Speech for GST Amendment Bill

Watch Speech Delivery Here: Video credits CNA

Mr Speaker,

The reasons for the Opposition’s objection to the GST have been documented extensively in social media and in the minds of Singaporeans. As PSP’s Secretary General, Francis Yuen, has said:

“the move to hike GST is Unnecessary, Untimely and Uncompassionate”.

The Government has basically put up two arguments against the Opposition. First, while the Government do not deny that it has ample revenues, it has insisted much of the revenue are not to be used for this generation. Second, the GST is not regressive because the poor are compensated by GST vouchers, never mind the other Singaporeans including the sandwiched class who have to pay more.

In my speech during the Committee of Supply debate in February, I have stated that the sandwiched class would be paying $1.2 Billion more as a result of the 2% GST hike, at a time when they are facing challenges with soaring inflation and escalating housing prices. The Government, however, did not confirm or deny that figure.

I don’t want to raise the same questions. The time is better spent telling a story to illustrate what is happening and let Singaporeans decide.

Many would remember the story about Ah Seng and his grandfather, Ah Gong told by former Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah. However, she did not complete her story. Today, I will share one more episode with all of you.???Sir, Mandarin please.

阿成与阿公的故事 － 续集

阿成的父母在他很小的时候就过世了，是阿公把他带大。但阿成

不是一个只会向阿公伸手要钱的“死鬼子”，也不是败家子。阿成踏入社会工作之后，就一直把大部分的薪水交给阿公，帮忙补贴家用。

阿成结婚有了孩子后、自己家的开销迅速增加、但阿公还是一直

要求阿成给他多一点家用。 阿公说他需要更多的钱，因为阿嬷要看病，还是祖屋要维修、总是有他的理由。 所以一直以来，阿成的负担很重，他没有多少现金储蓄。

如果家里真的是钱不够用，阿公的要求是无可厚非的。但随着阿成

懂事后，他发现以阿公为一家之主的大家庭的家境其实很不错。

祖先留下不少的家产。但是，阿公一直没有给阿成披露这个事实，反而有意严加保密。

一直以来，自力更生意识很强的阿成也没有把祖产放在心上。以前阿公要阿成出钱购买分配给阿成的一间祖屋，阿成也没有怨言。

那时候，阿公只帮助阿成支付一小部分首期，其余的钱，阿成是从银行借来，然后支付给阿公的。之后，阿公又把从阿成那边收到的卖房子的钱拿去投资。

但是阿成步入中年之后，事业开始不顺，收入不稳定、而且去年物

价开始飙升，阿成被生活压力压得透不过气。在这种情况下，在今

年年头阿公竟然还要求阿成再次增加家用，这令阿成很委屈，并且

开始对阿公有点反感。

而且每次有家族成员质问阿公关于祖产的问题时，阿公都会大发雷

霆，骂他们是败家子，还拿出家法警告他们不要乱说。其实阿成也

赞同为后代的子孙留下更多的资产，但解决当代人的生活困境，应该是当务之急。

新加坡同胞们，你赞同阿成故事里的阿公的做法吗？如果你是阿成你会答应阿公增加家用的要求吗？

世事难分对错，公道自在人心。

Mr Speaker, thank you.

<English translation>

The Story of Ah Seng – Second Episode

Ah Seng’s parents died when he was very young and he was brought up by his grandfather. Ah Seng was not a prodigal son or a “see gui kia” who only knew how to get money from his grandfather. Ever since Ah Seng started working, he had always been giving his grandfather a large proportion of his salary.

After Ah Seng got married and had children, his expenses began to increase rapidly, but his grandfather continued to ask Ah Seng to increase his allowance. Grandfather had his reasons, like he needed money to pay his wife’s medical bills, or because he needed money to refurbish the ancestral homes. Hence, all this while, Ah Seng carried a heavy financial burden and had limited cash savings.

If the extended family was truly short of money, grandfather’s requests would be reasonable. But as Ah Seng grew older, he realised that the extended family, headed by his grandfather, was doing pretty well financially, as their ancestors had left behind many properties and assets. However, the grandfather never revealed this to Ah Seng, and deliberately kept it as a secret.

All this while, Ah Seng, who had a strong notion of self-reliance, had not given much thought to the ancestral assets. He did not complain even when he had to pay his grandfather the market price to purchase a house allocated to him out of the ancestral assets when he got married. At the time, the grandfather gave Ah Seng some money to help with the down payment, and Ah Seng borrowed money from banks to pay for the rest of the house. After that, the grandfather continually invest the proceeds from the sale of the house that he received from Ah Seng.

As Ah Seng entered middle age, his career began to flounder and his income became unstable. The cost of living also began to rise precipitously. Under such circumstances, when grandfather again asked Ah Seng to increase his allowance, Ah Seng felt aggrieved, and started to feel some discontent towards his grandfather.

Furthermore, each time any family member questioned the grandfather about the ancestral assets, he would rage and call them spoilt children. He would warn them not to spout nonsense. Actually, Ah Seng agreed that they should leave behind more assets for the future generation, but not without addressing the urgent needs of the present generation.

Fellow Singaporeans, do you agree with the grandfather’s behaviour? If you are Ah Seng, would you agree to his grandfather’s request for an increase in allowance?

Justice is in the hearts of the people.