NMP calls for more help for SMEs

SINGAPORE — Zero Spot Laundry Service, a 20-year-old home-grown company that employs almost 300 workers, has shelved expansion plans and is considering moving some operations overseas.

Another company, Katong Flower Shop, spent money sponsoring five Singaporeans for a training programme at the National Parks Board — but in the end, none of them took the job, after they were put off by the heavy lifting and exposure to the sun.

These were examples of the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) — following the Government’s move to tighten foreign worker inflow — cited yesterday by Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Teo Siong Seng, as the woes of the SMEs, which have dominated headlines in recent months, received an official airing in the House.

Moving the motion Voice of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Teo, who is also the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also referred to two restaurants — Turtle House Original and Soon Heng Restaurant — which have recently closed down to make the point that SMEs should not be viewed “purely from an economic standpoint”.

“The disappearance of these uniquely Singaporean trademarks ... will have a great impact on our social cohesion and be a tremendous loss to our economy,” he said in Mandarin.

Coupled with the manpower crunch, businesses have also been hit by rising costs, including higher wages and rentals.

Mr Teo said that SMEs “understand and support the Government’s view that there is no turning back on the tightening of the foreign worker policy”. But he stressed that increasing productivity is a “long-term and continuous process”.

Urging the Government to slow down the tightening of foreign worker inflow, Mr Teo also called for, among other things, rental subsidies and a relaxation of criteria for Government grants.

Responding to the motion, Senior Minister of State (Trade and Industry) Lee Yi Shyan agreed that restructuring efforts “can be painful” but he stressed that productivity and higher growth are “not impossible”.

He noted that the Government had been signalling “since three years ago” the need to curb foreign manpower inflow, “to give our businesses ample time to adjust”.

Adding that the Government remains committed to help SMEs, Mr Lee said it is reviewing its assistance schemes for companies to streamline and simplify application and reimbursement procedures.