Shanmugam: Govt strives to fulfil citizens' aspirations

By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 4 Mar 2013

BEYOND meeting the basic needs of its citizens, any honest government should also strive to fulfil their aspirations - but within practical constraints, said Law and Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam yesterday.

Responding to a question on the Budget on the sidelines of a community event in Yishun yesterday, the MP for Nee Soon GRC said the Government's way has been to look at the interests of all groups here before putting in place "policies that work for the entire country".

This is unlike in many Western democracies where parties - whether liberal or conservative - are clearly identified with specific segments of the populace, and gear their policies towards their own support base even while claiming to represent the whole country at the polls, said Mr Shanmugam.

But the Government's approach means that compromises are made. "Every government in the world works within constraints: fiscal, and in our case, physical as well.

"We have to maximise the possibility of the aspirations and where the aspirations come up against fiscal constraints, or physical constraints... we have to then explain clearly what these constraints are." He said: "There have to be trade-offs but there must also be benefits."

In the area of housing, the Government has ramped up the supply of new flats even as it has introduced several rounds of measures to cool the red-hot property market.

Bridging faith gap between government and leadership

By Yap Koon Hong, The Straits Times, 4 Mar 2013

TRUST, according to public relations company Edelman, is a measurable asset.

Every year, for the past 13 years, the company has tracked it globally with the Edelman Trust Barometer, ranking a selected band of countries through a survey on how trustworthy their citizens think their key institutions are.

The survey calculates the ranking based on how much a nation's citizens say they trust four major institutions: government, business, media and non-governmental organisations.

At first glance, this indicator has the Singapore Government enjoying a distinctly high level of trust among Singaporeans. It started at seventh place in 2011, when Singapore was first picked for the survey, and leapfrogged to third last year. But a closer look at the findings disclose a paradox, that public trust is not so clear-cut an issue: Despite the high levels of trust Singaporeans place in the Government as an institution, they trust government leadership a lot less.

Only 23 per cent of the Singaporeans polled said they trusted government leaders to tell the truth, versus the 72 per cent who said they trusted the Government to do what is right as an institution.

This year's survey was carried out online, and involved some 31,000 respondents in the 26 countries selected. The respondents comprised average citizens as well as "informed citizens", whom the survey profiled as college-educated, in the top 25 per cent of household incomes and actively engaged in media, business and public policy.

The 49-point gap in public faith between government and leadership is even higher than that of China, which registered a 47-point gap, or India, at 35 points.

To be sure, the survey report said the yawning gap in public faith between a government and its leadership is a global trend.

"Less than one-fifth of the general public believes business leaders and government officials will tell the truth when confronted with a difficult issue," wrote the company's president and chief executive Richard Edelman of this year's survey findings.

The dissonance is significant in the West as well, but on a lesser scale, as Germany (32 points), the United States (28 points) and France (25 points) illustrate.

While Singapore is not an exception, the gap between public faith in the Government - its sturdiness and reliability - and leadership - telling the truth about difficult issues - is high.

So what gives?

Clementi state land now a community farm

Grassroots effort key in helping residents keep their once-illegal plots

By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 4 Mar 2013

A PATCH of land in Clementi that was once used illegally by residents is now a community farm in which radishes, chillies, sweet potatoes and corn grow.

The farm, behind Block 305 Clementi Avenue 4 in the Bukit Timah division of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, was officially opened by Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and grassroots adviser Sim Ann yesterday.

Fruit and vegetables once thrived on the state land between Clementi Avenue 4 and Sungei Ulu Pandan, where labourers and retirees also gathered to chit-chat near a small shrine they had built. Other farmers had installed ponds and an outhouse.

But last March, other residents complained of burning leaves and mosquito breeding, which prompted the Singapore Land Authority to ask the farmers to go.

The Bukit Timah grassroots network stepped in to work with residents, farmers and government agencies.

They came up with a plan for the Bukit Timah citizens' consultative committee (CCC) to rent the land from the state on a yearly basis for community farming.

Today, users pay $5 a month to use the site's 30 plots, each 8m by 4m and allocated by ballot to existing and new farmers.

While some structures like the shrine and outhouse had to go, footpaths, lights, water points and a tool shed were added and work was done in late January.

The bill of about $60,000 was funded partly by the North West Community Development Council and partly by private donors.

Swee Say: Pace of change critical

If restructuring is too slow, competitiveness will be hit; if too fast, companies may fold

By Jessica Cheam, The Sunday Times, 3 Mar 2013

As Singapore's economy goes through a phase of restructuring over the next few years, it is critical to get the pace right, said labour chief Lim Swee Say yesterday.

Too slow and Singapore would lose its competitiveness, too fast and companies could fold leaving workers left without jobs, he warned.

"This transition is important, and the pace is equally important, too," said Mr Lim, who spoke on the sidelines of an NTUC event yesterday.

He said that if Singapore tried to push the pace too fast, for example, by freezing the growth of foreign workers immediately and by forcing wages to go up quickly, it could repeat the mistake of the mid-1980s when it adopted an aggressive wage-driven approach.

Then, the National Wages Council had recommended annual wage increases for the entire economy to promote economic and social progress but the wage hikes soon priced Singapore out of the market.

"I remember in those days we even gave wage increases twice a year, every six months... but we forced the pace too fast and as a result we went into recession," he said.

With the new transition, the labour movement hopes the country can sustain its full employment even as wages go up.

"At the same time, we hope that the Singaporean core can be strengthened in every sector, and the income gap can be narrowed," he added.

The Government has in recent months moved to address growing concerns of a rising income gap.

The Budget unveiled last week sought to achieve this by introducing tiered taxes with higher rates for the wealthy, bigger payouts to the needy and a centrepiece $3.6 billion Wage Credit Scheme to help companies tide over the difficult process of restructuring.

Under the scheme, the Government will fund 40 per cent of wage increases for Singaporeans who earn up to $4,000 a month, from now till 2015.

Swipe app to take history and food trails

By Janice Tai, The Sunday Times, 3 Mar 2013

Tracing the history, interesting food, or buildings in a Singapore locale can be done with a swipe of the finger, with more than 200 community trails gathered and digitised into a free app, Trail Shuttle.

The trails were marked out mainly by students in a competition organised by Crescent Girls' School (CGS), the People's Association Youth Movement and Microsoft Singapore to showcase the heritage and lifestyles of different places. The trails centre on themes such as food, heritage, arts and culture as well as sports and lifestyle.

CGS plans to hold the competition every year and to add about 100 trails each time.

Yesterday, Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah presented prizes to 11 winning teams, selected from more than 40 primary and secondary schools.

The top prize in the primary category went to Teck Ghee Primary, which designed a trail weaving through hawker centres and wet markets in Ang Mo Kio.

Two Primary 6 pupils from the school interviewed hawkers to find out where they got their ingredients and how their dishes were prepared.

The interviews are included in the app. Temasek Academy won in the secondary category for its Joo Chiat trail while another non-student team in the open category won for its Tiong Bahru trail.

He went from jail to NUS law school

Ex-offender turns his life around in jail and will graduate with a law degree this year
By Chang Ai-lien, The Sunday Times, 3 Mar 2013

Fresh-faced Mr Darren Tan graduates this year from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a law degree.

That is quite an achievement for the 34-year-old, who has spent more than 10 years of his life in jail and received 19 strokes of the cane for drug and gang-related offences.

When he finally straightened himself out, he returned to his studies with a vengeance, aced the A levels and did what many considered an audacious thing - he applied to study law at NUS.

Associate Professor Eleanor Wong, one of two law dons who interviewed him in jail, said he demonstrated character, perseverance and commitment in the way he schooled himself in prison and turned his life around.

"When we interviewed him, he also demonstrated maturity, humility and honesty, all important qualities for doing well not just in law school but in his subsequent career," she told The Sunday Times.

He became the first student with a criminal past to be admitted to the NUS law school.

A latchkey kid, he was an only child whose father worked in a coffee shop and mother at a fruit stall.

He did well in primary school, but in secondary school he joined a gang and began a life of drugs and crime.

By 14, he was smoking marijuana, sniffing glue and taking sleeping pills to get high, before moving on to pricier drugs. He also sold pirated VCDs, collected protection money, and was involved in illegal gambling and drug trafficking.

At 18, he was sent to the Reformative Training Centre for two years for robbery and drug consumption.

After he was released, he went back to trafficking drugs. Eleven months later, he was back in jail for trafficking and taking drugs. This time he was given an eight-year sentence. He was released, only to be caught and sent back for yet another five years, for taking drugs.

He was 25 and behind bars when his turnaround finally came. Alone in his cell and contemplating his crimes, he saw things more clearly at last: "I realised that my past life wasn't very meaningful or satisfying."

He resumed his studies, eventually taking the A levels and scoring four As and a B, including an A1 for General Paper, which he attributed to "reading the newspapers with a dictionary and grammar book by my side".

He applied for law school from prison, despite everyone advising him not to set himself up for disappointment. "My faith gave me a lot of strength," said the Christian.

Life is quite different today. He lives with his parents - his father is now a taxi driver and his mother, a production operator - has a girlfriend, and is a volunteer helping youth at risk, and ex-offenders.

He is also working with a partner of law firm Braddell Brothers, Mr Anand Nalachandran, as part of his law clinic elective module, assisting on active pro bono matters.

Said Mr Nalachandran: "As defence counsel, we often request a chance for offenders to reform and rehabilitate so I'm glad to be able to support Darren in this course."

It is people like Mr Tan that the Yellow Ribbon Fund aims to help. It linked him with a private donor who helped pay for his course fees and provided a living allowance.

Reigniting the spark of literature

Academics and literary figures give their take on why students should be exposed to the subject

By Jane Ng, The Sunday Times, 3 Mar 2013

Pasir Ris Crest Secondary bucked the trend in 2007 when then principal James Ong made Literature compulsory for all upper secondary students.

That was not all. Everyone at the neighbourhood school had to do Literature as a full O-level subject.

It caused an uproar among parents, who feared their children would not score top grades in the subject, and students, who swore they would fail.

But Dr Ong pressed ahead because he believed Literature was good for everyone. "Literature teaches lessons about human behaviour, values and how to relate to people. Education is about making people better, and this is part of education," said the educator, who has a science background.

He knew he was going against the tide, given declining numbers of students across Singapore taking Literature at the O levels. Schools and students preferred subjects with a better chance of scoring distinctions.

But he held a different view. "Education is not just about attaining good grades. The value that is inherent in the study of literature is more important than the grades you achieve."

His students went on to perform better than the national average in most years. Dr Ong has since moved on, and is now head of the education programme at SIM University.

Since last year, however, pure Literature has no longer been compulsory for Express stream students at Pasir Ris Crest Secondary. They can now choose to take it as a full subject or an elective - a "half subject" paired with Social Studies. The subject has been optional for Normal (Academic) students since 2009.

A school spokesman said the change was made as part of an annual school review at the end of 2011 to offer students more choices, especially for those interested in taking the three sciences.

In the last two decades, the number of students taking pure Literature at the O levels fell from 16,970 (47.9 per cent of the Secondary 4 cohort) in 1992 to 7,322 (21.8 per cent) in 2001, to a mere 3,000 (9 per cent) last year.

What it means to be a Singaporean

Exploring this becomes more pertinent at a time when social mobility is slowing

By Zuraidah Ibrahim, The Sunday Times, 3 Mar 2013

Among the questions at the heart of the recent, wrenching debate on the Population White Paper was what it means to be a Singaporean.

There is a tension between the idea that Singaporeans must be bonafide born-and-bred or at the very least have gone through some rite of passage here like school or national service, and the more expansive view that citizenship is fluid and newer arrivals should be given the chance to become full members of this society.

Those who hold the latter position point out that we are all descendants of immigrants. Despite this fact, immigration provokes deep anxiety among many Singaporeans. This is rarely due to any animosity towards foreigners at a personal, one-to-one level. The unease is over the sheer numbers.

Whether it is when taking the train or bus at certain hours, or walking through parts of the city at lunchtime, Singaporeans can feel overwhelmed and hemmed in. This identity crisis is over and above the tangible, practical costs of living in a city whose infrastructure is under strain and where competition for jobs and affordable homes has been intense.

Even if we accept at the policy level that Singapore needs large numbers of workers and professionals from abroad, a sense of our nationhood being under threat emerges whenever Singaporeans talk among ourselves about the impact of recent immigration.

Our Singapore Conversation enters phase 2

By Rachel Chang, The Sunday Times, 3 Mar 2013

The Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) exercise entered its second phase yesterday; it now seeks to explore in greater depth where things must change to meet Singaporeans' values and aspirations.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who heads the mass engagement exercise, told The Sunday Times that participants in the first phase had raised some values and aspirations that "point to a future where we need to do some things different from the present".

This must be examined further in the second phase, he said, adding that he was heartened by how Singaporeans have come together through the national conversation thus far, and that he looked forward to exploring the topics in greater depth during its next stage.

Yesterday's dialogue gave a glimpse of how the OSC exercise will try to break new ground in its second act, after a first phase of open-ended, exploratory focus group sessions.

In those "citizens' dialogues", participants could air whatever was on their minds.

Over three months, these threw up perspectives that the OSC secretariat summarised into 12 elements of what Singaporeans want, ranging from "A Singapore with a more fulfilling pace of life" to "A Singapore for Singaporeans".

In contrast, yesterday's session brought together 50 participants to discuss one specific question: "How might we create hope and opportunity for all Singaporeans?"

This is one of three broad questions that the second phase is structured around.

The other two are "How might we build a home where all Singaporeans feel a sense of belonging?" and "How might we care for our fellow Singaporeans?"

Each dialogue in this second phase will be focused on one of the questions. Within each question are four sub-questions. Participants in the dialogues will be grouped according to which sub- question they pick before attending.

More help to be given to Public Assistance scheme recipients

PA recipients to get funds to buy some medical supplies
Recipients will not have to pay for one-off or annual purchases of medical equipment: Minister
By Tan Weizhen, TODAY, 2 Mar 2013

Not only will they pocket higher cash allowances every month — as announced during this year’s Budget — Public Assistance (PA) recipients will also get handouts for the purchase of recurring medical consumables and medical equipment.

These items include adult diapers, stoma bags and dietary supplements, said Acting Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing as he announced further enhancements to the scheme yesterday.

PA recipients, most of whom are elderly living alone, will also not have to pay for one-off or annual purchases of medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, commodes, oxygen respirators, and hearing aids, the Minister added.

There is no cap on how much a recipient can get to make these purchases, said Mr Chan. The Minister also announced that the household income cap for recipients in the PA scheme would be raised by S$200 to S$1,700. As of December last year, 3,047 households were PA recipients.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced during his Budget speech on Monday that PA recipients will receive S$50 to S$130 more in monthly cash allowances — depending on the household size.

Yesterday, Mr Chan said the extra benefits were aimed at easing the financial burden from medical needs of PA recipients who, increasingly, are from an older demographic.

Property prices yet to reach acceptable level: Tharman

TODAY, 2 Mar 2013

There are still “some ways to go” before property prices are at an acceptable level, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.

“We’re still in a wrong part of the cycle,” he said, adding that bringing prices to an acceptable level will happen “through a combination of income improvement, as well as prices certainly not going up further, but some correction in prices will not be out of order”.

Mr Tharman’s comments come after the Government introduced a further round of property cooling measures in January to take more heat off the market, which has seen prices keep climbing upwards.

The impact of the measures has yet to be seen, with market watchers cautioning that it might not be until this month or April before it is clear how prices and demand have been affected.

Meanwhile, property analysts were divided on whether the Government might be inclined to introduce more cooling measures if prices continue to rise.

Transform the way health care is delivered

Focus funds on preventive health, primary and extended care: Expert

By Goh Chin Lian, The Straits Tmes, 2 Mar 2013

HEALTH-CARE expert Jeremy Lim, 40, used to work on health-care policy and financing when he was executive director of the SingHealth Centre for Health Services Research.

Now principal consultant of Insights Health Associates, Dr Lim is writing a book on Singapore's health-care system and teaching a course on health-care management at the National University of Singapore.

He talks to The Straits Times about the review of health-care financing raised in Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam's Budget speech this week, which includes reducing out-of- pocket payments and broadening insurance coverage.

What ails Singapore's health-care financing?

Singapore's model attracts attention as total health-care spending - less than 4 per cent of gross domestic product - is very low compared to most developed countries and outcomes such as life expectancy and infant mortality rate are pretty impressive.

That said, the underpinning philosophy of individual responsibility and family as the basic social support unit is increasingly challenging for three reasons:

Change from acute illnesses to chronic diseases with much higher lifetime spending, largely outpatient punctuated by short inpatient admissions for acute complications.

Health-care inflation has far outstripped wages, especially for the lower-income groups, and it is no longer realistic to expect citizens to have sufficient savings.

Families are smaller and "risk-pooling" within families is in the main no longer possible.

The emphasis on hospitals and government intervention to keep hospitalisation affordable, with citizens bearing outpatient costs, needs to evolve.