J.F. Conceicao
Singapore
“Sir, first of all, I would like to express my agreement with the expression of sympathy, almost sorrow, expressed in this House for those people living in the older estates, especially in the one-room flats. I merely rise to seek some information.”
“Sir, I am very gratified that the Senior Minister of State will convey my sentiments to the Board. I think the matter is of great importance that more and more people are brought to the realisation, as I have said, of their past. And it is not just a question of a small number of people working on the Board.”
“I take the point, Sir. And I also take the point of his reference to the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. This is the whole point. It is not to the tourists that we want to give an impression of what Singapore is. It is our people that we want to give the impression to, of what Singapore is and how they are related to Singapore.”
“(v) What is the actual extent of the Centre's contribution towards the solution of the drug problem in the Republic? (vi) Are there plans to shift the present Centre somewhere else in a better and more conducive environment for such rehabilitation work to be carried out?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head U be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CBA 1101. I would just like to reflect a problem which has repeatedly been brought to my attention by my constituents. The drainage in the Tanjong Katong/Mountbatten Road as well as Poole Road, Parkstone Road, Goodman Road area is poor.”
“Sir, I suppose I shall have to do with the Minister's sympathy. With that I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting - (7) That the sum to be allocated for Head U be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead BGA 8401.”
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“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0301 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1003. Sir, the Ministry of Science and Technology has over the past two years or so had its responsibilities increased. Until recently, its staff has undergone some strain. Through my membership of a few committees under the Ministry's purview, I have personally noticed this quite clearly. In the next several months the work of the Ministry will be intensified further with: (a) further work of metrication; (b) increased responsibility over the construction, staffing and equipping of the Science Centre in Jurong; and (c) the possibility of the setting up of the Centre for Applied Research. In view of this pressure as well as possibilities of expansion, I feel that making a Deputy Secretary as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry, instead of a Principal Assistant Secretary, is overdue. I hope that this post, together with the other vacancies, will be filled as soon as possible, and that a three-month delay implied by the Vote is all the delay that will be tolerated. Finally, I wonder whether the Minstrel would, in respect of the proposed Centre for Applied Research, care to expatiate on the brief reference made on this Centre by the Minister for Finance in his Budget address. 3.45 p.m.”
“Sir, I qualified it by saying "a minority of them".”
“On a point of clarification, Sir. Mr Hon Sui Sen resumed his seat.”
“However, apart from the added pleasure of these amenities, the Parks and Trees Division may now feel less disposed to rip up asphalt and pavement in order to plant trees and shrubs and thereby occasionally block the view of motorists as well as make the job of someone who wishes to take a walk along a pavement by the roadside a pretty adventurous one. Sir, I beg to add to those commendatory remarks of other Members, my own humble commendation on the Minister's able statement on the Budget. 6.01 p.m.”
“On another point, the Minister has observed that our success will depend on the capacity of our people to improve themselves through education, training and experience. What the Minister means, of course, is that stress should be placed on continuing education, or adult education. If only the Minister had put it that way! Then encouragement would be given to those agencies making continuing education provisions, which should be always ready to orientate themselves to national objectives. With the bewildering rate of accretion of technical and technological know-how a painful characteristic of our modern world, every encouragement should be given to people to make them aware of the necessity for continuing education. At the same time because of the very emphasis, in modern circumstances, on science and technology, it is hoped that continuing education could also provide a much needed cultural or even liberal and gracious balance against too great a preoccupation with materialistic concerns. On yet another matter reference has been made to the appointment of the Labour Adviser to the Ministry of Labour. The principle behind such appointment - the utilisation of available consultancy - is a sound and commendable one. Perhaps there could be one or two more of such appointments to other ministries. Finally may I end on a sylvan note. I am glad that the Parks and Trees Division will be expanding its area of activity with the opening of new parks and wooded areas. The Parks and Trees Division has done a very good job in Singapore.”
“When they return to their own countries they play the role of willing ambassadors for Singapore, and in the long run help to make Singapore better known to their own people. Incidentally, it would also be good for the Tourist Promotion Board to give help and encouragement to our cultural ambassadors like members of the recent successful cultural mission to Adelaide when they go abroad. And 1 would also imagine that it would be realised as a serious function of the Tourist Promotion Board to act as patrons of local art and artistic activity. Finally, I would like to make brief comments on a few other matters the Finance Minister has referred to. I will keep to the order the Minister himself has observed. With regard to public housing, it is gratifying to note a higher growth rate in 1971. I hope that, with a reduction in the rate of hotel construction and construction of shopping complexes as well as of urban renewal projects, I hope public housing will show an even higher rate of growth, so that tens of thousands of people on the waiting list for Housing and Development Board flats will receive their allocations earlier. With regard to the Mass Rapid Transit System, we were told that the feasibility study would begin this year. Anyway it will get underway soon. What I am concerned about is that we do not wait till the implementation of this system before we see orderly traffic on the roads. Something should be done soon especially through persuasion and education, initially, to make driving more characterised by consideration and courtesy and less by a kind of law of the asphalt jungle. This will help result in more safety for our children, pedestrians, motorists, and help reduce the appalling toll of road deaths and injury and monetary loss through traffic accidents.”
“Could these well-intentioned young people be advised to leave non- Singaporeans alone? One point worth noting may be the rather high hotel charges prevailing in Singapore. Earlier today we heard the Member for Potong Pasir raising the question as to how is it that occupancy rates are falling. One may make a shrewd guess that hotels with a high occupancy rate are those whose charges are tolerable. One point worth noting is that the low rate of occupancy may be due to the rather high hotel charges prevailing in Singapore. With greater ease of air travel, it is not the rich traveller who passes through Singapore as often as the couple or the person who has saved for an earnest look at a foreign land. And such are not those who necessarily want plush, chandeliered environs where the charges are commensurate with the princely setting. A tourist may be disposed to stay longer than the average of 3.9 days that the Finance Minister has referred to, if he were less deterred by high hotel rates. Could this deterrence be a significant reason, among others, why the average stay of visitors has risen only from 3.3 to 3.9 days in five years? Would the Tourist Promotion Board be doing reliable research on this and similar matters? It is useful to note that the Tourist Promotion Board has set up a special conventions unit to encourage the holding of more conventions in Singapore. It would be just as useful to note that help might fruitfully be extended to humbler groups than connectionists, for example, students, educational groups from various countries. These serious-minded people come here to study our ways and our land and institutions.”
“Singapore's cleanness and greenness are features favourably commented upon by visitors. But the people with whom tourists normally come into contact should be encouraged to treat the tourist well and further give him a favourable impression of Singapore. For example, one category of people tourists meet often is the taxi-driver. Some taxi-drivers have commented that previously foreign service-men stationed in Singapore represented a very good clientele. Now that these service-men are fewer in numbers, taxi-drivers should realise a potential new clientele that tourists could represent. Therefore, the minority of taxi-drivers who are disposed to take tourists for a ride at a higher fare than the standard rates should be shown that this is shortsighted. Tourists are pleased when they find that they can get from place to place without fear of being mulcted over fares. And, of course, the Tourist Promotion Board should encourage the acts of honesty we read about sometimes in the papers, when taxi men, for example, return valuables and money left in their vehicles, and when other forms of help are given, even at the risk of trouble to the taxi-drivers. Another type of people tourists come in contact with are shopkeepers. Recently I overheard a tourist complaining that he was unable to get small change for a dollar note from any of a row of stores in a shopping complex. He had wanted to use a public telephones, but was unable to do so until another foreigner offered him a couple of shillings for this purpose. If this uncooperative attitude is characteristic of shopkeepers this will not do our tourist image much good. Another hazard, for example, a visitor to Singapore faces, is the young voluntary worker selling flags for charity.”
“Generally, of course, there could be accelerated depreciation for capital investment in quality control equipment. I would like to imagine that the only reason why the Minister did not add this (seventh) tax relief item to the six tax relief items he listed, was the difficulty in distinguishing, for example, quality control equipment from production equipment. I hope that Government will not forget, however, its undertaking given in the addendum to the President's address at the last opening of Parliament in July, 1971. In the section of the addendum relating to the Ministry of Science and Technology, it was stated that consideration would be given to the possibility of providing tax relief for expenditure on equipment and technical manpower used for quality control also. At the same time if incentives are at all to be offered to employers to improve the sophistication of workers through training schemes, it should be hoped that incentives will also be offered for training in quality control. From the Budget Statement it is clear that no avenue should be overlooked that will lead to assurance of higher productivity. This seems all the more urgent with the reference of the Minister for Finance to the continuing pressure on the balance of payments which he hopes will be relieved through our industrial growth as well as through "invisible" earnings. Tourism is one important activity that results in such earnings. The Minister for Finance has stated that, with greater promotional efforts, the tourist industry may be expected to increase its earnings. I hope, however, that as much promotional pressure will be applied inside Singapore as outside it to boost tourism. By this, I refer to efforts to make the tourist appreciate Singapore as a city well worth visiting.”
“We have therefore to stress, with manufacturers and workers alike, a right view of quality which implies conformity to standards set in relation to reliability of performance. And the criterion of reliability has to be what is expected by the buyers of our goods. If we cannot fulfil market expectations of the standard of our goods-obviously good-bye markets. So that, when the Minister talks of "new markets .., found for the products manufactured by local industries" and "increasing promotional efforts . being made to establish new markets overseas", I am sure he will remember that this will result not only from increasing management sophistication and greatly improved skills of workers but also from better quality of goods. I do not think that the last factor will, of necessity, and automatically, be an outcome of a combination of the first two factors. I do not think that simply because we have excellent management and skilful workers, our goods will automatically be of the best quality Steps must be taken to ensure that all three come together. One of these steps is, of course, what the Minister himself has mentioned, namely, that there must be an equitable sharing of the fruits of greater efficiency (and this must include better quality). The difficulty is how to determine this; and the National Wages Council will have its work cut out to solve this problem. But the determination of incentives to workers to improve quality, as well as the assessment of rewards for higher productivity should be an urgent part of the task of the Council, In the same way there is also the difficulty of determining in what way quality may be ensured through incentives to manufacturers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a week has passed since the Minister for Finance delivered his Budget Statement, but the benign and cheerful effect of the Minister's words is still with us. The Budget has indicated correctly the relative well-being of our people, and holds out a happy expectation for the future, if we harbour our resources as prudently today and tomorrow as we did yesterday. The keynote of the Budget speech seems to be one of prudent confidence based on commendable achievement. However, there is no warrant for complacence. We have to do better. One aspect to look at in our striving to improve is the question of labour productivity. The Minister has admitted that rapid industrial expansion has been wholly dependent on a growing labour input. For the future, however, there can be no industrial growth without productivity. Therefore, a vigorous programme for the up-grading of our manpower skills has to be embarked on energetically, to increase the average productivity of our workers. In this connection, I would like to urge also that more co-ordinated efforts be spent on making people more conscious of the necessity for quality in our products. I suggest that there will be a grave potential waste if proper attention is not given to developing a pride in workmanship, pride in contributing to a finished product of high quality. There seems to be a mistaken belief prevailing in certain quarters that quality is equated with, so to speak, Rolls Royce standards therefore appealing only to a few and hence possessing limited marketability. Nothing could be more disadvantageous to our industrial growth than this mistaken concept.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with respect to noise, in view of the general, and perhaps understandable, reluctance of people to go through the process of making a complaint to the police about noise, especially from their neighbours, will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs agree that the solution to the problem of noise nuisance lies in the same direction as the solution to the problem of littering, that is, in educational measures and methods such as social persuasion?”
“In this way, our young people who are called up learn to rub off, the rough edges of their ethnic or cultural affiliation and adjust themselves smoothly to the ways and behaviour of others. I agree with what has been stated in the addendum to the Presidential speech related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that a prerequisites for our survival as a distinctive people is national cohesiveness, and this cohesiveness is certainly developing in national service and finds national service a most appropriate arena to develop in. Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, I come to that humble area of community service in which the parliamentary backbencher operates. This very address which we are debating and the various addenda contain an indication of how backbenchers. while conscious of their obligations to the Government, have adequately represented their constituents and the people generally. Higher rates of compensation to tenants and squatters, rural electrification, anti-pollution measures, incentives for quality control, recommendation for better bonuses for workers, industrial health and safety, amendments to the Workmen's Compensation Act, emphasis on language teaching, plans to strengthen the existing system of social welfare services- all these measures have at one time or another been agitated for by backbenchers who have thus contrived their own balance to the cohesive development of our community. I associate myself with my other colleagues in thanking the President for his speech to Parliament. 4.00 p.m.”
“Those who are academically disposed are given a chance to come to grips with Singapore at grass-roots level. I do not think it beyond the ingenuity of the People's Association to get speakers for its community centres, if this idea of community education strikes it as worthwhile pursuing. One thing about such talks as 1 have described, they do not possess a "campaign" atmosphere. They are not a vehicle for propaganda. They are educational. In connection with these talks and in view of the growing necessity to get our people to understand better the operations of our bureaucracy, I suggest getting the co-operation of senior civil servants for occasional talks at community centres, in the situations I have described, on the work, policy and aims of various departments. Another possible use of adult education for community development is the organisation of TV viewing groups. This would, of course, depend on TV Singapore being able to provide programmes that would lend themselves appropriately for discussion. At the community centre level, a group is organised to watch the programme and to discuss the programme topic further, or even the programme itself if it happens to be, for example, a dramatic presentation. Yet another area in which a sense of a united people is generated is in the area of national service. Not only does the establishment of our defence credibility ensure internal security and offer a force that will co-operate readily with others to ensure stability in our region, but national service also gives opportunity for our people to be trained together, to work together, to eat together, and to live together.”
“I wonder why there should be a delay in the provision of this facility in this instance. This bridge is necessary also in order to get people across to recreational facilities which 1 hope may be provided soon. Yet another sphere in the organisation of the life of our community, important to its integration, is the sphere of adult education. When people attend adult education classes, they are united in their purpose of improving their life's situation. They experience an encounter with different views. They acquire a deeper respect for democratic exchange. They become more disposed to resort to rationality; yet they imbibe a pro-founder cultural awareness More emphasis must be given to adult education, especially through our community centre organisation. Of course, the atmosphere in the adult education situations that the community centre may provide will be less formal than a classroom situation, but the provision will be valuable all the same. I suggest that regular programmes of community education talks be scheduled at community centres. I have myself helped to get speakers (in Hokkien and Mandarin and a coming one' in Malay) for talks at one community centre. I think these talks have resulted in a worthwhile social and educational experience for those who attended them, including the speakers. The situation that prevails, so far as I have noticed up to the present, is quite unlike that in a classroom, where these talks are concerned. For one thing, the mothers have brought their children along. For another, other- children have come along, for the fun of it. The speakers have to be provided with microphones and loudspeakers, and have to be the best available for the topics concerned. We must expose the community to experts.”
“Another argument for greater urgency to be given to the provision of recreational facilities is that cultural interaction, tolerance and broadmindedness all result from the influences that people exert on one another. I have heard of plans to organise recreation on a constituency basis. It is important that such plans are brought to early fruition. I am sure various Citizens' Consultative Committees, community centre organisation's and associations of residents and house-owners in Housing and Development Board estates could be got to co-operate in such enterprises yielding yet another opportunity for collaboration. But what we must have are more areas set aside for recreation - for basketball courts, badminton halls, swimming pools and the like. 1 think we should look a little more closely at our current provision of golf courses to see if this is an economic use of land for recreational facilities. Coming back to the provision of possibly more optimally used facilities, and with specific reference to my own constituency. I wonder if the space enclosed by the bend of Mountbatten Road opposite Fort Road may be looked into as a venue for recreation for the people living in the crowded Tanjong Rhu Housing Estate. When I think of the swimming pools in Queenstown, the badminton hall in Mountbatten and other amenities in other constituencies, I feel extremely envious and I feel impelled also to make representation for added facilities for those in my constituency who need these provisions. At the same time, I would hope that the pedestrian bridge that I have asked to be erected in the vicinity of the Tun Sri Lanang School be erected with greater expedition than seems to be demonstrated at present. Other less crowded vicinities have had this facility.”
“There has not been, in my view, adequate realisation of the importance also of leisure. Ours has been to a fair extent a Spartan emphasis. It is useful to note that as long as the Spartans were geared for strife they flourished, but as soon as they experienced prosperity they began to degenerate. I think it was Aristotle who said that the Spartans were secure as long as they were at war. But they collapsed when they acquired an empire. Sebastian de Grazia, author of a, I think, definitive work on leisure, has stated that a citizenry unprepared for leisure will degenerate in prosperous times. Defining leisure very simply (I hope this is not an over-simplification), I would equate leisure with the time for healthy recreation. I think the need for recreation is basic to man's nature inasmuch as he needs to relax from the effort and tension of work and thus preserve a physical, psychological and spiritual harmony. There are certain aspects of compulsion in our work situation. Recreational activities and interests are chosen freely and thus they meet more fully people's needs and predispositions. Work is not always compatible with temperament and the hidden cravings of the worker. Recreation as a safety valve is thus essential. Equally important is the fact that recreation provides all sorts of opportunities for our people to come together in the social and integrative atmosphere of recreational activities. When people are living in close proximity, their collective instincts seek expression. A desire for association is enhanced. Recreational opportunities are therefore, in such circumstances, not merely desirable but essential.”
“Such supervised study may be held at a school near the community centre and near the housing estate, in the same circumstances as supervised study sessions, opportunities may be provided for children to have oral practice in their second language. One of the reasons why second-language studies are so retarded today is the dearth of opportunities to have oral practice in the second language. For the purpose of both supervised study as well as second-language practice, the resources of a particular community may well be sufficient for its own needs. Office workers, older students, teachers, retired people - all sorts of people living in a community may be persuaded to volunteer a very modest bit of their time. But a sense of community must be developed to sustain these contributions. In order to develop a sense of identity with a locality, perhaps a judicious sense of rivalry with other localities could also be generated through games, friendly matches, debates, raising of scholarships to send children or residents for special or higher education, and so on. Anything that can give a distinctness to a community should be fostered. But never a sense of jarring competition! If the possibilities are adequately exploited, residents' associations could well be a social institution of some significance in Singapore. Already we have had examples of residents' associations organising for security in precincts, or to protest against an increase in property tax, to help the consumers' movement, to arrange events for the children of residents, and so on. What is needed is a sustained life of such associations. Allied with close living is the problem of recreation, in our society there is a grave and necessary emphasis on work orientation.”
“Do not the circumstances of living in the housing estates provide material for satirical or for more serious presentation, so that we may be moved to laugh at or ponder over the comedy or drama of our way of life? Our choreographers and artists - could they not be concerned with incorporating in their creations features that may make us sensitive to our circumstances? For our life - life soon for one out of every two people - will be life in a housing estate. Meanwhile, while we are waiting for our poets and artists to get cracking, let us encourage the formation of residents' associations in order to facilitate co-operation and adjustment in community living. Our Citizens Consultative Committees and the management committees of community centres are rendering sterling service. Members of a community, however, cannot leave action for community benefit in the hands of a few. It is good for as many people as possible to be involved in looking after their community. Residents' associations will give a chance for people to come forward and make their community contributions, each in his own way. The only way for a community to develop is through self-help. Self-help will generate confidence, self-respect and a sense of belonging to a community. Through the ancillary help of residents' associations our community centres may be revitalised. There are many useful services that can be mobilised through the community centre organisation. Supervised study can be arranged for children who would otherwise be distracted by the crowded conditions in which they live.”
“Very soon half our people will be living in flats and high-rise dwellings built by the Housing and Development Board. In such dwellings multitudes of our people live in dense proximity, not the average 8,000 to a square mile, but 20,000 or even 30,00() to a square mile. We have to arrange for these people to feel happy where they live, to own a sense of belonging to their particular local community, to adjust to this way of living and to adapt themselves to one another. Our President has said that the approach of the Singaporean to problems is generally practical and tolerant. It is in the circumstances of close urban living that we have indeed to make the resort to the practical and tolerant solutions to problems, especially those affecting human relations, ingrained and spontaneous. How do we do this? Our various campaigns to keep Singapore clean and green, and pollution free, and to conserve water will have tended to make people more conscious of their responsibilities one to another. We should constantly remind our people who live crowdedly close to one another that they have to show fraternal consideration for one another in respect of noise, litter, cleanliness and a general sense of community well-being, the understanding of one another's sensitivities, and so on. I remember having occasionally watched a T.V. programme in Chinese which depicted episodes in the lives of some who lived in H.D.B, flats. Would that we had writers of plays who could aptly portray the comedy and drama of life in our housing estates. Not with gauche propaganda or with clumsily concealed exhortation, but with art and subtlety conveying the nuances of human interaction.”
“At the same time, after management has been persuaded into introducing quality control and maintaining it, the benefits of increased productivity should be passed on to workers, who will also have incentives to co-operate in the progress of the enterprise they work in. Here, it may be interesting to note the success of quality control circles in Japan where such circles have been introduced. It would appear that the Q.C, circle is "a group of workers and their supervisor, who organise themselves for the purpose of working on a specific quality control problem related to the work of their section of the plant." (I am quoting from page 1 of a little publication called The Quality Control Circle by a Professor Niland, published in 1971, in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organisation.) I notice from a perusal of this little book that great praise has been lavished on the achievement of the Q.C. Circle movement. Perhaps, Sir, we should take a closer look at this concept of co-operation to see if it will work in our own industrial situation. Another machinery of industrial cooperation is the Works Council. I understand that a Works Council is intended to bring about direct communication between workers and management for the purpose of promoting understanding and better industrial relaxations between the two parties. Every support and encouragement should be given to such consultative bodies aimed at promoting harmonious relations between workers and management, as such a relationship conduces towards industrial efficiency, and is yet another integrative feature in our society. Another area in which we can, and indeed must, generate attention to the factors which bind us together is the area of urban living.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to refer to a particular statement in the President's speech, and generally voice my thoughts on it. The President has declared, "If we are to remain a cohesive people, we must concentrate on the factors which bind us together, and not those which will divide us." Sir, let us view some possible areas in the life of our people wherein we may highlight those factors which tend to unite us. We may then decide to stress the development of those unifying features of our society. Perhaps we can discern more clearly such areas of common purpose if we bear in mind the aspiration and striving of our people for a better and ever better life in all ways. One such important area of common striving is the area of the economic life of our people. At work, Sir, co-operation between workers and management continues to be crucial to economic progress. One significant way in which such cooperation can be fostered is in the ways and means through which the quality of Singapore products may be ensured, thus resulting in increased productivity. To do this, the experience of our workers will have to be married to the skill of our managers and technologists. In this regard, I therefore welcome the declaration in the addendum to the President's speech related to the Ministry of Science and Technology to the effect that among incentives being considered to stimulate research and development in the industrial sector is the possible provision of tax relief for expenditure on equipment and technical manpower used for quality control. Management should take advantage of such incentives when they are offered.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, is it possible for the Minister perhaps to indicate alternative systems that are being generally considered feasible in the light of Singapore's circumstances?”
“I would urge that every effort be made to implement the decision that is involved in the vote on which I am speaking.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 01 be reduced by $10 in respect of item 001 of subhead 101. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am sure that everybody will be very glad to note that an initial sum of $2 million has been set aside for the construction of the proposed subordinate court building at Havelock Road. I wonder if the Minister can give us additional information about the architectural and other features of the proposed building: that is information additional to what has already been given in the Memorandum on the Development Estimates, as well as from any other pronouncements recently made. Mr Speaker, Sir, I think that justice should be meted out in circumstances of proper appearance of physical dignity, and that the law should be administered under conditions that reflect the progress that we see in other aspects of Singapore life. Currently, without going too much into tedious details, an atmosphere of physical gloom, congestion and dilapidation hangs over our subordinate courts. I had an opportunity recently to take a look at them and it was quite a depressing experience. I am sure that in the administration of the law we want to get the maximum public co-operation. I would hope that after this proposed new building is completed, there will be appropriate space and amenities for witnesses and the general public. Mr Speaker, Sir, every year thousands of people, including witnesses, have contacts with the courts. What sort of impression do these people get if the conditions they experience are such as they are experiencing now? Finally. I note with some anxiety that the Memorandum on the Development Estimates states that work may start in mid-year.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply and I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $53,797,630 for Head 1401 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 1402 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1401 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2176. Sir, may I ask what sort of courses have been conducted for officers and what sort of courses are anticipated which will incur expenses amounting to $8,400?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad that, as a result of my raising what I confess now to be a relatively trivial issue, a great deal of light has been thrown on the more fundamental aspects of the work of the Vigilante Corps. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1401 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1601. This subhead relates to the Commandant, Vigilante Corps. I wonder if the Minister can enlighten us on the sort of instruction or training given to members of the Vigilante Corps, vis-a-vis, for example, their general behaviour at functions or outside when they are in uniform. Let me talk about their general behaviour at functions because I had some experience of this. I attended a Vigilante Corps function once and I was rather impressed by the parade, especially the marching of the first few columns. However, when it was all over and when the drinks were served, I had to step aside very agilely in order not to get trampled in the rush for these refreshments. Perhaps they need a certain amount of training in behaviour. This may be just an indication of their behaviour. I think some advice on how to behave under such circumstances may be necessary.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“As you please, Sir, I would just like to have some information why there seem to be various grades of qualifications required for a Force Education Officer. I would imagine that there would be a certain job specification for him. In relation to that job specification, you seek a person with the required qualification. There seem to be four different levels of qualification. Perhaps the Minister can enlighten me on this point.”
“No. I am thinking of making use of the opportunity to move from point to point.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1401 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1357. Mr Speaker, Sir, since I have two other amendments coming up in succession, may I be allowed to range over them as well?”
“It is necessary perhaps to institute some system whereby if a person has committed a certain number of offences he has to take a test again, or some such rule. Again this would mean increasing the number and improving the quality of traffic police personnel. [Interruption] Sir, lots of suggestions are coming from the Backbenches! I shall not proceed any more, as I think that is an adequate indication. If I may move out of that to another little point not connected with the traffic police. It has something to do with the Commercial Crimes Branch. I wonder if the Minister will tell us to what extent proper training in the detection of fraud and such like occurrences is given to, or will be given to, members of the Commercial Crimes Branch.”
“The person who succeeds in drawing the attention of the traffic police to his transgressions feels aggrieved that he has had such bad luck, while others have got away. I do not think it is necessary to detail all sorts of offences that one can meet with when one drives on the road. But what is the reason for this syndrome? I think one can attribute this to the poor quality also of traffic enforcers. I wish to speak carefully, Sir, because I do not wish to make any remarks that would reflect badly on the people who are in charge, but there is a large percentage of members of the traffic police who seem to me not to be adequately trained. It is not unusual when passing a crossing to see obvious breaches of the traffic regulations being ignored by people, by traffic policemen on points duty. I have also seen several instances of a slow motorist hugging the centre of the road or hugging the right side of the road, holding up a whole line of traffic, and passing by on the left is a traffic policeman on a motor-bike and he does not pay any attention at all. He is obviously looking for something else. [Interruption] Yes, I would like to know what! Sir, I think the main cause why there is this lawlessness on the road in respect of breaches of the traffic regulations is that we do not have enough people, and a lot of the people whom we do have have not been adequately trained. I think, too, that it is possible for the traffic police to play a greater role in educating the public regarding traffic regulations. There are many cases where people somehow or other seem to have forgotten the rules of road courtesy, or they may have learnt these rules simply to pass their driving test and have conveniently forgotten it afterwards.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to commend the Minister for having dealt with all the questions that have been raised with such courtesy and for having injected into his answers a note of sweet reasonableness. If his example is followed by his officers and men in the police force, I am sure there will be a very, very great improvement. Notwithstanding that, Sir, I would like to make one or two remarks, the main burden of which refers to the traffic policemen. Sir, I do not wish to make matters more difficult for this unit than they already are, but I feel that a few observations have to go on record. First, I do not think that the establishment of the Traffic Division has sufficient personnel to tackle the enormous task which it faces. Reference has been made in this House to the administrative backlog of traffic offences. Happily, new procedures are being introduced to overcome these difficulties. However, there remains other evidence to show that the task of the traffic police has perhaps been found too formidable. It may be pointed out, Sir, that the large amount of fines collected as a result of police action against traffic offenders indicates some success in enforcement. On the other hand, the fact that one can see drivers getting off with all kinds of infringements of traffic offences, despite the large number of bookings, testifies to the dismal side of the picture. Sir, I am sure all of us would like to see enforcement so successfully achieved that traffic offences are the exception rather than the rule. But I am afraid that this is not so, that the traffic regulations are not universally applied, not because there is any discrimination but because there are not enough people to deal with the situation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I be accorded the same privilege as the Member for Potong Pasir to speak on this?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, when I referred to the possibility of a full-time staff, I was thinking especially of the problem of evaluation. I think it is necessary to keep a watch on what effect these courses are having on our civil servants so that we can make improvements as we go along. The second point that I wish to make is that one cannot really do a good teaching job without resorting judiciously to teaching equipment: just a question of exposing a formal course to an audience is not enough. I do not know whether the Minister would like to answer, but in any case I withdraw my amendment.”
“I hope also that courses will be conducted in creative learning-teaching situations without too much subscription to chalk and talk and rows of civil servants listening to the guru who may happen to be a senior officer handing it out to those who sit at his feet. I do not notice that even under O. C. A. R, there are votes for audiovisual equipment. I hope that when courses are given, every appropriate resort will be made to devices in terms of the format of the course as well as in terms of equipment, which will facilitate training and result in civil servants considering it a worth-while and interesting endeavour to have participated in this training. Finally, Sir, I would also like to know what is meant by "on-the-job training". If it is considered that on-the-job training is important to supplement on-course training, what is being done to formalise or institutionalise such procedures, apart from flinging the Instruction Manual at a new incumbent?”
“Sir, yesterday reference was made in this House to the upgrading of civil servants in terms of salary scales. Reference was also made to the academic qualifications of civil servants. My concern is whether action is being taken to improve the performance of our civil servants. Sir, I would like to congratulate the Minister for Finance on the establishment of the Staff Training Institute. He has given adequate details in his speech at the official opening of this institute. I note that the courses will not only benefit administrative officers but also other subordinate categories of staff who will be included in this training scheme. The Minister has generally clarified the sort of courses that will be provided. If I may ask a few incidental questions on this. Is it correct for us to presume that the instructors will come from within the civil service itself as well as from outside the service? I observe that a certain sum is designated as allowance to instructors. May I ask what the rates of allowance will be? More fundamentally, may I suggest that a basic full-time staff be established for this institute, and that ancillary staff could be composed of part-time instructors, either from within or without the civil service? In this way it will be easier for integrated packages of courses to be designed which will afford training in depth and result in a fundamental improvement in the calibre of civil service officers in the various grades. Moreover, by having a corps of full-time staff, it will be more convenient and more easily manageable for evaluation of the effects of such courses to be made and for appropriate follow-up action to be organised.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1301 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1461. May I have your permission, Sir, to range over my next amendment*? * The amendment reads as follows: That the sum to be allocated for Head 1301 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1466.”
“Sir, I do not think any voluntary organisation or educational body can do the job as well as the relevant officers in the Minister's own relevant unit. I thank the Minister for his answer and I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1202 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1161. Sir, I merely wish to inquire whether there are trained staff under the charge of the Senior Sister Tutor who can undertake the training of nurses in industrial health. With our expanding industrialisation, the question of industrial health has to be scrutinised more and more. It is possible that we may at some future date want to provide the services of industrial nurses in the factories in Jurong, and for that purpose I ask this question.”
“As you please, Sir. The following amendments stood on the Order Paper Supplement - Mr J. F. Conceicao: (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 1108 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1341.”
“This subhead is in respect of the "Mechanical Engineer" who, I thought, was supposed to be in charge of roads, bridges and drainage. If you think I am out of order, I will withdraw my amendment.”
“I just wanted to bring up this brief point to the Minister for National Development, whether he does not think that perhaps the quality of our road surfaces could be improved. I do not know what specifications the road builders adhere to, and how they compare with standards in other countries - am I in order, Sir?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if you wish, you may rule me out of order also.”
“Members should take my remarks in the context of all that I have said in Parliament. During the time even when the Member for Whampoa himself was not yet in this House, Members will find that in all cases, as I have said, I represent my constituency in what I think is right and I reflect views which I think this Parliament should hear.”
“Sir, as long as my statement goes on the record, I will not mind.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if you will allow me, I would like to refer to a remark that maybe I speak for the middle class. I think that remark is gratuitous. I represent my constituency and I reflect any views which I think this House should hear. Hon. Members: Hear, hear!”