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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“The total amount is $250,000, and we are just wondering where we are going to get the money.”
“It need not be emphasised that the spirit of public involvement must not be hampered. On the other hand, it must be encouraged and allowed to develop until the stage is reached when the community centres will be built for the people, by the people and managed by the people themselves. The Member for Jurong has asked for a community centre in Jurong. The answer is that we intend to build one, but the problem is, where are we going to get the money? 7.20 p.m.”
“In the event that the management committee has genuine difficulties in raising donations, the Association has always rendered financial assistance. There were, in fact, instances when the People's Association constructed basketball courts or provided basketball stands and lights and so on for community centres. 7.15 p.m. There were, however, cases where community leaders were over-zealous and wanted to extend their community centres to a size out of proportion to the centres' actual requirements. In these circumstances, the Association had always discouraged them from doing so. Where they insisted on going ahead with the project by assuring the Association that they could manage on their own, it is understandable that the Association was unable to help much, bearing in mind that we have only limited funds provided in our estimates and excessive expenditure of public funds is not justifiable. It is a recognised fact that the management committees have rendered invaluable services since their inception in 1964. Besides providing the vital link between the Government and the people, they serve as a catalyst in the evolution of a spirit of public involvement in community activities. Because of the public spirit of these people, the community centres are accepted as part of the people's own property. There is, therefore, the existence of a sense of pride in the people in these centres. This is a healthy sign and may be regarded as a national asset. It is, therefore, felt that financial assistance, if given too readily, will serve to curb the spirit of public involvement which is being nurtured through relentless efforts, and will encourage a sense of over-reliance by the community centre on the Association to provide every recreational facility.”
“There are only two rural-type community centres in Tanglin Constituency at the moment, namely, the Kampong Chantek Lama Community Centre and the Onraet Road Community Centre. We have now completed plans to build standard-type community centres for Tanglin, because it is the only constituency which has no standard-type community centre at present. (4) The fourth community centre will be built at Kallang Basin. The present community centre is situated on the ground floor of a Housing Board flat. Again, it is not suitable for the purpose, and therefore the Housing Board has agreed to build a new one in that constituency. This needs another $46,000. (5) The fifth community centre is the answer to the query from the Member for Mountbatten. It will be at the Old Kallang Airport Estate. But the problem is that we still have not been able to find a piece of land suitable for a community centre. The money is there but we will have to wait until the Member for Mountbatten is satisfied that a suitable piece of land can be found. As I have said, the problem is not that we are not spending money on the building of standard-type community centres, but how to spend it wisely and get maximum value out of it. In the case of extension of a community centre and expansion of its existing facilities, the expenditure involved is not as much as that incurred in building a new community centre. Normally the cost ranges from a few thousand dollars to about $20,000. In such cases the public-spirited management committee of the community centres have undertaken to raise donations on their own and have taken pride in doing so. They only approach the People's Association for technical advice, such as the preparation of building plans, the cost of which is normally borne by the Association.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Punggol need not worry that we are going to spend a large amount of money on the community centres affected by urban renewal. In fact, out of the $300,000 asked for under subhead 101, we are only allotting about $50,000 to the new Kampong Glam Community Centre which is affected by urban renewal, and only about $10,000 for the community centre at Nelson Road which is affected by certain projects. Another sum of $10,000 will be spent on resiting the Kota Raja Community Centre. Altogether, about $70,000 will be spent on community centres which are either resited or affected by urban renewal. The bulk of the money asked for is meant for five new community centres costing $46,000 each. They are: (1) At the former Christian cemetery, off Bukit Timah Road. This new community centre is asked for by the Member for Cairnhill, because he is of the opinion that his constituents living in the Selegie Road area, which forms part of his constituency, do not have community centre facilities at present. Therefore, he needs one to serve the population there. (2) The second one will be sited at Upper Aljunied Road. There is at present one community centre in Aljunied Constituency, at Joo Seng Road. This community centre is situated in a Housing Board flat and is found to be not very satisfactory. The Member for Aljunied and the management committee of that community centre have asked for a new centre to be built on a piece of land along Upper Aljunied Road to replace the present one. So another $46,000 goes towards this new community centre. (3) The third one is to be built at Whitley Road.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are at present three, and not two, community centres in the Toa Payoh Constituency. The Member should consider himself fortunate to have three community centres in one constituency because many other constituencies have only one. However, it is agreed and accepted that Toa Payoh needs another community centre in the eastern sector of the constituency. In fact, the People's Association has been discussing this matter with the Housing and Development Board for quite some time, but so far it has not been able to obtain a suitable site there. The Association will continue its search, in consultation with the Member for Toa Payoh for a suitable site in the future. In order that the community centre will provide satisfactory amenities to the residents, a building of at least the size of the present one which is being completed in Toa Payoh West, will be needed. Therefore, there is this necessity to search for an empty piece of land rather than to incorporate a community centre in an existing flat. If the Member has any suitable site in mind, he is welcome to put forward his proposal to the People's Association and we will consider it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer to the question posed by the Member for Punggol was given when I answered the Member for Katong who asked about the Adult Education T.V. Production and Training Centre Project during the debate on the Main Estimates. I will, however, briefly reiterate that it has been agreed between the Frederich Ebert-Stiftung of West Germany and the Singapore Government to establish an international centre for the production of adult education programmes and the training of T.V. producers and technicians in this field. Singapore's contribution will be the cost of a building to house the offices, T.V. studios and other engineering facilities, together with the provision of the necessary staff of relevant grades required for the project. The Stiftung, that is, the foundation from West Germany, will provide capital equipment and five experts and officials. The annual recurrent expenditure for production costs will be shared. Government's contribution towards capital expenditure is indicated by the token vote of $10 under subhead 103 of Head 51 of the Development Estimates. It is anticipated that the finalisation of the building plan and the construction of the building will proceed over the next two years. The building plan may now have to be changed to accommodate the E.T.V. of the Ministry of Education, which is looking for a new site. The first payment in respect of construction is not expected until the end of the financial year.”
“studio and, therefore, we need to hire or borrow space in the National Theatre or some other place to stage the shows and make use of the outside broadcasting vans to send the programmes back via microwave link to the studio centre either for recording or for direct broadcast. The Member for Sembawang then asked whether or not this equipment would provide more programmes. I would say yes, for outside broadcasts are something which we have to use at functions like sports and also like the National Day parade. We can broadcast these events direct to the people at the time when the function is on. It provides a sense of intimacy to the audience and in a way it would enrich the contents of the programme and give rise to better audienceship. I am afraid I am unable to give the Member the details of the equipment that we have in the outside broadcasting unit. Basically, we have two vans and there are lots of equipment in the vans. I think there are at least one or two video-tape recorders, cameras and other equipment. If the Member for Sembawang wants to know further, I can give him a list of the equipment. I am afraid I am unable to read it out because most of the equipment is in very technical terms. 6.45 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the equipment represents two sets of micro-wave link equipment for the outside broadcasting vans of Radio and Television Singapore. Each of these sets of equipment consists of a transmitter and a receiver. These two sets of microwave link equipment represent the additional minimum number required to allow for the programmes originating from a venue outside the T.V. studio centre to be transmitted back to the centre. In years past, two sets of such microwave link equipment could be considered sufficient. But recently, in view of the increase of building activities in Singapore, many high-rise buildings constitute obstructions to the line of sight between most of the venues of outside broadcasts and the T.V. studio centre. The additional two sets of microwave link equipment would help to alleviate such difficulties. In addition, these two sets of equipment would also help to provide a microwave link system between Fort Canning and Broadcasting House if the facilities of the Telecommunications Department are to be made use of, especially the Satellite Earth Station, either for sending or receiving television programmes to or from overseas broadcasting organisations. The Member for Sembawang asked three questions on the outside broadcasting vans. The first was, what are the outside broadcasting vans used for? They are used for relaying outside programmes like sports, or programmes which we have to relay from the theatres, like the National Theatre, back to the studio centre. Some shows cannot be staged in the T.V.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, to be fair to E.T.V., I think the programmes which they send overseas for competition are not specially made for participation in those competitions. It is part of the general programmes produced by E.T.V., and because they think that the quality of the production is very good, they therefore choose one of them to enter the competition. I am quite sure that they produce these programmes for telecasting to our schools and not really especially with the aim of entering international competitions in mind.”
“I have already said that there is at least one of them who came from an English school. The reason why they are not considered suitable for promotion is not that they cannot write or speak English, but simply that they cannot perform their work well.”
“I beg the Member's pardon. We have not found it necessary so far to do that. But if it is considered necessary, we will proceed. But I do not see why this has to be done, because if a person is civic-minded and he wants to serve in one of our community centres, there is no reason why he cannot serve in the community centre nearest to his place of work or residence. But if in a specific case where the Member of Parliament in that constituency thinks that a certain person is indispensable, whether or not he is working or living in that area, he will be considered and accepted.”
“Sir, the question of whether a woman can be considered young when she is past 30 years is arguable. I am already 40 years old and I do not know whether I should be considered young or middle aged. I should say that most of our Assistant Organising Secretaries are not so old, and, therefore, they can be sent to the Youth Training Centre without any disqualification. As for the rules of the Women's Sub-Committee, I have already said that they were amended last September to suit the requirements of the place, that is to say, regardless of whether a person is living or working in that area, so long as she has the recommendation of the Member of Parliament in that area, she will be appointed.”
“I think most of them, whether male of female, are sent there for training under the age of 40. I have no idea what sort of training they are giving to the Assistant Organising Secretaries, but I am quite sure that it is such that almost everyone, regardless of sex, can take it.”
“Sir, I do not think the Assistant Organising Secretaries are sent to the Institute to learn something which is not relevant to their work. The training in the Institute is quite relevant to their work. As for sending female workers to the Institute, I do not see why there should be any discrimination as to the sex. I do not want to mention anything about the female sex, but I think they are able to take the training given to them in the Institute. As I have already said, the inspector grade is not a promotional grade, but a transitional step. They are put there on trial to see whether they can be promoted to the next higher grade. If they are found not suitable, they are posted back to their original grade. They cannot stay in the posts of Inspectors forever, because these are not posts for them to fill. This is just a scheme to assess their ability and to see whether they can be promoted. There is no question of sending them to places where nobody wants to go. The community centre is far from being such a place. It is, in fact, a very lively place.”
“Of course, biologically they are quite different from our Minister. If, after they have given birth several times, they are made to run for a few miles, it is very troublesome for them. The next matter I wish to raise with the Minister is this. He has said that those people who were demoted have not lost anything by way of salary. My point is, if anybody has made a mistake, then he deserves to be demoted. But I know at least two persons, and a few others who were affected but who have not complained to me, that although they were appointed as Inspectors, they have been sent to the community centres as Organising Secretaries. So morally it is wrong to put them in cold storage by demoting them.”
“As to the question of sending the Assistant Organisers for training in the National Youth Leadership Training Institute, I would say that this is the proper thing to do in order to widen the scope of their perception so that they can perform their work better in the community centres. No doubt those whom we have sent are rather old, but not all of them are old. Many of them are actually under the age of 40 years. I can assure the Member that the course in this Institute is not so strenuous as to break them. The purpose is to see that they are given proper training so that they can do their work well. There is a Chinese saying Huo tao lao hsueh tao lao, which means "as long as we live, we must take the opportunity to learn." So these Assistant Organisers are sent to the Institute for training. So what! Do you think they cannot stand the rigours of the training? I can still remember that three years ago I myself went through certain training in the Army. I did not find it too bad, although at times it was quite strenuous. I thought it was a very good idea. In fact, I regretted that this training was instituted at such a late stage. That is because there were not enough vacancies in the Institute. But since we have already trained almost every Organising Secretary in the People's Association, we therefore extend the training to Assistant Organisers. Mr Tay Boon Too(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to supplement what I have said and to raise a few more questions. I do not object to what the Minister's contention is, that we must learn as long as we live. But we must learn what is useful. lf we learn something which is useless, it is not worth learning at all. The next point I wish to stress is the fact that most of the Organising Secretaries are females.”
“The Member for Paya Lebar may be further informed that the persons concerned have suffered no loss in salary as a result of the transfer. A few have already been actually working in the People's Association's headquarters since 1969, doing clerical work since they were found not suitable for their duties in the Inspectorate. As to the appointment of members in the Women's Sub-Committee, the appointment of such members is governed by the rules of that Sub-Committee. One of the rules is that the persons appointed must either live or work in the constituency in which the community centre is situated. In the specific case mentioned by the Member, I was given to understand that the person recommended by him was found to be neither living nor working in the constituency. She was therefore not accepted. Subsequently a request was received by the People's Association from a volunteer worker to serve in the Women's Sub-Committee of one of our community centres. As she was working in the Paya Lebar constituency, she was therefore recommended to the Member for Paya Lebar for consideration, but unfortunately she was not accepted. 4.00 p.m. However, Members need not bother about this now because the rules of the Women's Sub-Committee have been amended since last September to allow for more flexibility in the appointment of members to the Committee. So long as the Member of Parliament for that constituency is satisfied that the person is useful for that particular area, she will be appointed to the Women's Sub-Committee regardless of whether or not she is residing or working in that area. May I also add that not all of the staff in the People's Association are working in air-conditioned offices; only one or two of the more senior staff have this facility.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not true to say that Inspectors in the People's Association are removed from their posts or demoted because of their deficiency in English. In fact, as far as I know, there was at least one person among those who were so transferred who came from an English School. The posts of Inspectors in the People's Association are not in the promotional grade. They are held by promising Organising Secretaries on trial with a view to assessing their suitability for promotion to the next higher grade of Assistant Supervisors. The duties of an Inspector involve the supervision of a number of community centres, giving guidance to the central staff, and representing the Director at Management Committee meetings. The posts themselves carry no increment except that the Inspectors are all paid each an allowance of $30 a month for discharging duties more onerous than those of the Organising Secretaries. There are instances where Organising Secretaries who have performed their duties satisfactorily in the centres have failed to live up to expectations in their new posting in the Inspectorate. As a result, communication breaks down between the Association's headquarters and the Management Committees. The transfer of the staff in question back to the community centre is a necessary step in the reorganisation of the People's Association's headquarters to ensure that its administrative machinery will not be bogged down. It is appreciated that the staff concerned have given many years of loyal service to the People's Association, but it is also imperative to make sure that promotion is based on merit rather than seniority, and that the ambition of the young and intelligent workers is not frustrated.”
“Sir, the Member for Jurong just now was rattling off his speech so fast that the interpreter was unable to catch up with it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this is a very complicated plan, but if the Member wants it, I can, of course, give him a very brief idea of what this is about. This is a project supported by both the Government and the Frederich Ebert-Stiftung of West Germany. The agreement was signed between the Government and the Foundation in 1970 to establish an international centre for the production of adult education programmes and the training of T.V. producers and technicians in this field. The project will be known as CEPTA - Centre for Production and Training for Adult Education Television. CEPTA will be a joint venture with Singapore contributing to the capital cost of the building to house studios and offices, and the Frederich Ebert-Stiftung providing capital equipment. Most of the staff for CEPTA will be employed by Government, while the Frederich Ebert-Stiftung will provide five officials and experts. There will be a sharing of annually recurrent expenditure for production costs. Most of the countries in South-east Asia have indicated to the Frederich Ebert-Stiftung that they are interested in participating in this project. It is the intention that an association of participating members will be formed to formulate members' programmes and training requirements. It is expected that the United Nations agencies will also co-operate in some of the undertakings of CEPTA. This is as far as I can say, and I hope the Member gets a clearer picture.”
“Sir, this is a token sum for a plan which we have in mind to be introduced later this year, but we are not quite sure of the exact amount we will require for this project. Therefore, we have just simply put in a token sum for the time being, but when the details of the financial arrangement have been obtained, the amount can be properly specified in the subsequent supplementary estimates for the budget.”
“We thought this would help our people to appreciate some good aspects of western culture, but we were forewarned that if the Singapore station is the only station in this region that wants this kind of film, it would have to bear the cost of the film print and the cost of freight, including the insurance charges, to bring the film all the way here from Britain and to send it back also. This, plus the rental of the films, makes the cost of acquiring such films prohibitively high. If we have to do the same to every film that we show and pay the high cost, I think the money provided for in this subhead would not last for more than six months, let alone for the whole of the financial year. So that is the position we are faced with.”
“The same applies to countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and others, because these countries do not have a film industry. So whether we like it or not, we have to depend on western countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany and Australia which have better developed resources to supply the whole range of T.V. programming on a world syndicated basis. Films from these countries are normally in English. Therefore, the language problem is not so great when we use these films. That is the reason why a great percentage of telecasting time is devoted to western films. In fact, about 52 per cent of the telecasting time is given to English films and programmes like that. It is not that we want to, but because we just cannot get enough films in the other languages. But to help our audience understand some of the films, sub-titles are used. Even with the English films that we are getting, our choice is very narrow. We can only pick and choose from a list of films which the film distributors have decided to release for circulation in this region. In normal practice, a distributor only brings in a film for circulation in this region when he is sure that several stations in this region want to rent that film. In other words, we have to follow the crowd, and it is difficult to impose our independent taste in the matter of film selection. For example, recently we wanted to acquire some films from Britain on opera, ballet dancing, choir singing, music and so on.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we accept the argument that we should have more T.V. films from the countries in this region. It is important that we should know more about our neighbours, learn more about their ways of life, understand their customs and even their love stories. However, most countries in this region, for that matter the whole of Asia, do not have an economy which can support a very sophisticated film industry. We need a lot of films to fill the long telecasting hours we have on T.V. We have altogether 106� hours per week of telecasting time to fill. When we look at the map of this region or the whole of Asia, and ask the question, which are the countries which can provide us with a regular supply of films in the language understood by the majority of the people here, we find that the answer is in the negative. Japan no doubt has a film industry but we cannot use films which are in Japanese dialogue. Dubbing them into one of our languages is out of the question. The equipment, the time and the technicians required to do the work would make the cost too prohibitive for us. Besides, there are political implications to consider. Hong Kong produces a lot of Cantonese and Mandarin films, but they are mainly feature films, love stories, sword fighting and so on. They are produced by a few big film companies which are very much profit-minded and they would not normally allow their films to be used by the T.V. stations unless the earning power of the films is exhausted. In fact, there is an understanding among them that only films of more than ten years old would be released to T.V. stations. So this is far from satisfactory. Besides, we cannot get films of other types from Hong Kong, such as documentaries, variety shows and so on.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the senior posts referred to are the Cost Accountant or Financial Manager, the Assistant Cost Accountant, the Production Planning Manager, the Works Manager, the Estimator and the Purchasing Officer. The first four are Division I posts and the last two are Division II posts. However, the Production Planning Manager and the Works Manager are posts which are regraded from the Deputy Government Printer and the Superintendent posts respectively. In terms of net increase, there are only four new appointments. These, together with the regraded posts mentioned above, are meant to serve as a nucleus of executive staff to undertake new functions in the cost-conscious set-up. It will be noted that the new senior appointments are not the result of any increase in the work-load but a need to undertake jobs competitively and economically viable. As to why there is no increase in the junior appointments, the reason is that there are at present insufficient job commitments to warrant an increase in their number. Mr P. Govindaswamy: Sir, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as regards "What Others Say", I understand that there has been an improvement in the programme. If you watch this programme, you will see that it has been vastly changed; one of the changes is the presentation of this programme. There are now two readers instead of one - a male and a female -in order to make it more interesting. The graphics are also better presented. It is not correct to say that the programme is confined to quoting local newspapers. Frequently, quotations are included from English publications like The Times, the Guardian, the Economist; American publications like the U.S. News and World Report and The Times of New York; Australian publications such as the Bulletin; the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review and the English translation of the French paper, Le Monde. We have also quoted from the Bangkok Post and the Manila Times on matters of interest for our viewers or listeners. But the problem is that these newspapers do not always carry articles which are of relevance to us. If there is anything in the newspapers which is of interest to us, we will certainly use it. As regards the technique of the producers and the announcers, I agree with the Member for Katong that there is room for improvement. This matter will be looked into. We also have regular courses for producers and announcers to attend, and regular training sessions in all aspects of programme production in radio and T.V, with the assistance of foreign experts.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we will look into the matter and try to get the Tamil announcers to improve in their pronunciation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we will study the question of the chain picture comic books. However, on the question of books imported from abroad, they are censored. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that every book must go through censorship. Perhaps some hooks may have escaped the net or there may be some books sent by post. We cannot carry out censorship on books sent by parcel post too strictly. In our system of censorship, other than in the case of undesirable publications, we have tried to adopt a liberal policy so that the people of Singapore can read various kinds of books, particularly those in good taste. Of course, we will pay attention to censorship. We have set certain standards in regard to books, particularly those relating to chain picture comic books which depict violence and sex. We have laid down certain criteria by which we do not allow such books to be imported into Singapore. However, Singapore is a centre of communications in this region and, as such, many people can send such books into or through Singapore by various means. Therefore, there are loopholes which we cannot plug for the time being. So far, these are the principles I have enumerated, but I should say that in general we should hold liberal views on censorship so as to enable an exchange of minds.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not remember having seen any Red Indian dances in the programme Pesta Pop. It may well be that the wearing of costumes resembling those worn by the Red Indians has given him that impression. As a matter of fact, we do not know whether or not it is really a Red Indian dance. There is no authority in Singapore on Red Indian dances or Red Indian costumes. They may look like Red Indian dances or costumes, but they may not be so.”
“I think the programme producers are trying to experiment with new trends in the various folk dances. It is admitted that the Pesta Pop programme is produced in the national language, and therefore we should have more Malay folk dances in the programme. But it does not mean that we have to confine this programme to Malay folk dances only. It is meant to cater for the tastes of everyone, although more Malay viewers enjoy this programme. We also hope that viewers from the other language streams can also enjoy it. Therefore, I think we should allow the programme producers to experiment with whatever new forms of dances they wish to. Tuan Haji Rahmat Bin Kenap(In Malay): Sir, I am not only concerned with Pesta Pop which is produced in Malay, but I am also concerned with such programmes in the other languages. I hope such dances are not telecast on T.V. Singapore. What is the opinion of the Minister with regard to such crazy dances being given a place in such programmes in all the languages? 4.15 p.m.”
“As to the healthy cultural activities referred to by the Member for Sembawang, although I do not fully agree with what he has said, we will look into it. Of course, we need to have some entertaining programmes on television as well as over the radio. We cannot only have what he calls educational programmes. If he wants educational programmes, or if he is interested in secondary education, then he should switch to E.T.V. But there are also good programmes on T.V., such as documentaries, music, and other cultural programmes. If we were to accept the Member's suggestion that we should wipe out all the pop songs and the more popular programmes on T.V., we would end up with nothing at all. I am afraid we cannot do that. As to his other point about holding a cultural festival in Singapore, I think this is worth looking into, and I am definitely going to give it very serious thought. But if I am right in interpreting what he has said just now about cultural activities, that they refer to free cultural shows in the open air, like the Aneka Ragam we had in the old days, then I would say that those days are gone, because since then we have become more sophisticated. Instead of performing their shows in the open air, the artistes are now invited to perform in our T.V. studios, so that their shows can be enjoyed not only by a few thousand people, as in the case of open air shows, but by hundreds of thousands of T.V. viewers. In this respect, I think T.V. has supported cultural activities in Singapore. Tuan Haji Rahmat Bin Kenap(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether he considers Red Indian dances suitable for Singapore's culture. Mr Jek Yeun Thong: Sir, I have no idea that our artistes are capable of performing Red Indian dances in our T.V. studios.”
“Thank you, Sir. So in spite of the fact that the National Theatre Trust have not received a single cent from this House in the way of direct subsidy, they have been able to form very good cultural groups in the Theatre. This has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of the Trust members and the artistes concerned, and also by the generous donations from the public. But I think this state of affairs cannot last very long. The members of the Trust are tired of going out now and then to ask for donations from the public for the National Theatre. In fact, the time has come for us to ask this House for money to subsidise the cultural activities of the National Theatre Trust. We must realise that we cannot expect to promote the fine arts for nothing. If we think that these cultural shows are good and can contribute to our gracious living, we must be prepared to pay for them. We want to pay our artistes as much as we can, and as much as they deserve. But as I have said, due to financial limitations, we are not able to do so. It is not possible to pay each member of the Chinese orchestra more than $40 per month, but members of the Singapore National Symphony Orchestra are paid higher rates of honorarium because the rates are laid down by the Musicians' Union of Singapore, of which many of them are members. The honoraria paid to members of the Chinese orchestra are lower than the rates laid down by the Musicians' Union of Singapore, and also lower than the fees paid by the Broadcasting Department. Therefore, I am giving very serious consideration to the financial position of the National Theatre Trust as a whole with a view to ---”
“Sir, in view of the fact that many Members will be withdrawing their amendments, I wonder if we can lift Standing Orders to enable me to give them a more detailed reply on this subject.”
“A few days ago the English newspapers played up only those speeches of Members who spoke in English. Similarly, the Chinese papers only picked up those speeches delivered in Chinese. Presumably some Members must have cyclostyled their speeches and distributed them to the Chinese newspapers, for they printed them in full, every word of it without any editing. This is the way things go. But I think we will be deceiving ourselves if we say that this problem can be solved very quickly. We have so far only diagnosed the symptoms, but I think we are far from finding a cure. Presenting cultural shows in the different language media, with interpretation and explanation, might be a help, but I doubt very much they will, because cultural dances and shows are only staged very occasionally. We need to look into other fields, like the newspapers, to see whether they should also play a role in bridging the gap, so to speak, between the different cultural groups. The Member for Paya Lebar spoke about the National Theatre. The National Theatre Trust has done a very commendable job in the promotion of cultural activities. This is even more evident when we consider the fact that since the time the Trust was formed, not a single cent has been voted in Parliament to subsidise it. Nevertheless, it has been able to raise from scratch a Chinese orchestra, a choir and a symphony orchestra, and together they have staged many fine performances. In 1970 they conducted 14 indoor concerts.”
“After some time he is conditioned to certain fixed views which only he and the English-educated group hold. He begins to adopt the outlook which is typical of that group. So he closes his mind to things which are happening in the other groups. The same thing happens in the Chinese newspapers which, amongst other things, constantly remind their readers of their glorious past -four thousand years of history and so on, and of the importance of not giving in to the influence of western decadent culture. This brings about a polarisation of views between the two groups. 4.00 p.m. One interesting thing for us to do here is to watch how different newspapers play up different things. Take, for instance, the story of the shooting of monkeys in the Botanic Gardens. The English newspapers splashed the story on the front page, with follow-up stories of demonstration, by some students, presumably from the English schools, against the shooting of these monkeys. But the Chinese newspapers laughed their heads off. They thought the whole thing was very funny, that it was ridiculous. They laughed at the stupidity of the English press for playing up such a story. Their immediate reaction was: Chih pao fan mei yiu shih ching tsuo. To express it in English is a bit difficult, but it means something like this: they are too well fed, so much so that they have nothing to help them digest their food; they therefore had to play up this story as a pastime. The Chinese press asked, "Why waste time and valuable space on this story of monkeys? Why do they not think of the thousands of human beings being shot in Vietnam by weapons far more deadly than those used against the monkeys in Singapore?" Another example is the way the different language newspapers report the debates in this House.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the problem of this cultural gap is a very complex one, and it is even reflected in this House. On the one hand, we have Members asking for a more liberal attitude towards censorship, and, on the other, we have Members asking for a stricter censorship on films, to cut out films showing girls' bare bosoms and to stop using pop songs in the variety shows on T.V. They have suggested that, instead, we should only have piano recitals and cultural dances. So this is a very complex problem. I think we will be deceiving ourselves if we say that a simple and easy solution for it can be found overnight. This has come to our notice only recently after more and more of us have become bilingual and begun to move from one group to another. In the past we always thought that differences in tastes, in outlook and in the way we look at life existed only among the different racial groups, and we felt that if we could introduce a common language so that we could communicate with one another, the problem would be half solved. However, this is not to be the case. We have now found that even among people of the same race but coming from different educational streams, there exist differences in tastes, in the way they look at life and in what they understand to be their responsibilities towards society. I suggest that this has something to do with the way one is brought up, the kind of friends one has and the kind of books and newspapers one reads. All these factors tend to pull our people apart and confine them in different compartments. A vicious circle is therefore formed. If a person is educated in, say, the English stream, he reads merely the English newspapers which emphasise subjects of interest only to the English-educated group.”
“UPPER THOMSON ROAD HOUSING BOARD COMPLEX (Completion date and allocation of premises) 3. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Law and National Development if he will ascertain from the Housing and Development Board when the Upper Thomson Road Shopping Centre will be ready; and if, in the allocation of shophouses, etc., in the Centre, preference will be given to shop-keepers and residents affected by the widening of Upper Thomson Road and to hawkers living in that Constituency.”
“Alarmed at the bad state of affairs in the United States, President Nixon recently called for a campaign to clean up the smut that has been generated since the relaxation of censorship there. He was afraid that the warped and brutal portrayal of sex in books, plays and movies, if not halted and reversed, could poison the well-springs of American and western culture and civilisation. But the harm has been done and it is now difficult to undo it. This is a good lesson that we must learn. We must not allow the American disaster in the experiment of culture to be repeated in Singapore. We are also conscious of the fact, however, that if our present system continues, there will be fewer and fewer films suitable for the general audience. We are therefore trying to find a compromise in devising a simple system of classification. We cannot say as yet when this system can be implemented, because there are many problems which have yet to be settled, problems such as the age limit for the audience for a particular category of films; how the system is going to be enforced; who should be responsible to see that persons of the right age will be admitted to watch the right category of films; whether the system will be acceptable to all cultural groups in Singapore, and so on. Until we can find solutions for these problems, all we can now say is that we are travelling towards that direction, and it is hoped that details can be arrived at later in the year. I would like to point out at this juncture that film classification will not replace film censorship. It will be a useful complement to film censorship. With film classification, it is likely that the film censors will not need to cut out as extensively as before, at least as far as films for adults are concerned.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the question of film classification has been under active consideration for quite some time. Film distributors, Government officials and the ordinary cinema-goers have all been involved in the discussion one way or the other on this matter. So far there has been no consensus of opinion among the parties concerned on a system of film classification, and on whether or not the system will definitely be better than the existing film censorship. It is true that systems of film classification have been in operation for quite some time in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and certain other industrially more advanced countries, but there has been no indication that the standard and quality of films have improved because of the introduction of the systems. In fact, it has become more and more apparent that the contrary is the case. Many big film production companies in Hollywood which have been responsible for the production of some of the finest films we have ever seen are being forced to wind up business because films produced by them at high cost have not been able to compete with low-budget films produced by smaller companies or even individuals who peddle pornography. There is no doubt that there has been a sustained degeneration in the standard of films since the introduction of the system of classification in the western countries. It is these facts that have made us hesitant in taking the plunge, for although we do not want to deny our adult citizens the pleasure of watching some of the films born out of a permissive society, it is certainly not our wish to turn our city into a pornographic jungle like New York or Copenhagen.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 2, line 42, after "3", to insert "or 8". This is a consequential amendment and is necessary after the acceptance of the new clause. Amendment agreed to. Clause 4, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed. EXEMPTED BUSINESS (Motion) 7.25 p.m.”
“Question put, and agreed to. Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the clause be read a Second time." Under clause 7 of the Bill, there is provision for exemption and paragraph (a) of sub-clause (2) of clause 7 specifically stipulates that the Bill should not apply to any cigarette advertisement contained in any newspaper (other than that specified in the Gazette) which is printed or published outside Singapore and is brought into Singapore for sale, free distribution or personal use. When this stipulation was written into the Bill, it was envisaged that magazines of a truly international character should not be debarred from being distributed in Singapore, as such foreign magazines help to enrich the intellectual life of Singapore. As I have already mentioned just now, there are magazines which are distributed as free supplements to some local newspapers but which are printed outside Singapore and which qualify for exemption. As these supplements are given away free and distributed together with local newspapers, their circulation is as big as that of the local newspapers to which they are attached. If this is not checked, the purpose of the law will be defeated because other newspapers which have no supplements to distribute will then try to produce them and have them printed outside Singapore with cigarette advertisements and brought into Singapore for distribution as their supplements. The new clause to the Bill, when read with clause 7, makes a distinction between publications which are printed outside Singapore but are distributed free as supplements to local newspapers which are not exempted, and publications which are printed outside Singapore but are sold independently in their own rights and which are exempted. Sir, I think this new clause is necessary and I beg to move that it be added to the Bill.”
“This should be the most effective way to end all arguments on whether or not a particular publication should be exempted. Sir, I beg to move. Amendment agreed to. Clause 7, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 8 and 9 ordered to stand part of the Bill. New Clause - "Newspapers (1) Notwithstanding any other provision published of this Act, no person shall distribute outside or supply, or cause to be distributed Singapore or supplied, whether free of charge containing or otherwise any newspaper or printed advertisment matter containing any advertisement relating relating to smoking which is printed or to smoking published outside Singapore and is not to be brought into Singapore if such distributed newspaper or printed matter with newspapers published in (a) forms part of, or is supplemental Singapore to, any newspaper that is printed or published in Singapore; and (b) is supplied or distributed to any purchaser or subscriber of any newspaper that is printed or published in Singapore, whether or not the first-mentioned newspaper or printed matter is supplied or distributed at the same time as, or together with, the newspaper printed or published in Singapore. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and im- prisonment, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding four thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.".- [Mr Jek Yeun Thong]. Brought up, and read the First time.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 3, line 31, to leave out "any newspaper" and insert "a newspaper (other than a newspaper specified by the Minister by notification in the Gazette)". Paragraph (a) of sub-clause (2) of' this clause gives exemption to foreign periodicals and newspapers which are published and printed outside Singapore. In other words, foreign newspapers like The Times of London or The Times of -New York and foreign magazines like The Economist, the New Statesman and -so on can be imported into Singapore with cigarette advertisements in them. I have already explained that we cannot control their editorial policy and, what is more important, we do not want to cut ourselves off, culturally and intellectually, from the rest of the world. So exemption has to be given to these foreign publications. But there are other types of publications printed outside Singapore which we do not want to exempt. They are the supplements of local newspapers. In present day practice, a local newspaper can arrange to have a supplement edited and printed outside Singapore and imported into Singapore for distribution with the newspaper. A doubt will therefore arise whether or not these supplements should qualify for exemption under this clause. 7.15 p.m. It is hoped that this amendment which we are now putting in, together with the new clause which I am going to introduce later on, should be able to clear this doubt by drawing a distinction between the supplement of a local newspaper printed outside Singapore and an independent foreign publication. The amendment also gives powers to the Minister to single out the newspaper supplement that is not to enjoy the exemption.”
“Sir, I propose that consideration of clause 4 be postponed because the amendment which I propose to move in this clause is dependent on the acceptance of the new clause which I have given notice to move.”
“The Member for Kallang has asked whether the Government or the sports organisations are allowed to accept donations from cigarette companies such a~ Rothmans or the Singapore Tobacco Company. I have the assurance of the Minister for Social Affairs that these donations are acceptable to them. But I think we must make a difference in this. We are banning advertisements on cigarettes. But if the cigarette companies are willing to donate funds for sports organisations, I think we should have no objection because the publicity would not actually be given to cigarettes but would be given to the companies which are donating the money. As regards ash-trays, diaries and articles which the cigarette companies may try to distribute to the people, I think these are matters which we cannot help. But as I have said, we are keeping a watch on these matters, and if they become uncontrollable, we will try to think of some means to control them. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Jek Yeun Thong]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr N. Govindasamy in the Chair] 7.12 p.m. Clauses 1 to 3 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 4 -”
“Sir, it is very interesting to know that before this Bill is passed into law, everyone starts looking for loopholes in it to circumvent it. This is quite natural to people. All I can say is that we are watchful for any circumvention of the law. We will try to implement it in a way that is best in the interest of the country. The Member for Sembawang has said that the provisions in the Bill are not comprehensive enough. I wonder whether he can suggest more comprehensive measures which we can take, short of prohibiting people from smoking. As regards foreign magazines, I think we all agree that we should not cut ourselves away from the trends and information imparted by these magazines. Although it may be possible for cigarette companies to buy a few hundred thousand copies of Life magazine carrying cigarette advertisements and distribute them free to people, I do not think cigarette companies can afford to spend so much money in buying up thousands of copies of international magazines such as Life and Time for free distribution to the public. But if that does happen, we can think of ways to stop it. As regards advertisement commercials on television coming in from Malaysia, I would say that it is something that we cannot help. We are an open city subject to influence from many forces from outside. It is not possible for us to isolate ourselves from these influences. All we can do is to strengthen the resistance of our young people in this respect so that they can differentiate between what is good and what is bad. We can also introduce filmlets, announcements and stills against smoking on T.V, and over the radio instead of commercials on cigarettes. I think this would help to cancel the effect which will come over the air from outside.”
“We may have to modify and readjust later on, it is to be expected that the cigarette industry, with enormous funds at its disposal, will try to find other ways and means of marketing its products. We are therefore watching them very closely, for they may probably try to circumvent the law by putting more money in mass media originating from outside this country. If that does happen, we will have to introduce new measures to meet this new challenge. We will not hesitate to introduce new provisions to give more teeth to the law. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 6.39 p.m.”
“It is thus necessary to introduce this Bill in order to make the ban applicable to all mass media in Singapore - newspapers and magazines which are printed in Singapore, billboards, films, posters, and so on. In this regard, there must be exemption for foreign magazines for obvious reasons. Firstly, we cannot control the editorial policy of international magazines, and, secondly, we do not want to isolate ourselves from external thoughts and literature. In any case, the circulation of such magazines is probably small and largely confined to those who are resistant to most methods of persuasion. Clause 7 (2) (a) gives exemption to this type of international newspapers and magazines which are printed or published outside Singapore. On the other hand, we are not going to grant exemption to supplements of local newspapers, even though the supplements are printed outside Singapore. I therefore propose to introduce at the Committee stage a new clause to make it absolutely clear that supplements of local newspapers are not to be exempted under clause 7 (2) (a) . Newspapers and magazines printed in Malaysia will have to be given special treatment because our two countries lie so close to each other. I do not think publications from Malaysia should be given the same exemption which we are giving to the international magazines. We therefore propose to take administrative action to prevent Malaysian newspapers and publications from coming into Singapore if those newspapers and publications contain cigarette advertisements. As the first ever legislation of this kind to be introduced in this part of the world, we cannot be sure of how it is going to turn out.”