Augustine H.H. Tan
Singapore
“There are instances when reserves should be used, but the govern- ment has to make a case to the President and if good arguments are used, the President is expected to concur. I therefore end by asking you, as you have done in your speeches, to support this Bill with a very loud "Aye" when it comes to the vote. [Applause].”
“We must have confidence that in the end, as Singaporeans, we know what is overall best for ourselves. We are a community of free citizens committed to making Singapore a great city to live in and for foreigners to come visit and admire.”
“There is such a thing as initiative. Who initiated the project? What was the objective of the project? And there is such a thing as economies of scale, the benefits of which are passed on to the taxi drivers. Let us not forget those elements. An hon. Member: They do not pay tax on their income.”
“They can still enjoy the seafood regardless of the indigestion. They can do the shopping and do other things in Johor Baru. I believe that what is important for us is that we do not preclude ourselves the option of setting our own national policies.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister stated that it is undesirable to employ foreigners to run child care centres because they affect the values of our children. Is it not also true that by having foreign maids in our homes that they too directly impact upon the values of our children?”
“It was a point which I brought out much earlier when a similar matter was debated here in Parliament. Because the government could borrow on the basis of the reserves even though the President has one key to the reserves because there is such a thing as credit-worthiness of the country.”
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“Mr Speaker, Sir, last year was a turbulent year for the world economy. Inflation was persistent and economic growth was sluggish and rising unemployment particularly in OECD countries gave impetus to the tide of protectionism. In the face of all these difficulties, our economic performance of 7.8% real GDP growth was commendable. The Hon. Minister for Finance has rightly warned that difficult economic conditions in the OECD countries will persist despite attempts at expansionary policies. Unemployment, inflation, balance of payments difficulties and turbulence in currency markets are but symptoms of a deeper malady. The engine of growth in the industrial countries is faltering and the best indication of this is the insufficient and uncertain pace of new investments. The energy crisis has, of course, further compounded the problem by raising costs of transportation and production and by creating huge imbalances in trading accounts. The U.S. Government has announced a tax cut and has been trying to persuade West Germany and Japan to expand their economies so as to pull the world economy out of economic stagnation. Unfortunately, expansionary fiscal and monetary measures have only a limited and temporary impact. Moreover, the cost could be high in terms of greater inflation. The declining fortunes of the US dollar vis-a-vis the Yen, the Mark and the Swiss Franc should be cause for concern. The net effect will be inflationary and a retardation in the growth of world trade. The depreciation of the US dollar will raise prices of imported goods in the United States but the corresponding appreciation of the Yen, the Mark and the Swiss Franc will not lead to a lowering of import prices to the same extent in Germany, Switzerland and Japan.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since much has been said about the desirability of promoting exports to West Asian markets, and in view of the fact that the West Asian area is going to be an area of high growth compared to other parts of the world which will be stagnating economically, does the Senior Minister of State not think that it is about time we had a trade or commercial office in West Asia?”
“Sir, does not the Senior Minister of State for Finance realise that by arranging for the PUB to grant tax exemption of usage of electricity by commercial firms, the Committee is encouraging the usage of energy in an era when everybody should be conscious of cutting down energy consumption?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, why is it necessary to reduce the quorum for a meeting of the Corporation from five to four? Are the present directors of the Corporation not attending the meetings regularly?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, under the provisions of this Bill the Chairman of JTC can now be a part-time Chairman. Does this mean that the workload performed by the Chairman is now much reduced?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Hon. Minister define what he means by "hell-driver" and "hell-rider", and how can one distinguish them from earthly riders and drivers who merely exceed the speed limits.”
“Sir, does the Senior Minister of State realise that the new Whampoa Community Centre will have only one squash court to cater for 19,000 voters?”
“Sir, the relevant question is whether or not the Housing and Development Board is making this as an excuse to raise the rental.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I refer to the proposed section 33D, subsection (1)? This subsection does not stipulate the time for the Magistrate to act, and the word "may" in the sixth line* confers discretion on the Magistrate in question. Would the Minister consider amending the word "may" to "shall immediately"? This would provide a further safeguard to the person under detention.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it seems to me that the introduction of this Bill is a sad commentary on our efforts to educate our young people on the dangers of drug abuse. Whilst I sympathise very much with the enforcement agencies, we should realise that very substantial powers are being conferred by this Bill on the Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau. Sir, the urine test which is required of a suspect can be taken by any officer of the Bureau, any immigration officer or any police officer not below the rank of sergeant. Sir, there may be instances where a group of youngsters are apprehended and their urine requested or demanded by the officer in question. What, Sir, if there should be a mix-up in the urine specimens and the wrong person is put under detention? As this is a matter of actual implementation, I am just wondering whether the Minister has considered the safeguards and procedures to prevent any such mix-ups from occurring, otherwise the poor suspect would simply be detained for six months, and if he does not have the money to pay for a lawyer he will not have recourse to a Magistrate.”
“Sir, for offences like littering, we fine people $500, for offences like traffic violation, at least $50; for a motorist violating the Pedestrian Crossing Rules, $1,000 or thereabouts. For professionals, therefore, I am sure we need to impose a fine more worthy of them, i.e. more than $1,000 because professionals should have a higher sense of duty and responsibility.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, under clause 3(c), it is proposed to provide the imposition of a fine not exceeding $1,000. Why is the ceiling set at $1,0007 In view of the fact that engineers engaged in building projects take a fee of 2 1/2% of the total cost, that is, they seem to make a lot of money, would the Minister consider increasing this ceiling of $1,000 to something more worthy of engineers?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since most of my markets and hawker centres (in fact, three out of four) are under HDB's jurisdiction, they would naturally be classified under Class A. But, as you know, Sir, Whampoa is a very poor constituency. Would the Hon. Minister then have compassion on the poor hawkers there and classify them under Class B?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I notice from the Schedule of the proposed revision that the Ministry of the Environment hawker centres and markets have got two classes, namely, Class A and Class B, whereas the HDB hawker centres and markets have only one class, not specified. In the proposed revision, there are again two categories, Class A and Class B. May I ask the Hon. Minister how will the HDB hawker centres and markets be classified? That is my first question. The second question is: would the Minister consider classifying the hawker centres and markets in Whampoa under Class B?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if the economic growth rate of Singapore goes down, below 6-8%, the job market for university graduates will be limited. Has the Senior Minister of State for Finance considered raising the educational qualifications for jobs which now require lower educational qualifications?”
“A supplementary question, Sir. If it is true, as the Hon. Senior Minister of State puts it, that there will be increasing protectionism and a slow-down in the growth of the advanced countries, how would he propose to increase manufacturing, presumably for export, to provide the jobs?”
“Sir, is the Hon. Minister aware of the fact that the stretch of land alongside the canal is very uneven and that, in the event of rain, mosquitoes find a lot of breeding ground? Will the Minister therefore consider landscaping that piece of land?”
“Sir, may I request the Hon. Minister to clean up within 10 months?”
“Sir, the Hon. Minister said that it would take many years to do the cleaning up. May I know how many years will it be?”
“Sir, the Hon. Minister mentioned the number of squatters involved in the cleaning up process. I would like to know how many squatters will be affected in the cleaning up process?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, how often is the silt and refuse removed from Sungei Whampoa, especially the stretch along Balestier Estate?”
“Exchange rate policy has a bearing on monetary, fiscal and wage policies and vice versa. For example, in col. 635 of the Economic Survey, it is noted that money supply, defined as MI, grew at 18%, due mainly to larger inflow of foreign funds. This, however, could be due to a repressed exchange rate designed to preserve the competitiveness of our exports. If this is so, the increase in foreign reserves is no mystery. I should also like to see quarterly figures presented in the Economic Survey so that we can better analyse the trends in our economy. Moreover, end-of-year figures, particularly in such items like money supply can be quite misleading. Looking at our prospects in 1977, although I am very concerned about the undercurrents such as insufficient investment in the industrial countries, the year itself should be fair for us. Sir, I am in full support of the basic economic policies laid down by the Minister for Finance. 3.38 p.m.”
“Perhaps he is comforted by the 8% increase in pig production, the waste notwithstanding. Sir, the Hon. Minister gave a number of tax concessions. In particular, I welcome the further relief in respect of estate duty. However, I hope that raising the exemption limit from $50,000 to $100,000 will not lead to a corresponding escalation of assessed valuation. The Hon. Minister mentioned a budget deficit of $1,505 million, a 32% rise compared to 1976. According to the Economic Survey, in past years, the Central Provident Fund provided 70% of the loans. The amount of CPF contributions in 1977 should be close to $1,000 million. At the same time funds at the disposal of the Post Office Savings Bank rose by $408 million in 1976 to a total of $957 million. And we have $8.2 billion in foreign reserves as against foreign debt of only $660 million. Clearly, there is no lack of availability of funds. However, I am a little concerned about the distribution of public and private investment expenditure in Singapore. In 1973, the private share of total investment was 82.7% while in 1976 the corresponding share was only 75%. I hope that either the Ministry of Finance or the Monetary Authority of Singapore is studying the flow of funds and the utilisation of funds in Singapore. While I welcome the Post Office Savings Bank's efforts at encouraging saving, part of its funds represent a redirection from private banks. To the extent that this is so, the private sector's access to that savings for investment purposes is restricted. Members may also note that there is no reference to exchange rate policy in the Economic Survey or the Budget Statement. While I am sure that the Monetary Authority of Singapore is in competent hands, I should like to see some reference in future.”
“This increase masked a decline of 8% in capital expenditure on buildings and works and a 10% decline for machinery and equipment. I draw attention to this, Sir, because the volume of investment particularly in plant and equipment will affect the productive capacity of our economy in the future. This failure of investment to respond is, of course, not unique to us. As I pointed out during the debate last year and earlier this year. economic recovery in the advanced countries is being threatened by the failure of new investments being undertaken in sufficient volume. I hope, therefore, that we can make much more headway with the schemes to stimulate private industrial development such as the Capital Assistance Scheme and the Small Industries Finance Scheme. Both of these add up to a paltry $17.73 million so far! The Hon. Minister may also want to pay some attention to the decline of private sector construction of 12% in 1976. I hope he is monitoring the situation so that we can avoid cycles of scarcity and excess, particularly of office buildings, which will affect business rentals, and hence, the costs of doing business in Singapore. The honourable Member for Punggol may be concerned to know from col. 568 of the Economic Survey that the fishing industry declined by 5% in 1976.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion standing in the name of the Minister for Finance. I found myself much in agreement with what the hon. Minister said in his Budget Statement. Our economy in 1976 was in much better shape than it was in the earlier year. In part, of course, this was due to the economic recovery and dampening of inflation in the leading industrial countries. But we can take due credit for the large number of sensible domestic measures and policies which enabled our economy to recover rapidly. I can find little fault with the basic policies in respect of manpower, science and technology, infrastructure, taxation and promotion. Allow me. however, to offer a few comments which I hope will contribute to improvement. The Minister's Economic Survey drew attention to the recovery of the manufacturing sector by 10% and noted the rise by 3% in productivity in that sector. Lest we rush to congratulate ourselves and our workers for the improvement in productivity, we should not forget that such improvements usually occur as an economy pulls out of recession. We shall still need to bend every effort to make improvements in productivity continually. Furthermore, the Economic Survey also noted that much of the overall increase in manufacturing output was accounted for by an upsurge in petroleum refining activities. Hon. Members may recall that the petroleum refining sector had suffered much in 1975 as a result of the end of the Vietnam War. Col. 571 of the Economic Survey reported that private capital expenditure in 1976 grew by 6% to $2,359 million. The increase, however, was due to the acquisitiveness of Neptune Orient Lines, whose Managing Director has assumed the role of Member for Marine Parade.”
“The point that the hon. Minister referred to is that I could hardly expect him to criticise the Ministry or statutory boards under his charge. My point is, very simply, that we hear too often of, "This is what we intend to do and this is what we have done." But too little of "These are the mistakes that we have made" and "These are the corrections that we intend to make."”
“Sir, I will just take one minute. Mr Deputy Speaker: No, whether it is a minute or not. I am sorry. But if you want to clarify any particular point, you may do so.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, my point was simply -”
“Yes. The Minister referred me to various reports of statutory boards and government bodies. In my speech I have stated that in those very reports one finds glowing accounts of what goes on, not critical analyses.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, you can always rule me out of order if it is not a point of clarification. The hon. Minister unfortunately was not here in this House when I made my speech on the subject. When I referred -”
“A point of clarification, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, On this point of window grilles, I do not see how this can affect the exterior. I have looked at many private flats and they look very beautiful It is a matter of taste.”
“Point of clarification. Sir, I said in my speech that although this was done in my constituency, I decried the fact that the people were being deprived of the cheap rental, I suggested that in future improvements might be made by way of increased ventilation and so on, but not to increase the rent. I hope that helps the hon. Minister.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. Are we going to have a debate or are we going to have a one-man show?”
“But if she is given a hawker stall, she at least can have the younger children with her and that will save her the additional expense of a baby sitter. So I hope the Hawkers Department will relent in this particular regard, namely, for hawkers and for widows and also for other people who are resettled, like farmers who have no other means of livelihood. As we urbanise rapidly, the opportunities for the small man are disappearing rapidly. If anybody wants to start a provision shop or any kind of shop nowadays, he has to tender thousands of dollars per month rental in order to get any kind of business going. When a farmer is resettled into a Housing and Development Board flat, he loses the supplementary income that he can derive from having a few chickens, pigs and growing some vegetables. What can you do in a one-room flat if your children are not supporting you, and your rentals and PUB bills have to be paid, and the Hawkers Department just refuses to give you a hawker's licence? What alternative -”
“Sir, a point of clarification. Let me hasten to add that the Hawkers Department has done a very good job indeed in re-locating the majority of hawkers in good hawker centres. My point is that I am not against the re-location policy as such, but simply requiring hawkers, already in good locations but on the streets, to move into those hawker stalls which have been vacant for a long time because the sites of those stalls are not good for business. I do recognise that there is a personal element involved - that some people are just no good at doing business. But we are talking about hawkers who are holding temporary licences and who are doing well in their present location. I think, in our resettlement policies in general, not too much attention has been given to the loss of business incurred by the people who are forced to resettle in the process, whether they are shopkeepers or hawkers. I have no quarrels with the general policy of requiring our young people to go out and work to learn a skill and so on rather than taking up hawking. But at the same time let us be mindful of people who are old and who are widows, who either have no alternative means of livelihood or in the case of a widow, which the Senior Parliamentary Secretary chose to ignore altogether, is really a very pathetic one, Sir, As I said earlier in this House, she may be below 40 years or above 40 years, and if she has three or four children to support and if she only qualifies for a $200" a month job as a sweeper or cleaner, how can she possibly support the children? At the same time if she has to go out and work, she cannot bring the children along with them. So she has to rely upon a baby sitter.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. Sir, before the fees are raised, we should be given an opportunity to discuss, and not after.”
“Sir, the Parliamentary Secretary has not replied to my question.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of clarification. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary referred to the criteria for the allocation of stalls to old people. Mr Speaker, Sir, my point was that these are people with no other means of livelihood, Although they may have had no previous experience in hawking they still want to give it a try. So why cannot they be given a hawker stall? I have in front of me a letter written by the Hawkers Department to a hawker's application for a stall. If I may read out the criteria listed here: `I refer to your request ... [etc]. I wish to inform you that this Department has ceased issuing new hawker licences. However, consideration wit be given to applicants if they could , produce documentary proof: (a) that they have citizen/permanent resident dependants to support; (b) that they are unable to get alternative employment on justifiable grounds: for example. physical disability: (c) that they are in financial hardship: and (d) that they are 40 years old and above.' Sir, this means that if an old man does not have any children to support, he is, therefore, not eligible. Or if old people are deserted by their children - the children may be earning a lot of money but they are not filial and do not give a cent to the old parents who are then left high and dry, stranded without any means of financial support, again they are not eligible. So what do you do about such old people? According to the four criteria listed, I do not think anybody can qualify at all.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Ministries usually inform this House of new programmes but we hear too little by way of progress reports and objective evaluation of the success or failure of such programmes, for the Annual Reports submitted by Ministries and Statutory Boards are not of much help as they usually present glowing accounts and not critical analyses of work done by their agencies. I submit that what we need is more critical monitoring of what goes on. 2.45 p.m.”
“Export financing is being provided but other areas like marketing, product development, advertising and more importantly, after-sales service should be carefully studied. Further diversification into new markets like West Asia and expansion of markets in the ASEAN region will be helpful to reduce our vulnerability. However, we can only maintain our competitive edge by producing products and services of high quality at low cost and with the proper after-sales service. But if our manufacturers have only a very limited time horizon and are interested in one-shot deals and one-shot sales, then of course they will continue to market goods which are inferior in quality and will not bother to look after the consumers once they have sold their products. To encourage greater investment in manufacturing we should examine the incentives for expansion and diversification of existing industries. Since we are going to find it harder to attract new industries, this seems to be a logical thing to look into. Furthermore, we need to examine what additional technical and supporting facilities Government agencies can offer to stimulate private development, especially in those areas of industry where they find it very expensive to buy and maintain their own testing equipment and calibration equipment. But if such equipment can be provided by Government it will certainly help to stimulate such industries. The Ministry of Finance emphasized further development of manufacturing but perhaps in the protectionist era that we are entering, we should examine the feasibility of developing other service industries to ensure reasonable growth and full employment.”
“Unfortunately we know too little about the processes of technological innovations and governments of the advanced countries have not yet identified this to be a priority area of attention. Consequently, I expect that, while growth rates in the industrial countries can be marginally improved, unemployment and inflation will continue to be severe problems. The problems in store for us are threefold. First of all, it will be harder for us to attract new foreign investments as unemployment conditions in the advanced countries will deter capital outflow, witnessed already by the vast volume of literature on multinational corporations, especially those emanating from the trade unions in the advanced countries where they are very much against the so-called export of jobs and technology to developing countries while we can expect the pressures to increase. Secondly, we may find it more difficult to export our goods if industrial countries raise their trade barriers to protect their own employment. Already we have seen the imposition of barriers by the European Common Market on our electronic calculators. This is a harbinger of things to come. Thirdly, higher energy costs mean higher transportation costs. Our imports and our exports incur transportation charges. Therefore, for all three reasons, we must expect to work harder to maintain and, if possible, to improve our standards of living. Either we take the question of raising productivity seriously and urgently or we may find unemployment and erosion in our standards of living. In addition to the imperative of raising productivity we need greater efforts in export promotion.”
“This naturally creates further problems of adjustment in the industrial countries. The lessons for us are painfully clear. Our educational system must be geared to economic realities. In an era of sluggish economic growth, we shall only be creating more frustrations if we produce graduates for whom few jobs are available. In America, President Carter has announced a fiscal stimulation package of US$31 billion to be implemented over two years. At the same time, he is urging the Japanese and the West Germans to stimulate their economies simultaneously. Unfortunately, the severe winter in America has disrupted production and increased fuel bills, thereby diluting the economic stimulus of the tax cut. Moreover, in my view, the fiscal measures will stimulate more consumption than investment. Hon. Members may know that Keynesian economists believe that a tax cut and/or increased government expenditure will produce growth and employment. A tax cut, for example, makes more money available to individuals who will spend some of it and save the rest. Their spending will stimulate more production, both directly and via a multiplier effect. Factories therefore can utilize more of their capacity and at the same time employ more people. Those factories operating at full capacity are supposed to have incentive for expanding their operations, thus providing more jobs. But I do not believe in Keynesian economics. The main stimulus to investment comes from technological innovations which open up new frontiers of profitable opportunities. Investments in these new areas in turn stimulate investments in the established industries through the input-output relationship where one factory buys its requirements from other factories and in turn sells to others.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have the dubious honour of bridging the years of the Dragon and the Snake. Fortunately, being a Dragon. I have no reason to be afraid of Snakes. When we last adjourned I was speaking about the economic difficulties in the advanced countries. To recapitulate briefly, there seems to be a slowing down of technological innovations which fuel the engine of economic growth. Secondly, the aging population structure in the industrial countries has altered the pattern of demand, necessitating rather painful and difficult changes in production patterns. Thirdly, there is the energy crisis which will bring about escalating costs of energy resulting in lower standards of living and contributing to inflation. I might add two other important factors. One was raised by the President in his Address and by the Prime Minister's Addendum. This refers to the excessive cushioning of life by state subsidies to the point where incentives for work and enterprise are seriously eroded, with disastrous consequences in terms of unemployment, inflation and falling standards of living. The fifth factor contributing to the economic malaise of the industrial countries is that of over-education, referred to by the hon. Member for Ulu Pandan. Over half the 18-year old males in the advanced countries are receiving college education. And college graduates usually look for administrative and managerial jobs. Rapid economic growth up to the end of the sixties brought the job opportunities and the incentives for higher education. But the era of rapid growth is over unless new cheap energy sources are discovered. Consequently, executives and managerial positions are difficult to come by. At the same time, blue-collar jobs go a-begging.”
“Right now, there is one of the severest winters in America which is highlighting the energy crisis in no uncertain terms, particularly in terms of the gas shortage. I think we should take the warning very seriously indeed here in Singapore. I note that a lot of new office buildings and shopping complexes have got central air-conditioning. Even in this very Chamber, a lot of my colleagues and myself have to put on sweaters and coats. I think we can show a good example by raising the thermostat here in this very Chamber to conserve energy. I would urge that, in designs for new buildings, natural ventilation should be provided for. I have seen some of the buildings which have got no windows whatsoever. If the air-conditioning breaks down, there is just no natural ventilation, It would be very stifling. There is a lot of wastage. A lot of common corridors and so on have got central air-conditioning. Very often they are so cold that when the number of people is not sufficient one just cannot stand the cold or one catches flu in the process.”
“This means that they would demand wheel chairs, nursing care and so on and so forth. But they lack the effective demand to buy those goods and services. So it is difficult and painful for the industries there to adjust their production patterns. Therefore, both on the supply side and the demand side, there has been these difficulties. Indeed, Sir, the studies of productivity and profitability in America have shown that both rates have declined since the early sixties. If this is true, then we are in for a period of painful adjustments which monetary and fiscal measures will do little to alleviate, In fact, my own belief is that both these policies will lead to more inflation rather than more employment. In addition, energy prices are expected to rise inexorably for the foreseeable future. Here again, Sir, too many of us allow ourselves to be beguiled by the talk of alternative forms of energy, like solar energy, gasification of coal, thermonuclear energy, and so on and so forth, In actual fact, the alternative forms of energy are still far off in the future. Even Edward Teller, the father of the H-bomb, says that the hydrogen bomb principle as a form of energy will not be commercially practicable until the 21st century. In the meantime the known reserve of oil is being rapidly depleted. We read of new oil fields in the North Sea, in the Arctic, in China, and so on. But these are marginal fields in the sense that the costs of production are very high. What good does it do if it takes $10 per barrel to extract a barrel of oil in the Arctic circle to sell for $1 1 a barrel. In net terms we only realise $1 worth of oil. In other words, it takes energy to recover energy. So one should not be beguiled by the actual numbers which are bandied about.”
“Hence we can see that if we increase our wages without increasing our productivity we will raise the prices for our exports of goods and services. If foreigners find other countries' goods and services to be cheaper, we shall lose out in export sales. This leads me on to the unfavourable world economic conditions referred to by the Ministry of Finance, Early last year, in this Chamber, I warned that economic recovery in the industrial countries might stall because of insufficient new investments. This has been clearly vindicated by events. The main reason is that the rate of technological innovations appears to have slowed down in the advanced countries, therefore leading to fewer investments. At the same time, the aging population structure in those countries has altered the pattern of demand, necessitating painful and difficult changes in production patterns because in the aftermath of the Second World War there was a big population boom all over the world, even in the advanced countries. This big population boom gave rise to a lot of demand, initially for maternity services, nurseries, kindergartens, schools, colleges, universities, teen-age fashions like 2nd generation jeans and so on and so forth. But since the early sixties, the rate of population growth in the advanced countries had declined very drastically so that the numbers of young people in some cases, have gone down not only as a proportion of population but also in absolute numbers. So those industries catering to the demands of the young suffer excess capacity. At the same time, Sir, there are many more older people proportionately as well as absolutely in the advanced countries, and we are catching up in this respect. In America, I understand about 10% of the population are above the age of 60.”
“To some extent, of course, job-hopping reflects the problems of adjustment that result from lack of information about the jobs undertaken. Perhaps we should provide more counselling in schools, colleges and universities to help graduates pick the careers more suited to their temperament and attitudes and so on, instead of penalising them later for hopping from job to job. The Ministry of Labour, in its Addendum, rightly reiterates that our workers must work harder, upgrade their skills and increase their productivity. Despite the efforts of the Labour Ministry and the National Wages Council, productivity is still not sufficiently understood as a concept and as a principle governing our livelihood. Put simply, productivity is the relation between output ,(what is produced) and input (what is used in the production process). Output can be in the form of goods such as cloth, shoes, transistors, watches, etc, or services such as typing, transport, serving in a restaurant, etc. Inputs are the labour expended by workers, machine-time and materials used in the production process. Singapore is crucially dependent on the degree of productivity of all of us who work. Since we have no natural resources, we make use of imported machines and materials and export our goods and services, earning our livelihood in the process. The process is the same, whether we are engaged in entrepot trade, manufacturing or financial and other services. It follows, therefore, that we can better our standards of living only if we become more and more productive or efficient, in other words, only if we can increase our output without increasing our input or if we can increase our output faster than we increase our input. This is meant by increasing our productivity.”
“However, I would like to recommend that Constituency Sports Clubs be given more generous funds in order to cater adequately to the needs of the young and to promote mass participation in sports. In Whampoa, for example, I have to look for $1 5,000 this year to finance the enthusiastic plans of my Sports Club. Speaking of the needs of the young, Sir, I should also like to urge the National Library to set up more branches, at least one in every housing estate. Sir, the costs of encouraging healthy pursuits like sports and reading will bring rich dividends like reducing drug addiction and delinquency. The aged also need increasing attention, as the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs remind us. Over the last few days, MPs and Ministers have been handing out ang pows and hampers to the aged. And I am doing so tonight. If I may say so, this is a fine gesture. However, let us also think about how some of these destitute old people are going to survive until the next distribution of ang pows. Government will have to do more for the aged. Unfortunately, this may also in the process encourage the abandonment of the aged by their children and grandchildren who simply pass the buck to the government. Nevertheless we should not allow ourselves to be deterred. At the same time we should make every effort to instil filial piety in our youth. At least two Members, the Members for Marine Parade and Toa Payoh, spoke about the problem of job-hopping among young workers and executives. I agree substantially with both of them that we should refrain from unnecessary and even detrimental action. Job-hopping usually increases when there is more rapid economic growth. Over the last two years there seemed to be fewer complaints about it because our economic growth had slowed down.”
“I think, therefore, that it would be unfair to move hawkers forcibly into sites which are likely to result in poor business or even losses. Instead. I would urge the Hawkers' Department and HDB to make careful studies of the sites of proposed new Hawker Centres to ensure that business will be there when they are operational. Population concentrations, easy accessibility and ample parking places are three critical factors, With regard to the proposed increases in hawker licence fees. I would urge for careful study to prevent an escalation of cost-of-living increases to workers. Moreover, not all hawker centres are equally prosperous. Sometime last year I heard that the Hawkers' Department intends to phase out Pasar Malam sites. I think it would be a pity to phase out what has become a colourful feature of our night life. Sir, even in advanced countries, bazaars are popular and colourful events. We should not be over-anxious to establish such an orderly existence that life loses some of its colour, Furthermore, Pasar Malam allows hawkers that extra elbowroom to earn that extra margin that makes life more tolerable. Already the urbanisation and rapid development of Singapore has unsettled lives and removed some traditional means of livelihood. We should therefore make every effort to provide a little leeway for small enterprises. Several Ministries' Addenda referred to the problems of the young, particularly the Ministries of Education, Home Affairs and Social Affairs. I think the emphasis is very necessary. I welcome, in particular, the greater efforts being expended by the Singapore Sports Council.”
“I understand, of course, that poor lawyers have got a living to make but some of them make it rather comfortably. Sir, may I make some further reference to the HDB. Recently, some of the coffee-shop operators in my constituency were summoned for placing tables and chairs for the use of customers in the five-foot way and public concourse areas nearby. I appealed unsuccessfully to the HDB to allow them to do so as the customers clearly prefer the open air. Sir, obstruction can be prevented by careful delineation and the HDB can certainly charge additional rental for a specified number of chairs and tables placed outside the coffee-shop and proprietors can be held responsible for maintaining cleanliness and for keeping noise to a minimum. Sir, in many countries, as in Singapore, side-walk cafes are very popular. I do not see why the HDB should so unreasonably confine coffee-shop operators. The Addendum on the Ministry of National Development states that 55% of our population is already living in HDB flats and that by 1980, two million residents are expected. Sir, I have noticed that the HDB insists on a lot of uniformity, for example, in designs of window grilles and iron-doors. Why cannot the Board allow residents some variety? I suggest that, as the vast majority of our people will eventually live in HDB flats, the housing regulations should be carefully examined to prevent the imposition of unnecessarily drab uniformity. Sir, in the Addendum on the Ministry of the Environment, it is stated that the Ministry intends to move unlicensed hawkers into vacant stalls in existing hawker centres whether they like it or not. From my knowledge of hawker centres. Sir, vacancies persist only in those centres where business is poor.”