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.”
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“Mr Speaker, Sir, I seek somewhat different information from my colleague, the Member for Mountbatten. I remember that the National Stadium Complex was supposed to get its financial support from profits derived from the setting up of Singapore Pools (Pte.) Limited. In this respect, I shall be grateful if the Minister for Finance will disclose to this House how much has been collected by Singapore Pools (Pte.) Ltd, in respect of the two lotteries they run - Toto and the Singapore Sweep. How much of the collections have been ploughed back into the National Stadium? As the Member for Mountbatten has mentioned, I believe the Corporation has not been set up. In fact, the Bill is still with the Select Committee. How much will it cost us when the National Stadium Complex is completed? Can the Minister assure this House that it will not be another white elephant?”
“In view of the Parliamentary Secretary's reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $5,437,440 for Head 1104 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 1201 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1104 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2014. Sir, in moving this amendment, I just wish to seek elucidation from the Minister for Social Affairs in regard to deportation expenses. Last year there was a provision of $1,880 and this year it is only $10. I would be grateful if the Minister could inform this House of the number of persons deported last year and whether there will be any case or cases that will warrant only a $10 token provision for 1970-71.”
“Just now the Parliamentary Secretary has said that the practice of paying the English language allowance was stopped in 1964. If that is the case, why cannot the payment of the Good Conduct allowance be stopped also?”
“Sir, that is exactly what I mean. Prison warders are expected to show good conduct at all times, and therefore the payment of Good Conduct allowance does not arise. The Member for Telok Blangah was shocked and I was surprised at this allowance, but now I am more shocked than surprised! Therefore, I would urge that if the warders deserve any salary increases to induce them to put up better performances and show initiative, then put up a different salary scale for them so that they can go on to this salary scale on the basis of merit and performance. Sir, I am not very happy with the reply given by the Parliamentary Secretary. I would urge Back-benchers to say "Aye" when the Question on my amendment is put, so that this provision is voted out of the Estimates.”
“Sir, I am happy to note that the practice of paying the English language allowance to Prison warders was stopped in 1964. I am surprised to hear, however, that the Good Conduct allowance is still being paid to Prison warders. I would have thought that Prison warders should maintain good conduct at all times! Therefore, in this respect, I urge the Minister to do away with this allowance, and instead increase the pay of these warders. If at any time they do not show good conduct, then proper disciplinary action could be taken. Why should we give good conduct allowance as a form of inducement? I hope the Minister will clarify this.”
“Thank you, Sir. These two subheads concern English Language Allowance and Good Conduct Allowance. Sir, I hope I am wrong in assuming that we are paying the Prisons staff the sum of $7,200 for English Language Allowance and $12,000 for Good Conduct Allowance. Can the Minister please clarify the nature of these payments?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1104 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1050. Sir, I seek your permission, in my discussion, to range over the next amendment* as well. * The amendment reads as follows: (2) That the sum to be allocated Head 1104 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1051.”
“Sir, I think the money that we pay for the maintenance of fire hydrants is well worth it. Is it not so?”
“On a point of clarification, Sir. Since the Minister has mentioned that all fire hydrants are maintained by the Public Utilities Board, may I ask whether he will raise this matter with them - that all fire hydrants, especially those in the rural areas, do have enough water pressure to meet any situation, particularly outbreaks of fires?”
“Sir, since the Minister has accepted my suggestion, I hope he will bring it to the attention of his Ministerial colleagues. In view of the very satisfactory explanation of the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood: in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong- (8) That the total sum to be allocated for Head 1102 be reduced by S 100.”
“Sir, in this connection, can the Minister say whether tell-tale clocks will also be provided for other Ministries and departments where night watchmen are engaged, because it is apparent that without them, night watchmen may go to sleep?”
“Sir, what tales does a tell-tale clock tell?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1102 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3009. Sir, in moving this amendment, I wish to seek enlightenment from the Minister for Social Affairs on the item "tell-tale clock" used in the Estimates. This item was not in the 1969-70 Estimates, but there is a provision of $160 for it in the 1970-71 Estimates. I would like the Minister to tell a tale as to what a "tell-tale clock" is!”
“Sir, in view of the not unsatisfactory reply given by the Parliamentary Secretary, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave withdrawn.”
“Sir, I wish to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Affairs for painting such a vivid picture of what the Fostering Out Scheme is like. But may I ask one last question in connection with payment? Just now the Parliamentary Secretary has mentioned that a person who takes care of such a child is paid $60 per month, plus $10 per year for clothing allowance for the child. I want to know whether the sum of $730 per year includes expenses for food and drinks for the child, or whether it is an allowance for the foster mother? What about the child's needs? I I shall be grateful if the Parliamentary Secretary can enlighten this House.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1102 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2081. Sir, this subhead 2081 concerns two topics under the heading "Fostering-Out Allowances". I seek the Minister for Social Affairs elucidation on these two topics separately. With regard to the Boarding Out Scheme for Infants and Children, I would be glad if the Minister concerned could enlighten this House on whose infants and children they are and whether they are from the homes maintained by the Social Welfare Department. What is this Boarding Out Scheme for Infants and Children like, and how many cases of such boarding out have we got to the latest convenient date? Sir, the second item concems Fostering and Maintenance of Mentally Deficient Children. Similar to the questions I have posed just now. I hope the Minister will enlighten this House on the type of fostering and maintenance scheme we have for mentally deficient children and who these mentally deficient children are. Are they from homes organised or run by the Social Welfare Department?”
“Sir, in view of the Minister's satisfactory reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $1,280,090 for Head 0807 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 0901 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0807 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2012. In moving this amendment, I just want to seek elucidation from the Minister why there is a provision of $4,000 for Highway Code Tests.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the Minister's satisfactory reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $12,185,520 for Head 0806 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. 6.15 p.m. Head 0807 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0806 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2024. Sir, I notice there is a provision of nearly half a million dollars under this subhead for the payment of daily-rated staff. I suppose the money is required for the cutting of grass. We have many receiving stations where the lalang which grows in the compounds is a couple of feet high. I would be grateful if the Minister for Communications could explain the provision of this large sum for the payment of daily-rated staff.”
“The inconvenience is brought about in two ways. First, more and more people will become discontented. Secondly, the postal staff will also become discontented as a result of the heavy load of work. We often say that the postal service staff lose their temper whenever they are overworked and have to bear too great a burden. With a bigger crowd queueing up every day, they find it difficult to cope up with their work. This is one of the reasons why they lose their temper. I hope the Minister will improve the postal services in the three constituencies I have mentioned. For example, in Queenstown a post office was built to provide for the needs of the people there. I think they are rather privileged. They can get whatever they want. But we in the poorer constituencies cannot get what we want.”
“But with the increase of literacy of our population, our postal services have to bear a greater burden because more people know how to read and write, especially the younger set. Of course, in the past some people did not have much of an education, and when they communicated their love to one another, they did so verbally. But nowadays they can write, and so they can express their love through correspondence. Therefore, they have placed a greater burden on the Postal Department. The other reason is the increase in cultural activities, which has also contributed to the burden of the Postal Department. For instance, many programmes over Television Singapore, such as public forums and games, require correspondence. This has resulted in a greater volume of letters being delivered. As an example, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce organises a public essay competition. All the entries have to rely on the postal services to be delivered. Therefore, we know that the burden on the Postal Department is greater nowadays. Another point is that in the past people made use of other channels of communication, e.g, oral communication. But nowadays, because of urban renewal development, more and more people are scattered over a wider area, and this necessitates correspondence through the post. 6.00 p.m. More and more people are making use of the postal services to send messages from one place to another. Therefore, with the increase in population, there is a greater volume of correspondence. It has been said that in the past the number of people who made use of the postal services was only 30 per cent of the population, but now probably 80 per cent of our people make use of them. If our postal services remain in their present state, of course, there will be an increase in inconvenience.”
“Motor-cycles, yes. The question of motor-cycles just came to my mind. In Punggol there is only one delivery, and the old motor-cycle used for delivery broke down and a replacement, I believe, was sent for. Unfortunately the new motor-cycle also broke down. Sir, with these remarks, I hope the Minister will care to look into the matter. Madam Chan Choy Siong(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to put forward this point: in my constituency of Delta, the postal services are inadequate. As all Members know, Delta is one of the constituencies where mobility is highest, i.e., a lot of people move about. In 1962 the ratio was one to three or one to four. The postal services in my constituency have not shown any improvement since 1962. The Citizens' Consultative Committee has on many occasions asked me why the postal services have not improved. I have requested for more pillar boxes or the opening of more post offices, but these requests have not been acceded to. The Committee has made several representations to the Director of Postal Services, and has also written to the Minister and the Postmaster-General for more pillar boxes or post offices. If the Postal Department thinks that my constituency is too small for a postal branch to be set up, then I would like to mention that in my neighbouring constituencies, i.e., Bukit Ho Swee and Tiong Bahru, there is also a great deal of population movement. With this population movement from 1962 up to now, the ratio is still one to four. In the last 10 years the number of people in these constituencies who have made use of the postal services is not big.”
“When I asked the Department whether it would be possible for me to get a copy of their reply since I had not received one, they said that they were in no position to do so. Sir, this state of affairs really surprises me because I have a high regard for the Postal Services Department which has managed to cope with the ever-increasing volume of work - handling and delivering letters, parcels, etc. with a good degree of efficiency. Then, Sir, to borrow the saying, the last straw came. I was surprised to hear, over the radio, of complaints from residents in Choa Chu Kang Constituency - Sir, I am not for one moment speaking for the Member for Choa Chu Kang who is now absent - that in places like Choa Chu Kang, letters were not delivered in time. I hope the Minister for Communications will consider my comments with a view to providing either more postmen or”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I share the sentiments expressed by my two colleagues. What I wish to touch on is the delivery services not only in Punggol Constituency but also in the other rural constituencies. In order to establish that there is a need to provide more and better and faster delivery services, I have to explain my points by means of a couple of illustrations. The first illustration concerns letters that are to be delivered from Paya Lebar Post Office to areas in Upper Serangoon, Tampines, and Punggol. I have received complaints that notices of meetings sent out by my Citizens' Consultative Committee Secretary were not delivered until a few days later. The second illustration - there was a time when one or two postmen went up to one of the community centres with a pile of letters and asked the community centre staff to deliver them. When I was told of it, I said no. The function of the community centre and its staff is not to deliver letters. The third illustration, Sir, is in regard to a case which I received of a national serviceman who was registered for national service in 1967 but was not called up until last year. His complaint was that he had not received any enlistment notice. Whether enlistment notices were sent to him or not, I am not in a position to say. On the 2nd of January 1970, I wrote to the Postmaster-General asking for an explanation. To my surprise, all I got was a little blue card dated 5th January 1970, acknowledging receipt of my communication. He gave me a reference number, and to date, Sir, I have not received any further reply. I tried to find out what had been done in this respect, but all I was told was that a reply had, in fact, been sent to me.”
“(15) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0701 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1504. (16) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0701 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1781. (17) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0701 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2058. (18) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0701 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2101.”
“(10) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0701 be reduced by the whole sum in respect of subhead 1341.”
“Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education indicate whether a report will be made to Parliament when this Research Unit has completed its work?”
“Only a few days ago we learned that there was a total of about 51 per cent passes in last year's School Certificate Examination. Therefore, this Research Unit has an important part to play, and I hope the Minister can enlighten this House on the exact role it will play.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Education has spoken to some extent on the setting up of the Research and Statistics Unit in his Ministry. I wonder if he can throw some light on the function of this unit. All I could get from him was something pertaining to methodology and other forms of research, and that in a few years' time, according to him, we might get the results. Sir, I think the unit will play an important role in shaping the type of educational system that Singapore ought to have in relation to the conditions we are in. Sir, the P.A.P. has been in office for the past 11 years, and it has seen some changes, though not very drastic. The educational policy today is different from that in the colonial days. In this respect, will this Research and Statistics Unit do research into our educational system so that in the not too distant future we will be able to streamline and trim off all the rough edges, so to speak, and formulate the proper type of educational system that we need? Sir, may I venture to suggest to the Minister that this unit take into consideration the principles of education, the syllabuses in the primary schools, the academic and technical secondary schools, and in the technical institutes, and also the extra-curricular activities that students are required to take up during their leisure hours? I think these extra-curricular activities are being pursued too vigorously, so much so that the students have to spend more time in the field than in their studies. My question is this: has the Minister realised that the heavy emphasis placed on extra-curricular activities has resulted in our having one of the lowest Cambridge School Certificate examination results for last year?”
“Sir, can the Minister say whether these two schools take the cream of passes in the Primary School Leaving Examination?”
“Sir, in that case, is the Minister aware that there are some schools which have defeated Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls' School in the Cambridge School Certificate results in the past few decades? Under such circumstances, can he reconsider his statement that since these two schools are premier schools, it is necessary to retain the two superscale posts of Principals? Mr Ong Pang Boon: Mr Speaker, Sir, they were premier schools in the past. Whether they will continue to be premier schools in the future remains to be seen. I suppose if the position changes for the worse and these two schools no longer produce good results, I am sure the position will be reviewed.”
“On a point of clarification, Sir. In replying to my colleague, the Member of Tiong Bahru, the Minister for Education said that because Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls' School are premier schools, it is necessary to retain the two super-scale posts of Principals. But can the Minister safely say in this House that these two schools have been producing top students during the last few decades, thereby warranting the retention of these two superscale posts?”
“(18) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3004. Madam Chan Choy Siong: (19) That the total sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $100. The sum of $2,273,880 for Head 0601 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 0602 -”
“(14) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2053. (15) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2073. (16) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2105.”
“(12) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1351.”
“Sir, in view of the Minister's satisfactory replies, I beg leave to withdraw my amendments. Amendments, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Apparently it will be indiscreet of me to mention the names and places of representations that we may or may not open, because it will cause a loss of face all round. We propose to open about four new missions, two of which are fairly certain to be established -one in Moscow and the other in one of the countries in Western Europe. Certainly it will be administratively convenient to have the funds first before we make decisions to open new missions during the coming year. Subhead 3105 refers to provision for heads of missions who are concurrently accredited to more than one country. The sum entered under this subhead is to meet travelling expenses, subsistence allowances, communications expenses, and so on. In the performance of their duties, heads of missions have to incur such expenses when they visit countries to which they are concurrently accredited. For example, our Ambassador in Washington is also accredited to Brazil. Our permanent representative in the United Nations in New York is also accredited to Canada. Our High Commissioner in New Delhi is also accredited to the Kingdom of Nepal and our Ambassador in Cairo is also accredited to four countries - the Lebanon, Yugoslavia, Pakistan and Ethiopia.”
“Thank you, Sir. Subhead 3104 concerns "Staff and Mr Rajaratnam: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member is quite right in The following amendments stood on the Order Paper Supplement (8) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2016. (9) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2020. That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3104. Sir, in moving this amendment, may I seek your permission to range over the subject covered in the next amendlnent* standing in my name? (11) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3105. Expenses for Singapore Missions Overseas". But I notice that provision is already made for these missions under subheads 2081 to 2096, under the section "Overseas Missions". I would be grateful if the Minister could enlighten this House on the necessity of having to provide staff and expenses amounting to $1,483,760 for Singapore Missions Overseas. I take it that there might be new overseas missions to be set up, and, if so, will he kindly indicate where and when they will be set up? Subhead 3105, "Expenses on Representations Overseas", is a new subhead, and it has three little letters "sts" against it, meaning "Subject to Treasury sanction". I would like to seek further information on the provision of $36,000. What are the overseas representations that we are likely to attend, and who will be attending them? his guess--that subhead 3104 is in respect of expenses which will be incurred in connection with the opening of new missions. We have the agreement of Treasury to open four new missions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir,I beg to move, * The amendment reads as follows:”
“Sir, in view 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 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1646. Sir, in moving this amendment, I am just seeking information from the Minister why we should have a security guard posted in our mission in Manila, for nowhere in the other provisions of the Estimates do I see the post of a security guard.”
“Sir, I must thank the Minister for his patience, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I fully agree with the Minister on the second part of the question, but I do not quite see his point on the first part, because with regard to extracting minutes or proceedings in the United Nations, whether they be committee meetings or plenary sessions, such work can be done and the officer can be trained and taught how to do it. Probably the other difficulty may be the question of interpreting or translating foreign languages like Spanish. French and Russian. In this respect, Sir, we could try to find out whether or not one of our local citizens of that calibre can be found, and if he or she is found, whether he or she can be sent over to the mission and, in course of time, learn the nature of the job.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1162. Sir, according to the explanatory note under this head, it is a post different from that of subhead 1163, that is a clerk/typist. In other words, it seems to me that this officer has been promoted as an Executive Assistant, drawing a salary which I believe is equivalent to our administrative officer. Sir, in this respect, I would like to seek elucidation from the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he would consider replacing such an officer with one of our equivalent rank, that is, an administrative officer, whose post will be probably that of a Second Secretary. Although I do not know the nature of the work of this Executive Assistant and whether we should recruit such local staff at such a high salary, I think we can supply such an officer from Singapore.”
“Sir, I am grateful to the Minister for his reply and I beg leave to have my amendment withdrawn. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1095. Sir, I believe the question of what is a make-up allowance was raised by my colleague, the Member for Anson, last evening. This is a new provision. I do not know whether it is "make-up" in the sense that we generally take it to be, or make-up in another sense. I shall be grateful if the Minister will care to clarify.”
“Sir, if that is the case, I beg leave to withdraw But in the case of "Cypher Officers", I do not think we are going to achieve very much. Most likely I will get into difficulties with the Treasury because they can say, "You are supposed to have Cypher Officers. How is it that you have somebody else?" I understand the intentions of the Member. We are not going to solve the problem or allay his fears by redesignating the term "Cypher Officer" by some other name. my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. 3.00 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "Cypher Officer" There are only six posts and I That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1071. Sir, I would like to take issue on the term think the term "Cypher Officer" should not be included in the Estimates. It should be changed to another name. My contention is this. We have some 15 missions overseas and I believe more will be set up in the future. In most of these missions, we will inevitably be having such officers. Therefore, if we have the figure "6" against the term "Cypher Officer", are we not letting the cat out of the bag, so to speak? I urge the Minister to consider redesignating this post.”