Chai Chong Yii
Singapore
“The other problem is that manpower will not be fully utilised due to the reduction of routes or frequency. Now, the MRT is only running at about half of its full capacity. When fully completed and all the routes are fully used, it will affect the manpower even more.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Code TG 2000 of the Main Estimates. Sir, this morning the Minister of State explained the rationale for withdrawing the priority in the allocation of rental shop units. I have no quarrel over that point.”
“Sir, perhaps I did not make myself clear. The other park which the Minister of State mentioned is normally known as Xiao Qui Lin. It is more or less completed. But if he can put in some more facilities, like pavilions or running tracks around it, that would add to the facilities and it would make it an even better attraction.”
“The Government looks forward to cooperating with leaders of the Malay community to build a stronger multi-racial society, both in Singapore in general, and particularly in the Singapore Armed Forces.”
“Purchase of Properties for Overseas Missions (7) That the sum to be allocated for Head O be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead OA-03-8101 of the Development Estimates. The sum of $56,192,200 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $20,776,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.”
“I would like to ask the Minister for Communications and Information to be bold and courageous in the formulation of land transport policies so that our successors in this Parliament, and our children, will not, 20 or 30 years from now, blame us for the problems that we have caused for them or for the lack of courage in opting for firm mea…”
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“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“The other problem is that manpower will not be fully utilised due to the reduction of routes or frequency. Now, the MRT is only running at about half of its full capacity. When fully completed and all the routes are fully used, it will affect the manpower even more. If excess vehicles and redundant manpower were to be fully made used of, then I think new bus services should be provided between new towns such as from Toa Payoh to Tampines New Town or from Hougang to Marine Parade. I hope the Minister will consider these suggestions.”
“But if it is too cheap, then the bus companies may consider whether they would like to provide such services or not. These are contradictory interests. They need a solution. Therefore, if 15 cents bus fare has affected the profits of the bus companies, then it would not be able to achieve the objective of the integration of land transport systems. So I hope that the Public Transport Council would take this into consideration when they process applications by bus companies to provide feeder or shuttle services. Earlier, the Minister mentioned about the full use of the MRT by introducing a through-ticket system. The Minister expressed the hope that within three years, it would be able to introduce the system. It will be about 1991, while full MRT services will be ready by 1990. There will be a lag of one year. I think if there is not through fare, it will hinder the full use of the MRT. I hope the Minister will give active consideration to this and try to speed up the time when the through-ticket system will be used in conjunction with MRT services when the latter is fully in operation by 1990. Although the bus companies and the MRT are complementing each other in services, being competitors, they also have certain conflicts of interest. If the bus companies want to be viable in the face of convenient and comfortable services pro- vided by the MRT, they should try harder to upgrade their services; one way is to use more air-conditioned buses. I would also like to point out that under competition, certain routes would be affected. In fact, some routes have been abolished, and in others, the frequency of service reduced. I think there will arise two problems. Firstly, some buses will be laid off. They are very expensive and it will be a waste if they are not used.”
“The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Mr Tang Guan Seng)( In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to talk about the integration of land transport systems. Since the setting up of MRT, the next most important task is to make optimum use of the MRT. In other words, private car owners should reduce the use of their cars on weekdays and use the MRT more. Just now, the Minister when answering a question by the Member for Fengshan about constructing car parks around the MRT stations said that he was not quite in favour of such a suggestion. I think another alternative is to improve the feeder or shuttle bus services in various new towns and integrate them with the MRT. Amongst the new towns, Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh have good feeder bus services. However, since the MRT has been put to use, there are still a lot of people in these two new towns who drive their cars to work. This shows that we should educate the car-owning population to make fuller use of MRT. The MRT has also done a lot in educating the people on how to make use of the MRT. I wonder how far this has gone down with the owners of private cars and how successful it has been in educating them to integrate the use of cars with the MRT. On the other hand, there are housing estates where shuttle bus servies are inadequate. For example, between Outram MRT station and Bukit Merah, there is no shuttle service. Residents living in areas with insufficient feeder or shuttle service will not be able to utilize fully the MRT. With regard to the insufficiency of feeder services, I think the question of bus fares should be looked into. A feeder bus service is about 15 cents a trip. It has been for some time. If it is practical, of course, it is beneficial and convenient to the commuters.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IC 1000 of the Main Estimates. I move this cut with a view to seeking more information on the improvement of public transport within the Bukit Batok New Town. Bukit Batok New Town, on the whole, is very well planned and the bus services to the City and from the City are also quite acceptable. But the shuttle service within the New Town is facing some problems, perhaps on the routing. There are complaints,especially during the morning peak hours. Luckily, with the introduction of MRT on 12th March, 1988, SBS immediately introduced a shuttle service (SS 3) from Bukit Batok New Town to Clementi MRT station. This has helped very much to relieve the problem. I would like to thank SBS for the immediate introduction of this service. In view of the complaints, I have asked the various Residents' Committees within the Bukit Batok New Town to help find a solution by putting their heads together to try and see, within the constraints of the number of buses available provided by the SBS, whether they can help to find a better routing. I do not really expect them to have more expertise than the bus company, but this suggestion is merely to bring the bus company and the grassroots organizations closer together to see each other's problems so that, with a closer rapport, solutions can be found to improve the shuttle services within the Bukit Batok New Town. I wonder whether the Minister will liaise with the bus company or get his officers to liaise with the bus company to work together with the grassroots organizations so that, within the constraints of their resources, a better routing can be arranged.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister of State and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Code TG 2000 of the Main Estimates. Sir, this morning the Minister of State explained the rationale for withdrawing the priority in the allocation of rental shop units. I have no quarrel over that point. I just want to voice the unhappiness of shopkeepers in my constituency and at the same time to ask the Minister to look into the possibility of granting similar preferential margin to these shopkeepers if they should decide to purchase HDB shop units, because recently the Government decided to sell HDB shop units instead. May I know whether this concession can be granted to them?”
“I thank the Minister of State and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Completed in April! At least I can convey the good news to my residents. Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, I will ask the Parks and Recreation Department to look into whether the Bukit Batok Town Park needs additional facilities or not.”
“Sir, perhaps I did not make myself clear. The other park which the Minister of State mentioned is normally known as Xiao Qui Lin. It is more or less completed. But if he can put in some more facilities, like pavilions or running tracks around it, that would add to the facilities and it would make it an even better attraction. As to the Bukit Batok Nature Park which is bounded by Upper Bukit Timah Road and Hillview Avenue, I am glad to hear that it will be completed quite soon. Do I get you right?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Code TD 9854043 of the Development Estimates. Sir, I am moving this amendment just to get a progress report on the Bukit Batok Park. This multi-million dollar project has been going on for quite some time. I understand that, after its completion, it will have a wide range of facilities. The project is actually facing Bukit Batok New Town. I pass the place almost every alternate day. At the moment, I see only trees and a road leading to the park with a steel chain running across the road to prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering. I see a few more adventurous youngsters venture into the uncompleted park, maybe just to have a feel of it. But it may be dangerous because people have drowned in the disused quarry ponds inside. I only want to know whether the Minister will give me a progress report and to tell me what will be the facilities and when will the facilities be available to the residents. And whether he would make use of his good office to try and speed up the completion of the project. Because the park is just right in front of the nose, the residents would like to make use of the park as soon as possible.”
“Financing of the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (13) That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead IH-01 of the Development Estimates.”
“Grants-in-aid (24) That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead LE-01-3110 of the Main Estimates.”
“Resettlement (28) That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead TG-01-8101 of the Development Estimates.”
“Purchase of Properties for Overseas Missions (7) That the sum to be allocated for Head O be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead OA-03-8101 of the Development Estimates. The sum of $56,192,200 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $20,776,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head T -”
“The Government looks forward to cooperating with leaders of the Malay community to build a stronger multi-racial society, both in Singapore in general, and particularly in the Singapore Armed Forces. Mr Chandra Das: Mr Chairman, Sir, as stated, the discussion of this problem is not a new one, except that the problem is now discussed more openly. For this, I am grateful to the Second Minister for his very frank and detailed explanation. Sir, on this note, I withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“It is a national problem: how to integrate a multiracial society. Today I would just like to make two comments. Firstly, greater participation in the SAF will follow greater integration, not the other way round. It is not a chicken and egg problem. It is not the case that unless we completely change our SAF policies today further integration is impossible. Progress can be made but progress will be made patiently, incrementally, step by step. There is a Malay proverb which puts it accurately, "Sedikit sedikit, lama lama menjadi bukit". That is what we want to achieve. One grain of sand at a time and eventually we will accumulate a mountain. Secondly, as the MPs have pointed out, the way to deal with this problem is not to sweep it under the carpet and to pretend that it does not exist, but to discuss it frankly, sensitively, responsibly, as we hope to do in discussing the National Agenda, and as I had in mind when I decided to give an honest answer to a serious, sober, constructive question, in Yuhua. My answer generated intense discussion, not just in this country. I think the response within this country from the Malay MPs and leaders and Majlis Pusat has been constructive and heartening. I particularly agree with their views on two points: Firstly, this is a Singapore problem. We will solve it ourselves. Only Singaporeans can determine our own destiny. Secondly, let us take a problem-solving approach to this issue. Let us study how to quicken the pace of progress, how to strengthen the sense of belonging and mutual respect of all Singaporeans. If we proceed resolutely in this direction, then over the next few years, steadily and surely, Singapore society will become more integrated; our national identity will be strengthened.”
“The Prime Minister has said this at the NUS, that in the 60s and 70s, the Chinese community looked towards China. Developments in China and upheavals in China caused ripples and reverberations in Singapore. The same was true of the Indian community and India. Over time, with intensive nation building efforts, this problem has lessened, but it would be foolhardy to say that it has been completely solved. On some potentially grave matters, eg, the Herzog visit, it is still obvious that Singaporeans react on racial and religious lines. This does not mean that the present situation will never improve. The solution is not to do nothing; it is to proceed with caution. A mistake now might lead to racial and religious disharmony in the SAF. Not only would this weaken the SAF's operational readiness, but much more important, it would set back all our efforts over so many years to build unity and trust amongst our various races. I am optimistic about progress. The new generation of Singaporeans are more rational, more pragmatic in their thinking. There are already signs of a change in outlook among younger Malays who have grown up in Singapore since independence, who have been educated in national stream schools. They say their pledge everyday, they sing the same national anthem, as pointed out by the Member for Geylang Serai just now. It is because there has been this change that the SAF has been able to make the adjustments and the progress which I described earlier. As Singapore society becomes more integrated, so too Malay participation in the SAF will increase. This is really a wider problem. The full discussion will be beyond the scope of today's debate but the wider problem is not Malay participation in the SAF.”
“They are still few but the number of Malay national service officers is constrained by the small number of Malay 'A' level students, not by any discrimination policy of the SAF. Particularly heartening, fifthly, in preparing my answer to this question, we discovered that four Malay and Muslim officers have been given SAF scholarships to study in the National University of Singapore on Local Training Awards. We did not lower our standards to accommodate them. We did not even know that they had taken up these schemes. There was no discrimination. We are proud of them. So we have made progress. But we cannot simply rescind a policy which has proven to be wise. Our policy is to call up 100% of the eligible Malay NS enlistees for national service, because having everybody serve NS is part of nation building. But where a national serviceman serves, be he Malay or non-Malay, depends on where he will be making the greatest operational contribution and where he can contribute most effectively to the Total Defence of Singapore. The SAF is not only an institution for nation building; it also has an operational role. Its operational role is to defend Singapore against armed attack in case of war. We cannot post a soldier, a national serviceman, to the SAF, or for that matter post him to any particular post in the SAF, simply for purposes of nation building alone. He is there not just for his education but to fulfil a role, an operational role. We have to take this into account. We still have to remember that in a multi-racial society, as was pointed out by Dr Goh 10 years ago but it is still true, "the ethnic distribution of soldiers is obviously an important yet delicate subject." Singapore society is still not fully integrated.”
“So, as from this year, increasing numbers of Malay youths are being enlisted into the army and this will be evident at the decentralised National Day parades this year. The problem ... raised is, therefore, a passing one.' That was on 23rd February 1977. In the decade since Dr Goh spoke, we have made significant progress. Some of the MPs alluded to this just now in their speeches. I will just identify a few major milestones. Firstly, the proportion of Malays who have been called up for national service has increased steadily. And for the past two years starting with the March 1985 intake of national servicemen, every eligible male citizen without exception, including Malays, is called up to serve national service, either in the SAF, in the Police, in the Civil Defence or in the Fire Brigade. Apart from medical and security cases, nobody is left out. Secondly, in the SAF itself, the proportion of Malays amongst national service enlistees has doubled since 1977. Thirdly, now that more Malays are serving in the SAF, they are being posted more widely in the armed forces. For example, as noted by the Member for Siglap, and also by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry, Encik Sidek Saniff, earlier in a speech, several Malays are now serving in the Commando Battalion. Fourthly, and this is the question of meritocracy raised by the Member for Geylang Serai - where a person is posted in the SAF, depends on many factors. But whether a person is promoted and advanced, depends only on his individual performance and on merit. More Malay 'A' level national servicemen are now making it to OCS and becoming officers.”
“But it is not a new problem, nor have I said anything which the Government has not previously discussed in private with Malay leaders over a period of several years. In 1977, 10 years ago, during the debate on the President's Address in Parliament, the then Member for Telok Blangah, Mr Ahmad Haleem, raised the problem of youths not being selected for national service on reaching the age of 18. This is in Hansard of 15th February 1977, Vol. 36, col. 144. The then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Dr Goh Keng Swee, replied. His reply is in Hansard of 23rd February 1977, Vol. 36, cols. 398-9. And this is what he said: 'In the past, recruitment into the SAF had to take into account the ethnic distribution of soldiers, both national servicemen and regulars. This is an accepted practice in multi-racial societies because military service is a matter of importance and the ethnic distribution of soldiers is obviously an important, yet delicate, subject. When national service began, there was a large preponderance of Malay soldiers in the army because the regulars of the two battalions we inherited from the British were preponderantly Malays. The non-Malays, especially the Chinese, were simply not interested then in joining the army. This was especially true of the regular NCO ranks. Because of this, the intake of Malays into national service was limited for some years. This did not present any problem to the army because total numbers available were in any event much more than could be absorbed into the army. Now, over the years, we had increasing numbers of non-Malays entering the regular service as NCOs and the ethnic balance of this important group of military personnel has moved nearer towards the proportion in the general population.”
“We should be able to call ourselves patriotic Singaporeans and our loyalty, our patriotism, to the State will survive all criticisms and all attacks from any quarters. The Second Minister for Defence (Services) (BG Lee Hsien Loong): Sir, let me respond to the remarks of the Members for Geylang Serai, Kampong Ubi, Bukit Batok and also Chong Boon. Let me start with what I said in Yuhua Constituency on the 22nd February 1987. I did not have a script then but I chose my words carefully, and I repeat them now as they were reported in the Straits Times the next day: 'We live in South East Asia. If there is a conflict, if the SAF is called upon to defend our homeland, we don't want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position where his emotions for the nation may come in conflict with his emotions for his religion, because these are two very strong fundamentals, and if they are not compatible, then they will be two very strong destructive forces in opposite directions.' Soldiers in combat must have no qualms about what they are fighting for. 'And we don't want to put anybody in that position where he feels he is not fighting a just cause, and perhaps worse, maybe his side is not the right side. That would be an intolerable position for the person and an unworkable position for the armed forces.' 'It's a reality of life and it is something we cannot dodge, but which, gradually, as a national identity develops, will grow to be less of a problem.' All this is true. My answer was more open than earlier answers which the Government had previously given in public, in recognition of the greater maturity of Singapore society and the greater readiness of Singaporeans to discuss sensitive but important issues which face the nation.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the feelings with regard to our race, to our religion and to our language are three feelings which are very intimate to one another. I will say it is part of our soul. When we became independent in 1965, those of us here who were all born before that date, were born as Chinese, as Malays, as Indians or Eurasians or even as other races. We were not Singaporeans in the legal sense. When we became independent on 9th August 1965, we were legally made Singaporeans. Our feelings towards our race, our religion and our language cannot change overnight. And, we have to live with this. We inherited from the British a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-lingual society. This is what we have. Sir, our culture can change but slowly. Our emotions and our spirit will be even more difficult to change. But if we have the will, since this is within our control, we should be able to work conscientiously towards the objectives of a true Singaporean. If we work as Singaporeans, we think as Singaporeans, we play as Singaporeans, we even sleep as Singaporeans, and if we are prepared to fight and die as Singaporeans, then we can truly and proudly call ourselves Singaporeans. Sir, the world as we know today is full of bloody conflicts directly or indirectly due to religious beliefs. We can only hope that Singapore at the crossroads of the world will be exempted from this sort of troubles. If all Singaporeans vow to be true Singaporeans and put nation above everything else and set this priority right emotionally and spiritually, ie, the nation's interest is above racial groups and it is also above our family's and above the individual self, then we should have no fear.”
“I have a cut under National Day but I would like to bring up the same issue. Can I speak now?”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $106,433,720 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $31,441,100 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head Q -”
“They are selling fish and prawns, chilled fish and prawns, so there is ice everywhere. I personally find it very difficult for them to follow exactly what the MOE officers want them to do. I hope the Ministry will be sympathetic towards them as this is the first dry market and from the very beginning when they tendered for the stall, they did not know exactly what actually is expected of them. Another observation I would like to make is complaints from mini-markets, which I have received. MOE officers get themselves involved in the layout. They say that putting vegetables here is not beautiful enough; they should put it right behind and that the dry stuff (provisions) should be in front. From the hawker's point of view, what he wants is business. So I would like the Ministry to clarify exactly what is the policy of the Ministry towards the hawkers, especially in this dry market. To me, the officers are mainly concerned with pollution and health standards. They should not be concerned with the beauty of the stalls, nor how to do business, because that is a matter for the hawkers themselves to decide. These are very basic issues. If this dry market problem cannot be resolved, subsequent dry markets will also face the same problem. May I request the Minister to look into this and formulate certain regulations. I would be pleased to assist in conveying all these regulations provided they are reasonable and can be observed.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to make a few observations on the dry market in my constituency. Bukit Batok New Town is honoured that a dry market is given to this New Town. This is the first dry market we have in Singapore, and so there is not any specific clear-cut yardstick to follow. As a result, the market stallholders face quite a bit of difficulties in understanding exactly what is required of them. The MOE officers have been kind enough to explain to them exactly what to do. However, from the hawkers' point of view, all this advice should be given to them before they start business. But this advice was made known to them only a few months after they have already started to operate this business. Basically speaking, the dry market which I visited is not much different from a lock-up stall except that the floor of the dry market is about six inches lower than the passageway. Perhaps that is to prevent water from flowing out to make sure that the wet stall areas are kept away from wetting the passageway. Presumably, a layman will interpret that way. However, it appears that that is not the interpretation of the MOE officers. MOE officers insisted that the stallholder must re-arrange his stall in such a way that it is a few feet away from the passageway so that customers will be able to step down inside the stall, and then the hawkers are to make sure that the place is kept dry. If that is actually the intention, I would say, it is very good. MOE officers want customers the customers to be comfortable and they also would not want to wet their feet. But if you know exactly what the hawkers are selling, then you will appreciate that it is very difficult for them to follow the instructions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, CPF is a very hot issue. It has been discussed both inside this Chamber and outside this Chamber. I would like to endorse the views expressed by the Members before me, appealing to the Minister to allow CPF funds to be used for education. Sir, this is part and parcel of the Asian value. I personally think the risk is worth taking. However, if the Minister still thinks that that is not permissible under existing rules, perhaps he would like to consider the alternative of providing a loan from CPF to the children of the CPF members whereby either interest is charged at the same rate of interest paid to the members or no interest at all to show his support to the education programme. 12.45 pm Sir, I would also like to appeal to the Minister to direct the CPF Board to look into the possibility of providing more information on the statements sent to CPF members every year. At the moment, what we have is only one line under various columns. For those employees whose salaries are variable, whose pay includes overtime, shift allowance, etc, they are in no position to check the accuracy of the amounts contributed. Even for an accountant, sometimes it will take quite some time to really verify the accounts. Printed on the statement is a note saying that should the member have any query on the accuracy, he is requested to inform the Board. The majority of the members are in no position to check and to inform the CPF Board whether the figures are accurate. Sir, I would like to make this appeal, as quite a number of my constituents have brought this to my attention. I also read about this request in the newspapers. Perhaps the Minister would like to ask his officials to look into this possibility if the cost is not prohibitive.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head Q be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead QA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates*. Sir, the Neighbourhood Police Post scheme has created, to a certain extent, a friendly image of our Police Force. It has also made our people more willing to come forward to help the Police. And in turn, they expect more protection from our Police. However, under the existing law if you feel that your safety is threatened by another person, you can only issue him with a civil summons. If you are beaten up by someone who does not use a dangerous weapon, your complaint to the Police will not help much either. You are likely to be advised to seek redress through the issue of a civil summons because it is classified as a civil case. Sir, with karate, kung fu and other martial arts being more popular, the bare hands are as dangerous as weapons. Modern living in Singapore is getting more complicated. One can feel threatened, even though if you are not beaten up. So in modern living, we have to be guided by rules and regulations, and the average people invariably look towards the Police for protection. I would like to ask the Minister whether there is any plan to amend the existing law so that the Police can intervene when requested to do so. This will indirectly help prevent the spread of secret society activities which the Government has taken a lot of effort to put down.”
“I would like to ask the Minister for Communications and Information to be bold and courageous in the formulation of land transport policies so that our successors in this Parliament, and our children, will not, 20 or 30 years from now, blame us for the problems that we have caused for them or for the lack of courage in opting for firm measures to control the rising car population. I feel that we should look at our road transport policies in perspective in relation to the resources that we have. We know that it may be trite, even elementary, to say that we have limited resources. But I think people forget about this. Some people do not even understand that resources have alternative uses. We need land for housing, for economic activities, for recreation and parks, for roads, for reservoirs, for training areas, for catchment, for schools and so on. An hon. Member: Golf courses.”
“I would like to ask SBC to produce more of these filmlets because it subconsciously reinforces what is being taught in our schools about Asian values. The Minister of State for Home Affairs and Community Development (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Sir, I would just like to spend five minutes on this amendment. The Member for Potong Pasir made two suggestions on how to improve our land transportation system. First, he said that we should educate our motorists so that our expressways would not be clogged up. The second suggestion was to decentralize Government offices. In fact, he commended the Government, the Immigration Department, in particular, which has started a move to decentralize some of its services. If you just make a count of the Government Ministries, the headquarters in particular, you will find that about half, or slightly more than half, fall outside the busy business areas. The large Government departments, like Mindef and the Environment Ministry fall outside the CBD areas. What else is new? In fact, since 1982, there has already been an Interim Expressway Patrol Unit that patrols the highways and expressways, and this special unit will be upgraded to a patrol car unit to provide better enforcement measures along expressways. A number of measures have also been taken by the Home Affairs Ministry to educate our motorists. One, there were two filmlets reminding our drivers not to road hog, how to drive carefully and how to drive safely, and these filmlets were shown regularly over the television. The second one was a brochure containing Expressway Rules which was distributed during road safety exhibitions and other exhibitions. We have done a number of things to educate our motorists on the use of roads.”
“No, not a Ghost Town. There are quite a few complaints of bus transport services. I spoke to the bus company. I would like to say that they do respond to my appeal and recently their services have improved. But I must say it is still not good enough. 3.30 pm [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] As more and more people move into the New Town, every morning many of my residents complain that they are unable to reach office in time. I realize that in any new town you always have this difficulty of providing sufficient buses for the new residents. I would like to appeal to the Minister to do whatever he can to improve the bus services to Bukit Batok New Town. The second point I would like to raise is the TAS. We know that TAS has done a good job in providing telecommunication services to Singaporeans. At the moment, we can say that the world is at our finger-tips. We can reach almost every part of the world within a few seconds. This is a good job done by TAS. What I would like to find out from the Minister is why is it that the rates charged for international calls vary. For example, if you call from USA, you pay less than if you call from Singapore. I know there is a way of calculation whereby the TAS will cream off the difference. But in order to promote more business and to further improve the Singapore status as a communication centre, I would like to appeal to the Minister to consider further lowering the international telephone rates. The third point I would like to speak on is SBC. I would like to compliment SBC for doing a good job. I am especially interested in watching the short filmlets which teach our society a bit of our Asian values. The filmlet on the story of Chinese characters, for example, is very short, but very interesting.”
“Sir, I would like to use this opportunity to appeal on behalf of my constituents, asking the Minister to pay a bit more attention to the Bukit Batok New Town. I have received many complaints of - An hon. Member: It is a Ghost Town!”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, another point I would like to raise for consideration of the Minister is perhaps we could also think of a way whereby we can allocate a plot of land to be used as a place for a Sunday market, not so much for selling commercial wares, but selling any artifacts or handicrafts made by people themselves at home as a pastime. This is not so much to help them to get economic returns but to provide some interest, some life, in itself because if they can show to their fellow residents what they have achieved, they can make themselves feel useful in life. Sir, these are the two points that I would like the Minister to consider.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to raise a point about the control of hawkers. This issue was raised by the Member for Hong Kah just now. I would like to make an appeal to the Minister to reconsider the existing policy of not issuing hawker's licences to those over the age of 60. 1 know at the moment the policy of the Ministry is that those who are older than 60 years are normally not allowed to be a hawker other than on poverty grounds. Sir, human resource is what we have. According to a Table I just received, life expectancy of Singaporeans is now 71.2 years. So for those who are 60 years old, they are too young to rest in peace and too old to get employment. So I would appeal to the ministry to review its policy on hawker's licence. Sir, many farmers who are resettled in Housing Board flats know only farming, maybe for 30-40 years, and now they are reseffled in Housing Board flats. They cannot do anything but to sit at the void deck and chit chat or complain about how dull life is in their new environment. These old gentlemen, sad to say, some of them do not survive very long. Although we are encouraging them to join senior citizens' clubs, I personally feel work is life in our Asian society. Without work, life has lost its shining surface. Besides if we can see someone working, maybe in tending a garden plot in a Housing Board area where at the moment we plant it with beautiful grass, life gives you more meaning. I am not sure whether the Housing Board should not permit these vacant places to be opened up as garden plots so that these old gentlemen will be able to plant some flowers, either poned or not or even some vegetables, not so much to earn a living but to keep on living.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I just want to clarify one point. It so happens that the case mentioned by the Member for Anson happened in my constituency, ie, the Indian woman with two children married a Malaysian who was sent back. I think the Member is barking up the wrong tree. The decision came from the Commissioner of Employment, Ministry of Labour. I handled this case. I met her on no less than four occasions. She was brought to me by a very eloquent Indian gentleman who spoke very good English. So I could understand the case very well. I fought the case until the very last moment when - I would say it was almost successful - the Ministry of Labour, (in fact, through the good offices of the Parliamentary Secretary) told me that she has completed all her formalities and her case would be considered favourably. I tried to look for her but she had disappeared. Obviously, she must have gone to the Member for Anson thinking that he could do better. So I stopped short there. Actually her suffering was unnecessary. I am not trying to fight for business. If she thinks that the Member for Anson can do better for her, I can only say, I sympathize with her, as I cannot help her anymore. However, there is no grudge against her. If she feels like coming back to my branch, I am still willing to help her. 3.00 pm”
“Nowadays the steps are laid with red bricks, nicely lined on each side. They look very beautiful, but to the old and the elderly, they are not interested so much in its beauty but rather they are more interested in how safe it is to climb the flight of steps. There are occasions when the elderly having to walk a long distance to their home are afraid to take the short cut by way of climbing the steps, as they fear they may fall over the steps or they are unable to climb them. These are the few points I would like the Minister to comment on.”
“Sir, the tender system has been in use for quite some time in fixing the rentals of HDB shops. It is simple to use. However, when a shopkeeper finds that he is unable to make ends meet, he is losing, there is no way, at the moment, he can get the rental reduced, other than folding-up and re-tender. This tender system has been adopted for many years. I would like to recommend to the Minister that perhaps a new system be introduced, such as a fixed rental determined by the Housing Board, or by a suitable committee and the rental reviewed once in five years. In other words, when a person obtains a shop or rents a shop from the HDB, it is only for a period of five years. The rental fixed by HDB will be applicable for five years. So it will be reviewed at five-year interval. May I hear the views of the Minister? The third point I would like the Minister to comment on is the new design for Housing Board flats. Sir, the flats built in Bukit Batok New Town are very beautiful, designed presumably by capable young architects. But some residents complained to me that there are small features which are not suitable, as far as they are concerned. They complained of water getting into their house, not leaking but because the roof is not wide enough or is too near the window, or whatever the case. So the residents are inconvenienced because of these minor defects. May I suggest to the Minister that the design architects be asked to visit the residents, say, after the residents have moved in, and to evaluate every new type of flats which they designed so as to perfect it. Sir, we like to see beautiful flats, but we also like to see the flat serves its need. Another example is the steps on the slopes in Housing Board estates.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to say that I endorse the view expressed by the Member for Nee Soon on resettlement. My constituency is one of the rural constituencies although I now have one new housing estate, the Bukit Batok New Town, in my constituency which is growing every day. Those who are resettled in the new housing estate, especially the senior citizens, very often complained to me that they felt very disappointed. In fact, they told me that whenever they see a piece of resettled land left vacant for a long time, they just do not understand why the Government should inflict on them the unnecessary difficulties well ahead of the time. Besides, I would like to raise three points for comment by the Minister. The first is on development charge. The Minister of Finance mentioned in his Budget speech that the Government would be reviewing the development charge which at the moment, is calculated at 70% of the enhanced value of land as a result of more intensive development or change of zoning. He also said that this is basically a form of tax. Mr Speaker, Sir, I think this is more a form of a levy than a tax because it is a fixed sum collected, irrespective of whether a profit can be made. If it is collected from the developers after the profit has been made, I think there will not be that much complaint. At the moment, when the property market is bad, may I suggest to the Minister, while considering this point of reviewing the percentage of development charge, that the method of collecting the development charge should also be changed or deferred to a time when a profit has been made. The second point I would like the Minister to comment on is the tender system still in use for HDB shops.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since I have only one minute, I would just join the Members in giving my observation on whether or not the CPF Board has money to pay its members. As a professional accountant, I know that the CPF Board operates more like a big bank. It is like saying that the biggest bank in Singapore will have no money to pay its depositors. If we make this sort of misleading statement, unless the intention is to have a run on the bank or to have a run on the CPF Board, I think it is irresponsible. [Applause] 3.29 pm”
“(2) That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead IA-01 Object Group 1210 of the Main Estimates.”
“The answer given by the Minister of State is quite in detail. I only hope that he would be able to see the successful fruition of his policy. But my concern is about some of the school principals who are basically monolingual. I am not saying that those school principals who know only one language will despise the second language but sometimes when you do not know something you would neglect it. Those teachers who are in difficulties perhaps would be more sensitive than others because they are faced with this risk of being sent to another place. So they tend to be a bit more sensitive: I would be very glad to provide the information in this respect to the Hon. Minister for private discussion. On this note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”
“We know that the Chinese teachers especially those who are between the ages of 45 and 50, many of them have contributed quite a lot towards the building of our nation. Although they do not claim credit for themselves, in our oriental tradition we ought somewhat to take care of their welfare. I would like to know what is the Ministry's view on this. Secondly, when all our schools have been turned into the unified national stream schools, our teachers will have to teach mainly in English. Most of the teachers who are English educated will have more understanding of Western culture than Oriental-culture. I would like to ask the Minister whether he has any plans to conduct training courses for those teachers who do not have an adequate knowledge of oriental cultures, so that they would know the cultures of our oriental world better. Culture like many other things, cannot be propagated simply by word of mouth but also by example and through nurture. We have to lot them appreciate their own cultures, and be proud of it so that they would not slowly degrade themselves into rootless pseudo-Western people. I would like to seek the Minister of State's view on this.”
“Sir, I beg to move, The the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead LD-02 of the Main Estimates. Sir, I wish to take this opportunity to query the Minister of State for Education on two small points. If these two small problems are not dealt with correctly, it will have grave consequences on the quality of our future generation. We know that after 1987 all our schools in Singapore will be of the national stream, i.e. all the schools in Singapore will be using English as the teaching medium and all the mother tongues, including Chinese, Malay and Tamil, will be supplementary second languages. 7.05pm. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] First of all, we like to talk about the question of teachers of Chinese medium. This type of national stream schools when set up will have a grave problem whereby many Chinese teachers will be out of job. Although the Ministry has issued state- ments that these teachers would not be retrenched, but this is only to settle the problem of their work adjustment. I know that there are some teachers in the Chinese schools who are not in a position to teach second language because they do not have specific training. Some of them are old. If we are to retrain them into teachers of second language, it would be difficult. I would like to know whether the Ministry of Education has any plan for these unfortunate teachers and what arrangements will been made for them? I have heard that some Chinese teachers have been sent to the English schools to teach second language. But once they step into the English schools, they seem to be not welcome. They have a feeling of being left out as though their work in the school is just being tolerated.”
“This will improve considerably the flow of traffic on our roads where the maximum speed exceeds 50 kph. 7.45 p.m.”
“Sir, whenever I am outside Singapore, very often I hear complimentary remarks about our traffic system. They praise our traffic planners for their foresight and the Traffic Police for their efficiency and sometimes for their politeness. But the reverse often confronts me at my Meet-the People sessions. Very often those constituents who were booked by the Traffic Police would complain of bad traffic arrangement or sometimes even unfair treatment. I think this is due to difference in expectation. Our Government has done a lot to improve our traffic system. It is one of the best in this part of the world but there is still room for improvement. For example, our traffic lanes are not sufficiently regulated. Bukit Timah Road is a three-lane wide road with a speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour. Very often a motorist is forced to travel at not more than 50 kph because the left lane is occupied by an SBS bus, the centre lane by a law-abiding light truck but the right lane is occupied by a slow-moving vehicle preparing to make a U-turn into Dunearn Road. It is not very clear which of the three lanes is meant for fast vehicles travelling at maximum permitted speed - the centre or the right lane. I suggest that the Traffic Department designates different lanes for different maximum and minimum speeds except for overtaking. Goods vehicles irrespective of their size or tonnage are registered with a maximum speed of 50 kph. This means that they are not allowed to exceed this speed at all times. Very often we see unladen light goods vehicles blocking a few cars in the centre lane of the road. May I suggest that unladen light goods vehicles be allowed to move at maximum road speed instead of vehicle speed.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Since it is the announced policy of the Government to provide sewerage for the whole island, may I ask the Minister for the Environment to give priority in constructing sewerage system for that area so that they could be allowed to continue with their trade?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead MC-01 Object Group 1210 of the Main Estimates. Sir, water supply is a lifeline of any country. Singapore has done admirably well to supply to her people clean piped water. As Singapore is only about 600 square kilometres in area, virtually the whole island is a catchment area. Because of this requirement, every effort is taken by our Government to prevent pollution of the raw water flowing into our reservoirs. This policy has the general support of all Singaporeans. Bukit Batok constituency includes large pieces of rural land. Those of my constituents who live in Jurong and Choa Chu Kang areas have done quite a bit to help in keeping our water clean for the common good of the whole of Singapore. The Government, as a whole, must also look after their welfare, wherever possible. For quite some time now, a few hundred of my constituents living along Jalan Bandar area, off Choa Chu Kang Road, are faced with an insoluble problem. They have been making bean cakes and similar items of food in their zinc-roof houses for a few decades. As that area has no proper sewerage system, they have been summoned many times and ordered to cease operation by the Ministry of the Environment. They wish to obey the orders very much. But they face the dilemma of going hungry or facing repeated summons and fines. I have advised them to move to areas where there is a sewerage system, but they could not find any place which is within their means to move to. They have tried to change their trade but did not succeed.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his intention to study the proposal. This proposal is only meant to provoke some thought and further study into it. It is still a very raw piece of proposal. On that note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”