Ahmad Mattar
Singapore
“Sir, I would like to urge the Minister, the newly appointed panel chaired by Mr Hsuan Owyang, and certainly the people in charge of Channel 12 Pte Ltd, to look into the quality of Malay programmes on Channel 12. There is not much point in increasing the number of hours of Malay programmes on Channel 12 if quality is not there.”
“Because if SBC conducts those surveys or SBC administers the people meter, what other conclusions can we get? Finally, Sir, I would like to urge the Minister, and certainly the General Manager of SBC, to re-look into SBC's programmes.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, Encik Ibrahim Othman has asked a number of questions on Muslim divorces. On the actual number of Muslim divorces registered in 1992, the answer is 1,002.”
“45 pm Sir, on wakaf properties, the House may want to know that the first development project comprising four units of terrace houses at Duku Road has been completed. This year, two more projects at Lorong L and Lorong G, Telok Kurau, will be launched.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am aware of that circular. Unfortunately, my Public Health Officers have reported that despite the circular there has not been any improvement to the littering problem. Even till this morning, Sir, when we inspected Potong Pasir, littering was still evident.”
“Sir, the question has been answered and the photographs have also been labelled with the time they were taken. My point is that if the Member claims that his constituency does not have a littering problem, then there should not be any litter at any time of the day, 5.30 am regardless.”
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“The Management Services Department of the Ministry of Finance has just completed a study on the set-up of MUIS and has made certain recommendations including a review of the role of the President of MUIS and the remuneration to be paid to the incumbent. Adjustments will be made in the light of the recommendations. The hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan would also like to know if efforts to seek and secure the services and contribution of more knowledgeable Muslim leaders in the formulation and implementation of MUIS policies and programmes will be stepped up. Sir, I would like to thank the hon. Member for his positive suggestion that we should try to secure the services of such people. However, as the Member is aware, the appointment of members to the MUIS Council as provided under Section 7 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act is in part through nominations by Muslim societies. Seven Council members out of a total of 12 are nominated in this manner. In this way, the hon. Member will agree that the more knowledgeable Muslims are already called upon to serve the MUIS Council. But there may still be a number who are not identified so far and who can be encouraged to offer their services to MUIS. In this respect, Sir, I would like to request the hon. Member as well as the other Muslim Members of Parliament to assist us in identifying potential leaders who can serve MUIS or even the various mosques in existence. So do let me have the names and particulars so that they can be invited to volunteer their services. Muslim organisations are also encouraged to identify suitable Muslims to come forward to help in the various committees or mosques in the districts. The Member has also alluded to delays in dealing with matters referred to MUIS.”
“To know Arabic merely makes a Muslim an educated Muslim, not necessarily a good one l I have discussed this with the Mufti and he concurs with this view. I am aware, Sir, that some local religious teachers have been advising their congregation to learn Arabic. Personally. I can see nothing objectionable in this advice provided it is not carried out irresponsibly to confuse Muslim parents in Singapore who have sent their children to secular schools. I can assure the Member for Kampong Kembangan that the MUIS is on constant monitoring of these religious teachers. On the subject of missionary activities which mislead Muslims or make them misconceive Islam, this is something which is sometimes difficult to trace. From time to time, MUIS receives information that some Muslim individuals or organisations are preaching doctrines which are misleading. These preachers, either individuals or organisations, if they can be identified, are called up for interview by the Mufti and members of the Fatwa Committee of MUIS. They are advised to desist from teaching false doctrines and wherever possible to correct the wrong advices they have given. Here, I would like to solicit the assistance of the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan and other hon. Muslim MPs of this House to give me any information which they may have on such individuals or organisations responsible for the spread of misconceptions on the teachings of Islam and I will certainly look into the matter. 7.00 p.m. On the question of increasing the allowance of the President of MUIS, I am aware that the honorarium for the President has remained the same since 1968, except for increases in NWC allowances.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan has raised a number of points on the Muslim services and I shall attempt to touch on them. On the need to learn Arabic, I think there can be no denial that it will be useful for anyone to know Arabic if he wants to fully understand and appreciate the history, the culture and the traditions of the Arabs. It is definitely an added advantage to those who want to acquaint themselves thoroughly with the Quran, the Hadith and other aspects of Islam. But for someone to say that a knowledge of Arabic is a must before one can become a good Muslim is, in my opinion, Sir, not true. Such a statement only confuses the majority of Muslims in Singapore who are not Arabic-speaking. Certainly from the Islamic point of view, knowing Arabic does not make one Muslim more religious or more accepted to God than another who does not speak the language. I can think of two examples, Sir: the Coptic Christians in Egypt and the Maronite Christians in Lebanon have Arabic as their mother-tongue. Very obviously, they are not Muslims. Admittedly, Sir, Muslims are required to offer their prayers in Arabic. But to those Muslims who do not speak their language they can always acquaint themselves with the verses recited during the prayers through the Tafsir or exegesis of the Quran in Malay, or even in English, prepared by competent Muslim scholars. This, in fact, has been the practice in Singapore. Mr Chairman, Sir, one need not know Arabic to be a good Muslim. I need not elaborate here what a good Muslim should or should not do. As Muslims, the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan and I, as well as my other colleagues in this House who are Muslims, know what the do's and don'ts are.”
“We would like very much if seminars or courses on leadership training involving staff of ITB could be arranged during vacation time.”
“Sir, the hon. Member quoted the Instruction Manual, but the Instruction Manual only applies to the civil service, whereas ITB is a statutory board. We try to adopt as much as possible of the I M, as far as full pay unrecorded leave is concerned. But as a Board we have our own peculiarities and exceptions. And the exceptions, as I said just now, in this particular case apply only to training officers where beyond 24 hours they have the right to claim overtime pay. We are not following the IM in the strict sense of the word. We try to adopt the full pay unrecorded leave scheme of the civil service. I do not know what the Member means when he said that in their dealings with other statutory bodies the NTUC seemed to encounter few or no difficulties, but when dealing with ITB they seemed to encounter a lot of difficulties. If that were the case, then we would not have released 22 of our men to attend trade union activities for the whole of 1978. Sir, I hope to seek the cooperation of the Member for Kampong Kembangan who, I believe, is the Secretary of the Education Committee of the NTUC to let us have enough time so that we could make the necessary internal adjustments to release the officers concerned to attend courses organised by NTUC. We are not against any courses or seminars conducted by the NTUC. In fact, the particular one in question was on leadership and we would like our training staff to be involved in a seminar of this nature. But I would like to request the NTUC to give us ample time so that we can make our own internal arrangements so that the staff involved can be released. Alternatively, this is more preferred and I know this is going to be difficult, unless of course NTUC organises special courses just for ITB staff.”
“Sir, according to the report which I have here, someone from the NTUC - I do not know whether it is fair for me to put the blame on the NTUC as a whole; it could be someone from one of the committees in NTUC, I am not too sure - instructed the two training officers to attend a residential course, irrespective of whether or not permission was granted. These two training officers were advised that should there be any problems or repercussions as a result of their attending the course, the union would look into it. As I have said just now, the ITBTSU which represents the training officers, did not make an official complaint or made any request to the ITB directorate for the release of the two officers. As I have indicated, the two officers had attended the seminar and they are now back with the ITB again. So I do not know why the Member for Kampong Kembangan is raising this issue here.”
“I do not have the exact figure but it is roughly a month's salary of each training officer. However, as I have said before, we have not received any complaint or any request for release of the two officers from the ITBTSU. The ITBTSU is the official body which represents the interest of the TOs.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, as I mentioned just now, the scheme of service in the ITB is quite peculiar, as far as the training officers are concerned, in that if they teach over and beyond 24 hours per week, they have the right to claim overtime pay. So if an officer has to leave for conferences and teaching has to go on, then, of course, we need to find another training officer to cover his duties. If this relief training officer has not exhausted his quota of 24 hours, he will cover without any additional expenditure. But if this relief officer has done his quota of 24 hours, or in the process of covering his colleague who has gone on leave to attend conferences or seminars, exceeds 24 hours, then he has a right to claim overtime pay. In the case of the two training officers who were required by the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan to attend a two-week conference, the additional expenditure which the ITB has to incur can be quite large.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I do not have the details here. As far as I know, some of these courses were held during vacation time and some, of course, were held during term time. I am afraid I cannot answer the hon. Member because I just have the figures of the 27 approved cases; 22 were for trade union activities, I for reading of papers at international/regional conferences and 4 at representative games. I am sorry I cannot answer the Member's question as I do not have the details.”
“According to the reports I have received, as far as the ITB directorate is concerned, we have not heard anything from the ITB Training Staff Union (ITBTSU) which represents the training officers of the ITB. As far as I know, the two officers which the hon. Member mentioned have completed the course and they are now back with us in the industrial training service.”
“For the simple reason that besides industrial and commercial education, the VITB will also be conducting other courses. As I have said in my speech on the Second Reading, the VITB will still be conducting courses leading to the General Certificate of Education, both at 'O' and 'A' levels. The Board will also be conducting courses on hairdressing and tailoring for students channelled under the Junior Trainee Scheme, just to name a few. So we cover more than just commercial and industrial training. 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. - [Dr Ahmad Mattar] Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. CIVIL LIST 6.14 p.m.”
“Otherwise we shall not achieve our promise of vocational training being a parallel avenue for personal development and fulfilment nor our task for creating a skilled, competent and flexible work force. On the observation raised by the hon. Member for Jalan Kayu, the Bill has been carefully studied by the various bodies he mentioned, the NTUC, the Singapore Manufacturers Association, the Chambers of Commerce, because these bodies are represented at present on both the Industrial Training Board as well as the Adult Education Board.”
“The transfer of registration to the VITB will be done in stages, without inconvenience or disruption. With regard to the emphasis on attitudinal development, I wish to state that VITB raining will be founded on the belief that a good worker is a person with competent skills and sound work attitudes. Equal emphasis is placed on both. The basic full-time programmes for the school-leavers have been revised to increase training in attitudinal development, work discipline, safety and team dependence, among others. Co-curricular activities and visits to industries have been built in to complete the social and work environment experiences. The fifth point raised by the hon. Member for Punggol was on the effort to educate the less academically-inclined school children. I agree entirely with the Member that every effort must be made to educate the less academically-inclined school children and their parents about the prospects and value of vocational and industrial training. I might add the same for employers about the advantages of employing our graduates, who represent a sizable subsidy in training. The VITB will continue to publish the ITB News (to be retitled WTB News) for employers and the public: Techmac and Junior Trainee for the schools, besides a wide range of pamphlets and brochures. Competitions like "Top-of-the-Trade", exhibitions on vocational guidance, talks and other activities will be stepped up. I have been very heartened by the support given by the news media to industrial training. I have no doubt they will do the same, perhaps even more, for vocational and industrial training. Finally, I would like to assure the hon. Member for Punggol that policies and programmes of vocational training will be kept under constant review and revision.”
“For example, courses in electronics and the electrical trades can only be conducted at three vocational institutes, namely, Aljunied, Bukit Merah and the Jurong Vocational Institutes. Consequently, workers living, say, in Bedok will invariably find these institutes far from their homes. Nonetheless, I would like to assure the hon. Member for Punggol that the VITB will do its best to try to minimise this inconvenience. On the question of a Deputy Director and other assistants to support the Director, clause 38 of the Bill is intended specifically to provide that the Chief Executive or the person to assume overall responsibility for the implementation of the Board's policies shall be the Director of Vocational and Industrial Training and that he is to be appointed by the Board subject to the Minister's approval. The Director will, in fact, be assisted at Headquarters by a Deputy Director and Divisional Directors. Each training institute will be under a Training Manager responsible to the Director. The Training Manager, in turn, will be assisted by heads of departments in charge of training in the individual trades and vocations. I entirely share the sentiments of the hon. Member for Punggol that adequate competent supporting staff is a prerequisite for a sound training system. On the post of Registrar, the hon. Member may wish to note that one of the officers of the Board will be appointed the Registrar of Vocational Training Institutions. He will be provided with supporting staff to carry out his functions. Part V of the Bill which deals with the registration of vocational training institutions will be brought into force separately. The Registrar and his staff will therefore have ample time to prepare for it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to thank the hon. Member for Punggol for raising no less than six very valid points concerning the nature and scope of vocational and industrial training in Singapore in the future. I would also like to comment on the observation raised by the hon. Member for Jalan Kayu. First of all, allow me to answer the points raised by the hon. Member for Punggol. Sir, I concur fully with the Member that the VITB should not limit itself to providing only the traditional office skills under its commercial education programmes. As the hon. Member has rightly pointed out, our youths will have to be prepared to take their places in the banks, financial houses, insurance companies and the modern marketing corporations. equipped with skills to apply high-level commercial techniques. Sir, the VITB will therefore act as the pace-setter in commercial education as the ITB has done over the last six years in industrial training. It will train hand-in-hand with commercial firms to meet their needs, as the ITB has done for manufacturing firms. I confirm that the VITB will seek to develop commercial education within a national system of certification in the same way as the ITB has done to industrial training under the National Trade Certification system. On the grouses of workers who are unable to follow ITB's part-time courses because of the distance of the vocational institutes from their homes, it is not always possible for the ITB to please mill workers all the time. Some are bound to be inconvenienced by the long distances they have to commute between home and the institute.”
“2) BILL "to amend the Rubber Association of Singapore (incorporation) Act (Chapter 200 of the Revised Edition)", presented by Mr Goh Chok Tong; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENTS (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Public Entertainments Act (Chapter 259 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Communications and Acting Minister for Culture (Mr Ong Teng Cheong); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament; and to be printed. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES BILL "to make better provision for the registration and control of co-operative societies; to encourage co-operative development by the provision of services to co-operative societies and matters connected therewith; and to repeal the Co-operative Societies Act (Chapter 180 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Acting Minister for Social Affairs (Dr Ahmad Mattar); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. REARRANGEMENT OF ORDER OF BUSINESS”
“SUPPLY BILL "to provide for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet the estimated expenditure for the public services of Singapore for the financial year 1st April, 1979, to 31st March, 1980", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPLY BILL "for making Supplementary Provision for the public services for the financial year 1st April, 1978, to 31st March, 1979", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Hon Sui Sen; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. INCOME TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Income Tax Act (Chapter 141 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Hon Sui Sen; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament; and to be printed. ECONOMIC EXPANSION INCENTIVES (RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act (Chapter 135 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Hon Sui Sen; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. RUBBER INDUSTRY (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Rubber Industry Act, 1973 (No. 37 of 1973)", presented by the Senior Minister of State for Finance (Mr Goh Chok Tong); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. RUBBER ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE (INCORPORATION) (AMENDMENT NO.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in fact, I had scribbled something on this piece of paper here before replying to the hon. Member for Geylang Serai. I am just wondering whether I need to reply to him because, as the Member has correctly pointed out what I was going to say had already been reported by the Berita Harian in its issue of Friday, 2nd of March. But whether or not the source for the leakage came from MUIS has yet to be determined. Although the report in the Berita Harian quoted "informed sources from MUIS". I have yet to find out from the MUIS Secretariat as to whether the source of information did come from MUIS, or from somewhere else. I will let the Member for Geylang Serai know as soon as I get the information. I agree with him that premature release of answers to Parliamentary questions is not to be tolerated, and I certainly will not allow MUIS to leak information to the press prior to Parliament sittings. BILLS INTRODUCED 3.21 p.m. CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Constitution of Singapore", presented by the Minister for Law and Science and Technology (Mr E.W. Barker); read the First time; to be read a Second Time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. LEGAL PROFESSION (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 217 of the Revised Edition)", presented by Mr E.W. Barker; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament and to be printed.”
“Sir, dialogues with the new converts at Darul Arkam have been held in the past. I can assure the hon. Member for Kolam Ayer that dialogues with new converts at Darul Arkam will be held in the near future. FIRST SUPPLEMENTARY DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1978 TO 31ST MARCH, 1979 (Paper Cmd. 6 of 1978) 3.15 p.m. Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply (Allotted Day) [Mr Speaker in the Chair]”
“The proposal to establish a Muslim Education Fund is not necessary because, yearly, the MUIS has been allocating part of the Fitrah collections as bursaries for deserving Muslim students. Although the quantum of each bursary varies according to the awardee's financial background and whether he is receiving financial assistance from other sources, the recommended quantum per bursary for university undergraduates is $1,000 per annum, and for post-graduate students, the quantum per bursary is $1,500 per annum. The Member may wish to know that during the years 1975-1977, the MUIS distributed $110,300, $93,250 and $98,480 respectively as bursaries for deserving Muslim students. Of this, $65,100 (59%) in 1975, $58,600 (62.8%) in 1976 and $58,000 (58.9%) in 1977 were given to deserving Muslims for their tertiary education. This year, the MUIS has set aside $100,000 for bursaries. Of this, the MUIS has earmarked $54,500 (54.5%) for deserving Muslims pursuing tertiary education. The $54,500 is for 50 bursaries at $1,000 per bursary for undergraduate students and 3 bursaries at $1,500 for post-graduate students. In view of the substantial annual allocation of funds by the MUIS to assist deserving Muslims in their tertiary education, it is not necessary to establish a Muslim Education Foundation as proposed. It will be a duplication of the bursary scheme implemented by the MUIS since 1969.”
“The 2 projects are - (a) Mosque Building Programme The MUIS, in consultation with the Ministry and the Housing and Development Board, feel that it is necessary to speed up the mosque building programme to cater for the religious needs of Muslims who are resettled in new towns. It has, therefore, decided to advance the completion dates of the mosques to be built in Woodlands and Bedok/Chai Chee from 1981 to 1979 or early 1980. It has also decided that it is necessary to build a mosque in Ang Mo Kio New Town by 1980 under Phase I of the Mosque Building Fund Scheme since a large number of Muslims would be living in this New Town. To ensure the availability of funds for the accelerated mosque building programme, the MUIS has agreed in principle to advance a sum of $1.3 million, interest- free, from its Fitrah and Baitul-mal Accounts for the Mosque Building Fund Scheme. The advance will be repaid from subsequent collections made under the Scheme. (b) Multi-purpose Muslim Religious Centre The MUIS has proposed the building of a Multi-purpose Muslim Religious Centre for the benefit of Muslims. The Centre will be built on a 1,999 sq metre (21,518 sq ft) site behind Masjid Muhajirin at Toa Payoh. The MUIS is consulting the Housing and Development Board architects regarding the design of the Centre. The Centre will have a multi-purpose hall with seating capacity for at least 500 persons, dormitories, including a hostel for foreign visitors, a library, office space and caretaker's quarters. The MUIS Council has agreed to spend $500,000- $600,000 on the construction of the Centre. This sum excludes cost of land and professional fees. The cost of this Centre will be met from funds in the Fitrah and Baitul-mal Accounts.”
“As at 30th May 1978, the amount in the Fitrah Fund kept by the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) stood at $1,852,594.42 with $1,826,000.00 in fixed deposits. The yearly Fitrah collection (Muslim tithes) paid by Muslims in cash representing the price of 2.26 kilograms of rice per Muslim, is allocated according to Muslim law to the 8 "Asnafs". Funds allocated to the "Asnafs" which are not utilised at the end of the year are kept in the Fitrah Fund, the accounts of which are audited yearly by qualified accountants appointed by me in consultation with the Auditor-General. The money in the Fitrah Fund is invested as fixed deposits with accredited banks. Since the inception of the MUIS, the yearly interest earned from the fixed deposits are used to pay the salaries of staff employed by the MUIS to attend to Fitrah collections. Their annual salaries, including CPF contributions amount to approximately $91,000. These staff, consisting of a Financial Officer and clerks, attend to the registration of "Amils" (Fitrah collectors), "fakir" and "miskin" (poor and needy), collection of Fitrah, distribution of Fitrah, etc. Besides attending to matters relating to Fitrah collection and distribution, these officers oversee the day-to-day administration of the Wakaff (endowment) accounts, Mosque Building Fund accounts, "Zakat harta" (Muslim property tax) accounts and the "Bait-ul-mal" (General Endowment Fund) accounts. The MUIS has plans to use part of the money in the Fitrah Fund for 2 major projects for the benefit of Muslims.”
“The Ansar Mosque, the fifth to be built under the Mosque Building Fund Scheme, is scheduled for completion in February 1980. Construction tenders will be called in July 1978 and construction work will start in October 1978. This mosque was originally scheduled for completion in mid 1979. However, owing to protracted discussions and deliberations on the design of the mosque and the delay by the Mosque Building Committee in approving the mosque design, the work schedule for this mosque has been delayed. MUSLIM EDUCATION FOUNDATION 4. Haji Sha'ari bin Tadin asked the Minister for Social Affairs whether the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura has any plans to use the accumulated money in the Fitrah Fund, which is currently kept in fixed deposit, for any specific project, and, if not, whether the MUIS will consider establishing a Muslim Education Foundation to assist deserving Muslims to further their tertiary education.”
“Sir, the present and the future thinking is that there would not be any subsidy. ACQUISITION OF PRIVATE CEMETERIES (Statement by the Minister for Law, the Environment and Science and Technology)”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament doth agree with the Committee on the said resolutions." Question put and agreed to. Resolutions accordingly agreed to. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." - [Dr Ahmad Mattar]. Adjourned accordingly at fourteen minutes to Eight o'clock p.m.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply have come to certain resolutions. First Resolution reported - "That the sum of $2,899,759,850 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure for the public services shown in the Main Estimates for the financial year 1st April, 1978 to 31st March, 1979 contained in Paper Cmd 2 of 1978." Second Resolution reported - "That the sum of $2,754,673,120 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure for the public services shown in the Development Estimates for the financial year 1st April, 1978 to 31st March, 1979, contained in Paper Cmd 2 of 1978."”
“The third area, Sir, is the training of an adequate number of coaches and instructors in accordance with the coaching Plan to cater to the growing numbers of people participating in sports at all levels. If I am not mistaken, Sir, the hon. Member for Kim Seng also wants some details. These are the details which have been approved in principle by the Ministry of Finance. There are provisions for two multi-purpose stadia, one for the north zone and one for the west zone. Perhaps, at this stage, I would elaborate on how Singapore is divided into zones. The Sports Council has divided Singapore into five zones, namely, the north, south, east, west, and the central. The central zone, for example, comprises constituencies -like Toa Payoh, Kim Keat and so on whereas the south zone consists of constituencies in the City area. The east zone comprises constituencies like Siglap, Marine Parade and so on. These are the five zones. Two indoor stadia have therefore been approved, one for the north zone and one for the west zone; three football fields for the west zone: 30 squash courts, six for each zone; 70 tennis courts, eight for the central zone, 16 for the east zone, 18 for the south zone, 18 for the west zone and 10 for the north zone; seven swimming pools, three for the north zone, one for the east zone and three for the west zone.”
“As the Member for Telok Blangah is aware, both the Government and the private sector have spent millions of dollars in providing meaningful recreational facilities to the public in various places in Singapore, particularly at the East Coast Park. So instead of engaging themselves in highly dangerous activities like hall riding and hell driving these youths could just well discharge their youthful exuberance and bountiful energy through activities like swimming, either in the lagoon or in the open sea, jogging and cycling. The least they could do is to fly kites. The Member for Kim Seng has asked about the Master Plan for sports. Unlike grand prix circuit, I have a more cheerful answer to give. The Singapore Sports Council's plan for sports promotion for the next five years would be focused on three main areas. Firstly, an increase in the tempo of sports promotion programme. This would involve constituencies, intra-zone and intra-constituency tournaments; mass events; training and instructional schemes; the aerobic fitness schemes; the development of more fitness parks; further research in sports medicine and surveys on sports participation patterns. The next area is the implementation of sports facilities in strategic areas in accordance with the Master Plan for Sports Facilities. The Master Plan provides for the building of multi-purpose indoor stadia, football fields, tennis courts, squash courts and swimming pools in those locations which are likely to require these facilities after taking into account what facilities exist or are being planned by other bodies, such as the Housing and Development Board, Ministry of Education and so on. Existing sports facilities will also be upgraded from time to time to meet the demands of population growth or shifts.”
“With each car travelling 10 miles and on an overage fuel consumption of 30 miles per gallon the figure of 8,666 gallons of fuel consumed is, I must say, quite startling. Sir, I am not quite sure what sort of grand prix the hon. Member has in mind which would consume, in his own words, and I quote "an insignificant 5.15 gallons of petrol" for 80 entries on a 3.35 miles circuit. I am not too sure what kind of grand prix this is which only consumes 5.15 gallons of petrol whereas the Sunday morning motoring by the 26,000 cars consume something like 8,666 gallons of petrol. So if this is the grand prix which the Member for Telok Blangah is proposing to introduce, which consumes only 5.15 gallons of petrol, I think I am all for it and I will certainly convince my -Cabinet colleagues including the Prime Minister himself that such a grand prix is worth supporting. Sir, let us ponder the implications of the Member's suggestion to introduce grand prix just to accommodate the hell-riders and hell-drivers and so on. I think his recommenda- tion is contrary to what the Hon. Minister for Home Affairs is trying to do, i.e. to eliminate this menace which we call hell driving and hell riding. In fact, the Member's proposal will negate all efforts and resources of the Minister for Home Affairs to combat this social disease. I have every confidence that with stiffer measures which include heavier fines and jail sentence and the seven-year suspension of driving licence taken against these hell riders and hell drivers by the Police, this problem can and will be contained.”
“Sir, I will answer the points raised by the Member for Telok Blangah first. He has posed the question and I quote, "Would the Minister consider providing a permanent grand prix circuit together with a mini grand prix circuit and an oval for stock car racing?" The answer is "No". Motor racing up to April 1973, was held at Upper Thomson Road. The grand prix was cancelled as the Thomson Road Circuit was proving to be a great danger to spectators and participants. 7.30 p.m. It was also a great inconvenience to residents of the area as it required the closure of roads leading into it. The oil crisis also contributed to the stand taken by the Govern- ment not to continue with motor racing on public roads. The organisation of motor racing under controlled conditions would, as the hon. Member has suggested, require the provision of a proper motor racing circuit. Considerable expenditure would be entailed in acquiring a sizable acreage of land and building costs. It is also estimated that recurrent expenditure would be high. On the question of estimates and expenditure, I do not quite understand what the Member meant when he said, and I quote: "An additional $1 million to $1.5 million would be sufficient to cater for the needs of the grand prix and mini grand prix circuits and the oval." According to my estimates, Sir, to build a grand prix circuit alone, without including the circuit for the mini grand prix and the oval, would cost between $17 million and $20 million with a recurrent expenditure estimated at $1 million per year. The hon. Member for Telok Blangah has also gone into great pains to calculate the total amount of fuel consumed on one Sunday morning by some 26,000 cars in Singapore.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member for Anson has observed that cases referred to the Legal Aid Bureau take a long time to settle and some even take years to complete. He has concluded that this is because of limited manpower. Sir, I would like to point out that the delay in settling of cases is not due entirely to the shortage of manpower. The delay is inevitable, as legal problems are such that with few exceptions they cannot be resolved on the spot most of the time. I think being a lawyer yourself, Sir, you know this. Statements will have to be recorded from the parties concerned. Thereafter the case has to be investigated. Where possible, the Bureau will try to negotiate with the other parties. This takes time. If no settlement is reached, the case may have to go to court. The necessary papers and documents will then have to be prepared for a court hearing. The hearing days are fixed by the courts. Before the matter can be taken to court an opinion has to be written and placed before the Legal Aid Board, which meets twice a month. The Bureau has put up proposals for more staff but it has not been able to justify them to the Finance Ministry. However, the Bureau was able to obtain the services of temporary staff in 1976 to clear up some of the backlog. Administrative changes have been taken to cut down the delay and the situation is closely monitored to ensure that cases are not unduly delayed. With regard to the old man who was swindled of his CPF savings, I assure the Member for Anson that I will personally look into this case, if he undertakes to furnish me with the following details: the name and NRIC of the person and the Legal Aid Bureau reference number, if any.”
“We should not allow the excuse of industrialisation and the encouragement of small families to discard disabled members of the family for whatever reasons. These members can enlist the assistance of the Home Nursing Foundation of the Ministry of Health to help them look after their disabled, if necessary.”
“Those who are able are also encouraged to help in the maintenance of the homes. In the Woodlands Home, for instance, the inmates who can work are given light duties and they are paid allowances for such duties. I can assure the Member for Changi that all the homes for the aged have television sets and, in many cases, Rediffusion sets are also available to entertain them as well. Sir, various civic and community organisations also organise outings, parties, film shows and other recreational activities for them. These include occasional attendances at the National Theatre for good quality cultural shows. If at all, the inmates of the old folks' homes sometimes have too many activities organised for them, particularly during festive seasons. The Member may also wish to know that the aged in the Woodlands Home are given pocket money. There is really no need for a special fund to be set up to organise functions for the inmates. However, the Member may wish to know that contributions to bona fide homes for the aged are exempted from income tax. The Voluntary Social Service Bureau of my Ministry organises volunteers for social work including visits to the aged in the homes. Many civil servants are involved. We will continue to encourage volunteers to visit the aged regularly. 7.15 p.m. Sir, the problem of the chronic sick is one for the Ministry of Health to look into. Much as we would like to help families who are unfortunate to have physically and mentally disabled at home, they will have to look after them on their own. We do not want to encourage families to discard their disabled as it is the responsibility of the family to look after them.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Changi has touched on the problem of the aged. My Ministry is fully aware of this problem and we are encouraging community and other organisations to start homes for the aged for those who are in need. The Member mentioned that there are a number of aged destitutes who are running about in the streets or sleeping by the roadside, or something to that effect. Sir, if he is aware of any case, he should do us a favour by reporting the matter to the Social Welfare Department or to the Police so that assistance can be given. We have homes for the destitutes as well as a home for the aged. Aged destitutes who are above 60 years of age qualify for admission to our Woodlands Home for the Aged. Where there are special cases which require urgent help, the Social Welfare Department will attend to them. Those who are destitute and who are below 60 are considered for admission to our homes for destitutes. Besides the Woodlands Home for the Aged run by the Social Welfare Department, there are 21 registered homes for the aged in Singapore. Medical facilities in these homes are adequate. In the Woodlands Home for the Aged, for example, a doctor and nurses are attached to the Home to attend to the medical needs of the inmates. There is also a sick bay and a therapy room. In the other larger homes for the aged run by the Singapore Council of Social Service and other organisations there are also medical personnel on duty. Arrangements are also made for doctors to look after the aged in these homes. As far as possible, the aged in the homes are encouraged to be active. Activities to keep them meaningfully occupied include handicrafts, poultry farming, gardening and simple jobs which are obtainable from factories such as washing of bottles.”
“No, Sir. As regards the existence of the Bureau, I myself strongly feel we should review its existence. After all the Bureau is just operating as an agency. It channels the cases to the respective Ministries. So why not get the complainants to send their complaints direct to the Ministry concerned? I am reviewing the existence of the Bureau.”
“Maybe they are K.I.V.'d but they do not end up in the waste paper basket. KIV trays and waste paper baskets are two different things.”
“Sir, I will answer the second question first. I can assure hon. Members that complaints sent to the Bureau do not end up in the waste paper basket. An hon. Member: Are they K.I.V.'d?”
“This is just my opinion and the Member is entitled to his.”
“I am sorry. Sir, that I have forgotten to acknowledge the fact that Members of Parliament are also sources through which public can channel their complaints. I acknowledge his comment on that. But as to whether or not the complainant seeks publicity, this is something which I do not know. How does the Member know that they are not seeking publicity? 7.00 p.m.”
“In such cases, the Bureau ensures that the civil servants are protected from injustice through careful investigation. The Bureau will not hesitate to take action against malicious complaints. On the other hand, if a complaint is proven, the Bureau sees to it that appropriate action is taken against the culprit. It is the policy of the Bureau to keep the complainant informed of the outcome of his complaint immediately and for cases which require protracted investigation and verification of statements made by various parties, interim replies are given to let the complainant know that the Bureau is still actively pursuing the issue on his behalf. Although the Bureau has a small staff, it can cope with the complaints received through effective deployment of staff and the cooperation of the departments which have dealings with the Bureau.”
“Yo-yo-ing, fair enough! The number has actually been fluctuating. In fact, a better term I would prefer to use is 'oscillating'. It gives it a scientific touch. During the past five years, for instance, the number of cases received had been oscillating between 559 and 695 cases a year. In 1973, the Bureau received 566 complaints. In 1974 the number was 579; 695 cases were received in 1975; 559 cases in 1976 and 592 cases in 1977. The number of complaints received and published in the press has no direct bearing on the effectiveness of the Bureau at all. With increasing literacy, people may want to air their complaints in the press because they like to see their names in print. The Bureau will not be able to compete with the press simply because complaints to the Bureau are not made public, and the complainant does not get the satisfaction of seeing his grouses aired publicly. In any case, Sir, the nature of the complaints handled by the Bureau is different from that received by the press. Whilst the Bureau attend to complaints against individual civil servants for misconduct, the press normally handles complaints against the kind of services rendered by Government departments, for example, breakdowns in power supply, requests to rescreen certain television programmes and so on and so forth. Such cases, if received by the Bureau will be re-channelled to the appropriate departments for consideration. Sir, all complaints received by the Bureau are thoroughly examined, and, if necessary, the Bureau will conduct its own investigations before referring the complaints to the departments concerned. The Bureau sometimes receives complaints which are malicious and frivolous against hard-working and innocent civil servants.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to correct the Member for Potong Pasir. He quoted figures showing the number of complaints received by the Central Complaints Bureau or now the Central Complaints Services. That is, in 1975 there were 34 complaints; in 1976, 19 complaints and in 1977 there were 42 com- plaints. It is not dwindling, Sir. It is oscillating. The primary function of the Central Complaints Bureau is to look into complaints directed at civil servants for discourtesy, misconduct, petty bureaucracy, unnecessary delay of service and discrimination of service. The number of complaints received by the Bureau in the past few years did not show a definite increasing or decreasing trend. As I have said, it is oscillating. An hon. Member: Yo-yo-ing.”
“But it is definitely wrong and mischievous on the part of the rumour-mongers to say that the MUIS is banning Muslim students from going overseas to take up courses in Islamic theology and related disciplines. If they have the means to do so and if they are accepted by the institutions of higher learning concerned where such courses are available, no one can stop them from going. But whether they will be employed when they return to Singapore is something for the students themselves and their parents to decide. Haji Rahmat bin Kenap( In Malay): Sir, I am satisfied with the explanation given by the Minister and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”
“The handful of posts in the MUIS establishment which may require the services of such scholars, for example, the Mufti, the Registrar of Muslim Marriages, the President of the Syariah Court, have been filled by men who, barring any unforeseen eventualities like misconduct, resignations and things like that, or who may have to be removed because of sheer incompetence, will be holding their posts for many years to come. They are in their early 40s. So they still have about 15 years more to go. Another area where such graduates can be absorbed into are the Islamic religious schools in Singapore. However, as far as I can remember from reading reports given me, basing on information of returning scholars and projected demands for Muslim scholars, demand matches supply for the years 1977-80. The supply and demand situation will be reviewed in 1981. Sir, for any organisation to give scholarships and bursaries to pursue courses at institutions of higher learning without knowing the marketability and the employability of the recipients of these scholarships upon graduation is, in my opinion, a miscarriage of justice and an unpardonable error. Recipients of such awards will pursue their respective courses of study in earnest and with high hopes and expectations - with high hopes of doing well and succeeding in getting the degrees they are working for; and with expectations to be employed upon graduation. I am a very practical man. I do not believe that any sane, practical and down-to-earth person will go to a university just to gain knowledge without knowing the employment prospects after graduation. Knowing the market conditions for graduates in Islamic theology, the MUIS is therefore taking steps to ensure that we do not over-produce them.”
“Sir, if hon. Members recall, last week the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence described Singaporeans as great grumblers, and when they are in the SAF they make champion grumblers. I am not too sure, Sir, whether we should elaborate this description further by saying that they are not only grumblers but also rumour-mongers. Anyway, I can answer the question raised by the Member for Telok Blangah. At least I am happy that he raised this in Parliament so that I can clear the air of any mischievous rumour-mongering that is going on at the moment. 6.45 p.m. Like other responsible statutory boards, the MUIS has definite policies on its awards of scholarships and bursaries to Muslim students. The number of awards in each discipline or area of study is dictated by manpower projections over a period of time. In view of Singapore's industrialisation programme and its need for skilled workers, it is only natural that there would be more awards for skill training than anything else. Whatever it is, as I have mentioned in my answer to an Oral Question raised by the Member for Geylang Serai at the beginning of today's Sitting, about 20% of MUIS scholarship and bursary provisions between 1975 and 1977 were allotted to students pursuing Islamic religious studies. At present and for quite some years tO come, the need for Islamic scholars, and lot me be frank about it, is rather limited in Singapore.”
“Sir, the hon. Member for Bedok complained that the MUIS should be more flexible in their attitude towards granting scholarships and should entertain late applications. MUIS is a statutory body and, like all responsible statutory bodies, they have their rules and regulations. They have to abide by the closing date mentioned in their announcements of offer of scholarships made in the local press, the mass media and so on. The moment they entertain one case based on feelings and emotions there would be no end to this kind of story. If the students are genuinely interested in the scholarships, they should make sure that the application forms are submitted in time. The moment we allow one late case to be considered after the closing date, thousands of late applications will have to be similarly entertained. So where do we draw the line? I think the question of fixing a closing date is important. This is really the point which I would like to stress as far as scholarship is concerned. The other remarks made by the Member for Bedok are salutary. Mr Ahmad Haleem (Telok Blangah): Sir, I only have a very short question to ask of the Minister. I understand from certain quarters that the MUIS is considering disallowing Muslim students from going overseas for further religious studies. Could the Hon. Minister please clarify the situation?”
“It shows that MUIS is keen to see that Muslim organisations are in close contact with one another. I see no reason why this suggestion should not be implemented. As mentioned earlier, these organisations are financially strong and should not be given financial assistance. For example, as far as I know, the Muslim Missionary Society has been conducting missionary work for the past 20 years. The Muslim Religious Council can entrust this work to the Muslim Missionary Society. For example, a member of the MUIS can sit on the Society and give advice with regard to missionary work so that they could carry out their work more effectively because there is a lack of manpower at the moment. I just wanted to clarify what has been said by the Minister. I am happy to hear that the MUIS has allocated a sum of $3,000 to Majlis Pusat in order to enable them to carry out their work.”
“Haji Sha'ari bin Tadin( In Malay): Sir, when giving the figures from the Annual Report of MUIS, Paper Cmd. 9 of 1977, tabled before Parliament on 2nd August 1977, I wanted to know whether MUIS has any plans to study the financial position and how to utilise the money to help those who are in need of assistance. I have often heard that students who applied for scholarships from MUIS were rejected just because they were late in submitting their applications. If there were such cases, I feel that the students should be given assistance. I also feel that MUIS should take a more liberal attitude and should not be so strict as to give reasons that the students were late in submitting their application. If the money in the Muslim trust fund, which is quite a lot, is kept in current account, the MUIS could just issue a cheque to an applicant if his application is approved. But if the money were put in fixed deposit accounts it would be very difficult to withdraw the money. That is why I suggest that the money deposited in the Muslim trust fund and earning interest could be further allocated for the benefit of muslims. With regard to the Malay organisations, like the Muslim Missionary Society of Singapore, it is not that I am not aware that their financial position is good. I would like to see that there is no competition. We do not want the MUIS, which is a statutory board entrusted to look after the affairs of the Muslims, to compete with these charitable organisations. I feel that the MUIS could obtain cooperation from these organisations as mentioned by the Minister just now and as stated in a Muslim magazine issued recently. There was apparently good rapport between these bodies and I congratulate the MUIS for that.”
“Speaking of the Central Council of Malay Cultural Organisation or Majlis Pusat I am happy to say that the MUIS has pledged something like between $3,000 and $4,000 initially as part of its contribution to the joint MUIS-Majlis Pusat project to combat drug problems. The Member for Bedok also mentioned another Malay organisation called 4 PM. As far as I know, MUIS used to contribute $300 annually to this organisation to help in the running of its kindergarten programme. The last contribution from the MUIS to this particular organisation was made in 197 5. This was stopped not because MUIS ceased to make its contribution but because the organisation itself did not ask for the continuation of the contribution. This in itself, Sir, reflects the healthy financial state of affairs of this particular organisation. The hon. Member for Bedok also mentioned that all the money collected through fitrah is not being spent fully. Under the Islamic law, fitrah proceeds should be fully utilised if we are to adhere to the Muslim law governing its distribution. In fact, this is exactly what MUIS has been doing. The fitrah collection, as the Member is aware, is divided into the eight asnafs. But it is inevitable that at the end of each financial year there will be surpluses from some of the asnafs. For example, $100,000 were set aside by MUIS for its scholarship which I disclosed earlier on this afternoon in answer to the Oral Question raised by the hon. Member for Geylang Serai. This sum of money is derived from two of the asnafs. If I remember correctly, the asnafs concerned are Rekab and Ibni-Sabil. I think I have answered the points raised by the Member for Bedok as well as the Member for Geylang Serai.”
“The appeal to the MUIS to meet this shortage of $70,000 was made at the time when the prices of building materials were escalating. It would be most unfortunate if the PERGAS Study Centre should fail because of lack of funds. That was the time when the MUIS came to the rescue. However, I wish to emphasise here that the MUIS' financial contribution of $70,000 to the PERGAS Study Centre was treated as a separate issue and excluded from the general policy governing the provision of-financial assistance to Muslim organisations. As I have said earlier on, Sir, this generous contribution of the MUIS was made to relieve the financial burden of the Centre's sponsors caused by economic conditions of the time. Sir, I do not quite agree with the hon. Member's views that the three or four Muslim organisations he quoted in his speech are having financial difficulties and as such he would like MUIS to come forward to their aid. To the best of my knowledge, they are, financially speaking, among the top Muslim organisations in Singapore. The Muslim Missionary Society of Singapore or what is better known as the Jamiyah, for instance, can hardly be called poor or in financial difficulty when it is planning to put up a 10-storey headquarters building at Lorong 12 Geylang. The Central Council of Malay Cultural Organisation or better known as the Majlis Pusat cannot be classified as a poor organisation when, according to reliable sources, it is planning to acquire property to the tune of $200,000. Likewise, the Prophet Mohammed's Birthday Scholarship Memorial Fund Board, better known as the LBKM. These organisations, in my opinion, do not need financial help from the MUIS to defray expenses for whatever projects they have planned.”