Ch'ng Jit Koon
Singapore
“Sir, the Member wants to know the future commitment of the Government. I can assure him that the Government and NCSS have and will continue to assist all the VWOs to extend their reach and enhance their service delivery to individuals and families in need. The Member asked why the report cannot be disclosed.”
“As I have answered earlier, this is a confidential report and is meant for internal reference. All the recommendations in the Report of the Master Plan are already being implemented. What we are doing first is to implement the recommendation in the Report on the computerisation programme which I have already mentioned just now.”
“No. I have to continue with my answer. (In Mandarin): I feel that this question need not be repeated. We do not have to argue over and over again because all this is in accordance with the original plan of the PA formulated a few years ago. We cannot change our original plan just because the Member for Potong Pasir has objected to it.”
“Sir, as from 1980 the number of campaigns organized has been actually cut down, a lot. Those mentioned by the hon. Member just now were actually campaigns from 1980 onwards. All campaigns are organized for specific purposes.”
“To ask the Minister for Labour (a) what is the rationale for the stipulation that an undischarged bankrupt is not allowed the use of his Central Provident Fund contributions to purchase a Housing and Development Board flat; (b) what is the number of persons affected; and (c) whether he will consider amending the aforementioned stipulation…”
“Sir, what I actually intend to touch on are matters relating to the Housing and Development Board. I notice there is another amendment to consider the HDB's allocation. It is on amendment (10) under this Head. I propose to speak when that amendment comes up for debate.”
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“This is mainly due to the fact that the policy of second language teaching has got to be more practical and its implementation has not been adequate. That is why the Government is trying to improve the standard of teaching of the second language in all schools. In the Addendum to the President's Speech various effective measures have been clearly outlined which the Government will adopt to put the second language to maximum use as a medium of instruction in our schools. This is to enable our students to become bilingual so that they will have more opportunities for further education and employment. It is only through the promotion of bilingualism in our schools that it is possible for the students to break down the language barrier and thus be able to mix together, study together and live together. In short, let us strengthen our administrative arm and achieve the great objective of nation-building. According to the speech delivered by the President, it is obvious that the Government has adopted various measures to deal effectively with the problems that are confronting us. I now fully support the motion in the name of the Prime Minister. 4.40 p.m.”
“In my view, the adult education classes should teach more technical and vocational subjects than academic subjects. In this way the graduates of the Adult Education Board will be able to play their part in industrialisation. In the day-time they have got their own jobs. Two or three years ago, I understood that these part-time teachers would be replaced by full-time teachers. But I do not know why this has not been done. Mr Speaker, Sir, it cannot be denied that the Adult Education Board has made outstanding achievements in the field of adult education. But in order to consolidate what has been achieved and to fall in with the change in secondary education, the Adult Education Board must have its own staff of teachers. This will not only help to promote the growth of adult education but it will also help to solve our unemployment problem. Mr Speaker, Sir, last week when the Member for Joo Chiat spoke in this House, he advocated the abolition of communal schools and the Member for Kampong Chai Chee yesterday also voiced the same opinion in support. I fully agree with what that they have said. In order to create a society and a nation which transcends all racial differences, we must make a start in this respect in the schools. But I do not agree when they say that there are communal schools in our Republic. At present the schools, in whatever stream they are, do not discriminate against any student on racial grounds. It is possible for a Tamil to go to a Chinese school to study and for a Chinese student to go to a Malay school to study. However, I do not deny that in the Republic parents tend to send their children to the schools where their own mother tongue is being used as the medium of instruction.”
“As the Prime Minister has said in moving the motion, Singapore is what it is today because we have above average intelligence, diligence, skill, know-how and expertise. Undoubtedly, our graduates have the honour of being in possession of such talent and expertise. But from what we can see at the present juncture, there are certain disappointing features amongst our graduates. Some of them are still living in an ivory tower. They are least concerned with our national affairs. Today if we try to get graduates who are really interested in our national affairs and are dedicated to our country, I am afraid the number will not be very great. In fact, we can see very few graduates serving on the management committees of the various community centres and the Citizens' Consultative Committees. In my view, while we are reorganising our secondary education, we should also consider reorganising our universities. We should then be able to produce a generation of graduates who are not only specialists in their field, but are also imbued with a sense of national consciousness and patriotism so that they would be prepared to dedicate themselves to society. Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish now to touch on the question of adult education. At the present moment, the Adult Education Board is running two types of classes, the language classes and the secondary evening classes. All these classes are biased towards academic subjects. Now that we are industrialising and are trying to introduce technical subjects into our education system, we see that the work of the Adult Education Board is not adequate in this respect. The Board is financed by public funds and the students of the Board are either young workers or people who are unable to get places in schools.”
“I hope our teachers will devote more time and energy to their students' extramural activities so as to produce a robust and rugged society in our next generation. Mr Speaker, Sir, in order to inculcate a spirit of national consciousness in the students, we have military and police training in the cadet corps. We should not have quantity alone. We should also have quality in our training. We should be concerned not so much with the form but with the content of the training we are giving to our children. In my view, our youth must realise the importance of national consciousness. It is only with the spur of patriotism that our children will be able to build a robust and rugged society. I feel that the Ministry of Culture has a great part to play in the field of public education. For example, the contents of the television and radio broadcasts must be imbued with national consciousness. The publications in our National Library and the exhibits in the National Museum should also have items which will inspire national consciousness and patriotism. It is only when our people have the feeling of patriotism that they will be able to solve all problems. Mr Speaker, I have also noted that only ten per cent of the school population per year reach the matriculation level, and of this figure only about five per cent are admitted to the universities or other institutions of higher learning. These undergraduates are in a somewhat privileged position. They receive special training and education. Naturally after they have graduated they should be able to serve their country better by solving our national problems and overcoming difficulties, and making a concerted effort to build a more prosperous multi-racial society.”
“We can see very clearly, from history - even recently, in fact - that in the struggle for survival, it is not so much the military equipment that matters as the ideological training - given to the people. In this respect, I feel that we should teach our people to be patriotic. This will spur them on to make personal sacrifices in the national interest. Therefore, in addition to instruction given in military training and teaching our soldiers how to use their weapons, we should teach them to be patriotic so that they will be able to put up a better performance. Mr Speaker, Sir, in order to make the people more aware of the problems that will face our nation in the next few years, our teachers too must be made conscious of these problems. We describe teachers as engineers of the soul, and this is a very apt description of the importance of the role they play. So it is necessary that they should be conscious of the problems that we are now facing, because they are charged with the responsibility of educating our younger generation who will provide our future leadership. Therefore, our students should be given proper guidance in nurturing a sense of patriotism and national consciousness. The teachers should strive for improvement all the time in order to raise the qualitative aspects of our education. Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a saying, "What is dyed black will be black and what is dyed red will be red." So the kind of young people we will have in future will depend on the sort of education that we now give them. At the present moment we are stepping up extra-mural activities in the schools, but the time spent on them by the teachers is inadequate.”
“' Sir, I agree in principle with the strict measures taken against flats being used for illegal purposes, but eviction is the most severe measure that can be taken by the Housing Board. If the premises are used as gambling dens or for other ignominious or illegal purposes, eviction is justified. But, Sir, those youngsters who were found playing mahjong are the old neighbours of the old lady. They were playing mahjong just for the fun of it. This old lady who was accused of allowing her premises to be used by a number of youngsters for mahjong, it was found that she did not have even a proper mahjong table in her premises. This would show that she had no intention of turning her premises into a gambling den. The playing of mahjong in a Housing Board flat should be regarded as a very minor offence. So we should have compassion on this old lady, who committed the first offence. The authorities concerned did not even give her another chance or a first warning. Was it not very harsh treatment of the old lady who was asked to remove? From the illustrations given, we can see what sort of attitude civil servants have. They lack patience to look into and study complaints by the public. They should be more aware of the problems lying ahead of our nation. They should also re-examine the attitude that they have adopted in their work and towards members of the public. If they stick foolishly to their daily routine, they will fail in their responsibilities and in trying to solve the national problems. Mr Speaker, Sir, on the question of defence, my view is that, in addition to giving our nationals military training and teaching them how to handle military equipment, we should teach them to be patriotic, particularly as Singapore has attained its independence only not long ago.”
“At the request of the Citizens' Consultative Committee, I went to the General Post Office and, after studying the problem with the officer concerned, it was realised that the problem could easily be solved by removing one pillar post-box from Henderson Road to the entrance to Jalan Membina without any cost, because the pillar post-box in Henderson Road was not being used very much - about 20 letters a day were thrown into it. When this was done, it benefited the people living in Jalan Membina and also in Bukit Ho Swee. This is a trivial matter but it goes to show that if the officer concerned had given further thought to it, much time and trouble would have been saved. Sir, I would like to mention another incident. This was the eviction of a tenant of a Housing Board flat. The Members for Jurong and Ulu Pandan quoted the case of a coffee-shop owner in Tiong Bahru who committed suicide by jumping down from a multi-storeyed flat. They spoke in a forthright manner and with a sense of justice. However, we know from the Press that the housing authorities are giving sympathetic consideration to this case and I hope that there will be a reasonable solution. Therefore, I will not dwell further on this case. But 1 would like to quote a similar case of an old lady occupying a Housing Board flat who was asked to vacate because a number of teenagers were found playing mahjong in her flat. She went to the Housing Board authorities and pleaded for another chance. She threatened to commit suicide by jumping down from a multi-storeyed flat if her plea was not heeded. But she was met by a very rigid and harsh officer - though a good officer - who was not moved by her tears. He told her, "It is no business of mine whether or not you jump down from your flat, but you have to quit?”
“So in the coming crucial years, we must avail ourselves of every opportunity to ensure our independence and survival. This every citizen should perceive. In particular, those civil servants who are in charge of executing Government policies, should pay more attention at all times to the actual spirit of the Ordinances and Acts. It is in that spirit that they should faithfully carry out the policies laid down. They should also discard their rigid and dogmatic attitude in their work. Otherwise their inflexibility will usually give rise to misunderstanding of their disregard of the purposes and actual spirit of the Ordinances and Acts. Unnecessary explanation will have time and again to be repeated. In this way, efficiency in the administration of the Ordinances and Acts will be affected and the purposes may not be fully achieved. Mr Speaker, Sir, for instance, early this year, the Citizens' Consultative Committee of my constituency made a request to the General Post Office to install a post-box in Jalan Membina Housing Estate, which was recently developed by the Housing and Development Board. In view of the fact that there are now about 20,000 residents in this area, the installation of a post-box was very necessary. But the request was turned down on the ground that no new post-box should be set up within a radius of one mile from any branch post office. In the old neighbouring housing estate, there is a branch post office and a post-box. But I would like to point out that there is no direct communication with this housing estate. So the branch post office is not of much use to the residents of Jalan Membina.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as the representative for Tiong Bahru, I would like to express my full support for the Prime Minister's motion thanking the President for his speech delivered in this House on the 6th of May. The President's policy statement clearly points out that the Government will have to adopt effective measures to meet the problems that will arise in a new situation in the next five years. We have reason to believe that with its experience, achievements and capacity to resolve problems in the past nine years, the present Government, together with all the Members of Parliament, will be able to find ways and means to achieve the three objectives as outlined in the President's Speech, and we are confident that it will overcome all difficulties and challenges. The first and the second objectives relate to defence and economic growth. Members of Parliament have already expressed their views on them. So I will now touch on the third objective, namely, the enhancement of national consciousness of the problems that will come upon us in the next few years. Mr Speaker, Sir, the political situation in our country has been changing. Before 1954, we experienced a period of colonial administration. In 1959, Singapore achieved a self-independent status and later on it joined Malaysia. In 1965, Singapore was separated from Malaysia and became an independent Republic. These were political changes in our history and, in the same period, there were changes too on the international scene. We, as citizens of Singapore, should pay the closest attention to these changes as there will be more changes in this region in three to five years' time. No one can be sure of whether there will be any drastic changes around us going to take place.”