Chin Harn Tong
Singapore
“Singaporeans expect the Ministry to ensure the machines such as cranes and gondolas are properly maintained and operated. Presumably, they are imported for use here only if they are suitable for the purpose.”
“If some employers are too shortsighted to see beyond their pockets, the Ministry should be more active and energetic in rectifying their vision. Practically, every PAP MP in this House, at one time or other, has spoken or written about Singapore's people as being its most important asset.”
“This reluctance is understandable when viewed in relation to the Government's refusal to subsidise commercial activities. However, while the bus companies are private sector companies, the Government has also indicated an intention of privatising the operator of the MRT.”
“I would suggest that the Government consider setting up an Employment Arbitration Court to deal with matters which are now left to the discretion of the Minister and the Commissioner for Labour, and allow individual workers to refer their complaints to the Employment Arbitration Court.”
“In order to be fair to Dr Soin and to be fair to the proposed Women's Charter (Amendment) Bill, I move that Parliament do postpone the debate on this Bill until the Government has introduced the Women's Charter (Amendment) Bill, and we could debate the two Bills together during the Second Reading of the Women's Charter (Amendment) Bill.”
“For that matter, our Government should channel the water conservation tax into water research and not the general revenue. Even if the levy imposed on consumers using more than 20 cubic metres of water a month does not yield much, the fact that our Government finances water research will serve to underline the seriousness of our water sit…”
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Every one of 268 lines we hold for Chin Harn Tong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 6.
“Thank you, Sir,If a network of roads and streets can be likened to an arterial system, then public transport may be considered to be the most important element in a country's bloodstream. For the majority of Singaporeans the public passenger transport service is a basic necessity, whether for their own work, their children's schooling or their families' recreation. It is not surprising that the recent increase in bus fares was received with many complaints and grumbles. Only the shareholders of the Singapore Bus Service Ltd. (SBS) would smile. While the Government may be able to justify its decision to permit the increase, the bus commuters also have ample causes for their resentment over the increase. Apart from their, perhaps, exaggerated fear of the inflationary effect of an increase in bus fares, members of the public felt that the increase would not result in any improvement in the bus service. Mr N. Govindasamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of order. Sir, at this point, do you still rule that the Member for Aljunied is debating the policy of the Ministry of Communications? Or is he debating the Registry of Vehicles and the bus transport service?”
“If a network of roads and streets can be likened to an arterial system, then public transport -”
“Yes, I am speaking on policy matters, Sir.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head HA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1003*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs Teong Eng Siong, Cheong Yuen Chee, P. Govindaswamy, Hwang Soo Jin and Ho Kah Leong.) Sir, in moving this amendment, I have in mind the appalling state of the public transportation system in Singapore.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, although I am not entirely happy with the explanation given by the Minister for Labour, I nevertheless beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“But we have no reliable statistics on the rate of turnover of workers in the whole of Singapore or in an industry or firm. Not too long ago conditions for the issue of work permits were tightened because of some employers' complaints of the high turnover of work permit holders. If we have authoritative and reliable statistics at hand, we can know whether the rate of turnover for work permit holders in a particular industry or establishment is matched by the rate of turnover for non-permit holders. If the rate of turnover is just as high for work permit holders as for Singapore citizens, then obviously something is wrong in that industry or establishment. The fact that workers are non-citizens does not mean that unscrupulous employers should be allowed to get away with the intolerable working conditions. To me, it is a matter of great regret that the Employment Service has not availed itself of the enlarged scope under Part XI of the Employment Act. The present Service is like putting together a jumbo bus body with the engine of a mini-bus and expecting the ill-assembled vehicle to function effectively.”
“True, the Employment Service can now boast of a handful of registrants averaging less than 1 per cent of the total, who are university or college graduates looking for administrative, managerial or executive openings. But the fact remains that no employer is under any obligation to inform the Service of any vacancy in his establishment or to recruit new employees through the Service. Employers in Singapore mostly recruit either directly or through employment agencies. Overshadowing all these agencies and the Employment Service itself is the machinery set up by MINDEF to place ex-national servicemen in civilian employment. Granted that the determination of MINDEF to look after the welfare of ex-national servicemen is commendable, but I think any emplacement of persons in suitable jobs should fall within the scope of the Employment Service. The very fact that MINDEF thought it necessary to duplicate the functions of the Employment Service gives rise to two inferences - either MINDEF is engaged in empire building or the Ministry of Labour is shirking its responsibility. If all employment opportunities are notified to and filled through the Employment Service, the first priority for ex-national servicemen can still be assured, just as MINDEF can arrange for housing priority for reservists in the National Service through the Housing and Development Board, without MINDEF having to set up its own housing scheme. Another pertinent point is that the present underdeveloped form of the Employment Service causes the Government to rule by guesswork in an important area of labour. We have comprehensive data on the total labour force, the distribution of such labour force by occupation, industry or sex and even the number of work permit holders.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head GA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1003*. (*The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy.) Mr Speaker, Sir, the description of Singapore as a pragmatic society seems to be apt, judging from Singapore's hard-headed and no-nonsense approach to various activities, whether social, economic or political. Even in the matter of labour, the Singapore Government has never allowed itself to be discouraged from carrying out its conviction. The unpleasant and unpopular employment legislation of 1968 bears witness to the Government's determination and willingness to strive for what it considers to be objectively desirable for Singapore as a whole. In the Employment Act of 1968, however, provisions were made for the basic legal framework of a comprehensive Employment Exchange. Up to that time the Exchange, then known as the Labour Exchange, was operated by the Ministry of Labour as part of its ancillary services for clerks, labourers and shop assistants. With the passing of the Employment Act, it might have been thought then that a decisive advantage would be taken of the new Employment Exchange to regularise the situation affecting job seekers. To a certain extent the subsequent action of the Ministry of Labour in upgrading the Exchange by having it headed by officers of administrative grade rather than executive grade seemed to justify this hope. Almost six years later, the Employment Exchange which the Ministry prefers to call it the Employment Service seems to have been stunted since birth.”
“What has made the situation more tolerable for female employees as a whole is that trade unions have secured paid maternity leave for their members and have incorporated such benefit into a collective agreement, and that enlightened employers such as the Government and the Statutory Board have granted paid maternity leave to their female employees despite the strange omission in the Employment Act. Nonetheless, there is a real need for the proposed amendment as individual female employees, who arc non-workmen engaged by a firm in the private sector without the benefit of representation by a trade union, would otherwise have no cause for complaint if their employers refuse to grant them paid maternity leave. As for the restriction of paid maternity leave only to female employees with not more than two living children, I agree that such restriction is rational in accordance with the Government's avowed policy or restricting the size of families in Singapore. Since the ideal size of a family has been widely and recently mooted as that consisting of the two parents themselves and their two children, it makes sense not to offer incentives for employees to have more than two children. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to support the Bill. 3.40 p.m.”
“Of late it has become increasingly noticeable that employers, with bank statements for their conscience, have been engaging children of tender years at a small wage to perform work which is unsuited to their capacity and which taxes their physical strength beyond endurance and reason. For such employers, of course, the attraction of employing children lies in the fact that the children are too young to know better or to be able to fight for a better deal. The savings that can be had by such employers through evading their liabilities under the Employment Act and the Central Provident Fund Act arc tremendous, but they make a mockery of all the statutory provisions enacted or approved by this House for the benefit of workers in general and the protection of young children, in particular. The proposed provisions, therefore, meet an urgent and grave need in that they will be a greater and more effective deterrent against improper employment of young children, Clause 19 of the Bill, amending the whole of Part X of the Employment Act, seeks to remove a long outstanding anomaly in the statutory provisions governing the terms and conditions of workers in Singapore. I should think that the removal of such an anomaly is long overdue. Up to now only female workmen are statutorily entitled to have paid maternity leave during their confinement, that is, one month before and one month after. On the other hand, other female employees, who are non-workmen, such as clerks, shop assistants, teachers and typists, are not statutorily entitled to one single day's paid maternity leave during their confinement.”
“Reinstatement in employment is, however, a statutory remedy and up to now the Minister has the power to reinstate a person in his former employment only if proceedings for such reinstatement have been initiated through a trade union under the Industrial Relations Act. In giving my support to the proposal to incorporate into the Employment Act the power of reinstatement by the Minister, I am particularly struck by two aspects of the proposal. One is that any employee who considers himself to be wrongfully dismissed may apply to the Minister for reinstatement regardless of whether or not he is a member of a trade union which has been accorded recognition by the employer. The other is that the Minister may have recourse to the well-tried machinery of the Labour Court for the purpose of ascertaining the facts of any dismissal before making a decision thereon. It is my humble opinion, however, that the proposed provisions may be strengthened in the interest of employees. I wish to suggest that the proposed section 14 (2) of the Employment Act should have the words "whether with or without notice" to qualify any dismissal in respect of which the Minister may be requested to intervene. It must not be forgotten that under the Employment Act, a notice of not more than two weeks is required for the termination of service of an employee with less than five years' service. An employer would have to be exceedingly foolhardy to refuse to give such two weeks' notice which would free him from any anxiety in relation to the proposed provisions. The intention of clauses 4 to 18 of the Bill, dealing with Parts VIII and IX of the Employment Act, apparently seeks to strengthen the provisions safeguarding young children from undue exploitation by unscrupulous employers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to comment on three provisions in the Bill to amend the Employment Act. The provisions relate to the amendment of sections 14 and 38 and Parts VIII, IX and X of the Employment Act. I should like to make it clear right from the very beginning that I am wholly in favour of the proposed amendments. Some of the proposed provisions, however, do not seem to have fully dealt with every aspect of the matters under amendment; and it is with regard to some of these aspects that I wish to seek clarification. The intention of clause 2 of the Bill, touching upon section 14 of the Employment Act, is apparently to bring the Employment Act into line with the Industrial Relations Act, as the proposed provisions are substantially the same as the corresponding provisions in section 35 of the Industrial Relations Act. I am inclined to agree that there is a need for the proposed provisions. Under Part XVI of the Employment Act, a machinery has been provided for the Commissioner of Labour to inquire into disputes between employers and their employees. But if, in the process of so inquiring, the Commissioner is convinced that an employee has been dismissed without just cause or excuse, the only remedy the Commissioner is empowered to apply to the wrongfully dismissed employee is monetary compensation. Any sum of money, of course, is useful when a person is out of work but is no compensation for the loss of a steady career, for which he may have already spent half his working life. It is, therefore, only fair and equitable that an employee who has been found to be wrongfully dismissed should be allowed to have his old job back, wherever possible.”
“This is very dangerous and detrimental to our nation building and higher performance, because all the present achievements have been brought about by the good qualities of our people, their diligence, thriftiness, and through their patriotic efforts and so on. So we must not let all these deleterious effects to corrode the healthy spiritual condition of our people. Otherwise, we will be at a great loss and the country will also suffer. In order to avoid this, I hope the Government will, besides developing the economy, pay attention to the inculcation in our people of a healthy attitude of life. This can be achieved through cultural education and activities and by providing the people with the necessary healthy mental pabulum in order to enable them to create and enjoy a healthier and fuller life, both as an individual and as a group. In order to achieve the above objectives, the Government should systematically promote various healthy cultural and educational activities and further organize and liaise with community cultural organizations. 3.14 p.m.”
“Here, I would like to advance a suggestion that since we may have a more rosy prospect for our future economy in view of our present favourable economic progress and national effort, the quantum of tax reliefs should also be increased in the coming financial year in respect of the taxpayer, his wife, and the first and second children. The present tax relief measures (for taxpayer: $2,000; earned income: $1,000 maximum; wife: $1,000; 1st child: $750; 2nd child: $500) were implemented in 1961. At the moment our economy and standard of living are much better than those of 1961. So comparing the present economic situation and per capita income with those of 1961, it is necessary that we increase the quantum of tax reliefs for personal income, earned income, wife, and for the first and second children. This is particularly necessary in view of the fact that in recent years the Government is encouraging the raising of quality of our citizens and promoting the small family system, which is a very correct policy. So, in order to match this policy, we must give the first and second children more tax reliefs as this will have a great promotive effect on Government's policy. In the last few years, we have achieved economic progress and brought about prosperity and material enjoyment for our people. But, on the other hand, there is also a fact which we must pay attention to, that is, there is a trend for some people to pay more attention to money gains and material enjoyment. In addition to this, there is the intrusion of decadent Western culture. As a result, some people go for a life of pleasure, easy-going and living a more decadent way of life, heading towards hedonism.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I welcome the Budget Statement made by the Minister for Finance. According to the Minister, our economic growth rate in the past financial year was 13 per cent and our external trade growth rate was 11.7 per cent. Judged by international standards, it is very creditable. Sir, this fine economic performance reminds me of the time when we separated from Malaysia and of the time in 1971 when we were faced also with the problems of British military withdrawal. During those times, we were faced with economic difficulties. But with the co-operative effort, the diligence and patriotism of our workers coupled with the co-operation of the employer, we managed to overcome our economic problems and difficulties. Instead we were able to achieve economic progress and peaceful industrialisation. In spite of the low wages there were very few industrial disputes originating from the workers, resulting in a more stable economic situation. Our present economic progress and achievements have been due to the efforts and contributions of people of all walks of life, but the performance and attitude of our workers, in particular in the past, should merit particular mention. Sir, in the Budget Statement, the Minister announced that there will be tax reliefs for taxpayers' dependent parents, grandparents, and handicapped children. This is very encouraging. The fact that the Government can do this is evident of our economic progress and the Government's understanding of our unique Asian family system.”
“Hawkers must also do their bit to prevent the pollution of the environment and the water source. Sir, I must stress that the problem of environmental health can be solved only when we all can see that it is directly related to our standard of living and national safety and when we all can actively and voluntarily adopt early preventive measures. How to make our people realise the close relationship this problem bears to us and how to thoroughly solve it, I think, depend on the effort of all our people.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, following active economic development, more and more industries have been established. The problem of environmental health then becomes more and more serious. In many advanced cities like Tokyo and New York, air pollution has become an insurmountable problem. It has affected the lives and safety of the people. In the last few years, air pollution tended to increase because of the rapid industrialisation in Singapore. As a result of economic progress, there are more vehicles on the roads, more radio and television sets in Singapore, contributing to more noise pollution which will gradually affect the tranquility and health of our living environment. Before these can seriously affect our living and safety, the establishment of the Ministry of the Environment now is a far-sighted and a very timely proposal. Sir, I think adopting legal measures alone is not sufficient to combat pollution. This matter must be the concern of everyone in Singapore. I hope the Ministry will introduce concrete and comprehensive proposals to improve environmental health in Singapore. Besides the Ministry of Culture, which should do its best to disseminate the importance of environmental health, and the Ministry of Education which must impart its importance to all our school children, everybody must voluntarily respond to the call for environmental health. Civic organisations should systematically and periodically organise campaigns to preserve our environmental health. Vehicles should be regularly serviced and they should use anti-pollution devices. Industries must play their part in preventing pollution by adopting suitable measures and methods and to avoid pollution-causing processes. We must at all cost preserve the cleanliness and wholesomeness of the air in Singapore.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the President for his Address to Parliament on the opening of the First Session of this Parliament. I would like to stress on two points here. The first is about the Constitutional amendment and the second is about environmental health. These two problems are very closely related to the lives and safety of our people. Mr Speaker, Sir, the President pointed out that our Constitution will be amended to provide for a minimum of two-thirds majority in a referendum before Singapore could form a federation or could be merged with another country. This is a very wise proposal. The people of Singapore know very well that since independence the developments in our country have received the admiration of many countries. Our country has made great progress - from economic difficulties to the threshold of economic development. These achievements have not descended upon us from heaven. These achievements have been made possible by the great effort and dedication of our people. We must preserve the precious fruits of our success. We must not allow other people through any process to take away the fruits of our success. The Constitutional amendment will strengthen the sovereignty of our country. This is absolutely necessary at the present juncture. I am wholly in support of this proposal. Mr Speaker, Sir, from the Speech of the President, it can be seen that in many respects the Government is looking after the livelihood of the people very well. The Government is set to raise the standard of living of our people. This can be seen through the establishment of the Ministry of the Environment. This shows the determination of the Government in this respect.”