Good Governance

Si DiscuS

on Volume 1, Issue 1

February 2009

GOOD GOVERNANCE IN SINGAPORE ERP is here to stay to ease traffic congestion in the city area The Land Transport Authority announced that the ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) is here to stay. If not, more gantries will be set up along roads to curb the problem of traffic congestions. These stretch of roads are usually in the city area and on the expressways such as the CTE and the AYE. The Prime Minister explained in the National Day Rally 2008, that with more ERP gantries, traffic will smoothen as it will discourage motorists from using these stretch of roads. Motorists will now think twice before using these roads as they will need to pay. They will then find alternative routes. In this way, traffic congestions will

ease and traffic flow will be smooth. The Prime Minister also explained to the people the need to increase the charges on the ERP. He said that the increase in ERP charges will ease the burden of Singaporeans and enable more Singaporeans to own cars in the long term. The ERP was implemented in 1998 with the aim to replace the labour intensive ALS (Area Licensing Scheme). Although the ALS was effective in controlling traffic flow in the city area, there was room for improvement. With the use of advance

been a very successful scheme. The number of vehicles on the road is controlled by the number of COEs (Certificate of Entitlement) given out by LTA each month. In this way, the number of vehicles on the road will be pre-determined by the LTA. Car buyers will now need to

ERP is here to stay

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DiscuSSion Thread: • Vehicle How does “anticipating Quota 1 change and staying System relevant” contributes to Singapore’s proAgeing populagress and develop-2 tion ment?

Growing old 2 • How do the population gracefully policies implememted in Singapore demonPopulation strate the govern-3 growth ment’s incenversatile style tives of governance? Principles of 3 Good Govern• How do you think an ance individual can play a part in preparing Singapore for an ageing population?

technology, it ensured that Singapore’s transport system stay relevant with the times.

Vehicle Quota System—Has it been successful? The Vehicle Quota System (VQS) was put in place in the 1990s to counter the problem of rising numbers of car ownership in Singapore. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was worried about the growing number of cars on the road and decided to take up measures to control the car population in Singapore. The VQS has

Inside this issue:

to bid for the COEs and only successful bidders will be entitled to own the car for 10 years. After which, the car owner will need to renew the COE by bidding for it again. You can view the live bidding on www.onemotoring.com.sg.

• Is our government doing enough to boost population growth in Singapore?

Discuss these issues on discuss.wikispaces.com

Government puts in place measures to cope a dwindling population The government of Singapore is pleadhanging several incentive carrots for ing with her citizens—married couples wedded couples to expand their family. to tie the knot earlier and to start a The Prime Minister extended materfamily sooner. Singapore’s nity leave from 12 Family Planning Board has weeks to 16 weeks in come up with new initiatives the year 2008. This to encourage wedded couples was announced during to start their family earlier. the National Day Rally. The government is encouragHe hopes that with an ing families to have three or extended maternity more children if they can leave, women would be afford it. With Singapore’s able to spend more birthrate of just 1.24 chil“Three or more if you can time with their new dren per woman, Singapore is afford it” born and hence be able in danger of facing an ageing to cope better when economy. The government is they return to the

workforce. The government is also improving child care facilities and providing more subsidies to pre-school education. These pro-family measures are implemented with the hope that couples will feel more confident financially to support a bigger family.

To know more about the different profamily measures implemented, you can log on to www.mcys.gov,sg.

Ageing Gracefully in Singapore The government has proposed several initiatives to help Singaporeans cope with old age. The compulsory savings in the Medisave fund is one which will help Singaporeans cope with old age. This will ensure that Singaporeans will have an amount of money set aside for their old age in future. Besides the CPF funds, government also made sure that Singaporeans are well covered with insurance schemes. Medishield is an insurance scheme provided by insurance companies to ensure that our health care needs are well taken care of. Hefty medical bills can be paid us-

ing medishield and Medisave. This will help Singaporeans prepare for their old age. Government is also urging all Singaporeans to go for free health checks provided by some community organizations such as the NKF and the Singapore Cancer society. These services ensure that every individual Singaporean’s health is well taken care of. Besides the compulsory savings and insurance scheme, the government is also setting aside a portion of money to be used by the needy for their medical bills. This is parked under the Medifund.

. Applicants who have insufficient savings in the Medisave and does not have any insurance scheme may apply to use the Medifund to cover their hospitalization bills.

Singapore in great danger—Ageing population With more than 40% of Singaporeans aged above 65 years old is certainly a sight Singapore is now preparing for. With birth rate falling to 1.24 children per woman, our government highlighted the dangers of facing an ageing population. Using Japan as an example its government is coming up with policies and strategies to counter this problem. In Singapore, our government is warning Singaporeans of the dangers of an ageing population. Singapore may no

Volume 1, Issue 1

longer be as attractive as our neighbouring countries. Investors may now turn to other nations with younger workforce and a more vibrant market when they set up their factories and headquarters. This will leave Singapore uncompetitive. Singapore may also end up with a smaller defence force and as the number of births have fallen; there will not be enough boys to de-

fend the nation. The burden to support the economy will now fall heavily on the working population. With every two working adult to support four old people, it is going to cause a huge strain on their finances. More over, Singapore will need to set aside a larger budget to finance the needs of the aged.

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To be like Singapore …. Leadership is key The “little red dot” is significant enough to attract the attention of other major cities around the world. Singapore is benchmarked for its excellence in her governance. The Prime Minister reiterated the importance of good leaders in Singapore. He mentioned that only with good leaders can Singapore stay connected and competitive in the globalized economy. These leaders must be honest to

make good decisions that are for the benefit of the nation. He also mentioned that such leaders do not come by easily and hence training and grooming of leaders is important. An example he cited was the decision to build the Integrated Resorts in Singapore by the year 2010. Despite several negative feedback from Singaporeans, the leaders did not give in to popular demands

Are Singapore’s leaders ready to make the difference?

but continued to explain and communicate with Singaporeans the necessity of the IRs and the benefits it will have on Singapore. He also mentioned that for Singapore to succeed and stay competitive, she must be able to stay relevant and be able to anticipate changes. At the recent opening of the Marina Barrage, he talked about the importance of being self sufficient. Singapore realized that the water agreements with Malaysia will end in 2011 and 2061, she has already made plans to provide alternative sources of

….. Reward for work, work for reward water supply for Singapore. With the NEWater plants and the Marina Barrage as Singapore’s next reservoir, the government communicated with the people to re-assure them that we are managing our resources and limitations well. In order to drive home the message of the importance of staying relevant and anticipating changes, the Ministry of Education also made changes to the education curriculum to encourage creative thinking to stretch every students’ potential so that they will be able to contribute to Singapore. Singapore’s education system is also ap-

plauded by the rest of the world. Singapore practices the system of meritocracy through “Reward for work and work for reward” to ensure that

every Singaporean has an opportunity to achieve their best despite their background. In this way, Singaporeans will work hard to achieve and put in their very best for Singapore. And in return, “Reward for work the government and work for will pay for the reward” will give best brains and equal opportunities retain talents for all to so that they contribute to the can continue to contribute to growth of the growth of Singapore” Singapore.

…. feedback, but constructive ones please Singaporeans are encouraged to have a say in the decision making process to mould Singapore. The Speakers’ Corner at the Kreta Ayer Community Centre is one such venue where your views and opinions on Singapore’s policies can aired to the public. The decision to ease the rules for public speaking in Singapore comes after much deliberation as our government wants to encourage Singaporeans to have a say in decision making process. To make Sin-

Volume 1, Issue 1

gaporeans feel more belong to the country, opinions are considered in the building of the Integrated Resorts. Due to the concerns from various religious groups, the government took their feedback seriously and imposed stringent safeguards framework to deal with social problems related to gambling. Such feedback is crucial to the government as it allows every Singaporean to play a part as a citizen and give them opportunities to have their

concerns heard.

“A stake for everyone, opportunities for all will keep Singaporeans rooted”

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DiscuSSion Secondary Social Studies Singapore

Website: www.discusswikispaces.com

Prepared by Caroline Lee

If you have any interesting articles, videos or even pictures that you think can contribute to the learning of this topic in Social Studies, you may wish to post it up on http://www.discuss.wikispaces.com.

You may also wish to post a thread to discuss any topics related to what we are studying on the wikispaces.

However, please be a responsible web user. Post only relevant and non-offensive materials.

Coming up in the next issue…. In the next issue, we will discuss about how our government overcome the challenges of providing healthcare to the people in the early 1960s. We will also look into how an individual can help lighten the burden of healthcare cost for the government. We will see how some community organizations contribute to Singapore’s healthcare programme so as to cater to the needs of the people.

Does this mean that the government is going to sit by and let healthcare cost balloon and be borne by the individuals and the community?

We will also have an insight of the British healthcare system. We will look into the pros and cons of the British welfare state and its healthcare programme.

How wise is it for Singapore to adopt the British Healthcare policies?

What are the consequences of British providing a welfare state to her people? Health care in Singapore and Britain We will look into all these in the next issue.