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 answer must be yes, isn't it? If it is a requirement by the Saudi Ministry of Pilgrimage and Endowments, I see no reason why the requirement is imposed on Singapore only.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the decision to allow MUIS to take over pilgrimage matters is made by the Saudi Ministry of Pilgrimage and Endowments. It has nothing to do with MUIS. It is a requirement.”
“Mr Speaker Sir, we do take follow-up action. Environmental health officers of my Ministry are now conducting monthly visits on the Home and they will continue to do so for at least another six months to ensure that the required standard of cleanliness and hygiene is maintained. PORT OF SINGAPORE 7. Dr Arthur Beng Kian Lam asked the Minister for Communications and Information what steps are being taken to ensure that there will be no congestion at our port, now that the economy is picking up, and that our port will continue to maintain its premier position as the busiest port in the world, in the light of competition from other ports.”
“The cause of the recent outbreak of cholera in Pelangi Home has not yet been established. Investigations are still in progress. A total of 19 residents came down with cholera and one of them died. Food was not prepared in the Home. All the meals were supplied by a licensed caterer. No cholera germs were detected in any of the food samples collected and all the food handlers screened were found to be free from cholera-carrier state. The water supply to the Home was safe and there was no evidence of it being contaminated with cholera germs. The Home was well maintained and the sanitation in the Home including the toilets were generally satisfactory. The Pelangi Home is an institution for burnt-out mental patients discharged from Woodbridge Hospital. Many of the inmates are not capable of ensuring good personal hygiene. It is likely that the poor personal hygiene of the inmates led to the rapid spread of infection within the Home after one of them came down with cholera. The Pelangi Home has been in existence for the past three years and no cholera case or outbreak has previously been reported. The key to the prevention and control of cholera outbreak in the Home and other welfare institutions is maintenance of a high standard of environmental sanitation. Staff in these institutions should pay special attention to the personal and food hygiene of the inmates. They have also to actively look out for diarrhoeal cases among the inmates and isolate them immediately at the Communicable Disease Centre of Tan Tock Seng Hospital.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek your permission to reply to Question 6 as well because the two questions are similar?”
“05 0.3 Malaysia 0.23 1.4 0.07 0.4 Thailand 0.27 1.7 0.14 0.8 Indonesia 0.22 1.4 0.04 0.2 _______________________________________________________________ Source: Foreign Trade by Commodities GARMENT EXPORTS FOR YEARS 1984 TO 1986 (Singapore Labels against Contract Labels) 4. Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what percentage of Singapore's garment exports under quota for the years 1984 to 1986 would be categorised as Singaporean labels as opposed to "contract labels". BG Lee Hsien Loong: The bulk (over 90%) of garments produced in Singapore are manufactured under contract for foreign designer fashion houses. Such garments would be classified as "contract labels". The volume of Singaporean labels is very small. These comprise garments from local designers who sell their products to specialty and up-market department stores as well as local manufacturers who export fashion garments under their own trademark. plan - SERANGOON NEW TOWN (Cols. 1621 - 1622)”
“and how these dollar values compare with those of Hong Kong and the other garment exporting countries of Asia. BG Lee Hsien Loong: Singapore's garment exports under quota between 1984 and 1986 are as follows: Table I Singapore's Exports of Textiles and Garments under Quota (S$m) _________________________________________________________ 1984 1985 1986 _________________________________________________________ US 668 669 810 EEC 121 80 142 Others 41 37 56 _________________________________________________________ Source: Trade Development Board There is no published data on quota exports by other Asian countries. The following Table shows the comparison of our total garment exports with that of the other Asian countries. Table II Exports of Garments (in US$billion) _________________________________________________ 1984 1985 1986 _________________________________________________ Hong Kong 5.58 5.42 NA South Korea 3.71 3.75 NA China 2.54 2.08 NA Singapore 0.55 0.53 0.60 Thailand 0.54 NA NA Indonesia 0.29 NA NA Malaysia NA NA NA Philippines NA NA NA _________________________________________________ Source: GATT Secretariat Singapore's share in the US and EEC markets is relatively small compared to the share of the other Asian countries. The comparison is given in the following Table: Table III Imports of Garments by the US and EEC, 1985 _______________________________________________________________ Importing USA EEC Country _________________________________________________ Exporting US$ % of total US$ % of total Country billion imports billion imports _______________________________________________________________ Hong Kong 3.54 21.8 1.53 8.8 Taiwan 2.50 15.4 0.33 1.9 South Korea 2.48 15.3 0.77 4.4 China 1.05 6.5 0.37 2.1 Philippines 0.49 3.0 0.11 0.6 Singapore 0.36 2.2 0.”
“The Ministry has stepped up enforcement action against illegal hawkers since late last year, for several reasons. The main reason is public health. More than 80% of the cooked food sold by illegal hawkers have been found to be unfit for human consumption. The Ministry is concerned that contaminated food sold by illegal hawkers could be one of the sources of food borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Another reason for the stepped up action is because of complaints from shopkeepers and licensed hawkers. Illegal hawkers plying on the streets and housing estates have taken away much of the businesses of shopkeepers and licensed hawkers. There are other nuisances caused by illegal hawkers, such as littering, noise and obstruction to traffic. From January to July this year, officers from the Ministry of the Environment and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) issued a total of 10,664 summonses to illegal hawkers and seized 93.9 tonnes of cooked food/fruits/market produce sold by them. For the same period, last year, the number of summonses is 8,757 and the tonnage seized is 63.9 tonnes. The Ministry set up a telephone hot-line on 13 June 1987. Up to 24 August 1987, a total of 1,210 complaints were received from members of the public. Feedback from members of the public have been most useful. The information received enabled enforcement teams from my Ministry and HDB to take swift action. GARMENT EXPORTS FOR YEARS 1984 TO 1986 (Mean and Median Dollar Values) 3. Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what were the mean and/or median dollar values of Singapore's garment exports under quota for the years 1984 to 1986 to the United States and the E.E.C.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 1, to leave out "155 of the" and insert "95 of the 1985". The reason for this, Sir, is that a new Chapter number has been assigned to the Environmental Public Health Act in the 1985 Revised Edition of Acts. Amendment agreed to. Bill reported with amendments; read a Third Time and passed. 2.42 pm COMMITTEE OF PRIVILEGES (THIRD REPORT) (Paper Parl. 6 of 1987)”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 13, line 37 and in page 14, lines 6, 8 and 22, to leave out "(3)" and insert in each case "(1)". This amendment, Sir, corrects the error in the cross reference. Amendment agreed to. Clause 20,as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 21 to 84 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 85 -”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 6, line 13, after "showboard,", to insert "vehicle or". This amendment to rectify the definition of "stall" is necessary as otherwise the Ministry will have no power to seize vehicles used in illegal hawking. This is not an additional power. Under the Environmental Public Health Act there is power of seizure of vehicles used in such activities. Amendment agreed to.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 4, line 35, to leave out "section 70 of". The reason is the same as in amendment No. 2, Sir. Amendment agreed to.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 4, line 21, to leave out "13" and insert "15". Sir, this amendment is as a result of the renumbering of the provisions in the Property Tax Act in the 1985 Revised Edition of Acts. Amendment agreed to. Dr Ahmad Mattar: Sir, I beg to move, In page 4, line 33, to leave out "section 57 or 58 of". Sir, this amendment is to ensure that any renumbering of the provisions in the Land Titles (Strata) Amendment Bill (Bill No. 10/86) now before the Select Committee will not affect the definition of "owner" in the Environmental Public Health Bill. Amendment agreed to.”
“For the information of this House, Sir, my Ministry plans to launch another campaign sometime this year to reinforce the message to keep our public toilets clean. The target groups of this campaign will be the managements of public toilets and, of course, the users of public toilets, and also the maintenance and cleansing contractors. This campaign will be run on a nation-wide basis and will involve other Government Ministries and departments, private organizations as well as cleansing contractors. During this campaign, my Ministry will impress upon the public that it is a basic courtesy and a social responsibility that users of public toilets do not y.use or misuse the facilities provided. And with the cooperation of everyone concerned, I think we can hope to see marked improvements in the state of our public toilets. The Member for Boon Teck has suggested that perhaps the Ministry should set up an advisory committee on the handling and disposal of industrial waste and that it is for this committee to render assistance to industries which may require assistance with regard to the handling as well as the disposal of toxic wastes. I welcome this suggestion and I will certainly ask my Ministry to look into it. I think I have covered most of the points raised by Members. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.”
“I am happy to say, Sir, that in this regard our local contractors have been most cooperative and they have been voluntarily phasing out the old diesel machines which are noisy and pollutive and replacing them with less pollutive machines like the hydraulic hammers. The Member for Buona Vista also wants to know whether the replacement of diesel piling hammers with something else will cost more in terms of the cost of the project. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, among all the methods of piling, bored piling is about the best alternative. But as the Member for Telok Blangah has mentioned, it could be very costly. But if for some reason driven piles are preferred, then a suitable alternative to diesel piling hammers is the hydraulic hammers. They are less noisy and less pollutive. The piling cost using hydraulic hammers is about 10% more than that using diesel piling hammers. And since the piling cost is usually about 5% of the total building cost, then the increase in piling cost would amount to only about half a per cent of the total building cost if hydraulic hammers are used instead of diesel piling hammers. The Member for Kaki Bukit has touched on the cleanliness of public toilets and I am glad that he says that the measures taken by the Ministry are not sufficient to bring about clean public toilets and that the users themselves have a role to play. And as I mentioned in this House before, the users must play a role in observing good personal hygiene and enough civic consciousness to make sure that the public toilets are clean for the other users. With regard to the lack or not enough public toilets at popular public places, I will certainly ask my Ministry to look into it.”
“The retention of Clause 34 in the Bill is to allow the present itinerant hawkers who are selling bread and ice-cream to continue with their trade. As to whether the retention of this clause may lead to the introduction of itinerant hawkers in Singapore is a subject, I believe, being discussed between the Ministry and the Members of the GPC arising from the GPC Chairman's proposal that the Ministry should allow handicraft-type street hawking to be introduced in Singapore. And I think the discussions are still going on now. The Member for Buona Vista also wants to know whether the Ministry would take action not to allow any more diesel piling hammers to be used at construction sites. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member may be pleased to know that a Technical Committee under the chairmanship of the Environment Ministry with membership from the HDB, URA, JTC, PWD and also the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) was formed in 1984 to look into the problem of noise at construction sites. Views of the Singapore Contractors' Association Limited (SCAL) and the views of Prof. Broms, an expert in piling at the NTI, were also sought. And these views were incorporated by the Committee in arriving at their decisions. The Committee has recommended that: (a) Diesel piling hammers be phased out gradually and, in the first instance, use of diesel piling hammers should be banned in the Central Business District and within 200 metres from schools, hospitals and other such sensitive areas. (b) A grace period of one year be given so that the contractors will have sufficient response time. In fact, the contractors have only asked for a 9-month grace period. (c) Restriction on the use of piling hammers be applied gradually to all densely built-up areas in Singapore at a later date.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as a long-term goal, we hope that every citizen of Singapore will have enough pride and civic consciousness to not only refrain from polluting the environment but also to exert peer pressure on those who do so that we can eliminate their bad practices. As to whether Town Councils will be more effective in controlling littering, as suggested by the Member for Kaki Bukit, it is not easy for me to say at this point of time. But where Town Councils are successful in communicating closely with the residents of the estates under their charge, there is every confidence that they may succeed. But on the Member for Kaki Bukit's suggestion that the lesser the litter they produce, the lesser the conservancy charge they pay, my question is: where will they throw away the litter in order to pay the lesser conservancy charge as proposed? This will only increase more illegal dumping, I think. On the question of illegal dumping, I am glad that many Members agree that there is need for stringent measures to be taken in order to deter this act. Illegal dumps, apart from being potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents, may also contain, as I had mentioned in my Second Reading speech just now, toxic chemicals which may pollute our watercourses and hence give rise to health hazards. Again, on the subject of illegal dumping, the Member for Changkat has suggested that apart from enforcement and stiffer penalties, perhaps the Ministry should look into other ways which would encourage people to bring their refuse to the incineration plants and dumping grounds. I certainly welcome her suggestion and perhaps my Ministry together with the GPC should look into this. The Member for Buona Vista has touched on Clause 34. Let me explain.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to thank Members of the GPC on Health and the Environment for their interest in the Bill. I shall now deal with the points raised by them. But before I begin, perhaps a better slogan to the one proposed by the Member for Telok Blangah is: Please try to save your $500 by not littering! Sir, the Member for Changkat and concurrently the Chairman of the GPC on Health and the Environment and also the other Members of the GPC have expressed concern on the need for stiffer penalties as recommended in the Bill. They want to know the rationale for the increase in the maximum fines for offences like littering, spitting, illegal hawking and illegal dumping despite the fact, they say, that the number of such offences has decreased over the years. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the increase in fines for the offences mentioned is really intended to impress upon the recalcitrants of the seriousness of the offences they are committing. The majority of Singaporeans I believe like to live in a clean and green city and they are proud of our reputation for being such. The Government has done short of a miracle or near miracle in cleaning up Singapore and this is something which we should all be proud of. No other government, I think, has done or has been able to accomplish an exercise of the magnitude we have undertaken. Therefore it is in our interest not to allow all these years of effort to be eclipsed by some of the easier approaches that have been suggested in the course of the debate on this Bill this morning.”
“To eliminate needless duplications, the three parts are brought together into one single part in the Bill. However, new powers are proposed for the Commissioner of Public Health in dealing with unlicensed food establishments. The Commissioner may close an unlicensed food establishment upon failure of the offender to comply with an order of closure under Clause 32 of the Bill. Control of noise nuisance at construction sites. This is a new provision and it covers Clauses 47 to 49 of the Bill. Under this provision, the Commissioner of Public Health may specify the type of plant or machinery to be used, the hours of operation and the noise level that is permitted. This is necessary as Singapore becomes urbanized and construction work is carried out closer to the population. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, these are, as I have said, some of the more important features of the Environmental Public Health Bill (1987). In conclusion, I wish to stress that the Bill will make a major contribution towards improved environmental health in Singapore and its enactment is essential for a cleaner and healthier Singapore. Question proposed.”
“Tighter control of industrial wastes. Sir, in recent years, many new industrial chemicals which are hazardous have been introduced. There are no provisions in the present Act to control the disposal of industrial and toxic wastes. And as you know, Sir, the improper disposal of such wastes can give rise to serious health hazards. Clauses 27 and 28 of the Bill empower the Commissioner of Public Health to request the owner or occupier of any workplace to furnish him with any information on the amount, type and nature of any industrial waste produced in such place and to recycle or treat any industrial waste from these premises before it is brought to any public disposal facility for disposal. Clause 29 prohibits any person from taking any toxic waste to any public disposal facility or treatment without the permission of the Commissioner. Under Clause 30 of the Bill, Sir, the Commissioner may serve a notice on the occupier of any work premises requiring him to execute certain work or do certain things if, in the Commissioner's opinion, the quality of toxic industrial waste produced in such premises is likely to be excessive or unduly toxic. Licensing of private waste removal and disposal contractors. Sir, the business of collecting refuse or waste by private waste contractors may need to be controlled in the future to safeguard public health and the interest of customers against malpractice by such contractors. This is done through obtaining the permission of the Commissioner of Public Health, under Clause 31. Food establishments, markets and hawkers. In the present Act, Sir, the provisions dealing with food establishments, hawkers and markets are contained in three separate parts. These provisions are, however, similar and repetition is therefore unnecessary.”
“However, Sir, as the amendments to be made to the existing Act would be extensive, it was decided to rewrite the whole Act. In the process the weaknesses of the present legislation have been tightened and recent advances and trends in public health incorporated. I shall now highlight the more important features of the Bill under five broad categories. Illegal dumping of refuse. Sir, more stringent measures to deter dumping of refuse are necessary. It is important to eliminate such inconsiderate acts as illegal dumps can give rise to health hazards, for example, the breeding of mosquitoes and rodents. It also incurs needless public money to clear away such dumps. In 1986, for instance, 167 cases of illegal dumping were detected and a total of 220 tonnes of refuse were removed from these sites by the Ministry of the Environment at a cost of $40,000. Apart from this, there is also a possibility that industrial wastes containing hazardous substances which may pollute our water courses may be dumped illegally. So in the proposed amendment, Sir, vehicles which are used for illegal dumping of refuse may be confiscated. Under clause 20(3) of the Bill where any vehicle is used in disposing or dumping of refuse, waste or any other article in any public place such vehicle may be seized by any police officer or authorized public health officer. Under clause 20(4) the Court on convicting any person of the offence shall, on the written application of the Public Prosecutor, make an order for the forfeiture of the vehicle. Clause 23, Sir, provides that no person shall construct, establish, maintain or operate any disposal facility without the permission of the Commissioner of Public Health. This is to prevent the use of vacant lands as private dumping grounds.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Environmental Public Health Act was passed in 1969 when Government realized the importance of having a clean environment and saw an urgent need to protect the environment from further deterioration. A large part of our population was then living in slums, streets were filthy and drains choked with rubbish. There were no effective anti-littering laws. Water pollution control was non-existent and aquatic life was dying in our polluted rivers. That was Singapore in the 60s, Sir, and many have forgotten how it looked, or realized at the time, the damage that was being done to our environment and to the ecology. Many accepted the way it was, the filth and all. Hawkers were all over the place, blocking roads and dirtying the drains and surroundings. We had frequent outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, malaria, to name but a few of the infectious diseases around us. We have come a long way since then. Today, our air is clean, our rivers are much cleaner and even the water in drains is cleaner. The Act has served us well. However, many changes have taken place since the Act was enacted 18 years ago. Singapore's skyline has changed. A whole new generation of citizens has come to the front. Society has become more educated and affluent and thus people are now less and less tolerant to pollution and expect an even cleaner and healthier environment. Today, most of the basic public health problems have been resolved. We can now concentrate on other areas and set new directions to attain a higher quality of life. To do this, amendments and new provisions to the existing Environmental Public Health Act are desirable and necessary.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, neither. We will just be measuring the sound level in dbA, or what we call the A-weighted sound level. Only for specialized studies do we measure the traffic noise index or the noise pollution level which the Member for Buona Vista has mentioned. Sir, it has been demonstrated that the A- weighted sound level correlates just as well with the other ratings, as far as subjective response is concerned. And because of its simplicity, it has been recommended for use in building codes, anti-noise ordinances and monitoring of urban traffic noise. AYER RAJAH ESTATE (Bus services) 6. Encik Abbas Abu Amin asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Singapore Bus Service (1978) Limited will increase the number and frequency of the bus services serving the area to meet the demand of commuters from Ayer Rajah Estate, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Polytechnic and the schools in Dover Road. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministr for Communications and Information (Mr Ho Kah Leong) (for the Minister for Communications and Information): Sir, I have been asked by my Minister to reply. Sir, I have conveyed the hon. Member's request to SBS. I have also asked SBS to liaise with the Member and his community leaders to obtain feedback on bus service requirements in his constituency. COMMUNITY CENTRE IN HOUGANG AVENUE 8 OR 10 7. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Community Development whether the People's Association has any plans to build a temporary community centre in the neighbourhood of Hougang Avenue 8 or 10; and whether it plans to build a modern community centre in Hougang New Town.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, at the outset of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project in June 1983, my Ministry had recommended noise guidelines to MRTC for their trains and mechanical/ventilation equipment. MRTC have also taken every care in the design of their tracks and the specifications for their equipment to keep noise levels to a minimum. They have with them the services of noise consultants to further advise them on these matters. Sir, the viaduct which supports the tracks is made of concrete with high mass and damping characteristics to minimize noise that may be induced by vibrations from passing trains. The trains will run on continuously welded rails to minimize noise that would otherwise have been caused by the wheels running over gaps in between sections of the rail. In addition, these rails rest on ballasted trackbeds for better absorption of vibrations. At critical underground sections near to high-rise buildings, special floating slabs on the trackwork will cut down the transmission of vibration and noise to the superstructures above. These measures have been taken to ensure that the MRT is constructed with good noise control features from the start. The noise levels of the trains have yet to be tested in actual operations. Noise measurements will be carried out when the MRT is in operation. In the last eventuality, Sir, provisions have been made on the elevated sections of the MRT line to affix noise barriers at critical sections should noise prove to be still a problem. Sir, as the MRT trains run on electricity, no air pollution from the running of these trains is anticipated.”
“Sir, the Member for Kampong Ubi has suggested that if it is not possible to have a Vice-President for the Syariah Court, then he would like me to consider the possibility of appointing a Registrar. Sir, Section 35 of AMLA does not provide for the appointment of a Registrar. But we will certainly look into his suggestion, and as and when the need arises we will consider. Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri( In Malay): Sir, I am very disappointed that this suggestion could not be considered. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, with the appointment of a third Muslim Social Case worker, as the Member for Kampong Ubi mentioned just now, the counsellors are now able to attend to more marital dispute cases and also spend more time, where necessary, to help them resolve their problems. Only cases which cannot be reconciled are referred to the Court for adjudication. Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri( In Malay): Sir, I do not know on what grounds the Minister said that there is no need for a Vice-President in the Syariah Court. But if that is his decision, that the appointment of a Vice- President is not necessary at the moment, could the Minister consider the appointment of a Registrar instead so that he could assist in the daily running of these cases.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I am replying in my capacity as the Minister in charge of Muslim affairs. The Member for Kampong Ubi has suggested that in order to clear the backlog of cases in the Syariah Court, it should have a Vice-President. First of all, Sir, section 35 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) provides only for the appointment of a President of Syariah Court. It does not provide for the appointment of a Vice-President. But this is not the problem. We can always amend the Act if there is real need for the Court to have a Vice-President. The question is: do we really need a Vice-President? Sir, any proposal to amend AMLA to include the appointment of a Vice-President should be viewed against the long-term needs of the Court. Sir, it is not sufficient to ask for a post of Vice-President to be created solely to clear the backlog of cases faced by the Court. The post will become redundant as soon as the backlog is cleared. Sir, the solution really is to stem the increase in the number of couples with marital disputes who go to the Syariah Court for counselling or to be divorced if they feel that a reconciliation is not the solution to their problems. In this regard, Sir, the Syariah Court and the Registry of Muslim Marriages together with the Mosque Management Committees of the new generation mosques and the number of Muslim organizations are providing more systematic and comprehensive marriage preparation courses as well as Religious Knowledge classes to couples intending to get married. It is generally observed, Sir, that couples who are well prepared for marriage are normally able to tackle their problems more effectively. This, in turn, would reduce the number of marital dispute cases referred to the Syariah Court.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as far as I know, MUIS is trying to look for a donor to carpet the mosque and the new Masjid Al-Falah at Bideford Road has agreed to donate a "mimbar" or pulpit to the mosque. GEYLANG SERAI CONSTITUENCY (Neighbourhood Police Post) 6. Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe asked the Minister for Home Affairs when a Neighbourhood Police Post will be established in the Geylang Serai Constituency.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member for Geylang Serai may be pleased to know that repair and renovation works on Keramat Habib Noh at Palmer Road and Masjid Haji Mohd Salleh adjoining it will be completed by the end of next month. The mosque, when completed, can accommodate about 500 worshippers.”
“It is also not feasible nor is it practicable for two licensees to share a stall because the stall is small; there is not enough storage space to accommodate two sets of cooking utensils; it is not practical for the hawker to remove his appliances and utensils after he has finished his business and to bring these back to the stall when he resumes business the next day.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Mosque Building Committee of Masjid Darul Ghufran in Tampines have asked for the inclusion of minarets and Islamic motifs for the windows. They have also asked for the open space on the second storey of the mosque to be covered to provide a larger prayer area for the ladies. Sir, I am told that the HDB is prepared to consider favourably the inclusion of a minaret and Islamic motifs for the square windows but they cannot accede to the request to cover the open space on the second storey because this would give rise to ventilation problems. HAWKER STALLS OPERATING HALF A DAY (Figures) 6. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for the Environment how many hawker stalls are presently opened for only part of a day on a permanent basis and whether he will consider allowing new applicants for hawker licences to share such stalls. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment (Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng) (for the Minister for the Environment): Sir, I am replying on behalf of my Minister. Some cooked food hawkers who operate alongside a wet market do close their stalls in the afternoon because there are no customers in the afternoon when the wet market is closed. Some food stalls do not operate in the night for the same reason that there are no customers. My Ministry estimates that there are about 1,600 hawkers in these two categories who operate for part of the day only. This is about 18% of the total number of hawkers. I believe most stallholders will conduct business when there is business to be made. My Ministry is not in favour of allowing two licensees to share a stall as this will give rise to disputes, say, which licensee is to be held responsible when the Ministry finds the stall dirty and insanitary.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, nine mosques have been planned under Phase II of the Mosque Building Programme. Two have been completed and are in use, namely, Masjid En-Naeem at Hougang and Masjid Darul Aman at Kampong Ubi. Two more mosques will be completed by the third quarter of this year. They are Masjid Darul Makmur at Yishun and Masjid Al-Mukminin at Jurong East. Another two mosques are under construction and will be completed in 1988, namely, Masjid Darussalam at Clementi and Masjid Al-Amin at Telok Blangah. Tenders have been called for the construction of Masjid Darul Ghufran at Tampines New Town and the HDB is finalizing the designs of the remaining two mosques at Siglap and Bukit Batok. Tenders are scheduled to be called this year and we can expect the mosques to be completed by 1989. Sir, the request of the Member for Geylang Serai to allow funds available in the Mosque Building Fund to be used for renovations and improvements to the old mosques cannot be considered. This is because the Administration of Muslim Law Act provides that the monies in the Mosque Building Fund shall be used for the purpose of building mosques only. I would also like to add, Sir, that on completion of Phase II of the Mosque Building Programme, MUIS will embark on Phase III as there are new HDB estates which have to be provided with mosques for its Muslim residents.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the answer is simple. As long as we are providing the service to those areas which require it, we will have the back-up service to serve those areas where mismanagements in the service provided by private waste collectors have occured.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would like to respond briefly to some of the points raised by the Member for Ayer Rajah. This subject of privatization of refuse collection service has been hotly debated between him and me either officially at Ministry level or privately over lunch at Parliament Annexe. So I do not want to go into the details again. I would like to touch on one point which he has mentioned just now about the Ministry maintaining a back-up service. A back-up service can be provided for by the Ministry if and only if the refuse collection service is not privatized for the whole of Singapore. If the refuse collection service for the whole of Singapore is privatized, I do not think my colleague, the Minister for Finance, who is not here now, will agree to engage workers just to hang around doing nothing. Then what about the refuse collection vehicles which have got to be maintained? And what about the vehicle workshop which we have set up? So the question of back-up service can be met only if refuse collection service is not privatized for the whole of Singapore. In the case of the Ang Mo Kio East Town Council, and if the Member for Ayer Rajah so wishes, we can try out in his constituency, if there is mismanagement then there is the possibility of a fall-back support from the Government. But if the refuse collection service for the whole island is privatized, that fall-back support will no longer be available because Government's services and resources, as I have said, would have been wound down. I shall ask my Senior Parliamentary Secretary to respond to his points about hawkers.”
“There is, therefore, need for us to look into the building of a fourth incineration plant after the year 2000 to conserve our available refuse tipping grounds. The Member for Telok Blangah has talked of disposable crockery and cleanliness in hawker centres. I think it is very revealing, at least to me today, what stray cats can do, the harmful effects of stray cats, that is. I think I have covered most of the points. I shall ask my colleague, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, to reply on matters pertaining to hawkers and hawker policy.”
“In 1986, Sir, the average daily output of refuse was about 4,500 tonnes and we expect the output to increase to about 5,000 tonnes per day by 1990 and nearly 7,000 tonnes per day by the year 2010. Disposable facilities, therefore, should be planned well ahead in order to cater to the projected increase in refuse output. In land scarce Singapore, the method of disposal must not and cannot be land-intensive. Since incineration achieves the maximum volume reduction, it has to be adopted as the main method of disposal. Presently, Sir, about 65% of the daily refuse generated are incinerated at two incineration plants - one at Ulu Pandan and another at Tuas. The remaining 35%, Sir, are dumped. My Ministry is planning a third incineration plant in Senoko. With the commissioning of this third incineration plant in Senoko, it is estimated that about 85% of the daily refuse generated will be incinerated. My Ministry presently operates two dumping grounds, one at Lorong Halus in Tampines and the other at Lim Chu Kang. An extension of 63 hectares to the Lorong Halus dumping ground is being developed, and it is expected to be ready for use by 1988. Dumping grounds, Sir, will still be needed for the disposal of non-incinerables as well the ash from the incineration plants. These two dumping grounds would be able to cater to our needs up to the year 2000. Thereafter, we may have to start to consider using one of our offshore islands for the disposal of non-incinerables. Sir, the Member for Boon Teck is quite right in saying that we will be facing a shortfall of incineration capacity against the projected quantity of incinerable refuse after 1996, and the shortfall will become substantial after the year 2005.”
“Sir, we can have preventive measures but, as a long-term goal, we hope that every citizen and every company in Singapore will have enough pride and civic consciousness to not only refrain from littering and polluting our environment but also exert peer pressure on the minority to eliminate the bad practice. Next, I come to the Member for Kaki Bukit. The Member for Kaki Bukit has expressed concern over the increasing expenditure under my Ministry's drainage programme. He therefore wants to know the reason or reasons for these increases. He wants to know if the increases in expenditure are due to the increase in rainfall in recent years. No, Sir, there has been no increase in rainfall in Singapore. The increases in the expenditure are that the Drainage Department of my Ministry's Master Plan for flood alleviation scheme in Singapore. In 1985, Sir, my Ministry embarked on a programme to accelerate the construction of the drainage infrastructure. We propose to spend about $700 million over the next five years. This is to alleviate flooding in the existing flood-prone areas like Bukit Timah, Paya Lebar, Tanjong Pagar and Tanjong Katong and also to provide drainage infrastructure for new towns like Bukit Panjang, Chua Chu Kang, Serangoon South, Tampines, Bukit Batok. In fact, Sir, during financial year 1986, the Drainage Department spent a sum of $103 million and proposes to spend a sum of $170 million for financial year 1987. By 1990, most of the drainage infrastructure plans under the five-year programme would have been completed. This will alleviate much of the flooding in Singapore. The Member for Boon Teck wants to know about the Ministry's long-term solid waste programme. Mr Chairman, Sir, my Ministry has a long-term solid waste programme which we review regularly.”
“We may sound pessimistic but on matters where the health of the population is involved, I think we need to move cautiously and not too overly optimistic. Sir, my Ministry is not totally against the privatization of refuse collection service. In fact, Sir, since 1985, private waste collectors have been allowed to collect refuse from industrial and commercial premises as well as condominiums. My Ministry's philosophy on refuse collection is simple. The Ministry should continue to collect waste from public housing estates and the private waste collectors from the rest, in other words, from industrial and commercial premises, condominiums. We feel, Sir, this arrangement is necessary so that any problem that may arise in the collection of refuse from non-public housing sectors can be arrested and overcome quickly by the Ministry through the redeployment of existing resources. I come next to the Member for Buona Vista. I thank the Member for his praises for the Ministry's efforts in cleaning up the Singapore River and Kallang Basin. My Ministry is acutely conscious of the continued need to keep our rivers clean. Although daily refuse removal and a comprehensive network of sewers have been provided in our urban areas, there are the minority few who either due to bad habits or anti-social behaviour would continue to litter, dump refuse or discharge sullage water into the drains and canals. We will have to continue with our efforts in public education, surveillance and enforcement. As the Member has rightly pointed out, in September this year we will mount a publicity campaign in conjunction with the Clean Rivers Commemoration to draw public attention to the advantages of clean rivers and to remind the public of their role in keeping the rivers clean.”
“We will consider separately. That is what Town Councils are for, Sir, and I wish them good luck. But I think it is only proper for me to make known to this House the reservations that my staff are having if refuse collection service for the whole of Singapore is privatized. Mr Chairman, Sir, refuse collection service is an essential service. In most cities in the world, refuse is collected directly by municipal authorities. This should be the case as it must be reliable and regular as otherwise there will be public health hazards and nuisances. And this is particularly so in a country like Singapore which is hot and humid. Organic waste from private households decomposes very rapidly and this will give rise to smell problems and the breeding of mosquitoes and rodents. Sir, Singapore is perhaps the only country in the world where refuse is collected from every household every day throughout the year and we are able to do this because the Government has, over the years, developed a solid waste management system that is efficient and reliable. Our operations are computerized. We have continuously upgraded our fleet of refuse collection vehicles and set high maintenance standards with a modern vehicle workshop. Despite all this, cost is still kept low because we enjoy an economy of scale. Sir, there are serious implications in privatizing refuse collection service, especially when it is done for the whole of Singapore. Any mismanagement in the service can lead to serious consequences and health hazards which will not be tolerable for the population at large. If there is mismanagement in refuse collection service there will not be any fall-back support from the Government as its services and resources would have been wound down. This is the main concern of my Ministry.”
“As the hawker policy is under the charge of my Senior Parliamentary Secretary, I will ask him to respond. Sir, I think I have covered the points raised by Members which I have to respond to. I shall now ask my colleague, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, to reply to matters pertaining to the hawker policy of the Ministry.”
“Sir, the Member for Whampoa has suggested that perhaps an education programme should be conducted by the Ministry for the hawkers so that they can be taught the requisite skills. And he has also suggested that standards of hygiene should be included in this course. I will certainly look into his suggestion. As I mentioned just now, he is against the idea of disposable crockery. With regard to the resuscitation of Bugis Street, I will leave it to my Senior Parliamentary Secretary to respond. The Member complains about Sungei Whampoa. For his information, Sir, except for 16 remaining unsewered premises in the catchment, all the other main sources of pollution have been removed from the Whampoa catchment. And the remaining 16 unsewered premises are scheduled for resettlement and will be cleared soon. Although we have removed the main source of pollution, we still have some perennial problems due mainly to anti-social or bad habits. Some people still persist in carrying out their activities outside their premises and discharge their waste water into the drains. Littering is still a problem in Singapore. When it rains, the litter is washed into the drains and eventually into the rivers. The water in Sungei Whampoa is also brown after heavy rains because of the silt that is washed down from the construction sites upstream. The Member may wish to know that as an interim measure, my Ministry is installing gratings at various outlet drains to prevent litter from getting into the rivers. As for the Member for Henderson, Sir, I hope I've got him correctly because I was depending on the translation which came quite slowly at times. I believe he spoke on modernization of hawker centres and he would like Singapore to be developed into an international food centre.”
“I will give my answer soon. Sir, with regard to the Member for Changkat's suggestion that disposable crockery should be introduced into more hawker centres, I will ask my colleague, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, to respond to her. But nonetheless I would like to thank the Member for Changkat and Members of her GPC for supporting us in the implementation of this new policy. On the suggestion that the Ministry should work closely with the staff of the universities, I am happy to say that my Ministry has tapped the expertise in NUS especially, in areas such as epidemiology, food control and drainage systems. Examples of research projects which the NUS have done for us include hydraulic survey by the Civil Engineering Department for the provision of mechanical debris removal facility at the Singapore River near Kim Seng Bridge; hydraulic model study, again by the Civil Engineering Department, for the proposed sand beaches in Kallang Basin; analyses of refuse ash from incineration plants by the Chemistry Department. I think the Member for Buona Vista and the Member for Nee Soon can attest to this. And an ecological survey on the Singapore River and Kallang Basin by the Zoology Department. We will continue to tap the expertise from NUS and of course NTI wherever possible. Sir, apart from doing work for us, staff of NUS also carry out joint projects with the Environment Ministry, eg, in researches in legionnaires disease and hepatitis with the Department of Microbiology. And staff of my Ministry are also helping in teaching in certain departments of the University. For instance, the Head of the Ministry's Quarantine and Epidemiology Department is helping in teaching in the University's Community, Occupational and Family Health Department.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the Member for Changkat has spoken on the need to privatize refuse collection service. I believe the Member for Chong Boon who is also the Chairman of Ang Mo Kio East Town Council will be speaking on the subject and with your permission, Sir, and with the concurrence of the Member for Changkat, I will give a reply after I have heard from the Member for Chong Boon. Sir, the Member for Changkat has also spoken on the need for a more innovative and forward-looking hawker policy. In particular, she would like my Ministry to consider the setting up of, if I got her correctly, handicraft type of street hawking. I am heartened that she is not advocating that we bring back the traditional street hawking which the Government took 15 years and spent about $100 million to relocate about 20,000 street hawkers involved in the exercise. Apart from this, Sir, the Member also wants the Ministry to do two things: (a) to work closely with the staff of the universities; (b) to introduce the use of disposable crockery to more hawker centres, although the Member for Whampoa, as I was listening to him just now, seems to be against the idea. I think it is up to him to argue it out with the Member for Changkat.”
“I suppose when we have to wash vegetables for the sake of our health, we have to use water. HOUGANG NEW TOWN POST OFFICE (Building of) 5. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether and when a post office will be built in Hougang New Town. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications and Information (Mr Ho Kah Leong) (for the Minister for Communications and Information): Sir, I have been asked by my Minister to reply. I am pleased to inform the Member for Punggol that Hougang New Town will be served by two post offices. Presently, Hougang South Post Office is located at Block 106, Hougang Avenue 1. This post office was opened on 21st January 1985 and serves Neighbourhoods 1, 2 and 3. The second post office, Hougang Central Post Office, will be located in the Town Centre at Hougang New Town and is expected to be completed in 1989. This post office will serve neighbourhoods 4, 5, 6 and 7. Telecoms is presently liaising with the Resident Committees of Punggol. This feedback would be valuable in assisting in the set-up of a postal agency or temporary post office to serve residents in Neighbourhoods 5, 6 and 7, pending the completion of the Town Centre. LIGHT GOODS VEHICLES (Offence of transporting passengers) 6. Dr Koh Lam Son asked the Minister for Communications and Information what was the number of offenders, in each of the past five years, who violated traffic rules on transporting passengers in light goods vehicles.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to assure this House and Singaporeans, in general, that my Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and be rest assured that consignments that are found to be unsatisfactory will be confiscated and destroyed. There is no compromise in so far as public health is concerned.”
“I think the Member for Alexandra missed my point. We have been advising the public to wash the vegetables as early as August. We re- emphasized it again last month when the whole thing came up in the press.”
“As I mentioned earlier, when we first detected it, although the situation was not serious enough to raise a public alarm, that does not mean that we did not do anything. My Ministry maintains the view that excessive pesticides in vegetables is undesirable. Consequently, we took the matter up with the Malaysian authorities for them to issue appropriate advice to the farmers to change their farming methods. I also took up the matter with officials of the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture at a meeting arranged by my counterpart, the Malaysian Minister for Science, Technology and Environment, when I went up to Kuala lumpur last year. And again this matter was raised by the former Minister for National Development, the late Mr Teh Cheang Wan, when the Malaysian Deputy Minister for Agriculture was in Singapore shortly after my return from Kuala Lumpur. Apart from approaching the Malaysian authorities, we also urged the importers of Malaysian vegetables to get the farmers to stop using pesticides excessively. In the meantime, we asked the local consumers to wash vegetables before cooking them. So we have done all that.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Member for Alexandra is assuming that the vegetables are not washed before they are consumed. I said that if the vegetables are properly washed, 90% to 95% of the residue can be removed. At at the peak of the incident, the amount of pesticide residue detected was 30 parts per million as against the allowable limit of 2 parts per million. So if you washed the vegetables properly, it would be removed.”
“And Lannate. These are insecticides which are found to be highly toxic. In fact, Parathion is a bi- product of the nerve gas developed by the Germans in the Second World War. We did monitor the situation and, fortunately, traces of these two pesticides were not found. The answer to the second question is this. Mr Speaker, Sir, nobody likes his goods checked, especially when he knows that the checking may lead to confiscation of the goods. Money is involved. The local importers of Malaysian vegetables were already unhappy when we began to mount enforcement action in August last year. And I suppose what they did last month was an attempt to prevent law enforcement officers from doing their job. The importers refused to unload the baskets of vegetables unless the Ministry issued them with a statement to say that the Ministry had confiscated the vegetables for suspicion of contamination. And with the statement, they would then lodge claims with the suppliers. Officers from the Food Control Department of my Ministry explained to them that it was not the intention of the Ministry to confiscate the vegetables without first testing them, and only after testing and those consignments found unsatisfactory, would they be confiscated and destroyed. To cut a long story short, Sir, fortunately prudence and common sense prevailed. After some persuasion from my Public Health Inspectors, the local importers of these vegetables finally decided to cooperate.”
“It is true that in 1983, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Delta, there was a report in the Malaysian press that farmers in Cameron Highlands were using pesticides that were banned by the Malaysian authorities. But the pesticides used then were not dithiocarbamate, as I have mentioned earlier. The pesticides used then - if I remember correctly - went by the name of Parathion. Is there such a thing, Member for Buona Vista? Parathion?”