• First-term MPs Tan See Leng, Gan Siow Huang, Mariam Jaafar, Don Wee and Edward Chia have debut speeches in Parliament
• Their speeches largely centred around the key issue of jobs
• Their suggestions varied — from transforming the economy to keeping workers believing they can succeed

SINGAPORE — As the new Parliament reconvened for its first debate on Monday (Aug 31), five first-term Members of Parliament (MPs) and political officeholders made their debut speeches about the kind of Singapore they wanted to see emerge from the country’s worst crisis since independence.

The five MPs — Dr Tan See Leng, Ms Gan Siow Huang, Ms Mariam Jaafar, Mr Don Wee and Mr Edward Chia — brought along their personal expertise into the debates, but their speeches centred around a key issue that had been foremost on the Government’s mind since the Covid-19 pandemic, that is, keeping Singaporeans in jobs.

The five presented varied ideas on how to do so: From seizing the opportunity that the crisis has brought along to transform the economy, to making sure workers do not become disenfranchised.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat told the House that he had encouraged the officeholders among the 31 first-time MPs to speak not just about their ministry work but also on their personal convictions and beliefs.

“They are giving their maiden speeches and I believe Singaporeans would want to know who they are and what they stand for,” he said.

The five new parliamentarians were among the 19 MPs who spoke on the first day of the debate on the President’s Address.

Among the new MPs were two political officeholders, Dr Tan who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Manpower and for Trade and Industry, and Ms Gan, who is Minister of State for Manpower and Education.

CRISES BREED OPPORTUNITIES

Dr Tan began his speech by speaking from his position in the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), outlining what the Government is doing to manage the Covid-19 outbreak in the migrant worker dormitories.

With MOM's Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) group taking over the migrant worker dorms from the joint task force, Dr Tan said that the Government is now “transitioning towards a more sustainable approach of maintaining and preserving the health of our migrant workers for the longer term”.

He added that while Singapore is methodically reopening the economy to trading partners and foreign visitors, rising nationalism worldwide and growing geopolitical tensions could threaten the global trade on which the small country is reliant.

Drawing on his career in the private sector, Dr Tan then related to the difficulties companies are now facing in transforming their businesses for the future economy, adding that the Government will support these businesses through their reorganisation. Dr Tan was the former managing director and chief executive officer of IHH Healthcare Berhad, a private healthcare group that has a network of hospitals including Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Gleneagles Hospital.

For businesses in new fields such as biopharma and advanced manufacturing, he said that the Government will foster an attractive environment for them to compete and co-operate in. Businesses facing lower demand will get help from the Government for them to preserve their core capabilities and seize new opportunities when the economy recovers.

And for business in industries that have permanently changed, the Government will help them reinvent and position themselves into new markets.

“We must never waste a crisis, because every crisis also breeds new opportunities,” he said.

As for Ms Gan, she called on Singaporeans to make use of this time to build up their skills and keep an open mind to available jobs and training programmes such as the ones being created by the National Jobs Council.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been preferable for a jobseeker to go for training required by his employer after securing the job, she said.

But fewer companies are willing to hire in advance after Covid-19 struck, which is why the Government is pushing for training programmes so that these jobseekers will stand a better chance of landing a job when the economy recovers.

“The Government will do our best to ensure fair opportunities for Singaporeans to get jobs and to support Singaporeans in acquiring skills,” the former Republic of Singapore Air Force Chief of Staff – Air Staff, said. “Our people are our only asset, and every Singaporean counts.”

CHALLENGES JOBSEEKERS FACE

Ms Mariam Jaafar, MP for Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), used her maiden speech to urge employers to hire not just based on paper qualifications and past experiences, but by the skills they possess.

She recalled an encounter with one of her residents who had just been retrenched and had been facing difficulties getting job interviews, not for a lack of skills but because he had only a diploma.

While she acknowledged the various schemes the Government has pushed out to give jobseekers the requisite skills to find a job, she said it is also important that people believe in these policies.

“Take the SGUnited Skills Programme. With a training stipend of S$1,200 a month, for the mid-career worker with children and ageing parents, it’s quite a difficult sell,” the managing director and partner of management consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group said.

“We’re paying you to learn, they’re told. Yes, but let’s not forget, they also need to survive. We must find ways to make it easier for our people to take the pathway of learning.”

They must also believe that they are given a fair chance to succeed, she said as she urged the Government to do more to ensure fair employment provisions are ingrained in the legal and regulatory framework and that they are strongly enforced.

UPDATING SINGAPORE’S SOCIAL COMPACT

Mr Chia, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, called for a change in the way the Government views small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) when disbursing grants or support. These enterprises should be assessed not just for their economic value, but for the “deep social value” they provide to Singapore, he said.

This “will inspire more entrepreneurs to establish more companies in Singapore, especially young people in their 20s to 30s who want to do more than simply make money,” the co-founder of lifestyle and entertainment group Timbre said.

“With more companies on board, we can offer more quality jobs that attract more Singaporeans who desire to work for these companies because it resonates with their aspirations.”

Mr Don Wee, MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, spoke for the lower-income Singaporeans who, because of Covid-19, are facing more disadvantages climbing the social ladder.

Singapore’s social compact before the pandemic struck had been predicated on good economic growth, high employment rate, self-responsibility and a layered social security system, he said.

“Post-Covid-19, this new compact needs to be practical and yet creative to ensure there is affordability, availability and quality,” he said, adding that this has to extend to all areas of society, including social security, housing, healthcare and education.

He raised, for example, the issue of family service centres being housed apart from social service offices, requiring needy Singaporeans to repeat their financial circumstances when applying to get aid.

“The construction of this new social compact requires the Government to review and discard long-held beliefs and rigid policy mindsets that are the hurdles... (It) can no longer leave it to market forces to help the less privileged ones.”