Low Seow Chay
Singapore
“Catalytic converters will reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides and hydrocarbons emitted by petrol-driven vehicles by more than 90%.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $220,439,200 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $388,847,000 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head I -”
“I feel that the Government should be more sympathetic to the resettlers, because it has acquired their land and their livelihood is also affected. In fact, we should try our best to pave a smooth path for all these people to be re-housed in a HDB estate, instead of creating more man-made problems for these people.”
“What the individual housing estates have done in the past are all short-term measures. In the long term, we have to create an environment such that it would be unfriendly to the mynahs. I feel that there should be a national effort to coordinate and pool the resources to solve this particular unpleasant problem.”
“The long-term solution of this problem has to be looked into if we want to continue to enjoy our progress and prosperity. While we may depend on foreign labour, this should not be allowed to prejudice the interests of local workers. The presence of foreign workers should not result in the dampening of wages for our local workers.”
“We should keep our law up-to-date with the advances in information technology. Sir, breaking into a computer system is equivalent to forging a set of keys, and attempting to unlock and enter a house without permission. It is trespassing or housebreaking.”
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Every one of 36 lines we hold for Low Seow Chay, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account.
“Why is it that polytechnic students require working experience before they are admitted to the university, whereas 'A' level students do not need that particular requirement?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $220,439,200 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $388,847,000 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head I -”
“Catalytic converters will reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides and hydrocarbons emitted by petrol-driven vehicles by more than 90%. We can therefore expect the levels of these pollutants in our ambient air to be reduced as more and more of our cars are replaced with new ones fitted with catalytic converters over a period of time. Sir, with regard to the octane rating of petrol, I would like to inform Dr Low that premium grade leaded petrol (octane rating 97), premium grade unleaded petrol (octane rating 98) and regular grade unleaded petrol (octane rating 92) are available at all petrol stations in Singapore. The one he mentioned just now, ie, the regular grade leaded petrol (octane rating 92) is not available and I have been made to understand that the demand for this regular grade leaded petrol (octane rating 92) is small and is not being marketed by the oil companies for commercial reasons. And as suggested by Dr Low Seow Chay, my Ministry will try its best to talk with the oil companies concerned. 2.00 pm”
“Otherwise we should consider holding back the policy or at least delay the implementation of the policy for a few more years. Sir, when we talk about pollution control, there has always been a balancing act between the level of acceptable pollution and the cost we are willing to pay. I would like to ask the Minister what will be his quantitative forecast on the improvement of our air quality as a result of the implementation of compulsory three-way catalytic converters. Sir, I would now like to move on to the topic of petrol. Ever since the launching of the lead-free petrol, I realise that the 92 RON leaded petrol was no longer on sale in our local petrol stations. To the best of my knowledge, there are still many cars which could run on the 92 RON leaded petrol. For this category of car owners, they have already been penalised for paying about 10% more on the fuel cost because they are unable to use the unleaded petrol. Due to the unavailability of the 92 RON leaded petrol, they have to pay another 10% by switching to leaded premium petrol. To these people, I consider them to have been penalised twice. Technically, any car designed to run on 92 RON petrol will not gain any performance satisfaction by switching to a higher grade petrol except unnecessarily spending more on their petrol bill. I would like to ask the Minister whether it is his Ministry's policy to phase out the 92 RON leaded petrol. If not, could the Minister urge the oil companies to put back the 92 RON leaded petrol on sale at least for the next three years? Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Chairman, Sir, Dr Low Seow Chay wants to know the improvement in our air quality following the introduction of catalytic converters.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MF 1500 of the Main Estimates. Sir, according to a Ministerial announcement, the Ministry of the Environment will control the exhaust emission level of cars. By 1993, three-way catalytic converters will be compulsory for all newly registered cars. The purpose of the converter is to reduce the nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides and hydrocarbon emission from vehicles. The concentration of all these three pollutants in our air was not reported in the Ministry's Annual Report except nitrogen oxide. According to the report, the year-long average concentration of nitrogen oxide fluctuates between 35-55 micrograms per normal cubic metre in the past 10 years, except for the year 1987. The values are very much better than the standard suitable for human living environment set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The trend in the past 10 years' figures on nitrogen oxide does not show significant improvement of our air quality despite the progressive control of vehicular emission in the past. I am also glad to note from the Annual Report that in the past few years there were no occurrences of photochemical smog which is a typical air pollution caused by emission from cars. Sir, installation of a catalytic converter will add about $4,000 more on the price of every new car. Assuming that we are going to have about 250,000 cars on the road and each car will have a life span of about 10 years, this policy will cost the motorists a total of about $100 million per year. This is a very huge sum of money. They must ensure that the implementation of the policy of compulsory catalytic converters will substantially improve our environmental quality.”
“I feel that the Government should be more sympathetic to the resettlers, because it has acquired their land and their livelihood is also affected. In fact, we should try our best to pave a smooth path for all these people to be re-housed in a HDB estate, instead of creating more man-made problems for these people. The Resettlement Department should do its best in ensuring that the re-housing process is not hindered by the current new booking system of the HDB. Sir, sometimes, circumstances are beyond one's control. If the circumstances are beyond the control of the Resettlement Department, then the HDB should consider keeping some completed HDB flats of different types. These could be used for allocation to those people who could not book their flats in advance due to acceptable special reasons. Sir, I would like the Minister to comment on these matters.”
“Sir, under the current HDB booking system, an applicant has to place his booking at least one to 1 1/2 years before he can take possession of his flat. Since the allocation process requires a lead time of more than a year before a flat can be physically allocated to an applicant, it has caused some problems to the resettlement re-housing process. Now the Resettlement Department has to plan well in advance and invite all the resettlers to book their flats more than one year before the targeted demolition date of the affected premises. From past experience of the various resettlement projects, we know that not every one of the projects was given sufficient time for advanced arrangements to be made. In addition, in the process of allocating priority to the resettlers, sometimes it would take the Resettlement Department a few months before they could decide whether or not to allocate re-housing priority to the resettlers. If the selected flat cannot be ready on time, the current arrangement and the proposal by the Resettlement Department is to house them in HDB rental 1-room, 2-room or 3-room flats. Sir, this temporary re-housing arrangement is unacceptable to the kampong folks affected by resettlement. Imagine having to move house twice within a short period of time. It is certainly a very troublesome matter. No logical person would consider doing it for himself unless for very special reasons. Furthermore, the transfer from a kampong house to a rental flat, and eventually to a purchase Executive flat, you will need completely different set of furniture. More importantly, many of these people affected by resettlement have acquired a certain social status and some wealth and they would not like to live in a rental 1-room, 2-room or 3-room flat.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“What the individual housing estates have done in the past are all short-term measures. In the long term, we have to create an environment such that it would be unfriendly to the mynahs. I feel that there should be a national effort to coordinate and pool the resources to solve this particular unpleasant problem. I would like to ask whether the Minister is aware of this problem. If so, what measures has he taken in the past?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head U be reduced by $10 in respect of Code UF 1500 of the Main Estimates. Sir, the success of tree planting has made Singapore a haven for migrant birds. Having some wild birds in the housing estates add more natural flavour to our daily life. But if thousands of wild birds gather in a housing estate, the excessive contribution of this natural ingredient becomes a nuisance to the residents. Many of our housing estates have now become the night resting place for a kind of bird called mynah. Every night thousands of such birds gather in the housing estates. They make a high level of awful and unbearable noise. The noise is so loud that it affects students who are studying or doing their homework. The intermittent loud and shrill noise at midnight deprives our residents from having their nice peaceful sleep. The droppings from the birds leave permanent stains on the paintwork of cars. The accumulation of bird droppings becomes very smelly and it is a potential hazard to our residents in housing estates. From research, these birds feed on insects in animal farmyards and also refuse dumping grounds in Singapore and neighbouring countries. The association of the birds in such unhealthy feeding grounds makes them a source in the spread of animal diseases and they also potentially threaten the health of the residents. Sir, because of the nuisance from these migrant birds, the quality of life in housing estates suffers. I have a feeling that if we do not take action now to contain the problem, very soon this problem may become a nation-wide issue. To completely eliminate the problem is not an easy task. It involves manpower, equipment, research and financial resources.”
“The long-term solution of this problem has to be looked into if we want to continue to enjoy our progress and prosperity. While we may depend on foreign labour, this should not be allowed to prejudice the interests of local workers. The presence of foreign workers should not result in the dampening of wages for our local workers. Singapore workers must be paid wages commensurate with their skills, qualifications and work performance. No opportunity for them to improve their skills ought to be missed, so that they could continue to advance as Singapore advances. 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].”
“The most important factor is the attitude of the Malays themselves, Malays in all strata of society, every individual, every family, and every Malay/Muslim organisation. They have to be positive, and take advantage of every available opportunity, to strive to better their present position through further education and training in the various skills that will be in demand in future. All this will require effort, commitment and sacrifice. The Malay community must rally behind Mendaki. Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like now to speak on the Minister for Labour's addendum, with particular reference firstly to industrial relations. The Ministry of Labour's efforts to maintain cooperation with management and trade unions and preserve harmonious industrial relations is most welcomed. It is undeniable that with good industrial relations, we would be able to attract more investors, thus creating better job opportunities for our citizens. In view of this, I would like to urge the Ministry to work towards an even better industrial relations climate by encouraging closer ties between the two parties through social and recreational activities, where both management and workers can mingle, interact and know each other better. In addition, recreational facilities should be developed to accommodate such activities. Courses meant to instil consciousness of the importance of industrial relations should also be organised from time to time. Management should also be encouraged to conduct formal or informal discussions with their respective unions as a forum for the exchange of information and feedback towards greater mutual trust and confidence. On foreign workers, the shortage of labour has forced us to depend on foreign workers to augment the strength of our labour force.”
“Seen from the wider perspective, the onerous task is on Mendaki's shoulders now, to determine how best to utilise the subsidy granted by the Government, for the advancement of the Malay community as a whole, particularly in education. By accepting the new fees subsidy scheme, Mendaki would not only be sending a clear, positive signal to the non-Malay community and the Government, but also a positive, bold and challenging call to the Malay community itself. This is because for most Malays the decision is a sacrifice that they hope would result in something of much greater benefit in the long term not only for themselves but also for the Singapore population at large. Undoubtedly, in discharging the task of helping the Malays to stand 'on equal footing' alongside the other communities, Mendaki has to have the total, undivided support of the Malay community itself. Mendaki must not and cannot afford to fail in its implementation of the new fees scheme. And the Malay community, jointly, would be the guarantors." As Mr Wan Hussin has just stated, the fees issue is but one of many more chal- lenging and burdensome tasks borne by Mendaki. As such, the Foundation has to be diligent and ensure this heavy responsibilty is discharged with fairness. Mendaki has to explain, fully and convincingly, to the Malay community in particular and to Singaporeans in general, that it has concrete plans, special expertise and competent administrators to surmount the social, economic and educational problems of the Malays, to enhance its efforts to improve their performance and to help them progress as citizens of Singapore. But the extent to which the Malays will advance in the decade is not determined solely by Government support and Mendaki's capacity alone.”
“The Malays in Singapore must be grateful for the presence of a Government that is always sensitive of their aspiration to improve themselves and progress along with the very rapid pace of development we have experienced in the past 25 years. The Yayasan Mendaki, comprising various Malay organisations, was established in the 1980s with the specific task of improving the educational performance of the Malays. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, there was a progressive increase in the number of Malay students passing or graduating at the important stages of education, ie, PSLE, GCE "O" and "A" levels, Polytechnic and the University. This position has remained and should be improved upon in the 1990s. Yayasan Mendaki is now embarking on a new, more challenging task in its efforts to address the social, economic and educational problems of the Malays. It has decided to accept the Government's proposal on the issue of tertiary fees subsidy for Malay students. In this regard, I would like to quote the comments that appeared in the 'Our View' column of Berita Minggu, 10th June 1990, titled 'Into a new Phase with Mendaki'. I quote [in translation]: ". . let us accept Mendaki's decision with an open mind and look forward positively so that together we could explore the best ways in which we could build the future of the Malays. The fact that the Government has agreed to advance a sum of $10 million, equivalent to seven years of subsidy, reflects its confidence in Mendaki's objectives and capability. The move also signifies the Government's sincerity and commitment to help the Malays here. Under the new scheme, which is to be implemented from next year, Mendaki will decide who should or should not receive the subsidy, according to certain guidelines based on family income.”
“Encik Abbas Abu Amin (Pasir Panjang GRC)( In Malay): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the motion moved by the Member for Tanglin to express our thanks to the President for his Address at the opening of the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament. A fundamental point in the President's Address is the need to find new challenges to inspire us to progress further and develop a more united and harmonious society, to create a better life for every citizen as we enter this new phase of national development under a new leadership, with a new Prime Minister at the helm by the end of the year. The President also outlined the Government's programmes in the various aspects of national development through the addenda tabled by the respective Ministers. We are relieved to learn that in its endeavour to further improve the people's standard of living and in its drive for further progress, the Government has not neglected the lower income group. Indeed, this group stands to receive even more attention from the Government. One of the aspects requiring close attention is health care. In health care the Government has taken the initiative by actively restructuring existing Government hospitals and building new ones to provide good medical services for the population and allow everyone a wider choice. Such upgrading and renewal would certainly increase the cost of health services, which demand expertise and sophisticated equipment. This is of course inevitable. I would like to support the views expressed by Dr Vasoo yesterday that the Government should always be in the position to provide reasonable health care for the less fortunate among us. Mr Deputy Speaker, in his Address President Wee also dealt with efforts to improve the performance of the Malays, particularly in education.”
“I feel that we can go one step further by allowing some of the people in the lower income group to delay payment towards the capital redemption of the housing loan they have taken from HDB until such time when their children start working. In the meantime, they just pay the interest of their housing loan. By doing so, it will certainly help some of the people in the lower income group to upgrade their standard of living in terms of housing. In dealing with the problems of the poor, we must not allow poverty to beget poverty. In the long term, success in the education of children from the poor families will help these families to break away from the vicious cycle of poverty. The living environment in which poor children are brought up is normally not conducive for their school homework. Lack of parental guidance and inability to afford private tuition could cause the poorer children to do badly in school and some of them may even drop out from school prematurely. I feel that a more comprehensive and properly organised after-school care service for these children should be provided by the Government with the support from the community and charitable organisations. Sir, in fact, many people have already looked into the problems of the poor and they have made suggestions. The Ministry of Community Development will certainly have full of ideas on how they could assist the people of the lower income group. Since we are moving towards a more caring society, the Government should take the lead to do more in this respect. Sir, I support the motion.”
“Under the Public Assistance Scheme, only the following three categories of people are qualified. First, aged, destitute or disabled; second, chronically ill, mentally sick or unfit to work; and third, widows or deserted wives with children under 12 years old. Since the criteria to qualify for public assistance have been so stringent and every qualified case is properly and periodically monitored by the Ministry, it is almost certain that people who are able-bodied and fit to work will be excluded and will not benefit from the scheme. It will not be against the Government's fundamental principle if the subsistence is revised and increased to the level of the minimum subsistence level of today's cost of living so that the recipients could maintain a reasonable and decent standard of living. This is one of the ways in which the Government can show its care and compassion to the less able Singaporeans. We must recognise the fact that these people are unable to do much about their situation of poverty either because of their age or physical condition. Sir, the Government has made known its intention to increase the assets of the poor. One of the possible ways I can think of is to upgrade the HDB housing estates. Unfortunately, most of the people in the lower income group who live in the HDB rental flats will not benefit from this. Most of them are unable to purchase flats for the simple reason that they do not have sufficient CPF savings. I am glad that HDB has already come out with a scheme to allow people of this category a waiver from paying the downpayment for purchasing HDB flats.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion moved by the Member for Tanglin. Sir, our economy has done very well in the past. Today, the majority of our citizens have attained middle class standard of living. Despite our economic achievements, we should not forget that building a more caring and compassionate society is one of our nation building objectives. People should have concern for their fellow citizens, especially for those who for one reason or another lag behind in our progress and do not enjoy the fruits of our prosperity. They are the people in the lower income group. The Government's effort in ensuring a healthy economy and full employment so that income will rise generally is considered the best way to improve the living standard of the poorer Singaporeans. As regards the financial assistance to the poor, the Government has always adopted the basic policy that the assistance given should not develop a 'clutch mentality' among them. Everybody must try hard to stand on his own feet instead of relying on the social welfare scheme. It is on this basis that the Ministry of Community Development has adopted a rather stringent means test to determine the eligibility of applicants for social welfare assistance. As a result, the allowances given are very low. For example, the grant to a four-member family is merely $295 per month. The amount is pegged to the minimum subsistence requirement computed by the Chief Statistician, which is $389 per month, based on the figure in 1988. Sir, after a period of two years since the rates were revised, and following the recent increase in the cost of living, it only sounds reasonable that the Ministry should now consider revising the rates upward.”
“We should keep our law up-to-date with the advances in information technology. Sir, breaking into a computer system is equivalent to forging a set of keys, and attempting to unlock and enter a house without permission. It is trespassing or housebreaking. Peeping into a computer file is just as serious as invading into the privacy of others by tampering with the mail. It is time for us to tell people that planting virus into a computer system is not simply a personal ego trip. It is a serious criminal offence. Sir, implementing legislation to curb computer crime is not new in the world. In the United States, they have already implemented a law since 1984. Certainly their experiences will be valuable to us. It is reported that the Ministry has set up a Committee to study the implementation of new legislation in this particular area. Could the Minister enlighten us about the progress of work of the Committee?”
“Sir, it is not surprising to read reports in the press about an office boy illegally drawing or transferring millions of dollars into his account through an access to a computer terminal, persons who are caught for attempting to erase important information stored in a computer, and virus infections costing millions of dollars to companies. Sir, Singapore has succeeded in popularising the implementation of information technology. Today, almost all organisations in the public sector, banks and large organisations do use computers to store, process, transfer and retrieve their information. For organisations having such a huge amount of information stored in the computer, there is a potential risk that confidential information may be leaked out to unauthorised persons. People may hack into the computers and try to delete or change important information which could lead to a public chaotic situation, causing embarrassment to the organisation and the people whose information are affected could incur a high degree of hardship. It would be worse when viruses are planted into a computer and this could cause the affected computer to a standstill and a tremendous loss in computer information. It will cost the organisations millions of dollars to put in the data and update the data to what it was before. The risk will be even greater if computers are linked together under the concept of networking. Sir, this risk could be lessened if we do have sufficient deterrent measures to prevent people from committing such unethical action. At present, there is little or no legislation that could cater specifically for irresponsible action of this kind. There is a necessity to classify such action as illegal and punishable.”
“Sir, there were reports in the local press about the possibility of building a second causeway linking Singapore and Johor. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister when and where the causeway will be built. It seems that the private sector will be involved in funding the construction of this project. May I also ask whether a toll charge will be collected and who will benefit from the collection of the toll charge.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask two supplementary questions. First, if a person is financially unable to afford the upgrading, does HDB have any special financial scheme to help him to upgrade? Is the Minister considering allowing CPF to be used for the cost of upgrading? The second question is, what will happen if some residents do not wish to take part in this upgrading scheme? Does he need to move out from the flat?”
“I would like to thank the Minister of State for the attention to the problems that I raised. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Travelling on our expressways, it is not uncommon for a motorist driving in the fast lane to suddenly realize that there are some roadworks right ahead, without prior warning or proper traffic signs. If this happens at night or on rainy days when visibility is poor, serious road accidents could take place because most vehicles on the expressways cruise at the maximum allowable speed of 80 kph. Sir, insufficient prior warnings, inappropriate traffic signs and no re-routing of traffic due to roadworks can endanger motorists using the expressways. Perhaps the Ministry could draw up standardsclearly spelling out the safety requirements for any roadwork on expressways for mandatory implementation to enhance road safety for motorists using expressways.”
“During this period, the collected fund is at the full disposal of the developer. There is no adequate safeguard to protect the interest of the home buyer. In the worst situation, when a developer should keep a sizable number of the unsold units in a condominium, the developer could then elect, by proxy, the people he wants to control and run the management council. The pro-developer management council could ignore the interest of other buyers and leave all the defects undone until the expiry of the developer's obligatory period. Even if the genuine owners have full control of the management council, there is very little they could do without referring the case to the courts if the developer refuses to rectify any costly faults of the building. One resident informed me that he booked a house which was then under construction from a small developer. Subsequently, he paid a substantial amount to the developer through progressive pay- ments. One day, he realized that the house was in the possession of a bank because the developer had mortgaged the house to the bank and was unable to service the loan. In this particular case, the buyer might risk losing his life-long savings. Sir, I would like to call for more measures from the building authorities to protect private home buyers. Another issue is road works. Travelling on our expressways, it is not uncommon that one ---”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Code TC 1500 of the Main Estimates. Sir, this afternoon I would like to talk about two topics. One is on the building control regulations and the other on road works. After some buildings were found to have structural problems in Singapore, people began to query why buildings which had been issued with the Certificate of Fitness (COF) from the building authority did have problems of fitness for occupation, structural problems and other serious defects. The new Building Control Act does have the recommendation of changing this misleading term COF to the Certificate of Statutory Completion. Although the Act will only be implemented in 1991, I strongly feel that we should start using this new term to replace the COF. Regarding the COF, I would like to ask the Minister whether installations or fittings in buildings is a criterion used for issuing COF. For a new private home owner, what kind of protection does he have if there should be defects in his house or flat? Are there any rules that authorize the purchaser or solicitor to withhold a portion of the purchase price from the developer for a reasonable period to protect the buyer? Sir, we need to have more protection for private home buyers. At present, if a developer should breach a contract even for simple things like shortfall of built-in areas, the buyer has to take legal action against the developer. This may take years. In the meantime, the buyer will suffer mentally. After the COF is issued, the developer will normally take over the management and maintenance of the common property and collect the service and conservancy charges until these responsibilities are handed over to the management council.”
“Sir, I wish to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $18,268,520 for Head H ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. Head K -”
“Yes, give me half a minute. The scholarship for local engineering post-graduate study for full-time research should be equal to the starting salary of a fresh engineering graduate in the same discipline; (2) full-time research experience and his being awarded a higher degree in research must be recognized fully when he joins the public sector.”
“I understand that advertisements for research scholarship and research assistantship for local higher degree in engineering research institutions have been unable to attract sufficient suitable local applicants. I also understand that certain organizations have to offer the awards to students from the Indian subcontinent and mainland China. Sir, the per unit cost of post-graduate research study is very much higher than the undergraduate courses. All this allocation of resources is aimed towards the training of our local researchers to meet the anticipated requirement of R&D manpower pool of our nation. It is certainly not with the intention of offering paid post-graduate studies for foreign students who most likely will not stay and work here after graduation. We must try in our effort to ensure that these posts or studies are sufficiently attractive and subsequently the experience gained are well recognized upon graduation. The following are some of my proposals for the PSC to consider. First, the scholarship for local engineering post-graduate study.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head H of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Being an NTI staff I wish to disclose my personal interest on the topic that I am going to talk about - Post-Graduate Engineering Research. Sir, the manufacturing sector is a core component of our economy. If we strive to improve from what we have, our manufacturing sector will move considerably, if not completely, from labour-intensive operations to those centred on skill and knowledge-intensive technologies. As more and more manufacturing firms are encouraged to shift their centres of operation to Singapore, the long term survival of these companies will have to rely to their product innovation, research and development. According to the Annual Report of the Science Council, the national R&D expenditure for 1987 was close to 1% of GNP. The R&D activities in Singapore are envisaged to grow further. Out of the 1,200 employees in the Science Park, 11% are Master degree and Doctorate degree holders. Sir, besides that, we need to train a pool of skilled technicians and engineers. We need also people who are analytically-minded and familiar with the frontiers of science and technology to sustain the continuous growth in R&D in the manufacturing sector. We need to train more people in this category to strengthen the R&D manpower pool. It has been a tradition that very few local engineering graduates would like to do post-graduate research work except those who wish to be academic staff of the institutions of higher learning. The reasons are (1) poor financial reward; (2) research efforts are not well recognized; and (3) poor career prospects.”
“Now our orchid farmers are neither are allocated farmlands nor can they sell their potted plants to another farmer. So circumstances have already changed. I hope the Ministry could look into this matter and revise the compensation rate as they think appropriate. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion.”
“Many of them attempted to apply for hawker licences but the majority of them were rejected simply because they did not qualify for hawker licence under the hardship criteria. For a couple who are both farmers affected by resettlement and both above 45 years old and economically active, maybe the Hawker Department could consider them eligible for a hawker licence so as to help these people to continue earning some sensible income. In the resettlement areas, many people are uncertain as to when their farms will be resettled. It is very difficult for them to make an investment decision because it involves capital and they need time to recover the amount that they have spent on their investments. The Resettlement Department should inform the affected farmers, as accurately as possible if they can, the date when the specific piece of land will be needed. This is especially very important for those lands which may no longer be needed urgently due to a change in plans. I note that the orchid farmers receive lower resettlement compensation than the fruit farmers although the former may have a higher yield per square area. The maximum compensation for a fruit farmer is $39,000 per hectare. However, for an orchid farmer, the maximum is $16,900 if they plant on racks and for orchid planting which is not on rack it is only $8,500 per hectare. An old farmer told me that this form of compensation started years ago when a farmer would be allocated a piece of land if he is affected by resettlement. So they could easily shift whatever potted plants to their new farms under that condition. Therefore, at that time, the compensation was reasonable. But now circumstances have changed.”
“They are different from the traditional family-owned farming activities. For these farmers to be upgraded and successful in the agro-tech projects, a certain degree of Government assistance will undoubtedly be needed. Due to the huge amount of capital involvement, the majority of land to be tendered out should be between 2 and 5 hectares, and preferably two hectares, which is more affordable to the farmers. So far, the speed of farming out the farmlands has not been quick enough. In the past four months, only seven pieces of land were available, out of which two pieces of land for cow farms were not very relevant to the farmers in my constituency. Due to this shortage of supply, I was told that the tender price per hectare was very much higher than those which were tendered before. The Ministry should expedite the farming out of the farmlands to meet the demand of the farmers. At present, the Ministry offers a 10% discount in HDB rent for shophouses for those people who were affected by resettlement. I urge the Ministry to also consider extending the same concession to those who have successfully secured the tendered farmlands and who were affected by resettlement. All the various financial and assistance schemes currently aimed at helping the local small and medium-sized enterprises should also be extended to the agro-tech farms for their upgrading, automation, research, training and export. Many of the farmers affected by resettlement are 45 years old and above. According to age, they are still economically active. It is difficult for these people to be employed in the manufacturing sector simply because they are old and not so skilful.”
“The current US emission standard is so stringent that it has pushed diesel technology very much ahead compared with those in the 1970s in terms of soot emission. So, on the contrary, the gasoline engine does emit lead from the exhaust of the engine and the amount of exhaust is about the same order of the diesel soot emitted from the diesel car. Based on the advantages of diesel engine efficiency and its low emission of the various pollutants the use of private diesel cars should not be penalized. The policy requesting the private diesel car owners to pay six times the tax of the gasoline car was initiated 18 years ago. Circumstances have changed. We no longer face the problem of pirate taxis and the advancement of diesel technology has made the diesel car to be an acceptable transport vehicle. I hope the Government could look into this matter seriously and revise its diesel tax policy on private cars to encourage more diesel cars on the road from the energy conservation aspect. Sir, in the Addendum of the Minister for National Development, I am glad to note that the Ministry has plans to develop agro-technology parks. It is noted that Sungei Tengah and Murai of Chua Chu Kang are included in the 2,000 hectares of land earmarked for such projects. It is noticed that land from 2 to 20 hectares will be allocated by tender to about 500 local and foreign investors. This piece of news comes just in time for more than 1,000 farmers in my constituency who are affected by the project to redevelop the land in the constituency. These agro-tech projects need huge capital, specialized knowledge, environmental control and a high degree of automation in order to maximize its yield from the limited size of the land.”
“The additional tax for a diesel car was not very far from the saving by using diesel fuel. Today, the road tax for the same gasoline car is $2,100 per annum which is seven times more than what it was in 1973. On the other hand, the difference in gasoline and diesel tax has not increased so rapidly. It has increased from 34.2 cents per litre to 41.2 cents per litre. Assuming the additional tax on diesel car in the 1970's matched the savings by using diesel fuel, then the present level of diesel tax is at least over-priced by 4.8 times. Such an unreasonable diesel tax policy is the key reason why the diesel private car is diminished from Singapore roads. This policy indirectly prohibits the use of diesel private cars and disregards the technical merits of diesel cars which are more efficient and less pollutive to our environment. Automotive experts can tell us that any diesel car can save as much as 30% to 40% of fuel compared with the gasoline car of the same size. Based on this fuel advantage, it is anticipated that for a country having high fuel prices, the diesel car market will penetrate 30% of the total car sales in the year 1995. We are an oil importing country. If 30% of our cars are diesel, we can save as much as 50 million litres of fuel imports per annum. Many people have bad impression of diesel engines because of the smoky exhaust of the overloaded or poorly maintained trucks and buses. But the diesel car engine is of different design. It can operate at a much higher speed and is less demanding on maintenance. In fact, a diesel car engine emits less pollutants in terms of carbon monoxide, hydrogen carbon and nitrogen oxide when compared with the conventional gasoline engine. The only setback of the diesel car is the emission of diesel soot.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion moved by the Member for Siglap. From the views expressed by the Member for Potong Pasir on western values, in fact, I do not disagree that the western values have brought us all the way to what we have today. One thing we have to be cautious about this is that we should not adopt the western values so blindly. So far, the western values have brought us to what we have today and we are also encountering situations and social problems that are experienced in the western world. Things obviously like the increase of the divorce rate, the increase of the drug abuse, and more single-parent families. Therefore, I feel that western values are no doubt important and we have to selectively choose those which are relevant to our society and should not follow them blindly. Sir, I support the view of the Minister for Communications and Information on regulating the growth in car population and keeping our roads free from congestion. In spite of that, I would like to express my view on the road tax for diesel cars. I would advocate for more diesel cars on our roads. In 1971 the road tax for diesel cars was revised to six times the value of the road tax for gasoline cars of the same engine capacity. At that time, most of the diesel-powered private cars were used as pirate taxis. One of the reasons for the move was to eradicate the pirate taxis on our roads. At that time, if one can recall, the road tax levels for cars were very much lower than that what they are today. For example, before 1974 the road tax for a 2-litre gasoline car was only $300 per annum. The corresponding tax for a diesel car was only $1,500 per annum more than that of a gasoline vehicle.”