Radin Mas MP suggests building bigger HDB flats since more S'poreans are working from home

The labour MP also said that competition for jobs in Singapore will no longer be limited to those residing here.

Darryl Laiu | February 24, 2021, 06:56 PM

In his response to Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat's Budget 2021 speech, Member of Parliament for Radin Mas SMC Melvin Yong focused on the "Work-From-Anywhere" and "Work-From-Home" phenomenon, calling it "both an excellent opportunity, as well as a serious threat for Singapore and Singaporeans".

Rethinking manpower policies

Yong said that the competition for jobs will increase because it is no longer limited to those in Singapore.

He said: "With seamless connectivity, supported by 5G technology, every job is at risk."

"To prepare Singapore for the eventuality of global competition, we will need to re-think key manpower policies. Will our Work Pass and Employment Pass regime remain relevant when companies no longer need employees to be physically based in one location to perform the work?"

Yong questioned how much of Singapore's key economic activities will be permitted to be run by companies and a workforce based outside.

He also said: "Our public officers will need to adapt in the face of such major developments. But how many of our public officers today are ready to take on the challenges for tomorrow?"

Yong also brought up some points relating to seizing the opportunities that come with this come, such as investing in the right public service infrastructure and reviewing the SkillsFuture credits programme.

Investing in the right public service infrastructure

He said: "While I am heartened that the Government will commit 1 per cent of our GDP, or about S$25 billion, over the next five years to invest in research and innovation, we need to ask ourselves: is this ambitious enough?"

He cited Singapore's fastest supercomputer only ranking 390th in the world, when just four years ago, Singapore's first supercomputer ranked 115th.

Reviewing Skillsfuture

On SkillsFuture, Yong said that there was a need to thoroughly review the programme, and tweak its objectives.

"Since its launch, less than 25 per cent of of eligible Singaporeans have utilised their SkillsFuture Credits. Clearly, we have hit the point of marginal returns," said Yong.

Bigger space for WFH

Yong acknowledged that working-from-home does come with its own challenges.

One of these challenges is having sufficient space at home, he said, citing how 4-room flats have shrunk from between 105 and 108 square metres in the 1980s to 90 square metres today due to the reduction in our average household size.

Yong asked if the WFH phenomena meant that it is time for Singapore to return to building bigger HDB flats.

"An extra 15 square metres can provide Singaporeans with a study room that can also double up as a home office."

Flexible work arrangements

Yong also said that more could be done to provide better support to caregivers.

"These informal caregivers are often disadvantaged in their careers and retirement adequacy. But we have an opportunity to change this," said Yong.

The labour MP said that encouraging employers to adopt flexible work arrangements will allow caregivers to work and care for their loved ones without having to make the difficult decision to choose one over the other.

Top photo adapted from MCI/YouTube and Shermin Ng on Unsplash.