Debate on Annual Budget Statement

Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to speak in this debate. The Labour Movement has been advocating for the strengthening of mature workers' CPF savings through higher employment contributions, equal contribution rates at least for workers up to age 55 and to further improve on CPF interest rates and the contribution ceiling. We have also called on the Government to take steps to strengthen the incentive for employers to keep employing workers even beyond the age 65. We are very happy and grateful that the Government has responded positively and substantively on all these fronts.

Mdm Speaker, I would to now like to speak on two concerns as we consider the transformation journey thus far. I hope that this will help us continue to focus the attention and efforts of the Government and tripartite partners on this very critical undertaking.

When Singapore became independent in 1965, the median real income of a worker then was only one-sixth of what it is now. So, in other words, in 50 years we grew sixfold, not only nominally but in real terms. This is a real achievement by any measure, by any comparison for any country.

That said, I think it is important that we be aware of the challenges that we continue to face as we make our journey forward toward greater success.

According to MOM statistics, the annualised Real Median wage growth rate for the period 2004 to 2014 – that 10-year period – was 2.2% per annum. If you break that 10-year period into two five-year periods, the first five and the next five, then the median real wage growth was 2.5% per annum between 2004 and 2009 and slowing to 1.9% per annum for 2009 to 2014. And if were to look at the most recent one year period, that is 2013 to 2014, that one year, the rate was even lower, at 0.7%. So, that was the trend for median real wage

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growth.

If we were to look at the trend for labour productivity, according to the statistics from the Department of Statistics: in 2007, it was 0.4%; in 2008, -7.2%; in 2009, -3.3%; then there was a rebound after that sharp recession, so, in 2010, 11.6%; followed by 2.2% in 2011; then three years of minuses; -1.4% in 2012, -0.2% in 2013, and -0.8% in 2014.

So, in other words, for the period 2007 to 2014, labour productivity was negative for five out of eight years and for three out of the four most recent years. What are the implications?

First, we can see that prolonged negative labour productivity will eventually drag down the prospect, or in fact, the reality of real wage growth. The two are inevitably linked. This will then constrain improvements in the standards of living. As real wages are what ultimately matters to workers, the Labour Movement wants to see a turnaround of this pattern as soon as possible.

Second, unless the numerator of labour productivity, namely the value-add, grows at a faster rate than the denominator, labour productivity will continue to be low and sliding and with it, again, it will pull down the real wage growth. The question is how do we get this labour productivity up?

It being a ratio, really, there are only two ways. One, you try to shrink the denominator. You do that by trying to shrink to workforce. And the second one is, you try to improve the numerator and that is by enhancing value-add.

What is our reality? Our stark reality is our demography and that is our small population and one that is rapidly ageing. It is in our own national interest to continue to encourage and facilitate a higher labour force participation rate so that more people may earn income over more working years to provide better for their retirement. We certainly do not want to see a growing pool of unemployed citizens, many of whom older, just so that those who remain employed can enjoy a better life.

At the same time, we also do not want to see a growing workforce that risks getting stuck in real wage stagnation or decline. Those two things, we do not want to see and therefore, the only viable way forward for us is to improve both the employment rate and real wages so as to enhance value-add faster than workforce growth rate.

To enhance value-add, we must make sure that jobs, work processes and technologies are designed and redesigned in that direction. Clearly, we are not seeing enough outcomes

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in this area. Of course, the picture is not even and there is faster productivity growth in the export-oriented sectors because it is subjected to international competition – it is do or die there. The picture is much more mixed and feeble for the domestically oriented sector. When we look at another aspect of job redesign, this time about WorkPro, with regards to redesigning for an ageing workforce – I will come back to this point because it is important. It is not that part that it is ageing but it is at growing characteristics of our work or so. What we do there, our ability to do what we are doing, matters.

When we look at that, we also do not see a strong take-up, as of now. And unless and until we can move this piece of the jigsaw, what we end up doing is just trying to cut more wood by sawing harder with the saw that we have, instead of changing to a better and sharper saw. We have to redesign and get that better saw.

I, therefore, call on the Government, industry and tripartite partners to continue with and to increase our efforts and resources to spur Job and Process Redesign across the different industries, and in particular, in the light of an ageing workforce, to review and enhance the WorkPro programme for greater reach and impact.

In this Budget, one key focus has been on SkillsFuture. While building skills is certainly a critical success factor, it is a strategic complement to, and it is not a substitute for restructuring, creation and innovation in products, jobs and processes. The momentum of the National Productivity Council (NPC)'s work in spurring national and sectoral productivity growth and revival remains absolutely crucial.

At the same time, we must make sure that workers are able to take on these higher valued jobs. Otherwise, you have the better jobs but if the workers are not able to take them on, then these workers will drag down productivity through being less than adequately skilled, or having their potential wasted through rigid worship of paper qualification, or we see a continued over-reliance on low-skilled foreign manpower.

To the extent that we are not doing enough of job and process redesign and not putting enough focus and effort in investing in our workforce of all profiles to make them evergreen, then we would in effect be slowing the growth of our value-add down unnecessarily. That would be an "own goal" that we score against ourselves that we can scarcely afford.

Therefore, in this light, I want now to draw attention to and emphasise the importance of continuing to invest in the capabilities of our workers but I will focus my speech here in particular on the importance of investing and continuing to invest in the capabilities of our mature workers. My fellow labour colleagues in Parliament will be elaborating on the

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different profiles of workers.

Many organisations may still not have evolved their human resource and operations functions to fully appreciate the meaning of having workers who will continue to work with their companies into their more senior years. They still think, plan and operate as if workers will retire at age 55, maybe 60. But that is no longer the reality.

By having not evolved and still stuck in that mindset, then many would reason that there is no point investing in the training, updating and up-skilling of older workers because they say that they do not have the long payback period left with the company, so it is harder to justify the training investment compared to if they were to put the money investing in a younger person.

I think that employers who think and act this way would be mistaken on two counts. Firstly, research show that mature workers are much less likely to switch jobs, compared to their younger counterparts. What this means is that the effective runways for older workers are not necessarily shorter than those of younger workers in the company. I urge companies to seriously reconsider that assumption.

Second, if you have an ageing workforce overall and if you take the attitude of stopping to invest in them at some stage, prematurely, then what happens is that they are then left under-skilled but they are still part of the workforce. They are left un-updated but they are still part of your workforce. They are not going to be able to help you move forward. In fact, they may become a drag on it. Therefore, you will get a self-fulfilling prophecy: you create the inability that you assumed about them which is something you can therefore also reverse by reversing your thinking, reversing your investment stance and continuing to believe in and to invest in the capabilities of your older workforce, not out of sympathy, not out of coercion by law, but out of enlightened self-interest because they are part of the workforce. That part is also growing. The better skilled they are the better off your company will be.

I, therefore, am in full support of SkillsFuture in all its aspects and, in particular, the Budget measures to subsidise training for workers 40 years and above at 90% and also to empower initiative by workers to upgrade themselves through the SkillsFuture Credit individual training accounts.

I spoke at length about what I believe to be the important attitudes of companies, but of course it takes two hands to clap. Where such opportunities are made available, where the funds are made available, workers must step up and help themselves.

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And on this, I call on all employers and the HR professionals to play their part, especially given the strong funding by Government, to continue to invest in the training and updating of their mature workers as a key and lasting part of their total workforce.

Mdm Speaker, we must press on with and redouble our efforts to create ageless jobs and evergreen workers. This is the surest and, ultimately, the only way that we can make best use of our total potential as a nation and a people, and create that Better Future that we all hope for. Mdm Speaker, I fully support the Budget.

Mdm Speaker, I rise in support of this year's Budget. Many have hailed it as a Budget for the future and I agree with them. This Budget, coming in the year of our Golden Jubilee, is appropriately about building upon our cumulative achievements of the last 50 years for the future.

The new wave of investments in our infrastructure and our people, the fresh subsidies to help families and the elderly, the incentives to grow our companies – this is a Budget which has gained widespread approval and I am proud to note that Standard & Poor's Rating Services (S&P) has rated this Budget "AAA" for showing "the strength of the government's institutional and governance effectiveness".

This year's Budget is all encompassing and benefits practically all age groups. Starting from birth, the Child Development Accounts will be topped up and can be used until the

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children are six years old. For schooling Singaporeans, their Edusave accounts and Post Secondary Education Accounts will also be topped up, covering those seven to 20 years old. And the Government will be starting the SkillsFuture Programme, starting an account for every Singaporean from 25 years old with $500 for upgrading and training, with future top-ups expected.

For more mature Singaporeans above 50 years old, they will see their retirement funds being enhanced with increased CPF contributions. And for 30% of Singaporeans above 65 years old, they will receive the new Silver Support bonuses for life, as announced by the Prime Minister last year.

This is really from cradle to grave. Well, almost. Someone pointed out to me that those between 21 and 25 years old do not seem to be benefiting directly from this year's Budget.

After rescanning the details of Budget 2015, I have to disagree. For individuals aged 21 and above whose assessable incomes for Year of Assessment 2014 are below $26,000 and who live in properties which have annual values below $21,000, they will receive GST vouchers of $150 or $300 in cash, depending on their homes' annual values.

While those living in bigger properties will not receive these GST vouchers, I would like to mention that 21 is the age of independence. After one's 21st birthday, one can watch R21 movies, vote at the elections, open one's own bank account and apply for an HDB flat if he or she has a sweetheart. The 21st birthday cake is usually a key design to signal the key to freedom and, most importantly, adulthood and independence. I am not sure whether this is well intended by the Minister for Finance – the Government is giving absolute freedom for our new full-fledged adult Singaporeans to strive for themselves in the first four years of adulthood.

Madam, we will be embarking on many significant infrastructural projects, with the development of Changi Airport's new terminal, T5, the Tuas seaport and improvement works on our public transport and in our HDB heartlands.

It is important at this juncture that we pause and consider how we can improve our modus operandi in terms of taking a holistic approach in our infrastructural works to reduce wastage and duplication and, more importantly, to optimise land use and limited resources. Whenever possible, different stakeholders should be involved and consulted, and the surrounding environment and external needs taken into account before plans are finalised.

Let me share an example from my previous constituency – Queenstown. There is an overhead pedestrian bridge spanning over a busy road, Queensway, linking HDB blocks 24

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to 32 in Tanglin Halt to Stirling Road. There has been much feedback over the challenge of elderly residents having to climb the high staircase to cross the road. However, due to site constraints, it was not possible to add ramps to the overhead bridge. After election 2006 when I became the Member of Parliament in Queenstown, the construction of the Queenstown Polyclinic was already underway at the Stirling Road end of the overhead bridge. Ideally, when constructing the polyclinic, an extension from the existing overhead bridge could be built to join the polyclinic probably at the second level, so that visitors to the polyclinic could enter it directly and need not have to climb the stairs down and make the way round to the front entrance and enter the polyclinic. After the polyclinic's opening hours, access from the overhead bridge could be closed for security reasons. But such a connection would require coordination and budgeting between LTA and MOH. It would appear that planning could have been more holistic and better efforts been made for better integration of public amenities.

Madam, integration is only possible with cooperation and coordination among Government agencies. I think we are already doing a great job as a nation in this respect; otherwise, we would not have come so far and achieved so much with our lack of resources.

However, going forward, to just maintain our current position in the amazing race of nations, we have to be more than good in our teamwork. We have to be extraordinarily good.

At a forum organised by the Institute of Policy Studies last month, Ambassador-at-Large and policy adviser of MFA, Mr Bilahari Kausikan, mentioned that Singapore's ability to remain relevant depends on us being an extraordinary success.

This resonated with me and, I believe, with many others as well. Particularly, extraordinary success in governance. It is not a "nice to have" for us; in fact, it is essential for us in Singapore – the survival of our country.

Our Ministries and agencies evaluate themselves against key performance indicators (KPIs). Do we have a set of KPIs for adopting a whole-of-Government approach? If we do, how can we recalibrate or include new indicators to ensure tighter coordination and better cooperation among Government bodies?

We would have arrived when we no longer need the Municipal Services Office to clear a fishball stick. We would have arrived when it is not just about building a bridge to connect to a building, but having the mindset to bridge gaps and silo mentalities.

We would then be able to tap on the wealth of data and capabilities from our SMART Nation initiative to better integrate planning among Government agencies and not end up

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hoarding information and expertise.

Madam, next, I would like to touch on how the Government is managing feedback and making decisions. Collecting feedback and opinions from stakeholders is an onerous task. First, we have administrative, budgetary and logistics considerations, from how we initiate the process, organise the publicity and raise awareness, ensure adequate participation, select discussion platforms and venues, decide on modes of information collection, whether online or face to face, compile, summarise and analyse the feedback and so forth. It is a time-consuming process and at the end of it, decisions have to be made based not only on the feedback collected but also on current information possessed by planners and assessments of likely outcomes and future impact.

As our society becomes more diversified and perhaps even stratified and the public more articulate and active in civic participation, decision making gets more complicated.

So, how is the Government to make sense of all the different views and perspectives? What if the preference of the majority is detriment to society at large, such as the manifestations of not-in-my-backyard syndrome? What happens if the personal values and judgements of key decision makers are in conflict with the other stakeholders?

Policies and decisions should not be based on who speaks the loudest, the most frequently or even the most eloquently. The Government must know when to take the lead to shape sentiments and make difficult choices if necessary and when to realise that the landscape has shifted and policies need to reflect changing demographics and worldwide trends.

There is a very fine balance between a diversified society where a hundred flowers bloom and a polarised society where people cannot see eye to eye with one another, or with the Government. Certain policies may not be equitable but Singaporeans must be prepared to respect the decisions made and accommodate one another. Without this social contract, it would be very difficult to stay united as a people and build a harmonious nation.

Madam, finally, let us also remember that for all the hard-headed decisions and sacrifices we have to make for our motherland, it is the soft power of her sights and sounds, smells and tastes which binds our hearts.

Singaporeans overseas, even for a short holiday away from home, would testify that when they are away, what they miss are the tastes of Singapore food and the heart-warming sounds of Singlish. These have become integral components of the Singapore identity. They

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are uniquely Singaporean and even foreign visitors find them charming and appealing.

We should embrace and support the development of our cultural heritage and icons. In 2012, I spoke about the uniqueness and importance of the getai culture. I am happy to note that over the last few years, the Government and various organisations have been working with getai as a channel of public communications and tapping on getai personalities to spread information like the Pioneer Generation Package. We can do more and in more areas.

Outstanding hawkers, for example, can be awarded Singapore's equivalent of Michelin stars and given national honours.

We should give our creative talents support and regular platforms to showcase their talent. How do we create another wave of the xinyao movement? How do we develop the next generation of composers, performers and audience to create and appreciate works that reflect the Singapore culture?

Countries, such as France and South Korea, punch above their weight on the world stage in terms of cultural influence, thanks to the long-term strategic planning and generous support of their governments for their various cultural pursuits.

These countries not only ensure that their national and cultural identities are not overwhelmed and eroded due to the influence of countries with much bigger populations. They even managed to secure economic benefits from their cultural exports and goodwill from other nations. They offer us important and valuable lessons in this area.

Madam, recently, I watched the film "Ah Boys to Men 3" at the cinema and also caught "Ah Boys to Men 1" and "Ah Boys to Men 2" again on Channel 8. The genre and content endear to many Singaporeans and only a local director like Jack Neo could tell such a story well. It is obvious, at least to me, that the third movie is the best and that Jack Neo has, indeed, improved his story-telling and film-making craft. It was a better plot with better and deeper character development.

I also wondered whether I enjoyed the third movie more because I watched it on the big screen in the cinema and not at home where obviously my TV screen is not as big as that in the cinema. But I think one main reason is because the cinema version was not dubbed in perfect Mandarin. The NS boys spoke a combination of English, Mandarin, Malay and Chinese dialects in the movie, just like what one would do in National Service. However, when the films were broadcast on TV, they just spoke English and Mandarin.

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I can understand and I do support our language policies that there should not be dialects on national TV. While we may lose the authentic flavour and culture, it is important that another Chinese audience from China or Taiwan understands our dubbed Mandarin.

In the televised version, there was a scene where the mother, played by Irene Ang, told her son, the main character, Recruit Ken Chow, in Mandarin, "你不可以铁牙". "铁牙" literally means "metal teeth" in Mandarin. So, I thought that Mrs Chow did not want her son to have braces. Ken apparently did not understand his mother and also asked her what she meant. Mrs Chow explained that "铁牙" means "stubborn". She was chiding her son for being stubborn. I suddenly realised that it was actually the Hokkien phrase "Tee Kee". Honestly, it sounded very odd on TV to hear it as "铁牙" in Mandarin. So, well, definitely Recruit Ken Chow did not understand – probably, he also did not understand the Hokkien phrase. But I believe most Singaporeans also took a while to get it, to understand exactly what it means. And I am also very sure that our friends in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan also would not know the meaning, even if the same characters were said in perfect Mandarin.

We have made exceptions for Hong Kong and Taiwanese artistes when they come to Singapore to attend and support our TV charity shows to speak and sing in Cantonese and Hokkien. Let us not just do it for charity. Even as young people like Ken do not understand dialects well – and I do not think they ever will – there are many elderly and Pioneer Generation Singaporeans who are still very attached to our dialects. I hope that we can be slightly more flexible in our language policy implementation when it is about our own movies, about Singapore's own culture and sense of belonging. Just as what we did – we used dialects to communicate better on the Pioneer Generation Package – it is also befitting that on the occasion of SG50, let us have the courage and confidence to celebrate the diversity and heritage of Singapore culture and what truly defines and binds us.

I would like to end with an appeal to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to consider allotting a greater portion of our future Budgets to develop our cultural segments, our cultural identity or cultural heritage, as they are essential to our national identity. With that, I support the Budget.

Mdm Speaker, I would like to deliver my speech in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, hon Members, good afternoon to everyone! Firstly, I would like to declare that I am the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For the 2015 Budget Statement announced in Parliament, Lianhe Zaobao summed it up with these words: "Deepening skills, Growing enterprises, Strengthening infrastructure, Assuring retirement". These give me mixed feelings.

I am heartened that this is an inclusive Budget. It strengthens the social safety net, looks after the elderly, advocates lifelong learning, helps Singaporeans to build up their skills for the future, tops up the students' education fund, even doing away with examination fees and so on. These measures remind me of the traditional Confucian concept: "There is adequate care and protection for the elderly, employment for the able, and education and nurture for young people.". This originates from the Book of Rites, written about 200 BC, and represents hopes and dreams of the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years.

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My concern is that "Deepening skills, Strengthening infrastructure, Assuring retirement" all require large amounts of funding. Although this year's Budget has increased the personal income tax for the top income earners and raised petrol duty, this is only a small fraction of what is needed for the large social expenditure. As the saying goes, "Even a resourceful woman cannot cook a meal without rice", the crucial concern is that if the social system is to be sustained, the most pivotal area lies in "Growing enterprises". The value created by enterprises is the granary of the Government.

In creating value, multinational corporations (MNCs) always take the lead. However, local Singapore enterprises also play a crucial role. We have a huge number of local enterprises which provide employment opportunities to every strata of society and, at the same time, provide supporting services to MNCs. Just as in the construction of a skyscraper, while we cannot do without steel bars and cement, other building materials, such as sand, stones, glass, paint, pipes, cables, bricks or even landscaping elements like flowers and grass, are also essential.

The Government has singled out five growth clusters, such as advanced manufacturing. However, other industries, especially the traditional industries, should not be overlooked. We need to realise that these important industries grew out of the foundations of the past. Today, if we could give greater support to mould and nurture more industries to prepare for a rainy day in the future, we may be able to have more companies to become world-class Singapore enterprises.

Based on this year's Budget, the previous transitional support schemes will be gradually phased out, while the assistance schemes to support enterprises in innovation and internationalisation efforts will be retained and enhanced. However, the business community did not see any tangible measures to lower their business costs, measures they had, in fact, been eagerly looking forward to. I would like to take this opportunity to urge local enterprises to review and make adjustments to their business models. During a period of economic restructuring, some enterprises will find difficulty adapting and experience certain problems. The Government's assistance schemes can only act as a painkiller for temporary relief. The only way to solve the problems completely is to be self-reliant and press on to upgrade.

In the new business environment, original policies or measures may not always be applicable. If the Government continues to tweak these policies and measures, it is not only time-consuming, but the outcome may not necessarily be positive. In this period of economic restructuring, the Government has been encouraging enterprises to innovate and achieve a breakthrough in business models. In this regard, we also hope that the Government will lead the way in achieving a breakthrough to think out of the box, simplify complex problems and

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create revolutionary new policies to stimulate economic growth.

For instance, there is a great diversity of local enterprises representing all kinds of trades and industries. In order to dispense the right treatment and medication, there must firstly be one "polyclinic" to handle initial check-ups before sending patients to other specialists. If the patient has to run from one specialist to another, he would already be exhausted prior to consultation.

Hence, I wish to put in an appeal once again on behalf of the business community. In order to increase the effectiveness of economic restructuring, I hope the Government would appoint a coordinator to help local enterprises, especially the SMEs, and avoid having the scenario of letting them knock at the doors of different Government agencies to no avail. As I know, the Public Service has a "No Wrong Door Policy", meaning that Government agencies need to appreciate and understand the public's appeal for assistance and solve their problems, instead of shoving them from one department to another. With regard to this coordinator whom I had mentioned, the objective is aligned with the "No Wrong Door Policy" principle – meaning that the Government should streamline its resources with the ultimate objective to help enterprises to grow.

The Government has many pro-business policies. However, the majority of the public is not concerned with the rationale behind the policies. Instead, they are concerned either with personal benefits, or how the policies may affect them. This is an important challenge facing the Government right now. For example, in the past few years the Government rolled out the Capability Development Grants, iSPRINT and Market Readiness Assessment Scheme, with the objective of helping local enterprises to strengthen their capability. But what is the actual take-up rate? Based on the Chamber's survey, the take-up rate for the Capability Development Grant was 12%, that of iSPRINT was not even 9%, whilst the Market Readiness Assessment Scheme fared even lower, with less than 3% take-up rate.

This is a vicious circle. On the one hand, we see that Government agencies keep rolling out pro-business policies. On the other hand, based on survey results, not that many enterprises really stand to benefit. When SME bosses talk about Government assistance schemes, their general sentiment is that some schemes are mainly providing additional benefits to the medium and large enterprises, whereas, for SMEs, what they really need is for someone to send them charcoal in the midst of winter.

Moving forward, the key to raise our productivity lies in increasing the overall capabilities of the entire industry and this is a task that cannot be achieved by one company or one department alone. It needs concerted collaboration between the Government and businesses. On 16 March this year, the Chamber's new batch of council members will take office and we shall invest even more resources to work together with the trade associations,

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engage with businesses and follow up on their requests.

Hence, in order to make this Budget achieve even greater effectiveness, I would like to raise two recommendations. One is to support even more local enterprises in the effort to become world-class Singapore enterprises. Second, I recommend appointing a Government coordinator to handle issues related to business and improve effectiveness at the execution level. I believe that only by helping local companies to strengthen their competitiveness and become world-class Singapore enterprises can we continue to create wealth to support the social security system. Let us work together towards this objective!

Mdm Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this year's Budget.

Budget 2015 is not like any other fiscal policy announcement. It is more than that and I would like to share with the House my thoughts on what it means in the grander scheme of things.

The nation today is in a celebratory mood this year for 50 years of our Independence. Many Singaporeans have come up with various initiatives to commemorate and celebrate this milestone – some on their own, while others in groups. This goes to show the amount

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of love and adoration Singaporeans have for their young nation. A nation that they have grown up with quality education, a comfortable home, a safe and secure environment and sound infrastructure – all of which have been achieved in the short space of 50 years. But while it is a year for celebration and rejoicing, it is also a year for reflection.

The reflection of all these efforts that Singaporeans are putting into celebrating the jubilee year brought me to ponder over a question: what is it that binds Singaporeans together and to Singapore, their homeland? Fortunately, I did not have to go very far to search for the answer. It was right there in our National Pledge – something all Singaporeans are familiar with.

Because, "We, the Citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language, or religion". In many societies around the world, such commitments may be made as well, but, in Singapore, we truly are a society where we stand united in diversity. That is why, when the late Mr S Rajaratnam wrote the Pledge, he made this as the first commitment that Singaporeans would make.

Mr Rajaratnam, who developed the National Pledge on behalf of the newly-formed PAP Government in 1966, believed that it would not only be an oath of allegiance to Singapore, but he wanted it to encapsulate elements of a common dream and a common vision to build a Singapore we can be proud of. A dream that would match the aspirations of Singaporeans and remain a common denominator among them throughout Singapore's history. A dream that the Government, which he was part of, was confident of providing for Singaporeans and would strive to improve on.

This dream that the Government had was: "to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation". There is no doubt that during Singapore's short history, we have seen the nation achieve these things. But the PAP Government is not one to rest on its laurels and is always looking to give Singaporeans a better quality of life and something higher to aspire towards.

In this context, Budget 2015 has helped hit the right notes, by taking the dream embodied in our National Pledge as a compass. Allow me to explain.

Let us start with prosperity and progress. There were many measures in the Budget that focused on helping businesses in Singapore. We are in the middle of Singapore's economic restructuring drive and the initial segment of replacing foreign labour with innovative, greater technology has yielded some results. We are getting companies here to be less reliant on cheap foreign labour to enable higher wages for our Singaporean workers and to

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be more conscious about being more productive and innovative.

This year, the Government has moved to the next level of its productivity push by focusing on innovation and the internationalisation of companies. This will help companies to be more productive about their top-lines and increase their revenues. This will also increase income levels for our companies and create jobs for Singaporeans. Not only are these ordinary jobs but, by first focusing on technology and now on innovation and internationalisation, the Government has ensured that the jobs for Singaporeans are going to be very much up the value-chain and the better-paying ones.

Even as global economic conditions continue to remain uncertain, the Government has taken steps to ensure that the current jobs of Singaporeans remain safe. The Wage Credit Scheme has been extended in this regard so that employers can sustain their manpower headcount and not have to cut jobs.

SMEs have also great reason to cheer because the Government has extended the corporate income tax rebate and introduced a 100% rebate for road tax on all commercial vehicles.

By keeping our economy vibrant, strong and resilient, sustainable and progressive, the Government has made sure that we have "prosperity and progress" for our nation.

Next, moving on to equality. It is important that Singaporeans can have a shared stake in this prosperity and progress created for our nation. For that to happen, Singaporeans must have opportunities to be a part of this success. Since Singapore's economy is moving up the value-chain and our companies will also upgrade themselves to be innovative, technologically-driven and outward-looking, then it will also demand a workforce that can be adaptable to these skills.

In this regard, through Budget 2015, the Government has invested substantial resources in education and skills upgrading to ensure that Singaporeans will have access to affordable and good quality education, and have ample opportunities to upgrade themselves to be relevant to the workforce.

By addressing fees for key national examinations and transport costs for students, the Government has reduced cost and affordability as barriers to education. Therefore, in this regard, I have to disagree with the hon Member Ms Sylvia Lim's comment earlier that the Singapore Government has always been calculative, that it charges even for school examination fees. Examination fees have always been a common practice. Personally, I have not seen any student being barred from examinations or being unable to take national

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examinations when they could not afford it. We have always had the heart to help the young in their education, as well as those who cannot afford it. Therefore, I think the Government has always had the heart to help any citizen in need. This measure reinforces the Government's belief that education is a great social leveller and embodies our value of equality.

So, I hope the hon Member Ms Sylvia Lim can give credit to the Government for this significant move to help parents and students, where credit is due. At the same time, I also hope that the Government will continue to do what is right when it is right to do so, regardless of those who take potshots at our policies.

The SkillsFuture scheme is another important initiative in this regard. By highlighting the skills needed, especially in the clusters that have been identified, the Government is already helping to develop the pipeline of talent that is needed. And the Government is not even placing the burden of this retraining on the individual Singaporean or on businesses. Through Budget 2015, the Government has backed Singaporeans to chart their career directions and acquire the requisite skills along the way. In doing so, the Government has helped Singaporeans pursue the dream of equality that Mr Rajaratnam had enshrined in the Pledge. The PAP Government is committed to providing such equality of opportunities to Singaporeans.

Moving on to justice: but even as the nation prospers and everyone gets equal access to benefit from this progress, there may be a segment that needs more help. In any meritocratic society, it is inevitable that some may gain more than others. But as a nation, Singapore has committed in its Pledge that it will build a society based on justice and equality. While I have explained earlier that the Government has ensured that Singaporeans gain equal access to opportunities, we may inevitably get a situation where the outcomes are unequal. We all take examinations, for example. Same opportunity, but the outcomes are different grades, depending on effort and talent. This is also the same at work. We all work hard and do our best, but outcomes we expect are also dependent on many other factors. This is even though the Government tries to level up all Singaporeans in terms of skills and education.

Nevertheless, within the context of a nation, a responsible government has to do as much as it can to ensure that no one gets left behind as the nation prospers. This can be best seen in Budget 2015, where the Government extended help to a cross-section of society, from the low-income to the middle-income and, certainly, the elderly, indeed.

We are hardly a welfare society and I am glad we are not, because we also have to be mindful of other aspects of our Pledge – a point that I will expand on shortly. But the Government's approach of targeted help, especially in terms of education, healthcare,

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housing and balancing our costs of living, is a much better approach of ensuring that social justice is meted out to Singaporeans.

Mdm Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to move a little away from the Pledge to touch on another aspect that is important to Singapore and Singaporeans – peace.

I dare say that peace, security and stability make Singapore stand out from the rest of the world and differentiate it from other countries. But, as a country, we must not ever let this get to our heads and take them for granted. We have lots of work to do, both for the Government and the rest of us as a society, in preserving the peace and harmony in Singapore and the region.

Here, I would like to take a minute to thank and commend our uniformed services – the Armed Forces, Air Force, Navy, Police, Civil Defence, ICA and Customs – who have worked tirelessly to ensure that we can have a good night's sleep, who help us have the comfort of thought knowing that when our loved ones are out, that they are generally safe. There are very few places in the world that provide you with such assurances and I am thankful that Singapore is one of them. So, we are grateful to all of these organisations and their staff for creating this environment for us.

We also have to thank our Foreign Service, which does an amazing job in maintaining and expanding Singapore's sovereign right and space in international circles. They also do a lot behind the scenes in helping to preserve the harmony and stability of the region we live in.

But as the world becomes a more complicated place, with newer and more complex threats and challenges, we need to ensure that our internal and external defences all have enough resources to help them be effective and efficient. So, in this regard, the Government's continued allocation of substantial resources towards defence and homeland security is essential.

How can we have more prosperity and progress – if our peace and stability are ever in doubt? I applaud the Government for not taking its eyes off these areas, even in years when the economy had less rosy prospects. We cannot compromise peace for anything else.

Moving on to happiness: some have asked if Singapore should include happiness indicators as a barometer of how our country is doing. However, if you look at the Pledge closely, we have already inculcated this into our dreams and aspirations for a united Singapore.

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By building a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation; by creating the other elements and strengthening them, the Government has provided the basis for happiness in our society.

As individuals, we should set our aspirations, moral compass and personal goals right and try to find happiness, hopefully, in our journey in life. We have many things that are going right for us. Life is never perfect, not here, not anywhere else in the world. So, celebrate our achievements, every little goal and dream we fulfil. And never let envy or others who only strive to put us down get in the way.

Budget 2015 has seen the Government do that as it strives to achieve the general betterment and happiness of Singapore, even though this may be challenging, considering that there are many different constituents and their wishes, which can sometimes be contradictory, to take care of. A responsible government will do its utmost to balance all of its citizens' needs and I am sure this Government will do its best. Mdm Speaker, please allow me to continue in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I am very happy, not only with what has been presented in the Budget, but also with the community's positive reaction, with many applauding the measures and incentives that provide greater opportunities for them to improve themselves along with Singapore's progress. For example, the SkillsFuture initiative is well received, with discussions focused on how the community needs to take full advantage of the opportunities offered. At the same time, many agree that there are various incentives in Budget 2015 that meet the needs of every Singaporean, today and tomorrow. Hence, Singaporeans should take the time to study, one by one, what is being offered by the Government.

I suggest to the Government that more effort be made to provide information and guidance to everyone, so that they can understand the details of the Budget and the long-term future direction of Singapore.

For me, this Budget is meant to further reinforce our fundamentals, to meet today's needs and tomorrow's challenges. The SkillsFuture initiative, for instance, is an important indication and philosophy of the Government on how it values and highly regards its people as human capital and important talents, to ensure the survival of the nation. Every citizen is an important member in this relationship. It is also a philosophy embedded in the Singapore Pledge, which is equality, or the equality of opportunity to progress, for instance, through education, with help from schemes like SkillsFuture and others. As stated in Berita Harian's editorial, the philosophy of continuing education and training is increasingly being widely implemented. With lower costs and better affordability, combined with subsidies and various assistance schemes like SkillsFuture Credit, it is hoped that this philosophy will be

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accepted by the people. As for the Malay community, these opportunities must be fully utilised.

Beyond that, the other measures provided can also reduce the burden on Malay families, including the middle-income and especially those with children. They will no longer be burdened by certain costs, for instance, the examination fees of their children.

A number of incentives, such as the reduction of foreign domestic worker levy, will help to reduce the cost of living. With such incentives, families will be able to focus on other important aspects of their lives. These include preparing for the future through skills upgrading and taking advantage of the subsidies and assistance provided.

Speaking of talents, the Malay community also has many potential talents among its youths that can be further upgraded. For example, we can see many Malays in the ITEs and the Polytechnics who are capable, not just in technical careers, but also in entrepreneurship.

I hope they can also take advantage of SkillsFuture, including participating in mentorship training offered by selected companies, to build up skills and expertise.

For example, jobs requiring general skills in retail and F&B are uncertain in nature. Workers would have more value in the job market if they have specialisation that is useful in a management career or if they become entrepreneurs. Basically, we must do our best to obtain specialisation training, to build our skills and upgrade ourselves.

Despite a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive environment, we are happy and proud to see many more Malays succeeding in their careers, including those in international companies.

In this regard, besides Government incentives and encouragement, community leaders and organisations must also enhance their efforts to further build up the talents in our community. These should not just come in the form of programmes and services, but also in terms of leadership that can provide a vision and the will to succeed.

In the business and entrepreneurship sectors, the business community should not just focus on enhancing productivity, but also on innovation, which is an important area that was also highlighted in this year's Budget. The old method that emphasised the burden of business costs must be put aside and we must continue to explore new ways to further improve our competitiveness, while reducing costs and enhancing our income.

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This Budget provides opportunities for the business sector to build expertise in this area. Most Malay businesses are in the services sector and they must find ways to take full advantage of schemes, such as the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme and the Capability Development Grants (CDG) to implement innovation and to further improve their branding, as well as to expand their markets overseas.

The Government is investing in these areas and so the Malay businessmen and Chamber of Commerce must give consideration to further develop entrepreneurial talent with potential at that level and also promote growth and confidence within our community, in terms of business.

Overall, Budget 2015 does not just provide assistance and incentives, but it also opens the doors wider for every Singaporean to take advantage of all the opportunities and make meaningful contributions towards the prosperity of Singapore, for the present and for the future.

(In English): Mdm Speaker, in a momentous year when Singapore celebrates its jubilee year, the Government has marked this with a Budget that throws many sceptics off their tracks. Where some asked if Singapore would be around for another 50 years as if to cast a doubt on the viability of our country, the Government has given optimism and hope to Singaporeans that there is much more to aspire towards.

This is because, just like our founding fathers – like Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr S Rajaratnam, Mr Goh Keng Swee and others before us over the past 50 years – this Government is committed to building a democratic society based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation. As long as the Government and the people of Singapore use these dreams as a compass, I have faith that Singapore will grow from strength to strength. Mdm Speaker, I rise in support of Budget 2015.

Mdm Speaker, since this is still within the Chinese New Year period, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the House happiness, prosperity and good health.

I rise in support of the Budget. This will be our biggest Budget to date and it is almost 20% more than last year's. Yet, it is a prudent and inclusive one, investing in our future development and our most precious resources – our people. I have every confidence that these investments will bear good fruits and create even more opportunities for Singapore

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and our future generations.

One of my favourite features of this year's Budget is the set of measures for building skills. The SkillsFuture Credits, more study awards, cost subsidies, internships and on-the-job-training are widely welcomed. I fully agree with Deputy Prime Minister Tharman that our country must become a meritocracy of skills. Our people should be valued for expertise and contributions at each stage of life.

If we are to remain competitive as a nation and as an economy, we have to update the way we motivate, incentivise and reward our workers. Learning and developing our potential throughout our lives is the way to go. If we do not change our mindsets, we will end up either being complacent or discouraged and the outlook for our next 50 years will be gloomy.

My constituents, friends and colleagues have also shared with me how appreciative they are of the measures to support families and the more vulnerable seniors. Some have even expressed concerns about the sustainability of these measures and urged prudence in our future expenditure, requesting not to burden taxpayers too much.

Everyone I spoke with welcomed the increase in CPF salary ceiling, saying that that will be helpful for middle-aged workers. They also appreciate the higher interest rates for workers aged above 50 to 65 which are much higher than the low market commercial interest rates one can get today. On this note, I would also like to ask the Government to do more to share this information with the public. I noticed this morning when I saw the Facebook post by our Speaker, when she met residents recently in a coffee shop, she also realised that some Singaporeans may not know this information. I share her thought.

I would like to appeal to the Minister to consider providing more incentives and tax reliefs to CPF members who top up the CPF accounts of their family members through their own CPF or in cash so that these loved ones, currently restricted to parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, spouse and siblings, can also enjoy the security and higher returns of CPF savings.

Presently, CPF members can enjoy an additional tax relief of up to $7,000 per calendar year if they use cash to make top-ups for their loved ones. Would the Government consider removing this cap of $7,000? I am sure that more members will be encouraged to make more top-ups if every dollar's top-up can enjoy tax relief, just as higher tax deductions for donations have led to more donations, which is why the Government has increased tax deductions for donations made to IPC-registered charities this year from 250% to 300% – tripled.

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Another welcomed measure is the Special Employment Credit to encourage employers to continue to extend employment to older workers. For those who can and want to continue to work, we must do our utmost to support them as their many years of experience and cumulative wisdom bring invaluable contributions to the workplace.

Not many countries have the luxury of implementing measures, such as ours. We are able to do so without debt or burdening future generations because of the surpluses from years of economic growth. It is absolutely critical to secure continued economic vibrance for sustained prosperity.

We must remain attractive to foreign investors even as we push ahead to develop our local enterprises and their overseas expansions. The confidence of investors, both local and foreign, is very important for us to be able to continue to develop our various sectors and provide good and quality jobs for all Singaporeans.

With a dynamic economy, we can keep our Singapore dollar strong and this will help keep our cost of living low since we import almost all our goods. Singaporeans love to travel. I am sure they have noticed how, in recent years, our strong Singapore dollar has stretched their purchases overseas. The strong Singapore dollar will help us to also check on the cost of living, since we import most of the goods into Singapore.

We must be mindful that with global competition, our workers face foreign competition even when they are not on our territory. The way of doing business and consumer behaviour have been changed tremendously by technology. Nowadays, people bid for jobs and take orders online. I believe most people in this House or their family members would have also made purchases online. Services can be delivered online and products via delivery. Borders are really coming down and competition can be from anywhere, everywhere. On the other hand, the world is our oyster. We can expand our business overseas through the same online channels as well.

Not everyone is ready to take advantage of this development and it is important that the Government educates more Singaporeans to embrace these changes and reap the benefits. Singapore is moving towards being a Smart Nation and the Government has to help our local businesses adjust.

Of course, there are implications for brick-and-mortar set-ups and rentals. Private residential, commercial, industrial property owners cannot keep on increasing rentals. Increasingly, businesses do not even need retail or office space because of the new technology.

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On the other hand, I would like to take this opportunity to request the Government to help keep costs of business down by keeping the rental of industrial and commercial properties down.

As the price of oil has fallen significantly, the value of our workers' output may be affected. The productivity index may not reflect the full picture of the gain of workers' productivity and workers have to work even harder to get the same value of output. The value of work is impacted by non-labour components, such as rental and energy costs.

The deferment of foreign worker levy hikes is welcomed and businesses are requesting that the levy not be increased further.

There is a need to encourage employers to support their employees' needs. Often, employers are concerned that the staff will join their competitors after investments in training them. There are bigger challenges for SMEs to attract and train staff as they may not have the luxury of resources.

We also have to examine how to support employees to upgrade skills and acquire new technologies, especially those in mid-career. In a rapidly changing and competitive market, the lifespan of skills acquired may be shorter than expected.

What kind of support can be further extended to Singaporeans, especially as we need to continue to encourage procreation? Raising fertility remains one of our long-term economic priorities for continued economic vibrancy and sustainability.

Finally, I would like to share my concerns about the role of automation in raising productivity. I am sure that many of us have seen recent reports of how automation and the use of robots in various industries have helped with manpower shortage and raised productivity.

This is a global trend and will continue unabated. It is impossible for Singapore to fight this trend as the majority of the changes are taking place overseas beyond our jurisdiction, in countries with huge manufacturing capabilities and capacities, particularly the United States and China. In fact, China has recently overtaken the United States as the largest global market for robots.

The Wall Street Journal published a thought-provoking article "What clever robots mean for Jobs" on 26 February this year. The article highlights how automation reduces demand for certain jobs. Robots can now handle unpredictability and take on jobs that used to require human skills or judgement. And computer can even "read human facial

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expressions, do legal research, write stock reports and news stories, as well as translate conversations. At car dealers, they generate online advertising. And, at banks, they churn out government-required documents to flag potential money laundering – all jobs done by human workers a short time ago".

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said last year that "automation threatens all manners of workers, from drivers to waiters to nurses".

For us here, with our manpower shortage, this should sound like good news. However, we must be mindful that the profits from this increased productivity accrue to owners of the businesses which own the automated businesses, factories and companies. This has, in fact, likely escalated income inequality and resulted in stagnating wages overseas.

Hence, we must be careful not to let the flipside of this technological advancement hurt our workers, too. Instead, as a nation, we must strategise and concentrate on taking advantage of this trend, investing and taking stakes in these businesses as individuals, organisations, corporations and as a nation through our sovereign funds. Only then can we reap the profits for the benefit of our people.

The article also mentioned that even as some jobs become obsolete, new jobs are created. It gave the example of Rio Tinto's Australian mines. Automation has cut many driving jobs which are now mostly being done by robots. However, "the company now needs more network technicians and mechatronics engineers, a hybrid of electrical and mechanical engineering that hardly existed five years ago".

The restructuring of our education system, to tie in more closely with the needs of employers and industries, is a step in the right direction to stay relevant in this new market. With that, Mdm Speaker, I support the Budget.

Thank you, Mdm Speaker, for allowing me to join this debate. I strongly support this Budget. This is an expansionary Budget well worth celebrating. At the same time, these are challenging times.

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I applaud the Budget's strong commitment to both the ongoing productivity effort and the recalibration of the foreign manpower policy. I also applaud the Budget's renewed emphasis on the importance of targeted social support. Just as I believe the tightening two years ago of the criteria for Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) payouts was the correct decision to take, I believe that the coverage of the Silver Support scheme should be kept narrow for better effect rather than diluted by too wide a spread. I also strongly support the continued application of such negative taxes to further enhance the progressivity of the tax system to the advantage of the lower income.

On the other hand, I am concerned by the fact that a key part of the Government's manpower policy is an overly heavy emphasis on using employment credits to tilt wage relativities in favour of local workers. Going forward, I urge the Government to conserve such schemes for times of real need and, instead, redirect these resources towards providing even more of a role for social support.

The surprise – but extremely welcome – raising of rates for top personal income tax brackets is a very important achievement of this Budget. Together with the advances in tax progressivity, conferred with negative taxes, they go a long way towards compensating for the regressive nature of broad-based indirect taxes we have in our system. While the rise in rates will not come into force for some time, I fully support the Deputy Prime Minister's point that they are a necessary feature going forward, if the calls from many quarters for more social safety nets are to be heeded.

The current Budget is able to run a projected deficit by drawing on the benefits of surpluses. These surpluses are likely to shrink with slower rates of economic growth. Hence the Budget has identified five growth clusters for the future. These new growth clusters offer hope for recovering our growth momentum, but may not necessarily be at a base less hectic than we had a decade ago.

Mdm Speaker, please allow me to elaborate on these points.

Despite having undergone five years of restructuring, I believe we should accept that it is not unreasonable for productivity improvements to be slow in showing up. This is because the economic transformation that is needed strikes at the very core of the way Singapore's society and its businesses think and operate. We are nostalgic for the past but, at the same time, impatient for the future. This is true not just in our personal lives but in the way business and workplace norms are structured. It becomes a question of which we consider more important in moving forward.

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In the meantime, the productivity effort and the recalibration of foreign manpower have often been regarded as synonymous. They are actually distinct, I argue, and whether we like it or not, each must continue at as quick a pace as possible. There has been an unfortunate tendency to fault the manpower recalibration directly for the lack of progress in productivity improvements.

This is unfair. We should instead consider the magnitude of the restructuring task Singapore is embarked upon. Going by available data for the first half of 2014, we are only seeing the first non-recession year in a decade where foreign manpower growth will come in slower than local manpower growth. A change this huge will clearly impact work processes and more time should be allowed for work performance to reach its potential.

Mdm Speaker, given the scale of such a shift, the complexity of the manoeuvre – if I may borrow the analogy – is like steering a very large vessel. The sharper the turn, the wider the turning arc required. One of the greatest dangers is to begin acceleration without ensuring that the vessel is properly stabilised as it comes out of its turn. It is not unreasonable for the economy to require time to stabilise before it can accelerate to its full potential under the restructured regime.

In contrast to some suggestions that the productivity targets themselves should be modified in light of the performance to-date, I believe the targets are not unreasonable. Instead, it might be better to be patient and allow the timeframe for their achievement to extend beyond the current decade. There are signs of real progress on productivity overcoming the resistance to change and the Government should firmly commit itself to the validity of the target as a long-term goal.

With regard to the foreign manpower controls, I believe it is not too early to begin looking ahead to a future when foreign manpower growth will firmly come under control and the use of foreign manpower should then stabilise at a sustainable level. The Government has already made it clear that the levies are not a revenue stream. I support this stance, because dependence on such disincentive schemes for revenue would be a source of weakness to the fiscal system. For that reason and in line with the forward-looking nature of recent Budgets, I would urge the Government to begin considering how the system of levies can be modified for the future.

I do not agree, however, with those economists and business leaders who call for a reduction or refund of levies, to reward companies who have demonstrated improved productivity with less intensive foreign manpower utilisation. The reason for my disagreeing with this approach is that I believe the levies also serve another important role. It seeks to price in the social burden, such as to public infrastructure, of accommodating a large population of foreign manpower. But if the underlying implication is that such levies are

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purely punitive without recognising effort at improving performance, then I would agree that the system would automatically lose its relevance if left in its current form.

Madam, the fundamental issue is, therefore, how to ensure that the recalibrated manpower policy continues to best serve the economy's needs. Instead of rewarding achievements in productivity and foreign manpower savings, the aim should be to adopt a formula which can secure such gains. Hence, one possibility in going forward could be to adopt levy holidays, not as entitlements awarded for past performance, but tied to sustained and ongoing improvements.

Madam, notwithstanding my support for the Budget, I believe there is at least one aspect of our restructuring policies which deserves serious reconsideration. Presently, there are three employment credit schemes in force: the Special Employment Credit (SEC), Temporary Employment Credit (TEC) and the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS).

Given that such programmes distort the labour market, their extended use is a serious cause of concern. Although they do have the effect of shifting relative wages in favour of local workers, they also end up delaying the adjustments that businesses should make in order to complete restructuring.

There is also a second problem with the extension of employment credits during times when employment growth is already healthy: it would limit the options available in times of real labour market weakness. Singapore's successful exit in 2010 from the recession was due in no small part to the innovation of the Jobs Credit Scheme (JCS). As we saw at that time, the policy timing was important, in both implementation and swift withdrawal.

During the downturn in 2009, concerns were raised about the sustainability of CPF cuts as a counter-recessionary policy. Blunt or not, it remains one of the very few instruments available to policymakers. Employment credits are another in this limited arsenal and their over-use now could render them impotent when the need arises.

The Jobs Credit Scheme was in effect for a mere 18 months, comprising S$4.3 billion spread out over six quarterly payouts, according to IRAS. In comparison, the Wage Credit Scheme, first announced in Budget 2013, will run much longer than that and – counting the Transition Support Package as a whole – will amount to an estimated S$9.1 billion by 2017, $7.3 billion of which will be expended in the first three years. The extent to which the total amount of these employment credits exceeds the Jobs Credit Scheme is too large to ignore.

A survey of the state of the global economy shows that the strengthening evidence of late recovery from the Great Recession is generally interspersed with fresh signs of a number

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of political, financial, economic and conflict-driven risks. Given that the danger of a downturn is not negligible, we should conserve our policy options.

There is also a third concern with excessive use of employment credits and, that is, policy overreach. Apart from the Wage Credit Scheme, we also now have the Temporary Employment Credit and the Special Employment Credit schemes. The Temporary Employment Credit scheme is explicitly linked to rises in employer CPF contributions, and means that taxpayers temporarily take on the increased payments. Given this explicit link and the fact that it is allocated the smallest funding, we may leave it aside as the least problematic of the three.

That leaves the Special Employment Credit. The SEC is aimed at improving the employability of older workers; it was introduced in Budget 2011 as a one-off measure for three years. Just a year later, it was enhanced and extended for five years from 2012 to 2016. The payouts also leapt from the $100 million that had been estimated for 2011 to an estimated $497 million in each of the years of the extended period.

It has already been widely acknowledged that the participation rate of older workers has been increasing over the last few years. This is undoubtedly already a significant policy achievement. A comparison of the labour force participation rates (LFPR) of Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan reveals Singapore's rate among those aged 50 and above now to be the highest of this group. Singapore has also seen the largest increase in the labour force participation rate in this group over the last 10 years.

Hence, there are at least two important policy questions to consider. First, is there scope for further increase, and second, what are the consequences of pushing this participation rate up even further, especially for the consequences of alternative roles that older Singaporeans already play?

On the first question, we should note that the increase in the labour force participation rate of those aged 55 to 59 jumped 15 points over the decade from June 2004 to June 2014, while the one for those aged 60 to 64 jumped a staggering 26 points. This brings the labour force participation rate for these two groups very close to, although they are still lower than, those of Japan.

On the second point, Singapore is still the type of society where multi-generational family structures, with its accompanying system of support, have been traditionally valued. And that type of arrangement has spill-over economic benefits: for instance, when grandparents look after the kids, women in the prime of their life can continue to contribute

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in the workforce.

My concern is that such rapid changes to the labour force participation rate of older workers will have significant consequences for our society and it may be better to allow these changes to develop slowly with an eye to their longer term benefits rather than to consider older worker participation as a goal in itself.

Finally, I would like to laud the Government for raising personal income tax rates for the top income brackets. Here, I do believe that a direct linkage with prioritising social support for those in greatest need is an important part of a social compact that is one answer to how to even out the unequal gains from rapid growth.

One way for the economy to find its footing through what I believe will be an extended duration of the current restructuring process is to ensure that the fruits of the growth that had been made possible through the earlier growth strategy are distributed more evenly.

Even as the Budgets over the last five years have concentrated on steering the economy through this wide arc of restructuring, there has also been substantial attention paid in these Budgets to uplifting the low-income and disadvantaged through schemes like Workfare. Budget 2015 continues to provide more secure and targeted redistribution that is focused on benefiting the low-income.

Despite the remarkable and welcome leap in targeted assistance represented by Silver Support, however, there are still many groups which will be left out. Those in the lowest quintile with young children or elderly dependents and, therefore, whose ability to hold down a job while performing challenging caregiving roles, are people who also deserve targeted assistance. Their needs should be met by ensuring their dependents are provided for. For instance, in areas, such as childcare, children's school fees and textbooks, the assistance should be enough so that the working members of the household can continue to function in the workforce effectively. As the latest household expenditure survey showed, the gap between average expenditure and average income for the lowest quintile is not small.

In view of this, I would respectfully disagree with those who ask for less stringent criteria for allocating Silver Support. Giving, say, a few hundred dollars to everyone of a certain demographic group would spread the amounts out too thin. It is better to give to those who need them in a structured and precise manner. It is also important to develop clear rules for withdrawal of support, to allow for the prospect that some recipients at least may in time to come no longer need them. This is because there are many others whom attention should be given to in the competition for assistance.

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Despite the desire to have more social safety nets, this Budget is a reminder that they have to be funded through either surpluses or new avenues of tax.

In conclusion, I feel that it is timely to take stock of our vulnerabilities as a small economy, in light of the frequent calls for a less hectic pace of growth. A small dynamic economy like Singapore may not slow down "well". It is not something we fully understand.

The fiscal space to fund more social programmes ultimately comes from strong economic growth. Hence, we should continue to exploit the opportunities for better growth whenever they present themselves. That will require that we secure our footholds in new growth areas and this Budget is making a very good start on that.

Although rapid growth often stokes inequality, the solution should not be less growth, but a better formula for redistributing the benefits of growth. No formula is perfect, but Singapore has to be cautious and prepare for the possibility that – unlike resource-rich and larger economies – slower growth may not turn out to be the idyllic experience we imagine. By simultaneously drawing on surpluses, proposing a deficit and announcing a surprise rise in taxes on the high income, this Budget gives us a timely reminder of the stark realities we face. Mdm Speaker, I support this Budget.

Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate on Budget 2015. This year's Budget is an ambitious Budget. It sets out bold goals on the changes required for the economy, society and even mindsets as it seeks to build the future for Singapore.

Budget 2015 covers many aspects from supporting individual capability building, support for lower income and middle class to boosting retirement adequacy, encouraging companies to innovate and internationalise, investing in infrastructure and strengthening future revenues.

While the focus is on transformation and building Singapore's future, I am glad that Deputy Prime Minister Tharman emphasised that our people continue to remain in the heart of Singapore's transformation. In the major steps on the four areas of Budget 2015 takes, people and the impact on and the support for continue and must be the focus.

In my speech, I would like to touch on the following areas: evolving our mindsets and culture; social mobility and opportunity, with specific focus on SkillsFuture; and the quality

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and sustainability of the growth we are building for the future.

The Budget makes a fundamental shift in approach with significant spending on support initiatives to build for the future and strengthen social security for Singaporeans. There is also a move towards greater collective culture and responsibility.

We do, however, need to be cognisant that this year's Budget has a fiscal deficit of $6.7 billion or 1.7% of GDP, albeit that surpluses in current reserves accumulated since 2011 will be more than adequate to cover for this.

Total Government spending will go up significantly with increased operating expenditures. This is driven from the various support for Singaporean families and households to help them with the cost of living spanning education, work, housing and healthcare. There are permanent features with investments through SkillsFuture with over a $1 billion per year on average that will be spent from now till 2020 to support lifelong learning. Silver Support is also a permanent scheme that will cost about $350 million in the first full year and expected to rise as more Singaporeans turn 65 years of age. There is also significant increase in the development expenditures for Changi Airport Terminal 5, our healthcare and public transport infrastructure as outlined.

The question then is, "Must we spend more?" And I believe we must. With the growing income disparity and cost of living, this is the right and necessary thing to do to ensure that there is a better life for all Singaporeans, especially those who do face greater pressures, that is, the lower income and the "sandwiched class". This is to ensure a more cohesive society and, as the Deputy Prime Minister put it in a recent media interview a day after delivering the Budget, he emphasised that "we have to spend more in the next five years in the common interest."

While many have welcomed this fundamental shift in policy to building a future that gives all Singaporeans greater assurances, more opportunities and a better home, there is, also from feedback, a heightened concern that we may run the risk of a mindset of dependency and expectation for continued increased spending. Therefore, we must stay vigilant to managing the delicate balance on the part of the Government for fiscal prudence with continued judicious spending and revenue adequacy, together with a culture of preserving an ethic of work, personal effort and responsibility from all Singaporeans and a collective responsibility of the community. If we are to succeed in building a stronger Singapore, we must preserve this Singapore ethic.

I would like now to touch on social mobility and opportunity for all.

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Budget 2015 has a wide spectrum of initiatives to support lower and middle-income Singaporeans and seniors. As mentioned, this is needed if we are to build a Fair and Just Society, to address the growing income gap and cost of living challenges faced by especially the lower and middle income.

While these initiatives are important for this Budget, I like to focus my discussion on SkillsFuture. SkillsFuture is a recognition of the need for continuous learning. Hence, it provides individuals the means to stay relevant and deepen their skills.

As part of SkillsFuture, the Government will be investing in new forms of industry collaboration to help uplift the large base of SMEs who face constraints in training capability and capacity as SMEs provide 70% of the workforce employment. Just as we have always emphasised Education as an important lever for social mobility and a means for everyone to have "a chance to move up regardless of where they start", then with the changes in the job market, SkillsFuture will "enable every Singaporean to own their own journey in life and gain fulfilment at work, even in their senior years."

The Budget's vision that "We must become a meritocracy of skills and not a hierarchy of grades earned early in life" is not made in a vacuum. What it does recognise is the realities of what is happening both in Singapore and in economies around the world driven by technological advances and the need – and I stress this – the need for differentiation to enable one to be able to take advantage of the opportunities presented. It is important to stress that the approach that we take to skills must not be one that is just about accumulation of training or knowledge but it must be one of learning and, most importantly, mastery of skills.

We are already witnessing that the way we work and the type of jobs or professions that are valued are changing. In a recent article this week in The Telegraph on 10 well-paid jobs of the future, futurologists make predictions on the lucrative careers for 2030. They predicted that based on trends, in 10 to 20 years' time, the chances are that our jobs – and the way we work – will be very different.

In the same article, Ian Pearson, a futurologist argued that the better technology gets, the more people will have to focus on their "human skills" to survive in the workforce. He said that "as computers get more intelligent, the work that will take over will require human skills like leadership, motivation and compassion."

Karen Moloney, another futurologist and business psychologist agreed and she said that, "The world will divide into those who understand technology and those who do not. Those who can programme will create the world we live in." And she advocates that we should

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therefore get ourselves into the field of technology.

Today, many of us will agree that computational thinking and coding are skills that are recognised as skills required to "future proof" our students. Ms Moloney, however, also made a very interesting point to say that if technology is not what you are good at, then, she says, "Find yourself something to do that is hyper-human, which computers can't do, such as entertainment, sport, caring personal services" to differentiate oneself.

In my Budget speech last year, I also cited a Forbes article, which talked about the top 10 jobs in 2013 that did not exist 10 years ago. What this means is that we are preparing our students and workforce for jobs that do not yet exist. What I shared of the views in The Telegraph, trends are also showing that this transformation of work will continue. Many other reports on future jobs share the same view.

There are some who have expressed concerns about whether SkillsFuture will further drive amongst Singaporeans a mindset of entitlement and one of dependency on the Government. Is the Government doing too much such that we blunt the drive and the ownership of individuals and businesses? Should this not be driven by personal motivation to improve and upskill ourselves?

While there are good reasons to be concerned, this is in some way addressed by how SkillsFuture initiatives are mapped out. I believe that while there are investments made with SkillsFuture to provide career coaching, grants and full salary for graduates on the Earn and Learn programme; study awards for those who wish to determine their skills; as well as fellowship cash awards for those more senior in their fields to further master their skills; as well as skills credit for all Singaporeans 25 years and above; all these programmes – yes, they sound like a lot – but all these programmes will require individuals and businesses – not just individuals but businesses as well – to take joint accountability as it will require personal effort to learn, to take up these opportunities. For businesses, it will require commitment to provide employment over a period of 12 to 18 months for the Earn and Learn programme.

As Deputy Prime Minister Tharman said in his Budget speech, SkillsFuture will require different motivation in our society. It is driving a change in culture. Individuals will need to take ownership of learning and work towards mastery of skills to drive value and differentiation. Organisations on their part must recognise the value of people and more importantly, invest in developing their people while also giving opportunity to mid-career Singaporeans. Industry must also have a collaborative culture to join forces to develop skills for the industry. While the Government is providing the catalyst to drive the culture change with SkillsFuture, the success of SkillsFuture will lie in how individuals, businesses and

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industry play their part.

I do want to touch on a point of the Skills Credit account and what it can do to enable those who are out of the workforce, for example, women who have taken some time off to take care of their family to be able to have the means to undergo training to stay relevant.

As outlined in the 10-point Response to the Government Announcements in Budget 2015, one of the areas that the PAP Women's Wing called on the Government is to make special efforts to help stay-home mothers take advantage of SkillsFuture initiatives. This will enable them to keep their skills updated and remain employable.

An example could be enhancing e-learning options to allow access to training from home while they are out of the workforce. This will enable women who have taken time off from work to take care of their families stay connected and keep their skills up-to-date. This will help women home-makers have confidence to return to the workforce should they wish to do so in the future.

And I would say to you that it may seem trivial to some, but this is a very important point because in my career, I have seen many women who have left the workforce for these purposes and it is a very good reason for leaving the workforce to take care of the family. But what happens, if they cannot stay connected and they cannot keep their skills updated, what happens is they lose the confidence to come back. And so it is such an important point that we must not forget.

According to MOM, Singapore's statistics show that Singapore women are more likely to drop out of the labour force after marriage and childbirth. In a recent online survey by Accenture, 74% of Singaporean women said they turned down jobs because of concerns about work-life balance. Singapore women participation rate in the workforce is lower than that of tradition-steeped countries, such as Japan and Korea. There are also fewer Singapore women aged 40-49 at work than compared to their counterparts in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Today, the explosion of collaboration technology and cloud services has made it possible to be productive anywhere and anytime, I do hope to see fewer women dropping out of the workforce and sacrificing their professional aspirations because they feel they have to choose. And I am speaking from personal experience because this is a bug-bear I have. I have seen many women with very strong aspirations feeling that they have to choose. And I think employers – and I am glad the Government is doing it – but I think employers, too, have to step up and ensure that this becomes a reality because it will benefit not just families, it will benefit the women themselves but, most importantly, the economy and

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society.

The Women's Wing also sees families as having a role to play in creating a supportive ecosystem to encourage women homemakers to pursue lifelong learning. So, the ask is for the Government to consider allowing husbands and children to make partial transfers of their un-used SkillsFuture Credits in future to give more support to their homemaker wives and mothers to pursue training.

Now, I would like to touch on the quality and sustainability of growth. Is the increased spending sustainable? And the point I would like to ensure is that while we look at quality and sustainability of growth of Singapore, many will assume that this will just happen. And as MTI had said, economic growth is expected, with GDP growth expected to be between 2% and 4% next year which is fairly aligned with 2014.

But the key aspect of the Budget underlining all the support schemes is still about growth and the recognition that our people are at the centre of that to support that goal– the SkillsFuture that I have talked a lot about – creates that environment for lifelong learning. And there must also be growth to enable quality jobs because without the quality jobs, SkillsFuture and all the skills we build comes to nought.

The Budget has identified also five growth clusters for future where Singaporeans have the capacity to excel. While previous Budgets have focused on restructuring and productivity schemes to support businesses, Budget 2015 is looking to companies to make more significant breakthroughs in order to drive productivity improvements. Budget 2015 also sharpens support to business-making efforts to raise productivity by innovating and growing their businesses through internationalising.

With SkillsFuture and the focus on mastery of skills, there must be the ability for companies to drive their restructuring and growth strategies to absorb these Singaporean talents and skills. While there is a deferment for this year's levy increases, and the Deputy Prime Minister has been clear that it is to give more time for adjustments to business and it is not a change in the direction to the new normal of a permanently tight labour market.

Hence, the emphasis needs to be innovation and we need to reduce the reliance on manpower especially unskilled labour. Manpower is an area that businesses continue to feel the pain and I think we need to recognise this. It is especially so for those who have jobs that Singaporeans do not wish to do. We all will agree that we cannot completely do away with people even in those roles that could be mechanised, automated – even in those, the human element cannot go away. But what we need to do need is that we have to look at how to upskill and restructure these jobs to justify higher salaries so that we can change perception

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and attract Singaporeans to want to do these jobs. And the point I emphasise is not about skills upgrading but the point about justifying the higher wages. While we can restructure jobs, we need to change mindsets of those jobs and businesses must be willing to pay more for these jobs.

The Budget does outline concrete actions to uplift the broad base of SMEs that provide employment for Singaporeans and to help Singaporeans develop their careers. I think this is a big shift. I am not sure many realise that. There will be investments in the new form of industry collaborations with initiatives like the Sectoral Manpower Plans (SMP). SMEs, given their size, lack the training capacity and are also not able to plan for the future. These new forms of collaboration that the Government is strengthening between training institutions, unions, trade associations and employers to develop the SMPs for key sectors, will be important. These sectors will have dedicated manpower plans, outlined to identify the skills required for these industries to grow. Working with industries partners, the Government will develop a shared pool of mentors with specialised and industry-relevant skills which SMEs can tap on.

It is a whole new capability and capacity.

Ms Tan, you will have to wrap up your speech. You are reaching your time limit.

All right. Thank you. The Earn and Learn Study Programme will also match graduates to employers to enable them to work and train towards industry-recognised certifications. This, too, is an important point to help graduates and match skills to jobs.

An area of SkillsFuture that I would like to see addressed is the support for workers who face mid-career changes, or women wanting to return to the workforce. Could this programme or similar programmes be extended to support and target this group as well to allow them to make adjustments back into the workforce?

Madam, Budget 2015 is a Budget that is focused on building for the future, anchored on people and giving Singaporeans hope with opportunities to succeed and to do better, no matter where we start from; and greater assurance at each stage of life, hence emphasising the kind of nation that we want to build. With that, Madam, I support the Budget.

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Mdm Speaker, I stand in support of the Motion raised by Minister for Finance Mr Tharman Shanmugartanam.

I am most heartened by the announcement of the Silver Support Scheme. The concern and care for the needy seniors are most welcome indeed. This vulnerable group may have little or no savings due to lower wages during their working lives and they may have little or no family support for various reasons. This package speaks volumes that our Government has empathy to care for the needy seniors who had contributed to our nation building in the past. It also sends the right message that we can be a society that respects our elders and a nation that is grateful to our Pioneers; in much similar way to the Pioneer Package. These are desirable attributes that we can inculcate in our young. Coming from our Government, it is the best example to emulate and it will leave a lasting legacy.

I have been a long-time advocate of "lifelong learning" and have spoken on it five times since 2007 in this House. In 2009, I dedicated my main Budget Debate speech to suggest adopting "lifelong learning in a learning society" as the way forward. A society organised for learning has the crucial ingredient to cope with the fast changing world of today and tomorrow. I therefore whole-heartedly support the SkillsFuture Credit for every Singaporean to spend on future education. Our Government is charting the correct path; this augers well for us to continue succeeding as a progressive nation.

The title of the Budget Statement this year is "Building Our Future, Strengthening Social Security". I feel that building our future should begin with our Government Ministries. Thus for the rest of my speech, I would like to touch on the topic of how to better cater to the higher expectations of our present and future populace.

The better-educated and better-informed citizenry of Singapore today has higher expectations from our Government agencies. I would like our Government to consider better service delivery to residents to meet the changing needs of today's and tomorrow's populace.

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Most times, our policies are well-intended for the greater good and benefit of the residents, but, the execution of policies, if badly delivered, will only bring unhappiness and even wrath upon those in-charge and the Government.

I would like to emphasise on the three service deliveries that we can further improve on. These are better responsiveness, personalisation of service and empathy. Empathy means better understanding of citizens' needs, seeing things from their perspectives and willingness to provide well-rounded solutions to their problems.

I shall illustrate with one example. A Mr Tan – not his real name – received a visit call from a Government agency officer after seeing his Member of Parliament three times at the Meet-the-People Sessions. One of the first things the officer told Mr Tan was that his complaint of water flooding into his kitchen every time it rained was his own responsibility to rectify. But in actual fact, Mr Tan could not rectify the problem even after calling his own contractor to do the repairs. This is because the problem was due to a structural defect of the building making it impossible to be solved from within the unit. In the meantime, the Member of Parliament in charge had received the same complaints from other units in the same block with no resolution to the matter. By now Mr Tan was angry and fed up with that Government agency, even with his Member of Parliament and was left with a bitter feeling due to that unpleasant experience and having to live with continued annoyance every time it rained.

Many Members in this House may be familiar with such scenarios. Many such incidents can only add to the groundswell of unhappiness and discontent. It is a pity considering that the intentions of our policies are well-planned and well-intended to bring benefits to residents. We need to change our style of service delivery and communication.

I would like our Government to consider the following suggestions that we can reflect on to achieve better service deliveries going forward: (a) effective leadership; (b) resident-centric; and (c) excellent service motto.

One, effective leadership. The heads of departments are the vital effectors to make changes and shift towards better service deliveries, better engagement and better responsiveness. They are the ones to set the right trends in service and service priorities. They have to consider the importance of outcome and support for staff in charting the change for the better.

A good initial directive would be to adopt appropriate openness and humility by accepting residents' views or suggestions. The essential goal of each agency or department

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should be to achieve good public relationships.

Getting the right staff with the appropriate skills for the scope of duties is vital in good service deliveries. It is worthwhile to invest resources in having adequate numbers of personnel to prevent excessive workload, especially for frontline staff. It is also worthwhile to use resources in the provision of skills training, upgrading of skills and communication courses for all staff.

Workplace-specific scenarios can also be used to better equip officers on the ground to handle their tasks better. This calls for good judgement of the officers on their scope of work and expertise in matters at solving or facilitating to solve issues. Only with such service deliveries in place can we get trust and respect and, more importantly, goodwill from residents.

Investment in technology for data entry, feedback management and follow-up should be further expanded to better solve problems surfaced by residents. Customer feedback data and the use of IT is a good source for data analysis on service delivery outcomes.

Use of IT and automation of certain services will enable reduction on manpower and thus save on cost and at the same time facilitate effective delivery. Skills that are useful for staff to have are in logic interpretation and interpreting evidence and data. Ease of workload on the ground can also tap on technology such as mobile applications.

Two, resident-centric. Good communication is key to mitigating problematic issues on the ground. Many a time, even unfavourable news can be made more palatable through good communication. Officers that handle residents, especially frontline officers, should be equipped with good communication skills. It will be a good idea to send our staff who deal with residents, especially frontline staff, for communications courses. For instance, the Tanjong Pagar Town Council is sending its entire staff for the SQ Customer Management Course to better equip them to service residents. The Town Council also has a team of service ambassadors on the ground in every estate; their job being to seek out complaints and feedback and act on them proactively.

Skills required by staff include being able to listen empathetically, to stand on the side of residents, to find solutions, to solve the problems and to close the loops with satisfactory results.

In these times of more angst than gratitude, there is a need to change our handling of residents in terms of expanding communications and improving our engagement strategies.

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I hope all Ministries can adopt and adapt strategies to this new landscape.

In any situation, there will always be areas that we cannot accede to and there will always be the minority of residents that can be unreasonable. The approach will still be for us to show that we have tried our best and hope we get better understanding from residents.

Three, excellent service motto. What is the yardstick for evaluating the performance of public service delivery presently? Is it based on the number of cases of complaints closed by each officer or by each department? Customer satisfaction should be used as an indicator of the achievement of a public sector organisation rather than the work or projects completed. I agree that customer satisfaction is a less tangible and quantifiable yardstick; but it is being used by the corporate world with good outcome.

From the top, leaders must set the right direction. Since there are many layers in our Ministries, this direction should be adopted at every level, especially at the level of managers and supervisors of every department, in order to effect change. Intervening at multiple levels is key towards transforming to achieve outcome.

Better communications should begin from the inside of each department of our Ministries. The feedback from the ground should be discussed and considered by the officers of the unit or department. This is when collective feedback can be more effectively sorted out. For instance, if there are more than several units of an HDB block with the same complaints received, then the department should take suggestions from the officers to proactively find the fault that can be rectified and taken in totality, solve the issues before similar complaints surface. By tackling the tasks en mass, the department can cut down on work-effort and save costs. In the end, the relevant department will get better goodwill and also lesser complaints. Such communications among staff will promote understanding, sharing of good practices and airing of grievances. The combined ideas and collective effort on solving complex cases are useful in finding new solutions.

An excellent service motto begins from each Ministry being able to recognise the excellence of service delivered by each and every staff in the Ministry. At Tanjong Pagar Town Council, staff that has received commendation letters or any other commendable mentions from residents is being recognised each month by the team of managers in a little ceremony where the staff is being presented with a gift token.

We have an efficient Civil Service that is well known in all over the world. Many countries have sent their government officers to study our local system. Our Civil Service has been deemed to be excellent in its execution of policies over the years. Let us now continue

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to be also excellent in getting the public's understanding, support and trust.

In another area of importance for good service delivery by our Ministries, may I seek our Government to encourage all Ministries to be united and have a concerted picture of the whole Civil Service? The call is for all to adopt the larger resolve for collective contribution to overall priorities and not to focus on individual interests. I would like to elaborate on my point with these examples and I am not finger-pointing at any Ministry but just to illustrate my point. These examples illustrate how the decision of one Ministry concerned with only its own divisional stake can cause untoward repercussions further downstream. If the subsequent maintenance issues are not considered at the architectural or even building state of housing blocks, the project will pose tremendous burdens on the Town Councils when they take over after completion for maintenance.

Take, for example, a Town Council having to take over two housing blocks that have many inaccessibly high beams that collect litter which are in direct sight of residents just outside their windows. The Town Council staff cannot clean them off effectively due to the height constraints and inaccessibility. This brings angst to residents as they are irritated by the eyesore daily.

Another example concerns cost of maintenance. One Town Council had taken over a precinct of seven housing buildings that were painted with "cool" and "marine" paints. The cost is $8 million every five years for repairing and repainting (R&R) for these seven blocks. The whole budget for the R&R of this Town Council is $20 million per year. This Town Council has about 600 housing buildings to look after. How then can it justify maintaining these seven blocks for R&R at such high costs and needing to eat into the sinking fund unwisely?

This is my point on the importance of having a united team working as a single entity to achieve good service delivery to the residents.

Mdm Speaker, let us move towards improving the quality of our public engagement as a coordinated entity and meeting the higher public expectations in order to strengthen our public trust, support and confidence.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in his Budget Statement said that the Government would enhance retirement savings and income through changes in the CPF system and the Silver Support Scheme.

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As to the CPF system that was termed one of the four pillars of our social security system, we have the following suggestions.

The Workers' Party proposes that the CPF Payout Eligibility Age be delinked from Retirement Age. This was raised by the Workers' Party Member for Hougang, Mr Png Eng Huat, in Parliament last year. We recommend delinking the two ages as we hope more Singaporeans will, through their allocation of their lifetime savings, including their CPF savings, be able to have more choices relating to their work before the statutory retirement age. They would be better able to consider switching to a job with lower compensation – perhaps one with lighter workload, or one that is more personally meaningful.

The Workers' Party proposes lowering the CPF Payout Eligibility Age to 60 and allowing deferral of the commencement of payouts to an older age, with a concomitant increase in the size of payouts of several percentage points a year, till age 70.

Mdm Speaker, the Silver Support Scheme reflects the value of a more inclusive society. It is right to help our needy seniors: it reflects our caring for one another, it strengthens our social cohesion and it advances the traditional virtue among our different peoples of respect for our elders.

Under the Silver Support Scheme, the Government will distribute $300 to $750 every three months to low-income Singaporeans over 65 years old. The Scheme aims to help the bottom 20% of our seniors and the Government will take into consideration their housing type, lifelong income and family support in assessing their eligibility. Those who are eligible will be included automatically in the Scheme.

We suggest that the Government make monthly payouts instead of quarterly payouts so that needy seniors will be able to use the subsidy to help meet their periodic expenditures for basic needs. We also hope that the Government will exercise flexibility in determining eligibility for the Scheme based on a mix of the three enumerated factors so that those in need will receive the support they require.

Madam, I thank you for this opportunity to take part in the debate and I do want to say that I have heard many good things about this debate. But I do also want to share a few of my thoughts.

The Budget is focused on building Singapore's future and it follows the fundamental policy shifts spoken of by the Prime Minister in his New Year message to Singaporeans. The

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focus is on Singaporeans and I agree that it should be.

The Budget makes provision for families, students, the elderly, employers, employees, Singapore businesses. It has been hailed as "inclusive". But unlike the previous Budgets, it has not made – I have not heard it make – specific provisions for persons who serve in the social service sector or for persons who are served by the social service sector. However, I would not raise alarm bells prematurely. The term "Singaporeans" includes persons with disabilities and persons with other needs and I trust that the Budget Statement is broad enough to include the social service sector. That being the case, I look forward to the Committee of Supply debate for greater clarity on the inclusiveness of the Budget.

With that preface, I would like to raise a few issues for clarification, consideration and debate in the interim.

There are two main parts to my speech. The first relates to the social service sector and, in this respect, I again declare my interest as the President of SPD and as a Board Member of SG Enable.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance referred in his speech to the "Hock Lee Pors'" (福利部) of the early days. I assure him that I belong to that generation that recognises and knows the meaning of that term. He also shared that there will be "Hock Lee Pors" coming in the coming years. But I think that the landscape has changed and what we are going to be doing with our 24 "Hock Lee Pors" would be very different from what the earlier "Hock Lee Por" used to do.

The earlier Social Welfare Department services or looks at needs: "You cannot do this, I help you." And, primarily, the assistance is given through financial means. Times have changed. The landscape has changed; aspirations have changed. People expect more; people hope for more. They dream higher and they dream bigger. In connection with that, the social service sector requirements have also grown more stringent. There is greater requirement for professionalism and for governance.

As a result, we now have a social service sector that is driven not primarily by volunteers – although volunteers form a very important part of the sector – but it is also driven by professionals. The need to professionalise the sector cannot be underestimated. Likewise, the need also to equip and empower the persons who are served within the sector, not just to receive the monthly allowances but to be financially independent. So, we are now faced with a sector that demands more, that is required to give a lot more.

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Because of that, I would urge the House and the Government to consider the need for us to place greater and more integrated emphasis on the training of persons with disabilities within the sector. We need to try ways in which we can align and consolidate and review the schemes that we now have to train persons with disabilities so that we can empower them and so that we can equip them to be independent financially to the fullest extent possible. We know that people who have disabilities can serve. These are an important pool of resources. They are our very own resources that like any other, we have to respect, nurture and tap upon.

So, when the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance announced SkillsFuture, it was encouraging. Encouraging because here, we now have another scheme and hopefully, at a more macro level, in which we can train our people with deeper skills to move into the future. Let us do it inclusively. Let us try not to waste and duplicate courses. Where we can, consolidate and bring all in. In training together, we also achieve the advantage of having persons with or without disabilities working together and that also assists and facilitates their inclusion into the workforce.

In relation also to the strengthening of the collaboration between trade unions, employers and other persons within industries, I trust that the social service sector's input will be tapped and that the social service sector will be looked upon as a key partner in this respect. There is much, in terms of experience, that the sector can offer and that is also a good channel for us to move into and tap the previously latent potential of the persons who are served within the sector. Faced with a tightening labour market, I do not think we have a choice, apart from the fact that we do have an enduring interest to ensure that everyone in Singapore, whether they are persons with or without disability, whether they are well-off or they are less endowed, that each of us has the dignity of holding a job and has the dignity of saying that we contribute to our country.

Underlying what I am saying is that we need to create a social service sector that is sustainable by itself. In the early days, when we had the social welfare department and what was done was inadequate, we had charities mushrooming, coming up to fill the gaps. They were mainly driven by volunteers and they were mainly driven by compassion and charity. We need to move away, ironically, from a charity mindset for the social service sector. We need to have a sector that behaves and drives itself professionally and not depend only on charity.

The sector has benefited largely from the generosity of the Government in past Budgets. But I think it is important and imperative that we should help the sector to become sustainable.

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In this respect, I would ask the Government to consider how you can help to catalyse and help to provide support for the sector to be able to enhance and augment the resources that we have, to be able to raise revenue in a way that is more sustainable to run the programmes that we need to run.

Madam, I now move on to the next portion of my speech and this would be a little more fragmented, but essentially, it will be based primarily, not on collective responsibility but personal responsibility.

There has been a lot of talk on collective responsibility. I do respect that and I do agree that it is important. What I want to share is that we need to talk about collective responsibility in the context of each person exercising their personal responsibility as well.

If we take SkillsFuture, there has been a lot of praise for that. I like that and I do not like to be negative but, unfortunately, I am. I am afraid that if we do not run SkillsFuture properly, then, for the every $1 billion that we are going to spend for the next five years, we are going to have it go down the drain.

Unlike infrastructure investment, where we can see the returns and the outcomes, how can we ensure that the SkillsFuture investment that we are going to make will yield positive, significant impact? I do not know. I do not have the answer. Perhaps, it may be premature to ask for answers at this moment. But I do want to say that the people who are going to be running the curriculum, the people who are going to be conducting the training, have to exercise integrity and professionalism. They have to look at the picture at the macro level. It would be a sad day, indeed, if people were to say, "Let's spend it; we have got the budget anyway. It doesn't matter what course we do; just give them a certificate."

It is going to defeat what we are going to do because we are going to be investing in long-term development of the employment skills of our people, because we are talking about moving into the future.

I have other concerns and they relate to the budget for research and development. We are going to be putting $1 billion into the National Research Fund. It is a good thing; I believe in the importance of intellectual property. But I also believe that we need to understand the nature of intellectual property very clearly before we work out the KPIs to measure the success of each investment. In every collaboration and I do believe that our national research initiatives are mainly collaborative efforts, there will always be negotiations on who owns what at the end of the day. I bring in this, you bring in that, and then, how are we going to be differentiating.

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How are the researchers motivated? By the production of research papers, or by the production of foreground intellectual property that is of strategic importance to Singapore? How do we ensure that we are able to isolate in our negotiations with our collaborators the items and the desired outcomes that we want? How do we know which part of the foreground intellectual property would be relevant, useful and strategic for us?

I do know again that the answer is likely to be that the people who run the programmes would be the best persons to tell us. But I do also ask that perhaps we may want to exercise a little bit more diligence. I am not sure of the full process that is involved and perhaps the Government can clarify this. Let us not put $1 billion and end up with insignificant intellectual property.

In relation to the issue of CPF, this was just mentioned barely in passing. And the Workers' Party has also spoken about that. I believe that we have the right to spend our money anyway we want, whenever we want. I believe also that we can do anything we want, whenever we want. But when what we do is going to have a foreseeable effect or will cause foreseeable loss or injury to another person, there is merit for us to argue that that right has got to be circumscribed.

In relation to the use of CPF monies, we have heard proponents who argue that CPF money is theirs. It is our money; it is in our account; it is our retirement money; I want it out; I will spend it anyway I want.

Fine. Is it our money? I am not sure if I want to go into legalese, but I certainly do not want to argue about ownership rights. Our CPF savings are enhanced, enforced savings which are accumulated through our own deferred consumption, through co-payment by our employers and through top-ups from public funds. Is it really my private money? Do I have the right to spend it the way that I would spend my own salary? I am not entirely sure, but I know at the end of the day that because I am not the only person contributing to that fund, I cannot be the only person to call the shots as to how I am going to spend it. At the very least, I have a moral obligation to spend it wisely.

Why do I say that? Because if I am not judicious in my spending, at the end of the day, who is going to maintain me in my twilight years? The state? Who? Ultimately, it means someone else is bearing it, right? Another taxpayer. So, if I am not judicious and I am arguing, "This is my money," I am not going to be responsible in my use. And, if I argue, "This is your money; you use it anyway you want". I am not responsible as a citizen.

There is also the role of the family. We talk a lot about educating CPF members as to how they can withdraw their money, how they should use or should not use it. But there

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must be a lot more education on whether or not the families should support their retirees, support their parents in their retirement. Is that going to feature when we allow the flexibility in the withdrawal?

Madam, I have great unease and I cannot support this recommendation that we allow such flexibility to the people. I have unease because I think we are placing a very great fiscal obligation upon our future generations, living off what our forefathers have built for us.

So, in conclusion, we have a Budget that is arguably very generous and for which I am also very thankful. We have a Budget that has been praised and approved that is being leaning towards the left. But I would also argue that if we lean too much to the left, we would not have much left.

What I would want to conclude with, Madam, is that when we talk about collective responsibility, we need to understand that collective responsibility must also be exercised responsibly, on a collective basis as well as a personal basis.

When the Government talks about redistributing wealth, we welcome that. The people who are going to be implementing the schemes, conducting the training, doing the assessments, evaluating the curriculum, the people who are dispensing the funds and whatever we are doing have to exercise personal responsibility to ensure that there is no wastage. There will always be inevitable leakage. The people who benefit also have to ensure personal responsibility in acting with integrity in their claims for money.

When we talk about personal choice, choice always comes with responsibility. Benefits come with obligations and when we exercise our personal choice, there is a price to be paid. And Madam, I submit that price should not be paid by someone else. With that, I support the Motion. [Applause.]

Order. I propose to take the break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 4.10 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 3.50 pm until 4.10 pm.

Sitting resumed at 4.10 pm

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[Mdm Speaker in the Chair]

Debate resumed.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Ang Mo Kio) (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Madam, the Labour Movement believes that the best welfare for Singaporeans is to develop an economy with full employment, where everyone has a job and is able to work when they want to. Hence, to ensure that Singaporeans' employment needs are met, remains the most important agenda for the Government and unions. However, with the shortening of business cycles, increased economic competition, upward pressure on costs, stagnant productivity and skills rapidly becoming obsolete, we are concerned about the employability and job security of Singaporeans in the future economy.

Hence, we must promptly strengthen the various fields of employment, the employability and career development of Singaporeans of all ages. This is to ensure that every individual can keep up with the times and Singapore continues to enjoy full employment, where everyone has a job.

This Budget has allocated a large amount of funds to help workers upgrade and transform. I hope that the Government and employers will strive to ensure that training programmes developed for Singaporeans of various age groups will not go to waste. Employers must assess and establish the framework and needs of future skills, so that we can maximise the returns of our investment in future skills and avoid wastage where skills learnt are not put to good use.

The objectives of this year's Budget are to ensure a future-ready workforce that develops related skills and is able stay relevant and to enhance the competitiveness of our labour force. Under such a premise, we should continue to help our local SMEs gear up to meet various future challenges. This is because SMEs in Singapore employ almost 2.2 million workers, which means approximately seven in every 10 workers in Singapore work in SMEs. We need to make every SME a Better Workplace, every SME job a Better Job, every SME worker a Better Worker. Since SME jobs continue to account for the largest proportion of jobs in Singapore, enhancing the branding and operation efficiency of SMEs, as well as the quality of SME jobs, will improve job prospects of Singaporeans.

In recent years, the Government has rolled out several initiatives targeted at transforming local SMEs from business models over-reliant on foreign workers, to one that drives growth and development through productivity and innovation. Although SME bosses

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generally understand that these changes are necessary, the adjustments have nonetheless led to some short-term and transitional difficulties for our SMEs.

In the course of my work as a Labour Member of Parliament, I have spoken to many SME owners to understand their views on Government policies, so as to adopt feasible solutions to help our SMEs transform successfully. I agree with some of the suggestions made by Nominated Member of Parliament Thomas Chua. However, I believe that these Government assistance schemes should not be used as painkillers for businesses. We cannot simply prescribe painkillers, but must prescribe the right medicine to tackle the root cause of the illness. If businesses require surgery, they will have to go for surgery; if they require antibiotics, they will have to take them. They should not use subsidies to buy painkillers.

At e2i, we can see some unique examples.

Take A1 Claypot, for example. It is a small business. It used funding support from the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) to improve business operations, with good results achieved. The company introduced auto-adjust table bases that automatically align table tops to eliminate "wobbly tables". Workers no longer need to worry about being scolded by customers, or waste time stabilising tables by placing cardboards at the base. This makes their job easier, smarter and safer. Utilising new technology, the company is also able to better manage inventory. Workers only need to do a simple tally of customer orders, instead of the traditional way of counting inventory. As a result, productivity improved, workers are happier, the company's profits increased and ultimately, workers are able to enjoy higher wages. Besides higher productivity, employees' morale improved and the company has the confidence to open three more outlets after Chinese New Year.

Another example is Nihon Mura. IGP was used to redesign their restaurants by re-arranging the seats, so that seats are located near the food conveyor belt, thereby streamlining the work process and improving efficiency. Although only small changes were made, workers became more efficient.

If we examine these case studies closely, we will find that through IGP, these SMEs were able to eliminate some of the tedious aspects of the work process, making jobs easier, smarter, safer. These examples showed that every little step matters. These seemingly simple adjustments have impacted a combined total of 215 employees from A1 and Nihon Mura. They are happier and enjoy higher wages and their bosses are also happy and more confident about expanding their business.

I urge all SME bosses to do the same. Do not always assume that significant changes must be made to transform business operations. Instead, SMEs should critically assess their

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current work processes and eliminate bottlenecks to improve productivity.

Many F&B establishments are also using electronic equipment to reduce manpower cost and requirements.

Another obstacle to improving productivity within the F&B industry lies in the kitchen. Kitchens need to be redesigned, with technology and machines brought in to reduce reliance on labour and food wastage. I hope that all F&B industry players make use of the schemes in this Budget to adjust their work processes. In the case of these two companies, their overall productivity improved by 20%.

Madam, in the 2014 SME Development Survey, 49% of SME respondents cited difficulty in hiring staff and 48% of them listed high manpower cost as their top business concern. Forty-five percent of the respondents say that increasing competition is another common concern, while 31% feel that high rental cost is a main concern. Looking at the data, I hope the Government will strive to explore how best to support our SMEs.

At this juncture, I sincerely request the Government to support the Labour Movement's call to make "every SME workplace a Better Workplace, every SME job a Better Job, every SME worker a Better Worker". I would like to request all funding agencies to further simplify the application process for grants so that more SMEs can benefit from the schemes. Many SME bosses hope that MOF and the relevant agencies can speed up the approval process and consider increasing the proportion of initial pay out of the grants, as most of them are having cash-flow problems. They also hope that MOF and MTI will set up a one-stop agency or an inter-agency workgroup to better coordinate and fine tune all existing SME assistance schemes, implement these solutions more comprehensively and improve communication with regard to these schemes. In this aspect, I share the same viewpoint as Mr Thomas Chua.

I would also like to call on HDB and JTC to review the supply of industrial and commercial spaces and ensure there is proper ratio of trade mix.

I would like to share a story that I read on the Internet.

Two people were hiking in the forest when they suddenly heard the roar of a tiger. One of them knelt down and tied his shoe lace. The other was puzzled and asked, "The tiger is coming, can you outrun it?" He replied, "I don't have to outrun the tiger, so long as I can run faster than you." With that reply, he dashed off. This story tells us we must run faster than others.

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But now there is a new twist to the story.

The second person then took off his shoes and climbed up a tree as fast as he could. The tiger came but could not climb the tree, so it could not eat him up. Instead, it turned to chase the person who ran off and ate him up!

This story has been tweaked. In the past, we would say that the first person's idea was good, because he knew that he would have an edge over the other person if he made the first move and ran faster. However, the current market is changing rapidly and it is no longer good enough to run first and run faster. One must achieve a breakthrough and innovate, instead of running along the same old route. We must each find a way to "climb the tree".

I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that companies need to move from value-add to value-creation. Only then can we solve the problem and help SMEs upgrade.

One classic example is Home-Fix. It is not merely a DIY shop, but repackaged and transformed to attract many young people to come on board as their business partners or suppliers, providing customers with better products.

I hope our SMEs can learn from the experience of Home-Fix and transform. Learn from them in terms of how to create an eco-system for their business. The Government should provide more funding for trade associations to strengthen their organisation, so that they can help SMEs move forward in this direction.

As Chairman of the SNEF-NTUC Migrant Workers' Centre, I would also like to urge employers to redesign labour-intensive jobs, provide foreign workers with relevant skills training, as well as retain and promote experienced ones. The focus should be on quality, not quantity. This is necessary, because if we managed to increase the productivity of local workers, yet the foreign workers who make up one-third of our workforce continue to be uncompetitive and unproductive, we would be dragged down. I hope all employers will rethink their manpower solutions. Hopefully, this Budget will also help businesses integrate their manpower needs and improve their human resource planning.

I hope that in the next year, more companies will undergo successful transformation, so that we can have more jobs and greater assurance for Singaporeans' income. Madam, I support the Budget. Only with this, can we ensure good employment prospects for our future!

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Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate. This Budget has been described as "pro-future" by many people. But what exactly are we building for the future? Is it hardware, software or heart-ware? And which is more important? These are the questions that we ought to spend time to think about carefully since it concerns Singapore's future – our future.

After the Finance Minister delivered his Budget Statement in this House last week, I have been gathering feedback and comments from grassroots leaders and residents. After speaking to many people, I discovered that different people have different takes and expectations on the Budget. However, one common sentiment seems to be running through most people's minds, that is, many of them feel fairly confident about their future.

This is quite a stark contrast to the sentiments at the birth of our nation in 1965. Fifty years ago, building a future was difficult because there were so little to build with. But yet, the goals were clear – jobs, housing, economic growth. These goals were uncontested then as Singaporeans knew that these three things were needed for our survival. Today, building the future appears easy or easier because there is so much to build with – good foundations or infrastructure, strong fiscal positions, an educated citizenry. And yet, the goals are increasingly contested – different people want different things for their future, to meet their respective expectations, to fulfil their individual aspirations.

Today, we already have jobs, homes and growth. In fact, many of us have never known anything but. This reminds me of a story that I read some years ago. It is a story about fish. One old and one young fish met in a fishbowl. And the old fish asked gleefully, "Isn't the water good today?" The young fish looked puzzled and asked, "What water?"

For well-managed and prosperous countries like Singapore – jobs, homes, growth, all these are taken as a given, as a way of a normal life. So, people swim in it and they do not know what it is like to be without it. In Singapore, I think we must not allow ourselves to become like the younger fish, to be oblivious of what we have and unaware of the dangers of losing them. Hence, we need to develop a new narrative when we speak about "building our future". Just talking about how good the water is, like the old fish, or the ignorance of it, like the younger fish, is not good enough to shape the future of Singapore in the 21st Century. We have to move beyond the triangulations of jobs, homes and growth and come back to the fundamentals, the very foundation that built Singapore 50 years ago.

Mdm Speaker, our Government introduced the Pioneer Generation package last year to honour our Pioneers, the generation who built Singapore. Although much has been said about the reasons for honouring our Pioneer Generation, I often struggled to find the one attribute that we can convincingly hold our Pioneer Generation up as a concrete example to

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honour, to emulate for. I have finally found my answer late last year from the son of a Pioneer Generation.

Towards the end of 2014, a middle-aged man came to my Meet-the-People Session. He wanted to appeal to HDB to allow him to buy a flat under the Sale-of-Balanced Flat scheme. The reason for his request was that he wanted to live close to his elderly mother who is in her 80s. When he mentioned that his mother was a Samsui woman, I decided to make further enquiries as currently, there are two known Samsui women living in my Radin Mas constituency. So, you can imagine that when I know that there was another Samsui woman in the constituency, I naturally wanted to know more about her – I would like to invite her to join the various activities organised by CC, RC and Senior Activity Centres (SACs).

During the conversation, the son told me that his mother was involved in the construction of the OCBC Building in the 1970s. He further shared that his mother used to carry bucket loads of cement and bricks and walked up 50 floors of the OCBC Building on foot. Every evening, the mother would come home with a worn-out body. But she could not just simply rest after a hard day's work. She had to cook dinner for the family, washed the dishes and laundry before she finally got the chance to retire to bed. This son recalled very vividly that he used to massage his mother's shoulders to reduce her pain before she went to sleep. The next day, his mother would wake up early in the morning, put on her Samsui woman gear and leave for work; only to return home in the evening with a worn-out body again. This routine went on till she could not work anymore. So, the mother once told the children that their education was built by her pain.

Mdm Speaker, to listen to a son's recounting of how his mother had built up her children's future with her pain, I could not help but just feel that a generation of Singapore Pioneers had actually built modern Singapore with their pain. After listening to the son's recollection, I suddenly realised the true spirit of our Pioneer Generation and what the Pioneer Generation Package ought to honour them for. That is, honour them for their ability to overcome the pain, their willingness to sacrifice for the next generation, their perseverance to meet challenges head on. They were simple men and women who had just one simple focus, that is, to build a better future for their next generation. In that pursuit, they had also collectively built this nation – Singapore, a place where all of us call home now.

Mdm Speaker, I believe the true meaning of the Pioneer Generation Package is not just about acknowledging the Pioneer Generation's contributions to Singapore. It is not just about reducing the financial burden of their medical costs, although these are all very important. To me, the true meaning of the Pioneer Generation Package is to preserve the Pioneer Generation's resilience in overcoming great odds, sacrificing themselves for the next generation and the firm belief in Singapore that it is worth fighting for.

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So, while this year's Budget is about building our future through hardware and software developments, I hope that Government agencies and Singaporeans could also focus on building the "heart-ware" – reflecting the Pioneer Generation's spirit to make Singapore not just a house but a home for all. We shall not forget their pain in building this small but great nation just like I shall not forget the sparkles in the son's eyes when he spoke of his Samsui woman mother with great gratitude and pride. And I really hope that HDB could give some consideration to this son.

Talking about pain, I would like to share another painful story. But this time round it is not in Singapore but in Norway – a country that is about 7,000 kilometres away from Singapore.

Some of you may have known that I am involved in an Arctic project. And some of my colleagues, in fact, call me "Mr Iceman" because, from time to time, I have to go to the Arctic region to do some work for Singapore. And for those of you who may be curious about Singapore's interest in the Arctic, the short answer is that when the Arctic Ocean melts in the next few decades, the Northern Sea Routes will open up where many ships can sail from Europe to Asia and vice-versa up North directly and by-passing Singapore completely. When the sea level rises due to the Arctic melting, you will then understand why we need to take an active interest in the Arctic as it concerns our survival as a country and also as a people. This will not happen until after 20-30 years but we have to get involved now so that we can put in place plans and strategies to overcome all the challenges and difficulties when the Arctic ocean melts and opens up.

When I was in Norway for the Arctic Frontiers Conference (AFC), apart from giving a keynote address at the conference and meeting my counterparts from Norway, United States and other countries, I also visited the Sami Parliament and met its President. Sami is the major indigenous community in Norway and its Parliament is located in a city in the northern part of Norway called Karasjok. If you cannot pronounce the name correctly, that is okay. All you need to know is to remember that the temperature of this city can go below -50 degree Celsius in hard winters. After all, it is not too far away from the North Pole.

So, on the day of arrival at Karasjok, I saw a road side billboard proudly displaying "-40 degree Celsius" on its LED panel. And to show "warm hospitality" to the Singapore delegation, or in this case, the "cold hospitality", the Norwegian government had arranged for a dog sled ride for us. I have been forewarned that the dog sled ride in harsh winter can be an extremely freezing experience. So, I went there well prepared. Or so I thought.

To prepare for this dog sled ride, I put on seven layers of clothes, three layers of pants, two pairs of winter socks and a pair of snow boots, plus a Russian hat. When I put on all these gear, I looked like Santa Claus. When I presented myself to the sleigh operator, he laughed

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and had me put on heavily-padded trousers made of seat-belt like material and a heavy leather coat made of some animal skins. And that is not all. I had to replace my snow boots with a pair of rubberised heavy-duty boots with thick animal fur as inner liners. I needed to put on a pair of heavily-stuffed gloves that looked like boxing gloves.

I staggered onto the sled with nearly 10 kilogrammes of extra weight from all those additional gear. I was literally covered from head to toe in a winter armour suit. The only things exposed were actually my cheeks – the area between my eye-glasses and my winter scarf. Then, the sled driver shouted to his dogs – 12 huskies to one sled – and off we went for the ride! With the icy-cold wind brushing my face mercilessly, it was the most searing pain I have ever felt in my life.

On my face, the cold freezing my eyeballs, so I can only looked forward and not sideways – they were frozen. And the excruciating pain was burning my exposed cheeks. So, I asked curiously why there was a burning pain in cold winter. And the clear and assuring voice of the sled driver came to me, "This is cold burn." And he further said that, "Pain is good! If you feel the pain, it means you are alive. If there is no pain, you are dead!"

Thirty minutes later when the ride was over and we both got out of the sled and removed our "Storm Trooper" coverings, I was mentally prepared to meet an old, mean, tough and seasoned guy. Instead, I saw a bright young man in his 20s, half my age, blond with blue eyes, laughing and shaking my hands. His parting words left a very vivid impression on me. He said, "We live in pain every day and the pain makes us stronger the next day."

Other sled drivers are similarly young. So, I thought to myself, "Gee, all these young men, these Norwegians, they are as tough as their forefathers who succeeded in an unforgiving environment, as a small country among much larger neighbours". My experience from this dog-sleigh ride is that, in life, we can never be well-prepared enough for challenges and adversities. The day when we think we have done enough, we have prepared enough, is the day when we will be in for a rude shock when we eventually face the eventualities. And this young Norwegian young man's words still ring in my ears like an alarm bell today, "The pain makes us stronger the next day". How similar this is to the pain endured by the Samsui woman mentioned in my speech earlier.

The Norwegians accord Singaporeans with respect and dignity because we are both small countries with very large neighbours and we are both successful in our respective regions. While many Singaporeans may not know this, Singapore was China's largest Foreign Direct Investor in 2013 and, yet, we are 13,000 times smaller than China. We are also China's largest trading partner in ASEAN. For a country of 716 square kilometres in size and 5.4 million in population, I think our achievements are, indeed, remarkable and this is why

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Singapore is well regarded and respected by others internationally.

Norway and Singapore cooperate well on many international platforms. We are collaborators rather than competitors because we are both quite evenly matched and we share similar strategic visions. But if Norway continues to be strong and innovative, and Singapore is not, then the collaborator can turn into competitor or even predator and the tough Norwegian cookies can move our cheese and eat our lunch.

Why do Norway and many other advanced countries call Singapore friends today? Why are we the largest investor in China? On the global stage, why is Singapore a worthy partner to many countries? Can we continue to hold court to our collaborators and competitors in the next 50 years?

Mdm Speaker, the answers to these questions are not just about staying ahead in the global competition, topping the rankings or using the Budget to advance our development and preparedness. The real answer to me is that we must do our best with great determination and resilience, the very spirit shown by our Pioneer Generation.

And for the second generation of Singaporeans like myself – those who are above 50 years old – we saw the struggles of the Pioneer Generation, that is our parents' generation, with our own eyes and we heard their experiences from them directly. Hence, we are fortunate enough to be able to connect to them, to appreciate their values and even emulate their fine examples. But this connection is seemingly lost in the third generation of Singaporeans, who have somehow lost the direct touch with their grandparents' generation.

However, I am comforted that the Finance Minister has allocated a special budget to our schools to do meaningful projects. I hope that our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning can make use of this fund to start up oral history projects, spearheaded and operationalised by our students and young Singaporeans, to record the memories and the recollections of the Pioneer Generation to reflect their fighting spirit.

If we spend this money wisely and find an effective way of connecting the younger generations to the Pioneer Generation, then I think the legacy of our Pioneer Generation will be preserved and the successive generations of Singaporeans will benefit from this legacy and they, in return, can create their own and pass it down to future generations.

If we can do this social transformation correctly, then the pioneering spirit will always flow in the blood of Singaporeans, even after the Pioneer Generation and the Pioneer Generation Package are long gone. That, I think, will be the real and lasting legacy for Singaporeans. That also will be the real and lasting future for Singapore. Mdm Speaker, with

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this, I support the Budget.

Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to participate in the debate. I am speaking as a practising architect and am currently the President of the Board of Architects as well as the Past President, Singapore Institute of Architects.

This year's Budget represents a commitment to Singapore's longevity and it is certainly heartening to see that the Government is continuing to work towards a more progressive and inclusive society for all Singaporeans. I strongly identify with Deputy Prime Minister's vision for Budget 2015 – on the importance of empowering every individual, of the need to remain competitive globally via innovations and internationalisation, of the benefits of improving our economic and social infrastructure and of the value in providing long-term assurance for families young and old, especially those less privileged.

This year, we celebrate SG50, and yes, how far we have come indeed! There are many here who may still remember growing up in homes where indoor plumbing was considered a luxury in Singapore. For sanitation and waste handling, we relied on manual labour – the infamous "night soil" collectors. I also remember spending my childhood living in a kampong, where our only source of water was the well within the shared compound. We later upgraded to public taps and we would have to queue up to collect water on a daily basis. That old kampong is now part of Chai Chee public housing estate and the difference between the two is as clear as night and day. Now, Chai Chee estate is one of our mature housing estates. Looking at the new sustainable housing estates being put up in Punggol, our improvements in public housing have been remarkable over the years.

Similarly, our social system has gotten more robust and more inclusive over the decades. I am grateful for the opportunities of education, bursaries and scholarships afforded to me, despite coming from a single-parent family where money was tight and aid was not always forthcoming. Today, we provide a wide swathe of academic programmes and vocational training in our schools.

On the whole, we have made huge strides in providing our students, regardless of means and station, with good quality education that prepares them for the working world and our employment statistics are testament to this. I believe the new measures advocated in Budget 2015 will further contribute to this unceasing endeavour.

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Having said all this, and while we look back on our 50 years of growth with pride, we must not rest on our laurels but instead remain driven in bettering Singapore for the generations to come. In this spirit, I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance for a forward-looking and inclusive Budget.

There are three topics that I would like to speak on today. First, the continued growth of our human capital; second, reconciling our fast-paced development with increased sensitivity to its impact on our natural environment; and third, how we as a society should be responsible for the caring and welfare of our senior citizens.

The continued growth of our human capital. On the topic of human capital, it need not be repeated how people of Singapore are our only resource. Over the years, we have dedicated so much to providing the right education and training for our citizens to become highly competent in their fields of work. I feel that the SkillsFuture programme will be another big step in helping Singaporeans augment and diversify their skill set, and I am glad to see that it will benefit everyone, be they young or old.

The world around us is changing constantly and there is a need to keep not only our skills, but our work ethic relevant to the changing needs of business. Thus, I believe that the variety of courses available through SkillsFuture will be a key asset to both employers and employees. As it stands, the modular approach used to structure the courses in our Institutes of Higher Learning should be leveraged upon for the courses in the SkillsFuture training programme as it will allow for greater flexibility be it in terms of scheduling or curriculum.

I would like to express my support for the career guidance services being provided to our younger students via the SkillsFuture programme. In our modern economy, where career paths are so specialised and numerous, it can be indeed daunting for the young student to make such a decision. While we should encourage our children to explore the wide array of academic and technical fields open to them, I believe it is not only useful but necessary to have a guiding presence to help direct towards pursuing a course of study or technical training that they would enjoy.

Likewise, I am also very supportive of the increased focus on securing structured internships and apprenticeships, integrating it within our formal education programmes. I believe this will be a wonderful opportunity for both employers and students in cultivating not only real-world experiences, but also sowing the seeds for stronger employee-employer relationships.

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On the other hand, do allow me to share a few concerns I have, both as a business owner and an industry representative.

Firstly, and on a broader note, I feel that aside from practical and technical training, what we need right now are employees with a love for their craft. I fondly quote the Deputy Prime Minister's example of the brilliant young individual who discovered his love of crafting shoes and opted to pursue an apprenticeship in Europe. While we are excellent at producing highly competent and qualified talents, I believe that to reach the next level, we need individuals who truly love and own their craft.

As defined by Daniel H Pink's theory on "What motivates us", factors, such as Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose, are key ingredients for drive, better performance and personal satisfaction. By activating the heart and stimulating a deep interest in the world, by building emotional safety and security, by providing sturdy and well-defined boundaries, we can then create an environment that will help nurture a society that can better adapt to the future.

I believe that one way we can foster more of such people is by instilling in ourselves the love and the desire to gather skills and to expand our horizons. Why? Because to be passionate about what we are learning, we need to be emotionally invested in the process. That is the integration much needed, one of head, heart and hands working together: think, feel and do.

There remains criticism that our education system is still too much mechanical and focused on the end product; so much so that we forget the importance of the learning journey and how it shapes the way our children understand and approach different issues and challenges. As we strive towards a society of innovation and creativity, it is imperative that we tackle this perception head on and seek to disprove it.

Therefore, while initiatives like the SkillsFuture provides a wealth of opportunities for our students to learn both at home and abroad, we must also provide avenues for them to realise their own talents and interests and inculcate in them the spirit of artisanship – of striving to reach the next level of excellence.

Secondly, we must nurture and value our creative talents. I believe this begins by valuing the outputs of the creative process. In the building industry, for example, many a time we see procurement exercises being called where offices are asked to submit several design proposals with little to no compensation. Designs, though intangible, are the result of research and gestation of ideas. Unnecessary design submissions mean that many man hours that could have been spent on other projects are wasted. At the national level, the total loss in productivity to the industry is very high and should be avoided, given our very limited

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human resources. This practice has to change and I believe our Government's procurement policies should lead the way. One good example would be the open design competition held to determine the design for our Gardens by the Bay.

Thirdly, I would like to focus on the support for mid-to-late career individuals to pursue both skills-upgrading as well as enrichment courses. I believe monetary assistance from the Government is a great incentive for older workers to upgrade their skills and expertise. In addition to that, however, it is also critical to look at the availability and diversity of these courses as well as the mode of study in order to increase their uptake.

This I speak from personal experience, after spending years trying to look for a part-time Masters Programme in our local institutions. Having worked for 20-over years, my goal was to expand and deepen my field of expertise, but on the condition that I must be able to engage in active practice as an architect and not to be constrained from travelling for overseas assignments nor running the office as an employer. It was only when BCA Academy set up its programme to work with overseas universities that the opportunity arose.

So, at the age of 50, I finally signed up for a Masters programme in Sustainable Building Design, a two-year part-time course whose modular structure and time schedule was tailored to suit many of us in our cohort, who at this stage in our careers, had both work and family commitments.

For Singaporeans above 50, I would like to suggest that the lifelong learning programme available to them offer an array of courses that extend beyond job-related skills as those in their senior years have different desires and pursuits. For instance, given their wealth of experience and expertise, perhaps a course on mentorship, to teach them how to coach the younger members in their team could go forward towards ensuring continuity of both commercial expertise and historical knowledge.

Alternatively, for those approaching retirement, perhaps the SkillsFuture support could be tapped to teach our senior citizens less labour-intensive skills. For example, I am sure that some might like the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument, to take up painting or attend a calligraphy class or even a culinary course. With these additional creative skills, they can even monetise their pursuit, allowing them to earn a little supplementary income after retirement. More importantly, the emotional satisfaction and artistic enrichment are intangible benefits as our senior generations look to enhancing their quality of life in their twilight years.

Lastly, on the issue of implementation, I do echo some of the concerns regarding the diseconomies of scale when it comes to SMEs trying to implement these courses. I share the

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opinion that we should seek to build mutually beneficial resource centres and training schedules between companies, both large and small, as well as with the relevant Government agencies. Every player stands to gain from a concerted "levelling up" of our labour force. I believe that sharing knowledge and bouncing ideas between different companies and schools of thought can also provide impetus for innovation and improvement.

Reconciling our fast-paced development with increased sensitivity to its impact on our natural environment. Regarding our continued effort for environmental sustainability, in the wake of the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015 "Our Home. Our Environment. Our Future", I would like to applaud the current Budget for continuing to advocate for sustainable industries, especially one through the rebates given to companies looking to overhaul their existing fleets of commercial vehicles to reduce vehicular carbon emissions and to promote a greener living environment. Singapore's journey towards sustainability started way in the 1960s when our leaders decided to consciously make nature a part of our city. It is pertinent to note that our then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew believed that "a blighted urban jungle of concrete destroys the human spirit." And "we need greenery of nature to lift our spirits". With that, he sowed the seeds in making Singapore a "Garden City" and now it is to us "a City in the Garden".

While we encourage industry to change, I believe that Singaporeans too have a large part to play. Recently, I saw a TV commercial by NEA on using water responsibly that alluded back to a time where, as I said earlier, water was very much a precious resource. Over the years, our relative abundance has, understandably, changed our approach to consumption. Even if we now have four sources of water supply, we do need to nurture a society that will be a good steward to optimise the use of our limited resources in order to support the needs of our present and future generations.

One great concern I have is the urgent need for us to work towards a Zero-Waste Nation by reducing unnecessary consumption of, as well as re-using and recycling all materials to give them a second lease of life. The Government, working with businesses and the community need to come together to put in place the infrastructure and programmes to make this philosophy our way of life.

For a start, we need to speed up the provision of centralised chutes for recyclables and for these to be installed separate from the organic waste disposals in all HDB towns and private estates. In addition, we ought to embrace the use of Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System for a more efficient and cleaner automated waste collection which will also be less labour intensive.

In the area of green buildings and construction, we should seek to reduce our city's overall carbon footprint. Many of our buildings constructed over the last two to three

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decades have won BCA Construction Excellence Awards and there should be a requirement within the BCA Green Mark rating system that encourages the conscious conservation of these high-quality award-winning buildings. This is doubly true for when redevelopment on the same site sees little change in either built intensity or building height. Tearing buildings down wholesale for the sake of it wastes both labour and materials, not to mention it contributes to the feeling of detachment many have with the cityscape around them.

I would like to share an example of one such building in the heart of Shenton Way. Number 137 Market Street is a commercial building where the basement right through to the 10th floor of the 15-storey tower had been conserved. Although the clients originally wanted to demolish the existing building to build a slightly taller tower, the consultants team decided on a sustainable strategy and convinced the clients otherwise. With careful computerised analysis and simulation, the team managed to demolish just the top five floors and replaced them with seven new floors using composite light-weight steel structures. Not only had the team's innovative strategy of reuse and recycling minimised wastage of building materials, they also avoided unnecessary noise and traffic disruption to its neighbourhood. As a result the client, happy with the substantial cost savings and a shortened business downtime, commissioned the team for another project!

How we as a society should be responsible for the caring and welfare of our senior citizens. Finally, I would like to focus on the topic of our elderly care. It is always good to see more funds going towards the seniors in our society, especially those of our Pioneer Generation. I believe it is not just our civic duty, but more importantly, our moral duty, to offer assistance and aid to our senior citizens where we can.

This year's Budget sees several measures proposed to augment the CPF contributions of our older employees and the added credit to promote their re-employment will be welcome. Our older employees have a wealth of experience and it would be a shame if this were to go to waste.

The highlight of the measures introduced to benefit our senior citizens is the Silver Support Scheme. I believe this will certainly help our elderly folk attain some measure of financial independence and sustainability in their golden years and, as some commentators have noted, allow them to age in place and in dignity.

And for those who require additional care, over $9 billion has been set aside for the expansion of public hospitals, community hospitals and nursing homes and this will definitely help provide more facilities and improve the availability of care options for our ageing population.

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However, in a society with such a strong emphasis on filial piety, many still consider nursing homes a means of "abandoning" one's parents. Perhaps for those elderly who do not need constant medical care, it would be a better option to allow them to be housed in smaller HDB 1- or 2-bedroom units and have them seamlessly integrated into blocks of larger units. This will encourage families with multi-generations especially those with elderly parents to stay within close proximity of each other. This way, there will be more opportunities for parents to age in place without the unpleasant need to relocate. Thus, in the interim, I would like to suggest that we also provide better home care options for our elderly. With better home care options, our elderly can look forward to more personalised medical care in the comforts of their homes.

Back in 2014, MOH announced improved support for home care services in Singapore. I commend this effort and hope such initiatives can continue as we face the challenges of an ageing society.

With the modern trends towards smaller family units or people who remain singles, there is an increasing demand for nursing home or elderly care facilities when medical care is needed. Such facilities ought to be integrated into the social fabric of our society. Hence, we have to urgently correct the aversion and the "not in my backyard" syndrome among certain sectors of our population. To be an inclusive society, we need to learn how to care for each other regardless of age, race or religion. Growing old is a natural process and will affect everyone —

Ms Soh, you only have one minute left, so, please wind up your speech.

In conclusion, this year's Budget has set the tone for the long-term development of our country. There are many challenges that yet await us in the coming years and we will have to adapt to the shifting political, economic and social challenges of our world today as we have in the past. I believe we are on the right track, and I have the utmost faith in the Government to act in the best interests of all Singaporeans, so that we can enjoy sustained growth for the years to come. Mdm Speaker, I fully support the proposed Budget.

Mdm Speaker, the Labour Movement applauds Budget 2015 for being forward-looking and one which caters for the future needs of workers and businesses in a sustainable manner.

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Moving forward, I believe that there is still more that we can do for our low-wage workers. Over the last two years, income growth for workers in the 20th percentile was higher than the 50th percentile. This is a promising sign and we should work towards reducing this income gap. I would like to touch on five areas that could support this trend.

[Deputy Speaker (Mr Charles Chong) in the Chair]

First, Government contracts. NTUC agrees that sustainable income growth must be supported by better productivity but we need a breakthrough in our efforts to improve productivity.

Mr Deputy Speaker, there can be no substantial increase in productivity if there is no fundamental change in the way things are being done and the only way to change the way things are being done is to change our thinking and question our assumptions.

In NTUC's engagement with the industry players in the cleaning, security and landscape sectors, they would like the Ministries and Statutory Boards to do more to create a working environment conducive for these service providers to increase their productivity. Many shared their efforts to increase productivity can be dampened by infrastructure, operational constraints and reluctance to change on the part of the Government officers on the ground.

For example, many cleaning companies are not using the technology specified in the contract because the existing infrastructure does not allow for storage areas for these equipment to be stored. Even in public waste collection, it can be a challenge to improve productivity if the expectation is daily collection regardless of the level of waste generated in the area. There are many other examples where a change in the operating environment can make a big difference.

In short, I would like the various Government Ministries and agencies to work closely with their service providers who have the answers to improve productivity for the services they are providing. Government must be willing to relook at their contract specifications. The "master-servant" relationship embedded in many of these service contracts must be changed to one where it becomes a "win-win" relationship. "Master-servant" contracts are often one sided, demanding services at ridiculously low prices, punitive and often, it is the outsourced low-wage workers that bear the brunt because their companies could not provide better welfare and employment benefits in order to save costs.

Second, let me share my thoughts on productivity and job redesign.

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Mr Deputy Speaker, the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) has been instrumental in pushing for higher wages especially for low-wage workers. While the wage ladders under PWM can be easily derived, the challenge moving forward is to ensure that each level is accompanied by a corresponding increase in productivity through skills upgrading, job redesign and greater responsibility.

On a short-term outlook, we need a lot more concerted coordination in ramping up our productivity measures across all the sectors. We need more than just funding support to increase productivity. Industry players will have to come together to iron out the gaps. For a start, there must be a more aggressive tripartite initiative to improve productivity through job redesign. Job redesign cannot be done by NTUC alone but requires the inputs from industry and support from the Government. Job redesign must lead to work being easier, safer and smarter. It is an area that tripartite partners have to come together to revisit as quickly as possible.

Our job redesign efforts should scale up in the future and include more industries and sectors of the economy. For low-wage workers, the prospect of professionalising an industry and encouraging training for workers for better wages is more than just a matter of skills or job relevance. It is about giving these workers hope. Hope that they could have a brighter future than the one they have now.

The SkillsFuture initiative complements NTUC's Progressive Wage Model. Hence, I would like to call for efforts pertaining to SkillsFuture to closely involve the unions and industry players to ensure that training or grant received under SkillsFuture leads to better jobs and better pay.

While SkillsFuture has the potential to benefit the workers, it is also important that we review the foreign worker manpower policies to ensure alignment to the desired outcomes under SkillsFuture and the development of a Singapore core. It would indeed by very sad, if after all the SkillsFuture training and grants, it is "business as usual" with jobs and salary remaining status quo or workers not being given better employment opportunities.

Third, fairer working conditions will be the next area we could look into to help low-wage workers.

Mr Deputy Speaker, what future thus lies ahead for our low-wage workers to give them a sense of security in their jobs? Can we pave the way for Singapore to give our low-income earners a reason to smile today and feel that they can indeed hope for a better future despite their circumstances?

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One of the ways that we can do in order to remedy the troubles of our low-wage workers is negate the undesirable consequences of outsourcing. Many workers, especially low-wage workers are losing out on their wages with the practice of outsourcing. There is also a real possibility of their wages stagnating at a certain level and their statutory employment benefits reverting to the minimum upon contract renewal.

The Government can also play a role in this area to lead by example. Of course, the best option is of course to hire these workers directly as a direct employee but, if that is not possible, I can think of two other areas. First, during the evaluation of tender, give more weightage or preference to service providers that provide good and fair employment benefits to the outsourced workers where the workers will be given annual wage supplement, performance bonus and annual increment. While striving for value-for-money and cost savings during procurement are important, it cannot be at the workers' expense.

Second, Government Ministries and Statutory Boards must be fair to their incumbent service providers during contract renewals by recognising that cost pressures are different for the incumbent compared to new service providers. I recalled a cleaning company shared that they lost a cleaning contract in a Government building to another company who bidded at a contract price given by the incumbent service provider two years ago. Given increasing costs, it is not difficult to imagine this new service provider will face challenges. It is unfortunate that the workers eventually bear the brunt of such cheap sourcing.

At a more national level, outsourced low-wage workers need more protection. Certain employment benefits stated in the Employment Act such as medical benefits, annual wage supplement can be enhanced or made mandatory to directly benefit low-wage outsourced workers. Tripartite partners must find a way in best sourcing efforts where service buyers do not outsource their responsibility to look after the outsourced workers working for them. If moral suasion does not work, let us not hesitate to take the legislative route to protect these vulnerable workers.

The fourth area I would like to touch on is on the National Wages Council (NWC).

Mr Deputy Speaker, NWC could play a bigger role in helping to boost wages for workers, especially low-wage workers. Unfortunately, many outsourced workers and those in non-unionised companies may not be benefiting from the NWC's quantum recommendations for low-wage workers. The days of moral suasion are over. I would like to call for the Government to exert greater pressure for companies to adopt the NWC recommendations for low-wage workers by using existing levers relating to grants and foreign workers to ensure compliance. While companies must do what they can to remain competitive, it should not be at the cost of the livelihood for our Singaporean labour force. These vulnerable workers need all our help to improve their living standards and allow them to enjoy wage

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increases.

To be fair to service providers who are on fixed contract, it is about time we allow contract variation on a yearly basis should there be changes to manpower policies or to comply to NWC's recommendation for low-wage workers. Failing to do so is again promoting a "master-servant" relationship resulting in the most vulnerable workers taking the heat.

Perhaps, another possible way is to explore industry wide collective agreements as a means to level up the industry as a whole. This is an option worth exploring where industry stakeholders, including the buyer of services, must agree to certain standards that would benefit the workers and the industry as a whole. Compliance to the NWC recommendation could be made mandatory as part of this industry wide collective agreement.

The last area which I would like to touch on is outreach to low-wage workers. I would like to continue in Malay, please, Mr Deputy Speaker.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] This Budget will introduce many benefits for low-wage workers. But it is crucial for low-wage workers to know what is out there for them. I would like to call on the Government to ensure that the implementation of these initiatives is not limited by a lack of information on the part of the low-wage workers. We cannot assume that these workers would know or would take the initiative to bring this new information to themselves. There are some areas which, in my view, low-wage workers may not be aware of and, therefore, may limit the benefits of our policies.

For example, low-wage workers should be made more aware about CPF schemes, particularly, on the management of healthcare expenses and the use of CPF beyond paying for housing loans. Mature low-wage workers may also lack the knowledge in managing their retirement savings.

On the recently announced SkillsFuture initiative, it is also imperative that low-wage workers be provided detailed advice so that they can maximise the benefits that they can gain. Although this information may seem readily available, but in the low-wage workers' struggle to earn a living, this information may sadly find itself lost in transition.

Malay/Muslim bodies can play a role to disseminate information to the low-wage workers or the community in general. It is important that we take advantage of the SkillsFuture initiative to progress further in our careers based on efforts to enhance our skills. Therefore, it is important that Malay/Muslim organisations work together so that we can have a concerted effort to help our community understand all the different measures under

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SkillsFuture and benefit from it, especially the opportunity to undergo lifelong learning.

(In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, in conclusion, let me share a story by an Australian politician. Short-term thinking is the greatest enemy of a good government. This Budget is about the long-term thinking of Singapore's future. We cannot let short-term thinking dominate our policies for governance because it will lead us to a path where there will be little left for our future generation.

Irresponsible political parties will force the government into short-term thinking in governance, for they know that it is the greatest enemy of a good government.

Mr Deputy Speaker, every February, there is much talk about what goodies the Budget will bring. This year being our nation's 50th birthday, expectations ran particularly high. So, one Straits Times article had the title "How big a hongbao to expect in Budget 2015". Another likened our Finance Minister to the "God of Fortune". I think he gets that every year.

Such expectations are unsurprising. It is customary, almost ritual, in Budget sessions for the Government to announce new initiatives to help individuals, families and businesses – subsidies for transport, healthcare, education and other cost of living expenses, wage supplements, CPF top-ups, incentives to increase productivity and others. The response from Members of this House is to support those initiatives, and then ask the Government to do even more and in ever more areas. And I think some of the speeches we have heard, do that.

Indeed, our Government has delivered more in the last few years. It has introduced schemes like the Bus Service Enhancement Fund, the Pioneer Generation Package, Permanent GST Rebates and soon, MediShield Life. This year, it unveiled the SkillsFuture Scheme, the Silver Support Scheme, waiver of examination fees and more – all done with the aim of making all our lives a little bit easier.

But I think it is also important to discuss the consequences of "doing more". There are two in particular I would like to talk about.

The first is the encouragement of the "Free Lunch Myth". That is, the idea that Government can provide goods and services at no one's expense. Everyone agrees that there is no such thing as a free lunch – but we tend to forget this when we ask the Government to spend more because we all believe that our requests or interests deserve more attention

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and will benefit everyone.

I am not suggesting that this Government is over-spending. In fact, our spending as a percentage of GDP is low compared to most First World countries. But the Minister for Finance has made clear that spending will increase – spending as a percentage of GDP over the next few years will rise to 19.5%, up from 14.6% for FY2014. That is a significant change and we therefore have to keep certain realities in mind as we embark on this.

The first is that spending is almost always a one-way street. Once the Government has implemented a spending programme, it is very difficult to take it away. As a famous economist once put it: "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary Government program."

Second, we have limited sources of revenue to fund our spending. There is an enduring narrative among many Singaporeans that we are sitting on massive reserves which the Government, like Mr Scrooge, has squirrelled away and refuses to spend. But that mis-states our fiscal position.

With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, may I ask the Clerks to distribute the table that I have prepared, showing the Government's fiscal position.

Yes, please. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]

Mr Deputy Speaker, in Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The 2015 Budget is very progressive. It contains various schemes that bring benefits to the people. Maybe goodies will be introduced, either directly or indirectly, but the most important thing is the fundamental message for all of us.

The first message is lifelong learning.

From the pre-school level right through our working years and until our golden years, many schemes and subsidies are provided for us to learn, for example, improving at every stage, undergoing new courses, sharpening our abilities and upgrading our practical skills, amongst others.

This is important for our Malay/Muslim community. Reap the benefits. It will help those families who are trapped in the poverty cycle to escape it because education and capabilities will bring about better jobs and status. This can also improve and stabilise your family situation further. This will also uplift our community as a whole. Do not get tired of developing your own capabilities and passion through the SkillsFuture Credit, SkillsFuture Earn and Learn, the individual Learning Portfolio portal and the Education and Career Guidance. The process of learning should not have limits. Continue to learn anything that is

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good for you, regardless of your age. The only thing that will hold us back is our mindset.

The second message: face difficulties first, and then enjoy the rewards. Save first, and then use it later. Plan first, and have a vision for the future.

Although so many good schemes are available, it will be wasted if Singaporeans do not take heed and reap its benefits. Create a vision and mission for yourself and your family. How do you see yourself in the next two, five and 10 years from now? For those who are still studying and working, study your own strengths and capabilities from early on. For those who have retired, you would have made plans during your younger years to prepare for your golden years and retirement age. The same goes for your CPF savings. With the new flexibility, if you set aside more money, the amount that we can get each month when we reach 65 years old will be higher. Therefore, make the right decision on these issues from early on.

The third message: stand tall with the rest.

The element that makes a community successful and excellent is its own mindset. I would like to remind our community about the importance of having a spirit and a belief that are positive and focused. Never ever lose this spirit, which is the spirit of Singapore Malays – the "can do" attitude and the willingness to overcome and resolve any challenge as one. Together, we should resolve to be a Malay/Muslim community that is respected, admired and excellent in a global world, thanks to our mindset and our capabilities that are developed in a meritocratic nation that provides opportunities for all.

The fourth message: giving back to society.

The number of Malay/Muslims who are successful, earn higher salaries and prosperous, keep increasing year after year. These are the ones who can also help those who are less well-off and the low-income group. The spirit of helping others is highlighted in our religion.

In conclusion, this year's Budget encourages us to reflect on the transformation of our own mindset, the transformation of our family's mindset and the transformation of our community's mindset. The global world is our classroom; the global world is our stage; the global world is our opportunity; and the global world is there for our children and grandchildren.

We, as Singaporeans, who are trained, capable, possess good work ethics and think positively, will be successful wherever we go.

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Are we ready to take new steps in our journey for the next 50 years? The key and answer to this lies within ourselves. Mr Deputy Speaker, in English.

(In English): Learning at every age and every stage. This Budget has a special thrust on education and it is a correct thrust forward. It is about putting Singaporeans into Learning Communities and making Singapore a Learning Nation. This is a progressive step. Not many nations can do this. We are doing this as we move forward into the next 50 years of nation building, with the certain level of political and economic stability which we have achieved today.

The mission of a Learning Nation also aligns clearly with that of a Smart Nation and increasing our productivity, as we work with more creativity, automation, innovation, research and collaboration. Areas of sustainable environmental development and technologies, applied health sciences, aerospace engineering, nanotechnology and so on cannot progress and cannot jump start further if not for the continued hunger for knowledge, spirit of innovativeness and striving for excellence, at every level and every stage.

The implementation of a Learning Portfolio is a very progressive move for Singapore. In fact, it is something that is used in a lot of professional circles. The Learning Portfolios will help chart individual's course to Lifelong Learning. This is a powerful tool and it has a deeper meaning. It is about empowerment of learning, an ownership of your learning process and journey. On the SkillsFuture grant, how will it be dispersed to all eligible Singaporeans? What about those who are in nursing homes, with dementia who will not be learning anything further?

Perhaps, there must be some machinery to execute this effectively and efficiently. For the Learning Portfolio, will this be more individual-based or institution-based? Those are some of the questions that we are wondering about.

The only road block to this implementation will also be our own mindsets. It is a personal choice. Well, it is said that, "if you can change your mindset, you can change your life" and this is our opportunity at the very personal and individual level.

The Budget also calls for a collaborative culture in industries. For this mindset to permeate our workers and experts in industries, it is important to be inculcated from a very early age in our schools, Universities and Institutions of Higher Learning. Often, we are subdivided into different faculties, different courses, different groups. The concept of segmentation and silo mentality is still prominent in many sectors and in Government agencies as well. How can our institutions come up with innovative ways to break down the barriers and mindsets to encourage interaction and also mixing around? There are some

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universities in the world where in the first and second years, they are devoid of faculties. Students work together and developed their skills and grow together.

Collaborations can brainstorm common, social and economic challenges and scenarios across faculties, students and learners. Only then, can the collaborative thinking and culture spread as far widely as we want it to.

Our healthcare continuum. The 2015 Budget continues to strengthen and top up our healthcare infrastructure. However, the healthcare challenges remain. One, our ageing population and this comes with a whole slew of issues and challenges. Secondly, our high incidence of chronic diseases. We have discussed this very often and we are dealing not only with the higher patient load, but also with a higher disease burden per patient.

Third, lifestyle and lifestyle diseases. Well, if we have too much of a good food, problems can arise as well.

Fourth, healthcare manpower crunch. This is a perennial problem. Our catching up needs to step up and it is really a big leap that we have to make. There are many, many challenges and concerns at a healthcare level and I speak as a healthcare professional in practice as well.

Fifth, the need to strengthen our primary care sector. When talking about healthcare these days, it is about moving along a health continuum from one level to the next, across a number of years of your life. Therefore, it is necessary to have a very defined system with clear evolution, clear handovers and connection at every level, clear transitions of care, clear understanding of care-seeking behaviour of our population, clear big data collection, analysis and application, clear reforms and transformation from policy to execution.

MOH has been responsive, forward looking and progressive, I would have to say. However, there is one area that needs quite a bit of reviewing and strengthening: it is primary care. How can we improve in terms of value, efficiency and productivity? Primary care personnel must be engaged further and setting up of family medicine centres and new models can be tested out as to how we can strengthen this further.

Recent schemes like the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) and the Pioneer Generation Packages (PGP), have also helped to a certain extent in inculcation of a positive and longer outlook for our patients to develop a longer term physician-patient relationship in the primary care. And this also aligns with MOH's call for a "one family to one family physician" model.

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Perhaps, the Ministry can also update us on the developments in terms of Community Health Centres and Family Medicine Centres. How are they doing, how many have commenced operations and other teething issues. Will we be seeing more of these? How about the ramping up Polyclinics' capacities and capabilities? How are we doing in this area?

And one more issue is about the regional health systems. How are we doing on that front as well? The eastern healthcare alliance is a functional example. And this is a good model. It stresses the collaborative culture between Healthcare, Social Services and the voluntary sectors. Can MOH also update us on the developments of the regional health systems?

Mr Deputy Speaker, stay-at-home mothers should not cling on to the stay home mentality. Stay-at-home mothers and housewives play a critical role in upbringing families, nurturing children and running households. Many used to work but stopped when the children came. For this group of women, I have two suggestions with regards to this year's Budget.

They will be getting their SkillsFuture grants and many, I reckon, will not be utilising them, perhaps. This is where I would like to suggest that we plan suitable courses and outreach to explain and also create awareness for them; short courses whereby they can learn critical skills and acquire knowledge relevant to them if they want to come back to work in certain industries. This way, they can contribute to the family income, work part-time and even enhance women's contribution to Singapore's economy.

MENDAKI SENSE, for example, runs courses for back-to-work women and it is across all races. And I have spoken to many of these women and all of them say that the courses are very relevant and also useful. The courses include interviewing skills, grooming skills and industry knowledge as well. So, they are very, very useful. Therefore, we have to plan these courses appropriately and target them at the appropriate people and level.

For those who have insufficient funds, for example, they should be allowed to tap on their husbands' fund if the latter may not require it and have other sources to support them for their training. This transfer can be authorised on a case-by-case basis, perhaps. And I hope that the Government would look into this.

Many of our stay-at-home mothers have minimum or no CPF contribution. Besides the usual Government top ups, perhaps, there can be a formal programme for spouses to transfer funds into their non-working wives account. This will be beneficial for the women, as they can have an independent account and be subjected to all the benefits that come with having a proper CPF account, like others who are working. If these women do have working

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and grown up children, they too can be the ones making the transfer into their stay-at-home mothers' accounts.

This will give the stay-at-home mothers some level of recognition and empowerment. I also worry that just encouraging the spouses or the husbands to transfer the fund may not be sustainable. So, perhaps, we can have a Singapore Conversation with the women and ask them what exactly will work? Perhaps, a prenuptial agreement? Or even something incorporated into the wedding vow, perhaps. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Budget.

Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the Budget Statement. Many of the assistance and items on the wishlist of many groups have been answered in this Budget. Singaporeans with young children will receive much asked for help for childcare as well as assistance for their personal career development in the form of training expenses. The Silver Support Scheme or Triple "S", as many of my grassroots volunteers have begun calling it, have set quite a few families at ease. In the years ahead, households with seniors needing assistance will be able to receive aid. This builds upon the Pioneer Generation (PG) programme already rolled out where not only the PG and recipients of Triple "S" will be helped but both programmes when fully in place will give financial relief and ease the burden of many families. Families with very young or school-going children and seniors at home will find some weight off their shoulders.

Much of the calls for assistance over the last few years are being addressed by this Jubilee Budget. While I am happy for the senior Singaporeans – especially those above 65 years old who would be getting more GST Vouchers (GSTV) amounting to $600 – I am also happy for those who would be saving about $720 annually on domestic maid levies. I also share the joy of the middle-income group on the expanded childcare subsidy scheme and the waiver of exam fees.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I am ill at ease, however, over our ability or concerned for our future Government's challenges to sustain such programmes.

In preparing for this Budget Statement debate, I had browsed the Hansard to get a sense of what Members of Parliament thought of the Government running a surplus, balanced or deficit budget. Some Members of Parliament in the past were steadfast in asking the Government to run only a balanced budget, never a surplus budget. Some argued that a surplus meant money taken out of the Singapore economy and private enterprises would be worse off. "If we have more, they will have less" was the mantra then. Earning and adding on to our revenues spending on development programmes characterised much of our early

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years. Touching our reserves is likened to a taboo act.

The recent history of Iceland, Greece and other developed economies teaches us and reminds us that a country's reserves, once spent, will mean dark days for its people.

If our fiscal position and reserves are not strong, the ratings agencies will be the first to note. Not more than two years ago, ratings agencies fired a shot across the bow when Singapore's household debt went up, posing a significant risk to the financial system. Ratings agencies downgraded its outlook on Singapore's main banks from stable to negative.

Imagine if our reserves are found not to be able to cope with future spending and the accumulation of reserves faces challenges known or unknown. Our sovereign rating will be affected.

I know I am sounding a bit alarmist but it bears mention that we must keep a tight hold on the reins as we move in the direction where more social spending is beginning to feature in our budgets. A miscalculation of the aggregation of such spending will be hard to address for future governments.

When Finance Minister announced the need to make amendments to allow us to use the long-term returns of our Net Investment Return Contributions (NIRC) of Temasek Holdings, I was reminded of a conversation back in 2009 with a fellow Member Dr Ong Seh Hong, then Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC. Back then, we both shared a concern of dipping first into our reserves and using the returns on our NIRC leading us down a slippery path.

Since 2009, we have run deficit budgets in four out of the seven years. Should this be of concern? Several academics and professionals in finance seem to think so. Many of them argued that without the provisions from contributions from the NIRC, our Budget would be out of whack and, in reality, in deficit. For example, in FY2014 sans the transfer from NIR Contributions, the deficit should be $8.4 billion and, even with the transfer, we still have a deficit of about $0.13 billion. This is a sobering thought.

The accrual of the deficit budget was towards many worthwhile programmes to strengthen our economy and to help our workforce fare better in life. A positive example is the Wage Credit Scheme. It costs us $3.6 billion over three years or about $1.2 billion a year. This scheme is definitely necessary without which many workers especially the low-income and older workers' salary would remain stagnated.

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This also helped employers and businesses shoulder wage costs increases while they focused on productivity and innovation. We need to, however, keep in mind that such spending could only become larger and that we will be facing challenges in revenue generation for our state coffers, something that Mr Hri Kumar had pointed out so eloquently just now.

We are celebrating our Golden Jubilee and have achieved much, of which a lot is owed to our Pioneer Generation. We launched the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) Fund to recognise and reward our senior citizens who had sacrificed much towards our nation-building. The Fund costs us $8 billion and since its inception, many belonging to the Pioneer Generation have started tapping into the many benefits. The medical subsidies that the PGP provides have given many households with seniors much relief.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Budget 2015, with all the attending social spending is expected to cost us a large deficit of about $10 billion. And I think that it is necessary and worth it. How can anyone argue spending on our future? The SkillsFuture initiative will be putting $500 towards training for every Singaporeans to upgrade and up-skill themselves. Personal development and skills acquired are portable and this gives our workforce more punch for those looking to advance or simply get a job. This gives some relief to the SMEs in their training expenditure as well. For SMEs have long sounded their concerns. While they are encouraged to be more productive, a need to send workers for new skills training or upgrading would inflate their training costs even after claims from SDF. For workers, who now want to upskill and tailor their training can do so at their own time and a wider menu of training is now open to them funded up to $500.

I see this long-term programme to be complimentary in continuing our productivity drive for businesses. In the long run, the sum total must be good for Singapore's workforce. Few countries in the world have this luxury in planning for the future.

Our fiscal situation of what some labelled "a pattern of running deficits" is a result of necessity rather than of irresponsible imprudent spending. I conclude with the warning I alluded to at the beginning of my speech. While the deficit is funding many programmes that will make Singaporeans' lives better, we need to be cautious that sustaining such programmes will be on the shoulders of generations to come.

As sure as these programmes are welcomed – as some say, "It is about time" – there will be clamour for more to be disbursed into similar programmes. We are adding on to the shoulders for future governments and Singaporeans to carry. As sure as the 2% tax increase to 22% for high-income earners above $320,000, we might one day reduce that income threshold and/or to increase the tax rate at the same time. We will face that someday, hopefully not too soon, but I am sure that as the path towards more social spending and

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"topping up" has begun, we need to be mindful to find other means towards topping up our state coffers as well.

It is often said, "What you never had, you will never know to miss". I am sure this Budget will help many. We will all want the programmes to stay and to be even better. That is for sure. What we do not have is certainty of future revenues or revenue streams towards our state coffers to fund a certainty of programmes and a certainty of rising expectations. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget.