HEAD U - PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

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Head U – Prime Minister's Office

The Chairman: Head U – Prime Minister's Office. Dr Lily Neo.

Integration

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head U of the Estimates be reduced by $100.

Sir, immigration can mitigate the negative economic slowdown from the

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process of ageing and the shrinking of population. What is the progress on the attraction of immigrants to Singapore? What are the efforts to integrate new immigrants well into our society to maintain a cohesive and harmonious community? For foreign students in Singapore, who may be children of immigrants or here on their own, is there any effort to encourage them to stay and contribute? Are there avenues to engage foreign students in both the Government and private schools?

Integration of Expatriates, PRs and New Citizens

Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister about the progress in our push to encourage integration amongst expatriates as well as PRs and new citizens.

This issue of integration is not new. It is something that has existed for many centuries. Three years ago, my secretary gave me a book on Alexander the Great. She obviously thought I did not have enough to read! Alexander the Great was a Macedonian. He pushed forward out of Macedonia and Greece towards Asia, conquered Persia and pushed towards Afghanistan. But he had a problem with integrating his Generals. In the course of it, he also wanted to retire some old Generals. His troops rebelled. He had to calm them down, which he finally did. Then, he sat down and had a dinner. And the first ring around the dinner were the Greeks, followed by the Persians. When I read that, I was thinking this sounds exactly like an Inter-Racial Confidence Circle to me. The idea that in 300 BC, this issue of integration was something that posed a challenge at that time was remarkable because it is an issue that we still face today. On the ground, there are concerns by Singaporeans about integrating with foreigners.

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So, I would just like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister about the status and what efforts we have made and the progress in the past year.

Population Integration

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Sir, all new citizens have different motivations in choosing to be Singapore citizens – some for their own career advancements, some to grow their investments or expand their businesses and some for their children's future. New citizens come from various ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. As such, it is a challenge for new citizens to first settle down in Singapore, and then bond with fellow Singaporeans in a multi-racial and multi-religious society.

With a growing population of new citizens, we need to do more to integrate our population. The setting up of the Integration and Naturalisation Champion (INC) at each constituency is a first step in the correct direction in integrating new citizens. However, feedback from my INC shows that many new citizens do not understand Singapore's history and heritage, do not understand our political system and achievements, and also do not understand our cultures and living habits.

Sir, we need to provide resources to support the integration efforts of the INC. New citizens should be encouraged to participate in community activities and play an active role in community bonding and integration.

Sir, one barrier to integration is actually language. I would like to urge the Government to consider providing free or subsidised language courses, especially English or Chinese, for new citizens. This will definitely facilitate communication and integration.

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I wish to ask the Minister the following questions:

(a) What are the key initiatives implemented to integrate new citizens with existing Singaporeans? How do we measure the effectiveness of these integration programmes?

(b) How do we measure new citizen integration?

(c) What are the plans to develop a sense of identity and ownership among all Singaporeans?

Population Policy

Mr Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, the Government wants to achieve a future population of 6.5 million for Singapore. I can understand the rationale for having a higher population than the current, but is 6.5 million the optimum number for the future? The question is: when is this future date?

I feel that in planning such a population growth, the Government may have adopted an "instant tree" mentality where after setting a goal, we want to achieve it tomorrow.

We have been ramping up the population relentlessly in the last couple of years. It is like we want a tree, but we are not willing for it to grow, for the roots to go down, the tree to go up, and for the ground to adjust. Our "instant tree" mentality is pushing the pace of population growth at unrealistic rates.

It has created a massive strain on available infrastructure, be it trains, property, food centres or our common spaces. Foreigners have also contributed to the fuelling of our property prices, as I mentioned in my Budget speech. Infrastructure will take time to build. I do not disagree with our policy to bring in talented foreigners here, but I cannot

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agree with opening up the floodgates and letting in so many, so quickly. We should have planned on a much more gradual increase of population in line with our ability to absorb and sustain it. And what if we got the 6.5 million number wrong and perhaps that it should be 5.5 million? We might then have overdone things and making it difficult for us to reverse if we try to bring in so many so quickly.

I suggest that we slow down the intake, be patient about when we want to achieve the desired optimum population level. This way, we could also have managed our infrastructure growth better, adjusting the supply to match demand for homes, cars and our common spaces better.

Another problem with such influx is that with many foreigners here, we are creating the issue of integration. I spoke about this last year. Society needs time to adjust and to absorb the newcomers, and the newcomers need time to make themselves feel at home.

If we do not keep this trend in check, we may be closer to the New York or the London model, with many groups coming with all sorts of values, with everyone covering their own space. This may likely compromise our social cohesion that we cannot compromise on.

Exciting City of Opportunities

Mr Gautam Banerjee (Nominated Member): Sir, I particularly like the strategic intent of the Budget where the Finance Minister spelt out how his Budget would "create new advantages and fresh opportunities for Singapore in a competitive world".

He rightly acknowledged that infrastructure is only the enabler and the key to our success will be our people and our enterprises. In the Finance Minister's words, and I quote, "whether we hold our

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place in the top league will ultimately depend on whether our people and enterprises are top quality, in every job and business they do". I cannot agree more with him.

Twenty-six years ago, I moved to Singapore from London because I saw Singapore as a city of opportunity. Today, it continues to be one, but 20 years from today, will Singapore still be a city of opportunity?

I believe that while competition to be a city of opportunity is getting more intense, with rapidly growing cities in Asia and other parts of the emerging world, challenging established leaders such as London and New York, Singapore has what it takes to be a leading long-term player in the premier league of global cities, but this is not without its challenges.

What makes me confident about Singapore's future and what are some of the challenges we are likely to face going forward? My confidence in Singapore's future stems from the fact that we have chosen the right strategy. Our ambition is clear, we want to be a global city, that is, a centre of commerce, finance and investment, a magnet that attracts companies, entrepreneurs and others engaged in global business and trade. We have set ourselves a target to have a disproportionately high share of corporate headquarters located in Singapore and we know that as a country, we have to offer distinct advantages for doing business in a global economy.

At the beginning of the 20th century, conventional indicators, such as port capacity and manufacturing capabilities, together with physical size, would have been used to define a city of opportunity. While still significant, such indicators have given way in the 21st century to technological factors such as broadband

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availability and telecommunications infrastructure and to cultural characteristics such as diversity. These changes suggest that in addition to being a global city in the conventional sense, a city of opportunity in the 21st century must offer more. But what? PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Partnership for New York City undertook a study to find answers to that fundamental question. The results of this study, which was published in 2007, found the requirements and features of 21st century cities of opportunity have changed – and will continue to change – in areas that impact new economy competitiveness and attractiveness: areas ranging from intellectual capital and transportation assets to such fundamental requirements as safety and security. These new indicators and variables, according to the study, better reflect what it takes to succeed in a vibrant knowledge economy. This is good news for Singapore because it plays to our strengths.

In fact, Singapore is well into its journey of developing into a global city of opportunity. Some years back, we took some key strategic decisions on diversifying our economy, making it more broad-based and less dependent on a few major economies such as the US and Japan. Today, we have a growing service and knowledge economy to complement our high-end manufacturing base, our global schoolhouse initiative is beginning to have an impact and we have made bold moves to boost the leisure and tourism sector with iconic investments in lifestyle assets, such as the two Integrated Resorts and the Sports Hub, not to mention our museums, art galleries and our world-class National Library. Hosting events like the F1, the APEC meeting next year and the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 will add to our credibility as a global city.

So what are the challenges we are likely to face if we are to avoid relegation

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from the premier league of global cities? My biggest fear is that when the Government is faced with domestic issues and concerns, perhaps brought about by an economic downturn, it may change course and slow down our efforts to become a global city of opportunity.

For a small nation state like ours, to slow down in the race is almost as good as dropping out. We simply cannot afford to take the foot of the gas pedal, thinking that we can always come back at a later stage to forge ahead of an increasingly competitive field.

Yes, the needs of our heartlanders are very important, but we must not forget the pressing need to attract top talent and top quality enterprises to drop anchor in Singapore. We need a Budget for the common man as well as a Budget for the other stakeholders in our global city of opportunity. We need to address bread-and-butter issues for the less well-off as well as attract and retain the finest chefs for our world-class restaurants.

Sir, I submit to you that the future of our country will depend on how passionate we are in wanting to develop Singapore into an exciting global city of opportunity for not only our home-grown Singaporeans, but also for our expatriate population, some of whom may well sink their roots here. For Singapore to remain a city of opportunity, we must remain first and foremost a global city.

One of the consequences of globalisation is that talent is very mobile and is not constrained by national borders. Consequently, many of our talented Singaporeans are now living and working overseas. This trend is likely to continue, even increase. In the private sector, we find that our most talented young Singaporeans are hungry for overseas experience, attracted not only by the learning opportunities, but by the buzz, excitement and lifestyle of cities

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such as London and New York. Many of them are not in a hurry to come back.

However, we need to remain connected with them and eventually, woo them back home, or, at the very least, we should encourage them to be good ambassadors for Singapore in their adopted home countries. The Government has already recognised this and has started on some worthy initiatives, but more can be done perhaps in partnership with the private sector.

The mindset and aspirations of young Singaporeans also need to be considered in the talent development programmes that the Government operates including its very successful overseas scholarship schemes, which are presently accompanied by long periods of bonding back in Singapore. Set formulas like these have worked in the past but may not be successful today unless we tweak and refresh them.

The optimal population size of Singapore has been debated before. Regardless of whether it is 4.5 million, 5.5 million or 6.5 million, one thing is certain – based on our low birth rate, the bulk of any future demographic growth will have to come from overseas.

Compared to yesteryears, our "expatriate landscape" has changed. Singapore is not merely attracting the doctors, scientists and expatriates who belong to the financially privileged group. There is a growing group of "middle income" foreigners, often described as "expatriates on local terms" because they enjoy little or no fringe benefits. The reason why they are here is that Singapore can offer them good career opportunities, an attractive lifestyle with the charm of a multi-cultural society, top–class education and recreational facilities for their children and a safe and secure environment. They find that most Singaporeans are warm and friendly and

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they feel safe and welcome even though they are a minority. After a while, some of them become Permanent Residents. Several years later, they may find themselves so well integrated into the life in Singapore that they decide to become new Singapore citizens. A happy story so far.

However, they face some dark clouds and anxiety on the horizon. Like other Singaporeans, this group is also affected by spiralling housing rentals and rising costs of living. The inflation rate is high which is eating into their income and curbing their purchasing power. They are frustrated with the long waiting list to admit their children to international schools. But they also have another big concern, that is, how will they be perceived by Singaporeans in the long run?

In recent years, our economy has experienced a good run but what if we have a slowdown and our employment opportunities dip? Will Singaporeans perceive foreign talent as a threat or a catalyst for economic recovery? Will the issue be played up and as a result our foreign imports feel less than welcome? Does our education system give sufficient mention to the contribution of our foreign imports? Do our schools teach our children and youth to appreciate the contribution of this group of potential Singaporeans? Do we dare to be more generous in our fiscal policy to attract and retain foreign talent?

Whilst our economy is still performing well, we should proactively do more to address the needs of our imported talent and seek to retain them.

Sir, I do not pretend to have the solutions to this potentially tricky issue which will almost certainly resurface at some stage in our political and social agenda. What I do know is that we

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should pay more attention towards attracting talent to Singapore and address the issues that deter them from settling here. We should also help our home-grown citizens appreciate the role and contribution of our foreign residents and help these non-citizens to integrate into Singapore society. This is a sizeable group of people. If they have a good life and contribute more to Singapore, collectively, we will all have a better life. If they do not find it meaningful to live in Singapore, we will all lose in the long run.

In conclusion, I would ask the Government to step up its efforts to attract and retain talent, both home-grown and foreign. Otherwise, our efforts to build the infrastructure for a global city will be futile. Without quality human capital, who will give us this global dimension, this excitement, diversity and vibrancy that is essential for Singapore to be a global city of opportunity?

Immigration

Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen (Nominated Member): Sir, our Prime Minister announced in his 2006 National Day Rally speech about promoting our immigration programme overseas and further attracting foreign talent to our shores. While we welcome foreigners who can contribute to our society, we also need transparency in our immigration policies.

According to the Department of Statistics, foreign population has crossed the one million mark and has seen a 14.9% increase from a year ago, compared to 9.7% increase in the previous year. This represents the highest jump in at least seven years. Singapore is the fourth most densely populated country in the world with over 6,000 people per square kilometre. With the swift growth of the urban population, there could be an augmented strain on our

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city's resources, facilities and services. Demands on our physical and social infrastructure such as public transportation and housing will intensify. As it stands, the Circle Line will not be ready till 2012.

The City of Toronto, Canada, with a population of 2.48 million people is fairly similar to Singapore in terms of area mass at 630 square kilometres. It is already beginning to show signs of growing pains, such as traffic congestions and an inaccessible public healthcare system. I would like to ask the Minister: will the rate of foreigners coming to Singapore continue to increase? And, if so, what are some of the necessary steps we have to take to ensure our services – infrastructure, health, education and transport –can cope?

Housing prices have escalated due to market forces. And according to today's Today article, foreign students are already starting to feel the effects of the rising prices. The Straits Times has also reported that there is a shortage with the number of places in international schools as a result of the increase in expatriate population. I would like to ask the Minister if we are moving at too fast a pace. And are we giving our services and infrastructure enough lead time to cope with population increase from immigration?

Apart from infrastructure, another area of concern is our social and community integration. Social integration does not only include economic integration but also cultural integration. It requires an open society where there is acceptance of differences. In the same 2006 National Day Rally speech, the Prime Minister also commented that there are Singaporeans who may have reservations about immigrants and that they are worried about the competition that comes with them. I would like to ask the Minister how the Government intends to cultivate

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integration and an inclusive environment with the expected number of immigrants. Will Singaporeans be able to identify with them and vice versa?

Sir, while we are focused on luring and recruiting foreign talent, we may lose our own at the same time if we are not balanced and prepared in our approach. With the rising cost of living and the widening income gap, Singaporeans will feel the pressure squeeze and be tempted to flee abroad as already evident with the rate of approximately 1,000 people leaving per year.

Sir, Singapore needs foreigners, but Singapore will always need Singaporeans. I hope the Government will be able to allay our concerns with regard to our immigration policies.

Social Integration

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: Sir, Singapore is aiming for a population of 6.5 million. What will be the projected ethnic make-up of this 6.5 million? What proportion will likely be citizens, as opposed to PRs and foreigners? This will have important implications on social cohesiveness and managing race relations in Singapore.

There are two types of risks, Sir, which foreign workers may pose to Singapore's national security.

Singapore's social make-up is still very fluid, and we are vulnerable to racial and religious tensions. No doubt foreign workers contribute to the success of our economy, but they may have had bad experiences back home which developed racial bias. The bulk of our foreign workers are probably not racially antagonistic, but there may be a small fraction of them who are dissatisfied with their experiences here. If these foreign workers are not smoothly assimilated into our society, tensions with other racial groups may influence them to spread their

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dissent to others from their hometowns and this could escalate into racial conflicts. Good work done over the years to make Singapore a cohesive multi-racial society could be undone quickly. What can the Government do to ensure that this does not happen?

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The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Mr Speaker, Sir, at last year's Committee of Supply, I talked about the three key strategies of tackling our population challenges: promoting marriage and parenthood, engaging overseas Singaporeans, and encouraging immigration. This year, several Members have spoken on the issue of immigration and raised questions and suggestions on how to attract and retain foreign talent without weakening our social cohesion and eroding our national identity. These are important matters and I want to thank all Members who have spoken on these matters. Today, I shall focus on this particular area of our population challenge.

Mr Gautam Banerjee talked about Singapore being an exciting global city of opportunities and the need to attract and retain talent. We will continue to be a great city of opportunities if we do the right things, and do it rationally. Indeed, in order to stay competitive in this global economy, Singapore must be a great place to live, work and play for both Singaporeans and foreigners. Only when people are confident and comfortable with their living environment, will they consider major decisions such as getting married and raising children. Similarly, for those who have just come here, such an environment will strengthen their resolve and commitment to call Singapore "home".

Singaporeans today enjoy good infrastructure, reliable healthcare services,

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clean air and water, and an efficient transportation system. We invest in our people, giving top priority to education. We have the Esplanade, and the Integrated Resorts and Sports Hub are to come. We have staged many international conferences, such as the IMF/World Bank Summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, the International Bar Association Meeting and, most recently, the Singapore Air Show Aviation Leadership Summit. More such events will be staged here. The world's first Formula One night race will take place in Singapore in September this year. We also succeeded in our bid to host the inaugural Youth Olympics. That such major events are held here reflect the trust that people have in our ability to deliver what we promise.

Singapore has been cited by various international surveys and articles as one of the best places to be in Asia. The UK's Telegraph carried a glowing testimonial on 28th November 2007 on the "buzz" and excellent infrastructure here. Last year, the ECA International named Singapore as the best city in the world to live for Asian expatriates, while Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked Singapore as one of the world's most liveable cities.

Singaporeans I met abroad have also told me that they have learnt to appreciate Singapore more now that they are based overseas. Some of them have come back to Singapore after spending many years in other countries. They returned home for the economic opportunities in Singapore, the high quality of education for their children, and because they miss their families and friends. We must continue to engage them. Following the very positive responses from the 6,000 overseas Singaporeans who turned up at the inaugural Singapore Day in New York last April, we will be organising Singapore Day

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2008 in Melbourne this October. This event will allow Overseas Singaporeans in Australia a chance to get updated on the many exciting developments in Singapore, and rekindle and renew their connections with home and friends.

For now, Singapore is a talent magnet for many. However, the global competition for talent is very intense. Whether we like it or not, those who are capable and talented will be drawn to places where there are better opportunities and where they feel welcomed. And if Singapore does not welcome them, they will simply look elsewhere and they will then compete against us.

When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Singapore last November, he applauded Singapore's "无墙文化", or "no walls culture". He said that China had benefited from an open policy and likewise, "a small country like Singapore becomes big only when it embraces the world". His views were echoed recently, just a few days ago, by the Renmin Ribao (人民日报), which congratulated Singapore on our amazing capacity to take on major projects and bring in global talent in spite of our small size. If a big country like China can see value in opening its doors to the world, what more this "little red dot"?

Since broadening the immigration criteria in 2004, we have seen an average of 52,500 PRs and 12,800 new citizens granted every year. Last year, we had 63,600 PRs and 17,300 new citizens. In comparison, we had just 760 more babies last year compared to 2006. While the increase is heartening, we are far from raising our total fertility rate back up to replacement level.

Locals alone are not enough to meet our manpower demands. Contrary to Mr Inderjit Singh's suggestion that the rate of immigration is too fast and unrealistic, we

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still need more people to sustain our economic growth. Mr Banerjee is right to say thatwe must not slow down our ability to attract foreign global talent, just because some people feel uneasy about it.

Last year, when 236,600 jobs were created, many companies had to turn to foreigners to fill the positions. For example, the financial and business services sector saw a net employment growth of 65,000 jobs just last year. While the majority of the jobs were filled by locals, we had to make up the shortfall with global talent. A number of businesses and investment opportunities have passed us by, simply because we are facing such an acute shortage of manpower and office space. Once lost, these businesses may not come back to Singapore, as they have gone to places where there are opportunities. Members have heard Mr Tharman speaking on this earlier.

Indeed, as a small city state with no other natural resources, we need others to join us, become part of us, and contribute to our community. However, Singaporeans must remain as the core of our population. We do not want to be like some Middle Eastern countries, where non-resident foreigners far outnumber the indigenous population. For Singaporeans to remain at the core, we must have more babies and encourage more suitable immigrants to become Singapore citizens.

Mr Singh, Ms Eunice Olsen and Mdm Ho Geok Choo have also raised concerns over whether we can cope with the influx of immigrants in such a short time. I understand their concerns and I agree with Mr Singh and Ms Olsen that we must plan ahead to ensure effective and efficient use of land.

So far, we have done well in this area, and we will do more. We had the Minister for Transport talking about expanding our roads and rail

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infrastructure, and MND will provide more space for Singaporeans, in terms of greenery, parks and housing. Singapore's excellent living environment has become our competitive advantage to root residents and attract investments and talent. MND is confident that, with creative planning and technology, Singapore can accommodate a larger population without compromising the quality of our living environment. While there will be trade-offs among different land use options, we can meet the needs of a larger population if we plan and invest ahead now.

A few Members mentioned the 6.5 million population as a target. Let me stress that 6.5 million is not a population target. We have never set that out to be a population target. What we have said is that it is a planning assumption, and we will build up our capacity to accommodate more people should the need arise. Our long-term population may well be less than 6.5 million. What is important is that we must be able to sustain a viable and diverse population, one that can help us to continue to grow our economy and preserve our Singaporean way of life.

Let me now address the Members' specific call for greater social integration. Like Singapore, many other developed countries compete aggressively for talented people from around the world in order to increase diversity and augment the population. However, they have paid less attention to the integration of the newcomers into the local society. This has resulted in clashes and disputes between communities in countries such as Australia, France and even the United States. Such problems can also arise in Singapore if we do not make the effort to integrate our immigrants.

In this regard, I think we have fared better than most other countries. Our migrant roots have, in a way, enabled us to be more understanding and welcoming

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towards newcomers, but we should not be complacent. There are some Singaporeans who still harbour unwarranted fears and insecurity. Instead of being fearful, we should be more confident of ourselves and our future.

Mr Singh suggested that we have been opening the floodgates and letting in too many foreigners. We need to distinguish between long-term immigrants and the more transient foreign labourers in Singapore. Many of the latter are here because of the demand created by the resurgent economy in the past few years. They help us fill the jobs in industries where there are not enough Singaporeans. Indeed, without them, the problem of inflation that Mr Singh highlighted earlier, might worsen, as our companies still struggle to fill jobs. Whether they are long-term migrants wishing to make Singapore their new home or transient workers helping to keep our industries buoyant, we must be more understanding and accommodating to those who are here to contribute to our economy. We should welcome them. We do not gain from adopting a closed-door policy.

But integration is a two-way street. Integration of people takes time and it is a never ending process. Ms Indranee Rajah just now mentioned the example of the time of Alexander the Great. Those Singaporeans whose parents were immigrants will remember how long it took for their parents to fully integrate into Singapore's society. As we achieve economic progress, we can also do better to cultivate a more gracious and accommodating society. Just as the Chinese saying goes, qian li zhi xing, shi yu zu xia (千里之行, 始于足下), we must take the first step towards this goal. This is what Minister Mentor meant when he wished for Singapore to reach the level of

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Austria in 10 to 15 years, ie, to reach their quality of social graces, culture and lifestyle.

Locals and newcomers must reach out to one another, to bridge gaps and narrow differences, and to build on our shared beliefs and vision. There is no scientific formula for integration. It is about people-to-people relations; we must encourage integration everywhere – in schools, at the workplace, in the neighbourhood and the larger community.

Dr Lily Neo, Ms Indranee Rajah and Dr Teo Ho Pin asked for an update on our efforts to integrate new citizens. Let me now elaborate our efforts in this area.

The school environment is a natural setting for close daily interaction between our young immigrants and Singaporeans. Through the formal curriculum and co-curricular activities, our schools help students to better appreciate Singapore's history, culture and community, and give them opportunities to learn and play together. The Ministry of Education has recently set up a unit to enhance the integration process in our schools.

We have many immigrant teachers and students who have adapted well and are contributing in our schools. Teachers like Mr S. Ponnalagu from India who not only teaches the Tamil language but is also an active grassroots member at his Residents’ Committee (RC). Another teacher, Madam Zhou Liang, was so impressed with the environment and security in Singapore that she took up Singapore citizenship in 2006. There is also Mr Simon Charles Reynolds, an Assistant Director with the MOE. Originally from Britain, he became a PR more than 15 years ago, married a Singaporean and they have three teenage children - all Singapore citizens. Among the students, Sri Thiri Tun from Myanmar and Kim Jin Ju from South Korea, are

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Head Prefect and Prefect respectively at Yu Neng Primary School.

The workplace is another important platform for integration.

There are already several ongoing efforts by companies. I am told that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) tries to familiarise its foreign staff with the local culture and make them feel at home. Only last week, they were treated to a Chinese New Year " Lo Hei " lunch and given insights into the significance of tossing the " yusheng ". Why does PwC do this? I think the answer is quite simple – an integrated and motivated workforce is a more productive one. The value of such initiatives cannot be underestimated.

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I would like to see more employers follow PwC's lead and organise such programmes for their staff. For employees, whether Singaporeans or new immigrants, I hope they will put in more effort to get to know their colleagues better; they can easily do this at corporate events like the year-end function, during after-office drinks or even over a simple meal at lunch.

At the community level, I am encouraged by the many integration initiatives involving locals and newcomers themselves.

As Dr Teo has mentioned, the People's Association initiated the Integration & Naturalisation Champions (INCs) programme, to reach out to newcomers and engage them in local activities. Since November last year, the PA has appointed 690 INCs to spearhead integration efforts in the 84 constituencies. The focus is on reaching out to foreigners and helping them integrate through community activities. I am also heartened to see many Singaporeans, such as Mr Richard Hoe and Mr Bob Shaw, who have taken the

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initiative to reach out to new immigrants. Mr Hoe engages new citizens and PRs through fruit parties and dragon-boating activities in Punggol East while Mr Shaw organises cricket matches in Marsiling. The PA will soon introduce a host of family programmes whereby foreigners will be paired with local families to enhance mutual understanding and integration.

Likewise, many immigrants reciprocate by being involved in community and grassroots activities. There are 900 PRs here who are volunteers at our grassroots organisations, including Englishman Mr Anthony Fulwood of Bukit Panjang, Chairman of Zhenghua INC Committee; and recently-naturalised citizen, Mr A Swaminathan, who is the Secretary of Jurong Green CC Indian Activity Executive Committee. For them, lending a hand is their way of giving back to the community which once helped them settle into life in Singapore.

Local community organisations, such as the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI), have also stepped up efforts to integrate new immigrants through activities in their areas of interest. The SFCCA is organising a seminar with new Chinese immigrant clubs during the Chinese Cultural Festival next month to discuss how new immigrants can better integrate into and contribute to our society. New immigrant associations, such as the Kowloon Club, Tian Fu Club and Hua Yuan Association, worked with the SFCCA to host a Chinese New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner earlier this month for Singaporeans and new immigrants. The Kowloon Club also joined in the Chingay procession for the first time this year. Efforts are also underway by our Indian community leaders to reach out to and integrate the Indian immigrants into our society.

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I welcome and support more of such ground-up initiatives. It is through such efforts that we can promote greater interaction, understanding and, ultimately, integration of locals and newcomers. We have to work together to break down barriers and dispel unwarranted biases.

Sir, attracting immigrants to Singapore is and will remain a key strategy for our long-term growth and prosperity. As Singapore becomes even more globalised and cosmopolitan, more foreigners will want to come here to live, work, study and play, with some settling down permanently to eventually make Singapore their home. So let us open our doors, minds and hearts. We must work together, be welcoming to new immigrants and help them integrate into our community. There is a need for mutual acceptance, adjustment and respect. We can then live as one harmonious family to create even greater possibilities for ourselves, our children and future generations to come.

Election Process

Mr Matthias Yao Chih (Macpherson): Sir, the smooth conduct of an election is vital to the democratic process. When an election is called, the country is in a state of transition. The nation's leadership has completed an old term, a contest begins for a new term. If any disruption should occur during the election process and the election is not seen to be carried out to its satisfactory conclusion, then it will affect the legitimacy of the new leadership and be even detrimental to the overall confidence level in our society.

Since our independence, we have gone through 10 general elections and three presidential elections. Every one of them was conducted smoothly. But I do not think we can therefore conclude that future elections will always be uninterrupted like before. I can think of

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the possibility of disruption caused by natural forces.

Climate change is causing chaos in the weather patterns in many parts of the world. We here have seen severe storms in recent years, leading to roads become impassable to traffic due to floods and fallen trees. If this should happen during the critical period of 11 am to 12 noon on Nomination Day, and some would-be candidates cannot get to the nomination centres on time, thus leading to their disqualification, it would certainly be seen as unsatisfactory by all the political parties and the voters too. Similarly, should severe weather occur on Polling Day and many voters cannot go to vote, it would also lead to undesirable outcomes.

A disruption can also be caused deliberately by hostile elements. It can be in the form of a localised bomb hoax or a major terrorist attack. Individual neighbourhoods or large areas of Singapore may have to be cordoned off during the election time affecting the smooth movement of candidates, election agents, officials and voters, and the conduct of election activities.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister's Office whether it has contingency plans to deal with the disruption to the smooth conduct of an election and whether rules will be introduced to take into account such disruptions should they occur to ensure that law and order pertaining to the election will be quickly restored and upheld, and be seen to be upheld.

The Chairman: Mdm Cynthia Phua is not here.

General Election

Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, over the years, the social landscape in Singapore has changed. And I feel that the Prime Minister's Office should do an overall review of the current General

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Elections system, especially a review of the registration criteria for overseas voters.

Due to globalisation, there will be an increasing number of Singaporeans who will work and live overseas. I am sure that they will be happy to be given once in five years' chance to cast their votes.

Election Matters

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Sir, a first-time candidate in the last General Election, I found that not all voting centres are barrier-free and elderly-friendly, with nearby amenities. Many elderly voters in my ward had to be assisted to make their way to the voting centres. Some had difficulty voting due to either lack of literacy or simply poor eyesight.

I ask the PMO to be more voter-centric to include these Singaporeans.

Sir, I also saw in the last General Election the predominant use of traditional media and methods, such as the hard copy newspapers, brochures, TV, radio, posters on selected lamp posts and _garung guni _ type lorries and loudhailers.

Singapore is one of the most plugged-in and Internet-savvy countries in the world, a world of blogs, SMSes, podcasts, webcasts and vodcasts. The benefits of new media are an extensive reach and access, anytime and anywhere. Overseas voters can also gain access to administrative details, candidate profiles and platforms.

The downside, of course, is the potential inaccuracy of information and possible turning of General Elections to Hollywood stages where the most telegenic and persuasive get viewership. But there is no turning back of this trend of use of new media.

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So I ask the Government to consider starting the use of a more progressive blend of old and new media in the next election.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, I want to thankMr Matthias Yao, Ms Lee Bee Wah and Ms Denise Phua for their comments.

Ms Lee Bee Wah suggested that the Prime Minister's Office do an overall review of the electoral system and processes. This has always been done after every General Election (GE). Following the 2006 GE, I appointed a Committee to review the conduct of the election, including issues concerning overseas voting. I will highlight the more significant changes and improvements that will be implemented for the next election.

Overseas voting was conducted for the first time in the 2006 General Election. With more Singaporeans going overseas to work, study or to be with their immediate family, we now have a significant diaspora of overseas Singaporeans. They would want to have an opportunity to vote at a General Election. That being so, the Government will further liberalise the criteria to enable more Singaporeans overseas to qualify to vote while maintaining the spirit of the law that only those who continue to keep their links back home should be entitled to vote. The Government has decided to shorten the residential period requirement from the current two years out of the last five years, to 30 days out of the last three years before the cut-off date for the registers of electors. This will be the only residential period requirement for an overseas Singaporean to meet in order to vote. An overseas Singaporean who meets this residential period requirement must also maintain a local address with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in order for him to have his name included in a constituency's register of electors.

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Some Members mayask, why 30 days out of the last three years? We believe that it is reasonable to expect overseas Singaporeans to come home to visit their families and friends for at least 30 days over a three-year period, giventhat most citizens working abroad would have an average of 21 days of annual leave. We expect that they will spend at least half of their leave at home in Singapore. A three-year period is also considered a reasonable base period to use for the computation of the residency requirement. This is a good balance between a one-year period, which can be perceived as too tight, and the current five-year period. The 30 days out of the last three years residency requirement, together with the need for an overseas Singaporean to maintain a local contact address with ICA for his name to be entered into a register of electors, will ensure that the eligibility for overseas voting is extended to only those Singaporeans who maintain links to Singapore. All overseas Singaporeans who wish to vote will just need to fulfill this single, new and more liberal residency requirement, regardless of why they are overseas. There will no longer be any separate eligibility for SAF personnel, Government officials and Government scholars on full-time service or full-time study overseas, Singaporeans employed overseas by approved International Organisations, and their immediate family members.

When the registers of electors were last revised in early 2006, we learned that the United Kingdom (UK) has a law requiring foreign residents from the Commonwealth countries, for which we are one, to register themselves in their electoral registers. As a result, some Singaporeans residing in the UK have unwittingly found their names appearing on the UK electoral registers.

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Our election law currently disqualifies Singaporeans as electors if their names are entered in the electoral registers of other countries. The rationale for this provision is to exclude any citizen who could be a potential participant in the political process of a foreign State. However, our law does not make any distinction between those who volunteer to be included in the foreign electoral registers and those who are included as a matter of course. The latter has become prevalent in foreign States facing a declining voter registration trends in the recent years. Our provision will be refined to remove this disqualification for overseas Singaporeans who, by reason of their residency status in a foreign country, find themselves included involuntarily in that country's electoral registers.

Sir, the current registration process for overseas electors requires an applicant to submit a completed and signed registration form, either by hand or registered post, to any overseas registration centre or to the Elections Department directly, within a 21-day period. This registration procedure will be simplified. The Elections Department will provide for online registration via the Internet, and eligible voters can use their SingPass to authenticate their identity in place of their signature.

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Those who want to restore their names on the Registers of Electors will also be able to do so online. The Elections Department may ask them for supporting documents for verification. This online facility will make it more convenient for Singaporeans, especially those who are overseas, to apply to restore their names on the Registers of Electors.

The introduction of such online facilities for registration of overseas voters and the increased use of

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information technology and systems in the backend processing will enable transaction and processing time to be significantly shortened. The registration period for overseas voters can therefore be longer than the current 21 days. The registration period will be extended to the date when the writ of election is issued.

Currently, every overseas elector is assigned an overseas polling station to cast his vote. This assignment is done at the time of registration. To cater for situations where voters return to Singapore or relocate to another country, overseas electors will be allowed to deregister or change the assigned overseas polling station at any time, up to when the writ of election is issued. This will allow changes to be made in time for updating the registers for the Polling Day. It will not be advisable to allow changes when the election period has already started, as it will pose a lot of operational difficulties.

Sir, while we try to have more overseas polling stations to allow more Singaporeans overseas to access to vote overseas, the selection of a city for overseas polling must take into account several factors. Firstly, there should be a critical mass of Singaporeans living in the city and country. Secondly, the city must have Singapore Government managed facilities which enable the officials to exercise operational command and control, bearing in mind that it is not Singapore. Thirdly, in order to ensure that we are able to optimise our limited resources, the city and country should not be nearby where Singaporeans can travel back to Singapore to vote on the Polling Day with relative ease.

Based on these considerations, the cities where we can site overseas polling stations are those where we have Consulates or Missions. So far, eight cities where overseas polling stations can be set up in our Missions are Canberra,

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Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, Washington and San Francisco. We will now add New York to the list.

Ms Denise Phua asked about voter education and especially helping the elderly take part in the election process. The Elections Department will take a proactive approach to educate our voters. A mix of electronic services and traditional media channels, such as the Internet, mobile phone platform and mass media like the newspapers and TV will be used.

During the election period, educational brochures on what are required of the voters in order to cast their votes, and the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of the voting process will be mailed to every household. Softcopies of the brochures will also be emailed to overseas Singaporeans who have registered themselves as overseas voters. In addition, educational videos explaining, in simple language, on the voting procedures on Polling Day and how the secrecy of vote is ensured throughout the whole election process will be produced for television broadcast, video streaming from the Elections Department website and for distribution to community centres, community clubs and RCs. The Elections Department will also study the various locations where polling stations are conducted so that they are easily accessible even by those who need help because they have physical disabilities or they are old.

Sir, from the next election, the Elections Department will engage a professional call centre operator, operating 24 hours during the election period, to handle queries from local and overseas voters in the four official languages.

To supplement the call centre during the election period, members of the public

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can also go to or phone up the community centres for any queries on the election. They can also visit the Elections Department website for information and e-services, send an email to the Elections Department's Feedback Account or send an SMS using their mobile phones to check on their voting eligibility and the location of their assigned polling stations.

Ms Lee Bee Wah called for better interface between candidates and election agents. Sir, the Elections Department will improve its customer interface with candidates and election agents during different phases of the election. According to feedback and enquiries received by the Elections Department at previous General Elections, it is clear that some candidates and agents are simply not sure about how certain rules and procedures operate and how they govern the election activities. To help them better understand such rules and procedures, the Elections Department will produce a guide for candidates and their agents. The guide will be made available on the Elections Department website and will also be printed in booklet form for distribution. However, I must stress that this guide is only a "guide" and not a legal authority or document. While we try to provide as much accurate and useful information as possible in the guide, the publication is not a substitute for the law. Candidates and their agents should refer to the Parliamentary or Presidential Elections Act and the relevant regulations for a detailed description of the law and seek advice from the lawyers, when necessary.

Sir, the Elections Department will also enhance its e-services to allow candidates and election agents to perform certain transactions online as far as practicable and allow them to download softcopies of the relevant forms which they need to use during the election from the Elections

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Department website. In addition, it will also improve the application software on the "CD-Registers of Electors" that candidates can buy. Improved version will contain more user-friendly features, such as allowing the user to save all entered information for subsequent editing. More forms will be added to it, such as forms to apply for certificates from the Malay Community Committee, the Indian and Other Minority Community Committee and the Registrar of Political Donations.

To tighten the procedures and workflow for accepting and tracking submissions from candidates and election agents, the enhanced computer system will capture applicants' data upon receipt of the applications. This will ensure that the applications are processed in good time. The system will also print out acknowledgement receipts for all submissions received.

Sir, Mr Matthias Yao asked about contingency planning in dealing with the scenarios he sketched out although none has happened in past elections. I am pleased to say that the Elections Department has started to identify possible threats such as natural calamities or other circumstances that may disrupt the conduct of elections during nomination, polling and counting activities. The Elections Department would develop appropriate plans and measures to deal with each of them. And when these are ready, it would be presented to Parliament in the form of an amendment in the law.

The current election laws and regulations do not cater for crisis situations, such as adverse weather or bomb hoax. The Elections Department officials have a very limited range of responses to deal with any such contingency adequately. Legislative amendments will therefore be required to enable the Returning Officer to relocate

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the venue of an election activity or to defer the activity deadline by either abandoning or restarting the activity or suspending and resuming the activity later. This will give us the flexibility to respond to contingencies that could disrupt time-sensitive election activities on Nomination Day and Polling Day, while protecting public safety and ensuring the integrity of the election process.

The Elections Department will consult the Attorney-General's Chambers on the legislative changes to effect these improvements. When ready, the Amendment Bills will be presented to Parliament for approval.

Monetary Policy - Targeting Interest Rate

Mr Inderjit Singh: Sir, the Government has done a good job in trying to manage imported inflation by gradually strengthening the Singapore dollar. In doing so, we of course increase the purchasing power of Singaporeans when spending overseas and paying for imports, and I guess we all feel a bit richer because of the stronger dollar. However, we also realise that we can only use the exchange rate as a monetary policy up to a certain extent as too strong a Singapore dollar might make our exports and hence our economy uncompetitive. And MAS has acknowledged this reality in reply to a parliamentary Question some years ago. Can the Minister please share with the House whether this monetary policy can continue to work to combat rising imported inflation given the need to keep our exports competitive?

Specifically, is MAS thinking of using other tools such as managing the interest rate in addition to the exchange rate as a more effective monetary policy? For example, in US, the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, or the Fed, which is effectively the Central Bank, equivalent to MAS here, has used the interest rate tool actively to manage the US economy to

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fight inflation and also to help with credit and liquidity issues. Is this the right time to consider such an addition to Singapore's monetary policy? This could give us an additional tool to manage inflation and overheating or stimulate the economy when necessary.

Sir, at the micro level, with the interest rates that have been so low for the past years, the Singapore dollar looks like the Yen today where for many Singaporeans, savings are actually diminishing. At the end of every year, the savings are shrinking, not growing, as a result of this low interest rate regime. So, by managing the interest rate, perhaps, we can also help manage this problem that many Singaporeans are facing.

Appreciation of Singapore Dollar

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, may I ask the DPM whether MAS' present stance on the Singapore dollar's exchange rate remains appropriate in view of rising inflation, the same concern as Mr Inderjit Singh? Should the Singapore dollar be allowed to appreciate at a faster pace to cope with imported inflation? But how far can the Singapore dollar rise without eroding the export competitiveness of the local export? What are the criteria used to balance competitiveness and social discontent with regard to inflation management? Is it the view now that the balance will tip to the latter in view of the fact that most people on modest fixed incomes have little margin to adjust compared to businesses?

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Sir, I thank both Mr Inderjit Singh and Dr Lily Neo for raising the issues. Mr Inderjit Singh asked whether the exchange rate as the lever of our monetary policy is effective and whether or not we ought to consider interest rate as an additional lever.

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Sir, Singapore chose exchange rate as the main tool of our monetary policy because this is the most appropriate given the structure of the Singapore economy. Singapore economy remains one of the most open economies in the world. As Members all know, total trade amounted to some 350% of our GDP last year and we maintain a very high degree of openness to our capital flows. Studies by MAS over the years have shown that consistently, the exchange rate has a more significant impact on growth and inflation than interest rate.

Mr Inderjit Singh asked why not have the interest rate as an additional tool. Once we have a very open capital account, the monetary policy can only influence either the interest rate or the exchange rate, but not both. So, take the example that Mr Inderjit Singh raised that, currently, the interest rates are very low. If you try to have an exchange rate at a certain level and you still want to raise the interest rate, what will happen is that you will attract a lot of inflows of foreign capital and your exchange rate will then strengthen far beyond what was the intended level. So you cannot have both.

Given our exchange rate policy regime and our openness to capital flows,

we really have to accept that:

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(1) The interest rates in Singapore are, therefore, determined by the market and largely influenced by the US market; and

(2) Because of the trend appreciation of the Singapore dollar as a tool to contain inflation, this tends to result in low domestic interest rates, and this has been the case historically and, in fact, it is a good environment for business and economic growth.

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So, interest rates in Singapore are historically about 1% to 2% or sometimes even 3% below US interest rates, given the trend appreciation of the Singapore dollar. Let me just say that what Mr Inderjit Singh said, that we have been in a negative interest rate environment for some years now, is not accurate. In fact, up to the middle of last year, our inflation rate was very low and it was lower than our interest rates. It was only since late last year, as the nominal rates declined in Singapore following the drop in the US interest rates, that real interest rates have also come off and that we face this negative interest rate phenomenon. But our experience has shown that negative interest rates in Singapore have typically been short-lived and reflect cyclical factors, such as slowing growth and the higher consumer prices in the global economy. In fact, when we measure real interest rates against longer-term inflation expectations, we will see that these have not fallen as significantly.

Dr Lily Neo asked similar questions and whether this is the appropriate stance. As I explained, this is the balance that we have to strike between tackling inflation and also not hindering our export competitiveness. She asked whether or not we would allow the Singapore dollar to appreciate at a faster pace. As hon. Members know, in our last policy review in October 2007, MAS increased slightly the slope of its policy band, allowing a slightly faster rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar. At that time, already there was heightened uncertainty in the external economic environment, including the financial markets, and MAS' response was to counter the inflationary pressures that were already building up. So the MAS exchange rate policy stance has therefore helped to keep inflation low by dampening some of the higher import costs. But we must be clear that we cannot insulate ourselves completely from the effects of higher global prices. It is

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important to recognise that there is a limit to how fast the Singapore dollar can appreciate without hurting our growth and, eventually, causing employment and wages to fall. MAS will continue to monitor the price and cost developments in our economy very closely. In the next scheduled policy review in April, MAS will be carefully reviewing the macro-economic conditions and will then determine the most appropriate policy, going forward.

Hiring and Re-hiring of Older Workers

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): Sir, with the recent discussions about Singaporeans living longer, there has been emphasis to encourage companies to hire older workers and for older workers who can work to either stay at work or re-enter the workforce. Although it is not an accurate reflection on the value and benefits older workers bring to the workforce, general sentiments among organisations still tend to view hiring of older workers as having more constraints than those of a younger workforce. While I acknowledge the importance of talent renewal and infusion of new skills, public services in some countries, eg, Canada, have faced a significant loss of institutional knowledge and experience with the retirement of their public servants.

To manage talent successfully, organisations must recognise that their talent strategies cannot rest solely on their top performers. Different things make different people of ages and gender want to work and remain in the organisation. Hence, there should be also added capabilities and encouragement to develop different solutions for this segment.

I would like to ask the Minister: The Civil Service has been a forerunner in many innovations and leading practices and is one of the largest employers in

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Singapore, hiring more than 60,000 workers. What measures has the Civil Service taken to attract older talent as well as to encourage them to stay on or to retire later? Apart from encouraging the hiring and retention of older workers and rehiring of older workers, have there been programmes to recognise and reward the value provided by an experienced workforce? What has the trend been for the Civil Service in terms of hiring and retraining of older workers in the last year and how effective have the programmes been? In the constant challenge of getting talent and to provide opportunities for greater workforce participation, what is being done in the civil service to enable the elderly to stay in their jobs and, more importantly, enjoy their work as well?

The benefits include more than just having a larger workforce participation or accommodating employees' needs. Organisations, employers and society will benefit. There are many examples to show that organisations that have the ability to align work structures and practices with the needs of employees remain a significant source of de-stress for employees and their families and contribute to increased commitment and performance for companies. That said, the ability to do this will make our concept of working longer not just a reality but a success, and I would like to really hear what the civil service could help in doing this.

The Chairman: Mdm Halimah, you have two cuts. Take them together. Two minutes.

Update on Re-employment of Older Workers

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Sir, as the largest employer in Singapore, the personnel policies and practices of the public sector is closely observed by the private sector. Hence, it is important that

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the public sector takes the lead in re-employing older workers, particularly those above the age of 62 years. The Public Service Division has, in recent times, adopted various policies to promote the re-employment of older workers, and we also have a joint committee to promote the re-employment of older workers.

I would like to ask the Minister to give us an update on the number of employees who have been re-employed after the age of 62 in the public sector. Could the Minister also update this House on the progress of the three pilot projects that have been implemented on re-employment of older workers and how the experience of these three pilot projects could be expanded to other areas?

Sir, let me now move on to my next cut.

Update on Work-Life Ambassador Scheme

Sir, work-life balance has become a major issue among employees, particularly those with young children and sick elderly parents to take care of. Awareness on the importance of work-life balance is increasing among employers in the private sector. The public sector also has schemes to assist people with families, particularly those with young children, such as the part-time schemes and the flexi-work options. But, obviously, more could be done in the public sector as a high percentage of the employees are female. Last year, the Public Service Division announced that it will embark on the Family Ambassador programme. Could the Minister give an update to this House on the progress of this scheme? What does this scheme entail? How will the employees benefit and how many employees have actually benefited from this Family Ambassador programme?

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The Chairman: Mr Chiam See Tong is not here. Mr Teo.

The Minister for Defence (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Sir, we have a public service that we can be proud of but, as in any organisation, there are always areas for improvement. I thank Members who have raised various suggestions on how we can improve our service delivery or adopt good practices in the public service. A number of Members have spoken about this during the main Budget debate.

The public service has, over the years, placed strong emphasis on its people. Some Members have touched on Government scholarships and the need for current public sector leaders to keep in touch with the ground. Our scholarship schemes have worked well to provide a steady inflow of able and committed young persons into the civil service. We also have programmes to ensure that our officers, including those who have been on scholarships, better appreciate the issues and needs of ordinary Singaporeans. This has enabled us over the years to maintain the high quality of our people, of the civil service as a whole, and to develop effective and forward-looking policies for Singapore.

As a responsible employer, the public service has, over the years, placed strong emphasis on equipping our people with the skills not only for their current jobs but, wherever possible, for future challenges as well. This includes looking at ways to enhance the employability of our officers. This is of particular importance and relevance for older workers. Mdm Halimah and Ms Jessica Tan have both asked for an update on the hiring and re-hiring of older workers.

The public service recognises the value of older workers. National re-

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employment legislation will come into effect in 2012. As a large employer, the public service will be at the forefront and be ready for this two years in advance, by 2010. To achieve this, the Public Service Division has been working closely with our partners in the unions along two broad fronts.

First, we encourage public sector agencies to view older workers as a strategic manpower resource. Given our ageing population, there will be an increasing pool of older workers and retired public officers with a wealth of experience which we can tap on. We are studying how we can better attract and retain older workers, for example, by identifying jobs that can be performed more effectively by older workers or by introducing work arrangements that are more attractive to such workers, to enjoy themselves, as Ms Jessica Tan said.

Second, we are preparing managers, supervisors and the officers themselves for re-employment. There is a need to engage and equip older workers to manage their careers at different life stages. We need to encourage these officers to continually upgrade and equip themselves with relevant skills to remain employable. In this regard, the civil service has introduced the Employability Skills System as a core training programme for junior officers, and we reward them through the Training Incentive Scheme when they attain national-level certification. We are also redesigning jobs and providing training for our Corporate and Operations Support officers to make best use of their full potential. We want these officers, many of whom are older workers, to have skills that are relevant to the public service and the marketplace of the future.

PSD has, therefore, worked closely with the unions to identify possible improvements and changes in our Ministries and statutory boards to

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enhance the employability and employment of older workers. For instance, there are jobs where the industry experience of mid-career recruits or institutional knowledge of retired staff can be an asset. The Ministry of Manpower is one good example. It is tapping extensively on the experience of mid-career recruits for jobs related to occupational safety. It has also re-employed retired staff with specialist skills to mentor and guide young officers dealing with labour relations. Public sector agencies which are involved in exporting their capability in areas, such as civil service reforms, financial budgeting and urban planning, are also increasingly tapping on their retired personnel.

As Mdm Halimah has noted, PSD is also currently working with three pilot agencies – the Ministry of Education, the Singapore Police Force and the Ministry of Manpower – to establish the processes needed to ensure a smooth implementation of the civil service re-employment policy by 2010. Together with the unions, we have carried out focus group discussions with the three pilot sites to engage and better understand the concerns of our workers about re-employment. Many are open to being re-employed. A number would like less demanding jobs upon re-employment. Many also expressed a preference for more flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work.

The larger Ministries, like the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education, have organised pre-retirement planning seminars for their retiring officers and teachers for some years now. This is a good practice which we are extending to the rest of the civil service. PSD has worked with the Civil Service College and NTUC to provide pre-retirement planning courses to help public officers think ahead and plan for their lives after retirement, and the first batch of participants from the pilot sites attended the pre-retirement

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planning course in November and December last year.

Thus far, the results of our efforts to hire older workers have been modest but it is still early days. In 2007, 368 officers in their 40s were recruited into the civil service. This is an increase from the average number of 270 per year from 2004 to 2006. Similarly, 360 officers above 50 years old were recruited in 2007, which is an increase from the average number of 207 per year from 2004 to 2006. So we are recruiting officers in their 40s and 50s and, if you add the two numbers together, that is 728 last year. Not insignificant.

Overall, the recruitment of older workers aged 40 years and above comprised about 13% of the Civil Service’s total recruitment in 2007, which is higher compared with 10% in 2006. We have also made some progress in re-employment in the Civil Service.

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In 2007, the number of officers who were re-employed at age 62 years was about 57% of the number of officers who retired at age 62. This is a 4%-point increase compared with 53% in 2006.

In addition, many retired officers are engaged on short-term assignments on a contract-for-service basis. So this is beyond the 57%. More than 1,100 retired officers were hired on this mode in 2007.

PSD will continue to push ahead with our efforts, taking guidance from the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers.

Mdm Halimah also asked for an update on work-life initiatives in the Public Service. The public service recognises that enhancing employees' work-life

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harmony would lead to better individual and organisational performance. Every public agency now has a Work-Life Advocate and a Work-Life Ambassador. The Work-Life Advocate is a champion who takes steps to ensure that good work-life practices are in place in the agency. In a Ministry, this appointment is held by the Deputy Secretary and in the statutory board, typically by the Deputy CEO.

The Work-Life Ambassador is an officer whose main job responsibility is to promote and facilitate the day-to-day work-life programmes in his agency. Such programmes could be as basic as helping officers to improve their communications with their staff so that there are less misunderstood instructions, less stress and thereby easing their workload.

Centrally, PSD will also set up communities of practice to share best practices across Ministries. Today, civil servants can already opt for several forms of flexible work arrangements like part-time work and tele-commuting. We will explore how we can fully utilise such flexibility.

Our employees also have to play their part. Supervisors need to learn how to build a supportive work environment. We have also introduced training programmes to help our officers prioritise work and personal demands. There will also be programmes to help enhance individual resilience in meeting life challenges as well as to build the supportive work environment with co-workers. And we will welcome suggestions from Mdm Halimah and also from those who have experience in the private sector on the issues of employing older workers and getting a better work-life balance.

The Chairman: We still have some time before "guillotine". Do Members have any clarifications to make?

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Dr Teo Ho Pin: Sir, I have requested for the Government to consider providing English and Chinese language courses for new citizens. Maybe these courses should be conducted at the CCs so that the new citizens can learn these languages for communication and bonding.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Currently, our CCs do conduct courses for all kinds of foreign languages and I will certainly ask the PA to consider organising courses for those immigrants who need to beef up their English or Mandarin. It will not be free but at a fee.

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, may I ask DPM Wong whether there are more avenues in place for foreign students so that those in the universities, either Government or private, can stay back and contribute?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: For foreign students who are benefiting from our university fee rebates, particularly those on scholarships, they are already required to work in Singapore for a period. For those who come in here with subsidised rates, they are also required to work in Singapore for a period of three years before they can go elsewhere. This scheme applies not just to those in the universities, but also to those who study in our polytechnics.

Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines): While I am heartened to hear from Minister Teo that the Government has made some efforts to hire and retain older workers, I would like to know whether our Government is working towards some specific targets in the longer term in the direction of hiring older workers or retaining older workers in the civil service, because if you look at the number of older workers hired, in relative terms, it is still rather small compared to the large number of staff employed by the civil service today.

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Mr Teo Chee Hean: Sir, we will do the best we can. But the numbers are not small. As I explained earlier, of those retiring at 62, we re-employ 57% of them. And that does not count those who do part-time work and under contract basis. We also cannot assume that all those who retire actually do want to continue to work. Some of them may not want to, for a variety of personal reasons – health and other things. To set a target may not be very realistic. What we will do is to try to do our best. We know that 100% is probably not realistic also.

Ms Ellen Lee (Sembawang): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister to give us specific examples of what sort of professions were these older workers being hired in the Government service. We do know that some of the teachers had been re-absorbed. But what about the other professions as well?

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Teachers are a very good example and they already constitute one-third of the civil service. When we talk about teachers, it is not an inconsequential number. There are teachers and the others. But that is one-third of the civil service. So, that is quite a lot of people who we re-employ.

I know that some of the statutory boards, even with workers at the lower levels, they have redesigned jobs and were able to re-absorb them into other kinds of work, for example, technicians and those who are doing various kinds of maintenance work. I believe the NParks Board and the National Environment Agency have also been quite successful in re-employing many of the older workers and redeploying them in other jobs.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: Sir, I did also ask about the reward and recognition, not so much reward, but more recognition, because the Civil Service, as I have mentioned earlier, sets the tone as a forerunner in terms of the

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best practices and it will really be good if we talk about re-hiring of the older workers, not just in numbers, but in their contributions. As I have mentioned earlier, there is this perception that older workers tend to be a more difficult workforce to manage. But actually, they do bring a lot of values and benefits to the workforce as well. I think profiling them and bringing some of that up to public knowledge will also be a help to the rest of the organisations.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: That is a good suggestion which we will certainly see how we can take up.

Dr Loo Choon Yong (Nominated Member): Sir, yesterday, I mentioned about the bond and asked whether we would review the bond since it discourages people, especially people from families with wealth, who can afford to go overseas on parents' scholarship. Can we make our scholarship bond less unattractive? I have made two suggestions. One is to reduce the length to three years and, secondly, to make it a bond to Singapore, not just to the Government service.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: I have some difficulties, I must admit, Sir, understanding Dr Loo's suggestions. If a young person comes from a family of wealth and he wishes to go away and study at a top university somewhere else, and he has not quite decided whether he wants to join the public service, then really he is not a very strong candidate for a scholarship, and he can go on his own. So shortening the bond overall for everyone, just because there may be a few people from wealthy families who want to go away and study and want a scholarship, but do not want the bond, does not seem to me to be addressing the key issue that we have here.

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What we want are young people who are committed to the public service, prepared to come in and do something with their lives which are useful. They feel that what they want to commit their lives to is not necessarily the bottom line of a particular company, or to enrich the shareholders of a particular company, but to enrich the lives of Singaporeans as a whole, to contribute something to Singapore. These are the people that PSC interviews very carefully and brings them in. These are the people who have no difficulty in committing themselves to a bond - bright, able, young Singaporeans. These are the ones we are looking for.

Dr Loo Choon Yong: Sir, the private sector also needs talents and people. If you keep them in the public service for too long, they will have public service reflexes and may not, in the end, be too suitable for private sector. We also have to grow our economy and we need the private sector to help us grow the economy. That is the contribution to Singapore.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Sir, if I may say, that is quite a completely different argument. There is no good reason why the public service should be providing scholarships, especially for wealthy people who do not have an interest in serving the public service, to go away to study, come back and work in the private sector. That does not seem to be meeting our objective. What we do need is to ensure that we have a continual flow of dedicated young people who are prepared to come into the public service, so that there is a constant flow of people who come in and can maintain the very high quality Civil Service that we have, which really provides the undergirding and foundation upon which the private sector in Singapore can function in the way that it does, and enable Singapore to remain as competitive as it is.

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Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, the Minister gave a description for the Work-Life Ambassador and Work-Life Advocate. I was hoping that the Minister could go beyond that and actually give us an insight as to what really has changed, in terms of providing greater work-life balance in the Civil Service as a result of the appointment of these Work-Life Ambassadors and Advocates. Obviously, the appointment of the Ambassadors and Advocates is meant to be reflective of certain changes – value systems, training of supervisors, managers, and other areas. I am afraid that I do not get a sense of that other than the description of what the scheme is about. I would appreciate an elaboration on that.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Sir, I would say that work-life balance in a Ministry or any organisation is about as much as creating the right environment and the right approach and attitude as it is about programmes and specific activities. You can organise a lot of activities in a work setting but actually you may be taking away employees from their families, which is exactly what they want to do. We may organise a lot of training and again, you may be taking the employees away from the families and the other things that they want to do. That may not necessarily be contributing to a good work-life balance. So I think awareness is probably the single most important thing amongst the supervisors as well as the employees themselves, that they strike a balance. We see four quadrants in a work-life framework that guides all these initiatives - self, work, family and friends, and community.

Self is about achieving personal well-being, encompassing body, mind and spirit. Work is about having purpose, meaning and challenge of work, a career that provides recognition, reward, professional development and continuous learning. Family and friends are about developing and strengthening significant

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relationships that include family, friends and significant others. And community is about developing a whole person through corporate and personal contributions to society. So we see this on a multiple dimension. Different organisations have different work tempos and work rhythms. What we are doing now is that we are asking the Ambassadors and the Advocates to see how best they can fit this in with the employees that they have. They also have different employee profiles. Some have a large number of older workers, some have a large number of younger workers, some have workers who are professionals, some have workers who are doing jobs at a technical or simpler level. So there are different requirements in each organisation.

5.00 pm

Ms Sylvia Lim (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, a question on overseas voting. At last year's COS, I raised the issue of overseas voting as well. And one of the matters which I asked the Prime Minister's Office to consider was whether it is possible for the overseas voters to vote earlier so that their votes could arrive in time to be mixed with the local votes on polling day. DPM Wong mentioned that the Elections Department would look into its feasibility and implications. My concern is that in some of the single seat constituencies especially, the number of overseas voters could be as low as two people. So there may be some concern about anonymity. I wonder whether the Elections Department has actually evaluated whether it is feasible to get the overseas voters to vote earlier, so that their votes can be counted together with the local votes.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, we have to study very carefully this issue of allowing overseas Singaporeans to cast their vote early. Because if they vote, say, three or

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four days before the actual polling day so that their votes can arrive in time for counting on the same night after polling closes, it would mean that they will have four or five days of listening to campaign speeches or watching at what goes on in Singapore from overseas, and they may not have enough information to form a conclusion. It would not be fair to expect them to vote so early before polling closes.

The issue that we now face is the situation that Ms Lim described, in the case of a constituency with very few overseas Singaporeans voting in that particular constituency. I am not sure whether the situation will hold for a long time, especially when more Singaporeans go overseas. There may be such situations. One possibility would be, for example, for us to see how to put aside some votes in Singapore that will be mixed up with the overseas votes if the number is really that small. We will know that early enough. But, again, it will also mean a delay in the announcement of the results of those constituencies. So there are many implications of deciding on an early overseas voting for Singaporeans who are overseas.

Ms Ellen Lee: Sir, from what I remember, during General Elections, especially when it comes to counting of votes, we require representatives of different parties to be present. If we are going to have overseas voting, will it be a requirement that all parties who are contesting will be required to send their representatives to be present as well? There is also the issue of officials accompanying the ballot boxes which have to be sealed and things like that. These are issues which would interest us when it comes to overseas voting. Could the Minister let us know if these are issues that will be addressed?

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Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, I think Members may not be aware that there is no legal requirement to have parties represented at the counting station. What the law says is that counting must take place at a particular time and place and that the ballot boxes must be sealed when polling ends. The election agents or representatives of the candidates, however, may be present to check that the boxes are sealed and the seals are not broken before counting begins. These are measures to ensure the integrity of the ballot box as well as the voting process. Parties are invited to the voting centre to see how the ballots are being counted. They can see the process for themselves. There is no legal requirement for them to be present. That being the case, we do not have a legal requirement for political parties to send their representatives overseas to watch the voting. After all, the counting is done in Singapore. I am sure that when the votes come back to Singapore, parties which took part in the elections may actually turn up at the counting centres to see how the overseas votes are being counted.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I am pleased to learn that the Elections Department has a plan to have some sort of voter education. I would like to know whether the Elections Department will have some focus, in particular, on the question of secrecy of votes, because there are still some Singaporeans who are wary about the vote, whether it is secret, especially with regard to the serial number, and also the way voters enter the polling station for the voting, how their names are being called and the atmosphere that is created. Perhaps the Minister may want to elaborate on what sort of voter education that he has in mind.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, before I answer the question, maybe I ask Mr Low

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whether he thinks that the vote is secret. Since Mr Low has asked me a question about voters' concern about the secrecy of votes, I would like to ask him whether he believes that the vote is secret or not secret.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Of course, I do believe that the vote is secret. Otherwise, I would not even participate in the elections.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: I am happy to hear Mr Low saying and confirming here in this House that he believes that the vote is secret. And I believe Ms Lim, the Party Chairman, also thinks that the vote is secret. So there is no question about the integrity of the voting process as well as the secrecy of the vote.

I have explained many times in this House before why we have a serial number behind the ballot paper. The reason is very simple. When there is a dispute, eg, there are more votes counted than there are voters in a particular constituency, then we know ballot papers have been stuffed into the ballot boxes. We can then trace every number and see where the extra ballot papers came from. If we do not have that system, and I am sure Mr Low and Members here would have also read that in some countries where they do not have such a system, they find more ballot papers than the voters. I am sure we do not want to have that kind of situation here. So, we ensure the integrity of the ballot paper by having a serial number at the back of the ballot paper. But there is no way of tracing the votes, unless the court so orders when there is a dispute in terms of the vote. For that, one has to petition the court to open the ballot boxes in order to check the ballot papers.

On educating voters on vote secrecy, that will be done. I can assure Mr Low that we will do that.

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The Chairman: Any other questions? If none, Dr Neo, are you withdrawing the amendment?

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, I would like to thank DPM Wong and Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Lim Hng Kiang for their detailed reassuring answers. On that note, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $213,280,400 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $22,753,100 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.