Kenneth Chen Koon Lap
Singapore
“All right, Sir. I would like to ask the Minister of State, in view of the fact that the employer has no control over the runaway maid - and when the maid runs away they suffer both inconvenience and financial loss - can the Ministry consider, in genuine cases, whether they can lower the amount of the forfeiture?”
“Recently, there seems to be a let up on the effort made to press home the importance of the save water message to the public. As the demand and supply of water is interlinked, and while we can ensure more water supply in the future, it is equally important to limit the demand as much as we can now.”
“Therefore, I would like the Minister to inform us what new initiatives have been introduced, apart from increasing the stringent checks on the checkpoint at the Causeway, constant patrolling of our shores, and the tough laws against illegal immigrants as well as those who harbour them.”
“I have often come across cases in my meet-the-people sessions where even after the victim has received court judgement, he still requires the services of a lawyer to take follow-up action to ensure that the court order is being enforced when the other party defaults, and the victim is at a loss as to whom to turn to and how to proceed in…”
“Sir, I cannot help feeling that there still exists this perception of a great divide between the private and public sectors. This is not healthy, nor is it desirable. I would like to continue seeing all Singaporeans, be they in the public or private sector, working together for the good of the nation.”
“May I ask the Minister, now that the number of applications for HDB flats has lessened and the waiting time is less, can HDB give a more accurate completion time?”
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“If this Bill, which is now being debated in Parliament and for which the media have spared no efforts in covering, has only such limited effects, then I really doubt its value. Although this Bill provides that parents may go to court to sue their children for maintenance, it does not necessarily mean that the parents will receive their maintenance promptly every month, even after the court has made a ruling. If the children fail to pay the maintenance, the parents will have to bring their children back to the court again for an enforcement order. They cannot expect the matter to rest with just one appearance in court. First of all, to make the children pay up the maintenance to their parents as ordered by the court, is just like the maintenance issue in divorce cases where the parties will always have to go through the legal processes which are too tangled up to unravel. There is a problem in implementation. In his reply to me, Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon too admitted it. Secondly, if the purpose of this Bill is to make the children afraid of being brought to court and branded as greatly outrageous, and therefore not daring not to maintain their parents, then the reporters from the newspapers can be even more effective for this purpose. They can interview the parents and even present them on television to tell the whole world how unfilial their children are. I think this will be more effective than bringing them to court. Now, let me express my views on this Bill. Mutual distrust between parents and children Let me give you two real-life illustrations. A resident in my constituency had all along been giving money to his mother for her to pay the monthly conservancy charges to the Town Council.”
“Apart from getting maintenance for the parents, it is imperative that some form of punishment as a deterrent should be introduced, otherwise it would not convey the society's resolution that such irresponsibility and cruelty is socially unacceptable. Sir, I repeat that I am for some form of legislation to protect the old folks but I cannot support this Bill as presented, as it is not going to be effective and, therefore, fails to address the objective of the intention. Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang)( In Mandarin): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Nominated Member, Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon, approached me to give my comments on his draft Bill before he introduced it in Parliament. I raised a number of questions with him and from his written answer to me he confirmed a number of points. Firstly, he agrees that, at the moment, the issue of children neglecting their parents is not a problem in Singapore. Secondly, he feels that filial piety in our society has not deteriorated to a state which is as bad as that in the developed countries. Thirdly, if the children are poor, the law cannot compel them to do the impossible. For those who are genuinely poor, the State should offer them financial assistance. From my understanding, Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon is of the view that the introduction of this Bill can only achieve the following limited effects: 1. For those recalcitrant ones who refuse to maintain their parents despite repeated counselling efforts, there is at least a channel for the parents to sue for maintenance through the legal process; and 2. With this law being in force, the children will be less inclined to neglect their parents, for fear of being sued in court and lose face.”
“Whereas in the case of the parents, as long as shelter and food are provided, it can be argued that they are being maintained. Secondly, even if the children decide not to maintain their parents, the worst that can happen to them is that the parent can go to court to sue the children and if the children are found guilty, all they have to do is to start providing financial support to the parent and would not suffer any adverse consequence. In other words, the Bill lacks one very important ingredient, ie, the deterrent factor in which those who are found guilty of violating the provisions will have to face appropriate punishment. Let us be reminded that the target of this Bill is at the incorrigible few. Even Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon has stated that there would not be a big rush of parents suing their children and that the intention is to just keep this Bill in the background to be used only if and when necessary. Therefore, to deal with this group of hard core people effectively, there must be a punitive measure so that they would think twice if they decide to abandon or abuse their parents. Would we be over-reacting in imposing punishment to those offenders? I do not think so because there is already in place a legislation which punishes parents for abandoning their children or for abusing or ill-treating their children. It is perfectly appropriate to do vice-versa. To conclude, the proposed Bill needs to be examined more carefully. It is recognised that filial piety and love for one's parents cannot be legislated. Therefore, no Bill can make those who are already unfilial or actively abusing or neglecting their parents more filial or responsible.”
“On the one hand, the elderly may be a victim of villains who qualify as unfilial sons and daughters. On the other hand, the abuse and neglect may come about due to excessive stress faced by the care-giver of the aged or infirm elderly. I think the Bill should attempt to address the former where the elderly has been victimised. In such cases, the elderly is financially exploited and deprived of the needed medicine, food, clothing, housing, social contact and assistance with daily functions. While such a Bill will have no or very little impact on the majority of us, because I still believe strongly that the average Singaporean will uphold the Asian values for a long time to come, we will have to accept that there will always be a group of hard-hearted people who have actually and severely neglected their parents. If we want to deal with this small group of incorrigible hard core people, we must have a Bill that is much more definite and finite in order to be totally effective because the Bill presented has not clearly defined what it means by "adequately maintained". For example, can the court take action on those who so cleverly disguised their unkind action by just providing their parents with a space to sleep, feed them with the minimum amount of food and yet still put psychological pressure on the old folks day after day? Can they be deemed to be adequately maintained? Therefore, the children can claim that their parents are being looked after. Sir, maintaining parents is different from maintaining divorced spouses and children because divorced spouses and children stay separately and it is a clear-cut situation where a quantum of financial amount is needed for the assistance.”
“Sir, it is with some regret that I have to speak on this Bill. Being brought up in an Asian tradition, it depresses me immensely that in principle I have to agree that it is time for us to take steps to ensure that our senior citizens are appropriately and adequately taken care of by their offsprings. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] 3.48 pm When Mr Howe Yoon Chong presented the White Paper some 10 years ago, he already envisaged that legislation had to be made to ensure that all parents be looked after by their children. All the while I have harboured the wish that we would not be faced with such an unpleasant decision. But, unfortunately, time and again, we have come across cases where the children abandoned, abused and neglected their parents. We may take comfort in the fact that the number is at the present moment still not significantly large. But our trend of demography shows that we will have more and more senior citizens as the years go by. Coupled with the shift in the attitude of our young, it is inevitable that the problem of the aged will greatly increase. It is timely that we begin to examine the issue and propose appropriate action. However, the Bill presented by the Nominated Member, Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon, to this House, in my opinion, is too simplistic and too general to achieve its objective to ensure that our senior citizens will be appropriately maintained by their children. For this reason, I cannot support the Bill as it is presented. Let me elaborate. First, I will explain why I feel that a Bill to ensure that our parents are properly maintained should be in place. We have to face the reality that the abuse and neglect of older persons do exist hand-in-hand with spouse abuse and children abuse.”
“Sir, first, I must say that I am not advocating Singapore to commercialise sports to the extent of NBA, or the British soccer league. Nevertheless, economic consideration must play an important part in the management and promotion of certain sporting events. Without dispute, soccer is one of the most popular sporting events in Singapore. It has a very large group of followers. Each match held at our National Stadium has great economic implication on the balance sheet of the FAS and the Sports Council. The economic reality is that if we do not have outstanding personalities in our soccer team, our gate collection will be greatly affected. They are more than just soccer players, they are entertainers. Therefore, we have to be more professional about hiring and firing of soccer players. We cannot begrudge the players for demanding high salary if they can prove their worth. Perhaps, this is the reason why somehow our most talented footballers spend their peak years playing overseas, or in other Malaysian states, but not in Singapore. The clear case is Fandi Ahmad, Sundramoorthy, or even Malek Awab. Therefore, I would like to see our sporting management organisations display a more enlightened approach in managing popular sporting events, like soccer, and be more business-like in their decision in engaging players, coaches as well as managing staff. Pay them for what they are worth and drop them when they cannot deliver. They are professionals and should be handled professionally.”
“Secondly, although generally it is recognised that the academic standard in our schools is among the best in the world, I feel that the learning of knowledge alone cannot build a complete person and should not be the prime importance of the school curriculum, especially in the kindergarten and the primary schools. I propose that the schools should review the curriculum and put more emphasis on moral education and the teaching of family values. Because if students do not develop their proper character and moral values, no matter how well they do in the academic field, they may do more harm than good in society. Apart from these two areas, because of the development of modern day technology, television has become a very important medium that influences the character of our youths. I know MITA has already had its share of time in this House. But I still want to point out that it has a great responsibility if we were to help promote MCD's Singapore family values. It should in its programme place more importance on imparting these values to the viewers. One good example is the tremendous influence of a good educational programme on TV "Sesame Street" which has done a generation of good to our young all over the world. MCD should not be made to shoulder the entire responsibility for this project. They should work with the Ministry of Education and MITA to make a success out of this undertaking.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code JG 1500. On the implementation of five identified family values, the Acting Minister said the MCD plans to popularise the shorter version in various forms such as posters, bookmarks or songs, and maybe have some sort of campaign to reach out to the people. Is that enough? I doubt so. In my opinion, we need, first, to decide the target group in which all these values need to be inculcated. They must be targeted at the younger generation from the age of 2 to 18. Not so long ago in our Eastern society, it would sound very strange that these values have to be consciously promoted. But it is a fact that these family values are slowly being eroded. It is important to recapture and retain these values in our family before they are being further eroded. To achieve this objective, we have to go back to the root of the problem, starting with the family and the schools. First, the family. We must place greater importance in bringing up our children in the proper family environment. Children must be taught to obey the parents and respect the elder brothers and sisters. In this respect, MCD should always consciously promote the importance of family bond and emphasise the importance of the parent being the head of the family and that the children will always have to obey and respect the parent at all times. They should give maximum support to organisations within the MCD and any outside charitable or welfare organisation that give counselling and support to troubled families, so as to ensure that the family structure is intact.”
“I thank the Senior Minister of State for his very comprehensive reply and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Encik Ibrahim bin Othman (Thomson GRC)( In Malay): Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code JC 1500. Sir, divorce among Muslim couples has increased with the rate now at 21.4 divorces for every 100 marriages. This is a very sad situation because divorce has adverse social effects, especially on the children. One important matter to be resolved upon divorce is the maintenance for the wife and the children. In this regard, the Shariah Court has powers to hear and decide all matters relating to maintenance, as provided under Section 35(2)(e) of the Administration of Muslim Law Act. But because of unavoidable problems of manpower and service, the Shariah Court could not hear all these cases. Couples affected have to refer their cases to the civil courts. So, in the matter of maintenance, it would appear that the Shariah Court does not have the powers at all to decide. Why is this so? I would like to ask the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs what action would be taken by the Ministry to strengthen the position of the Shariah Court in dealing with maintenance matters. I hope the Court will be given more powers to decide on maintenance matters in the interest of the children affected by family breakdowns.”
“5 million to set up facilities and support activities of the grassroots organisations. Sir, as a matter of fact, the grant provided by the Government only forms part of the total cost required. Each individual grassroots organisation would also have to raise some funds on their own, eg, through sponsorship or fees from participants. Having participants of activities pay for some of the expenses will be a test of whether the activities are the ones needed by them. Participants will see a sense of ownership if they also contribute towards the expenses. Similarly, when the Government builds a community centre, grassroots organisations and residents also play a part in funding it. The Government subsidises 80% of the cost of building and extending CCs and 70% of the cost of renovating older CCs. The rest of the funds required has to be raised by the community leaders. True, fund raising is not an easy task, but the process of fund-raising fosters team work among grassroots leaders and a greater sense of belonging and participation among the residents. Sir, over the years, community leaders have raised millions of dollars for building, extending, renovating CCs and furnishing RC centres. The PA really appreciates their contribution. It is the hope of the PA that they will continue to give their cooperation, contribution and support to the community.”
“Because, apart from the demanding nature of work, they have abnormal working hours, as all community functions are usually organised in the evenings, at night, or during the weekends. It is important to have able and dedicated personnel to join these services, because dedicated and hardworking workers can inspire more volunteers to come up to join these organisations and therefore benefit the whole community and, in turn, the nation. The Senior Minister of State for Community Development (Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon)( In Mandarin): Sir, Mr Kenneth Chen has reiterated the important role the grassroots organisations are playing in nation building and asked the Government to give more secretariat support and funding to them. I thank him for his interest and concern. I agree that adequate manpower support is essential for effective grassroots works. Many of the People's Association (PA) field staff work day and night, including public holidays, to assist the grassroots organisations to organise numerous programmes and services to promote social cohesion and racial harmony. The staff also help to arrange the community centres/clubs and residents' committee centres. 2.45 pm The PA will review the staffing position at the constituency level and seek the approval of the Ministry of Finance for the necessary increase in manpower and funds. As a matter of fact, the Government has always been very supportive of grassroots organisations. Since 1992, the Government has approved capital grant of about $235 million for building, extension and upgrading of community centres/clubs and building a big modern Outward Bound Centre on Pulau Ubin. The Government has also increased the grassroots grants from $1 million to $1.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code JA 1500. Sir, in relation to promotion of family values, the promotion of community development should be given equal importance, because family and community are inter-related. We have a good network of community development structure in Singapore through the CCCs, RCs and other social organisations. These organisations are manned by volunteers and they have been contributing invaluable services to the promotion of community and social development. Most of the members serve tirelessly and devotedly to the cause of promoting social harmony, community welfare and all aspects of charitable as well as social activities. They sacrifice a lot of their time to be involved in these activities and, therefore, should not be made to be over burdened with the additional task of raising funds for these activities. I would therefore ask the Minister to consider, first, to grant more financial support to these grassroots organisations so that the volunteer workers from the organisations can spend more time in carrying out the work in fulfilling the objectives of these organisations instead of fund raising and that the community can be better served. Grassroots organisations also need good logistics, administrative and secretarial support to ensure the successful implementation of the various projects these organisations undertake. Therefore, the Ministry should also consider restructuring the remuneration and benefits in recruiting staff into the secretariat. As I understand, it is difficult to recruit staff to serve these organisations.”
“For a change, the Minister should perhaps consider the use of incentives to encourage car owners not to drive into the CBD rather than have disincentives and charge them for going into the CBD. I hope that the SMRT, HDB, and URA would refine the park-and-ride scheme taking into consideration my suggestions. If the scheme is proven successful, they should consider extending the scheme to more locations to reduce the number of cars going into the CBD. Perhaps, then, more cars can be made available for the aspiring car owners.”
“Sir, we have heard a lot of arguments on COE, unhappiness expressed by those who are affected by re-routing of some bus services and the call for the construction of more MRT lines. But, in all fairness, transportation in Singapore is one of the most efficient in the region and far better than many throughout the world. This fact few can dispute. But it does not mean that we cannot have more ideas to be tested to improve the system. I understand that the park-and-ride scheme has been revived by the SMRT, HDB and URA on 1st October 1993. Car parks are provided at MRT stations at Pasir Ris, Simei and Eunos on the Eastern Line, Clementi and Buona Vista on the Western Line and Yio Chu Kang, Bishan and Toa Payoh on the Northern Line. However, I believe that not much active promotion has been given since this scheme was introduced. At the present moment, the scheme is for the car owner to get a monthly parking disc of $30 to park in the car park near the MRT stations. In addition, he has to get a $40 MRT stored value ticket, which is valid only for that particular month for travelling on the MRT, and no refund will be given for any unused value on the ticket. I do not know whether it is because of the lack of publicity or economically not attractive enough that the scheme is not as successful as it is intended to be. I would therefore like to suggest to the Minister to consider reviewing the scheme by lowering the monthly parking charges to a more attractive amount, say, $10, or even free. Yes, "free" is a very unmentionable word in our Singapore context. Also, they should not impose any restriction on the $40 MRT stored value ticket to encourage more car owners to take part in this park-and-ride scheme.”
“Okay. This means that more and more students will take a short cut to go to Australia and become a graduate. The difference is that if they go to Australia, they take about five to six years to finish the course, while our local university students will take about eight years to finish the course. And also because of this, the profession is short of draughtsmen because they all aspire to be architects. So I would ask the Minister to look into the problem and maybe establish a draughtsmanship course in the ITE so that the profession will have a sufficient supply of draughtsmen. 5.30 pm”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head L of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code LL 3200. Sir, I declare myself as a practising architect. Sir, the original objective of the Singapore Polytechnic Diploma in Architecture Technology course is to produce draughtsmen to serve the architectural profession. At the end of the course, they are awarded a Diploma. I understand that what is happening now is that more and more of the Diploma graduates have no intention of staying as a draughtsmen because of the availability of universities in New Zealand which, for their own reasons, are granting them full two or three years' exemption to take up an architectural degree course. The result is that the number of these Diploma graduates later enrol into these universities and graduate as architects. While I am not against our young having higher aspirations, in fact, it is good that our young people always aim for better and higher goals, but this anomaly has created a problem. The Chairman: Mr Chen, are you expecting a reply?”
“Sir, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $115,412,700 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $125,237,600 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head Q -”
“Ultimately, should any subsidiary proprietors be unhappy with the decision of the management corporation, as Mr Chen has rightly pointed out, they can bring up their case before the Strata Titles Board. Therefore, a mechanism has been set up to handle complaints and problems of this nature. Sir, a different situation arises when the management corporation defaults in maintaining the common property so that they are not in a good and serviceable repair or in proper and clean condition. Then the Commissioner of Buildings is empowered under the Buildings and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act to require management corporations to rectify the situation. Examples are falling roof tiles, or lifts that are not properly maintained. These are situations where the management corporation has defaulted, different from the one that Mr Chen has mentioned. His situation is where subsidiary proprietors are not happy with each other, or with the management corporation. Short of such defaults, Government should not intervene. The present legislation that provides for recourse to the Strata Titles Board is adequate.”
“Although, at the moment, these problems can be brought up for final decision by the Strata Titles Board, the Board cannot possibly look into each and every case. And very soon, it will be over-taxed. Such process is also time consuming and, in the meantime, will create a lot of anxiety and animosity between residents. Therefore, it is not conducive to community harmony. Perhaps, the Ministry should make additional provision in the Land Titles (Strata) Act to address these common difficulties instead of leaving it to the decision of the management corporation to decide on a case-by-case basis. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, living in a condominium, unlike living in a private property, requires forbearance and give and take. Flat owners as subsidiary proprietors own shares in the common property. They are jointly responsible to maintain and upkeep this property. It is difficult to obtain total consensus as to how this is to be done. That is why the Land Titles (Strata) Act provides for the setting up of management corporations (MCs) to manage these condominiums. The oversight of these management corporations comes under the purview of the Ministry of National Development. Sir, the Act provides that the management corporation can be authorised by special resolution passed at a general meeting to carry out these works. Once the resolution is properly carried by the general meeting, subsidiary proprietors are bound. The Act recognises that condominium living promotes the principle of sharing, give and take, co-existence. Buyers of condominium units must accept this. It is a decision which they should make advisedly and with their eyes open.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code TJ 1500. Sir, since the introduction of condominium developments, considerable periods of time have passed. And the earlier condominium developments have shown signs of deterioration and maintenance, or repair works have to be implemented. The nature of condominium developments is such that there are different building types. A single condominium can consist of high rise, medium rise, and low rise. The share value is determined by the size of the unit and the conservancy charge is charged accordingly, irrespective of the facilities each type of unit enjoys. Therefore, a large low-rise unit may pay more for conservancy charges than a smaller high-rise unit which is served with lifts and even central airconditioning. At the moment, the management corporation as well as the residents in the condominium is experiencing difficulties in reconciling what part of their estate, or what element in the building, should be upgraded or replaced. Let me elaborate. In a condominium of predominantly low-rise units with only one multi-storey block, a situation may arise such that the majority of the residents may not want to approve the budget to be spent on upgrading, or replacing of the lifts as most of them do not make use of such lifts. Or the reverse can happen. In a predominantly high-rise condominium with a few low-rise units, most of the residents may not be too sympathetic to involve a lot of sinking funds to repair leaking or damaged roofs of the low-rise units. Sir, we have more and more condominiums being built and there will be more such problems arising.”
“With the Government's prudent planning and management and our traditional work ethic and discipline, we can continue to be a player in such an exciting era of development in this region, and not just be a spectator like countries such as Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia who are so caught up with their internal problems that they have lost out completely this vast opportunity. So let us receive this year's Budget with a greater sense of satisfaction and gratitude and hope that our Minister for Finance will continue to deliver such Budget Statements year after year.”
“With their vast supply of land and manpower, relatively low living standards and well-educated masses, they can develop to be as competitive as we are and may not need assistance in manpower or software from us any more in the very near future. It is time therefore to look at ourselves critically and stop taking our progress through these years for granted. While internal problems still exist, matters like COE, GST, rising cost of medical expenses, are important for us to resolve. But it would be negative to channel all our energy and over-emphasise such problems and ignore the greater economic picture. Recently, I had a conversation with a few successful Taiwanese industrialists. They said that one of the reasons why the Taiwan economy grew so fast was that during the early days, the government encouraged every family to produce all sorts of products in the homes for the factories, and almost every home was turned into a small factory with every member of the family working late into the night. This form of support resulted in tremendously high productivity at very low cost. Now that they have more or less arrived, their wages have skyrocketed. Most of their young people are reluctant to work hard any more. They go for soft options. The situation is worrisome. Our situation in Singapore is not much different and once complacency sets in, it would be extremely difficult to reverse the trend. If we have a performance of 9.9% growth rate and we still show a lot of unhappiness, it is a clear sign of the nation on the verge of losing its fighting edges. And if we are not careful, we might be walking down the same economic path that countries like the United States, Japan and Australia have taken in the last few years.”
“There are vast opportunities opening up in China, Vietnam, India, and even Cambodia and beyond. While we should look for these opportunities positively, we must remember that for every success story, there may be many, many failures. Therefore, it is essential for us to move with caution, be brave and yet prudent. There should be maximum cooperation between the Government and the people in the sharing of experience and information. More importantly, we must move as one unit, even if we are fighting a different front. We must pool our resources together. But in doing so, it is important that we must not forget the investment opportunities by our trading partners, especially our ASEAN neighbours with whom we have enjoyed such close relationships. While the euphoria at the moment is being generated by external investments, it is of paramount importance that we must not forget also our internal development. Because no amount of external development can replace the wealth we generate from our internal development, whether in telecommunications, finance, manufacturing, construction and other such businesses. We should also be very sensitive to the external competition we face. Mr Robert Chua once said that wages in Vietnam are incredibly low compared to ours and that the wages in China, the Philippines and India are well below that of ours. Therefore, we must upgrade our skills, increase our productivity and, most importantly, raise the educational level of our young in order to move ourselves up to a higher level of competition. 0therwise, countries like China, Vietnam and India which are now offering us tremendous investment opportunities will one day become our competitors.”
“And now suddenly, the economic bubble has burst and the government is working overtime in getting the country back on its track. In Japan, where the people have the highest rate of saving, a coherent social structure and good work ethics and discipline, it may not be too difficult for them to succeed. But if we are put in the same position, I wonder what the consequence would be like and we still rely on our social discipline, community cohesion and prudent economic planning by our Government to get us back to the path of recovery. I would urge those who always call on the Government to spend our reserves freely, especially Members of the Opposition Party, to be more responsible before coming to this House to ask for our hard-earned reserves to be spent freely on welfarism and other unproductive projects just to gain personal popularity. Because if we encounter any prolonged recession, our reserves may be our only life-line. Sir, we have been reminded time and again that we are near to becoming a developed country. We may not be able to achieve a high growth rate year after year if we just rely on our internal economic growth. Therefore, our Government is perhaps the only one in the world in which the leaders are so consciously and systematically leading the people to develop an external wing. We are constantly developing relationships and promoting trade with our neighbouring countries and establishing new trading partners by encouraging both public and private sectors to venture into these countries. It is no doubt that we are going through an exciting era of rapid development in this region, as our Senior Minister, Mr Lee, has spoken of the thrill of living through one of the most stimulating epoch in history.”
“But I am more at a loss as to why the general public, especially the HDB dwellers who tend to benefit so much from the waiver of rent in the rental flats and the waiver of conservancy charges, could give the Budget Statement such lukewarm and indifferent reaction. Even the addition of $500 million being injected into Edusave and another $100 million channelled into Medifund from the budget surplus did not generate too much excitement. And surprisingly, the increase of 10% in bus fare or a cup of coffee would create tremendous unhappiness and reaction in the coffeeshop and in the market place. Have our Singaporeans really been conditioned to expect year after year of good performance and be blinded to the fact that countries all over the world are going through a harsh period of economic recession and that we have become so complacent that we are being insulated from such adversities? It would be totally naive not to realise that our continued prosperity can be stopped by either some unexpected internal happenings like labour unrest or even civil commotion due to racial disharmony or such similar factors or we may well lose our competitive edge to the up and coming developing countries like China, Cambodia and India. We must not forget that countries like Japan, the United States, Europe and Australia have enjoyed continuous economic prosperity for such a long time that no one would expect that they would be faced with such a devastating economic recession in recent years, especially Japan. Not long ago, Japanese companies were buying up almost everything all over the world - big corporations like Columbia Studio, real estates in Manhattan and almost every hotel and golf courses in Hawaii.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for letting me join in this debate. Before I turn to the debate proper, I just want to touch on a point made by the hon. Member for Potong Pasir on the equation of GST by reducing the S&C charges and also the rental for 2- and 3-room rental flats. If he had been in this House during the GST debate last year, he would have realised that HDB flat dwellers who stay in 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-room flats have received waivers which more than cover the GST to be imposed. The recent introduction of the so-called ang pow is in addition to the GST deflation. Sir, the Budget Statement by the Minister for Finance, Dr Richard Hu, is a welcome one by any standard. We have achieved a broad-based 9.9% growth rate, much better than expected. This is more remarkable because it was achieved against a backdrop of dismal performance turned out by most of the developed countries. Such a budget would have brought much relief and jubilation to any one of them. Yet, astonishingly, in Singapore, the stock market reacted by dropping some 70 points. And I heard from a TV programme that a so-called analyst attributed this to a budget blue. While the adverse reaction from the business is somewhat expected because of the 1.5% increase in employer's CPF contribution and by the fact that they have been building up the expectation that the corporate tax would be reduced by up to 2%, it is hard to believe that such expectation can be realistic in view of the fact that in 1993, the corporate tax had already been reduced by 3%. And one can hardly expect corporate tax to be reduced by a massive 5% point in two consecutive years, especially when we have achieved such high growth rates.”
“This actually happens in the west and is likely to happen to us given today's highly developed communication technology, television has become one of the most influential media in our everyday life. While we cannot reverse the progress in communication, or it is desirable to do so, we should guard against undesirable influence whether it is from the west or self-created. Murphy Brown is, perhaps, very entertaining as a television show but I honestly cannot see many of our women in Singapore cherishing that type of lifestyle. But should any woman here want to choose the lifestyle, she is free to do so in Singapore. It is the silent majority that the Government has to protect and it is the Government's responsibility to give direction and guidance for moving the nation forward. We have made an impact in the world as a nation which is economically strong, politically stable, above all, socially cohesive. How far we can consolidate this position will really depend on how well future Singaporeans come forward to take up the challenge in nation building. ADJOURNMENT OF DEBATE With the consent of Mr Deputy Speaker and the general assent of Members present, Question put and agreed to. Resolved, "That the debate be now adjourned." - [Mr Wong Kan Seng].”
“Sir, while there should be mutual respect and consideration between husband and wife, marriages should never be equated with forming a business partnership, that everything must be equal, equal share, equal duties and, therefore, equal profit. Marriage is a union. The main objective of this union should be raising a family, sharing in love and companionship with each other and to enjoy the joy of this union. It requires the traditional values of love, respect and understanding to make marriage work. Tolerance and even compromises have to be shown by each party from time to time. I think most of us would hate to see the practice of having to draw up pre-nuptial contract before marriage as it is now becoming a necessity in the west. The husband or wife has to choose his or her own role. If the wife chooses the role that puts more emphasis on bringing up children and take care of the home than in her career, it is because she feels that this would bring her more happiness and contentment in life. She can, in no way, be perceived as playing a subordinate role to her husband and definitely cannot be interpreted as being suppressed or deprived. In fact, perhaps it is this role that most women derive most satisfaction from life because there is no greater achievement than that of a mother who has successfully built up the family and nurtured the children into successful individuals. Let us not confuse traditional values by equating them with some old practices, like keeping concubine, and deliberately making women to have a lesser status than men, as in some societies. In Singapore, the Government has always ensured equal rights for the women. Hence, the Women's Charter. Let us not let the view of the vocal minority undermine the fabric of our society.”
“For this, I must express my great admiration and respect for my fellow women colleagues, Dr Aline Wong, Mrs Yu-Foo and those who served in this House before, for having the courage and dedication to do something which they believe in, took up the challenge and came forward, not only to serve the women's cause but to serve the whole nation. Apart from having to ensure that young capable leaders are in place to continue the work of the first and second generation leaders, Singapore needs to maintain a cohesive society and Singaporeans need to build strong family units. It is disturbing to see the breaking down of family values in the west. It is more alarming that this trend is slowly creeping into our eastern society. I am glad that the Government has spared no effort in stressing the importance of traditional family values, one of which is maintaining that it is the husband's responsibility to look after the family needs. Unfortunately, this concept of family system is being challenged and has been interpreted or misinterpreted as subjecting our women to playing a subordinate role and even suggesting that this is the reason why young women are reluctant to get married. We all know very well that these young women who are not entering marriage belong mostly to the group who are better educated, more competent and, therefore, more independent. They are the least to have to worry about being made to be subordinate. In fact, it is this sense of newly gained independence that makes marriage become their secondary option. And, certainly, traditional values are not the cause of the decline in the number of young women wanting to get married.”
“Although we have able and younger leaders to succeed them, nevertheless, as the Prime Minster has expressed, it is a worrying situation to lose so many experienced Ministers in such a short time. And if we do not have sufficient number of equally dedicated and experienced younger leaders to come forward, then our vision to be a developed country by the year 2000 may not be so easily realised. It has always been difficult to induce capable people into politics because of the stringent demand and the need for personal sacrifice. I remember that last year, we had listened to the Nominated MP, Dr Soin, arguing passionately about getting more women into this House. She even asked the Prime Minister to legislate to make it compulsory for women to be elected as Members of Parliament. I totally agree that we should have more women in Parliament and it is rightly so because 50% of our population are women. But if we are short of women Members in Parliament, it is definitely not because the Government has put up any obstacles. In fact, the Prime Minister has expressed that he would like to see at least eight or nine women to be elected into this House. So why then do we have so few women who are prepared to take up this challenge? Perhaps, Dr Soin herself can provide the answer since she is amply qualified and capable and believe so passionately in this cause and, yet, she did not come forward to seek election into this House. How then can we expect some other less committed to do so?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the motion to thank the President for his Speech at the Opening of this Parliament. We are well on the track to become a developed country by the year 2000. We have enjoyed continuous stability and prosperity for the last three decades. The President has called on us to prepare ourselves for the next stage of nation building and to do that, we must elect honest and competent Members of Parliament to form a good and clean Government. Many Members have spoken on the importance of ensuring dedicated and capable people coming forward to form a Government and none more eloquently and comprehensively than that by our Senior Minister, Mr Lee. It is no doubt that we are able to harvest the fruits of success now. The credit must be due to the leadership provided by Mr Lee's team and Mr Goh's team. Qian ren zhong shu, hou ren shou ( ), roughly translated, it means that the generation before us planted the trees, so that our generation can harvest the fruits. Therefore, it is important that capable Singaporeans, with the same commitment and dedication, continue the planting process so that new trees can take root and bear fruits for our future generation. When Mr Ong was elected President, my personal feeling was one of joy and relief that an able and upright person has been elected to the highest position in the nation. But at the same time, I am apprehensive because, since the last General Election, four senior Cabinet Ministers have left the Cabinet. They are Mr Ong himself, Dr Tony Tan, Mr Dhanabalan and Dr Ahmad Mattar, and later, in July, this year, Dr Yeo Ning Hong will also take leave.”
“But at this point of time the Government must assure all its citizens that they will have an effective, efficient and affordable health care system. It is hoped that our citizens will be able to take care of themselves as much as possible, but should they be unfortunate to fall ill, they will be given the best possible health care.”
“They may suffer a bit more discomfort, but the quality of medical treatment must remain more or less at par between the patients of those two wards, and this the Government should ensure. As I have emphasised earlier, this is a very emotional subject. It may not be easy to bring across the rationality of such a decision on defining what constitutes basic health care. It is further complicated by the fact that medical science is not an exact science and there are lots of imponderables and probabilities that even the best of doctors or specialists may not be able to come to the same conclusion. Therefore, in borderline cases where a doctor has to make the decision as to whether a certain treatment can be considered basic or not they can generate disagreement and dissatisfaction. This will no doubt cause a lot of controversy in the future. While one should be caring and understand the plight of those who have fallen ill and that of the relatives and loved ones, the Government must take a firm stand in implementing a long term affordable health care system. We have seen numerous examples of countries, both developed and developing countries, grappling with their health care systems, some of them on the verge of collapse, and we cannot fall into the trap of being over-benevolent and let our emotions cloud our judgment. Once again, I commend the Committee for putting up this White Paper. I am sure the Ministry would continue to make adjustments and improvements to the system. The tremendous progress and changes in the field of medicine necessitated these adjustments. Who knows that what is considered basic today may be just routine tomorrow.”
“How then can we overcome this emotional demand without sounding uncaring and cruel? It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that everyone has to learn to accept that there is such a thing as cost constraint in medical care. It is not only a question of affordable health care for the individual. More importantly, we must have an affordable health care system for the nation. We cannot let a few isolated cases to cause our whole health care system to collapse. I must re-emphasise that this basic health care package refers to only Government subsidised medical treatment. The individual is not prevented from seeking whatever level of health care treatment he wishes provided he pays for himself. The Government also has the obligation to assure the general public that the basic health care package is made available to everyone irrespective of whether he is rich or poor. In turn, every citizen must understand that although the level of quality of medical treatment should generally be equal, the degree and comfort of services can vary. Very often when we hear of a complaint being made against a doctor or hospital, we assume that it is made against the medical treatment received. In actual fact, a great percentage of them are actually against the degree of comfort and services received, and not the quality of medical treatment. These are two completely different issues. A patient staying in Class C ward and a patient staying in A1 ward and having the same sickness would probably require the same length of time to be cured. The fact that those C class patients would have to wait longer for the nurses to attend to them or have to endure a noisier and hotter environment would not in any way make the illness any worse.”
“The White Paper has examined in detail the basic medical care in terms of need and cost affecting treatment that an average patient requires. It defines what basic medical care is all about and proposes a basic package of affordable health care, not by inclusion, but rather by exclusion. It includes almost 99.9% of medical treatment available and excludes items like cosmetic surgery and dentistry, sex operations and in-vitro fertilisation treatment, organ transplant, artificial appliances other than the most basic models for heart, hips, knees, etc, experimental drugs and all high cost methods of investigation. If one inspects the proposed medical care package rationally, one can understand fully the reasons for such conclusion because medical treatment is not an exact science and there is no limitation to how far one can go in seeking out the various treatments available, whether proven or experimental. It is obvious that such treatments cannot be given to everyone due to the immense cost and also, in some instances, the futility of such treatments. However, in time of sickness, the affected person, or those dear to him or her, would often not use rationale to make decision. They are usually in a highly emotional state of mind. For example, if there is the slightest chance, no matter how remote, for a terminally ill patient to be cured by experimenting with highly expensive and untested treatment, chances are that the patient as well as those in the immediate family would clamour for a try, and it is very difficult at that point of time to convince them that this is not included in the basic medical package and therefore will not be provided unless the patient pays for it. As we so often say, one cannot equate life with cost.”
“Sir, I must commend the Ministerial Committee for presenting an excellent and comprehensive White Paper on Affordable Health Care. It is an extremely complex issue and the Committee has shown deep insight in the magnitude of the problems associated with our health care system. Against the backdrop of ever increasing health care cost and the limited human resources, not to mention the constant higher expectations from the general public, the White Paper analyses systematically the problems we face in the health care system with pragmatism and compassion, and examines all possible options and proposes a framework to put in place an effective, workable and fair health care system for all the Singapore citizens. But its rationale and analytical approach to the subject, though comprehensive and systematic, may not necessarily find immediate acceptance from the average Singaporeans who always have an in-built fear and apprehension towards the extent of health care that they can receive when they have the misfortune to fall ill. Furthermore, health care has always been and always will remain an emotional issue. It is this emotional dimension that causes judgment to be impaired, resulting in the health care system in some countries getting totally out of control. The White Paper addresses all aspects of our health care system, right from health care philosophy to medical treatment and training. Today, I would like only to focus on the subject of basic medical care. I have chosen this particular subject because I feel that it would generate the most concern as it is an aspect of health care that affects almost everyone at one time or another. It is important to ensure full understanding and acceptance.”
“Nevertheless, I would request the Minister to carry out a survey on those who will benefit from the amendment, so as to find out what percentage of such young offenders steer clear of trouble during their probation period.”
“Although it is debatable whether they are to be considered juvenile and not as adult offenders, we must realise that many of them are still growing up and could have got involved in crime as a result of various mitigating factors and circumstances, like peer influence, peer pressure and the desire to seek thrills and excitement or even given in to a weak moment of impulse or greed. When such a young offender under 21 years of age, without criminal traits, comes from a relatively stable family and personal background, for example, with a good school record and employment history, he should be a candidate to be considered for probation, especially when he knows that he is wrong and shows determination to repent. He should be given all the help under probation. I disagree at this point that the age, as suggested by the Member for Potong Pasir, should be raised to 25 years old, because I think there must be a certain bar for such consideration. If we were to raise it to 25 years old, then what about 30? Are you saying that those who are 30 years old are not repentant and that they are not rehabilitative? So I would stick to the age of 16 to 21 years. Sir, appropriate supervision and personal care by the probation officer can have a salient effect on such young offenders. I must commend the Minister for his goodwill and understanding in providing a chance to young offenders to redeem themselves through probation and introducing the amendment, so that the Judge and Magistrate can have the discretion to decide on a case-by-case basis. I am extremely pleased to note that the success rate of young adult probationers completing supervision without further trouble is good - as high as over 80%.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Probation of Offenders (Amendment) Bill. First, I must stress that I firmly believe that criminals who committed serious offences such as robbery, extortion, housebreaking, should be severely dealt with by the law. Therefore, I fully support the provisions that are in place in the Penal Code for mandatory minimum sentences for such offences. We must send the right signal to those would-be criminals that if they commit such offences, the full impact of legal sentence must bear on them and that they are old enough to be responsible for their own action. The message must be that crime does not pay, and this is how Singapore has always maintained one of the lowest crime rates in the world. However, I realise that some of these young offenders who committed offences which attract mandatory minimum sentences may not really be callous in nature. They may be offenders without delinquent traits. To impose such harsh punishments may be inappropriate and counter productive. More importantly, we would lose all opportunities to rehabilitate them within the community. I am satisfied that juveniles between the age of seven and 16 years would continue to benefit with probation as well as they will be dealt with under the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act and they are not affected by the Chief Justice's ruling. My real concern is those young offenders between the age of 16 and 21 years.”
“However, if one wishes, a dollar can actually go a long way if only we try to stretch it. Therefore, whatever we decide on the ways and means to arrest the high increase in the cost of living, whatever mechanism the Government introduces to curb the increase in the cost of living, ultimately, it is not the developer, the supermarket owner, or the restaurant owner, who would dictate what we have to spend. It is our own decision. And if you were to be careful and calculative in spending your money, it will go a long way to contain the cost of living. Lastly, I would like to appeal to the Opposition Members, especially the three SDP Members, not to be obsessed with criticising the Government or echoing mindlessly the misconception of some of our people on the perception of the high cost of living or, worse still, further distort these misconceptions, but to concentrate on spreading the message on the importance of good finance planning, not to be over extravagant and to spend their money wisely. I am sure the battle to contain the increase in the cost of living can be won. This is of utmost importance to the future of Singapore and should be above party politics. I support the motion.”
“Let us say, next month, there will be only one-quarter of the cars being tendered out of the total available number. Immediately, the car prices will be reduced by $20,000-$30,000. I wonder nowadays how many housewives would take the trouble to look for the cheapest price of an item before buying. We have now got into the habit of paying for convenience. We would not want to walk a hundred metres even though we know we can purchase the same item cheaper. In the US now, I understand that quite a lot of housewives would look for the magazine and the newspaper every morning to cut out food stamps and coupons to save a few dollars in marketing and shopping. We often assume that more expensive items are better. Therefore, we give in to our children's requests to buy Nike shoes. Whatever happen to the old Bata shoes? Are they really that different in terms of quality? Perhaps the only difference may be that for every pair of Nike shoes we buy we would make Michael Jordan richer. If one goes around the hawker centre, a bowl of prawn noodles can cost between $1 something and $4 or $5. The fact that some hawkers can charge $4-$5 for a bowl of prawn noodles is because some of us are willing to pay the price. If none of us wants to pay the price, then the price of that bowl of prawn noodles would come down, either by cutting the quantity or they would give you a few prawns less. Nevertheless, what I am trying to say is that, to a great extent, the rate of increase in the cost of living depends very much on ourselves. We must develop the philosophy of appreciating the value of money and guard against unnecessary wastes. It is sad to note that people nowadays lament the uselessness of the value of a dollar.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, first, let me join in to thank the Minister and his Committee for putting up a most comprehensive Cost Review Committee Report, which I am sure the whole Singapore will be richer by it. The Report has been extensively debated and many Members have expressed their views and suggestions on the subject. Therefore, I will not comment on what has already been exhaustively debated. There is one minor, but important, point which, in my opinion, has been omitted. I am referring to the four root causes of inflation identified in the Report, ie, the scarce resources, timing of fee increases, reduction in subsidy rate and the "expectations" factor. I would like to add one more cause, ie, the spending habit of the average Singaporean. In a buoyant economy like ours, it is understandable that we become very free with our money. This has caused us to have a mindset that we do not have to be thrifty and that we have plenty of options and choices. This has resulted in us developing a very unhealthy spending habit. To put it simply, we have become very wasteful. In order to limit the ever increasing cost of living, we must change this mindset and develop in ourselves certain constraints in our spending habit. The old virtue of being thrifty should always be maintained. Let me give a few illustrations. In housing, let us assume that all of us decided not to upgrade to bigger flats or to private housing, unless it is absolutely necessary, and our children, even if they are married, stay with us in the same dwelling. I am sure the property prices would immediately stabilise, not to mention the saving of household expenditure that can be achieved. You only have one TV, one fridge, one PUB bill to pay. Even in cars, the COE.”
“I notice that the punishment is being fixed according to the value of the damage done. However, in computer offences, sometimes the damage cannot be measured in pure monetary terms. Take, for example, if someone disrupts the nation's defence system or by simply introducing computer virus into the computer system, the actual value of damage might be difficult to ascertain. Or, in the case of these two British computer hackers, the damage to the computer hardware may only be over o120,000, but the hidden potential of damage can be much more than that. Imagine hacking into the computer system of the US Space Agency (NASA), the British Foreign Office or the European Cancer Research Organisation. The consequence can be quite mind-boggling. In cases like these, perhaps the punishment specified in the Bill under Part II may not be sufficient to reflect the seriousness of their action or the crime, and the limit set would constrain the court in imposing the appropriate sentence. I hope the Minister can enlighten us on this.”
“Sir, I support the Bill. Recently, there were a number of cases of computer misuse in the United Kingdom. They are being highlighted in the press, although, interestingly enough, all of them are not criminally motivated. Nevertheless, the damages caused were quite considerable. Take, for example, one case, as reported in the Straits Times dated 9th May 1993, where a school boy was acquitted for breaking into a computer around the world and caused havoc. The other case reported in the Sunday Times dated 23rd May 1993 was where two British computer hackers hacked into thousands of computers around the world causing an estimated o123,000 in chaos. Astonishingly, the school boy was acquitted, giving the reason that he was a "compulsive" hacker, while the other two offenders were subsequently jailed for six months - a very light sentence for such a serious offence. It is apparent that these hackers do not realise the seriousness of their actions nor does the court consider hacking a serious enough offence to deserve more severe punishment. This is a dangerous trend and we must arrest it immediately. Let me demonstrate a scenario whereby these hackers were to be made used of by master criminals or crime syndicates. The result can be very disastrous and costly or, worse still, if these hackers were to be forced to break into our defence system by some unfriendly nations, then our whole nation's security would be at risk. Therefore, although these hackers may not have any criminal intent for their actions, nevertheless, they should be made aware of the seriousness of their actions and be punished in accordance with the magnitude of their crime to prevent them ever attempting to engage in these activities. I would now like to comment on Part II of the Bill under "Offences".”
“I would like to know whether the system has been successful and whether there are any problems faced by users of electronic tags or their families. I am also interested to know how many persons have undergone electronic tagging so far, and is there any intention to extend the use of tagging to other supervisees?”
“May I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. I am sure the industry is looking forward to the introduction of this system. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Mr Zulkifli bin Mohammed: Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code QG 1500. Sir, recently the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has had many successful cases of arrests of drug traffickers and seizure of large quantities of narcotic drugs. This speaks very well of our effort to control drug abuse by hitting relentlessly at drug suppliers. This will make it more difficult for youngsters to obtain drugs and go into drug addiction. On the demand side, I would like to know what is the state of drug abuse today. I am aware that the number of drug addicts in our DRCs is under control with the various rehabilitation programmes that the Ministry and CNB have introduced in the last few years, eg, the Exit Counselling Programme and the 3-phase Rehabilitation Programme. However, I am also aware that the incidence of relapse cases is still on the high side and that this is a problem we are encountering difficulties in solving. In this respect, Sir, I have heard that there is currently a programme being experimented in the United States of America using medication to treat hardcore drug addicts and I understand a high degree of success has been achieved. What I would like to find out is: are there any new measures being considered by the Ministry or CNB to further help tackle the problematic drug abusers? I trust the Ministry will continue to explore every possible measure to combat drug abuse. Sir, another related question concerns the recently introduced Electronic Monitoring System (EMS).”
“To overcome this deficiency and yet maintain a high safety standard, may I suggest to the Minister that he consider introducing a system of checking and inspection by approved external professionals. This system is unlike the accredited checking system in the Structural Branch of the Building Control Division. These accredited checkers can then take over the duties and responsibilities of checking and inspecting all building projects. This will free the Fire Safety Bureau a lot of manpower so that they can concentrate on the operational aspect of ensuring fire safety in our buildings. However, I would like to add that the accredited checking system should be introduced as a substitute to the in-house checking and not as an additional level of processing as is being practised in the BCD Structural Branch. Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of the whole exercise.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code QE 1500. Sir, in January, there was a report of a fire in a highrise building in Taipei which killed 33 people and quite frequently we read from the newspapers of such similar incidents in many other parts of the world. Fortunately, in Singapore, we are spared of such horrific happenings. We enjoy a high standard of fire safety and this is due mainly to the fact that our fire codes are up to date and the enforcement of our fire regulations has been effective. The credit must go to the SCDF, in particular to the Fire Safety Bureau. I am confident that this good record will be maintained. Before I proceed further, I must declare that I am a practising architect. In our booming construction industry, more building projects are being designed and implemented. They are subject to controls by regulatory bodies such as the Building Control Division and the Fire Safety Bureau. In order to ensure the safety of these buildings, checking and inspection by these regulatory authorities are necessary. But because of the sheer volume of the projects to be processed, the time taken can be quite considerable. With regard to the Fire Safety Bureau, I understand that it is experiencing a tremendous shortage of manpower. This, to a certain extent, aggravates the cause of delay in the issuing of approval and temporary occupation permit in a completed building. This delay would invariably have a tremendous cost implication on the development, especially when the development is large and is situated in an expensive central business district.”
“Sir, I withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, in the past three months, there were many cases of fire occurring in schools. The first in the series was during the December school holidays where the staff room and other facilities in a school were destroyed. The damage was substantial. I am very concerned because these are not merely school boy pranks like damaging tables and chairs or scrawling graffiti. These are serious crimes committed. I would like to find out from the Minister whether the recent fires were the act of different people or a group of arsonists going from school to school. I understand that some youths were arrested and prosecuted in court. I would urge the Police to pursue further in solving the remaining cases and arrest the problem as early as possible so that we do not give the impression to other school children that this type of behaviour can be condoned. I would also like to know from the Minister what follow-up action has been taken against those who have been arrested and prosecuted. I feel that they should not be treated just like any other criminals. We must follow up to find out the cause of the culprit's action. Perhaps the Ministry of Community Development and the Ministry of Education can further investigate into the background and profile of those culprits and get into the fundamental problem that leads them to commit such a serious crime, and take appropriate action to prevent and deter such incidents in future.”