Goh Keng Swee
Singapore
“Sir, since that was not a supplementary question, may I be allowed to comment briefly on that. When we form a Committee of the House to inquire into an activity of the Government, the assumption must be that there has been something improper. In this instance, where is the impropriety?”
“The career of Brig-Gen Lee is well-known to the public. It has been published in the newspapers. Why then does he come out with all this drivel, other than to impute improper motives? Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, I object to the term "drivel" as spelt out by the First Deputy Prime Minister. He should know better as a Member of this House.”
“Sir, this is getting most tiresome. So I will just say this - that Brig-Gen Lee Hsien Loong has proved himself in so many ways, both inside the Army and outside the Army, to be a person of outstanding quality. When the Member for Anson says the public are worried, he is again talking nonsense.”
“Sir, I rise to clarify. Actually, the limits are not set by me. I do not have a heavy hand. I regard the MAS as the implementing agency of Government, and in this respect I have to listen to the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Trade and Industry.”
“How you set them, how restrictive or how liberal, would determine two things: (1) the degree of imported inflation from abroad via goods and services from abroad, and (2), the degree of capital inflow from abroad which will affect our money supply in Singapore.”
“Sir, if the land could be more profitably used, say, for commercial or residential purposes and if the Minister for National Development requires such land, then, of course, the land will be acquired and the generous terms will apply.”
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“Sir, they are really two different items. The subsidy for Sembawang Shipyard is really meant to retrain employees of the former British Naval Dockyard, now known as Sembawang Shipyard, for other useful work. Subhead 2127 is concerned with the training programmed for the Jurong shipbuilders, the company which will build ocean-going freighters in Singapore. As Members will know, we do not build big ships in Singapore. We only build ships of a few hundred tons - water-boats, tugs, and so on. So if we want to go into the big league and produce ocean-going vessels, we have to train the neccessary skills. This is being done in conjunction with the Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, or I.H.I. for short. We now have 249 of our citizens under training in Japan. Next year we will send another 250. This money is to pay for the cost of such training.”
“But whatever it is, they train people. They recruit students or employees who are willing to upgrade their skills, and train them for six months to a year, depending on the course and the field of specializsation. That is one function - training. Second, they produce components for the local industry, ie., metal parts and so on. I believe they even tried to make simple machine tools for the Technical Department of the Ministry of Education. I do not know if the Technical Department bought these machine tools. Nevertheless this is the sort of work they do. As I said, a lot of energy goes into this. These centres are quite active and busy, particularly the Precision Engineering Development Centre which is going up in Jurong. This development centre is quite impressive. They are spending a sizable sum of money, as a result of which I am told that some industries will be established in Singapore to turn out products that require precise engineering, such as micrometer gauges and possibly certain types of technical instruments. That is what they do, and this is the way they are doing it, a bit haphazard no doubt. But the organisation will be tightened, and I think we will get better results and better value for money in future.”
“The Engineering Industries Development Agency was formally established in April 1968. It consists of a conglomeration of workshops and various training centres which the E D.B. set up since the early 1960s. Like Topsy, this work centre just grew and grew, and eventually the E.D.B. found that they had something like six centres. First, there is the Metal Industries Development Centre, which concentrates on metal engineering services. Then there is the Prototype Production and Training Centre. This is the result of a gift of machine tools donated by the Japanese Government. Then there is the Electro-Mechanical Training Centre. I cannot remember who donated this equipment. I think it is the French Government. Then there is the Electro-Chemical Engineering Centre. I am not quite sure what it deals with, but they dip metals into chemicals. Then there is the Woodworking Industries Development Centre. Finally there is the Precision Engineering Development Centre. These six workshops combine together under a loose organisation called the Engineering Industries Development Agency. 5.45 p.m. As far as I can see, everybody works with tremendous enthusiasm and energy. But I get the impression that there is a distinct lack of co-ordination among the six centres in the absence of any clear definition of the role that they will play in our industrialisation programme. So the process of tightening the organisation and spelling out the roles and functions of these different units has been going on in my Ministry for a long time. We have not reached a final solution yet. Roughly these workshops do two things. First, they train people in certain skills, whether it is in machine tools, in woodworking, in chemical treatment of metals, or in fine engineering.”
“Sir, until the Member for Telok Blangah raised this question, I too did not know of the existence of this Association. However, like all matters connected with the civil service, this provision has a history. In this instance, it goes back to before World War II. Before World War II, there was a canteen in Empress Place and this Association apparently was either the owner or the landlord of this canteen and it received from the hawkers, or whoever operated there, an income of $200 a month. This canteen was demolished and the Association lost this income. The Government, therefore, makes up for this loss of income. I assume that Government took over the land where the canteen was situated. Whether the Association is well run or not and whether it deserves this sum - these are not matters for me to express an opinion on. But since this is related to some loss of income, it does not follow that other associations - such as associations of doctors, clerks, telephone operators or office boys - are entitled to any allowance from Government.”
“Sir, before women were considered the equal of men, women officers in the civil service received a marriage gratuity when they got married. But after the 1st of March, 1962, when they were all placed on the same footing as the men, this marriage gratuity was withdrawn from them. However, those who were appointed before 1st March, 1962, are allowed to retain their entitlement to this marriage gratuity; but not for those who joined the service after March 1962.”
“Sir, compassionate allowances are paid to civil servants who suffer injuries or death in the course of their duties. For instance, there was a victim of civil disturbances in 1950. He sustained injuries and he drew this allowance. Widows who receive a basic pension below the minimum rate of $180 per month under the Widows and Orphans Pension Scheme also receive these allowances which are made on compassionate grounds. There are only a small number of people receiving such allowances. The Singapore allowances are paid to pensioners who are resident in Singapore and receive a pension of $331 per month or less if they have dependants, or $257 per month or less if they have no dependants. This is a throw-back to the past when civil servants seem to have had the cost-of-living allowances as well as the Singapore allowances. At that time, when these people retired, if their pension was below a certain level, they drew these allowances in addition to their pension. You will find that the cost of living allowances on pensions are provided for under subhead 2003. They belong to the same family of allowances.”
“Sir, I have made not only one clear-cut statement, but several clear-cut statements on this subject, and if people do not believe me, what can I do?”
“The sum under subhead 2104 is to pay for passages and expenses incurred by our civil servants, Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and others who go on overseas conferences. To ensure that there is uniformity of standard and no undue waste, all such proposals are vetted by the Cabinet. The provision for subhead 2105 is to pay for officers enrolled under the Overseas Service Aid Scheme. This is an arrangement whereby the British Government seconds some staff from their departments to Singapore, and meets the additional cost by way of inducement allowances. The Singapore Government pays the local salaries and passages for such officers. The provision under subhead 2106 is to pay the small number of overseas officers outside the scheme, for instance, those who are engaged on contract terms.”
“Sir, in the last few years we have had more and more experts sent from overseas under the Permanent Colombo Plan, the International Civil Air Executive Service Corps and various bilateral arrangements between our Government and other governments. This money is to pay for the stay of the experts for three days in a hotel, after which we either put them up in one of the Government bungalows or make some other arrangements for their stay in Singapore.”
“I do not think it makes much difference either way. I suppose centralising the expenditure means that common standards can be applied. Otherwise, you may find that my colleague, the Minister for Science and Technology, who does not think that financial matters are important, may host these conferences on a more lavish scale. You might have competition among Ministers as to who is the most generous in ministerial meetings.”
“Sir, last year we had quite a number of conferences in which money was paid out of this vote. In fact, there were 12 conferences. They are: (1) the Conference on the proposal for a Regional Institute of Higher Education and Development. (2) the second Council meeting of the South-east Asia Fisheries Development Centre. (3) the 25th E.C.A.F.E. Session in Singapore, which cost us quite a tidy packet; about $156,000. (4) the first Preparatory Meeting on the Asian Handicraft Centre. (5) the I.L.O. Asian Regional Seminar on Trade Union Research and Documentation Services. (6) the A.S.E.A.N. Committee Meeting on Transportation. (7) the Commonwealth Seminar in Singapore, which has just been completed. (8) the Fourth Asian Congress on Obstetrics and Gynaecology. (9) the Commission of Inquiry on Statistical Activities. (10) the Inter-Regional Seminar on Workers' Education. (11) the Commonwealth Telecommunications Network Preparatory Group Meeting. (12) the International Conference on Mass Media. Then there are various other minor commitments. 4.30p.m.”
“Sir, I think this is an excellent proposal. There is in existence in the Government service a committee called the Uniforms Committee. I do not know how often they sit, or when was the last time they considered this matter. But in a big bureaucracy there is inertia. Once you decide on a particular material for uniforms, it goes on ad infinitum, until some enterprising Member of Parliament draws attention to the need for a change. I will certainly get the Uniforms Committee to consider the Member's proposal.”
“Sir, this new practice of allowing Permanent Secretaries an entertainment vote is in accordance with the recommendations of the Harvey Salaries Commission. First of all, let me dispose of this $2 million nonsense on entertainment. I do ask Members not to give too much credence to what they read in the local newspapers. Most of the $2 million is for uniforms of the Police and the Armed Forces. Coming to these entertainment expenses, there are two points. One is that there is an entertainment allowance given to a person; and whether he spends it or not, that is his business. This is the practice in some institutions or business companies. The other is the entertainment vote. Here, you can only make use of the money if you produce the vouchers for it. Now, would it be a waste of money? In my opinion, no. In my view, our Permanent Secretaries are grossly underpaid in relation to the duties they perform and in relation to the pay that they can get in the private sector. A managing director, bearing a quarter of the responsibilities of a Permanent Secretary of a large Ministry, gets four times his pay. And if we grudge the top echelons of our civil service their minor perks, then I fear we have to put up with mediocrities - people who are less dependable possibly - and the end result will be a greater waste than this relatively small sum that we are setting aside for the entertainment vote for Permanent Secretaries.”
“We have quite a number of chemical engineers as well as mechanical engineers, and they are doing this kind of assessment. But I would like to formalise the structure of work into a proper department, and this is what this new subhead seeks to do.”
“I would like to explain to the Member for Mountbatten the difference of functions between the Economic Development Board and the new Industry Department of the Ministry of Finance. In order to attract industries into Singapore, we have passed several laws giving incentives by way of tax relief, licensing industries, tariffs and so on. These are functions exercised by the Ministry. After processing, the applications are sent to me for decision. The Economic Development Board is purely a promotion agency, which is to sell Singapore to foreign investors and to sell foreign investors to me. Naturally they will give the most euphoric account of any proposition which they get from overseas, and naturally they will sell Singapore in the most glowing terms to foreign investors. That is the nature of their work. 4.15p.m. But between the industrial promotion people and me, there is need for a rational assessment of what the Economic Development Board sends up to me. Quite often I have to do this assessment myself. Of course, if you have to read a memorandum running to, say, 20 pages in single spacing, this can be quite tiresome, quite apart from the fact that I do not have the time to check on the myriads of facts included in the memorandum. Therefore, it is necessary for a body of officials to assess E.D.B.'s proposals and to submit their assessment to me, so that I can get a fair and balanced account of whether the particular projects recommended by the E.D.B. have, in fact, the merits which they claim. This is to be fair to the E.D.B., to be fair to the foreign investor, and to be fair to the economy of Singapore. That is the reason why this new department is necessary. At present, of course, this work is already being done in the Ministry, but on a rather ad hoc basis.”
“More than that I do not think I need say, except to assure Back-benchers, that we will do something to improve the standards of our civil service. Madam Chan Choy Siong: Sir, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong (5) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0401 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1501. Madam Chan Choy Siong: I am not moving.”
“It may be necessary to put a few heads on the chopping block. The nature of human beings is such that until they see quite clearly demonstrated beyond all doubt that we mean business, we will get this kind of slackness creeping back. It will help to improve the standard of courtesy if we run some kind of training courses for the civil servants. In fact, I am having discussions with the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and Mr Devan Nair to see which sectors of the civil service should go through some kind of residential training course, and, what should be the content of the training courses. I accept the proposition that something pretty stern and energetic should be done, and it will be done. As regards the Political Study Centre and the Permanent Examinations Board, we are now at the crossroads. As the old Political Study Centre has served its purpose, we need something to replace it. To be quite candid, the Permanent Examinations Board is something of a mystery to me. Some ten years ago, I tried to introduce some reforms in this rather Byzantine institution. I got the Member for Alexandra - at least he is now the Member for Alexandra - as a member of the Permanent Examinations Board; my colleague, the Minister for Health, was also a member. But their membership of this august institution did not make the slightest difference to proceedings. Quite frankly, I believe that the courses of training prescribed are irrelevant, They are totally useless for efficient civil service administration. I have asked the British High Commission to send a Treasury expert to have a look at our training system and see whether we cannot introduce twentieth century systems in our civil service training, and no doubt, in due course of time, we will get results.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, obviously the Back-benchers feel very strongly on the subject of courtesy of our civil servants. I take the point. I am quite prepared to accept that there has been a deterioration of standards in certain sections of the civil service, and this is not a matter which the Ministers will accept with equanimity. I shall see what can be done to improve standards of courtesy. Hon. Members: Hear, hear!”
“We are an international financial centre. If we have a policy of keeping out foreign banks and not allowing enterprises to remit profits, then you will find that our position as a financial centre will slowly shrivel. We may lose a few million dollars when these people send back their profits, but in return for this liberal policy of allowing remittances of profits we get hundreds of millions of dollars of new investments. So, on balance, there is no doubt that this liberal policy is the right one.”
“They are quite safe and they are quite well run.”
“Yes, that is precisely what the Government is planning to do. There is a piece of land in Thomson around the old race track which somebody has in mind for this purpose. But I have grave doubts whether this is the most suitable site. My Ministry and the Ministry of National Development are working jointly on this.”
“This subject actually may be quite relevant to us in the immediate future, because urban renewal intends to knock out the small machine shops in the Horne Road/French Road/Lavender Street area. The Urban Renewal Department think that these are small motor-car repairers, and they classify this industry as a "dirty" industry. Actually this is the heart of our ship-repairing industry. If we destroy this small industrial sector, then the bigger dockyards, like the Port of Singapore Authority, the Sembawang Shipyard, or the Jurong Shipyard, will find a very valuable and important source of support knocked off from under their feet. This is one effective way whereby we can strengthen the industrial sector, by giving facilities to small-scale production units which still have a very valuable part to play in modern industry.”
“Actually I have great sympathy for what the Member for Changi has said - sympathy for the small man who is arrested by the Chief Building Surveyor, the Fire Brigade, the Labour Ministry inspectors of machinery, and so on. Of course, it is not possible for my Ministry to connive at breaking the law. I can only hope that this sturdy breed of resourceful people will survive the persecution of these bureaucrats. Having said this, I should also say we should recognise that what the Member said has some economic sense. If we could have a large base of small industries which can provide services to the larger manufacturing units, we would have given our manufacturing sector additional strength and flexibility which is a distinct advantage over the rather highly organised manufacturing industries of the West. Let us take the case of the Japanese industry. You have the industrial giants, Mitsubishi, Fuji Steel, and so on. Supporting the production of these large-scale manufacturers, you have a host of small-scale units virtually run as cottage industries. These cottage industries which are run with very low overhead costs, have tremendous flexibility because they can switch from one product to another without a lot of retooling. In many instances they club together to form small industrial co-operatives. A member of the Japanese Diet who belongs to the Socialist Party (I do not know which of the Socialist Parties he belongs to, but he belongs to one of them) came here and said that if we wanted to know more about how Japanese cottage industries, often run on co-operative principles, are organised, he would be glad to help us. I certainly intend to avail myself of his offer.”
“Taken as a whole, my recollection is that over the last four years we have had a favourable balance on current transactions, taking visible and invisible items together. However, we should try, of course, to increase our exports, not so much to redress the unfavourable balance of trade, because I think this is of such an order of magnitude that it cannot be done, but because it would mean more income, more employment, and more prosperity for Singapore. Regarding the breeding of tropical fish and the growing of orchids, I am all with the Member for Sembawang provided he does not ask my Ministry to do anything about it. It is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for National Development. The Agricultural Research Station in Sembawang, which is in the Member's constituency, is doing a lot of work in breeding tropical fish. I believe they have discovered a way of making Japanese carp spawn in the tropics. This is the first time it is being done. In addition to orchids and tropical fish, I may say that we are doing quite a lucrative business in crocodiles. We rear crocodiles not only in farms in the countryside, but I am told in the city itself. However, lately I read in the newspapers that some crocodiles have escaped, and I hope this will not prove a menace to our citizens in future, This business of crocodiles, tropical fish and orchids has, as the Member said, a great prospect for growth.”
“Sir, I agree with much of what the Member for Sembawang has said. I would like wages to rise as fast as possible, with the proviso, of course, that this will not have any adverse effect on investment. The way to do it is quite simple. First, whatever work is being done now by workers should be done more efficiently and with greater skill; to the extent that productivity increases, this will allow workers to get more pay for the same job. The second way in which we can increase wages will be to develop those industries where a high level of skill and a large number of skilled workers are required, such as in the engineering and shipbuilding industries. Both these ways of raising wages should be pursued vigorously. The Member is worried about unfavourable trade balances. I do not know whether he has been listening in regularly to Radio Peking! Because Radio Peking is also worried about our unfavourable trade balance. Within days of the publication of our annual statistics of imports and exports, which invariably show a deficit on the balance of trade - this can be anything from $500 million to $800 million - these figures are quoted by Radio Peking as evidence that we are being exploited, or heading for bankruptcy, or whatever it is. Actually this large unfavourable balance of trade does not worry me in the least. For the balance of trade, that is, the goods we import compared with the goods we export, is only one element in the total balance of payments. To offset this unfavourable trade balance, we have what people call invisible earnings, i.e., earnings from shipping, banking, insurance services, the tourist trade, and profits made on the entrepot trade.”
“In fact, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health, and I have agreed that we should provide more doctors and more dentists for school children. Of course, one hopes that this service will improve as time goes on. The Member also raised the point about 4,800 skilled and semi-skilled workers in the unemployment register of the Ministry of Labour. I suspect that these 4,800 names are really bogus so far as unemployment goes. They are either not skilled, or they are not unemployed. An hon. Member: Perhaps they are looking for better jobs. Dr Goh Keng Swee: Yes, they are probably looking for better jobs. It is either that, or they are really lazy, or too choosey. There is no reason for them to be unemployed. As for industrial accidents. I certainly agree with what the Member has said. This is, of course, the problem of my colleague, the Minister for Labour. The Minister wants more staff, more expertise, or whatever it is, to handle this subject. This problem is of great concern to everybody, because having trained workers at great expense and then just to have them put out of action through accidents is, I think, a monstrous waste of resources which we cannot afford. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April, 1970 to 31st March, 1971. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." -[Dr Goh Keng Swee.] Adjourned accordingly at Twenty-one minutes past Six o'clock p.m. Appendix to Mr. Speaker's announcement(Col. 602)(Cols 0663-0666)”
“I am not sure what the answer is, but I am quite sure the solution is not for the Government to go into something which private enterprise is not willing to engage in. I suspect what will happen is that, if, say, Government were to start a fishing fleet as they have started the mercantile marine fleet, it would be very difficult to get our young men to go out in these fishing boats because they like shore jobs. I remember talking to Dr Tham Ah Kow about getting jobs for boys on fishing vessels. After a lot of work, he managed to get some of our boys on this fishing fleet. But after one journey, they all packed up and said, "We have had enough of it." So obviously this is not an industry on which we should risk the taxpayer's money. The Member for Jurong raised a point about health services for aided-school teachers. My colleague, the Minister for Education, will look into what he has said. I remember vaguely that this subject was raised some months ago, and we came to a decision; but I cannot recollect what it was. Finally, the Member for Bras Basah made some interesting contribution to the debate. He is quite correct, of course, in saying that the increase in pioneer industries in 1969 was due to the growth of labour-intensive industries, A lot of the new electronic firms were established in the last one and a half years. This accounted for the very substantial increase in the number of workers in pioneer industries. He is also right in saying that the growth of cargo has been greatest in the oil business. This is accounted for by the rapid expansion in oil refineries in the Republic, as oil seems to be and probably is now the No. I entrepot trade product. I also agree with him that health services in schools should be improved.”
“The Member has greater confidence in the efficacy of Government servants than I have. I remember some years ago fishermen organised a co-operative society and they were doing quite well because that part of the fishing industry was monopolised by some middlemen. However, a storm broke out one day and their boats were swept away by the north-east monsoon. They lost their gear and their boats, and they had no money. So they went to the Government - this was before our time. At that time it was not the Finance Minister who was in charge, but the Financial Secretary, and he asked this question: "Is the storm an act of God? If it is an act of God, then the Government has no responsibility to reimburse these fishermen." Eventually, it was decided that the storm was an act of God and therefore the Government had no responsibility to pay for the loss of the fishermen's boats and gear. So the fishermen had to go to their former dealers who used to advance them money. But the dealers said. "Look, you are no longer our customers. Why should we lend you any money?" That was the sad end of the fishing co-operative. My own belief is that so long as there is competition among middlemen, then the farmers, whether they are selling pigs or poultry, will get the best prices. But then Singapore is such a small place. Our communications are so excellent that it is not possible for middlemen to monopolise and have a grip on the farmers. As regards the fishing industry, here again I really wonder why, if this is such a good proposition, it has not flourished. Obviously there must be some snag in it, otherwise the people will go and catch fish and make money. Why have they not done so?”
“I can assure the Member for Ulu Pandan that we do not want to fight with anybody. That is why we are preparing for our defence. If we do not have any defence, then we can be sure that in no time at all we will be eaten up. As I said, the Member should see the defence exercises at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute. Every time he sees a soldier putting down a mortar bomb - I am told they let fly about ten mortar bombs a minute - he should remember that each bomb costs $60. And we have several dozen of these soldiers letting go with their mortars. And this is the cheapest part of our defence expenditure. The Member for Ulu Pandan thinks that we should allow tenants of the Housing and Development Board some leeway in payment of rents. I am quite sure that my colleague, the Minister for Law and National Development, is not a heartless person, and if people really want an extension of time to pay rents, I am sure they will be allowed to do so. At the same time, if they cannot pay rent and it is obvious that they are in no position to pay rent, then they have to leave. The Housing and Development Board is not a philanthropic institution. There have been some rather interesting suggestions about improving the agricultural and fishing sectors. The Member for Havelock and the Member for Anson have put forward some ideas about the development of animal husbandry and fishing. The Member for Anson says that we should have co-operative societies for pigs and poultry. If setting up these co-operatives means that the farmers will be better off, then why is it that the farmers have not organised them?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if we have this kind of policy, then it is unlikely that we shall be able to send anybody abroad, because once he goes abroad, he will never come back. These controls are counter-productive. They look quite simple at first sight, but they have been tried by other countries and they just would not work. As regards paying our workers good rates of pay, may I ask the Member for Delta to compare the wage rates in Singapore with those paid in developing countries? Unfortunately, I am not in a position to give chapter and verse because these countries are often very sensitive and they do not like comparisons. The Member for Ulu Pandan has a lot of extraordinary ideas whereby we can save hundreds of millions of dollars in our defence expenditure. It is a pity that my colleague, the Minister for Defence, is not here. The Member says that if we were to train school boys and also school girls in the gentle art of war, then we do not have to spend 31 per cent of our budget on defence. I assure him that even if we do it, we will still have to spend this amount of money. Modern war is not fought with bows and arrows. Once you have a missile system, you just pay for it. A sum of $35 million cash down, and then $10 million each year. I hope the Member will go and see the exercises which our infantry battalions put up from time to time for V.I.P.s like him.”
“Another point is that if our workers cannot enjoy the fruits of their efforts, then all I can say is that the Government's promises are empty promises.”
“s may not be fatal to India, but we cannot afford such a brain drain. The standards of pay which we have to provide for our professionals, whether in business or in the civil service, are determined by the international rates which these people can command in the world. So this means that you have got to pay your qualified men well. If you do not pay them well in the civil service, they will leave and go into private enterprise. If private enterprise is not prepared to pay them well, they will go to other countries. If we want to improve our industry and our economy, we need these people. We have to pay for them. That is one of the constraints under which we have to work and which nullifies this egalitarian principle which social democrats like to practise. The other aspect is just as bad. It is this. When you want to attract industries, particularly during the first stage of industrialisation, you have to get people with the know how or the entrepreneurship or the technology from the advanced countries - America, Japan, Europe and so on - and these do not have to come to Singapore. They compare Singapore with Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. These are our front-line competitors. Madam Chan Choy Siong(In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to clarify certain points. I feel that the Minister has been stressing on the importance of providing sufficient salaries to attract highly qualified personnel, but this can be easily resolved. If we provide in our laws that if highly qualified personnel after having worked here for some time should go abroad and work, then their citizenship will be withdrawn. We would, therefore, not experience a brain drain.”
“And one hopes that in the coming decade, education in our Universities will be open to more and more people who otherwise would not be able to get there. Their children will have more jobs. More or less 30,000 jobs will be created and the benefits, of course, go to the common people. Of course, the rich get richer. I will not pretend to deny that the rich do not get richer or at least some of the rich do not get richer. This again is in the nature of things. In the upswing of a boom, if you are in the right line, if you find oil or whatever it is, you are prosperous. You make a lot of money. Of course, one hopes that the rich pay taxes. We strengthen the Inland Revenue Department with what I hope will be an effective investigation bureau so that if the rich do not pay taxes, then they will suffer accordingly. But here we are placed in a rather curious situation and Members must always remember this: that we are not a closed economy. We are the fourth largest port in the world. Airlines come in. We have trading connections and banking services with all parts of the world. Therefore, this has two consequences. Firstly, if we do not pay our qualified men well, they will leave and go to other countries. It is one of the tragedies of underdeveloped countries that they have been providing some of the best brains in technology to the rich countries. I was told by our Prime Minister, who has done some research in this matter, that one under-developed country alone- India - provides no less than 50,000 Ph.D.s in science and technology to the western world. This is an enormous brain drain. We cannot afford to do this. Being a big continent, and having several hundreds of thousands of Ph.D.s, a loss of 50,000 Ph.D.”
“Secondly, he thinks that we should not raise taxes but instead borrow from abroad. I agree with this. In the event that we are faced with a rather serious deflationary impact this year, next year or the year after, the correct thing would be to run down our balances. In fact, I did hint at this possibility in my Budget speech. The Member for Delta is not very happy about the democratic socialist content of our policies. Neither is the Member for Ulu Pandan. Both of them think that the common people should have a greater share in this prosperity. Of course, one cannot but agree with them that the common people should share in this prosperity and everybody should be as equal as possible. But, unfortunately, in this world things are not quite that way. People have to be paid according to their worth. If you are clever and hard-working and qualified in the right lines, such as a lawyer or a surgeon or an engineer, then, of course, you make more money. If all you can do is to hawk vegetables, then you cannot expect to make as much money as a surgeon or an engineer. I do not think we can improve the situation by just taxing the rich to pay the poor. Many under-developed countries have done this sort of thing and they have found to their astonishment that, far from making everybody richer, they have made everybody poorer. And the country goes into bankruptcy at an alarming rate. I suggest to the Members for Delta and Ulu Pandan that the common people do share in this prosperity. They share in having more than 100,000 flats, whereas before they had none. They share in having better education for their children, not only primary education but also secondary and technical education.”
“They have the expertise, the confidence, and they do it. If we do not have this expertise and we go into it - we can hire management all right; we can hire engineers - we may find that we have gone into the wrong line. We have put in a lot of money. The industry goes bankrupt. Or we may be in the right line and we may have hired the wrong people. It is not all that easy to say that so and so, because of his paper qualifications or because of his experience, should be able to manage the enterprise. As regards the difference between the Gross Domestic Product and the Gross National Product, there is something in what he says. But I think he has not quite grasped this essential fact, that our Gross National Product, far from being smaller than our Gross Domestic Product, is, in fact, larger. This is rather technical and perhaps I can explain the relationship between the Gross Domestic Product and the Gross National Product in terms which a layman can understand. The difference is, in broad terms, made up by what foreigners earn in Singapore by way of, profits on their investments, know-how fees, technical trade-mark arrangements and so on - what they earn and take out and what Singaporeans earn by investing outside Singapore. In the case of Singapore, we get more earnings from our investments abroad than the profits we pay to foreign investors. We are rather unique in that respect among developing countries. As regards plans to offset the deflationary impact of reduced military expenditure, what the Member for Punggol says is quite true. He says that we should have plans in which money is spent mostly on projects which do not require a lot of imported goods so that most of the money would then generate income and employment. That is the correct strategy.”
“If the employer has been giving generous retirement benefits, then obviously when we are raising the level of retirement benefits, which is really what the Provident Fund contributions amount to, why should these enlightened employers be penalised by having to pay, by way of retirement benefits, amounts additional to what they already have been paying? It is one of the misfortunes or negative aspects of Singapore's labour/management relations that the good employer who makes profits is often penalised by having to pay better than average levels of pay and fringe benefits than the inefficient employer who cannot make profits and can only afford to pay low wages and provide poor working conditions to his employees. An enlightened policy on this matter would not punish the efficient employer at the expense of the inefficient one. The Member for Punggol has made a number of useful observations on the general policy of Government. I will go a long way with him on most of what he said. But I will take issue with him on some of the points he raised. First, he asks why, instead of giving free entry to all kinds of foreign investors, we should not hire experts from abroad and use our own money If necessary bring back our reserves from overseas - and invest it in our enterprises here and not allow foreigners to make these profits? Of course, in theory, this is all right. In practice, whom do you hire and in what industry? How do you judge whether that is the right line of industry to put your money in? Where you have investors, whether in Singapore or abroad, who are willing to put their money in whatever industry it is, either making microphones or fountain pens, these are people with experience in these lines. They think that there is an opportunity to make money.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I thank Back-benchers for their various comments on the Government's financial policy? Whether they are in praise of the Government's policy or in criticism of it, I think they have made a valuable contribution to the many important aspects of our economic and financial policies. I would like to deal in detail with the points raised by Members. First, the Member for Moulmein has some reservations about the usefulness of our policy in relaxing immigration and work permit requirements for certain grades of workers as well as professional personnel. He thinks that we may get third-rate workers and that differences in pay between local personnel and expatriate staff would lead to discontent. Of course, these dangers are inherent in any scheme of relaxing controls on entry of workers. That does, not mean that we should not try to increase the supply of workers which industry now needs and will need in increasing measure. Unless we do so, we shall bring about a sudden halt in economic expansion and I do not think the Member for Moulmein will think that that is the price that we should pay in order to avoid some dangers. I agree that these dangers exist, but they can be guarded against by other measures. The Member's other point is that in some cases where employees are already getting very generous retirement benefits, the increase of the employer's contribution to the Central Provident Fund has not benefited them because this increased contribution by the employer offsets the gratuities payable. He thinks that this is a bad thing. I am not at all sure whether this is a bad thing.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply have come to certain resolutions. Resolution, reported "That the sum of $1,548,250 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure for the public services shown in the First Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1st January, 1969, to 31st March, 1970, contained in Paper Cmd. 7 of 1970." "That the sum of $105,750,000 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure for the public services shown in the Second Supplementary Development Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1st January, 1969, to 31st March, 1970, contained in Paper Cmd, of 1970." Dr Goh Keng Swee: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that Parliament doth agree with the Committee on the said resolutions. Question put, and agreed to. Resolutions accordingly agreed to. SINGAPORE TELEPHONE BOARD (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 4.10 p.m.”
“If it is a matter of providing information to Members of Parliament, of course, this can be done regularly at Question Time. If it is a matter of answering questions on matters arising from these enterprises or indeed any enterprises, then Ministers, of course, are available to give such information. But accountability to Parliament as a constitutional principle, I think, goes beyond this. It means that the operation of Government departments is open to detailed parliamentary inquiry either in the House itself or at meetings of the Public Accounts Committee, And, of course, Government enterprises of this nature are not accountable to Parliament in this sense. As the Member for Jalan Kayu has rightly pointed out, as these enterprises are of a commercial, business nature, they would be completely hobbled if they have to be controlled in detail by Parliament. Subject to this, of course, if at any time Members would like to have information on the progress of these industries, I will be most happy to give it to them.”
“Its operation is limited to lifting cargo between Singapore and certain countries in the region. Whether it will expand beyond this modest operation is something I cannot say for certain. The revenue from Jurong Bird Park Pte. Ltd, will be from gate receipts. I do not know whether this will be sufficient to pay for the operation costs. plus interest on the loan and depreciation of properties. However, as compared with other enterprises of this kind, for example, a zoological garden or a marineland, the great advantage of an aviary is that it does not cost much to feed birds. Furthermore, birds do breed and, given luck, some side income may even be generated from the sale of birds to other aviaries of the world. Jurong Shipbuilders Ltd, will not be in production for some years. We have now under training in Japanese shipyards some 249 workers recruited by Jurong Shipbuilders Ltd., and the construction of the dock and quays will commence later this month. On the 21st of March, 1970, the directors expect to award tenders for the construction. This dockyard may be completed by April next year. But the company will be in full production only by the year 1975 when it is expected to build some six Freedom-type ships a year. Whether Neptune Orient Lines Ltd, will buy ships from Jurong Shipbuilders Ltd. I do not know. Presumably, if they need Freedom-type ships, which can carry both containers as well as general cargo, then they will give their business to Jurong Shipbuilders Ltd. But it is by no means obligatory on the company to buy ships from Jurong Shipbuilders Ltd., although one hopes they will do so. As regards the accountability of our enterprises to Parliament, I think we should have a clear idea what accountability means.”
“These restrictions are covered by confidential agreement, and I am not at liberty to divulge them, In February this year, negotiations took place with the object of getting for Neptune Orient Lines sailing rights from Japan, as far as Thailand, and also rights to collect cargo from South Thailand and East Malaysia. No agreement could be reached in the course of these negotiations, and a mediator will be sent to Singapore in April to consider Neptune Orient Lines' request for improved sailing rights. 4.00 p.m. The company has now five freighters on the Far East run, one freighter on the Straits-Japan run, one tanker on world-wide charter, and one coaster carrying cargo in regional waters. The company also has a super tanker of 233,000 dead weight tons on order. This is in partnership with a Hong Kong company. So far the company has done reasonably well. It will be some time before the audited accounts for the first six months' operations are available, because in the nature of the business, accounts have to be collected, assembled and audited from the different ports of call. The final preparation and auditing of the company's accounts are more difficult and take longer time than would be the case of an ordinary commercial venture. However, because of the rather good trading conditions last year, the company has done much better than new shipping companies of this sort would normally do. As regards the Chartered Industries of Singapore Ltd., again, this company has been performing reasonably well, its first year's operation shows a return of 18 per cent of capital invested. Air Chartering Enterprises Pte. Ltd., a subject raised by the Member for Jalan Kayu, is a very small air cargo company.”
“Sir, I am very pleased with the amount of interest generated among Members in the commercial ventures of the Government. Happily, these are all going on fairly well, and with good luck they ought to succeed, the Jurong Bird Park included. As regards the Neptune Orient Lines, the position is as stated by the Member for Mountbatten in respect of our negotiations with the Far East Freight Conference. Sir, the big shipping lines are owned by very powerful financial interests in very large and powerful countries. So when a small country like Singapore gets involved in the big league, I think we are under certain disabilities. Let us not assume that, in terms of financial resources or political power, we are of the same stature as big countries like the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, or the United States. Nevertheless, within our rather limited capabilities, we have obtained a certain amount of sailing rights from the F.E.F.C. At present we are allowed 12 sailings a year from June 1969 to July this year; one sailing a month from Hong Kong to Singapore, Port Swettenham, Penang, Britain and Western Europe. As from July this year till the end of next year, the number of sailings will increase from 12 to 18, which is one sailing every three weeks instead of one sailing every month, with the proviso that sailings from Hong Kong will remain at 12 per year. There are also some restrictions as regards cargo tonnage limitations, the types of cargoes, and so on, which Neptune Orient Lines can collect at various ports.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the area under development to which the Member for Mountbatten has drawn attention is that new stretch of Jurong west of the present Mobil Oil Refinery. An area of about 1,000 acres is now being levelled by cutting down hills and filling up swamps. At the same time, land is being dredged to produce two channels - one is being called Benoi channel, which is 4,000 feet long, 750 feet wide and 15 feet deep. The other is Tanjong Gul channel, which is 6,000 feet long, 1,500 feet wide and 20 feet deep. It is necessary to do these rather expensive dredging operations to provide suitable sites for the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industries as well as new industries which will fabricate oil-drilling rigs and produce other products required by the oil exploration industries in this part of the world. Thirty-eight sites have been prepared and I have been informed by the Jurong Town Corporation that 33 of these sites have already been taken up. There is a very serious shortage of land with good sea ,frontage, and this shortage will continue for some time as a result of the rapid growth of the ship-building, ship-repairing and servicing industries connected with off-shore oil exploration. It will take some time for the preparation of the sites to be completed. It is not merely a matter of levelling land. It is also necessary to bring in all the other services which modem industry requires such as power, supplies of industrial water, in some cases gas, as well as sewerage facilities and so on. At a guess, I would say that most of these sites will be ready for occupation in about a year's time, and possibly the whole lot should be ready two years from now. Warehouses are not the responsibility of the Jurong Town Corporation.”
“It so happened that last year, the number of pensioners eligible for these allowances was larger than had been expected.”
“Sir, I do not think consolidation of cost of living allowances would make any difference to pensioners because, unlike serving officers, they have nothing to gain by such consolidation. In the case of serving officers, pension is calculated on basic salary so that when their variable allowances are consolidated into their basic salary, that will have the effect of increasing the amount of pension for which they are eligible. This does not apply to pensions, in Still I will bear in mind what the Member for Anson has said. I suspect a lot of these matters remain as they are through sheer bureaucratic inertia, it may well be that by the year 2000, unless somebody is energetic enough to inquire and question the basis of this allowance, we might still have pensioners drawing their cost of living allowances. As regards the questions raised by the Member for Kampong Kapor, there has not been any increase in the number of officers retiring. I will give the mid-year figures of the number of officers who retired in 1967, 1968 and 1969. In mid-1967, 467 officers retired. In mid-1968, 553 officers retired. And in mid-1969, 517 officers retired. The number of officers retiring in mid-1969 was less than that in mid-1968. However, because those who retired in 1969 apparently drew more pay, the net effect would be that the cost of living allowances went up by 13.4 per cent in 1969. Whereas in 1968, the cost of living allowances went up by seven per cent as compared with the previous year. Cost of living allowances are provided to pensioners drawing less than $320 per month if they have dependants and also to pensioners drawing less than $250 per month if they have no dependants.”
“The Minister for Defence (Mr Lim Kim San): Mr Speaker, Sir, in the implementation of the enlistment policy, the fact that in a particular family there may be more than one member eligible for enlistment will not be a consideration for deferment from full-time national service or the enlistment into part-time service of one or more members of such eligible group. However, Sir, application for deferment from full-time national service may be made on the grounds of hardship, if any, and if such application is approved, then deferment from full-time service of the other members of the family may be granted.”
“While discussions were in progress, trouble broke out in the Stock Exchange over Federal Paper. This was the result of weaknesses which the Ferris Report had pin-pointed, in particular the practice of allowing delayed transactions to be conducted without requiring a cash deposit to cover a part of the value of contracts. This practice, known as "free-riding", undoubtedly contributed to the ease with which speculative attacks can be mounted in the Exchange. Mr Ferris recommended the abolition of free-riding, but members of the Exchange with whom I discussed this subject were then reluctant to agree to this particular recommendation. The approach of the Ferris Report in regard to Stock Exchange reforms was to give the Stock Exchange the option to improve its performance as a self-regulating body, as is the practice in several countries, and only fall hack on direct Government control through legislation if the Stock Exchange proved itself incapable or unwilling to carry out the necessary reforms effectively. In the event that direct Government control is necessary, my Ministry is carrying out studies of legislation in other countries. This is a large and complex matter, as Members will doubtless agree, and it will be some time before a final decision can be made one way or the other. NATIONAL SERVICE CALL-UP 4. Mr Ng Yeow Chong asked the Minister for Defence if he will consider not to call up all the children in a family for full-time national service, and if he will enlist the remaining children for part-time service if the first or second child has already been called up for full-time service.”
“Sir, the report of Mr George M. Ferris Jr, will be published in about ten days' time, after discussions which have been going on with Bank Negara Malaysia have been concluded. Mr Ferris arrived in Singapore on 20th October, 1969, in response to an application by my Ministry for an expert on Stock Exchange problems to the International Executive Service Corps on 13th June, 1969. He reported on 11th November, 1969. As will be apparent when the report is published, Mr Ferris has made a penetrating study of the Stock Exchange in Singapore and Malaysia, despite the shortness of his stay. He has made a large number of recommendations and has undoubtedly uncovered the weakness of trading practices in the local stock exchange. As a measure designed to dampen speculation, he has recommended the imposition of margins and a higher rate of commission on delayed dealings. In order to strengthen the financial position of brokerage firms, he has recommended the incorporation of partnerships as companies and the institution of a system of surprise audits by a special pool of auditors approved by the Exchange and agreed to by the Government, as well as regular inspections by a trained inspectorate employed by the Exchange. The report contains recommendations aimed at improving the educational standard and technical competence of brokers, remisers and dealers. The Ferris Report also proposes various measures aimed at disciplining the directors of listed companies and reducing the advantage that "insiders" might have over the investing public. I have distributed copies of the report to the Stock Exchange Committee and have held several discussions both with the Committee as well as members of the larger brokerage firms.”
“On the 18th of March, 1970. CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 5.40 p.m.”
“Having said this, I need also say that in the long term the scientific know-how and technological processes which we now borrow from abroad must in course of time develop on an indigenous base at our institutions of higher learning. This is the task which I see as deserving of high priority in the coming decade. We must make good the neglect of our universities of the past decade when, for the reasons I have explained, they did not participate in the exciting transformation of Singapore, from colony, to a State in a Federation, and then a Republic. Sir, I beg to move.”