Ng Kah Ting
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before I ask my supplementary question, may I declare, on behalf of the Member for Kebun Baru and myself, that we are both involved in the building of Montfort Secondary School and Montfort Junior School both of which are Government-aided schools. My question now, Sir, is: when will this take effect?”
“But, Sir, at the end of this debate on the Second Reading and the Bill committed to a Select Committee, I sincerely hope that all those who have the interest of Singapore at heart should come forward and make their contributions, be they critical or ways and means on how better we can improve upon this Bill.”
“But the basic foundation, I submit, and that is, the political stability-honest, efficient and an incorruptible political leadership-is paramount to the future well-being of Singapore, and that is, if we are to continue to enjoy our good standard of living, our good government and of course as an independent, sovereign entity or nation.”
“Sir, I knew that the NCMP would come out and say that-don't mix up the ISA with PPSO because basically it is the same. I say, no. Because in 1958, PAP was not in power. It was the Lim Yew Hock government. That is the difference I am trying to make. So let us not go around in this wild political rhetoric. I understand that.”
“Sir, before I make my observations, I just want to make a couple of points in reply to the Non-Constituency MP, Dr Lee. He said that in 1958 when he was asked to stand as a PAP candidate in Kallang he was afraid of the ISA. I do not think that is quite correct because in 1958, Sir, there was no ISA.”
“We should take advantage of the present political stability to provide for the future. In conclusion, Sir, let me draw an analogy. With Singapore being the No. 1 port in the world, this analogy is not inappropriate.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,870 lines we hold for Ng Kah Ting, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 25 of 38.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 51 be reduced by $10 in respect of item 001 of subhead 201. Sir, I notice that out of a provision of $1 million in the last financial year for Works and Buildings, only $14,000 has been spent and the balance of $986,000 is being revoted this year, together with an increase in the allocation, making a total provision of $2 million for the next financial year. I would like to seek clarification from the Minister for Culture as to what progress has been made with regard to the new Radio Studios and Office Buildings. With this additional provision I believe there must be some real need for it, and I therefore hope that the studios will be ready soon. In this respect I would also like the Minister to inform this House whether the construction of the building has been completed, and when will it become operational? Moreover, with the setting up of the new studios, will there be a new radio station over the air?”
“Sir, last year there was a token provision of $10, but for this year a sum of half a million dollars is being allocated for this project, that is, the Adult Education Television Service. Just now, the Minister of State for Education mentioned that the S.E.M.S, project would complement that o the Adult Education Television Service. In this respect, I would like to know from the Minister for Culture what programmes and courses will be organised by this Adult Education Television Service, in view of the fact that the setting up of the A.E.T.S, is the result of a joint venture between the Singapore Government and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The information I am seeking on this topic is quite similar to that asked by the Member for Katong. With the programming of this service, I wish to know what is the medium of instruction and which level of the adult population are we trying to programme this service for.”
“In that case, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, under Head 51, Ministry of Culture, there is a related item, Adult Education Television Service, which I shall come to later. Therefore, I want to know whether this SEMS project will duplicate the type of service that will be provided for by the Adult Education Television Service. Dr Lee Chiaw Meng: Sir, SEMS will complement the Adult Education Television Service, not duplicate it. In fact, there is a proposal to house the two Services in the same building.”
“Sir, that is precisely the purpose of my question. I have first asked for the scope and function of the SEMS. But since the Minister of State for Education has used the word "range", I will rephrase my question: can the Minister of State tell me what is the range of SEMS? I believe he has not satisfactorily answered my question.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 41 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 103. Sir, I note that only $1,300 was spent last year out of an allocation of a quarter million dollars. Could the Minister for Education enlighten this House as to why this is so? According to the Memorandum on the Development Estimates, a sum of: `$750,000 is provided for the proposed setting up of the Singapore Educational Media Services ,(SEMS). This project includes the provision of a second Television Studio and additional photographic and film facilities.' Can the Minister also tell us what will be the service, scope and functions of the SEMS?”
“I am grateful to the Minister for his reply, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $24,708,500 for Head 32 ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head 41 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 32 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 911. Sir, can the Minister inform the House as to what is this Airport Information Dissemination System? I understand that it is not a closed circuit T.V.; but that it works on an electronic principle, which is an improvement over the old fashioned closed circuit television.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. In the absence of Mr Sim Boon Woo, the following amendment standing in his name was not proceeded with - That the sum to be allocated for Head 32 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 908.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 32 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 901. Sir, since the provision for land acquisition is to the tune of $7.5 million, I merely wish to ask the Minister if he could inform the House as to how this provision will be utilised? Is it to be spent solely on land acquisition? And, if so, how much land will be acquired? Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, the area of land which will be required for the intermediate stage of the development of the Airport is 523 acres. Of this, 323 acres are adjacent to the existing Airport land in the Tam-pines Wood area, and about 200 acres lie on the eastern side of the airfield. The sum of $7 million is mainly for land acquisition.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have merely one small point to clarify with the Minister for Communications. I would like to know whether the R.O.V, headquarters at Sin Ming Road will eventually be the R.O.V, headquarters. Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the Member for Mount-batten, I would like to say that a piece of land of about three and a half acres has been allocated by the Housing and Development Board for the building of the new R.O.V, headquarters. This land is adjacent to the new Motor Vehicles Inspection Centre at the Sin Ming Road site, which has a total area of 2.4 acres, if we combine the two areas, we shall have a new R.O.V, headquarters occupying almost six acres of land. It is, therefore, our ultimate aim to remove completely the R.O.V, headquarters from Middle Road to the Sin Ming Road site. Of course, we have to begin first with the new Inspection Centre at Sin Ming Road, so as to cope with the increasing demand for the inspection of public service vehicles. Later, we will transfer the R.O.V, headquarters from Middle Road to the Sin Ming Road site. When this transfer is completed, we will also provide a new driving test centre at the new R.O.V, headquarters. This is to replace the present test centre located at Maxwell Road. The whole cost of the project for this new R.O.V, headquarters is around $5 million. The Ministry of Finance has already supported this project to the tune of $4.5 million. There is no urgency to move the headquarters to its new site, which is still under acquisition. The provision shown in the Development Estimates for the coming year is to enable piling and earth-works to be carried out during the course of this year.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, can the Minister enlighten us as to the number of vehicles which can be inspected at this Centre? I believe the Inspection Centre at the Registry of Vehicles, Middle Road, is not able to cope with the great number of vehicles which are waiting to be inspected.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 31 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 202. Sir, I would like the Minister concerned to indicate to this House when will the Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre be completed and be ready for operation.”
“Sir, in the light of the Minister's reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 31 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 101(The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Teong Eng Siong). Sir, in moving this amendment, I merely wish to know from the Minister for Communications what progress has been made by this Unit last year. Sir, since there is an increase of $355,000 for this year, there must be some plans, and if so, what are they? Also the Memorandum on the Development Estimates indicates that the additional provision is for a feasibility study. I would like to know what this feasibility study is, and when will it be completed.”
“I cannot disagree with the Minister of State of Defence when he enumerated the various types of offences for which nothing much could be done in the case of senior officers, and that for certain offences there is the need for a Brigadier to mete out punishment. But since the Singapore Armed Forces do not have the rank of Brigadier at the moment except Colonels and below, I think this Singapore Armed Forces Bill would streamline the entire Force and will empower the various commanders at various unit levels to look into and mete out punishment that is proper to the severity of a breach of discipline. Just now the Minister of State mentioned an instance when some of our N.C.O. national servicemen simply walked out during an exercise without any permission. Sir, this is one of the many examples which the Minister of State has brought to light in this House. I am even more surprised to learn why these culprits who have breached military discipline could not be more severely dealt with. I hope that with the establishment of this Council much improvement can be seen in the running of the Singapore Armed Forces. 4.46 p.m.”
“Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to give my support to this Bill. I am glad to note that one of the objects of this Bill is to establish a unified force called the Singapore Armed Forces consisting of military, maritime and air commands. This Bill is definitely an improvement of the Singapore Army Act, 1965, and the People's Defence Force Act, which my colleague, the Member for Bukit Panjang, has just pointed out that these Acts were temporary measures designed to meet an emergency situation. I Xho1e-heartedly agree with what the Member has just mentioned. I also note that this Bill will provide for the establishment, administration, maintenance and discipline of the Singapore Armed Forces. In other words, all the three sectors of the Singapore Armed Forces, i.e. the military, the maritime and air commands, will now come directly under this Bill. Sir, whilst I do not wish to go into the Bill in detail, I would like to touch on some of the points raised by the Minister of State of Defence pertaining to discipline. I am quite surprised to note that the various breaches of discipline committed by the rank and file could only be dealt with by certain categories of officers at certain levels under the two previous Acts. But now, with the establishment of the Singapore Armed Forces Council, it is noted that radical changes have been made and introduced in this Bill which will empower officers like company commanders, battalion commanders, brigade commanders to deal with acts of indiscipline committed by the rank and file of the Singapore Armed Forces.”
“Are you shedding tears? Crocodile tears maybe! I join my colleagues in appealing to the good sense and kindheartedness of the Minister for Social Affairs to press on with an upward revision of the rates of public assistance, so that at least the recipients of the dole will get more and be able to subsist on what they are given by the Social Welfare Department.”
“Very much? But then why is there a reduction instead? This is the irony of it. He fought for it so hard that in the end the amount is reduced. The Minister for Finance has painted a very beautiful picture of the economic growth of Singapore. Everything is going up. As I have said the other day, the Gross National Product is going up, but how far it is going up I do not know. But then what about the people at the lower levels who cannot and will never be able to catch up? What do we do?”
“A good many illustrations have been given in this House in which the small amount of public assistance given is barely sufficient to pay for rent and public utility services, let alone to subsist on it. I appreciate that there may be a reduction in the number of cases, and the Minister will get up to say that this is a good sign. At least I hope the Minister for Social Affairs will consider the matter. I am not saying that the Minister is not considering it, but how much has he thought of it?”
“It may well be that there are less deserving cases. But if we have five Backbenchers standing up to say that it is high time the Minister revised the rates, there must be something wrong somewhere. We do not come into this Chamber just to make noise and get some publicity. Far from it, Sir. I have had occasion to meet cases of hardship. A poor washerwoman had come to me and said, "Can you please help me. The Public Assistance Section of the Social Welfare Department has now asked me to refund the allowance paid, and it has threatened to cut the assistance." I asked her why, and what was the amount she was given. She told me that she received only a small allowance with which to support so many children, including herself. Therefore, she said that she could not go on. What could she do but to take up some additional work. Even that does not help her much. However, whenever the Social Welfare Department officials discover a case whereby a recipient has found employment, it will proceed to cut off the assistance. There were quite a number of cases where the allowances have been cut. I personally know of a lot of other cases where the recipients turned to me and said, "I do not want public assistance. This is bitter bread of charity. I do not need it. What I want is employment." Unfortunately, Sir, both the Minister for Finance and the Minister of State for Finance are not here in this Chamber, or I would have pressed this matter further. However, Sir, when these poor recipients go and register at the Employment Exchange, they are found either too old or maybe a little handicapped physically, and as a result they cannot get employment. What can they do? Is it not the responsibility of the State to look after these poor people?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I also have an amendment+ under this subject of Public Assistance,and since it has been brought up, I might as well speak on it, and so save the Minister the inconvenience of having to reply again. + The amendment, standing in the names of Messrs Hwang Soo Jin and Ng Kah Ting, reads as follows: (6) That the sum to be allocated for Head 1002 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2061. Sir, I fully support the views expressed by several of my colleagues just now. The question of public assistance must be reviewed in respect of the rate to be given per month. As we have just heard from the Member for Tiong Bahru, these rates of allowances are more than ten years old. In fact, if we look around, much water has flowed under the Merdeka Bridge in the past ten years! Liken to that, I would say that Ministers' salaries have been increased from $2,500 to $4,500 per month; the allowance to each Member of Parliament has been raised from $500 to $1,000 per month. The Parliamentary Secretaries and Ministers of State have also had increases in allowances. Recently, it has been announced that one month's salary as an annual allowance would be paid to civil servants. Now we have these cases of poor people depending on public assistance. An upward revision in the rates is long overdue. Why does the Minister for Social Affairs not take this into consideration? Instead of an increase in the allocation for public assistance, we see a decrease. In fact, last year in this august Chamber, he assured the House that he would look into this matter. Does he mean to tell us that when he looks into a matter there will be a reduction in the allowance? Inche Othman Bin Wok: There are less deserving cases.”
“Sir, that explanation is quite irrelevant, because the Anti-Evasion Unit was primarily established for two reasons: (1) to investigate into cases, and (2) to try and recover taxes. If it is a case in reverse, I would ask the Minister of State for Finance whether this Unit is able to locate the persons who should have declared their properties, sources of income, etc., to the Income Tax Department but had not done so. I myself do not know. But surely his department, being primarily concerned with this problem should know. There was an article in the newspapers not very long ago that certain persons whom the Income Tax Department were looking for, had left Singapore. It is possible that the Extradition Act might not have any provisions to act in cases of this nature, and if that is so, could they not be included? After all, the Minister of State for Finance is a learned man, and therefore, Sir, he could consider my very humble suggestion and take it up with authorities concerned. That being the case, Sir, I would like to close the debate on this topic, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $6,586,780 for Head 1306 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 0901 -”
“I am indeed grateful to the Minister of State for his reply, and am anxiously waiting for the figures which I have asked for. Sir, on the question of those taxpayers who are abroad, I am surprised to hear that there is nothing we can do about it. Surely the Ministry concerned can look into this matter. I am told that those taxpayers who are abroad have got large sums of money for which they have got to account for and for which they have to pay taxes. If a taxpayer had made so much money and was able to get out of Singapore scot free, I think there must be something wrong with the department. In this respect, Sir, I would strongly urge the Minister for Finance to seriously look into this matter to deter others who might be tempted to avoid having to pay vast sums of money for income tax.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1306 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1251. Sir, the Anti-Evasion Unit which was set up only very recently has already done much work. In other words, they have collected lots of taxes which otherwise could be lost through tax evasion. I would like to highly commend them for their efforts. Sir, can the Minister of State for Finance inform this House as to the number of cases detected by this Unit and the amount involved, and also how much taxes were recovered last year? Further, I will be grateful if he can also indicate the - number of cases that have been prosecuted in court and the number of cases settled out of court. Sir, I read with some interest in the papers recently that there are some persons, who have outstanding taxes to pay in respect of their incomes, are now at large overseas. May I know what steps are being taken to ensure that such tax dodgers do pay their taxes either by extradition or other means?”
“Sir, I am grateful to the Minister of State for his detailed reply, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $1,607,390 for Head 1304 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 1306 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1304 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1051. Sir, this subhead concerns the Management Services Unit which is being set up to replace the Organisation and Methods Branch of the Ministry of Finance. I notice that the Head of this Management Services Unit has got a token vote of $10. I would like to know what is the function and scope of this Unit, bearing in mind that the Organisation and Methods Branch of the Ministry of Finance has been scrapped.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think what my colleague, the Member for Jurong, was trying to point out is that the allocation of $10,000 towards cultural organisations is rather a paltry sum. Therefore, he was trying his level best to convince the Minister of State for Finance that a larger sum of money should be allocated to this subhead. He has also pointed out that we have a huge organisation like the National Theatre Trust which depends on public donations year after year. His question is whether or not it is advisable for the Trust to carry on in this way, in view of the fact that it is difficult to go out for donations. I appreciate the reply of the Minister of State that the Government has set down priorities on the allocation of funds but, in respect of the cultural troupe to the Adelaide Festival, much money was spent although there was no provision for it in the 1971-72 Estimates. Therefore, Sir, it would appear from the reply given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture that his Ministry is well aware of the fact that the National Theatre Trust is doing quite well. However, Sir, I too share the concern of the Member for Jurong that the Government should give more financial help to cultural organisations, so that we could eventually evolve a national identity in our national culture.”
“In the light of the Minister's reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“As a long term measure, your Committee feel that the whole problem should be tackled on a wider basis of co-ordination and improvement of general financial administration and supervision, including the use of modern mechanical aids and computers, and that a proper training scheme for officers should be formulated and implemented. For the immediate future, your Committee recommend that the Ministry of Finance look into the feasibility of creating a cadre of trained financial officers at various levels for posting to Ministries and Departments to strengthen financial administration and supervision as well as improve efficiency of financial work in all sectors.' Sir, I would like to know whether the Minister for Finance will take immediate remedial action as a result of the two Reports. Of course, I am fully aware that the Public Accounts Committees First Report was presented only last month, lest the Minister should say, "We have just received this First Report and it is now being studied with a view to taking appropriate action as soon as a full evaluation of the Report has been made."”
“(Punggol): Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1301 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1251. Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to refer the Minister for Finance to two Reports which have been presented to this House. One is the Report of the Auditor-General for the financial year 1969-70 contained in Paper Cmd. 14 of 1971 presented to Parliament on l7ti July, 1971. The other is the First Report of the Public Accounts Committee contained in Paper Pan. 1 of 1972 presented to Parliament on 12th February, 1972. Sir, whilst browsing through the Auditor- General's Report, I was given the impression that losses of public funds in the various departments were the result of the officials in the departments concerned not being conversant with the financial procedures or that they have been overworked in some cases. The First Report of the Public Accounts Committee bears testimony to this fact. I would like to quote the comments in page 2 of this Report under the heading "Irregularities": `8. Perusing the Audit Report your Committee noted the number of irregularities which were, in the main, due to weaknesses in the accounting system or because the financial officers concerned were not sufficiently acquainted with and did not follow the safeguards laid down in the Instruction Manuals.' Further down, the Public Accounts Committee made some recommendations, and I quote: `9. As an immediate measure, your Committee recommend that attention of all accounting officers should be drawn to these two common areas of weaknesses so that they may be more vigilant and take necessary action to prevent the occurrences or recurrences of such irregularities. 10.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not think I can disagree with the Minister of State's assertion that the Asian stomach does not react favourably to milk. I am a layman to diet, but I would have thought that most of us, if not all, were fed with milk in our infant years. The Minister of State in all probability was also brought up on milk to a certain extent! As I have said, it was probably the type of powdered milk with a taste which the children did not like, and the quality was not too good. I am not quite sure, but perhaps his Ministry would care to look into this to see why a good number of school children do not like this kind of milk supplied to them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in filing my amendment on this subhead, I originally wanted to speak on a variety of topics pertaining to the Ministry of Education. But it appears that, in tact, most of the points have already been covered by my colleagues, the Backbenchers. However, there is still one small point which I wish to raise since I have missed it just now, and that is, the Milk Feeding Scheme that has been introduced. This is, in fact, a new provision which comes under subhead 2127. I personally welcome the setting up of such a scheme in our schools. I presume this Milk Feeding Scheme is for primary school children, but I would like to know whether the provision of $10,800 is sufficient for all the primary schools. I understand that this is a pilot scheme to cover only a few primary schools, and that children are given powdered milk, But it appears to me that in some schools the children do not like either the taste of the powdered milk or its colour. Therefore, these schools tried to induce them to drink by adding some colouring. But this does not go a long way to make them drink either. Subsequently, I was told that sugar was added, but I do not know what the result is. I would like to seek some clarification from the Minister as to what steps are being taken to encourage more school children to take to the drinking of milk, I believe that this supply of powdered milk comes from UNICEF. Has the Ministry any plans to supplement this scheme by giving a better type of powdered milk instead of the present supply which has no taste and has to be sweetened by adding sugar? In this respect, can the Minister also inform this House as to the number of schools and the number of children who are under this pilot scheme? And will this scheme be extended to all primary schools?”
“In the light of the reply from the Minister of State for Education, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the names of Messrs J. F. Conceicao and Yen Choo Kok- (5) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1081.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1010. Sir, in moving this amendment, I am merely seeking information with regard to the appointment of a Visiting Professor to the Ministry of Education, I shall be grateful if the Minister will be kind enough to inform the House about the provision of a salary scaled at $1,950-50A-2,050 for this post. What is the purpose of this appointment, and what is this Visiting Professor expected to do in the Ministry of Education?”
“Sir, I am indeed very grateful to the Minister for Education for having pointed out that more courses along such lines will be conducted. I am also grateful that he has clarified the points I have raised just now.”
“Sir, whether or not this is a primary or secondary motivation, I am not less concerned with the question of monetary inducements that are forthcoming under such a scheme. What I am more concerned is whether the Ministry is continuing to run these in-service training courses and, if so, how many? Or is the Ministry of Education going to continue running these so-called bonus courses? I for one would like to see that when our teachers attend in-service training courses or bonus courses, they do not go in with the idea of getting one or two extra increments, but because they want to polish up or upgrade their skills.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to make some clarification. First of all, with regard to the Minister's reply on the question of relief teachers, I am well aware of the fact that the Member for Moulmein has said something to the press. But the Minister for Education totally missed my point. I said that some of the relief teachers, graduates and non-graduates, are adequately qualified, and I wanted to know whether they can be absorbed into the Education Service. On the question of in-service training courses, the scheme with bonus payment was started by the Ministry of Education. I think the Minister of State for Education can bear me out that if a teacher successfully completes a bonus training course, he is entitled to a bonus. I believe this was one of the incentives given to teachers because of the many grouses they had, before the restructuring of their salary scales.”
“These are in-service training courses for teachers to acquire additional skills or to polish up their skills, and the Bonus courses which, on successful completion, will entitle a teacher to some sort of a bonus for a certain period. I would like to know from the Minister the number of courses which were conducted last year, and whether such new courses will be conducted this year as well as next year. With regard to the Bonus courses, I believe my colleague, the Member for Telok Blangah, had occasion to seek clarification from the Minister of State for Education as to whether such courses would be organised more frequently to enable more teachers to participate. I hope the Minister will care to make some observations on these points.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I will confine myself to three matters under this subhead. My first question is in regard to the posts of Teachers-, in-Training. 118 such posts have been abolished, as shown in page 177 of the Estimates. In other words, these posts of Teacher-in-Training do not exist any more. I would like to know from the Minister for Education the reason why these posts have been abolished, and why will there be no more intake in the Teachers' Training College in 1972-73. The second question concerns the problem of relief teachers. We had occasion last year to hear the Minister of State for Education mention that there was then a very high number of relief teachers required for various reasons to fill vacancies or to relieve those who were on maternity leave, sick leave, or on retirement. I believe that some of these relief teachers are graduates, and some are not. However, some of them are suitably qualified, and I am just wondering whether they have any opportunity to be absorbed into the Education Service. My next point concerns T.T.C, graduates required to step in as relief teachers. I understand that the next batch of T.T.C, graduates will be passing out sometime this year. Therefore, with the problem of relief teachers being resolved, another attendant problem will arise - how to absorb this year's batch of graduates into the Education Service,, and what of future batches? I do not know whether there are plans to see that there will be no occasion for the supply to exceed the demand. Now, if I can come to the types of courses which were organised sometime ago by the Ministry of Education.”
“Sir, before I withdraw my amendment I would like to make just one small observation: I was talking in terms of the two types of issues, i.e., the commemorative and the definitive issues. I am very grateful to the Minister for his detailed reply, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $22,630,370 for Head 0705 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 0706 -”
“This group held regular meetings and with the interest generated among them, it has now swelled to about 70. I think this is a good start, and I hope that with the advance information provided for by the Postal Services on the new issues, other groups interested in stamp collecting, from schools and other community centres, will he able to get the information they want on such new issues.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir,I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0705 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3004. Sir, I notice that there is a huge increase in the allocation for new issues of stamps, that is. from $140,000 for last year to $360,000 for this year. I believe there is an increasing interest in stamp collecting among our school children and adults. So these new issues would be welcome additions for all these budding philatelists and professional stamp collectors. What I wish to ask is the number of new issues of stamps to be made for this year. I would be grateful if the Minister for Communications would be kind enough to indicate the type and number of new issues of stamps with the various denominations, which the Postal Department will be introducing this year. Sir, I would also like to point out to the Minister one aspect of these new stamp issues. In past years, when a new :issue of stamps is introduced, pamphlets about the new issues are distributed to those who ask for them at the Philatelic Bureau of the General Post Office. On some occasions the supplies are insufficient. e.g., sometime last year, there was a special commemorative issue of the Festivals series, and there were insufficient brochures to go round. These Festival stamps were quite big and colourful and there was a great demand for them. But when applications for brochures were made, the Bureau could not supply them, probably because of the large demand for them. Nevertheless. I hope the Minister will look into his matter as well. Sir, as I pointed out just now, there seems to be a growing interest in stamp collecting. I am happy to say that in one of the community centres in Punggol, a small stamp collecting group of about 20 students and adults was set up sometime last year.”
“Yes, as the Member for Telok Blangah has just remarked, Ambassadors have no trade unions. Be that as it may, Sir, I hope that in countries where the cost of living is extremely high, for example, Japan, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, our Ambassadors or High Commissioners will get a level of allowance that is in keeping with their status in those countries. Of course, in respect of accommodation, the Foreign Minister might say, "Look, what is the use of having so much space? After all, being revolutionaries, we do not need that sort of luxury!" No doubt, we may not want to look at it from the prestige point of view, but it is my view that they must at least be accorded some degree of comfort and be happy enough to be able to say, "Welcome to my little flat." I hope the Foreign Minister will elaborate further on this point, taking into consideration what I have just said.”
“It may be that he is a rugged Singaporean. The Minister for Finance has been a bit generous with his tax reliefs and, he has also mentioned that we are heading for a surplus and that our Gross National Product is going up and up. I do not know how far up it is going to be, but let us come down to brass tacks.”
“I am aware that some of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners are rendering their services gratis; I appreciate their contribution to Singapore. But I would say that it is unwise to classify the different grades of Ambassadors and High Commissioners in the Estimates. Therefore, I hope that in the next year's estimates we will not be able to know their various grades. Sir, I now come to a point which the Minister has just replied that there were no complaints about the salaries of Ambassadors, except perhaps Overseas Allowances. I take it that there has been no complaints officially. But I have had the opportunity to visit some of our overseas establishments, and I think it is high time the Foreign Ministry seriously looked into the question of providing adequate, if not more than adequate, overseas allowances and proper accommodation for our high officials overseas. For example, let us take Japan. Our former Ambassador to Japan was put up in an apartment which was, I think, probably about I X- times the size of a 4-room Housing Board flat. I am not exaggerating because on one occasion I paid him a visit at his residence. I doubt that with such an accommodation and surroundings that he was provided, and with only a small place to park his car, he would be able to hold an official function in his house. I must point out that the Ambassador concerned did not ask me to bring up this matter. I think this illustration is necessary. An hon. Member: A rugged Singaporean.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3104. Sir, this subhead concerns "Staff and Expenses for New Missions Overseas". The Minister for Foreign Affairs has pointed out just now that two missions will be set up, one in Brussels and another in Medan. He has also mentioned that an overseas mission is set up on the basis of necessity and of interest to Singapore. I suspect, Sir, that the setting up of a mission in Brussels is for economic purposes, because the Minister for Finance has, in his Budget Statement, mentioned that it would be to our benefit if Singapore becomes an associate member of the E.E.C. (European Economic Community) or the European Common Market, whose headquarters is in Brussels. Apart from this benefit, perhaps the Minister would care to elaborate on the other factors which necessitate our Government's decision to set up a mission in Brussels, and in Medan. Another point I would like to raise is whether these two missions will be established at ambassadorial level. The reason is that my attention has been drawn to the grades of Ambassadors and High Commissioners, discussion of which has just been concluded under an amendment to subhead 1051. In this matter, 1 think the grades of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners should not be indicated in the Estimates for obvious reasons, It may well be that we need to indicate the number of Ambassadors and High Commissioners, and together with it their total personal emoluments. But by its inclusion in the Budget Estimates, as it has been in all these years, everyone will know that such and such a foreign mission is headed by such and such a grade of Ambassador.”
“Sir, I do not have the slightest doubt that the officers who were sent abroad are capable. What I said was that this Unit should have more such officers. But since this House has the assurance of the Minister of State that measures will taken to ensure that Singapore will be pollution free, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. 3.30 p.m.”
“The other functions of pollution control are under the charge of the other departments which come under different authorities. However, I wish to assure the Member that although the number of officers in this Anti-Pollution Unit is small, they are officers capable enough to ensure that Singapore will be free from air pollution and, under the control of the officers whom we have sent abroad, I think this Unit is sufficiently able to discharge its function.”