Mansor Haji Sukaimi
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, does the Minister of State have any programme to visit my Constituency and to meet the principals and teachers of the secondary and primary schools in my Constituency to discuss matters of common interest? If so, when will that visit likely be?”
“To ask the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education if he will report on the progress of implementation of the "Gifted Project" and state what representations or reservations have been expressed to the Ministry concerning the project and from whom; and what solutions or modifications will be made by the Ministry in view of su…”
“To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Culture whether prior comparative studies were made of the video-film censorship systems in other countries in the formulation and setting-up of the video-film censorship system in Singapore; and which countries were used in such studies, stating how our system varies from the syste…”
“To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry if he will report on the progress of the German-Singapore, French-Singapore and Japanese-Singapore joint industrial training centres, stating the types of courses available, entry requirements, methods of application for entry, and the allocation of training places that will be offered by these c…”
“They may be knowledgeable in their respective fields but there is a need for the Library staff to be trained and to gain experience in relating themselves with the grassroots leaders, mixing with them, and also in developing the techniques of selling the programmes that they have developed in the National Library.”
“Sir, will the Minister of State be able to say that the techniques and system used in the prefabrication projects will ensure that the seepage problem, a notorious phenomenon in most pre-fabrication schemes, will not crop up, and if it does crop up, there are sufficient measures to ensure that the seepage problem is minimized?”
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“Sir, I share the views of the Member for Kim Seng because statistics alone will not solve crime. It also requires the goodwill and cooperation of the community leaders and the Police. In fact, under my amendment no. (8) Subhead Code QF-08 I have a list of expressions of gratitude to the Police for being extremely helpful in implementing many community projects in Kampong Kembangan and also in Kampong Ubi, a constituency which I am looking after on behalf of Tuan Haji Ya'acob bin Mohamed. In fact, officers from the "G" Division had embarked on massive projects such as repairing the soccer field and drainage, organising recreational activities for the youths or even DRC releasees, and-organising soccer and sepak takraw competitions. All these have worked well in consolidating the goodwill and the rapport between the Police and the community leaders. Insofar as statistics is concerned, maybe I would not have been too involved in this area of crime and drug abuse if I had not known, from the survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs' Probation Aftercare Service Research published in 1974, that of the 28 postal districts, postal district 14 had the highest rate of young drug offenders. My constituency and Kampong Ubi are within this postal district. I have got statistics for Kampong Kembangan. The statistics covering the period 1977 showed that there were 266 arrests, of which 102, that is 38.3%, were drug cases; and 136 cases of theft. Assuming that the majority of these theft cases were committed by drug offenders, then the total drug problem in my constituency is definitely above 60%. We managed to prepare this figure sometime in mid-1977, if I am not wrong.”
“On the other hand, if the Minister feels that the revised series of statistics, which have been supplied by the Police and which I find of little value, are sufficient for our purpose, then I do not have any more questions to raise on this matter. However, I will try and see whether there are any other ways of getting information so that the community workers in my constituency really understand where crime is committed, what is the pattern, and how best we can solve the problem.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I must thank the Hon. Minister for agreeing on the usefulness to supply MPs with statistics so that the MPs could know the crime profile in their constituency. It is also true that I have had correspondence with the Commissioner of Police as I have stated during the debate on the Prime Minister's Office, and the proposals from the Commissioner of Police were indeed agreed to by me. I think the excerpts which the Minister read just now are correct. In fact, I did believe that the suggestion by the Commissioner of Police was good and accordingly I accepted the revised format. However, after a time I found that: (1) The revised series of statistics did not seem to be as informative as those provided for by the 'G' Division of the Police Department and they did it promptly and with ease. I understand they did not have too much workload difficulties. (2) Especially in recent months, the details of statistics were more generalised to the extent that they are of little use to me now. 3.30 p.m. For the information of the Minister, I do not make use of the statistics supplied by the Police Department any more because they are of little value. In this debate, Sir, I am not trying to take issue with the Commissioner of Police. I am just suggesting that since Members of Parliament, together with the community workers, are very involved in trying to solve the problems of the community, including problems of crime, then surely this must require the close cooperation between the MPs, community leaders and the Police. I think that if the Police could help the Member of Parliament and the community leaders understand the crime profile in the constituency, then they would be in a better position to help the Police.”
“(6) That the sum to be allocated for Head N be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code NO-02 of the Main Estimates.”
“(5) That the sum to be allocated for Head N be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code N B-05 of the Main Estimates.”
“Sir, if it is an assurance that approval will be given, or even half an approval, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $11,555,110 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $597,890 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY REPORTING PROGRESS (Suspension of Standing Orders) 7.08 p.m.”
“Sir, it would appear that the hon. Minister of State for Labour is aware of certain techniques whereby even if one party is sterilised, a couple can still have babies. I must ask the Ministry officials and the Minister to forgive me for raising this matter, even though I have had correspondence with the officials concerned. I have received repeated petitions from a family concerned. I think they have a family of seven children. All of them are Singapore citizens and only one is not a Singapore citizen. That person was affected. It has been very difficult for this particular son to visit his family. I wonder if the Minister could make an exception and allow him to visit Singapore because, after all, he had been in Singapore, had a work permit and made some contribution to the development of Singapore. Other Malaysians who were not work permit holders could do anything, whereas he cannot come in and out of Singapore at any time. If the Minister could give some dispensation in this case, I think the family would appreciate it very much.”
“But the problem which seems to exist is that holders of block work permits are under the impression that their permits would be cancelled and immigration facilities clamped down only if and when they actually contravene the regulation by marrying without the Commissioner's approval. But from the few cases referred to me, I note that we seem to enforce the regulation once we learn that the holder has applied for permission to marry a Singapore citizen, at which stage the applicant has not as yet contravened the regulation. If it is indeed our policy to enforce the regulation from the time of application, then in all fairness this should be made known. Otherwise, the applicants go to the Registry of Marriages or the Registry of Muslim Marriages with the false impression that their application for permission to marry, made in good faith, would do no harm since they are merely applying for permission which is not an act of contravention as yet. Moreover, the officers in the Registries of Marriages have been known to give the impression that there is no harm in applying for permission to marry a Singapore citizen. I am not worried about the Malaysian citizen. What concerns me is the impact it creates in the minds of persons in Singapore, that is, his or her immediate family and the relatives. I am quite worried about this sort of impression. It creates a misunderstanding and suspicion about our integrity. 7.00 p.m. With regard to sterilisation, I have been advised that on application the applicants will be told that approval will be given only if both the husband and wife are sterilised. I would like to appeal to the Minister if he could re-consider this rather stringent policy, I think it would be sufficient if only one is sterilised.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code MD-02 of the Main Estimates. With your permission, Sir, I would like to discuss two matters. One concerns procedures on the grant of work permits and the other relates to policy on sterilisation. In the course of my meet-the-people sessions I have come across a few cases of holders of work permits having their permits cancelled because it was known that they applied for permission to marry Singapore citizens. They were also told that the Immigration Special Pass would be cancelled and that they would not be permitted to enter Singapore at all. I think the Government is right in exercising stringent control over the entry of non-citizens through the present block permit and immigration policies. This is particularly so in regard to non-citizens who have no family ties in Singapore, but we must make some distinction here. I think special consideration should be given to Malaysian work permit holders who have Singapore citizen parents, brothers or sisters in Singapore. If they contravene the block permit regulations, then I think their permits must be cancelled but they should be allowed immigration facilities to visit their parents, brothers or sisters in Singapore. On the other hand, for Malaysian citizens, who have no Singapore citizen parents, brothers or sisters in Singapore and who contravene the regulations, then I think there is justification for us to be stringent. Our present policy on controlling marriages between non-citizens and citizens is good and should continue.”
“Sir, I would like to ask your permission to withdraw this amendment because the subject I intend to discuss can also be covered in another amendment I have filed for Head Q.”
“(10) That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code MD-01 of the Main Estimates.”
“But I would now ask my friend, the Member for Mountbatten, to use his management cap to urge management to supply liberally cleansing solvents or any products which will not give rise to lead poisoning at all. If this is done, then I think this problem will not take up so much time in our debates.”
“Sir, I must thank the hon. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for saying that the practice of washing hands with benzene is not that serious, insofar as lead poisoning is concerned. If he has samples of the materials which are safe for washing of hands, maybe it is better that he sends the samples to the management rather than the union, because insofar as the workers are concerned they will use whatever product the management supplies them. In this regard, I am very proud of my trade union comrade, the Member for Mountbatten, for his contribution and remarks which exemplified the reality of management and labour cooperation in the Singapore style of industrial relations, and this has even occurred in this august Chamber. Perhaps his ability to take alternating roles as management representative and labour representative is of good advantage to all of us. In fact, I recall the game played by children called teddy bear teddy bear turn around where they jump rope from one side to the other. I think it gives flexibility in our discussion. But the suggestion by the Senior Parliamentary Secretary asking the hon. Member for Mountbatten to take on greater roles would mean that we are going to ask him to play yet another game which is called teng-teng where the child throws a token into a square of a certain design and then jumps from one square to another, but once all the squares are occupied with tokens he cannot jump anywhere else. Anyway, I appreciate the contribution from the Member for Mountbatten. In fact, I mentioned that I would urge my friends in the United Workers of Petroleum Industry to carry out their own programme to educate members and their fellow workers on the real dangers of lead poisoning by the liberal use of benzene or other products.”
“Thank you, Sir. My friends in the United Workers of Petroleum Industry reminded me about the common practice of workers in workshops and petrol kiosks washing their hands with benzene. They told me that this is not a healthy practice because benzene and motor fuels generally contain alkyl lead anti-knock agent. Although the lead in these fuels cannot be absorbed into the body through the unbroken skin, their regular and repeated use as cleansing fluid may result in lead poisoning. I wonder if the Ministry of Labour could remind the public about the dangers of lead poisoning, particularly in workshops where there are metal chippings which could cause broken skin, thereby aggravating the dangers of lead poisoning. On our part, and particularly with the United Workers of Petroleum Industry, we will urge our members and their friends to be aware of these hazards and to take particular precautions. At the same time, it is also important for the management to take steps to discourage workers from using benzene to clean their hands and to provide special unleaded gasoline for cleansing purposes.”
“Sir, may I be permitted to speak on Subhead Code MC-04 now?”
“(5) That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code MB-02 of the Main Estimates.”
“Sir, I am indeed very glad to hear the reassuring remarks from the Hon. Minister. I am particularly glad because he has taken a very positive response to it. He could have taken a very critical or defensive stand. Since he did not do that, then he endorses my view that in our stage of development we still need to make arrangements for night duty because that is one of the ways to optimise industrial development. In many ways, we have got little alternative but, as I suggested, at our stage of industrial development if we do such a study, if we continue our monitoring, and if from the studies we find that night work could be rationalized, then possibly we could avoid serious problems in the future years of our industrial development on account of excessive night work. For the remarks that have been given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood on the Order Paper Supplement -”
“Also there have been problems of social contact, as the workers tend to encounter problems of breakdown in friendship and community ties. Based on the experience of the nursing service, it would be useful to see whether the same problems apply in the industrial sector. The study by the International Labour Organisation published in 1977 may be a good guide for us. However, I disagree with its conclusion that night work should be banned wherever its motive is founded solely by financial considerations of making costly equipment pay for itself more quickly. In the context of modern technology, it is important for investors to have sufficient profits to recover capital costs. So I think the exertion of this report is a bit too strong. Nonetheless the report does outline some of the problem areas which deserve serious attention by countries like Singapore which are still in an early stage of development. I would like to ask the Minister whether he could initiate - if this has not been done - an in-depth study on the extent of night work in Singapore; what are the problems that have arisen from this and what more problems could crop up if night work is further extended. And perhaps also if he could set some broad guidelines or standards so that industries and departments, like the Ministry of Health, could use to ensure that the productivity of workers will not be reduced by an excessive or prolonged duration of night duties.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code MA-02 of the Main Estimates. Sir, I would like to speak about night work again, and I would ask the Minister to see whether it is feasible to do an in-depth study of the implications of night work in Singapore. If the experience of the Minister for Health is a good guideline, I would like to suggest that the Ministry of Labour take good care not to get its files burnt by any fire! There have been a number of studies on the implications of night work, and I think it is useful at this stage of our industrial development to also make similar in-depth studies. It is perhaps necessary for me to preface my remarks by reiterating that, in our context, it is extremely important for Singapore to optimise its resources in terms of manpower and also in terms of the available working hours so that our industrial development capacity can operate to its optimum. In other words, I would like to reiterate that I am not against night work. In fact, it is important for us to optimise our resources and, where justifiable and necessary, we should expand our industries by utilising night work. But as we expand our industrial capacity in this direction, I think it is useful for us to make early studies and preparation because there have been many instances of family problems arising from prolonged night work, not only in terms of one continuous shift but also prolonged cycles of night duty. In fact, the reasons for a major revision in the nurses' seven-night cycle were prompted by the same reason: it affected the physical health of the nurses. It reduces their productivity, especially when the nurses reach the fourth or fifth night-duty shift.”
“This has been the subject of long correspondence between AUPE and the Ministry of Health. The latest reply from the Ministry was dated 23rd August, 1978, wherein it was stated that the Ministry was appreciative of the need to revise the seven-night duty cycle. The Ministry stated that a study team was examining the proper utilisation of nursing personnel and medical and health servants, including night shifts, etc. and the Ministry of Health would get in touch with the AUPE to consider the matter further. That was in August 1978. No reply was given and, following representations, another interim reply was received from the Permanent Secretary in November 1978 in which he stated that the study team had not completed the study. I would like to take this opportunity to say that the seven-night duty cycle causes great strain on the staff. It was for this reason that the night-duty system for the nurses was revised. Since there are many medical and health servants who are subject to a work environment similar to that of nurses, I think it would be in the interest of the service and the employees concerned if the Ministry could urgently revise this present cycle. 2.45 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I be given permission to join the hon. Member for Kim Seng to speak under this subhead? I wish to raise two particular points. One concerns a medical and health servant who works in my constituency regarding his duty hours, and the other concerns the night duty cycle of medical and health servants. In the Ministry of Health there is an agreement for Division IV officers. The agreement stipulates amongst other things the duty hours of Division IV medical and health servants, the minimum and maximum working hours per week, time-off to be granted, the number of rest days granted per week, and also the day off to substitute work done on gazetted public holidays. In the case of this officer, he was first appointed as a medical and health servant but made to perform the duties of a caretaker. The duty hours stipulated for him sound a little unrealistic, if not inhumane: from Mondays to Fridays, the duty hours are from 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m., on Saturdays, 12.30 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. and on Sundays and holidays, from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 a.m. the next day. This matter was taken up by the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) and the Ministry gave an assurance to the effect that even though the hours had been so stipulated the officer could still take leave during Sundays or Public Holidays. We are not sure whether this is correct advice because if the caretaker were to take leave during those hours he could be subjected to discipline. I would seek clarification from the Minister on this point. Concerning the other point, the Ministry of Health has revised the night duty cycle for nurses from the previous seven-night cycle to three-night cycle. There were representations requesting that the same system be applied to medical and health servants.”
“Sir, I will not be truthful to myself if I say that I am satisfied with the explanations, but since you have suggested that we cut short this debate, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $465,497,770 for Head J ordered to stand part of the main Estimates. The sum of $58,974,800 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY REPORTING PROGRESS”
“Sir, I regret very much that the Minister has confused the whole issue. If he reads the Instruction Manual with regard to Grant of No Pay Leave, the request for full pay unrecorded leave to allow union members to attend NTUC courses must come from NTUC. In other words, if members of AUPE were to apply for full pay unrecorded leave, AUPE cannot write to the department requesting that full pay unrecorded leave be granted. AUPE must write to the NTUC, and NTUC on behalf of AUPE will write to the department concerned requesting for grant of full pay unrecorded leave. Secondly, it was because of this condition that my officer wrote to the ITB, if I am not wrong, on the 1st February, requesting for approval and the reply came from ITB on the 23rd February, 1979, i.e. 22 days from the date of the letter of request. Normally from past experience involving other statutory boards, there are no problems. We have had very prompt replies and they understand why the letter must originate from NTUC.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with all due respect to the Hon. Minister, the figures he quoted for 1978 would not mean anything in our discussion now. The issue is: if an officer attends a training course, will another officer who covers the duties be allowed to claim payment for the extra hours of teaching? The Hon. Minister quoted the practice in the civil service. If I recall correctly, in the case of EOs, it is stipulated in the schedule of duties that they will cover the duties of another officer who goes on leave, whether for training purposes or on vacation. The coverage is specific to a person. In such a case, it is part of the officer's duty to cover his fellow officer's work. In the case of training officers in the ITB, I do not think that is the arrangement. The point here is that it is necessary for someone to cover the duties of his colleague who goes away on leave. This is to ensure that the classes are not disrupted. I think it is wrong, as a matter of good management practice for the ITB, to leave this matter for the NTUC to resolve with the union because this is not a union matter. I am sorry to say that I have made an attempt to discuss this matter with the officers concerned, informally. I was not well received and I had no option but to mention his in Parliament, Sir.”
“Sir, I need to seek further clarification. In the case of the 22 officers who went for training courses or seminars in 1978, was the training conducted during school holidays? If not, were they granted full pay leave without the condition as suggested by the officer that if somebody else covered the duty, those people could make claims for extra hours taught?”
“As far as the residential seminar is concerned, which the hon. Member was talking about, am I right in inferring that the seminar was conducted between the period 26th February and 10th March?”
“Under the current scheme of service, training officers, or TOs as they are generally known, are required to teach for up to 24 hours per week. Instead of normal leave, they enjoy the institute vacation of 10 weeks a year unless, of course, they are recalled. Where they teach beyond 24 hours a week, they are eligible to claim for payment for the additional employment. Therefore, Sir, when training staff are released on full pay unrecorded leave, the Board may incur additional expenditure if other training staff who have to cover their duties exceed their workload. Unlike administrative duties, the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan would appreciate that training must go on and coverage has to be provided if the release of an officer takes place during term time. Sir, generally if sufficient advance notice is given, the Board can make adjustments in its schedule. Better still, nominations to courses are best made during vacations. Where an officer has to be released, it is the Board's present policy that it should not incur cost. Therefore, it has requested that other officers who are union members cover duties without claiming additional pay. Sir, for the information of the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan and for the general information of the House, the Board has been liberal in its policy of supporting union members in trade union development. In 1978, for example, we released 22 officers on trade union courses and seminars out of 27 cases approved under the full pay unrecorded leave scheme. These figures show that 81% of the training officers who took full pay leave did so in connection with trade union activities. They also accounted for 111 out of 144 or 77% of the man-days given to full pay unrecorded leave in 1978.”
“Frankly, in the first instance, to say that the leave could be granted provided that no additional cost would be incurred, I cannot recall that such conditions fall within the terms of the regulations on the grant of full pay unrecorded leave affecting statutory boards. With regard to the second point suggesting that the NTUC discuss the matter with the ITB-TSU, I thought that request was misdirected. The Acting Minister for Social Affairs (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Chairman, Sir, first of all, allow me to enlighten the House on the provisions of the ITB's full pay unrecorded leave scheme. Sir, the provisions of the ITB's full pay unrecorded leave scheme follow those of the civil service. Under this scheme, full pay unrecorded leave may be granted to staff for the following purposes: (a) participation in representative games; (b) reading of papers at international or regional conferences; (c) attendance at exercises conducted by recognised organisations; and (d) attendance at approved trade union courses. As in the Government, the grant of leave is subject to the exigencies of the service and the merits of each case. Sir, it must be appreciated that the application of this scheme has to be related to the conditions prevailing in each organisation. As in the Government administrative services, the release of ITB administrative and non-teaching staff to attend trade union courses, or for that matter participation in other activities, is effected without difficulty. No additional expenditure is incurred by the Board during each leave because other officers in the same department cover the duties of the officer on leave. However, for the training staff in the Industrial Training Service, different conditions prevail.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code J E-02 of the Main Estimates. Sir, I have the privilege to work in the National Trades Union Congress and I have been given the pleasant duty of organising various training courses on leadership training. It has been the hope of the NTUC to train its young trade union leaders in various areas of importance not only to the trade unions but also to the general development of our society, that is, economic development, social development, and so on. In a recent leadership training course which we organised, we had a number of officers from an affiliated union in ITB, that is, the ITB Training Staff Union, joining the training course. Normally, as is the practice, statutory boards do grant the trainees full pay unrecorded leave, especially if such training courses are organised under the purview of the National Trades Union Congress. Where there are cases of doubt, confirmation will have to be sought from the NTUC as to whether that course is being organised under the NTUC programme. We were very perplexed with regard to the officials in the ITB Training Staff Union, when the ITB agreed to release the two officers provided that no additional costs were incurred in getting other training staff to cover their training duties during that period. 7.30 p.m. The officer concerned, apparently on the instruction of the Director of ITB, said that the NTUC should discuss with the General Secretary of the ITB Training Staff Union to see if the proposal was acceptable.”
“Sir, in view of the Senior Minister of State's explanation that the Ministry is conscious of the safety of children in schools and that the inspectors or the officers do take pains to check on these things, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. I hope these checks will be carried out properly because I am aware of schools which still have barbed wires and thorny plants. Amendment be leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting - (13) That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code JE-01 of the Main Estimates.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code JB-01 of the Development Estimates. Sir, I will be very brief. I would like the Senior Minister of State to clarify whether the Ministry of Education does have a policy with regard to the provision of safety measures in schools, especially the primary schools. For example, there should be provision for safety rails along deep drains, steep slopes, the non-use of barbed wires, especially in areas where children like to play around, the removal of thorny plants, safe traffic measures, repair of fences, especially those with projecting and sharp wires. It is important for us to provide our children with play areas that have the safest environment possible. We should not cause our children not to want to play for fear of barbed wires or thorny plants. I would like to seek clarification from the Senior Minister of State on this point.”
“Sir, I am not speaking on Amendments (6) and (7).”
“Sir, on the last remark, if the Senior Minister of State means that his Ministry will now give very special attention to schools with poor performance, if that is his assurance, then I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would just like to know whether this problem has been noticed by the Ministry only recently or whether it has been made the subject of a review for a number of years. I ask this because for Science, even in 1970, there was one school with 93.5% passes. But the worst school had 0%. For Mathematics, in 1971, the worst school had 1.3% passes. In that year, the best school had 89.2% passes. I do not think choice of school by parents is the problem. I think it should be the policy of the Ministry to send teams of good teachers and, maybe a selected principal, to beef up the school administration and improve the school teaching programmes, especially schools with persistently poor records. I can imagine the problem of schools which have a shortage of teachers. I think priority must be given to schools which have low performance. Of course, as I said, for junior colleges we can promote elite schools. But at primary school level, we must reduce this difference in standards.”
“Sir, in view of the explanation, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi: Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code JB-O1 of the Main Estimates. Sir, I need to raise only one point, and that is the big difference in levels of performance among primary schools. I have a report tom the Ministry on the results of the PSLE examination for the years 1970-78. It was shocking to note that, overall, the best school for the year 1971 had 98.8% passes, and the worst school had 6.3% passes. For English Language, the best school had 100%, the worst had 0% for the year 1978. For Chinese language, the best school in 1971 had 96.7% and the worst had 9%. For Malay language, in 1970 the best school had 100% and the worst school had 0%. For Tamil language, for the year 1978, the best school had 100% and the worst school had 0%. For Mathematics, for the year 1978, the best school had 95.9%, and the worst school had 0%. For Science, for the year 1974, the best school had 98.1% and the worst school had 0%. I am wondering whether we should allow such a situation to exist. Maybe when we talk of junior colleges, we can think of elite schools. But at the primary school level, I think we should make a very serious attempt to minimise the differences in school performances among the primary schools. I would like to know whether this matter has been made the subject of an in-depth study by the team headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and if not, whether this in-depth study could be carried out. 6.30 p.m.”
“Sir, I think the Senior Minister of State has still not got my point. I can assure him that I will continue to render all help the Ministry needs and the schools in my constituency need, if all this would help the students in their school work. But my point is this. The report of Dr Goh's team puts focus on the formal educational system where assessments will be made on the students. What I am saying is that, where there are failures, and most of them have failed twice, all we need do is just to get the community leaders to work together with the teachers by going to the students' homes. However, in most cases they have only visited the children's homes three times. The teachers spent more of their time with the students talking about school work and reading. They even designed a book wherein the students could record what books the children had read and what they had studied. The teachers also spent some time with the parents talking about the children's education The impact of all this has been an improvement in the educational performance of the children. I thought that under the new system there will be a lot of assessments made on the child. At the same time, we must also make sure that the child is given the best chance to pursue his education by seeing how we, the schools, the Members of Parliament and the community leaders can help improve the home environment. If we ignore this aspect, then the assessment made on the child in school will be incomplete.”
“Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State very much for giving an assurance that some efforts will be made to improve the statistical system or the practice of supplying statistics by the schools to the Ministry headquarters. However, with regard to his comments on the community education project, I do not see how the computer system can be useful in this area.”
“This study seems to suggest that the performance of the child is also determined by the environment at home, the interaction with the parents, how they mix with their friends in the neighbourhood, and also how the teachers help the child to gain greater self-confidence and be less shy about school work. I wonder whether the Ministry could also consider the possibility of seeking ways and means to have some projects in the community to supplement the child's performance in school. 6.15 p.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code JA-02 of the Main Estimates. On this subhead, I only need to raise two points. One concerns statistics and the other is to seek the views of the Deputy Prime Minister on the importance of community education projects which are done outside the school system. With regard to statistics, I have known of cases where schools have been requested to submit statistics even though the same statistics have previously been submitted to the Ministry. I think it would be useful if the Ministry could review this problem because it is not fair to always ask the principals to submit statistics when these are readily available in the Ministry. On the second point, if my reading of the report of the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister is correct, I think the focus is on the formal education system. But I am sure he will agree that the performance of the child depends also on what happens in the home and the environment in which the child grows up. In this respect, I would like to inform the House that I had the benefit of doing a project with two schools, one in Kampong Ubi and the other in Kampong Kembangan, involving 60 students who had failed twice in Primary 5. What we did was merely to see whether the environment in the home was conducive to the child's ability to keep up with the school work; whether he read regularly at home and how the child's parents looked after the child. One year after implementing this project, we found that in one school 25 of the 30 students who had failed twice at primary five passed. In another school, 13 of the 30 students in the project passed their final examinations.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. When I suggested a system where senior officers could leave a note to say where they had gone to, it was not made with the suggestion that there were senior officers who had been moonlighting or spending their time outside office excessively. But there are very real reasons why some senior officers need to be contacted urgently, and this is very difficult unless the caller knows where the officer has gone to.”
“I had said once in a forum that there used to be a popular sport in the Ministry where each tried to compete with the other to see who could annoy the principals better. It is useful to stop this sport in the Ministry. Finally, Sir, I hope the Deputy Prime Minister could ask his administrative officers to see whether the Ministry could have a system whereby senior officers who have to leave their office for field duty for long hours should state where they have gone to, what time they will be back, and how they can be contacted. I have received petitions stating that when principals rang back the senior officer who had instructed them to contact him or to report back to him, he was not in the office. He had gone out and nobody knew where he had gone to.”
“I know from my very close friends who are there that they are very unhappy to be working in Ministry headquarters where they are asked to perform clerical and administrative work. They prefer to go back to teaching in school. Thirdly, with regard to the Administrative Officers and Senior Executive Officers, I know that their job is to tackle administrative problems, the budget and administering the Instruction Manuals. Even though they are Administrative Officers, they are working in a sector concerned with educational problems. They must know the substantive and professional problems of the Ministry of Education. So it would be useful if AOs and SEOs in the Ministry could also acquire a deeper understanding of the professional problems of education. 5.45 p.m. Fourthly, the problem of junior staff. If I may ask the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister to ask one of his young boys to go round and ask questions of the junior staff - the office boys, office attendants, and the clerks - they have been suffering quietly for many years. The next area is the multiplicity of warlords. Each senior officer appears to be a king in his own area and nobody is supposed to meddle in the affairs under his charge. This aggravates the problem of coordination, Even in collecting or sending papers to a particular sector, the officer must ensure that he has got the proper permission from the particular officer concerned, or in taking a file from an officer in that sector he must tell the senior officer of that particular section concerned. Maybe there are good reasons for this, but there are still too much feelings of being exclusive. Fifthly, the tendency of many senior officers in the Ministry headquarters, including some junior officers, to bully principals and teachers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as a parent, I wish to thank the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister and his team of administrative officers for an excellent job. From his first instalment of the team's report we have managed to at least obtain a fairly clear idea of what the problems are in the Ministry and also a fairly clear picture of what the possible directions could be. Maybe the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister was not aware that long before he completed his report, there were already many improvements in the Ministry of Education. Even the telephone service. Before he came in, it was very difficult to get through the Ministry's lines. They were perpetually engaged. But when he went in, Sir, the lines were suddenly cleared. I do not know the reasons, but someone gave me a clue, "Be careful. The lines may be bugged." Of course, these are rumours. But they achieved the impact of getting immediate improvement. I share the sentiments of the Member for Moulmein. In fact, I had a number of points to raise but many of these points would be the subject of subsequent chapters of the report. So it may not be timely for us to discuss these in detail. But may I just raise some problems which I hope the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister could take into account and possibly ask one of his young officers to take a deeper look into these problems. Firstly, the number of numerous meetings is a very serious problem. I have met a number of senior officers in the Ministry, principals and teachers, and they have complained about this. I am happy that in the Deputy Prime Minister's report he has noted this to be a problem, and I eagerly await the findings in his report. Secondly, the use of graduate teachers to do purely clerical and administrative work.”
“I would like to ask the following questions: (1) What steps are now being made to assess the in-depth operational efficiency of PA? (2) Whether the Conference held in April 1978 has generated useful ideas and proposals to ensure that PA and the community centres will succeed in understanding the problems of the 1980s and will be capable in meeting future needs? (3) I would also like to know how many of these proposals have been given serious studies and how many have been implemented? (4) Will the Prime Minister also cause PA to take more urgent measures to infuse greater professionalism in the design, planning, and delivery of community service and development programmes of the PA?”
“Yes. Sir, the People's Association constitutes the key infrastructure in our efforts to build, upgrade and refine the habits and reflexes of a united and organised citizenry in an independent and multi-racial society like ours. The People's Association's functions cover a wide spectrum of needs and involve a whole range of our citizens - pre-school, children, youths, women, adults, and even those who have retired. The People's Association operates to achieve this objective through a highly organised network of 161 community centres; 95 youth executive committees with 29,178 members; 57 women sub-committees with 1,677 officials and members; 608 sports activity classes with 12,102 participants; 75 children clubs with 6,185 members; and 511 kindergartens with 13,712 students. The importance of PA is best reflected by the statement made by the Prime Minister at the Conference of the Community Centres' Management Committees, "The Role of Community Centres in the 1980s", held in April 1978, where he drew the analogy of the community centre to the central nervous system of the body politic of Singapore. He also reiterated the key role of PA through the Management Committees in building social intimacy and social cohesion transcending ethnic, language and religious barriers. Sir, with all due respect to my friends in the People's Association, I find that these are very difficult tasks, and I share the views of the Member for Kim Seng. I am not too sure whether the People's Association has the ability to match this very onerous task made more difficult by the fact that Singapore is a complex, multi-racial society, recurrently subjected to rapid changes.”
“Sir, in view of the assurance from the Senior Minister of State, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. 3.30 p.m.”
“Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his comments on the points which I have raised. I would like to seek further clarification from the Senior Minister of State with regard to statistics. I have, since January 1977, obtained very useful statistics from the Police department. From these statistics I was able to at least bring to the attention of my CCC members, MC and Youth Group the incidence of crime, theft, and drug-taking. Initially the information given covers the location, the age group of offenders, the race, and other details, which are extremely useful to us. But then the information supplied to me by the Divisional Police Station came to the attention of the Commissioner of Police and he has advised his officers that it is not proper for them to supply me with statistics in such detail. I tried to explain to the Commissioner of Police why I thought it would be useful for me to be given statistical information of such detail, otherwise it would be meaningless. The latest information they have given me is simply the number of reports, robbery, house-breaking, theft in dwellings, theft of motorcycles and other thefts, attempted suicides, and drug offences. There were no details of age of offenders or of locality or any other details which can help me, my CCC members and my youth group in planning what we can do to reduce the rate of crime in my constituency. If I am allowed, Sir, I would like to appeal to the Minister to see and review this problem because I personally feel, from the range of statistics which the Police had previously given me until there was an intervention by the Police Commissioner, that this statistical information is extremely useful to us.”
“We feel that if we can do this there is a greater chance for us, through the CCC instrument, to achieve a higher degree of community living, goodwill, neighbourliness and greater effectiveness in tackling the problems of crime and drugs and also to consider taking on projects on educational development, cultural development and other finer aspects of community living. I would like to ask the Minister in charge the following questions: (1) Will he cause an in-depth review on the working procedures between the CCC and district offices, how they can be further streamlined and standardised so that requests from the CCC could be handled more expeditiously and that members of the CCC need not be bogged down with too much administrative work? (2) Whether the District Office can help to identify, compile and supply data, statistics and other indices which will help CCC members acquire a better understanding of the profile of the constituency and so be aware of the problems that exist or could exist. (3) Whether the Minister will endorse the move to make the CCC or something else of similar structure to be the pinnacle institution of community service in the constituency, which could serve as the co-ordinating, facilitating, and integrating instrument in respect of all the other community services in the constituency.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead Code IF-01 of the Main Estimates. Sir, may I thank whoever was responsible for posting good officers to the Katong District Office, I say this because the District Officer and his key staff in Katong District Office have done an excellent job in helping me and my colleagues in Kampong Kembangan constituency in so many ways. The Katong District Office has helped us to process a total of 81 requests very speedily for repairs and construction of roads, drains, traffic systems, trimming of overgrown trees and generally improving the physical environment of my constituency during the period 1st January, 1977 to 19th August, 1978. Of these, 25 were major projects and 56 miscellaneous projects. More than 16 projects have already been approved and completed costing a total of more than $40,000. From my dealings with the Katong District Office and my CCC, I find that it is extremely important to ensure that the CCC and the District Office continue to work well together. Therefore, efforts must be made to improve procedures and working systems. During the last ten months or so the Kampong Kembangan CCC has managed to tackle the bulk of the problems with regard to improving the physical environmental problems of the constituency, that is, those relating to public health, environmental health and local government types of problems. We have found that, having tackled all these problems, the CCC members would have more time to think of other substantive problems. For example, we seem to have more time to talk about the crime situation, the drug problem, educational projects, and so on.”
“Sir, in view of the explanation from the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”