E.W. Barker
Singapore
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This is a simple Bill which seeks to amend section 33 of the Land Acquisition Act on the amount of compensation payable to owners of land compulsorily acquired under the Act.”
“For the five-year period from 1st July, 1981 to 30th June, 1986, the HDB demolished a total of 8,098 units. As the HDB's new accounting system was only implemented from 1st April, 1985, the Board does not have ready information on the value of flats demolished prior to 1st April, 1985. RELOCATION OF CREMATORIUMS 4.”
“The HDB did not allocate any MP's office to the previous PAP MPs for Anson and Potong Pasir constituencies. NUMBER OF H.D.B. UNITS DEMOLISHED 3.”
“I would not know. Why don't you ask them? I don't know. Sir, to put things in a nutshell, it is the legal profession amongst all the professions that help in the administration of Singapore. Doctors help to cure you of diseases.”
“I am not saying it's wrong. I am not telling you stories. I am relating. So they decided to take us on. When we went into Select Committee, the first day and the later part of the second day, there was confrontation between the Committee and the lawyers.”
“As the Member for Anson would know, the Minister for Law is not in charge of prosecutions or the conduct of any criminal proceedings in court, nor does he give any directives on these matters.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,152 lines we hold for E.W. Barker, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 11 of 44.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, this Bill seeks to repeal and reenact with amendments our Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act (Chapter 26 of the Revised Edition). The existing Act gives a special status to maintenance orders of a court in England and Northern Ireland (excluding Scotland) without subjecting the matter to any reciprocal arrangement. The legislation is typical of those enacted for a British colony. Since it has been considered desirable to make certain amendments to our existing Act, it is now considered appropriate to introduce an entirely new Act in order to secure new arrangements for the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders. In the drafting of the Bill, consideration has been given to similar legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in 1972. The Bill has dealt with the subject of reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders in great detail while, under the existing Act, some of the matter are dealt with by regulations made under the Act. Apart from changes of a procedural nature relating to the powers of a court to vary or revoke maintenance orders and provisional orders, the other changes introduced by the Bill are as follows:- (a) The Bill would enable the whole of the United Kingdom, including Scotland, as well as any other country within or outside the Commonwealth having similar legislation, to be designated as a reciprocating country.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That a Ministerial Statement be made before item 5 of the Order Paper. The Minister for Finance would like to make a statement on a matter of considerable public interest and importance. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That a Ministerial Statement be made before item 5 of the Order Paper. HAW PAR BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL LTD (Statement by the Minister for Finance) 4.52 p.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 31, after line 42, to add - "13. The prescribing of fees for the collection, treatment or disposal of sludge from any premises.". This item reinstates subclause 2(d) of clause 29 as printed in the Bill. Amendment agreed to. First Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Second Schedule ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the clause be read a Second time." This clause is to remove the ambiguity I mentioned earlier regarding the collection of water-borne charges from any premises. Question put, and agreed to. Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the clause be read a Second time." Subclauses (1), (4) and (5) of this new clause amplify other provisions in the Bill in respect of the control of discharge of trade effluent into sewers. Subclauses (2), (3) and (6) of this new clause reinstate subclauses (4), (5) and (6) of clause 29 as printed in the Bill. Question put, and agreed to. Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.”
“(3) The requirements in subsection (2) may be waived by the Director in any case where the amount of trade effluent is in the opinion of the Director not of a substantial nature. (4) The provisions of subsection (1) shall not apply to such trade effluent as may be prescribed which may be discharged into any public sewerage system without seeking the prior written consent of the Director. (5) If any trade effluent is discharged in contravention of this section or without the consent, if any, as is necessary for the purposes of this Act the occupier of the premises shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars. (6) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.". - [Mr E. W. Barker]. Brought up, and read the First time.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 15, line 37, to leave out from "fit" to the end of line 23 in page 16 and insert - "and charge such fees as may be prescribed therefor. (2) Such fees shall be payable by the occupier of the premises so served and by the owner thereof when the premises are vacant and shall be recoverable in the manner provided in section 41.". Sir, this amendment together with the new clauses A and B and the amendment to the First Schedule as shown in the Order Paper Supplement, which I shall be moving shortly, are necessary to remove any ambiguity as to the powers to collect water-borne charges from any premises whether or not they are connected to the sewers and powers to control the discharge of trade effluent into public sewers within limits to be prescribed and subject to the approval of the Director of Water Pollution Control and Drainage. The collection of water-borne charges of all premises is not new. Such fees have been collected since 1970 and the necessity for so doing has been explained to Members by the then Minister for Finance, Dr Goh Keng Swee, in December 1969. Amendment agreed to. Clause 29, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 30 to 68 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. New Clause A - "Discharge of (1) Subject to the provisions subsection (4), trade effluent, trade effluent shall be discharged from any premises into a public sewer without the written consent of the Director. (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), any person who causes' or suffers any trade effluent to enter or pass into any public sewerage system without the written consent of the Director (whether wilfully or by accident) shall forthwith inform the Director of such occurrence.”
“As for the first question, Sir, it appears from the Ordinance that the answer is no. As for clause 11, although notice is not specifically provided for or required to be given under clause 11, I assure the Member that such a notice will be given in the ordinary course of business. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr E. W. Barker]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] 3.50 p.m. Clauses 1 to 28 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 29 -”
“Sir, if I may first deal with the Member for Sembawang. Earlier in his speech he talked about mosquitoes and then he went on to criticise Health Inspectors for requiring building contractors to fill up potholes. Many building sites in Singapore have been found to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Whenever there are complaints, the Inspectors go down to look for the breeding places and either eradicate them or, if that is not possible, oil the water in which the mosquitoes are breeding. As for the swamps, this Bill has been drafted to deal with swamps just like those in Sembawang. Let me assure the Member that if he can tell me exactly where the swamp is we will do our best to eradicate mosquitoes breeding thereon. The Member for Serangoon Gardens sought clarification on certain clauses. If I may start with clause 40. Surely the answer he seeks would depend on the agreement between the owner and the occupier. As for clause 5(4), it ideas with the provision where the Director may cause drains to be constructed after reasonable notice in writing has been given. Clause 5 gives the Director powers to declare under subclause (I) notice of a proposal to the owner or owners of the drain in question for the adoption of the private drain. Subclause (2) gives the owner, aggrieved by the proposal of the Director, a chance to appeal to the Minister. One deals with the drain, the other deals with the grievance. Surely a grievance can arise not only because the Government is taking over the private drain but also because the owner may have other reasons for objecting to Government's proposal. I could not exactly follow the Member's speech on clause II. If he wants an answer, probably he could stand up and repeal what he has said.”
“It covers the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and trade effluent and the approval and control of such facilities. Under the new provision an owner of a building may be required to construct adequate sewerage system and to provide and maintain sanitary facilities in his premises. The Bill extends control of water pollution into farm areas to protect our water catchments. The Bill further empowers the authority to prohibit the unauthoris- ed discharge of trade effluents into the sewer and to prescribe the charges for the discharge, collection, maintenance and disposal of any waste. Powers are also given to vest any sewerage system and land set aside for a sewerage system in the Government. The construction or erection of any structure across or over a sewer is prohibited under a new provision. Part VI of the Bill deals with miscellaneous matters such as the issue of mandatory orders, appeals to court, procedures for enforcement of the Bill, compensation, recovery of costs, penalties for the contravention of the provisions of the Bill, exemptions, appeals to the Minister and the making of regulations under the Bill. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“The authority for sewerage, drainage and water pollution control will be vested in the Director of Water Pollution Control and Drainage who will also have the powers to control the quality, extraction, storage and use of water in Singapore. The provisions on drainage empower the authority to construct and maintain any drainage system. There are new provisions which can require owners to execute any drainage work to provide for better drainage. New provisions for the control over earthworks or construction sites which pollute and affect the drains and canals have also been incorporated in the Bill. The authority will have the powers to vest private drains or drainage reserves in the Government which it does not have under the Local Government Integration Act. Another new provision is the control on the erection of structures over drains and canals which may obstruct the flow of water. Part IV of the Bill deals specifically with Water Pollution Control. A new provision prohibits any person from extracting water from any place without permission. The Public Utilities Board is exempted, of course, from this prohibition on its own property. Another new provision empowers the Minister to make regulations to control the quality, storage and use of water in any water course, river, lake or pond and prohibits the discharge of any pollutant in any such places. In addition, any person who discharges any pollutant into any water course whether wilfully or by accident must report to the authority. Part V of the Bill deals with sewerage. There are general provisions for the authority to deal with the construction, operation and maintenance of the sewerage system.”
“This will reduce and minimise the pollution of water in our streams and canals, some of which drain into our reservoirs. In a small urbanised and industrialised country like ours, frequent and heavy rainfall demands that there must be good drainage. Land development alters the natural topography and affects the run-off characteristics of surface water. More often than not, it will affect drainage and cause flooding. It is therefore essential that there is an effective drainage system to ensure a free flow of water in our drains and canals. The Government is giving priority to drainage projects, and funds will be provided for this purpose. The present laws governing water pollution control have been found to be inadequate and somewhat obsolete. By updating and extending the existing provisions as well as by incorporating new provisions, this Bill will enable better enforcement of the various sewerage, drainage and water pollution requirements. More broadly, the Bill is designed not only to create and promote a healthy and aesthetic environment but also to conserve our water resources. The Bill incorporates many of the provisions of the Local Government Integration Act (Cap. 210) and the Environmental Public Health Act (Cap. 155) which deal with matters of sewerage and drainage. The sections of the Acts dealing with sewerage and drainage will be repealed and replaced with more detailed provisions in the Bill. As I have indicated, Sir, the existing Local Government Integration Act does not contain adequate provisions on the control of pollution of water courses and drainage and the departments responsible have been relying on powers vested in other authorities. The Bill will remedy this inadequacy.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Bill before the House deals with water pollution control, sewerage, drainage and water resources. The Bill is needed because an integrated and comprehensive Water Pollution Control and Drainage legislation is very necessary for the Republic. Since the enactment of the Municipal Ordinance on which the present Local Government Integration Act is based, circumstances and environmental problems have changed. The population has grown and there has been rapid economic and industrial development over the past 10 years. New towns and large numbers of public housing units have been built. There has also been a corresponding increase in the demand for water and, with rising affluence, a demand for a healthier and cleaner environment. The Government has developed new water catch ment areas and constructed new reservoirs to increase the collection and storage capacity of water in the Republic. It is important that these catchment areas are protected from pollution from farms, households, industries and other activities, otherwise the run-off water would not be suitable for drinking purposes. While the Government will make every effort to ensure that adequate supply of water is available, the provision of sewerage and the control of water pollution must also be given equal priority as sewerage is the most effective method of water pollution control. However, the cooperation of the public is also required to ensure that these sewerage facilities are fully utilised. Until recently, only waste water from the water closets and some industries were discharged into the sewers. We have now required all waste water from premises, including trade effluent, to be discharged into the sewers.”
“TRAVEL AGENTS BILL "to provide for the licensing of travel agents and for the regulation of their operations; and for purposes connected therewith", presented by Mr E. W. Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. TOURIST PROMOTION BOARD (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Tourist Promotion Board Act (Chapter 205 of the Revised Edition)", presented by Mr E. W. Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.50 p.m.”
“CRIMINAL LAW (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (Chapter 112 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Chua Sian Chin); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. CRIMINAL JUSTICE (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Criminal Justice (Temporary Provisions) Act (Chapter III of the Revised Edition)", presented by Mr Chua Sian Chin; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. SINGAPORE CORPORATION OF REHABILITATIVE ENTERPRISES BILL "to establish the Singapore Corporation, of Rehabilitative Enterprises and for matters connected therewith", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Chua Sian Chin; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. ECONOMIC EXPANSION INCENTIVES (RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act (Chapter 135 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Law and the Environment (Mr E. W. Barker); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be Printed. RUBBER ESTATES ASSESSMENT (REPEAL) BILL "to repeal the Rubber Estates Assessment Act (Chapter 145 of the Revised Edition) and the Rubber Estates (Surcharge on Assessment) Act (Chapter 146 of the Revised Edition) and for matters connected therewith", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr E. W. Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.”
“LAND TITLES (STRATA) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Chapter 277 of the Revised Edition) and to make consequential amendments to the Buildings and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act, 1973 (No. 23 of 1973) and the Planning Act (Chapter 279 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Law and the Environment (Mr E. W. Barker); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY BILL "to restrict the purchase or transfer of residential properties (including vacant land) to citizens of Singapore and approved purchasers, and to provide for matters connected therewith, and to make consequential amendments to the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (Chapter 268 of the Revised Edition), the Land Titles Act (Chapter 276 of the Revised Edition) and the Registration of Deeds Act (Chapter 281 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Law and the Environment (Mr E. W. Barker); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. EVIDENCE (AMENDMEND)BILL "to amend the Evidence Act (Chapter 5 of the Revised Edition)", presented by Mr E. W. Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter 113 of the Revised Edition)", presented by Mr E. W. Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.”
“Sir, the Jurong Town Corporation is planning the development of 1,500 acres of sea-front land at Sembawang for heavy and medium industries. Immediately behind JTC's Sembawang Industrial Estate, the Housing and Development Board is planning to develop 300 acres of light industrial area as part of its Nee Soon New Town. There should, therefore, be adequate land for heavy, medium and light industries in Sembawang and Nee Soon. BILLS INTRODUCED 2.40 p.m. PORT OF SINGAPORE AUTHORITY (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Port of Singapore Authority Act (Chapter 173 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister of State for Communications (Mr Ong Teng Cheong); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PARKING PLACES (SURCHARGE) BILL "to provide for the imposition of a surcharge on parking places", recommendation of President signified by the Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Kim San); presented by the Minister of State for National Development (Dr Tan Eng Liang); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PLANNING (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Planning Act (Chapter 279 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified, presented by the Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Kim San); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. ADMINISTRATION OF MUSLIM LAW (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Administration of Muslim Law Act (Chapter 42 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Social Affairs (Encik Othman Wok); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.”
“The answer has already been given just now. The question of income tax is one matter. If charitable institutions want donations, naturally the donors should be given some inducement. So donations to charitable institutions are not liable to income tax, whereas road tax is another matter. As I have pointed out, if they use vans or mini-buses they will not have to pay the double rate. SEMBAWANG INDUSTRIAL ESTATE (Development of light industries) 5. Mr Teong Eng Siong asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider the development of light industries in addition to the proposed medium type industries in the industrial estate in the Sembawang Constituency.”
“Thank you. RESIGNATION AND RETIREMENT OF POLICE OFFICERS (Particulars) 3. Mr J. F. Conceicao asked the Minister for Home Affairs the number, according to grades, of Police officers of the rank of Inspector and above who have resigned or retired optionally from the Force during the period 1st January, 1974 to 30th June, 1975.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am pleased to inform the Member for Sembawang that tenders for the construction of the Canberra Gate Hawker Centre will be called early next month. Construction work is expected to commence in October this year and it is anticipated that the Centre will be completed by the end of next year.”
“Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E. W. Barker]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. MEDICINES BILL Order Second Reading read. 4.00 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, this is a very short Bill and I will keep my speech short. The Bill seeks to amend the Trustees Act (Chapter 40) by increasing the borrowing power of an "approved company" from two-thirds to three-quarters of its mortgaged assets. Sections 3 and 4 of the Act lay down the prerequisites that must be complied with by a company before it can obtain the status of an "approved company" within the meaning of the Act. An "approved company" is defined in the Act as one that is incorporated in Singapore and which has a place of business in Singapore, having as its sole or primary object the promotion of home ownership by advancing purchase monies, repayable by instalments over a specified period of time. Such an "approved company" would then be permitted to seek loans from trustees in accordance with section 4 (1) (e) of the Trustees Act. Section 4 (2) of the Act, however, lays down the conditions under which trust funds may be invested with an "approved company". One of the conditions is that the total borrowing power of the "approved company" must not exceed two-thirds of its mortgaged assets. Representations have been received for an increase of an borrowing power of an "approved company" from two-thirds to four-fifths of the company's mortgaged assets as the present limit is considered too restrictive. Consideration has been given to these representations. It is, however, felt that the limit imposed by the Act should be raised from two-thirds to three-quarters instead of four-fifths of the mortgaged assets. This requires an amendment to the relevant section of the Trustees Act; hence the Bill before this House. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to.”
“Yes, permission will be given to cut down such a tree.”
“The Minister said that if there is a tree on a piece of private land which is to be developed the authority concerned would first send somebody to see where the tree is. For instance, if the land is 10,000 sq. ft. and the building area of 5,000 sq. ft. is to be sited in the centre of the land according to the plan, then the tree which stands in the centre has to be cut down before development can take place. There may also be a need to comply with other regulations such as the provision of car parks, pedestrian walk, an open space in the property, or other requirements, all of which necessitate the cutting down of that tree. Under these circumstances, although the tree is protected by the law, can the Minister enlighten the House whether it should be cut down.”
“Sir, perhaps the Member for Sembawang still thinks that we are debating in Committee of Supply. He should have taken the opportunity during the last few days in Committee of Supply to grumble about trees planted in the wrong places or narrowing down roads. But he has made one relevant observation, and that is, about one big tree on a piece of vacant land which is about to be developed. The position is this. Where a housing developer applies to build on vacant land which may have beautiful trees there in existence for more than 50 or even 100 years, we send officers to the vacant land to mark out where the trees are, and the developer is still allowed to build provided he preserves some trees. We are not here to protect all the trees nor to stifle building development. We would allow developers to build provided sufficient trees are preserved. I could not follow the Member for Serangoon Gardens who wanted clarification, unless it appears in clause 10 which states: `Where the Commissioner is satisfied that any tree or plant, whether growing or not, is in an inflammable state or is likely to be dangerous to life or property or to cause an obstruction . . the Commissioner may by notice in writing require the occupier of the land on which it is growing or lying to remove it within a time specified in the notice.' We do not propose to prevent all trees being felled or cut down. `There must be a few trees which are about to fall down either because of root trouble or some other disease to the trunk. Where a tree is likely to fall anti is a danger to life and/or property, permission can be sought for it to be cut. Mr Teong Eng Siong(In Mandarin): Sir, I would like the Minister to clarify certain points.”
“This change has been proposed after a study was made by my Ministry's officers of the sizes of the different types of trees found in Singapore at their various stages of growth. (b) Clause 5 of the Bill introduces a presumption that where a tree is felled on any vacant land it shall be presumed that it has been felled by the owner or occupier of the land. This provision is necessary in order not to frustrate the work of the Commissioner. (c) In clause 7 the Commissioner is given the power to serve a notice on the occupier of any vacant land or land on which a new street is to be constructed to require the occupier to plant trees. Further, the Commissioner is empowered under clause 11 to require housing developers to make a deposit to ensure that trees are planted and open spaces made up in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.40 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Members are aware of the Government's efforts to make Singapore a garden city and to provide recreational facilities for the urban population. For these purposes the Ministry of Law and National Development set up the Parks and Recreation Division in the Public Works Department. The powers which are vested in the Commissioner for parks and Recreation are at the moment found in several pieces of legislation, namely, the Trees and Plants (Preservation and Improvement of Amenities) Act, 1970, (Act 59 of 1970), the Botanic Gardens Act (Chapter 300) and Part V of the Local Government Integration Act (Chapter 210). Since it has been found necessary to amend the existing legislation to vest in the Commissioner new powers to enable him to carry out his work, the opportunity has been taken to revise all the various legislation pertaining to parks and trees. This Bill, therefore, seeks to amend and consolidate the law which is found in the various Acts which I have referred to. The main changes which will be made to the existing legislation are as follows:- (a) A restriction will be imposed on the felling or cutting of any tree on any vacant land with a girth exceeding one metre (3 ft. 4 ins.) measured half a metre (1 ft. 8 ins.) from the ground. Under the existing provision of section 4 of the Trees and Plants (Preservation and Improvement of the Amenities) Act, 1970, this restriction applies to trees with a girth exceeding five feet, measured two feet from the ground. Vacant land is defined in clause 2 of the Bill to refer to land which has not been developed for residential or industrial purposes.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 10, line 19, to leave out "or his spouse" and insert ", his spouse or any authorised occupier". This amendment will enable the Board to compulsorily acquire any flat, house or other living accommodation sold subject to the provisions of this Part, if an authorised occupier has at any time whether before or after the date of commencement of the Housing and Development (Amendment) Act, 1975, acquired whether by operation of law or otherwise any title to or an estate or interest in any other flat, house, building or land. Amendment agreed to. Clause 10, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 11 to 15 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed. PARLIAMENTARY PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.30 p.m.”
“As for the other clause which deals with the position where the owner of an HDB flat dies, either testate or intestate and his executors or administrators do nothing about it for years, the purpose is to give them one year which should be enough time to take out either Letters of Administration or Probate of the Will so that the legal formalities in respect of the flat can be put right. Otherwise if they do nothing, the Board cannot do anything. Hence this clause. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E. W. Barker], Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] 3.25 p.m. Clauses 1 to 5 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 6 - Amendment made: In page 6, line 11, at end, to add- "(2) This section shall apply to any instrument lodged before, on or after the date of the commencement of the Housing and Development (Amendment) Act, 1975.".-[Mr E. W. Barker].”
“Sir, as I pointed out earlier, the whole purpose of this Bill is to ensure that the Board's flats remain in the hands of people who deserve them and to avoid frustration by those on the Board's waiting list. At the moment, there are 75,000 applicants wanting to buy flats and about 25,000 wanting to rent them. The object of this Bill is not to make things worse for widows and orphans or for the poor people living in HDB flats. I have spelt out earlier in my speech details of the circumstances under which people who have bought flats will lose them. In my view, the provisions set out under clauses 5 and 8 are quite clear. One deals with the position where the owner, his spouse or any authorised occupier is the owner of any other flat, house, building or land or has an estate or interest therein; or has, at any time within 30 months immediately prior to the date of making an application to the Board to purchase a flat, sold any flat, house, building or land. The Member for Whampoa takes objection to the 30-month condition. It has been the experience of the Board that this period is reasonable enough for people to dispose of their properties, which may be substantial properties, and with the proceeds buy a five-room flat. The Member for Punggol is worried about people who have to leave the country after buying a flat. They do not have to give up the flat. All they have to do in such cases is to inform the Board.”
“Any person who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Board to acquire a HDB flat under section 48A of the Act may appeal to the Minister whose decision thereon will be final. Mr Speaker, Sir, apart from these major amendments to the Housing and Development Act, the Bill also seeks to make other amendments which I will now refer to briefly. Clause 3 of the Bill seeks to amend section 4 of the Act to permit the legal officers of the Board to execute certain documents for and on behalf of the Board. Clause 4 seeks to add a new section 27A to the Act to empower the Board to appoint committees to carry out its duties under the Act and to delegate its powers to such committees. Clause 5 seeks to amend section 41 of the Act to empower the Board to forfeit any monies paid to the Board by an applicant who has made an application to purchase an HDB flat from the Board in contravention of the provisions of section 41 of the Act. Clause 6 seeks to amend section 42 of the Act to enable the officers of the Board to attest assurances pertaining to flats sold by the Board. Clause 8 seeks to repeal and re-enact with amendments section 45 of the Act to deal with the acquisition by the Board of a flat of a deceased owner in the case where no representation has been taken out under a will or intestacy of a deceased owner of the flat within twelve months from the death of the owner. Clause 9 seeks to amend section 48 of the Act to enable the Board to repossess a flat speedily when it exercises its right of forfeiture under a lease. Clause 12 seeks to repeal and reenact sections 55 to 58 of the Act to prescribe the financial procedures to be observed by the Board and to make provision for the keeping and audit of the accounts of the Board. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“The Board will compulsorily acquire any flat sold subject to the provisions of Part IV of the Act in any of the circumstances set out in the new section 48A to which I will now refer:- (a) if the owner thereof and his spouse, if any, has, in the opinion of the Board, ceased to occupy the HDB flat; or (b) if the owner thereof, his spouse or any authorised occupier has acquired any title to or an estate or interest in any other immovable property; or (c) if the owner thereof has, in the opinion of the Board, used the HDB flat, otherwise than for the purpose permitted by the lease; or (d) if the owner thereof has permitted any person other than an authorised occupier to reside or stay in the HDB flat; or (e) if the owner thereof has failed to perform or observe any condition contained in the lease to be performed or observed on the part of the owner after a notice in writing has been sent by the Board drawing his attention to the non-performance or non-observance of the condition in the lease and the Board is of the opinion that he is likely to continue to do the same if he should continue to own the HDB flat; or (f) if the owner thereof has made a misleading or false statement in his application to the Board for the purchase of the HDB flat; or (g) if the owner thereof has made a mis-representation of a material fact, whether innocently or otherwise, in his application to the Board for the purchase of the HDB flat; or (h) if the owner thereof assigns, underlets or parts with the possession of the HDB flat or any part thereof without obtaining the prior written consent of the Board as required by the lease; or (i) if, in the opinion of the Board, the HDB flat is not being occupied by such minimum number of persons as the Board may require; or (j) if the owner thereof has ceased to be a citizen of Singapore; or (k) if the rent or any payments or any part thereof due to the Board reserved under the lease or mortgage remains unpaid for three calendar months after they are due and payable and the Board has sent a notice of demand in writing to the owner thereof.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, there have been complaints from the public that there are owners of Housing and Development Board flats who acquire and then let out other immovable properties while they are still staying in HDB flats. In order to ensure that the Board's flats are in the hands of those people who deserve them and to avoid longer frustration by those on the Board's waiting list (at the moment there is a waiting list of about 100,000 applications), this Bill will introduce the following measures:- (a) to make provision for the Board to compulsorily acquire any HDB flat sold subject to the provisions of Part IV of the Act in certain circumstances which I will refer to shortly; (b) to prohibit any person from applying for an HDB flat if he, his spouse or an authorised occupier either - (i) owns or has an interest in any other immovable property; or (ii) has, at any time within 30 months prior to the date of his making an application to the Board for an HDB flat, owned or had an interest in any other immovable property; (c) to make it an offence for any person to give false information in his form of application for an HDB flat and to make such an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment; and (d) to make unauthorised subletting of an HDB flat an offence punishable with a similar penalty.”
“Finally, the amendments proposed in clauses 4, 5, 6 and 7 seek to increase the penalties provided for in sections 35, 36, 37 and 38 respectively of the Act. These penalties, with the passing of time, have become a little unrealistic. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E. W. Barker]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.04 p.m.”
“The owner will then inform the insurer of his interest in the motor vehicle under the Hire-Purchase agreement. Clause 3 amends section 33 (c) of the Act in such a way as to provide greater flexibility in adjusting interest rates payable on overdue instalments. With the recent rise in interest rates in money markets the existing provision in this section fixing a ceiling of 9% per annum which finance companies may charge is unrealistic, having regard to the cost of these companies of borrowing money. It is, therefore, proposed that a maximum rate of 12% per annum should be fixed in section 33 (c) but at the same time to confer upon the Minister power to determine such lower rate from time to time as he may think fit. This lower rate, it is envisaged, should correspond approximately to prevailing commercial rates. Though interest rates now appear to be on a downtrend, they are likely to remain well above historical rates. The other major amendment appears in clause 8 which amends the Fourth Schedule. The effect of this amendment will be to reduce the number of notices to repossess (under section 15 (1) ) that are sent out by finance companies to hirers who tend to be continually in default in their payment of instalments. Such hirers often find themselves in further arrears of instalments which have fallen due after the date of the notice. The existing Notice, therefore, fails to reflect the true position of the amount of arrears that are due up to the time that the finance company takes action to repossess. The amendment, accordingly is designed to deal with this matter by providing that the hirer, in order to avoid repossession, must pay all arrears of instalments that have fallen due since the date of the Notice.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The principal amendments that are proposed in the Bill appear in clauses 2 and 8 and are designed to confer some measure of protection upon finance companies which are owners of motor vehicles subject to hire purchase agreements and which suffer loss due to acts or omissions on the part of the hirers of such motor vehicles. These amendments, if passed, will in no way detract from the paramount policy of the principal Act, which is to safeguard the interests of hirers under hire purchase agreements, as part of the larger field of consumer protection. They will, however, ensure that hirers will be less likely to abuse their rights under the agreements to the disadvantage of the lawful owners of these motor vehicles. Clause 2 which amends section 26 of the Act makes it mandatory for a hirer to inform the owner of the vehicle (the finance company) in the event that he changes his registered insurer during the period of the hire-purchase agreement. In the past, the new registered insurer, not being aware of the interest in the motor vehicle of the finance company, have, in some instances, where there has been a claim on a total loss basis by the insured hirer, made payments on a total loss basis direct to the hirer. Although the owners have a right at common law to sue the hirer in respect of their interest in the motor vehicle, this has not been shown to be a satisfactory remedy, for hirers have been known to disappear with the insurance monies received from the insurers. This amendment, accordingly, places a legal obligation upon the hirer, who by virtue of section 26 (1) of the Act alone must choose his registered insurer, to advise the owner if he decides to change his insurer.”
“Yes, Sir, we will do that. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E.W. Barker]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. HIRE-PURCHASE (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.57 p.m.”
“No, Sir. The lessee or grantee is asked, after he has obtained written permission from the competent authority to subdivide his land, to inform or make a notification to the Collector in writing within one month from the date of approval. If he changes his mind, he can always inform the Collector again. But the important date is when the subdivision has taken place. Conveyance might be done later. 1 think one month should be ample time for the purposes of this Bill. In any event should the Member be proved right, and if there are teething troubles with this Bill, we will extend this period.”
“Sir, sometimes, as the Member has pointed out in the Budget debate, one Government department does not inform the other department. It usually does, but sometimes one does not catch up with the other. Therefore, the object of the Bill is to put the burden on the applicant, whose application for subdivision has been approved, to in-form the relevant department so that the Collector may apportion the rent. The penalty provided is really not excessive for non-compliance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, quit rents are payable to the Government in respect of lands held under State leases as well as Statutory Land Grants which are grants in perpetuity issued under the State Lands Act. In the case of land held under a State lease, the owner may make an application under the Apportionment of Rents Act for apportionment of the rent payable in respect of the land, where there has been a subdivision. The Act does not, however, make it mandatory for the owner to make an application for apportionment and often no such application is made. In such a case, the Collector of Land Revenue can only apportion the rent when the subdivision of the land subsequently comes to his knowledge. This procedure has been found to be unsatisfactory and entails delay in apportionment of the rent. Moreover, land held under a Statutory Land Grant does not at present fall within the ambit of the Apportionment of Rents Act. An apportionment of the rent payable in respect of such land is done administratively. The Bill now before this House will make it mandatory for the owner of land held either on a State lease or a Statutory Land Grant to inform the Collector of Land Revenue of any approved subdivision of his land by the Competent Authority under the Planning Act, so that the apportionment of the rent may be appropriately made without delay. Under the Bill a penalty not exceeding $500 will be imposed for non-compliance with this requirement. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“Clause 7 seeks to amend section 28 of the Act, which empowers the Director of Public Works to acquire premises for the widening of streets, to provide that no compensation shall be payable for the acquisition of any premises for the purposes of street-making when the premises are within the street reserves set aside pursuant to any development proposal approved by the competent authority. Since the owner of the premises has agreed to surrender the land free of charge to the Government, the Government should not pay for the building standing on the premises. Clause 9 seeks to amend section 58 of the Act to enable the Director of Public Works to construct back-lanes and to recover the cost thereof from the owners of properties fronting these back-lanes. Under the existing provision the cost of constructing back-lanes is borne by the Government. Clause 10 seeks to amend section 102 of the Act to empower the competent authority to impose interest charges at a rate not exceeding 6% per annum for late payments levied under the Act. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E. W. Barker]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. APPORTIONMENT OF RENTS (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.45 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill seeks to amend the provisions of the Local Government Integration Act (Chapter 210 of the Revised Edition) which deals with the construction, widening and repair of public and private streets and back-lanes. In view of the massive urban renewal programme that is being carried out to the city and the Government's desire to further implement the Garden City concept, it has been found necessary to make certain amendments to the Local Government Integration Act to empower the Director of Public Works to achieve this objective more readily. I will now draw Members' attention to the more significant clauses of the Bill. Clause 3 seeks to add a new section 16A to the Act to facilitate the vesting in the Government of lands which have been set aside as road reserves pursuant to development proposals approved by the competent authority under the Planning Act. All these road reserves will eventually be made up into new or enlarged public streets. It is customary for the owners of lands to agree to surrender part of their lands for road reserves to the Government without charge in consideration of the approval given for their development plans. The new section 16A will facilitate the vesting in the Government of such lands which have been set aside as road reserves. Clause 5 seeks to amend section 18 of the Act to empower the Government to require a developer or owner of a property constructing a new street to make provision for the planting of trees along the new street. Section 18 of the Act is also amended to require any person erecting any building or planting of any hedge within any land set aside as a road reserve to seek the prior approval of the Director of Public Works.”
“Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION BILL Order for Second Reading read. 6.35 p.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the short Bill now before this House is primarily designed to ensure, as far as practicable, that electors who have changed their addresses do not go back to the electoral division according to their former addresses to cast their votes in an election. At present, the names of electors appear in the registers of electors according to the addresses shown in their identity cards even though these addresses may have ceased to exist, e.g, as a result of clearance for urban renewal. The amendment proposed in clause 2 of the Bill will empower the Registration Officer to omit from the registers of electors the names of all persons whose addresses he has reason to believe have ceased to exist. This will ensure that electors voting at an election for a particular electoral division are the residents of that division. The Bill will also empower the Minister to direct the Registration Officer to update the registers of electors, whenever necessary. At present, registers of electors which are prepared in respect of electoral divisions consequent on a change of electoral boundaries cannot be revised except after a General Election. Lapse of time between the certification of such registers and Polling Day may make such registers incomplete - it is estimated that there are about 10,000 people changing their addresses monthly. The updating will also enable newly qualified electors, averaging 50,000 each year, to be included in the register of electors. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E. W. Barker].”
“Sir, I am glad for this opportunity to reply to both Members. My answer will put the Resettlement Department in a better light. They asked what have we done about this road since we had money last year but nothing was done. The answer is, there are problems in connection with resettlement and land acquisition. There are large numbers of resettlement cases, and at least 450 shops to be resettled. Hence the delay. In order to speed up construction, the road has been realigned, in consultation with the Housing and Development Board, to minimise the number of cases that need to be resettled. The Resettlement Department is not anxious to resettle people nor is it anxious to break records. 5.15 p.m. The provision of $600,000 is only part of the amount for the widening of the entire Sembawang Road from Sembawang Hill Circus to Admiralty Gate. The project will be carried out in three stages and will cost more than $9 million when completed. Stage I from Mandai Road to Jalan Sembawang Kechil is targeted to begin in the third quarter o 1975. So I ask the Members to be a little patient. Work on Stage II from Sembawang Hill Circus to Mandai Road will begin in the first quarter of 1976, whilst Stage III from Jalan Sembawang Kechil to Admiralty Gate will start in the first quarter of 1978. When fully completed by the end of 1978, the road will be a dual carriageway with two traffic lanes in each direction. I hope this will keep Members happy, but this is all subject to resettlement.”
“Sir, a notice to quit is served on all resettlement cases. This is a legal formality to enable the Department to obtain a warrant of dispossession from the Magistrates' Courts where those concerned do not move. With this warrant the Department can ensure that resettlement cases do not resist clearance when actual physical clearance is initiated. But the warrant is only used as a last resort and actual physical clearance is not initiated until alternative accommodation has been provided and computation of compensation to the prospective resettler has been made. I can assure the Member for Serangoon Gardens that the Resettlement Department is not interested in breaking any records. The Department is under considerable pressure from various Ministries, not only from the Ministry of National Development as far as sites for housing are concerned but they have also the unpleasant task of resettling people in most parts of Singapore for practically every department. When tile Ministry of Defence wants large areas in Singapore for the requirements of the military, it is the Resettlement Department that has to do the dirty work. So it is under considerable pressure from the Ministry of Defence to do its resettling as soon as it is possible. If we are to provide cheap housing accommodation for people as in Ang Mo Kio, then they have to be resettled. But the Resettlement Department officers are not over-enthused with their work. As far as it is possible they are humane. As I said yesterday, resettlement is an unpleasant business hut it has to be done if Singapore is to be redeveloped. People sometimes get bitter especially when they have to be resettled twice. But this is happening in Singapore.”
“If not, then we will send some of these officers. Problems concerning tenants and flat owners are dealt with directly, wherever possible, to minimise bureaucratic red tape. Such participation by the Board's Estate Officers should promote goodwill between flat dwellers and the Board. As regards Estate Officers who are rude or do not do their work properly, disciplinary action will be taken against them. In fact, quite a few have been dismissed. I do not think I need to say more except to assure the Member for Toa Payoh that we will seriously consider all the suggestions he has made and, wherever feasible, put them into practice.”
“The answer is that the Board has a system whereby it retains 5% of the contract price over a period of six months, in case there are defects to the buildings which have to be put right. The Member complained about the Board's officers. I understand that the Board's Estate Officers and Assistant Estate Officers actively participate in Meet-the-People sessions with Members of Parliament in all the constituencies where there are HDB estates. Some hon. Members: No.”
“Sir, if everything that the hon. Member has said is true, then he had better change his constituency. He won the last election quite easily, which means the people in his constituency are happy and, I repeat, if everything he says is true and the people there are so unhappy, then he had better watch out in the next elections. But to be fair to the Housing Board, and I have not heard one good word about the Board in this House, it is doing a good job. The number of houses that it has built or is building under its programme over the last five years has increased four-fold. Today it is building about 25,000 units per year and the target is 30,000 in a year or two. But the actual volume of construction work is more than four times as the average sizes of the flats are more than twice those built earlier. There is a shortage of skilled construction workers in the Republic. The workmanship has suffered somewhat not only because of the larger proportion of unskilled and semi-skilled workers but because of the increase in the numbers of buildings or building units that are being constructed every year. However, the structural soundness of the buildings is in no way affected. There is no short cut to training a large number of skilled workers. It requires several years of apprenticeship at the construction site. The Board has, in conjunction with the Industrial Training Board, sponsored a scheme to train more workers at construction sites. The response has not been very encouraging. The majority of our workers apparently prefer jobs in offices or hotels where they work in air-conditioned comfort. The Member has asked for the retention of a deposit.”
“I would suggest that offenders should be charged for corruption if they illegally sublet or assign their shophouse for a profit. Anyone who enters into such an arrangement makes exorbitant profits, all tax-free. Sir, I would suggest the following proposals. The Housing Board should restrict the number of cooked food stalls allowed for subletting in coffee shops. It should be based on the proportion of the floor space available. In other words, if a coffee shop premises has a floor space of 3,000 sq, ft, so many square feet of space will be allowed for cooked food stalls and so many square feet for patrons. A ceiling should he placed on rentals for subletting, just like the maximum rental charged by flat owners who wish to sublet their flats. Rentals for cooked food stalls in hawker centres should he based on the type of food sold. In this way, we can minimise all the abuses and malpractices mentioned. Sir, some of the hawker centres in Housing Board estates are badly planned. Two hawker centres in Toa Payoh have been reconstructed costing several hundred thousand dollars. Another one is earmarked for reconstruction. In some of these centres there is an excess of stalls in a certain trade and a shortage in others. There are either inadequate facilities or no access for hawkers to transfer their goods into the market. As a result passage-ways and footpaths are clogged with goods carriers left there by the hawkers. Some of the access facilities lead only half way into the market. Hawkers are compelled to make use of the paved areas around the market, thus causing more obstruction and littering. To overcome this problem and shortcoming, I would suggest that the Housing Board consult the MP in the area before constructing any hawker centre or market.”