Abdul Nasser bin Kamaruddin
Singapore
“The alleviation of this problem, however, leads to another problem, that of parents having a reduced role in bringing up their children, since part of the time spent by children outside curriculum hours will now become the responsibility of the school.”
“Sir, the cost of rehabilitating a drug abuser is by no means cheap. Such cost would double in the case of a recidivist drug abuser. In this regard, would the Minister consider billing parents for the cost of the rehabilitation programme that the recidivist drug abuser would have to undergo?”
“Malay organizations, on the other hand, would be better placed to concentrate on parental education and the need for parents to place a premium on their children's education.”
“Presently, there are several ministries and numerous youth agencies that work with youth or deal with youth problems. There is an overlap of services, differences in approaches and omission of certain youth services. Sir, a central body could remedy the situation. Presently, there exists a National Youth Coordinating Committee.”
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“Sir, in regard to the third university, I welcome the Minister's plans to introduce the second University. Now that it has been established, I would like to ask whether the Minister will consider expediting plans for the establishment of a third University as it would provide greater opportunities for citizens wishing to further their studies, particularly in disciplines not offered by the National University of Singapore or the Nanyang Technological University. Until such time, Sir, I wonder whether the Minister would consider allowing NUS or NTU to look into the possibility of providing correspondence or part-time degree courses for those who cannot afford the time but want to equip themselves with a higher tertiary education. In this regard, the University could certainly utilise the Teleview system to conduct the courses offered at degree level. In this way, we will be focusing our minds at opening educational opportunities not only for students who are still in school, but also those who have long left the classroom. Furthermore, Sir, there is some concern among parents and students as to the possibility of fee increases in both the universities and polytechnics. May I seek the Minister's assurance that should fees be increased, it would be kept as low as practicable.”
“The alleviation of this problem, however, leads to another problem, that of parents having a reduced role in bringing up their children, since part of the time spent by children outside curriculum hours will now become the responsibility of the school. In this regard, I would like to ask the Minister what his Ministry is doing to make available programmes specifically designed to increase parental involvement in schools, not just in the children's programme but directly with the school.”
“Yes, Sir. Sir, with regard to the Day School system, I hope that the Day School will eventually cover all schools and involve students and their parents. However, parents who may be involved in the pilot project in these few selected schools may be concerned particularly over the question of the school fees that will be charged. Higher school fees mean higher cost of living and higher cost of living means a greater responsibility, a heavier burden and more resources to be expended. This concern could be alleviated if the Ministry of Education or the schools concerned are able to provide programmes justifying the amount of fees paid by parents. I realise that the revamping of the school system would mean higher MOE allocations to the selected schools. And, to meet the demands of the programmes run by these Day Schools, more financial provisions, expertise and administrative framework will have to be allocated from time to time. Of course, the MOE would not be able to absorb all these cost increases, and eventually part of it would have to be borne by parents. This means monthly fees going up as the costs of running these programmes rise. I would like to ask the Minister what measures the MOE is considering to control the increase in fees to ensure that they do not become a stumbling block to these schools' programmes. Rising fees could also force parents, having no other recourse, to resort to their Edusave accounts in order to defray this cost, leading to a very narrow application of the Edusave scheme, that is, solely for the payment of school fees. The Day School system is also viewed by some people as an effort to alleviate the problem faced by parents in looking after their children outside curriculum hours.”
“Mr Chairman, I have three cuts under this Head. May I seek your indulgence and speak on the three cuts at one go?”
“Sir, the cost of rehabilitating a drug abuser is by no means cheap. Such cost would double in the case of a recidivist drug abuser. In this regard, would the Minister consider billing parents for the cost of the rehabilitation programme that the recidivist drug abuser would have to undergo? Sir, the idea of making parents bear some responsibility for the action of their children is the subject, I believe, of a White Paper on the Reform of the Criminal Justice System in Britain as broadcast in the BBC World Service News Bulletin on 6th January this year. I would ask the Minister whether he would consider studying the paper with a view to studying its relevance in the Singapore's context.”
“Sir, our current drug situation would have been much worse had it not been for the very tough anti-drug laws, which have seen substantial arrests being made since the launch of Operation Ferret in the late 70s. But, Sir, we have yet to overcome the drug menace. The Government in this regard, I believe, has adopted basically a two-pronged approach. Firstly, a hard-line approach towards those involved in the trafficking and possession of drugs. Secondly, a very much softer approach to addicts who are caught in the drug trap. The Government's view has been that drug addiction and drug addicts are a social problem. But, Sir, the drug problem is a social malaise that has plagued our society and will continue to plague our society unless drastic action is taken on all fronts. I urge the Minister to conduct a review on the effectiveness of our approach to tackling the drug addiction problem. The relatively high rate of recidivism in our DRCs attests to the fact that perhaps our drug rehabilitation programme can be made even more effective. Those who have succumbed to the temptation of drugs do so out of choice. Sure, peer pressure, environmental factors, all play a part. But the crux of the matter is that one has a choice, either to abstain or to consume. For the recidivist drug abuser who has been given the choice of turning over a new leaf in the first instance by having been committed into the DRC, I would like to ask the Minister whether he is considering taking sterner or harsher actions. Would he consider the introduction of caning for the second or third time drug abuser, if he is committed into the DRC? In the case of the recidivist drug abuser, it will be wise for us to take heed of the ancient proverb: To spare the rod and spoil the child.”
“Sir, would the upgrading exercise include the rectification of inherent defects in the flats, such as wall seepage and spalling concrete?”
“Malay organizations, on the other hand, would be better placed to concentrate on parental education and the need for parents to place a premium on their children's education. I believe the committee should involve members drawn from all sectors and should include non-Malay participants who are concerned with the issue so that there can be a meeting of minds to tackle the wider problems. With the formation of this joint cooperation between the Government and the community in tackling what can be described only as a national issue, we would have taken a small but positive step in the right direction. After all, Sir, a thousand journeys begin but with one small step.”
“I would therefore like to urge the Minister to undertake a review of the CPD and the CDIS with the view to streamlining its areas of responsibility and possibly, if necessary, merging the two, so that the number of teachers presently seconded or serving in these departments would be able to be redeployed back into the schools or other areas. On this note, Sir, I would like to support the suggestion brought up by the Member for Aljunied GRC, Encik Wan Hussin. Education serves as a basis of all Malay endeavours to improve ourselves. The perseverance and continuous efforts put in by students, parents, teachers, Malay organizations and the Government have borne fruit. Recent years have shown that the performance of Malay students has improved. But it is important for us to double our efforts. Comparing and measuring of performances should be restricted to among the Malays first, while the performance of the other ethnic groups should serve as an impetus to the Malays to further improve ourselves. There is still so much to be done. The spirit, perseverance and efforts have to be continuously upgraded for the sake of a more complete and meaningful performance and achievement. In this regard, I again support the call by the Member for Aljunied GRC that the Ministry consider the setting up of a joint working committee, comprising of officials from the Ministry and Malay organizations, namely, Mendaki. Officials from the Ministry could also include staff who have been redeployed if the Minister takes up my suggestion to merge CDIS and CPD. Such a committee would be able to harness the professional expertise available in the Ministry as well as making available the necessary logistical support services.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, recently the Ministry of Education launched a recruitment exercise to encourage more of the population to join the teaching profession. This point was highlighted again by the Senior Minister of State for Education, Dr Tay Eng Soon, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Mr Tang Guan Seng. What I would like to ask the Minister is how successful this exercise has been and whether it has thus far achieved its desired objective. Sir, may I venture to suggest that perhaps the shortage of teachers in the teaching profession is artificial, in the sense that more and more teachers are being redeployed out of the schools and placed in positions at the Ministry's headquarters. In the Ministry, I understand, there is a Curriculum Planning Division charged, among other things, with tasks of designing, reviewing and revising the school curriculum and subject syllabi. It also monitors and appraises the teaching and learning of subjects in the school curriculum. Among other tasks, it provides consultancy services in matters relating to the curriculum. Staff in the Division, I understand, are drawn from staff strength of the Ministry's schools. The Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore, Mr Speaker, also has a large complement of staff drawn from the teaching profession. Among its tasks is also to constantly develop the curriculum packages such as school textbooks, workbooks, teacher's guides, manuals and handbooks for the improvement of the teaching/learning process. Sir, it would appear that the two areas of responsibility of the departments, the Curriculum Planning Division and the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore, overlap one another. And both departments have approximately the same staff strength.”
“Presently, there are several ministries and numerous youth agencies that work with youth or deal with youth problems. There is an overlap of services, differences in approaches and omission of certain youth services. Sir, a central body could remedy the situation. Presently, there exists a National Youth Coordinating Committee. Its role is non-executive and non-policy making. There is a need to enlarge and elevate its status so that it can better serve the needs of our youths. The President's Address lays the framework for our pursuit for a society of excellence. In that pursuit, let us seek excellence with a sense of grace, let us seek excellence with finesse, but above all, Sir, let us seek excellence with a touch of class. That we may build a society that we can justifiably be proud of, proud enough to bequeath to our children and to our children's children. That in their day, Sir, they may look back on this House, the Seventh Parliament, on this Government and say, "We dare to dream great dreams." Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion.”
“For in doing so, I am sure that it may benefit from being an experienced practitioner and consensus building, seeking to promote understanding which can be of long-term value rather than of instant advantage. Mr Speaker, Sir, earlier this afternoon, my GPC Chairman on Education said that the phrase "little or no margin for error" should no longer be used. In this regard, I beg to differ. Surely, Sir, if one was to draw upon the lessons learnt from the past, it must be that our effort of living together in harmony in Singapore must succeed. A great experiment of living together is taking place right here in this nation and we can ill afford for it to fail. There is nothing complicated in the prescription - tolerance, understanding, equality, respect for each other's cultural and religious backgrounds, and more importantly, a special understanding for the strong feelings which those backgrounds engender. The Singapore of today stands at the cross-roads. Staring stark in its face are the challenges and uncertainties of the nineties. As we move into the next decade, our young men and women must be imbued with the same verve and vitality which were the characteristics of our forefathers. Never before, Sir, have so much stress and expectations been placed on our young people and there can be no doubt that the youth of Singapore which constitutes the bulk of our population will rise to the occasion with drive and idealism. Their contribution to the process of nation-building cannot be over-emphasized. Sir, in this regard, I would like to urge the Government to consider the setting up of a central body responsible for the research into planning, coordination and management of youth affairs.”
“However, Sir, for such a commitment to succeed, it requires that each and every Singaporean subscribes to the goal of living together in harmony, whether in the religious, racial or cultural spheres, for there could be few better places to consider the attainment of that goal than right here in Singapore where tolerance of our diversity in race, culture and religion has made the need for living together in harmony a practical compulsion, a necessity whose virtue we as a nation so worthily symbolize. Sir, though there may be differences of culture, race and creed, it is imperative that we strive to understand those differences. It is imperative that we strive to accept the differences. But more importantly, Sir, we must strive to tolerate and understand those differences in order that we may all live in harmony. As in the Malay proverb, Sir, "Bersatu teguh, bercerai roboh" - united we stand, divided we fall. Mr Speaker, Sir, for almost a generation we have been living in harmony. It does not mean that differences in perspectives and outlook have disappeared. Indeed we would be naive in thinking so, for they have not. Emotional issues can still result in tension and, if left unchecked, may indeed sow the seed for conflict. Therefore, Sir, we must constantly remind ourselves that such harmony cannot be taken for granted. Indeed, we should strive for higher levels of maturity and rationality in dealing with complex issues. Sir, we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by our emotions to the extent that we lose our bearing in looking at issues. Mr Speaker, Sir, I urge the Government to employ to good advantage its particular style of leadership characterized by its informality - the walkabouts, the public forums and dialogue sessions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise before this House in support of the motion that is tabled before it by the hon. Member for Siglap. Sir, I also noted that at the end of the first day's proceedings, you mentioned that the great British politician, Sir Winston Churchill made a habit of memorizing his speech the night before. In all probability, Sir, he did not have the meet-the-people sessions or house visits the night before. I therefore urge you, Sir, to bear with me if from time to time I make references to my text. Sir, in his Address, the President outlined the Government's goal of creating a better life for all Singaporeans. A skilled, well-paid job for every working Singaporean; every family housed in an affordable, comfortable home; every child educated to the limits of his or her potential. The recognition of the unequal rates of progress made by the different communities, Sir, is indeed laudable, so too is the Government's stated intention to further encourage and facilitate the progress of Malay Singaporeans into the mainstream of national life. Sir, I believe this sentiment reflects the genuine concern of the Government, for they understand that it is to our nation's own advantage to have Malay Singaporeans achieve greater socio-economic parity. It is in the interest of all to have the community better educated, better qualified and to increase its contribution to Singapore's development. Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore is widely known as a place where different ethnic groups live together without the strife that has become a normal feature of many other plural societies. To this, the credit must go to the Government's commitment to multi-racialism.”