Here’s what PM Lee said the last time GST was raised from 5% to 7%
Aging population and income inequality were the reasons why GST was last raised.
By Jonathan Lim | 15 hours
When asked about Singapore’s impending GST increase to a 9 percent rate just as Malaysia is scrapping its 6 percent GST, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told reporters on May 19:
“We have given a lot of notice. There is time to explain, and there is time to work out how exactly we will make sure that Singaporeans are given the right support in order to be able to live with a new tax… It is something which we are taking very seriously indeed.”
On explaining the hike, he said:
“You have to work very hard to make sure you have a very good case to be able to explain to voters why you are doing this, what you are using the money for and to persuade them that you know what you are doing and they can trust you. Then you must implement it well to make sure that it goes in smoothly. That the burden is carried fairly.”
2006: Last time PM Lee announced GST would be raised
It was in November 2006 when PM Lee gave a speech in Parliament following the President’s Address to talk about inequality.
He talked about Singapore’s aging population and widening income gap. He said that by 2020, the median working age would be 40 and there would be 575,000 elderly persons (age 65 and above) and five working adults will support one elderly person. In contrast, in 2005, there were 291,000 elderly persons and nine working adults would support one elderly person.
He said then that these were problems that needed to be addressed and resources were needed:
If we do more for the lower-income and the elderly who are needy and also invest more for their future, then government spending has to go up. There is no other way. We have kept this government lean and trim. The government spends only 14 percent to 15 percent of the GDP, i.e. $1 in $7 approximately. This is lower than virtually any other country in the world. The Europeans, as I told you, spend more than half their GDP. We are even lower than Hong Kong, which spends 18 percent to 19 percent of its GDP. So Singaporeans are really having a very cheap Government — high quality but cheap government. But we will have to spend more. I think this is inevitable over the next five to 10 years.
Before he announced the raising of GST to meet needs, he made another announcement: That they would draw more money from Singapore’s Net Investment Income (NII) by including realised capital gains. Originally the government only drew money from investment dividends and interests:
Under the Constitution, the government can spend up to 50 percent of Net Investment Income (NII) on past reserves, and 50 percent of Net Investment Income has to be kept for the future. I believe this is the right formula. It is a fair balance between the claims of the present and the future generations, and will protect our reserves, our seed corn, from being depleted. But we can refine the implementation of this 50 percent rule because, currently, the definition of Net Investment Income only includes dividends and interest. This is not quite right, because a significant part of the returns on our reserves are capital gains. We should look at total returns on the reserves as the basis for deciding how much it has grown. Therefore, we intend to change the definition of Net Investment Income to include realised capital gains. This will increase the amount which we can draw on average. Some years, if the markets are bad, we may end up with less but, on average, we should end up with more. To do this, we need to amend the Constitution. We will amend the Constitution and work out the details with the Elected President.
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Imposing parking fees on teachers is about Government’s ‘self-discipline’: Ong Ye Kung
By Cynthia Choo
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung (left) and Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng (right).
TODAY file photo and Parliament screengrab
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung (left) and Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng (right).
Published 25 May, 2018
Updated 25 May, 2018
SINGAPORE — The decision to impose parking fees on teachers at all schools stems from the Government’s duty to abide by a “system of internal self-discipline”, said Education Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday (May 25).
“Charging for parking, therefore, is primarily a decision borne out of duty. But this duty does not diminish our appreciation of teachers and educators,” Mr Ong wrote on Facebook.
Free parking for teachers was pointed out by the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) in 2015 as going against the civil service’s clean wage policy. The AGO’s report stated that free parking in education institutions was “tantamount to hidden subsidies” beyond a staff’s salary.
The AGO’s finding “went against years of Ministry of Education (MOE) practice”, Mr Ong noted in his Facebook post.
“Yet we have to respect our internal system of checks and balances. We cannot pick and choose which finding to address or comply with — we take them all seriously,” said Mr Ong. “This is about upholding the value of self-discipline.”
He was responding to a speech made last week by Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng on the final day of the debate on the President’s Address.
continue reading here :
https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...ne-ong-ye-kung
So to the teachers do you still want to vote for PAP ?
Are PAP Ministers out of touch with the ground? ST Editor-at-large seems to think so
Published on 2018-06-03 by Kwok Fangjie
On Sunday (3 Jun), Straits Times editor-at-large Han Fook Kwang, wrote an opinion piece entitled “Ministers, please speak plainly to the people”.
While he acknowledged that the recent parliamentary speeches by the 4G leadership were good, he also opined that he is “not sure they connect well to the man in the street… They lose the human connection and become hard for ordinary folk to relate to”.
Han said that the 4G leadership need to better understand the struggles of the average person on the street and talk to them about it. Citing an example, there are people concerned over job security yet mortgages to pay for, tuition for their children and worries over the healthcare costs of their aging parents.
He elaborated “What does equipping Singaporeans with a ‘global mindset and skillsets’ mean to someone worried about holding on to his job?" What does an education system with ‘diverse pathways and multiple peaks of excellence’ mean to the parent struggling to help her children cope with school work”
Overall, he felt that “It is unacceptable for a country with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world to have too many people retire after working all their lives without adequate retirement security.”
He said that the 4G leaders should not “hide behind unnecessary verbiage” and that they will proceed to be a “model of clarity, especially now that they have decided to launch a series of discussions with Singaporeans”.
Han is not alone thinking that the PAP elites are disconnected with the common man
Not surprisingly, Han is not alone in thinking that the PAP elite are disconnected from the common man in the street.
Professor James Chin from Murdoch University said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review that “ordinary Singaporeans already have a negative view of the PAP elite, who graduate from the best-known universities. They are seen as totally removed from the hard lives of ordinary Singaporeans"
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Singapore may end up paying for Kim Jong Un’s 5-star hotel stay: report
By Coconuts Singapore Jun. 4, 2018
(Left) US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, May 17, 2018; (right) North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un during the inter-Korean summit in the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. Photo: Saul Loeb and Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP
Seems like the prestige of hosting the Trump-Kim summit may be coming at a slightly higher price than we realized.
The on-again, off-again historic meeting — now on again after a few shaky moments — between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marks the first-ever sit-down between an American president and a North Korean leader.
And while he may not be a reality show tycoon like his US counterpart, one thing “brilliant comrade” Kim is known for is a love of luxury. So maybe it’s no surprise that he’s expecting to be put up in a 5-star hotel. That does, however, leave a question: who’s going to foot the bill for that opulence?
This weekend, The Washington Post revealed that the US has quietly been attempting to settle that question in meetings between White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and Kim’s de facto chief of staff, Kim Chang Son.
According to the publication, the North Korean leader is allegedly demanding to stay at The Fullerton Hotel, a grand, five-star heritage building by the Singapore River, where a single night in the presidential suite could chalk up a bill of more than S$8,000 (US$6,000). Despite being worth an estimated US$7 billion plus (likely far more than Trump’s still-unrevealed true net worth), it seems North Korea is crying poor.
Here’s the problem. Were the US to offer to foot the bill, it could be seen as a high-handed insult to the hermit kingdom. That’s where Singapore comes in. Per The Washington Post, the US is considering asking Singapore, as a host country, to shell out.
So will we? It would appear so.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Saturday told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue that Singapore is prepared to shoulder any costs in relation to security and logistics issues for the summit. Said Ng: “Obviously yes, but it is a cost that we are willing to bear to play a small part in this historic meeting.”
continue reading here :
https://coconuts.co/singapore/news/s...llerton-hotel/
Seriously using our tax payers to pay to host the N Korean leader team? I wonder what is our PAP government ? Why not use the money to help your own people instead ?
Netizens upset that Singapore agrees to bear costs of stay for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
Published on 2018-06-03 by Kwok Fangjie
According to a report by the Washington Post on Saturday (2 Jun), the meeting between American President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore has presented several logistical concerns, key of which was on “Who’s going to pay for Kim Jong Un’s hotel stay”?
The reported noted that the cash-poor but nuclear armed state has its funds squeezed dry by economic sanctions and had previously relied on other countries to fund its international travel.
For example, South Korea set aside $2.6 million to cover travel accommodation for a North Korean cheering squad during, art troupe and official delegations for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.
In regard to the 12 Jun meeting, the report noted that “United States is open to covering the costs… but it’s mindful that Pyongyang may view a US payment as insulting. As a result, US planners are considering asking the host country of Singapore to pay for the North Korean delegation’s bill”.
This is not the only challenge as Kim’s current plane is an underused Soviet-era Ilyushin Il-62, whose limited flying range was one of the key factors the summit took place in Singapore. Some reports say that the plane may not be able to make the distance despite having to carry him, his limousine, as well as dozens of security and other staff.
Ng Eng Hen: Singapore is willing to bear costs to play a small part in this historic meeting
When asked by reporters whether Singapore would be willing to foot the bill for the meeting, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen replied: “Obviously yes, but it is a cost that we’re willing to bear to play a small part in this historic meeting.”
According to earlier media reports, North Korea’s lodging of choice was the Fullerton Hotel. Already, de facto chief of staff for the North Korean government Kim Chang Son was seen this week there, where media reports said he was in Singapore to meet U.S. officials to work out logistics for the summit.
Although the hotel declined to comment on its rate, the Presidential suite is estimated to cost at least SGD$8,000 a night.
Not surprisingly, Netizens have voiced unhappiness over this decision.
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Former MP Inderjit Singh criticises Press Secretary Lim and asks Singaporeans to speak up
Published on 2018-06-09 by Correspondent
Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh has weighed in on the debate which was started recently by ST Editor-at-Large Han Fook Kwang.
Mr Singh wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday (7 Jun) criticising Lim Yuin Chien – press secretary to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat – for not showing humility while responding to Mr Han’s opinion piece on ST.
“I agree that the responses from the government unfortunately does not reflect humility,” Mr Singh wrote.
Press Secretary Lim criticises Han Fook Kwang for daring ministers to make “sweeping promises”
On 3 Jun, Mr Han wrote an article (“Ministers, please speak plainly to the people”), saying that he was unsure if the speeches made by ministers in Parliament last month to discuss the Government’s agenda for the coming years connected well with the average Singaporean.
Mr Han felt that the ministers’ speeches were “mostly about abstract stuff”, and suggested that leaders “use the language of ordinary people”, as Singaporeans “must believe you understand his anxieties before he will listen to what your thinking and plans are to make his life better”.
Giving an example, Mr Han suggested that they could tell Singaporeans, “I promise you that if you have had a full working life in Singapore, in any job, whether you are a cleaner, a security guard, a taxi driver or a waiter, when you retire at 65, you will have enough to live a good and decent life.”
“We will make sure it happens – don’t worry about the details or how we will do it. The only thing we ask is that you must do your part and be serious about your job,” Mr Han challenged the 4G ministers.
Then a couple of days later, press secretary Lim Yuin Chien wrote to ST Forum accusing Mr Han of “daring” the ministers to make “sweeping promises”.
Singaporean elderly collecting trolleys, card boards, dishes and guarding condos
Mr Lim also disagreed with the retirement example given by Mr Han. Mr Lim said that the CPF scheme is “adequate”. He said, “The Central Provident Fund scheme is adequate for most Singaporeans, and Silver Support will help top up for those who did not earn much while working.”
“However, as people live longer, their needs in old age will go up. Then, we will have to work longer, save more while working, or have less to spend in retirement.”
continue reading here :
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...s-to-speak-up/
Really speak up also no use . The PAP Government won’t listen to its people . It will only listen to good feedback .
38 Oxley Road saga: One year on, what have we learnt?
Published on 2018-06-12 by The Online Citizen
by Augustine Low
On this day one year ago, Singaporeans woke up to a Facebook post by Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling with the heading “What has happened to Lee Kuan Yew’s values?”
It was a scathing attack on their brother Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, casting aspersions on his character, conduct, motives and leadership.
Thus began the saga of 38 Oxley Road. The drama was played out publicly and spectacularly for weeks. It was thrust into the living rooms, office corridors, corporate boardrooms, wet markets and coffee shops; it was all Singaporeans talked about, it reverberated far beyond our shores.
One year on, do we know any better?
We know that PM Lee – memorably labelled “dishonourable son” by his younger sister – has soldiered on undaunted and unbowed. On the surface at least. Does he carry any emotional and psychological scars?
We know also that PM Lee invokes the name of his father from time to time. As the solitary one, estranged from the siblings, he clings on dearly to the memory of his late father.
The most poignant moment came during a CNBC interview early in the year when PM Lee recounted the sort of advice his father would be giving him now. The interviewer followed up with: “You can hear his voice in your head?” And the reply from PM Lee: “Yes, we can imagine that.”
So we know, too, that PM Lee carries the voice of his father with him. Does he hear his father telling him to soldier one, that he cannot give up, that he has done no wrong?
We also know that PM Lee’s colleagues have done what they can to not aggravate the situation. The ministerial committee for 38 Oxley Road has outlined three broad options for the property. But this is nothing more than buying time and kicking the can down the road.
As long as there is bickering over the fate of 38 Oxley Road, as long as PM Lee refuses to accept the finality of his father’s last will and testament, as long as Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Suet Fern remain in self-exile, as long as Li Shengwu is unable or unwilling to return home because of contempt of court proceedings against him, as long as Lee Wei Ling simmers with discontent, we have the House of Lee in tatters.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
nitecrawllerr
Now why should PAP listen to sillyporeans when 70% sinkies always listen and agree to PAP policies? Plse dont blame PAP. Ruling party not at fault at all.
So we should blame on the 70% ???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
nitecrawllerr
Yup! They agree to all pap policies! Including freezing our cpf $$, etc etc etc. Kong bey leow.
U dont agree with me? Who u vote for?
I am surprise that you could ask me such a question . You should read my past posts . Anyways voting is secret .
So the 70 % have no right to complain since they voted for them .
Quote:
Originally Posted by
nitecrawllerr
Cos ur below post seems to suggest 70% not at fault.
To be honest i have given up hope on those 70%.
You probably need to get some perspective on the 70 % . Not all of them are to be blamed . Remember what happen in 2015 ? Some of these votes are sympathy votes . So if you remove that factor the votes would be slightly lower . Anyways what is done is done . When Singaporeans look around them they can see governments changing overnight they will start thinking . When your voters are being pushed into a corner what do you think they will do ? I saw a little bit of hope in the last election when all the opposition parties work together . For the first time all seats are being contested . No more walkovers . All we need is someone who can unite all the opposition parties and bring them to the next level just happen in Malaysia .