely to worsen in the years to come.
So, let us make no mistake about it. We still need to constantly watch the competition and continuously enhance our value proposition. To do so, we will have to find new ways to grow our economy and press on with the necessary economic transformation. Indeed, Singapore is where it is today – the third most competitive economy in the world according to a recent Swiss study – only because we have constantly reinvented ourselves.
From the time the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee were in charge, we have never stopped striving to stay relevant to the world. We have never stopped upgrading ourselves, building a better and more educated workforce and creating more productive companies. We have never stopped rethinking our broad economic strategies while examining specific sectors and sweating the small stuff, such as improving regulations and cutting red tape. We must not stop now. At this stage in our transition, it would be a sensible strategy for us to now seek quality growth, restructure and reduce our dependence on foreign labour. So, let us bite the bullet and press on with these changes that we have started three years ago to transform the economy.
Mdm Speaker, our new path of quality growth must mean a better life for Singaporeans. The jobs created may make greater demands of employees – their skills, their creativity, their intellect and their tenacity. But they should also offer employees more enablement, more flexibility and, ultimately, a greater sense of fulfilment and social contribution. To create these jobs, the Government should not hesitate, if the need arises, to encourage the growth of certain sectors in the economy, by way of specific incentives and infrastructure building. The Government should also not hesitate to move the levers that will raise wages as a proportion of GDP to reflect fairly the increased contribution of employees over time. Quality growth also means greater inclusiveness. We seek the type of economic growth that leads to higher wage increases for the low to middle income and not those growths that only
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disproportionally result in higher asset inflation.
Quality growth is more sustainable for the system as a whole and for individuals within the system. With more flexibility, for example, there is greater scope for each individual to carve out a work-life balance that better suits one's needs and that of his family. Taking time off work to learn at various junctures would be enjoyable and beneficial, even necessary. For the system, as a whole, we must move towards a greater emphasis on social well-being. We can achieve quality growth only if we also make progress in areas, such as affordable healthcare, social mobility, education, as well as ensuring a secure retirement for all. In this way, quality growth will result in a sustainable and endearing economy.
Mdm Speaker, even as we move into new areas of growth, we will do well to continue to shore up our key economic advantages – areas that we have done well since our Independence.
We have over the years established ourselves as an important financial centre, as well as a service hub and increasingly now, an R&D hub. We are well-recognised for our rule of law, our sensible and responsive regulatory frameworks, our efficient and forward-thinking system of governance and our corruption-free bureaucracy.
As a people, we are known to be a smart and competitive workforce. Our unique brand of tripartism has furthermore fostered harmonious labour relationship with positive outcomes for all stakeholders. We have also sought to ensure that our own Singaporean talent is rooted to Singapore and has a stake here.
All these economic advantages require constant and concerted effort from the Government and stakeholders to work together constructively – not devoting our energies to industrial disputes or to sectoral interests, but coming together in good faith to improve the nation for the good of all Singaporeans. We have succeeded because we have maintained a long-term view of things, implemented the right economic policies and have done so consistently.
Mdm Speaker, let us not forget that these are the advantages that we have painstakingly built up over many decades that have put us in a good position to transform the economy and to compete strongly. We must strive hard to maintain these advantages. Once we lose it, we may never be able to build this up again in the new environment and in the new competition that we are in.
Finally, as we take stock of what we have today, we cannot help but develop a deep sense of gratitude and respect for the pioneers who have made this possible. Today, I would
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like to pay tribute, especially to the pioneers who have built up the vital institutions like the CPF Board, EDB, JTC, MAS, GIC, Temasek Holdings and the list goes on. These home-bred institutions have built a reputation for excellence since their inception through their professional competency, integrity and passion for Singapore and have improved the lives of generations of Singaporeans.
These pioneers were trailblazers and entrepreneurs in the policymaking world. In many cases then, there were very few relevant models that they could rely upon. They made leaps of faith based on informed estimates and calculated guesses and, thankfully, these have turned out to be right and successful.
I am convinced that if our Pioneer Generation had been less decisive and decided to act in a more conservative manner, many of those same changes would be near impossible to implement today, under the current environment. Take the CPF as an example. The compulsory savings scheme forms a major pillar of our system, ensuring retirement adequacy while making funds available in important areas, such as home ownership, healthcare and education, for citizens and their children. I cannot imagine how our social and economic well-being for our citizens would be like without the CPF system. Some of our fellow citizens may not have saved enough for their retirement. We would have much lower home ownership, and each hospitalisation expense would result in more cash outlays without Medisave savings, not to mention that there may not be enough savings for their children's education.
If we did not have a CPF and we want to introduce it only today, in 2014, I believe the proposal would likely be drowned out by a major uproar. But because we have the CPF system in place, and Singaporeans have seen that it has worked, we have the flexibility today of reforming the system one way or another, to better meet the needs of this generation as well as that of the ageing population. And that, as the President has mentioned in his Address, is what the Government is doing, and I fully support further improving the CPF savings and the CPF LIFE annuity schemes, as well as developing alongside more options for Singaporeans to unlock the value of their homes.
Mdm Speaker, we have our pioneers to thank for their vision and foresight, for daring to try a road not travelled, for making the painful but necessary sacrifices, and for upholding the value of \"saving now for a better life in the future\". Let us, therefore, do our level best to closely safeguard these very precious governance values that we have, even as we renew our pledge to build a better and brighter Singapore. Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion.
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Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Ang Mo Kio) (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, at the start of the Second Session of this Parliament, I am glad to know that the Government will continue with the broad directions set out earlier to make Singapore an inclusive society, by making social policy changes to address the needs of Singaporeans. While we strengthen our policies and debate on the best ways to build the Singapore that we aspire, we must continue to ensure that Singapore remains a full employment economy. This is because the labour movement firmly believes that the best welfare for Singaporeans is full employment.
We want to allow everyone who wants to work to have a job and to work for as long as one desires. Therefore, we must continue to strengthen our unique Tripartite advantage. The Government must also continue to pay attention to the development of our SMEs, so that these companies will continue to be the foundation of our economy and provide a wide range of job opportunities for Singaporeans. We cannot just focus on helping SMEs cope with current problems. We should also help these local companies look to the future, to create a future vision for their company.
We must help our SMEs future-proof and re-model themselves. First, they need to forecast and anticipate future trends and challenges that will radically affect their bottom line and change the way they conduct their businesses. Second, they need to develop or adopt the latest technologies and explore new operating models so that they can stay ahead of the competitive curve and ensure that they remain relevant in the midst of change.
Using three key examples from the F&B sector, I shall illustrate how some of our local SMEs in our neighbourhood have successfully made use of technology to future-proof and re-model their operations into the SMEs of tomorrow. I urge our SMEs to emulate these success stories.
The first example that I would like to quote is Chang Cheng Group. It is an example of how a local SME has future-proofed and transformed itself into the SME of tomorrow. From its humble beginnings as a mixed vegetable rice stall in a Toa Payoh coffee shop, Chang Cheng Group today operates approximately 250 outlets, employing more than 1,500 staff. Their current success can be attributed to three factors – namely, astute identification of challenges and opportunities, developing centralised processing facilities and latest food processing technologies, exploring new operating models and caring for their employees.
When Mr Ricky Koh started operating a mixed vegetable rice stall in 1994, he understood intimately that the main challenge faced by hawkers was operating cost. While a number of his peers tried to increase their profit margin either by reducing their serving portion or compromising on the quality of food, Mr Koh saw an opportunity to radically change the way hawkers conduct their business and sought to create a modern F&B chain.
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He understood that the best way to reduce operating cost was through automation and redesigning the workflow and to utilise the principles of economies of scale through centralised processing.
Currently, all food ingredients and sauces are processed in two facilities. With centralised processing, work is split between the centralised kitchen and frontline in the ratio of 60:40. This arrangement helps to relieve the challenges faced by the company due to the shortage of frontline staff and Chang Cheng Group is able to enjoy significant cost savings and reinvest those savings to fund other programmes that lead to even further savings and greater efficiency.
With 250 outlets that dish out mixed vegetable rice, zi char, crab specialties and western fine dining, Chang Cheng Group inevitably faces the issue of quality control. To ensure that there is consistency in food quality across all its outlets, Chang Cheng Group exploited the advantages of new food processing technologies. With processing facilities equipped with meat cutters, automatic tenderisers, potato peelers and vegetable processers, Chang Cheng Group is able process more than three tonnes of poultry, meat, seafood and sauces daily. That is not all. Chang Cheng Group is currently in the process of developing an integrated HQ that combines warehousing, food processing and cooking. With the new integrated HQ, all food processing and cooking will be done at a single location, quick frozen and sent to the outlets for reprocessing using induction cookers and convection ovens.
For the next step, Mr Koh says that with the changes in foreign manpower policies, Chang Cheng Group will further adjust the ratio of work done in the centralised kitchen and frontline to 80:20. His company plans to tap on the assistance from e2i and various Ministries, to develop and adopt more new food processing technologies, so that 80% of the work processes can be completed in the integrated HQ and make work \"Easier, Smarter and Safer\" for all their workers. Chang Cheng Group will reduce staff headcount at each outlet by half, restructure their workflow through the use of technology and to do more with less, so as to cope with the reality of shortage of manpower in the local service industry.
While technology can help businesses increase their operation efficiency, businesses need to explore new models of operation to increase their market share and set them apart from their competitors. Cheng Cheng Group is modernising and transforming the way coffee shops are run. Using sophisticated analytics, Chang Cheng Group is able to forecast the amount of ingredients needed at each outlet and make timely deliveries of the required quantity to their outlets, cutting down on food wastage.
Fu Cheng, another neighbourhood coffee shop chain, is also planning to install customised dishwashing machines at its outlets with the help of e2i. This will make the dishwashing process simpler and safer. Kim San Leng Coffee Shop plans to outsource the
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dishwashing process. With the current practice, one worker can only wash two pieces of cutlery manually every minute, while a partially automated dishwashing machine can wash four. If the dishwashing process is outsourced, an off-site machine can wash more than 10 pieces of cutlery in a minute. Workers do not have to come into contact with detergent, their work is simplified, more precise and safer, more suitable for older workers and women returning to the workforce.
The presidents of the Singapore Kheng Keow and Foochow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association told me that both associations would strive to help their members increase productivity and competitiveness through the Government assistance schemes.
We can imagine that in the next one or two years, more modernised coffee shops will be increasingly prevalent, food quality and hygiene will be more consistent, work processes will be more precise, streamlined and safer. With changing business models, coffee shop owners can also work towards their vision of a totally transformed coffee shop business.
I hope the rest of our SMEs can take a leaf out of their stories, future-proof themselves, and transform into SMEs of tomorrow by tapping on the Government assistance schemes to adopt cost saving technologies, upgrade their operations so that both the company and employees can benefit.
Our SMEs do not always have to implement costly solutions or make radical systematic changes when they re-model themselves. Sometimes, all they need is to explore new workflow processes. One way is to reorganise their workflow process and company layout by using the 5S principles.
The 5S originated from Japan and, in English, the 5Ss stand for Sort, Systematise, Shine, Standardised and Self-discipline. The 5S is a workflow design concept where companies try to organise their work space to maximise efficiency, effectiveness and space utilisation. Pine Garden Bakery is an example of a company that has applied the 5S principles effectively, with the help of SPRING Singapore.
By redesigning their kitchen and store layout, they manage to optimise their workflow so that their staff can move seamlessly from one workstation to the next. Their baking ingredients are stored systematically in standardised format and their equipment are arranged in such a way that those that are commonly used are within easy reach. Though these arrangements may seem easy to implement, bakery owner Wei Chan says the challenge is in ensuring that they stay that way, as it is easy to lapse into old work processes and habits due to familiarity. Our SME owners must resist temptations to maintain the status
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quo and persist in their efforts to remodel their business. Wei Chan is planning to implement Kaizen to further improve the management of workflow. Pine Garden's example shows that neighbourhood shops can also overcome challenges and forge a new way forward, with the help of Government assistance schemes.
Transforming our local businesses requires a multi-party, multi-stakeholder approach. While SMEs transform themselves, the mindset of consumers must also change. Consumers must realise that with the current labour crunch, our businesses have to depend more on new technology and are operating on a leaner workforce to meet business demands. Consumers must understand that it is not business as usual and they too can play a part to co-create better customer experiences and help our SMEs morph into the SMEs of tomorrow.
Quayside Dining is an example where both business and consumers have successfully partnered up to create a new dinning experience. The F&B industry is one of the hardest hit sectors in the current manpower crunch. To cope with the shortage of service staff, Quayside Dining introduced a self-service kiosk where diners can make their own hot beverage using a self-service beverage machine, dispense house-pour wines from an automated wine dispenser, pick up their own food and cutlery from the service counter, and return their own trays when they are done.
What Quayside Dining has done is to introduce a \"no-frills\" and \"self-service\" concept into a hotel dining environment and pass on the cost savings from employing fewer staff to consumers. This partnership had brought about a win-win situation to both business and consumers. From the business perspective, this arrangement helped to reduce their manpower cost and allowed them to operate at the same level with a leaner workforce, while ensuring employee satisfaction. From the consumers' perspective, they can continue to enjoy hotel quality dining at very affordable prices.
With the success story of Quayside Dining, I urge more SMEs to think out-of-the-box and seriously consider how to create new service models that will leverage on the partnership of businesses and the consumers to deliver a win-win situation for both.
Money does not fall off from trees, neither will there be bosses who give wage increases to their employees for no reason, or employees who would want to kill \"the golden geese\". For wage increases to be sustainable, there needs to be \"job up, productivity up, salary up, skill up\", that is, productivity, skill, wages and jobs must be upgraded in tandem. Just like the game of mahjong, it cannot continue if any one of the players is absent. All four factors must increase in tandem to ensure wage increases and job security. This is the direction that the tripartite partnership must work towards.
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These companies have different backgrounds and face different situations and they have also encountered setbacks. But the difficulties did not deter them from trying and innovating and, ultimately, achieving success in identifying future challenges and trends, developing technologies, exploring new business models and attaining the \"4Ups\". The experiences of these companies reflect an unwavering spirit and offer us a new vision for the F&B industry, as well as the coffee shop trade. I hope that SMEs will emulate their examples and breakaway from their limits, tap on the Government's assistance to achieve a better tomorrow – so that every SME will be a better company, every SME job will be a better job and every SME worker a better employee!
Mdm Speaker, we are all excited about the new vision presented by the President. In my opinion, the Government should take a serious view of the issue of income disparity. However, we must not only focus on how big the gap is, but also strive to ensure that everyone lives a better life, to lift those at the bottom without limiting those at the top. The tripartite partners should support the Progressive Wage Model by NTUC. At the same time, they should pay special attention to help workers whose wages are at the bottom 10% to 20%, so that they achieve greater wage increases than other workers.
Compared to the Pioneer Generation, Singaporeans of today have a better foundation and more resources than before. However, to create a better home for ourselves, we must ensure that the pioneering and hardworking spirit of our ancestors lives on. We cannot enjoy the shade provided by trees planted by others and forget that we are in the tropics. As a little red dot near the equator, we must ensure that the trees planted by our ancestors will be more well-rooted and grow bigger and stronger, so that our next generation can live more comfortably. As we pay tribute to the Pioneer Generation, the same pioneering spirit must be imbued within us.
The entire nation, including companies and the society, must stay united and strive together with vision. I hereby quote the motto of my alma mater, Nanyang Junior College, which is, \"Together We Build\". Whether there will be a better tomorrow for all of us, depends not just on each individual's effort or the efforts of a select group in the society. A better tomorrow and a better home can only be achieved if everyone works together and helps one another. I support the Motion.
Mr Ang Hin Kee (Ang Mo Kio): Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion. Recently, I took part in several dialogues with residents as well as taxi drivers on the President's speech and Addenda that were shared by the other Ministries. Several people who participated were from the Pioneer Generation. They shared the tough times and belt tightening experience in the earlier years and they worked hard to improve their lives. Times were very challenging.
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There was a common spirit among them and there was a resolve to make it and to tough it out.
I reflected on their insights and felt that there are two key takeaways. First, a resilient individual and secondly, a bonded community. Our pioneers had been through crises and stayed self-reliant. Their \"never say die\" spirit, especially at the workplace, transformed Singapore to what it is today. Many Singaporeans continue to work hard to improve their lives. The present day may offer different challenges but the approach to overcome them remains the same. I know of two persons who choose to be self-reliant, to hold their heads up high and even seek to pass on this spirit to the next generation.
The first is a taxi driver. Mr Lee is now a grandfather in his late 60s but is still actively driving a taxi. He drove a pirated taxi in the 1960s. Many in those days were hounded by gangsters and there was no income security, no social safety net and no assurance of a better life.
They were also being labelled as pariah; there was also some humiliation associated with the job. Through sheer hard work, Mr Lee shared that he not only became a legit taxi driver, but he also owned his own yellow top cab, started a family and bought his HDB flat.
Today, he hires a taxi from a taxi operator, co-shares it with a relief taxi driver and continues to mentor new drivers who enter the profession. He shows them the ropes, urges them to be professional and respect their own vocation. He also listens to grievances shared by them and seeks to help them overcome the difficulties they face. Many other taxi drivers shared with me that they look up to Mr Lee as their senior, as their mentor.
The other experience is with Mdm Chew who had a different life journey from many other people. Some years back, she experienced a difficult divorce. Though she had custody of her child, her ex-husband did not provide regular maintenance support. There were housing loans to pay, living expenses and educational fees to pay for the child. Not only that, there was also some degree of social stigma for both mother and child to deal with. She worked hard, brought up her child and even sent her to the university. Today, Mdm Chew has not completely overcome all her difficulties, but she is resolved, to persevere, to stay on the race to offer a better life for the two of them.
I also spoke with her child and found evidence of this spirit passed on by the mother. For example, the child is holding part-time jobs in order to pay for her own tuition fees. There are similar examples elsewhere. As a society, we should offer everyone opportunities to succeed. It is heartening to note that the President's Address touched on creating more
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opportunities for every Singaporean.
I shared these with the grassroots leaders, social workers, teachers and young parents in my constituency and they gave me some inputs. They felt that it is imperative that the help extended is founded on the right values. The groups they met included those who feel that they deserve more help from the Government. They want to be given and have their requests acceded to every time. They have also met other groups who were embarrassed. Although they needed help, they were afraid to openly request for assistance. And finally, another group where they can do with some help but they prefer to tough it out on their own.
In these cases, the Government can try to assist as much as it can and to create more opportunities for everyone to access the available help that we would generate. However, it is up to each individual to take ownership of their lives, to improve and better their lives and those of their families. Among the dialogue that we shared, there was also a very interesting subject, especially shared by young families and pre-school teachers in my constituency.
They told me stories of how neighbours of today pooled together what they owned to be shared. For example, sharing of baby prams, neighbours picking up one another's children from kindergarten when the other parents are busy, or parents watching their neighbours' children play at the playground.
This was similar to the old kampong stories shared by our seniors and I am confident that many of us today are able to connect well with parents, our families, our neighbours and our friends. Connecting with our neighbours goes beyond watering plants when you are away on vacation. Such a relationship and sense of belonging takes time to cultivate. Our Government has created more of the right kind of environment for people and families to bond.
Let me share an example of a project which I recently visited. The Cheonggyecheon River is located in downtown Seoul had been covered up with a highway built over it. In 2003, the Korean government initiated a restoration project to inject new life and removed the highway. Today, the river has walking paths on both sides of its banks decorated with artworks. Now, families and friends, as well as tourists, spend time there. It was then a very bold move; the amount of time and money invested, and the inconveniences caused during the restoration works.
Back home, I visit the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park fairly regularly. There are increasingly more people using the park for recreation; people exercising, cycling, walking their dogs and even dining. Families have their outings there and couples take wedding photos. The
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transformation of Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was made possible through efforts to create accessible community spaces for all to enjoy. I am extremely glad that we have such projects where agencies tried to inject new vibrancy to the place and the facilities that we have.
The Park Connector Network run by NParks links the parks in Singapore; allowing one to be able to enjoy nature trail from one end of the island to the other. Complemented by PUB's Active, Beautiful, and Clean Waters plan, it further transforms our concrete canals into what we have today in many of our parks and rivers.
I have a hope that businesses operating in such areas can partner the community to be even more relevant to the residents. In fact, I would like to suggest that tenders for such sites can also add elements of community projects as key considerations. This will ensure that our parks and rivers can further strengthen their roles as community integrators. To this end, I note that the HDB has just announced that it will pilot new projects to create more space for community bonding. I am particularly excited by the focus on neighbourhood linkways. The sheltered linkway today is indeed very well-utilised, especially during the morning and evening peaks.
Many residents often bump into one another along such linkways and strike up brief conversations. I am keen to be involved in HDB's plans to pilot an idea to re-create our linkway space as venues for deeper interactions. Hence, my only request for MND is for the agency to also pilot such plans in older estates, like Ang Mo Kio. Making available more seats and exhibits are a good start. What we need is a built environment that can generate space which can connect people.
To this end, I also hope that LTA can consider the vacant space below elevated MRT tracks. Of course, within safety consideration, we can do more to create community and recreational space. For example, our football cages under expressways are already well received. We can explore more of what we can do with such spaces. For example, the agencies can invite communities and the public to submit ideas on how they want to create more social integration using such space.
Today, we celebrate what those in the Pioneer Generation have toiled for and have given us the Singapore we presently live in. On the ground, we see many different examples of good values upheld by newer generations of Singaporeans. These values are manifested in different ways. For example, neighbourliness and residents bonding together through community activities, communicating and engaging one another through apps, group chats and Facebook pages. At the workplace, we have moved from being a low-cost production hub, to a cosmopolitan city. Many are wowed by new industries that we have, such as those
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in the biosciences, aerospace, data analytics, animations.
However, whether it is for these new jobs, old jobs or even freelance jobs, we should establish and instill a sense of pride in those who choose their respective vocations. Indeed, at the workplace, the live space and the play space, we must continue to offer breakthrough ideas. We need more \"integrators\" which can connect our businesses, professionals, communities and our families. I have no doubt that we will remain resilient as we continue to bond closer with one another.
The examples I see convinced me that these are values and oral history not just shared by our Pioneer Generation, but by today's generation. With the support of the right Government policies and the right environment, we have and will continue to pass on these qualities to future generations to uphold and upkeep.
Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, when Parliament first opened after the General Election in 2011, the President, in his Address, noted that our politics was becoming more diverse and open, and the composition of Parliament reflected this. He said that this was positive for Singapore and advised that only by getting our politics right and keeping it constructive and responsible would Singapore make progress.
The President, in his Address to the same Parliament in May 2014, devoted a section of his speech to \"Upholding Constructive Politics\". The President advised that the vigorous debate in this House should continue but we should not allow our differences to pull us apart and we should move ahead as one united people.
Constructive politics. Mdm Speaker, yes, this is what the Workers' Party and I believe in. This is the thought behind getting every candidate of the Workers' Party to recite the National Pledge at the end of our final rally in the General Elections. It is to remind us that despite our differences, we are all Singaporeans. The recitation of the National Pledge has now become a tradition of the Workers' Party.
Politics comes in many shapes and forms. One can describe politics by adding different adjectives in front or at the back of the word \"politics\". In the President's Address, the phrase \"constructive politics\" is used, I assume to be contrasted with \"destructive politics\". To me, in whatever way \"politics\" is described and coloured, it is still politics.
To me, what is important is the outcome of the political process. Here, what the President has described as the desired outcome of constructive politics is moving ahead as
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one united people. We must all remember constructive politics does not happen by the order of the Government, nor does it happen through a national conversation or public consultation.
To achieve the outcome of constructive politics in a diverse and open society like that in mature democracies and to nurture an environment conducive for it, require much effort, and everyone across the society has their part to play. There are three aspects to this: political values, political culture and impartial institutions trusted by the people.
Political values. Inculcation of political values needs to be undertaken in the young who have fresh minds. I suggest we take a hard look at the National Education syllabus in our schools. National Education should enable students to understand their rights and obligations as citizens in a democratic society, as well as values and concepts associated with democracy. These can include knowing and respecting the Constitution; understanding how the political system empowers the people to make decisions and to take responsibility for the decisions made; and also inculcating values like mutual respect, tolerance and diversity, as well as human dignity.
The youth are the future masters of the country and the political leaders of tomorrow. I believe Singapore will be a more stable and mature democracy if Singaporeans are in possession of democratic values, which will be the DNA enabling us to move ahead as one united people and mitigate against the worry expressed by the President of gridlock and paralysis in the hurly-burly of politics.
Political culture. The people should speak and decide via the ballot box what political culture we want as a country and politicians must be aware of what political culture we are building through our style of political engagement as well as our actions.
If the people continue to support a governing party that uses high-handed tactics against its political opponents, we are endorsing a bullying political culture. If the people support a governing party that uses government resources, including civil servants, to serve its partisan goals, we are condoning the abuse of political power as an acceptable culture.
Similarly, if you support a political party which believes in overthrowing the government by taking mass political action against the government regardless of the laws and proper channels to change things, you are building a culture of lawlessness. If you support a political party conducting its political engagement with a habit of playing racial politics, mud-slinging and launching personal attacks on its political opponents, you are building a thug political culture. If you support a political party with the habit of fixing its opponents, you are
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breeding a political culture of fear.
While all politicians play a role in building a political culture through political engagement, the Government is the dominant player of politics in Singapore, and plays a significant role. Using differentiating measures in policies to punish people who voted for the Opposition breeds a culture of divisive politics.
It also used to be said that the political incumbent has no obligation to level the playing field and might is right. And that the political incumbent has the right to use all legal means to remain in power because everyone will do it if they are the incumbent. This is building a self-serving political culture.
Building institutions of public trust. There is weakness in every political system, which could potentially result in political gridlock and paralysis that the President is concerned about. One such concern I have is the elected President system which is unique to Singapore. I am concerned that the efficiency of the Government can be paralysed by the President exercising his \"blocking power\" if the elected President and the Government do not see eye-to-eye.
To avoid gridlock and paralysis, it is critical for us to build institutions of state that the public trusts. There are two examples showing why building institutions that the public trust is important. Nearer to home, we have an ASEAN member – Thailand – that is in political gridlock today. I believe the political gridlock could have been avoided if the Thai King decided to play an active role to defuse the crisis, as he had done in the past. He is a constitutional monarch with largely ceremonial and symbolic powers, but he embodies the spirit and values of Thai society. Most importantly, his past behaviour of acting in the interest of the nation has been consistent over a long period of time, and has won the respect and trust of the Thai people.
Next, let us look at the United States Presidential Election of 2000 where the \"Florida Vote Recount\" episode threatened to derail political stability in the US with its political system's history of more than 200 years. The US was in political gridlock for weeks until the Supreme Court of the US made a ruling declaring George W Bush as the winner. Although the ruling was not without controversy and not all were happy with it, the US was able to move on from the political crisis without damage. This is because the people of the United States trusted their Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the Constitution and respected its rulings.
However, building such institutions is not easy. Public trust can be eroded very quickly due to political gaming, as seen in many countries when political infighting unravelled the
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efforts to build them. Building such institutions is the obligation of any responsible government and entails whole-of-Government efforts to protect these institutions from being perceived as political tools of the Government.
The key to the success of such institutions is public trust, not government trust. Therefore, the institution must be seen to behave impartially and to be above politics. Such consistent and predictable behaviour over a long period of time will gain public trust to enable them to play a stabilising role in a political crisis.
Strengthening our political system. Mdm Speaker, the sub-title \"Upholding Constructive Politics\" in the President's Speech is glaring to me. It is an expression of a direction of the Government's priority in its work plan to Parliament. This is unprecedented in President's Address since I entered Parliament in 1991.
I believe some will be cynical of the real meaning of \"Constructive Politics\" due to recent Government actions. For instance, media convergence regulations extended the individual licensing regime for print newspapers and TV broadcasters to online news sites; this could result in a loss of valuable political diversity when online news commentary sites run by passionate and dedicated volunteers decided to shut down rather than be subjected to onerous licensing requirements. This smells of Compliant Politics and not Constructive Politics.
However, it takes time for the establishment and citizen activists to internalise and put in practice constructive politics and to cultivate the thought as a norm for consideration in the decision-making process. I am of the view that bitter and negative experiences of citizens participating in politics, such as being detained without trial and becoming bankrupt, hamper us from moving towards constructive politics. We should also bear in mind that making personal attacks during political engagement does not help us to \"come together again\". Instead, the attitude of \"live and let live\" despite our differences and unhappiness with one another will help us to move ahead as a united people.
As we approach 50 years of nation building, I am happy to note that we have made political progress in strengthening our political system. Our political system today is more competitive and the Government is more responsive to the people. This augurs well for the future of Singapore as the geopolitical environment around us is becoming more dynamic, and the younger generation of Singaporeans are becoming citizens of a globalised world with diverse views.
The younger generation of Singaporeans today is better educated and the Internet connects us to the world instantly. Hence, the expectations and horizons of Singaporeans
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today are very different from the older generation; they expect better standards befitting a first-world Singapore not only in terms of hardware like physical infrastructure and efficient services, but also software like quality of life, as well as in politics and government responses.
Therefore, this is a timely realisation of the Government to put in efforts to enable a more robust political process, to cultivate political norms and to build an environment for constructive engagement in politics to safeguard the future of Singapore.
Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion to thank the President for his Address. Over the last few years, the Government has embarked on new directions in our economic and social strategies in response to changing environments. It has focused on restructuring for quality growth and stepped up social spending to strengthen safety nets and build an inclusive society. There have also been intense efforts to address Singaporeans' immediate needs in housing, transport, healthcare and education.
I have seen the positive impact of these strategies in Ayer Rajah constituency. My needy residents are benefiting from more generous, flexible and targeted Government assistance programmes. CHAS is helping more families with medical and dental expenses. I am particularly pleased to see childcare places boosted by 69% and fees dropped to as low as $3.50 per month for some families. There has also been a 41% reduction in housing issues raised during my Meet-the-People sessions.
My residents are enjoying a host of new facilities in our estates, from installation of CCTVs, completion of Pandan Park Connector, to renewal of our estate with the completion of the Teban Vista Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). Two much needed bus services were launched: a new City Direct service in February and a feeder service to Jurong East transport and commercial hub, just this month.
So, on behalf of my residents, I would like to express sincere thanks to the Government for responding to our needs and taking very concrete actions to improve our lives. While we continue to push for more to be done, it is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made on various fronts, including bold initiatives, such as MediShield Life and the Pioneer Generation Package.
Mdm Speaker, of the priorities outlined by the President, I would like to focus my speech on how Singapore must remain a nation of opportunity for all. The Government's efforts to provide stronger safety nets are clearly felt by the lower income and elderly Singaporeans. However, the same cannot be said for middle-income Singaporeans and those
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who work as Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs).
They are neither rich nor poor nor old. They struggle to cope with Singapore's rising costs of living. They feel intense pressure from competition for jobs. They feel most vulnerable to being made redundant, and with few safety nets to catch should a spouse lose his or her job, both usually end up working long hours just to keep employed. Many of them feel that their pathways upwards are constrained and that the Budget announcements have little impact on their lives. Their aspirations to upgrade their quality of life, whether house or car, now feel further out of reach with the imposition of recent housing and car policies.
So, in the spirit of an inclusive Singapore that inspires hope for all, I urge the Government to rethink policies that support this group so that they, too, may enjoy a fair share of Singapore's success. There have been a couple of recent examples – Government housing grants to those earning up to $6,500 and childcare subsidies to households earning up to $7,500.
I hope this trend of support will continue, offering the middle class a package of universal benefits to help them with essentials, such as housing, healthcare and children's education as well as access to unemployment insurance.
Many Singaporeans, including first-time flat owners, singles, low-income groups, have benefited from a slew of new housing policies, including recent cooling measures, introduced to stabilise property prices. However, the series of new policy tightening measures affecting Loan to Value (LTV), Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) and Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) have made property upgrading much more difficult for the middle-income group. This aspiration to upgrade is important to the middle class; many had worked hard towards this goal, only to be frustrated just when they thought it was within reach.
Madam, let me illustrate with a typical example. A household looking to upgrade will save enough to place a deposit for a new private property, continue to stay in their current flat and sell it only when the new property is ready, usually a few years down the road.
Under the new housing rules, the new property will now be considered a \"second\" property, with the imposition of restricted financing and upfront payment of ABSD. Whilst I appreciate the need for TDSR to avoid over-commitment, the combined burden of a maximum loan value at only 50% and ABSD of 7% upfront cash, will usually put upgrade out of reach. We should keep in mind that TDSR has already raised the bar for many by including total debt obligations capped at 60%.
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So, as the President said, \"Home ownership has made an enormous contribution to levelling up our society\". We should, therefore, review policies so that genuine upgraders have a chance to realise their aspirations and \"level up\".
I suggest that the Government consider collecting ABSD upon completion of the new property rather than upfront. And if the upgrader sells the first flat within a specified period, he should not need to pay ABSD at all. If the upgrader ultimately ends up owning only one property, then the Government should also allow an 80% loan-to-value ratio for those upgrading to private property, which aligns it with the same rules for upgrading to Executive Condominium.
Madam, many middle-income Singaporeans work as PMEs and they do not feel secure in their jobs. They feel intense competition from the influx of foreign talent and this is despite the Government's assurances that foreign manpower inflows have been tightened and good jobs will be created for Singaporeans.
In TAFEP's recent report, more than half the complaints about unfair employment practices relate to preferential treatment of foreigners. Many Singaporeans believe that they are passed over for jobs that they can do because foreigners come cheaper, without the need for CPF contributions, are free of National Service obligations, or simply because the employers prefer to bring their own friends, buddies and families from overseas to fill vacancies.
I have spoken often on the plight of our PMEs and was encouraged when MOM announced the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), due to take effect on 1 August 2014. Under FCF, companies are required to advertise on a new jobs bank for 14 calendar days before they submit Employment Pass applications.
As the Manpower Minister said, its purpose is to send \"a strong signal to all employers that they should consider Singaporeans fairly in filling available jobs\".
However, no prescription is made of an employer on the actual selection of a suitable candidate, other than to ensure employers post the job vacancies. The merits of the firm's final hiring decision are left entirely to them. The Manpower Minister further emphasised that FCF is not about \"Hire Singaporeans First\" – but many are asking, \"Why not?\"
Madam, I applaud the Government for their continuing efforts to accord significant benefits and priorities to citizens, from housing, primary school ballot, school fees to healthcare assistance. I believe it is time that we also start to give priority to Singaporeans for jobs they can do, if they possess the qualifications and experience required. It is time that
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we move our manpower policies for PMEs from a defensive, anti-discrimination position to one where we actively promote and champion the hiring and development of Singaporeans.
Whilst Singapore must remain open and leverage international talents that bring expertise, employers should be obliged to prove that if a foreigner is hired to fill a job, it is only because there is no suitable locals who can do it. Such labour market test practices are already in place in many leading international centres, such as Hong Kong and the UK. The infrastructure developed under FCF, such as the national jobs bank, should pave the way for us to progress to the next stage of Singaporeans first for jobs they can do.
This will mean more scrutiny of companies' employment decisions to examine if qualified Singaporeans were given priority. Of course, Singaporeans must still prove themselves able to take on the jobs they aspire to do, but they should get the \"first bite of the cherry\". This approach will go a long way towards assuring our PMEs and the 40,000 to 45,000 young Singaporeans entering the job market every year, of which two-thirds seek PME jobs.
On a related point, I propose that employers who qualify to hire foreigners are obliged to set up a formal system to train and develop Singaporeans as part of their manpower policies.
Madam, I applaud the Government for their commitment to develop career pathways and strengthen our system of Continuing Education and Training to help Singaporeans upgrade skills and develop expertise to meet the needs of the industry. However, the Government cannot achieve the desired results alone, and companies are often in the best position to provide the industry exposure and relevant career development for future jobs, especially the leadership jobs.
So, I believe it is time that companies play a much larger role in the proactive and systematic development of Singaporean workers. We should have a framework that requires employers to ensure that skills are being transferred to locals, as part of their Employment Pass approval process. It could be in the form of training and mentorship of Singaporeans to prepare a pipeline of talent for future vacancies as well as local Singaporeans being groomed to succeed key positions. This process can start with companies or sectors with high concentrations of foreign PMEs.
I believe that the current negative sentiment against foreign talent will ease when Singaporeans no longer feel that their livelihoods are threatened. And when they feel they have much to gain from a systematic transfer of skills and knowledge from foreign colleagues who bring expertise, I believe Singaporeans' attitude towards them will be more welcoming.
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The Government can aid this effort by putting in the right systems.
Madam, I am cheered by the President's call for those who do not succeed at first to \"always have the chance to try again.\" Singapore and Singaporeans have worked hard to earn a global reputation for always delivering results and for being dependable. Unfortunately, one unintended consequence of this relentless drive for achievement is a diminished tolerance for failure – for which Singapore has often been labelled the \"kiasu\" capital of the world. For the average Singaporean, this could lead to a tendency to avoid taking risks, or to be just \"a pair of safe hands\". But this also can lead many to \"play not to lose\" rather than to \"play to win\".
We need to change the cultural acceptance of failure, so that those who stumble are encouraged to pick themselves up and try again until they succeed, whether they are schoolchildren, sports persons, business owners or professionals. We need to offer second, or more, chances to those who did not get it right, to make good and get onto that upward pathway. We need to be a nation of opportunity even for those who have missed the mark but who are willing to try again.
Mdm Speaker, over the last 50 years, Singapore's journey has been transformative – we have created good jobs and safe and comfortable homes for our people; we are taken seriously on the world stage; we remain one of the best global cities in which to live and work. And still, the President sounds an inspiring note of confidence by saying, \"Our best years lie ahead\".
Let the next 50 years be marked, not just by success of a few, but the progress and prosperity at every level of society, so that all can live out the Singapore Dream.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion to thank the President for his Address and his call for our people to push for a better Singapore. In particular, the President has highlighted the commitment to create conditions for every Singaporean to enjoy a better quality of life, strengthen safety nets and creating more opportunities for working adults to have fulfilling careers; to keep learning all their lives and realise their dreams and aspirations. It is with great hope and fervour that I look forward to this direction and action plan mapped out for us. The Government and our people, in carrying out this action plan, will need to work together and build strong bonds with each other, be prepared to dispense with old ways that do not work and embrace future challenges with the right belief and attitude.
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Since being elected as a Member of Parliament in 2011, I have been actively advocating and championing the rights of the Professionals, Managers and Executives. I am particularly heartened that the President in his Address mentioned that, if I may quote, \"We will focus not only on the low-income workers but the middle-income Singaporeans and PMEs, too.\" Today, we see that the Government has made major policy shifts and good progress in various aspects concerning PMEs in the last three years alone. The list is an extensive one. From the recent Employment Act (EA) amendments to the impending changes to the Industrial Relations Act; the introduction of the Fair Consideration Framework and National Jobs Bank; the upcoming formation of a Small Claims Employment Tribunal (SCET); the expansion of the Tripartite Mediation Framework (TMF); the introduction of the Protection from Harassment Bill and many other manpower policy shifts for the benefit of PMEs. Many of these PMEs belong to the middle class or otherwise known as the \"sandwich\" class and these legislative changes are, in my view, bold, resolute and watershed in some cases. The Labour Movement lobbied for many of these and warmly welcomes these pro-active changes to prepare our people and country for the impending changes to our workforce profile and demographics.
We have also been advocating strongly the implementation of 4Ps to support PMEs for more than a year – namely, Protection, Placement, Progression and Privileges. These will be the key thrusts for the Labour Movement and we have developed this to help our PMEs to succeed and would be most happy to partner our tripartite partners in this endeavour.
We would like to exhort our local PMEs that they are not alone in facing the challenges brought about by greater global competition, changing technologies and shifting markets. NTUC is ready to provide them with a helping hand. We have started establishing two PME Centres in this year alone. We are learning and building our capabilities to better serve PMEs in their time of need. We are prepared to \"Do More, Do Better, Do Well and Do Together\" with them.
The first key thrust for PMEs must be Placement and the availability of good jobs for our graduates at all levels, be it tertiary, polytechnics and higher institutions. If you look at Europe and the United States, the high labour costs and high influx of tertiary graduates have led to structural unemployment in which there is an oversupply of PMEs than jobs available.
The Euro zone crisis perpetuated structural issues that they have long been facing. Greece's unemployment rate was at 26.4% in 2013, while Spain's was close behind at 26.3%, and Portugal at 17.5%. The resulting diaspora from the unemployed, seeking a livelihood, has resulted in social issues: families displaced and lower bargaining rights of workers. There are many PMEs in the Euro zone who are compelled to take on lower value jobs to make ends meet and a significant proportion of youth unemployment in Spain and Greece. This is
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surely not a scenario that we would like to see befall our PMEs in Singapore.
In terms of progression, it remains imperative that we support our PMEs to equip them and deepen their competencies for their career development. The establishment of the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability and the WDA's Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar by the Government is an important step in this direction. Nonetheless, no amount of hardware and infrastructure will replace the individual human desire and determination to improve one's lot in life. Mental fortitude, right believing and emotional resilience are qualities needed to help our people succeed, given their busy lifestyles, multitude of commitments and hectic schedules. We need to go beyond employability skills in defining what our workers need and give them the competitive edge. Although there are those who do, there are also companies setting up base in Singapore still preferring to harness the best from their own countries and avoid employing Singaporeans in senior or mid-level positions. The often-cited reason is that we do not have the experience or world-view expertise to be able to perform on the job. I hope our local PMEs can be given a chance to prove themselves. I would like to repeat my call for employers to develop and strengthen the Singaporean Core; coupled with a speedy up-skilling process for our local PMEs to close the gaps, if any. My advice to local PMEs is to take the bold step to embrace this if the opportunity is given.
A three-pronged approach is needed to build up the competencies and profile of the Singaporean PME workforce. First, our PMEs must be prepared to make a mental model shift in spending time – not just company-supported time – to cultivate a second skill or what I first mooted during this year's Budget debate speech as a Pi-shaped skill, to ensure lifelong employability or fulfil their aspirations. What WDA and Caliberlink have done in initiating a trial version of an Individual Learning Portfolio for PMEs is encouraging. I would like to call for it to move on from a trial basis and apply it across all our PMEs and their employers to achieve maximum results. I cannot emphasise more the need for attitudinal changes to focus less on paper qualifications and greater mapping and development of each individual's abilities, skills and aptitudes according to the various industries and attainable levels they are in. Let us remove the different glass ceilings and allow each individual PME to reach for the skies regardless of the job they are in, as long as they are prepared to put in the hard work required and have the right positive attitude and mindset, come what may.
Second, the system and training regime instituted by the Government have to support the aspirations of the individuals. Three main areas need to come under review.
(a) The Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) should be expanded to include an even greater PME-focus rather than just focusing on rank-and-file and mid-level technical jobs alone. Perhaps, it could be renamed as \"Workforce Skills and Knowledge Certification\" (WSKC) to reflect the knowledge economy that we are in and how employers would need
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their employees to multi-task and be adaptive to changes in work processes, automation and products. We must be able to implement multiple pathways for PMEs to embark on career progression – from a junior executive to a mid-level one and to become a senior leader in both public institutions and private corporations. All employers, regardless of public or private sector, should take the lead in this.
(b) Currently, Government funding support for training and development is mainly tied to the needs of industries and employers. This could be related to the policy of a SDF Levy on employers. There should be greater accessibility to the lifelong learning fund by individual PMEs, assisted or guided by a career coach from a CET Centre. If all great athletes have great coaches and mentors, why should we not extend this to our PMEs with a ready menu of training programmes to sign up for and mentors and coaches to help them navigate and negotiate the challenges? In addition to accessibility, I would like to urge for a review of the current absentee payroll which is pegged at the same rate as rank-and-file. It is implausible for employers to release their PME staff for training as the salary portion to be recovered may be insufficient. Besides, our current offerings are confined to different industry verticals and may well lack sufficient choices to inspire our PMEs.
(c) The Government should promote second skilling and provide incentives for employers who allow their employees to pursue a second skill during their working hours. This may sound ridiculous to some employers. However, there is a reason why companies like 3M, Ideo and Google have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. By implementing a work regimen and routine, it stifles creativity and innovation. Employees should be allowed to tap into the lifelong learning fund set up by the Government for training and development in a CET Centre with the support of the employer. There should be quality programmes aimed at strengthening the attitude and aptitude of employees provided by the CET Centre. Employees should be permitted to request from their employers individual-initiated training and learning leave capped at a certain number of days, per month or per year. I applaud those who have started doing so.
Third, employers play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of this paradigm shift in training and development. Employers should understand that further increases in productivity, with a tightened foreign manpower supply, is only possible when their local employees are upgraded in their skills and abilities. On the other hand, a common lament by PMEs is that the skills and knowledge they have acquired through training do not lead to a corresponding increase in their income.
The Progressive Wage Model (PWM), as mooted by NTUC, can help to bridge this gap and result in growth in real wages for PMEs. We have noted the decline of labour productivity over the past five years with increasing concern. Overall, labour productivity has
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remained flat at 0% in 2013, especially for the manufacturing, infocomm and logistics sectors.
In an adult training survey by MOM, training participation is a mere 32.5% for economically-active Singaporeans in 2013. Compared to a decade ago, I am seriously afraid we may fall down the slippery slope. I strongly urge employers to support and send their PME staff for continuous education and training. We should not wane our efforts and view labour productivity in silos but draw the links with upgrading efforts and remuneration together as a whole package.
Other than pay, employee satisfaction is also crucial to their productivity. Happy employees are quite simply the most productive employees. Without an all-in-one approach, any efforts to increase productivity through foreign labour or automation alone will not see any significant increase. I would like to urge employers and the Government to take the bull by its horns and put the workers' needs as the primary consideration in this three-pronged approach to career progression and labour productivity.
In my maiden speech in Parliament in 2011, I highlighted my concern for mature PMEs. Today, in 2014, I am still worried about the plight of the vulnerable above-40 group of PMEs when they are retrenched or have lost their jobs. Over the past three years, I have met and chatted with many mature PMEs. Notwithstanding, some of the legislative changes and policy shifts fleshed out are going to benefit them. In fact, this morning, in The Straits Times, in a page 2 article, it reiterated the point that degree holders are most vulnerable to retrenchment.
According to redundancy statistics from MOM, based on the first quarter in 2014, Singapore has a total of 2,900 workers retrenched or having early termination of their contracts. This is the highest redundancy figure for Q1 since 2010. In particular, PMEs with tertiary qualifications were less likely to be unemployed than non-PMEs. However, PMEs, especially the mature ones, typically stay unemployed longer. While there is nothing we can do to circumvent the decisions of companies to uproot and shift their operations to another country, we should look into developing supporting measures to help the vulnerable group, who may have heavy financial commitments. Many of our mature Singaporean PMEs are understandably worried about being laid off in their jobs since they have to cater for elderly parents, young children and sustain the high costs of living.
In a retrenchment scenario, we cannot assume that the affected PME will be able to find his or her job and bounce back; having to face the harsh realities of the job market afresh. We have to accept that not all skills, knowledge and experience are transferable in different industries. Hence, many PMEs may take easily half a year to one year or even longer to find or land themselves in another job, usually at less pay. My question here is: why should we leave those who are unsuccessful in joining the workforce embittered about the system
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having failed them?
We have made good progress in introducing new laws and policies but it is also timely for us to look at how we can better our systems, laws and policies to assist local PMEs in a targeted manner when restructuring takes place. For example, in the financial industry, foreign banks tend to lay off employees in global restructuring exercises on an ongoing basis. Will such industries consider including a more comprehensive suite of employment assistance for their employees? This may come in the form of subsidies and payments to recognise their years of service and where possible, it can be negotiated with the unions in the unionised environment and, at the same time, help them upgrade or reskill for their next job. In this way, it can act as a form of unemployment insurance of sorts to tide them over.
I am conscious that this proposal will be viewed with aversion by businesses and employers. If a PME is laid off through no fault of his or her own, employers, indeed, have a moral responsibility to see through the career transition for them. Retrenched employees also have to bear an unwanted social stigma and we should design a support programme to lift them out of their situation. They need our help to kick-start the engine again so that they would be able to continue on their journey. In this regard, the National Jobs Bank should pay special attention to this group of employees and facilitate their career transition.
Other employment vulnerabilities that we need to beef up for the protection of PMEs include the hire-and-fire policies of some irresponsible employers and a lack of job fit for our young PME entrants. For the former, it is important that we speed up the amendments of the Industrial Relations Act to allow current rank-and-file unions to represent them.
For the latter group of young PMEs, I would encourage them to pursue their primary passions and interests while seeking to complete their tertiary education for a degree. The pursuit of paper qualifications hinges on the belief that this would help them land their dream job. The market reality could be very different as the complexity and pace of work may not be what they have imagined it to be. Young PMEs must have the tenacity and panache to accept whatever that is coming along their way and not lose sight of what they want to achieve in life at the same time. In whatever they have a passion to do, their aim is to be the best in whatever they may be.
Even upon securing the job, there is still a myriad of work-life factors that our local PMEs will consider before they can conclude they have the best job – such as whether t\t(In English): \tMdm Speaker, what I would like to spark off is a collective desire by our people and our Government to confront the challenges and to take action. In supporting the motion to thank the President, I would like to call upon all of us to believe right so as to live right. We can and we will make Singapore a better home for everyone.here are opportunities for career advancement, fair treatment by employers, having work-life balance and good remuneration.
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NTUC's vision is to create both better workers and better jobs. Similarly, I believe the Government can play a greater role to align policies to augment the security of jobs of PMEs and help them to achieve their best. Protection of one's job should evolve from being just workplace-focused to one that encompasses social, environmental and pro-family policies to provide the conditions for PMEs to thrive in. Mdm Speaker, in Mandarin.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I am pleased to see that in the last three years, the Government has paid more attention to the interests of local PMEs in various aspects, such as legislative and policy changes.
Over the past three years, I have talked to many local PMEs, young, middle-aged and old, who shared with me their feelings. They are concerned with three things: first, protection; second, placement; and third, career progression.
I have three suggestions. First, training programmes should cater to individual needs and interests. Second, to operate in a tightening labour market, employers should pay even more attention to productivity enhancement and try to maximise their human resources to cope with the labour crunch situation. Employees should also be willing to accept continuous learning and training. I hope local PMEs can plan for the future, learn a second deep skill and develop a mindset of lifelong learning. Third, for mature PMEs, I am concerned about their employment prospects. I hope employers do not discriminate against them because of their age and change their mindsets.
I remember there is this Chinese idiom: \"In the Yangtze River, the waves behind drive on those before.\" It is a good phenomenon; however, we do not want the waves behind to crush the ones before them entirely, leaving the latter to die on the beach!
(In English): Mdm Speaker, what I would like to spark off is a collective desire by our people and our Government to confront the challenges and to take action. In supporting the Motion to thank the President, I would like to call upon all of us to believe right so as to live right. We can, and we will, make Singapore a better home for everyone.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): Mdm Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion of thanks to the President for his Address to Parliament at the Opening of the Second Session of the Twelfth Parliament. The major thrust of his message is a call to all Singaporeans to renew our commitment \"to address the concerns and aspirations of our people to build a better future\". President Tan's Address also outlined the Government's strategies to continue to build a more inclusive society, a nation of opportunity for all Singaporeans to
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succeed, regardless of his or her starting point.
While very much was covered in President Tan's Address and the Ministries' announcements in the Addenda to the President's Address, I want to highlight a key point – that we must ensure that we do not forget the very \"people\", that is, Singaporeans, that these strategies set out to benefit. Whether we are talking about job opportunities, the quality of bus services, a cleaner, greener, safer or smart nation, affordable housing and home ownership, healthcare, strengthening of our social safety nets, changes to our education system or even our political discourse and debates – what is important is not only how efficient and effective these strategies are but what they do and mean for the people they are meant to serve.
I think it is timely that President Tan reminded us of constructive politics and I take it to mean Singaporeans first. And here, I think it is important for us to point out that when a policy is good, regardless of party, we should say it is good so that we can continue that. But when a policy is not landing so well, we need to listen to the ground, we need to hear our people, we need to have dialogues, we need to have conversations. They matter and we need to hear that and from that, refine the policies. I think that is what constructive politics is.
Keeping our pathways upwards open for all. I would like to use an example to talk about how we ensure that no single point in our education will wholly determine our future. I would like to use the example of Jane, not her real name, a resident who came to see me to seek help some years ago. She had gotten into trouble with the law and she was appealing for leniency. As I spoke to both Jane and her parents, I realised that Jane had dropped out of secondary school the year before. This prompted me to ask her what she enjoyed doing and what she thought she was good at and she said, \"Hey, I enjoy language and I think I am good at writing.\" Then I asked her, \"Do you want to go back to school?\" And she said, \"Yes, but I am embarrassed because I will be older than my classmates if I go back. This is a year later and people will know that I have got into trouble.\" Well, I said, \"It's okay.\" Her parents also were surprised because they told me that, with her track record, she was not going to stay in school. But I said, \"Let's try\", since she was the one who asked for it. And with the help of MOE, I would say that I am glad that we were able to get her back to her secondary school. And, at least I thought, things were settled.
Then, recently, while doing my house-to-house visits, I chanced upon Jane's family. I did not recognise her father who was smiling at me. I knew I had met him before but was not quite sure where. And he said to me, \"Don't you remember me? Jane is doing quite well; she has completed secondary school and she is now in an institution of higher learning.\" And I saw Jane herself and I was very pleased because she spoke to me. She is a very confident young lady, smiling, saying to me, \"I am glad I went back to school, and guess what? I am
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now in an institution of higher learning doing a course I enjoy, and I think I am going to be able to find a job that I enjoy.\"
The point I am making with this example is that we have to ensure that regardless of what happens, that one point, that one failure in our system does not determine our future. I am glad it did not for Jane and I am glad that the system allowed her to continue.
While recognising the importance of education and making sure that we have education for all, I am glad that MOE is continuing to improve our system to allow a distinctive education programme for secondary schools to widen it, to allow students to hone their interest and their talents across diverse fields. While recognising the importance of academic knowledge, MOE has also stressed that we need to go beyond academics and continue on the momentum on values education and also applied learning. This will support our young with skills to succeed in life as we prepare them for jobs and for opportunities that do not even exist today.
Paul Tough in his book \"How Children Succeed\" put forward the assumption of what he called the character hypothesis – the notion that non-cognitive skills, like persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, grit and self-confidence, are crucial for children to succeed, as important as intelligence, if not more. And he did a study, not in Singapore but in America, and found that on both ends of the socio spectrum, when children were deprived of adversity, or not given support, institutions of adversity, what happens is that they do not hone those very important skills to build character.
In the lower end, if they face so much difficulty like low nutrition, lack of education, poor support system, family trouble and these things got too difficult, they usually fail. At the upper end, too, when they get cushioned from childbirth, where they have baby-proofed nurseries to being financed all the way to young adulthood without any adversity, that does not augur well for them as well.
So, what works? It is about a system that helps build character, value and also support. And I think that is what our school system is now trying to do. So, this branding of \"character\", credibility and sound reputation has been the cornerstone of Singapore's success for the last 49 years and we need to continue to build this \"character\" in our young.
I would like to now touch on the point of opportunities. Like many developed societies, income inequality in Singapore has widened and social mobility has slowed down with development. While there is upward mobility in Singapore, we must recognise that the pace is slower. And key to this is that there must be early intervention and specific support given to the disadvantaged groups so that we can continue to support social mobility of this
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segment.
So, I think it is vital that we push initiatives that support social mobility as early as pre-school to enable those born with less to get a good starting point and allowing many paths for success and access to learning. To ensure that students are not denied these opportunities to progress due to their financial circumstances, I am glad that we continue to have programmes like the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme, Edusave Merit Bursaries as well as the Opportunity Fund.
Policies to also redistribute resources and level up the lower income, like the Workfare Income Supplement, have been introduced and enhanced over the years. These are to support our lower-income Singaporeans with cash payouts and CPF contributions to supplement their income and retirement savings, but they are also designed to encourage a culture of personal responsibility of work.
Given the size of Singapore, to support growth and mobility, our opportunities must also extend beyond our shores. We must ensure that our people and companies are able to take advantage of growth prospects both in Singapore and internationally. Globalisation and technological advances will facilitate this. In the Addenda, it was stressed that with our open and business-friendly environment, our skilled workforce as well as our developed infrastructure, our reputation for good governance, we are well positioned to participate and capitalise on these growth opportunities in Asia. This will provide more opportunities for Singaporeans and also for more PMET jobs albeit in a more competitive global environment.
Our founding father Mr S Rajaratnam had said, \"Once you see Singapore as a global city, the problem of hinterland becomes unimportant. For a global city, the world is its hinterland.\" I think it is important we must create these opportunities because, otherwise, mobility and opportunities will be limited for our Singaporeans.
MOM's Addendum to the President's Address has also stressed that the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Masterplan 2020 will focus on addressing the challenges of economic restructuring, making the CET system more responsive and relevant to the evolving needs of industries, companies and individuals. This is important to ensure that we prepare Singaporean workers, including PMETs, for the specialist, managerial and leadership roles in the economy.
I think an important point in the Addendum that I must stress – and I was very pleased to see – was the partnership that was declared between MOE, MOM, MTI and industry to be able to do this because it is a crucial point; you cannot do it Ministry by Ministry and you
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need industry's involvement. So, in tandem with economic growth – and I think Mr Liang Eng Hwa stressed this point – economic growth is still necessary because we have to then create jobs to help more PMETs to get jobs. And, as many have pointed out in this House, 40,000 to 45,000 young Singaporeans are expected to enter the workforce every year, and many of them for the next three years, and many of them are PMETs.
So, while we develop our people and stay abreast of industry changes and request our people to stay relevant, I do implore companies to also restructure, change the way we do work and more importantly, tap the local workforce. Yes, we have labour constraints; yes, there are challenges in getting foreign workers that you want. But there is a workforce, the Singapore workforce. And I ask that work conditions, the way work is done, that we really look at how we can do that well and tap the Singaporean base. I also implore that SMEs continue to tap MTI's investments over the next three years to help SMEs restructure.
I would like to now touch on the quality of life. For many measures, Singapore has achieved much over the last 49 years; whether we talk about medical care, quality of homes, high education and literacy levels for both our men and women, connectivity, infrastructure, low unemployment rates and income levels. I think many will agree that we have achieved much in these areas.
I would like to use the example of water supply to illustrate this point. As many of us are aware, early this year we experienced a month of very hot and dry weather. Despite this, I do not know whether Singaporeans realise the importance of this. We did not have to do water rationing like some other countries. And the reason was not just because we were lucky. The reason was we had invested in desalination and NEWater plants which now provide 55% of our country's demands. This has reduced our reliance on imported water and rainfall, giving us a safety measure that did not exist 10 years ago. So, this is an area – and I think in many other policy areas – I will just use this as an example that I think we have to realise we have made quite a bit of progress.
But, despite these advancements and improvements, I think many Singaporeans are still expressing concerns over the high cost of living in Singapore. Like many developed cities, rising cost is a challenge and there are good reasons, like higher income and a tight labour market. However, as Warren Fernandez had outlined in his commentary in The Sunday Times yesterday, we must take heed to understand Singaporeans' concerns on rising costs of living and understand – is this sustainable and how is it really impacting Singaporeans and Singapore's competitiveness?
With an ageing population, these cost concerns are creating additional anxieties over retirement adequacy and increasing Minimum Sum amounts. Our CPF savings and annuity schemes must be improved to allow Singaporeans to plan better for their financial
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commitments when young and options to unlock the value of their savings and assets when they are older.
So, apart from the Government's commitment to continuing to uphold good governance with responsible financial management, fair and consistent system of rules and law and a first-class public service, I believe we have entered a new phase of nation building with Our Singapore Conversation (OSC). In his Address, President Tan touched on the fact that the Government will pursue new strategies to achieve our goals and approach to nation building for a better Singapore. OSC is the start of this journey, together with all Singaporeans.
The OSC, which began almost two years ago, involved some 46,000 citizens and distilled five broad themes which centred on:
(a) providing opportunities for all Singaporeans;
(b) building a caring and compassionate society;
(c) allowing Singaporeans to have peace of mind on needs, such as affordable healthcare;
(d) a kampung spirit; and
(e) trust and collaboration between voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), the Government and the community.
The fact that the main thrusts of the President's Address cover these themes is a testament to the inclusion of the voices of citizens. The OSC is not a one-off process; it is a conversation and a conversation that must continue.
Singapore is special. As we transform to address the new opportunities and challenges that we face as a people, let us also not forget the values that enabled us to be successful as a nation, the very fabric that makes us Singaporean – one united people regardless of race, language or religion. There are many things about the efficiency and effectiveness of Singapore that make us unique. However, going forward, what will enable us to succeed is an environment of mutual support.
Mdm Speaker, as we start the next lap of our journey, our chances of success in the next 50 years will be all the stronger and the journey more enjoyable when we come
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together as one people – Government, Private Sector and Citizens – where each not only identifies with the goals but participates and builds this inclusive society that we are striving for. Keeping the will of our people alive and strong will determine the success and the future of this nation. We should be bold and willing to compete with the best in the world. Mdm Speaker, I support the Motion.
Mdm Speaker: Order. I propose to take the break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair again at 3.55 pm.
Sitting accordingly suspended
at 3.31 pm until 3.55 pm.
Sitting resumed at 3.55 pm
[Mdm Speaker in the Chair]
[(proc text) Debate resumed. (proc text)]
Ms Tan Su Shan (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, allow me to declare my interest as a banker.
Our President talked about \"constructive politics which puts the people first\". Though this is understood, it is not easy when we have to balance the immediate needs and interests of people on the ground, and yet make the right, sometimes painful decisions to prepare us for a world that is changing and at an unprecedented pace.
I liken this to having one eye on a telescope and one eye on a microscope. The telescope looks outwards and afar, at big mega trends happening globally and how Singapore needs to adapt to stay ahead. These global mega trends include the digital revolution, the rise of the Asian middle-class consumer and the rapid urbanisation trends happening around us. It also includes the pressing issue of sustainability of our environment and the real costs of mother nature's resources, including food and water.
The microscope looks at issues closer to home, whether to do with rising costs, transport, housing, education or healthcare. Both lenses are important and I hope that this House will always maintain robust debate that balances the need to look outside in and
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inside out.
For my speech today, I want to talk about preparing Singaporeans for the future. Firstly, with the silver tsunami upon us, are Singaporeans ready for retirement? Secondly, with the digital age changing the nature of jobs, are working age Singaporeans prepared and flexible enough to adapt to these changes? Also, with the rapid trend of urbanisation in Asia, and the growth of new urban cities elsewhere, is Singapore equipped to remain competitive as other cities compete for talent, resources and capital? Thirdly, are our environment and our education system equipping our youth for a good and sustainable future here?
Firstly, on the specific topic of retirement, there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is, according to an Oliver Wyman study in July last year, the average Singaporean working in full-time employment can expect an income replacement ratio of around 68%. This is well within the OECD recommended range. But the bad news is Singaporeans have some way to go in terms of knowledge and readiness for retirement planning and many do not seem to meet the Minimum Sum. Just looking at the huge amount of online media surrounding CPF now, some of them are very negative, it is clear we need to do more to educate CPF members. According to the MAS financial literacy report, less than one in three Singaporeans are aware of how much CPF they have. Many are also unaware of the need for some financial planning or asset allocation choices needed to beat the rate of inflation. According to another survey which is done by HSBC, 41% of their respondents said they could not save for retirement due to cost of day-to-day living.
So, can we do better with what we have in our savings or in our CPF balances? According to the same Oliver Wyman report, the average asset allocation of CPF balances is heavily skewed towards deposits on the one hand and property on the other. As of third quarter 2012, 51% of CPF balances, or $196 billion, are in fixed deposits; 41% or $156 billion are withdrawn for property purchases. Seventy percent of the balances that are eligible for investment remains allocated to deposits, earning the default interest rate.
In the Addendum to the President's speech, it was announced that CPF members will continue to enjoy a risk-free rate of 2.5% in their Ordinary Account (OA) savings. An extra 1% per annum will also be paid on the first $60,000 in combined balances. In light of the current low global rates, this is not ungenerous. But the inflation rate in Singapore has averaged 4.1% over the last three years since our economic restructuring started. This is double the historic average inflation rate of about 2% and will erode the value of our CPF savings.
Hence, in calculating retirement adequacy, we may have to factor in a higher rate of inflation and it will be useful if the Government could give us a medium-term projection of our inflation rate. Since MAS has chosen to maintain a strong, stable Singapore dollar, we can surmise that most of our inflation cost may come from domestic cost pressures. So, being
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able to project the growth rate of our cost of living expenses will help us make the right choices outside of parking our surplus funds in cash deposits.
I had previously mooted the idea of Government-issued inflation-linked bonds to be purchased by lower income Singaporeans. Since we cannot seem to do this, then perhaps more and cheaper access to a diversified pool of higher interest bearing instruments should be made available to the public. This can be made available in the form of regular savings plans with listed bond ETFs or fixed income unit trusts that pay a regular dividend. Actually, some of these instruments are already available but due to the lack of knowledge, many Singaporeans have not availed themselves of these savings instruments. Even the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) represents less than 1% of CPF balances and 35% of that is still in cash.
The President said, \"We will enhance retirement adequacy to give greater assurance and peace of mind to all Singaporeans\". I think we need to do more from the ground up to engage and educate more Singaporeans to take ownership and to start early. As for the retirees who have had to take on manual jobs as they cannot afford to retire, I hope more can be done to re-deploy them into jobs that will not entail hard labour like cleaning toilets or sweeping roads. As a compassionate society, we owe it to our pioneer generation who do not have enough to retire on, to help re-deploy them in less physically taxing work.
My second point is about keeping the Singapore economy and Singaporean workers competitive.
With rising costs and a strong Singapore dollar, our current account surplus to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has been falling. This figure has been falling for the last three years and cannot be attributed to weak external demand alone. Our export competitiveness has been eroded by an appreciation of the Singapore dollar, real effective exchange rate (REER) and domestic cost pressures due to our tight labour market.
The restructuring of our labour markets has not fully resulted yet in the necessary productivity gains we need. Whilst productivity improvements take time, we will need to rein in costs or Singapore may \"price itself out of the market\". Whilst we can dispute the validity of many economists' report on Singapore being one of the costliest cities in the region, the fact is, as a First World City, we are no longer cheap. Do we have enough to stay ahead as our costs escalate?
Our labour force may be competent and even above average, but we may need to build more depth, more creativity and innovation to stay ahead. The digital revolution is creating a borderless world where good quality workers can reside anywhere. Are our workers
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prepared for the knowledge war of the future? Just recently, I met somebody from the West and they normally come to Singapore to have their rigs built. Singapore is well-known for being the best rig builder in the world. Guess what? Today, they are going to China and getting equally good, if not better quality rigs.
As other Members in the House have mentioned as well, our Asian rivals are competing now not just in low-skilled manufacturing but also in high-tech value-added services and products. This is why Singapore needs to push ahead faster with reforms to extend education and skills training for all. In this global skills race, there is no limit to the aspirations for upward mobility. But skills training alone may not be sufficient. We will need a culture and mindset shift now, including one where our workers are more open to change and innovation, even open to criticism and failure. So, as it is often said, how do we \"Think big, start small and scale fast\"? This may mean more proactive encouragement for our Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to send their staff for skills upgrading or learning new skills. It may mean more global exposure for our middle managers and business leaders to new disruptive technologies. It may mean further extensions and flexibility of implementation of our various Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) and innovation schemes.
As we are a small, wired city state, we have the right ingredients to create a smart digital city of the future. But what we will need to compete with other mega cities sprouting around us is not just with hardware but also software in the form of an enabled workforce who are prepared to try new things and constantly learn new skills and even be prepared to disrupt their own businesses. As the President said, \"Give all the opportunities to learn and keep the pathways open to all Singaporeans\".
Lastly, preparing our youth for a sustainable future.
Singapore is not alone in the appreciation of the connection between education and economic success. As countries with lower cost structures than Singapore build up their education system at a rapid pace, they will provide a source of highly skilled young talents at a much lower rate than developed markets. The current high graduate unemployment rate in the West and even in China should serve as a warning that investing solely in education does not guarantee a high value job.
Our education system will need to evolve if we are to rely on it to continue to drive our social mobility agenda. Also, our youth are growing up in a fundamentally different environment. They will be driving their own agenda and that agenda will define their generation.
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A typical student today has so many cognitive influences. They are accustomed to the rich interactions of social media, online games and instant information from the Internet. Our President rightly commented that \"Knowledge is obsolete\". Hence, our curriculum needs to change from one based on fact learning to teaching the skills necessary to evaluate information, discern larger patterns and develop critical thinking skills. It is good that many of our local schools are teaching codes these days and I hope we continue to emphasise the need to groom our students to become not just bilingual but also \"tech-lingual\".
I look forward to seeing what recommendations the ASPIRE Committee set up by MOE will come up with in this big debate over the linkage between education, knowledge, skills and careers. To stay relevant in the digital age, schools and educators can play bigger roles to encourage our youth to learn to collaborate, to stay open to lifelong learning, to stay humble and not be afraid of failure.
Lastly, to build a sustainable future for all Singaporeans, we will need to address the climate crisis upon us. Al Gore talks about the 90 million tonnes of carbon emissions being released each day and likens it to 400 Hiroshima bombs exploding daily. For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, the onus is upon us to look at this agenda seriously. It is already right at our doorstep, with the impending haze.
Policymakers cannot continue to just kick the can down the road – this is a global phenomenon – or the issues surrounding water, food and energy security will worsen, especially as the emerging markets develop and the world's population continues to grow. We may need to change the way we assess the true cost of our precious natural resource. GDP growth alone cannot be the sole measure of success of a country as it does not include negative or positive externalities like the impact on the environment, for example, or income inequality.
In conclusion, I would like to agree with the President that Singapore is not just a marketplace. We are not just a great city to live in, with good governance, low taxes, transparent policies and clean air. We are also a home for all Singaporeans. We have a soul, we are proud of our identity. As a Singaporean, I am proud of what our country has achieved in the last 50 years and in the next 50 years, I hope we can continue to build this home to be a strong, sustainable home, with a nation bonded by family, friendship, trust and shared values as one united people.
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Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): With your permission, Madam, may I ask the Clerk of Parliament to distribute a piece of handout to Members?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please proceed. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: Thank you, Mdm Speaker. Speaking as someone who works in the social services sector, I am glad for the changes that are taking place today. It is good that the Government is seeking to create a social service network to put 95% of where needy residents live or work within 2 km of a Social Service Office or a Family Service Centre, though I wonder where the remaining 5% live on our dense and compact island that put them outside the 2 km.
In any case, we are seeing today an unprecedented integration of social service provision, with better coordination among diverse Government departments in different Ministries and volunteer welfare organisations, and tools being developed, such as the national social service map and database.
When the Minister responded to the questions and calls to consider setting up a poverty line to guide policymaking with the kueh lapis graph which shows multiple lines of assistance provided by the Government to the needy and vulnerable Singaporeans, he has also set in my mind and in many Singaporeans' minds a very real image that there is now a social safety net in place.
Is the social safety net doing its job? Is the social safety net performing to help Singaporeans pick themselves up after a fall? Is the social safety net pulling families out of the poverty trap? How do we know that the temporary poor are, indeed, temporarily poor and are moving up the Government's different scales of help closer to median income self-sufficiency?
Mdm Speaker, the Prime Minister may be right to say that there are no dead poor in Singapore because no one here lives under the World Bank's extreme poverty line of $1.50 a day. But as he acknowledges, there are the relatively poor and temporary poor. These are Singaporeans who are experiencing a fraction of the standard of living enjoyed by the average Singaporean. We need to know whether the Government's multiple lines of assistance – the social safety net – are helping them and whether the overall situation is improving year on year.
I would like to propose that the Government adopt the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Social Protection framework to track the work and performance of our social safety nets. As defined by the ILO, the Social Protection approach calls for a \"fair and
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inclusive globalisation\" involving an \"integrated set of social policies designed to guarantee income security and access to essential social services for all, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups and protecting and empowering people across the life cycle\". Members will see that this already describes the Government's work-in-progress of integrating the social services as part of providing Singaporeans security and inclusive growth.
Conceptually, the Social Protection approach offers a two-dimensional social protection staircase. Members may refer to Figure 1 in the handout. The horizontal coverage, which is the Social Protection Floor, guarantees access to essential healthcare for all, income security for children, assistance to vulnerable groups, and income security for the elderly and disabled. The vertical dimension provides more comprehensive social protection coverage building on the Floor, such as state pension funds, employment insurance and comprehensive health insurance. The objective is to empower the households to become self-reliant and climb the staircase to higher income and higher levels of protection.
The merit of the Government's kueh lapis approach is that it demonstrates the principle of calibrating assistance to an adequate level to prevent dependency, free riding and abuse of the social protection scheme. It shows that the four essential guarantees of social protection can be tiered to provide different levels of assistance necessary to help people climb up and achieve social mobility and better social protection. This helps to preserve our work ethic and the independence and dignity of families in being able to provide for themselves. In recognition of this, we believe the floor of the Social Protection Framework should be differentiated into three steps in further elaboration of the protection staircase.
I would like to propose three Social Protection Steps be established and systematically pegged at 30%, 50% and 80% of the annual median monthly household income per member, rounded up to the nearest 50. Based on the 2013 median monthly household income per member of $2,247, this would be $700, $1,150 and $1,800 respectively. Figure 2 shows the Steps and the income ranges for 2014. It is notable that the current ComCare and CHAS eligiblity income caps are similar and this is perhaps not coincidental.
I propose that the Government consider publishing an annual State of Social Protection report to give an account of the state of vulnerable groups based on the Steps and to track the progress made. The Minister for Social and Family Development could present them at the Budget as a key component of the Government's inclusive growth approach. Key statistics on how many people, families, elderly and children are in the three Steps, how many received Government assistance and how many progressed on the three Steps should be published. This is important for several reasons.
The annual State of Social Protection report will make the Government accountable to the public on the progress being made in helping the vulnerable groups become self-
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sufficient and self-reliant and achieve higher levels of social protections. Current mentions of utilisation rate of ComCare assistance is not a proper measure of the objective of ComCare to help needy Singaporeans become self-reliant if they are capable of doing so. The Government needs to account to the public on the performance of its assistance programmes.
The statistics contained in the report will serve as the basis for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for evaluation, with which the Government can evaluate its assistance programmes in an objective manner and can use the set targets to achieve. An important set of KPIs is the percentage of total resident households making up each Step. If progress is being made to address vulnerability and reduce poverty, then the percentage of households making up the Steps, especially for Steps 1 and 2, should show a decline in percentages year to year and over medium terms of five years.
If over the next five years, the percentage of households making up Step 1 continues to fluctuate around my estimate of 19%, then, we would know that there is a need to evaluate the package of assistance schemes aimed at addressing the most needy of households, such as the Public Assistance and ComCare schemes.
Realistic long-term targets can also be set in the light of international experience. Across OECD countries, the average poverty rate, meaning the percentage of population earning less than half of the median income corresponding to both Social Protection Steps 1 and 2, was about 11% in the mid-2000s. We could aim to reduce the percentage of households making up Step 1 from 19% to 11% by 2030.
Annual tracking also offers an important awareness raising tool. An inclusive society can only be achieved if well-off members of the society are aware of the problems faced by the less well-off members and know how to take action to help their compatriots. It will enhance public awareness campaigns by the non-profit sector such as the Singaporeans Against Poverty project. Such public information also serves as baseline knowledge for building up more sophisticated multi-dimensional measures of poverty such as the UNDP's Human Poverty Index.
Published tracking findings will foster better alignment and coordination amongst NGOs, VWOS and state agencies as they will be relying on a common set of tracking tools to identify and service vulnerable groups. The Social Protection Steps will also enhance the use of the social service net that the Government will roll out by mid-2015.
As a positive side effect, the report will also concretely track the Government's progress in fostering a more inclusive growth through the improvement of the wages of low-income
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workers. As the Steps will keep moving up relative to median wages, wage stagnation among low-income workers will be made more obvious by the annual tracking of households using the Steps framework. Wage stagnation among low-income workers will appear as the increase in numbers and percentage of Step 1 and Step 2 households.
Mdm Speaker, last but not least, I propose the Government consider using the Social Protection Framework as the basis for public engagement and consultation to develop a national strategy to address vulnerability and reduce the relative poverty rate. When it comes to major issues such as economic development, productivity, urban planning and population policy, we have had the benefit of national strategies, roadmaps and masterplans galvanising public debate and feedback. However, because social assistance schemes are scattered across many Ministries and have only recently been collected and presented by the Government as the kueh lapis approach, we have not had the benefit of mobilising Singaporeans to co-create a national plan to combat vulnerability and become stakeholders in the national effort.
Surely, social development and income equity are as important as economic development in the \"inclusive growth\" approach. With three Steps pegged to median income, the proposed Social Protection Framework is adapted to our national context of encouraging self-reliance and inclusive growth and takes into consideration the many assistance schemes already put in place by the Government.
A single poverty line may well be too simple for the complex situations many needy and vulnerable Singaporeans have found themselves in. The Social Protection Framework offers a coherent basis for us to move forward to track the complex situations concretely and galvanise the vigorous debates for what the President called \"constructive politics\". Madam, in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Madam, in the President's Address during the recent Opening of the Second Session of the Twelfth Parliament, he spoke again about the importance for all of us to take the effort to build a society that is inclusive and open as well as fair and just, regardless of race, language and religion, to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for the nation.
He also said that the Government pledges to work with Singaporeans to address their concerns and aspirations in order to build a brighter future. One way is to pay attention to the people's voices to take part in OSC or Our Singapore Conversation.
Madam, Our Singapore Conversation or its Malay version, the Suara Musyawarah was held to collect feedback from all levels of society in order to improve aspects of Singaporean
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lives. For the first time, sessions at such a scale were held to give the people an opportunity to voice their concerns, hopes and aspirations so that Singapore can become a more conducive home. The community appreciates this initiative by the Government and hopes for a good outcome from this initiative.
The formation of the Suara Musyawarah shows that the Government agrees that there is a need for a more focused channel on Malay/Muslim community affairs. For the Malay/Muslims, the formation of the Suara Musyawarah is welcomed. This can be seen from the active participation of 500 individuals in voicing their concerns and aspirations openly, honestly and sincerely, in order to see positive developments and inclusivity for the Malay/Muslim community.
Madam, during the COS debates in March, I submitted that the issue of loyalty of the Malays to our nation, as stated in the Suara Musyawarah report, be given the appropriate attention, and efforts should be made to find the best possible solution. The Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, in his reply, said that the perception on this issue of loyalty comes from a small minority of the Malay/Muslim community. The Minister added that although such perceptions are present, the best way to overcome this matter is to refer such complaints to the relevant people and there is no need to form a committee. The Minister also said that many changes have taken place in terms of opportunities that are available in education, National Service and others from 1965 until today.
Madam, I would like to share an extract from the three final sentences that can be found in page 20 of the Suara Musyawarah report that touches on the issue of loyalty of Malay/Muslims. It states that, \"However, the concern that was raised, highlighted policies or practices that question the loyalty of Malays to this country. This perception is unhealthy and can flow into other aspects of life and create a split between communities here. Many have expressed hope that the issue of our community's loyalty can be resolved quickly.\"
From this extract, we can infer that many of the participants who took part in these Suara Musyawarah session, agree for efforts to be undertaken to find solutions to the issue of loyalty, because it can create a split between the communities, and this is not in line with the Government's call to build an inclusive society in Singapore.
I agree with the view that changes have taken place in terms of opportunities that are available in education, National Service and others from 1965 to today. I also believe that the Suara Musyawarah participants who voiced this issue can also see this change. However, I feel that these participants from all ages, ranging from the younger generation to the pioneer generation, may feel that this process of change which took almost 50 years and is still taking place, is rather long and slow, to the point that these participants wish to see a quick solution in order to achieve the objective of a more inclusive and more open Singapore
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society.
Madam, in line with the contents of the President's Address the other day, that the Government pledges to work with all Singaporeans to address their concerns and aspirations to build a better future, here I propose the formation of a committee whose members comprise the Government, Malay Members of Parliament and community leaders who will work to address and find solutions to the issue of loyalty that was mentioned in the Suara Musyawarah report. This effort will be in line with the expression used by the President, that is, constructive politics. Thank you, Madam.
Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang): Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the President for his Address primarily because it struck a chord of optimism and hope in what might otherwise be quite a challenging time for many in this world.
Let me start by talking about the area of Singapore being a land of opportunities. In many ways, Singapore is a very special place. The macro-economic policies of Singapore have played a very important part of this. For me, when I was at the Commonwealth youth conference about one or two years ago, one of the things that struck me was in the conversations with other members of the Commonwealth, the issues facing their youths were very different and very significantly different from Singapore. In many of their countries, the best countries, they had youth unemployment rates of about 20%. In some of the worst, it hit north of 80%. Our youth unemployment rate was about 4%.
In many ways, when we were thinking and talking about opportunities, we were looking at very different types of problems and very different types of issues. What struck me as quite ironical was that many countries were actually looking to us, to Singapore, to find out what we did that was so different from everyone else. This set me thinking as well. If I were to look at it, I think there are two things that are actually quite important in maintaining Singapore as a land of opportunities and making it an even better place.
The first is that we must have our macro-economic policies right and the second is that we need an education system that allows all Singaporeans to benefit from this. Let me start with the macro-economic policies and I will touch on this in more general terms.
By and large, Singapore has benefited because we maintain an open market. We have been open to investments; we have been open to businesses. We have also had a proactive Government that not only allows businesses to come in but also actively seeks out sectors, high-value sectors that will allow Singaporeans opportunities. For example, in this year's
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President Address, we see emphasis on the infocomm sector. We had previous developments in the biotech sector. And, more importantly, even as the society ages, there is mention of areas such as gerontology, medicine and nursing. What we find is that, for the economy to create opportunities at big levels, we need to get our macro-economic policies right.
But the macro-economic policies will only work if we have a skilled workforce and a workforce that has the appropriate mindset and attitude towards this. In this respect, I would also like to credit the school system for many things. And for this, I can actually share stories from my own area at Admiralty. It is very easy, when we talk about opportunities, we talk about high achievers and people who are doing well and for them to think the world is their oyster.
What is special about Singapore is that we create opportunities at all levels. One of the schools in my area is the Sports Singapore. Recently, I went for their 10th Anniversary celebrations. Speaking to many of the athletes there, one thing that struck me because they were all very grateful for being in the Sports School mainly because they had a flexible curriculum that allowed them to priortise their interests in sport and train during the day but, at the same time, keep up with their lessons in the evening. This flexible approach, I think required considerable investment and has allowed a group of Singaporeans who may not want to focus so much on academics still do so without losing out, and at the same time maintain their passion and interest in sport.
Another school that I visited recently, Christ Church Secondary whose charming Principal, Mrs Yeo Chin Nam always shares success stories. But her idea of success stories is very different from what we might normally think. She has many students who come from families with difficult backgrounds, sometimes struggling academically, sometimes dealing with lots of other issues. She makes it a point at every gathering, at every Speech Day, to share stories of how the school helped these students to overcome these adversities. Sometimes, she helps to build their confidence by introducing to them extra-curricular activities such as their Choir which is an award-winning one, and in many ways, finding ways to build their confidence. Again, one of the things that struck me was the sense of optimism coming out of this school, coming out of the students that I meet, even though many of them may have had tough backgrounds going in there.
One of the newest additions in my constituency – Spectra Secondary. Again, it is a quite a special school. It was one of the first schools that was started purely for Normal (Technical) students. I recently met the Principal, Mr Krishnan Aravinthan, and it was his first year in the school. While I was walking through the school, one of the things that struck me was how he managed to call out the students by name. I was quite impressed, and I asked, \"You are the Principal; how do you know all the students by name?\" He said, \"Well, some of these
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students, they may have had more learning difficulties, so you need to spend more time, more attention on them.\" But he had people and teachers who had the ability to deal with that. The investment was significant as well. When I went to some of the classrooms, they had some classrooms that were set up like hotel rooms so that people can pick up the necessary skills. Other classrooms were set up like supermarkets and another one set up like an industrial kitchen. In many ways, there is a lot of effort being put into training people at a very young age.
At the same time, there is a light-industrial park coming up next door. I asked if there are any plans to work with them, and he said, \"Once people come in, that could be a potential source of opportunities for work experience for some of my students if they wish.\"
Almost an entire ecosystem is being created with opportunities for people. These are very encouraging perspectives. In order for us to do well, everyone must have opportunities suited to them.
For the next section, let me say a few words in Tamil, in relation to SINDA's efforts as well. For this section, let me declare my interest as an Advisor to SINDA's Board of Trustees.
(In Tamil): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Education is very important in order to participate in Singapore's growth. In 1999, the passing rate of the Indian students in Mathematics was about 54%. This caused a concern to us, the Indian community. SINDA came forward to help address this problem. Our community is well aware of many of SINDA's activities.
Thousands of students study in SINDA's STEP programme classes. The fee is set very low for students coming from the lower-income group. Our students have progressed very well in the last 20 years.
In 2012, our students passing rate in Mathematics was about 80%. The good achievements made by SINDA could not have been made without the support of our community.
SINDA's operating cost, like other costs, will increase. Fortunately, this year, the Government has increased its subsidy to the self-help groups, like SINDA. Additionally, some of the higher income earners, whom I have spoken to, were prepared to contribute more. I believe that we will be able to obtain more contributions, in future, from this higher income earners if we need to increase the contributions from our community.
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With continued Government and community support, I hope self-help groups like SINDA will continue its good work for many years to come.
(In English): Quite apart from creating educational opportunities and economic opportunities, I also think it is important to have a good social safety net. And in this respect, I heard the speech of the previous speaker, Mr Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap, and I was looking through his chart. One of the things that struck me is I can think of schemes that we have that fit almost every box. And in many respects, I think it is because we have a fairly robust system.
If I was to just go through it. The income security for the elderly and disabled – we do have some of that, in terms of our Public Assistance. Assistance for the unemployed, under-employed and the poor – we have the CDCs that do job-matching assistance, and financial assistance, when necessary, can come from MSF. Income security for children – there are many different schemes to help children. Access to essential healthcare – as far as I know this is accessible to all Singaporeans. The next level, the mandatory social insurance and social security benefits – this sounds a little bit like CPF LIFE and MediShield Life. The voluntary insurance sounds a little bit like all the private insurance schemes we have.
I am not sure if we need additional legislation and bureaucratic work to enforce all these things, when I think that all these boxes are currently checked. But I do agree with the Member that it is important for us to provide social protection and that is, I think, one of the focuses of the President's Address.
Let me deal with one final point which I think has been very important for us to get to where we are, and this is the topic of constructive politics. In many ways, it is quite interesting that Mr Low Thai Khiang opened the Workers' Party slate speaking almost entirely on one topic \"constructive politics\". And I think it is a little bit tragic if the focus is going to be on the politics and not on the policies that will help the people. But be that as it may, let me talk about what constructive politics is, at least from my point of view.
I was not a politician to start with, like many people here. When you work in an environment that is outside of politics, you usually have a job to do, a problem to solve. And the way you do that job or solve that problem is by working together with people, collaborating. When you brainstorm, you find the way to solve the problem in a better way. You do not do that by trying to bring the other person down who is solving the problem with you.
To me, when you bring this into politics in Singapore, I think it is quite instructive. Although we have the same party ruling for many, many years, the Members of Parliament
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keep changing. And one of the things that strike me when I speak to most of the other Members of Parliament is we all feel a bit like custodians, we are quite happy to do our job, to solve the problems at hand, and when the time comes to hand over, we are quite happy to do that as well. So, in that sense, we do not have this idea of being obsessed with staying in power or anything like that at our individual level because we all are just passing on the baton to the next generation. At the same time, we are not engaging in politics just for the sake of staying in power.
Mr Low also makes references to \"mature\" democracies to create the impression, I guess, that we are an immature democracy and there are others who are better than us. Over the last couple of years, I have had conversations with politicians from other countries and it is quite instructive, what they said. I would share maybe three stories from some politicians in what might be called \"mature\" democracies. I would not mention the countries' names but I would just share the stories.
The first was a politician whom I had a very robust exchange with. He was saying, \"Why do you open up so much to foreigners? Do you think it actually helps your country?\" and so on. And his was a country that was suffering economically, in quite a bad form. By the end of the conversation, he more or less agreed that it would be better for his country if it had opened up. But he told me after that, \"If I were to say that in public, they would say I am scoring one against the home team.\" It is something that he realised was necessary but which he could not really say in public. I would not identify the country though some Members may make a guess.
The second was a conversation with a politician who had served about two terms in politics. He was about two weeks away from his re-election. His country was fraught with problems. I think we were having a dinner together and around the 10-minute conversation, we discussed all sorts of policies. I finally said to him, \"These problems sound very difficult. How are you going to solve them?\" He gave me a smile and said, \"I would not solve them. I am going to lose in two weeks, and it is not my problem. I take my pension.\" So, in a sense, he was joking, but at the same time, it was also eye-opening. In a sense, none of them had a long-term perspective. They were living from election to election. From his point of view, he said, \"Okay, I am financially secure. I have got my two terms done. I cannot solve these problems, so let someone else do it\". He did lose his seat two weeks after that and the new government is also having some trouble.
The third was the conversation with a fairly senior politician. He was sharing how when he spoke to Singapore's Ministers one by one and asked them, \"If you have a problem, who would you speak to first?\" And he said, \"All the Singapore Ministers said 'our Cabinet colleagues'.\" He was sort of joking when he said, \"In my country, those are the last people you would speak to because they will be out for you.\" Again, it was quite eye-opening. I
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would not say this is representative of politics everywhere, but I would say that it represents the danger of politics becoming politics in that sense.
Constructive politics is one way that I think people get together as a team to solve problems, and not play games either against other people in their own party or against other parties just for the sake of staying in power. I really hope that this collegiate system of government that we have in Singapore is one that we can keep and continue with for some time to come, and maintain Singapore as the special place that it is.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Minister for Manpower (Mr Hawazi Daipi): Mdm Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak in the debate to express support to the Motion to thank the President.
May I start by giving a brief comment on the speech of Mr Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap. Firstly, Mr Faisal Manap has acknowledged that the Government has a very enhanced social safety net, and I am very pleased to know that he acknowledges that the kueh lapis is generally good. And yes, there are things that need to be improved, but on its own, it is good.
Secondly, if he goes through the kueh lapis, he could see that the low-income Singaporeans are getting even more help than what he has proposed to change.
Thirdly, is that the Government as a whole is doing more for Singaporeans to enhance the social safety net. Unlike the simplistic way that Mr Faisal Manap has proposed in helping the most vulnerable. It is not about the issue of transfer per se. It is about how do we transfer and how we get people to move up.
Fourthly, the real issue is how we make that transfer, as I said earlier, and how do we tax people and who should we taxed. So, it is not just a simple matter of providing more or providing something that seems to be more advanced because it is proposed by an international organisation. We can have our own solution, which we have already established. The kueh lapis in itself is not just about presenting a beautiful kueh that is sweet. If it is too sweet, it is also not good for the health. It is more than just about presenting what we are offering to the people in a better way. It is also trying to tie up the various help together so that the people whom we want to help get the help much better.
I want to touch on two major points here which I think are also related to the elements of our social safety nets. It also involves not just about what the Government can provide,
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but it is also about what we the people, the individual, the family can do to make sure that we can get out of our problems, we can enhance our own lives and, in the process, make a contribution to further progress of the country.
Madam, the President has highlighted the need for Singapore to remain as a nation of opportunities for all, through keeping pathways upwards open to all Singaporeans, regardless of one's background or family circumstances. More opportunities will be created for Singaporeans to fulfil their potential and aspirations and to build a better future for themselves, their families and their children.
At the recent May Day Rally, the Prime Minister has also emphasised the importance of creating better workers, better jobs and, therefore, better lives for Singaporeans. Through the Government's strategy for inclusive and quality growth, all Singaporeans have the opportunities to learn and thrive at the different stages of our lives. We have invested much in education and training, to equip Singaporeans with the necessary knowledge and skills. We will continue to focus on education and training to maximise our potential on different pathways. At the same time, we will continue to strengthen our social safety nets to ensure that no one is neglected or left behind and that their quality of life improves alongside Singapore's economic progress.
We, however, cannot take these opportunities for granted. We must continue to build our society on the foundation of values, such as hard work, personal responsibility, self-reliance and self-motivation. As individuals, families, organisations and the community, we can make the right choices to maximise the opportunities available to create a better future.
As I said earlier, I would like to focus on a topic close to my heart, that of low-income Singaporeans and their families, to highlight the opportunities available to this group of Singaporeans at the two key stages of our lives, namely, education and worklife.
First, by providing the necessary support, children from low-income families can have a good start in life through education. We want to enable these children to make the most of their time while receiving education to better prepare them for a productive and fulfilling life.
From the very first milestone at birth, the Child Development Account (CDA) enables parents to access various developmental and educational opportunities for their child in the early childhood years, regardless of family circumstances or background. The Government matches parents' contributions to the CDA dollar-to-dollar up to a cap, ranging from $6,000 to $18,000 per child, depending on the order of birth. This is especially helpful for low-income families to provide their children with affordable and quality childcare and
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kindergarten services.
When our children enter school, there are a wide range of schemes to support the needs of Singaporean students. We need to ensure that every child, regardless of family situation, is able to fully develop through education and live a meaningful, purposeful life. By enhancing the financial support at all levels of the education system, we ensure that our education system remains accessible to all Singaporeans.
For example, the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) has made kindergarten education more affordable for lower and middle income families, and helped to ensure a strong start for all our children. Close to 10,000 children benefit from the KiFAS annually.
The MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) for Singaporeans receiving primary and secondary education has also been enhanced over the years. This helps to pay for school fees, standard miscellaneous fees and items like textbooks and school uniforms.
There are also many bursaries and assistance schemes in place, by the Government and community groups to support students from low-income families to further their education in our polytechnics, ITEs as well as universities. Government bursaries have benefited about 47,000 students in 2013. This is about 2.5 times the number of beneficiaries as compared to five years ago. The Government has also increased the bursary quanta and raised the income eligibility threshold to benefit more students studying in these Institutes of Higher Learning with effect from 2014. Beyond direct financial support to our students, MOE also provides the Opportunity Fund to further subsidise students from lower-income families in schools, polytechnics and ITEs to own personal computers and to participate in developmental or enrichment programmes.
Let me cite an example. The Opportunity Fund has given student Lee Sai Yuan from Regent Secondary School valuable learning experiences throughout his secondary school years to develop his music knowledge and leadership skills. Sai Yuan's experiences in the school band helped him discover his talent in music, something that his family background and financial situation would not have been able to support. However, with the financial resources provided and relevant school programmes, he was given the opportunity to experience a holistic education and to pursue his passion for music. This in turn fuelled his determination to work hard and strive to achieve his best, and with a goal to work towards, Sai Yuan also became more focused academically.
In addition to financial support, student care centres have been set up in schools and the community to provide students with a structured and supportive environment, particularly for students who come from homes where both parents are working. Their
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parents can remain in employment with the assurance that their children are taken care of after school. There are currently 80 school-based student care centres in our primary schools, with more than 6,500 students enrolled in these centres. Over the next two years, the number of school-based student care centres will be increased by 50%, or 40 more centres.
Thus, there are different opportunities made available by the Government for every student, regardless of family background and circumstance, to maximise his or her potential. While the Government will build and develop an educational system that brings out the best in every child, we, as parents, must ensure that we encourage our children to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available.
For example, since 2001, more than 300,000 CDAs have been opened and which received $1.4 billion in matching contributions from the Government. This is, however, only 64% of the potential $2.2 billion that the Government was prepared to disburse. I would, therefore, like to take this opportunity to urge all parents to maximise the Government's matching of the contributions to CDA. It might be difficult for low-income families to put aside contributions but parents should view the CDA savings as providing valuable opportunities for their children.
Education serves as a strong foundation to improve the social and income mobility of our children. We, however, recognise that it is often more difficult for children from low-income families to complete their education as a result of the multiple challenges that they face. Parents should try to overcome this as much as possible by tapping on the financial schemes available so that our children can stay in school to equip themselves with knowledge and skills.
My second point is on Continuing Education and Training (CET). CET can help improve the lives of low-income Singaporeans. The need to continually upgrade our skills and knowledge remains critical when one completes education and enters the workforce. This is particularly important for low-wage workers who are often in lower skilled jobs. The skills and knowledge that they require to stay relevant in the job market will evolve with external factors such as technology developments and economic restructuring. They need to be able to adapt to such changes in order to remain employable.
The CET framework aims to achieve this through providing Singaporeans with a roadmap of training and lifelong learning opportunities. A key cornerstone of the CET framework is the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) programme recognising workplace skills and experience. The WSQ serves as an important alternative pathway for the some 400,000 working adults, or about 20% of our resident labour force, without formal
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qualifications.
WSQ also sets out clear career and skill progression pathways for key industries. There are currently 33 industry specific WSQ frameworks, which cover industries such as retail, F&B and security where many low-wage Singaporeans are employed in. To date, more than one million workers have been trained under the WSQ system. The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) provides generous subsidies of up to 90% of course fees to ensure all workers can undertake training and keep their skills up to date.
The two new national CET campuses will provide training to some 50,000 adults annually, thus greatly enhancing Singaporeans' accessibility to training opportunities. The Devan Nair Institute in Jurong East, operated by NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), was launched by Prime Minister earlier this month. The Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar will also be operational by this year.
While the Government continues to build and enhance our infrastructure to facilitate accessible lifelong learning, we are aware that some Singaporean workers, in particular, the low-wage workers, may face barriers in taking up training courses. We, therefore, want to also facilitate participation in training opportunities to enhance their employability and productivity.
Therefore, we have established schemes such as the Skills Development Fund (SDF) and Workfare Training Support (WTS). These schemes help lower the financial barriers to training for both the individual who wants to upgrade himself and the employer. WTS also provide generous absentee payroll funding to encourage employers to send their lower-wage workers for training.
A more recent initiative is the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), where clear wage-skill and career progression pathways enable workers to earn wages that are commensurate with their training and skills, productivity and responsibilities. We will mandate tripartite-negotiated PWMs in specific sectors that suffer from prevalent cheap-sourcing coupled with limited bargaining power on the part of the workers. We have done so for the cleaning sector this year and plan to do the same in the security sector when the PWM for this sector is ready. We have also begun tripartite discussions on a PWM for the landscaping sector.
Beyond training, low-wage Singaporeans can also tap on a range of employment facilitation services, such as training or career advisory, at one of WDA's Career Centres, CaliberLink, or NTUC's e2i. In 2013, more than 35,000 people have registered for assistance at one of these centres.
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These initiatives provide a strong foundation to continually upgrade the Singapore workforce so that they stay employable in the rapidly changing labour market. We are already seeing results from the CET framework to enhance the employability of Singaporeans across industry sectors. Last year, two thirds of Singaporeans who were retrenched or laid off were able to find new employment within 12 months, of which about 70% found jobs in a different industry. We will continue to strengthen the CET framework, starting with the ongoing review of the CET Masterplan announced last year.
To achieve our objectives for CET, strong support and participation of both employers and employees are needed. I am encouraged to note that between July 2013, when the WTS was revised, and December 2013, 35,000 Singaporeans benefited from the WTS scheme. This includes training which were supported by employers, and training which employees undertook on their own. I hope that more Singaporeans will proactively take on the training opportunities available to them, and that employers of low-wage Singaporeans will send their employees for training. Besides helping your employees to upgrade themselves, your businesses will also benefit from the productivity savings with better skilled employees.
Mdm Speaker, let me continue my speech in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Like other Singaporeans, Malays, while benefiting from the economic progress and development of Singapore, also face challenges in others areas similar to other Singaporeans – such as providing their children with good educational opportunities and preparing them for a fulfilling life in adulthood. Within our community, I am proud that the Malay community leadership has for decades made significant efforts in developing self-help efforts to further the achievements in education for our Malay students.
As a community, the improvements in our educational performance have been significant. The percentage of Malay students in the Primary 1 cohort admitted to post-secondary institutions, which is, the polytechnics, ITEs and pre-universities, has improved from 76.5% in 2003 to over 85% in 2013. This should encourage and spur the Malay community to support our children to progress further.
I would like to encourage our community partners to continue to work hand-in-hand with our schools and parents to help our students to develop holistically. For example, I am heartened to know that the Malay Youth Literary Association (4PM) has developed a programme for all students from the ITE known as BESTARI ITE or bITE. It is a school social work programme for the ITE students to benefit from activities such as casework and counselling, mentoring schemes, entrepreneurial thinking programmes and community service projects. Annually, 4PM also presents the Bestari Outstanding Student Award to 45 Malay/Muslim ITE students who have performed exceptionally well academically and in co-
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curricular activities, even though they used to have problems continuing their studies at the ITE.
We must continue to encourage our children who have put in effort and done well in school to continue putting in effort, while providing support for those who have yet to reach their potential. In this way, they can develop their abilities and character – two important elements that can guarantee their success in the future.
Another area where our Malay community has made much advancement in ensuring self-reliance is through the network of skills upgrading and employment assistance. We want to help the less skilled and less educated within the community to find better jobs and improve their quality of life. I believe that they have the desire to strengthen their capabilities and to succeed in life, drawing from our values of hard work, responsibility for our own welfare and self-sufficiency for the family.
One key initiative that supports this drive to improve ourselves is through the WSQ scheme. The Employability Skills WSQ framework focuses on foundational skills, knowledge and mastery of other skills such as workplace literacy and numeracy. Such basic skills, which are transferable across all industries, helps improve the employability of low-income Singaporeans and also enable them to upgrade themselves more easily.
As shown in the MENDAKI SENSE effort, the Malay community recognised the importance of continuing learning and education. MENDAKI SENSE, the training arm of MENDAKI, has helped Malay workers significantly on the employment front by providing CET courses and support to get job opportunities. In 2013, more than 60% of 2,000 jobseekers who sought employment assistance from MENDAKI SENSE have been placed in jobs.
Over the weekend, MENDAKI SENSE held its annual Career Fair at Eunos, with a theme of \"Bringing Opportunities to Community\". Through the initiative called Career Development Programme, supported by the Temasek Cares Foundation, MENDAKI SENSE also helps workers develop their potential to take on Professional, Manager and Executive (PME) roles through skills training and mentoring by industry and community leaders. MENDAKI SENSE has done quite well in helping our Malay employees upgrade themselves and remain employable, and I urge the Malay community to continue supporting efforts to upgrade workers.
I would like to touch on Mr Faisal Manap's speech regarding the issue of loyalty. He suggested that a committee should be set up to talk about the issue of loyalty that was questioned by the Malay community, according to him. I would like to ask him whether he
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really feels that his loyalty has been questioned by anybody in Singapore.
The fact is that the issue of race relations is something that requires effort and improvements from time to time. There is no best possible level of race relations that we can want or are able to achieve because each level that we have or enjoy, may not last.
On the contrary, if the race and religious relations in our community is strengthened through cordial and close relationships, the spirit of cooperation, and the spirit of tolerance with one another, our ability to work together and enjoy Singapore's progress together will be much better.
If we always find faults about the issue of loyalty, for instance, we will surely find people who feel that their loyalty have been questioned or taken for granted.
I believe this is not an issue which cannot be overcome by the community in the context of the work which we have done to date – enhancing race relations at all levels of society, among the leaders, among the children, among the parents; in all our activities, whether in schools, or during exercises like jogging and brisk-walking among residents – all these can enhance friendliness and good relationships, and in that way, that will reduce the suspicion between us.
I feel that when we focus on these areas, we will be able to continue to develop better relationships within the community. I am concerned that if we emphasise on the differences and unhappiness, we will surely increase the unhappiness of not only one community but all communities.
(In English): Mdm Speaker, there is a diverse range of opportunities available to Singaporeans at the different stages of our lives. The Government will continue to build and strengthen the framework and infrastructure to ensure that no one, especially low-wage Singaporeans, are left behind as we progress. All of us should play our own part to make the most of opportunities available to us at our different milestones in life. I would like to encourage all Singaporeans to tap on the various initiatives in education and training. We should seek to stay gainfully employed to benefit from CPF contributions, and other Government top-ups, especially low-wage Singaporeans. Only by doing so can we achieve the real meaning of inclusive growth to create a better future for ourselves, our families and our children. Mdm Speaker, with this, I support the Motion of thanks to the President.
Mdm Speaker: Mr Faisal Manap has asked for the floor.
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Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: Thank you, Madam. I have some clarifications to make regarding my two speeches – one in English and one in Malay. It is really for both Members, Mr Hawazi and Mr Vikram Nair. They misunderstood my point for the speech which I made about the social safety net. Basically, what I am trying to say is that I am proposing for the Government to implement a systematic measuring device to ensure that the current assistance schemes are effective in achieving their objectives. I am not saying that more should be added onto the current scheme. That is my first point, Madam.
The second point is that I do not agree with Mr Hawazi Daipi. Madam, I will speak in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I did not say that the issue of loyalty came from me. I was quoting this issue from the Suara Musyawarah report whereby it was taken from the participants who attended the Suara Musyawarah sessions. So, it is not from me. I was only highlighting this matter so that this issue will be given the proper attention.
Mr Teo Siong Seng (Nominated Member):\tMdm Speaker, in Mandarin, please.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, fellow Members of Parliament, good afternoon! Firstly, I would like to declare that I am the Immediate Past President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Managing Director of Pacific International Lines.
When President Tony Tan announced the Government's policy directives on 16 May, I felt most encouraged. As a representative of the business community, the subject of my speech today is \"Jointly transforming Singapore into an even more competitive economy\". My speech will have two key points: firstly, to reflect people's sentiments from an impartial and objective viewpoint, always putting our nation first and foremost, to help the Government formulate and promote pro-business policies; and secondly, bringing an open and inclusive attitude to encourage SMEs and workers to upgrade, accept foreigners and new immigrants, and pursue a good life for all.
[Deputy Speaker (Mr Charles Chong) in the Chair]
Firstly, let me talk about my first point on having an impartial and objective viewpoint. I have already served as a Nominated Member of Parliament for five years. For the role of a Nominated Member of Parliament, being an observer and a practitioner is certainly very different. Previously, when I listened to others speak, it was quite natural to be critical, or to
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hope to listen to more controversial topics; however, when I became a Nominated Member of Parliament and participated in Parliament debates, I became fully aware of the responsibility and importance of this position. My standpoint has always been impartial and objective, steering clear of political disputes and reflecting the feedback from the society at large, in particular that of the business community, to provide a more holistic and diverse perspective on the Government's policies. The objective of doing this is to hope that every member of our society could work hard together to transform Singapore into an even more competitive economy and to pursue a better and brighter life.
\"Nominated Member of Parliament\" – these four words do not represent a single individual, but a group of specific background. The responsibility of the Nominated Member of Parliament is to provide constructive feedback in a practical, effective and professional way. In order to perform this role well, I have used different channels, including the SCCCI, to gather feedback and requests from companies. Some companies have also approached me directly for assistance. While we are preoccupied with contacting companies for feedback, we also proactively engage and communicate with relevant Government agencies to facilitate improved cooperation between the Government and the business community. Singapore is undergoing the process of economic restructuring, and many enterprises are facing the pressures of restructuring. In the past five years, most of the problems raised by companies have revolved around escalating rental costs, manpower shortage, challenges in productivity upgrading, effectiveness of policy implementation, which all demonstrate the different pressures incurred by changes in the business environment.
Actually, these problems are not only faced by our local enterprises. The global economic environment is in a state of constant change. On the one hand, because of the continued emergence of new technology, traditional business models will feel the brunt; on the other hand, new opportunities, new concepts and new industries have also arisen. We appreciate the Government's support in rolling out all kinds of assistance schemes to help local enterprises face up to the challenges of economic restructuring. With the support of the Government, many SMEs have the ability to buy new equipment, improve their productivity and make adjustments to their work flow. However, some SMEs, especially the micro-enterprises, have very limited resources and capability and require a longer time to adjust to the new environment.
Next, my second point is on being inclusive and upgrading. I totally agree with this part of President Tony Tan's Address: \"Singapore must remain a nation of opportunities for all. Those who do not succeed at first should have a second chance, indeed, must always have the chance to try again.\" Some SMEs, especially the micro-enterprises and traditional businesses, have to restructure due to the changes in the environment. They are also aware of the need to restructure and are trying hard to do so. Thus, I hope that when the Government draws up its business policies, it should take greater consideration into the
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needs of SMEs, micro-enterprises and traditional businesses, giving them sufficient space, allowing them the opportunity to try again and again. I hope these SMEs, micro-enterprises and traditional businesses would not give up too easily, and I hope the Government would also not give up on them too easily!
During this period of economic restructuring, workers and bosses alike are under pressure. Currently, many industries are facing manpower shortage and many bosses have told us that, at this time, it is really difficult to send workers for training when they do not have enough workers. Having been in business for many years, I am deeply aware of the importance of worker training. Even if companies have limited manpower resources, they should still engage in worker training. Workers who upgrade themselves can then become a more valued human resource. Switching to different industries or restructuring is not that formidable. It is even more alarming to have a mindset that is resistant to change.
Web technology is very advanced now and it is common to see people perpetually on their mobile phones, surfing the net and communicating through online chats. Commuters even watch drama serials on their mobile devices in the MRT. If workers could apply the same level of energy to personal upgrading and companies could use more Internet technology in their training applications, this could perhaps alleviate the pressures brought about by the labour crunch. Certainly, this method may not succeed and it depends very much on the aspiration of workers to upgrade. The larger the aspiration, the better the outcome. I look forward to the Government's efforts to build a \"Smart Nation\", enabling enterprises in the areas of worker training.
The basic notion of productivity is in the mindset. If the foundation could be instilled at a young age, the productivity concept and quality would be fully manifested later in the working world. We have a suggestion for the Committee to Strengthen National Service. Every young man has to serve National Service and these two years are the most significant years before they enter the workforce or enter institutions of higher learning. It is also the crucial formative period where they develop physical strength, EQ and teamwork. In recent years, Singapore's birth rate has been extremely low and the SAF also needs to change its management model, using more effective training methods to defend Singapore. There is also a need to increase productivity in the army, and we hope that the Committee, as they look into strengthening its systems, could also consider how to instil the notion of productivity into the army training curriculum, including planning, design, process flow control and so on. All along, these notions could be well understood by army officers, but going forward, we hope that these notions could be understood by every full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) and could also be personally experienced by them. The period of National Service is the ideal time to conduct intensive training and these well-trained young men, after completing their National Service, would be integrated into every trade and industry in
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the workforce and be a driving force behind the productivity of the entire workforce.
Lately, the SCCCI has been actively helping SPRING Singapore to promote the \"SME Talent Programme\", helping SMEs to recruit graduates from polytechnics and the ITE. The current scenario is that SMEs offer many available positions, but there are very few takers. I was wondering if we could cooperate with the SAF and let those NSFs serving the last few months of National Service do internships in the SMEs. This would enable them to understand the work environment and increase the chances of rapport.
When companies start to recruit staff, the selection criteria are based on whether the employee could perform and contribute to the company. Given the manpower shortage, our workforce would definitely include new immigrants and foreigners. This is the characteristic of an immigrant nation, as well as its advantage. My company happens to be one which employs workers of many different backgrounds, and thus I would like to discuss my sentiments here. My company's business operations have a worldwide presence; foreign talent can help the company to expand and manage its overseas operations effectively and a diversified workforce has always been our strength. In our Singapore HQ, we use work performance to justify worker's value. Internally, we have never consciously differentiated the locals from the foreigners, as everyone works together towards a common purpose.
In an immigrant nation, it is necessary to have mutual understanding and accept one another's differences, so that we could work together harmoniously. Locals also need to have an inclusive approach towards new immigrants; likewise, new immigrants and foreigners also need to get used to the local culture and customs, and understand the game plan of living in a new environment. As President Tony Tan has said, \"Let us treat them with graciousness, kindness and fellowship, even as we expect them to respect our values and our Singaporean way of life.\" In fact, the objective of leaving one's home is to pursue a better life and to make better use of one's strengths. This goal is one that local employees also aim to achieve.
Next year, Singapore celebrates our Golden Jubilee and the Government has formulated many policies to acknowledge and thank the Pioneer Generation for their contributions. The greatest honour we can accord to the Pioneer Generation is to emulate their example in transforming Singapore into an even more competitive economy. Compared to 50 years ago, our business environment is more complex and is constantly changing. The expectations of Singaporeans are also comparatively higher. The Government must understand the needs of the business community, promote pro-business policies, let every trade and industry flourish, with workers and bosses working hard together to create more wealth; only in this way can the Government be equipped with the capability to look after the more vulnerable in our society and preserve social cohesion.
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Singapore is a small nation and there is regional instability all around us. From the number of incidents that have occurred in the region recently, we ought to reflect on the factors that have created the Singapore of today. Whatever we have achieved did not come about easily. If we were to enter into disputes baselessly and magnify the voices of disharmony, we could destroy the cohesion that has been built up with great effort over the years and lose our competitiveness. I am thus very fortunate to be given this chance to be a Nominated Member of Parliament. When we meet with problems, we find ways to look for solutions and get feedback from all sources. As long as everyone makes adjustments based on the common objective of solving problems, any problem can be resolved.
This is not the first time Singapore has entered into an economic restructuring phase. The tripartite partners of workers, business and Government have worked together many times to overcome the period of restructuring. Although there are bound to be conflicts and obstacles, these have all been smoothened out eventually, and I believe this time is no exception. Now, Our Singapore Conversation has concluded and the President has outlined the Government's strategies. Going forward, every stakeholder in the community must cooperate and work hard to improve our nation's competitiveness and build the foundation of a better and brighter Singapore for the next 50 years!
Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Deputy Speaker, I am heartened that our President in his speech has reaffirmed the vision of Singapore heading towards being an inclusive society. The poor and the vulnerable should continue to be given special attention in the design of inclusive public policies. The Labour Movement is thankful that the Government has been very supportive of NTUC's efforts to make life better for all groups of workers, from the vulnerable low-wage workers to our mature and elderly workers. We are truly inclusive when everyone is creating a better world for each other.
While there is progress being made to improve the life of low-wage workers, we cannot forget the road that lies ahead. There are still steps that we must take to fully realize the vision of an inclusive society.
An inclusive society is one where every Singaporean benefits whenever Singapore makes a step forward. Ultimately, every Singaporean wants to lead a better life and have hope for a better future. In an inclusive society, people must have the peace of mind knowing, that they can earn a decent living through an honest day's work. NTUC has worked very closely with the Government to help low-wage workers have the capacity to earn better wages and a better life. Measures taken, such as mandating the Progressive Wage Model in the cleaning, security and maybe landscape sectors where cheap sourcing is prevalent and investing in workers' training through the two newly established institutes, are steps in the
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right direction to help the workers earn better wages as they improve their skills, career and productivity. NTUC is confident that the mandatory Progressive Wage Model in these sectors will impact on the wages of the other low-wage workers in the other service sectors, such as logistics, F&B and many others.
Sir, there are some other areas we can work on to help low-wage workers feel that they belong to this inclusive society. Studies have shown that workers of the future want their work to be exciting, respectable and relevant. While earning better pay is important, it is also equally important to professionalise as many jobs as possible to make them more respectable and exciting. A comprehensive review must be made to all the WSQ courses aimed at helping low-wage workers to ensure skills being taught continue to be relevant and effectively applied by them to improve their work through productivity. Courses must be made available for workers to continuously upgrade their skill levels. Ideally, these workers must be recognised as professionals in their own rights with the necessary competency to do a better job than an untrained person. Such a push for workers to be trained will come at a cost to customers but, if it can help these workers earn better wages, workers' training must be made mandatory for companies to provide such services.
Sir, besides fair pay and respectable jobs, many low-wage workers also want job security. As a business model, outsourcing the non-core businesses of a company is a logical and rational choice to improve the company's profit but, it has come at the expense of the job security of thousands of workers providing the outsourced services, especially among the low-wage service workers. Not only do these workers have less benefits compared to the direct employees who enjoy better bonuses, medical benefits or other company perks, they are also at risk of losing their jobs when contracts are not renewed or having their wages reset when they have to work under a different employer even though they are still working in the same premises. These workers are also at the losing end to recoup any unpaid salaries should their companies go bust because they do not have the financial means to pursue the matter.
These are problems that are not easy to resolve but I would like to call upon the Government to work with NTUC to find headway in helping workers have a sense of job security. The Progressive Wage Model can act as a safety net to prevent wages from falling beyond a certain level but, more must be done. This may involve legislative change or simply providing the support network to ensure no low-wage workers are left behind. At this juncture, I would like to thank the Government for its financial support in helping NTUC set up a low-wage worker centre called U Care Centre aimed at providing this support network to our low-wage workers. Let us not rest on our laurels and find more ways to give low-wage workers a better sense of job security.
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Sir, an inclusive society would also promote workplaces that cater to the physical and emotional well-being of workers, regardless of their job. As a society, we should not turn a blind eye to vocations that deprive workers of having a chance at work-life balance. As an example, in the security sector, long working hours are very common. To circumvent large overtime pay, many security agencies resort to paying their officers low basic salaries, leading to a vicious cycle of the security workers having to work overtime to earn enough to support their family. As a society, we should gradually move away from allowing companies to have overtime exemptions. This may lead to pressure for salaries to increase but, in the long run, it will force companies to think creatively of security solutions, yet at the same time, it will allow workers to work within a decently reasonable number of hours.
Sir, while it is laudable that we have a workplace safety and health framework, many low-wage workers are working in an environment which is hazardous to their health and safety without the proper gear and equipment to minimise the health risk. While MOH is actively pursuing health advisory specific to the job vocation and MOM has workplace safety guidelines, I would like to call for more to be done. The onus must be put on these companies to provide the appropriate gear to their workers. It must go beyond ensuring safety to the life of the workers, to also include minimising any long-term health risk. I hope to see a future where more of our low-wage workers donning proper gear and equipment as they ensure Singapore continue to be clean, green and safe.
Sir, helping the vulnerable workers goes beyond the call for skills upgrading, better pay or even financial assistance, to give them the recognition, pride and dignity that they are playing an important role. Workers of today, even low-wage workers, want beyond sustenance but also the satisfaction and identity that define them as a worker contributing actively to our nation building.
As a society, we need to give greater recognition to the role played by workers who are keeping Singapore clean, green and safe. These workers spend hours of their lives toiling away at their jobs trying to get a decent living and support their families. These workers are sometimes called \"unsung heroes\" but it does not have to be that way. A simple pat on the back and a little courtesy towards them by each one of us can go a long way in motivating them to go that extra mile or to carry on performing to the best of their ability. The small actions and intents can go a long way in making someone's day, and whether it translates to higher productivity may be uncertain – but it would certainly make our society a brighter and, more importantly, an inclusive one to be in.
As the Labour Movement, NTUC has taken the lead to start a social initiative where we are creating suitable platforms to enable organisations, companies and individuals to start showing appreciation to all workers, especially those in the cleaning, security and landscape industries. Singapore Labour Foundation has donated $1 million to drive this initiative. I
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would like to call upon every Government Ministry, Statutory Board, company and all individuals to take the first step forward and show that \"U Care\" for them.
Success of this social movement, however, depends on each of us developing the empathy and learning to value the contribution of these workers in ensuring that we can have a high standard of living in a country which is clean, green and safe.
Sir, why do I speak of what employees want in my speech of striving for an inclusive society? I believe that these are the very challenges we face when we strive to create an inclusive society. The problems I mentioned, if left unchecked, will continue to create fault lines within our society. As the Government, the onus falls on us to seal up these fault lines. Jobs and wages may not define a society, but it certainly plays a very large role in determining the satisfaction of the average Singaporean with the status quo.
The hurdles we face in light of increasing expectations of quality of life and economic progress will continue – but their hopes have been placed on us to deliver. For every percent of economic growth that Singapore enjoys, let us give every worker a reason to smile and rejoice – for they are very people that have made it possible, regardless of their job vocation. The people will also always look at the Government as their honest, trusted and transparent leaders to make every worker a better worker, every job a better job and every life a better life. In Malay, please.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, Singapore will celebrate its 50th birthday next year. The Malay/Muslim community now, if compared to the past, has attained many achievements, including higher levels of education.
To move forward, it is better for us focus on what we can do to achieve success. The issue of loyalty that was raised by Mr Faisal Manap, based on the Suara Musyawarah report, is a narrative that we often hear about. But, in my opinion, this kind of thinking can only hold back and affect the desire of our younger generation to achieve success.
The success that we achieve should make us proud because it is the hard work of important Malay figures who served the Malay/Muslim bodies. To belittle these achievements is akin to belittling the efforts of the Malay/Muslim bodies in uplifting our community. I hope that, as a community, we will not be hampered by thoughts that the loyalty of Malays has been questioned.
Personally, I come from a poor family and I had never had my loyalty to the nation questioned in school, during National Service or at work. I am from the post-Independence
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generation.
The Suara Musyawarah Committee has provided opportunities for the Malay/Muslim community to voice out their aspirations and hopes. Many achievements and the concerns of the community have been voiced out, including the issue of Malay loyalty. However, this should not be discussed in the wrong context that would give the impression that the Malay/Muslim community has been sidelined. In fact, the Suara Musyawarah Committee has found out that the Malay/Muslim community is very committed to Singapore and wants to improve the lives of the community in all fields, including security and defence.
The Government also helps our Malay/Muslim community to overcome any challenge that we face, including the issue of our community's loyalty. This can be seen from what was said by the Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen in Parliament recently. Our community's participation in the SAF has increased. Through their own efforts, our Malays are more successful and all these were achieved through their own efforts.
Improvements in education have had positive impact, including better income, better jobs and better contributions in welfare efforts, both financially and physically. Our community should also be proud that more of our youths are successful academically, in the arts, music, sports and entrepreneurship. For the successful ones, there are many lessons and pointers that we all can learn from and use as examples.
Although they faced many challenges, these individuals were able to free their minds from the thinking that our community's development has been hampered. This narrative is sometimes used to break our community's spirit to move forward. Although such a narrative may have happened in the past, we are now in the era of globalisation where every government wants to ensure that its people can contribute as much as possible to their country's development.
Singapore, as a nation, is now at the crossroads. We are undergoing changes to become a better economy through quality growth, a better workforce that is more capable and more inclusive. There are three things that our community can do to benefit from the strategic economic restructuring that Singapore is going through.
Firstly, due to the labour crunch and a very high demand for workers in every sector, Malay workers can take advantage of the available opportunities to upgrade their skills or obtain new skills through WSQ courses, which receive a lot of Government subsidies. They have a better chance to get higher pay if our Malay/Muslim workers are bold enough to change jobs using the new skills that they obtained through the WSQ courses.
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Secondly, just like other workers, Malay/Muslim workers also face competition from foreign labour. For the long-term economic growth, the Government limited the number of foreign workers to a third of Singapore's labour force. Hence, it is important for Malay/Muslim workers to use the advantages that they have in terms of career, education and understanding of social norms of life in Singapore in order to compete with these foreign workers.
Malay/Muslim youths must be encouraged to undergo internships when they are studying in the ITEs or higher educational institutions. For Malay/Muslim youths who have completed their studies in the ITEs and polytechnics, it is imperative that they look for jobs that are suitable with the training that they received. Malay/Muslim workers can compete competitively with foreign workers because the Government will impose the workers' levy and qualifying salaries on the entrance of foreign workers and that will give local workers an advantage.
Thirdly, as a community that have achieved fame in many fields, our community can strengthen networks by providing opportunities for our Malay/Muslim youths to gain knowledge in employment and the industry. For the small and medium enterprises amongst the Malay/Muslim community, they can join the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry to use the available networks to help and cooperate with one another. These networks can also be used to provide opportunities for our youths to undergo internships or to open job opportunities.
The competition for jobs between local workers and foreign workers is the norm in any country due to the nature of globalisation. It is important that our workers face this challenge in a proactive manner to ensure that we continue to progress in all types of jobs in line with Singapore's future development. Let us, as a community, draw lessons from the past, monitor the present and look towards the future.
Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Faisal Manap, I am sure you would like to respond to Mr Zainal Sapari?
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: Thank you, Sir, in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, I am of the view that in raising this issue that was reported in the Suara Musyawarah report, it is not about looking to the past. In fact, it is an effort to look to the future because the effort of the Suara Musyawarah is to give hope to the aspirations of Singaporeans to look forward and to progress forward. If these issues are still lingering in the minds of Malay/Muslims, how can we move forward? Therefore, the formation of the committee is not only to say that this issue is present but it
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is also to say how we can resolve the situation.
Mr Hawazi Daipi (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, clearly, the Suara Musyawarah report also stated that there are views amongst the participants of the discussion that they, as Malay Singaporeans, are very committed towards Singapore, including on the issue of defence and security. However, Mr Faisal has only raised the issue of loyalty that was reported in the Suara Musyawarah report. For me, this is not a balanced question.
As I have said earlier, if we look for problems, the problems will come up because any individual who feels that way, will raise this problem. A problem at the personal level can be solved. Problems in terms of work, if they feel that they are not given the opportunity, can be settled at the individual level. If there are any members of the community who feel it, whether students or workers who feel discrimination, there are ways for them to overcome such problems. For the worker – by reporting it to TAFEP and MOM. The same goes, if there are questions on specific issues about the opportunities. What I want to say is the fact that Suara Musyawarah has also raised feelings amongst many Malay/Muslims that they are very committed towards the security and defence of Singapore, but he has chosen not to say that.\t
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Sir, I have said in my speech that I admit that there is progress made in terms of the openness of the Government on the issue of loyalty. I have said that this has happened and I agree that there is progress. However, what I presented were voices that, after 50 years of Independence, they still raised the same issues. So, to me, it is better that we form a committee to see how we can improve the situation and not, as the English proverb says, you are sweeping it below the carpet.
Mr Zainal Sapari (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask Mr Faisal Manap what are his view, stand and experience on the issue of loyalty that was raised in the Suara Musyawarah report. He always says that this issue is raised in the Suara Musyawarah report, but what is his own stand on whether this issue is really impeding our community?\t
Mr Deputy Speaker: I will let Mr Faisal Manap give an answer.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Thank you, Sir. As I said earlier, I, as a representative of the community, am voicing the concerns of the community. It is my own view. I have said in my speech that I am aware and agree that there is progress made. But because there are still many people who say this issue
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is present, so I, as a voice of the people, would like to voice it out.
Mr R Dhinakaran (Nominated Member): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak. Today is an important chapter in Singapore's political history. As we mark the reopening of Parliament, it gives us the fresh mandate to plan for the remaining of this Twelfth term of Parliament.
Most of my colleagues will serve their term until the next General Elections are called with renewed vigour and gusto, after this short break. But this half-time break also gives us the chance to reflect on what has been achieved in the first half of this term.
Much like a football coach, who at half time, gives his players the game plan for the second half with respect to strategy and deliverables. But that half time talk is also spent reflecting on how the team performed in the first half, where the team did well and where they can do better in the next half.
So, as I sat here 10 days ago on 16 May listening to our President Dr Tony Tan, it was to me as much a chance to reflect on what has been achieved so far in the first half of this term. That is why I describe this as an important period in our political history, for so much has been achieved and done in just these couple of years alone. So much so that it corrected and fixed problems or gaps, and reversed or amended policies and that even signalled a shift in the style of governance. I believe never before has so much political change happened in Singapore in such a short span of time. And for that, I applaud this Government for its proactiveness, for its foresight and for its leadership and accountability.
There were many good things that were achieved in this first half and the legacy of these achievements – the quick fixes to the housing policy, the transportation issues, the Pioneer Generation Package and others – will stay with generations of Singaporeans for a long while.
These were some of the strengths for the first half. For the second half, the Government should carry on with this momentum but also work on the areas where improvements can be made. As the President had alluded to, there are areas where the Government will have to accord more attention to in the coming years.
No matter how much economic progress we make, we need to ensure that Singapore is a caring society. Otherwise, we will develop into a self-centred society where care, compassion, graciousness and the spirit of humanity exist merely in our vocabulary. It pains
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me to see that we are moving towards greater cynicism and scepticism. Why? We are after all in a better place than many other countries in the world. We are after all in a far better position than many others around the world. Then, what drove our society down this path? I can speculate but those would, at best, be my assumptions. Rather, I would like to focus on how we can perhaps reverse this trend.
There are already several Government policies, like the Pioneer Generation Package, for example, that are trying to inculcate values in our society of care and respect for our elderly. There is also the Baby Bonus, for example, to encourage our younger couples to go down the beautiful path of starting a family. However, I feel that at some point in time we are going to face a wall with how much more incentives we can use to encourage such behaviour and attitudes. The change has to come from within and that has to start now so that it will, hopefully, be achieved with the younger generations.
The Government can certainly take some steps to catalyse these changes. I feel that our school syllabus has to be reviewed to see how we can impart to our children as much civic and moral education as we teach about other academic subjects. I know the Education Minister and his team have made some sweeping changes in the last couple of years to try and phase in more holistic elements into our education system and I thank him for this. But I hope that this process will not stop and, in fact, increase in momentum so that maybe by the time our Golden Jubilee year babies start primary school, it will be ingrained into the system. What better gift can we give our jubilee babies than making sure they become caring and compassionate Singaporeans with a heart and the right spirit? This will help create a Singapore with a heart.
We have so much to be proud about being Singaporeans and we must instil this national pride in all Singaporeans, too. If the Americans can be proud of the US being the land of dreams, then why should we also not celebrate the many success and rags-to-riches stories that Singapore has created? After all, Singapore too has the right ecosystem and fundamentals to help those with the capability and willingness to succeed, make their dreams come true. We too should celebrate these stories, including those of migrants', who have used the help of Singapore to make it big. If we embrace them and their successes, they will embrace Singapore too. That will help create a Singapore spirit.
One of the key demonstrations of national pride in Singapore is the approach and attitudes our young have towards National Service. Sadly, many of them I speak to these days consider NS as a liability. Some say it is a waste of time and others say it is too long. Some have even told me that NS exists as a product of the Government's paranoia of our security. Clearly, such young people do not have an idea of the challenges we face or the various episodes in our history.
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I feel that we do not talk much about Singapore and our evolution, policies and its need besides virtues with our young. I understand that it is better to look forward than to constantly gaze over one's shoulder into the past. That may have worked in the past where Singaporeans had first-hand accounts and experiences of these challenging times and difficult periods in our history. But that is no longer the case and today's generations do not have such recollection. So, there must be every effort to teach our kids about the past. That is how we can create a Singapore with a soul.
We can all agree that many of the changes in the first half of this term revolved around the Government's greater engagement and listening of the people and their concerns. Our Singapore Conversation is one such instance. I am encouraged by this and I hope that the Government will continue with this approach in the future.
Clearly, policy-making in Singapore has evolved into a two-way process and I encourage the Government to create as many platforms and mechanisms as possible to include more Singaporeans in this process. Involving more of the public would not only allow policy-makers to better understand ground sentiments and concerns on certain policies, it will also give Singaporeans a chance to better understand the challenges, limitations and constraints faced with each policy.
This will give Singaporeans a fair chance to evaluate policies from a more informed perspective rather than relying on inaccurate sources of information to shape their perceptions. I find that sometimes a lot of the cynicism is due to misinformation and so if that can be addressed, then we help fix this problem. There is after all nothing wrong with an informed and more involved society. That will help create a society with the right mind.
A lot of thought and work would also have to be put into our population problem – low birth rates. It seems that it is a challenge that is becoming very difficult to solve and so the Government may really need to step up the game and perhaps try a new approach, with a more out-of-the-box strategy. To maintain our social compact, our birth rates are going to play an important role as we entrench the Singapore Core in our population here.
Along with that core comes economic resilience within our society as the Government needs to make sure that Singaporeans get good quality jobs and good incomes to enjoy a certain standard of living. We cannot argue that economic resilience is a central thread in this social fabric and if we take that away, the entire fabric could come undone. Here is where the Government needs to make sure that it takes care of our SMEs. Even as we restructure and look at the wider macro picture, we cannot underestimate the importance of our SMEs to the economy as they provide jobs to nearly 70% of our workforce. So, SMEs play a crucial role in building economic resilience here and we must ensure that we maintain them as the significant core in our economy or we risk having a demoralised society due to
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unemployment. With a strong Singapore Core that is economically resilient, we will build a strong and cohesive Singapore body.
Singapore has come a long way in these near 50 years with the right fundamentals and conditions. For the next 50 years, the Government will have to now lay the foundations of a Singapore comprising a heart, soul, spirit, mind and body. With all of these elements, there is no reason why the next 50 years cannot be better than the last.
The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Teo Ser Luck): Sir, may I have your permission to display some slides on the LED screens for my speech.
Mr Deputy Speaker: Yes. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]
Mr Teo Ser Luck: Sir, I rise to thank the President and speak in support of the President's Address.
As the President said, we stand \"at an important moment of our history\". Singapore has done well, but if we are to continue to do well in the next stage, we will have to carefully chart the journey ahead and press on together. I will focus on the economic domain – how we can keep our economy vibrant, enable Singapore businesses to grow, thrive and create good job opportunities for Singaporeans.
Let me touch on the economic outlook. We believe the economic outlook will be positive moving forward. But we are cautiously optimistic.
The US and the euro zone are recovering. Asia continues to be resilient with a rising middle class. However, we face stronger competition, as well as fundamental domestic resource constraints, especially for land and manpower. Businesses, big and small, will need to adapt and adjust to these realities. The Government will help our businesses make the necessary adjustments.
A vibrant economy, with strong and growing companies, is critical to providing good and diverse job opportunities – jobs that Singaporeans want, jobs that Singaporean workers with different strengths and aptitudes can excel in, jobs that give Singaporeans the chance to upgrade and improve their lives.
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The Government is pursuing a wide range of initiatives. We are investing in R&D, helping firms to raise their productivity and acquire new capabilities, encouraging new start-ups and innovation. We are working hard to keep business costs manageable, building new industrial spaces and ensuring that energy is competitively priced. We are also continuing to expand our network of free trade and investment guarantee agreements to help businesses export and invest overseas. This is critical because Singapore is small and many of our businesses need to serve the international market to grow and thrive.
So, how can we help SMEs to strengthen themselves? The Government understands the difficulties that our SMEs, particularly the smaller ones, are facing. We are committed to providing strong support for SMEs during this transition.
We need to upgrade their capabilities. We need to strengthen them, upgrade their capabilities to position them for growth. For some, it is about survival, but for all, we try to make our schemes and programmes inclusive.
One important way is to educate them and help them build capabilities through technology. Since July 2013, we have engaged more than 2,500 companies to understand their technological needs and benefited more than 300 companies. We will push ahead with the efforts to implement technologies into their businesses and processes.
For example, through technology matching, Manja Delights Kitchen, a family business in Taman Jurong, implemented Snap2Tell, an image recognition technology developed by A*STAR. By scanning Manja Delights Kitchen's logo and name card, potential customers are able to access their menu as well as place orders of kuehs online. This reduces the number of phone calls from customers, hence increasing the owner's capacity to do what they do best – making kuehs. So they focused on their core competency, and outsourced the rest of it. Technology helps them to streamline the processes.
We will also facilitate collaboration – this is one of the key targets this year. We will ensure that we have programmes, measures and policies to consider how to encourage collaboration between SMEs and big companies. We want to help SMEs and large organisations to come together so that SMEs can gain experience, improve their quality of goods and services, and develop a track record. Since 2013, SPRING has helped 193 SMEs partner with large organisations through 51 projects. We continue to provide strong support for such collaborations and projects so that SMEs can upgrade their capabilities through these various initiatives.
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Manpower is an issue that many Members have raised, but it is a fundamental constraint for Singapore. We cannot grow our workforce indefinitely.
SMEs, therefore, need to adapt and push for higher productivity. They can bring about sustainable and quality growth if they have higher productivity. Many companies have been successful in doing that. An example is Dian Xiao Er, a Chinese restaurant famous for its herbal roast duck dishes. It has raised productivity through several methods, including outsourcing of some food preparation like cutting and marinating of meat to its food manufacturer, using biometric readers to record staff attendance and training staff to improve on their service delivery. These are the SMEs who changed their mindsets, believed in efficiency, improved their productivity and strengthened their positioning in the marketplace.
To date, half of the $2 billion National Productivity Fund has been committed, with much of this going to SMEs. The Government has also set aside more than $300 million for the next three years to support SMEs in restructuring.
Beyond funding, we will continue to ensure that the broader ecosystem of support is there. To ensure that Government schemes are accessible, we are continuing to simplify grants and application procedures and expand the network of SME centres to help the SMEs.
Having talent is important. In the coming years, MTI will partner MOM, MOE and the industry to prepare Singaporeans for the specialist, managerial and leadership roles in the economy. We want Singaporeans to have meaningful careers and good jobs that will help them to realise their dreams and aspirations. As the Member Mr Dhinakaran has mentioned, our SMEs employ 70% of our workforce and also play a major part in contributing to the economy. They are the backbone of our economy. SMEs need well-trained talents in their companies too. They need motivated Singaporean workers who can find meaning in their work and will also help the SMEs and take them to the next level.
The Government will help these SMEs to be employers of choice. We will actively help to connect graduating students with SMEs. It was mentioned by one of the Members, we have the SME Talent Programme. This was launched late last year. We have already matched 400 graduates from polytechnics and ITEs under apprenticeship or for employment to SMEs in the F&B, retail, services, manufacturing and engineering sectors.
We need to continue to work closely with our Trade Associations and Chambers and hope to match 4,000 students to SMEs over the next five years.
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At the same time, SMEs need to make themselves good employers. They need to put in place good compensation packages, good human resources practices and also be able to plan a good and rewarding career path for these graduates. We will need to prepare these SMEs to be able to recruit these talents. We will help them through different measures, grants and schemes to acquire such expertise and revamp their approach to talent management.
These SMEs need not have to be large ones. They can be small and micro ones. As long as they are willing to change their mindset, put in place a good system, we will be there to help them.
Given the small size of our domestic economy, businesses in Singapore need to serve not just Singapore, but the world. SMEs should ride on the growth of Asia, as well as the continued recovery in the US and Europe, to seize growth and opportunities. There are two aspects to this. What do we do?
First, we will continue to enhance international economic linkages and improve our trade infrastructure so as to increase the opportunities for our businesses.
We have an extensive network of 21 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Economic Partnership Agreements with countries, such as China, Japan, Korea and the United States. Much of this work done by the Ministry is invisible to many. At these difficult negotiations, sometimes you give some, you take some; you win some, you lose some. They are not easy negotiations. But we have 21 FTAs that will help the businesses. Ongoing negotiations of the regional FTAs, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as well as with individual countries, such as Turkey, will further enhance our trade positions and help our businesses.
These FTAs help our businesses to reduce costs, lower risks and enter new markets. For example, the European Union-Singapore FTA is the first bilateral FTA which will allow processed Asian food products made in Singapore, such as chicken and pork floss, samosa, canned luncheon meat, fish balls and crab balls, to enter the EU tariff free, within an annual quota.
Second, we will continue to help our companies leverage on trade networks we have developed, to internationalise more successfully and become globally competitive players.
IE Singapore has in place a comprehensive system of support to help companies to successfully internationalise by helping the companies gain access to information, overseas networks and financial support that they need. Some of the companies tap on the IE schemes,
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such as setting up offices overseas. IE has a scheme and we have programmes that help defray the costs of setting up offices overseas, accessing information, doing research, employing people.
In 2013, IE assisted over 26,000 companies, including the provision of S$42 million in grants and facilitation of S$774 million in trade financing. It is important for companies to tap on these, especially companies completely new to the market.
Talking about startups and new companies, we need them to revitalise and rejuvenate the trade and the business sector. There will be companies that will not find survival or space in the new way moving forward; there will be new companies that will be set up, we will try and find the space. We have to help them all. We need more new companies, we need more innovative companies.
Sir, apart from helping the established businesses and the SMEs, the Government will continue efforts to ensure a conducive ecosystem to help the growth of startups. With the maturing of our entrepreneurial landscape, we will be reconstituting the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), which is the Entrepreneurship Committee that I used to chair, into a private sector-led entity to allow the private sector a greater role in shaping a dynamic entrepreneurial community. At the same time, we will continue to plug funding gaps for innovative startups with novel and disruptive ideas.
As Members would know, I have announced it before that the success of Block 71 at Ayer Rajah Crescent forms a very closely-knit entrepreneurial community. We will expand that area to include two other blocks and that whole area will be called JTC LaunchPad @ one-north. That will boost our startup scene in Singapore and, hopefully, attract more capital into Singapore to help our startups.
Singapore has limited land, and our land prices and rents reflect this. We have to continue to monitor it, explore different ways to make the best use of the land and space that we have.
There is a substantial supply of space which will be coming onto the market. Rents for space are, therefore, likely to moderate in the medium term. But simply adding more space is not a sustainable solution. We have to explore more ways. Sometimes, when the rent increases, from different organisations, it does impact. There is a signalling effect, but it may not be a dominating effect. But we believe that there is a need to provide more information for the tenants and for the landlords as well to make more informed decisions. We will continue to explore ways to make sure this information is available and, within this year, we will make sure that such information is more accessible for decisions to be made. We will
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also build customised buildings – no-frills facilities – for different clusters of industries and sectors.
Sir, JTC has pioneered high-rise infrastructure solutions and specialised facilities. We will continue to do more. Last week, JTC launched the JTC Space @ Tampines North. This development integrates land-based facilities with high-rise, multi-user factories. It has also been specifically designed for SMEs involved in heavier manufacturing activities to be flexible and future-ready. Its high floor loading and wide corridors will allow for traditionally land-based industries to go high-rise.
We will also ensure that the market functions in a fair and balanced manner by increasing data transparency for retail and industrial space so that businesses are able to make informed decisions, as I have mentioned. URA has recently made median rental of retail space by street name freely available. We will work closely with URA and IRAS to further refine the retail rental data and to provide them at a more granular level towards the end of the year.
I know that the key trade associations are studying the development of a framework of best practices for lease contracts. We encourage that and I believe that they will be recommending the framework very soon as a code of best practices or guidelines on best practices. If we can come up with the guidelines of best practices, it can enable good and fair practices for both sides. The Government is supportive of these industry efforts.
Over the next three years, around 40,000 to 45,000 young Singaporeans are expected to enter the job market each year. Two-thirds will hold Professional, Managerial, Executive and Technical (PMET) jobs. We need to transform our economy to create good jobs that cater to the aspirations of this workforce and provide sustainable wage growth to enable Singaporeans to improve their lives.
It is not going to be easy for our businesses and our local SMEs. We understand. I have always mentioned that the Government will always be with the SMEs throughout this journey.
The President noted in his Address that just as our pioneers overcame formidable obstacles with grit and determination, we, too, must create our Singapore of tomorrow. Over the last half century, Singapore's economy has performed well. But this did not come by chance. We have consistently taken proactive steps to ensure that our people and our businesses are well prepared for the future and we are still doing that. We have not shied away from making difficult decisions. We will maintain strong economic fundamentals, such as an open and business-friendly environment, good governance, sound infrastructure, a
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highly educated workforce, but, most importantly, a stable political climate and position in Singapore. Many businesses are encouraged because we have a very stable political climate in Singapore. We cannot take that for granted as well because we must get the fundamentals right.
The President has mentioned about moving forward is not just about stable politics but also constructive politics. Mr Low has also mentioned about constructive politics and his view and perspective about it. The way I interpret constructive politics is that it is not about trying to be popular, not to come up with populist policies but to be able to engage effectively, understand effectively and provide a solution that is effective. It is not about being populist and winning more support. Sometimes, it is about making very difficult decisions. And that is a fundamental of all stable political systems. With that, the economy can grow, people will have confidence, and businesses will have confidence to invest in Singapore.
For Singaporeans, moving forward, we want to provide them with good jobs. That is a fundamental objective of what MTI does and we will want to continue to inject vibrancy into the economy so that we can achieve our vision for the future.
The Senior Minister of State for Education and Law (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Deputy Speaker, in his Address, the President spoke about the Government's pledge to ensure that Singapore remains a nation of opportunity for all.
Being a nation of opportunity involves:
First, creating the conditions that will generate opportunities for Singaporeans to do well and prosper, and the energies of our economic agencies are focused intensively on this, as we have heard from Minister of State Teo Ser Luck just now.
Second, enabling our people, through education, to access and leverage on these opportunities, now and in the future, in Singapore and internationally and that is where MOE comes into the picture.
Members would know of the ASPIRE Committee which was formed, principally, to focus on opportunities for our polytechnic and ITE students.
I would like to update the House on the Committee's work so far. We have engaged in extensive public engagement. We have spoken with more than 2,000 stakeholders from five
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Polytechnics and the ITEs, including students, parents, staff and alumni. We also surveyed more than 10,000 polytechnic students, 4,000 ITE students and some 600 parents.
In the course of our review, we found that there is a strong endorsement for the education provided by our polytechnics and ITEs. However, this is accompanied by a very strong desire on the part of students and parents for immediate further academic upgrading. Paradoxically though, if everyone goes that route, it may not work out in the best interests of our students.
When I was working on my speech, I was wondering how best to convey this conundrum and I found, ironically, the answer in today's The Straits Times which carried four separate articles that illustrated the issues for our applied education landscape today.
The first was the article on page B7 reporting on how more polytechnic graduates have scored places in Law and Medicine in university. We are happy for these students, and this also shows the strength and quality of our polytechnic education. As the article reported, 40% of our students who actually qualified for Junior College chose to go to the polytechnic instead. The reason most often cited for doing so was that they wanted to get hands-on learning straightaway.
From the students' and parents' perspectives, the outcomes they want are good pay, good career prospects and upward progression. Currently, this is equated with academic upgrading. Almost six in 10 ITE students and four in 10 polytechnic students wish to upgrade immediately upon graduation, even though they are, in fact, ready to be employed. The ITE student feels he or she would not be successful if he or she does not upgrade to a diploma, whilst the polytechnic student feels that he or she would not be successful without a degree. Additionally, they are worried that if they do not pursue academic upgrading immediately they may lose momentum.
However, on page A2 of the very same newspaper, there was a big article entitled: \"Degree holders most vulnerable to retrenchment\". It reported that in the last two years, degree holders found themselves most vulnerable to losing their jobs, among all qualification groups.
SIM University economist Randolph Tan was quoted as saying, \"As graduates become more available, it brings about more friction in the job matching process. More graduates think that getting a degree is the pinnacle of achievement but what they do not realise is that the workplace demands much more of them.\" In the article, Sylvia Tan, an IT manager who was retrenched, reflected on the fact that if she had been able to pick up new skills, like
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cloud computing and analytics, perhaps she might not have been retrenched.
In short, the basic principles continue to apply – supply should not exceed demand, real skills and competencies matter, and continuing education and training are becoming ever more important.
In addition, when you speak to employers, they will tell you that what really matters to them even more than a paper qualification are the intangible qualities. Clearly, a potential employee must have the basic technical and substantive skills, but what the employers value most are the intangible qualities, such as diligence, analytical skills, resilience, teamwork, communication skills, EQ, leadership qualities and problem-solving skills.
This was reflected in the third article on page B12, entitled \"Education must match Economy's Needs: Experts\". At a forum held in Singapore organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the experts voiced their view that \"education remains the key to Singapore's success as a knowledge-based economy, but it needs to be targeted at developing the right skills\". Dr Siriwan Chutikamoltham, Director of Banking of Finance at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Business School said, \"There should be less emphasis on just getting degrees. Education should match what is going on in the economy.\"
How do you encourage polytechnic and ITE graduates to take advantage of their diplomas and certificates and to meet their aspirations at the same time? Part of that answer was provided in a fourth article on page B11, entitled \"Good HR Policies Draw Talent and Boost Business Growth\". An electronics firm, Jason Marine Group, won the SME Employer of the Year Award in February. They sharply reduced staff turnover by 50% after they revamped their HR programme and developed an upward career path for their staff. This boosted both their recruitment and their retention.
In response to the question on what he had learnt about building employees' careers, the founder, Joseph Woo said, \"Everyone wants to be developed and trained, to continue to improve – not just training in terms of skill, but also experience and exposure. As for a career path, everyone wants to know how far he can go from here.\"
One other thing that came out strongly both in our study trips and engagement sessions was the need for information and assistance in making the right career choice. One of our findings was that when it comes to making career decisions, students are most influenced by their parents and their perception – as well as their parents' perception – of career opportunities in related sectors. In second order of importance of influence, are career platforms, such as exhibitions, talks, career fairs and the media. Some parents I spoke to said
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that they were not aware of the many different types of careers and job options available today and, as such, they tended to fall back on the usual or more well-known traditional choices.
Sir, the takeaways for the ASPIRE Committee from all of these studies, engagements and interactions are as follows.
First, real skills and intangible qualities matter. And they must meet industry needs. In this regard, we are looking at Work-Study programmes and how to structure the curriculum and internships so that there will be a tighter nexus between what is taught and what is required in the workplace.
Next, upward progression of polytechnic and ITE graduates is important. The desire for the degree is driven by the outcomes people anticipate that the degree will give. However, if all chase a degree route immediately, that would actually not result in the best outcomes for our polytechnic and ITE students, as explained earlier. What we should aim for, therefore, is a multiplicity of pathways that are viable options in and of themselves. So, they should be able to either pursue further studies immediately – some do this – or work first and pursue further studies later, preferably in a related sector, or work and progress upwards through professional certifications and training even without the need for a degree.
Ideally, what we want is for each of these pathways to be able to still give our students the outcomes they hope for in terms of career prospects and progression. We are looking at how we can facilitate progression pathways to enable our polytechnic and ITE graduates to progress upwards even without a degree or before they get one.
Continuing education and training and skills upgrading is important, as illustrated by the example of Ms Sylvia Tan, mentioned earlier. We are looking at how we can help our polytechnic and ITE graduates stay on top of the game to navigate the vicissitudes of the future through continuing education and training, industry certifications and short courses that will add to their repertoire of skills and keep them in high demand.
Next, staying at the cutting edge matters. In order for our students to be at the forefront of technical skills, as well as the intangible ones, the educators must be at the forefront as well. We are, therefore, exploring ways in which the polytechnic and ITE educators can continue to be at the cutting edge of industry skills and practices.
Next, industry participation and collaboration is vital. None of the above would be possible unless industry and employers are invested in and collaborate with us to achieve these objectives. We are studying how we can work closely with the employers and industry
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in order to achieve the objectives mentioned earlier.
Finally, providing information to make right career choices is important. In this regard, we are looking at career guidance not just for school, but given that education is now a lifelong continuum, from school throughout working life, so that people can find the careers that are best suited to their strengths and circumstances at different stages of their lives.
The reality of the situation is that the world is changing so fast that in the next five to 10 years, new jobs will come into existence that have not been invented today. The people who will thrive in that kind of future are the ones who have relevant skills and are continually able to learn new ones.
The strength and uniqueness of our polytechnic and ITE qualifications lie in their flexibility. Our graduates can work immediately but their qualifications give them a base on which to acquire further learning.
Given that the future is likely to be more unpredictable and volatile, a qualification which imparts technical or professional skills, coupled with strong continuing education and training or professional upgrading to stay ahead of the curve, will give good outcomes in the long run. The future of our polytechnic and ITE students is bright, and ASPIRE is working on ways to enable them to access the many opportunities that lie ahead of them.
Mr Deputy Speaker, before I conclude, I would like to say a few words on constructive politics. Earlier, Mr Low Thia Khiang, in his speech, rejected the notion of constructive politics. He said whatever way politics is described and coloured, it is still politics. But constructive politics is important to us. It means political parties putting people before politics. It must ultimately result in better lives.
Constructive politics is about putting Singaporeans at the heart of what we do by, first, offering practical alternatives. Second, acknowledging the trade-offs and being responsible. So, for example, if you know that 70% of Singaporean jobs depend on SMEs, then one should not suggest a complete freeze on foreign workers, because that will seriously impact our Singaporean jobs, even though it may sound popular, and even though it may sound good. Something like that is politically opportunistic, not constructive. But it does not help people on the ground, like our Singapore SMEs.
Next, constructive politics also means not flip-flopping when convenient. So, for example, you do not ask for more foreign workers to be allowed in Singapore in 2012, and then in 2013, after the White Paper on Population, say that there should be a complete freeze, and then a few months later, ask for more foreign workers again. Because there are
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real trade-offs and people's livelihoods and jobs are at stake.
And above all, constructive politics must mean upholding the highest standards of integrity. It means that if you take over a Town Council worth hundreds of millions of dollars and give out contracts to your own supporters worth millions of dollars without a tender, what kind of political values are those?
When asked straightforward questions, for example, whether you pay your supporters – who are also your Managing Agent – a salary, in addition to their charging fees as a Managing Agent, and then decline to answer, what kind of political culture do you build? How does that engender trust?
The President laid out an entire agenda. It is significant that Mr Low's speech was wholly devoted to the topic of politics and disregarded entirely the rest of the President's speech which outlines the Government's agenda for the future, for Singapore and Singaporeans, and how to make lives better for Singapore and Singaporeans.
There are various ways to interpret this disregarding of the entire agenda. Perhaps Mr Low feels that our policies are not working or Mr Low has no constructive alternatives to the challenges that we face, or perhaps none which he thinks are constructive, or with the recent woes of his Town Council, he wishes to create an impression that nothing is wrong and that the Government is out to fix them.
\tMr Deputy Speaker: Mr Low.
Mr Low Thia Khiang: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. First of all, I wish to clarify that it is not that I do not agree to constructive politics. What I was saying is that constructive politics is only a term that is used. It can be just merely the rhetoric of the Government. What is important is the outcome of the political process. What the President wanted to see – the desired outcome – is that whatever differences we have, we can move forward as one united people. What is important to me is: where is the actual action by the Government? Action speaks louder than words.
I think it is useless for the PAP to keep on harping on the Town Council matter. Let me first explain that the award of the contract to the Managing Agent is through an open tender. The Chairman is not here. Okay, never mind. But what I know is it is through an open tender. It is not something that we signed under the table. So, I think if you are talking about integrity, perhaps you might want to give us more details to prove how is it that the Workers' Party
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lacks integrity in awarding of the contract.
Secondly, if the Senior Minister of State is referring to accounting issues, the Auditor-General is currently auditing the Town Council's accounts. Is she suggesting, before the Auditor-General comes to a conclusion, the Government has already some pre-concluded conclusion of what happened? The other things, like whether we flip-flopped. No, we did not. If she wishes to have a full debate on that, please file a Motion. We are prepared to debate that.
Ms Indranee Rajah: Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank Mr Low Thia Khiang for his clarifications. He said just now that \"constructive politics\" is only a term; it is rhetorical. That was my point; it is not. Politics is real. It is real because it impacts on the lives of people. It is real because what we say and do in this Parliament makes a difference to Singaporeans. It is real because you stand for something and what you say must mean something. It is real because whatever you do has an outcome and an impact on the lives of people. So, when I spoke about \"constructive politics\" just now, that was what I meant: the way you approach it and, ultimately, its impact on the lives of people. I do not think I need any further explanation on that point.
The second point Mr Low raised was the issue of the Town Council and said he believed it was through an open tender. I am not sure if Mr Low was actually present in Parliament when that point was extensively debated, but it is in the newspapers, it is on record, it is in the Hansard. But it was quite clear that the initial award of the contract was not as a result of an open tender. And that I think was stated and agreed to by their Chairman. They had given an explanation for that subsequently but, essentially, the first award was not pursuant to a tender.
It is not necessary, I believe, Mr Deputy Speaker, for me to go on at length. I have stated our position or my position. Mr Low has expressed his earlier. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is that the way we conduct our politics in Singapore makes a big difference in the lives of people. And it is important, therefore, that our politics should be constructive and should not be purely opportunistic nor populist.
Mr Deputy Speaker: Mrs Lina Chiam.
Mrs Lina Chiam (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion in thanking the President for his Address, which was delivered on behalf of the
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Government in the Opening of the Second Session of this Parliament.
We agree with the President that empathy should be one of the core values of Singapore. However, we face an uphill task in achieving this. How do we help youths develop empathy in the face of tougher job competition internationally and in their homeland? This is in the context of a world that is more protectionist.
The President addressed the need for more opportunities for Singaporeans to realise their dreams and aspirations. Currently, many Singaporeans feel that they are priced out of their aspirations for cars, houses and higher education.
In order to help and enable young Singaporeans to fulfil their potential, and pursue their dreams and aspirations, we must have a happy and healthy environment at home, in school and in the workplace.
In order to build a healthy, caring society, there must be mental wellness among Singaporeans. We need to do more for mental wellness of each and every one of our citizens. Only then can we speak meaningfully of higher productivity among our workforce. Lifelong learning for retirees and the elderly should also be encouraged to keep their minds active.
We must not forget about the welfare of Singaporeans, even the detainees held under the Internal Security Act – the cases of those who have been detained for more than 10 years must be reviewed.
We urge the Government to reprioritise the needs of Singaporeans over and above that of medical tourism, for instance.
CPF – there are alternatives to raising Minimum Sum. While the Government has tried to ensure affordable and quality healthcare, it has recently raised the CPF Minimum Sum to $155,000. This makes retirement tougher.
Many Singaporeans are also deeply unhappy about the compulsory annuity CPF Scheme. We need alternative retirement schemes to build an inclusive society. Singapore needs a complex mix of policies, such as alternative investment options to ensure a sufficient pool of funds in CPF. A non-mandatory CPF annuity scheme and private annuity schemes should also be considered.
It is important to provide more opportunities for those who fail in school, businesses or in life. We need to think carefully how to embrace failure and provide second chances for Singaporeans. This may include providing a stronger and less complex system of a social
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safety net for Singaporeans.
Tougher questions regarding the localisation of our workforce need to be addressed soon. We understand that 50% of jobs in Singapore are not held by Singaporeans.
Economic growth alone is incapable of satisfying the democratic and meritocratic hopes of the people. Specific institutions must be created for that purpose of redistributing the fruits of Singapore's growth, rather than relying on market forces to ensure a meritocratic society.
So far, the Government has chosen a purely capitalist system to grow our nation. Our national wealth increased. Companies located in Singapore prospered and business leaders were also able to make profits out of Singaporeans. Many of our local businesses rely on cheap labour to survive. Without them, managers complain that they will fold up. I believe them because they are simply unable to compete technologically anymore, after more than 20 years of cheap quotas. Innovation is no longer in their blood. Theoretically, some of them should be allowed to fail. Restructuring must take place in order to create a competitive environment that can pay good wages.
Meritocracy will not happen otherwise. Businesses will push wages down because opportunity cost of not innovating is low. The Singaporean worker will always be too expensive to hire. To help one business survive, we will need limitless low-wage foreign labour. I think this story is quite clear.
We are not interested in asking which industries should stay or which should go. But we want to be part of a new governmental apparatus to help formulate policies that favour Singaporeans, not an absolute growth model.
The President also talked about a stronger Singaporean Core. At this stage, I also want to stress that capital stuck with the wealthy will always almost transform into rent as it accumulates. The poorer will never be able to catch up unless capital is forced to be more dynamic. On this ground, I question the validity of the current Government's strategy of attracting top billionaires and how overrated the concept of trickle-down economics is in creating jobs.
The incentives we throw to attract top businesses could have been better spent allowing students to get their hands wet on entrepreneurship. We disagree with what the Government prescribes in the growth model – only in setting up agencies, creating schemes and buying projects. We prefer that this model be abandoned and that we work directly with tertiary institutions to build businesses. After all, Silicon Valley, Hong Kong and London did
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not become competitive because of aggressive incentives.
Singapore owns a lot of capital but Singaporeans lack easy access to this capital for basic uses, such as retirement and education. We still cling onto the nanny state mentality that disallows a man to fail in life. We say that the ordinary man is incapable of planning his retirement, so we lock up his cash and force him to purchase an annuity.
As if it is not bad enough to have a nanny state government that grows at all cost, our Government refuses to install a minimum wage for low-wage workers. Yet, there is in effect a minimum wage for senior civil servants and political leaders – we are referring to the pay benchmarks of our leaders.
In the French monarchy period, they were not able to revamp their tax structure. Nobles were not paying taxes and this caused a lot of pain for the government. In Singapore's case today, we treat our businesses like nobles. Instead of increasing the tax and eliminating their access to cheap foreign labour, we decide to tax Singaporeans through systems such as the COE for cars.
If the President is serious about unifying Singapore, the path ahead is long. The President shared that we must add substance to voices. After Our Singapore Conversation (OSC), the Singapore People's Party urges the Government to continue launching more nation-wide conversations – regardless of their political inclination. After all, we are all working for a better Singapore.
The OSC should be held with ordinary people, of all political inclination, in all places like coffee shops, hawker centres or shopping malls, and also on the Internet – anywhere that is conducive for people to speak their mind freely. We will get better and more accurate feedback at the end of the day.
Controlling the discourse online, such as through the new Media Development Authority (MDA) Internet regulations last year, is counter-productive and self-defeating.
If the Government is sincere about hearing people's voices, we urge them to take an even-handed approach in reviewing the Broadcasting Act in the remaining term of Parliament before the next General Election, as they have slated.
If being a constructive opposition means speaking up for the real needs of the people, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality – then yes, we are a constructive opposition. We have no interest at all in destroying the fabric of Singapore. But when we see policies that are detrimental to the well-being of our people and our nation, the Opposition
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will speak up fearlessly.
The Singapore People's Party shall be a loyal Opposition – loyal to the Constitution, loyal to the nation, not to the ruling Party but we will stand together with the Government in times of national difficulties and emergency. But our role in Parliament is to keep the Government in check, ensuring that its promises to the people and its policies are carried out. We will also continue put out our alternative solutions and policy proposals to move Singapore further, both with the Opposition and the ruling Party.
As Singapore approaches a new chapter with its 50th anniversary next year, the Opposition's role and responsibility is becoming a more integral part of the governance of our nation. In fact, the whole nation must be responsible for that. We all have a role to play.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Motion of thanks to the President for his speech.
I am heartened by the Government's commitment to help our local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) become more productive. The $300 million MTI has committed to SMEs over the next three years is over and above the $1 billion committed from the $2 billion National Productivity Fund. I am sure many SMEs will find this fund injection useful.
I feel strongly that we must support and grow our local enterprises further. Aside from the reasons of national pride and patriotism, local businesses create and add significant value to our economy.
Unfortunately, the idea of starting a business is daunting to most Singaporeans, especially our young ones, who are well-educated and have many attractive and stable jobs to choose from. Those who manage to save up or secure additional funds would rather become landlords instead of starting businesses. There is much less headache and backache involved. Increasing productivity only tackles one aspect; we should really tackle the number one hurdle faced by our SMEs: rental.
Our current mode, to a certain extent, relies on the free market mechanism for the commercial and industrial property market. However, due to our scarcity of land, especially near choice locations, there is a limitation to the realisation of the full benefit of the free market mechanism, that is, through increasing supply of land.
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Increasing the supply of land for open tender by private developers, which is profit-driven, may not necessarily help rein in the cost of business. The increasing sale of commercial and industrial properties to REITs also pushes up rental cost and thus raises the cost to consumers, which in turn drives up the cost of living. There is a need for both HDB and JTC to remain as major property owners to keep the control over the rental and thus the cost of living.
It may be good for HDB to retain control over the rental of commercial properties in town centres and neighbourhoods, alongside with private malls to cushion costs. Likewise, the same applies to JTC.
We should review our current ratio of privately and Government-owned commercial and industrial properties. I would like to ask what is the current ratio and if there are plans to review and change the ratio to ensure the sustainability and growth of our SMEs while keeping a control on the rental costs.
Next, for housing, I want to express my appreciation for the bold and decisive move by HDB to delink the prices of BTO flats from the market prices with household income as the base for flat prices. This policy has stabilised property prices and calmed the market. The earlier pent-up demand and property chase had caused much anxiety. I hope we continue to maintain adequate supply every year and it would be also good to keep aside a certain percentage of housing in stock.
As suggested before, it would also be desirable to complement the current system with a registration system for better planning. A registration system will enable HDB to have better real time information and indication of the prevailing demand for flats by location and type of flats required by both first timers and upgraders. It will help to minimise the gap between expectations and aspirations and also optimise the resources allocation.
I would also like to request that we extend the Lease Buyback Scheme beyond 3-room flats as elderly residents would like to age in place. We should also promote the use of reverse mortgage to help residents who are asset-rich to unlock and monetise these assets for retirement. To reduce uncertainty due to residents outliving leases, whether in Studio Apartments (SAs) or flats pledged to the Lease Buyback Scheme, HDB should commit to lease extensions.
We also need to help residents aged 55 and above who face problems buying their flats using CPF savings. They are affected by the Minimum Sum requirement. CPF should allow half of the Minimum Sum to be set aside for the flat purchase if the buyers are still working and have income to service their mortgages. This will also be in line with our support for
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residents who want to continue to work.
There is also a need to expedite reviews of current CPF Housing Withdrawal Limit and Valuation Limit, as the valuation of flat at the point of purchase may not be realistic, coupled with safety net provided through HDB Lease Buyback Scheme.
I would also like to suggest that we increase the percentage of larger BTO flat allocations to second-timer families with more than one child to encourage procreation. In addition, we should consider allowing divorced Singaporeans with custody of children to apply for BTO flats even though they could have bought a flat or enjoyed the grant more than twice, as they could be forced and compelled to sell their flats without benefits due to their failed marriage.
The existing policies should not penalise Singaporeans who are married to divorcees and who are first-timers to apply for HDB flats. May I suggest to HDB to allow them to apply for flats, perhaps without grants? Those divorcees could be ineligible having enjoyed more than once the grant and subject to repayment of resale levy, while first-timer spouse may be considered for half of the usual grant given to the first-time couples.
Next, on education. I would like to say that I support MOE's moves to remove the emphasis on critical examinations which decide a child's future. In fact, this focus on examinations, academic performance and top schools contributes to our lower fertility rate as well as rising costs of living. In many homes today, the two major expenditures are mortgages and tuition fees. Perhaps, the Ministry should commission a study to find out the impact of private tuition on school results.
There is a suggestion to extend the school hours so that the students finish their homework in school before they go back. However, I do come across parents who asked for school transfers for the same reason that the schools did not have homework for their students. In fact, the principal has tried with the good intention to ensure that the students can finish homework in school so that they can get to enjoy family bonding at home. But this may not be appreciated and accepted by parents. Parents still feel the need to arrange tuition and other enrichment classes for their children after school.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government for accepting and implementing my various suggestions over the past three years. These include:
(a) extending subsidies to family clinics so that residents can get medical services at subsidised polyclinics in family clinics;
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(b) extending the Special CPF Housing Grant under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme (NCS) may allow Singaporeans with foreign spouses at age 35 and above to apply for 2-room flats;
(c) allowing private operators to participate in public transport and implement city direct services;
(d) providing employment credits to encourage companies to employ senior citizens;
(e) issuing Long-Term Visit Passes to allow foreign spouses of Singaporeans to be gainfully employed to help support their families. Sir, let me speak in Mandarin.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Next, I would like to urge the Government to continue to stay relevant and respond to the changing needs of Singaporeans by adjusting certain policies. The Government should proactively make policy adjustments to reverse Singapore's declining fertility rate. I suggest that the Government adopt innovative thinking and take the following measures.
First, allow all first-time BTO applicant couples to apply for a 3-room flat without the restriction of an income ceiling.
Second, as it has become more common for both husband and wife to work overseas, the Government can provide free tuition and expand the scope of preschool education and childcare services, cultivate preschool educators and standardise the curriculum.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Adjournment of Debate","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Dr Ng Eng Hen): Mr Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent to move that the debate be now adjourned.
Mr Deputy Speaker: I give my consent.
[(proc text) Resolved, (proc text)]
[(proc text) That the debate be now adjourned. – [Dr Ng Eng Hen]. (proc text)]
Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Zaqy, resumption of debate what day?
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Tomorrow, Sir.
Mr Deputy Speaker: So be it.
\tPage: 107
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Adjournment","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"[(proc text) Resolved, \"That Parliament do now adjourn.\" – [Dr Ng Eng Hen]. (proc text)]
Adjourned accordingly at 6.49 pm.
\tPage: 108
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