Lee Kuan Yew
Singapore
“Sir, I had not intended to intervene in any debate. But I was doing physiotherapy just now and reading the newspapers and I thought I should bring the House back to earth. Mr Rajaratnam had great virtues in the midst of despondency after a series of race riots when we were thrown out during Independence.”
“A point of clarification, Sir. The Member has compared Singapore against Switzerland, Denmark and Finland. Can I ask him if he considers Singapore's population to resource ratio equal to Denmark, Switzerland and Finland?”
“The Member has not answered my question. Is he saying that we are comparing apples with apples? Is he saying that the system of government in Finland, Denmark and Switzerland can bring them from First World to a superpower? Can they do that?”
“I am putting a simple question and ask for his clarification. He has compared Singapore as if it were a Denmark, a Switzerland or a Finland. Their system, their governments, never produced the kind of transformation that we have had, and their system and their governments have a broader base, and can afford a mediocre government.”
“At the end of the day, that will be the same for the Malays, for the Indians and for all the others. S Rajaratnam was aiming for the stars. I went along with him with the pledge, and we must try to live up to the pledge. But to say, let us forget race, language, religion, culture, that is not doable.”
“So there is a wide range of options open and it depends on your judgment on the quality of the people you appoint, and also what is the objective of appointing people to these positions, whether you want them to stay effectively until retirement, which means you have to avoid appointing good people to these positions early which is, I thi…”
The complete record
Every one of 506 lines we hold for Lee Kuan Yew, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 11.
“The budget for the 1987 National Day Celebrations is $1,139,880. This will be the first time the National Day Parade at the Padang is held from dusk to nightfall. It will allow the Parade to include a pageant of lighted floats and a fireworks performance, as well as the use of lighting effects for display items on the Padang. The budget includes a sum of $600,000 for setting up the necessary infrastructure, underground cables and equipment to provide lighting at the Padang. Accounts for actual expenditures are finalised several months after the event. TAN WAH PIOW AND THE MARXIST PLOT 3. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether Tan Wah Piow or people behind him were the masterminds of the recent Government alleged Marxist plot to destabilise Singapore; and, if the latter, if he will identify those people.”
“The Government has decided to establish town councils to take over the responsibility and authority of managing some aspects of public housing. Some constituencies will be grouped together and managed by town councils while others will remain as single constituencies. Legislation for the establishment of town councils is being prepared. After that, contiguous constituencies will have to be identified for grouping as town council constituencies. This may require a redelineation of electoral boundaries. Anson and Geylang West constituencies may or may not be affected by the grouping of constituencies and changes of electoral boundaries. Until the legislation is ready and the town council constituencies finalised, no by-election will be held in Anson and Geylang West constituencies. 1987 NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS BUDGET 2. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Prime Minister how much money will be spent to stage the 1987 National Day Celebrations.”
“(a) The Singapore Government paid for the travelling expenses of the official delegation to China and back. It amounted to S$64,631. No travelling and hotel expenses were incurred within China as the delegation was accorded hospitality by the Government of the People's Republic of China. (b) Between 1979 and 1984, Singapore's trade with PRC grew by more than one and a half times from $1.3 billion to $3.4 billion. If the PRC maintains its present trade policy and economic modernisation,there are good prospects of further increases in our trade, both in the immediate future and in the long-term. SALE OF SWEDISH ARMS VIA SINGAPORE 2. Dr Lau Teik Soon asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence if he will comment on (i) the investigation by the Swedish Government of the sale of Swedish arms to certain Middle East countries via Singapore; and (ii) the action taken by the Swedish Government to restrict the export of Swedish arms to Singapore.”
“There has been no Cabinet decision on my comment at the press conference on 23 December 1984 that the one vote system may need modifications. RE-DEVELOPMENT PLANS "LITTLE INDIA" 2. Mr S. Chandra Das asked the Minister for National Development whether the Government has finalised plans for the re-development of "Little India" in Serangoon Road area; and, if so, what are the details.”
“For the year 1977, a total of 581 cases of corruption were investigated which resulted as follows: (a) 39 cases involving 41 persons were prosecuted in court. (b) 47 cases involving 42 persons were referred for disciplinary action. For the year 1976, 468 cases of corruption were investigated and of these: (a) 80 cases involving 91 persons were prosecuted in court. (b) 40 cases involving 50 persons were referred for disciplinary action. For the year 1975 a total of 529 cases of corruption were investigated which resulted as follows: (a) 96 cases involving 104 persons were prosecuted in court. (b) 75 cases involving 199 persons were referred for disciplinary action. WOODBRIDGE HOSPITAL (Mental patients, 1975-77) 2. Mr Hwang Soo Jin asked the Minister for Health, during the year 1977, (a) how many mental patients were warded at Woodbridge Hospital; (b) how many mental patients were treated as out-patients at the Hospital; and (c) how many mental patients were discharged from the Hospital; and what were the comparative figures for 1976 and 1975.”
“There are also provisions in the Bill whereby persons aggrieved by the enforcement of the proposed legislation may have an avenue of appeal to the Minister. Finally, the Bill empowers the Minister to make subsidiary legislation for a more effective enforcement of the proposed legislation and to establish a Radiation Advisory Committee to advise on matters pertaining to the provisions of the Bill. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr E. W. Barker]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. BUILDINGS AND COMMON PROPERTY (MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.51 p.m.”
“In the industrial sector, the uses of irradiating apparatus and radioisotopes are mainly confined to non-destructive testing and radioactive tracer technology with the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industries as a dominant user (testing of weld). In the Government sector, these are mainly used in hospitals for diagnostic and healing purposes while in the institutions of higher learning, they are used for research purposes. With growing sophistication and expansion in our industries and medical services, it is anticipated that the variety and quantity of imports of radioisotopes and irradiating apparatus would register very significant increases in the years to come to be accompanied by a corresponding increase in the number of persons trained to handle such material and apparatus. In the main, the Bill seeks to make provision for the regulation and control of importation, manufacture, sale, disposal, transportation, possession and use of radioactive materials and irradiating apparatus such that these activities may not be permitted except with a licence to be issued by the Director of Radiation Protection who shall be appointed by the Minister for Science and Technology for the administration of the proposed legislation. More specifically, the Bill provides for the licensing of pharmacists, medical practitioners and veterinary surgeons to authorise these persons to sell and to use radioactive materials for the treatment of human beings and animals. The Bill further requires workers handling radioactive material and irradiating apparatus to be protected from the hazards of over-exposure through constant monitoring of their exposure levels and regular medical examination.”
“Barker) (for the Minister for Science and Technology): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Ionizing radiation from radioactive materials and irradiating apparatus are potentially dangerous, and excessive exposure to such radiation can seriously impair human and animal health. It was for this reason that the Minister for Science and Technology appointed an Ad Hoc Committee in May, 1969, to advise on matters relating to the use of radioisotopes and irradiating apparatus. Through specific licensing on imports introduced by the Ad Hoc Committee in 1970 and through a survey conducted by the Ministry, it was ascertained that currently there are at least 170 irradiating apparatus and at least 4,500 curies of radioisotopes in use in Singapore. Further, the rate of importation of radioisotopes and irradiating apparatus is estimated at an average of 18 imports per month for the year 1971 as compared to 15 imports per month for the year 1970. Most of the irradiating apparatus are X-ray machines while in the case of radioactive material they are mainly in the form of Cobalt 60 (for healing purposes), Iridium 192 (for industrial radiography) and a scatter of Tritium and Caesium and others (for use in non-destructive testing or as radioactive tracers). The number of persons trained to handle radioactive material and irradiating apparatus is also on the increase and at the last count, they numbered about 150. Irradiating apparatus and radioisotopes are mainly used by three major sectors, namely, industries, Government and institutions of higher learning.”
“Second, they should be sufficiently realistic, so that in the years ahead, it will not be so much of a sacrifice to give up a job in the private sector in order to take on the responsibilities of public office. It is seldom possible to pay a man in his Ministerial position as much as what he would get, either in running a business or practising his own profession. Some sacrifice is inevitable. But too great a disparity between Ministerial rewards and what Ministers, with business experience and professional qualifications, could earn outside will make it increasingly difficult to assemble a successor government. No salary, however generous, can ensure the complete honesty and integrity with which Ministers must discharge their duties. Honest mistakes or errors of judgment by Ministers, however costly, are not as damaging to a country as the suspicion of bias because of corruption. Once a government is tainted with this, the contamination spreads throughout the administration. Then we shall go down the slippery slope, at the bottom of which are carcasses of so many corrupt governments whose peoples have had to suffer for the dishonesty and greed of those in authority. It may not be possible to gather another team as the one thrown up by the challenge of tumultuous events and cataclysmic changes, from Japanese occupation to guerilla insurgency, to self-government, to merger, to separate independence. But it is possible to set standards of integrity and competence and to establish them as minimum norms for people holding public office. Appendix to Statement by the Prime Minister(Cols 1091-2)(Cols 1109-1110) RADIATION PROTECTION BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.41 p.m. The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is 18 years, since 1955, when the salary for the post of Chief Minister, and subsequently Prime Minister, was fixed at $3,500. The position for Ministers became intolerable by 1970, when an adjustment had to be made. It is time to do a more complete revision of these salaries. I have discussed this matter with my colleagues in Cabinet and decided as follows: - (1) All Cabinet Ministers will be paid the salary of $7,000, i.e. $500 more than Superscale Grade A ($6,500). (2) Dr Goh Keng Swee, who acts for me from time to time, will fill the post of Deputy Prime Minister. It will carry a salary of $8,000. (3) Dr Toh Chin Chye will have a Charge Allowance of $700 for discharging the duties of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore, as well as being Minister for Science and Technology. (4) Senior Minister of State will be equivalent to Superscale Grade C ($4,500), Minister of State equivalent to Superscale Grade D ($3,500), Senior Parliamentary Secretary equivalent to Superscale Grade F ($2,750), Parliamentary Secretary equivalent to Super-scale Grade G ($2,500), and Political Secretary, $1,750. (5) My own salary as Prime Minister will be $9,500. (6) The President's emoluments will be raised from $4,000, which is tax-free, to $12,000, with $4,000 tax-free. However, the President has requested me to inform the House that he does not wish to make use of this increase in his salary. As in the case of civil servants, these salaries will be effective from 1st March this year, and they will be revised and consolidated every four to five years. In making these adjustments in salaries, two considerations have been uppermost in our minds. First, the need for some rough correlation with the Civil Service pay scales.”
“His first reaction was to ask for the curriculum vitae of the leaders of these delegations, and a note on the countries they represent, their history, their political, economic and social systems. He wanted to know about the men he will be meeting and the nature of the countries they represented. Although he has not been experienced in the political or diplomatic field, his readiness to bring a disciplined intellect to bear on to a new field augurs well for Singapore. I am confident that he will develop a grasp and understanding of persons and peoples, of associations and communities, of nations and their leaders, their national aspirations and individual ambitions. It will make what could be a perfunctory duty into an interesting office, more of a challenge than a chore. The duties of President require not only distinction and ability, but integrity and understanding. He brings deep qualities to the office of President. More than that, he is modest and friendly, by nature and habit. His wife, Mrs Sheares, speaks Chinese, English and some Malay. She can lend support to the President in his social duties. My colleagues and I commend Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares to the House for election as President. At 63, he enjoys good health, despite a major operation five years ago. Here is a man of outstanding ability. I am sure he will grow with the office, and discharge it with dignity and distinction. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 2.59 p.m.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I beg to move, That this Parliament, in accordance with Article 1 of the Constitution, elects Dr Benjamin Henry SHEARES as President of Singapore. Since April 1968 my colleagues in the Cabinet and I have been conscious of the possibility of having to call upon one of our citizens, at short notice, to undertake the duties of President. It was a deliberation spread over 2½ years. After the death of the late President, we decided to invite Dr Benjamin Sheares to undertake this office. He is a doctor, eminent in his own specialty. By disposition courteous, by nature kind, he has done a great deal for the College of Medicine, and is largely responsible for the high standards of our gynaecologists, nearly all of whom he taught. After he retired in 1960, he went into private practice. However, he continued to help in many fields connected with his expertise. He has given generously of his time to public duties, like the Family Planning Association. As Chairman of the Medical Specialties Board, he was helping to decide on which medical specialties Singapore should concentrate her resources. He had to recommend which department had outstanding specialists, so that the most modern equipment and facilities could be provided for the exercise of their talent, what special support in nurses, anaesthetists, radiographers, cardiographers, and specialised workers we must train to support these specialists in the use of the latest equipment. After he accepted the Government's offer to be nominated as President, I explained to Dr Sheares that he would have to undertake his duties as from the 2nd of January, 1971. In less than a fortnight he will be receiving the Heads of various Commonwealth delegations who will be arriving for the Conference.”
“In the declining years of the late President, she carried more of the social responsibilities of his office. I am sure the House will be with my colleagues and me in wanting to make these provisions for her and her children. This amending Bill will give her more than what the late President himself would have been entitled to. But there are special reasons why we feel justified in seeking to make the necessary provisions set out in the Bill. Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [The Prime Minister]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE 2.54 p.m.”
“They have been circulated, Sir. Mr Govindasamy, Sir, when the Civil List and Pension Bill was taken through Parliament earlier this year, the doctors who were treating the late President were optimistic that he might be able to serve his full term before retirement. But it was not to be. Had he retired at the time of his death, the late President would have been entitled to a pension of $ 17.466 per year, or $1,455 per month. As he was 60 years of age, he could have taken a gratuity of $72,777 (one-third of his full pension x 12 ½ years), together with a reduced pension of $970 per month. This formula for computation applies to all Ministerial pensions. The late President left behind a widow and three children, the youngest of whom is 18. Under the present law, Puan Noor Aishah will only be entitled to a gratuity. This could not have been more than the gratuity the late President would have been entitled to. She is only in the second half of her thirties and so has a considerable life expectancy. My colleagues and I decided that we should amend the Civil List and Pension Act for her special circumstances, without making it a precedent for the future. By this amending Bill, we shall provide her with a pension of $2,000 per month for life. As in all pensions to widows, it will cease in the event of re-marriage. There will be a further $500 per month for her children, until the youngest one has reached 21, or on her marriage if it is before 21. As their house has not yet been built on her piece of land, we have made available to her a government bungalow she has chosen from a number which were suitable. She will pay one-quarter of the economic rent of the house for a period of three years. During this time her own house could be built.”
“Now, Sir,I lay upon the Table a Certificate of Urgency signed by the Acting President in respect of the Civil List and Pension (Amendment) Bill. Certificate of Urgency handed in.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I have the Acting President's recommendation to proceed with this Bill. Sir, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to amend the Civil List and Pension Act, 1970 (No. 10 of 1970)". Bill read the First time. Second Reading”
“At the same time, he was keen that in this multi-racial milieu, our Singapore Malays should break out from the bounds of customs which were preventing them from making the same progress as the other communities. He believed in policies to modernise our society, including our Malays. He believed that all men should be equal, or at least given equal opportunities to advance themselves through their own effort. I remember him as the man I spoke of in the motion for his re-election in November 1967. The long illness over nearly three years reduced him slowly to an invalid. It was painful and sad to watch him go down little by little after each relapse of his cardiac and respiratory problems. The burden was heaviest on his wife and children. As his condition deteriorated, his usually composed demeanour was affected. He was beset by anxieties. I saw him last on Sunday night, 22nd November, at 9.30 p.m, at the General Hospital. I had spoken to him on Saturday, 21st November, over the telephone. He told me not to see him until his attack of herpes, or shingles, was over. He sounded in greater pain than usual. The next day, Sunday afternoon, he had a heart failure. He was put into an oxygen tent at the General Hospital. He must have known that the end was near. After a while, when the doctor had given an injection to resuscitate him, he came out of his plastic oxygen tent. He insisted on shaking hands with the doctors and nurses who had looked after him, and with me. I left after 20 minutes. The next morning, I was informed of his death. May I formally, Mr Govindasamy. Sir, ask that this House join me in sending the widow and his children our deep sympathies. Their loss must be greater than ours.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I am sure Members will join me in formally recording our sorrow at the death of our late President, Yusof bin Ishak Al-haj. He has become an institution over the past 11 years. He visited this House on so many occasions at the opening of each new session. I last spoke, in this House, of him and his gracious lady, when moving his re-election as Head of State in November 1967 for a third term. Shortly afterwards he was to fall ill. We did not then know how grave the illness was. During a sea voyage from Singapore to Australia in April 1968, the rhythm of his heart beat was upset and he had to be flown to Melbourne for treatment. We were grateful to the Australian Government, and the doctors and nurses in Melbourne who treated him. The prognosis of the Australian specialists was not encouraging. But, with skill and devotion, our doctors and nurses who took care of him, stretched what could have been a matter of a few months into 2 1/2 years. Their professional competence made this possible. I first came to know the late President early in 1951. He had come to seek my advice over an Utusan Melayu editor who was detained under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance. He was naturally well-mannered. Over the years, I got to know him as a deeply religious man, but one who did not allow his religion to hinder his relationship with non-Muslims, whether they were Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians, or atheists. He stood for our multi-racial policies. A recent speech he made to start off the fund for a monument to the early pioneers of Singapore was one which could only have been made by a person who believed in our multi-racial approach to solving the problems of our multi-racial society.”
“Unless the Member for Bras Basah moves an amendment to exclude the Member for Joo Chiat, the increase for all M.P.s will also cover him. I am not sure whether the Member for Bras Basah wants to exclude the Member for Joo Chiat.”
“I have already given the reason. I do not think it is appropriate. First, I can afford not to take an increase immediately. Second, 1 think it will be better understood by workers generally and their trade union leaders, of whom there are several representatives in this House, that the need for wage restraint and no wage increase without higher productivity -that policy must prevail. My stagnant salary is symbolic of that policy. I am not suggesting that my productivity is not increasing. All I am saying is that, because workers do not visibly see my productivity increasing, I am leaving it at $3,500 until we have the all-clear signal by the end of 1972.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the first question, whether the increases will apply to the four Members of Parliament who have resigned, the answer, with great regret, is no. We considered this matter carefully. If we were to apply it to them and have their pensions based on $1,000 per month, then we, as a government, would be going against a principle for which we have always stood, namely, that wage increases should never be back-dated or made retrospective. Parliamentary pensions for M.P.s' allowances and Ministers' salaries are calculated on the mean average of their last three years. So if it is to be altered for the four former M.P.s, the present allowances would have to be back-dated three years. It is irresponsible for any government to set such a precedent. Apart from grave problems that would be posed not only to employers generally, the Minister for Finance will be pressed, because every wage increase made, will be asked to be retrospective. I know that it is regrettable that former Members like Mr Lee Teck I Tim, after having served 11 years, will get a pension of only $170 a month. I suggest to the Member for Punggol that perhaps his feelings of comradeship and loyalty to Mr Lee Teck Him are such as to make a call on his generous and charitable disposition, and that of other Members. Mr Ng Kah Ting: The second question is about the increase in the Prime Minister's salary.”
“Within the 70's, it is my hope that this Parliament can attract enough men of quality and integrity to maintain honest and efficient standards of administration, and to provide capable leadership for Singapore. Social, economic and political conditions have changed enormously since 1955, and motivations for seeking political office have also changed. But I believe we can produce a second generation leadership, as competent and honest, and with a bit of luck, perhaps also as dedicated and determined as those colleagues of mine who have been in office since 1959. If we can succeed in this, then Singapore's future for the 1980's and beyond will be assured. I am prepared, of the statement I have put House, to answer any questions of clarification.”
“My salary will stay as it is until the end of 1972, by which time Singapore should have overcome the economic problems caused by the rundown in British military expenditure, provided we all work hard for higher and higher productivity and more and more industries. I am able to do this only because my wife is a practising solicitor with an adequate income. But it is unrealistic to expect the next Prime Minister, one qualified for the job, to discharge the functions of this office for the present salary. Meanwhile my colleagues and I are hoping to attract young men and women of ability and integrity to take up political work and stand as Members of Parliament. From several selection exercises we have held since 1965 to get new blood into this House, we know that many young people are reluctant to undertake political life and stand for election, first, because their public and private lives are immediately put under close and constant scrutiny, and next, because of the time and effort required of a Member of Parliament, all for $500 per month. My colleagues and I have, therefore, decided that we should raise M.P.s' allowances to $1,000 per month. I am not suggesting that this will solve the problem. But it will help. At the next sitting of Parliament I shall introduce a supplementary budget for these changes to be made from 1st June, 1970. The cost will be about $300,000 per annum for the increase in the M.P.s' allowances, and $300,000 per annum for the increase in the salaries of Ministers, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries. No increases are proposed for Political Secretaries, for normally they would not be Members of Parliament and, therefore, the rationale for the increases does not apply to them.”
“No group of men, either in commerce or industry or in academe, are as crucial to Singapore's continued security and prosperity as the eleven who form the Cabinet. The leadership that a government provides determines whether a country is stable and prosperous, or chaotic and bankrupt. And what has happened to a number of new countries should warn us of the dangers Singapore faces if a second generation leadership is not equal to their task. Sir, I had considered the possibility of raising the salaries for the Member for Havelock and for a few other Ministers for whom $2,500 would be out of all proportion to what they were earning outside the Government and whose family needs are also pressing. I decided against it. To do so would be discriminatory and arbitrary. The second reason is that it would not be possible to have men of ability and integrity to become Ministers at these salaries, once the present Ministers leave office. If Ministers in Singapore are not expected to be scrupulously honest, then that is quite a different matter. For then their Ministerial salaries can be token payments for purposes of income tax returns, whilst fortunes are accumulated in kick-backs and rake-offs, for licences, contracts, and a hundred and one acts of the exercise of Ministerial discretion. I have, therefore, decided to recommend to Members to increase the salaries of Ministers in Cabinet from $2,500 to $4,500 per month; Ministers of State from $2,000 to $2,500 per month; Parliamentary Secretaries from $1,500 to $1,750 a month. I am not increasing my own salary of $3,500 a month.”
“Mr Speaker, although it is 15 years ago, in 1955, that Ministerial salaries and allowances for Members were fixed and are unrelated to present-day economic conditions, I would have preferred to have left them alone. However, two reasons compel me to make some adjustments now, and this in spite of the need for wage restraint by the workers and by their trade union leaders. Until we are sure that the effects of the rundown of British military spending have been more than offset by an expansion in our industrial and servicing sectors of the economy, we must be cautious and discourage wage increases which are not matched by higher productivity. The first reason is that I wish to appoint the new Member of Parliament for Havelock to an important Ministry. Sir, it is not fair to ask any man, however conscientious and faithful a public servant the Member for Havelock has been, to take on a Ministry which carries heavier responsibilities than the Development Bank of Singapore for a salary of $2,500 per month. It is so unrealistic and so unrelated to present conditions in Singapore, and to what he is getting, and to what is the remuneration for higher executives in commerce and industry, and even for senior members in the professions. Senior lawyers put in income tax returns of over $20,000 a month. I am sure that if I asked him to, the Member for Havelock would be willing to make a sacrifice and serve at the present salary. But if we are to attract men of ability to serve as Ministers, in other words, to run for election and then serve as Ministers, Singapore cannot, for the indefinite future, rely on people who are willing to make inordinate sacrifices, particularly when it is at the expense of their families.”
“Unallocated awards provide for unforeseen training requirements of high priority which arise as a result of changing circumstances, or sudden requirements which cannot be met from the regular bilateral or multilateral technical assistance schemes. The provision is utilised mainly for the awards, about 10 to 15 per year, for higher studies both in foreign and local institutions of higher learning. They meet the costs of passages, fees and expenses, and other relevant and necessary ad hoc expenditure.”
“With respect for the Member for Punggol, I believe that if scholarship is to be nurtured and encouraged, then too much money to young students may not necessarily bring about the best results. Last year, of the four who were President's scholars, three won other scholarships. So they were given a token sum of $500 per annum, in addition to their other scholarships. The year before, in 1968, of the six President's scholars, five won other scholarships. So each was given $500 per annum special allowance in recognition of their status as President's scholars. I am sure that the scholarships awarded are adequate for scholastic, social and other legitimate pursuits of our students. Giving them an unnecessarily extravagant sum of money will not improve the quality either of their studies, or their later performance in life.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we had occasion to discuss this same matter in the 1968 budget session. The Member for Punggol knows that the standards required for the President's scholarships have been set very high. Awards are made to those with exceptional academic performance and extra-curricular activities. The numbers awarded were nine in 1966, seven in 1967, six in 1968 and four in 1969. The awards for 1970 are being considered at present. I cannot anticipate how many will finally be considered worthy of becoming President's scholars. However, since 1967 Merit scholarships have been awarded to those who have done well, but did not satisfy the high standards required of President's scholars. Twelve of these were awarded in 1967, 13 in 1968 and seven in 1969. Of the 26 President's scholars to date, eight have completed their studies. Two were taken into the Administrative Service, one to the Economic Development Board. The others are being interviewed for appointment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I rise and ask the House for a brief adjournment, as my colleague, the Minister for Finance, would be grateful for a few minutes' break. Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the sitting now, and will take the Chair again in fifteen minutes' time. Sitting accordingly suspended at 4.37 p.m. until 4.52 p.m Sitting resumed at 4.52 p.m. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT Resumption of Business Motion.”
“One of the crucial yardsticks by which we shall have to judge the results of the new abortion law combined with the voluntary sterilisation law will be whether it tends to raise or lower the total quality of our population. We must encourage those who earn less than $200 per month and cannot afford to nurture and educate many children never to have more than two. Intelligent application of these laws can help reduce the distortion that has already set in. Until the less educated themselves are convinced and realise that they should concentrate their limited resources on one or two to give their children the maximum chance to climb up the educational ladder, their children will always be at the bottom of the economic scale. It is unlikely that the results will be discernible before five years. Nor will the effect be felt before fifteen to twenty years. But we will regret the time lost if we do not now take the first tentative steps towards correcting a trend which can leave our society with a large number of the physically, intellectually and culturally anaemic. 3.36 p.m.”
“Until such time when moral inhibitions disappear and legislative or administrative measures can be taken to regulate the size of families, we must try to induce people to limit their families and give their children a better chance. The quality of our population depends on raising not only the I.Q. level but also getting parents to care, nurture and educate their children and to develop all those other qualities so crucial to effective living summed up in the word "character". Every person, genius or moron, has a right to reproduce himself. So we assume that a married pair will want to be allowed two children to replace them. This is already the average size family of the skilled industrial worker in Europe. In Singapore we still allow three for good measure. Beyond the three children, the costs of subsidised housing, socialised medicine and free education should be transferred to the parent. We have changed the priorities in public housing, by not awarding more points for more children. One day we may have to put disincentives or penalties on the other social services. By introducing this new abortion law together with the companion voluntary sterilisation law, we are making possible the exercise of voluntary choice. But we must keep a close watch on the result of the new laws and the patterns of use which will emerge. It is not unlikely that the people who will want to restrict their families are the better educated parents in better paid jobs. They are the people who already understand that their children's future depends on their being able to care for their health, education and upbringing.”
“'s, and then begin to repay their debt to society. His final performance is affected by diet, health and cultural, social and educational opportunities. When the less educated who are also in the lower income groups have large families, the problems they create for their children are compounded. Resources, time, attention and care, lavished on one or two children, can nurture and develop the endowments of the children to their fullest extent; when spread and frittered over six or more in the family, prevent any child from getting the chances he could have had in a smaller family. In urbanised Singapore, this can become an acute problem. Free pre-natal care, post-natal health and almost free medical services have reduced infant mortality to the low rates of highly developed countries. Free education and subsidised housing lead to a situation where the less economically productive people in the community are reproducing themselves at rates higher than the rest. This will increase the total population of less productive people. Our problem is how to devise a system of disincentives, so that the irresponsible, the social delinquents, do not believe that all the have to do is to produce their children and the government then owes them and their children sufficient food, medicine, housing, education and jobs. There are certain areas of activity over which control by any government is both difficult and repugnant. One such area is the choice of the number of children a father and mother decide to rear. One day the pressure of circumstances may become so acute that attitudes must change.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, one of the noticeable trends in developed countries is that parents with more education have much smaller families than those with less education. This trend is also discernible in urbanised, though still underdeveloped, societies like Singapore. If these trends continue to their logical conclusions, then the quality of the population will go down. In all societies, there are the more intelligent and the less intelligent. Professor Richard Lynn, a member of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, wrote in the New Scientist of 20th March, 1969, that geneticists have come to the conclusion that intelligence is principally determined by heredity. One of the ways of demonstrating this is through the study of identical twins reared in different families. Investigations in Britain, America and Denmark have invariably revealed a high measure of agreement between the I.Q.s of identical twins, even though they have been reared in families of different educational and cultural standards. The I.Q. classification of the levels of the various occupations was quoted by the same author as follows: Occupation Mean I.Q. Higher professional and executive 150 Lower professional and executive 130 Highly skilled and Clerical 118 Skilled workers 108 Semi-skilled workers 97 Unskilled workers 86 It is not unlikely that many other attributes of mind and body are also inherited. But whatever the inheritance, man, more than any other living creature, depends on nurturing and training for his capacity to mature and to develop. Man needs to be reared for one-third of his life span in order to be productive for the next two-thirds. In highly developed societies, students are supported for 25 to 27 years until they get their Ph.D.”
“No jurist or student of jurisprudence has been reckless enough to say that justice is not being done in these countries. The question some lawyers unconsciously frame is: Before whom does an accused person, who can pay for a good advocate, stand a more sporting chance of being acquitted, three High Court Judges or a jury of seven? I suggest that as legislators concerned with the administration of justice, we are not interested in this question. The question that we in this House must ask is: Are three Judges more likely to do justice than seven men chosen at random to serve on a jury? I think we know the answer to this. I support the Second Reading of this Bill. 2.36 p.m.”
“It also requires Judges who have complete command of their courts, and are sufficiently subtle and skilful to get juries to arrive at the right verdict through a judicious choice of words which cannot be attacked on appeal. Even in England, the present Lord Chief Justice has had occasion in recent years to make a number of caustic comments on the jury system. One can always fall back on Blackstone in the eighteenth century, and several English Judges of the present century to proclaim the virtues of the Anglo-Saxon method of jury trial. But, even in England from the requirement of unanimous verdict for a conviction, it is now only necessary to get a majority. Also not so long ago in England juries were called upon to decide questions of fact even in civil cases, like actions for libel. Now they have been abolished. The administration of justice has to be kept apace and abreast with the times. And the reputation of the jury for divine discernment is now much tarnished. We have seen in Singapore several miscarriages of justice in the past few years. In one trial for murder recently, a trial that should have taken five days dragged on for over 30 days as Judge and prosecutor leant over backwards to ensure the appearance of justice being manifestly done. In my view, it was overdone. Every visiting psychiatrist was called to give evidence, ending with the majority of jurymen being so impressed or confused that a majority of the jury reduced the charge of murder to a conviction for culpable homicide. The time has come to put this right. Western Europe is not uncivilised. They too have the rule of law, although more Roman law than Anglo-Saxon law. The French, Germans, Italians, and Dutch do not have juries for civil or criminal trials.”
“Mr Speaker, the business of government is to ensure that the rule of law must be seen to prevail, and not thwarted. This means that the administration of justice is carried out fairly and justly, and that the law does take its course. When making changes to existing practice, we have to ask ourselves whether the change we are introducing will be for the better. Having spent a decade in the practice of the law, with some experience in the criminal courts, and another decade in government having to provide for the machinery of justice, the police and their investigations, public prosecutors and the courts, I have little doubt that this is a change which in our circumstances will ensure that justice is the more likely to be done, and seen to be done. If three High Court Judges cannot decide on questions of fact better than seven random jurymen, then grievous harm is being done every day. Single Judges and single Magistrates have been, and are deciding questions of fact, both in civil and criminal cases. Every day single Judges and single Magistrates make their decisions after findings on questions of fact on the evidence of witnesses under examination-in-chief and cross examination. Sometimes they intervene to pose questions. Sometimes documents and exhibits are brought before them. I have little doubt that they are the more likely to arrive at the truth as against a jury of laymen. The jury system may work in Singapore, if our jurors do not feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of having to find a man guilty, when they know that this means a death sentence.”
“And it is because we have restless minds, forever probing and testing, seeking new and better solutions to old and new problems, that we have never been, and I trust never shall be, tried and found wanting. I ask hon. Members to consider their responsibilities in the context of this sombre perspective of the 1970s when they come to deliberate at the Committee stage on the amendments to all the legislation. They together comprise what I have stated a not unattractive package. 3.42 p.m.”
“We need the ground crew to maintain them for flying by our pilots every day of every year so that both planes and pilots are in top form all the time. Again, it is not just buying fast patrol craft. We have to maintain them and re-fit them. And our sailors have to man them all the time. Then every so many years a new generation of weapons have to be bought and obsolete aircraft, vehicles and weapons discarded or sold second-hand. Let me briefly recapitulate. Our plans are to put our capital and labour -to greater use. We must attract more capital and more expertise from those who know how to use capital in a place like Singapore to maximum economic advantage. Several factors are in our favour: stable political conditions for the indefinite future, a sound currency, clean, heal-thy living conditions. Most important, we have workers who are intelligent, industrious, resourceful and positive in their approach to life. In the end, it is the combined effort of the Government, workers, and management that will accelerate the growth of our economy. Finally, we will be judged as a government by results. These results depend, among other things, upon the morale and enthusiasm of the people, and the pace set by their leaders in Parliament and outside. If we were a soft community, then the temptation would be to leave things alone and hope for the best. Then, only good fortune can save us from the unpleasantness which reason and logic tell us is ahead of us. But we are not an easy-going people. We cannot help thinking, calculating and planning for tomorrow, for next week, for next month, for next year, for the next generation.”
“Now the maximum contribution will be $150 per month instead of the present $25 per month. So if a young executive is earning $1,500 a month, he will contribute $150, and his employer will contribute $150 every month for his C.P.F., whereas formerly each contributed only $25. Present C.P.F. balances can be set off against down payment for Housing and Development Board flats, not privately constructed houses. The present employer plus worker total of 10 per cent monthly contributions will go up to 13 per cent, 16 per cent, and 20 per cent in three annual stages. These monthly contributions can be set off against monthly instalments of Housing and Development Board or privately constructed homes. The distinction is crucial, because in one case the money already accumulated in the central Provident Fund has gone into public works expenditure, and with a Housing and Development Board flat, it means a book transfer. But with a privately-built home it means an actual payment out by the Central Provident Fund of a sum of money to a private developer. Legislation will also be introduced to allow workers to authorise their employers to deduct monthly sums from salaries direct to the Housing and Development Board or private developers. I want to stress that nobody is getting less; in fact, everybody is getting more. What we have the right to expect is that everybody puts in more. Only then can we have better social, educational and medical services. And I want to stress again the ever-growing annually recurring costs of defence. It is not just a question of buying aeroplanes. Having bought them, we need to train our pilots to fly them.”
“From my discussions with the various employers' organisations and Chambers of Commerce, it is clear that the old-fashioned family type businessman has no conception of the wider and longer term relationships between management and labour in an age of educated and organised workers who are conscious of their indispensable part in the production of the wealth of the whole community. These employers will have to be educated and taught the facts of present-day industrial life. We call upon everyone for improvement and effort. This is our duty as a government. No one is asked to sacrifice for the benefit of the privileged and the corrupt, nor will revenue go into wasteful and extravagant expenditure. With higher performance and greater output, there will be more industries and more jobs, better trained artisans, technicians, engineers, and executives. From the higher Gross National Product will come greater revenue. From this revenue will flow improved standards of education, health services, social amenities and housing for all. We are all human beings. The Government does not expect workers to put in more effort for nothing. So we are putting more into the kitty. In the private sector the higher Central Provident Fund benefits mean that workers getting less than $200 per month will still not have to contribute to the Central Provident Fund. But their employers will have to contribute an additional 5 per cent. The increase will be implemented in three annual stages by increases of 1½ per cent, l½ per cent and 2 per cent. At present the maximum contribution an employer has to make for workers earning more than $200 per month, without special pensionable schemes, is $25 per month. This is also the maximum the worker has to pay to the Central Provident Fund.”
“In other words, with less hidden benefits and more open rewards with higher incentives for higher performance when industries and enterprises prosper, so wages will go up. So will bonuses also go up. The legislation is also designed to help improve management discipline and establish a sensible relationship between unions and management. It goes without saying that as new and better management techniques are introduced by subsidiaries of the large international concerns who go into partnership with our citizens, so our own established enterprises must modernise and improve work methods, machinery, organisation to keep up their own productivity, or they will go under. In the earlier stages of our labour movement, the trade union often became a place of refuge for the inefficient, the slack, the lazy and the anti-social. As has happened elsewhere, these are the first to join the union to seek protection against the natural desire of any employer to be rid of bad workers. When some Russian trade unionists were in Singapore several months ago, they told our trade union leaders that Russian trade unionists report to and require of management the dismissal of inefficient workers and thereby increase productivity. I am not asking our trade union leaders, in an open democratic society to take on the role of management. But I do urge them, with the help of these new laws, to stop giving cover to those who do not pull their weight. We must avoid slipping into a situation where trade unionism is the practice of protecting the weakest and the slowest worker and, with everybody being paid the same wage, nobody will have the slightest incentive to work harder than the weakest and the slowest. But just as there are bad workers, so too there are bad employers.”
“This is a legacy of the education policies of the past when it was never envisaged that we would be other than a dependent people assisting in the lower ranks of a trading and administrative capital of one part of a vast empire. If we accept all the amendments which are being sought by the Member for Bukit Ho Swee, nobody will lose anything either in wages or fringe benefits. In other words, all existing agreements between unions and employers will continue until they expire. We are seriously considering this. Because we know that when these agreements expire, unless we have succeeded in creating new jobs, the redundancies that are taking place, plus the annual inflow into the labour market from the schools, will alter the supply and demand situation so radically that the wages and other fringe benefits being re-negotiated are bound to be fundamentally different. So unions and their members have a vested interest to help create conditions under which more industries and enterprises are established creating more demand for workers and reducing the supply of unemployed workers. We are also checking the tendency to increase labour costs, not by wage increases but by fringe benefits, hidden costs which can be easily abused, like casual sick leave which is taken whenever a worker feels like a day off, often when he is not sick. Sir, I cannot over-emphasise that what we have not attempted to do is to regulate agreements between unions and employers on the wages to be paid. We have not fixed maximum or minimum wage levels. That wage will depend upon what a particular industry or enterprise can afford, taking into consideration the rate for that kind of job. The performance of a particular company's workers and the profits of that enterprise.”
“Now we shall go back to 11 paid public holidays a year which is what it has always been and still is for industrial workers. In the essential services work will carry on, holidays and Sundays notwithstanding, providing more jobs for our unemployed. Singapore will be kept clean and green. Shops and restaurants can open on Sundays and public holidays - the whole year round if they find it profitable - so that they can better cater for their customers and for tourists. But workers will get one rest day per week, and double pay for a public holiday if the employer wants them to work. But if it is the employee who wants to work on a public holiday, then he gets only single pay. The assumptions made in the 1950s and 1960s by the trade unions and their advisers, of whom I was one, were that our workers wanted more leisure to enjoy their pay. These assumptions were based on British practices which were and are completely irrelevant to our social conditions. Every-body knows this. Our workers want work, and more work for more money - not more leisure to spend the inadequate sums they earn. For the vast majority of workers, over three-quarters of whom are not in any unions at all, the new legislation means an improvement in their working conditions. It is only the minority, probably less than one-tenth of our work force, the better unionised clerical groups, who will have to make some adjustments in their working hours per week before being entitled to overtime. This is a helpful change, for it will bring blue-collar workers into line with the white-collar workers. And we need more blue, and less white, collar workers.”
“Details of British withdrawal plans have been made known to us. They show an ever-increasing rate of redundancy of both local civilian workers and repatriation of British service and civilian personnel. The heaviest blow will fall in 1971. From the experience of the Economic Development Board, we know that it takes two to three years from first discussions on a project, through its planning and construction stages, to first production. Therefore, unless we attract manufacturers on new projects now, there will neither be the factories nor the jobs in 1970, 1971 and 1972 when the pressure of unemployment will be heaviest. The first major task of this new Parliament is to take through this series of legislative amendments that will put our working population into better trim. This is a package which is both fair and attractive. These amendments are designed to make everyone put in a greater effort for higher performance to bring in higher rewards. This, coupled with the home-ownership plan for the mass of our workers and not just the higher salaried groups, will enable more and more of our working population to have a growing personal stake in the continuing prosperity and stability of our society. There are some enterprises that can profitably work round the clock for every day of the 365 days in the year. They should do so. The harbour, the dockyards, the airports, and some factories whose export orders make this worth while will do this. We must cut out unnecessary stoppages of work. Over the years, each cultural and religious group has had holidays added on to our annual list. We were well on the way to having the highest number of public holidays per year for office workers anywhere in Asia.”
“The more practical, the more economical and the more productive way is to import outside expertise to manufacture or assemble, or set up the servicing organisations for which there is a demand. With in-service training, our workers will develop higher and higher skills. However, this is what a few other countries are also trying to do. Some have more attractive inducements with non-unionised and cheap labour and a bigger protected domestic market to offer these industries a chance to get established. But they often have disadvantages and disabilities, like workers who are less educated, not so striving nor trained, nor disciplined, and less stable and favourable political, social and economic conditions. We must put to maximum advantage the capacity of our workers for intense effort and rapid acquisition of skills. Their readiness to learn, an almost irresistible impulse to improve themselves, when combined with politically stable and socially healthy conditions, make Singapore attractive to those manufacturers who can get either a freight or a wage advantage to manufacture or assemble in Singapore for Singapore's consumption and for export. Let me illustrate this point in another way. Given the same Singapore but substituting the present two million Singaporeans for some other two million people, more pleasure-loving, less hardy, less willing to work, and less willing to learn; compound this with inept administration and corrupt government; then I say overnight Singapore's Gross National Product could be halved or reduced to a third of what it presently is. This should illustrate how much the final performance depends upon the ability, stamina, skills, knowledge, expertise and discipline of our population. There are testing times ahead.”
“Given what we have at present in Singapore, the total performance, the value of goods and services produced per annum, the Gross National Product could treble if our two million people were made up of people from the highly developed countries, like workers from Japan with their intensity of purpose and high skills, technicians and engineers from Germany with their efficient and specialised apprenticeship training, scientists and technologists from Britain with their sophistication and imaginative research, and executives from America with their well-developed disciplines in business administration and management with their "hard-sell" approaches. Such a two million people would not be just repairing ships. They would be building ships. They would be running their own merchant fleets like the Norwegians, and deep-sea fishing fleets like the Japanese. They would be running a full-fledged round-the-world international airline. They would be a centre for the maintenance of airframes and aircraft engines in the region. They would be a centre for computers and computer servicing for the whole of this region. The problem, therefore, is how to educate and train our people to reach the standards of these technologically advanced countries as soon as possible. First, we must ask if our people have it in them, for otherwise this will be a vain and futile exercise. From the record of the last nine years since we started to manage our own affairs, I believe that nearly all our people have got the stuffing in them to make the grade. What they need are the opportunities and the training. One way to educate our young people to higher degrees of technical skill is to send them abroad. But this is only possible for the relatively few, since it is costly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, one of the reasons why we called earlier General Elections was that we have to adjust 'our plans to meet the military and economic consequences of the British Government's decision for an earlier withdrawal from her bases in Singapore and Malaysia, i.e., by the end of 1971. The overall objective is simple enough: to attract expertise, know-how, enterprise and capital, to use Singapore's domestic capital and her workers to greater advantage in the manufacturing, assembling and servicing sectors. We must also stimulate expansion of existing industries and enterprises and encourage them to new lines of business, all with the accent on export. We must get our young men and women trained and skilled in the techniques of modern industry, so that the quality and costs of our products are competitive on the export markets. This will increase our Gross National Product, give us a higher standard of living, and pay for the ever-increasing cost of our own defence. There are ample funds in Singapore, as every banker can tell hon. Members. Every sound share issue put on the market has been over-subscribed, sometimes by more than four times. But until we have enough industrial expertise, managerial talent and export promotion know-how, this capital will not be used effectively to give meaningful jobs to our ever-increasing numbers of educated but not technically trained workers. The objective can be vividly illustrated if hon. Members will allow me to over-simplify the problem.”
“* The motion reads as follows: That the following Address in reply to the speech of the President be agreed to:- "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the speech which he delivered on behalf ofthe Government at the opening of the First Session of this Parliament". Question proposed. 3.12 p.m.”
“Otherwise today man, whether he is European, Asian, American, Russian, British, French or Chinese, they would not have fathomed the secrets of the atom and be reaching out for the moon and the stars and beyond. The capacity to learn has played an important part in the ascendancy of man over all other living beings on this earth. It is the brain in man that gave him supremacy over larger creatures. But from time to time in the history of human civilisations, more civilised, more cultivated societies, with higher standards of living, have been over-run and subjugated by barbaric and less advanced groups. So the Roman Empire fell. An so successive Chinese and Indian civilisations were conquered by virile warrior races, who were socially and culturally of a cruder order, and less sophisticated in their social organisations. We must be on our toes all the time. We must never allow this to happen to Singapore through our growing self-indulgent and soft. No one can predict what will happen around us in the region. No one knows what will be the world balance of power in the late l970s or l980s, or whose influence will prevail over South and Southeast Asia. But whatever happens in South and Southeast Asia and in the wider world beyond, we must use the time given us to grow sturdy and strong. Our people have in abundance the capacity to learn and to adjust to changing circumstances. The future belongs to the most adaptable, the most intelligent, and the best organised. We can be counted amongst them. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the motion* standing in my name.”
“For only citizens are entitled to public housing, medical treatment, and health facilities, social benefits and so on. If we keep up the momentum, far from going down, in the next five to ten years we will not only provide jobs for our unemployed, but also be able to take in a controlled flow of the professionally and technologically trained, the skilled and even those unskilled workers prepared to do the hard and heavy jobs. This has been the experience of all the countries where, with higher education and higher expectations of their own population, immigrant labour was necessary to fill in the lower echelon of their work force, whether it is in Japan with Formosan and Korean workers or in Germany with Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Turkish workers, or in Britain with all the innumerable problems that Britain now faces as a result of this process of going up the social ladder. I do not believe we will face any of these difficulties, because the people we are allowing in are more or less already very much like ourselves. Sir, we shall have a prosperous, thriving and multi-racial Singapore. And nothing is more infectious than success. In the longer run, it will be the light from Singapore that will radiate hope throughout the region for similar success of other multi-racial communities not unlike us. By example and precept, our success will influence the formulae others are seeking to transform old-fashioned communities into modern, industrialised and affluent societies. Sir, history is a long and unending process. History bears witness to the ascendancy of the more fit and the more adaptable.”