Chua Sian Chin
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to speak on this Bill as a person who had been in Government for many years and before that in legal practice for more than eight years and now back in legal practice. While I was in Government, I had cognizance of the shortcomings of the legal profession.”
“It is 62 members out of a total of 1,335 practising lawyers. This has brought about a situation which no responsible government can let it pass in the public interest. The Government has good reasons to deal with this situation firmly. In fact, the present amendments have only made a small inroad in self-regulation.”
“At the same time, a minority group of activists has also chosen to take on the Government by calling an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Law Society to pass fierce resolutions against the Government. This group comprised only 62 members.”
“Though he has only limited Constitutional powers and acts on the advice of the Cabinet, he is the symbol of the unity, loyalty and aspirations of the people of Singapore.”
“- to hold classes for children of his constituents. What right has he got? The PAP MPs equally have no such rights. It is the right of the Government, if they think so, to have such classes. In fact, through the People's Association, they have been holding kindergarten classes in the community centres.”
“It is the Government who says that, and the Government has the right to say it because they are responsible for the Government of Singapore. And it is not what I say or what you say. Let me turn to the Member for Potong Pasir. He also produced some exhibits which are equally bogus.”
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“Sir, I had better clarify this matter once and for all. If a person, after having claimed that he is not guilty, still pays the fine, then he must be guilty. I cannot accept the argument that in this case he has been wrongfully fined or wrongfully summoned. So long as he is not wrongfully summoned, he should pay the fine. The point is whether the person should be summoned indiscriminately. I have already explained that issuing a summons is a grave matter. The Member for Whampoa asked me to authorise ambulance drivers to issue summonses. I say no. That cannot be done. Only properly authorised persons could issue summonses. So it is a serious matter. If the Member for Anson has any instance of a police officer who has indiscriminately issued summons or that he has wrongly issued a summons to an innocent person, I invite him to let me know the particulars and I shall investigate the matter. If it is found that the police officer has wilfully and wrongly issued a summons because of personal reasons, then action will be taken against such an officer. But where there are no such particulars and concrete proof of any misbehaviour on the part of the police officer, I think it is incumbent upon me to defend the reputation of the Police Force. I should scotch any implication that they have not behaved in a proper way as police officers. 3.15 p.m.”
“Sir, I do not know if, in fact, that incident happened. What I said in clarification was that this motorist, after having been booked, went to the Traffic Police Department to complain that he did not commit the offence. But in spite of this - that he said he did not commit the offence - he paid the fine and said that it was a waste of time to go to court because the police officer explained to him that if he was not satisfied he could go to the court to say that he did not commit the offence. Instead he paid the fine and giving the excuse that it was a waste of time to go to court. That is why I said in reply, not showing any disrespect to the Member or to the motorist that if a person who is innocent, after going to the Police Department and is told that if he is innocent he can go to the court and challenge it, still pays a fine, which means that he is admitting his guilt, then he must be a real kayu. I hope the Member understands that. About disrespect to the court, if a person were to say that it is a waste of time to go to court and challenge it to prove his innocence, I think he is being disrespectful to the court, I hope he is not implying that the court is also kayu.”
“Sir, the Member for Anson, and he is a good Friend of mine, quoted the saying that if there is no spark there would be no fire. I entirely agree with him. The only thing with regard to this debate on kayu or wood is that the spark came from him. It was he who introduced that expression in this august chamber. It was he who complained that the police officer in plainclothes, after having booked the motorist called him a kayu.”
“Sir, I do not know what the Member for Kim Seng is implying by making that point. With regard to the Highway Code, as I said, this was part of the theme of the campaign last year. In fact, before the main campaign was launched in June, there had been mini campaigns where each month a rule in the Highway Code was devoted. In fact, if the Member for Kim Seng were to drive with alertness and care, he would see that some of these slogans, like "Do Not Road Hog", are still displayed at the rear of SBS buses. Well, he can learn a lot by being more alert.”
“Sir, there are many matters which we would like to educate the public, not only just giving way to ambulances and fire engines. In fact, this is being done through our campaigns followed by enforcement. As far as traffic rules and regulations are concerned, this is part of the road-users' daily education that is going on in our schools, not just part of the syllabus. It is part of the duty of teachers to see that children in the schools learn about these rules and why they should be observed for the safety not only of themselves but also of others in the community.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I cannot agree with the Member for Whampoa more by saying that those who refuse to give way to ambulances should be booked and punished. But I cannot agree with him that authority for issuing summonses should be given to ambulance drivers. The Member for Anson has brought up the point that summonses could be issued by any Tom, Dick and Harry. In fact, we have a very strict procedure and only authorised persons are allowed to issue a summons. I do not think ambulance drivers are appropriate persons to be authorised to issue summonses. In fact, summonses have to be signed by a magistrate before they are issued.”
“If the pilot scheme proves to be effective, the Public Works Department will install flashing filter arrows at appropriate junctions, including the one mentioned by the Member for Kim Seng. On the question of more red-man and green-man signals at junctions, I cannot agree with the Member for Kim Seng more that more of such traffic signals should be installed at junctions. In fact, this is being done by the PWD. The PWD is also planning to install green-man and red-man signals at all new junctions. The Road engineers from the PWD have also, with the advice of the Traffic Police, been adjusting the timing of the green-man signal, to provide a safe minimum time for pedestrians to cross so that turning vehicles will not be unduly delayed and cause traffic congestion.”
“Let me now come back to the Member for Kim Seng. I remember that he wanted clarification on certain points, including the Highway Code. He stated that he had forgotten most of the Highway Code because it has been a long time since he took his driving test. An hon. Member: Withdraw his licence! Mr Chua Sian Chin: Sir, I do not act arbitrarily by withdrawing people's licences. First, may I clarify the position regarding fast and slow lanes. According to the existing rules in the Highway Code, every vehicle moving at a slow speed shall be driven as close to the left hand edge of the roadway as possible, and every vehicle shall at all times be driven in such a manner as not to obstruct vehicles moving at a faster speed. Given this rule, it is quite clear that the left-most lane is the proper lane for slow- moving vehicles. The right and centre lanes are therefore fast moving lanes. However, vehicles wishing to make a right turn are permitted to travel on the right lane if they are slowing down to do the turn. I hope that explanation is quite clear. As regards his question on the number of persons booked for road hogging, my answer is that 5,081 persons have been so booked in 1977. The next point is the green arrow for a right turn. The Public Works Department is at the moment carrying out a pilot scheme to study the feasibility of using a flashing filter arrow, a point which was brought up by a Member, to forewarn turning vehicles of an impending change in the light signal. For example, at the junction of Tanjong Katong Road and East Coast Road, the filter arrow flashes for a duration of six seconds before it goes off, So there should be sufficient warning.”
“Secondly, the Traffic Police has also adopted a new strategy to deal with traffic offenders with effect from 10th July last year. Ten unmarked police cars have been used to track down traffic offenders. More cars will be acquired. With effect from 24th October last year some officers in the Mobile. Squad have also been deployed as plainclothes men to track down traffic offenders. There are presently 10 such officers in each shift. Thirdly, the Traffic Police has been directed to be more selective in enforcement instead of being indiscriminate about it. They have been directed to concentrate on the more serious traffic offences such- as dangerous driving, inconsiderate and careless driving and give less priority to minor offences like parking offences. All senior police officers have also been instructed to report the commission of such traffic offences while they are travelling on the road, on duty or otherwise. The number of such offenders booked on the road in the last three months is as follows. This is the combined total of offenders booked by both the Mobile Squad as well as the senior police officers. Eighty-one offenders were booked for dangerous driving, 140 offenders for careless driving; and 1,421 for inconsiderate driving, making a total of 1,642 cases of dangerous driving, careless driving and inconsiderate driving booked for the last three months from December 1977 to February 1978. However, if it is found necessary to expand the Traffic Enforcement Squad by recruiting new officers, this will be done. But what I would like to emphasise is that we must adopt a new strategy to deploy our resources more intelligently to obtain better results. Fourthly, for the information of the Member for Telok Blangah, there is now no bottleneck in the issue of summonses.”
“Between September and December 1977, there were 784 pedestrian-related accidents compared to 979 for the corresponding period in 1976. In other words, there was a decrease of 19.9% of pedestrian-related accidents after the campaign. Lastly, the Member for Anson has again brought up the question of Wallich Street. He said that there had been some improvement in the situation now. I shall therefore leave it at that. May I now reply to the points raised by the Member for Telok Blangah. Members will recall that the Member for Telok Blangah stated in his speech that he noticed that the number of staff in the Traffic Enforcement Section for FY 78 had remained the same as that compared with FY 77. But at the same time he said that there is a current shortage of staff. He wanted clarification as to why the Enforcement staff has not increased. May I say that one simple way of discouraging and apprehending traffic offenders is to deploy a large number of policemen on the streets. But this will entail the expansion of the Traffic Police Department. There is a limit to the number of Enforcement staff we can expand. My Ministry has considered this problem very carefully and has decided that we should work out a strategy for a more efficient and intelligent deployment of our manpower by first using our existing strength of police officers. To this end we have taken the following measures: First, Traffic Enforcement Squads are being formed in the eight Police Divisions with existing officers. The operational efficiency of the Divisions will not be adversely affected since some of the more routine duties in the Divisions can be given to full-time national servicemen.”
“When a traffic offence is committed, the police officers spotting it will take down the particulars of the vehicle, such as the make of the vehicle, its colour and registration number. These particulars are then checked with the records at the Registry of Vehicles before a summons is issued to the registered owner. Invariably the notice is served on the owner for particulars of the driver if the owner himself was not driving the car. There is always the possibility that the owner was not driving his vehicle at the time of the offence but somebody else was. The onus is on the owner to show that he did not commit the offence. In the case cited by the Member, the absence of the owner from Singapore does not necessarily mean that his vehicle was not used by someone else. I think the police should be commended for obviously giving this owner the benefit of the doubt when it decided not to pursue the matter. The Member has also alleged that the traffic enforcement officers have failed to use their discretion to lot off offenders who have not used the pedestrian crossings unintentionally. The Pedestrian Crossing Rules came into force on 1st July, 1977 after one month of intensive campaigning. But penalties were not imposed until 1st September, 1977, that is, after a further three months of intensive campaigning. Between 1st July and 1st September we had a massive campaign to educate the pedestrians. Therefore, there is no reason for the people to continue to flout the Pedestrian Crossing Rules. It is only by vigorous enforcement of recalcitrant offenders that jaywalking can be reduced. To indicate how effective the Pedestrian Crossing Rules have been for the three months from July to September, I would like to quote some figures.”
“Sir, before the House rose on Friday, 17th March, I was still replying to the Member for Anson. I remember I stopped at the point of his complaint that the traffic enforcement officers did not extend courtesy and consideration when enforcing the law. I believe, Sir, the Member for Anson has a tendency to exaggerate. The enforcement officers of the Traffic Police have been constantly reminded to extend care, courtesy and consideration in enforcing the law. Any complaint against enforcers for lack of discretion, courtesy and common sense in the application of the law is duly investigated into and those found guilty are taken to task. Very often, Sir, these complaints are groundless as shown by some facts and figures which I would like to state here. During last year, a total of 25 complaints were made against Traffic Police personnel. Of these, only five complaints were sustained and action was taken against these five persons. The Member for Anson also did state that any person could impersonate a Police Officer and issue traffic summonses. Sir, this really tops the example of his propensity to exaggerate. May I assure him that nobody, except the Police and other authorised personnel, can issue summonses. However, anyone can make a report either by writing to the Traffic Police or personally going to a Police station. Action against the driver will only be taken after the report has been fully investigated and found to be correct. 2.45 p.m. Mr Speaker, Sir, the next point concerns the issue of summons to the wrong person. The strict procedure that we have makes it rather remote for summonses to be issued to the wrong persons.”
“Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1st April, 1978 to 31st March, 1979, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 20th March, 1978.”
“Sir, as I have other points to reply to, I will continue on Monday.”
“No, Sir. The Member talked about indiscriminate traffic laws and failure of the men on the ground to exercise tact and courtesy, and he quoted one case which proves to be groundless. The Member complained that a police officer called his complainant kayu. He was offered a composition fine and was told that if he was not satisfied he could have his case tried in court. Instead of doing so, he paid the fine and then gave the Member for Anson the excuse that it was a waste of time to go to court. May I say that by saying so, he is showing disrespect to the court. Alternatively, if he is innocent and he pays a fine, then he must really be a kayu. 8.00 p.m.”
“Apart from the warnings provided by these signs, the actual pedestrian crossings, such as zebra crossings, overhead bridges and traffic light signals are conspicuous and pedestrians who remember to look for them should have no difficulty at all in spotting them. As regards "hell drivers", in operations by the Traffic Police against hell drivers and riders conducted between 30th October and 28th November 1977, a total of 20 persons were arrested and subsequently charged in court for rash driving and riding. Another 34 were summoned for dangerous and inconsiderate driving. So far, nine persons have been convicted and penalties in the form of fines ranging from $800 to $1,000 and disqualification from driving of up to seven years were imposed. The Traffic Police will continue to act against hell drivers or racers if and when they re-emerge. Now, the Mah Piu Poh boys who run around road junctions selling newspapers and impeding the free flow of motor vehicles on the road and transgressing the pedestrian crossing rules. The Police have taken action against them from time to time and will continue to do so. May I turn to my Friend, the Member for Anson. He started his speech by saying that nowadays once a road user makes a slip in not observing the law, the lawman is there to book him. May I say to the Member that it is better to book him now so that he can learn to be more careful than to allow him to make a slip next time and be maimed or killed on the road as that would be a much heavier penalty to pay. Mr P. Govindaswamy rose -”
“In other words, I agree with the Member for Kim Seng that it must be a sustained educational campaign. I also agree with the Member for Moulmein that it must be followed by enforcement because, as he puts it, there are always certain groups of people in Singapore who are recalcitrant and no amount of education will drive the message home to these people, The other point is that the theme of the campaign last year was mainly on the Highway Code. I am quite surprised that the Member for Kim Seng was not aware that the theme of the campaign was mainly on the Highway Code because prior to the campaign which was launched in June, the Police had mini campaigns. Prior to that, for every month starting from December 1976 the Police introduced a theme from the rules in the Highway Code, e.g. motorists must give way to pedestrians when turning right; motorists must not road hog, and so on and so forth. The Highway Code was made the theme of the campaign. However, in view of what the Member for Kim Seng has stated, we will continue to repeat those exhortations and guidance. The Member for Moulmein brought up the point about the road sign indicating a pedestrian crossing 50 metres away within which distance pedestrians must use the pedestrian crossing. These 50-metre limit traffic signs are clearly visible to all road users. The PWD is of the view that any sign bigger than this would unnecessarily detract from the general orderliness in our streets and may even cause obstruction. Wherever possible, the PWD has placed the signs in the most conspicuous position.”
“Sir, I have four Members to reply to and I will try to reply as fast as I can. First, the Member for Moulmein. He has stated that in spite of our nation-wide road safety campaign last year, the accident rates in the last six months have remained as high as ever. I would like to correct some misconception about this. The total figure of accidents is not a reliable index of whether the accident rates have gone up or not, because the total figure of accidents include knock-for-knock accidents where no injury or death occur. As Members know, many knock-for-knock accidents are settled on the roadside and they have never reported these accidents. So the only good indication of whether there has been an increase or decrease in the accident rate will be to compare figures of accidents where injury and death have occurred. If we make comparison, I think we will have a more accurate picture. In order to disabuse the Member for Moulmein that the campaign has not been as successful, may I quote some figures? The road safety campaign was held in June 1977. For the eight months after the campaign, i.e. from July 1977 to February 1978, there were 5,535 accidents which resulted in death or injury. For the eight months prior to the campaign, the corresponding figure was 6,294 accidents. Therefore, after the campaign there has been a drop of 759 such accidents or 12%. So there has been a significant decrease in the number of accidents where death and injury occurred after the campaign. The month-long campaign was launched in June last year and this was essentially an educational programme with the specific objective to demonstrate the utter senselessness and dire consequences of serious traffic accidents; and the ways in which all road users could help to minimise road accidents.”
“Sir, there are many areas which are drug-prone. The one that comes to my mind straightaway is the Jalan Kolam Ayer Quarters, in Potong Pasir. I answered a Question on this only a few days ago. There are many other areas but I cannot tell him offhand.”
“The number of robberies reported in 1976 dropped to 947 from 1,343 in 1975. This represents a drop of 29.5%. In 1977, robberies declined further to 919 or by 3%. As for housebreaking in 1976 it dropped to 1,712 from 2,025 in 1975, making a reduction of 15.5%. In 1977, housebreaking dropped further to 1,691 or by 1.2%. In 1977, a total of 4,372 cases were handled by full-time Police national servicemen with or without the help of regular Police personnel. 948 persons were arrested and charged in court for various criminal offences. Of these 368 persons were convicted. The number of persons arrested by full-time national servicemen for drug offences was 4,131. In other words, Sir, full-time and part-time national servicemen have therefore been a very effective deterrent against crimes in Singapore. So whatever money that has been spent is well worth it.”
“Sir, for patrols in the Housing Board estates, we use national servicemen. Police national servicemen are divided into two categories. One is the part-time national servicemen in the Special Constabulary and the Vigilante Corps. The other is the full-time national servicemen. For patrols, under the Neighbourhood Policing Scheme 3,480 part-time national servicemen in the Special Constabulary are involved in patrolling Housing Board estates. In addition, we have, 8,634 part-time national servicemen in the Community Security Force (CSF) of the Vigilante Corps patrolling the Housing Board estates. Therefore, on the average, the number deployed on patrol in HDB estates works out to 348 Special Constables and 575 Vigilante Corps members per night between 7.00 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. As for the full-time national servicemen, they are not utilised exclusively for patrolling the Housing Board estates. There are about 1,150 of them who are available for general police duties in the eight Police Divisions and their actual deployment depends on the crime situation in each Division. A total of 52 Housing Board estates are regularly patrolled by part-time national servicemen in the Special Constabulary and the Vigilante Corps. As to how effective these patrols are, may I quote some figures. On the average, 48 of these 52 estates were patrolled in 1977; the residents enjoyed 29 crime-free nights in a 30-day month. The remaining four estates enjoyed between 26 and 28 crime-free nights per month. On an island-wide basis, both full-time and part-time national servicemen have contributed towards the reduction of crime in Singapore over the last two years. This is particularly the case with serious crimes such as robbery and housebreaking.”
“Sir, I am rather suspicious about it. He says that this time it was his constituent, without telling me when and where this incident happened. But let me deal with his fourth point. The Member wants to know what action the Government has taken against those who sport long hair. For his information, the Government's policy to discourage males from sporting long hair is still being strictly and vigorously enforced. He wanted to know how many civil servants have been warned and what action has been taken against those who sport long hair. For 1977, a total of 348 Government employees with long hair were spotted and action was taken against them, 325 of them were warned, 20 were fined and three were dismissed. Last year, 59 musicians were advised to cut their hair and 591 students were given warnings and their parents informed. We also dealt with persons with long hair seeking entry into Singapore. 620 persons who sported long hair were refused entry into Singapore last year, and 801 were allowed entry after they had their hair cut. Mr Teong Eng Siong( In Mandarin): Sir, I am partially satisfied with the answer given by the Minister but I am not satisfied with part of it. I have said that there is efficiency and improvement in the Police Force but there are still certain shortcomings. That is the reason why I am bringing them to his attention with good intentions, so that he could take this opportunity to correct these short-comings. I am just helping him improve the efficiency of the service of the Police. Since the Minister has given some constructive answers, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”
“May I ask him whether that instance of half an hour's wait was a recent experience or was it his experience exactly one year ago. I remember quite distinctly that during the budget debate last year he said that he himself telephoned the patrol car and it arrived half an hour later. 7.15 p.m. Mr Teong Eng Siong( In Mandarin): The last time it was my personal experience. This time it was the experience of my constituent. It is a different case altogether. This means that the patrol car service is still very poor.”
“May I say that we have 35 cars from the eight Police Land Divisions and 18 cars from the Radio Division on patrol at any one time. Out of this number, two cars cover the Sembawang area.”
“For the information of the Member for Sembawang, just to show him that we always do our best to keep his constituency safe, between May 1977 and February 1978, in addition to the usual uniformed police patrols by both the regulars and police national service officers, 18 crime prevention operations, six anti-secret society sweeps and 34 anti-crime operations were carried out in Marsiling estate, which included the market and its vicinity. In these operations 380 persons were checked and 47 persons arrested, including those six thieves I have mentioned earlier. Let me come to his third complaint. There again, the complaint is rather general. But may I say this. In each police station there are officers conversant not only in the official languages but also dialects to put up reports on complaints or to receive reports from members of the public. From time to time, these officers are told during in-service training and briefing sessions that failure to put up reports of complaints or to receive reports will result in disciplinary action against them. It will help me if the Member for Sembawang could indicate which particular officer has defaulted by not wanting to write up the report of a complaint, or was it just another case of generalisation on his part. The other point is his suggestion to make reports in a language other than English. Although complaints to police officers can be made in any language, including the dialects, the report has to be written in English because English is the language of administration. If the officer concerned is not very good in his English, he could always get his brother officers to assist him. With regard to patrol cars, he says that there are insufficient patrol cars in the Sembawang area.”
“Sir, the reason why I asked the Member to give more specific details is that the nature of the complaint is rather far-fetched, as the Police has a system of supervision and control of patrol cars. First, patrol supervisors conduct surprise checks on patrol crew on the ground. When a patrol crew is not working on a case, the crew leader is required from time to time to report his location. He is then asked to proceed to a designated public telephone. When the crew reports over the radio its arrival at the designated telephone, the supervisor will ring that telephone and speak to the crew leader. It is therefore most unlikely for patrol cars not to receive calls from the patrol control room for a stretch of three to four hours. If a car was parked unattended in a car park in the Marsiling area for such a long time in the evening, it was most probably not a patrol car. Let me go on to his other complaint about theft in the Marsiling area. May I inform the Member for Sembawang that there were only four reported cases of theft in this area. One was a bicycle theft and the other three were minor thefts, such as a carton of cigarettes and a few bottles of soft drinks from an eating stall in the market. With regard to action taken, two male youths were arrested on the 10th July last year. In one of the three cases of theft of four bottles of soft drinks, a youth was prosecuted. As far as this year is concerned, from January to March, there was only one reported case of breaking a showcase on the 3rd March this year, in which cigarettes valued at $25 were stolen. Four male youths were arrested and charged in court.”
“Sir, may I know when did he hear of such a complaint? Mr Teong Eng Siong( In Mandarin): I can tell him roughly that it was early this year.”
“Sir, first of all, I would like to thank the Member for Sembawang for praising the Police for raising its efficiency in the last few years and also at the same time fostering better public/police relationship. However, the Member for Sembawang has made some complaints about the Police Force. I would like to deal with his complaints, and hope to answer to his satisfaction. He has made a general complaint about a patrol car parked in the Marsiling area. He said that it was parked in suspicious circumstances as he heard that this policeman was playing truant after parking his patrol car there. He was told by the people that the policeman had disappeared to play mahjongg and came back to his car about 10.00 p.m. In other words, he had been away for a number of hours. Before I answer the complaint, may I first ask the Member this. When did he receive such a complaint, and did he make a report to the officer-in-charge of the Division, or has he written to the Ministry about this, so that I could deal with the complaint? Mr Teong Eng Siong( In Mandarin): Sir, it is not my responsibility. I have now made the complaint to the Minister. That is good enough to help him to initiate some action. The Minister himself should send somebody to look into the matter and to find out the number of the patrol car. I have already given him the time and place. The other details are to be investigated by the Police themselves.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Police are generally aware of the areas where drug pushing and drug abuse activities take place. Surveillance is carried out in these areas and when sufficient evidence has been gathered, enforcement action is taken against those involved. In addition, Divisional Police also carry out routine patrols in these areas. The Jalan Kolam Ayer Quarters area is one of them. However, for obvious reasons, I cannot disclose what sort of surveillance work is being carried out. During the past 14 months, 130 persons were arrested in the Jalan Kolam Ayer Quarters area on suspicion of having committed various drug offences. Of these, five were drug traffickers. Two of the traffickers were prosecuted and the other three were dealt with under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act. Sixteen persons were also prosecuted for other drug offences. Fifty-eight addicts were sent for compulsory treatment and rehabilitation at the Drug Rehabilitation Centres. The rest were released after investigation. ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE 6. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Finance whether he is aware that in Singapore there are very few electronic component factories to support the electronics assembly factories; and if he has any plans to encourage the setting up of electronic component factories or plants so as to lessen dependence upon imported electronic components and ensure the availability of supply.”
“Sir, the aided school board has the right to hire and fire these aided school employees.”
“Sir, I will answer that question. The fact that they are on the payroll of the Government does not mean that they are in the service of the Government as in the case of the employees in Government schools. Mr Ho See Beng: Sir, I want to ask the Minister whether the Ministry of Education has the right to hire and fire these employees.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, these clerks who are affected are from Government aided schools. The Government has not taken over the schools. It is still aiding these schools. In fact, the clerks are employed by the aided schools. They are not employed by the Government. So the question as to whether the Government has taken over or has not taken over the aided schools does not arise. The Member for Khe Bong should know that, as far as clerks in Government schools are concerned, they are recruited by the Public Service Commission and they must satisfy the requirements of the Government General Clerical Service. But in this case these clerks are employees of the aided schools and they are still the responsibility of the aided schools. Whether they are given retrenchment benefits or not, it is not the responsibility of the Government. It is the responsibility of the aided schools.”
“Sir, the Ministry can only give an assurance that it will do its best to redeploy these clerks. It cannot guarantee them a job. I do not think the Ministry can guarantee that these clerks who have been found redundant will be given jobs. The Ministry can only try to do its best and has done what it could for these clerks.”
“Sir, although the assurance has not been specifically spelt out, the fact that the Ministry is doing its best to redeploy some of these redundant school clerks is itself concrete evidence of what the Ministry is doing. That, Mr Speaker, Sir, is better than a specific assurance from the Ministry. What the Ministry has done for these redundant clerks, to my mind, is a better assurance than any statement by the Ministry.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in 1976, six clerks were rendered redundant. Three were given alternative postings to other Government-aided schools where vacancies existed. One refused redeployment and two had their services terminated because they could not be redeployed. In 1977, although nine aided Chinese schools closed down, only two clerks were rendered redundant. The two clerks were redeployed to other Government-aided schools. The Ministry helps to redeploy the clerks by posting them to other aided schools where vacancies exist. Where no such vacancies exist and the clerks meet the minimum educational qualifications for appointment to the Government General Clerical Service, their cases are referred to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Commission for absorption into the General Clerical Service to serve in the newly opened Government schools. In the event they cannot be absorbed into the General Clerical Service, their services have to be terminated. Every possible assistance has been and will continue to be given by my Ministry to redeploy the redundant aided school clerks.”
“Mr Ho See Beng asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Education (a) how many clerical employees of some aided Chinese schools in the rural area have become unemployed following the closure of the schools recently; (b) why the Ministry of Education cannot employ them in some of the schools which have newly been opened; and (c) whether an assurance can be given to similar employees of schools which are still functioning that they will not suffer the same fate if their schools are closed, as they have been feeling insecure and demoralised since the retrenchments.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the number of teachers transferred in the last three months was 1,567 and out of this number 1,001 teachers were transferred owing to necessity and not because they had applied for transfer. It is not possible to consider all requests for transfer. Some teachers do not meet the requirements of the schools to which they wish to be transferred or the schools in question do not have vacancies to be filled. Generally, the factors taken into consideration when selecting teachers for transfer are - (i) matching of the specific needs of receiving schools to the teachers' teaching subjects and language of instruction; (ii) the ability of the sending schools to release the teachers - in cases where teachers are key digits, the schools are reluctant to release them; and (iii) proximity of teachers' homes to schools. The number of teachers who applied for transfer in the last three months but who were not transferred was 873. The number of teachers who were transferred to schools more than 10 km from their homes in the last three months was 267. While every effort is made to post teachers to schools as close to their homes as possible, it must be appreciated that often teachers may be posted to schools which are 6 km or more from their homes. This is because in certain areas such as Katong and Marine Parade there is an over abundance of teacher; living there in relation to the available posts while in places like Jurong and Lim Chu Kang there are far more teaching posts available than there are teachers living there. Other factors such as matching the teachers' own abilities and preferences to the schools' requirements add to this problem. RETRENCHED CLERICAL EMPLOYEES OF CHINESE RURAL SCHOOLS (Alternative employment) 5.”
“At present, Government officers in the Education Service are required to pass Malay Standard I for confirmation. This cannot be substituted by another official language. However, the requirement to pass Malay may be waived if the work and conduct of the teachers during their probation have been very good. TRANSFER OF TEACHERS (Particulars) 4. Mr Sia Khoon Seong asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Education (a) how many teachers were transferred in the last three months; (b) how many of those transferred had not asked for transfer themselves and what was the basis of selection of such teachers for transfer; (c) how many of those who had asked for transfer were not transferred; and (d) how many were transferred to schools more than 10 kilometres from their homes.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the library facilities in schools are being developed and improved upon. This will have to be carried out in stages. For existing schools, a programme has been initiated for both the extension of physical facilities and the improvement of book collection. In January 1977, the Ministry implemented a School Library Development Project whereby library grants were made available to all existing primary schools to establish central libraries and to all secondary schools which need to expand their library facilities. For new schools, plans have been incorporated in their designs to set up fully-equipped central libraries. Besides the improvement in the physical facilities, the Ministry is rendering services to the schools by training the school library co-ordinators to improve their skills in the running of school libraries. With the flexibility now granted on the use of School Funds, principals may exercise their discretion to use the Funds for library development. CONFIRMATION OF SERVICE OF TEACHERS (Policy) 3. Mr Sia Khoon Seong asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Education whether his Ministry will review its present policy of requiring teachers seeking confirmation of service to pass Malay Standard 1, and whether equivalent qualification in Chinese, Tamil or English will also be deemed acceptable, so that a teacher, seeking confirmation, can offer in addition to his first language qualification one of the remaining three languages as the additional language requirement. Mr Chua Sian Chin: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Education is reviewing the Education Scheme of Service and the requirement to pass Malay Standard I for confirmation is one of the matters in the Scheme which is under review.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not able to give details as to how many of them are from the Malay stream, English stream or the Chinese stream. If the Member for Moulmein is interested, I shall supply him with the particulars. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND JUNIOR COLLEGES (Library facilities) 2. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Education whether he is aware that library facilities in primary and secondary schools and junior colleges are inadequate and if he will take steps to improve them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my reply is that we would certainly like to encourage these teachers to develop themselves further. It is good for the Ministry to encourage them to self-develop, and the Ministry can recognise it by emplacing them on a higher salary scale through the present avenues.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I say that the teachers are certainly not considered "untouchables." In fact, in my answer just now, I have said that there are now adequate avenues whereby these teachers can be emplaced on the EO/III salary scale. In fact, out of 1,439 such teachers, 1,206 have already been emplaced through these avenues. There is no reason why the rest of them cannot be emplaced through these avenues. I do not think the Ministry can do more than what has already been done.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there were originally 1,439 teachers in this category. Of this number, 1,003 were emplaced after an interview and 203 were emplaced after they had obtained three 'O' level passes. To-date there are 1,206 such teachers who have been emplaced on the EO/III salary scale. There are now still stagnating 233 teachers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, teachers whose salaries stagnate at certain points on the Education Officer/Group III (EO/III) salary scale are either untrained or under-qualified. Among the teachers considered under-qualified are those trained under other schemes. For those untrained they may be considered for full emplacement on the EO/III salary scale if they obtain a Certificate-in-Education through part-time studies at the Institute of Education. For the under-qualified and the trained under other schemes teachers they may be considered for full emplacement on the EO/III salary scale if they had completed 10 years' service and found suitable through interviews. Such under-qualified and trained under other schemes teachers may also be considered for full emplacement on the EO/III salary scale if they had 10 years' service and obtained three GCE 'O' level passes, one of which must be the language of instruction. As there are adequate avenues for teachers stagnated at certain points on the EO/III salary scale to be fully emplaced at that salary scale, my Ministry does not consider it appropriate to emplace such teachers fully on 10 years' continuous service alone.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Hijacking and Protection of Aircraft Bill, 1978, now before Parliament, when enacted will make it an offence for an person to commit or abet hijacking or the associated violent acts against the crew or passengers, damage or destruction of a plane in flight or air navigation installations in any part of the world. A person guilty of an offence by virtue of the Bill shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for life or in accordance with the relevant provisions of our law. This Bill seeks to extend the jurisdiction of the High Court to empower it to try any person charged with hijacking, destroying or damaging any aircraft or air navigation installations or other offences under the Bill committed in Singapore or elsewhere. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Chua Sian Chin]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. JURONG TOWN CORPORATION (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Two of them were sentenced to life imprisonment and the other three received 30 years' imprisonment each. In another example, on 26th May, 1977, a Russian hijacked an Aeroflot plane and flew to Sweden. The USSR authorities demanded the extradition of this Russian hijacker. The Swedish authorities refused but tried and sentenced the hijacker to four years' imprisonment in Sweden. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Chua Sian Chin]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 4.00 p.m.”
“Sir, I am not able to say how many countries have invoked these Conventions in dealing with hijackers, as such information is not readily available. This is because the manner of invoking the provisions of these Conventions differs in different countries. In some countries, the ratification itself is binding because these countries have special articles in the law which allow them to take steps against hijackers without the need to pass special legislation. This is the case with the United States and France. On the other hand, in countries like the United Kingdom, special laws have to be passed for the practical application of The Hague and Montreal Conventions against hijackers. However, from the information I have available, eight countries which have ratified both The Hague and Montreal Conventions and two countries which have ratified only the Montreal Convention have tried and punished hijackers. Punishment meted out by the courts of these countries varies tom country to country, ranging from four years' imprisonment to the death sentence. Sir, may I just quote a few examples of what happened in these countries? On 1st March, 1975, Kurdish sympathisers hijacked an Iraqi Airways plane and the plane landed in Teheran, Iran. The hijackers were apprehended and they were executed by Iranian authorities on 7th April, 1975. Iran had ratified The Hague and Montreal Conventions in January 1972 and August 1976 respectively. In another case, on 10th September, 1976, four Croation exiles and one United States' national hijacked a TWA aircraft from New York. They flew to Paris and surrendered there. The French authorities returned these five persons to the U.S. authorities and these persons were convicted on several charges of air piracy and conspiracy in the United States.”
“Sir, in reply to the Member for Buona Vista, may I say that there is no inconsistency with the Convention and our enactment of clause 8. Although clause 8 provides that the offence of hijacking carries the penalty of imprisonment for life, it does not mean that if a hijacker were to commit murder in the course of hijacking, he cannot be tried and punished in our courts and, if found guilty, be convicted and sentenced to death. That, Sir, as I said in my speech just now, is provided under clause 4 of the Bill. As I said, clause 4 provides that: 'Any act of violence against the passengers or crew of any aircraft in flight done by any person in connection with the offence of hijacking committed or attempted by him on board such aircraft shall be deemed to have been committed in Singapore.....' regardless of where the act was committed. In other words, under clause 4, if a hijacker in the course of hijacking, commits murder or fires a gun with intent to kill or injure, this constitutes an offence that can be tried in our courts and, if convicted, he can be sentenced to death. So there is no inconsistency as is thought by the Member for Buona Vista.”
“Clause 7 makes it an offence for any person in Singapore to abet the commission of the offences defined by Clauses 5 and 6. Clause 8 provides that hijacking and other offences described in the Bill shall carry the penalty of imprisonment for life. Clause 9 provides that the consent of the Public Prosecutor is required before proceedings under the Bill are instituted. Pending such consent an offender may be arrested and charged in court. Clause 10 seeks to make hijacking and other offences by virtue of the Bill extraditable offences. It also provides that where there is no extradition treaty between Singapore and a State which is a party to either The Hague or Montreal Convention, a Gazette Notification may be made under Section 4 of the Extradition Act applying that Act to such State as though the Convention constitutes an extradition treaty between Singapore and that State. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.50 p.m.”
“Among ASEAN countries, the Philippines and Indonesia have ratified and acceded to both Conventions. Singapore should now ratify the Conventions. The Tokyo Convention, to which Singapore is a party, is not designed as a deterrent against hijacking. There is no statute law in Singapore which makes aircraft hijacking an offence in itself. To enable the provisions of The Hague and Montreal Conventions to be implemented, this Bill will have to be enacted so that we have the laws in hand to discharge the obligations under the Conventions when they are ratified. Clause 3 of the Bill provides that the offence of hijacking is committed by any person who, on board an aircraft in flight, unlawfully seizes or exercises control of the aircraft. The offence is committed irrespective of the nationality of the hijacker, the State of registration of the aircraft or the place of the hijacking, unless the aircraft is used in military, customs or police service. Clause 4 provides that any act of violence against the passengers or crew of any aircraft in flight done by any person in connection with the offence of hijacking committed or attempted by him shall be deemed to have been committed in Singapore, regardless of where the act was committed. In other words, if a person in committing hijacking were to commit murder of a member of the crew or passenger or certain specified offences, under the Bill, our courts will have jurisdiction to try and sentence him in accordance with our law as if the act was committed in Singapore. Clauses 5 and 6 make it an offence to destroy or damage an aircraft in flight or to commit an act of violence on board such an aircraft which would endanger its safety; or to destroy, damage or interfere with air navigation installations.”