Video of speech:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/parliament/video_archive.php?blurb=Pasir-RisPunggol-GRC-MP-Penny-Low-speaks-in-support-of-the-motion-to-thank-the-President-for-his-address-to-the-House&video=_Parl%20Floor_20111021_pennylow.flv&title=parliament_20111021__Parl-Floor_20111021_pennylowParliament No: 12
Session No: 1
Volume No: 88
Sitting No: 6
Sitting Date: 2011-10-21
Title: Debate on President’s Address
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Miss Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, I rise in strong support of the President’s speech and his emphasis on inclusive and quality growth.
Sir, I was in Barcelona in June this year and I was surprised to see that the Catalonia Square, which is a main square in the centre of Barcelona, was being occupied by many protesters. Of course, it was filled with a row toilets as well. And when I asked how long have they been there, the answer was “months”. I was actually transiting – I was going to Bilbao – and when I arrived in Bilbao, I asked them what was going on. And they said, “Well, even in Bilbao itself, our main square has been occupied.” So, what is going on, and it is all young people? The answer was, “Well, you see, the unemployment rate of young people in Spain has reached an unprecedented rate.” Twenty-odd percent is considered common; in some places, it is even 50%-odd, and many of these are well-schooled, well-educated. So, I asked, “What do they do and how long do you think this will last?” The answer was, looking up in the sky, “wa meng ti” – in their own language.
Sir, obviously that movement itself has spread to now what is known as the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. The sense of income inequality, of lack of jobs, lack of opportunities, unfairness, food, water, fuel insecurity, global inflation and the ballooning world population that has crossed the 7-billion mark this year, truly stress-tests our old-world order, which is falling apart. Is Singapore agile enough to pass this test, or even take advantage of the morphing world order? Our future depends on what we have built up yesterday, what we decide and do today and, of course, our future quotient. To succeed in the “new normal” at the global and national levels, leaders in the private, public and citizen sectors need to switch from thinking about incremental changes to transformational, systemic change.
For sure, we cannot resolve problems using the same paradigms that created it in the first place. So, when President Tan spoke about inclusive, quality growth, it tugged at my heartstrings. Not only because it has been my pet parliamentary subject for the last five years, but also because it holds the promise of this urgently needed transformational change.
Sir, we may think of economic growth as giving us the wherewithal to “enjoy life”, but Singaporeans have reflected that it is not a sufficient condition for the sense of progress or well-being. One may ask, “Is 14.5% GDP growth not good enough?”
Sir, if growth means more foreign workers to ride the crest of an uptake in the economy, it also implies more crowded public transport, higher housing prices and competitions in schools. It means a congested city at short notice, ignoring the human considerations and time needed to adjust. Counting the happy moments of the day against the unhappy ones for your average Shenton Way worker would mean taking into account the following: waiting for the third or fourth train to get to work; jostling with hordes people in the station to make it to work on time; thinking where to find an affordable meal with a seat to enjoy; feeling trapped in the best-paying jobs one can get to afford the mortgages; keeping up with one’s peers in the rat race of life; and struggling how to fit family time into this picture.
Column: 94
Reading the papers, this worker would also feel anxious about their future, as the world faces the threat of another protracted downturn. Today, the people “occupying” Wall Street are saying that they have lost faith in the “market” and the absence of the “invisible hand” in its promise to serve the needs of the common man.
So it is important that this Government aims well beyond the GDP measure of growth, which is only a snapshot of a country’s domestic output at a point in time. It does not give the granularity we need to understand, first, if the growth properly trickles down to that of the common man; and, second, whether it contributes to his or her sense of progress or well-being.
But, Sir, I would also like to note that this is not the first time that the subject of GDP vs GNH or other development index has been invoked in this House. In fact, for years in this House, myself and a few other Members had repeatedly called for a new measurement matrix of our national progress. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the other Members “ge fang ying xiong” in this House for joining this call. However, I have also learnt over the years that, sometimes, it not just the frontbenchers who do not agree with the views of the backbenchers, but that we must back it up with considered alternative solutions and come together with the Government as one team, one Singapore team, sit on the same side of the table, to walk the talk, and not just talk and talk. So, I rise to give a few suggestions on how to operationalise it, and I will be happy to work on it if the Government accepts my proposal.
Recent in-depth studies of quality growth point to the need to recognise at least three other types of “capital”, in addition to the economic capital, and these, together, will sharpen the country’s external competitiveness, and simultaneously foster the cohesiveness and well-being of the society.
They are, first, personal capital which refers to a person’s philosophy or value system, mental and physical health, hopes and aspirations. The second: social capital, which refers to one’s social connectedness and the community’s wellness. And third, environmental capital, which refers to environmental security, food, biodiversity, and so on. In short, it is time for our national measurement system to move from measuring just one aspect of the national asset and our economic capital to an integrated, holistic measure of all four “capitals”.
Well-being is no fluffy stuff. In fact, people and communities with a higher sense of well-being are more adaptable and resilient. These are the exact future readiness traits needed for a more volatile and fast-moving world. And if growth in Singapore is conceptualised in the manner set out, we can continue to ensure our citizens have little affinity to the disillusioned Occupy Wall Street protesters. We can continue to buck the trend and progress.
So how do we do this? I have a few suggestions. One, I suggest that we compile the “The People First Report”. Instead of deciding on what are some of the priorities of the people, perhaps we should commission a report that draws on the best minds at the conceptualisation level, and invite all citizen inputs at the measurement level to this question: what do Singaporeans really want at the four levels of “capital” and well-being that I have described earlier? And it should take a life-cycle approach and a segmented orientation as outlined in the President’s speech. A school child may have a very different concern from an adult, from a homemaker and, of course, that of a senior citizen. And, clearly, the report must incorporate the challenges and opportunities of being an ageing society. It should also end with some notion of a new social compact that incorporates the roles that citizens, communities and businesses can and should play alongside with the Government. This should be sign-posted and measurable indices drawn up to tell us if we are on- or off-target so that we can adjust our strategies along the way.
Column: 96
Taking a leaf from the recently published Report on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress by Nobel Laureates, Professors Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi, they have incorporated ideas about achieving economic well-being, social capital, developing human capital, counting environmental impact and quality of life domains that matter to the ordinary person. And if we can arrive at a solid document, it can feed into discussions of our budgetary objectives. It will force a whole-of-Government approach to public policy as different domains will have to work towards these higher-order goals. And if we are able to come up with a compelling vision, I think that the business and people sectors will be equally energised and inspired to achieve the same goals in their own special way.
At this point, I would like to highlight a breed of organisations that directly achieve the sort of inclusive, quality growth that we aspire. And, of course, these are the social enterprises and innovators. For example, we have a restaurant chain called 18 Chef. It was started by an ex-offender, Mr Benny Seto. Benny got out of prison and wanted a second chance and a shot at the Singapore Dream. But he found that he was still in prison when the doors of employment were shut tight on him. He loves to eat, so he decided to pack his bag and head towards Jamie Oliver’s Restaurant 15. Jamie Oliver is a young British celebrity chef, and Restaurant 15 gives ex-offenders and youths-at-risk a shot at a job and to learn how to run their own restaurants. Benny worked hard and started 18 Chefs, mimicking 15. In so doing, he has now created a chain of restaurants that has jobs for both normal people and ex-offenders. He helps to close the gaps between them, allows the marginalised to be perceived as able, contributing citizens, and live a full life as a dignified Singaporean. Imagine the trickle-down effects of this on his or her family, how his neighbours and community look on him, and how this precious citizen can contribute to our GDP again.
Sir, there are many Bennys in this sector and in many industries. In the UK, the development of the third sector has now pervaded all fields and all walks of life, and social enterprise takes the form of big serious businesses that attempt to solve national concerns. In Singapore, check out our very young Singaporean scientist, Dr Adrian Yeo, who won the Don Quixote Fund Award for his water-treatment technology. He wants to effect a sustainable change in how the world lives, and people like him should be given every opportunity to turn their clean technologies and dreams into ongoing business concerns. But what we need is a policy framework at the heart of Government that supports individuals and companies like these across the boundaries of the typical business and social sectors.
So, perhaps, one, we could recognise the need for a third sector and grant start-ups or donations or even preferential treatments, grow it like a strategic industry because it is strategic through our inclusive and quality growth objective. And allow hybrid regulations to operate within this sector so that they can grow faster and also remove the obstacles that are currently in place.
Secondly, we could also augment Government procurement systems to take into account the social and environmental impact of their vendors. They should set in order a chain of change in the rest of the sectors. It would also tie in the calls made by other hon. Members of the House for setting aside low-cost sourcing for best sourcing practices. Of course, this will raise the barrier for entry for ordinary businesses and therefore, it is important to also allow the right amount of lead time before the system kicks in.
Sir, at the end of the day, social enterprises and all companies that are socially responsible should be rewarded for their efforts in creating inclusive and quality growth in our country. People work for a living but live for a cause or causes. And there is more to life than just job.
Column: 98
Last but not least, on anchoring ourselves. Sir, in the “new normal”, new actors connected via the social media will emerge at an unprecedented rate to reshape reality. The “new normal” will be complex, multi-dimensional, unanticipated and fast-changing. We can be easily confused, but all is not lost if we can anchor ourselves to a core value system, shared norms and collective destiny regardless of race, language, religion or political beliefs and forge a sense of togetherness and turn this into positive forces that drive our future.
As a born and bred Singaporean, I am committed and have spent 10 years of my prime life working on the ground. I also have confidence in my fellow Singaporeans because during this period, I have witnessed how Singapore overcame 9/11, SARS, water crisis and the two financial crises in the short ten years or so. We are resilient but we have to keep building our economic, social, personal and environment capital so that we can have a more inclusive and better future. Let me end on the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”
