Mee Siam Mai Hum and Phantom Trains in the CTE

PM signals tough measures ahead

He says more initiatives needed to improve health care, transport By Goh Chin Lian

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday served notice that some major policy measures which may be tough or 'painful', like means testing for hospital care and further steps to deal with car ownership and usage, are on the cards.

He cited these as some of the initiatives that will be taken in coming months to help Singapore tackle problems.

Noting that it is time to implement means testing in hospitals, he said this is one way to make sure lower-income Singaporeans get a higher subsidy than those who are better off.

The Health Ministry is studying the idea and will consult the unions when it has firmer ideas on what to do, he told some 1,000 unionists and guests at the National Trades Union Congress National Delegates Conference.

He was speaking on the first day of the three-day conference at Orchid Country Club in Khatib. The conference is held every four years to chart the labour movement's future direction.

In a speech that outlined the unions' role in economic progress and government policy-making, Mr Lee said Singapore must keep adapting to change to stay ahead, which means, at times, more major policies.

Health care is one area where many initiatives are being rolled out to improve the system and ease fears about its affordability.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who was present at the conference but declined to speak to reporters on the issue, gave notice in April that means testing will start in a limited form in public hospitals within a year.

He said then it may include checking a patient's finances if he exceeds the average five-day stay in hospital.

In step-down facilities like nursing homes, patients get a 75, 50 or 25 per cent subsidy if their family income divided by the number of family members is $1,000 a month or less. Public hospitals have no such income criteria.

Mr Lee said yesterday the idea is to target government subsidies at the lower-income group 'who need these subsidies most'.

'It's not easy to do. It's very sensitive... How to implement it fairly and simply, without making hospital care unaffordable for the middle-income group?'

The unions, he noted, are also working towards a portable medical benefits system that it has talked of for nearly 10 years. 'It's something which we should pursue with some urgency,' he said.

Land transport is another major policy area under review.

Recounting his drive to the conference that morning, he said: 'I was watching the trains going down into town along the Central Expressway. Every carriage was packed. I think we need to improve the public transport. We've got some ideas.'

Roads also need to be free-flowing: 'Driving out from town, the roads were fine. Driving down in the opposite direction along the CTE was not so good.'

There is no easy way to improve road traffic and 'painful measures' like Electronic Road Pricing and certificates of entitlement are 'necessary and we have to do more with them'.

'We are working out schemes and I think they'll be ready to be worked out... early next year, in January.'

Mr Lee said that, on all such major issues, the Government will keep in close touch with unions. He added that ministers Lim Boon Heng and Lim Swee Say will speak for the unions and 'ask the other ministers very tough questions'.

This is another “mee siam mai hum” incident by our PM.

Recounting his drive to the conference that morning, he said: 'I was watching the trains going down into town along the Central Expressway. Every carriage was packed. I think we need to improve the public transport. We've got some ideas.'

Sometimes, these anecdotes are really getting to me as it shows how detached our ministers are from the grassroot level. If you don’t see any MRT, please don’t recount anything.

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday served notice that some major policy measures which may be tough or 'painful', like means testing for hospital care and further steps to deal with car ownership and usage, are on the cards.

Whenever our Prince has something to say, the peasants will suffer. The only positive news that we will ever get is before the elections when our Prince hands out money to buy our vote as mentioned by him in the 2006 GE. After which, we have bitter pills, painful and tough measures to endure with. Then we have our ministers deciding that they need pay raise to cope with all these and give them a 100% pay jump.

The dreaded means testing is coming to haunt the middle class soon as it is introduced for hospital. Maybe we would see another columnist get sack for ranting about it.