ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT

Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [6th March, 1981],

"That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April, 1981 to, 31st March, 1982.". - (Mr Goh Chok Tong Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Health).

Question again proposed. 3.20 p.m.

Mr J.F. Conceicao (Katong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the only reason why I happen to be the first speaker is that the Whip, like the HDB believes in "first-come-first-served." Sir, when I first became a Member of this august House, one of the first things I did was to go to the Parliament Library to look up Hansard. It was a salutary experience, Sir, because reading Hansard helped to take the wind out of my sails because I found that many of the things which I thought would shake this House had already been said and thought out before and that there was really nothing new under the sun, Sir, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose - the more things change, the more they seem to be the same, and it is so now. It is for this reason that I think much of what I wish to say is familiar, but it is still good to make a review, to restate premises, to hopefully push thinking forward, so that step by step some little success is achieved in the area which I wish to speak on.

Sir, I would like to deal with only one of the themes the Minister for Trade and Industry touched upon when he delivered the Budget Address. Although this theme appeared towards the end of the Minister's speech, it was by no means the least significant. Indeed, to me, it seemed the most challenging. The Minister concluded (I quote selectively):

'Economic growth, desirable as it is, is not an end in itself. It is the means to forge the kind of society we want... We have succeeded in getting the different races together, to build a team spirit. . . We must build on this strong foundation.'

In the course of its office the Government has provided institutionalized opportunities and encouraged many institutional procedures whereby Singaporeans may relate more closely to one another. Examples are the establishment of Citizens' Consultative Committees, the augmenting material support given to Community Centres, and their updating and improvement: the hardworking role of the People's Association in this effort; and more recently we have had the development of Residents' Committees, the necessity for which was triggered by rapid urbanization and, after all said and done, by the burgeoning achievements of the HDB.

Campaigns, such as for Courtesy and those aimed at crime prevention and reduction of traffic offences, as well as. Campaigns to spruce up the city, to encourage Mandarin-speaking (in order to simplify communication, and preserve a heritage) - all such efforts may be seen in the final count as really aimed at enhancing a sense of community.

Such and similar measures have been taken at the organized and institutional level. Attention is also being directed at the personal level as, for example, efforts at moral education in schools. I would like to sharpen this focus on the person.

We have been doing a great deal to imbue in our people a sense of community, even if the motivation has been utilitarian. Our efforts have in their deliberate planning been as great, if not greater than in most non-communist countries. It would be useful, therefore, to take stock, and draw up a kind of balance sheet - an appropriate exercise for this budget occasion.

For a background we can remember that about 40 years ago we were being exhorted. as British subjects, to be loyal and even to be ready to fight to defend - what? Singapore? Malaya? Let us say - to defend our homes! And indeed (in parenthesis) the names of some of my friends of different races born in Singapore are engraved on the Kranji memorial. They took it seriously, as perhaps they should have.

Then the Japanese came. They made it seem as if their rule would last forever. They exhorted us to respect Tenno Heika, and taught us the words of their national hymn Kimigayo, as well as martial airs, the words of which can, after 40 years, still tumble forth quite easily, at least from my mouth, Sir.

After this, the British returned. And nationalist agitation was mounted against them, in which some Members in this House took part. A phase arrived when we became Malaysians. We have only recently become Singaporeans.

Singapore prospered, and inevitably the population went through various stages of bourgeoisification [Interruption] - there are many bourgeois in this House, Sir, and the nouveau riche emerged. It would appear that the very rich face outlandish hazards, including the obscene prospect of using 18-carat gold keys to obtain access eventually to their whirlpool baths - if a recent newspaper report and editorial are anything to go by.

For the run-of-the-mill Singaporean, the more likely moral hazard is the possession of a car. Driving in Singapore is a good symbol of Singapore life. A spirit of free enterprise - but one gone frequently haywire - prevails on the road. Here, one apparently tries to get ahead of others, seemingly at any cost, certainly at some, or even considerable risk. A driving licence is sometimes taken literally to mean permission to drive licentiously. Highway desperadoes inevitably meet their deserts, but who pays? All Singaporeans, Sir, because all are diminished by tragedy that is senseless and caused only by disregard of one citizen for the rest.

On the road, one very basic principle of community relationship is all too often absent - respect for the other person. Yet it is this respect and concern that we are really underlining when we say that care for the aged is essentially a responsibility of the individual, not of institutions. It is also a concern for life that bothers people like the Member for River Valley when he expresses conscientious reservations over our present abortion policy. At the same time, as we are considering the question of mutual concern, we might examine the degree of care we show for the handicapped. And when we - think of our children who are whole and healthy, is there more that could be done towards ensuring their humane development as against rousing their competitive instincts.

These are seemingly disparate elements - traffic, the aged, abortion, the handicapped, our healthy school children. But I do not think it takes a metaphysical effort to see that they are all related on the point of human concern. Practical constraints force a treatment of separate problems by separate bureaus. Politicians cannot legislate for total concern. But education can help if it is a continuing, life-long process, and not thought of as a formal school effort merely.

Constraints must be viewed practically. One has to agree with the Minister for Culture that we should try to understand the political and social imperatives that have resulted in some of the features we see in Singapore today. I am sure also that the pattern of these imperatives has changed - not so much that there are fewer imperatives, or that they are less urgent, but that their nature has changed.

Let us take some considerations that may still affect us today:

(a) we were too many,

(b) we were too divergent in origins,

(c) we were too clannish,

(d) we were poor,

(e) we were a peculiar mixture of recalcitrance and the unquestioning in attitude.

And we can add to all this: but, as one might say, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." We now seek a higher and more sensitive quality of the individual in terms of talent and promise; we have all the makings of a good team; we have to transcend mere love for the family as much as we have to preserve this love; we have nearly-full employment; we shall always have a measure of disaffection among us, but I hope that the cult of obedience which is allegedly a characteristic of the Ministry of Education will find no ground in our culture. I am not saying we should not obey, but we should not make a cult of obedience.

Related to all such imperatives is the proposition, put forward by not a few, Sir - and they are thinking people, loyal Singaporeans - that what has principally held us together are good leadership and common economic goals. I suggest, Sir, that the problem is worth looking at on the basis of this hypothesis. Our sufficiencies and insufficiencies are thereby bared.

Where leadership is concerned, the old order is changing, giving place to the new. I respect and admire the new, Sir. But I would like to say a few words about the elder leadership, and this includes such people as the Member for Anson, who has always, in my mind, been a sort of Minister without Portfolio or Minister for Revolutionary Evolution, or something like that.

Sir, it would be difficult to find in any part of the world such a collective as our original leadership. How men of such diverse intellects and characters became united in a single dedicated enterprise is a historic fact, but a mystery! And it threatens to remain a mystery. Were not the strands out of which our leaders wove their achievement human strands? Did they not suffer frustrations, did they not face failure, did they not plot, were they not afraid, did they not enjoy success, did they not marry, have a family life? Had they no foibles? Where the latter is concerned, I am sure Members here may be able to make a list.

Sir, we do not seek revelations. But the same commitment that made our leaders what they are should urge them to consider relating how they came to be what they are. We no longer need to depend only on Raffles for a founding father image. The imperatives have changed. Raffles and the others were literally non-starters in the story of independent Singapore. They were the ghosts out of the colonial machine. We have human beings to inspire us, who have lived and moved and been with us.

There is a debt owed to the coming generation that needs to be paid by showing the flesh and blood example of the elders. They should not hide their light under a bushel.

On the other point of the common material goal of well-being, may I point to the ceremonial pledge taken by our children in schools:

"We the citizens of Singapore pledge ourselves as one united people regardless of race, language or religion to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation." Treating this script only as a historical document, I wonder if this statement of philosophy is adequate as a bond. Perhaps it was adequate for its time. But the imperatives are changing. If we have to replace one abstraction for another, we could talk of comradeship and working together, mutual support and virtue (virtue meaning manliness for the man and womanliness for the woman), or right conduct. All this may sound old-fashioned and not as jazzy as happiness, prosperity and progress, but may be more useful, and would still embrace prosperity and progress and bear them up more gracefully.

It may be true that, for a variety of reasons, Singaporeans do not find it easy to relate to one another. It could be a relic of diverse origins, of a "family-first" cultural tradition, of suspicion that operated in a self-preserving way at one time, which may still be healthy in certain circumstances today. It is a lack of ease which education is over-coming, but it is still there. If I may give an example which I am familiar or even intimate with. For example, during religious service which I am obliged to attend on Sundays, there is a juncture during Mass when there should be a fraternal exchange of greetings. This takes place, if at all, in Singapore, under conditions characterized by an awkwardness I have not noticed in many parts of the world.

If, under conditions when one should feel secure, a greeting is so diffidently given, then one can understand why it is difficult for Singaporeans to express views and ask questions - processes necessary for the exer- cise of good citizenship. We may even go further. In several instances I have noticed that people prefer to bear up with a tolerable nuisance than speak to offending neighbours for fear of themselves giving offence. In the extreme, there is reluctance to report to authorities small transgressions, although it would be an act of good citizenship to do so. Good citizenship is just the ability of people to get together and act together for the common good. But this is based on confidence in one another, which seems to be lacking.

Singaporeans apparently must learn to relax towards one another, to learn to uphold trust, and indeed in a responsible way to trust one another. It is perhaps for this that the cultural arts may be employed to soften - [Interruption] No, I said in a responsible way, Mr Minister. It is perhaps for this that the cultural arts may be employed to soften the attitude of one Singaporean towards the other, to make people sensitive in their mutual relations.

It is the soul of a people that the arts should reflect to a large degree. One outstanding example is the representation of the Singapore river in art. The throb of Singapore's life, even through the passage of time, is symbolized by the River in the ebb and flow of its traffic, indeed of its own life. Could we not try consciously to evoke or synthesize from our environment more of such symbols for the common understanding?

It is both gratifying and at the same time off-putting for a thoughtful person to consider that the one outstanding symbol of Singapore which we have plucked out of the advertiser's imagination, and associated it with success is the symbol of SIA. Even Singaporeans accept the package, where in many cases they look for the foreign product.

Still on the subject of the arts, I wonder whether we can generate the skills to produce one or two series in drama for our TV, this being such a well-patronized medium. Such series could reflect aspects of basic living in Singapore and feature characters and situations that can strike a responsive chord in Singaporeans. Why not a comedy series, for people get drawn together by laughter - especially if they laugh at themselves. We have seen naive attempts to satirize stock communal stereotypes on our media. Could we try to move from such primitive representations to more thoughtful characterizations? These are just one or two ideas to serve simply as examples. I am sure we can generate, with our ingenuity, a lot more ideas than 1, in the paucity of my imagination, have propounded. We need not wait for a dramatic or a comic genius to emerge. This is the age of the committee, and the team. Many good TV scripts have come not from individuals but from group effort.

I observe our TV trying to popularize songs. The community achievement will result when people sing these songs. Watching excerpts of a road-show, I noticed few joining in community singing. When our commuters and those who transport them "Smile every mile - for wherever you roam, it will brighten your road, it will lighten your load, if you sing your way home", then we would have arrived at a blessed juncture of community.

Meanwhile, we have to work hard and exercise every bit of goodwill to instil a sense of fraternity in our people. However hard we work to ensure our people imbibe tried and tested values and virtues, we should continue to see religion as a tried and tested vehicle. There is no room for bigotry in our society. But the person who tries to find his spiritual commitment to society through his belief in a religion, however often he may find the going difficult or even unsuccessful at times, is a community asset.

Mr Yeo Choo Kok: ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, if the personal relief for income tax could be raised this year in addition to the 10% tax rebate, then the new Budget will benefit more taxpayers and be more welcome. The only resource we have is human resource. Even in this respect there is a shortage because many vacancies in the Government departments and in the private sector cannot be filled. This is probably because of the fact that our economy has grown too rapidly that there are more jobs around than the manpower available for them. On the other hand, it shows that there is a lack of proper planning in our manpower utilization.

In his statement, the Minister for Trade and Industry mentioned that as at 30th August, 1980, there were 8,353 vacancies in the permanent Government establishment. This is a very serious problem. Mr Speaker, Sir, in the Government departments, especially in the permanent establishments, there must be reasons and the necessity to create any post. Since the posts have been created but could not be filled, I believe such a large number of vacancies will affect the efficiency of the various Government departments to a certain extent. The Government should try to solve this problem. In the same statement, the Minister said thus, "Labour force surveys show that our workers begin to stop working after 50-55 years old." He also said that because of the increase in the life span of the Singaporeans, "premature" retirement has become an economic waste. Sir, on the one hand, there are more than 8,000 vacancies that could not be filled, but on the other hand, there is the premature retirement that causes economic wastage. This clearly shows that in the use of manpower there is a certain lack of proper coordination and harmonization. I know of an example. A clerk in a certain Government department was compelled to retire at the age of 56. But soon he was re-employed by another Government department. They are all Government departments. In one department, it is an economic waste, to another it is utilization. The Government should set an example and not compel civil servants to retire too early. Therefore, in order to achieve optimum use of our human resources, we should legislate that the retirement age, be it in the Government or in the private sector, should be set uniformly at 60 years. Otherwise, with the excellent health service that we have today, we will have a lot of retirees still in good health. In terms of age, although they may be eligible for applying for a hawker-licence, however, invariably there will not be enough hawker stalls for them. This forced idleness will be, on the one hand, a personal agony to them, on the other hand, it will be a waste of our human resource. This is therefore a pressing social problem that needs to be tackled.

The new Budget will mostly benefit those in the high income group. The higher their income, the more tax rebate they will get. Although the Government is encouraging people to do more work, to be more productive and to make more money, my worry is that talented people will avail themselves of the opportunity and go all-out making money, but stint on lending a hand to social services which are not money-making. There is a price for stability and social peace in our nation. It is not too much to expect those who can afford to pay more tax to give more as a price for social peace and tranquillity. At present, housing is the most taxing problem to those in the middle-income group. Their income is neither too high nor too low. Therefore, they are compelled only to apply for HUDC flats. But the performance of the HUDC hitherto has been very poor. The rate of construction is slow and there have been constant changes to their rules and regulations and other uncertainties while building prices keep increasing. All this has added on and brought about a sense of discontent and disaffection to these people. The 10% tax rebate will not be able to solve their housing problem. The Government should try positively to solve this problem. 3.49 p.m.

Mr M.K.A. Jabbar (Radin Mas): ( In Tamil): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am very grateful to the Minister for Trade and Industry for presenting the 1981 Budget in such a way that everyone could understand the Government's financial policy. I whole-heartedly welcome his statement.

Sir, the People's Action Party is primarily a democratic, socialist movement. Hence, it has proved that it has not lost its grip with the masses by offering concessions in personal income tax. But some taxpayers receive demand notices even after the have paid their taxes in full. I do not know why. Officials say it is the mistake of the computer. But this creates fear among people. The Minister for Finance should help to remedy this.

Sir, the Minister has in his statement explained very clearly the duties of Singapore youths. But some of our youths do not yet understand how the Government works, how we live happily in Singapore, what sacrifices our elders have made and are making to bring about this prosperity. They are reluctant and refuse to know what were the conditions in hospitals, schools, community centres and HDB about 20 years ago. We, therefore, must send our youths to our neighbouring countries so that they may gain more knowledge about such things. By this, our youths may realize the benefits of our democratic and socialist Government. They will then know how understanding our Government is towards them. We could also save our youngsters from being misguided by out-side politicians. They could be made to understand our economic development and the fame our Republic has achieved among other nations.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I appreciate that certain good principles are being adopted in the allocation of Government funds. It is true that preference should be given to certain expenditures. The Singapore Improvement Trust became the Housing and Development Board. The lifts in the former SIT flats are still functioning under the HDB, but they fail to function properly. Why can these lifts not be changed? The people, including elders, who use these lifts to go out to pay PUB charges are affected.

Lots of people gather in HDB estates during weddings, funerals, etc. They suffer from a lack of public convenience facilities. Sometimes they are provided with mobile toilets but these are not enough. Hence, some people make use of the lifts to ease themselves. Therefore, more money should be allocated for the provision of common toilets in HDB estates. If need be, a small fee could be collected from the users. I hope the Minister responsible will look into this.

Community centres have been built all over the island. But only a few are open on Sundays and public holidays in the mornings. It would be better if they also open in the mornings of Sundays and public holidays so that our youths and old people can make use of them and the Government should not hesitate to spend more, if necessary, for such activities.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I welcome the call to save water and electricity. But for the Government to say that the present 50 cents late payment charge may be increased is regrettable. As an alternative, I would like to suggest that the employers could do what the POSB and other banks are doing presently. The employers could deduct the PUB charges from the salaries of their employees, as they do for CPF. Time of their employees will be saved and their productivity will increase. And more important, if the Minister implements this suggestion, there will be less headache for the PUB.

Finally, Sir, we the PAP Backbenchers submit our honest views here. And we want our people to get the benefits. I understand that some people state that we are here simply to say "Yes" to everything. But I deny it strongly. We are here to debate.

Sir, the Budget as submitted by the Minister for Trade and Industry has my support. 3.55 p.m.

Mr Ho Kah Leong (Jurong): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, on the 6th of this month when the Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Health presented to Parliament for the last time the financial budget for the next financial year on behalf of the Government, he gave a parting ogle to all the tax-payers by reducing the tax burden of our law-abiding working people. Even more praise-worthy is the spirit and substance of the whole budget, namely, the adoption of more equitable measures of taxation so that the more the people are made to bear the burden of tax the more will they be able to understand that everyone has a duty towards his country. And, at the same time, it will also encourage the people to work diligently according to individual ability and to contribute his best to the country.

Sir, under the guidance of a correct financial policy, our economic growth has never lagged behind others. Last year, when the international economic conditions were not favourable, we could still achieve a 10.2% growth rate. It was indeed a very laudable feat. This is the result of the joint effort and diligence of all our people and it is also a manifestation of the initial success of our economic restructuring. If every year our economy can reap good harvest, then before the close of the 80s we shall be singing victory songs in praise of our economic restructuring. I appreciate, in particular, a passage from the Minister's speech just before he concluded his delivery as it has profound philosophical connotation that would turn on one's mind and should merit repeated careful studies.

I will quote this significant message by the Minister when he said that:

'The Government must work for the people. The people must work with the Government, to bring about a cohesive and harmonious society, where our children and our children's children will continue to live, work and play in an ever-improving Singapore.' This message is full of significance and depth. Not only the ordinary people should read this speech of the Minister, civil servants should even make a bible out of it so that they may understand why the Government should serve the people and how the civil servants should observe and execute this principle and tenet "that civil servants are the public servants of the people."

With the increase in the petrol price, all non oil-producing countries of the world have to take measures to reduce the consumption of oil. Energy-saving campaigns have appeared with a message loud and clear. Singapore being a non oil-producing country has also to resort to campaigns on energy saving and to conservation policy. But I feel that what we have done in the past is not positive enough, because our annual consumption of oil has not shown any reduction in the past. I am now glad to note that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is launching a campaign leading the way in conservation of energy. Let me give some suggestions for their reference.

First, the Traffic Police has advised motor-cyclists to switch on their headlights even in the day in order to ensure road safety. But I feel that since motor-cycles give out a very loud noise which can be heard at a distance it is not necessary to switch on the headlight to attract attention as this is a waste of energy and is against the principle of energy conservation.

Secondly, many street lights are automatically switched on and off. But very often we see some street lights still switched on during the day owing to poor maintenance or for some other reasons. This is undoubtedly a waste of public funds. I hope the PUB will pay more attention to this complaint.

Thirdly, the PWD's road-building result is very significant. Everybody can see that. However, the authorities concerned perhaps could pay attention to reducing the distance for motor vehicles to make a U-turn. Along certain roads the U-turn is very far off. This results in vehicles having to make unnecessary runs, thus wasting a lot of petrol. Perhaps the PWD could spend some time to devise some means whereby the distance for motorists to make a U-turn is shortened; otherwise this would mean an unnecessary wastage of petrol and money. If they can do something to cut down on road travel, we might be able to save a lot of money in a year.

The opposite of saving money is wasting money. If private individuals waste money, it is a matter affecting their own purse. But if Government departments or statutory boards waste money, then they will be wasting public funds. This is not what they should do. Owing to the inability of various Government departments to coordinate, certain roads have been dug up several times over. It is not only wasting public money but also causing inconvenience to the public. Further- more, when yellow box junctions were first introduced, they were indicated by multiple cross-lines, but now these have been changed to only two cross-lines drawn diagonally in the yellow box. I notice that the PWD is spending a lot of energy on erasing the multiple cross-lines and replacing them with two diagonally-crossed lines. Why could they not wait until the lines have faded out before painting new ones? This is another good example of wastage of public funds.

There are more examples. The Housing and Development Board has, for no rhyme or reason, dug up half a well-built carpark only to replace it with holed cement slabs, the usefulness of which I fail to see. However, I cannot fail to notice that the replaced area is accumulating rubbish, cigarette butts, and causing unnecessary inconvenience to ladies in high-heeled shoes. This is again another example of wastage of public funds, and furthermore they have to get people to clear the rubbish and cigarette butts from the square holes which again costs still more money. I do not know whether civil servants nowadays are still aware of the concept that civil servants are servants of the public, because there are many instances to show that they are troubling others for their own convenience.

A case in point is the car parking coupon system which is another good example to illustrate what I have said. According to a press report, the URA and the HDB have now agreed to allow the different parking coupons to be used in both car parks but the motoring public have already suffered loss of money and inconvenience. In this regard I hope the Minister concerned can go a step further in improving the system by allowing free parking for short periods, and if the operative time is slightly exceeded, this should be made up by displaying additional parking coupons. Otherwise there will be a lot of dissatisfaction and complaints all round if they try to create the habit of using coupon merely by imposing fines. If we could achieve the educative purpose by imposing fines, then the First Deputy Prime Minister need not have to engage so many systems engineers in the Ministry of Education to help him implement the Government's education policy.

I therefore sincerely hope that our civil servants can be guided by the principle of serving the people well and not try to do things for their own convenience. At the same time, they must always think of saving public funds and not think that they can waste money as they please because it belongs to the public. To mobilize all the people to cooperate fully with the Government so as to advance our economy to higher levels, the attitude of civil servants is decisive. 4.05 p.m.

Dr Koh Lip Lin (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to congratulate the Minister for Trade and Industry for presenting, once again, a good budget which is welcomed by all.

Sir, I am not an expert in budget or in financial matters, therefore I am not competent to criticize the budget. However, I would like to make some comments as a layman.

The obvious part missing from this year's budget is the part on the Ministry of Science and Technology which is being closed down or will be closed down soon. The disappearance of the Ministry of Science and Technology has aroused in me, and I believe in other scientists also, a sad feeling.

As mentioned by the Minister in his Budget Statement, the prime objective of our future plan is to develop Singapore into a modern industrial economy based on science and technology. It is ironical that the Ministry of Science and Technology has to be dissolved at this juncture. Apparently the Ministry has been unable to function as it should.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not commenting on the ability of those former Ministers for Science and Technology. In fact, they are all my favourite Ministers whom I respect. Someone has told me that this is a case of "Bad wind and water". In Mandarin, it is Feng shui bu hao ( ). But being a scientist I do not think I should believe in the wind and water theory. Sir, it must be one of the things which did not work out because of some complex factors.

However, I hope that the closing down of the Ministry of Science and Technology is not to be taken as an indication of the low priority given to science. Modern technology and industry are science-based. All the progress, know-how, and development in modern technology are results of applications of basic sciences. If we are going to develop Singapore into a technology and service centre, we will need, in addition to technicians and engineers, people who are trained in various areas of science as well as modern scientific facilities.

I am happy to note that the Government is considering several plans to promote industrial R and D, as mentioned in the Appendix I of the Budget Statement. These include the setting up of a Science and Technology Park and a few other projects. I am sure these plans will be implemented in the next few years as a matter of necessity. As a result of the upgrading of our industry, increased R and D activities, and increasing sophistication of our manufacturing operations, there will be increasing need for competent scientific services, quality scientific manpower and modern scientific facilities. It is, therefore, important for us to be prepared so that we will not face a shortage of scientific manpower and facilities when we need them.

Take, for example, the current shortage of computer manpower, I remember it was in 1975 that we started to offer Computer Science as a subject in the College of Science at Nanyang University. It took us, myself and my colleagues, considerable effort to persuade the University to introduce the subject and the Government to allow the University to do so. There were objections and doubts from people within and outside the University. They wanted to know what we could do with unemployed or unemployable computer science graduates. We almost had to scrap the programme. But we managed to push it through. And today, only five years later, computer science graduates are in good demand. The average salary of a computer science graduate is at least 20% higher than that of a science graduate in other disciplines.

In fact, the Age of Computer has arrived in Singapore. All of a sudden you hear people everywhere, from Ministers to managers to school children, talking about computers and computerization, software and hardware; and we have a shortage of computer manpower. According to the Report of the Committee on National Computerization, we need to increase our computer manpower by eight times in the next 10 years. Had we not started the computer science subject at Nanyang University in 1975, the situation would be even worse.

What I am driving at, Sir, is that although the Ministry of Science and Technology has been closed down, we must continue to maintain a high level of scientific competence, to produce good quality science graduates and to develop sufficient scientific facilities, so that these can support our future development in making Singapore a centre of technology and services. I hope that Government will continue to support with generous funds for the future development of the various scientific organizations, namely, the Faculty of Science of NUS, the Department of Scientific Services, SISIR, the Science Council and the Science Centre.

Now that the Department of Scientific Services is within the Ministry of Health, the Science Centre within the Ministry of Education, and Science Council within the Ministry of Trade and Industry, I hope they will continue to grow and flourish.

Mr Speaker, Sir, let me now turn to the Budget Statement. To most Singaporeans, the highlight of the 1981 Budget Statement is the section on Tax Concessions.

The provision to allow married professional women to have their unearned income assessed in their names will certainly be welcomed by working professional wives.

Increased earned income relief for disabled persons is to be commended. However, the Inland Revenue Department will have to give a clear definition of a disabled person. Or else MPs may have to do the job of certifying their disabled constituents in their meet-the-people sessions. The most welcome tax concession is, of course, the 10% rebate for personal income tax. The proposed reduced tax rates for 1982 are indeed something to look forward to. The reduction in personal income tax will leave the taxpayers with more money to spend, and is therefore beneficial also to non-taxpayers. I wonder what further concessions can the Minister of Education give when he presents the 1982 Budget.

The raising of the exemption ceiling for estate duty on residential properties to $600,000 is another timely decision. To put it in the words of the Member for Whampoa, many property owners can now afford to die. But I believe this concession benefits relatively few people. I wonder if the Minister has any figures to show the number of Singaporeans who own residential properties of more than $200,000, and also how many of them are expected to die each year?

While there are good news for the taxpayers, there are bad news for the tax evaders. I do not wish to name the professions of those who are likely to evade tax, and I think it is not fair to single out taxi-drivers and hawkers. Again, I do not know how many taxi-drivers and hawkers pay income tax honestly. I hope some do. But I think, as tax evaders, they, especially the taxi-drivers, are smaller fish. I hope the Inland Revenue Department will be able to net the big ones.

The Minister mentioned the possibility of presumptive taxation. This is, of course, one way to compel some people to pay tax. But it may not be fair, because those who earn more than the average will benefit and those who earn less than the average will be penalized.

Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to comment on something which was not mentioned by the Minister in his Statement. It is the two-tier NWC wage increase. The two-tier system apparently has met with difficulty in implementation. Many people think that, instead of boosting the morale of the better workers, it might work the opposite way. The fact that it takes so long for the Government departments and the statutory boards to decide who should get the upper tier NWC increase is evidence of the difficulty encountered.

It is perfectly reasonable to award better workers with higher NWC wage increase. The unreasonable part of last year's NWC scheme is the proposal to set the boundary at 25% from the bottom, and to assess the top 75% above-average. Statistically, such a distribution is highly improbable. In fact, one can be a relatively lousy worker, say, ranking 300/o from the bottom, and still gets the upper tier NWC. This will be demoralizing for the real top performers. A better system may be a three-tier system. For instance, the workers can be classified as: bottom 25% - below average, middle 50% - average, and top 25% - above average. However, I think the simplest way, one which will be welcomed by most employers, is to go back to the one-tier system. The good workers can be rewarded by merit increments, promotion or bonuses, the bad ones by some form of penalty.

Sir, on this note, I support the Budget Statement by the Minister for Trade and Industry. 4.17 p.m.

Mr Lai Tha Chai (Henderson): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, originally I did not intend to say anything in praise of the Minister for Trade and Industry for his Budget Statement, but if one has read his Budget Statement over and over again, it would be going against one's conscience not to praise him. So I have to say something in praise of him.

I only want to touch on two points. First, he told us about the tax rebate, as was referred to by the Member for Nee Soon just now, of 10% which was welcomed by all and made everybody happy, including me. The second point is the increase in the exemption ceiling for estate duty. That is also welcomed by the middle-income group. All these are reasonable measures, based on actual situations which nobody can say are bad.

There is another point that he has presented to us. This is of a long term nature, It is the ten-year development plan. It is a very good measure. In the past we used to say, "how we are going to plan for the current year" or "how we are going to plan for the next year". But now he has enunciated a plan for the 10 years ahead to indicate to us the path that we should take in order to realize the present standard of living enjoyed by the Japanese. I think this is particularly praiseworthy and merits special study. But just singing praises to the long-term plan is not enough; we must also be able to see what are the good points and what are the bad points as well.

The Member for Nee Soon pointed out that the Minister had indicated that he could say certain things only outside this House. On the evening of 18th February, 1981, the Hon. Minister for Trade and Industry particularly stressed, at a Chinese New Year Dinner, about a very particular point almost in the whole of his speech. I think you too, Sir, attended that function on the evening of 18th February. The Hon. Minister referred to the increasing number of old people, as was pointed out by the Member for Delta that if you have more and more old people retiring and idling, there will arise more problems of the aged. So the Hon. Minister then said that the children should look after their aged parents and that we should think of the source when we drink water. He quoted a number of Chinese proverbs on that occasion: all very well said and very moving. So I would like him now to apply what he has said outside this House on what he is supposed to do in his Budget before this House.

There is a provision for annual tax relief for the maintenance of aged parents, but it is a mere pittance. Although we agree that the number of taxpayers should not be reduced, there should be an increase in the allowance for the maintenance of parents, because the Minister has said so outside this House. Therefore, he should act accordingly in this House. The PAP Government has always been noted for doing what it has said, practising what it preaches. Since the Minister has already said that we must take care of our parents, respect and love our parents, then it is for us to think of feasible ways to implement this policy and philosophy. For people like me, there should be no problem, but some younger people have forgotten this obligation to their parents. They may know how to use the computer but either they have not yet learned to look after their parents with computers or they have forgotten how. Although it may be a financial problem for young people to look after their parents, this is not just a financial problem alone. It is also a social and cultural problem as well.

On Culture, the Minister for Trade and Industry said that he wanted to increase the tax on gambling. I said, "Good." I agree with him. It should have been done long ago and not wait until now to decide to increase the duty on lottery and gambling. It may be too late, but it is better late than never. But I do not agree to the increase in entertainment duty on performances, though only by a small margin. I want to ask him why. What is the rationale? Even though the amount is not very high, why should he impose such a tax on cultural entertainment? If the entertainment provided at night-clubs and restaurants is classified as yellow culture or yellow entertainment, then such a tax may yet be endorsed as a discouragement to such a culture. But if that is what should be done, then I would ask what is the Minister for Culture doing? What kind of performance is yellow and what is not yellow is, I believe, within the portfolio of the Minister for Culture. Where is the Minister for Culture? Why should the Minister for Trade and Industry take over his portfolio? Or does he want to encroach upon his territory?

Sir, I do not mean to say that he knows only how to deal with finance without any capacity to deal with cultural matters. From the Budget Statement that he has delivered in this House, he is noted to be well versed and talented culturally. Just as what the hon. Member for Jurong has said, the concluding paragraphs of his speech have been so well written that I have particular admiration for them. The concluding portion is just wonderful and everybody must read it. I have already read it so many times that I can recite it by heart. From these paragraphs, I think he is also culturally endowed and he could even have bettered the present Minister for Culture. But what I want to emphasize here is that various performances staged by the many cultural organizations in the National Theatre, Singapore Conference Hall and the Victoria Theatre are performances of a cultural nature and of the proper colour, not yellow culture. And owing to the high expenses involved against a possible meagre income, they do not dare stage more and better cultural performances because they have to bear great costs for this kind of wholesome performances. So goes the saying, "once bitten twice shy," it may not be worth repeating. So I feel that the Government should, instead of increasing the duty on such performances, reduce it to encourage and support such cultural performances, because taxation on this kind of performance will not help to promote culture. Where is the merit of this measure for the propagation of culture and the raising of cultural standards?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would therefore like to express the hope that the Hon. Minister will, in addition to his tasks in the economic field, address his thought and effort to the cultural aspect of Singapore in order to propagate culture and promote the implementation of loyalty, filial piety, patriotism before love for one's family and all the other virtues. I feel that the Minister knows better than I do that, in spite of all the financial and material achievements, a country still needs a good cultural foundation. For a country devoid of culture or lacking in a sound cultural foundation, as the Member for Katong has just said, in the short-term, of course, we may appear sound and secure, prosperous and progressive since our independence for nearly two decades, but can it survive long and will it endure forever? Nobody knows. It depends on what we do now and the efforts of the people. I sincerely hope that the Hon. Minister will brood over this well.

Sir, I support the Motion. 4.27 p.m.

Mr Rohan bin Kamis (Telok Blangah): Mr Speaker, Sir, it is truly difficult not to congratulate the Hon. Minister for Trade and Industry on what has been generally considered as a good budget. It is yet another balanced but painless budget, especially when we compare this with the budgets of other countries, even the developed countries well-known to us.

However, like all honest tax-payers, I would like to see more tax cuts but I must be realistic and be thankful for what we have, especially with the gloomy world economic backdrop. This budget is the result of the people's hard work under the guidance of our good Government.

In his budget speech, the Minister commented, and I quote:

'For our society to remain durable the old must take care of the young, and the young the old. The able must support the disabled and the destitute. The employers must look after the interests of their staff, and staff must be loyal to their companies. The Government must work for the people. The people must work with the Government, to bring about a cohesive an,l harmonious society, where our children and our children's children will continue to live, work and play in an ever improving Singapore.'

From the above speech, one can conclude that the Minister has mellowed greatly especially when, for the first time as far as I can remember, the Income Tax Department, which is well-known for being able to squeeze blood out of stone, is giving a discount in the form of a 10% rebate. To add to this feeling, I notice that lately the replies from the Income Tax Department in the papers, give the impression that the staff are human after all.

For this reason, I would urge that the Government consider favourably two items. They are the plight of the pensioners and the 'left-out feeling' of the ladies in the civil service with regard to medical benefits for their spouses and children.

Plight of Pensioners

Now it seems that one cannot afford to retire. We know that we cannot expect inflation to go away; at best we can minimize it. Therefore, many pensioners, especially those who depend on their monthly pension for survival and have no other source of income, are finding great difficulty to make ends meet with the cost of living escalating and the purchasing power of the dollar shrinking each year. I hope that the Government would consider adjusting the monthly pensions to keep in step with at least the Consumer Price Index. This can easily be done by pegging it directly or indirectly proportional to the Consumer Price Index. Only in this way could the pensioners keep up with inflation. Otherwise, with inflation, they would have to be running in order to stay still. Furthermore, we can afford it and this could be one of the sincerest forms of appreciation towards the pensioners who have contributed, in no small measure, their time, their effort and their dedication to help make Singapore what she is today.

This will also bring cheer to the civil servants and they will not need to think of having to change their jobs mid-way in their career for the private sector in order to ensure that they will be well taken care of.

Medical Benefits for Female Civil Servants

In the case of the medical benefits which female civil servants are entitled to, I have a feeling that this is a hang-up from the colonial days when man is Lord and Master of the Home and the woman is treated as part of his property. SBC now features the Singapore flag and its full meaning at the start and end of each day's broadcast. While one of the stars in our flag stands for Equality, I feel that equality in terms of medical benefits entitlement for the female civil servants has not been given. I notice that the female civil servants are now enjoying their right to equal pay. However, it is most unfortunate that administratively, the medical benefits entitlement for these ladies have not been up to the mark, that is, the female civil servants' spouses and children are not medically covered as in the case of male civil servants. In such a case, I am sure, Mr Speaker, Sir, many ladies would have some choice words to describe the situation, most of which would be pertaining to items of a zoological nature.

I am not for one moment suggesting that the female civil servants should be given any special consideration. What I am saying is that they should be given the equal rights and benefits that they so deserve. In giving medical benefits to the spouse and particularly the children of the female civil servants, it does not at all mean that they should be entitled to double the medical benefits should their husbands be in the civil service too. The ladies in our Civil Service are responsible people who would not take unfair advantage of any such ruling. They will use the medical benefits for their children and their spouses, if they are not working, appropriately. In cases where both the husband and the wife are entitled to extended medical benefits for their children, I am sure they would choose the one which best suits them.

I am not and I do not intend to be the champion of women's rights. There are other people better qualified than I. Furthermore, the ladies are fully capable of taking care of themselves. But when they and the pensioners approached me in my constituency, I as their MP, am duty-bound to speak out for them. And I speak with conviction because both cases are justifiable. We must correct this situation even if it cost us some money because we value the welfare of our employees and former employees very much and, in the words of the Hon. Minister, "The employers must look after the interests of their staff, and staff must be loyal to their companies." It is now my hope that the Government would review these cases and move on from slogan-shouting to practical implementation.

Sir, I support the Budget.

4.35 p.m.

Mr Tan Soo Khoon (Alexandra): Mr Speaker, Sir, I congratulate the Hon. Minister on his Budget Statement and for giving Singaporeans another "painless" budget.

Two disturbing trends have emerged in recent times with regard to policy-making by the Government. One is the slowness with which Government realizes its mistakes in certain policies it has made. This morning we read in the newspapers that the Government will lift its ban on the use of crash helmets with clear visors by motor-cyclists. In lifting the ban, the Hon. Minister for Communications is quoted as having said that the lifting of the ban demonstrated the Government's willingness to admit its mistakes and correct them, and that the previous ban was a hasty decision. Very noble, indeed, for the Government to stand up to admit its mistake, but what I am wondering is, how come it took the Government seven long years to realize this. And if that decision was a "hasty" one, how many more similar hasty wrong decisions have been made in the past that still stand today?

A few years ago the Government imposed a surcharge on road taxes for cars over 10 years old. This was to ensure that only cars in good condition remained on our roads. It assumed, therefore, that cars over 10 years old were not road-worthy. As it became more expensive to maintain cars over 10 years old, many owners of such cars were compelled on financial grounds to scrap or re-export their cars, many of which were in tip-top condition. Now, after almost six years the Government has decided that no surcharge on the road taxes of such cars need be paid. The reason for this change of heart is that the Government has realized that such cars can be in road-worthy condition after all. But in having made its earlier decision at the end of 1975, the Government left behind a trail of frustrated people who had to dispose of their good cars. And today these people, minus their cars, are even more frustrated to find out that the Government has taken so long to see the point which they have been trying to register all these long years.

This is not to say that the reversal of these two decisions by the Government is not welcome. Certainly no one can deny that the reversal of both decisions will benefit the public at large. But it makes food for thought to reflect on just how many motor-cyclists have been injured or, worse still, killed because of a tiny speck of dust that blew into the eye or because of a flying pebble that hit the unprotected face. How many people have seen good cars, and good money, go down the drain because they were forced to dispose of their cars, and because today it costs so much more to purchase another one.

What is perhaps more significant to note in both cases is that when the Government made its earlier decisions there were tremendous public outcries against these decisions. Now after many long years, the Government has reversed its decisions for the very same reasons the public put forth years ago. It shows that the public foresaw years ago what it took the Government many years to realize. This leads me to a more fundamental point. If we are going to get our people to speak up and have open discussions on issues, as the Government has been saying so often, then the Government must be prepared to accept the fact that sometimes the public can be right in its outcries and in what it proposes. The Government must, therefore, adopt a receptive attitude towards differing opinions, and it must balance its views with those of others in order to arrive at a correct mix in making its policies.

The other area of policy-making which gives rise to concern is the inconsistency with which policies are made. Again, let me illustrate by way of examples.

Last December, the Ministry of Labour announced that all single members of the Central Provident Fund would be allowed to use their total savings, comprising their personal and their employer's contributions, to pay for HUDC flats. The Ministry stated that unmarried men and women would then be free to use their entire CPF savings to buy HUDC houses or flats and live on their own if they chose to. That was three days before the General Elections. Today, single applicants for HUDC flats have been told by the Ministry of National Development that they have to wait till they are 40 years of age before they can get a flat.

When the Ministry of Labour's announcement was first made, single persons were elated. Here was an unexpected bonus from a Government that seemed to realize their needs and was doing all it can to facilitate their purchase of a basic necessity. Then in a complete U-turn, the Ministry of National Development dashed all the false hopes that were raised in December.

Today another group of frustrated Singaporeans are wondering if the Government could not be more consistent in deciding whether or not they should be allowed to own flats. Or did this simply imply a lack of co-ordination between two Ministries as to policies towards single applicants? Worse still, the joke that goes round today is that the HUDC is indirectly encouraging single persons to get married early so that they can get a flat, and how inconsistent this is with the Family Planning Association's call not to have early marriages.

More of the HUDC's policies of prejudice against single persons will be raised by me in the Committee of Supply, but today's illustration is just to draw a point.

Two years ago there was a suggestion that a casino should be built in Singapore to attract more tourists. The Government rejected this on moral grounds which I feel is fair enough. But what did we read in the newspapers two weeks ago? The Sentosa Development Corporation hosted a delegation of people from a casino in Macau to look into the possibility of starting a casino in Sentosa Island. What happened to those moral grounds on which the Government stood so steadfastly just two years ago?

It is true that a government must be flexible in implementing its policies. It must move with the times and meet changing conditions, adapting and amending where necessary in order to benefit our people. This the PAP Government has never failed to do; otherwise we would not have achieved the social and economic progress that we have made all these years. But when policies are changed with a frequency that is more than necessary, causing confusion, agony and anguish, that is not flexibility but inconsistency, and a government noted for inconsistency loses its credibility over time. Sir, I do not say that the Government is inconsistent all the time but if signs are already emerging that its policies can be interpreted as such, then it must take immediate corrective action. Sir, I support the motion. 4.45 p.m.

Dr Chau Sik Ting (Thomson): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to join my colleagues in their praise of the Budget Statement and I share the sentiments of the Member for Katong. Like the previous speakers, I am no economist and cannot adequately comment on the Budget Statement. Nevertheless, I am sure the first of the two points I am about to raise makes sense, at least there is no self-interest here.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Economic Survey for 1980 has shown that the manufacturing sector contributed 25% to the GDP of Singapore last year. This was lower than the 31% contribution achieved by the sector in 1979. In the recent Budget Speech of the Minister for Trade and Industry, the Government spelt out its intention to keep economic growth at 8% to 10% of GDP for the coming years and to achieve a higher contribution to GDP of 31% by 1990 for the manufacturing sector.

All these would mean sustaining the momentum and, in fact, increasing the investment commitments in the manufacturing sector for the rest of the decade. There will have to be a sustained and significant increase in fixed assets in the sector, involving factories, plant and machinery, skills training and development. In addition, the manufacturers, in further mechanizing and automating their operations, would require an expanded export market to offset the increased capacity and production levels created. Sufficient numbers of skilled and semi-skilled workers would have to be employed and managers upgraded to meet the higher capital investments and greater export marketing drives.

Sir, while market development is an important problem area, one of the main factors inhibiting manufacturers currently is the high overheads that have to be borne. At present, employers in the manufacturing sector have to contend with high statutory contributions, i.e. 20 1/2% CPF, 2% payroll tax, 4% Skills Development Fund, in addition to the NWC recommendations. Apart from these statutory contributions, other areas affecting manufacturers are:

(a) High utility charges (it is anticipated that these rates will again be raised this year.)

(b) Higher rentals for industrial land and facilities. The JTC is systematically revising its rates by the full 50% in its industrial estates. The HDB, while following a different system from the JTC, is using an open tender system for industrial facilities. This tends to push up land and facilities costs to higher levels.

Owing to the above difficulties, most manufacturers find it difficult to maintain a reasonable return on their investments. While detailed figures are not available, it would appear from feedback received from manufacturers, that most of them have lower and lower returns on investments. This compares very unfavourably with the other sectors such as trading, property, finance and commercial services. When we consider the many problem areas that manufacturers have to contend with in their operations, and then deriving such a low return, it is no wonder that many are seriously considering opting out of the manufacturing sector to go in for the less rigorous commercial and non-manufacturing sectors. Governmental incentives so far have benefited relatively few of the small to medium-sized factories in Singapore since the criteria used for awarding incentives such as pioneer status, export incentives etc., are very stringent. Only the Small Industries Finance Scheme has seen a better response during the last year or so because of the more aggressive marketing programmes mounted by the banks and finance companies participating in the scheme.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in order that manufacturers could sustain their operations and even consider expansion, there must be adequate and sufficient assistance for their operations. Our Government should give due consideration to the manufacturing sector, since it is virtually the dynamo of the economy generating much of the services and trades that the other sectors depend on to a large extent.

Perhaps the following suggestions could be considered by the Hon. Minister:

(a) A conscious effort by the Government to constrain increases in overhead burdens to manufacturers, especially in areas such as utilities, land and rental costs and statutory contributions.

(b) A more flexible and wide-ranging application of existing tax and financial incentives to cover as many of the smaller and medium-sized companies as possible.

(c) Possible progressive reduction of corporate income tax for the manufacturing sector from the current 40% to perhaps 30% level. A 30% corporate income tax could provide a tremendous boost to industries which can then re-channel the tax savings accrued into expansion and diversification programmes. Most of them at present are overly concerned about meeting tax payments rather than devoting their energies at reinvestment schemes from their corporate profits.

Singapore is now setting up a Government Investment Corporation because our reserves have not been getting a fair return. From available statistics, a conservative estimate of our surplus public funds (in foreign reserves as well as in deposits of Singapore dollars with the Singapore banking system) is not less than $15 billion which, on the basis of a modest 5% additional return, will add $750 million profit to our State coffers annually. The earnings from our reserves will more than offset the initial loss resulting from reduction of 10% in corporate tax to the manufacturing sector.

Our present economic strength, therefore, can permit us to effect a progressive reduction in our corporate tax structure which, together with improvement of our industrial infrastructure and expansion in our manpower development, will help to enhance our attractiveness to new and more sophisticated investments, thereby stimulating further economic growth. The downward trend in foreign investments which the Minister has indicated in his Budget Statement and I quote, "EDB's potential investment pipeline has become smaller since the middle of 1980" will hopefully be arrested and perhaps reversed. In any case, this move will be a great incentive to our local investors.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the above briefly outlines the many areas and difficulties facing manufacturers in Singapore today, particularly the local companies. In order that Singapore could sustain a viable and growing manufacturing sector, it is imperative that the problem areas outlined above be carefully considered by the Hon. Minister and that steps are taken to reduce the burden on manufacturers while at the same time stimulating them towards greater enterprise. This would have to be a serious and concerted effort by the Government to ensure that the plans recently announced by the Hon. Minister can bear fruit as envisioned by him. He also stressed strongly the role of the private sector both in his Budget Speech and in his speech to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently. The manufacturers, I am sure, would be willing to work closely with the Government to try to achieve the targets set in the 10-year development plan for the decade.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I now proceed to my second point? The Hon. Minister in his Budget Speech emphasized that manpower development is the key to the long-term success of our economic restructuring strategy and steps are being taken in that direction. But having trained our engineers, business executives and other professionals, what further steps have been taken to meet their rising expectations? To them, a decent quality of life means:

(1) ownership of a middle-class home, at least HUDC and not HDB type;

(2) ownership of a car;

(3) reasonable salary, sufficient to maintain a satisfactory living standard.

With today's increasing inflation, most of the young executives and professionals will find it almost impossible, after years of hard work and savings, to own a house. This, surely, is an area of concern. Unless positive steps are taken, this situation will lead to a serious brain drain which we can ill-afford, especially with our present economic restructuring programme and targeting for qualitative growth. In this respect, the HUDC can make a substantial contribution by stepping up its building programmes which have failed to keep pace with the growing demand.

With our present economic resources, we can respond positively and adequately by building more units of HUDC housing instead of imposing short-term measures such as the various restrictions to overcome this longterm problem.

Sir, I support the Budget Statement. 4.56 p.m.

Encik Abbas Abu Amin (Pasir Panjang): ( In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to congratulate the Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Health who has presented a Budget that will certainly make all those involved, namely, workers and taxpayers, happy. A feature in the Budget that exudes euphoria is the income tax rebate of 10% for this year and the announcement that next year the income tax rates will be lowered. The impression created is very clear - the aim of the Budget is to achieve national economic and social objectives. From the economic point of view, this is in line with our national economic policy for the next 10-year plan which is moving towards industrialization. This means that higher skills and expertise is required, thus giving an opportunity to workers to upgrade their skills and earn higher incomes. And with higher incomes, they will certainly be in a better financial position. For the purpose of striking a social equilibrium, the increase in the relief for the maintenance of handicapped dependants from $1,000 to $2,000 is most welcome.

Mr Speaker, Sir, after studying this year's Budget, I find it difficult to fault or to criticize it, as it is not quite possible to think of a more satisfactory budget. I say this on the basis of the current world economic climate and forecasts of uncertainty in the years to come. From the reactions of the public, it appears that this year's Budget will greatly contribute towards the general welfare of workers in Singapore.

Sir, the plan to broaden the income tax net by bringing in those categories of people who were not previously taxed, such as hawkers, taxi drivers, etc., is most appropriate and timely because the task of shouldering the burden of public expenditure should be shared by all citizens with regular incomes and not just by wage-earners who are unable to evade tax because they cannot hide their actual income.

I would like to suggest that the Government should further improve the income tax structure by raising the personal relief from $2,000 to $3,000 because this is more in line with the diminishing purchasing power of money. This will benefit workers in the medium-income brackets who earn between $5,000 and $35,000 a year.

Another suggestion which I would like to put forward with social objectives is that the tax relief for the maintenance of aged parents be further raised from the present $750 to $2,000 which is equivalent to the relief for the maintenance of handicapped dependants. I feel that maintaining aged parents who are very old is not an easy task. And this task is even greater if the burden is shouldered by workers in the lower income and middle income groups.

Sir, allow me now to touch on other matters mentioned by the Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Health besides the detailed statement made by him when he drew attention to the increase in the price of oil. The most important statement made by him is the challenge to workers and employers to create a favourable climate for cooperation in order to achieve common objectives and to refrain from working for their separate self-interests. The budget reflects optimism that targets will be achieved. What is hoped for is that both employers and workers change their attitudes and understand fully our economic and social objectives and to move forward together and work hand in hand in harmony for common survival. They should be dependent on each other; one requiring the help and assistance of the other so as to maintain and further strengthen the standard of living and economic position.

Sir, I would like to suggest here that unskilled workers who have made sacrifices for many years should not be neglected. Measures ought to be taken to give them appropriate skills according to their ability so that these loyal workers will not be dropped out and left behind in the race and in the efforts to restructure the country's economy in the use of new technology in the new industries in the future. To the young workers who have just entered the labour market, they must be instilled with a positive and enthusiastic attitude, a spirit of discipline and responsibility because every worker should be conscious of his role to further stabilize and develop the economic and social condition of our state.

In conclusion, I would like once again to congratulate the Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Health for his joyful Budget.