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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,639 lines we hold for Chua Sian Chin, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 26 of 33.
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, five-footways are prohibited areas for hawking since they are, in fact, public foot-ways and are meant for the safe use of pedestrians. Allowing hawking thereon will not only force the pedestrians onto the roadway, thereby endangering their safety, but will also hamper the loading and unloading of goods to and from the shops on both sides of the road. Furthermore, if we are to allow hawking on the five-f footways along North Bridge Road which invariably form the frontage of shops, as suggested by the Member for Bras Basah, we would be condoning unfair competition to the shopkeepers from the hawkers. Not only has the shopkeeper to pay rental for his shop premises in addition to the shop licence fees which puts him at a disadvantage, but also the hawker, by displaying his wares in front of the shop, has the advantage of attracting the attention of the customers first and thereby unfairly depriving the shop of its business. I am wondering whether, in making the suggestion of allowing hawking along North Bridge Road, the Member for Bras Basah has considered the legitimate interests of the shopkeepers there who are also his constituents. I am afraid it is often forgotten that as a Government it is our duty, when formulating policies and implementing measures, to take into consideration the legitimate interests of all sections of the public, whether they are pedestrians or other road users, householders and shopkeepers, and not only those of hawkers. Finally, the whole length of North Bridge Road is a cleared area which is prohibited for hawking. It would clearly be a retrograde step if hawkers were to be permitted to return to the site which had been cleared.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, as the Minister I do not issue such instructions, because I have good faith in the common sense and fairness of my inspectors. HAWKING ON FIVE-FOOTWAYS 19. Mr Ho See Beng asked the Minister for Health if he will, consider allowing hawkers to do business on the five-footway along North Bridge Road between Rochore Road and Bras Basah Road, if they do not cause obstruction to pedestrians.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, that has occurred to me and I can say that a general definition of what is termed "incorrigible" cannot be given. Each case is interpreted on its own merits.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, the seizure of goods of hawkers who have committed offences is only resorted to in cases where they belong to incorrigible hawkers who choose persistently to flout the law. In normal circumstances, the Hawker Inspectorate only issue notices to offenders for committing an offence under the hawkers' law. The law provides for seizure of goods in addition to a fine, for certain good reasons, for example, to prevent hawkers selling at unspecified sites and prohibited areas which invariably are areas which have been cleared of hawkers. It would be extremely unfair to the hawkers who had vacated the cleared areas if the authorities were to allow new or other hawkers to occupy the places they had vacated. Thus, in fairness, there should be very much heavier penalties, including the seizure of goods, for hawkers who persistently flout the law by hawking in cleared and prohibited areas. Thus, unless the Hawkers Department take firm action, including seizure of goods, against such offenders, they would not be doing justice to the hawker community as a whole and would be guilty of abdicating their responsibilities.”
“However, in order to be on the cautious side, all our Maternal and Child Health Clinics have been instructed to warn mothers against the excessive use of monosodium glutamate as well as to actively discourage them from using it at all when preparing baby foods. HAWKER INSPECTORS (Seizure of goods of hawkers who have committed offences) 18. Mr Ho See Beng asked the Minister for Health if he will consider the issue of instructions to Hawker Inspectors not to take away the goods, etc., of hawkers to whom they have issued notices of offence for causing obstruction.”
“It was considered that self-limitation of intake of foods containing glutamate by susceptible individuals would be possible. Since there is a considerable amount of work in progress the Committee postponed evaluations of this compound as a food additive until the results of the current work are available.' The Expert Committee reported a year later, in 1971, that although the weight of evidence does not support the contention that monosodium glutamate as an additive in the diet can lead to brain damage in humans, caution is desirable. The food manufacturers, however, have decided to play it safe. In 1969, the manufacturers of baby foods in North America imposed a voluntary ban on it and British firms followed later. Since these countries are the main sources of baby foods imported into Singapore, it would not be necessary to take any other action with regard to banning of this additive in baby foods in Singapore. Further, if we are to ban the use of monosodium glutamate in baby food preparations, the relevant question that will arise will be how effective it will be in actual practice. Can we, for instance, control its use in food preparations at home which may be given to children and babies? Another relevant question is that if it has ill effects on the brain of humans, which is questionable, why should the restriction of its use be limited to baby foods only, since the human brain is known to continue development right up to full maturity, which is at the age of 20 to 25 years? Thus, for the move of banning it to be logical and effective in practice, you must ban it completely, that is, by banning its importation and manufacture, which clearly does not merit it in this case.”
“Sir, the Member for Whampoa might have based his suggestion that monosodium glutamate should be banned from baby-food preparations on a report by a Dr J. W. Olney, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, that infant mice injected under the skin with large amounts of monosodium glutamate or MSG developed brain damage. I would like to explain here that Dr Olney's conclusion was challenged by Mr Oser, a biochemist, who is also a member of the United States National Academy of Science Committee on Food Protection. Mr Oser claimed that Dr Olney's observations did not have any relevance to the question of the safety of MSG as a food seasoning agent largely because the MSG was injected under the skin of mice. The critical experiments, he said, should involve feeding MSG orally to the animals. Dr Olney's experiments had also been done by using doses far in excess of what has been normally used. An Expert Committee jointly formed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation on Food Additives was, however, not able to evaluate the evidence and come to specific conclusions in 1970. The report, which appeared in the W.H.O. Technical Report, Series No. 445 at page 20, paragraph 3.4 is as follows: `Glutamic acid is a normal constituent of dietary proteins and also occurs freely in many natural foods. It is itself used as a condiment and is an important constituent of other condiments (e.g. soy sauce). The present state of knowledge concerning monosodium glutamate was reviewed. Although attention has recently been drawn to adverse acute effects from ingestion of foods high in free glutamate content the Committee considers that it is unable to advise any restriction on use at the present time.”
“, nor a stimulant, such as the pep pills. It may be taken out of curiosity or because it has got a potentiating effect not known pharmaceutically. Whatever the reason, its use without a doctor's control causes concern. The few cases that have been brought to the attention of the clinicians have been cases of over-dosage. The treatment has been to wash out the stomach. About a dozen patients are known to have been treated in this way. Since prevention is better than cure, the Medical Department has been disseminating knowledge on the dangers of these drugs to various groups of people who deal with young persons. Lectures were given this year to the Samaritans, psychiatric nurses, customs officers, school health doctors and officers of the Singapore Command and Staff College, and to school students and other groups of younger people. A special clinic has been formed in one of the Medical departments in the Outram Road General Hospital where ganja smokers and persons on MX pills and others are treated and counselled. The follow-up is undertaken by doctors, almoners and other voluntary staff. Arrangements have also been made with the Chinese Y.M.C.A, to undertake the rehabilitation of some of these persons through group activities. LEGISLATION TO CONTROL CHIT FUND COMPANIES The following Question stood in the name of Mr Hwang Soo Jin - 16.To ask the Minister for Finance whether his Ministry has now completed its studies into the operations of chit fund companies, and whether and when he proposes to introduce legislation to control the activities of such companies.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no uniform opinion on the reformative measures for ganja and MX pill users. These two drugs are not as dangerous as opium, morphine, heroin and other hard drugs where users find themselves quickly and easily addicted. The effects .are physically and mentally destructive. Any drug, including ganja and MX pills, is bad. Although these two drugs may not create the same physical dependence as morphine or heroin, they create a psychological dependence. This occurs in persons with inadequate personalities, making them excessively reliant on other people, or dependent on the drugs. The taking of ganja and MX pills can lead to the taking of the more dangerous drugs. Ganja smoking has a longer history. Not much medical research has gone into it. Those that have come to our attention have been those who have been arrested or are in custody. For those persons in prison, an attempt is made to get them to rid themselves of the need to fall back on smoking ganja. So far we have admitted 17 ganja addicts to the St. John's Island treatment centre. For the ganja addict, treatment is relatively simple. At St. John's Island they are encouraged to participate in healthy activities and to convince them that they need no ganja. `They participate in gardening, tailoring, carpentry and fish rearing. The problem of MX pill takers is relatively new. Very little is known about the long-term effects of this drug. MX is the pharmaceutical preparation under the trade name of "Mandrax" which is a preparation of methaqualone, which is a mild hypnotic combined with an antihistamine. It is curious why it has been pushed by drug pedals, and why it has been so readily accepted by some persons. It is not a "mind bending" drug, such as L.S.D.”
“Sir, I think that matter does not fall within my portfolio, because if it is decided that we provide' them with outpatient services, then we will provide them.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, am not aware that one of the clinics will be demolished within the next few years. But if it is going to be demolished, alternative arrangements will, of course, be made. PROSTITUTES APPREHENDED (Particulars) 6. Inche Rahmat Bin Kenap Al-Haj asked the Minister for Home Affairs how many prostitutes were apprehended between 1st July. 1970, and the latest convenient date; and how many of them were (i) below the age of 21: (ii) Singapore citizens; and (iii) non-citizens.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the residents of Palembang Housing Estate should find no difficulty in getting outpatient service at the Kallang and Kampong Bugis Outpatient Dispensaries, both of which are within one mile distance from the Housing Estate. It is estimated that there are at present about 12,290 people living in the aforementioned area. However, on completion of the redevelopment of the area within the next five years, there would be a population of 30,000. These two outpatient dispensaries could still easily cater for this increased number of residents. No new outpatient clinic will, therefore, be built in Palembang Housing Estate.”
“Sir, may I just repeat what I have said just now? There are no children's wards in the other Government hospitals.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, a 24-hour visit system for parents wishing to visit their children in the children's ward is already implemented in all the children's wards in the Outram Road General Hospital. Where it is necessary for the parents to stay overnight, a mother's room is also available. There are no children's wards in the other Government hospitals. At the St. Andrew's Orthopaedic Hospital, the children are sent to convalesce from orthopaedic and other medical conditions. As this is a convalescent hospital, the sole purpose is the giving of continued medical attention and nursing care, which cannot be provided for at home. Children are encouraged to have regular habits with regular exercise, rest periods and meal times. Time for schoolwork, physiotherapy and occupational therapy has also to be set aside. The habit of early sleeping hours is encouraged. In the circumstances, it would be difficult to achieve this if parents are allowed to come in and upset the normal timetable as well as distract other children, as the wards are open wards.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I quite agree with some of the remarks made by the Member for Jurong about the unsightly hawker stalls and the shelters which they erect. In fact, these are the stalls which are situated in the concourse of the market; they are not in the market itself. As far as the stalls in the market proper are concerned, they are properly sheltered and ventilated. I presume the Member for Jurong is referring to the market in his constituency. This is the market which I myself visited last year during the "Keep Singapore Clean and Pollution Free" Campaign and I know the problems that we face in this market. In fact, the hawker stalls are situated in the concourse of the market. The concourse of a market is not a place for hawker stalls. These makeshift measures were put up by the hawkers themselves and they result in unsightly and unsatisfactory shelters. Under these difficult circumstances, the Hawkers Department of the Ministry is doing its very best to provide washing facilities. May I say that, in view of all these experiences, the new markets which are built are of an improved design. If I may explain here, normally when there is a market for market produce, we have a gathering of unauthorised hawkers who sell cooked food around the market. And these are the cooked food hawkers who are resettled in the concourse of the market which is not built for such a purpose. But the design of the new markets is such that we build not only market for market produce but also a section for cooked food. And the cooked food stalls are built in such a way that each stall has its own washing area with drains leading into the sewers. 6.45 p.m.”
“Sir, it is not true that cleansing workers do not have access to these implements. In fact, if Members see them working, they always have a broom and a spade. They are supposed to shovel out the refuse from the drains. There is no excuse for them to say that they have no access to any implements, because they are available. If they do not have the implements, they can approach the overseer and ask for them. Mr Ng Kah Ting: Sir, in view of the Minister's reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“I am sorry I missed that point. As far as refuse treatment is concerned, may I say that since last year when I spoke on this subject brought up by the Member for Punggol, we have progressed a stage further. At the moment, there is a firm of consulting engineers who are doing a survey to ascertain the most suitable method or combination of methods for refuse disposal in Singapore. Their report is expected to be submitted on the 10th of April. May I say that the proposals are whether we should go for incineration or for a compacting plant. It has taken some time to do this survey, because this is not a matter which we can treat in a light-hearted manner, as all the factors have to be considered. If I may inform the House, one incineration plant which can incinerate 1,000 tons of refuse a day will cost something like $20 to $25 million. I do not think I need explain the alternative methods of refuse disposal. I have dealt with them quite comprehensively last year and I do not wish to repeat them again. Tuan Haji Rahmat Kenap(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has not answered the question about the shortage of implements for public cleansing workers to clean the drains.”
“Sir, the Member does not have to see me to put in a complaint. He can easily post it to me.”
“I believe the Member for Punggol is a man of many parts; and I am quite sure he will do us this service! The point brought up by the Member for Geylang Serai is that he saw some open, wagons which were hired by the Ministry of Health for carrying refuse, and the wagons were such that the refuse was blown off. That is not the case at the moment. That could have been the case in the past when there was a shortage of refuse vehicles. And it was inevitable that we had to hire open lorries which were not suitable for carrying refuse. But this could not be avoided, and whenever such open lorries were hired to carry refuse, strict instructions were given to cover the refuse with canvas so that no refuse could be blown off. Here again if the Member for Geylang Serai is civic conscious enough and he sees any such lorries passing by, we will be extremely grateful if he can give us the number of the vehicle.”
“Good. As regards the complaint about some of the refuse vehicles dripping liquid as they go along, may I say that, in fact, this is caused by the refuse which we get from the markets and households. It is very wet refuse. But in order that the capacity of the refuse trucks can take advantage of holding more refuse inside and thus cutting down on haulage costs, the refuse is compressed. And because of the compression, liquid comes out. This is unavoidable. But our order to the crews of the refuse vehicles is that the compression should take place when the wagon is stationary and not while it is moving. Again, if the Member for Punggol sees a moving refuse vehicle which is dripping liquid, can he also lend us a hand by giving us its number?”
“We have our inspectors who will be keeping an eye on these vehicles. But we feel that it will be helpful to us if, as a responsible member of the public, the Member for Punggol will lend us a hand if he happens to see any refuse vehicle which is not clean and note down its number. I am sure he is that public-spirited.”
“No, we are not passing the buck back. We always carry the "bucks" to the Tampines dumping ground! We have to carry them there. I must sympathise with the Member for Punggol because he happens to be in Punggol Constituency where the dumping ground is situated. As a result of the reduced allocation, we can only purchase vehicles proportionate to the amount of the allocation which we have been given. In fact, working on the actual volume of refuse we have collected from the beginning of this year, we estimate that the volume of refuse per day would be 1,375 tons. We therefore require an additional 37 refuse collectors, 15 covered crane wagons and 15 covered tippers with cranes. With regard to the complaint about refuse vehicles themselves being dirty, and that the Ministry of Health is not keeping its own house clean, may I say that, as far as I know - I think the Member for Punggol must admit it -nowadays the refuse vehicles are much cleaner than they used to be. Perhaps the Member might have seen a few refuse vehicles which might not be that clean. As I have always said, we have of course black sheep among our employees. I shall therefore be very grateful to the Member for Punggol if he will be diligent enough to take down the numbers of the vehicles which are dirty. 6.30 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I first reply to the point about the inadequacy of the allocation for the purchase of the refuse removal vehicles. I agree with the Member that the allocation is not sufficient. In fact, we did ask for $2.5 million, but we were given only $1.5 million.”
“The following amounts have been provided in the 1971-72 estimates: $ (1)The Singapore Red Cross Home for Handicapped Children 20,200 (2)The Singapore Association for the Deaf and Dumb 12,000 (3)The Spastic Children's Association of Singapore 4,200 I believe the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs have also provided aid in the form of sending instructors and welfare teachers to these organisations.”
“First, to relieve the acute shortage of hospital beds by discharging long-staying paraplegic and hemiplegic patients from the hospitals to the centre and second, to provide facilities for a more positive way for paraplegics and hemiplegics to rehabilitate themselves. The centre will provide accommodation to cater for 70 to 80 in-patients as well as rehabilitation for outpatients and for surgical and medical cases. As for the aid which my Ministry is giving to the voluntary welfare organisations concerned with the rehabilitation of physically disabled persons, may I say that at the moment my Ministry exempts from hospital charges and outpatient charges certain categories of patients from the following organisations: (1) the Spastic Children's Association of Singapore: (2) the Cheshire Home: (3) the Singapore Red Cross for Handicapped Children: (4) the Singapore Association for the Blind; (5) the Singapore Association for Retarded Children; and (6) the Singapore Association for the Deaf and Dumb. Furthermore, medico-socio workers from my Ministry contribute to the activities of the first five voluntary organisations which I have mentioned above, and the Society for Aid to the Paralysed, by serving on their committees at different levels, such as executive case work, admission to homes, employment and management. The Government makes a yearly financial grant to some of these organisations.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the proposal to establish a centre for paraplegic patients was under study by my Ministry early in 1969. At that time it was envisaged to build a hospital or paraplegic centre for long-staying patients and a sheltered workshop. However, in late 1969 this proposal was expanded to include medical as well as surgical rehabilitation. This called for a revision of the plan and the estimates of the cost. The revision was not finalised until July 1970 and, therefore, it was too late for the proposals to be included in the 1970-71 estimates. That is the reason why it has appeared for the first time in this year's estimates. With regard to the scope of the centre, may I say that at the moment paraplegics and hemiplegics are being admitted or treated at the Outram Road General Hospital, the Thomson Road General Hospital and the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Most of the in-patients invariably remain in the hospital for a long period of time for the purpose of receiving effective care, and this has resulted in the number of hospital beds being correspondingly reduced for use by other more acute cases for whom hospital treatment is particularly needed, If there is a centre where such patients can be taken care of exclusively, it will result in a number of beds in the hospitals being released for other medical and surgical cases. The paraplegics and hemiplegics will also be able to leave the hospital earlier, saving two to three months of hospitalisation, and Government funds accordingly. Hence, the purpose of the centre is twofold.”
“Common sense again tells me that they will continue to have a heart! INCOME TAX (Exemption for persons earning $6,000 per annum or less) 8. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider introducing amending legislation to exempt a person, who earns $6,000 per annum or less from payment of income tax, in view of the increase in the cost of living during the last few years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I did explain in my answer that it is because of the lack of effective enforcement that the unlicensed hawkers have gathered in that area. May I say that common sense is wanting, but perhaps the hawker inspectors did have a heart and so they did not take effective action. That is why this problem has arisen.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, my common sense tells me no. I think I shall follow my common sense.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the question is very relevant, The problem with this market is due to the division of jurisdiction. In fact, the market comes under the control of my Ministry, but the concourse outside is under the control of the Housing and Development Board. Anyway, since both of us are on the same side, the Ministry of Health and the Markets Department of the Housing Board will jointly decide on the policy. But if the Member has problems, perhaps he can convey them either to the Hawkers Department or the Housing and Development Board, as we do have liaison with them, and we will take joint action.”
“Sir, when we introduced these quarterly payments for market stallholders at the beginning of last year, there were complaints and grumblings about it. But these complaints have stopped now. It is quite human for people to grumble when there is some change. But may I say that if there are any genuine cases of hardship, we do consider each case on its merits or demerits.”
“Mr Speaker, sir, as far as I am concerned. I have not heard of complaints of high rentals in the market. But I am hearing this for the first time in this Chamber from the Member for Whampoa. May I say that the rentals in Government markets are highly subsidised. They are very reasonable. As far as St. Michael's Market is concerned, I think the major complaint is the unfair competition which the unlicensed hawkers are giving to the stalls inside the market. I remember my visit to the market - you will be surprised, Sir, that I myself do visit markets - during the last "Keep Singapore Clean" campaign. The stallholders came out to see me and their main complaint was, "We, the stallholders inside the market, pay licence fees and it is unfair of you to allow these unlicensed hawkers in the concourse outside the market to get away without paying any fees at all. Therefore, there is this unfair competition." In fact, that was the major complaint they made to me, but they made no complaint about high rentals.”
“Sir, it is proposed to license them, which means that they will have to pay licence fees. These fees are at the moment being paid by the hawkers or stallholders inside the market, and therefore the present unlicensed hawkers, when licensed, will not have an unfair advantage over those inside the market.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are no plans to enlarge St. Michael's Market. All unlicensed hawkers plying in the concourse in the vicinity of the market were resited and given a place within the market on 18th November, 1970. Subsequently, through lack of firm enforcement, more unlicensed hawkers have gathered there. There are 42 vacant stalls and pitches in the market. It is not possible, therefore, to resite within the market all the unlicensed hawkers outside. The Housing and Development Board has, however, prepared plans for the construction of a new hawkers' centre at Jalan Tenteram. Those hawkers who cannot be resited in the existing market will be moved into this new market. There are two existing staircases within St. Michael's Market which already afford access to the upper storey. It is, therefore, not proposed to provide a staircase leading directly to the upper storey of the market.”
“If you allow him a little bit, you can allow him a little bit more, say, two inches, three feet, or one mile.”
“I agree. If licensed hawkers have been properly resited in a certain place, but you allow one of them to go back to the old place, the others will say, "If you allow him to go back to the old place, why cannot you allow the rest?"”
“May I just say this? Mr P. Govindaswamy: No, I did not mention unlicensed hawkers. I spoke about licensed hawkers.”
“Are they suitable? May I say this then to put the mind of the Member for Potong Pasir at rest: something is being done about this problem. Although, as he has rightly said, we have priorities, he can be sure that the Hawkers Department will effect the resiting of the hawkers at Tai Thong Crescent in June 1971. It is the intention of the Department to resite them into a newly paved back-lane and sidelanes around the MacPherson Market. Coming to the Member for Anson, he suggested something which quite astounded me. He said that no action or very little action should be taken against hawkers in a cleared constituency. My rational mind says that if you clear a constituency of hawkers and resite them properly, you must not allow other unlicensed hawkers to take the place of those who have been resited.”
“Sir, I can understand the point of the Member for Potong Pasir. In order not to take action per se, but to resite them, you must have a piece of land or site. And he also complains of the delay. The delay is because it is not easy to get another site where you can resite the hawkers.”
“Sir, the hawker problem is quite a difficult one. We heard the Member for Potong Pasir saying that the hawkers are obstructing traffic, and therefore action must be taken. And then we heard from the Member for Anson that, although they may obstruct traffic slightly, we should not take action. So I am between the devil and -- Mr Ramaswamy: Point of clarification, Sir.”
“Sir, there is a Vector Control Unit in my Ministry headed by a specialist officer. They have experimented with a certain type of oil which is slightly different from D.D.T. We are using this new type of oil. I cannot give the Member for Whampoa more details about this, but if he likes he can file a question so that I can answer him. We are trying to go away from D.D.T. to another type of oil, not only because D.D.T. is not good for health, but because it also makes the larvae more resistant. They become more rugged and, therefore, more difficult to kill.”
“Sir, first of all, may I thank the Member for saying that Singapore is much cleaner now. May I also say that the problem of mosquitoes will be there so long as there are people who breed mosquitoes in their own homes. There are different types of mosquitoes. One of them is the Aedes mosquito which causes dengue and haemorrhagic fevers. This species breeds in water-bearing receptacles and other artificial containers in the homes, which are often carelessly thrown into the garden or into the open. Since launching our Keep Singapore Clean and Mosquito Free Campaign in 1969, we have had some good results in the sense that the number of haemorrhagic fever cases has gone down. In 1968 the number of these cases was 1,000 and in 1969 there were only 200 cases. About the spraying of drains to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, that is being done. But may I say this: Singapore is a tropical country, and the climate is such that you may spray the drains in the morning, but if it rains in the afternoon all the insecticide is really going down the drain into the canal. So as far as mosquito breeding in drains is concerned, it is an engineering problem, as there must be proper levels of drainage, in other words, water must flow from higher levels to lower levels.”
“Well, my colleague, the Minister for Finance, is here, and the Member for Anson can raise that matter with him if he has the time.”
“Yes, Sir. But I agree that there may he cases of non-removal on particular days, and the reasons are a shortage of labour and drivers, and a break-down of vehicles. Actually at the moment we are suffering from a shortage of garbage truck drivers and labourers. In fact, there is a need for 963 cleansing labourers and 48 garbage truck drivers, and it is impossible for us to --”
“I am very glad they have done so. And he says that because they have done so, they are now clean. We are not saying that the residents are dirty or have poor personal habits. It needs only one, two or three hawkers who practise poor personal hygiene to cause an outbreak of typhoid, even though the majority practise a high standard of personal hygiene. That is why the Ministry has never grown tired of reminding the people of Singapore that, for the sake of their own health, a high standard of personal hygiene should be maintained. My officials have told me that even though the surrounding areas are insanitary, if a high standard of personal hygiene is maintained by everybody, this sort of outbreak via carriers cannot occur. I believe that our Chairman, who is a medical man, will be able to understand it even better. But that does not mean that the Health Ministry is neglecting its duty to clear the rubbish. We do clear it. In fact, a correspondent in one of the newspapers says that the place is much cleaner now. Of course, an argument can be raised that we only cleaned it up after the outbreak. But if the Cleansing Department has not done its duty, did the Member complain to the Ministry of Health before? I did not receive any complaint from him. I turn now to the Member for Anson. He says that the removal of refuse in the Republic is being done irregularly. May I say that, as far as removal of refuse is concerned, it is being regularly removed daily. May I also add that Singapore is about one of the very few countries in the world which remove garbage daily, including Sundays and public holidays. The position is quite different from that in more advanced countries like New York, London or even Tokyo where refuse is removed once or twice a week. 6.45 p.m.”
“But may I say that if there is refuse in the drains it is also the fault of the residents of the area because, as the Member for Geylang Serai will know, in our Keep Singapore Clean campaigns, the message was that refuse should be thrown into dustbins and not into drains. If there is refuse in the drains, whose fault is it? Of course, it is the duty of the Ministry's workers to collect the refuse from the drains, but whose fault was it that, from the very beginning, refuse was thrown into the drains? Perhaps the Member for Geylang Serai may answer that simple question. Also, we have been informed that the residents did allow the children to defecate into the drains. Again, there was evidence that many of the lavatories - this is the bucket system of lavatory which we find is unsatisfactory - was not in a good state. Does the Member for Geylang Serai say that the Health Ministry must repair these lavatories for the residents there? Then he mentioned the construction of the Sims Avenue Expressway which he blamed as the cause of flooding. I am afraid he has raised this matter under a different subhead. It should be under a different Ministry. There again, may I say that this is an area which is below the high-tide level. I think my Ministry officials have stated quite clearly that the only way to solve this problem of flooding is to raise the whole area, because, as we know, water flows from a high level to a low level. It cannot flow from a low level to a high level. So if the land is below high-tide level, how do you expect it to flow? Is it the responsibility of the Health Ministry to see that water flows upward? The Member has said that the people in his constituency have co-operated with the Government in its Keep Singapore Clean campaign.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I refer first to the rather blatant statement by the Member for Geylang Serai who attributed all the blame of the typhoid outbreak to the Health Ministry. I believe he must have followed the correspondence in the Berita Harian where my officer put the facts quite clearly. We are not trying to shirk any blame whatsoever, but we put the facts clearly, and wherever the blame falls, it falls rightly. From what the doctors told me - it was not told to me just for the sake of trying to exculpate themselves from blame, but as a result of bacteriological tests which had been carried out and from the evidence gathered - it was quite conclusive that the major factor in the outbreak was a break-down of personal hygiene, and not the unsanitary conditions of the drains and so on. This outbreak was the result of transmission of the disease through food. In other words, it was transmitted by carriers. In fact, this has been borne out by the fact that one carrier, who happened to be a hawker selling ice-drinks, was responsible for the people who had bought drinks from him going down with typhoid, and they, in turn, infected their families and friends. These victims had informed the Ministry officials that they had bought drinks from this man. It is quite clear that this outbreak of typhoid was the result of poor personal hygiene. Perhaps I may explain what I mean by personal hygiene. It means that you must wash your hands when you handle prepared food and before you eat it. Not only that, you must cover any exposed food or drinks from flies around. It is not true to say that the Health Ministry has been shirking its duties. It has been carrying out its duty of removing the refuse in that area.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, unfortunately, the Member for Jalan Kayu has not understood the modern psychiatric approach of treatment of patients. In fact, it is the policy of psychiatric hospitals to have an open-door policy wherein patients are allowed a more open and free environment under supervision. This more natural environment helps the patients in the process of recovery. In many hospitals patients are encouraged to run their own wards and given the freedom to move in and out. It is not true that the inmates of the hospital are let loose, as was put forward by the Member for Jalan Kayu. As regards readmissions, of course, it is best that if a patient has recovered a certain degree of sanity, he has a chance to return to his home. The idea behind it is that in their natural home surroundings they should get better faster. Unfortunately, there may be cases of relapse and so on. May I just say that if a patient is known to be unpredictably violent or shows a possibility of violence, he will be put in a more secure ward. I do not think the Member for Jalan Kayu should be very worried when he passes along Yio Chu Kang Road at night.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I agree with the Member for Jalan Kayu that one psychiatrist cannot cope with so many cases. Therefore, there must be something incorrect about it. It is not correct to say that there is only one psychiatrist who is working in Woodbridge Hospital. In fact, we have three consultant psychiatrists. They are the person who is noted down in the Estimates as Psychiatrist (Grade G), referred to by the Member for Jalan Kayu, and the Medical Superintendent and Deputy Medical Superintendent of Woodbridge Hospital who are also consultant psychiatrists and are doing the duties of consultant psychiatrists. In addition to these three, we have three senior registrars in Woodbridge Hospital all of whom are in possession of the Diploma in Psychological Medicine and are, in fact, specialists in psychiatry, although they have not been appointed clinical consultants. I agree that even this number of psychiatrists will not be sufficient in the next few years. At the moment, we have one officer in the United Kingdom undergoing training, and a further three medical officers will also be leaving this year to undertake courses in psychiatry in the United Kingdom.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, at the moment, the Ministry of Health does not have a formal course in our School of Nursing for the training of industrial health nurses. The reason is that this subject is a very new one and the training of nurses in industrial health has to be undertaken overseas. In the initial period, however, the Ministry will be sending one staff nurse some time this year to be trained in industrial health nursing at the Royal College of Nursing in London. Others will follow later. Once a core of nurses specially trained in this subject has been built up, the Ministry may consider planning a special course of training in our School of Nursing. Assistance could, of course, be obtained from the World Health Organisation or other international agencies to formulate a programme when so required. Perhaps the Member for Katong may be thinking of training nurses working in the industries in the private sector. If that is what he is thinking of, may I say that at the moment the Singapore Trained Nurses Association, in conjunction with the Society of Occupational Medicine, is currently running an introductory course in industrial health nursing for such nurses and others who are interested. Perhaps in the future if there is sufficient demand from industries to employ trained industrial health nurses, the professional bodies concerned, and perhaps the Extramural Studies Department of the University of Singapore, may join in to continue to provide such courses.”