DEBATE ON PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS:

Debate on the Address (Second Allotted Day): Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [8th November, 2006],

'That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:–

"We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the First Session of this Parliament.".' – [Mdm Halimah Yacob].

Question again proposed.

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion standing in the name of the Member for Jurong GRC, Mdm Halimah Yacob to thank the President for his Address.

The President spoke about Singapore to become the best place in Asia to live, work and play. I fully support that vision, and see it relevant not only to Singaporeans, but also Singaporeans-to-be, foreign talent, transient residents, visitors and tourists.

However, Singapore needs to be more than just the best upgraded HDB estate, more than the most luxurious hotel, more than the state-of-the art research centre, intelligent office tower and the most productive factory, more than the biggest theme park or the latest night-spot.

Having lived in London for seven years, London , to me, is more than the

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Big Ben, the West End , the Chinatown or the fish and chips. According to London ’s official website, I quote: " London is the place where the historic past and the vibrant present come alive. A blend of history, ground-breaking architecture and culture has created an amazing and constantly evolving city." The British have used the tagline "Totally London", and we have come up with "Uniquely Singapore".

What is Singapore unique for? What does it mean to be a Singaporean? In the past, the Government has had various initiatives to develop and market the Singapore identity. There was the creation of the Merlion, the orchid motif Singapore Dress, we even came out with the National Ideology, with a set of shared values and Singapore 21.

The Government can set a vision, but I think the national identity is best forged from the ground up.

Our local Chinese pop culture is one good example of Singapore culture that has found a life on its own, without much governmental support or intervention. I would like to give illustration now in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin) : [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Our Chinese pop artistes have done well. At the recent Global Chinese Music Awards held in Singapore , Stephanie Sun won five awards, including most Popular Female Artiste and Best Album. Tanya Chua was the best female vocalist at the prestigious Taiwan Golden Melody Award.

Besides singers, our composers like twin brothers Li Weisong and Sisong, Liang Wenfu, lyricist Xiao Han and music producer Billy Koh have groomed and worked with some of the top singers in Chinese pop.

I must say 20 years ago, as a young boy infatuated with Chinese pop, I never

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dreamed that Singaporean singers or songs would ever make it this big. Pop songs do play a big part in our growing-up experience, be it Beatles, Abba, Canto pop, J-pop or K-pop. For me, it was xinyao , literally translated as Singapore Songs. They were simple and amateurish, but it had a huge following in the eighties, and, in my opinion, that was the foundation of the Chinese pop success we are seeing today.

We should embrace Singapore pop culture more. Singapore Tourism Board has appointed pop singer JJ Lin Junjie as its ambassador for the Chinese market. This is a good illustration that pop culture can also help with tourism receipts and economic returns, like what we have seen in Hollywood for the US , Bollywood for India and Hallyu for Korea . There is a lot more potential we can explore.

( In English ): Another unique part of the Singapore identity is our language. While Singlish is not, and should not, be our official language, it is one of the most accurate tell-tale signs that helps us identify fellow Singaporeans in a foreign city. Singlish gave us the word ‘kiasuism’, which is technically not a ‘Uniquely Singapore’ trait or behaviour, but a universal one. In fact, I think Mr Bean is someone who has presented the true flavour of ‘kiasuism’ perfectly. While Rowan Atkinson illustrates it best in his actions and facial expression, it is here in Singapore , where we have found the very word to describe it!

Having said that, I fully applaud the Huayu Cool and Speak Good English campaigns, as with globalisation, besides understanding fellow countrymen, we need to communicate, and communicate well with people around the globe. I used to travel to the Netherlands , and learned that the Dutch is one of the most linguistically talented people as most of them speak at least three languages. As a predominantly Chinese population, Singa

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pore has access to two of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

Some people may remind me that it is not a good comparison as there are similarities within the Indo-European family of languages, but English and Mandarin are fundamentally different and will be difficult languages to be mastered at the same time. However, I am happy to observe that we do have increasing numbers of bilingual talents in Singapore . A senior radio manager recently shared with me that it is now easier to find good bilingual deejays. I also see many TV reporters now filing news with equal competence and eloquence on both Channel News Asia and Channel 8 News.

I was watching _ Forbidden City _ two months ago, and, like many in the audience, I was impressed by Kit Chan’s powerful vocals. It suddenly dawned upon me that perhaps it is only in Singapore , can we find a talent who is equally at ease on the stage of _ Forbidden City _ and the Chinese musical _ Snow Wolf Lake _ .

Having said that, there is more that can be done to leverage on the population profile of Singapore and make us a truly bilingual, if not trilingual or even multi-lingual society. To master a language, one needs an environment to listen, speak, read and write. I believe the Government can take the lead to provide this environment.

The term "East meets West" is often coined on Singapore , but I think Singapore is equally, if not more, a "East meets East" society. Our forefathers brought with them their long history, culture and traditions from China and India , and with the indigenous Malay heritage, today we enjoy the diversity and richness of different races, religions and languages. I have to admit, Sir, that I used to be a skeptical young Singaporean who sees the faces of different races and different colours on official materials as totally

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deliberate and artificial. However, in July this year, I was treated to a spectacle of colours and vibrancy of our varied cultures when I watched Soundwaves put up by the People’s Association. As someone familiar with stage productions, I gave it top marks in its tastefully integrated performance representing our cultural mix. This is true creativity and artistic vision at work.

Besides the creative director of Soundwaves , Dick Lee, who is no stranger to intercultural experiments with his Fried Rice Paradise and Mad Chinaman , there are also many examples you can find in Singapore . For example, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra has shown its versatility with Malay melodies, and theatre director Ong Keng Sen is well known in the international arts scene for his intercultural Shakespeare-inspired trilogy which beautifully fuses various Asian performing art forms. Recently, I watched a local Hokkien opera based on the Indian epic Mahabharata scripted and produced by the Chinese Opera Institute.

We should encourage this special blend of cultures. A tourist would be more interested in our local performances which truly reflect our delicious "rojak" heritage. Having said that, a blend of cultures will only be meaningful and successful if there is first a strong foundation in the respective cultures, whether it is traditional or contemporary. It is the artistic stroke of creativity that will conjure the magic. We must remind ourselves that we should not be looking for overnight or even near-term success. It took xinyao or Chinese songs some 20 years to evolve into the successful Singapore pop today.

I am glad to note that besides investing in physical arts and cultural infrastructure, the Government will be encouraging a greater diversity of involvement in our arts and cultural

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sectors. I would like to point out that good quality works is one key prerequisite to draw audiences. Hence, we must not neglect the investment in capabilities to create more original and interesting artistic and creative works.

I often lament that in land-scarce Singapore , much of our physical heritage has to give way for new developments. Most of my student days can only be relived in my memory, with my teachers, ex-classmates and through old photographs, as many of my school buildings are no longer standing. Some have even ceased to exist in name.

This is where arts and culture can play a significant role. I am not a nostalgic person, but we can use arts and culture to inform the young generation of the past, sometimes not too distant past, and not to take things for granted.

As I read the grand plans under Intelligent Nation 2015, I cannot help but remember the days when mobile communication is not so prevalent. In a play I produced in 1991, a doting mother bought a mobile phone for her daughter who was moving to the university hostel so that she could call her every night. That scene was greeted with a round of 'wows' in the audience, but 15 years later today, even a primary school kid carries a mobile phone!

Movies can also serve as historical documents. I remember vividly the images of our humble provision shops in Eric Khoo’s film Be With Me. As the movie travels in the international film festival circuit, audiences around the world will discover another facet of Singapore that may not be spanking clean and modern, but a very real and authentic facet of our society which is fast disappearing. This is more engaging than a picture in the archives or museum.

Now, I would like to move on to the subject of new media, another means of

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self and cultural expression. New media’s impact on the young, to say the least, has been massive. Compared to traditional media, new media is much less structured; it is more informal and also more difficult to control. It is a virtual world with its own parameters, rules and regulations. Its estate or space is both private and public. It has both advantages and disadvantages, presenting new opportunities and solutions as well as new problems. It is a force to be reckoned with and most people in the developed world cannot envision a future without it. We are beginning to see its social, political and economic powers.

It was reported recently that Google UK is poised to overtake UK ’s main TV stations in advertising revenue within the year. It is therefore a wise choice that the Government has identified interactive and digital media as a new sector to grow. We should harness the power of both new and old media, for instance, in using them for cross communications and marketing to different audiences. The popularity of Singapore Idol and the Idol format around the world was largely due to its ability to leverage on both the traditional TV media and the new mobile media. It manages to engage the audience and turn them into fans who like the power to be able to pick their winner.

*Cols. 401-402.

The global media scene will continue to evolve. From the ancient days of using smoke signals, pigeons, to print, radio, television, fax, telephony, mobile and now the Internet, it does not mean that the emergence of one new media will always replace another. In fact, the radio continued to survive in the advent of the television. It became even more accessible with the emergence of the portable radio, then the car radio, followed by the mobile phone radio today.

It is a media eco-system when many can co-exist and will co-evolve. Even The

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Straits Times now has launched STOMP and vodcasts, and Channel News Asia has its BlogTV.sg. One thing is certain, with technology advancement, the speed of evolution will be faster and people’s lifestyles and expectations will also change at a quicker pace.

The convergence of media can pose problems for the conscientious censor. On the other hand, the good citizens of the world can now also play a bigger role in helping us to police our virtual space. For example, the Wikipedia is a self-regulating resource. As reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education in October 2006, Alexander M.C. Halavais, an Assistant Professor with the State University of New York at Buffalo , slipped in 13 errors in Wikipedia . In less than three hours, all his false facts had been deleted, thanks to the vigilance of Wikipedia editors who regularly check recently updated entries. On Dr Halawi's "user talk" page, one Wikipedian pleaded with him to "refrain from writing nonsense articles and falsifying information".

The differences between new and traditional media call for different treatments from the authorities. We can allow different platforms for responsible and maybe less responsible expression of views, for example, quan min luan jian is for all citizens to talk nonsense, quan min kai jian calls for all citizens to speak their minds, and quan min hao hao jian calls for all citizens to have a good discussion. I believe people will know which programme is meant to serve what target audience. What the Government should do is to ensure that there is no masquerading.

The Government should not and cannot hold itself responsible for what the people see or read. Otherwise, Singaporeans lose the ability to think, evaluate and judge for themselves. The Mr Brown incident illustrates too clearly how new and old media could have been engaged

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better. Without having driven negative comments or untrue information about the Government underground, into the labyrinth of virtual space, the Government loses an opportunity to engage the propagators and dispel the erroneous statements.

As I read comments in the newspapers and compare them with those in blogs and online forums, I sometimes wonder if they are from two different populations talking about two different countries. I do not think that the reality is mostly positive like in the traditional media or like what the new media is portraying, mostly negative and critical. I believe the real world is somewhere in between.

We have to accept that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to monitor and rebut all negative online comments against the Government. We should consider relaxing regulations on traditional media to allow people to vent grouses and frustrations, without always demanding for constructive suggestions. Singaporeans can then engage openly in meaningful, level-headed discussions without fear of prosecution. Erroneous assumptions, wrong ideas, narrow mindsets, prejudices and biases, loyalties, tolerance and wisdom can all be brought to the light of day and seen clearly for what they are. I believe in the Singaporean’s ability to discern wisely. Even if we may not be able to do so accurately, that is our judgment and that judgment should be given the opportunity to be sharpened.

A few months ago, Lianhe Zaobao and My Paper featured articles about the "strawberry generation", a description of "soft", young people with little determination, weak wills and dependent mindsets who are unable to take the slightest of hardship. They are adults but they still turn to their parents for pocket

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money. They have difficulties holding down a job. I wonder if this reflects, on a micro level, a side effect of our Government’s parental style towards its citizens. If our Government trusts the general public’s ability to refrain from uncontrolled gambling by allowing casinos, she should also trust its ability to tell right from wrong, black from white, or even grey, on other issues. Thus, I urge the Government to consider amendments to our media legislation to promote greater media freedom.

This, I believe, would encourage greater creativity in this sector, leading to spill-over effect in other sectors and professions in Singapore . Creativity exists in all sectors and industries. As we nurture creativity in every aspect of our lives, it would become part of ourselves, our DNA, our lifestyles, our identity. Creativity is doing things in a different way which adds value and benefits, which no one else has done before. Creativity is working smart. Creativity is the new cutting edge. Creativity is what which will provide us with the lead over our competitors.

I look forward to the day when creativity is synonymous with the Singapore national identity, the Singapore brand. When that day comes, we can be assured that our survival as a nation is secure and the future, ever the brighter.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of Thanks.

1.55 pm

Ms Ellen Lee (Sembawang): Mr Speaker, Sir, as a preamble, let me tell a story. A male resident in his late 30s could not find a permanent job after he injured his leg in an accident about three years ago. He does odd jobs, which are irregular. He has four children, the eldest in Secondary 2, the second and third in Primary 6 and the youngest in Primary 3

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before they all stopped schooling beginning of this year because nothing is left for them as their mother's $500 income as a cleaner is grossly overstretched. This is the first time he is approaching me as his MP for help.

Sir, I rise to support the Motion of Thanks to the President.

In his Speech to this House, the President stressed on the need "to build an inclusive society which leaves no one behind". Sir, I concur with the President's call that we do more to assist the low-income Singaporeans and to help them progress with the rest of society and country. I see this as an important challenge facing us today.

Sir, how do we ensure that the Government will do more - and successfully - to assist low-income Singaporeans? How do we bridge the income divide? How do we ensure that the existing vehicle we use is both helpful and effective?

Sir, the President highlighted that "because of globalisation, incomes in many countries are stretching out". Sir, I share the President's sentiment that Singapore is not spared from this. Widening of income gap is undoubtedly going to be an ongoing challenge for us as our country strives for economic prosperity. The "Household Expenditure Survey" which tracked income changes between 1998 and 2003, highlighted that the average monthly household income of the lower 40% of Singaporeans had declined; whereas the household income of the top 20% increased by about 2.2% (these figures are obtained from the Singapore Statistics 2005 ). The media has also been covering the topic of widening of our nation's income gap since pre-General Election 2006; in essence, many had lamented - and more will do so in the near future - that it is getting difficult to live in Singapore as our rich are getting richer and the poor remain

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unchanged or getting poorer. Many have questioned whether this is healthy for Singapore despite what the Government has already done through the numerous off-budget measures and financial assistance packages for the low-income group. Many remain ignorant and still question the accessibility of some of these assistance schemes and programmes. The question prevails: how can the Government truly lend a hand to lighten the load of the poor - explicitly those who see themselves being left behind? What are the obtainable resources these Singaporeans can proactively - and realistically - tap on? Just how effective is the process in reaching out to this vulnerable segment?

Sir, it is true - and laudable indeed - that many have benefited from the Government's financial assistance schemes such as rebates on HDB rentals and utilities, the Workfare Scheme/Bonus, ComCare Fund, Progress Package, and the once-off Economic Restructuring Shares (ERS) which were provided by the Government during the economic slowdown to help and improve the financial situation of the households, especially those of the low-income group. It is evident that the Government has continuously done all that it can to provide a helping hand for the poor.

Sir, while the Government has so relentlessly reached out to the poor - with seemingly never-ending new financial assistance schemes and funds, save to speak, almost annually the past five years - there are still in existence real-life cases where low-income families are still ignorant and at a loss of where and how to go about seeking help. Uninformed and helpless they may appear to us, the fact remains that these people continue to be poor and vulnerable. It is indeed regrettable to know that though Singapore has one of the highest number of millionaires in the world and with a per capita GDP of $44,666 - this is com

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parable with many developed countries - we still have many low-income citizens who live "hand-to-mouth". How can we reach out to them more effectively and efficiently so that they will not be left behind?

Sir, the Government must not relent on our efforts to help the low-income group. Despite the numerous help schemes which have been promulgated, many still fall through the cracks and do not receive the much needed financial aid. Often, we are too preoccupied with giving birth to many assistance schemes but unintentionally neglect the "follow through". What do I mean by this? First, do those who are genuinely in need of those help schemes know what they are entitled to, where to go and how to go about doing it? There are still many who are illiterate or too frail or disabled to make their way to the CDC or MPS. There are also cases where those who really need help are themselves too embarrassed (and find it shameful) to approach for public assistance. This is exactly how the family that I cited felt before they approached me. Secondly, when help is administered, is what is dished out prompt, exacting, adequate or even interim to "hold the line" and hoping things will get better? The entire approach to financial assistance to the poor and needy needs to be practical and compelling. We aim to help Singaporeans inculcate an attitude of proactiveness in helping themselves and become self-reliant. We may need to do more than merely providing the systems. It goes to the root of the problem - mindsets, habits, attitudes which need correcting. This will not be an easy task but still an imperative.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to highlight the issue of assisting the low-income Singaporeans and, in particular, I want to urge the Government to review

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and rationalise the current assistance or welfare schemes. In addition, I also hope to look at the two-pronged approach that is imperative in helping the poor, something we all cannot ignore. One of them is the educational aspect, in particular, to change the mindset of the young and not-so-young. Another which the poor have to constantly tussle with is the roof over their heads and, finally, how we can help them to help themselves.

_ Reviewing and rationalising current assistance/welfare schemes _

Sir, the President highlighted that "The Government will introduce more measures to help needy Singaporeans more systematically, learning from our experience about those measures which work and those which do not." I concur with the President's Address in wanting to address the learning points from all our previous financial schemes.

Sir, there are no less than 36 help and financial assistance schemes in existence. I certainly urge the Government to review all the help schemes on a regular basis to ensure their relevancy and applicability. Most importantly, the schemes should be well utilised and an analysis or a survey done on how useful these schemes have been should be carried out. A more in-depth independent survey or study should also be done to gather views from the beneficiaries, those administering them and the general public on whether these help measures have been effective. Frankly, if you were to ask me what all these 36 schemes are and their qualifying criteria and the extent of help given, I would need to do some serious research. This is the crux of the problem, ie, the issue of knowledge and comprehensibility.

Sir, I beg the Government to do a serious review and attempt to rationalise the schemes so that our poor and needy, including those who need interim assistance, will be able to understand the schemes and what and how they can tap

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from them. We are dealing with poor and low-income families, some are old and some uneducated. To be successful with outreach, simplicity is the key word. The important thing is that the right aid is given to those who need them and in the most prompt and effective way. There is a strong impetus towards better case management. There could also be a national platform where all self-help groups, NGOs, CDCs and MCYS can build and forge to ensure a more total and coordinated approach to each case. However, to be well-coordinated amongst the agencies is one thing. To successfully reach out to those who truly need help is another. Looking at the scale of the low-income problem and ageing population, perhaps one central agency should be beefed up to handle this growing and imminent problem. Perhaps, MCYS could be divided into three separate Ministries so that the Ministry of Community Development alone can handle social issues and the provision of social safety nets, just like many years ago. This notwithstanding, in this whole process, we must take heed not to cultivate a crutch mentality. Our people should understand that they should try their best to rely on themselves and look to the Government for help as a last resort.

_ The right mindsets must start from young - education _

Sir, we have been focusing on "Teach Less Learn More" as a working philosophy for the Ministry of Education and to build "Thinking Schools and a Learning Nation". I suggest we take one step further and inculcate life skills for our young. I am not urging MOE to introduce and add more into the syllabus nor change examination formats, but our Government (inter-Ministry) can create an environment and culture where Singaporeans understand financial management, managing change and developing employability skills. Some of these cannot be taught in the classroom, which is why I urge the

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Government to create an environment and culture so that, whether at home, in school or at work, the right mindsets are propagated.

The education and help processes must start from all angles and at all stages. Financial health planning and management may need to be something taught to our general populace rather than leaving them to financial or insurance institutions, which is the current phenomenon. The Government needs to adopt pre-emptive measures rather than reactive measures. Putting out fires is one aspect. The ideal is not to even allow the fire to be sparked or fuelled.

Sir, this is exactly what the President had highlighted in his speech: "We need fundamental mindset changes - on the part of families, workers, employers and the Government", to tackle the challenges ahead of us.

But changing the mindset is a difficult task. The state of mind and the way of thinking have been rooted since young. To change it is clearly an uphill task. There is this saying that the poor wish to be rich, the rich wish to be happy, the single wish to be married and the married wish to be dead. I am quoting this from Ann Landers, US advice columnist, 1918-2002. In essence, we cannot please everyone, even if the intention is good. And, as in all policies, there is no one policy that can make everyone happy. But in the President's Speech, Sir, the message cannot be clearer. We have ahead of us a rising need of low-income and older Singaporeans. The individuals have to make the effort to help themselves and to provide for their future needs.

_ A roof over their heads - housing for the financially-strapped _ Sir, one pressing need among the poor is a non-leaky roof over their heads. We know of a trend where flat owners are

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asking HDB for the third, fourth or more loans to downgrade to smaller flats. If managing the current loan is already a huge struggle, managing a smaller loan cannot hide their problem either. It will only compound their existing problem and prolong their struggle. Renting could well be the next best option. One of the serious impediments often faced by downgraders is the 30-month debarment period from renting a unit from HDB direct. MPs see many such cases at our MPS seeking to appeal for HDB to lift the debarment period due to their financial predicament. I urge the Government to seriously consider taking a bold step to remove or at least shorten this debarment for legitimate or genuine cases.

Similarly, the Government should also take the bold step to introduce the full spectrum of rental housing, ie, including making four-room units available for rent for those with very huge families who really need them. There is a need for more rental housing for low-income Singaporeans. Economists have done and shown the calculations cost-wise that renting a unit even at market prices is a financially more viable option as compared to an outright purchase, especially of a leasehold interest of 99 years or less. I see many cases of families requesting for downgrades and rental flats. This includes the elderly in their twilight years whose children have shifted out of their homes and those who cannot continue to service their bank loans. Would it not be better and more prudent for the HDB to buy back these flats at fair market value and apportion them rental housing so that the monies can be used to tide them through their living and healthcare expenses?

There is another similar but throbbing issue affecting the less well-off. With the implementation of MUP and LUP nation-wide, there is an increase in the spate of low-income Singaporeans being unable to

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pay for the upgrading. Although there are various schemes to assist these people under the HDB's help schemes for MUP, there are those who have monies in their CPF Special Account but none in their Ordinary Account. Can the CPF Board allow withdrawal of the Special Account monies to pay for upgrading bills or arrears?

Mr Speaker, Sir, many of the new Members in this House come from the post-independence generation with humble backgrounds. I am confident that, together, we can jointly work towards this goal and to ensure all Singaporeans that we do not leave anyone behind. Singaporeans have given a strong mandate to the new leadership team, and we do not want to and must not let them down.

Sir, let me conclude by borrowing part of William Boetcker's quotation: "We cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. We cannot help the poor by destroying the rich." Contrary to many who feel that we have an elitist government, I think the Government is serious about building an inclusive society. It is a high calling; challenging nonetheless, but not impossible. With clarity of mind to help every one move forward, I am confident that we will be able to build an inclusive society and yet avoid the mistakes other countries have made in pursuing welfare schemes.

As a conclusion to the story that I have told at the beginning of my speech, I am happy to report to this House, Sir, that many hands are now at work to help this family.

Sir, I therefore unequivocally support the motion.

2.12 pm

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the President for his wise and moving Address.

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Sir, it is a privilege and an honour to be able to speak in this House. Today, I speak after having spent over six months with the residents of Braddell Heights. I am happy to say that the majority of my residents do all right on their own. Even as I speak now, I am sure many are planning where to go for holidays with their children.

But as what my colleague, Ms Ellen Lee, has just said, there is, however, a significant minority whose problems are many and resources few. I am sure that, over time, I will learn more and come up with more solutions to help them. Today, however, I just want to paint a rough picture of who this group is and where I think we can help them most.

The poorest 20% of my residents include those who qualify for public assistance and Medifund. The rest of them would have a roof over their heads, meals on their tables and, for some, a few hundred dollars in their bank accounts. But their constant companion is worry. If they fall sick, there is little cushion for the family. Some are constantly in arrears over their utilities and conservancy bills. Some cannot pay their children’s school fees on time. Each month, the parents' salary is completely taken up by the necessities of living. They have little joy in life.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I know that as a Member of Parliament, such things as "joy of living" do not normally come into our terms of reference. Some people may say, "As long as you have a place to live in, food to eat and have a job, what is the problem?" The problem, Sir, is that joyless families are not strong. And weak families make a weak community and that, in turn, makes a weak nation.

_ Vulnerable families
_Sir, a quick look at the bottom 20%. The Household Survey published in June

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showed that the average monthly household income for the top 20% grew by over 2% per annum over the period 2000 to 2005. By contrast, household income fell by 4.3% per annum for the second lowest 10% of the population, while the lowest 10% had no income at all. The survey also showed that households in the 11th to 20th percentile based on income saw their average monthly earnings shrink from $1,470 in 2000 to $1,180 last year. In contrast, the average income of the top 10% of households for the same period increased from $14,360 to $16,480. The drop in wages for the lowest income groups is in part due to an ageing population. There are now a lot more households with more retired persons and, hence, no income.

Sir, needless to say, a household with $1,180 to spend lives very differently from that with $16,480. But I do not want to speak of the income gap, which some of my colleagues have earlier talked about. Today, I want to speak of HOPE.

One of the most important schemes we have for the bottom 20% is this scheme called Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE). Under HOPE, educational bursaries kick in for the children from pre-school up to university-level education. The amount varies from $250 for preschoolers to $2,000 a year for undergraduates. A substantial amount of $50,000 helps the family pay for their home mortgage.

There is also a cash grant of $1,000 to help the family offset utilities bills. So all in, under this scheme, families can get about $100,000 from the Government in terms of housing and education grants.

The two main conditions to qualify for all these benefits are that the couple must have no more than two children and earn

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less than $1,500 jointly. The wife, she must be younger than 35 years old.

My proposal, Sir, is to do away with the cap on children and the age limit. With this, HOPE will truly be what its name signifies.

Sir, let me explain my suggestions. I understand the thinking behind such a scheme - we want to encourage lower income families to have fewer children so that they can devote more resources to them. The original scheme was, in fact, called the Small Families Improvement Scheme or SFIS in short. Sir, between January 1st, 2004, when the HOPE scheme first started, and September 30th of the same year, 40% of 630 applications received were rejected. This was because applicants either exceeded the income, education, or age criteria. Question number one: are our criteria too strict? Another question: are small families only families that need improvement? If not, why do we care that the family has more than two children?

_ Two is enough _

Sir, a monthly income of $1,500 does not go far, especially if they have more than two children. How are the parents going to upgrade themselves if they are living from hand-to-mouth each month? In the past, debates in the SFIS had centred on whether the Government had a right to decide how many children families should have, who should have more kids, and who did not. I do not intend to engage in this line of reasoning. Instead, I want to focus on a pragmatic issue: how do we care for poor families with many children?

For many in this group, being on the HOPE scheme will give them a much-needed leg up, out of the poverty trap. Sir, I would like to ask the MCYS. Suppose we do away with the cap on

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children and age, how many more people will we be helping? Putting these families under the HOPE scheme would help them to pay for their educational needs. It also gives a generous training grant, so that parents can upgrade themselves.

The HOPE scheme, the most generous and comprehensive Government-planned menu of subsidies on family life, does not apply to them. To be sure, there are other schemes helping these families such as KIFAS for the kindergarten kids' education, food rations, subsidies for computers, and so on. But these cannot be compared to the systematic, generous and, most important, constructive help that HOPE gives to the family as a whole unit.

We need to give hope to this group of people and families, who cannot qualify for HOPE scheme. They are the ones who may be even worse off than the group that gets on the scheme because besides the financial problems that they all face, they have three, four or even five children to bring up and feed! Can we give them a helping hand, please?

Sir, I find the status quo currently a strange one, where people who need more, get even less. I know there are those who say that these changes will open the floodgates to even more such families who have more children than they can afford. Sir, I have no statistics but I know that people choose to have children, or not, based not on whether they are eligible for the HOPE scheme. The reasons are beyond the ambit of this policy. Given this, let us forget that HOPE was once called SFIS, and call it by its real name.

Sir, I have a related question. Of the 6,000 families who qualify for HOPE, only 630 have signed up. And the MCYS is targeting only 1,000 by 2007. This, to me, is an astonishingly modest target. Why are we so hesitant in offering help? Is it because we think that this will breed

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a crutch mentality in people? If so, why have the scheme in the first place? I think that once the policy is set, we ought to pursue it in earnestness and we ought to market the scheme more aggressively. I know that some of this is happening on the ground now, with the Family Service Centres playing their part. More can and should be done.

_ Transport _

Sir, still on the low-income group, I would like to tackle the issue of transport. Even the slightest increase in the cost of living, such as transport, hits them very hard. Average public transport expenditure for households here is now about $2,000 a year, up by over 30% from $1,512 in 1993. For many of us, these fare increases have been manageable. As for drivers, cars have gotten cheaper since 1993.

But for people in the lower income group, public transport is all that they can afford. It is a basic necessity, like food. And on that score, if we look at hawker food fare prices, we can see how they have changed. In 1993, $2 for a packet of chicken rice in any kopitiam in a heartland stall. Today, it is $2.50 or 25% more. Such can be attributed to competition among hawkers. Yes, we do give out some handouts, but I do not think it will be able to cover the higher fares a poorer household has to bear on an annualised basis.

I have always opined that our public transport industry has little competition - a good duopoly with minimal overlapping of routes and modes of transportation. If we truly believe that we should leave it to the market forces, then we should do it, but if we now believe our market is too small for competition, then perhaps we should be prepared to make it into a single operator situation like what has happened in the media industry.

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The announcement that the Government is engaging an external consultant to review the transportation system is most welcome and timely. Whilst we generally have a good transportation network infrastructure, we must continue to find ways to help the lower income families who are spending a larger proportion of their income on transport-related needs. We also need to help drivers especially those who have to use the CTE. The pinch from regular ERP hikes is painful and what is worse, the pocket hurts and the congestions are still there.

Next, I would like to address the quality of transport, one variable of which must be the total time taken by commuters to reach from point to point. Many feel that with the removal of various feeder routes, they now have to take a longer time to commute from home to office and back. This is especially so where they have to walk from their homes to the nearest MRT station or bus interchange. Are such measurements taken into account by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Public Transport Council (PTC)?

To get an idea of this, I asked my residents to help me in an informal survey. Of the about 100 residents who gave their responses, two-thirds of them took public transport to work. And of the three modes - bus, MRT, or both - the longest time taken (no prizes for getting it right) were those who had to travel by both bus and MRT, with an average time of close to 60 minutes and the longest time of about 90 minutes. So, on a daily basis, my residents are spending about two hours and, in some cases, three hours getting to and from work. This constitutes a significant part of their total workday.

Can this be improved? We need to make travel seamless and fast. We need to improve integration and rationalisation of the various transport modes. We need

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to cut waiting time. Sir, I think this squares quite closely with the results of the recent survey that was carried out by the PTC and which was just released last week. But end of the day, notwithstanding all the surveys that we do, the real test of the pudding is in the eating. And as ridership figures show, it is not all that rosy. Our benchmark should be, and we will know that we have arrived, when people who have cars start to take buses and trains on a regular basis. Only then, will our dream of having a world class urban transport system be realised.

Sir, all these add up to one large problem that will prove to be intractable in the short run. We need to address the lower income needs immediately. For these vulnerable families, I support the call from my GPC Chairman for an immediate solution that can be easily implemented - a common day pass for all trains and buses. We can then use these passes to give direct and meaningful subsidies to the needy families.

_ Family first: Leaders must show the way _

Sir, let me now cover some issues on family matters.

From my perspective, family needs to be the number one priority on everyone's agenda. The formation of the National Family Council is a step forward - one that offers hope for a much needed holistic approach towards strengthening of marriages and families.

Sir, we have always maintained that the family is the first line of defence in any situation, whether it is caring for the disabled, the elderly, or the poor. A lot depends on having strong families, but the structure of families is coming under more stress than ever before.

One of the quickest, and to my mind, the easiest ways to relieve this stress is

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to review the role played by leadership in the public, private and people sectors. Leaders must walk the talk if we are to achieve significant improvements. Leadership must now be called to action more urgently than ever, to create a better environment for our families to blossom and for all members to enjoy.

At the ground level, the problems are very real and urgent. Many of us know of many people who are experiencing the enormous strain on marriages and families of our generation. Divorce rates are at an all time high (6,909 in 2005) with some predicting that it may not be long before one in every two marriages here end in divorce, a statistic which is already true in America. I am thus heartened to hear the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports at the East Asia Ministerial Forum on Families held here just this Monday, highlighting the issue of rising divorce rates here as being one of his Ministry’s top concerns.

Here, I have observed that even where marriages or families stay together, something is usually lacking, eg, parental time and involvement with children, a fulfilling marriage bond, or the desire to have children. Each of these leads on to social and economic repercussions.

On a personal level, there is a lack of awareness of how vulnerable our marriages and families are in an increasingly competitive global era. It is so easy to become caught up in the never-ending strive for career advancement and to forget that our marriages and families need nurturing too. Those who are aware of this perhaps have their hands tied by the need for survival and unenlightened bosses. What can we do?

On a corporate level, we need to make family a priority, even for bosses. While there has been much talk about flexible work arrangements, in reality, so many working professionals we know who have

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young children still find it difficult, if not impossible, to have part-time work arrangement. I am sure we all have friends who made an effort not to work long hours but inevitably felt very conscious and vulnerable when leaving the office on time, almost having to "sneak" off hoping that nobody has noticed. Certainly, the mindset change in Singapore has not occurred in a sufficiently critical proportion of the population.

Working mothers can only find it feasible to work part time if this is common and not viewed as an exception. The part-time scheme for teachers that MOE is enhancing to include both male and female teachers is great, and perhaps what we need is more steps in this direction for other professions as well.

Finally, on a broader level, we are aware that to help our families, an effort from all segments of society is required, that those who are convinced of the need to stand up and fight for our families have to make an effort to do so. There is, in the end, no economic or corporate justification which is greater than a very personal motivation for doing the right thing. As the Minister himself has said, "You should not be afraid to say that you have to attend to family issues."

_ The difference a father makes _

Let me now put on my hat as a board member of Centre for Fathering. Many men do not realise or have forgotten how important a role fathers play in the healthy growth and development of their children. Sadly, somewhere along the line, "father" has somehow come to be equated with "breadwinner".

Sir, recently there were some tragic deaths involving some men. One of them was a father in his 40s, like I am. Mr Tan Jee Suan was 46, married with two teenage sons. They live in a three-room

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flat in Boon Lay. I can only guess at Mr Tan's thoughts, as a fellow father, and a husband who tried his best to provide for his family. He has only primary school education. His children do not get many toys and books. Their occasional treat is a meal at a fast food centre. When he got $2,000 from the Progress Package, he used $800 of it to buy a bed for his wife, their first bed in all the time they have been married; she being a polio victim, he bought the bed so that she does not have to crawl off their mattress each time she wakes up. And at night, he would sit down with his boys, watch them do their homework, and talk to them. His last gift to them was $16 in his wallet, and a few words of advice to take care of their mother.

Sir, we need to help fathers like the late Mr Tan. Sir, this is a man who loved his wife, and a father who loved his sons. He tried to be as good a provider as he knew how. But the problem was - he did not know how. He did not know how to handle the stress of being out of work. He did not know that, despite not bringing home a pay cheque, he was a good man, and a good father. He did not know that, in Singapore, which is a land of opportunity, a strong back and a good heart could get his family money, food and education. Indeed, in Singapore, our Government has in place several social assistance schemes to help needy Singaporeans.

Sir, for out-of-work fathers, we need first to assure them that their roles as fathers and husbands are not diminished or devalued the moment they stop bringing home a pay cheque. That is a battle in the mind,

and when we first win that battle, we can make a start in winning the rest. No doubt, there are many other avenues for help for the whole family - workfare, job matching, education bursaries and so forth. But truth be told, the welfare for the whole family

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often turns on the father, and we need to help fathers, as fathers, as well as helping them find work.

Certainly, our world does not end when our work contract does, and our self-worth should not be tied up completely with our work. I urge the many-helping-hands to remember to pass on this message, along with practical help such as job matching.

Now, speaking of society at large, what can we do to enhance and highlight the important roles fathers play? I have the following suggestions:

First, we cannot assume that men naturally become fathers. We need to help equip men for the transition. So, I suggest we give subsidies for both parents attending ante-natal and parenting programmes.

Second, we need to build more father-friendly workplaces. This means working on the HR software - perhaps increasing paternity leave to one week, and giving fathers child sick leave.

Third, we need to encourage fathers to be more involved in their children's education. For example, there are parents who often take leave during the children's examination. But why is it almost always the women who do this? If, for example, we men feel that this is not our forte, perhaps we can do other things, such as bring our children to school on the first day of the new term and on as many days as possible, attend children's parent-teacher meetings, and our children's school sports days. Schools can "force" fathers to be involved too by getting both parents' signatures on the report book.

The Centre for Fathering is already planning a major event as we usher in the

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New Year. It is called "Back to School with Dad 2007". We are working directly with schools to encourage fathers to accompany their school-going children to and from school during the first week of school next year. Better still both father and mother should do it.

This event is a meaningful way for Singapore to start the New Year. MOE and MCYS have been informed and are supportive. I am very much for this project. For several years now, I have enjoyed driving my son and daughter to school. The time that one spends with them can only help to bond us closer to each other.

Sir, we need strong resilient families in Singapore. Different kinds of families need different things from the Government. Many think that, with the PAP Government's aversion to welfarism, lobbying for money is the hardest part. But it is actually the easiest. It is easy and quick to throw money at a problem and wish it away.

But as we have seen with the HOPE scheme, getting the budget to help 6,000 families in need does not fully accomplish what we had in mind. Many families may not be receiving the help. Families who need the help more than others are not even eligible for it. Getting the money is the easier part - spending it wisely is far harder.

Sir, we need to create HOPE for all families, especially the vulnerable ones. We need to remember, in the middle of our busy work day, full of meetings with important people, to put our families first. Only then can we have a strong, close and inclusive community, and for all citizens, a strong nation we are all proud to call home.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of Thanks to the President.

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2.35 pm

Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Motion of Thanks to the President.

In his address to this House, the President has given a very wide-ranging and comprehensive outline of the challenges faced by Singapore today. He has set forth in broad terms the Government's plan to tackle issues of globalisation, our ageing population and the generational changes faced by the post-independence generation, including a new social and political compact.

Sir, I am part of that post-independence generation, what has come to be known in these times as the P65 generation. These are my views on two of the challenges faced by the P65 generation today. They are pre-school education and engaging our youth.

In his Address to this House, the President pointed out that one way in which the Government would facilitate growth and prosperity would be to invest in the future of Singapore. In our minds, there is no doubt that the future of Singapore lies in our children - those that are growing up today and those that we are encouraging couples to have to reverse the trend of our ageing population.

One of the best ways to invest in our children is to continually improve and transform our education system. After all, the strength of this country is not in its money or its weapons, but in the sum total of the education and the character of its people.

The Government has been continually upgrading our education system at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. I applaud the changes that the Ministry has made in our education system over the years. The most recent ones are very exciting. The focus has shifted to quality

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and diversity, with the goal being to develop the potential of every child to the maximum, such that we attain many peaks of excellence. More choices are being introduced for students so that they can develop their strengths and interests in sports, the arts and intellectual endeavours.

However, I believe that education does not and should not begin at primary one. Experts in child development believe that the most crucial period for development in learning is the first six years of a child's life. Neurologists tell us that the network of neurons or brain cells that make up the human brain develops and grows at a staggering rate during this early period of a child's life. The more stimulation and quality input a young child receives, the more complex and dense this network of brain cells becomes. When you think about how this network forms the hardware of human intelligence, it would make sense for us to focus much more attention on building up the capacity of each child's CPU at a time when such input has most impact. Some experts say that the bulk of this growth is substantially complete by the time a child is six years old. So, it is during this zero-to-six-year period that children develop most of their neuro pathways. It is during this period that the child is most eager to learn and the most open to stimulation. It is during this period that children develop the ability to take part in their own learning. If a child receives good quality education in pre-school and is given the correct environment to develop, his or her path in primary, secondary and tertiary education could be so much more fruitful and enriching.

Research on brain development has shown that a child's environment and experiences in the earliest years of life are crucial for cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. It has also shown that children who attend quality pre-school programmes have more advanced

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cognitive skills, are more eager to learn and try new things, get along better with their classmates and are better at paying attention. Their ability to stay focused and follow directions emerges in the early years, and a programme of structured learning in the early years fosters these abilities. They also have more advanced development in language, literacy, creativity, music, movement, initiative and social skills.

The greatest short-term and long-term gains which are a direct result of quality pre-school education can be seen in children who are from less advantaged backgrounds. Various studies that have been conducted in the United States have shown that high-quality programmes have produced short-term gains in cognitive functioning and long-term gains in school achievement and social adjustment. Recent reviews conclude that early intervention, especially with children from less advantaged backgrounds, have produced a variety of positive results. Those results include higher school achievement, lower incidence of having to repeat a grade, a reduced need for special education at a later stage and less involvement in crime.

Given the profound impact that a child's pre-school education can have on the growth and development of that child, I ask whether it is not incumbent on us to ensure that the pre-school education that we provide to our children should be as good as, if not better, than the primary, secondary and tertiary education that we offer our children today. If we are to maximise and harness the potential of every single child, why not seize the opportunity to nurture them during the most crucial years of development?

Sometime in 2000, the Ministry of Education issued a document entitled "Nurturing Early Learners", a framework

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for a kindergarten curriculum in Singapore. That document sets out fairly comprehensive construct in respect of the direction in which the Ministry felt that the kindergarten curriculum ought to be heading in Singapore. But that document is merely prescriptive. It is a guide. Kindergartens and childcare centres that have kindergarten programmes are free to adopt as little or as much as they choose of it. Many questions remain unanswered. What has been done to update that document over the last six years? If it has not been updated, why not? Why should the Ministry not require pre-schools to achieve a minimum standard in educating our children, the way it does the upper levels of education? Why is it that only kindergartens are required to register with the Ministry of Education, whereas childcare centres that also run kindergarten programmes are not?

Most of the children who live in our HDB estates attend PCF kindergartens, and therefore PCF kindergartens have become the largest provider of kindergarten education in Singapore. When the Ministry issued its framework for a kindergarten curriculum in 2000, most of the PCF kindergartens adopted the framework in whole or in part. However, six years on, some PCF kindergartens have found that the framework is slowly becoming outdated, and many have developed their own curricula outside the construct recommended by the Ministry. So, kindergartens are left to update and treat their programmes at their own initiative, with little support from the Ministry.

Whilst we may contend that this provides diversity and a good landscape - and I agree that there is nothing wrong with diversity and choice - there might be a significant disparity in the quality of what is taught in the kindergartens and pre-schools. We do not really know because unlike primary education, there is little Ministry involvement or oversight.

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Should the Ministry not ensure that there is a minimum standard of education that pre-schools and kindergartens adhere to? I believe that we need to implement a core curriculum and programme of pre-school education of a standard at least equal to that of our school system. Pre-schools could retain flexibility and the methodology used in teaching the curriculum and those that have the resources to do so may go beyond the basic curriculum. Having a core curriculum would raise the bar so that we can go some way to ensuring that at the other end of the spectrum, the less advantaged children are not left behind.

At the heart of our efforts, due consideration must be given to the teachers. The Government must look at ways to improve the motivation and quality of pre-school teachers. The Ministry needs to ensure that pre-school teachers receive the right training to give our children the instruction that they require, as well as the kind of nurturing that they deserve. After all, these teachers are the people charged with the care and direction of our children at their most impressionable age. But teaching children of pre-school age requires more than just knowledge of the subjects being taught. Pre-school teachers need to connect with the children and capture their attention and imagination. Pre-school teachers must feel motivated in order to be able to motivate the children they teach. They must have better remuneration and career prospects. They must be given fuel to keep their passion alive. I urge the Ministry to also look into ensuring that pre-schools have the hardware and facilities to complement the quality curriculum that we should aim to provide to our children. All of these measures must work hand in hand towards upgrading our preschool education system.

Most recently, the Ministry announced that it would be working with social

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agencies to minimise non-attendance at pre-school. Mr Masagos Zulkifli mentioned this in his speech yesterday and, in fact, he heads the committee. I see this as a clear sign that the Government recognises the importance of pre-school education. Getting all children in Singapore to attend pre-school is certainly a goal to strive for. But we also have to ensure that once we get them there, we use the opportunity to maximum effect by putting in place

a first-class curriculum, taught by teachers who are well trained, motivated and emotionally invested in the task of nurturing our young minds. I say that we can do more. Compare the resources we are investing in the hardware and software of our primary, secondary and tertiary education systems with the investment we are making in our pre-school education system. We have implemented the GROW programme for our school teachers. What have we done for our pre-school teachers? We are building indoor sports halls for all our schools. What are we providing for our pre-schools?

I urge this Government not to ignore the short-term and long-term benefits of quality pre-school education for our children. The benefits of the right input during these crucial years are not limited to just academic and intellectual gains. This is also the time when children can most readily absorb and internalise positive moral values and life lessons on social awareness, compassion and respect for others. Let us act now to improve this key element of our education system.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I turn to my second topic – engaging our youth. One of the challenges that the P65 generation faces is the deepening of our sense of mission. We must provide and we must learn to seize more opportunities, to take responsibility for our country and build our future together. In short, we must learn to take ownership of our country and our home. And this will be one of the key challenges

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that the P65 MPs will face in the days to come. How do we inspire and instill that sense of ownership and passion in our generation and the younger generation? There is no one answer to this challenge and I do not stand here, Sir, and claim to know the formula. I did, however, post similar questions on the P65 blog site that Mr Teo Ser Luck mentioned yesterday.

In my posting, I spoke about the passion and energy that I saw in the youth that attended a pop concert and I asked why more of us do not have the same passion and enthusiasm when it comes to issues relating to our country and how it is governed. I found it heartening to read some of the comments that I received in response to my posting not because they were necessarily complimentary or expressed what I might have wanted to hear, but because the contributors care enough to mull over the issue and speak their minds. If our youth were indeed apathetic about our country, they would not deem it important to try and engage the MPs in such a manner. And what are their views? I will let the bloggers do the talking. These are just two excerpts from the many comments that I have received.

BL says, and I quote:

"In short, my answer is that in order to cultivate passion towards issues that concern our country is to give the citizens the feeling that they are stakeholders to the country. The conditions require the space and freedom of speech and expression both in the social and political circles. In any society, we often have people differing from us on certain issues, but the fact that we are contributing our perspectives from different sides of the house, indicate that we are passionate in them. These are the things which money cannot buy and perhaps, it might be the first step to generate passion in people on the issues of government and country."

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Sherrie says, and I quote:

"I’d say I’m not exactly very passionate about the government of our country and such because there’s still the underlying feeling that the Government doesn’t listen to us anyway. Granted, there’s the Feedback Unit and such but again, one can’t help but feel it’s just a facade ….. it’s just all talk.

Why am I so cynical and sceptical?

Just look at the patronising replies which the government bodies give in Forum .

Just as long as they continue to feel that they are high up on a pedestal, the ground will always be detached from the Government, and thus the government of the country."

I said that I was heartened when I received these comments because they demonstrate that the people are fired up about what goes on in Singapore. Singaporeans and the P65 generation want to express their views and engage us. Sometimes, their comments, and particularly their criticism, may be hard hitting; sometimes, they may be wrong; sometimes, they may be right. We may not like all the comments that we get, but that should not be a reason to avoid them. In this regard, I associate myself with Mr Baey Yam Keng’s comments on opening up and being more flexible.

What is important is to realise that the strength of their criticism is a demonstration of their sense of passion and sense of ownership in this country. I believe that we should encourage more of such participation but, in doing so, I feel that we must change our mindset and become more flexible in our approach to the views expressed. I am not advocating that we take a flexible approach to all our rules and policies. But there are some instances where flexibility can have a positive result. Let me give you an example.

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I recently attended a flagging-off of an international adventure race. Singapore was but one stop from the circuit of countries hosting the race. The event was being telecast on cable television in numerous countries in Asia and the rest of the world. The organiser approached me just before the start of the race and expressed his disappointment at not being able to use the national flag to flag off the race or even display the national flag in the backdrop. Here was a chance for our little dot to shine in the eyes of the world but we missed that opportunity.

Sir, rules and policies are obviously important. However, we must realise two things: first, in the application of some rules and policies, we should learn to be more nimble and flexible; and secondly, in some instances we must be alert enough to realise that certain rules and policies may be outdated and not be afraid to change those rules and policies swiftly to keep up with the times.

I believe the younger generation – the P65 generation – have a sense of mission. They are willing to speak up and be engaged. The question I leave this House with is this: are we ready to hear them?

Mr Speaker, Sir, on that note, may I end my speech by reaffirming my support for the motion.

Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Motion of Thanks to the President.

Globalisation and change

Singapore has always been and is always going to be at the crossroads, be it at the crossroads of Asia, changes and evolution, and now with globalisation. As Singapore is part of a regional and global landscape, events and developments in the region and in the world will have an impact on us. The inflow of foreign capi

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tal, technology, foreign talents, music, and popular culture has all got resonance with globalisation. We have no choice but to adapt and evolve. It is a volatile world out there. Certainly, every system must evolve and must stay relevant with the times. Because only in growth, reform and change, paradoxically, is there security to be found.

Our National Day parade slogan this year, "Our Global city, Our Home", and the Singapore 2006 theme, "Global City, World of Opportunities" reflect this broad outlook that we have. In fact, in 1966 our Minister Mentor had stated: "Societies like ours can have no fat to spare. They are either lean and healthy or they die." Indeed, he was a visionary, thinking ahead of his times.

Yes, we have many of the universal requirements to become a global city: the amenities, the human capital, the infrastructure and network as well as linkages in businesses, human interaction and communications. Globalisation will bring about changes and greater competition. We cannot resist these. But we have to also partake in glocalisation, ie, local responsiveness in a global framework where we incorporate global processes into our local settings and make global products suited to local needs and taste. As we globalise, we must strike a balance to preserve our culture, values and also our tradition.
A global city will be part of and be connected to the larger global community. This must bring about a sense of shared identity, ownership and stewardship for the planet. The world is becoming very small and our people will cross borders as if they are crossing roads of yesteryears. Are we preparing them for these crossings?

_Education
_
As we adapt to the changes, education is the common denominator in helping society to level up. The education

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system will have to evolve and adapt to prepare our students to become global citizens. The Ministry of Education has been doing this gradually through implementation of policies and also curriculum change. Singapore’s model for success has an impressive emphasis on education.

In any curriculum, there is always the formal, the informal as well as the hidden curriculum. The formal curriculum is one that is written and found on paper and is the one which students and teachers rush to cover before the examinations. The informal curriculum is one where there is indirect learning. But, importantly, there is the hidden curriculum, which has proven to be very powerful and represents all the nuances, behaviour and the non-verbal cues, etc. that are projected from teachers to students, based on the interpretation and perception of the latter. It is thus very important to make teachers realise the power they have to change and influence. The primary school teacher especially is an important and influential adult to the school-going child. This teacher will make the crucial difference to the child’s academic, social, emotional and psychological growth and development.

They need to have an understanding of pedagogy, which is the art and science of learning and teaching. They are the role models on impressionable youths and their words and action can leave an indelible impression on these young minds. Teachers are like ‘step-in parents’ for their contact time with the children at school. Besides transmission of knowledge, pupils will acquire values of compassion, responsibility, diligence, love, courtesy and determination.

Thus, I applaud the recent move by the Ministry of Education to have more dedicated time and funding for teachers in terms of training, education and upgrade

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in line with the GROW programme. For some, the suggested sabbatical sessions which they will have, it is also going to serve as a period of reflection on their teaching. Programmes such as the leaders in educational programme (LEP) and Leader for Leaders’ programme (LLP) will certainly have a significant bearing on teachers' learning, self reflection, innovation and sharing. Therefore, I would like to urge the Ministry of Education to support as many teachers as possible who qualify to be enrolled in these programmes for self enhancement and development.

Ability and value based education can help to bring about students who are not only academically inclined, but also innovative, creative and worldly in their outlook and mindset. This is in line with our Prime Minister's call to build talent which is like a whole range of mountains and not just single peaks.

On that note, I would also like to strongly suggest the introduction of a series of non-examinable subjects which could include simple economics, Singapore politics, history, logic, ethics, and maybe simple financial management for students. This must be done hand in hand with a review and reduction of some of the hard-core curriculum that we have in schools. Since these are non-examinable subjects, the students would have no stress of studying them to pass examinations and they can enjoy these subjects better and certainly will contribute towards their adulthood as well. The topics covered will have to be practical, interesting and engaging; building and inculcating nationalistic spirit and altruism, conducted in a participatory and interactive fashion. Exposure at this tender age will help create understanding and strengthen the sense of identity and belonging to Singapore.

This can also be a step in the direction towards making our students socially, economically and politically more aware

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and conscious, countering the many claims made recently that our youth and young people have no interest and are very low in their awareness of issues like these. Only when one takes ownership and pride in one’s community and country will one strive to make it better.

Volunteerism: The young, the elderly and the community support

What better way to inculcate this than through volunteerism and community involvement. The only way to understand the contribution of time, effort and energy of volunteers, is by immersing oneself in these very similar activities. The involvement can help evolve youths as well as young adults to have a wider perspective, a more global view. It can help shape personalities and character as well as make them more tolerant. As it is, the post-65 generation has always been blamed for not understanding our roots and the hardships faced by our parents and grandparents. Through volunteerism, we can feel poverty, sadness, misery, desperation, fear and hunger. I can personally vouch for this for having done volunteer work and community service for over 20 years, including humanitarian activities overseas in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, and so on. We have to learn how to empathise. We have to learn that helping others is a blessing. And we learn to also take nothing for granted, including our livelihood and security as well. We can build up our ‘heartware". As we serve, it will help trigger emotions on seeing, learning and feeling the unspoken hopes of many who are disabled, disadvantaged and in need.

How can volunteerism benefit Singapore?

Volunteers are usually active citizens who have a role in Singapore’s future. They want to be kept informed of all developments. They will offer ideas which

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are productive, and their experiences and thoughtful consideration have gone into these. Volunteers will help implement what they envision and make that positive impact on society. They will contribute towards the task of nation building.

Mr Speaker, Sir, for serving humanity is indeed the best work of life and it dishes out the best lessons for man.

Volunteerism will galvanise our multiracial community bonding. Through expanded CIP and youth expedition programme (YEP), our youth will get to see the real world, the global village, will learn and mature. Our over 65 years population is going to increase at an alarming rate. This rate is going to be at 372% from the year 2000 to 2030. This is going to be the fastest recorded rate of elderly growth compared to Japan (54%), Germany (63%) and China (170%). There must be more ways for youth to engage and participate in our elderly community management and care. Youth must connect and assist the elderly in society. Children must look after their parents. But that is not volunteerism. That is duty.

We have the potential to become the volunteer hub in Asia. This could be another branding for us as well. It is very often at Ground Zero, the Singapore team gets asked to oversee and organise operations, set up hospital, etc. We carry the Singapore flag on our vest. We have a reputation for being effective, organised and certainly well structured. We get things done. We mean action and certainly never underestimate the power of being small. That red shining dot again.

Corporate volunteerism as well must be encouraged and certainly formalised. Why should we do this? Corporations operate in communities and not in a vacuum. Corporations reflect the community in which they operate. Corporate performance is also today very much tied through a triple bottom line, which is their economic, environmental as well as social

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contributions. Corporations have resources to share with volunteer hosting organisations to help communities. Together they can help to meet certain objectives for the community which include reduction of poverty, helping the low income, enhancing education, creation of health awareness, and so on. Participating in volunteer and community activities will improve the corporate image, generate goodwill and also build teamwork.

We have to create awareness of volunteerism and activities and also make it easier for individuals, schools, families and organisations to adopt programmes which will enhance their character. Issues such as volunteer leave and corporate and national recognition as well as not losing one's seniority when one volunteers for an overseas mission should be implemented and enhanced. It is not enough to have a handful of heroes. But what we want is to build a community and generations of people who are responsible and caring people.

With volunteerism, awareness is created, empathy is inculcated and expectations can be better managed. And certainly with all the social safety nets and 36 self-help schemes that we have, I would still like to call for greater amount of integration, coordination, speed and also flexibility in their execution. This is in line with the call by Mr Seah Kian Peng and Ms Ellen Lee to help the underprivileged. We, as a society, must learn to exude values of graciousness from within. We can globalise as a nation and celebrate, but it would be so much sweeter if we can put smiles on the faces of the elderly, the destitute, the low income and also the disabled. Perhaps then, even our happiness index as a society can improve because Happiness = (Reality – Expectations) / Perception.

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In one of my house-to-house visits, Mr Speaker, a single lady in her 50s came up to me and said, "Can you please come into my house to check why there is smoke and steam coming out of all my piping in the kitchen and bathroom?" It was a strange request. So I went in to check and of course could not find anything wrong. I spoke to the Town Council guy and he said that that lady had been calling them every single day to complain of the same issue. Certainly, they, who were the experts, could not find the root cause. I did not take very long to realise that she actually was depressed and was hallucinating. This was the incident that spurred me to actually set up and launch a POP Group! - a Psychological Outreach Programme Group - at Geylang Serai where we have a group of nurses, volunteers from IMH and also grassroots and activists working together on house-to-house visits which are targeted, as we go out and source issues related to psychological health and mental illnesses in the community and the response had been overwhelming indeed. This is an initiative by the community, for the community and certainly a perfect example in promotion of the spirit of volunteerism.

There is a growing demand for more comprehensive psychological health services. In his Addendum to the Presidential Address, our Health Minister has already mentioned about upgrading the mental health programme "to make Singapore an emotionally resilient society". Certainly, this is in line with the Ministry of Health's eight health priorities for the future, namely, (1) to build a healthy population; and (2) to manage diseases holistically and not episodically. Let me put some perspective on this. From the IMH and the Health Promotion Board's survey of 2004, the prevalence of depression and anxiety related disorders was 16% in our community, and the number is increasing everyday. However, only 48% of these people have sought treatment. The World

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Health Organisation has estimated that 15% of all premature deaths in Singapore as well as disability is related to psychological illnesses. This is an alarming number because these are people who are dying well before their time. Another Ministry of Health's survey showed that the number of children less than 18 years visiting psychiatrist at Government run outpatient clinics was 1,120 in 1990, and it had gone up to 2,499 in the year 2000, and 50% of them are of primary school age, an alarming number indeed. Certainly, we need to do something about this because if we do not, the numbers will be increasing. And will the pressure make them prone to depression as adults? The long-term consequences will depend on their psychological resilience as well as the community support.

Psychological illnesses have been stereotyped and stigmatised. The theory that the patients are ‘dangerously mad’ must be debunked. Our mental health understanding and also mental literacy has to be increased. That is why I am very heartened that the Institute of Mental Health has increased its research funding from $700,000 to $1.4 million this year, and this will certainly contribute towards studies and trials to help many of our patients with psychological illnesses.

( In Malay ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Mr Speaker, Sir, please give me the opportunity to speak in Malay on issues faced by the Malay-Muslim community. The Malay-Muslim community has come a long way as compared to 10 years ago. Many improvements have taken place. Our leaders, institutions, organisations and mosques have been very proactive and have shown an open mindset which is progressive and constructive, whereas in yesteryears, the community may highlight their unhappiness with the Mandarin requirement with certain companies. But now with the change in mindset, I am seeing at dialogues, Malay parents

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standing up to ask for compulsory conversational Mandarin classes in schools for their children so they will not be left out. Well done to these parents for having that mindset. However, just as we have been the hardest hit by the economic crisis, the Malay-Muslim community will also face great changes with globalisation.

The workforce will be more competitive especially for the lower income and older workers. My advice to them would be to strengthen their spirit and take up courses to upgrade their skills and capabilities so that they will not be left behind. The Government and grassroot organisations will help them as much as they possibly could in providing them with the opportunities.

With the fast disappearing borders in the face of globalisation and the digital age, our youths will require support and attention to bring them away from the unhealthy impact of this influence. Within the Malay-Muslim community, we are still seeing significant problems such as pre-marital sex, single mothers who have many children, teenage abortions, divorces and drug addiction. Traditional and moral values are beginning to be eroded by globalisation. Our usage of Malay Language is also getting lesser. There is a Malay saying which says that tradition is so important that they would sacrifice their child as long as the tradition is protected. This shows that tradition is very important for the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore. Therefore, every member of the community must uphold these good and progressive values.

Our Muslim community has progressed towards excellence. The document "Building an excellent Muslim community in Singapore" which was issued by MUIS this year is a good effort and should be a source of reference for all of us. It explains Islam as a religion that promotes education, peace and also progress.

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Madrasahs have carried out many changes. At a recent graduation ceremony of Muhammadiyah Kindergarten, a small boy told me that he wanted to teach at the madrasah when he grew up. There was another one child who told me that he wanted to be a Formula One car driver when he grew up. Our Malay-Muslim children really have very wide-ranging career choices. Madrasahs are in the process of making changes and refinements to their curriculum so that by 2008, their primary schools would be ready for PSLE to be integrated into their CE programme. This will enable the madrasah students to be well versed and competent in Mathematics, Science and English Language. Madrasah Al Maarif, for example, is planning on starting a full day school and will have new value-added subjects. These are the changes which will be taking place within the Malay-Muslim community and we await these changes and improvements.

( In English ): Mr Speaker, in conclusion, let me quote from Professor Laurence Summers who is from the Harvard University. He stated that good governments have the ability to maintain order in the country and leaders who have attained power do not abuse it and have the competence to do the job.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in my view, our Government has all of these and beyond. What I call for is for a more gracious society: more caring and sharing, more concern for neighbours and others, more accepting as a people, more humanitarian and volunteerism activities, less stereotyping and a greater understanding and commitment from all levels of society. I call for a society that does not just celebrate the festivals which we do now, but a society that recognises in a big way the International Volunteers Day, World Peace Day, Alzheimer's Day, Mental Health Wellness Day, World

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Disaster Reduction Day, World Disability Day, and so on - a society that balances competition and compassion as we together globalise.

Mr Speaker, Sir, just as everyone has a pair of hands, the Government can hold but only one of your hands, the other is yours to use, to control, to guide, to build and strengthen the muscles and, of course, to help point you in the right direction as you go forward into the future.

I support the motion.

*Cols. 403-406.

3.14 pm

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of Thanks by the Member for Jurong GRC .

The President's Address outlines the opportunities as well as challenges posed by globalisation. The title of the Address "A Competitive Economy, an Inclusive Society" sums up aptly the two key tasks ahead of us.

Sir, in my last six months on the ground

as a new MP, I get the opportunity to meet up with residents from all walks of life. I hear firsthand their needs and concerns. Residents come with their issues, pinning their hopes on us to solve their problems.

While Singaporeans are generally positive about the future, they have also concerns and apprehensions about the challenges ahead. I would like to share some of them through my own list of "Three Fears" which I hope will not happen to our future Singapore. I am highlighting theses "fears" not because I am negative about the future, but merely another perspective to voice our vision for Singapore’s future and throw up questions for Singaporeans to think about.

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_ Fear 1: _ " Pai Tang Jia "

The first "fear" touches on the employability of middle-aged Singaporeans in a fast-changing and globalised world. As mentioned in the President’s Address, the competitive landscape compels us to continually respond to structural and trend changes to stay ahead of the curve. It has become a fact of life. The implication is that whatever skill sets we acquire may now have a certain shelf life.

Going forward, could our re-employment opportunities become even more limited due to accelerated obsolescence in our acquired skills? One of my residents said to me in Hokkien: "Nowadays, it is ' Pai Tang Jia '", ie, hard to earn a living. This is my concern. It has already happened to many developed countries. For example, I read that in US, an average American from college can expect to change their skills base at least three times in their working life.

The issue of employability for our middle-aged Singaporeans warrants our deeper attention. They are the "sandwich generation" who need to support school-going children and take care of elderly parents. The social cost will be higher for Singapore if they become victims of economic restructuring.

The approach taken by the Government has been two-fold. On the one hand, we endeavour to create as many job opportunities as possible by revving up growth in the economy. On the other hand, the Government provides the best possible education and skills development to equip Singaporeans with the life skills to be employable in the marketplace. Lifelong learning is supposed to be part and parcel of our life, but we expect lesser spontaneity in those who are less educated. The Government established the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in 2003 to champion re-training,

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re-skilling and job re-creation. The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Framework is also a well-structured system. But I hope Singaporeans are aware of and understand the schemes well enough to take advantage of them.

Beyond the comprehensive programmes offered by WDA as well as NTUC, we need to tackle the challenge of employability in a more holistic way. Here are a few more areas we could look at.

Firstly, personal counselling and coaching sessions will be beneficial to Singaporeans who are at risk. Often, individuals, particularly the less educated, may not be in tune with the structural changes to the marketplace and the options available. They need advice and guidance on how to re-position themselves in the workforce. They also need help to develop self-confidence, the motivation and communication techniques to market themselves. I suggest that the WDA and CDCs consider establishing well-staffed regional employment centres that not only help in the job search but also provide personal counselling sessions on employability, skill training and employment options. Following WDA's announcement earlier this week to give workers more ownership and control over training, such services are even more necessary to guide the workers. More qualified job and training counsellors are needed.

Secondly, we need to nurture the culture and mindset of lifelong learning, whether in schools, the community or through public education campaigns. We may not see immediate results, but we should work for progressive changes in our attitudes, particularly, targeting at the less educated workforce. I always find Jack Neo’s movie very persuasive. Perhaps, he or MediaCorp can also make a comical movie to inspire Singaporeans to make learning a way of life.

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On average, each Singaporean spends about 10 to 15 of their early years to acquire formal education and then seeks to be employed for the rest of his working life, which lasts about 40 years, until the retirement age of 62. With the pace of change these days, we need to challenge this basic premise.

Singaporeans should be encouraged to re-educate themselves with courses at our learning institutions, besides the skills-based training offered by WDA and NTUC.

We all agree that lifelong learning is fast becoming a necessity. Hence, my third point is that the Government could consider allowing middle-aged Singaporeans to use a small part of their CPF savings to pay for courses or training that would improve their employability. They will be in a better position to save for a more secure retirement if their employability is enhanced. This is not against the objective of CPF. For example, one of my grassroots leaders in the logistics business said that they are always short of Class 4 and prime-mover drivers and have had to turn to Malaysians for such drivers. He suggested that more Singaporeans would come forward to upgrade their skills if they can use their CPF to pay for part of the cost. In the case of a Class 4 licence, it can amount to about a S1,000. To quite a number of lower-income Singaporeans, CPF is probably their only source of savings and probably the only means they can pay for such skills upgrading.

Sir, we could be a learning workforce, agile and responsive to global trends, if our workers take ownership of their own employability. Once we achieve that state of mind, I think it will not be a case of " Pai Tang Jia " but rather " Hoe Tang Jia ", ie, good to earn a living. That should be our desired outcome.

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_ Fear 2: _ " Branch Office " economy

My second fear is of Singapore becoming a "Branch Office" economy, a term I picked up from reading a New Zealand article discussing hollowing out in the economy there. What do I mean by a "Branch Office" economy? Companies and their operations are the bedrock of our productive capacity. Their work enables our citizens to be gainfully employed. Our economy would be in trouble if a large number of major corporations decide to pull out within a short period of time, relocating to other more attractive locations, leaving behind only a branch office to take care of local sales.

We have talked a lot about the importance of having Singaporeans to be more rooted here. But to be an enduring nation, we need more than just that. We also need our companies to be rooted here, particularly our home-bred companies. Singapore continues to be an attractive location for HQs and operations because of our skilled labour, attractive tax schemes, superior infrastructure, competitive costs and our pro-business Government. EDB and the other economic agencies have done a great job attracting investments to Singapore. In the years ahead, I believe cities in the region and the Middle-East will compete even more keenly to attract companies and investments to their shore. The favourable factors we created for ourselves can be replicated over time, if these countries overcome their political and social obstacles. Some are already making great progress.

We have to expect that profit-making organisations will be constantly reviewing the new locations. This is particularly critical for a small country like Singapore where we do not have a large domestic market to anchor companies here. We also do not have a long history as a nation and the strong cultural identity to invoke the emotional attachments that we see in

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many countries. Let me say that I have no doubt our home-bred companies today are rooted in Singapore and that they will stay in both good and trying times. However, 10 years from now, business dynamics could be very different.

As we encourage our local companies to globalise and go international, there is always a risk of hollowing out. We need to continually create the motivation for them to remain rooted in Singapore. I envisage that in the next 10-20 years, our regional competitors will catch up with us or narrow the gap in terms of their attractiveness. In addition to closely matching what Singapore can offer, these jurisdictions have their vast hinterlands and big pools of cheaper talents as compelling draws. What should we do?

Firstly, Singapore needs to remain as the choice location for business. World-class infrastructure and an effective system of government are givens and musts. Beyond these, Singapore has to become one of the most livable cities in the world where business decision-makers and talents would want to live in.

Secondly, we need to set aside more resources to help our home-bred companies. EDB has a focused approach attracting and servicing the MNCs. Perhaps, we could have a similar one-stop approach for our home-bred companies, large or small, so that they can feel as at home here in Singapore as the MNCs.

Thirdly, we need to strengthen the Singapore connection for our companies that are expanding in the overseas markets. We have a good network of business and trade organisations in Singapore and many of them started as ground-up efforts to champion the interests of their various trades and professions. Some of these organisations also help our companies to go global by way of trade missions and information sharing. A "by the business community, for the business community" approach

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augmented with the IE Singapore network would strengthen this Singapore connection. Among others, the agencies could help our home-grown companies and these organisations to leverage on our FTAs for more business opportunities.

Fourthly, as a country, we need to maintain a high savings rate. Domestic savings are essential to strengthen Singapore’s capital markets, which could be tapped by home-grown companies to fund their businesses and investments. This would lead to more local share ownership in these companies and increase the likelihood of them remaining rooted in Singapore. One of the reasons attributed to the hollowing out in the New Zealand economy is its low savings rate. Domestic capital invested in local companies does play a part to anchor their headquarters in Singapore even if they go global. We should encourage more private pension schemes and expand our Supplementary Retirement Schemes to encourage more domestic savings for retirement. I also urge the Government to bring back the inculcating of savings as a virtue in our schools, like what we did three decades ago.

Fifthly, I want to be honest here that I would be very concerned if most of our key local corporations are foreign-owned or foreign-controlled. I am not against foreign investments, but I do feel that the local economic stakeholders, including some form of Government ownership, are needed in our economy and in our national interest. Interestingly, I read that in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York, US investors were the ones who boosted the US stocks higher due to the so-called "emotional patriotic response".

Sir, my point of painting this hypothetical scenario is that we need to proactively nurture corporate citizenry among our home-grown companies, given our limitations. We are well ahead in this

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game, but we cannot take things for granted. The stakes are high to be the "Headquarter economy" of the region.

_ Fear 3: _ " Amazing Race " Singapore

My third fear is that we would become an "Amazing Race" Singapore. Many of us have watched the reality TV show "Amazing Race". It is a race where couples race from point to point, seeking for clues to reach their final destination in the shortest possible time. The race is usually set in very scenic locations in different parts of the world. What amazes me about the "Amazing Race" is that the participants, in their rush to get to the next point, never enjoy the breathtaking views of their surroundings. The paths to the final destinations are also all pre-determined. And often in the race, we could even see the team members quarrelling among themselves.

I hope life as a Singaporean in our future Singapore will not turn out similarly. Do not get me wrong. I am not advocating that we slow down too much to enjoy the view, because in our context, we may end up with no view at all. My point is that the economic race is a marathon, not like the short sprints and dashes which we see on TV in the "Amazing Race". We are in this for the long haul. And, increasingly, we want to work towards an ideal where everyone loves his or her work and enjoys what he or she is doing. This is where Singaporeans can add most value to the economy.

We often hear Singaporeans talking about stress, primarily from work or from our education system. One of the common reasons for our low birth rate, which I gathered from young parents who have few kids or no kids, is also stress. An "Amazing Race" Singapore will only leave us with unhappy citizens and

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diminish our competitiveness in the long run. We therefore need to pay attention to work-life balance amidst our economic pursuits. To me, a more balanced Singaporean is a more rooted Singaporean. It will also nurture creativity and innovativeness, which are what we need in a developed economy like ours. In fact, a more balanced work-life environment will also help to retain talents

and companies to remain in Singapore.

How can we achieve this? Here are some areas we can look at:

Firstly, as has been mentioned on many occasions, we need to widen the definition of success. This is as much a social issue as it is a Government issue. Our parents today still place a lot of emphasis on academic success. I am glad that MOS Lui Tuck Yew thinks alike. Materialistic success should not be our sole goal in life either. There should be room for different paths to success, unlike the pre-determined route as we see in the "Amazing Race". A society with a narrow definition will lose its idealism and vitality and I applaud the recent changes by MOE to reduce emphasis on examinations and to do away with streaming in primary schools. More can be done in the education system.

Secondly, we need to have a culture of well-timed rest and breaks to recharge ourselves, to sharpen the sword, so to speak. The Government could encourage companies to introduce sabbatical leave for their employees after a long period of employment. It is common in countries with highly competitive economies. It is also consistent with enhancing our long-term employability and making Singapore a more livable city.

I read that the McDonald's corporation in US allows its eligible employees to take an eight-week sabbatical for every 10 years of full-time continuous service. You find similar schemes in Fortune 500

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companies like Intel and Nike. Employees can take these as a learning break to re-skill or to re-energise themselves.

Thirdly, we also need to promote more flexible working arrangements in the workplace. MOM statistics show that this is still not a common practice, with only about 4.1% of private sector employees on such arrangements in 2004 and mostly coming from the restaurants’ service staff. We definitely can do better.

I am sure we do not want Singapore to become an amazing race where spectators look at us with amusement and for entertainment. Instead of an "Amazing Race" Singapore, let us work to become an "Amazingly Graceful Singapore".

Sir, our challenge today is to transform ourselves from good to great. We still want to win the marathon but we have to expand our horizon beyond the level of sheer competition. As the Chinese saying goes, " xi shui chang liu ", let us strengthen our hearts and lighten our spirits so as to make the Amazing Race of Nation Building as cherished and lasting as a river stream.

I hope the three fears I described will be unfounded. I am confident it will be if we apply our mind to it. The future is ours to make.

Finally, I urge Singaporeans and our parliamentarians here to strive for a Singapore that is filled with happy Singaporeans!

Sir, I support the motion.

3.33 pm

The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Lee Yi Shyan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I consider it a great honour to be able to address this House. Although this is my first speech in the House, I have already been assured that the proposals and

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thoughts of this House are closely followed by the media and the members of the public. In fact, my 10-year-old daughter appealed to my wife last night, quoting my esteemed colleague, Lui Tuck Yew's speech yesterday, not to be too obsessed with examination results.

Sir, I also think that our young are not apathetic in politics. As the President commented in his speech, Singapore now stands at another turning point. As we gaze into the horizon, we see vast opportunities but look out for undercurrents and perils.

This afternoon, like others, I would like to discuss two emerging trends that will have profound implications on Singaporeans.

First, the trend of structural unemployment. The September 14th issue of The Economist reported that "the entry of China, India and the former Soviet Union into market capitalism has doubled the world's supply of workers, from 1.5 billion to 3 billion." The outcome of this enlarged supply is what we have been seeing: international firms relocate labour-intensive operations to these low-cost countries, transferring many blue collar jobs from the developed to the developing countries in the process.

We know the relocation of labour-intensive operations very well because we experienced them ourselves. For us, it was the timber industry, textile, furniture, consumer electronics, and so on. The same Economist report also indicated that "every year, 1.2 million engineers and scientists graduate from Chinese and Indian universities, as many as in America, the European Union and Japan combined." This new supply of scientific talents will tilt the balance of the technological prowess between the east and the west in the long term. But in the short term, it has enabled international firms to outsource and transfer even more

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jobs to these countries. What were once deemed to be secure and "unmovable" jobs in the developed economies are now at risk of being relocated.

As developing economies such as China and India improve and debottleneck their education systems, we have reasons to believe that they will increase even further the supply of science and technology graduates in the future. Apart from the new supply of the inexpensive scientific talents from these countries, technical innovations and information technology have also permanently changed some industries.

The classic case is India's rapid rise to be a preferred hosting location for business process outsourcing for many international firms. However, it is not just basic data processing and call centres that are being outsourced to low-wage countries, but also software programming, medical diagnostics, engineering design, law, accounting, finance and business consulting. These can now be delivered electronically from anywhere in the world, exposing skilled white-collar workers to greater competition.

Sir, what this means is that globalisation is flattening the world and technology is levelling the playing field. Blue and white-collar workers are equally at risk with retrenchment and job elimination. In fact, many jobs are being constantly redefined. Some jobs, such as shorthand typists, remisiers, stock traders and librarians are disappearing from the payroll and our vocabulary. New businesses, such as Dell and eBay thrive on cutting out the middleman.

Sir, our workforce must realise that their jobs will be redefined at some point in time. They must be prepared and be able to take on other jobs. They can do so provided they want to and have access to

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retraining. In fact, their learning ought to be ongoing, or at least keep pace with, if not, outpace the speed of job eliminations and creations brought about by globalisation.

Sir, let me move on to the second worrisome trend, the issue of widening income gap. Just how bad is this issue of income gap? Will it get worse? According to The Economist , the first obvious beneficiary of globalisation is the corporate sector. The magazine reported that profits of companies as a share of GDP in Corporate America, Japan and EU are at or near an all-time high. For instance, the share of national income from Corporate America has increased from 7% in mid-2001 to 13% this year.

The second obvious beneficiary of globalisation is the top wage earner. America's top 1% earners now receive 16% of all income, up from 8% in 1980. By comparison, less skilled workers are seeing their wages stagnate or steadily decline.

"Over long periods of time, real wages tend to attract average productivity growth. But so far for this decade, workers' real pay in many developed economies has increased more slowly than labour productivity. The real weekly wage of a typical American worker in the middle of the income distribution has fallen by 4% since the start of the recovery in 2001. Over the same period, labour productivity has risen by 15%. Even after allowing for health and pension benefits, total compensation has risen by only 1.5% in real terms. Real wages in Germany and Japan have also been flat or falling. Thus, the usual argument in favour of globalisation - that it will make most workers better off, with only a few low-skilled ones losing out - has not so far been borne out by the facts. Most workers are being squeezed."

_ The Economist _ reports.

In Singapore, we see similar but milder trends. I like to believe that our trends are

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milder because the Government has taken more proactive programmes in reskilling our workers, job redesign and through wealth re-distribution, mitigate the impact of income stagnation of the affected groups.

If you refer to Chart 1, which was given out earlier, we will see that at the upper-middle level, professional and skilled workers have been able to register strong income growth compared to the unskilled workers.

While Singapore residents in the managerial, professional and technical occupations enjoyed nominal wage growth of 4.7% per annum between 1990 and 2005, the middle level experienced lower income growth of 3.7%. In particular, the monthly income of the lowest paid group declined between 2000 and 2005.

At the household level, between 1990 and 2005, households in the top 20% experienced the fastest per capita income growth of 6% per annum. The lowest 20% actually see their household income decline over the same period between 2000 and 2005.

Sir, we can see the effect of globalisation here. It is pulling both ends further apart. The end result? The top is soaring ahead, the bottom is falling behind and the middle feeling the pressure. But is this the end? Will the income gap be further widened?

Recently, a private banking consultancy firm estimated that Singapore needs 1,000 relationship managers. This is not surprising as we aspire to be a leading financial hub with sizeable operations in wealth management. Because of MAS' active promotion, most large private banks have their Asian headquarters in Singapore.

Industry analysts observe that Singapore's private banks are drawing private

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bankers from wherever they can. "Private banks are looking at lawyers, management consultants, corporate bankers and investment bankers", he says: "Pretty much anyone with a good level of education and a history of relationship management can pick up the nuts and bolts of private banking."

Unsurprisingly therefore, pay in this country is rising. A few years ago, Tilloston says private banking relationship managers working in Singapore will command US$150,000 in total pay. Today, according to the consultant, pay packages between US$250,000 and US$350,000 are the norm. Sir, this is but one industry we are trying to create well-paying jobs.

According to the latest IRAS' report, let us look at the top end of the income earners, 2004 saw the increase of 257 millionaires to a record 1,738 millionaires, a 20% increase over the year 2003. The average income of these millionaires is about S$1.98 million. The Straits Times commented that "the millionaires club is becoming less exclusive by the day".

As our economy aspires to be a more vibrant and larger hub for commerce, banking, R&D, innovation, logistics and tourism, we want to create many high-paying jobs. When firms cannot find enough Singaporeans to fill them, they will go out to hire from the international market. They will need to pay competitive wages to get them.

As our economy grows, therefore, our top earners will increase in number. Their income will also increase much faster according to international demands.

But to have a high-income group earner earning more is not a bad thing because, after all, only 17% of our population pays income tax. Our high income earners are contributing to the

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Government revenue through income taxes.

But a widening income gap can lead to tensions between the "haves" and the "have-nots". Of course, we are far from America's wide gap. One indication is to compare the average CEO's salary versus an ordinary worker's salary. In America, this is 300:1. I believe our ratio is closer to 100:1. Nor are we about to have a "one Singapore, two worlds" kind of income-divide syndrome. But we should worry about this so that we will not end up having our social cohesion stretched and tested. Even a developing China is concerned with their "haves" and "have-nots" despite the fact they are at a much early stage of growth.

Sir, I am trying to convince the House with international and local data that structural unemployment will be a permanent fixture in our job scene as we progress, that our workforce must upgrade and reskill continually to cushion otherwise rude shocks. I am also submitting to the House that the income divide we see is just the beginning. Our high-wage earners will tend to draw salaries set by large economies of the world such as America and EU and also later, by China and India. For top talents are limited in supply. They are coveted everywhere.

Recognising this underlying trend is important for us to anticipate and prescribe right solutions. Sir, I would like to propose three approaches in our policy formulation and programme initiatives. The President has emphasised in his Address that education is the best way to level up our society and the Government already invests heavily in human resources. To help low income workers, the Government will provide them with more skills training and upgrading in cooperation with unions and employers.

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Sir, I believe we are on the right track. Education and skills upgrading are the life line for our displaced workers. They have been tossed out from the main vessel by strong waves and gale, and we need to extend them this life line so that they can get back on board with us.

However, I would like to be convinced that we can do more. Let me explain. The Government is already investing more than $100,000 per child in the form of subsidies given to take this child from primary to tertiary education. At the national level, we are spending close to 4% of our GDP or about $7 billion per annum on education, to provide them with the skills and mental capacity to take on good employment. But let me ask Members of the House: how long do you think this investment would last? Is there an expiry date to what we learnt yesterday for tomorrow's application?

In this era of relentless innovation and pervasive communication, new knowledge is created by the million bytes every second. Graduates from some disciplines, such as electronics and IT, know very well that the half life of their university studies may be good for only the next two years before they become obsolete. Yes, half of what you learn in four years in polytechnics and universities can become obsolete in two years, and they get halved every two years. Of course, for most of our tertiary students, by the time they graduate from the polytechnics and universities, they would have mastered the skills of continual education and learning. And if they are not complacent, they would continue to acquire new skills on the job. This would ensure their employability.

For workers without tertiary education, I think they have to rely heavily on guided learning by their employers and the unions. In fact, I believe we have one of the best tripartite skills upgrading systems in the world to make sure that our workers continue to learn. Just last week,

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the WDA organised a series of talks at the Toa Payoh Hub on the 10 skills to stay employable. It is Singapore Learning Festival 2006. I applaud WDA's vision and passion and the workers' determination to acquire new skills needed for growth industries on the horizon.

But considering that most of us will face the prospect of changing careers five to six times in our adult life, sometimes taking on a new job and sometimes starting all over again, I think the paradigm that a basic education will last for a life time has to be changed. Indeed, we need to adopt a new paradigm that learning is life long and employability needs to be renewed at every stage of life.

This leads to the question of whether we have done enough in our system to encourage life-long learning. Sir, if we spend 4% or $7 billion of our GDP on education in the first 10 to 16 years of each child's life to prepare him or her for the immediate work life that follows, how much should the investment be to prepare all our workers when they reach 25-30 and when they reach 45-50 into the future? What should be the order or magnitude of the budget, even though a good part of it can come from the employer? Of course, we hope that most of our young workers gainfully employed will receive training from employers to update their skills. But the reality is that some employers do not. We only get to know when they suddenly relocate and shut down the plant.

I would therefore suggest that WDA consider the following:

(i) re-examine the size of the skills upgrading budget, considering that a short half life of the knowledge of our fresh school leavers;

(ii) consider ways where employers can be incentivised to conduct upgrading training on a continual basis; and

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(iii) consider aggressive tax reliefs to encourage individuals who may be in between jobs and without employers to take on useful skills upgrading programmes or courses. This will also emphasise individual responsibility on employability.

My next point is about providing a life raft in a storm. When people get forced out of their jobs all of a sudden, they panick and their family members are stressed. With the trend of structural unemployment, white collar and blue collar workers are equally at risk. As we have seen in our own MPS, some who are jobless might not be able to find jobs even after more than six months, and the others have to take a longer time to acquire new skills before they can change to a different job. So the question is: could we offer them a life raft that gets them out of the choppy waters so that they can get back on board the main vessel?

In the first nine months of 2006, 9,000 jobs were eliminated, and this was offset by a record number of 123,000 jobs created. So our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 2.7%. But if we look beneath the top line, we will realise that the re-employment rate of resident retrenched workers had hovered around 60% for the past four years. In other words, 40% of the displaced workers remained unemployed after six months. Why are they unemployed for so long? Are they choosy, as some employers have vehemently claimed? Or do they lack the skills needed for new jobs created?

Sir, we will need to study structural unemployment problems as if they were a growing permanent part of the globalised economy. Our well-conceived $1 billion Workfare programme had been launched to help the low-wage workers earning less

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than $1,500 per month. This was a good programme because it addresses most people's needs. But we know that workers above the $1,500 mark to $3,000 range are not immune to retrenchments and income stagnation. As we have seen in our MPS, some of them lost their jobs for good, and needed time to learn and take on a different line of job. Some of them faced negative housing equity and cash flow problems. For this squeezed middle class, they will need to rework their finances, sometimes liquidating their assets and starting anew. They need a life raft in time of distress.

For the squeezed middle class, I think we should continue to explore ways to extend them a life raft to get them back on track. Many of our current financial aid programmes have a low cut off point. This is correct because they are grant-based and we do not want to dish out large handouts to the extent that it destroys the motivation to work. But for the squeezed middle-class, I think we should think of some non-grant loan-based programme to help them tide through the difficult but transitionary time.

In a previous sitting, Mr Inderjit Singh proposed the idea of unemployment insurance. Some insurance companies tried this but it did not take off. Recently, we saw how Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus was honoured for his contributions in poverty alleviation by making micro loans work in Bangladesh. The micro loan programme worked very well because the loans were given out on a group basis to a village or community. Community obligations and social pressures have kept bad debt to below 1.5%. Programmes like this and some of the principles behind them could be adapted in our social support systems to help cushion the shock on families.

In the past, our clan associations offered such help programmes. Going

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forward, I think our grassroots organisations and clan associations could work together to revive some of these sound practices.

My third proposal is about maintaining low cost alternatives. Figuratively speaking, it is like we provide shallow water or low-tide zone in our system. Sir, for those of us who can swim, we have, at least, overcome the fear of water, and if we are tossed out into the sea unexpectedly, we have enough skill and nerve to stay afloat and think of ways to get to the life raft float or life line. But for the non-swimmers, falling into water of more than human height is a drowning experience. I say this because I think there are non-swimmers in our midst. So, the message, "Don't worry, jump into the water and we will throw you a float" does not really assure them. As much as we want them to learn to swim and sail, some of them will find it hard or physically unable to do so.

In our system, we already have some low-tide zones - our hawker centres serving low-cost food, our rental flats providing shelter at token rent, polyclinics providing good healthcare at affordable cost and PCF kindergartens providing good quality but low-cost education for pre-school kids. Because of our small size, there is always a great pressure to equalise the value of resources, such as land and rentals, in order to maximise market value. But if we take everything to the market rate and do everything according to market principles, we might end up pushing up cost, even in delivering public goods and services. Yes, we can subsequently intervene by way of grants and subsidies. But, in practice, deciding who needs what and the delivery to them can prove administratively expensive and even ineffective.

Sir, I would therefore argue for us to identify and define areas of shallow-water zones, and provide low-cost alternatives.

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Not every public good we provide needs to be upgraded. If people want low-cost transport, let more private buses without air-conditioning ply the estate. So long as we deliberately design low-cost alternatives in the four areas of our living - meaning the " yi " , " shi ", " zu " , " xing " , the clothing, the food, the roof over our head and transportation - we would have addressed the needs of many. We need to view grassroots issues from the land of grassroots itself.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have spoken at length about the challenges of structural unemployment and the widening income gap. I have also suggested that we strengthen our support networks in the three areas of life line, life raft and shallow-water zone. In case some Members of the House get away with the idea that I am a doomsayer, I want to categorically state that I am not. In fact, I am very optimistic about our future.

The objective of the Government is to find ways to create a better future for Singaporeans. And because we are having a record number of jobs created and because our economy is growing at 7% or more this year, all the more we have to think about the traps and under currents that can derail us or toss us out of course. As the Chinese saying goes, we should anticipate dangers when we have safety - ci an si wei. And people who have no long-term worries will have short-term troubles - ren wu yen li, pi yu cing yeo. It is imperative that this House exhaust every thought to deliberate the best ways forward for our country.

Sir, I would like to speak in Mandarin for my concluding paragraphs.

( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Mr Speaker, Sir, as we stand here looking at our vision, let us face the future with full confidence. Although I am a persistent

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optimist, there are times when I see the reaction of Singaporeans on certain issues and matters around us, I cannot help feeling helpless and ludicrous.

Yesterday, we read in the newspapers that Singapore was voted as the second best city for dining and night life in the world, after Italy. This morning, on the 93.8 "Beyond Words" programme, listeners were asked to give their views on the matter. This was a survey that has been done. Most callers from Singapore were shocked and skeptical at this honour bestowed by an international consultancy firm.

I am surprised by the shock expressed by the listeners. Why are we declining the honour given to us by an international consultancy company? One female caller said that the merchandise in Singapore was too expensive, unlike the value-for-money shopping experience in the other cities in the region. Another male caller criticised the finding and claimed that it would be more reasonable for Singapore to be ranked 34th or 36th, rather than second. He also doubted the method in which the survey was carried out, and added that wrong questions could have been asked or the wrong people targeted for interview.

However, there were two listeners who had different views. One female caller said that she had been travelling overseas very frequently. In comparison, Singapore offers a large variety of choices and the shopping hours are longer – some are even open 24 hours, like Mustafa. The conditions for shopping in Singapore are better than those in the European cities. Another male caller who sounded like a foreigner said that Singaporeans are not giving enough affirmation to their own achievements. He, himself, had witnessed the investments and efforts put in by the Government and the enterprises in creating a vibrant and prosperous food and beverage and recrea

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tional industry in Singapore. He feels that Singapore's scene has already been changed substantially of late.

Why is it that the ones praising us are always foreigners, while the ones complaining are inevitably Singaporeans? I think Singaporeans are just not contented with what they have. We are living in bliss, yet we do not realise it.

On 25th October this year, Lianhe Zaobao carried a letter entitled Never Enough of Singapore by a reader by the name of Jiang Qi ( 姜�?� ). She said that after staying in Singapore for a year, she still brings her daughter out every weekend to discover Singapore. She said, contrary to many people's belief that Singapore has only limited attractions, she found her weekends filled with new sites to visit and new events to participate in, such as the opening of the Istana grounds or the open house of the Air Force Base on an ordinary Saturday.

She gave another example. On 23rd September, she originally intended to watch the musical Empress Dowager at the Esplanade Theatre. However, she was too late and could not be admitted to the show. To her pleasant surprise, there was this Japan-ASEAN Children's Art Exhibition which was held at the open space in the Esplanade. They were inducted into the world of the children's creativity. After that, they went on to view the world's famous Surrealist Master, Spanish sculptor Selvatore Dali's 35 pieces of works displayed at the Ngee Ann City. Thereafter, they crossed Orchard Road to view a Taiwanese Glass Works Exhibition at the Paragon. As the dusk set in and the lights went up, she suddenly found President Nathan officiating at the lighting-up ceremony to welcome Deepavali.

The writer Jiang Qi concluded by saying: "Singapore is so full of life and

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constantly radiating energy." She delights us again with another surprise. She said, "The vibrant and vigorous Singapore is always coming out with something new every moment. I could visit her a thousand times and never feel a moment of boredom."

Jiang Qi relied on the section of Lianhe Zaobao known as "Today's Kaleidoscope" to seek out new events and find things to do in Singapore. To her, Singapore is always full of surprises. I am sure there are many others who share her same feelings for Singapore. As we gaze into our own kaleidoscope and pursue the Singapore Dream, may we too find unlimited possibilities before us. Let us approach the future with confidence and pride.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I wholeheartedly support the Motion of Thanks to the President.

*Cols. 407-410.

Mr Speaker: Order. I propose to take the break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair again at 4.25 pm.

_ Sitting accordingly suspended
at 4.04 pm until 4.25 pm. Sitting resumed at 4.25 pm _

** [Mr Speaker in the Chair] **

Debate resumed.

Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio): ( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion standing in the name of the Member for Jurong GRC, Mdm Halimah Yacob, to thank the President for this Address.

The President's Address centres on how our Government is going to deal with the challenges and other problems in the

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next five years and how to satisfy the desires of our people.

One of the Government's most significant contributions is on public housing. In Singapore, we have an excellent 'home for everyone' scheme. Last year, we provided public housing for 880,000 residents. This is a great achievement. The public housing system has all along been the pride of Singapore. We have ongoing HDB upgrading programmes, but these programmes will effectively benefit our people only if we could execute them quickly and promptly. Therefore, I urge the Government to step up the Lift Upgrading Programme for the older residential areas; otherwise it will prolong the period of inconvenience to the residents and may also cost more.

I know that some flats will not be given the Lift Upgrading Programme for some reasons. I urge HDB to announce the list of such flats and inform the affected residents as soon as possible. Otherwise, these residents would have waited for a long time just to be told that their flats will not be upgraded. Therefore, I hope that the Government will draw up a masterplan of Lift Upgrading Programme for the remaining flats. In this way, the residents will be able to know whether or not the lifts in their flats will be upgraded and when it will be upgraded. This will help the residents to plan for their future.

The Government should also look at how they could provide alternative means for senior citizens to cross the road safely instead of getting up and down the overhead pedestrian bridges. A very good example is the one at the Khatib MRT Station. My senior citizens have made requests again and again for escalators to be installed or an underpass so that they could cross the road to the MRT station on the other side of the road. Even at this time, we are still waiting for a reply from the Land Transport Authority.

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On the demand for medical services for our ageing population, the Ministry of Health has already sounded the alarm. This shows that we cannot neglect the problems that will come with our ageing population. The Minister for Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, has introduced a series of reforms which prove to be very popular with the people. My residents hope that Minister Khaw would further relax the use of the Medisave account. One of my residents told me that he has unfortunately contracted nose cancer that requires radiotherapy but he could not use the only savings he has, ie, the Medisave account, causing him great hardship.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of National Development has a Community Improvement Projects Committee to deal with the funds for upgrading of amenities in HDB estates. Can the Ministry of National Development also set up a CIPC fund for the private residential estates? At the moment, the private residential estates have to wait for the estate upgrading programme. Very often, residents in my private estates have made some suggestions on how to improve their amenities in their estates, such as building outdoor sports and recreational facilities. If the Government could also set up a similar Community Improvement Projects Committee or fund for upgrading works of the private estates, it will be of great benefit to our residents in the private estates. I know that the Government has some plans to improve the public areas in the private residential estates, but much more can be done. At the same time, I would also suggest that the Government consider setting up a one-stop service centre equivalent of town council to look after the needs of the residents in the private residential estates.

Sir, the cost of living in Singapore has risen. Many families have to work harder to cope with the inflated cost of living, particularly those who are in the lower-

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income group and also those who are elderly and retrenched. They are now earning much less income. When they want to return to the workforce, they have to work longer hours, very often from 9 to 12 hours a day and six days a week. Even then, there is no promise that they will earn more income. At the same time, essential expenses such as utilities, public transport, etc, have all gone up.

Let me quote our traffic problem as an example. First of all, I must be fair to all the public transport operators. They are very cooperative. We raised some requests to them. Generally, they would listen to us. Of course, I hope that they would do more. I have successfully petitioned for a shuttle bus service between the Teachers Estate and Yio Chu Kang MRT for the residents of the Teachers Estate. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the SMRT. After operating for just three months, SMRT told me that they were running a loss with this route and it is very possible that this route would be discontinued. Teachers Estate is situated at a valley and many of the residents are retirees. Without this shuttle bus service, these elderly residents would have to walk 500 to 600 metres and to climb some 60 steps of the stairs to reach the nearest bus stop - 500 to 600 metres and on top of that, they have to go up 60 steps of the stairs. Is this the way we want to treat all these senior citizens, these retired people, who have in their prime time contributed to our social, economic and education fields?

Apart from the Teachers Estate, I have three other residential estates in my constituency. They are Springleaf Garden, Springside and Lentor Avenue. The residents also have a lot of complaints about the public transport facilities there. I have approached LTA, SMRT and SBS with the hope that they would take into consideration the interests of their

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commuters and residents to resolve their problems as soon as possible. Should it be necessary to make changes to the policy, they should be carried out vigorously. Only then can we attract more Singaporeans to switch to public transport.

Sir, my next point is on the traffic operations. From the financial report, comparing the half yearly results of this year to the same period last year, we can see that ComfortDelgro's profit has gone up by 2.4% and the SMRT, in its 2006 financial year, has made a net profit of $120 million. In its financial report for 2006, the group's profit has gone up by 5.7%, accounting for $711.07 million. On the second quarter ending in June this year, ComfortDelgro reported that SBC under the group, the profit has gone up by 3.8%, accounting for $129.9 million. I know that companies cannot operate like charitable organisations. I also know that the shareholders are asking for reasonable returns. I have also read the statements by the Ministry of Transport. It says that the capital investment of these companies is very high and their returns are inferior as compared to other companies with similar capital investment. However, I feel that the fare adjustment policy needs to be improved upon. While many people are having problems coping with the rises in the utility charges, the traffic operators are raising their fares much to the distress of the low income people.

Of course, the traffic operators can claim that they have set aside some part of their funds to help the poor families. But is that enough? I understand that the recently introduced $20 transport assistance vouchers have all been handed out. Many residents have complained that they have not benefited from this scheme.

According to the 2006 Census, there are some 283,400 families with monthly income of less than $2,000. Among them, 36,000 families earn less than $1,000 and there are 106,400 families which have no income at all. These two

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groups of households accounted for 14.9% of the total number of households in Singapore. The Government has launched many schemes to help the people who are in financial difficulties. These include the setting up of the ComCare Fund, the distribution of the Progress Package and to provide the training and retraining schemes for the people. The Government wants to help its people so that they could cope with the cost of living. While the Government is extending a helping hand to these people, the traffic operators and the utility and energy operators are sticking out their invading hands to take away some of the due benefits from the people.

Sir, in transport, we all know that a new gantry point has been set up at the north side of the CTE. The serious traffic congestion situation is still a daily occurrence. This means that residents in the northern part of Singapore have to pay more money. Yet, they do not seem to derive any benefit from there, although there is a theory that says that a higher road pricing will reduce the volume of traffic. The LTA has already set up six ERP gantry points at the CTE, Braddell Road, Serangoon Road, PIE link road to the CTE and also the exit of CTE. There are altogether six more gantry points. With so many gantry points, has there been any improvement to the traffic situation?

We can read from the newspapers that there were lots and lots of complaints. The Straits Times also carried a report on this matter on 25th September this year. The fact remains that my residents who are driving will have to pay higher transport expenses. If the ERP is unable to serve its designed purpose in solving the traffic congestion problem, then why are we putting up more and more gantry points along the Central Expressway - collect money in the morning, collect money at night? Although our traffic congestion situation is relatively

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better than the other countries in our region, what we asked for is for the authorities to explore other better alternatives to better manage our traffic problems and not just keep on adding more and more unpopular gantry points.

Sir, I support the motion.

*Cols. 411-416.

4.40 pm

Mr Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah): (In Mandarin) : _[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.]_Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion to thank the President by MP Mdm Halimah.

In his Address, the President pointed out that our country is facing a new turning point. Today, the international competition is getting greater and the global situation and business conditions are unpredictable. Therefore, our Government and people must work together to seize the opportunities to raise the productivity of our economy. In order to achieve this objective and to have a safe, secure, more inclusive, harmonious and united society, an outstanding Government and public sector are most essential. With a strong foundation for our economy, the Government will be able to improve and strengthen our social safety nets and help Singaporeans with difficulties.

The economy has brought about many opportunities. But for the lowly educated, there are new challenges and problems. To the lower income groups, in order to meet the challenges of life, they are facing great difficulties. They always feel that no matter how hard they try, it appears that it is impossible to keep pace with society. Whether it is learning new skills, acquiring new knowledge, looking for new jobs, managing their personal finances or looking after their families, they face difficulties in many aspects of their lives. This is especially so for the older workers. To them, to receive

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retraining is not easy because as they get older, the ability to absorb and understand new things is reduced. If we do not pay attention and help them, they and their families will fall further and further behind, and the cohesiveness of our society will face a new challenge.

Prime Minister Lee introduced the ComCare Fund which is an excellent programme and has given much help to our groups with difficulties. However, for a more holistic approach to helping them, it is not enough for us to depend solely on the Government. Of course, the Government will do more and introduce many more assistance schemes. But I hope that those who are better off will have a more generous mindset and stretch out their hands to help those in difficulties. We must work together to do our part in helping those who have fallen behind. . We must pay special attention to the older citizens who have contributed to the country in the founding years, having toiled and sweated to build up this nation, and help them tide over their crises.

Let me give four specific instances. The first example. There is a man in his 50s. He was very active in the past. Whenever we had activities organised by RC, he would participate in them. He was very healthy. But there was one year that I missed him. And last week, when he came, he had a cap on. He looked pale. I asked him what had happened to him. He removed his cap and he was bald - all his hair had dropped off. He said, he was a cancer patient. In the last few months, he had already spent more than $30,000 to treat his cancer. I believe that in future, he would have to pay even more medical bills. He told me that he had depleted his savings and cash. The only asset he has is the four-room flat. He has considered selling his four-room flat and raised money to treat his illness. But when he went to HDB to make enquiries, the officer told

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him that he could sell the flat but within 30 months, he could not apply for a new flat. He told him that he should try his best to rent a flat from his contacts elsewhere. The market rental is very high. For people with illness, it is not easy to rent a room. So he came to me for help. I have written in to HDB, hoping that the HDB officer, while implementing the policy, will treat these people with compassion and help Singaporeans in need.

*Cols. 417-420.

The second example is that of a Malay citizen. He has seven children. His income is about $1,000 and his take-home pay is about $800. And because of his financial difficulties, he was in arrears in his monthly housing instalment to HDB, conservancy charges to the Town Council and PUB bills. So I have written in for an instalment payment plan. But because his debt is so high, even with the instalment plan, he could not meet the instalment payments. So his water and electricity supplies were cut off. We applied for a special "pay-as-you-use" meter for him. But after a few months, Singapore Power Services asked him to pay by instalments again. So, really, he could not do much else. There is one bundle of these letters from SP Services. SP Services has the policy that he has to pay 20% of his arrears from his cashcard. This is a good policy to help the poor to tide over their difficulties. But I do not understand why SP Services officials continue to press them to pay up the arrears. These poor citizens are facing real problems.

Some residents tell me that when oil prices went up, the tariffs went up. But when oil prices dropped, they did not see SP Services lowering the water and electricity tariffs to help our Singaporeans. Our motorists will understand. When oil prices dropped, petrol stations and oil companies very quickly adjusted petrol prices downwards by 5%-10%. On the way to Parliament today, I saw that the price for diesel was reduced by 21% and that for petrol it was reduced by 11%. It

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is an excellent policy. I hope SP Services would learn from the example of the petrol companies. When oil prices are lower, they must quickly adjust the tariffs so that the people will be able to enjoy the lower water and electricity tariffs.

The third example is that of a lady in her 30s. She told me that her husband was retrenched, his health was not good and he had difficulty in getting a job. In the end, her husband committed suicide, she herself had cancer and her daughter was suffering from depression. When she came to see me, she did not make any great demand but she was hoping that I would write a letter to the Ministry of Education so that the school fees could be reduced. I have written to MOE and the CDC to help her to apply for financial assistance.

The fourth example is in the case of a young lady. She told me that her husband was recently retrenched and looking for a job. They have a daughter at school and the youngest child is not even one-year-old. After listening to her problems, I wrote a letter to the CDC to apply for financial assistance. But she asked, "How long would it take?" I said, "Maybe a few days". She burst out in tears. She said, "Tomorrow I have no money to buy milk powder for my child." I took out $50 and gave it to her. She refused to take it because she said, "I cannot take MP's money." I told her, "This is not for you. It is for your daughter to buy the milk powder." So, gratefully, she took the $50 and she said that she would always remember me.

These examples are not just happening at my branch. I am sure in many branches, many other MPs would have come across similar examples and situations at their meet-the-people sessions. So, we must stretch out our helping hands as quickly as we can to help these people.

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In order to help more poor Singaporeans, Mr Speaker, Sir, may I make a very bold suggestion? I hope, through the MCYS and the leadership of the Minister, to organise a nation-wide fund-raising campaign. This fund-raising campaign will not involve any perfornmance of high danger or risk or lucky draws. This fund-raising project will move all Singaporeans to contribute what they can, to give whatever they can afford, whether it is $5, $10, $100, $1,000 or $10,000. We hope, through the accumulation of many small sums, a big amount will be raised. So we can also look forward to getting support from our companies and enterprises. I hope they will remember to distribute and to return to society the benefits they have accrued from society. I hope the Government will also consider giving these donations, whether from corporations or individuals, double tax deductions, as well as to match the donations dollar-for-dollar to boost the amount raised. If we can raise $10 million, together with the Government's one-for-one matching donation, we will be able to raise $20 million. We can then distribute this $20 million equitably amongst the 84 Citizens Consultative Constituencies so that every constituency will get about $230,000. This amount will be spent to help those who are in real need, to allow them to solve their problems.

I further suggest that every constituency should set up a special task force to carry out the necessary investigations into each needy family and to manage and distribute the funds raised. This is to ensure that those who are in real need will be able to receive help quickly. In my Bukit Gombak constituency, I have a committee to investigate the financial needs and circumstances of these families. Once we confirm that they are in real need, we disburse the funds immediately.

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I hope that with this measure, we will really be able to help families in need. We hope to avoid another tragedy, such as the one last month where a Singaporean committed suicide at the Chinese Garden MRT station because he was unable to solve his financial problems. It is regrettable that this should happen. But even as our hearts are pained and we are regretting what happened, we should, more importantly, recognise that this is a wake-up call for our community and is something that deserves our attention. This national effort to raise funds, if successfully and smoothly carried out jointly by the people and the Government, will be a heart-to-heart and hand-in-hand effort, and will further promote a sense of belonging and increase the cohesion of our society.

I hope my two suggestions will have the support of the Government. I will do my best and do my part. I am willing to contribute one month of my MP's allowance as a small contribution to start this campaign. I hope we can attract other people to do even more so that we can successfully carry out this fund-raising campaign.

Now, I would like to talk about the issues relating to medical treatments for the elderly. The Minister for Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, said that in the next five years, his Ministry will carry out measures such as expansions on the use of Medisave and adjustments to MediShield to help the sick who are in need. I believe this will be very good for the elderly citizens. I am concerned that with the ageing of our population, if we have sufficient facilities for the medium and long-term medical care of our senior citizens. Can we maintain our medical services at a high standard? These are problems that deserve our attention. I hope the Ministry of Health will consider increasing the number of Class C beds in every hospital to ensure that older citizens and poorer Singaporeans will be taken

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care of. I also hope that the Minister will consider establishing hospitals in every region and improve the facilities in these hospitals all over Singapore so that we can reduce the travelling time of our patients seeking treatment and spread out the number of patients over Singapore.

I understand we are short of specialist doctors, nurses and staff in geriatrics and gerontology. I would like to ask the Minister for Health whether he would introduce new measures to attract and retain specialists in looking after these elderly patients. In addition, the hospitals can improve their work processes and the standard of infrastructure within the hospitals so that older citizens who do not know English or Mandarin will be able to find their way in our hospitals. We hope they would have a special counter. As far as I know, senior citizens have told me that DBS has set up a special counter within the bank to look after senior citizens. I think this measure has been welcomed by them. So, in hospitals, it is even more important that we have a special counter so that we can have staff who can speak dialects to serve the elderly citizens and provide better services to them. I hope we can all empathise better with our elderly folk.

4.58 pm

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion standing before this House.

Sir, during the last term of Parliament, Singapore and Singaporeans were subjected to so many challenges, from 9/11 to the JI arrests, from SARS to the threat of the avian flu. Our economy took several roller-coaster rides during that period. Singaporeans lost their jobs and felt the pressure of a severe economic downturn.

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Sir, to many Singaporeans, the experience over the last five years was a rude wake-up call, yet a humbling experience. Even professionals were not spared. Aspirations were dashed when they lost their jobs, and some felt compelled to sell their flats and downgrade to smaller flats, as savings were depleted. Yet others felt depressed and demoralised when they remained unemployed for periods longer than they had ever experienced before. One word that emerges regularly as we look at Singaporeans' experience is "resilience". We know that resilience means to spring back or the ability to readily recover from shock.

Sir, indeed, we have shown that we have the ability to be a resilient society. We have sprung back from the slump of the economic downturn to be where we are. Today, our economy looks brighter than ever. The number of jobs created is at its all-time high. Property prices are also picking up. Various industries are struggling to keep up with expansion. The sun is shining again. But, Sir, as in any order of nature, the clouds and the rains are some things that we cannot avoid. Sometimes, they are accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Sir, the nature of globalisation subjects us to the idiosyncrasies of global forces often beyond our control. The reality is that we will have to go through the economic downturn yet again. The question is: are our people more mature and savvy to face it? Have they reflected sufficiently on their learning points, having gone through what they did recently? Are they able to weather the storm again and come out an even stronger people?

Sir, as we continue to encourage our people to face the challenges of globalisation head-on, we must also recall that globalisation also brings with it potential crisis trigger points, such as avian flu, SARS, just to name a few. When these crises set in, we need strong

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leadership to show the way out, as we have done. Singaporeans rallied behind the leadership and we overcame these crises. Sir, indeed, the Government has rightfully provided the necessary leadership to steer Singapore through every crisis that we faced in the last 41 years.

But have we looked back and reflected on what this has done to Singaporeans? Sir, we pride ourselves as having a very efficient system, including our civil service and its related agencies, one of the most efficient in the world. I think this efficiency has led to a certain character and attitude amongst Singaporeans that I think need some reflection and soul-searching.

Sir, all of us are all too familiar with the following scenarios. When the lift landing of our flat is not clean or a public facility is not

well-maintained, we call the Town Council; when we see teenagers loitering and making noise at our void decks, we call the police; when we have problems with our neighbours, we call HDB; when there are mosquitoes in the neighbourhood, we call NEA. The list goes on. If things do not improve, we go to our MPs or we tell the media.

Sir, are we turning Singaporeans to a people whose problem-solving skills solely rest on the mechanism of asking someone else to solve their problems and, in most cases, the Government agencies to solve these problems? It seems that the attitude is, while the problem exists, and I may be directly affected by it, the problem is not mine. The owner of the problem is the Government agencies as they are responsible for it and it is their job to serve the people and, in most instances, solve the problems the people face!

Further, Town Councils, for example, collect S&C charges so they should be the ones ensuring that the common areas and facilities are kept clean and well-maintained. Can we blame Singaporeans for expecting service for what they have

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paid for? In the same vein, they would argue that they pay taxes and thus expect the different agencies to do just that - serve the taxpayers and solve the problems presented to them. Sir, are we slowly breeding a culture of complaining amongst our people? Of course, some may call it providing "feedback".

Sir, while we are glad that Singaporeans are not apathetic and are looking into such issues, to confront the challenges of globalisation, our people need to be problem solvers, not merely problem identifiers or problem referrers. More fundamentally, Sir, what values are we imparting to our children? It is not uncommon for adults to launch these "feedback" in the presence of young children. How can we expect the next generation of Singaporeans to be resilient when they are growing up in an environment where their adult role models solve problems without taking ownership of the problem themselves?

Sir, the President in his Address highlighted the need for the Government to have a new social and political compact with Singaporeans, especially the P65 generation. I think we also need a new social contract with Singaporeans on ownership and community problem-solving. It is important for us to ensure that we continue to build that resilience that is sorely needed to face the challenges of globalisation. Indeed, we need to fundamentally ask ourselves what kind of society do we want in the future? Are we happy and satisfied with what we have today? Or do we want a Singapore where Singaporeans acknowledge that problems exist, prepared to take ownership of the problem, and find solutions to them? Of course, I am not saying that the Government is totally taken out of the equation. What I am highlighting is the issue of values within our people. Do we want a people with drive and passion,

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who will see opportunities in the face of adversity, or a people who will not be happy but wait for others to make things happen better for them?

Sir, during this current debate, many Members of the House have spoken about the digital divide as the President had highlighted the Government's commitment to low-income Singaporeans, ensuring that they are included and not left behind as we move forward as a society. Of course, there have been many calls for the Government to do more for this group. But we all know more will never be enough. There will always be calls for more. Yet, we caveat our statements with the caution that we should not go down the slippery road of turning Singapore into a welfare state.

Sir, when we look at our own welfare system, key phrases like "many helping hands", "community care" come to mind. Our welfare system is also premised on the fundamental value that the family is the first line of defence, as it is the building block of society. Many of our other policies are also premised on this fundamental value - be it our housing policies or our health policies.

Sir, have we asked ourselves what we really mean by this, that the family is the first line of defence? Who is the family? The nuclear family made up of two generations living in one household, the extended family of siblings and relatives. At what point do the "many helping hands" come in to help? When do we say, yes, the family as the first line of defence has failed and thus the community and the State must now come in? Do we recognise that some families are so dynamic and complex that they may fail to perform their functions? What is society's threshold level for family failures?

Sir, on the one hand, we have legislation to enforce families to be

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responsible for their members, for example, we have the Maintenance of Parents Bill to ensure that parents can claim maintenance for their children. Children of divorced parents have legal rights to maintenance from their fathers under the Women's Charter. On the other hand, we are challenged when a low income family comes to us and seek assistance. We see they have siblings who are well-off enough to support them. Do we give help or not? When elderly couples come to see us for help, we see they have children who can support them but they say their relations are strained, do we help or not? When single mothers with their little children come to see us for help and their fathers failed to provide maintenance because he has a new family now, do we help or not?

Sir, ever so often, such cases will be highlighted in the media, whether it is the case of a family whose flat was repossessed by the banks or dependants of individuals who decide to take their own lives. And almost immediately when the story is reported in the media, society begins to point fingers at the "many helping hands", asking where are these "helping hands". And where is the biggest "helping hand" of them all, that of the Government?

Sir, if indeed, self-reliance and family support ought to be the cornerstone of our welfare ethic, should we begin to reflect on the realities today? Social trends seem to be running against our preferred ideal. We are told marriages are weakening, divorces are rising - thus issues of single parenthood and challenges of maintenance of children will become a more serious problem. We know families are getting smaller, and with a graying population, what is the extent that children and family members can provide or should provide for their seniors? With stresses of urban living and challenges of globalisation and economic

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aspirations, family relations seem to be weakening too. At our MPS cases, I am sure we have seen elderly couples appealing to HDB for rental flats citing poor relations with their children. If the elderly choose to be "homeless", what do we do?

A case I saw recently may illustrate the point. A couple are in their 60s. The husband is 66 years old and the wife is 60 years old. They have nine adult children, five of whom have their own flats. They have received Government subsidies in the form of two direct purchased flats and have "profited" substantially from the sale of these flats. The flat they are staying in with one of their daughters is at risk of being repossessed due to default in mortgage payments. They have sought help to be given subsidised rental from HDB. As a society, how do we view such a case? With nine children, five of them having their own homes, one would accept the value that the children should take them in. Should the State come in and provide with the subsidised accommodation if they say relations with their children are strained? What if they were insistent and choose to squat at Changi Beach?

Sir, I am not saying that Singaporeans are abandoning their elderly. There are families out there who are filial and continue to provide for their elderly parents, against all odds. Indeed, MCYS' survey in 2005 had shown that, by and large, Singaporean children are still filial and caring for their elderly. However, on the ground, we are slowly beginning to see some cracks in the familial relations. The CDCs have their fair share of stories to tell, reflecting such trends. Our MPS cases are yet another indication. Just before me, we heard four heart-breaking stories from Mr Ang Mong Seng. And in this House, in the past two days, every MP has his own fair share of stories to tell. These are really living hard cases.

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But the question I would like to raise is for us, as a society, to begin to ask ourselves these fundamental questions. Who is my brother's keeper? We have to ask ourselves whether we want to continue to hold on to the ideals or recognise realities. This will have significant implication on our Government policies, as representing the voices of the people. The public will also then have to accept and recognise these realities and their implications. If we want to hold on to these ideals, what do we do as a society?

Much has been said about the need to strengthen the family. In the spirit of taking ownership, I would like to ask Singaporeans to ask themselves, what have they done to strengthen their families? What is their commitment to their families and how have they responded to calls to strengthen their own families? Do they recognise the importance of the family and want to make their family work? Do they blame the system or lack of opportunity for work-life balance resulting in breakdown in their families? Will they ask the Government for more incentives for them to make their families work? What is their role?

Sir, I leave this House today with these questions in the hope that we begin to ponder and search within ourselves and understand that whatever we choose as a society, it is ours. The responsibility to make the society works rests not only in the hands of those in this Chamber alone but rather, together the collective interlocking hands of the four million Singaporeans out there. That should be the social contract between the Government and the people.

Sir, I support the motion.

5.12 pm

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to parti

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cipate in this Motion of Thanks to our President.

Sir, the heading of the President's Address when he opened this Eleventh Parliament was "A Competitive Economy, An Inclusive Society". I am very glad indeed that the two issues I had in mind to speak on, Singapore as an education hub and intervention in early childhood education, are relevant to his agenda in his Address.

Sir, in the President's Address, under the topic of growing Singapore's economy, he said that to achieve our full potential in this ever-changing environment, we must be nimble, flexible and alert. In this respect, I do agree with him fully especially when it concerns growing Singapore as a global education hub. Global education is a huge and growing industry and is estimated to be worth in the region of almost US$2.2 trillion. In order to achieve our vision, it is imperative that we maintain our hard-earned reputation as a provider of quality education, especially at this early stage. We are currently on course to achieve our target of 150,000 foreign students by 2015, which will boost the education sector's GDP contribution from 1.9 % to 5 %. Singapore's attractiveness lies in our competencies in the English language, the provision of quality education, and a safe and secure environment.

Educational opportunities in Singapore have risen exponentially. The number of private schools in Singapore grew from 720 in 2003 to 1,100 by end 2005. These 1,100 private schools cater to about 420,000 local students and 72,000 foreign students. With this rapid rise in numbers, it is important that we ensure the quality of our private schools so that both local and foreign students receive quality education.

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_ Quality of education _

Quality of education in private educational institutions is an important issue. It has often been said in local context that in education, quality is everything and that parents and students only trust the Government's stamp of approval. The second phrase presents a set of problems. Some private education organisations have abused the MOE-certified tag to oversell their credibility. According to MOE, registration with MOE is not tantamount to accreditation or endorsement of quality of the private schools or their teaching staff. It is vital for our Government to set up a national accreditation body to assess and monitor the quality of private schools here. The present stance of letting the market decide on quality of private institutions, even with recent interventions by Spring Singapore and CASE, leaves much to be desired.

Ensuring reliability and sustainability of private education in institutions is important. On average, it would cost each foreign student about $80,000 to $100,000 spread out over four years to obtain a degree from one of the many private education institutions here. The recent closure of a few private schools, including the closure of AIT Academy last year, has affected a good number of students, many of whom were unable to get refunds. It was a case of too little, too late for many local and foreign students.

In addition, an operator was fined for starting a private school while still an undischarged bankrupt. Apart from the obvious damage done to both local and foreign students, these events would have caused significant damage to Singapore's reputation as an education hub, particularly in the foreign media. More must be done in addition to what CaseTrust is already doing. More stringent criteria should be in place for private school registration to prevent similar incidents from repeating.

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_ Credibility of student agents _

The credibility of student agents is also of great concern. The number of student agents has increased from about 15 a few years ago to about 100 agencies, including numerous freelance operators. There are estimates that the student agency industry is worth about $70 million to $100 million, based on the present number of foreign students here. Student agents charge between $2,000 and $8,000 per foreign student. Presently, anyone can be a student agent without even belonging to a registered company. There is a need for an accreditation scheme for student agents in order to safeguard foreign students' interest, especially from rogue agencies. There must be some standardisation of student agents to ensure reliability and credibility in school placing, getting visas and accommodation.

_ Welfare for foreign students _ There are reports suggesting that foreign students are not adapting as well as believed. Many are homesick and lonely. Some have lamented that they have no Singaporean friends and have even been shunned by Singaporeans in general. This is especially so for those in the private schools. Unlike those in the universities and polytechnics, there are few programmes or clubs which cater for social activities for foreign students attending private schools. It will thus be helpful to provide some avenues so that we can engage them. This will cater to some of their social needs and, at the same time, provide them with opportunities to integrate with locals. In our efforts to being generous and gracious hosts, our attention to detail in this regard may persuade some of them to settle down in Singapore after graduation. This will complement our aim of attracting foreign talents. In the very least, this will go a long way in leaving them with good

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impressions, for them to serve as our goodwill ambassadors back home.

_ Early intervention for childhood education _

Sir, I totally agree with the President on the emphasis of an inclusive society in his Address. Under the topic of building an inclusive society, he said that education is the best way to level up our society. My second topic is on early intervention for childhood education, particularly those from disadvantaged families. There is a greater challenge for children from lower-income families to participate in the education process. Latest available figures show that some 5% of each Primary 1 cohort of about 42,000 has not attended pre-school at all. Many of them are, unfortunately, from the lower-income families. The advantages that children from middle and higher-income families enjoy make it even more difficult for their counterparts in the lower-income bracket to catch up. This source of disparity may contribute to class polarisation in our society.

Longitudinal studies show that when children begin education at a young age, they do not only do better in school but also become more productive as adults, and are less likely to require public assistance. Latest research on brain development also demonstrates that a child's environment and experience in the earliest years of life are critical for cognitive, physical, social and emotional development, and have profound life-long benefits.

Parents of lower-income families may not have the resources and knowledge to provide a conducive early learning environment for the child. During my meet-the-people sessions, there were residents who had come with their children for consultation. Once, I had asked a six-year old child, who came with

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her father, which kindergarten she was attending. When I found out that she was not attending any, I asked her father, who told me that the family did not have the means to do so. On our part, my grassroots members and I have assisted by placing children like these in neighbouring educational centres, and have engaged Central Singapore CDC to match their parents with jobs.

Greater effort must be put in to identify similarly disadvantaged families and to assist them, so that children from these families can be given a chance to compete on equal terms. I am glad that Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said that his Ministry will work with various agencies, including MCYS, to get as many children as possible into pre-school or kindergarten. I would like to propose that a sustainable and holistic approach to be adopted by MOE. A database collection system and follow-up will help those in need of early intervention. Community involvement and collaboration, especially with grassroots organisations, have been proven useful for pre-school placing. Ideally, students from these families could be monitored in their course of learning, and be provided with assistance should the need arise to keep them in the right path in their primary and secondary education, thus providing them with favourable condition for levelling up.

A holistic approach may have to be taken for each family. These families may need varied assistance in the form of childcare, student care, pre-school education, formal education, tutoring and mentoring, transport allowance, financial assistance, books and uniforms. Many of these families may not be aware of the available assistance to them. In addition, there are some who lack the initiative and motivation to do so, and others who attribute the lack of financial means for not sending their children to schools. We need a scheme that is able to systematically identify these families to ensure

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that no child is deprived for whatever reason. We must provide the facility and manpower to monitor and follow up on these children to ensure that assistance is rendered for as long as required. Current programmes, such as the Early Learning Support Programme, which is an early intervention initiative to help Primary 1 and 2 pupils at risk of failing in school could and must target neighbourhoods with a higher concentration of disadvantaged groups.

In these two days, several of my parliamentary colleagues have raised the concern of dropouts in school. This has always been my concern and I spoke at length at the last Budget debate. I gave the possible reasons for our dropouts and suggested ways on reducing the dropout rates from our schools. I feel strongly that early intervention in pre-school education is another way of reducing our school dropouts. The reason is that we target vulnerable children to give them the head start early, so that they can cope better subsequently in schools, and thus preventing them to become dropouts.

Sir, early learning programmes and intervention for children from disadvantaged families should be prioritised. It should be central to a new strategy aimed at closing the income gap in our society, and to enable those from lower-income groups to compete on an equal level with those from middle to higher income groups.

_ Healthcare _

Sir, in conclusion, I would like to touch a little on healthcare. The healthcare changes over the last few years have been on the right track and have been for the better. One example is the revision of MediShield and the emphasis on preventive healthcare. MediShield has been revised to give a higher pay-out to ease the burden on patients with major illnesses. However, there are

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still a few improvements that can be made. There are, presently, a few hundred thousand Singaporeans who are not covered under MediShield, and more can be done to reduce this number. In addition, although MediShield claim limits have recently been increased, it is a requirement that periodic and regular adjustments to match rising healthcare costs are made.

Also, on the right track is the effective 3-M Healthcare Financing System. However, in spite of the successes of the system, many Singaporeans who are not fully aware of 3-M's coverage continue to live in fear of falling seriously ill and of rising hospitalisation costs. Increased public education to inform and promote the 3-M Healthcare Financing System may help reassure Singaporeans.

There is recent emphasis for patients with stable chronic illnesses to be cared for in a community setting rather than in a more expensive hospital setting. This will better control chronic diseases and thus reduce the dreaded complications of such diseases and their costly treatments.

With greater concerns over rising healthcare costs, all efforts must be taken in the areas of disease prevention, preventive healthcare, cost management by public institutions and the maximisation of resources. Right implementation of policies with these targets in mind will steer us in the right course. I concur with the Minister for Health when he said recently that we should avoid financial incentives and remuneration for medical providers that may work against the right placement of care.

On that note, Sir, I support the motion.

5.28 pm

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade): Mr Speaker, Sir, I speak in support of the

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Motion to thank the President for his Speech.

I am indeed encouraged by the Government's focus on building an inclusive society, the promise to leave no one behind and the call to strengthen social cohesion. However, I notice that the Government has focused on the more tangible matters of strengthening social cohesion, like investing in education, skills training and strengthening of social safety nets.

Sir, I wish to suggest that another area which can improve social cohesion is the inculcation of basic character values in Singaporeans. There are many core character values which I feel that we should encourage and develop so as to become second nature amongst Singaporeans. These values, like kindness, consideration for others, being grateful and being humble are universal in nature. But for some reason or other, they seem to be lacking in Singaporeans.

Sometime back, I read in the Straits Times a letter to the Forum provocatively titled "Must Singaporeans behave like pigs?" The letter contained an observation by an Australian about the behaviour of Singaporeans. Although the writer of the letter, Mr Martin Goh, tried to prove his Australian friend wrong about the behaviour of Singaporeans, eventually, he conceded and he admitted defeat.

Mr Goh wrote his observations about Singaporeans who rushed into trains without giving way, about Singaporeans who did not give up their seats to a mother caring a child, about Singaporeans rushing to take lifts, about Singaporeans rushing for table space during lunch, and about the litter left on the table by Singaporeans. The letter struck a raw nerve in me. Instinctively, I felt indignant and upset. I challenged the writer and his Australian friend mentally - who are you to pass such judgments on Singaporeans

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and to call us pigs? But on reflection, I realised that there was some truth in what the writer had described about the behaviour of Singaporeans. For the record, I disagree with the use of the word "pigs". In fact, in the very next week, a few other writers joined in the Forum discussion, and quite a few of them concurred that indeed there were several occasions when the behaviour of Singaporeans was found wanting.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I am concerned about this lack of social grace amongst Singaporeans. Perhaps a better description is the lack of consideration. Time and again, in the local newspaper, there are daily comments about the poor or boorish behaviour

of Singaporeans, and many of us would have witnessed this poor behaviour one time or another in our daily life. I once had an accident in Malaysia along the North-South highway. Within moments, a few Malaysian vehicles stopped to offer their help. I am not sure in Singapore, if you had an accident, would any vehicle within a short moment of time stop to help. Maybe they would. But, more likely, they will be there to see your vehicle number so that they can buy 4D.

Sir, it is not just social grace that is lacking. There seems to be a lack of civility, a lack of consideration, a lack of tolerance amongst Singaporeans. We are quick to complain and quick to demand for our rights. If we were to fall, and no one comes to our help, we are quick to contempt others for their lack of care. But, yet, if we see others fall, many of us are also slow to stretch out our hands to help others. To me, this lack of social grace reflects on the poor character development of Singaporeans. In fact, like what Dr Maliki said, sometimes I think we have become a nation of complainants.

Over the past five years, perhaps due to the poor economic outlook and the intensity of economic development, we have lost sight of what is important to us

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in life. In 1996, the then Prime Minister and now Senior Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, highlighted the need for Singaporeans to be a more gracious society by the 21st century. We are into the tenth year since that speech. Have we really become a more gracious society? Maybe, when we go overseas for humanitarian assistance. But back in Singapore, in our daily lives, how do we fare? Judging from daily critical reports in the newspapers, I fear we are not doing well.

I feel that for Singapore to develop as a more gracious society, we have to continually exhort our citizens to rise to the occasion. We have to continually focus on the fundamental values which would be good for Singaporeans to possess. After all, what makes a country great is not just the laws of the country; it is not just the efficiency of the system; it is not just the meritocracy nor the beautiful buildings. But what makes Singapore great is the people of Singapore and the values of its citizens.

We have to remind Singaporeans to be kinder, to be grateful to others, to be more considerate, to be humble, and to constantly be an encourager of our fellow citizens. In July this year, at the Victoria School's 130th anniversary cum official opening ceremony, the guest-of-honour made a speech where he spoke of the need to be kind and grateful. I felt it was a good reminder and I quote part of his speech as follows:

President Nathan, the guest-of-honour, said:

"First, I ask all of you whatever you do in your lives, be kind towards others. Always find the time and space to do good for the community. Your actions and efforts may not make the news headlines nor make you a household name, but every single effort counts towards making Singapore being recognised by others for humanitarian concerns."

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Next, he said:

"Be grateful. Cultivate what someone called the discipline of gratitude. Be grateful to your family, teachers, friends, neighbours and those who make your life better, and make you a better person. It is easy to ask what other people can do for us, but it is more difficult to ask how we can do more for others."

Sir, if we can make kindness and gratefulness part of our daily mantra in our lives, I believe that Singaporeans will become a better and more gracious society.

Next, Sir, I turn to the other values which I feel could be improved upon in Singapore. One of them is to be considerate to our fellow Singaporeans. The Christians have it in the golden rule, which is: do unto others what you have them do unto you. And this is similar to Confucius saying of "do not do unto others what you do not want others do unto you". As a simple illustration, if you do not want others to block you when you are coming out from the MRT train exit, then do not block others when you are trying to enter the train. If you want the table at the hawker centre to be clean, then do not leave chicken bones and used tissue on the same table. If every Singaporean can be a bit more considerate towards their fellow Singaporeans, then life will become more pleasant and social bonds amongst your neighbours will become stronger.

Another value which I feel that we can improve upon is that of being humble. Many people have spoken about how elitist Singaporeans have become. And this is especially so because of the way we segregate those students who have done well in their academic studies from a young age. In short, once you are identified as being a gifted student, a scholar material, you are set apart from the others and put on a fast track so that you can be groomed to excel. Invariably, there is this sense that these people who

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have been earmarked to become scholars are amongst the best of the best, the so-called elite. Unfortunately, this same system has also created a barrier amongst those who are considered the elite and those who are not. Mr Sin Boon Ann called them "farmers".

It is thus important for us to remind those Singaporeans who have done well in their lives that we must remain humble. It does not matter that you have become richer. It does not matter that you have become more successful or that you have reached high positions in your life. We must not be arrogant but we must remain humble in our outlook in life. Recently, Prof. Lee Wei Leng wrote an opinion piece in the newspaper in which she opined that a super elitist system may not necessarily be good for society as a whole. I share her sentiments. In fact, I would say that if our schools produce a top student with many "As" but who lacks humility and apathy for his fellow students, then the schools would have failed in their role as an educator as they have failed in building up the students. A student who thinks that he has obtained a scholarship because he is super intelligent and does not attribute his scholarship to his parents, his friends and his teachers should not get the scholarship.

Finally, Sir, I would like the Government to look into how we can promote the virtue of being an encourager. We should constantly look for ways and means to encourage those who have done well in any part of their lives. A kind word, a boost to the morale, would go a long way towards making life more pleasant for everyone. For those who are down, we should look for ways to tell them to keep their chins up, that it is not the end of the world, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Each time I read in the newspaper about someone who has committed suicide, I felt terribly sad and I

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asked myself - if only someone had taken the time and the effort to give some comforting words to lift up the weak, some words of encouragement to that person, to be kind to that person, to show compassion - would it have made a difference to that person, would it have prevented the suicide?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the lack of social graces, the lack of that amount of basic character values will not augur well for us as a nation and for us as Singaporeans. We should not allow our rush to excel in our careers, to become richer or to become more influential affect these values as they will affect the social cohesion. The Government can set the tone in its policies and we too, as MPs, as leaders of the country, can make it our policy that we will strive to be kinder, more grateful, humble, considerate, and that we will be an encourager of our fellow Singaporeans. If we can get more and more Singaporeans to adopt and practise these values in their daily lives, I am certain that social cohesion will be much strengthened and we would be able to make Singapore a country that Singaporeans can be proud of and Singaporeans will love.

Sir, I support the motion.

5.39 pm

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to speak in support of the motion thanking the President for his Address in Parliament.

I feel privileged to address this House today and I want to share with Members what I am hearing from my interactions with our residents and constituents in relation to the key points highlighted in the President's Address.

As I ponder on the common threads of discussion that I had from my house-to-

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house visits, dialogue sessions, meet-the-people sessions, the key theme that keeps coming back to me is what does it mean to be Singaporeans and why is Singapore home. This relates to the point that President Nathan highlighted on the need to build an inclusive society and that every citizen must contribute to our shared well-being. To this point, I would like to touch on the Singapore identity and belonging and what I term "home" and "hope". In order to have an inclusive society and one that every citizen feels committed to contribute for the well-being of fellow Singaporeans, there really needs to be a strong sense of identity and belonging where we as citizens are not just intellectually but also emotionally engaged in policies, practices and goals of the country. This Singapore identity is something, I believe, which is still elusive, and that we as a nation are grappling with. There seems to be this underlying cry for hope and, if I dare say, dream. And what do I mean? It is not that residents I meet say to me, "Give me hope", or "Help me make Singapore home". Rather, what I have heard is, life is hard, work hours are long, it is very competitive, cost of living is high, the list goes on. These grouses are not unique to Singapore. But why is that Singaporeans seem to complain more about that? It can be attributed in part to the size of our country and the high dependency on the global economy. But I think it goes beyond. There is really a continuum of Singaporean view on the subject. There are those that regard Singapore as their home and see hope for a future for themselves and their families, and we need to get them involved and engaged and enable them to contribute to the Singapore Dream and enable them to also continue the Singapore Dream. Then there are those who want to make Singapore home and who are looking for hope but are finding it difficult to do so. Why? Is it because of a perception gap or communication or execution of policies?

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I read recently in The Economist in a special report in June this year on the inequality in America and core to the American dream as cited is the hope that if you work hard, you can succeed, regardless of the strata of society that you are in, and that you can ride the tide and the tide of growth will lift many boats. However, it also cited that since year 2000, this hope however seems to be dampening as the tide seems to be lifting fewer boats. It is the same scenario in Singapore where although we have strong economic growth, it seems to be benefiting a small group whilst squeezing the large numbers in the middle and widening the gap between those at the top and the bottom. The point of income distribution and the widening gap is an important one. But I will not be discussing it today as this has been well elaborated by my colleagues who have spoken before me. Instead, I would like to highlight another area which I feel needs to be addressed.

Many of us will agree that Singapore, as a society, has a very high degree of efficiency and, to that end, that quest for efficiency has resulted in flawless execution and implementation. In some sense, people may feel that the focus on the process and efficiency has led to the loss of the focus on the individuals. Minister Raymond Lim, in his comments in the recent review of the Singapore Land Transport policy, made an important point, and I quote: "The transport system must be planned and built to benefit people movement rather than vehicle movement. The two are related but not the same. Understanding the difference is critical if we want a system that meets the needs of the users."

In an increasingly global competitive economy, one cannot argue that economic growth is fundamental to Singapore's continued success. We must make every

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effort to embrace the necessary changes and continue to generate economic growth. But as President Nathan has said in his Address, Singapore is poised for success but now stands at a turning point. With globalisation and as our population ages, we must adapt. But how we respond to globalisation and address the challenges of our ageing population will shape the future of Singapore. I believe that a subtle but important focus must be that of ensuring that we do not forget people. Singapore is known for characteristics, such as being green, clean, efficient, disciplined, reliable, of high quality and dynamic. While we continue to work on the branding of Singapore, as a trusted and reliable place for investment and business, making every effort to attract foreign talent, we must also continue to pay attention to our local talent and what Singapore branding means for us. This is important if we are to build a sense of belonging, identity and enthuse the desire to stay and to build Singapore's future. Paradoxically, the best ambassadors to attract talent and to sell the Singapore brand are Singaporeans who have a strong identity and pride in Singapore and are able to consistently project that.

One area of policy change required is the need to increase our foreign talent and migration as Singapore's current population is small and replacement rates will limit our ability to support economic growth for our future. This is not an easy policy change as it brings with it fears and competition and other social integration concerns. How we manage this and how our citizens understand the importance of foreign talent while addressing their fears and concerns will determine our future success, not only to attract foreign talent but to retain and to grow local talent. The question in the minds of many Singaporeans, at least those that I have met through my engagement

is: can I count on

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Singapore and can Singapore count on me when the moment of truth is here?

Economic success is necessary but insufficient as an ingredient for long-term identity and why Singapore is home for us. If economic success is the only criterion, our people will just leave Singapore and go wherever economic opportunities present themselves. I am not just referring to those physically residing in Singapore, but Singaporean overseas as well. What will make Singaporeans stay or come back? Or why would a foreigner give up his citizenship somewhere else in the world to be a Singaporean? It has got to be that Singapore offers them and their families not only economic opportunities and success, but a place where they feel that they can make an impact and a place that, being Singaporean, makes a difference to them. This is what one of our founding fathers, the late Mr Rajaratnam, so aptly said, being Singaporean is not a matter of ancestry but of conviction and choice.

During a recent house-to-house visit, one of my residents said to me when I met with him and his wife, "I don't mean to complain. [He was really apologetic about this.] I must say that the Government is good, but the policies are bad. And I feel like a second-class citizen." Although I do not agree with him that our national policies are bad, the fact remains that he still feels this way. Ironically, the very policies that are meant to support Singapore's future and viability are instilling in some a sense of uncertainty and fear, for example, attraction of foreign talent, development of new high technology industries.

Beyond the intellectual understanding and imperative of our national policies, many are finding it hard to fully accept the impact of these policies. There are some who will disagree with me on my focus on these areas as we look at it from

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a very practical point of view and some can say, "Change is required and we must just bite the bullet and drive the transition, live the reality and the situation." I differ on this point. Study has shown that the critical success factor for sustainable change and acceptance must take into account the impact of change on the various stakeholders and ensure that there is a strong communication plan and an action to address the transition pain.

To do this, we need to create an environment that Singaporeans feel that their views matter and that they can make a difference in the areas of their lives that are important to them. We must nurture an environment where people feel that their differing views are heard and where they will also accept that there will be views that are different from theirs and hence greater acceptance for differing approaches to achieving our outcome.

Sir, the role of government. As countries develop and as conditions for people in countries improve, expectations generally are higher and governments take on additional responsibilities to provide for citizens. To this point, it also does take control from the citizens and therefore raises a sense of risk, and the citizens actually feel this heightened sense of risk. We are in a dilemma. We want the Government to do more but, at the same time, we feel that we are not in control. Therefore, we feel that we have a lesser say and hence demand more from the Government. This becomes a vicious cycle.

This brings to mind an analogy of the umbrella. When you provide an umbrella, some may view it as shelter and be grateful for it. Others may say this is blocking their view. The challenge is therefore how do you strike a balance. To give hope, we must involve Singaporeans from the cynics to the sceptics, to the converted. Take, for example, the recent reaction to the preview of our P65 MPs

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making a special appearance for the coming Chingay procession. Some of my colleagues are already smiling. We have from violent criticisms, surprise, to encouragement from all walks of life and from young and old. And I do not think it is because of our dancing skills or lack of dancing skills. But what I have learned from the incident is that Singaporeans actually care about how and what their MPs do. But we must be prepared to take both positive comments and criticisms as these help with better understanding.

Ironically, the reaction to our hip-hop is an example of the importance of how we engage. Even as post-65 MPs want to engage the young, we are also learning that we must be cognizant of the fact that there is a broad spectrum of concerns and needs, and it is not a homogeneous group. At the end of the day, the very things that have made Singapore successful are sometimes taken for granted because it is so much a part of our life, for example, multi-racialism and meritocracy. I feel that this is the very fabric of being Singaporean, albeit a very subtle one. This is not easy to be replicated or transportable globally and make Singapore unique.

It is these very values that give me hope and why I consider Singapore home. Yes, I like the efficiency and effectiveness of Singapore and the fact that things work here and I hope we will never slacken in that aspect. But what I hold special and value for myself and my children in Singapore is the knowledge that they will have the opportunity to participate and succeed in Singapore. An important vehicle of this is education which I have benefited myself.

I am heartened to see also the recent developments in our education system to further encourage and focus on diversity. Although I am a firm believer that we are authors of our destinies and success, our chances of success are stronger and the

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journey a lot more enjoyable when we have hope and encouragement. So let me share with you my experience - please indulge me on this - on running. I have been a member of this running group for about two years now, and it does baffle me every time I think about it, how all the members in this group make it a point every Sunday morning, week after week, to get up early to meet at 6.30 in the morning to run. Why do we keep at it? Apart from the fact that we all do enjoy running, the very camaraderie and the support that the running group provides is what keeps us going. I must confess that the reward of a good breakfast after that is also the other incentive.

We are all of different fitness levels, age and running ability and, if I may say, shapes and sizes as well. We have folks that walk, others who walk and run, and there are those who are really strong runners. However, our end goal is the same - to complete the run and to reach the end point. An important point to note is that every person needs to do the run himself. The motivation and the support of the group however provide a key element that keeps folks running week after week and, in fact, has helped members of the group improve on their running skills. We have folks like me who have never run more than four kilometres before I joined this group being able to complete the marathon this year. There are others, who barely could run the 10 kilometres, now completing the half marathon in about two hours. What is interesting is that it does not stop there. I have noticed that each member of the team continues to improve in his performance over time. And for myself, although I do not have the speed, what I found is that I now find the run a lot easier and more enjoyable.

The point I am making here is that in our pursuit for Singapore's future,

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providing an environment where individuals identify, not only with the goals, but are able to participate and to run their own race, this will help build an inclusive society that we are striving for. Put it simply, we should have an environment where people feel that they can be themselves, run their own race and still be successful.

And I am glad to see in the Addendum to the President's Address the emphasis on better inter-agency cooperation in the public service to provide more rounded policies as agencies strive to work more closely together to tackle complex issues. While the whole-of-government approach is critical to addressing issues more coherently for individuals and businesses, I feel that more can be done to ensure that we do not forget the very people these policies are meant to support. I will give you a very simple example. I had feedback from someone recently trying to register her business. It was great that the various agencies provided her the ability to go online to register her business. However, she proceeded to go online to register. She was prompted that she had to apply for a business licence from another agency before she could complete the business registration. She then went to the other agency's website to submit her application via the online business licensing service. As she proceeded, she was then prompted that she needed to provide her registration or RGB No. which was what she had originally been attempting to obtain. So you can imagine her frustration as she was now stuck on both online applications requiring input from each other in order to complete her registration online. While I am glad to say that - I did ask her and she said, "Yes, I set up my business." - it took a lot of follow-up, emails and phone calls before she got the matter resolved. So a person with less perseverance would have given up. The whole-of-government approach would definitely have made a difference to her in this experience.

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So I recently went online myself to try out this experience. I am also very glad to say that it is already put into practice because what I saw was an announcement in that same website, informing online users that they can now proceed with either of the applications without worrying about the dependency between the two agencies and processes. So what has changed? The announcement actually explains why. It says, "The changes have been made because applicants have often been puzzled when they read the fields required for the application." And I applaud the agency for taking the feedback and acting on it, as they have now allowed users to skip the fields of where these gaps existed. So it is a good example of this one Government approach and meeting the original intent of the online service.

Sir, I would like to just say that service should be a way of life for us, and not a campaign or a transaction. This will make a big difference to the experience.

Sir, in concluding, I would say, stay the course but remember that people are the core of Singapore's future. As many have pointed out, Singapore is an improbable nation. Our success as a nation is the result of the will of people. Therefore, keeping the will of people alive and strong will determine the success and the future of this nation. We should be bold and willing to compete with the best in the world. This will not change overnight. But it is important that we stay the course and continue to encourage active citizenry and participation grounded in our fundamental values of multi-racialism and meritocracy. In order to achieve the vision of an inclusive society and every Singaporean contributing to the success of Singapore, we need to ensure that we do not forget the very people that we are trying to serve. This is a subtle difference but an important one as we strive to build the Singapore identity to give hope to those who choose to make

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this little red dot home and to continue on the journey to building Singapore's future.

With that, Sir, I support the motion.

5.58 pm

Dr Lam Pin Min (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, I must confess I may not run as fast as Ms Jessica Tan, but I believe I can try to speak as fast, if not faster than her.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to add to the chorus in support of the motion of thanks moved by Mdm Halimah Yacob, MP for Jurong GRC. The President has envisaged an inclusive Singaporean society which leaves no one behind even as the economy grows.

First and foremost, I would like to applaud MCYS and all the other Ministries involved for having contributed largely to our community, especially towards our less privileged fellow Singaporeans. The Ministry believes that the 'many helping hands' offered by the people, the private and the public sectors provide a safety net for those in need. Yes, I believe so myself that our actions and decisions make a difference in the lives of those who are, to some extent, dependent on us.

Sir, allow me to bring us back in time to 2002, when the speech by Dr Balakrishnan, the Minister of State for National Development, left a long-lasting impression on me. He mentioned the increased income disparities and the issue of what we can do for those who are falling behind. He also talked about the social safety nets to catch people who fall. He asked at what stage could people convert a safety net into a trampoline that has an inherent spring in it that the people can use to bounce back.

Mr Speaker, Sir, my concern today is for those in need, the people who are, in

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some ways, dependent on us, the people who are helplessly falling behind - my concern is for our people with physical disabilities. I would like to ask: can we, instead of a safety net, provide a trampoline with an inherent spring in it for the disabled so that they could bounce like the rest of us? In addition, can this spring in the trampoline that we provide have its elasticity sustained for the people with disabilities, who need our support and understanding to lead as normal a life as possible?

To address these concerns, we need to look into what we have and what we are doing now for people with disabilities. More importantly, we need to look at how else we could improve to better the lives of these people who live by our support.

Looking at what we have and what we are doing for our people with disabilities, I wish to commend the efforts of our Ministries for working hand in hand to provide assistance schemes in various areas for those in need.

Compared to years before, we currently have many assistance schemes to help Singaporeans with disabilities to acquire education and employment. Just to name a few, we have the ComCare EnAble fund, education bursary, student care fee assistance scheme and the taxi subsidy scheme. In addition, there are three recent initiatives that are worth mentioning: Firstly, HDB's commitment to build all its new flats with disabled and elderly-friendly features. Secondly, the Ministry of Transport's announcement to roll out 150 wheelchair accessible buses this year.

Thirdly, the $520,000 Government fund, Engaging Persons with Disabilities in Employment, is a worthwhile movement that should be sustained. This fund will be disbursed over the next two years to help firms redesign workplace to make it disabled-friendly, thereby enabling

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more people with disabilities to join the workforce.

All of these initiatives and efforts are noteworthy, and are great examples of our Government's action plan for an inclusive society. However, as we never rest on our laurels to improve ourselves to becoming the world's best seaport and airport or to achieve first-class quality and service, we cannot be complacent with our efforts in supporting our fellow Singaporeans with disabilities. With the President calling for an inclusive society that leaves no one behind, we need to set higher expectations as we rally the country to achieve the vision of a first-world nation. We do not want to be known as a first-world nation with third-world assistance and welfare for our less fortunate fellow citizens.

While we have well covered various areas to assist our people with disabilities, we need to look across the board on the depth of each area. Are we providing enough in each area to help those who are in need? Can we do more in each area to assist these people, in terms of their financial needs, accessibilities and rights in the society? I believe we can.

Although the number of disabled persons due to congenital birth defects and other preventable diseases has decreased over the past decades due to our excellent healthcare system, it is a well-known fact that by 2030, one in every five persons in Singapore will be above the age of 60. Interestingly, statistics have also shown that as people age, their chances of developing some form of mobility problem are as high as 33%. By simple arithmetic, this will work out to about 300,000 affected Singaporeans.

Therefore, with an ageing population, the challenges faced by the elderly and the physically-challenged will merge and aggravate. We need to dedicate adequate provisions of policies and resources to the

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disabled community in order to prepare for the challenges that would be faced by the elderly in the years to come.

As mentioned earlier, we have numerous services and programmes to assist our people with disabilities. These services and programmes are carried out by many VWOs, with the support of MCYS.

With these various agencies and social enterprises, many people with disabilities in Singapore receive assistance in their daily lives in terms of activities and financially. Nonetheless, how can we ensure that every individual with disabilities receives the help and support that they need? While we now adopt the "many helping hands" approach, with many-doors-open-and-no-wrong-door policy, can we again reconsider the feasibility of a one-stop umbrella body focusing on the people with special needs so that they know the common one door to knock on for any assistance they require? This is in line with one of the key proposals by the parents' workgroup on enhancing the financial needs of persons with special needs led by MP Denise Phua.

In Australia, there is "Centrelink", a government agency that delivers a range of services to the Australian community. Australians can turn to Centrelink for any assistance relating to human services, including disability support pension and connections to other disability support agencies. Australians who are in need only need to knock on one door to receive support from many other agencies. We could adopt such a policy to provide our less privileged fellow Singaporeans the one open door that would lead them to receiving support from "many helping hands".

Of course, this will mean that we become more involved and responsible for the assistance provided to our people with disabilities. To mild this effect, we could look into encouraging more caregivers to assist the individual disabled person.

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However, we do recognise that not every person with disabilities has family members who are able to care and support them. Some are without any family members to start with, while others have family members who need their jobs to support other members of the family.

With the high standards of living in Singapore, most of us need a regular paying job to support our families and ourselves. It is probably not practical anymore to rely just on volunteers to care for those with disabilities. At this point, I am suggesting that we, like in the United Kingdom, adopt the caregiver's allowance. The caregiver's allowance is not only limited to the family members, but anyone who is spending a reasonable amount of time to look after the disabled.

In the United Kingdom, the caregiver would receive a weekly allowance of about 47 pounds when he spends over 35 hours a week, ie, five hours a day, to take care of a person with disabilities. This is a fair implementation as these caregivers spend time, care and money to assist the disabled individuals. In Osaka City, Japan, caregivers are paid an allowance of 100,000 yen a year for providing nursing care to the elderly family members.

As we know, many caring individuals out there, some who are retired, are looking after the non-related people with disabilities out of their own pockets. With the caregiver's allowance, we would offer these caregivers greater means to reach out to more people who are in need of their time and attention. I believe such a policy could also suggest an alternative part-time work to some. I also believe active participation in such community services would help to nurture and mould a better character of Singaporeans, especially the young. Of course, we need to determine the acceptable criteria to be eligible for such allowances, and the allowance need not be a hefty payout.

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Sir, I also wish to highlight that while there are already plans to improve the barrier-free accessibility in communities and in public transportation as mentioned earlier, their implementation takes time, even years, to be completed. For example, the expectation for buildings in Orchard Road and Shenton Way to become disabled-friendly stretches out to five years. Also, with a ratio of 150 wheelchair-accessible buses to over 2,700 buses it owns, it will probably take another five to 10 years before SBS Transit could provide the wheelchair-accessible features in all its buses.

Every effort must be put into ensuring an integrated system of barrier-free accessibility, one that links from point A to point B, without any intervening obstacles. There is no point in having wheelchair accessible buses if the surrounding environment is not barrier-free. The challenge now is to upgrade and build the rest of the transport system and transport infrastructure, such as bus shelters, taxi stands and roads, to be accessible and compatible simultaneously.

During this period, while we look forward to better living and accessibilities for the people with disabilities, they continue to be sentenced to imprisonment in their own homes. Are we able to do more for these people during this period? Yes. As we incorporate new projects in this area, I think we could also relook at our current regulations and make appropriate changes to accommodate more innovative policies and schemes to enhance the current lives of our people with disabilities. A good example of innovation is the wheelchair gap enabler, an affordable innovative device jointly developed by the SPD and NTU School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. It is easily retrofitted onto any standard wheelchair and it allows the wheelchair user to cross gaps up to 30 cm wide, such as small drains.

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There was an interesting article published in The New Paper on 26th October 2006 about a middle-aged gentleman who was born with a deformed right hand. He sought help from Bizlink four years ago. The job hunt was not successful, not only because of his disability but also his age. Some years ago, he went for a job interview as a cleaner, together with 15 other applicants of all ages. The employer looked at his hands and asked if he was up to it. He replied that he could use his left hand to mop and sweep. In the end, the entire group was hired except him. The thought of seeking financial aid did not cross his mind. He said, "If I can work and support myself, why ask for help?"

Mr Speaker, Sir, to help our people with disabilities to be self-reliant and more independent, first, we may need to allow them the same opportunities that the others in the society are entitled to. Like in many countries, people with disabilities in Singapore should be entitled to the human rights of persons with disabilities.

Interestingly, Singapore has remained one of the few countries in the world not to adopt some form of legislation for the disabled population. Many neighbouring countries and the Western world have a Disability Act that spells out policies in key areas, such as education, employment, welfare support, accessibility and transport, for the disabled. By including in the "disabilities rights" that employers cannot deny an individual with disabilities of a job as long as he or she is capable of performing the standard responsibilities of the job requirements will certainly help to open more job opportunities for these people. While such a policy may stir some commotion at its initial implementation amongst those in the employer market, we are heeding the President's vision of an all-inclusive society for all Singaporeans. There is a need to have a change in mindset and behaviour. If these are what

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it takes to ensure fair and open opportunities amongst every individual in the society, we, as regulators, need to initiate policies to uphold such a system.

Having said all that, what is equally important is our "mental accessibility", our attitude to accommodate the physically-disabled. A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in the Vietnam war.

He called his parents from San Francisco: "Mum and dad, I am coming home, but I have a favour to ask. I have a friend I would like to bring home with me." "Sure", they replied. "We would love to meet him." "There is something you should know", the son continued. "He was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us." "I am sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere else to live." "No, mum and dad, I want him to live with us." "Son," said the father, "you do not know what you are asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we cannot let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He will find a way to live on his own." At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognised him but, to their horror, they also discovered something they did not know. Their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to work and relate

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to people who are normal and able-bodied, and there is a tendency to discriminate and shunt away from people who are "different" from us.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we need to cultivate in the minds of our people to be compassionate towards the minority of our society with disabilities. The public has to realise and accept that the physically-disabled and, similarly, the elderly, have equal rights to public transportation, education, employment and other basic necessities. As the President has mentioned, we need to urge our better off Singaporeans to help the less well off fellow citizens. We need to ensure that our people and our future leaders are imparted with the right values towards humanity in their mindset. The responsibility of making Singapore an inclusive society does not fall squarely in the hands of the Government alone. To really build an inclusive and gracious society, we must involve the people, the private sector and certainly the people with disability, to all work in unison.

Sir, I am thankful for having the opportunity to be standing here to offer my first parliamentary speech. More importantly, to be a voice for my less privileged fellow Singaporeans and, hopefully, that it makes a difference in their lives.

To conclude, I wish to reiterate that, as we strive forward together towards being a secure, prosperous and inclusive society, we need to unite as one Singapore, to put our HEARTS together for our less privileged fellow Singaporeans. We will put our HEARTS together to:

H - Hear the voices of our people with disabilities and understand their needs;

E - Empathise with them and take care of their livelihoods;

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A - Allow them equal rights and opportunities with the rest of our society;

R - Reach out to each and every one of them to ensure no one is left behind;

T - Take on the responsibility to provide them with the little push from the back whenever they start to fall behind;

S - Substantiate our commitment to them with innovative policies and initiatives in whichever areas required.

Let us come together as a nation to provide the trampoline with an inherent spring for our people with disabilities, to help them live a more complete and secure life.

Sir, on that note, I support the motion.

6.15 pm

Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Marine Parade): Mr Speaker, Sir, it is with great pleasure that I rise to make my speech in support of the Motion of Thanks to the President.

In his Address, the President outlined the challenges that globalisation poses today in creating an income divide within societies. He added that "while most Singaporeans will benefit from the opportunities that globalisation brings, some segments of our population are finding it more difficult to cope." He called for Singapore to respond boldly to this challenge, as a nation divided by wealth would create undesirable effects on our social cohesion that we have painstakingly cultivated during the last 41 years of nation-building.

Sir, it is on this note that the focus of my speech hinges upon, and by bridging this divide, Singapore would be a more inclusive society that leaves no one

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behind. If I may, Sir, let me divide my speech into two areas - one through "people investment" and the other "physical development of Singapore". But first, please allow me to dwell on my brief experiences as a first-time Member of Parliament, my perspectives on this issue through the eyes of my constituents. However, before I proceed with my speech in English, let me say a few words in Malay.

( In Malay ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Sir, along with the other communities, the Malay community has showed good progress in the past 41 years. However, we have to work hard to make further progress in this trend of globalisation. Along with the Government and the other people of Singapore, we have to give opportunities and a wide avenue or platform for those who can and have the ability to achieve success.
With globalisation, there will be sections of our community who will be left behind and face difficulties in achieving success.

In his speech, President Nathan has called upon us to work together to achieve success and face the challenges of globalisation. In this speech, I will present two issues which are related to Singapore's development in future. The first issue would be on people investment and, secondly, on the physical development of the country. I will continue my speech now in English.

( In English ): A report from Merril Lynch - Capgemini found that 1.5% of adult Singaporeans have assets exceeding US$1 million. The report added that our country's concentration of the wealthy is far higher than global. With the Integrated Resorts and our quest to be a vibrant global city poised to position Singapore in the forefront of the race to attract greater foreign investments and capital flows, the percentage of the wealthy is likely to increase in the coming years.

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Yet, Sir, during my meet-the-people sessions, walkabouts and block visits, I often meet a segment of my residents humbling themselves to seek financial assistance and emotional support. These are the humble yet hardworking and resilient people, ever wanting to contribute to the development and progress of Singapore. Further probing and understanding of the demographics of my constituents showed that a segment of them, as the President has highlighted in his Address, are grappling to manage the effects of globalisation.

In my earnestness to alleviate their sorrows by disbursing the funds and schemes from the recent initiatives of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, such as the ComCare Fund and the Public Transport Fund, from SMRT and ComfortDelgro, I often asked myself what we could do more to make a difference in the long run to stem a greater widening of the current income gap. However, how could I, as a professional and an academic, together with other Singaporeans, contribute to this process of bridging this divide?

Sir, examining the data on migrating trends and economic development in a global city like London, one could observe the high rate of internal migration in the United Kingdom as people seek greener pastures when they face an economic downturn. Having a large land mass and the availability of many alternative cities within the United Kingdom provides more options for the residents of London to move and search for greener pastures elsewhere. However, Singapore's spatial constraints may pose a great challenge for the lower segment of the society. This places greater responsibility on us - Singaporeans and the Government - to work together and implement effective policies to ensure that this segment of our population would benefit from our nation's success. However, having grown in this unique land of Singapore, I am

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confident that Singaporeans will be able to address this issue together and in an uniquely Singapore way.

_ People development _

As such, I fully support the President's call for investing in our future. The call to level up Singaporeans through education is a proven long-term approach, but I believe what we need in the intermediate term are increased investments in people development. Although a portion of our funds for the needy is still needed in providing relief for those with financial difficulties, we should continue providing opportunities for the unemployed to become self-employed, such as opening up small businesses and enterprises. An example would be to further enhance our effort to create opportunities for seed start-ups and allowing small businesses to grow in the HDB heartlands. We should consider fine-tuning our urban planning and licensing parameters to provide a conducive environment for such efforts to take off. This would provide favourable conditions for local businesses to spring up, empowering our people to be self-reliant, self-employed individuals, especially those who lost their jobs or have reached an age difficult to start new careers. However, to avoid misuse and mismanagement of these funds, sound regulatory measures should be put in place.

This, I believe, would be more relevant for this group of Singaporeans. While the Micro-Loan Programme by Spring Singapore offers up to $50,000 for small business set-ups, its criteria and application process may not be that friendly to the poor and uneducated. I wonder if we could develop or fine-tune an existing scheme that meets the needs of the uneducated with talents and skills to set up small scale 1-2 man family enterprises. I believe we, as a society, should provide opportunities for those who have the

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potential to make it, but do not have the means, such that those who can follow the tide should be given the chance to dive into the deep ocean.

Sir, one of the greatest gifts we could give to our children is education. However, in facing the challenges of globalisation and information age, there is still a need for some re-definition and re-interpretation of this role. I am pleased to note that this is signified in the efforts of the Ministry of Education's "teach less, learn more", which aims to engage our learners and prepare them for life. I understand that this initiative to re-define the way teaching methodologies are taught in schools is widely practised with encouraging results today. There is also now greater focus on character development and the inculcation of social emotional skills. Twinning programmes with overseas schools have also exposed our young with the experiences to better understand and relate to their peers from the region.

However, it is important to note that our young are growing up to the challenges of a new generation with different sets of values. As such, there is still a need for schools to continue inculcating our shared values so that our young would have a firm resolution of mission and responsibility for their country, are sensitive and tolerant to the needs of a multi-racial and religious citizenry and a sense of compassion for others. At the same time, this would also serve as a form of social defence for our nation and inevitably, put our young in a good state to face the challenges ahead. It is my hope, however, that these initiatives would be cascaded effectively to our schools with our fully internalising its intent.

Sir, to support the Ministry of Education's efforts, the community could

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also invest in programmes that fully utilise the local infrastructure, such as care centres, study corners and sports halls, for the young to study and discover their talents in a safe, secure and nurturing environment. For example, in my Division, a youth network has been set up to provide a platform for stakeholders within the Division to initiate programmes to engage the young. Besides investing in the development of skills and academic ability, I feel that we should also invest in projects and programmes that aim to fully unlock the vicious cycle of poverty that these people face and provide a longer term solution to their problems.

Sir, as part of being an inclusive society, we should continue to engage the elderly, especially those who are still economically active. We should recognise this segment of our population who have contributed much to our nation-building process. We should encourage a holistic approach in elderly engagement and management in providing our elderly with a platform to be more engaged with the community through forums that discuss on elderly issues, networking sessions and job placement programmes for the economically active. At the same time, we should try our best to provide an environment that promotes a meaningful and well-deserved retirement for our elderly.

Besides investing in our people, the task ahead of us is to continue to search, in partnership with the community and Government, for new forms of responses to problems of the ever complex and changing world. In bridging the income divide, I believe that the physical development of our nation is just also as crucial a process.

_ Physical development _

Sir, I would like to applaud the Ministry of National Development's recent

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plans to remake our city skyline. The efforts to rejuvenate and re-transform the Orchard Road and Marina Bay areas would give both tourists and Singaporeans a more wholesome environment and experience, thus allowing Singapore, the "red dot" on the map, to shine even brighter. The above could be summarised in the words of Minister Mah Bow Tan, who I quote, "to make Singapore a home for our people and a global city of distinction".

However, I would like to share with the House my observations of a growing difference in the transformation of the development landscape, taking place within the prime areas of the city, its periphery and those of the old heartland estates in the suburban areas. To date, the Ministry of National Development has also in place masterplans to transform the heartlands to improve the quality of life and increase the equity value of these areas so that no segment of our society is left behind. The Ministry of National Development's Addendum also outlines plans to renew and rejuvenate our HDB estates to improve on our first-class living environment. But in developing the heartlands, I believe we must also go beyond the various upgrading projects like IUP, MUP and LUP. While older and mature estates in the suburban areas have its charms, bigger unit per flat space and great food outlets, I believe a holistic estate renewal process would certainly enhance its attractiveness. This would call for greater efforts in injecting life and creating identity in areas such as streets, parks and shopping malls as well as retail stores so that the landscape could be further enhanced and is relevant to the residents of various social demographics.

A recent study which involved discussions amongst youths by a group of NUS undergraduates reflected some of the prevailing sentiments and aspirations of our youths for shopping scenes in Singapore and the heartlands. The

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majority of the youths who participated in the discussion felt that the retail landscape in the heartlands as relatively homogeneous in terms of its tenant mix and identity. They called for greater attractive facades and more unique architecture in the design of malls as well as creating greater variety and identity in the heartlands, thus inferring a need to remake the heartlands and add vibrancy to it.

Sir, it is with great passion, I stress, that in order to remake this city of ours and attract talents here, a more wholesome development and marketing of both the urban and heartland areas are needed. This would make our HDB estates a distinctively unique feature, attractive enough for tourists to visit during their stay here. In a recent interview by Pioneer magazine, Kaira Gong, a young local singer who had spent some time overseas mentioned, and I quote, "I feel that the HDB is a very unique aspect of Singapore because other countries do not have high-rise residences where people live so closely together." In fact, I received similar feedback from many fellow Singaporeans and foreign delegates who had the experiences of visiting our heartlands. In fact, many foreigners often suggested to me that we should have the Travel Card Pass system,

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like those in Europe, to encourage tourists to explore the whole of Singapore via the public transport system.

If the uniquely Singaporean culture culminated with a strong communal spirit in a vibrant heartland landscape is showcased, I believe we would become a greater attraction to tourists to visit. This would also improve the local economy and contribute to the wealth of the people, especially in the older heartlands. Other effects would include greater increase in the value of property, and this would subtly increase the asset wealth of residents in these areas.

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Sir, the call for a greater estate renewal process is imperative in suburban older estates like mine. I observe a growing trend of young people leaving for newer estates. Most of the youths I spoke to felt that the developments in the former are not fast enough to meet their needs and aspirations. During my block visits, residents often asked when lift upgrading would come and what other developments are taking place in the neighbourhood, as they had hoped that upgrading would enhance their accessibility and quality of life. In addition, the elderly constituents also look forward for more diverse composition of residents in the estate. I am pleased to note that the Ministry of National Development's Addendum stated plans that will enhance the living environment in the HDB estates to foster vibrant and cohesive communities. This point is supported by the Ministry of Law's Addendum which will devise new schemes and innovative mechanisms to let out State land to promote the development of a vibrant cityscape and revitalisation of our neighbourhoods.

Another noticeable trend from my meet-the-people sessions is that downgrading and searching for HDB rental flats seems to be a popular decision when residents face financial difficulties. These residents come from a range of categories, such as single parents, single working adults, low-income families, and those affected by a sudden financial crisis. However, many are caught unprepared in the web of committing themselves to long-term loans when they downgrade and this adds on to their financial burdens. Perhaps we could consider policies that would reduce their financial burdens, enhance their financial prudence, increase their disposable income after paying for housing loans and still having some savings in their CPF for their retirement.

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Sir, if I may, the above are sufficient calls for us to continue to look for more real estate ownership options to meet the ever changing needs of our society. For example, we should look for more housing options, be it short-term or long-term alternatives, that would alleviate the suffering of the low income. In the long run, Singapore would be a more forgiving and flexible society through policies that allow people to recover from failures or out of the poverty cycle. I say all these not to challenge or call for amendments to existing policies but to find new forms of responses to problems that have arisen from the ever complex and changing new world that have caused an income divide in some segments of our population.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the President in his Address mentioned that the people have given us a strong mandate to take them forward. The real work has long begun for us to find ways to make new connections, to join the ongoing dialogue with our electors to realise their aspirations and dreams. Despite the challenges ahead, I believe we will stand united as one people of different races living in harmony. I believe our people will continue to work hard to succeed and prosper together in the years ahead, making this red dot, in the words of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, "brighter, redder", a gracious and inclusive society for all.

On that note, I support the motion and I thank the House in earnest.