Upfront with NCMP Miss Sylvia Lim

Miss Sylvia Lim (SL) obtained her Bachelors of Law with Honors from the National University of Singapore. She went on to earn her Masters of Law degree from the University of London in 1989. She was subsequently called to the Singapore Bar in 1991. During the course of her undergraduate and postgraduate studies, she did volunteer work with the Spastic Children’s Association, Salvation Army Home for the Aged and the University College Hospital (London). Later on, she did editorial work in a voluntary basis for the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme of the Law Society . She joined the Singapore Police Force as a Police Inspector in 1991 where she served for three years. She was subsequently appointed staff officer to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department. She returned to practise law in the private sector, with M/s Lim & Lim from 1994 to 1998, handling both civil and criminal cases in the High Court, Subordinate Courts and Juvenile Court. She joined Temasek Polytechnic in 1998 as a lecturer with its Diploma in Law and Management. She was also appointed Manager of Continuing Education and Training at the polytechnic’s Business School. Her teaching and research areas are in civil and criminal procedure, criminal justice and private security.

KRC:What are the kinds of measures that can help Singaporeans tide through the current economic downturn?

SL:Raising the skill level of the workforce is necessary, and the government has been focusing on this. That’s important to prepare for Singaporeans to snag the higher value jobs especially when recovery comes. In the interim, coping measures are important.

How do we respond to unemployment and under-employment?

Workfare was a step in the right direction for under-employment, and such schemes will need to be constantly audited to see if the supplement amounts are reasonable and whether eligible persons are helped to get on board.

As for unemployment, my view is that more attention needs to be paid to this. Even outside of the current downturn, economists have said that globalization will mean that full employment in developed countries will be a thing of the past. We will have unemployed who are not lazy but are just unable to keep up. Social safety nets will need enhancement to cater for joblessness. The government should study the effectiveness and costs of running the current case-by-case help at the CDCs etc and whether this is sustainable. Other options of a more straightforward form of help / an unemployment insurance scheme may need to be considered.

KRC: You gave an interesting suggestion during the Budget Speech 2009 – Jobseekers’ Allowance. Do you think now would be a good time to implement such a suggestion?

SL:I think it is still a relevant suggestion in the current situation when, though the economy may be bottoming out, the job situation may still worsen (as a lag indicator).

It was proposed as a temporary measure (6 months) due to the meltdown of the global economy. The method suggested by me was straightforward – it is temporary assistance, if the person can show that he is actively looking for work and has not unreasonably turned down job offers. The allowance was limited to half his last drawn pay or a maximum of $500 per month. Some basic investigation will be needed to weed out those who have significant assets or family income.

For the unemployed person, this suggestion is better than the current help schemes as there will be clarity as to how much he will receive and for how long. Looking for work, going for interviews etc, costs money. It is also not a very expensive scheme, estimated at not even 10% of the amount set aside for Jobs Credit scheme.

The jury is still out on how far the Jobs Credit scheme actually achieved its primary purpose of saving jobs, and how much money was wasted or abused under the Scheme. The government often seems tight-fisted with social assistance but generous with supporting businesses. I agree we must support businesses which can generate growth for Singapore, but we also have to support our people in their time of need.

KRC: What is your opinion of the current management of our national budget with respect to its allocation to various sectors such as defense, education, healthcare, etc?

SL:I think that the general stance of the government to stick to fiscal discipline is correct. We do not want a situation of a country with so much debt that the future generations are shortchanged. However, there is legitimate debate over whether the government should be more generous in social spending. Though defense and homeland security are critical, we must also increase resources for local policing which have been depleted for counter-terrorism efforts. Areas which will also need more emphasis than before are healthcare spending and social services. Due to the ageing population and Singapore’s population soon breaching 5 million, we must ensure that the social services can support the needs of the new demographics. Otherwise, the quality of life will deteriorate and anti-immigration feelings will be exacerbated.

There is also an interesting point about net investment income, which the government can tap on to help fund annual budgets, up to 50% thereof. This income is derived from investments particularly those made by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC). The Constitution was amended in 2008 to broaden the definition of “net investment income” to include realized capital gains, which Workers’ Party supports. However, there is still some lack of transparency about how the figures are derived, since the Minister for Finance certifies figures to the President, which process is not publicly available.

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