N. Govindasamy
Singapore
“Sir, in the hope that the Ministry of Finance will release the funds required for the Telok Blangah community centre within the next six months, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr J F.”
“Member for Serangoon Gardens, would show that numerous criticisms were made in this Chamber. Some of the pitfalls of the education policies were pointed out and they could have been avoided.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am still a little confused. Would the Minister of State categorically state in this House whether the restructured education scheme is on or off? Even the teachers and the principals are arguing among themselves whether the restructured education scheme is on or off.”
“Sir, I have no intention of joining in. The problem here is riot a question of marrying abroad or in Singapore. The problem is still faced by people who were married in Singapore. There is the case of a woman who has been married here for eight years and has four children all living here in a Housing Board flat.”
“Perhaps when the Minister replies he will want to use it. Sir, the woman has been here for eight years. She was married in the Singapore Registry of Marriages. Four children were born in Singapore and they are now living in a Housing Board flat.”
“Sir, the Minister has set a specific number of hours and he says. "Well, if they do their part-time national service in 12 years they will have to do so many hours of work, and if we reduce it to five years, then they must perform the same number of hours of duties." This would mean that they have to go for duty practically everyday.”
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“Well, I will wait for the reply at the appropriate time. Just a few years ago, emphasis and more emphasis was placed on extracurricular activities. Inter-District Meets of all kinds were encouraged. More recently, there have been directives for reduction of ECA activities. Primary education is to be extended to seven years with provision for some pupils to complete it in six years. Schools were told that grading for six-year or seven-year primary education is to be made at primary three level. A proper guidance in this regard is yet to be given. Could not the same purpose be served in the retention of a primary pupil if he fails badly in a class for one year? In other words, pupils who make good progress complete their primary education in six years and those who fail stay on in a primary school for one more year. When is the Ministry of Education going to stop treating teachers and children as robots? Will the new Education Act put an end to, to quote the President in his Address, "short-term political considerations, and that, instead, you will be guided by the long-term interests of all our people."? 3.16 p.m.”
“Member for Ulu Pandan mentioned yesterday of the importance of History in the school curriculum. I will only mention the changes in our Education system with regard to History. Once, Sir, just a few years ago, we taught History in primary and secondary schools in the first language. Recently, we taught History in the second language. The new policy is "History in no language". Quite recently too, the second language exposure time was increased. Even more recently, principals were told that they can be flexible about the exposure time depending upon language teachers available. Yet another change, mind you. Some years ago, at the end of primary school, children were graded into academic, technical and commercial streams and later, practically all secondary one and two pupils were made to attend two years of workshop practice after which streaming would take place. Now, again, we are told that streaming is going to be at the end of their primary school career.”
“If I remember correctly, last year the Ministries of Health and Home Affairs organised the most number of campaigns. If we are not careful, one of these days, some hon. Members of this House might organise a campaign against all campaigns! Those Members who are organising campaigns for next year, please note this. While congratulating the Housing and Development Board on the record number of 26,000 units of flats built last year, I would also like to comment on the qualitative aspect of its housing programmes. I strongly believe that with proper and vigilant supervision quality need not be sacrificed for quantity. In recent months, I have, on behalf of the Housing and Development Board, balloted for thousands of flats in Telok Blangah and I have received just as many complaints. It appears as if the Housing Board takes over blocks of flats from the contractors without the necessary full inspection of the flats, ballots them off and hands keys over to the respective tenants or flat-owners. Trouble starts from then on. Complaints of leaking sewerage pipes, doors and windows which are either jammed or unable to be locked, floors that are as rough as unmaintained rural roads, pour in. The complaints pour in as fast as the flats are let out. It sometimes takes months for the Board to attend to these complaints. Finally, Sir, my friend the Honourable Minister for Education is not here and if he were here, he would be terribly disappointed if I do not comment on the Ministry of Education, my favourite Ministry. The policy and the content of changes in our Education system has been far too many. While reserving the details for the Budget Debate, may I just make a few general comments with regard to these changes, past and present. Let me start with History. The hon.”
“Although this may not necessarily be a bad thing, the Government should be in a position to retain some experienced doctors and specialists for its own use in the Government hospitals. Perhaps a commission of inquiry like the Police Services Commission should be set up to resolve the situation. Such a commission would indicate the areas of discontent among our medical officers. It is gratifying to note that growing numbers of young Singaporeans have come to regard career in the Armed Forces rewarding and respected. It is also with pride that we can state categorically that we are now embarked on a qualitative instead of quantitative defence capacity. However, there is one aspect in which the Ministry of Defence should direct its planning with a little more care than now, i.e, the in-camp training for discharged national servicemen. It has been brought to my notice that a few ex-national servicemen have been called up for full-time in-camp training twice in a year; each training lasted for more than 20 days. Particularly in respect of officers who are engaged in executive positions in government, statutory boards and the private sector, this places a strain on the employers as well as on the officers. This also disrupts, in some instances, important work that the officers are performing in their place of work. I am sure some device can be formulated so that they are only called up from their place of work once a year or this in-camp training given during the weekends. I notice that the Ministry of Home Affairs is going to organise more campaigns in the coming years. Like the hon. Member for Henderson mentioned yesterday, well planned and spaced-out campaigns have their educational effectiveness.”
“In the industrial safety and health field, the Ministry of Labour is very actively pursuing policies of inspection and enforcement. In spite of the inadequacy of sufficiently well-trained officers, the Ministry of Labour is doing a good job. This division has got to be congratulated. Our industrial safety and health standards are reasonably high in comparison with that of the developing countries despite the recent accidents in building construction and ship-repairing fields. However, inspection and enforcement officials should be ever vigilant and mindful that our action does not in any way result in the stifling of the competitive edge we have in the region. Apprenticeship schemes for children between the ages of 12 and 14 years and allowing young persons between 14 and 16 years of age to work in industrial establishments would help those who leave school at an early age for some reason or other. However, proper apprenticeship schemes should be drawn up and inspection of such schemes would be necessary to prevent abuse of apprenticeship trainees. Let me make a few comments now on the Addendum on the Ministry of Health. Looking through the comprehensive Addendum, it says so much about our population policy, hospital development, disease patterns, etc., but nothing about recruitment of doctors, specialists, etc., and most important of all the retention of these specialists. We cannot just write-off the whole episode by just saying that doctors are not dedicated. There is definitely more money in private practice. It appears as if Government hospitals train doctors in the early years of their career for the private sector.”
“Nothing is more certain than that if the Committee produces a solution which ensures greater productivity and neglects to see that the workers, whose additional efforts that generate this increased productivity are not adequately remunerated, the whole effort will collapse in future as have previous efforts in this direction. Another welcome feature of the Addendum on the Ministry of Labour is the decision to set up an Industrial Relations Division. I do not know if this would be an extension of the Conciliation Section, or a supplement to it, or if it is going to be a separate division. It is praiseworthy that they intend obtaining high level staff. I, too, happen to be in the same business of looking for, if not high level, suitable industrial relations staff for our requirements in the NTUC. I can assure the Ministry that they are extremely difficult to come by. Even if we recruit some, the promising as well as a few of the mediocres are grabbed by management. Apparently, their need is greater than ours and they are willing to pay for their needs. I would like to caution the Ministry, however, that recruiting staff for the Industrial Relations Division is one thing, but recruiting the right calibre of staff, who must not only gain the confidence of management, but also of labour is necessary for the success of the Industrial Relations Division. Gaining the confidence of one party at the expense of the other is bound to fail. The NTUC's call for the inclusion of industrial dermatitis and noise-induced deafness to the list of compensable diseases under the Workmen's Compensation Act was made as early as 1972. We are grateful that the Ministry of Labour has at last found the soundness of this request and has so listed.”
“The Addendum on the Ministry of Labour stresses the need for "discipline, hard work, efficiency and skill of our workers, and the enterprise and innovation of our entrepreneurs." This has always been the NTUC philosophy. In fact, to further emphasise it, the NTUC has instituted certain changes in its own set-up so that broad principles for its affiliates can be drawn up. One of the important aspects of this change is the education of trade union officials as well as members. In this context, we will have to decry certain employers who begrudge the granting of paid educational leave to workers. Such employers are antisocial as these workers' educational courses have a pronounced social value and orientation emphasising basic economics, means and methods of higher productivity and tripartitism. We also welcome the initiative of the National Productivity Board in convening the National Industrial Relations Committee to consider the issue of productivity and wages. The NTUC which is represented in this Committee is on public record as being in full support of the twin objectives of the Committee to increase productivity and wages, but the difficulties of this Committee should not be minimised. The past record of attempts to establish productivity councils under the old name of works council is dismal indeed and if we are to make a success of them this time -a vital necessity if Singapore is to progress and prosper on the industrial front - both management and labour must discard their old prejudices. Both sides must approach the problems with a positive determination to work out a just and equal solution in which the key issues, that is, increasing productivity and equitable rewards for greater inputs are exactly balanced.”
“These measures are effected within the framework of a rational economic analysis of the retrenchment situation within tripartite relationship of active cooperation between Government, trade unions and employers, with special emphasis placed on increasing productivity through adoption by management of new productivity techniques, skill acquisition by workers and preference given to job deployment and part-time work as against complete retrenchments. Singapore employers whose industries are hit by economic recession should be required, if necessary by legislation, to give the Labour Ministry and the trade unions advance notice of any impending retrenchment exercise. I am aware that the Labour Ministry has advised the industries to do so. But I am doubtful as to how many employers are complying with this request. They should provide the Ministry with a list of workers to be retrenched and the reasons for their action. This would enable the Labour Ministry officials, if necessary with the help of the Economic Development Board, to advise them on how best to tackle the various problems involved. This also helps the Ministry to monitor the labour situation. Singapore is fortunate in that there is no dominant sector in our economy which generates most of our Gross National Product or provides most jobs. We have industries and multinational corporations from all corners of the globe. In other words, as it has often been said, we do not have all our eggs in one basket. Such diversification is certainly Singapore's hope and mainstay for economic survival, for while certain industries are badly hit, such as electronics, plywood and textiles, other industries like tourism and ship-repairing continue to expand.”
“The slackening of demand for the products of existing factories in Singapore, as a result of the world economic situation, was the main factor that caused the closure of a large number of establishments and cutting down on the labour force of other establishments. Hardest hit among the factories which had to reduce their work-force were the electronics, plywood and textile industries. Fortunately, the retrenchment situation has not been manifestly felt until recently because about 79% of the workers who lost their jobs were women and young girls who were apparently not the sole breadwinners of their families. It is heartening to note that the Ministry of Labour has set up a special retrenchment unit to assist retrenched workers to seek alternative employment. Although it was known earlier that the retrenched workers responded very poorly for job placements, things have now changed. In the early days of retrenchment, the vast majority of the retrenched girls were perhaps depending on their savings or expecting better jobs because they were not the sole breadwinners of their families. In recent months, more and more of these retrenched workers have come to Members of Parliament for assistance in employment. This is a clear indication of the tightening labour market and jobs becoming scarcer as a result of mounting retrenchments in the light of world recessionary trends. We must in a concerted manner take steps to prevent or minimise the impact of retrenchment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I join my colleagues in thanking the President for his policy statement. Like the old saying, every cloud has a silver lining, he has forecast that our economy will probably do better in the second half of 1975 than in the first half. This is a welcome forecast and I have no doubt that given the proper planning, guidance and leadership Singaporeans will strive towards making the best of even the deepening recessionary period that we are facing. Sir, the Prime Minister himself has cautioned the over-reactive Singaporeans to any situation and the Deputy Prime Minister has also warned against over-worrying and guessing when the recession would end. In spite of the possibility of an improved economic situation in the second half of this year, we must guard against complacency and its other extreme, panic of any kind. Even in the past year, although our real growth has been only around 7%, we were not so badly off as many other developing countries in view of our sound currency, favourable balance of payments, sound industrial relations system and the climate of social and political stability. The President confidently stated that Singaporeans being relatively young will adjust to slower growth rates. I certainly hope they do. My fear is that a large number of our young workers have come into the labour market after 1968 and they have tasted rapid economic boom and have taken the higher growth rate we enjoyed for granted. It is incumbent upon all of us to stress the virtue of hard work. Up to the end of January this year, about 18,000 people have been retrenched in Singapore. This is about 2% of our total work-force.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Parliamentary Secretary in a position to inform this House when this new Bill will be introduced?”
“Sir, neither did I intend to take part in this debate. But I think the density ratio plays an important part. I have some experience in this. Perhaps there has been some relaxation within the City area. But in the periphery, the Building Control Division, or the approving authority, is still very strict on allowing a relaxation of density in certain areas. This applies not only to developments of private developers but also to statutory boards wanting to build houses for their employees. In the Minister's constituency, Tanglin, certainly nobody can put up houses more than 4-storeys high. Sir, I know of a statutory board which planned to build blocks of houses 8-storeys high. There was a tremendous response from the employees. But planning approval was not given, and modifications had to be made, after which the cost of each unit went up by about 25-30 per cent, making it beyond the means of the junior executive to purchase. Perhaps what the Member for Changi said has more value than it really appears. I think the Building Control Division and the Planning Office could also assist junior executives to purchase flats and bring down the cost by relaxing the density ratio.”
“The Ministry should also look into the possibility of supplying mass produced meals to a number of school tuckshops that are grouped together in one area. Such mass prepared meals in central kitchens could be cheaper and more hygienically prepared. I agree with the Government's policy on family planning. The Hon. Minister for Health gave at least one year's warning to people who refuse to keep their families small. He has introduced the increased accouchement charges for mothers who have more than two children only after a lapse of 10 months. He told them to be careful during the 10 months. In other words, warning has been given that those who do not pay heed to it have to pay more for the luxury of having an additional child. The Ministry of Education, in its enthusiasm to support the small family concept, clamped down on the registration of the third child in a school of the parents' choice, i.e, where elder sisters and brothers are then schooling. In other words, seven years later the third child has to pay for the sins committed by his parents. Sir, this in my opinion is misplaced enthusiasm. This enthusiasm must have contributed to additional hardship to parents with more than two children, and perhaps also contributed to the transport problem as the children in a family had to be posted to different schools.”
“In fact, there are schools where, even in lower primary classes, in order to allow for a sufficient number of periods to be taught in the two languages as advocated by the Ministry, the time-table can only be arranged in such a way as to expose a class sometimes to up to five teachers per day. Can you imagine, Sir, five different teachers going to a lower primary class to teach the tiny tots in one day? Certain subjects, for instance, Arithmetic and English, are taught by two or three different teachers in the same class. Sir, you need not be an educationist to know that this should not be done. I wonder if the Ministry of Education is aware of this state of affairs. Is the Hon. Minister aware that certain classes in some primary schools are jokingly named "international classes"? In these "international classes" normally the second language teacher is the Form Teacher who hops from class to class, and the first language teachers breeze in and breeze out. Teachers who are concerned about this state of affairs describe them as chaotic and say that pandemonium prevails in such classes. Teachers do not know the pupils and the pupils are bewildered by the number of teachers. I was pleased to hear from the Minister recently that the inspectorate is to he decentralised. Will the inspectors, after decentralisation, assist schools in getting a sufficient number of required teachers so that the time-tables can be properly arranged? Another area that needs looking into is the question of tuckshops in the schools. Sir, in these days of rising cost of living we ought to see that the shrinking dollar is stretched to the maximum. One area where the Ministry can help is to review the tuckshop rentals so that the meals and drinks sold at the tuckshops are not expensive.”
“Thank you very much, Sir,I never thought my time would be coming. Let me touch on a slightly different theme from the problem of teachers. I want to talk about exposure to second language. Sir, I have no quarrel with the Government's policy on second language. But my criticism is on the manner in which our second language policy is being implemented. I agree that the additional exposure to second language, thus almost equalising the exposure time for the first and second languages, is still new and I believe there will be teething troubles. How are these teething troubles attended to? Sir, only time can tell whether the results of such exposure hours mean that students will leave school competent in both languages. Or is the first language going to suffer as a result of the lack of time? Would we have our future citizens fluent in two languages, or fluent in neither? Strict adherence to the quota of teachers posted to schools does not allow for the proper implementation of the policy. The magic formula of the Ministry of "x times y upon z" applied to all schools does not really provide the schools with sufficient teachers competent in the first and second languages to implement the policy. The quota of teachers must necessarily differ from a purely English school to that of an integrated school. And here too the quota will have to be different from school to school depending on the number of second languages the school is offering. 7.15 p.m. Quite rightly, the Ministry has allowed principals of schools some flexibility in arranging their time-tables. Even with these flexibilities, principals and senior teachers responsible for arranging the time-tables find it difficult to implement the second language exposure time properly.”
“Sir, on a point of order. This amendment (1) has been under discussion since 5 o'clock. It is now going on for 7 o'clock. If every Member who sends in an amendment is allowed to speak twice, or three times, at ten minutes a time, what is going to happen to the later amendments that have been submitted? I think a little judicial recommendation should be given.”
“Sir, in view of the explanation, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr N. Govindasamy - (4) That the sum to be allocated for Head OA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead BB 1109.”
“Sir, this amendment is moved merely to seek clarification. What is this CPF/MPF contribution for? Why has there been such a phenomenal increase from an appropriation of $1,900 for FY 73 to $14,250 for FY 74, more than a seven-fold increase? In respect of non-pensionable allowances, the increase is almost threefold. Sir, similar provisions are also seen for all other Ministries, but the increases do not seem proportionate, in other words, inconsistent. For example, the CPF/ MPF contribution for the Ministry of Law and National Development for FY 73 and FY 74 is almost the same, whereas for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the CPF/MPF contribution has, in fact, decreased when compared to the previous year. Sir, would the Minister care to clarify?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head OA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1601. Sir, with your permission I would like to range my comments over amendment (3)*, subhead AA 1702, because they are related matters. * The amendment, standing in the name of Mr N. Govindasamy, reads as follows: (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head OA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1702.”
“Sir, under this amendment, I just want to congratulate the Minister and commend him for introducing the Singapore Allowance for pensioners. However, when he replied to a Question for oral answer on 15th March, it was pointed out to him that among the pensioners, those who retired before 1969 had their pensions computed on the basic wage drawn by them prior to the time of retirement, and that those who retired after 1969 had their pensions calculated on a consolidated wage which included the cost of living allowance. It is, therefore, unfair to older pensioners drawing lesser pensions through no fault of their own. When this point was raised a few days ago, the Minister did not reply, but said that it was a separate question altogether. The Minister himself being an ex-civil servant would appreciate the need for Government to look after its old and faithful servants. I implore the Minister to reconsider the case of the few pensioners who retired before 1969 and to pay them pensions computed on their consolidated wage instead of their basic wage.”
“Certainly not, Sir, after having been treated like this. Question on the amendment put, and negatived. The time allotted for Head NA having expired, the following amendment, standing in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy, was not proceeded with- (4) That the sum to be allocated for Head NA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead FA 1111. The sum of $9,793,140 for Head NA ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,200,000 for Head NA ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head NB --”
“Sir, I will take one minute. Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head NA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CA 1111*. (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs P. Govindaswamy and Hwang Soo Jin.) Sir, I notice the policy on citizenship keeps changing all the time. As far as possible, I do not write letters to the Registrar of Citizens. If at all I do, I write only when I think an applicant has a reasonable case. And I do write it with my own laborious handwriting and get a reply which I am sure you are familiar with, Sir: a cyclostyled note with a signature on it on the very next day. Perhaps we should at least be treated with a little more courtesy than this cyclostyled note.”
“Sir, in answer to the previous question, the Minister for Health has replied that at last Outram Road General Hospital is going to be modernised and that the ancient buildings are going to be pulled down. I am therefore not moving my two amendments. The sum of $101,244,320 for Head MB ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $12,633,000 for Head MB ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.”
“No money in medicine in Government service - if the Minister wants me to be specific. I think I heard - I hope I am wrong -the Minister saying that private doctors who come to serve the Government are being paid $30 for two hours. Sir, we get what we deserve. If we pay for quacks, we get quacks. Look at the newspapers. Even unqualified private tutors for secondary school students command much more than $15 per hour, Sir! An hon. Member: Hear, hear!”
“I want the Minister to tell me. I do not have the figures. I hope the Minister would be able to tell me that the brain drain in the medical services is not greater than the brain drain in all the other services and, therefore, why should there be wage adjustments for doctors. It is not for me to produce facts and figures. However, Sir, we have examples. Where we are afraid that there will be further resignations, wage adjustments have been made in the Government service, e.g, the Police and the Fire Brigade in spite of the National Wages Council awards. Therefore, we should look into the question of resignation of doctors much more carefully than just writing it off as "What to do? We cannot do anything about it." Sir, the question of housing for doctors brought up by the Member for Kim Seng is worth looking into. I am glad the Minister has mentioned that the Government is looking into the possibility of providing doctors with houses. This is a move in the right direction. I know of a doctor who asked his wife to resign so that they could qualify to apply a Housing Board flat, as he was bonded to serve the Government. I think he had a scholarship and, therefore, he had to serve for five years. If he did not have such a bond with the Ministry, he would have resigned from the service instead of asking his wife to resign. This is a matter that we have to look into. Sir, the very fact that less people want to take up medicine is a sure sign that there is no money in medicine.”
“Sir, the Government has again brought out the bogey of the National Wages Council. It is not true that the doctors have not got wage increments, wage adjustments and so on. They do receive the 9 per cent and the 13th month pay and so on. Sir, everybody receives the NWC award, not just the doctors and architects. NWC recommendations are the result of a number of factors - to make adjustments for the wage restraints and for the cost of living that has increased tremendously. Perhaps this may not be a permanent feature. But to say that doctors did get wage increases is not correct. It is something that 1 find hard to accept. The Minister said that doctors are not the only people who did not receive the wage increase, but others too, architects, accountants, lawyers. But the brain drain in the medical services has been greater than in any other service.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Yes, in all hospitals. It has been done in some hospitals. But for the other hospitals, they are not able to do it because they are short of nurses. That is the point I am also trying to make - shortage of nurses. What is the Minister going to do about it? I thought I even pointed out that there was an occasion that I know of when there was only one Staff Nurse and the rest were either Assistant Nurses or student nurses. This is not a satisfactory state of affairs. I should congratulate the Minister when he said that about 30 nurses were given leave to do post-basic courses. This bears out the point that these post-basic courses are necessary, and the fact that he gave the nurses leave to do this post-basic course on their own shows that this post-basic training is necessary. And as the Minister has said, when they come back there are no promotional posts available. My quarrel is not about promotional posts not being available. But after they have utilised their own time and their own money to go through an approved course -if it is not approved, he would not have given them no-pay leave - when they come back, they should at least be given the annual increment. No, they do not get it. I hope the Minister will give some consideration to this matter, and perhaps let me know why this is not being done.”
“Sir, although the Minister said that it is not his policy to supply ill-fitting uniforms and so on, the point made is that public funds are being utilised to supply these uniforms. We expect public funds to be properly utilised. If the contractor supplies ill-fitting uniforms, though they are made to measure, I suppose something has to be done to see that we get a contractor who does not supply ill-fitting uniforms in spite of the fact that made-to-measure uniforms are called for. Sir, I also raised the problem of nurses in the rural areas. They ought to be provided with more uniforms because they are out on the field. Nurses in hospital work within the confines of the hospital and perhaps they do not need as many uniforms as those who work in the outlying areas. Sir, it is good to hear that promotions from Assistant Nurses to student Staff Nurses and Staff Nurses are based on merit. The word "merit" can be interpreted in many ways. Perhaps it would be better if the number of promotional posts available is made known as that would at least give the nurses an opportunity of knowing what to expect when applying for these promotional posts. As was pointed out, there are 1,800 Assistant Nurses with only eight promotional posts. Sir, the Minister agreed with me that there is a shortage of nurses and that is why the Ministry is not able to implement the three-night shift system although they accept that it is a better system.”
“Cut-rate, so that their throats can be cut! Sir, because of the limited number of post graduate vacancies and to avoid delay in getting their post basic training in the preferred specialty, some Staff Nurses choose to go abroad on no-pay leave for such training. On rejoining the service after completion of the post graduate course, they are neither accorded incremental credits for the additional qualifications obtained nor is their no-pay leave period considered in the pension calculations. The additional qualifications they have obtained, Sir, benefit the service and yet they lose out financially. Sir, I have noticed that in the hospital wards, in many instances, there is only one Staff Nurse in each shift duty, the rest are Assistant Nurses or Student Nurses. If more than one patient is taken seriously ill, or if two or three patients are critical, then pandemonium prevails. If there is a shortage of nursing staff, why is it that in some hospitals nurses are required to copy out in their own laborious handwritting Gazette notifications or departmental circulars concerning them? Surely a lot of nursing time could be saved if such notices or circulars are cyclostyled by the administrative staff. Sir, the nurses prefer a three-night shift which is less strenuous than the old seven-night shift system. Although this system has been implemented in some hospitals there are other hospitals which still follow the old seven-night shift system. I do not know why this is so.”
“It is at least part of the Ministry's policy, Sir. The Minister and his mandarins at Palmer Road do not seem to be aware of this poor and unreliable service given by the Ministry's suppliers. Nor are they aware that sometimes some nurses have to stump up from their own pockets to supplement their inadequate supply of uniforms and shoes. For instance, district nurses and midwives have to make rounds to private homes in the rural areas, and they should therefore be supplied with additional shoes and uniforms. Sir, it appears that there are far too many Assistant Nurses with practically no promotion prospects at all in our Government health service. In fact, I am told there are only eight posts of Senior Assistant Nurses for the 1,800 Assistant Nurses in service now. A number of Assistant Nurses can and should be given the opportunity to undergo training to be Staff Nurses. Although these Assistant Nurses have the necessary educational qualifications, they have not been given the opportunity. One begins to wonder, Sir, if this is not deliberately intended to ensure a constant supply of Assistant Nurses to provide the necessary nursing service at a cut-rate salary. An hon. Member: Cut-throat!”
“He is not, Sir, but he is responsible for the payment for what the nurses are supplied with. If we pay for shoes, we expect to get fitting shoes. If we pay for uniforms, we expect to get uniforms that can be worn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head MA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1004*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy.) Sir, within the past three years, I was admitted into hospital twice and I have first-hand knowledge of what I am going to say about the yeoman's service that is being given by our nursing staff. In any large establishment there are bound to be some black sheep. But amongst our nursing corps, I found that the number of unsatisfactory staff is negligible. Having said that, I would like to point Out a number of grievances of the hardworking nursing staff which can be rectified without much cost to the Ministry. One very common grouse is that the quality of uniforms and shoes provided is generally very poor. They are badly tailored, shoddily made, ill-fitting, and on top of it several trips have to be made to the suppliers or contractors to obtain the required uniforms or shoes. All this in spite of the fact that, I am sure, we pay these contractors and suppliers.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $2,002,100 for Head 1.1 ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. Head U -”
“Sir, before I withdraw, I think this is a serious problem.”
“Sir, I did not say that any canteen has been turned into a restaurant. What I said was that there is a need for canteens in many of these buildings. If he is not careful, then with so many office blocks around Shenton Way, the Minister's own National Development building will very soon be invaded by office workers from Shenton Way, and his own staff will have no place to eat in.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head LI be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1107. Sir, some two years ago when the Ministry of Health was responsible for the Hawkers Department, it requested the Planning Department to requisition building developers, especially in the Central Business District, to provide for sufficient canteen facilities in large office buildings. This is a right move. Sir, you may be aware that in the Shenton Way area and in the other parts of the Central Business District, a number of mammoth buildings are springing up. During the lunch break thousands of office workers can be seen hunting for meals within their means, as the canteens required by the Planning Department are not yet operating in these large high-rise office blocks. There are, of course, in these office blocks posh restaurants which begin operation as soon as possible. But office workers cannot afford to patronise these restaurants. Sir, is the Planning Department's requirements for canteen space for workers in high-rise office buildings adhered to by the developers? If they are, then as soon as even partial occupation takes place, the canteen facilities must be made available. If the Planning Department's requirement is not adhered to, why not? Sir, in the Shenton Way area many of these buildings are partially occupied, and if the planned facilities for reasonably priced food establishments are not put into operation soon, then it is going to create another social problem.”
“Moreover, the houses on the island, which are not brick and mortar houses but built on stilts with planks and attap or zinc roofing, are in a serious state of disrepair. They need constant repair and maintenance. Once indication was given that they would be resettled soon, neither the chief tenants nor the house-owners were prepared to incur additional expenses on repairs. Partially abandoned huts also pose many health and fire hazards. This is what I mean by improper planning and programming before urban renewal is undertaken. Sir, resettlement is not a pleasant business though it is sometimes necessary. Let me liken resettlement to surgery for the removal of a cancerous growth with which you are very familiar. Sir, when a surgeon needs to perform a surgical operation, he will have all his instruments ready, the theatre prepared, a ready bed in the ward, and assurance of an adequate supply of blood made available, before even deciding to wheel the patient into the theatre. And during surgery, he will use a sharp scalpel and make a firm deft one-stroke incision. He does not go about it using an old razor blade, nor after having gone halfway through the operation look for a hospital bed or look for a supply of blood when the patient begins to bleed. This is what the Housing and Development Board is doing today.”
“Sir, if the Minister is not careful, one of these days, the Minister for Health, who is not here now, is going to ask for priority for people who undergo voluntary sterilization. As it is, we have now two queues - one for persons with priority and the other for persons without any priority. Let me explain what I mean by bad planning and inadequate programming. I can best illustrate this by quoting examples from my own constituency. By the end of 1971, part of Pulau Brani was to be used by MINDEF and the other part was appropriated for PSA. A survey was made and residents were told that they had to move out, but no Housing Board flats were set aside nor planned for orderly resettlement. They had been asked to register for areas of their choice. Many of them wanted flats in Telok Blangah, but upon registration when they requested that they be registered for flats in Telok Blangah, they were told that they would have to register for Henderson area which had apparently been set aside for them. However, when the Henderson flats were balloted, only a handful of them were allotted flats there. Again, in 1972 a few households were allocated flats far away from Telok Blangah, resulting in undue hardship to the persons affected. It took almost two years to resettle about half the households from Pulau Brani. Meanwhile, the school on the island was closed, quite rightly, as the student population had decreased and the remaining islanders found themselves practically marooned on the island as the sampan-ferrying facilities were disrupted. Sir, to-date almost 2« years after being informed that they would be resettled, a large number of households are still on the island without any basic communal or social service such as schools.”
“I am grateful to you, Sir, and to the Hon. Minister who has helped me solve a number of very knotty problems connected with the resettlement in my constituency. Sir, in addition to $506 million to be given as a loan to the Housing and Development Board under subhead AA 3008 and the appropriation of $10,552,000 to the Resettlement Department under subhead AA 3006, $30 million is to be given as a contribution under subhead AA 2730 to the Housing and Development Board for the financial year 1974. This totals up to $546,552,000. Sir, I am sure that doubling this appropriation would not even save the Housing and Development Board from the difficulty that it is facing in building the required number of housing units for our needs. Although the Housing and Development Board has been accorded world-wide acclaim for its achievements, it has not been able to satisfy our needs, the local needs. I believe it is not because we do not have the means to build more flats than at present but because the planning and programming of our housing requirements have gone haywire. Perhaps, the Minister being an amiable man has allowed himself to give in too easily to pressures by other Ministries and the statutory boards. As it is, the people affected by resettlement, although eligible for priority, have to wait for years before they are offered alternative accommodation. There are other categories of persons who are also eligible for priority accommodation. The latest addition to the priority list is ex-national servicemen. If we go on adding to this list of priority cases, then the day will come when normal applicants for Housing Board flats may have to wait a decade before they are allocated flats.”
“(4) That the sum to be allocated for Head LG be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 3006.”
“(2) That the sum to be allocated for Head LG be reduced by $10 in respect of item (a) of subhead AA 2730.”
“Very well, Sir,I have also given notice of amendments* to Head LG, subheads AA 2730 (item a), 3006 and 3008? Since the subject matter that I am going to discuss on all these subheads are related, I am wondering if I may, with your permission, Sir, range my discussion on all these three sub-heads simultaneously? * The amendments read as follows:”
“Certainly, Sir, if it will help. But I am really going to touch on a slightly different aspect of the problem altogether. 3.00 p.m.”
“Sir, with the new format of presenting the Main and Development Estimates, somehow or other the subhead on Children's Centres and Creches completely escaped me. I must compliment the Member for Potong Pasir for being sharp and pointing this out to me earlier. If all of us exercise some consideration and restraint and speak under the proper subhead, it will make your job easier and so also will it make the Minister's job easier. I must also compliment the Member for Jurong for touching on most of the points I want to make. I too, like the Member for Jurong, urge that the few creches that we have should organise their activities in such a way that they will cater for the need of mothers who are engaged in shift work. Perhaps the Ministry of Social Affairs in collaboration with the People's Association, should also look into the possibility of utilising to the maximum the facilities and the infrastructure available in the community centres in Singapore and in the creches as well. In places where there are no creches, I believe the community centres could be used as creches in the mornings and even at night. Another question is: are there any plans to build a creche in Telok Blangah? The Member for Jurong wants two. Good luck to him if he gets them. Telok Blangah is a new town. This is a new complex just coming up, and I think there is the possibility of a need for a creche there because an area there is going to be an industrial estate.”
“All right, Sir,I will speak on that when the proper amendment is moved. Meanwhile, I withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. 6.15 p.m.”
“Sir, do you want me to wait until the amendment on creches is moved?”
“Thank you very much for your guidance, Sir. We have wasted just two minutes. I appreciate the building of creches in our satellite towns and estates ---”
“Sir, if any other Member had moved this amendment, I would not mind stepping down and wait until the right opportunity comes. I am talking on the Development Estimates. I am questioning as to why there has been no Development Estimates provision for creches.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head KA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 3001. Sir, I have no objection to the Renovations to Upper Barracks for Occupation by Ministry of Social Affairs. If they want some additional amenities, let them have it. What I want to know is why is there no development estimates at all in respect of building creches? Sir, I would like to know what programmes the Ministry of Social Affairs has in respect of building creches for the coming years. I also want to know the number of creches that we have in Singapore under the management of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and their hours of operation. In these days of near full-employment in Singapore, imported female labour is being utilised. In many of our industries it is highly desirable that our own young wives be employed in the labour force. This can only be done if we provide creches either in the place of work or -”