Pap should practice what they preach.
Wrapping up Budget debate, Tan Chuan-Jin asks if S’poreans can put common good ahead of self-interest
The Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin wrapped up the Budget debate by posing questions about Singaporeans' willingness to act for the common good amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
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SINGAPORE — Individuals may be anxious about their well-being amid the Covid-19 crisis, but their actions ultimately impact the common good, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin said on Friday (March 6).
Referring to Singapore’s experience with the panic buying of face masks and toilet paper last month, Mr Tan said the episode reflected a common theme heard in this year’s Budget debate: The needs of the individual versus the good of society.
“Ultimately our individual actions affect society and it comes back round. This ‘tragedy of the commons’ is happening right before our eyes,” he said in a speech wrapping up the past eight days of debate in Parliament.
The phrase “tragedy of the commons” dates back to 19th century England, and refers to the idea that individuals acting out of self-interest behave contrary to the common good.
“Can we in Singapore rise above ourselves and be different from others?” Mr Tan asked the House.
In total, Members of Parliament (MPs) had filed 531 so-called “cuts” over six days of debates on the budgets of the various ministries and state organs for the 2020 financial year, spanning topics from the Covid-19 outbreak to climate change.
“Cuts” are parliamentary questions filed during the annual Budget debate, so-named as MPs call for a token S$100 cut to each ministry’s budget in order to debate important matters faced by that ministry.
Prompting laughter from the House, Mr Tan said that he and the Deputy Speakers of Parliament — Mr Charles Chong and Mr Lim Biow Chuan — had “the privilege of enduring” their speeches over the course of the debate.
But while Mr Tan said other nations’ parliaments may seem more entertaining — such as ones where parliamentarians physically fight each other — or whose sessions are more eloquent, humorous, and sharply satirical, he said there was a gulf between rhetoric and reality. How to get things done is “way less exciting and much less glamorous”, he said.
“It’s true, perhaps we could do with a little more flair, panache, but never, never give up the way we do business here in Singapore. Solid, down-to-earth ideas; plans and execution; and not just creating beautiful castles in the air,” he said.
INDIVIDUAL VERSUS COLLECTIVE, TODAY VERSUS TOMORROW
In her round-up speech, Leader of the House Grace Fu said Covid-19 had been a “defining element” of the Budget debates.
“If we harness the diverse strengths of Singaporeans and work together as one, just as we are doing with Covid-19, we can turn our challenges into opportunities, our problems into possibilities. We can build a future Singapore that we, and those after us, can be proud of,” said Ms Fu, who is also Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
Mr Tan, too, noted that over the course of the past week of sittings, the outbreak has brought up the theme of the needs of the individual versus the collective and the balance between spending on the present versus the future.
“If we, as a people, are prepared to think about the collective and the future, we can do business and discuss. If it is just me and myself, today and now, there won’t be much of a Singapore or future to aspire towards,” he said.
He noted that amid the current tensions over globalisation, Covid-19 has displayed how interconnected Singapore is to the world.
While some overseas politicians attempt to use globalisation to stir anger using nationalism, race or religion, Mr Tan warned that these tensions sometimes appear in Singapore too.
“We are part of a common humanity and we cannot turn our backs on that. You can see how easy it is to infect each other and blame each other. Are we also guilty of that here in Singapore as we blame others?”
He then noted the vicious assault of Singaporean Jonathan Mok in Britain by people who had targeted him while making comments about his race and Covid-19, calling the assailants “yobs” and “racists”.
“In other people’s eyes, we are ‘the others’,” he said.
Mr Tan said in each year’s Budget, there are always calls for the Government to do more today, since no average person is seized by long-term issues that may or may not happen.
However, the Covid-19 situation reflects why Singapore needed to prepare for the long-term, as well as learn from lessons from the past. Because of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) pandemic in 2003, Singapore is now able to put up a “good, solid response” to Covid-19, said Mr Tan.
“Because of Sars, we resolved to make sure that the 33 who lost their lives did not do so in vain. We learnt — learnt from others, practised, learnt again — during H1N1.
“Our team is still learning and adjusting even as we speak, with the real payoffs in lives saved. This did not happen by chance.”
Singapore had also invested in its future, through actions such as stockpiling masks and food “for the longest time”. Yet, people would often criticise a future-looking Government for not caring for them in the present, given the problems of the day.
He said: “We do (care). Suddenly, yesterday’s tomorrow just became our today. That is why we are able to do what we do during this crisis. With our prudence and savings, we are able to fund this event that just dropped on our laps.
“That is why we pay attention to the economy, budget for the present and for future uncertainties. Imagine if we were short-termed in outlook? Imagine if we decided to spend more, save less? It is far easier to be popular than to be prepared.”
Mr Tan then thanked the MPs on both sides of the aisle for supporting Budget 2020, which would not exist if there is no sense of unity and togetherness.
“When you look past all the political bluster, there is actually a strong unity in approach not only for this Budget but Budgets past. Parliament is able to do this also because the people of Singapore are prepared to support it,” he said.
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