Chairman Sir,

By 2012, the re-employment legislation will require employers to offer re-employment to workers reaching 62 years of age, up to age 65, and eventually to age 67. However, the Re-employment legislation will not replace the Retirement Act of 1999.

The Retirement Act allows an employer to reduce the wages of older employees up to 10% on or at any time after the employee attains 60 years of age.

The 10% pay cut at age 60 was recommended by the Tripartite Committee on the Extension of Retirement and the justification then was to address the problem of the seniority-based-wage system.

With the Government’s call to increase productivity and the progress made in wage restructuring from a seniority-based wage system to a performance-based wage system, I would like to call upon the Government to review the Retirement Act of 1999 by removing the wage reduction option given to employers.

A wage system that moves away from seniority elements and towards job worth and performance is more than adequate to ensure an older worker is paid based on the value of the job and his contribution instead of his seniority. Given that the performance-based wage system will improve the cost competitiveness and employability of older workers, we should remove the wage reduction anomaly from the Retirement Act as older workers would have been paid market rate in the run-up to age 62.

Moreover, the Tripartite Committee’s recommendation that employer’s CPF contribution rate for employees aged 60-65 years be reduced from 7.5% to 4% and from 5% to 4% for employees aged above 65 years is sufficient to make re-employment worthwhile for employers.

Sir, any provision in our labour laws to reduce the wages of older workers upon reaching re-employment age will dampen the zeal of an ageing society to continue working beyond retirement age. 

(Note: this speech was delivered in Parliament on 11 Mar 2010.)

Chairman Sir,

As at June 2009, there were 87,400 resident employees on short term contracts of less than 3 months and 156,200 residents on part-time employment. About half of these employees are in the older age group and majority of them have lower educational qualification with a gross monthly income of below $1,000.

I am of the view that the number under this category of employees would increase over time because company wanted flexible manpower and being able to response faster to changing demand and cost variation as business environment changes. Secondly, as our society matures with an increased number of aging employees, more people may prefer such mode of employment as seniors may not want to work full time.

Contract and part-time workers may not necessary be low wage and low productivity. Some studies have shown that part-time workers can be as productive as full-time workers and companies employing part timer do not necessary suffer low productivity. I understand that in Netherlands in which a relatively large share of the workforce works part-time, achieve high labour productivity. Hence, I believe that there is much room for improvement in productivity and income of our contract and part-time workers.

Sir, given the current educational profile of the employees in this group, a targeted approach is needed to improve the productivity and income. ESC proposes to introduce a broad-based incentive scheme to encourage employers to send their workers for training & develop structured program to train and place low-wage workers in better jobs, I would like to know what are the detail mechanism and new initiatives to work in line with ESC’s recommendations & to raise the productivity of this group of worker.

Next, with the likely trend of short term contract and part time workers to increase in the future, I would like to know whether MOM will develop strategy to include such employees in the productivity upgrading process.

(Note: this speech was delivered in Parliament on 11 Mar 2010.)

Disabled persons face challenges fitting into society for work, recreation and social interaction. Travel is a necessary step towards integration, to work, to socialise and to be consumers.

There are currently no public transport concessions for the disabled.

The disabled here have low earning capacity. Many do not work; those who do, earn a few hundred dollars per month, spending up to a third on travel expenses.

The government has often said that we should build an inclusive society. It therefore should not take a back seat on this issue.

Other governments are proactive. In the UK, disabled persons qualify for a special “Railcard” which entitles them to travel throughout the UK at one-third off from the normal fare. In addition, disabled persons in London can travel off-peak for free on buses, the Underground and trains.

The government cannot wash its hands off the matter by saying that the public transport system is operated commercially and it is up to the public transport operators (PTOs) to decide. The disabled have no bargaining power against the big companies.

For instance, the Land Transport Authority, as regulator, can make it a licensing condition that the PTOs recognize disabled passengers for concession travel.

According to a 2001 MOH survey, less than 2 per cent of Singaporean adults below 60 have some sort of disability. Is the number of disabled too much for the PTOs? The PTO’s operations are reaping profits of tens of millions of dollars annually and this is part of their corporate social responsibility.

(Note: this speech was delivered in Parliament on 11 Mar 2010.)

Currently, the proportion of Primary One cohort admitted into the local subsidized universities is targeted to rise to 30% by 2015, with the new university and institute coming up.

I would like to ask if MOE will review this 30% target with a view to increasing it.

I note MOE’s concerns that we should not have sudden increases in graduate numbers which may leave many unemployed or under-employed.

However, since Singapore is prioritising innovation and greater productivity, the population as a whole has to raise its game, and the jobs of the future will require different educational qualifications from currently. We are also trying to encourage the growth of entrepreneurs to find their own niches. With globalization, Singaporean graduates also have more opportunities overseas, which will still benefit their families and Singapore, directly or indirectly.

As a matter of interest, according to the OECD Factbook 2009, the 25 OECD countries were expecting to graduate on average about 37% of an age cohort from Tertiary-Type A (typical degree level) education in 2006. It was stated that there was a strong trend in increasing their cohort participation rates in the last 15 years in line with producing highly-skilled labor forces.

I agree that we need to maintain standards in university admission. However, over the years, many students who were rejected by our local universities were admitted to reputable foreign universities and did well. But this route is available only to those whose parents could afford it.

I hope the Ministry will look into revising the cohort participation rate at our local subsidized universities beyond 30%.

(Note: this speech was delivered in Parliament on 10 Mar 2010.)

主席先生，

华文B课程在2001年开始推行，之后在2004年接受了华文课程与教学法改革报告书的建议，做了一些更改。

政府在1999年宣布这项课程时，主要是针对学习华文有困难的学生，避免这些学生因为被强逼学习华文，反而对华族文化产生厌恶感。请问教育部长，华文B实施至今，有没有达到当初的预定目标？我也想知道从2001年开始至今，历年来修读华文B的学生人数是多少？及格率又是多少？

我所担心的是华文B是否会在一些情况下被滥用呢？例如，原本华文程度并不是太差的学生因为心理上排斥华文而不愿意认真学习，宁愿选择华文B这条捷径；或者为了不让学校普通华文的及格率降低而建议某些华文成绩不佳的学生选修华文B。我想知道教育部是否审查过华文B课程是否存在可能被滥用的漏洞？

国立大学中文系教授王昌伟发表过一篇文章，他说：
“利用富有创意的教学方式提高学生对华文的兴趣当然非常值得鼓励，但我们的错误，就在于以为降低要求是提高学生学习热忱的先决条件。从第二语文到华文B、到用英语教华文、到只需认字不必写字，这样一步步退让，也许当下能讨好学生，但等到学生日后需要运用华文的时候，他们是会恨我们耽误了他们的。“

我同意他的看法，也希望教育部重新检讨华文B课程的内容及其存在的利弊。

（2010年3月9日发表于国会拨款委员会辩论）

Chairman Sir,

I understand that myopia is the leading eye disease in Singapore.  We have among the highest cases of myopia in the world.  

There is a growing concern that blindness from myopia would become a substantial public health problem in the near future. It was projected that more than 80% of the entire adult population could be myopic within two to three decades. I would like the minister to share his view on the problem and whether it is indeed a public health concern.

It is observed that increasing myopia is related to the heavy amount of reading and near work that the children are exposed to in school and at home.  Such activities are definitely on the rise with advent of the Internet.  I would like to know what new initiative MOH has embarked on to prevent the onset of myopia on the younger generation and what is the outcome of the vision care program?
(more…)

Chairman Sir,

Budget Book serves as a public document on the proposed government revenue and expenditure for each financial year. It provides accountability to MPs and members of the public in the usage of government funds.

However, the information provided in the Budget Book seems to be getting lesser with each financial year.

For example, there were 728 pages in the budget book for financial year 1994/95 and only 593 pages for financial year 2000/2001. For this year, the Budget Book has 417 pages.

I am not suggesting that the more pages in the Budget Book, the better it is, but I find the current Budget Book not useful enough for one to understand the individual program function and major changes in expenditure, if any, on major item of a ministry.
(more…)

Since 2006, MOH has allowed Medisave to be used for outpatient treatment for chronic diseases such as hypertension, up to a limit of $300 per year.

However, it would seem that this has been under-utilised. According to the Ministry’s reply to my parliamentary questions last month, only 15% of chronic disease outpatients paid bills with Medisave in FY 08. Of those who did utilize Medisave for payment, only 30% of claims reached the annual limit on withdrawals of $300.

I recently met an elderly gentleman with hypertension who has Medisave balances but is unable to use them to pay outpatient bills. This is because of the current policy that the outpatient must pay the first $30 of any bill. He showed me that many of his polyclinic bills were below $30.

According to MOH data, the median size of polyclinic bills for chronic diseases is $36 with 3 months’ medication. With the $30 deductible, plus an additional 15% of the balance to be paid in cash, Medisave would not be usable or useful for many such bills.

There are elderly sick who have little cash and savings. Yet, they are not allowed to draw their own Medisave money for medical treatment, but are asked to get family support. This increases the elderly person’s dependence on family members.

The elderly gentleman I mentioned told me he would sometimes default on his follow-ups due to finances. This could precipitate a worse, in-patient condition which would deplete his Medisave even more rapidly.

The government may be concerned about Medisave accounts being depleted. But safeguards already exist via the annual $300 cap, the requirement to co-pay 15% and the admin fee of $3.50.

The government should consider removing the deductible. There is anger among some elderly sick that even in their poor health condition, they have been denied to use of their own savings for healthcare.

(Note: this speech was delivered in Parliament on 9 Mar 2010.)

Chairman Sir,

The Singapore Sustainable Development Blueprint sets an overall recycling target of 70% by 2030, the overall recycling rate in 2008 is at 53%.

NEA’s major initiatives like National Recycling Programme is to have the recycled material collected by the four licensed Public Waste Collectors. However, the ‘Karung Guni’ trade, which also collects the bulk of recycled material from households, seems to be forgotten in such initiative.

Small ‘Karung Guni’ are usually OMO and send their collections to SME waste collection companies, known as the bigger ‘Karung Guni’. If the collection company is too far away, it will not be cost effective for the small players.
(more…)

Chairman Sir,

The ESC and the Budget seem to focus heavily on helping companies which are already successful to become Globally Competitive Companies.

In its drive to identify and assist these promising medium-sized companies, has the Government forgotten about local small businesses like sundry shops and car workshops? Would such small enterprises have a place in the new economic landscape, or will they be crowded out or gobbled up by bigger fish?

What is the Government doing to help local small businesses, especially those in sunset industries, to become more competitive and viable in the new economy?
(more…)