Abdullah Tarmugi
Singapore
“As I have said, in most, if not all cases, we have a multi-disciplinary team to assess. In other words, even the protector himself or herself is subject to the assessment of this team. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.”
“Sir, I think that is a convenient tack to say. But AMP and others must also realise that the new policy applies to all NGOs which are co-located at community buildings, and not only to AMP. TRIPARTITE COMMITTEE ON PORTABLE MEDICAL BENEFITS (Progress report) 5.”
“Sir, this is precisely what we are talking about, ie, it is not just a question about numbers per se, and I would like to refer to what Mr Noris Ong said, about having three or more children, if we can afford it. This means, as I mentioned just now in my speech too, that we do not want children to be a burden.”
“At present, Sir, the policy is we will support up to three children. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Abdullah Tarmugi].”
“My Ministry will continue to look into ways of removing the obstacles couples face in having children. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. Dr S. Vasoo (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, we already have had eight days of long debate. I would be concise and you would be very relieved if all other speakers after me would be concise.”
“So we would leave it as it is and we only pay for working women. It is really to compensate the loss in income. He asked about the provision in the Bill on "lawfully married to the child's natural father". This is, as I said earlier, because we want to encourage child birth within wedlock and the family remains intact.”
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“No, Sir, we do not think so. I think that the Member is trying to insinuate that my Ministry or the officer is incompetent and not doing his work. Unless the Member has got substantial proof, I do not think the Member should pursue this line of questioning. ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [28th February, 1996], "That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April, 1996 to 31st March, 1997.". - [Minister for Finance]. Question again proposed. 12.46 pm”
“No, Sir, there is no time-frame. Again, if the Member had read the newspaper articles on this, it took more than a year after the first report when the case was closed. I think the first report was in February and the child was on the fostering care under the Ministry some time in April 1993 and the case was only closed in July 1994. There is no time-frame. It depends on the judgment of the social worker and also the Fostering Committee.”
“The child's interest is not less taken care of had we not charged the parents. If the implication is that we would have catered to the interest of the child more had we prosecuted the parents, it would be an erroneous assumption. Dr Kanwaljit Soin: I presume it is hypothetical, Sir, but if the parents had been charged then Joel Peter's death could have been prevented.”
“Let me answer the second question first. The social worker is a trained social worker and has a good reputation in the Ministry. He is a very careful worker. No, Sir, social workers do not have medical training. I do not think they need to. They are trained enough to be able to discern any evidence of abuse. On the first question about the visits, the incident was reported by a family friend, not by a relative. There were visits before the report and there were no indications of any bruises or injuries as a result of abuse.”
“The officer concerned indeed made checks on the parents and the parents were also called to the Ministry for interviews. During these visits, again, there was no indication of abuse seen by the officer concerned.”
“In this particular case, although he was abandoned twice, for all intents and purposes, there was indication that the parents loved the child and there were good relations between the parents and the child. It is well known in social work that we always try to return the child to the parents and that is the end purpose of our interference. In other words, we try not to separate the child from the parents as far as we can and if we find that there is reason for the child to be returned to the parents, we do so. Mr Low Thia Khiang rose ---”
“Sir, I think the Member is trying to split hairs here. I know what he is leading to. His question was whether it leads to abuse and the death of the toddler. He is trying to include abandonment as a case of abuse here.”
“I did not say that. Mr Low Thia Khiang: The Minister did say that in this particular case the child was with the foster parent and therefore it was not viewed as abuse. My question is whether abandonment should be considered as a form of abuse.”
“I think we are trying to look into the definition of abuse. The Member is trying to stretch the definition of abuse to include abandonment. Here, abandonment is not a question of the parent leaving the child, let us say, in a deserted place. He was placed in foster care. It was just that the parents did not visit the child and they did not pay the fostering fees.”
“We could have, but certainly not under child abuse.”
“Sir, that is a separate issue, but what the Member for Hougang is implying is that the Ministry's officials should have probed further to look into evidence of abuse. We did, and we did not find any evidence of abuse in this particular case.”
“Perhaps it would be beneficial if I give in detail what the Ministry did in this particular case so that it will at least give the Member a proper understanding of what actually happened. As I said earlier, it was a case of abandonment when the parents did not pay the fees of the foster parent. The Ministry took over the child and placed him in the care of a foster parent under the Ministry's fostering scheme while efforts were made to trace the parents. When contacts were subsequently made with the parents, the Ministry continued to place Joel under the Ministry's fostering scheme though his parents requested for his return. The parents had no proper home and both were jobless and they were facing financial difficulties. The mother was also at a very advanced stage of pregnancy. The Ministry wanted to give the father time to look for a job and to give a proper home for the family. Joel was returned to his parents after his father proved that he was stable in a job and had a home and that both parents were observed to be coping well with the new baby that was born and were interacting very well with Joel. So there was no instance at any time where there were any indications that there was child abuse. Before the decision was made to return Joel to the parents, the case was deliberated by a committee which comprised individuals from the public who are appointed by me to oversee the fostering scheme, and they include psychologists, medical officers, social workers as well as people from other fields. There was no indication at all that the child was abused. Neither the mother nor her friends informed the Ministry of the abuse.”
“If the Member had read the newspaper report, he would have known that the case was classified as a case of "abandonment". The case arose from a complaint by the foster parent to the Ministry because the foster parent was not paid for the services rendered to the couple. As a result of this, the Ministry of Community Development intervened and took the child and placed him in a foster home and looked for the parents. So it was a case of abandonment and not a case of child abuse in the first instance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my response to the Member's question is "yes". Joel's death could have been prevented if those who had seen, heard or known of the abuse of the child by the father had alerted the relevant authorities such as my Ministry, the Police or any social service agency of the abuse. In this instance, neither the mother nor her friends who knew of the abuse did so. I would like to encourage those who knew of the abuse to refer the matter to my Ministry or the Police or to approach any social agency for advice. Victims of abuse who are able to do so should also seek help to stop the abuse.”
“RAdm Teo Chee Hean: The case referred to by the Member of Parliament goes back 28 years, before my Ministry was formed. We managed, however, to trace the Coroner's report dated 1st September 1967 relating to the death of a Madam Koh Ho Keow whose body was found at Tampines Dumping Ground on 30th August 1967. According to the report the cause of death was "unascertainable - body decomposed".”
“i) Day Facilities for the Elderly There are 4 types of day facilities for the elderly: a) Day Rehabilitative Centres b) Senior Citizens Health Care Centres c) Social Day Centres d) Drop-in Centres Day rehabilitative centres and Senior Citizens Health Care Centres are under the purview of the Ministry of Health (MOH). Social day centres and drop-in centres are under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development. Information on day rehabilitative centres and Senior Citizens Health Care Centres would be provided by MOH in relation to Question 4. ii) Social Day Centres and Drop-in Centres There are 4 social day centres which provide supervision and supportive help for the elderly when their family members are at work. These centres provide a range of social and recreational activities such as handicraft, keep fit exercises, group games and singing. They provide meals, and transport when required. Drop-in centres are for the elderly to drop-by any time during the day to socialise with fellow senior citizens, watch TV programmes and read newspapers. The centres also organise activities like handicraft and simple exercises. There are 7 drop-in centres serving about 1,539 elderly users. The number of places in these centres is adequate. All these facilities are run by the voluntary welfare organisations. iii) Future Plans The Government continually monitors demand and usage. The Government works with the VWOs to set up more facilities to meet demand. DEATH OF MADAM KOH AH KHIAO 9. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for the Environment for the facts surrounding the death of a woman, Madam Koh Ah Khiao, on 25th July 1967 while the dumping of refuse was being carried out by his Ministry's vehicles in the vicinity of Lorong Ragam in Tampines.”
“Sir, we have adequate child care centres as of now. In fact,, as at October this year, there were 2,682 vacancies in child care centres all over the island. In our projection for child care centres, we do take into account where the demands are and where the new satellite towns would be. These would be the places where we will concentrate the child care centres. CABLE NETWORK CONNECTIONS (Payment by residents of private houses) 3. Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for Information and the Arts why residents of private houses are required to pay for cable network connections whereas Housing and Development Board flat residents obtain their connections free when the network is intended to be the platform for IT2000, a national programme.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is true and I do concede that the Vice-President of the Society Against Family Violence did have a hand in drafting the Bill. That is Dr Alfred Choy.”
“May I clarify, Sir? Dr Kanwaljit Soin resumed her seat.”
“As an untrained child care teacher, they get between $650 pm to $750 pm against the $300 monthly allowance given to them when they attend the pre-service training. Also, the commitment of a full-time course (8 months) is too heavy especially when they have no prior experience working in a child care centre. We have taken the following steps to increase the intake of the pre-service training programme: (a) asked child care centres to bring the training programme to the attention of people they know who have expressed an interest in child care work; (b) conducted a briefing on careers in child care, in particular with reference to the pre-service course; (c) provided information on the pre-service training through MCD's hotline; (d) made press releases, press advertisements and an interview with TCS to advertise the course; (e) made intake more flexible by allowing the training agencies to recruit their own private candidates to the course; (f) allowed candidates without credit in English in their GCE 'O' Level to do a simplified English proficiency test for admission to the course. My Ministry will continue to monitor the situation. If the pre-service course continues to be unattractive, we will have to review it. Annex - STATISTICS OF CINEMA HALLS (SINGLE VS CINEPLEX), SEATS AND ATTENDANCE FROM 1990 TO 1994 (Cols. 1567 - 1568)”
“There are two types of training schemes available for child care teachers: (a) a three tier in-service training scheme for staff of child care centres; and (b) a pre-service training scheme for those who wish to take up appointments as child care teachers. In-service training courses are conducted on a regular basis by training institutes accreditated by MCD. These include the National Institute of Education, Kinderland Learning Centre, NTUC Childcare Co-operative Ltd, Singapore Institute of Management and Association for Child Care Educators. In FY94, a total of 976 teachers were trained, 572 at Basic, 314 at Intermediate and 90 at Advanced levels. We are satisfied with the numbers trained at in-service courses. The pre-service training scheme was introduced in 1990 by the Ministry to increase the pool of child care teachers by providing pre-service training for those interested in becoming child care teachers. Under the scheme, the Ministry pays for the fees and gives an allowance to the trainees for the duration of the course. The trainees are required to sign an undertaking with the Ministry to work in a child care centre for 2 years after graduation. Upon completion of the course, they are employed by child care centres. Five pre-service courses have been conducted and a total of 261 persons have been trained. The number of persons attending the pre-service course has however dropped. The main reason given by those who rejected the programme indicate that they find it more attractive to join a child care centre and be sponsored by the centre for the in-service training rather than enrol for the pre-service training.”
“Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Acting Minister for Community Development what are the main reasons for the low uptake of child-care training awards his Ministry offered to child-care teachers and what steps his Ministry is taking to increase the number of takers for the training awards.”
“For the past 5-year period, the Ministry of Community Development received: (a) 672 complaints of child abuse; (b) 106 complaints of family dispute involving alleged abuse and neglect of persons; and (c) 49 cases of marital disputes where the main presenting problem was assault. (a) Child Abuse Of the 672 cases of child abuse, 219 (32.6%) cases were assessed to be false complaints while another 281 (41.8%) cases had no evidence of abuse but required casework intervention which includes assistance to the family in areas of the care and management of children, financial assistance or school placement. The 172 cases or 25.6% that had evidence of abuse as determined by medical reports were brought before the Juvenile Court for Care and Protection Orders. The number of cases of child abuse reported has declined over the years. (b) Elderly Abuse Between 1990 - 1994 the Ministry handled a total of 106 cases of family dispute involving aged persons who complained of being neglected or abused. This is an average of 21.2 cases per year. The majority of complaints had to do with alleged denial of financial support or shelter by their adult children. A small number (11 or 10%) complained of physical abuse. Of these, 3 were cases of false complaints. (c) Spousal Abuse During the period, the Ministry dealt with a total of 420 enquiries from women who claimed to be assaulted. They only sought advice on the legal action they could take. The Ministry handled 49 marital dispute cases which had assault as the presenting problem. These cases have been helped through counselling. CHILD CARE TRAINING AWARDS 13.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, notwithstanding what the Member has said about my proposal to amend the Women's Charter and also what I have mentioned earlier about the proposed amendments to the Women's Charter, I really have no objection to the introduction of the Bill. We will debate it in Parliament. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That leave be given to introduce a Bill to make provision for the protection of family members in situations of family violence.”
“Sir, as I remember, at that point in time when my officers went to visit the child and the parents, there was no evidence of assault. If assault had happened after that, and unless we continue to monitor the child on and on and year after year, we will not be able to find out whether there was any lapse in the relationship between the parents and child. CREDIT CONSULTANT (ASIA) PTE LTD (Winding up) 13. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Law what was the total asset of Credit Consultant (Asia) Pte Ltd when the Official Assignee and Public Trustee/Receiver took over at its winding-up (No. 229 of 1993); how many debtors have already received their dividends; and how was it assigned to the debtors.”
“Sir, I still do not think that a Committee of Inquiry is necessary. It is a question of the efficiency of the officers looking into the case and, as I said, it is a question of time. Because at that point in time, nobody could really say for sure what would happen and whether the problem would recur or not. Based on the facts available then, it was established that Joel was able to return to his parents. But certainly, we will continue to look into ways where we can better monitor such cases, especially in the light of this case.”
“Sir, it is really a question of how long we would want to monitor the case. In this case, as I have mentioned earlier, between the request and the return of Joel, it was four months. And even after the return, it was five months of monitoring by the Ministry. Within these five months the Ministry was able to establish that there was enough evidence for the parents to be able to take care of Joel and there was very good adjustment between Joel and the parents. The question really is how long we want to follow up with the case. Is it a year or two years? Of course, if the Ministry suspects that something is wrong, the Ministry would continue to monitor. But in this particular case, the Ministry at that point in time was able to assess that the parents were able to take care of the child and Joel himself was able to adjust to his parents.”
“Sir, the implication here is that the police are powerless to attend to complaints of domestic violence unless grievous hurt is involved. The Member asked whether the programmes and amendments to the Women's Charter would provide the police and the courts with the teeth to deal with the concerns of domestic violence. Sir, the new provisions and the programmes being considered will enhance the powers of the police and the courts. As I said, I will elaborate on the details when I move the amendments to the Women's Charter later. TAO NAN SCHOOL (Admission of non-Chinese GEP students) 7. Mr Imram bin Mohamed asked the Minister for Education if Tao Nan School, a Special Assistance Plan school in Marine Parade, which is to be designated as a Gifted Education Programme (GEP) school next year, will admit non-Chinese GEP students.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer to both questions is "yes". On maintenance matters, existing provisions will be enhanced to provide better assurance that spouses who have been home-makers and their dependent children are properly provided for in a break-up or in a family dispute. As regards matrimonial assets, under the current provisions, if a home-maker has made some contributions to the acquisition of the assets, the home-maker's share of the assets could be constrained by the size of her contribution. The home-making effort of the party is ignored. However, if the home-maker has not made any contribution at all, the division of assets could take into consideration the home-maker's contribution to the welfare of the family among others. We are addressing this issue to provide for a more equitable basis for the division of matrimonial assets and for the court to have regard to all circumstances, including the needs of dependent children of the marriage and the parties' contribution to the welfare of the family. I will elaborate on the details when I move the amendments to the Women's Charter.”
“While the police are prepared to extend these improved procedures island-wide, they and my Ministry recognise the need for a pilot project because of the inadequate number of counsellors and support organisations, which are critical to the successful management of such cases. The pilot project will be evaluated at the end of the year. If found effective, it will be replicated throughout the island. My Ministry is also currently funding a 2-year diploma course on marital and family counselling for social workers of Family Service Centres. The training will help enhance the skills and pool of social workers who would be able to provide support to those affected by domestic violence.”
“I wish to inform Members that the Government had set up an Inter-Ministry Work Group chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs in April 1994 to look at measures to deal more effectively with domestic violence and to arrive at more effective coordination between the relevant agencies. This Work Group comprises representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, my Ministry, Ministry of Health, the Police, and the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations. The Group recommended, among other things, a review of relevant provisions in the Women's Charter to give greater protection to victims of family abuse. The Work Group itself has undertaken several measures to enhance the management of domestic violence cases. Among these are: a) review of procedures such as those relating to: the handling and the referral of victims (and perpetrators) to support services by the police; and the completion of medical reports to help the courts in its decisions on the issue of protection orders; b) review of public education materials and outreach to victims of abuse; and c) review the effectiveness of current legislation such as the application for Protection Order and punishments for breaches thereof under the Women's Charter. My Ministry and the police have also implemented a pilot project involving the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and two social service agencies in April this year. The police have also reviewed the management of cases of domestic violence reported to them and fine-tuned their procedures.”
“Sir, the Women's Charter was introduced in 1961 to protect women and girls against abuse or exploitation and it serves to protect and preserve the family unit. The Charter provides for monogamous marriage under the Civil Law and spells out the rights and duties of married persons and their responsibilities to the family. It also has provisions to help couples in a family break-up. Mrs Yu-Foo asked whether MCD will consider amending the Women's Charter to further enhance its objectives of protecting women and strengthening family values. The answer is "yes". The Member may be pleased to know that since early last year, MCD, together with the AG's Chambers and the Ministry of Law, has been reviewing the Women's Charter to address, among others: 1) the limitations in existing provisions in the protection of spouses and children; 2) difficulties experienced by the courts in the application of some provisions in the Charter; and 3) the concerns of both the Government and the public in the area of violence in the family. Coming to Question No. 6, Sir, Dr Vasoo enquired about the steps taken by my Ministry to deal with domestic violence. This subject has indeed received much attention lately. I must stress here that our society cannot and must not condone domestic violence. It must, however, be noted that domestic violence is a multi-faceted and highly emotional matter and requires a multi-pronged approach to deal with the problem. There is a need for sensitivity when dealing with disputes which arise as a result of the close interpersonal relationships within the family.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I would like to take Question Nos. 11 and 12 together and to reply in Malay.”
“The Ministry of Community Development gave a subsidy of $56,648 to the PAP Community Foundation in 1993 specifically for the running of one of the 4 Family Service Centres under a pilot scheme. This amount was based on 50% of the standard cost of running a Family Service Centre, a basis which also applied to the other voluntary welfare organisations running the other three centres then. The Centre operated by the Foundation merged in August 1993 with the Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre run by a voluntary welfare organisation, the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society. The Ministry of Community Development did not give any subsidy to the PAP Community Foundation in 1994. Appendix A (Cols. 1405 - 1410) Appendix B (Cols. 1411 - 1412) Appendix C - CCCs which had received CIPC funds (Cols. 1413 - 1414) Appendix D - TYPES OF PROJECTS FUNDED BY CIPC (Cols. 1415 - 1418)”
“In reply to Encik Ibrahim Othman, there are presently six full-time madrasahs with a student population of slightly over 3,000. There are also 29 mosques which conduct part-time religious classes for pupils who attend Government schools either in the morning or afternoon. Since the establishment of the Religious Education Department (RED) in MUIS, efforts have been made to streamline the madrasahs. Teacher training, school administration, including library and AVA courses, and common syllabi for madrasahs have been introduced and implemented. Common Secondary Four and Primary Six examinations are also being conducted. Whereas pupils in full-time madrasahs attend schools five to six days a week, those in mosque madrasahs attend religious classes only for two to three hours, about two days a week. These can either be in the morning or afternoon, depending on the session the students are in Government schools. There are others who attend week-end classes instead in these mosque madrasahs. They follow a common syllabus provided by the RED of MUIS and there is no ECA for mosque madrasah pupils. Based on feedback, the performance of pupils in Government schools has not been affected as a result of their attending classes in the mosque madrasah. To ensure that mosque madrasah receives the same attention as full-time madrasah, 17 mosques have agreed to make an annual financial contribution to pay for an executive officer and a clerical officer whose duties will be to oversee, coordinate and streamline the professional and administrative aspects of mosque madrasahs.”
“Sir, I will reply to Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe first. Under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, MUIS is responsible for wakaf or Muslim charitable endowments. Most of the wakaf properties are pre-war properties, rent controlled and temporary structures. They generate very low income. Most of these wakafs are located in prime areas and have great economic potential. But unless they are restored or developed, they will not be able to enjoy their maximum economic worth. Hence it is MUIS' responsibility to restore or develop them so as to achieve their economic potential. To-date, MUIS has developed the following residential properties: (a) four units of three-storey terrace houses at Duku Road; (b) nine units of apartments at Lorong L, Telok Kurau. The two residential developments are successful. Two other projects comprising shophouses at 24 Kandahar Street and 63 Temple Street have been completed and would be rented out. Other on-going projects are 40 units of maisonettes at Lorong G, Telok Kurau and six units of conservation shophouses at South Bridge Road. These units are being restored. At present, the funds for development of wakaf properties are sufficient. They come from MUIS and the wakaf itself. Once these properties have been restored or developed, they will generate higher income. The increases in income from these wakaf properties will be channelled to the purposes for which these wakafs were established. These will be of benefit to the Muslim community as a whole. For FY95, MUIS will embark on the following conservation projects: (1) three units of shophouses at 117, 119, 121 Telok Ayer Street; (2) a shophouse at 50 Kandahar Street; and (3) a shophouse at 723 North Bridge Road.”
“Sir, these are subjects of review by the task force. As I mentioned earlier today, I would not pre-empt the recommendations nor the findings of the task force. It would be revealed to the public as soon as the FAS and SSC have studied this review.”
“Sir, at present the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) operates 16 public sports stadiums and most have a seating capacity of between 1,000 and 1,500. They were built within public housing estates as neighbourhood stadiums to promote the Sports-for-All policy of SSC. Whether or not these stadiums will be expanded depends on the attendance at the football league games that are coming. The SSC and FAS will monitor the situation closely to make sure that these stadiums will meet the needs of the local football league. SSC will be continually looking into the upgrading of facilities of the stadiums. The Member can be assured of that.”
“Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap: I thank the Minister for his reply and wish to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, we do not know on what basis the projection, as quoted by the Member, was made. MCD regularly monitors the demand for child care centres island-wide. Where a high level of demand is indicated, MCD would target that area for the development of more centres. MCD also has an arrangement with HDB to set up child care centres in tandem with HDB's development of housing estates. A lead time of about one and a half to two years is required before a centre can actually be ready for operation. This means that the supply of places usually lags demand by about one and a half to two years. In some instances, it may not be possible to build child care centres even though there is demand. This is particularly so in the older housing estates where suitable sites are not available. In such cases, MCD would usually look for adjacent housing estates for sites. The enrolment figures for child care centres showed that as at February 1995, there were over 4,600 vacancies in existing child care centres. These should be able to meet demand for child care places but they may not be in the parents' first choice of centres; hence the perception that the demand for child care places exceeds supply. I assure the Member for Hong Kah GRC that more child care centres are continually being set up. In fact, the number of centres as at the end of February 1995 was 364 with 27,603 places. By the end of FY 1995, we hope to have 401 centres with a total capacity of about 30,500 places. With regard to control of the child care centres, ie, on the quality and qualification of the operators, MCD monitors them and makes sure that only qualified operators with the requisite qualifications are allowed to set up the centres in the estates.”
“They said, "We are the Opposition. Our policy is better than the ruling party's policies. So your policy is no good, I have to oppose." If you do not agree with what I have said, you can correct me. In my years of experience in Parliament, I have noticed that more than 90% of the Government policies are being opposed by the Opposition parties. I think Mr Chiam See Tong would agree with me. Mr Cheo Chai Chen( In Mandarin): Sir, Opposition MPs are able to get the support from their constituents because they do not agree with the Government policy or they are doubtful about the Government policy and they feel that the policy is not good enough. This is in keeping with the spirit of democracy. If we support the Government all the way, then we should not be in the Opposition parties. Mr Wong Kan Seng( In Mandarin): This last sentence is indeed "hitting the nail on the head". Since he is in the Opposition party, then why should he want to be the adviser of a Government organisation? I really do not understand his point. Mr Cheo Chai Chen( In Mandarin): We have never said that we wanted to be the advisers to the Government. He is talking about these grassroots organisations. Is the Minister saying that the grassroots organisations are Government organisations?”
“I did not say that. Mr Cheo Chai Chen( In Mandarin): I meant the Minister for Home Affairs. I feel that the Minister's view was one-sided. Although the Singapore Democratic Party is an Opposition party, our objective is to serve the people of Singapore. We want to improve the standard of living of Singaporeans. We do not object to all Government policies. If a policy is good, we will support and promote the policy. But if the policy is no good, then we have a duty to point it out. So, this problem does not arise. Why is it that the Opposition won in some constituencies at the last General Elections? This was because the residents in some constituencies were not happy with certain policies of the Government. They did not agree with the Government policies and they have their own views. That is the reason. As for the members of CCCs and RCs not having any political affiliation, I think this has nothing to do with the spirit of democracy. Even for our armed forces, we stipulate that members of the armed forces and civil servants cannot join any political party. If the Minister says my suggestion is wrong, then the civil servants have been deprived of their rights. Mr Wong Kan Seng( In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to clarify what Mr Cheo said just now. Under the Instruction Manual of the civil servants, there is nothing to say that civil servants cannot join a political party. If they wish to participate in political activities, they just have to inform their superior officers and they will be allowed to participate in the political activities. As to whether Opposition Members can help to promote Government policies, I have my doubts. In this Parliament, we can see very clearly that many policies are being opposed by the Opposition parties because of their opposing stand.”
“Sir, I believe the NMP is referring to the sum allocated under sub-code JD 08994034, as has been mentioned by him earlier. This sum is actually the development expenditure for three new Family Service Centres (FSCs) and the upgrading of four existing social service centres for FY95. The development expenditure of the FSC programme in the previous years was reflected under another cost centre when the programme was in its pilot stage, ie, development of facilities for the disabled and low-income families. Now that the Government will be funding the capital expenditure of seven new FSCs and the upgrading of 17 existing FSCs over the next few years, the development expenditure for FSCs is shown under its own cost centre.”
“Sir, the Member for Yuhua has asked about programmes and services for the aged, Government's future plans and things that are wrong with these plans. I think most of these points have been dealt with in my earlier answer. I would like to respond to her specifically on the question of coordination of service delivery for the aged. I wish to inform the House that although there are clear demarcations between the Ministry of Health and my Ministry in terms of service provision, there is very close liaison between the two Ministries in planning, implementation and coordination of the programmes for the elderly and their families. This is to ensure that there is a continuum of care as well as a network of services to meet the varying needs of the elderly and their families. My Ministry has an information and referral service and the Ministry of Health has the Care Liaison Service. Besides providing coordination, information and referral services, these units also provide advice and assistance to the elderly and families who need help in the care of the elderly. The units help in the placement of the elderly and also link the elderly and their families to services provided by voluntary as well as Government bodies. Recently, a coordinating committee was set up by the Ministry of Health to better coordinate the medical, social and support services for the elderly and their families. This will, I think, enhance the delivery services for the elderly. The Member also made mention of the mass media charging voluntary organisations. I cannot agree more with the Member's sentiments. This is something which we have also been debating for some time. All I can say is that I hope the mass media mentioned by the Member will take heed of her comments.”
“Sir, there is no stopping PA recipients who want to work with VWOs, either on a part-time or full-time basis, and our assessment will come after that. Each PA recipient will be assessed on his own merits. Although there is a blanket policy that PA recipients who work will not receive PA, there have been a few who are allowed to work because of circumstances and which we feel merit the client to continue receiving PA. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“I am afraid the Member is barking up the wrong tree, Sir. That question ought to be directed to the People's Association.”
“These are actually studies done in conjunction with the planning authorities, ie, with URA. But I am not sure whether it would be wise to make them public. Anyway, for really large projects which require environmental impact assessment, for which internal resources in Environment to carry out such assessments are inadequate, they would be done by the developers themselves. These are usually very special projects which involved really large projects like petrochemical complexes, dams for hydroelectric power, etc. I presume if the developers themselves want to release them to the public, they could.”
“And it is not the Environment Ministry which says which grassroots organisations are recognised or not. We go by what the People's Association (PA) recognises. So if the grassroots organisation wants to be recognised, I suggest the Member liaises direct with the People's Association.”
“Sir, as I mentioned just now, "recognised" grassroots organisations.”
“Among other things, they complain about the noise generated by the people, by the large crowds, the increased traffic generated, the foreign workers, the teddy boys, and what-nots. Shopkeepers also have complained that the operators of these fairs are giving them unfair competition simply because they do not have to pay higher rentals and, therefore, they could sell their goods as cheaply. To curb the proliferation, we need to control the duration and number of such fairs in the estates. So it was decided that either the grassroots organisations or the Town Council may hold one large fair of not more than 16 days per year in each constituency (PAP or non-PAP), across the board. Each Residents' Committee is allowed to hold one mini-fair a year in their respective zones lasting not more than three days, and these and other details of the scheme were widely reported last year in the newspapers. Since the introduction of the controls, my Ministry has received very favourable feedback from residents and shopkeepers. The MP seems to insinuate that Environment discriminates against his ward. Contrary to the Member for Hougang's claim, there are recognised grassroots organisations in every constituency, including Hougang, which could organise trade fairs and mini-fairs. Therefore, it is not true that the scheme discriminates against Opposition wards. Indeed, it applies to all constituencies and, in fact, since the introduction of control measures in July 1994, the grassroots organisations in Nee Soon Central and Hougang and the Town Councils in Potong Pasir and Bukit Gombak respectively, were given approvals to hold their fairs.”