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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“GOVERNMENT CRECHES (Takeover by trade union) 5. Mr Ho Kah Leong asked the Minister for Social Affairs how many Government creches have been taken over by a trade union and how many more will be taken over; and what are the reasons and conditions for the take over.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, artistes and participants for RTS drama, comedy and children's programmes are drawn from a pool of artistes built up over the years. Selection of artistes for specific programmes is determined by such factors as the nature of the programme, suitability of artistes for certain roles, their experience and the standard of their performance. Artistes who do not keep up with their standard of performance are phased out or not used. The pool of artistes is constantly enlarged by: - (1) mass auditions which are normally conducted to find talent for a new series of programme; (2) the holding of contests, such as Talentime; (3) Periodic auditions which are held to ascertain the suitability of persons who write in indicating an interest in taking part in TV or Radio programmes; (4) talents who come to the notice of our staff through their performance at shows, dramas staged by cultural organisations. The Malay and Chinese services of Radio Singapore also each run a children's workshop which yearly recruits new members for training in acting, singing and compering. These children are then used in programmes produced by the services. The Indian service holds auditions twice a year for students to spot those with ability in music or drama. Artistes who take part in TV programmes in particular are required to spend a great deal of time in rehearsals and recordings. Some find the monetary returns from RTS not attractive enough and they either stop or take up more paying assignments elsewhere. This does lead sometimes to a dependence on a smaller group of artistes than is desirable. Although fresh or new talents are discovered through auditions or contests, they need time to gain experience in order to take on more demanding roles in, say, a drama.”
“The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment (Mr Chor Yeok Eng) (for the Minister for Law and the Environment)(In Mandarin): Sir, there is no plan to expand Serangoon Garden Market as there is no need to do so. The market has 148 stalls of which 44 are still vacant. The Ministry is proposing to allocate these vacant stalls to licensed street hawkers from the surrounding areas. There is also an NTUC supermarket and a food centre in the Serangoon Garden Estate. The residents are therefore adequately served by these two markets and the food centre.”
“Sir, we have always been trying to develop and train local talent, but unfortunately the pool of local talent is very limited. This is due not only to the limited number of people but also to the limited area of employment. At the present moment TV artistes are only employed by the Television Service. Other than that there is no real outlet for them. In other countries where a film industry exists, the artistes are mainly drawn from the film industry. But in the case of Singapore we do not have a film industry and it is quite difficult to get talent or to have full-time performers because these people cannot get a good living out of it. SWIMMING POOL IN THOMSON CONSTITUENCY 16. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Social Affairs whether the Government has plans to build a swimming pool in the Thomson Constituency and where. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Affairs (Mr Chan Chee Seng) (for the Minister for Social Affairs): Sir, there is no plan to build a swimming pool in the Thomson Constituency by the Singapore Sports Council. However, it is reported that the HDB will be building two swimming complexes in the Ang Mo Kio Estate scheduled for completion within the period 1979 to 1980. One of these complexes lies at the southern border of Ang Mo Kio Estate and is adjacent to Sin Ming Housing Estate which is in the Thomson Constituency. This complex should serve the needs of Thomson Constituency. SERANGOON GARDEN MARKET (Expansion of) 17. Dr Lau Teik Soon asked the Minister for Law and the Environment whether there is any plan to expand the Serangoon Garden Market and, if not, whether he will consider the possibility of adopting such a proposal.”
“No, I do not think it includes repeat telecast. It is very expensive to produce a programme locally, and therefore we have to make full use of it. Since most of the locally produced programmes are documentaries, it is a good practice to repeat them because not everyone has the opportunity to see a certain programme at the time when it is telecast.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, production of TV programmes, especially colour programmes, is an involved activity. Adequate facilities and staff are necessary though not the only relevant factors. The available pool of script writers and artistes is a prerequisite. Unfortunately we do not have an adequate pool of such local talents. In spite of this, RTS will endeavour to produce more local programmes wherever local talents are available. It is not correct to say that our TV services rely almost completely on imported programmes. In terms of the total hours of TV programmes per average week, IocaIIy produced programmes constitute 66% as against 34% of imported programmes. Likewise, in terms of the number of TV programmes telecast in an average week, 84 are imported programmes as compared to 67 locally produced programmes. The imported programmes are stringently vetted before they are acquired and telecast. Last year a total of 70 series were rejected outright after auditioning. Some were found unsuitable as they projected Western permissiveness and decadence. Others were rejected because they contained too much crime and violence. The House may also wish to know that all Radio output except the English Service is locally produced or locally compiled. Even in the English Service overseas produced programmes constitute only 10% of its output.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are plans to build a full-time branch library in Bedok New Town when the population there reaches 150,000. A site in the New Town centre has already been reserved for this purpose. RADIO AND TELEVISION SINGAPORE (Production of local programmes) 15. Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon asked the Minister for Culture and Science and Technology whether Radio and Television Singapore will be producing more programmes of its own using the talent and resources available locally, instead of relying almost completely on imported programmes which are often ambivalent to our national aspirations.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the programme which the Member mentioned is the "Guthrie Hour". It was telecast live. I did not watch the programme myself, but I think the compere mentioned something like "use your hands campaign." Well, that is a variety show. 3.02 p.m.”
“Further, the amount of electricity generated by known methods would not be sufficient to meet the needs of blocks of HDB flats. Unless there is a technical breakthrough resulting in drastic cost reduction, it is unlikely that any scheme for the supply of electricity through the use of solar energy would be available in the near future. The Ministry will continue to monitor developments in this field and encourage research in the conversion and utilisation of solar energy.”
“Apart from writing for TV and Radio, there are insufficient opportunities and scope to induce more people to take up scriptwriting and performance on a full-time basis. A related consideration is the need for a greater number of staff such as set designers, carpenters, staging crew and wardrobe personnel. I am happy to note that the Member for Whampoa finds the branch libraries useful, and indeed they are. We will continue to build these branch libraries in new housing estates and areas where the size of the population justifies the building of such branch libraries. There are already two branch libraries in Queenstown and Toa Payoh. The next branch library will be opened in Katong in 1978. Plans are also being prepared for new branch libraries at Telok Blangah in 1979, in Geylang East in 1981, in Jurong in 1983 and in Ang Mo Kio in 1985. Coming to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Member for Geylang East has touched on the matter of solar energy. The Ministry has been keeping under constant study and review developments in the use of alternative energy sources besides fuel oil. Research into these areas is being encouraged. Studies on the use of solar energy have been undertaken by the Mechanical and Engineering Department of the University of Singapore and research is still in progress. There has been some progress in the development of methods for the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy by solar engines in countries like Israel, Italy and the USA. Although the technical feasibility of such methods to produce electrical energy on a small scale has been demonstrated, such methods have not yet reached the stage of being economically viable.”
“Acceptance of advertisements for telecast does not mean the Station's or the Government's full endorsement of the manner of presentation or of the product advertised. For example, acceptance of commercials promoting jeans does not mean Government endorsement or otherwise of that apparel. We are only concerned with selling air-time. So long as the product being advertised is not objectionable and is presented in good taste, we see no reason why it should be rejected. There are, of course, many gullible consumers who can be hooked on anything with or without advertisement. They can only be educated either by CASE, by the documentaries and talks on TV, or by their own mistakes. The earning of revenue from the selling of air-time for advertisements is not the dominant pre-occupation of RTS. If revenue was the prime factor, we would have allowed - as is done elsewhere advertisements to be associated with our news and advertisements in informational and educational programmes. But this is not the case. The Member for Sembawang complained that too many imported programmes are being telecast and that 80% of the artistes in the musical variety shows come from abroad The truth is that imported programmes are cheaper to acquire and are more popular, more exciting and entertaining. Besides, we do not have the capacity to produce all the programmes locally. It is not true to say that 80% of the artistes are from overseas, He may have an eye for the Taiwan singers, but if he sees beyond them he will find that they comprise no more than a third of all the performers. A greater output of local dramas or serials hinges upon the availability of scriptwriters and performers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the percentage of educational-informational programme is very high. In fact, it is the highest among the highest in this region. Of the programmes produced locally, nearly 58% are in the educational-informational category. These include news, documentaries, forums and magazine programmes. Only 17% of our local productions are musical-variety shows. Sir, far from cancelling out the work of the Ministry of Education, our TV service does lend support to the efforts of the Education Ministry in promoting, for example, music appreciation and cultural activity amongst our young people. The music and dance presentations included in its Youth Festivals have always been recorded and telecast. We have currently, a monthly Students' Concert which features items contributed by schools. Music appreciation programmes such as "Great Composers". "Who's afraid of Opera" and "Classical masterpieces" have also been, and will continue to be, telecast. We need not be worried that TV commercials will have undue influence on viewers as the Member for Potong Pasir has feared. All advertisements are carefully scrutinised before they are accepted for telecast. They are accepted for telecast if they do not contravene the provisions of the Station's Programme and Copy Codes. These provisions are more stringent than those of other media. There have been advertisements which have not been accepted for telecast although they have been passed for exhibition in the cinemas and publication in the press. Last year, a total of 199 advertisements were rejected for showing on TV. They included advertisements which made unwarranted or superlative claims, featured unkempt longhaired males or females indecently clad.”
“The only cause for him to make the allegation is that he saw a few commercial advertisements on TV not to his liking. But then everyone knows that TV commercials do not represent Government policy. My Ministry's Addendum explicitly gave the priorities of our radio and television services, namely, to inform, educate and entertain. Educational and information programmes acquired overseas and produced locally comprise 25%, the largest category of TV output. This compares with 23% for programmes which can be categorised as drama. and 9% for programmes which can be classified as music or musical variety. This percentage of educational and information programmes is among the highest in this region for the public broadcasting service.”
“But then they knew that we have tried very hard to accommodate their wishes. In the end when the total ban came, no one could accuse us of being an unresponsive and an uncaring Government. And, therefore, we can have quieter sleep on Chinese New Year's eve not only because there is less noise but also because we know for certain that no one can make this into an explosive issue. Sir, had we taken the advice of the Member for Kampong Chai Chee and imposed a total ban right from the beginning without any experimentation or explanation, we would have plunged headlong into a crisis. The diehards would be angry, the common people would be confused and the Communists and the anti-social elements would agitate. And yet we are being accused of being ignorant of our culture and lack of understanding. Sir, it is precisely because we know too much and understand too much about our own culture and respect our own culture that we have to resort to this so-called "half-way house" measure in order to solve this delicate problem which involves a deep-rooted custom of the people. There is nothing wrong in it. Democracy itself is a system which is constantly devising a series of "half-way house" measures to solve the delicate problems of society. When it comes to problems involving culture. language and custom, they must be handled with tolerance, patience and understanding. Sir, these are the finer points in the art of government and if the Member for Kampong Chai Chee aspires to step into our shoes he must learn them, and learn them fast. I would like to assure the Member for Kampong Chai Chee that there is no such thing as the cancelling out game between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture. We supplement each other.”
“But in doing so, we should be careful not to open ourselves to accusations that we are ignorant of the good old customs, or worse still, we are trying to destroy the culture of a people. Full explanation must be given and the issue should be thrashed out thoroughly before any action is taken. The people must be made to understand why certain actions have to be taken even though some of them may not be happy with those actions. The way we handled cracker firing is a typical example. Cracker firing is a wasteful custom. Whatever merit it may have in an old agricultural society, in the Singapore environment where more and more people are living in high-rise buildings, it has become really dangerous. It has got to go. But before imposing a total ban we must give patient and exhaustive explanation. The Chinese philosophy on government is that when one governs one seldom speaks. Wei ch'erng pu tsai tuo yen. That was an old authoritarian way of government. But in our situation where we marry oriental society with western democracy, we must not only govern effectively, we must also explain convincingly. Therefore, we have suggested that instead of firing crackers everywhere and disturbing everyone, it should be allowed in controlled areas, in designated places near community centres, where the chances of people getting hurt are less. We have tried every means to dissuade the people from this age-old custom. We have even run films on cracker firing on TV, in the hope that the people will be satisfied with watching cracker firing and hearing its noise on TV. All the while, we knew for certain that nothing short of a total ban would solve the problem. And we also knew for sure that, to those diehards, no matter what we do they will not be satisfied.”
“At the same time, we have to reject life styles and values of the West that are alien and pernicious to our Singapore society. We must not allow permissiveness, communal living, hippieism, drug taking, abhorrence for hard work and urban violence to permeate our society. To allow these undesirable elements of Western life styles into our society is to invite ruin and disaster for ourselves. Cultural "ballast" implies a firm and sound rooting in traditional cultures, but since our society is largely of migrant origin, these traditions have been inevitably weakened with time and distance. We should select and retain those cultural elements that have a broader appeal to all This would ensure that the young will not adopt those values and norms which are incompatible with our national aspirations. The awareness of our cultural past together with the forging of a distinctive Singapore identity will help provide our young with the necessary ballast against the inroads of undesirable western influence Without the Singapore cultural identity, our people especially the young are like a rudderless ship drifting with the wind But then we must not follow traditions blindly It is true that traditions and customs form part of the culture of a people. There are good customs and there are bad ones Our duty is to try to preserve and promote the good ones while at the same time keep down or do away with the bad ones. However, old customs and traditions die hard and the task to educate the people and change their way of thinking is quite difficult. It may take years or generations to change. But change we must. In this world of rapid changes it is necessary that we should adopt the policy of P'or chiu Iih hsin (destroying the old and establishing the new order).”
“If we accept that culture in its widest sense means a way of life rather than merely confining it to the practice and appreciation of the fine arts, there are certain cultural norms and values common to all the three major streams of Asian civilisations represented in our plural society The moral precepts, patriotism, filial piety and traditional values such as industry and thrift are still relevant to our society. These are the values our young must acquire. and these values can only be acquired by learning and appreciating our cultural heritage At the same time, we must not overlook the fact that we are Singaporeans Only when we realise this, are we then able to provide the cultural ballast for our young through the evolution of a distinctive Singapore cultural identity based on the finest elements in our own cultures. Since Singapore is heir to four great cultural civilisations, it is thus given a rare and valuable opportunity to learn and absorb the best in all these. To deny or shut out any one of them would be to impoverish and endanger our rich heritage and narrow our range of aesthetic sensibility and experience. We must be honest enough to acknowledge that not all our traditional values and norms are desirable. We must, therefore, aim to achieve a balance between what is valuable and relevant in tradition and what is required in a modern industrial society. An admirable element of western culture is the spirit of scientific enquiry, of seeking to understand the laws of the universe, which has led to the technological advances of the West. We must learn to adapt to the imperatives of an industrial society without losing our cultural values.”
“traditions and language Singapore has inherited from the migrants who came to settle here from China, India and the Malaysian archipelago their ancient cultures. To these has been added the culture derived from western civilization. Singapore was a British colony for over a hundred years and we have inherited from the British their system of law and the Parliamentary system of Government. We feel that with such a sensitive issue as culture, the best way would be to let these inherited cultures develop within the Singapore context. While establishing cultural links with the past, we should not forget that we are Singaporeans. Thus, we have to build a cohesive, unified nation out of the disparate ethnic groups. The evolution of a national cultural identity is. therefore, part of the process of nation building. It is a task which has been put into motion some 20 years ago through our education system, our national service programme, our community centres and, not least of all, through the activities of the Ministry of Culture The evolution of a Singapore cultural identity is a long and time-consuming process. Its form cannot be laid down in advance because culture cannot be subject to direction in the same way as economic development It can only be nurtured and encouraged in an atmosphere of freedom to experiment, choose, reject, or adapt the various elements and forms that go to make up the whole. A few Members in this House have expressed concern over the young with their high expectations, their preference for soft jobs, and their acceptance of Singapore's prosperity as a norm and something which can be taken for granted. They have not experienced the hardships and sacrifices of their forebears.”
“In view of the great influence the newspaper has on every individual's life as well as national issues. it would be safer for their ownership to be spread as widely as possible. It is equally important to have a balanced representation in the management of newspapers. In, order to break the monopolistic control of major newspapers in Singapore by a small group of people, the Government is considering an amendment to the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act, 1974, to prohibit any person from holding either directly or indirectly through a nominee or a holding company or in other manner more than 3% of the stock of a newspaper, without the special permission of the licensing authority of the newspaper. Persons holding shares in excess of the permitted limit will have to dispose of them through the Stock Exchange. The proposed measures are not intended to be confiscatory We do not seek more control than we have now. We only seek to spread the ownership so that it reaches the small people and more people will have a say in the ownership of the newspaper. These measures are necessitated by the need to ensure that the newspapers are not merely solvent in the accounting balance sheet but also an asset in the balance sheet of national well-being I think at this juncture it would be helpful if I were to begin my reply to the hon. Member for Kampong Chai Chee and the hon. Member for Katong with the anthropological definition of "culture" to ensure that we are talking about the same thing. Culture as so defined is the sum total of the achievement and activities of any specific period, race, or people which include, inter alia, socioeconomic institutions, music, art, religious beliefs.”
“In large societies, it may be possible for newspapers with conflicting views and values to balance each other out, so that no single newspaper can unduly influence public opinion. Even in these countries, it is socially and politically undesirable for newspapers to be owned and controlled by one man, or one family, as this would make it difficult for the press to be independent and impartial. In small countries where the economy or population can only sustain two or three major newspapers, the capacity of these newspapers to manipulate public opinion would be far greater Hon. Members will recall what happened to the Singapore Herald and the Eastern Sun. No long ago. efforts were made by certain foreign interests through their local proxies to soften up the ground for their own insidious purposes, namely, to gain footholds in our society. Fortunately, their plots were nipped in the bud. In Singapore, legislation exists to ensure that newspapers do not function as mouthpieces of outside interests to propagate alien philosophies and viewpoints The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act. 1974, is to ensure that public interests are safe-guarded by requiring that newspapers become public companies with Singapore citizens as directors. It is not intended to interfere with newspapers as an economic activity. Since the Act came into force on 1st January, 1975, the danger of local newspapers falling into the hands of foreign interests has been lessened. Nevertheless, the situation is still far from satisfactory, as the ownership of major newspapers remains with a small group of people In a small country like Singapore, it is undesirable to allow any person or family to have a monopolistic control of any major newspaper.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in his policy speech, the President has timely reminded us that we must not seek to ape the life-styles and norms of permissive Western societies We must, instead, preserve our time-honoured cultural norms. values and institutions which have enabled us to withstand the onslaught of the more pernicious elements in the western culture. Of course, not all aspects of the Western culture are bad. Some are good ones and we have benefited from them and we intend to keep them even though they are alien to our society. Much of the undesirable part of the western culture is transmitted to us through the media. In both developed and developing societies, the importance of the printed word cannot be over-emphasized. Although TV can stir up thinking more quickly, it is a passing vision - it is seen, and is gone. So is sound broadcasting - it is heard and gone. However, a newspaper exerts a more lasting impact. It can be kept and re-read later on. Often its pass-on circulation is such that its impact is understated by its "official" circulation figures. Consequently, the newspaper is a powerful instrument of public education. The news media has acquired and wielded enormous power within the last two decades. In some countries, its power sometimes exceeds that of the legislature, the judiciary and the executive, through its influence on public opinion. Its enormous power can be harnessed for the benefit of society. It could also be manipulated to tear the society apart. Government in democratic countries are elected every four or five years, and they must therefore be responsive to the societies they serve. This is not so with the press as it is accountable only to its owners.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we are negotiating with the Housing and Development Board. As Members know, these negotiations are usually very time consuming. But I am sure the Member will be informed when these negotiations are completed. As soon as they are completed, I can assure the Member that his will be the first community centre to be built. MODERN SANITATION FACILITIES FOR HILLSIDE DRIVE KOVAN ROAD AND LANGE ROAD 2. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Law and the Environment whether and when his Ministry plans to extend modern sanitation facilities from Yio Chu Kang Road to the vicinity of Hillside Drive, Kovan Road and Lange Road.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as the hon. Member for Punggol is aware, a proposed site of 3,300 square metres in area has been set aside by the Housing and Development Board for the construction of a new community centre to serve the residents in the new HDB estate in Punggol. The People's Association is now negotiating with the Housing Board with a view to exploring the possibility of the Board building community centres equipped with essential facilities on reserved sites within HDB estates. There will be provision for subsequent extensions to these basic structures, with construction costs to be met by funds raised through community participation. If the new arrangement for provision of community centres can be implemented in the near future, the new centre for Punggol Estate should be ready to serve the residents within the next few years.”
“That will be ideal only if they agree to give us free of change. But every one has to show some sense of economic effectiveness. There is the question of accountability, and every department has got to account for its own expenditure. If the Housing Board is prepared to give us land free of change, then, of course, we will be very happy to accept. On the other hand, whether it is the Housing Board, the People's Association, or the Treasury. that gives the money, the money comes from the same source. 6.45 p.m.”
“Sir, the Housing Board normally sets aside a piece of land for community development. There again, we have to decide whether we have the money to pay for the land. The matter of finance comes in. It is not just that they give you a piece of land. You have to pay for it. According to the estimates, it costs about $5 per square foot.”
“But, of course, there are other priorities to be considered by the Ministry of Finance, though I cannot speak for them. In any case we are fighting very hard to obtain the necessary funds. The Member for Kampong Kapor raised the matter about the dustbin in his community centre. I think there has been some misunderstanding here. It is not that we do not want to spend the money. The question is that we do not have the money to spend. The $300,000 that he mentioned is actually meant for development purposes. The grant as shown in the Development Estimates is to be used for building new community centres or new projects. Any other expenditure, such as repairs or the construction of a bin collecting centre will have to come from the Main Estimates. The construction of the bin centre at the site originally proposed involves a sum of $4,000. In fact, the People's Association has agreed to pay this $4,000 but the Management Committee wanted to re-site it somewhere else, for which an additional $2,000 is required. Unfortunately, at that time the Association had little funds left for this kind of work, and so it had been suggested to the Management Committee that in order to get the work done quickly this additional sum of $2,000 should be paid from the Management Committee fund. But the Management Committee turned down the Association's proposal. The People's Association had to wait for this year's allocation of funds because they have already gone to the bottom of the barrel for funds. That is the position.”
“In addition, they would require another 27 new centres to replace the old ones which have to be knocked down, like those in Telok Blangah, Bras Basah, or Leng Kee constituencies. These old centres are either affected by urban renewal, or are in very bad condition and therefore have to be pulled down, or are presently housed in the Housing and Development Board shop premises, which are not really adequate or suitable as community centres. So in replacing these 27 old community centres, together with building 28 new centres, a total of 55 community centres will be required in the next five years. Based on a very modest cost of $300,000 for each community centre, we will require something like $16 million just for the construction of these centres, not including the cost of land acquisition. The amount is quite substantial. The People's Association's proposals to the Government for the construction of a Community Centre at $300,000 each cover what we call the basic core structure of a centre on the new site. The basic core structure will include a hall, office, storeroom, basket ball court, and so on, leaving all the additional facilities to be provided later by the usual fund-raising campaigns. In other words, we are asking the Treasury to allow us to have at least an initial sum of money for us to begin. The Centre must at least have a place on which to operate, and if any additional facilities are required the community leaders should go round collecting funds. We hope the Government would be able to give dollar-for-dollar subsidy up to a maximum of $150,000 for each Centre. Although this is a very substantial sum of money, we hope that this proposal can be favourably considered.”
“Thirdly, it makes them proud of their work and they would be more willing to come forward to look after the Centre and also to guard it against vandalism, if ever there is any. However, in view of the rapid changes due to urban renewal and also housing projects in the next few years, we have to accelerate the pace of community centre building projects to meet our future requirements. Many community centres in the old areas are affected by urban renewal. As the Member for Telok Blangah has so rightly pointed out, many of these old centres are affected by these housing projects or urban renewals and therefore they have to be pulled down. To achieve these targets, additional funds are required. Owing to the high cost of building construction, it is not possible to rely so much on public donations, The Board of the People's Association has therefore recently submitted certain proposals to the Treasury and they are in the midst of a series of negotiations. I hope that the sentiments expressed by the Members of Parliament here in this House will add their weight to the Association's arguments, and I am sure Members' opinions and views will be seriously considered by the Ministry of Finance. The Development Planning Committee of the People's Association has made a study of its requirements for the next five years. Based on the number of housing estates that the Housing and Development Board and the Jurong Town Corporation are going to build in the next five years, and also based on the ratio of 40,000 persons to a community centre, the People's Association estimated that they would require at least 28 new community centres for the whole of Singapore over the next five years to meet the requirements of the new housing estates.”
“Sir, the People's Association is not a revenue-producing statutory board. Unlike other statutory boards, it has no power to levy taxes or impose rates on the services it provides. Its only asset, whatever it is, is the goodwill of the people. The money for the development project of the People's Association is supplied by the Ministry of Finance, and therefore its use is strictly controlled by the Treasury. In the past few years, the People's Association has relied heavily on public contributions for whatever additional community centres or facilities it requires. The Government pays, as Members know, a subsidy to the building fund on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a maximum of $150,000 for a key community centre. However, it now seems that this form of fund raising has put a heavy strain on the time and energy of Members of Parliament and also on the community leaders. Since there are many fund-raising campaigns going on at any one time, competition is very keen and moreover because of the slowing down of the economy in the past few years donations are not so forthcoming as in previous years. However, there is no cause for despair. Community leaders should make a greater effort to reach the target. The People's Association's policy of inviting public participation in fund-raising campaigns to finance its projects will carry on. First, this form of fund-raising is good because it gives community leaders something to do and also make them enthusiastic about their work. Secondly, it creates more interest in community centre work. As a result of their fund-raising campaign the whole management committee of the Centre will be made aware of the need and the kind of activities that the community centre should have.”
“Just send a letter to the Ministry of Culture and we will consider the application. Mr Ho Kah Leong(In Mandarin): Sir, in view of the Minister's reply. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, regarding the Member's question, there is no intention of staging wayangs by the People's Association because maintenance of this cultural troupe alone is more than it can afford. Moreover, the wayang is something which should be left to the wayang operators.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the grants given to cultural organisations do not necessarily add up, because it is not necessary for us to actually spend all the money. If there is no application for a subsidy, then the grant is not given. In any case, any application for a grant is carefully considered and if there is a deserving case the grant is given. Of course, there are more societies applying for grants than we have the money to give, and we cannot satisfy all of them. Therefore, we can only grant a contribution rather sparingly. We have given quite a lot of money to the various organisations and normally we try to see that these monies are properly expended. If they are not spent, the surplus money will be put back into the Consolidated Fund. 6.15 p.m. I thank the Member for Sembawang for his views on the cultural troupe. I agree that it is very popular but it is also costly to run the shows. We have tried to give these performances in the various constituencies, but I am afraid that this cannot be done because there are 65 constituencies and if we hold one performance a month for each constituency, then on the average it would take 65 months before we can give a repeat performance in each constituency. I must say that members of the cultural troupe have a very busy schedule on their hands. They are fully booked for the various occasions such as the Chingay procession, the National Day parades, and many others. I must say that their work and their services have been taxed to the full.”
“There is, therefore, a dual purpose in maintaining this cultural troupe. First, it is to upgrade the standard of the performances and meet the demand for cultural performances at the constituency level and, secondly, by becoming dance instructors they can pass on their knowledge and skill to the people in the community centres.”
“Regarding the amount of money spent on the Youth group for the last and current financial years, the People's Association was given a provision of $40,000 as subsidy for more than 80 Youth groups which have a total membership of 20,000. At present there are a total of 1,206 members in the People's Association Youth Movement serving as office bearers in the 82 Youth Executive Committees. The range of activities varies with the different Youth groups. Some activities draw more participants than the others. As I have explained to Members just now, the People's Association maintains a cultural troupe. It does not have a large number of full-time dancers, as the Member for Anson has suggested. It has only 14 full-time dancers and 40 part-time dancers. The amount of money spent on them is, in fact, very small, especially on the part-time dancers. They get a nominal allowance of $3 per session. The purpose of keeping this group of dancers in the People's Association is to meet the demand for cultural performances from the various community centres in the constituencies. It also wants to keep this cultural troupe as a nucleus of dancers in order to maintain a high standard. At the same time these dancers can be sent to the community centres to teach the people the art of dancing and other cultural activities. In fact, this small group of fill-time dancers are given training in the People's Association headquarters by professional choreographers and other instructors to upgrade the standard of their performances. Not only do they participate in the cultural shows, they also give instruction at the community centres. After learning the art of dancing from the professional choreographers, they are sent to the community centres to teach the younger people there the art of dancing.”
“Sir, in reply to the Member for Jurong's question on the contribution to cultural organisations. I would briefly say that, firstly, the Ee Lian Dramatic Society was given a grant of $1,500 to help it to stage a play at the Victoria Theatre. Secondly, the National Book Development Council was given a grant of $1,000 to enable it to update the survey conducted in 1969 on book development activities in Singapore. Thirdly, a grant of $700 was given to the newly formed Society of Singapore Writers to assist it in its production of a multi-lingual newsletter for its members, This is a very small contribution. Whatever grant the Ministry gives is only a token gesture. It is hoped that these grants will encourage the members of the various societies to pursue their aims and objectives, for cultural activities. The Member for Anson has raised a question on the People's Association Youth group. In March last year, the People's Association was asked to send a team to participate in the 1975 military tattoo display to be staged at the National Stadium for the National Day celebrations. This exercise requires perfectly synchronised movements and at least about 30 training sessions were necessary to achieve a good display. Most of the youths taking part in this display were employed and they had their own activities also, It was, therefore, difficult to find a group of 128 persons from the Youth group willing to attend regularly the 30 training sessions. As a result, it was found that for the sake of putting up a good performance it was necessary for the Centre staff and some kindergarten teachers to participate in the military tattoo, as they were able to attend rehearsals regularly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not know about this incident of "pay first, show later". But the fact remains that there is this charge of $300. Maybe the attitude of the officials is not correct but the fact remains that someone has got to pay the fee, On the regional grouping of the Management Committees, I do not know whether or not it is desirable. This has got to be studied carefully. It may be that certain Management Committees like to be grouped together and form a regional council, but I do not think the Management Committees can be compared with the Youth groups. The Youth groups are grouped into several regions and they form a regional council because they have more or less similar types of activities. For the sake of efficiency and also for the sake of promoting the activities, it is found necessary to have the Youth groups grouped into several regions. But I do not know whether this could be applied to the Management Committees. We will certainly give this a thought and study it carefully. If it is found desirable and good for the efficient working of the system, then I am sure we will introduce it.”
“Mr Speaker Sir, in order to encourage cultural activities the People's Association has formed a cultural troupe to give cultural performances in the various community centres and the constituencies, In order to recover costs for transport and other very small expenses the People's Association charges a token fee of $300 for each performance. Each cultural troupe consists of at least 60 to 80 people and they perform for a duration of two hours. I would say this is a reasonable rate because $300 is not enough to pay for these part-time performers. This rate of $300 was laid down in 1971 and since then it has never been revised in spite of inflation, NWC increments and so on. So the $300 charge for each performance is only a token fee, If they were required to pay the full fee. I think it should be much more than that. It is a very far cry to say that because the People's Association has levied $300 per performance, it has lost the support of the people and that it is not an association for the people. This money is just a token fee to ensure that the organisers are really interested in organising these cultural shows and that they do put in an effort to get the people to come and watch these shows. It could be that the attitude of the Association's officials in demanding the money is not so diplomatic. But the fact still remains that for every cultural show a fee has got to be paid. Otherwise when the show is over and when the people have all left, the People's Association will be left with nothing to recover expenses.”
“914 applied for auditioning but only 714 turned up, and only eight were found acceptable for training. Of these eight, only two so far have been found satisfactory and they are now rostered for newsreading. Of the remaining six, one has already been found not suited for newsreading and the other has informed RTS that he is not interested in the job any more. So that leaves us with only four persons. It is not that we are not conscious of this need for a good standard of newsreading, and we are continually endeavouring to search for the right people with the right voice and with good pronunciation for the job of newsreaders, but such people are not available. Why are they not available? I do not know. Maybe it is because English is not the mother tongue of the majority of our people. We also find that even those who come from the English stream are unable to pronounce correctly. It is possible that when they were in school they might have acquired a poor pronunciation, and have not attempted to correct their speech and so on. This makes it difficult for us to select good newsreaders. But in any case we are still trying and are sparing no efforts to get the right people for proper training to become newsreaders.”
“Sir, I could not agree with the Member for Anson more that the standard of our newsreaders is far from perfect. In fact, this has been a serious problem and is rated very high among our priorities for improvement of the standard of the broadcasting. The problem is that it is not easy to get the right kind of people for training as newsreaders. A good newsreader is not someone whom you can pick up from any one of the school leavers and train him for it. To be a good newsreader, first, he must have a very good voice. Second, having that voice, he must be able to go through a course of' education and acquire a good pronunciation and good diction either in English. Tamil, Malay or Mandarin. After this, he must also be prepared to be trained as a newsreader. Even with all these aptitude tests, it is sometimes difficult to get the right person for the job. I will give an example of how difficult it is for us to get good news readers. 5.45 p.m. For instance, in the last recruitment exercise held in March last year for Tamil newsreaders. 206 applied for audition and, of that number, 179 turned up for the audition, and only one passed. After further training he was put on the air. Because of this poor result and because of the need, for newsreaders, 13 who had shown some promise in the audition were selected to undergo training. After three months of coaching, nine failed to make any satisfactory progress and had to be rejected. Out of the remaining four, three have improved considerably and have since been placed on the newsreading roster. The other one is still under training and may eventually make the grade. In the case of English newsreaders, an exercise was conducted in April last year for part-time newsreaders.”
“Although we may not want to make these as feature films, now and then he can see in Newsreel people being awarded for scholarships from the CCC members or even from Members of Parliament. These activities do get some coverage on TV in Newsreel. As to the slogans on National Day that we should emphasise on TV. I say that we want to convey this message across to the public but we will have to do it in a more subtle way than just blaring it through the radio and TV. On the occasion of the National Day celebrations we have these slogans painted on banners and hung across the street. But if we want to convey the message daily, there are more subtle ways than just flashing the slogans on the TV screen.”
“Maybe the Member is referring to those very popular programmes and since, as I have said, many advertisers want to pay a lot more to take full advantage of the popularity of the programmes, it appears that there are a lot of commercials in those programmes. If one were to switch over to the other programmes, like documentaries or programmes of an educational value, then one can hardly see any commercials at all. There are certain programmes which specifically exclude commercials, say, a programme of educational or cultural value. There are no commercials at all appearing in these programmes. As for the suggestion by the Member for Bras Basah that we should have the commercials either before or after the programme, it is rather difficult to implement this because the advertisers are not stupid, If they have to spend their money, they want to spend it wisely. They all know that if we are to put all the commercials as suggested by the Member, then the audience would not switch on and view the advertisements before the programme and wait to see more commercials before switching it off. So it would come to nothing. The advertisers want to catch the attention of the audience and there is no better way of doing this than to flash their commercials during a programme. I thank the Member for Kampong Kapor for putting various suggestions as to how the TV programmes can be better utilised by including reports of the various activities in the constituencies. I think the constituencies are given quite a lot of coverage in this respect, like the functions organised by the Citizens' Consultative Committees or the Management Committees of community centres. They are given prominence in the newsreels.”
“Sir, as much as we want to have more revenue, we do also see to it that our programme is of a good quality and that the advertisement commercials appearing on TV screens are of a decent nature. We have no control on the products that they want to sell except those which are prohibited by law, for instance, cigarettes, tobacco and so on. They are not allowed to be advertised on TV or over the radio or in any newspaper. So long as they have a product to sell and the commercial is presented in a decent manner, conforming to the approved standard, we will allow them to advertise. We have a code in RTS for the type of song and the length of hair and so on, all described in great detail. There are certain things that we accept and certain things that we do not. We do not control the kind of product that they want to sell. So long as the commercial is of a decent nature, there is no reason why we should not accept it, As the Member for Kampong Kapor has pointed out, sometimes the commercials are of a very childish nature; Mortem, for instance, They take the people of Singapore to be idiots. But if the products that they are selling are not prohibited, there is no reason why we have to turn them down. In any one-hour programme there is a maximum of three breaks. In each there can be as many as five or six commercials. In any case, the length of commercials is such that it should not tip the balance of good programmes in favour of these commercials. We try to maintain a very strict balance on this. I do not think that we have too many commercials in our programmes.”
“But where the advertiser is very particular about this and wants to catch the greatest number of audience during a particular programme, then he wants his commercials to appear in that particular programme. If he wants that, then he has to pay a very much higher rate. Sometimes it is as much as 2� times the normal rate. So if the advertiser is prepared to pay that exorbitant rate, I think there is no good reason to stop him, All we have to ensure is that the advertisement, the phrases, the music in the filmlets conform to the approved standard. The Member for Geylang Serai complained about the costumes of the Malay dancers, We have very strict rules on costumes. But we are not strict to the extent of measuring the length of the skirt or assess the suitability of the dress that the artistes wear. We do have some sort of a strict code to ensure that the costumes for dancers or singers are very decent. The Member for Kim Seng came back on the increase in licence fees. Any Government should be politically sensitive. It must be quick in reacting to any situation. But I am not saying that we must reply to all the irresponsible speculations. If there are complaints in the newspapers and if the officials find that they are genuine and legitimate complaints, then they will reply promptly. That does not mean that irresponsible speculations in the newspapers have to be replied, promptly or otherwise.”
“Sir, the Member for Jalan Kayu has raised the point that there are too many advertisements on TV. Advertisements are revenue earners, and the demand for specific screening times, of course, reflects the popularity of the programmes. The more popular a programme is, the greater the audience. Therefore, if more advertisements are received for screening during a particular programme. it shows that more people like to see that programme. The advertisers naturally want to take advantage of the wide audience and they want to spend their advertising costs in as efficient and effective a manner as possible, and that is to catch the greatest number of audience. In this case, if they were to spend money on TV advertisement, well, I do not think we should refuse them and say that we do not want their advertising money, so long as their advertising filmlets are decent and meet with approved standards. What really happens is that an advertiser thinks that the more his advertisement is repeated, the better it would be for the message to be conveyed to the consumer. So they normally pay quite a lot to get the message across. TV is only a medium offered for use by the advertisers. We do not want to repeat the advertisements or have too many of them, but if they keep on coming, well, it is also difficult to resist them. We also have different rates for advertising. We have advertisements at the normal rate which appear on a rotational basis. This means that the advertiser does not mind whether his advertisement is flashed in the programme Hawaii Five-0 or in a midnight show. For such kind of advertising, the normal rate is applied.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first and foremost discrimination does not exist. There is no such thing as discrimination against Tamil artistes or writers. There is no discrimination. If the Member wants an assurance, I can give him my firm assurance that there is not going to be any discrimination at all.”
“That is the only place which produces Teochew films and nowhere else. There is a limited number of these films in the market. That is why sometimes we have to use old films and sometimes we have to re-screen them. But in most cases we repeat the screening only once, whether it is a Teochew film or other films. We do not repeat them many times over, as the Member for Anson has said.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not saying that everything is nonsense. I was just explaining to the Member the facts of life and the reality of how we operate. As there was no discrimination, I said that it was really nonsense to suggest it, because it did not exist at all in our station. I did not say that what he has said about the Broadcasting Department screening old films is nonsense. It is true that we are screening very old films. I have already explained why we are screening old films. It is not that we do not have the money for new films. We have, but they just could not be found. They are jealously guarded by the film companies which want to keep them for distribution to the cinemas where they can get better value. Only those films which have lost their box office appeal would be released for distribution to the TV stations. These are films which almost everyone has seen and if they were to be screened in the cinemas no one would want to see. This does not only happen in Singapore. It happens all over the world. Whether you go to the United States, Australia, Taiwan, or Japan, you will find that only the old feature films which are more than 10 years old are available in the market for screening on TV. Of course, TV stations counter this practice by producing their own programmes in their own studios. The present trend is for many TV stations not to rely very much on feature films from the film companies. They produce their own films and programmes, and because of this they are less vulnerable to this kind of boycott by the film companies. But since we do not have a film industry in Singapore, we are really vulnerable to this boycott. For instance, where does the Teochew films come from? They come from Hong Kong.”
“How can they get it? Naturally the film companies will not give it to them. There must be a contract with the film companies to get the films. That also is nonsense. Everything is nonsense, and then what happen's? I do not know.”
“Now, we are actually competing with the cinemas or the film producing companies for our audience. It is, therefore, only natural that they only allow us to have films which they think have lost the box office appeal. Most of the films which we can hire from them are more than 10 years old. Of course, they have spent millions of dollars to produce the films, and if they think that certain films can still attract the audience, they would keep them for themselves to show them in the cinemas. They would not want to release them to a television station because once the television station has screened the film then everyone would have seen it and the box office appeal whatever little there is would be lost. It is only natural and business-like for these companies to try and prevent us from getting better films from them. The acquiring of films is a never-ending conflict between a TV station and the film-producing companies and also the cinemas. The film-producing companies and the cinemas are very closely connected with each other. Of `course, the cinemas themselves are very reluctant to see the TV station getting all the good films because it means that we are drawing the audience away from them. Mr P. Govindaswamy: Sir, the Minister has said that there is no discrimination against the Tamil artistes, and that it is nonsense. I have mentioned about the discrimination in the rates of payment for the Malay artistes and the Tamil artistes. That also is nonsense! I have already given the figures. That also is nonsense! The pictures screened are very old. That also is nonsense! If the Broadcasting Department does not pay more for the films how can it get new films? It does not want to pay for them. It is willing to pay only $100 and yet it expects to get a new picture.”
“With regard to outdoor facilities, there is also no discrimination against the Tamil stream. We have a small crew of outdoor cameramen. With their limited facilities, they are mainly used for the production of newsreel and documentaries. As Members know, newsreels and documentaries are transmitted in the four language streams. There is no discrimination against the Tamil stream. There is actually no discrimination at all. The problem is the lack of facilities. Because of this, we have to concentrate on the production of more meaningful programmes, that is. newsreels and educational documentaries, With regard to the children's programmes, I agree that there is room for improvement. Here again, it is very difficult to produce a children's programme as children are unpredictable in their temperament, and it is very difficult to coach them. If we compare our children's programme with Sesame Street. I do not think we can measure up to the quality of that programme because Sesame Street is produced by an organisation specialised in the production of children's educational programmes. Experts in many fields are involved in this quality production. I am not saying that we should not improve our standard of production. The Sesame Street production has got a lot of experts to support it, for example, educationists, child psychologists, writers, artists, composers, choreographers. dramatists; all kinds of talent are involved in the production of that programme. In our case all we have is the programme producer or, at the most, the script writer or the assistant script writer to do the work, The Member has asked why we screen films that are very old. The RTS has to hire these feature films from the film producing companies.”