Jek Yeun Thong
Singapore
“Would the Minister now consider it wrong to allow CPF members to use their CPF money to buy shares in the stock exchange, people whom the Howe Yoon Chong Report not so long ago would like us to believe that they could not be trusted to look after their own savings and yet they are now allowed to participate in the stock exchange casino, s…”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, could I ask a supplementary question which either Minister can reply? Is the Minister surprised that the Voice of America, an organ created by the US government to counter Communist propaganda world wide, has been used to cast critical views on a non-Communist government such as the Singapore Government which is, in fact,…”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the Minister has not touched on my point regarding the tuition fees of University students. I do not know whether he would like to take this opportunity to answer or he would want to leave it to others to answer it.”
“Also, there is no danger that the students having taken the loans would abscond or not come back since at the moment all the male students going overseas are providing bonds because of national service. And as for female students, if we are still having too many of them, we can easily arrange bonds for those who intend to take the loan.”
“Yes, of course. I think the trouble with the press is that they missed my point on Education. The style they happened to like is what the Chinese call - wan shi bu gong (playful and not taking things seriously). So they really do not know what to do with me - I mean the press, not the Government.”
“Sir, since the Government is encouraging the people to have more babies now, the likelihood of these 3-room flats being unsold will be greater. Is it not a good point for the Ministry of National Development to try to convert these 3-room flats into, say, 6-room flats so that more babies could be accommodated?”
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“Would the Minister now consider it wrong to allow CPF members to use their CPF money to buy shares in the stock exchange, people whom the Howe Yoon Chong Report not so long ago would like us to believe that they could not be trusted to look after their own savings and yet they are now allowed to participate in the stock exchange casino, speculating away their hard earned money on shares, gold, and heaven knows what?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, could I ask a supplementary question which either Minister can reply? Is the Minister surprised that the Voice of America, an organ created by the US government to counter Communist propaganda world wide, has been used to cast critical views on a non-Communist government such as the Singapore Government which is, in fact, an ally of the US in the free world?”
“The Minister has also touched on his attention to school fees. If the admission of students into schools would not be hinged on the ability to pay school fees but on merits then I would support independent schools. I had intended to speak on single session schools which could be developed into full day schools. Sometime ago, we had tried out full day schools. At that time the Ministry of Finance did not provide adequate financial support. Therefore, the facilities were not adequate to cope with the demand of the schools which implemented full day sessions. Therefore, the Minister could not have a good success. I hope the single session will lead to full day school system. We could have a certain arrangement to provide extra-curricular facilities to be carried out outside normal school hours, so that students may better utilize their leisure hours on beneficial activities. In this way, with adequate facilities, parents will feel safe for their children while they are working with peace of mind. I hope after the implementation of single session system in the secondary schools, the Ministry can go on and implement it in the primary schools.”
“As a result of that, I think the single session schools, the procreation part of it, has very good merit, and that is, we have the time to let students read extra-curricular books. I remember I read a lot of books, both orthodox and unorthodox, books like the Dream of Red Chamber and, what you call, Xi Xiang Ji. It is a romance between a scholar and a student. But the problem now is that students do not have enough time to do reading. But with single session schools, they will have time to do reading and the others will come on its own. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon (Yuhua)( In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to air my views on the Minister's speech about the single session schools. In my view, with regard to the education system, usually when the standard of living is raised, the parents and the whole society also raise their expectations of the education of their children. When we discuss the question of change in our education system, usually we do so with some conservative views. Some will have more advanced views. The Minister has touched on four main points in the wide scope of education policy relating to the care and educational development of our children. I feel that the living standard of Singapore is rising and the standard of education and technology has reached a certain stage where if we do not reform or change certain aspects of the education system, then some parents would like to ask why do we not make some changes. I feel that where schools have good facilities and are preparing themselves for autonomy and to be independent, we should let them have this opportunity to have a try. I am all for it. However, I must point out that many people are concerned mainly about educational expenses or school fees.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I do not know where we are now. But I suppose we are still on this vote for administrative manpower, and that includes teachers and the quality of teachers. Since the Minister has earlier mentioned single session schools, it would mean that eventually we will need more teachers to man these schools. This single session school is, I think, a very good move. I for one am one of the products of a single session school. There is a lot of merit in it; for instance, procreation. But I hope you will not rule me out of order. It is very true that single session schools have got this. I remember when I was in Chinese High School - I know this is no laughing matter; I am serious - it was a single session school and at that time the Nanyang Girls' School happened to be just round the corner. And in between the Chinese High School and the Nanyang Girls' School, there was a huge piece of jungle of, what you call it, rubber trees. But they are now all gone. You now see only bungalows there. But, you see, the good thing about the single session school is this. You had classes up to 12 o'clock and then you adjourn for lunch, and then resume at 2 o'clock. Those two hours is very crucial. A lot of relationships had been struck during those two hours. When you go to the jungle, you will see what they call ta tiak, meaning pak tho in Cantonese. This is one thing. Then there were also students who were doing other things. Not all the students would go there. As for me, I did not take advantage of that. Instead I spent all my time in the library and read books. That was why, instead of getting a wife, I got myself involved with the Communists.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the Minister has not touched on my point regarding the tuition fees of University students. I do not know whether he would like to take this opportunity to answer or he would want to leave it to others to answer it. Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: Sir, I was proposing to respond to the Member under the cut of the Financing of the National University of Singapore. But since he has raised it, I will say this. On the point about the interest rate, I have received a petition from the Students' Union of the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological Institute requesting among other things for some concession or some reduction in the interest rate. I am at present in the process of discussing their request with the University authorities and also with the Ministry of Finance and I will obviously take into account the Member's suggestion in my discussions.”
“Also, there is no danger that the students having taken the loans would abscond or not come back since at the moment all the male students going overseas are providing bonds because of national service. And as for female students, if we are still having too many of them, we can easily arrange bonds for those who intend to take the loan. Since the students going overseas will eventually return to contribute to the good of the nation, it is only fair that they be given the same treatment as the students in the NUS. So I hope the Minister could give these suggestions his serious consideration. Thank you.”
“Okay. In that case, I better come back to this point. But this time I am serious. I support the measure and philosophy behind the increase in tuition fees. But while I appreciate the consideration and magnanimity of the Minister to set up a $100 million study loan for needy students, I would also urge him to peg the interest rate on the loan not to the prime rate of the Big Four banks but to the rate the Government borrows its funds from institutions such as the CPF. That is on the assumption that the CPF always lends its money to the Government at rates lower than prime. I feel that the Government should not make any profit out of the study loan from the poor students. Furthermore, prime rate fluctuates according to the demand and supply of capital. We are only lucky that the rate now stands at an all-time low of 5 1/2% and many can now afford it. But if the population is again mad on speculation on all sorts of things (gold, property, shares and so on), then the prime rate will skyrocket and 11%, 12%, and even 14% prime rates are not unheard of in recent years. So continued high prime rates for several years could mean disaster for the poor students. It could mean that their liabilities would be higher than their assets and they might be disqualified from signing the form of non-indebtedness when they join the Government Service. And as for the law students, who knows, in future there may be more Francis Seows among them. My second suggestion is that the Government should also extend the $100 million facility to students who go abroad to study in approved and recognized universities. The merits of doing so are obvious and I have mentioned them in my speech during the Budget debate and I do not want to repeat them.”
“Yes, of course. I think the trouble with the press is that they missed my point on Education. The style they happened to like is what the Chinese call - wan shi bu gong (playful and not taking things seriously). So they really do not know what to do with me - I mean the press, not the Government. For a start, they do not know when I am serious and when I am not serious, and whether I have lost my head. And if they are not careful about reporting it, they may be in danger of losing their own heads.”
“Well, it is about the misrepresentation and the distortion or missing of the part of my speech by the press.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I would like to take the opportunity to bring up the matter of University tuition fees which I have touched on in my so-called long rambling speech during the Budget debate. I have given my support to the measure and I have also offered some suggestions. But unfortunately, this point has not been taken up by the media. In fact, I have brought up many good points about the Budget and about the Government which they have conveniently dropped under the pretext of constraint of space and preferred to highlight only the troublesome points such as consumption tax which formed a very small part of my speech. As a result, I have become a highly misunderstood person. It seems that they are in a conspiracy to build up an image of me to be a critic which a humble and harmless person like me does not deserve. One journalist even said that I was using different notes but singing the same tune as that of the Member for Potong Pasir, which I take it to be a great insult. But since they are not protected by parliamentary privilege, I reserve the right to sue for libel. It is not that I do not like the Member for Potong Pasir but I do not like his relationship with Tan Koon Swan, a crooked businessman and a Malaysian politician.”
“To this end, I suggest that a sperm bank be set up by the Ministry of Health and unmarried women of the category mentioned above should be encouraged to apply for the service, free of charge, of course, and officials should not ask too many questions. To make the scheme a success, the Ministry of Finance should consider giving another incentive, say, $10,000, to those women who are bold enough to take that first step. And to ensure that we should have good quality and brilliant babies, we should insist that only males who are PhDs or First-Class Honours graduates may be invited to be donors. Our immediate problem with this scheme is that the Vatican may view us with disgust and despair but we are in unusual times and so unusual measures have to be adopted. Anyway, we have been doing a lot of things. For instance, abortion, which they view with contempt. So one more misdeed will not take us any further away from heaven. However, our long-term problem will be how to legitimize these babies. First of all, the SDU should be expanded to cater for counselling of parents in this category. Then we should help by changing or amending some of the laws. For instance, the Registrar of Births and Deaths should allow the baby to be registered in the mother's family name and not insist that the column giving the father's particulars be filled. Then the Women's Charter may have to be reviewed. But since we do not have so much time, may I be allowed to stop here.”
“However, single-parenthood in the Western context means divorced men or women keeping and bringing up their children separately. It also means unmarried mothers, who cannot decide who their babies' fathers are, bringing up their babies instead of aborting them. It also means unmarried women conceived babies from men who are other women's husbands and, instead of aborting their babies, they bring them up under their maiden name. But these are not the kind of single-parenthood I have in mind. To promote them would mean encouraging promiscuity and extra-marital affairs among the people and I am against it. I hope the TV will show it tonight because my wife will be watching it. However, extra-marital affairs are nothing new in oriental societies and even Confucius himself, someone whose behaviour we are emulating and whose teachings we are spreading, had been found to be involved in one. At some appropriate occasion I will produce documentary evidence and quotations found in ancient Chinese books to prove it. But right now, let us return to our procreation budget. My idea of single-parenthood is different. There now exists techniques which can cause the woman to conceive without so much as a touch from a man. Do you know what is it called? It is called artificial insemination. It is very safe, very convenient and can be easily administered. Furthermore, it can solve problems for women who have complexes. For instance, there are women who are born man-haters and there are also those who harbour great contempt for men, and this technique will enable them to have babies without getting near a man.”
“It is like trying to fill a tub with water when it has a hole at the bottom. While we must try to remove the fear of the boys marrying upwards, we must also try to remove the girls' inhibitions about marrying downwards. If a graduate boy marrying a Secondary 4 girl can produce a brilliant baby, there is no reason why a graduate girl marrying a Secondary 4 boy cannot have the same result. I have a suggestion as to how to get these 20,000 unmarried but marriageable women on the baby-producing track. The suggestion may sound unorthodox but it is not unthinkable and neither is it unmentionable. In fact, it has been mentioned by no less a personality than the Prime Minister himself. It is called single-parenthood. What is single-parenthood? I am afraid many of our people cannot grasp the idea because it is a completely new life-style and new phenomenon from the West. A sweet young girl of a reporter from the Lianhe Zaobao, when reporting the Prime Minister's speech, explained to her readers in this way: Single-parenthood means that if an unmarried woman wishes to remain single she can do so, and in order to avoid the loneliness of old age she can adopt other people's child. I was laughing my head off with such naive and innocent interpretation. But I do not blame her. The trouble with the Chinese language is that it has no neuter noun as "parent". It has to join the characters "fu" meaning father and the character "mu" meaning mother to form the word "fu-mu" and use it to equate the English word "parent". Therefore, they have trouble in translating the word parenthood with only one sex, and it becomes rather difficult for them to conceive and understand parenthood with only a father or a mother.”
“We might as well dismantle ourselves. This led me to think of the other alternative. According to the First Deputy Prime Minister there are nearly 20,000 marriageable and biologically productive women who are not married. If we can make them produce just one baby each, then all our talk about shortfalls and crises will be over. But the problem is: why are they not married? The finger is always pointed at us, the male chauvinist pig. But I think there are always two sides to a coin. It is true that some men may be reluctant to marry some women whose academic qualification is higher than theirs. But the women themselves too are choosy and they have some sort of complex. While an ordinary man may have no hesitation in marrying a woman whose academic qualification is lower than his, a woman often refuses to marry a man whose qualification is lower than hers. I once asked a Secondary 4 girl whether she would take a boy who has not completed his Secondary 4 education to be her husband, and she said, "Very definitely no." I also asked an A-level girl whether she would take a Secondary 4 boy to be her husband, and she said, "Not really." But when I came to an older and unmarried graduate girl, I dared not pose the question because I was afraid that she might misunderstand me and think that I was trying to propose to her. But whether or not I posed the question, I suppose the answer would still be the same as the other girls. That is why I think the SDU is doing the wrong thing. They thought that if they brought the graduate boys and the graduate girls together, they will somehow hit it and that they will be married happily ever after. But judging on the fact that more girls are getting into the University than boys every year, they are really fighting a losing bat- tle.”
“For a start, we did not have television in the 1950s, which is a plus point as far as producing babies is concerned. This condition cannot be re-enacted now because the whole population is already addicted to television, and what is more, we also have the videotape machine which can be played right after midnight, which makes things worse. Then in the 1950s there were riots, strikes and general instability. And in those circumstances people tended to stay at home at night. There is no prize for guessing what people would do when they stay at home at night without television to watch. But do we want those conditions to come back to us? Then there was massive unemployment. Thousands of young men and women were wandering about the streets aimlessly and when boys and girls without anything better to do met, you again can easily guess what would happen. We did not need any SDU then. The matchmaker then has almost become an extinct species. And what is it that we have now that we did not have in the 1950s? We now have electronic factories and garment factories in which large numbers of young girls are engaged and enclosed for at least eight hours a day without any chance of meeting the boys. What is more, there is also the problem of the third shift. When they get home, they are usually too tired to go out to meet the boys. Also we now have army camps which we did not have in the 1950s, and they cordon off large numbers of young boys without giving them any opportunity of meeting the girls. They can go home in the weekends but marriage can hardly be struck within that short period. Cupids do not work so fast. Girls can work third shifts but cupids don't. They cannot aim their arrows so fast. So what are we going to do about it? Dismantle the factories and the army camps?”
“If you look down the column of births for the Chinese and compare the monthly breakdown figures, it will become more interesting and revealing. In January 1986 the figure was an all-time high of 2,808 babies. But in the next month, February 1986, the beginning of the Tiger year, the figure plunged to an all-time low of 1,808, exactly 1,000 babies less. Do you call it coincidence or good planning? If you look at the number of marriages registered by the Chinese for the years 1985 and 1986, you will also see the same pattern. Less Chinese were prepared to get married in 1986. The figures are 16,747 in 1985 and 13,824 in 1986, about 3,000 less couples. So what does all this prove? It proves that no doubt 1986 was a bad year but it was also an exceptional one. But all is not lost. When it comes to the more auspicious years, such as the Dragon year or like this year, the Rabbit year, we may even have a baby boom and all our worries will be over. In the last few days I have been thinking very hard over ways and means to help the First Deputy Prime Minister out of the population dilemma. My thoughts first directed me to the baby boom years of 1954-1958. I wanted to find out why we had a baby boom then, and not now. I thought naively that if we could re-enact some of the conditions prevailing in those days, then we might be able to induce at least a mini-boom, if not a real one, and that might help. However, after some reflection I decided that it was a non-starter. Because not only can we not push the clock back, but do we want the conditions prevailing in those depressed and tragic years to come back to us? First of all, we must compare what we did have or did not have in the 1950s to what we do have or do not have now.”
“But does he know or has his analyst taken into consideration the fact that 1986 was a Tiger year and what implications this must have in a population which is predominantly Chinese? If we look at the figures of live births year by year, we will see that from 1982 we have been having an average of 41,000 babies every year. In fact, from 1976 onwards, the figures have been increasing every year. Why is it that in all those years nobody sounded any alarm? Why has nobody tried to find out how we came to be short of 3,000 in 1986? To me, the explanation is simple and the figures are all there in that book for everyone to see. The shortfall, in fact, came from the Chinese section of the population. While the other races maintained more or less the same number of babies in 1985 and 1986, the Chinese had 29,355 babies in 1985 as against 26,108 babies in 1986, a net loss of 3,247 to be exact. Why did the Chinese produce less in 1986? You must ask the politicians and not the statisticians because the Chinese believe that although Tiger boys are good material for soldiers Tiger girls are definitely out. They believe that Tiger girls are difficult to handle and to live with. In fact, I have friends who are Tiger girls and are married to husbands of the Bull years, and they actually refrain from eating beef because they believe that Tiger girls who eat beef may bring harm to their Bull husbands. So is there anything worse than a Tiger girl who may eventually become a graduate? It has already been drummed into their ears day in and day out that a graduate girl is so difficult to get rid of, I mean in the matrimony way. So they are not taking any chances at all.”
“What are we going to do with so many old people? They are unproductive, fragile, grumpy and needing so many young people to support them. I understand that in the Turf Club, when a horse becomes lame or when its useful life is over, it is shot and then its carcass is fed to the animals in the Mandai Zoo. They call it humane destruction. But it would be inconceivable and we cannot do this in a human society. Or can we? I am not so sure. I cannot see what is going to come in the next 10 years, let alone in the year 2020. What was considered inconceivable in 1970 has become conceivable today, and that is only a lapse of 15 or 16 years. So what is considered inconceivable today could well be conceivable in, say, 20 or 30 years later, is it not? Fortunately or unfortunately, I would not be there to see it. I do not know how the magic figure of three has been produced. We were told that it was a result of statistics, charts, projections and so on. But as I have said earlier in 1985 about charts and projections, they can lead us up the rosy path but they can also plunge us into great abyss. I am not a great believer in statistics and charts. But if we must have figures to make our speeches sound more authoritative and irrefutable, then I shall do so by quoting from the latest issue of the Monthly Digest of Statistics in order to soothe the nerves of our panic-stricken Ministers. The First Deputy Prime Minister has conveniently chosen the 1986 figure to show that there is a shortfall of 14,000 to 15,000 babies. Of course, it is true that in 1986 we had 39,400 babies as against 42,484 babies in 1985. And there is a net loss of 3,084 babies, if my arithmetic is right.”
“If the people are intelligent and they understand your policy, you should let them have a free hand and take their own initiative. If they are not, you should educate them and make them understand. They will then respond more positively to what we want them to do. The First Deputy Prime Minister himself has said that once a departing diplomat had told him that Singaporeans lacked initiatives. They have to be told by the Government what to do about everything. That must be one of the shortcomings of our people as seen through other's eyes. I believe it also to be true and we must try to rectify it. And yet in this very personal matter about babies, the First Deputy Prime Minister is not letting the people have any initiative at all. He has to tell them how to produce and how many to produce. If we spoonfeed them at every step, how can we expect them to grow up and become an intelligent people? I am sure if we explain to them fully the dilemma we are in and the problems we are going to face, they will support the Government wholeheartedly and come out with more ingenious ideas and solutions of their own. I myself was very depressed when I saw the graphic about the man holding a tongkat getting bigger and bigger, meaning people above 60 getting more and more until the year 2020 when the figure becomes largest. There is little consolation to me that I am not in that group of tongkat holders yet. But the aging of the population is already felt in my own constituency. In the past when we held baby shows or dance parties in the community centre, there was great response. Now I do not remember having any baby shows there for the last 10 years. And the activities that attract the greatest response were those meant for senior citizens.”
“But I am more interested in that part of the story about the rabbit being a fast breeder and hope that this will lend some help to the First Deputy Prime Minister's efforts to get the nation moving again in the matter of producing babies. I really do not know what has happened to our people. After so many years of glorious achievements, we are finally caught out to be low in productivity, not only in factories but also in bedrooms. I fully understand the new population policy and I support it. But unfortunately for me, the support can only be a verbal rather than a biological one. However, I am not happy with the way it is being promoted. Again, we are falling into the trap of too much regulating. We must remember that we are living in a society of human beings and we must treat it as such. In a matter like this, we can only give advice and not dish out regulations. It revolts against human nature to be told how many babies he or she can or cannot have. Anyone who has any self-respect would be unhappy to be told that he or she has a quota of not two, not four, but three babies to be filled. In the field of trade, we have been vehemently against the quota system, against GSP graduation and so on. And yet when it comes to producing babies we have a quota system. In the matter of the size of the family, I am in favour of letting people have their own initiative and decide on how many babies they should have. I am not a great admirer of Confucius. But at least in this matter about promoting a cause among the people, I agree with what he said in one of his quotations. He said, Min ke shi you zhi bu ke shi zhi zhi . There are a lot of controversies and interpretations about this quotation. And my own interpretation is this.”
“You must not laugh and you must not under-estimate them. More than 3,000 years of experience and knowledge have been distilled and compressed into a great proverb book called Tung Su, the Chinese Almanac. Sometimes their predictions are more accurate than PhD economists and social scientists. Remember 1985? We were then imbued with a sense of euphoria and the planners were telling us that the fun society had finally arrived and we were in for some golden harvest. The then Finance Minister was painting a rosy picture of what good things were about to come. Then some tiresome people warned that we had better watch out because the Tiger year was approaching. And sure enough, bang. In 1986, we met with the year of reckoning and we went down the slippery slope from which we have still not recovered. For this year, the Rabbit year, the optimists of the Tung Su are saying that it is going to be a good one because according to them, the rabbit is an active animal and it breeds prolifically, something which may cheer the First Deputy Prime Minister. It foretells a year of active business and increasing profits. However, on the other side of the coin, are the pessimists. Like the professional economist, these amateur soothsayers also have two schools, one optimistic and the other pessimistic. The pessimists refer us to the Chinese story about a clever rabbit having three hideouts. So does it mean that this is a year of reckoning for dishonest contractors and crooked businessmen and forewarn that they had better quickly prepare three hideouts, one in Bangkok, one in Macau and another one in Taiwan where our laws cannot get at them? Whether it is so, I do not know and I could not care less because I am not a rabbit, I am not clever, and I do not need a hideout.”
“I remember when I was in London and once when I had a little fever and had to go to see a doctor, I was sent round to the various laboratories all over Harley Street to have blood tests, X-rays, etc, the bills of which went up to almost 100. After a few days of rushing around in Harley Street, I went back to see the doctor again and I was given a pre- scription chit and told to take two tablets prescribed therein, twice a day, and to go back to see him a week later. Meanwhile, I was charged another 25 for the doctor's consultation fee. Later, I found out that the tablet was actually a kind of analgesic though of a different brand name but was similar to Panadol, which I could have bought for 50 pence at the ordinary chemist's shop. But that was not the end of the story. Unlike doctors in Singapore, those in London do not give you medicine after they have seen you. They only give you a prescription chit and you have to run round to the nearest chemist or pharmacy to buy your medicine. In my case, since the medicine was sold on a prescription basis, the pharmacist charged me 2 for counting out the number of tablets prescribed. I suppose that is called "professional service rendered" and another 50 pence for the tablets. That is what happens in an advanced and developed country. I hope such things do not happen in Singapore. But who knows? Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, since the Minister was rather vague about the prospect of the economy and has not told us in his speech what is in store for us in the coming year, whether it is going to be a good one or a bad one, the ordinary people will have to resort to their usual horoscopic skill to tell their fortunes and the prospects for their business. Usually it is to find out what animal is in reign during that year.”
“A large loan coupled with continous high prime rate for several years may cause the future graduate to end up with having greater liabilities than his assets, in which case he may not be eligible to sign the declaration of non-indebtedness as required by the Government Manual when he joins the Government service. But I presume the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Finance are farsighted enough to foresee this eventuality and amend the Manual long before it becomes necessary. Since the Government is in this generous and magnanimous mood, may I venture to suggest that this $100 million loan facility be also extended to students who study in approved and recognized universities overseas. This makes good economic sense as, firstly, students studying overseas can benefit from other people's subsidies. Secondly, the fact that they are studying overseas releases more valuable places in our University for other deserving students. And thirdly, with more students studying overseas, we will have wider cross-fertilization of knowledge and greater challenges among our student population. As regards the increase in prescription fees, the important thing is that the drug prescribed should be good enough to cure us. If, for instance, I had cancer and if there is a drug that can cure it, I would be happy to pawn my last shirt to get it. Now that we are promised that better and proprietary drugs would be used, I think the small increase is well worth it. However, I am afraid that the trend of modern medicine is such that it will probably cause more to find out what is wrong with us than what to do with us. I suppose they call it the "science of diagnosis". I suppose that is what you call progress.”
“It is the same with this budget. Witness the increase in University students' tuition fees and the hospital prescription fees. But I must make it clear that I am not objecting to these increases. In the case of tuition fees, firstly, I think it is a good socialist principle - although we might have already forgotten about the meaning of that word now - that a privileged few should not be heavily subsidized at the expense of a large number of less privileged people, no matter how talented that group of people are. Secondly, the problem uppermost in the minds of most parents regarding their children's tertiary education is how to get a place in the University and tuition fee is always the secondary consideration. I am happy to see that the Government is considerate enough to allocate $100 million as study loans to the needy students. My only regret is that the Government should be so hard-headed and business-like in pegging the interest rate at prime rate. I think the right thing to do is to peg it at whatever rate the Government borrows from the CPF. I do not know at what rate the CPF is lending its money to the Government, but I presume it is much less than the banks. My argument for this is that prime rate can fluctuate according to the demand for capital. If everyone is crazy again to speculate in shares, gold, properties, or what-have-you, the rate can go rocket-high. We are only lucky that it has reached an all-time low of 5(r)% this year. But a prime rate of 11% or 12% is not unheard of, for instance, in 1984 and 1985.”
“If that is so, can the Minister say so and not leave us guessing? However, we are at least thankful and grateful to the Minister for not imposing it straightaway. He said he was going to set up a Division to look into the matter. If there is any red tape at all in the Ministry of Finance, long may this Division be bogged down by such red tape so that it will never see the light of day. I also sincerely hope that the $3.75 billion deficit is truly a deficit and not some sort of accountancy conjecture made up to justify the introduction of the tax. In fact, some people are very sceptical about the deficit figures and this was also mentioned in the Straits Times forum where it was pointed out that in the last fiscal year we were supposed to have $3 billion deficit but at the end of it, we turned out to have quite a substantial surplus. The same sentiment has been confirmed by no less an authority than the Member for Whampoa. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not a magician or a juggler in figures. So I have no way to prove or disprove what was being said by both camps. I can only take the Minister's word on its face value and I see no reason why he should not tell the truth. When I earlier talked about a painless budget, it was actually a customary way of expressing an obligatory compliment. For those who know this Government well enough will understand that whatever pain there is in any budget, it is usually administered either before or after the budget but never during it. The whole process of the budget presentation is like preparing a patient who is about to go for a surgical operation. He isusually first given a jab of sedatives which will bring about a sense of euphoria and well-being over his whole body and very soon his anxieties and fears of pain will disappear.”
“And if you are hungry, you go to a restaurant to eat, you pay 15% VAT; and when you die, there is also a 15% VAT on top of the undertakers' service, although you yourself may not have to worry about the payment. You may say that you can avoid paying the tax by not having your house renovated. But can you avoid not having your water pipe or your electrical fittings repaired? Can you avoid eating? And finally, can you avoid death? The Minister should be well informed enough to be aware that just a few days ago the Nakasone government in Japan lost a by-election in one of its safest seats over the issue of the sales tax. And the ruling LDP was split right in the middle. And they were only talking about 5% sales tax and later on negotiated down to 3%. And there was already this big hue and cry. How many per cent are we going to have if the Minister does get his way? As I have said it last time, if it is too high, politically we cannot afford it; and if it is too low, administratively we cannot afford it. The Japanese people are often very articulate and even violent over matters such as this. I am not suggesting that their sort of scenario will be transplanted to Singapore because we the people here are not like them. But why does the Minister not see it as a lesson and then think, think, and think again before doing it - (suo wei san si er hou xing). In view of the resistance and resentment which a tax of this nature will inevitably generate from the people, should the Minister not be more thoughtful about it and not, using his own words, "throw caution to the winds"? Somebody said in a forum in the Straits Times last week that the fact that the Minister did not slap the tax straightaway might reflect that the Minister was having a change of heart.”
“I would not want to subject myself to the Government's great demographic experimentation, of which I would have more to say later. What is also noteworthy about the Budget is that the Minister is generous enough to allow the 20% tax on telephone services to remain suspended for the time being and to postpone the 10% tax on electricity and gas consumption until next March. That will help a little. Of course, more will be better. But dare we ask for more? To have more would mean a bigger deficit, and a bigger deficit would lead to what the Minister calls a "permanent budget deficit" and this will give him the excuse to bring in the consumption tax which, like the Sword of Damocles, has been hanging over our heads ever since last year's great economic debate. So we have to tread very carefully and not give the Minister any excuse at all to do just that. Whatever the Minister may say or the Member for Radin Mas may say about the consumption tax, it is still my belief that it is inflationary and regressive. The Minister may try to soothe us by saying that he would go on a selective basis rather than a comprehensive one. The trouble is that once the tax is introduced, and when the Finance Minister is under siege at some future date, he can easily change it from a selective one into a comprehensive one. It is easy to say that one can avoid paying consumption tax by not consuming. But do you know what a comprehensive consumption tax means? In UK, if you want to have your house renovated, you have to pay 15% VAT on top of the contractor's price. If you have your water pipe burst or a blackout, you have to pay 15% VAT on top of what you pay to the plumber or the electrician.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have a lot of things to say about this Budget but in view of the time constraint, I had better say all the good things first and leave the others to whatever time there may be, lest I would be misunderstood. The Minister for Finance should be congratulated for producing such a mild and harmless budget under so much economic constraints and traumas such as we have experienced over the past year. After last year's economic shocks, I thought we were in for a harsher and more painful budget this time. Yet I was surprised that we were again presented with a painless one. I mean, painless as far as I am concerned. I do not drink. I do not gamble and I do not smoke. So all the increases in tax on liquor, betting and tobacco which the Minister has implemented do not affect me at all. And for those who not only do not drink, gamble or smoke but can also produce babies, there is a bonanza of $20,000 to be had. No wonder the Acting Minister for Health is always beaming broadly whenever I see him because, as he has told someone, he is working hard at it. Well, that applies to the young ones in the front row as well. But I am afraid I cannot compete with them in this field. One has to admit one's limitations. So I have to forfeit the $20,000, tempting though it may be. But I am not complaining. Even if I could have what they call the second spring or gone through a rejuvenation programme or, as the rumours have it, the Women's Charter could be changed, I would still want to keep the same wife and have the same two children. Nothing more (I mean, wife) and nothing less. And that was decided between my wife and I long before the policy of Stop at Two. Although I am not a rabbit, neither am I a guinea pig.”
“Sir, since the Government is encouraging the people to have more babies now, the likelihood of these 3-room flats being unsold will be greater. Is it not a good point for the Ministry of National Development to try to convert these 3-room flats into, say, 6-room flats so that more babies could be accommodated?”
“What about small calculators? Would it be the same?”
“Can I ask the Member a question? How does he square this analogy of a digital clock with a micro-computer? A digital clock, as I know it and as you know it too, Mr Deputy Speaker, comes with the software already worked into the chip, whereas the micro-computer has not got anything inside. You have to buy the software to get it running.”
“The other day I was very angry when I read in the Straits Times about the dispute, the quarrel between the residents of Pine Grove and the Singapore American Community Action Council over the playing of American football in a field near there. The Director of the Council, instead of apologizing for inconveniences caused to the residents, was reported to have said that this was their way of life and if others did not like it, it was too bad. He even said that this was the choice of the residents and so they had to live with it. Of course, we have to live with our choice. But we do not necessarily have to live with the Americans! It may be true that they can do whatever they like in America. Who says that they can do whatever they like in Singapore? Who says that they can put up loudspeakers and floodlights and make noise until 10 or 11 o'clock at night? Have they got a Police permit to do so? Well, I may have gone astray but all these questions are not really directed at the Minister and his Ministry. Because I know that his Ministry is only a coordinator of various requests from the Ministries who, in turn, are under pressure that they must do this or do that, otherwise look out and so on. Thank you. 3.47 pm”
“If so, then why when it suited their purposes, did they see nothing wrong in imposing a sudden ban on our export of tropical fish to make us bow to what they want in the Wildlife Protection Convention? They say other people are thieves and pirates, and yet they are now being sued by the French for stealing from a French institution the technique of isolation of the Aids virus. How did it happen? I do not know because I am not interested in it. As I said before, if copying were made a crime in days gone by, there would be no progress in human history. The Japanese were the biggest copycat in Asia. Before the war they copied and produced everything the West produced, and sold them cheaply. And after the war, they brought in motorcars, cameras, hi-fi systems from the West, dismantled them, found out how they were made, improved on their components, and they are now producing better and cheaper ones. This is what they call "reverse engineering". If we cannot have this, how can we progress? If our young ones are denied cheap source of software and hardware, how can they learn; how can they experiment; how can they discover; and how can they invent? Someone may want to point to the story about the race between the rabbit - the Rabbit Year is coming - about the race between the rabbit and the tortoise and say that if we are honest and steady, we will catch up one day. But the trouble is that the Rabbit we now face is a smart and cunning one. Before the race has even started, he wants the tortoise to tie up its two legs. So how are we going to take off? What is worse is that the rabbit can turn out to be a rude and crude one.”
“So if you have, say, 10 machines in your office, in practice you could use the same diskette to load all the 10 machines or copy the programme into 10 diskettes to run the machines separately. But in law if you do that you will be infringing on their rights. At least that is what their condition of sales says. Now the tricky problem is this. Many companies or banks, as the Member for Jalan Kayu will bear me out, install micro-computers to run not in a land environment but as a stand alone - you know what I mean by "stand alone"? This is another jargon. In other words, they run the machines not as slave machines linked to a master machine but as independent machines. So normally, at least before this Bill appears, the organization would buy, say, 10 machines and one copyrighted programme, say, Lotus I, II, III, and have it copied into 10 sets of diskettes and run them in the machine separately. But with this law coming into force, would they still be able to do the same? Frankly, I do not know the answer and I do not want to know. The world is not a simple place to live in and we have to be on guard all the time. It is very well to say that we must be straight and forth and honest and try to be gentlemen. But if we are gentlemen and the others are not gentlemen, we will end up being poorer men. The Americans are our friends in the free world. But are they our friends in the business world? The Americans say they are our friends and, if so, why do they grudge us for selling a few thousands more pieces of our garment products in their vast market? They say they want to help us.”
“In the case of a digital watch, the command language or the software or the operating system, whichever way you want to call it, is worked into a chip and the price for the watch includes the chip, so that after you have bought the watch and put in the battery, it will start functioning and telling you the time. The same goes with a calculator. But in the case of a micro-computer, it is different. The clever MNCs make sure that anyone who buys it is forever tied on to their apron. The Member for Bukit Timah will probably bear me out that the micro-computer, far from popular belief, is a dumb machine when you first buy it. It will not work nor respond to your commands unless you put in a software called DOS (Disk Operating System) and load it. And for that you have to pay extra. With it you can run word processing program such as Wordstar or Display Writer or Spreadsheet programme such as Lotus 1, 2, 3, Symphony, Framework, whatever you can think of, etc, etc. Without it, the computer is a piece of junk. It is worse than a manual typewriter. You cannot make it work. So using the analogy of the digital watch or the calculator, the producer should be able to work the DOS into a chip and incorporate the chip into the computer. Well, they could have done it but they chose not to. The purpose, of course, is to make more money out of us and to make us forever dependent on them. And if we start modifying or copying we would be infringing on their rights. What is even worse is that this programme like any other programme, always comes with a condition or warning printed on the manual to say that although you have bought the program, it is not your property and you are only licensed to use it to run on one machine and one machine only.”
“Yet at the same time the British and the Americans have sold us the idea that these advancements in the scientific world, the computer, its software, etc, etc, etc, are what they call "intellectual property" and we are not supposed to touch them or use them unless we have paid them the royalties. Well, as a government which upholds high moral and integrity in the business world, what are we going to do with the relentless pressures and lopsided arguments from the MNCs? Not to yield we will be branded as thieves and pirates and they will threaten to do this or that. But to do so we might tie ourselves in cocoons and we cannot do this or that. What will happen to the parents and young students who have spent thousands of dollars on computer hardware? They will find that they cannot afford to buy software for experiment on their computers anymore. Many small companies which have bought micro-comptuers and copied programs to run their business will also find themselves in deep trouble. Suppose there is some problem with a computer, a bug has been found or the computer hangs - to use some of the jargons in computeries - would the company be able to call the computer company and ask for servicing? Or would the computer company dare to go to service it? There is also another tricky problem which the new provision for local area net work known as LAN will not solve. You see, technically, a digital watch, a calculator or a micro-computer are products of the same concept. They all depend on micro-chips for their functions.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill in principle, therefore I chose not to speak on its Second Reading. But that does not mean that I have nothing to say. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some comments on the clauses and amendments and new provisions, particularly on those connected with computer software and also on what the Minister has just said. To me the history of human civilization is a process of copying and re-copying. Perhaps after a gloomy session this morning, no one now has any heart to listen to stories. But I would still like to try to tell one. Once upon a time, in time immemorial, someone had invented a wheel. Then after thousands of years another one copied the idea and put a piece of plank on top of two wheels and a cart was born for people to push things or pull things. Then after thousands of years someone copied that idea again, and this time he put a horse in front of the cart and they had a horse carriage. So this went on until the last century when James Watt replaced the horse with a steam engine and we have the first train. And a German named Carl Friedrich Benz replaced the horse with a combustion engine and we have the first motorcar. So if copying was not allowed, there would be no human civilization and progress as we know them today. And if copying was strictly prohibited in the past, then today we would be climbing trees instead of climbing escalators. Now we are in a predicament. We want to catch up with the West in the field of science and technology. We want to find out how things are done and how to produce them cheaply, more cheaply.”
“The third question is, what is the Government going to do with the middleman? Graft taking is like drug taking. Under our laws the drug taker when caught is jailed and rehabilitated, and the drug trafficker is hanged. In this particular case, the alleged graft taker had paid the penalty with his life. But what are we going to do with the drug trafficker? I feel very strongly that we should deal even more harshly with such persons, for if we have less such people who throw names around, who think they can buy anyone with money, who claim they can fix anything with Ministers, there will be less corruption in society. They are the instigators and perpetrators of corruption.”
“What I would like to ask the Prime Minister is this. Since he has made that very painful decision for the investigation to proceed, he must have known that this would be bad and damaging for the Government's image, and yet he was courageous enough to make it. And we have very good reasons to be confident that the next Prime Minister would also do the same. But what about the next and the next? I am therefore interested to hear the views of the Prime Minister on how do we institutionalize procedures in Government departments so that in future when such cases are brought up, no one, not even the Prime Minister of the day, has the power to stop them. How do we lay trip wires in strategic places so that once certain boundaries are crossed alarm bells will sound everywhere. Another question I want to raise is, how do we make the CPIB adopt more active ways in carrying out their duties, like the CID or the ISD, and not continue with the present passive way, waiting for complaints to come in and then start investigating. The ISD, for instance, in the past infiltrated into communist organizations and smoked the communists out. The CPIB in this instance did not seem to suspect anything until someone had put in a complaint. How was it possible that they did not become alert when a Minister had suddenly adopted a lifestyle very different from his outward appearance? It was not difficult to know ---”
“Yes. In that case, I would just make it short by saying that there have been some allegations about cover-up in high places. But I for one would not subscribe to such wild talk. Corruption cases in other countries are normally exposed by the mass media or the opposition parties. But this one was brought to the surface as a result of the Government's self-imposed discipline, and that is the difference. And the events in the last two months have shown that the Prime Minister did not take the easy way out, the so-called cover-up. He has made the decision to ---”
“It is rather difficult to frame them if I do not preamble them with ---”
“There are several questions which I would like to ask.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have several questions to ask the Prime Minister and I would like to preamble them with this. It is indeed a tragic moment for us all that such a thing has happened to the Government, a government which has for more than two decades upheld the principle of clean and honest government. However, it is wrong to say that what we have held so dear for so long have all come down in pieces. Regrettable and deplorable though this incident may be, it is reassuring to know that the Government right from the beginning has the courage and determination ---”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I object to the amendment put forward by the Member for Anson. While I have every respect for the Member for Potong Pasir, though he may not earn so much money as a lawyer and therefore, by the definition of the Member for Whampoa, he may not be such a good lawyer, I have more respect for my friend, the Member for MacPherson. The Member for MacPherson, as you all know, has been in this House for a very long time, and for that I have more confidence in him. He is like what the Chinese called the shi tu lau ma (the old horse who knows the way). But what we have in the Member for Potong Pasir is chuan tze ma (it is a crazy horse). It will lead us to a crash. So we have got to be very careful when making selections for the Committees, especially when this Committee is such an important one, as the Member for Anson has said. So we should not put Members there just because they are Opposition Members. We should put Members there to serve a purpose, to see that they can contribute, and I have every confidence that my friend, the Member for MacPherson who sits next to me, will have a very great contribution to make in this Committee. I think the Member for Anson is putting too much importance in themselves. Just because they are not there, we have less democracy in the House or less democracy in the Committee. Can you make people believe that? It is incredible, is it not?”
“But income tax rebate is more favourable to middle and higher income groups. The recommendations of the Economic Committee are mainly in three areas: First, to ask the workers to make some sacrifices - to cut CPF and to accept wage restraint for some time so as to reduce the production cost. Second, to reduce company tax and to give property tax rebate so as to stimulate economic activities. Third, the Government to increase expenditure on infrastructure and on education and training in order to stimulate investment and increase our productive capacity. These measures remind me the situation we faced in 1968. History provides us with lessons. On 6th May 1968, the President in his address to Parliament, said (the British had not withdrawn then) "This is a Parliament which is faced with problems of more than usual magnitude. It is not only because Britain will be withdrawing her forces by 1971. The whole security and political situation in South and Southeast Asia is in the process of change." In 1966, statistics showed that the total expenditure of the British armed forces in Singapore reached $550 million. That was equivalent to 16.3% of our GDP. Also, the armed forces of Britain employed about 42,000 of local people directly or indirectly. So the British military withdrawal would be very heavy economic burden on our country. At the same time, we had to build up our own defence. The then Minister for Finance, Dr Goh Keng Swee, implemented several measures to remedy the situation.”
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the Member for Queenstown for his inter- esting speech. I am not trying to give him a lesson on economics because people of old age cannot be cultivated any more. But what I would like to point out to him is that value-added tax is different from sales tax. However, Sir, if there are more Members like the Member for Queenstown in our Parliament, then our Parliament today will be more interesting and entertaining. However, I agree with his observation on consumption tax in certain respects, and I will touch upon it later. Mr Speaker, Sir, last year, our economy has suffered a kind of cold fever and indigestion and various kinds of complex illnesses. The Economic Committee, after some 10 months' study, has prescribed a medicine of about 234 pages to cure the symptoms of this illness in the short term and in the long term to heal the disease basically. After its announcement the Report receives the support of the commercial and industrial circles and also the general support of the people. As the Member for Queenstown has said, the pills are bitter but good in healing the illness. But there is a lack of a piece of plum, that is, the employee CPF contribution is not cut. Though I understand that this piece of sweet plum may not have great medicinal effect, but many people feel that the plum will help them to swallow the bitter medicine. Yesterday, the First Deputy Prime Minister announced that there would be no sweet plum. But he was very kind and generous to announce that there will be 25% personal income tax rebate; he gives sour plum ( )instead.The people welcome the income tax rebate because it increases the take-home pay, and not just a transfer from his own savings.”
“There are more wrinkles on our faces, more white hair on our heads and, hopefully, more wisdom under it. Many ideas and beliefs which we cherished have been abandoned and cast overboard, not to mention the number of sacred cows which have been slaughtered on the way. But what I am interested to know is whether our past arguments against the tax are still valid and relevant in today's context. If it is, then I urge the Government to refrain from introducing it. Even if it is not, we must still think twice before adopting it because it has very far-reaching consequences. It is true that we must find ways to recoup the revenue lost as a result of tax concessions elsewhere. Otherwise, we would not have enough funds for defence, education and other social services. Perhaps the reduction of the personal income tax to 35%, and not 33% as announced, might help. To me, I would prefer to pay a little bit more in income tax in exchange for not paying anything at all in retail tax, or sales tax, or consumption tax. I may end up paying more tax if the personal income tax is maintained at the 35% level, but I think this is fairer to my fellow citizens who have less income. Sir, the years ahead of us are no doubt difficult but there are also full of opportunities. China is already opening up and so will the Soviet Union eventually under its new leadership. Both these countries offer vast markets for our goods and services. The other NICs are already gearing themselves up for such an occasion. We should not be found lagging behind. These are the facts of life. We ignore them at our own peril. 12.53 pm Dr Ow Chin Hock (Leng Kee)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion by the Member for Changkat.”
“We fought Tan Siew Sin, tooth and nail, and finally, when we got out of Malaysia, one of the first things we did was to repeal those two taxes, to the cheers of everyone. It is an irony that today we are doing what Mr Tan Siew Sin had failed to do 20 years ago, ie, to impose an indirect tax on ourselves. Sir, other developed countries have indirect taxation too. In the UK, it is called the value-added tax or VAT. In the United States, it is called the sales tax. We may want to call it the retail tax or the consumption tax. But indirect tax, by any other name, smells as foul. The trouble with this kind of tax is that it has the tendency to go up rather than down. In UK, it started off at 8% and now ends up at 15%. In the US, it varies from state to state and in the case of New York, as the Singapore Retail Merchants' Association has pointed out, it began at 2% and now stands at 7%. Another problem is that we do not know what percentage to peg the tax at. What is the threshold of pain? Would it be 8%, 10% or 15%? And on what kinds of goods and services? If we fix the rate too low, we may not be able to recoup the lost revenue or get back the money we spent to set up the infrastructure for their collection. If we fix it too high, the ordinary people may not be able to afford it, and it may have an inflationary effect on our cost of living and the people may refrain from spending, thereby causing another recession. Sir, it was in 1964 when we strongly condemned indirect taxation. We were fighting for a more just and a more equal society. We were angry at Tan Siew Sin's tax policy which favoured the haves against the have-nots. Since then, a lot of things happened. At least, we are older by 22 years.”
“For those of us who are too young to know and for those who are too old that their memories are fading, it may be beneficial to recall that in 1964 when we were in Malaysia, the then Malaysian Finance Minister, Mr Tan Siew Sin, tried to ram two indirect taxes down our throats. One was the turnover tax and the other was the crown cork tax. The turnover tax was actually a sales tax. For every item of goods purchased and for every service rendered, (r)% tax was levied, and this had a snowballing effect as it passed down from manufacturers to wholesalers, to retailers, and finally, to consumers. The crown cork tax - do you know what is a crown cork? I am sure many of those who are young might not have seen a crown cork because it has been replaced with plastic cork. It is the inner lining of the bottle cap, In the old days it used to be made of cork, but now I think a lot of them have been replaced with plastic, and even more bottles have been replaced with cans. The crown cork tax was even more ridiculous. For every bottle of soft drink which used a crown cork as a cover, a tax of five cents was levied. We called it repressive and regressive. Mind you, those were not my words. Those were the words of the PAP. We called it repressive and regressive because it hit the poor more than it did the rich. The labourers who worked in the hot sun consumed more soft drinks than those who did not have to work, and hence the workers who sweated more paid more tax than the rich on this very essential commodity, which is water. Such is the absurdity of it all. If it is indirect taxation that you want, that is what you will get - absurdity.”