Parliamentary snapshots (26 and 27 Feb 08)

February 27, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Current Affairs, Parliament

Sylvia Lim: There were signs the 2 point GST hike was really not needed

The signs were there a year ago that the two-point hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was not needed, NMP Sylvia Lim claimed. Back then, the Government’s own estimates had indicated it would have more than enough in its coffers to fund additional social spending, without having to raise the GST from 5 to 7 per cent.

Ms Lim reminded the House that her party had pointed out the projected increases in personal income tax and other revenue streams during last year’s Budget debate, and was criticised for doing so. Now, the record $6.45 billion Budget surplus has proven that the GST increase was ‘without compelling reasons’, she said.

By raising the GST, the Government has ‘compounded the inflation pressures on the people’, argued Ms Lim. Against a spike in prices of food, transport and other essentials, ‘adding on another 2 per cent on a higher base price has increased the cost of some items by more than 20 per cent’, she said.

Wages have not caught up with the rising cost of living, as ‘only very few people’s incomes have risen by 20 per cent since last year’. She urged the Government to also consider removing GST altogether on essential food items.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang: Responded to Sylvia Lim’s GST comments by giving her a lesson on SALTED FISH

Sylvia Lim’s arguments reminded Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Aljunied GRC) of a story by the classical Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zi. In the story, a fish in a shallow trench appeals to a passing scholar for help. The scholar tells the fish to wait while he fetches water from the sea.

‘By the time you come back, I will be a dried-up, preserved fish in the market,’ says the fish.

Now, said Mr Yeo, if the scholar were a People’s Action Party man, he would tell the fish: ‘I will give you a bit of water first, but come with me and I will show you how you can stand on your own.’

What about if Ms Lim met the fish, asked Mr Yeo Guat Kwang rhetorically.

He said that Ms Lim would probably say: ‘I have no water to give you, but I sympathise with you from the bottom of my heart. I will ask my government to give you all their water, and tell of your plight to the world.’

Concluded Mr Yeo: ‘Eventually the fish will still end up in the salted fish bin in the market.’

EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS is the one of the lamest retorts made by a PAP MP on Sylvia Lim’s GST comments.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Budget is realistic and prudent

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday defended the Budget for fiscal year 2008 as he wrapped up the three-day parliamentary debate. He said the Budget this year goes for balance between providing short term benefits to Singaporeans and building up capabilities for longer term growth and social resilience.

On comments that not enough was done for businesses, Mr Tharman said the Government chose to provide more ‘significant benefits to households’. It’s not possible, he said, to do more in both the short-term and long-term as well as give more to both households and businesses. ‘If we did this, it would mean running a large deficit,’ he said.

Wong Kan Seng: Attracting immigrants a key strategy for long-term growth

Singapore needs to keep its doors open to global talent so foreigners can ‘join us, become part of us, and contribute to our community’, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng on Wednesday. He said while Singaporeans must remain at the core, locals alone are not enough to meet the country’s manpower demands.

He added Singapore remains a talent magnet for now but global competition for talent is intense.

‘Whether we like it or not those who are capable and talented will go to places with better opportunities and where they feel welcomed. And if Singapore does not welcome them, they will simply look elsewhere and they will then compete against us,’ said Mr Wong during the Committee of Supply debate.

He added attracting talent is not enough and the country must do more to retain them.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Govt to extend fee freeze till end of year

The freeze on fees for Government services will be extended till the end of the year, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told Parliament on Wednesday.

Wrapping up the Budget debate, he said: ‘We announced a one-year freeze on Government fees starting from July last year when the GST was raised. We have decided to extend the Government fee freeze till the end of 2008 to provide further reassurance to Singaporeans, at a time of rising prices.’

The freeze covers public carpark charges, schools and licence fees, among others. But it excludes transport sector regulatory charges such as ERP and property market development charges.

Kalyani Mehta, Halimah Yacob: Lack of universal coverage of CPF Life leaves poor vulnerable

‘The lack of universal coverage of CPF Life has strong implications for the total safety net for (the) poor and vulnerable,’ NMP Kalyani Mehta said. ‘The Government cannot abrogate its responsibility towards the citizens who belong to these categories.’

MP Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) said that while CPF Life resulted in a ‘stronger and tighter safety net’, it left out low-income workers. This is not an insignificant group as they comprise 25 per cent of active CPF members who turn 55 in 2013, the first batch to take part in the scheme, she added.

To remedy the situation, she suggested that the Government relook the policy which last year reduced the CPF contribution rates for older workers. This was done so they would get a higher take-home pay and employers are given an incentive to hire them.

But, said Madam Halimah, ‘that policy somehow contradicts the CPF Life scheme, and so I would like to ask the Government for an assessment on how it would, in the long term, affect our low-income earners’ ability to save up for CPF Life and prepare for their own retirement’.

Dr Lily Neo: Provide comprehensive assistance package for poor

Make sure assistance reaches the poor by improving on its delivery, MP Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar GRC) said. ‘I strongly suggest fine-tuning our present social services by revamping the delivery aspects, even if it means incurring expenses in manpower.’

She listed other ideas, such as a comprehensive assistance package for families. The package ranges from job opportunities for an unemployed spouse to assisting with tuition fees for children. Dr Neo stressed that education was the key as it gave the younger ones a shot at social mobility.

‘There is a limit to poverty alleviation by working harder and longer, or driving down the unemployment rate. We cannot expect lower-income Singaporeans to keep on running faster and faster yet find themselves not progressing. They will be disillusioned, and that in turn would affect the nation’s cohesiveness’, she said.

Siew Kum Hong: Err on side of generosity when helping the needy

NMP Siew Kum Hong cautioned against using economic growth figures alone to measure how well Singaporeans are faring. Yes, the country’s economy expanded by an impressive 7.7 per cent last year, he said, but in spite of the glowing figures, many Singaporeans do not feel better off.

‘Instead, in the face of the worst inflation experienced in 25 years, there is an extremely strong sense of being worse off among many Singaporeans,’ he said.

Mr Siew questioned why Singaporeans should be expected to continue supporting the Government’s push to grow the economy at all costs, when this strategy saddled them with costs but not all of the benefits.

Mr Siew called on the Government to be less hard-nosed and more compassionate when deciding how best to help the needy. Its current conservative approach means some people end up falling through the cracks. He said the Government’s mantra when crafting policies to help the poor seems to centre on three don’ts, which are: Don’t waste public funds; don’t erode the work ethic; and don’t create a ‘bloated bureaucracy’.

‘Unfortunately, this approach will often clash with our basic human impulse for care, concern and compassion and it will generally overlook intangible and unquantifiable factors,’ he said.

He cited the example of the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), to top up the wages of low-skilled workers. The scheme requires these older workers to first contribute to their own CPF Medisave accounts before they can claim Workfare payouts. But the move means the bulk of casual and self-employed workers cannot benefit from Workfare as they do not have enough cash to top up their own accounts.

Dr Loo Choon Yong: Increase public assistance

While applauding the decision to raise the Public Assistance allowance in this year’s Budget from $290 to $330 a month for singles, NMP Dr Loo Choon Yong said the Government could be more generous and compassionate. These were individuals who ‘must really be in bad shape. They are often old, in poor health and cannot fend for themselves’.

He asked that the monthly amount be reviewed further and be raised by 38 per cent to $400 a month for single-person households. An equivalent increase can be made for families, he said.

Denise Phua: 4 ways to help the disabled

The disabled and others with special needs ‘have been forgotten’ in this year’s Budget, MP Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) said in Parliament. She pointed out the lack of measures to help them, even though ‘the problems faced by the average citizen are magnified in the lives of those with disabilities’.

She suggested four ways in which the Government could help the disabled. First, relax the income criteria for subsidies in schemes such as early intervention programmes for special-needs children and day care for the disabled. Second, exempt community hospitals, day activity centres and special schools run by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) from having to collect the goods and services tax (GST). Third, give a one-time top-up to the Central Provident Fund accounts of the disabled, or to a new trust fund for the disabled to be set up in the coming months. Fourth, cut down on the ‘administrative jungle’ that stands in the way of the disabled who want to get help.

Ms Phua suggested that a case manager from a central aid agency – such as a community development council or family service centre – be appointed to help the disabled apply for aid. She also proposed that all agencies providing such help use a master application form, so that those applying for aid do not have to fill up different sets of forms and go for numerous interviews.

Mr Ong Kian Min: Cultivate creative buzz or end up losing top talents

To become a truly first-class economy bustling with talent, Singapore needs to shed its risk-averse image and allow innovation to flourish at all levels of society, MP Mr Ong Kian Min (Tampines GRC) said. Having a top-notch education and training system is not enough to draw and retain talent, he said.

Singapore could end up being no more than a ‘temporary training centre’ for the world’s best and brightest, who would then move to greener pastures after getting the skills.

Mr Ong praised Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for introducing incentives to spur the growth of innovation here. But what worries him is that such measures will hardly gain cachet here, because many decision-makers still steer clear of taking risks unnecessarily.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Foreign labour ‘not a substitute’ for jobs upgrade

MP Mrs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) has urged the Government to do a cost-benefit study before letting more foreign workers in, saying that companies short of manpower are seeing them as the easier option. Instead of upgrading jobs for Singaporean workers, these companies are asking for more foreign workers, she said.

This attitude, she indicated, undermined the national effort to upgrade the skills of local workers, so that they can find better-paying jobs.

‘Our goal should be that foreign workers can be an instrument to help businesses catch the growth. At the same time, it should allow businesses to have a breathing room for them to press on with their upgrading efforts, instead of substituting for their upgrading,’ said Mrs Teo, the assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.

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2 Comments on Parliamentary snapshots (26 and 27 Feb 08)

Daily SG: 28 Feb 2008 « The Singapore Daily on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:18 am

[...] money for… – Hear Ye! Hear Ye!: Home ownership as a hedge against inflation – Sgpolitics: Parliamentary snapshots (26 and 27 Feb 08) – The States Times: A Fishy Story – Siew Kum Hong: Speech by Minister Tharman: 27 February [...]

SGDaily Roundup: Week 9 « The Singapore Daily on Sat, 1st Mar 2008 1:04 am

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