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Budget 2013 Debate Speech of the Day: March 6

Trust and politics - Sitoh Yih Pin

Posted on Mar 6, 2013 8:59 PM Updated: Mar 6, 2013 9:03 PM
By Singapolitics

The paradox of trust: Trust is something entirely abstract yet the absence of which is painfully palpable. Trust determines the course we take in the future, yet it is so utterly anchored in the present. Trust is unquantifiable yet reflected in each and every vote cast at elections.

The recent robust debate on the White Paper on Population put into bold relief the importance of trust in politics. The Managing Editor of The Straits Times, Mr Han Fook Kwang highlighted this as well in his opinion piece in the Straits Times on 10 Feb 2013 “Government needs to regain people’s trust”.

The planning norm of 6.9M was much criticized. To me, this is a matter of trust. If public transport does not work well and buses and trains are crowded, when the supply of HDB flats does not keep up with demand and the cost of living rises steeply when the population is at 5.3M, then people will object to a lower norm of even 6.3M, let alone a norm of 6.9M. However, when at a population of 5.3M, the trains run, the buses are not crowded, HDB flats are built quickly enough and inflation is low, then people will give us the benefit of doubt and support us even when the population planning norm is higher than 6.9M. Therefore, it is heartening to hear our DPM and Finance Minister reiterate during his Budget speech that we will fix the problems we have on hand. He has our trust in this matter.

We are all in the business of trust. Trust is ultimately based on present and past experiences of what the government has delivered. To the public, the government includes not just politicians, but also civil servants and even boards and management of privatized companies offering public services, such as those in healthcare and transport. In the coffeeshops and hawker centres, the Hokkien term “Zenghu” means much more than what bureaucrats and politicians think of what constitutes “government”.

Trust is based on experience and in turn experience has two elements – Firstly, there is the aspect of performance that we are all familiar with - I trust you because you have worked and delivered in the past. Secondly, there is the element of expectation. This is something that we have not discussed much about recently.

Our government has tried very hard in the past to enunciate what it will deliver for the people. Healthcare will remain affordable, schools will give good education, people will have jobs etc. The recently announced White Paper and Land Paper are two such examples. The Annual Budget Debates are also examples of these efforts to manage and calibrate expectations.

I would like to urge our Government to go one-step further. In the management of expectations, we need to tell the people the bad news. This is not pleasant, but it is necessary. It requires courage and fans of the BBC comedy “Yes Minister” will remember that Sir Humphrey described “courage” as a dirty word in politics.

These bad news include

We will increase the number of places in universities and polytechnics and 60% of Singaporeans will become PMETs, but some graduates will never stay in private housing or own a car. This is because 85% of housing are HDB flats and only 1/3 of families have a car presently and these numbers will not change drastically.
This country needs to continue to be run as a meritocracy. There is no other feasible alternative. The best will get more. One may rightly question the norms of meritocracy, as in what makes a person more meritorious? One may even ask why are there so many brand-name schools in the more affluent areas in Singapore and not in the new HDB estates. And in the harsh reality of meritocracy, we also expect the meritorious to do what is necessary for meritocracy to remain relevant – they must contribute more than others to the betterment of the society and maximize welfare for everyone living and working in Singapore. Meritocracy cannot be “take and take” by the best and the ablest without any obligation to serve and contribute.
Even if we increase our TFR to 2.1 in 2013 suddenly, we will need to import labour to care for the elderly over the next 20 years. The babies born now or in the near future will not be ready to look after the 900,000 baby boomers retiring over the next 20 years. We are not even talking about money here, but just simply the number of hands needed to care for the number of elderly we will have in 10 to 30 years’ time.
Our public hospitals will continue to give good care that is accessible and affordable to all. But we will have to continue to have waiting times and the latest high-tech expensive care options will not be available to all. Ultimately, healthcare is a trade-off between affordability, accessibility and quality. Usually, quality in terms of expensive care is of a lower priority, although we will not compromise patient safety. This is true for most developed countries in the world.
We will make our public transport reliable again and increase capacity. But COEs may never go back to the days of old again. There are limits to our car population just as there are limits to our human population.
We will limit the influx of foreign labour into Singapore, but we cannot shield our workers from competition. The reality is that our workers will still be competing day and night, 24-7 with workers in China, India or Indonesia.
Madam Speaker, I can go on with many more examples of such harsh realities that Singapore is facing or must face but I will stop here. The currency of politics is trust. While we must strive to improve on our performance, we also need to get down to the difficult business of managing expectations.

Expectation is a spectrum. Most politicians only talk about the higher end of the spectrum – the lofty things that are nice to hear. But as responsible politicians governing Singapore, we will have to be honest and we will have to communicate the bad news, the harsh realities that each and every Singaporean has to face sooner or later.

Sometimes, in order to do the right thing, we also need to be foolish. Confucius said “明知不可为而为之” which loosely translated means “We have to attempt to do this even though we clearly understand it cannot be done”. This may sound foolish today, but I think it is the right thing to do.

Managing expectations is a most difficult thing, but I think Singaporeans need to know the limits and realities they are facing or will face. And even if we think the people will refuse to listen or accept the bad news, in the spirit of Confucius, I hope this is an endeavor that this House will undertake as responsible leaders of this country. Singaporeans deserve no less.

In conclusion, Confucius also said “五十知天命”which translated means at 50, one knows one’s purpose in life. I turn 50 this year and Singapore is fast approaching 50 as a nation. We are now at the crossroads and Singaporeans are questioning what is the Singapore core and where is the country heading. I urge our government to listen to the people, to labour for the people and to lead the people.

TAGS: BUDGET 2013, PARLIAMENT AND SPEECH OF THE DAY