Eugene Yap Giau Cheng
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to know from the Minister whether he would like to put up a fence to prevent trespassing. Mr Lim Hng Kiang: We also do not want to put up a fence because when the land is being built, we have got to tear down the fence. That would be a waste of public resources. We control our expenditure very tightly.”
“Sir, I am making this amendment to stress to the Minister that the ethnic integration policy introduced in 1989 has in some way affected the quality of life of my constituents. I believe this probably has also an effect in old estates such as Queenstown and Bukit Ho Swee.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head S be reduced by $10 in respect of Code SA 1500 of the Main Estimates. Sir, not so long ago, in the New Paper, there was a report on a man who was supposed to be the executor of the estate of the deceased brother and he was trying very hard to withdraw the CPF money of his deceased…”
“It means "We are poor people. We do not have CPF. How can we buy our own homes?" Sir, I think we ought to do something for them. When they first moved into these homes, they had no trouble because they were young, the children were young, no space constraints, but today the children have grown up, they become adults - four, five or six of…”
“Sir, I would like the Minister to reconsider the policy of not allowing Singaporeans to rent 3-room flats. This policy is already 10 years old, introduced in 1982, and I recall that when it was introduced it was meant to encourage Singaporeans to own their own homes.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, can I ask the Minister to clarify a point which he made in his long speech? If indeed the purpose is to subject motorists to some inconvenience by not expanding or building more roads in the city area, then why was there an announcement in the press recently to expand the PIE?”
The complete record
Every one of 386 lines we hold for Eugene Yap Giau Cheng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 8.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I count it a high honour to be given this privilege to move the Motion, and for this I have to thank the Leader of the House. I am indeed indebted to all hon. Members for their participation in this debate and their support and also the Hon. Ministers on the other side of the House for their great patience and their replies. Mr Speaker, Sir, I have just been asked to advise the Minister for Labour that periodic medical examinations, being done on a voluntary basis by factories on the advice of the Industrial Health Department, are obviously not adequate to protect the health of our workers exposed to specific hazards. The Member for Thomson has suggested that statutory medical examinations are definitely required. I hope he will take note of that. Having heard the various sentiments expressed by hon. Members, the Leader of the House can rest assured that his advice to let our conscience be our guide and to speak freely and frankly has not fallen on stony ground. Instead, I should think that it fell on very fertile ground and seemingly typical of the computer age in which they flourish, many Members have been producing lots of suggestions and very worthwhile ones too in a very short time. Whatever the output has been these past few days, it is sincerely hoped that these suggestions will be seriously considered, if thought fit. It is very clear from the tenor of the various speeches made by hon. Members that a good management-labour relationship, a strong and efficient defence system together with a team of effective young Ministers working with, and taking over from the old guard within a suitable period of time, are necessary pre-requisites for Singapore's continued progress and survival.”
“Yes, all right. Secondly, it would depend on my moral standards, my value system standards, as against the Hon. Minister's standards. But when I do refer to it, I refer to a specific programme, such as Love Boat. I do not follow this programme but I get concerned when my daughter follows it. I do not know whether the other Members follow this programme, but it is shown at 8.50 p.m. But if I am wrong I stand corrected.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have your permission to make a point of clarification before I close? With all due respect to the Minister for Culture, if I understood him correctly, I did not seek to make a statement to attract attention. The Acting Minister for Social Affairs (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Just clarify; do not close yet.”
“It may be a good idea to split MPs up into little groups (now that we have an expanded Parliament), each group over-looking a Ministry and be charged with the responsibility of leading in debates on bills from that particular Ministry. Staff in the Parliament Library may have to be expanded to serve these groups. We should also consider the provision of paid staff to work in each constituency to carry out field work. This will help MPs to reflect the views of their constituents more accurately and debate more effectively. Mr Speaker, Sir, our economy will continue to grow and Singaporeans will continue to do better, but sometimes an economy may fall not because of purely economic matters, or inflation, or the poor utilisation of technology, but the lack of drive, and ingenuity of the people of a country. We must continue to encourage our people to work hard and save for the future. Our people must never lose their will to succeed and begin to take things for granted. If this does happen, all that we have done and built up can come crashing down. We must, therefore, continue to monitor our progress and at the same time ensure that problems of crime, drug addiction, and family break-ups do not act to erode the society. We must strengthen our cultural and moral values to remain a cohesive nation. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.15 p.m.”
“We on this side of the House, therefore, applaud the President's call to speak up which, by the way, many have done so in the past. For the newly elected MPs, I am confident they will join us to speak up frankly and fearlessly. However, let us not go overboard and become emotional, as we will do no one any good. As PAP MPs, we are part of the political leadership system. Our duty is to hear from as many of our constituents as we possibly can and to be able to hear it correctly by maintaining an even better relationship between MPs and their constituents, explain to them Government policies, listen to their problems and, where it makes sense, to reflect it here in Parliament boldly for the sake of our constituents. On the other side of the House, those who hear us, please accept our contributions in good faith and get the civil service to change where necessary. With our limited land, with our limited human resources, working with all things small and beautiful, we have evolved over 20 years what I would always like to call our unique political leadership system that works because of continued self-renewal. We cannot afford the luxury of emotional and verbal calisthenics with little logic like what big countries, like India and Britain, can afford. We are doing well with our own system and it is our duty to keep improving the political leadership system for the betterment of our people and the nation. However, for MPs to perform better, it may be necessary for MPs to promote team-work and team spirit among themselves, to work together and to carry out the kind of research work that is necessary if every bill is to be debated.”
“This is because the younger generation must also continue to generate new ideas and acquire new vision because it is only with new ideas and the audacity to try them out will a society advance. The old guards with their wealth of experience can assume the role of a radar by helping the younger generation to see the storms ahead of them. Sometimes the signals given may not be heeded by the pilot but it must all be taken in good faith. I can assure the House that a remark like that made by me is not an emotional remark, but a statement of the obvious. Here is where you have an M P not constrained by old age, giving voice to the younger MPs' views and hopes, their doubts and their fears. For surely it is in the interest of the old guards to see that the younger ministers are able to deliver the goods as well as they can, maybe even better. I am certain that the younger generation know that they cannot last long if they hope to depend only on the achievements of the old guards. The younger generation must be seen to achieve as well. Of course, it will be the duty of the younger generation to ensure this process of self-renewal applies to them as well when their time is up. This way, we can perpetuate and perfect the political system, otherwise the Government which has done a marvellous job for the country will end as soon as the old guards disappear. If the old guards desire to enjoy their pensions, they must succeed in passing on their experience effectively to the younger generation. In order that MPs not constrained by ministerial office could give voice to the people's views and hopes, their doubts and fears, the stage must be set right first before the dramatis personae can appear.”
“From the tone of the President's comments regarding Singaporeans' attitudes towards reservist training, I gather there is a concern that there is not enough stamina and loyalty in Singaporeans to want to take military training seriously. But surely the best man is the man who has the greatest stamina no matter what he is doing and at whatever time. The others will simply have to take their place in the queue as stamina diminishes. Of course, like most other things, there are exceptions to the rule. At this juncture, allow me to mention in praise the wisdom of the President in stressing the need to complete the process of self-renewal. It will not be inappropriate on my part to pay tribute to all the old guards in the Government and elsewhere, community leaders, parents and others for helping to steer our country and the people to where they are today. It is indeed difficult for old guards to change their pattern of life, from an active life to a less active one, but in an important activity such as ensuring the continued progress of a nation and for the sake of our children and old guards' grandchildren, we must allow the process of self-renewal to take its unnatural course smoothly. We have seen many old guards stepping aside with big hearts. But I think these people with their wealth of experience should be encouraged to come together to form a resource pool to provide the younger generation with some guidance and advice. But I must hasten to caution that sometimes advice need not necessarily be accepted completely by the younger generation because they see a problem in a different light.”
“This collective national consciousness should pervade the whole population as well as the army and, to ensure that it does, it should be instilled early in life - at school perhaps - and reinforced during national service. There has to be a genuine enthusiasm about being loyal to one's country. Loyalty to one's country must be one virtue that needs to be actively cultivated if it is not already present, or evident. The soldier or the national serviceman or the reservist must be prepared to defend his country like he would defend his wife, perhaps his girl friend, against an intruder or external threat. A soldier, imbued with this kind of sentiment towards his country, and who is fully competent physically and mentally is indeed an asset to the nation. We want every member of the army to be such an asset to the nation. Then we can be sure that everyone is helping to shoulder the responsibility of defending our country. However, to achieve this stage is easier said than done. But I think that the President's call to restructure our scheme of rewards and incentives may be a realistic approach to the problem in hand. In creating a direct nexus between the advancement of a citizen as a soldier and his advancement as a civilian, and vice-versa, is a practical way of giving the right kind of recognition, social status and economic incentive to our army and would very likely help to achieve our goal of creating a cohesive national army of citizen-soldiers earlier. This is of vital importance and the sooner our people realise it the better. This is just as important to us as having a reliable and efficient infrastructure to ensure our healthy and ever-growing economy.”
“Whilst the international forces sort themselves out, under a new Reagan administration, Singapore must never forget that our defence is extremely important in order to ensure our continued peace and prosperity. Singaporeans must, therefore, be made to realise that this is the only land they can step on and that they have nowhere else to go. We cannot afford to maintain a regular large army, not only because of our financial restriction, but because of the limited manpower available - hence every man, every woman must not only know how to defend our country, but be fit to do so. We will have to guard against producing faint-hearted and weak soldiers, the product of a luxurious lifestyle. The present-day generation of young people appear to be bigger than the previous generation. They look big, but I am not sure of their state of internal energy, their stamina and their strength. The plan of the Ministry of Defence to improve the professional skills and minds of officers and to have better professional instructors and to make keeping physically fit a life-long habit is indeed a praiseworthy one. There is nothing worse than to see units failing over a pin when charging up hills. Should the real battle come, neither minds nor legs should buckle. Having a physically fit, and I should add, mentally fit, army of well-trained and well-disciplined men will certainly go a long way to building up an effective defence system. Yet I feel that such an army may not necessarily be adequate to guarantee the security and stability of our country, if each soldier, each national serviceman and each reservist is not imbued with a sense of commitment, a sense of nationalism, a belief in the necessity of defending what has been built up so assiduously over the last two decades.”
“There must, therefore, be better liaison and better co-ordination between the various ministries and even within ministries, otherwise one would find little sub-governments in the various ministries working against the interest of government policies. As we build our industries, as we take that long toil up the hill to greater success in our industrialisation programme, the storms will get heavier, the path more treacherous, and impediments will come in the way. Success can never come the easy way. Our ambition and the ambition of the country must be for all to feel that they belong to this country for together we have toiled and sweated to bring it to what it is. There must be no stagnation; we must keep going further ahead. We must be able to keep attracting foreign investors not only by having an efficient infrastructure and a properly educated workforce but also by providing the kind of security to guard our investments as well as the properties of others brought into Singapore to generate wealth. Mr Speaker, Sir, walking into other people's land and taking control of it by force is indeed despicable and cannot be tolerated by any intelligent human being. It is like walking into someone else's home and taking over because he likes the swimming pool. This very immoral, presumptuous and avaricious act cannot, by any decent standard, happen in a country. By the same token, it should not be allowed among countries in the world. International censure and the more powerful countries should act to prevent such from happening in countries such as Kampuchea and Afghanistan.”
“But what has SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) been doing? Sometimes I suspect that they have been putting up programmes that run counter to what the Government is trying to do. With all of us engaged in developing an advanced technological society, there is little time left for parents and schools to bring up children in a proper manner. With this little time left, only a small amount of moral values can be inculcated in our children, but I feel the TV can act as a silent destroyer of values learnt or inculcated in schools. Therefore, the SBC should make it a point to screen the more adult type films later on in the evening and maybe at times, leave prime time for more educational programmes to serve different levels in society, or programmes which can reinforce moral as well as cultural values. There may be a need for programmes of a more utilitarian nature; for example, simple talks given by food technologists on foods, bacteriologists on the necessity to wash hands before eating. This will serve certain specialised areas in society. Then, in this case, even if the poor hawker gets his licence cancelled, he can accept the decision as, by then, he will have understood the importance of personal hygiene. As things stand now, it would appear that what one Government department tries to build up, another tries to destroy. The President's call to import from the West and Japan technology and knowledge but not lifestyles and ephemeral fancies that can do damage to Singaporeans should be well heeded. But we may have to repeat this call again and again if steps are not taken to ensure that civil servants know the name of the game and play the game properly.”
“To this end, allow me, on behalf of my fellow colleagues, to record our admiration for the work done by Dr Goh and his team of systems engineers in coming out with such a pragmatic education system for Singaporeans. While the system takes its shape, Dr Goh and his merry men will have to be prepared for brickbats. We must be able to develop in Singaporeans the ability to read and write with sufficient standard that they can contribute wherever they work and have the correct work attitude. This new education system is for the better and will succeed in helping us achieve a better society as it is common sense, given more time and at a more leisurely pace, the average person should make the grade to better education. The idea is to build up a keen, knowledgeable and loyal team of management and workers working together to make a success of Singapore's fast restructuring economy which will spearhead Singapore's success again in a forbidding international economic environment. Our objective of providing better education to raise the skill-levels of all and to reduce wastage cannot be over-emphasized. Hon. Members can well imagine the tremendous potential from a reservoir of more than one million kilograms of grey matter, well-developed through education, bursting with good ideas and one million pairs of hands ready and willing to work. Assuming that we can gather together a group of wel-trained and dedicated teachers, sufficiently talented to teach, the new education system should be a runaway success. But like the cankering worm in the core of a fruit, a good education system to produce good citizens can eventually be damaged without effective moral education. I am glad to note, therefore, that moral education has been given due emphasis in the new education system.”
“Management that do not give their workers due respect will sooner or later lose their best people and no matter how the CPF tries to discourage job-hopping, there will still be a percentage who will move, not for anything else but to get better job satisfaction and security. There can be no generalised approach for respecting human beings. Everyone is different but there can be a basic approach to it. If one cannot be a natural manager, one can surely learn how to be near to a good one. Workers spend much of their lifetime at work and the workplace must, therefore, be a pleasant place to work in. We cannot, therefore, treat workers like machines. Workers must be recognised for their work. They must be given social recognition, opportunity for personal development and a chance to display their abilities. Now, if these can be created, then the worker's innate ability can be fully tapped for the benefit of the worker and the company. Having said all these, can I again hasten to add that we must not fall overboard with the creation of such an utopian work environment that discipline is forgotten. Perhaps to sum up, all good management-labour relationship can be visualised to be like flying a kite. Whilst allowing the kite to fly freely with the wind naturally sometimes you pull, at times you release to get the best performance from the kite. However, when keeping in mind the contribution of a worker towards his work and to overall productivity, it is useful to remember that a worker's potential is maximised by education and training. Hence, in Singapore, great importance is placed on better education and better training.”
“With more concerted efforts from relevant organisations, institutions and Government departments, we can get back on to the right path and at a more accelerated pace, try to achieve the ultimate goal of higher productivity with 'zero defect' in our modern manufacturing society. We must totally involve workers at shop-floor level in having a part to play in the production of the products and at the same time opening up a dialogue between management and workers. Mr Speaker, Sir, allow me to make a pertinent point - it took a long, long time since the reference made by SISIR to management-worker relationship before much publicity was given to it. If I may recall, more publicity probably started after the Honourable Prime Minister referred to workers' attitudes. It would appear that most Singaporeans need to be pushed out of their state of inertia by big chiefs only. We have no time to change this attitude. Our priority is to publicise and campaign for establishing a better management-worker relationship and to make it work, backed by big chiefs. So it would mean that in the near future, we ought to have a campaign to promote the idea of STEP QC Circles as a means to better management-labour relationship. I must hasten to warn that simply forming STEP QC Circles is not going to be the "be all, end all, of it all". Better management-labour relationship will have to depend to a very great extent on top management providing the optimum work environment. Top management must realise that an workers at whatever level are human beings and they must be treated like human beings.”
“They are backed by managements which give full support and financial rewards to the employees. 'These QC group movements will not only serve to cultivate leadership among the workers, but also foster better management-worker co-operation," Dr Lee said at the closing of the PQR Campaign.' Note the reference to better management-worker relationship. It was a good beginning - promising to carry Singapore's emerging industrial sector towards higher levels of productivity, accompanied by a proportionate rise in quality. However, after this initial impetus, possibly through a lack of an overall national effort, or perhaps due to a general misconception of the terminology, QC Circles remained a misnomer. The main idea of using the acronym, STEP is to connote the involvement of everyone and is necessary in the Singapore context. Besides, this concept can be applied to any number of situations or relationships which involve people working together. For example, a Schools Council is in reality a STEP QC Circle. Perhaps I can take this opportunity to suggest to all Government departments concerned to use standard terminology in all their future efforts in promoting this concept of cooperative management-labour relationship. This imparts a measure of uniformity, a feature which should prove vital later on when promoting the concept in future campaigns or for the purpose of monitoring progress. Since last year, with the growing publicity given to the Singaporean and his work attitude, there seems to be a national awakening to the need for something to be done.”
“Besides, industrial unionism had progressed to such an extent that management had to bargain collectively on many matters which were previously solved by unilateral action. Americans today are seriously considering modifying their management system. Singapore today is just about converting from "many workers and few machines" to "many machines and few workers". We must avoid having the same attitude Taylor had towards workers in the nineteenth century. A conservative and distrusting relationship between management and labour will only breed suspicion between the two. We must be prepared to change and change fast. We have procrastinated long enough. At this point, Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to suggest very strongly that we should have STEP QC Circles as a suitable method of getting management and workers to work together; STEP being the acronym for "Success Through Everybody's Participation." But, allow me first to give you some background to the movement. Honourable Members may recall the PQR Campaign in 1973. For the benefit of those who are not sure what PQR stands for, it is PROSPERITY THROUGH QUALITY AND RELIABILITY. This was an eight-month cam- paign designed to raise productivity by upgrading quality and reliability. Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to quote extracts from the Straits Times of 25th October, 1973. 'Some factories here have formed their own quality control groups to promote prosperity through quality and reliability.' These "QC" groups, according to Dr Lee Kum Tatt, Chairman of the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research, comprise workers in the same departments who take upon themselves, I repeat, Sir, take upon themselves, the responsibility of discussing and solving quality and productivity problems.”
“" The now relationship has to be "one where both management and labour pull, and are seen to be pulling together." Team spirit must see us through the next few years. Now, if you look at the present scene, I suspect that the old, and maybe even the current relationship between management and labour is still largely based on management's assumption that most workers have no interest in work and they are a lazy, spoilt, unco-operative and soft lot of people, interested only in money. Hence, only through increments of money or through threat of loss of money can workers be made to work. This attitude towards workers appears to be similar to that generated by Mr F.W. Taylor, an American mechanical engineer of the late 19th century in the United States, when factories were beginning to convert from "many labourers and few machines" to "many machines and few labourers." Mr Taylor is better known as the Father of scientific management. At that time, Mr Taylor discovered that the foremen and the workmen of the late 19th century had very low educational levels and, indeed, virtually all shop employees were technologically illiterate; some were so illiterate that they were unable to decide how work should be carried out. Hence, he evolved a system where planning of work was passed on to various specialists and the foremen and workers were expected just to carry out what they were told to do, and this remained the norm of American management practice for a long time. However, important changes took place in the American society which made some of his management practices rather obsolete; for instance, the rise in the level of education in America today and the higher standard of living of the Americans.”
“This is the logical step forward in our process of industrialisation which was initiated and nurtured in the mid 1960s when the main thrust of industrial development was the provision of an infrastructure vital to the success of our conversion from an economy dependent upon entrepot trade to one based on industrialisation. The 1970s saw further development, with growth and expansion hinged upon the promotion of both local and foreign investments. Now, in the 1980s, we bring this modernisation process yet a step further with the emphasis on higher technology and higher value-added products. With many developing countries competing in limited markets, countries with natural resources and large labour pools, we have no option but to speed up our modernisation process through industrialisation. Indeed, this will be the binding force of all Singaporeans. The conversion from low-skilled to high-skilled production entails the mobilisation of hitherto labour-intensive industries into capital-intensive ones, based on the use of more sophisticated machinery and backed by extensive efforts. This should also be complemented by an efficient service sector. Rigorous scientific education and practical industrial training will have to be stepped up. Our employers, management and labour cannot afford to sit back to enjoy the fruits of success of the previous decade. Instead, they will have to enter the next decade by coming together even more closely to form a new kind of relationship of co-operation. This, the President has delineated to be of vital importance in the face of poor economic growth in the uncertain future. I quote, "They must never work against each other. Old habits of confrontation between management and labour must cease.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, 'That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:- "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the opening of the First Session of this Parliament.".'. In clear and lucid terms, the President has outlined the three major tasks ahead of the Government on the evening of 3rd February, 1981. First, the importance of building a modern industrial society, based on sophisticated economic activities and a new relationship between management and labour. Second, Singaporeans must be made to recognise and support the pivotal role that defence and national service plays in underpinning Singapore's continued independence and prosperity. Third, the Government must complete the most crucial phase of the process of self-renewal of Singapore's unique political leadership system. Against a backdrop of a rather bleak and uncertain world economic climate, the President's warning to Singaporeans to be prepared for slower growth and some unemployment in the coming years ahead is indeed most timely. As far as the world economic situation is concerned, there is little we can do about it. But we can do something and the best that we can do is to make the best of what we have so that we can reduce or soften the impact of world recession on our economy. What better way to do this than by forging ahead in restructuring our industrial society and so move on towards the next stage of modernisation.”
“This will be an opportune time for the invisible hand of Government to stretch out, to feel and probe with unfaltering fingers and prescribe some bitter medicine to cure their profiteering itch. 4.31 p.m.”
“I believe that a special committee in the Ministry of Trade and Industry has been formed to look into ways and means to fight inflation, what we call "imported inflation". I think this Committee should not only look at ways to deal with imported inflation but at the same time to look into "home-engineered" profiteering and such other bad words that describe the evil ways of businessmen. They want to make a quick buck and get away with it. We must deal with them summarily. Even if it means the formation of another committee, it will be worth the while to enforce this. Of course, prices of goods and services must rise, but when they do rise, then explanations in detail must be given. The Government can take the lead here. I am glad that the Public Utilities Board has in one way or another done so, as can be seen in the report in the Straits Times of 15th November, 1980, entitled "PUB fuel oil bill may rise to $975 million". Of course, by saying this I am not in any way suggesting on behalf of PUB or otherwise that there will be a rise in PUB charges, because I am not in a position to say so. But at least they have done something to explain the rise in fuel oil charges, and therefore their operation. I have stated many times that Singaporeans are intelligent people, and I am saying it again and again that Singaporeans, being intelligent as they are, can understand explanations behind the rise of various charges. If this is done, therefore, it leaves behind the blatant profiteers who are not able to explain their rise in prices. They will be chased out of their wits for reasons to increase their prices, as they will then face greater consumer pressure and criticism.”
“They are just like those who sip in our cup; they dip in our dish; they sit down by our fire. We find them in the dye-vat, the washing bowl and the powdering tub. I suspect that when Sir John Culpepper said this of Monopolies, he too was beginning to feel that certain monopolies and cartels in those days were simply plaguing the people of the country and eating holes into their pockets. Let these associations go free and you will see the next natural thing would be for the hawkers to come out and say, "As others have raised prices, we must also raise our prices because we have to buy their coffee", and so on. Then the fruit seller, the farmer and the baker will also raise their prices. And it goes on like a merry-go-round, except that it is not merry at all. If the NTUC can succeed in running coffee shops well, they can probably kill two birds with one stone. For one thing, the increased number of coffee shops will make for a more competitive market. For labour, the NTUC can look to the less severely handicapped people for their services, and I am sure these handicapped people will be only too pleased to work for NTUC for a reasonable salary and they will also feel that they are contributing towards the common good of society. Hence, we will be able to provide a useful source of employment for the not-so-seriously handicapped. The Ministry of Trade and Industry must therefore probe very seriously into the thinking behind those who run trade associations like some form of cooperative, not for the good of the society but against the interest of society. I think it is safe to say that the future years ahead will not be so bright and happy, especially in a shaky world economy and ever-increasing fuel oil prices.”
“No case. So far no case. It is a very well known fact that the Singapore Government has been very successful in many things it has set out to do. Now, this is a simple problem and I think we will be successful provided we do not sit tight and allow such things to go on unchecked. I refer to the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar Owners Association and the Singapore Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association, and their blatant disregard of the advice of the Trade Department. What can we do? Two things we can do. One, we can pass laws to discourage profiteering. But, of course, without proper research and in-depth thinking, we should not move in this direction yet. The other is the one simple thing that the Ministry of Trade and Industry can do, and that is to encourage the NTUC to look into the possibility of tendering for coffee shops in HDB new towns or perhaps to approach the Ministry of the Environment to see if one or two stalls could be allocated to the NTUC in each hawker centre so that we can create some kind of competition, hence giving the consumer a choice. And if there is a free choice for the consumers, prices can be regulated easily. It is precisely because of wanting the absence of free choice that these two merchant associations have formed themselves into what I would call "a trade association" with an instinct for monopolistic dealings which can act against the interest of consumers. Before these dealings could develop into full-blown monopolies, the Government must act immediately to control their activities; otherwise they will take every opportunity to raise prices in agreement. These will be the people responsible for what I would call "creeping inflation in Singapore".”
“As long as a suitable environment is lacking for CASE to act on it, then it will be a case of nothing but hot air. CASE will, to all purposes, be futile and ineffective. An hon. Member: No case!”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the octopus that squeezes competition out of this society must itself be squeezed out of society lest it gets destructive. Therefore, Sir, it is high time, Milton Friedman or no Milton Friedman, that the invisible hand of the Singapore Government must come down harder on those associations and traders who are taking advantage of the world inflationary trend by insisting on increasing their prices under cover of these now well-known words today: "Well, everything has gone up, we must also up our prices too." The recent increase in prices of tea and coffee can be quoted as examples to my speech today. As you know, Sir, coffee and tea are to some people like pants are to them, and the moment we are unaware of this we will be caught with our pants down before we know anything. The arm-twisting tactics of some of these trade associations are a blatant act against the interest of consumers. Hence, we must rapidly act to destroy this octopus, which I have referred to, so that it will not strangle free competition. The question is: What are we going to do about it? If nothing is done, other establishments may be tempted to follow suit, with similar price increases. No doubt the five to ten cents increase seems rather small but this adds on and eventually it will affect the real income of workers, particularly those who are in the lower income bracket. If we allow such a blatant disregard for consumers, we may be faced with even worse cases of profiteering in the future. CASE, the Consumers Association of Singapore, of course, is doing its best to discourage such practices. However, in order that CASE can succeed, consumers will have to be prepared to lend their support. The Government too will have to support CASE in its activities.”
“Then, for the purpose of saving time and manpower, would the Minister agree to centralize control at the Area Office of the HDB for each respective constituency?”
“Sir, the Minister seems to be afraid of making up his mind whether to go ahead with MRT or not. So there must be something that is holding him back. Can we just know what it is?”
“Sir, bearing in mind that, as a Government, we have a duty to perform, can I ask the Minister this question. If he decides to go ahead with the MRT, what is the biggest thing that can go wrong that is holding him back from making such a decision? On the other hand, why is he taking so long to decide on the all-bus system? Is there anything that is very attractive that is holding him back from making a definite decision?”
“Can we not allow our students to assess lecturers by having them answer questionnaires, either during the University semester or two or three years after University, or a combination of both, so that we will know what is expected from lecturers and how lecturers can assist their students.”
“I hope we will not commit the same crime or the same sin with regard to financing the useful projects. As a point of caution, Sir, may I suggest that the quantum to attract an expatriate must be clearly indicated in the expatriate allowance, meaning that expatriate or local, both will be on a common salary scale, but the expatriate would have more salary because of his expatriate allowance. I presume, therefore, that if an expatriate decides to take up Singapore citizenship, then he would lose his expatriate allowance. The reason why I say this is that I feel that local and expatriate lecturers must be made equally happy. In our pursuit to attract good expatriate lecturers we must ensure that the welfare and happiness of our local lecturers are catered for. Obviously, one of the results of a relatively large expatriate population in the University would be an inflow of ideas of foreign origin. Some will be good whilst others will not be good for our society. There is, therefore, a compelling necessity to monitor our moral education programme taught in schools very carefully because there may be some teachers who still do not take it seriously. Our students must be properly prepared to distinguish the good from the bad and, therefore, able to reject ideas which may be detrimental to our society. Again, the Hon. Minister of Education is just the right man for the job. Before I take leave, Sir, can I just say a few words on staff assessment? Local or expatriate staff, I believe that both types of lecturers must be assessed in some way.”
“To my mind, we may find that we have to pay substantially more than the world market price to attract the real good ones. This is what I mean by break-even point. Suppose we limit our discussions to attracting lecturers from, let us say, Great Britain. Then my obvious question would be, "What is the calibre of the lecturer who would decide to come to Singapore?" What is bugging my mind is that the really good ones who are currently doing research with access to all the advanced facilities that are available in his university may not be prepared to pack up and come. Unless the National University of Singapore can provide the same facilities and the same research environment, i.e. the facilities plus cross-fertilization of ideas, plus students, etc.. then we might not be able to attract the real good ones. But perhaps the younger lecturers or the not-so-good ones might probably decide to come to Singapore for a stint to see what the East is like. I am not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, but our students may not be able to derive greater benefit than if they had been exposed to more experienced and better lecturers. It therefore behoves the board of selectors or whoever are doing the interviews, to be able to devise a selection system where they can reliably separate the sheep from the goat, knowing that the cultural confidence that some foreigners have over members of the selection board may probably influence their selection. This confidence does not necessarily reflect ability. If the remuneration and the research environment are good, then we would have created an environment for competition where we will probably be in a position to select the better people. Again this would come back to our financiers.”
“Besides, no matter how many expatriates we bring in to raise the standard of teaching in our University or to expose students to the varied approaches and cross-fertilization of ideas, we will not be able to succeed if the students we channel into the University are not properly prepared to receive University education. On the other hand, if we assume that our students are properly prepared to receive University education, from the Pre-University centres and from the junior colleges, then no matter how fine our students are, the quality of the students or the quality of the graduates will only be as good as the quality of the staff that are in the University. So the idea of employing expatriate lecturers to supplement and to improve the quality of teaching at the University is a good one. I would, however, like to touch on a few rather sensitive areas regarding the employment of expatriate staff. Having myself studied in a foreign country and having worked for 15 years with expatriates, I believe I should be able to raise a few points either for consideration or of interest. Allow me to start off by saying that there are good and bad expatriate staff, just as we have good and bad local staff. To my mind, the chances are that it will be easier to employ an expatriate staff from a less advanced country than an expatriate gaff from a more advanced country. It is therefore unnecessary to discuss the attraction of expatriate staff from the less advanced countries. As for the more advanced countries, I leave it to the Hon. Minister to work out the break-even point where an expatriate from an advanced country would consider the remuneration offered large enough to pack up and come over.”
“If funds are insufficient, then it is up to the University administration to admit that there are insufficient funds and make a justification for the request. Over the past few months, Mr Speaker, Sir, there must have been discussions on the quality of some of our local graduates. True, it is indeed important to produce graduates that can measure up to the expectations of a society that is fast advancing. It is heartening to note that the Vice-Chancellor of the University himself is also the Hon. Minister of Education. With one capable man in two very important positions, he is the only man who can design the type and quality of graduates that we will produce in future right from the very start, hopefully. We must continually remind ourselves that it is very important that kindergarten education and primary education do play a part in nurturing sound habits, especially in building up the moral fibre of our future citizens. We must be able to inculcate in our students good attitudes, like taking an interest and pride in whatever they do, for example, by encouraging more student-teacher rapport or by encouraging more project work in schools rather than the all-examination system. Furthermore, the educators must make it their business to stimulate in our students a yearning for intellectual development which means moving away from teaching methods that kill creativity, whether in the schools or in the universities. Without a proper foundation, we will just be producing graduates below our expectations - graduates with little or no imagination and commitment applied to their work.”
“At this point, I would say that it looks fine on paper. How much the University gets for research is another matter. Here, I would like to express my doubts on the civil service, at least in my experience with the civil service where there are lots of bureaucratic arrangements so much so that I feel compelled by my conscience to humbly suggest to the Hon. Minister for Finance to be more open-handed in giving grants-in-aid to the University. At the same time I would also like to advise the University administration not to be too tight-fisted with the monies they receive; and at the same time not to delay purchases of equipment so much so that by the time they are purchased, they become out of date. In my limited experience with graduates from local universities, I have oft-times come across complaints from those who have done a basic degree, say, in Science. They say that they have not been given sufficient experience and that they have not been given the opportunity to handle equipment that are so necessary to put students into the swing of being able to apply modern analytical techniques in their future work. A more sympathetic approach would ensure students are given opportunity to handle equipment which will assist in their understanding of whatever subject taught. A point just crosses my mind, and here I would like to refer to the allocation of funds to the different departments in the University. There must be no pet department. I hope the University administration will bear in mind that they must allocate funds equally to all departments concerned. This will ensure good quality graduates from all our departments.”
“The intention of creating a world class university out of the National University of Singapore, incorporating the University of Singapore and the Nanyang University, is indeed a praiseworthy one. However, it is appropriate at this juncture to remind ourselves and fellow Singaporeans that Singapore has completely no natural resources except manpower resource, and for this reason the National University of Singapore must be geared towards the training of manpower needs to meet Singapore's economic restructuring. However, the doubt expressed by some University of Singapore students on the worth of the National University of Singapore degree is indeed a natural one and is to be expected. However, I believe that this doubt will eventually be dispelled in due course as, hon. Members will recall, with the case of the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines when MSA was split into MAS and SIA. There were doubts whether SIA could make the grade, and indeed today SIA is well-known all over the world for its efficiency and reliability. This is due to a great part on good leadership, team spirit and staff loyalty. Similarly, with Singapore's top leadership and some fine brains behind the setting up of the NUS, I firmly believe that the NUS will make the grade and become one of the world's finest universities. At this juncture, Sir, I wish to raise a few points for consideration. Facilities for research and facilities for teaching must be made readily available to the University staff and University students. I note in clause 7 of the proposed Bill that the Hon. Minister for Finance is empowered to make grants-in-aid to the University and that monies received by the University can be used for the University for all or any of the purposes of the University.”
“Sir, trade missions are granted double tax deductions. I am sure the Minister would like to encourage the smaller companies to go overseas to see these machines for themselves.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, what about the smaller private companies who want to see the machines for themselves before purchasing them, as they have limited capital?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad to note that he is removing them. But will he remove them to a road junction in my constituency that is accident prone, that is, Jalan Satu/Old Airport Road junction?”
“Sir, may I know whether the number of inspectors that the Ministry of the Environment has is sufficient to carry out the so-called regular inspections which he referred to, and what is the time-frequency of the regular inspections that he is talking about? Mr Chor Yeok Eng( In Mandarin): Sir, as far as the staff is concerned, it depends on the circumstances. For example, if an out- break of an infectious disease has occurred, we will have some difficulty in deploying our staff. If there is no outbreak of an infectious disease then, generally, the number of inspectors is quite sufficient to go round inspecting these places at least once a month. If any complaints are received, they will make more frequent visits to the schools concerned. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE (Narrowing gap between Upper Timescale and Superscale Grades) 4. Dr Lee Chiaw Meng asked the Minister for Finance whether he will consider extending the Upper Timescale or introducing a new Superscale grade to narrow the gap between the two grades of the Administrative Service.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, considering the amount of money that has been spent on all the feasibility studies that have been carried out so far, and since my hon. Friends have spoken on the Bill, I wonder why the Minister does not intend to send this Bill to a Select Committee.”
“Sir, if $8.4 million is a small percentage of the total investment, according to the Hon. Minister, then can I ask him whether there is any chance of the Government shelving the project; in other words, deciding not to go ahead with the project?”
“To ask the Minister for Home Affairs if he will consider making it compulsory for the headlamps of motor vehicles to be lit after a certain time of the day.”
“To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether his Ministry has plans to install "green man" signals at all road junctions. Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng being on leave of absence -”
“I beg your pardon. The Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Bill will affect us because as soon as RTS gains autonomy and becomes a corporate body, it is going to run wild looking for money. A sure way of getting money is to accept more and more advertisements, and we can therefore expect loose morals to be perpetuated on TV. If that is the case, we are going to build a potential reservoir of undesirable influence on our people. Here again, we are mopping up rather than tackling the problem at source. Sir, should we not therefore re-examine our position and ensure that we act concertedly to eliminate all the known precipitating factors, such as the lack of control and care of our children, the problems of working mothers, absence of moral standards or even the presence of double standards, dull homes, the pressures of schooling, and bad peer group influence? Sir, I cannot therefore support the Bill. 3.52 p.m.”
“To ask the Minister for National Development (a) when he proposes to bring the Sale of Commercial Properties Act, 1979, into operation and to introduce the regulations governing the terms and conditions for the sale of commercial properties; (b) whether he is aware that the Consumers' Association of Singapore (CASE) has been and is still receiving complaints from several purchasers of commercial properties ranging from several years of delay in issuing strata titles to levying fees on transfer from one owner to another and, whilst framing a set of restrictive regulations to stamp out blatant profiteering on the part of some commercial property developers, if he will consider making the regulations retrospective; (c) if he does not wish to consider making the regulations retrospective, if he can oblige the House with the rationale behind that thinking; and (d) if the regulations cannot be retrospective, if he will consider measures to rectify the present inequitable situation for those who are already affected and who have been unfortunately excluded from the Act. 33.”
“Sir, in the public interest, I feel that the Playboy advertisement in today's Straits Times is contrary to public interest because it is rather misleading. Before I go deeper to comment on the Bill, I would venture to say that I have got nothing to do with this club and I have not been following its advertisements at all. I happen to read this advertisement in the Members' Room. I therefore take this opportunity to support the Member for Serangoon Gardens. First of all, Sir, I submit that the name "Playboy", if it is to serve the intentions of the club as advertised, is misleading. Also some of the words used in the advertisement are couched in vague terms. With your permission, Sir, may I just quote. First, it says it stands for "refinement, distinction and perfection." I wonder in which field of refinement, distinction and perfection? Secondly, it says the club is against "topless shows", but it does not say what other shows it is not against. Then there is a "taste for excellence." Here again, I would like to point out that it is couched in vague terms. It says, "to provide very special facilities which no other club in Singapore can provide." Also, "in the promotion of tourism in Singapore" - I wonder how they can do this by talking about "public assistance to organisations concerned with the issues of First Amendment freedom, women's rights, drug-law reform, sex-law reform, etc." and then claim that they hope, with that philosophy to create an everlasting impact on the tourists so that they will go back to their homeland as goodwill ambassadors. Sir, in the public interest, I support the Member for Serangoon Gardens.”
“Parents must be encouraged by all means possible to take an active interest in the development of their children. They must also be encouraged to be practical enough to accept the verdict on their children's performance but they must also be encouraged to discuss their children's problems with the teachers concerned. In general, I submit that the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) does not seem to be very active in the schools that I know of. I feel that the problem here can be that parents of children who do well feel that they have no cause or purpose to meet the various teachers. On the other hand, parents of children who fail often shun the teachers probably because of communication problems; or because they are too busy earning their dollars: or they may not have heard of the existence of such an association. The end result is normally a gathering of a few outgoing parents who take the trouble to go to the schools to meet teachers and principals socially. Though this is good, the association does not achieve its overall objective. At this juncture, it is necessary for me to remind the principals to rethink on how to remotivate the Parent-Teacher Association as another tool to ensure the proper implementation and success of the Goh Report. Resolved, "That the debate be now adjourned." - [Mr E.W. Barker].”
“Although this is provided for in the Report, in practice this must happen. I submit that the teacher will be able to carry out her tasks more conscientiously with higher morale. In making this statement I am not accepting the findings of the task force in relation to teacher morale because the interviewing was not carried out 'blind'. One might be able though to draw the conclusion that the 18% of the 140 teachers who were interviewed had slightly more guts or who were slightly more disenchanted than the others. I submit that questionnaires should have been sent out to probe teachers' morale but done anonymously. I believe the present system of promotion has done a lot to lower the morale of our teachers. It is an undignified system. Generally, the teachers' salary must be improved and with this done, teachers' status and morale should move upwards. But, I submit, not overnight. It will take time for things to settle but at least, this is a step in the right direction. I personally believe that, except for a few, most teachers are extremely keen to follow the progress of their students and encourage them along the way. Teachers take pride in the success of their students. Though they do not express their hearts in so many words, their feelings are there all right. Teachers are very often blamed for the poor performance of their students but it is high time they were encouraged along by parents and students as well. Finally, Sir, it is worthwhile mentioning that the system, like any other system in the past, must never be allowed to backfire in the sense that being designed to reduce pressure on students, some over-aspiring parents may push their children too hard to get into better streams that these children would eventually suffer even more.”
“In fact, I believe that the streaming of children into the various sub-systems would form a rather sensitive area of the Goh Report in as far as parents and the school children are concerned. It will be all right for children who get streamed into the better streams but for those who get streamed into the poorer classes will form the unhappy lot of people. They may be the minority. The problem is, the child may be an intelligent child but because the input during his infancy was negligible or even nil except "goo-goos", then, through no fault of his own, his future may be sealed for ever. The question is: can any one way be devised in which assistance can be extended to these unfortunate people? True, it is difficult to have an ideal system where we can ensure that those who get streamed into the poor classes are confirmed poor performers. Surely, the mass media can do a lot here to assist. Programmes can be designed to encourage parents to bring their children to the various scenic and educational spots to expose their young to better inputs. It may sound elementary but it is important. Or programmes can be run to instruct parents on correct child-upbringing; or to have baby programmes - all designed towards giving the child the best and earliest input as possible. We must try to avoid the situation where the better-off gets better and the worse-off gets worse - like the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The task is difficult, but the possibility of saving a few is there. For the other streams after the PSLE, teachers and principals must also pay utmost care when going about streaming students. Conscientious care must be taken to follow the child's progress and bring the child back to the better stream should the child show some signs of improvement.”
“The pre-primary schools or the kindergartens can also play a very important part in the development of the child into a useful citizen. This aspect has not been mentioned in the Goh Report as well. As the child's mind at this stage is very malleable, it is very important to maximise good input not so much the textbook knowledge and also, I stress, very carefully done without force. In this case, kindergartens must be carefully supervised to ensure that a set of good values is inculcated at this early age. Furthermore, through properly supervised play activities, children can be taught to develop the habit of mass participation and, hence, group identity. By careful upbringing of the child the percentage pattern of the brilliant, the above average, average and below average might change. Not only will wastage be reduced but effective contribution by each individual will eventually be increased. The Goh recommendation for three subsystems of education, each of which is adjusted to the rate of learning of the child is indeed a sound recommendation. For the system to work, however, everybody involved, such as principals, teachers and parents including students, must understand the way the system works and that it is aimed primarily at allowing the child to develop at his own pace and become a useful citizen. It must be accepted that different children have different capacities to learn. But proper parental support and well-supervised kindergartens may help to improve the learning ability of each child (quite independent of the physical home environment) and hence increased contribution by each child in the future.”